SPUS   SP Funds S&P 500 Sharia Industry Exclusions ETF
SPSK   SP Funds Dow Jones Global Sukuk ETF
SPRE   SP Funds S&P Global REIT Sharia ETF
    each listed on NYSE Arca, Inc.

 

PROSPECTUS 

March 30, 2023

 

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) has not approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

 

 

 

Table of Contents

 

SP Funds S&P 500 Sharia Industry Exclusions ETF - Fund Summary 1
SP Funds Dow Jones Global Sukuk ETF - Fund Summary 7
SP Funds S&P Global REIT Sharia ETF - Fund Summary 14
Additional Information About the Funds 21
Additional Information About Each Index 28
Portfolio Holdings Information 30
Management 30
Fund Sponsor 32
How to Buy and Sell Shares 32
Dividends, Distributions, and Taxes 33
Distribution 36
Premium/Discount Information 36
Additional Notices 36
Financial Highlights 38

 

 

 

SP Funds S&P 500 Sharia Industry Exclusions ETF - Fund Summary

 

Investment Objective

 

The SP Funds S&P 500 Sharia Industry Exclusions ETF (the “Fund” or the “Sharia ETF”) seeks to track the performance, before fees and expenses, of the S&P 500 Shariah Industry Exclusions Index (the “Index” or the “Shariah Index”).

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

 

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

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)  
Management Fees 0.49%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees 0.00%

Other Expenses

0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.49%

 

Expense Example

 

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
  $50 $157 $274 $616

 

Portfolio Turnover

 

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in total annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example above, affect the Fund’s performance. For the fiscal year ended November 30, 2022, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 4% of the average value of its portfolio.

 

Principal Investment Strategies

 

The Fund uses a “passive management” (or indexing) approach to track the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Index.

 

The Index is composed of the constituents of the S&P 500 Shariah Index other than those from the following sub-industries: Aerospace & Defense, Financial Exchanges & Data, and Data Processing & Outsourced Services. The S&P 500 Shariah Index includes all Sharia-compliant constituents of the S&P 500 Index, which consists of approximately 500 leading U.S.- listed companies representing approximately 80% of the U.S. equity market capitalization. Islamic religious law, commonly known as “Sharia,” has certain restrictions regarding finance and commercial activities permitted for Muslims, including interest restrictions and prohibited industries. Constituents of the S&P 500 Shariah Index have been screened for non- compliant business activities (companies that offer products and services that are not compliant with Sharia law such as gambling, alcohol or tobacco) and compliance with certain accounting-based financial ratios (companies must satisfy financial ratios governing leverage, cash, and the share of revenues derived from non-compliant activities).

 

The Index was co-developed in 2019 by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (the “Index Provider”), a division of S&P Global, and ShariaPortfolio, Inc. (“ShariaPortfolio” or, the “Sub-Adviser”), the Fund’s sub-adviser, and is owned and administered by the Index Provider.

 

The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted monthly and weighted based on the float-adjusted market capitalization of each constituent. As of February 28, 2023, the Index was composed of 243 constituents.

 

1 

 

The Fund’s Investment Strategy

 

The Fund attempts to invest all, or substantially all, of its assets in the component securities that make up the Index. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets will be invested in the component securities of the Index. The Fund’s investment adviser expects that, over time, the correlation between the Fund’s performance and that of the Index, before fees and expenses, will be 95% or better.

 

The Fund will generally use a “replication” strategy to achieve its investment objective, meaning it generally will invest in all of the component securities of the Index. However, the Fund may use a “representative sampling” strategy, meaning it may invest in a sample of the securities in the Index whose risk, return and other characteristics closely resemble the risk, return and other characteristics of the Index as a whole, when the Fund’s investment adviser believes it is in the best interests of the Fund (e.g., when replicating the Index involves practical difficulties or substantial costs, an Index constituent becomes temporarily illiquid, unavailable, or less liquid, or as a result of legal restrictions or limitations that apply to the Fund but not to the Index).

 

The Fund generally may invest up to 20% of its total assets in Sharia-compliant securities or other Sharia-compliant investments not included in the Index, but which the Fund’s investment adviser believes will help the Fund track the Index. For example, the Fund may invest in Sharia-compliant securities that are not components of the Index to reflect various corporate actions and other changes to the Index (such as reconstitutions, additions, and deletions). Each investment made by the Fund is pre-screened and approved as Sharia-compliant before investment by the Fund.

 

To the extent the Index concentrates (i.e., holds more than 25% of its total assets) in the securities of a particular industry or group of related industries, the Fund will concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent as the Index. The Fund is deemed to be “non-diversified,” which means that it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a small number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund.

 

Principal Investment Risks

 

The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. The principal risks are presented in alphabetical order to facilitate finding particular risks and comparing them with those of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which they appear. As with any investment, there is a risk that you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return, and/or ability to meet its investment objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the section in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Information About the Funds—Principal Risks of Investing in Each Fund.”

 

Concentration Risk. The Fund’s investments will be concentrated in an industry or group of industries to the extent the Index is so concentrated. In such event, the value of Shares may rise and fall more than the value of shares that invest in securities of companies in a broader range of industries.

 

Equity Market Risk. The Fund will invest in common stocks directly or indirectly through ETFs. Common stocks, in which the Fund primarily invests, are generally exposed to greater risk than other types of securities, such as preferred stock and debt obligations, because common stockholders generally have inferior rights to receive payment from specific issuers. The equity securities held in the Fund’s portfolio may experience sudden, unpredictable drops in value or long periods of decline in value. This may occur because of factors that affect securities markets generally or factors affecting specific issuers, industries, or sectors in which the Fund invests. Common stocks, such as those held by the Fund, are generally exposed to greater risk than other types of securities, such as preferred stock and debt obligations, because common stockholders generally have inferior rights to receive payment from specific issuers.

 

ETF Risks.

 

Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem Shares directly from the Fund (known as “Authorized Participants” or “APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services; or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.

 

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Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.

 

Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant.

 

Trading. Although Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”), and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares. Also, in stressed market conditions, the market for Shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings. These adverse effects on liquidity for Shares, in turn, could lead to wider bid/ask spreads and differences between the market price of Shares and the underlying value of those Shares.

 

General Market Risk. Securities markets and individual securities may increase or decrease in value. Security prices may fluctuate widely over short or extended periods in response to market or economic news and conditions, and securities markets also tend to move in cycles. If there is a general decline in the securities markets, it is possible your investment may lose value regardless of the individual results of the companies in which the Fund invests. The magnitude of up and down price or market fluctuations over time is sometimes referred to as “volatility”, and it can be significant. In addition, different asset classes and geographic markets may experience periods of significant correlation with each other. As a result of this correlation, the securities and markets in which the Fund invests may experience volatility due to market, economic, political or social events and conditions that may not readily appear to directly relate to such securities, the securities’ issuer or the markets in which they trade.

 

Large-Capitalization Investing Risk. The securities of large-capitalization companies may be relatively mature compared to smaller companies and therefore subject to slower growth during times of economic expansion. Large-capitalization companies may also be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology and consumer tastes.

 

Models and Data Risk. The composition of the Index is heavily dependent on proprietary quantitative models as well as information and data supplied by third parties (“Models and Data”). When Models and Data prove to be incorrect or incomplete, any decisions made in reliance thereon may lead to the inclusion or exclusion of securities from the Index universe that would have been excluded or included had the Models and Data been correct and complete. If the composition of the Index reflects such errors, the Fund’s portfolio can be expected to also reflect the errors.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers could cause the Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Fund held a more diversified portfolio.

 

Passive Investment Risk. The Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, its Index regardless of their investment merit. The Fund does not attempt to outperform its Index or take defensive positions in declining markets. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to its Index.

 

Recent Market Events Risk. U.S. and international markets have experienced and may continue to experience significant periods of volatility in recent years and months due to a number of economic, political and global macro factors including rising inflation, uncertainty regarding central banks’ interest rate increases, the possibility of a national or global recession, trade tensions, political events, the war between Russia and Ukraine and the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic. The global recovery from COVID-19 may last for an extended period of time. As a result of continuing political tensions and armed conflicts, including the war between Ukraine and Russia, the U.S. and the European Union imposed sanctions on certain Russian individuals and companies, including certain financial institutions, and have limited certain exports and imports to and from Russia. The war has contributed to recent market volatility and may continue to do so.

 

3 

 

Sector Risk. To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors.

 

Information Technology Sector Risk. The Fund may invest in companies in the information technology sector, and therefore the performance of the Fund could be negatively impacted by events affecting this sector. Market or economic factors impacting information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technological advances could have a significant effect on the value of the Fund’s investments. The value of stocks of information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology is particularly vulnerable to rapid changes in technology product cycles, rapid product obsolescence, government regulation and competition, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Stocks of information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology, especially those of smaller, less-seasoned companies, tend to be more volatile than the overall market. Information technology companies are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights, the loss or impairment of which may adversely affect profitability. As of November 30, 2022, 36.0% of the Fund’s net assets were invested in the information technology sector.

 

Consumer Discretionary Sector Risk. The Fund may invest in companies in the consumer discretionary sector, and therefore the performance of the Fund could be negatively impacted by events affecting this sector. The success of consumer product manufacturers and retailers is tied closely to the performance of domestic and international economies, interest rates, exchange rates, competition, consumer confidence, changes in demographics and consumer preferences. Companies in the consumer discretionary sector depend heavily on disposable household income and consumer spending, and may be strongly affected by social trends and marketing campaigns. These companies may be subject to severe competition, which may have an adverse impact on their profitability. As of November 30, 2022, 24.7% of the Fund’s net assets were invested in the consumer discretionary sector (non- cyclical) and 9.8% of the Fund’s net assets were invested in the consumer discretionary sector (cyclical).

 

Sharia-Compliant Investing Risk. Islamic religious law, commonly known as “Sharia,” has certain restrictions regarding finance and commercial activities permitted for Muslims, including interest restrictions and prohibited industries, which reduces the size of the overall universe in which the Fund can invest. The strategy to reduce the investable universe may limit investment opportunities and adversely affect the Fund’s performance, especially in comparison to a more diversified fund. Because Islamic principles preclude the use of interest-paying instruments, cash reserves do not earn income.

 

Tracking Error Risk. As with all index funds, the performance of the Fund and its Index may differ from each other for a variety of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses and portfolio transaction costs not incurred by the Index. In addition, the Fund may not be fully invested in the securities of the Index at all times or may hold securities not included in the Index.

 

Underlying Index Risk. Neither the Fund’s investment adviser nor the Index Provider is able to guarantee the continuous availability or timeliness of the production of the Index. The calculation and dissemination of the Index values may be delayed if the information technology or other facilities of the Index Provider, calculation agent, data providers and/or relevant stock exchange malfunction for any reason. A significant delay may cause trading in shares of the Fund to be suspended. Errors in Index data, computation and/or the construction in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider, calculation agent or other applicable party for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders.

 

4 

 

Performance

 

The following performance information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows the annual returns for the Fund for the years indicated. The table illustrates how the Fund’s average annual returns for the 1-year and since inception periods compare with those of a broad measure of market performance and the Index. The Fund’s past performance, before and after taxes, does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Updated performance information is also available on the Fund’s website at www.sp-funds.com.

 

Calendar Year Ended December 31, 

 

 

 

During the period of time shown in the bar chart, the Fund’s highest quarterly return was 23.50% for the quarter ended June 30, 2020 and the lowest quarterly return was -17.04% for the quarter ended June 30, 2022.

 

Average Annual Total Returns

For the Periods Ended December 31, 2022

  1 Year   Since Inception
(12/17/2019)
Return Before Taxes  -22.66%   9.93%
Return After Taxes on Distributions  -22.82%   9.65%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares  -13.29%   7.73%

S&P 500 Shariah Industry Exclusions Index

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)

-23.74%

 

9.37%

S&P 500® Total Return Index

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)

-18.11%

 

8.00%

 

After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates during the period covered by the table above and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Shares through tax-deferred or other tax-advantaged arrangements such as an individual retirement account (“IRA”). In certain cases, the figures representing “Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares” may be higher than the other figures for the same period. A higher after-tax return results when a capital loss occurs upon redemption and provides an assumed tax deduction that benefits the investor.

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser: Toroso Investments, LLC (“Toroso” or the “Adviser”), a Tidal Financial Group company, serves as investment adviser to the Fund.

 

Investment Sub-Adviser: ShariaPortfolio, Inc. serves as the sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

Adviser Portfolio Managers: Michael Venuto, Chief Investment Officer for the Adviser, is responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management of the Fund and has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since March 2021. Charles A. Ragauss, CFA, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, is responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management of the Fund and has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in December 2019.

 

Sub-Adviser Portfolio Manager: Naushad Virji, Chief Executive Officer at ShariaPortfolio, is responsible for ensuring the Fund follows the character of the Index and providing advice with regard to the interpretation of and compliance with Sharia principles and has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in December 2019.

 

Purchase and Sale of Shares

 

The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only APs (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.

 

5 

 

Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through brokers at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).

 

An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares (the “bid” price) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (the “ask” price) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market. This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “bid-ask spread.”

 

Recent information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, how often Shares traded on the Exchange at a premium or discount, and bid-ask spreads can be found on the Fund’s website at www.sp-funds.com.

 

Tax Information

 

Fund distributions are generally taxable to shareholders as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless an investment is in a tax-deferred or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.

 

Financial Intermediary Compensation

 

If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or their affiliates may pay Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other activities, such as marketing, educational training, or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s website for more information.

 

6 

 

SP Funds Dow Jones Global Sukuk ETF - Fund Summary

 

Investment Objective

 

The SP Funds Dow Jones Global Sukuk ETF (the “Fund” or the “Sukuk ETF”) seeks to track the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Dow Jones Sukuk Total Return (ex-Reinvestment) Index (the “Index” or the “Sukuk Index”).

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

 

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

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)  
Management Fees 0.59%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees 0.00%

Other Expenses

0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.59%

 

Expense Example

 

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
  $60 $189 $329 $738

 

Portfolio Turnover

 

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in total annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example above, affect the Fund’s performance. For the fiscal year ended November 30, 2022, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 9% of the average value of its portfolio.

 

Principal Investment Strategies

 

The Fund uses a “passive management” (or indexing) approach to track the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Index.

 

The Index includes U.S. dollar-denominated investment-grade sukuk, which are financial certificates, similar to bonds, issued in the global markets and structured to comply with Islamic religious law, commonly known as “Sharia,” and its investment principles. To be eligible for inclusion in the Index, sukuk must have an outstanding issue size of at least US $200 million, a minimum time to maturity of one year, and a credit quality rating of at least BBB- by Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC or Fitch Ratings, Inc. and/or at least Baa3 by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. The Index was created in 2006 and is owned and administered by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (the “Index Provider”), a division of S&P Global.

 

Unlike conventional bonds, sukuk are based on a variety of contracts to create financial obligations, and the returns to investors are considered to be profit sharing, not interest. Issuers of sukuk may include international financial institutions, foreign governments (including in emerging markets), and foreign government agencies or instrumentalities that issue sukuk through a secondary issuing vehicle such as a trust. Sharia has certain restrictions regarding finance and commercial activities, including interest restrictions and prohibited industries and only sukuk, as screened by Thomson Reuters, is eligible for the Index. The Fund considers emerging market countries to be those countries included in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.

 

7 

 

The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted monthly and is market value weighted. As of February 28, 2023, the Index was composed of 105 constituents, representing investments in eight foreign countries, and had an average weighted maturity of 5.59 years.

 

The Fund’s Investment Strategy

 

The Fund attempts to invest all, or substantially all, of its assets in the component securities that make up the Index. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets will be invested in the component securities of the Index. The Fund’s investment adviser expects that, over time, the correlation between the Fund’s performance and that of the Index, before fees and expenses, will be 95% or better.

 

The Fund will generally use a “replication” strategy to achieve its investment objective, meaning it generally will invest in all of the component securities of the Index. However, the Fund may use a “representative sampling” strategy, meaning it may invest in a sample of the securities in the Index whose risk, return, and other characteristics closely resemble the risk, return, and other characteristics of the Index as a whole, when the Fund’s investment adviser believes it is in the best interests of the Fund (e.g., when replicating the Index involves practical difficulties or substantial costs, an Index constituent becomes temporarily illiquid, unavailable, or less liquid, or as a result of legal restrictions or limitations that apply to the Fund but not to the Index).

 

The Fund generally may invest up to 20% of its total assets in Sharia-compliant securities or other Sharia-compliant investments not included in the Index, but which the Fund’s investment adviser believes will help the Fund track the Index. For example, the Fund may invest in Sharia-compliant securities that are not components of the Index to reflect various corporate actions and other changes to the Index (such as reconstitutions, additions, and deletions). Each investment made by the Fund is pre-screened and approved as Sharia-compliant before investment by the Fund.

 

To the extent the Index concentrates (i.e., holds more than 25% of its total assets) in the securities of a particular industry or group of related industries, the Fund will concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent as the Index.

 

Principal Investment Risks

 

The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. The principal risks are presented in alphabetical order to facilitate finding particular risks and comparing them with those of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which they appear. As with any investment, there is a risk that you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return, and/or ability to meet its investment objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the section in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Information About the Funds—Principal Risks of Investing in Each Fund.”

 

Concentration Risk. The Fund’s investments will be concentrated in an industry or group of industries to the extent the Index is so concentrated. In such event, the value of Shares may rise and fall more than the value of shares that invest in securities of companies in a broader range of industries.

 

Debt Securities Risk.

 

Credit Risk. Debt securities are subject to the risk of an issuer’s (or other party’s) failure or inability to meet its obligations under the security. Multiple parties may have obligations under a debt security. An issuer or borrower may fail to pay principal and interest when due. A guarantor, insurer or credit support provider may fail to provide the agreed upon protection. A counterparty to a transaction may fail to perform its side of the bargain. An intermediary or agent interposed between the investor and other parties may fail to perform the terms of its service. Also, performance under a debt security may be linked to the obligations of other persons who may fail to meet their obligations. The credit risk associated with a debt security could increase to the extent that the Fund’s ability to benefit fully from its investment in the security depends on the performance by multiple parties of their respective contractual or other obligations. The market value of a debt security is also affected by the market’s perception of the creditworthiness of the issuer.

 

Interest Rate Risk. The income generated by debt securities owned by the Fund will be affected by changing interest rates. Generally, the value of fixed income securities will change inversely with changes in interest rates. As interest rates rise, the market value of fixed income securities tends to decrease. Conversely, as interest rates fall, the market value of fixed income securities tends to increase. Securities with longer durations tend to be more sensitive to changes in interest rates, usually making them more volatile than securities with shorter durations. Falling interest rates may cause an issuer to redeem or “call” a security before its stated maturity, which may result in the Fund having to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities. Rising interest rates across the U.S. and international financial systems may result in fixed-income markets becoming more volatile. A rise in rates tends to have a greater impact on the prices of longer term or duration securities. Interest rates have recently been historically low, so the Fund faces a heightened risk that rates may rise.

 

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Emerging Markets Risk. Investments in emerging market securities impose risks different from, or greater than, risks of investing in foreign developed countries, including: smaller market capitalization; significant price volatility; and restrictions on foreign investment. Emerging market countries may have relatively unstable governments and may present the risk of nationalization of businesses, expropriation, and confiscatory taxation, or, in certain instances, reversion to closed market, centrally planned economies. Emerging market economies may also experience more severe downturns. The currencies of emerging market countries may experience significant declines against the U.S. dollar, and devaluation may occur subsequent to investments in these currencies by the Fund. Inflation and rapid fluctuations in inflation rates have had, and may continue to have, negative effects on the economies and securities markets of certain emerging market countries. In addition, less information may be available about companies in emerging markets than in developed markets because such emerging markets companies may not be subject to accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards or to other regulatory practices required by U.S. companies which may lead to potential errors in index data, index computation and/or index construction. Such conditions may impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell or otherwise transfer securities; adversely affect the trading market and price for such securities; and/or cause the Fund to decline in value.

 

ETF Risk.

 

Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem Shares directly from the Fund (known as “Authorized Participants” or “APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services; or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.

 

Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may require it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. For example, the Fund may not be able to redeem in-kind certain securities held by the Fund (e.g., sukuk that cannot be broken up beyond certain minimum sizes needed for transfer and settlement). In such a case, the Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used.

 

Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.

 

Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant. Because securities held by the Fund may trade on foreign exchanges that are closed when the Fund’s primary listing exchange is open, the Fund is likely to experience premiums and discounts greater than those of ETFs holding only domestic securities.

 

Trading. Although Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”), and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares. Also, in stressed market conditions, the market for Shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings. These adverse effects on liquidity for Shares, in turn, could lead to wider bid/ask spreads and differences between the market price of Shares and the underlying value of those Shares.

 

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Foreign Government Risk. The Fund’s investment in securities issued by foreign governments or their agencies or instrumentalities (sovereign debt), including those that issue sukuk through a secondary issuing vehicle, differs from debt obligations issued by private entities in that, generally, remedies for defaults must be pursued in the courts of the defaulting party. Legal recourse is therefore limited. The foreign sovereign debt securities the Fund purchases involve specific risk, including that (i) the governmental entity that controls the repayment of sovereign debt may not be willing or able to repay the principal and/or interest when it becomes due because of political constraints, cash flow problems, and other national economic factors; (ii) governments may default on their sovereign debt, which may require holders of such sovereign debt to participate in debt rescheduling or additional lending to defaulting governments; and (iii) there are no bankruptcy proceedings by which defaulted sovereign debt may be collected in whole or in part. These and other factors can make investments in the Fund more volatile and potentially less liquid than other types of investments that track an index of domestic securities. As of November 30, 2022, 53.1% of the Fund’s net assets were invested in the securities issued by foreign governments.

 

General Market Risk. Securities markets and individual securities may increase or decrease in value. Security prices may fluctuate widely over short or extended periods in response to market or economic news and conditions, and securities markets also tend to move in cycles. If there is a general decline in the securities markets, it is possible your investment may lose value regardless of the individual results of the companies in which the Fund invests. The magnitude of up and down price or market fluctuations over time is sometimes referred to as “volatility”, and it can be significant. In addition, different asset classes and geographic markets may experience periods of significant correlation with each other. As a result of this correlation, the securities and markets in which the Fund invests may experience volatility due to market, economic, political or social events and conditions that may not readily appear to directly relate to such securities, the securities’ issuer or the markets in which they trade.

 

Geographic Investment Risk. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in the securities of companies of a single country or region, it is more likely to be impacted by events or conditions affecting that country or region.

 

Risks of Investing in Saudi Arabia. The ability of foreign investors to invest in Saudi Arabian issuers is new and untested. Such ability could be restricted or revoked by the Saudi Arabian government at any time, and unforeseen risks could materialize due to foreign ownership in such securities. The economy of Saudi Arabia is dominated by petroleum exports. A sustained decrease in petroleum prices could have a negative impact on all aspects of the economy. Investments in securities of Saudi Arabian issuers involves risks not typically associated with investments in securities of issuers in more developed countries that may negatively affect the value of the Fund’s investments. Such heightened risks may include, among others, expropriation and/or nationalization of assets, restrictions on and government intervention in international trade, confiscatory taxation, political instability, including authoritarian and/ or military involvement in governmental decision making, armed conflict, crime and instability as a result of religious, ethnic and/or socioeconomic unrest. There remains the possibility that instability in the larger Middle East region could adversely impact the economy of Saudi Arabia, and there is no assurance of political stability in Saudi Arabia.

 

Risks of Investing in the United Arab Emirates. The economy of the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”) is dominated by petroleum exports. A sustained decrease in commodity prices, particularly oil and natural gas, could have a negative impact on all aspects of the UAE economy. The nonoil UAE economy, which is concentrated in Dubai’s service sector, could be affected by declines in tourism, real estate, banking and re-export trade. The UAE and the governments of the individual emirates exercise substantial influence over many aspects of the private sector. Governmental actions could have a significant effect on economic conditions in the UAE, which could adversely affect the value of the Fund. In addition, recent political instability and protests in North Africa and the Middle East have caused significant disruptions to many industries. Continued political and social unrest in these areas may adversely affect the value of the Fund.

 

Models and Data Risk. The composition of the Index is heavily dependent on proprietary quantitative models as well as information and data supplied by third parties (“Models and Data”). When Models and Data prove to be incorrect or incomplete, any decisions made in reliance thereon may lead to the inclusion or exclusion of securities from the Index universe that would have been excluded or included had the Models and Data been correct and complete. If the composition of the Index reflects such errors, the Fund’s portfolio can be expected to also reflect the errors.

 

Passive Investment Risk. The Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, its Index regardless of their investment merit. The Fund does not attempt to outperform its Index or take defensive positions in declining markets. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to its Index.

 

Recent Market Events Risk. U.S. and international markets have experienced and may continue to experience significant periods of volatility in recent years and months due to a number of economic, political and global macro factors including rising inflation, uncertainty regarding central banks’ interest rate increases, the possibility of a national or global recession, trade tensions, political events, the war between Russia and Ukraine and the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic. The global recovery from COVID-19 may last for an extended period of time. As a result of continuing political tensions and armed conflicts, including the war between Ukraine and Russia, the U.S. and the European Union imposed sanctions on certain Russian individuals and companies, including certain financial institutions, and have limited certain exports and imports to and from Russia. The war has contributed to recent market volatility and may continue to do so.

 

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To market volatility. As a result of continuing political tensions and armed conflicts, including the war between Ukraine and Russia, the U.S. and the European Union imposed sanctions on certain Russian individuals and companies, including certain financial institutions, and have limited certain exports and imports to and from Russia. The war has contributed to recent market volatility, and may continue to do so.

 

Sector Risk. To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors.

 

Financials Sector Risk. Performance of companies in the financials sector may be adversely impacted by many factors, including, among others, government regulations, economic conditions, credit rating downgrades, changes in interest rates, and decreased liquidity in credit markets. Companies in the financial services sector may also be negatively impacted by disruptions in the banking industry. The impact of more stringent capital requirements, recent or future regulation of any individual financial company or of the financials sector as a whole cannot be predicted. In recent years, cyber attacks and technology malfunctions and failures have become increasingly frequent in this sector and have caused significant losses to companies in this sector, which may negatively impact the Fund. As of November 30, 2022, 25.6% of the Fund’s assets were invested in the financials sector.

 

Sharia-Compliant Investing Risk. Islamic religious law, commonly known as “Sharia,” has certain restrictions regarding finance and commercial activities permitted for Muslims, including interest restrictions and prohibited industries, which reduces the size of the overall universe in which the Fund can invest. The strategy to reduce the investable universe may limit investment opportunities and adversely affect the Fund’s performance, especially in comparison to a more diversified fund. Because Sharia principles preclude the use of interest-paying instruments, cash reserves do not earn income.

 

Sukuk Risk. Sukuk are financial certificates that are similar to conventional bonds but are structured to comply with Sharia law and its investments principles, which, among other things, prohibit charging or paying interest. Sukuk involve many of the same risks that conventional bonds incur such as credit risk and interest rate risk. In addition to these risks, there are certain risks specific to sukuk. Sukuk represent undivided shares in the ownership of certificates, and such certificates are linked to a specific investment activity, such as an underlying asset or contractual payment obligations of the issuer. Because no collateral is pledged as security for sukuk, purchasers of sukuk are subject to the risk that an issuer may not meet its payment obligations or that an underlying asset may not perform as expected or lose value. While the sukuk market has grown significantly in recent years, there may be times when the market is illiquid and it is difficult for the Fund to make an investment in or dispose of sukuk.

 

Tracking Error Risk. As with all index funds, the performance of the Fund and its Index may differ from each other for a variety of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses and portfolio transaction costs not incurred by the Index. In addition, the Fund may not be fully invested in the securities of the Index at all times or may hold securities not included in the Index.

 

Underlying Index Risk. Neither the Fund’s investment adviser nor the Index Provider is able to guarantee the continuous availability or timeliness of the production of the Index. The calculation and dissemination of the Index values may be delayed if the information technology or other facilities of the Index Provider, calculation agent, data providers and/or relevant stock exchange malfunction for any reason. A significant delay may cause trading in shares of the Fund to be suspended. Errors in Index data, computation and/or the construction in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider, calculation agent or other applicable party for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders.

 

Performance

 

The following performance information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows the annual returns for the Fund for the years indicated. The table illustrates how the Fund’s average annual returns for the 1-year and since inception periods compare with those of a broad measure of market performance and the Index. The Fund’s past performance, before and after taxes, does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on the Fund’s website at www.sp-funds.com.

 

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Calendar Year Ended December 31, 

 

 

 

During the period of time shown in the bar chart, the Fund’s highest quarterly return was 5.65% for the quarter ended June 30, 2020 and the lowest quarterly return was -4.89% for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

 

Average Annual Total Returns

For the Periods Ended December 31, 2022

  1 Year   Since Inception
(12/27/2019)
Return Before Taxes -8.45%   -1.98%
Return After Taxes on Distributions -9.09%   -2.61%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares -5.00%   -1.75%

Dow Jones Sukuk Total Return Index (ex-Reinvestment)

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)

-7.81%   0.13%

Bloomberg Global Aggregate Bond Index

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)

-16.25%   -4.40%

 

After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates during the period covered by the table above and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Shares through tax-deferred or other tax-advantaged arrangements such as an individual retirement account (“IRA”). In certain cases, the figure representing “Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares” may be higher than other return figures for the same period. A higher after-tax return results when a capital loss occurs upon redemption and provides an assumed tax deduction that benefits the investor.

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser: Toroso Investments, LLC (“Toroso” or the “Adviser”), a Tidal Financial Group company, serves as investment adviser to the Fund.

 

Investment Sub-Adviser: ShariaPortfolio, Inc. (“ShariaPortfolio” or the “Sub-Adviser”) serves as investment sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

Adviser Portfolio Managers: Michael Venuto, Chief Investment Officer for the Adviser, is responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management of the Fund and has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since March 2021. Charles A. Ragauss, CFA, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, is responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management of the Fund and has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in December 2019.

 

Sub-Adviser Portfolio Manager: Naushad Virji, Chief Executive Officer at ShariaPortfolio, is responsible for ensuring the Fund follows the character of the Index and providing advice with regard to the interpretation of and compliance with Sharia principles and has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in December 2019.

 

Purchase and Sale of Shares

 

The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only APs (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.

 

Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through brokers at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).

 

An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares (the “bid” price) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (the “ask” price) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market. This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “bid-ask spread.”

 

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Recent information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, how often Shares traded on the Exchange at a premium or discount, and bid-ask spreads can be found on the Fund’s website at www.sp-funds.com.

 

Tax Information

 

Fund distributions are generally taxable to shareholders as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless an investment is in a tax-deferred or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.

 

Financial Intermediary Compensation

 

If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or their affiliates may pay Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other activities, such as marketing, educational training, or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s website for more information.

 

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SP Funds S&P Global REIT Sharia ETF – Fund Summary

 

Investment Objective

 

The SP Funds S&P Global REIT Sharia ETF (the “Fund” or the “Global REIT ETF”) seeks to track the performance, before fees and expenses, of the S&P Global All Equity REIT Shariah Capped Index (the “Index” or the “Shariah REIT Index”).

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

 

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

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)  
Management Fees(1)  0.59%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees 0.00%

Other Expenses

0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses(1)  0.59%
   

 

(1) The figure for “Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses” does not correlate to the “Ratio of Expenses to Average Net Assets in the “Financial Highlights” section of the prospectus because “Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses” reflects the current unitary fee structure of the Fund.

 

Expense Example

 

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
$60 $189 $329 $738

 

Portfolio Turnover

 

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in total annual fund operating expenses or in the expense example above, affect the Fund’s performance. For the fiscal year ended November 30, 2022, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 50% of the average value of its portfolio.

 

Principal Investment Strategies

 

The Fund uses a “passive management” (or indexing) approach to track the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Index.

 

The Index includes all real estate investment trust (“REIT”) securities listed in developed and emerging markets and included as constituents of the S&P Global BMI Shariah Index, a comprehensive global Sharia-compliant index of publicly-traded equity securities. Constituents included in the S&P Global BMI Shariah Index must have a float-adjusted market capitalization of at least $100 million and an annual trading value of at least $50 million. A REIT is a security of a company that invests in real estate, either through real estate property, mortgages and similar real estate investments, or all of the foregoing. Islamic religious law commonly known as Sharia has certain restrictions regarding finance and commercial activities permitted for Muslims, including interest restrictions and prohibited industries. Constituents of the S&P Global BMI Shariah Index, and therefore constituents of the Index, have been screened for non-compliant business activities (companies that offer products and services that are not compliant with Sharia law such as gambling, alcohol, or tobacco) and compliance with certain accounting-based financial ratios (companies must satisfy financial ratios governing leverage, cash, and the share of revenues derived from non-compliant activities).

 

The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted monthly. Each security in the Index is subject to certain individual security weight caps. As of February 28, 2023, the Index was composed of 49 constituents, representing investments in 10 countries.

 

The Index was developed in 2020 by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (the “Index Provider”), a division of S&P Global, with active contribution by ShariaPortfolio, Inc. (the “Sub-Adviser”), the Fund’s sub-adviser. The Index is owned and administered by the Index Provider. The S&P Global BMI Shariah Index was developed in 2008 by the Index Provider and is owned and administered by the Index Provider.

 

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The Fund’s Investment Strategy

 

The Fund attempts to invest all, or substantially all, of its assets in the component securities that make up the Index. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets will be invested in the component securities of the Index. This policy may be changed without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders. The Fund’s investment adviser expects that, over time, the correlation between the Fund’s performance and that of the Index, before fees and expenses, will be 95% or better.

 

The Fund generally may invest up to 20% of its total assets in Sharia-compliant securities or other Sharia-compliant investments not included in the Index, but which the Sub-Adviser believes will help the Fund track the Index. For example, the Fund may invest in Sharia-compliant securities that are not components of the Index to reflect various corporate actions and other changes to the S&P Global BMI Shariah Index (such as reconstitutions, additions, and deletions). Each investment made by the Fund is pre-screened and approved as Sharia compliant before investment by the Fund.

 

The Fund will generally use a “replication” strategy to achieve its investment objective, meaning the Fund will generally invest in all of the component securities of the Index in the same approximate proportions as in the Index. However, the Fund may use a “representative sampling” strategy, meaning it may invest in a sample of the securities in the Index whose risk, return, and other characteristics closely resemble the risk, return, and other characteristics of the Index as a whole, when the Fund’s investment adviser believes it is in the best interests of the Fund (e.g., when replicating the Index involves practical difficulties or substantial costs, an Index constituent becomes temporarily illiquid, unavailable, or less liquid, or as a result of legal restrictions or limitations that apply to the Fund but not to the Index).

 

To the extent the Index concentrates (i.e., holds more than 25% of its total assets) in the securities of a particular industry or group of related industries, the Fund will concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent as the Index. The Fund is classified as non-diversified and therefore may invest a larger percentage of its assets in the securities of a single company or a smaller number of companies than diversified funds. The Index is expected to be concentrated (i.e., holding more than 25% of its total assets) in REITs.

 

The Fund is deemed to be non-diversified under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), which means that it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund.

 

Principal Investment Risks

 

The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below.

 

The principal risks are presented in alphabetical order to facilitate finding particular risks and comparing them with those of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which they appear. As with any investment, there is a risk that you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its investment objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the section in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Information About the Funds—Principal Risks of Investing in Each Fund.”

 

Concentration Risk. The Fund’s investments will be concentrated in an industry or group of industries to the extent the Index is so concentrated. In such event, the value of Shares may rise and fall more than the value of shares that invest in securities of companies in a broader range of industries.

 

Concentration in REITs

 

The Fund is expected to be concentrated in REITs. A REIT is a company that owns or finances income-producing real estate and meets certain requirements under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), as more fully described in the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”). Through its investments in REITs, the Fund is subject to the risks of investing in the real estate market, including decreases in property revenues, increases in interest rates, increases in property taxes and operating expenses, legal and regulatory changes, a lack of credit or capital, defaults by borrowers or tenants, environmental problems and natural disasters.

 

REITs are subject to additional risks, including those related to adverse governmental actions; declines in property value and the real estate market; the potential failure to qualify for tax-free pass through of income; and exemption from registration as an investment company. REITs are dependent upon specialized management skills and may invest in relatively few properties, a small geographic area, or a small number of property types. As a result, investments in REITs may be volatile. To the extent the Fund invests in REITs concentrated in specific geographic areas or property types, the Fund may be subject to a greater loss as a result of adverse developments affecting such area or property types. REITs are pooled investment vehicles with their own fees and expenses and the Fund will indirectly bear a proportionate share of those fees and expenses. As of November 30, 2022, 99.8% of the Fund’s net assets were invested in REITs.

 

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Currency Risk. The Fund’s exposure to foreign currencies subjects the Fund to the risk that those currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. Dollar. Currency rates in foreign countries may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time for any number of reasons, including changes in interest rates and the imposition of currency controls or other political developments in the U.S. or abroad.

 

Emerging Markets Risk. The Fund may invest in securities issued by companies domiciled or headquartered in emerging market nations. Investments in securities traded in developing or emerging markets, or that provide exposure to such securities or markets, can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, currency, or regulatory conditions not associated with investments in U.S. securities and investments in more developed international markets. Such conditions may impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell, or otherwise transfer securities, adversely affect the trading market and price for Shares and cause the Fund to decline in value.

 

Equity Market Risk. The Fund will invest in common stocks directly or indirectly through ETFs. Common stocks are generally exposed to greater risk than other types of securities, such as preferred stock and debt obligations, because common stockholders generally have inferior rights to receive payment from specific issuers. The equity securities held in the Fund’s portfolio may experience sudden, unpredictable drops in value or long periods of decline in value. This may occur because of factors that affect securities markets generally or factors affecting specific issuers, industries, or sectors in which the Fund invests. Common stocks, such as those held by the Fund, are generally exposed to greater risk than other types of securities, such as preferred stock and debt obligations, because common stockholders generally have inferior rights to receive payment from issuers.

 

ETF Risk.

 

Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem Shares directly from the Fund (known as “Authorized Participants” or “aPs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) aPs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other aPs step forward to perform these services; or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.

 

Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.

 

Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant. Because securities held by the Fund may trade on foreign exchanges that are closed when the Fund’s primary listing exchange is open, the Fund is likely to experience premiums and discounts greater than those of ETFs holding only domestic securities.

 

Trading. Although Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”), and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares. Also, in stressed market conditions, the market for Shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings. These adverse effects on liquidity for Shares, in turn, could lead to wider bid/ask spreads and differences between the market price of Shares and the underlying value of those Shares.

 

Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in securities or other instruments of non-U.S. issuers involve certain risks not involved in domestic investments and may experience more rapid and extreme changes in value than investments in securities of U.S. companies. Financial markets in foreign countries often are not as developed, efficient, or liquid as financial markets in the United States, and therefore, the prices of non-U.S. securities and instruments can be more volatile. In addition, the Fund will be subject to risks associated with adverse political and economic developments in foreign countries, which may include the imposition of economic sanctions. Generally, there is less readily available and reliable information about non-U.S. issuers due to less rigorous disclosure or accounting standards and regulatory practices.

 

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General Market Risk. Securities markets and individual securities may increase or decrease in value. Security prices may fluctuate widely over short or extended periods in response to market or economic news and conditions, and securities markets also tend to move in cycles. If there is a general decline in the securities markets, it is possible your investment may lose value regardless of the individual results of the companies in which the Fund invests. The magnitude of up and down price or market fluctuations over time is sometimes referred to as “volatility”, and it can be significant. In addition, different asset classes and geographic markets may experience periods of significant correlation with each other. As a result of this correlation, the securities and markets in which the Fund invests may experience volatility due to market, economic, political or social events and conditions that may not readily appear to directly relate to such securities, the securities’ issuer or the markets in which they trade.

 

Market Capitalization Risk.

 

Large-Capitalization Investing. The securities of large-capitalization companies may be relatively mature compared to smaller companies and therefore subject to slower growth during times of economic expansion. Large-capitalization companies may also be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology and consumer tastes.

 

Mid-Capitalization Investing. The securities of mid-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse issuer, market, political, or economic developments than securities of large-capitalization companies. The securities of mid-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than large-capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole.

 

Small-Capitalization Investing. The securities of small-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse issuer, market, political, or economic developments than securities of large- or mid-capitalization companies. The securities of small-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than large- or mid-capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole. There is typically less publicly available information concerning smaller-capitalization companies than for larger, more established companies.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers could cause the Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Fund held a more diversified portfolio.

 

Passive Investment Risk. The Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, its Index regardless of their investment merit. The Fund does not attempt to outperform its Index or take defensive positions in declining markets. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to its Index.

 

Recent Market Events Risk. U.S. and international markets have experienced and may continue to experience significant periods of volatility in recent years and months due to a number of economic, political and global macro factors including rising inflation, uncertainty regarding central banks’ interest rate increases, the possibility of a national or global recession, trade tensions, political events, the war between Russia and Ukraine and the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic. The global recovery from COVID-19 may last for an extended period of time. As a result of continuing political tensions and armed conflicts, including the war between Ukraine and Russia, the U.S. and the European Union imposed sanctions on certain Russian individuals and companies, including certain financial institutions, and have limited certain exports and imports to and from Russia. The war has contributed to recent market volatility and may continue to do so.

 

Recently Organized Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized, non-diversified management investment company with a limited operating history. As a result, prospective investors have a limited track record or history on which to base their investment decision.

 

Sharia-Compliant Investing Risk. Islamic religious law commonly known as Sharia has certain restrictions regarding finance and commercial activities permitted for Muslims, including interest restrictions and prohibited industries, which reduces the size of the overall universe in which the Fund can invest. The strategy to reduce the investable universe may limit investment opportunities and adversely affect the Fund’s performance, especially in comparison to a more diversified fund. Because Islamic principles preclude the use of interest-paying instruments, cash reserves do not earn income.

 

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Tax Risk. To qualify for the favorable tax treatment generally available to regulated investment companies (“RICs”), the Fund must satisfy certain diversification requirements. In particular, the Fund generally may not acquire a security if, as a result of the acquisition, (i) more than 50% of the value of the Fund’s assets would be invested in (a) issuers in which the Fund has, in each case, invested more than 5% of the Fund’s assets or (b) issuers more than 10% of whose outstanding voting securities are owned by the Fund or (ii) more than 25% of the value of the Fund’s assets would be invested in (a) the securities of any one issuer. Given the concentration of the Index in a relatively small number of securities, it may not always be possible for the Fund to fully implement a replication strategy or a representative sampling strategy while satisfying these diversification requirements. The Fund’s efforts to satisfy the diversification requirements may affect the Fund’s execution of its investment strategy and may cause the Fund’s return to deviate from that of the Index, and the Fund’s efforts to replicate or represent the Index may cause it inadvertently to fail to satisfy the diversification requirements. If the Fund were to fail to satisfy the diversification requirements, it could incur penalty taxes and be forced to dispose of certain assets, or it could fail to qualify as a RIC. If the Fund were to fail to qualify as a RIC, it would be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation, and distributions to its shareholders would not be deductible by the Fund in computing its taxable income.

 

Tracking Error Risk. As with all index funds, the performance of the Fund and its Index may differ from each other for a variety of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses and portfolio transaction costs not incurred by the Index. In addition, the Fund may not be fully invested in the securities of the Index at all times or may hold securities not included in the Index.

 

Underlying Index Risk. Neither the Fund’s investment adviser nor the Index Provider is able to guarantee the continuous availability or timeliness of the production of the Index. The calculation and dissemination of the Index values may be delayed if the information technology or other facilities of the Index Provider, calculation agent, data providers and/or relevant stock exchange malfunction for any reason. A significant delay may cause trading in shares of the Fund to be suspended. Errors in Index data, computation and/or the construction in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider, calculation agent or other applicable party for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders.

 

Performance

 

The following performance information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance over time. The bar chart shows the annual returns for the Fund for the periods indicated. The table illustrates how the Fund’s average annual returns for the 1-year and since inception periods compare with those of a broad measure of market performance and the Index. The Fund’s past performance before and after taxes, does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on the Fund’s website at www.sp-funds.com.

 

Calendar Year Ended December 31, 

 

 

During the period of time shown in the bar chart, the Fund’s highest quarterly return was 20.16% for the quarter ended December 31, 2021 and the lowest quarterly return was -16.49% for the quarter ended June 30, 2022.

 

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Average Annual Total Returns

For the Period Ended December 31, 2022

  1 Year   Since Inception
(12/29/2020)
Return Before Taxes -29.06%   1.41%
Return After Taxes on Distributions -29.36%   0.79%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares -17.10%   0.99%

S&P Global All Equity REIT Shariah Capped Index

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)

-28.48%   2.21%

S&P 500 Total Return Index

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)

-18.11%   3.06%

 

After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates during the period covered by the table above and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Shares through tax-deferred or other tax-advantaged arrangements such as an individual retirement account (“IRA”). In certain cases, the figure representing “Return after Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares” may be higher than other return figures for the same period. A higher after-tax return results when a capital loss occurs upon redemption and provides an assumed tax deduction that benefits the investor.

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser

 

Toroso Investments, LLC (“Toroso” or the “Adviser”), a Tidal Financial Group company, serves as investment adviser to the Fund.

 

Investment Sub-Adviser

 

ShariaPortfolio, Inc. (“ShariaPortfolio” or the “Sub-Adviser”), serves as investment sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

Adviser Portfolio Managers:

 

Michael Venuto, Chief Investment Officer for the Adviser, is responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management of the Fund and has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in December 2020.

 

Charles A. Ragauss, CFA, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, is responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management of the Fund and has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in December 2020.

 

Sub-Adviser Portfolio Manager:

 

Naushad Virji, Chief Executive Officer at ShariaPortfolio, is responsible for ensuring the Fund follows the character of the Index and providing advice with regard to the interpretation of and compliance with Sharia principles and has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in December 2020.

 

Purchase and Sale of Shares

 

The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only APs (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.

 

Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through brokers at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).

 

An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares (the “bid” price) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (the “ask” price) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market. This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “bid-ask spread.”

 

When available, information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, how often Shares traded on the Exchange at a premium or discount, and bid-ask spreads can be found on the Fund’s website at www.sp-funds.com.

 

Tax Information

 

Fund distributions are generally taxable to shareholders as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, qualified REIT dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless your investment is in a tax-deferred or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those arrangements.

 

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Financial Intermediary Compensation

 

If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or their affiliates may pay Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other activities, such as marketing, educational training, or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s website for more information.

 

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDS

 

Investment Objective

 

Each Fund seeks to track the performance, before fees and expenses, of the applicable Index.

 

An investment objective is fundamental if it cannot be changed without the consent of the holders of a majority of the outstanding Shares. The Funds’ investment objectives have not been adopted as fundamental investment policies and therefore a Fund’s investment objective may be changed without the consent of a Fund’s shareholders upon approval by the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of Tidal ETF Trust (the “Trust”) and written notice to shareholders.

 

Principal Investment Strategies

 

The following information is in addition to, and should be read along with, the description of each Fund’s principal investment strategies in the sections titled “Fund Summary-Principal Investment Strategies” above.

 

To the extent its applicable Index concentrates (i.e., holds more than 25% of its total assets) in the securities of a particular industry or group of related industries, a Fund will concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent as the Index.

 

Each of the Sharia ETF and the Global REIT ETF is deemed to be “non-diversified,” which means that it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. The Sukuk ETF commenced operations as a non-diversified fund; however, the Sukuk ETF continuously operated as a diversified fund for three years and effective December 27, 2022, is now classified as diversified.

 

Manager of Managers Structure

 

The Funds and the Adviser have received exemptive relief from the SEC permitting the Adviser (subject to certain conditions and the approval of the Board) to change or select new unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval. The relief also permits the Adviser to materially amend the terms of agreements with an unaffiliated sub-adviser (including an increase in the fee paid by the Adviser to the unaffiliated sub-adviser (and not paid by a Fund)) or to continue the employment of an unaffiliated sub-adviser after an event that would otherwise cause the automatic termination of services with Board approval, but without shareholder approval. Shareholders will be notified of any unaffiliated sub-adviser changes. The Adviser has the ultimate responsibility, subject to oversight by the Board, to oversee a sub-adviser(s) and recommend their hiring, termination and replacement.

 

Principal Risks of Investing in each Fund

 

The principal risks are presented in alphabetical order to facilitate finding particular risks and comparing them with those of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Funds, regardless of the order in which it appears. As with any investment, there is a risk that you could lose all or a portion of your investment in a Fund. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect a Fund’s NAV per share, trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its investment objective. The following risks could affect the value of your performance in the Funds: The risks below apply to each Fund as indicated in the following table. The number of risk factors applicable to a Fund does not necessarily correlate to the overall risk of an investment in that Fund. Additional information about each such risk and its potential impact on a Fund is set forth below the table.

 

  Sharia ETF Sukuk ETF Global REIT ETF
Concentration Risk X X X
—Concentration in REITs     X
Currency Risk     X
Debt Securities Risk   X  
— Credit Risk   X  
— Interest Rate Risk   X  
Emerging Markets Risk   X X
Equity Market Risk X   X
ETF Risks     X
Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk

X

X 

X

— Cash Redemption Risk   X  
— Costs of Buying or Selling Shares X X X
— Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV X X X
— Trading X X  
Foreign Government Risk   X  

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  Sharia ETF Sukuk ETF Global REIT ETF
Foreign Securities Risk     X
General Market Risk X X X
Geographic Investment Risk   X  
—Risks of Investing In Saudi Arabia   X  
—Risks of Investing in the United Arab Emirates   X  
Market Capitalization Risk X   X
—Large-Capitalization Investing Risk X   X
—Mid-Capitalization Investing     X
—Small-Capitalization Investing     X
Models and Data Risk X X  
Non-Diversification Risk X   X
Passive Investment Risk X X X
Recent Market Events Risk X X X
Recently Organized Fund Risk X X X
Sector Risk X X  
—Information Technology Sector Risk X    
—Consumer Discretionary Sector Risk X    
—Financials Sector Risk   X  
Sharia-Compliant Investing Risk X X X
Sukuk Risk   X  
Tax Risk     X
Tracking Error Risk X X X
Underlying Index Risk X X X

 

Concentration Risk. The Fund’s investments will be concentrated in an industry or group of industries to the extent the Index is so concentrated. In such event, the value of Shares may rise and fall more than the value of shares that invest in securities of companies in a broader range of industries.

 

Concentration in REITs

 

The Fund is expected to be concentrated in REITs. A REIT is a company that owns or finances income-producing real estate and meets certain requirements under the Code, as more fully described in the Fund’s SAI. Through its investments in REITs, the Fund is subject to the risks of investing in the real estate market, including decreases in property revenues, increases in interest rates, increases in property taxes and operating expenses, legal and regulatory changes, a lack of credit or capital, defaults by borrowers or tenants, environmental problems and natural disasters.

 

REITs are subject to additional risks, including those related to adverse governmental actions; declines in property value and the real estate market; the potential failure to qualify for tax-free pass through of income; and exemption from registration as an investment company. REITs are dependent upon specialized management skills and may invest in relatively few properties, a small geographic area, or a small number of property types. As a result, investments in REITs may be volatile. To the extent the Fund invests in REITs concentrated in specific geographic areas or property types, the Fund may be subject to a greater loss as a result of adverse developments affecting such area or property types. REITs are pooled investment vehicles with their own fees and expenses and the Fund will indirectly bear a proportionate share of those fees and expenses.

 

Currency Risk. The Fund’s exposure to foreign currencies subjects the Fund to the risk that those currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. Dollar. Currency rates in foreign countries may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time for any number of reasons, including changes in interest rates and the imposition of currency controls or other political developments in the U.S. or abroad.

 

Debt Securities Risk.

 

Credit Risk. Debt securities are subject to the risk of an issuer’s (or other party’s) failure or inability to meet its obligations under the security. Multiple parties may have obligations under a debt security. An issuer or borrower may fail to pay principal and interest when due. A guarantor, insurer or credit support provider may fail to provide the agreed upon protection. A counterparty to a transaction may fail to perform its side of the bargain. An intermediary or agent interposed between the investor and other parties may fail to perform the terms of its service. Also, performance under a debt security may be linked to the obligations of other persons who may fail to meet their obligations. The credit risk associated with a debt security could increase to the extent that the Fund’s ability to benefit fully from its investment in the security depends on the performance by multiple parties of their respective contractual or other obligations. The market value of a debt security is also affected by the market’s perception of the creditworthiness of the issuer.

 

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Interest Rate Risk. The income generated by debt securities owned by the Fund will be affected by changing interest rates. Generally, the value of fixed income securities will change inversely with changes in interest rates. As interest rates rise, the market value of fixed income securities tends to decrease. Conversely, as interest rates fall, the market value of fixed income securities tends to increase. Securities with longer durations tend to be more sensitive to changes in interest rates, usually making them more volatile than securities with shorter durations. Falling interest rates may cause an issuer to redeem or “call” a security before its stated maturity, which may result in the Fund having to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities. Rising interest rates across the U.S. and international financial systems may result in fixed-income markets becoming more volatile. A rise in rates tends to have a greater impact on the prices of longer term or duration securities. Interest rates have recently been historically low, so the Fund faces a heightened risk that rates may rise.

 

Emerging Markets Risk. The Fund’s investments in emerging market securities impose risks different from, or greater than, risks of investing in foreign developed countries. These risks include: smaller market capitalization of securities markets, which may suffer periods of relative illiquidity; significant price volatility; and restrictions on foreign investment. Emerging market countries may have relatively unstable governments and may present the risk of nationalization of businesses, expropriation, and confiscatory taxation or, in certain instances, reversion to closed market, centrally planned economies. Emerging market economies may also experience more severe downturns. In addition, foreign investors may be required to register or pay taxes or tariffs on the proceeds of securities sales; future economic or political crises could lead to price controls, forced mergers, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, seizure, nationalization, or creation of government monopolies. The currencies of emerging market countries may experience significant declines against the U.S. dollar, and devaluation may occur subsequent to investments in these currencies by the Fund. Inflation and rapid fluctuations in inflation rates have had, and may continue to have, negative effects on the economies and securities markets of certain emerging market countries.

 

Additional risks of emerging markets securities may include: greater social, economic and political uncertainty and instability; more substantial governmental involvement in the economy; less governmental supervision and regulation; unavailability of currency hedging techniques; companies that are newly organized and small; differences in auditing and financial reporting standards, which may result in unavailability of material information about issuers; and less developed legal systems. Emerging securities markets may have different clearance and settlement procedures, which may be unable to keep pace with the volume of securities transactions or otherwise make it difficult to engage in such transactions. Settlement problems may cause the Fund to miss attractive investment opportunities, hold a portion of its assets in cash pending investment, or be delayed in disposing of a portfolio security. Such a delay could result in possible liability to a purchaser of the security. In addition, less information may be available about companies in emerging markets than in developed markets because such emerging markets companies may not be subject to accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards or to other regulatory practices required by U.S. companies which may lead to potential errors in index data, index computation and/or index construction. Such conditions may impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell or otherwise transfer securities; adversely affect the trading market and price for such securities; and/or cause the Fund to decline in value.

 

Equity Market Risk. The equity securities held in the Fund’s portfolio may experience sudden, unpredictable drops in value or long periods of decline in value. This may occur because of factors that affect securities markets generally or factors affecting specific issuers, industries, or sectors in which the Fund invests. Common stocks, such as those held by the Fund, are generally exposed to greater risk than other types of securities, such as preferred stock and debt obligations, because common stockholders generally have inferior rights to receive payment from issuers.

 

ETF Risk.

 

Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as APs. In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services; or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.

 

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Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may require it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. For example, the Fund may not be able to redeem in-kind certain securities held by the Fund (e.g., sukuk that cannot be broken up beyond certain minimum sizes needed for transfer and settlement). In such a case, the Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used.

 

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

 

Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of the Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of the Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines. The market price of Shares during the trading day, like the price of any exchange-traded security, includes a “bid-ask” spread charged by the exchange specialist, market makers, or other participants that trade the Shares. In times of severe market disruption, the bid-ask spread can increase significantly. At those times, Shares are most likely to be traded at a discount to NAV, and the discount is likely to be greatest when the price of Shares is falling fastest, which may be the time that you most want to sell your Shares.

 

Trading. Although Shares are listed for trading on the Exchange and may be listed or traded on U.S. and non-U.S. stock exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such Shares will develop or be maintained. Trading in Shares may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to Exchange “circuit breaker” rules, which temporarily halt trading on the Exchange when a decline in the S&P 500 Index during a single day reaches certain thresholds (e.g., 7%, 13%, and 20%). Additional rules applicable to the Exchange may halt trading in Shares when extraordinary volatility causes sudden, significant swings in the market price of Shares. There can be no assurance that Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares.

 

Foreign Government Risk. The Fund’s investment in securities issued by foreign governments or agencies or instrumentalities of foreign governments (sovereign debt), including those that issue sukuk through a secondary issuing vehicle, differs from debt obligations issued by private entities in that, generally, remedies for defaults must be pursued in the courts of the defaulting party. Legal recourse is therefore limited. The foreign sovereign debt securities the Fund purchases involve specific risk, including that (i) the governmental entity that controls the repayment of sovereign debt may not be willing or able to repay the principal and/or interest when it becomes due because of political constraints, cash flow problems and other national economic factors; (ii) governments may default on their sovereign debt, which may require holders of such sovereign debt to participate in debt rescheduling or additional lending to defaulting governments; and (iii) there are no bankruptcy proceedings by which defaulted sovereign debt may be collected in whole or in part. These and other factors can make investments in the Fund more volatile and potentially less liquid than other types of investments that track an index of domestic securities.

 

A country whose exports are concentrated in a few commodities could be vulnerable to a decline in the international price of such commodities. Another factor bearing on the ability of a country to repay sovereign debt is the level of the country’s international reserves. Fluctuations in the level of these reserves can affect the amount of foreign exchange readily available for external debt payments and, thus, could have a bearing on the capacity of the country to make payments on its sovereign debt. Also, there can be no assurance that the holders of commercial bank loans to the same sovereign entity may not contest payments to the holders of sovereign debt in the event of default under commercial bank loan agreements.

 

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Because securities held by the Fund may trade on foreign exchanges that are closed when the Fund’s primary listing exchange is open, the Fund is likely to experience premiums and discounts greater than those of ETFs holding only domestic securities.

 

Foreign Securities Risk. Certain foreign countries may impose exchange control regulations, restrictions on repatriation of profit on investments or of capital invested, local taxes on investments, and restrictions on the ability of issuers of non-U.S. securities to make payments of principal and interest to investors located outside the country, whether from currency blockage or otherwise. In addition, the Fund will be subject to risks associated with adverse political and economic developments in foreign countries, including seizure or nationalization of foreign deposits, the imposition of economic sanctions, different legal systems and laws relating to bankruptcy and creditors’ rights, and the potential inability to enforce legal judgments, all of which could cause the Fund to lose money on its investments in non-U.S. securities. The cost of servicing external debt will also generally be adversely affected by rising international interest rates, as many external debt obligations bear interest at rates which are adjusted based upon international interest rates. Because non-U.S. securities may trade on days when Shares are not priced, NAV may change at times when Shares cannot be sold.

 

Foreign banks and securities depositories at which the Fund holds its foreign securities and cash may be recently organized or new to the foreign custody business and may be subject to only limited or no regulatory oversight. Additionally, many foreign governments do not supervise and regulate stock exchanges, brokers and the sale of securities to the same extent as does the United States and may not have laws to protect investors that are comparable to U.S. securities laws. Settlement and clearance procedures in certain foreign markets may result in delays in payment for or delivery of securities not typically associated with settlement and clearance of U.S. investments.

 

In recent years, the European financial markets have experienced volatility and adverse trends due to concerns about economic downturns in, or rising government debt levels of, several European countries. These events may spread to other countries in Europe, including countries that do not use the Euro. These events may affect the value and liquidity of certain of the Fund’s investments.

 

General Market Risk. Securities markets and individual securities may increase or decrease in value. Security prices may fluctuate widely over short or extended periods in response to market or economic news and conditions, and securities markets also tend to move in cycles. If there is a general decline in the securities markets, it is possible your investment may lose value regardless of the individual results of the companies in which the Fund invests. The magnitude of up and down price or market fluctuations over time is sometimes referred to as “volatility”, and it can be significant. In addition, different asset classes and geographic markets may experience periods of significant correlation with each other. As a result of this correlation, the securities and markets in which the Fund invests may experience volatility due to market, economic, political or social events and conditions that may not readily appear to directly relate to such securities, the securities’ issuer or the markets in which they trade.

 

Geographic Investment Risk. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in the securities of companies of a single country or region, it is more likely to be impacted by events or conditions affecting that country or region.

 

Risks of Investing in Saudi Arabia. The ability of foreign investors to invest in Saudi Arabian issuers is new and untested. Such ability could be restricted or revoked by the Saudi Arabian government at any time, and unforeseen risks could materialize due to foreign ownership in such securities. The economy of Saudi Arabia is dominated by petroleum exports. A sustained decrease in petroleum prices could have a negative impact on all aspects of the economy. Investments in securities of Saudi Arabian issuers involves risks not typically associated with investments in securities of issuers in more developed countries that may negatively affect the value of the Fund’s investments. Such heightened risks may include, among others, expropriation and/or nationalization of assets, restrictions on and government intervention in international trade, confiscatory taxation, political instability, including authoritarian and/ or military involvement in governmental decision making, armed conflict, crime and instability as a result of religious, ethnic and/or socioeconomic unrest. There remains the possibility that instability in the larger Middle East region could adversely impact the economy of Saudi Arabia, and there is no assurance of political stability in Saudi Arabia.

 

Risks of Investing in the United Arab Emirates. The economy of the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”) is dominated by petroleum exports. A sustained decrease in commodity prices, particularly oil and natural gas, could have a negative impact on all aspects of the UAE economy. The non-oil UAE economy, which is concentrated in Dubai’s service sector, could be affected by declines in tourism, real estate, banking and re-export trade. The UAE and the governments of the individual emirates exercise substantial influence over many aspects of the private sector. Governmental actions could have a significant effect on economic conditions in the UAE, which could adversely affect the value of the Fund. In addition, recent political instability and protests in North Africa and the Middle East have caused significant disruptions to many industries. Continued political and social unrest in these areas may adversely affect the value of the Fund.

 

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Market Capitalization Risk.

 

Large-Capitalization Investing. The securities of large-capitalization companies may be relatively mature compared to smaller companies and therefore subject to slower growth during times of economic expansion. Large- capitalization companies may also be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology and consumer tastes.

 

Mid-Capitalization Investing. The securities of mid-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse issuer, market, political, or economic developments than securities of large-capitalization companies. The securities of mid-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than large capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole. Some mid-capitalization companies have limited product lines, markets, financial resources, and management personnel and tend to concentrate on fewer geographical markets relative to large-capitalization companies.

 

Small-Capitalization Investing. The securities of small-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse issuer, market, political, or economic developments than securities of large- or mid-capitalization companies. The securities of small-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than large- or mid-capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole. Some small-capitalization companies have limited product lines, markets, and financial and managerial resources and tend to concentrate on fewer geographical markets relative to larger-capitalization companies. There is typically less publicly available information concerning smaller-capitalization companies than for larger, more established companies. Small-capitalization companies also may be particularly sensitive to changes in interest rates, government regulation, borrowing costs and earnings.

 

Models and Data Risk. The composition of the Index is heavily dependent on proprietary quantitative models as well as information and data supplied by third parties (“Models and Data”). When Models and Data prove to be incorrect or incomplete, any decisions made in reliance thereon may lead to the inclusion or exclusion of securities from the Index universe that would have been excluded or included had the Models and Data been correct and complete. If the composition of the Index reflects such errors, the Fund’s portfolio can be expected to also reflect the errors.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is considered to be “non-diversified,” which means that it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers could cause the Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Fund held a more diversified portfolio. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.

 

Passive Investment Risk. The Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, its Index regardless of its investment merit. The Fund does not attempt to outperform its Index or take defensive positions in declining markets. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to its Index.

 

Recent Market Events Risk.

 

U.S. and international markets have experienced significant periods of volatility in recent years and months due to a number of economic, political and global macro factors including the impact of COVID-19 as a global pandemic and related public health crisis, growth concerns in the U.S. and overseas, uncertainties regarding interest rates, rising inflation, trade tensions, and the threat of tariffs imposed by the U.S. and other countries. In particular, the global spread of COVID-19 has resulted in disruptions to business operations and supply chains, stress on the global healthcare system, growth concerns in the U.S. and overseas, staffing shortages and the inability to meet consumer demand, and widespread concern and uncertainty. The global recovery from COVID-19 is proceeding at slower than expected rates due to the emergence of variant strains and may last for an extended period of time. Health crises and related political, social and economic disruptions caused by the spread of COVID-19 may also exacerbate other pre-existing political, social and economic risks in certain countries. As a result of continuing political tensions and armed conflicts, including the war between Ukraine and Russia, the U.S. and the European Union imposed sanctions on certain Russian individuals and companies, including certain financial institutions, and have limited certain exports and imports to and from Russia. The war has contributed to recent market volatility and may continue to do so. These developments, as well as other events, could result in further market volatility and negatively affect financial asset prices, the liquidity of certain securities and the normal operations of securities exchanges and other markets, despite government efforts to address market disruptions. As a result, the risk environment remains elevated. The Adviser and the Sub-Adviser will monitor developments and seek to manage the Fund in a manner consistent with achieving the Fund’s investment objective, but there can be no assurance that they will be successful in doing so.

 

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Recently Organized Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized, non-diversified management investment company with a limited operating history. As a result, prospective investors have a limited track record or history on which to base their investment decision. There can be no assurance that the Fund will grow to or maintain an economically viable size.

 

Sector Risk. To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors.

 

Information Technology Sector Risk. The Fund may invest in companies in the information technology sector, and therefore the performance of the Fund could be negatively impacted by events affecting this sector. Market or economic factors impacting information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technological advances could have a significant effect on the value of the Fund’s investments. The value of stocks of information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology is particularly vulnerable to rapid changes in technology product cycles, rapid product obsolescence, government regulation and competition, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Stocks of information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology, especially those of smaller, less-seasoned companies, tend to be more volatile than the overall market. Information technology companies are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights, the loss or impairment of which may adversely affect profitability.

 

Consumer Discretionary Sector Risk. The Fund may invest in companies in the consumer discretionary sector, and therefore the performance of the Fund could be negatively impacted by events affecting this sector. The success of consumer product manufacturers and retailers is tied closely to the performance of domestic and international economies, interest rates, exchange rates, competition, consumer confidence, changes in demographics and consumer preferences. Companies in the consumer discretionary sector depend heavily on disposable household income and consumer spending, and may be strongly affected by social trends and marketing campaigns. These companies may be subject to severe competition, which may have an adverse impact on their profitability.

 

Financials Sector Risk. Performance of companies in the financials sector may be adversely impacted by many factors, including, among others, government regulations, economic conditions, credit rating downgrades, changes in interest rates, and decreased liquidity in credit markets. Companies in the financial services sector may also be negatively impacted by disruptions in the banking industry. The impact of more stringent capital requirements, recent or future regulation of any individual financial company or of the financials sector as a whole cannot be predicted. In recent years, cyber attacks and technology malfunctions and failures have become increasingly frequent in this sector and have caused significant losses to companies in this sector, which may negatively impact the Fund.

 

Sharia-Compliant Investing Risk. Islamic principles restrict the Fund’s ability to invest in certain market sectors, such as financial companies and conventional fixed-income securities, and reduce the size of the overall universe in which a Fund can invest. The strategy to reduce the investable universe may limit investment opportunities and adversely affect a Fund’s performance, especially in comparison to a more diversified fund. Because Islamic principles preclude the use of interest-paying instruments, cash reserves do not earn income.

 

Sukuk Risk. Sukuk are financial certificates that are similar to conventional bonds but are structured to comply with Sharia law and its investments principles, which, among other things, prohibit charging or paying interest. Sukuk involve many of the same risks that conventional bonds incur such as credit risk and interest rate risk. In addition to these risks, there are certain risks specific to sukuk. Sukuk represent undivided shares in the ownership of certificates and such certificates are linked to a specific investment activity including, but not limited to, tangible assets or the contractual payment obligations of the sukuk issuer. Generally, issuers of sukuk include, but are not limited to, international financial institutions, foreign governments and agencies or instrumentalities of foreign governments that issue the sukuk through a secondary issuing vehicle such as a trust. No collateral is pledged as security for the sukuk. As unsecured investments, sukuk are backed only by the credit of the issuer or issuing vehicle, which may be a vehicle that holds no other assets. Sukuk are thus subject to the risk that the issuer or issuing vehicle may not be able to repurchase the sukuk at the agreed upon date for the agreed upon price, if at all. Sukuk are also subject to the risks associated with developing and emerging market economies, which include, among others, inconsistent accounting and legal principles. The process to resolve a default on sukuk may take longer than resolving a default on conventional bonds. It is possible that interpretations of Sharia law by courts or scholars can evolve in ways that may affect the free transferability of sukuk. While the sukuk market has grown significantly in recent years, there may be times when the market is illiquid and it is difficult for the Fund to make an investment in or dispose of sukuk. Unlike conventional bonds, sukuk are generally held to maturity and trading is limited to the primary market.

 

Tax Risk. To qualify for the favorable tax treatment generally available to RICs, the Fund must satisfy certain diversification requirements. In particular, the Fund generally may not acquire a security if, as a result of the acquisition, (i) more than 50% of the value of the Fund’s assets would be invested in (a) issuers in which the Fund has, in each case, invested more than 5% of the Fund’s assets or (b) issuers more than 10% of whose outstanding voting securities are owned by the Fund or (ii) more than 25% of the value of the Fund’s assets would be invested in (a) the securities of any one issuer. Given the concentration of the Index in a relatively small number of securities, it may not always be possible for the Fund to fully implement a replication strategy or a representative sampling strategy while satisfying these diversification requirements. The Fund’s efforts to satisfy the diversification requirements may affect the Fund’s execution of its investment strategy and may cause the Fund’s return to deviate from that of the Index, and the Fund’s efforts to replicate or represent the Index may cause it inadvertently to fail to satisfy the diversification requirements. If the Fund were to fail to satisfy the diversification requirements, it could incur penalty taxes and be forced to dispose of certain assets, or it could fail to qualify as a RIC. If the Fund were to fail to qualify as a RIC, it would be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation, and distributions to its shareholders would not be deductible by the Fund in computing its taxable income.

 

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Tracking Error Risk. As with all index funds, the performance of the Fund and its Index may differ from each other for a variety of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses and portfolio transaction costs not incurred by the Index. In addition, the Fund may not be fully invested in the securities of the Index at all times or may hold securities not included in the Index. The use of sampling techniques may affect the Fund’s ability to achieve close correlation with its Index. The Fund may use a representative sampling strategy to achieve its investment objective, if the Sub-Adviser believes it is in the best interests of the Fund, which generally can be expected to produce a greater non-correlation risk.

 

Underlying Index Risk. Neither the Adviser nor the Index Provider is able to guarantee the continuous availability or timeliness of the production of the Index. The calculation and dissemination of Index values may be delayed if the information technology or other facilities of the Index Provider, calculation agent, data providers and/or relevant stock exchange malfunction for any reason. A significant delay may cause trading in shares of the Fund to be suspended. Errors in Index data, computation and/or the construction in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider, calculation agent or other applicable party for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders.

 

Additional Information About Each Index

 

S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC is the index provider and calculation agent for each Index (“S&P” or, as previously defined, the “Index Provider”). S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC is not affiliated with the Funds, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, the Funds’ distributor, or any of their respective affiliates. The Index Provider provides information to the Funds about the constituents of the Indexes and does not provide investment advice with respect to the desirability of investing in, purchasing, or selling securities.

 

Sharia Compliance

 

Islamic religious law, commonly known as “Sharia,” has certain restrictions regarding finance and commercial activities permitted for Muslims, including interest restrictions and prohibited industries. Each Fund may utilize a liquidation period of up to 90 days to exit its position in holdings that are deemed to be non-Sharia compliant. This liquidation period may only be utilized to minimize liquidation costs.

 

S&P 500 Shariah Industry Exclusions Index. The S&P 500 Shariah Industry Exclusions Index is composed of the constituents of the S&P 500 Shariah Index other than those from the following sub-industries: Aerospace & Defense, Financial Exchanges & Data, and Data Processing & Outsourced Services. The S&P 500 Shariah Index includes all Sharia- compliant constituents of the S&P 500 Index. Constituents of the S&P 500 Shariah Index have been screened to exclude companies with non-compliant business activities (companies that offer products and services that are not compliant with Sharia law such as gambling, alcohol or tobacco) and to include companies compliant with certain accounting-based financial ratios (companies must satisfy financial ratios governing leverage, cash, and the share of revenues derived from non- compliant activities), as described below. Ratings Intelligence Partners, an independent London/Kuwait-based consulting company, provides the Sharia screens and filters the S&P 500 Shariah Index based on these screens. Ratings Intelligence Partners has a team of qualified Islamic researchers who work directly with a Sharia supervisory board of five Islamic scholars that interprets business issues and recommends actions related to the constituents of the S&P 500 Shariah Index.

 

Companies that receive income in excess of 5% of its total revenue from Sharia-prohibited business activities are removed from the list of companies eligible for inclusion in the S&P 500 Shariah Index. Sharia-prohibited business activities include:

 

Advertising of all non-Islamic activities;

Media & Entertainment (certain producers, distributors and broadcasters of music, movies, television shows and musical radio shows and cinema operators);

Alcohol production or sale;

Cloning;

Conventional Finance (except: Islamic Banks, Islamic Financial Institutions and Islamic Insurance Companies);

Casino management and gambling;

Pork-related products or production, packaging, and process or any other activity related to pork;

Pornography;

Tobacco manufacturing or sale; and

Trading of gold and silver as cash on deferred basis.

 

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After companies have been screened by their business activities, the remaining companies’ finances are further examined to ensure they are Sharia compliant. Only those companies that satisfy the following financial ratios will be considered Sharia compliant:

 

Debt is less than 33.333% of total assets;

Cash and interest-bearing items are less than 33.333% of total assets;

Accounts receivable and cash are less than 50% of total assets; and

Total interest and non-compliant activities income are less than 5% of total revenue.

 

The S&P 500 Shariah Industry Exclusions Index constituents are reviewed on an ongoing and monthly basis to ensure they continue to be Sharia-compliant companies. The S&P 500 Shariah Industry Exclusions Index is reconstituted monthly.

 

Dow Jones Sukuk Total Return (ex-Reinvestment) Index. Only sukuk, as screened by Thomson Reuters, is eligible for the Dow Jones Sukuk Total Return (ex-Reinvestment) Index. The Index includes fixed and floating rate coupon instruments. The Dow Jones Sukuk Total Return (ex-Reinvestment) Index constituents are reviewed on an ongoing and monthly basis. The Index is reconstituted monthly.

 

S&P Global All Equity REIT Shariah Capped Index. The S&P Global All Equity REIT Shariah Capped Index is designed to measure all REIT securities listed in developed and emerging markets and included as constituents of the S&P Global BMI Shariah Index, a comprehensive global Sharia-compliant index of publicly-traded equity securities. Constituents of the S&P Global BMI Shariah Index, and therefore constituents of the Index, have been screened to exclude companies with non-compliant business activities (companies that offer products and services that are not compliant with Sharia law such as gambling, alcohol or tobacco) and to include companies compliant with certain accounting-based financial ratios (companies must satisfy financial ratios governing leverage, cash, and the share of revenues derived from non-compliant activities), as described below. Ratings Intelligence Partners, an independent London/Kuwait-based consulting company, provides the Sharia screens and filters the S&P Global BMI Shariah Index based on these screens. Ratings Intelligence Partners has a team of qualified Islamic researchers who work directly with a Sharia supervisory board of five Islamic scholars that interprets business issues and recommends actions related to the constituents of the S&P Global BMI Shariah Index.

 

Companies that receive income in excess of 5% of its total revenue from Sharia-prohibited business activities are removed from the list of companies eligible for inclusion in the S&P Global BMI Shariah Index. Sharia-prohibited business activities include:

 

Advertising of all non-Islamic activities;

Media & Entertainment (certain producers, distributors and broadcasters of music, movies, television shows and musical radio shows and cinema operators);

Alcohol production or sale;

Cloning;

Conventional Finance (except: Islamic Banks, Islamic Financial Institutions and Islamic Insurance Companies);

Casino management and gambling;

Pork-related products or production, packaging, and process or any other activity related to pork;

Pornography;

Tobacco manufacturing or sale; and

Trading of gold and silver as cash on deferred basis.

 

After companies have been screened by their business activities, the remaining companies’ finances are further examined to ensure they are Sharia compliant. Only those companies that satisfy the following financial ratios will be considered Sharia compliant:

 

Debt is less than 33.333% of total assets;

Cash and interest-bearing items are less than 33.333% of total assets;

Accounts receivable and cash are less than 50% of total assets; and

Total interest and non-compliant activities income are less than 5% of total revenue.

 

The Shariah REIT Index constituents are reviewed on an ongoing and monthly basis to ensure they continue to be Sharia-compliant companies. Because the Shariah REIT Index is rebalanced and reconstituted monthly, any portfolio security determined to be non-Sharia-compliant will be held for no longer than 30 days.

 

Dividend Purification

 

If a company derives a portion of its total income from interest income and/or Sharia-prohibited business activities, Sharia investment principles state that this portion must be “purified” from the distributions paid out to shareholders. Shareholders may purify their portion of prohibited income received by absolving an equivalent amount to charitable purposes. Accordingly, for investors seeking to purify prohibited income received from the Funds, if any, ShariaPortfolio will publish an income purification calculator on the Funds’ website, www.sp-funds.com, to assist Sharia ETF and Global REIT ETF investors in calculating the per share amount to be purified on a monthly basis. The Sukuk ETF does not require purification because sukuk are by definition Sharia-compliant.

 

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ShariaPortfolio, in conjunction with the Sharia Advisor (defined below), determines such amount by evaluating income earned from Sharia-prohibited business activities. In making such determination, ShariaPortfolio and the Sharia Advisor consider the amount of prohibited income in relation to the number of shares of the company held by a Fund and the Fund’s holding period of such shares. A company may have prohibited income whether or not the company’s profits have been distributed and whether or not the company has declared a profit or suffered a loss.

 

Such information will generally be posted prior to each Fund’s scheduled distribution of any dividend income to shareholders. For additional information about the Funds’ distribution policies, see “Dividends, Distributions and Taxes” below in this Prospectus.

 

PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS INFORMATION

 

Information about each Fund’s daily portfolio holdings is available on the Funds’ website at www.sp-funds.com. A complete description of the Funds’ policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Funds’ portfolio holdings is available in the Funds’ Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).

 

MANAGEMENT

 

Investment Adviser

 

Toroso Investments, LLC, a Tidal Financial Group company, located at 898 N. Broadway, Suite 2, Massapequa, New York 11758, is an SEC-registered investment adviser and a Delaware limited liability company. Toroso was founded in and has been managing investment companies since March 2012 and is dedicated to understanding, researching and managing assets within the expanding ETF universe. As of February 28, 2023, Toroso had assets under management of approximately $6.0 billion and served as the investment adviser or sub-adviser for 94 registered funds.

 

Toroso serves as investment adviser to the Funds and has overall responsibility for the general management and administration of the Funds pursuant to an investment advisory agreement with the Trust, on behalf of each Fund (the “Advisory Agreement”). The Adviser provides oversight of the Sub-Adviser and review of the Sub-Adviser’s performance. The Adviser is responsible for trading portfolio securities for the Funds, including selecting broker-dealers to execute purchase and sale transactions. The Adviser also arranges for sub-advisory, transfer agency, custody, fund administration, and all other related services necessary for the Funds to operate.

 

For the services it provides to the Funds, each Fund pays the Adviser a unified management fee, which is calculated daily and paid monthly, at an annual rate based on the applicable Fund’s average daily net assets as set forth in the table below.

 

Name of Fund Management Fee
Sharia ETF 0.49%
Sukuk ETF 0.59%1 
Global REIT ETF 0.59%2 

 

1  Effective November 30, 2021, the Board approved an amendment to the investment advisory agreement between the Trust, on behalf of the Sukuk ETF, and the Adviser, pursuant to which the Adviser agreed to reduce the Sukuk ETF’s management fee from 0.65% to 0.59%.

2  Effective December 1, 2022, the Board approved an amendment to the investment advisory agreement between the Trust, on behalf of the Global REIT ETF, and the Adviser, pursuant to which the Adviser agreed to reduce the Global REIT ETF’s management fee from 0.69% to 0.59%.

 

For the fiscal year ended November 30, 2022, the Adviser received an aggregate fee of 0.49% from the Sharia ETF, an aggregate fee of 0.59% from the Sukuk ETF, and an aggregate fee of 0.69% from the Global REIT ETF.

 

Under the Advisory Agreement, in exchange for a single unitary management fee from the Fund, the Adviser has agreed to pay all expenses incurred by each Fund except for interest charges on any borrowings, dividends and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, extraordinary expenses, distribution fees and expenses paid by the Fund under any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (collectively, the “Excluded Expenses”).

 

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Investment Sub-Adviser

 

ShariaPortfolio, Inc, 1331 International Pkwy, Suite 2291, Lake Mary, Florida 32746, serves as the investment sub-adviser to the Funds pursuant to a sub-advisory agreement between ShariaPortfolio and the Adviser (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”) and is responsible for ensuring the Funds follow the character of each applicable Index and providing advice with regard to the interpretation of and compliance with Sharia principles. For its services, ShariaPortfolio is paid a fee by the Adviser, which fee is calculated daily and paid monthly, at an annual rate of 0.02% of each Fund’s average daily net assets. As of February 28, 2023, ShariaPortfolio had assets under management of approximately $520 million.

 

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of the Sharia ETF’s and Sukuk ETF’s Investment Advisory Agreement and Sub-Advisory Agreement is available in the Funds’ semi-annual report to shareholders for the reporting period ended May 31, 2022.

 

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of the Global REIT ETF’s Investment Advisory Agreement and Sub-Advisory Agreement is available in the Funds’ semi-annual report to shareholders for the reporting period ended May 31, 2021.

 

Portfolio Managers

 

Charles A. Ragauss, CFA, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, and Naushad Virji, Portfolio Manager for the Sub-Adviser, have been portfolio managers of the Sharia ETF and Sukuk ETF since their inception in December 2019, and each have been portfolio managers of the Global REIT ETF since its inception in December 2020.

 

Michael Venuto, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Sharia ETF and Sukuk ETF since March 2021, and has been a portfolio manager of the Global REIT ETF since its inception in December 2020.

 

Michael Venuto, Chief Investment Officer for the Adviser

 

Mr. Venuto is a co-founder and has been the Chief Investment Officer of the Adviser since 2012. Mr. Venuto is an ETF industry veteran with over a decade of experience in the design and implementation of ETF-based investment strategies. Previously, he was Head of Investments at Global X Funds where he provided portfolio optimization services to institutional clients. Before that, he was Senior Vice President at Horizon Kinetics where his responsibilities included new business development, investment strategy and client and strategic initiatives.

 

Charles A. Ragauss, CFA, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser

 

Mr. Ragauss serves as Portfolio Manager of the Adviser, having joined the Adviser in September 2020. Mr. Ragauss previously served as Chief Operating Officer and in other roles at CSat Investment Advisory, L.P. from April 2016 to September 2020. Previously, Mr. Ragauss was Assistant Vice President at Huntington National Bank (“Huntington”), where he was Product Manager for the Huntington Funds and Huntington Strategy Shares ETFs, a combined fund complex of almost $4 billion in assets under management. At Huntington, he led ETF development bringing to market some of the first actively managed ETFs. Mr. Ragauss joined Huntington in 2010. Mr. Ragauss attended Grand Valley State University where he received his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and International Business, as well as a minor in French. He is a member of both the National and West Michigan CFA societies and holds the CFA designation.

 

CFA® is a registered trademark owned by the CFA Institute.

 

Naushad Virji, Portfolio Manager for the Sub-Adviser

 

Naushad Virji, Chief Executive Officer at ShariaPortfolio, launched ShariaPortfolio in 2014 and ShariaPortfolio Canada, Inc. in 2019. He has also been Chief Executive Officer at Virji Investments, Inc., a registered investment advisor firm, since 2003. Mr. Virji attended the University of Florida where he received a degree in business administration.

 

The Funds’ SAI provides additional information about the Portfolio Managers’ compensation structure, other accounts that a Portfolio Manager manages, and the Portfolio Managers’ ownership of Shares.

 

Sharia Advisor

 

Raqaba LLC has been appointed as the Sharia adviser (the “Sharia Advisor”) to advise ShariaPortfolio with regard to its interpretation of and compliance with Sharia principles. The Sharia Advisor specializes in providing Sharia compliance services to the financial services sector and provides its services in accordance with the collective decisions of Islamic jurisprudence, Islamic financial standards of Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) and the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), international financial reporting standards and local regulatory frameworks.

 

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The Sharia Advisor performs annual Sharia audits to assess the Sharia compliance of each Fund. The Sharia Advisor does not make investment decisions, provide investment advice, or otherwise act in the capacity of an investment adviser to the Funds. Additionally, the Sharia Advisor is not involved in the maintenance of any of the Indices and does not otherwise act in the capacity of an index provider.

 

FUND SPONSOR

 

The Adviser has entered into an Agreement with SP Funds Management, LLC (the “Fund Sponsor”), under which the Fund Sponsor assumes the obligation of the Adviser to pay all expenses of the Funds, except Excluded Expenses (such expenses of each Fund, except Excluded Expenses, the “Unitary Expenses”). The Fund Sponsor is controlled by, and is therefore an affiliated entity of, ShariaPortfolio. Although the Sponsor has agreed to be responsible for the Unitary Expenses, the Adviser retains the ultimate obligation to the Fund to pay such expenses. For assuming the payment obligations, the Adviser has agreed to pay to the Sponsor the profits, if any, generated by each Fund’s unified management fee. The Sponsor does not make investment decisions, provide investment advice, participate in the unified management of the Funds, or otherwise act in the capacity of an investment adviser to the Funds. The Fund Sponsor is not involved in the maintenance of any of the Indices and does not act in the capacity of an index provider.

 

HOW TO BUY AND SELL SHARES

 

Each Fund issues and redeems Shares only in Creation Units at the NAV per share next determined after receipt of an order from an AP. Only APs may acquire Shares directly from a Fund, and only APs may tender their Shares for redemption directly to a Fund, at NAV. APs must be a member or participant of a clearing agency registered with the SEC and must execute a Participant Agreement that has been agreed to by the Distributor (defined below), and that has been accepted by the Funds’ transfer agent, with respect to purchases and redemptions of Creation Units. Once created, Shares trade in the secondary market in quantities less than a Creation Unit.

 

Most investors buy and sell Shares in secondary market transactions through brokers. Individual Shares are listed for trading on the secondary market on the Exchange and can be bought and sold throughout the trading day like other publicly traded securities.

 

When buying or selling Shares through a broker, you will incur customary brokerage commissions and charges, and you may pay some or all of the spread between the bid and the offer price in the secondary market on each leg of a round trip (purchase and sale) transaction. In addition, because secondary market transactions occur at market prices, you may pay more than NAV when you buy Shares, and receive less than NAV when you sell those Shares.

 

Book Entry

 

Shares are held in book-entry form, which means that no stock certificates are issued. Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding Shares.

 

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

 

Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Shares

 

The Funds impose no restrictions on the frequency of purchases and redemptions of Shares. In determining not to approve a written, established policy, the Board evaluated the risks of market timing activities by Fund shareholders. Purchases and redemptions by APs, who are the only parties that may purchase or redeem Shares directly with the Funds, are an essential part of the ETF process and help keep Share trading prices in line with the NAV. As such, the Funds accommodate frequent purchases and redemptions by APs. However, the Board has also determined that frequent purchases and redemptions for cash may increase tracking error and portfolio transaction costs and may lead to the realization of capital gains. To minimize these potential consequences of frequent purchases and redemptions, the Funds employ fair value pricing and may impose transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by the Funds in effecting trades. In addition, the Funds and the Adviser reserve the right to reject any purchase order at any time.

 

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Determination of Net Asset Value

 

Each Fund’s NAV is calculated as of the scheduled close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”), generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, each day the NYSE is open for business. The NAV for each Fund is calculated by dividing the Fund’s net assets by its Shares outstanding.

 

In calculating its NAV, each Fund generally values its assets on the basis of market quotations, last sale prices, or estimates of value furnished by a pricing service or brokers who make markets in such instruments. The values of non-U.S. dollar denominated securities are converted to U.S. dollars using foreign currency exchange rates generally determined as of 4:00 p.m., London time. If such information is not available for a security held by a Fund or is determined to be unreliable, the security will be valued at fair value estimates under guidelines established by the Trust and the Adviser (as described below).

 

Fair Value Pricing

 

Consistent with Rule 2a-5 under the 1940 Act, the Trust and the Adviser have adopted procedures and methodologies wherein the Adviser, serving as the Fund’s Valuation Designee (as defined in Rule 2a-5), determines the fair value of Fund investments whose market prices are not “readily available” or are deemed to be unreliable. For example, such circumstances may arise when: (i) an investment has been delisted or has had its trading halted or suspended; (ii) an investment’s primary pricing source is unable or unwilling to provide a price; (iii) an investment’s primary trading market is closed during regular market hours; or (iv) an investment’s value is materially affected by events occurring after the close of the investment’s primary trading market. Generally, when fair valuing an investment, the Valuation Designee will take into account all reasonably available information that may be relevant to a particular valuation including, but not limited to, fundamental analytical data regarding the issuer, information relating to the issuer’s business, recent trades or offers of the investment, general and/or specific market conditions, and the specific facts giving rise to the need to fair value the investment. Fair value determinations are made in good faith and in accordance with the Adviser’s fair value methodologies, subject to oversight by the Board. Due to the subjective and variable nature of fair value pricing, there can be no assurance that the Adviser will be able to obtain the fair value assigned to the investment upon the sale of such investment.

 

Investments by Other Registered Investment Companies in the Funds

 

Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act restricts investments by registered investment companies in the securities of other investment companies, including Shares. Registered investment companies are permitted to invest in the Funds beyond the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1), subject to certain terms and conditions set forth in an SEC exemptive order issued to the Trust or rule under the 1940 Act, including that such investment companies enter into an agreement with the Funds.

 

Delivery of Shareholder Documents – Householding

 

Householding is an option available to certain investors of the Funds. Householding is a method of delivery, based on the preference of the individual investor, in which a single copy of certain shareholder documents can be delivered to investors who share the same address, even if their accounts are registered under different names. Householding for the Funds is available through certain broker-dealers. If you are interested in enrolling in householding and receiving a single copy of prospectuses and other shareholder documents, please contact your broker-dealer. If you are currently enrolled in householding and wish to change your householding status, please contact your broker-dealer.

 

DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS, AND TAXES

 

Dividends and Distributions

 

Each Fund will generally declare and distribute net investment income, if any, at least monthly, and any net realized capital gains to its shareholders at least annually.

 

Each Fund will declare and pay income and capital gain distributions, if any, in cash. Distributions in cash may be reinvested automatically in additional whole Shares only if the broker through whom you purchased Shares makes such option available. Your broker is responsible for distributing the income and capital gain distributions to you.

 

Because the REITs in which the Global REIT ETF invests do not provide complete information about the taxability of their distributions until after the calendar year-end, the Global REIT ETF may not be able to determine how much of its distributions are taxable to shareholders until after the January 31st deadline for issuing Form 1099-DIV. As a result, the Global REIT ETF may request permission from the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) each year for an extension of time to issue Form 1099-DIV until February 28th.

 

Taxes

 

The following discussion is a summary of some important U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to investments in the Funds. Your investment in a Fund may have other tax implications. Please consult your tax advisor about the tax consequences of an investment in Shares, including the possible application of foreign, state, and local tax laws.

 

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Each Fund intends to qualify each year for treatment as a RIC under Code. If it meets certain minimum distribution requirements, a RIC is not subject to tax at the fund level on income and gains from investments that are timely distributed to shareholders. However, a Fund’s failure to qualify as a RIC or to meet minimum distribution requirements would result (if certain relief provisions were not available) in fund-level taxation and, consequently, a reduction in income available for distribution to shareholders.

 

Unless your investment in Shares is made through a tax-exempt entity or tax-deferred or other tax-advantaged account, such as an IRA plan, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when a Fund makes distributions, when you sell your Shares listed on the Exchange, and when you purchase or redeem Creation Units (institutional investors only).

 

The following general discussion of certain U.S. federal income tax consequences is based on provisions of the Code and the regulations issued thereunder as in effect on the date of this Prospectus. New legislation, as well as administrative changes or court decisions, may significantly change the conclusions expressed herein, and may have a retroactive effect with respect to the transactions contemplated herein.

 

Taxes on Distributions

 

For federal income tax purposes, distributions of net investment income are generally taxable to shareholders as ordinary income or qualified dividend income. Taxes on distributions of net capital gains (if any) are determined by how long a Fund owned the investments that generated them, rather than how long a shareholder has owned their Shares. Sales of assets held by a Fund for more than one year generally result in long-term capital gains and losses, and sales of assets held by such Fund for one year or less generally result in short-term capital gains and losses. Distributions of a Fund’s net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses) that are reported by such Fund as capital gain dividends (“Capital Gain Dividends”) will be taxable as long-term capital gains to shareholders. Distributions of short-term capital gain will generally be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income. Dividends and distributions are generally taxable to you whether you receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional Shares.

 

Distributions reported by a Fund as “qualified dividend income” are generally taxed to non-corporate shareholders at rates applicable to long-term capital gains, provided certain holding period and other requirements are met. “Qualified dividend income” generally is income derived from dividends paid by U.S. corporations or certain foreign corporations that are either incorporated in a U.S. possession or eligible for tax benefits under certain U.S. income tax treaties. In addition, dividends that a Fund receives in respect of stock of certain foreign corporations may be qualified dividend income if that stock is readily tradable on an established U.S. securities market. Corporate shareholders may be entitled to a dividends-received deduction for the portion of dividends they receive from a Fund that are attributable to dividends received by the Fund from U.S. corporations, subject to certain limitations.

 

Shortly after the close of each calendar year, you will be informed of the character of any distributions received from a Fund.

 

In addition to the federal income tax, certain individuals, trusts, and estates may be subject to a Net Investment Income (“NII”) tax of 3.8%. The NII tax is imposed on the lesser of: (i) a taxpayer’s investment income, net of deductions properly allocable to such income; or (ii) the amount by which such taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross income exceeds certain thresholds ($250,000 for married individuals filing jointly, $200,000 for unmarried individuals and $125,000 for married individuals filing separately). A Fund’s distributions are includable in a shareholder’s investment income for purposes of this NII tax. In addition, any capital gain realized by a shareholder upon a sale or redemption of Fund shares is includable in such shareholder’s investment income for purposes of this NII tax.

 

In general, your distributions are subject to federal income tax for the year in which they are paid. Certain distributions paid in January, however, may be treated as paid on December 31 of the prior year. Distributions are generally taxable even if they are paid from income or gains earned by a Fund before your investment (and thus were included in the Shares’ NAV when you purchased your Shares).

 

You may wish to avoid investing in a Fund shortly before a dividend or other distribution, because such a distribution will generally be taxable to you even though it may economically represent a return of a portion of your investment.

 

If you are neither a resident nor a citizen of the United States or if you are a foreign entity, distributions (other than Capital Gain Dividends) paid to you by a Fund will generally be subject to a U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30%, unless a lower treaty rate applies. A Fund may, under certain circumstances, report all or a portion of a dividend as an “interest-related dividend” or a “short-term capital gain dividend,” which would generally be exempt from this 30% U.S. withholding tax, provided certain other requirements are met.

 

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Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”), a Fund may be required to withhold a generally nonrefundable 30% tax on (i) distributions of investment company taxable income and (ii) distributions of net capital gain and the gross proceeds of a sale or redemption of Fund shares paid to (A) certain “foreign financial institutions” unless such foreign financial institution agrees to verify, monitor, and report to the IRS the identity of certain of its account-holders, among other items (or unless such entity is otherwise deemed compliant under the terms of an intergovernmental agreement between the United States and the foreign financial institution’s country of residence), and (B) certain “non-financial foreign entities” unless such entity certifies to the Fund that it does not have any substantial U.S. owners or provides the name, address, and taxpayer identification number of each substantial U.S. owner, among other items. In December 2018, the IRS and Treasury Department released proposed Treasury Regulations that would eliminate FATCA withholding on Fund distributions of net capital gain and the gross proceeds from a sale or redemption of Fund shares. Although taxpayers are entitled to rely on these proposed Treasury Regulations until final Treasury Regulations are issued, these proposed Treasury Regulations have not been finalized, may not be finalized in their proposed form, and are potentially subject to change. This FATCA withholding tax could also affect a Fund’s return on its investments in foreign securities or affect a shareholder’s return if the shareholder holds its Fund shares through a foreign intermediary. You are urged to consult your tax adviser regarding the application of this FATCA withholding tax to your investment in a Fund and the potential certification, compliance, due diligence, reporting, and withholding obligations to which you may become subject in order to avoid this withholding tax.

 

Each Fund (or a financial intermediary, such as a broker, through which a shareholder owns Shares) generally is required to withhold and remit to the U.S. Treasury a percentage of the taxable distributions and sale or redemption proceeds paid to any shareholder who fails to properly furnish a correct taxpayer identification number, who has underreported dividend or interest income, or who fails to certify that they are not subject to such withholding.

 

Taxes When Shares are Sold on the Exchange

 

Any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Shares generally is treated as a long-term capital gain or loss if Shares have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if Shares have been held for one year or less. However, any capital loss on a sale of Shares held for six months or less is treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of Capital Gain Dividends paid with respect to such Shares. Any loss realized on a sale will be disallowed to the extent Shares of a Fund are acquired, including through reinvestment of dividends, within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the sale of substantially identical Shares.

 

Taxes on Purchases and Redemptions of Creation Units

 

An AP having the U.S. dollar as its functional currency for U.S. federal income tax purposes who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally recognizes a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the value of the Creation Units at the time of the exchange and the exchanging AP’s aggregate basis in the securities delivered plus the amount of any cash paid for the Creation Units. An AP who exchanges Creation Units for securities will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanging AP’s basis in the Creation Units and the aggregate U.S. dollar market value of the securities received, plus any cash received for such Creation Units. The IRS may assert, however, that a loss that is realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units may not be currently deducted under the rules governing “wash sales” (for an AP who does not mark-to-market their holdings) or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position. Persons exchanging securities should consult their own tax advisor with respect to whether wash sale rules apply and when a loss might be deductible.

 

Any capital gain or loss realized upon redemption of Creation Units is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if Shares comprising the Creation Units have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if such Shares have been held for one year or less.

 

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

 

Taxation of REIT Investments

 

The Global REIT ETF will invest in REITs. The Tax Act treats “qualified REIT dividends” (i.e., ordinary REIT dividends other than capital gain dividends and portions of REIT dividends designated as qualified dividend income eligible for capital gain tax rates) as eligible for a 20% deduction by non-corporate taxpayers. In general, qualified REIT dividends that an investor receives directly from a REIT are automatically eligible for the 20% qualified business income deduction. The IRS has issued final Treasury Regulations that permit a dividend or part of a dividend paid by a RIC and reported as a “section 199A dividend” to be treated by the recipient as a qualified REIT dividend for purposes of the 20% qualified business income deduction, if certain holding period and other requirements have been satisfied by the recipient with respect to its Fund shares.

 

35 

 

Foreign Investments by a Fund

 

Interest and other income received by a Fund with respect to foreign securities may give rise to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries. Tax treaties or conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes. If as of the close of a taxable year more than 50% of the value of a Fund’s assets consists of certain foreign stock or securities, such Fund will be eligible to elect to “pass through” to investors the amount of foreign income and similar taxes paid by such Fund during that taxable year. This means that investors would be considered to have received as additional income their respective shares of such foreign taxes, but may be entitled to either a corresponding tax deduction in calculating taxable income, or, subject to certain limitations, a credit in calculating federal income tax. If a Fund does not so elect, such Fund will be entitled to claim a deduction for certain foreign taxes incurred by such Fund. A Fund (or its administrative agent) will notify you if it makes such an election and provide you with the information necessary to reflect foreign taxes paid on your income tax return.

 

The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the possible consequences under current federal tax law of an investment in each Fund. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. You also may be subject to foreign, state and local tax on Fund distributions and sales of Shares. Consult your personal tax advisor about the potential tax consequences of an investment in Shares under all applicable tax laws. For more information, please see the section entitled “Federal Income Taxes” in the SAI.

 

DISTRIBUTION

 

Foreside Fund Services, LLC (the “Distributor”), the Funds’ distributor, is a broker-dealer registered with the SEC. The Distributor distributes Creation Units for the Funds on an agency basis and does not maintain a secondary market in Shares. The Distributor has no role in determining the policies of the Funds or the securities that are purchased or sold by the Funds. The Distributor’s principal address is Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101.

 

The Board has adopted a Distribution (Rule 12b-1) Plan (the “Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. In accordance with the Plan, each Fund is authorized to pay an amount up to 0.25% of its average daily net assets each year to pay distribution fees for the sale and distribution of its Shares.

 

No Rule 12b-1 fees are currently paid by the Funds, and there are no plans to impose these fees. However, in the event Rule 12b-1 fees are charged in the future, because the fees are paid out of Fund assets on an ongoing basis, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than certain other types of sales charges.

 

PREMIUM/DISCOUNT INFORMATION

 

Information regarding how often Shares of a Fund traded on the Exchange at a price above (i.e., at a premium) or below (i.e., at a discount) the NAV of the applicable Fund can be found on the Funds’ website at www.sp-funds.com.

 

ADDITIONAL NOTICES

 

Shares are not sponsored, endorsed, or promoted by the Exchange. The Exchange is not responsible for, nor has it participated in the determination of, the timing, prices, or quantities of Shares to be issued, nor in the determination or calculation of the equation by which Shares are redeemable. The Exchange has no obligation or liability to owners of Shares in connection with the administration, marketing, or trading of Shares.

 

Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall the Exchange have any liability for any lost profits or indirect, punitive, special, or consequential damages even if notified of the possibility thereof.

 

The Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, and each Fund make no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of Shares or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Funds particularly.

 

Delaware law permits the governing documents of a statutory trust to expand, restrict or eliminate the fiduciary duties that trustees, shareholders or other persons might otherwise be subject to, and replace them with the standards set forth in the Trust’s governing documents.

 

The Trust’s Declaration of Trust provides that the Trustees shall not be subject to fiduciary duties except as set forth in the Declaration of Trust. The foregoing relates specifically to Delaware laws. Nothing in the Declaration of Trust modifying, restricting or eliminating the duties or liabilities of trustees shall apply to, or in any way limit, the duties (including state law fiduciary duties of loyalty and care) or liabilities of such persons with respect to matters arising under the federal securities laws.

 

36 

 

Each Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, a division of S&P Global, or its affiliates (“SPDJI”), and has been licensed for use by the Adviser. Standard & Poor’s®, S&P®, and S&P 500® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“S&P”); Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”); and these trademarks have been licensed for use by SPDJI and sublicensed for certain purposes by the Adviser. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. The Funds are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones, S&P, any of their respective affiliates (collectively, “S&P Dow Jones Indices”). S&P Dow Jones Indices makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Funds or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Funds particularly. Past performance of an index is not an indication or guarantee of future results. S&P Dow Jones Indices’ only relationship to the Adviser with respect to each Index is the licensing of each Index and certain trademarks, service marks and/or trade names of S&P Dow Jones Indices and/or its licensors. Each Index is determined, composed and calculated by S&P Dow Jones Indices without regard to the Adviser or the Funds. S&P Dow Jones Indices has no obligation to take the needs of the Adviser or the owners of the Funds into consideration in determining, composing or calculating each Index. S&P Dow Jones Indices is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the prices, and amount of shares of the Funds or the timing of the issuance or sale of shares of the Funds or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which shares of the Funds are to be converted into cash, surrendered or redeemed, as the case may be. S&P Dow Jones Indices has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Funds. There is no assurance that investment products based on each Index will accurately track index performance or provide positive investment returns. S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC is not an investment or tax advisor. A tax advisor should be consulted to evaluate the impact of any tax-exempt securities on portfolios and the tax consequences of making any particular investment decision. Inclusion of a security within an index is not a recommendation by S&P Dow Jones Indices to buy, sell, or hold such security, nor is it considered to be investment advice.

 

S&P DOW JONES INDICES DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ADEQUACY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF EACH INDEX OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO OR ANY COMMUNICATION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ORAL OR WRITTEN COMMUNICATION (INCLUDING ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS) WITH RESPECT THERETO. S&P DOW JONES INDICES SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO ANY DAMAGES OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR DELAYS THEREIN. S&P DOW JONES INDICES MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE OR AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY THE ADVISER, OWNERS OF THE FUNDS, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF EACH INDEX OR WITH RESPECT TO ANY DATA RELATED THERETO. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT WHATSOEVER SHALL S&P DOW JONES INDICES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF PROFITS, TRADING LOSSES, LOST TIME OR GOODWILL, EVEN IF THEY HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. THERE ARE NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN S&P DOW JONES INDICES AND THE ADVISER, OTHER THAN THE LICENSORS OF S&P DOW JONES INDICES.

 

37 

 

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

 

The Financial Highlights table is intended to help you understand each Fund’s performance for the fiscal year/period shown. Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund share. The total returns in the table represents the rate that an investor would have earned on an investment in a Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been audited by Tait, Weller & Baker LLP, the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the Funds’ financial statements, is included in the Funds’ annual report, which is available upon request.

 

Sharia ETF

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS For a capital share outstanding throughout the period

 

    Year Ended
November 30,
2022
  Year Ended
November 30,
2021
  Period Ended
November 30,
2020 (1)
 
                     
Net asset value, beginning of year/period   $ 32.48    $ 24.26    $ 20.00   
                     
Income from Investment Operations:                    
Net investment income (loss) (2)     0.25     0.17     0.22  
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments     (4.83 )   8.36      4.25  
Total from investment operations     (4.58 )   8.53      4.47  
                     
Less Distributions:                    
From net investment income     (0.25 )   (0.18 )   (0.21 )
From long-term capital gains     (0.07 )   (0.13 )    
From return of capital     (0.09 )        
Total distributions     (0.41 )   (0.31 )   (0.21 )
                     
Net asset value, end of year/period   $ 27.49    $ 32.48    $ 24.26   
Total return (4)     (14.17 )%   35.40 %   22.58 %(3) 
                     
Ratios / Supplemental Data:                    
Net assets, end of year/period (millions)   $ 174.5    $ 123.4    $ 38.8   
Portfolio turnover rate     4 %   18 %   46 %(3) 
Ratio of expenses to average net assets     0.49 %   0.49 %   0.49 %(5) 
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets     0.89 %   0.60 %   1.06 %(5) 

 

(1)  The Fund commenced operations on December 17, 2019. The information presented is from December 17, 2019 to November 30, 2020.

 

(2)  Calculated using average shares outstanding method.

 

(3)  Not annualized.

 

(4)  The total return is based on the Fund’s net asset value.

 

(5)  Annualized.

 

38 

 

Sukuk ETF

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS For a capital share outstanding throughout the period

 

    Year Ended
November 30,
2022
  Year Ended
November 30,
2021
  Period Ended
November 30,
2020 (1)
 
                     
Net asset value, beginning of year/period   $ 19.76    $ 20.41    $ 20.00   
                     
Income from Investment Operations:                    
Net investment income (loss) (2)     0.35      0.27     0.30  
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments     (2.09 )   (0.42 )   0.39  
Total from investment operations     (1.74 )   (0.15 )   0.69  
                     
Less Distributions:                    
From net investment income     (0.36 )   (0.26 )   (0.28 )
From return of capital     (0.09 )   (0.24 )    
Total distributions     (0.45 )   (0.50 )   (0.28 )
                     
Net asset value, end of year/period   $ 17.57    $ 19.76    $ 20.41   
Total return (4)     (8.92 )%   (0.73 )%   3.48 %(3)(5) 
                     
Ratios / Supplemental Data:                    
Net assets, end of year/period (millions)   $ 65.4    $ 37.5    $ 31.1   
Portfolio turnover rate     9 %   28 %   15 %(3) 
Ratio of expenses to average net assets     0.59 %   0.65 %(7)    0.65 %(6) 
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets     1.91 %   1.32 %   1.61 %(6) 

 

(1)  The Fund commenced operations on December 27, 2019. The information presented is from December 27, 2019 to November 30, 2020.

 

(2)  Calculated using average shares outstanding method.

 

(3)  Not annualized.

 

(4)  The total return is based on each Fund’s net asset value.

 

(5)  Net increase from payments by affiliates on the disposal of investments due to trade error added 0.11% to this return.

 

(6)  Annualized.

 

(7)  Effective November 30, 2021, the Fund’s management fee was reduced from 0.65% to 0.59%.

 

39 

 

 

Global REIT ETF

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS For a capital share outstanding throughout the period

 

    Year Ended
November 30, 2022
  Period Ended
November 30, 2021(1)
 
               
Net asset value, beginning of year/period   $ 25.63    $ 20.00   
               
Income from Investment Operations:              
Net investment income (loss) (2)      0.36      0.26  
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments     (4.99 )   6.04  
Total from investment operations     (4.63 )   6.30  
               
Less Distributions:              
From net investment income     (0.38 )   (0.29 )
From long-term capital gains         (0.15 )
From return of capital     (0.49 )   (0.23 )
Total distributions     (0.87 )   (0.67 )
               
Net asset value, end of year/period   $ 20.13    $ 25.63   
Total return (4)      (18.39 )%   31.98 %(3) 
               
Ratios / Supplemental Data:              
Net assets, end of year/period (millions)   $ 39.3    $ 23.1   
Portfolio turnover rate     50 %   79 %(3) 
Ratio of expenses to average net assets (5)      0.69 %   0.69 %
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets (5)      1.59 %   1.19 %

 

(1)  The Fund commenced operations on December 29, 2020. The information presented is from December 29, 2020 to November 30, 2021.

 

(2)  Calculated using average shares outstanding method.

 

(3)  Not annualized.

 

(4)  The total return is based on each Fund’s net asset value..

 

(5)  Annualized.

 

40 

 

SP Funds S&P 500 Sharia Industry Exclusions ETF
SP Funds Dow Jones Global Sukuk ETF

SP Funds S&P Global REIT Sharia ETF

 

Adviser Toroso Investments, LLC
898 N. Broadway, Suite 2
Massapequa, New York 11758
Administrator

Tidal ETF Services LLC

234 West Florida Street, Suite 203

Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53204

Sub-Adviser

ShariaPortfolio, Inc.

1331 International Pkwy

Suite 2291

Lake Mary, Florida 32746

Distributor

Foreside Fund Services, LLC

Three Canal Plaza

Suite 100

Portland, Maine 04101

Custodian U.S. Bank National Association
1555 N. Rivercenter Dr.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212
Independent
Registered Public
Accounting Firm

Tait, Weller & Baker LLP

Two Liberty Place

50 S. 16th Street

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102

Sub-Administrator,
Fund Accountant,
and Transfer Agent
U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC
615 East Michigan Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
Legal Counsel

Godfrey & Kahn, S.C.

833 East Michigan Street, Suite 1800

Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202

 

Investors may find more information about the Funds in the following documents:

 

Statement of Additional Information: The Funds’ SAI provides additional details about the investments of the Funds and certain other additional information. A current SAI dated March 30, 2023, as supplemented from time to time, is on file with the SEC and is herein incorporated by reference into this Prospectus. It is legally considered a part of this Prospectus.

 

Annual/Semi-Annual Reports: Additional information about each Fund’s investments is available in the Funds’ annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. In the annual report you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected each Fund’s performance during the prior fiscal year.

 

You can obtain free copies of these documents, request other information or make general inquiries about the Funds by contacting the Funds at ShariaPortfolio, c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, P.O. Box 701, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-0701 or calling 425-409-9500.

 

Shareholder reports and other information about the Funds are also available:

 

Free of charge from the SEC’s EDGAR database on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov; or

Free of charge from the Funds’ Internet website at www.sp-funds.com; or

For a duplicating fee, by e-mail request to [email protected].

 

(SEC Investment Company Act File No. 811-23377)