Summary Prospectus [date]
Ticker: [__________]
Pacer [______]-100 AutoPilot
TM
ETF
Investment Objective
The Pacer [__________]-100 AutoPilot ETF (the “Fund”) is an exchange traded fund that seeks to track the total return performance, before fees and expenses, of the Pacer [______]-100 AutoPilot Index (the “Index”).
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. The fees are expressed as a percentage of the Fund’s average net assets. This table and the Example below do not include the brokerage commissions that investors may pay on their purchases and sales of Fund shares.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
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Management Fees
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0.%
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Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees
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None
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Other Expenses*
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0.00%
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Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses*
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[---]%
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Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
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[---]%
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* Estimated for the current fiscal year.
Example
The following example is intended to help retail investors compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that such investors would incur over various periods if they were to invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of the shares at the end of those periods. This example assumes that the Fund provides a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
1 Year
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3 Years
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[---]
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[---]
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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 Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund
The Fund employs a “passive management” (or indexing) investment approach designed to track the total return performance, before fees and expenses, of the Index. The rules-based Index is based on a proprietary methodology developed by Pacer Advisors, Inc., the Fund’s investment adviser (“Pacer” or the “Adviser”).
The Index
The Fund is designed for investors who seek exposure to the Pacer [__________]-100 Autopilot Index (the “Index”). The Index will move between 100% [__________]-100 Index, 100% three-month U.S. Treasury bills (“T-bills”), or a split of 50% [__________]-100 Index and 50% T-bills based on:
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The [__________]-100 Index 100-day simple moving average (100D SMA),
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·
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A systematic 5 consecutive business day signal, and
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·
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The rate of change (ROC) of the [__________]-100 Index 100D SMA.
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The following rules apply to the Index: [to be provided by amendment]
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When the Index changes exposure, the change will be effective on the second business day following the 5 consecutive business day signal. During certain bear market cycles, the price of the [__________]-100 Index can fall below its 100D SMA for 5 consecutive business days and the ROC can be negative for 5 consecutive business days.
The [__________]-100 Index Description
The [__________]-100 Index includes 100 of the largest domestic and international non-financial securities listed on [__________] based on market capitalization. The [__________]-100 Index reflects companies across major industry groups including computer hardware and software, telecommunications, retail/wholesale trade and biotechnology. It does not contain securities of financial companies including investment companies. The [__________]-100 Index is reconstituted and rebalanced [__________].
The Fund’s Investment Strategy
Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets (exclusive of collateral held from securities lending) will be invested in the component securities of the Index. The 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 will invest in all of the component securities of the Index, but may, when the Adviser believes it is in the best interests of the Fund, 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.
The Fund may also invest up to 20% of its assets in certain index futures, options, options on index futures, swap contracts or other derivatives, as related to the Index and its component securities, cash and cash equivalents, other investment companies, as well as securities and other instruments not included in the Index but which the Adviser believes will help the Fund track the Index.
The Fund may be invested significantly in T-bills for extended periods of time.
The Adviser does not seek to manage the Fund to minimize portfolio turnover.
Industry Concentration Policy
. The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its total assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent that the Index is concentrated. For purposes of their limitation, securities of the U.S. Government (including its agencies and instrumentalities) are not considered to be issued by members of any industry. [As of [__________], the Index was concentrated in the following industry [______________________]. The components of the Index, and the degree to which these components represent certain industries, may changes over time.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
You can lose money on your investment in the Fund. The Fund is subject to the risks summarized below. 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 objectives. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the section in the Fund’s prospectus entitled “Additional Risk Information About the Fund.”
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Concentration Risk.
If the Index concentrates in an industry or group of industries, the Fund’s investments may be concentrated accordingly. In such event, the value of the Fund’s shares may rise and fall more than the value of shares of a fund that invests in securities of companies in a broader range of industries.
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Derivatives Risk.
The Fund may use derivatives in connection with its investment strategies. Derivatives may be riskier than other types of investments because they may be more sensitive to changes in economic or market conditions than other types of investments and could result in losses that significantly exceed the Fund’s original investment. Derivatives are subject to the risk that changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index. The use of derivatives may not be successful, resulting in losses to the Fund, and the cost of such strategies may reduce the Fund’s returns. Certain derivatives also expose the Fund to counterparty risk (the risk that the derivative counterparty will not fulfill its contractual obligations), including credit risk of the derivative counterparty. Certain derivatives are synthetic instruments that regard to such derivatives, the Fund does not have a claim on the reference assets and is subject to enhanced counterparty risk.
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Investing in derivatives will result in a form of leverage. Leverage involves special risks. The Fund may be more volatile than if the Fund had not been leveraged because leverage tends to exaggerate any effect of the increase or decrease in the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities. Registered investment companies are limited in their ability to engage in derivative transactions and are required to identify and earmark assets to provide asset coverage for derivative transactions.
The Fund’s transactions in futures and other derivatives could also affect the amount, timing and character of distributions to shareholders which may result in the Fund realizing more short-term capital gain and ordinary income subject to tax at ordinary income tax rates than it would if it did not engage in such transactions, which may adversely impact the Fund’s after-tax return.
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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 industries, sectors or companies in which the Fund invests. Common stocks are susceptible to general stock market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence in and perceptions of their issuers change.
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Fixed Income Risk.
The value of the Fund’s direct or indirect investments in fixed income securities will fluctuate with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities owned by the Fund. On the other hand, if rates fall, the value of the fixed income securities generally increases. The Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates due to the current period of historically low rates and the effect of potential government fiscal policy initiatives and resulting market reaction to those initiatives. In general, the market price of fixed income securities with longer maturities will increase or decrease more in response to changes in interest rates than shorter-term securities. The value of the Fund’s direct or indirect investments in fixed income securities may be affected by the inability of issuers to repay principal and interest or illiquidity in debt securities markets.
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Foreign Securities Risk.
Investments in foreign issuers and foreign securities (including depositary receipts) are subject to additional risks, including political and economic risks, civil conflicts and war, greater volatility, expropriation and nationalization risks, sanctions or other measures by the United States or other governments, currency fluctuations, higher transaction costs, delayed settlement, possible foreign controls on investment, and less stringent investor protection and disclosure standards of foreign markets. In certain markets where securities and other instruments are not traded “delivery versus payment,” the Fund may not receive timely payment for securities or other instruments it has delivered and may be subject to increased risk that the counterparty will fail to make payments when due or default completely. Events and evolving conditions in certain economies or markets may alter the risks associated with investments tied to countries or regions that historically were perceived as comparatively stable becoming riskier and more volatile.
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Government Obligations Risk.
The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government. There can be no guarantee that the United States will be able to meet its payment obligations with respect to such securities. Additionally, market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government may decline or be negative for short or long periods of time.
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High Portfolio Turnover Risk
. At times, the Fund may have a portfolio turnover rate substantially greater than 100%. A high portfolio turnover rate would result in correspondingly greater transaction expenses, including brokerage commissions, dealer markups and other transaction cost on the sale of securities and on reinvestment in other securities and may result in reduced performance and the distribution to shareholders of additional capital gains for tax purposes. These factors may negatively affect the Fund’s performance.
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Large-Capitalization Investing Risk.
The Fund may invest in the securities of large-capitalization companies. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected if securities of large-capitalization companies underperform securities of smaller-capitalization companies or the market as a whole. 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.
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New Fund Risk.
The Fund is new with no operating history. As a result, there can be no assurance that the Fund will grow to or maintain an economically viable size, in which case it may experience greater tracking error to its Index than it otherwise would at higher asset levels, or it could ultimately liquidate. The Fund’s distributor does not maintain a secondary market in Fund shares.
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Non-Diversification Risk.
Although the Fund intends to invest in a variety of securities and instruments, the Fund will be considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. As a result, the Fund may be more exposed to the risks associated with and developments affecting an individual issuer or a smaller number of issuers than a fund that invests more widely. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
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Other Investment Companies Risk
. The Fund will incur higher and duplicative expenses when it invests in other investment companies such as ETFs. There is also the risk that the Fund may suffer losses due to the investment practices of the underlying funds. When the Fund invests in other investment companies, the Fund will be subject to substantially the same risks as those associated with the direct ownership of securities held by such investment companies.
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Passive Investment Risk.
The Fund is not actively managed and the Adviser would not sell a security due to current or projected underperformance of a security, industry or sector, unless that security is removed from the Index or the selling of shares of that security is otherwise required upon a reconstitution of the Index in accordance with the Index methodology. The Fund invests in securities included in the Index regardless of their investment merits. The Fund does not take defensive positions under any market conditions, including conditions that are adverse to the performance of the Fund.
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Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV
. As with all ETFs, Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of the shares of the Fund will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines.
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Tracking Risk.
The Fund’s return may not track the return of the Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs a number of operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index.
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In addition, when the Fund uses a representative sampling approach, the Fund may not be as well correlated with the return of the Index as when the Fund purchases all of the securities in the Index in the proportions in which they are represented in the Index. To the extent the Fund calculates its NAV based on fair value prices and the value of the Index is based on securities’ closing prices on local foreign markets (i.e., the value of the Index is not based on fair value prices), the Fund’s ability to track the Index may be adversely affected.
To the extent the Fund uses a representative sampling approach, it will hold a smaller number of securities than are in the Index. As a result, an adverse development respecting an issuer of securities held by the Fund could result in a greater decline in the Fund’s net asset value than would be the case if the Fund held all of the securities in the Index. Conversely, a positive development relating to an issuer of securities in the Index that is not held by the Fund could cause the Fund to underperform the Index. To the extent the assets in the Fund are smaller, these risks may be greater.
Fund Performance
The Fund is new and therefore does not have a performance history.
Management
Investment Adviser
Pacer Advisors, Inc. serves as investment adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers
The Fund employs a rules-based, passive investment strategy. The Adviser uses a committee approach to managing the Fund. Joe M. Thomson, Founder and President of the Adviser, has primary responsibility for the day-to-day management of the Fund and has been the lead portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception. Bruce Kavanaugh, [ ] of the Adviser; Sean O’Hara, [ ] of the Adviser; and Michael Mack, Investment Analyst for the Adviser, have also served as Fund portfolio managers since the Fund’s inception.
Buying and Selling Fund Shares
The Fund is an exchange traded fund (“ETF”). This means that shares of the Fund are listed on a national securities exchange, such as __________, and trade at market prices. Most investors will buy and sell shares of the Fund through brokers. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in large blocks of shares (“Creation Units”), which only institutions or large investors who have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor may purchase or redeem. Currently, Creation Units generally consist of _______ shares, though this may change from time to time. 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 that the Fund specifies each day.
Tax Information
Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless your investment is in an IRA or other tax-advantaged retirement account.
Distributions may be taxable upon withdrawal from tax-deferred accounts.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries.
If you purchase the Fund through a broker or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Adviser and its related companies may pay the intermediary for activities related to the marketing and promotion of the Fund. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your sales person to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your sales person or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
Summary Prospectus [date]
Ticker: [_______________]
Pacer US Cap Export Leaders ETF
Investment Objective
The Pacer US Export Leaders ETF (the “Fund”) is an exchange traded fund that seeks to track the total return performance, before fees and expenses, of the Pacer US Export Leaders Index (the “Index”).
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. The fees are expressed as a percentage of the Fund’s average net assets. This table and the Example below do not include the brokerage commissions that investors may pay on their purchases and sales of Fund shares.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
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Management Fees
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0.__%
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Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees
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None
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Other Expenses*
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0.00%
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Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
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0.__%
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* Estimated for the current fiscal year.
The following example is intended to help retail investors compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that such investors would incur over various periods if they were to invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of the shares at the end of those periods. This example assumes that the Fund provides a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
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 Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund
The Fund employs a “passive management” (or indexing) investment approach designed to track the total return performance, before fees and expenses, of the Index. The rules-based Index is based on a proprietary methodology developed by Pacer Advisors, Inc., the Fund’s investment adviser (“Pacer” or the “Adviser”).
The Index
The Fund is designed for investors who seek exposure to the Pacer US Export Leaders Index (the “Index”). The Index seeks to include stocks from the [__________] US Large Mid Cap Index (the “US Large Mid Cap”) based on the quality screens of highest percentage of foreign sales and highest free cash flow yield. The Index uses an objective, rules-based methodology to measure the performance of an equal weight portfolio of approximately 100 large- and mid-capitalization U.S. companies with a high percentage of foreign sales and high free cash flow yield.
The screening process is as follows: [to be filed by amendment]
The Index is reconstituted semi-annually and rebalanced to equal-weight quarterly.
Industry Concentration Policy
. The Fund will concentrate its investments (
i.e.
, hold 25% or more of its total assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent that the Index is concentrated. For purposes of their limitation, securities of the U.S. government (including its agencies and instrumentalities) are not considered to be issued by members of any industry (as of [_________] the index was concentrated in the following industry [___________]. The components of the Index, and the degree to which these components represent certain industries, may change over time.
The Fund’s Investment Strategy
Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets (exclusive of collateral held from securities lending) will be invested in the component securities of the Index. The 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 will invest in all of the component securities of the Index, but may, when the Adviser believes it is in the best interests of the Fund, 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.
The Fund may also invest up to 20% of its assets in certain index futures, options, options on index futures, swap contracts or other derivatives as related to the Index and its component securities, cash and cash equivalents, other investment companies, as well as securities and other instruments not included in the Index but which the Adviser believes will help the Fund track the Index.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
You can lose money on your investment in the Fund. The Fund is subject to the risks described below. 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 Risk Information About the Fund.”
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Concentration Risk.
If the Index concentrates in an industry or group of industries, the Fund’s investments may be concentrated accordingly. In such event, the value of the Fund’s shares may rise and fall more than the value of shares of a fund that invests in securities of companies in a broader range of industries.
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Derivatives Risk.
The Fund may use derivatives in connection with its investment strategies. Derivatives may be riskier than other types of investments because they may be more sensitive to changes in economic or market conditions than other types of investments and could result in losses that significantly exceed the Fund’s original investment. Derivatives are subject to the risk that changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index. The use of derivatives may not be successful, resulting in losses to the Fund, and the cost of such strategies may reduce the Fund’s returns. Certain derivatives also expose the Fund to counterparty risk (the risk that the derivative counterparty will not fulfill its contractual obligations), including credit risk of the derivative counterparty. Certain derivatives are synthetic instruments that regard to such derivatives, the Fund does not have a claim on the reference assets and is subject to enhanced counterparty risk.
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Investing in derivatives will result in a form of leverage. Leverage involves special risks. The Fund may be more volatile than if the Fund had not been leveraged because leverage tends to exaggerate any effect of the increase or decrease in the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities. Registered investment companies are limited in their ability to engage in derivative transactions and are required to identify and earmark assets to provide asset coverage for derivative transactions.
The Fund’s transactions in futures and other derivatives could also affect the amount, timing and character of distributions to shareholders which may result in the Fund realizing more short-term capital gain and ordinary income subject to tax at ordinary income tax rates than it would if it did not engage in such transactions, which may adversely impact the Fund’s after-tax return.
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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 industries, sectors or companies in which the Fund invests. Common stocks are susceptible to general stock market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence in and perceptions of their issuers change.
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Foreign Sales Risk.
The Fund invests in companies that derive a significant portion of their sales to non-U.S. customers. Consequently, investments in such companies may be
subject to risk of loss due to unfavorable changes in currency exchange rates, political, economic or social changes or instability in such non-U.S. countries, events affecting the transportation, shipping or delivery of goods to such customers, and changes in U.S. or foreign laws or regulations affecting exports.
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Government Obligations Risk.
The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government. There can be no guarantee that the United States will be able to meet its payment obligations with respect to such securities. Additionally, market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government may decline or be negative for short or long periods of time.
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Fixed Income Risk.
The value of the Fund’s direct or indirect investments in fixed income securities will fluctuate with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities owned by the Fund. On the other hand, if rates fall, the value of the fixed income securities generally increases. The Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates due to the current period of historically low rates and the effect of potential government fiscal policy initiatives and resulting market reaction to those initiatives. In general, the market price of fixed income securities with longer maturities will increase or decrease more in response to changes in interest rates than shorter-term securities. The value of the Fund’s direct or indirect investments in fixed income securities may be affected by the inability of issuers to repay principal and interest or illiquidity in debt securities markets.
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Large-Capitalization Investing Risk.
The Fund may invest in the securities of large-capitalization companies. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected if securities of large-capitalization companies underperform securities of smaller-capitalization companies or the market as a whole. 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.
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Mid-Capitalization Investing Risk.
The Fund may invest in the securities of mid-capitalization companies. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected if securities of mid-capitalization companies underperform securities of other capitalization ranges or the market as a whole. Securities of smaller companies trade in smaller volumes and are often more vulnerable to market volatility than securities of larger companies.
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New Fund Risk.
The Fund is new with no operating history. As a result, there can be no assurance that the Fund will grow to maintain an economically viable size, in which case it may experience greater tracking error to its Index than it otherwise would at higher asset levels, or it could ultimately liquidate. The Fund’s distributor does not maintain a secondary market in Fund shares.
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Non-Diversification Risk.
Although the Fund intends to invest in a variety of securities and instruments, the Fund will be considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. As a result, the Fund may be more exposed to the risks associated with and developments affecting an individual issuer or a smaller number of issuers than a fund that invests more widely. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
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Other Investment Companies Risk
. The Fund will incur higher and duplicative expenses when it invests in other investment companies such as ETFs. There is also the risk that the Fund may suffer losses due to the investment practices of the underlying funds. When the Fund invests in other investment companies, the Fund will be subject to substantially the same risks as those associated with the direct ownership of securities held by such investment companies.
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Passive Investment Risk.
The Fund is not actively managed and the Adviser would not sell a security due to current or projected underperformance of a security, industry or sector, unless that security is removed from the Index or the selling of shares of that security is otherwise required upon a reconstitution of the Index in accordance with the Index methodology. The Fund invests in securities included in the Index, regardless of their investment merits. The Fund does not take defensive positions under any market conditions, including conditions that are adverse to the performance of the Fund.
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Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV
. As with all ETFs, Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of the shares of the Fund will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines.
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Tracking Risk.
The Fund’s return may not track the return of the Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs a number of operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index.
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In addition, when the Fund uses a representative sampling approach, the Fund may not be as well correlated with the return of the Index as when the Fund purchases all of the securities in the Index in the proportions in which they are represented in the Index. To the extent the Fund calculates its NAV based on fair value prices and the value of the Index is based on securities’ closing prices on local foreign markets (i.e., the value of the Index is not based on fair value prices), the Fund’s ability to track the Index may be adversely affected.
To the extent the Fund uses a representative sampling approach, it will hold a smaller number of securities than are in the Index. As a result, an adverse development respecting an issuer of securities held by the Fund could result in a greater decline in the Fund’s net asset value than would be the case if the Fund held all of the securities in the Index. Conversely, a positive development relating to an issuer of securities in the Index that is not held by the Fund could cause the Fund to underperform the Index. To the extent the assets in the Fund are smaller, these risks may be greater.
Fund Performance
The Fund is new and therefore does not have a performance history.
Management
Investment Adviser
Pacer Advisors, Inc. serves as investment adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers
The Fund employs a rules-based, passive investment strategy. The Adviser uses a committee approach to managing the Fund. Joe M. Thomson, Founder and President of the Adviser, has primary responsibility for the day-to-day management of the Fund and has been the lead portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception. Bruce Kavanaugh, [ ] of the Adviser; Sean O’Hara, [ ] of the Adviser; and Michael Mack, Investment Analyst for the Adviser, have also served as Fund portfolio managers since the Fund’s inception.
Buying and Selling Fund Shares
The Fund is an exchange traded fund (“ETF”). This means that shares of the Fund are listed on a national securities exchange, such as __________, and trade at market prices. Most investors will buy and sell shares of the Fund through brokers. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in large blocks of shares (“Creation Units”), which only institutions or large investors who have entered into agreements with the fund’s distributor may purchase or redeem. Currently, Creation Units generally consist of ______ shares, though this may change from time to time. 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 that the Fund specifies each day.
Tax Information
Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless your investment is in an IRA or other tax-advantaged retirement account. Distributions may be taxable upon withdrawal from tax-deferred accounts.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries.
If you purchase the Fund through a broker or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Adviser and its related companies may pay the intermediary for activities related to the marketing and promotion of the Fund. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your sales person to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your sales person or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
Summary Prospectus [date]
Ticker: [___________]
Pacer US Mid Cap Autopilot
TM
ETF
Investment Objective
The Pacer Mid Cap Autopilot ETF (the “Fund”) is an exchange traded fund that seeks to track the total return performance, before fees and expenses, of the Pacer US Mid Cap AutoPilot Index (the “Index”).
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. The fees are expressed as a percentage of the Fund’s average net assets. This table and the Example below do not include the brokerage commissions that investors may pay on their purchases and sales of Fund shares.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
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Management Fees
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[---]%
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Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees
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None
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Other Expenses*
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0.00%
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Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses*
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[---]%
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Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
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[---]%
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* Estimated for the current fiscal year.
Example
The following example is intended to help retail investors compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that such investors would incur over various periods if they were to invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of the shares at the end of those periods. This example assumes that the Fund provides a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
1 Year
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3 Years
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[---]
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[---]
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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 Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund
The Fund employs a “passive management” (or indexing) investment approach designed to track the total return performance, before fees and expenses, of the Index.
The Index
The Fund is designed for investors who seek exposure to the Pacer US Mid Cap Autopilot Index (the “Index”). The Index will move between 100% Pacer Mid Cap Total Return Index (“Pacer Mid Cap TR”), 100% three-month U.S. Treasury bills (“T-bills”), or a split of 50% Pacer Mid Cap TR and 50% T-bills based on:
·
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the Pacer Mid Cap TR 200-day simple moving average (200D SMA),
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·
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a systematic 5 consecutive business day signal, and
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·
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the rate of change (ROC) of the Pacer Mid Cap TR 200D SMA
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The following rules apply to the Index: [to be filed by amendment]
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When the Index changes exposure, the change will be effective on the second business day following the 5 consecutive business day signal. During certain bear market cycles, the price of the Pacer Mid Cap TR can fall below its 200D SMA for 5 consecutive business days and the ROC can be negative for 5 consecutive business days.
The Pacer Mid Cap TR Description
The Pacer Mid Cap TR an unmanaged index that was created by Pacer Index Company (“PIC”) and generally consists of the common stock of 400 mid-sized companies measured by market capitalization that have their headquarters in the U.S. and the stock of which trades on U.S. exchanges. The Pacer Mid Cap TR may include less than 400 stocks depending on the number of companies meeting its criteria. Pacer Mid Cap TR is reconstituted every March and September and is adjusted to limit exposure to any particular sector to 25%.
The Fund’s Investment Strategy
Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets (exclusive of collateral held from securities lending) will be invested in the component securities of the Index. The 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 will invest in all of the component securities of the Index, but may, when the Adviser believes it is in the best interests of the Fund, 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.
The Fund may also invest up to 20% of its assets in certain index futures, options, options on index futures, swap contracts or other derivatives, as related to the Index and its component securities, cash and cash equivalents, other investment companies, as well as securities and other instruments not included in the Index but which the Adviser believes will help the Fund track the Index.
The Fund may be invested significantly in T-bills for extended periods of time.
The Adviser does not seek to manage the Fund to minimize portfolio turnover.
Industry Concentration Policy
. The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its total assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent that the Index is concentrated. For purposes of their limitation, securities of the U.S. government (including its agencies and instrumentalities) are not considered to be issued by members of any industry. [As of [__________], the Index was concentrated in the following industry [______________________]. The components of the Index, and the degree to which these components represent certain industries, may changes over time.
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
You can lose money on your investment in the Fund. The Fund is subject to the risks summarized below. 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 objectives. For more information about risks of investing in the Fund, See the section in the Fund’s prospectus entitled “Additional Risk Information About the Fund.”
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Concentration Risk.
If the Index concentrates in an industry or group of industries, the Fund’s investments may be concentrated accordingly. In such event, the value of the Fund’s shares may rise and fall more than the value of shares of a Fund that invests in securities of companies in a broader range of industries.
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Derivatives Risk.
The Fund may use derivatives in connection with its investment strategies. Derivatives may be riskier than other types of investments because they may be more sensitive to changes in economic or market conditions than other types of investments and could result in losses that significantly exceed the Fund’s original investment. Derivatives are subject to the risk that changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index. The use of derivatives may not be successful, resulting in losses to the Fund, and the cost of such strategies may reduce the Fund’s returns. Certain derivatives also expose the Fund to counterparty risk (the risk that the derivative counterparty will not fulfill its contractual obligations), including credit risk of the derivative counterparty. Certain derivatives are synthetic instruments that regard to such derivatives, the Fund does not have a claim on the reference assets and is subject to enhanced counterparty risk.
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Investing in derivatives will result in a form of leverage. Leverage involves special risks. The Fund may be more volatile than if the Fund had not been leveraged because leverage tends to exaggerate any effect of the increase or decrease in the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities. Registered investment companies are limited in their ability to engage in derivative transactions and are required to identify and earmark assets to provide asset coverage for derivative transactions.
The Fund’s transactions in futures and other derivatives could also affect the amount, timing and character of distributions to shareholders which may result in the Fund realizing more short-term capital gain and ordinary income subject to tax at ordinary income tax rates than it would if it did not engage in such transactions, which may adversely impact the Fund’s after-tax return.
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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 industries, sectors or companies in which the Fund invests. Common stocks are susceptible to general stock market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence in and perceptions of their issuers change.
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Fixed Income Risk.
The value of the Fund’s direct or indirect investments in fixed income securities will fluctuate with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities owned by the Fund. On the other hand, if rates fall, the value of the fixed income securities generally increases. The Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates due to the current period of historically low rates and the effect of potential government fiscal policy initiatives and resulting market reaction to those initiatives. In general, the market price of fixed income securities with longer maturities will increase or decrease more in response to changes in interest rates than shorter-term securities. The value of the Fund’s direct or indirect investments in fixed income securities may be affected by the inability of issuers to repay principal and interest or illiquidity in debt securities markets.
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Government Obligations Risk.
The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government. There can be no guarantee that the United States will be able to meet its payment obligations with respect to such securities. Additionally, market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government may decline or be negative for short or long periods of time.
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High Portfolio Turnover Risk
. At times, the Fund may have a portfolio turnover rate substantially greater than 100%. A high portfolio turnover rate would result in correspondingly greater brokerage commission expenses and may result in the distribution to shareholders of additional capital gains for tax purposes. These factors may negatively affect the Fund’s performance.
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Mid-Capitalization Investing Risk.
The Fund may invest in the securities of mid-capitalization companies. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected if securities of mid-capitalization companies underperform securities of other capitalization ranges or the market as a whole. Securities of smaller companies trade in smaller volumes and are often more vulnerable to market volatility than securities of larger companies.
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New Fund Risk.
The Fund is new with no operating history. As a result, there can be no assurance that the Fund will grow to or maintain an economically viable size, in which case it may experience greater tracking error to its Index than it otherwise would at higher asset levels, or it could ultimately liquidate. The Fund’s distributor does not maintain a secondary market in Fund shares.
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Non-Diversification Risk.
Although the Fund intends to invest in a variety of securities and instruments, the Fund will be considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. As a result, the Fund may be more exposed to the risks associated with and developments affecting an individual issuer or a smaller number of issuers than a fund that invests more widely. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
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Other Investment Companies Risk
. The Fund will incur higher and duplicative expenses when it invests in other investment companies such as ETFs. There is also the risk that the Fund may suffer losses due to the investment practices of the underlying funds. When the Fund invests in other investment companies, the Fund will be subject to substantially the same risks as those associated with the direct ownership of securities held by such investment companies.
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Passive Investment Risk.
The Fund is not actively managed and the Adviser would not sell a security due to current or projected underperformance of a security, industry or sector, unless that security is removed from the Index or the selling of shares of that security is otherwise required upon a reconstitution of the Index in accordance with the Index methodology. The Fund invests in securities included in the Index regardless of their investment merits. The Fund does not take defensive positions under any market conditions, including conditions that are adverse to the performance of the Fund.
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Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV
. As with all ETFs, Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of the shares of the Fund will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines.
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Tracking Risk.
The Fund’s return may not track the return of the Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs a number of operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index.
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In addition, when the Fund uses a representative sampling approach, the Fund may not be as well correlated with the return of the Index as when the Fund purchases all of the securities in the Index in the proportions in which they are represented in the Index. To the extent the Fund calculates its NAV based on fair value prices and the value of the Index is based on securities’ closing prices on local foreign markets (i.e., the value of the Index is not based on fair value prices), the Fund’s ability to track the Index may be adversely affected.
To the extent the Fund uses a representative sampling approach, it will hold a smaller number of securities than are in the Index. As a result, an adverse development respecting an issuer of securities held by the Fund could result in a greater decline in the Fund’s net asset value than would be the case if the Fund held all of the securities in the Index. Conversely, a positive development relating to an issuer of securities in the Index that is not held by the Fund could cause the Fund to underperform the Index. To the extent the assets in the Fund are smaller, these risks may be greater.
Fund Performance
The Fund is new and therefore does not have a performance history.
Management
Investment Adviser
Pacer Advisors, Inc. serves as investment adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers
The Fund employs a rules-based, passive investment strategy. The Adviser uses a committee approach to managing the Fund. Joe M. Thomson, Founder and President of the Adviser, has primary responsibility for the day-to-day management of the Fund and has been the lead portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception. Bruce Kavanaugh, [ ] of the Adviser; Sean O’Hara, [ ] of the Adviser; and Michael Mack, Investment Analyst for the Adviser, have also served as Fund portfolio managers since the Fund’s inception.
Buying and Selling Fund Shares
The Fund is an ETF. This means that shares of the Fund are listed on a national securities exchange, such as __________, and trade at market prices. Most investors will buy and sell shares of the Fund through brokers. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in large blocks of shares (“Creation Units”), which only institutions or large investors may purchase or redeem. Currently, Creation Units generally consist of [ ] shares, though this may change from time to time. 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 that the Fund specifies each day.
Tax Information
Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless your investment is in an IRA or other tax-advantaged retirement account.
Distributions may be taxable upon withdrawal from tax-deferred accounts.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries.
If you purchase the Fund through a broker or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Adviser and its related companies may pay the intermediary for activities related to the marketing and promotion of the Fund. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your sales person to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your sales person or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
Summary Prospectus [date]
Ticker: [___________]
Pacer US Large Cap Autopilot
TM
ETF
Investment Objective
The Pacer Large Cap Autopilot ETF (the “Fund”) is an exchange traded fund that seeks to track the total return performance, before fees and expenses, of the Pacer US Large Cap AutoPilot Index (the “Index”).
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. The fees are expressed as a percentage of the Fund’s average net assets. This table and the Example below do not include the brokerage commissions that investors may pay on their purchases and sales of Fund shares.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
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Management Fees
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[---]%
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Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees
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None
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Other Expenses*
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0.00%
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Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses*
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[---]%
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Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
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[---]%
|
* Estimated for the current fiscal year.
Example
The following example is intended to help retail investors compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that such investors would incur over various periods if they were to invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of the shares at the end of those periods. This example assumes that the Fund provides a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
1 Year
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3 Years
|
[---]
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[---]
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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 Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund
The Fund employs a “passive management” (or indexing) investment approach designed to track the total return performance, before fees and expenses, of the Index. The rules-based Index is based on a proprietary methodology developed by Pacer Advisors, Inc., the Fund’s investment adviser (“Pacer” or the “Adviser”).
The Index
The Fund is designed for investors who seek exposure to the Pacer US Large Cap Autopilot Index (the “Index”). The Index will move between 100% Pacer Large Cap Total Return Index (“Pacer Large Cap TR”), 100% three-month U.S. Treasury bills (“T-bills”), or a split of 50% Pacer Large Cap TR and 50% T-bills based on:
·
|
the Pacer Large Cap TR 200-day simple moving average (200D SMA),
|
·
|
a systematic 5 consecutive business day signal, and
|
·
|
the rate of change (ROC) of the Pacer Large Cap TR 200D SMA.
|
The following rules apply to the Index: [to be filed by amendment]
|
When the Index changes exposure, the change will be effective on the second business day following the 5 consecutive business day signal. During certain bear market cycles, the price of the Pacer Large Cap TR can fall below its 200D SMA for 5 consecutive business days and the ROC can be negative for 5 consecutive business days.
The Pacer Large Cap TR Description
The Pacer Large Cap TR is an unmanaged index that was created by Pacer Index Company (“PIC”) and generally consists of the common stock of the 500 largest companies by market capitalization that have their headquarters in the U.S. and the stock of which trades on U.S. exchanges. The Pacer Large Cap TR may include less than 500 stocks depending on the number of companies meeting its criteria. The Pacer Large Cap TR is reconstituted every March and September and is adjusted to limiting exposure to any particular sector to 25%.
The Fund’s Investment Strategy
Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets (exclusive of collateral held from securities lending) will be invested in the component securities of the Index. The 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 will invest in all of the component securities of the Index, but may, when the Adviser believes it is in the best interests of the Fund, 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.
The Fund may also invest up to 20% of its assets in certain index futures, options, options on index futures, swap contracts or other derivatives, as related to the Index and its component securities, cash and cash equivalents, other investment companies, as well as securities and other instruments not included in the Index but which the Adviser believes will help the Fund track the Index.
The Fund may be invested significantly in T-bills for extended periods of time.
The Adviser does not seek to manage the Fund to minimize portfolio turnover.
Industry Concentration Policy
. The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its total assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent that the Index is concentrated. For purposes of their limitation, securities of the U.S. Government (including its agencies and instrumentalities) are not considered to be issued by members of any industry. [As of [__________], the Index was concentrated in the following industry [______________________]. The components of the Index, and the degree to which these components represent certain industries, may changes over time. [Will this apply if you are limiting concentration?]
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
You can lose money on your investment in the Fund. The Fund is subject to the risks summarized below. 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 objectives. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the section in the Fund’s prospectus entitled “Additional Risk Information about the Fund.”
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Concentration Risk.
If the Index concentrates in an industry or group of industries, the Fund’s investments may be concentrated accordingly. In such event, the value of the Fund’s shares may rise and fall more than the value of shares of a Fund that invests in securities of companies in a broader range of industries.
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Derivatives Risk.
The Fund may use derivatives in connection with its investment strategies. Derivatives may be riskier than other types of investments because they may be more sensitive to changes in economic or market conditions than other types of investments and could result in losses that significantly exceed the Fund’s original investment. Derivatives are subject to the risk that changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index. The use of derivatives may not be successful, resulting in losses to the Fund, and the cost of such strategies may reduce the Fund’s returns. Certain derivatives also expose the Fund to counterparty risk (the risk that the derivative counterparty will not fulfill its contractual obligations), including credit risk of the derivative counterparty. Certain derivatives are synthetic instruments that regard to such derivatives, the Fund does not have a claim on the reference assets and is subject to enhanced counterparty risk.
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Investing in derivatives will result in a form of leverage. Leverage involves special risks. The Fund may be more volatile than if the Fund had not been leveraged because leverage tends to exaggerate any effect of the increase or decrease in the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities. Registered investment companies are limited in their ability to engage in derivative transactions and are required to identify and earmark assets to provide asset coverage for derivative transactions.
The Fund’s transactions in futures and other derivatives could also affect the amount, timing and character of distributions to shareholders which may result in the Fund realizing more short-term capital gain and ordinary income subject to tax at ordinary income tax rates than it would if it did not engage in such transactions, which may adversely impact the Fund’s after-tax return.
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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 industries, sectors or companies in which the Fund invests. Common stocks are susceptible to general stock market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence in and perceptions of their issuers change.
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Fixed Income Risk.
The value of the Fund’s direct or indirect investments in fixed income securities will fluctuate with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities owned by the Fund. On the other hand, if rates fall, the value of the fixed income securities generally increases. The Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates due to the current period of historically low rates and the effect of potential government fiscal policy initiatives and resulting market reaction to those initiatives. In general, the market price of fixed income securities with longer maturities will increase or decrease more in response to changes in interest rates than shorter-term securities. The value of the Fund’s direct or indirect investments in fixed income securities may be affected by the inability of issuers to repay principal and interest or illiquidity in debt securities markets.
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Government Obligations Risk.
The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government. There can be no guarantee that the United States will be able to meet its payment obligations with respect to such securities. Additionally, market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government may decline or be negative for short or long periods of time.
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High Portfolio Turnover Risk
. At times, the Fund may have a portfolio turnover rate substantially greater than 100%. A high portfolio turnover rate would result in correspondingly greater transaction expenses, including brokerage commissions, dealer mark ups and other transaction costs, on the sale of securities and on reinvestment in other securities and may result in reduced performance and the distribution to shareholders of additional capital gains for tax purposes. These factors may negatively affect the Fund’s performance.
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Large-Capitalization Investing Risk.
The Fund may invest in the securities of large-capitalization companies. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected if securities of large-capitalization companies underperform securities of smaller-capitalization companies or the market as a whole. 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.
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New Fund Risk.
The Fund is new with no operating history. As a result, there can be no assurance that the Fund will grow to or maintain an economically viable size, in which case it may experience greater tracking error to its Index than it otherwise would at higher asset levels, or it could ultimately liquidate. The Fund’s distributor does not maintain a secondary market in Fund shares.
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Non-Diversification Risk.
Although the Fund intends to invest in a variety of securities and instruments, the Fund will be considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. As a result, the Fund may be more exposed to the risks associated with and developments affecting an individual issuer or a smaller number of issuers than a fund that invests more widely. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
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Other Investment Companies Risk
. The Fund will incur higher and duplicative expenses when it invests in other investment companies such as ETFs. There is also the risk that the Fund may suffer losses due to the investment practices of the underlying funds. When the Fund invests in other investment companies, the Fund will be subject to substantially the same risks as those associated with the direct ownership of securities held by such investment companies.
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Passive Investment Risk.
The Fund is not actively managed and the Adviser would not sell a security due to current or projected underperformance of a security, industry or sector, unless that security is removed from the Index or the selling of shares of that security is otherwise required upon a reconstitution of the Index in accordance with the Index methodology. The Fund invests in securities included in, the Index, regardless of their investment merits. The Fund does not take defensive positions under any market conditions, including conditions that are adverse to the performance of the Fund.
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Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV
. As with all ETFs, Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of the shares of the Fund will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines.
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Tracking Risk.
The Fund’s return may not track the return of the Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs a number of operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index.
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In addition, when the Fund uses a representative sampling approach, the Fund may not be as well correlated with the return of the Index as when the Fund purchases all of the securities in the Index in the proportions in which they are represented in the Index. To the extent the Fund calculates its NAV based on fair value prices and the value of the Index is based on securities’ closing prices on local foreign markets (i.e., the value of the Index is not based on fair value prices), the Fund’s ability to track the Index may be adversely affected.
To the extent the Fund uses a representative sampling approach, it will hold a smaller number of securities than are in the Index. As a result, an adverse development respecting an issuer of securities held by the Fund could result in a greater decline in the Fund’s net asset value than would be the case if the Fund held all of the securities in the Index. Conversely, a positive development relating to an issuer of securities in the Index that is not held by the Fund could cause the Fund to underperform the Index. To the extent the assets in the Fund are smaller, these risks may be greater.
Fund Performance
The Fund is new and therefore does not have a performance history.
Management
Investment Adviser
Pacer Advisors, Inc. serves as investment adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers
The Fund employs a rules-based, passive investment strategy. The Adviser uses a committee approach to managing the Fund. Joe M. Thomson, Founder and President of the Adviser, has primary responsibility for the day-to-day management of the Fund and has been the lead portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception. Bruce Kavanaugh, [ ] of the Adviser; Sean O’Hara, [ ] of the Adviser; and Michael Mack, Investment Analyst for the Adviser, have also served as Fund portfolio managers since the Fund’s inception.
Buying and Selling Fund Shares
The Fund is an exchange traded fund (“ETF”). This means that shares of the Fund are listed on a national securities exchange, such as __________, and trade at market prices. Most investors will buy and sell shares of the Fund through brokers. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in large blocks of shares (“Creation Units”), which only institutions or large investors may purchase or redeem. Currently, Creation Units generally consist of [ ] shares, though this may change from time to time. 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 that the Fund specifies each day.
Tax Information
Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless your investment is in an IRA or other tax-advantaged retirement account. Distributions may be taxable upon withdrawal from tax-deferred accounts.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries.
If you purchase the Fund through a broker or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Adviser and its related companies may pay the intermediary for activities related to the marketing and promotion of the Fund. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your sales person to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your sales person or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
Additional Information About the Funds
Additional Information About Each Fund’s Investment Objective
.
Each Fund’s investment objective has been adopted as a non-fundamental investment policy and may be changed without a vote of shareholders upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders.
Additional Information About Each Index
.
Each Index was created in 2014 in anticipation of the commencement of operations of the Funds. Additional information regarding each Index, including its value, is available through [---], on the website of __________, and in the Statement of Additional Information.
Additional Risk Information About the Funds
This section provides additional information regarding the principal risks described under “Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund” in each of the Fund Summaries. The factors below apply to each Fund unless otherwise noted. Each of the factors below could have a negative impact on the applicable Fund’s performances and trading prices.
Derivatives Risk
The Funds may purchase certain “derivative” instruments to help track their respective indexes. A derivative is a financial instrument whose value is derived from, or based upon, the performance of underlying assets, interest or currency exchange rates, or other indices and may be leveraged. Derivatives include certain index futures, options, options on index futures, swap contracts or other derivatives that are related to a Fund’s index and its component securities.
An investment in derivatives can be more sensitive to changes in interest rates and sudden fluctuations in market prices than conventional securities. Investments in derivative instruments, which may be leveraged, may result in losses exceeding the amounts invested. A Fund’s losses may be greater if it invests in derivatives than if it invests only in conventional securities. Engaging in derivative transactions involves special risks, including (a) market risk that the Fund’s derivatives position will lose value; (b) credit risk that the counterparty to the transaction will default; (c) leveraging risk that the value of the derivative instrument will decline more than the value of the assets on which it is based; (d) illiquidity risk that a Fund will be unable to sell its position because of lack of market depth or disruption; (e) pricing risk that the value of a derivative instrument will be difficult to determine; and (f) operations that loss will occur as a result of inadequate systems or human error. Many types of derivatives have been developed recently and have not been tested over complete market cycles. For these reasons, a Fund may suffer a loss whether or not the analysis of the Investment Adviser is accurate.
In order to secure its obligations in connection with derivative contracts or special transactions, a Fund will either own the underlying assets, enter into offsetting transactions or set aside cash or readily marketable securities. This requirement may cause the Fund to miss favorable trading opportunities, due to a lack of sufficient cash or readily marketable securities. This requirement may also cause the Fund to realize losses on offsetting or terminated derivative contracts or special transactions.
Equity Market Risk
Equity securities 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 industries, sectors or companies. 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 issuers. Common stocks are susceptible to general stock market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence in and perceptions of their issuers change. These investor perceptions are based on various and unpredictable factors including: expectations regarding government, economic, monetary and fiscal policies; inflation and interest rates; economic expansion or contraction; and global or regional political, economic and banking crises.
Equity Swaps
The Funds may invest in equity swaps to help track their respective indices. Equity swaps allow the parties to the swap agreement to exchange components of return on one equity investment (e.g., a basket of equity securities or an index) for a component of return on another non-equity or equity investment, including any exchange of differential rates of return.
Equity swaps may be used to invest in a market without owning or taking physical custody of securities in circumstances where direct investment may be restricted for legal reasons or is otherwise impractical.
Equity swaps are derivative instruments and their values can be very volatile. To the extent that the Adviser does not accurately analyze and predict the potential relative fluctuation on the components swapped with the other party, Fund may suffer a loss, which is potentially unlimited. The value of some components of an equity swap (such as the dividends on a common stock) also may be sensitive to changes in interest rates. Furthermore, during the period a swap is outstanding, a Fund may suffer a loss if the counterparty defaults. Because equity swaps normally are illiquid, a Fund may not be able to terminate its obligations when desired.
Fixed Income Risk (Pacer [______]-100 AutoPilot
TM
ETF, Pacer US Mid Cap AutoPilot
TM
ETF and Pacer US Large Cap AutoPilot
TM
ETF only)
The value of direct or indirect investments in fixed income securities will fluctuate with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities. On the other hand, if rates fall, the value of the fixed income securities generally increases. In general, the market price of fixed income securities with longer maturities will increase or decrease more in response to changes in interest rates than shorter-term securities. The value of direct or indirect investments in fixed income securities may be affected by the inability of issuers to repay principal and interest or illiquidity in debt securities markets.
Foreign Sales Risk (Pacer US Export Leaders ETF only)
The Fund invests in companies that derive a significant portion of their sales to non-U.S. customers. Consequently, investments in such companies may be subject to risk of loss due to unfavorable changes in currency exchange rates, political, economic or social changes or instability in non-U.S. countries, events affecting the transportation, shipping or delivery of goods to customers, and changes in U.S. or foreign laws or regulations affecting exports. In addition,
conditions and changes in regulatory, tax, or economic policy in a country could significantly affect the market in that country and in surrounding or related countries and have a negative impact on the Fund’s performance. Currency developments or restrictions, political and social instability, and changing economic conditions have resulted in significant market volatility.
Foreign Securities Risk (Pacer [______]-100 AutoPilot
TM
ETF and Pacer US Export Leaders only)
Foreign securities consist primarily of American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”). ADRs are U.S. dollar-denominated receipts representing shares of foreign-based corporations. ADRs are created by a global bank that possesses a large number of an international firm’s local shares. The bank there sets a conversion rate for the ADR shares in terms of its worth in local shares. The conversion rate effectively links the value of the ADR to the locally traded security to preserve the conversion relationship, movements in the exchange rate of the local country versus the U.S. dollar must automatically be reflected in the pricing of the U.S.-traded ADR in U.S. dollars. ADRs are traded in the U.S., and entitle the holder to all dividend and capital gain distributions that are paid out on the underlying foreign shares.
Foreign securities fluctuate in price because of political, financial, social and economic events in foreign countries. A foreign security could also lose value because of more or less stringent foreign securities regulations and less stringent accounting and disclosure standards. In addition, foreign markets and foreign securities may be less liquid and harder to value than domestic securities.
Absent other events that otherwise could affect the value of a foreign security (such as a change in the political climate or an issuer’s credit quality), appreciation in the value of the foreign currency generally results in an increase in value of a foreign currency-denominated security in terms of U.S. dollars. A decline in the value of the foreign currency relative to the U.S. dollar generally results in a decrease in value of a foreign currency-denominated security. Additionally, many countries throughout the world are dependent on a healthy U.S. economy and are adversely affected when the U.S. economy weakens or its markets decline. For example, the recent decline in the U.S. subprime mortgage market quickly spread throughout global credit markets, triggering a liquidity crisis that affected fixed-income and equity markets around the world.
Investments in foreign securities may involve higher costs than investments in U.S. securities, including higher transaction and custody costs as well as the imposition of additional taxes by foreign governments. Foreign investments also may involve risks associated with the level of currency exchange rates, less complete financial information about the issuers, less market liquidity, more market volatility and political instability. Future political and economic developments, the possible imposition of withholding taxes on dividend income, the possible establishment of exchange controls or freezes on the convertibility of currency, or the adoption of other governmental restrictions might adversely affect an investment in foreign securities. Additionally, foreign banks and foreign branches of domestic banks may be subject to less stringent reserve requirements and to different accounting, auditing and recordkeeping requirements.
Currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time causing a Fund’s NAV to fluctuate as well. Currency exchange rates can be affected unpredictably by the intervention or the failure to intervene by U.S. or foreign governments or central banks, or by currency controls or political developments in the U.S. or abroad. To the extent that a Fund is invested in foreign securities while also maintaining currency positions, it may be exposed to greater combined risk. The Funds’ respective net currency positions may expose them to risks independent of their securities positions.
Futures and Related Options
A futures contract is a type of derivative instrument that obligates the holder to buy or sell a specified financial instrument or currency in the future at an agreed upon price. For example, a futures contract may obligate a Fund, at maturity, to take or make delivery of certain domestic or foreign securities, the cash value of a securities index or a stated quantity of a foreign currency. When a Fund purchases an option on a futures contract, it has the right to assume a position as a purchaser or seller of a futures contracts a specified exercise price during the option period. When a Fund sells an option on a futures contract, it becomes obligated to purchase or sell a futures contract if the option is exercised.
Each Fund may invest in futures contracts and options on futures contracts on domestic exchanges or boards of trade, which are related to its Index and its component securities. These investments may be used for hedging purposes, to seek to increase total return, to maintain liquidity to meet potential shareholder redemptions, to invest cash balances or dividends or to minimize trading costs.
Futures contracts and options present the following risks: imperfect correlation between the change in market value of a Fund’s securities and the price of futures contracts and options; the possible inability to close a futures contract when desired; losses due to unanticipated market movements which potentially are unlimited; and the possible inability of the Adviser to correctly predict the direction of securities prices, interest rates, currency exchange rate and other economic factors. Futures markets are highly volatile and the use of futures may increase the volatility of a Fund’s NAV. As a result of the low margin deposits normally required in futures trading, a relatively small price movement in a futures contract may result in substantial losses to a Fund. Futures contracts and options on the futures may be illiquid, and exchanges may limit fluctuations in futures contract prices during a single day. Foreign exchanges or boards of trade generally do not offer the same protections as U.S. exchanges.
Government Obligations Risk (Pacer [______]-100 AutoPilot
TM
ETF, Pacer US Mid Cap AutoPilot
TM
ETF and Pacer US Large Cap AutoPilot
TM
ETF only)
The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government. The total public debt of the United States as a percentage of gross domestic product has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 2008-2009 financial downturn. Although high debt levels do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, they may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented. A high national debt can raise concerns that the U.S. government will not be able to make principal or interest payments when they are due. This increase has also necessitated the need for the U.S. Congress to negotiate adjustments to the statutory debt ceiling to increase the cap on the amount the U.S. government is permitted to borrow to meet its existing obligations and finance current budget deficits. The U.S. Congress temporarily resolved the statutory debt ceiling issue in February 2014 through passage of a bill allowing the government to borrow money to pay its bills through March 2015. In August 2011, Standard & Poors lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on the U.S. In explaining the downgrade at that time, S&P cited, among other reasons, controversy over raising the statutory debt ceiling and growth in public spending. Any controversy or ongoing uncertainty regarding the statutory debt ceiling negotiations may impact the U.S. long-term sovereign credit rating and may cause market uncertainty. As a result, market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government may be adversely affected.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk (Pacer [__________]-100 AutoPilot
TM
ETF, Pacer US Mid Cap AutoPilot
TM
ETF and Pacer Large Cap AutoPilot
TM
ETF only)
At times, a Fund may have a portfolio turnover rate substantially greater than 100%. A high portfolio turnover rate would result in correspondingly greater transaction costs, including brokerage commissions, dealer markups and other transaction costs on the sale of securities and on reinvestment in other securities and may result in reduced performance and the distribution to shareholders of additional capital gains for tax purposes. These factors may negatively affect the Fund’s performance.
Large-Capitalization Investing
Risk (All Funds except Pacer Mid Cap AutoPilot
TM
ETF)
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 Risk (Pacer US Export Leaders ETF and Pacer Mid Cap AutoPilot
TM
ETF only)
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 medium 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.
New Fund Risk
The Funds are new with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors have no track record or history on which to base their investment decisions. In addition, there can be no assurance that a Fund will grow to or maintain an economically viable size, in which case it may experience greater tracking error to its Index than it otherwise would at higher asset levels, or it could ultimately liquidate. The Funds’ distributor does not maintain an active market in Fund shares.
Non-Diversification Risk
Although the Funds intend to invest in a variety of securities and instruments, the Funds will be considered to be non-diversified. This means that a Fund may invest more 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 Fund may be more exposed to the risks associated with and developments affecting an individual issuer or a smaller number of issuers than a fund that invests more widely. This may increase a Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively smaller number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
Options
An option is a type of derivative instrument that gives the holder the right (but not the obligation) to buy (a “call”) or sell (a “put”) an asset in the future at an agreed upon price prior to the expiration date of the option.
Each Fund may write (sell) covered call options, buy put options, buy call options and write secured put options, which are related to its Index and component securities, for hedging (or cross-hedging) purposes or to earn additional income. Options may relate to particular securities, foreign or domestic securities indicies, financial instruments or foreign currencies. A Fund will not purchase put and call options in an amount that exceeds 5% of its net assets at the time of purchase. The total value of a Fund’s assets subject to options written by the Fund will not be greater than 20% of its net assets at the time the option is written. A Fund may “cover” a call option by owning the security underlying the option or through other means. Put options written by a Fund are “secured” if the Fund maintains liquid assets in a segregated account in an amount at least equal to the exercise price of the option up until the expiration date.
Options trading is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary Fund securities transactions. The value of options can be highly volatile, and their use can result in loss if the Adviser is incorrect in its expectation of pricing fluctuations. The successful use of options for hedging purposes also depends in part on the ability of the Adviser to predict future price fluctuations and the degree of correlation between the options and securities markets.
Each Fund may invest and trade in unlisted over-the-counter options only with firms deemed creditworthy by the Adviser. However, unlisted options are not subject to the protections afforded purchasers of listed options by the Options Clearing Corporation, which performs the obligations of its members which fail to perform them in connection with the purchase or sale of options.
Other Investment Companies Risk (All Funds except the Pacer US Export Leaders ETF only)
The Fund will incur higher and duplicative expenses when it invests in other investment companies such as ETFs. There is also the risk that the Fund may suffer losses due to the investment practices of the underlying funds. When the Fund invests in other investment companies, the Fund will be subject to substantially the same risks as those associated with the direct ownership of securities held by such investment companies.
Passive Investment Risk
The Fund is not actively managed and the Adviser would not sell a security due to current or projected underperformance of a security, industry or sector, unless that security is removed from the Index or the selling of shares of that security is otherwise required upon a reconstitution of the Index in accordance with the Index methodology. The Fund invests in securities included in, or representative of securities included in, the Index, regardless of their investment merits. The Fund does not take defensive positions under any market conditions, including conditions that are adverse to the performance of the Fund.
Shares of each Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV
As with all ETFs, Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of the shares of each Fund will approximate each Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price and the NAV vary significantly. Thus, you may pay more (or less) than NAV intra-day when you buy shares of each Fund in the secondary market, and you may receive more (or less) than NAV when you sell those shares in the secondary market.
Tracking Risk
The Funds seek to track the performance of their respective benchmark indicies.
Under normal market conditions, the Investment Adviser expects that the performance of the Funds over time, before expenses, will track the performance of their respective benchmarks within a 0.95 correlation coefficient.
The Funds are subject to the risk of tracking variance. Tracking variance may result from share purchases and redemptions, transaction costs, expenses and other factors. Tracking variance may prevent a Fund from achieving its investment objective.
Portfolio Holdings Information
Information about each Fund’s daily portfolio holdings is available at www.paceretfs.com. A summarized description of each Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of each Fund’s portfolio holdings is available in each Fund’s Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).
Management
The Funds are series of Pacer Funds Trust (the “Trust’), a Delaware statutory Trust, which is overseen by a board of trustees.
Investment Adviser
As investment adviser, Pacer Advisors, Inc. (the “Adviser”) has overall responsibility for the general management and administration of the Pacer Funds Trust (the “Trust”) and each of its separate investment portfolios. The Adviser is a registered investment adviser with offices located at 16 Industrial Blvd, Suite 201, Paoli, Pennsylvania 19301. The Adviser also arranges for transfer agency, custody, fund administration, securities lending and all other non-distribution related services necessary for each Fund to operate. For its services, the Adviser receives a fee from each Fund, based on a percentage of each Fund’s average daily net assets, as shown in the following table:
Name of Fund
|
Management Fee
|
Pacer [__________]-100 AutoPilot
TM
ETF
|
0.__%
|
Pacer US Export Leaders ETF
|
0.__%
|
Pacer US Mid Cap AutoPilot
TM
ETF
|
[…..]%
|
Pacer US Large Cap AutoPilot
TM
ETF
|
[…..]%
|
Under the Investment Advisory Agreement, the Adviser has agreed to pay all expenses of each Fund, except for: the fee paid to the Adviser pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement, interest charges on any borrowings, 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 and distribution (12b-1) fees and expenses.
The basis for the Board of Trustees’ approval of each Fund’s Investment Advisory Agreement will be available in each Fund’s first Report to Shareholders.
The Funds’ portfolio management team consists of Joe M. Thomson, Bruce Kavanaugh, Sean O’Hara and Michael Mack.
Joe M. Thomson has been the Founder and President of the Adviser since it was established in 2005. He has also been the Founder and President of Pacer Financial, Inc. (“Pacer Financial”), a registered broker-dealer and the Funds’ distributor, since its formation in 2004.
Bruce Kavanaugh has been the [ ] of the Adviser since it was established in 2005. He has also been Vice President of Pacer Financial since its formation in 2004.
Sean O’Hara has been the [ ] of the Adviser since joining it in 2007. He has also been Director of Pacer Financial since 2007.
Michael Mack has been an Investment Analyst for the Adviser since joining it in 2012. Prior to his position with the Adviser, Mr. Mack was an Associate with Cameron Capital Management from 2011 to 2012. He also served as an Analyst/Trader for Simitec Inc., a business and technology consulting firm, from 2005 to 2009.
The SAI provides additional information about each Portfolio Manager’s compensation structure, other accounts managed by the Portfolio Managers, and the Portfolio Managers’ ownership of shares of each Fund.
Additional Information on Buying and Selling Fund Shares
Most investors will buy and sell shares of the Funds through brokers. Shares of each Fund trade on [__________] (the “Exchange”) and elsewhere during the trading day and can be bought and sold throughout the trading day like other shares of publicly traded securities. When buying or selling shares through a broker, most investors will incur customary brokerage commissions and charges. Shares of each Fund trade under the trading symbol listed on the cover of this Prospectus. Only authorized participants (“Authorized Participants” or “APs”) who have entered into agreements with the Funds’ distributor may acquire shares directly from a Fund, and only APs may tender their shares for redemption directly to each Fund, at NAV in Creation Units. Once created, shares trade in the secondary market in amounts less than a Creation Unit.
Share Trading Prices
Transactions in each Fund’s shares will be priced at NAV only if you purchase shares directly from each Fund in Creation Units. As with other types of securities, the trading prices of shares in the secondary market can be affected by market forces such as supply and demand, economic conditions and other factors. The price you pay or receive when you buy or sell your shares in the secondary market may be more or less than the NAV of such shares.
The approximate value of shares of each Fund is disseminated every 15 seconds throughout the trading day by the Exchange or by other information providers. This approximate value should not be viewed as a “real-time” update of each Fund’s NAV, because the approximate value may not be calculated in the same manner as the NAV, which is computed once per day. The approximate value generally is determined by using current market quotations, price quotations obtained from broker-dealers that may trade in the portfolio securities and instruments held by each Fund, and/or amortized cost for securities with remaining maturities of 60 days or less. Each Fund is not involved in, or responsible for, the calculation or dissemination of the approximate value and makes no warranty as to its accuracy.
Determination of Net Asset Value
The NAV of each Fund’s shares is calculated each day the Exchange is open for trading as of the close of regular trading on the Exchange, generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time (the “NAV Calculation Time”). If the Exchange closes before 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, as it occasionally does, the NAV Calculation Time will be the time the Exchange closes. In addition, any U.S. fixed-income assets may be valued as of the announced closing time of trading in fixed income instruments on any day that the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association announces an early closing time. Each Fund’s NAV per share is calculated by dividing the Fund’s net assets by the number of Fund 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. Debt obligations with maturities of 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost.
Fair Value Pricing
The Board has adopted procedures and methodologies to fair value Fund securities whose market prices are not “readily available” or are deemed to be unreliable. For example, such circumstances may arise when: (i) a security has been de-listed or has had its trading halted or suspended; (ii) a security’s primary pricing source is unable or unwilling to provide a price; (iii) when a security’s primary trading market is closed during regular market hours; or (iv) when a security’s value is materially affected by events occurring after the close of the security’s primary trading market. Generally, when fair valuing a security, the Adviser 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 security, general and/or specific market conditions and the specific facts giving rise to the need to fair value the security. The Adviser makes fair value determinations in good faith and in accordance with the fair value methodologies included in the Board-adopted valuation procedures. 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 security upon the sale of such security.
Dividends and Distributions
Each Fund intends to pay out dividends on a quarterly basis. Nonetheless, each Fund may make more frequent dividend payments. Each Fund intends to distribute its net realized capital gains to investors annually. Each Fund occasionally may be required to make supplemental distributions at some other time during the year. 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.
Book Entry
Shares of each Fund are held in book-entry form, which means that no stock certificates are issued. The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding shares of each Fund.
Investors owning shares of each Fund are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. DTC serves as the securities depository for all shares of each Fund. Participants include DTC, 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 securities that you hold in book-entry or “street name” form. Your broker will provide you with account statements, confirmations of your purchases and sales, and tax information.
Delivery of Shareholder Documents – Householding
Householding is an option available to certain investors of each Fund. 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 each Fund 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.
Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Fund Shares
Each Fund imposes no restrictions on the frequency of purchases and redemptions of shares. In determining not to approve a written, established policy. [Additional disclosure to be added by amendment.]
Investments by Registered Investment Companies
Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act restricts investments by registered investment companies in the securities of other investment companies, including shares of each Fund. Registered investment companies are permitted to invest in each Fund 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, including that such investment companies enter into an agreement with the applicable Fund(s).
Additional Tax Information
The following discussion is a summary of some important U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to investments in each Fund. Your investment in each Fund may have other tax implications. Please consult your tax advisor about the tax consequences of an investment in Fund shares, including the possible application of foreign, state, and local tax laws.
Each Fund intends to qualify each year for treatment as a regulated investment company. If it meets certain minimum distribution requirements, a regulated investment company is not subject to tax at the fund level on income and investment gains that are timely distributed to shareholders. However, each Fund’s failure to qualify as a regulated investment company 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 you are a tax-exempt entity or your investment in Fund shares is made through a tax advantaged retirement account, such as an individual retirement account, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when:
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The Fund makes distributions;
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|
|
You sell Fund shares; and
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You purchase or redeem Creation Units (institutional investors only).
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Taxes on Distributions
For federal income tax purposes, distributions of investment income are generally taxable as ordinary income or “qualified dividend income.” Taxes on distributions of capital gains (if any) depend on how long the Fund owned the assets that generated them, rather than how long a shareholder has owned his or her Fund shares. Sales of assets held by the Fund for more than one year generally result in long-term capital gains and losses, and sales of assets held by the Fund for one year or less generally result in short-term capital gains and losses. Distributions of the Fund’s net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses) that are properly reported by the Fund as capital gain dividends (“Capital Gain Dividends”) a taxable as long-term capital gains. For noncorporate shareholders, long-term capital gains are generally subject to tax at reduced rates. Distributions of short-term capital gain are generally taxable as ordinary income. Distributions of investment income reported by a Fund as derived from “qualified dividend income” will be taxed at long term capital gain rates for non-corporate shareholders.
U.S. individuals with income exceeding specified thresholds are subject to a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax on all or a portion of their “net investment income,” which includes interest, dividends, and certain capital gains (generally including capital gain distributions and capital gains realized on the sale or exchange of Fund shares). This 3.8% tax also applies to all or a portion of the undistributed net investment income of certain shareholders that are estates and trusts.
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 the Fund before your investment (and thus were included in the Fund shares’ NAV when you purchased your Fund shares).
The 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. The Fund may sell portfolio securities to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize investment income and/or capital gains or losses that it might not have recognized if it had completely satisfied the redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may be less tax efficient if it includes such a cash payment in the proceeds paid upon the redemption of Creation Units.
Nonresident aliens, foreign corporations and other foreign shareholders in the Fund will generally be exempt from U.S. federal income tax on Capital Gain Dividends. The exemption may not apply, however, if the investment in the Fund is connected to a trade or business for the foreign shareholder in the United States or if the foreign shareholder is present in the United States for 183 days or more in a year and certain other conditions are met.
Distributions (other than Capital Gain Dividends) paid to individual shareholders that are neither citizens nor residents of the U.S. or to foreign entities will generally be subject to a U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30%, unless a lower treaty rate applies.
The Fund (or a financial intermediary, such as a broker, through which shareholders own Fund shares) generally is required to withhold and to remit to the U.S. Treasury a percentage of the taxable distributions and the sale or redemption proceeds paid to any shareholder who fails to properly furnish a correct taxpayer identification number, who has under-reported dividend or interest income, or who fails to certify that he, she or it is not subject to such withholding. In addition, the Fund will be required to withhold 30% tax on payments to foreign entities that do not meet specified information reporting requirements under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.
Foreign corporations recognizing income or gain may be subject to the U.S. Branch Profits Tax.
Taxes When Fund Shares Are Sold
Any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Fund shares is generally treated as a long-term gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than one year. Any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Fund shares held for one year or less is generally treated as a short-term gain or loss, except that any capital loss on a sale of shares held for six months or less is treated as long-term capital loss to the extent that Capital Gain Dividends were paid with respect to such shares. The ability to deduct capital losses may be limited depending on your circumstances.
A foreign shareholder will generally not be subject to U.S. tax on gains realized on sales or exchange of Fund Shares unless the investment in the Fund is connected to a trade or business of the investor in the United States or if the shareholder is present in the United States for 183 days or more in a year and certain other conditions are met. All foreign shareholders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the tax consequences in their country of residence of an investment in the Fund.
Taxes on Creation and Redemption of Creation Units
An Authorized Participant having the U.S. dollar as its functional currency for U.S. federal tax purposes that exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between (i) the sum of the market value of the Creation Units at the time of the exchange and any amount of cash received by the Authorized Participant in the exchange and (ii) the sum of the exchanger’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and any amount of cash paid for such Creation Units. A person who redeems Creation Units will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanger’s basis in the Creation Units and the sum of the aggregate U.S. dollar market value of the securities plus the amount of any cash received for such Creation Units. The Internal Revenue Service, however, may assert that a loss that is realized by an Authorized Participant upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units cannot be currently deducted under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position.
Gain or loss recognized by an Authorized Participant upon an issuance of Creation Units in exchange for securities, or upon a redemption of Creation Units, may be capital or ordinary gain or loss depending on the circumstances. Any capital gain or loss realized upon an issuance of Creation Units in exchange for securities will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the securities exchanged have been held for more than one year. Any capital gain or loss realized upon the redemption of Creation Units will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if each Fund’s shares comprising the Creation Units have been held for more than one year. Otherwise, such capital gains or losses are treated as short-term capital gains or losses.
The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the possible consequences under current federal tax law of an investment in the Fund. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. You also may be subject to state and local tax on Fund distributions and sales of Fund shares. Consult your personal tax advisor about the potential tax consequences of an investment in Fund shares
under all applicable tax laws. For more information, please see the section entitled “Federal Income Taxes” in the SAI.
STATE AND LOCAL TAXES
. Shareholders may also be subject to state and local taxes on income and gain attributable to your ownership of Fund shares. State income taxes may not apply, however, to the portions of a Fund’s distributions, if any, that are attributable to interest earned by the Fund on U.S. government securities. You should consult your tax professional regarding the tax status of distributions in your state and locality.
Distribution
The Distributor, Pacer Financial, Inc., is a broker-dealer registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Distributor distributes Creation Units for each Fund on an agency basis and does not maintain a secondary market in shares. The Distributor has no role in determining the policies of each Fund or the securities that are purchased or sold by each Fund. The Distributor’s principal address is 16 Industrial Blvd, Suite 201, Paoli, Pennsylvania, 19301. The Distributor is an affiliate of the Adviser.
[The Board has adopted a Distribution and Service 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 for certain distribution-related activities and shareholder services.
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 a Fund’s assets, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than certain other types of sales charges.]
Premium/Discount Information
Each Fund is new and therefore does not have any information regarding how often shares of each 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 Fund.
Additional Notices
Shares of each Fund are not sponsored, endorsed, or promoted by the Exchange. The Exchange makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the shares of each Fund or any member of the public regarding the ability of each Fund to track the total return performance of the Index or the ability of the Indexes identified herein to track stock market performance. The Exchange is not responsible for, nor has it participated in, the determination of the compilation or the calculation of the Indexes, nor in the determination of the timing of, prices of, or quantities of the shares of each Fund to be issued, nor in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the shares are redeemable. The Exchange has no obligation or liability to owners of the shares of each Fund in connection with the administration, marketing, or trading of the shares of each Fund.
The Exchange does not guarantee the accuracy and/or the completeness of the Indexes or the data included therein. The Exchange makes no warranty, express or implied, as to results to be obtained by the Trust on behalf of each Fund, owners of the shares, or any other person or entity from the use of the Index or the data included therein. The Exchange makes no express or implied warranties, and hereby expressly disclaims all warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose with respect to the Indexes or the data included therein. 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 Index Provider and each Fund make no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of shares of each Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in each Fund particularly. The Index Provider is a licensor of certain trademarks, service marks and trade names of each Fund. The Index Provider has no obligation to take the needs of each Fund or the owners of shares of each Fund into consideration in determining, composing, or calculating the Index. The Index Provider is not responsible for, and has not participated in, the determination of the timing of, prices of, or quantities of shares of each Fund to be issued or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the shares of each Fund are redeemable. Each Fund, the Index Provider and the Adviser do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or performance of the Indexes or the data included therein and shall have no liability in connection with the Indexes or Index calculation. The Adviser owns the Indexes and the Index methodologies and is a licensor of the Indexes to the Trust, the licensee, and the Index receipt agent.
Financial Highlights
No financial information has been included because Funds have not completed a fiscal year.
Pacer [______]-100 AutoPilot
TM
ETF
Pacer US Export Leaders ETF
Pacer US Mid Cap AutoPilot
TM
ETF
Pacer US Large Cap AutoPilot
TM
ETF
Adviser
|
Pacer Advisors, Inc.
16 Industrial Blvd, Suite 201
Paoli, Pennsylvania 19301
|
Distributor
|
Pacer Financial, Inc.
16 Industrial Blvd, Suite 201
Paoli, Pennsylvania 19301
|
Custodian
|
U.S. Bank National Association
1555 N. Rivercenter Dr.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212
|
Fund Accountant
and Administrator
|
U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC
615 East Michigan Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
|
Independent
Registered Public
Accounting Firm
|
[To be provided by amendment]
|
Transfer Agent
|
U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC
615 East Michigan Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
|
Legal Counsel
|
Drinker, Biddle & Reath, LLP
One Logan Square, Ste. 2000
Philadelphia, PA 19103-6996
|
Index Providers
|
To be provided by amendment
|
The Trust’s current SAI provides additional detailed information about each Fund. The Trust has electronically filed the SAI with the SEC. It is incorporated by reference in this Prospectus.
Additional information about each Fund’s investments will be available in each of the Fund’s 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 after the first fiscal year each Fund is in operation.
To make shareholder inquiries, for more detailed information on each Fund, or to request the SAI or annual or semi-annual shareholder reports (once available) free of charge, please:
Call:
|
1-800-617-0004
Monday through Friday
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (Central time)
|
Write:
|
Pacer Funds Trust, [Name of Fund]
c/o U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC
P.O. Box 701
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
|
|
|
|
|
Visit:
|
[www.paceretfs.com]
|
|
|
Information about each Fund (including the SAI) can be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C., and information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-202-551-8090. Reports and other information about each Fund are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s Internet site at www.sec.gov, and copies of this information may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing the SEC’s Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520.
No person is authorized to give any information or to make any representations about each Fund and its shares not contained in this Prospectus and you should not rely on any other information. Read and keep this Prospectus for future reference.
(The Trust’s SEC Investment Company Act file number is 811-[ ])
Preliminary Statement of Additional Information dated January 15, 2015
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION
THE INFORMATION HEREIN IS NOT COMPLETE AND MAY BE CHANGED. WE MAY NOT SELL THESE SECURITIES UNTIL THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT FILED WITH THE U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION IS EFFECTIVE. THIS PROSPECTUS IS NOT AN OFFER TO SELL THESE SECURITIES AND IS NOT SOLICITING AN OFFER TO BUY THESE SECURITIES IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE OFFER OR SALE IS NOT PERMITTED.
PACER FUNDS TRUST
Pacer[______]-100 AutoPilot
TM
ETF [Ticker]
Pacer US Export Leaders ETF [Ticker]
Pacer US Mid Cap AutoPilot
TM
ETF [Ticker]
Pacer US Large Cap AutoPilot
TM
ETF [Ticker]
Listed on
[_________________________________]
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
[---]
This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a Prospectus. It should be read in conjunction with the current Prospectus, as may be revised from time to time, (“Prospectus”) for the following exchange traded funds: Pacer [______]-100 AutoPilot ETF, Pacer US Export Leaders ETF, Pacer US Mid Cap AutoPilot ETF and Pacer US Large Cap AutoPilot ETF (each a “Fund” and collectively the “Funds”), each a separate series of Pacer Funds Trust (the “Trust”).
The current Prospectus for the Funds is dated [---]. Capitalized terms used herein that are not defined have the same meaning as in the Prospectus, unless otherwise noted.
THE U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (“SEC”) HAS NOT APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED THESE SECURITIES OR PASSED UPON THE ADEQUACY OF THIS SAI. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
A copy of the Prospectus for the Funds may be obtained, without charge, by calling 1-800-617-0004, visiting www.[---].com, or writing to Pacer Funds Trust, c/o U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, P.O. Box 701, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-0701.
An investment in a Fund is not a deposit of any bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or any other government agency or any bank. An investment in the Fund involves investment risks, including possible loss of principal.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST AND THE FUNDS
|
2
|
INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS
|
2
|
GENERAL RISKS
|
2
|
SPECIFIC INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
|
3
|
INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS
|
9
|
PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS DISCLOSURE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
|
10
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CONTINUOUS OFFERING
|
11
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MANAGEMENT OF THE TRUST
|
11
|
BROKERAGE TRANSACTIONS
|
16
|
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING THE TRUST
|
17
|
DETERMINATION OF NAV
|
23
|
DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS
|
24
|
FEDERAL INCOME TAXES
|
24
|
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
|
28
|
APPENDIX A
|
30
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APPENDIX B
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31
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APPENDIX C
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32
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GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST AND THE FUNDS
The Trust was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on August 12, 2014 and is authorized to issue multiple series or portfolios. The Trust is an open-end, management investment company, registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). The offering of the Trust’s shares is registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).
The Funds described in this SAI seek to track the total return performance, before fees and expenses, of their respective indices (each an “Index”).
Pacer Advisors, Inc. (“Pacer” or the “Adviser”) is the investment adviser to the Funds. Pacer Financial, Inc. is the distributor (the “Distributor”) of the shares of the Funds and is an affiliate of the Adviser.
The Funds issue and redeem Shares (“Shares”) at net asset value per share (“NAV”) only in large blocks of Shares (“Creation Units” or “Creation Unit Aggregations”). Currently, Creation Units generally consist of [ ] Shares, though this may change from time to time. Creation Units are not expected to consist of less than [ ] Shares. These transactions are usually in exchange for a basket of securities and an amount of cash. As a practical matter, only institutions or large investors (authorized participants) who have entered with agreements with the Trust’s distributor, can purchase or redeem Creation Units. Except when aggregated in Creation Units. Shares of the Funds are not redeemable securities.
Shares of the Funds are listed on a national securities exchange, such as [_______________________] (or the “Exchange”), and trade throughout the day on the Exchange and other secondary markets at market prices that may differ from NAV. As in the case of other publicly traded securities, brokers’ commissions on transactions will be based on negotiated commission rates at customary levels.
The Trust reserves the right to adjust the prices of Shares in the future to maintain convenient trading ranges for investors. Any adjustments would be accomplished through stock splits or reverse stock splits, which would have no effect on the net assets of the applicable Fund.
INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS
Each Fund’s investment objective, principal investment strategies and associated risks are described in the Fund’s Prospectus. The sections below supplement these principal investment strategies and risks and describe each Fund’s additional investment policies and the different types of investments that may be made by a Fund as a part of its non-principal investment strategies. With respect to each Fund’s investments, unless otherwise noted, if a percentage limitation on investment is adhered to at the time of investment or contract, a subsequent increase or decrease as a result of market movement or redemption will not result in a violation of such investment limitation. Each Fund is new and therefore portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
Each Fund intends to qualify each year as a regulated investment company (a “RIC”) under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), so that it will not be subject to federal income tax on income and gains that are timely distributed to Fund shareholders. The Funds will invest their assets, and otherwise conduct their operations, in a manner that is intended to satisfy the qualifying income, diversification and distribution requirements necessary to establish and maintain RIC qualification under Subchapter M.
GENERAL RISKS
An investment in the Funds should be made with an understanding that the value of each Fund’s portfolio securities may fluctuate in accordance with changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular security or issuer and changes in general economic or political conditions. An investor in each Fund could lose money over short or long periods of time.
An investment in the Funds should also be made with an understanding of the risks inherent in an investment in equity securities, including the risk that the financial condition of issuers may become impaired or that the general condition of the stock market may deteriorate (either of which may cause a decrease in the value of each Fund’s portfolio securities and therefore a decrease in the value of Shares of each Fund). Common stocks are susceptible to general stock market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence and perceptions change. These investor perceptions are based on various and unpredictable factors, including expectations regarding government, economic, monetary and fiscal policies; inflation and interest rates; economic expansion or contraction; and global or regional political, economic or banking crises.
Holders of common stocks incur more risk than holders of preferred stocks and debt obligations because common stockholders, as owners of the issuer, generally have inferior rights to receive payments from the issuer in comparison with the rights of creditors or holders of debt obligations or preferred stocks. Further, unlike debt securities, which typically have a stated principal amount payable at maturity (whose value, however, is subject to market fluctuations prior thereto), or preferred stocks, which typically have a liquidation preference and which may have stated optional or mandatory redemption provisions, common stocks have neither a fixed principal amount nor a maturity. Common stock values are subject to market fluctuations as long as the common stock remains outstanding.
Although all of the equity securities in the Indexes are listed on major U.S. stock exchanges, there can be no guarantee that a liquid market for such securities will be maintained. The existence of a liquid trading market for certain securities may depend on whether dealers will make a market in such securities. There can be no assurance that a market will be made or maintained or that any such market will be or remain liquid. The price at which securities may be sold and the value of each Fund’s Shares will be adversely affected if trading markets for each Fund’s portfolio securities are limited or absent, or if bid/ask spreads are wide.
Events in the financial sector have resulted, and may continue to result, in an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets, both domestic and foreign. Domestic and foreign fixed income and equity markets experienced extreme volatility and turmoil in late 2008 and throughout much of 2009. Issuers that have exposure to the real estate, mortgage and credit markets have been particularly affected, and well-known financial institutions have experienced significant liquidity and other problems. Some of these institutions have declared bankruptcy or defaulted on their debt. It is uncertain whether or for how long these conditions will continue. These events and possible continuing market turbulence may have an adverse effect on Fund performance.
A discussion of some of the other risks associated with investments in the Funds is contained in each Fund’s Prospectus.
SPECIFIC INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
The following are descriptions of the Funds’ permitted investments and investment practices and the associated risk factors. A Fund will only invest in any of the following instruments or engage in any of the following investment practices if such investment or activity is consistent with a Fund’s investment objective and permitted by a Fund’s stated investment policies.
CYBER SECURITY RISK
.
As the use of technology has become more prevalent in the course of business, the Funds may be more susceptible to operational and financial risks associated with cyber security, including: theft, loss, misuse, improper release, corruption and destruction of, or unauthorized access to, confidential or highly restricted data relating to a Fund and its shareholders; and compromises or failures to systems, networks, devices and applications relating to the operations of a Fund and its service providers. Cyber security risks may result in financial losses to a Fund and its shareholders; the inability of a Fund to transact business with its shareholders; delays or mistakes in the calculation of a Fund’s NAV or other materials provided to shareholders; the inability to process transactions with shareholders or other parties; violations of privacy and other laws; regulatory fines, penalties and reputational damage; and compliance and remediation costs, legal fees and other expenses. A Fund’s service providers (including, but not limited to, its investment adviser, any sub-advisers, administrator, transfer agent, and custodian or their agents), financial intermediaries, companies in which a Fund invests and parties with which a Fund engages in portfolio or other transactions also may be adversely impacted by cyber security risks in their own businesses, which could result in losses to a Fund or its shareholders. While measures have been developed which are designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security, there is no guarantee that those measures will be effective, particularly since the Funds do not directly control the cyber security defenses or plans of their service providers, financial intermediaries and companies in which they invest or with which they do business.
EQUITY SWAPS, TOTAL RATE OF RETURN SWAPS AND CURRENCY SWAPS
. Each Fund may invest up to 20% of its total assets in swap contracts.
A Fund may enter into equity swap contracts to invest in a market without owning or taking physical custody of securities in circumstances in which direct investment is restricted for legal reasons or is otherwise impracticable. The counterparty to an equity swap contract will typically be a bank, investment banking firm or broker/dealer. Equity swap contracts may be structured in different ways. For example, a counterparty may agree to pay a Fund the amount, if any, by which the notional amount of the equity swap contract would have increased in value had it been invested in particular stocks (or an index of stocks), plus the dividends that would have been received on those stocks. In these cases, the Fund may agree to pay to the counterparty the amount, if any, by which that notional amount would have decreased in value had the notional amount plus dividends on the stocks less the interest paid by the Fund on the notional amount. In other cases, the counterparty and the Fund may each agree to pay the other the difference between the relative investment performances that would have been achieved if the notional amount of the equity swap contract had been invested in different stocks (or indexes of stocks).
Total rate of return swaps are contracts that obligate a party to pay or receive interest in exchange for the payment by the other party of the total return generated by a security, a basket of securities, an index or an index component. The Funds also may enter into currency swaps, which involve the exchange of the rights of a Fund and another party to make or receive payments in specific currencies. Currency swaps involve the exchange of rights of a Fund and another party to make or receive payments in specific currencies.
Some transactions are entered into on a net basis,
i.e.
, the two payment streams are netted out, with a Fund receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments. A Fund will enter into equity swaps only on a net basis. Payments may be made at the conclusion of an equity swap contract or periodically during its term. Equity swaps do not involve the delivery of securities or other underlying assets. Accordingly, the risk of loss with respect to equity swaps is limited to the net amount of payments that a Fund is contractually obligated to make. If the other party to an equity swap, or any other swap entered into on a net basis, defaults, a Fund’s risk of loss consists of the net amount of payments that such Fund is contractually entitled to receive, if any. In contrast, other transactions may involve the payment of the gross amount owed. For example, currency swaps usually involve the delivery of the entire principal amount of one designated currency in exchange for the other designated currency. Therefore, the entire principal value of a currency swap is subject to the risk that the other party to the swap will default on its contractual delivery obligations. To the extent that the amount payable by a Fund under a swap is covered by segregated cash or liquid assets, the Fund and the Adviser believe that transactions do not constitute senior securities under the 1940 Act and, accordingly, will not treat them as being subject to a Fund’s borrowing restrictions.
A Fund will not enter into any swap transactions unless the unsecured commercial paper, senior debt or claims-paying ability of the other party is rated either A, or A-1 or better by S&P, or Fitch Ratings (“Fitch”); or A or Prime-1 or better by Moody’s, or has received a comparable rating from another organization that is recognized as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (“NRSRO”) or, if unrated by such rating organization, is determined to be of comparable quality by the Investment Adviser. If there is a default by the other party to such a transaction, a Fund will have contractual remedies pursuant to the agreements related to the transaction. Such contractual remedies, however, may be subject to bankruptcy and insolvency laws that may affect such Fund’s rights as a creditor (e.g., a Fund may not receive the net amount of payments that is contractually is entitled to receive). The swap market has grown substantially in recent years with a large number of bank and investment banking firms action both as principals and as agents utilizing standardized swap documentation. As a result, the swap market has become relatively liquid in comparison with markets for other similar instruments which are traded in the interbank market.
The use of equity, total rate of return and currency swaps is a highly specialized activity which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. If the Adviser is incorrect in its forecasts of market values, the investment performance of a Fund would be less favorable than it would have been if this investment technique were not used.
EQUITY SECURITIES
.
Equity securities represent ownership interests in a company and include common stocks, preferred stocks, warrants to acquire common stock, and securities convertible into common stock. Investments in equity securities in general are subject to market risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate over time. Fluctuations in the value of equity securities in which the Funds invest will cause the net asset value of the Funds to fluctuate.
While investing in stocks allows investors to participate in the benefits of owning a company, such investors must accept the risks of ownership. Unlike bondholders, who have preference to a company’s earnings and cash flow, preferred stockholders, followed by common stockholders in order of priority, are entitled only to the residual amount after a company meets its other obligations. For this reason, the value of a company’s stock will usually react more strongly to actual or perceived changes in the company’s financial condition or prospects than its debt obligations. Stockholders of a company that fares poorly can lose money.
Stock markets tend to move in cycles with short or extended periods of rising and falling stock prices. The value of a company’s stock may fall because of:
·
|
Factors that directly relate to that company, such as decisions made by its management or lower demand for the company’s products or services;
|
·
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Factors affecting an entire industry, such as increases in production costs; and
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·
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Changes in general financial market conditions that are relatively unrelated to the company or its industry, such as changes in interest rates, currency exchange rates or inflation rates.
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EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS
(“ETFs”).
ETFs are pooled investment vehicles whose ownership interests are purchased and sold on a securities exchange. ETFs may be structured investment companies, depositary receipts or other pooled investment vehicles. As shareholders of an ETF, the Funds will bear their pro rata portion of any fees and expenses of the ETFs. Although shares of ETFs are traded on an exchange, shares of certain ETFs may not be redeemable to the ETF. In addition, ETFs may trade at a price below their net asset value (also known as a discount).
The Funds may use ETFs to help replicate their respective indexes. By way of example, ETFs may be structured as broad based ETFs that invest in a broad group of stocks from different industries and market sectors; select sectors; or market ETFs that invest in debt securities from a select sector of the economy (e.g., Treasury securities) a single industry or related industries; other types of ETFs continue to be developed and the Funds may invest in them to the extent consistent with their investment objectives, policies and restrictions. The ETFs in which the Funds invest are subject to the risks applicable to the types of securities and investments used by the ETFs.
ETFs may be actively managed or index-based. Actively managed ETFs are subject to management risk and may not achieve their objective if the ETF’s manager’s expectations regarding particular securities or markets are not met. An index based ETF’s objective is to track the performance of a specified index. Index based ETFs invest in a securities portfolio that includes substantially all of the securities in substantially the same amount as the securities included in the designated index. Because passively managed ETFs are designed to track an index, securities may be purchased, retained and sold at times when an actively managed ETF would not do so. As a result, shareholders of a Fund that invest in such an ETF can expect greater risk of loss (and a correspondingly greater prospect of gain) from changes in the value of securities that are heavily weighted in the index than would be the case if ETF were not fully invested in such securities. This risk is increased if a few component securities represent a highly concentrated weighting in the designated index.
Unless permitted by the 1940 Act or an order or rule issued by the SEC, (see “Investment Companies” below for more information), the Funds’ investments in unaffiliated ETFs that are structured as investment companies as defined in the 1940 Act are subject to certain percentage limitations of the 1940 Act regarding investments in other investment companies. As a general matter, these percentage limitations currently require a Fund to limit its investments in any one issue of ETFs to 5% of the Fund’s total assets and 3% of the outstanding voting securities of the ETF issue. Moreover, a Fund’s investments in all ETFs may not currently exceed 10% of the Fund’s total assets under the 1940 Act, when aggregated with all other investments in investment companies. ETFs that are not structured as investment companies as defined in the 1940 Act are not subject to these percentage limitations.
SEC exemptive orders granted to various iShares funds (which are ETFs) and other ETFs and their investment advisers permit the Funds to invest beyond the 1940 Act limits, subject to certain terms and conditions, including a finding of the Board of Trustees that the advisory fees charged by the Adviser to the Funds are for services that are in addition to, and not duplicative of, the advisory services provided to those ETFs.
FUTURES CONTRACTS AND RELATED OPTIONS
.
Each Fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in U.S. or foreign futures contracts and may purchase and sell call and put options on futures contracts. These futures contracts and options will be used to simulate full investment in each Fund’s respective Index, to facilitate trading or to reduce transaction costs. Each Fund will only enter into futures contracts and options on futures contracts that are traded on a U.S. or foreign exchange. No Fund will use futures or options for speculative purposes.
The Trust, on behalf of each Fund, has claimed an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” under the Commodity Exchange Act, and, therefore, is not subject to registration or regulation as a pool operator under that Act with respect to the funds. The Funds will engage in transactions in futures contracts and related options only to the extent such transactions are consistent with the requirement of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) for maintaining their qualifications as regulated investment companies for federal income tax purposes.
Participation in foreign futures and foreign options transactions involves the execution and clearing of trades on or subject to the rules of a foreign board of trade. Neither the National Futures Association (the “NFA”) nor any domestic exchange regulates activities of any foreign boards of trade, including the execution, delivery and clearing of transactions, or has the power to compel enforcement of the rules of a foreign board of trade or any applicable foreign law. This is true even if the exchange is formally linked to a domestic market so that a position taken on the market may be liquidated by a transaction on another market. Moreover, such laws or regulations will vary depending on the foreign country in which the foreign futures or foreign options transaction occurs. For these re4asons, persons who trade foreign futures or foreign options contracts may not be afforded certain of the protective measures provided by the Commodity Exchange Act, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (the “CFTC”) regulations and the rules of the NFA and any domestic exchange, including the right to use reparations proceedings before the CFTC and arbitration proceedings provided them by the NFA or any domestic futures exchange. In particular, a Fund’s investments in foreign futures or foreign options transactions may not be provided the same protections in respect of transactions on United States futures exchanges. In addition, the price of any foreign futures or foreign options contract may be affected by any variance in the foreign exchange rate between the time an order is placed and the time it is liquidated, offset or exercised.
In connection with a Fund’s position in a futures contract or related option, the Fund will segregate liquid assets or will otherwise cover its position in accordance with applicable SEC requirements.
For a further description of futures contracts and related options, see Appendix A to this SAI.
INVESTMENT COMPANIES
.
The Funds may invest in the securities of other investment companies, subject to applicable limitations under Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act. Pursuant to Section 12(d)(1), the Funds may invest in the securities of another investment company (the “acquired company”) provided that each Fund, immediately after such purchase or acquisition, does not own in the aggregate: (i) more than 3% of the total outstanding voting stock of the acquired company; (ii) securities issued by the acquired company having an aggregate value in excess of 5% of the value of the total assets of the Fund; or (iii) securities issued by the acquired company and all other investment companies (other than treasury stock of the Fund) having an aggregate value in excess of 10% of the value of the total assets of the Fund. These limitations do not apply to money market funds subject to certain conditions.
If a Fund invests in and, thus, is a shareholder of, another investment company, the Fund’s shareholders will indirectly bear the Fund’s proportionate share of the fees and expenses paid by such other investment company, including advisory fees, in addition to both the management fees payable directly by the Fund to the Fund’s own investment adviser and the other expenses that the Fund bears directly in connection with the Fund’s own operations.
Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act restricts investments by registered investment companies in securities of other registered investment companies, including the Funds. The acquisition of a Fund’s Shares by other registered investment companies is subject to the restrictions of Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act, except as may be permitted by exemptive rules under the 1940 Act or as may at some future time be permitted by an exemptive order that permits registered investment companies to invest in a Fund beyond the limits of Section 12(d)(1), subject to certain terms and conditions, including that the registered investment company enter into an agreement with the Fund regarding the terms of the investment.
The Funds may rely on Section 12(d)(1)(F) and Rule 12d1-3 of the 1940 Act, which provide an exemption from Section 12(d)(1) that allows a Fund to invest all of its assets in other registered funds, including ETFs, if, among other conditions: (a) the Fund, together with its affiliates, acquires no more than three percent of the outstanding voting stock of any acquired fund, and (b) the sales load charged on the Fund’s shares is no greater than the limits set forth in Rule 2830 of the Conduct Rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”).
MONEY MARKET INSTRUMENTS.
The Funds may invest a portion of their assets in high-quality money market instruments on an ongoing basis to provide liquidity or for other reasons. The instruments in which each Fund may invest include: (i) short-term obligations issued by the U.S. Government; (ii) negotiable certificates of deposit (“CDs”), fixed time deposits and bankers’ acceptances of U.S. and foreign banks and similar institutions; (iii) commercial paper rated at the date of purchase “Prime-1” by Moody’s or “A-1+” or “A-1” by Standard & Poor’s (“S&P”) or, if unrated, of comparable quality as determined by the Fund; and (iv) repurchase agreements. CDs are short-term negotiable obligations of commercial banks. Time deposits are non-negotiable deposits maintained in banking institutions for specified periods of time at stated interest rates. Banker’s acceptances are time drafts drawn on commercial banks by borrowers, usually in connection with international transactions.
NON-DIVERSIFICATION
. Each Fund is classified as a non-diversified investment company under the 1940 Act. A “non-diversified” classification means that a Fund is not limited by the 1940 Act with regard to the percentage of its assets that may be invested in the securities of a single issuer. This means that a Fund may invest a greater portion of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a small number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. The securities of a particular issuer may constitute a greater portion of the Index and, therefore, those securities may constitute a greater portion of a Fund’s portfolio. This may have an adverse effect on a Fund’s performance or subject a Fund’s Shares to greater price volatility than more diversified investment companies. Moreover, in pursuing its objective, a Fund may hold the securities of a single issuer in an amount exceeding 10% of the value of the outstanding securities of the issuer, subject to restrictions imposed by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). In particular, as a Fund’s size grows and its assets increase, it will be more likely to hold more than 10% of the securities of a single issuer if the issuer has a relatively small public float as compared to other components in the Index.
Although each Fund is non-diversified for purposes of the 1940 Act, each Fund intends to maintain the required level of diversification and otherwise conduct its operations so as to qualify as a “regulated investment company” (“RIC”) for purposes of the Code, and to relieve the Fund of any liability for federal income tax to the extent that its earnings are distributed to shareholders. Compliance with the diversification requirements of the Code may limit the investment flexibility of the Fund and may make it less likely that the Fund will meet its investment objectives. See “Federal Income Taxes” in this SAI for further discussion
OPTIONS
. Each Fund may invest up to 20% of its total assets in put options and buy call options and write covered call and secured put options. Such options may relate to particular securities, foreign and domestic stock indexes, financial instruments, foreign currencies or the yield differential between two securities (“yield curve options”) and may or may not be listed on a domestic or foreign securities exchange or issued by the Options Clearing Corporation. A call option for a particular security or currency gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy, and writer the obligation to sell, the underlying security at the stated exercise price prior to the expiration of the option, regardless of the market price of the security or currency. The premium paid to the writer is in consideration for undertaking the obligation under the option contract. A put option for a particular security or currency gives the purchaser the right to sell the security or currency at the stated exercise price to the expiration date of the option, regardless of the market price of the security or currency. In contrast to an option on a particular security, an option on an index provides the holder with the right to make or receive a cash settlement upon exercise of the option. The amount of this settlement will be equal to the difference between the closing price of the index at the time of exercise and the exercise price of the option expressed in dollars, times a specified multiple.
Options trading is a highly specialized activity, which entails greater than ordinary investment risk. Options on particular securities may be more volatile than the underlying instruments and, therefore, on a percentage basis, an investment in options may be subject to greater fluctuation than an investment in the underlying instruments themselves.
The Funds will write call options only if they are “covered.” In the case of a call option on a security or currency, the option is “covered” if a Fund owns the security or currency underlying the call or has an absolute and immediate right to acquire that security without additional cash consideration (or, if additional cash consideration is required, liquid assets in such amount are segregated) upon conversion or exchange of other securities held by it. For a call option on an index, the option is covered if a Fund maintains with its custodian a portfolio of securities substantially replicating the index, or a liquid asset equal to the contract value. A call option also is covered if a Fund holds a call on the same security, currency or index as the call written where the exercise price of the call held is (i) equal to or less than the exercise price of the call written, or (ii) greater than the exercise price of the call written provided the Fund segregates liquid assets in the amount of the difference.
All put options written by a Fund would be covered, which means that such Fund will segregate cash or liquid assets with a value at least equal to the exercise price of the put option or will use the other methods described in the next sentence. A put option also is covered if a Fund holds a put option on the same security or currency as the option written where the exercise of the option written, or (ii) less than the exercise price of the option written provided the Fund segregates liquid assets in the amount of the difference.
With respect to yield curve options, a call (or put) option is covered if a Fund holds another call (or put) option on the spread between the same two securities and segregates liquid assets sufficient to cover the Fund’s net liability under the two options. Therefore, the Fund’s liability for such a covered option generally is limited to the difference between the amount of the Fund’s liability under the option written by the Fund less the value of the option held by the Fund. Yield curve options also may be covered in such other manner as may be in accordance with the requirements of the counterparty with which the option is traded and applicable laws and regulations.
A Fund’s obligation to sell subject to a covered call option written by it, or the purchase a security or currency subject to a secured put option written by it, may be terminated prior to the expiration date of the option by the Fund’s execution of a closing purchase transaction, which is effected by purchasing on an exchange an option of the same series (i.e., same underlying security or currency, exercise price and expiration date) as the option previously written. Such a purchase does not result in the ownership of an option. A closing purchase transaction will ordinarily be effected to realize a profit on an outstanding option, to prevent an underlying instrument from being called, to permit the sale of the underlying security or currency or to permit the sale of the underlying security or currency or to permit the writing of a new option containing different terms on such underlying security. The cost of such a liquidation purchase plus transaction costs may be greater than the premium received upon the original option, in which event the Fund will have incurred a loss in the transaction. There is no assurance that a liquid secondary market will exist for any particular option. An option writer, unable to effect a closing purchase transaction, will not be able to sell the underlying security or currency (in the case of a covered call option) or liquidate the segregate assets (in the case of a secured put option) until the option expires or the optioned security or currency is delivered upon exercise with the result that the writer in such circumstances will be subject to the risk of market decline or appreciation in the instrument during such period.
When a Fund purchases an option, the premium paid by it is recorded as an asset of the Fund. When a Fund writes an option, an amount equal to the net premium (the premium less the commission) received by the Fund is included in the liability section of the Fund’s statement of assets and liabilities as a deferred credit. The amount of this asset or deferred credit will be subsequently marked-to-market to reflect the current value of the option purchased or written. The current value of the traded option is the last sale price or, in the absence of a sale, the current bid price. If an option purchased by the Fund expires unexercised, the Fund realizes a loss equal to the premium paid. If a Fund enters into a closing sale transaction on an option purchased by it, the Fund will realize a gain if the premium received by the Fund on the closing transaction is more than the premium paid to purchase the option, or a loss if it is less. If an option written by the Fund expires on the stipulated expiration date or if a Fund enters into a closing purchase transaction, it will realize a gain (or loss if the cost of a closing purchase transaction exceeds the net premium received when the option is sold) and the deferred credit related to such option will be eliminated. If an option written by a Fund is exercised, the proceeds of the sale will be increased by the net premium originally received and the Fund will realize a gain or loss.
There are several risks associated with transactions in certain options. For example, there are significant differences between the securities, currency and options markets that could result in an imperfect correlation between these markets, causing a given transaction not to achieve its objectives. In addition, a liquid secondary market for particular option, whether traded over-the-counter or on an exchange, may be absent for reasons which include the following: there may be insufficient trading interest in certain options; restrictions may be imposed by an exchange on opening transactions or closing transactions or both; trading halts, suspensions or other restrictions may be imposed with respect to particular classes or series of options or underlying securities or currencies; unusual or unforeseen circumstances may be interrupt normal operations on an exchange; the facilities of an exchange or the Options Clearing Corporation may not at all times be adequate to handle current trading value; or one or more exchanges could, for economic or other reasons, decide or be compelled at some future date to discontinue the trading of options (or a particular class or series of options), in which event the secondary market on that exchange (or in that class or series of options) would cease to exist, although outstanding options that had been issued by the Options Clearing Corporation as a result of trades on that exchange would continue to be exercisable in accordance with their terms.
REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS.
Each Fund may enter into repurchase agreements with counterparties that are deemed to present acceptable credit risks. A repurchase agreement is a transaction in which the Fund purchases securities or other obligations from a bank or securities dealer (or its affiliate) and simultaneously commits to resell them to a counterparty at an agreed-upon date or upon demand and at a price reflecting a market rate of interest unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased obligations. The Fund maintains custody of the underlying obligations prior to their repurchase, either through its regular custodian or through a special “tri-party” custodian or sub-custodian that maintains separate accounts for both the Fund and its counterparty. Thus, the obligation of the counterparty to pay the repurchase price on the date agreed to or upon demand is, in effect, secured by such obligations.
Repurchase agreements carry certain risks not associated with direct investments in securities, including a possible decline in the market value of the underlying obligations. If their value becomes less than the repurchase price, plus any agreed-upon additional amount, the counterparty must provide additional collateral so that at all times the collateral is at least equal to the repurchase price plus any agreed-upon additional amount. The difference between the total amount to be received upon repurchase of the obligations and the price that was paid by the Fund upon acquisition is accrued as interest and included in its net investment income. Repurchase agreements involving obligations other than U.S. Government securities (such as commercial paper and corporate bonds) may be subject to special risks and may not have the benefit of certain protections in the event of the counterparty’s insolvency. If the seller or guarantor becomes insolvent, the Fund may suffer delays, costs and possible losses in connection with the disposition of collateral.
SECURITIES LENDING.
Each Fund may lend portfolio securities to certain creditworthy borrowers, including the Fund’s securities lending agent. Loans of portfolio securities provide a Fund with the opportunity to earn additional income on the Fund’s portfolio securities. All securities loans will be made pursuant to agreements requiring the loans to be continuously secured by collateral in cash, or money market instruments, or money market funds at least equal at all times to the market value of the loaned securities. The borrower pays to the Fund an amount equal to any dividends or interest received on loaned securities. The Fund retains all or a portion of the interest received on investment of cash collateral or receives a fee from the borrower. Lending portfolio securities involves risks of delay in recovery of the loaned securities or in some cases loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially. Furthermore, because of the risks of delay in recovery, the Fund may lose the opportunity to sell the securities at a desirable price. The Fund will generally not have the right to vote securities while they are being loaned.
FIXED-INCOME SECURITIES RATINGS.
Nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (together, rating agency) publish ratings based upon their assessment of the relative creditworthiness of rated fixed-income securities. Generally, a lower rating indicates higher credit risk, and higher yields are ordinarily available from fixed-income securities in the lower rating categories to compensate investors for the increased credit risk. Any use of credit ratings in evaluating fixed-income securities can involve certain risks. For example, ratings assigned by the rating agencies are based upon an analysis completed at the time of the rating of the obligor's ability to pay interest and repay principal, typically relying to a large extent on historical data. Rating agencies typically rely to a large extent on historical data which may not accurately represent present or future circumstances. Ratings do not purport to reflect to risk of fluctuations in market value of the fixed-income security and are not absolute standards of quality and only express the rating agency's current opinion of an obligor's overall financial capacity to pay its financial obligations. A credit rating is not a statement of fact or a recommendation to purchase, sell or hold a fixed-income obligation. Also, credit quality can change suddenly and unexpectedly, and credit ratings may not reflect the issuer's current financial condition or events since the security was last rated. Rating agencies may have a financial interest in generating business, including the arranger or issuer of the security that normally pays for that rating, and a low rating might affect future business. While rating agencies have policies and procedures to address this potential conflict of interest, there is a risk that these policies will fail to prevent a conflict of interest from impacting the rating. Additionally, legislation has been enacted in an effort to reform rating agencies. The SEC has also adopted rules to require rating agencies to provide additional disclosure and reduce conflicts of interest, and further reform has been proposed. It is uncertain how such legislation or additional regulation might impact the ratings agencies business and the Adviser's investment process.
U.S.
GOVERNMENT SECURITIES
.
A Fund may invest in U.S. government securities to the extent consistent with its investment objective and strategies. Not all U.S. government obligations carry the same credit support. Although many U.S. government securities in which the fund may invest, such as those issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may be chartered or sponsored by Acts of Congress, their securities are neither issued nor guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury and, therefore, are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. Some, such as those of Ginnie Mae, are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury. Other obligations, such as those of the Federal Home Loan Banks, are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury; and others are supported by the discretionary authority of the U.S. government to purchase the agency’s obligations. Still others are supported only by the credit of the instrumentality or sponsored enterprise. The maximum potential liability of the issuers of some U.S. government securities held by the fund may greatly exceed their current resources, including their legal right to support from the U.S. Treasury. It is possible that these issuers will not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future. No assurance can be given that the U.S. government would provide financial support to its agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises if it is not obligated to do so by law.
As agency of the U.S. government has placed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship, a statutory process with the objective of returning the entities to normal business operations. It is unclear what effect this conservatorship will have on the securities issued or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. As a result, these securities are subject to more credit risk than U.S. government securities that are supported by the full faith and credit of the United States (e.g., U.S. Treasury bonds).
To the extent the Fund invests in debt instruments or securities of non-U.S. government entities that are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, there is a possibility that such guarantee may be discontinued or modified at a later date.
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
.
The Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) may, in the future, authorize a Fund to invest in securities contracts and investments other than those listed in this SAI and in the Fund’s Prospectus, provided they are consistent with the Fund’s investment objective and do not violate any investment restrictions or policies.
INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS
The Trust has adopted the following investment restrictions as fundamental policies with respect to the Funds. These restrictions cannot be changed with respect to a Fund without the approval of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities. For the purposes of the 1940 Act, a “majority of outstanding shares” means the vote of the lesser of: (1) 67% or more of the voting securities of the Fund present at the meeting if the holders of more than 50% of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities are present or represented by proxy; or (2) more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund.
Except with the approval of a majority of the outstanding voting securities, each Fund may not:
1.
|
Concentrate its investments (
i.e.
, hold more than 25% of its total assets) in any industry or group of related industries, except that the Fund will concentrate to approximately the same extent that its Index concentrates in the securities of such particular industry or group of related industries. For purposes of this limitation, securities of the U.S. government (including its agencies and instrumentalities), repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. government securities and securities of state or municipal governments and their political subdivisions are not considered to be issued by members of any industry.
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2.
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Borrow money or issue senior securities (as defined under the 1940 Act), except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act.
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3.
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Make loans, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act.
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4.
|
Purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act. This shall not prevent the Fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate, real estate investment trusts or securities of companies engaged in the real estate business.
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5.
|
Purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act. This shall not prevent the Fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities.
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6.
|
Underwrite securities issued by other persons, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act.
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In addition to the investment restrictions adopted as fundamental policies as set forth above, the Funds observe the following restrictions, which may be changed without a shareholder vote.
1.
|
Each Fund will not hold illiquid assets in excess of 15% of its net assets. An illiquid asset is any asset which may not be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business within seven days at approximately the value at which the Fund has valued the investment.
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2.
|
Each Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its total assets (exclusive of collateral held from securities lending), in the component securities of the Fund’s respective Index. The Funds will provide shareholders with at least 60 days’ notice of any change in their 80% strategy.
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If a percentage limitation is adhered to at the time of investment or contract, a later increase or decrease in percentage resulting from any change in value or total or net assets will not result in a violation of such restriction, except that the percentage limitations with respect to the borrowing of money and illiquid securities will be observed continuously.
THE INDEXES
[Description of each Index to be provided by Amendment]
PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS DISCLOSURE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
[The Trust’s Board of Trustees has adopted a policy regarding the disclosure of information about the Funds’ security holdings.] As exchange-traded funds, information about each Fund’s portfolio holdings is made available on a daily basis in accordance with the provisions of an Order of the SEC applicable to the Funds, regulations of the Exchange and other applicable SEC regulations, orders and no-action relief. Such information typically reflects all or a portion of each Fund’s anticipated portfolio holdings as of the next Business Day. A “Business Day” is any day on which the Exchange is open for business. As of the date of this SAI, the Exchange observes the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day (observed), Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. This information is used in connection with the creation and redemption process and is disseminated on a daily basis through the facilities of the Exchange, the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”) and/or third-party service providers.
The Funds will disclose on their website at the start of each Business Day the identities and quantities of the securities and other assets held by each Fund that will form the basis of the Fund’s calculation of its NAV on that Business Day. The portfolio holdings so disclosed will be based on information as of the close of business on the prior Business Day and/or trades that have been completed prior to the opening of business on that Business Day and that are expected to settle on that Business Day.
Each Fund may disclose its complete portfolio holdings or a portion of its portfolio holdings online at [www. ].com. Each Fund will disclose its complete portfolio holdings schedule in public filings with the SEC on a quarterly basis, based on the Fund’s fiscal year, within sixty (60) days of the end of the quarter, and will provide that information to shareholders, as required by federal securities laws and regulations thereunder.
[The Board portfolio holdings policy provides that neither the Funds nor their Adviser, distributor or any agent, or any employee thereof (“Fund Representative”) will disclose a Fund’s portfolio holdings information to any person other than in accordance with the policy. For purposes of the policy, “portfolio holdings information” means a Fund’s actual portfolio holdings, as well as non-public information about its trading strategies or pending transactions including the portfolio holdings, trading strategies or pending transactions of any commingled fund portfolio which contains identical holdings as the Fund. Under the policy, neither a Fund nor any Fund Representative may solicit or accept any compensation or other consideration in connection with the disclosure of portfolio holdings information. A Fund Representative may provide portfolio holdings information to third parties if such information has been included in a Fund’s public filings with the SEC or is disclosed on the Fund’s publicly accessible Web site. Information posted on a Fund’s Web site may be separately provided to any person commencing the day after it is first published on the Fund’s Web site.
Under the policy, each business day each Fund’s portfolio holdings information will be provided to the distributor or other agent for dissemination through the facilities of the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”) and/or other fee based subscription services to NSCC members and/or subscribers to those other fee based subscription services, including Authorized Participants, (defined below) and to entities that publish and/or analyze such information in connection with the process of purchasing or redeeming Creation Units or trading shares of Funds in the secondary market. The distributor may also make available portfolio holdings information to other institutional market participants and entities that provide information services. This information typically reflects each Fund’s anticipated holdings on the following business day. “Authorized Participants” are generally large institutional investors that have been authorized by the distributor to purchase and redeem large blocks of shares (known as Creation Units) pursuant to legal requirements, including the exemptive order granted by the SEC, to which the Funds offer and redeem shares.
Other than portfolio holdings information made available in connection with the creation/redemption process, as discussed above, portfolio holdings information that is not filed with the SEC or posted on the publicly available Web site may be provided to third parties only in limited circumstances. Third-party recipients will be required to keep all portfolio holdings information confidential and prohibited from trading on the information they receive. Disclosure to such third parties must be approved in advance by the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”). Disclosure to providers of auditing, custody, proxy voting and other similar services for the Funds, as well as rating and ranking organizations, will generally be permitted; however, information may be disclosed to other parties (including, without limitation, individuals, institutional investors, and Authorized Participants that sell shares of a Fund) only upon approval by the CCO, who must first determine that the Fund has a legitimate business purpose for doing so. In general, each recipient of non-public portfolio holding information must sign a confidentiality and non-trading agreement, although this requirement will not apply when the recipient is otherwise subject to a duty of confidentiality as determined by the CCO. In accordance with the policy, the recipients who receive non-public portfolio holdings information on an ongoing basis are as follows: the Adviser and its affiliates, the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm, the Funds’ distributor, administrator and custodian, the Funds’ legal counsel and the disinterested Trustees’ counsel, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, the Funds’ financial printer, [PRINTER NAME], and the Funds’ proxy voting service, [PROXY VOTING SERVICE]; certain rating and ranking organizations, [_____________]; and the following vendors that provide portfolio analytical tools, [___________________________]. These entities are obligated to keep such information confidential. Third-party providers of custodial or accounting services to a Fund may release non-public portfolio holdings information of the Fund only with the permission of Fund Representatives. From time to time, portfolio holdings information may be provided to broker-dealers solely in connection with a Fund seeking portfolio securities trading suggestions. In providing this information reasonable precautions, including limitations on the scope of the portfolio holdings information disclosed, are taken in an effort to avoid any potential misuse of the disclosed information.]
CONTINUOUS OFFERING
The method by which Creation Unit Aggregations of Shares are created and traded may raise certain issues under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation Unit Aggregations of Shares are issued and sold on an ongoing basis, at any point a “distribution,” as such term is used in the Securities Act, may occur. Broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner which could render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus delivery requirement and liability provisions of the Securities Act.
For example, a broker-dealer firm or its client may be deemed a statutory underwriter if it takes Creation Unit Aggregations after placing an order with the Trust’s Distributor, breaks them down into constituent Shares, and sells such Shares directly to customers, or if it chooses to couple the creation of a supply of new Shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary market demand for Shares. A determination of whether one is an underwriter for purposes of the Securities Act must take into account all the facts and circumstances pertaining to the activities of the broker-dealer or its client in the particular case, and the examples mentioned above should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could lead to a categorization as an underwriter.
Broker-dealer firms should also note that dealers who are not “underwriters” but are effecting transactions in Shares, whether or not participating in the distribution of Shares, generally are required to deliver a prospectus. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(3) of the Securities Act is not available in respect of such transactions as a result of Section 24(d) of the 1940 Act. Firms that incur a prospectus delivery obligation with respect to Shares of a Fund are reminded that, pursuant to Rule 153 under the Securities Act, a prospectus delivery obligation under Section 5(b)(2) of the Securities Act owed to an exchange member in connection with the sale on the Listing Exchange is satisfied by the fact that the prospectus is available at the Listing Exchange upon request. The prospectus delivery mechanism provided in Rule 153 is only available with respect to transactions on an exchange.
MANAGEMENT OF THE TRUST
Board Responsibilities.
The management and affairs of the Trust and its series are overseen by a Board of Trustees. The Board elects the officers of the Trust who are responsible for administering the day-to-day operations of the Trust and the Funds. The Board has approved contracts, as described below, under which certain companies provide essential services to the Trust.
Like most ETFs, the day-to-day business of the Trust, including the management of risk, is performed by third party service providers, such as the Adviser, the Distributor and the Administrator. The Trustees are responsible for overseeing the Trust’s service providers and, thus, have oversight responsibility with respect to risk management performed by those service providers. Risk management seeks to identify and address risks,
i.e.
, events or circumstances that could have material adverse effects on the business, operations, shareholder services, investment performance or reputation of the Funds. The Funds and their service providers employ a variety of processes, procedures and controls to identify various of those possible events or circumstances, to lessen the probability of their occurrence and/or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur. Each service provider is responsible for one or more discrete aspects of the Trust’s business (
e.g.,
the Adviser is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Funds’ portfolio investments) and, consequently, for managing the risks associated with that business. The Board has emphasized to the Funds’ service providers the importance of maintaining vigorous risk management.
The Trustees’ role in risk oversight begins before the inception of a Fund, at which time certain of the Fund’s service providers present the Board with information concerning the investment objectives, strategies and risks of the Fund as well as proposed investment limitations for the Fund. Additionally, the Adviser provides the Board with an overview of, among other things, its investment philosophy, brokerage practices and compliance infrastructure. Thereafter, the Board continues its oversight function as various personnel, including the Trust’s CCO and other service providers such as the Fund’s independent accountants, make periodic reports to the Audit Committee or to the Board with respect to various aspects of risk management. The Board and the Audit Committee oversee efforts by management and service providers to manage risks to which a Fund may be exposed.
The Board is responsible for overseeing the nature, extent and quality of the services provided to the Funds by the Adviser and receives information about those services at its regular meetings. In addition, on an annual basis, in connection with its consideration of whether to renew the Advisory Agreements with the Adviser, the Board meets with the Adviser to review such services. Among other things, the Board regularly considers the Adviser’s adherence to the Funds’ investment restrictions and compliance with various Fund policies and procedures and with applicable securities regulations. The Board also reviews information about each Fund’s performance and the Fund’s investments, including, for example, portfolio holdings schedules.
The Trust’s CCO reports regularly to the Board to review and discuss compliance issues and Fund and Adviser risk assessments. At least annually, the Trust’s CCO provides the Board with a report reviewing the adequacy and effectiveness of the Trust’s policies and procedures and those of its service providers, including the Adviser. The report addresses the operation of the policies and procedures of the Trust and each service provider since the date of the last report; any material changes to the policies and procedures since the date of the last report; any recommendations for material changes to the policies and procedures; and any material compliance matters since the date of the last report.
The Board receives reports from the Funds’ service providers regarding operational risks and risks related to the valuation and liquidity of portfolio securities. Annually, the independent registered public accounting firm reviews with the Audit Committee its audit of each Fund’s financial statements, focusing on major areas of risk encountered by the Fund and noting any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the Fund’s internal controls. Additionally, in connection with its oversight function, the Board oversees Fund management’s implementation of disclosure controls and procedures, which are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Trust in its periodic reports with the SEC are recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the required time periods. The Board also oversees the Trust’s internal controls over financial reporting, which comprise policies and procedures designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of the Trust’s financial reporting and the preparation of the Trust’s financial statements.
From their review of these reports and discussions with the Adviser, the CCO, the independent registered public accounting firm and other service providers, the Board and the Audit Committee learn in detail about the material risks of each Fund, thereby facilitating a dialogue about how management and service providers identify and mitigate those risks.
The Board recognizes that not all risks that may affect a Fund can be identified and/or quantified, that it may not be practical or cost-effective to eliminate or mitigate certain risks, that it may be necessary to bear certain risks (such as investment-related risks) to achieve a Fund’s goals, and that the processes, procedures and controls employed to address certain risks may be limited in their effectiveness. Moreover, reports received by the Trustees as to risk management matters are typically summaries of the relevant information. Most of the Funds’ investment management and business affairs are carried out by or through the Adviser and other service providers each of which has an independent interest in risk management but whose policies and the methods by which one or more risk management functions are carried out may differ from a Fund’s and each other’s in the setting of priorities, the resources available or the effectiveness of relevant controls. As a result of the foregoing and other factors, the Board’s ability to monitor and manage risk, as a practical matter, is subject to limitations.
Interested Trustee and Officers of the Trust.
Joe M. Thomson serves as Chairman and Trustee of the Board.
Additional information about each Trustee of the Trust is set forth below. The address of each Trustee of the Trust is, 16 Industrial Blvd, Suite 201, Paoli, Pennsylvania 19301.
Name and Year of Birth
|
Position(s)
Held with the
Trust
|
Term of Office
and Length of
Time Served
|
Principal Occupation(s)
During Past 5 Years
|
Number of
Portfolios in Fund
Complex Overseen
By Trustee
|
Other
Directorships held
by Trustee
During
Past Five Years
|
Interested Trustee
|
Joe M. Thomson
Born: 1944
|
Trustee
|
Indefinite
Term;
since
2014
|
Founder/President at
Pacer Advisors, Inc.
(since 2005)
|
4
|
Board of Directors
at First
Cornerstone
Bank;[---]
|
Individual Trustee Qualifications. [To be added by Amendment][
Board Committees [to be added by amendment]
Principal Officers of the Trust
The officers of the Trust conduct and supervise its daily business. The address of each Trustee of the Trust is, 16 Industrial Blvd, Suite 201, Paoli, Pennsylvania 19301.
Name and Year of Birth
|
Position(s) Held with
Funds
|
Term of Office
and Length of
Time Served
|
Principal Occupation(s) During Past
Five Years
|
Joe M. Thomson
Born: 1944
|
Chairman and President
|
Indefinite Term;
since 2014
|
Founder/President at Pacer Advisors,
Inc. (since 2005)
|
Sean E. O’Hara
Born: 1962
|
Treasurer
|
Indefinite Term;
since 2014
|
Director, Pacer Advisors, Inc.
|
|
|
|
|
Fund Shares Owned by Board Members.
The Funds are required to show the dollar amount ranges of each Trustee’s “beneficial ownership” of Shares of the Funds and each other series of the Trust as of the end of the most recently completed calendar year. Dollar amount ranges disclosed are established by the SEC. “Beneficial ownership” is determined in accordance with Rule 16a-1(a)(2) under the 1934 Act.
[As of the date of this SAI, no Trustee owned Shares of the Funds. ]
Board Compensation.
The Independent Trustees each receive an annual trustee fee of [$ ] for attendance at the four regularly scheduled quarterly meetings and one annual meeting, if necessary, and receive additional compensation for each additional meeting attended of [$ ] for an in-person meeting and [$ ] for a telephonic meeting, as well as reimbursement for travel and other out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with attendance at Board meetings. The Trust has no pension or retirement plan. No officer, director or employee of the Adviser, including Mr. Thomson, receives any compensation from the Funds for acting as a Trustee or officer of the Trust. The Trust has commenced operations as of the date of this SAI, and no compensation has yet been paid to the Independent Trustees.
Control Persons and Principal Holders of Securities.
Because the Funds are new, there were no beneficial owners as of the date of this SAI.
INVESTMENT ADVISER
Pacer Advisors, Inc. serves as investment adviser to the Funds pursuant to an investment advisory agreement between the Trust and Pacer (the “Investment Advisory Agreement”). The Adviser is a Pennsylvania company located at 16 Industrial Blvd, Suite 201, Paoli, Pennsylvania, 19301. [The Adviser is majority owned by Joe M. Thomson. As of [12/31-0/2014] the Adviser had assets under management totaling approximately [$___ MM].
Pursuant to an Investment Advisory Agreement between the Trust, on behalf of the Funds, and the Adviser, the Adviser provides investment advice to the Funds and oversees the day-to-day operations of the Funds, subject to the direction and control of the Board and the officers of the Trust. The Adviser also arranges for transfer agency, custody, fund administration and all other non-distribution-related services necessary for the Funds to operate. Each Fund pays the Adviser a fee equal to .__% of the Fund’s average daily net assets. Under the Investment Advisory Agreement, the Adviser has agreed to pay all expenses of the Funds, except for: the fees paid to the Adviser pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement, interest charges on any borrowings, 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, and distribution (12b-1) fees and expenses, if any.
The Adviser, from its own resources, including profits from advisory fees received from the Funds, provided such fees are legitimate and not excessive, may make payments to broker-dealers and other financial institutions for their expenses in connection with the distribution of Fund Shares, and otherwise currently pays all distribution costs for Fund Shares.
The Investment Advisory Agreement, with respect to the Funds, continues in effect for two years from its effective date, and thereafter is subject to annual approval by (i) the Board of Trustees of the Trust or (ii) the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Funds, provided that in either event such continuance also is approved by a vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Funds, by a vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. If the shareholders of a Fund fail to approve the Investment Advisory Agreement, the Adviser may continue to serve in the manner and to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act and rules and regulations thereunder.
The Investment Advisory Agreement with respect to the Funds is terminable without any penalty, by vote of the Board of Trustees of the Trust or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Funds, or by the Adviser, in each case on not less than thirty (30) days’ nor more than sixty (60) days’ prior written notice to the other party; provided that a shorter notice period shall be permitted for the Funds in the event Shares are no longer listed on a national securities exchange. The Investment Advisory Agreement will terminate automatically and immediately in the event of its “assignment” (as defined in the 1940 Act).
Portfolio Managers.
The Adviser uses a committee approach to managing the Funds. Joe M. Thomson has primary responsibility for day-to-day management of the Funds and serves as lead portfolio manager. Mr. Thomson has managed the Funds since their inception in 2015. Bruce Kavanaugh, Sean O’Hara and Michael Mack are portfolio managers that are part of the management team that implement the Funds’ strategies objectives.
In addition to the Funds, the portfolio managers manage the following other accounts as of December 31, 2014
|
Registered
Investment Companies
|
Other Pooled
Investment Vehicles
|
Other
Accounts
|
Name
|
Number of
Accounts
|
Total Assets
($ millions)
|
Number of
Accounts
|
Total Assets
($ millions)
|
Number of
Accounts
|
Total Assets
($ millions)
|
Joe Thomson
|
0
|
$0
|
0
|
$0
|
7
|
[$429]
|
Bruce Kavanaugh
|
[ ]
|
[ ]
|
[ ]
|
[ ]
|
[ ]
|
[ ]
|
Sean O’Hara
|
[ ]
|
[ ]
|
[ ]
|
[ ]
|
[ ]
|
[ ]
|
Michael Mack
|
[ ]
|
[ ]
|
[ ]
|
[ ]
|
[ ]
|
[ ]
|
Portfolio Managers Fund Ownership. [
As of the date of this SAI, the portfolio managers did not own Shares of the Funds.]
Portfolio Managers Compensation.
Mr. Thomson, Mr. O’Hara, Mr. Kavanaugh and Mr. Mack receive a fixed base salary and incentive awards based on profitability, growth in assets (including assets of the Funds), and long-term investment performance.
Description of Material Conflicts of Interest. [
To be added by amendment.]
Codes of Ethics.
The Trust, the Adviser and the Distributor (as defined under “The Distributor”) have each adopted codes of ethics, including an insider trading policy, pursuant to Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act and Rule 204A-1 of the Investment Advisors Act of 1940, as applicable. These codes of ethics are designed to prevent affiliated persons of the Trust, the Adviser and the Distributor from engaging in deceptive, manipulative or fraudulent activities in connection with securities held or to be acquired by the Funds (which may also be held by persons subject to the codes of ethics).
There can be no assurance that the codes of ethics will be effective in preventing such activities. Each code of ethics may be examined at the office of the SEC in Washington, D.C. or on the Internet at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.
Proxy Voting Policy.
[To be added by amendment]
THE ADMINISTRATOR, CUSTODIAN AND TRANSFER AGENT
U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (“USBFS”) serves as administrator, transfer agent and index receipt agent. USBFS’ principal address is 615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202. Pursuant to a Fund Administration Servicing Agreement and a Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement between the Trust and USBFS, USBFS provides the Trust with administrative and management services (other than investment advisory services) and accounting services, including portfolio accounting services, tax accounting services and furnishing financial reports.
In this capacity, USBFS does not have any responsibility or authority for the management of the Funds, the determination of investment policy, or for any matter pertaining to the distribution of Fund Shares.
As compensation for the administration, accounting and management services, the Adviser pays USBFS a fee based on each Fund’s average daily net assets, subject to a minimum annual fee. USBFS also is entitled to certain out-of-pocket expenses for the services mentioned above, including pricing expenses. Pursuant to a Custody Agreement, U.S. Bank N.A., 1555 North Rivercenter Drive, Suite 302, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212, serves as the custodian of each Fund’s assets. The custodian holds and administers the assets in a Fund’s portfolios. Pursuant to the Custody Agreement, the custodian receives an annual fee from the Adviser based on the Trust’s total average daily net assets, subject to a minimum annual fee and certain settlement charges. The custodian also is entitled to certain out-of-pocket expenses. The Funds are new and the Adviser had not paid USBFS any fees for administrative services to the Funds as of the date of this SAI.
THE DISTRIBUTOR
The Trust and
Pacer Financial, Inc. (the “Distributor”), an affiliate of the Adviser, are parties to a distribution agreement (“Distribution Agreement”), whereby the Distributor acts as principal underwriter for the Trust and distributes the Shares of the Funds. Shares are continuously offered for sale by the Distributor only in Creation Units. Each Creation Unit is generally comprised of ______ Shares, though this may change from time to time. Creation Units are not expected to consist of less than ______ Shares. The Distributor will not distribute Shares in amounts less than a Creation Unit. The principal business address of the Distributor is 16 Industrial Blvd, Suite 201, Paoli, PA 19301.
Under the Distribution Agreement, the Distributor, as agent for the Trust, will solicit orders for the purchase of the Shares, provided that any subscriptions and orders will not be binding on the Trust until accepted by the Trust. The Distributor will deliver Prospectuses and, upon request, SAIs to persons purchasing Creation Units and will maintain records of orders placed with it. The Distributor is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and a member of FINRA.
The Distributor may also enter into agreements with securities dealers (“Soliciting Dealers”) who will solicit purchases of Creation Units of Shares. Such Soliciting Dealers may also be Authorized Participants (as discussed in “Procedures for Purchase of Creation Units” below) or DTC participants (as defined below).
The Distribution Agreement will continue for two years from its effective date and is renewable thereafter. The continuance of the Distribution Agreement must be specifically approved at least annually (i) by the vote of the Trustees or by a vote of the shareholders of each Fund and (ii) by the vote of a majority of the Trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Trust and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operations of the Distribution Agreement or any related agreement, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. The Distribution Agreement is terminable without penalty by the Trust on 60 days’ written notice when authorized either by majority vote of its outstanding voting Shares or by a vote of a majority of its Board (including a majority of the Independent Trustees), or by the Distributor on 60 days’ written notice, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment. The Distribution Agreement provides that in the absence of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of the Distributor, or reckless disregard by it of its obligations thereunder, the Distributor shall not be liable for any action or failure to act in accordance with its duties thereunder.
Intermediary Compensation
.
The Adviser or its affiliates, out of their own resources and not out of the Funds’ assets (i.e., without additional cost to the Funds or their shareholders), may pay certain broker dealers, banks and other financial intermediaries (“Intermediaries”) for certain activities related to the Funds, including participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more knowledgeable about exchange traded products, including the Funds, or for other activities, such as marketing and educational training or support. These arrangements are not financed by the Funds and, thus, do not result in increased Fund expenses. They are not reflected in the fees and expenses listed in the fees and expenses sections of the Funds’ Prospectus and they do not change the price paid by investors for the purchase of Fund Shares or the amount received by a shareholder as proceeds from the redemption of Fund Shares.
Such compensation may be paid to Intermediaries that provide services to the Funds, including marketing and education support (such as through conferences, webinars and printed communications). The Adviser periodically assesses the advisability of continuing to make these payments. Payments to an Intermediary may be significant to the Intermediary, and amounts that Intermediaries pay to your adviser, broker or other investment professional, if any, may also be significant to such adviser, broker or investment professional. Because an Intermediary may make decisions about what investment options it will make available or recommend, and what services to provide in connection with various products, based on payments it receives or is eligible to receive, such payments create conflicts of interest between the Intermediary and its clients. For example, these financial incentives may cause the Intermediary to recommend the Funds over other investments. The same conflict of interest exists with respect to your financial adviser, broker or investment professionals if he or she receives similar payments from his or her Intermediary firm.
Intermediary information is current only as of the date of this SAI. Please contact your adviser, broker or other investment professional for more information regarding any payments his or her Intermediary firm may receive. Any payments made by the Adviser or its affiliates to an Intermediary may create the incentive for an Intermediary to encourage customers to buy Shares of the Funds.
If you have any additional questions, please call 1-800-617-0004.
BROKERAGE TRANSACTIONS
The policy of the Trust regarding purchases and sales of securities for the Funds is that primary consideration will be given to obtaining the most favorable prices and efficient executions of transactions. Consistent with this policy, when securities transactions are effected on a stock exchange, the Trust’s policy is to pay commissions which are considered fair and reasonable without necessarily determining that the lowest possible commissions are paid in all circumstances. The Trust believes that a requirement always to seek the lowest possible commission cost could impede effective portfolio management and preclude the Funds from obtaining a high quality of brokerage and research services. In seeking to determine the reasonableness of brokerage commissions paid in any transaction, the Adviser will rely upon its experience and knowledge regarding commissions generally charged by various brokers and on its judgment in evaluating the brokerage services received from the broker effecting the transaction. Such determinations are necessarily subjective and imprecise, as in most cases, an exact dollar value for those services is not ascertainable. The Trust has adopted policies and procedures that prohibit the consideration of sales of Fund Shares as a factor in the selection of a broker or dealer to execute its portfolio transactions.
The Adviser owes a fiduciary duty to its clients to seek and provide best execution on trades affected. In selecting a broker/dealer for each specific transaction, the Adviser chooses the broker/dealer deemed most capable of providing the services necessary to obtain the most favorable execution. “Best execution” is generally understood to mean the most favorable cost or net proceeds reasonably obtainable under the circumstances. The full range of brokerage services applicable to a particular transaction may be considered when making this judgment, which may include, but is not limited to: liquidity, price, commission, timing, aggregated trades, capable floor brokers or traders, competent block trading coverage, ability to position, capital strength and stability, reliable and accurate communications and settlement processing, use of automation, knowledge of other buyers or sellers, arbitrage skills, administrative ability, underwriting and provision of information on a particular security or market in which the transaction is to occur. The specific criteria will vary depending upon the nature of the transaction, the market in which it is executed, and the extent to which it is possible to select from among multiple broker/dealers. The Adviser will also use electronic crossing networks (“ECNs”) when appropriate.
The Adviser may use the Funds’ assets for, or participate in, third party soft dollar arrangements, in addition to receiving proprietary research from various full service brokers, the cost of which is bundled with the cost of the broker’s execution services. The Adviser does not “pay up” for the value of any such proprietary research. Section 28(e) of the 1934 Act permits the Adviser, under certain circumstances, to cause the Funds to pay a broker or dealer a commission for effecting a transaction in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting the transaction in recognition of the value of brokerage and research services provided by the broker or dealer. The Adviser may receive a variety of research services and information on many topics, which it can use in connection with its management responsibilities with respect to the various accounts over which it exercises investment discretion or otherwise provides investment advice. The research services may include qualifying order management systems, portfolio attribution and monitoring services and computer software and access charges which are directly related to investment research. Accordingly, the Funds may pay a broker commission higher than the lowest available in recognition of the broker’s provision of such services to the Adviser, but only if the Adviser determines the total commission (including the soft dollar benefit) is comparable to the best commission rate that could be expected to be received from other brokers. The amount of soft dollar benefits received depends on the amount of brokerage transactions effected with the brokers. A conflict of interest exists because there is an incentive to: 1) cause clients to pay a higher commission than the firm might otherwise be able to negotiate; 2) cause clients to engage in more securities transactions than would otherwise be optimal; and 3) only recommend brokers that provide soft dollar benefits.
The Adviser faces a potential conflict of interest when it uses client trades to obtain brokerage or research services. This conflict exists because the Adviser is able to use the brokerage or research services to manage client accounts without paying cash for such services, which reduces the Adviser’s expenses to the extent that the Adviser would have purchased such products had they not been provided by brokers. Section 28(e) permits the Adviser to use brokerage or research services for the benefit of any account it manages. Certain accounts managed by the Adviser may generate soft dollars used to purchase brokerage or research services that ultimately benefit other accounts managed by the Adviser, effectively cross subsidizing the other accounts managed by the Adviser that benefit directly from the product. The Adviser may not necessarily use all of the brokerage or research services in connection with managing the Fund whose trades generated the soft dollars used to purchase such products.
The Adviser is responsible, subject to oversight by the Adviser and the Board, for placing orders on behalf of the Funds for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities. If purchases or sales of portfolio securities of a Fund and one or more other investment companies or clients supervised by the Adviser are considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities are allocated among the several investment companies and clients in a manner deemed equitable and consistent with its fiduciary obligations to all by the Adviser. In some cases, this procedure could have a detrimental effect on the price or volume of the security so far as a Fund is concerned. However, in other cases, it is possible that the ability to participate in volume transactions and to negotiate lower brokerage commissions will be beneficial to the Funds. The primary consideration is prompt execution of orders at the most favorable net price.
The Funds may deal with affiliates in principal transactions to the extent permitted by exemptive order or applicable rule or regulation.
Brokerage with Fund Affiliates.
The Funds may execute brokerage or other agency transactions through registered broker-dealer affiliates of either the Funds, the Adviser or the Distributor for a commission in conformity with the 1940 Act, the 1934 Act and rules promulgated by the SEC. These rules require that commissions paid to the affiliate by a Fund for exchange transactions not exceed “usual and customary” brokerage commissions. The rules define “usual and customary” commissions to include amounts which are “reasonable and fair compared to the commission, fee or other remuneration received or to be received by other brokers in connection with comparable transactions involving similar securities being purchased or sold on a securities exchange during a comparable period of time.” The Trustees, including those who are not “interested persons” of the Funds, have adopted procedures for evaluating the reasonableness of commissions paid to affiliates and review these procedures periodically.
Securities of “Regular Broker-Dealers”.
Each Fund is required to identify any securities of its “regular brokers and dealers” (as such term is defined in the 1940 Act) which it may hold at the close of its most recent fiscal year. “Regular brokers and dealers” of the Trust are the ten brokers or dealers that, during the most recent fiscal year: (i) received the greatest dollar amounts of brokerage commissions from the Trust’s portfolio transactions; (ii) engaged as principal in the largest dollar amounts of portfolio transactions of the Trust; or (iii) sold the largest dollar amounts of the Trust’s Shares. Because the Funds are new, as of the date of this SAI, neither Fund has securities of “regular broker and dealers” to report.
Brokerage Commissions.
The Funds are new and have not paid any brokerage commissions.
Affiliated Brokers.
The Funds are new and have not paid any commissions to any affiliated brokers.
Portfolio Turnover.
Portfolio turnover may vary from year to year, as well as within a year. High turnover rates are likely to result in comparatively greater brokerage expenses. The overall reasonableness of brokerage commissions is evaluated by the Adviser based upon its knowledge of available information as to the general level of commissions paid by the other institutional investors for comparable services. The Funds are new and therefore do not have portfolio turnover rates.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING THE TRUST
The Declaration of Trust authorizes the issuance of an unlimited number of funds and Shares of each Fund. Each Share of each Fund represents an equal proportionate interest in any given Fund with any given Share. Shares are entitled upon liquidation to a pro rata share in the net assets of the Funds. Shareholders have no preemptive rights. The Declaration of Trust provides that the Trustees may create additional series or classes of shares. All consideration received by the Trust for shares of any additional funds and all assets in which such consideration is invested would belong to that fund and would be subject to the liabilities related thereto. Share certificates representing shares will not be issued. Each Fund’s Shares, when issued, are fully paid and non-assessable.
Each Share has one vote with respect to matters upon which a shareholder vote is required, consistent with the requirements of the 1940 Act and the rules promulgated thereunder. Shares of all funds of the Trust vote together as a single class, except that if the matter being voted on affects only a particular fund it will be voted on only by that fund and if a matter affects a particular fund differently from other funds, that fund will vote separately on such matter. As a Delaware statutory trust, the Trust is not required, and does not intend, to hold annual meetings of shareholders. Approval of shareholders will be sought, however, for certain changes in the operation of the Trust and for the election of Trustees under certain circumstances. Upon the written request of shareholders owning at least 10% of the Trust's shares, the Trust will call for a meeting of shareholders to consider the removal of one or more Trustees and other certain matters. In the event that such a meeting is requested, the Trust will provide appropriate assistance and information to the shareholders requesting the meeting.
Under the Declaration of Trust, the Trustees have the power to liquidate a Fund without shareholder approval. While the Trustees have no present intention of exercising this power, they may do so if a Fund fails to reach a viable size within a reasonable amount of time or for such other reasons as may be determined by the Board.
Role of the Depositary Trust Company (“DTC”).
DTC acts as Securities Depository for the Shares of the Trust. Shares of the Funds are represented by securities registered in the name of DTC or its nominee and deposited with, or on behalf of, DTC.
DTC, a limited-purpose trust company, was created to hold securities of its participants (“DTC Participants”) and to facilitate the clearance and settlement of securities transactions among the DTC Participants in such securities through electronic book-entry changes in accounts of the DTC Participants, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of securities’ certificates. DTC Participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and certain other organizations, some of which (and/or their representatives) own DTC. More specifically, DTC is a subsidiary of the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation, which is owned by its member firms, including international broker dealers, correspondent and clearing banks, mutual fund companies and investment banks. Access to the DTC system is also available to others such as banks, brokers, dealers and trust companies that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a DTC Participant, either directly or indirectly (“Indirect Participants”).
Beneficial ownership of Shares is limited to DTC Participants, Indirect Participants and persons holding interests through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants. Ownership of beneficial interests in Shares (owners of such beneficial interests are referred to herein as “Beneficial Owners”) is shown on, and the transfer of ownership is effected only through, records maintained by DTC (with respect to DTC Participants) and on the records of DTC Participants (with respect to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners that are not DTC Participants). Beneficial Owners will receive from or through the DTC Participant a written confirmation relating to their purchase of Shares. No Beneficial Owner shall have the right to receive a certificate representing such Shares.
Conveyance of all notices, statements and other communications to Beneficial Owners is effected as follows. Pursuant to the Depositary Agreement between the Trust and DTC, DTC is required to make available to the Trust upon request and for a fee to be charged to the Trust a listing of the Shares of the Funds held by each DTC Participant. The Trust shall inquire of each such DTC Participant as to the number of Beneficial Owners holding Shares, directly or indirectly, through such DTC Participant. The Trust shall provide each such DTC Participant with copies of such notice, statement or other communication, in such form and number and at such place as such DTC Participant may reasonably request, in order that such notice, statement or communication may be transmitted by such DTC Participant, directly or indirectly, to such Beneficial Owners. In addition, the Trust shall pay to each such DTC Participant a fair and reasonable amount as reimbursement for the expenses attendant to such transmittal, all subject to applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
Share distributions shall be made to DTC or its nominee, Cede & Co., as the registered holder of all Shares of the Trust. DTC or its nominee, upon receipt of any such distributions, shall immediately credit DTC Participants’ accounts with payments in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in Shares of the Funds as shown on the records of DTC or its nominee. Payments by DTC Participants to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners of Shares held through such DTC Participants will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is now the case with securities held for the accounts of customers in bearer form or registered in a “street name,” and will be the responsibility of such DTC Participants.
The Trust has no responsibility or liability for any aspect of the records relating to or notices to Beneficial Owners, or payments made on account of beneficial ownership interests in such Shares, or for maintaining, supervising or reviewing any records relating to such beneficial ownership interests, or for any other aspect of the relationship between DTC and the DTC Participants or the relationship between such DTC Participants and the Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners owning through such DTC Participants. DTC may decide to discontinue its service with respect to Shares of the Trust at any time by giving reasonable notice to the Trust and discharging its responsibilities with respect thereto under applicable law. Under such circumstances, the Trust shall take action to find a replacement for DTC to perform its functions at a comparable cost.
LIMITATION OF TRUSTEES’ LIABILITY
The Declaration of Trust provides that a Trustee shall be liable only for his or her own willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of the office of Trustee, and shall not be liable for errors of judgment or mistakes of fact or law. The Declaration of Trust also provides that the Trust shall indemnify each person who is, or has been, a Trustee, officer, employee or agent of the Trust, any person who is serving or has served at the Trust’s request as a Trustee, officer, trustee, employee or agent of another organization in which the Trust has any interest as a shareholder, creditor or otherwise to the fullest extent provided by law and in the manner provided in the By-laws. However, nothing in the Declaration of Trust shall protect or indemnify a Trustee against any liability for his or her willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of the office of Trustee. Nothing contained in this section attempts to disclaim a Trustee’s individual liability in any manner inconsistent with the federal securities laws.
PURCHASE AND ISSUANCE OF SHARES IN CREATION UNITS
The Trust issues and sells Shares of the Funds only: (i) in Creation Units on a continuous basis through the Distributor, without a sales load (but subject to transaction fees), at their NAV per share next determined after receipt of an order, on any Business Day, in proper form pursuant to the terms of the Authorized Participant Agreement (“Participant Agreement”); or (ii) pursuant to the Dividend Reinvestment Service (defined below). The NAV of a Fund’s Shares is determined as of the close of regular trading on the [NYSE,] generally 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time on each day that the NYSE is open. The Funds will not issue fractional Creation Units. A “Business Day” is any day on which the NYSE, NASDAQ and Trustee are open for business.
Fund Deposits.
The consideration for purchase of a Creation Unit of a Fund generally consists of the in-kind deposit of a designated portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) per each Creation Unit, constituting a substantial replication, or a portfolio sampling representation, of the securities included in a Fund’s portfolio, on a pro rata basis, and the Cash Component (defined below), computed as described below. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Trust reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of a “cash in lieu” amount (“Deposit Cash”) to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Deposit Security. When accepting purchases of Creation Units for all or a portion of Deposit Cash, a Fund may incur additional costs associated with the acquisition of Deposit Securities that would otherwise be provided by an in-kind purchaser.
Together, the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, and the Cash Component constitute the “Fund Deposit,” which represents the minimum initial and subsequent investment amount for a Creation Unit of a Fund. The “Cash Component” is an amount equal to the difference between the net asset value of the Shares (per Creation Unit) and the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable. If the Cash Component is a positive number (
i.e.
, the net asset value per Creation Unit exceeds the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable), the Cash Component shall be such positive amount. If the Cash Component is a negative number (
i.e.
, the net asset value per Creation Unit is less than the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable), the Cash Component shall be such negative amount and the creator will be entitled to receive cash in an amount equal to the Cash Component. The Cash Component serves the function of compensating for any differences between the net asset value per Creation Unit and the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable. Computation of the Cash Component excludes any stamp duty or other similar fees and expenses payable upon transfer of beneficial ownership of the Deposit Securities, if applicable, which shall be the sole responsibility of the Authorized Participant (as defined below).
The Funds, through NSCC, will make available on each Business Day, immediately prior to the opening of business on the [______] (currently 9:30 a.m., Eastern Time), the list of the names and the required number of Shares of each Deposit Security or the required amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, to be included in the current Fund Deposits (based on information at the end of the previous Business Day) for each Fund. Such Fund Deposits are subject to any applicable adjustments as described below, in order to effect purchases of Creation Units of a Fund until such time as the next-announced composition of the Deposit Securities or the required amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, is made available.
The identity and number of Shares of the Deposit Securities or the amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, required for a Fund Deposit for a Creation Unit changes as rebalancing adjustments and corporate action events are reflected from time to time by the Adviser with a view to the investment objective of a Fund. The composition of the Deposit Securities may also change in response to adjustments to the weighting or composition of the component securities of a Fund’s Index. However, there will be no intraday changes to Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash except to correct errors in the published list.
The Trust reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of an amount of cash (that is a “cash in lieu” amount) to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Deposit Security which may not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery or that may not be eligible for transfer through the systems of DTC, the Clearing Process (discussed below), the Federal Reserve System for U.S. Treasury Securities (discussed below) or for other similar reasons. The Trust also reserves the right to permit or require a “cash in lieu” amount where the delivery of Deposit Securities by the Authorized Participant (as described below) would be restricted under the securities laws or where delivery of Deposit Securities to the Authorized Participant would result in the disposition of Deposit Securities by the Authorized Participant becoming restricted under the securities laws, and in certain other situations.
On a given Business Day, the Trust may require all Authorized Participants purchasing Creation Units on that day to deposit an amount of cash (that is a “cash in lieu” amount) to replace any Deposit Security that may not be eligible for transfer through the systems of DTC or the Clearing Process (discussed below). The Trust also reserves the right to permit a “cash in lieu” to replace any Deposit Security which may not be available in sufficient quantity or which may not be eligible for trading by an Authorized Participant or the investor on whose behalf the Authorized Participant is acting (“custom orders”). The Trust may in its discretion require an Authorized Participant to purchase Creation Units of the Fund in cash, rather than inkind. On a given Business Day, the Trust may announce before the open of trading that all purchases of Creation Units of the Fund on that day will be made entirely in cash or, upon receiving a purchase order for Creation Units of the Fund from an Authorized Participant, the Trust may determine to require that purchase to be made entirely in cash.
Procedures for Purchase of Creation Units
. To be eligible to place orders with the Distributor to purchase a Creation Unit of the Funds, an entity must be (i) a “Participating Party”,
i.e.
, a broker-dealer or other participant in the clearing process through the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC (the “Clearing Process”), a clearing agency that is registered with the SEC; or (ii) a DTC Participant (see “BOOK ENTRY ONLY SYSTEM”). In addition, each Participating Party or DTC Participant (each, an “Authorized Participant”) must execute a Participant Agreement that has been agreed to by the Distributor, and that has been accepted by the Transfer Agent and the Trust, with respect to purchases and redemptions of Creation Units. Each Authorized Participant will agree, pursuant to the terms of a Participant Agreement, on behalf of itself or any investor on whose behalf it will act, to certain conditions, including that it will pay to the Trust, an amount of cash sufficient to pay the Cash Component together with the Creation Transaction Fee (defined below) and any other applicable fees and taxes. The Adviser may retain all or a portion of the Transaction Fee to the extent the Adviser bears the expenses that otherwise would be borne by the Trust in connection with the purchase of a Creation Unit, which the Transaction Fee is designed to cover.
All orders to purchase Shares directly from the Funds must be placed for one or more Creation Units and in the manner and by the time set forth in the Participant Agreement and/or applicable order form. The date on which an order to purchase Creation Units (or an order to redeem Creation Units, as set forth below) is received and accepted is referred to as the “Order Placement Date.”
An Authorized Participant may require an investor to make certain representations or enter into agreements with respect to the order, (
e.g.
, to provide for payments of cash, when required). Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not have executed a Participant Agreement and that, therefore, orders to purchase Shares directly from the Funds in Creation Units have to be placed by the investor’s broker through an Authorized Participant that has executed a Participant Agreement. In such cases there may be additional charges to such investor. At any given time, there may be only a limited number of broker-dealers that have executed a Participant Agreement and only a small number of such Authorized Participants may have international capabilities.
On days when the [______] closes earlier than normal, the Funds may require orders to create Creation Units to be placed earlier in the day. In addition, if a market or markets on which the Funds’ investments are primarily traded is closed, the Funds will also generally not accept orders on such day(s). Orders must be transmitted by an Authorized Participant by telephone or other transmission method acceptable to the Distributor pursuant to procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement and in accordance with the applicable order form. On behalf of the Funds, the Distributor will notify the Custodian of such order. The Custodian will then provide such information to the appropriate local sub-custodian(s). Those placing orders through an Authorized Participant should allow sufficient time to permit proper submission of the purchase order to the Distributor by the cut-off time on such Business Day, as designated in the Participant Agreement. In the case of custom orders, the order must be received by the Distributor no later than 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Economic or market disruptions or changes, or telephone or other communication failure may impede the ability to reach the Distributor or an Authorized Participant.
Fund Deposits must be delivered by an Authorized Participant through the Federal Reserve System (for cash) or through DTC (for corporate securities), through a sub-custody agent (for foreign securities) and/or through such other arrangements allowed by the Trust or its agents. With respect to foreign Deposit Securities, the Custodian shall cause the sub-custodian of the Funds to maintain an account into which the Authorized Participant shall deliver, on behalf of itself or the party on whose behalf it is acting, such Deposit Securities (or Deposit Cash for all or a part of such securities, as permitted or required), with any appropriate adjustments as advised by the Trust. Foreign Deposit Securities must be delivered to an account maintained at the applicable local sub-custodian. The Fund Deposit transfer must be ordered by the Authorized Participant in a timely fashion so as to ensure the delivery of the requisite number of Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, to the account of a Fund or its agents by no later than [12:00 p.m.] Eastern Time (or such other time as specified by the Trust) on the Settlement Date. If a Fund or its agents do not receive all of the Deposit Securities, or the required Deposit Cash in lieu thereof, by such time, then the order may be deemed rejected and the Authorized Participant shall be liable to the Fund for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. The “Settlement Date” for a Fund is generally the third Business Day after the Order Placement Date. All questions as to the number of Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash to be delivered, as applicable, and the validity, form and eligibility (including time of receipt) for the deposit of any tendered securities or cash, as applicable, will be determined by the Trust, whose determination shall be final and binding. The amount of cash represented by the Cash Component must be transferred directly to the Custodian through the Federal Reserve Bank wire transfer system in a timely manner so as to be received by the Custodian no later than the Settlement Date. If the Cash Component and the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, are not received by the Custodian in a timely manner by the Settlement Date, the creation order may be cancelled. Upon written notice to the Distributor, such canceled order may be resubmitted the following Business Day using a Fund Deposit as newly constituted to reflect the then current NAV of the Fund.
The order shall be deemed to be received on the Business Day on which the order is placed provided that the order is placed in proper form prior to the applicable cut-off time and the Deposit Cash, as applicable, and the Cash Component in the appropriate amount are deposited by 2:00 p.m. or 3:00 p.m., Eastern Time (as set forth on the applicable order form), with the Custodian on the Settlement Date. If the order is not placed in proper form as required, or Deposit Cash, as applicable, and the Cash Component in the appropriate amount are not received by 2:00 p.m. or 3:00 p.m., Eastern Time (as set forth on the applicable order form) on the Settlement Date, then the order may be deemed to be rejected and the Authorized Participant shall be liable to the Funds for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. A creation request is considered to be in “proper form” if all procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement, order form and this SAI are properly followed.
Issuance of a Creation Unit
. Except as provided herein, Creation Units will not be issued until the transfer of good title to the Trust of the Deposit Securities or payment of Deposit Cash, as applicable, and the payment of the Cash Component have been completed. When the sub-custodian has confirmed to the Custodian that the required Deposit Securities (or the cash value thereof) have been delivered to the account of the relevant sub-custodian or sub-custodians, the Distributor and the Adviser shall be notified of such delivery, and the Trust will issue and cause the delivery of the Creation Units. The delivery of Creation Units so created generally will occur no later than the third Business Day following the day on which the purchase order is deemed received by the Distributor. However, as discussed in Appendix C, a Fund reserves the right to settle Creation Unit transactions on a basis other than the third Business Day following the day on which the purchase order is deemed received by the Distributor in order to accommodate foreign market holiday schedules, to account for different treatment among foreign and U.S. markets of dividend record dates and ex-dividend dates (that is the last day the holder of a security can sell the security and still receive dividends payable on the security), and in certain other circumstances. The Authorized Participant shall be liable to a Fund for losses, if any, resulting from unsettled orders.
Creation Units may be issued in advance of receipt by the Trust of all or a portion of the applicable Deposit Securities as described below. In these circumstances, the initial deposit will have a value greater than the net asset value of the Shares on the date the order is placed in proper form since, in addition to available Deposit Securities, cash must be deposited in an amount equal to the sum of (i) the Cash Component, plus (ii) an additional amount of cash equal to a percentage of the market value as set forth in the Participant Agreement, of the undelivered Deposit Securities (the “Additional Cash Deposit”), which shall be maintained in a separate non-interest bearing collateral account. The Authorized Participant must deposit with the Custodian the Additional Cash Deposit, as applicable, by [12:00 p.m.] Eastern Time (or such other time as specified by the Trust) on the Settlement Date. If a Fund or its agents do not receive the Additional Cash Deposit in the appropriate amount, by such time, then the order may be deemed rejected and the Authorized Participant shall be liable to the Fund for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. An additional amount of cash shall be required to be deposited with the Trust, pending delivery of the missing Deposit Securities to the extent necessary to maintain the Additional Cash Deposit with the Trust in an amount at least equal to the applicable percentage, as set forth in the Participant Agreement, of the daily marked to market value of the missing Deposit Securities. The Participant Agreement will permit the Trust to buy the missing Deposit Securities at any time. Authorized Participants will be liable to the Trust for the costs incurred by the Trust in connection with any such purchases. These costs will be deemed to include the amount by which the actual purchase price of the Deposit Securities exceeds the market value of such Deposit Securities on the day the purchase order was deemed received by the Distributor plus the brokerage and related transaction costs associated with such purchases. The Trust will return any unused portion of the Additional Cash Deposit once all of the missing Deposit Securities have been properly received by the Custodian or purchased by the Trust and deposited into the Trust. In addition, a Transaction Fee, as set forth below under “Creation Transaction Fee” will be charged in all cases. The delivery of Creation Units so created generally will occur no later than the Settlement Date.
Acceptance of Orders of Creation Units
. The Trust reserves the absolute right to reject an order for Creation Units transmitted to it by the Distributor with respect to a Fund including, without limitation, if (a) the order is not in proper form; (b) the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, delivered by the Participant are not as disseminated through the facilities of the NSCC for that date by the Custodian; (c) the investor(s), upon obtaining the Shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding Shares of the Fund; (d) acceptance of the Deposit Securities would have certain adverse tax consequences to a Fund; (e) the acceptance of a Fund Deposit would, in the opinion of counsel, be unlawful; (f) the acceptance of a Fund Deposit would otherwise, in the discretion of the Trust or the Adviser, have an adverse effect on the Trust or the rights of beneficial owners; (g) the acceptance or receipt of the order for a Creation Unit would, in the opinion of counsel to the Trust, be unlawful; or (h) in the event that circumstances outside the control of the Trust, the Custodian, the Transfer Agent and/or the Adviser make it for all practical purposes not feasible to process orders for Creation Units.
Examples of such circumstances include acts of God or public service or utility problems such as fires, floods, extreme weather conditions and power outages resulting in telephone, telecopy and computer failures; market conditions or activities causing trading halts; systems failures involving computer or other information systems affecting the Trust, the Distributor, the Custodian, a sub-custodian, the Transfer Agent, DTC, NSCC, Federal Reserve System, or any other participant in the creation process, and other extraordinary events. The Distributor shall notify a prospective creator of a Creation Unit and/or the Authorized Participant acting on behalf of the creator of a Creation Unit of its rejection of the order of such person. The Trust, the Transfer Agent, the Custodian, any sub-custodian and the Distributor are under no duty, however, to give notification of any defects or irregularities in the delivery of Fund Deposits nor shall either of them incur any liability for the failure to give any such notification. The Trust, the Transfer Agent, the Custodian and the Distributor shall not be liable for the rejection of any purchase order for Creation Units.
All questions as to the number of Shares of each security in the Deposit Securities and the validity, form, eligibility and acceptance for deposit of any securities to be delivered shall be determined by the Trust, and the Trust’s determination shall be final and binding.
Creation Transaction Fee
. A purchase (
i.e.
, creation) transaction fee is imposed for the transfer and other transaction costs associated with the purchase of Creation Units, and investors will be required to pay a creation transaction fee regardless of the number of Creation Units created in the transaction. The Funds may adjust the creation transaction fee from time to time based upon actual experience. The standard fixed creation transaction fee for the Funds will be [$250]. In addition, a variable fee will be charged on all cash transactions or substitutes for Creation Units of up to a maximum of 2% as a percentage of the value of the Creation Units subject to the transaction. The variable charge may be imposed for cash purchases, non-standard orders, or partial cash purchases incurred by a Fund, primarily designed to cover expenses related to broker commissions. Investors who use the services of a broker or other such intermediary may be charged a fee for such services. Investors are responsible for the fixed costs of transferring the securities constituting the Deposit Securities to the account of the Trust.
Redemption
. Shares may be redeemed only in Creation Units at their net asset value next determined after receipt of a redemption request in proper form by the Funds through the Transfer Agent and only on a Business Day. Redemption requests must be placed by or through an Authorized Participant. EXCEPT UPON LIQUIDATION OF A FUND, THE TRUST WILL NOT REDEEM SHARES IN AMOUNTS LESS THAN CREATION UNITS. Investors must accumulate enough Shares in the secondary market to constitute a Creation Unit in order to have such Shares redeemed by the Trust. There can be no assurance, however, that there will be sufficient liquidity in the public trading market at any time to permit assembly of a Creation Unit. Investors should expect to incur brokerage and other costs in connection with assembling a sufficient number of Shares to constitute a redeemable Creation Unit.
With respect to the Funds, the Custodian, through the NSCC, will make available immediately prior to the opening of business on the [_________] (currently 9:30 a.m., Eastern Time) on each Business Day, the list of the names and Share quantities of each Fund’s portfolio securities that will be applicable (subject to possible amendment or correction) to redemption requests received in proper form (as defined below) on that day (“Fund Securities”). Fund Securities received on redemption may not be identical to Deposit Securities.
Redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit are paid either in-kind or in cash, or combination thereof, as determined by the Trust. With respect to in-kind redemptions of the Funds, redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit will consist of Fund Securities -- as announced by the Custodian on the Business Day of the request for redemption received in proper form plus cash in an amount equal to the difference between the net asset value of the Shares being redeemed, as next determined after a receipt of a request in proper form, and the value of the Fund Securities (the “Cash Redemption Amount”), less a fixed redemption transaction fee as set forth below. In the event that the Fund Securities have a value greater than the net asset value of the Shares, a compensating cash payment equal to the differential is required to be made by or through an Authorized Participant by the redeeming shareholder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, at the Trust’s discretion, an Authorized Participant may receive the corresponding cash value of the securities in lieu of the in-kind securities value representing one or more Fund Securities.
Redemption Transaction Fee
. A redemption transaction fee is imposed for the transfer and other transaction costs associated with the redemption of Creation Units, and investors will be required to pay a fixed redemption transaction fee regardless of the number of Creation Units created in the transaction, as set forth in the Funds’ Prospectus, as may be revised from time to time. The redemption transaction fee is the same no matter how many Creation Units are being redeemed pursuant to any one redemption request. The Funds may adjust the redemption transaction fee from time to time based upon actual experience. The standard fixed redemption transaction fee for the Funds will be [$___]. In addition, a variable fee will be charged on all cash transactions or substitutes for Creation Units of up to a maximum of [_%] as a percentage of the value of the Creation Units subject to the transaction. The variable charge may be imposed for cash redemptions, non-standard orders, or partial cash redemptions (when cash redemptions are available) incurred by a Fund, primarily designed to cover expenses related to broker commissions. Investors who use the services of a broker or other such intermediary may be charged a fee for such services. Investors are responsible for the fixed costs of transferring the Fund Securities from the Trust to their account or on their order.
Procedures for Redemption of Creation Units
. Orders to redeem Creation Units must be submitted in proper form to the Transfer Agent prior to [12:00 p.m.] Eastern Time. A redemption request is considered to be in “proper form” if (i) an Authorized Participant has transferred or caused to be transferred to the Trust’s Transfer Agent the Creation Unit(s) being redeemed through the book-entry system of DTC so as to be effective by the time as set forth in the Participant Agreement and (ii) a request in form satisfactory to the Trust is received by the Transfer Agent from the Authorized Participant on behalf of itself or another redeeming investor within the time periods specified in the Participant Agreement. If the Transfer Agent does not receive the investor’s Shares through DTC’s facilities by the times and pursuant to the other terms and conditions set forth in the Participant Agreement, the redemption request shall be rejected.
The Authorized Participant must transmit the request for redemption, in the form required by the Trust, to the Transfer Agent in accordance with procedures set forth in the Authorized Participant Agreement. Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not have executed an Authorized Participant Agreement, and that, therefore, requests to
redeem
Creation Units may have to be placed by the investor’s broker through an Authorized Participant who has executed an Authorized Participant Agreement. Investors making a redemption request should be aware that such request must be in the form specified by such Authorized Participant. Investors making a request to redeem Creation Units should allow sufficient time to permit proper submission of the request by an Authorized Participant and transfer of the Shares to the Trust’s Transfer Agent; such investors should allow for the additional time that may be required to effect redemptions through their banks, brokers or other financial intermediaries if such intermediaries are not Authorized Participants.
Additional Redemption Procedures.
In connection with taking delivery of Shares of Fund Securities upon redemption of Creation Units, a redeeming shareholder or Authorized Participant acting on behalf of such Shareholder must maintain appropriate custody arrangements with a qualified broker-dealer, bank or other custody providers in each jurisdiction in which any of the Fund Securities are customarily traded, to which account such Fund Securities will be delivered. Deliveries of redemption proceeds generally will be made within three business days of the trade date.
However, due to the schedule of holidays in certain countries, the different treatment among foreign and U.S. markets of dividend record dates and dividend ex-dates (that is the last date the holder of a security can sell the security and still receive dividends payable on the security sold), and in certain other circumstances, the delivery of in-kind redemption proceeds may take longer than three Business Days after the day on which the redemption request is received in proper form. Appendix C identifies the instances where more than seven days would be needed to deliver redemption proceeds. Pursuant to an order of the SEC, on behalf of the Funds, the Trust will make delivery of in-kind redemption proceeds within the number of days stated in Appendix C to be the maximum number of days necessary to deliver redemption proceeds. If neither the redeeming Shareholder nor the Authorized Participant acting on behalf of such redeeming Shareholder has appropriate arrangements to take delivery of the Fund Securities in the applicable foreign jurisdiction and it is not possible to make other such arrangements, or if it is not possible to effect deliveries of the Fund Securities in such jurisdiction, the Trust may, in its discretion, exercise its option to redeem such Shares in cash, and the redeeming Shareholders will be required to receive its redemption proceeds in cash.
If it is not possible to make other such arrangements, or it is not possible to effect deliveries of the Fund Securities, the Trust may in its discretion exercise its option to redeem such Shares in cash, and the redeeming investor will be required to receive its redemption proceeds in cash. In addition, an investor may request a redemption in cash that a Fund may, in its sole discretion, permit. In either case, the investor will receive a cash payment equal to the NAV of its Shares based on the NAV of Shares of the Funds next determined after the redemption request is received in proper form (minus a redemption transaction fee and additional charge for requested cash redemptions specified above, to offset the Trust’s brokerage and other transaction costs associated with the disposition of Fund Securities). A Fund may also, in its sole discretion, upon request of a shareholder, provide such redeemer a portfolio of securities that differs from the exact composition of the Fund Securities but does not differ in net asset value.
Redemptions of Shares for Fund Securities will be subject to compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws and each Fund (whether or not it otherwise permits cash redemptions) reserves the right to redeem Creation Units for cash to the extent that the Trust could not lawfully deliver specific Fund Securities upon redemptions or could not do so without first registering the Fund Securities under such laws. An Authorized Participant or an investor for which it is acting subject to a legal restriction with respect to a particular security included in the Fund Securities applicable to the redemption of Creation Units may be paid an equivalent amount of cash. The Authorized Participant may request the redeeming investor of the Shares to complete an order form or to enter into agreements with respect to such matters as compensating cash payment. Further, an Authorized Participant that is not a “qualified institutional buyer,” (“QIB”) as such term is defined under Rule 144A of the Securities Act, will not be able to receive Fund Securities that are restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A. An Authorized Participant may be required by the Trust to provide a written confirmation with respect to QIB status in order to receive Fund Securities.
Because the portfolio securities of the Funds may trade on other exchanges on days that the [_________] is closed or are otherwise not Business Days for the Funds, shareholders may not be able to redeem their Shares of the Funds, or to purchase or sell Shares of the Funds on the [_________], on days when the NAV of the Funds could be significantly affected by events in the relevant foreign markets.
The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed with respect to each Fund (1) for any period during which the [_________] is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings); (2) for any period during which trading on the [_________] is suspended or restricted; (3) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which disposal of the Shares of the Funds or determination of the NAV of the Shares is not reasonably practicable; or (4) in such other circumstance as is permitted by the SEC.
Required Early Acceptance of Orders.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, as described in the Participant Agreement and/or applicable order form, a Fund may require orders to be placed up to one or more business days prior to the trade date, as described in the Participant Agreement or the applicable order form, in order to receive the trade date’s net asset value. Orders to purchase Shares of the Funds that are submitted on the Business Day immediately preceding a holiday or a day (other than a weekend) that the equity markets in the relevant foreign market are closed will not be accepted. Authorized Participants may be notified that the cut-off time for an order may be earlier on a particular business day, as described in the Participant Agreement and the order form.
DETERMINATION OF NAV
Net asset value per Share for the Funds is computed by dividing the value of the net assets of a Fund (
i.e.
, the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by the total number of Shares outstanding, rounded to the nearest cent. Expenses and fees, including the management fees, are accrued daily and taken into account for purposes of determining net asset value. The net asset value of a Fund is calculated by the Custodian and determined at the close of the regular trading session on the ______ (ordinarily 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time) on each day that such exchange is open, provided that fixed-income assets may be valued as of the announced closing time for trading in fixed-income instruments on any day that the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (“SIFMA”) announces an early closing time.
In calculating a Fund’s net asset value per Share, the Fund’s investments are generally valued using market valuations. A market valuation generally means a valuation (i) obtained from an exchange, a pricing service, or a major market maker (or dealer), (ii) based on a price quotation or other equivalent indication of value supplied by an exchange, a pricing service, or a major market maker (or dealer) or (iii) based on amortized cost. In the case of shares of other funds that are not traded on an exchange, a market valuation means such fund’s published net asset value per share. A price obtained from a pricing service based on such pricing service’s valuation matrix may be considered a market valuation. Any assets or liabilities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar are converted into U.S. dollars at the current market rates on the date of valuation as quoted by one or more sources.
DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS
The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled “Dividends, Distributions and Taxes.”
General Policies
. Dividends from net investment income, if any, are declared and paid quarterly by the Trust. Distributions of net realized securities gains, if any, generally are declared and paid once a year, but the Trust may make distributions on a more frequent basis for the Funds to improve index tracking or to comply with the distribution requirements of the Code, in all events in a manner consistent with the provisions of the 1940 Act.
Dividends and other distributions on Shares are distributed, as described below, on a pro rata basis to Beneficial Owners of such Shares. Dividend payments are made through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants to Beneficial Owners then of record with proceeds received from the Trust.
The Trust makes additional distributions to the extent necessary (i) to distribute the entire annual taxable income of the Trust, plus any net capital gains and (ii) to avoid imposition of the excise tax imposed by Section 4982 of the Code. Management of the Trust reserves the right to declare special dividends if, in its reasonable discretion, such action is necessary or advisable to preserve the status of the Trust as a regulated investment company ("RIC") or to avoid imposition of income or excise taxes on undistributed income.
Dividend Reinvestment Service.
The Trust will not make the DTC book-entry dividend reinvestment service available for use by Beneficial Owners for reinvestment of their cash proceeds, but certain individual broker-dealers may make available the DTC book-entry Dividend Reinvestment Service for use by Beneficial Owners of the Funds through DTC Participants for reinvestment of their dividend distributions. Investors should contact their brokers to ascertain the availability and description of these services. Beneficial Owners should be aware that each broker may require investors to adhere to specific procedures and timetables in order to participate in the dividend reinvestment service and investors should ascertain from their brokers such necessary details. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and realized gains will be automatically reinvested in additional whole Shares issued by the Trust of the Funds at NAV per Share. Distributions reinvested in additional Shares of the Funds will nevertheless be taxable to Beneficial Owners acquiring such additional Shares to the same extent as if such distributions had been received in cash.
FEDERAL INCOME TAXES
The following discussion of certain U.S. federal income tax consequences of investing in the Funds is based on the Code, U.S. Treasury regulations, and other applicable authority, all as in effect as of the date of the filing of this SAI. These authorities are subject to change by legislative or administrative action, possibly with retroactive effect. The following discussion is only a summary of some of the important U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to investments in a Fund. There may be other tax considerations applicable to particular shareholders. Shareholders should consult their own tax advisors regarding their particular situation and the possible application of foreign, state, and local tax laws.
Qualification as a Regulated Investment Company (RIC)
.
Each Fund intends to elect to be treated and qualify each year as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. In order to qualify for the special tax treatment accorded RICs and their shareholders, a Fund must, among other things:
(a) derive at least 90% of its gross income each year from (i) dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including but not limited to gains from options, futures or forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies, and (ii) net income derived from interests in “qualified publicly traded partnerships” (as defined below);
(b) diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each quarter of its taxable year, (i) at least 50% of the market value of a Fund’s total assets consists of cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other RICs and other securities, with investments in such other securities limited with respect to any one issuer to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of a Fund’s total assets and not greater than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of a Fund’s total assets is invested in (1) the securities (other than those of the U.S. government or other RICs) of any one issuer or two or more issuers that are controlled by a Fund and that are engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses or (2) the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships; and
(c) distribute with respect to each taxable year an amount at least equal to the sum of 90% of its investment company taxable income (as that term is defined in the Code without regard to the deduction for dividends paid – generally taxable ordinary income and the excess, if any, of net short-term capital gains over net long-term capital losses) and 90% of its net tax-exempt interest income.
In general, for purposes of the 90% of gross income requirement described in (a) above, income derived from a partnership will be treated as qualifying income only to the extent such income is attributable to items of income of the partnership that would be qualifying income if realized directly by a Fund. However, 100% of the net income derived from an interest in a “qualified publicly traded partnership” (generally, a partnership (i) interests in which are traded on an established securities market or are readily tradable on a secondary market or the substantial equivalent thereof, and (ii) that derives less than 90% of its income from the qualifying income described in (a)(i) of the prior paragraph) will be treated as qualifying income. In addition, although in general the passive loss rules of the Code do not apply to RICs, such rules do apply to a RIC with respect to items attributable to an interest in a qualified publicly traded partnership.
The U.S. Treasury Department has authority to issue regulations that would exclude foreign currency gains from the 90% test described in (a) above if such gains are not directly related to a fund’s business of investing in stock or securities. Accordingly, regulations may be issued in the future that could treat some or all of a Fund’s non-U.S. currency gains as non-qualifying income, thereby potentially jeopardizing the Fund’s status as a RIC for all years to which the regulations are applicable.
Taxation of the Funds
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If the Funds qualify for treatment as RICs, the Funds will not be subject to federal income tax on income and gains that are distributed in a timely manner to their shareholders in the form of dividends.
If, for any taxable year, a Fund was to fail to qualify as a RIC or was to fail to meet the distribution requirement, they 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. In addition, a Fund’s distributions, to the extent derived from the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits, including any distributions of net long-term capital gains, would be taxable to shareholders as ordinary dividend income for federal income tax purposes. However, such dividends would be eligible, subject to any generally applicable limitations, (i) to be treated as qualified dividend income in the case of shareholders taxed as individuals and (ii) for the dividends-received deduction in the case of corporate shareholders. Moreover, a Fund would be required to pay out its earnings and profits accumulated in that year in order to qualify for treatment as a RIC in a subsequent year. Under certain circumstances, a Fund may be able to cure a failure to qualify as a RIC, but in order to do so that Fund may incur significant Fund-level taxes and may be forced to dispose of certain assets. If a Fund failed to qualify as a RIC for a period greater than two taxable years, the Fund would generally be required to recognize any net built-in gains with respect to certain of its assets upon a disposition of such assets within ten years of qualifying as a RIC in a subsequent year.
The Funds intend to distribute, at least annually, substantially all of their investment company taxable income and net capital gains. Investment company taxable income that is retained by a Fund will be subject to tax at regular corporate rates. If a Fund retains any net capital gain, that gain will be subject to tax at corporate rates, but the Fund may designate the retained amount as undistributed capital gains in a notice to its shareholders who (i) will be required to include in income for federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gain, their Shares of such undistributed amount, (ii) will be deemed to have paid their proportionate Shares of the tax paid by the Fund on such undistributed amount against their federal income tax liabilities, if any, and (iii) will be entitled to claim refunds on a properly filed U.S. tax return to the extent the credit exceeds such liabilities. For federal income tax purposes, the tax basis of Shares owned by a shareholder of a Fund will be increased by an amount equal to the difference between the amount of undistributed capital gains included in the shareholder’s gross income and the tax deemed paid by the shareholder.
If a Fund fails to distribute in a calendar year an amount at least equal to the sum of 98% of its ordinary income for such year and 98.2% of its capital gain net income for the one-year period ending October 31 of such year, plus any retained amount from the prior year, the Fund will be subject to a non-deductible 4% excise tax on the undistributed amount. For these purposes, a Fund will be treated as having distributed any amount on which it has been subject to corporate income tax in the taxable year ending within the calendar year. The Funds intend to declare and pay dividends and distributions in the amounts and at the times necessary to avoid the application of the 4% excise tax, although there can be no assurance that they will be able to do so.
A Fund may elect to treat part or all of any “qualified late year loss” as if it had been incurred in the succeeding taxable year in determining the Fund’s taxable income, net capital gain, net short-term capital gain, and earning and profits. A “qualified late year loss” generally includes net capital loss, net long-term capital loss, or net short-term capital loss incurred after October 31 of the current taxable year, and certain other late-year losses.
If a Fund has a “net capital loss” (that is, capital losses in excess of capital gains) for a taxable year beginning after December 22, 2010 (a “Post-2010 Loss”), the excess of the Fund’s net short-term capital losses over its net long-term capital gains is treated as a short-term capital loss arising on the first day of the Fund’s next taxable year, and the excess (if any) of the Fund’s net long-term capital losses over its net short-term capital gains is treated as a long-term capital loss arising on the first day of the Fund’s next taxable year. A Fund’s unused capital loss carryforwards that arose in tax years that began on or before December 22, 2010 (“Pre-2011 Losses”) are available to be applied against future capital gains, if any, realized by the Fund prior to the expiration of those carryforwards, generally eight taxable years after the year in which they arose. A Fund’s Post-2010 Losses must be fully utilized before the Fund will be permitted to utilize any carryforwards of Pre-2011 Losses.
Fund Distributions
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Distributions are taxable whether shareholders receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional Shares. Moreover, distributions of a Fund’s Shares are generally subject to federal income tax as described herein to the extent they do not exceed the Fund’s realized income and gains, even though such distributions may economically represent a return of a particular shareholder’s investment. Investors may therefore wish to avoid purchasing Shares at a time when a Fund’s NAV reflects gains that are either unrealized, or realized but not distributed. Realized gains must generally be distributed even when a Fund’s NAV also reflects unrealized losses.
Dividends and other distributions are generally treated under the Code as received by the shareholders at the time the dividend or distribution is made. However, if any dividend or distribution is declared by a Fund in October, November or December of any calendar year and payable to its shareholders of record on a specified date in such a month but is actually paid during the following January, such dividend or distribution will be deemed to have been received by each shareholder on December 31 of the year in which the dividend was declared.
Distributions by a Fund of investment income is generally taxable as ordinary income. Taxes on distributions of capital gains are determined by how long a Fund owned the investments that generated those gains, rather than how long a shareholder has owned his or her Fund 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 a Fund for one year or less generally result in short-term capital gains and losses. Distributions from a Fund’s net capital gain (the excess of a Fund’s net long-term capital gain over its net short-term capital loss) that are properly reported by a Fund as capital gain dividends (“Capital Gain Dividends”) will be taxable as long-term capital gains. For individuals, long-term capital gains are subject to tax at reduced maximum tax rates. Distributions of gains from the sale of investments that a Fund owned for one year or less will be taxable as ordinary income.
Distributions of investment income reported by a Fund as derived from “qualified dividend income” will be taxed in the hands of non-corporate shareholders at the rates applicable to long-term capital gains, provided holding period and other requirements are met at both the shareholder and Fund level. In order for some portion of the dividends received by a Fund shareholder to be “qualified dividend income,” a Fund making the distribution must meet holding period and other requirements with respect to some portion of the dividend-paying stocks in its portfolio and the shareholder must meet holding period and other requirements with respect to a Fund’s Shares. A dividend will not be treated as qualified dividend income (at either a Fund or shareholder level) (1) if the dividend is received with respect to any share of stock held for fewer than 61 days during the 121-day period beginning on the date that is 60 days before the date on which such share becomes ex-dividend with respect to such dividend (or, in the case of certain preferred stock, 91 days during the 181-day period beginning 90 days before the ex-dividend date), (2) to the extent that the recipient is under an obligation (whether pursuant to a short sale or otherwise) to make related payments with respect to positions in substantially similar or related property, (3) if the recipient elects to have the dividend income treated as investment income for purposes of the limitation on deductibility of investment interest, or (4) if the dividend is received from a foreign corporation that is (a) not eligible for the benefits of a comprehensive income tax treaty with the United States (with the exception of dividends paid on stock of such a foreign corporation that is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States) or (b) treated as a passive foreign investment company.
In general, distributions of investment income reported by a Fund as derived from qualified dividend income will be treated as qualified dividend income by a shareholder taxed as an individual, provided the shareholder meets the holding period and other requirements described above with respect to the Fund’s Shares. If the aggregate qualified dividends received by a Fund during any taxable year are 95% or more of its gross income (excluding net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss), then 100% of the Fund’s dividends (other than Capital Gain Dividends) will be eligible to be reported as qualified dividend income.
Dividends of net investment income received by corporate shareholders of a Fund will qualify for the 70% dividends-received deduction generally available to corporations to the extent of the amount of qualifying dividends received by the Fund from domestic corporations for the taxable year. A dividend received by a Fund will not be treated as a qualifying dividend (1) if the stock on which the dividend is paid is considered to be “debt-financed” (generally, acquired with borrowed funds), (2) if it has been received with respect to any share of stock that a Fund has held for less than 46 days during the 91-day period beginning on the date that is 45 days before the date on which the share becomes ex-dividend with respect to such dividend (91 days during the 181-day period beginning 90 days before the ex-dividend date in the case of certain preferred stock) or (3) to the extent that a Fund is under an obligation (pursuant to a short sale or otherwise) to make related payments with respect to positions in substantially similar or related property. Moreover, the dividends-received deduction may be disallowed or reduced (1) if the corporate shareholder fails to satisfy the foregoing requirements with respect to its Shares of the Fund or (2) by application of the Code.
To the extent that a Fund makes a distribution of income received by the Fund in lieu of dividends (a “substitute payment”) with respect to securities on loan pursuant to a securities lending transaction, such income will not constitute qualified dividend income to individual shareholders and will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction for corporate shareholders.
Dividends and distributions from a Fund will generally be taken into account in determining a shareholder’s “net investment income” for purposes of the Medicare contribution tax applicable to certain individuals, estates and trusts for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2012.
If a Fund makes distributions to a shareholder in excess of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits in any taxable year, the excess distribution will be treated as a return of capital to the extent of that shareholder’s tax basis in its Shares, and thereafter as capital gain, assuming the shareholder holds his or her Shares as capital assets. A return of capital is not taxable, but reduces a shareholder’s tax basis in its Shares, thus reducing any loss or increasing any gain on a subsequent taxable disposition by the shareholder of its Shares.
Sale or Exchange of Shares.
A sale or exchange of Shares in the Funds may give rise to a gain or loss. In general, any gain or loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Shares will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the Shares have been held for more than 12 months. Otherwise, the gain or loss on the taxable disposition of Shares will be treated as short-term capital gain or loss. However, any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Shares held for six months or less will be treated as long-term, rather than short-term, to the extent of any long-term capital gain distributions received (or deemed received) by the shareholder with respect to the Shares. All or a portion of any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Shares will be disallowed if other substantially identical Shares of the Funds are purchased within 30 days before or after the disposition. In such a case, the basis of the newly purchased Shares will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss.
Backup Withholding.
A Fund (or a financial intermediary, such as a broker, through which a shareholder holds Fund Shares) generally is required to withhold and to 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 under-reported dividend or interest income, or who fails to certify that he, she or it is not subject to such withholding.
Federal Tax Treatment of Certain Fund Investments.
Transactions of a Fund in options, futures contracts, hedging transactions, forward contracts, swap agreements, straddles and foreign currencies may be subject to various special and complex tax rules, including mark-to-market, constructive sale, straddle, wash sale and short sale rules. These rules could affect whether gains and losses recognized by a Fund are treated as ordinary income or capital gain, accelerate the recognition of income to the Fund and/or defer the Fund’s ability to recognize losses. These rules may in turn affect the amount, timing or character of the income distributed to shareholders by a Fund.
A Fund is required, for federal income tax purposes, to mark to market and recognize as income for each taxable year its net unrealized gains and losses as of the end of such year on certain regulated futures contracts, foreign currency contracts and options that qualify as Section 1256 contracts in addition to the gains and losses actually realized with respect to such contracts during the year. Except as described below under “Certain Foreign Currency Tax Issues,” gain or loss from Section 1256 contracts that are required to be marked to market annually will generally be 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital gain or loss. Application of this rule may alter the timing and character of distributions to shareholders.
Some debt obligations that are acquired by a Fund may be treated as having original issue discount (“OID”). Generally, a Fund will be required to include OID in taxable income over the term of the debt security, even though payment of the OID is not received until a later time, usually when the debt security matures. If a Fund holds such debt instruments, it may be required to pay out as distributions each year an amount that is greater than the total amount of cash interest the Fund actually received. Such distributions may be made from the cash assets of the Fund or by liquidation of portfolio securities, if necessary.
A Fund may invest in inflation-linked debt securities. Any increase in the principal amount of an inflation-linked debt security will be OID, which is taxable as ordinary income and is required to be distributed, even though a Fund will not receive the principal, including any increase thereto, until maturity. If a Fund invests in securities that have OID, it may be required to liquidate other investments, including at times when it is not advantageous to do so, in order to satisfy its distribution requirements and to eliminate any possible taxation at a Fund level. Moreover, a Fund may realize gains or losses from such liquidations. In the event a Fund realizes net gains from such transactions, its shareholders may receive larger distributions than they would have in the absence of such transactions.
Tax-Exempt Shareholders.
Under current law, income of a RIC that would be treated as unrelated business taxable income (“UBTI”) if earned directly by a tax-exempt entity generally will not be attributed as UBTI to a tax-exempt entity that is a shareholder in the RIC. Notwithstanding this “blocking” effect, a tax-exempt shareholder could realize UBTI by virtue of its investment in a Fund if Shares in the Fund constitute debt-financed property in the hands of the tax-exempt shareholder within the meaning of Code Section 514(b).
Non-U.S. Shareholders.
In general, dividends other than Capital Gain Dividends paid by a Fund to a shareholder that is not a “U.S. person” within the meaning of the Code (a “foreign person”) are subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax at a rate of 30% (or lower applicable treaty rate) even if they are funded by income or gains (such as portfolio interest, short-term capital gains, or foreign-source dividend and interest income) that, if paid to a foreign person directly, would not be subject to withholding.
Effective for taxable years beginning before January 1, 2014, and assuming certain certification requirements are complied with, the Funds generally are not required to withhold any amounts (i) with respect to distributions attributable to U.S. source interest income that would be treated as “portfolio interest” and accordingly would not be subject to U.S. federal income tax if earned directly by an individual foreign person, and (ii) with respect to distributions of net short-term capital gains in excess of net long-term capital losses, in each case to the extent such distributions are reported by a Fund as “interest-related dividends” and “short-term capital gain dividends,” respectively. Depending on the circumstances, a Fund may so report all, some or none of its potentially eligible dividends or treat such dividends, in whole or in part, as ineligible for this exemption from withholding. Moreover, in the case of Shares held through an intermediary, the intermediary may withhold even if a Fund reports such a payment.
A beneficial holder of Shares who is a non-U.S. person is not, in general, subject to U.S. federal income tax on gains (and is not allowed a U.S. income tax deduction for losses) realized on a sale of Shares of the Funds or on Capital Gain Dividends unless (i) such gain or dividend is effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business carried on by such holder within the United States or (ii) in the case of an individual holder, the holder is present in the United States for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the year of the sale or the receipt of the Capital Gain Dividend and certain other conditions are met.
Ordinary dividends, redemption payments and certain capital gain dividends paid after December 31, 2013 to a non-U.S. shareholder that fails to make certain required certifications, or that is a “foreign financial institution” as defined in Section 1471 of the Code and that does not meet the requirements imposed on foreign financial institutions by Section 1471, are generally subject to withholding tax at a 30% rate. Withholding with respect to ordinary dividends began on July 1, 2014. Withholding on redemption payments and certain Capital Gain Dividends is currently scheduled to begin on January 1, 2017. The extent, if any, to which such withholding tax may be reduced or eliminated by an applicable tax treaty is unclear. A non-U.S. shareholder resident or doing business in a country that has entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the U.S. to implement Section 1471 and related provisions will be exempt from such withholding tax provided that the shareholder and the applicable foreign government comply with the terms of such agreement.
In order for a non-U.S. person to qualify for an exemption from backup withholding, the foreign investor must comply with special certification and filing requirements. Foreign investors in the Funds should consult their tax advisors in this regard. Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld may be credited against the shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, provided the appropriate information is furnished to the IRS.
A beneficial holder of Shares who is a non-U.S. person may be subject to the U.S. federal estate tax in addition to the federal income tax consequences referred to above. If a shareholder is eligible for the benefits of a tax treaty, any effectively connected income or gain will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net basis only if it is also attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by the shareholder in the United States.
Section 351.
The Trust on behalf of the Funds has the right to reject an order for a purchase of Shares of the Trust if the purchaser (or any group of purchasers) would, upon obtaining the Shares so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding Shares of a given Fund and if, pursuant to Section 351 of the Code, that Fund would have a basis in the securities different from the market value of such securities on the date of deposit. The Trust also has the right to require information necessary to determine beneficial share ownership for purposes of the 80% determination.
Certain Reporting Regulations.
Under U.S. Treasury regulations, if a shareholder recognizes a loss of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder, the shareholder must file with the Internal Revenue Service a disclosure statement on Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a RIC are not excepted. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.
General Considerations.
The federal income tax discussion set forth above is for general information only. Prospective investors should consult their tax advisors regarding the specific federal income tax consequences of purchasing, holding and disposing of Shares of the Funds, as well as the effect of state, local and foreign tax law and any proposed tax law changes.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Audited Financial Statements and Annual Reports will be available after the Funds have completed a fiscal year of operations. When available, you may request a copy of the Funds’ Annual Report at no charge by calling 1-800-617-0004 or through the Funds’ website at www.[___________].
Supplemental Information
I. Premium/Discount Information
Tables presenting information about the differences between the daily market price on secondary markets for shares of a Fund and that Fund’s net asset value have been omitted because each Fund has been in operation for less than a year.
II. Total Return Information
Tables presenting information about the total return of each Fund’s Index and the total return of each Fund have been omitted because each fund has been in operation for less than a year.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
ANNUAL/SEMIANNUAL REPORTS AND STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (“SAI”)
Additional information about the Funds’ investments will be available in the Funds’ annual and semiannual reports to shareholders when they are prepared.
Additional information about the Funds and their policies also is available in the Funds’ SAI. The SAI is incorporated by reference into this Prospectus (and is legally considered part of this Prospectus).
The Funds’ annual and semiannual reports and the SAI are available free upon request by calling the Funds at _______________ [or by sending an email request to:______________]. The SAI and other information are available from a financial intermediary (such as a broker-dealer or bank) through which the Funds’ shares may be purchased or sold.
TO OBTAIN OTHER INFORMATION AND FOR SHAREHOLDER INQUIRIES:
BY TELEPHONE
Call_________________
BY MAIL
____________________
____________________
____________________
ON THE INTERNET
The Funds’ documents are available online and may be downloaded from:
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The SEC’s Web site at sec.gov (text-only)
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Pacer Funds’ & Trust’s Web site at ____________________.com
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You may review and obtain copies of ______________ documents by visiting the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. You may also obtain copies of ___________ documents by sending your request and a duplicating fee to the SEC’s Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520 or by electronic request to: publicinfo@sec.gov. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 202-551-8090.
APPENDIX A
FUTURES CONTRACTS AND RELATED OPTIONS
[To be added by Amendment]
APPENDIX B
PACER ADVISORS, INC.
PROXY VOTING POLICY AND PROCEDURES
[To be added by Amendment]
APPENDIX C
[To be added by Amendment]