Filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on September 26, 2019
1933 Act Registration File No. 333-179562
1940 Act File No. 811-22668
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM N‑1A
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REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
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Pre‑Effective Amendment No.
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Post‑Effective Amendment No. 553
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and
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REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940
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Amendment No. 554
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(Check appropriate box or boxes.)
ETF SERIES SOLUTIONS
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
(Address of Principal Executive Offices, Zip Code)
(Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code): (414) 765-5586
Michael D. Barolsky, Vice President and Secretary
ETF Series Solutions
c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services
777 East Wisconsin Avenue, 10th Floor
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
(Name and Address of Agent for Service)
Copy to:
W. John McGuire
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004-2541
Approximate Date of Proposed Public Offering: As soon as practical after the effective date of this Registration Statement
It is proposed that this filing will become effective
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immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)
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on September 30, 2019 pursuant to paragraph (b)
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60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)
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on pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)
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75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2)
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on pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485.
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If appropriate, check the following box
[ ] this post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment.
AI Powered International Equity ETF
(AIIQ)
Listed on NYSE Arca, Inc.
PROSPECTUS
September 30, 2019
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has not approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Beginning on January 1, 2021, as permitted by regulations adopted by the SEC, paper copies of the Fund’s shareholder reports will no longer be sent by mail, unless you specifically request paper copies of the Fund’s reports from your financial intermediary, such as a broker-dealer or bank. Instead, the reports will be made available on a website, and you will be notified by mail each time a report is posted and provided with a website link to access the report.
If you already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and you need not take any action. Please contact your financial intermediary to elect to receive shareholder reports and other Fund communications electronically.
You may elect to receive all future Fund reports in paper free of charge. Please contact your financial intermediary to inform them that you wish to continue receiving paper copies of Fund shareholder reports and for details about whether your election to receive reports in paper will apply to all funds held with your financial intermediary.
AI Powered International Equity ETF
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FUND SUMMARY
Investment Objective
The AI Powered International Equity ETF (the “Fund”) seeks capital appreciation.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund (“Shares”). This table and the example below do not include the brokerage commissions that investors may pay on their purchases and sales of Shares.
Expense Example
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
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1 Year
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3 Years
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5 Years
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10 Years
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$81
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$252
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$439
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$978
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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 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. For the fiscal period June 5, 2018 (commencement of operations) through May 31, 2019, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 127% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund is actively managed and seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing primarily in equity securities (or depositary receipts) of companies in developed markets outside the United States based on the results of a proprietary, quantitative model (the “EquBot Model”) developed by EquBot Inc. (“EquBot” or the “Adviser”) that runs on the Watson™ platform. EquBot, the Fund’s investment adviser, is a technology based company focused on applying artificial intelligence (“AI”) based solutions to investment analyses. As a graduate of the IBM Global Entrepreneur program, EquBot leverages IBM’s Watson AI to conduct an objective, fundamental analysis of companies in non-U.S. developed markets based on up to ten years of historical data and apply that analysis to recent economic and news data.
Each day, the EquBot Model ranks each company based on the probability of the company benefiting from current economic conditions, trends, and world events and identifies approximately 80 to 250 companies with the greatest potential over the next twelve months for appreciation and their corresponding weights, while maintaining volatility (i.e., the range in which the portfolio’s returns vary) comparable to the broader non-U.S. developed market. The Fund may invest in the securities of companies of any market capitalization. The EquBot Model recommends a weight for each company based on its potential for appreciation and correlation to the other companies in the Fund’s portfolio. The EquBot Model limits the weight of any individual company to 10%.
IBM’s Watson AI is a computing platform capable of answering natural language questions by connecting large amounts of data, both structured (e.g., spreadsheets) and unstructured (e.g., news articles), and learning from each analysis it conducts (e.g., by recognizing patterns) to produce a more accurate answer with each subsequent question.
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The Adviser utilizes the recommendations of the EquBot Model to decide which securities to purchase and sell, while complying with the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”) and its rules and regulations. The Adviser anticipates primarily making purchase and sale decisions based on information from the EquBot Model. The Fund may frequently and actively purchase and sell securities.
Principal Investment Risks
The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. The principal risks are presented in alphabetical order to facilitate finding particular risks and comparing them with other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. As with any investment, there is a risk that you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its objectives. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the section in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Information About the Fund—Principal Investment Risks.”
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Currency Exchange Rate Risk. The Fund invests primarily in investments denominated in non-U.S. currencies or in securities that provide exposure to such currencies. Changes in currency exchange rates and the relative value of non-U.S. currencies will affect the value of the Fund’s investment and the value of your Shares. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning and you may lose money.
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Depositary Receipt Risk. Depositary receipts involve risks similar to those associated with investments in foreign securities, such as changes in political or economic conditions of other countries and changes in the exchange rates of foreign currencies. Depositary receipts listed on U.S. exchanges are issued by banks or trust companies, and entitle the holder to all dividends and capital gains that are paid out on the underlying foreign shares (“Underlying Shares”). When the Fund invests in depositary receipts as a substitute for an investment directly in the Underlying Shares, the Fund is exposed to the risk that the depositary receipts may not provide a return that corresponds precisely with that of the Underlying Shares.
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ETF Risks.
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Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants (“APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services, or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
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Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid/ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
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Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant. Because securities held by the Fund trade on foreign exchanges that are closed when the Fund’s primary listing exchange is open, the Fund is likely to experience premiums and discounts greater than those of domestic ETFs.
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Trading . Although Shares are listed for trading on the NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”) and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares.
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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 issuers, industries, sectors or companies in which the Fund invests. Common stocks are generally exposed to greater risk than other types of securities, such as preferred stocks and debt obligations, because common stockholders generally have inferior rights to receive payment from issuers.
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Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in non-U.S. securities involve certain risks that may not be present with investments in U.S. securities. For example, investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations or to political or economic instability. Investments in non-U.S. securities also may be subject to withholding or other taxes and may be subject to additional trading, settlement, custodial, and operational risks. These and other factors can make investments in the Fund more volatile and potentially less liquid than other types of investments.
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Geographic Investment Risk. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in the securities of companies of a single country or region, it is more likely to be impacted by events or conditions affecting that country or region.
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Canada-Specific Risk. The Canadian economy is reliant on the sale of natural resources and commodities, which can pose risks such as the fluctuation of prices and the variability of demand for exportation of such products. Changes in spending on Canadian products by the economies of other countries or changes in any of these economies may cause a significant impact on the Canadian economy.
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Ja pan-Specific Risk. The Japanese economy may be subject to considerable degrees of economic, political and social instability, which could have a negative impact on Japanese securities. Japan’s economic growth rate has remained relatively low for an extended period of time and it may remain low in the future. In addition, Japan is subject to the risk of natural disasters, such as earthquakes, volcanoes, typhoons and tsunamis. Additionally, decreasing U.S. imports, new trade regulations, changes in the U.S. dollar exchange rates, a recession in the United States or continued increases in foreclosure rates may have an adverse impact on the economy of Japan. Japan also has few natural resources, and any fluctuation or shortage in the commodity markets could have a negative impact on Japanese securities.
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Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed and may not meet its investment objective based on the Adviser’s success or failure to implement investment strategies for the Fund. The Fund’s principal investment strategies are dependent on the Adviser’s use of AI and the EquBot Model. As a result, the Fund’s performance will be dependent on the Adviser’s skill in understanding and utilizing AI, specifically IBM’s Watson AI, to implement the Fund’s principal investment strategy. The Adviser only recently began advising ETFs, which may create additional risks for investments in the Fund.
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Market Capitalization Risks.
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Large-Capitalization Investing. The securities of large-capitalization companies may be relatively mature compared to smaller companies and therefore subject to slower growth during times of economic expansion.
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Mid-Capitalization Investing. The securities of mid-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse issuer, market, political, or economic developments than securities of large-capitalization companies. The securities of mid-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than large capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole.
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Small-Capitalization Investing. The securities of small-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse issuer, market, political, or economic developments than securities of larger-capitalization companies. The securities of small-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole. There is typically less publicly available information concerning smaller-capitalization companies than for larger, more established companies. Small-capitalization companies also may be particularly sensitive to changes in interest rates, government regulation, borrowing costs and earnings.
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Models and Data Risk. The Fund relies heavily on proprietary quantitative models as well as information and data supplied by third parties (“Models and Data”). When Models and Data prove to be incorrect or incomplete, any decisions made in reliance thereon may lead to the inclusion or exclusion of securities that would have been excluded or included had the Models and Data been correct and complete. Specifically, the Fund relies on Watson AI and the EquBot Model to implement its principal investment strategies. As a result, to the extent either such system does not perform as designed or as intended, the Fund’s strategy may not be successfully implemented and the Fund may lose value.
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New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized, non-diversified management investment company with limited operating history. As a result, prospective investors have a limited track record on which to base their investment decision.
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Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is deemed non-diversified and 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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Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade securities or other instruments in its portfolio to carry out its investment strategies. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses. Frequent trading may also cause adverse tax consequences for investors in the Fund due to an increase in short-term capital gains.
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Sector Risk. To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors.
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Performance
The Fund is new and therefore does not have a performance history for a full calendar year. In the future, performance information for the Fund will be presented in this section. Updated performance information is also available on the Fund’s website at www.aiiqetf.com.
Portfolio Management
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Adviser
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EquBot Inc.
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Sub-Adviser
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Vident Investment Advisory, LLC (“VIA” or the “Sub-Adviser”)
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Portfolio Managers
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Denise M. Krisko, CFA, President of VIA, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2018.
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Habib Moudachirou, FRM, Senior Portfolio Manager of VIA, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since September 2019.
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Purchase and Sale of Shares
Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the Exchange, and most investors will buy and sell Shares through brokers at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only APs (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. Creation Units generally consist of 50,000 Shares, though this may change from time to time. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities closely approximating the holdings of the Fund (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.
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 individual retirement account (“IRA”) or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.
Financial Intermediary Compensation
If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more knowledgeable about exchange traded products, including the Fund, or for other activities, such as marketing, educational training or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s website for more information.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND
Investment Objective
The Fund’s investment objective has been adopted as a non-fundamental investment policy and may be changed without shareholder approval upon written notice to shareholders.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund has adopted the following policy to comply with Rule 35d-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Such policy has been adopted as a non-fundamental investment policy and may be changed without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, will be invested in equity securities.
Principal Investment Risks
This section provides additional information regarding the principal risks described in the Fund Summary above. As in the Fund Summary above, the principal risks below are presented in alphabetical order to facilitate finding particular risks and comparing them with other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. Each of the factors below could have a negative impact on the Fund’s performance and trading prices.
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Currency Exchange Rate Risk. Changes in currency exchange rates and the relative value of non-U.S. currencies will affect the value of the Fund’s investments and the value of your Shares. Because the Fund’s NAV is determined on the basis of U.S. dollars, the U.S. dollar value of your investment in the Fund may go down if the value of the local currency of the non-U.S. markets in which the Fund invests depreciates against the U.S. dollar. This is true even if the local currency value of securities in the Fund’s holdings goes up. Conversely, the dollar value of your investment in the Fund may go up if the value of the local currency appreciates against the U.S. dollar. The value of the U.S. dollar measured against other currencies is influenced by a variety of factors. These factors include: national debt levels and trade deficits, changes in balances of payments and trade, domestic and foreign interest and inflation rates, global or regional political, economic or financial events, monetary policies of governments, actual or potential government intervention, and global energy prices. Political instability, the possibility of government intervention and restrictive or opaque business and investment policies may also reduce the value of a country’s currency. Government monetary policies and the buying or selling of currency by a country’s government may also influence exchange rates. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning, and you may lose money.
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Depositary Receipt Risk. The Fund may hold the securities of non-U.S. companies in the form of American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) and Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”). ADRs are negotiable certificates issued by a U.S. financial institution that represent a specified number of shares in a foreign stock and trade on a U.S. national securities exchange, such as the New York Stock Exchange. Sponsored ADRs are issued with the support of the issuer of the foreign stock underlying the ADRs and carry all of the rights of common shares, including voting rights. GDRs are similar to ADRs, but may be issued in bearer form and are typically offered for sale globally and held by a foreign branch of an international bank. The underlying issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. Issuers of unsponsored depositary receipts are not contractually obligated to disclose material information in the U.S. and, therefore, such information may not correlate to the market value of the unsponsored depositary receipt. The underlying securities of the ADRs and GDRs in the Fund’s portfolio are usually denominated or quoted in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. As a result, changes in foreign currency exchange rates may affect the value of the Fund’s portfolio. In addition, because the underlying securities of ADRs and GDRs trade on foreign exchanges at times when the U.S. markets are not open for trading, the value of the securities underlying the ADRs and GDRs may change materially at times when the U.S. markets are not open for trading, regardless of whether there is an active U.S. market for Shares.
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ETF Risks.
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Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as APs. In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services, or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
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Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Investors buying or selling Shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers, as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of Shares. In addition, secondary market investors will also incur the cost of the difference between the price at which an investor is willing to buy Shares (the “bid” price) and the price at which an investor is willing to sell Shares (the “ask” price). This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “spread” or “bid/ask spread.” The bid/ask spread varies over time for Shares based on trading volume and market liquidity, and is generally lower if Shares have more trading volume and market liquidity and higher if Shares have little trading volume and market liquidity. Further, a relatively small investor base in the Fund, asset swings in the Fund and/or increased market volatility may cause increased bid/ask spreads. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including bid/ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
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Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines. The market price of Shares during the trading day, like the price of any exchange-traded security, includes a “bid/ask” spread charged by the exchange specialist, market makers or other participants that trade the Shares. In times of severe market disruption, the bid/ask spread can increase significantly. At those times, Shares are most likely to be traded at a discount to NAV, and the discount is likely to be greatest when the price of Shares is falling fastest, which may be the time that you most want to sell your Shares. The Adviser believes that, under normal market conditions, large market price discounts or premiums to NAV will not be sustained because of arbitrage opportunities.
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Trading. Although Shares are listed for trading on the Exchange and may be listed or traded on U.S. and non-U.S. stock exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such Shares will develop or be maintained. Trading in Shares may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to Exchange “circuit breaker” rules, which temporarily halt trading on the Exchange when a decline in the S&P 500 Index during a single day reaches certain thresholds ( e.g. , 7%, 13%, and 20%). Additional rules applicable to the Exchange may halt trading in Shares when extraordinary volatility causes sudden, significant swings in the market price of Shares. There can be no assurance that Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares.
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Equity Market Risk. 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. If you held common stock, or common stock equivalents, of any given issuer, you would generally be exposed to greater risk than if you held preferred stocks and debt obligations of the issuer because common stockholders, or holders of equivalent interests, generally have inferior rights to receive payments from issuers in comparison with the rights of preferred stockholders, bondholders, and other creditors of such issuers.
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Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in non-U.S. securities involve certain risks that may not be present with investments in U.S. securities. For example, investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations or to political or economic instability. There may be less information publicly available about a non-U.S. issuer than a U.S. issuer. Non-U.S. issuers may be subject to different accounting, auditing, financial reporting and investor protection standards than U.S. issuers. Investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to withholding or other taxes and may be subject to additional trading, settlement, custodial, and operational risks. With respect to certain countries, there is the possibility of government intervention and expropriation or nationalization of assets. Because legal systems differ, there is also the possibility that it will be difficult to obtain or enforce legal judgments in certain countries. Since foreign exchanges may be open on days when the Fund does not price its Shares, the value of the securities in the Fund’s portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell Shares. Conversely, Shares may trade on days when foreign exchanges are close. Each of these factors can make investments in the Fund more volatile and potentially less liquid than other types of investments.
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Geographic Investment Risk. To the extent that the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in the securities of companies of a single country or region, it is more likely to be impacted by events or conditions affecting that country or region. For example, political and economic 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.
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Canada-Specific Risk. The Canadian economy is reliant on the sale of natural resources and commodities, which can pose risks such as the fluctuation of prices and the variability of demand for exportation of such products. Changes in spending on Canadian products by the economies of other countries or changes in any of these economies may cause a significant impact on the Canadian economy.
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Japan-Specific Risk. The Japanese economy may be subject to considerable degrees of economic, political and social instability, which could have a negative impact on Japanese securities. Japan’s economic growth rate has remained relatively low for an extended period of time and it may remain low in the future. In addition, Japan is subject to the risk of natural disasters, such as earthquakes, volcanoes, typhoons and tsunamis. Additionally, decreasing U.S. imports, new trade regulations, changes in the U.S. dollar exchange rates, a recession in the United States or continued increases in foreclosure rates may have an adverse impact on the economy of Japan. Japan also has few natural resources, and any fluctuation or shortage in the commodity markets could have a negative impact on Japanese securities.
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Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed and may not meet its investment objective based on the Adviser’s success or failure to implement investment strategies for the Fund.
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Market Capitalization Risks.
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Large-Capitalization Investing. The securities of large-capitalization companies may be relatively mature compared to smaller companies and therefore subject to slower growth during times of economic expansion. Large-capitalization companies may also be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology and consumer tastes.
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Mid-Capitalization Investing. The securities of mid-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse issuer, market, political, or economic developments than securities of large-capitalization companies. The securities of mid-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than large capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole. Some 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.
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Small-Capitalization Investing. The securities of small-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse issuer, market, political, or economic developments than securities of larger-capitalization companies. The securities of small-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole. Some small capitalization companies have limited product lines, markets, and financial and managerial resources and tend to concentrate on fewer geographical markets relative to larger capitalization companies. There is typically less publicly available information concerning smaller-capitalization companies than for larger, more established companies. Small-capitalization companies also may be particularly sensitive to changes in interest rates, government regulation, borrowing costs and earnings.
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Models and Data Risk. When Models and Data prove to be incorrect or incomplete, any decisions made in reliance thereon expose the Fund to potential risks. The EquBot Model is predictive in nature. The use of predictive models has inherent risks. For example, such models may incorrectly forecast future behavior, leading to potential losses. In addition, in unforeseen or certain low-probability scenarios (often involving a market disruption of some kind), such models may produce unexpected results, which can result in losses for the Fund. Furthermore, because predictive models are usually constructed based on historical data supplied by third parties, the success of relying on such models may depend heavily on the accuracy and reliability of the supplied historical data.
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New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized, non-diversified management investment company with limited operating history. As a result, prospective investors have a limited track record on which to base their investment decision.
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8
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Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. 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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Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade securities or other instruments in its portfolio to carry out its investment strategies. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses. Frequent trading may also cause adverse tax consequences for investors in the Fund due to an increase in short-term capital gains.
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Sector Risk. The Fund’s investing approach may result in an emphasis on certain sectors or sub-sectors of the market at any given time. To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in one sector or sub-sector of the market, it thereby presents a more concentrated risk and its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors or sub-sectors. In addition, the value of Shares may change at different rates compared to the value of Shares with investments in a more diversified mix of sectors and industries. An individual sector or sub-sector of the market may have above-average performance during particular periods, but may also move up and down more than the broader market. The several industries that constitute a sector may all react in the same way to economic, political or regulatory events. The Fund’s performance could also be affected if the sectors or sub-sectors do not perform as expected. Alternatively, the lack of exposure to one or more sectors or sub-sectors may adversely affect performance.
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PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS INFORMATION
Information about the Fund’s daily portfolio holdings is available at www.aiiqetf.com. A complete description of the Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio holdings is available in the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).
MANAGEMENT
Investment Adviser
EquBot Inc. serves as the investment adviser and has overall responsibility for the general management and administration of the Fund. EquBot is a Delaware corporation located at 450 Townsend Street, San Francisco, California 94107 and provides investment advisory services to ETFs, including the Fund. The Adviser is a graduate of IBM’s Global Entrepreneur program, which provides qualifying start-up companies with access to technology usage credits, leading experts, and enterprise-grade IBM Cloud technologies (such as Watson™) to support the start-ups in developing solutions to real problems and to enable them to bring innovative products to market faster. The Adviser also provides oversight of the Sub-Adviser, monitoring of the Sub-Adviser’s buying and selling of securities for the Fund, and review of the Sub-Adviser’s performance. The Adviser also arranges for sub-advisory, transfer agency, custody, fund administration, and all other non-distribution related services necessary for the Fund to operate. For the services it provides to the Fund, the Fund pays the Adviser a unified management fee, which is calculated daily and paid monthly, at an annual rate of 0.79% of the Fund’s average daily net assets.
Under the investment advisory agreement, the Adviser has agreed to pay all expenses incurred by the Fund except for interest charges on any borrowings, dividends, and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, extraordinary expenses, distribution fees and expenses paid by the Fund under any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b‑1 under the 1940 Act, and the unified management fee payable to EquBot. The Adviser, in turn, compensates the Sub-Adviser from the management fee it receives.
The basis for the Board of Trustees’ approval of the Fund’s investment advisory agreement is available in the Fund’s Semi-Annual Report to Shareholders for the period ended November 30, 2018.
9
Sub-Adviser
The Adviser has retained Vident Investment Advisory, LLC to serve as sub-adviser. VIA is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio based on the analysis and investment recommendations from the Adviser in reliance on the EquBot model. VIA, a registered investment adviser, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vident Financial, LLC. Its principal office is located at 1125 Sanctuary Parkway, Suite 515, Alpharetta, Georgia 30009 . VIA was formed in 2014 and provides investment advisory services to ETFs, including the Fund. The Sub-Adviser is responsible for trading portfolio securities for the Fund, including selecting broker-dealers to execute purchase and sale transactions, subject to the supervision of the Adviser and the Board. For its services, the Sub-Adviser is paid a fee by the Adviser, which fee is calculated daily and paid monthly, at an annual rate of the Fund’s average daily net assets of 0.05% on the first $500 million, 0.04% on the next $500 million, and 0.03% on net assets in excess of $1 billion, all subject to a minimum annual fee of $25,000.
The basis for the Board of Trustees’ approval of the Fund’s sub-advisory agreement is available in the Fund’s Semi-Annual Report to Shareholders for the period ended November 30, 2018.
Portfolio Managers
The Fund is managed by VIA’s portfolio management team. The individual members of the team responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio are listed below.
Ms. Krisko became the President of VIA in November 2014 and has over 19 years of investment management experience. Ms. Krisko was previously the Chief Investment Officer at Index Management Solutions, LLC (“IMS”). Prior to joining IMS, she was a Managing Director and Co-Head of the Equity Index Management and Head of East Coast Equity Index Strategies for Mellon Capital Management. She was also a Managing Director of The Bank of New York and Head of Equity Index Strategies for BNY Investment Advisors from August 2005 until the merger of The Bank of New York with Mellon Bank in 2007, when she assumed her role with Mellon Capital Management. Ms. Krisko attained the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2000. Ms. Krisko graduated with a BS from Pennsylvania State University and obtained her MBA from Villanova University.
Mr. Moudachirou has 19 years of cross-asset experience in investment solutions, risk and portfolio management in Europe and in the United States. He is a Senior Portfolio Manager for VIA, responsible for portfolio management and trading of portfolios, specializing in global equities and currency management and hedging. Prior to joining VIA in 2018, he was Executive Director, Portfolio Manager/Trader at J.P. Morgan, providing and managing cross-asset alternative risk premia solutions in pooled vehicles from September 2015 through October 2017. Before that, he was Executive Director – Portfolio Manager at Emerging Global Advisors from 2012 to 2015 where he was responsible for $1.8 billion in emerging and frontier equity ETFs. Prior to that, he was Vice President at HSBC Global Asset Management, performing financial engineering to originate and implement global solutions and cross-asset fund structuring. Mr. Moudachirou holds a BS in Physics from University of Paris VI, an MS in Engineering – Statistics from ENSAI, France, and an MS in Quantitative Finance from the University of Rennes, France. He also holds the Financial Risk Manager (FRM) designation.
The Fund’s SAI provides additional information about each Portfolio Manager’s compensation structure, other accounts managed by each Portfolio Manager, and the Portfolio Managers’ ownership of Shares.
HOW TO BUY AND SELL SHARES
The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in Creation Units. Only APs may acquire Shares directly from the Fund, and only APs may tender their Shares for redemption directly to the Fund, at NAV. APs must be (i) a broker-dealer or other participant in the clearing process through the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC, a clearing agency that is registered with the SEC; or (ii) a DTC participant (as discussed below). In addition, each AP must execute a Participant Agreement that has been agreed to by the Distributor, and that has been accepted by the Transfer Agent, with respect to purchases and redemptions of Creation Units. Once created, Shares trade in the secondary market in quantities less than a Creation Unit.
Most investors buy and sell Shares in secondary market transactions through brokers. Shares are listed for trading on the secondary market on the Exchange and can be bought and sold throughout the trading day like other publicly traded securities.
When buying or selling Shares through a broker, you will incur customary brokerage commissions and charges, and you may pay some or all of the spread between the bid and the offer price in the secondary market on each leg of a round trip (purchase and sale) transaction. In addition, because secondary market transactions occur at market prices, you may pay more than NAV when you buy Shares, and receive less than NAV when you sell those Shares.
10
Book Entry
Shares 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.
Investors owning Shares are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. DTC serves as the securities depository for all Shares. DTC’s participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other institutions that directly or indirectly maintain a custodial relationship with DTC. As a beneficial owner of Shares, you are not entitled to receive physical delivery of stock certificates or to have Shares registered in your name, and you are not considered a registered owner of Shares. Therefore, to exercise any right as an owner of Shares, you must rely upon the procedures of DTC and its participants. These procedures are the same as those that apply to any other securities that you hold in book entry or “street name” through your brokerage account.
Share Trading Prices on the Exchange
Trading prices of Shares on the Exchange may differ from the Fund’s daily NAV. Market forces of supply and demand, economic conditions and other factors may affect the trading prices of Shares. To provide additional information regarding the indicative value of Shares, the Exchange or a market data vendor disseminates information every 15 seconds through the facilities of the Consolidated Tape Association, or other widely disseminated means, an updated “intraday indicative value” (“IIV”) for Shares as calculated by an information provider or market data vendor. The Fund is not involved in or responsible for any aspect of the calculation or dissemination of the IIVs and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the IIVs. If the calculation of the IIV is based on the basket of Deposit Securities and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash, such IIV may not represent the best possible valuation of the Fund’s portfolio because the basket of Deposit Securities does not necessarily reflect the precise composition of the current Fund portfolio at a particular point in time and does not include a reduction for the fees, operating expenses, or transaction costs incurred by the Fund. The IIV should not be viewed as a “real-time” update of the Fund’s NAV because the IIV may not be calculated in the same manner as the NAV, which is computed only once a day, typically at the end of the business day. The IIV is generally determined by using both current market quotations and/or price quotations obtained from broker-dealers that may trade in the Deposit Securities.
Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Shares
The Fund imposes no restrictions on the frequency of purchases and redemptions of Shares. In determining not to approve a written, established policy, the Board evaluated the risks of market timing activities by Fund shareholders. Purchases and redemptions by APs, who are the only parties that may purchase or redeem Shares directly with the Fund, are an essential part of the ETF process and help keep Share trading prices in line with NAV. As such, the Fund accommodates frequent purchases and redemptions by APs. However, the Board has also determined that frequent purchases and redemptions for cash may increase tracking error and portfolio transaction costs and may lead to the realization of capital gains. To minimize these potential consequences of frequent purchases and redemptions, the Fund employs fair value pricing and may impose transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by the Fund in effecting trades. In addition, the Fund and the Adviser reserve the right to reject any purchase order at any time.
Determination of NAV
The Fund’s NAV is calculated as of the scheduled close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”), generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, each day the NYSE is open for business. The NAV is calculated by dividing the Fund’s net assets by its Shares outstanding.
In calculating its NAV, the 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. If such information is not available for a security held by the Fund or is determined to be unreliable, the security will be valued at fair value estimates under guidelines established by the Board (as described below).
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) a security’s primary trading market is closed during regular market hours; or (iv) 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 Fund 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. Fair value determinations
11
are made 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 or Sub-Adviser will be able to obtain the fair value assigned to the security upon the sale of such security.
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. Registered investment companies are permitted to invest in the 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 Adviser, including that such investment companies enter into an agreement with the Fund.
Delivery of Shareholder Documents – Householding
Householding is an option available to certain investors of the 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 the 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.
DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS, AND TAXES
Dividends and Distributions
The Fund intends to pay out dividends, if any, and distribute any net realized capital gains to its shareholders at least annually. The Fund will declare and pay capital gain distributions, if any, in cash. Distributions in cash may be reinvested automatically in additional whole Shares only if the broker through whom you purchased Shares makes such option available. Your broker is responsible for distributing the income and capital gain distributions to you.
Taxes
The following discussion is a summary of some important U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to investments in the Fund. Your investment in the Fund may have other tax implications. Please consult your tax advisor about the tax consequences of an investment in Shares, including the possible application of foreign, state, and local tax laws.
The Fund intends to qualify each year for treatment as a regulated investment company (a “RIC”). If it meets certain minimum distribution requirements, a RIC is not subject to tax at the fund level on income and gains from investments that are timely distributed to shareholders. However, the Fund’s failure to qualify as a RIC or to meet minimum distribution requirements would result (if certain relief provisions were not available) in fund-level taxation and, consequently, a reduction in income available for distribution to shareholders.
Unless your investment in Shares is made through a tax-exempt entity or tax-advantaged account, such as an IRA plan, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when the Fund makes distributions, when you sell your Shares listed on the Exchange; and when you purchase or redeem Creation Units (institutional investors only).
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”) made significant changes to the U.S. federal income tax rules for taxation of individuals and corporations, generally effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017. Many of the changes applicable to individuals are temporary and only apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026. There are only minor changes with respect to the specific rules applicable to a RIC, such as the Fund. The Tax Act, however, made numerous other changes to the tax rules that may affect shareholders and the Fund. You are urged to consult your own tax advisor regarding how the Tax Act affects your investment in the Fund.
Taxes on Distributions. The Fund intends to distribute, at least annually, substantially all of its net investment income and net capital gains. 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) are determined by how long the Fund owned the investments that generated them, rather than how long a shareholder has owned his or her 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 reported by the Fund as capital gain dividends (“Capital Gain Dividends”) will be taxable as long-term capital gains, which for non-corporate shareholders are subject to tax at reduced rates of up to 20% (lower rates apply to individuals in lower tax brackets). Distributions of short-term capital gain will generally be taxable as ordinary
12
income. Dividends and distributions are generally taxable to you whether you receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional Shares.
Distributions reported by the Fund as “qualified dividend income” are generally taxed to non-corporate shareholders at rates applicable to long-term capital gains, provided holding period and other requirements are met. “Qualified dividend income” generally is income derived from dividends paid by U.S. corporations or certain foreign corporations that are either incorporated in a U.S. possession or eligible for tax benefits under certain U.S. income tax treaties. In addition, dividends that the Fund received in respect of stock of certain foreign corporations may be qualified dividend income if that stock is readily tradable on an established U.S. securities market.
Shortly after the close of each calendar year, you will be informed of the character of any distributions received from the Fund.
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 gains distributions and capital gains realized on the sale of 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 Shares’ NAV when you purchased your Shares).
You may wish to avoid investing in the Fund shortly before a dividend or other distribution, because such a distribution will generally be taxable even though it may economically represent a return of a portion of your investment.
If you are neither a resident nor a citizen of the United States or if you are a foreign entity, distributions (other than Capital Gain Dividends) paid to you by the Fund will generally be subject to a U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30%, unless a lower treaty rate applies. The Fund may, under certain circumstances, report all or a portion of a dividend as an “interest-related dividend” or a “short-term capital gain dividend,” which would generally be exempt from this 30% U.S. withholding tax, provided certain other requirements are met.
The Fund (or a financial intermediary, such as a broker, through which a shareholder owns Shares) generally is required to withhold and remit to the U.S. Treasury a percentage of the taxable distributions and sale or redemption proceeds paid to any shareholder who fails to properly furnish a correct taxpayer identification number, who has underreported dividend or interest income, or who fails to certify that he, she or it is not subject to such withholding.
Taxes When Shares are Sold on the Exchange. Any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Shares generally is treated as a long-term capital gain or loss if Shares have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if Shares have been held for one year or less. However, any capital loss on a sale of Shares held for six months or less is treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of Capital Gain Dividends paid with respect to such Shares. The ability to deduct capital losses may be limited.
Taxes on Purchases and Redemptions of Creation Units. An AP having the U.S. dollar as its functional currency for U.S. federal income tax purposes who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally recognizes a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the value of the Creation Units at the time of the exchange and the exchanging AP’s aggregate basis in the securities delivered plus the amount of any cash paid for the Creation Units. An AP who exchanges Creation Units for securities will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanging AP’s basis in the Creation Units and the aggregate U.S. dollar market value of the securities received, plus any cash received for such Creation Units. The Internal Revenue Service may assert, however, that a loss that is realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units may not be currently deducted under the rules governing “wash sales” (for an AP who does not mark-to-market their holdings), or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position. Persons exchanging securities should consult their own tax advisor with respect to whether wash sale rules apply and when a loss might be deductible.
Any capital gain or loss realized upon redemption of Creation Units is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if Shares have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if Shares have been held for one year or less.
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.
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Foreign Taxes
To the extent the Fund invests in foreign securities, it may be subject to foreign withholding taxes with respect to dividends or interest the Fund received from sources in foreign countries.
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 Shares. Consult your personal tax advisor about the potential tax consequences of an investment in Shares under all applicable tax laws. For more information, please see the section entitled “Federal Income Taxes” in the SAI.
DISTRIBUTION
The Distributor, Quasar Distributors, LLC, is a broker-dealer registered with the SEC . The Distributor distributes Creation Units for the Fund on an agency basis and does not maintain a secondary market in Shares. The Distributor has no role in determining the policies of the Fund or the securities that are purchased or sold by the Fund. The Distributor’s principal address is 777 East Wisconsin Avenue, 6th Floor, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202.
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, the 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 Fund, 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 the 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
Information regarding how often Shares traded on the Exchange at a price above (i.e., at a premium) or below (i.e., at a discount) the NAV per Share is available, free of charge, on the Fund’s website at www.aiiqetf.com .
ADDITIONAL NOTICES
Shares are not sponsored, endorsed, or promoted by the Exchange. The Exchange is not responsible for, nor has it participated in the determination of, the timing, prices, or quantities of Shares to be issued, nor in the determination or calculation of the equation by which Shares are redeemable. The Exchange has no obligation or liability to owners of Shares in connection with the administration, marketing, or trading of Shares.
Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall the Exchange have any liability for any lost profits or indirect, punitive, special, or consequential damages even if notified of the possibility thereof.
The Adviser and the Fund make no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of Shares or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Fund particularly.
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FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the Fund’s financial performance for the period of the Fund’s operations. Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund share. The total return in the table represents the rate that an investor would have earned or lost on an investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been audited by Cohen & Company, Ltd., the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the Fund’s financial statements, is included in the Fund’s annual report, which is available upon request.
For a capital share outstanding throughout the period
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Period Ended
May 31, 2019(a)
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||
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Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period
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$
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25.00
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
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INCOME GAIN (LOSS) FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS:
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|
|
||
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Net Investment Income (Loss) (b)
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0.23
|
|
|
|
|
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments
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(0.60
|
)
|
|
|
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Total from Investment Operations
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(0.37
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
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DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS:
|
|
|
||
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Net Investment Income
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(0.17
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)
|
|
|
|
Net Realized Gains
|
(0.75
|
)
|
|
|
|
Total Distributions
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(0.92
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
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Net Asset Value, End of Period
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$
|
23.71
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
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Total Return
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-0.76
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%
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(c)
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|
|
|
|
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||
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SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:
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|
|
||
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Net Assets at End of Period (000’s)
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$
|
3,557
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|
|
|
|
|
|
||
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RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS:
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|
|
||
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Expenses to Average Net Assets
|
0.79
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%
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(d)
|
|
|
Net Investment Income (Loss) to Average Net Assets
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0.97
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%
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(d)
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
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Portfolio Turnover Rate (e)
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127
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%
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(c)
|
|
|
(a)
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Fund commenced operations on June 5, 2018.
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|
(b)
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Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period.
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|
(c)
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Not annualized.
|
|
(d)
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Annualized.
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(e)
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Excludes impact of in-kind transactions.
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15
AI POWERED INTERNATIONAL EQUITY ETF
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Adviser
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EquBot Inc.
450 Townsend Street
San Francisco, California 94107 |
Sub-Adviser
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Vident Investment Advisory, LLC
1125 Sanctuary Parkway, Suite 515
Alpharetta, Georgia 30009
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Transfer Agent
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U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC
d/b/a/ U.S. Bank Global Fund Services
615 East Michigan Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
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Administrator and Fund Accountant
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U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC
d/b/a/ U.S. Bank Global Fund Services
615 East Michigan Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
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Custodian
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U.S. Bank National Association
1555 N. Rivercenter Dr., Suite 302
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212
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Distributor
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Quasar Distributors, LLC
777 E. Wisconsin Avenue, 6th Floor
Milwaukee, WI 53202
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Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
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Cohen & Company, Ltd.
342 North Water Street, Suite 830
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
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Legal Counsel
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Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004
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Investors may find more information about the Fund in the following documents:
Statement of Additional Information: The Fund’s SAI provides additional details about the investments and techniques of the Fund and certain other additional information. A current SAI dated September 30, 2019 , as supplemented from time to time, is on file with the SEC and is herein incorporated by reference into this Prospectus. It is legally considered a part of this Prospectus.
Annual/Semi-Annual Reports: Additional information about the Fund’s investments is available in 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 the Fund’s performance.
You can obtain free copies of these documents, request other information or make general inquiries about the Fund by contacting the Fund at:
AI Powered International Equity ETF
c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services
P.O. Box 701
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-0701
1-800-617-0004
Shareholder reports and other information about the Fund are also available:
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•
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Free of charge from the SEC’s EDGAR database on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov; or
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•
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Free of charge from the Fund’s Internet web site at www.aiiqetf.com; or
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|
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For a fee, by e-mail request to publicinfo@sec.gov.
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(SEC Investment Company Act File No. 811-22668)
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AI Powered International Equity ETF (AIIQ)
a series of ETF Series Solutions
Listed on NYSE Arca, Inc.
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
September 30, 2019
This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus and should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus for the AI Powered International Equity ETF (the “Fund”), a series of ETF Series Solutions (the “Trust”), dated September 30, 2019 , as may be supplemented from time to time (the “Prospectus”). Capitalized terms used in this SAI that are not defined have the same meaning as in the Prospectus, unless otherwise noted. A copy of the Prospectus may be obtained without charge, by calling the Fund at 1-800-617-0004, visiting www.aiiqetf.com.com, or writing to the Fund, c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, P.O. Box 701, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-0701.
The Fund’s audited financial statements for the fiscal period ended May 31, 2019 are incorporated into this SAI by reference to the Fund’s Annual Report to Shareholders (File No. 811-22668) dated May 31, 2019. You may obtain a copy of the Fund’s Annual Report at no charge by contacting the Fund at the address or phone number noted above.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Appendix A
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Appendix B
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1
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE TRUST
The Trust is an open-end management investment company consisting of multiple investment series. This SAI relates to the Fund. The Trust was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on February 9, 2012. The Trust is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (together with the rules and regulations adopted thereunder, as amended, the “1940 Act”), as an open-end management investment company and the offering of the Fund’s shares (“Shares”) is registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The Trust is governed by its Board of Trustees (the “Board”). EquBot Inc. (the “Adviser”) serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Vident Investment Advisory, LLC (the “Sub-Adviser”) serves as sub-adviser to the Fund. The investment objective of the Fund is to seek capital appreciation.
The Fund offers and issues Shares at their net asset value (“NAV”) only in aggregations of a specified number of Shares (each, a “Creation Unit”). The Fund generally offers and issues Shares in exchange for a basket of securities included in its portfolio (“Deposit Securities”) together with the deposit of a specified cash payment (“Cash Component”). 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. Shares are listed on NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”) and trade on the Exchange at market prices that may differ from the Shares’ NAV. Shares are also redeemable only in Creation Unit aggregations, primarily for a basket of Deposit Securities together with a Cash Component. A Creation Unit of the Fund generally consists of 50,000 Shares, though this may change from time to time. Creation Units are not expected to consist of fewer than 25,000 Shares. As a practical matter, only institutions or large investors purchase or redeem Creation Units. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, Shares are not redeemable securities.
Shares may be issued in advance of receipt of Deposit Securities subject to various conditions, including a requirement to maintain on deposit with the Trust cash at least equal to a specified percentage of the value of the missing Deposit Securities, as set forth in the Participant Agreement (as defined below). The Trust may impose a transaction fee for each creation or redemption. In all cases, such fees will be limited in accordance with the requirements of the SEC applicable to management investment companies offering redeemable securities. As in the case of other publicly traded securities, brokers’ commissions on transactions in the secondary market will be based on negotiated commission rates at customary levels.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, POLICIES, AND RELATED RISKS
The Fund’s investment objective and principal investment strategies are described in the Prospectus. The following information supplements, and should be read in conjunction with, the Prospectus. For a description of certain permitted investments, see “Description of Permitted Investments” in this SAI.
With respect to the 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.
Non-Diversification
The Fund is classified as a non-diversified investment company under the 1940 Act. A “non-diversified” classification means that the Fund is not limited by the 1940 Act with regard to the percentage of its total assets that may be invested in the securities of a single issuer. This means that the Fund may invest a greater portion of its total 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 Fund’s portfolio. This may have an adverse effect on the Fund’s performance or subject Shares to greater price volatility than more diversified investment companies. Moreover, in pursuing its objective, the 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 the 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 portfolio.
Although the Fund is non-diversified for purposes of the 1940 Act, the 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. 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.
General Risks
The value of the Fund’s portfolio securities may fluctuate 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 the Fund could lose money over short or long periods of time.
There can be no guarantee that a liquid market for the securities held by the Fund 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 Shares will be adversely affected if trading markets for the Fund’s portfolio securities are limited or absent, or if bid/ask spreads are wide.
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Cyber Security Risk. Investment companies, such as the Fund, and their service providers may be subject to operational and information security risks resulting from cyber attacks. Cyber attacks include, among other behaviors, stealing or corrupting data maintained online or digitally, denial of service attacks on websites, the unauthorized release of confidential information or various other forms of cyber security breaches. Cyber attacks affecting the Fund or the Adviser, Sub-Adviser, custodian, transfer agent, intermediaries and other third-party service providers may adversely impact the Fund. For instance, cyber attacks may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, impact the Fund’s ability to calculate its NAV, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential company information, impede trading, subject the Fund to regulatory fines or financial losses, and cause reputational damage. The Fund may also incur additional costs for cyber security risk management purposes. Similar types of cyber security risks are also present for issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers, and may cause the Fund’s investments in such portfolio companies to lose value.
Description of Permitted Investments
The following are descriptions of the permitted investments and investment practices and the associated risk factors. The 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 the Fund’s investment objective and permitted by the Fund’s stated investment policies.
Borrowing
Although the Fund does not intend to borrow money, the Fund may do so to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. Under the 1940 Act, the Fund may borrow up to one-third (1/3) of its total assets. The Fund will borrow money only for short-term or emergency purposes. Such borrowing is not for investment purposes and will be repaid by the Fund promptly. Borrowing will tend to exaggerate the effect on NAV of any increase or decrease in the market value of the Fund’s portfolio. Money borrowed will be subject to interest costs that may or may not be recovered by earnings on the securities purchased. The Fund also may be required to maintain minimum average balances in connection with a borrowing or to pay a commitment or other fee to maintain a line of credit; either of these requirements would increase the cost of borrowing over the stated interest rate.
Depositary Receipts
To the extent the Fund invests in stocks of foreign corporations, the Fund’s investment in securities of foreign companies may be in the form of depositary receipts or other securities convertible into securities of foreign issuers. American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) are dollar-denominated receipts representing interests in the securities of a foreign issuer, which securities may not necessarily be denominated in the same currency as the securities into which they may be converted. ADRs are receipts typically issued by United States banks and trust companies which evidence ownership of underlying securities issued by a foreign corporation. Generally, ADRs in registered form are designed for use in domestic securities markets and are traded on exchanges or over-the-counter in the United States. Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”), European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”), and International Depositary Receipts (“IDRs”) are similar to ADRs in that they are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer, however, GDRs, EDRs, and IDRs may be issued in bearer form and denominated in other currencies, and are generally designed for use in specific or multiple securities markets outside the U.S. EDRs, for example, are designed for use in European securities markets, while GDRs are designed for use throughout the world. Depositary receipts will not necessarily be denominated in the same currency as their underlying securities.
The Fund will not invest in any unlisted Depositary Receipts or any Depositary Receipt that the Sub-Adviser deems to be illiquid or for which pricing information is not readily available. In addition, all Depositary Receipts generally must be sponsored. However, the Fund may invest in unsponsored Depositary Receipts under certain limited circumstances. The issuers of unsponsored Depositary Receipts are not obligated to disclose material information in the United States and, therefore, there may be less information available regarding such issuers and there may not be a correlation between such information and the value of the Depositary Receipts.
Equity Securities
Equity securities, such as the common stocks of an issuer, are subject to stock market fluctuations and therefore may experience volatile changes in value as market conditions, consumer sentiment or the financial condition of the issuers change. A decrease in value of the equity securities in the Fund’s portfolio may also cause the value of Shares to decline.
An investment in the Fund should 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 the Fund’s portfolio securities and therefore a decrease in the value of Shares). 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.
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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.
When-Issued Securities – A when-issued security is one whose terms are available and for which a market exists, but which has not been issued. When the Fund engages in when-issued transactions, it relies on the other party to consummate the sale. If the other party fails to complete the sale, the Fund may miss the opportunity to obtain the security at a favorable price or yield.
When purchasing a security on a when-issued basis, the Fund assumes the rights and risks of ownership of the security, including the risk of price and yield changes. At the time of settlement, the value of the security may be more or less than the purchase price. The yield available in the market when the delivery takes place also may be higher than those obtained in the transaction itself. Because the Fund does not pay for the security until the delivery date, these risks are in addition to the risks associated with its other investments.
Decisions to enter into “when-issued” transactions will be considered on a case-by-case basis when necessary to maintain continuity in a company’s index membership. The Fund will segregate cash or liquid securities equal in value to commitments for the when-issued transactions. The Fund will segregate additional liquid assets daily so that the value of such assets is equal to the amount of the commitments.
Types of Equity Securities:
Common Stocks — Common stocks represent units of ownership in a company. Common stocks usually carry voting rights and earn dividends. Unlike preferred stocks, which are described below, dividends on common stocks are not fixed but are declared at the discretion of the company’s board of directors.
Preferred Stocks — Preferred stocks are also units of ownership in a company. Preferred stocks normally have preference over common stock in the payment of dividends and the liquidation of the company. However, in all other respects, preferred stocks are subordinated to the liabilities of the issuer. Unlike common stocks, preferred stocks are generally not entitled to vote on corporate matters. Types of preferred stocks include adjustable-rate preferred stock, fixed dividend preferred stock, perpetual preferred stock, and sinking fund preferred stock.
Generally, the market values of preferred stock with a fixed dividend rate and no conversion element vary inversely with interest rates and perceived credit risk.
Rights and Warrants — A right is a privilege granted to existing shareholders of a corporation to subscribe to shares of a new issue of common stock before it is issued. Rights normally have a short life of usually two to four weeks, are freely transferable and entitle the holder to buy the new common stock at a lower price than the public offering price. Warrants are securities that are usually issued together with a debt security or preferred stock and that give the holder the right to buy proportionate amount of common stock at a specified price. Warrants are freely transferable and are traded on major exchanges. Unlike rights, warrants normally have a life that is measured in years and entitles the holder to buy common stock of a company at a price that is usually higher than the market price at the time the warrant is issued. Corporations often issue warrants to make the accompanying debt security more attractive.
An investment in warrants and rights may entail greater risks than certain other types of investments. Generally, rights and warrants do not carry the right to receive dividends or exercise voting rights with respect to the underlying securities, and they do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuer. In addition, their value does not necessarily change with the value of the underlying securities, and they cease to have value if they are not exercised on or before their expiration date. Investing in rights and warrants increases the potential profit or loss to be realized from the investment as compared with investing the same amount in the underlying securities.
Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”) — A REIT is a corporation or business trust (that would otherwise be taxed as a corporation) which meets the definitional requirements of the Code. The Code permits a qualifying REIT to deduct from taxable income the dividends paid, thereby effectively eliminating corporate level federal income tax. To meet the definitional requirements of the Code, a REIT must, among other things: invest substantially all of its assets in interests in real estate (including mortgages and other REITs), cash and government securities; derive most of its income from rents from real property or interest on loans secured by mortgages on real property; and, in general, distribute annually 90% or more of its taxable income (other than net capital gains) to shareholders.
REITs are sometimes informally characterized as Equity REITs and Mortgage REITs. An Equity REIT invests primarily in the fee ownership or leasehold ownership of land and buildings (e.g., commercial equity REITs and residential equity REITs); a Mortgage REIT invests primarily in mortgages on real property, which may secure construction, development or long-term loans.
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REITs may be affected by changes in underlying real estate values, which may have an exaggerated effect to the extent that REITs in which the Fund invests may concentrate investments in particular geographic regions or property types. Additionally, rising interest rates may cause investors in REITs to demand a higher annual yield from future distributions, which may in turn decrease market prices for equity securities issued by REITs. Rising interest rates also generally increase the costs of obtaining financing, which could cause the value of the Fund’s investments to decline. During periods of declining interest rates, certain Mortgage REITs may hold mortgages that the mortgagors elect to prepay, which prepayment may diminish the yield on securities issued by such Mortgage REITs. In addition, Mortgage REITs may be affected by the ability of borrowers to repay when due the debt extended by the REIT and Equity REITs may be affected by the ability of tenants to pay rent.
Certain REITs have relatively small market capitalization, which may tend to increase the volatility of the market price of securities issued by such REITs. Furthermore, REITs are dependent upon specialized management skills, have limited diversification and are, therefore, subject to risks inherent in operating and financing a limited number of projects. By investing in REITs indirectly through the Fund, a shareholder will bear not only his or her proportionate share of the expenses of the Fund, but also, indirectly, similar expenses of the REITs. REITs depend generally on their ability to generate cash flow to make distributions to shareholders.
In addition to these risks, Equity REITs may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property owned by the trusts, while Mortgage REITs may be affected by the quality of any credit extended. Further, Equity and Mortgage REITs are dependent upon management skills and generally may not be diversified. Equity and Mortgage REITs are also subject to heavy cash flow dependency defaults by borrowers and self-liquidation. In addition, Equity and Mortgage REITs could possibly fail to qualify for the favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment generally available to REITs under the Code or fail to maintain their exemptions from registration under the 1940 Act. The above factors may also adversely affect a borrower’s or a lessee’s ability to meet its obligations to the REIT. In the event of default by a borrower or lessee, the REIT may experience delays in enforcing its rights as a mortgagee or lessor and may incur substantial costs associated with protecting its investments.
Smaller Companies — The securities of small- and mid-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse issuer, market, political, or economic developments than securities of larger-capitalization companies. The securities of small- and mid-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole. Some small- or mid-capitalization companies have limited product lines, markets, and financial and managerial resources and tend to concentrate on fewer geographical markets relative to larger capitalization companies. There is typically less publicly available information concerning small- and mid-capitalization companies than for larger, more established companies. Small- and mid-capitalization companies also may be particularly sensitive to changes in interest rates, government regulation, borrowing costs, and earnings.
Tracking Stocks — The Fund may invest in tracking stocks. A tracking stock is a separate class of common stock whose value is linked to a specific business unit or operating division within a larger company and which is designed to “track” the performance of such business unit or division. The tracking stock may pay dividends to shareholders independent of the parent company. The parent company, rather than the business unit or division, generally is the issuer of tracking stock. However, holders of the tracking stock may not have the same rights as holders of the company’s common stock.
Master Limited Partnerships (“MLPs”) — MLPs are limited partnerships in which the ownership units are publicly traded. MLP units are registered with the SEC and are freely traded on a securities exchange or in the OTC market. MLPs often own several properties or businesses (or own interests) that are related to real estate development and oil and gas industries, but they also may finance motion pictures, research and development and other projects. Generally, a MLP is operated under the supervision of one or more managing general partners. Limited partners are not involved in the day-to-day management of the partnership.
The risks of investing in a MLP are generally those involved in investing in a partnership as opposed to a corporation. For example, state law governing partnerships is often less restrictive than state law governing corporations. Accordingly, there may be fewer protections afforded investors in a MLP than investors in a corporation. Additional risks involved with investing in a MLP are risks associated with the specific industry or industries in which the partnership invests, such as the risks of investing in real estate, or oil and gas industries.
MLPs are generally treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes. When the Fund invests in the equity securities of an MLP or any other entity that is treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the Fund will be treated as a partner in the entity for tax purposes. Accordingly, in calculating the Fund’s taxable income, it will be required to take into account its allocable share of the income, gains, losses, deductions, and credits recognized by each such entity, regardless of whether the entity distributes cash to the Fund. Distributions from such an entity to the Fund are not generally taxable unless the cash amount (or, in certain cases, the fair market value of marketable securities) distributed to the Fund exceeds the Fund’s adjusted tax basis in its interest in the entity. In general, the Fund’s allocable share of such an entity’s net income will increase the Fund’s adjusted tax basis in its interest in the entity, and distributions to the Fund from such an entity and the Fund’s allocable share of the entity’s net losses will decrease the Fund’s adjusted basis in its interest in the entity, but not below zero. The Fund may receive cash distributions from such an entity in excess of the net amount of taxable income the Fund is allocated from its investment in the entity. In other circumstances, the net amount of taxable income the Fund is allocated from its investment in such an entity may exceed cash distributions received from the entity. Thus, the Fund’s investments in such an entity may lead the Fund to make distributions in excess of its earnings and profits, or the Fund may be required to sell investments, including when not otherwise advantageous to do so.
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Depreciation or other cost recovery deductions passed through to the Fund from any investments in MLPs in a given year will generally reduce the Fund’s taxable income, but those deductions may be recaptured in the Fund’s income in one or more subsequent years. When recognized and distributed, recapture income will generally be taxable to the Fund’s shareholders at the time of the distribution at ordinary income tax rates, even though those shareholders might not have held shares in the Fund at the time the deductions were taken, and even though those shareholders may not have corresponding economic gain on their shares at the time of the recapture. To distribute recapture income or to fund redemption requests, the Fund may need to liquidate investments, which may lead to additional taxable income.
Exchange-Traded Funds (“ETFs”)
The Fund may invest in shares of other investment companies (including ETFs ). As the shareholder of another ETF, the Fund would bear, along with other shareholders, its pro rata portion of the other ETF’s expenses, including advisory fees. Such expenses are in addition to the expenses the Fund pays in connection with its own operations. The Fund’s investments in other ETFs may be limited by applicable law.
Disruptions in the markets for the securities underlying ETFs purchased or sold by the Fund could result in losses on investments in ETFs. ETFs also carry the risk that the price the Fund pays or receives may be higher or lower than the ETF’s NAV. ETFs are also subject to certain additional risks, including the risks of illiquidity and of possible trading halts due to market conditions or other reasons, based on the policies of the relevant exchange. ETFs and other investment companies in which the Fund may invest may be leveraged, which would increase the volatility of the Fund’s NAV.
Fixed-Income Securities
The Fund may invest in fixed-income securities. Fixed-income securities include a broad array of short-, medium-, and long-term obligations issued by the U.S. or foreign governments, government or international agencies and instrumentalities, and corporate and private issuers of various types. The maturity date is the date on which a fixed-income security matures. This is the date on which the borrower must pay back the borrowed amount, which is known as the principal. Some fixed-income securities represent uncollateralized obligations of their issuers; in other cases, the securities may be backed by specific assets (such as mortgages or other receivables) that have been set aside as collateral for the issuer’s obligation. Fixed-income securities generally involve an obligation of the issuer to pay interest or dividends on either a current basis or at the maturity of the security, as well as the obligation to repay the principal amount of the security at maturity. The rate of interest on fixed-income securities may be fixed, floating, or variable. Some securities pay a higher interest rate than the current market rate. An investor may have to pay more than the security’s principal to compensate the seller for the value of the higher interest rate. This additional payment is a premium.
Fixed-income securities are subject to credit risk, market risk, and interest rate risk. Except to the extent values are affected by other factors such as developments relating to a specific issuer, generally the value of a fixed-income security can be expected to rise when interest rates decline and, conversely, the value of such a security can be expected to fall when interest rates rise. Some fixed-income securities also involve prepayment or call risk. This is the risk that the issuer will repay the Fund the principal on the security before it is due, thus depriving the Fund of a favorable stream of future interest or dividend payments. The Fund could buy another security, but that other security might pay a lower interest rate. In addition, many fixed-income securities contain call or buy-back features that permit their issuers to call or repurchase the securities from their holders. Such securities may present risks based on payment expectations. Although the Fund would typically receive a premium if an issuer were to redeem a security, if an issuer were to exercise a call option and redeem the security during times of declining interest rates, the Fund may realize a capital loss on their investment if the security was purchased at a premium and the Fund may be forced to replace the called security with a lower yielding security.
Changes by nationally recognized securities rating organizations (“NRSROs”) in their ratings of any fixed-income security or the issuer of a fixed-income security and changes in the ability of an issuer to make payments of interest and principal may also affect the value of these investments. Changes in the value of portfolio securities generally will not affect income derived from these securities, but will affect the Fund’s NAV.
Duration is an estimate of how much a bond’s price will fluctuate in response to a change in interest rates. In general, the value of a fixed-income security with positive duration will generally decline if interest rates increase, whereas the value of a security with negative duration will generally decline if interest rates decrease. If interest rates rise by one percentage point, the price of debt securities with an average duration of five years would be expected to decline by about 5%. If rates decrease by a percentage point, the price of debt securities with an average duration of five years would be expected to rise by about 5%. The greater the duration of a bond (whether positive or negative), the greater its percentage price volatility. Only a pure discount bond – that is, one with no coupon or sinking-fund payments – has a duration equal to the remaining maturity of the bond, because only in this case does the present value of the final redemption payment represent the entirety of the present value of the bond. For all other bonds, duration is less than maturity.
The Fund may invest in variable- or floating-rate securities (including, but not limited to, floating rate notes issued by the U.S. Treasury), which bear interest at rates subject to periodic adjustment or provide for periodic recovery of principal on demand. The value of the Fund’s investment in certain of these securities may depend on the Fund’s right to demand that a specified bank, broker-dealer, or other financial institution either purchase such securities from the Fund at par or make payment on short notice to the Fund of unpaid principal and/or interest on the securities. These securities are subject to, among others, interest rate risk and credit risk.
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Illiquid Investments
The Fund may invest up to an aggregate amount of 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments, as such term is defined by Rule 22e-4 of the 140 Act. The Fund may not invest in illiquid investment if, as a result of such investment, more than 15% of the Fund’s net assets would be invested in illiquid investments. Illiquid investments include securities subject to contractual or other restrictions on resale and other instruments that lack readily available markets. The inability of the Fund to dispose of illiquid investments readily or at a reasonable price could impair the Fund’s ability to raise cash for redemptions or other purposes. The liquidity of securities purchased by the Fund that are eligible for resale pursuant to Rule 144A, except for certain 144A bonds, will be monitored by the Fund on an ongoing basis. In the event more than 15% of its net assets are invested in illiquid investments, the Fund, in accordance with Rule 22e-4(b)(1)(iv), will report the occurrence to both the Board and the SEC and seek to reduce its holdings of illiquid investments within a reasonable period of time.
Investment Company Securities
The Fund may invest in the securities of other investment companies, including money market funds and ETFs, subject to applicable limitations under Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act. Investing in another pooled vehicle exposes the Fund to all the risks of that pooled vehicle. Pursuant to Section 12(d)(1), the Fund may invest in the securities of another investment company (the “acquired company”) provided that the 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. To the extent allowed by law or regulation, the Fund may invest its assets in securities of investment companies that are money market funds in excess of the limits discussed above.
If the 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 Fund. The acquisition of Shares by 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 the 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 Fund 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 the 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 3% of the outstanding voting stock of any acquired fund, and (b) the sales load charged on Shares is no greater than the limits set forth in Rule 2830 of the Conduct Rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”). Additionally, the Fund may rely on exemptive relief issued by the SEC to other registered funds, including ETFs, to invest in such other funds in excess of the limits of Section 12(d)(1) if the Fund complies with the terms and conditions of such exemptive relief.
Non-U.S. Securities
The Fund may invest in non-U.S. equity securities. Investments in non-U.S. equity securities involve certain risks that may not be present in investments in U.S. securities. For example, non-U.S. securities may be subject to currency risks or to political or economic instability . There may be less information publicly available about a non-U.S. issuer than about a U.S. issuer, and a foreign issuer may or may not be subject to uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and practices comparable to those in the U.S. Investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to withholding or other taxes and may be subject to additional trading, settlement, custodial, and operational risks. Other risks of investing in such securities include political or economic instability in the country involved, the difficulty of predicting international trade patterns and the possibility of imposition of exchange controls. The prices of such securities may be more volatile than those of domestic securities. With respect to certain foreign countries, there is a possibility of expropriation of assets or nationalization, imposition of withholding taxes on dividend or interest payments, difficulty in obtaining and enforcing judgments against foreign entities or diplomatic developments which could affect investment in these countries. Losses and other expenses may be incurred in converting between various currencies in connection with purchases and sales of foreign securities. Since foreign exchanges may be open on days when the Fund does not price its Shares, the value of the securities in the Fund’s portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund’s Shares. Conversely, Shares may trade on days when foreign exchanges are closed. Each of these factors can make investments in the Fund more volatile and potentially less liquid than other types of investments.
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Non-U.S. stock markets may not be as developed or efficient as, and may be more volatile than, those in the U.S. While the volume of shares traded on non-U.S. stock markets generally has been growing, such markets usually have substantially less volume than U.S. markets. Therefore, the Fund’s investment in non-U.S. equity securities may be less liquid and subject to more rapid and erratic price movements than comparable securities listed for trading on U.S. exchanges. Non-U.S. equity securities may trade at price/earnings multiples higher than comparable U.S. securities and such levels may not be sustainable. There may be less government supervision and regulation of foreign stock exchanges, brokers, banks and listed companies abroad than in the U.S. Moreover, settlement practices for transactions in foreign markets may differ from those in U.S. markets. Such differences may include delays beyond periods customary in the U.S. and practices, such as delivery of securities prior to receipt of payment, that increase the likelihood of a failed settlement, which can result in losses to the Fund. The value of non-U.S. investments and the investment income derived from them may also be affected unfavorably by changes in currency exchange control regulations. Foreign brokerage commissions, custodial expenses and other fees are also generally higher than for securities traded in the U.S. This may cause the Fund to incur higher portfolio transaction costs than domestic equity funds. Fluctuations in exchange rates may also affect the earning power and asset value of the foreign entity issuing a security, even one denominated in U.S. dollars. Dividend and interest payments may be repatriated based on the exchange rate at the time of disbursement, and restrictions on capital flows may be imposed.
Set forth below for certain markets in which the Fund may invest are brief descriptions of some of the conditions and risks in each such market.
Investments in Australia. The Australian economy is reliant on the sale of commodities, which can pose risks such as the fluctuation of prices and the variability of demand for exportation of such products. Changes in spending on Australian products by the economies of other countries or changes in any of these economies may cause a significant impact on the Australian economy.
Investments in Canada. Because investments in the metals and mining industry may be geographically concentrated in Canadian companies or companies that have a significant presence in Canada, investment results could be dependent on the financial condition of the Canadian economy. The Canadian economy is reliant on the sale of natural resources and commodities, which can pose risks such as the fluctuation of prices and the variability of demand for exportation of such products. Changes in spending on Canadian products by the economies of other countries or changes in any of these economies may cause a significant impact on the Canadian economy.
Investments in Emerging Markets Securities. Investments in securities listed and traded in emerging markets are subject to additional risks that may not be present for U.S. investments or investments in more developed non-U.S. markets. Such risks may include: (i) greater market volatility; (ii) lower trading volume; (iii) greater social, political and economic uncertainty; (iv) governmental controls on foreign investments and limitations on repatriation of invested capital; (v) the risk that companies may be held to lower disclosure, corporate governance, auditing and financial reporting standards than companies in more developed markets; and (vi) the risk that there may be less protection of property rights than in other countries. Emerging markets are generally less liquid and less efficient than developed securities markets.
Investments in Europe. Most developed countries in Western Europe are members of the European Union (EU), and many are also members of the European Monetary Union (EMU), which requires compliance with restrictions on inflation rates, deficits, and debt levels. Unemployment in certain European nations is historically high and several countries face significant debt problems. These conditions can significantly affect every country in Europe. The euro is the official currency of the European Union (EU). Through its investments in Europe, the Fund may have significant exposure to the euro and events affecting the euro. Recent market events affecting several of the EU member countries have adversely affected the sovereign debt issued by those countries, and ultimately may lead to a decline in the value of the euro. A significant decline in the value of the euro may produce unpredictable effects on trade and commerce generally and could lead to increased volatility in financial markets worldwide.
At a referendum in June 2016, the United Kingdom (“UK”) voted to leave the EU. On March 29, 2017, the UK formally notified the European Council of its intention to withdraw from the EU (known as “Brexit”) within two years after providing such notice, leading to an official date for Brexit of March 29, 2019. However, on March 29, 2019, the Parliament of the UK voted down a formal plan whereby the UK would withdraw from the EU without any agreements in place regarding future dealings between the governments of both parties, as well as their respective businesses. The EU has since granted the UK an extension to allow it to remain a member of the EU through October 31, 2019, subject to certain conditions (including the UK’s participation in European parliamentary elections in May 2019), to provide the UK additional time to further negotiate such agreements with the EU. Negotiations are ongoing and subject to further developments.
During this period and beyond, the impact on the UK and European economies and the broader global economy could be significant, resulting in negative impacts, such as increased volatility and illiquidity, potentially lower economic growth on markets in the UK, Europe, and globally, and changes in legal and regulatory regimes to which certain Fund assets are or become subject, any of which may adversely affect the value of Fund investments. Also as a result of the referendum, on June 27, 2016, Standard & Poor’s (“S&P”) downgraded the UK’s credit rating from “AAA” to “AA” with a “negative outlook,” and on June 30, 2016, S&P downgraded the EU’s credit rating from “AA+” to “AA”. Other credit ratings agencies have taken similar actions.
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The effects of Brexit will depend, in part, on agreements the UK negotiates to retain access to EU markets, either during a transitional period or more permanently, including, but not limited to, current trade and finance agreements. Brexit could lead to legal and tax uncertainty and potentially divergent national laws and regulations, as the UK determines which EU laws to replace or replicate. The extent of the impact of the withdrawal negotiations in the UK and in global markets, as well as any associated adverse consequences, remain unclear, and the uncertainty may have a significant negative effect on the value of Fund investments. If one or more other countries were to exit the EU or abandon the use of the euro as a currency, the value of investments tied to those countries or the euro could decline significantly and unpredictably.
Investments in Hong Kong. Investments directly in or in ADRs with underlying shares organized, listed, or domiciled in Hong Kong are subject to certain political risks not associated with other investments. Following the establishment of the People’s Republic of China by the Communist Party in 1949, the Chinese government renounced various debt obligations incurred by China’s predecessor governments, which obligations remain in default, and expropriated assets without compensation. There can be no assurance that the Chinese government will not take similar action in the future. Investments in China and Hong Kong involve risk of a total loss due to government action or inaction. China has committed by treaty to preserve Hong Kong’s autonomy and its economic, political and social freedoms for 50 years from the July 1, 1997 transfer of sovereignty from Great Britain to China. However, if China would exert its authority so as to alter the economic, political, or legal structures or the existing social policy of Hong Kong, investor and business confidence in Hong Kong could be negatively affected, which in turn could negatively affect markets and business performance. In addition, the Hong Kong dollar trades at a fixed exchange rate in relation to (or, is “pegged” to) the U.S. dollar, which has contributed to the growth and stability of the Hong Kong economy. However, it is uncertain how long the currency peg will continue or what effect the establishment of an alternative exchange rate system would have on the Hong Kong economy. Because the Fund’s NAV is denominated in U.S. dollars, the establishment of an alternative exchange rate system could result in a decline in the Fund’s NAV. These and other factors could have a negative impact on the Fund’s performance.
Investments in Japan. Economic growth in Japan is heavily dependent on international trade, government support, and consistent government policy. Slowdowns in the economies of key trading partners such as the United States, China, and countries in Southeast Asia could have a negative impact on the Japanese economy as a whole. The Japanese economy has in the past been negatively affected by, among other factors, government intervention and protectionism and an unstable financial services sector. While the Japanese economy has recently emerged from a prolonged economic downturn, some of these factors, as well as other adverse political developments, increases in government debt, changes to fiscal, monetary or trade policies, or other events, such as natural disasters, could have a negative impact on Japanese securities. Japan also has few natural resources, and any fluctuation or shortage in the commodity markets could have a negative impact on Japanese securities.
Investments in South Korea. Investments in South Korean issuers involve risks that are specific to South Korea, including legal, regulatory, political, currency, security and economic risks. Substantial political tensions exist between North Korea and South Korea and recently these political tensions have escalated. The outbreak of hostilities between the two nations, or even the threat of an outbreak of hostilities, will likely adversely impact the South Korean economy. In addition, South Korea’s economic growth potential has recently been on a decline, mainly because of a rapidly aging population and structural problems.
Other Short-Term Instruments
In addition to repurchase agreements, the Fund may invest in short-term instruments, including money market instruments, on an ongoing basis to provide liquidity or for other reasons. Money market instruments are generally short-term investments that may include but are not limited to: (i) shares of money market funds; (ii) obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises); (iii) negotiable certificates of deposit (“CDs”), bankers’ acceptances, fixed time deposits and other obligations of U.S. and foreign banks (including foreign branches) and similar institutions; (iv) commercial paper rated at the date of purchase “Prime-1” by Moody’s or “A-1” by S&P or, if unrated, of comparable quality as determined by the Sub-Adviser; (v) non-convertible corporate debt securities (e.g., bonds and debentures) with remaining maturities at the date of purchase of not more than 397 days and that satisfy the rating requirements set forth in Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act; and (vi) short-term U.S. dollar-denominated obligations of foreign banks (including U.S. branches) that, in the opinion of the Sub-Adviser, are of comparable quality to obligations of U.S. banks which may be purchased by the Fund. Any of these instruments may be purchased on a current or a forward-settled basis. Money market instruments also include shares of money market funds. Time deposits are non-negotiable deposits maintained in banking institutions for specified periods of time at stated interest rates. Bankers’ acceptances are time drafts drawn on commercial banks by borrowers, usually in connection with international transactions.
Repurchase Agreements
The Fund may invest in repurchase agreements with commercial banks, brokers or dealers to generate income from its excess cash balances and to invest securities lending cash collateral. A repurchase agreement is an agreement under which the Fund acquires a financial instrument (e.g., a security issued by the U.S. government or an agency thereof, a banker’s acceptance or a certificate of deposit) from a seller, subject to resale to the seller at an agreed upon price and date (normally, the next Business Day). A repurchase agreement may be considered a loan collateralized by securities. The resale price reflects an agreed upon interest rate effective for the period the instrument is held by the Fund and is unrelated to the interest rate on the underlying instrument.
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In these repurchase agreement transactions, the securities acquired by the Fund (including accrued interest earned thereon) must have a total value in excess of the value of the repurchase agreement and are held by the custodian until repurchased. No more than an aggregate of 15% of the Fund’s net assets will be invested in illiquid securities, including repurchase agreements having maturities longer than seven days and securities subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale, or for which there are no readily available market quotations.
The use of repurchase agreements involves certain risks. For example, if the other party to the agreement defaults on its obligation to repurchase the underlying security at a time when the value of the security has declined, the Fund may incur a loss upon disposition of the security. If the other party to the agreement becomes insolvent and subject to liquidation or reorganization under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code or other laws, a court may determine that the underlying security is collateral for a loan by the Fund not within the control of the Fund and, therefore, the Fund may not be able to substantiate its interest in the underlying security and may be deemed an unsecured creditor of the other party to the agreement.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements
The Fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements, which involve the sale of securities held by the Fund subject to its agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon date or upon demand and at a price reflecting a market rate of interest. Reverse repurchase agreements are subject to the Fund’s limitation on borrowings and may be entered into only with banks or securities dealers or their affiliates. While a reverse repurchase agreement is outstanding, the Fund will maintain the segregation, either on its records or with the Custodian, of cash or other liquid securities, marked-to-market daily, in an amount at least equal to its obligations under the reverse repurchase agreement.
Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the buyer of the securities sold by the Fund might be unable to deliver them when the Fund seeks to repurchase. If the buyer of securities under a reverse repurchase agreement files for bankruptcy or becomes insolvent, the buyer or trustee or receiver may receive an extension of time to determine whether to enforce the Fund’s obligation to repurchase the securities, and the Fund’s use of the proceeds of the reverse repurchase agreement may effectively be restricted pending such decision.
Securities Lending
The Fund may lend portfolio securities to certain creditworthy borrowers , including the Fund’s securities lending agent . The borrowers provide collateral that is maintained in an amount at least equal to the current value of the securities loaned. The Fund may terminate a loan at any time and obtain the return of the securities loaned. The lending Fund receives the value of any interest or cash or non-cash distributions paid on the loaned securities. Distributions received on loaned securities in lieu of dividend payments (i.e., substitute payments) would not be considered qualified dividend income.
With respect to loans that are collateralized by cash, the borrower will be entitled to receive a fee based on the amount of cash collateral. The Fund is compensated by the difference between the amount earned on the reinvestment of cash collateral and the fee paid to the borrower. In the case of collateral other than cash, the Fund is compensated by a fee paid by the borrower equal to a percentage of the value of the loaned securities. Any cash collateral may be reinvested in certain short-term instruments either directly on behalf of the lending Fund or through one or more private accounts , joint accounts, or money market funds, which may include those managed by an affiliate of the Distributor (as defined below) or the Sub-Adviser.
The Fund may pay a portion of the interest or fees earned from securities lending to a borrower as described above, and to one or more securities lending agents approved by the Board who administer the lending program for the Fund in accordance with guidelines approved by the Board. In such capacity, the lending agent causes the delivery of loaned securities from the Fund to borrowers, arranges for the return of loaned securities to the Fund at the termination of a loan, requests deposit of collateral, monitors the daily value of the loaned securities and collateral, requests that borrowers add to the collateral when required by the loan agreements, and provides recordkeeping and accounting services necessary for the operation of the program.
Securities lending involves exposure to certain risks, including operational risk (i.e., the risk of losses resulting from problems in the settlement and accounting process), “gap” risk (i.e., the risk of a mismatch between the return on cash collateral reinvestments and the fees the Fund has agreed to pay a borrower), and credit, legal, counterparty and market risk. In the event a borrower does not return the Fund’s securities as agreed, the Fund may experience losses if the proceeds received from liquidating the collateral do not at least equal the value of the loaned security at the time the collateral is liquidated plus the transaction costs incurred in purchasing replacement securities. 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.
Tax Risks
As with any investment, you should consider how your investment in Shares will be taxed. The tax information in the Prospectus and this SAI is provided as general information. You should consult your own tax professional about the tax consequences of an investment in Shares.
Unless your investment in Shares is made through a tax-exempt entity or tax-deferred retirement account, such as an individual retirement account, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when the Fund makes distributions or you sell Shares.
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U.S. Government Securities
The Fund may invest in U.S. government securities. Securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities include U.S. Treasury securities, which are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury and which differ only in their interest rates, maturities, and times of issuance. U.S. Treasury bills have initial maturities of one-year or less; U.S. Treasury notes have initial maturities of one to ten years; and U.S. Treasury bonds generally have initial maturities of greater than ten years. Certain U.S. government securities are issued or guaranteed by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government including, but not limited to, obligations of U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”), the Government National Mortgage Association (“Ginnie Mae”), the Small Business Administration, the Federal Farm Credit Administration, the Federal Home Loan Banks, Banks for Cooperatives (including the Central Bank for Cooperatives), the Federal Land Banks, the Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Federal Financing Bank, the Student Loan Marketing Association, the National Credit Union Administration and the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (“Farmer Mac”).
Some obligations issued or guaranteed by U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities, including, for example, Ginnie Mae pass-through certificates, are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury. Other obligations issued by or guaranteed by federal agencies, such as those securities issued by Fannie Mae, are supported by the discretionary authority of the U.S. government to purchase certain obligations of the federal agency, while other obligations issued by or guaranteed by federal agencies, such as those of the Federal Home Loan Banks, are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury, while the U.S. government provides financial support to such U.S. government-sponsored federal agencies, no assurance can be given that the U.S. government will always do so, since the U.S. government is not so obligated by law. U.S. Treasury notes and bonds typically pay coupon interest semi-annually and repay the principal at maturity.
On September 7, 2008, the U.S. Treasury announced a federal takeover of Fannie Mae and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”), placing the two federal instrumentalities in conservatorship. Under the takeover, the U.S. Treasury agreed to acquire $1 billion of senior preferred stock of each instrumentality and obtained warrants for the purchase of common stock of each instrumentality (the “Senior Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement” or “Agreement”). Under the Agreement, the U.S. Treasury pledged to provide up to $200 billion per instrumentality as needed, including the contribution of cash capital to the instrumentalities in the event their liabilities exceed their assets. This was intended to ensure that the instrumentalities maintain a positive net worth and meet their financial obligations, preventing mandatory triggering of receivership. On December 24, 2009, the U.S. Treasury announced that it was amending the Agreement to allow the $200 billion cap on the U.S. Treasury’s funding commitment to increase as necessary to accommodate any cumulative reduction in net worth over the next three years. As a result of this Agreement, the investments of holders, including the Fund, of mortgage-backed securities and other obligations issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are protected.
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 limit 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. In August 2011, S&P 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 limit and growth in public spending. On August 2, 2019 , following passage by Congress, the President of the United States signed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019 , which suspends the statutory debt limit through July 31, 2021 . 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.
INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS
The Trust has adopted the following investment restrictions as fundamental policies with respect to the Fund. These restrictions cannot be changed with respect to the 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, the Fund may not:
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Concentrate its investments (i.e., hold more than 25% of its total assets) in any 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.
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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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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.
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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 Fund observes the following non-fundamental restrictions, which may be changed without a shareholder vote.
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The Fund will not invest in illiquid investments if, as a result of such investment, more than 15% of its net assets would be invested in illiquid investments. An illiquid investment is any investment that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment.
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2.
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Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, will be invested in equity securities.
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For purposes of the foregoing policy, the Fund defines “equity securities” to mean common and preferred stocks, rights, warrants, depositary receipts, equity interests in REITs, and master limited partnerships.
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 limitation with respect to the borrowing of money will be observed continuously.
EXCHANGE LISTING AND TRADING
Shares are listed for trading and trade throughout the day on the Exchange.
There can be no assurance that the Fund will continue to meet the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of Shares. The Exchange will consider the suspension of trading in, and will initiate delisting proceedings of, the Shares of the Fund under any of the following circumstances: (i) if any of the requirements set forth in the Exchange rules are not continuously maintained; (ii) if the Exchange files separate proposals under Section 19(b) of the 1940 Act and any of the statements regarding (a) the description of the Fund; (b) limitations on the Fund’s portfolio holdings or reference assets; (c) dissemination and availability of the intraday indicative values; or (d) the applicability of the Exchange listing rules specified in such proposals are not continuously maintained; (iii) if, following the initial 12-month period beginning at the commencement of trading of the Fund, there are fewer than 50 beneficial owners of Shares ; (iv) if the intraday indicative value is no longer disseminated at least every 15 seconds during the Exchange’s regular market session and the interruption to the dissemination persists past the trading day in which it occurred; or (v) such other event shall occur or condition shall exist that, in the opinion of the Exchange, makes further dealings on the Exchange inadvisable. The Exchange will remove the Shares from listing and trading upon termination of the Fund.
The Trust reserves the right to adjust the price levels of Shares in the future to help 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 Fund.
To provide additional information regarding the indicative value of Shares, the Exchange or a market data vendor disseminates information every 15 seconds through the facilities of the Consolidated Tape Association or other widely disseminated means , an updated “intraday indicative value” (“IIV”) for the Fund as calculated by an information provider or market data vendor. The Trust is not involved in or responsible for any aspect of the calculation or dissemination of the IIVs and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the IIVs.
MANAGEMENT OF THE TRUST
Board Responsibilities. The management and affairs of the Trust and its series are overseen by the Board, which elects the officers of the Trust who are responsible for administering the day-to-day operations of the Trust and the Fund. The Board has approved contracts, as described below, under which certain companies provide essential services to the Trust.
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 Sub-Adviser, the Distributor and the Administrator. The Board is responsible for overseeing the Trust’s service providers and, thus, has 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 Fund. The Fund and its 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 Sub-Adviser is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio investments) and,
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consequently, for managing the risks associated with that business. The Board has emphasized to the Fund’s service providers the importance of maintaining vigorous risk management.
The Board’s role in risk oversight begins before the inception of the 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 and Sub-Adviser provide the Board with an overview of, among other things, their investment philosophy, brokerage practices and compliance infrastructure. Thereafter, the Board continues its oversight function as various personnel, including the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer, as well as personnel of the Sub-Adviser, 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 the Fund may be exposed.
The Board is responsible for overseeing the nature, extent, and quality of the services provided to the Fund by the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser and receives information about those services at its regular meetings. In addition, on an annual basis (following the initial two-year period), in connection with its consideration of whether to renew the Investment Advisory Agreement with the Adviser and the Sub-Advisory Agreement with the Sub-Adviser, the Board or its designee may meet with the Adviser and /or the Sub-Adviser to review such services. Among other things, the Board regularly considers the Adviser’s and the Sub-Adviser’s adherence to the Fund’s investment restrictions and compliance with various Fund policies and procedures and with applicable securities regulations. The Board also reviews information about the Fund’s performance and the Fund’s investments, including, for example, portfolio holdings schedules.
The Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer reports regularly to the Board to review and discuss compliance issues and Fund, Adviser, or Sub-Adviser risk assessments. At least annually, the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer 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 and the Sub-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 Fund’s service providers regarding operational risks and risks related to the valuation and liquidity of portfolio securities. Annually, the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm reviews with the Audit Committee its audit of the 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 Sub-Adviser, the Chief Compliance Officer, the independent registered public accounting firm and other service providers, the Board and the Audit Committee learn in detail about the material risks of the 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 the 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 the 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 Board as to risk management matters are typically summaries of the relevant information. Most of the Fund’s investment management and business affairs are carried out by or through the Adviser, Sub-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 the 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.
Members of the Board. There are four members of the Board, three of whom are not interested persons of the Trust, as that term is defined in the 1940 Act (the “Independent Trustees”). Mr. Michael A. Castino serves as Chairman of the Board and is an interested person of the Trust, and Mr. Leonard M. Rush serves as the Trust’s Lead Independent Trustee. As Lead Independent Trustee, Mr. Rush acts as a spokesperson for the Independent Trustees in between meetings of the Board, serves as a liaison for the Independent Trustees with the Trust’s service providers, officers, and legal counsel to discuss ideas informally, and participates in setting the agenda for meetings of the Board and separate meetings or executive sessions of the Independent Trustees.
The Board is comprised of a super-majority (75 percent) of Independent Trustees. There is an Audit Committee of the Board that is chaired by an Independent Trustee and comprised solely of Independent Trustees. The Audit Committee chair presides at the Audit Committee meetings, participates in formulating agendas for Audit Committee meetings, and coordinates with management to serve as a liaison between the Independent Trustees and management on matters within the scope of responsibilities of the Audit Committee as set forth in its Board-approved charter. The Trust has determined its leadership structure is appropriate given the specific characteristics and circumstances of the Trust. The Trust made this determination in consideration of, among other things, the fact that the Independent
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Trustees of the Trust constitute a super-majority of the Board, the number of Independent Trustees that constitute the Board, the amount of assets under management in the Trust, and the number of funds overseen by the Board. The Board also believes that its leadership structure facilitates the orderly and efficient flow of information to the Independent Trustees from Fund management.
Additional information about each Trustee of the Trust is set forth below. The address of each Trustee of the Trust is c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services , 615 E. Michigan Street, Milwaukee, WI 53202.
|
Name and
Year of Birth |
Position 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 5 Years
|
|
Independent Trustees
|
|||||
|
Leonard M. Rush, CPA
Born: 1946
|
Lead Independent Trustee
and
Audit
Committee
Chairman
|
Indefinite term;
since 2012
|
Retired; formerly Chief Financial Officer, Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated (wealth management firm) (2000–2011).
|
50
|
Independent Trustee, Managed Portfolio Series (39 portfolios) (since 2011).
|
|
David A. Massart
Born: 1967
|
Trustee
|
Indefinite term;
since 2012
|
Co-Founder, President, and Chief Investment Strategist, Next Generation Wealth Management, Inc. (since 2005).
|
50
|
Independent Trustee, Managed Portfolio Series (39 portfolios) (since 2011).
|
|
Janet D. Olsen
Born: 1956
|
Trustee
|
Indefinite term;
since 2018
|
Retired; formerly Managing Director and General Counsel, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership (investment adviser) (2000–2013); Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (2012–2013); Vice President and General Counsel, Artisan Funds, Inc. (investment company) (2001–2012).
|
50
|
Independent Trustee, PPM Funds
(9 portfolios) (since 2018).
|
|
Interested Trustee
|
|||||
|
Michael A. Castino
Born: 1967
|
Trustee and Chairman
|
Indefinite term;
Trustee since 2014; Chairman since 2013
|
Senior Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2013); Managing Director of Index Services, Zacks Investment Management (2011–2013).
|
50
|
None
|
Individual Trustee Qualifications. The Trust has concluded that each of the Trustees should serve on the Board because of their ability to review and understand information about the Fund provided to them by management, to identify and request other information they may deem relevant to the performance of their duties, to question management and other service providers regarding material factors bearing on the management and administration of the Fund, and to exercise their business judgment in a manner that serves the best interests of the Fund’s shareholders. The Trust has concluded that each of the Trustees should serve as a Trustee based on his or her own experience, qualifications, attributes and skills as described below.
The Trust has concluded that Mr. Rush should serve as a Trustee because of his substantial industry experience, including serving in several different senior executive roles at various global financial services firms, and the experience he has gained as serving as trustee of another investment company trust since 2011. He most recently served as Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated and several other affiliated entities and served as the Treasurer for Baird Funds. He also served as the Chief Financial Officer for Fidelity Investments’ four broker-dealers and has substantial experience with mutual fund and investment advisory organizations and related businesses, including Vice President and Head of Compliance for Fidelity Investments, a Vice President at Credit Suisse First Boston, a Manager with Goldman Sachs, & Co. and a Senior Manager with Deloitte & Touche. Mr. Rush has been determined to qualify as an Audit Committee Financial Expert for the Trust.
14
The Trust has concluded that Mr. Massart should serve as a Trustee because of his substantial industry experience, including over two decades working with high net worth individuals, families, trusts, and retirement accounts to make strategic and tactical asset allocation decisions, evaluate and select investment managers, and manage complex client relationships, and the experience he has gained as serving as trustee of another investment company trust since 2011. He is currently the President and Chief Investment Strategist of the SEC registered investment advisory firm he co-founded. Previously, he served as Managing Director of Strong Private Client and as a Manager of Wells Fargo Investments, LLC.
The Trust has concluded that Ms. Olsen should serve as a Trustee because of her substantial industry experience, including over a decade serving as a senior executive of an investment management firm and a related public company, and the experience she has gained by serving as an executive officer of another investment company from 2001 to 2012. Ms. Olsen most recently served as Managing Director and General Counsel of Artisan Partners Limited Partnership, a registered investment adviser serving primarily investment companies and institutional investors, and several affiliated entities, including its general partner, Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (NYSE: APAM), and as an executive officer of Artisan Funds Inc.
The Trust has concluded that Mr. Castino should serve as Trustee because of the experience he gained as Chairman of the Trust since 2013, as a senior officer of U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, doing business as U.S. Bank Global Fund Services (“Fund Services” or the “Transfer Agent”) , since 2012, and in his past roles with investment management firms and indexing firms involved with ETFs, as well as his experience in and knowledge of the financial services industry.
In its periodic assessment of the effectiveness of the Board, the Board considers the complementary individual skills and experience of the individual Trustees primarily in the broader context of the Board’s overall composition so that the Board, as a body, possesses the appropriate (and appropriately diverse) skills and experience to oversee the business of the funds.
Board Committees. The Board has established the following standing committees of the Board:
Audit Committee. The Board has a standing Audit Committee that is composed of each of the Independent Trustees of the Trust. The Audit Committee operates under a written charter approved by the Board. The principal responsibilities of the Audit Committee include: recommending which firm to engage as the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm and whether to terminate this relationship; reviewing the independent registered public accounting firm’s compensation, the proposed scope and terms of its engagement, and the firm’s independence; pre-approving audit and non-audit services provided by the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm to the Trust and certain other affiliated entities; serving as a channel of communication between the independent registered public accounting firm and the Trustees; reviewing the results of each external audit, including any qualifications in the independent registered public accounting firm’s opinion, any related management letter, management’s responses to recommendations made by the independent registered public accounting firm in connection with the audit, reports submitted to the Committee by the internal auditing department of the Trust’s Administrator that are material to the Trust as a whole, if any, and management’s responses to any such reports; reviewing the Fund’s audited financial statements and considering any significant disputes between the Trust’s management and the independent registered public accounting firm that arose in connection with the preparation of those financial statements; considering, in consultation with the independent registered public accounting firm and the Trust’s senior internal accounting executive, if any, the independent registered public accounting firms’ report on the adequacy of the Trust’s internal financial controls; reviewing, in consultation with the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm, major changes regarding auditing and accounting principles and practices to be followed when preparing the Fund’s financial statements; and other audit related matters. Each Independent Trustee currently serves as a member of the Audit Committee. During the fiscal year ended May 31, 2019 , the Audit Committee met four times .
The Audit Committee also serves as the Qualified Legal Compliance Committee (“QLCC”) for the Trust for the purpose of compliance with Rules 205.2(k) and 205.3(c) of the Code of Federal Regulations, regarding alternative reporting procedures for attorneys retained or employed by an issuer who appear and practice before the SEC on behalf of the issuer (the “issuer attorneys”). An issuer attorney who becomes aware of evidence of a material violation by the Trust, or by any officer, director, employee, or agent of the Trust, may report evidence of such material violation to the QLCC as an alternative to the reporting requirements of Rule 205.3(b) (which requires reporting to the chief legal officer and potentially “up the ladder” to other entities).
Nominating Committee. The Board has a standing Nominating Committee that is composed of each of the Independent Trustees of the Trust. The Nominating Committee operates under a written charter approved by the Board. The principal responsibility of the Nominating Committee is to consider, recommend and nominate candidates to fill vacancies on the Trust’s Board, if any. The Nominating Committee generally will not consider nominees recommended by shareholders. The Nominating Committee meets periodically, as necessary. During the fiscal year ended May 31, 2019 , the Nominating Committee did not meet .
Valuation Committee. The Board has delegated day-to-day valuation issues to a Valuation Committee that is comprised of certain officers of the Trust . Although the Valuation Committee is not a committee of the Board (i.e., no Trustee is a member of the Valuation Committee), the Valuation Committee’s membership is appointed by the Board and its charter and applicable procedures are approved by the Board. The function of the Valuation Committee is to value securities held by any series of the Trust for which current and reliable market quotations are not readily available. Such securities are valued at their respective fair values as determined in good faith by the Valuation Committee and the actions of the Valuation Committee are subsequently reviewed and ratified by the Board. The Valuation Committee meets as necessary.
15
Principal Officers of the Trust
The officers of the Trust conduct and supervise its daily business. The address of each officer of the Trust is c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services , 615 E. Michigan Street, Milwaukee, WI 53202. Additional information about the Trust’s officers is as follows:
|
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 |
|
Kristina R. Nelson
Born: 1982
|
President
|
Indefinite term;
since 2019
|
Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2014); Assistant Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2013–2014).
|
|
Michael D. Barolsky
Born: 1981
|
Vice President and Secretary
|
Indefinite term;
since 2014
(other roles since 2013)
|
Senior Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2019); Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2012–2019); Associate, Thompson Hine LLP (law firm) (2008–2012).
|
|
James R. Butz
Born: 1982
|
Chief Compliance Officer
|
Indefinite term;
since 2015
|
Senior Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2015); Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2014–2015); Assistant Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2011–2014).
|
|
Kristen M. Weitzel, CPA
Born: 1977
|
Treasurer
|
Indefinite term;
since 2014
(other roles since 2013)
|
Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2015); Assistant Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2011–2015); Manager, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (accounting firm) (2005–2011).
|
|
Brett M. Wickmann
Born: 1982
|
Assistant Treasurer
|
Indefinite term;
since 2017
|
Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2017); Assistant Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2012–2017).
|
|
Elizabeth A. Winske
Born: 1983
|
Assistant Treasurer
|
Indefinite term;
since 2017
|
Assistant Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2016); Officer, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2012–2016).
|
Trustee Ownership of Shares. The Fund is required to show the dollar amount ranges of each Trustee’s “beneficial ownership” of Shares 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 May 31, 2019 , no Trustee or officer of the Trust owned Shares or shares of any other series of the Trust.
Board Compensation. The Independent Trustees each receive an annual trustee fee of $140,000 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 $2,000, as well as reimbursement for travel and other out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with attendance at Board meetings. The Lead Independent Trustee receives an additional annual fee of $10,000 . The Chairman of the Audit Committee receives an additional annual fee of $8,000 . The Trust has no pension or retirement plan.
The following table shows the compensation earned by each Trustee for the fiscal year ending May 31, 2019 . Independent Trustee fees are paid by the Adviser to each series of the Trust and not by the Fund. Trustee compensation does not include reimbursed out-of-pocket expenses in connection with attendance at meetings.
|
Name
|
Aggregate Compensation From the Fund
|
Total Compensation From Fund Complex Paid to Trustees
|
|
Interested Trustee
|
||
|
Michael A. Castino
|
$0
|
$0
|
|
Independent Trustees
|
||
|
Leonard M. Rush, CPA
|
$0
|
$133,500
|
|
David A. Massart
|
$0
|
$119,250
|
|
Janet D. Olsen
|
$0
|
$119,250
|
16
PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS, CONTROL PERSONS, AND MANAGEMENT OWNERSHIP
A principal shareholder is any person who owns of record or beneficially 5% or more of the outstanding Shares. A control person is a shareholder that owns beneficially or through controlled companies more than 25% of the voting securities of a company or acknowledges the existence of control. Shareholders owning voting securities in excess of 25% may determine the outcome of any matter affecting and voted on by shareholders of the Fund. As of September 3, 2019, the Trustees and officers, as a group, owned less than 1% of the Shares, and the following shareholders were considered to be principal shareholders of the Fund:
|
Name and Address
|
% Ownership
|
Type of Ownership
|
|
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
211 Main Street
San Francisco, CA 94105-1905
|
27.14%
|
Record
|
|
National Financial Services, LLC
200 Liberty Street
New York, NY 10281
|
22.66%
|
Record
|
|
J.P. Morgan Chase Clearing Corporation
3 Chase Metrotech Center, 7th Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11245-0001
|
12.83%
|
Record
|
|
Pershing LLC
One Pershing Plaza
Jersey City, NJ 07399
|
8.38%
|
Record
|
|
Vanguard Brokerage Services
P.O. Box 1110
Valley Forge, PA 19482-1110
|
6.78%
|
Record
|
|
TD Ameritrade, Inc.
200 South 108th Avenue
Omaha, NE 68103-2226
|
6.42%
|
Record
|
CODES OF ETHICS
The Trust, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser , and the Distributor (as defined under “The Distributor”) have each adopted codes of ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act. These codes of ethics are designed to prevent affiliated persons of the Trust, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser and the Distributor from engaging in deceptive, manipulative or fraudulent activities in connection with securities held or to be acquired by the Fund (which may also be held by persons subject to the codes of ethics). Each Code of Ethics permits personnel subject to that Code of Ethics to invest in securities for their personal investment accounts, subject to certain limitations, including limitations related to securities that may be purchased or held by the Fund.
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 POLICIES
The Fund has delegated proxy voting responsibilities to the Adviser, subject to the Board’s oversight. In delegating proxy responsibilities, the Board has directed that proxies be voted consistent with the Fund’s and its shareholders’ best interests and in compliance with all applicable proxy voting rules and regulations. The Adviser has adopted proxy voting policies and guidelines for this purpose (“Proxy Voting Policies”) and has engaged a third-party proxy solicitation firm to assist with voting proxies in a timely manner and making voting recommendations under guidelines adopted by the Adviser . A copy of the Proxy Voting Policies is set forth in Appendix B to this SAI. The Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer is responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of the Proxy Voting Policies. The Proxy Voting Policies have been adopted by the Trust as the policies and procedures that the Adviser will use when voting proxies on behalf of the Fund.
The Proxy Voting Policies address, among other things, material conflicts of interest that may arise between the interests of the Fund and the interests of the Adviser. The Proxy Voting Policies will ensure that all issues brought to shareholders are analyzed in light of the Adviser’s fiduciary responsibilities.
When available, information on how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12 - month period ended June 30 will be available (1) without charge, upon request, by calling 1-800-617-0004 and (2) on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
17
INVESTMENT ADVISER AND SUB-ADVISER
Investment Adviser
The Adviser, EquBot Inc., a Delaware corporation located at 450 Townsend Street, San Francisco, California 94107, serves as the investment adviser to the Fund. The Adviser is owned and controlled by Arthur Amador and Chidananda Khatua by virtue of each of their ownership.
Pursuant to an Investment Advisory Agreement ( the “Advisory Agreement”) between the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and the Adviser, the Adviser provides investment advice to the Fund and oversees the day-to-day operations of the Fund, subject to the direction and control of the Board and the officers of the Trust. Under the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser is also responsible for arranging, in consultation with the Sub-Adviser, transfer agency, custody, fund administration, securities lending, accounting, and other non-distribution related services necessary for the Fund to operate. The Adviser administers the Fund’s business affairs, provides office facilities and equipment and certain clerical, bookkeeping and administrative services. The Adviser bears the costs of all advisory and non-advisory services required to operate the Fund, in exchange for a single unitary management fee. For services provided to the Fund, the Fund pays the Adviser a unified management fee of 0.79%, which is calculated daily and paid monthly, at an annual rate based on the Fund’s average daily net assets.
Under the Advisory Agreement , the Adviser has agreed to pay all expenses of the Fund , except for: the fee paid to the Adviser pursuant to the Advisory Agreement , interest charges on any borrowings, dividends and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, extraordinary expenses, and distribution (12b‑1) fees and expenses.
The Advisory Agreement with respect to the Fund will continue in force for an initial period of two years. Thereafter, the Advisory Agreement will be renewable from year to year with respect to the Fund, so long as its continuance is approved at least annually (1) by the vote, cast in person at a meeting called for that purpose, of a majority of those Trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Adviser or the Trust; and (2) by the majority vote of either the full Board or the vote of a majority of the outstanding Shares. The Advisory Agreement automatically terminates on assignment and is terminable on a 60-day written notice either by the Trust or the Adviser.
The Adviser, in turn, compensates the Sub-Adviser from the management fee it receives from the applicable fund. The Adviser shall not be liable to the Trust or any shareholder for anything done or omitted by it, except acts or omissions involving willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties imposed upon it by its agreement with the Trust.
Management fees paid by the Fund to the Adviser for the fiscal period June 5, 2018 (commencement of operations) through May 31, 2019 were $27,261.
Sub-Adviser
The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and the Adviser have retained Vident Investment Advisory, LLC, 1125 Sanctuary Parkway, Suite 515, Alpharetta, Georgia 30009 , to serve as investment sub-adviser for the Fund. The Sub-Adviser was established in 2014 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vident Financial, LLC. Vident Financial, LLC was formed in 2013 to develop and license investment market solutions (indices and funds) based on strategies that combine sophisticated risk-balancing methodologies, economic freedom metrics, valuation, and investor behavior. Vident Financial, LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Vident Investors’ Oversight Trust. Vince L. Birley, Brian Shepler and Mohammad Baki serve as the trustees of the Vident Investors’ Oversight Trust.
Pursuant to a Sub-Advisory Agreement between the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”), the Sub-Adviser is responsible for trading portfolio securities on behalf of the Fund, including selecting broker-dealers to execute purchase and sale transactions as instructed by the Adviser, subject to the supervision of the Adviser and the Board. For the services it provides to the Fund, the Sub-Adviser is compensated by the Adviser from the management fees paid by the Fund to the Adviser.
The Sub-Advisory Agreement was approved by the Trustees (including all the Independent Trustees) and the Adviser, as sole shareholder of the Fund in compliance with the 1940 Act. The Sub-Advisory Agreement will continue in force for an initial period of two years. Thereafter, the Sub-Advisory Agreement is renewable from year to year with respect to the Fund, so long as its continuance is approved at least annually (1) by the vote, cast in person at a meeting called for that purpose, of a majority of those Trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Trust; and (2) by the majority vote of either the full Board or the vote of a majority of the outstanding Shares. The Sub-Advisory Agreement will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment, and is terminable at any time without penalty by vote of a majority of the Board or, with respect to the Fund, by a majority of the outstanding Shares, or by the Adviser, upon 60 days’ written notice to the Sub-Adviser, or by the Sub-Adviser on 90 days’ written notice to the Adviser and the Trust. The Sub-Advisory Agreement provides that the Sub-Adviser shall not be protected against any liability to the Trust or its shareholders by reason of willful misfeasance, fraud , bad faith or gross negligence on its part in the performance of its duties or from reckless disregard of its obligations or duties thereunder.
For the fiscal period June 5, 2018 (commencement of operations) through May 31, 2019, the Sub-Adviser earned $24,726.
18
PORTFOLIO MANAGERS
Compensation
The Fund’s portfolio managers receive a fixed base salary and discretionary bonus that are not tied to the performance of the Fund.
Share Ownership
The Fund is required to show the dollar range of the portfolio managers’ “beneficial ownership” of Shares as of the end of the most recently completed fiscal 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, the Portfolio Managers did not beneficially own Shares.
Other Accounts
In addition to the Fund, the portfolio managers managed the following other accounts as of May 31, 2019.
|
Portfolio Manager
|
Type of Accounts
|
Total Number of Accounts
|
Total Assets of Accounts
|
Total Number of Accounts with Performance Based Fees
|
Total Assets of
Accounts with Performance Based Fees |
|
Denise M. Krisko, CFA
|
Registered Investment Companies
|
34
|
$4,026,214,000
|
0
|
$0
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles
|
5
|
$54,723,000
|
0
|
$0
|
|
|
Other Accounts
|
0
|
$0
|
0
|
$0
|
|
|
Habib Moudachirou, FRM
|
Registered Investment Companies
|
5
|
$56,475,000
|
0
|
$0
|
|
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles
|
4
|
$7,203,000
|
0
|
$0
|
|
|
Other Accounts
|
0
|
$0
|
0
|
$0
|
|
Conflicts of Interest
The portfolio managers’ management of “other accounts” may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in connection with his or her management of the Fund’s investments, on the one hand, and the investments of the other accounts, on the other. The other accounts may have similar investment objectives as the Fund. Therefore, a potential conflict of interest may arise as a result of the identical investment objectives, whereby a portfolio manager could favor one account over another. Another potential conflict could include a portfolio manager’s knowledge about the size, timing and possible market impact of Fund trades, whereby such portfolio manager could use this information to the advantage of other accounts and to the disadvantage of the Fund he/ she manages. However, the Sub-Adviser has established policies and procedures to ensure that the purchase and sale of securities among all accounts the Sub-Adviser manages are fairly and equitably allocated.
THE DISTRIBUTOR
The Trust and Quasar Distributors, LLC (the “Distributor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp, and an affiliate of the Administrator, are parties to a distribution agreement (“Distribution Agreement”), whereby the Distributor acts as principal underwriter for the Trust and distributes Shares . Shares are continuously offered for sale by the Distributor only in Creation Units. The Distributor will not distribute Shares in amounts less than a Creation Unit and does not maintain a secondary market in Shares. The principal business address of the Distributor is 777 East Wisconsin Avenue, 6th Floor Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202.
Under the Distribution Agreement, the Distributor, as agent for the Trust, will receive orders for the purchase and redemption of Creation Units, provided that any subscriptions and orders will not be binding on the Trust until accepted by the Trust. 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 annually 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 the Fund and (ii) by the vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees who 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
19
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 its own resources and not out of Fund assets (i.e., without additional cost to the Fund or its shareholders), may pay certain broker dealers, banks and other financial intermediaries (“Intermediaries”) for certain activities related to the Fund, including participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more knowledgeable about exchange traded products, including the Fund, or for other activities, such as marketing and educational training or support. These arrangements are not financed by the Fund 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 Fund’s Prospectus and they do not change the price paid by investors for the purchase of Shares or the amount received by a shareholder as proceeds from the redemption of Shares.
Such compensation may be paid to Intermediaries that provide services to the Fund, 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 Fund over other investments. The same conflict of interest exists with respect to your financial adviser, broker or investment professional 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.
If you have any additional questions, please call 1-800-617-0004.
Distribution and Service Plan . The Trust has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan (the “Plan”) in accordance with the provisions of Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, which regulates circumstances under which an investment company may directly or indirectly bear expenses relating to the distribution of its shares. No payments pursuant to the Plan are expected to be made during the twelve (12) month period from the date of this SAI. Rule 12b-1 fees to be paid by the Fund under the Plan may only be imposed after approval by the Board.
Continuance of the Plan must be approved annually by a majority of the Trustees of the Trust and by a majority of the Trustees who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the Plan or in any agreements related to the Plan (“Qualified Trustees”). The Plan requires that quarterly written reports of amounts spent under the Plan and the purposes of such expenditures be furnished to and reviewed by the Trustees. The Plan may not be amended to increase materially the amount that may be spent thereunder without approval by a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund. All material amendments of the Plan will require approval by a majority of the Trustees of the Trust and of the Qualified Trustees.
The Plan provides that the Fund pays the Distributor an annual fee of up to a maximum of 0.25% of the average daily net assets of the Shares. Under the Plan, the Distributor may make payments pursuant to written agreements to financial institutions and intermediaries such as banks, savings and loan associations and insurance companies including, without limit, investment counselors, broker-dealers and the Distributor’s affiliates and subsidiaries (collectively, “Agents”) as compensation for services and reimbursement of expenses incurred in connection with distribution assistance. The Plan is characterized as a compensation plan since the distribution fee will be paid to the Distributor without regard to the distribution expenses incurred by the Distributor or the amount of payments made to other financial institutions and intermediaries. The Trust intends to operate the Plan in accordance with its terms and with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) rules concerning sales charges.
Under the Plan, subject to the limitations of applicable law and regulations, the Fund is authorized to compensate the Distributor up to the maximum amount to finance any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Creation Units of the Fund or for providing or arranging for others to provide shareholder services and for the maintenance of shareholder accounts. Such activities may include, but are not limited to: (i) delivering copies of the Fund’s then current reports, prospectuses, notices, and similar materials, to prospective purchasers of Creation Units; (ii) marketing and promotional services, including advertising; (iii) paying the costs of and compensating others, including Authorized Participants with whom the Distributor has entered into written Participant Agreements (as defined below), for performing shareholder servicing on behalf of the Fund; (iv) compensating certain Authorized Participants for providing assistance in distributing the Creation Units of the Fund, including the travel and communication expenses and salaries and/or commissions of sales personnel in connection with the distribution of the Creation Units of the Fund; (v) payments to financial institutions and intermediaries such as banks, savings and loan associations, insurance companies and investment counselors, broker-dealers, mutual fund supermarkets and the affiliates and subsidiaries of the Trust’s service providers as compensation for services or reimbursement of expenses incurred in connection with distribution assistance; (vi) facilitating communications with beneficial owners of Shares, including the cost of providing (or paying others to provide) services to beneficial owners of Shares, including, but not limited to, assistance in answering inquiries related to Shareholder accounts; and (vi) such other services and obligations as are set forth in the Distribution Agreement.
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THE ADMINISTRATOR, CUSTODIAN, AND TRANSFER AGENT
U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, doing business as U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, located at 615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202, serves as the Fund’s transfer agent and administrator.
Pursuant to a Fund Administration Servicing Agreement and a Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement between the Trust and Fund Services , Fund Services 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, Fund Services does not have any responsibility or authority for the management of the Fund, the determination of investment policy, or for any matter pertaining to the distribution of Shares . As compensation for the administration, accounting and management services, the Adviser pays Fund Services a fee based on the Fund’s average daily net assets, subject to a minimum annual fee. Fund Services also is entitled to certain out-of-pocket expenses for the services mentioned above, including pricing expenses.
The Adviser paid $95,461 to Fund Services for services rendered to the Fund for the fiscal period June 5, 2018 (commencement of operations) through May 31, 2019.
Pursuant to a Custody Agreement, U.S. Bank National Association, 1555 North Rivercenter Drive, Suite 302, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212, serves as the custodian of the Fund’s assets. The custodian holds and administers the assets in the Fund’s portfolio . 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.
LEGAL COUNSEL
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, located at 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue NW , Washington, DC 20004-2541, serves as legal counsel for the Trust.
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
Cohen & Company, Ltd., located at 342 North Water Street, Suite 830, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202, serves as the independent registered public accounting firm for the Fund.
PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS DISCLOSURE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
The Trust’s Board has adopted a policy regarding the disclosure of information about the Fund’s security holdings. The Fund’s entire portfolio holdings are publicly disseminated each day the Fund is open for business through financial reporting and news services including publicly available internet web sites. In addition, the composition of the Deposit Securities is publicly disseminated daily prior to the opening of the Exchange via the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”).
DESCRIPTION OF SHARES
The Declaration of Trust authorizes the issuance of an unlimited number of funds and Shares. Each Share represents an equal proportionate interest in the Fund with each other Share. Shares are entitled upon liquidation to a pro rata share in the net assets of the Fund. 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. 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 the Fund without shareholder approval. While the Trustees have no present intention of exercising this power, they may do so if the 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.
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 Trustees shall not be responsible or liable in any event for any neglect or wrong-doing of any officer, agent, employee, adviser or principal underwriter of the Trust, nor shall any Trustee be responsible for the act or omission of any other Trustee. The Declaration of Trust also provides that the Trust shall indemnify each person who is, or has been, a Trustee, officer, employee or agent
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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 extent and in the manner provided in the Amended and Restated 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.
BROKERAGE TRANSACTIONS
The policy of the Trust regarding purchases and sales of securities for the Fund 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 Fund and the Sub-Adviser from obtaining a high quality of brokerage and research services. In seeking to determine the reasonableness of brokerage commissions paid in any transaction, the Sub-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 Shares as a factor in the selection of a broker or dealer to execute its portfolio transactions.
The Sub-Adviser owes a fiduciary duty to its clients to seek to provide best execution on trades effected. In selecting a broker/dealer for each specific transaction, the Sub-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 Sub-Adviser will also use electronic crossing networks (“ECNs”) when appropriate.
Subject to the foregoing policies, brokers or dealers selected to execute the Fund’s portfolio transactions may include the Fund’s Authorized Participants (as discussed in “Procedures for Purchase of Creation Units” below) or their affiliates. An Authorized Participant or its affiliates may be selected to execute the Fund’s portfolio transactions in conjunction with an all-cash creation unit order or an order including “cash-in-lieu” (as described below under “Purchase and Redemption of Shares in Creation Units”), so long as such selection is in keeping with the foregoing policies. As described below under “Purchase and Redemption of Shares in Creation Units—Creation Transaction Fee” and “—Redemption Transaction Fee”, the Fund may determine to not charge a variable fee on certain orders when the Adviser has determined that doing so is in the best interests of Fund shareholders, even if the decision to not charge a variable fee could be viewed as benefiting the Authorized Participant or its affiliate selected to execute the Fund’s portfolio transactions in connection with such orders.
The Sub-Adviser may use the Fund’s 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 Sub-Adviser does not “pay up” for the value of any such proprietary research. Section 28(e) of the 1934 Act permits the Sub-Adviser, under certain circumstances, to cause the Fund 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 Sub-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 Fund may pay a broker commission higher than the lowest available in recognition of the broker’s provision of such services to the Sub-Adviser, but only if the Sub-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 Sub-Adviser faces a potential conflict of interest when it uses client trades to obtain brokerage or research services. This conflict exists because the Sub-Adviser is able to use the brokerage or research services to manage client accounts without paying cash for such services, which reduces the Sub-Adviser’s expenses to the extent that the Sub-Adviser would have purchased such products had they not been provided by brokers. Section 28(e) permits the Sub-Adviser to use brokerage or research services for the benefit of any account it manages. Certain accounts managed by the Sub-Adviser may generate soft dollars used to purchase brokerage or research services that ultimately benefit other accounts managed by the Sub-Adviser, effectively cross subsidizing the other accounts managed by the Sub-
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Adviser that benefit directly from the product. The Sub-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 Sub-Adviser is responsible, subject to oversight by the Adviser and the Board, for placing orders on behalf of the Fund for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities. If purchases or sales of portfolio securities of the Fund and one or more other investment companies or clients supervised by the Sub-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 Sub-Adviser. In some cases, this procedure could have a detrimental effect on the price or volume of the security so far as the 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 Fund. The primary consideration is prompt execution of orders at the most favorable net price.
The Fund may deal with affiliates in principal transactions to the extent permitted by exemptive order or applicable rule or regulation.
During the fiscal period June 5, 2018 (commencement of operations) through May 31, 2019, the Fund paid brokerage commissions in the aggregate amount of $5,617.
Directed Brokerage. During the fiscal period June 5, 2018 (commencement of operations) through May 31, 2019, the Fund did not pay any commissions on brokerage transactions directed to brokers pursuant to an agreement or understanding whereby the broker provides research or other brokerage services to the Sub-Adviser.
Brokerage with Fund Affiliates. The Fund may execute brokerage or other agency transactions through registered broker-dealer affiliates of the Fund, the Adviser, the Sub-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 the 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 Fund, have adopted procedures for evaluating the reasonableness of commissions paid to affiliates and review these procedures periodically. During the fiscal period June 5, 2018 (commencement of operations) through May 31, 2019, the Fund did not pay brokerage commissions to any registered broker-dealer affiliates of the Fund, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or the Distributor.
Securities of “Regular Broker-Dealers.” The Fund is required to identify any securities of its “regular brokers and dealers” (as such term is defined in the 1940 Act) that it may hold at the close of its most recent fiscal year. “Regular brokers or dealers” of the Fund are the ten brokers or dealers that, during the most recent fiscal year: (i) received the greatest dollar amounts of brokerage commissions from the Fund’s portfolio transactions; (ii) engaged as principal in the largest dollar amounts of portfolio transactions of the Fund; or (iii) sold the largest dollar amounts of the Fund’s shares. During the fiscal period June 5, 2018 (commencement of operations) through May 31, 2019, the Fund did not hold any securities of its “regular broker dealers.”
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER RATE
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 Sub-Adviser based upon its knowledge of available information as to the general level of commissions paid by other institutional investors for comparable services. For the fiscal period June 5, 2018 (commencement of operations) through May 31, 2019, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 127% of the average value of its portfolio.
BOOK ENTRY ONLY SYSTEM
The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) acts as securities depositary for Shares. Shares are represented by securities registered in the name of DTC or its nominee, Cede & Co., and deposited with, or on behalf of, DTC. Except in limited circumstances set forth below, certificates will not be issued for Shares.
DTC is a limited-purpose trust company that was created to hold securities of its participants (the “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 whom (and/or their representatives) own DTC. More specifically, DTC is owned by a number of its DTC Participants and by the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) and FINRA. 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 (the “Indirect Participants”).
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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 in this SAI 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. The Trust recognizes DTC or its nominee as the record owner of all Shares for all purposes. Beneficial Owners of Shares are not entitled to have Shares registered in their names, and will not receive or be entitled to physical delivery of Share certificates. Each Beneficial Owner must rely on the procedures of DTC and any DTC Participant and/or Indirect Participant through which such Beneficial Owner holds its interests, to exercise any rights of a holder of Shares.
Conveyance of all notices, statements, and other communications to Beneficial Owners is effected as follows. DTC will make available to the Trust upon request and for a fee a listing of Shares held by each DTC Participant. The Trust shall obtain from each such DTC Participant 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, 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. DTC or its nominee, upon receipt of any such distributions, shall credit immediately DTC Participants’ accounts with payments in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in the Fund 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 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 determine to discontinue providing its service with respect to the Fund at any time by giving reasonable notice to the Fund and discharging its responsibilities with respect thereto under applicable law. Under such circumstances, the Fund shall take action either to find a replacement for DTC to perform its functions at a comparable cost or, if such replacement is unavailable, to issue and deliver printed certificates representing ownership of Shares, unless the Trust makes other arrangements with respect thereto satisfactory to the Exchange.
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION OF SHARES IN CREATION UNITS
The Trust issues and redeems Shares only in Creation Units on a continuous basis through the Distributor, without a sales load (but subject to transaction fees, if applicable), 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”). The NAV of Shares is calculated each business day as of the scheduled close of regular trading on the NYSE, generally 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time. The Fund will not issue fractional Creation Units. A “Business Day” is any day on which the NYSE is open for business.
Fund Deposit. The consideration for purchase of a Creation Unit of the 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 of the securities included in the Fund’s portfolio 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, the 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 the Fund. The “Cash Component” is an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of Shares (per Creation Unit) and the value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable. If the Cash Component is a positive number (i.e., the NAV per Creation Unit exceeds the 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 NAV per Creation Unit is less than the 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 NAV per Creation Unit and the 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.
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The Fund, through NSCC, makes available on each Business Day, prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (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 Deposit (based on information at the end of the previous Business Day) for the Fund. Such Fund Deposit is subject to any applicable adjustments as described below, to effect purchases of Creation Units of the 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 the Fund changes as corporate action events are reflected from time to time by the Sub-Adviser with a view to the investment objective of the Fund.
The Trust reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of Deposit Cash to replace any Deposit Security, which shall be added to the Cash Component, including, without limitation, in situations where the Deposit Security: (i) may not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery; (ii) may not be eligible for transfer through the systems of DTC for corporate securities and municipal securities; (iii) may not be eligible for trading by an Authorized Participant or the investor for which it is acting; (iv) would be restricted under the securities laws or where the delivery of the Deposit Security to the Authorized Participant would result in the disposition of the Deposit Security by the Authorized Participant becoming restricted under the securities laws; or (v) in certain other situations (collectively, “custom orders”). The adjustments described above will reflect changes, known to the Sub-Adviser on the date of announcement to be in effect by the time of delivery of the Fund Deposit, resulting from certain corporate actions.
Procedures for Purchase of Creation Units. To be eligible to place orders with the Distributor to purchase a Creation Unit of the Fund, 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, 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 (described below), if applicable, and any other applicable fees and taxes.
All orders to purchase Shares directly from the Fund 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 order cut-off time for the Fund for orders to purchase Creation Units is expected to be 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, which time may be modified by the Fund from time-to-time by amendment to the Participant Agreement and/or applicable order form. In the case of custom orders, the order must be received by the Distributor no later than 3:00 p.m. Eastern time or such earlier time as may be designated by the Fund and disclosed to Authorized Participants. 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 Fund 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 Exchange closes earlier than normal, the Fund may require orders to create Creation Units to be placed earlier in the day. In addition, if a market or markets on which the Fund’s investments are primarily traded is closed, the Fund 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 Fund, 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. 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 subcustody 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 subcustodian of the Fund 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 subcustodian. 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 the 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 the Fund or its agents do not receive all of the Deposit Securities, or the required Deposit
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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 the Fund is generally the second 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 federal funds 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 federal funds 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 Fund 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 in this SAI, 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 subcustodian has confirmed to the Custodian that the required Deposit Securities (or the cash value thereof) have been delivered to the account of the relevant subcustodian or subcustodians, the Distributor, the Adviser, and the Sub-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 second Business Day following the day on which the purchase order is deemed received by the Distributor. However, as discussed in Appendix A , the Fund reserves the right to settle Creation Unit transactions on a basis other than the second Business Day following the day on which the purchase order is deemed received by the Distributor 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 the Fund for losses, if any, resulting from unsettled orders.
Creation Units may be purchased 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 NAV of 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 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 the 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 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 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 described below under “Creation Transaction Fee,” may be charged. 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 the 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 Shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding Shares; (d) acceptance of the Deposit Securities would have certain adverse tax consequences to the Fund; (e) the acceptance of the Fund Deposit would, in the opinion of counsel, be unlawful; (f) the acceptance of the Fund Deposit would otherwise, in the discretion of the Trust, the Adviser, or the Sub-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, the Adviser and/or the Sub-Adviser make it for all practical purposes not feasible to process orders for Creation Units.
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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 fixed purchase (i.e., creation) transaction fee, payable to the Fund’s custodian, may be imposed for the transfer and other transaction costs associated with the purchase of Creation Units (“Creation Order Costs”). The standard fixed creation transaction fee for the Fund is $500, regardless of the number of Creation Units created in the transaction. The Fund may adjust the standard fixed creation transaction fee from time to time. The fixed creation fee may be waived on certain orders if the Fund’s custodian has determined to waive some or all of the Creation Order Costs associated with the order or another party, such as the Adviser, has agreed to pay such fee.
In addition, a variable fee, payable to the Fund, of up to a maximum of 2% of the value of the Creation Units subject to the transaction may be imposed for cash purchases, non-standard orders, or partial cash purchases of Creation Units. The variable charge is primarily designed to cover additional costs (e.g., brokerage, taxes) involved with buying the securities with cash. The Fund may determine to not charge a variable fee on certain orders when the Sub-Adviser has determined that doing so is in the best interests of Fund shareholders. 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 .
Risks of Purchasing Creation Units. There are certain legal risks unique to investors purchasing Creation Units directly from the Fund. Because Shares may be issued on an ongoing basis, a “distribution” of Shares could be occurring at any time. Certain activities that a shareholder performs as a dealer could, depending on the circumstances, result in the shareholder being deemed a participant in the distribution in a manner that could render the shareholder a statutory underwriter and subject to the prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the Securities Act. For example, a shareholder could be deemed a statutory underwriter if it purchases Creation Units from the Fund, breaks them down into the constituent Shares, and sells those Shares directly to customers, or if a shareholder chooses to couple the creation of a supply of new Shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary-market demand for Shares. Whether a person is an underwriter depends upon all of the facts and circumstances pertaining to that person’s activities, and the examples mentioned here should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could cause you to be deemed an underwriter.
Dealers who are not “underwriters” but are participating in a distribution (as opposed to engaging in ordinary secondary-market transactions), and thus dealing with Shares as part of an “unsold allotment” within the meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the Securities Act, will be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act.
Redemption. Shares may be redeemed only in Creation Units at their NAV next determined after receipt of a redemption request in proper form by the Fund through the Transfer Agent and only on a Business Day. EXCEPT UPON LIQUIDATION OF THE 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 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 Fund, the Custodian, through the NSCC, makes available prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m., Eastern Time) on each Business Day, the list of the names and Share quantities of the 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 Fund, 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 NAV of 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 applicable, as set forth below. In the event that the Fund Securities have a value greater than the NAV of 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.
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Redemption Transaction Fee. A fixed redemption transaction fee, payable to the Fund’s custodian, may be imposed for the transfer and other transaction costs associated with the redemption of Creation Units (“Redemption Order Costs”). The standard fixed redemption transaction fee for the Fund is $500 regardless of the number of Creation Units redeemed in the transaction. The Fund may adjust the redemption transaction fee from time to time. The fixed redemption fee may be waived on certain orders if the Fund’s custodian has determined to waive some or all of the Redemption Order Costs associated with the order or another party, such as the Adviser, has agreed to pay such fee.
In addition, a variable fee, payable to the Fund, of up to a maximum of 2% of the value of the Creation Units subject to the transaction may be imposed for cash redemptions, non-standard orders, or partial cash redemptions (when cash redemptions are available) of Creation Units. The variable charge is primarily designed to cover additional costs (e.g., brokerage, taxes) involved with selling portfolio securities to satisfy a cash redemption. The Fund may determine to not charge a variable fee on certain orders when the Adviser has determined that doing so is in the best interests of Fund shareholders.
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 4:00 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 Participant Agreement . Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not have executed an 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 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 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 with respect to the Fund may take longer than two Business Days after the day on which the redemption request is received in proper form. Appendix A 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 Fund, the Fund will make delivery of in-kind redemption proceeds within the number of days stated in Appendix A 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.
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 the 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 next determined after the redemption request is received in proper form (minus a redemption transaction fee, if applicable, 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). The 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 NAV.
Redemptions of Shares for Fund Securities will be subject to compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws and the 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
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Authorized Participant may request the redeeming investor of 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 to receive Fund Securities.
Because the portfolio securities of the Fund may trade on other exchanges on days that the Exchange is closed or are otherwise not Business Days for the Fund, shareholders may not be able to redeem their Shares, or to purchase or sell Shares on the Exchange, on days when the NAV of the Fund 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 the Fund (1) for any period during which the Exchange is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings); (2) for any period during which trading on the Exchange is suspended or restricted; (3) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which disposal of Shares or determination of the NAV of Shares is not reasonably practicable; or (4) in such other circumstance as is permitted by the SEC.
DETERMINATION OF NAV
NAV per Share for the Fund is computed by dividing the value of the net assets of the 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 NAV. The NAV is calculated by Fund Services and determined at the scheduled close of the regular trading session on the NYSE (ordinarily 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time) on each day that the NYSE 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 the Fund’s NAV 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 NAV per share. The Fund may use various pricing services, or discontinue the use of any pricing service, as approved by the Board from time to time. 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 at least annually by the Fund. Distributions of net realized securities gains, if any, generally are declared and paid once a year, but the Fund may make distributions on a more frequent basis 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 Fund makes additional distributions to the extent necessary (i) to distribute the entire annual taxable income of the Fund, 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 Fund’s eligibility for treatment as a 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 Fund 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 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 Fund at NAV per Share. Distributions reinvested in additional Shares will nevertheless be taxable to Beneficial Owners acquiring such additional Shares to the same extent as if such distributions had been received in cash.
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FEDERAL INCOME TAXES
The following is only a summary of certain U.S. federal income tax considerations generally affecting the Fund and its shareholders that supplements the discussion in the Prospectus. No attempt is made to present a comprehensive explanation of the federal, state, local or foreign tax treatment of the Fund or its shareholders, and the discussion here and in the Prospectus is not intended to be a substitute for careful tax planning.
The following general discussion of certain U.S. federal income tax consequences is based on provisions of the Code and the regulations issued thereunder as in effect on the date of this SAI. New legislation, as well as administrative changes or court decisions, may significantly change the conclusions expressed herein, and may have a retroactive effect with respect to the transactions contemplated herein.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”) made significant changes to the U.S. federal income tax rules for taxation of individuals and corporations, generally effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017. Many of the changes applicable to individuals are temporary and only apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026. There are only minor changes with respect to the specific rules only applicable to a RIC, such as the Fund. The Tax Act, however, made numerous other changes to the tax rules that may affect shareholders and the Fund. You are urged to consult your own tax advisor regarding how the Tax Act affects your investment in the Fund.
Shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisers regarding the application of the provisions of tax law described in this SAI in light of the particular tax situations of the shareholders and regarding specific questions as to federal, state, local, or foreign taxes.
Taxation of the Fund. The Fund has elected and intends to continue to qualify each year to be treated as a separate RIC under the Code. As such, the Fund should not be subject to federal income taxes on its net investment income and capital gains, if any, to the extent that it timely distributes such income and capital gains to its shareholders. To qualify for treatment as a RIC, the Fund must distribute annually to its shareholders at least the sum of 90% of its net investment income (generally including the excess of net short-term capital gains over net long-term capital losses) and 90% of its net tax-exempt interest income, if any (the “Distribution Requirement”) and also must meet several additional requirements. Among these requirements are the following: (i) at least 90% of the Fund’s gross income each taxable year must be derived from dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies, or other income derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or foreign currencies and net income derived from interests in qualified publicly traded partnerships (the “Qualifying Income Requirement”); and (ii) at the end of each quarter of the Fund’s taxable year, the Fund’s assets must be diversified so that (a) at least 50% of the value of the Fund’s total assets is represented by cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other RICs, and other securities, with such other securities limited, in respect to any one issuer, to an amount not greater in value than 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets and to not more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, including the equity securities of a qualified publicly traded partnership, and (b) not more than 25% of the value of its total assets is invested, including through corporations in which the Fund owns a 20% or more voting stock interest, in the securities (other than U.S. government securities or securities of other RICs) of any one issuer, the securities (other than securities of other RICs) of two or more issuers which the Fund controls and which are engaged in the same, similar, or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships (the “Diversification Requirement”).
To the extent the Fund makes investments that may generate income that is not qualifying income, including certain derivatives, the Fund will seek to restrict the resulting income from such investments so that the Fund’s non-qualifying income does not exceed 10% of its gross income.
Although the Fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and may distribute its capital gains for any taxable year, the Fund will be subject to federal income taxation to the extent any such income or gains are not distributed. The Fund is treated as a separate corporation for federal income tax purposes. The Fund therefore is considered to be a separate entity in determining its treatment under the rules for RICs described herein. Losses in one Fund do not offset gains in another and the requirements (other than certain organizational requirements) for qualifying RIC status are determined at the Fund level rather than at the Trust level.
If the Fund fails to satisfy the Qualifying Income Requirement or the Diversification Requirement in any taxable year, the Fund may be eligible for relief provisions if the failures are due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect, and if a penalty tax is paid with respect to each failure to satisfy the applicable requirements. Additionally, relief is provided for certain de minimis failures of the Diversification Requirement where the Fund corrects the failure within a specified period of time. To be eligible for the relief provisions with respect to a failure to meet the Diversification Requirement, the Fund may be required to dispose of certain assets. If these relief provisions were not available to the Fund and it were to fail to qualify for treatment as a RIC for a taxable year, all of its taxable income would be subject to tax at the regular corporate rate (which the Tax Act reduced to 21%) without any deduction for distributions to shareholders, and its distributions (including capital gains distributions) generally would be taxable to the shareholders of the Fund as ordinary income dividends, subject to the dividends received deduction for corporate shareholders and the lower tax rates on qualified dividend income received by non-corporate shareholders, subject to certain limitations. To requalify for treatment as a RIC in a subsequent taxable year, the Fund would be required to satisfy the RIC qualification requirements for that year and to distribute any earnings and profits from any year in which the Fund failed to qualify for tax treatment as a RIC. If the Fund failed to qualify as a RIC for a period greater than two taxable years, it would generally be required to pay a fund-level tax on certain net built in gains recognized with respect to certain of its assets upon disposition of such assets within five years of qualifying as a RIC in a subsequent year. The Board reserves the right not to maintain
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the qualification of the Fund for treatment as a RIC if it determines such course of action to be beneficial to shareholders. If the Fund determines that it will not qualify as a RIC, the Fund will establish procedures to reflect the anticipated tax liability in the Fund’s NAV.
The 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 earnings and profits. The effect of this election is to treat any such “qualified late year loss” as if it had been incurred in the succeeding taxable year in characterizing Fund distributions for any calendar year. 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 (commonly referred to as “post-October losses”) and certain other late-year losses.
Capital losses in excess of capital gains (“net capital losses”) are not permitted to be deducted against a RIC’s net investment income. Instead, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, potentially subject to certain limitations, the Fund may carry a net capital loss from any taxable year forward indefinitely to offset its capital gains, if any, in years following the year of the loss. To the extent subsequent capital gains are offset by such losses, they will not result in U.S. federal income tax liability to the Fund and may not be distributed as capital gains to its shareholders. Generally, the Fund may not carry forward any losses other than net capital losses. The carryover of capital losses may be limited under the general loss limitation rules if the Fund experiences an ownership change as defined in the Code.
As of May 31, 2019, the Fund did not have any capital loss carryforwards.
The Fund will be subject to a nondeductible 4% federal excise tax on certain undistributed income if it does not distribute to its shareholders in each calendar year an amount at least equal to 98% of its ordinary income for the calendar year plus 98.2% of its capital gain net income for the one-year period ending on October 31 of that year, subject to an increase for any shortfall in the prior year’s distribution. The Fund intends to declare and distribute dividends and distributions in the amounts and at the times necessary to avoid the application of the excise tax, but can make no assurances that all such tax liability will be eliminated.
If the Fund meets the Distribution Requirement but retains some or all of its income or gains, it will be subject to federal income tax to the extent any such income or gains are not distributed. The Fund may designate certain amounts retained as undistributed net capital gain in a notice to its shareholders, who (i) will be required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gain, their proportionate shares of the undistributed amount so designated, (ii) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the income tax paid by the Fund on that undistributed amount against their federal income tax liabilities and to claim refunds to the extent such credits exceed their tax liabilities, and (iii) will be entitled to increase their tax basis, for federal income tax purposes, in their Shares by an amount equal to the excess of the amount of undistributed net capital gain included in their respective income over their respective income tax credits.
Taxation of Shareholders – Distributions. The Fund intends to distribute annually to its shareholders substantially all of its investment company taxable income (computed without regard to the deduction for dividends paid), its net tax-exempt income, if any, and any net capital gain (net recognized long-term capital gains in excess of net recognized short-term capital losses, taking into account any capital loss carryforwards). The distribution of investment company taxable income (as so computed) and net realized capital gain will be taxable to Fund shareholders regardless of whether the shareholder receives these distributions in cash or reinvests them in additional Shares.
The Fund (or your broker) will report to shareholders annually the amounts of dividends paid from ordinary income, the amount of distributions of net capital gain, the portion of dividends which may qualify for the dividends received deduction for corporations, and the portion of dividends which may qualify for treatment as qualified dividend income, which is taxable to non-corporate shareholders at rates of up to 20%.
Distributions from the Fund’s net capital gain will be taxable to shareholders at long-term capital gains rates, regardless of how long shareholders have held their Shares.
Qualified dividend income includes, in general and subject to certain holding period and other requirements, dividend income from taxable domestic corporations and certain foreign corporations. Subject to certain limitations, eligible foreign corporations include those incorporated in possessions of the United States, those incorporated in certain countries with comprehensive tax treaties with the United States, and other foreign corporations if the stock with respect to which the dividends are paid is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States. Dividends received by the Fund from an ETF, an underlying fund taxable as a RIC , or a REIT may be treated as qualified dividend income generally only to the extent so reported by such ETF, underlying fund or REIT. If 95% or more of the Fund’s gross income (calculated without taking into account net capital gain derived from sales or other dispositions of stock or securities) consists of qualified dividend income, the Fund may report all distributions of such income as qualified dividend income.
Fund dividends will not be treated as qualified dividend income if the Fund does not meet holding period and other requirements with respect to dividend paying stocks in its portfolio, and the shareholder does not meet holding period and other requirements with respect to the Shares on which the dividends were paid. Distributions by the Fund of its net short-term capital gains will be taxable as ordinary income. Distributions from the Fund’s net capital gain will be taxable to shareholders at long-term capital gains rates, regardless of how long shareholders have held their Shares. Distributions may be subject to state and local taxes.
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In the case of corporate shareholders, certain dividends received by the Fund from U.S. corporations (generally, dividends received by the Fund in respect of any share of stock (1) with a tax holding period of at least 46 days during the 91-day period beginning on the date that is 45 days before the date on which the stock becomes ex-dividend as to that dividend and (2) that is held in an unleveraged position) and distributed and appropriately so reported by the Fund may be eligible for the 50% dividends-received deduction. Certain preferred stock must have a holding period of at least 91 days during the 181-day period beginning on the date that is 90 days before the date on which the stock becomes ex-dividend as to that dividend to be eligible. Capital gain dividends distributed to the Fund from REITs and other RICs are not eligible for the dividends-received deduction. To qualify for the deduction, corporate shareholders must meet the minimum holding period requirement stated above with respect to their Shares, taking into account any holding period reductions from certain hedging or other transactions or positions that diminish their risk of loss with respect to their Shares, and, if they borrow to acquire or otherwise incur debt attributable to Shares, they may be denied a portion of the dividends-received deduction with respect to those Shares.
Although dividends generally will be treated as distributed when paid, any dividend declared by the Fund in October, November or December and payable to shareholders of record in such a month that is paid during the following January will be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as received by shareholders on December 31 of the calendar year in which it was declared.
U.S. individuals with adjusted gross income (subject to certain adjustments) exceeding certain threshold amounts ($250,000 if married filing jointly or if considered a “surviving spouse” for federal income tax purposes, $125,000 if married filing separately, and $200,000 in other cases) are subject to a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax on all or a portion of their “net investment income,” which includes taxable interest, dividends, and certain capital gains (generally including capital gain distributions and capital gains realized on the sale of 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.
Shareholders who have not held Shares for a full year should be aware that the Fund may report and distribute, as ordinary dividends or capital gain dividends, a percentage of income that is not equal to the percentage of the Fund’s ordinary income or net capital gain, respectively, actually earned during the applicable shareholder’s period of investment in the Fund. A taxable shareholder may wish to avoid investing in the Fund shortly before a dividend or other distribution, because the distribution will generally be taxable even though it may economically represent a return of a portion of the shareholder’s investment.
To the extent that the 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.
If the Fund’s distributions exceed its earnings and profits, all or a portion of the distributions made for a taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable, but will reduce each shareholder’s cost basis in the Fund and result in a higher capital gain or lower capital loss when Shares on which the distribution was received are sold. After a shareholder’s basis in Shares has been reduced to zero, distributions in excess of earnings and profits will be treated as gain from the sale of the shareholder’s Shares.
Taxation of Shareholders – Sale of Shares. A sale, redemption, or exchange of Shares 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 Shares have been held for more than 12 months. Otherwise, the gain or loss on the taxable disposition of Shares will generally be treated as short-term capital gain or loss. Any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Shares held for six months or less will be treated as long-term capital loss, rather than short-term capital loss, to the extent of any amounts treated as distributions to the shareholder of long-term capital gain (including any amounts credited to the shareholder as undistributed capital gains). All or a portion of any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of shares may be disallowed if substantially identical Shares are acquired (through the reinvestment of dividends or otherwise) within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the disposition. In such a case, the basis of the newly acquired Shares will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss.
The cost basis of Shares acquired by purchase will generally be based on the amount paid for Shares and then may be subsequently adjusted for other applicable transactions as required by the Code. The difference between the selling price and the cost basis of Shares generally determines the amount of the capital gain or loss realized on the sale or exchange of Shares. Contact the broker through whom you purchased your Shares to obtain information with respect to the available cost basis reporting methods and elections for your account.
An Authorized Participant who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time and the sum of the exchanger’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered plus the 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 market value of any securities received plus the amount of any cash received for such Creation Units. The ability of Authorized Participants to receive a full or partial cash redemption of Creation Units of the Fund may limit the tax efficiency of the Fund. The Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”), however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units cannot currently be deducted under the rules governing “wash sales” (for a person who does not mark-to-market its portfolio) or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position.
32
Any capital gain or loss realized upon the creation of Creation Units will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the securities exchanged for such Creation Units 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 Shares comprising the Creation Units have been held for more than one year. Otherwise, such capital gains or losses will generally be treated as short-term capital gains or losses. Any loss upon a redemption of Creation Units held for six months or less may be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of any amounts treated as distributions to the applicable Authorized Participant of long-term capital gain with respect to the Creation Units (including any amounts credited to the Authorized Participant as undistributed capital gains).
The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, has the right to reject an order for Creation Units if the purchaser (or a group of purchasers) would, upon obtaining the Creation Units so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding Shares and if, pursuant to Section 351 of the Code, the Fund would have a basis in the deposit securities different from the market value of such securities on the date of deposit. The Trust also has the right to require the provision of information necessary to determine beneficial Share ownership for purposes of the 80% determination. If the Fund does issue Creation Units to a purchaser (or a group of purchasers) that would, upon obtaining the Creation Units so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding Shares, the purchaser (or a group of purchasers) will not recognize gain or loss upon the exchange of securities for Creation Units.
Persons purchasing or redeeming Creation Units should consult their own tax advisers with respect to the tax treatment of any creation or redemption transaction and whether the wash sales rule applies and when a loss may be deductible.
Taxation of Fund Investments. Certain of the Fund’s investments may be subject to complex provisions of the Code (including provisions relating to hedging transactions, straddles, integrated transactions, foreign currency contracts, forward foreign currency contracts, and notional principal contracts) that, among other things, may affect the Fund’s ability to qualify as a RIC, may affect the character of gains and losses realized by the Fund (e.g., may affect whether gains or losses are ordinary or capital), accelerate recognition of income to the Fund and defer losses. These rules could therefore affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to shareholders. These provisions also may require the Fund to mark to market certain types of positions in its portfolio (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out) which may cause the Fund to recognize income without the Fund receiving cash with which to make distributions in amounts sufficient to enable the Fund to satisfy the RIC distribution requirements for avoiding income and excise taxes. The Fund intends to monitor its transactions, intends to make appropriate tax elections, and intends to make appropriate entries in its books and records in order to mitigate the effect of these rules and preserve the Fund’s qualification for treatment as a RIC. To the extent the Fund invests in an underlying fund that is taxable as a RIC, the rules applicable to the tax treatment of complex securities will also apply to the underlying funds that also invest in such complex securities and investments.
Foreign Investments. Dividends and interest received by the Fund from sources within foreign countries (including, for example, interest on debt securities of non-U.S. issuers) may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by such countries. Tax treaties between certain countries and the U.S. may reduce or eliminate such taxes. The Fund does not expect to satisfy the requirements for passing through to its shareholders any share of foreign taxes paid by the Fund, with the result that shareholders will not include such taxes in their gross incomes and will not be entitled to a tax deduction or credit for such taxes on their own tax returns.
If more than 50% of the value of the Fund’s assets at the close of any taxable year consists of stock or securities of foreign corporations, which for this purpose may include obligations of foreign governmental issuers, the Fund may elect, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, to treat any foreign income or withholding taxes paid by the Fund as paid by its shareholders. For any year that the Fund is eligible for and makes such an election, each shareholder of the Fund will be required to include in income an amount equal to his or her allocable share of qualified foreign income taxes paid by the Fund, and shareholders will be entitled, subject to certain holding period requirements and other limitations, to credit their portions of these amounts against their U.S. federal income tax due, if any, or to deduct their portions from their U.S. taxable income, if any. No deductions for foreign taxes paid by the Fund may be claimed, however, by non-corporate shareholders who do not itemize deductions. No deduction for such taxes will be permitted to individuals in computing their alternative minimum tax liability. Foreign taxes paid by the Fund will reduce the return from the Fund’s investments.
Foreign tax credits, if any, received by the Fund as a result of an investment in another RIC (including an ETF or underlying fund which is taxable as a RIC) will not be passed through to you unless the Fund qualifies as a “qualified fund-of-funds” under the Code. If the Fund is a “qualified fund-of-funds” it will be eligible to file an election with the IRS that will enable the Fund to pass along these foreign tax credits to its shareholders. The Fund will be treated as a “qualified fund-of-funds” under the Code if at least 50% of the value of the Fund’s total assets (at the close of each quarter of the Fund’s taxable year) is represented by interests in other RICs.
If the Fund holds shares in a “passive foreign investment company” (“PFIC”), it may be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a portion of any “excess distribution” or gain from the disposition of such shares even if such income is distributed as a taxable dividend by the Fund to its shareholders. Additional charges in the nature of interest may be imposed on the Fund in respect of deferred taxes arising from such distributions or gains.
The Fund may be eligible to treat a PFIC as a “qualified electing fund” (“QEF”) under the Code in which case, in lieu of the foregoing requirements, the Fund will be required to include in income each year a portion of the ordinary earnings and net capital gains of the qualified electing fund, even if not distributed to the Fund, and such amounts will be subject to the 90% and excise tax distribution requirements described above. In order to make this election, the Fund would be required to obtain certain annual information from the PFICs in which it invests, which may be difficult or impossible to obtain. Alternatively, the Fund may make a mark-to-market election
33
that will result in the Fund being treated as if it had sold and repurchased its PFIC stock at the end of each year. In such case, the Fund would report any gains resulting from such deemed sales as ordinary income and would deduct any losses resulting from such deemed sales as ordinary losses to the extent of previously recognized gains. The election must be made separately for each PFIC owned by the Fund and, once made, is effective for all subsequent taxable years, unless revoked with the consent of the IRS. By making the election, the Fund could potentially ameliorate the adverse tax consequences with respect to its ownership of shares in a PFIC, but in any particular year may be required to recognize income in excess of the distributions it receives from PFICs and its proceeds from dispositions of PFIC stock. The Fund may have to distribute this excess income to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement and to avoid imposition of the 4% excise tax. In order to distribute this income and avoid a tax at the Fund level, the Fund might be required to liquidate portfolio securities that it might otherwise have continued to hold, potentially resulting in additional taxable gain or loss. Pursuant to recently issued Treasury regulations, amounts included in income each year by the Fund arising from a QEF election, will be “qualifying income” under the Qualifying Income Requirement (as described above) even if not distributed to the Fund, if the Fund derives such income from its business of investing in stock, securities or currencies.
Additional Tax Information Concerning REITs and MLPs. The Fund may invest in entities treated as REITs or MLPs for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
In general, for purposes of the Qualifying Income Requirement described 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 the 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, (ii) that derives at least 90% of its income from the passive income sources specified in Code section 7704(d), and (iii) that generally derives less than 90% of its income from the qualifying income described in the Qualifying Income Requirement) 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 Fund may invest in certain MLPs which may be treated as “qualified publicly traded partnerships.” Income from qualified publicly traded partnerships is qualifying income for purposes of the Qualifying Income Requirement, but the Fund’s investment in one or more of such “qualified publicly traded partnerships” is limited under the Diversification Requirement to no more than 25% of the value of the Fund’s assets. The Fund will monitor its investments in such qualified publicly traded partnerships in order to ensure compliance with the Qualifying Income Requirement and the Diversification Requirement. MLPs and other partnerships that the Fund may invest in will deliver Form K-1s to the Fund to report their share of income, gains, losses, deductions and credits of the MLP or other partnership. These Form K-1s may be delayed and may not be received until after the time that the Fund issues its tax reporting statements. As a result, the Fund may at times find it necessary to reclassify the amount and character of its distributions to you after it issues you your tax reporting statement.
The Tax Act treats “qualified publicly traded partnership income” within the meaning of Section 199A(e)(5) of the Code as eligible for a 20% deduction by non-corporate taxpayers. Qualified publicly traded partnership income is generally income of a “publicly traded partnership” that is not treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes that is effectively connected with such entity’s trade or business, but does not include certain investment income. A “publicly traded partnership” for purposes of this deduction is not necessarily the same as a “qualified publicly traded partnership” as defined for the purpose of the immediately preceding paragraphs. This deduction, if allowed in full, equates to a maximum effective tax rate of 29.6% (37% top rate applied to income after 20% deduction). The Tax Act does not contain a provision permitting a RIC, such as the Fund, to pass the special character of this income through to its shareholders. Currently, direct investors in entities that generate “qualified publicly traded partnership income” will enjoy the lower rate, but investors in RICs that invest in such entities will not. It is uncertain whether future technical corrections or administrative guidance will address this issue to enable the Fund to pass through the special character of “qualified publicly traded partnership income” to shareholders.
The Fund may invest in REITs. Investments in REIT equity securities may require the Fund to accrue and distribute income not yet received. To generate sufficient cash to make the requisite distributions, the Fund may be required to sell securities in its portfolio (including when it is not advantageous to do so) that it otherwise would have continued to hold. The Fund’s investments in REIT equity securities may at other times result in the Fund’s receipt of cash in excess of the REIT’s earnings; if the Fund distributes these amounts, these distributions could constitute a return of capital to the Fund’s shareholders for federal income tax purposes. Dividends paid by a REIT, other than capital gain distributions, will be taxable as ordinary income up to the amount of the REIT’s current and accumulated earnings and profits. Capital gain dividends paid by a REIT to the Fund will be treated as long-term capital gains by the Fund and, in turn, may be distributed by the Fund to its shareholders as a capital gain distribution. Dividends received by the Fund from a REIT generally will not constitute qualified dividend income or qualify for the dividends received deduction. If a REIT is operated in a manner such that it fails to qualify as a REIT, an investment in the REIT would become subject to double taxation, meaning the taxable income of the REIT would be subject to federal income tax at the regular corporate rate without any deduction for dividends paid to shareholders and the dividends would be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income (or possibly as qualified dividend income) to the extent of the REIT’s current and accumulated earnings and profits.
34
REITs in which the Fund invests often do not provide complete and final tax information to the Fund until after the time that the Fund issues a tax reporting statement. As a result, the Fund may at times find it necessary to reclassify the amount and character of its distributions to you after it issues your tax reporting statement. When such reclassification is necessary, you will be sent a corrected, final Form 1099-DIV to reflect the reclassified information. If you receive a corrected Form 1099-DIV, use the information on this corrected form, and not the information on the previously issued tax reporting statement, in completing your tax returns.
The Tax Act treats “qualified REIT dividends” ( i.e. , ordinary REIT dividends other than capital gain dividends and portions of REIT dividends designated as qualified dividend income eligible for capital gain tax rates) as eligible for a 20% deduction by non-corporate taxpayers. This deduction, if allowed in full, equates to a maximum effective tax rate of 29.6% (37% top rate applied to income after 20% deduction). Pursuant to recently proposed regulations on which the Fund may rely, distributions by the Fund to its shareholders that are attributable to qualified REIT dividends received by the Fund and which the Fund properly reports as “section 199A dividends,” are treated as “qualified REIT dividends” in the hands of non-corporate shareholders. A section 199A dividend is treated as a qualified REIT dividend only if the shareholder receiving such dividend holds the dividend-paying RIC shares for at least 46 days of the 91-day period beginning 45 days before the shares become ex-dividend, and is not under an obligation to make related payments with respect to a position in substantially similar or related property. The Fund is permitted to report such part of its dividends as section 199A dividends as are eligible, but is not required to do so.
Backup Withholding. The Fund will be required in certain cases to withhold (as “backup withholding”) on amounts payable to any shareholder who (1) fails to provide a correct taxpayer identification number certified under penalty of perjury; (2) is subject to backup withholding by the IRS for failure to properly report all payments of interest or dividends; (3) fails to provide a certified statement that he or she is not subject to “backup withholding;” or (4) fails to provide a certified statement that he or she is a U.S. person (including a U.S. resident alien). The backup withholding rate is currently 24%. Backup withholding is not an additional tax and any amounts withheld may be credited against the shareholder’s ultimate U.S. tax liability. Backup withholding will not be applied to payments that have been subject to the 30% withholding tax on shareholders who are neither citizens nor permanent residents of the United States.
Non-U.S. Shareholders. Any non-U.S. investors in the Fund may be subject to U.S. withholding and estate tax and are encouraged to consult their tax advisors prior to investing in the Fund. Foreign shareholders (i.e., nonresident alien individuals and foreign corporations, partnerships, trusts and estates) are generally subject to U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30% (or a lower tax treaty rate) on distributions derived from taxable ordinary income. The Fund may, under certain circumstances, report all or a portion of a dividend as an “interest-related dividend” or a “short-term capital gain dividend,” which would generally be exempt from this 30% U.S. withholding tax, provided certain other requirements are met. Short-term capital gain dividends received by a nonresident alien individual who is present in the U.S. for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the taxable year are not exempt from this 30% withholding tax. Gains realized by foreign shareholders from the sale or other disposition of Shares generally are not subject to U.S. taxation, unless the recipient is an individual who is physically present in the U.S. for 183 days or more per year. Foreign shareholders who fail to provide an applicable IRS form may be subject to backup withholding on certain payments from the Fund. Backup withholding will not be applied to payments that are subject to the 30% (or lower applicable treaty rate) withholding tax described in this paragraph. Different tax consequences may result if the foreign shareholder is engaged in a trade or business within the United States. In addition, the tax consequences to a foreign shareholder entitled to claim the benefits of a tax treaty may be different than those described above.
Unless certain non-U.S. entities that hold Shares comply with IRS requirements that will generally require them to report information regarding U.S. persons investing in, or holding accounts with, such entities, a 30% withholding tax may apply to Fund distributions payable to such entities. A non-U.S. shareholder may be exempt from the withholding described in this paragraph under an applicable intergovernmental agreement between the U.S. and a foreign government, provided that the shareholder and the applicable foreign government comply with the terms of the agreement.
For foreign shareholders to qualify for an exemption from backup withholding, described above, the foreign shareholder must comply with special certification and filing requirements. Foreign shareholders in the Fund should consult their tax advisors in this regard.
Tax-Exempt Shareholders. Certain tax-exempt shareholders, including qualified pension plans, individual retirement accounts, salary deferral arrangements, 401(k) plans, and other tax-exempt entities, generally are exempt from federal income taxation except with respect to their unrelated business taxable income (“UBTI”). Under the Tax Act, tax-exempt entities are not permitted to offset losses from one unrelated trade or business against the income or gain of another unrelated trade or business. Certain net losses incurred prior to January 1, 2018 are permitted to offset gain and income created by an unrelated trade or business, if otherwise available. Under current law, the Fund generally serves to block UBTI from being realized by its tax-exempt shareholders with respect to their shares of Fund income. However, notwithstanding the foregoing, tax-exempt shareholders could realize UBTI by virtue of their investment in the Fund if, for example, (i) the Fund invests in residual interests of Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduits (“REMICs”), (ii) the Fund invests in a REIT that is a taxable mortgage pool (“TMP”) or that has a subsidiary that is a TMP or that invests in the residual interest of a REMIC, or (iii) Shares constitute debt-financed property in the hands of the tax-exempt shareholders within the meaning of section 514(b) of the Code. Charitable remainder trusts are subject to special rules and should consult their tax advisers. The IRS has issued guidance with respect to these issues and prospective shareholders, especially charitable remainder trusts, are strongly encouraged to consult with their tax advisers regarding these issues.
35
Certain Potential Tax Reporting Requirements. Under U.S. Treasury regulations, if a shareholder recognizes a loss on disposition of Shares of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder (or certain greater amounts over a combination of years), the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on IRS 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. Significant penalties may be imposed for the failure to comply with the reporting requirements. 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 advisers to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.
Other Issues. In those states which have income tax laws, the tax treatment of the Fund and of Fund shareholders with respect to distributions by the Fund may differ from federal tax treatment.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Annual Report for the Fund for the fiscal period ended May 31, 2019 is a separate document, and the financial statements and accompanying notes appearing therein are incorporated by reference into this SAI. You may request a copy of the Fund’s Annual Report at no charge by calling 1-800-617-0004 or through the Fund’s website at www.aiiqetf.com.
36
Appendix A
The Fund generally intends to effect deliveries of Creation Units and portfolio securities on a basis of “T plus two” business days (“T+2”). The Fund may effect deliveries of Creation Units and portfolio securities on a basis other than T+2 to accommodate local holiday schedules, to account for different treatment among foreign and U.S. markets of dividend record dates and ex-dividend dates, or under certain other circumstances. The ability of the Fund to effect in-kind creations and redemptions within two business days of receipt of an order in good form is subject, among other things, to the condition that, within the time period from the date of the order to the date of delivery of the securities, there are no days that are holidays in the applicable foreign market. For every occurrence of one or more intervening holidays in the applicable foreign market that are not holidays observed in the U.S. equity market, the redemption settlement cycle will be extended by the number of such intervening holidays. In addition to holidays, other unforeseeable closings in a foreign market due to emergencies may also prevent the Fund from delivering securities within the normal settlement period. The securities delivery cycles currently practicable for transferring portfolio securities to redeeming investors, coupled with foreign market holiday schedules, will require a delivery process longer than seven calendar days in certain circumstances.
The holidays applicable to the Fund during such periods are listed below, as are instances where more than seven days will be needed to deliver redemption proceeds. Although certain holidays may occur on different dates in subsequent years, the number of days required to deliver redemption proceeds in any given year is not expected to exceed the maximum number of days listed below for the Fund . The proclamation of new holidays, the treatment by market participants of certain days as “informal holidays” (e.g., days on which no or limited securities transactions occur, as a result of substantially shortened trading hours), the elimination of existing holidays, or changes in local securities delivery practices, could affect the information set forth herein at some time in the future.
The dates of the Regular Holidays in the United States in calendar year 2019 are:
* The NYSE, NYSE AMEX and NASDAQ will close early at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday , July 3, 2019 .
** The NYSE, NYSE AMEX and NASDAQ will close early at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, November 29, 2019 (the day after Thanksgiving).
*** The NYSE, NYSE AMEX and NASDAQ will close early at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday , December 24, 2019 .
A-1
In calendar year 2019, the dates of regular holidays affecting the relevant securities markets are as follows (please note these holiday schedules are subject to potential changes in the relevant securities markets):
2019
A-2
A-3
|
PORTUGAL
|
|
|
|
|
January 1
|
May 1
|
August 15
|
December 1
|
|
April 19
|
June 10
|
October 5
|
December 8
|
|
April 25
|
June 20
|
November 1
|
December 25
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SINGAPORE
|
|
|
|
|
January 1
|
April 19
|
June 5
|
October 27
|
|
February 5
|
May 1
|
August 9
|
December 25
|
|
February 6
|
May 19
|
August 12
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SOUTH KOREA
|
|
|
|
|
January 1
|
May 1
|
June 13
|
September 26
|
|
February 4
|
May 5
|
August 15
|
October 3
|
|
February 5
|
May 7
|
September 23
|
October 9
|
|
February 6
|
May 22
|
September 24
|
December 25
|
|
March 1
|
June 6
|
September 25
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SPAIN
|
|
|
|
|
January 1
|
April 22
|
September 11
|
December 6
|
|
January 6
|
May 1
|
October 12
|
December 8
|
|
April 18
|
July 25
|
November 1
|
December 25
|
|
April 19
|
August 15
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SWEDEN
|
|
|
|
|
January 1
|
May 1
|
June 22
|
December 25
|
|
January 6
|
May 30
|
November 2
|
December 26
|
|
April 19
|
June 6
|
December 24
|
December 31
|
|
April 22
|
June 21
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SWITZERLAND
|
|
|
|
|
January 1
|
April 22
|
June 10
|
December 25
|
|
January 2
|
May 30
|
August 1
|
December 26
|
|
April 19
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
UNITED KINGDOM
|
|
|
|
|
January 1
|
May 6
|
August 5
|
December 25
|
|
April 19
|
May 27
|
August 6
|
December 26
|
|
April 22
|
|
|
|
A-4
The longest redemption cycle is a function of the longest redemption cycle among the countries whose securities comprise the Fund. In the calendar year 2019, the dates of regular holidays affecting the following securities markets present the worst-case (longest) redemption cycle* as follows:
|
SETTLEMENT PERIODS GREATER THAN SEVEN DAYS FOR YEAR 2019
|
|
Beginning of
Settlement
Period
|
|
End of
Settlement
Period
|
|
Number of
Days in
Settlement
Period
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Australia
|
|
4/18/2019
|
|
4/26/2019
|
|
8
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Finland
|
|
12/23/2019
|
|
12/31/2019
|
|
8
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hong Kong
|
|
1/31/2019
|
|
2/8/2019
|
|
8
|
|
|
|
2/1/2019
|
|
2/11/2019
|
|
10
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Israel
|
|
10/7/2019
|
|
10/15/2019
|
|
8
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Japan
|
|
12/26/2018
|
|
1/4/2019
|
|
9
|
|
|
|
12/27/2018
|
|
1/7/2019
|
|
11
|
|
|
|
12/28/2018
|
|
1/8/2019
|
|
11
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
New Zealand
|
|
4/18/2019
|
|
4/26/2019
|
|
8
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
* These worst-case redemption cycles are based on information regarding regular holidays, which may be out of date. Due to changes in holidays, longer (worse) redemption cycles are possible.
A-5
Appendix B
ISS Proxy Voting Guidelines
B-1
|
United States
Proxy Voting Guidelines |
| Benchmark Policy Recommendations |
|
Effective for Meetings on or after February 1, 2019
Published December 6, 2018
|
|
U.S. Proxy Voting Guidelines
|
Table of Contents
|
COVERAGE
|
8
|
||
|
1.
|
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
|
9
|
|
|
VOTING ON DIRECTOR NOMINEES IN UNCONTESTED ELECTIONS
|
9
|
||
|
Independence
|
9
|
||
|
ISS Classification of Directors – U.S.
|
10
|
||
|
Composition
|
12
|
||
|
Responsiveness
|
13
|
||
|
Accountability
|
13
|
||
|
VOTING ON DIRECTOR NOMINEES IN CONTESTED ELECTIONS
|
17
|
||
|
Vote-No Campaigns
|
17
|
||
|
Proxy Contests/Proxy Access — Voting for Director Nominees in Contested Elections
|
17
|
||
|
OTHER BOARD-RELATED PROPOSALS
|
17
|
||
|
Adopt Anti-Hedging/Pledging/Speculative Investments Policy
|
17
|
||
|
Age/Term Limits
|
17
|
||
|
Board Size
|
18
|
||
|
Classification/Declassification of the Board
|
18
|
||
|
CEO Succession Planning
|
18
|
||
|
Cumulative Voting
|
18
|
||
|
Director and Officer Indemnification and Liability Protection
|
18
|
||
|
Establish/Amend Nominee Qualifications
|
19
|
||
|
Establish Other Board Committee Proposals
|
19
|
||
|
Filling Vacancies/Removal of Directors
|
19
|
||
|
Independent Chair (Separate Chair/CEO)
|
19
|
||
|
Majority of Independent Directors/Establishment of Independent Committees
|
20
|
||
|
Majority Vote Standard for the Election of Directors
|
20
|
||
|
Proxy Access
|
21
|
||
|
Require More Nominees than Open Seats
|
21
|
||
|
Shareholder Engagement Policy (Shareholder Advisory Committee)
|
21
|
||
|
2.
|
AUDIT-RELATED
|
22
|
|
|
Auditor Indemnification and Limitation of Liability
|
22
|
||
|
Auditor Ratification
|
22
|
||
|
Shareholder Proposals Limiting Non-Audit Services
|
22
|
||
|
Shareholder Proposals on Audit Firm Rotation
|
23
|
||
|
3.
|
SHAREHOLDER RIGHTS & DEFENSES
|
24
|
|
|
Advance Notice Requirements for Shareholder Proposals/Nominations
|
24
|
||
|
Amend Bylaws without Shareholder Consent
|
24
|
||
|
Control Share Acquisition Provisions
|
24
|
||
|
Control Share Cash-Out Provisions
|
24
|
||
|
Disgorgement Provisions
|
25
|
||
|
Fair Price Provisions
|
25
|
||
|
Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders.
|
|
|
© 2018 ISS | Institutional Shareholder Services
|
2 of 72
|
|
Freeze-Out Provisions
|
25
|
||
|
Greenmail
|
25
|
||
|
Litigation Rights (including Exclusive Venue and Fee-Shifting Bylaw Provisions)
|
25
|
||
|
Net Operating Loss (NOL) Protective Amendments
|
26
|
||
|
POISON PILLS (SHAREHOLDER RIGHTS PLANS)
|
26
|
||
|
Shareholder Proposals to Put Pill to a Vote and/or Adopt a Pill Policy
|
26
|
||
|
Management Proposals to Ratify a Poison Pill
|
27
|
||
|
Management Proposals to Ratify a Pill to Preserve Net Operating Losses (NOLs)
|
27
|
||
|
Proxy Voting Disclosure, Confidentiality, and Tabulation
|
27
|
||
|
Ratification Proposals: Management Proposals to Ratify Existing Charter or Bylaw Provisions
|
28
|
||
|
Reimbursing Proxy Solicitation Expenses
|
28
|
||
|
Reincorporation Proposals
|
28
|
||
|
Shareholder Ability to Act by Written Consent
|
28
|
||
|
Shareholder Ability to Call Special Meetings
|
29
|
||
|
Stakeholder Provisions
|
29
|
||
|
State Antitakeover Statutes
|
29
|
||
|
Supermajority Vote Requirements
|
29
|
||
|
4.
|
CAPITAL/RESTRUCTURING
|
31
|
|
|
CAPITAL
|
31
|
||
|
Adjustments to Par Value of Common Stock
|
31
|
||
|
Common Stock Authorization
|
31
|
||
|
Dual Class Structure
|
32
|
||
|
Issue Stock for Use with Rights Plan
|
32
|
||
|
Preemptive Rights
|
32
|
||
|
Preferred Stock Authorization
|
32
|
||
|
Recapitalization Plans
|
33
|
||
|
Reverse Stock Splits
|
33
|
||
|
Share Repurchase Programs
|
33
|
||
|
Stock Distributions: Splits and Dividends
|
33
|
||
|
Tracking Stock
|
33
|
||
|
RESTRUCTURING
|
34
|
||
|
Appraisal Rights
|
34
|
||
|
Asset Purchases
|
34
|
||
|
Asset Sales
|
34
|
||
|
Bundled Proposals
|
34
|
||
|
Conversion of Securities
|
34
|
||
|
Corporate Reorganization/Debt Restructuring/Prepackaged Bankruptcy Plans/Reverse Leveraged Buyouts/Wrap Plans
|
35
|
||
|
Formation of Holding Company
|
35
|
||
|
Going Private and Going Dark Transactions (LBOs and Minority Squeeze-outs)
|
35
|
||
|
Joint Ventures
|
36
|
||
|
Liquidations
|
36
|
||
|
Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders.
|
|
|
© 2018 ISS | Institutional Shareholder Services
|
3 of 72
|
|
|
U.S. Proxy Voting Guidelines
|
|
Mergers and Acquisitions
|
36
|
||
|
Private Placements/Warrants/Convertible Debentures
|
37
|
||
|
Reorganization/Restructuring Plan (Bankruptcy)
|
38
|
||
|
Special Purpose Acquisition Corporations (SPACs)
|
38
|
||
|
Special Purpose Acquisition Corporations (SPACs) - Proposals for Extensions
|
39
|
||
|
Spin-offs
|
39
|
||
|
Value Maximization Shareholder Proposals
|
39
|
||
|
5.
|
COMPENSATION
|
40
|
|
|
EXECUTIVE PAY EVALUATION
|
40
|
||
|
Advisory Votes on Executive Compensation Management Proposals (Management Say-on-Pay)
|
40
|
||
|
Pay-for-Performance Evaluation
|
41
|
||
|
Problematic Pay Practices
|
41
|
||
|
Compensation Committee Communications and Responsiveness
|
42
|
||
|
Frequency of Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation (“Say When on Pay”)
|
43
|
||
|
Voting on Golden Parachutes in an Acquisition, Merger, Consolidation, or Proposed Sale
|
43
|
||
|
EQUITY-BASED AND OTHER INCENTIVE PLANS
|
44
|
||
|
Shareholder Value Transfer (SVT)
|
45
|
||
|
Three-Year Burn Rate
|
45
|
||
|
Egregious Factors
|
45
|
||
|
Liberal Change in Control Definition
|
45
|
||
|
Repricing Provisions
|
45
|
||
|
Problematic Pay Practices or Significant Pay-for-Performance Disconnect
|
46
|
||
|
Amending Cash and Equity Plans (including Approval for Tax Deductibility (162(m))
|
46
|
||
|
Specific Treatment of Certain Award Types in Equity Plan Evaluations
|
47
|
||
|
Dividend Equivalent Rights
|
47
|
||
|
Operating Partnership (OP) Units in Equity Plan Analysis of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
|
47
|
||
|
OTHER COMPENSATION PLANS
|
47
|
||
|
401(k) Employee Benefit Plans
|
47
|
||
|
Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)
|
47
|
||
|
Employee Stock Purchase Plans Qualified Plans
|
47
|
||
|
Employee Stock Purchase Plans Non-Qualified Plans
|
47
|
||
|
Option Exchange Programs/Repricing Options
|
48
|
||
|
Stock Plans in Lieu of Cash
|
48
|
||
|
Transfer Stock Option (TSO) Programs
|
49
|
||
|
DIRECTOR COMPENSATION
|
49
|
||
|
Shareholder Ratification of Director Pay Programs
|
49
|
||
|
Equity Plans for Non-Employee Directors
|
50
|
||
|
Non-Employee Director Retirement Plans
|
50
|
||
|
SHAREHOLDER PROPOSALS ON COMPENSATION
|
50
|
||
|
Bonus Banking/Bonus Banking “Plus”
|
50
|
||
|
Compensation Consultants – Disclosure of Board or Company’s Utilization
|
50
|
||
|
Disclosure/Setting Levels or Types of Compensation for Executives and Directors
|
51
|
||
|
Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders.
|
|
|
© 2018 ISS | Institutional Shareholder Services
|
4 of 72
|
|
Golden Coffins/Executive Death Benefits
|
51
|
||
|
Hold Equity Past Retirement or for a Significant Period of Time
|
51
|
||
|
Non-Deductible Compensation
|
51
|
||
|
Pay Disparity
|
51
|
||
|
Pay for Performance/Performance-Based Awards
|
52
|
||
|
Pay for Superior Performance
|
52
|
||
|
Pre-Arranged Trading Plans (10b5-1 Plans)
|
53
|
||
|
Prohibit Outside CEOs from Serving on Compensation Committees
|
53
|
||
|
Recoupment of Incentive or Stock Compensation in Specified Circumstances
|
53
|
||
|
Severance Agreements for Executives/Golden Parachutes
|
53
|
||
|
Share Buyback Proposals
|
54
|
||
|
Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans (SERPs)
|
54
|
||
|
Tax Gross-Up Proposals
|
54
|
||
|
Termination of Employment Prior to Severance Payment/Eliminating Accelerated Vesting of Unvested Equity
|
54
|
||
|
6.
|
ROUTINE/MISCELLANEOUS
|
56
|
|
|
Adjourn Meeting
|
56
|
||
|
Amend Quorum Requirements
|
56
|
||
|
Amend Minor Bylaws
|
56
|
||
|
Change Company Name
|
56
|
||
|
Change Date, Time, or Location of Annual Meeting
|
56
|
||
|
Other Business
|
56
|
||
|
7.
|
SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
|
57
|
|
|
GLOBAL APPROACH
|
57
|
||
|
ENDORSEMENT OF PRINCIPLES
|
57
|
||
|
ANIMAL WELFARE
|
57
|
||
|
Animal Welfare Policies
|
57
|
||
|
Animal Testing
|
58
|
||
|
Animal Slaughter
|
58
|
||
|
CONSUMER ISSUES
|
58
|
||
|
Genetically Modified Ingredients
|
58
|
||
|
Reports on Potentially Controversial Business/Financial Practices
|
58
|
||
|
Pharmaceutical Pricing, Access to Medicines, and Prescription Drug Reimportation
|
59
|
||
|
Product Safety and Toxic/Hazardous Materials
|
59
|
||
|
Tobacco-Related Proposals
|
59
|
||
|
CLIMATE CHANGE
|
60
|
||
|
Climate Change/Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions
|
60
|
||
|
Energy Efficiency
|
61
|
||
|
Renewable Energy
|
61
|
||
|
DIVERSITY
|
61
|
||
|
Board Diversity
|
61
|
||
|
Equality of Opportunity
|
62
|
||
|
Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, and Domestic Partner Benefits
|
62
|
||
|
Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders.
|
|
|
© 2018 ISS | Institutional Shareholder Services
|
5 of 72
|
|
Gender Pay Gap
|
62
|
||
|
ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY
|
62
|
||
|
Facility and Workplace Safety
|
62
|
||
|
General Environmental Proposals and Community Impact Assessments
|
63
|
||
|
Hydraulic Fracturing
|
63
|
||
|
Operations in Protected Areas
|
63
|
||
|
Recycling
|
63
|
||
|
Sustainability Reporting
|
64
|
||
|
Water Issues
|
64
|
||
|
GENERAL CORPORATE ISSUES
|
64
|
||
|
Charitable Contributions
|
64
|
||
|
Data Security, Privacy, and Internet Issues
|
64
|
||
|
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Compensation-Related Proposals
|
64
|
||
|
HUMAN RIGHTS, LABOR ISSUES, AND INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS
|
65
|
||
|
Human Rights Proposals
|
65
|
||
|
Operations in High Risk Markets
|
65
|
||
|
Outsourcing/Offshoring
|
66
|
||
|
Weapons and Military Sales
|
66
|
||
|
POLITICAL ACTIVITIES
|
66
|
||
|
Lobbying
|
66
|
||
|
Political Contributions
|
66
|
||
|
Political Ties
|
67
|
||
|
8.
|
MUTUAL FUND PROXIES
|
68
|
|
|
Election of Directors
|
68
|
||
|
Converting Closed-end Fund to Open-end Fund
|
68
|
||
|
Proxy Contests
|
68
|
||
|
Investment Advisory Agreements
|
68
|
||
|
Approving New Classes or Series of Shares
|
68
|
||
|
Preferred Stock Proposals
|
68
|
||
|
1940 Act Policies
|
69
|
||
|
Changing a Fundamental Restriction to a Nonfundamental Restriction
|
69
|
||
|
Change Fundamental Investment Objective to Nonfundamental
|
69
|
||
|
Name Change Proposals
|
69
|
||
|
Change in Fund’s Subclassification
|
69
|
||
|
Business Development Companies Authorization to Sell Shares of Common Stock at a Price below Net Asset Value
|
69
|
||
|
Disposition of Assets/Termination/Liquidation
|
70
|
||
|
Changes to the Charter Document
|
70
|
||
|
Changing the Domicile of a Fund
|
70
|
||
|
Authorizing the Board to Hire and Terminate Subadvisers Without Shareholder Approval
|
70
|
||
|
Distribution Agreements
|
71
|
||
|
Master-Feeder Structure
|
71
|
||
|
Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders.
|
|
|
© 2018 ISS | Institutional Shareholder Services
|
6 of 72
|
|
Mergers
|
71
|
||
|
SHAREHOLDER PROPOSALS FOR MUTUAL FUNDS
|
71
|
||
|
Establish Director Ownership Requirement
|
71
|
||
|
Reimburse Shareholder for Expenses Incurred
|
71
|
||
|
Terminate the Investment Advisor
|
71
|
||
|
Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders.
|
|
|
© 2018 ISS | Institutional Shareholder Services
|
7 of 72
|
|
|
U.S. Proxy Voting Guidelines
|
COVERAGE
The U.S. research team provides proxy analyses and voting recommendations for common shareholder meetings of publicly - traded U.S. - incorporated companies that are held in our institutional investor clients’ portfolios and includes all S&P 1500 and Russell 3000 companies that are considered U.S. Domestic Issuers by the SEC. Coverage generally includes corporate actions for common equity holders, such as written consents and bankruptcies. ISS’ U.S. coverage includes investment companies (including open-end funds, closed-end funds, exchange-traded funds, and unit investment trusts), limited partnerships (“LPs”), master limited partnerships (“MLPs”), limited liability companies (“LLCs”), and business development companies. ISS reviews its universe of coverage on an annual basis, and the coverage is subject to change based on client need and industry trends.
The U.S. research team also produces, for subscribing clients, research and recommendations for fixed income meetings, and meetings of certain preferred securities, including Auction Rate Preferred Securities (“ARPS”) and Variable Rate Municipal Term Preferred securities (“VMTPs”).
Foreign-incorporated companies
In addition to U.S. - incorporated companies, U.S. policies are applied to certain foreign-incorporated company analyses. Like the SEC, ISS distinguishes two types of companies that list but are not incorporated in the U.S.:
| › | U.S. Domestic Issuers – which have a majority of outstanding shares held in the U.S. and meet other criteria, as determined by the SEC, and are subject to the same disclosure and listing standards as U.S. incorporated companies – are generally covered under standard U.S. policy guidelines. |
| › | Foreign Private Issuers (FPIs) – which do not meet the Domestic Issuer criteria and are exempt from most disclosure requirements (e.g., they do not file DEF14A reports) and listing standards (e.g., for required levels of board and committee independence) – are covered under a combination of policy guidelines: |
| › | FPI Guidelines (see the Americas Regional Proxy Voting Guidelines), which apply certain minimum independence and disclosure standards in the evaluation of key proxy ballot items, such as the election of directors and approval of financial reports; and | |
| › | For other issues, guidelines for the market that is responsible for, or most relevant to, the item on the ballot. |
In all cases – including with respect to other companies with cross-market features that may lead to ballot items related to multiple markets – items that are on the ballot solely due to the requirements of another market (listing, incorporation, or national code) may be evaluated under the policy of the relevant market, regardless of the “assigned” market coverage.
|
Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders.
|
|
|
© 2018 ISS | Institutional Shareholder Services
|
8 of 72
|
|
|
U.S. Proxy Voting Guidelines
|
1. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Voting on Director Nominees in Uncontested Elections
Four fundamental principles apply when determining votes on director nominees:
Independence: Boards should be sufficiently independent from management (and significant shareholders) to ensure that they are able and motivated to effectively supervise management’s performance for the benefit of all shareholders, including in setting and monitoring the execution of corporate strategy, with appropriate use of shareholder capital, and in setting and monitoring executive compensation programs that support that strategy. The chair of the board should ideally be an independent director, and all boards should have an independent leadership position or a similar role in order to help provide appropriate counterbalance to executive management, as well as having sufficiently independent committees that focus on key governance concerns such as audit, compensation, and nomination of directors.
Composition: Companies should ensure that directors add value to the board through their specific skills and expertise and by having sufficient time and commitment to serve effectively. Boards should be of a size appropriate to accommodate diversity, expertise, and independence, while ensuring active and collaborative participation by all members. Boards should be sufficiently diverse to ensure consideration of a wide range of perspectives.
Responsiveness: Directors should respond to investor input, such as that expressed through significant opposition to management proposals, significant support for shareholder proposals (whether binding or non-binding), and tender offers where a majority of shares are tendered.
Accountability: Boards should be sufficiently accountable to shareholders, including through transparency of the company’s governance practices and regular board elections, by the provision of sufficient information for shareholders to be able to assess directors and board composition, and through the ability of shareholders to remove directors.
|
General Recommendation: Generally vote for director nominees, except under the following circumstances: |
Independence
Vote against1 or withhold from non-independent directors (Executive Directors and Non-Independent Non-Executive Directors per ISS’ Classification of Directors) when:
| › |
Independent directors comprise 50 percent or less of the board; |
| › | The non-independent director serves on the audit, compensation, or nominating committee; |
| › | The company lacks an audit, compensation, or nominating committee so that the full board functions as that committee; or |
| › | The company lacks a formal nominating committee, even if the board attests that the independent directors fulfill the functions of such a committee. |
1 In general, companies with a plurality vote standard use “Withhold” as the contrary vote option in director elections; companies with a majority vote standard use “Against”. However, it will vary by company and the proxy must be checked to determine the valid contrary vote option for the particular company.
|
Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders.
|
|
|
© 2018 ISS | Institutional Shareholder Services
|
9 of 72
|
|
|
U.S. Proxy Voting Guidelines
|
ISS Classification of Directors – U.S.
|
1.
|
Executive Director
|
|
|
1.1.
|
Current employee or current officer1 of the company or one of its affiliates2.
|
|
|
2.
|
Non-Independent Non-Executive Director
|
|
|
Board Identification
|
||
|
2.1.
|
Director identified as not independent by the board.
|
|
|
Controlling/Significant Shareholder
|
||
|
2.2.
|
Beneficial owner of more than 50 percent of the company’s voting power (this may be aggregated if voting power is distributed among more than one member of a group).
|
|
|
Former CEO/Interim Officer
|
||
|
2.3.
|
Former CEO of the company. 3, 4
|
|
|
2.4.
|
Former CEO of an acquired company within the past five years.4
|
|
|
2.5.
|
Former interim officer if the service was longer than 18 months. If the service was between 12 and 18 months an assessment of the interim officer’s employment agreement will be made.5
|
|
|
Non-CEO Executives
|
||
|
2.6.
|
Former officer1 of the company, an affiliate2, or an acquired firm within the past five years.
|
|
|
2.7.
|
Officer1 of a former parent or predecessor firm at the time the company was sold or split off from the parent/predecessor within the past five years.
|
|
|
2.8.
|
Officer1, former officer, or general or limited partner of a joint venture or partnership with the company.
|
|
|
Family Members
|
||
|
2.9.
|
Immediate family member6 of a current or former officer1 of the company or its affiliates2 within the last five years.
|
|
|
2.10.
|
Immediate family member6 of a current employee of company or its affiliates2 where additional factors raise concern (which may include, but are not limited to, the following: a director related to numerous employees; the company or its affiliates employ relatives of numerous board members; or a non-Section 16 officer in a key strategic role).
|
|
|
Transactional, Professional, Financial, and Charitable Relationships
|
||
|
2.11.
|
Currently provides (or an immediate family member6 provides) professional services7 to the company, to an affiliate2 of the company or an individual officer of the company or one of its affiliates in excess of $10,000 per year.
|
|
|
2.12.
|
Is (or an immediate family member6 is) a partner in, or a controlling shareholder or an employee of, an organization which provides professional services7 to the company, to an affiliate2 of the company, or an individual officer of the company or one of its affiliates in excess of $10,000 per year.
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2.13.
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Has (or an immediate family member6 has) any material transactional relationship8 with the company or its affiliates2 (excluding investments in the company through a private placement).
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2.14.
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Is (or an immediate family member6 is) a partner in, or a controlling shareholder or an executive officer of, an organization which has any material transactional relationship8 with the company or its affiliates2 (excluding investments in the company through a private placement).
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2.15.
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Is (or an immediate family member6 is) a trustee, director, or employee of a charitable or non-profit organization that receives material grants or endowments8 from the company or its affiliates2.
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Other Relationships
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2.16.
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Party to a voting agreement9 to vote in line with management on proposals being brought to shareholder vote.
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2.17.
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Has (or an immediate family member6 has) an interlocking relationship as defined by the SEC involving members of the board of directors or its Compensation Committee.10
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2.18.
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Founder11 of the company but not currently an employee.
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2.19.
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Any material12 relationship with the company.
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3.
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Independent Director
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3.1.
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No material12 connection to the company other than a board seat.
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Footnotes:
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1. The definition of officer will generally follow that of a “Section 16 officer” (officers subject to Section 16 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934) and includes the chief executive, operating, financial, legal, technology, and accounting officers of a company (including the president, treasurer, secretary, controller, or any vice president in charge of a principal business unit, division, or policy function). Current interim officers are included in this category. For private companies, the equivalent positions are applicable. A non-employee director serving as an officer due to statutory requirements (e.g. corporate secretary) will generally be classified as a Non-Independent Non-Executive Director under 2.19: “Any material relationship with the company.” However, if the company provides explicit disclosure that the director is not receiving additional compensation exceeding $10,000 per year for serving in that capacity, then the director will be classified as an Independent Director.
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2. “Affiliate” includes a subsidiary, sibling company, or parent company. ISS uses 50 percent control ownership by the parent company as the standard for applying its affiliate designation.
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3. Includes any former CEO of the company prior to the company’s initial public offering (IPO).
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4. When there is a former CEO of a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) serving on the board of an acquired company, ISS will generally classify such directors as independent unless determined otherwise taking into account the following factors: the applicable listing standards determination of such director’s independence; any operating ties to the firm; and the existence of any other conflicting relationships or related party transactions.
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5. ISS will look at the terms of the interim officer’s employment contract to determine if it contains severance pay, long-term health and pension benefits, or other such standard provisions typically contained in contracts of permanent, non-temporary CEOs. ISS will also consider if a formal search process was under way for a full-time officer at the time.
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6. “Immediate family member” follows the SEC’s definition of such and covers spouses, parents, children, step-parents, step-children, siblings, in-laws, and any person (other than a tenant or employee) sharing the household of any director, nominee for director, executive officer, or significant shareholder of the company.
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7. Professional services can be characterized as advisory in nature, generally involve access to sensitive company information or to strategic decision-making, and typically have a commission- or fee-based payment structure. Professional services generally include but are not limited to the following: investment banking/financial advisory services, commercial banking (beyond deposit services), investment services, insurance services, accounting/audit services, consulting services, marketing services, legal services, property management services, realtor services, lobbying services, executive search services, and IT consulting services. The following would generally be considered transactional relationships and not professional services: deposit services, IT tech support services, educational services, and construction services. The case of participation in a banking syndicate by a non-lead bank should be considered a transactional (and hence subject to the associated materiality test) rather than a professional relationship. “Of Counsel” relationships are only considered immaterial if the individual does not receive any form of compensation (in excess of $10,000 per year) from, or is a retired partner of, the firm providing the professional service. The case of a company providing a professional service to one of its directors or to an entity with which one of its directors is affiliated, will be considered a transactional rather than a professional relationship. Insurance services and marketing services are assumed to be professional services unless the company explains why such services are not advisory.
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8. A material transactional relationship, including grants to non-profit organizations, exists if the company makes annual payments to, or receives annual payments from, another entity, exceeding the greater of: $200,000 or 5 percent of the recipient’s gross revenues, for a company that follows NASDAQ listing standards; or the greater of $1,000,000 or 2 percent of the recipient’s gross revenues, for a company that follows NYSE listing standards. For a company that follows neither of the preceding standards, ISS will apply the NASDAQ-based materiality test. (The recipient is the party receiving the financial proceeds from the transaction).
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9. Dissident directors who are parties to a voting agreement pursuant to a settlement or similar arrangement may be classified as Independent Directors if an analysis of the following factors indicates that the voting agreement does not compromise their alignment with all shareholders’ interests: the terms of the agreement; the duration of the standstill provision in the agreement; the limitations and requirements of actions that are agreed upon; if the dissident director nominee(s) is subject to the standstill; and if there any conflicting relationships or related party transactions.
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10. Interlocks include: executive officers serving as directors on each other’s compensation or similar committees (or, in the absence of such a committee, on the board); or executive officers sitting on each other’s boards and at least one serves on the other’s compensation or similar committees (or, in the absence of such a committee, on the board).
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Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders.
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11. The operating involvement of the founder with the company will be considered; if the founder was never employed by the company, ISS may deem him or her an Independent Director.
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12. For purposes of ISS’s director independence classification, “material” will be defined as a standard of relationship (financial, personal or otherwise) that a reasonable person might conclude could potentially influence one’s objectivity in the boardroom in a manner that would have a meaningful impact on an individual’s ability to satisfy requisite fiduciary standards on behalf of shareholders.
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Composition
Attendance at Board and Committee Meetings: Generally vote against or withhold from directors (except new nominees, who should be considered case-by-case2) who attend less than 75 percent of the aggregate of their board and committee meetings for the period for which they served, unless an acceptable reason for absences is disclosed in the proxy or another SEC filing. Acceptable reasons for director absences are generally limited to the following:
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Medical issues/illness; |
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Family emergencies; and |
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Missing only one meeting (when the total of all meetings is three or fewer). |
In cases of chronic poor attendance without reasonable justification, in addition to voting against the director(s) with poor attendance, generally vote against or withhold from appropriate members of the nominating/governance committees or the full board.
If the proxy disclosure is unclear and insufficient to determine whether a director attended at least 75 percent of the aggregate of his/her board and committee meetings during his/her period of service, vote against or withhold from the director(s) in question.
Overboarded Directors: Generally vote against or withhold from individual directors who:
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Sit on more than five public company boards; or |
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Are CEOs of public companies who sit on the boards of more than two public companies besides their own— withhold only at their outside boards3. |
Diversity: Highlight boards with no gender diversity. For 2019 meetings, no adverse vote recommendations will be made due to a lack of gender diversity.
For companies in the Russell 3000 or S&P 1500 indices, effective for meetings on or after Feb. 1, 2020, generally vote against or withhold from the chair of the nominating committee (or other directors on a case-by-case basis) at companies when there are no women on the company’s board. Mitigating factors include:
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A firm commitment, as stated in the proxy statement, to appoint at least one female to the board in the near term; |
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The presence of a female on the board at the preceding annual meeting; or |
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Other relevant factors as applicable. |
2 New nominees who served for only part of the fiscal year are generally exempted from the attendance policy.
3 Although all of a CEO’s subsidiary boards with publicly-traded common stock will be counted as separate boards, ISS will not recommend a withhold vote for the CEO of a parent company board or any of the controlled (>50 percent ownership) subsidiaries of that parent but may do so at subsidiaries that are less than 50 percent controlled and boards outside the parent/subsidiary relationships.
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Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders.
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Responsiveness
Vote case-by-case on individual directors, committee members, or the entire board of directors as appropriate if:
| › | The board failed to act on a shareholder proposal that received the support of a majority of the shares cast in the previous year or failed to act on a management proposal seeking to ratify an existing charter/bylaw provision that received opposition of a majority of the shares cast in the previous year. Factors that will be considered are: |
| › | Disclosed outreach efforts by the board to shareholders in the wake of the vote; |
| › | Rationale provided in the proxy statement for the level of implementation; |
| › | The subject matter of the proposal; |
| › | The level of support for and opposition to the resolution in past meetings; |
| › | Actions taken by the board in response to the majority vote and its engagement with shareholders; |
| › | The continuation of the underlying issue as a voting item on the ballot (as either shareholder or management proposals); and |
| › | Other factors as appropriate. |
| › | The board failed to act on takeover offers where the majority of shares are tendered; |
| › | At the previous board election, any director received more than 50 percent withhold/against votes of the shares cast and the company has failed to address the issue(s) that caused the high withhold/against vote. |
Vote case-by-case on Compensation Committee members (or, in exceptional cases, the full board) and the Say on Pay proposal if:
| › | The company’s previous say-on-pay received the support of less than 70 percent of votes cast. Factors that will be considered are: |
| › | The company’s response, including: |
| › | Disclosure of engagement efforts with major institutional investors, including the frequency and timing of engagements and the company participants (including whether independent directors participated); |
| › | Disclosure of the specific concerns voiced by dissenting shareholders that led to the say-on-pay opposition; |
| › | Disclosure of specific and meaningful actions taken to address shareholders’ concerns; |
| › | Other recent compensation actions taken by the company; |
| › | Whether the issues raised are recurring or isolated; |
| › | The company’s ownership structure; and |
| › | Whether the support level was less than 50 percent, which would warrant the highest degree of responsiveness. |
| › | The board implements an advisory vote on executive compensation on a less frequent basis than the frequency that received the plurality of votes cast. |
4 A “new nominee” is any current nominee who has not already been elected by shareholders and who joined the board after the problematic action in question transpired. If ISS cannot determine whether the nominee joined the board before or after the problematic action transpired, the nominee will be considered a “new nominee” if he or she joined the board within the 12 months prior to the upcoming shareholder meeting.
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
| © 2018 ISS | Institutional Shareholder Services |
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Accountability
Vote against or withhold from the entire board of directors (except new nominees4, who should be considered case-by- case) for the following:
Problematic Takeover Defenses/Governance Structure
Poison Pills: Vote against or withhold from all nominees (except new nominees, who should be considered case-by- case) if:
| › | The company has a poison pill that was not approved by shareholders5. However, vote case-by-case on nominees if the board adopts an initial pill with a term of one year or less, depending on the disclosed rationale for the adoption, and other factors as relevant (such as a commitment to put any renewal to a shareholder vote). |
| › | The board makes a material adverse modification to an existing pill, including, but not limited to, extension, renewal, or lowering the trigger, without shareholder approval. |
Classified Board Structure: The board is classified, and a continuing director responsible for a problematic governance issue at the board/committee level that would warrant a withhold/against vote recommendation is not up for election. All appropriate nominees (except new) may be held accountable.
Removal of Shareholder Discretion on Classified Boards: The company has opted into, or failed to opt out of, state laws requiring a classified board structure.
Director Performance Evaluation: The board lacks mechanisms to promote accountability and oversight, coupled with sustained poor performance relative to peers. Sustained poor performance is measured by one-, three-, and five-year total shareholder returns in the bottom half of a company’s four-digit GICS industry group (Russell 3000 companies only). Take into consideration the company’s operational metrics and other factors as warranted. Problematic provisions include but are not limited to:
| › | A classified board structure; |
| › | A supermajority vote requirement; |
| › | Either a plurality vote standard in uncontested director elections, or a majority vote standard in contested elections; |
| › | The inability of shareholders to call special meetings; |
| › | The inability of shareholders to act by written consent; |
| › | A multi-class capital structure; and/or |
| › | A non-shareholder-approved poison pill. |
Unilateral Bylaw/Charter Amendments and Problematic Capital Structures: Generally vote against or withhold from directors individually, committee members, or the entire board (except new nominees, who should be considered case-by-case) if the board amends the company’s bylaws or charter without shareholder approval in a manner that materially diminishes shareholders’ rights or that could adversely impact shareholders, considering the following factors:
| › | The board’s rationale for adopting the bylaw/charter amendment without shareholder ratification; |
| › | Disclosure by the company of any significant engagement with shareholders regarding the amendment; |
| › | The level of impairment of shareholders’ rights caused by the board’s unilateral amendment to the bylaws/charter; |
| › | The board’s track record with regard to unilateral board action on bylaw/charter amendments or other entrenchment provisions; |
| › | The company’s ownership structure; |
| › | The company’s existing governance provisions; |
| › | The timing of the board’s amendment to the bylaws/charter in connection with a significant business development; and |
| › | Other factors, as deemed appropriate, that may be relevant to determine the impact of the amendment on shareholders. |
5 Public shareholders only, approval prior to a company’s becoming public is insufficient.
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
| © 2018 ISS | Institutional Shareholder Services |
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Unless the adverse amendment is reversed or submitted to a binding shareholder vote, in subsequent years vote case- by-case on director nominees. Generally vote against (except new nominees, who should be considered case-by-case) if the directors:
| › | Classified the board; |
| › | Adopted supermajority vote requirements to amend the bylaws or charter; or |
| › | Eliminated shareholders’ ability to amend bylaws. |
Problematic Governance Structure - Newly public companies: For newly public companies, generally vote against or withhold from directors individually, committee members, or the entire board (except new nominees, who should be considered case-by-case) if, prior to or in connection with the company’s public offering, the company or its board adopted bylaw or charter provisions materially adverse to shareholder rights, or implemented a multi-class capital structure in which the classes have unequal voting rights considering the following factors:
| › | The level of impairment of shareholders’ rights; |
| › | The disclosed rationale; |
| › | The ability to change the governance structure (e.g., limitations on shareholders’ right to amend the bylaws or charter, or supermajority vote requirements to amend the bylaws or charter); |
| › | The ability of shareholders to hold directors accountable through annual director elections, or whether the company has a classified board structure; |
| › | Any reasonable sunset provision; and |
| › | Other relevant factors. |
Unless the adverse provision and/or problematic capital structure is reversed or removed, vote case-by-case on director nominees in subsequent years.
Management Proposals to Ratify Existing Charter or Bylaw Provisions: Vote against/withhold from individual directors, members of the governance committee, or the full board, where boards ask shareholders to ratify existing charter or bylaw provisions considering the following factors:
| › | The presence of a shareholder proposal addressing the same issue on the same ballot; |
| › | The board’s rationale for seeking ratification; |
| › | Disclosure of actions to be taken by the board should the ratification proposal fail; |
| › | Disclosure of shareholder engagement regarding the board’s ratification request; |
| › | The level of impairment to shareholders’ rights caused by the existing provision; |
| › | The history of management and shareholder proposals on the provision at the company’s past meetings; |
| › | Whether the current provision was adopted in response to the shareholder proposal; |
| › | The company’s ownership structure; and |
| › | Previous use of ratification proposals to exclude shareholder proposals. |
Restrictions on Shareholders’ Rights
Restricting Binding Shareholder Proposals: Generally vote against or withhold from the members of the governance committee if:
| › | The company’s governing documents impose undue restrictions on shareholders’ ability to amend the bylaws. Such restrictions include but are not limited to: outright prohibition on the submission of binding shareholder proposals or share ownership requirements or time holding requirements in excess of SEC Rule 14a-8. Vote against on an ongoing basis. |
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
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Problematic Audit-Related Practices
Generally vote against or withhold from the members of the Audit Committee if:
| › | The non-audit fees paid to the auditor are excessive; |
| › | The company receives an adverse opinion on the company’s financial statements from its auditor; or |
| › | There is persuasive evidence that the Audit Committee entered into an inappropriate indemnification agreement with its auditor that limits the ability of the company, or its shareholders, to pursue legitimate legal recourse against the audit firm. |
Vote case-by-case on members of the Audit Committee and potentially the full board if:
| › | Poor accounting practices are identified that rise to a level of serious concern, such as: fraud; misapplication of GAAP; and material weaknesses identified in Section 404 disclosures. Examine the severity, breadth, chronological sequence, and duration, as well as the company’s efforts at remediation or corrective actions, in determining whether withhold/against votes are warranted. |
Problematic Compensation Practices
In the absence of an Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation (Say on Pay) ballot item or in egregious situations, vote against or withhold from the members of the Compensation Committee and potentially the full board if:
| › | There is an unmitigated misalignment between CEO pay and company performance (pay for performance); |
| › | The company maintains significant problematic pay practices; or |
| › | The board exhibits a significant level of poor communication and responsiveness to shareholders. |
Generally vote against or withhold from the Compensation Committee chair, other committee members, or potentially the full board if:
| › | The company fails to include a Say on Pay ballot item when required under SEC provisions, or under the company’s declared frequency of say on pay; or |
| › | The company fails to include a Frequency of Say on Pay ballot item when required under SEC provisions. |
Generally vote against members of the board committee responsible for approving/setting non-employee director compensation if there is a pattern (i.e. two or more years) of awarding excessive non-employee director compensation without disclosing a compelling rationale or other mitigating factors.
Problematic Pledging of Company Stock:
Vote against the members of the committee that oversees risks related to pledging, or the full board, where a significant level of pledged company sto1ck by executives or directors raises concerns. The following factors will be considered:
| › | The presence of an anti-pledging policy, disclosed in the proxy statement, that prohibits future pledging activity; |
| › | The magnitude of aggregate pledged shares in terms of total common shares outstanding, market value, and trading volume; |
| › | Disclosure of progress or lack thereof in reducing the magnitude of aggregate pledged shares over time; |
| › | Disclosure in the proxy statement that shares subject to stock ownership and holding requirements do not include pledged company stock; and |
| › | Any other relevant factors. |
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
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Governance Failures
Under extraordinary circumstances, vote against or withhold from directors individually, committee members, or the entire board, due to:
| › | Material failures of governance, stewardship, risk oversight6, or fiduciary responsibilities at the company; |
| › | Failure to replace management as appropriate; or |
| › | Egregious actions related to a director’s service on other boards that raise substantial doubt about his or her ability to effectively oversee management and serve the best interests of shareholders at any company. |
Voting on Director Nominees in Contested Elections
Vote-No Campaigns
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General Recommendation: In cases where companies are targeted in connection with public “vote-no” campaigns, evaluate director nominees under the existing governance policies for voting on director nominees in uncontested elections. Take into consideration the arguments submitted by shareholders and other publicly available information. |
Proxy Contests/Proxy Access — Voting for Director Nominees in Contested Elections
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on the election of directors in contested elections, considering the following factors: |
| › | Long-term financial performance of the company relative to its industry; |
| › | Management’s track record; |
| › | Background to the contested election; |
| › | Nominee qualifications and any compensatory arrangements; |
| › | Strategic plan of dissident slate and quality of the critique against management; |
| › | Likelihood that the proposed goals and objectives can be achieved (both slates); and |
| › | Stock ownership positions. |
In the case of candidates nominated pursuant to proxy access, vote case-by-case considering any applicable factors listed above or additional factors which may be relevant, including those that are specific to the company, to the nominee(s) and/or to the nature of the election (such as whether there are more candidates than board seats).
Other Board-Related Proposals
Adopt Anti-Hedging/Pledging/Speculative Investments Policy
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General Recommendation: Generally vote for proposals seeking a policy that prohibits named executive officers from engaging in derivative or speculative transactions involving company stock, including hedging, holding stock in a margin account, or pledging stock as collateral for a loan. However, the company’s existing policies regarding responsible use of company stock will be considered.
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Age/Term Limits
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General Recommendation: Vote against management and shareholder proposals to limit the tenure of outside directors through mandatory retirement ages. |
6 Examples of failure of risk oversight include but are not limited to: bribery; large or serial fines or sanctions from regulatory bodies; significant adverse legal judgments or settlement; or hedging of company stock.
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
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Vote against management proposals to limit the tenure of outside directors through term limits. However, scrutinize boards where the average tenure of all directors exceeds 15 years for independence from management and for sufficient turnover to ensure that new perspectives are being added to the board.
Board Size
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General Recommendation: Vote for proposals seeking to fix the board size or designate a range for the board size. |
Vote against proposals that give management the ability to alter the size of the board outside of a specified range without shareholder approval.
Classification/Declassification of the Board
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General Recommendation: Vote against proposals to classify (stagger) the board. |
Vote for proposals to repeal classified boards and to elect all directors annually.
CEO Succession Planning
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General Recommendation: Generally vote for proposals seeking disclosure on a CEO succession planning policy, considering, at a minimum, the following factors: |
| › | The reasonableness/scope of the request; and |
| › | The company’s existing disclosure on its current CEO succession planning process. |
Cumulative Voting
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General Recommendation: Generally vote against management proposals to eliminate cumulate voting, and for shareholder proposals to restore or provide for cumulative voting, unless: |
| › | The company has proxy access7, thereby allowing shareholders to nominate directors to the company’s ballot; and |
| › | The company has adopted a majority vote standard, with a carve-out for plurality voting in situations where there are more nominees than seats, and a director resignation policy to address failed elections. |
Vote for proposals for cumulative voting at controlled companies (insider voting power > 50%).
Director and Officer Indemnification and Liability Protection
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals on director and officer indemnification and liability protection. |
Vote against proposals that would:
| › | Eliminate entirely directors’ and officers’ liability for monetary damages for violating the duty of care. |
| › | Expand coverage beyond just legal expenses to liability for acts that are more serious violations of fiduciary obligation than mere carelessness. |
| › | Expand the scope of indemnification to provide for mandatory indemnification of company officials in connection with acts that previously the company was permitted to provide indemnification for, at the discretion of the company’s board (i.e., “permissive indemnification”), but that previously the company was not required to indemnify. |
7 A proxy access right that meets the recommended guidelines.
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
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Vote for only those proposals providing such expanded coverage in cases when a director’s or officer’s legal defense was unsuccessful if both of the following apply:
| › | If the director was found to have acted in good faith and in a manner that s/he reasonably believed was in the best interests of the company; and |
| › | If only the director’s legal expenses would be covered. |
Establish/Amend Nominee Qualifications
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals that establish or amend director qualifications. Votes should be based on the reasonableness of the criteria and the degree to which they may preclude dissident nominees from joining the board. |
Vote case-by-case on shareholder resolutions seeking a director nominee who possesses a particular subject matter expertise, considering:
| › | The company’s board committee structure, existing subject matter expertise, and board nomination provisions relative to that of its peers; |
| › | The company’s existing board and management oversight mechanisms regarding the issue for which board oversight is sought; |
| › | The company’s disclosure and performance relating to the issue for which board oversight is sought and any significant related controversies; and |
| › | The scope and structure of the proposal. |
Establish Other Board Committee Proposals
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General Recommendation: Generally vote against shareholder proposals to establish a new board committee, as such proposals seek a specific oversight mechanism/structure that potentially limits a company’s flexibility to determine an appropriate oversight mechanism for itself. However, the following factors will be considered: |
| › | Existing oversight mechanisms (including current committee structure) regarding the issue for which board oversight is sought; |
| › | Level of disclosure regarding the issue for which board oversight is sought; |
| › | Company performance related to the issue for which board oversight is sought; |
| › | Board committee structure compared to that of other companies in its industry sector; and |
| › | The scope and structure of the proposal. |
Filling Vacancies/Removal of Directors
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General Recommendation: Vote against proposals that provide that directors may be removed only for cause. |
| Vote for proposals to restore shareholders’ ability to remove directors with or without cause. |
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Vote against proposals that provide that only continuing directors may elect replacements to fill board vacancies. |
| Vote for proposals that permit shareholders to elect directors to fill board vacancies. |
Independent Chair (Separate Chair/CEO)
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General Recommendation: Generally vote for shareholder proposals requiring that the chairman’s position be filled by an independent director, taking into consideration the following: |
| › | The scope of the proposal; |
| › | The company’s current board leadership structure; |
| › | The company’s governance structure and practices; |
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
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| › | Company performance; and |
| › | Any other relevant factors that may be applicable. |
Regarding the scope of the proposal, consider whether the proposal is precatory or binding and whether the proposal is seeking an immediate change in the chairman role or the policy can be implemented at the next CEO transition.
Under the review of the company’s board leadership structure, ISS may support the proposal under the following scenarios absent a compelling rationale: the presence of an executive or non-independent chair in addition to the CEO; a recent recombination of the role of CEO and chair; and/or departure from a structure with an independent chair. ISS will also consider any recent transitions in board leadership and the effect such transitions may have on independent board leadership as well as the designation of a lead director role.
When considering the governance structure, ISS will consider the overall independence of the board, the independence of key committees, the establishment of governance guidelines, board tenure and its relationship to CEO tenure, and any other factors that may be relevant. Any concerns about a company’s governance structure will weigh in favor of support for the proposal.
The review of the company’s governance practices may include, but is not limited to, poor compensation practices, material failures of governance and risk oversight, related-party transactions or other issues putting director independence at risk, corporate or management scandals, and actions by management or the board with potential or realized negative impact on shareholders. Any such practices may suggest a need for more independent oversight at the company thus warranting support of the proposal.
ISS’ performance assessment will generally consider one-, three-, and five-year TSR compared to the company’s peers and the market as a whole. While poor performance will weigh in favor of the adoption of an independent chair policy, strong performance over the long term will be considered a mitigating factor when determining whether the proposed leadership change warrants support.
Majority of Independent Directors/Establishment of Independent Committees
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General Recommendation: Vote for shareholder proposals asking that a majority or more of directors be independent unless the board composition already meets the proposed threshold by ISS’ definition of Independent Director (See ISS’ Classification of Directors.) |
Vote for shareholder proposals asking that board audit, compensation, and/or nominating committees be composed exclusively of independent directors unless they currently meet that standard.
Majority Vote Standard for the Election of Directors
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General Recommendation: Generally vote for management proposals to adopt a majority of votes cast standard for directors in uncontested elections. Vote against if no carve-out for a plurality vote standard in contested elections is included.
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Generally vote for precatory and binding shareholder resolutions requesting that the board change the company’s bylaws to stipulate that directors need to be elected with an affirmative majority of votes cast, provided it does not conflict with the state law where the company is incorporated. Binding resolutions need to allow for a carve-out for a plurality vote standard when there are more nominees than board seats.
Companies are strongly encouraged to also adopt a post-election policy (also known as a director resignation policy) that will provide guidelines so that the company will promptly address the situation of a holdover director.
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Proxy Access
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General Recommendation: Generally vote for management and shareholder proposals for proxy access with the following provisions: |
| › | Ownership threshold: maximum requirement not more than three percent (3%) of the voting power; |
| › | Ownership duration: maximum requirement not longer than three (3) years of continuous ownership for each member of the nominating group; |
| › | Aggregation: minimal or no limits on the number of shareholders permitted to form a nominating group; |
| › | Cap: cap on nominees of generally twenty-five percent (25%) of the board. |
Review for reasonableness any other restrictions on the right of proxy access. Generally vote against proposals that are more restrictive than these guidelines.
Require More Nominees than Open Seats
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General Recommendation: Vote against shareholder proposals that would require a company to nominate more candidates than the number of open board seats. |
Shareholder Engagement Policy (Shareholder Advisory Committee)
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General Recommendation: Generally vote for shareholder proposals requesting that the board establish an internal mechanism/process, which may include a committee, in order to improve communications between directors and shareholders, unless the company has the following features, as appropriate: |
| › | Established a communication structure that goes beyond the exchange requirements to facilitate the exchange of information between shareholders and members of the board; |
| › | Effectively disclosed information with respect to this structure to its shareholders; |
| › | Company has not ignored majority-supported shareholder proposals or a majority withhold vote on a director nominee; and |
| › | The company has an independent chairman or a lead director, according to ISS’ definition. This individual must be made available for periodic consultation and direct communication with major shareholders. |
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
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2.
2. AUDIT-RELATED
Auditor Indemnification and Limitation of Liability
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on the issue of auditor indemnification and limitation of liability. Factors to be assessed include, but are not limited to: |
| › | The terms of the auditor agreement—the degree to which these agreements impact shareholders’ rights; |
| › | The motivation and rationale for establishing the agreements; |
| › | The quality of the company’s disclosure; and |
| › | The company’s historical practices in the audit area. |
Vote against or withhold from members of an audit committee in situations where there is persuasive evidence that the audit committee entered into an inappropriate indemnification agreement with its auditor that limits the ability of the company, or its shareholders, to pursue legitimate legal recourse against the audit firm.
Auditor Ratification
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General Recommendation: Vote for proposals to ratify auditors unless any of the following apply: |
| › | An auditor has a financial interest in or association with the company, and is therefore not independent; |
| › | There is reason to believe that the independent auditor has rendered an opinion that is neither accurate nor indicative of the company’s financial position; |
| › | Poor accounting practices are identified that rise to a serious level of concern, such as fraud or misapplication of GAAP; or |
| › | Fees for non-audit services (“Other” fees) are excessive. |
Non-audit fees are excessive if:
| › | Non-audit (“other”) fees > audit fees + audit-related fees + tax compliance/preparation fees |
Tax compliance and preparation include the preparation of original and amended tax returns and refund claims, and tax payment planning. All other services in the tax category, such as tax advice, planning, or consulting, should be added to “Other” fees. If the breakout of tax fees cannot be determined, add all tax fees to “Other” fees.
In circumstances where “Other” fees include fees related to significant one-time capital structure events (such as initial public offerings, bankruptcy emergence, and spin-offs) and the company makes public disclosure of the amount and nature of those fees that are an exception to the standard “non-audit fee” category, then such fees may be excluded from the non-audit fees considered in determining the ratio of non-audit to audit/audit-related fees/tax compliance and preparation for purposes of determining whether non-audit fees are excessive.
Shareholder Proposals Limiting Non-Audit Services
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on shareholder proposals asking companies to prohibit or limit their auditors from engaging in non-audit services. |
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
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Shareholder Proposals on Audit Firm Rotation
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on shareholder proposals asking for audit firm rotation, taking into account: |
| › | The tenure of the audit firm; |
| › | The length of rotation specified in the proposal; |
| › | Any significant audit-related issues at the company; |
| › | The number of Audit Committee meetings held each year; |
| › | The number of financial experts serving on the committee; and |
| › | Whether the company has a periodic renewal process where the auditor is evaluated for both audit quality and competitive price. |
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
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3. SHAREHOLDER RIGHTS & DEFENSES
Advance Notice Requirements for Shareholder Proposals/Nominations
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on advance notice proposals, giving support to those proposals which allow shareholders to submit proposals/nominations as close to the meeting date as reasonably possible and within the broadest window possible, recognizing the need to allow sufficient notice for company, regulatory, and shareholder review. |
To be reasonable, the company’s deadline for shareholder notice of a proposal/nominations must not be more than 60 days prior to the meeting, with a submittal window of at least 30 days prior to the deadline. The submittal window is the period under which a shareholder must file his proposal/nominations prior to the deadline.
In general, support additional efforts by companies to ensure full disclosure in regard to a proponent’s economic and voting position in the company so long as the informational requirements are reasonable and aimed at providing shareholders with the necessary information to review such proposals.
Amend Bylaws without Shareholder Consent
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General Recommendation: Vote against proposals giving the board exclusive authority to amend the bylaws. |
Vote case-by-case on proposals giving the board the ability to amend the bylaws in addition to shareholders, taking into account the following:
| › | Any impediments to shareholders’ ability to amend the bylaws (i.e. supermajority voting requirements); |
| › | The company’s ownership structure and historical voting turnout; |
| › | Whether the board could amend bylaws adopted by shareholders; and |
| › | Whether shareholders would retain the ability to ratify any board-initiated amendments. |
Control Share Acquisition Provisions
Control share acquisition statutes function by denying shares their voting rights when they contribute to ownership in excess of certain thresholds. Voting rights for those shares exceeding ownership limits may only be restored by approval of either a majority or supermajority of disinterested shares. Thus, control share acquisition statutes effectively require a hostile bidder to put its offer to a shareholder vote or risk voting disenfranchisement if the bidder continues buying up a large block of shares.
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General Recommendation: Vote for proposals to opt out of control share acquisition statutes unless doing so would enable the completion of a takeover that would be detrimental to shareholders. |
Vote against proposals to amend the charter to include control share acquisition provisions.
Vote for proposals to restore voting rights to the control shares.
Control Share Cash-Out Provisions
Control share cash-out statutes give dissident shareholders the right to “cash-out” of their position in a company at the expense of the shareholder who has taken a control position. In other words, when an investor crosses a preset threshold level, remaining shareholders are given the right to sell their shares to the acquirer, who must buy them at the highest acquiring price.
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General Recommendation: Vote for proposals to opt out of control share cash-out statutes. |
Disgorgement Provisions
Disgorgement provisions require an acquirer or potential acquirer of more than a certain percentage of a company’s stock to disgorge, or pay back, to the company any profits realized from the sale of that company’s stock purchased 24 months before achieving control status. All sales of company stock by the acquirer occurring within a certain period of time (between 18 months and 24 months) prior to the investor’s gaining control status are subject to these recapture- of-profits provisions.
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General Recommendation: Vote for proposals to opt out of state disgorgement provisions. |
Fair Price Provisions
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals to adopt fair price provisions (provisions that stipulate that an acquirer must pay the same price to acquire all shares as it paid to acquire the control shares), evaluating factors such as the vote required to approve the proposed acquisition, the vote required to repeal the fair price provision, and the mechanism for determining the fair price. |
Generally vote against fair price provisions with shareholder vote requirements greater than a majority of disinterested shares.
Freeze-Out Provisions
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General Recommendation: Vote for proposals to opt out of state freeze-out provisions. Freeze-out provisions force an investor who surpasses a certain ownership threshold in a company to wait a specified period of time before gaining control of the company. |
Greenmail
Greenmail payments are targeted share repurchases by management of company stock from individuals or groups seeking control of the company. Since only the hostile party receives payment, usually at a substantial premium over the market value of its shares, the practice discriminates against all other shareholders.
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General Recommendation: Vote for proposals to adopt anti-greenmail charter or bylaw amendments or otherwise restrict a company’s ability to make greenmail payments. |
Vote case-by-case on anti-greenmail proposals when they are bundled with other charter or bylaw amendments.
Litigation Rights (including Exclusive Venue and Fee-Shifting Bylaw Provisions)
Bylaw provisions impacting shareholders’ ability to bring suit against the company may include exclusive venue provisions, which provide that the state of incorporation shall be the sole venue for certain types of litigation, and fee- shifting provisions that require a shareholder who sues a company unsuccessfully to pay all litigation expenses of the defendant corporation.
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on bylaws which impact shareholders’ litigation rights, taking into account factors such as: |
| › | The company’s stated rationale for adopting such a provision; |
| › | Disclosure of past harm from shareholder lawsuits in which plaintiffs were unsuccessful or shareholder lawsuits outside the jurisdiction of incorporation; |
| › | The breadth of application of the bylaw, including the types of lawsuits to which it would apply and the definition of key terms; and |
| › | Governance features such as shareholders’ ability to repeal the provision at a later date (including the vote standard applied when shareholders attempt to amend the bylaws) and their ability to hold directors accountable through annual director elections and a majority vote standard in uncontested elections. |
Generally vote against bylaws that mandate fee-shifting whenever plaintiffs are not completely successful on the merits (i.e., in cases where the plaintiffs are partially successful).
Unilateral adoption by the board of bylaw provisions which affect shareholders’ litigation rights will be evaluated under ISS’ policy on Unilateral Bylaw/Charter Amendments.
Net Operating Loss (NOL) Protective Amendments
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General Recommendation: Vote against proposals to adopt a protective amendment for the stated purpose of protecting a company’s net operating losses (NOL) if the effective term of the protective amendment would exceed the shorter of three years and the exhaustion of the NOL. |
Vote case-by-case, considering the following factors, for management proposals to adopt an NOL protective amendment that would remain in effect for the shorter of three years (or less) and the exhaustion of the NOL:
| › | The ownership threshold (NOL protective amendments generally prohibit stock ownership transfers that would result in a new 5-percent holder or increase the stock ownership percentage of an existing 5-percent holder); |
| › | The value of the NOLs; |
| › | Shareholder protection mechanisms (sunset provision or commitment to cause expiration of the protective amendment upon exhaustion or expiration of the NOL); |
| › | The company’s existing governance structure including: board independence, existing takeover defenses, track record of responsiveness to shareholders, and any other problematic governance concerns; and |
| › | Any other factors that may be applicable. |
Poison Pills (Shareholder Rights Plans)
Shareholder Proposals to Put Pill to a Vote and/or Adopt a Pill Policy
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General Recommendation: Vote for shareholder proposals requesting that the company submit its poison pill to a shareholder vote or redeem it unless the company has: (1) A shareholder approved poison pill in place; or (2) The company has adopted a policy concerning the adoption of a pill in the future specifying that the board will only adopt a shareholder rights plan if either: |
| › | Shareholders have approved the adoption of the plan; or |
| › | The board, in its exercise of its fiduciary responsibilities, determines that it is in the best interest of shareholders under the circumstances to adopt a pill without the delay in adoption that would result from seeking stockholder approval (i.e., the “fiduciary out” provision). A poison pill adopted under this fiduciary out will be put to a shareholder ratification vote within 12 months of adoption or expire. If the pill is not approved by a majority of the votes cast on this issue, the plan will immediately terminate. |
If the shareholder proposal calls for a time period of less than 12 months for shareholder ratification after adoption, vote for the proposal, but add the caveat that a vote within 12 months would be considered sufficient implementation.
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
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Management Proposals to Ratify a Poison Pill
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on management proposals on poison pill ratification, focusing on the features of the shareholder rights plan. Rights plans should contain the following attributes: |
| › | No lower than a 20 percent trigger, flip-in or flip-over; |
| › | A term of no more than three years; |
| › | No dead-hand, slow-hand, no-hand, or similar feature that limits the ability of a future board to redeem the pill; |
| › | Shareholder redemption feature (qualifying offer clause); if the board refuses to redeem the pill 90 days after a qualifying offer is announced, 10 percent of the shares may call a special meeting or seek a written consent to vote on rescinding the pill. |
In addition, the rationale for adopting the pill should be thoroughly explained by the company. In examining the request for the pill, take into consideration the company’s existing governance structure, including: board independence, existing takeover defenses, and any problematic governance concerns.
Management Proposals to Ratify a Pill to Preserve Net Operating Losses (NOLs)
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General Recommendation: Vote against proposals to adopt a poison pill for the stated purpose of protecting a company’s net operating losses (NOL) if the term of the pill would exceed the shorter of three years and the exhaustion of the NOL. |
Vote case-by-case on management proposals for poison pill ratification, considering the following factors, if the term of the pill would be the shorter of three years (or less) and the exhaustion of the NOL:
| › | The ownership threshold to transfer (NOL pills generally have a trigger slightly below 5 percent); |
| › | The value of the NOLs; |
| › | Shareholder protection mechanisms (sunset provision, or commitment to cause expiration of the pill upon exhaustion or expiration of NOLs); |
| › | The company’s existing governance structure including: board independence, existing takeover defenses, track record of responsiveness to shareholders, and any other problematic governance concerns; and |
| › | Any other factors that may be applicable. |
Proxy Voting Disclosure, Confidentiality, and Tabulation
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals regarding proxy voting mechanics, taking into consideration whether implementation of the proposal is likely to enhance or protect shareholder rights. Specific issues covered under the policy include, but are not limited to, confidential voting of individual proxies and ballots, confidentiality of running vote tallies, and the treatment of abstentions and/or broker non-votes in the company’s vote-counting methodology. |
While a variety of factors may be considered in each analysis, the guiding principles are: transparency, consistency, and fairness in the proxy voting process. The factors considered, as applicable to the proposal, may include:
| › | The scope and structure of the proposal; |
| › | The company’s vote standard for management and shareholder proposals and whether it ensures consistency and fairness in the proxy voting process and maintains the integrity of vote results; |
| › | Whether the company’s disclosure regarding its vote counting method and other relevant voting policies with respect to management and shareholder proposals are consistent and clear; |
| › | Any recent controversies or concerns related to the company’s proxy voting mechanics; |
| › | Any unintended consequences resulting from implementation of the proposal; and |
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
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| › | Any other factors that may be relevant. |
Ratification Proposals: Management Proposals to Ratify Existing Charter or Bylaw Provisions
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General Recommendation: Generally vote against management proposals to ratify provisions of the company’s existing charter or bylaws, unless these governance provisions align with best practice. |
In addition, voting against/withhold from individual directors, members of the governance committee, or the full board may be warranted, considering:
| › | The presence of a shareholder proposal addressing the same issue on the same ballot; |
| › | The board’s rationale for seeking ratification; |
| › | Disclosure of actions to be taken by the board should the ratification proposal fail; |
| › | Disclosure of shareholder engagement regarding the board’s ratification request; |
| › | The level of impairment to shareholders’ rights caused by the existing provision; |
| › | The history of management and shareholder proposals on the provision at the company’s past meetings; |
| › | Whether the current provision was adopted in response to the shareholder proposal; |
| › | The company’s ownership structure; and |
| › | Previous use of ratification proposals to exclude shareholder proposals. |
Reimbursing Proxy Solicitation Expenses
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals to reimburse proxy solicitation expenses. |
When voting in conjunction with support of a dissident slate, vote for the reimbursement of all appropriate proxy solicitation expenses associated with the election.
Generally vote for shareholder proposals calling for the reimbursement of reasonable costs incurred in connection with nominating one or more candidates in a contested election where the following apply:
| › | The election of fewer than 50 percent of the directors to be elected is contested in the election; |
| › | Shareholders are not permitted to cumulate their votes for directors; and |
| › | The election occurred, and the expenses were incurred, after the adoption of this bylaw. |
Reincorporation Proposals
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General Recommendation: Management or shareholder proposals to change a company’s state of incorporation should be evaluated case-by-case, giving consideration to both financial and corporate governance concerns including the following: |
| › | Reasons for reincorporation; |
| › | Comparison of company’s governance practices and provisions prior to and following the reincorporation; and |
| › | Comparison of corporation laws of original state and destination state. |
Vote for reincorporation when the economic factors outweigh any neutral or negative governance changes.
Shareholder Ability to Act by Written Consent
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General Recommendation: Generally vote against management and shareholder proposals to restrict or prohibit shareholders’ ability to act by written consent. |
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Generally vote for management and shareholder proposals that provide shareholders with the ability to act by written consent, taking into account the following factors:
| › | Shareholders’ current right to act by written consent; |
| › | The consent threshold; |
| › | The inclusion of exclusionary or prohibitive language; |
| › | Investor ownership structure; and |
| › | Shareholder support of, and management’s response to, previous shareholder proposals. |
Vote case-by-case on shareholder proposals if, in addition to the considerations above, the company has the following governance and antitakeover provisions:
| › | An unfettered8 right for shareholders to call special meetings at a 10 percent threshold; |
| › | No non-shareholder-approved pill; and |
| › | An annually elected board. |
Shareholder Ability to Call Special Meetings
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General Recommendation: Vote against management or shareholder proposals to restrict or prohibit shareholders’ ability to call special meetings. |
Generally vote for management or shareholder proposals that provide shareholders with the ability to call special meetings taking into account the following factors:
| › | Shareholders’ current right to call special meetings; |
| › | Minimum ownership threshold necessary to call special meetings (10 percent preferred); |
| › | The inclusion of exclusionary or prohibitive language; |
| › | Investor ownership structure; and |
| › | Shareholder support of, and management’s response to, previous shareholder proposals. |
Stakeholder Provisions
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General Recommendation: Vote against proposals that ask the board to consider non-shareholder constituencies or other non-financial effects when evaluating a merger or business combination. |
State Antitakeover Statutes
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals to opt in or out of state takeover statutes (including fair price provisions, stakeholder laws, poison pill endorsements, severance pay and labor contract provisions, and anti- greenmail provisions). |
Supermajority Vote Requirements
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General Recommendation: Vote against proposals to require a supermajority shareholder vote. |
8 “Unfettered” means no restrictions on agenda items, no restrictions on the number of shareholders who can group together to reach the 10 percent threshold, and only reasonable limits on when a meeting can be called: no greater than 30 days after the last annual meeting and no greater than 90 prior to the next annual meeting.
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Vote for management or shareholder proposals to reduce supermajority vote requirements. However, for companies with shareholder(s) who have significant ownership levels, vote case-by-case, taking into account:
| › | Ownership structure; |
| › | Quorum requirements; and |
| › | Vote requirements. |
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
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4. CAPITAL/RESTRUCTURING
Capital
Adjustments to Par Value of Common Stock
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General Recommendation: Vote for management proposals to reduce the par value of common stock unless the action is being taken to facilitate an anti-takeover device or some other negative corporate governance action. |
Vote for management proposals to eliminate par value.
Common Stock Authorization
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General Recommendation: Vote for proposals to increase the number of authorized common shares where the primary purpose of the increase is to issue shares in connection with a transaction on the same ballot that warrants support. |
Vote against proposals at companies with more than one class of common stock to increase the number of authorized shares of the class of common stock that has superior voting rights.
Vote against proposals to increase the number of authorized common shares if a vote for a reverse stock split on the same ballot is warranted despite the fact that the authorized shares would not be reduced proportionally.
Vote case-by-case on all other proposals to increase the number of shares of common stock authorized for issuance. Take into account company-specific factors that include, at a minimum, the following:
| › | Past Board Performance: |
| › | The company’s use of authorized shares during the last three years; |
| › | The Current Request: |
| › | Disclosure in the proxy statement of the specific purposes of the proposed increase; |
| › | Disclosure in the proxy statement of specific and severe risks to shareholders of not approving the request; and |
| › | The dilutive impact of the request as determined relative to an allowable increase calculated by ISS (typically 100 percent of existing authorized shares) that reflects the company’s need for shares and total shareholder returns. |
ISS will apply the relevant allowable increase below to requests to increase common stock that are for general corporate purposes (or to the general corporate purposes portion of a request that also includes a specific need):
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A.
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Most companies: 100 percent of existing authorized shares.
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B.
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Companies with less than 50 percent of existing authorized shares either outstanding or reserved for issuance: 50 percent of existing authorized shares.
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C.
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Companies with one- and three-year total shareholder returns (TSRs) in the bottom 10 percent of the U.S. market as of the end of the calendar quarter that is closest to their most recent fiscal year end: 50 percent of existing authorized shares.
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D.
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Companies at which both conditions (B and C) above are both present: 25 percent of existing authorized shares.
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If there is an acquisition, private placement, or similar transaction on the ballot (not including equity incentive plans) that ISS is recommending FOR, the allowable increase will be the greater of (i) twice the amount needed to support the transactions on the ballot, and (ii) the allowable increase as calculated above.
Dual Class Structure
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General Recommendation: Generally vote against proposals to create a new class of common stock unless: |
| › | The company discloses a compelling rationale for the dual-class capital structure, such as: |
| › | The company’s auditor has concluded that there is substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern; or |
| › | The new class of shares will be transitory; |
| › | The new class is intended for financing purposes with minimal or no dilution to current shareholders in both the short term and long term; and |
| › | The new class is not designed to preserve or increase the voting power of an insider or significant shareholder. |
Issue Stock for Use with Rights Plan
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General Recommendation: Vote against proposals that increase authorized common stock for the explicit purpose of implementing a non-shareholder-approved shareholder rights plan (poison pill). |
Preemptive Rights
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on shareholder proposals that seek preemptive rights, taking into consideration: |
| › | The size of the company; |
| › | The shareholder base; and |
| › | The liquidity of the stock. |
Preferred Stock Authorization
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General Recommendation: Vote for proposals to increase the number of authorized preferred shares where the primary purpose of the increase is to issue shares in connection with a transaction on the same ballot that warrants support. |
Vote against proposals at companies with more than one class or series of preferred stock to increase the number of authorized shares of the class or series of preferred stock that has superior voting rights.
Vote case-by-case on all other proposals to increase the number of shares of preferred stock authorized for issuance. Take into account company-specific factors that include, at a minimum, the following:
| › | Past Board Performance: |
| › | The company’s use of authorized preferred shares during the last three years; |
| › | The Current Request: |
| › | Disclosure in the proxy statement of the specific purposes for the proposed increase; |
| › | Disclosure in the proxy statement of specific and severe risks to shareholders of not approving the request; |
| › | In cases where the company has existing authorized preferred stock, the dilutive impact of the request as determined by an allowable increase calculated by ISS (typically 100 percent of existing authorized shares) that reflects the company’s need for shares and total shareholder returns; and |
| › | Whether the shares requested are blank check preferred shares that can be used for antitakeover purposes. |
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
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Recapitalization Plans
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on recapitalizations (reclassifications of securities), taking into account the following:
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›
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More simplified capital structure;
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Enhanced liquidity;
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Fairness of conversion terms;
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Impact on voting power and dividends;
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Reasons for the reclassification;
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Conflicts of interest; and
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Other alternatives considered.
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Reverse Stock Splits
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General Recommendation: Vote for management proposals to implement a reverse stock split if:
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›
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The number of authorized shares will be proportionately reduced; or
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| › |
The effective increase in authorized shares is equal to or less than the allowable increase calculated in accordance with ISS’ Common Stock Authorization policy.
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Vote case-by-case on proposals that do not meet either of the above conditions, taking into consideration the following factors:
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Stock exchange notification to the company of a potential delisting;
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›
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Disclosure of substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern without additional financing;
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The company’s rationale; or
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›
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Other factors as applicable.
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Share Repurchase Programs
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General Recommendation: Vote for management proposals to institute open-market share repurchase plans in which all shareholders may participate on equal terms.
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Stock Distributions: Splits and Dividends
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General Recommendation: Generally vote for management proposals to increase the common share authorization for stock split or stock dividend, provided that the effective increase in authorized shares is equal to or is less than the allowable increase calculated in accordance with ISS’ Common Stock Authorization policy.
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Tracking Stock
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on the creation of tracking stock, weighing the strategic value of the transaction against such factors as:
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Adverse governance changes; |
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Excessive increases in authorized capital stock; |
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Unfair method of distribution; |
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Diminution of voting rights; |
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Adverse conversion features;
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Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders.
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| › | Negative impact on stock option plans; and |
| › | Alternatives such as spin-off. |
Restructuring
Appraisal Rights
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General Recommendation: Vote for proposals to restore or provide shareholders with rights of appraisal.
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Asset Purchases
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on asset purchase proposals, considering the following factors:
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Purchase price; |
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Fairness opinion; |
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Financial and strategic benefits; |
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How the deal was negotiated; |
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Conflicts of interest; |
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Other alternatives for the business; |
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Non-completion risk. |
Asset Sales
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on asset sales, considering the following factors:
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Impact on the balance sheet/working capital; |
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Potential elimination of diseconomies; |
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Anticipated financial and operating benefits; |
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Anticipated use of funds; |
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Value received for the asset; |
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Fairness opinion; |
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How the deal was negotiated; |
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Conflicts of interest. |
Bundled Proposals
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on bundled or “conditional” proxy proposals. In the case of items that are conditioned upon each other, examine the benefits and costs of the packaged items. In instances when the joint effect of the conditioned items is not in shareholders’ best interests, vote against the proposals. If the combined effect is positive, support such proposals.
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Conversion of Securities
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals regarding conversion of securities. When evaluating these proposals, the investor should review the dilution to existing shareholders, the conversion price relative to market value, financial issues, control issues, termination penalties, and conflicts of interest.
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Vote for the conversion if it is expected that the company will be subject to onerous penalties or will be forced to file for bankruptcy if the transaction is not approved.
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Corporate Reorganization/Debt Restructuring/Prepackaged Bankruptcy Plans/Reverse Leveraged Buyouts/Wrap Plans
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals to increase common and/or preferred shares and to issue shares as part of a debt restructuring plan, after evaluating:
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Dilution to existing shareholders’ positions; |
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Terms of the offer - discount/premium in purchase price to investor, including any fairness opinion; termination penalties; exit strategy;
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Financial issues - company’s financial situation; degree of need for capital; use of proceeds; effect of the financing on the company’s cost of capital;
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Management’s efforts to pursue other alternatives; |
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Control issues - change in management; change in control, guaranteed board and committee seats; standstill provisions; voting agreements; veto power over certain corporate actions; and
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Conflict of interest - arm’s length transaction, managerial incentives. |
Vote for the debt restructuring if it is expected that the company will file for bankruptcy if the transaction is not approved.
Formation of Holding Company
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals regarding the formation of a holding company, taking into consideration the following:
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The reasons for the change; |
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Any financial or tax benefits; |
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Regulatory benefits; |
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Increases in capital structure; and |
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Changes to the articles of incorporation or bylaws of the company. |
Absent compelling financial reasons to recommend for the transaction, vote against the formation of a holding company if the transaction would include either of the following:
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Increases in common or preferred stock in excess of the allowable maximum (see discussion under “Capital”); or |
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Adverse changes in shareholder rights. |
Going Private and Going Dark Transactions (LBOs and Minority Squeeze-outs)
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on going private transactions, taking into account the following:
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Offer price/premium;
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Fairness opinion;
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How the deal was negotiated;
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Conflicts of interest;
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Other alternatives/offers considered; and
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Non-completion risk.
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Vote case-by-case on going dark transactions, determining whether the transaction enhances shareholder value by taking into consideration:
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Whether the company has attained benefits from being publicly-traded (examination of trading volume, liquidity, and market research of the stock);
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Balanced interests of continuing vs. cashed-out shareholders, taking into account the following:
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Are all shareholders able to participate in the transaction? |
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Will there be a liquid market for remaining shareholders following the transaction? |
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Does the company have strong corporate governance? |
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Will insiders reap the gains of control following the proposed transaction? |
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Does the state of incorporation have laws requiring continued reporting that may benefit shareholders? |
Joint Ventures
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals to form joint ventures, taking into account the following:
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Percentage of assets/business contributed; |
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Percentage ownership; |
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Financial and strategic benefits; |
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Governance structure; |
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Conflicts of interest; |
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Other alternatives; and |
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Non-completion risk. |
Liquidations
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on liquidations, taking into account the following:
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Management’s efforts to pursue other alternatives; |
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Appraisal value of assets; and |
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The compensation plan for executives managing the liquidation. |
Vote for the liquidation if the company will file for bankruptcy if the proposal is not approved.
Mergers and Acquisitions
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on mergers and acquisitions. Review and evaluate the merits and drawbacks of the proposed transaction, balancing various and sometimes countervailing factors including:
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Valuation - Is the value to be received by the target shareholders (or paid by the acquirer) reasonable? While the fairness opinion may provide an initial starting point for assessing valuation reasonableness, emphasis is placed on the offer premium, market reaction, and strategic rationale.
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Market reaction - How has the market responded to the proposed deal? A negative market reaction should cause closer scrutiny of a deal.
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Strategic rationale - Does the deal make sense strategically? From where is the value derived? Cost and revenue synergies should not be overly aggressive or optimistic, but reasonably achievable. Management should also have a favorable track record of successful integration of historical acquisitions.
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Negotiations and process - Were the terms of the transaction negotiated at arm’s-length? Was the process fair and equitable? A fair process helps to ensure the best price for shareholders. Significant negotiation “wins” can also signify the deal makers’ competency. The comprehensiveness of the sales process (e.g., full auction, partial auction, no auction) can also affect shareholder value.
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Conflicts of interest - Are insiders benefiting from the transaction disproportionately and inappropriately as compared to non-insider shareholders? As the result of potential conflicts, the directors and officers of the company may be more likely to vote to approve a merger than if they did not hold these interests. Consider whether these interests may have influenced these directors and officers to support or recommend the merger. The CIC figure presented in the “ISS Transaction Summary” section of this report is an aggregate figure that can in certain cases be a misleading indicator of the true value transfer from shareholders to insiders. Where such figure certain cases be a misleading indicator of the true value transfer from shareholders to insiders. Where such figure appears to be excessive, analyze the underlying assumptions to determine whether a potential conflict exists.
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Governance - Will the combined company have a better or worse governance profile than the current governance profiles of the respective parties to the transaction? If the governance profile is to change for the worse, the burden is on the company to prove that other issues (such as valuation) outweigh any deterioration in governance.
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Private Placements/Warrants/Convertible Debentures
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals regarding private placements, warrants, and convertible debentures taking into consideration:
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Dilution to existing shareholders’ position: The amount and timing of shareholder ownership dilution should be weighed against the needs and proposed shareholder benefits of the capital infusion. Although newly issued common stock, absent preemptive rights, is typically dilutive to existing shareholders, share price appreciation is often the necessary event to trigger the exercise of “out of the money” warrants and convertible debt. In these instances from a value standpoint, the negative impact of dilution is mitigated by the increase in the company’s stock price that must occur to trigger the dilutive event.
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Terms of the offer (discount/premium in purchase price to investor, including any fairness opinion, conversion features, termination penalties, exit strategy):
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The terms of the offer should be weighed against the alternatives of the company and in light of company’s financial condition. Ideally, the conversion price for convertible debt and the exercise price for warrants should be at a premium to the then prevailing stock price at the time of private placement.
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When evaluating the magnitude of a private placement discount or premium, consider factors that influence the discount or premium, such as, liquidity, due diligence costs, control and monitoring costs, capital scarcity, information asymmetry, and anticipation of future performance.
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| › | Financial issues: |
| › | The company’s financial condition; |
| › | Degree of need for capital; |
| › | Use of proceeds; |
| › | Effect of the financing on the company’s cost of capital; |
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Current and proposed cash burn rate;
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| › | Going concern viability and the state of the capital and credit markets. |
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Management’s efforts to pursue alternatives and whether the company engaged in a process to evaluate alternatives: A fair, unconstrained process helps to ensure the best price for shareholders. Financing alternatives can include joint ventures, partnership, merger, or sale of part or all of the company.
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| › | Control issues: |
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Change in management;
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| › | Change in control; |
| › | Guaranteed board and committee seats; |
| › | Standstill provisions; |
| › | Voting agreements; |
| › | Veto power over certain corporate actions; and |
| › | Minority versus majority ownership and corresponding minority discount or majority control premium. |
| › | Conflicts of interest: |
| › | Conflicts of interest should be viewed from the perspective of the company and the investor. |
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Were the terms of the transaction negotiated at arm’s length? Are managerial incentives aligned with shareholder interests?
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| › | Market reaction: |
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The market’s response to the proposed deal. A negative market reaction is a cause for concern. Market reaction may be addressed by analyzing the one day impact on the unaffected stock price.
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Vote for the private placement, or for the issuance of warrants and/or convertible debentures in a private placement, if it is expected that the company will file for bankruptcy if the transaction is not approved.
Reorganization/Restructuring Plan (Bankruptcy)
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals to common shareholders on bankruptcy plans of reorganization, considering the following factors including, but not limited to:
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| › | Estimated value and financial prospects of the reorganized company; |
| › | Percentage ownership of current shareholders in the reorganized company; |
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Whether shareholders are adequately represented in the reorganization process (particularly through the existence of an Official Equity Committee);
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| › | The cause(s) of the bankruptcy filing, and the extent to which the plan of reorganization addresses the cause(s); |
| › | Existence of a superior alternative to the plan of reorganization; and |
| › | Governance of the reorganized company. |
Special Purpose Acquisition Corporations (SPACs)
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on SPAC mergers and acquisitions taking into account the following:
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Valuation - Is the value being paid by the SPAC reasonable? SPACs generally lack an independent fairness opinion and the financials on the target may be limited. Compare the conversion price with the intrinsic value of the target company provided in the fairness opinion. Also, evaluate the proportionate value of the combined entity attributable to the SPAC IPO shareholders versus the pre-merger value of SPAC. Additionally, a private company discount may be applied to the target, if it is a private entity.
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Market reaction - How has the market responded to the proposed deal? A negative market reaction may be a cause for concern. Market reaction may be addressed by analyzing the one-day impact on the unaffected stock price.
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Deal timing - A main driver for most transactions is that the SPAC charter typically requires the deal to be complete within 18 to 24 months, or the SPAC is to be liquidated. Evaluate the valuation, market reaction, and potential conflicts of interest for deals that are announced close to the liquidation date.
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Negotiations and process - What was the process undertaken to identify potential target companies within specified industry or location specified in charter? Consider the background of the sponsors.
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Conflicts of interest - How are sponsors benefiting from the transaction compared to IPO shareholders? Potential conflicts could arise if a fairness opinion is issued by the insiders to qualify the deal rather than a third party or if management is encouraged to pay a higher price for the target because of an 80 percent rule (the charter requires that the fair market value of the target is at least equal to 80 perecnt of net assets of the SPAC). Also, there may be sense of urgency by the management team of the SPAC to close the deal since its charter typically requires a transaction to be completed within the 18-24 month timeframe.
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Voting agreements - Are the sponsors entering into enter into any voting agreements/tender offers with shareholders who are likely to vote against the proposed merger or exercise conversion rights?
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Governance - What is the impact of having the SPAC CEO or founder on key committees following the proposed merger?
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Special Purpose Acquisition Corporations (SPACs) - Proposals for Extensions
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on SPAC extension proposals taking into account the length of the requested extension, the status of any pending transaction(s) or progression of the acquisition process, any added incentive for non-redeeming shareholders, and any prior extension requests.
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Length of request: Typically, extension requests range from two to six months, depending on the progression of the SPAC’s acquistion process.
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Pending transaction(s) or progression of the acquisition process: Sometimes an intial business combination was already put to a shareholder vote, but, for varying reasons, the transaction could not be consummated by the termination date and the SPAC is requesting an extension. Other times, the SPAC has entered into a definitive transaction agreement, but needs additional time to consummate or hold the shareholder meeting.
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Added incentive for non-redeeming shareholders: Sometimes the SPAC sponsor (or other insiders) will contribute, typically as a loan to the company, additional funds that will be added to the redemption value of each public share as long as such shares are not redeemed in connection with the extension request. The purpose of the “equity kicker” is to incentivize shareholders to hold their shares through the end of the requested extension or until the time the transaction is put to a shareholder vote, rather than electing redeemption at the extension proposal meeting.
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Prior extension requests: Some SPACs request additional time beyond the extension period sought in prior extension requests.
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Spin-offs
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on spin-offs, considering:
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| › | Tax and regulatory advantages; |
| › | Planned use of the sale proceeds; |
| › | Valuation of spinoff; |
| › | Fairness opinion; |
| › | Benefits to the parent company; |
| › | Conflicts of interest; |
| › | Managerial incentives; |
| › | Corporate governance changes; |
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Changes in the capital structure.
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Value Maximization Shareholder Proposal
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on shareholder proposals seeking to maximize shareholder value by:
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| › | Hiring a financial advisor to explore strategic alternatives; |
| › | Selling the company; or |
| › | Liquidating the company and distributing the proceeds to shareholders. |
These proposals should be evaluated based on the following factors:
| › | Prolonged poor performance with no turnaround in sight; |
| › | Signs of entrenched board and management (such as the adoption of takeover defenses); |
| › | Strategic plan in place for improving value; |
| › | Likelihood of receiving reasonable value in a sale or dissolution; and |
| › | The company actively exploring its strategic options, including retaining a financial advisor. |
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5.
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COMPENSATION
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Executive Pay Evaluation
Underlying all evaluations are five global principles that most investors expect corporations to adhere to in designing and administering executive and director compensation programs:
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Maintain appropriate pay-for-performance alignment, with emphasis on long-term shareholder value: This principle encompasses overall executive pay practices, which must be designed to attract, retain, and appropriately motivate the key employees who drive shareholder value creation over the long term. It will take into consideration, among other factors, the link between pay and performance; the mix between fixed and variable pay; performance goals; and equity-based plan costs;
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Avoid arrangements that risk “pay for failure”: This principle addresses the appropriateness of long or indefinite contracts, excessive severance packages, and guaranteed compensation;
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Maintain an independent and effective compensation committee: This principle promotes oversight of executive pay programs by directors with appropriate skills, knowledge, experience, and a sound process for compensation decision-making (e.g., including access to independent expertise and advice when needed);
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4.
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Provide shareholders with clear, comprehensive compensation disclosures: This principle underscores the importance of informative and timely disclosures that enable shareholders to evaluate executive pay practices fully and fairly;
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Avoid inappropriate pay to non-executive directors: This principle recognizes the interests of shareholders in ensuring that compensation to outside directors is reasonable and does not compromise their independence and ability to make appropriate judgments in overseeing managers’ pay and performance. At the market level, it may incorporate a variety of generally accepted best practices.
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Advisory Votes on Executive Compensation—Management Proposals (Management Say-on- Pay)
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on ballot items related to executive pay and practices, as well as certain aspects of outside director compensation.
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Vote against Advisory Votes on Executive Compensation (Say-on-Pay or “SOP”) if:
| › | There is an unmitigated misalignment between CEO pay and company performance (pay for performance); |
| › | The company maintains significant problematic pay practices; |
| › | The board exhibits a significant level of poor communication and responsiveness to shareholders. |
Vote against or withhold from the members of the Compensation Committee and potentially the full board if:
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There is no SOP on the ballot, and an against vote on an SOP would otherwise be warranted due to pay-for- performance misalignment, problematic pay practices, or the lack of adequate responsiveness on compensation issues raised previously, or a combination thereof;
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The board fails to respond adequately to a previous SOP proposal that received less than 70 percent support of votes cast;
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The company has recently practiced or approved problematic pay practices, such as option repricing or option backdating; or
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| › | The situation is egregious. |
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Primary Evaluation Factors for Executive Pay
Pay-for-Performance Evaluation
ISS annually conducts a pay-for-performance analysis to identify strong or satisfactory alignment between pay and performance over a sustained period. With respect to companies in the S&P1500, Russell 3000, or Russell 3000E Indices9, this analysis considers the following:
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Peer Group10 Alignment:
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The degree of alignment between the company’s annualized TSR rank and the CEO’s annualized total pay rank within a peer group, each measured over a three-year period.
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The rankings of CEO total pay and company financial performance within a peer group, each measured over a three-year period.
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The multiple of the CEO’s total pay relative to the peer group median in the most recent fiscal year. |
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2.
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Absolute Alignment11 – the absolute alignment between the trend in CEO pay and company TSR over the prior five fiscal years – i.e., the difference between the trend in annual pay changes and the trend in annualized TSR during the period.
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If the above analysis demonstrates significant unsatisfactory long-term pay-for-performance alignment or, in the case of companies outside the Russell indices, misaligned pay and performance are otherwise suggested, our analysis may include any of the following qualitative factors, as relevant to evaluating how various pay elements may work to encourage or to undermine long-term value creation and alignment with shareholder interests:
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The ratio of performance- to time-based incentive awards; |
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The overall ratio of performance-based compensation; |
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The completeness of disclosure and rigor of performance goals; |
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The company’s peer group benchmarking practices; |
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Actual results of financial/operational metrics, both absolute and relative to peers; |
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Special circumstances related to, for example, a new CEO in the prior FY or anomalous equity grant practices (e.g., bi-annual awards);
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Realizable pay12 compared to grant pay; and |
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Any other factors deemed relevant. |
Problematic Pay Practices
The focus is on executive compensation practices that contravene the global pay principles, including:
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Problematic practices related to non-performance-based compensation elements; |
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Incentives that may motivate excessive risk-taking or present a windfall risk; and |
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Pay decisions that circumvent pay-for-performance, such as options backdating or waiving performance requirements.
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9 The Russell 3000E Index includes approximately 4,000 of the largest U.S. equity securities.
10 The revised peer group is generally comprised of 14-24 companies that are selected using market cap, revenue (or assets for certain financial firms), GICS industry group, and company’s selected peers’ GICS industry group, with size constraints, via a process designed to select peers that are comparable to the subject company in terms of revenue/assets and industry, and also within a market-cap bucket that is reflective of the company’s. For Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels companies, market cap is the only size determinant.
11 Only Russell 3000 Index companies are subject to the Absolute Alignment analysis.
12 ISS research reports include realizable pay for S&P1500 companies.
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Problematic Pay Practices related to Non-Performance-Based Compensation Elements
Pay elements that are not directly based on performance are generally evaluated case-by-case considering the context of a company’s overall pay program and demonstrated pay-for-performance philosophy. Please refer to ISS’ U.S. Compensation Policies FAQ document for detail on specific pay practices that have been identified as potentially problematic and may lead to negative recommendations if they are deemed to be inappropriate or unjustified relative to executive pay best practices. The list below highlights the problematic practices that carry significant weight in this overall consideration and may result in adverse vote recommendations:
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Repricing or replacing of underwater stock options/SARS without prior shareholder approval (including cash buyouts and voluntary surrender of underwater options);
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Extraordinary perquisites or tax gross-ups; |
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New or materially amended agreements that provide for: |
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Excessive termination or CIC severance payments (generally exceeding 3 times base salary and average/target/most recent bonus);
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CIC severance payments without involuntary job loss or substantial diminution of duties (“single” or “modified single” triggers) or in connection with a problematic Good Reason definition;
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CIC severance payments without involuntary job loss or substantial diminution of duties (“single” or “modified single” triggers) or in connection with a problematic Good Reason definition;
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CIC excise tax gross-up entitlements (including “modified” gross-ups);
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Multi-year guaranteed awards that are not at risk due to rigorous performance conditions;
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Liberal CIC definition combined with any single-trigger CIC benefits;
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Insufficient executive compensation disclosure by externally-managed issuers (EMIs) such that a reasonable assessment of pay programs and practices applicable to the EMI’s executives is not possible;
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Any other provision or practice deemed to be egregious and present a significant risk to investors.
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Options Backdating
The following factors should be examined case-by-case to allow for distinctions to be made between “sloppy” plan administration versus deliberate action or fraud:
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Reason and motive for the options backdating issue, such as inadvertent vs. deliberate grant date changes;
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Duration of options backdating;
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Size of restatement due to options backdating;
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Corrective actions taken by the board or compensation committee, such as canceling or re-pricing backdated options, the recouping of option gains on backdated grants; and
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Adoption of a grant policy that prohibits backdating, and creates a fixed grant schedule or window period for equity grants in the future.
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Compensation Committee Communications and Responsiveness
Consider the following factors case-by-case when evaluating ballot items related to executive pay on the board’s responsiveness to investor input and engagement on compensation issues:
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Failure to respond to majority-supported shareholder proposals on executive pay topics; or |
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Failure to adequately respond to the company’s previous say-on-pay proposal that received the support of less than 70 percent of votes cast, taking into account:
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The company’s response, including: |
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Disclosure of engagement efforts with major institutional investors, including the frequency and timing of engagements and the company participants (including whether independent directors participated);
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Disclosure of the specific concerns voiced by dissenting shareholders that led to the say-on-pay opposition; |
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Disclosure of specific and meaningful actions taken to address shareholders’ concerns; |
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Other recent compensation actions taken by the company; |
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Whether the issues raised are recurring or isolated; |
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The company’s ownership structure; and |
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Whether the support level was less than 50 percent, which would warrant the highest degree of responsiveness.
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Frequency of Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation (“Say When on Pay”)
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General Recommendation: Vote for annual advisory votes on compensation, which provide the most consistent and clear communication channel for shareholder concerns about companies’ executive pay programs.
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Voting on Golden Parachutes in an Acquisition, Merger, Consolidation, or Proposed Sale
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on say on Golden Parachute proposals, including consideration of existing change-in-control arrangements maintained with named executive officers rather than focusing primarily on new or extended arrangements.
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Features that may result in an “against” recommendation include one or more of the following, depending on the number, magnitude, and/or timing of issue(s):
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Single- or modified-single-trigger cash severance; |
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Single-trigger acceleration of unvested equity awards; |
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Full acceleration of equity awards granted shortly before the change in control; |
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Acceleration of performance awards above the target level of performance without compelling rationale; |
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Excessive cash severance (generally >3x base salary and bonus); |
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Excise tax gross-ups triggered and payable; |
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Excessive golden parachute payments (on an absolute basis or as a percentage of transaction equity value); or |
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Recent amendments that incorporate any problematic features (such as those above) or recent actions (such as extraordinary equity grants) that may make packages so attractive as to influence merger agreements that may not be in the best interests of shareholders; or |
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The company’s assertion that a proposed transaction is conditioned on shareholder approval of the golden parachute advisory vote.
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Recent amendment(s) that incorporate problematic features will tend to carry more weight on the overall analysis. However, the presence of multiple legacy problematic features will also be closely scrutinized.
In cases where the golden parachute vote is incorporated into a company’s advisory vote on compensation (management say-on-pay), ISS will evaluate the say-on-pay proposal in accordance with these guidelines, which may give higher weight to that component of the overall evaluation.
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Equity-Based and Other Incentive Plans
Please refer to ISS’ U.S. Equity Compensation Plans FAQ document for additional details on the Equity Plan Scorecard policy.
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on certain equity-based compensation plans13 depending on a combination of certain plan features and equity grant practices, where positive factors may counterbalance negative factors, and vice versa, as evaluated using an “Equity Plan Scorecard” (EPSC) approach with three pillars: |
| › | Plan Cost: The total estimated cost of the company’s equity plans relative to industry/market cap peers, measured by the company’s estimated Shareholder Value Transfer (SVT) in relation to peers and considering both: |
| › | SVT based on new shares requested plus shares remaining for future grants, plus outstanding unvested/unexercised grants; and |
| › | SVT based only on new shares requested plus shares remaining for future grants. |
| › | Plan Features: |
| › | Quality of disclosure around vesting upon a change in control (CIC); |
| › | Discretionary vesting authority; |
| › | Liberal share recycling on various award types; |
| › | Lack of minimum vesting period for grants made under the plan; |
| › | Dividends payable prior to award vesting. |
| › | Grant Practices: |
| › | The company’s three-year burn rate relative to its industry/market cap peers; |
| › | Vesting requirements in CEO’s recent equity grants (3-year look-back); |
| › | The estimated duration of the plan (based on the sum of shares remaining available and the new shares requested, divided by the average annual shares granted in the prior three years); |
| › | The proportion of the CEO’s most recent equity grants/awards subject to performance conditions; |
| › | Whether the company maintains a sufficient claw-back policy; |
| › | Whether the company maintains sufficient post-exercise/vesting share-holding requirements. |
Generally vote against the plan proposal if the combination of above factors indicates that the plan is not, overall, in shareholders’ interests, or if any of the following egregious factors (“overriding factors”) apply:
| › | Awards may vest in connection with a liberal change-of-control definition; |
| › | The plan would permit repricing or cash buyout of underwater options without shareholder approval (either by expressly permitting it – for NYSE and Nasdaq listed companies – or by not prohibiting it when the company has a history of repricing – for non-listed companies); |
| › | The plan is a vehicle for problematic pay practices or a significant pay-for-performance disconnect under certain circumstances; |
| › | The plan is excessively dilutive to shareholders’ holdings; or |
| › | Any other plan features are determined to have a significant negative impact on shareholder interests. |
13 Proposals evaluated under the EPSC policy generally include those to approve or amend (1) stock option plans for employees and/or employees and directors, (2) restricted stock plans for employees and/or employees and directors, and (3) omnibus stock incentive plans for employees and/or employees and directors; amended plans will be further evaluated case-by-case.
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Further Information on certain EPSC Factors:
Shareholder Value Transfer (SVT)
The cost of the equity plans is expressed as Shareholder Value Transfer (SVT), which is measured using a binomial option pricing model that assesses the amount of shareholders’ equity flowing out of the company to employees and directors. SVT is expressed as both a dollar amount and as a percentage of market value, and includes the new shares proposed, shares available under existing plans, and shares granted but unexercised (using two measures, in the case of plans subject to the Equity Plan Scorecard evaluation, as noted above). All award types are valued. For omnibus plans, unless limitations are placed on the most expensive types of awards (for example, full-value awards), the assumption is made that all awards to be granted will be the most expensive types. See discussion of specific types of awards.
Except for proposals subject to Equity Plan Scorecard evaluation, Shareholder Value Transfer is reasonable if it falls below a company-specific benchmark. The benchmark is determined as follows: The top quartile performers in each industry group (using the Global Industry Classification Standard: GICS) are identified. Benchmark SVT levels for each industry are established based on these top performers’ historic SVT. Regression analyses are run on each industry group to identify the variables most strongly correlated to SVT. The benchmark industry SVT level is then adjusted upwards or downwards for the specific company by plugging the company-specific performance measures, size and cash compensation into the industry cap equations to arrive at the company’s benchmark.14
Three-Year Burn Rate
Burn-rate benchmarks (utilized in Equity Plan Scorecard evaluations) are calculated as the greater of: (1) the mean (μ) plus one standard deviation (σ) of the company’s GICS group segmented by S&P 500, Russell 3000 index (less the S&P500), and non-Russell 3000 index; and (2) two percent of weighted common shares outstanding. In addition, year- over-year burn-rate benchmark changes will be limited to a maximum of two (2) percentage points plus or minus the prior year’s burn-rate benchmark. See the U.S. Equity Compensation Plans FAQ for the benchmarks.
Egregious Factors
Liberal Change in Control Definition
Generally vote against equity plans if the plan has a liberal definition of change in control and the equity awards could vest upon such liberal definition of change in control, even though an actual change in control may not occur. Examples of such a definition include, but are not limited to, announcement or commencement of a tender offer, provisions for acceleration upon a “potential” takeover, shareholder approval of a merger or other transactions, or similar language.
Repricing Provisions
Vote against plans that expressly permit the repricing or exchange of underwater stock options/stock appreciate rights (SARs) without prior shareholder approval. “Repricing” typically includes the ability to do any of the following:
| › | Amend the terms of outstanding options or SARs to reduce the exercise price of such outstanding options or SARs; |
| › | Cancel outstanding options or SARs in exchange for options or SARs with an exercise price that is less than the exercise price of the original options or SARs; |
| › | The cancellation of underwater options in exchange for stock awards; or |
| › | Cash buyouts of underwater options. |
While the above cover most types of repricing, ISS may view other provisions as akin to repricing depending on the facts and circumstances.
14 For plans evaluated under the Equity Plan Scorecard policy, the company’s SVT benchmark is considered along with other factors.
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Also, vote against or withhold from members of the Compensation Committee who approved repricing (as defined above or otherwise determined by ISS), without prior shareholder approval, even if such repricings are allowed in their equity plan.
Vote against plans that do not expressly prohibit repricing or cash buyout of underwater options without shareholder approval if the company has a history of repricing/buyouts without shareholder approval, and the applicable listing standards would not preclude them from doing so.
Problematic Pay Practices or Significant Pay-for-Performance Disconnect
If the equity plan on the ballot is a vehicle for problematic pay practices, vote against the plan.
ISS may recommend a vote against the equity plan if the plan is determined to be a vehicle for pay-for-performance misalignment. Considerations in voting against the equity plan may include, but are not limited to:
| › | Severity of the pay-for-performance misalignment; |
| › | Whether problematic equity grant practices are driving the misalignment; and/or |
| › | Whether equity plan awards have been heavily concentrated to the CEO and/or the other NEOs. |
Amending Cash and Equity Plans (including Approval for Tax Deductibility (162(m))
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on amendments to cash and equity incentive plans. |
Generally vote for proposals to amend executive cash, stock, or cash and stock incentive plans if the proposal:
| › | Addresses administrative features only; or |
| › | Seeks approval for Section 162(m) purposes only, and the plan administering committee consists entirely of independent directors, per ISS’ Classification of Directors. Note that if the company is presenting the plan to shareholders for the first time for any reason (including after the company’s initial public offering), or if the proposal is bundled with other material plan amendments, then the recommendation will be case-by-case (see below). |
Vote against proposals to amend executive cash, stock, or cash and stock incentive plans if the proposal:
| › | Seeks approval for Section 162(m) purposes only, and the plan administering committee does not consist entirely of independent directors, per ISS’ Classification of Directors. |
Vote case-by-case on all other proposals to amend cash incentive plans. This includes plans presented to shareholders for the first time after the company’s IPO and/or proposals that bundle material amendment(s) other than those for Section 162(m) purposes.
Vote case-by-case on all other proposals to amend equity incentive plans, considering the following:
| › | If the proposal requests additional shares and/or the amendments include a term extension or addition of full value awards as an award type, the recommendation will be based on the Equity Plan Scorecard evaluation as well as an analysis of the overall impact of the amendments. |
| › | If the plan is being presented to shareholders for the first time (including after the company’s IPO), whether or not additional shares are being requested, the recommendation will be based on the Equity Plan Scorecard evaluation as well as an analysis of the overall impact of any amendments. |
| › | If there is no request for additional shares and the amendments do not include a term extension or addition of full value awards as an award type, then the recommendation will be based entirely on an analysis of the overall impact of the amendments, and the EPSC evaluation will be shown only for informational purposes. |
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In the first two case-by-case evaluation scenarios, the EPSC evaluation/score is the more heavily weighted consideration.
Specific Treatment of Certain Award Types in Equity Plan Evaluations
Dividend Equivalent Rights
Options that have Dividend Equivalent Rights (DERs) associated with them will have a higher calculated award value than those without DERs under the binomial model, based on the value of these dividend streams. The higher value will be applied to new shares, shares available under existing plans, and shares awarded but not exercised per the plan specifications. DERS transfer more shareholder equity to employees and non-employee directors and this cost should be captured.
Operating Partnership (OP) Units in Equity Plan Analysis of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
For Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS), include the common shares issuable upon conversion of outstanding Operating Partnership (OP) units in the share count for the purposes of determining: (1) market capitalization in the Shareholder Value Transfer (SVT) analysis and (2) shares outstanding in the burn rate analysis.
Other Compensation Plans
401(k) Employee Benefit Plans
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General Recommendation: Vote for proposals to implement a 401(k) savings plan for employees. |
Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)
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General Recommendation: Vote for proposals to implement an ESOP or increase authorized shares for existing ESOPs, unless the number of shares allocated to the ESOP is excessive (more than five percent of outstanding shares). |
Employee Stock Purchase Plans—Qualified Plans
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on qualified employee stock purchase plans. Vote for employee stock purchase plans where all of the following apply: |
| › | Purchase price is at least 85 percent of fair market value; |
| › | Offering period is 27 months or less; and |
| › | The number of shares allocated to the plan is 10 percent or less of the outstanding shares. Vote against qualified employee stock purchase plans where any of the following apply: |
Vote against qualified employee stock purchase plans where any of the following apply:
| › | Purchase price is less than 85 percent of fair market value; or |
| › | Offering period is greater than 27 months; or |
| › | The number of shares allocated to the plan is more than 10 percent of the outstanding shares. |
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Employee Stock Purchase Plans—Non-Qualified Plans
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on nonqualified employee stock purchase plans. Vote for nonqualified employee stock purchase plans with all the following features: |
| › | Broad-based participation (i.e., all employees of the company with the exclusion of individuals with 5 percent or more of beneficial ownership of the company); |
| › | Limits on employee contribution, which may be a fixed dollar amount or expressed as a percent of base salary; |
| › | Company matching contribution up to 25 percent of employee’s contribution, which is effectively a discount of 20 percent from market value; and |
| › | No discount on the stock price on the date of purchase when there is a company matching contribution. |
Vote against nonqualified employee stock purchase plans when the plan features do not meet all of the above criteria. If the matching contribution or effective discount exceeds the above, ISS may evaluate the SVT cost of the plan as part of the assessment.
Option Exchange Programs/Repricing Options
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on management proposals seeking approval to exchange/reprice options taking into consideration: |
| › | Historic trading patterns--the stock price should not be so volatile that the options are likely to be back “in-the-money” over the near term; |
| › | Rationale for the re-pricing--was the stock price decline beyond management’s control?; |
| › | Is this a value-for-value exchange?; |
| › | Are surrendered stock options added back to the plan reserve?; |
| › | Timing--repricing should occur at least one year out from any precipitous drop in company’s stock price; |
| › | Option vesting--does the new option vest immediately or is there a black-out period?; |
| › | Term of the option--the term should remain the same as that of the replaced option; |
| › | Exercise price--should be set at fair market or a premium to market; |
| › | Participants--executive officers and directors must be excluded. |
If the surrendered options are added back to the equity plans for re-issuance, then also take into consideration the company’s total cost of equity plans and its three-year average burn rate.
In addition to the above considerations, evaluate the intent, rationale, and timing of the repricing proposal. The proposal should clearly articulate why the board is choosing to conduct an exchange program at this point in time. Repricing underwater options after a recent precipitous drop in the company’s stock price demonstrates poor timing and warrants additional scrutiny. Also, consider the terms of the surrendered options, such as the grant date, exercise price and vesting schedule. Grant dates of surrendered options should be far enough back (two to three years) so as not to suggest that repricings are being done to take advantage of short-term downward price movements. Similarly, the exercise price of surrendered options should be above the 52-week high for the stock price.
Vote for shareholder proposals to put option repricings to a shareholder vote.
Stock Plans in Lieu of Cash
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on plans that provide participants with the option of taking all or a portion of their cash compensation in the form of stock. |
Vote for non-employee director-only equity plans that provide a dollar-for-dollar cash-for-stock exchange.
Vote case-by-case on plans which do not provide a dollar-for-dollar cash for stock exchange. In cases where the exchange is not dollar-for-dollar, the request for new or additional shares for such equity program will be considered using the binomial option pricing model. In an effort to capture the total cost of total compensation, ISS will not make any adjustments to carve out the in-lieu-of cash compensation.
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Transfer Stock Option (TSO) Programs
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General Recommendation: One-time Transfers: Vote against or withhold from compensation committee members if they fail to submit one-time transfers to shareholders for approval. |
Vote case-by-case on one-time transfers. Vote for if:
| › | Executive officers and non-employee directors are excluded from participating; |
| › | Stock options are purchased by third-party financial institutions at a discount to their fair value using option pricing models such as Black-Scholes or a Binomial Option Valuation or other appropriate financial models; and |
| › | There is a two-year minimum holding period for sale proceeds (cash or stock) for all participants. |
Additionally, management should provide a clear explanation of why options are being transferred to a third-party institution and whether the events leading up to a decline in stock price were beyond management’s control. A review of the company’s historic stock price volatility should indicate if the options are likely to be back “in-the-money” over the near term.
Ongoing TSO program: Vote against equity plan proposals if the details of ongoing TSO programs are not provided to shareholders. Since TSOs will be one of the award types under a stock plan, the ongoing TSO program, structure and mechanics must be disclosed to shareholders. The specific criteria to be considered in evaluating these proposals include, but not limited, to the following:
| › | Eligibility; |
| › | Vesting; |
| › | Bid-price; |
| › | Term of options; |
| › | Cost of the program and impact of the TSOs on company’s total option expense; and |
| › | Option repricing policy. |
Amendments to existing plans that allow for introduction of transferability of stock options should make clear that only options granted post-amendment shall be transferable.
Director Compensation
Shareholder Ratification of Director Pay Programs
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on management proposals seeking ratification of non-employee director compensation, based on the following factors: |
| › | If the equity plan under which non-employee director grants are made is on the ballot, whether or not it warrants support; and |
| › | An assessment of the following qualitative factors: |
| › | The relative magnitude of director compensation as compared to companies of a similar profile; |
| › | The presence of problematic pay practices relating to director compensation; |
| › | Director stock ownership guidelines and holding requirements; |
| › | Equity award vesting schedules; |
| › | The mix of cash and equity-based compensation; |
| › | Meaningful limits on director compensation; |
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| › | The availability of retirement benefits or perquisites; and |
| › | The quality of disclosure surrounding director compensation. |
Equity Plans for Non-Employee Directors
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on compensation plans for non-employee directors, based on: |
| › | The total estimated cost of the company’s equity plans relative to industry/market cap peers, measured by the company’s estimated Shareholder Value Transfer (SVT) based on new shares requested plus shares remaining for future grants, plus outstanding unvested/unexercised grants; |
| › | The company’s three-year burn rate relative to its industry/market cap peers (in certain circumstances); and |
| › | The presence of any egregious plan features (such as an option repricing provision or liberal CIC vesting risk). |
On occasion, non-employee director stock plans will exceed the plan cost or burn-rate benchmarks when combined with employee or executive stock plans. In such cases, vote case-by-case on the plan taking into consideration the following qualitative factors:
| › | The relative magnitude of director compensation as compared to companies of a similar profile; |
| › | The presence of problematic pay practices relating to director compensation; |
| › | Director stock ownership guidelines and holding requirements; |
| › | Equity award vesting schedules; |
| › | The mix of cash and equity-based compensation; |
| › | Meaningful limits on director compensation; |
| › | The availability of retirement benefits or perquisites; and |
| › | The quality of disclosure surrounding director compensation. |
Non-Employee Director Retirement Plans
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General Recommendation: Vote against retirement plans for non-employee directors. Vote for shareholder proposals to eliminate retirement plans for non-employee directors. |
Shareholder Proposals on Compensation
Bonus Banking/Bonus Banking “Plus”
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals seeking deferral of a portion of annual bonus pay, with ultimate payout linked to sustained results for the performance metrics on which the bonus was earned (whether for the named executive officers or a wider group of employees), taking into account the following factors: |
| › | The company’s past practices regarding equity and cash compensation; |
| › | Whether the company has a holding period or stock ownership requirements in place, such as a meaningful retention ratio (at least 50 percent for full tenure); and |
| › | Whether the company has a rigorous claw-back policy in place. |
Compensation Consultants—Disclosure of Board or Company’s Utilization
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General Recommendation: Generally vote for shareholder proposals seeking disclosure regarding the Company, Board, or Compensation Committee’s use of compensation consultants, such as company name, business relationship(s), and fees paid. |
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Disclosure/Setting Levels or Types of Compensation for Executives and Directors
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General Recommendation: Generally vote for shareholder proposals seeking additional disclosure of executive and director pay information, provided the information requested is relevant to shareholders’ needs, would not put the company at a competitive disadvantage relative to its industry, and is not unduly burdensome to the company. |
Generally vote against shareholder proposals seeking to set absolute levels on compensation or otherwise dictate the amount or form of compensation (such as types of compensation elements or specific metrics) to be used for executive or directors.
Generally vote against shareholder proposals that mandate a minimum amount of stock that directors must own in order to qualify as a director or to remain on the board.
Vote case-by-case on all other shareholder proposals regarding executive and director pay, taking into account relevant factors, including but not limited to: company performance, pay level and design versus peers, history of compensation concerns or pay-for-performance disconnect, and/or the scope and prescriptive nature of the proposal.
Golden Coffins/Executive Death Benefits
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General Recommendation: Generally vote for proposals calling for companies to adopt a policy of obtaining shareholder approval for any future agreements and corporate policies that could oblige the company to make payments or awards following the death of a senior executive in the form of unearned salary or bonuses, accelerated vesting or the continuation in force of unvested equity grants, perquisites and other payments or awards made in lieu of compensation. This would not apply to any benefit programs or equity plan proposals for which the broad-based employee population is eligible. |
Hold Equity Past Retirement or for a Significant Period of Time
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on shareholder proposals asking companies to adopt policies requiring senior executive officers to retain a portion of net shares acquired through compensation plans. The following factors will be taken into account: |
| › | The percentage/ratio of net shares required to be retained; |
| › | The time period required to retain the shares; |
| › | Whether the company has equity retention, holding period, and/or stock ownership requirements in place and the robustness of such requirements; |
| › | Whether the company has any other policies aimed at mitigating risk taking by executives; |
| › | Executives’ actual stock ownership and the degree to which it meets or exceeds the proponent’s suggested holding period/retention ratio or the company’s existing requirements; and |
| › | Problematic pay practices, current and past, which may demonstrate a short-term versus long-term focus. |
Non-Deductible Compensation
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General Recommendation: Generally vote for proposals seeking disclosure of the extent to which the company paid non-deductible compensation to senior executives due to Internal Revenue Code Section 162(m), while considering the company’s existing disclosure practices. |
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Pay Disparity
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals calling for an analysis of the pay disparity between corporate executives and other non-executive employees. The following factors will be considered: |
| › | The company’s current level of disclosure of its executive compensation setting process, including how the company considers pay disparity; |
| › | If any problematic pay practices or pay-for-performance concerns have been identified at the company; and |
| › | The level of shareholder support for the company’s pay programs. |
Generally vote against proposals calling for the company to use the pay disparity analysis or pay ratio in a specific way to set or limit executive pay.
Pay for Performance/Performance-Based Awards
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on shareholder proposals requesting that a significant amount of future long-term incentive compensation awarded to senior executives shall be performance-based and requesting that the board adopt and disclose challenging performance metrics to shareholders, based on the following analytical steps: |
| › | First, vote for shareholder proposals advocating the use of performance-based equity awards, such as performance contingent options or restricted stock, indexed options or premium-priced options, unless the proposal is overly restrictive or if the company has demonstrated that it is using a “substantial” portion of performance-based awards for its top executives. Standard stock options and performance-accelerated awards do not meet the criteria to be considered as performance-based awards. Further, premium-priced options should have a meaningful premium to be considered performance-based awards. |
| › | Second, assess the rigor of the company’s performance-based equity program. If the bar set for the performance- based program is too low based on the company’s historical or peer group comparison, generally vote for the proposal. Furthermore, if target performance results in an above target payout, vote for the shareholder proposal due to program’s poor design. If the company does not disclose the performance metric of the performance-based equity program, vote for the shareholder proposal regardless of the outcome of the first step to the test. |
In general, vote for the shareholder proposal if the company does not meet both of the above two steps.
Pay for Superior Performance
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on shareholder proposals that request the board establish a pay-for-superior performance standard in the company’s executive compensation plan for senior executives. These proposals generally include the following principles: |
| › | Set compensation targets for the plan’s annual and long-term incentive pay components at or below the peer group median; |
| › | Deliver a majority of the plan’s target long-term compensation through performance-vested, not simply time- vested, equity awards; |
| › | Provide the strategic rationale and relative weightings of the financial and non-financial performance metrics or criteria used in the annual and performance-vested long-term incentive components of the plan; |
| › | Establish performance targets for each plan financial metric relative to the performance of the company’s peer companies; |
| › | Limit payment under the annual and performance-vested long-term incentive components of the plan to when the company’s performance on its selected financial performance metrics exceeds peer group median performance. |
Consider the following factors in evaluating this proposal:
| › | What aspects of the company’s annual and long-term equity incentive programs are performance driven? |
| › | If the annual and long-term equity incentive programs are performance driven, are the performance criteria and hurdle rates disclosed to shareholders or are they benchmarked against a disclosed peer group? |
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| › | Can shareholders assess the correlation between pay and performance based on the current disclosure? |
| › | What type of industry and stage of business cycle does the company belong to? |
Pre-Arranged Trading Plans (10b5-1 Plans)
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General Recommendation: Generally vote for shareholder proposals calling for certain principles regarding the use of prearranged trading plans (10b5-1 plans) for executives. These principles include: |
| › | Adoption, amendment, or termination of a 10b5-1 Plan must be disclosed within two business days in a Form 8-K; |
| › | Amendment or early termination of a 10b5-1 Plan is allowed only under extraordinary circumstances, as determined by the board; |
| › | Ninety days must elapse between adoption or amendment of a 10b5-1 Plan and initial trading under the plan; |
| › | Reports on Form 4 must identify transactions made pursuant to a 10b5-1 Plan; |
| › | An executive may not trade in company stock outside the 10b5-1 Plan; |
| › | Trades under a 10b5-1 Plan must be handled by a broker who does not handle other securities transactions for the executive. |
Prohibit Outside CEOs from Serving on Compensation Committees
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General Recommendation: Generally vote against proposals seeking a policy to prohibit any outside CEO from serving on a company’s compensation committee, unless the company has demonstrated problematic pay practices that raise concerns about the performance and composition of the committee. |
Recoupment of Incentive or Stock Compensation in Specified Circumstances
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals to recoup incentive cash or stock compensation made to senior executives if it is later determined that the figures upon which incentive compensation is earned turn out to have been in error, or if the senior executive has breached company policy or has engaged in misconduct that may be significantly detrimental to the company’s financial position or reputation, or if the senior executive failed to manage or monitor risks that subsequently led to significant financial or reputational harm to the company. Many companies have adopted policies that permit recoupment in cases where an executive’s fraud, misconduct, or negligence significantly contributed to a restatement of financial results that led to the awarding of unearned incentive compensation. However, such policies may be narrow given that not all misconduct or negligence may result in significant financial restatements. Misconduct, negligence or lack of sufficient oversight by senior executives may lead to significant financial loss or reputational damage that may have long-lasting impact. |
In considering whether to support such shareholder proposals, ISS will take into consideration the following factors:
| › | If the company has adopted a formal recoupment policy; |
| › | The rigor of the recoupment policy focusing on how and under what circumstances the company may recoup incentive or stock compensation; |
| › | Whether the company has chronic restatement history or material financial problems; |
| › | Whether the company’s policy substantially addresses the concerns raised by the proponent; |
| › | Disclosure of recoupment of incentive or stock compensation from senior executives or lack thereof; or |
| › | Any other relevant factors. |
Severance Agreements for Executives/Golden Parachutes
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General Recommendation: Vote for shareholder proposals requiring that golden parachutes or executive severance agreements be submitted for shareholder ratification, unless the proposal requires shareholder approval prior to entering into employment contracts. |
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
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Vote case-by-case on proposals to ratify or cancel golden parachutes. An acceptable parachute should include, but is not limited to, the following:
| › | The triggering mechanism should be beyond the control of management; |
| › | The amount should not exceed three times base amount (defined as the average annual taxable W-2 compensation during the five years prior to the year in which the change of control occurs); |
| › | Change-in-control payments should be double-triggered, i.e., (1) after a change in control has taken place, and (2) termination of the executive as a result of the change in control. Change in control is defined as a change in the company ownership structure. |
Share Buyback Proposals
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General Recommendation: Generally vote against shareholder proposals prohibiting executives from selling shares of company stock during periods in which the company has announced that it may or will be repurchasing shares of its stock. Vote for the proposal when there is a pattern of abuse by executives exercising options or selling shares during periods of share buybacks. |
Vote case-by-case on proposals requesting the company exclude the impact of share buybacks from the calculation of incentive program metrics, considering the following factors:
| › | The frequency and timing of the company’s share buybacks; |
| › | The use of per-share metrics in incentive plans; |
| › | The effect of recent buybacks on incentive metric results and payouts; and |
| › | Whether there is any indication of metric result manipulation. |
Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans (SERPs)
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General Recommendation: Generally vote for shareholder proposals requesting to put extraordinary benefits contained in SERP agreements to a shareholder vote unless the company’s executive pension plans do not contain excessive benefits beyond what is offered under employee-wide plans. |
Generally vote for shareholder proposals requesting to limit the executive benefits provided under the company’s supplemental executive retirement plan (SERP) by limiting covered compensation to a senior executive’s annual salary or those pay elements covered for the general employee population.
Tax Gross-Up Proposals
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General Recommendation: Generally vote for proposals calling for companies to adopt a policy of not poviding tax gross-up payments to executives, except in situations where gross-ups are provided pursuant to a plan, policy, or arrangement applicable to management employees of the company, such as a relocation or expatriate tax equalization policy. |
Termination of Employment Prior to Severance Payment/Eliminating Accelerated Vesting of Unvested Equity
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on shareholder proposals seeking a policy requiring termination of employment prior to severance payment and/or eliminating accelerated vesting of unvested equity. |
The following factors will be considered:
| › | The company’s current treatment of equity upon employment termination and/or in change-in-control situations (i.e., vesting is double triggered and/or pro rata, does it allow for the assumption of equity by acquiring company, the treatment of performance shares, etc.); |
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
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| › | Current employment agreements, including potential poor pay practices such as gross-ups embedded in those agreements. |
Generally vote for proposals seeking a policy that prohibits automatic acceleration of the vesting of equity awards to senior executives upon a voluntary termination of employment or in the event of a change in control (except for pro rata vesting considering the time elapsed and attainment of any related performance goals between the award date and the change in control).
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
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| 6. | ROUTINE/MISCELLANEOUS |
Adjourn Meeting
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General Recommendation: Generally vote against proposals to provide management with the authority to adjourn an annual or special meeting absent compelling reasons to support the proposal. |
Vote for proposals that relate specifically to soliciting votes for a merger or transaction if supporting that merger or transaction. Vote against proposals if the wording is too vague or if the proposal includes “other business.”
Amend Quorum Requirements
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General Recommendation: Vote against proposals to reduce quorum requirements for shareholder meetings below a majority of the shares outstanding unless there are compelling reasons to support the proposal. |
Amend Minor Bylaws
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General Recommendation: Vote for bylaw or charter changes that are of a housekeeping nature (updates or corrections). |
Change Company Name
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General Recommendation: Vote for proposals to change the corporate name unless there is compelling evidence that the change would adversely impact shareholder value. |
Change Date, Time, or Location of Annual Meeting
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General Recommendation: Vote for management proposals to change the date, time, or location of the annual meeting unless the proposed change is unreasonable. |
Vote against shareholder proposals to change the date, time, or location of the annual meeting unless the current scheduling or location is unreasonable.
Other Business
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General Recommendation: Vote against proposals to approve other business when it appears as a voting item. |
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
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| 7. | SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES |
Global Approach
Issues covered under the policy include a wide range of topics, including consumer and product safety, environment and energy, labor standards and human rights, workplace and board diversity, and corporate political issues. While a variety of factors goes into each analysis, the overall principle guiding all vote recommendations focuses on how the proposal may enhance or protect shareholder value in either the short or long term.
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General Recommendation: Generally vote case-by-case, examining primarily whether implementation of the proposal is likely to enhance or protect shareholder value. The following factors will be considered: |
| › | If the issues presented in the proposal are more appropriately or effectively dealt with through legislation or government regulation; |
| › | If the company has already responded in an appropriate and sufficient manner to the issue(s) raised in the proposal; |
| › | Whether the proposal’s request is unduly burdensome (scope or timeframe) or overly prescriptive; |
| › | The company’s approach compared with any industry standard practices for addressing the issue(s) raised by the proposal; |
| › | Whether there are significant controversies, fines, penalties, or litigation associated with the company’s environmental or social practices; |
| › | If the proposal requests increased disclosure or greater transparency, whether reasonable and sufficient information is currently available to shareholders from the company or from other publicly available sources; and |
| › | If the proposal requests increased disclosure or greater transparency, whether implementation would reveal proprietary or confidential information that could place the company at a competitive disadvantage. |
Endorsement of Principles
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General Recommendation: Generally vote against proposals seeking a company’s endorsement of principles that support a particular public policy position. Endorsing a set of principles may require a company to take a stand on an issue that is beyond its own control and may limit its flexibility with respect to future developments. Management and the board should be afforded the flexibility to make decisions on specific public policy positions based on their own assessment of the most beneficial strategies for the company. |
Animal Welfare
Animal Welfare Policies
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General Recommendation: Generally vote for proposals seeking a report on a company’s animal welfare standards, or animal welfare-related risks, unless: |
| › | The company has already published a set of animal welfare standards and monitors compliance; |
| › | The company’s standards are comparable to industry peers; and |
| › | There are no recent significant fines, litigation, or controversies related to the company’s and/or its suppliers’ treatment of animals. |
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
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Animal Testing
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General Recommendation: Generally vote against proposals to phase out the use of animals in product testing, unless: |
| › | The company is conducting animal testing programs that are unnecessary or not required by regulation; |
| › | The company is conducting animal testing when suitable alternatives are commonly accepted and used by industry peers; or |
| › | There are recent, significant fines or litigation related to the company’s treatment of animals. |
Animal Slaughter
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General Recommendation: Generally vote against proposals requesting the implementation of Controlled Atmosphere Killing (CAK) methods at company and/or supplier operations unless such methods are required by legislation or generally accepted as the industry standard. |
Vote case-by-case on proposals requesting a report on the feasibility of implementing CAK methods at company and/or supplier operations considering the availability of existing research conducted by the company or industry groups on this topic and any fines or litigation related to current animal processing procedures at the company.
Consumer Issues
Genetically Modified Ingredients
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General Recommendation: Generally vote against proposals requesting that a company voluntarily label genetically engineered (GE) ingredients in its products. The labeling of products with GE ingredients is best left to the appropriate regulatory authorities. |
Vote case-by-case on proposals asking for a report on the feasibility of labeling products containing GE ingredients, taking into account:
| › | The potential impact of such labeling on the company’s business; |
| › | The quality of the company’s disclosure on GE product labeling, related voluntary initiatives, and how this disclosure compares with industry peer disclosure; and |
| › | Company’s current disclosure on the feasibility of GE product labeling. |
Generally vote against proposals seeking a report on the social, health, and environmental effects of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Studies of this sort are better undertaken by regulators and the scientific community.
Generally vote against proposals to eliminate GE ingredients from the company’s products, or proposals asking for reports outlining the steps necessary to eliminate GE ingredients from the company’s products. Such decisions are more appropriately made by management with consideration of current regulations.
Reports on Potentially Controversial Business/Financial Practices
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on requests for reports on a company’s potentially controversial business or financial practices or products, taking into account: |
| › | Whether the company has adequately disclosed mechanisms in place to prevent abuses; |
| › | Whether the company has adequately disclosed the financial risks of the products/practices in question; |
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
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| › | Whether the company has been subject to violations of related laws or serious controversies; and |
| › | Peer companies’ policies/practices in this area. |
Pharmaceutical Pricing, Access to Medicines, and Prescription Drug Reimportation
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General Recommendation: Generally vote against proposals requesting that companies implement specific price restraints on pharmaceutical products unless the company fails to adhere to legislative guidelines or industry norms in its product pricing practices. |
Vote case-by-case on proposals requesting that a company report on its product pricing or access to medicine policies, considering:
| › | The potential for reputational, market, and regulatory risk exposure; |
| › | Existing disclosure of relevant policies; |
| › | Deviation from established industry norms; |
| › | Relevant company initiatives to provide research and/or products to disadvantaged consumers; |
| › | Whether the proposal focuses on specific products or geographic regions; |
| › | The potential burden and scope of the requested report; |
| › | Recent significant controversies, litigation, or fines at the company. |
Generally vote for proposals requesting that a company report on the financial and legal impact of its prescription drug reimportation policies unless such information is already publicly disclosed.
Generally vote against proposals requesting that companies adopt specific policies to encourage or constrain prescription drug reimportation. Such matters are more appropriately the province of legislative activity and may place the company at a competitive disadvantage relative to its peers.
Product Safety and Toxic/Hazardous Materials
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General Recommendation: Generally vote for proposals requesting that a company report on its policies, initiatives/procedures, and oversight mechanisms related to toxic/hazardous materials or product safety in its supply chain, unless: |
| › | The company already discloses similar information through existing reports such as a supplier code of conduct and/or a sustainability report; |
| › | The company has formally committed to the implementation of a toxic/hazardous materials and/or product safety and supply chain reporting and monitoring program based on industry norms or similar standards within a specified time frame; and |
| › | The company has not been recently involved in relevant significant controversies, fines, or litigation. |
Vote case-by-case on resolutions requesting that companies develop a feasibility assessment to phase-out of certain toxic/hazardous materials, or evaluate and disclose the potential financial and legal risks associated with utilizing certain materials, considering:
| › | The company’s current level of disclosure regarding its product safety policies, initiatives, and oversight mechanisms; |
| › | Current regulations in the markets in which the company operates; and |
| › | Recent significant controversies, litigation, or fines stemming from toxic/hazardous materials at the company. |
Generally vote against resolutions requiring that a company reformulate its products.
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
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Tobacco-Related Proposals
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on resolutions regarding the advertisement of tobacco products, considering: |
| › | Recent related fines, controversies, or significant litigation; |
| › | Whether the company complies with relevant laws and regulations on the marketing of tobacco; |
| › | Whether the company’s advertising restrictions deviate from those of industry peers; |
| › | Whether the company entered into the Master Settlement Agreement, which restricts marketing of tobacco to youth; and |
| › | Whether restrictions on marketing to youth extend to foreign countries. |
Vote case-by-case on proposals regarding second-hand smoke, considering;
| › | Whether the company complies with all laws and regulations; |
| › | The degree that voluntary restrictions beyond those mandated by law might hurt the company’s competitiveness; and |
| › | The risk of any health-related liabilities. |
Generally vote against resolutions to cease production of tobacco-related products, to avoid selling products to tobacco companies, to spin-off tobacco-related businesses, or prohibit investment in tobacco equities. Such business decisions are better left to company management or portfolio managers.
Generally vote against proposals regarding tobacco product warnings. Such decisions are better left to public health authorities.
Climate Change
Climate Change/Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions
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General Recommendation: Generally vote for resolutions requesting that a company disclose information on the financial, physical, or regulatory risks it faces related to climate change on its operations and investments or on how the company identifies, measures, and manages such risks, considering: |
| › | Whether the company already provides current, publicly-available information on the impact that climate change may have on the company as well as associated company policies and procedures to address related risks and/or opportunities; |
| › | The company’s level of disclosure compared to industry peers; and |
| › | Whether there are significant controversies, fines, penalties, or litigation associated with the company’s climate change-related performance. |
Generally vote for proposals requesting a report on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from company operations and/or products and operations, unless:
| › | The company already discloses current, publicly-available information on the impacts that GHG emissions may have on the company as well as associated company policies and procedures to address related risks and/or opportunities; |
| › | The company’s level of disclosure is comparable to that of industry peers; and |
| › | There are no significant, controversies, fines, penalties, or litigation associated with the company’s GHG emissions. |
Vote case-by-case on proposals that call for the adoption of GHG reduction goals from products and operations, taking into account:
| › | Whether the company provides disclosure of year-over-year GHG emissions performance data; |
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
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| › | Whether company disclosure lags behind industry peers; |
| › | The company’s actual GHG emissions performance; |
| › | The company’s current GHG emission policies, oversight mechanisms, and related initiatives; and |
| › | Whether the company has been the subject of recent, significant violations, fines, litigation, or controversy related to GHG emissions. |
Energy Efficiency
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General Recommendation: Generally vote for proposals requesting that a company report on its energy efficiency policies, unless: |
| › | The company complies with applicable energy efficiency regulations and laws, and discloses its participation in energy efficiency policies and programs, including disclosure of benchmark data, targets, and performance measures; or |
| › | The proponent requests adoption of specific energy efficiency goals within specific timelines. |
Renewable Energy
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General Recommendation: Generally vote for requests for reports on the feasibility of developing renewable energy resources unless the report would be duplicative of existing disclosure or irrelevant to the company’s line of business. |
Generally vote against proposals requesting that the company invest in renewable energy resources. Such decisions are best left to management’s evaluation of the feasibility and financial impact that such programs may have on the company.
Generally vote against proposals that call for the adoption of renewable energy goals, taking into account:
| › | The scope and structure of the proposal; |
| › | The company’s current level of disclosure on renewable energy use and GHG emissions; and |
| › | The company’s disclosure of policies, practices, and oversight implemented to manage GHG emissions and mitigate climate change risks. |
Diversity
Board Diversity
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General Recommendation: Generally vote for requests for reports on a company’s efforts to diversify the board, unless: |
| › | The gender and racial minority representation of the company’s board is reasonably inclusive in relation to companies of similar size and business; and |
| › | The board already reports on its nominating procedures and gender and racial minority initiatives on the board and within the company. |
Vote case-by-case on proposals asking a company to increase the gender and racial minority representation on its board, taking into account:
| › | The degree of existing gender and racial minority diversity on the company’s board and among its executive officers; |
| › | The level of gender and racial minority representation that exists at the company’s industry peers; |
| › | The company’s established process for addressing gender and racial minority board representation; |
| › | Whether the proposal includes an overly prescriptive request to amend nominating committee charter language; |
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
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| › | The independence of the company’s nominating committee; |
| › | Whether the company uses an outside search firm to identify potential director nominees; and |
| › | Whether the company has had recent controversies, fines, or litigation regarding equal employment practices. |
Equality of Opportunity
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General Recommendation: Generally vote for proposals requesting a company disclose its diversity policies or initiatives, or proposals requesting disclosure of a company’s comprehensive workforce diversity data, including requests for EEO-1 data, unless: |
| › | The company publicly discloses equal opportunity policies and initiatives in a comprehensive manner; |
| › | The company already publicly discloses comprehensive workforce diversity data; and |
| › | The company has no recent significant EEO-related violations or litigation. |
Generally vote against proposals seeking information on the diversity efforts of suppliers and service providers. Such requests may pose a significant burden on the company.
Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, and Domestic Partner Benefits
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General Recommendation: Generally vote for proposals seeking to amend a company’s EEO statement or diversity policies to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity, unless the change would be unduly burdensome. |
Generally vote against proposals to extend company benefits to, or eliminate benefits from, domestic partners. Decisions regarding benefits should be left to the discretion of the company.
Gender Pay Gap
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General Recommendation: Generally vote case-by-case on requests for reports on a company’s pay data by gender, or a report on a company’s policies and goals to reduce any gender pay gap, taking into account: |
| › | The company’s current policies and disclosure related to both its diversity and inclusion policies and practices and its compensation philosophy and fair and equitable compensation practices; |
| › | Whether the company has been the subject of recent controversy, litigation, or regulatory actions related to gender pay gap issues; and |
| › | Whether the company’s reporting regarding gender pay gap policies or initiatives is lagging its peers. |
Environment and Sustainability
Facility and Workplace Safety
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on requests for workplace safety reports, including reports on accident risk reduction efforts, taking into account: |
| › | The company’s current level of disclosure of its workplace health and safety performance data, health and safety management policies, initiatives, and oversight mechanisms; |
| › | The nature of the company’s business, specifically regarding company and employee exposure to health and safety risks; |
| › | Recent significant controversies, fines, or violations related to workplace health and safety; and |
| › | The company’s workplace health and safety performance relative to industry peers. |
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
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Vote case-by-case on resolutions requesting that a company report on safety and/or security risks associated with its operations and/or facilities, considering:
| › | The company’s compliance with applicable regulations and guidelines; |
| › | The company’s current level of disclosure regarding its security and safety policies, procedures, and compliance monitoring; and |
| › | The existence of recent, significant violations, fines, or controversy regarding the safety and security of the company’s operations and/or facilities. |
General Environmental Proposals and Community Impact Assessments
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on requests for reports on policies and/or the potential (community) social and/or environmental impact of company operations, considering: |
| › | Current disclosure of applicable policies and risk assessment report(s) and risk management procedures; |
| › | The impact of regulatory non-compliance, litigation, remediation, or reputational loss that may be associated with failure to manage the company’s operations in question, including the management of relevant community and stakeholder relations; |
| › | The nature, purpose, and scope of the company’s operations in the specific region(s); |
| › | The degree to which company policies and procedures are consistent with industry norms; and |
| › | The scope of the resolution. |
Hydraulic Fracturing
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General Recommendation: Generally vote for proposals requesting greater disclosure of a company’s (natural gas) hydraulic fracturing operations, including measures the company has taken to manage and mitigate the potential community and environmental impacts of those operations, considering: |
| › | The company’s current level of disclosure of relevant policies and oversight mechanisms; |
| › | The company’s current level of such disclosure relative to its industry peers; |
| › | Potential relevant local, state, or national regulatory developments; and |
| › | Controversies, fines, or litigation related to the company’s hydraulic fracturing operations. |
Operations in Protected Areas
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General Recommendation: Generally vote for requests for reports on potential environmental damage as a result of company operations in protected regions, unless: |
| › | Operations in the specified regions are not permitted by current laws or regulations; |
| › | The company does not currently have operations or plans to develop operations in these protected regions; or |
| › | The company’s disclosure of its operations and environmental policies in these regions is comparable to industry peers. |
Recycling
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals to report on an existing recycling program, or adopt a new recycling program, taking into account: |
| › | The nature of the company’s business; |
| › | The current level of disclosure of the company’s existing related programs; |
| › | The timetable and methods of program implementation prescribed by the proposal; |
| › | The company’s ability to address the issues raised in the proposal; and |
| › | How the company’s recycling programs compare to similar programs of its industry peers. |
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
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Sustainability Reporting
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General Recommendation: Generally vote for proposals requesting that a company report on its policies, initiatives, and oversight mechanisms related to social, economic, and environmental sustainability, unless: |
| › | The company already discloses similar information through existing reports or policies such as an environment, health, and safety (EHS) report; a comprehensive code of corporate conduct; and/or a diversity report; or |
| › | The company has formally committed to the implementation of a reporting program based on Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines or a similar standard within a specified time frame. |
Water Issues
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals requesting a company report on, or adopt a new policy on, water-related risks and concerns, taking into account: |
| › | The company’s current disclosure of relevant policies, initiatives, oversight mechanisms, and water usage metrics; |
| › | Whether or not the company’s existing water-related policies and practices are consistent with relevant internationally recognized standards and national/local regulations; |
| › | The potential financial impact or risk to the company associated with water-related concerns or issues; and |
| › | Recent, significant company controversies, fines, or litigation regarding water use by the company and its suppliers. |
General Corporate Issues
Charitable Contributions
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General Recommendation: Vote against proposals restricting a company from making charitable contributions. Charitable contributions are generally useful for assisting worthwhile causes and for creating goodwill in the community. In the absence of bad faith, self-dealing, or gross negligence, management should determine which, and if, contributions are in the best interests of the company. |
Data Security, Privacy, and Internet Issues
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals requesting the disclosure or implementation of data security, privacy, or information access and management policies and procedures, considering: |
| › | The level of disclosure of company policies and procedures relating to data security, privacy, freedom of speech, information access and management, and Internet censorship; |
| › | Engagement in dialogue with governments or relevant groups with respect to data security, privacy, or the free flow of information on the Internet; |
| › | The scope of business involvement and of investment in countries whose governments censor or monitor the Internet and other telecommunications; |
| › | Applicable market-specific laws or regulations that may be imposed on the company; and |
| › | Controversies, fines, or litigation related to data security, privacy, freedom of speech, or Internet censorship. |
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Compensation-Related Proposals
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals to link, or report on linking, executive compensation to sustainability (environmental and social) criteria, considering: |
| › | The scope and prescriptive nature of the proposal; |
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
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| › | Whether the company has significant and/or persistent controversies or regulatory violations regarding social and/or environmental issues; |
| › | Whether the company has management systems and oversight mechanisms in place regarding its social and environmental performance; |
| › | The degree to which industry peers have incorporated similar non-financial performance criteria in their executive compensation practices; and |
| › | The company’s current level of disclosure regarding its environmental and social performance. |
Human Rights, Labor Issues, and International Operations
Human Rights Proposals
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General Recommendation: Generally vote for proposals requesting a report on company or company supplier labor and/or human rights standards and policies unless such information is already publicly disclosed. |
Vote case-by-case on proposals to implement company or company supplier labor and/or human rights standards and policies, considering:
| › | The degree to which existing relevant policies and practices are disclosed; |
| › | Whether or not existing relevant policies are consistent with internationally recognized standards; |
| › | Whether company facilities and those of its suppliers are monitored and how; |
| › | Company participation in fair labor organizations or other internationally recognized human rights initiatives; |
| › | Scope and nature of business conducted in markets known to have higher risk of workplace labor/human rights abuse; |
| › | Recent, significant company controversies, fines, or litigation regarding human rights at the company or its suppliers; |
| › | The scope of the request; and |
| › | Deviation from industry sector peer company standards and practices. |
Vote case-by-case on proposals requesting that a company conduct an assessment of the human rights risks in its operations or in its supply chain, or report on its human rights risk assessment process, considering:
| › | The degree to which existing relevant policies and practices are disclosed, including information on the implementation of these policies and any related oversight mechanisms; |
| › | The company’s industry and whether the company or its suppliers operate in countries or areas where there is a history of human rights concerns; |
| › | Recent significant controversies, fines, or litigation regarding human rights involving the company or its suppliers, and whether the company has taken remedial steps; and |
| › | Whether the proposal is unduly burdensome or overly prescriptive. |
Operations in High Risk Markets
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on requests for a report on a company’s potential financial and reputational risks associated with operations in “high-risk” markets, such as a terrorism-sponsoring state or politically/socially unstable region, taking into account: |
| › | The nature, purpose, and scope of the operations and business involved that could be affected by social or political disruption; |
| › | Current disclosure of applicable risk assessment(s) and risk management procedures; |
| › | Compliance with U.S. sanctions and laws; |
| › | Consideration of other international policies, standards, and laws; and |
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
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| › | Whether the company has been recently involved in recent, significant controversies, fines, or litigation related to its operations in “high-risk” markets. |
Outsourcing/Offshoring
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals calling for companies to report on the risks associated with outsourcing/plant closures, considering: |
| › | Controversies surrounding operations in the relevant market(s); |
| › | The value of the requested report to shareholders; |
| › | The company’s current level of disclosure of relevant information on outsourcing and plant closure procedures; and |
| › | The company’s existing human rights standards relative to industry peers. |
Weapons and Military Sales
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General Recommendation: Vote against reports on foreign military sales or offsets. Such disclosures may involve sensitive and confidential information. Moreover, companies must comply with government controls and reporting on foreign military sales. |
Generally vote against proposals asking a company to cease production or report on the risks associated with the use of depleted uranium munitions or nuclear weapons components and delivery systems, including disengaging from current and proposed contracts. Such contracts are monitored by government agencies, serve multiple military and non-military uses, and withdrawal from these contracts could have a negative impact on the company’s business.
Political Activities
Lobbying
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals requesting information on a company’s lobbying (including direct, indirect, and grassroots lobbying) activities, policies, or procedures, considering: |
| › | The company’s current disclosure of relevant lobbying policies, and management and board oversight; |
| › | The company’s disclosure regarding trade associations or other groups that it supports, or is a member of, that engage in lobbying activities; and |
| › | Recent significant controversies, fines, or litigation regarding the company’s lobbying-related activities. |
Political Contributions
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General Recommendation: Generally vote for proposals requesting greater disclosure of a company’s political contributions and trade association spending policies and activities, considering: |
| › | The company’s policies, and management and board oversight related to its direct political contributions and payments to trade associations or other groups that may be used for political purposes; |
| › | The company’s disclosure regarding its support of, and participation in, trade associations or other groups that may make political contributions; and |
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
| © 2018 ISS | Institutional Shareholder Services |
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U.S. Proxy Voting Guidelines |
| › | Recent significant controversies, fines, or litigation related to the company’s political contributions or political activities. |
Vote against proposals barring a company from making political contributions. Businesses are affected by legislation at the federal, state, and local level; barring political contributions can put the company at a competitive disadvantage.
Vote against proposals to publish in newspapers and other media a company’s political contributions. Such publications could present significant cost to the company without providing commensurate value to shareholders.
Political Ties
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General Recommendation: Generally vote against proposals asking a company to affirm political nonpartisanship in the workplace, so long as: |
| › | There are no recent, significant controversies, fines, or litigation regarding the company’s political contributions or trade association spending; and |
| › | The company has procedures in place to ensure that employee contributions to company-sponsored political action committees (PACs) are strictly voluntary and prohibit coercion. |
Vote against proposals asking for a list of company executives, directors, consultants, legal counsels, lobbyists, or investment bankers that have prior government service and whether such service had a bearing on the business of the company. Such a list would be burdensome to prepare without providing any meaningful information to shareholders.
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
| © 2018 ISS | Institutional Shareholder Services |
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U.S. Proxy Voting Guidelines |
| 8. | MUTUAL FUND PROXIES |
Election of Directors
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on the election of directors and trustees, following the same guidelines for uncontested directors for public company shareholder meetings. However, mutual fund boards do not usually have compensation committees, so do not withhold for the lack of this committee. |
Converting Closed-end Fund to Open-end Fund
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on conversion proposals, considering the following factors: |
| › | Past performance as a closed-end fund; |
| › | Market in which the fund invests; |
| › | Measures taken by the board to address the discount; and |
| › | Past shareholder activism, board activity, and votes on related proposals. |
Proxy Contests
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proxy contests, considering the following factors: |
| › | Past performance relative to its peers; |
| › | Market in which the fund invests; |
| › | Measures taken by the board to address the issues; |
| › | Past shareholder activism, board activity, and votes on related proposals; |
| › | Strategy of the incumbents versus the dissidents; |
| › | Independence of directors; |
| › | Experience and skills of director candidates; |
| › | Governance profile of the company; |
| › | Evidence of management entrenchment. |
Investment Advisory Agreements
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on investment advisory agreements, considering the following factors: |
| › | Proposed and current fee schedules; |
| › | Fund category/investment objective; |
| › | Performance benchmarks; |
| › | Share price performance as compared with peers; |
| › | Resulting fees relative to peers; |
| › | Assignments (where the advisor undergoes a change of control). |
Approving New Classes or Series of Shares
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General Recommendation: Vote for the establishment of new classes or series of shares. |
Preferred Stock Proposals
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on the authorization for or increase in preferred shares, considering the following factors: |
| › | Stated specific financing purpose; |
| › | Possible dilution for common shares; |
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
| © 2018 ISS | Institutional Shareholder Services |
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U.S. Proxy Voting Guidelines |
| › | Whether the shares can be used for antitakeover purposes. |
1940 Act Policies
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on policies under the Investment Advisor Act of 1940, considering the following factors: |
| › | Potential competitiveness; |
| › | Regulatory developments; |
| › | Current and potential returns; and |
| › | Current and potential risk. |
Generally vote for these amendments as long as the proposed changes do not fundamentally alter the investment focus of the fund and do comply with the current SEC interpretation.
Changing a Fundamental Restriction to a Nonfundamental Restriction
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals to change a fundamental restriction to a non-fundamental restriction, considering the following factors: |
| › | The fund’s target investments; |
| › | The reasons given by the fund for the change; and |
| › | The projected impact of the change on the portfolio. |
Change Fundamental Investment Objective to Nonfundamental
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General Recommendation: Vote against proposals to change a fund’s fundamental investment objective to non-fundamental. |
Name Change Proposals
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on name change proposals, considering the following factors: |
| › | Political/economic changes in the target market; |
| › | Consolidation in the target market; and |
| › | Current asset composition. |
Change in Fund’s Subclassification
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on changes in a fund’s sub-classification, considering the following factors: |
| › | Potential competitiveness; |
| › | Current and potential returns; |
| › | Risk of concentration; |
| › | Consolidation in target industry. |
Business Development Companies—Authorization to Sell Shares of Common Stock at a Price below Net Asset Value
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General Recommendation: Vote for proposals authorizing the board to issue shares below Net Asset Value (NAV) if: |
| › | The proposal to allow share issuances below NAV has an expiration date no more than one year from the date shareholders approve the underlying proposal, as required under the Investment Company Act of 1940; |
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
| © 2018 ISS | Institutional Shareholder Services |
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U.S. Proxy Voting Guidelines |
| › | The sale is deemed to be in the best interests of shareholders by (1) a majority of the company’s independent directors and (2) a majority of the company’s directors who have no financial interest in the issuance; and |
| › | The company has demonstrated responsible past use of share issuances by either: |
| › | Outperforming peers in its 8-digit GICS group as measured by one- and three-year median TSRs; or |
| › | Providing disclosure that its past share issuances were priced at levels that resulted in only small or moderate discounts to NAV and economic dilution to existing non-participating shareholders. |
Disposition of Assets/Termination/Liquidation
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals to dispose of assets, to terminate or liquidate, considering the following factors: |
| › | Strategies employed to salvage the company; |
| › | The fund’s past performance; |
| › | The terms of the liquidation. |
Changes to the Charter Document
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on changes to the charter document, considering the following factors: |
| › | The degree of change implied by the proposal; |
| › | The efficiencies that could result; |
| › | The state of incorporation; |
| › | Regulatory standards and implications. |
Vote against any of the following changes:
| › | Removal of shareholder approval requirement to reorganize or terminate the trust or any of its series; |
| › | Removal of shareholder approval requirement for amendments to the new declaration of trust; |
| › | Removal of shareholder approval requirement to amend the fund’s management contract, allowing the contract to be modified by the investment manager and the trust management, as permitted by the 1940 Act; |
| › | Allow the trustees to impose other fees in addition to sales charges on investment in a fund, such as deferred sales charges and redemption fees that may be imposed upon redemption of a fund’s shares; |
| › | Removal of shareholder approval requirement to engage in and terminate subadvisory arrangements; |
| › | Removal of shareholder approval requirement to change the domicile of the fund. |
Changing the Domicile of a Fund
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on re-incorporations, considering the following factors: |
| › | Regulations of both states; |
| › | Required fundamental policies of both states; |
| › | The increased flexibility available. |
Authorizing the Board to Hire and Terminate Subadvisers Without Shareholder Approval
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General Recommendation: Vote against proposals authorizing the board to hire or terminate subadvisers without shareholder approval if the investment adviser currently employs only one subadviser. |
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
| © 2018 ISS | Institutional Shareholder Services |
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Distribution Agreements
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on distribution agreement proposals, considering the following factors: |
| › | Fees charged to comparably sized funds with similar objectives; |
| › | The proposed distributor’s reputation and past performance; |
| › | The competitiveness of the fund in the industry; |
| › | The terms of the agreement. |
Master-Feeder Structure
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General Recommendation: Vote for the establishment of a master-feeder structure. |
Mergers
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on merger proposals, considering the following factors: |
| › | Resulting fee structure; |
| › | Performance of both funds; |
| › | Continuity of management personnel; |
| › | Changes in corporate governance and their impact on shareholder rights. |
Shareholder Proposals for Mutual Funds
Establish Director Ownership Requirement
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General Recommendation: Generally vote against shareholder proposals that mandate a specific minimum amount of stock that directors must own in order to qualify as a director or to remain on the board. |
Reimburse Shareholder for Expenses Incurred
|
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on shareholder proposals to reimburse proxy solicitation expenses. When supporting the dissidents, vote for the reimbursement of the proxy solicitation expenses. |
Terminate the Investment Advisor
|
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General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals to terminate the investment advisor, considering the following factors: |
| › | Performance of the fund’s Net Asset Value (NAV); |
| › | The fund’s history of shareholder relations; |
| › | The performance of other funds under the advisor’s management. |
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
| © 2018 ISS | Institutional Shareholder Services |
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This document and all of the information contained in it, including without limitation all text, data, graphs, and charts (collectively, the “Information”) is the property of Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS), its subsidiaries, or, in some cases third party suppliers.
The Information has not been submitted to, nor received approval from, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or any other regulatory body. None of the Information constitutes an offer to sell (or a solicitation of an offer to buy), or a promotion or recommendation of, any security, financial product or other investment vehicle or any trading strategy, and ISS does not endorse, approve, or otherwise express any opinion regarding any issuer, securities, financial products or instruments or trading strategies.
The user of the Information assumes the entire risk of any use it may make or permit to be made of the Information.
ISS MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE INFORMATION AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF ORIGINALITY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, NON-INFRINGEMENT, COMPLETENESS, MERCHANTABILITY, AND FITNESS for A PARTICULAR PURPOSE) WITH RESPECT TO ANY OF THE INFORMATION.
Without limiting any of the foregoing and to the maximum extent permitted by law, in no event shall ISS have any liability regarding any of the Information for any direct, indirect, special, punitive, consequential (including lost profits), or any other damages even if notified of the possibility of such damages. The foregoing shall not exclude or limit any liability that may not by applicable law be excluded or limited.
| The Global Leader In Corporate Governance |
www.issgovernance.com
| Enabling the financial community to manage governance risk for the benefit of shareholders. | |
| © 2018 ISS | Institutional Shareholder Services |
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PART C: OTHER INFORMATION
Item 28. Exhibits
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(a)
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(i)
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Certificate of Trust dated February 9, 2012 of ETF Series Solutions (the “Trust” or the “Registrant”) is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (a)(i) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on February 17, 2012.
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(ii)
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Registrant’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust dated February 17, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (a)(ii) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on February 17, 2012.
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(b)
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Registrant’s Amended and Restated Bylaws dated August 18, 2014, are incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (b) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on September 8, 2014.
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(c)
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Not applicable.
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(d)
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(i)
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Investment Advisory Agreement between the Trust and EquBot Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(i) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on June 4, 2018.
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(ii)
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Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement between EquBot Inc. and Vident Investment Advisory, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(ii) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on June 4, 2018.
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(e)
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(i)
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Distribution Agreement between the Trust and Quasar Distributors, LLC (EquBot) is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(i) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on June 4, 2018.
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(ii)
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Form of Authorized Participant Agreement for Quasar Distributors, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(iii) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on May 23, 2012.
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(f)
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Not applicable.
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(g)
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(i)
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(A)
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Custody Agreement between the Trust and U.S. Bank National Association dated May 16, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (g) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on May 23, 2012.
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(B)
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Exhibit AA to Custody Agreement (EquBot) is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (g)(i)(B) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on June 4, 2018.
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(h)
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(i)
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(A)
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Fund Administration Servicing Agreement between the Trust and U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC dated May 16, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(i) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on May 23, 2012.
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(B)
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Exhibit AA to Fund Administration Servicing Agreement (EquBot) is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(i)(B) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on June 4, 2018.
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(ii)
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(A)
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Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement between the Trust and U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC dated May 16, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(ii) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on May 23, 2012.
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(B)
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Exhibit AA to Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement (EquBot) is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(ii)(B) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on June 4, 2018.
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(iii)
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(A)
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Transfer Agent Agreement between the Trust and U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC dated May 16, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(ii) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on May 23, 2012.
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(B)
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Exhibit to AA Transfer Agent Agreement (EquBot) is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(iii)(B) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on June 4, 2018.
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(iv)
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(A)
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Powers of Attorney dated July 18, 2018 are incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(iv)(C) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on August 3, 2018.
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(B)
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Powers of Attorney dated January 10, 2019 are incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(iv)(B) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on January 24, 2019.
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(v)
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(A)
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Compliance Services Agreement between the Trust and U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC dated August 17, 2015 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(v)(A) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on September 18, 2015.
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C-1
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(B)
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Amended Exhibit A to Compliance Services Agreement dated April 12, 2019 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(v)(B) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on April 24, 2019.
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(vi)
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Certificate of Secretary dated January 10, 2019 with respect to powers of attorney is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(vi) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on January 24, 2019.
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(i)
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Opinion and Consent of Counsel is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on June 4, 2018.
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(j)
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Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm — Filed Herewith.
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(k)
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Not applicable.
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(l)
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(i)
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Initial Capital Agreement between the Trust and U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC dated April 23, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (l)(i) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on May 23, 2012.
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(ii)
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Letter of Representations between the Trust and Depository Trust Company dated May 21, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (l)(ii) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on May 23, 2012.
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(m)
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(i)
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(A)
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Rule 12b-1 Plan is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (m) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on May 23, 2012.
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(B)
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Amended Schedule A to Rule 12b-1 Plan dated April 12, 2019 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (m)(i)(B) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on April 24, 2019.
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(n)
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Not applicable.
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(o)
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Reserved.
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(p)
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(i)
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Code of Ethics for the Trust is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p)(i) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on March 15, 2018.
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(ii)
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Code of Ethics for Quasar Distributors, LLC dated March 17, 2014 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p)(iv) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on May 23, 2014.
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(iii)
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Code of Ethics for EquBot Inc. — Filed Herewith.
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(iv)
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Code of Ethics for Vident Investment Advisory, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p)(viii) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on July 25, 2017.
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Item 29. Persons Controlled by or Under Common Control with Registrant
No person is directly or indirectly controlled by or under common control with the Registrant.
Item 30. Indemnification
The Trustees shall not be responsible or liable in any event for any neglect or wrongdoing of any officer, agent, employee, adviser or principal underwriter of the Trust, nor shall any Trustee be responsible for the act or omission of any other Trustee, and, subject to the provisions of the By-Laws, the Trust out of its assets may indemnify and hold harmless each and every Trustee and officer of the Trust from and against any and all claims, demands, costs, losses, expenses, and damages whatsoever arising out of or related to such Trustee’s or officer’s performance of his or her duties as a Trustee or officer of the Trust; provided that nothing herein contained shall indemnify, hold harmless or protect any Trustee or officer from or against any liability to the Trust or any Shareholder to which he or she would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his or her office.
Every note, bond, contract, instrument, certificate or undertaking and every other act or thing whatsoever issued, executed or done by or on behalf of the Trust or the Trustees or any of them in connection with the Trust shall be conclusively deemed to have been issued, executed or done only in or with respect to their or his or her capacity as Trustees or Trustee, and such Trustees or Trustee shall not be personally liable thereon.
C-2
Insofar as indemnification for liability arising under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) may be permitted to Trustees, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such Trustee, officer, or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
Item 31. Business and Other Connections of Investment Adviser
This Item incorporated by reference each investment adviser’s Uniform Application for Investment Adviser Registration (“Form ADV”) on file with the SEC, as listed below. Each Form ADV may be obtained, free of charge, at the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. Additional information as to any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature engaged in by each officer and director of the below-listed investment advisers is included in the Trust’s Statement of Additional Information.
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Investment Adviser
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SEC File No.
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EquBot Inc.
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801-110987
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Vident Investment Advisory, LLC
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801-80534
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Item 32. Principal Underwriter.
(a) Quasar Distributors, LLC acts as principal underwriter for the following investment companies:
C-3
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Greenspring Fund, Inc.
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Sims Total Return Fund, Inc.
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Harding Loevner Funds, Inc.
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Thompson IM Funds, Inc.
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Hennessy Funds Trust
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TigerShares Trust
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Horizon Funds
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TrimTabs ETF Trust
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Hotchkis & Wiley Funds
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Trust for Professional Managers
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Intrepid Capital Management Funds Trust
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Trust for Advised Portfolios
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IronBridge Funds, Inc.
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USA Mutuals
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Jacob Funds, Inc.
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Wall Street EWM Funds Trust
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Jensen Quality Growth Fund Inc.
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Westchester Capital Funds
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Kirr Marbach Partners Funds, Inc.
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Wisconsin Capital Funds, Inc.
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LKCM Funds
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YCG Funds
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(b) To the best of Registrant’s knowledge, the directors and executive officers of Quasar Distributors, LLC are as follows:
(c) Not applicable.
C-4
Item 33. Location of Accounts and Records
The books and records required to be maintained by Section 31(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 are maintained at the following locations:
Item 34. Management Services
Not applicable.
Item 35. Undertakings
Not applicable.
C-5
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirements for effectiveness of this Post-Effective Amendment to its Registration Statement on Form N-1A (this “Amendment”) under rule 485(b) under the Securities Act and has duly caused this Amendment to be signed below on its behalf by the undersigned, duly authorized, in the City of Milwaukee, State of Wisconsin, on September 26, 2019.
ETF Series Solutions
By: /s/ Michael D. Barolsky
Michael D. Barolsky
Vice President and Secretary
Vice President and Secretary
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Amendment has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities indicated on September 26, 2019.
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Signature
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Title
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*/s/ David A. Massart
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Trustee
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David A. Massart
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*/s/ Janet D. Olsen
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Trustee
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Janet D. Olsen
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*/s/ Leonard M. Rush
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Trustee
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Leonard M. Rush
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*/s/ Michael A. Castino
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Trustee
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Michael A. Castino
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*/s/ Kristina R. Nelson
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President
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Kristina R. Nelson
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*/s/ Kristen M. Weitzel
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Treasurer
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Kristen M. Weitzel
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*By: /s/ Michael D. Barolsky
Michael D. Barolsky, Attorney-in-Fact
pursuant to Powers of Attorney
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INDEX TO EXHIBITS
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Exhibit
Number
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Description
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(j)
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Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
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(p)(iii)
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Code of Ethics for EquBot Inc.
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