ETF Series Solutions (Form: 485BPOS, Received: 12/26/2019 16:27:26)

Filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on December 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



REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933	x
Pre‑Effective Amendment No. ___	¨
Post‑Effective Amendment No. 588	x
and
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940	x
Amendment No. 589	x

(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)

(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

As soon as practical after the effective date of this Registration Statement
(Approximate Date of Proposed Public Offering)

It is proposed that this filing will become effective



¨	immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)
x	on January 1, 2020 pursuant to paragraph (b)
¨	60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)
¨	on pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)
¨	75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2)
¨	on pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485.

If appropriate, check the following box

[X] this post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This filing delays the effectiveness of the Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 565 (the “Amendment”) to its Registration Statement (filed on October 28, 2019) until January 1, 2020.

PROSPECTUS

January 1, 2020

Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy ETF^® (VBND)

Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund^®(VUSE)

Vident International Equity Fund^® (VIDI)

Principal U.S. Listing Exchange: NYSE Arca, Inc.

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 Funds’ shareholder reports will no longer be sent by mail, unless you specifically request paper copies of the Funds’ 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.

Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy ETF

Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund

Vident International Equity Fund

Table of Contents



Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy ETF Summary	3

Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund Summary	8

Vident International Equity Fund Summary	13

Additional Information About the Funds	19

Portfolio Holdings Information	25

Management	25

How to Buy and Sell Shares	27

Dividends, Distributions and Taxes	28

Distribution	30

Premium/Discount Information	30

Additional Notices	30

Financial Highlights	31

INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: n ARE NOT FDIC INSURED n MAY LOSE VALUE n ARE NOT BANK GUARANTEED

Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy ETF Summary

Investment Objective

The Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy ETF (the “Fund” or the “U.S. Bond Fund”) seeks to track the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Vident Core U.S. Bond Index^TM (the “Index” or the “U.S. Bond Index”).

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell 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.



Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees	0.41%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees	None
Other Expenses	0.00%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses¹	0.02%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.43%

¹ Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses do not correlate to the ratio of expenses to average net assets provided in the Financial Highlights section of the Prospectus, which reflects only the operating expenses of the Fund and does not include acquired fund fees and expenses.

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:



1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$44	$138	$241	$542

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 year ended August 31, 2019, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 384% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

The Fund employs a “passive management” – or indexing – investment approach designed to track the performance of the Index.

The Vident Core U.S. Bond Index^TM

The Vident Core U.S. Bond Index ^TM (Bloomberg:VUBDX) seeks to improve the overall mix of credit quality, interest rate and yield as compared to traditional U.S. core bond indices. The Index diversifies interest rate and credit risks across all core U.S. bond sectors, including U.S. Treasuries, U.S. agency securities, U.S. agency mortgage backed securities (“MBS”), and investment-grade corporate bonds, as well as non-core fixed income sectors such as high-yield corporate bonds (also known as “junk bonds”) and Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (“TIPS”). While diversification among sectors is an important factor that will drive the risk/return profile of the strategy, another source of risk management is derived from the rules-based process that systematically over- or under-weights each sector based on valuations of each sector, historical relative valuations across sectors, sector default rates, and other quantitative factors. Within the investment grade and high yield corporate sectors, the strategy seeks to improve corporate bond exposures by screening for companies with relatively stronger leadership, governance, and creditworthiness factors. Within each sector, individual bonds are weighted based on a combination of yield, duration ( i.e. , interest rate sensitivity), creditworthiness, leadership, and governance factors, rather than amount of debt/bonds outstanding. The Index also seeks to improve liquidity by eliminating small issues and non-U.S. issuers.

The Index limits exposure to each of the high-yield corporate bonds and TIPS sectors to 20% and 15% of the Index, respectively. The Index will generally have an effective duration of three to seven years and will generally have an average credit quality of investment grade.

All rules are systematized and rely on data available at the end of each rebalancing period. The Index is rebalanced monthly and reconstituted quarterly in January, April, July, and October. As of December 13, 2019, the Index was comprised of 251 component securities.

The Index was created on November 30, 2015 by Vident Financial, LLC, the Index Provider, for use by the Fund.

The Fund’s Investment Strategy

The Fund attempts to invest all, or substantially all, of its assets in the bonds that make up the Index. The Fund expects to use a “replication” strategy to achieve its investment objective, meaning it may invest in all of the component securities of the Index, but may, when the sub-adviser believes it is in the best interests of the Fund, use a “representative sampling” strategy, meaning it may invest in a sample of the securities in the Index whose risk, return and other characteristics closely resemble the risk, return and other characteristics of the Index as a whole.

The Fund may utilize the “To Be Announced” (“TBA”) market for MBS investments. The TBA market allows investors to gain exposure to MBS with certain broad characteristics (maturity, coupon, age) without taking delivery of the actual securities until the settlement day which is once every month. In addition, the Fund may utilize the TBA roll market, in which one sells, in the TBA market, the security for current month settlement, while simultaneously committing to buy the same TBA security for next month settlement. The Fund may utilize the TBA roll market for extended periods of time without taking delivery of the physical securities.

Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets (exclusive of collateral held from securities lending) will be invested in the component securities of the Index and TBA securities representing such component securities. Vident Advisory, LLC (“Vident Advisory” or the “Adviser”), the Fund’s investment adviser, believes, over time, the correlation between the Fund’s performance and that of the Index, before fees and expenses, will be 95% or better.

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

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

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 Funds.”


▪	Call Risk. During periods of falling interest rates, an issuer of a callable bond held by the Fund may “call” or repay the security before its stated maturity, and the Fund may have to reinvest the proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund's income.

▪

Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may require it to redeem shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. The Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used.


▪	Credit Risk. Debt issuers and other counterparties may not honor their obligations or may have their debt downgraded by ratings agencies.


•	ETF Risks. The Fund is an ETF, and, as a result of an ETF’s structure, it is exposed to the following risks:

◦

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.


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

◦

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

◦

Trading. Although Shares are listed for trading on 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.


▪	Extension Risk. During periods of rising interest rates, certain debt obligations will be paid off substantially more slowly than originally anticipated and the value of those securities may fall sharply, resulting in a decline in the Fund’s income and potentially in the value of the Fund’s investments.

▪

Government Obligations Risk. No assurance can be given that the U.S. government will provide financial support to U.S. government-sponsored agencies or instrumentalities where it is not obligated to do so by law, such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”). Securities issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have historically been supported only by the discretionary authority of the U.S. government. While the U.S. government provides financial support to various U.S. government-sponsored agencies and instrumentalities, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, no assurance can be given that it will always do so. In September 2008, at the direction of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed into conservatorship under the Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”), an independent regulator, and they remain in such status as of the date of this Prospectus. The U.S. government also took steps to provide additional financial support to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

▪

High-Yield Securities Risk. High-yield securities (also known as “junk bonds”) carry a greater degree of risk and are considered speculative by the major credit rating agencies. High-yield securities may be issued by companies that are restructuring, are smaller and less creditworthy, or are more highly indebted than other companies. This means that they may have more difficulty making scheduled payments of principal and interest. Changes in the value of high-yield securities are influenced more by changes in the financial and business position of the issuing company than by changes in interest rates when compared to investment grade securities. High-yield securities have greater volatility because there is less certainty that principal and interest payments will be made as scheduled. The Fund's investments in high-yield securities expose it to a substantial degree of credit risk. These investments are considered speculative under traditional investment standards. Prices of high-yield securities will rise and fall primarily in response to actual or perceived changes in the issuer's financial health, although changes in market interest rates also will affect prices. High-yield securities may experience reduced liquidity and sudden and substantial decreases in price.


▪	Interest Rate Risk. An increase in interest rates may cause the value of fixed-income securities held by the Fund to decline. The Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates due to the current period of historically low rates and the effect of potential government fiscal policy initiatives and resulting market reaction to those initiatives.


▪	Issuer-Specific Risk. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.


▪	Liquidity Risk. Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. This can reduce the Fund's returns because the Fund may be unable to transact at advantageous times or prices.


▪	Market Risk. The trading prices of debt securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors. The Fund’s NAV and market price may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time.

▪

Mortgage- and Asset-Backed Securities Risk. The Fund may invest in U.S. government agency-backed mortgage- and asset-backed securities. Mortgage- and asset-backed securities are subject to interest rate risk. Modest movements in interest rates (both increases and decreases) may quickly and significantly reduce the value of certain types of these securities. When interest rates fall, mortgage- and asset-backed securities may be subject to prepayment risk. When interest rates rise, certain types of mortgage- and asset-backed securities are subject to extension risk. Mortgage- and asset-backed securities can also be subject to the risk of default on the underlying residential or commercial mortgage(s) or other assets.


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

▪

Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may trade all or a significant portion of the securities in its portfolio in connection with each rebalance and reconstitution of its Index. 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.


▪	Prepayment Risk. This is the risk that a borrower will prepay some or the entire principal owed to the Fund. If that happens, the Fund may have to replace the security by investing the proceeds in a security with a lower yield. This could reduce the share price and income distributions of the Fund.


▪	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.

▪

TBA Securities and Rolls Risk. TBA transactions are subject to increased credit risk and increased overall investment exposure. TBA rolls involve the risk that the Fund’s counterparty will be unable to deliver the mortgage-backed securities underlying the TBA roll at the fixed time. If the buyer files for bankruptcy or becomes insolvent, the buyer or its representative may ask for and receive an extension of time to decide whether to enforce the Fund’s repurchase obligation. In addition, the Fund earns interest by investing the transaction proceeds during the roll period. TBA roll transactions may have the effect of creating leverage in the Fund’s portfolio.


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

Performance

The following performance information indicates some of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows the Fund’s performance for calendar years ended December 31. The table illustrates how the Fund’s average annual returns for the 1-year and since inception periods compare with those of a broad measure of market performance and the indexes tracked by the Fund during the applicable period. The Fund’s past performance, before and after taxes, does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on the Fund’s website at www.videntfunds.com .

Calendar Year Total Returns

For the year-to-date period ended September 30, 2019, the Fund’s total return was 9.06%.

During the period of time shown in the bar chart, the Fund’s highest quarterly return was 3.06% for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, and the lowest quarterly return was -3.45% for the quarter ended December 31, 2016.

Average Annual Total Returns

For the Periods Ended December 31, 2018



Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy ETF	1 Year	Since Inception (10/15/2014)
Return Before Taxes	-0.78%	1.00%
Return After Taxes on Distributions	-1.90%	0.06%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Shares	-0.47%	0.35%
Vident Core U.S. Bond Index/Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy Index¹(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)	-0.21%	1.88%
FTSE Broad Investment Grade Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)	-0.01%	1.58%

¹Effective January 6, 2016, the Fund’s investment objective changed to track the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Vident Core U.S. Bond Index. Prior to January 6, 2016, the Fund’s investment objective was to track the price and total return performance, before fees and expenses, of the Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy Index. Performance shown for periods prior to January 6, 2016 is that of the Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy Index.

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

Management

Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser

Vident Advisory, LLC serves as investment adviser to the Fund.

Vident Investment Advisory, LLC (“VIA” or the “Sub-Adviser”) serves as sub-adviser to the Fund.

Portfolio Managers

Denise M. Krisko, CFA, President of VIA, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since April 2015.

Jim Iredale, CFA, Senior Portfolio Manager – Fixed Income at VIA, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since April 2015.

Habib Moudachirou, FRM, Senior Portfolio Manager at VIA, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since December 2019.

Purchase and Sale of Shares

Shares are listed on 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 100,000 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 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.

Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund Summary

Investment Objective

The Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund (the “Fund” or “U.S. Equity Fund”) seeks to track the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Vident Core U.S. Stock Index^TM (the “Index” or the “U.S. Stock Index”).

Fees and Expenses of the Fund



Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees	0.50%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees	None
Other Expenses	0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.50%

Expense Example



1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$51	$160	$280	$628

Portfolio Turnover

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

The Fund employs a “passive management” – or indexing – investment approach designed to track the performance of the Index.

The Vident Core U.S. Stock Index^TM

The Index is a rules-based, systematic strategy index comprised of equity securities of issuers domiciled and traded in the United States. The starting universe of eligible companies in the Index consists of U.S.-listed common stock of U.S. companies with market capitalizations of at least $1 billion ($800 million for companies already in the Index), meeting certain minimum liquidity requirements, and not structured as master limited partnerships. The universe of eligible companies is then screened to remove companies with significant accounting risks, governance risks, or other extreme risks, as described below.

The Index uses a forensic accounting model to score and rank companies in the Index universe based on a variety of accounting-related metrics (e.g., revenue recognition, earnings quality, changes in accruals, depreciation to capital expenditures, changes in days sales outstanding). The forensic accounting model eliminates the weakest 10% of companies from the Index universe.

The Index also assesses the corporate governance policies and practices of companies in the Index universe and scores such companies based on the number of such risks identified. Companies within each sector with the worst corporate governance scores are eliminated. Up to 10% of the companies in the Index universe may be eliminated by this screen.

Finally, the Index assesses companies in the Index universe for other extreme risks by identifying extraordinary events that may place shareholders’ capital at risk. Such extreme risks may include:


•	A senior executive has been dismissed or faces prosecution for personal misconduct or misrepresentation


•	The company has been late in its U.S. Securities and Exchange filings sometime in the past 12 months


•	The company has come under investigation, or been subject to fine, settlement, or conviction for issues related to securities fraud, misrepresentation, or deficiencies in investor protection sometime in the past two years


•	The company is experiencing difficulties obtaining needed financing or refinancing support


•	The company is in breach of existing debt covenants


•	The company is under threat of exchange delisting

Any companies flagged for any of the above extreme risks are removed from the Index universe.

The stocks remaining in the resulting universe are then evaluated, scored and ranked utilizing a proprietary multi-factor model, where each factor seeks to score different stock attributes (such as valuation, quality and momentum). At the time of each reconstitution, the stocks in the Index are weighted based on their relative scores, subject to a maximum allocation of 0.5% for any individual stock and certain liquidity thresholds. Overall sector weights are established based on the market capitalization of the universe of U.S.-listed common stocks of U.S. companies at the time of each reconstitution of the Index. The following are the major market sectors included in the Index: communication services, consumer discretionary, consumer staples, energy, financials, health care, industrials, information technology, materials, real estate, and utilities. A sector is comprised of multiple industries. For example, the energy sector is comprised of companies in, among others, the natural gas, oil, and petroleum industries.

All rules are systematized and rely on data available at the end of each rebalancing period. The Index is reconstituted and rebalanced semi-annually in January and July. As of December 13, 2019, the Index was comprised of 226 component securities.

The Index was created on December 31, 2014 by Vident Financial, LLC, the Index Provider, for use by the Fund.

The Fund’s Investment Strategy

The Fund attempts to invest all, or substantially all, of its assets in the common stocks that make up the Index. The Fund will generally use a “replication” strategy to achieve its investment objective, meaning it may invest in all of the component securities of the Index, but may, when the sub-adviser believes it is in the best interests of the Fund, use a “representative sampling” strategy, meaning it may invest in a sample of the securities in the Index whose risk, return and other characteristics closely resemble the risk, return and other characteristics of the Index as a whole.

Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets (exclusive of collateral held from securities lending) will be invested in the component securities of the Index. Vident Advisory, LLC (“Vident Advisory” or the “Adviser”), the Fund’s investment adviser, expects that, over time, the correlation between the Fund’s performance and that of the Index, before fees and expenses, will be 95% or better.

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

▪

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


▪	ETF Risks. The Fund is an ETF, and, as a result of an ETF’s structure, it is exposed to the following risks:

◦


◦	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.

◦

▪

Large-Capitalization Investing . The Fund’s performance may be adversely affected if securities of large cap companies underperform securities of smaller-capitalization companies or the market as a whole. The securities of large cap 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.


▪	Market Risk . The trading prices of equity securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors. The Fund’s NAV and market price may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time.

▪

Mid-Capitalization Investing. The Fund may invest in the securities of mid-capitalization companies. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected if securities of mid-capitalization companies underperform securities of other capitalization ranges or the market as a whole. Securities of smaller companies are often more vulnerable to market volatility than securities of larger companies.


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

▪


▪	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. The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in the following sectors and, therefore, the performance of the Fund could be negatively impacted by events affecting each of these sectors.

◦

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

◦

Financial Sector Risk. This sector can be significantly affected by changes in interest rates, government regulation, the rate of defaults on corporate, consumer and government debt, the availability and cost of capital, and fallout from the housing and sub-prime mortgage crisis. Insurance companies, in particular, may be significantly affected by changes in interest rates, catastrophic events, price and market competition, the imposition of premium rate caps, or other changes in government regulation or tax law and/or rate regulation, which may have an adverse impact on their profitability. This sector has experienced significant losses in the recent past, and the impact of more stringent capital requirements and of recent or future regulation on any individual financial company or on the sector as a whole cannot be predicted. In recent years, cyber attacks and technology malfunctions and failures have become increasingly frequent in this sector and have caused significant losses.

◦

Health Care Sector Risk. Companies in the health care sector are subject to extensive government regulation and their profitability can be significantly affected by restrictions on government reimbursement for medical expenses, rising costs of medical products and services, pricing pressure (including price discounting), limited product lines, an increased emphasis on the delivery of healthcare through outpatient services, loss or impairment of intellectual property rights and litigation regarding product or service liability.

◦

Industrial Sector Risk. The industrial sector can be significantly affected by, among other things, worldwide economic growth, supply and demand for specific products and services, rapid technological developments, international political and economic developments, environmental issues, and tax and governmental regulatory policies. As the demand for, or prices of, industrials increase, the value of the Fund’s investments generally would be expected to also increase. Conversely, declines in the demand for, or prices of, industrials generally would be expected to contribute to declines in the value of such securities. Such declines may occur quickly and without warning and may negatively impact the value of the Fund and your investment.

◦

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

▪

Small-Capitalization Investing. The Fund may invest in the securities of small-capitalization companies. As a result, the Fund may be more volatile than funds that invest in larger, more established 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. Small-capitalization companies may be particularly sensitive to changes in interest rates, government regulation, borrowing costs and earnings.


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

Performance

Calendar Year Total Returns

For the year-to-date period ended September 30, 2019, the Fund’s total return was 11.40%.

During the period of time shown in the bar chart, the Fund’s highest quarterly return was 8.86% for the quarter ended December 31, 2016, and the lowest quarterly return was -18.02% for the quarter ended December 31, 2018.

Average Annual Total Returns

For the Periods Ended December 31, 2018



Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund	1 Year	Since Inception (1/21/2014)
Return Before Taxes	-14.75%	3.81%
Return After Taxes on Distributions	-15.03%	3.46%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Shares	-8.49%	2.95%
Vident Core U.S. Stock Index/Vident Core U.S. Equity Index¹ (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)	-14.75%	3.69%
Morningstar US Market Total Return Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)	-5.05%	8.15%
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)	-4.38%	8.64%

¹Effective January 6, 2016, the Fund’s investment objective changed to track the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Vident Core U.S. Stock Index. Prior to January 6, 2016, the Fund’s investment objective was to track the price and total return performance, before fees and expenses, of the Vident Core U.S. Equity Index. Performance shown for periods prior to January 6, 2016 is that of the Vident Core U.S. Equity Index.

Management

Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser

Vident Advisory, LLC serves as investment adviser to the Fund.

Vident Investment Advisory, LLC (“VIA” or the “Sub-Adviser”) serves as sub-adviser to the Fund.

Portfolio Managers

Denise M. Krisko, CFA, President of VIA, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since December 2014 and was previously the Fund’s portfolio manager from its inception in January 2014 until November 2014 with the Fund’s previous sub-adviser.

Austin Wen, CFA, Portfolio Manager of VIA, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since December 2018.

Habib Moudachirou, FRM, Senior Portfolio Manager at VIA, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since December 2019.

Purchase and Sale of Shares

Tax Information

Financial Intermediary Compensation

Vident International Equity Fund Summary

Investment Objective

The Vident International Equity Fund (the “Fund” or “International Equity Fund”) seeks to track the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Vident Core International Equity Index™ (the “Index” or the “International Equity Index”).

Fees and Expenses of the Fund



Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees	0.61%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees	None
Other Expenses	0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	0.61%

Expense Example



1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
$62	$195	$340	$762

Portfolio Turnover

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

The Fund employs a “passive management” – or indexing – investment approach designed to track the performance of the Index.

The Vident Core International Equity Index™

The Index is a rules-based, systematic strategy index comprised of equity securities of issuers in developed and emerging markets outside of the United States. The strategy seeks to provide a systematic and optimized investment process that addresses the risks and opportunities of allocating capital in and among international equities.

Country Allocation

Index construction begins by identifying a universe of countries that are deemed to represent the bulk of investable and reliable stock opportunities in the largest and most liquid developed and emerging markets countries located outside of the United States. The Index determines a country’s investability based on factors including the country’s liquidity, accessibility to foreign investors, opportunities for efficient transactions, and capital controls. The Index determines a country’s reliability based on factors including governance, regulatory oversight, market operational efficiency, legal protections for minority and foreign investors and institutional stability. While the number of countries represented in the Index may change from time to time (e.g., at Index reconstitution or rebalance), the number of countries represented in the Index is expected to generally be between 25 and 40.

Each country within the investable universe is assigned a Country Principles Score (“CPS”), which is calculated utilizing a proprietary scoring methodology that seeks to weigh the relative resilience of a country to economic and financial shocks and the relative attractiveness of its investment opportunities. A country’s resilience reflects the capacity of a country’s equity markets to absorb and recover from economic and financial shocks and is measured based on a variety of economic metrics related to its financial capital resources (e.g., the country’s deficit as a percentage of gross domestic product (“GDP”), physical capital resources (e.g., total investment as a percentage of GDP), human resources (e.g., productivity, GDP per capital), and institutional and organizational resources (i.e., measures of legal and corporate rights). A country’s investment opportunity is measured based on short- and long-term changes in the country’s business and regulatory environment and equity market valuations. Allocation across countries is based on an optimization model that seeks to maximize

the Index’s overall CPS while ensuring the Index portfolio is liquid, well diversified across countries and regions, and transaction cost and turnover efficient.

Stock Selection

The Index employs a multi-factor model for scoring and ranking stocks listed on a securities exchange within each country in the Index universe. The model combines 20 factors into three distinct factor composites, each seeking to score different stock attributes:



Component	Examples	Weight

Valuation	Price-to-book ratio, cash flow to enterprise value	50%
Quality	Gross profitability, return on invested capital, margin expansion, leverage, debt & equity issuance	30%
Momentum	Total return for past six months	20%

Stocks are excluded from the Index universe if (i) they trade primarily in China, (ii) the stock’s issuer is domiciled in Russia or India and does not have a depositary receipt that meets the Index’s liquidity guidelines, (iii) the stock’s issuer has a market capitalization of less than US$1 billion (US$800 million for stocks already in the Index), or (iv) the stock does not meet certain minimum liquidity requirements.

At the time of each reconstitution, the optimization model weights the remaining stocks to maximize the attractive factor attributes of the stocks subject to the following constraints: (i) a maximum allocation of 0.5% for any individual stock, (ii) certain liquidity thresholds, (iii) a maximum allocation of 7.5% for any individual country, and (iv) sector allocations constrained to remain close to their sector weights in a traditional market capitalization weighted index.

The Index was created on December 31, 2014 by Vident Financial, LLC, the Index Provider, for use by the Fund.

The Fund’s Investment Strategy

The Fund attempts to invest all, or substantially all, of its assets in the common stocks that make up the Index. The Fund expects to use a “replication” strategy to achieve its investment objective, meaning it will invest in all of the component securities of the Index, but may, when the sub-adviser believes it is in the best interests of the Fund, use a “representative sampling” strategy, meaning it may invest in a sample of the securities in the Index whose risk, return and other characteristics closely resemble the risk, return and other characteristics of the Index as a whole.

Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets (exclusive of collateral held from securities lending) will be invested in the component securities of the Index and depositary receipts representing such component securities. Vident Advisory, LLC (“Vident Advisory” or the “Adviser”), the Fund’s investment adviser, expects that, over time, the correlation between the Fund’s performance and that of the Index, before fees and expenses, will be 95% or better.

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

▪

Capital Controls and Sanctions Risk. Economic conditions, such as volatile currency exchange rates and interest rates, political events, military action and other conditions may, without prior warning, lead to foreign government intervention (including intervention by the U.S. government with respect to foreign governments, economic sectors, foreign companies and related securities and interests) and the imposition of capital controls and/or sanctions, which may also include retaliatory actions of one government against another government, such as seizure of assets. Capital controls and/or sanctions include the prohibition of, or restrictions on, the ability to transfer currency, securities or other assets. Capital controls and/or sanctions may also impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell or otherwise transfer securities or currency, negatively impact the value and/or liquidity of such instruments, adversely affect the trading market and price for Shares, and cause the Fund to decline in value.

▪

Currency Exchange Rate Risk. The Fund may invest a relatively large percentage of its assets 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.

▪

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

▪


▪	ETF Risks. The Fund is an ETF, and, as a result of an ETF’s structure, it is exposed to the following risks:

◦


◦	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.

◦

▪

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.


▪	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.

▪

Geopolitical Risk. Some countries and regions in which the Fund invests have experienced security concerns, war or threats of war and aggression, terrorism, economic uncertainty, natural and environmental disasters and/or systemic market dislocations that have led, and in the future may lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on the U.S. and world economies and markets generally, each of which may negatively impact the Fund’s investments.

▪


▪	Market Risk . The trading prices of equity securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors. The Fund’s NAV and market price may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time.

▪


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

▪

Portfolio Turnover Risk . The Fund may trade all or a significant portion of the securities in its portfolio in connection with each rebalance and reconstitution of its Index. 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.


▪	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. The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in the following sectors and, therefore, the performance of the Fund could be negatively impacted by events affecting each of these sectors.

◦


◦	Industrial Sector Risk. The industrial sector can be significantly affected by, among other things, worldwide economic growth, supply and demand for specific products and services, rapid technological developments, international political and economic developments, environmental issues, and tax and governmental regulatory policies.

◦

▪


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

Performance

The following performance information indicates some of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows the Fund’s performance for calendar years ended December 31. The table illustrates how the Fund’s average annual returns for the 1-year , 5-year, and since inception periods compare with those of a broad measure of market performance and the indexes tracked by the Fund during the applicable period. The Fund’s past performance, before and after taxes, does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on the Fund’s website at www.videntfunds.com .

Calendar Year Total Returns

For the year-to-date period ended September 30, 2019, the Fund’s total return was 5.35%.

During the period of time shown in the bar chart, the Fund’s highest quarterly return was 10.71% for the quarter ended March 31, 2017, and the lowest quarterly return was -13.57% for the quarter ended September 30, 2015.

Average Annual Total Returns

For the Periods Ended December 31, 2018



Vident International Equity Fund	1 Year	5 Year	Since Inception (10/29/2013)
Return Before Taxes	-17.32%	0.80%	0.27%
Return After Taxes on Distributions	-17.58%	0.51%	-0.01%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Shares	-9.60%	0.86%	0.45%
Vident Core International Equity Index/Vident International Equity Index¹(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)	-16.97%	1.69%	1.16%
Morningstar Global Markets ex-US Large-Mid Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)	-13.87%	0.95%	1.04%
Morningstar Global Markets ex-US Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)	-14.17%	1.37%	1.46%

¹Effective January 6, 2016, the Fund’s investment objective changed to track the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Vident Core International Equity Index. Prior to January 6, 2016, the Fund’s investment objective was to track the price and total return performance, before fees and expenses, of the Vident International Equity Index. Performance shown for periods prior to January 6, 2016 is that of the Vident International Equity Index.

Management

Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser

Vident Advisory, LLC serves as investment adviser to the Fund.

Vident Investment Advisory, LLC (“VIA” or the “Sub-Adviser”) serves as sub-adviser to the Fund.

Portfolio Managers

Denise M. Krisko, CFA, President of VIA, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since April 2015.

Rafael Zayas, CFA, Senior Portfolio Manager – International Equity of VIA, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since September 2017.

Habib Moudachirou, FRM, Senior Portfolio Manager at VIA, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since December 2019.

Purchase and Sale of Shares

Tax Information

Financial Intermediary Compensation

Additional Information About the Funds

Additional Information About the Funds’ Investment Objectives. Each of the U.S. Bond Fund, U.S. Equity Fund and International Equity Fund (each, a “Fund” and, collectively, the “Funds”) seeks to track the performance, before fees and expenses, of an index developed by Vident Financial, LLC (the “Index Provider”). The Indexes consist of securities in the market suggested by the Fund’s name that meet specific criteria developed by the Index Provider. Each 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.

Additional Information About the Funds’ Investment Strategies. The Funds have adopted the following policies to comply with Rule 35d-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Such policies have been adopted as non-fundamental investment policies and may be changed without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders. With respect to the policies below, the Funds define “equity securities” to mean common and preferred stocks, rights, warrants, depositary receipts, equity interests in real estate investment trusts (“REITs”), and master limited partnerships.

Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, of the U.S. Bond Fund will be invested in debt instruments that are principally traded in the United States.

Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, of the International Equity Fund will be invested in equity securities.

Additionally, each Fund generally may invest up to 20% of its total assets in securities not included in the applicable Index, but which the Fund believes will help it track its Index. For example, a Fund may invest in securities that are not components of its Index to reflect various corporate actions and other changes to the Index (such as reconstitutions, additions and deletions).

Vident Core U.S. Bond Index

Unlike most traditional indices that weight issuers based on market capitalization, the U.S. Bond Index uses a risk-based assessment of issuers, together with factors related to their attractiveness based on evolving economic, market and valuation conditions. The Index also seeks to mitigate some of the risks often associated with market capitalization-weighted indices, including issuer concentration.

Each issuer is determined to be a “U.S. issuer” based primarily on its place of organization or principal place of business. However, issuers with extensive foreign operations may be eliminated from the Index based on a variety of factors, such as the geographic location of the issuer’s assets, revenue sources, manufacturing facilities, employees and customers.

Duration is a measure of the sensitivity of a security's price to changes in interest rates. The longer a security's duration, the more sensitive it will be to changes in interest rates. Similarly, a portfolio with a longer average duration will be more sensitive to changes in interest rates than a portfolio with a shorter average duration. For example, if interest rates decline by 1%, the market value of a portfolio with a duration of five years would rise by approximately 5%. Conversely, if interest rates increase by 1%, the market value of the portfolio would decline by approximately 5%. For variable and floating rate instruments, the duration calculation incorporates the time to the next coupon reset date.

Vident Core U.S. Stock Index

The Index seeks to mitigate some of the risks often associated with market capitalization-weighted indices, including issuer concentration.

Vident Core International Equity Index

The Index seeks to mitigate some of the risks often associated with market capitalization-weighted indices, including country, currency and issuer concentration, as well as higher weightings in more developed countries that also exhibit lower structural growth and deteriorating fiscal and/or fundamental risk characteristics.

Each issuer is associated with a country based primarily on its place of organization or the location of its primary listing exchange. However, issuers with multi-national operations may be assigned to an alternate country based on a variety of factors, such as the geographic location of the issuer’s assets, revenue sources, manufacturing facilities, employees and customers.

Each country is assigned a CPS semi-annually that identifies its fundamental risk characteristics (such as fiscal characteristics, monetary policy, political stability, demographics and economic freedom characteristics), while balancing those risks with a country’s respective opportunities. The ranking of stocks are also adjusted semi-annually utilizing a multi-factor model ranking stocks based on valuation, quality and momentum characteristics.

Index/Trademark Licenses/Disclaimers. Vident Financial, LLC^TM, the Index Provider, is a financial services company that focuses on structuring indices for institutional clients . The Index Provider is an affiliate of each Fund’s Adviser and Sub-Adviser.

Additional Information About the Funds’ Principal Risks. This section provides additional information regarding the principal risks described in each Fund Summary above. As in each 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 they appear. Each of the factors below could have a negative impact on the Fund’s performance and trading prices.

Call Risk (U.S. Bond Fund only). During periods of falling interest rates, an issuer of a callable bond held by the Fund may “call” or repay the security before its stated maturity, which may result in the Fund having to reinvest the proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund’s income.

Capital Controls and Sanctions Risk (International Equity Fund only). Economic conditions, such as volatile currency exchange rates and interest rates, political events, military action and other conditions, may, without prior warning, lead to government intervention (including intervention by the U.S. government with respect to foreign governments, economic sectors, foreign companies and related securities and interests) and the imposition of capital controls and/or sanctions, which may also include retaliatory actions of one government against another government, such as seizure of assets. Capital controls and/or sanctions include the prohibition of, or restrictions on, the ability to transfer currency, securities or other assets. Levies may be placed on profits repatriated by foreign entities (such as the Fund). Capital controls and/or sanctions may also impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell or otherwise transfer securities or currency, negatively impact the value and/or liquidity of such instruments, adversely affect the trading market and price for Shares, and cause the Fund to decline in value.

Cash Redemption Risk (U.S. Bond Fund only). When the Fund’s investment strategy requires it to redeem shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds, it may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind (i.e., distribute securities as payment of redemption proceeds). As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used.

Credit Risk (U.S. Bond Fund only). Credit risk is the risk that an issuer or guarantor of debt instruments or the counterparty to a derivatives contract, repurchase agreement or loan of portfolio securities will be unable or unwilling to make its timely interest and/or principal payments or to otherwise honor its obligations. Debt instruments are subject to varying degrees of credit risk, which may be reflected in their credit ratings. There is the chance that the Fund’s portfolio holdings will have their credit ratings downgraded or will default (i.e., fail to make scheduled interest or principal payments), potentially reducing the Fund’s income level or share price.

Currency Exchange Rate Risk (International Equity Fund only). 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.

Emerging Markets Risk (International Equity Fund only). Investments in securities and instruments traded in developing or emerging markets, or that provide exposure to such securities or markets, can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions not associated with investments in U.S. securities and instruments. For example, developing and emerging markets may be subject to (i) greater market volatility, (ii) lower trading volume and liquidity, (iii) greater social, political and economic uncertainty, (iv) governmental controls on foreign investments and limitations on repatriation of invested capital, (v) lower disclosure, corporate governance, auditing and financial reporting standards, (vi) fewer protections of property rights, (vii) restrictions on the transfer of securities or currency, and (viii) settlement and trading practices that differ from those in U.S. markets. Each of these factors may impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell or otherwise transfer securities, adversely affect the trading market and price for Shares and cause the Fund to decline in value.

Equity Market Risk (U.S. Equity Fund and International Equity Fund only). 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.

ETF Risks. Each Fund is an ETF, and, as a result of an ETF’s structure, is exposed to the following risks:

◦

APs, 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.

◦

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.

◦

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.

Extension Risk (U.S. Bond Fund only). During periods of rising interest rates, certain debt obligations will be paid off substantially more slowly than originally anticipated and the value of those securities may fall sharply, resulting in a decline in the Fund’s income and potentially in the value of the Fund’s investments.

Foreign Securities Risk ( International Equity Fund only) . 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 the 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.

Geographic Investment Risk (International Equity Fund only). To the extent that the Fund’s Index 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.

Geopolitical Risk (International Equity Fund only). Some countries and regions in which the Fund invests have experienced security concerns, war or threats of war and aggression, terrorism, economic uncertainty, natural and environmental disasters and/or systemic market dislocations that have led, and in the future may lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on the U.S. and world economies and markets generally. Such geopolitical and other events may also disrupt securities markets and, during such market disruptions, the Fund’s exposure to the other risks described herein will likely increase. Each of the foregoing may negatively impact the Fund’s investments.

Government Obligations Risk (U.S. Bond Fund only). The Fund may invest in securities issued, sponsored or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities. However, no assurance can be given that the U.S. government will provide financial support to U.S. government-sponsored agencies or instrumentalities where it is not obligated to do so by law. For instance, securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (“Ginnie Mae”) are supported by the full faith and credit of the United States. Securities issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have historically been supported only by the discretionary authority of the U.S. government. While the U.S. government provides financial support to various U.S. government-sponsored agencies and instrumentalities, such as those listed above, no assurance can be given that it will always do so. In September 2008, at the direction of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed into conservatorship under the Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”), an independent regulator, and they remain in such status as of the date of this Prospectus. The U.S. government also took steps to provide additional financial support to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The total public debt of the United States as a percentage of gross domestic product has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 2008–2009 financial downturn. Although high debt levels do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, they may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented. A high national debt can raise concerns that the U.S. government will not be able to make principal or interest payments when they are due. This increase has also necessitated the need for the U.S. Congress to negotiate adjustments to the statutory debt ceiling to increase the cap on the amount the U.S. government is permitted to borrow to meet its existing obligations and finance current budget deficits. 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.

High-Yield Securities Risk (U.S. Bond Fund only). Below investment grade instruments are commonly referred to as "junk" or high-yield instruments and are regarded as predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer's capacity to pay interest and repay principal. Lower grade instruments may be particularly susceptible to economic downturns. It is likely that a prolonged or deepening economic recession could adversely affect the ability of the issuers of such instruments to repay principal and pay interest thereon, increase the incidence of default for such instruments and severely disrupt the market value of such instruments.

Lower grade instruments, though higher yielding, are characterized by higher risk. They may be subject to certain risks with respect to the issuing entity and to greater market fluctuations than certain lower yielding, higher rated instruments. The retail secondary market for lower grade instruments may be less liquid than that for higher rated instruments. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may also decrease the value and liquidity of these high-yield securities. Adverse conditions could make it difficult at times for the Fund to sell certain instruments or could result in lower prices than those used in calculating the Fund's NAV. Because of the substantial risks associated with investments in lower grade instruments, investors could lose money on their investment in the Fund, both in the short-term and the long-term.

The Fund's investments in distressed and defaulted securities may be considered speculative and involve substantial risks in addition to the risks of investing in junk bonds. The Fund will generally not receive interest payments on the distressed securities and the principal may also be at risk. These securities may present a substantial risk of default or may be in default at the time of investment, requiring the Fund to incur additional costs.

Interest Rate Risk (U.S. Bond Fund only). As interest rates rise, the value of a fixed-income security held by the Fund is likely to decrease. Securities with longer durations tend to be more sensitive to interest rate changes, usually making them more volatile than securities with shorter durations. To the extent the Fund invests a substantial portion of its assets in fixed-income securities with longer-term durations, rising interest rates may cause the value of the Fund’s investments to decline significantly.

Issuer-Specific Risk (U.S. Bond Fund only). Changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular type of security or issuer, and changes in general economic or political conditions can affect a security’s or instrument’s value. The value of securities of smaller, less well-known issuers can be more volatile than that of larger issuers. Issuer-specific events can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.

Liquidity Risk (U.S. Bond Fund only). Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell. To the extent the Fund invests in illiquid securities or securities that become less liquid, such investments may have a negative effect on the returns of the Fund because the Fund may be unable to sell the illiquid securities at an advantageous time or price. To the extent that the Fund’s principal investment strategies involve investing in securities with substantial market and/or credit risk, the Fund will tend to have the greatest exposure to liquidity risk. Liquid investments may become illiquid after purchase by the Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. Illiquid investments may be harder to value, especially in changing markets, and if the Fund is forced to sell these investments to meet redemption requests or for other cash needs, the Fund may suffer a loss. There can be no assurance that a security that is deemed to be liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid for as long as it is held by the Fund.

Market Capitalization Risk.

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

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Small-Capitalization Investing (U.S. Equity Fund and International Equity Fund only). 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.

Market Risk (U.S. Bond Fund only). The trading prices of debt securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors. These factors include events impacting the entire market or specific market segments, such as political, market and economic developments, as well as events that impact specific issuers. A Fund’s NAV and market price, like security and commodity prices generally, may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time.

Mortgage- and Asset-Backed Securities Risk (U.S. Bond Fund only). Mortgage- and asset-backed securities are more sensitive to interest rate risk than other types of fixed income securities. Modest movements in interest rates (both increases and decreases) may quickly and significantly reduce the value of certain types of these securities. When interest rates fall, mortgage- and asset-backed securities may be subject to prepayment risk. Prepayment risk is the risk that the borrower will prepay some or the entire principal owed to the investor. If that happens, the Fund may have to replace the security by investing the proceeds in a security with a lower yield. This could reduce the share price and income distributions of the Fund, which invests in mortgage- and asset-backed securities. When interest rates rise, certain types of mortgage- and asset-backed securities are subject to extension risk. Mortgage- and asset-backed securities can also be subject to the risk of default on the underlying residential or commercial mortgage(s) or other assets. Weakening real estate markets may cause default rates to rise, which would result in a decline in the value of mortgage-backed securities.

Passive Investment Risk. Each Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, its Index regardless of their investment merit. Each Fund does not attempt to outperform its Index or take defensive positions in declining markets. As a result, a Fund’s performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to its Index. The returns from the types of securities in which a Fund invests may underperform returns from the various general securities markets or different asset classes. This may cause a Fund to underperform other investment vehicles that invest in different asset classes. Different types of securities (for example, large-, mid- and small-capitalization stocks) tend to go through cycles of doing better – or worse – than the general securities markets. In the past, these periods have lasted for as long as several years.

Portfolio Turnover Risk . Each Fund may trade all or a significant portion of the securities in its portfolio in connection with each rebalance and reconstitution of its Index. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase a Fund’s expenses. Frequent trading may also cause adverse tax consequences for investors in a Fund due to an increase in short-term capital gains.

Prepayment Risk (U.S. Bond Fund only). This is the risk that a borrower will prepay some or the entire principal owed to the Fund. If that happens, the Fund may have to replace the security by investing the proceeds in a security with a lower yield. This could reduce the share price and income distributions of the Fund.

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

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Financial Sector Risk (U.S. Equity Fund and International Equity Fund only). Companies in the financial sector of an economy are often subject to extensive governmental regulation and intervention, which may adversely affect the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge and the amount of capital they must maintain. Governmental regulation may change frequently and may have significant adverse consequences for companies in the financial sector, including effects not intended by such regulation. The impact of recent or future regulation in various countries on any individual financial company or on the sector as a whole cannot be predicted.

Certain risks may impact the value of investments in the financial sector more severely than those of investments outside this sector, including the risks associated with companies that operate with substantial financial leverage. Companies in the financial sector may also be adversely affected by increases in interest rates and loan losses, decreases in the availability of money or asset valuations, credit rating downgrades and adverse conditions in other related markets.

Insurance companies, in particular, may be subject to severe price competition and/or rate regulation, which may have an adverse impact on their profitability. Insurance companies are subject to extensive government regulation in some countries and can be significantly affected by changes in interest rates, general economic conditions, price and marketing competition, the imposition of premium rate caps, or other changes in government regulation or tax law. Different segments of the insurance industry can be significantly affected by mortality and morbidity rates, environmental clean-up costs and catastrophic events such as earthquakes, hurricanes and terrorist acts.

The financial sector is also a target for cyber attacks and may experience technology malfunctions and disruptions. In recent years, cyber attacks and technology failures have become increasingly frequent and have caused significant losses.

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Health Care Sector Risk (U.S. Equity Fund only). Companies in the health care sector are subject to extensive government regulation and their profitability can be significantly affected by restrictions on government reimbursement for medical expenses, rising costs of medical products and services, pricing pressure (including price discounting), limited product lines and an increased emphasis on the delivery of healthcare through outpatient services. Companies in the health care sector are heavily dependent on obtaining and defending patents, which may be time consuming and costly, and the expiration of patents may also adversely affect the profitability of these companies. Health care companies are also subject to extensive litigation based on product liability and similar claims. In addition, their products can become obsolete due to industry innovation, changes in technologies or other market developments. Many new products in the health care sector require significant research and development and may be subject to regulatory approvals, all of which may be time consuming and costly with no guarantee that any product will come to market.

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Industrial Sector Risk (U.S. Equity Fund and International Equity Fund only). The industrial sector can be significantly affected by, among other things, worldwide economic growth, supply and demand for specific products and services, rapid technological developments, international political and economic developments, environmental issues, tariffs and trade barriers, and tax and governmental regulatory policies. As the demand for, or prices of, industrials increase, the value of the Fund’s investments generally would be expected to also increase. Conversely, declines in the demand for, or prices of, industrials generally would be expected to contribute to declines in the value of such securities. Such declines may occur quickly and without warning and may negatively impact the value of the Fund and your investment.

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Information Technology Sector Risk (U.S. Equity Fund and International Equity Fund only). Market or economic factors impacting information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technological advances could have a significant effect on the value of the Fund’s investments. The value of stocks of information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology is particularly vulnerable to rapid changes in technology product cycles, rapid product obsolescence, government regulation and competition, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Stocks of information technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology, especially those of smaller, less-seasoned companies, tend to be more volatile than the overall market. Information technology companies are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights, the loss or impairment of which may adversely affect profitability. Additionally, companies in the technology sector may face dramatic and often unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified personnel.

TBA Securities and Rolls Risk (U.S. Bond Fund only). The Fund may invest in TBA securities. In a TBA transaction, a seller agrees to deliver a security at a future date, but does not specify the particular security to be delivered. Instead, the seller agrees to accept any security that meets specified terms. The principal risks of TBA transactions are increased credit risk and increased overall investment exposure.

The Fund may enter into TBA roll transactions, in which the Fund sells mortgage-backed securities for delivery in the current month and simultaneously contracts to purchase substantially similar securities on a specified future date from the same party. The investor may assume some risk because the characteristics of the MBS delivered to the investor may be less favorable than the MBS the investor delivered to the dealer. Because the dealer is not obligated to return the identical MBS collateral that the investor has delivered, both parties usually transact the dollar roll with generic MBS pools that have the same or less value than the average TBA-eligible security.

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

Portfolio Holdings Information

Information about the Funds’ daily portfolio holdings is available at www.videntfunds.com . A description of the Funds’ policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Funds’ portfolio holdings is available in the Funds’ Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).

Management

Investment Adviser

Vident Advisory, LLC (“Vident Advisory”) serves as the investment adviser to the Funds. Vident Advisory is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vident Financial, LLC, was formed in 2016, and commenced operations and registered with the SEC as an investment adviser in 2019. On October 30, 2018, the SEC issued an exemptive order to Vident Advisory and the Trust permitting Vident Advisory to manage index-based exchange-traded funds. Its principal office is located at 1125 Sanctuary Parkway, Suite 515, Alpharetta, Georgia 30009. Pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement, each Fund pays Vident Advisory a unitary management fee, which is calculated daily and paid monthly, at an annual rate based on a percentage of each Fund’s average daily net assets, as shown in the following table:



Fund	Management Fee
Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy ETF	0.41%
Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund	0.50%
Vident International Equity Fund	0.61%

Prior to April 1, 2019, Exchange Traded Concepts, LLC (“ETC”) served as the investment adviser to the Funds. During the fiscal period from September 1, 2018 through March 31, 2019, each Fund paid ETC for its advisory services under the same unitary management fee schedule described above.

Out of the unitary management fee, Vident Advisory has agreed to pay substantially all expenses of the Funds, including the cost of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, securities lending and other non-distribution related services necessary for the Funds to operate, except for: the fee paid to Vident Advisory pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement, interest charges on any borrowings, dividends and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes and related services , 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 Adviser, in turn, compensates the Sub-Adviser from the management fee the Adviser receives.

The basis for the Board’s approval of the Funds’ Investment Advisory Agreement is available in the Funds’ Semi-Annual Report to Shareholders for the period ended February 28, 2019.

Sub-Adviser

The Adviser has retained Vident Investment Advisory, LLC to serve as sub-adviser for the Funds. VIA is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Funds. 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 Funds. The Sub-Adviser is responsible for trading portfolio securities for the Funds, including selecting broker-dealers to execute purchase and sale transactions or in connection with any rebalancing or reconstitution of the Indexes, 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 based on the average daily net assets of each Fund and subject to a minimum annual fee as follows:



Fund	Minimum Annual Fee	Asset-Based Fee
Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund	$50,000	4 bps (0.04%)
Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy ETF	$75,000	6 bps (0.06%) on the first $250 million 5 bps (0.05%) on the next $250 million 4 bps (0.04%) on the next $500 million 3 bps (0.03%) on the balance over $1 billion
Vident International Equity Fund^*	$75,000	6 bps (0.06%) on the first $500 million 5 bps (0.05%) on the next $500 million 4 bps (0.04%) on the balance over $1 billion

* Prior to April 1, 2019, ETC paid the Sub-Adviser a fee, calculated daily and paid monthly, at an annual rate of 8 bps (0.08%) on the first $500 million, 7 bps (0.07%) on the next $500 million, and 5 bps (0.05% ) on the balance over $1 billion based on the average daily net assets of the International Equity Fund and subject to a minimum annual fee of $75,000.

The basis for the Board’s approval of the Funds’ Sub-Advisory Agreement is available in the Funds’ Semi-Annual Report to Shareholders for the period ended February 28, 2019.

Portfolio Managers

The Funds are managed by VIA’s portfolio management team. The individual members of the team responsible for the day to day management of the Funds’ portfolios are listed below.

Denise Krisko, CFA, is a portfolio manager for each Fund. Ms. Krisko became the President of the Sub-Adviser in November 2014 and has over twenty years of investment management experience. Ms. Krisko was previously the Chief Investment Officer at Index Management Solutions, LLC (“IMS”). Prior to joining IMS in 2010, 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 (“CFA”) designation in 2000. Ms. Krisko graduated with a BS from Pennsylvania State University and obtained her MBA from Villanova University.

Jim Iredale, CFA, is a portfolio manager for the U.S. Bond Fund. Mr. Iredale became a Senior Portfolio Manager – Fixed Income at Vident in 2015 and has over 15 years of experience managing fixed income products. Prior to joining Vident, Mr. Iredale was a Manager – Fixed Income with Ronald Blue & Co., one of the largest independent wealth management firms in the U.S., where he started in 1999. Mr. Iredale graduated with a BBA from the University of Georgia, Terry College of Business and obtained his JD from the University of Georgia School of Law. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Habib Moudachirou, FRM, is a portfolio manager for each Fund. Mr. Moudachirou became a Senior Portfolio Manager at Vident in 2018 and has over 17 years of experience that includes portfolio management in both active and strategic beta indexation internationally. Prior to joining Vident, he served as an Executive Director and Portfolio Manager at J.P. Morgan, where he was responsible for building and managing smart beta and alternative risk premia strategies; employing cost-effective and liquid replacement solutions for hedge fund exposure; and utilizing risk factor investing. From January 2012 to September 2015, he was a Portfolio Manager at Emerging Global

Advisors, where he was responsible for managing smart beta emerging market focused ETFs. Mr. Moudachirou is also an Adjunct Professor at the New York University School of Professional Studies. He holds a B.S. in Physics from Pierre and Marie Curie University as well as an M.S. in Quantitative Finance from the University of Rennes, France. Additionally, Mr. Moudachirou has an M.S.E. in Statistics from the French National School of Statistics University and Information Analysis, ENSAI. He also holds the Financial Risk Manager (“FRM”) designation.

Austin Wen, CFA, is a portfolio manager for the U.S. Equity Fund . Mr. Wen has been a Portfolio Manager of VIA since 2016 and has seven years of investment management experience. His focus at VIA is on portfolio management and trading, risk monitoring and investment analysis. Previously, he was an analyst for Vident Financial beginning in 2014, working on the development and review of investment solutions. He began his career in 2011 as a State Examiner for the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance. Mr. Wen obtained a BA in Finance from the University of Georgia and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Rafael Zayas, CFA, is a portfolio manager for the International Equity Fund. Mr. Zayas became a Senior Portfolio Manager – International Equity at Vident in 2017 and has over 15 years of experience that includes managing international equity portfolios, including in emerging and frontier markets. Prior to joining Vident, he was a Portfolio Manager – Direct Investments for seven years at Russell Investments, a global asset manager, where he co-managed more than $4 billion in quantitative strategies across global markets, including the Russell Strategic Call Overwriting Fund, a mutual fund. Mr. Zayas also helped Russell Investments launch its sponsored ETF initiative and advised on index methodologies. Prior to joining Russell Investments, Mr. Zayas was a Portfolio Manager – Equity Indexing at Mellon Capital Management, where he managed assets for internationally listed global equity ETFs. Mr. Zayas graduated with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University and obtained a Certificate in Computational Finance and Risk Management from the University of Washington. He also attained the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2010.

The Funds’ SAI provides additional information about the Portfolio Managers’ compensation structure, other accounts managed by the Portfolio Managers, and the Portfolio Managers’ ownership of Shares of each Fund.

How to Buy and Sell Shares

Each Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in Creation Units. Only APs may acquire Shares directly from a Fund, and only APs may tender their Shares for redemption directly to a Fund, at NAV. APs must be (i) a broker-dealer or other participant in the clearing process through the Continuous Net Settlement System of the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”), a clearing agency that is registered with the SEC; or (ii) a Depository Trust Corporation (“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.

Book Entry

Shares are held in book-entry form, which means that no stock certificates are issued. The 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 applicable 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 Funds are not involved in or responsible for any aspect of the calculation or dissemination of the IIVs and make 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 a Fund’s portfolio because the basket of Deposit Securities does not necessarily reflect the precise composition of the current Fund portfolios 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 a 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 Funds impose no restrictions on the frequency of purchases and redemptions of Shares. In determining not to approve a written, established policy, the Board evaluated the risks of market timing activities by Fund shareholders. Purchases and redemptions by APs, who are the only parties that may purchase or redeem Shares directly with a Fund, are an essential part of the ETF process and help keep Share trading prices in line with NAV. As such, the Funds accommodate frequent purchases and redemptions by APs. However, the Board has also determined that frequent purchases and redemptions for cash may increase tracking error and portfolio transaction costs and may lead to the realization of capital gains. To minimize these potential consequences of frequent purchases and redemptions, the Funds employ fair value pricing and may impose transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by a Fund in effecting trades. In addition, the Funds and the Adviser reserve the right to reject any purchase order at any time.

Determination of NAV

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

In calculating its NAV, each Fund generally values its assets on the basis of market quotations, last sale prices, or estimates of value furnished by a pricing service or brokers who make markets in such instruments. Debt obligations with maturities of 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost. The values of non-U.S. dollar denominated securities are converted to U.S. dollars using foreign currency exchange rates generally determined as of 4:00 p.m., London time. If the foregoing information is not available for a security held by a Fund or is determined to be unreliable, the security will be valued at fair value estimates under guidelines established by the 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 Funds 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 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.

Delivery of Shareholder Documents – Householding

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

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. The SEC has granted an exemptive order to the Trust permitting registered investment companies that enter into an agreement with the Trust (“Investing Funds”) to invest in the Funds, and certain other series of the Trust, beyond the limits of Section 12(d)(1), subject to certain terms and conditions. However, to the extent a Fund invests in securities of another investment company, including other Vident Funds, in excess of the limits contained in section 12(d)(1)(A), such exemptive relief will not be applicable to such Fund. Accordingly, Investing Funds must adhere to the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1) when investing in such Fund.

Dividends, Distributions and Taxes

Dividends and Distributions

Each Fund intends to pay out dividends, if any, quarterly. Each Fund intends to distribute any net realized capital gains to its shareholders at least annually. Each 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 a Fund. Your investment in a Fund may have other tax implications. Please consult your tax advisor about the tax consequences of an investment in Shares, including the possible application of foreign, state, and local tax laws.

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 regulated investment company (“RIC”) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, such as a Fund. The Tax Act, however, made numerous other changes to the tax rules that may affect shareholders and the Funds. You are urged to consult with your own tax advisor regarding how the Tax Act affects your investment in the Funds.

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

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

Taxes on Distributions

Each 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 a Fund owned the investments that generated them, rather than how long a shareholder has owned his or her Shares. Sales of assets held by a Fund for more than one year generally result in long-term capital gains and losses, and sales of assets held by a Fund for one year or less generally result in short-term capital gains and losses. Distributions of a Fund’s net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses) that are reported by such Fund as capital gain dividends (“Capital Gain Dividends”) will be taxable as long-term capital gains, 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 income. Dividends and distributions are generally taxable to you whether you receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional Shares.

Distributions reported by a Fund as “qualified dividend income” are generally taxed to non-corporate shareholders at rates applicable to long-term capital gains, provided 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. Since the U.S. Bond Fund’s income is derived primarily from interest income, it is not expected that the Fund will distribute “qualified dividend income” or income that would qualify for the dividends-received deduction for corporate shareholders. In addition, since the International Equity Fund invests primarily in securities of non-U.S. issuers, it is not expected that a significant portion of the dividends received from such Fund will qualify for the dividends-received deduction for corporations.

Shortly after the close of each calendar year, you will be informed of the character of any distributions received from a 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 a Fund before your investment (and thus were included in the Shares’ NAV when you purchased your Shares).

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

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

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

Taxes When Fund 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.

Each 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. Such Fund may sell portfolio securities to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause such 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, such Fund may be less tax efficient if it includes such a cash payment in the proceeds paid upon the redemption of Creation Units.

Foreign Investments by the Funds

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

The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the possible consequences under current federal tax law of an investment in each Fund. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. You also may be subject to 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, ALPS Distributors, Inc. , is a broker-dealer registered with the SEC. The Distributor distributes Creation Units for the Funds on an agency basis and does not maintain a secondary market in Shares. The Distributor has no role in determining the policies of the Funds or the securities that are purchased or sold by the Funds. The Distributor’s principal address is 1290 Broadway, Suite 1000, Denver, Colorado 80203 .

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

No Rule 12b-1 fees are currently paid by the Funds, and there are no plans to impose these fees. However, in the event Rule 12b-1 fees are charged in the future, because the fees are paid out of Fund 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 of each Fund trade on the Exchange at a price above (i.e., at a premium) or below (i.e., at a discount) the NAV of such Fund is available on the Funds’ website at www.videntfunds.com .

Additional Notices

Shares are not sponsored, endorsed, or promoted by the Exchange. The Exchange makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Shares or any member of the public regarding the ability of the Funds to track the total return performance of their respective Index or the ability of the Indexes identified herein to track the performance of their constituent securities. The Exchange is not responsible for, nor has it participated in, the determination of the compilation or the calculation of the Indexes, nor in the determination of the timing of, prices of, or quantities of the Shares to be issued, nor in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Shares are redeemable. The Exchange has no obligation or liability to owners of the Shares in connection with the administration, marketing, or trading of the Shares.

The Exchange does not guarantee the accuracy and/or the completeness of the Indexes or the data included therein. The Exchange makes no warranty, express or implied, as to results to be obtained by the Funds, owners of the Shares, or any other person or entity from the use of the Indexes or the data included therein. The Exchange makes no express or implied warranties, and hereby expressly disclaims all warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose with respect to the Indexes or the data included therein. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall the Exchange have any liability for any lost profits or indirect, punitive, special, or consequential damages even if notified of the possibility thereof.

The Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, the Index Provider, and the Funds make no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of Shares or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Funds particularly. the Index Provider is a licensor of certain trademarks, service marks and trade names of each Fund. The Index Provider has no obligation to take the needs of the Funds or the owners of Shares into consideration in determining, composing, or calculating the Indexes. The Index Provider is not responsible for, and has not participated in, the determination of the timing of, prices of, or quantities of Shares to be issued or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Shares are redeemable. Each Fund, the Index Provider and the Adviser do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or performance of the Indexes or the data included therein and shall have no liability in connection with the Indexes or Index calculations. The Index Provider owns the Indexes and the Index methodologies and is the licensor of the Indexes to the Adviser, the licensees and the Index receipt agents. The Index Provider has contracted with each Index calculation agent to maintain and calculate the Indexes used by the Funds. Each index calculation agent shall have no liability for any errors or omissions in calculating the Index.

Financial Highlights

The financial highlights tables are intended to help you understand each Fund’s financial performance for the period of the Funds’ operations. Certain information reflects financial results for a single Share. The total returns in the tables represent the rate that an investor would have earned or lost on an investment in a Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been audited by Cohen & Company, Ltd. , the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the Funds’ financial statements, is included in the Funds’ annual report, which is available upon request.

VIDENT CORE U.S. BOND STRATEGY ETF

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

For a capital share outstanding throughout each period



	Year Ended August 31,														Period Ended August 31,
	2019			2018				2017			2016				2015^(a)
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period	$	47.93		$	50.26			$	51.65		$	49.57			$	50.00

INCOME (LOSS) FROM
INVESTMENT OPERATIONS:
Net Investment Income^(b)	1.50			1.17				0.92			0.86				0.63
Net Realized and Unrealized
Gain (Loss) on Investments	3.34			(2.39		)		(0.74		)	1.96				(0.70		)
Total from Investment Operations	4.84			(1.22		)		0.18			2.82				(0.07		)

LESS DISTRIBUTIONS:
From Net Investment Income	(1.56		)	(1.11		)		(0.93		)	(0.74		)		(0.39		)
From Net Realized Gains	—			—				(0.65		)	—				—
Total Distributions	(1.56		)	(1.11		)		(1.58		)	(0.74		)		(0.39		)

CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS
Transaction Fees	0.01			—			^(c)	0.01			—			^(c)	0.03
Net Asset Value, End of Period	$	51.22		$	47.93			$	50.26		$	51.65			$	49.57
Total Return	10.37		%	-2.42		%		0.50		%	5.76		%		-0.08		%	^(d)

SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:
Net Assets at End of Period (000’s)	$	486,612		$	536,796			$	557,851		$	480,334			$	426,297

RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS:
Expenses to Average Net Assets
(Before Management Fees Waived)	0.41		%	0.43		%		0.45		%	0.45		%		0.45		%	^(e)
Expenses to Average Net Assets
(After Management Fees Waived)	0.41		%	0.42		%		0.45		%	0.45		%		0.45		%	^(e)
Net Investment Income to Average Net Assets
(Before Management Fees Waived)	3.11		%	2.42		%		1.86		%	1.72		%		1.43		%	^(e)
Net Investment Income to Average Net Assets
(After Management Fees Waived)	3.11		%	2.43		%		1.86		%	1.72		%		1.43		%	^(e)
Portfolio Turnover Rate^(f)	384		%	324		%		296		%	440		%		409		%	^(d)


(a)	Commencement of operations on October 15, 2014.


(b)	Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period.


(c)	Less than $0.005.


(d)	Not annualized.


(e)	Annualized.


(f)	Excludes impact of in-kind transactions.

VIDENT CORE U.S. EQUITY FUND

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

For a capital share outstanding throughout each year



	Year Ended August 31,
	2019				2018			2017			2016			2015
Net Asset Value,
Beginning of Period	$	35.33			$	29.83		$	26.55		$	25.37		$	26.77

INCOME (LOSS) FROM
INVESTMENT OPERATIONS:
Net Investment Income (Loss)^(a)	0.49				0.40			0.35			0.47			0.46
Net Realized and Unrealized
Gain (Loss) on Investments	(5.60		)		5.52			3.20			1.17			(1.43		)
Total from Investment
Operations	(5.11		)		5.92			3.55			1.64			(0.97		)

LESS DISTRIBUTIONS:
From Net Investment Income	(0.50		)		(0.42		)	(0.27		)	(0.46		)	(0.43		)
From Net Realized Gains	—				—			—			—			—			^(b)
Total Distributions	(0.50		)		(0.42		)	(0.27		)	(0.46		)	(0.43		)

CAPITAL SHARE
TRANSACTIONS
Transaction Fees	—			^(b)	—			—			—			—			^(b)
Net Asset Value, End of Period	$	29.72			$	35.33		$	29.83		$	26.55		$	25.37
Total Return	-14.49		%		19.95		%	13.42		%	6.61		%	-3.70		%

SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:
Net Assets at End of Period (000’s)	$	478,413			$	671,355		$	501,156		$	467,248		$	400,787

RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS:
Expenses to Average Net Assets
(Before Management Fees Waived)	0.50		%		0.52		%	0.55		%	0.55		%	0.55		%
Expenses to Average Net Assets
(After Management Fees Waived)	0.50		%		0.51		%	0.55		%	0.55		%	0.55		%
Net Investment Income to
Average Net Assets
(Before Management Fees Waived)	1.56		%		1.20		%	1.24		%	1.87		%	1.72		%
Net Investment Income to
Average Net Assets
(After Management Fees Waived)	1.56		%		1.21		%	1.24		%	1.87		%	1.72		%
Portfolio Turnover Rate^(c)	71		%		63		%	68		%	114		%	90		%


(a)	Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period.


(b)	Less than $0.005.


(c)	Excludes impact of in-kind transactions.

VIDENT INTERNATIONAL EQUITY FUND

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

For a capital share outstanding throughout each year



	Year Ended August 31,
	2019				2018				2017				2016				2015
Net Asset Value,
Beginning of Period	$	25.19			$	27.16			$	21.60			$	20.82			$	25.70

INCOME (LOSS) FROM
INVESTMENT OPERATIONS:
Net Investment Income (Loss)^(a)	0.74				0.60				0.50				0.46				0.44
Net Realized and Unrealized
Gain (Loss) on Investments	(2.64		)		(1.91		)		5.60				0.70				(4.89		)
Total from Investment
Operations	(1.90		)		(1.31		)		6.10				1.16				(4.45		)

LESS DISTRIBUTIONS:
From Net Investment Income	(0.70		)		(0.66		)		(0.54		)		(0.38		)		(0.43		)
Total Distributions	(0.70		)		(0.66		)		(0.54		)		(0.38		)		(0.43		)

CAPITAL SHARE
TRANSACTIONS
Transaction Fees	—			^(b)	—			^(b)	—			^(b)	—			^(b)	—			^(b)
Net Asset Value, End of Period	$	22.59			$	25.19			$	27.16			$	21.60			$	20.82
Total Return	-7.61		%		-4.97		%		28.70		%		5.68		%		-17.60		%

SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:
Net Assets at End of Period (000’s)	$	569,345			$	609,628			$	722,364			$	583,078			$	616,410

RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS:
Expenses to Average Net Assets
(Before Management Fees Waived)	0.61		%		0.64		%		0.68		%		0.68		%		0.71		%
Expenses to Average Net Assets
(After Management Fees Waived)	0.61		%		0.63		%		0.68		%		0.68		%		0.71		%
Net Investment Income to
Average Net Assets
(Before Management Fees Waived)	3.09		%		2.18		%		2.13		%		2.25		%		1.85		%
Net Investment Income to
Average Net Assets
(After Management Fees Waived)	3.09		%		2.19		%		2.13		%		2.25		%		1.85		%
Portfolio Turnover Rate^(c)	76		%		66		%		73		%		106		%		43		%


(a)	Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period.


(b)	Less than $0.005.


(c)	Excludes impact of in-kind transactions.

Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy ETF

Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund

Vident International Equity Fund



Adviser	Vident Advisory, LLC 1125 Sanctuary Parkway, Suite 515 Alpharetta, Georgia 30009	Sub-Adviser	Vident Investment Advisory, LLC 1125 Sanctuary Parkway, Suite 515 Alpharetta, Georgia 30009
Custodian	U.S. Bank National Association 1555 N. Rivercenter Drive, Suite 302 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212	Distributor	ALPS Distributors, Inc. 1290 Broadway, Suite 1000 Denver, Colorado 80203
Legal Counsel	Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20004-2541	Index Provider	Vident Financial, LLC 1125 Sanctuary Parkway, Suite 515 Alpharetta, Georgia 30009
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm	Cohen & Company, Ltd. 342 North Water Street, Suite 830 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202	Transfer Agent, Fund Accountant and Administrator	U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC d/b/a U.S. Bank Global Fund Services 615 East Michigan Street Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202

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

Statement of Additional Information: The Funds’ SAI provides additional details about the investments of the Funds and certain other additional information. A current SAI dated January 1, 2020 is on file with the SEC and is herein incorporated by reference into this Prospectus. It is legally considered a part of this Prospectus.

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

To make shareholder inquiries, for more detailed information on the Funds, or to request the SAI or annual or semi-annual shareholder reports (once available) free of charge, please:



Call:	1-800-617-0004 Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (Central time)	Write:	Vident Funds c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services P.O. Box 701 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
Visit:	www.videntfunds.com

Shareholder reports and other information about the Funds are available, free of charge, on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s Internet site at www.sec.gov and copies of this information may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov.

No person is authorized to give any information or to make any representations about the Funds and their Shares not contained in this Prospectus and you should not rely on any other information. Read and keep this Prospectus for future reference.

(SEC Investment Company Act File No. 811-22668)

Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy ETF^®(VBND)

Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund^®(VUSE)

Vident International Equity Fund^®(VIDI)

Each a series of ETF Series Solutions

Listed on NYSE Arca, Inc.

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

January 1, 2020

This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus and should be read in conjunction with the prospectus dated January 1, 2020 , as may be supplemented from time to time (“Prospectus”), of the Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy ETF (“U.S. Bond Fund”), Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund (“U.S. Equity Fund”) and Vident International Equity Fund (“International Equity Fund”) (each, a “Fund” and, collectively, the “Funds”), each a series of ETF Series Solutions (the “Trust”). Capitalized terms used herein 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 1-800-617-0004, visiting www.videntfunds.com , or writing to Vident Funds, c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, P.O. Box 701, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201.

The Funds’ audited financial statements for their most recent fiscal year are incorporated into this SAI by reference to the Funds’ Annual Report to Shareholders (File No. 811-22668). You may obtain a copy of the Funds’ Annual Report at no charge by request to the Funds at the address or phone number noted above.

TABLE OF CONTENTS



GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST AND THE FUNDS	2
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, POLICIES, AND RELATED RISKS	2
DESCRIPTION OF PERMITTED INVESTMENTS	3
ADDITIONAL INDEX INFORMATION	13
INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS	13
EXCHANGE LISTING AND TRADING	15
MANAGEMENT OF THE TRUST	15
PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS, CONTROL PERSONS, AND MANAGEMENT OWNERSHIP	20
CODES OF ETHICS	20
PROXY VOTING POLICIES	21
INVESTMENT ADVISER AND SUB-ADVISER	21
PORTFOLIO MANAGERS	22
THE DISTRIBUTOR	23
THE ADMINISTRATOR, CUSTODIAN, AND TRANSFER AGENT	24
SECURITIES LENDING ACTIVITIES	25
LEGAL COUNSEL	25
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM	26
PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS DISCLOSURE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES	26
DESCRIPTION OF SHARES	26
LIMITATION OF TRUSTEES’ LIABILITY	26
BROKERAGE TRANSACTIONS	26
BOOK ENTRY ONLY SYSTEM	28
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION OF SHARES IN CREATION UNITS	29
DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE	34
DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS	34
FEDERAL INCOME TAXES	35
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS	41
Appendix A	A-1
Appendix B	B-1

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST AND THE FUNDS

The Trust is an open-end management investment company consisting of multiple investment series. This SAI relates to the Funds. 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 Funds’ 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”). Vident Advisory, LLC (“Vident Advisory” or the “Adviser”) serves as investment adviser to the Funds. Vident Investment Advisory, LLC (the “Sub-Adviser”) serves as sub-adviser to the Funds. The investment objective of the Funds is to seek to track the performance, before fees and expenses, of an applicable underlying Index.

Each Fund offers and issues Shares at its net asset value (“NAV”) only in aggregations of a specified number of Shares (each, a “Creation Unit”). The U.S. Equity Fund and International Equity Fund each generally offer and issue Shares in exchange for a basket of securities included in the applicable Fund’s Index (“Deposit Securities”) together with the deposit of a specified cash payment (“Cash Component”). The U.S. Bond Fund generally offers and issues Shares in exchange for cash. 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 the NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”) and trade on the Exchange at market prices that may differ from the Shares’ NAV. A Creation Unit of a Fund generally consists of 100,000 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

Each 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 each Fund’s investments, unless otherwise noted, if a percentage limitation on investment is adhered to at the time of investment or contract, a subsequent increase or decrease as a result of market movement or redemption will not result in a violation of such investment limitation.

Diversification

Each Fund is “diversified” within the meaning of the 1940 Act. Under applicable federal laws, to qualify as a diversified fund, each Fund, with respect to 75% of its total assets, may not invest greater than 5% of its total assets in any one issuer and may not hold greater than 10% of the securities of one issuer. The remaining 25% of each Fund’s total assets does not need to be “diversified” and may be invested in securities of a single issuer, subject to other applicable laws. The diversification of a fund’s holdings is measured at the time the fund purchases a security. However, if a fund purchases a security and holds it for a period of time, the security may become a larger percentage of the fund’s total assets due to movements in the financial markets. If the market affects several securities held by a fund, the fund may have a greater percentage of its assets invested in securities of fewer issuers. However, each Fund intends to satisfy the asset diversification requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). See “Federal Income Taxes” below for details.

General Risks

The value of a 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 a 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 a 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 a Fund’s portfolio securities are limited or absent, or if bid/ask spreads are wide.

Cyber Security Risk. Investment companies, such as the Funds, 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 a Fund or the Adviser, Sub-Adviser, custodian, transfer agent, intermediaries and other third-party service providers may adversely impact a Fund. For instance, cyber attacks may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, impact a Fund’s ability to calculate its NAV, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential company information, impede trading, subject a Fund to regulatory fines or financial losses, and cause reputational damage. A 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 a Fund invests, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers, and may cause a Fund’s investments in such portfolio companies to lose value.

DESCRIPTION OF PERMITTED INVESTMENTS

The following are descriptions of the Funds’ permitted investments and investment practices and the associated risk factors. A Fund will only invest in any of the following instruments or engage in any of the following investment practices if such investment or activity is consistent with a Fund’s investment objective and permitted by the Fund’s stated investment policies. Each of the permitted investments described below applies to each Fund unless otherwise noted.

Corporate Debt Securities (U.S. Bond Fund only). Corporate debt securities are long- and short-term debt obligations issued by companies (such as publicly issued and privately placed bonds, notes and commercial paper). The Adviser considers corporate debt securities to be of investment grade quality if they are rated BBB or higher by Standard & Poor’s (“S&P”), a division of the McGraw Hill Companies, or Baa or higher by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”), or if unrated, determined by the Adviser to be of comparable quality. Investment grade debt securities generally have adequate to strong protection of principal and interest payments. In the lower end of this category, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity to pay interest and repay principal than in higher rated categories.

Currency Transactions (International Equity Fund only). The Fund may enter into foreign currency forward and foreign currency futures contracts to facilitate local securities settlements or to protect against currency exposure in connection with distributions to shareholders. The Fund does not expect to engage in currency transactions for the purpose of hedging against declines in the value of the Fund’s total assets that are denominated in one or more foreign currencies.

Forward Foreign Currency Contracts. A forward foreign currency exchange contract (“forward contract”) involves an obligation to purchase or sell a specific currency at a future date, which may be any fixed number of days from the date of the contract agreed upon by the parties, at a price set at the time of the contract. These contracts are principally traded in the interbank market conducted directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. Forward contracts are contracts between parties in which one party agrees to make a payment to the other party (the counterparty) based on the market value or level of a specified currency. In return, the counterparty agrees to make payment to the first party based on the return of a different specified currency. A forward contract generally has no margin deposit requirement, and no commissions are charged at any stage for trades. These contracts typically are settled by physical delivery of the underlying currency or currencies in the amount of the full contract value.

A non-deliverable forward contract is a forward contract where there is no physical settlement of two currencies at maturity. Non-deliverable forward contracts will usually be done on a net basis, with the Fund receiving or paying only the net amount of the two payments. The net amount of the excess, if any, of the Fund’s obligations over its entitlements with respect to each non-deliverable forward contract is accrued on a daily basis and an amount of cash or highly liquid securities having an aggregate value at least equal to the accrued excess is maintained in an account at the Fund’s custodian bank. The risk of loss with respect to non-deliverable forward contracts generally is limited to the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually obligated to make or receive.

Foreign Currency Futures Contracts. A foreign currency futures contract is a contract involving an obligation to deliver or acquire the specified amount of a specific currency, at a specified price and at a specified future time. Futures contracts may be settled on a net cash payment basis rather than by the sale and delivery of the underlying currency.

Currency exchange transactions involve a significant degree of risk and the markets in which currency exchange transactions are effected are highly volatile, highly specialized and highly technical. Significant changes, including changes in liquidity and prices, can occur in such markets within very short periods of time, often within minutes. Currency exchange trading risks include, but are not limited to, exchange rate risk, maturity gap, interest rate risk, and potential interference by foreign governments through regulation of local exchange markets, foreign investment or particular transactions in foreign currency. If the Fund utilizes foreign currency transactions at an inappropriate time, such transactions may not serve their intended purpose of improving the correlation of the Fund’s return with the performance of its underlying Index and may lower the Fund’s return. The Fund could experience losses if the value of any currency forwards and futures positions is poorly correlated with its other investments or if it could not close out its positions because of an illiquid market. Such contracts are subject to the risk that the counterparty will default on its obligations. In addition, the Fund will incur transaction costs, including trading commissions, in connection with certain foreign currency transactions.

Depositary Receipts (International Equity Fund only). 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. The use of Depositary Receipts may increase tracking error relative to the underlying Index.

Equity Securities (U.S. Equity Fund and International Equity Fund only). 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 a Fund’s portfolio may also cause the value of the Fund’s Shares to decline.

An investment in the Funds 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 a 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.

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 a 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, a Fund may miss the opportunity to obtain the security at a favorable price or yield.

When purchasing a security on a when-issued basis, a 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 a 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. A Fund will segregate cash or liquid securities equal in value to commitments for the when-issued transactions. A 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.

Exchange-Traded Notes (“ETNs”). A Fund may invest in ETNs. ETNs generally are senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt securities issued by a sponsor, such as an investment bank. ETNs are traded on exchanges and the returns are linked to the performance of market indexes. In addition to trading ETNs on exchanges, investors may redeem ETNs directly with the issuer on a periodic basis, typically in a minimum amount of 50,000 units, or hold the ETNs until maturity. The value of an ETN may be influenced by time to maturity, level of supply and demand for the ETN, volatility and lack of liquidity in the underlying market, changes in the applicable interest rates, and economic, legal, political or geographic events that affect the referenced market. Because ETNs are debt securities, they are subject to credit risk. If the issuer has financial difficulties or goes bankrupt, a Fund may not receive the return it was promised. If a rating agency lowers an issuer’s credit rating, the value of the ETN may decline and a lower credit rating reflects a greater risk that the issuer will default on its obligation. There may be restrictions on a Fund’s right to redeem its investment in an ETN. There are no periodic interest payments for ETNs, and principal is not protected. A Fund’s decision to sell its ETN holdings may be limited by the availability of a secondary market.

Fixed Income Securities. The Funds may invest in fixed income securities. Even though interest-bearing securities are investments that promise a stable stream of income, the prices of such securities are affected by changes in interest rates. In general, fixed income security prices rise when interest rates fall and fall when interest rates rise. Securities with shorter maturities, while offering lower yields, generally provide greater price stability than longer term securities and are less affected by changes in interest rates. The values of fixed income securities also may be affected by changes in the credit rating or financial condition of the issuing entities. Once the rating of a portfolio security has been changed, the Funds will consider all circumstances deemed relevant in determining whether to continue to hold the security.

Fixed income investments bear certain risks, including credit risk, or the ability of an issuer to pay interest and principal as they become due. Generally, higher yielding bonds are subject to more credit risk than lower yielding bonds. Interest rate risk refers to the fluctuations in value of fixed income securities resulting from the inverse relationship between the market value of outstanding fixed income securities and changes in interest rates. An increase in interest rates will generally reduce the market value of fixed income investments and a decline in interest rates will tend to increase their value.

Call risk is the risk that an issuer will pay principal on an obligation earlier than scheduled or expected, which would accelerate cash flows from, and shorten the average life of, the security. Bonds are typically called when interest rates have declined. In the event of a bond being called, the Adviser may have to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities to the detriment of the Funds.

Extension risk is the risk that an issuer may pay principal on an obligation slower than expected, having the effect of extending the average life and duration of the obligation. This typically happens when interest rates have increased.

A number of factors, including changes in a central bank’s monetary policies or general improvements in the economy, may cause interest rates to rise. Fixed income securities with longer durations are more sensitive to interest rate changes than securities with shorter durations, making them more volatile. This means their prices are more likely to experience a considerable reduction in response to a rise in interest rates.

When investing in fixed income securities, the Funds may purchase securities regardless of their rating, including fixed income securities rated below investment grade – securities rated below investment grade are often referred to as high yield securities or “junk bonds”. High yield securities or “junk bonds,” involve special risks in addition to the risks associated with investments in higher rated fixed income securities. While offering a greater potential opportunity for capital appreciation and higher yields, high yield securities may be subject to greater levels of interest rate, credit and liquidity risk, may entail greater potential price volatility, and may be less liquid than higher rated fixed income securities. High yield securities may be regarded as predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer’s continuing ability to meet principal and interest payments. They may also be more susceptible to real or perceived adverse economic and competitive industry conditions than higher rated securities. Fixed income securities rated in the lowest investment grade categories by the rating agencies may also possess speculative characteristics. If securities are in default with respect to the payment of interest or the

repayment of principal, or present an imminent risk of default with respect to such payments, the issuer of such securities may fail to resume principal or interest payments, in which case a Fund may lose its entire investment in the high yield security. In addition, to the extent that there is no established retail secondary market, there may be thin trading of high yield securities, and this may have an impact on a Fund’s ability to accurately value high yield securities and the Fund’s assets and on the Fund’s ability to dispose of the securities. Adverse publicity and investor perception, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may decrease the values and liquidity of high yield securities especially in a thinly traded market.

Fixed-Income Securities Ratings (U.S. Bond Fund only). The nationally recognized statistical rating organizations publish ratings based upon their assessment of the relative creditworthiness of the rated fixed-income securities. Generally, a lower rating indicates higher credit risk, and higher yields are ordinarily available from fixed-income securities in the lower rating categories to compensate investors for the increased credit risk. Any use of credit ratings in evaluating fixed-income securities can involve certain risks. For example, ratings assigned by the rating agencies are based upon an analysis completed at the time of the rating of the obligor’s ability to pay interest and repay principal, typically relying to a large extent on historical data. Rating agencies typically rely to a large extent on historical data which may not accurately represent present or future circumstances. Ratings do not purport to reflect to risk of fluctuations in market value of the fixed-income security and are not absolute standards of quality and only express the rating agency’s current opinion of an obligor’s overall financial capacity to pay its financial obligations. A credit rating is not a statement of fact or a recommendation to purchase, sell or hold a fixed-income obligation. Also, credit quality can change suddenly and unexpectedly, and credit ratings may not reflect the issuer’s current financial condition or events since the security was last rated. Rating agencies may have a financial interest in generating business, including the arranger or issuer of the security that normally pays for that rating, and a low rating might affect future business. While rating agencies have policies and procedures to address this potential conflict of interest, there is a risk that these policies will fail to prevent a conflict of interest from impacting the rating. Additionally, legislation has been enacted in an effort to reform rating agencies. Rules have also been adopted by the SEC to require rating agencies to provide additional disclosure and reduce conflicts of interest, and further reform has been proposed. It is uncertain how such legislation or additional regulation might impact the ratings agencies business and the Sub-Adviser’s investment process.

Prepayment risk occurs when a fixed-income investment held by the Fund may be repaid in whole or in part prior to its maturity. The amount of prepayable obligations the Fund invests in from time to time may be affected by general business conditions, market interest rates, borrowers’ financial conditions and competitive conditions among lenders. In a period of declining interest rates, borrowers may repay investments more quickly than anticipated, reducing the yield to maturity and the average life of the relevant investment. Moreover, when the Fund reinvests the proceeds of a prepayment in these circumstances, it will likely receive a rate of interest that is lower than the rate on the security that was prepaid. To the extent that the Fund purchases a relevant investment at a premium, prepayments may result in a loss to the extent of the premium paid. If the Fund buys such investments at a discount, both scheduled payments and unscheduled prepayments will increase current and total returns and unscheduled prepayments will also accelerate the recognition of income. In a period of rising interest rates, prepayments of investments may occur at a slower than expected rate, creating maturity extension risk. This particular risk may effectively change an investment that was considered short- or intermediate-term at the time of purchase into a longer-term investment. Since the value of longer-term investments generally fluctuates more widely in response to changes in interest rates than short-term investments, maturity extension risk could increase the volatility of the Fund. When interest rates decline, the value of an investment with prepayment features may not increase as much as that of other fixed-income securities and, as noted above, changes in market rates of interest may accelerate or delay prepayments and thus affect maturities.

High Yield and Unrated Securities Risk (U.S. Bond Fund only). The Fund may invest in high yield securities and unrated securities of similar credit quality (commonly known as “junk bonds”). High yield securities generally pay higher yields (greater income) than investment in higher quality securities; however, high yield securities may be subject to greater levels of interest rate, credit and liquidity risk than funds that do not invest in such securities, and are considered predominantly speculative with respect to an issuer’s continuing ability to make principal and interest payments. Successful investment in high yield securities and unrated securities of similar quality involves greater investment risk and is highly dependent on the applicable investment adviser’s credit analysis. The value of these securities often fluctuates in response to company, political or economic developments and declines significantly over short periods of time or during periods of general economic difficulty. An economic downturn or period of rising interest rates could adversely affect the market for these securities and reduce the ability to sell these securities (liquidity risk). These securities can also be thinly traded or have restrictions on resale, making them difficult to sell at an acceptable price. Because objective pricing data may be less available, judgment may play a greater role in the valuation process. If the issuer of a security is in default with respect to interest or principal payments, the Fund may lose its entire investment.

Illiquid Investments. Each 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 1940 Act. A Fund may not invest in illiquid investments 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 a Fund to dispose of illiquid investments readily or at a reasonable price could impair a Fund’s ability to raise cash for redemptions or other purposes. The liquidity of securities purchased by a Fund, which are eligible for resale pursuant to Rule 144A, except for certain 144A bonds, will be monitored by a Fund on an ongoing basis. In the event that more than 15% of a Fund’s 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. A Fund may invest in the securities of other investment companies. The 1940 Act generally prohibits a fund from acquiring more than 3% of the outstanding voting shares of an investment company and limits such investments to no more than 5% of the fund’s total assets in any single investment company and no more than 10% in any combination of two or more investment companies. A Fund may purchase or otherwise invest in shares of affiliated or non-affiliated exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) and money market funds.

A Fund may invest in the securities of other investment companies, including ETFs, closed-end funds and open-end (mutual) funds (also called underlying funds). Such underlying funds may include affiliated or non-affiliated investment companies and may include underlying funds pursuing 130/30 investment strategies or other long/short investment strategies (“Long/Short Funds”).

To the extent such underlying funds are index-based, these underlying funds will generally attempt to replicate the performance of a particular index. An underlying fund may not always hold all of the same securities as the index it attempts to track. An underlying fund may use statistical sampling techniques to attempt to replicate the returns of an index. Statistical sampling techniques attempt to match the investment characteristics of the index and the fund by taking into account such factors as capitalization, industry exposures, dividend yield, price/earnings (P/E) ratio, price/book (P/B) ratio, and earnings growth. An underlying fund may not track the index perfectly because differences between the index and the fund’s portfolio can cause differences in performance. In addition, expenses and transaction costs, the size and frequency of cash flow into and out of the underlying fund, and differences between how and when the underlying fund and the index are valued can cause differences in performance.

When a Fund invests in underlying funds it will indirectly bear its proportionate share of any fees and expenses payable directly by the underlying fund. In connection with its investments in other investment companies, a Fund will incur higher expenses, many of which may be duplicative. Furthermore, to the extent a Fund invests in shares of ETFs and underlying funds, its performance will be directly related to the ability of the ETFs and underlying funds to meet their respective investment objectives, as well as the allocation of such Fund’s assets among the ETFs and underlying funds by the Sub-Adviser. Accordingly, a Fund’s investment performance will be influenced by the investment strategies of and risks associated with the ETFs and underlying funds in direct proportion to the amount of assets such Fund allocates to the ETFs and underlying funds utilizing such strategies.

Investments in ETFs involve certain inherent risks generally associated with investments in a broadly-based portfolio of stocks, including the following risks: (1) the general level of stock prices may decline, thereby adversely affecting the value of each unit of the ETF or other instrument; (2) an ETF, to the extent such ETF is index-based, may not fully replicate the performance of its benchmark index because of the temporary unavailability of certain index securities in the secondary market or discrepancies between the ETF and the index with respect to the weightings of securities or number of stocks held; (3) an ETF may also be adversely affected by the performance of the specific index, market sector or group of industries on which it is based; and (4) an ETF, to the extent such ETF is index-based, may not track an index as well as a traditional index mutual fund because ETFs are valued by the market and, therefore, there may be a difference between the market value and the ETF’s NAV. Additionally, investments in fixed income ETFs involve certain inherent risks generally associated with investments in fixed income securities, including the risk of fluctuation in market value based on interest rates rising or declining and risks of a decrease in liquidity, such that no assurances can be made that an active trading market for underlying ETFs will be maintained.

There is also a risk that the underlying funds or ETFs may terminate due to extraordinary events. For example, any of the service providers to the underlying fund or ETF, such as the trustee or sponsor, may close or otherwise fail to perform their obligations to the underlying fund or ETF, and the underlying fund or ETF may not be able to find a substitute service provider. Also, the underlying fund or ETF may be dependent upon licenses to use the various indices as a basis for determining their compositions and/or otherwise to use certain trade names. If these licenses are terminated, the respective underlying fund or ETF may also terminate. In addition, an underlying fund or ETF may terminate if its net assets fall below a certain amount.

Long/Short Funds may make short sales as part of their overall portfolio management strategies or to offset a potential decline in value. Long/Short Funds may engage in short sales with respect to individual equity securities or shares of ETFs. A short sale involves the sale of a security that is borrowed from a broker or other institution to complete the sale. Long/Short Funds may engage in short sales with respect to securities they own, as well as securities that they do not own. Short sales expose a Long/Short Fund, and consequently the investing Fund, to the risk that the Long/Short Fund will be required to acquire, convert or exchange securities to replace the borrowed securities (also known as “covering” the short position) at a time when the securities sold short have appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the Long/Short Fund. A Long/Short Fund’s investment performance, and consequently the investing Fund’s performance, may also suffer if the Long/Short Fund is required to close out a short position earlier than it had intended. Each Long/Short Fund must segregate assets determined to be liquid, or otherwise cover its positions in a permissible manner. Each Long/Short Fund will be required to pledge its liquid assets to the broker to secure its performance on short sales. As a result, the assets pledged may not be available to meet a Long/Short Fund’s needs for immediate cash or other liquidity. In addition, Long/Short Funds may be subject to expenses related to short sales that are not typically associated with investing in securities directly, such as costs of borrowing and margin account maintenance costs associated with the applicable Long/Short Fund’s open short positions. These types of short sales expenses are sometimes referred to as the “negative cost of carry,” and will tend to cause a Long/Short Fund, and consequently an investing Fund, to lose money on a short sale even in instances where the price of the securities sold short does not change over the duration of the short sale. Dividend expenses on securities sold short will be borne by the shareholders of the applicable Long/Short Fund, and consequently by the investing Fund.

Generally, under the 1940 Act, a fund may not acquire shares of another investment company (including ETFs) if, immediately after such acquisition, (i) such fund would hold more than 3% of the other investment company’s total outstanding shares, (ii) if such fund’s investment in securities of the other investment company would be more than 5% of the value of the total assets of the fund, or (iii) if more than 10% of such fund’s total assets would be invested in investment companies. The SEC has granted orders for exemptive relief to certain ETFs that permit investments in those ETFs by other investment companies (such as the Funds) in excess of these limits. The Funds may invest in ETFs that have received such exemptive orders from the SEC, pursuant to the conditions specified in such orders. In accordance with Section 12(d)(1)(F)(i) of the 1940 Act, the Funds may also invest in ETFs that have not received such exemptive orders as long as the Funds (and all of their affiliated persons, including the Adviser) do not acquire more than 3% of the total outstanding stock of such underlying ETF, unless otherwise permitted to do so pursuant to permission granted by the SEC. If a Fund seeks to redeem shares of an underlying ETF purchased in reliance on Section 12(d)(1)(F), the underlying ETF is not obligated to redeem an amount exceeding 1% of the underlying ETF’s outstanding shares during a period of less than 30 days. In accordance with Section 12(d)(1)(G) of the 1940 Act, the Funds may also invest without limitation in shares of other investment companies that are part of the same group of investment companies and that meet certain additional requirements.

Money Market Instruments. A Fund may invest a portion of its assets in high-quality money market instruments on an ongoing basis to provide liquidity or for other reasons. The instruments in which a Fund may invest include: (i) short-term obligations issued by the U.S. Government; (ii) negotiable certificates of deposit (“CDs”), fixed time deposits and bankers’ acceptances of U.S. and foreign banks and similar institutions; (iii) commercial paper rated at the date of purchase “Prime-1” by Moody’s or “A-1+” or “A-1” by S&P or, if unrated, of comparable quality as determined by the Fund; and (iv) repurchase agreements. CDs are short-term negotiable obligations of commercial banks. Time deposits are non-negotiable deposits maintained in banking institutions for specified periods of time at stated interest rates. Banker’s acceptances are time drafts drawn on commercial banks by borrowers, usually in connection with international transactions.

Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities (U.S. Bond Fund only). The Fund may invest in mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities. MBS in which the Fund may invest are mortgage-related securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities. Mortgage-related securities represent ownership in pools of mortgage loans assembled for sale to investors by various government agencies such as the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) and government-related organizations such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), as well as by nongovernment issuers such as commercial banks, savings and loan institutions, mortgage bankers and private mortgage insurance companies. Although certain mortgage-related securities are guaranteed by a third party or otherwise similarly secured, the market value of the security, which may fluctuate, is not so secured. These securities differ from conventional bonds in that the principal is paid back to the investor as payments are made on the underlying mortgages in the pool. Accordingly, the investing Fund receives monthly scheduled payments of principal and interest along with any unscheduled principal prepayments on the underlying mortgages. Because these scheduled and unscheduled principal payments must be reinvested at prevailing interest rates, mortgage-backed securities do not provide an effective means of locking in long-term interest rates for the investor.

In addition, there are a number of important differences among the agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S. government that issue mortgage-related securities and among the securities they issue. Mortgage-related securities issued by GNMA include GNMA Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates (also known as Ginnie Maes) which are guaranteed as to the timely payment of principal and interest. That guarantee is backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury. GNMA is a corporation wholly owned by the U.S. government within the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Mortgage-related securities issued by FNMA include FNMA Guaranteed Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates (also known as Fannie Maes) and are guaranteed as to payment of principal and interest by FNMA itself and backed by a line of credit with the U.S. Treasury. FNMA is a government-sponsored entity wholly owned by public stockholders. Mortgage-related securities issued by FHLMC include FHLMC Mortgage Participation Certificates (also known as Freddie Macs) guaranteed as to payment of principal and interest by FHLMC itself and backed by a line of credit with the U.S. Treasury. FHLMC is a government-sponsored entity wholly owned by public stockholders.

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 Funds, of mortgage-backed securities and other obligations issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are protected.

Asset-backed securities are structured like MBS, but instead of mortgage loans or interests in mortgage loans, the underlying assets may include such items as motor vehicle installment sales contracts or installment loan contracts, leases of various types of real and personal property, and receivables from credit card agreements and from sales of personal property. Regular payments received on asset-backed securities include both interest and principal. Asset-backed securities typically have no U.S. government backing. Additionally, the ability of an issuer of asset-backed securities to enforce its security interest in the underlying assets may be limited.

If the Fund purchases a mortgage-backed or other asset-backed security at a premium, the premium may be lost if there is a decline in the market value of the security whether resulting from changes in interest rates or prepayments in the underlying collateral. As with other interest-bearing securities, the prices of such securities are inversely affected by changes in interest rates. Although the value of a mortgage-backed or other asset-backed security may decline when interest rates rise, the converse is not necessarily true, since in periods of declining interest rates the mortgages and loans underlying the securities are prone to prepayment, thereby shortening the average life of the security and shortening the period of time over which income at the higher rate is received. When interest rates are rising, the rate of prepayment tends to decrease, thereby lengthening the period of time over which income at the lower rate is received. For these and other reasons, a mortgage-backed or other asset-backed security’s average maturity may be shortened or lengthened as a result of interest rate fluctuations and, therefore, it is not possible to predict accurately the security’s return. In addition, while the trading market for short-term mortgages and asset-backed securities is ordinarily quite liquid, in times of financial stress the trading market for these securities may become restricted.

Non-U.S. Securities (International Equity Fund only). The Fund invests primarily in non-U.S. equity securities. Investments in non-U.S. 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 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.

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 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 EU. Each Fund, through its investments in Europe, 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, to provide the UK additional time to negotiate such agreements with the EU. Unable to negotiate a Brexit agreement by the October 31 deadline, Parliament voted to (i) hold a general election on December 12, 2019 and (ii) delay Brexit until January 31, 2020, unless agreement on the terms of the UK’s withdrawal is reached in advance of this date, at which point an earlier withdrawal can take place. If an agreement between the UK and EU is not met in advance of January 31, 2020, the UK will be forced to leave the EU on February 1, 2020, with no agreements in place (known as a “hard Brexit”). 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 a Fund’s 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.

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 a 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.

Real Estate Investment Trusts (U.S. Equity Fund and International Equity Fund only). A Fund may invest in the securities of real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) to the extent allowed by law. Risks associated with investments in securities of REITs include decline in the value of real estate, risks related to general and local economic conditions, overbuilding and increased competition, increases in property taxes and operating expenses, changes in zoning laws, casualty or condemnation losses, variations in rental income, changes in neighborhood values, the appeal of properties to tenants, and increases in interest rates. In addition, equity REITs may be affected by changes in the values of the underlying property owned by the trusts, while mortgage REITs may be affected by the quality of credit extended. REITs are dependent upon management skills, may not be diversified and are subject to the risks of financing projects. REITs are also subject to heavy cash-flow dependency, defaults by borrowers, self-liquidation and the possibility of failing to qualify for the favorable United States federal income tax treatment generally available to REITs under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and failing to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act. If an issuer of debt securities collateralized by real estate defaults, it is conceivable that the REITs could end up holding the underlying real estate.

Repurchase Agreements. A 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 a 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 applicable Fund and is unrelated to the interest rate on the underlying instrument.

In these repurchase agreement transactions, the securities acquired by a 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 a Fund’s net assets will be invested in illiquid investments, 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, a 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 a 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. A 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 a 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, a Fund will maintain the segregation, either on its records or with the Trust’s 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 a Fund might be unable to deliver them when that 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 a 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. Each Fund may lend portfolio securities in an amount up to one-third of its total assets to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions. In a portfolio securities lending transaction, a Fund receives from the borrower an amount equal to the interest paid or the dividends declared on the loaned securities during the term of the loan as well as the interest on the collateral securities, less any fees (such as finders or administrative fees) the Fund pays in arranging the loan. A Fund may share the interest it receives on the collateral securities with the borrower. The terms of each Fund’s loans permit each Fund to reacquire loaned securities on five business days’ notice or in time to vote on any important matter. Loans are subject to termination at the option of the applicable Fund or borrower at any time, and the borrowed securities must be returned when the loan is terminated. The Funds may pay fees to arrange for securities loans.

The SEC currently requires that the following conditions must be met whenever a Fund’s portfolio securities are loaned: (1) the Fund must receive at least 100% cash collateral from the borrower; (2) the borrower must increase such collateral whenever the market value of the securities rises above the level of such collateral; (3) the Fund must be able to terminate the loan at any time; (4) the Fund must receive reasonable interest on the loan, as well as any dividends, interest or other distributions on the loaned securities, and any increase in market value; (5) the Fund may pay only reasonable custodian fees approved by the Board in connection with the loan; (6) while voting rights on the loaned securities may pass to the borrower, the Board must terminate the loan and regain the right to vote the securities if a material event adversely affecting the investment occurs, and (7) the Fund may not loan its portfolio securities so that the value of the loaned securities is more than one-third of its total asset value, including collateral received from such loans. These conditions may be subject to future modification. Such loans will be terminable at any time upon specified notice. A Fund might experience the risk of loss if the institution with which it has engaged in a portfolio loan transaction breaches its agreement with the Fund. In addition, the Funds will not enter into any portfolio security lending arrangement having a duration of longer than one year. The principal risk of portfolio lending is potential default or insolvency of the borrower. In either of these cases, a Fund could experience delays in recovering securities or collateral or could lose all or part of the value of the loaned securities. As part of participating in a lending program, the applicable Fund may be required to invest in collateralized debt or other securities that bear the risk of loss of principal. In addition, all investments made with the collateral received are subject to the risks associated with such investments. If such investments lose value, a Fund will have to cover the loss when repaying the collateral.

Any loans of portfolio securities are fully collateralized based on values that are marked-to-market daily. Any securities that a Fund may receive as collateral will not become part of the Fund’s investment portfolio at the time of the loan and, in the event of a default by the borrower, the Fund will, if permitted by law, dispose of such collateral except for such part thereof that is a security in which the Fund is permitted to invest. During the time securities are on loan, the borrower will pay a Fund any accrued income on those securities, and the Fund may invest the cash collateral and earn income or receive an agreed-upon fee from a borrower that has delivered cash-equivalent collateral.

TBA Transactions (U.S. Bond Fund only). The Fund may invest in U.S. agency MBS. In the basic MBS structure, mortgages with similar issuer, term and coupon characteristics are collected and aggregated into a “pool” consisting of multiple mortgage loans. The pool is assigned a CUSIP number and undivided interests in the pool are traded and sold as pass-through securities. The holder of the security is entitled to a pro rata share of principal and interest payments (including unscheduled prepayments) from the pool of mortgage loans.

An investment in a specific pool of pass-through securities requires an analysis of the specific prepayment risk of mortgages within the covered pool (since mortgagors typically have the option to prepay their loans). The level of prepayments on a pool of mortgage securities is difficult to predict and can impact the subsequent cash flows and value of the mortgage pool. In addition, when trading specific mortgage pools, precise execution, delivery and settlement arrangements must be negotiated for each transaction. These factors combine to make trading in mortgage pools somewhat cumbersome.

For the foregoing and other reasons, the Fund may seek to obtain exposure to U.S. agency MBS through the use of “to-be-announced” or “TBA transactions.” “TBA” refers to a commonly used mechanism for the forward settlement of U.S. agency MBS, and not to a separate type of MBS. Most transactions in MBS occur through the use of TBA transactions. TBA transactions generally are conducted in accordance with widely-accepted guidelines which establish commonly observed terms and conditions for execution, settlement and delivery. In a TBA transaction, the buyer and seller decide on general trade parameters, such as agency, settlement date, paramount, and price. The actual pools delivered generally are determined two days prior to settlement date. The Fund intends to use TBA transactions in several ways. For example, the Fund expects that it will regularly enter into TBA agreements and “roll over” such agreements prior to the settlement date stipulated in such agreements. This type of TBA transaction is sometimes known as a “TBA roll.” In a “TBA roll” the Fund generally will sell the obligation to purchase the pools stipulated in the TBA agreement prior to the stipulated settlement date and will enter into a new TBA agreement for future delivery of pools of MBS. In addition, the Fund may enter into TBA agreements and settle such transactions on the stipulated settlement date by accepting actual receipt or delivery of the pools of MBS stipulated in the TBA agreement.

Default by or bankruptcy of a counterparty to a TBA transaction would expose the Fund to possible loss because of adverse market action, expenses or delays in connection with the purchase or sale of the pools of MBS specified in the TBA transaction. To minimize this risk, the Fund will enter into TBA transactions only with established counterparties (such as major broker-dealers) and the Sub-Adviser will monitor the creditworthiness of such counterparties. In addition, the Fund may accept assignments of TBA transactions from Authorized Participants (as defined below) from time to time. The Fund’s use of “TBA rolls” may cause the Fund to experience higher portfolio turnover, higher transaction costs and to pay higher capital gain distributions to shareholders (which may be taxable) than other funds.

The Fund intends to invest cash pending settlement of any TBA transactions in money market instruments, repurchase agreements, commercial paper (including asset-backed commercial paper) or other high-quality, liquid short-term instruments, which may include money market funds affiliated with the Sub-Adviser.

Tracking Stocks (U.S. Equity Fund and International Equity Fund only). A 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.

U.S. Government Securities. A 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.

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.

Future Developments. The Board may, in the future, authorize a Fund to invest in securities contracts and investments other than those listed in this SAI and in the Funds’ Prospectus, provided they are consistent with the Fund’s investment objective and do not violate any investment restrictions or policies.

ADDITIONAL INDEX INFORMATION

During each reconstitution, securities are screened to determine whether they comply with the index methodologies and are eligible to be included in the Index. The date of the determination is sometimes referred to as the “Index measurement date” or the “Screening Point.” Based on this screening, securities that meet the Index requirements are added to the Index, and securities that do not meet such requirements are dropped from the Index.

Index Maintenance. Index maintenance for each Index occurs throughout the year and includes monitoring and implementing the adjustments for company additions and deletions, stock splits, corporate restructurings and other corporate actions. Corporate actions are generally implemented after the close of trading on the day prior to the ex-date of such corporate actions. To the extent reasonably practicable, such changes will be announced at least two days prior to their implementation.

Index Availability. The Indexes are calculated and disseminated throughout each day the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for trading.

Index Calculation Agent. To minimize any potential for conflicts caused by side-by-side management of each Fund’s underlying index by Vident Financial, LLC (the “Index Provider”) and each Fund by the Sub-Adviser, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Index Provider, the Index Provider has retained an unaffiliated third-party service provider to calculate each Index (the “Calculation Agent”). The Calculation Agent, using the applicable rules-based methodology, will calculate, maintain and disseminate the applicable Index(es) on a daily basis. The Index Provider will monitor the results produced by each Calculation Agent to help ensure that the Indexes are being calculated in accordance with their applicable rules-based methodology. In addition, the Index Provider has established policies and procedures designed to prevent non-public information regarding pending changes to the Indexes from being used or disseminated in an improper manner. Furthermore, the Sub-Adviser has established policies and procedures designed to prevent improper use and dissemination of non-public information about the Funds’ portfolio strategies and to prevent the Funds’ portfolio managers from having sole influence on the construction of the Index methodologies.

INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS

The Trust has adopted the following investment restrictions as fundamental policies with respect to the Funds. These restrictions cannot be changed with respect to a Fund without the approval of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities. For the purposes of the 1940 Act, a “majority of outstanding shares” means the vote of the lesser of: (1) 67% or more of the voting securities of the Fund present at the meeting if the holders of more than 50% of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities are present or represented by proxy; or (2) more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund.

Except with the approval of a majority of the outstanding voting securities, the U.S. Bond Fund may not:

Concentrate its investments (i.e., hold more than 25% of its total assets) in any industry or group of related industries, except that the Fund will concentrate to approximately the same extent that the Index concentrates in the securities of such particular industry or group of related industries. For purposes of this limitation, securities of the U.S. government (including its agencies and instrumentalities), repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. government securities and securities of state or municipal governments and their political subdivisions are not considered to be issued by members of any industry.


2.	Borrow money or issue senior securities (as defined under the 1940 Act), except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act.


3.	Make loans, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act.


4.	Purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act. This shall not prevent the Fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate, real estate investment trusts or securities of companies engaged in the real estate business.


5.	Purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act. This shall not prevent the Fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities.


6.	Underwrite securities issued by other persons, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act.

With respect to 75% of its total assets, purchase the securities of any one issuer if, immediately after and as a result of such purchase, (a) the value of the Fund’s holdings in the securities of such issuer exceeds 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets, or (b) the Fund owns more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of the issuer (with the exception that this restriction does not apply to the Fund’s investments in the securities of the U.S. Government, or its agencies or instrumentalities, or other investment companies).

Except with the approval of a majority of the outstanding voting securities, the U.S. Equity Fund and International Equity Fund may not:

Purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities) if, as a result, more than 25% of the Fund’s total assets would be invested in the securities of companies whose principal business activities are in the same industry, except that the Fund will invest more than 25% of its total assets in securities of the same industry to approximately the same extent that the Fund’s underlying Index concentrates in the securities of a particular industry or group of industries.


2.	Issue senior securities, except as permitted under the 1940 Act.


3.	Borrow money, except as permitted under the 1940 Act.

Lend any security or make any other loan except as permitted under the 1940 Act. This means that no more than 33 ¹/₃% of its total assets would be lent to other parties. This limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities or to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments, permissible under the Fund’s investment policies.


5.	Purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but 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).


6.	Purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but 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).


7.	Act as an underwriter of another issuer’s securities, except to the extent that the Fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act in the disposition of portfolio securities.

In addition to the investment restrictions adopted as fundamental policies as set forth above, each Fund observes the following non-fundamental restrictions, which may be changed without a shareholder vote.

Each 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 applicable 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.

Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the U.S. Bond Fund’s total assets (exclusive of collateral held from securities lending) will be invested in the component securities of its Index and TBA securities representing such component securities. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the U.S. Equity Fund’s total assets (exclusive of collateral held from securities lending) will be invested in the component securities of its Index. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the International Equity Fund’s total assets (exclusive of collateral held from securities lending) will be invested in the component securities of its Index and depositary receipts representing such component securities.

Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, of the U.S. Equity Fund will be invested in equity securities that are principally traded in the United States. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, of the U.S. Bond Fund will be invested in debt instruments that are principally traded in the United States. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, of the International Equity Fund will be invested in equity securities. With respect to the foregoing policies, the Funds define “equity securities” to mean common and preferred stocks, rights, warrants, depositary receipts, equity interests in REITs, and master limited partnerships. The foregoing policies may be changed without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ written notice to the applicable shareholders.

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 a 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 a 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 index composition; (b) the description of the applicable Fund; (c) limitations on such Fund’s portfolio holdings or reference assets; (d) dissemination and availability of the index or intraday indicative values; or (e) 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 a Fund, there are fewer than 50 beneficial owners of the Shares of such Fund; (iv) if the value of a Fund’s underlying index is no longer calculated or available or an interruption to the dissemination persists past the trading day in which it occurred or the underlying index is replaced with a new index, unless the new underlying index meets certain Exchange requirements; (v) 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 (vi) 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 of a Fund from listing and trading upon termination of such 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 applicable 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 each 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 Funds. 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 a Fund. The Funds and their service providers employ a variety of processes, procedures and controls to identify such 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 each Fund’s portfolio investments) and, consequently, for managing the risks associated with that business. The Board has emphasized to the Funds’ service providers the importance of maintaining vigorous risk management.

The Board’s role in risk oversight begins before the inception of the Funds, at which time certain of the Funds’ service providers present the Board with information concerning the investment objectives, strategies, and risks of the Funds as well as proposed investment limitations for the Funds. Additionally, the Adviser and Sub-Adviser provide the Board with an overview of, among other things, its investment philosophy, brokerage practices, and compliance infrastructure. Thereafter, the Board continues its oversight function as various personnel, including the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer, as well as personnel of the Sub-Adviser, and other service providers such as the Funds’ 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 Funds may be exposed.

The Board is responsible for overseeing the nature, extent, and quality of the services provided to the Funds by the Adviser and 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 Sub-Advisory Agreement with the Sub-Adviser, the Board or its designee may meet with the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser to review such services. Among other things, the Board regularly considers the Adviser’s and Sub-Adviser’s adherence to each Fund’s investment restrictions and compliance with various Fund policies and procedures and with applicable securities regulations. The Board also reviews information about each Fund’s performance and each 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 and Adviser or Sub-Adviser risk assessments. At least annually, the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer, as well as personnel of the Adviser, 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 Funds’ service providers regarding operational risks and risks related to the valuation and liquidity of portfolio securities. Annually, the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm reviews with the Audit Committee its audit of the Funds’ financial statements, focusing on major areas of risk encountered by the Funds and noting any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the Funds’ 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 and Sub-Adviser, the Chief Compliance Officer, independent registered public accounting firm and other service providers, the Board and the Audit Committee learn in detail about the material risks of each Fund, thereby facilitating a dialogue about how management and service providers identify and mitigate those risks.

The Board recognizes that not all risks that may affect a Fund can be identified and/or quantified, that it may not be practical or cost-effective to eliminate or mitigate certain risks, that it may be necessary to bear certain risks (such as investment-related risks) to achieve a Fund’s goals, and that the processes, procedures and controls employed to address certain risks may be limited in their effectiveness. Moreover, reports received by the Board as to risk management matters are typically summaries of the relevant information. Most of the Funds’ investment management and business affairs are carried out by or through the Adviser, 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 Funds’ 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 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 Funds 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 Funds, and to exercise their business judgment in a manner that serves the best interests of each 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.

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 Funds’ 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 Funds’ 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 Funds’ 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 Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm, major changes regarding auditing and accounting principles and practices to be followed when preparing the Funds’ financial statements; and other audit related matters. Each Independent Trustee currently serves as a member of the Audit Committee. During the fiscal year ended August 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 August 31, 2019 , the Nominating Committee met one time.

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.

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).
Jason Shlensky Born: 1987	Assistant Treasurer	Indefinite term; since 2019	Assistant Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2019); Officer, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2014–2019).

Trustee Ownership of Shares. The Funds are 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 December 31, 2018, no Trustees of the Trust owned Shares of the Funds or shares of any other series of the Trust.

Board Compensation. The Independent Trustees each receive an annual trustee fee of $149,000 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 during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2019. Independent Trustee fees are paid by the adviser to each series of the Trust and not by the Funds. Trustee compensation does not include reimbursed out-of-pocket expenses in connection with attendance at meetings.



Name	Aggregate Compensation From Fund	Total Compensation From Fund Complex Paid to Trustees
Interested Trustee
Michael A. Castino	$0	$0
Independent Trustees
David A. Massart	$0	$133,250
Janet D. Olsen	$0	$133,250
Leonard M. Rush, CPA	$0	$148,625

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 of a Fund. 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 a Fund.

As of December 2, 2019, no Trustees and officers of the Trust owned Shares of the Funds, and the following shareholders were considered to be principal shareholders and control persons of each Fund:

U.S. Bond Fund



Name and Address	% Ownership	Type of Ownership
National Financial Services, LLC 200 Liberty Street New York, NY 10281	93.57%	Record
Thrivent Trust Company 625 Fourth Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55415 (a federal trust company subsidiary of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans)	94.01%*	Beneficial


*	Based on the percentage of shares owned as of September 30, 2019 (the most recent available date) as reported on Form 13F.

U.S. Equity Fund



Name and Address	% Ownership	Type of Ownership
National Financial Services, LLC 200 Liberty Street New York, NY 10281	96.18%	Record
Thrivent Trust Company 625 Fourth Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55415 (a federal trust company subsidiary of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans)	93.80%*	Beneficial


*	Based on the percentage of shares owned as of September 30, 2019 (the most recent available date) as reported on Form 13F.

International Equity Fund



Name and Address	% Ownership	Type of Ownership
National Financial Services, LLC 200 Liberty Street New York, NY 10281	88.45%	Record
CDS Clearing and Depository Services, Inc. Shareholder Communications 1190 Avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal 17 étage, Tour Deloitte Montréal, Québec H3B 0G7	6.13%	Record
Thrivent Trust Company 625 Fourth Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55415 (a federal trust company subsidiary of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans)	87.31%*	Beneficial


*	Based on the percentage of shares owned as of September 30, 2019 (the most recent available date) as reported on Form 13F.

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 Funds (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 Funds.

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 Funds have 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 each 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. 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 a Fund.

The Proxy Voting Policies address, among other things, material conflicts of interest that may arise between the interests of the Funds 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 Funds 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.

INVESTMENT ADVISER AND SUB-ADVISER

Investment Adviser

Vident Advisory, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company located at 1125 Sanctuary Parkway, Suite 515, Alpharetta, Georgia 30009, serves as the investment adviser to the Funds. The Adviser was formed in in 2016 and commenced operations and registered with the SEC as an investment adviser in 2019, 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 an Investment Advisory Agreement (the “Advisory Agreement”) between the Trust, on behalf of the Funds, and the Adviser, the Adviser provides investment advice to the Funds, oversees the day-to-day operations of the Funds, subject to the direction and control of the Board and the officers of the Trust, and provides office facilities and equipment and certain clerical, bookkeeping and administrative services. The Adviser bears the costs of all advisory and substantially all non-advisory services required to operate the Funds, in exchange for a single unitary management fee from each Fund. For services provided to each Fund, the applicable Fund pays the Adviser the following unitary management fee at an annual rate based on the Fund’s average daily net assets:



Name of Fund	Management Fee
Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy ETF	0.41%
Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund	0.50%
Vident International Equity Fund	0.61%

The Advisory Agreement with respect to the Funds 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 a 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 of the applicable Fund. 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 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, negligence or reckless disregard of the duties imposed upon it by its agreement with the Trust or for any losses that may be sustained in the purchase, holding or sale of any security.

The table below shows advisory fees paid by the Funds for the fiscal years ended August 31, as applicable to each Fund:



Name of Fund	2019^*	2018	2017
Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy ETF	$1,991,728	$2,433,464	$2,285,844
Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund	$2,604,350	$3,209,344	$2,690,297
Vident International Equity Fund	$3,560,050	$4,313,713	$4,207,745

^*For the period from April 1, 2019 to August 31, 2019, the Fund paid the Adviser $833,139, $1,041,889, and $1,505,862 for its advisory services for the Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy ETF, Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund and Vident International Equity Fund, respectively.

Sub-Adviser

The Trust, on behalf of the Funds, and the Adviser have retained Vident Investment Advisory, LLC (“VIA” or the “Sub-Adviser”), 1125 Sanctuary Parkway, Suite 515, Alpharetta, Georgia 30009, to serve as sub-adviser for the Funds. The Sub-Adviser was established in 2014 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vident Financial, LLC. See “Investment Adviser” above for more details regarding Vident Financial.

Pursuant to a Sub-Advisory Agreement between the Trust, the Adviser, and the Sub-Adviser (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”), the Sub-Adviser is responsible for trading portfolio securities on behalf of the Funds, including selecting broker-dealers to execute purchase and sale transactions as instructed by the Adviser or in connection with any rebalancing or reconstitution of a Fund’s respective Index, subject to the supervision of the Adviser and the Board. For the services it provides to the Funds, the Sub-Adviser is compensated by the Adviser from the management fees paid by the Funds to the Adviser.

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 a 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 of the applicable Fund. The Sub-Advisory Agreement will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment, and is terminable at any time without penalty by the Board or, with respect to a Fund, by a majority of the outstanding Shares, or by the Adviser, in each case 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, bad faith or gross negligence on its part in the performance of its duties or from reckless disregard of its obligations or duties thereunder.

VIA was entitled to receive the following sub-advisory fees for the fiscal years ended August 31, as applicable to each Fund. ETC was responsible for paying the amounts in the table below, except where otherwise indicated.



Name of Fund	2019^*	2018	2017
Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy ETF	$267,554	$328,912	$328,532
Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund	$208,348	$272,847	$244,508
Vident International Equity Fund	$458,530	$549,664	$544,110

* For the period from April 1, 2019 to August 31, 2019, the Adviser paid the Sub-Adviser $112,082, $83,351, and $193,763 for its sub-advisory services for the Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy ETF, Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund, and Vident International Equity Fund, respectively.

PORTFOLIO MANAGERS

Compensation

The Funds’ portfolio managers receive a fixed base salary and discretionary bonus that are not tied to the performance of the Funds.

Share Ownership

The Funds are required to show the dollar ranges of the portfolio managers’ “beneficial ownership” of Shares of each Fund as of the end of the most recently completed fiscal year or a more recent date for a new portfolio manager. 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 August 31, 2019 , the Portfolio Managers did not beneficially own Shares of any Fund.

Other Accounts

In addition to the Funds, the portfolio managers managed the following other accounts as of August 31, 2019, none of which were subject to a performance fee:



Portfolio Manager	Registered Investment Companies		Other Pooled Investment Vehicles		Other Accounts
Portfolio Manager	Number of Accounts	Total Assets in the Accounts	Number of Accounts	Total Assets in the Accounts	Number of Accounts	Total Assets in the Accounts
Denise M. Krisko, CFA	32	$2.5 billion	5	$106.7 million	0	$0
Jim Iredale, CFA	0	$0	0	$0	97	$143.2 million
Rafael Zayas, CFA	8	$1.4 billion	0	$0	0	$0
Austin Wen, CFA	21	$1.1 billion	1	$54.5 million	0	$0
Habib Moudachirou, FRM	4	$18.9 million	4	$52.1 million	0	$0

Conflicts of Interest

A portfolio manager’s management of “other accounts” may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in connection with their management of the Funds’ investments, on the one hand, and the investments of the other accounts, on the other. The other accounts may have the same investment objectives as a 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 a portfolio manager could use this information to the advantage of other accounts and to the disadvantage of the Funds they manage. 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.

Conflicts may also arise because portfolio decisions regarding a Fund may benefit other accounts managed by the Sub-Adviser or its affiliates. For example, the sale of a long position or establishment of a short position by a fund sub-advised by the Sub-Adviser may impair the price of the same security sold short by (and therefore benefit) one or more other funds sub-advised by the Sub-Adviser, and the purchase of a security or covering of a short position in a security by a Fund may increase the price of the same security held by (and therefore benefit) one or more other funds sub-advised by the Sub-Adviser.

Conflicts may also arise when selecting other funds sub-advised by the Sub-Adviser as investments for a Fund because (i) the fees paid by the Adviser to the Sub-Adviser for sub-advising certain other funds may be higher than the fees paid by the applicable Fund or another fund and (ii) the fees received by the Sub-Adviser and its affiliates as index provider may be higher for some funds than for the applicable Fund or another fund.

THE DISTRIBUTOR

The Trust and ALPS Distributors, Inc. (the “Distributor”) 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 1290 Broadway, Suite 1000, Denver, Colorado 80203 .

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 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, the Sub-Adviser, or their affiliates, out of their 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 a 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 a 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 a 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 a Fund, including marketing and education support (such as through conferences, webinars and printed communications). The Adviser and Sub-Adviser periodically assess 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 a 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, Sub-Adviser or their 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 a 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 each 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, each 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 a 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 APs with whom the Distributor has entered into written Authorized Participant Agreements, for performing shareholder servicing on behalf of a Fund; (iv) compensating certain APs for providing assistance in distributing the Creation Units of a 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 a 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 (vii) such other services and obligations as are set forth in the Distribution Agreement.

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 Funds’ transfer agent, administrator, and index receipt agent.

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 Funds, 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 each 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.

ETC was responsible for paying the amounts in the table below to Fund Services for the fiscal years ended August 31, as applicable to each Fund , except where otherwise indicated.



Name of Fund	2019^*	2018	2017
Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy ETF	$265,961	$310,496	$338,608
Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund	$250,387	$308,679	$313,518
Vident International Equity Fund	$287,918	$357,383	$357,556

* For the period from April 1, 2019 to August 31, 2019, the Adviser paid Fund Services $92,070, $80,534, and $93,554 for its services for the Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy ETF, Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund and Vident International Equity Fund, respectively.

Pursuant to a Custody Agreement, U.S. Bank National Association (“U.S. Bank”), 1555 North Rivercenter Drive, Suite 302, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212, serves as the custodian of the Funds’ assets. The custodian holds and administers the assets in each 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.

SECURITIES LENDING ACTIVITIES

U.S. Bank and The Bank of New York Mellon (“BNY Mellon”) (each, a “Securities Lending Agent”) serve as securities lending agent to the Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund and Vident International Equity Fund, respectively. Each Securities Lending Agent is responsible for the implementation and administration of the applicable Fund’s securities lending program pursuant to an agreement between the Trust, on behalf of the applicable Fund, and the applicable Securities Lending Agent (each, a “Securities Lending Agreement”). Each Securities Lending Agent acts as agent to the applicable Fund to lend available securities with any person on its list of approved borrowers and (i) determines whether a loan shall be made and negotiates and establishes the terms and conditions of the loan with the borrower; (ii) ensures that all substitute interest, dividends, and other distributions paid with respect to loan securities is credited to the applicable Fund’s relevant account on the date such amounts are delivered by the borrower to the Securities Lending Agent; (iii) receives and holds, on the applicable Fund’s behalf, collateral from borrowers to secure obligations of borrowers with respect to any loan of available securities; (iv) marks loaned securities and collateral to their market value each business day based upon the market value of the loaned securities and collateral at the close of business employing the most recently available pricing information and receives and delivers collateral to maintain the value of the collateral at no less than 100% of the market value of the loaned securities; (v) at the termination of a loan, returns the collateral to the borrower upon the return of the loaned securities to the applicable Securities Lending Agent; (vi) invests cash collateral in accordance with the applicable Securities Lending Agreement; and (viii) maintains such records as are reasonably necessary to account for loans that are made and the income derived therefrom and makes available to the applicable Fund a monthly statement describing the loans outstanding, including an accounting of all securities lending transactions.

The dollar amounts of gross and net income from securities lending activities received and the related fees and/or compensation paid by each applicable Fund during the most recent fiscal year are set forth in the following table.



	Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund	Vident International Equity Fund
Gross Income from securities lending activities (including income from cash collateral reinvestment)	$262,388	$435,974
Fees and/or compensation for securities lending activities and related services
Fees paid to securities lending agent from a revenue split	—	-$124,111
Fees paid for any cash collateral management service (including fees deducted from a pooled cash collateral reinvestment vehicle) that are not included in the revenue split	-$17,057	—
Administrative fees not included in revenue split	—	-$3,983
Indemnification fee not included in revenue split	—	—
Rebate (paid to borrower)	-$161,967	-$81,225
Other fees not included in revenue split	—	—
Aggregate fees/compensation for securities lending activities	-$179,024	-$209,319
Net Income from securities lending activities	$83,364	$226,655

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 Funds.

PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS DISCLOSURE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

The Trust’s Board of Trustees has adopted a policy regarding the disclosure of information about each Fund’s security holdings. Each Fund’s entire portfolio holdings are publicly disseminated each day a Fund is open for business and may be available 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 applicable Fund with each other Share. Shares are entitled upon liquidation to a pro rata share in the net assets of the applicable 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 a Fund without shareholder approval. While the Trustees have no present intention of exercising this power, they may do so if a Fund fails to reach a viable size within a reasonable amount of time or for such other reasons as may be determined by the Board.

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 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 a 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 Funds 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 a Fund’s portfolio transactions may include such 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 a 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”, each 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 , e.g., for creation orders that facilitate the rebalance of the applicable Fund’s portfolio in a more tax efficient manner than could be achieved without such order, 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 a 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 a 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, a 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-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 a Fund whose trades generated the soft dollars used to purchase such products.

A Fund may deal with affiliates in principal transactions to the extent permitted by exemptive order or applicable rule or regulation.

The table below shows brokerage commissions paid by the Funds for the fiscal years ended August 31, as applicable to each Fund:



Name of Fund	2019	2018	2017
Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy ETF	$0	$0	$0
Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund	$310,358	$417,909	$407,056
Vident International Equity Fund	$553,751	$1,088,753	$470,578

Directed Brokerage. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2019, the Funds did not direct brokerage transactions to a broker because of research services provided.

Brokerage with Fund Affiliates. A Fund may execute brokerage or other agency transactions through registered broker-dealer affiliates of the Funds, 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 Funds for exchange transactions not exceed “usual and customary” brokerage commissions. The rules define “usual and customary” commissions to include amounts which are “reasonable and fair compared to the commission, fee or other remuneration received or to be received by other brokers in connection with comparable transactions involving similar securities being purchased or sold on a securities exchange during a comparable period of time.” The Trustees, including those who are not “interested persons” of the Funds, have adopted procedures for evaluating the reasonableness of commissions paid to affiliates and review these procedures periodically. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2019,

the Funds 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.” Each 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 a 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 Shares. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2019, the International Equity Fund held securities of Goldman Sachs in the amount of $310,000. During the fiscal year ended August 31, 2019, the U.S. Bond Fund and U.S. Equity Fund did not hold any securities of “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 years ended August 31, the Funds’ portfolio turnover rates were:



Name of Fund	2019	2018
Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy ETF	384%	324%
Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund	71%	63%
Vident International Equity Fund	76%	66%

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”).

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 a 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 a 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 applicable 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 sells 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 Funds 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 U.S. Equity Fund or International Equity Fund generally consists of the in-kind deposit of a designated portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) per each Creation Unit, constituting a substantial replication, or a portfolio sampling representation, of the securities included in the applicable Fund’s Index and the Cash Component (defined below), computed as described below. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Trust reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of a “cash in lieu” amount (“Deposit Cash”) to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Deposit Security. When accepting purchases of Creation Units for all or a portion of Deposit Cash, a Fund may incur additional costs associated with the acquisition of Deposit Securities that would otherwise be provided by an in-kind purchaser. The consideration for purchase of a Creation Unit of the U.S. Bond Fund generally consists of the deposit of cash (“Deposit Cash” with respect to the U.S. Bond Fund).

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 applicable 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 (as defined below).

Each 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 applicable Fund. Such Fund Deposit is subject to any applicable adjustments as described below, to effect purchases of Creation Units of the applicable Fund until such time as the next-announced composition of the Deposit Securities or the required amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, is made available.

The identity and number of Shares of the Deposit Securities or the amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, required for a Fund Deposit for a Fund changes as rebalancing adjustments and corporate action events are reflected from time to time by the Adviser with a view to the investment objective of the Fund. The composition of the Deposit Securities may also change in response to adjustments to the weighting or composition of the component securities of a Fund’s Index.

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 (as defined below) 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 Trust also reserves the right to include or remove Deposit Securities from the basket in anticipation of Index rebalancing changes. The adjustments described above will reflect changes, known to the Adviser on the date of announcement to be in effect by the time of delivery of the Fund Deposit, in the composition of the subject Index being tracked by a Fund or 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 a 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 International Equity Fund on the next Business Day must be submitted as a “Future Dated Trade” for one or more Creation Units between 4:30 p.m. Eastern time and 5:30 p.m. Eastern time on the prior Business Day and in the manner set forth in the Participant Agreement and/or applicable order form. With respect to the International Equity Fund, the Business Day following the day on which such an order is submitted to purchase Creation Units (or an order to redeem Creation Units, as set forth below) is referred to as the “Order Placement Date.”

All orders to purchase Shares directly from the U.S. Equity Fund or U.S. Bond 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. With respect to the U.S. Equity Fund and U.S. Bond Fund, the order cut-off time for orders to purchase Creation Units is 4:00 p.m. Eastern time and 12:00 p.m. Eastern time, respectively, which time may be modified by each 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 and 12:00 p.m. Eastern time for the U.S. Equity Fund and U.S. Bond Fund, respectively, or such earlier time as may be designated by the applicable 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 a 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, a Fund may require orders to create Creation Units to be placed earlier in the day. In addition, if a market or markets on which a Fund’s investments are primarily traded is closed, the applicable 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 Funds, the Distributor will notify the Custodian of such order. The Custodian will then provide such information to the appropriate local sub-custodian(s). Those placing orders through an Authorized Participant should allow sufficient time to permit proper submission of the purchase order to the Distributor by the cut-off time on such Business Day. 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 Funds to maintain an account into which the Authorized Participant shall deliver, on behalf of itself or the party on whose behalf it is acting, such Deposit Securities (or Deposit Cash for all or a part of such securities, as permitted or required), with any appropriate adjustments as advised by the Trust. Foreign Deposit Securities must be delivered to an account maintained at the applicable local subcustodian. A 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 applicable Fund or its agents by no later than 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time (or such other time as specified by the Trust) on the Settlement Date. If a Fund or its agents do not receive all of the Deposit Securities, or the required Deposit Cash in lieu thereof, by such time, then the order may be deemed rejected and the Authorized Participant shall be liable to the applicable Fund for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. The “Settlement Date” for a 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 applicable 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 applicable 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 and the Adviser shall be notified of such delivery, and the Trust will issue and cause the delivery of the Creation Units. The delivery of Creation Units so created generally will occur no later than the second Business Day following the day on which the purchase order is deemed received by the Distributor. However, as discussed in Appendix A, the International Equity 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 applicable 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 a Fund or its agents do not receive the Additional Cash Deposit in the appropriate amount, by such time, then the order may be deemed rejected and the Authorized Participant shall be liable to the applicable 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 a Fund including, without limitation, if (a) the order is not in proper form; (b) the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, delivered by the Participant are not as disseminated through the facilities of the NSCC for that date by the Custodian; (c) the investor(s), upon obtaining Shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding Shares of the applicable Fund; (d) acceptance of the Deposit Securities would have certain adverse tax consequences to the applicable 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 or the Adviser, have an adverse effect on the Trust or the rights of beneficial owners; (g) the acceptance or receipt of the order for a Creation Unit would, in the opinion of counsel to the Trust, be unlawful; or (h) in the event that circumstances outside the control of the Trust, the Custodian, the Transfer Agent and/or the Adviser make it for all practical purposes not feasible to process orders for Creation Units.

Examples of such circumstances include acts of God or public service or utility problems such as fires, floods, extreme weather conditions and power outages resulting in telephone, telecopy and computer failures; market conditions or activities causing trading halts; systems failures involving computer or other information systems affecting the Trust, the Distributor, the Custodian, a sub-custodian, the Transfer Agent, DTC, NSCC, Federal Reserve System, or any other participant in the creation process, and other extraordinary events. The Distributor shall notify a prospective creator of a Creation Unit and/or the Authorized Participant acting on behalf of the creator of a Creation Unit of its rejection of the order of such person. The Trust, the Transfer Agent, the Custodian, any sub-custodian and the Distributor are under no duty, however, to give notification of any defects or irregularities in the delivery of Fund Deposits nor shall either of them incur any liability for the failure to give any such notification. The Trust, the Transfer Agent, the Custodian and the Distributor shall not be liable for the rejection of any purchase order for Creation Units.

All questions as to the number of Shares of each security in the Deposit Securities and the validity, form, eligibility and acceptance for deposit of any securities to be delivered shall be determined by the Trust, and the Trust’s determination shall be final and binding.

Creation Transaction Fee. A fixed purchase (i.e., creation) transaction fee, payable to the Funds’ 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 each Fund, regardless of the number of Creation Units created in the transaction, can be found in the table below. Each 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 applicable 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 the maximum percentage listed in the table below 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. Each Fund may determine to not charge a variable fee on certain orders when the Adviser or Sub-Adviser has determined that doing so is in the best interests of Fund shareholders (e.g., for creation orders that facilitate the rebalance of the applicable Fund’s portfolio in a more tax efficient manner than could be achieved without such order).



Name of Fund	Fixed Creation Transaction Fee	Maximum Variable Transaction Fee
Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy ETF	$750	3%
Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund	$750	2%
Vident International Equity Fund	$5,000	2%

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 a 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 a 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 a Fund through the Transfer Agent and only on a Business Day. EXCEPT UPON LIQUIDATION OF A FUND, THE TRUST WILL NOT REDEEM SHARES IN AMOUNTS LESS THAN CREATION UNITS. Investors must accumulate enough Shares in the secondary market to constitute a Creation Unit to have such Shares redeemed by the Trust. There can be no assurance, however, that there will be sufficient liquidity in the public trading market at any time to permit assembly of a Creation Unit. Investors should expect to incur brokerage and other costs in connection with assembling a sufficient number of Shares to constitute a redeemable Creation Unit.

With respect to the Funds, the Custodian, through the NSCC, 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 each Fund’s portfolio securities that will be applicable (subject to possible amendment or correction) to redemption requests received in proper form (as defined below) on that day (“Fund Securities”). Fund Securities received on redemption may not be identical to Deposit Securities.

Redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit are paid either in-kind or in cash, or combination thereof, as determined by the Trust. With respect to in-kind redemptions of a 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.

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, regardless of the number of Creation Units redeemed in the transaction, can be found in the table below.

Each Fund may adjust the redemption transaction fee from time to time. The fixed redemption fee may be waived on certain orders if the applicable 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 the maximum percentage listed in the table below 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. Each Fund may determine to not charge a variable fee on certain orders when the Adviser or Sub-Adviser has determined that doing so is in the best interests of Fund shareholders (e.g., for redemption orders that facilitate the rebalance of the Fund’s portfolio in a more tax efficient manner than could be achieved without such order).



Name of Fund	Fixed Redemption Transaction Fee	Maximum Variable Transaction Fee
Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy ETF	$750	3%
Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund	$750	2%
Vident International Equity Fund	$5,000	2%

Procedures for Redemption of Creation Units.

Orders to redeem Creation Units of the International Equity Fund on the next Business Day must be submitted in proper form to the Transfer Agent as a “Future Dated Trade” for one or more Creation Units between 4:30 p.m. Eastern time and 5:30 p.m. Eastern time on the prior Business Day and in the manner set forth in the Participant Agreement and/or applicable order form. Orders to redeem Creation Units of the U.S. Equity Fund or U.S. Bond Fund must be submitted in proper form to the Transfer Agent prior to 4:00 p.m. Eastern time and 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time, respectively. A redemption request is considered to be in “proper form” if (i) an Authorized Participant has transferred or caused to be transferred to the Trust’s Transfer Agent the Creation Unit(s) being redeemed through the book-entry system of DTC so as to be effective by the time as set forth in the Participant Agreement and (ii) a request in form satisfactory to the Trust is received by the Transfer Agent from the Authorized Participant on behalf of itself or another redeeming investor within the time periods specified in the Participant Agreement. If the Transfer Agent does not receive the investor’s Shares through DTC’s facilities by the times and pursuant to the other terms and conditions set forth in the Participant Agreement, the redemption request shall be rejected.

The Authorized Participant must transmit the request for redemption, in the form required by the Trust, to the Transfer Agent in accordance with procedures set forth in the Authorized Participant Agreement. Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not have executed an Authorized Participant Agreement, and that, therefore, requests to redeem Creation Units may have to be placed by the investor’s broker through an Authorized Participant who has executed an Authorized Participant Agreement. Investors making a redemption request should be aware that such request must be in the form specified by such Authorized Participant. Investors making a request to redeem Creation Units should allow sufficient time to permit proper submission of the request by an Authorized Participant and transfer of the Shares to the Trust’s Transfer Agent; such investors should allow for the additional time that may be required to effect redemptions through their banks, brokers or other financial intermediaries if such intermediaries are not Authorized Participants.

Additional Redemption Procedures. In connection with taking delivery of Shares of Fund Securities upon redemption of Creation Units, a redeeming shareholder or Authorized Participant acting on behalf of such Shareholder must maintain appropriate custody arrangements with a qualified broker-dealer, bank, or other custody providers in each jurisdiction in which any of the Fund Securities are customarily traded, to which account such Fund Securities will be delivered. Deliveries of redemption proceeds generally will be made within two 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 International Equity 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 Funds, the International Equity 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.

In addition, an investor may request a redemption in cash that a Fund may, in its sole discretion, permit. In either case, the investor will receive a cash payment equal to the NAV of its Shares based on the NAV of Shares of the applicable Fund 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). A Fund may also, in its sole discretion, upon request of a shareholder, provide such redeemer a portfolio of securities that differs from the exact composition of the Fund Securities but does not differ in NAV.

Redemptions of Shares for Fund Securities will be subject to compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws and the Funds (whether or not it otherwise permits cash redemptions) reserve the right to redeem Creation Units for cash to the extent that the Trust could not lawfully deliver specific Fund Securities upon redemptions or could not do so without first registering the Fund Securities under such laws. An Authorized Participant or an investor for which it is acting subject to a legal restriction with respect to a particular security included in the Fund Securities applicable to the redemption of Creation Units may be paid an equivalent amount of cash. The Authorized Participant may request the redeeming investor of the Shares to complete an order form or to enter into agreements with respect to such matters as compensating cash payment. Further, an Authorized Participant that is not a “qualified institutional buyer,” (“QIB”) as such term is defined under Rule 144A of the Securities Act, will not be able to receive Fund Securities that are restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A. An Authorized Participant may be required by the Trust to provide a written confirmation with respect to QIB status to receive Fund Securities.

Because the portfolio securities of the Funds may trade on other exchanges on days that the Exchange is closed or are otherwise not Business Days for such Fund, shareholders may not be able to redeem their Shares of the applicable Fund, or to purchase or sell Shares of the applicable Fund on the Exchange, on days when the NAV of the applicable Fund could be significantly affecting by events in the relevant foreign markets.

The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed with respect to a 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 the Shares of the applicable Fund or determination of the NAV of the Shares is not reasonably practicable; or (4) in such other circumstance as is permitted by the SEC.

DETERMINATION OF NAV

NAV per Share for a Fund is computed by dividing the value of the net assets of the applicable 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 of each Fund 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 each Fund’s NAV per Share, the Funds’ 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 Funds 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 each Fund. Distributions of net realized securities gains, if any, generally are declared and paid once a year, but a Fund may make distributions on a more frequent basis to improve index tracking or to comply with the distribution requirements of the Code, in all events in a manner consistent with the provisions of the 1940 Act.

Dividends and other distributions on Shares are distributed, as described below, on a pro rata basis to Beneficial Owners of such Shares. Dividend payments are made through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants to Beneficial Owners then of record with proceeds received from the Trust.

Each Fund makes additional distributions to the extent necessary (i) to distribute the entire annual taxable income of the applicable 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 a 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 Funds through DTC Participants for reinvestment of their dividend distributions. Investors should contact their brokers to ascertain the availability and description of these services. Beneficial Owners should be aware

that each broker may require investors to adhere to specific procedures and timetables 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 applicable 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.

FEDERAL INCOME TAXES

The following is only a summary of certain U.S. federal income tax considerations generally affecting a 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 a 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 applicable to a RIC, such as the Funds. The Tax Act, however, made numerous other changes to the tax rules that may affect shareholders and the Funds. You are urged to consult your own tax advisor regarding how the Tax Act affects your investment in a 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, foreign or local taxes.

Taxation of the Funds. Each Fund has elected and intends to continue to qualify each year to be treated as a separate RIC under the Code. As such, the Funds should not be subject to federal income taxes on their net investment income and capital gains, if any, to the extent that they timely distribute such income and capital gains to their shareholders. To qualify for treatment as a RIC, a 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 applicable 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 applicable 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”).

It may not be possible for each Fund to fully implement a representative sampling strategy while satisfying the Diversification Requirement. Each Fund’s effort to satisfy the Diversification Requirement may affect the applicable Fund’s execution of its investment strategy and may cause the applicable Fund’s return to deviate from that of the Index, and the applicable Fund’s efforts to represent the Index using a sampling strategy, if such a strategy is used at any point, may cause it inadvertently to fail to satisfy the Diversification Requirement.

To the extent a 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 Funds intend to distribute substantially all of their net investment income and may distribute their capital gains for any taxable year, the Funds will be subject to federal income taxation to the extent any such income or gains are not distributed. Each Fund is treated as a separate corporation for federal income tax purposes. A Fund therefore is considered to be a separate entity in determining its treatment under the rules for RICs described herein. The requirements (other than certain organizational requirements) for qualifying RIC status are determined at the fund level rather than at the Trust level.

If a Fund fails to satisfy the Qualifying Income Requirement or the Diversification Requirement in any taxable year, the applicable 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 a 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, a Fund may be required to dispose of certain assets. If these relief provisions were not available to a 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 applicable 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, a 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 applicable Fund failed to qualify for tax treatment as a RIC. If a 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 a disposition of such assets within five years of qualifying as a RIC in a subsequent year. The Board reserves the right not to maintain the qualification of a Fund for treatment as a RIC if it determines such course of action to be beneficial to shareholders. If a Fund determines that it will not qualify as a RIC, the applicable Fund will establish procedures to reflect the anticipated tax liability in the Fund’s NAV.

A Fund may elect to treat part or all of any “qualified late year loss” as if it had been incurred in the succeeding taxable year in determining the Fund’s taxable income, net capital gain, net short-term capital gain, and 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, a 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 applicable Fund and may not be distributed as capital gains to its shareholders. Generally, a 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.

A 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 Funds intend 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 a 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. A 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. Each 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.

For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2019, the Funds’ had accumulated short-term and long-term capital loss carryforwards in the amounts provided in the table below. These amounts do not expire.



Name of Fund	Short-Term Capital Loss Carryforward	Long-Term Capital Loss Carryforward
Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy ETF	$8,983,110	$8,140,115
Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund	$78,172,824	$3,476,434
Vident International Equity Fund	$130,050,197	$8,909,964

The Funds (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%. It is not expected that dividends paid by the U.S. Bond Fund or the International Equity Fund will qualify for the dividends-received deduction for corporations. It is also not expected that the dividends paid by the U.S. Bond Fund will qualify for any favorable U.S. federal income tax rate available to noncorporate shareholders on “qualified dividend income.”

Distributions from a 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, 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 a 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, however, dividends received by a Fund from a REIT are generally not treated as qualified dividend income. If 95% or more of a 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 a 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 a Fund of its net short-term capital gains will be taxable as ordinary income. Distributions from a 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.

In the case of corporate shareholders, certain dividends received by a 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 a Fund from 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 a 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 a 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 a 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 a Fund makes a distribution of income received by the Fund in lieu of dividends (a “substitute payment”) with respect to securities on loan pursuant to a securities lending transaction, such income will not constitute qualified dividend income to individual shareholders and will not be eligible for the dividends received deduction for corporate shareholders

If a 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 a Fund and result in a higher capital gain or lower capital loss when the Shares on which the distribution was received are sold. After a shareholder’s basis in the 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 of a Fund 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 a Fund may limit the tax efficiency of such Fund. 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.

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 Funds, 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, a 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 a 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. The Funds may invest in debt obligations that are in the lowest rating categories or that are unrated, including debt obligations of issuers not currently paying interest or that are in default. Investments in debt obligations that are at risk of or are in default present special tax issues for a Fund. Federal income tax rules are not entirely clear about issues such as when a Fund may cease to accrue interest, original issue discount or market discount, when and to what extent deductions may be taken for bad debts or worthless securities, how payments received on obligations in default should be allocated between principal and interest and whether certain exchanges of debt obligations in a workout context are taxable. These and other issues will be addressed by a Fund, in the event it invests in or holds such securities, to seek to ensure that it distributes sufficient income to preserve its status as a RIC and does not become subject to U.S. federal income or excise tax.

Investments by a Fund in zero coupon or other discount securities will result in income to the Fund equal to a portion of the excess face value of the securities over their issue price (the “original issue discount” or “OID”) each year that the securities are held, even though the Fund may receive no cash interest payments or may receive cash interest payments that are less than the income recognized for tax purposes. In other circumstances, whether pursuant to the terms of a security or as a result of other factors outside the control of a Fund, the Fund may recognize income without receiving a commensurate amount of cash. Such income is included in determining the amount of income that a Fund must distribute to maintain its eligibility for treatment as a RIC and to avoid the payment of federal income tax, including the nondeductible 4% excise tax described above.

Any market discount recognized on a market discount bond is taxable as ordinary income. A market discount bond is a bond acquired in the secondary market at a price below redemption value or below adjusted issue price if issued with original issue discount. Absent a Fund’s election to include the market discount in income as it accrues, gain on the Fund’s disposition of such an obligation will be treated as ordinary income rather than capital gain to the extent of the accrued market discount. Where the income required to be recognized as a result of the OID and/or market discount rules is not matched by a corresponding cash receipt by a Fund, the Fund may be required to borrow money or dispose of securities to enable the Fund to make distributions to its shareholders in order to qualify for treatment as a RIC and eliminate taxes at the Fund level.

Special rules apply to any investments by the Funds in inflation-indexed bonds. Generally, all stated interest on inflation-indexed bonds is taken into income by a Fund under its regular method of accounting for interest income. The amount of any positive inflation adjustment for a taxable year, which results from an increase in the inflation-adjusted principal amount of the bond, is treated as OID. The amount

of a Fund’s OID in a taxable year with respect to a bond will increase the Fund’s taxable income for such year without a corresponding receipt of cash, until the bond matures. As a result, a Fund may need to use other sources of cash to satisfy its distribution requirements for its applicable year. The amount of any negative inflation adjustments, which result from a decrease in the inflation-adjusted principal amount of the bond, first reduces the amount of interest (including stated interest, OID, and market discount, if any) otherwise includable in a Fund’s taxable income with respect to the bond for the taxable year; any remaining negative adjustments will be either treated as ordinary loss or, in certain circumstances, will be carried forward to reduce the amount of interest income taken into account with respect to the bond in future taxable years.

Certain of a 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 a Fund’s ability to qualify as a RIC, 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 a 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. A 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 a 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 a Fund from sources within foreign countries 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. Each 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 a 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 a 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 a 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 a Fund will reduce the return from the Fund’s investments.

Foreign tax credits, if any, received by a 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 such Fund qualifies as a “qualified fund-of-funds” under the Code. If a 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. A Fund will be treated as a “qualified fund-of-funds” under the Code if at least 50% of the value of such Fund’s total assets (at the close of each quarter of the Fund’s taxable year) is represented by interests in other RICs.

If a 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 a Fund in respect of deferred taxes arising from such distributions or gains.

Each 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, a 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, a Fund may make a mark-to-market election that will result in such Fund being treated as if it had sold and repurchased its PFIC stock at the end of each year. In such case, a 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 a Fund and, once made, is effective for all subsequent taxable years, unless revoked with the consent of the IRS. By making the election, a 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. A 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, a 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 a 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. The Funds may invest in entities treated as REITs for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

A Fund may invest in REITs. Investments in REIT equity securities may require a Fund to accrue and distribute income not yet received. To generate sufficient cash to make the requisite distributions, a 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. A Fund’s investments in REIT equity securities may at other times result in a Fund’s receipt of cash in excess of the REIT’s earnings; if a Fund distributes these amounts, these distributions could constitute a return of capital to such 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 a 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 a 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.

REITs in which a Fund invests often do not provide complete and final tax information to the Funds until after the time that the Funds issue a tax reporting statement. As a result, a 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 Funds may rely, distributions by a Fund to its shareholders that are attributable to qualified REIT dividends received by such Fund and which such 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. A 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. Each 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 U.S.

Non-U.S. Shareholders. Any non-U.S. investors in a 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. Each 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 of a Fund 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 a 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 a 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, each 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 a 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.

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 a Fund and of Fund shareholders with respect to distributions by the Fund may differ from federal tax treatment.

Certain Foreign Currency Tax Issues. A Fund’s transactions in foreign currencies and forward foreign currency contracts will generally be subject to special provisions of the Code that, among other things, may affect the character of gains and losses realized by the Fund (i.e., 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 a 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 receiving cash with which to make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the Distribution Requirements and for avoiding the excise tax described above. The Funds intend to monitor their transactions, intend to make the appropriate tax elections, and intend to make the appropriate entries in their books and records when they acquire any foreign currency or forward foreign currency contract in order to mitigate the effect of these rules so as to prevent disqualification of a Fund as a RIC and minimize the imposition of income and excise taxes.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The annual report for the Funds for the fiscal year ended August 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 Funds’ Annual Report at no charge by calling 1-800-617-0004 or through the Funds’ website at www.videntfunds.com .

Appendix A

The International Equity Fund generally intends to effect deliveries of Creation Units and portfolio securities on a basis of “T plus two” business days. The Fund may effect deliveries of Creation Units and portfolio securities on a basis other than T plus two 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 2020 are:



Holiday	2020
New Year’s Day	Wednesday, January 1
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day	Monday, January 20
President’s Day	Monday, February 17
Good Friday	Friday, April 10
Memorial Day	Monday, May 25
Independence Day	Friday, July 3*
Labor Day	Monday, September 7
Thanksgiving Day	Thursday, November 26**
Christmas	Friday, December 25***

* The NYSE, NYSE AMEX and NASDAQ will observe the July 4 holiday on Friday, July 3, 2020.

** The NYSE, NYSE AMEX and NASDAQ will close early at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, November 29, 2020 (the day after Thanksgiving).

*** The NYSE, NYSE AMEX and NASDAQ will close early at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, December 24, 2020.

A-1

In calendar year 2020 , 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):

2020



ARGENTINA
January 1	April 10	July 9	December 8
February 24	May 1	August 17	December 25
February 25	May 25	October 12	December 31
March 24	June 17	November 23
April 2	June 20	December 7
AUSTRALIA
January 1	April 10	April 13	December 25
January 26	April 11	April 25	December 26
January 27	April 12	April 27	December 28
AZERBAIJAN
January 1	March 20	March 26	June 15
January 2	March 21	March 27	June 16
January 3	March 22	May 11	July 31
January 6	March 23	May 24	August 1
January 20	March 24	May 25	November 9
March 9	March 25	May 28	December 31
BELGIUM
January 1	May 1	June 1	November 1
April 12	May 21	July 21	November 11
April 13	May 31	August 15	December 25
BERMUDA
January 1	June 15	September 7	December 28
April 10	July 30	November 11
May 29	July 31	December 25
BRAZIL
January 1	April 21	September 7	November 15
February 25	May 1	October 12	December 25
April 10	June 11	November 2
CANADA
January 1	May 18	September 7	December 25
April 10	July 1	October 12
April 13	August 3	November 11
CHILE
January 1	May 21	September 18	November 1
April 10	June 29	September 19	November 2
April 11	July 16	October 12	December 8
May 1	August 15	October 31	December 25
CHINA
January 1	January 29	May 1	October 5
January 14	January 30	June 25	October 6
January 25	January 31	October 1	October 7
January 26	April 4	October 2
January 27	April 5	October 3
January 28	April 6	October 4

A-2



COLOMBIA
January 1	May 1	July 20	November 16
January 6	May 25	August 7	December 8
March 19	June 15	August 17	December 25
April 9	June 22	October 12
April 10	June 29	November 2
CZECH REPUBLIC
January 1	May 8	October 28	December 26
April 10	July 5	November 17
April 13	July 6	December 24
May 1	September 28	December 25
DENMARK
January 1	April 12	May 21	December 24
April 9	April 13	May 31	December 25
April 10	May 8	June 1	December 26
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
January 1	February 27	June 11	December 25
January 6	April 10	August 16
January 21	April 12	September 24
January 26	May 1	November 6
FINLAND
January 1	May 1	November 1
January 6	May 21	December 6
April 10	June 19	December 24
April 13	June 20	December 25
FRANCE
January 1	May 21	November 1
April 13	June 1	November 11
May 1	July 14	December 25
May 8	August 15
GERMANY
January 1	May 1	October 3
April 10	May 21	December 25
April 13	June 1	December 26
HUNGARY
January 1	April 13	August 20	December 25
March 15	May 1	August 21	December 26
April 10	May 31	October 23
April 12	June 1	November 1
INDIA
January 26	April 14	August 15	October 29
February 21	May 7	August 29	November 14
April 6	July 31	October 2	November 30
April 10	August 12	October 25	December 25
INDONESIA
January 1	May 1	June 1	December 25
January 25	May 7	July 31
March 22	May 21	August 17
March 25	May 24	August 20
April 10	May 26	October 29

A-3



IRELAND
January 1	May 4	October 26	December 28
March 17	June 1	December 25
April 13	August 3	December 26
ISRAEL
March 10	April 16	July 30	September 28
March 11	April 29	August 19	October 3
April 4	May 8	August 20	October 10
April 9	May 29	September 19	October 11
April 15	May 31	September 20
ITALY
January 1	April 25	August 15	December 25
January 6	May 1	November 1	December 26
April 13	June 2	December 8
JAPAN
January 1	May 3	August 11	November 23
January 13	May 4	September 21	December 23
February 11	May 5	September 22
March 20	May 6	October 12
April 29	July 20	November 3
KAZAKHSTAN
January 1	March 21	May 7	December 16
January 2	March 22	May 11	December 17
January 7	March 23	July 6
March 9	March 24	July 31
March 20	May 1	December 1
LUXEMBOURG
January 1	May 1	June 10	November 1
April 19	May 9	June 23	December 25
April 22	May 30	August 15	December 26
MALAYSIA
January 25	May 7	July 31	September 16
January 26	May 24	August 20	October 29
January 27	May 25	August 31	December 25
May 1	May 26	September 9
MEXICO
January 1	April 9	September 16	November 16
February 3	April 10	October 12	November 20
March 16	May 1	November 2	December 25
NETHERLANDS
January 1	April 27	May 31	December 26
April 12	May 5	June 1
April 13	May 21	December 25
NORWAY
January 1	April 13	May 21	December 26
April 9	May 1	June 1
April 10	May 17	December 25
OMAN
January 1	May 26	July 31	August 20
March 22	May 27	August 1	October 29
May 24	July 23	August 2	November 18
May 25	July 30	August 3	November 19

A-4



PERU
January 1	June 29	August 30	December 25
April 9	July 27	October 8
April 10	July 28	November 1
May 1	July 29	December 8
PHILIPPINES
January 1	May 1	August 31	December 25
January 25	May 24	November 1	December 30
April 9	June 12	November 30	December 31
April 10	July 31	December 8
April 11	August 21	December 24
POLAND
January 1	May 1	August 15	December 26
January 6	May 3	November 1
April 12	May 31	November 11
April 13	June 11	December 25
QATAR
February 11	May 26	July 31	August 4
March 11	May 27	August 1	December 18
May 24	May 28	August 2
May 25	July 30	August 3
*The Qatari market is closed every Friday.
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
January 1	January 27	May 1	October 1
January 24	March 1	May 5	October 3
January 25	April 15	June 6	October 9
January 26	April 30	August 15	December 25
		September 30
ROMANIA
January 1	April 20	June 8	December 25
January 2	May 1	August 15	December 26
January 24	June 1	November 30
April 17	June 7	December 1
RUSSIA
January 1	January 7	May 1	May 12
January 2	February 23	May 4	November4
January 3	February 24	May 9
January 6	March 9	May 11
SAUDI ARABIA
May 24	July 16	July 31	August 5
May 25	July 17	August 1	September 23
May 26	July 28	August 2
May 27	July 29	August 3
May 28	July 30	August 4
*The Saudi market is closed every Friday.
SINGAPORE
January 1	May 1	August 9	October 28
February 5	May 19	August 11	December 25
February 6	May 20	August 12
April 19	June 5	October 27

A-5



SPAIN
January 1	May 1	November 1	December 25
January 6	August 15	December 6
April 19	October 12	December 8
SWEDEN
January 1	April 13	June 6	December 24
January 6	May 1	June 19	December 25
April 10	May 21	June 20	December 26
April 12	May 31	November 1	December 31
SWITZERLAND
January 1	May 21	August 1	December 26
April 10	May 31	September 20
April 13	June 1	December 25
THAILAND
January 1	April 13	May 21	October 23
January 2	April 14	July 5	December 7
January 25	April 15	July 28	December 10
March 9	May 1	August 12	December 31
April 6	May 7	October 13
TURKEY
January 1	May 24	July 15	August 3
April 23	May 25	July 31	August 30
May 1	May 26	August 1	October 29
May 19	May 27	August 2
UKRAINE
January 1	April 20	June 29	December 31
January 7	May 1	August 24
March 9	May 11	October 14
April 19	June 8	December 25
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
January 1	May 26	August 2	December 2
March 22	July 30	August 20	December 3
May 24	July 31	October 29
May 25	August 1	November 30
*The United Arab Emirates markets are closed every Friday.
UNITED KINGDOM
January 1	May 4	August 31	December 26
April 10	May 25	December 25	December 28
UNITED STATES
January 1	April 10	September 7
January 20	May 25	November 26
February 17	July 3	December 25
URUGUAY
January 1	April 9	May 1	August 28
February 24	April 10	June 19	October 12
February 25	April 20	July 18	December 25
ZAMBIA
January 1	April 11	July 6	October 24
March 9	April 13	July 7	December 25
March 12	May 1	August 3
April 10	May 25	October 19

A-6

The longest redemption cycle for Foreign Funds is a function of the longest redemption cycle among the countries whose securities comprise the Funds . In the calendar year 2020 , the dates of regular holidays affecting the following securities markets present the worst-case (longest) redemption cycle* for Foreign Funds as follows:

SETTLEMENT PERIODS

Beginning of

End of

Number of Days in

GREATER THAN

Settlement

SEVEN DAYS FOR YEAR 2020

Period

Australia

4/6/2020

4/14/2020

4/7/2020

4/15/2020

4/8/2020

4/16/2020

4/9/2020

4/17/2020

12/21/2020

12/29/2020

12/22/2020

12/30/2020

12/23/2020

12/31/2020

12/24/2020

1/2/2021

China

1/22/2020

2/3/2020

1/23/2020

2/3/2020

1/24/2020

2/5/2020

1/27/2020

2/5/2020

1/28/2020

2/5/2020

9/28/20

10/8/20

9/29/20

10/9/20

9/30/20

10/12/20

Israel

3/3/2020

3/12/2020

3/4/2020

3/16/2020

3/5/2020

3/17/2020

3/9/2020

3/18/2020

4/2/2020

4/13/2020

4/6/2020

4/14/2020

4/7/2020

4/20/2020

4/8/2020

4/21/2020

Japan

1/10/2020

1/20/2020

4/28/2020

5/7/2020

4/29/2020

5/8/2020

4/30/2020

5/11/2020

5/1/2020

5/12/2020

Mexico

1/31/2020

2/11/2020

4/3/2020

4/13/2020

4/6/2020

4/14/2020

4/7/2020

4/15/2020

4/8/2020

4/16/2020

Oman

5/19/2020

6/1/2020

5/20/2020

6/2/2020

5/21/2020

6/3/2020

Peru

7/24/2020

8/3/2020

A-7

Qatar

5/19/2020

5/28/2020

5/20/2020

6/1/2020

5/21/2020

6/2/2020

Russia

1/2/2020

1/14/2020

1/3/2020

1/14/2020

1/6/2020

1/14/2020

Saudi Arabia

5/13/2020

6/2/2020

5/14/2020

6/3/2020

5/18/2020

6/4/2020

5/19/2020

6/8/2020

5/20/2020

6/9/2020

5/21/2020

6/10/2020

7/7/2020

7/20/2020

7/8/2020

7/21/2020

7/9/2020

7/22/2020

7/13/2020

7/23/2020

7/14/2020

7/27/2020

7/15/2020

8/6/2020

7/20/2020

8/10/2020

7/21/2020

8/11/2020

7/22/2020

8/12/2020

7/23/2020

8/13/2020

7/27/2020

8/17/2020

Spain

1/2/2020

1/14/2020

1/3/2020

1/15/2020

1/3/2020

1/16/2020

4/22/2020

5/4/2020

4/23/2020

5/5/2020

4/24/2020

5/6/2020

4/27/2020

5/7/2020

4/28/2020

5/8/2020

4/29/2020

5/11/2020

4/30/2020

5/12/2020

10/1/2020

10/13/2020

10/2/2020

10/14/2020

10/5/2020

10/15/2020

10/6/2020

10/16/2020

10/7/2020

10/19/2020

10/8/2020

10/20/2020

10/9/2020

10/21/2020

11/27/2020

12/9/2020

11/30/2020

12/10/2020

12/1/2020

12/11/2020

12/2/2020

12/14/2020

12/3/2020

12/15/2020

12/4/2020

12/16/2020

12/7/2020

12/17/2020

A-8

12/16/2020

12/28/2020

12/17/2020

12/29/2020

12/18/2020

12/30/2020

12/21/2020

12/31/2020

12/22/2020

1/4/2021

12/23/2020

1/5/2021

12/24/2020

1/6/2021

Switzerland

4/3/2020

4/15/2020

4/6/2020

4/16/2020

4/7/2020

4/17/2020

4/8/2020

4/20/2020

4/9/2020

4/21/2020


•	These worst-case redemption cycles are based on information regarding regular holidays, which may be out of date. Based on changes in holidays, longer (worse) redemption cycles are possible.

The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed (1) for any period during which the relevant Exchange is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings); (2) for any period during which trading on the relevant Exchange is suspended or restricted; (3) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which disposal of the Shares of a Fund or determination of its NAV is not reasonably practicable; or (4) in such other circumstance as is permitted by the SEC.

A-9

Appendix B

VIDENT ADVISORY, LLC

PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Background

An investment adviser has a duty of care and loyalty to its Clients with respect to monitoring corporate events and exercising proxy authority in the best interests of such Clients. VA will adhere to Rule 206(4)-6 under the Advisers Act and all other applicable laws and regulations in regard to the voting of proxies.

Policies and Procedures

ESS has delegated the responsibility for voting proxies relating to the Funds' portfolio securities to VA. VA has adopted these policies and procedures to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities held by the Funds. The policies and procedures are designed to ensure that proxies are voted in the best interests of Fund shareholders, without regard to any relationship that any affiliated person of a Fund (or an affiliated person of such affiliated person) may have with the issuer of the security and with the goal of maximizing value to shareholders consistent with governing laws and the investment policies of each Fund. While securities are not purchased to exercise control or to seek to effect corporate change through share ownership activism, the Funds support sound corporate governance practices within companies in which they invest.

VA has established a Proxy Voting Committee (“Proxy Committee”) that is responsible for overseeing the proxy voting process and ensuring that the voting process is implemented in conformance with these policies and procedures. The following outlines certain key aspects of the policies and procedures relating to the administration of the proxy voting process and how proxies are voted.

Third-Party Proxy Voting Administrator

VA has retained a third-party proxy voting service (“Proxy Voting Administrator”) to assist in the implementation of certain proxy voting-related functions including: providing research on proxy matters; providing technology to facilitate the sharing of research and discussions related to proxy votes; voting proxies in accordance with VA’s proxy voting guidelines; handling certain administrative and reporting items; maintaining records of proxy statements received in connection with proxy votes and provide copies/analyses upon request.

Proxy Voting Committee

The Proxy Committee shall be responsible for overseeing the proxy voting process to ensure its implementation in conformance with these policies and procedures. The Proxy Committee shall also be responsible for overseeing the Proxy Voting Administrator to determine that they are accurately applying these policies and procedures and operating as an independent proxy voting agent. VA’s oversight process of the Proxy Voting Administrator includes an assessment of their policies and procedures, including conflict controls and monitoring, receipt and review of routine performance-related reporting periodic due diligence meetings. Due diligence meetings typically include: meetings with key staff, policies and procedures related presentations and discussions, technology-related demonstrations and assessments, and some sample testing, if appropriate. The Proxy Committee shall review the continuing appropriateness of these policies and procedures.

Voting Procedures

Unless otherwise required by applicable law, proxies will be voted by the Proxy Committee in accordance with VA’s custom proxy voting.

Proxy Voting Principles/Guidelines

VA has adopted Vident Advisory Proxy Voting Principles/Guidelines which is a separate stand- alone document incorporated by reference into these policies and procedures.

B-1

Voting Discretion

In all cases, the Proxy Committee will exercise its voting discretion in accordance with the voting philosophy of the Vident Advisory Proxy Voting Principles/Guidelines. In cases where a proxy item is forwarded by the Proxy Voting Administrator to the Proxy Committee, the Proxy Committee may be assisted in its voting decision through receipt of: (i) independent research and voting recommendations provided by the Proxy Voting Administrator or other independent sources; (ii) input from the sub-adviser responsible for purchasing the security; and (iii) information provided by company management and shareholder groups.

Index Provider and Sub-Adviser Input

The Proxy Committee may consult with VF’s Index Policy Committee or VIA’s portfolio management team on specific proxy voting issues, as it deems appropriate. In addition, VF’s Index Policy Committee or VIA’s portfolio management team may proactively make recommendations to the Proxy Committee regarding any proxy voting issue. In this regard, the process takes into consideration expressed views of VF’s Index Policy Committee and VIA’s portfolio management team given their deep knowledge of investee companies.

Consistent Voting

Proxies will be voted consistently on the same matter when securities of an issuer are held by multiple Funds.

Fund Voting Reporting Coordination

Voting decisions made by the Proxy Committee on behalf of the Funds will be reported to the Proxy Voting Administrator to ensure that votes are registered in a timely manner and included in Form N- PX reporting.

Practical Limitations to Proxy Voting

While VA uses its reasonable best efforts to vote proxies, in certain circumstances, it may be impractical or impossible for VA to vote proxies (e.g., limited value or unjustifiable costs).

Securities on Loan

As a general matter, securities on loan will not be recalled to facilitate proxy voting (in which case the borrower of the security shall be entitled to vote the proxy). However, as it relates to portfolio holdings of the Funds, if the Proxy Committee is aware of an item in time to recall the security and has determined in good faith that the importance of the matter to be voted upon outweighs the loss in lending revenue that would result from recalling the security (e.g., if there is a controversial upcoming merger or acquisition, or some other significant matter), the security will be recalled for voting.

Share Blocking

Proxy voting in certain countries requires 'share blocking'. Shareholders wishing to vote their proxies must deposit their shares with a designated depositary before the date of the meeting. Consequently, the shares may not be sold in the period preceding the proxy vote. Absent compelling reasons, VA believes that the benefit derived from voting these shares is outweighed by the burden of limited trading. Therefore, if share blocking is required in certain markets, VA may not participate and refrain from voting proxies for those Funds impacted by share blocking.

B-2

Conflicts of Interest

VA may have a conflict of interest regarding a proxy to be voted upon if, for example, VA or its affiliates have other relationships with the issuer of the proxy. In most instances, conflicts of interest are avoided through a strict and objective application of the voting guidelines. However, when the Proxy Voting Administrator is aware of a material conflict of interest regarding a matter that would otherwise require a vote by the Proxy Committee or that, in the determination of the Proxy Committee, otherwise warrants the taking of additional steps to mitigate the conflict, the Proxy Committee or the Proxy Voting Administrator shall address the material conflict by using any of the following methods:


1.	Instructing the Proxy Voting Administrator to vote in accordance with the recommendation it makes to its other clients;


2.	With respect to any matters involving a portfolio holding of the Funds, disclosing the conflict to the Funds’ board and obtaining its consent before voting with respect to shares held by the Funds;


3.	Engaging an independent fiduciary who will direct the Proxy Committee how to vote on such matter


4.	Consulting with outside legal counsel for guidance on resolution of the conflict of interest;


5.	Erecting information barriers around the person or persons making voting decisions;


6.	Voting in proportion to other shareholders ("mirror voting"); or


7.	Voting in other ways that are consistent with VA’s obligation to vote in the best interests of its shareholders.

The Proxy Committee will not permit its votes to be influenced by any conflict of interest that exists for any other affiliated person of VA (such as a sub-adviser or principal underwriter) or any affiliated persons of such affiliated persons and the Proxy Committee will vote all such matters without regard to the conflict.

Information regarding how the Funds voted proxies relating to portfolio securities held during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available on the SEC's Web site at sec.gov.

B-3

PART C: OTHER INFORMATION

Item 28. Exhibits



(a)	(i)		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.
	(ii)		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.
(b)			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.
(c)			Not applicable.
(d)	(i)		Investment Advisory Agreement between the Trust and Vident Advisory, LLC dated April 1, 2019 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(i) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on April 26, 2019.
	(ii)		Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement between Vident Advisory, LLC 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 April 26, 2019.
(e)	(i)		Distribution Agreement between the Trust and ALPS Distributors, Inc. – Filed Herewith.
	(ii)		Form of Authorized Participant Agreement for ALPS Distributors, Inc. – Filed Herewith.
(f)			Not applicable.
(g)	(i)	(A)	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.
		(B)	Amended Exhibit E to Custody Agreement (Vident ETFs) is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (g)(i)(B) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on April 26, 2019.
(h)	(i)	(A)	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.
		(B)	Amended Exhibit D to Fund Administration Servicing Agreement (Vident ETFs) is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(i)(B) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on October 14, 2014.
	(ii)	(A)	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.
		(B)	Amended Exhibit C to Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement (Vident ETFs) is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(ii)(B) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on October 14, 2014.
	(iii)	(A)	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.
		(B)	Amended Exhibit C to Transfer Agent Agreement (Vident ETFs) is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(iii)(B) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on October 14, 2014.
	(iv)	(A)	Powers of Attorney dated January 10, 2019 are incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(iv)(A) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on January 24, 2019.
		(B)	Powers of Attorney dated July 18, 2018 is 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.
	(v)	(A)	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.
		(B)	Amended and Restated Exhibit A to Compliance Services Agreement dated October 18, 2019 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(v)(B) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on November 8, 2019.
	(vi)		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.

C-1



(i)			Opinion and Consent of Counsel (Vident ETFs) is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i) to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on December 30, 2015.
(j)			Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm – Filed Herewith.
(k)			Not applicable.
(l)	(i)		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.
	(ii)		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.
(m)	(i)	(A)	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.
		(B)	Amended Schedule A to Rule 12b-1 Plan dated October 18, 2019 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (m)(i)(B) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on November 8, 2019.
(n)			Not applicable.
(o)			Reserved.
(p)	(i)		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.
	(ii)		Code of Ethics for ALPS Distributors, Inc. dated July 1, 2019 – Filed Herewith.
	(iii)		Code of Ethics for Vident Advisory, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p)(iii) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on April 26, 2019.
	(iv)		Code of Ethics for Vident Investment Advisory, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p)(iii) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on April 26, 2019.

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.

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.

C-2

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.



Investment Adviser	SEC File No.
Vident Advisory, LLC	801-114538
Vident Investment Advisory, LLC	801-80534

Item 32. Principal Underwriter.

(a) ALPS Distributors, Inc. acts as the distributor for the Registrant and the following investment companies:

1WS Credit Income Fund, 1290 Funds, Aberdeen Standard Investments ETFs, ALPS Series Trust, The Arbitrage Funds, AQR Funds, Axonic Alternative Income Fund, Barings Funds Trust, BBH Trust, Bluerock Total Income + Real Estate Fund, Brandes Investment Trust, Bridge Builder Trust, Broadstone Real Estate Access Fund, Brown Advisory Funds, Brown Capital Management Mutual Funds, CC Real Estate Income Fund, Centre Funds, CION Ares Diversified Credit Fund, Columbia ETF Trust, Columbia ETF Trust I, Columbia ETF Trust II, CRM Mutual Fund Trust, CSOP ETF Trust, Cullen Funds Trust, DBX ETF Trust, Flat Rock Opportunity Fund, Financial Investors Trust, Firsthand Funds, FS Credit Income Fund, FS Energy Total Return Fund, FS Series Trust, FS Multi-Alternative Income Fund Goehring & Rozencwajg Investment Funds, Goldman Sachs ETF Trust, Griffin Institutional Access Credit Fund, Griffin Institutional Access Real Estate Fund, Hartford Funds Exchange-Traded Trust, Hartford Funds NextShares TrustHeartland Group, Inc., Holland Series Fund, Inc., Index Funds, IndexIQ Active ETF Trust, Index IQ ETF Trust, Infusive US Trust, James Advantage Funds, Janus Detroit Street Trust, Lattice Strategies Trust, Litman Gregory Funds Trust, Longleaf Partners Funds Trust, M3Sixty Funds Trust, Mairs & Power Funds Trust, Meridian Fund, Inc., Natixis ETF Trust, Pax World Series Trust I, Pax World Funds Trust III, Principal Exchange-Traded Funds, Reality Shares ETF Trust, Resource Credit Income Fund, Resource Real Estate Diversified Income Fund, RiverNorth Funds, Sierra Total Return Fund, Smead Funds Trust, SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust, SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF Trust, Sprott ETF Trust, Stadion Investment Trust, Stone Harbor Investment Funds, Stone Ridge Trust, Stone Ridge Trust II, Stone Ridge Trust III, Stone Ridge Trust IV, Stone Ridge Trust V, USCF ETF Trust, Wasatch Funds, WesMark Funds, Wilmington Funds and XAI Octagon Credit Trust.

(b) To the best of Registrant’s knowledge, the directors and executive officers of ALPS Distributors, Inc. are as follows:



Name*	Positions with Underwriter	Position with Fund
Bradley J. Swenson	President, Chief Operating Officer, Director	None
Robert J. Szydlowski	Senior Vice President, Chief Technology Officer	None
Eric T. Parsons	Vice President, Controller and Assistant Treasurer	None
Joseph J. Frank**	Secretary	None
Patrick J. Pedonti **	Vice President, Treasurer and Assistant Secretary	None
Richard C. Noyes	Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Assistant Secretary	None
Steven Price	Senior Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer	None
Liza Orr	Vice President, Senior Counsel	None
Jed Stahl	Vice President, Senior Counsel	None
Josh Eihausen	Vice President, Associate Senior Counsel	None
James Stegall	Vice President	None
Gary Ross	Senior Vice President	None
Kevin Ireland	Senior Vice President	None

C-3



Name*	Positions with Underwriter	Position with Fund
Mark Kiniry	Senior Vice President	None
Stephen J. Kyllo	Vice President, Deputy Chief Compliance Officer	None
Hilary Quinn	Vice President	None
Jennifer Craig	Assistant Vice President	None

* Except as otherwise noted, the principal business address for each of the above directors and executive officers is 1290 Broadway, Suite 1000, Denver, Colorado 80203.

** The principal business address for Messrs. Pedonti and Frank is 333 W. 11^th Street, 5^th Floor, Kansas City, Missouri 64105.

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:



Records Relating to:	Are located at:
Registrant’s Fund Administrator, Fund Accountant and Transfer Agent	U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC 615 East Michigan Street, 3^rd Floor Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
Registrant’s Custodian	U.S. Bank, National Association 1555 N. Rivercenter Drive, Suite 302 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212
Registrant’s Principal Underwriters	ALPS Distributors, Inc. 1290 Broadway, Suite 1000 Denver, Colorado 80203
Registrant’s Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser	Vident Advisory, LLC 1125 Sanctuary Parkway, Suite 515 Alpharetta, Georgia 30009	Vident Investment Advisory, LLC 1125 Sanctuary Parkway, Suite 515 Alpharetta, Georgia 30009

Item 34. Management Services

Not applicable.

Item 35. Undertakings

Not applicable.

C-4

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 registration statement under rule 485(b) under the Securities Act and has duly caused this Amendment to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, duly authorized, in the city of Milwaukee, and State of Wisconsin, on December 26, 2019.

ETF Series Solutions

By: /s/ Michael D. Barolsky

Michael D. Barolsky
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 December 26, 2019.



Signature	Title

*/s/ David A. Massart	Trustee
David A. Massart

*/s/ Janet D. Olsen	Trustee
Janet D. Olsen

*/s/ Leonard M. Rush	Trustee
Leonard M. Rush

*/s/ Michael A. Castino	Trustee
Michael A. Castino

*/s/ Kristina R. Nelson	President
Kristina R. Nelson

*/s/ Kristen M. Weitzel	Treasurer
Kristen M. Weitzel

*By: /s/ Michael D. Barolsky Michael D. Barolsky, Attorney-in-Fact pursuant to Powers of Attorney

INDEX TO EXHIBITS



Exhibit Number		Description
(e)(i)		Distribution Agreement between the Trust and ALPS Distributors, Inc.
(e)(ii)		Form of Authorized Participant Agreement for ALPS Distributors, Inc.
(j)		Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
(p)(ii)		ALPS Distributors, Inc. Code of Ethics dated July 1, 2019

DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT

THIS AGREEMENT is made as of November 11, 2019, between ETF Series Solutions, a Delaware statutory trust (the “Trust”), and ALPS Distributors, Inc., a Colorado corporation (“ALPS”).

WHEREAS, the Trust is an open-end investment company offering a number of portfolios of securities, each operating as an “exchange-traded fund”, having filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) a registration statement on Form N-1A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”), and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”);

WHEREAS, ALPS is registered as a broker-dealer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “1934 Act”) and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”);

WHEREAS, the Trust intends to create and redeem shares of beneficial interest (the “Shares”) of each portfolio listed in Appendix A hereto, as may be amended from time to time (each, a “Fund” and, collectively, the “Funds”), on a continuous basis at their net asset value only in aggregations constituting a Creation Unit, as such term is defined in the registration statement;

WHEREAS, the Shares of each Fund will be listed on a national securities exchange (the “Listing Exchange”) and traded under the symbols set forth in Appendix A hereto;

WHEREAS, the Trust desires to retain ALPS to act as the distributor with respect to the issuance and distribution of Creation Units of Shares of each Fund and, among other things, hold itself available to receive and process orders for such Creation Units in the manner set forth in the Funds’ prospectus; and

WHEREAS, ALPS desires to provide the services described herein to the Trust.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and mutual covenants herein contained, the parties agree as follows.


1.	ALPS Appointment and Duties.

(a)

The Trust hereby appoints ALPS as the exclusive distributor for Creation Unit aggregations of Shares of each Fund and to perform the duties that are set forth in Appendix B hereto as amended from time to time, upon the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth. ALPS hereby accepts such appointment and agrees to furnish such specified services. ALPS shall for all purposes be deemed to be an independent contractor and shall, except as otherwise expressly authorized in this Agreement, have no authority to act for or represent the Trust in any way or otherwise be deemed an agent of the Trust.

ALPS Form 110508

(b)

ALPS may employ or associate itself with a person or persons or organizations as ALPS believes to be desirable in the performance of its duties hereunder; provided that, in such event, the compensation of such person or persons or organizations shall be paid by and be the sole responsibility of ALPS, and the Trust shall bear no cost or obligation with respect thereto; and provided further that ALPS shall not be relieved of any of its obligations under this Agreement in such event and shall be responsible for all acts of any such person or persons or organizations taken in furtherance of this Agreement to the same extent it would be for its own acts.


2.	ALPS Compensation; Expenses.


(a)	ALPS shall not be entitled to compensation from the Trust for services provided by ALPS under this Agreement. ALPS receives compensation and reimbursement of certain expenses from the Trust’s investment adviser related to its services hereunder, or for additional services, in accordance with the terms of a separate agreement between ALPS and the Trust’s investment adviser.

(b)

ALPS will bear all expenses in connection with the performance of its services under this Agreement, except as otherwise provided herein. ALPS will not bear any of the costs of Trust personnel. Other Trust expenses incurred shall be borne by the Trust or the Trust’s investment adviser, including, but not limited to, initial organization and offering expenses; the blue sky registration and qualification of Shares for sale in the various states in which the officers of the Trust shall determine it advisable to qualify such Shares for sale (including registering the Trust as a broker or dealer or any officer of the Trust as agent or salesman in any state); litigation expenses; taxes; costs of preferred shares; expenses of conducting repurchase offers for the purpose of repurchasing Trust shares; administration, transfer agency, and custodial expenses; interest; Trust directors’ or trustees’ fees; brokerage fees and commissions; state and federal registration fees; advisory fees; insurance premiums; fidelity bond premiums; Trust and investment advisory related legal expenses; costs of maintenance of Trust existence; printing and delivery of materials in connection with meetings of the Trust’s directors or trustees; printing and mailing of shareholder reports, prospectuses, statements of additional information, other offering documents and supplements, proxy materials, and other communications to shareholders; securities pricing data and expenses in connection with electronic filings with the SEC.

Documents. The Trust has furnished or will furnish, upon request, ALPS with copies of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust, advisory agreement, custodian agreement, transfer agency agreement, administration agreement, current prospectus, statement of additional information, periodic Trust reports, and all forms relating to any plan, program or service offered by the Trust. The Trust shall furnish, within a reasonable time period, to ALPS a copy of any amendment or supplement to any of the above-mentioned documents. Upon request, the Trust shall furnish promptly to ALPS any additional documents necessary or advisable to perform its functions hereunder. As used in this Agreement the terms “registration statement,” “prospectus” and “statement of additional information” shall mean

any registration statement, prospectus and statement of additional information filed by the Trust with the SEC and any amendments and supplements thereto that are filed with the SEC.


4.	Insurance. ALPS will maintain at its expense an errors and omissions insurance policy adequate to cover its distribution activities hereunder relating to the Trust. ALPS shall notify the Trust upon receipt of any notice of material, adverse change in the terms or provisions of its insurance coverage that directly impact services provided to the Trust hereunder.


5.	Right to Receive Advice.


(a)	Advice of the Trust and Service Providers. If ALPS is in doubt as to any action it should or should not take, ALPS may request directions, advice, or instructions from the Trust or, as applicable, the Trust’s investment adviser, custodian, or other service providers.


(b)	Advice of Counsel. If ALPS is in doubt as to any question of law pertaining to any action it should or should not take, ALPS may, at its own expense, request advice from counsel of its own choosing (who may be counsel for the Trust, the Trust’s investment adviser, or ALPS, at the option of ALPS).

(c)

Conflicting Advice. In the event of a conflict between directions, advice or instructions ALPS receives from the Trust or any service provider and the advice ALPS receives from counsel, ALPS may in its sole discretion rely upon and follow the advice of qualified counsel. ALPS will provide the Trust with prior written notice of its intent to follow advice of counsel that is materially inconsistent with directions, advice or instructions from the Trust, and will provide the Trust a reasonable opportunity to comment on such advice of counsel. Upon request, ALPS will provide the Trust with a copy of such advice of counsel.


6.	Standard of Care; Limitation of Liability; Indemnification.


(a)	ALPS shall be obligated to act in good faith and to exercise commercially reasonable care and diligence in the performance of its duties under this Agreement.

(b)

Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary ALPS and each of its affiliates, members, shareholders, directors, officers, partners, employees, agents, successors or assigns (“ALPS Associates”) shall not be liable to the Trust for any action or inaction of any ALPS Associate except to the extent of direct Lossesfinally determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to have resulted directly from the gross negligence, reckless disregard, willful misconduct or fraud of ALPS in the performance of ALPS’ duties, obligations, representations, warranties or indemnities under this Agreement or an Authorized Participant Agreement, provided an authorized representative of the Trust has accepted any such Authorized Participant Agreement prior to its execution. Under no circumstances shall ALPS Associates be liable for Losses that are indirect, special,

incidental, consequential, punitive, exemplary or enhanced or that represent lost profits, opportunity costs or diminution of value.

(c)

In the absence of gross negligence, reckless disregard, willful misconduct, or fraud by ALPS Associates in the performance of ALPS’ duties, obligations, representations, warranties, or indemnities under this Agreement, the Trust shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless ALPS Associates from and against Losses (including legal fees and costs to enforce this provision) that ALPS Associates suffer, incur, or pay as a result of any third-party claim or claim among the parties arising out of the subject matter of or otherwise in any way related to this Agreement or an Authorized Participant Agreement (“Claims”), including but not limited to:


(i)	all actions taken by ALPS or ALPS Associates that are necessary to provide the services under this Agreement and/or an Authorized Participant Agreement, or in reliance upon any instructions, information, or requests, whether oral, written or electronic, received from the Trust or its officers; or

(ii)

any Claims that the registration statement, prospectus, statement of additional information, shareholder report, sales literature and advertisements approved for use by the Trust and/or the Trust’s investment adviser or other information filed or made public by the Trust (as from time to time amended) include an untrue statement of a material fact or omission of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein (and in the case of the prospectus and statement of additional information, in light of the circumstances under which they were made) not misleading under the 1933 Act, the 1940 Act, or any other statute, regulation, self-regulatory organization rule or applicable common law.

(d)

ALPS shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Trust and its respective officers, directors, agents, and employees (collectively, the “Trust Affiliates”) from and against Losses (including legal fees and costs to enforce this provision) that the Trust Affiliates suffer, incur, or pay as a result of any Claims arising directly from ALPS’ willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard in the performance of its duties, obligations, or responsibilities set forth in this Agreement.

(e)

Under no circumstances shall either party be liable for Losses that are indirect, special, incidental, consequential, punitive, exemplary or enhanced or that represent lost profits, opportunity costs or diminution of value. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing contained in this paragraph or elsewhere in this Agreement shall constitute a waiver by the Trust of any of its legal rights available under U.S. federal securities laws or any other laws whose applicability is not permitted to be contractually waived.


(f)	Any expenses (including legal fees and costs) incurred by an indemnified party in defending or responding to any Claims (or in enforcing this provision) shall be paid by the indemnifying party when the final amounts of the applicable Losses are finalized

and it has been determined that an indemnified party is entitled to indemnity hereunder. Any indemnification payable by an indemnifying party to this Agreement shall be net of insurance paid by the indemnifying party’s insurer to the indemnified party.

Activities of ALPS. The services of ALPS under this Agreement are not to be deemed exclusive, and ALPS shall be free to render similar services to others. The Trust recognizes that from time to time directors, officers and employees of ALPS may serve as directors, officers and employees of other corporations or businesses (including other investment companies) and that such other corporations and businesses may include ALPS as part of their name and that ALPS or its affiliates may enter into distribution agreements or other agreements with such other corporations and businesses.

Accounts and Records. The accounts and records maintained by ALPS shall be the property of the Trust. ALPS shall prepare, maintain and preserve such accounts and records as required by the 1940 Act and other applicable securities laws, rules and regulations. ALPS shall surrender such accounts and records to the Trust, in the form in which such accounts and records have been maintained or preserved, promptly upon receipt of instructions from the Trust. The Trust shall have access to such accounts and records at all times during ALPS’ normal business hours. Upon the reasonable request of the Trust, copies of any such books and records shall be provided by ALPS to the Trust at the Trust’s expense. ALPS shall assist the Trust, the Trust’s independent auditors, or, upon approval of the Trust, any regulatory body, in any requested review of the Trust’s accounts and records, and reports by ALPS or its independent accountants concerning its accounting system and internal auditing controls will be open to such entities for audit or inspection upon reasonable request. ALPS or its undersigned as defined by Rule 17a-4 under the 1934 Act, shall have access to all electronic communications, including password access to the system storing the electronic communications, of registered representatives of ALPS that are associated with the Trust and are required to be maintained under Rule 17a-4 under the 1934 Act and FINRA Rules 3110 and 3010. Electronic storage media maintained by the Trust will comply with Rule 17a-4 under the 1934 Act.

Confidential and Proprietary Information. ALPS agrees that it will, on behalf of itself and its officers and employees, treat all transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and all records and information relative to the Trust and its current and former shareholders and other information germane thereto, as confidential and as proprietary information of the Trust and not to use, sell, transfer, or divulge such information or records to any person for any purpose other than performance of its duties hereunder, except after prior notification to and approval in writing from the Trust, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld. Approval may not be withheld where ALPS may be exposed to civil, regulatory, or criminal proceedings for failure to comply, when requested to divulge such information by duly constituted authorities, or when requested by the Trust. When requested to divulge such information by duly constituted authorities, ALPS shall use reasonable commercial efforts to request confidential treatment of such information. ALPS shall have in place and maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards reasonably designed to protect the security, confidentiality, and

integrity of, and to prevent unauthorized access to or use of records and information relating to the Trust and its current and former shareholders.

10.

Compliance with Rules and Regulations. ALPS shall comply (and to the extent ALPS takes or is required to take action on behalf of the Trust hereunder shall cause the Trust to comply) with all applicable requirements of the 1940 Act and other applicable laws, rules, regulations, orders and code of ethics, as well as all investment restrictions, policies and procedures adopted by the Trust of which ALPS has knowledge (it being understood that ALPS is deemed to have knowledge of all investment restrictions, policies or procedures set out in the Trust’s public filings or otherwise provided to ALPS). ALPS shall comply with conditions and representations applicable to it as set forth in SEC exemptive orders and related applications permitting the Funds to operate as exchange-traded funds and to serve as underlying funds. Except as set out in this Agreement, ALPS assumes no responsibility for such compliance by the Trust. ALPS shall maintain at all times a program reasonably designed to prevent violations of the federal securities laws (as defined in Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act) with respect to the services provided, and shall provide to the Trust a certification to such effect no less than annually or as otherwise reasonably requested by the Trust. ALPS shall make available its compliance personnel and shall provide at its own expense summaries and other relevant materials relating to such program as reasonably requested by the Trust.


11.	Representations and Warranties of ALPS. ALPS represents and warrants to the Trust that:


(a)	It is duly organized and existing as a corporation and in good standing under the laws of the State of Colorado.


(b)	It is empowered under applicable laws and by its Articles of Incorporation and By-laws to enter into and perform this Agreement.


(c)	All requisite corporate proceedings have been taken to authorize it to enter into and perform this Agreement.


(d)	It has and will continue to have access to the necessary facilities, equipment and personnel to perform its duties and obligations under this Agreement in accordance with industry standards.

(e)

ALPS has conducted a review of its supervisory controls system and has made available to the Trust the most current summary report of such review and any updates thereto. Every time ALPS conducts a review of its supervisory control system it will make available to the Trust for inspection a summary report of such review and any updates thereto. ALPS shall immediately notify the Trust of any changes in how it conducts its business that would materially change the results of its most recent review of its supervisory controls system and any other changes to ALPS’ business that would affect the business of the Trust or the Trust’s investment adviser.


12.	Representations and Warranties of the Trust. The Trust represents and warrants to ALPS that:


(a)	It is a statutory trust duly organized and existing and in good standing under the laws of the state of Delaware and is registered with the SEC as an open-end management investment company.


(b)	It is empowered under applicable laws and by its Declaration of Trust and By-laws to enter into and perform this Agreement.


(c)	The Board of Trustees of the Trust has duly authorized it to enter into and perform this Agreement.


(d)	Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, the Trust agrees not to make any modifications to its registration statement or adopt any policies which would affect materially the obligations or responsibilities of ALPS hereunder without the prior written approval of ALPS, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed.

(e)

The registration statement and each Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information have been prepared, and all sales literature and advertisements approved by the Trust and/or the Trust’s investment adviser or other materials prepared by or on behalf of the Trust for ALPS’ use (“Sales Materials”) shall be prepared, in all material respects, in conformity with the 1933 Act, the 1940 Act and the rules and regulations of the SEC (the “Rules and Regulations”).

(f)

All statements of fact contained therein, or to be contained in all Sales Materials, are or will be true and correct in all material respects at the time indicated or the effective date, as the case may be, and none of the registration statement, any Fund’s prospectus or statement of additional information, nor any Sales Materials shall include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the case of each Fund’s prospectus or statement of additional information in light of the circumstances in which made, not misleading. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Trust shall not be deemed to make any representation or warranty as to any information or statement provided by ALPS for inclusion in the registration statement or any Fund’s prospectus or statement of additional information.


13.	Duties of the Trust.

(a)

ALPS and the Trust shall regularly consult with each other regarding ALPS’ performance of its obligations under this Agreement. In connection therewith, the Trust shall submit to ALPS at a reasonable time in advance of filing with the SEC reasonably final copies of any amended or supplemented registration statement (including exhibits) under the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act; provided, however, that nothing contained in this Agreement shall in any way limit the Trust’s right to file at any time such amendments to any registration statement and/or supplements to any prospectus or statement of additional

information, of whatever character, as the Trust may deem advisable, such right being in all respects absolute and unconditional.

(b)

The Trust agrees to issue Creation Unit aggregations of Shares of the Funds and to request The Depository Trust Company to record on its books the ownership of such Shares in accordance with the book-entry system procedures described in the prospectus in such amounts as ALPS has requested through the transfer agent in writing or other means of data transmission, as promptly as practicable after receipt by the Trust of the requisite deposit securities and cash component (together with any fees) and acceptance of such order, upon the terms described in the registration statement. The Trust may reject any order for Creation Units or stop all receipts of such orders at any time upon reasonable notice to ALPS, in accordance with the provisions of the prospectus.

(c)

The Trust agrees that it will take all action necessary to register an indefinite number of Shares under the 1933 Act. The Trust shall make available to ALPS, at ALPS’ expense, such number of copies of its prospectus, statement of additional information, and periodic reports as ALPS may reasonably request. The Trust will furnish to ALPS copies of all information, financial statements and other papers, which ALPS may reasonably request for use in connection with the distribution of Creation Units.

(d)

The Trust agrees to execute any and all documents and to furnish any and all information and otherwise to take all actions that may be reasonably necessary in connection with the qualification of the Shares for sale in such states as ALPS may designate. The Trust will keep ALPS informed of the jurisdictions in which Creation Units of the Funds are authorized for sale and shall promptly notify ALPS of any change in this information.

14.

Anti-Money Laundering. ALPS agrees to maintain an anti-money laundering program in compliance with Title III of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (the “USA Patriot Act”) and all applicable laws and regulations promulgated thereunder. ALPS confirms that, as soon as possible, following the request from the Trust, ALPS will supply the Trust with copies of ALPS’ anti-money laundering policy and procedures, and such other relevant certifications and representations regarding such policy and procedures as the Trust may reasonably request from time to time.

15.

Liaison with Accountants. ALPS shall act as a liaison with the Trust’s independent public accountants and shall provide account analysis, fiscal year summaries, and other audit-related schedules with respect to the services provided to the Trust. ALPS shall take all reasonable action in the performance of its duties under this Agreement to assure that the necessary information is made available to such accountants as reasonably requested or required by the Trust.


16.	Business Interruption Plan. ALPS shall maintain in effect a business interruption plan, and enter into any agreements necessary with appropriate parties making reasonable provisions for emergency use of electronic data processing equipment customary in the industry. In the

event of equipment failures, ALPS shall, at no additional expense to the Trust, take commercially reasonable steps to minimize service interruptions.

17. Duration and Termination of this Agreement.

(a)

Initial Term. This Agreement shall become effective as of the date first written above (the “Effective Date”) and shall continue thereafter throughout the period that ends two (2) years after the Effective Date (the “Initial Term”). For each Fund added to Appendix A after the Effective Date, this Agreement shall become effective as to such Fund as of the applicable date set forth in the amended Appendix A and shall continue thereafter throughout the period that ends two (2) years after such date.

(b)

Renewal Term. If not sooner terminated, this Agreement shall renew at the end of the Initial Term and shall thereafter continue for successive annual periods, provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Trust’s Board of Trustees or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the relevant Fund, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by the majority of the Trustees of the Trust who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of any party to this Agreement by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. If a plan under Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (“Rule 12b-1 Plan”) is in effect, continuance of the plan and this Agreement must be approved at least annually by a majority of the Trustees of the Trust who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) and have no financial interest in the operation of such plan or in any agreements related to such plan, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.


(c)	This Agreement is terminable without penalty on sixty (60) days’ written notice by the Trust’s Board of Trustees, by vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the relevant Fund, or by ALPS.


(d)	Deliveries Upon Termination. Upon termination of this Agreement, ALPS agrees to cooperate in the orderly transfer of distribution duties and shall deliver to the Trust or as otherwise directed by the Trust (at the expense of the Trust) all records and other documents made or accumulated in the performance of its duties for the Trust hereunder.


18.	Assignment. This Agreement will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act). This Agreement shall not be assignable by either party without the prior written consent of the other party.


19.	Governing Law. The provisions of this Agreement shall be construed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of Colorado and the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder without regard to choice of law provisions. To the extent that the laws of the State of Colorado conflict with the 1940 Act or such rules, the latter shall control.

20.

Names; Limitation of Liability to Assets of the Funds. The obligations of the Trust entered into in the name or on behalf thereof by any director, shareholder, representative, or agent thereof are made not individually, but in such capacities, and are not binding upon any of the directors, shareholders, representatives or agents of the Trust personally, but bind only the property of the Funds, and all persons dealing with the Trust must look solely to the property of the Funds for the enforcement of any claims against the Trust. ALPS further acknowledges and agrees that it shall look only to the assets of the Fund(s) to which a Claim is attributable, not Trust assets in general, for satisfaction of any liability or obligation of the Fund(s) to ALPS hereunder, including indemnification.


21.	Amendments to this Agreement. This Agreement may only be amended by the parties in writing.


22.	Notices. All notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing, shall be deemed to have been given when received or when sent by telex or facsimile, and shall be given to the following addresses (or such other addresses as to which notice is given):

To ALPS:

ALPS Distributors, Inc.

1290 Broadway, Suite 1100

Denver, Colorado 80203

Attn: General Counsel

Fax: (303) 623-7850

To the Trust:

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

Copy to:

Christopher D. Menconi

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP

1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20004-2541


23.	Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed by the parties hereto on any number of counterparts, and all of said counterparts taken together shall be deemed to constitute one and the same instrument.


24.	Entire Agreement. This Agreement embodies the entire agreement and understanding among the parties and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof; provided, however, that ALPS may embody in one or more separate documents its agreement, if any, with respect to delegated duties, oral instructions and compensation.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the day and year first above written.

ETF SERIES SOLUTIONS

By: /s/ Michael D. Barolsky

Name: Michael D. Barolsky

Title: Vice President & Secretary

ALPS DISTRIBUTORS, INC.

By: /s/ Steven B. Price

Name: Steven B. Price


Title:	Senior Vice President & Director of Distribution Services

APPENDIX A

LIST OF FUNDS

Fund Ticker Symbol

Vident International Equity Fund VIDI

Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund VUSE

Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy ETF VBND

PPTY - U.S. Diversified Real Estate ETF PPTY

APPENDIX B

SERVICES

(a) The Trust grants to ALPS the exclusive right to receive all orders for purchases of Creation Units of each Fund from participating parties (“Authorized Participants”) which have entered into a participant agreement with ALPS, and accepted by the Funds’ transfer agent, in accordance with the registration statement (“Participant Agreements”) and to transmit such orders to the Trust in accordance with the registration statement; provided, however, that nothing herein shall affect or limit the right and ability of the Trust to accept deposit securities and related cash components through or outside the clearing process, and as provided in and in accordance with the registration statement. The Trust acknowledges that ALPS shall not be obligated to accept any certain number of orders for Creation Units.

(b) ALPS agrees to: (i) act as agent of the Trust with respect to the continuous distribution of Creation Units of the Funds as set forth in the registration statement and in accordance with the provisions thereof; (ii) generate and transmit confirmations of Creation Unit purchase order acceptances to the purchaser; (iii) deliver copies of the prospectus to purchasers of such Creation Units and upon request the statement of additional information; and (iv) maintain telephonic, facsimile and/or access to direct computer communications links with the transfer agent. In addition, upon the direction of the Trust, ALPS shall enter into Participant Agreements with Authorized Participants, and accepted by the Funds’ transfer agent, in accordance with the registration statement.

(c) (i) ALPS agrees to use all reasonable efforts, consistent with its other business, to facilitate the purchase of Creation Units through Authorized Participants in accordance with the procedures set forth in the prospectus and the Participant Agreements.

(ii) ALPS shall, at its own expense, execute selected or soliciting dealer agreements with registered broker-dealers and other eligible entities providing for the purchase of Creation Units of Shares of the Funds and related promotional activities, in the forms as approved by the Board of Directors or Trustees of the Trust. The Trust shall not furnish or cause to be furnished to any person or display or publish any information or materials relating to the Funds (including, without limitation, promotional materials and sales literature, advertisements, press releases, announcements, statements, posters, signs or other similar material), except such information and materials that have been approved in writing by ALPS. Furthermore, ALPS shall clear and file all advertising, sales, marketing and promotional materials of the Funds with FINRA.

(d) To the extent applicable, ALPS agrees to administer the Trust’s Rule 12b-1 Plan on behalf of the Funds. ALPS shall, at its own expense, set up and maintain a system of recording and payments for fees and reimbursement of expenses disseminated pursuant to each Fund’s Rule 12b-1 Plan and any other related agreements under each Fund’s Rule 12b-1 Plan and shall, pursuant to the 1940 Act, report such payment activity under each Fund’s Rule 12b-1 Plan to the Trust at least quarterly.

(e) All activities by ALPS and its agents and employees which are primarily intended to result in the sale of Creation Units shall comply with the registration statement, the instructions

of the Board of Directors or Trustees of the Trust and all applicable laws, rules and regulations including, without limitation, all rules and regulations made or adopted pursuant to the 1940 Act by the SEC or any securities association registered under the 1934 Act, including FINRA and the Listing Exchange.

(f) Except as otherwise noted in the registration statement, the offering price for all Creation Units of Shares will be the aggregate net asset value of the Shares per Creation Unit of each Fund, as determined in the manner described in the registration statement.

(g) If and whenever the determination of net asset value is suspended and until such suspension is terminated, no further orders for Creation Units will be processed by ALPS except such unconditional orders as may have been placed with ALPS before it had knowledge of the suspension. In addition, the Trust reserves the right to suspend sales and ALPS’ authority to process orders for Creation Units on behalf of the Trust, upon due notice to ALPS, if, in the judgment of the Trust, it is in the best interests of the Trust to do so. Suspension will continue for such period as may be determined by the Trust.

(h) ALPS is not authorized by the Trust to give any information or to make any representations other than those contained in the Funds’ registration statement or prospectus or contained in shareholder reports or other material that may be prepared by or on behalf of the Trust for ALPS’ use.

(i) At the request of the Trust, ALPS shall enter into agreements, in the form specified by the Trust, with participants in the system for book-entry of The Depository Trust Company and the NSCC as described in the prospectus.

(j) ALPS agrees to make available, at the Trust’s request, one or more members of its staff to attend Board meetings of the Trust in order to provide information with regard to the ongoing distribution process and for such other purposes as may be requested by the Board of Directors or Trustees of the Trust.

(k) ALPS will review all sales and marketing materials for compliance with applicable laws and conditions of any applicable exemptive order, and file such materials with FINRA when necessary or appropriate. All such sales and marketing materials must be approved, in writing, by ALPS prior to use.

ETF SERIES SOLUTIONS

(VIDENT ADVISORY SERIES)

AUTHORIZED PARTICIPANT AGREEMENT

This Authorized Participant Agreement (the “Agreement”) is entered into by and among ALPS Distributors, Inc. (the “Distributor”) and [Participant’s Name and NSCC#] (the “Participant”) and is subject to acceptance by U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, as transfer agent (the “Transfer Agent”). ETF Series Solutions (the “Trust”) is an open-end management investment company organized as a Delaware statutory trust consisting of separate investment portfolios managed by Vident Advisory, LLC (each, a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”) as set forth in Attachment A hereto. The Distributor has been retained as principal underwriter of the Trust and provides certain services in connection with the sale and distribution of shares of beneficial interest of the Funds (the “Shares”). The Transfer Agent has been retained to provide certain transfer agency services with respect to the purchase and redemption of Shares.

As specified in the Trust’s prospectuses and statements of additional information, as may be amended or supplemented from time to time (together, the “Prospectus”), Shares may be purchased or redeemed from a Fund only in aggregations of a specified number of Shares as set forth in the Prospectus (each, a “Creation Unit” and collectively, the “Creation Units”). The Prospectus describes the primary form of consideration to be provided to the applicable Fund by the Participant for its own account or on behalf of any party for which it is acting (whether a customer or otherwise) (“Participant Client”), which generally includes a designated portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or cash. Creation Units shall generally be redeemed in exchange for Fund securities (“Fund Securities”) and/or cash, as described in the Prospectus. The Participant also pays applicable transaction fees (“Transaction Fees”) and Taxes (as defined below). All references to “cash” shall refer to US Dollars. Capitalized terms not otherwise defined herein are used herein as defined in the Prospectus.

This Agreement is intended to set forth the terms and procedures pursuant to which the Participant may create and/or redeem Creation Units through the Continuous Net Settlement (“CNS”) clearing processes of the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”) as such processes have been enhanced to effect purchases and redemptions of Creation Units, such processes being referred to herein as the “Clearing Process”, or (ii) outside the Clearing Process (i.e., through the facilities of The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”)).

The parties hereto in consideration of the premises and of the mutual agreements contained herein agree as follows:


1.	STATUS AND ROLE OF PARTICIPANT.

a. Clearing Status. The Participant represents, covenants and warrants that with respect to orders for the purchase of Creation Units (“Creation Orders”) or orders for the redemption of Creation Units (“Redemption Orders” and, together with “Creation Orders”, “Orders”) of any Fund (i) by means of the Clearing Process, it is a member in good standing of the NSCC and a participant in the CNS System of the NSCC and agrees that it will remain in

good standing throughout the term of this Agreement (a “Participating Party”); (ii) outside the Clearing Process, it is a DTC Participant (a “DTC Participant”); and (iii) it has the ability to transact through the Federal Reserve System. The Participant may place Orders either through the Clearing Process or outside the Clearing Process, subject to the procedures for purchase and redemption of Creation Units set forth in the Prospectus, this Agreement and all attachments hereto, as may be amended from time to time (the “Procedures”). Any change in the foregoing status of Participant shall terminate this Agreement and Participant shall give prompt notice to the Distributor, Transfer Agent and the Trust of such change.

b. Broker-Dealer Status. The Participant represents, covenants and warrants that it is (i) registered as a broker-dealer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (ii) qualified to act as a broker or dealer in the states or other jurisdictions where it transacts business, and (iii) a member in good standing of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). The Participant agrees that it will maintain such registrations, qualifications and membership in good standing and in full force and effect throughout the term of this Agreement. The Participant further agrees to comply with all applicable U.S. federal laws, the laws of the states or other jurisdictions concerned, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder and with the Constitution, By-Laws and Conduct Rules of FINRA (including any NASD Rules that remain operative until such rules are subsequently renamed, repealed, rescinded or are otherwise replaced by FINRA Rules), and that it will not offer or sell Shares of any Fund in any state or jurisdiction where they may not lawfully be offered and/or sold. Any change in the foregoing status of Participant shall result in the automatic termination of this Agreement and Participant shall give prompt notice to the Distributor, Transfer Agent and the Trust of such change.

c. Underwriter Status. The Participant understands and acknowledges that the method by which Creation Units will be created and traded may raise certain issues under applicable securities laws. For example, because new Creation Units of Shares may be issued and sold by a Fund on an ongoing basis, a “distribution”, as such term is used in the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“1933 Act”), may occur at any point. The Participant understands and acknowledges that some activities on its part, depending on the circumstances, may result in it being deemed a participant in a distribution in a manner which could render it a statutory underwriter and subject it to the prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the 1933 Act. The Participant also understands and acknowledges that dealers who are not “underwriters,” but who effect transactions in Shares, whether or not participating in the distribution of Shares, are generally required to deliver a prospectus.

d. Agency. The Participant shall have no authority in any transaction to act as agent of the Distributor, Transfer Agent, the Trust or their agents. The Participant acknowledges and agrees that for all purposes of this Agreement, the Participant will be deemed to be an independent contractor. The Participant agrees to make itself and its employees available, upon request, during normal business hours to consult with the Trust, the Transfer Agent or

the Distributor or their designees concerning the performance of the Participant’s responsibilities under this Agreement.

e. Rights and Obligations as DTC Participant. The Participant agrees that in connection with any transactions in which it acts for a Participant Client, including, without limitation, for any other DTC Participant or indirect participant, or any other beneficial owner of Shares (each, a “Beneficial Owner”), that it shall extend to any such party all of the rights, and shall be bound by all of the obligations, of a DTC Participant, in addition to any obligations that it undertakes hereunder or in accordance with the Prospectus.

f. Qualified Institutional Buyer Status. The Participant represents, covenants and warrants that it currently is, and will continue to be throughout the term of this Agreement, a “qualified institutional buyer” as such term is defined in Rule 144A of the 1933 Act. Any change in the foregoing status of Participant shall terminate this Agreement and Participant shall give prompt notice to the Distributor, Transfer Agent and the Trust of such change.

g. No Affiliation. The Participant represents, covenants and warrants that, during the term of this Agreement, it will not be an affiliated person of a Fund, a promoter or a principal underwriter of a Fund or an affiliated person of such persons, except to the extent that the Participant may be deemed to be an affiliated person under 2(a)(3)(A) or 2(a)(3)(C) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), due to ownership of Shares. The Participant shall give prompt notice to the Distributor, Transfer Agent and the Trust of any change to the foregoing status.

h. Agent for Proxy. The Participant represents, covenants and warrants that, from time to time, it may be a Beneficial Owner or legal owner of Shares (as that term is defined in Rule 16a-1(a)(2) of the 1934 Act). The Participant agrees to irrevocably appoint the Distributor as its agent and proxy with full authorization and power to vote (or abstain from voting) its beneficially or legally owned Shares which the Participant has not rehypothecated and which the Participant is or may be entitled to vote at any meeting of shareholders of the Trust held after the effective date of this Agreement, whether annual or special and whether or not an adjourned meeting, or, if applicable, to give written consent with respect thereto. The Distributor shall vote (or abstain from voting) such Shares in accordance with Distributor’s proxy voting policies and procedures, with complete independence from and without any regard to any views, statements or interests of the Participant, its affiliates or any other person. The Participant acknowledges that the Distributor will not exercise discretion or otherwise provide advice or guidance to the Participant or any other party in connection with any vote (or abstention thereof). The Distributor may carry out its responsibilities hereunder through an agent, nominee, attorney or such other third party as it deems necessary or appropriate, to the extent allowable pursuant to applicable law.

For purposes of this 1.h., beneficially owned Shares shall not include those Shares for which the Participant is the record owner but which are held for the benefit of third parties or in customer or fiduciary accounts in the ordinary course of business, unless the Participant

instructs the Distributor in writing otherwise. The Participant acknowledges that the Distributor will not exercise the voting rights applicable to such Shares unless the Participant instructs the Distributor in writing otherwise. For the avoidance of doubt, it shall be the responsibility of the Participant to instruct the Distributor in writing as to which Shares will/will not be voted by the agent and proxy pursuant to this Section. The Participant represents that it has all the necessary legal power and authority to vote, and to appoint an agent and proxy to vote, all such Shares as contemplated herein. The Participant hereby agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Distributor from and against any loss, liability, cost or expense suffered or incurred by such Distributor resulting directly from losses, liabilities or expenses resulting from this Proxy other than those arising from the gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct of the Distributor.

The Distributor, as proxy for the Participant hereunder: (i) is hereby given full power of substitution and revocation; (ii) may act through such agents, nominees, or attorneys as it may appoint from time to time; and (iii) may provide voting instructions to such agents, nominees, or substitute attorneys in any lawful manner deemed appropriate by it, including in writing, by telephone, facsimile, electronically (including through the internet) or otherwise. The powers of such agent and proxy shall include (without limiting its general powers hereunder) the power to receive and waive any notice of any meeting on behalf of the Participant. The Distributor may terminate this irrevocable proxy (i.e., Section 1.h.) after sixty (60) days written notice to the Participant and termination of this irrevocable proxy by itself shall not serve to terminate the Agreement.


2.	EXECUTION OF ORDERS (GENERAL TERMS).

a. Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units. All Orders shall be handled by each party hereto in accordance with the terms of the Prospectus and this Agreement (which includes the Procedures). Each party hereto agrees to comply with the provisions of such documents to the extent applicable to it. In the event of a conflict between the Prospectus and the Procedures, the Prospectus shall control.

b. NSCC. Solely with respect to Orders for the purchase or redemption of Creation Units through the Clearing Process, the Participant as a Participating Party hereby authorizes the Transfer Agent or its designee to transmit to NSCC on behalf of the Participant such instructions, including Share and cash amounts as are necessary with respect to the purchase and redemption of Creation Units, consistent with the instructions issued by the Participant. The Participant agrees to be bound by the terms of such instructions issued by the Transfer Agent or its designee on behalf of the Trust and reported to NSCC as though such instructions were issued by the Participant directly to NSCC.

c. Consent to Recording. It is contemplated that the phone lines used by the Distributor, the Transfer Agent and/or their affiliated persons will be recorded, and the Participant hereby consents to the recording of all calls with any of those parties.

d. Irrevocability. The Participant acknowledges and agrees on behalf of itself and any Participant Client that delivery of any Order shall be irrevocable, provided that the Trust, Transfer Agent and the Distributor on behalf of the Trust each reserve the right to reject any Order for any reason.

e. Prospectus Delivery. The Participant understands a current Prospectus and all required reports for each applicable Fund are available at the website listed on Attachment A hereto (or any successor website). The Distributor will provide to the Participant copies of the prospectus, and the Participant consents to the delivery of all prospectuses electronically by e-mail at [Participant’s e-mail address]. The Participant agrees to maintain a valid e-mail address and further agrees to promptly notify the other parties if its e-mail address changes. The Participant can revoke this consent upon written notice to the other parties. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Distributor agrees to provide to the Participant upon request a reasonable number of paper copies of either (i) a Fund’s statutory prospectus or (ii) in the sole discretion of the Distributor, a Fund’s summary prospectus in accordance with Rule 498 under the 1933 Act (or any successor rule). The Participant acknowledges receipt of the Prospectus and represents it has reviewed the Prospectus and understands the terms thereof, and further acknowledges that the procedures contained therein pertaining to the purchase and redemption of Shares are incorporated herein by reference.


3.	EXECUTION OF ORDERS FOR CREATION UNITS.

a. Title to Securities; Restricted Shares. The Participant represents on behalf of itself and any Participant Client that, upon delivery of a portfolio of Deposit Securities to the Trust’s custodian (“Custodian”) and/or relevant sub-custodian (“Sub-Custodian”), the Trust will acquire good and unencumbered title to such securities, free and clear of all liens, restrictions, charges, duties and encumbrances and not subject to any adverse claims, including, without limitation, any restriction upon the sale or transfer of such securities imposed by (i) any agreement or arrangement entered into by the Participant or any Participant Client in connection with a transaction to purchase Shares or (ii) any provision of the 1933 Act and regulations thereunder (except that portfolio securities of issuers other than U.S. issuers shall not be required to have been registered under the Securities Act if exempt from such registration), or of the applicable laws or regulations of any other applicable jurisdiction, and no such securities are “restricted securities,” as such term is used in Rule 144(a)(3)(i) of the 1933 Act.

b. Corporate Actions. With respect to any Creation Order of a particular Fund, such Fund acknowledges and agrees to return to the Participant any dividend, distribution or other corporate action paid to the Fund in respect of any Deposit Security transferred to the Fund that, based on the valuation of such Deposit Security at the time of transfer, should have been paid to the Participant or Participant Client.

c. Beneficial Ownership. The Participant represents and warrants to the Distributor, Transfer Agent and the Trust that (based upon the number of outstanding Shares of each Fund made publicly available by the Trust) (i) it does not hold, and will not as a result of

the contemplated transaction hold, for the account of any single Beneficial Owner of Shares of the relevant Fund, eighty percent (80%) or more of the outstanding Shares of the relevant Fund, or (ii) if it does hold for the account of any single Beneficial Owner of Shares of the relevant Fund, eighty percent (80%) or more of the outstanding Shares of the relevant Fund, that such a circumstance would not result in the Fund acquiring a basis in the portfolio securities deposited with the Fund with respect to an order to create Shares in such Fund different from the market value of such portfolio securities on the date of such order, pursuant to Section 351 and 362 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Such representation and warranty shall be deemed repeated with respect to each Creation Order for each Fund. If more than one Beneficial Owner is combined in any Creation Order, this representation is made by taking into account all such Beneficial Owners’ ownership of Shares as a group. The Participant understands and agrees that the order form relating to any Creation Order of any Fund shall state substantially the same foregoing representations and warranties.

The Distributor, Transfer Agent or the Trust may request information from the Participant regarding Share ownership and to rely thereon to the extent necessary to make a determination regarding ownership of eighty percent (80%) or more of the outstanding Fund Shares by a Beneficial Owner as a condition to the acceptance of Deposit Securities.

d. Sub-Custodian Account. The Participant understands and agrees that in the case of each Fund that invests in international or global equity securities, the Trust has caused its Custodian to maintain with the applicable Sub-Custodian for such Fund an account in the relevant foreign jurisdiction to which the Participant shall deliver or cause to be delivered the Deposit Securities for itself or any Participant Client in connection with any Creation Order, with any appropriate adjustments as advised by such Sub-Custodian or Fund, in accordance with the terms and conditions applicable to such account in such jurisdiction.

e. Deposit Securities and/or Relevant Cash Amounts. The Participant understands that the amount of any cash and the identity and the required number of Deposit Securities, as applicable, to be included with respect to any Creation Order (based on information at the end of the previous Business Day) for each Fund will be made available on each Business Day, prior to the opening of business on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) through the facilities of the NSCC. The Participant understands that a Creation Unit will not be issued until the requisite cash and/or Deposit Securities, as applicable, Transaction Fees and Taxes (as defined below) are transferred to the Trust on or before the settlement date in accordance with the Prospectus and in accordance with any instructions provided by the Trust, the Custodian and/or Sub-Custodian with respect to cash payments, delivery and settlement.


4.	EXECUTION OF REDEMPTION REQUESTS.

a. Order Placement. The Participant represents, covenants and warrants that upon submission of a redemption request such redemption request complies with the terms of the then current Prospectus. In the event that the Distributor, Transfer Agent and/or the Trust

believes that a Participant does not have the requisite number of Shares to be redeemed as a Creation Unit, the Distributor, Transfer Agent and/or Trust may reject without liability the Participant’s Redemption Order. The Participant understands and agrees that in the event Shares (or collateral of equivalent value, if permitted) are not transferred, the Redemption Order trade may be broken by the Fund and the Participant will be solely responsible for all costs incurred by the Fund and/or the Distributor related to breaking the trade.

b. Additional Payment on Redemption. In the event that the Participant receives Fund Securities the value of which exceeds the net asset value of the applicable Fund at the time of redemption, the Participant agrees to pay, on the same business day it is notified, or cause the Participant Client to pay, on such day, to the applicable Fund an amount in cash equal to the difference.

c. Corporate Actions. The Participant on behalf of itself and any Participant Client acknowledges and agrees to return to the applicable Fund any dividend, interest, distribution or other corporate action paid to it or to Participant Client in respect of any Fund Security that is transferred to the Participant or any Participant Client that, based on the valuation of such Fund Security at the time of transfer, should have been paid to the Fund. The Fund is entitled to reduce the amount of proceeds due to the Participant or Participant Client by an amount equal to any dividend, interest distribution or other corporate action paid to the Participant or to Participant Client in respect of any Fund Security that is transferred to the Participant or to Participant Client that, based on the valuation of such Fund Security at the time of transfer, should have been paid to the Fund.

5. PARTICIPANT RECORDS, POLICIES AND REPRESENTATIONS.

a. Maintenance of Records. The Participant agrees to maintain records of all sales of Shares made by or through it and to furnish copies of such records to the Trust, Transfer Agent and/or the Distributor upon request.

b. Privacy. The Participant represents that it has procedures in place that are reasonably designed to protect the privacy of non-public personal consumer/customer financial information to the extent required by applicable U.S. Federal and state laws, rules and regulations and will continue to do so throughout the term of this Agreement.

c. Shareholder Information. The Participant agrees: (i) subject to any privacy obligations or other obligations arising under the federal or state securities laws it may have to its customers, to assist the Distributor and/or the Trust in ascertaining certain information regarding sales of Shares made by or through Participant upon the request of the Trust or the Distributor necessary for the Funds to comply with their obligations to distribute information to their shareholders as may be required from time to time under applicable state or federal securities laws, or (ii) in lieu thereof, and at the option of the Participant, the Participant may undertake to deliver to its customers that are shareholders of the Funds, the Prospectuses, as may be amended or supplemented from time to time, proxy material,

annual and other reports of the Funds or other similar information that the Funds are obligated or otherwise desire to deliver to their shareholders, after receipt from the Funds or the Distributor of sufficient, reasonable quantities of the same to allow mailing thereof to such customers.

d. Anti-Money Laundering. The Participant represents, covenants and warrants that it has established an anti-money laundering program (“AML Program”) that, at a minimum, (i) designates a compliance officer to administer and oversee the AML Program, (ii) provides ongoing employee training, (iii) includes an independent audit function to test the effectiveness of the AML Program, (iv) establishes internal policies, procedures, and controls that are tailored to its particular business, (v) includes a customer identification program consistent with the rules under section 326 of the USA Patriot Act, (vi) provides for the filing of all necessary anti-money laundering reports including, but not limited to, currency transaction reports and suspicious activity reports, (vii) provides for screening all new and existing customers against reports and suspicious activity reports, (vii) provides for screening all new and existing customers against the Office of Foreign Asset Control list and any other government list that is or becomes required under the USA Patriot Act, and (viii) allows for appropriate regulators to examine its anti-money laundering books and records. The Participant agrees that, throughout the term of this Agreement, it will maintain the AML Program in substantial conformity with the foregoing provisions as may be amended or supplemented by applicable U.S. federal regulations. Any change in the foregoing shall result in the automatic termination of this Agreement, and Participant shall give prompt notice to the Distributor, Transfer Agent and the Trust of such change.

e. Marketing Materials. The Participant represents, warrants and agrees that it will not make any representations concerning a Fund, the Trust, Creation Units or Shares other than those contained in the Prospectus or in any promotional materials or sales literature furnished to the Participant by the Distributor. The Participant agrees not to furnish or cause to be furnished to any person or display or publish any information or materials relating to a Fund, Creation Units or Shares (including, without limitation, promotional materials and sales literature, advertisements, press releases, announcements, statements, posters, signs or other similar materials, but not including any materials prepared and used for the Participant’s internal use only or brokerage communications prepared by the Participant in the normal course of its business and consistent with the Prospectus and in accordance with applicable laws and regulations) (“Marketing Materials”), except such Marketing Materials as may be furnished to the Participant by the Distributor and such other Marketing Materials as may be approved in writing by the Distributor. The Participant understands that the Funds may not be advertised or marketed as open-end investment companies (i.e., as mutual funds) that offer redeemable securities, and that any advertising materials will prominently disclose that the Shares are not individually redeemable shares of beneficial interest in the Trust. In addition, the Participant understands that any advertising material that addresses redemptions of Shares, including the Prospectus, will disclose that the owners of Shares may acquire Shares and tender Shares for redemption to the Trust in Creation Unit aggregations only. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Participant or an affiliate of the Participant may, without the written approval of the Distributor, prepare and circulate in the

regular course of its business research reports that include information, opinions or recommendations relating to a Fund (i) for public dissemination, provided that such research reports compare the relative merits and benefits of Shares with other products and are not used for purposes of marketing Shares and (ii) for internal use by the Participant. The Participant acknowledges that the Trust, Distributor, Transfer Agent, the Trust’s investment adviser and their affiliates may disclose that the Participant is acting as an authorized participant with respect to the Trust’s Shares and has entered into this Agreement.


6.	AUTHORIZED PERSONS.

a. Certification. Concurrently with the execution of this Agreement and from time to time thereafter, the Participant shall deliver to the Distributor, the Transfer Agent and the Trust, duly certified as appropriate by its secretary or other duly authorized official, a certificate, in the form set forth in Attachment C (or pursuant to other documentation deemed acceptable by the Trust, Transfer Agent or Distributor in their sole discretion) (the “Certificate”), setting forth the names, signatures and other requested information of all persons authorized to give instructions relating to any activity contemplated hereby or any other notice, request or instruction on behalf of the Participant (each an “Authorized Person”). Such Certificate may be accepted and relied upon by the Transfer Agent, the Distributor and the Trust as conclusive evidence of the facts set forth therein and shall be considered to be in full force and effect until delivery to the Transfer Agent, the Distributor and the Trust of a superseding Certificate bearing a subsequent date.

b. Personal Identification Number. The Transfer Agent or Distributor, as the case may be, shall issue to the Participant a unique personal identification number (“PIN”) by which the Participant shall be identified and instructions issued by the Participant hereunder shall be authenticated.

c. Termination of Authority. Upon the termination or revocation of authority of such Authorized Person by the Participant, the Participant shall give prompt written notice of such fact to the Distributor, Transfer Agent and the Trust and such notice shall be effective upon receipt by the Distributor, Transfer Agent and the Trust.

d. Verification. The Transfer Agent and Distributor shall assume that all instructions issued to them using a PIN have been properly placed by an Authorized Person, unless the Transfer Agent or Distributor, as the case may be, has actual knowledge to the contrary or the Participant has properly revoked such PIN as provided herein. Neither the Distributor nor the Transfer Agent shall have any obligation to verify that an Order is being placed by an Authorized Person.


7.	PAYMENT OF CERTAIN FEES AND TAXES.

a. Transaction Fees. In connection with the purchase or redemption of Creation Units, the Participant agrees to pay on behalf of itself or the Participant Client the Transaction Fee prescribed in the Prospectus as applicable to the Participant’s transaction. The Trust reserves

the right to adjust any Transaction Fee subject to any limitation as prescribed in the Prospectus.

b. Other Fees and Taxes. In connection with the purchase or redemption of Creation Units, the Participant acknowledges and agrees that the computation of any cash amount to be paid by or to the Participant shall exclude any taxes or other fees and expenses payable upon the transfer of beneficial ownership of Deposit Securities or Fund Securities. To the extent any payment of any transfer tax, sales or use tax, stamp tax, recording tax, value added tax or any other similar tax, fee or government charge (collectively, “Taxes”) applicable to the purchase or redemption of any Creation Units made pursuant to this Agreement is imposed, the Participant shall be also responsible for the payment of any such Taxes regardless of whether or not such Taxes are imposed directly on the Participant. To the extent the Trust, the Distributor or their agents pay any such Taxes or they are otherwise imposed, the Participant agrees to promptly indemnify and pay such party for any such payment, together with any applicable penalties, additions to tax or interest thereon. This section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.


8.	INDEMNIFICATION.

This Section 8 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

a. The Participant hereby agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Distributor, the Trust, the Transfer Agent and their respective subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees and agents, and each person, if any, who controls such persons within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act (each an “AP Indemnified Party”) from and against any loss, liability, cost and expense (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) (“Losses”) incurred by such AP Indemnified Party as a result of (i) any breach by the Participant of any provision of this Agreement that relates to such Participant; (ii) any failure on the part of the Participant to perform any of its obligations set forth in the Agreement; (iii) any failure by the Participant to comply with applicable laws, including rules and regulations of self-regulatory organizations; (iv) actions of such AP Indemnified Party taken pursuant to any instructions issued in accordance with Attachment B hereto (as such may be amended from time to time) reasonably believed by the Distributor and/or the Transfer Agent to be genuine and to have been given by the Participant; or (v)(1) any representation by the Participant, its employees or its agents or other representatives about the Shares, any AP Indemnified Party or the Trust that is not consistent with the Trust’s then current Prospectus made in connection with the offer or the solicitation of an offer to buy or sell Shares; and (2) any untrue statement of a material fact or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in any research reports, marketing material and sales literature described in Section 5(e) hereof or any alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading to the extent that such statement or omission relates to the Shares, any AP Indemnified Party or the Trust, unless, in either case, such representation, statement or omission was made or included by the Distributor or the Trust in materials furnished to the Participant or by the Participant at the written direction of the Trust or the Distributor or is based upon any omission or alleged omission by the Trust or

the Distributor to state a material fact in connection with such representation, statement or omission necessary to make such representation, statement or omission not misleading. The Participant and the Distributor understand and agree that the Trust as a third party beneficiary to this Agreement is entitled and intends to proceed directly against the Participant in the event that the Participant fails to honor any of its obligations pursuant to this Agreement that benefit the Trust. The Participant shall not be liable to the AP Indemnified Party for any damages arising out of mistakes or errors in data provided to the Participant, or mistakes or errors by, or out of interruptions or delays of communications with, the AP Indemnified Parties who are service providers to the Trust.

b. The Distributor hereby agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Participant, its respective subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees and agents, and each person, if any, who controls such persons within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act (each a “Distributor Indemnified Party”) from and against any Losses incurred by such Distributor Indemnified Party as a result of (i) any breach by the Distributor of any provision of this Agreement that relates to the Distributor, (ii) any failure on the part of the Distributor to perform any of its obligations set forth in this Agreement; (iii) any failure by the Distributor to comply with applicable laws, including rules and regulations of self-regulatory organizations; (iv) actions of such Distributor Indemnified Party in reliance upon any instructions issued or representations made in accordance with Attachment B hereto (as such may be amended from time to time) reasonably believed by the Distributor Indemnified Party to be genuine and to have been given by the Distributor; or (v)(1) any representation by the Distributor, its employees or its agents or other representatives about the Shares or any AP Indemnified Party that is not consistent with the Trust’s then current Prospectus made in connection with the offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell Creation Units; and (2) any untrue statement of a material fact or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement of the Trust as originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission or in any amendment thereof, or in any prospectus or any statement of additional information, or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading. The Distributor shall not be liable to any Distributor Indemnified Party for any damages arising out of mistakes or errors in data provided to the Distributor, or mistakes or errors by, or out of interruptions or delays of communications with the Distributor Indemnified Parties, due to any action of a service provider to the Trust.

c. This Section 8 shall not apply to the extent any such Losses are incurred as a result or in connection with any gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct on the part of any AP Indemnified Party or the Distributor Indemnified Party, as the case may be. The term “affiliate” in this Section 8 shall include, with respect to any person, entity or organization, any other person, entity or organization which directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by or is under common control with such person, entity or organization.


9.	LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.

This Section 9 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

a. Express Duties. The Distributor and the Transfer Agent undertake to perform such duties and only such duties as are expressly set forth herein, or expressly incorporated herein by reference, and no implied covenants or obligations shall be read into this Agreement against the Distributor or the Transfer Agent.

b. Limited Liability. In the absence of bad faith, gross negligence or willful misconduct on its part, neither the Distributor nor the Transfer Agent, whether acting directly or through agents, affiliates or attorneys, shall be liable for any action taken, suffered or omitted or for any error of judgment made by any of them in the performance of their duties hereunder. Neither the Distributor nor the Transfer Agent shall be liable for any error of judgment made in good faith unless the party exercising such shall have been grossly negligent in ascertaining the pertinent facts necessary to make such judgment. In no event shall the Distributor or the Transfer Agent be liable for any special, indirect, incidental, exemplary, punitive or consequential loss or damage of any kind whatsoever (including but not limited to loss of revenue, loss of actual or anticipated profit, loss of contracts, loss of the use of money, loss of anticipated savings, loss of business, loss of opportunity, loss of market share, loss of goodwill or loss of reputation), even if such parties have been advised of the likelihood of such loss or damage and regardless of the form of action. In no event shall the Distributor or the Transfer Agent be liable for: (i) the acts or omissions of DTC, NSCC or any other securities depository or clearing corporation; or (ii) losses incurred by the Participant or Participant Client as a result of unauthorized use of any PIN. Further, the Distributor shall not be liable for any action or failure to take any action with respect to the voting matters set forth in Section 1.h. above.

c. Force Majeure. Neither the Distributor nor the Transfer Agent shall be responsible or liable for any failure or delay in the performance of their obligations under this Agreement arising out of or caused, directly or indirectly, by circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including without limitation, acts of God; earthquakes; fires; floods; wars; civil or military disturbances; terrorism; sabotage; epidemics; riots; interruptions; loss or malfunction of utilities, computer (hardware or software) or communications service; accidents; labor disputes; acts of civil or military authority or governmental actions.

d. Reliance on Instructions. The Distributor and the Transfer Agent may conclusively rely upon, and shall be fully protected in acting or refraining from acting upon, any communication authorized under this Agreement and the Procedures and upon any written or oral instruction, notice, request, direction or consent reasonably believed by them to be genuine.

e. No Advancement by Transfer Agent. The Transfer Agent shall not be required to advance, expend or risk its own funds or otherwise incur or become exposed to financial

liability in the performance of its duties hereunder, except as may be required as a result of its own gross negligence, willful misconduct or bad faith.

f. Data Errors and Communication Delays. Neither the Distributor nor the Transfer Agent shall be liable to the Participant or to any other person for any damages arising out of mistakes or errors in data provided to the Distributor or the Transfer Agent by a third party, or out of interruptions or delays of electronic means of communications with the Distributor or the Transfer Agent.

10.

NOTICES. Except as otherwise specifically provided in this Agreement, all notices and amendments required or permitted to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be given in writing and delivered by (i) personal delivery, (ii) postage prepaid registered or certified United States first class mail, return receipt requested, (iii) overnight traceable mail (e.g., Federal Express), (iv) facsimile, (v) electronic mail (e-mail) or (vi) similar means of same day delivery. Unless otherwise notified in writing, all notices to the Trust shall be given or sent as follows:

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

Copies to:

W. John McGuire

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP

1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20004-2541

General Counsel

Vident Advisory, LLC

1125 Sanctuary Parkway, Suite 515

Alpharetta, Georgia 30009

All notices to the Participant, Distributor or Transfer Agent, as the case may be, shall be directed to the address, telephone, facsimile numbers or e-mail addresses indicated below the signature line of such party; provided, however, in the case of communications by the Distributor or Transfer Agent to the Participant with respect to any Order as detailed in the Procedures, the Distributor and Transfer Agent shall contact an Authorized Person or other Participant designee at such telephone number, e-mail address or facsimile number provided by such person.


11.	TERMINATION AND AMENDMENT. This Agreement shall become effective as of the date set forth on the signature page of this Agreement and may be terminated at any time by any party upon thirty (30) calendar days prior notice to the other parties unless earlier terminated in the event that the Trust is terminated for any reason.

This Agreement may be amended upon a written amendment executed by the parties hereto; provided, however, (i) the Distributor may amend the list of Funds set forth in Attachment A hereto upon notification to the Participant and the Transfer Agent; and (ii) the Transfer Agent and Distributor reserve the right to revise the Procedures or issue additional procedures relating to the manner of creating or redeeming Creation Units upon written notification to the Participant.


12.	ENTIRE AGREEMENT. This Agreement and the Procedures, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference, supersede any prior agreement between or among the parties with respect to the subject matter contained herein and constitute the entire agreement among the parties regarding the matters contained herein.

13.

ASSIGNMENT. No party may assign its rights or obligations under this Agreement (in whole or in part) without the prior written consent of the other parties, which shall not be unreasonably withheld; provided that, any party may assign its rights and obligations hereunder (in whole, but not in part) without such consent to an entity acquiring all, or substantially all of its assets or business or to an affiliate so long as the acquiring entity is able to comply and fulfill the duties and obligations under this Agreement.

14.

SEVERANCE. If any provision of this Agreement is held by any court or any act, regulation, rule or decision of any other governmental or supranational body or authority or regulatory or self-regulatory organization to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason, it shall be invalid, illegal or unenforceable only to the extent so held and shall not affect the validity, legality or enforceability of the other provisions of this Agreement so long as this Agreement, as so modified, continues to express, without material change, the original intentions of the parties as to the subject matter of this Agreement and the deletion of such portion of this Agreement will not substantially impair the respective benefits, obligations, or expectations of the parties to this Agreement.


15.	COUNTERPARTS. This Agreement may be executed in several counterparts, each of which shall be an original and all shall constitute but one and the same instrument.

16.

GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without regard to the conflicts of laws provisions thereof. The parties irrevocably submit to the personal jurisdiction and service and venue of any federal or state court within the State of New York having subject matter jurisdiction, for the purpose of any action, suit or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement.


17.	TRUST AS THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARY. The parties understand and agree that the Trust, as a third party beneficiary to this Agreement, is entitled and intend to proceed directly against the Participant in the event that the Participant fails to honor any of its obligations pursuant to this Agreement that benefit the Trust.


18.	INTERPRETATION. Titles and section headings are included solely for convenient reference and are not a part of this Agreement.

See next page for signature

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed as of the day of , 20__.

ALPS DISTRIBUTORS, INC.

BY:

PRINTED NAME: Steven B. Price

TITLE: SVP & Director of Distribution Services

ADDRESS: 1290 Broadway, Suite 1100

Denver, CO 80203

TELEPHONE: (720) 917-0797

FACSIMILE: (303) 824-3320

EMAIL: steve.price@alpsinc.com

PARTICIPANT:

NAME:

NSCC#:

TAX ID#:

BY:

PRINTED NAME:

TITLE:

ADDRESS:

TELEPHONE:

FACSIMILE:

E-MAIL:

ACCEPTED BY:

U.S. BANCORP FUND SERVICES, LLC, as Transfer Agent

BY:

PRINTED NAME:

TITLE:

ADDRESS:

TELEPHONE:

FACSIMILE:

ATTACHMENT A

AUTHORIZED PARTICIPANT AGREEMENT

FOR ETF SERIES SOLUTIONS

(VIDENT ADVISORY SERIES)

Fund Ticker Symbol Website

Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy ETF VBND www.videntfinancialsolutions.com

Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund VUSE www.videntfinancialsolutions.com

Vident International Equity Fund VIDI www.videntfinancialsolutions.com

PPTY - U.S. Diversified Real Estate ETF PPTY www.videntfinancialsolutions.com

ATTACHMENT B

This document supplements the Prospectus and the Participant Agreement (the “Agreement”) with respect to the procedures to be used by (i) the Transfer Agent and Distributor in processing orders for the purchase of Creation Units of the Fund (“Creation Orders”) and (ii) the Transfer Agent in processing orders for the redemption of Creation Units of the Fund (“Redemption Orders” and, together with Creation Orders, “Orders”).

Before placing an Order, a Participant must have signed the Agreement. The Transfer Agent or Distributor, as the case may be, will assign a personal identification number (“PIN”) to the Participant. This will allow a Participant through its Authorized Person(s) to place an Order with respect to Creation Units.

TO PLACE AN ORDER FOR PURCHASE OR REDEMPTION OF CREATION UNITS


1.	Placing an Order.

a. General. To the extent possible, Orders shall be submitted through the Internet (“Web Order Site” or “Electronic Order System”) as described in section 1.b. below. If the Electronic Order System is not available, Orders may be placed by telephone, as described in section 1.c. If the Transfer Agent has not provided an order number to a Participant in response to the Participant’s request for creation unit(s) and the Participant has not transmitted the Order Form to the Transfer Agent prior to the Order Cut-Off Time (as defined below), the Order will not be Complete and will not be processed. Redemption Orders that are not completed prior to the Order Cut-Off Time will be processed on the next Business Day, unless withdrawn in writing by the Participant.

Using the Electronic Order System to Initiate the Order. An Authorized Person for the Participant will log in to the Electronic Order System prior to the cut-off time for placing Orders with the Fund (the “Order Cut-Off Time”) set forth in the particular Fund’s order form (“Order Form”) and enter the terms of the Order. An Order must be submitted as of the Order Cut-Off Time on the day the Order was placed if it is to be processed by the Electronic Order System in accordance with the procedures outlined below and in the documents listed in the following paragraph.

Orders submitted through the Electronic Order System must be in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, the Prospectus, the Web Order Site, the Electronic Order System Agreement (the “Electronic Order System Agreement,” which must be separately entered into by the Participant) and the applicable Electronic Order System User Guide (or any successor documents). To the extent that any provision of this Agreement (including this Attachment B) is inconsistent with any provision of any Electronic Order System Agreement, the Electronic Order System Agreement shall control with respect to the Transfer Agent’s provision of the Web Order Site; provided, however, it is not the intention

of the parties to otherwise modify the rights, duties and obligations of the parties under the Agreement, which shall remain in full force and effect until otherwise expressly modified or terminated in accordance with its terms. Notwithstanding the forgoing, the Participant acknowledges that references to the applicable Electronic Order System User Guide (or any successor documents) contained herein are for instructional purposes only, and such Electronic Order System User Guide (or any successor documents) does not contain any additional representations, warranties or obligations by the Trust, the Transfer Agent, the Distributor or their respective agents.

c. Using a Telephone Call to Initiate the Order. In the event the Electronic Order System service is unavailable, an Authorized Person for the Participant may call the Transfer Agent’s telephone representative at the number listed on the Order Form prior to the Order Cut-Off Time to place an Order and receive an Order Number, as described further below. The telephone call must be answered and the Order number must be issued prior to the Order Cut-Off Time. All paperwork, including a completed Order Form consistent with the telephonic instructions, required of the Participant must also be submitted to the Distributor prior to the Order Cut-Off Time. Once an order number is issued and Order Form is submitted to the Distributor, the Order is Complete and is irrevocable by the Participant and may only be cancelled by the Transfer Agent, Distributor or Trust in accordance with the provisions listed herein. If the corresponding Order Form is not submitted to the Distributor in good form prior to the Order Cut-Off Time or is inconsistent with the order as communicated by the Participant to the Transfer Agent (as reflected on the electronic email trade confirmation described below), the Order will not be Complete and will not be processed. Non-standard Orders generally must be arranged with the Trust in advance of Order placement. The Order Form (as may be revised from time to time) is incorporated into and made a part of this Agreement.

Upon verifying the authenticity of the caller (as determined by the use of the appropriate PIN) and the terms of the Order, the telephone representative will initiate the Order and generate an electronic email trade confirmation which includes a unique Order Number. The Participant will then transmit the terms of the Order in an electronic mail version of the Order Form to the Distributor. All Orders with respect to the purchase or redemption of Creation Units are required by the Distributor to be in writing (by email or, as provided below, by facsimile) and accompanied by the designated Order Number.

If the creation order number has not been issued prior to the Order Cut-Off Time, the Creation Order will be invalid and will not be processed. If a redemption order number has not been issued prior to the Order Cut-Off Time, the Redemption Order will be processed on the next Business Day, unless withdrawn in writing by the Participant.

If a completed Order Form has not been transmitted by the Participant to the Distributor prior to the Order Cut-Off Time, or if the Order Form is not submitted in good form prior to the Order Cut-Off Time or is otherwise inconsistent with the order as communicated by

the Participant to the Transfer Agent, the Creation Order will be invalid and will not be processed.

If the Participant is unable to send or receive electronic mail, it must inform the Transfer Agent and the Distributor as soon as such inability arises. Communication by facsimile may then be substituted for electronic mail in the steps described above, provided that each transmission is clearly marked with the time of transmission.

INCOMING TELEPHONE CALLS ARE QUEUED AND WILL BE HANDLED IN THE SEQUENCE RECEIVED. ACCORDINGLY, DO NOT HANG UP AND REDIAL. CALLS MUST BE CONCLUDED PRIOR TO THE ORDER CUT-OFF TIME. CALLS THAT ARE IN PROGRESS OR ARE UNANSWERED IN THE QUEUE AT OR AFTER THE ORDER CUT-OFF TIME WILL BE VERBALLY DENIED. INCOMING CALLS THAT ARE RECEIVED AFTER THE ORDER CUT-OFF TIME WILL NOT BE ANSWERED BY THE TELEPHONE REPRESENTATIVE. ALL TELEPHONE CALLS WILL BE RECORDED BY THE TELEPHONE REPRESENTATIVE, AND SUCH RECORDING WILL INCLUDE THE TIME OF THE TELEPHONE CALL.

NOTE THAT THE TELEPHONE CALL IN WHICH THE ORDER NUMBER IS ISSUED INITIATES THE ORDER PROCESS BUT DOES NOT ALONE CONSTITUTE THE ORDER. AN ORDER IS ONLY COMPLETED AND PROCESSED UPON SUBMISSION OF AN ORDER FORM TO THE DISTRIBUTOR IN GOOD FORM BY THE PARTICIPANT AND APPROVAL BY BOTH THE PARTICIPANT AND THE TRANSFER AGENT OR DISTRIBUTOR, AS APPLICABLE.


d.	Settlement.

(i)

Clearing Process. In general, the securities making up a Creation Unit must be delivered through the NSCC to a DTC account maintained at the Fund’s custodian on or before the Contractual Settlement Date (defined below). The Participant must also make available on or before the Contractual Settlement Date, by means satisfactory to the Fund, immediately available or same day funds estimated by the Fund to be sufficient to pay any applicable cash component related to an Order. Any excess funds will be returned following settlement of the issue of the Creation Unit. The “Contractual Settlement Date” is the earlier of: (i) the date upon which all of the required securities, any cash component and any other cash amounts which may be due are delivered to the Fund; and (ii) trade date plus two (T+2) business days. Creation Units will be issued through the NSCC in accordance with the terms and conditions of the NSCC systems from time to time adopted and communicated to NSCC participants.

Any settlement outside the NSCC Clearing Process may be subject to additional requirements and fees as discussed in the Prospectus.

(ii)

Outside the Clearing Process. In general, securities making up a Creation Unit must be delivered to an account maintained at the applicable local Subcustodian on or before the International Contractual Settlement Date (defined below). The Participant must also make available on or before the International Contractual Settlement Date, by means satisfactory to the Fund, immediately available or same day funds estimated by the Fund to be sufficient to pay any cash component of the Creation Unit, together with any applicable fees. Any excess funds will be returned following settlement of the issue of the Creation Unit. The “International Contractual Settlement Date” will be the earlier of: (i) the date upon which all of the required securities making up a Creation Unit, and any related cash component and other cash amounts due are delivered to the Fund; and (ii) the latest day for settlement on the customary settlement cycle in the jurisdiction(s) where any of such securities are customarily traded.

Except as provided in the next two paragraphs, a Creation Unit will not be issued outside of the Clearing Process until the transfer of good title to the Fund of the securities and the payment of any cash component and applicable fees have been completed. When the Subcustodian confirms to the Fund’s custodian that the required securities (or, when permitted in the sole discretion of the Fund, the cash value thereof) have been delivered to the account of the relevant Subcustodian, the custodian shall will cause the delivery of the Creation Unit.

In the event that a deposit of securities is incomplete on the settlement date for a Creation Unit, the Fund may in its sole discretion issue a Creation Unit notwithstanding such deficiency in reliance on the undertaking of the Participant to deliver the missing securities as soon as possible, which undertaking shall be secured by the Participant’s delivery and maintenance of collateral consisting of cash having a value at least equal to 105% of the value of the missing securities. The parties hereto agree that the delivery of such collateral shall be made in accordance with cash collateral settlement provided to the Participant by the Transfer Agent. Moreover, the Fund, acting in good faith, may purchase the missing securities at any time and the Participant agrees to accept liability for any shortfall between the cost to the Fund of purchasing such securities and the value of the collateral, which may be sold by the Fund at such time, and in such manner, as the Fund may determine in its sole discretion.


2.	Further Information Regarding the Placement of Orders by the Internet.

a. Certain Acknowledgements. The Participant acknowledges and agrees (i) that the Trust, the Transfer Agent, the Distributor and their respective agents may elect to review any

Order placed through the Web Order Site manually before it is executed and that such manual review may result in a delay in execution of such Order; (ii) that during periods of heavy market activity or other times, it may be difficult to place Orders via the Web Order Site and the Participant may place Orders as otherwise set forth in this Attachment B; and (iii) that any transaction information, content, or data downloaded or otherwise obtained through the use of the Web Order Site are done at the Participant’s own discretion and risk.

EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE SPECIFICALLY PROVIDED IN THE ELECTRONIC ORDER SYSTEM AGREEMENT AND TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE PARTICIPANT ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES THAT THE WEB ORDER SITE IS PROVIDED “AS IS,” “AS AVAILABLE” WITH ALL FAULTS AND WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. SPECIFICALLY, WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, ALL WARRANTIES, CONDITIONS, OTHER CONTRACTUAL TERMS, REPRESENTATIONS, INDEMNITIES AND GUARANTEES WITH RESPECT TO THE WEB ORDER SITE, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, ARISING BY LAW, CUSTOM, PRIOR ORAL OR WRITTEN STATEMENTS BY THE TRUST, THE TRANSFER AGENT, THE DISTRIBUTOR OR THEIR RESPECTIVE AGENTS, AFFILIATES, LICENSORS OR OTHERWISE (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO AS TO TITLE, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, UNINTERRUPTED USE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, TIMELINESS, TRUTHFULNESS, SEQUENCE, COMPLETENESS, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES, CONDITIONS AND OTHER CONTRACTUAL TERMS ARISING FROM TRADE USAGE, COURSE OF DEALING OR COURSE OF PERFORMANCE) ARE HEREBY OVERRIDDEN, EXCLUDED AND DISCLAIMED.

b. Election to Terminate Placing Orders by Internet. The Participant may elect at any time to discontinue placing Orders through the Web Order Site without providing notice under the Agreement.

Acknowledgment Regarding Telephone and Internet Transactions. During periods of heavy market activity or other times, the Participant acknowledges it may be difficult to reach the Trust by telephone or to transact business over the Internet via the Web Order Site. Technological irregularities may also make the use of the Internet and Web Order Site slow or unavailable at times. The Trust may terminate the receipt of redemption or exchange Orders by telephone or the Internet at any time, in which case you may redeem or exchange Shares by communication through facsimile. All Order Forms transmitted through facsimile must be transmitted, and order numbers must be issued, prior to the Order Cut-Off Time. If a completed Order Form has not been transmitted by the Participant prior to the Order Cut-Off Time, the Creation Order will be invalid and will not be processed. Solely with respect to Redemption Orders, if the Order Form has not been transmitted in good form or the order number has not been issued prior to the Order Cut-

Off Time, the Redemption Order will be processed on the next Business Day, unless withdrawn in writing by the Participant.

Purchase of Creation Units Without Receipt of Deposit Securities. Creation Units of the Fund may be purchased in advance of receipt by the Trust of all or a portion of the applicable Deposit Securities, provided that the Participant deposits an initial deposit of cash with the Trust having a value greater than the net asset value of the Shares on the date the Order is placed in proper form. In addition to available Deposit Securities and cash that generally comprise a Creation Unit, cash must be deposited in an amount equal to the percentage (as set forth in the Prospectus) of the market value of any undelivered Deposit Securities (the “Additional Cash Deposit”). The Order shall be deemed to be received on the Business Day on which the Order is placed provided that the order number is issued prior to the Order Cut-Off Time on such date and cash in the appropriate amount is deposited with the Custodian by 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time or such other time as designated by the Custodian on the settlement date. If the Order number has not been issued prior to the Order Cut-Off Time or federal funds in the appropriate amount are not received by 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the settlement date, then the Order will be rejected as invalid and the Participant shall be liable to the Trust 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 an amount of cash on deposit with the Trust at least equal to the percentage (as set forth in the Prospectus) of the daily marked to market value of the missing Deposit Securities. In the event that additional cash is not paid, the Trust may use the cash on deposit to purchase the missing Deposit Securities. The Participant will be liable to the Trust for the costs incurred by the Trust in connection with any such purchases and the Participant shall be liable to the Trust for any shortfall between the cost to the Trust of purchasing any missing Deposit Securities and the value of the collateral. These costs will be deemed to include the amount by which the actual purchase price of the Deposit Securities exceeds the market value of such Deposit Securities on the day the Creation 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. The Trust shall charge and the Participant agrees to pay to the Trust the Transaction Fee and any additional fees prescribed in the Prospectus. The delivery of Creation Units of the Fund so created will occur no later than the prescribed settlement date following the day on which the Creation Order is deemed received by the Distributor.

ATTACHMENT C

AUTHORIZED PERSONS

ETF SERIES SOLUTIONS

(VIDENT ADVISORY SERIES)

The following individuals are Authorized Persons pursuant to Section 6 of the Participant Agreement between ALPS Distributors, Inc. and Participant, subject to acceptance by U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, and

Participant Name NSCC #



NAME⁽¹⁾	TITLE⁽¹⁾	SIGNATURE⁽¹⁾	TELEPHONE NUMBER⁽²⁾	E-MAIL ADDRESS⁽²⁾	CITY OF BIRTH⁽²⁾

Date:

Certified By (Signature):

Print Name:

Title:


(1)	Required information.


(2)	Required information to use the Web Order Site.

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

We hereby consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement on Form N-1A of our report dated October 29, 2019, relating to the financial statements and financial highlights of Vident International Equity Fund, Vident Core U.S. Equity Fund, and Vident Core U.S. Bond Strategy ETF, each a series of ETF Series Solutions, for the year ended August 31, 2019, and to the references to our firm under the headings “Financial Highlights” in the Prospectus and “Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm” in the Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information.

/s/ Cohen & Company, Ltd.

Cohen & Company, Ltd.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

December 26, 2019

ALPS Code of Ethics

Amended as of: July 1, 2019

Table of Contents

I.Introduction 4

A.Applicability 5

II.General Standards of Business Conduct 6

A.Conflicts of Interest 6

B.Protecting Confidential Information 6

C.Insider Trading 6

D.Excess Trading 7

E.Limitation on Trading SS&C Stock 7

III.Gifts and Entertainment 9

IV.Other Activities 11

A.Improper Payments or Rebates 11

B.Service on a Board of Directors/Outside Business Activities 11

C.Political Contributions 11

V.Reporting Requirements 13

A.Covered Securities 13

B.Initial Holdings and Accounts Reports 13

C.Duplicate Statements/Electronic Feeds 14

D.Quarterly Transaction Reports 14

E.Annual Holdings Reports 15

VI.Access Persons - Restrictions 16

A.Trading Restrictions 16

B.Account Restrictions 16

VII.Investment Persons - Restrictions 17

A.Trading Restrictions 17

B.Account Restrictions 17

C.Pre-Clearance 17

D.Serving on a Board of Directors 18

VIII.Sanctions 19

A.Procedures 19

B.Appeals Process 19

IX.Compliance & Supervisory Procedures 20

A.Prevention of Violations 20

B.Detection of Violations 20

C.Compliance Procedures 20

D.Annual Reports 20

E.Records 21

F.Inspection 21

G.Confidentiality 21

H.The Ethics Committee 21

Appendix A - Broker/Dealers with Electronic Feeds23

Appendix B - Sub-Advisers to ALPS Advisors, Inc.24

Appendix C - Glossary of Defined Terms25

Introduction

This Code of Ethics (“Code”) has been adopted by different ALPS Entities “ALPS”). The Code is designed to comply with Rule 204A-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Advisers Act”) and Rule 17j-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”). By adopting and adhering to a code that meets the applicable requirements under the Advisers Act and 1940 Act, it is intended that ALPS employees who are deemed to be Access Persons and/or Investment Persons, will not also be subject to duplicative reporting requirements under various other codes for fund companies for which they may serve as an officer or are otherwise deemed to be an Access Person. However, all such persons should check with each company’s Compliance or Legal representatives to confirm their status.

ALPS and its employees are subject to certain laws, rules and regulations governing personal securities trading, conflicts of interest, treatment of client assets and information, generally prohibiting fraudulent, deceptive or manipulative conduct. The Code is designed to ensure compliance with these. The actual requirements of the Code may vary depending on the employee’s business role of respective subsidiary so care should be taken by each employee to understand how the Code applies to them.

Employees who are also registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) as a Registered Representative may have additional requirements and/or restrictions in addition to those described herein. Those Registered Representatives should consult their Written Supervisory Procedures for additional requirements.

ALPS and its employees are prohibited from engaging in fraudulent, deceptive or manipulative conduct. The Code is designed to reinforce ALPS’ reputation for integrity by avoiding even the appearance of impropriety in the conduct of our business. This Code was developed to promote the highest standards of behavior and ensure compliance with applicable laws.

Employees are required to promptly report any known violations of the Code to the Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO” as defined). This includes violations that come to your attention that may have been inadvertent and/or violations that other employees may have committed. The CCO (or a designee) will promptly investigate the matter and take action if needed. There will be no retribution against any employee for making such a report, and every effort will be made to protect the identity of the reporting employee. There may be additional provisions for reporting violations that are covered under applicable policies and employees should make themselves familiar with these policies or consult with CCO.

Employees should be aware that they may be held personally liable for any improper or illegal acts committed during their course of employment, and that “ignorance of the law” is not a defense. ALPS employees are expected to read the Code carefully and observe and adhere to its guidance at all times. Failure to comply with the provisions of the Code may result in serious sanctions including, but not limited to: disgorgement of profits, termination, personal criminal or civil liability and referral to law enforcement agencies or other regulatory agencies.

The provisions of the Code are not all-inclusive. Rather, they are intended as a guide for employees of ALPS in their conduct. In those situations where an employee may be uncertain as to the intent or purpose of the Code, they are advised to consult with the CCO. All questions arising in connection with personal securities trading should be resolved in favor of the Client, even at the expense of the interests of employees.

The CCO will periodically report to senior management/board of directors of ALPS and the respective fund boards where ALPS serves in the capacity of investment adviser and/or distributor to document compliance or non-compliance with this Code. Each employee is responsible for knowing their responsibilities under the Code.


A.	Applicability

ALPS Employees

This Code is applicable to ALPS employees as required by the applicable rules, regulations, or as determined by the CCO. This includes full-time, part-time, benefited and non-benefited, officers, directors, exempt and non-exempt personnel. Additionally, new employee’s offer letter will include a copy of the Code of Ethics and a statement advising the individual that they will be subject to the Code of Ethics if they accept the offer of employment. Employees with access to certain information (as described herein) may also be deemed to be “Access Persons” or “Investment Persons and be subject to additional restrictions, limitations, reporting requirements and other policies and procedures.

ALPS employees have an obligation to promptly notify the Administrator of the Code of Ethics if there is a change to their duties, responsibilities or title which affects their reporting status under the code.

Family Members and Related Parties

The Code applies to the Accounts of employee’s as specified, their spouse or domestic partner, minor children, immediate family members residing in the same household as the employee (e.g. adult children or parents living at home), and any relative, person or entity for whom the employee directs the investments or securities trading.

Contractors and Consultants

ALPS contractor/consultant/temporary employee contracts may include the Code as an addendum, and each contractor/consultant/temporary employee may be required to sign an acknowledgement that they have read the Code and will abide by it. Certain sections might not be applicable.


I.	General Standards of Business Conduct

ALPS employees are subject to and expected to abide by the Code including, but not limited to, the General Standards of Business Conduct and all reporting requirements outlined herein.


A.	Conflicts of Interest

A conflict of interest is a situation where our personal loyalties or interests may be at odds with those of ALPS, its subsidiaries, or its clients or where our position at ALPS affords us improper personal benefits. When determining whether or not a conflict exists, make sure to consider not only your own activities, but also those of your family members and related parties.

Employees may not act on behalf of ALPS or its clients in any Securities Transaction or other transfer or receipt of property, services or benefits involving other persons or organizations where such employee may have any financial or a other interest without prior approval from the CCO.


B.	Protecting Confidential Information

Employees may receive information about ALPS, its Clients and other parties that, for various reasons, should be treated as confidential. Employees have an obligation to safeguard personal client or fellow employee personal information and material non-public information regarding ALPS and its Clients. Accordingly, employees may not disclose current portfolio holdings, Fund Transactions, or Securities Transactions proxy vote or corporate action made or contemplated, personal client or fellow employee personal information or any other non-public information to anyone outside of ALPS, without approval from the CCO or the Ethics Committee. ALPS employees are expected to strictly comply with measures necessary to preserve the confidentiality of the information. Refer to applicable ALPS and SS&C policies for additional information.


C.	Insider Trading

The misuse of Material Nonpublic Information, or inside information, constitutes fraud under the securities laws of the United States and many other countries. Anyone aware of Material Nonpublic Information (or inside information) may not trade in, recommend, or in some cases refrain from selling those securities whether directly, through a third party, for a personal account, ALPS or the account of any ALPS’ Client.

No employee may cause ALPS or a Client to take action, or to fail to take action, for personal benefit, rather than to benefit ALPS or such Client. For example, a person would violate this Code by causing a Client to purchase securities owned by the Access Person for the purpose of supporting or increasing the price of that security or by causing a Client to refrain from selling securities in an attempt to protect a personal investment, such as an option on that security.

As a general rule, we should consider all information we learn about our clients, proprietary products, SS&C or other companies in the course of our employment to be material nonpublic information unless it has been fully disclosed to the public.

In addition, employees must not engage in tipping. Tipping occurs when one individual (the tipper) passes Material Nonpublic information to another (the tippee) under circumstances that suggest the tipper was trying to help the tippee make a profit or avoid a loss in exchange for some benefit to the tipper. The benefit does not have to be pecuniary and could result from a family or personal relationship. In this situation, both the tipper and the tippee may be liable, and this liability may extend to everyone to whom the tippee discloses the information.

Employees may not engage in “front running,” that is, the purchase or sale of securities for their own accounts on the basis of their knowledge of a Fund’s Transactions or planned Transactions.

Trading activity will be monitored by the Administrator of the Code of Ethics for Access and Investment persons as described.


D.	Excess Trading

While active personal trading may not in and of itself raise issues under applicable laws and regulations, we believe that a very high volume of personal trading can be time consuming and can increase the possibility of actual or apparent conflicts with portfolio transactions. Accordingly, an unusually high level of personal trading activity (as determined by ALPS based on the facts and circumstances) is strongly discouraged. A pattern of excessive trading may lead to the taking of appropriate corrective or restrictive action under the Code.


E.	Limitation on Trading SS&C Stock

In addition to Insider Trading restrictions, some SS&C stock transactions are prohibited altogether as described below.

Prohibited SS&C Stock Transactions

Short sales.

Employees may never engage in a short sale of SS&C’s securities. A short sale is a sale of securities the seller does not own or, if owned, is not delivered against the sale within 20 days (a short sale against the box). Short sales of SS&C’s securities show the seller’s expectation that the securities will decline in value. Therefore, these sales signal to the market that the seller has no confidence in SS&C or its short-term prospects. In addition, short sales may reduce the seller’s incentive to improve SS&C’s performance. For these reasons, short sales of SS&C securities are not permitted.

Option trades

Employees may not take part in certain option trades that are more profitable as SS&C stock declines in value. Employees may not:


•	Purchase a put option on SS&C securities


•	Write a call option on SS&C securities

Hedging transactions

Employees must not enter into hedging transactions, as these transactions may permit the employee to continue to own SS&C securities without the full risks and rewards of ownership. When that occurs, the employee may no longer have the same objectives as other SS&C stockholders. For that reason, employees must not enter into prepaid variable forward contracts, equity swaps, collars and exchange funds or other similar hedging or monetization transactions involving SS&C stock.

Margin accounts and pledges

Holding or pledging SS&C securities as collateral in margin accounts are not permitted.

Blackout Period

Certain employees may be restricted from buying or selling shares of SS&C during specified blackout periods or required to pre-clear transactions of SS&C shares. If either or both restrictions apply, employees will be contacted directly by SS&C regarding the restrictions and when blackout periods occur.

Pre-Clearances

Certain employees may be subject to the pre-clearance requirements as outlined in the SS&C Securities Transactions Policy. These employees will be notified by SS&C regarding their reporting obligations.

Permitted SS&C Stock Transactions

The prohibitions set forth above do not apply to the following (each, a "Permitted Transaction”):

•

for SS&C stock options or equity awards that would otherwise expire, exercises of such options and awards and the surrender of shares to SS&C in payment of the exercise price or in satisfaction of any tax withholding obligations (in each case in a manner permitted by the applicable equity award agreement); provided, however, that the securities so acquired may not be sold (either outright or in connection with a "cashless" exercise transaction through a broker) while the director or employee is aware of material non-public information or during a Blackout Period; and


•	bona fide gifts, unless the person making the gift has reason to believe that the recipient intends to sell the securities while the director or employee is aware of material non-public information or during a Blackout Period.


II.	Gifts and Entertainment

Gifts or Entertainment may create an actual or apparent conflict of interest, which could affect (or appear to affect) the recipients’ independent business judgment. Therefore, ALPS has established reasonable limits and procedures relating to the giving and receiving of Gifts and Entertainment.

ALPS employees are required to follow the standards below regarding the acceptance or giving of gifts and entertainment with respect to all Business Partners. Every circumstance where gifts or entertainment may be given or received may not be listed below however, ALPS employees are expected to avoid any gifts or entertainment that:


•	Could create an apparent or actual conflict,


•	Is excessive or would reflect unfavorably on ALPS or its Clients, or


•	Would be inappropriate or disreputable nature.

A Gift is anything of value that is given with the intent to foster a legitimate business relationship. Gifts can include merchandise such as wine, gift baskets, or tickets if the giver does not attend.

Entertainment is a meeting, meal or other activity where both you and the business partner are present and have the opportunity to discuss business or any participant’s employer bears the cost. It does not include events that have been organized by ALPS directly, such as receptions following an industry gathering or multi-client entertainment. If the Business Partner will not be present for the event it will be considered a gift.

A Business Partner, for the purpose of this Code, includes all current Clients and vendors with which ALPS Holdings conducts business, any potential clients or vendors with whom ALPS could engage in business with, any registered broker/dealers, and any firms under contract to do business with ALPS Holdings or our subsidiaries.

The Value of any Gifts or Entertainment given or received must be the greater of cost or market value. If the cost or market value is not easily determined an employee can estimate the approximate value or request further guidance from the CCO or designee.

All Disclosures of applicable gifts or entertainment must be disclosed via the Gifts Request Form found on SchwabCT.com. Unless otherwise indicated, this should be done on a quarterly basis along with regular quarterly Code requirements. Some Gifts or Entertainment may require prior approval

All Approvals, unless otherwise indicated, must come from the appropriate CCO or designee. Due to the nature of gift-giving and the impromptu nature of some Entertainment, approval for ALPS employees accepting such items may often be after the fact. However, to the extent feasible, any required approvals should be obtained before accepting Gifts or Entertainment. If a gift request is not approved and returning or rejecting the item would negatively affect the business relationship the gift should be turned over to the CCO. The gift will then be donated to a charity of the Ethics Committee’s choosing.



Gifts to be Given/Received by ALPS Employees	Approval/Disclosure Required
Cash or Cash Equivalent	Prohibited from giving or receiving
Gifts received from the same Business Partner which would aggregate less than $100/twelve months	Quarterly disclosure required, no approval required
Gifts received from the same Business Partner which would aggregate equal/more than $100/twelve months	Approval required, Quarterly disclosure required, strictly prohibited for FINRA registered reps
Promotional gifts such as those that bear a logo valued less than $50	Quarterly disclosure not required, approval not required
Gifts given to or received by a wide group of recipients (e.g. gift basket to a department) that are reasonable in nature	Quarterly disclosure not required, approval not required
Gifts given on behalf of ALPS Holdings or its subsidiaries (from an ALPS budget)	Indication of who received the gift must be included via regular expense reports, gifts must be reasonable in nature
Gifts of any value given or received by Investment Persons (as defined in Glossary) to or from a broker/dealer	Must be pre-cleared with their immediate supervisor and the CCO (or designee)



Entertainment provided by and for ALPS employees	Approval/Disclosure Required
Entertainment provided on behalf of ALPS or its subsidiaries (from an ALPS budget) valued at $500 or less per person per event	Indication of who was present must be included via expense reports
Entertainment provided to an ALPS employee, other than an Investment Person, at $500 or less per person per event * *Entertainment provided to an Investment Person at $250 or less per person per event from anyone other than a broker/dealer	Quarterly disclosure required (excluding entertainment of de minimis value - below approx. $50), no approval required
Entertainment provided on behalf of ALPS or its subsidiaries (from an ALPS budget) valued at equal/more than $500 per person per event	Typically not allowed, Approval required, Indication of who was present must be included via expense reports
Entertainment provided to an ALPS employee at equal/more than $500 per person per event	Typically not allowed, Approval required, Quarterly disclosure required
Attendance and participation at industry sponsored events	No approval required, no disclosure required
Entertainment of any value given or received by Investment Persons (as defined on page 5) to or from a broker/dealer	Must be pre-cleared with their immediate supervisor and the CCO (or designee)


III.	Other Activities


A.	Improper Payments or Rebates

Associates must not offer or receive gratuities, bribes, kickbacks, or improper rebates from public officials, officials of foreign governments, competitors or suppliers.

Pursuant to the Foreign Corruption Practices Act (“FCPA”), employees are prohibited from making or offering to make any payment to or for the benefit of any Foreign Official if the purpose of such payment is to improperly influence or induce that Foreign Official to obtain or retain business for the company (a so-called bribe or kickback). All payments, whether large or small, are prohibited if they are, in essence, bribes or kickbacks, including:


•	cash payments


•	gifts


•	entertainment


•	services


•	amenities

If an employee is unsure about whether he/she are being asked to make an improper payment, he/she should not make the payment. Employees must promptly report to the CCO any request made by a Foreign Official for a payment that would be prohibited under the guidelines set above and any other actions taken to induce such a payment. If you have any questions or need any guidance, please contact the CCO.


B.	Service on a Board of Directors/Outside Business Activities

ALPS employees are required to comply with the following provisions:


•	Employees are to avoid any business activity, outside employment or professional service that competes with ALPS or conflicts with the interests of ALPS or its Clients.

•

An employee is required to obtain the approval from the CCO, or designee, prior to becoming an employee, director, officer, partner, sole proprietor of a “for profit” organization, or otherwise compensated by an entity outside of ALPS. The request for approval should disclose the name of the organization, the nature of the business, whether any conflicts of interest could reasonably result from the association, whether fees, income or other compensation will be earned and whether there are any relationships between the organization and ALPS.


•	Employees may not accept any personal fiduciary appointments such as administrator, executor or trustee other than those arising from family or other close personal relationships.


•	Employees may not use ALPS resources, including computers, software, proprietary information, letterhead and other property in connection with any employment or other activity outside ALPS.


•	Employees must disclose a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict with ALPS or Clients and discuss how to control the risk.

When completing the quarterly Code requirements, employees may be asked to disclose all outside affiliations. Any director/trustee positions with public companies or companies with the potential to become public are prohibited without prior written approval of the CCO or designee.


C.	Political Contributions

All political activities of employees must be kept separate from employment and expenses may not be charged to ALPS. Employees may not use ALPS facilities for political campaign purposes.

Any employees who are deemed Covered Associates are required to comply with the provisions under Rule 206(4)-5 of the Advisers Act as well as the Political Contributions Policy within AAI’s Compliance Program. Spouses and household family members of each Covered Associate are also subject to the provisions under Rule 206(4)-5 and this Political Contribution Policy, including pre-approval and reporting requirements.

Covered Associates are prohibited from making political contributions on behalf of AAI or individually in their capacity as a covered associate unless their contribution is within the de minimis exception. The de minimis exception permits contributions according to the following guidelines:


•	Up to $350 per candidate per election cycle, to incumbents or candidates for whom they are eligible to vote


•	Up to $150 per candidate per election cycle, to other incumbents or candidates

Covered Associates will be required to obtain a pre-approval for all political contributions, including but not limited to those noted above.

On a quarterly basis, the CCO, or designee, will request a reporting of political contributions during the previous quarter by all Covered Associates. The reporting should include contributions by spouses, household family members and all contributions by other parties (lawyers, affiliated companies, acquaintances, etc.) directed by the Covered Associate. The report should include the individual or election committee receiving the contribution, the office for which the individual is running, the current elected office held, if any, the dollar amount of the contribution or value of the donated item and whether or not the Covered Associate is eligible to vote for the candidate. The Covered Associate report must be completed within 30 days of each quarter end so that if an inadvertent political contribution (of $350.00 or less) has been made to an official for whom the Covered Associate is not entitled to vote, the contributor may be required to request the return of the contribution in order to avoid the two year compensation ban against AAI.


IV.	Reporting Requirements

Access Persons and Investment Persons (“Person” or “Persons”), as defined in the subsequent sections, are subject to the following Initial, Quarterly and Annual Reporting requirements unless specifically exempted by Rule 204A-1 or 17j-1. Such Persons are required to disclose any account in which securities transactions can be effected and in which the Person has a beneficial interest (as further defined in Appendix C).


A.	Covered Securities

All Covered Securities are subject to the reporting requirements of the Code. Covered Securities will include all Securities as well as all Proprietary Products, any equivalents in local non-US jurisdictions, single stock futures, and both the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) regulated futures. For purposes of the Code, Securities shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(36) of the 1940 Act. This definition of Security includes, but is not limited to:


•	Any note, stock, treasury stock, bond, debenture, evidence of indebtedness, certificates of interest or participation in any profit-sharing agreement,


•	Any put, call, straddle, option or privilege on any Security or on any group or index of Securities,


•	Any put, call, straddle, option or privilege entered into on a national securities exchange relating to foreign currency,


•	Any exchange-traded vehicle (including, but not limited to, closed-end mutual funds, exchange-traded notes and exchange-traded funds),


•	Any commodity contracts as defined in Section 2(a)(1)(A) of the Commodity Exchange Act. Including but not limited to futures contracts on equity indices,


•	Any derivative of a Security shall also be considered a Security.

The following securities are exempt from the reporting requirements:


•	Transactions made in an account where the employee, pursuant to a valid legal instrument, has given full investment discretion to an unaffiliated/unrelated third party


•	Direct Obligations of any government of the United States;


•	Bankers' acceptances, bank certificates of deposit, commercial paper and high quality short-term debt instruments, including repurchase agreements;


•	Investments in dividend reinvestment plans;


•	Variable and fixed insurance products;


•	Non Proprietary Product open-end mutual funds;


•	Qualified tuition programs pursuant to Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code; and


•	Accounts that are strictly limited to any of the above transactions.


B.	Initial Holdings and Accounts Reports

Within ten (10) calendar days of being designated as, or determined to be, an Access Person or Investment Person (which may be upon hire), each Person must disclose all broker, dealer or bank accounts in which any Covered Securities are held, including any Managed Accounts. In addition, all Persons must provide a statement of all Covered Securities holdings, and the information must be current as of a date no more than 45 days prior to the date of the person becoming an Access or Investment Person. More specifically, each such Person must provide the following information:


•	The title, number of shares and principal amount of each Covered Security in which the employee had any direct or indirect Beneficial Ownership when the person became an employee;


•	The name of any financial institution with whom the employee maintained an account in which any securities were held for the direct or indirect benefit of the employee as of the date the person became an employee; and


•	The date the report is submitted by the employee.


C.	Duplicate Statements/Electronic Feeds

All new employees and any new account(s) opened by existing employees after April 1, 2015 shall be limited to the financial institutions listed in Appendix A – Broker/Dealers with Electronic Feeds of the Code.

If an account is held with a financial institution that does not supply electronic feeds to ALPS, new employees who are deemed an Access or Investment Person will have 30 calendar days to close or transfer the existing account and are asked to only open an account with a firm listed in Appendix A of the Code.

Existing employees hired prior to April 1, 2015, who are deemed an Access or Investment Person, with existing accounts can maintain those accounts and continue satisfying their quarterly reporting requirements in the system as they have in the past. However, existing employees will only be allowed to open any new accounts with financial institutions listed in Appendix A of the Code.


D.	Quarterly Transaction Reports

Each Access and Investment Person is required to submit quarterly his/her Quarterly Securities Report within thirty (30) calendar days of each calendar quarter end. If no transactions were executed or if transactions were exempt from reporting, this should be noted on the quarterly report.

Specific information to be provided includes:


i.	With respect to any Securities Transaction during the quarter in a Covered Security in which any employee had any direct or indirect beneficial ownership:


•	The date of the transaction, the title, the interest rate and maturity date (if applicable), the number of shares and the principal amount of each Security involved;


•	The nature of the transaction, (i.e., purchase, sale, or other type of acquisition or disposition);


•	The price of the Security at which the transaction was effected;


•	The name of the financial institution with or through which transaction was effected; and


•	The date that the report is submitted by the employee.


ii.	With respect to any account established by the Access or Investment Person in which any securities were held during the quarter for the direct or indirect benefit of the Person:


•	The name of the financial institution with whom the employee established the account;


•	The date the account was established; and


•	The date the report is submitted by the employee.

Exceptions


i.	Automatic Investment Plans – Transactions need not be reported in the Quarterly Securities Report but holdings in Covered Securities are subject to the annual holdings reporting requirement discussed in the subsequent section.


ii.	Managed Accounts – Securities Transactions in accounts in which the Person has no direct or indirect influence or control are not required to be reported. Persons that have Managed Accounts managed by an immediate family member are not exempt and still subject to the requirements under this Section V.


iii.	Other “No Knowledge” Transactions – This includes Securities Transactions in which the Person has no knowledge of the transaction before it is completed (i.e., Securities Transactions effected for Persons by a trustee of a blind trust or automated adviser without the Person’s input or approval).


E.	Annual Holdings Reports

Each Access and Investment Person is required to submit annually (i.e., once each and every calendar year) a list of applicable holdings, which is current as of a date no more than forty five (45) calendar days before the report is submitted. In addition, each employee is required to certify annually that he/she has reviewed and understands the provisions of the Code.

Specific information to be provided includes:


•	The title, number of shares and principal amount of each Covered Security in which the employee had any direct or indirect beneficial ownership;


•	The name of any financial institution with whom the employee maintains an account in which any securities are held for the direct or indirect benefit of the employee; and


•	The date that the report is submitted by the employee.


V.	Access Persons - Restrictions


A.	Trading Restrictions

Initial Public Offering (“IPO”) - Access Persons are prohibited from acquiring securities through an allocation by the underwriter of an initial public offering (“IPO”). Exceptions may be made with prior written disclosure to and written approval from the CCO, whereby an Access Person could acquire shares in an IPO of his/her employer.

Limited or Private Offerings - Access Persons are prohibited from purchasing securities in a private offering unless the purchase is approved in writing by the CCO. Private placements include certain co-operative investments in real estate, commingled investment vehicles such as hedge funds, and investments in family owned businesses. Time-shares and cooperative investments in real estate used as a primary or secondary residence are not considered to be private placements.

Investment Clubs - Access Persons are prohibited from participating in investment clubs unless such membership is approved in writing by the CCO. An investment club is any group of people who pool their money to make joint or group investments.

Short-Term Trading - Access Persons are prohibited from the purchase and sale or sale and purchase of the same Proprietary Products within a sixty (60) calendar day holding period (ALPS is the investment Adviser).


B.	Account Restrictions

Managed Accounts – Access Persons are restricted from establishing an external Managed Account (also referred to as a discretionary account) with any adviser that conducts business with ALPS Advisors, Inc. See Appendix B for a list of advisers that work with AAI.


VI.	Investment Persons - Restrictions


A.	Trading Restrictions

Initial Public Offering (“IPO”) - Investment Persons are prohibited from acquiring securities through an allocation by the underwriter of an initial public offering (“IPO”). Exceptions may be made with prior written disclosure to and written approval from the CCO, whereby an Investment Person could acquire shares in an IPO of his/her employer.

Limited or Private Offerings - Investment Persons are prohibited from purchasing securities in a private offering unless the purchase is approved in writing by the CCO. Private placements include certain co-operative investments in real estate, commingled investment vehicles such as hedge funds, and investments in family owned businesses. Time-shares and cooperative investments in real estate used as a primary or secondary residence are not considered to be private placements.

Investment Clubs - Investment Persons are prohibited from participating in investment clubs unless such membership is approved in writing by the CCO. An investment club is any group of people who pool their money to make joint or group investments.

Options - Investment Persons are not prohibited from buying or selling options on Covered Securities, however all other trading restrictions such as limitations on short-term and excess trading and pre-clearance apply to Investment Persons buying, selling or exercising options.

Short-Term Trading - Investment Persons are prohibited from the purchase and sale or sale and purchase of the same Covered Securities within thirty (30) calendar days. In addition, all Proprietary Products are subject to a sixty (60) calendar day holding period (ALPS is the investment Adviser).

Blackout Period – Blackout periods may be determined and established by the CCO. Any such periods will be communicated to all affected persons as necessary.

Shorting of Securities - Investment Persons are not prohibited from the practice of short selling securities, however all other trading restrictions such as limitations on short-term and excess trading and pre-clearance apply to Investment Persons shorting of securities.

Restricted List - Investment Persons of Red Rocks Capital, LLC (“Red Rocks”) may not purchase or sell any security that Red Rocks holds or is being considered for purchase or sale by the Red Rocks Research Department for any account in which he/she has any beneficial interest. The list of Restricted Securities (the “Restricted List”) includes the Red Rocks Listed Private Equity^SM Universe of securities and their subsidiaries.


B.	Account Restrictions

Managed Accounts – Investment Persons are restricted from establishing an external Managed Account (also referred to as a discretionary account) with any adviser that conducts business with ALPS Advisors, Inc. See Appendix B for a list of advisers that work with AAI. See Appendix B for a list of advisers that work with AAI.


C.	Pre-Clearance

Unless the investment transaction is exempted from pre-clearance requirements all Investment Persons must request and receive pre-clearance prior to engaging in the purchase or sale of a Covered Security.

Pre-clearance approval is only good until midnight local time of the day after approval is obtained. “Good-till-Cancelled” orders are not permitted. “Limit” orders must receive pre-clearance every day the order is open.

As there could be many reasons for pre-clearance being granted or denied, Investment Persons should not infer from the pre-clearance response anything regarding the security for which pre-clearance was requested.

Exempted Securities/Transactions

Pre-clearance by Investment Persons is not required for the following transactions:


•	Transactions that meet the de minimis exception (defined below);


•	Transactions made in an account where the employee, pursuant to a valid legal instrument, has given full investment discretion to an unaffiliated/unrelated third party;


•	Purchases or sales of direct obligations of the government of the United States or other sovereign government or supra-national agency, high quality short-term debt instruments, bankers acceptances, certificates of deposit (“CDs”), commercial paper, repurchase agreements;


•	Automatic investments in programs where the investment decisions are non-discretionary after the initial selections by the account owner (although the initial selection requires pre-clearance);


•	Investments in dividend reinvestment plans;


•	Exercised rights, warrants or tender offers;


•	General obligation municipal bonds;


•	Transactions in Employee Stock Ownership Programs (“ESOPs”);


•	Securities received via a gift or inheritance; and


•	Non-Proprietary Product open-end mutual funds.

De Minimis Exception

A De Minimis transaction is a personal trade that meets the following conditions: (a) less than $25,000; and (b) is made with no knowledge that a Client Fund have purchased or sold the Covered Security, or the Client Fund or its investment adviser considered purchasing or selling the Covered Security.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, transactions that fall under the de minimis exception should not be so frequent and repetitive in nature that in totality the transactions appear to be improperly avoiding the intent of the de minimis exception. The CCO may require an Investment Person to pre-clear transactions regardless of if the transaction falls under the de minimis exception should the CCO deem reasonable and appropriate. Further, transactions effected pursuant to the de minimis exception remain subject to reporting requirements of the Code.


D.	Serving on a Board of Directors

Investment Personnel may not serve on the board of directors of a publicly traded company without prior written authorization from the Ethics Committee. No such service shall be approved without a finding by the Ethics Committee that the board service would be consistent with the interests of Clients. If board service is authorized by the Ethics Committee, in some instances, it may be required that the Investment Personnel serving as a Director may be isolated from making investment decisions with respect to the company involved through the use of “Chinese Walls” or other procedures.


VII.	Sanctions


A.	Procedures

Upon discovering a violation of this Code by an employee, family member, or related party sanctions as deemed appropriate may be imposed. Including, but not limited to, the following:

A written warning with a copy provided to the employee’s direct report;


•	Monetary fines and/or disgorgement of profits when an employee profits on the trading of a security deemed to be in violation of the Code;


•	Suspension of the employment;


•	Termination of the employment; or


•	Referral to the SEC or other civil regulatory authorities determined by ALPS.

Violations and proposed sanctions will be documented by the Administrator of the Code of Ethics and will be submitted to the CCO for review and approval. In some cases, the Code of Ethics Committee may assist in determining the materiality of the violation and appropriate sanctions. Records of all reviews are the responsibility of and will be maintained by the Administrator of the Code of Ethics.

In determining the materiality of the violation, among other considerations, the CCO may review:


•	Indications of fraud, neglect or indifference to Code of Ethics provisions;


•	Evidence of violation of law, policy or guideline;


•	Frequency of repeat violations;


•	Level of influence of the violator; and


•	Any mitigating circumstances that may exist.

In assessing the appropriate penalties, other factors considered may include:


•	The extent of harm (actual or potential) to client interests;


•	The extent of personal benefit or profit;


•	Prior record of the violator;


•	The degree to which there is a personal benefit or perceived benefit from unique knowledge obtained through employment with ALPS;


•	The level of accurate, honest and timely cooperation from the violator; and


•	Any mitigating circumstances that may exist.


B.	Appeals Process

If an employee decides to appeal a sanction, they should contact the Administrator of the Code of Ethics who will refer the issue to the CCO for their review and consideration. Any appeals submitted by an employee will be kept along with records of the violation and actions taken.


VIII.	Compliance & Supervisory Procedures

The CCO, or designee, is responsible for implementing supervisory and compliance review procedures. Supervisory procedures can be divided into two classifications: prevention of violations and detection of violations. Compliance review procedures include preparation of special and annual reports, record maintenance and review, and confidentiality preservation.


A.	Prevention of Violations

To prevent violations of the Rules, the CCO or designee should, in addition to enforcing the procedures outlined in the Rules:


1.	Review and update the procedures as necessary, at least once annually, including but not limited to a review of the Code by the CCO, the Ethics Committee and/or counsel;


2.	Answer questions regarding the Code;


3.	Request from all persons upon commencement of services, and annually thereafter, any applicable forms and reports as required by the procedures;


4.	Identify all Access Persons and Investment Persons, and notify them of their responsibilities and reporting requirements;


5.	With such assistance from the Human Resources Department as may be appropriate, maintain a continuing education program consisting of the following:


•	Orienting employees who are new to ALPS and the Rules; and


•	Continually educating employees by distributing applicable materials and offering training to employees on at least an annual basis.


B.	Detection of Violations

To detect violations of these procedures, the CCO, or designee, should, in addition to enforcing the policies, implement procedures to review holding and transaction reports, forms and statements relative to applicable restrictions, as provided under the Code.


C.	Compliance Procedures

Reports of Potential Deviations or Violations

Upon learning of a potential deviation from or violation of the policies, the CCO shall either present the information at the next regular meeting of the Ethics Committee or conduct a special meeting. The Ethics Committee shall thereafter take such action as it deems appropriate (see Penalty Guidelines).


D.	Annual Reports

The CCO shall prepare a written report to the Ethics Committee and Senior Management at least annually. The written report shall include any certification required by Rule 17j-1. This report shall set forth the following information:


•	Copies of the Code, as revised, including a summary of any changes made since the last report;


•	Identification of any material issues including material violations requiring significant remedial action since the last report;


•	Identification of any immaterial violations as deemed appropriate by the CCO;


•	Identification of any material conflicts arising since the last report; and


•	Recommendations, if any, regarding changes in existing restrictions or procedures based upon experience under these Rules, evolving industry practices, or developments in applicable laws or regulations.


E.	Records

ALPS shall maintain the following records:


•	A copy of this Code and any amendment thereof which is or at any time within the past five years has been in effect;


•	A record of any violation of this Code, or any amendment thereof, and any action taken as a result of such violation;


•	Files for personal securities account statements, all reports and other forms submitted by employees pursuant to these Rules and any other pertinent information;


•	A list of all persons who are, or have been, required to submit reports pursuant to this Code;


•	A list of persons who are, or within the last five years have been responsible for, reviewing transaction and holdings reports; and


•	A copy of each report produced pursuant to this Code.


F.	Inspection

The records and reports maintained by ALPS pursuant to the Rules shall at all times be available for inspection, without prior notice, by any member of the Ethics Committee.


G.	Confidentiality

All procedures, reports and records monitored, prepared or maintained pursuant to this Code shall be considered confidential and proprietary to ALPS and shall be maintained and protected accordingly. Except as otherwise required by law or this Code, such matters shall not be disclosed to anyone other than to members of the Ethics Committee or as requested.


H.	The Ethics Committee

The purpose of this section is to describe the Ethics Committee. The Ethics Committee was created to provide an effective mechanism for monitoring compliance with the standards and procedures contained in the Rules and to take appropriate action at such times as violations or potential violations are discovered.

Membership

The Committee consists of the Chief Compliance Officer(s) of ALPS Portfolio Solutions Distributor, Inc., ALPS Distributors, Inc., and ALPS Advisors, Inc., the Human Resources Director of ALPS, the President(s) of ALPS Fund Services, Inc., ALPS Advisors, Inc., ALPS Portfolio Solutions Distributor, Inc. and ALPS Distributors, Inc., and ALPS General Counsel.

The CCO currently serves as the Chairman of the Committee. The composition of the Committee may be changed from time-to-time and the Committee may seek input of other employees concerning matters related to this Code as they deem appropriate.

Committee Meetings

The Committee shall meet approximately every six months, or as often as necessary, to review operation of this Code and to consider technical deviations from operational procedures, inadvertent oversights or any other potential violation of the Rules. Deviations alternatively may be addressed by including them in the employee’s personnel records maintained by ALPS. Committee meetings are primarily intended for consideration of the general operation of the compliance procedures as well as for substantive or serious departures from the standards and procedures in the Rules.

Other persons may attend a Committee meeting, at the discretion of the Committee, as the Committee shall deem appropriate. Any individual whose conduct has given rise to the meeting may also be called upon, but shall not have the right, to appear before the Committee. It is not required that minutes of Committee meetings be maintained; in lieu of minutes the Committee may issue a report describing any action taken. The report shall be included in the confidential file maintained by the CCO with respect to the particular employee whose conduct has been the subject of the meeting.

If a Committee member has committed, or is the subject of, a violation, he or she shall not be considered a voting member of the Committee or be involved in the review or decisions of the Committee with respect to his or her activities, or sanctions.

Special Discretion

The Committee shall have the authority by unanimous action to exempt any person or class of persons or transaction or class of transactions from all or a portion of the Rules provided that:


•	The Committee determines, on advice of counsel, that the particular application of all or a portion of the Code is not legally required;


•	The Committee determines that the likelihood of any abuse of the Code by such exempted person(s) or as a result of such exempted transaction is remote;


•	The terms or conditions upon which any such exemption is granted is evidenced in writing; and


•	The exempted person(s) agrees to execute and deliver to the CCO, at least annually, a signed Acknowledgment Form, which Acknowledgment shall, by operation of this provision, describe such exemptions and the terms and conditions upon which it was granted.

The Committee shall also have the authority by unanimous action to impose such additional requirements or restrictions as it, in its sole discretion, determines appropriate or necessary, as outlined in the Sanctions Guidelines.

Any exemption, and any additional requirement or restriction, may be withdrawn by the Committee at any time (such withdrawal action is not required to be unanimous).

Appendix A - Broker/Dealers with Electronic Feeds


•	Ameriprise


•	Charles Schwab


•	Chase Investment Services


•	Edward Jones


•	E-Trade


•	Fidelity


•	Interactive Brokers


•	Merrill Lynch


•	Morgan Stanley


•	OptionsHouse


•	OptionsXpress


•	Raymond James


•	RBC Capital Markets


•	TD Ameritrade


•	UBS


•	Vanguard


•	Wells Fargo

Updated: December 1, 2018

Appendix B - Sub-Advisers to ALPS Advisors, Inc.


•	Aristotle Capital Management, LLC


•	Clough Capital Partners, LP


•	CoreCommodity Management, LLC


•	Congress Asset Management Company


•	Kotak Mahindra (UK) Limited


•	Macquarie Investment Management


•	Morningstar Investment Management LLC


•	Principal Real Estate Investors, LLC


•	Pzena Investment Management, LLC


•	Red Rocks Capital, LLC


•	RiverFront Investment Group, LLC


•	RiverNorth Capital Management, LLC


•	Smith Capital Investors, LLC


•	Stadion Money Management, LLC


•	Sustainable Growth Advisers, LP


•	TCW Investment Management Company


•	Weatherbie Capital, LLC


•	Wellington Management Company, LLP

Updated: December 1, 2018

Appendix C - Glossary of Defined Terms

Access Person - Any Director, Trustee, Officer, Partner, Investment Person, or Employee of ALPS Holdings Inc., who:


•	has access to non-public information regarding any Clients’ Transactions, or non-public information regarding the portfolio holdings of any fund(s) of a Client or any ALPS fund(s) or fund(s) of a subsidiary;


•	is involved in making Securities Transactions recommendations to Clients, or has access to such recommendations that are non-public;


•	in connection with his or her regular functions or duties, makes, participates in or obtains information regarding a Fund’s Transactions or whose functions relate to the making of any recommendations with respect to a Fund’s Transactions;


•	obtains information regarding a Fund’s Transactions or whose functions relate to the making of any recommendations with respect to a Fund’s Transactions; or


•	any other person designated by the CCO or the Ethics Committee has having access to non-public information.

Account - Any accounts in which Securities (as defined below) transactions can be effected including:


•	any accounts held by any employee;


•	accounts of the employee’s immediate family members (any relative by blood or marriage) living in the employee’s household or is financially dependent;


•	accounts held by any other related individual over whose account the employee has discretionary control;


•	any other account where the employee has discretionary control and materially contributes; and


•	any account in which the employee has a direct or indirect beneficial interest, such as trusts and custodial accounts or other accounts in which the employee has a beneficial interest or exercises investment discretion.

Administrator of the Code of Ethics – Designee(s) by the Chief Compliance Officer tasked with assisting in the oversight of ALPS’ Code of Ethics and all applicable restrictions and requirements.

Automatic Investment Plan - A program in which regular periodic purchases (or withdrawals) are made automatically in (or from) investment accounts in accordance with a predetermined scheduled and allocation. An Automatic Investment Plan includes a dividend reinvestment plan.

Beneficial Ownership - For purposes of the Code, “Beneficial Ownership” shall be interpreted in the same manner as it would be in Rule 16a-1(a)(2) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") in determining whether a person is subject to the provisions of Section 16 under the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations there under. Generally speaking, beneficial ownership encompasses those situations where the beneficial owner has the right to enjoy some economic benefits which are substantially equivalent to ownership regardless of who is the registered owner. This would include, but is not limited to:


•	securities which a person holds for his or her own benefit either in bearer form, registered in his or her own name or otherwise, regardless of whether the securities are owned individually or jointly;


•	securities held in the name of a member of his or her immediate family sharing the same household;


•	securities held by a trustee, executor, administrator, custodian or broker;


•	securities owned by a general partnership of which the person is a member or a limited partnership of which such person is a general partner;


•	securities held by a corporation which can be regarded as a personal holding company of a person; and


•	securities recently purchased by a person and awaiting transfer into his or her name.

Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”) - The CCO as referenced is Erin Nelson, so designated by ALPS Advisors, Inc. The CCO may designate additional individuals, where appropriate, to operate in the capacity of the CCO as outlined in this Code of

Ethics. Those individuals may include Steve Price, CCO of ALPS Distributors, Inc. (ADI) and ALPS Portfolio Solutions Distributor (APSD) or the designated Administrator of the Code of Ethics.

Covered Associate – Any employee that is required to comply with the provisions under Rule 206(4)-5 of the Advisers Act as well as the Political Contributions Policy within ALPS Advisors, Inc.’s Compliance Program. A person is generally considered to be a covered associate for these purposes:


•	if he or she is a President, managing director, VP in charge of a business unit and any other employee who performs a policy-making function of ALPS Advisors, Inc. (“AAI”);


•	if he or she is an employee who solicits a government entity for AAI and such employee’s direct or indirect supervisor;


•	a political action committee controlled by AAI or by any of AAI’s covered associates; or


•	any other AAI employee so designated by the CCO of AAI. (“CCO”).

Covered Securities – For purposes of the Code, “Covered Securities” will include all Securities (as defined below) as well as all Proprietary Products (as defined below) or any equivalents in non-US jurisdictions, single stock futures or swap, security based swap and security futures products regulated by both the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”).

Employee – Employees of ALPS Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries, including directors, officers, partners of AAI (or other persons occupying similar status), any temporary worker, contractor, or independent contractor as designated by the CCO or the Ethics Committee.

Financial Institution – Any broker, dealer, trust company, registered or unregistered pooled investment or trading account, record keeper, bank, transfer agent or other financial firm holding and/or allowing securities transactions in Covered Securities.

Foreign Official – the term “Foreign Official” includes:


•	government officials;


•	political party leaders;


•	candidates for office;


•	employees of state-owned enterprises (such as state-owned banks or pension plans); and


•	relatives or agents of a Foreign Official if a payment is made to such relative or agent of a Foreign Official with the knowledge or intent that it ultimately would benefit the Foreign Official.

Fund Transactions – For purposes of the Code, “Fund Transactions” refers to any transactions of a fund itself. It does not include “Securities Transactions” of an employee (Securities Transactions are defined below).

Investment Persons – “Investment Person” shall mean any Access Person (within ALPS) who makes investment decisions for AAI or Clients, who provides investment related information or advice to portfolio managers, or helps to execute and/or implement a portfolio manager’s decisions. This typically includes for example, portfolio managers, portfolio assistants, traders, and securities analysts.

Managed Account – An account where:


•	The employee has a direct or indirect beneficial interest; and


•	The employee does not exercise discretionary control or influence over the selection or transaction of Covered Securities.

Material Nonpublic Non-public Information – Any information that has not been publicly disseminated, or that was obtained legitimately while acting in a role of trust or confidence of an issuer or that was obtained wrongfully from an issuer or such

person acting in a role of trust or confidence that a reasonable investor would consider important in making a decision to buy, hold or sell a company’s securities. Regardless of whether it is positive or negative, historical or forward looking, any information that a reasonable investor could expect to affect a company’s stock price. Material Nonpublic Non-public Information could include -


•	projections of future earnings or losses;


•	news of a possible merger, acquisition or tender offer;


•	significant new products or services or delays in new product or service introduction or development;


•	plans to raise additional capital through stock sales or otherwise;


•	the gain or loss of a significant customer, partner or supplier;


•	discoveries, or grants or allowances or disallowances of patents;


•	changes in management;


•	news of a significant sale of assets;


•	impending bankruptcy or financial liquidity problems; or


•	changes in dividend policies or the declaration of a stock split

Portfolio Securities – Securities held by accounts (whether registered or private) managed or serviced by ALPS.

Proprietary Products – Any funds (open-end, closed-end, Exchange-Traded Funds, Unit Investment Trusts) where ALPS is the investment adviser. A list will be made available to employees on a quarterly basis.

Registered Representative – The term “Registered Representative” as used within this Code, refers to an employee who holds a securities license, and is actively registered, with FINRA.

Restricted Accounts – Employees are restricted from establishing external managed accounts (also referred to as a discretionary account) with any adviser that conducts business with ALPS Advisors, Inc. A managed account is defined as an investment account that is owned by an individual investor but is managed by a hired professional money manager. Investment in a hedge fund is not deemed to be managed account. See Appendix B for a list of advisers that work with AAI.

Securities – For purposes of the Code, “Security” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(36) of the 1940 Act. This definition of “Security” includes, but is not limited to: any note, stock, treasury stock, bond, debenture, evidence of indebtedness, certificates of interest or participation in any profit-sharing agreement, any put, call, straddle, option or privilege on any Security or on any group or index of Securities, or any put, call, straddle, option or privilege entered into on a national securities exchange relating to foreign currency, any exchange-traded vehicle (including, but not limited to, closed-end mutual funds, exchange-traded notes and exchange-traded funds). Further, for the purpose of the Code, “Security” shall include any commodity contracts as defined in Section 2(a)(1)(A) of the Commodity Exchange Act. This definition includes but is not limited to futures contracts on equity indices. For purposes of the Code, any derivative of a “Security” shall also be considered a Security.

“Security” shall not include direct obligations of the government of the United States or any other sovereign country or supra-national agency, bankers’ acceptances, bank certificates of deposit, commercial paper and high quality short-term debt instruments, including repurchase agreements, variable and fixed insurance products.

Securities Transactions – The term “Securities Transactions” as used within this Code typically refers to the purchase and/or sale of Securities, (as defined herein), by an employee. Securities Transactions shall include any gift of Covered Securities that is given or received by the employee, including any inheritance received that includes Covered Securities.

Contact Information

ALPS Code of Ethics Administration

ALPSCodeofEthics@alpsinc.com