Securities Act File No. 333-151672
Investment Company Act File No. 811-22208
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. 332 | [X] |
and/or
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 | [X] |
Amendment No. 333 | [X] |
VALUED
ADVISERS TRUST
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
225 Pictoria Dr., Suite 450, Cincinnati, Ohio 45246
(Address of Principal Executive Offices, Zip Code)
Registrant's Telephone Number, including Area Code: (513) 587-3400
Capitol Services, Inc.
1675
S. State St., Suite B, Dover, Delaware 19901
(Name and Address of Agent for Service)
With Copies to:
John M. Ford
Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP
3000 Two Logan Square
Philadelphia, PA 19103
It is proposed that this filing will become effective:
[X] | immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b); |
[ ] | on (date) pursuant to paragraph (b); |
[ ] | 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1); |
[ ] | on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(1); |
[ ] | 75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2); or |
[ ] | on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of rule 485. |
If appropriate, check the following box:
[ ] | This post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment. |
The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The Prospectus gives you important information about the Fund that you should know before you invest. Please read this Prospectus carefully before investing and use it for future reference.
Beginning on January 1, 2021, as permitted by regulations adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, paper copies of the Fund’s shareholder reports will no longer be sent by mail, unless you specifically request paper copies of the reports from the Fund or 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. You may elect to receive shareholder reports and other communications from the Fund electronically by contacting the Fund at (877) 336-6763 or, if you own these shares through a financial intermediary, by contacting your financial intermediary.
You may elect to receive all future reports in paper free of charge. You can inform the Fund that you wish to continue receiving paper copies of your shareholder reports by contacting the Fund at (877) 336-6763. If you own shares through a financial intermediary, you may contact your financial intermediary or follow instructions included with this document to elect to continue to receive paper copies of your shareholder reports. Your election to receive reports in paper will apply to all funds held with the fund complex or at your financial intermediary.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUMMARY SECTION |
2 |
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND’S PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RELATED RISKS |
10 |
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND |
17 |
DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE |
20 |
HOW TO BUY SHARES |
21 |
HOW TO REDEEM SHARES |
24 |
DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES |
27 |
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS |
31 |
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION |
35 |
Investment Objective
LS Opportunity Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to generate long-term capital appreciation by investing in both long and short positions within a portfolio consisting of primarily publicly-traded common stock, with less net exposure than that of the stock market in general.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below.
Institutional
|
||
Shareholder Fees: (fees paid directly from your investment) |
||
Redemption Fee |
|
None |
Fee for Redemptions Paid by Wire |
|
$ 15.00 |
1 |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses shown in the table above differ from the ratio of expenses to average net assets shown in the Financial Highlights because the Financial Highlights exclude Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses. |
2 |
The Fund’s advisor has entered into an amended expense limitation agreement, pursuant to which it will waive its fees and/or reimburse other expenses of the Fund until September 30, 2021, so that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses does not exceed 1.95%. This operating expense limitation does not apply to borrowing costs such as interest and dividends on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions, other expenditures |
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which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund’s business, expenses incurred under a Rule 12b-1 plan of distribution, “acquired fund fees and expenses,” and expenses that the Fund has incurred but did not actually pay because of an expense offset arrangement. Each waiver or reimbursement of an expense by the advisor is subject to repayment by the Fund within the three years following such waiver or reimbursement, provided that the Fund is able to make the repayment without exceeding the expense limitation in place at the time of the waiver or reimbursement and the expense limitation in place at the time of the repayment. This agreement may only be terminated by mutual consent of the advisor and the Board of Trustees.
Expense Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The effect of the advisor’s agreement to waive fees and/or reimburse Fund expenses is only reflected in the first year of the example shown below. 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 |
$289 |
$912 |
$1,561 |
$3,299 |
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual operating expenses or in the example above, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 69.47% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund will employ a research-driven, bottom-up stock selection process on both the long and short side whereby investment decisions are based upon extensive analysis of the business and financial fundamentals concerning particular companies and their industries, leading to an assessment of the companies’ investment value. The Fund seeks to capitalize on significant differences between the current market price of a company’s stock and its current or expected future investment value. The Fund’s approach is designed to seek capital growth during periods of rising or stable stock prices and capital preservation during periods of declining stock prices.
In implementing its strategies, the Fund generally intends to take positions in equity securities, including common and preferred stocks and securities convertible into equity securities, and in other investment companies. The Fund may also hold positions in foreign securities. The Fund will take long positions and sell securities short to implement its strategies. When the Fund takes a long position with respect to a particular security, the
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Fund purchases a security with the expectation that the price of the security will appreciate in the future. When the Fund sells securities short, the Fund takes a position with respect to that security that reflects its expectation that the price of the security will decline in the future. The Fund may, at times, focus its investments in companies in the financial services industry. The Fund may also invest in the securities of small to mid-sized companies. Prospector Partners, LLC, the Fund’s sub-advisor (the “Sub-Advisor”), considers small to mid-sized companies those whose market capitalization is between $100 million and $15 billion at the time of purchase.
On the long side, the Fund invests primarily in equity and equity-related securities of companies whose fundamentals (such as growth prospects and appropriate capital) combined with attractive valuations, indicate significant upside opportunity relative to downside risk. Particular emphasis is given to analyzing company balance sheets, including reconciling a “GAAP” net worth to an intrinsic value or private market value. Downside risk is determined through extensive proprietary modeling of the company’s financial statements. The assessment of upside opportunity includes a focus on companies that are able to generate excess cash that is being used or can be used to enhance shareholder value; companies with good franchises that are undergoing significant positive change; and companies that are valued in the public markets at a significant discount to their value in a potential private transaction. On the short side, the Fund takes positions primarily in equity and equity-related securities of companies with weak or deteriorating fundamentals, which, combined with unattractive valuations, indicate significant downside risk. The Fund will be managed with a long-term orientation. The objective on the long side of the portfolio is to generally hold core positions for more than one year. On the short side of the portfolio, holding periods are generally expected to be less than a year.
In addition, the Fund plans to use short positions in a “pair-traded” format (i.e., a strategy that matches a long position with a short position in two or more stocks in the same sector) to exploit valuation anomalies and dampen portfolio volatility. The Fund intends to use a traditional “long/short” hedging strategy. A traditional “long/short” hedging strategy utilizes both long positions and short positions as the primary driver of returns while simultaneously attempting to reduce portfolio volatility.
The Fund may also engage in options and futures transactions, which are sometimes referred to as derivative transactions, for any purpose consistent with its investment objective, such as for hedging or obtaining market exposure. The derivative securities that the Fund may purchase or sell (write) include exchange-traded put or call options on stocks or stock indices. A put option gives the owner of the put the right to sell a security and a call option gives the owner of the call the right to buy a security. The Fund also may purchase or sell (write) index futures contracts or options on index futures contracts on a temporary basis in lieu of investing in equity securities. A futures contract is a contract to buy or sell a specified amount of another security at a particular price on a particular future date.
The Fund may reduce or eliminate a position if the Sub-Advisor believes the position (i) has reached an intrinsic value that reflects its current market value, (ii) has been revalued as new research uncovers challenges to assumptions underlying the investment case, or (iii) through the displacement in the portfolio by a better idea.
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Principal Risks
The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. There may be circumstances that could prevent the Fund from achieving its investment goal and you may lose money by investing in the Fund. You should carefully consider the Fund’s investment risks before deciding whether to invest in the Fund.
Stock Market Risk: Overall stock market risks may affect the value of the Fund. Factors such as domestic and foreign economic growth and market conditions, interest rate levels, pandemics, natural disasters, and political events affect the securities markets. Movements in the stock market may affect adversely the specific securities held by the Fund on a daily basis, and, as a result, such movements may negatively affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”). When the value of the Fund’s investments goes down, your investment in the Fund decreases in value and you could lose money.
Stock Selection Risk: The stocks in the Fund’s portfolio may decline in value or not increase in value when the stock market in general is increasing or decreasing in value and you could lose money.
Management Risk: Fund management’s skill in choosing appropriate investments will play a large part in determining whether the Fund is able to achieve its investment objective. To the extent appropriate investments are not chosen, the Fund may decline in value and you could lose money.
Short Sales Risk: The Fund may make short sales, which involves selling a security it does not own in anticipation that the security’s price will decline. Short sales may involve substantial risk and leverage. Short sales expose the Fund to the risk that it will be required to buy the security sold short (also known as “covering” the short position) at a time when the security has appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the Fund.
Financial Services Industry Risk: The Fund may focus its investments within a particular group of industries. Because of this focus, the performance of the Fund may be tied closely to and affected by developments in the financial services group of industries, such as the possibility that government regulation will negatively impact companies involved in the financial services group of industries. Financial services companies can be influenced by adverse effects of volatile interest rates and other factors. The Fund may incur a loss on an investment in the securities issued by these institutions.
Value Investing Risk: There is a risk that value securities may not increase in price as anticipated by the Sub-Advisor, and may even decline further in value, if other investors fail to recognize the company’s value, or favor investing in faster-growing companies, or if the events or factors that the Sub-Advisor believes will increase a security’s market value do not occur.
Foreign Securities Risk: There may be less information about foreign companies in the form of reports and ratings than about U.S. issuers. Foreign issuers may not be subject to uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting requirements comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. Certain foreign markets may not be as developed or efficient as those in the United States, and there may be less government supervision and regulation of foreign securities exchanges, brokers and listed issuers than in the United States. Investments in foreign securities also subject the Fund to risks associated with fluctuations in currency values.
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Smaller and Mid-Sized Companies Risk: There is the risk that the securities of such issuers may be comparatively more volatile in price than those of companies with larger capitalizations, and may lack the depth of management and established markets for their products and/or services that may be associated with investments in larger issuers.
Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are investments the value of which is “derived” from the value of an underlying asset (including an underlying security), reference rate or index. The value of derivatives may rise or fall more rapidly than other investments. For some derivatives, it is possible to lose more than the amount invested in the derivative. If the Fund uses derivatives to “hedge” the overall risk of its portfolio, it is possible that the hedge may not succeed. This may happen for various reasons, including unexpected changes in the value of the rest of the Fund’s portfolio. Over the counter derivatives are also subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the other party to the contract will not fulfill its contractual obligation to complete the transaction with the Fund.
Options Risk: The value of the Fund’s positions in options fluctuates in response to changes in the value of the underlying asset as well as changes in interest rates, dividends and market volatility. Writing index call options and index call spreads provides the opportunity for adding total return to the Fund through the collection of call premiums. Writing index call options and index call spreads may also limit the opportunity of the Fund to profit from an increase in the market value of the portfolio in exchange for the premium received at the time of selling the options or spreads. The Fund also risks losing all or part of the cash paid for purchasing index put options and index put spreads. Unusual market conditions or the lack of a ready market for any particular option at a specific time may reduce the effectiveness of the Fund’s option strategies, and for these and other reasons, the Fund’s option strategies may not reduce the Fund’s volatility to the extent desired. From time to time, the Fund may reduce its holdings of options, resulting in an increased exposure to a market decline.
Futures Contract Risk: The successful use of futures contracts depends upon the Sub-Advisor’s skill and experience with respect to such instruments and is subject to special risk considerations. The primary risks associated with the use of futures contracts are (a) the imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the instruments held by the Fund and the price of the futures contract; (b) possible lack of a liquid secondary market for a futures contract and the resulting inability to close a futures contract when desired; (c) losses caused by unanticipated market movements, which are potentially unlimited; (d) the Sub-Advisor’s inability to predict correctly the direction of securities prices, interest rates, currency exchange rates and other economic factors; (e) the possibility that the counterparty will default in the performance of its obligations; and (f) if the Fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell securities from its portfolio to meet daily variation margin requirements, and the Fund may have to sell securities at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so.
Investment Company Securities Risk: The Fund will incur higher and duplicative expenses when it invests in mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), and other investment companies. There is also the risk that the Fund may suffer losses due to the investment practices of the underlying funds. Some of the underlying funds in which the Fund may invest directly or indirectly invest in physical commodities, such as gold, silver, and other precious materials. Accordingly, the Fund may be affected by changes in commodity prices which can move significantly in short periods of time and be affected by new discoveries
6
or changes in government regulations. The Fund, through its investments in underlying funds, will be exposed to various fixed income risks, including credit risk that the issuer of the security may not be able to make payments when due. Fixed income securities also face interest rate risk and duration risk. Interest rate risk refers to the risk that the prices of fixed income securities generally fall as interest rates rise; conversely, the prices of fixed income securities generally rise as interest rates fall.
Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be subject, directly or indirectly, to operational and information security risks resulting from breaches in cybersecurity that may cause the Fund to lose or compromise confidential information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Similar types of cybersecurity risks are also present for issuers of securities in which the Fund may invest, which may cause the Fund’s investments in such companies to lose value. There is no guarantee the Fund will be successful in protecting against cybersecurity breaches.
An investment in the Fund is not a deposit at a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by any government agency.
Performance
The bar chart below shows how the Fund’s investment results have varied from year to year. The table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns for the one-year, five-year, and since inception periods compare over time to those of a broad-based securities market index as well as a secondary benchmark. This information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. Past performance (before and after taxes) of the Fund is no guarantee of how it will perform in the future.
Annual Total Return (years ended December 31st)
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During the period shown in the bar chart, the highest return for a quarter was 9.91% during the quarter ended September 30, 2013 and the lowest return for a quarter was (8.57%) during the quarter ended September 30, 2011. The year to date return as of June 30, 2020 was (7.42%).
Average Annual Total Returns for the periods ending December 31, 2019:
LS Opportunity Fund |
1 Year |
5 Years |
Since
|
Return Before Taxes |
16.90% |
5.99% |
6.72% |
Return After Taxes on Distributions |
16.57% |
5.12% |
6.09% |
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares |
10.23% |
4.42% |
5.22% |
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes) |
31.49% |
11.70% |
14.26% |
HFRX Equity Hedge Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes) |
10.71% |
1.52% |
1.06% |
After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates in effect 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 Fund shares through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”).
Current performance of the Fund may be lower or higher than the performance quoted above. Performance data current to the most recent month end may be obtained by calling (877) 336-6763.
Portfolio Management
Investment Advisor – Long Short Advisors, LLC (the “Advisor”) is the investment manager of the Fund.
Investment Sub-Advisor – Prospector Partners, LLC (the “Sub-Advisor”) is the sub-advisor of the Fund.
Portfolio Managers –
● |
John D. Gillespie, Co-Portfolio Manager of the Fund since May, 2015. |
● |
Kevin R. O’Brien, Co-Portfolio Manager of the Fund since May, 2015. |
● |
Jason A. Kish, Co-Portfolio Manager of the Fund since May, 2015. |
● |
Steven R. Labbe, Co-Portfolio Manager of the Fund since July, 2020. |
8
Buying and Selling Fund Shares
You can purchase shares of the Fund through broker-dealers or directly through the Fund’s transfer agent. You may buy shares of the Fund with an initial investment of $5,000. Additional investments may be made for as little as $100.
You may sell (redeem) your shares on any day the New York Stock Exchange is open, either directly through the Fund’s transfer agent by calling (877) 336-6763, or through your broker-dealer or financial intermediary. You may also redeem shares by submitting a written request to LS Opportunity Fund, Valued Advisers Trust, c/o Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC, P.O. Box 46707, Cincinnati, OH 45246-0707.
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions are taxable and will be taxed as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged account, such as a 401(k) plan, individual retirement account (IRA) or 529 college savings plan. Distributions from a tax-advantaged account may be subject to taxation at ordinary income tax rates when withdrawn from such an account.
Financial Intermediary Compensation
If you purchase Fund shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank or trust company), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create conflicts of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND’S PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RELATED RISKS
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks to generate long-term capital appreciation by investing in both long and short positions within a portfolio consisting of primarily publicly-traded common stock, with less net exposure than that of the stock market in general. The Fund’s investment objective is not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval upon sixty days written notice.
Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund
The Fund seeks strong risk-adjusted returns over a full market cycle (i.e., the time period in which stock prices rise, then fall, and then rise again). Typically, the Fund will invest in securities of domestic companies with market capitalization greater than $250 million. However, the Fund may invest in non-U.S. equities, provided that such positions do not exceed 30% of the Fund’s total assets.
The Fund will employ a research-driven, bottom-up stock selection process on both the long and short side whereby investment decisions are based upon extensive analysis of the business and financial fundamentals concerning particular companies and their industries, leading to an assessment of the companies’ investment value. The Fund seeks to capitalize on significant differences between the current market price of a company’s stock and its current or expected future investment value.
The Fund views information management as an important component of the investment process and divides the management of information into two broad categories: (i) information access or acquisition and (ii) information processing or management. The Fund will seek to acquire the best and most timely information, from a wide variety of sources. The information that the Fund seeks will vary case by case, depending on what the Fund believes it needs in order to reach a profitable investment decision in each case. The Fund believes that maximizing the quality of information at the front end of its research process, especially with respect to information that is not widely available or understood, may help create an advantage for the Fund.
However, the Fund believes that a greater opportunity to create competitive advantage lies with the quality and efficiency of its information management process. The Fund will bring focused disciplines and experience to bear, first, at the front end, to ferret out from the virtually unlimited quantity of available information that the Fund believes is most useful and relevant; then, in the analytical stage of the research process, to assess and qualify investment ideas in terms of their appeal as long or short positions; and finally, at the back end, to reach productive investment decisions that satisfy the Fund’s investment criteria and fulfill an understood role in the portfolio overall that may be actively monitored during the holding period of the position. Quantitative tools, such as stock screens, analysis of
10
regulatory filings, correlation analysis, volatility analysis, and portfolio exposure analysis, will be employed at the front end of the investment process to screen for investment ideas, and, at the back end, for portfolio construction and risk management purposes. However, bottom-up fundamental research will be the primary driver of the investment decision-making process. The bottom up fundamental research that the Fund utilizes seeks to identify individual companies with the earnings growth potential that may not be recognized by the market at large. Securities are selected on a stock by stock basis regardless of the industry, sector or region. The Fund may, at times, focus its investments in companies in the financial services industry. The Fund may also invest in the securities of small to mid-sized companies. The Sub-Advisor considers small to mid-sized companies those whose market capitalization is between $100 million and $15 billion at the time of purchase. In implementing its strategies, the Fund generally intends to take positions in equity securities, including common and preferred stocks and securities convertible into equity securities, and in other investment companies. The Fund may also hold positions in foreign securities.
The Fund will take long positions and sell securities short to implement its strategies. When the Fund takes a long position with respect to a particular security, the Fund purchases a security with the expectation that the price of the security will appreciate in the future. When the Fund sells securities short, the Fund takes a position with respect to that security that reflects its expectation that the price of the security will decline in the future.
On the long side, the Fund takes positions primarily with respect to equity and equity-related securities of companies whose fundamentals (such as growth prospects and appropriate capital), combined with attractive valuations, indicate significant upside opportunity relative to downside risk. Particular emphasis is given to analyzing company balance sheets, including reconciling a “GAAP” net worth to an intrinsic value or private market value. Downside risk is determined through extensive proprietary modeling of the company’s financial statements. The assessment of upside opportunity includes a focus on companies that are able to generate excess cash that is being used or can be used to enhance shareholder value; companies with good franchises that are undergoing significant positive change; and companies that are valued in the public markets at a significant discount to their value in a private transactions.
On the short side, the Fund invests primarily in equity and equity-related securities of companies with weak or deteriorating fundamentals, which, combined with unattractive valuations, indicate significant downside risk. Examples include companies whose valuations indicate a misperception about the quality of their businesses or the sustainability of their growth, and where an event either has taken place or is about to take place that the Fund expects to result in a revaluation downward; companies whose fundamentals were previously strong but have turned down and are likely to weaken significantly further; companies with questionable accounting whose reported results diverge significantly with economic reality; and companies faced with overwhelming competitive or financial challenges not reflected in their valuations.
In addition, the Fund plans to use short positions in a “pair-traded” format (i.e., a strategy that matches a long position with a short position in two or more stocks in the same sector) to exploit valuation anomalies and dampen portfolio volatility. The Fund intends to use
11
a traditional “long/short” hedging strategy to reduce portfolio volatility and isolate stock selection as the primary driver of returns. The Fund may from time to time purchase or sell other securities, such as options, futures, ETFs, and similar instruments, as risk management tools and for other purposes, consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. However, the primary strategy of the Fund is to make long and short investments in common stocks, with the objective of seeking to generate profits in each position, on both the long and short side.
The Fund may from time to time use long or short investments in other investment companies and in ETFs either as a hedging technique, to achieve exposure to a broad basket of securities in a single transaction, to equitize cash until more suitable company-specific long or short investments are identified and consummated, or for other reasons. To the extent the Fund invests in other investment companies, the Fund may be seeking exposure to a variety of industries or markets, including commodities and/or the fixed income markets.
The Fund may also engage in options and futures transactions, which are sometimes referred to as derivative transactions. The Fund may use derivative transactions for any purpose consistent with its investment objective, such as for hedging or obtaining market exposure. The Fund may purchase or sell (write) exchange-traded put or call options on stocks or stock indices. A put option gives the owner of the put the right to sell a security and a call option gives the owner of the call the right to buy a security. The Fund also may purchase or sell (write) index futures contracts or options on index futures contracts on a temporary basis in lieu of investing in equity securities. A futures contract is a contract to buy or sell a specified amount of another security at a particular price on a particular future date.
The Fund will be managed with a long-term orientation. The objective on the long side of the portfolio is to hold core positions for more than one year – and perhaps for many years. On the short side of the portfolio, holding periods are generally expected to be less than a year. As much as possible within the framework of its investment disciplines, the Fund will strive to minimize taxable income, and maximize long-term capital gains as a share of the total net realized gains and investment income generated over time. However, the Fund will purchase and sell securities at such times as the Fund deems appropriate to achieve the Fund’s objective without regard to portfolio turnover. The Fund will have no restrictions as to the frequency of portfolio turnover.
The Fund’s approach is designed to seek capital growth during periods of rising or stable stock prices and capital preservation during periods of declining stock prices. Because of the Fund’s long-term orientation and normally net long bias, however, it could experience a capital loss in any quarter, and even over a calendar year. The Fund is not designed to be market-neutral. Investors could lose money from their investment in the Fund.
The Fund may reduce or eliminate a position if the Sub-Advisor believes that the position has reached a fair determinant of value, has been revalued as new research uncovers challenges to assumptions underlying the investment case, or through the displacement in the portfolio by a better idea.
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Temporary Investments
To respond to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions, the Fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in money market mutual funds and in U.S. short-term money market instruments as a temporary defensive measure. These instruments include:
● |
Cash and cash equivalents |
● |
U.S. government securities |
● |
Certificates of deposit or other obligations of U.S. banks |
● |
Corporate debt obligations with remaining maturities of 12 months or less |
● |
Commercial paper |
● |
Demand and time deposits |
● |
Repurchase agreements |
● |
Bankers’ acceptances |
The Fund may also invest in futures, options, shorts and foreign currency hedging as a defensive measure. To the extent that the Fund engages in a temporary, defensive strategy, it may not achieve its investment objective. Any percentage limitations with respect to the investment of assets of the Fund are applied at the time of purchase.
Principal Risks
Any of the following situations could cause the Fund to lose money or underperform in comparison to its peer group or the broader stock market:
Stock Market Risk: The Fund invests in common stocks, which subjects the Fund and its shareholders to the risks associated with common stock investing. These risks include the financial risk of selecting individual companies that do not perform as anticipated, the risk that the stock markets in which the Fund invests may experience periods of turbulence and instability, and the general risk that domestic and global economies may go through periods of decline and cyclical change. Many factors affect the performance of each company that the Fund invests in, including the strength of the company’s management or the demand for its products or services. You should be aware that a company’s share price may decline as a result of poor decisions made by management or lower demand for the company’s products or services. In addition, a company’s share price may also decline as a result of national and global events such as recession, war, epidemics or pandemics, terrorism, natural disasters and other events which may have a significant impact on markets generally. The outbreak in early 2020 of a novel and contagious form of coronavirus (“COVID-19”) continues to adversely impact global economic activity and contribute to significant volatility in certain markets.
Stock Selection Risk: The stocks in the Fund’s portfolio may decline in value or not increase in value when the stock market in general is increasing or decreasing in value and you could lose money.
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Management Risk: Fund management’s skill in choosing appropriate investments will play a large part in determining whether the Fund is able to achieve its investment objective. To the extent appropriate investments are not chosen, the Fund may decline in value and you could lose money.
Short Sales Risk: The Fund may make short sales, which involves selling a security it does not own in anticipation that the security’s price will decline. Short sales may involve substantial risk and leverage. Short sales expose the Fund to the risk that it will be required to buy the security sold short (also known as “covering” the short position) at a time when the security has appreciated in value, thus resulting in a loss to the Fund.
Financial Services Industry Risk: The Fund may focus its investments within a particular group of industries. Because of this focus, the performance of the Fund may be tied closely to and affected by developments in the financial services group of industries, such as the possibility that government regulation will negatively impact companies involved in the financial services group of industries. Financial services companies can be influenced by adverse effects of volatile interest rates and other factors. The Fund may incur a loss on an investment in the securities issued by these institutions.
Value Investing Risk: There is a risk that value securities may not increase in price as anticipated by the Sub-Advisor, and may even decline further in value, if other investors fail to recognize the company’s value, or favor investing in faster-growing companies, or if the events or factors that the Sub-Advisor believes will increase a security’s market value do not occur.
Foreign Securities Risk: Investments in foreign securities may involve a greater degree of risk than securities of U.S. issuers. There may be less information about foreign companies in the form of reports and ratings than about U.S. issuers. Foreign issuers may not be subject to uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting requirements comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. Certain foreign markets may not be as developed or efficient as those in the United States, and there may be less government supervision and regulation of foreign securities exchanges, brokers and listed issuers than in the United States.
Smaller and Mid-Sized Companies Risk: There is the risk that the securities of such issuers may be comparatively more volatile in price than those of companies with larger capitalizations, and may lack the depth of management and established markets for their products and/or services that may be associated with investments in larger issuers.
Investment Company Securities Risk: When the Fund invests in other investment companies (such as mutual funds or ETFs), it will indirectly bear its proportionate share of any fees and expenses payable directly by the other investment company. Therefore, the Fund will incur higher expenses, many of which may be duplicative. The Fund may also be affected by losses of the underlying funds and the level of risk arising from the investment practices of the underlying funds. The Fund has no control over the risks taken by the underlying funds in which it invests. In addition to risks generally associated with investments in investment company securities, ETFs are subject to the following risks that do not apply to non-exchange traded funds: (i) an ETF’s shares may trade at a market price above or below its NAV; (ii) an active trading market for an ETF’s shares may not develop or be maintained;
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(iii) an ETF may employ an investment strategy that utilizes high leverage ratios; and (iv) trading of an ETF’s shares may be halted if the listing exchange’s officials deem such action appropriate, the shares are de-listed from the exchange, or the activation of market-wide “circuit breakers” (which are tied to large decreases in stock prices) halts stock trading generally. When the Fund invests in underlying index funds, the Fund will be subject to substantially the same risks as those associated with the direct ownership of securities comprising the index on which the ETF or index mutual fund is based and the value of the Fund’s investment will fluctuate in response to the performance of the underlying index. Because the Fund is not required to hold shares of underlying funds for any minimum period, it may be subject to, and may have to pay, short-term redemption fees imposed by the underlying funds.
Commodity Risk: Some of the underlying funds in which the Fund may invest may invest directly or indirectly in physical commodities, such as gold, silver, and other precious materials. Accordingly, the Fund may be affected by changes in commodity prices which can move significantly in short periods of time and be affected by new discoveries or changes in government regulations. In addition, there is some uncertainty regarding the tax treatment of the Fund’s indirect investments in commodities (see the Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”) for more information).
Fixed Income Risk: The Fund will be exposed to various fixed income risks through its investments in underlying funds, including credit risk that the issuer of the security may not be able to make payments when due. Fixed income securities also face interest rate risk and duration risk. Interest rate risk refers to the risk that the prices of fixed income securities generally fall as interest rates rise; conversely, the prices of fixed income securities generally rise as interest rates fall. Specific fixed income securities differ in their sensitivity to changes in interest rates depending on specific characteristics of each fixed income security. A measure investors commonly use to determine this sensitivity is called duration. The longer the duration of a particular fixed income security, generally the greater its price sensitivity is to interest rates. Similarly, a longer duration portfolio of securities generally has greater price sensitivity. Duration is determined by a number of factors, including coupon rate, whether the coupon is fixed or floating, time to maturity, call or put features, and various repayment features.
Derivatives Risk: The Fund may use derivative instruments. Derivatives are investments the value of which is “derived” from the value of an underlying asset (including an underlying security), reference rate or index. The value of derivatives may rise or fall more rapidly than other investments. For some derivatives, it is possible to lose more than the amount invested in the derivative. Derivatives may be used to create synthetic exposure to an underlying asset or to hedge a portfolio risk. If the Fund uses derivatives to “hedge” the overall risk of its portfolio, it is possible that the hedge may not succeed. This may happen for various reasons, including unexpected changes in the value of the rest of the Fund’s portfolio. Over the counter derivatives are also subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the other party to the contract will not fulfill its contractual obligation to complete the transaction with the Fund. In addition, changes in government regulation of derivative
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instruments could affect the Fund’s use of derivatives and the character, timing and amount of the Fund’s taxable income or gains. The Fund’s use of derivatives may be limited by the requirements for taxation of the Fund as a regulated investment company.
Options Risk: The value of the Fund’s positions in options fluctuates in response to changes in the value of the underlying asset as well as changes in interest rates, dividends and market volatility. Writing index call options and index call spreads provides the opportunity for adding total return to the Fund through the collection of call premiums. Writing index call options and index call spreads may also limit the opportunity of the Fund to profit from an increase in the market value of the portfolio in exchange for the premium received at the time of selling the options or spreads. The Fund also risks losing all or part of the cash paid for purchasing index put options and index put spreads. Unusual market conditions or the lack of a ready market for any particular option at a specific time may reduce the effectiveness of the Fund’s option strategies, and for these and other reasons, the Fund’s option strategies may not reduce the Fund’s volatility to the extent desired. From time to time, the Fund may reduce its holdings of options, resulting in an increased exposure to a market decline.
Futures Contract Risk: The successful use of futures contracts depends upon the Sub-Advisor’s skill and experience with respect to such instruments and is subject to special risk considerations. The primary risks associated with the use of futures contracts are (a) the imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the instruments held by the Fund and the price of the futures contract; (b) possible lack of a liquid secondary market for a futures contract and the resulting inability to close a futures contract when desired; (c) losses caused by unanticipated market movements, which are potentially unlimited; (d) the Sub-Advisor’s inability to predict correctly the direction of movements in securities prices, interest rates, currency exchange rates and other economic factors; (e) the possibility that the counterparty will default in the performance of its obligations; and (f) if the Fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell securities from its portfolio to meet daily variation margin requirements, and the Fund may have to sell securities at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so.
Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be subject to operational and information security risks resulting from breaches in cybersecurity. A breach in cybersecurity refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose or compromise confidential information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Breaches in cybersecurity include, among other things, stealing or corrupting data maintained online or digitally, denial of service attacks on websites, the unauthorized release of confidential information or various other operational disruptions. Successful cybersecurity breaches of the Fund and/or the Fund’s investment advisor, distributor, custodian, transfer agent or other third-party service providers may adversely impact the Fund and its shareholders. For instance, a successful cybersecurity breach may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, cause the release of private personal shareholder information, impede trading, subject the Fund to regulatory fines or financial losses, and/or cause reputational damage. The Fund relies on third-party service providers for many of its day-to-day operations, and is therefore subject to the risk that the protections and
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protocols implemented by those service providers will be ineffective in protecting the Fund from cybersecurity breaches. Similar types of cybersecurity risks are also present for issuers of securities in which the Fund may invest, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Fund’s investments in such companies to lose value. There is no guarantee the Fund will be successful in protecting against cybersecurity breaches.
An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of any bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.
As with any mutual fund investment, the Fund’s returns will vary and you could lose money.
Suitability
The Fund may be appropriate for investors who seek long-term annual returns and who are able to accept short-term fluctuations in return for the potential for greater long-term growth. Investors who are seeking significant current income or who have a conservative or short-term investment approach may wish to consider other investments.
Portfolio Holdings
A description of the Fund’s policies and procedures regarding the disclosure of its portfolio securities is available in the SAI.
The Advisor’s office is located at 130 North 18th Street, 26th Floor, Suite 2675, Philadelphia, PA 19103. The Advisor is responsible for overseeing the operations of the Fund and the activities of the Sub-Advisor. The Sub-Advisor’s offices are located at 370 Church Street, Guilford, CT 06437. The Sub-Advisor is responsible for managing the day-to-day investment decisions of the Fund.
The Advisor, a Pennsylvania limited liability company, is a registered investment advisor founded in 2010. The Sub-Advisor, a Delaware limited liability company, is a registered investment advisor founded in 1997. As of May 31, 2020, the Sub-Advisor had approximately $725 million of assets under management. The Sub-Advisor also manages private funds using a substantially similar style as they utilize with the Fund.
Management Fees
The Fund is required to pay the Advisor a fee equal to 1.75% of the Fund’s average daily net assets. The Fund’s SAI provides information about the Sub-Advisor’s compensation and the business relationship between the Advisor and the Sub-Advisor. A discussion of the factors that the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) considered in approving the Fund’s advisory agreement and sub-advisory agreement is contained in the Fund’s annual report dated May 31, 2020. The Advisor has contractually agreed to waive its management fee and/or reimburse certain Fund operating expenses, but only to the extent necessary so that the Fund’s net expenses (excluding borrowing costs such as interest and dividends on
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securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions, other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund’s business, expenses incurred under a Rule 12b-1 plan of distribution, “acquired fund fees and expenses” (i.e., investment companies in which the Fund may invest), and expenses that the Fund has incurred but did not actually pay because of an expense offset arrangement) do not exceed 1.95% of net assets. The contractual agreement is effective through September 30, 2021. Each waiver or reimbursement of an expense by the Advisor is subject to repayment by the Fund within the three years following such waiver or reimbursement, provided that the Fund is able to make the repayment without exceeding the expense limitation in place at the time of the waiver or reimbursement and the expense limitation in place at the time of the repayment. Pursuant to another agreement between the Advisor and the Sub-Advisor, which is described in more detail in the Fund’s SAI, the Sub-Advisor has agreed that it will temporarily forgo partial sub-advisory fees until the Advisor, under the terms of the expense limitation agreement, is no longer required to reimburse the Fund expenses. That is, under the terms of the expense limitation agreement, the Advisor is required to waive fees and then reimburse expenses such that the net operating expense ratio of the Fund will not exceed the current operating expense limit of 1.95%. Insofar as the assets of the Fund are at a level that requires reimbursement of expense, the Advisor will be waiving its entire fee and the Sub-Advisor will also waive its fee owed to it from the Advisor. However, where assets rise to the level that the Advisor is collecting its fee (either in whole or part), the Sub-Advisor will collect a corresponding amount of its sub-advisory fee. Further, fees that have been waived by the Sub-Advisor can be recaptured for up to three years as asset levels of the Fund increase subject to, among other conditions, the ability of the Advisor to recapture fees waived and expenses reimbursed pursuant to an expense limitation agreement that it has in place for the Fund.
For the fiscal year ended May 31, 2020, the Advisor received fees equal to 1.62% of the average daily net assets of the Fund, after fee waivers.
If you invest in the Fund through an investment advisor, bank, broker-dealer, 401(k) plan, trust company or other financial intermediary, the policies and fees for transacting business may be different than those described in this Prospectus. Some financial intermediaries may charge transaction fees and may set different minimum investments or limitations on buying or selling shares. Some financial intermediaries do not charge a direct transaction fee, but instead charge a fee for services such as sub-transfer agency, accounting and/or shareholder services that the financial intermediary provides on the Fund’s behalf. This fee may be based on the number of accounts or may be a percentage of the average value of the Fund’s shareholder accounts for which the financial intermediary provides services. The Fund may pay a portion of this fee, which is intended to compensate the financial intermediary for providing the same services that would otherwise be provided by the Fund’s transfer agent or other service providers if the shares were purchased directly from the Fund. To the extent that these fees are not paid by the Fund, the Advisor may pay a fee to financial intermediaries for such services.
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To the extent that the Advisor, not the Fund, pays a fee to a financial intermediary for distribution or shareholder servicing, the Advisor may consider a number of factors in determining the amount of payment associated with such services, including the amount of sales, assets invested in the Fund and the nature of the services provided by the financial intermediary. Although neither the Fund nor the Advisor pays for the Fund to be included in a financial intermediary’s “preferred list” or other promotional program, some financial intermediaries that receive compensation as described above may have such programs in which the Fund may be included. Financial intermediaries that receive these types of payments may have a conflict of interest in recommending or selling the Fund’s shares rather than other mutual funds, particularly where such payments exceed those associated with other funds. The Fund may from time to time purchase securities issued by financial intermediaries that provide such services; however, in selecting investments for the Fund, no preference will be shown for such securities.
Portfolio Management
John D. Gillespie, Kevin R. O’Brien, Jason A. Kish, and Steven R. Labbe serve as the Sub-Advisor’s Co-Portfolio Managers for the Fund.
John D. Gillespie
Mr. Gillespie has been the managing member of the Sub-Advisor since its formation in 1997 and has been a portfolio manager and securities analyst for more than thirty years. From 1999 to 2015, Mr. Gillespie served as Director of White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. (“White Mountains”). In addition, from 2002 to 2005, Mr. Gillespie served as non-executive Deputy Chairman of White Mountains and Chairman and President of their registered investment advisory subsidiary. From 1986 through 1997, Mr. Gillespie was an employee of T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. At the end of his tenure at T. Rowe Price, Mr. Gillespie’s responsibilities included the management of assets of institutional investors, mutual funds and closed-end investment companies. Specifically, Mr. Gillespie was the chairman of the investment committee of the T. Rowe Price Growth Stock Fund from 1994 to April 30, 1996, and president of the New Age Media Fund from October 1993 until July 1997. From 1980 through 1984, Mr. Gillespie was a Senior Financial Analyst at Geico Corporation. Mr. Gillespie received a B.A. cum laude from Bates College in 1980 and an M.B.A. from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University in 1986. Mr. Gillespie serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Bates College and serves as Director and Chairman of Prospector Funds, Inc. Mr. Gillespie’s other past directorships include: Montpelier Re, Symetra Financial, National Grange Mutual, Main Street American, Esurance, Transact and OneBeacon Insurance Group.
Kevin R. O’Brien
Mr. O’Brien has been a portfolio manager at the Sub-Advisor since 2003 and has been a portfolio manager or securities analyst for more than twenty-five years. Mr. O’Brien is also an Executive Vice President of Prospector Funds, Inc. In addition, from April 2003 through August 2005, Mr. O’Brien served as a Managing Director of White Mountains Advisors, LLC. From April 1996 through April 2003, Mr. O’Brien was an employee of Neuberger Berman, where he began as an investment analyst (1996-1999), served as Vice President (1999-2001), and Managing Director (2001-2003). At the end of Mr. O’Brien’s tenure at Neuberger
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Berman, Mr. O’Brien’s responsibilities included the co-management of equity assets of institutional investors and mutual funds. At Neuberger Berman, Mr. O’Brien served as co-manager of the Neuberger Berman Genesis Fund. Mr. O’Brien was responsible for following stocks in the financial services, consumer, and technology sectors. From 1991 through 1996, Mr. O’Brien was an employee of Alex, Brown & Sons, where he was an analyst following the financial services industry. His coverage universe included property-casualty insurance, specialty finance, asset management, and diversified financial services. Mr. O’Brien received a B.S. magna cum laude from Central Connecticut State University in 1986. Additionally, Mr. O’Brien received a Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1995.
Jason A. Kish
Mr. Kish has been a portfolio manager at the Sub-Advisor since 2013 and has been a portfolio manager or securities analyst for more than twenty years. He is also an Executive Vice President of Prospector Funds, Inc. When Mr. Kish joined the Sub-Advisor in 1997, he began as a junior analyst, covering all industries, eventually serving as the property-casualty analyst and became the Director of Research in 2010. From 1995 to 1997, Mr. Kish worked as an auditor at Coopers & Lybrand, LLP in Hartford, CT. Mr. Kish received a B.S.B.A. from Providence College in 1995. He received his Certified Public Accountant designation in 2000 and his Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2004.
Steven R. Labbe
Mr. Labbe has been a portfolio manager at the Sub-Advisor since 2020 and has been a portfolio manager or securities analyst for more than 20 years. Mr. Labbe joined the Sub-Advisor in 2012. He began as an analyst, covering the insurance industry and gradually increased his coverage to asset managers, exchanges, and brokers; he became a portfolio manager in July 2020. From 1996 to 2012, Mr. Labbe was employed as an analyst with Langen McAlenney, a division of Janney Montgomery Scott, covering the insurance industry. Mr. Labbe received a B.S. degree in Mathematics from Central Connecticut State University in December 1995. He received his Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2001.
The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio managers’ compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and the portfolio managers’ ownership of shares of the Fund, if any.
DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE
The price you pay for your shares is based on the Fund’s NAV. The Fund’s NAV is calculated at the close of trading (normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for business (the NYSE is closed on weekends, most federal holidays and Good Friday). The Fund’s NAV is calculated by dividing the value of the Fund’s total assets (including interest and dividends accrued but not yet received) minus
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liabilities (including accrued expenses) by the total number of shares outstanding. Requests to purchase and sell shares are processed at the NAV next calculated after the Fund receives your order in proper form. In the event the Fund holds portfolio securities that trade in foreign markets or that are primarily listed on foreign exchanges that trade on weekends or other days when the Fund does not price its shares, the NAV of the Fund’s shares may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or redeem the Fund’s shares.
The Fund’s assets generally are valued at their market value. If market prices are not readily available (including when they are not reliable), or if an event occurs after the close of the trading market but before the calculation of the NAV that materially affects the values, assets may be valued at a fair value, pursuant to guidelines established by the Board. For example, the Fund may be obligated to fair value a foreign security because many foreign markets operate at times that do not coincide with those of the major U.S. markets. Events that could affect the values of foreign portfolio holdings may occur between the close of the foreign market and the time of determining the NAV, and would not otherwise be reflected in the NAV. When pricing securities using the fair value guidelines established by the Board, the Fund (with the assistance of its service providers) seeks to assign the value that represents the amount that the Fund might reasonably expect to receive upon a current sale of the securities. In this regard, the Advisor, pursuant to the terms of the investment advisory agreement with the Fund, has agreed to provide the Fund pricing information that the Advisor reasonably believes may assist in the determination of fair value consistent with requirements under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and the Fund’s valuation procedures.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, given the subjectivity inherent in fair valuation and the fact that events could occur after NAV calculation, the actual market prices for a security may differ from the fair value of that security as determined by the Fund at the time of NAV calculation. Thus, discrepancies between fair values and actual market prices may occur on a regular and recurring basis. These discrepancies do not necessarily indicate that the Fund’s fair value methodology is inappropriate. The Fund will adjust the fair values assigned to securities in the Fund’s portfolio, to the extent necessary, as soon as market prices become available. The Fund (and its service providers) continually monitors and evaluates the appropriateness of its fair value methodologies through systematic comparisons of fair values to the actual next available market prices of securities contained in the Fund’s portfolio. To the extent the Fund invests in other mutual funds, the Fund’s NAV is calculated based, in part, upon the NAVs of such mutual funds; the prospectuses for those mutual funds in which the Fund will invest describe the circumstances under which those mutual funds will use fair value pricing, which, in turn, affects their NAVs.
HOW TO BUY SHARES
To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. This means that when you open an account, we will ask for your name, residential address, date of birth, government identification number and other information that will allow us to identify you. We also may ask to see
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your driver’s license or other identifying documents, and may take additional steps to verify your identity. If we do not receive these required pieces of information, there may be a delay in processing your investment request, which could subject your investment to market risk. If we are unable to immediately verify your identity, the Fund may restrict further investment until your identity is verified. However, if we are unable to verify your identity, the Fund reserves the right to close your account without notice and return your investment to you at the NAV determined on the day in which your account is closed. If we close your account because we are unable to verify your identity, your investment will be subject to market fluctuation, which could result in a loss of a portion of your principal investment.
The minimum initial investment in the Fund is $5,000. Minimum subsequent investments are $100 for all account types. The Advisor may, in its sole discretion, waive these minimums for accounts participating in an automatic investment program and in certain other circumstances. The Fund may waive or lower investment minimums for investors who invest in the Fund through an asset-based fee program made available through a financial intermediary. If your investment is aggregated into an omnibus account established by an investment advisor, broker or other intermediary, the account minimums apply to the omnibus account, not to your individual investment. The financial intermediary may also impose minimum requirements that are different from those set forth in this Prospectus. If you choose to purchase or redeem shares directly from the Fund, you will not incur charges on purchases and redemptions. However, if you purchase or redeem shares through a broker-dealer or another intermediary, you may be charged a fee by that intermediary.
Initial Purchase
By Mail – To be in proper form, your initial purchase request must include:
● |
a completed and signed investment application form; and |
● |
a personal check with name pre-printed (subject to the minimum amount) made payable to the Fund. |
Mail the application and check to:
U.S. Mail:
|
Overnight:
|
By Wire – You may also purchase shares of the Fund by wiring federal funds from your bank, which may charge you a fee for doing so. To wire money, you must call Shareholder Services at (877) 336-6763 to obtain instructions on how to set up your account and to obtain an account number.
You must provide a signed application to Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC, the Fund’s transfer agent, at the above address in order to complete your initial wire purchase. Wire orders will be accepted only on a day on which the Fund and its custodian and transfer agent are open for business. A wire purchase will not be considered made until the wired money is received
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and the purchase is accepted by the Fund. The purchase price per share will be the NAV next determined after the wire purchase is accepted by the Fund. Any delays, which may occur in wiring money, including delays that may occur in processing by the banks, are not the responsibility of the Fund or the transfer agent. There is presently no fee for the receipt of wired funds, but the Fund may charge shareholders for this service in the future.
Additional Investments
You may purchase additional shares of the Fund at any time by mail, wire, or automatic investment. Each additional mail purchase request must contain:
1. |
Your name |
2. |
The name on your account(s) |
3. |
Your account number(s) |
4. |
A check made payable to LS Opportunity Fund |
Checks should be sent to the Fund at the address listed under the heading “Initial Purchase – By Mail” in this Prospectus. To send a bank wire, call Shareholder Services at (877) 336-6763 to obtain instructions.
Automatic Investment Plan
You may make regular investments in the Fund with an Automatic Investment Plan by completing the appropriate section of the account application or completing a systematic investment plan form and attaching a voided personal check. Investments may be made monthly to allow dollar-cost averaging by automatically deducting $100 or more from your bank checking account. You may change the amount of your monthly purchase at any time. If an Automatic Investment Plan purchase is rejected by your bank, your shareholder account will be charged a fee to defray bank charges.
Tax Sheltered Retirement Plans
Shares of the Fund may be an appropriate investment for tax-sheltered retirement plans, including: individual retirement plans (IRAs); simplified employee pension plans (SEPs); 401(k) plans; qualified corporate pension and profit-sharing plans (for employees); tax-advantaged investment plans (for employees of public school systems and certain types of charitable organizations); and other qualified retirement plans. You should contact Shareholder Services at (877) 336-6763 for the procedure to open an IRA or SEP plan, as well as more specific information regarding these retirement plan options. Please consult with an attorney or tax advisor regarding these plans. You must pay custodial fees for your IRA by redemption of sufficient shares of the Fund from the IRA unless you pay the fees directly to the IRA custodian. Call Shareholder Services at (877) 336-6763 about the IRA custodial fees.
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Other Purchase Information
The Fund may limit the amount of purchases and refuse to sell shares to any person. If your check or wire does not clear, you may be responsible for any loss incurred by the Fund. You may be prohibited or restricted from making future purchases in the Fund. Checks should be made payable to the Fund. The Fund and its transfer agent may refuse any purchase order for any reason. Cash, third party checks, counter checks, starter checks, traveler’s checks, money orders, credit card checks, and checks drawn on non-U.S. financial institutions will not be accepted. Cashier’s checks and bank official checks may be accepted in amounts greater than $10,000. In such cases, a fifteen (15) calendar day hold will be applied to the funds, which means that you may not receive proceeds from the redemption of your shares until the holding period has expired.
HOW TO REDEEM SHARES
You may receive redemption payments by check, ACH or federal wire transfer. The proceeds may be more or less than the purchase price of your shares, depending on the market value of the Fund’s securities at the time of your redemption. If you redeem your shares through a broker/dealer or other financial institution, you may be charged a fee by that institution. You should consult with your broker-dealer or other financial institution for more information on these fees.
By Mail – You may redeem any part of your account in the Fund at no charge by mail. Your request should be addressed to:
U.S. Mail:
|
Overnight:
|
Your request for a redemption must include your letter of instruction, including the Fund name, account number, account names, the address, and the dollar amount or number of shares you wish to redeem. Requests to sell shares that are received in good order are processed at the NAV next calculated after the Fund receives your order in proper form. To be in good order, your request must be signed by all registered share owner(s) in the exact name(s) and any special capacity in which they are registered. The Fund may require that signatures be guaranteed if you request the redemption check be made payable to any person other than the shareholder(s) of record, mailed to an address other than the address of record, if the mailing address has been changed within 15 days of the redemption request, or in certain other circumstances, such as to prevent unauthorized account transfers or redemptions. The Fund may also require a signature guarantee for redemptions of $25,000 or more. Signature guarantees are for the protection of shareholders. You can obtain a signature guarantee from most banks and securities dealers, but not from a notary public. All documentation requiring a signature guarantee must utilize a New Technology Medallion Stamp. For joint accounts, both signatures must be guaranteed. Please call Shareholder
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Services at (877) 336-6763 if you have questions. At the discretion of the Advisor or the transfer agent, the signature guarantee requirements may be modified or waived, and you may be required to furnish additional legal documents to insure proper authorization.
By Telephone – You may redeem any part of your account in the Fund (up to $25,000) by calling Shareholder Services at (877) 336-6763. You must first complete the optional Telephone Redemption section of the investment application or provide a signed letter of instruction with the proper signature guarantee stamp to institute this option. The Fund and its transfer agent and custodian are not liable for following redemption or exchange instructions communicated by telephone to the extent that they reasonably believe the telephone instructions to be genuine. However, if they do not employ reasonable procedures to confirm that telephone instructions are genuine, they may be liable for any losses due to unauthorized or fraudulent instructions. Procedures employed may include recording telephone instructions and requiring a form of personal identification from the caller.
The Fund or its transfer agent may terminate the telephone redemption procedures at any time. During periods of extreme market activity, it is possible that shareholders may encounter some difficulty in telephoning the Fund, although neither the Fund nor the transfer agent has ever experienced difficulties in receiving and in a timely fashion responding to telephone requests for redemptions or exchanges. If you are unable to reach the Fund by telephone, you may request a redemption or exchange by mail.
By Wire – A wire transfer fee of $15 is charged to defray custodial charges for redemptions paid by wire transfer. This fee is subject to change. Any charges for wire redemptions will be deducted from your Fund account by redemption of shares.
Redemptions in Kind
Generally, all redemptions will be paid in cash. The Fund typically expects to satisfy requests by using holdings of cash or cash equivalents or selling portfolio assets. On a less regular basis, and if the Adviser believes it is in the best interest of the Fund and its shareholders not to sell portfolio assets, the Fund may satisfy redemption requests by using short-term borrowings from the Fund’s custodian. These methods normally will be used during both regular and stressed market conditions. In addition to paying redemption proceeds in cash, the Fund reserves the right to make payment for a redemption in securities rather than cash, which is known as a “redemption in kind.” If the amount you are redeeming is over the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of the Fund’s net assets, the Fund has the right to redeem your shares by giving you the amount that exceeds the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of the Fund’s net assets in securities instead of cash. A redemption in kind will consist of securities equal in market value to the Fund shares being redeemed, using the same valuation procedures that the Fund uses to compute its NAV. Redemption in kind transactions will typically be made by delivering readily marketable securities to the redeeming shareholder within 7 days after the Fund’s receipt of the redemption order in proper form. Marketable securities are assets that are regularly traded or where updated price quotations are available. Illiquid investments are investments that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment. Certain illiquid investments
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may be valued using estimated prices from one of the Valued Advisers Trust’s (the “Trust”) approved pricing agents. If the Fund redeems your shares in kind, it will value the securities pursuant to policies and procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”). You will bear the market risks associated with maintaining or selling the securities that are transferred as redemption proceeds. In the event that an in-kind distribution is made, a shareholder may incur additional expenses, such as taxes or the payment of brokerage commissions, on the sale or other disposition of the securities received from the Fund.
Fund Policy on Market Timing
The Fund has been designed as a long-term investment and not as a frequent or short-term trading (“market timing”) option. Market timing can be disruptive to the portfolio management process and may adversely impact the ability to implement investment strategies. In addition to being disruptive, the risks presented by market timing include higher expenses through increased trading and transaction costs; forced and unplanned portfolio turnover; large asset swings that decrease the ability to maximize investment return; and potentially diluting the value of the share price. These risks can have an adverse effect on investment performance.
Although the Fund does not encourage frequent purchases and redemptions, the Board has not adopted policies and procedures to detect and prevent market timing in the Fund because the Board does not believe that market timing is a significant risk to the Fund given the type of securities held in the Fund. Accordingly, the Fund will permit frequent and short-term trading of shares of the Fund. Although the Board does not believe that there is a significant risk associated with market timing for the Fund, the Fund cannot guarantee that such trading will not occur. Notwithstanding, the Fund reserves the right to refuse to allow any purchase by a prospective or current investor.
Additional Information
If you are not certain of the requirements for a redemption please call Shareholder Services at (877) 336-6763. Redemptions specifying a certain date or share price cannot be accepted and will be returned. The length of time the Fund typically expects to pay redemption proceeds is similar regardless of whether the payment is made by check, wire, or ACH. The Fund typically expects to pay redemption proceeds for shares redeemed within the following days after receipt by the transfer agent of a redemption request in proper form:
● |
For payment by check, the Fund typically expects to mail the check within one to three business days; |
● |
For payment by wire or ACH, the Fund typically expects to process the payment within one to three business days. |
Payment of redemption proceeds may take longer than the time the Fund typically expects and may take up to 7 days as permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Under unusual circumstances as permitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), the Fund may suspend the right of redemption or delay payment of redemption
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proceeds for more than 7 days. When shares are purchased by check or through ACH, the proceeds from the redemption of those shares will not be paid until the purchase check or ACH transfer has been converted to federal funds, which could take up to 15 calendar days. You may be assessed a fee if the Fund incurs bank charges because you request that the Fund re-issue a redemption check.
Redemption proceeds sent via check by the Fund and not cashed within 180 days will be reinvested in the Fund at the current day’s NAV. Redemption proceeds that are reinvested are subject to the risk of loss like any other investment in the Fund.
Because the Fund incurs certain fixed costs in maintaining shareholder accounts, the Fund may redeem all of your shares in the Fund on 30 days written notice if the value of your shares in the Fund is less than $2,500 due to redemption, or such other minimum amount as the Fund may determine from time to time. You may increase the value of your shares in the Fund to the minimum amount within the 30 day period. All shares of the Fund also are subject to involuntary redemption if the Board determines to liquidate the Fund. In such event, the Board may close the Fund with notice to shareholders but without obtaining shareholder approval. An involuntary redemption will create a capital gain or capital loss, which may have tax consequences about which you should consult your tax advisor.
DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES
Dividends and Distributions
The Fund intends to distribute to its shareholders as dividends all or substantially all of its net investment income and any realized net capital gain. The Fund expects that its distributions will consist primarily of income and net realized capital gain. The Fund intends to declare and pay distributions at least annually. Net investment income distributed by the Fund generally will consist of interest income, if any, and dividends received on investments, less expenses. The dividends you receive, whether or not reinvested in additional fund shares, will be taxed as ordinary income except as described below.
Unless you indicate another option on your account application, any dividends and capital gain distributions paid to you by the Fund will automatically be invested in additional shares of the Fund. Alternatively, you may elect to have: (1) dividends paid to you in cash and the amount of any capital gain distributions reinvested; or (2) the full amount of any dividends and capital gain distributions paid to you in cash. The Fund will send dividends and capital gain distributions elected to be received as cash to the address of record or bank of record on the applicable account. Your distribution option will automatically be converted to having all dividends and other distributions reinvested in additional shares if any of the following occur:
● |
Postal or other delivery service is unable to deliver checks to the address of record; |
● |
Your dividend and capital gain distribution checks are not cashed within 180 days; or |
● |
Your bank account of record is no longer valid. |
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For non-retirement accounts, dividend and capital gain distribution checks issued by the Fund that are not cashed within 180 days will be reinvested in the Fund at the current day’s NAV. When reinvested, those amounts are subject to risk of loss like any other investment in the Fund.
Selling shares (including redemptions) and receiving distributions (whether reinvested or taken in cash) usually are taxable events to the Fund’s shareholders, as discussed below.
Summary of Certain Federal Income Tax Consequences
The following information is meant as a general summary of the U.S. federal income tax provisions regarding the taxation of the Fund’s shareholders. Additional tax information appears in the SAI. Shareholders should rely on their own tax adviser for advice about the federal, state, local and foreign tax consequences to them of investing in the Fund.
The Fund expects to distribute all or substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gain to its shareholders at least annually. Shareholders may elect to take dividends from net investment income or capital gain distributions, if any, in cash or reinvest them in additional Fund shares. The Fund intends to qualify annually to be treated as a regulated investment company (a “RIC”) under Subchapter M of the Code. As such the Fund will not be taxed on amounts it distributes, and shareholders will generally be taxed on distributions, regardless of whether distributions are paid by the Fund in cash or are reinvested in additional Fund shares. Distributions to non-corporate investors attributable to ordinary income and short-term capital gains are generally taxed as ordinary income, although certain income dividends may be taxed to non-corporate shareholders as qualified dividend income at long-term capital gains rates provided certain holding period requirements are satisfied. Distributions of long-term capital gain are generally taxed as long-term capital gain, regardless of how long a shareholder has held Fund shares. Distributions may be subject to state and local taxes, as well as federal taxes.
Unless you are investing through a tax-deferred retirement account (such as a 401(k) or an IRA), you should consider avoiding a purchase of Fund shares shortly before the Fund makes a distribution, because making such a purchase can increase your taxes and the cost of the shares. This is known as “buying a dividend.” For example: On December 15, you invest $5,000, buying 250 shares for $20 each. If the Fund pays a distribution of $1 per share on December 16, its share price will drop to $19 (not counting market change). You still have only $5,000 (250 shares x $19 = $4,750 in share value, plus 250 shares x $1 = $250 in distributions), but you owe tax on the $250 distribution you received — even if you reinvest it in more shares and have to pay the tax due on the dividend without receiving any cash to pay the taxes. To avoid “buying a dividend,” check the Fund’s distribution schedule before you invest.
The Fund may invest in foreign securities against which foreign tax may be withheld. If more than 50% of the Fund’s assets are invested in foreign ETFs, foreign index mutual funds, or other foreign issues at the end of the year, the Fund’s shareholders might be able to claim a foreign tax credit or take a deduction with respect to foreign taxes withheld.
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The use of derivatives by the Fund may cause the Fund to realize higher amounts of ordinary income or short-term capital gain, distributions from which are taxable to individual shareholders at ordinary income tax rates rather than at the more favorable tax rates for long-term capital gain.
Taxable distributions paid by the Fund to corporate shareholders will be taxed at the corporate income tax rate. Corporate shareholders may be entitled to a dividends-received deduction (“DRD”) for a portion of the dividends paid and designated by the Fund as qualifying for the DRD provided certain holding period requirements are met.
In general, a shareholder who sells or redeems Fund shares will realize a capital gain or loss, which will be long-term or short-term depending upon the shareholder’s holding period for the Fund shares, provided that any loss recognized on the sale of Fund shares held for six months or less will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of capital gain dividends received with respect to such shares. An exchange of shares may be treated as a sale and any gain may be subject to tax.
Ordinary income and capital gains distributions paid by the Fund, as well as gains or losses from any sale or exchange of Fund shares, may be subject to state and local income taxes.
The Fund may be required to withhold U.S federal income tax (presently at the rate of twenty-four percent (24%)) on all taxable distributions payable to shareholders who fail to provide the Fund with their correct taxpayer identification number or to make required certifications, or who have been notified by the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) that they are subject to backup withholding. Backup withholding is not an additional tax; rather, it is a way in which the IRS ensures it will collect taxes otherwise due. Any amounts withheld may be credited against a shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability.
Shareholders should consult with their own tax adviser to ensure that distributions and sales of Fund shares are treated appropriately on their income tax returns.
Federal law requires that mutual fund companies report their shareholders’ cost basis, gain/loss, and holding period to the IRS on the Fund’s shareholders’ Forms 1099-B when “covered” securities are sold. Covered securities are any regulated investment company and/or dividend reinvestment plan shares acquired on or after January 1, 2012.
The Fund has chosen average cost as the standing (default) tax lot identification method for all shareholders. A tax lot identification method is the way the Fund will determine which specific shares are deemed to be sold when there are multiple purchases on different dates at differing NAVs, and the entire position is not sold at one time. The Fund’s standing tax lot identification method is the method covered shares will be reported on your Forms 1099-B if you do not select a specific tax lot identification method. You may choose a method different than the Fund’s standing method and will be able to do so at the time of your purchase or upon the sale of covered shares. Please refer to the appropriate IRS regulations or consult your tax adviser with regard to your personal circumstances.
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For those securities defined as “covered” under current IRS cost basis tax reporting regulations, the Fund is responsible for maintaining accurate cost basis and tax lot information for tax reporting purposes. The Fund is not responsible for the reliability or accuracy of the information for those securities that are not “covered.” The Fund and its service providers do not provide tax advice. You should consult independent sources, which may include a tax professional, with respect to any decisions you may make with respect to choosing a tax lot identification method.
This section is only a summary of some of the important U.S. federal income tax considerations of taxable U.S. shareholders that may affect your investment in the Fund. This summary is provided for general information purposes only and should not be considered as tax advice and may not be relied on by a prospective investor. This general summary does not apply to non-U.S. shareholders or tax-exempt shareholders, and does not address state, local or foreign taxes. More information regarding these considerations is included in the Fund’s SAI. All prospective investors and shareholders are urged and advised to consult their own tax adviser regarding the effects of an investment in the Fund on their particular tax situation.
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FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The following table is intended to help you better understand the financial performance of the Fund for the periods shown. Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund share. Total return represents the rate you would have earned (or lost) on an investment in the Fund, assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. The information has been audited by Cohen & Company, Ltd., the Fund’s Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, whose report, along with the Fund’s financial statements, is included in the Fund’s annual report to shareholders. The annual report is available from the Fund upon request without charge.
LS Opportunity Fund
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For the
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For the
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For the
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For the
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For the
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Selected Per Share Data: |
||||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, beginning of year |
$ | 14.07 | $ | 13.96 | $ | 13.44 | $ | 12.22 | $ | 12.55 | ||||||||||
Investment operations: |
||||||||||||||||||||
Net investment loss |
(0.07 | ) | (0.01 | ) | (0.08 | ) | (0.09 | ) | (0.21 | ) | ||||||||||
Net realized and unrealized gain on investments |
0.17 | (a) | 0.47 | 1.14 | 1.31 | 0.66 | ||||||||||||||
Total from investment operations |
0.10 | 0.46 | 1.06 | 1.22 | 0.45 | |||||||||||||||
Less distributions to shareholders from: |
||||||||||||||||||||
Net realized gains |
(0.18 | ) | (0.35 | ) | (0.54 | ) | — | (0.78 | ) | |||||||||||
Paid in capital from redemption fees(b) |
— | — | — | — | (c) | — | (c) | |||||||||||||
Net asset value, end of year |
$ | 13.99 | $ | 14.07 | $ | 13.96 | $ | 13.44 | $ | 12.22 | ||||||||||
Total Return(d)(e) |
0.62 | % | 3.44 | % | 7.95 | % | 9.98 | % | 3.80 | % | ||||||||||
Ratios and Supplemental Data: |
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Net assets, end of year (000 omitted) |
$ | 82,695 | $ | 68,753 | $ | 49,958 | $ | 37,616 | $ | 25,148 | ||||||||||
Ratio of net expenses to average net assets(f) |
2.84 | % | 2.89 | % | 2.97 | % | 2.88 | % | 2.93 | % | ||||||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets before waiver and reimbursement(f) |
2.97 | % | 3.11 | % | 3.33 | % | 3.34 | % | 3.92 | % | ||||||||||
Ratio of net investment loss to average net assets |
(0.52 | )% | (0.15 | )% | (0.82 | )% | (0.81 | )% | (1.11 | )% | ||||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate |
69.47 | % | 40.31 | % | 55.31 | % | 75.09 | % | 89.54 | % |
(a) |
The amount shown for a share outstanding throughout the year does not accord with the change in aggregate gains and losses in the portfolio of securities during the year because of the timing of sales and purchases of fund shares in relation to fluctuating market values during the year. |
(b) |
Prior to September 28, 2016, the Fund charged a 2.00% redemption fee for shares redeemed within 60 days of purchase. |
(c) |
Rounds to less than $0.005 per share. |
(d) |
Total return represents the rate that the investor would have earned or lost on an investment in the Fund, assuming reinvestment of distributions. |
(e) |
Excludes redemption fee. |
(f) |
Includes dividend and interest expense of 0.89%, 0.94%, 1.02%, 0.93% and 0.98% for the fiscal years ended May 31, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. |
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
You can find additional information about the Fund in the following documents:
Annual and Semi-Annual Reports: While this Prospectus describes the Fund’s potential investments, the Annual and Semi-Annual Reports detail the Fund’s actual investments as of their report dates. The Annual Report includes a discussion by Fund management of recent market conditions, economic trends, and investment strategies that significantly affected Fund performance during the reporting period.
Statement of Additional Information: The SAI supplements the Prospectus and contains detailed information about the Fund and its investment restrictions, risks, policies, and operations, including the Fund’s policies and procedures relating to the disclosure of portfolio holdings by the Fund’s affiliates. A current SAI for the Fund is on file with the SEC and is incorporated into this Prospectus by reference, which means it is considered part of this Prospectus.
How to Obtain Copies of Other Fund Documents
You can obtain free copies of the current SAI, and the Fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports, and request other information about the Fund or make shareholder inquiries, in any of the following ways:
You can get free copies of the current Annual and Semi-Annual Reports, as well as the SAI, by contacting Shareholder Services at (877) 336-6763. You may also request other information about the Fund and make shareholder inquiries. The Fund’s SAI or the Annual and Semi-Annual Reports are available on the Fund’s website, www.longshortadvisors.com. The requested documents will be sent within three business days of receipt of the request.
You may also obtain reports and other information about the Fund on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s Internet site at http://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.
Investment Company Act #811-22208
LS Opportunity Fund
A Series of the Valued Advisers Trust
Institutional Class Shares
LSOFX
Statement of Additional Information
September 28, 2020
This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus. It should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus (the “Prospectus”) of the LS Opportunity Fund (the “Fund”) dated September 28, 2020. This SAI incorporates by reference the Fund’s Annual Report to Shareholders for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2020 (“Annual Report”). A free copy of the Prospectus or Annual Report can be obtained by writing Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC, the Fund’s transfer agent, at P.O. Box 46707, Cincinnati, Ohio 45246-0707, or by calling Shareholder Services at (877) 336-6763.
1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST AND THE FUND | 3 |
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT FUND INVESTMENTS AND RISK CONSIDERATIONS | 4 |
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER | 13 |
INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS | 14 |
INVESTMENT ADVISOR | 15 |
TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS | 21 |
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES | 26 |
ANTI MONEY LAUNDERING COMPLIANCE PROGRAM | 27 |
PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS AND BROKERAGE | 27 |
CODE OF ETHICS | 29 |
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS | 29 |
PROXY VOTING POLICY | 31 |
DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE | 32 |
REDEMPTION IN-KIND | 32 |
STATUS AND TAXATION OF THE FUND | 33 |
CUSTODIAN | 48 |
FUND SERVICES | 48 |
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM | 48 |
LEGAL COUNSEL | 49 |
DISTRIBUTOR | 49 |
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS | 49 |
EXHIBIT A | 50 |
EXHIBIT B | 52 |
EXHIBIT C | 58 |
2
DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST AND THE FUND
The LS Opportunity Fund (“the Fund”) is organized as an open-end diversified series of Valued Advisers Trust (the “Trust”). The Fund’s policies with respect to diversification are fundamental and may not be changed without shareholder approval or as otherwise allowed by applicable rules, guidelines, orders and interpretations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and its staff. The Trust is a management investment company established under the laws of Delaware by an Agreement and Declaration of Trust dated June 13, 2008 (the “Trust Agreement”). The Trust Agreement permits the Trustees to issue an unlimited number of shares of beneficial interest of separate series without par value. The Fund is one of a series of funds authorized by the Trustees. The Fund’s investment advisor is Long Short Advisors, LLC (the “Advisor”). The Fund’s sub-advisor is Prospector Partners, LLC (the “Sub-Advisor”).
The Fund does not issue share certificates. All shares are held in non-certificate form registered on the books of the Fund and its transfer agent for the account of the shareholders. Each share of a series represents an equal proportionate interest in the assets and liabilities belonging to that series with each other share of that series and is entitled to such dividends and distributions out of income belonging to the series as are declared by the Trustees. The shares do not have cumulative voting rights or any preemptive or conversion rights, and the Trustees have the authority from time to time to divide or to combine the shares of any series into a greater or lesser number of shares of that series so long as the proportionate beneficial interest in the assets belonging to that series and the rights of shares of any other series are in no way affected. In case of any liquidation of a series, the holders of shares of the series being liquidated will be entitled to receive as a class a distribution out of the assets, net of the liabilities, belonging to that series. Expenses attributable to any series are borne by that series. Any general expenses of the Trust not readily identifiable as belonging to a particular series are allocated by or under the direction of the Trustees in such manner as the Trustees determine to be fair and equitable. No shareholder is liable to further calls or to assessment by the Trust without his or her express consent.
Any Trustee of the Trust may be removed by vote of the shareholders holding not less than two-thirds of the outstanding shares of the Trust. The Trust does not hold an annual meeting of shareholders. When matters are submitted to shareholders for a vote, each shareholder is entitled to one vote for each whole share he or she owns and fractional votes for fractional shares he or she owns. All shares of the Fund have equal voting rights and liquidation rights. The Trust Agreement can be amended by the Trustees, except that certain amendments that adversely affect the rights of shareholders must be approved by the shareholders affected. All shares of the Fund are subject to involuntary redemption if the Trustees determine to liquidate the Fund. An involuntary redemption will create a capital gain or a capital loss, which may have tax consequences about which you should consult your tax advisor.
For information concerning the purchase and redemption of shares of the Fund, see “How to Buy Shares” and “How to Redeem Shares” in the Fund’s Prospectus. For a description of the methods used to determine the share price and value of the Fund’s assets, see “Determination of Net Asset Value” in the Prospectus and this SAI. The Fund has authorized one or more brokers to receive on its behalf purchase and redemption orders. Such brokers are authorized to designate other intermediaries to receive purchase and redemption orders on the Fund’s behalf. The Fund will be deemed to have received a purchase or redemption order when an authorized broker or, if applicable, a broker’s authorized designee, receives the order.
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Customer orders will be priced at the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”) next computed after they are received by an authorized broker or the broker’s authorized designee and accepted by the Fund. The performance of the Fund may be compared in publications to the performance of various indices and investments for which reliable performance data is available. The performance of the Fund may be compared in publications to averages, performance rankings, or other information prepared by recognized mutual fund statistical services. The annual report contains additional performance information and will be made available to investors upon request and without charge.
This section contains additional information about the investments the Fund may make and some of the techniques it may use.
A. Equity Securities. Equity securities include common stock and common stock equivalents (such as rights and warrants, and convertible securities). Warrants are options to purchase equity securities at a specified price valid for a specific time period. Rights are similar to warrants, but normally have a short duration and are distributed by the issuer to its shareholders. Warrants are instruments that entitle the holder to buy underlying equity securities at a specific price for a specific period of time. A warrant tends to be more volatile than its underlying securities and ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. In addition, changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying securities.
B. Real Estate Investment Trusts. The Fund may invest in real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). REITs manage portfolios of real estate investments that either own properties or make construction or mortgage loans to real estate developers and companies with substantial real estate holdings. These investments may be either equity or debt instruments. Equity REITs are companies that directly own real estate and realize income primarily from renting properties and selling them for capital gains. Mortgage REITs specialize in lending money to building developers or to homeowners and realize income by earning interest income on those loans. Hybrid REITs have a mix of both types of investments. There are certain risks regarding investing in REITs due to the cyclical nature of real estate and its sensitivity to changes in interest rates, economic conditions, property tax rates, changes in real estate values, changes in rental income, creditworthiness of the issuer, overbuilding, increased competition, and other factors. In the short-term, stock prices can fluctuate dramatically in response to these factors. The value of a REIT can depend on the structure of and cash flow generated by the REIT, and REITs may not have diversified holdings. Investments in securities of REITs entail additional risks because REITs depend on specialized management skills, may invest in a limited number of properties and may concentrate in a particular region or property type. Because REITs are pooled investment vehicles that have expenses of their own, the Fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of those expenses. REITs must also satisfy specific provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Internal Revenue Code”) before they are qualified to pass income through to shareholders without paying taxes.
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C. Foreign Securities. The Fund may invest directly in foreign securities. Investing in securities of foreign companies and countries involves certain considerations and risks that are not typically associated with investing in U.S. government securities and securities of domestic companies. There may be less publicly available information about a foreign issuer than a domestic one, and foreign companies are not generally subject to uniform accounting, auditing and financial standards and requirements comparable to those applicable to U.S. companies. There may also be less government supervision and regulation of foreign securities exchanges, brokers and listed companies than exists in the United States. Interest and dividends paid by foreign issuers may be subject to withholding and other foreign taxes, which may decrease the net return on such investments as compared to dividends and interest paid to the Fund by domestic companies or the U.S. government. There may be the possibility of expropriations, seizure or nationalization of foreign deposits, confiscatory taxation, political, economic or social instability or diplomatic developments that could affect assets of the Fund held in foreign countries. The establishment of exchange controls or other foreign governmental laws or restrictions could adversely affect the payment of obligations. In addition, investing in foreign securities will generally result in higher commissions than investing in similar domestic securities.
Decreases in the value of currencies of the foreign countries in which the Fund will invest relative to the U.S. dollar will result in a corresponding decrease in the U.S. dollar value of the Fund’s assets denominated in those currencies (and possibly a corresponding increase in the amount of securities required to be liquidated to meet distribution requirements). Conversely, increases in the value of currencies of the foreign countries in which the Fund invests relative to the U.S. dollar will result in a corresponding increase in the U.S. dollar value of the Fund’s assets (and possibly a corresponding decrease in the amount of securities to be liquidated).
D. Investment Company Securities. The Fund may invest in the securities of other investment companies, such as other mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) or money market funds, subject to the restrictions and limitations of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) and the Internal Revenue Code. When the Fund invests in other investment companies, it will indirectly bear its proportionate share of any fees and expenses payable directly by the investment company. In connection with its investments in other investment companies, the Fund will incur higher expenses, many of which may be duplicative. Furthermore, because the Fund may also invest in shares of ETFs and underlying funds its performance is directly related to the ability of the ETFs and underlying funds to meet their respective investment objectives, as well as the allocation of the Fund’s assets among the ETFs and underlying funds by the Sub-Advisor. Accordingly, the 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 the 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 risks that: (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 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 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.
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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. Although the Fund believes that in the event of the termination of an underlying fund or ETF, it will be able to invest instead in shares of an alternate underlying fund or ETF tracking the same market index or another index covering the same general market, there can be no assurance that shares of an alternate underlying fund or ETF would be available for investment at that time.
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) 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) 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 Fund) in excess of these limits. The Fund 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 Fund may also invest in ETFs that have not received such exemptive orders as long as the Fund (and all of its affiliated persons, including the Advisor and Sub-Advisor) does 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 the 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. As of the date of this Registration Statement the SEC has proposed Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act. Subject to certain conditions, proposed Rule 12d1-4 would provide an exemption to permit acquiring funds to invest in ETFs in excess of the limits of section 12(d)(1), including those described above.
E. Commodities. The Fund may invest in underlying funds that hold a portfolio of commodities. Commodities are physical substances, such as metals, that investors buy or sell on the market, usually through futures contracts. The price of a commodity is subject to supply and demand. Commodity risk refers to the uncertainties of future market values and the size of future income, caused by fluctuation in the price of a commodity. An investment in commodities contends with the following types of risks: price risk, adverse movements in world prices, exchange rates, and the basis between local and world prices; quantity risk, cost risk, input price risk; and political risk, how political conditions can affect supply, demand and the price of commodities. Please see “Status and Taxation of the Fund” below for additional information.
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F. Fixed Income Securities. The Fund 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 Fund 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 Sub-Advisor may have to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities to the detriment of the Fund.
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.
When investing in fixed income securities, the Fund 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 the 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 the 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.
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G. Derivative Instruments. The Fund may invest in derivative instruments, which are financial instruments whose performance and value are derived, at least in part, from another source, such as the performance of an underlying asset or security. Derivatives may be purchased for hedging purposes, to enhance returns, as a substitute for purchasing or selling securities, to maintain liquidity or in anticipation of changes in the composition of its portfolio holdings. The Fund’s transactions in derivative instruments may include, among others, the purchase and writing of options on securities.
Writing Covered Call Options - The Fund may write covered call options on equity securities or futures contracts that the Fund is eligible to purchase to earn premium income, to assure a definite price for a security it has considered selling, or to close out options previously purchased. The Fund may write covered call options if, immediately thereafter, not more than 30% of its net assets would be committed to such transactions. A call option gives the holder (buyer) the right to purchase a security or futures contract at a specified price (the exercise price) at any time until a certain date (the expiration date). A call option is “covered” if the Fund owns the underlying security subject to the call option at all times during the option period. When the Fund writes a covered call option, it maintains in a segregated account with its custodian or as otherwise required by the rules of the exchange for the underlying security, cash or liquid portfolio securities in an amount not less than the exercise price at all times while the option is outstanding.
The writing of covered call options is considered to be a conservative investment technique. The Fund will receive a premium from writing a call option, which increases the Fund’s return in the event the option expires unexercised or is closed out at a profit. The amount of the premium will reflect, among other things, the relationship of the market price of the underlying security to the exercise price of the option and the remaining term of the option. However, there is no assurance that a closing transaction can be effected at a favorable price. During the option period, the covered call writer has, in return for the premium received, given up the opportunity for capital appreciation above the exercise price should the market price of the underlying security increase, but has retained the risk of loss should the price of the underlying security decline.
Writing Covered Put Options - The Fund may write covered put options on equity securities and futures contracts that the Fund is eligible to purchase to earn premium income or to assure a definite price for a security if it is considering acquiring the security at a lower price than the current market price or to close out options previously purchased. The Fund may not write a put option if, immediately thereafter, more than 25% of its net assets would be committed to such transactions. A put option gives the holder of the option the right to sell, and the writer has the obligation to buy, the underlying security at the exercise price at any time during the option period. The operation of put options in other respects is substantially identical to that of call options. When the Fund writes a covered put option, it maintains in a segregated account with its custodian cash or liquid portfolio securities in an amount not less than the exercise price at all times while the put option is outstanding.
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The Fund will receive a premium from writing a put option, which increases the Fund’s return in the event the option expires unexercised or is closed out at a profit. The amount of the premium will reflect, among other things, the relationship of the market price of the underlying security to the exercise price of the option and the remaining term of the option. The risks involved in writing put options include the risk that a closing transaction cannot be effected at a favorable price and the possibility that the price of the underlying security may fall below the exercise price, in which case the Fund may be required to purchase the underlying security at a higher price than the market price of the security at the time the option is exercised, resulting in a potential capital loss unless the security subsequently appreciates in value.
The Fund may also write straddles (combinations of puts and calls on the same underlying security).
Purchasing Put Options - The Fund may purchase put options. As the holder of a put option, the Fund has the right to sell the underlying security at the exercise price at any time during the option period. The Fund may enter into closing sale transactions with respect to such options, exercise them or permit them to expire.
The Fund may purchase a put option on an underlying security (a “protective put”) owned as a defensive technique to protect against an anticipated decline in the value of the security. Such hedge protection is provided only during the life of the put option when the Fund, as the holder of the put option, is able to sell the underlying security at the put exercise price regardless of any decline in the underlying security’s market price. For example, a put option may be purchased to protect unrealized appreciation of a security where it is desirable to continue to hold the security because of tax considerations. The premium paid for the put option and any transaction costs would reduce any capital gain otherwise available for distribution when the security is eventually sold.
The Fund may also purchase put options at a time when it does not own the underlying security. By purchasing put options on a security it does not own, the Fund seeks to benefit from a decline in the market price of the underlying security. If the put option is not sold when it has remaining value, and if the market price of the underlying security remains equal to or greater than the exercise price during the life of the put option, the Fund will lose its entire investment in the put option. For the purchase of a put option to be profitable, the market price of the underlying security must decline sufficiently below the exercise price to cover the premium and transaction costs, unless the put option is sold in a closing sale transaction.
A put option will be recorded as an asset in the Fund’s statement of assets and liabilities, with its initial value set as the premium paid by the Fund when purchasing it. This asset will be adjusted daily to the option’s current market value, which will be the latest sale price at the time at which the Fund’s NAV is computed (close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange), or, in the absence of such sale, the latest bid price. The asset will be extinguished upon expiration of the option, the selling (writing) of an identical option in a closing transaction, or the delivery of the underlying security upon the exercise of the option. The purchaser of a put option risks a total loss of the premium paid for the option if the price of the underlying security does not increase or decrease sufficiently to justify exercise.
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Purchasing Call Options - The Fund may purchase call options. As the holder of a call option, the Fund has the right to purchase the underlying security at the exercise price at any time during the option period. The Fund may enter into closing sale transactions with respect to such options, exercise them or permit them to expire. The Fund may also purchase call options on relevant stock indices. Call options may also be purchased by the Fund for the purpose of acquiring the underlying securities for its portfolio. Utilized in this fashion, the purchase of call options enables the Fund to acquire the securities at the exercise price of the call option plus the premium paid. At times the net cost of acquiring securities in this manner may be less than the cost of acquiring the securities directly. This technique may also be useful to the Fund in purchasing a large block of securities that would be more difficult to acquire by direct market purchases. So long as it holds such a call option rather than the underlying security itself, the Fund is partially protected from any unexpected decline in the market price of the underlying security and in such event could allow the call option to expire, incurring a loss only to the extent of the premium paid for the option.
The Fund may also purchase call options on underlying securities it owns to protect unrealized gains on call options previously written by it. A call option would be purchased for this purpose where tax considerations make it inadvisable to realize such gains through a closing purchase transaction. Call options may also be purchased at times to avoid realizing losses that would result in a reduction of the Fund’s current return. For example, where the Fund has written a call option on an underlying security having a current market value below the price at which such security was purchased by the Fund, an increase in the market price could result in the exercise of the call option written by the Fund and the realization of a loss on the underlying security with the same exercise price and expiration date as the option previously written.
A call option will be recorded as an asset in the Fund’s statement of assets and liabilities, with its initial value set as the premium paid by the Fund when purchasing it. This asset will be adjusted daily to the option’s current market value, which will be the latest sale price at the time at which the Fund’s NAV is computed (close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange), or, in the absence of such sale, the latest bid price. The asset will be extinguished upon expiration of the option, the selling (writing) of an identical option in a closing transaction, or the delivery of the underlying security upon the exercise of the option.
Options Transactions Generally - Option transactions in which the Fund may engage involve the specific risks described above as well as the following risks: the writer of an option may be required to exercise at any time during the option period; disruptions in the markets for underlying instruments could result in losses for options investors; imperfect or no correlation between the option and the securities being hedged; the insolvency of a broker could present risks for the broker’s customers; and market imposed restrictions may prohibit the exercise of certain options. In addition, the option activities of the Fund may affect its portfolio turnover rate and the amount of brokerage commissions paid by the Fund. The success of the Fund in using the option strategies described above depends on, among other things, the Sub-Advisor’s ability to predict the direction and volatility of price movements in the options, futures contracts and securities markets and its ability to select the proper time, type and duration of the options.
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The Fund may purchase either exchange-traded or over-the-counter options on securities. With certain exceptions, over-the-counter options, and any assets used to cover them, are considered illiquid securities. The Fund’s ability to terminate options positions established in the over-the-counter market may be more limited than in the case of exchange-traded options and may also involve the risk that securities dealers participating in such transactions would fail to meet their obligations to the Fund.
Futures Contracts - When the Fund purchases futures contracts, an amount of cash and cash equivalents equal to the underlying commodity value of the futures contracts (less any related margin deposits) will be deposited in a segregated account with the Fund’s custodian (or the broker, if legally permitted) to collateralize the position and thereby insure that the use of such futures contract is unleveraged. When the Fund sells futures contracts or related option contracts, it will either own or have the right to receive the underlying future or security, or will make deposits to collateralize the position as discussed above. When the Fund uses futures and options on futures as hedging devices, there is a risk that the prices of the securities subject to the futures contracts may not correlate perfectly with the prices of the securities in the Fund’s portfolio. This may cause the futures contract and any related options to react differently than the portfolio securities to market changes. In addition, the Fund could be incorrect in its expectations about the direction or extent of market factors such as stock price movements. In these events, the Fund may lose money on the futures contract or option. It is not certain that a secondary market for positions in futures contracts or for options will exist at all times. Although the Fund will consider liquidity before entering into these transactions, there is no assurance that a liquid secondary market on an exchange or otherwise will exist for any particular futures contract or option at any particular time. The Fund’s ability to establish and close out futures and options positions depends on this secondary market. This Fund is being operated by an investment advisor that has claimed an exemption from registration with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a commodity pool operator under the Commodity Exchange Act, and therefore the investment advisor is not subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool operator under that Act. This claim of exemption from registration as a commodity pool operator is pursuant to Rule 4.5 promulgated under the Commodity Exchange Act. Specifically, in accordance with the requirements of Rule 4.5(b)(1), the Fund will limit its use of commodity futures contracts and commodity options contracts to no more than (i) five percent (5%) of the Fund’s liquidation value being committed as aggregate initial premium or margin for such contracts or (ii) one hundred percent (100%) of the Fund’s liquidation value in aggregate net notional value of commodity futures, commodity options and swaps positions.
H. Short Sales. The Fund may make short sales as part of its overall portfolio management strategies or to offset a potential decline in value of a security. The Fund may engage in short sales with respect to various types of securities, including ETFs. A short sale involves the sale of a security that is borrowed from a broker or other institution to complete the sale. The Fund may engage in short sales with respect to securities it owns, as well as securities that it does not own. Short sales expose the Fund to the risk that it 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 Fund. The Fund’s investment performance may also suffer if the Fund is required to close out a short position earlier than it had intended. The Fund must segregate assets determined to be liquid in accordance with procedures established by the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”), or otherwise cover its position in a permissible manner. The 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 the Fund’s needs for immediate cash or other liquidity. In addition, the Fund may be subject to expenses related to short sales that are not typically associated with investing in securities directly, such as costs of borrowing, such as interest and dividends, and margin account maintenance costs associated with the 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 the Fund to lose money on a short sale even in instances where the price of the underlying security sold short does not change over the duration of the short sale. Borrowing and dividend expenses on securities sold short are not covered under the Advisor’s expense limitation agreement with the Fund and, therefore, these expenses will be borne by the shareholders of the Fund.
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I. Master Limited Partnership. The Fund may invest in interests in master limited partnerships (“MLPs”). MLP interests trade like shares of stock, and MLPs generally distribute most of their distributable cash flow to investors. Many MLPs operate pipelines transporting crude oil, natural gas and other petroleum products along with associated facilities. Their income generally depends on the volume of the products transported, not on the commodity’s price. An MLP is a public limited partnership. Interests in MLPs are traded on an exchange or on the Nasdaq National Market System (the “Nasdaq”). The ability to trade the interests provides liquidity that is not present with conventional private limited partnerships, but those interests are less liquid than conventional publicly traded securities. MLPs are generally considered interest rate-sensitive investments. During periods of interest rate volatility, these investments may not provide attractive returns. Depending on the state of interest rates in general, the use of MLPs could enhance or harm the overall performance of the Fund.
J. Preferred Stock. The Fund may invest in preferred stock. Preferred stock is a form of equity ownership in a corporation. The dividend on a preferred stock is a fixed payment that the corporation is not legally bound to pay. Certain classes of preferred stock are convertible, meaning the preferred stock is convertible into shares of common stock of the issuer. By holding convertible preferred stock, the Fund can receive a steady stream of dividends and still have the option to convert the preferred stock to common stock.
K. Illiquid Securities. The Fund may invest in illiquid securities. An illiquid investment is any investment that may not reasonably be expected to be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the conversion to cash significantly changing the market value of the investment. Illiquid securities include, but are not limited to, However, the Fund will not acquire any illiquid investment ties if, immediately after the acquisition, the Fund would have invested more than 15% of the value of the Fund’s net assets in illiquid investments.
Illiquid securities will be priced at fair value as determined in good faith under procedures adopted by the Board. If, through the appreciation of illiquid securities or the depreciation of liquid securities, the Fund should be in a position where more than 15% of the value of its net assets are invested in illiquid securities, the Fund will take steps in accordance with the Trust’s Liquidity Risk Management Program to protect liquidity.
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L. Restricted Securities. The Fund may invest in restricted securities (securities the disposition of which is restricted under the federal securities laws), including securities that may only be resold pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “1933 Act”). Restricted securities may be sold only in privately negotiated transactions or in a public offering with respect to which a registration statement is in effect under the 1933 Act. Where registration is required, the Fund may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expenses and a considerable period may elapse between the time of the decision to sell and the time the Fund may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the Fund might obtain a less favorable price than that which prevailed when it decided to sell.
M. Temporary Investments. To maintain cash for redemptions and distributions and for temporary defensive purposes, the Fund may invest in money market mutual funds and in investment grade short-term fixed income securities including short-term U.S. government securities, negotiable certificates of deposit, commercial paper, banker’s acceptances and repurchase agreements. The Fund may also invest in futures, options, shorts and foreign currency hedging as a defensive measure. To the extent that the Fund engages in a temporary, defensive strategy, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective.
N. Market Risk. The Fund may lose money due to fluctuations within the stock market which may be unrelated to individual issuers and could not have been predicted. The price of the securities which the Fund holds may change unpredictably and due to local, regional, international, or global events. These events may include economic downturns such as recessions or depressions; natural occurrences such as natural disasters, epidemics or pandemics; acts of violence such as terrorism or war; and political and social unrest. Due to the prominence of globalization and global trade, the securities held by the Fund may be affected by international and global events. In the case of a general market downturn, multiple asset classes, or the entire market, may be negatively affected for an extended and unknown amount of time. Although all securities are subject to these risk, different securities will be affected in different manners depending on the event.
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER
Although the Fund generally will not invest for short-term trading purposes, portfolio securities may be sold without regard to the length of time they have been held when investment considerations warrant such action. The Fund’s portfolio turnover rate is a measure of the Fund’s portfolio activity, and is calculated by dividing the lesser of purchases or sales of securities by the average value of the portfolio securities held during the period. A high rate of portfolio turnover (100% or more) generally leads to higher transaction costs and may result in a greater number of taxable transactions. During the fiscal years ended May 31, 2019 and May 31, 2020, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 40.31% and 69.47% of the average value of its portfolio, respectively.
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INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS
Fundamental. The investment limitations described below have been adopted by the Trust with respect to the Fund and are fundamental (“Fundamental,” i.e., they may not be changed without the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund). As used in the Prospectus and this SAI, the term “majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund” means the lesser of: (1) 67% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund present at a meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund are present or represented at such meeting; or (2) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund.
1. Borrowing Money. The Fund will not borrow money, except from: (a) a bank, provided that immediately after such borrowing there is an asset coverage of 300% for all borrowings of the Fund; or (b) a bank or other persons for temporary purposes only, provided that such temporary borrowings are in an amount not exceeding 5% of the Fund’s total assets at the time when the borrowing is made. This limitation does not preclude the Fund from entering into reverse repurchase transactions, provided that the Fund has an asset coverage of 300% for all borrowings and repurchase commitments of the Fund pursuant to reverse repurchase transactions.
2. Senior Securities. The Fund will not issue senior securities. This limitation is not applicable to activities that may be deemed to involve the issuance or sale of a senior security by the Fund, provided that the Fund’s engagement in such activities is consistent with or permitted by the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder or interpretations of the SEC or its staff.
3. Underwriting. The Fund will not act as underwriter of securities issued by other persons. This limitation is not applicable to the extent that, in connection with the disposition of portfolio securities (including restricted securities), the Fund may be deemed an underwriter under certain federal securities laws.
4. Real Estate. The Fund will not purchase or sell real estate. This limitation is not applicable to investments in marketable securities that are secured by or represent interests in real estate. This limitation does not preclude the Fund from investing in mortgage related securities or investing in companies engaged in the real estate business or that have a significant portion of their assets in real estate (including REITS).
5. Commodities. The Fund will not purchase or sell commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other investments. This limitation does not preclude the Fund from purchasing or selling options or futures contracts, from investing in securities or other instruments backed by commodities or from investing in companies that are engaged in a commodities business or have a significant portion of their assets in commodities.
6. Loans. The Fund will not make loans to other persons, except: (a) by loaning portfolio securities; (b) by engaging in repurchase agreements; or (c) by purchasing non-publicly offered debt securities. For purposes of this limitation, the term “loans” shall not include the purchase of a portion of an issue of publicly distributed bonds, debentures or other securities.
7. Concentration. The Fund will not invest more than 25% of its total assets in any one particular industry. This limitation is not applicable to investments in obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities or repurchase agreements with respect thereto.
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8. Diversification. With respect to 75% of its total assets, the Fund will not purchase securities issued by any one issuer (other than cash, cash items, securities issued or guaranteed by the government of the United States or its agencies or instrumentalities or securities of other investment companies) if, as a result at the time of such purchase, more than 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets would be invested in the securities of that issuer, or if it would own more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer.
With respect to the percentages adopted by the Trust as maximum limitations on its investment policies and limitations, an excess above the fixed percentage will not be a violation of the policy or limitation unless the excess results immediately and directly from the acquisition of any security or the action taken. This paragraph does not apply to the borrowing policy set forth in paragraph 1 above; nor does it apply to the 15% of net assets limitation on illiquid investments.
Notwithstanding any of the foregoing limitations, any investment company, whether organized as a trust, association or corporation, or a personal holding company, may be merged or consolidated with or acquired by the Trust, provided that if such merger, consolidation or acquisition results in an investment in the securities of any issuer prohibited by said paragraphs, the Trust shall, within ninety days after the consummation of such merger, consolidation or acquisition, dispose of all of the securities of such issuer so acquired or such portion thereof as shall bring the total investment therein within the limitations imposed by said paragraphs above as of the date of consummation.
INVESTMENT ADVISOR
The Fund’s Advisor is Long Short Advisors, LLC, 130 North 18th Street, 26th Floor, Suite 2675, Philadelphia, PA 19103. The Advisor was formed in 2010 by Matthew E. West CIMA, Christopher J. Topolewski, Esq., and Dane Czaplicki CFA, and is controlled by Mr. West. The Fund is the first mutual fund managed by the Advisor. The Advisor provides management services to the Fund pursuant to a management agreement (the “Agreement”) between the Fund and the Advisor.
The Fund’s Sub-Advisor is Prospector Partners, LLC, 370 Church Street, Guilford, CT 06437. The Sub-Advisor was formed in 1997 and is controlled by John D. Gillespie. The Sub-Advisor provides investment advisory assistance and day-to-day management of the Fund’s investments pursuant to a subadvisory agreement (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”) between the Sub-Advisor and the Advisor. As of May 31, 2020, the Sub-Advisor had approximately $725 million of assets under management.
Under the terms of the Agreement, the Advisor manages the Fund’s investments subject to oversight by the Board. As compensation for its management services, the Fund is obligated to pay the Advisor a fee computed and accrued daily and paid monthly at an annual rate of 1.75% of the average daily net assets of the Fund. The Advisor pays a portion of its fees to the Sub-Advisor for the Sub-Advisor’s advisory assistance and management services.
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The Advisor has contractually agreed to waive or limit its fee and to reimburse certain Fund operating expenses, until September 30, 2021, so that the ratio of total annual operating expenses does not exceed 1.95%. This operating expense limitation does not apply to: (i) borrowing costs such as interest and dividends on securities sold short, (ii) taxes, (iii) brokerage commissions, (iv) other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, (v) other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund’s business, and (vi) expenses that the Fund has incurred but did not actually pay because of an expense offset arrangement, if applicable, incurred by the Fund in any fiscal year. The operating expense limitation also excludes any “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses” and 12b-1 fees. Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses represent the pro rata expense indirectly incurred by the Fund as a result of investing in other investment companies, including ETFs, closed-end funds and money market funds that have their own expenses. Each waiver or reimbursement of an expense by the Advisor is subject to repayment by the Fund within the three years following such waiver or reimbursement, provided that the Fund is able to make the repayment without exceeding the expense limitation in place at the time of the waiver or reimbursement and the expense limitation in place at the time of repayment. This agreement may only be terminated by mutual consent of the Advisor and the Board.
The following table describes the advisory fees paid to the Advisor by the Fund for the periods indicated.
Fiscal Year Ended | Advisory Fees Accrued |
(Fee Waiver/
Expense Reimbursement) or Advisor Recoupment
|
Net Advisory Fees Paid |
May 31, 2020 | $1,472,206 | ($116,628) | $1,355,578 |
May 31, 2019 | $1,063,908 | ($136,581) | $927,327 |
May 31, 2018 | $675,212 | ($137,869) | $537,343 |
The Advisor retains the right to use the name “Long Short Advisors” in connection with another investment company or business enterprise with which the Advisor is or may become associated. The Trust’s right to use the name “Long Short Advisors” automatically ceases 90 days after termination of the Agreement and may be withdrawn by the Advisor on 90 days’ written notice.
The Advisor may make payments to banks or other financial institutions that provide shareholder services and administer shareholder accounts. If a bank or other financial institution were prohibited from continuing to perform all or a part of such services, management of the Fund believes that there would be no material impact on the Fund or shareholders. Banks and other financial institutions may charge their customers fees for offering these services to the extent permitted by applicable regulatory authorities, and the overall return to those shareholders availing themselves of the bank services will be lower than to those shareholders who do not. The Fund may from time to time purchase securities issued by banks and other financial institutions that provide such services; however, in selecting investments for the Fund, no preference will be shown for such securities.
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The Sub-Advisor is paid by the Advisor for sub-advisory services computed and paid quarterly according to the below schedule based on an amount the Advisor receives from the Fund taking into consideration any expense limitation or fee waiver arrangements as described above and in the Fund’s Prospectus. Other than reduction in compensation as noted in the previous sentence, the Sub-Advisor is not responsible for making reimbursements to the Fund pursuant to any expense limitation and/or expense reimbursement agreement that the Advisor may be obligated to make.
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Schedule of Fee Split between the Advisor and Sub-Advisor
Tiered |
Estimated bp split Sub-Advisor |
Estimated bp split Advisor |
% split Sub-Advisor |
% split Advisor |
Tier 1 ($0 - ≤$200,000,000) | 0.88% | 0.88% | 50% | 50% |
Tier 2 (≥$200,000,000 - ≤$300,000,000) | 1.25% | 0.50% | 71% | 29% |
Tier 3 (≥$300,000,000 - ≤$400,000,000) | 1.00% | 0.75% | 57% | 43% |
Tier 4 (≥$400,000,000 - ≤$500,000,000) | 1.50% | 0.25% | 86% | 14% |
Tier 5 (≥$500,000,000 - ≤$600,000,000) | 1.10% | 0.65% | 63% | 37% |
Tier 6 (≥$600,000,000 - ≤$700,000,000) | 1.10% | 0.65% | 63% | 37% |
Tier 7 (≥$700,000,000 - ≤$800,000,000) | 1.60% | 0.15% | 91% | 9% |
Tier 8 (≥$800,000,000 - ≤$900,000,000) | 1.65% | 0.10% | 94% | 6% |
Tier 9 (≥$900,000,000- ≤$1,000,000,000) | 1.55% | 0.20% | 89% | 11% |
Tier 10 (≥$1,000,000,000) | 1.25% | 0.50% | 71% | 29% |
Agreement between Advisor and Sub-Advisor
As noted above, under the terms of the Sub-Advisory Agreement between the Advisor and the Sub-Advisor, the Sub-Advisor is responsible for the day-to-day investment management responsibilities for the Fund. In addition, the Advisor and the Sub-Advisor contemplate an on-going relationship between the parties pursuant to a separate agreement wherein, among other things: (i) the Advisor agrees to recommend to the Board that the Sub-Advisor continue to serve as sub-advisor for the Fund subject to Board approval and other conditions, insofar as recommendation is consistent with the Advisor’s fiduciary duties; (ii) the Sub-Advisor agrees not to provide advisory or sub-advisory services to other open-end investment management companies with similar investment objectives to that of the Fund; (iii) the Sub-Advisor makes certain investment contributions to the Fund; (iv) the Sub-Advisor makes certain concessions related to the expense limitation arrangements (as described in the Fund’s Prospectus) for the Fund; and (v) the Sub-Advisor agrees to share in certain expenses that are absorbed by the Advisor related to marketing and distribution.
About the Portfolio Managers
John D. Gillespie, Kevin R. O’Brien, Jason A. Kish, and Steven R. Labbe, collectively the “Portfolio Managers” are responsible for managing the Fund. As of May 31, 2020, the Portfolio Managers were responsible for managing the following types of accounts, in addition to the Fund:
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John D. Gillespie | ||||
Account Type |
Number of Accounts by Account Type |
Total Assets By Account Type |
Number of Accounts by Type Subject to a Performance Fee |
Total Assets By Account Type Subject to a Performance Fee |
Registered Investment Companies |
2 |
$157.7M
|
0 |
N/A
|
Pooled Investment Vehicles |
5 |
$402.3M |
4 |
$394.1M |
Other Accounts |
2
|
$83.1M
|
0
|
N/A |
Kevin R. O’Brien | ||||
Account Type |
Number of Accounts by Account Type |
Total Assets By Account Type |
Number of Accounts by Type Subject to a Performance Fee |
Total Assets By Account Type Subject to a Performance Fee |
Registered Investment Companies |
2 |
$157.7M |
0 |
N/A
|
Pooled Investment Vehicles |
5
|
$402.3M |
4 |
$394.1M
|
Other Accounts |
2
|
$83.1M |
0 |
N/A
|
Jason A. Kish | ||||
Account Type |
Number of Accounts by Account Type |
Total Assets By Account Type |
Number of Accounts by Type Subject to a Performance Fee |
Total Assets By Account Type Subject to a Performance Fee |
Registered Investment Companies |
2 |
$152.5M |
0 |
N/A |
Pooled Investment Vehicles |
5 |
$402.3M |
4 |
$394.1M
|
Other Accounts |
0 |
0 |
0 |
N/A
|
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Steven R. Labbe* | ||||
Account Type |
Number of Accounts by Account Type |
Total Assets By Account Type |
Number of Accounts by Type Subject to a Performance Fee |
Total Assets By Account Type Subject to a Performance Fee |
Registered Investment Companies |
2 |
$196M |
0 |
N/A |
Pooled Investment Vehicles |
4 |
$374M |
3 |
$365M
|
Other Accounts |
2 |
$81M |
0 |
N/A
|
* | Effective July 31, 2020, Steven R. Labbe joined the portfolio management team as a Co-Manager of the Fund. The information above reflects Mr. Labbe’s management of other accounts as of July 31, 2020. |
Compensation: As owners of the Sub-Advisor, Mr. Gillespie and Mr. O’Brien receive compensation in the form of distributions and profits from the Sub-Advisor. As portfolio managers, Mr. Kish and Mr. Labbe receive as compensation a combination of base salary and performance bonus.
Potential Conflicts of Interest: Potential conflicts of interest may arise because the Portfolio Managers use the same proprietary investment methodology for the Fund as they use for other clients. This means that the Portfolio Managers will make the investment strategies used to manage the Fund available to other clients. As a result, there may be circumstances under which the Fund and other clients of the Sub-Advisor may compete in purchasing available investments and, to the extent that the demand exceeds the supply, may result in driving the prices of such investments up, resulting in higher costs to the Fund. There also may be circumstances under which the Portfolio Managers recommend the purchase or sale of various investments to other clients and do not purchase or sell the same investments for the Fund, or purchase or sell an investment for the Fund and do not include such investments in recommendations provided to other clients. This is because the Sub-Advisor’s portfolio recommendations among clients differ based on each client’s investment policy guidelines and/or prevailing market conditions at the time such recommendation is made. The Portfolio Managers may also carry on investment activities for their own account(s) and/or the accounts of family members. As a result of these activities, the Portfolio Managers are engaged in substantial activities other than on behalf of the Fund, and may have differing economic interests in respect of such activities.
The Sub-Advisor has adopted a Code of Ethics that is designed to detect and prevent conflicts of interest when personnel own, buy or sell securities that may be owned, bought or sold for clients. Personal securities transactions may raise a potential conflict of interest when an employee owns or trades in a security that is owned or considered for purchase or sale by a client, or recommended for purchase or sale by a client. The Sub-Advisor’s personnel are not permitted to engage in transactions for their personal accounts in any security to be purchased or sold or considered for purchase or sale for a client until a specified number of days after the completion of the client transaction. Subject to reporting requirements, preclearance and other limitations in the Code of Ethics, the Sub-Advisor permits its employees to engage in personal securities transactions in other securities and to acquire shares of the Fund. The Sub-Advisor’s Code of Ethics requires disclosure of all personal accounts and reporting of all securities transactions.
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Ownership of Fund Shares: As of May 31, 2020, the Portfolio Managers owned shares of the Fund in the following ranges:
Portfolio Manager |
Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Fund |
John D. Gillespie | Over $1,000,000 |
Kevin R. O’Brien | $500,000 - $1,000,000 |
Jason A. Kish | None |
Steven R. Labbe* | None |
* | Effective July 31, 2020, Steven R. Labbe joined the portfolio management team as a Co-Manager of the Fund. The information above reflects Mr. Labbe’s ownership as of July 31, 2020. |
TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS
The Board supervises the business activities of the Trust and is responsible for protecting the interests of shareholders. The Chairperson of the Board is Andrea N. Mullins, who is not an “interested person” of the Trust, as that term is defined under the 1940 Act (“Independent Trustee”). The Board has considered the overall leadership structure of the Trust and has established committees designed to facilitate the governance of the Trust by the Trustees generally and the Board’s role with respect to risk oversight specifically. The Trust’s committees are responsible for certain aspects of risk oversight relating to financial statements, the valuation of the Trust’s assets, and compliance matters. The Board also has frequent interaction with the service providers and Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”) of the Trust with respect to risk oversight matters. The Trust’s CCO reports directly to the Board generally with respect to the CCO’s role in managing the compliance risks of the Trust. The CCO may also report directly to a particular committee of the Board depending on the subject matter. The Trust’s principal financial officer reports to the Audit Committee of the Board on all financial matters affecting the Trust, including risks associated with financial reporting. Through the committee structure, the Trustees also interact with other officers and service providers of the Trust to monitor risks related to the Trust’s operations. The Trust has determined that its leadership structure is appropriate based on the size of the Trust, the Board’s current responsibilities, each Trustee’s ability to participate in the oversight of the Trust and committee transparency.
The Trustees are experienced businesspersons who meet throughout the year to oversee the Trust’s activities, review contractual arrangements with companies that provide services to the Fund and review performance. Each Trustee serves as a trustee until termination of the Trust unless the Trustee dies, resigns, retires or is removed.
The following table provides information regarding each of the Independent Trustees. Based on the experiences of the Trustees as described below, the Trust concluded that each of the individuals described below should serve as a Trustee.
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Name, Address*, (Age), Position with Trust**, Term of Position with Trust | Principal Occupation During Past 5 Years and Other Directorships | Other Directorships |
Ira P. Cohen, 61 Independent Trustee Since June 2010
|
Current: Independent financial services consultant (since February 2005); Executive Vice President of Asset Management Services, Recognos Financial (since August 2015). | Trustee and Audit Committee Chairman, Griffin Institutional Access Credit Fund (since January 2017); Trustee and Audit Committee Chairman, Griffin Institutional Real Estate Access Fund (since May 2014); Trustee, Angel Oak Funds Trust (since October 2014) (4 portfolios); Trustee, Chairman, and Nominating and Governance Committee Chairman, Angel Oak Strategic Credit Fund (since December 2017), Trustee and Chairman, Angel Oak Financial Strategies Income Term Trust (since May 2019). |
Andrea N. Mullins, 53
Independent Trustee
Chairperson since March 2017 |
Current: Private investor; Independent Contractor, SWM Advisors (since April 2014). | Trustee, Angel Oak Funds Trust (since February 2019) (4 portfolios); Trustee, Angel Oak Strategic Credit Fund (since February 2019), Trustee, Angel Oak Financial Strategies Income Term Trust (since May 2019). |
* | The address for each trustee and officer is 225 Pictoria Drive, Suite 450, Cincinnati, Ohio 45246. |
** | As of the date of this SAI, the Trust consists of 12 series. |
The following table provides information regarding the Trustee who is considered an “interested person” of the Trust, as that term is defined under the 1940 Act. Based on the experience of the Trustee, the Trust concluded that the individual described below should serve as a Trustee.
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* | The address for each trustee and officer is 225 Pictoria Drive, Suite 450, Cincinnati, Ohio 45246. |
** | As of the date of this SAI, the Trust consists of 12 series. |
*** | Mr. Seger is considered an “interested person” of the Trust because of his relationship with the Trust’s administrator, transfer agent, and distributors. |
The Trust’s committees are responsible for certain aspects of risk oversight relating to financial statements, the valuation of the Trust’s assets, and compliance and governance matters. The Board currently has established three standing committees: the Audit Committee, the Pricing Committee and the Governance and Nominating Committee.
The Trust’s Audit Committee consists of the Independent Trustees. The Audit Committee is responsible for overseeing the Fund’s accounting and financial reporting policies and practices, its internal controls and, as appropriate, the internal controls of certain service providers; overseeing the quality and objectivity of the Fund’s financial statements and the independent audit of the financial statements; and acting as a liaison between the Fund’s independent auditors and the full Board. During the 2019 calendar year, the Audit Committee met five times.
The Pricing Committee of the Board is responsible for reviewing and approving the Fund’s fair valuation determinations, if any. The members of the Pricing Committee are all of the Trustees, except that any one member of the Pricing Committee constitutes a quorum for purposes of reviewing and approving a fair value. During the 2019 calendar year, the Pricing Committee met four times.
The Governance and Nominating Committee consists of the Independent Trustees and oversees general Trust governance-related matters. The Governance and Nominating Committee’s purposes, duties and powers are set forth in its written charter, which are described in Exhibit C. The charter also describes the process by which shareholders of the Trust may make nominations. During the 2019 calendar year, the Governance and Nominating Committee met three times.
Trustee Qualifications
Generally, no one factor was decisive in the original selection of an individual to join the Board. Among the factors the Board considered when concluding that an individual should serve on the Board were the following: (1) the individual’s business and professional experience and accomplishments; (2) the individual’s ability to work effectively with the other members of the Board; and (3) how the individual’s skills, experience and attributes would contribute to an appropriate mix of relevant skills and experience on the Board. In respect of each Trustee, the individual’s substantial professional accomplishments and prior experience, including, in some cases, in fields related to the operations of the Trust, were a significant factor in the determination that the individual should serve as a Trustee of the Trust. In addition to the information provided above, below is a summary of the specific experience, qualifications, attributes or skills of each Trustee and the reason why he was selected to serve as Trustee:
Andrea N. Mullins – Ms. Mullins has over 25 years of experience in the mutual fund industry, including experience in management, accounting and financial reporting.
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Ira P. Cohen – Mr. Cohen has over 39 years of experience in the financial services industry, including in an executive management role. He was selected to serve as Trustee of the Trust based primarily on his comprehensive understanding of the investment management industry’s operations and distribution related matters.
Mark J. Seger - Mr. Seger has over 33 years of experience in the financial services industry, including extensive experience in an executive management role with two different mutual fund servicing companies, including the Trust’s administrator. Mr. Seger was selected to serve as Trustee of the Trust based primarily on his extensive knowledge of mutual fund operations, including the regulatory framework under which the Trust must operate.
The following table provides information regarding the Officers of the Trust:
Name, Address*, (Age), Position with Trust,** Term of Position with Trust | Principal Occupation During Past 5 Years | Other Directorships |
Adam T. Kornegay, 35 Principal Executive Officer and President Since April 2018 |
Current: Vice President, Business Development Director, Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC (since June 2018).
Previous: Assistant Vice President, Business Development Director, Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC (March 2015 to June 2018). |
None. |
Kevin J. Patton, 50 Chief Compliance Officer Since March 2020 |
Current: Senior Compliance Officer, Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC (since January 2020).
Previous: Partner and Chief Compliance Officer, Renaissance Investment Management (August 2005 to January 2020). |
None. |
Carol J. Highsmith, 55 Vice President Since August 2008
Secretary Since March 2014
|
Current: Vice President, Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC (since December 2015).
Previous: Employed in various positions with Huntington Asset Services, Inc. (n/k/a Ultimus Asset Services, LLC) (November 1994 to December 2015), most recently Vice President of Legal Administration (2005 to December 2015). |
None. |
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Name, Address*, (Age), Position with Trust,** Term of Position with Trust | Principal Occupation During Past 5 Years | Other Directorships |
Matthew J. Miller, 44 Vice President Since December 2011
|
Current: Assistant Vice President, Relationship Management, Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC (since December 2015).
Previous: Employed in various positions with Huntington Asset Services, Inc. (n/k/a Ultimus Asset Services, LLC) (July 1998 to December 2015), most recently Vice President of Relationship Management (2005 to December 2015). |
None. |
Gregory T. Knoth, 50 Principal Financial Officer and Treasurer Since April 2019
|
Current: Vice President, Mutual Fund Controller, Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC (since December 2015).
Previous: Vice President and Manager of Fund Accounting, Huntington Asset Services, Inc. (n/k/a Ultimus Asset Services, LLC) (June 2013 to December 2015). |
None. |
Stephen L. Preston, 53 AML Officer since June 2017
|
Current: Chief Compliance Officer of Ultimus Fund Distributors, LLC (since June 2011).
Previous: Chief Compliance Officer, Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC (June 2011 to August 2019); Chief Compliance Officer, Unified Financial Securities, LLC (April 2018 to December 2019) |
None. |
* | The address for each trustee and officer is 225 Pictoria Drive, Suite 450, Cincinnati, Ohio 45246. |
** | As of the date of this SAI, the Trust consists of 12 series. |
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The table below shows for each Trustee, the amount of Fund equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee, and the aggregate value of all investments in equity securities of the Funds of the Trust, as of December 31, 2019 and stated as one of the following ranges: A = None; B = $1-$10,000; C = $10,001-$50,000; D = $50,001-$100,000; and E = over $100,000.
Name of Trustee | Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Fund | Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity Securities in all Registered Investment Companies Overseen by the Trustees in Family of Investment Companies |
Non-Interested Trustees | ||
Andrea N. Mullins | A | A |
Ira P. Cohen | A | A |
Interested Trustee | ||
Mark J. Seger | A | A |
Compensation. Set forth below are estimates of the annual compensation to be paid to the Trustees entitled to receive compensation by the Fund on an individual basis and by the Trust on an aggregate basis. Trustees’ fees and expenses are Trust expenses and the Fund incurs its pro rata share of expenses based on the number of existing series in the Trust and the total assets of each series relative to the overall assets of the Trust. As a result, the amount paid by the Fund will increase or decrease as series are added or removed from the Trust.
Independent Trustees |
Aggregate Compensation
from the Fund
|
Pension or Retirement Benefits Accrued As Part of Fund Expenses | Estimated Annual Benefits Upon Retirement | Total Compensation from Trust* |
Ira P. Cohen** | $3,092 | $0 | $0 | $37,100 |
Andrea N. Mullins*** | $3,183 | $0 | $0 | $38,200 |
* | As of the date of this SAI, the Trust consists of 12 series. Each series, including the Fund, pays a portion of the overall Independent Trustee compensation expenses, which is based on the total number of series in the Trust and the total assets of each series relative to the overall assets of the Trust. The amount for the Aggregate Compensation from the Fund may be higher or lower depending on the allocation over relative net assets of the series in the Trust. Effective January 1, 2020, each Independent Trustee receives base compensation of $36,000. Each independent Trustee also receives additional compensation for serving as the chairperson of one or more of the Trust’s standing committees and for participating in special meetings of the Board. |
** | For the fiscal year ended May 31, 2020, Mr. Ira P. Cohen received $2,980 from the Fund. |
*** | For the fiscal year ended May 31, 2020, Ms. Andrea N. Mullins received $3,071 from the Fund. |
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES
The beneficial ownership, either directly or indirectly, of more than 25% of the voting securities of a fund creates a presumption of control of a fund, under Section 2(a) (9) of the 1940 Act. As a controlling shareholder, each of these persons could control the outcome of any proposal submitted to the shareholders for approval, including changes to the Fund’s fundamental policies or the terms of the management agreement with the Advisor. As of September 4, 2020, the following persons were considered to be either a control person or principal shareholder of the Fund:
26
Name and Address |
% Ownership | Type of Ownership |
National Financial Services LLC
200 Liberty St 5th Floor
One World Financial Center
New York, NY 10281
|
54.40% | Record |
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
101 Montgomery St.
San Francisco, CA 94104
|
28.13% | Record |
TD Ameritrade Inc. PO Box 2226 Omaha, NE 68103
|
6.47% | Record |
It is not known whether Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“Schwab”), National Financial Services, LLC (“NFS”) or any of the underlying beneficial owners owned or controlled beneficially more than 25% of the voting securities of the Fund. As a result, Schwab and NFS may be deemed to control the Fund. As of September 4, 2020, the Trustees and officers of the Trust own beneficially none of the outstanding shares of the Fund.
ANTI MONEY LAUNDERING COMPLIANCE PROGRAM
Customer identification and verification is part of the Fund’s overall obligation to prevent money laundering under federal law. The Trust has, on behalf of the Fund, adopted an anti-money laundering compliance program designed to prevent the Fund from being used for money laundering or financing of terrorist activities (the “AML Compliance Program”). The Trust has delegated the responsibility to implement the AML Compliance Program to the Fund’s transfer agent, Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC, subject to oversight by the Trust’s CCO and, ultimately, by the Board.
When you open an account with the Fund, the Fund’s transfer agent will request that you provide your name, physical address, date of birth, and Social Security number or tax identification number. You may also be asked for other information that, in the transfer agent’s discretion, will allow the Fund to verify your identity. Entities are also required to provide additional documentation. This information will be verified to ensure the identity of all persons opening an account with the Fund. The Fund reserves the right to (i) refuse, cancel or rescind any purchase or exchange order, (ii) freeze any account and/or suspend account activities, or (iii) involuntarily redeem your account in cases of threatening conduct or suspected fraudulent or illegal activity. These actions will be taken when, in the sole discretion of the Fund’s transfer agent, they are deemed to be in the best interest of the Fund, or in cases where the Fund is requested or compelled to do so by governmental or law enforcement authority.
PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS AND BROKERAGE
Subject to policies established by the Board, the Sub-Advisor is responsible for the Fund’s portfolio decisions and the placing of the Fund’s portfolio transactions. The Sub-Advisor will place all orders either directly with the issuer or through a universe of brokers or dealers approved by the Advisor. In placing portfolio transactions, the Sub-Advisor seeks the best qualitative execution for the Fund, taking into account such factors as price (including the applicable brokerage commission or dealer spread), the execution capability, financial responsibility and responsiveness of the broker or dealer and the brokerage and research services provided by the broker or dealer. The Sub-Advisor generally seeks favorable prices and commission rates that are reasonable in relation to the benefits received.
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The Sub-Advisor is specifically authorized to select brokers or dealers who also provide brokerage and research services to the Fund and/or the other accounts over which the Sub-Advisor exercises investment discretion and to pay such brokers or dealers a commission in excess of the commission another broker or dealer would charge if the Sub-Advisor determines in good faith that the commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided. The determination may be viewed in terms of a particular transaction or the Sub-Advisor’s overall responsibilities with respect to the Fund and to other accounts over which it exercises investment discretion.
Research services include supplemental research, securities and economic analyses, statistical services and information with respect to the availability of securities or purchasers or sellers of securities and analyses of reports concerning performance of accounts. The research services and other information furnished by brokers through whom the Fund effects securities transactions may also be used by the Sub-Advisor in servicing all of its accounts. Similarly, research and information provided by brokers or dealers serving other clients may be useful to the Sub-Advisor in connection with its services to the Fund. Although research services and other information are useful to the Fund and the Sub-Advisor, it is not possible to place a dollar value on the research and other information received. It is the opinion of the Board and the Sub-Advisor that the review and study of the research and other information will not reduce the overall cost to the Sub-Advisor of performing its duties to the Fund under the Sub-Advisory Agreement. During the fiscal year ended May 31, 2020, the Fund did not direct any Fund brokerage transactions to brokers based on research services provided to the Advisor or Sub-Advisor.
Over the counter transactions will be placed either directly with principal market makers or with broker dealers, if the same or a better price, including commissions and executions, is available. Fixed income securities are normally purchased directly from the issuer, an underwriter or a market maker. Purchases include a concession paid by the issuer to the underwriter and the purchase price paid to a market maker may include the spread between the bid and asked prices. When the broker acts as agent, a commission will be charged on the transaction; when the broker acts as principal, the markup is included in the bond price.
When the Fund and another of the Sub-Advisor’s clients seek to purchase or sell the same security at or about the same time, the Sub-Advisor may execute the transaction on a combined (“blocked”) basis. Blocked transactions can produce better execution for the Fund because of the increased volume of the transaction. If the entire blocked order is not filled, the Fund may not be able to acquire as large a position in such security as it desires, or it may have to pay a higher price for the security. Similarly, the Fund may not be able to obtain as large an execution of an order to sell, or as high a price for any particular portfolio security, if the other client desires to sell the same portfolio security at the same time. In the event that the entire blocked order is not filled, the purchase or sale will normally be allocated on a pro rata basis.
28
The following table sets forth the brokerage commissions paid by the Fund on its portfolio brokerage transactions during the periods shown:
Fiscal Year End |
Brokerage Commissions |
May 31, 2020 | $116,986 |
May 31, 2019 | $60,837 |
May 31, 2018 | $42,897 |
CODE OF ETHICS
The Trust, the Fund’s distributor, the Sub-Advisor and the Advisor have each adopted a Code of Ethics (each a “Code” and collectively, the “Codes”) pursuant to Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act, and the Sub-Advisor’s and Advisor’s Code also conform to Rule 204A-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The personnel subject to the Codes are permitted to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Fund. You may obtain a copy of the Codes from the Fund, free of charge, by calling the Fund at (877) 336-6763. You may also obtain copies of the Trust’s Code from documents filed with the SEC and available on the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov.
DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
The Fund is required to include a schedule of portfolio holdings in its annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders, which is sent to shareholders within 60 days of the end of the second and fourth fiscal quarters and which is filed with the SEC on Form N-CSR. The Fund also is required to file a schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC on Form N-Q within 60 days of the end of the first and third fiscal quarters. The Fund must provide a copy of the complete schedule of portfolio holdings as filed with the SEC to any shareholder of the Fund, upon request, free of charge. This policy is applied uniformly to all shareholders of the Fund without regard to the type of requesting shareholder (i.e., regardless of whether the shareholder is an individual or institutional investor).
The Fund releases portfolio holdings to third party servicing agents on a daily basis in order for those parties to perform their duties on behalf of the Fund. These third party servicing agents include the Advisor, Sub-Advisor, distributor, transfer agent, fund accounting agent, administrator and custodian. The Fund also may disclose portfolio holdings, as needed, to auditors, legal counsel, proxy voting services (if applicable), printers, pricing services, parties to merger and reorganization agreements and their agents, and prospective or newly hired investment advisors or sub-advisors. The lag between the date of the information and the date on which the information is disclosed will vary based on the identity of the party to whom the information is disclosed. For instance, the information may be provided to auditors within days of the end of an annual period, while the information may be given to legal counsel or prospective advisors at any time. This information is disclosed to all such third parties under conditions of confidentiality. “Conditions of confidentiality” include (i) confidentiality clauses in written agreements, (ii) confidentiality implied by the nature of the relationship (e.g., attorney-client relationship), (iii) confidentiality required by fiduciary or regulatory principles (e.g., custodial relationships) or (iv) understandings or expectations between the parties that the information will be kept confidential.
29
Additionally, the Fund has ongoing arrangements to release portfolio holdings to Morningstar, Inc., Lipper, Inc., Bloomberg, Standard & Poor’s, Thomson Financial and Vickers-Stock (“Rating Agencies”) in order for those organizations to assign a rating or ranking to the Fund. In these instances portfolio holdings will be supplied within approximately 15 days after the end of the month. The Rating Agencies may make the Fund’s top portfolio holdings available on their websites and may make the Fund’s complete portfolio holdings available to their subscribers for a fee. Neither the Fund, the Advisor, the Sub-Advisor nor any of their affiliates receive any portion of this fee. Information released to Rating Agencies is released under conditions of confidentiality and it is subject to prohibitions on trading based on the information. The Fund also may post its complete portfolio holdings to its website, if applicable, within approximately 15 days after the end of the month. The information will remain posted on the website until replaced by the information for the succeeding month. If the Fund does not have a website or the website is for some reason inoperable, the information will be supplied no more frequently than quarterly and on a delayed basis.
From time to time, employees of the Advisor or the Sub-Advisor also may provide oral or written information (portfolio commentary) about the Fund, including, but not limited to, how the Fund’s investments are divided among various sectors, industries, countries, investment styles and capitalization sizes, and among stocks, bonds, currencies and cash, security types, bond maturities, bond coupons and bond credit quality ratings. This portfolio commentary may also include information on how these various weightings and factors contributed to Fund performance. Employees of the Advisor or the Sub-Advisor may also provide oral or written information (statistical information) about various financial characteristics of the Fund or its underlying portfolio securities including, but not limited to, alpha, beta, R-squared, coefficient of determination, duration, maturity, information ratio, Sharpe ratio, earnings growth, payout ratio, price/book value, projected earnings growth, return on equity, standard deviation, tracking error, weighted average quality, market capitalization, percent debt to equity, price to cash flow, dividend yield or growth, default rate, portfolio turnover, and risk and style characteristics. This portfolio commentary and statistical information about the Fund may be based on the Fund’s portfolio as of the most recent quarter-end or the end of some other interim period, such as month-end. The portfolio commentary and statistical information may be provided to various persons, including members of the press, brokers and other financial intermediaries that sell shares of the Fund, shareholders in the Fund, persons considering investing in the Fund or representatives of such shareholders or potential shareholders, such as fiduciaries of a 401(k) plan or a trust and their advisor. The nature and content of the information provided to each of these persons may differ.
The Advisor and Sub-Advisor manage products sponsored by companies, and provide services for individuals, other than the Trust, including institutional investors and high net worth persons. In many cases, these other products and service offerings are managed in a similar fashion to the Fund and thus have similar portfolio holdings. The sponsors of these other products or owners of separate accounts that are managed by the Advisor or Sub-Advisor may disclose or have access to the portfolio holdings of their products and separate accounts at different times than the Fund discloses its portfolio holdings.
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Except as described above, the Fund is prohibited from entering into any arrangements with any person to make available information about the Fund’s portfolio holdings without the prior authorization of the CCO and the specific approval of the Board. The Advisor or Sub-Advisor, as applicable, must submit any proposed arrangement pursuant to which the Advisor or Sub-Advisor intends to disclose the Fund’s portfolio holdings to the Board, which will review such arrangement to determine whether the arrangement is in the best interests of Fund shareholders. Additionally, the Advisor, the Sub-Advisor, and any affiliated persons of the Advisor or Sub-Advisor, are prohibited from receiving compensation or other consideration, for themselves or on behalf of the Fund, as a result of disclosing the Fund’s portfolio holdings. Finally, the Fund will not disclose portfolio holdings as described above to third parties that the Fund knows will use the information for personal securities transactions.
The Trust maintains written policies and procedures regarding the disclosure of its portfolio holdings to ensure that such disclosure is for a legitimate business purpose and is in the best interests of the Fund’s shareholders. The Board reviews these policies and procedures on an annual basis. Compliance will be periodically assessed by the Board in connection with a report from the Trust’s CCO. There may be instances where the interests of the Trust’s shareholders respecting the disclosure of information about portfolio holdings may conflict or appear to conflict with the interests of the Advisor, the Sub-Advisor, any principal underwriter for the Trust or an affiliated person of the Trust (including such affiliated person’s investment advisor or principal underwriter). In such situations, the conflict must be disclosed to the Board.
PROXY VOTING POLICY
The Trust, the Advisor and the Sub-Advisor each have adopted proxy voting policies and procedures reasonably designed to ensure that proxies are voted in shareholders’ best interests. As a brief summary, the Trust’s policy delegates responsibility regarding proxy voting to the Sub-Advisor, subject to the Advisor’s oversight and the supervision of the Board. The Sub-Advisor votes the Fund’s proxies in accordance with its proxy voting policy, subject to the provisions of the Trust’s policy regarding conflicts of interests. The Fund’s Proxy Voting Policy and Procedure is attached as Exhibit A. The Sub-Advisor’s Proxy Voting Policy and Procedure is attached as Exhibit B.
The Trust’s policy provides that, if a conflict of interest between the Advisor or the Sub-Advisor or their respective affiliates and the Fund arises with respect to any proxy, the Advisor and/or the Sub-Advisor must fully disclose the conflict to the Board and vote the proxy in accordance with the Board’s instructions. The Board shall make the proxy voting decision that in its judgment, after reviewing the recommendation of the Advisor or the Sub-Advisor, is most consistent with the Sub-Advisor’s proxy voting policies and in the best interests of Fund shareholders.
You may also obtain a copy of the Trust’s and the Sub-Advisor’s proxy voting policy by calling Shareholder Services at (877) 336-6763 to request a copy, or by writing to Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC, the Fund’s transfer agent, at 225 Pictoria Dr., Suite 450, Cincinnati, OH 45246. A copy of the policies will be mailed to you within three days of receipt of your request. You also may obtain a copy from Fund documents filed with the SEC, which are available on the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. A copy of the votes cast by the Fund with respect to portfolio securities for each year ended June 30th will be filed by the Fund with the SEC on Form N-PX. The Fund’s proxy voting record will be available to shareholders free of charge upon request by calling or writing the Fund as described above or from the SEC’s web site.
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DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE
The NAV of the shares of the Fund is determined as of the close of trading (normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the Trust, its custodian, and transfer agent are open for business and on any other day on which there is sufficient trading in the Fund’s securities to materially affect the NAV. The Trust is open for business on every day on which the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for trading. The NYSE is closed on Saturdays, Sundays and the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, President’s Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. For a description of the methods used to determine the NAV (share price), see “Determination of Net Asset Value” in the Prospectus.
Equity securities generally are valued by using market quotations furnished by a pricing service. Securities that are traded on any stock exchange are generally valued by the pricing service at the last quoted sale price. Lacking a last sale price, an exchange-traded security is generally valued by the pricing service at its last bid price. Securities traded in the NASDAQ over-the-counter market are generally valued by the pricing service at the NASDAQ Official Closing Price. When market quotations are not readily available (including when they are not reliable), such securities may be valued at a fair value pursuant to guidelines established by the Board. The Board annually approves the pricing services used by the fund accounting agent. Fair valued securities held by the Fund (if any) are reviewed by the Board on a quarterly basis.
The Fund’s NAV per share is computed by dividing the value of the securities held by the Fund plus any cash or other assets (including interest and dividends accrued but not yet received) minus all liabilities (including accrued expenses) by the total number of shares in the Fund outstanding at such time, as shown below:
Net Assets | = NAV Per Share |
Shares Outstanding |
REDEMPTION IN-KIND
The Fund does not intend to redeem shares in any form except cash. However, if the redemption amount is over the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of the Fund’s net assets, pursuant to an election under Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act by the Trust on behalf of the Fund, the Fund has the right to redeem your shares by giving you the amount that exceeds the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of the Fund’s net assets in securities instead of cash. In the event that an in-kind distribution is made, a shareholder may incur additional expenses such as the payment of brokerage commissions on the sale or other disposition of the securities received from the Fund.
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STATUS AND TAXATION OF THE FUND
The following discussion is a summary of certain U.S. federal income tax considerations affecting the Fund and its shareholders. The discussion reflects applicable federal income tax laws of the U.S. as of the date of this SAI. These tax laws may be changed or subject to new interpretations by the courts or the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”), possibly with retroactive effect. No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of all U.S. income, estate or gift tax, or foreign, state or local tax concerns affecting the Fund and its shareholders (including shareholders owning large positions in the Fund). The discussion set forth herein does not constitute tax advice. Investors are urged to consult their own tax advisers to determine the tax consequences to them of investing in the Fund.
In addition, no attempt is made to address tax concerns applicable to an investor with a special tax status such as a financial institution, REIT, insurance company, regulated investment company (“RIC”), individual retirement account, other tax-exempt entity, person holding Fund shares as part of a hedge, straddle or conversion transaction, dealer in securities or Non-U.S. shareholder, except as specifically addressed below. Furthermore, this discussion does not reflect possible application of the alternative minimum tax to noncorporate shareholders. Unless otherwise noted, this discussion assumes shares of the Fund are held by U.S. shareholders and that such shares are held as capital assets.
If an entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes holds the Fund’s common stock, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a partner in such partnership generally will depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of such partnership. A partner of a partnership holding the Fund’s common stock should consult its own tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences to the partner of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of the Fund’s common stock by the partnership.
A “U.S. shareholder” is a beneficial owner of shares of the Fund that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
● | a citizen or individual resident of the United States (including certain former citizens and former long-term residents); |
● | a corporation or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, created or organized in or under the laws of the United States or any state thereof or the District of Columbia; |
● | an estate, the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source; or |
● | a trust with respect to which a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over its administration and one or more U.S. shareholders have the authority to control all of its substantial decisions or the trust has made a valid election in effect under applicable Treasury regulations to be treated as a U.S. person. |
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A “Non-U.S. shareholder” is a beneficial owner of shares of the Fund that is an individual, corporation, trust or estate and is not a U.S. shareholder. If a partnership (including any entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) holds shares of the Fund, the tax treatment of a partner in the partnership generally depends upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. A prospective shareholder who is a partner of a partnership holding the Fund shares should consult its tax advisors with respect to the purchase, ownership and disposition of its Fund shares.
Taxation as a RIC
The Fund intends to qualify each year for treatment as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code. There can be no assurance that it actually will so qualify. The Fund will qualify as a RIC if, among other things, it meets the source-of-income and the asset-diversification requirements. With respect to the source-of-income requirement, the Fund must derive in each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income (including tax-exempt interest) from (i) dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities loans, and gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including but not limited to gains from options, futures and forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such shares, securities or currencies, and (ii) net income derived from an interest in a “qualified publicly traded partnership.” A “qualified publicly traded partnership” (“QPTP”) is generally defined as a publicly traded partnership under Internal Revenue Code section 7704. However, for these purposes, a QPTP does not include a publicly traded partnership if 90% or more of its income is described in (i) above. Income derived from a partnership (other than a qualified publicly traded partnership) or trust is qualifying income to the extent such income is attributable to items of income of the partnership or trust which would be qualifying income if realized by the Fund in the same manner as realized by the partnership or trust.
If a RIC fails this 90% income test, as long as such failure is due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect, such RIC is required to disclose the failure to the IRS and pay a tax equal to the excess of the gross income which is not derived from the sources described in (i) and (ii) above over 1/9 of the gross income that is described above.
With respect to the asset-diversification requirement, the Fund must diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each quarter of its taxable year (i) at least 50% of the value of the Fund’s total assets is represented by cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, the securities of other RICs and other securities, if such other securities of any one issuer do not represent more than 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets or more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of the Fund’s total assets is invested in the securities of (other than U.S. government securities or the securities of other RICs) (a) one issuer, (b) two or more issuers that are controlled by the Fund and that are engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or (c) one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships.
If a RIC fails this asset-diversification test, such RIC, in addition to other cure provisions, has a 6-month period to correct any failure without incurring a penalty if such failure is “de minimis.”
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However, if a RIC does not satisfy the “de minimis” cure provisions, it can still cure a failure if: (a) the RIC files with the Treasury Department a description of each asset that causes the RIC to fail the diversification tests; (b) the failure is due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect; and (c) the failure is cured within six months (or such other period specified by the Treasury). In such cases, a tax is imposed on the RIC equal to the greater of: (a) $50,000 or (b) an amount determined by multiplying the corporate tax rate by the amount of net income generated during the period of diversification test failure by the assets that caused the RIC to fail the diversification test.
If the Fund satisfies the income and asset-diversification tests above and distributes to its shareholders, for each taxable year, at least 90% of the sum of (i) its “investment company taxable income” as that term is defined in the Internal Revenue Code (which includes, among other things, dividends, taxable interest, the excess of any net short-term capital gains over net long-term capital losses and certain net foreign exchange gains as reduced by certain deductible expenses) without regard to the deduction for dividends paid, and (ii) the excess of its gross tax-exempt interest, if any, over certain deductions attributable to such interest that are otherwise disallowed, then the Fund will be relieved of U.S. federal income tax on any income of the Fund, including long-term capital gains, distributed to shareholders. However, any ordinary income or capital gain retained by the Fund will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at the corporate income tax rate. The Fund intends to distribute at least annually substantially all of its investment company taxable income, net tax-exempt interest, and net capital gain.
The Fund will generally be subject to a nondeductible 4% federal excise tax on the portion of its undistributed ordinary income with respect to each calendar year and undistributed capital gains if it fails to meet certain distribution requirements with respect to the one-year period ending on October 31 in that calendar year. In order to avoid the 4% federal excise tax, the required minimum distribution is generally equal to the sum of (i) 98% of the Fund’s ordinary income (computed on a calendar year basis), (ii) 98.2% of the Fund’s capital gain net income (generally computed for the one-year period ending on October 31) and (iii) any prior year undistributed income realized, on which the Fund paid no federal income tax in preceding years. The Fund generally intends to make distributions in a timely manner in an amount at least equal to the required minimum distribution and therefore, under normal market conditions, does not expect to be subject to this excise tax.
To the extent that the Fund has capital loss carryforwards from prior tax years, those carryforwards will reduce the Fund’s current net capital gains and thus reduce the amount of the Fund’s distribution of capital gain dividends. Capital loss carryforwards are reduced to the extent they offset current-year net realized capital gains, whether the Fund retains or distributes such gains. A RIC is permitted to carry forward net capital losses indefinitely and may allow losses to retain their original character (as short or as long-term). These capital loss carryforwards may be utilized in future years to offset net realized capital gains of the Fund, if any, prior to distributing such gains to shareholders.
The Fund may be required to recognize taxable income in circumstances in which it does not receive cash. For example, if the Fund holds debt obligations that are treated under applicable tax rules as having original issue discount (such as debt instruments with payment in kind interest or, in certain cases, with increasing interest rates or that are issued with warrants), the Fund must include in income each year a portion of the original issue discount that accrues over the life of the obligation regardless of whether cash representing such income is received by the Fund in the same taxable year. Because any original issue discount accrued will be included in the Fund’s “investment company taxable income” (discussed below) for the year of accrual, the Fund may be required to make a distribution to its shareholders to satisfy the distribution requirement, even though it will not have received an amount of cash that corresponds with the income earned.
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Gain or loss realized by the Fund from the sale or exchange of warrants acquired by the Fund as well as any loss attributable to the lapse of such warrants generally will be treated as capital gain or loss. Such gain or loss generally will be long-term or short-term, depending on how long the Fund held a particular warrant. Upon the exercise of a warrant acquired by the Fund, the Fund’s tax basis in the stock purchased under the warrant will equal the sum of the amount paid for the warrant plus the strike price paid on the exercise of the warrant. Except as set forth in “Failure to Qualify as a RIC,” the remainder of this discussion assumes that the Fund will qualify as a RIC for each taxable year.
Failure to Qualify as a RIC
If the Fund is unable to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement or otherwise fails to qualify as a RIC in any year, it will be subject to corporate level income tax on all of its income and gain, regardless of whether or not such income was distributed. Distributions to the Fund’s shareholders of such income and gain will not be deductible by the Fund in computing its taxable income. In such event, the Fund’s distributions, to the extent derived from the Fund’s current or accumulated earnings and profits, would constitute ordinary dividends, which would generally be eligible for the dividends-received deduction available to corporate shareholders, and non-corporate shareholders would generally be able to treat such distributions as “qualified dividend income” eligible for reduced rates of U.S. federal income, provided in each case that certain holding period and other requirements are satisfied.
Distributions in excess of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits would be treated first as a return of capital to the extent of the shareholders’ tax basis in their Fund shares, and any remaining distributions would be treated as a capital gain. To qualify as a RIC in a subsequent taxable year, the Fund would be required to satisfy the source-of-income, the asset diversification, and the annual distribution requirements for that year and dispose of any earnings and profits from any year in which the Fund failed to qualify for tax treatment as a RIC. Subject to a limited exception applicable to RICs that qualified as such under the Internal Revenue Code for at least one year prior to disqualification and that re-qualify as a RIC no later than the second year following the non-qualifying year, the Fund would be subject to tax on any unrealized built-in gains in the assets held by it during the period in which the Fund failed to qualify for tax treatment as a RIC that are recognized within the subsequent 10 years, unless the Fund made a special election to pay corporate-level tax on such built-in gain at the time of its re-qualification as a RIC.
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Taxation of U.S. Shareholders
Distributions paid to U.S. shareholders by the Fund from its investment company taxable income (which is, generally, the Fund’s ordinary income plus net realized short-term capital gains in excess of net realized long-term capital losses) are generally taxable to U.S. shareholders as ordinary income to the extent of the Fund’s earnings and profits, whether paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares. Such distributions (if designated by the Fund) may qualify (i) for the dividends received deduction in the case of corporate shareholders under Section 243 of the Internal Revenue Code to the extent that the Fund’s income consists of dividend income from U.S. corporations, excluding distributions from tax-exempt organizations, exempt farmers’ cooperatives or REITs or (ii) in the case of individual shareholders, as qualified dividend income eligible to be taxed at reduced rates under Section 1(h)(11) of the Internal Revenue Code to the extent that the Fund receives qualified dividend income, and provided in each case certain holding period and other requirements are met.
Qualified dividend income is, in general, dividend income from taxable domestic corporations and qualified foreign corporations (e.g., generally, foreign corporations incorporated in a possession of the United States or in certain countries with a qualified comprehensive income tax treaty with the United States, or the stock with respect to which such dividend is paid is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States). A qualified foreign corporation generally excludes any foreign corporation, which for the taxable year of the corporation in which the dividend was paid, or the preceding taxable year, is a passive foreign investment company.
Distributions made to a U.S. shareholder from an excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses (“capital gain dividends”), including capital gain dividends credited to such shareholder but retained by the Fund, are taxable to such shareholder as long-term capital gain if they have been properly designated by the Fund, regardless of the length of time such shareholder owned the shares of the Fund. Long-term capital gain rates applicable to individuals are 0%, 15%, or 20% depending on the nature of the capital gain and the individual’s taxable income.
Distributions in excess of the Fund’s earnings and profits will be treated by the U.S. shareholder, first, as a tax-free return of capital, which is applied against and will reduce the adjusted tax basis of the U.S. shareholder’s shares and, after such adjusted tax basis is reduced to zero, will constitute capital gain to the U.S. shareholder (assuming the shares are held as a capital asset).
Generally, not later than sixty days after the close of its taxable year, the Fund will provide the shareholders with a written notice designating the amount of any qualified dividend income or capital gain dividends and other distributions.
Under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, “qualified REIT dividends” (i.e., ordinary REIT dividends other than capital gain dividends and portions of REIT dividends designated as qualified dividend income) are treated as eligible for a 20% deduction by noncorporate taxpayers. Proposed regulations issued by the IRS, which can be relied on currently, enable the Fund to pass through the special character of “qualified REIT dividends” to a shareholder, provided both the Fund and a shareholder meet certain holding period requirements with respect to their shares. The amount of a RIC’s dividends eligible for the 20% deduction for a taxable year is limited to the excess of the RIC’s qualified REIT dividends for the taxable year over allocable expenses. A noncorporate shareholder receiving such dividends would treat them as eligible for the 20% deduction, provided the shareholder meets certain holding period requirements for its shares in the RIC (i.e., generally, RIC shares must be held by the shareholder for more than 45 days during the 91-day period beginning on the date that is 45 days before the date on which the shares become ex-dividend with respect to such dividend).
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For purposes of determining (i) whether the annual distribution requirement is satisfied for any year and (ii) the amount of capital gain dividends paid for that year, the Fund may, under certain circumstances, elect to treat a dividend that is paid during the following taxable year as if it had been paid during the taxable year in question. If the Fund makes such an election, the U.S. shareholder will still be treated as receiving the dividend in the taxable year in which the distribution is made. However, any dividend declared by the Fund in October, November or December of any calendar year, payable to shareholders of record on a specified date in such a month and actually paid during January of the following year, will be treated as if it had been received by the U.S. shareholders on December 31 of the year in which the dividend was declared.
If more than 50% of the value of the Fund’s assets at the close of the taxable year consist of stock or securities in foreign corporations (including certain foreign ETFs or foreign index mutual funds) and certain other requirements are met, the Fund may elect to pass-through to its shareholders the amount of foreign income tax paid by the Fund instead of claiming it on its tax return. If such an election is made, each shareholder will include in gross income his proportional share of the foreign taxes paid by the Fund. Investors may either deduct their pro-rata amount of such taxes paid in computing their taxable income or use it as a foreign tax credit against federal income tax. If the Fund makes the election, it will furnish the shareholders with a written notice after the close of its taxable year.
The Fund intends to distribute all realized capital gains, if any, at least annually. If, however, the Fund were to retain any net capital gain, the Fund may designate the retained amount as undistributed capital gains in a notice to shareholders who, if subject to U.S. federal income tax on long-term capital gains, (i) will be required to include in income as long-term capital gain, their proportionate shares of such undistributed amount, and (ii) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the federal income tax paid by the Fund on the undistributed amount against their U.S. federal income tax liabilities, if any, and to claim refunds to the extent the credit exceeds such liabilities. If such an event occurs, the tax basis of shares owned by a shareholder of the Fund will, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, generally be increased by the difference between the amount of undistributed net capital gain included in the shareholder’s gross income and the tax deemed paid by the shareholders.
Sales and other dispositions of the shares of the Fund generally are taxable events. U.S. shareholders should consult their own tax adviser with reference to their individual circumstances to determine whether any particular transaction in the shares of the Fund is properly treated as a sale or exchange for federal income tax purposes, as the following discussion assumes, and the tax treatment of any gains or losses recognized in such transactions. The sale or other disposition of shares of the Fund will generally result in capital gain or loss to the shareholder equal to the difference between the amount realized and his adjusted tax basis in the shares sold or exchanged, and will be long-term capital gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than one year at the time of sale. Any loss upon the sale or exchange of shares held for six months or less will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of any capital gain dividends received (including amounts credited as an undistributed capital gain dividend) by such shareholder with respect to such shares. A loss realized on a sale or exchange of shares of the Fund generally will be disallowed if other substantially identical shares are acquired within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the date that the shares are disposed. In such case, the basis of the shares acquired will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss. Present law taxes both long-term and short-term capital gain of corporations at the rates applicable to ordinary income of corporations. For non-corporate taxpayers, short-term capital gain will currently be taxed at the rate applicable to ordinary income, while long-term capital gain generally will be taxed at a maximum rate of 20%. Capital losses are subject to certain limitations.
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The Fund has chosen average cost as its standing (default) tax lot identification method for all shareholders. A tax lot identification method is the way the Fund will determine which specific shares are deemed to be sold when there are multiple purchases on different dates at differing net asset values, and the entire position is not sold at one time. The Fund’s standing tax lot identification method is the method covered shares will be reported on your Consolidated Form 1099 if you do not select a specific tax lot identification method. You may choose a method different than the Fund’s standing method and will be able to do so at the time of your purchase or upon the sale of covered shares. Please refer to the appropriate Internal Revenue Service regulations or consult your tax advisor with regard to your personal circumstances.
For those securities defined as "covered" under current Internal Revenue Service cost basis tax reporting regulations, the Fund is responsible for maintaining accurate cost basis and tax lot information for tax reporting purposes. The Fund is not responsible for the reliability or accuracy of the information for those securities that are not "covered." The Fund and its service providers do not provide tax advice. You should consult independent sources, which may include a tax professional, with respect to any decisions you may make with respect to choosing a tax lot identification method.
Certain U.S. shareholders, including individuals and estates and trusts, are subject to an additional 3.8% Medicare tax on all or a portion of their “net investment income,” which should include dividends from the Fund and net gains from the disposition of shares of the Fund. U.S. shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the implications of the additional Medicare tax resulting from an investment in the Fund.
Commodities. As described above, an underlying fund may invest in commodities. Gains from the disposition of commodities, including precious metals, are not considered qualifying income for purposes of satisfying the income requirement of the RIC qualification tests described above. Also, the IRS has issued a revenue ruling which holds that income derived from commodity-linked swaps is not qualifying income under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code. As a result, an underlying fund’s (taxed as a RIC) ability to directly invest in commodity-linked swaps as part of its investment strategy is limited to a maximum of 10% of its gross income.
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In September 2016, the IRS announced that it will no longer issue private letter rulings on questions relating to the treatment of a corporation as a RIC that require a determination of whether a financial instrument or position, such as a commodity-linked or structured note, is a security under section 2(a)(36) of the 1940 Act. (A financial instrument or position that constitutes a security under section 2(a)(36) of the 1940 Act generates qualifying income for a corporation taxed as a regulated investment company.) This caused the IRS to revoke the portion of any rulings that required such a determination, some of which were revoked retroactively and others of which were revoked prospectively as of a date agreed upon with the IRS.
Accordingly, the extent to which an underlying fund invests in commodities or commodity-linked derivatives may be limited by the income requirement (as discussed above), which such underlying fund must continue to satisfy to maintain its status as a RIC. The tax treatment of the underlying fund and its shareholders in the event the underlying fund fails to qualify as a RIC is described above.
MLPs. Although MLPs are generally expected to be treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes, some MLPs may be treated as PFICs or “regular” corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The treatment of particular MLPs for U.S. federal income tax purposes will affect the extent to which a fund can invest in MLPs and will impact the amount, character, and timing of income recognized by the Fund.
Some amounts received by the Fund from the MLPs in which it invests likely will be treated as returns of capital to the Fund because of accelerated deductions available to the MLPs. The receipt of returns of capital from the MLPs in which the Fund invests could cause some or all of the Fund’s distributions to be classified as a return of capital. Return of capital distributions generally are not taxable to shareholders. A shareholder’s cost basis in Fund shares will be decreased by the amount of any return of capital. Any return of capital distributions in excess of cost basis will be treated as capital gains.
Recent legislation (which by its terms became effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017) generally requires that taxes, penalties, and interest associated with an audit of a partnership be assessed and collected at the partnership level. Therefore, an adverse federal income tax audit of a partnership that the Fund invests in (including MLPs taxed as partnerships) could result in the Fund being required to pay federal income tax. The Fund may have little input in any audit asserted against a partnership and may be contractually or legally obligated to make payments in regard to deficiencies asserted without the ability to put forward an independent defense. Accordingly, even if a partnership in which the Fund invests were to remain classified as a partnership (instead of as a corporation), it could be required to pay additional taxes, interest and penalties as a result of an audit adjustment, and the Fund, as a direct or indirect partner of such partnership, could be required to bear the economic burden of those taxes, interest and penalties, which would reduce the value of Fund shares.
Options, futures, forward contracts, swap agreements and hedging transactions. In general, option premiums received by a fund are not immediately included in the income of the fund. Instead, the premiums are recognized when the option contract expires, the option is exercised by the holder, or the fund transfers or otherwise terminates the option (e.g., through a closing transaction). If an option written by a fund is exercised and the fund sells or delivers the underlying stock, the fund generally will recognize capital gain or loss equal to (a) the sum of the strike price and the option premium received by the fund minus (b) the fund’s basis in the stock. Such gain or loss generally will be short-term or long-term depending upon the holding period of the underlying stock. If securities are purchased by a fund pursuant to the exercise of a put option written by it, the fund generally will subtract the premium received from its cost basis in the securities purchased. The gain or loss with respect to any termination of a fund’s obligation under an option other than through the exercise of the option and related sale or delivery of the underlying stock generally will be short-term gain or loss depending on whether the premium income received by the fund is greater or less than the amount paid by the fund (if any) in terminating the transaction. Thus, for example, if an option written by a fund expires unexercised, the fund generally will recognize short-term gain equal to the premium received.
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The tax treatment of certain futures contracts entered into by a fund as well as listed non-equity options written or purchased by the fund on U.S. exchanges (including options on futures contracts, broad-based equity indices and debt securities) may be governed by section 1256 of the Internal Revenue Code (“section 1256 contracts”). Gains or losses on section 1256 contracts generally are considered 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital gains or losses (“60/40”), although certain foreign currency gains and losses from such contracts may be treated as ordinary in character. Also, any section 1256 contracts held by a fund at the end of each taxable year (and, for purposes of the 4% excise tax, on certain other dates as prescribed under the Internal Revenue Code) are “marked to market” with the result that unrealized gains or losses are treated as though they were realized and the resulting gain or loss is treated as ordinary or 60/40 gain or loss, as applicable. Section 1256 contracts do not include any interest rate swap, currency swap, basis swap, interest rate cap, interest rate floor, commodity swap, equity swap, equity index swap, credit default swap, or similar agreement.
In addition to the special rules described above in respect of options and futures transactions, a fund’s transactions in other derivative instruments (including options, forward contracts and swap agreements) as well as its other hedging, short sale, or similar transactions, may be subject to one or more special tax rules (including the constructive sale, notional principal contract, straddle, wash sale and short sale rules). These rules may affect whether gains and losses recognized by a fund are treated as ordinary or capital or as short-term or long-term, accelerate the recognition of income or gains to the fund, defer losses to the fund, and cause adjustments in the holding periods of the fund’s securities. These rules, therefore, could affect the amount, timing and/or character of distributions to shareholders. Moreover, because the tax rules applicable to derivative instruments are in some cases uncertain under current law, an adverse determination or future guidance by the IRS with respect to these rules (which determination or guidance could be retroactive) may affect whether a fund has made sufficient distributions, and otherwise satisfied the relevant requirements, to maintain its qualification as a regulated investment company and avoid a fund-level tax.
Certain of a fund’s investments in derivatives and foreign currency-denominated instruments, and the fund’s transactions in foreign currencies and hedging activities, may produce a difference between its book income and its taxable income. If a fund’s book income is less than the sum of its taxable income and net tax-exempt income (if any), the fund could be required to make distributions exceeding book income to qualify as a regulated investment company. If a fund’s book income exceeds the sum of its taxable income and net tax-exempt income (if any), the distribution of any such excess will be treated as (i) a dividend to the extent of the fund’s remaining earnings and profits (including current earnings and profits arising from tax-exempt income, reduced by related deductions), (ii) thereafter, as a return of capital to the extent of the recipient’s basis in the shares, and (iii) thereafter, as gain from the sale or exchange of a capital asset.
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Original Issue Discount, Pay-In-Kind Securities, and Market Discount. Some debt obligations with a fixed maturity date of more than one year from the date of issuance (and zero-coupon debt obligations with a fixed maturity date of more than one year from the date of issuance) that may be acquired by the Fund may be treated as debt obligations that are issued originally at a discount. Generally, the amount of the original issue discount (“OID”) is treated as interest income and is included in the Fund’s taxable income (and required to be distributed by the Fund) over the term of the debt obligation, even though payment of that amount is not received until a later time, upon partial or full repayment or disposition of the debt security.
Some debt obligations (with a fixed maturity date of more than one year from the date of issuance) that may be acquired by the Fund in the secondary market may be treated as having “market discount.” Very generally, market discount is the excess of the stated redemption price of a debt obligation (or in the case of an obligations issued with OID, its “revised issue price”) over the purchase price of such obligation. Generally, any gain recognized on the disposition of, and any partial payment of principal on, a debt obligation having market discount is treated as ordinary income to the extent the gain, or principal payment, does not exceed the “accrued market discount” on such debt obligation. Alternatively, the Fund may elect to accrue market discount currently, in which case the Fund will be required to include the accrued market discount in the Fund’s income (as ordinary income) and thus distribute it over the term of the debt security, even though payment of that amount is not received until a later time, upon partial or full repayment or disposition of the debt security. The rate at which the market discount accrues, and thus is included in the Fund’s income, will depend upon which of the permitted accrual methods the Fund elects. In the case of higher-risk securities, the amount of market discount may be unclear.
Some debt obligations (with a fixed maturity date of one year or less from the date of issuance) that may be acquired by the Fund may be treated as having “acquisition discount” (very generally, the excess of the stated redemption price over the purchase price), or OID in the case of certain types of debt obligations. The Fund will be required to include the acquisition discount, or OID, in income (as ordinary income) over the term of the debt obligation, even though payment of that amount is not received until a later time, upon partial or full repayment or disposition of the debt security. The Fund may make one or more of the elections applicable to debt obligations having acquisition discount, or OID, which could affect the character and timing of recognition of income.
In addition, payment-in-kind securities will, and commodity-linked notes may, give rise to income that is required to be distributed and is taxable even though the Fund holding the security receives no interest payment in cash on the security during the year.
If the Fund holds the foregoing kinds of securities, it may be required to pay out as an income distribution each year an amount that is greater than the total amount of cash interest the Fund actually received. Such distributions may be made from the cash assets of the Fund or by liquidation of portfolio securities, if necessary (including when it is not advantageous to do so). The Fund may realize gains or losses from such liquidations. In the event the Fund realizes net capital gains from such transactions, its shareholders may receive a larger capital gain distribution than they would in the absence of such transactions.
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Tax-Exempt Shareholders. If a shareholder of the Fund is a tax-exempt organization, it is generally not subject to federal income tax on distributions from the Fund or on sales or exchanges of Fund shares. This general exemption from tax does not apply to the “unrelated business taxable income” or UBTI of an exempt organization. UBTI includes dividends, interest, and gains from sales and other dispositions of property held for investment to the extent that such items are attributable to “debt financed property.” For example, UBTI could result if shares in the Fund constitute debt-financed property in the hands of the tax-exempt shareholder within the meaning of Internal Revenue Code Section 514(b). A deduction from one activity that produces UBTI cannot be used to offset income from a different activity that produces UBTI for the same taxable year. UBTI in excess of $1,000 in any year is taxable and will require a member to file a federal income tax return on Form 990-T. In addition, private foundations that are exempt from federal income tax may nonetheless be subject to excise tax on their net investment income and certain private colleges and universities that are exempt from federal income tax may be subject to an excise tax based on the investment income they earn. Shareholders should ask their own tax advisors for more information on their own tax situation.
At the time a private foundation or certain private colleges or universities purchase Fund shares, the Fund’s net asset value may reflect undistributed income or undistributed capital gains. A subsequent distribution of such amounts, although constituting a return of investment, would be classified as a taxable distribution whether reinvested in additional shares or paid in cash. This is sometimes referred to as “buying a dividend.” In addition, the Fund’s net asset value may, at any time, reflect net unrealized appreciation, which may result in future taxable distributions. (Private colleges and universities with at least 500 tuition-paying students (more than 50% of which are located in the United States) and non-exempt use assets with a value at the close of the preceding year of at least $500,000 per full-time student (with part-time students taken into account on a full-time student equivalent basis) may be subject to a 1.4% excise tax on their net investment income.)
Furthermore, a tax-exempt shareholder may recognize UBTI if the Fund recognizes “excess inclusion income” derived from direct or indirect investments in residual interests in Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduits (“REMICs”) or equity interests in Taxable Mortgage Pools (“TMPs”) if the amount of such income recognized by the Fund exceeds the Fund’s investment company taxable income (after taking into account deductions for dividends paid by the Fund). Special tax consequences also apply to charitable remainder trusts (“CRTs”) that invest in regulated investment companies that invest directly or indirectly in residual interests in REMICs or equity interests in TMPs. Under legislation enacted in December 2006, a CRT (as defined in section 664 of the Internal Revenue Code) that realizes any UBTI for a taxable year, must pay an excise tax annually of an amount equal to such UBTI. Under IRS guidance issued in October 2006, a CRT will not recognize UBTI solely as a result of investing in the Fund that recognizes “excess inclusion income.” Rather, if at any time during any taxable year a CRT (or one of certain other tax-exempt shareholders, such as the United States, a state or political subdivision, or an agency or instrumentality thereof, and certain energy cooperatives) is a record holder of a share in the Fund that recognizes “excess inclusion income,” then the regulated investment company will be subject to a tax on that portion of its “excess inclusion income” for the taxable year that is allocable to such shareholders, at the corporate income tax rate. The extent to which this IRS guidance remains applicable in light of the December 2006 legislation is unclear. To the extent permitted under the 1940 Act, the Fund may elect to specially allocate any such tax to the applicable CRT, or other shareholder, and thus reduce such shareholder’s distributions for the year by the amount of the tax that relates to such shareholder’s interest in the Fund. The Fund has not yet determined whether such an election will be made. CRTs and other tax-exempt investors are urged to consult their tax advisers concerning the consequences of investing in the Fund.
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Passive Foreign Investment Companies. A passive foreign investment company (“PFIC”) is any foreign corporation: (i) 75% or more of the gross income of which for the taxable year is passive income, or (ii) the average percentage of the assets of which (generally by value, but by adjusted tax basis in certain cases) that produce or are held for the production of passive income is at least 50%. Generally, passive income for this purpose means dividends, interest (including income equivalent to interest), royalties, rents, annuities, the excess of gains over losses from certain property transactions and commodities transactions, and foreign currency gains. Passive income for this purpose does not include rents and royalties received by the foreign corporation from an active business and certain income received from related persons.
Equity investments by the Fund in certain PFICs could potentially subject the Fund to a U.S. federal income tax or other charge (including interest charges) on the distributions received from the PFIC or on proceeds received from the disposition of shares in the PFIC. This tax cannot be eliminated by making distributions to Fund shareholders. However, the Fund may elect to avoid the imposition of that tax. For example, if the Fund is in a position to and elects to treat a PFIC as a “qualified electing fund” (i.e., make a “QEF election”), the Fund will be required to include its share of the PFIC’s income and net capital gains annually, regardless of whether it receives any distribution from the PFIC. Alternatively, the Fund may make an election to mark the gains (and to a limited extent losses) in its PFIC holdings “to the market” as though it had sold and repurchased its holdings in those PFICs on the last day of the Fund’s taxable year. Such gains and losses are treated as ordinary income and loss. The QEF and mark-to-market elections may accelerate the recognition of income (without the receipt of cash) and increase the amount required to be distributed by the Fund to avoid taxation. Making either of these elections therefore may require the Fund to liquidate other investments (including when it is not advantageous to do so) to meet its distribution requirement, which also may accelerate the recognition of gain and affect the Fund’s total return. Dividends paid by PFICs will not be eligible to be treated as “qualified dividend income.”
Because it is not always possible to identify a foreign corporation as a PFIC, the Fund may incur the tax and interest charges described above in some instances.
Foreign Currency Transactions. The Fund’s transactions in foreign currencies, foreign currency-denominated debt obligations and certain foreign currency options, futures contracts and forward contracts (and similar instruments) may give rise to ordinary income or loss to the extent such income or loss results from fluctuations in the value of the foreign currency concerned. Any such net gains could require a larger dividend toward the end of the calendar year. Any such net losses will generally reduce and potentially require the recharacterization of prior ordinary income distributions. Such ordinary income treatment may accelerate Fund distributions to shareholders and increase the distributions taxed to shareholders as ordinary income. Any net ordinary losses so created cannot be carried forward by the Fund to offset income or gains earned in subsequent taxable years.
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Foreign Taxation. Income received by the Fund from sources within foreign countries, including securities held by the RICs and ETFs in which the Fund invest, may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by such countries. Dividends and interest received by a RIC’s holding of 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 the RIC in which the Fund invests is taxable as a RIC and meets certain other requirements, which include a requirement that more than 50% of the value of such RIC’s total assets at the close of its respective taxable year consists of stocks or securities of foreign corporations, then the RIC should be eligible to file an election with the IRS that may enable its shareholders, including the Fund in effect, to receive either the benefit of a foreign tax credit, or a tax deduction, with respect to any foreign and U.S. possessions income taxes paid the by Fund, subject to certain limitations.
A “qualified fund of funds” is a RIC that has at least 50% of the value of its total interests invested in other RICs at the end of each quarter of the taxable year. If the Fund satisfied this requirement or if it meets certain other requirements, which include a requirement that more than 50% of the value of the Fund’s total assets at the close of its taxable year consist of stocks or securities of foreign corporations, then the Fund should be eligible to file an election with the IRS that may enable its shareholders to receive either the benefit of a foreign tax credit, or a tax deduction, with respect to any foreign and U.S. possessions income taxes paid by the Fund, subject to certain limitations.
Foreign Shareholders. Absent specific statutory exemptions, as described below, dividends paid by the Fund to a shareholder that is not a “U.S. person” within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code (such shareholder, a “foreign shareholder”) are subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax at a rate of 30% (or lower applicable treaty rate). However, notwithstanding such exemptions from U.S. withholding at the source, any dividends and distributions of income and capital gains, including the proceeds from the sale of your Fund shares, will be subject to backup withholding at a rate of 24% if you fail to properly certify that you are not a U.S. person.
In general, capital gain dividends reported by the Fund to shareholders as paid from its net long-term capital gains, other than long-term capital gains realized on disposition of US real property interests (see the discussion below), are not subject to U.S. withholding tax unless you are a nonresident alien individual present in the U.S. for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the calendar year.
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Ordinary dividends paid by the Fund to foreign investors on the income earned on portfolio investments in (i) the stock of domestic and foreign corporations and (ii) the debt of foreign issuers are subject to U.S. withholding tax.
Generally, dividends reported by the Fund to shareholders as interest-related dividends and paid from its qualified net interest income from U.S. sources are not subject to U.S. withholding tax. “Qualified interest income” includes, in general, US source (1) bank deposit interest, (2) short-term original discount, (3) interest (including original issue discount, market discount, or acquisition discount) on an obligation that is in registered form, unless it is earned on an obligation issued by a corporation or partnership in which the Fund is a 10-percent shareholder or is contingent interest, and (4) any interest-related dividend from another regulated investment company. Similarly, short-term capital gain dividends reported by the Fund to shareholders as paid from its net short-term capital gains, other than short-term capital gains realized on disposition of U.S. real property interests (see the discussion below), are not subject to U.S. withholding tax unless you were a nonresident alien individual present in the US for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the calendar year. The Fund reserves the right to not report interest-related dividends or short-term capital gain dividends. Additionally, the Fund’s reporting of interest-related dividends or short-term capital gain dividends may not be passed through to shareholders by intermediaries who have assumed tax reporting responsibilities for this income in managed or omnibus accounts due to systems limitations or operational constraints.
If the income from the Fund is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business carried on by a foreign shareholder, then ordinary income dividends, capital gain dividends and any gains realized upon the sale or redemption of shares of the Fund will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at the rates applicable to U.S. citizens or domestic corporations and require the filing of a nonresident U.S. income tax return.
Special U.S. tax certification requirements may apply to foreign shareholders both to avoid U.S. backup withholding imposed at a rate of 24% and to obtain the benefits of any treaty between the U.S. and the shareholder’s country of residence. In general, if you are a foreign shareholder, you must provide a Form W-8 BEN (or other applicable Form W-8) to establish that you are not a U.S. person, to claim that you are the beneficial owner of the income and, if applicable, to claim a reduced rate of, or exemption from, withholding as a resident of a country with which the U.S. has an income tax treaty. A Form W-8 BEN provided without a U.S. taxpayer identification number will remain in effect for a period beginning on the date signed and ending on the last day of the third succeeding calendar year unless an earlier change of circumstances makes the information on the form incorrect. Certain payees and payments are exempt from backup withholding.
The tax consequences to a foreign shareholder entitled to claim the benefits of an applicable tax treaty may be different from those described herein. Foreign shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisors with respect to the particular tax consequences to them of an investment in the Fund, including the applicability of foreign tax.
Backup Withholding. The Fund generally is required to withhold and remit to the U.S. Treasury a percentage of the taxable distributions and redemption proceeds paid to any individual shareholder who fails to properly furnish the Fund with a correct taxpayer identification number, who has under-reported dividend or interest income, or who fails to certify to the Fund that he or she is not subject to such withholding. The backup withholding tax rate is 24%.
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Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld may be credited against the shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, provided the appropriate information is furnished to the IRS.
FATCA. Income dividend payments made to a shareholder that is either a foreign financial institution (“FFI”) or a non-financial foreign entity (“NFFE”) within the meaning of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) may be subject to a 30% withholding tax. After December 31, 2018, FATCA withholding would have applied to certain capital gain distributions, return of capital distributions, and the proceeds arising from the sale of Fund shares; however, based on proposed regulations issued by the IRS, which can be relied on currently, such withholding is no longer required unless final regulations provide otherwise (which is not expected). FATCA withholding tax generally can be avoided: (a) by an FFI, subject to any applicable intergovernmental agreement or other exemption, if it enters into a valid agreement with the IRS to, among other requirements, report required information about certain direct and indirect ownership of foreign financial accounts held by U.S. persons with the FFI and (b) by an NFFE, if it: (i) certifies that it has no substantial U.S. persons as owners or (ii) if it does have such owners, reports information relating to them. The Fund may disclose the information that it receives from its shareholders to the IRS, non-U.S. taxing authorities or other parties as necessary to comply with FATCA. Withholding also may be required if a foreign entity that is a shareholder of the Fund fails to provide the Fund with appropriate certifications or other documentation concerning its status under FATCA.
Tax Shelter Reporting Regulations. Under U.S. Treasury regulations, if a shareholder recognizes a loss with respect to the Fund’s shares of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder, the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a regulated investment company are not excepted. Future guidance may extend the current exception from this reporting requirement to shareholders of most or all regulated investment companies. 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.
Shareholder Reporting Obligations with Respect to Foreign Financial Assets. Specified individuals and specified domestic entities that have an interest in a “specified foreign financial asset” above a certain threshold amount must disclose annually their interests in such assets on IRS Form 8938, which is filed with their U.S. federal income tax return.
Shares Purchased through Tax-Qualified Plans. Special tax rules apply to investments through defined contribution plans and other tax-qualified plans. Shareholders should consult their tax advisers to determine the suitability of shares of the Fund as an investment through such plans, and the precise effect of an investment on their particular tax situation.
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Summary
The foregoing is a general and abbreviated summary of the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and the Treasury regulations in effect as they directly govern the taxation of the Fund and its shareholders, and should not be considered tax advice. These provisions are subject to change by legislative and administrative action, and any such change may be retroactive. Shareholders are urged to consult their tax advisers regarding specific questions as to U.S. federal income, estate or gift taxes, or foreign, state, local taxes or other taxes.
CUSTODIAN
U.S. Bank, N.A., 1555 N. Rivercenter Dr., Milwaukee, WI 53212, is custodian of the Fund’s investments. The custodian acts as the Fund’s depository, safekeeps its portfolio securities, collects all income and other payments with respect thereto, disburses funds at the Fund’s request and maintains records in connection with its duties.
FUND SERVICES
Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC (“Ultimus”), 225 Pictoria Drive, Suite 450, Cincinnati, Ohio 45246, acts as the Fund’s transfer agent, fund accountant, and administrator. Ultimus is the parent company of the distributor, Ultimus Fund Distributors, LLC (the “Distributor”). Certain officers of the Trust also are officers of Ultimus and/or the Distributor.
Ultimus maintains the records of each shareholder’s account, answers shareholders’ inquiries concerning their accounts, processes purchases and redemptions of the Fund’s shares, acts as dividend and distribution disbursing agent and performs other transfer agent and shareholder service functions. In addition, Ultimus provides the Fund with fund accounting services, which includes certain monthly reports, record-keeping and other management-related services. Ultimus also provides the Fund with administrative services, including all regulatory reporting and necessary office equipment, personnel and facilities.
The following table provides information regarding transfer agent, fund accounting and administrative services fees paid by the Fund during the periods indicated.
Fiscal Year Ended |
Fees Paid for Transfer Agent Services |
Fees Paid for Accounting Services |
Fees Paid for Administrative Services |
May 31, 2020 | $18,000 | $38,216 | $62,622 |
May 31, 2019 | $18,000 | $36,172 | $46,452 |
May 31, 2018 | $18,000 | $33,728 | $30,048 |
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
The firm of Cohen & Company, Ltd. (“Cohen”), 1350 Euclid Avenue, Suite 800, Cleveland, OH 44115, has been selected as the Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm for the Fund for the fiscal year ending May 31, 2021. Cohen will perform an annual audit of the Fund’s financial statements and will provide financial, tax and accounting services as requested.
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LEGAL COUNSEL
Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders, LLP serves as legal counsel to the Trust and Fund. Its address is 3000 Two Logan Square, Philadelphia, PA 19103-7098.
DISTRIBUTOR
Ultimus Fund Distributors, LLC, 225 Pictoria Drive, Suite 450, Cincinnati, Ohio 45246 (the “Distributor”), is the exclusive agent for distribution of shares of the Fund. An officer of the Trust is also an officer of the Distributor, and may be deemed to be an affiliate of the Distributor. The Distributor is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ultimus.
The Distributor is obligated to sell the shares of the Fund on a best efforts basis only against purchase orders for the shares. Shares of the Fund are offered to the public on a continuous basis.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The financial statements and the report of the Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm required to be included in the SAI are incorporated herein by reference to the Fund’s Annual Report to Shareholders for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2020. You can obtain the Annual Report without charge by calling Shareholder Services at (877) 336-6763 or upon written request to:
Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC
P.O. Box 46707
Cincinnati, OH 45246-0707
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EXHIBIT A
VALUED ADVISERS TRUST
PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Valued Advisers Trust (the “Trust”) is registered as an open-end management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (“1940 Act”). The Trust offers multiple series (each a “Fund” and, collectively, the “Funds”). Consistent with its fiduciary duties and pursuant to Rule 30b1-4 under the 1940 Act (the “Proxy Rule”), the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”) has adopted this proxy voting policy on behalf of the Trust (the “Policy”) to reflect its commitment to ensure that proxies are voted in a manner consistent with the best interests of the Funds’ shareholders.
Delegation of Proxy Voting Authority to Fund Advisers
The Board believes that the investment advisor of the Fund (each an “Adviser” and, collectively, the “Advisers”), as the entity that selects the individual securities that comprise its Fund’s portfolio, is the most knowledgeable and best-suited to make decisions on how to vote proxies of portfolio companies held by that Fund. The Trust shall therefore defer to, and rely on, the Adviser of the Fund to make decisions on how to cast proxy votes on behalf of such Fund.
The Trust hereby designates the Adviser of the Fund as the entity responsible for exercising proxy voting authority with regard to securities held in the Fund’s investment portfolio. Consistent with its duties under this Policy, each Adviser shall monitor and review corporate transactions of corporations in which the Fund has invested, obtain all information sufficient to allow an informed vote on all proxy solicitations, ensure that all proxy votes are cast in a timely fashion, and maintain all records required to be maintained by the Fund under the Proxy Rule and the 1940 Act. Each Adviser shall perform these duties in accordance with the Adviser’s proxy voting policy, a copy of which shall be presented to this Board for its review. Each Adviser shall promptly provide to the Board updates to its proxy voting policy as they are adopted and implemented.
The Chief Compliance Officer shall maintain, or cause another service provider to the Trust to maintain, a copy of the Trust’s proxy voting policies and procedures and shall maintain, or cause another service provider to the Trust to maintain, a copy of the proxy voting record for each portfolio of the Funds.
Conflict of Interest Transactions
In some instances, an Adviser may be asked to cast a proxy vote that presents a conflict between the interests of the Fund’s shareholders, and those of the Adviser or an affiliated person of the Adviser. In such case, the Adviser is instructed to abstain from making a voting decision and to forward all necessary proxy voting materials to the Trust to enable the Board to make a voting decision. When the Board is required to make a proxy voting decision, only the Trustees without a conflict of interest with regard to the security in question or the matter to be voted upon shall be permitted to participate in the decision of how the Fund’s vote will be cast. In the event that the Board is required to vote a proxy because an Adviser has a conflict of interest with respect to the proxy, the Board will vote such proxy in accordance with the Adviser’s proxy voting policy, to the extent consistent with the shareholders’ best interests, as determined by the Board in its discretion. The Board shall notify the Adviser of its final decision on the matter and the Adviser shall vote in accordance with the Board’s decision.
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Availability of Proxy Voting Policy and Records Available to Fund Shareholders
Each Fund shall disclose in its statement of additional information the policies and procedures that it uses to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities. In addition, each fund shall make available to shareholders, either on its website or upon request, the record of how the Trust voted proxies relating to portfolio securities.
Each Fund shall disclose in its annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders and in its registration statement the methods by which shareholders may obtain information about the Fund’s proxy voting policies and procedures and the Fund’s proxy voting record.
If the Fund has a website, the Fund may post a copy of its Adviser’s proxy voting policy and this Policy on such website. A copy of such policies and of the Fund’s proxy voting record shall also be made available, without charge, upon request of any shareholder of the Fund, by calling the applicable Fund’s toll-free telephone number as printed in the Fund’s prospectus. The Trust’s administrator shall reply to any Fund shareholder request within three business days of receipt of the request, by first-class mail or other means designed to ensure equally prompt delivery.
1. | Reporting of the Trust’s Proxy Voting Record |
Each Adviser shall provide to the Trust’s Administrator, a certification that the Adviser has cast proxy votes for the relevant securities for each Fund within the Trust for which it acts as investment adviser or sub-adviser, within 15 days following the end of each calendar quarter. The Administrator shall promptly inform the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”) in the event that the Adviser fails to provide the certification.
Prior to the filing of Form N-PX on or before August 31 of each year, each Investment Adviser’s chief compliance officer shall review the Investment Adviser’s proxy voting records for completeness and accuracy and to determine whether any proxy votes were cast on behalf of the Fund for which reports were not filed. If an unreported vote is discovered, the Investment Adviser’s chief compliance officer shall contact the Fund manager for an explanation and documentation and report the unreported vote and explanation to the Trust CCO. The Investment Adviser will submit the proxy voting records for the period ended June 30 in the required format to the Administrator upon request or as soon after June 30 as is practicable.
Each Advisor shall provide a complete voting record, as required by the Proxy Rule, for each series of the Trust for which it acts as adviser, to the Trust’s administrator within 15 days following the end of each calendar quarter. The Trust’s administrator will file a report based on such record on Form N-PX on an annual basis with the Securities and Exchange Commission no later than August 31st of each year.
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EXHIBIT B
Prospector Partners, LLC
Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures
Prospector Partners, LLC (“Prospector”) has determined that it is in the best interests of its clients (each, a “Client”) to adopt the following policy and procedures with respect to voting proxies relating to portfolio securities held by a Client.
Adopted September 7, 2007
I. Statement of Policy
Proxy voting is an important right of shareholders and reasonable care and diligence must be undertaken to ensure that such rights are properly and timely exercised. Prospector generally retains proxy-voting authority with respect to securities purchased for its clients. Under such circumstances, Prospector votes proxies in the best interest of its clients and in accordance with these policies and procedures.
II. Use of Third-Party Proxy Voting Service
Prospector has entered into an agreement with Institutional Shareholder Services (the “Proxy Voting Service”), an independent third party, for the Proxy Voting Service to provide Prospector with its research on proxies and to facilitate the electronic voting of proxies.
Prospector has instructed the Proxy Voting Service that it is generally not to execute any ballot on behalf of Prospector without first receiving specific instruction from Prospector. If no approval is received by Proxy Voting Service by the voting deadline, the Proxy Voting Service will execute ballots in accordance with its recommendation and will notify Prospector immediately that a vote has been executed on its behalf and the character of the vote.
The SEC has expressed its view that although the voting of proxies remains the duty of a registered adviser, an adviser may contract with service providers to perform certain functions with respect to proxy voting so long as the adviser is comfortable that the proxy voting service is independent from the issuer companies on which it completes its proxy research. In assessing whether a proxy voting service is independent (as defined by the SEC), the SEC counsels investment advisers that they should not follow the recommendations of an independent proxy voting service without first determining, among other things, that the proxy voting service (a) has the capacity and competence to analyze proxy issues and (b) is in fact independent and can make recommendations in an impartial manner in the best interests of the adviser’s clients.
At a minimum annually, or more frequently as deemed necessary, the Compliance Officer will ensure that a review of the independence and impartiality of the Proxy Voting Service is carried out, including obtaining certification or other information from the Proxy Voting Service to enable Prospector to make such an assessment. The Compliance Officer will also monitor any new SEC interpretations regarding the voting of proxies and the use of third-party proxy voting services and revise Prospector’s policies and procedures as necessary.
Proxies relating to securities held in client accounts will be sent directly to the Proxy Voting Service. If a proxy is received by the Advisor and not sent directly to the Proxy Voting Service, the Compliance Officer will promptly forward it to the Proxy Voting Service. In the event that the Proxy Voting Service is unable to complete/provide its research regarding a security on a timely basis or Prospector has made a determination that it is in the best interests of Prospector’s clients for Prospector to vote the proxy, Prospector’s general proxy-voting procedures are required to be followed, as follows. The Compliance Officer will:
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1. Keep a record of each proxy received;
2. Forward the proxy to the Portfolio Manager or Analyst responsible for voting the proxy on behalf of Prospector;
3. Determine which accounts managed by Prospector hold the security to which the proxy relates;
4. Provide the Portfolio Manager or Analyst with a list of accounts that hold the security, together with the number of votes each account controls (reconciling any duplications), and the date by which Prospector must vote the proxy in order to allow enough time for the completed proxy to be returned to the issuer prior to the vote taking place;
5. Absent material conflicts (see Section V), the Portfolio Manager or Analyst will determine whether Prospector will follow the Proxy Voting Service’s recommendations or vote the proxy directly in accordance with Prospector’s voting guidelines. The Portfolio Manager or Analyst will send his/her decision on how Prospector will vote a proxy to the Proxy Voting Service, or will instruct the Compliance Officer to vote and mail the proxy in a timely and appropriate manner. It is desirable to have the Proxy Voting Service complete the actual voting so there exists one central source for the documentation of Prospector’s proxy voting records.
III. General Voting Guidelines
To the extent that Prospector is voting a proxy itself and not utilizing the Proxy Voting Service, Prospector will follow these general voting guidelines. Investment professionals of Prospector each have the duty to vote proxies in a way that, in their best judgment, is in the best interest of Prospector’s clients. Generally, Prospector believes that voting proxies in accordance with the following guidelines is in the best interests of its clients. However, it is anticipated that circumstances may arise where votes are inconsistent with these general guidelines. In addition, Prospector will vote proxies in the best interests of each particular client, which may result in different votes for proxies for the same issuer.
A. Elections of Directors
Unless there is a proxy fight for seats on the Board of Directors, Prospector will generally vote in favor of the management proposed slate of directors. Prospector may withhold votes if the board fails to act in the best interests of shareholders, including, but not limited to, their failure to:
● | Implement proposals to declassify boards |
● | Implement a majority vote requirement |
● | Submit a rights plan to a shareholder vote |
● | Act on tender offers where a majority of shareholders have tendered their shares |
Prospector may withhold votes for directors of non-U.S. issuers if insufficient information about the nominees is disclosed in the proxy statement.
B. Appointment of Auditors
Prospector generally believes that the company remains in the best position to choose its auditors and will generally support management’s recommendation for the appointment of auditors.
Prospector will generally oppose the appointment of auditors when:
● | The fees for non-audit related services are disproportionate to the total audit fees |
● | Other reasons to question the independence of the auditors exist |
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C. Changes In Capital Structure
Absent a compelling reason to the contrary, Prospector will generally cast votes in accordance with the company’s management. However, Prospector will review and analyze on a case-by-case basis any non-routine proposals that are likely to affect the structure and operation of the company or have a material economic effect on the company.
Prospector will generally favor increases in authorized common stock when it is necessary to:
● | Implement a stock split |
● | Aid in restructuring or acquisition |
● | Provide a sufficient number of shares for an employee savings plan, stock option plan or executive compensation plan |
Prospector will generally oppose increases in authorized common stock when:
● | There is evidence that the shares will be used to implement a poison pill or another form of anti-takeover defense |
● | The issuance of new shares could excessively dilute the value of the outstanding shares upon issuance |
D. Corporate Restructurings, Mergers and Acquisitions
Prospector will analyze such proposals on a case-by-case basis, taking into account, among other things, the views of investment professionals managing the portfolios in which the stock is held.
E. Proposals Affecting Shareholder Rights
Prospector believes that certain fundamental rights of shareholders must be protected. Prospector will weigh the financial impact of proposed measures against the impairment of shareholder rights.
Prospector will generally favor proposals that give shareholders a greater voice in the affairs of the company, and generally oppose proposals that have the effect of restricting shareholders’ voice in the affairs of the company.
F. Corporate Governance
Prospector believes that good corporate governance is important in ensuring that management and the Board of Directors fulfill their obligations to the company’s shareholders.
Prospector will generally favor proposals that promote transparency and accountability within a company, such as those promoting:
● | Equal access to proxies |
● | A majority of independent directors on key committees |
● | Prospector will generally oppose: |
● | Companies having two classes of shares |
● | The existence of a majority of interlocking directors |
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G. Anti-Takeover Measures
In general, proposed measures (whether advanced by management or shareholder groups) that impede takeovers or have the effect of entrenching management may be detrimental to the rights of shareholders and may negatively impact the value of the company.
Prospector will generally favor proposals that have the purpose or effect of restricting or eliminating existing anti-takeover measures that have previously been adopted, such as:
● | Shareholder proposals that seek to require the company to submit a shareholder rights plan to a shareholder vote. |
Prospector will generally oppose proposals that have the purpose or effect of entrenching management or diluting shareholder ownership, such as:
● | “Blank check” preferred stock |
● | Classified boards |
● | Supermajority vote requirements |
H. Executive Compensation
Prospector generally believes that company management and the compensation committee of the Board of Directors should, within reason, be given latitude in determining the types and mix of compensation and benefit awards offered.
● | Prospector will review proposals relating to executive compensation plans on a case-by-case basis to ensure: |
● | The long-term interests of management and shareholders are properly aligned |
● | The option exercise price is not below market price on the date of grant |
● | An acceptable number of employees are eligible to participate in such compensation programs |
Prospector will generally favor proposals that have the purpose or effect of fairly benefiting both management and shareholders, such as proposals to:
● | “Double trigger” option vesting provisions |
● | Seek treating employee stock options as an expense |
Prospector will generally oppose proposals that have the purpose or effect of unduly benefiting management, such as:
● | Plans that permit re-pricing of underwater employee stock options |
● | “Single trigger” option vesting provisions |
I. Social And Corporate Responsibility
Prospector will review and analyze on a case-by-case basis proposals relating to social, political and environmental issues to determine their financial impact on shareholder value. Prospector will generally oppose such social, political and environmental proposals that have a negative financial impact on shareholder value, such as measures that are unduly burdensome or result in unnecessary and excessive costs to the company.
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J. Abstentions; Determination Not to Vote; Closed Positions
Prospector will abstain from voting or affirmatively decide not to vote if Prospector determines that abstention or not voting is in the best interests of the client. In making this determination, Prospector will consider various factors, including, but not limited to, (i) the costs associates with exercising the proxy (e.g., translation or travel costs); and (ii) any legal restrictions on trading resulting from the exercise of a proxy. Prospector may determine not to vote proxies relating to securities in which clients have no position as of the receipt of the proxy (for example, when Prospector has sold, or has otherwise closed, a client position after the proxy record date but before the proxy receipt date).
IV. Disclosure
A. Prospector will disclose in its Form ADV Part II that clients may contact the Compliance Officer via e-mail or telephone in order to obtain information on how Prospector voted such client’s proxies, and to request a copy of these policies and procedures. If a client requests this information, the Compliance Officer will prepare a written response to the client that lists, with respect to each voted proxy that the client has inquired about, (1) the name of the issuer; (2) the proposal voted upon and (3) how Prospector voted the client’s proxy.
B. A concise summary of these Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures will be included in Prospector’s Form ADV Part II, and will be updated whenever these policies and procedures are updated. The Compliance Officer will arrange for a copy of this summary to be sent to all existing clients.
V. Potential Conflicts of Interest
A. In the event that Prospector is directly voting a proxy, the Compliance Officer will examine conflicts that exist between the interests of Prospector and its clients. This examination will include a review of the relationship of Prospector, its personnel and its affiliates with the issuer of each security and any of the issuer’s affiliates to determine if the issuer is a client of Prospector or an affiliate of Prospector or has some other relationship with Prospector, its personnel or a client of Prospector.
B. If, as a result of the Compliance Officer’s examination, a determination is made that a material conflict of interest exists, Prospector will determine whether voting in accordance with the voting guidelines and factors described above is in the best interests of the client. If the proxy involves a matter covered by the voting guidelines and factors described above, Prospector will generally vote the proxy in accordance with the voting guidelines. Alternatively, Prospector may vote the proxy in accordance with the recommendation of the Proxy Voting Service.
C. Prospector may disclose the conflict to the affected clients and, except in the case of clients that are subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), give the clients the opportunity to vote their proxies themselves. In the case of ERISA clients, if the Investment Management Agreement reserves to the ERISA client the authority to vote proxies when Prospector determines it has a material conflict that affects its best judgment as an ERISA fiduciary, the Advisor will give the ERISA client the opportunity to vote the proxies themselves.
D. If Prospector determines that it, or a Proxy Voting Service, has a conflict of interest with respect to voting proxies on behalf of a series (the “Series”) of advised by Prospector (the “Mutual Fund”), then Prospector shall contact the Chairman of the Board of the Mutual Fund. In the event that the Chairman determines that he has a conflict of interest, the Chairman shall submit the matter for determination to another member of the Board who is not an “interested person” of the Mutual Fund, as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. In making a determination, the Chairman will consider the best interests of the Series’ shareholders and may consider the recommendations of Prospector or independent third parties that evaluate proxy proposals. Prospector will vote the proposal according the determination and maintain records relating to this process.
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VI. Proxy Recordkeeping
The Compliance Officer will maintain files relating to Prospector’s proxy voting procedures in an easily accessible place. (Under the services contract between Prospector and its Proxy Voting Service, the Proxy Voting Service will maintain Prospector’s proxy-voting records). Records will be maintained and preserved for five years from the end of the fiscal year during which the last entry was made on a record, with records for the most recent two years kept in the offices of Prospector. Records of the following will be included in the files:
1. | copies of these proxy voting policies and procedures, and any amendments thereto; |
2. | A copy of each proxy statement that Prospector receives regarding client securities (Prospector may rely on third parties or EDGAR); |
3. | A record of each vote that Prospector casts; |
4. | A copy of any document Prospector created that was material to making a decision how to vote proxies, or that memorializes that decision. (For votes that are inconsistent with Prospector’s general proxy voting polices, the reason/rationale for such an inconsistent vote is required to be briefly documented and maintained.); and |
A copy of each written client request for information on how Prospector voted such client’s proxies, and a copy of any written response to any (written or oral) client request for information on how Prospector voted its proxies.
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EXHIBIT C
Governance and Nominating Committee Charter
Valued Advisers Trust
Governance and Nominating Committee Membership
1. | The Governance and Nominating Committee (the “Committee”) of Valued Advisers Trust (“Trust”) shall be composed entirely of Independent Trustees. |
Governance and Functions
1. | The Committee shall assist the Board in adopting fund governance practices and reviewing the Trust’s fund governance standards. |
2. | To carry out this purpose, the Committee shall have the following duties and powers: |
a. | To periodically review workload, size, and composition of the Board; |
b. | To periodically review the qualifications and independence of the members of the Board; |
c. | To periodically review the compensation of the Independent Trustees; |
d. | To monitor, as necessary, regulatory developments, rule changes and industry best practices in fund governance; |
e. | To periodically review the Trust’s committee structure and consider if additional committees or changes to existing committees are needed or warranted; and |
f. | To report its activities to the Board and to make such recommendations with respect to the above and other matters as the Committee may deem necessary or appropriate. |
Board Nominations and Functions
1. | The Committee shall make recommendations for nominations for Independent Trustees members on the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) to the incumbent Independent Trustees members and to the full Board. The Committee also shall evaluate candidates’ qualifications and make recommendations for “interested” members on the Board to the full Board. The Committee shall evaluate candidates’ qualifications for Board membership and their independence from the investment advisers to the Trust’s series portfolios and the Trust’s other principal service providers. Persons selected as Independent Trustees must not be “interested person” as that term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), nor shall an Independent Trustee have any affiliations or associations that shall preclude them from voting as an Independent Trustee on matters involving approvals and continuations of Rule 12b-1 Plans, Investment Advisory Agreements and such other standards as the Committee shall deem appropriate. The Committee shall also consider the effect of any relationships beyond those delineated in the 1940 Act that might impair independence, e.g., business, financial or family relationships with investment advisers or service providers. See Appendix A for Procedures with Respect to Nominees to the Board. |
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2. | The Committee shall periodically review Board governance procedures and shall recommend any appropriate changes to the full Board. |
3. | The Committee may adopt from time to time specific, minimum qualifications that the Committee believes a candidate must meet before being considered as a candidate for Board membership and shall comply with any rules adopted from time to time by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) regarding investment company nominating committees and the nomination of persons to be considered as candidates for Board membership. The Committee shall periodically review Independent Trustee compensation and shall recommend any appropriate changes to the Independent Trustees as a group. |
Committee Nominations and Functions
1. | The Committee shall make recommendations to the full Board for nomination for membership on all committees of the Board and shall review committee assignments at least annually. |
2. | The Committee shall review, as necessary, the responsibilities of any committees of the Board, whether there is a continuing need for each committee, whether there is a need for additional committees of the Board, and whether committees should be combined or reorganized. The Committee shall make recommendations for any such action to the Board. |
Other Powers and Responsibilities
1. | The Committee shall meet as often as it deems appropriate. |
2. | The Committee shall have the resources and authority appropriate to discharge its responsibilities, including authority to retain special counsel and other experts or consultants at the expense of the Trust. |
3. | The Committee shall report its activities to the Board and make such recommendations as the Committee may deem necessary or appropriate. |
4. | A majority of the Committee’s members will constitute a quorum. At any meeting of the Committee at which a quorum is present, the decision of a majority of the members present and voting will be determinatives as to any matter submitted to a vote. The Committee may meet in person or by telephone, and a majority of the members of the Committee may act by written consent to the extent not inconsistent with the Trust’s by-laws. In the event of any inconsistency between this Charter and the Trust’s organizational documents, the provisions of the Trust’s organizational documents shall be given precedence. |
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5. | The Committee shall review this Charter at least annually and recommend any changes to the Board. |
Adopted: | April 23, 2010 |
Amended: | June 8, 2016 |
Amended: | June 7, 2018 |
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APPENDIX A
VALUED ADVISERS TRUST
PROCEDURES WITH RESPECT TO NOMINEES TO THE BOARD
I. | Identification of Candidates. When a vacancy on the Board of Trustees exists or is anticipated, and such vacancy is to be filled by an Independent Trustee, the Governance and Nominating Committee shall identify candidates by obtaining referrals from such sources as it may deem appropriate, which may include current Trustees, management of the Trust, counsel and other advisors to the Trustees, and shareholders of the Trust who submit recommendations in accordance with these procedures. |
II. | Shareholder Candidates. The Governance and Nominating Committee shall, when identifying candidates for the position of Independent Trustee, consider any such candidate recommended by a shareholder if such recommendation contains: (i) sufficient background information concerning the candidate, including evidence the candidate is willing to serve as an Independent Trustee if selected for the position; and (ii) is received in a sufficiently timely manner as determined by the Governance and Nominating Committee in its discretion. Shareholders shall be directed to address any such recommendations in writing to the attention of the Governance and Nominating Committee, c/o the Secretary of the Trust. The Secretary shall retain copies of any shareholder recommendations which meet the foregoing requirements for a period of not more than 12 months following receipt. The Secretary shall have no obligation to acknowledge receipt of any shareholder recommendations. |
III. | Evaluation of Candidates. In evaluating a candidate for a position on the Board of Trustees, including any candidate recommended by shareholders of the Trust, the Governance and Nominating Committee shall consider the following: (i) the candidate’s knowledge in matters relating to the mutual fund industry; (ii) any experience possessed by the candidate as a director or senior officer of public companies; (iii) the candidate’s educational background; (iv) the candidate’s reputation for high ethical standards and professional integrity; (v) any specific financial, technical or other expertise possessed by the candidate, and the extent to which such expertise would complement the Board’s existing mix of skills, core competencies and qualifications; (vi) the candidate’s perceived ability to contribute to the ongoing functions of the Board, including the candidate’s ability and commitment to attend meetings regularly and work collaboratively with other members of the Board; (vii) the candidate’s ability to qualify as an Independent Trustee and any other actual or potential conflicts of interest involving the candidate and the Trust; and (viii) such other factors as the Governance and Nominating Committee determines to be relevant in light of the existing composition of the Board and any anticipated vacancies. Prior to making a final recommendation to the Board, the Governance and Nominating Committee shall conduct personal interviews with those candidates it concludes are the most qualified candidates. |
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PART C
FORM N-1A
OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 28. | Exhibits. |
ITEM 29. | Persons Controlled by or Under Common Control with the Registrant. |
No person is controlled by or under common control with the Registrant.
ITEM 30. | Indemnification. |
Reference is made to the Registrant's Declaration of Trust, which is filed herewith. The following is a summary of certain indemnification provisions therein.
A person who is or was a Trustee, officer, employee or agent of the Registrant, or is or was serving at the request of the Trustees as a director, trustee, partner, officer, employee or agent of a corporation, trust, partnership, joint venture or other enterprise shall be indemnified by the Trust to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware Statutory Trust Act, as such may be amended from time to time, the Registrant’s Bylaws and other applicable law. In case any shareholder or former shareholder of the Registrant shall be held to be personally liable solely by reason of his being or having been a shareholder of the Registrant or any series or class of the Registrant and not because of his acts or omissions or for some other reason, the shareholder or former shareholder (or his heirs, executors, administrators or other legal representatives, or, in the case of a corporation or other entity, its corporate or general successor) shall be entitled, out of the assets belonging to the applicable series (or allocable to the applicable class), to be held harmless from and indemnified against all loss and expense arising from such liability in accordance with the Registrant’s Bylaws and applicable law.
Insofar as indemnification for liability arising under the Securities Act of 1933 (the "1933 Act") may be permitted to directors, 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 SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the 1933 Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event 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 defenses of any action, suite or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the 1933 Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
ITEM 31. | Business and Other Connections of the Investment Adviser. |
See the Trust’s various prospectuses and the statements of additional information for the activities and affiliations of the officers and directors of the investment advisers of the Registrant (the “Advisers”). Except as so provided, to the knowledge of Registrant, none of the directors or executive officers of the Advisers is or has been at any time during the past two fiscal years engaged in any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature. The Advisers currently serve as investment advisers to other institutional and individual clients.
ITEM 32. | Principal Underwriters. |
Ultimus Fund Distributors, LLC |
(a) |
Ultimus Fund Distributors, LLC also serves as a principal underwriter for the following investment companies: AlphaMark Investment Trust, Bruce Fund, Inc., CM Advisors Family of Funds, Caldwell & Orkin Funds, Inc., Capitol Series Trust, Centaur Mutual Funds Trust, Chesapeake Investment Trust, Commonwealth International Series Trust, Conestoga Funds, Cross Shore Discovery Fund, Eubel Brady & Suttman Mutual Fund Trust, First Western Funds Trust, FSI Low Beta Absolute Return Fund, HC Capital Trust, Hussman Investment Trust, Index Funds, Oak Associates Funds, Papp Investment Trust, Peachtree Alternative Strategies Fund, Primark Private Equity Fund, Red Cedar Fund Trust, Schwartz Investment Trust, Seagull Bryant & Hamill Trust, The Cutler Trust, The Investment House Funds, Williamsburg Investment Trust, Ultimus Managers Trust, Unified Series Trust, and Yorktown Funds. |
(b) | The directors and officers of Ultimus Fund Distributors, LLC are as follows: |
Name* | Title | Position with Trust | |
Kevin M. Guerette* | President | None | |
Stephen L. Preston* | Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer and Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer | AML Officer | |
Melvin Van Cleave* | Vice President, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Information Security Officer | None | |
Douglas K. Jones* | Vice President | None |
* | The principal business address of these individuals is 225 Pictoria Dr., Suite 450, Cincinnati, OH 45246 |
(c) | Not Applicable. |
ITEM 33. | Location Of Accounts And Records. |
The accounts, books or other documents of the Registrant required to be maintained by Section 31(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder are kept in several locations:
(a) | Huntington National Bank, 41 South High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215 (records relating to its functions as custodian for Summitry Equity Fund, Green Owl Intrinsic Value Fund, Foundry Partners Fundamental Small Cap Value Fund, BFS Equity Fund, Dana Large Cap Equity Fund, Dana Small Cap Equity Fund, Dana Epiphany ESG Equity Fund, Sound Mind Investing Fund, SMI Conservative Allocation Fund, SMI Dynamic Allocation Fund, SMI Bond Fund, and SMI 50/40/10 Fund). |
(b) | US Bank, N.A., 1555 N. Rivercenter Drive, Milwaukee, WI 53212 (records relating to its functions as custodian for LS Opportunity Fund). |
(c) |
Summitry LLC, 919 Hillsdale Blvd, Suite 150, Foster City, CA 94404 (records relating to its function as the investment adviser to Summitry Equity Fund). |
(d) | Long Short Advisors, LLC, 130 N. 18th Street 26th Floor, Suite 2675 Philadelphia, PA 19103 (records relating to its function as the investment adviser to LS Opportunity Fund). |
(e) | Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC, 225 Pictoria Dr., Suite 450, Cincinnati, Ohio 45246 (records relating to its function as transfer agent, fund accountant, and administrator for the Trust). |
(f) | Kovitz Investment Group Partners, LLC, 115 S. LaSalle Street, 27th Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60603 (records relating to its function as investment adviser to Green Owl Intrinsic Value Fund). |
(g) | Foundry Partners, LLC, 323 Washington Ave North, Suite 360, Minneapolis, MN 55401 (records relating to its function as investment adviser to Foundry Partners Fundamental Small Cap Value Fund). |
(h) | SMI Advisory Services, LLC, 4400 Ray Boll Blvd. Columbus, IN 47203 (records relating to its function as investment adviser to the Sound Mind Funds). |
(i) | Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc., 185 Asylum St., City Place II, Hartford, Connecticut 06103 (records relating to its function as investment adviser to the BFS Equity Fund). |
(j) | Dana Investment Advisors, Inc., 20700 Swenson Drive, Suite 400, Waukesha, Wisconsin 53186 (records relating to its function as investment adviser to the Dana Funds). |
(k) | Prospector Partners, LLC, 370 Church Street, Guilford, Connecticut 06437 (records relating to its function as subadviser to the LS Opportunity Fund). |
(l) | Belmont Capital, LLC d/b/a Belmont Capital Group, 1875 Century Park E., Suite 1780, Los Angeles, California 90067 (records relating to its function as investment adviser to the Belmont Theta Income Fund). |
(m) | Ultimus Fund Distributors, LLC, 225 Pictoria Dr., Suite 450, Cincinnati, Ohio 45246 (records relating to its function as distributor to the Trust). |
ITEM 34. | Management Services. |
Not Applicable.
ITEM 35. | Undertakings. |
Not Applicable.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”) and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirements for effectiveness of this Registration Statement pursuant to Rule 485(b) under the Securities Act and has duly caused this Post-Effective Amendment No. 332 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, duly authorized, in the City of Indianapolis, and State of Indiana on this 28th day of September, 2020.
VALUED ADVISERS TRUST | |||
By: | * | ||
Adam T. Kornegay, President |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the date indicated.
* | September 28, 2020 | ||
Andrea N. Mullins, Trustee | Date | ||
* | September 28, 2020 | ||
Ira Cohen, Trustee | Date | ||
* | September 28, 2020 | ||
Mark J. Seger, Trustee | Date | ||
* | September 28, 2020 | ||
Gregory T. Knoth, Treasurer and Principal | Date | ||
Financial Officer | |||
* By: | /s/ Carol J. Highsmith | September 28, 2020 | |
Carol J. Highsmith, Vice President, Attorney in Fact | Date |
INDEX TO EXHIBITS
(FOR REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES
ACT OF 1933 AND THE
INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940)
EXHIBIT NO. UNDER PART C OF FORM N-1A |
NAME OF EXHIBIT |
(h)(6) | Amended Expense Limitation Agreement |
(j)(2) | Consent of Cohen & Company, Ltd. |
(p)(3) | Code of Ethics |
(p)(5) | Code of Ethics |
(p)(6) | Code of Ethics |
(p)(7) | Code of Ethics |
(p)(8) | Code of Ethics |
(p)(9) | Code of Ethics |
(p)(10) | Code of Ethics |
(p)(11) | Code of Ethics |
VALUED ADVISERS TRUST
AMENDED EXPENSE LIMITATION AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT is made and entered into effective as of October 1, 2020 by and between Valued Advisers Trust, a Delaware statutory trust (the “Trust”), on behalf of its series portfolios as set forth on Schedule A, (each a “Fund”), and Long Short Advisors, LLC (the “Adviser”), a Delaware limited liability company.
WHEREAS, the Trust is a Delaware statutory trust organized under the Certificate of Trust (“Trust Instrument”), dated June 13, 2008, and is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), as an open-end management investment company of the series type; and
WHEREAS, the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and the Adviser have entered into an Investment Advisory Agreement dated June 17, 2010 (“Advisory Agreement”), pursuant to which the Adviser provides investment advisory services to the Fund; and
WHEREAS, the Fund and the Adviser have determined that it is appropriate and in the best interests of the Fund and its shareholders to limit the expenses of the Fund, and, therefore, have entered into this Agreement, in order to maintain the Fund’s expense ratios within the Operating Expense Limit, as defined below;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants herein contained, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. | EXPENSE LIMITATION. |
(a) | Applicable Expense Limit. To the extent that the aggregate expenses of every character, including but not limited to investment advisory fees of the Adviser (but excluding (i) borrowing costs such as interest and dividends on securities sold short, (ii) taxes, (iii) brokerage commissions, (iv) other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, (v) other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund’s business, and (vi) expenses incurred under a plan of distribution adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act), incurred by the Fund in any fiscal year (“Fund Operating Expenses”), that exceed the Operating Expense Limit, as defined in Section 1(b) below, such excess amount (the “Excess Amount”) shall be the liability of the Adviser. In determining the Fund Operating Expenses, expenses that the Fund would have incurred but did not actually pay because of expense offset or brokerage/service arrangements shall be added to the aggregate expenses so as not to benefit the Adviser. Additionally, fees reimbursed to the Fund relating to expense offset or brokerage/services arrangements shall not be taken into account in determining the Fund Operating Expenses so as to benefit the Adviser. Finally, the Operating Expense Limit described in this Agreement excludes any “acquired fund fees and expenses” as that term is described in the prospectus of the Fund. |
(b) | Operating Expense Limit. The Fund’s maximum operating expense limits (each an “Operating Expense Limit”) in any year shall be that percentage of the average daily net assets of the Fund as set forth on Schedule A attached hereto and incorporated by this reference. |
(c) | Method of Computation. To determine the Adviser’s liability with respect to the Excess Amount, each month the Fund Operating Expenses for the Fund shall be annualized as of the last day of the month. If the annualized Fund Operating Expenses for any month exceeds the Operating Expense Limit of the Fund, the Adviser shall first waive or reduce its investment advisory fee for such month by an amount sufficient to reduce the annualized Fund Operating Expenses to an amount no higher than the Operating Expense Limit. If the amount of the waived or reduced investment advisory fee for any such month is insufficient to pay the Excess Amount, the Adviser shall also remit to the Fund an amount that, together with the waived or reduced investment advisory fee, is sufficient to pay such Excess Amount. |
1 | Expense Limitation Agreement |
(d) | Year-End Adjustment. If necessary, on or before the last day of the first month of each fiscal year, an adjustment payment shall be made by the appropriate party in order that the amount of the investment advisory fees waived or reduced and other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Fund with respect to the previous fiscal year shall equal the Excess Amount. |
2. | REIMBURSEMENT OF FEE WAIVERS AND EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENTS. |
(a) | Reimbursement. The Adviser retains its right to receive reimbursement of any excess expense payments paid by it pursuant to this Agreement in the three years following the date the particular expense payment occurred, but only if such reimbursement can be achieved without exceeding the applicable Operating Expense Limit in effect at the time of the expense payment or the reimbursement (the “Reimbursement Amount”). |
(b) | Method of Computation. To determine a Fund’s accrual, if any, to reimburse the Adviser for the Reimbursement Amount, each month the Fund Operating Expenses of the Fund shall be annualized as of the last day of the month. If the annualized Fund Operating Expenses of the Fund for any month are less than the Operating Expense Limit of such Fund, such Fund, shall accrue into its net asset value an amount payable to the Adviser sufficient to increase the annualized Fund Operating Expenses of that Fund to an amount no greater than the Operating Expense Limit of that Fund, provided that such amount paid to the Adviser will in no event exceed the total Reimbursement Amount. For accounting purposes, when the annualized Fund Operating Expenses of a Fund are below the Operating Expense Limit, a liability will be accrued daily for these amounts. |
(c) | Year-End Adjustment. If necessary, on or before the last day of the first month of each fiscal year, an adjustment payment shall be made by the appropriate party in order that the actual Fund Operating Expenses of a Fund for the prior fiscal year (including any reimbursement payments hereunder with respect to such fiscal year) do not exceed the Operating Expense Limit. |
(d) | Limitation of Liability. The Adviser shall look only to the assets of the Fund for which it waived or reduced fees for reimbursement under this Agreement and for payment of any claim hereunder, and neither the Funds, nor any of the Trust’s directors, officers, employees, agents, or shareholders, whether past, present or future shall be personally liable therefor. |
3. | TERM, MODIFICATION AND TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT. |
This Agreement with respect to the Fund shall continue in effect until the expiration date set forth on Schedule A (the “Expiration Date”). With regard to the Operating Expense Limit, the Trust’s Board of Trustees and the Adviser may terminate or modify this Agreement prior to the Expiration Date only by mutual written consent. This Agreement shall terminate automatically upon the termination of the Advisory Agreement; provided, however, that the obligation of the Trust to reimburse the Adviser with respect to a Fund shall survive the termination of this Agreement unless the Trust and the Adviser agree otherwise.
2 | Expense Limitation Agreement |
4. | MISCELLANEOUS. |
(a) | Captions. The captions in this Agreement are included for convenience of reference only and in no other way define or delineate any of the provisions hereof or otherwise affect their construction or effect. |
(b) | Interpretation. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to require the Trust or the Fund to take any action contrary to the Trust’s Declaration of Trust or Bylaws, or any applicable statutory or regulatory requirement to which it is subject or by which it is bound, or to relieve or deprive the Trust’s Board of Trustees of its responsibility for and control of the conduct of the affairs of the Trust or the Fund. |
(c) | Definitions. Any question of interpretation of any term or provision of this Agreement, including but not limited to the investment advisory fee, the computations of net asset values, and the allocation of expenses, having a counterpart in or otherwise derived from the terms and provisions of the Advisory Agreement or the 1940 Act, shall have the same meaning as and be resolved by reference to such Advisory Agreement or the 1940 Act. |
Signature Page to Follow
3 | Expense Limitation Agreement |
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Agreement to be signed by their respective officers thereunto duly authorized as of the day and year first above written.
VALUED ADVISERS TRUST | ||
/s/Carol J. Highsmith | ||
Signature | ||
Vice President and Secretary | ||
Title |
Long short advisors, LLC | ||
/s/Matthew West | ||
Signature | ||
CEO | ||
Title |
4 | Expense Limitation Agreement |
Schedule A
to the
Amended Expense Limitation Agreement
between
Valued Advisers Trust (the "Trust")
and
Long Short Advisors, LLC (the "Adviser")
Dated as of October 1, 2020
Fund | Operating Expense Limit | Effective Date | Expiration Date |
LS Opportunity Fund | 2.50% | June 30, 2010 | February 3, 2013 |
1.95% | February 4, 2013 | September 30, 2014 | |
1.95% | October 1, 2014 | September 30, 2015 | |
1.95% | October 1, 2015 | September 30, 2016 | |
1.95% | October 1, 2016 | September 30, 2017 | |
1.95% | October 1, 2017 | September 30, 2018 | |
1.95% | October 1, 2018 | September 30, 2019 | |
1.95% | October 1, 2019 | September 30, 2020 | |
1.95% | October 1, 2020 | September 30, 2021 |
A-1 | Expense Limitation Agreement |
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 July 28, 2020, relating to the financial statements and financial highlights of LS Opportunity Fund, a series of Valued Advisers Trust, for the year ended May 31, 2020, and to the references to our firm under the headings “Financial Highlights” in the Prospectus and “Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm” in the Statement of Additional Information.
Cohen & Company, Ltd.
Cleveland, Ohio
September 24, 2020
Code of Ethics with Insider Trading Policy
Long Short Advisors, LLC (the "Firm") LS Opportunity Fund (the "Fund")
Amended and Restated March 31, 2019
1.1 | OVERVIEW |
This Code of Ethics (the “Code”) has been adopted by the Firm, as the investment advisor to, among others, the Fund, in compliance with Rule 17j-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”) and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act).
The Investment Company Act of 1940 prohibits the Firm and its employees, in connection with the purchase and sale, directly or indirectly, of a security held or to be acquired by the Fund to a) employ any device, scheme or artifice to defraud the Fund; b) make any untrue statement of a material fact to the Fund or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made to the Fund, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading; c) engage in any act, practice or course of business that operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit on the Fund; or d) engage in any manipulative practice with respect to the Fund.
Our Code is also based on the principle that every director, officer and employee, or outsourced Supervised Person of the Firm, designated as an Access Person, is to place the interests of all clients of the firm before his or her own personal interests at all times. Each director, officer, employee, and outsourced third party service provider covered by this Code is to avoid any actual or potential conflicts of interest with the Firm and must comply with the provisions of the Code in all personal securities transactions.
Questions concerning this Code should be directed to the Chief Compliance Officer of the Firm.
1.2 | DEFINITIONS |
“Access Person” means:
The Firm considers certain full-time employees of the Firm who, have routine access in advance of non-public information regarding the investment decisions, recommendations, or knowledge of portfolio holdings or potential portfolio holdings of any Firm client, to be an Access Person. Any other full-time, part-time, temporary, intern, contract person, or other outsourced third-party service provider who performs administrative or non-investment function for the Firm and who does not have routine access in advance of non-public information regarding the investment decisions, recommendations, or knowledge of the potential portfolio holdings of any Firm client, will not be considered to be an Access Person.
An Access Person may include any outsourced third-party service provider who, other than not being employed by the Firm, meets the criteria of being an Access Person. Those individuals will be subject to the Code and their compliance with the Code is the responsibility of the Firm.
“Acquisition” or “Acquire” includes any purchase and the receipt of any gift or bequest of any Reportable Security.
“Affiliate Account” means, as to any Access Person, an Account:
(i) | Of any family member of the Access Person; |
(ii) | For which the Access Person acts as a custodian, trustee or other fiduciary; |
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(iii) | Of any corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, company or other entity which is neither subject to the reporting requirements of section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 nor registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Company Act”) and in which the Access Person or a Family Member has a direct or indirect Beneficial Ownership; and |
(iv) | Of any Access Person of the Firm. |
“Associated Person” of the Firm means any Access Person, and any employees, including independent contractors who perform advisory functions on behalf of the Firm.
“Automatic investment plan” means a program in which regular periodic purchases (or withdrawals) are made automatically in (or from) investment accounts in accordance with a predetermined schedule and allocation. An automatic investment plan includes a dividend reinvestment plan.
“Beneficial Ownership” means a direct or indirect “pecuniary interest” (as defined in Rule 16a-1(a) (2) under the 1934 Act that is held or shared by a person directly or indirectly (through any contract, arrangement, understanding, relationship or otherwise) in a Security. This term generally means the opportunity directly or indirectly to profit or share in any profit derived from a transaction in a Security. An Access Person is presumed to have Beneficial Ownership of any Family Member’s account.
“Client Account” means any account for which the Firm provides services, including investment advice and investment decisions.
“Control” has the same meaning as in section 2(a)(9) of the Company Act. Section 2(a)(9) defines “Control” as the power to exercise a controlling influence over the management or policies of a company, unless this power is solely the result of an official position with the company.
“Disposition” or “Dispose” includes any sale and the making of any personal or charitable gift of Reportable Securities.
“Family Member” of an Access Person means:
(i) | That person’s spouse or minor child who resides in the same household; |
(ii) | Any adult related by blood, marriage or adoption to the Access Person (a “relative”) who shares the Access Person’s household; |
(iii) | Any relative dependent on the Access Person for financial support; and |
(iv) | Any other relationship (whether or not recognized by law) which the CCO determines could lead to the possible conflicts of interest or appearances of impropriety this Code of Ethics is intended to prevent. |
“Initial Public Offering” means an offering of securities registered under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “1933 Act”), the issuer of which, immediately before the registration, was not subject to the reporting requirements of section 13 or 15(d) of the 1934 Act.
“Limited Offering” means an offering that is exempt from registration under the 1933 Act pursuant to section 4(2) or section 4(6) of the 1933 Act or rule 504, 505 or 506 under the 1933 Act.
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“Material Non-Public Information”
(i) | Information is generally deemed “material” if a reasonable investor would consider it important in deciding whether to purchase or sell a company’s securities or information that is reasonably certain to affect the market price of the company's securities, regardless of whether the information is directly related to the company’s business. |
(ii) | Information is considered “nonpublic” when it has not been effectively disseminated to the marketplace. Information found in reports filed with the Commission or appearing in publications of general circulation would be considered public information. |
“Purchase or sale of a Security” includes, among other things, transactions in options to purchase or sell a Security.
“Reportable Security” means a Security as defined in the Code of Ethics, but does not include:
(i) | Direct obligations of the Government of the United States; |
(ii) | Money market instruments, bankers’ acceptances, bank certificates of deposit, commercial paper, repurchase agreements and other high quality short-term debt instruments, including repurchase agreements; |
(iii) | Shares issued by open-end Funds (as defined in Rule 17J-1 (a)(5) of the Investment Company Act). |
“Restricted Security” means any Security on the Firm’s Restricted Security List. In general, this list will include securities of public companies which are client’s of the Firm, or whose senior management are clients of the Firm.
“Security” means any note, stock, treasury stock, security future, bond, debenture, evidence of indebtedness, certificate of interest or participation in any profit-sharing agreement, collateral-trust certificate, preorganization certificate or subscription, transferable share, investment contract, voting-trust certificate, certificate of deposit for a security, fractional undivided interest in oil, gas, or other mineral rights, any put, call, straddle, option, or privilege on any security (including a certificate of deposit) or on any group or index of securities (including any interest therein or based on the value thereof), or any put, call, straddle, option, or privilege entered into on a national securities exchange relating to foreign currency, or, in general, any interest or instrument commonly known as a "security", or any certificate of interest or participation in, temporary or interim certificate for, receipt for, guaranty of, or warrant or right to subscribe to or purchase any of the foregoing.
1.3 | PERSONAL SECURITIES TRADING POLICY |
Timing of Personal Transactions
No Access Person may purchase or sell, directly or indirectly, any Security in which the Access Person or an Affiliate Account has, or by reason of the transaction acquires, any direct or indirect Beneficial Ownership if the Access Person knows or reasonably should know that the Security, at the time of the purchase or sale (i) is being considered for purchase or sale on behalf of any Client Account; or (ii) is being actively purchased or sold on behalf any Client Account.
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If the Firm is purchasing/selling or considering for purchase/sale any Security on behalf of a Client Account, no Access Person may effect a transaction in that Security prior to the client purchase/sale having been completed by the Firm, or until a decision has been made not to purchase/sell the Security on behalf of the Client Account.
Improper Use of Information
No Access Person may use his or her knowledge about the securities transactions or holdings of a Client Account in trading for any account that is directly or indirectly beneficially owned by the Access Person or for any Affiliate Account. Any investment ideas developed by an Access Person must be made available to Client Accounts before the Access Person may engage in personal transactions or transactions for an Affiliate Account based on these ideas.
No Associated Person:
● | while aware of material nonpublic information about a company, may purchase or sell securities of that company until the information becomes publicly disseminated and the market has had an opportunity to react; |
● | shall disclose material nonpublic information about a company to any person except for lawful purposes; or |
● | may purchase any Restricted Securities, as for as long as the publicly traded company (or any member of its senior management) is a client of the Firm, unless expressly approved in advance by the CCO. |
Initial Public Offerings
No Access Person may acquire any securities in an Initial Public Offering without first obtaining pre-clearance and approval from the CCO.
Limited Offerings
No Access Person may acquire any securities in a Limited Offering without first obtaining pre-clearance and approval from the CCO.
1.4 | REPORTING REQUIREMENTS |
An Access Person must submit to the CCO, on forms designated by the CCO, the following reports as to all Reportable Securities holdings and brokerage accounts in which the Access Person has, or by reason of a transaction, acquires, Beneficial Ownership:
Initial Holdings Reports
Not later than 10 days after an Access Person becomes an Access Person, a Certification and Holdings Report with the following information which must be current as of a date no more than 45 days prior to the date the person becomes an Access Person:
● | The title, type of security, and as applicable the exchange ticker or CUSIP number, number of shares and principal amount of each Reportable Security in which the Access Person has any direct or indirect Beneficial Ownership; |
● | The name of any broker, dealer or bank in which the Access Person maintains an account in which any securities (including but not limited to Reportable Securities) are held for the Access Person’s direct or indirect Beneficial Ownership; and |
● | The date the report is being submitted by the Access Person. |
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Quarterly Transaction Reports
Reportable Securities
Not later than 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter, a Transactions Report for any transaction (i.e., purchase, sale, gift or any other type of Acquisition or Disposition) during the calendar quarter of a Reportable Security in which the Access Person had any direct or indirect Beneficial Ownership including:
● | The date of the transaction, the title, the exchange ticker symbol or CUSIP number (if applicable), the interest rate and maturity date (if applicable), the number of shares and the principal amount of each Reportable Security; |
● | The nature of the transaction (i.e., purchase, sale, gift or any other type of Acquisition or Disposition): |
● | The price of the Reportable Security at which the transaction was effected; |
● | The name of the broker, dealer or bank with or through which the transaction was effected; and |
● | The date the report is being submitted by the Access Person. |
Accounts Established
Additionally, each Access Person shall include on the Transactions Report a list of any account established in which Securities were held during the quarter for the Beneficial Ownership of the Access Person. Such list shall include:
● | The name of the broker, dealer or bank with whom the Acesss Person established the account; |
● | The date the account was established; and |
● | The date that the report was submitted by the Access Person |
Annual Holdings Reports
At least once each twelve (12) month period by a date specified by the CCO, a Certification and Holdings Report with the following information which must be current as of a date no more than 45 days prior to the date the report is submitted:
● | The title, type of security, and as applicable the exchange ticker or CUSIP number, number of shares and principal amount of each Reportable Security in which the Access Person has any direct or indirect Beneficial Ownership; |
● | The name of any broker, dealer or bank in which the Access Person maintains an account in which securities (including but not limited to Reportable Securities) are held for the Access Person’s direct or indirect Beneficial Ownership; and |
● | The date the report is being submitted by the Access Person. |
Exceptions From Reporting Requirements
An Access Person need not submit:
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● | Any reports with respect to Securities held in accounts over which the Access Person had no direct or indirect influence or control; |
● | A transaction report with respect to transactions effected pursuant to an automatic investment plan; |
● | A transaction report if the report would duplicate information contained in broker trade confirmations or account statements that the Firm holds in its records so long as the Firm receives the confirmations or statements no later than 30 days after the close of the calendar quarter in which the transaction takes place. |
Disclaimer of Beneficial Ownership
Any report submitted by an Access Person in accordance with this Code of Ethics may contain a statement that the report will not be construed as an admission by that person that he or she has any direct or indirect Beneficial Ownership in any Security or brokerage account to which the report relates. The existence of any report will not, by itself, be construed as an admission that any event included in the report is a violation of this Code of Ethics.
Annual Certification of Compliance
Each Access Person must submit annually, a Certification and Holdings Report by a date specified by the CCO, that the Access Person:
● | Has received, read and understand this Code of Ethics and recognizes that the Access Person is subject to the Code; |
● | Has complied with all the requirements of this Code of Ethics; and |
● | Has disclosed or reported all personal securities transactions, holdings and accounts required by this Code of Ethics to be disclosed or reported. |
1.5 | CONFIDENTIALITY |
Non-Disclosure of Confidential Information
No Access Person, except in the course of his or her duties, may reveal to any other person any information about securities transactions being considered for, recommended to, or executed on behalf of a Client Account. In addition, no Associated Person may use confidential information for their own benefit or disclose such confidential information to any third party, except as such disclosure or use may be required in connection with their employment or as may be consented to in writing by the CCO. These provisions shall continue in full force and effect after termination of the Associated Persons relationship with the Firm, regardless of the reason for such termination.
Confidentiality of Information in Access Persons' Reports
All information obtained from any Access Person under this Code of Ethics normally will be kept in strict confidence by the Firm. However, reports of transactions and other information obtained under this Code of Ethics may be made available to the Commission, any other regulatory or self-regulatory organization or any other civil or criminal authority or court to the extent required by law or regulation or to the extent considered appropriate by management of the Firm. Furthermore, in the event of violations or apparent violations of the Code of Ethics, information may be made available to appropriate management and supervisory personnel of the Firm, to any legal counsel to the above persons and to the appropriate persons associated with a Client Account affected by the violation.
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1.6 | REVIEW AND SUPERVISORY REPORTING |
Identifying and Notifying Access Persons
The CCO will identify each Access Person and notify each Access Person that the person is subject to this Code of Ethics, including the reporting requirements.
Providing Information to Access Persons
The CCO will provide advice, with the assistance of counsel, about the interpretation of this Code of Ethics.
Revising the Restricted Securities List
The CCO shall ensure that the Restricted Securities List is updated as necessary.
Reviewing Reports
The CCO will review the reports submitted by each Access Person to determine whether there may have been any transactions prohibited by this Code of Ethics.
Maintaining Records
In its books and records, the Firm shall maintain all documents related to the Code of Ethics including:
● | A copy of the Code of Ethics adopted and implemented and any other Code of Ethics that has been in effect at any time within the past five years; |
● | A record of any violation of the Code of Ethics, and of any action taken as a result of the violation; |
● | A record of all written acknowledgments for each person who is currently, or within the past five years was, an Associated Person of the Firm; |
● | A record of each Access Person report described in the Code of Ethics; |
● | A record of the names of persons who are currently, or within the past five years were, Access Persons; and |
● | A record of any decision and the reasons supporting the decision, to approve the acquisition of beneficial ownership in any security in an initial public offering or limited offering, for at least five years after the end of the fiscal year in which the approval was granted. |
Compliance and Review of the CCO
The CCO must comply with the Code of Ethics, including obtaining pre-clearance for certain activities and submitting any required forms and/or reports. The CEO or his or her designee shall be responsible for all of the duties other wise performed by the CCO with regard to ensuring the compliance of the CCO.
1.7 | STANDARDS OF CONDUCT |
The Firm believes all its Supervised Persons, as fiduciaries, have a duty of utmost good faith to act solely in the best interests of the Firm's clients. The Firm's fiduciary duty compels all its Supervised Persons to act with the utmost integrity in all dealings. This fiduciary duty is the core principle underlying this Code, and represents the Firm's core expectations related to any activities of its Supervised Persons.
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Personal Conduct
1. | Giving or Receiving Gifts or Entertainment |
No employee, director or officer may give or receive any single gift or entertainment with a value of more than $500.00 to or from any person that does business with or on behalf of the Firm without specific approval in advance by the Firm CCO.
If any single instance of providing or receiving a gift or entertainment in excess of the$500.00 threshold occurs, a written report must be provided to the CCO or his/her designated person for approval in advance detailing the provider/recipient of the gift or entertainment and the nature and value of the gift or entertainment. The report must be signed by the Firm provider/recipient and the CCO, and the report will include an attestation that indicates that the provider/recipient is in no way obligated nor have they committed the Firm to any activity which would cause the individual or firm to be out of compliance with the Code.
2. | Charitable Contributions |
All charitable contributions in excess of $500.00 made by the Firm to any charitable organization, including those requested by a client of the Firm, must be approved in advance by the Firm's CCO. No charitable contribution can be made payable directly to a client of the Firm.
3. | Service as Director for an Outside Company |
Advisory Persons may not serve on the Board of Directors of a publicly traded company without the prior written approval of the Firm's CCO. Such approval shall be based upon the finding by the CCO that such service shall not be likely to result in a conflict of interest with the Firm and the person.
1.8 | CERTIFICATIONS |
Each Access Person will provide written certification initially upon receiving the Code, and then again at any point in the future if the Code is updated and contains any material changes.
1.9 | REPORTING VIOLATIONS |
The Firm takes the potential for conflicts of interest caused by personal investing very seriously. Accordingly, persons that become aware of a violation of the Code are required to promptly report such violation to the CCO, or in the event the violation involves the CCO, to the President of the Firm. Any person who seeks to retaliate against a person who reports a Code violation shall be subject to sanctions.
1.10 | SANCTIONS |
The Firm's management may impose sanctions as it deems appropriate upon any person who violates the Code. In addition, the Firm's management may impose sanctions it deems appropriate upon any person who has engaged in a course of conduct that, although in technical compliance with the Code, is a part of a plan or scheme to evade the provisions of the Code. Sanctions may include, but are not limited to, a letter of censure, suspension of employment, termination of employment, fines, and disgorgement of profits from prohibited or restricted transactions.
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Last modified: 11/2017
Kovitz Investment Group Partners, LLC Code of Ethics
Table of Contents
Policy | 2 | ||
Background | 2 | ||
Responsibility | 2 | ||
Definitions | 2 | ||
Code of Ethics | 3 | ||
A. | Standards of Business Conduct, Principles and Goals | 3 | |
B. | Specific Procedures | 4 | |
1. | Reporting Obligation | 4 | |
2. | Acknowledgement of Receipt | 5 | |
3. | Personal Securities Transactions | 5 | |
4. | Ancillary Policies Included by Reference | 9 | |
5. | Political Contributions | 9 | |
6. | Outside Activities | 9 | |
7. | Insider Trading, Information Barrier, and Restricted List | 9 | |
8. | Gifts and Entertainment | 11 | |
9. | Confidentiality of Client information | 13 | |
C. | Enforcement | 15 | |
D. | Recordkeeping | 15 |
Policy
This policy constitutes the Kovitz Investment Group Partners, LLC (“KIG” or the “Company” or the “firm”) Code of Ethics pursuant to the Rule (hereinafter defined) and is binding upon each of our supervised persons/employees.
Background
The Advisers Act requires advisers to identify “advisory representatives,” the reporting of personal investments on a quarterly basis and the maintenance of records of personal securities transactions. Advisers to registered investment companies are required to adopt a Code of Ethics regarding personal investment activities under the Investment Company Act.
In July 2004, the SEC adopted a new rule (the “Rule”) (Rule 204 A-1), similar to Rule
17j-1 under the Investment Company Act, requiring SEC registered advisers to adopt a code of ethics that would require, among other things, setting ethical standards for its supervised persons relating to compliance with the securities laws, safeguarding material non-public information about clients' transactions and portfolio holdings, filing of initial and annual reports of securities holdings for access persons, and providing Form ADV Part 2A summary disclosure about the adviser's code of ethics.
Given its size, the nature of its advisory activities, and its organizational structure, the Company considers all of its supervised persons/employees to also be “Access Persons” for purposes of compliance with Rule 17j-1 of the Investment Company Act. Such terms are used interchangeably. That is, all of the Company’s supervised persons/employees, in connection with their functions and duties, make, participate, or obtain information regarding the purchase or sale of securities in client accounts (or recommendation thereof), including clients that are registered investment companies (mutual funds).
An investment adviser's policies and procedures, including its code of ethics, and reviews thereof, should be designed to detect and prevent among other things, possible insider trading, conflicts of interests and regulatory violations.
From time to time, KIG utilizes third-party vendors to assist with certain compliance responsibilities. KIG’s compliance department uses such systems to monitor personal accounts and trading along with receiving affirmations and certifications from employees.
Responsibility
The compliance staff has the primary responsibility for the implementation, maintenance and enforcement of our Code of Ethics (the “Code”) and our policy on personal securities transactions and activities, practices, disclosures and recordkeeping, including an annual review thereof.
Definitions
For the purposes of this Code, the following definitions shall apply:
• | “Access person” means any supervised person who: has access to non-public information regarding any clients’ purchase or sale of securities, or non-public information regarding the portfolio holdings of any fund the adviser or its control affiliates manage; or is involved in making securities recommendations (or has access to such recommendations) to clients that are non-public. |
• | “Account” means accounts of any employee and includes accounts of the employee’s immediate family members (any relative by blood or marriage living in the employee’s household), and any account in which he or she 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. |
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• | “Beneficial ownership” shall be interpreted in the same manner as it would be under Rule 16a-1(a)(2) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in determining whether a person is the beneficial owner of a security for purposes of Section 16 of such Act and the rules and regulations thereunder. |
• | “Commission” means the Securities and Exchange Commission. |
• | “Federal securities laws” means the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Advisers Act of 1940, Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, any rules by the Commission under any of these statutes, the Bank Secrecy Act as it applies to mutual funds and investment advisers, and any rules adopted thereunder by the Commission or the Department of Treasury. |
• | “Reportable security” means any security as defined in Section 202(a)(18) of the Advisers Act, except that it does not include: (i) Transactions and holding in direct obligations of the Government of the United States; (ii) Bankers’ acceptances, bank certificates of deposit, commercial paper and other high quality short-term debt instruments, including repurchase agreements; (iii) Shares issued by money market funds; (iv) Transactions and holdings in shares of other types of open-end registered mutual funds, unless KIG or a control affiliate acts as the investment adviser or principal underwriter for the fund; and (v) Transactions in units of a unit investment trust if the unit investment trust is invested exclusively in mutual funds, unless KIG or a control affiliate acts as the investment adviser or principal underwriter for the fund. |
• | “Supervised person” means directors, officers and partners of KIG (or other persons occupying a similar status or performing similar functions); employees, independent contractors, officers and directors of KIG; and any other person who provides advice on behalf of KIG and is subject to KIG’s supervision and control. |
Code of Ethics
KIG has adopted the following Code and procedures.
A. | Standards of Business Conduct, Principles and Goals |
We recognize that we have a fiduciary duty to our clients in connection with providing professional and unbiased investment advisory services to our clients, which includes a duty of honesty, good faith, fair dealing and acting solely in the best interest of our clients. Conflicts of interest, perceived or actual, whereby the interests of the Company or our employees may not be aligned with the interests of our clients, must be identified, addressed, disclosed (where appropriate), and resolved (in favor of our clients). To this end, we are committed to establishing, implementing, reviewing and enforcing a set of procedures which are reasonably designed to prevent violations of applicable securities laws, detect any such violations which might occur, and correct any such violations. It is the goal of this Code to memorialize our commitment to ethical conduct and to provide guidance to our supervised persons/employees as to our expectations of their behavior. We expect our supervised persons/employees to:
• | Be guided in their actions at all times by a moral compass and by what is best for our clients. |
• | Protect our clients’ interests, first and foremost. |
• | Protect our firm’s reputation. |
• | Detect and prevent the violation of the securities laws, and comply with securities laws. |
• | Remain educated and familiar with this Code and applicable securities laws, and attend all required applicable training sessions. |
• | Ensure that their personal securities transactions are consistent with this Code and applicable securities laws so as not to exploit (or give the appearance of exploiting) their position of trust, including with respect to possession of non- public information about clients, securities holdings or securities transactions. |
• | In connection with any securities transaction for or on behalf of a client, refrain from misleading, engaging in manipulative conduct, or employing any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud such client. |
• | Identify, disclose and avoid conflicts of interest. |
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• | Not inappropriately favor the interests of one client over another (whether based on size of the account, revenue generated by the account, the potential for performance fees, accounts closely related to the employee, or otherwise). |
• | Not recommend or participate in any investment advice or decision (including related to affiliated hedge fund and private equity offerings) without disclosing to the client any material personal (to the employee) beneficial ownership, relationship or other interest (i.e. in the issuer, the holding, etc.). |
• | Keep confidential the identity, financial circumstances and all personal information of (and status as) clients, the identity of client security holdings and transactions, and the Company’s securities recommendations, trading strategies and client investment advice. |
Where the Company provides advisory services to clients that are mutual funds, the Company expects its supervised persons/employees/Access Persons to adhere to additional standards of business conduct and principles. We expect our supervised persons/employees/Access Persons to:
• | Refrain from making untrue statements of a material fact to such mutual fund clients, or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made to such mutual fund clients, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading. |
• | Refrain from engaging in any act, practice or course of business that operates as a fraud or deceit on the mutual fund client. |
• | Refrain from engaging in any manipulative practice with respect to such mutual fund clients. |
We recognize that, in particular, conflicts of interest and securities law violations are particularly possible in connection with the securities holdings and transactions of employees, particularly those employees with access to non-public information about client holdings or transactions. We allow employees to maintain personal securities accounts, provided that any personal investing by an employee in any accounts in which the employee has a beneficial interest, including any accounts for any immediate family or household members, is consistent with our fiduciary duty to our clients and consistent with regulatory requirements. To this end, each employee must identify any personal investment accounts and report all reportable holdings, transactions, and investment activity on at least a quarterly basis to our Chief Compliance Officer, or other designated officer, all as more specifically set forth below.
B. | Specific Procedures |
1. | Reporting Obligation |
Each supervised person/employee is required to promptly report each violation of this Code of which he or she is aware to the Chief Compliance Officer or alternate designee. All such reports made in good faith will be treated confidentially to the extent permitted by law. Retaliation against a supervised person/employee who in good faith reports a violation of this Code is prohibited.
The CCO shall promptly report to senior management all apparent material violations of the Code. When the CCO finds that a violation otherwise reportable to senior management could not be reasonably found to have resulted in a fraud, deceit, or a manipulative practice in violation of Section 206 of the Advisers Act, he or she may, in his or her discretion, submit a written memorandum of such finding and the reasons therefore to a reporting file created for this purpose in lieu of reporting the matter to senior management.
Senior management shall consider reports made to it hereunder and shall determine whether or not the Code has been violated and what sanctions, if any should be imposed. Possible sanctions may include reprimands, monetary fine or assessment, or suspension or termination of the employee’s employment with the firm.
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2. | Acknowledgement of Receipt |
Initial Certification
All supervised persons will be provided with a copy of the Code and must initially certify in writing to the CCO that they have: (i) received a copy of the Code; (ii) read and understand all provisions of the Code; (iii) agreed to abide by the Code; and (iv) reported all account holdings as required by the Code.
Acknowledgement of Amendments
All supervised persons shall receive any amendments to the Code and must certify to the CCO in writing that they have: (i) received a copy of the amendment; (ii) read and understood the amendment; (iii) and agreed to abide by the Code as amended.
Annual Certification
All supervised persons must annually certify in writing to the CCO that they have: (i) read and understood all provisions of the Code; (ii) complied with all requirements of the Code; and (iii) submitted all holdings and transaction reports as require by the Code.
Further Information
Supervised persons should contact the CCO regarding any inquiries pertaining to the Code established herein.
3. | Personal Securities Transactions |
Definitions
“Security Transaction Designate:” The KIG employee who has been designated to approve securities transactions by employees and maintain records of trade requests resolutions. The primary Security Transaction Designate is generally the Chief Compliance Officer.
Policy Guidelines
1. | This policy applies to all employees of KIG. |
2. | Before a KIG employee purchases or sells a position in a publicly traded security (generally an equity security), including in any investment account maintained away from Kovitz Securities, LLC (KS), (if any such account is approved by KS), whether in his or her personal account, or accounts in which he/she has a beneficial interest, including any accounts of immediate family in the same household, the employee will: |
A. | Obtain approval, except for KIG Trades (see No. 3 below), and Other Excepted Trades (see No. 7 below), for any such trade (buy or sell) from the KIG Security Transaction Designate. |
B. | Deliver and maintain a record of the trade (duplicate statements or confirmations) to KIG. |
3. | The KIG Security Transaction Designate will maintain, as applicable, a separate record of KIG employee trades requests and resolutions other than: |
A. | Transactions in employee accounts in connection with investment decisions made by the Portfolio Managers (the Investment Team) that are generally considered “firm- wide” (across all, or substantially all KIG clients); |
B. | Transactions in employee accounts in connection with investment decisions made by the Investment Team that include a significant number of client accounts (i.e. not necessarily firm-wide, but in connection with their broad, periodic reviews of client accounts) |
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(the two above-referenced trading scenarios together, “Firm-Wide Trades”)
4. | Each employee of KIG shall, from time to time, provide the Chief Compliance Officer with an updated list of each investment account maintained away from KS. For each such account approved by KS, such employee shall arrange for KIG to receive duplicate trade confirmations and/or account statements. |
5. | When an employee buys or sells for their own accounts (employee or employee-related) the same securities that are bought and sold for KIG clients, there are potential conflicts of interests inherent in these activities. In such event, the employee is prohibited from disadvantaging KIG clients, such as buying or selling a security prior to buying or selling the same security for KIG clients. For purchases or sales of securities that occur on the same day in client accounts and employee/employee-related accounts, the firm will generally apply an average price so no accounts receive an advantage over others. Any advantage which results notwithstanding the above described policies and procedures will be resolved in favor of affected KIG client accounts. |
6. | Notwithstanding the policies and procedures contained herein, each employee must also comply with KIG’s procedures pertaining to insider trading, use of material non-public information, Restricted/Watch lists, and KIG’s Code. |
7. | “Other Excepted Trades” shall mean: |
A. | purchases or sales over which the employee has no control or pursuant to an automatic investment plan |
B. | purchases effected upon exercise of rights issued by an issuer that are allocated pro rata to all holders of a class of its securities, and sales of such rights so acquired |
C. | acquisition of securities through stock dividends, dividend reinvestment, stock splits, reverse splits, mergers, spin-offs, or other corporate reorganizations |
D. | purchases or sales of shares of open end investment companies (i.e., mutual funds, including KIG’s affiliated mutual fund, the Green Owl Intrinsic Value Fund), money market funds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) |
E. | transactions in fixed income securities where KIG does not have a separate business relationship with the issuer |
F. | option exercises |
Considerations
1. | In implementing these policies and procedures, the Chief Compliance Officer will give primary consideration to (a) not violating KIG procedures and applicable law; and (b) not disadvantaging KIG clients or taking unfair advantage of KIG clients (i.e. buying before a larger purchase or selling before KIG exits a large position). |
2. | The firm acknowledges that there may be events, tax situations, or other personal reasons that lead to, for example, an employee’s need to liquidate securities for cash (for the purchase of home, etc.) or to take advantage of tax losses/gains. Conversely, the employee may desire to purchase securities after depositing cash (in connection with receipt of salary, bonuses, settlements, tax refunds, or other sources). Such situations are similar to clients’, but the employees’ activities may not coincide with the firm’s investment decisions with respect to client accounts or the firm’s affiliated private funds. |
The CCO will make the following considerations with regard to approving transactions in employee and employee-related accounts in connection with such employees’ personal reasons (the following is not intended to be an exhaustive list):
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• | For sale requests, ensuring that the employee is only reducing (and not completely liquidating) position sizes (if the firm is not also completely liquidating positions from client accounts on a firm-wide basis); |
• | Personal asset allocation considerations; |
• | Whether or not the transaction is in an equity security that is “core” (currently recommended by the Investment Team) vs. “non-core;” |
• | Ensuring that all positions and transactions are consistent (from a “same side of the market” analysis, on a net basis) with clients, and then-current Investment Team guidance; |
• | Whether a client has a pending purchase or sale order in the same security; |
• | Whether or not the employee appears to be engaging in short-term trading; |
• | Whether or not the employee intends to sell short, particularly a security held “long” by a client (as recommended by KIG for its separate account clients and/or its affiliated private funds), it being recognized that KIG generally does not approve short sales of equities in employee accounts. |
In each case, the applicable member/employee will follow the policy guidelines set forth herein. The resulting determination by the Security Transaction Designate will be documented in detail.
Supervisory Responsibility
The CCO will have general supervisory responsibility with respect to these Personal Account Trading Guidelines.
Holdings Reports
• | Within ten (10) days of becoming a supervised person/employee, each employee will submit to the Chief Compliance Officer an initial Holdings Report, which shall include the following: |
• | the title, ticker symbol and type of reportable security (excludes money market funds and unaffiliated mutual funds) held, the CUSIP number, and the number of shares or principal amount of the security held (list of reportable securities) |
• | the name of any broker-dealer or bank at which securities (not limited to “reportable” securities) accounts are held (list of accounts), and the date the account is opened (unless opened prior to joining the Company) |
• | the date the Holdings Report is submitted |
• | Each supervised person/employee must submit a Holdings Report containing the above- referenced information annually, as of December 31st of each year. |
• | Holdings Reports must contain information about all securities held, whether or not they are held at KS, it being recognized that books and records related to accounts held at KS are maintained by the firm as a matter of course. |
Transaction Reports
• | Each supervised person/employee must submit a Transaction Report no later than thirty (30) days after the end of each calendar quarter, which shall include the following with respect to transactions in reportable securities (the same securities covered by Holdings Reports) during the applicable calendar quarter: |
• | transaction date, title, type, CUSIP number and ticker symbol of security, interest rate and maturity date, number of shares or principal amount |
• | nature of transaction |
• | price effected |
• | name of effecting broker-dealer or bank |
• | the date the Transactions Report is submitted |
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Miscellaneous
• | Supervised Persons/employees are to identify to the Chief Compliance Officer each personal investment account and each other account in which the supervised person/employee has a beneficial interest, including any accounts for immediate family and household members, upon hire, annually thereafter and upon opening or closing any such account(s). |
• | In accordance with FINRA Rule 3210, all access persons are required to obtain consent from the compliance department prior to opening an account with a broker- dealer/custodian away from Kovitz. The compliance department may use third party vendors in connection with the request and approval process in this regard. |
• | Funds owned 25% or more by Company employees, officers and partners will be subject to this Code and be deemed to be a proprietary account. |
• | Holdings Reports may not contain securities information that is more than 45 days old; in addition, Transaction Reports may not contain securities information that is more than 30 days old. |
• | Holdings and Transactions Reports must be submitted for all securities in which the supervised person/employee has direct or indirect beneficial ownership or control, and will include, at a minimum, securities owned by spouses and children, and any other family member that resides with the supervised person/employee. |
• | The Chief Compliance Officer will review submitted Holdings and Transactions Reports for, among other things, evidence of the following, it being acknowledged that the Chief Compliance Officer will consider relevant factors (such as liquidity and market capitalization of the holdings, size of positions, type of holdings, etc.) in determining the scope of the review: |
• | front running |
• | trading on inside information |
• | violation of this Code (i.e., failure to obtain approval) |
• | fraudulent activity (i.e., market timing) |
• | violation of Company Ancillary Policies (e.g., Restricted Lists) |
• | It is contemplated that securities account statements and trade confirmations will in part be used for Holdings and Transactions Reports submissions. |
• | Transactions by supervised persons/employees (including by spouses) in hedge funds, IPOs and other investments in private placements, limited offerings and limited partnerships will be covered by this Code, and must receive Chief Compliance Officer prior approval (any such transactions by the Chief Compliance Officer must be approved by a senior or independent person (currently, the CEO) – any such transactions by each of the Chief Compliance Officer and CEO will be submitted for review by an alternative Chief Compliance Officer – no person may approve his or her own such investment). “Investment Personnel” includes supervised persons/employees who (i) make investment decisions for clients (i.e., portfolio managers), (ii) provide information/advice to portfolio managers (i.e., analysts), and (iii) implement/execute portfolio managers’ decisions (i.e., traders). The Chief Compliance Officer will take into consideration, among other things, whether the investment opportunity should be reserved for clients and whether the employee received the investment opportunity by reason of his or her position with the Company. |
• | Reviews of investments in private placements will factor in the following: |
• | Determination that the investment opportunity did not arise by virtue of the access person’s activities on behalf of a client; |
• | Whether or not the employee is misappropriating an investment opportunity that should first be offered to eligible clients, or whether a portfolio manager is receiving a personal benefit for directing client business or brokerage; |
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• | Whether or not the opportunity is being offered to an individual by virtue of his/her position with the company or its affiliates, or his/her relationship to a managed fund or account; Employees must comply with requests for information and/or documentation necessary to satisfy itself that no actual or potential conflict, or appearance of a conflict, exists between the proposed private placement purchase and the interests of any managed fund or account. |
• | No supervised person/employee may knowingly personally engage in a securities transaction with a client. |
4. | Ancillary Policies Included by Reference |
We have adopted and require compliance with the following Ancillary Policies, which are hereby incorporated as part of this Code:
• | Account Review and Management Guidelines |
• | The average pricing and prohibition on front running contained in our Trading Policies and Procedures and disclosed in our ADV Part 2A. |
• | Our Gifts, Insider Trading, Trading, and Privacy procedures referenced herein. |
NOTE: With respect to the above-referenced insider trading policy, material non-public information concerning our security recommendations and our clients’ securities holdings and transactions are covered.
5. | Political Contributions |
Supervised persons/employees (a) are prohibited from making political contributions for the purpose of obtaining or retaining advisory contracts with government entities, and (b) should not consider our current or anticipated business relationships as a factor in soliciting political or charitable donations.
6. | Outside Activities |
Due to the significant potential for conflicts of interest, supervised persons/employees must obtain the prior approval of the Chief Compliance Officer to serve on the Board of Directors of a publicly traded company.
Supervised persons/employees are discouraged from engaging in outside businesses or investment activities that may interfere with their duties to the Company or their fiduciary duty to clients, including directorships of private companies, consulting engagements, public/charitable positions, and acceptance as executor, trustee or power of attorney, and any such activity or position must be disclosed in advance to the Company.
Supervised persons/employees must disclose to the Company all activities and personal interests that might present a conflict of interest.
7. | Insider Trading, Information Barrier, and Restricted List |
General – Background
Certain information received by the Company in the course of its activities may be "inside" information within the meaning of federal securities laws that prohibit the fraudulent misuse of such information in connection with the purchase or sale of securities. For purposes of the Company's policies and procedures, "inside" information includes "material, non-public" information provided to the Company by an external source such as a client, prospective client, or other third party with the expectation that the Company will keep the information confidential and use it only for the benefit of the client or prospective client.
No employee of the Company may trade in a security, either personally or on behalf of any client, employee, or employee-related account, while in possession of material, non-public information regarding that security; nor may any partner, officer, or employee of the firm communicate material, non- public information to others in violation of the law.
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No employee may disclose inside information to others, except disclosures made in accordance with the Company's policies and procedures to other Company personnel or persons outside the Company (such as the Company's outside legal counsel or the client's attorneys or accountants) who have a valid business reason for receiving such information. Any person that may become privy to inside information is restricted from acting upon such information and should bring such information to the direct attention of the CCO, or designated individual.
In addition, no employee may spread “rumors” to others, inside the Company or outside. To the extent applicable, the Company expects its employees to only share material information about security issuers that is substantiated, consistent, and can be corroborated with independent sources.
Additional information can be found in the firm’s stand-alone insider trading, information barrier, and restricted list policies and procedures.
Definitions
Employee: Includes all officers, directors, registered representatives, clerks, secretaries, etc. of the Company.
Employee Account: Includes any personal account of an employee, any joint account in which the employee has an interest, any account in which the employee is a tenant in common with another person; and any other account over which the employee has investment discretion or may otherwise exercise control or in which the employee has a direct or indirect beneficial or financial interest, including the accounts of entities controlled directly or indirectly by the employee, trusts for the benefit of the employee or for which the employee acts as trustee, executor or custodian.
Employee-Related Account: Includes the following accounts if maintained by the Company: the accounts of an employee's family members including but not limited to, an employee's spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, siblings and in-laws; the account of any person who resides with or receives support from the employee; and any account for the benefit of any member of an employee's family other than an account defined by these policies and procedures as an employee account.
Information Barrier: is a policy and procedure within an organization that is erected in order to prevent exchanges or communication that could lead to conflicts of interest.
Material Information: Information is material if there is a substantial likelihood that a reasonable investor would consider the information important in deciding whether to purchase, hold or sell a security. In other words, there must be a substantial likelihood that disclosure of the information would have been viewed by a reasonable investor as having significantly altered the total mix of information made available. Information may be material even if it relates to speculative or contingent events.
Material information may include information about:
• | dividend increases or decreases; |
• | earnings or earnings estimates; |
• | changes in previously released earnings or earnings estimates; |
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• | write-downs of assets; |
• | additions to reserves for bad debts; |
• | expansion or curtailment of operations; |
• | increases or declines in orders, new products, or discoveries; |
• | borrowing; |
• | litigation; |
• | liquidity problems; |
• | bankruptcies or receiverships; |
• | management developments; |
• | contests for corporate control; |
• | public offerings of securities; |
• | changes of ratings of debt securities; |
• | proposed transactions such as refinancings; |
• | tender offers; |
• | recapitalizations, |
• | leveraged buy-outs, |
• | acquisitions, mergers, restructurings, or purchases or sales of assets; |
• | advance knowledge of unannounced government actions that is likely to have an effect on the market; |
• | knowledge of unannounced events that will affect one or more companies in a significant way; or knowledge of unannounced inventions. |
Non-public Information: Unless information has been publicly disclosed, such as by means of a press release, in the Dow Jones or Reuters press services, in a newspaper, in a public filing made with a regulatory agency, in materials sent to shareholders or potential investors such as a proxy statement or prospectus, or in materials available from public disclosure services, Company associated persons should assume that all information obtained in the course of their employment by the Company should be considered non-public information.
Proprietary Information: Certain information possessed by associated persons of the Company is proprietary to the Company. Such information may include unpublished research information, opinions, and recommendations; the Company's security positions; the Company's intentions with respect to trading in its proprietary accounts; the Company's investment or trading strategies or decisions; pending or contemplated customer orders; unpublished analyses of companies, industries or economic forecasts; and analyses done by research personnel of companies that are potential acquirers of other companies or their assets or companies that are possible candidates for acquisition, merger, or sale of assets.
Restricted List: The List is comprised of accounts whose owners are on the boards of publicly-traded entities, are insiders of such companies, or by virtue of their employment are restricted from transacting in certain publicly-traded companies. The List also includes securities in which certain clients have directed the Company not to invest for personal reasons.
Securities: The term securities includes all forms of stock, notes, bonds, debentures, and other evidences of indebtedness, investment contracts, futures and all securities derivative of such securities (i.e. options, warrants, stock index futures).
8. | Gifts and Entertainment |
KIG acknowledges that if our firm or our employees participate in or sponsor sales contests or otherwise receive or give excessive gifts and entertainment from or to vendors, mutual funds and/or clients, we or they may be tempted to make business and investment decisions for reasons other than the best interests of our clients. In order to identify and mitigate these risks, we have adopted the following guidelines, policies and procedures.
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Procedures
Gifts:
• | All Firm employees will comply with the provisions of FINRA Rule 3220 and MSRB Rule G-20 as follows: No employee shall directly or indirectly, give or permit to be given anything of value, including gifts and gratuities, in excess of $100 in the aggregate per year (applied on a calendar year basis) per individual to any person, principal, proprietor, employee, agent or representative of any entity where such gift, payment or gratuity is in relation to the business of the employer of the recipient of the payment, gift or gratuity. |
• | No employee may accept or give any gift or gratuity from or to any self-regulatory organization or governmental entity having jurisdiction over the Firm or its affiliates, or from or to any person, principal, proprietor, employee, agent or representative of any such entity. |
• | No employee may give or accept any gift, payment, award or gratuity in connection with any sales contest, or otherwise in connection with sales activities, without the prior approval of the CCO or designated individual. |
• | Reasonable (in amounts, value, and frequency) gifts and gratuities made or given by the Firm or its employees related to and in appreciation for investment-related services rendered (including referrals), or for personal reasons (birthdays, achievements, holidays, weddings, anniversaries, retirement, etc.) are permitted by these procedures; provided that such gifts or gratuities are not in relation to the business of the employer of the recipient thereof; provided however that such gifts and gratuities which are paid for by the Firm will be assumed to be made in relation to the business of the employer of the recipient, if such an interpretation is at all plausible (i.e., if there is such an “employer” to be considered). The existence of a pre-existing personal or family relationship will be considered. |
• | Gifts made to executing broker-dealers or consultants (who might refer business to the Firm) must be approved by the CCO or designated individual in advance. |
• | These procedures do not prohibit or restrict the giving of promotional items which are valued substantially below $100. |
• | No employee may give or accept a cash gift or gratuity in relation to his or her employment with the Firm or its affiliates without the prior approval of the CCO or designated individual. |
• | No employee may intentionally use his or her position with the Firm to solicit or obtain any gift for himself or herself or the Firm from a client, supplier, person to whom the employee refers business, or any entity with which the Firm does business. |
Business Entertainment:
• | Reasonable (in amounts, value and frequency) business entertainment provided by or received by the Firm or its employees in connection with business development efforts or otherwise related to the business of the Firm are generally permitted by these procedures so long as it does not influence his or her business related judgment or decisions or investment recommendations. |
• | Business entertainment provided to or received from executing broker-dealers or consultants (who might refer business to the Firm) must be approved by the CCO or designated individual in advance. |
• | Generally, absent exigent circumstances, the person or entity providing the business entertainment must be present; otherwise it will generally be viewed as a gift. |
• | For illustrative purposes, the following types of entertainment will generally be acceptable: sporting events, theater tickets, concert tickets, meals, resort experiences, and parties. |
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• | Business Entertainment in excess of $250 per expenditure per recipient must be approved by the CCO or designated individual in advance. |
• | Firm employees are prohibited from providing business entertainment to a customer representative (but not to a natural person customer itself) that is intended or designed to, or would be reasonably likely to, have the effect of causing such representative to act inconsistently with the customer’s best interests. |
• | Generally, meals where business is discussed (i.e., a business lunch) but which are not part of a traditional entertainment event, will not be considered business entertainment. |
General:
• | Gifts and business entertainment will generally be valued at the higher of cost and market value, and the value thereof shall be prorated equitably among multiple recipients. |
• | ERISA Plan related gifts and business entertainment: Neither the Firm nor any employee thereof shall give any gift or gratuity to, or provide any business entertainment to any ERISA Plan, or any service provider thereto or senior personnel thereof (generally, a trustee or other individual with decision-making authority relating to investment matters), without the prior approval of the president or compliance staff, provided that any such gifts, gratuities or business entertainment unrelated to the ERISA Plan or transactions therewith (such as gifts otherwise permissible hereunder to a trustee who also is a client in his own capacity or who has referred business to the Firm) will not generally be prohibited by these procedures. Generally, the following will be considered in deciding whether or not to approve a request to makes such a gift or incur such a business entertainment expense: |
• | Gifts and business entertainment provided to a union or union official that exceed de minimis amounts will not be approved |
• | Subject to lower limits provided elsewhere herein, expenditures not valued in excess of $250 per individual recipient per year will be treated as de minimis |
• | The gifts and business entertainment policies of the recipient or his or her employer will be considered |
• | Gifts and gratuities and business entertainment made or received must be consistent with customary business practice, not violate of any laws, and not capable of being construed as a bribe or payoff. |
• | All questions relating to the making or acceptance of gifts or gratuities or business entertainment should be addressed to the CCO or designated individual, it being acknowledged that it shall not be the sole responsibility of the employee to determine whether a gift made is made in relation to the business of the employer of the recipient. |
• | Additionally, no Firm employee shall accept, on his or her own behalf in relation to his or her position at the Firm, or on behalf of the Firm (“Firm Related Gift or Business Entertainment Received”), anything of value, including gifts, payments, or gratuities, or business entertainment, which influences his or her business related judgment or decisions or investment recommendations. |
• | Acceptance of any Firm Related Gift or Business Entertainment Received in excess of $250 per donor per individual recipient per calendar year shall be approved in advance by the CCO or designated individual. It is acknowledged that receipt of unsolicited gifts may not be able to be pre-approved, however such gifts should be entered as such in the Firm’s books and records and noted as unsolicited. |
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9. | Confidentiality of Client information |
In the course of doing business, the firm gains access to non-public information about its clients. Such information may include a person’s status as a client, personal financial and account information, the allocation of assets in a client portfolio, the composition of investments in any client portfolio, information relating to services performed for or transactions entered into on behalf of clients, advice provided by KIG to clients, and data or analyses derived from such non-public personal information (collectively referred to as “Confidential Client Information”). All Confidential Client Information, whether relating to KIG’s current or former clients, is subject to the Code. Any doubts about the confidentiality of information must be resolved in favor of confidentiality.
Non-Disclosure of Confidential Client Information
All information regarding KIG’s clients is confidential. Information may only be disclosed when the disclosure is consistent with the firm’s policy and the client’s direction. KIG does not share Confidential Client Information with any third parties, except in the following circumstances:
• | As necessary to provide service that the client requested or authorized, or to maintain and service the client’s account. KIG will require that any financial intermediary, agent or other service provider utilized by KIG (such as broker-dealers or sub-advisers) comply with substantially similar standards for non-disclosure and protection of Confidential Client Information and use the information provided by KIG only for the performance of the specific service requested by KIG; |
• | As required by regulatory authorities or law enforcement officials who have jurisdiction over KIG, or as otherwise required by any applicable law. In the event KIG is compelled to disclose Confidential Client Information, the firm shall provide prompt notice to the clients affected, so that the clients may seek a protective order or other appropriate remedy. If no protective order or other appropriate remedy is obtained, KIG shall disclose only such information, and only in such detail, as is legally required; |
• | To the extent reasonably necessary to prevent fraud, unauthorized transactions or liability. |
Employee Responsibilities
All persons are prohibited, either during or after the termination of their employment with KIG, from disclosing Confidential Client Information to any person or entity outside the firm, including family members, except under the circumstances described above. An access person is permitted to disclose Confidential Client Information only to such other access persons who need to have access to such information to deliver the KIG’s services to the client.
All persons are also prohibited from making authorized copies of any documents or files containing Confidential Client Information and, upon termination of their employment with KIG, must return all such documents to KIG.
Any person who violated the non-disclosure policy described above will be subject to disciplinary action, including possible termination, whether or not he or she benefited from the disclosed information.
Security of Confidential Personal Information
KIG enforces the following policies and procedures to protect the security of Confidential Client Information:
• | The firm restricts access to Confidential Client Information to provide KIG’s services to clients; |
• | Any person who is authorized to have access to Confidential Client Information in connection with the performance of such person’s duties and responsibilities is require to keep such information in a secure compartment, file or receptacle on a daily basis as of the close of each business day; |
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• | All electronic or computer files containing any Confidential Client Information shall be password secured and firewall protected from access by unauthorized persons; |
• | Any conversations involving Confidential Client Information, if appropriate at all, must be conducted in private, and care must be taken to avoid any unauthorized person overhearing or intercepting such conversations. |
The same policies are applicable to the confidential personal information of our employees, officers and directors.
Privacy Policy
As a registered investment adviser, KIG and all supervised persons must comply with SEC Regulation S-P, which requires investment advisers to adopt policies and procedures to protect the “non-public personal information” of natural person clients. “Non-public information,” under Regulation S-P, includes personally identifiable financial information and any list, description, or grouping that is derived from personally identifiable financial information. Personally identifiable financial information is defined to include information supplied by individual clients, information resulting from transactions, any information obtained in providing products or services. Pursuant to Regulation S-P, KIG has adopted policies and procedures to safeguard the information of natural person clients.
Enforcement and Review of Confidentiality and Privacy Policies
The CCO is responsible for reviewing, maintaining and enforcing KIG’s confidentiality and privacy policies and is also responsible for conducting appropriate employee training to ensure adherence to these policies. Any exception to this policy requires the written approval of the CCO.
C. | Enforcement |
• | Violations of this Code may result in disciplinary action, which could include warnings, fines, disgorgement of profit, suspension, regulatory disclosure, termination and referral to civil or criminal authorities, where appropriate. |
• | All approvals will be given by the compliance staff, unless expressly provided otherwise in an Ancillary Policy. |
• | All deviations from, and exceptions to, the procedures and policies contained in this Code, are subject to the approval of the Chief Compliance Officer. |
D. | Recordkeeping |
• | The Company will maintain the following records in accordance with the recordkeeping rules of the Investment Advisers Act and the Investment Company Act (where applicable) with respect to its Code, for the required length of time (generally, 5 years): |
• | A copy of each Code in effect at any time during the time period; |
• | A list of the Company’s supervised persons/employees/Access Persons at any time during the time period; |
• | Initial holdings reports, quarterly transaction reports, and annual holdings reports of the Company’s supervised persons/employees/Access Persons; |
• | Acknowledgements of receipt of the Company’s Code by each supervised person/employee/Access Person; |
• | Records showing all Outside Activities of the Company’s supervised persons/employees/Access Persons; |
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• | Records showing investment accounts held by the Company’s supervised persons/employees/Access Persons (or accounts for which they have a beneficial interest) or by members of their immediate family and household, whether such accounts are held at the Company or elsewhere; |
• | Records showing “pre-approval” (or disapproval) of personal securities transactions covered under this Code; |
• | Records of violations of the Company’s Code, including records of actions taken with respect to such violations (e.g., remediation, discipline, termination, etc.). |
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CODE OF ETHICS
Policies and Procedures
Fiduciary Standards and Compliance with the Federal Securities Laws
At all times, Foundry Partners and its Employees must comply with the spirit and the letter of the Federal Securities Laws and the rules governing the capital markets. The CCO administers the Code of Ethics (or the ‘Code’). All questions regarding the Code should be directed to the CCO. Employees must cooperate to the fullest extent reasonably requested by the CCO to enable (i) Foundry Partners to comply with all applicable Federal Securities Laws and (ii) the CCO to discharge her duties under the Manual.
All Employees will act with competence, dignity, integrity, and in an ethical manner, when dealing with Clients, the public, prospects, third-party service providers and fellow Employees. Employees must use reasonable care and exercise independent professional judgment when conducting investment analysis, making investment recommendations, trading, promoting Foundry Partners’ services, and engaging in other professional activities.
We expect all Employees to adhere to the highest standards with respect to any potential conflicts of interest with Clients. As a fiduciary, Foundry Partners must act in its Clients’ best interests at all times. Neither Foundry Partners, nor any Employee should ever benefit at the expense of any Client. Notify the CCO promptly about any practice that creates, or gives the appearance of, a material conflict of interest.
Employees are generally expected to discuss any perceived risks, or concerns about Foundry Partners’ business practices, with their direct supervisor. However, if an Employee is uncomfortable discussing an issue with their manager, or if they believe that an issue has not been appropriately addressed, they should bring the matter to the CCO’s attention.
Reporting Violations
Improper actions by Foundry Partners or its Employees could have severe negative consequences for Foundry Partners, its Clients, and its Employees. Impropriety, or even the appearance of impropriety, could negatively impact all Employees, including people who had no involvement in the problematic activities.
Employees must promptly report any improper or suspicious activities, including any suspected violations of the Code of Ethics, to the CCO. Issues can be reported to the CCO in person, or by telephone, email, or written letter. Reports of potential issues may be made anonymously. Any reports of potential problems will be thoroughly investigated by the CCO, who will report directly to the CEO on the matter. Any problems identified during the review will be addressed in ways that reflect Foundry Partners’ fiduciary duty to its Clients.
An Employee’s identification of a material compliance issue will be viewed favorably by the Company’s senior executives. Retaliation against any Employee who reports a violation of the Code of Ethics in good faith is strictly prohibited and will be cause for corrective action, up to and including dismissal. If an Employee believes that he or she has been retaliated against, he or she should notify the CEO directly.
Violations of this Code of Ethics, or the other policies and procedures set forth in the Manual, may warrant sanctions including, without limitation, requiring that personal trades be reversed, requiring the disgorgement of profits or gifts, issuing a letter of caution or warning, suspending personal trading rights, imposing a fine, suspending employment (with or without compensation), making a civil referral to the SEC, making a criminal referral, terminating employment for cause, and/or a combination of the foregoing. Violations may also subject an Employee to civil, regulatory, or criminal sanctions. No Employee will determine whether he or she committed a violation of the Code of Ethics, or impose any sanction against himself or herself. All sanctions and other actions taken will be in accordance with applicable employment laws and regulations. If the CCO determines that a material violation of this Code of Ethics has occurred, the CCO will promptly report the violation, and any association action(s), to Foundry Partners’ senior management.
Distribution of the Code and Acknowledgement of Receipt
Foundry Partners will distribute this Manual, which contains the Company’s Code of Ethics, to each Employee upon the commencement of employment, annually, and upon any change to the Code of Ethics or any material change to another portion of the Manual.
All Employees must acknowledge that they have received, read, understood, and agree to comply with Foundry Partners’ policies and procedures described in this Manual, including this Code of Ethics, upon commencement of employment, annually, and following any material change to the Manual.
Conflicts of Interest
Conflicts of interest may exist between various individuals and entities, including Foundry Partners, Employees, and current or prospective Clients. Any failure to identify or properly address a conflict can have severe negative repercussions for Foundry Partners, its Employees, and/or Clients. In some cases the improper handling of a conflict could result in litigation and/or disciplinary action.
Foundry Partners’ policies and procedures have been designed to identify and properly disclose, mitigate, and/or eliminate applicable conflicts of interest. However, written policies and procedures cannot address every potential conflict, so Employees must use good judgment in identifying and responding appropriately to actual or apparent conflicts.
In some instances conflicts of interest may arise between Clients. Responding appropriately to these types of conflicts can be challenging, and may require robust disclosures if there is any appearance that one or more Clients have been unfairly disadvantaged. Employees should notify the CCO promptly if it appears that any actual or apparent conflict of interest between Clients has not been appropriately addressed.
Personal Securities Transactions
As a matter of general policy, Employees are prohibited from purchasing any Limited Offerings, shares of Funds that Foundry Partners either serves as Adviser to or Sub-adviser, and Initial Public Offerings (“IPO’s”) without first pre-clearing those transactions with the CCO. Employees may also not purchase any securities found on the Firms Restricted List, without pre-clearance from the CCO.
Foundry Partners requires Employees to provide periodic reports regarding transactions and holdings in all “Reportable Securities”, which include any Security except;
● | Direct obligations of the Government of the United States |
● | Bankers’ acceptances, bank certificates of deposit, commercial paper and high-quality short-term debt instruments, including repurchase agreements; |
● | Shares issued by money market funds; |
● | Shares issued by open-end investment companies registered in the U.S., other than funds advised or underwritten by Foundry Partners; |
● | Interests in 529 college savings plans; and |
● | Shares issued by unit investment trusts that are invested exclusively in one or more open-end registered investment companies, none of which are advised or underwritten by Foundry Partners. |
As a reminder, ETF’s are Reportable Securities and are subject to the reporting requirements contained in the Foundry Partners Securities Transactions policy.
Pre-clearance Procedures
Employees shall seek pre-clearance for IPO’s, Limited Offerings and shares of Mutual Funds advised or underwritten by Foundry Partners by using the “IPO/Limited Offering Request” form on the Personal Trading Control Center (“PTCC”).Any request submitted in another form will be automatically rejected. Once the request is received by the CCO or their designee, the CCO may request information from the Firm’s traders on scheduled or previously made transactions by the Firm. If the trade is approved by the CCO or their designee, the trade will be “Accepted” on PTCC and the Employee has 24 hours to make the transaction.
Foundry Partners’ CCO will maintain a Restricted List of Securities on PTCC, to be accessible by all employees. The Restricted list will contain a list of securities about which Foundry Partners might have received Material Non-Public Information. It is the responsibility of the employee to check the Restricted Securities List for up-to-date information on securities that have been added or removed. If an employee wishes to make a trade in a security contained on the Restricted List, they must submit a “Trade Request” form on PTCC. The CCO may consult with management and the Firms traders to determine if a trade is acceptable in such security. In the event that the CCO does approve of the trade, the employee has 24 hours to make the trade in that security.
Reporting
Foundry Partners must collect information regarding the personal trading activities and holdings of all Employees. Employees will enter account information through PTCC (account number, account name, date of account opening and Broker/Dealer) for all Reportable Accounts. Certain Reportable Accounts will qualify for a Brokerage Feed from their Broker/Dealer (“B/D”) which allows the B/D to send transactional and holdings data directly into PTCC for the employee. If the account does not qualify for a Brokerage Feed, it will be the employee’s responsibility to enter in all holdings and transactional data for their Reportable Accounts.
Quarterly Transaction Reports
Each quarter, Employees must report all Reportable Securities transactions in covered accounts on PTCC. If the Employees accounts qualified for a Direct Brokerage feed, the transactional data will appear on their quarterly certification. It is the Employees responsibility to ensure the accuracy of such data and notify the CCO or their designee if any discrepancies are found. Employees must also report any new account opened during the quarter which hold Reportable Securities.
Initial and Annual Holdings Reports
Employees must periodically report the existence of any account that holds any Reportable Securities. Reports regarding accounts and holdings must be submitted on PTCC to the CCO or their designee on or before the appropriate due dates. Annual report must be current as of December 31st; initial reports must be current as of a date no more than 45 days prior to the date that the person became an Employee.
If an Employee does not have any holdings and/or accounts to report, they will still submit the Initial/Annual Holdings report on PTCC.
Exceptions from Reporting Requirements
There are limited exceptions from certain reporting requirements. Specifically, an Employee is not required to submit;
● | Quarterly reports for any transactions effected pursuant to an Automatic Investment Plan; |
● | Any reports with respect to Securities held in accounts over which the Employee had no direct or indirect influence or control, such as an account managed by an investment advisor. |
Review of Employee Trading
The CCO or their designee may periodically review employee trades against the Firm trades or other market information to ensure that no employee uses his/her position at the firm to unfairly advantage themselves. This includes reviewing for manipulative practices including front running, tailgating, trading opposite of the firm and insider trading.
Employee trades should be executed in a manner consistent with our fiduciary obligations to our Clients: trades should avoid actual improprieties, as well as the appearance of impropriety. Employee trades must not be timed to precede orders placed for any Client, nor should trading activity be so excessive as to conflict with the Employee’s ability to fulfill daily job responsibilities.
Accounts Covered by the Policies and Procedures
Foundry Partners’ Personal Securities Transactions policies and procedures apply to all accounts holding any Securities over which Employees have any beneficial ownership interest, which typically includes accounts held by immediate family members sharing the same household. Immediate family members include children, step-children, grandchildren, parents, step-parents, grandparents, spouses, domestic partners, siblings, parents-in-law, and children-in-law, as well as adoptive relationships that meet the above criteria.
It may be possible for Employees to exclude accounts held personally or by immediate family members sharing the same household if the Employee does not have any direct or indirect influence or control over the accounts. Employees should consult with the CCO before excluding any accounts held by immediate family members sharing the same household.
Disclosure of the Code of Ethics
Foundry Partners will describe its Code of Ethics in Part 2A of Form ADV and, upon request, furnish Clients with a copy of the Code of Ethics. All Client requests for Foundry Partners’ Code of Ethics should be directed to the CCO.
S
M I A d v i s o r y S e r v i c e s
C O D E O F E T H I C S |
8/27/2020 |
SMI
Advisory Services, LLC
411 6th St.
Columbus, IN 47201
Table of Contents
1. General Provisions | 3 |
2. Covered Persons | 3 |
2.1. Supervised Persons | 3 |
2.2. Access Persons | 4 |
2.3. Family Members | 4 |
3. Business Conduct Standards | 4 |
3.1. Compliance with Laws and Regulations | 4 |
3.2. Confidentiality of Client Information | 4 |
3.3. Conflicts of Interest | 5 |
3.4. Public Presentations, Social Media and Blogging Policy | 6 |
3.5. Rumor Policy | 6 |
3.6. Outside Business Interests – Change in Employment | 7 |
3.7. Gifts and Entertainment | 7 |
3.8. Political Contributions | 7 |
3.9. Reporting of Violations | 7 |
3.10. Whistleblower Policy | 8 |
4. Insider Trading | 8 |
5. Personal Securities Transactions | 9 |
5.1. Definitions of Security Types | 9 |
5.1.1. Securities | 9 |
5.1.2. Restricted Securities | 9 |
5.1.3. Excluded Securities | 9 |
5.2. Pre-clearance | 10 |
5.3. Proprietary Mutual Funds | 10 |
5.4. Additional Pre-clearance Exception | 10 |
6. Reporting Requirements | 10 |
6.1. Scope | 10 |
6.2. Reporting Exceptions | 11 |
6.3. Initial and Annual Certifications | 11 |
6.4. Initial/ Annual Holdings and Quarterly Transaction Reports | 12 |
6.5. Annual Written Reports to the Board | 12 |
7. Pay to Play Policy | 12 |
8. Recordkeeping Requirements | 12 |
9. Form ADV Disclosure | 13 |
10. Acknowledgment of Receipt | 13 |
Exhibit 1: Employee Initial/Annual Certification | 14 |
Exhibit 2: Personal Securities Accounts Report | 15 |
Exhibit 3: Electronic Communications Certification | 16 |
Exhibit 4: Employee Disciplinary Action Certification | 17 |
1. | General Provisions |
This Code of Ethics (the “Code”) has been adopted by SMI Advisory Services, LLC (“SMI”), an Indiana limited liability company, in accordance with Rule 17j under the investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Act”) and Rule 204A-1 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”). This Code establishes rules of conduct for all Supervised Persons of SMI and is designed to, among other things, govern personal securities trading activities in the accounts of Access Persons of SMI. The Code is based upon the principle that SMI and its Supervised Persons owe a fiduciary duty to their Clients to conduct their affairs, including their personal securities transactions, in such a manner as to:
§ | Place the interests of SMI’s Clients first and foremost ahead of their own personal interests, |
§ | Ensure that all personal securities transactions be conducted consistent with the Code and in such a manner as to avoid any actual or potential conflict of interest or any abuse of an individual’s position of trust and responsibility, |
§ | Avoid taking any inappropriate advantage of their positions. |
This Code is designed so that high ethical standards are applied and maintained by SMI and its Supervised Persons. The purpose of the Code is to preclude activities that may lead to or give the appearance of conflicts of interest, insider trading, and other forms of prohibited or unethical business conduct. Strict compliance with the provisions of this Code is expected of all affiliated persons of SMI.
Employees are urged to seek the advice of the CCO for any questions as to how this Code applies to their individual circumstances. The CCO may delegate any of their responsibilities or duties described in this Code by designating the individual assigned to the task in the Designation of Responsibilities exhibit in SMI’s Policies and Procedures Manual. The CCO may also, under circumstances that are considered appropriate or after consultation with a Managing Member of SMI, grant exceptions to the provisions contained in this Code only when it is clear that the interests of SMI’s Clients will not be adversely affected. All questions arising in connection with personal securities trading should be resolved in favor of the interest of the Clients even at the expense of the interest of SMI’s Supervised Persons.
2. | Covered Persons |
Covered persons are all affiliated persons of SMI as defined below under Supervised Persons, Access Persons, and (where applicable) Family Members.
2.1. | Supervised Persons |
Supervised Persons include:
§ | Directors, officers, and partners of SMI (or other persons occupying a similar status or performing similar functions); |
§ | Employees of SMI; |
§ | Any other person who provides regular advice on behalf of SMI and is subject to SMI’s supervision and control; |
§ | Temporary workers; |
§ | Consultants; |
§ | Independent contractors; and |
§ | Access Persons. |
Code of Ethics | Page | 3 |
2.2. | Access Persons |
Access Persons include any Supervised Persons who:
§ | In connection with his or her regular duties has access to non-public information regarding the purchase or sale of securities by SMI or a Client of SMI; or |
§ | Are involved in making securities recommendations to any Client; or |
§ | Are SMI’s directors, officers or partners who are natural persons. |
2.3. | Family Members |
For purposes of personal securities reporting and political contributions requirements, SMI considers the Supervised or Access Persons defined above to also include the person’s immediate family (as defined in the Adviser Act) (including any relative by blood or marriage living in the supervised or Access Person’s household) and any account in which he or she has a direct or indirect beneficial interest (such as a trust).
3. | Business Conduct Standards |
3.1. | Compliance with Laws and Regulations |
All Supervised Persons must comply with all applicable state and Federal securities laws including, but not limited to, the Investment Company Act, (the “Act”), Regulation S-P and the Patriot Act, as it pertains to Anti- Money Laundering. Rule 17j-1 under the Act and Section 206 of the Advisers Act generally proscribe fraudulent or manipulative practices with respect to purchases or sales of securities held or to be acquired by investment advisers. In particular, it is unlawful for any affiliated person of SMI in connection with the purchase or sale, directly or indirectly, to:
§ | defraud a Client in any manner; |
§ | mislead a Client, including by making a statement that omits material facts; |
§ | engage in any act, practice or course of conduct which operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon a Client; |
§ | engage in any manipulative practice with respect to a Client; or |
§ | engage in any manipulative practice with respect to securities, including price manipulation. |
3.2. | Confidentiality of Client Information |
In the course of investment advisory activities of SMI, the firm obtains and has access to personal and nonpublic information about its Clients. Such information may include a person’s status as a Client, personal, financial, and account information, the allocation of assets in a Client portfolio, the composition of investments in any Client portfolio, information relating to services performed for and transactions entered into on behalf of Clients, advice provided by SMI to Clients, and data or analyses derived from such nonpublic personal information (collectively referred to as “Confidential Client Information”). All Confidential Client Information, whether relating to SMI’s current or former Clients, is subject to the Code’s policies and procedures. Any doubts about the confidentiality of information must be resolved in favor of confidentiality.
Code of Ethics | Page | 4 |
3.3. | Conflicts of Interest |
SMI, as a fiduciary, has an affirmative duty of care, loyalty, honesty and good faith to act in the best interests of its Clients. Compliance with this duty can be achieved by avoiding conflicts of interest and if they occur, by fully disclosing all material facts concerning any conflict that may arise with respect to any Client.
Conflicts among Client Interests
Conflicts of interest may arise where SMI or its Supervised Persons have reason to favor the interests of one Client over another Client (e.g., larger accounts over smaller accounts, accounts where compensation is greater), or a Client over a personal account (accounts in which Supervised Persons have made material personal investments, accounts of close friends or relatives of covered persons). SMI specifically prohibits inappropriate favoritism of one Client over another Client or of any personal account over a Client.
Competing with Client Trades
SMI prohibits Access Persons from using knowledge about pending or currently considered securities transactions for Clients in order to profit personally, directly or indirectly, as a result. In order to avoid any potential conflict of interest between SMI and its Clients, Access Persons may execute personal securities transactions in the same security as that being purchased or sold for advisory accounts during the same day only after obtaining the prior written approval of the CCO.
No Transactions with Clients
SMI specifically prohibits Supervised Persons from knowingly selling to or purchasing from a Client any security, unless the Supervised Person obtains the prior written consent of the CCO.
Disclosure of Personal Interest
SMI prohibits Supervised Persons from recommending, implementing or considering any securities transaction for a Client without having disclosed any material beneficial ownership, business or personal relationship, or other material interest in the issuer or its affiliates, to an appropriate designated person (e.g., a Managing Member of SMI (“Manager”) or, with respect to the Manager’s interests, the CCO). If this designated person deems the disclosed interest to present a material conflict, the investment personnel may not participate in any decision-making process regarding the securities of that issuer.
Referrals/Brokerage
SMI requires Access Persons to act in the best interests of SMI’s Clients regarding execution and other costs paid by Clients for brokerage services. Access Persons are reminded to strictly adhere to SMI’s policies and procedures regarding brokerage (including allocation, best execution, soft dollars, and directed brokerage) as outlined in SMI’s Policy and Procedures Manual.
Vendors and Suppliers
SMI requires Supervised Persons to disclose any personal investments or other interests in vendors or suppliers with whom the Supervised Person negotiates or makes decisions on behalf of SMI. SMI specifically prohibits Supervised Persons with interests as noted above from negotiating or making decisions regarding SMI’s business with such companies.
Code of Ethics | Page | 5 |
3.4. | Public Presentations, Social Media and Blogging Policy |
Supervised Persons may periodically be called upon to make public presentations to a variety of audiences. If the Supervised Person is making a presentation in support of their work with SMI, all prepared comments and handouts must be reviewed and approved by the CCO prior to the presentation. If the presentation is being made in a capacity other than as a representative of SMI, the Supervised Person must assert that any opinions they may offer are their own and do not reflect the policies or opinions of SMI. Further information is provided in SMI’s Policy and Procedures Manual.
The usage of social media or blogging for business related purposes by SMI’s Supervised Persons is currently prohibited. SMI does not deny Supervised Persons the ability to develop or maintain a blog or social media account (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) for personal comments and opinions (non-business related). In the event a Supervised Person participates in social media or blogging on a personal level, the Supervised Person is prohibited from using these media accounts for business related purposes.
It is SMI’s expectation that any Supervised Person who engages in this type of activity will abide by the following guidelines:
§ | Make it clear that the views expressed in the medium are yours alone and do not necessarily represent the views of SMI. |
§ | Respect SMI’s confidentiality and proprietary information. |
§ | Ask the CCO if you have any questions about what is appropriate to include in your comments or opinions. |
§ | Be respectful to SMI, SMI’s employees, SMI’s customers, SMI’s partners, SMI’s affiliates, and SMI’s competitors. |
§ | Understand and comply when SMI asks that topics not be discussed for confidentiality or legal compliance reasons. |
§ | Ensure that your activity does not interfere with your work commitments. |
In the event a Supervised Person’s blog or online activity prevents them from honoring their responsibilities under this Code or their work commitments, they will be subject to disciplinary action, which may include immediate termination of employment with SMI.
3.5. | Rumor Policy |
All Supervised Persons are expressly prohibited from knowingly spreading any false rumor concerning any company, or any purported market development, that is designed to impact trading in or the price of that company’s or any other company’s securities, (including any associated derivative instruments), and from engaging in any other type of activity that constitutes illegal market manipulation. This prohibition includes the false spreading of any rumors, or any other form of illegal market manipulation, via any media, including, but not limited to e-mail, instant messages, blogs or chat rooms. Any Supervised Person who is found to have engaged in such conduct shall be subject to disciplinary action which may include termination.
Code of Ethics | Page | 6 |
3.6. | Outside Business Interests – Change in Employment |
A Supervised Person who seeks or is offered a position as an officer, trustee, director, or is considering employment in any other capacity in an outside enterprise, is required to discuss such anticipated plans with the CCO or their designee prior to accepting such a position. Information submitted to the CCO is considered confidential and will not be discussed with the Supervised Person’s prospective employer without the Supervised Person’s permission.
3.7. | Gifts and Entertainment |
Accepting Gifts
Accepting extraordinary or extravagant gifts is prohibited. Any such gifts must be declined and returned in order to protect the reputation and integrity of SMI. Written disclosure of such gift must be promptly reported to the CCO.
Gifts of nominal value (i.e., a gift whose reasonable value, alone or in the aggregate, is not more than $100 in any calendar year), are required to be disclosed upon receipt to the CCO. Customary business meals, entertainment (e.g. sporting events), and promotional items (i.e., pens, mugs, T-shirts) may be accepted, see Entertainment below for additional guidance.
Solicitation of Gifts
SMI’s Supervised Persons are prohibited from soliciting gifts of any size under any circumstances.
Giving Gifts
SMI’s Supervised Persons may not give any gift with a value in excess of $100 per calendar year to a Client or person who regularly does business with, regulates, advises or renders professional service to SMI. Written disclosure of such gift must be promptly reported to the CCO or their designee.
Entertainment
No Supervised Person may provide or accept extravagant or excessive entertainment to or from a Client, prospective Client, or any person or entity that does or seeks to do business with or on behalf of SMI. Supervised Persons may provide or accept a business entertainment event, such as dinner or a sporting event, of reasonable value, if the person or entity providing the entertainment is present.
3.8. | Political Contributions |
All Supervised Persons of SMI must receive prior written approval from the CCO or their designee for any political contribution or contribution to a political action committee (“PAC”).
3.9. | Reporting of Violations |
All Supervised Persons of SMI must promptly (upon discovery of violation) report violations of this Code to the CCO. If the CCO is unavailable, the violation must then be reported to one of SMI’s Managers. The Manager will determine if any sanctions may be appropriate and imposed which may include reprimands, censures, fines, disgorgement, or suspensions. Employees of SMI should understand that a material breach of the provisions of this Code will constitute grounds for disciplinary action and/or immediate termination of employment with SMI.
Code of Ethics | Page | 7 |
3.10. | Whistleblower Policy |
The Dodd-Frank Act (the “Act”) contains provisions that protect whistleblowers that report fraudulent activities at financial services firms. Section 922 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act provides that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) shall pay awards to eligible whistleblowers that voluntarily provide the SEC with original information that leads to a successful enforcement action yielding monetary sanctions of over $1 million. The award amount is required to be between 10 percent and 30 percent of the total monetary sanctions collected in the Commission’s action or any related action such as in a criminal case.
The Dodd-Frank Act also expressly prohibits retaliation by employers against whistleblowers and provides them with a private cause of action in the event that they are discharged or discriminated against by their employers in violation of the Act. Further information is provided in SMI’s Policy and Procedures Manual.
Also, Section 21F-17 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 states the following:
(a) No person may take any action to impede an individual from communicating directly with the Commission staff about a possible securities law violation, including enforcing, or threatening to enforce, a confidentiality agreement (other than agreements dealing with information covered by § 240.21F-4(b)(4)(i) and § 240.21F- 4(b)(4)(ii) of this chapter related to the legal representation of a client) with respect to such communications.
(b) If you are a director, officer, member, agent, or employee of an entity that has counsel, and you have initiated communication with the Commission relating to a possible securities law violation, the staff is authorized to communicate directly with you regarding the possible securities law violation without seeking the consent of the entity’s counsel.
4. | Insider Trading |
Inside information is presently defined as information that has not been disseminated to the public through the customary news media; is known by the recipient (tippee) to be non-public; or has been improperly obtained. In addition, the information must be material, important enough that a reasonably prudent person might base their decision to invest or not invest on the information. If a Supervised Person believes they are in possession of inside information, it is critical that they not act on the information or disclose it to anyone, but instead advise the CCO accordingly. Acting on such information may subject the Supervised Person to severe federal criminal penalties, and result in disciplinary action and potentially termination of employment with SMI. This section is also included in SMI’s Policy and Procedures Manual.
Code of Ethics | Page | 8 |
5. | Personal Securities Transactions |
Personal securities transactions by Access Persons are subject to the following trading guidelines:
5.1. | Definitions of Security Types |
5.1.1. | Securities |
Section 202(a)(18) of the Advisers Act defines the term “Security” as follows:
“Security” means any note, stock, treasury stock, security future, bond, debenture, evidence of indebtedness, certificate of interest or participation in any profit-sharing agreement, collateral-trust certificate, pre- organization certificate or subscription, transferable share, investment contract, voting-trust certificate, certificate of deposit for a security, fractional undivided interest in oil, gas, or other mineral rights, any put, call, straddle, option, or privilege on any security (including a certificate of deposit) or on any group or index of securities (including any interest therein or based on the value thereof), or any put, call, straddle, option, or privilege entered into on a national securities exchange relating to foreign currency, or, in general, any interest or instrument commonly known as a “security,” or any certificate of interest or participation in, temporary or interim certificate for, receipt for, guaranty of, or warrant or right to subscribe to or purchase any of the foregoing.
5.1.2. | Restricted Securities |
A security is considered “Restricted” if it is already in one or more of SMI’s investment strategies (or if it is going to be added that day). Options on restricted securities shall also be deemed to be a restricted security. For purposes of this section, excluded securities that are (or are going to be added that day) placed in one or more of SMI’s investment strategies shall not be deemed restricted.
Restricted securities can be traded by Access Persons, but only after Pre-Clearance Authorization by the CCO is given.
5.1.3. | Excluded Securities |
For purposes of this Code, the term “Excluded Securities” are securities that do not require any reporting when Access Persons trade them. These securities include:
○ | Open-end, closed end, and exchange traded mutual funds, except proprietary mutual funds advised or sub-advised by or for SMI (which do require notification only, prior to non-AIP or non-AWP trades); |
○ | Direct obligations of the United States; |
○ | Bankers’ acceptances, bank certificates of deposit, commercial paper and high quality short-term debt instruments, including repurchase agreements; |
○ | Equities not used by the SMI strategies, |
○ | Bonds not used by the SMI strategies, |
○ | Any security not defined as Restricted in Section 5.1.2. |
If there is any question by an Access Person as to whether a security is reportable under this Code, they should consult with the CCO for clarification on the issue before entering any trade for their personal account.
Code of Ethics | Page | 9 |
5.2. | Pre-clearance |
No Access Person may purchase or sell any Restricted security, as defined in Section 5.1.2, without pre-clearing this action through the CCO, subject to certain exceptions described below. This restriction includes initial public offerings and limited offerings (i.e., private placements). The CCO may reject any proposed trade by an Access Person that is inappropriate in terms of the affirmative duty of an Access Person of SMI to SMI’s Clients.
Only upon receipt of the written approval from the CCO can the Access Person engage in the requested transaction. All approved transactions are in effect solely for the business day on which approval was requested. If an Access Person decides not to execute the transaction on the day pre-clearance approval is given or the entire trade is not executed, a new request for pre-clearance must be made for future trades. Limit orders entered must be placed as a day order. In addition, Access Persons may not simultaneously request pre-clearance to buy and sell the same security.
5.3. | Proprietary Mutual Funds |
Regarding the non-systematic purchase or sale of proprietary mutual funds advised or sub-advised by or for SMI, notification prior to the trade is all that is required.
Trades of Proprietary mutual funds that have established systematic investments are Excluded Securities and do not require any notification.
5.4. | Additional Pre-clearance Exception |
An Access Person does not need Pre-Clearance with the CCO to purchase or sell any Restricted security, as defined in Section 5.1.2, for an account(s) of the Access Person that is managed on a full discretionary trading basis by a registered investment adviser. The Access Person must not be allowed to trade in the account or hold unsupervised assets in same. This exception does not exempt the Access Person from reporting requirements of Section 6 of the Code.
6. | Reporting Requirements |
6.1. | Scope |
All Access Persons of SMI are required to provide account statements for any personal trading accounts under their control or relating to persons subject to this Code. This requirement applies to all accounts an Access Person might reasonably have control over, for all members of their household, as well as any other account from which they receive an economic benefit, including their 401(k) and the Profit Sharing Plans.
If an Access Person believes that they should be exempt from the reporting requirements mentioned above they should advise the CCO in writing, giving the name of the account, the person(s) or firm(s) responsible for its management, and the reason(s) they should be exempt from reporting requirements under this Code.
Code of Ethics | Page | 10 |
In the event a personal investment account does not produce a periodic statement because of account inactivity, SMI will accept a statement to that effect from the Access Person. This attestation is required by the CCO on a quarterly basis if no statement is received for a disclosed account.
6.2. | Reporting Exceptions |
Access Persons are not required to submit:
§ | Any report with respect to securities held in accounts over which the Access Person has no direct or indirect influence or control; |
§ | A transaction report with respect to transactions effected pursuant to an automatic investment plan (Note: This exception includes dividend reinvestment plans.); and |
§ | A transaction report if the report would duplicate information contained in broker account statements that SMI holds in its records, so long as SMI receives the statements no later than 30 days after the end of the applicable calendar quarter. |
6.3. | Initial and Annual Certifications |
Code of Ethics
Upon employment and annually thereafter each Supervised Person will affirm receipt of the Code and SMI’s Policies and Procedures Manual and acknowledge they have read, understand and will comply with policies described in both (Exhibit 1: Employee Initial/Annual Certification).
Personal Securities Accounts Report
Upon employment and annually thereafter, each Access Person will be asked to complete (Exhibit 2) Personal Securities Accounts Report affirming the securities accounts that are being reported, as well as any new accounts which may have been omitted through oversight over the preceding year.
Electronic Communication
Upon employment and annually thereafter each Supervised Person will be asked to complete (Exhibit 3) Electronic Communications Certification affirming their knowledge and compliance with SMI’s electronic communication policies.
Disciplinary Action
Upon employment and annually thereafter each Supervised Person will be asked to complete (Exhibit 4) Employee Disciplinary Action Certification affirming they have no disclosure issues to report and in the event of such an occurrence, will notify the CCO immediately.
Code of Ethics | Page | 11 |
6.4. | Initial/ Annual Holdings and Quarterly Transaction Reports |
Initial/Annual Report
All employees of SMI who during the course of their employment become an Access Person as defined in subsection 2 of this Code (this may be upon employment), must provide the CCO with an (Exhibit 1) Initial/Annual Certification no later than 10 days after the individual becomes an Access Person. The holdings information provided in conjunction with this certification (Exhibit 2) must be current as of 45 days before the individual became an Access Person.
Quarterly Report
Every Access Person must submit a quarterly transaction report to the CCO, 30 days from quarter end. If quarterly statements are not available, a monthly statement for each respective month within the quarter is required within 30 days of month end. The quarterly transaction report requirement will be satisfied through receipt by the CCO of quarterly or, if applicable, monthly account statements. The CCO will review statements for any evidence of improper holding, trading activities, or conflicts of interest by the Access Person.
6.5. | Annual Written Reports to the Board |
At least annually, the CCO will provide a written report to the Board of Directors of each fund for which SMI acts as an investment adviser as follows:
§ | Issues Arising Under the Code. The report must describe any issue(s) that arose during the previous year under this Code of Ethics, including any material or procedural violations, and any resulting sanction(s). The CCO may report to the Board more frequently if he or she deems it necessary or appropriate, and shall do so as requested by SMI’s Managing Members. |
§ | Certification. Each report must be accompanied by a certification to the Board of Directors that SMI has adopted procedures reasonably robust enough to prevent their Access Persons from violating this Code. |
7. | Pay to Play Policy |
Since SMI does not accept any State, Local or Federal clients, no Pay to Play policy is required.
8. | Recordkeeping Requirements |
SMI will maintain the following records for at least five years from the end of the fiscal year in which it is made, the first two years in an easily accessible place:
§ | A copy of each Code that has been in effect at any time during the past five years; |
§ | A record of any violation of the Code and any action taken as a result of this violation for five years from the end of the fiscal year in which the violation occurred; |
§ | A record of all written acknowledgements of receipt of the Code and amendments for each person who is currently, or within the past five years was, a Supervised person; |
§ | Holdings and transactions reports made as required under the Code, including any brokerage account statements made in lieu of these reports; |
§ | A list of the names of persons who are currently, or within the past five years were, Access Persons; |
§ | A record of any decision and supporting reasons for approving the acquisition of securities by Access Persons in initial public offerings, or otherwise limited offerings, for at least five years after the end of the fiscal year in which approval was granted; |
§ | Any waiver from or exception to the Code for any Supervised Person of SMI subject to the Code, and; |
§ | A copy of each annual written report to the Board. |
Code of Ethics | Page | 12 |
9. | Form ADV Disclosure |
A description of the Code will be provided in SMI’s Part 2A of Form ADV, Firm Brochure. This description in SMI’s Part 2A of Form ADV, Firm Brochure, will include the following statement:
“SMI Advisory Services, LLC will provide a copy of the Code to any Client or prospective Client upon request.”
10. | Acknowledgment of Receipt |
A copy of the Code and any amendments will be provided to each Supervised and Access Person. Each person must acknowledge, initially, annually and as the Code is amended, that they have received, read, and understand, the above Code of Ethics regarding personal securities trading and other potential conflicts of interest and agree to comply with the provisions therein.
This Code is approved and promulgated effective 5/11/2016.
By: | |||
Signature | |||
Its: |
Code of Ethics | Page | 13 |
Exhibit 1: Employee Initial/Annual Certification
I certify the following information to be true to the best of my knowledge:
(Initial each certification.)
☒ I have read, understand and agree to comply with Adviser’s Code of Ethics dated 5-11-2016.
☒ I hereby acknowledge receipt of Adviser’s Policies and Procedures Manual dated 5-11-2016 and addendums, pending and applied.
☒ I have read, understand and agree to comply with Section 7 Insider Trading Provisions of SMI Advisory Services, LLC’s Policies and Procedures Manual. I have read, understand, and agree to comply with conditions contained therein.
☒ I understand that as a supervised person of the Adviser, I must promptly (upon discovery of violation) report violations of compliance procedures to the CCO as the situation dictates. If the CCO is unavailable, the violation must then be reported to the President of SMI Advisory Services, LLC.
Signature | Title | ||
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Print Name | Date |
Exhibit 2: Employee Initial/Annual Certification Form | Page | 14 |
Exhibit 2: Personal Securities Accounts Report
I. | Please check one selection: |
γ | I am defined as an Access Person by SMI Advisory Services, LLC’s Code of Ethics and do have accounts in which I have direct or indirect beneficial interest or control. Please complete Item II, Item III and Item IV below. |
γ | I am defined as an Access Person by SMI Advisory Services, LLC’s Code of Ethics and do not have any accounts in which I have direct or indirect beneficial interest or control. Please skip Item II and item III below. Please complete Item IV below. |
II. | Brokerage Account Disclosure |
List all brokerage accounts in which you have direct or indirect beneficial interest or control in the table below. (Include 401(k) Plans and Profit Sharing Plans.):
Account Number | Account Name | Custodian/Brokerage Name and Address |
III. | Please select all that apply: |
γ | I have disclosed all brokerage accounts in which I have direct or indirect beneficial interest or control in the table above. |
γ | I hold reportable securities outside of the above-referenced accounts. Information as required by Rule 204A (b)(1)(i) is attached. |
γ | For any accounts disclosed above; I have provided the Chief Compliance Officer or designee with an account statement which is current as of 45 days of my becoming an Access Person. (Check only if you are newly hired and this is your first attestation.) |
IV. | Access Person Information |
I agree to promptly notify the CCO or designee if any such accounts are opened. I also agree to submit an initial holdings report to the CCO or designee within 10 days of such opening.
Signature | Date | ||
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Print Name | Title |
Exhibit 2: Personal Securities Accounts Report Form | Page | 15 |
Exhibit 3: Electronic Communications Certification
I certify the following information to be true to the best of my knowledge:
The purpose of this certification is to provide additional clarification of SMI Advisory Services, LLC’s (“Adviser”) policies and procedures related to Electronic Communications. If you have any questions about the contents of this certification or the Adviser’s policy with regard to electronic communications, please contact the Compliance department. Once you have read and have an understanding of these guidelines, please certify electronically below.
According to various regulations, including SEC Rule 17a-4, the Adviser must retain and monitor all electronic communications sent or received by its personnel. For the Adviser, the only approved Electronic Communications are emails that are sent from the Adviser’s @SMIAdvisory.com domain, which is automatically and continuously archived.
Electronic Communications do not include any other means of electronic communication. Under no circumstances shall any Adviser business be conducted through non-approved electronic communications. Examples of non- approved electronic communications include but are not limited to personal email (Gmail, Yahoo!, Hotmail, etc.), other instant messaging (AOL, Gmail, etc.), text messaging, PIN messaging, and social networking (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.). If you are currently communicating through non-approved means of electronic communication, please refrain from doing so immediately.
The Adviser does not deny Supervised Persons the ability to develop or maintain a blog or social media account (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) for personal comments and opinions (non-business related). In the event a supervised or Access Person participates in social media and/or blogging on a personal level, the supervised or Access Person is prohibited from using these media accounts for business related purposes. It is the Adviser’s expectation that any supervised or Access Person who engages in this type of activity will abide by the following guidelines:
Make it clear that the views expressed in the medium are yours alone and do not necessarily represent the views of the Adviser. Respect the Adviser’s confidentiality and proprietary information. Ask the CCO or their designee if you have any questions about what is appropriate to include in your comments or opinions. Be respectful to the Adviser, the Adviser’s employees, our customers, our partners, our affiliates and competitors. Understand and comply when the Adviser asks that topics not be discussed for confidentiality or legal compliance reasons.
Ensure that your activity does not interfere with your work commitments.
☒ | I have read this certification and I fully understand its contents and the requirements it places upon me as an employee of SMI Advisory Services, LLC. I agree that I will fully comply with the requirements contained herein. |
Signature | Title | ||
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Print Name | Date |
Exhibit 3: Electronic Communications Certification Form | Page | 16 |
Exhibit 4: Employee Disciplinary Action Certification
I certify the following information to be true to the best of my knowledge:
☐ Yes ☒ No At any time in the last ten (10) years have you been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor involving the purchase or sale of any security or commodities or futures contract, the taking of a false oath, the making of a false report, bribery, perjury, burglary, theft larceny, embezzlement, extortion, forgery, fraudulent conversion counterfeiting, misappropriation, or conspiracy to commit any such offense, or arising out of your conduct as an underwriter, broker, dealer, investment adviser, bank, municipal securities dealer, government securities broker, government securities dealer transfer agent, fiduciary or entity or person required to be registered under the Commodity Exchange Act, or as an affiliated person, salesman or employee of an investment company, investment adviser, bank, insurance company, or entity or person required to be registered under the Commodity Exchange Act?
☐ Yes ☒ No Have you been, by reason of any misconduct, permanently or temporarily enjoined by order, judgment, or decree of any court from acting as an investment adviser, underwriter, broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer, government securities broker, government securities dealer, bank, transfer agent, or entity or person required to be registered under the Commodity Exchange Act, or as an associated person or employee of any of the foregoing, or as an affiliated person, salesman or employee of any investment company, bank, insurance company, or entity or person required to be registered under the Commodity Exchange Act, or from engaging in or continuing any conduct or practice in connection with any such activity, or in connection with the purchase or sale of any security or commodities or futures contract, or arising out of any securities or commodities investment advisory activities?
☐ Yes ☒ No Have you ever been found by the SEC or the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) to have will fully made or caused to be made in any registration statement, application for registration or report required to be filed with the SEC or the CFTC under United States securities or commodities laws, or in any proceeding before the SEC or the CFTC with respect to registration, any statement which was at the time and in the light of the circumstances under which it was made false and misleading with respect to any material fact, or to have omitted to state in any such application or report any material fact which was required to be stated therein?
Exhibit 4: Employee Disciplinary Action Certification Form | Page | 17 |
☐ Yes ☒ No Have you ever been found by the SEC, CFTC, or any court to have willfully violated or to have aided, abetted, counseled, commanded, induced or procured the violation by any other person of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the Investment Company Act of 1940, or the Commodity Exchange Act, or of any rule or regulation under any of such Acts, or the laws of any jurisdiction relating to securities or relating to the conduct of business as a broker, dealer, bank, municipal securities dealer, investment adviser, investment company, or any entity required to be registered under the Commodity Exchange Act?
☐ Yes ☒ No Have you ever been found by any foreign financial regulatory authority to have (i) made or caused to be made any statement that was at the time and in light of the circumstances under which it was made false or misleading with respect to any material fact, or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated; or (ii) violated or aided, abetted, counseled, commanded, induced or procured the violation by another person of any foreign securities or commodities statute or regulation?
☐ Yes ☒ No Have you (i) been convicted by a foreign court of competent jurisdiction within ten (10)
years of any felony or misdemeanor involving the purchase or sale of any security arising out of your conduct as a broker, dealer, investment adviser, or commodities or futures trader; or (ii) by reason of any misconduct, been enjoined by order, judgment, or decree of any court from acting as investment adviser, underwriter, broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer, government securities broker, government securities dealer, bank, transfer agent, or from engaging in or continuing any conduct or practice in connection with any such activity, or in connection with the purchase or sale of any security, or arising out of any securities investment advisory activities?
Signature | Date | ||
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Print Name | Title |
Exhibit 4: Employee Disciplinary Action Certification Form | Page | 18 |
Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.
Ethics Policy and Standards of Professional Conduct
March 31, 2017
Introduction
1. | Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. is dedicated to helping each of its clients achieve their investment objectives through personalized and attentive service and superior, long-term investment performance. Specifically, this means serving each client professionally, courteously, confidentially, and ethically. All Employees (defined as Portfolio Managers, including Assistant Portfolio Managers, Assistants to Portfolio Managers, and Portfolio Management Associates; Research Analysts, including the Director of Research; Other Investment Professionals, including the Head Trader, Trading Assistants, and Director of Sales & Marketing; and all Other Employees) of this firm shall act in an ethical manner in all dealings with the clients of this firm, the public, the media, prospective clients, suppliers, other Employees, and other members of the investment community, consistent with the Ethics Policy and Standards of Professional Conduct (“Ethics Policy”) of the firm. |
As investment managers, we have a fiduciary relationship with our clients and, as such, we shall place our interests – individually and collectively – subordinate to those of our clients. This applies to both individual and institutional clients, as well as to the shareholders of the BFS Equity Fund (BFSAX) and to the limited partners of Crystal Partners Fund Limited Partnership (“Crystal Partners”), which we manage. As further detailed below, this requires that all Employees will execute their personal securities transactions in a manner consistent with this Ethics Policy and in such a manner as to avoid any actual or potential conflict of interest or any abuse of an individual’s position of trust and responsibility. This Ethics Policy covers, among other things, personal securities transactions by all Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. Employees for their own account, a personal account of a member of the Employee’s household, as well as a personal account of a minor child not residing with him or her, and accounts in which an Employee has a material (i.e., 5% or greater) direct or indirect beneficial interest and can influence investment decisions, whether or not the Employee or accountholder pays a fee.
Administration of the Ethics Policy is the responsibility of the firm’s Chief Compliance Officer. Appendix A: Chief Compliance Officer’s Duties and Responsibilities, enumerates the responsibilities of the Chief Compliance Officer in regard to this Ethics Policy. Enforcement of the Ethics Policy is the responsibility of the President of the firm. The Chief Compliance Officer is responsible for reviewing and receiving all documentation pertaining to securities trading and holdings required by the Ethics Policy. All Employees are required to report possible violations of the Ethics Policy to the Chief Compliance Officer. The Chief Compliance Officer is responsible for reviewing and investigating any reported or suspected violations of the Ethics Policy and reporting the events and any findings to the President. If investigation discloses that there has been a violation, the President will take appropriate action. Because all situations cannot be contemplated or provided for in advance, the President has the authority to permit exceptions to the policies and procedures in this Ethics Policy when an exception is not harmful to the best interests of the firm’s clients or does not give the appearance of a conflict of interest.
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The Principals of Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. believe that this code will serve to prevent actual or perceived conflicts of interest caused by Employee conduct including personal securities transactions. They also believe that the Ethics Policy is suitable, fair, and reasonable. From time to time, as conditions dictate, the Ethics Policy may be revised.
Any questions concerning this Ethics Policy and Standards of Professional Conduct should be directed to the Chief Compliance Officer or the President.
Annual Review and Signature of Ethics Policy
2. | Upon commencement of employment with Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc., and thereafter annually, at the beginning of the year, each Employee of Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. shall read this Ethics Policy and shall signify that he or she has read, understands, and intends to comply with the provisions of this Ethics Policy by signing a copy of this policy. In addition, concurrent with the annual review of this Ethics Policy, each Employee of Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. shall complete an annual compliance questionnaire and certification, disclosing outside business activities, political contributions, and other items, if any, that may cause potential conflicts. This questionnaire is included as Appendix E: Annual Compliance Questionnaire. |
Prohibition Against Acting Illegally or Assisting in Illegal Actions
3. | No Employee shall knowingly participate in, or assist in, any acts in violation of an applicable law, rule, or regulation of any government, governmental agency, or regulatory organization which governs the business of Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. |
Prohibition Against Use of Material Nonpublic Information
4. | All Employees shall comply with all laws and regulations relating to the communication and use of material nonpublic information. No Employee shall trade in a security while in possession of material nonpublic information relating to that security. |
It is permissible for Employees of Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. to serve on the Board of Directors of publicly traded companies – with the prior approval of the President of the firm. A security of a company on which an Employee of Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. serves on the Board of Directors is not allowed to be on the firm’s Guidance List.
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Restrictions on Personal Securities Transactions
General Policy and Practice
5.a. | These policies and procedures apply to all full-time and part-time Employees of Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. |
b. | Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. Employees may own, and are encouraged to own, in personal accounts (those covered by sub-paragraph 5k.) the same securities as those acquired by Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. for its clients. It is an important principle of the firm that Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. Employees own, to a large extent, the same securities as the firm’s clients, thus demonstrating to the firm’s clients that there is a strong alignment of interest between the firm and clients. However, Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. Employees must always place the best interests of the firm’s clients ahead of their own interests. Thus, Employees must refrain from any transactions that in any way might harm the firm’s clients or give the impression of acting contrary to the client’s best interests. |
Crystal Partners Fund Limited Partnership (“Crystal Partners”), a limited partnership, is an entity in which Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. Employees and affiliated parties (e.g., consultants, spouses, and other immediate family members of Employees and consultants) have an ownership interest. Currently, the aggregate ownership by Employees and affiliated parties does not exceed 15% of the total ownership of Crystal Partners. As a result, Crystal Partners is considered a client account. Should the aggregate ownership of by Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. Employees and affiliated parties exceed 15% of the total ownership of Crystal Partners, the entity will be considered a personal account and subject to all of the provisions of the Ethics Policy.
No Employee may knowingly buy, sell, or dispose of in any manner, including by gift, a personal securities investment which would cause, or appear to cause, a conflict with the interests of a Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. client. Employees are expected to use common sense and good professional judgment in any case in which a possible conflict of interest may exist. If in doubt, Employees are required to ask the Chief Compliance Officer or his designee (i.e., the President of the Company, the Senior Operations Officer, the Director of Research, the Secretary of the Company, or the Chief Investment Officer, in that order, hereinafter referred to collectively as “Chief Compliance Officer”) for a ruling.
Short-Term Trading
c. | Employees should not engage in short-term trading (defined as the purchase and sale of the same security within 30 days) in their personal accounts (those covered by sub-paragraph 5k.) with respect to securities on the Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. Guidance List. Any profits realized on buys and sells within 30 days are required to be disgorged to Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. (which in turn will donate the proceeds to a charity chosen by the Employee disgorging the profits), unless the transaction is specifically pre-approved by the Chief Compliance Officer. Employees, with the pre-approval of the Chief Compliance Officer, may sell securities within 30 days of purchase (subject to the requirements of all other sections of this Ethics Policy), if the sale results in a realized loss. |
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This prohibition on short-term trading does not apply to the Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. 401(k) Plan equity fund which Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. manages. This prohibition on short-term trading does apply to the Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. Corporate Accounts (i.e., Corporate, Operating, Research, and Reserve accounts which, currently, are held in custody at Fidelity Investments; Core Equity, Growth & Income, and Mutual Fund accounts which, currently, are held in custody at Charles Schwab; and Pledged Account held in custody at Huntington Bank, hereinafter collectively referred to as “Corporate Accounts”).
Opposite Way Trading
d. | Opposite way trading is prohibited for a 30-day period. If a Portfolio Manager sells all or substantially all of a security for all (or all but a few) of his or her clients, then the Portfolio Manager is prohibited from buying this security in his or her personal accounts (those covered by sub-paragraph 5k.) for 30 days. Similarly, if a Portfolio Manager buys a security broadly for his or her clients, the Portfolio Manager may not sell this security for his or her personal accounts (those covered by sub-paragraph 5k.) for 30 days. |
This prohibition on opposite way trading does not apply to the Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. 401(k) Plan equity fund which Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. manages. This prohibition on opposite way trading does apply to the Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. Corporate Accounts.
Other Trading Restrictions
e. | No Employee may purchase a security for his or her personal accounts (those covered by sub-paragraph 5k.) seven or fewer calendar days prior to that security being placed on the Company’s Guidance List by the Investment Committee. |
f. | No Employee may purchase any security in an initial public offering for his or her personal accounts (those covered by sub-paragraph 5k.). This restriction does not apply to secondary equity offerings, preferred stock, or debt. |
g. | No Employee may purchase a private placement security without the prior approval of the President. |
h. | No Employee may participate in cross trades in which Clients are participating. |
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Pre-Clearance Procedures
i. | Pre-Clearance by the Chief Compliance Officer is required for all Employee transactions, including “gifting,” for accounts covered by sub-paragraph 5k. except for “de minimis” transactions or transactions of “exempt securities” as defined below: |
De Minimis Transactions
1. | Large and Mid Cap Stocks (defined as having a market capitalization of more than $2 billion or are included in the Russell 1000 Index or S&P 500 index; Large and Mid Cap Stocks also includes all Exchange Traded Funds on the Guidance List): |
Any purchases or sales of a Large and/or Mid Cap Stock for an Employee’s personal account aggregating 1,000 shares or less in a calendar month.
This de minimis test is not applicable to Small Cap Stocks.
2. | Small Cap Stocks (defined as having a market capitalization of $2 billion or less and are not included in the Russell 1000 Index or S&P 500 index): |
Any purchases or sales of a Small Cap Stock for an Employee’s personal account followed in less than seven days (i.e., within the seven calendar day blackout period) by a trade in the same security for a client’s account, if executed by a Portfolio Manager who is other than the aforementioned Employee. The Employee’s personal trade will be deemed to be de minimis, and not subject to the disgorgement of profits policy, if the trade qualifies under at least one of the following tests:
1. | The number of shares in the personal trade is equal to or less than 1% of the last 10 days average trading volume (the “1% rule”) or |
2. | The dollar amount of the personal trade is equal to or less than $25,000 (the “$25,000 rule”). |
If the trade does not meet the requirements of the 1% rule or the $25,000 rule, the amount in excess of the higher of the two requirements will be subject to the disgorgement of profits policy.
Exception: If the Employee who traded for his or her personal account and the Portfolio Manager who traded for his clients’ accounts within the following seven calendar day blackout period is the same person, that Portfolio Manager’s personal trades will not qualify for de minimis treatment. Rather, the entire amount of his or her personal trades will be subject to the disgorgement of profits policy.
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3. | Pre-clearance Waiver, only. While pre-clearance is not required if a trade qualifies under the applicable de minimis transaction provision, the Employee is still subject to the Short-Term Trading and Opposite Way Trading rules and is required to prepare and submit to the Trader a Personal Trade Blotter (see Appendix B: Personal Trades – Trade Blotter). |
Exempt Securities
Pre-clearance is not required for personal transactions involving the following types of securities:
1. | All equities, and puts and calls of equities, which are not on the Guidance List |
2. | Securities created as the result of spin-offs of Guidance List securities, if sold within 60 days of the initial trading of the security |
3. | Equities acquired as a result of dividend reinvestment, the exercise of rights issued by a company, participation in mergers and reorganizations, or acceptance of a tender offer |
4. | Equities acquired as a result of the expiration of forfeiture provisions (e.g., restricted stock awarded by a former employer) |
5. | Equities acquired by a spouse through his or her employer’s stock option plan or employee stock purchase plan |
6. | Shares of open-end investment companies (mutual funds), including those held in a 401(k) account administered/managed by a former employer of an Employee or in a section 529 college fund. This does not include the BFS Equity Fund (BFSAX), where pre-clearance is required |
7. | Exchange traded funds which are not on the Guidance List |
8. | Direct obligations of the U.S. Government (including its agencies and instrumentalities – FNMA, GNMA, etc.) |
9. | Corporate (non-convertible and convertible into equities of issuers not on the Guidance List) and municipal bonds which are not on the Guidance List |
10. | CDs and other money market instruments |
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Non-Exempt Securities
Pre-clearance is required for personal transactions involving the following types of securities:
1. | All equities which are on the Guidance List, including preferred stocks and ADR’s of foreign companies |
2. | Corporate (non-convertible and convertible into equities of issuers on the Guidance List) and municipal bonds which are on the Guidance List |
3. | BFS Equity Fund (BFSAX) which is on the Guidance List |
4. | Closed-end mutual funds which are on the Guidance List |
5. | Exchange traded funds which are on the Guidance List |
6. | Preferred stock of issuers whose common stock is on the Guidance List – Small Cap Stock rules apply unless otherwise designated by the Chief Compliance Officer |
7. | Convertible preferred stocks of issuers whose common stock is on the Guidance List |
8. | Stock options (the purchase and sale of calls and puts) – the rules that are applicable to the underlying security apply to the stock options |
Pre-Clearance Required
j. | In purchasing or selling a security for which pre-clearance is required, Employees may not execute transactions without first obtaining proper approval from the Chief Compliance Officer. Pre-clearance involves filling out a pre-clearance form (see Appendix B: Personal Trades – Trade Blotter, for the form), requesting pre-clearance to proceed with the particular transaction, and receiving written approval of the Chief Compliance Officer. The Employee, or if he or she is out of the office, another Employee acting at his or her direction, must complete the pre-clearance form and submit it to the Chief Compliance Officer for approval before placing the trade. The Chief Compliance Officer will either give approval or deny the request. If approved, the clearance is given for only one day. |
The Chief Compliance Officer is prohibited from approving his or her own trades. This prohibition applies to designees who are acting on behalf of the Chief Compliance Officer in his or her absence.
k. | Pre-clearance requirements apply only to transactions effected on behalf of the following types of accounts: the Employee’s own account, a personal account of a member of the Employee’s household as well as a personal account of a minor child not residing with him or her, and accounts in which an Employee has a material (i.e., 5% or greater) direct or indirect beneficial interest and can influence investment decisions, whether or not the Employee or accountholder pays a fee. These accounts include IRAs, revocable trusts, irrevocable trusts, and dynasty trusts of family members which are managed by a Portfolio Manager who personally has, or whose immediate family members have, a beneficial interest in the accounts, whether or not the Employee or accountholder pays a fee, subject to a cumulative 5% materiality threshold (i.e., if all of the beneficial interests combined total less than 5%, the pre-clearance rules do not apply). Pre-clearance requirements also apply to Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.’s 401(k) Plan equity fund which Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. manages and in which the Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. Portfolio Manager has a beneficial interest, as do most Employees, as well as the Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. Corporate Accounts. |
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In those instances where a Portfolio Manager is managing a personal account of another Employee, the Portfolio Manager is subject to the pre-clearance requirements relative to that account. Also, the beneficial owner of the account is required to include the account, and report on the transactional activity in the account, in conformity with the quarterly and annual reporting requirements of this Ethics Policy. These requirements cease to apply when an Employee is no longer employed by the Company.
Personal Trades of Large and Mid Cap Stocks
Portfolio Managers – Personal Trading Requirements
l. | After obtaining pre-clearance from the Chief Compliance Officer, a Portfolio Manager may purchase or sell any Large and Mid Cap Stock for accounts covered by paragraph 5k. on the day preceding or following the day on which he or she buys or sells such security for his or her clients’ portfolios. In other words, there is not a “24-hour” rule; if a security is bought or sold by a Portfolio Manager for his or her client’s portfolio at 3:59 p.m. on one day, he or she may purchase or sell the security for his or her accounts covered by paragraph 5k. the next day at 9:30 a.m. |
m. | After obtaining pre-clearance from the Chief Compliance Officer, a Portfolio Manager may purchase or sell any Large and Mid Cap Stock for accounts covered by paragraph 5k. on the same day he or she purchases or sells such security for his or her clients’ portfolios, as long as at least one of the following procedures is utilized: |
1. | The Portfolio Manager includes his or her personal trade with other trades for his or her clients in a block trade (or an aggregated trade) which is executed with a broker through Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.’s master account. All the shares in that particular block must be executed at the average price calculated by the broker, which must be done by the end of the day. Partially filled orders will go first to clients and then pro-rata to personal accounts, which include Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.’s 401(k) Plan equity fund and the Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. Corporate Accounts. Because personal trades are approved for only one day, unfilled or partially filled personal trades will not automatically be worked the next trading day. If a Portfolio Manager still wants to complete the unfilled or partially filled personal trade order, the personal trade order must be resubmitted for pre-clearance approval. |
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2. | The Portfolio Manager executes his or her personal trades on an account-by-account methodology through Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.’s master account, while also executing other trades in a similar manner during the same day in the same security for clients also through the firm’s master account. At the end of the day, the broker must calculate an average price for all of the trades placed by that Portfolio Manager in that security during the day, at which time the trades are allocated to their respective individual accounts at the average price. Partially filled orders will go first to clients and then pro-rata to personal accounts, which include Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.’s 401(k) Plan equity fund and the Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. Corporate Accounts. Because personal trades are approved for only one day, unfilled or partially filled personal trades will not automatically be worked the next trading day. If a Portfolio Manager still wants to complete the unfilled or partially filled personal trade order, the personal trade order must be resubmitted for pre-clearance approval. |
3. | A Portfolio Manager may not purchase or sell any Large or Mid Cap Stock for accounts covered by paragraph 5k. on the same day on which he or she buys or sells such security for his or her clients’ portfolios if the personal trade is executed with a broker that is different then the broker used to execute the trades for his or her clients. |
Research Analysts – Personal Trading Requirements
n. | A Research Analyst may not trade in a security, or any derivative thereon, if the Research Analyst intends to recommend that security for Guidance List inclusion or deletion within seven calendar days. Likewise, a Research Analyst may not trade in a security, or any derivative thereon, if the Research Analyst intends to change an existing recommendation, or change the rating of a Guidance List security, within seven calendar days. Recommendations may take the form of written memoranda, group presentations, or individual conversations. |
If the Research Analyst has paid due regard to the seven day personal trading requirements, the Research Analyst may obtain pre-clearance from the Chief Compliance Officer to purchase or sell any Large and Mid-Cap Stock at any time. If the Research Analyst’s personal trade is included in a block or aggregated trade with clients’ trades, and the order is only partially filled, the partially filled orders will go first to clients and then pro-rata to personal accounts, which include Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.’s 401(k) Plan equity fund and the Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. Corporate Accounts. Because personal trades are approved for only one day, unfilled or partially filled trades will not automatically be worked the next trading day. If a Research Analyst still wants to complete the unfilled or partially filled personal trade order, the personal trade order must be resubmitted for pre-clearance approval.
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Revision: April 6, 2017
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All Other Investment Professionals and Other Employees – Personal Trading Requirements
o. | After obtaining pre-clearance from the Chief Compliance Officer, all Other Investment Professionals and Other Employees may purchase or sell any Large and Mid Cap Stock at any time. If their personal trades are included in a block or aggregated trade with clients’ trades, and the order is only partially filled, the partially filled orders will go first to clients and then pro-rata to personal accounts, which include Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.’s 401(k) Plan equity fund and the Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. Corporate Accounts. Because personal trades are approved for only one day, unfilled or partially filled personal trades will not automatically be worked the next trading day. If an Investment Professional or Other Employee still wants to complete the unfilled or partially filled personal trade order, the personal trade order must be resubmitted for pre-clearance approval. |
Personal Trades of Small Cap Stocks (Note: This is an abbreviated version of the Small Cap Stock rules. The complete text is included in Appendix C: Small Cap Stocks Personal Trading Requirements for All Employees.)
All Employees – Personal Trading Requirements
p. | Block or aggregated trades |
As a general practice, all Employees should attempt to include their personal securities transactions of Small Cap Stocks in block or aggregated trades that include trades for our clients.
After obtaining pre-clearance from the Chief Compliance Officer, an Employee may purchase or sell any Small Cap Stocks for accounts covered by paragraph 5k. at any time if his or her personal trade is included with other trades for our clients in a block trade (or an aggregated trade) which is executed with a broker through Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.’s master account. The personal component of block or aggregated trades will be limited to 15% of the total transaction (the “15% rule”), as measured by broker. (For example, if a Portfolio Manager is purchasing an issue for his clients, as well as for three of his personal accounts, two of which are prime broker eligible and one that is not, the trades for the two personal accounts that are prime broker eligible are limited to 15% of the total block or aggregated trade being executed by the prime broker and the trade for the remaining one account is limited to 15% of the total block or aggregated trade being executed by the non-prime broker.) All of the shares in that particular block must be executed at the average price calculated by the broker, which must be done by the end of the day. Partially filled orders will go first to clients and then pro-rata to personal accounts, which include Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.’s 401(k) Plan equity fund and the Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. Corporate Accounts. Because personal trades are approved for only one day, unfilled or partially filled personal trades will not automatically be worked the next trading day. If an Employee still wants to complete the unfilled or partially filled personal trade order, the personal trade order must be resubmitted for pre-clearance approval, including for compliance with the 15% rule.
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q. | Other than block or aggregated trades |
If an Employee does not include his or her personal securities transaction of Small Cap Stocks in a block or aggregated trade, the Employee may be subject to a seven calendar day blackout period (as defined in Appendix C: Small Cap Stocks Personal Trading Requirements for All Employees).
If an Employee has paid due regard to the seven calendar day blackout period (i.e., there have been no client trades in the subject Small Cap Stock within the prior seven calendar days), he or she may obtain pre-clearance from the Chief Compliance Officer to purchase or sell any Small Cap Stock for accounts covered by Paragraph 5k. However, if an Employee purchases or sells a security for his or her personal account within seven calendar days of a trade in this same security for clients (either before or after the client purchase or sale), unless an exception is granted by the Chief Compliance Officer, the Employee will be subject to the disgorgement of profits policy.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if an Employee trades for his or her personal account, thereby starting a seven calendar day blackout period, and a Portfolio Manager trades for his or her clients’ accounts within that seven calendar day blackout period, the Employee’s personal trade will be deemed to be de minimis and not subject to the disgorgement of profits policy, if the trade qualifies under at least one of the following de minimis transaction tests:
1. | The number of shares in the personal trade is equal to or less than 1% of the last 10 days average trading volume (the “1% rule”) or |
2. | The dollar amount of the personal trade is equal to or less than $25,000 (the “$25,000 rule”). |
If the trade does not meet the requirements of the 1% rule or the $25,000 rule, the amount in excess of the higher of the two requirements will be subject to the disgorgement of profits policy.
r. | In order to coordinate trading in Small Cap Stocks for client accounts and Employees’ personal accounts, the Trader will maintain a current electronic record of daily trading activity in Small Cap Stocks on the Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. Guidance List. That record will be available to all Employees on the Company’s H drive under the heading Small Cap Stocks Daily Trading Activity. |
Full Disclosure of Personal Securities Investment
6.a. Within seven calendar days of their employment start date, all Employees will provide the Chief Compliance Officer with a statement (or statements) of all U.S. publicly traded securities owned in personal accounts described in paragraph 5k. above as of their employment date. If the new Employee does not own any U.S. publicly traded securities at the time of his or her employment, the new Employee will provide the Chief Compliance Officer with a certification to that effect.
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b. | Within ten days of the end of each calendar quarter, each Employee will provide the Chief Compliance Officer with a report listing all of his or her paragraph 5k. accounts and verifying all purchases and sales of securities, the number of shares and prices of the trades, and the dates of the trades for these accounts. This report, generated by the Chief Compliance Officer utilizing Advent/Axys, will be signed and dated and become part of the records of Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. If an Employee does not have any paragraph 5k. accounts, the Employee will provide the Chief Compliance Officer with a certification to that effect. |
c. | Within one month of the end of the calendar year, all Employees will provide a statement or statements which lists all U.S. publicly traded securities held in the accounts listed in paragraph 5k. above, except for those accounts custodied at Charles Schwab or Fidelity Investments for which reports are directly available to Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. |
d. | All Employees’ accounts will be tracked on the firm’s accounting system (Advent/Axys). In addition, all trades, for both client accounts and personal accounts, will be executed by the Company’s centralized trading function, thereby promoting the use of only approved trading partners, the creation of a documented audit trail for all trades, and an appropriate allocation of commissions. These requirements are also intended to facilitate the generation of the reports identified in 6b. and 6c. above. |
This requirement that all trades for personal accounts must be executed by the Company’s centralized trading function does not apply to shares of open-end investment companies held in a 401(k) account administered/managed by a former employer of the Employee; however, this requirement does apply to Employees’ self-directed 401(k) accounts, whether managed by Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. or another investment manager, including the Employee.
Gifts
7. Employees are prohibited from receiving and/or accepting any gift or other items (for example, tickets or invitations to sporting events or shows) of more than de minimis value (i.e., $100 cumulatively per calendar year) from any person or entity that does business with or on behalf of the firm unless specifically approved by the Chief Compliance Officer (e.g., gift baskets that are of more than de minimis value will be exempt from this provision, if shared with the staff). This prohibition is not intended to include research/broker/custodian conferences and related meals/entertainment with investment houses or companies with publicly traded securities which are potentially or currently on the Guidance List. Also, this prohibition is not intended to preclude personal acquaintances of Employees who are also clients of Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. from giving an Employee or a member of the Employee’s household a gift with a value in excess of $100 for a special occasion such as a wedding or shower (bridal, baby, etc.); however, upon receipt of such a gift, the Employee is required to provide to the Chief Compliance Officer the name(s) of the clients(s) involved.
All gifts and entertainment (excluding meals), in excess of $250 per individual per occurrence, given by Employees to current and prospective clients and any person or entity that does business with or on behalf of the firm, are to be reported to the Chief Compliance Officer.
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Diligence and Thoroughness in the Investment Management Process
8.a. Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. shall maintain appropriate files and records in order for Portfolio Managers, Research Analysts, and Other Investment Professionals to undertake research and analysis to identify quality companies, utilizing qualitative and quantitative processes. Companies which pass these and other analyses are approved by a consensus of the members of the Investment Committee and placed on the Company’s Guidance List for possible use in Client’s portfolios. Securities recommended for addition to the Guidance List between Investment Committee meetings require the affirmative vote of at least five members of the Investment Committee. Portfolio Managers shall only purchase securities for clients’ accounts which are on the firm’s Guidance List unless the client directs the purchase of a security not on the Guidance List. The Portfolio Manager shall exercise diligence and thoroughness in the purchase and sale of all securities for the portfolios of clients. This means that there will be a reasonable and adequate basis for taking investment actions, which the Portfolio Manager believes to be prudent, supported by appropriate research and investigation.
If a client has directed the purchase of a security, whether on the Guidance List or not on the Guidance List, or the sale of a security, the Portfolio Manager initiating the transaction on behalf of the client is required to prepare appropriate documentation (using the standard Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. Client-Directed/Executed Trade Memo) for inclusion in the client’s file and for distribution to the Trader. Similarly, if a client has independently executed a transaction in his or her portfolio, upon becoming aware of the transaction, the Portfolio Manager for that client’s account is required to prepare appropriate documentation (using the standard Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. Client-Directed/ Executed Trade memo) for inclusion in the client’s file and for distribution to the Trader.
b. | When taking investment action for a specific portfolio or client, the Portfolio Manager shall take into account the investment objectives of the client, the characteristics of the investment involved, and the basic characteristics of the total portfolio. The Portfolio Manager shall use reasonable judgment to determine the relevant factors. |
c. | The Portfolio Manager shall disclose to prospective and new clients the basic investment process of Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc., including, but not limited to, how securities are selected and portfolios are constructed and disclosing promptly any changes in philosophy or process. The Portfolio Manager shall deliver or arrange to mail a copy of the firm’s SEC Form ADV, Part 2A, and the appropriate SEC Form ADV, Part 2B, to all new clients of the firm insuring receipt of the document no later than when the client executes Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.’s investment management agreement. |
d. | Portfolio Managers, Research Analysts, Other Investment Professionals, and all Other Employees shall not knowingly make any statements, orally or in writing, which misrepresent the services that Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. is capable of performing for a client or the expected performance of an investment or a portfolio. |
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Performance Presentation Standards
9. | Portfolio Managers, Research Analysts, Other Investment Professionals, and all Other Employees shall not knowingly make any statements, orally or in writing, which misrepresent the past investment performance of a portfolio or of Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. Portfolio Managers, the Director of Sales and Marketing, and the Chief Compliance Officer shall make every reasonable effort to assure that such performance presentations or statements are fair, accurate, and complete. Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. uses Advent’s Axys Software to perform portfolio internal rate of return and time weighted return calculations. The methodology employed by the software is one of several approaches endorsed by the CFA Institute, the generally accepted authority on Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS). As long as Portfolio Managers accurately use the return information in regard to the relevant portfolio or portfolios in the proper fashion, Portfolio Managers can assume, after appropriate review for errors, that the return calculations have been performed accurately. |
Disclosure of Conflicts
10. | The firm will disclose in the SEC Form ADV, Part 2A such circumstances pertaining to Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. which could conceivably have the result of leading to investment decisions or execution which are not unbiased or objective. All Employees shall comply with all requirements regarding disclosure of conflicts of interest imposed by law and by rules and regulations of organizations governing his or her activities as well as with any prohibitions on his or her activities if a conflict of interest exists. |
Disclosure of Referral Fees
11. | Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. shall make appropriate disclosure to a prospective client of any consideration paid or other benefit delivered to others for recommending the services of Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. to that prospective client or customer. |
Preservation of Confidentiality
12. | Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. has implemented a policy which addresses client privacy (see Appendix D: Client Privacy Policy – Employee Procedures). All Employees will review this policy annually concurrently with the Ethics Policy. As laid out in this memo, it is the policy of Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. to maintain the confidentiality, integrity, and security of personal information entrusted to us by former, current, and prospective clients. All Employees shall ensure that client information is properly safeguarded. Employees should not divulge the name of any client or any details of the investment portfolio or relationship to other clients, prospective clients, or individuals outside the firm without the express permission of the client. Certain narrow and limited exceptions may apply, as described in the Client Privacy Policy included as Appendix D. |
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Political Contributions/Solicitation of Contributions
13. | In accordance with the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, an investment adviser is prohibited from providing advisory services for compensation to a government client for two years after the adviser or its employees make a contribution to, or solicit contributions for, political candidates or elected officials who may have the ability to influence awarding such business. This prohibition includes contributions to, or solicitation of contributions for, political parties or political action committees that have contributed to political candidates or elected officials who may have the ability to influence awarding such business. Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. has implemented the following policy which addresses political contributions and solicitations: All Employees must report to the Chief Compliance Officer any and all contributions, and the solicitation of contributions, as soon as it is practical, preferably prior to making the contribution. |
Outside Business Activities
14. | Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. expects that all Employees of the firm will devote their full time and best efforts to the Company’s business. All Employees must report any and all involvement in business activities that are outside of the activities related to their employment with Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc., for which they are compensated, to the Chief Compliance Officer prior to their commencement of employment with Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. or prior to commencing any such activities. This requirement does not include volunteer activities with not-for-profit organizations. |
Signed: | Date: |
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Revision: April 6, 2017
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Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.
Appendix A: Chief Compliance Officer’s Duties and Responsibilities
1. | Distribute this Ethics Policy and Standards of Professional Conduct to all Employees. |
2. | Designate one or more alternates in case the Chief Compliance Officer is not available. |
3. | Familiarize Employees with relevant policies, procedures, and forms. Answer Employee questions about the Ethics Policy and, in case of doubt, bring questions to the attention of the President. |
4. | Review on a regular basis, and update as necessary, this Ethics Policy and relevant policies and procedures. |
5. | When contacted for pre-clearance, approve or deny personal trades. |
6. | Reconcile pre-clearance approvals, as documented on Personal Trades – Trade Blotter, with the quarterly purchase and sale reports provided by each Employee. |
7. | Receive all necessary and appropriate forms from Employees, both from new hires upon joining the firm, as well as quarterly and annual transaction and certification forms from all Employees. |
8. | Maintain and review records related to personal securities transactions, including each Employee’s annual certification that he or she has read, understood, and intends to comply with the firm’s Ethics Policy. |
9. | Bring to the attention of the President any infractions of the Ethics Policy which require warnings, discipline, or action up to and including termination of employment. |
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BRADLEY, FOSTER & SARGENT, INC.
Appendix B: Personal Trades – Trade Blotter
Date: | Employee Name: | Small Cap Stock Data |
#1 |
#2 |
#3 |
#4 |
|||||
Time: | Employee Signature: |
Symbol |
|||||||||
10 Day Avg. Volume in Thousands |
|||||||||||
Approx. Share Price on Trade Date |
Portfolio Code |
Account Number |
Account Name |
B/S |
No. of Shares |
Symbol | Security |
GL Y/N |
Price | Comm | Net |
Broker/ Custodian |
||
Chief Compliance Officer: | Approved | ☐ | Denied | ☐ | |||||||||
( or designee) | |||||||||||||
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Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.
Appendix B: Trade Blotter
Personal Trades – Trade Blotter Check List
The following questions relate specifically to securities on the Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. Guidance List:
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Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.
Appendix C: Small Cap Stocks
Personal Trading Requirements for All Employees
Block or Aggregated Trades
As a general practice, all Employees should attempt to include their personal securities transactions of Small Cap Stocks in block or aggregated trades that include trades for our clients.
After obtaining pre-clearance from the Chief Compliance Officer, an Employee may purchase or sell any Small Cap Stocks for accounts covered by paragraph 5k. at any time if his or her personal trade is included with other trades for our clients in a block trade (or an aggregated trade) which is executed with a broker through Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.’s master account. The personal component of block or aggregated trades will be limited to 15% of the total transaction (the “15% rule”), as measured by broker. (For example, if a Portfolio Manager is purchasing an issue for his clients, as well as for three of his personal accounts, two of which are prime broker eligible and one that is not, the trades for the two personal accounts that are prime broker eligible are limited to 15% of the total block or aggregated trade being executed by the prime broker and the trade for the remaining one account is limited to 15% of the total block or aggregated trade being executed by the non-prime broker.) All of the shares in that particular block must be executed at the average price calculated by the broker, which must be done by the end of the day. When calculating the personal component of block or aggregated trades, all personal accounts must be aggregated, including personal accounts a Portfolio Manager is managing for another Employee.
The Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. 401(k) Plan equity fund which Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. manages is excluded from this calculation.
There is no limitation on the frequency with which Employees can participate in block or aggregated trades with the firm’s clients with the following caveat: the Employee whose personal trade was responsible for commencing a blackout period (as defined below) cannot participate in block or aggregated trades in that security during that blackout period.
Partially filled orders: All clients’ trades must be filled first. If a trade can only be partially filled, the shares purchased/sold must be allocated first pro rata to clients. Only after the clients’ orders are filled will any remaining shares be allocated to personal trade orders, which include Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.’s 401(k) Plan equity fund and the Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. Corporate Accounts. Because personal trades are approved for only one day, unfilled or partially filled personal trades will not automatically be worked the next trading day. If an Employee still wants to complete the unfilled or partially filled personal trade order, the personal trade order must be resubmitted for pre-clearance approval, including for compliance with the 15% rule.
Other Than Block or Aggregated Trades
If an Employee does not include his or her personal securities transactions of Small Cap Stocks in a block or aggregated trade, the Employee may be subject to a seven calendar day blackout period – the minimum amount of time that is required to pass between a non-block or non-aggregated personal trade and a client trade. Failure to adhere to this policy subjects the Employee to the disgorgement of profits.
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For example, if a Portfolio Manager purchases or sells for his client a Small Cap Stock, the soonest another Employee may purchase or sell that same security for his or her personal account, and still be in compliance with the seven calendar day blackout policy, is seven calendar days later (e.g., if the client trade takes place on a Tuesday, the earliest day a personal trade might be placed would be the following Tuesday – after the expiration of the seven calendar day blackout period). If an Employee purchases or sells that same security for his or her personal account in less than seven calendar days, he or she will be subject to the disgorgement of profits.
In a similar fashion, if an Employee purchases or sells for his or her personal account a Small Cap Stock, the soonest a Portfolio Manager may purchase or sell that same security for his or her client, without subjecting the Employee to the disgorgement of profits, is seven calendar days later – after the expiration of the seven calendar day blackout period. If a Portfolio Manager purchases or sells that same security for his client in less than seven calendar days, the Employee will be subject to the disgorgement of profits. (Note that a Portfolio Manager cannot be precluded from purchasing or selling a Small Cap Stock for a client simply because an Employee purchased or sold the same security within the prior seven days.)
This seven day blackout period does not apply to the Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. 401(k) Plan equity fund which Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. manages.
If an Employee has paid due regard to the seven calendar day blackout period (i.e., there have been no client trades in the subject Small Cap Stock within the prior seven calendar days), he or she may obtain pre-clearance from the Chief Compliance Officer to purchase or sell any Small Cap Stock for accounts covered by Paragraph 5k.
Blackout Period/Disgorgement of Profits Policy
If an Employee purchases or sells a security for his or her personal account other than in a block or aggregated trade within seven calendar days of a trade in this same security for clients (either before or after the client purchase or sale), unless an exception is granted by the Chief Compliance Officer, the Employee will be subject to the disgorgement of profits policy. Examples of the application of the policy follow:
If a Portfolio Manager buys a security for a client’s account within this seven calendar day blackout period at a higher price, then the Employee must pay to Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. the per share price differential times the number of shares purchased so that the Employee has the same average price as Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.’s client.
In a similar fashion, if a Portfolio Manager sells a security for a client’s account within this seven calendar day blackout period at a lower price, then the Employee must pay to Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. the per share price differential times the number of shares sold so that the Employee has the same average price as Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.’s client.
There may be instances when a Portfolio Manager buys a security for a client’s account within this seven calendar day blackout period at a lower price then obtained by the Employee. In a similar fashion, there may be instances when a Portfolio Manager sells a security for a client’s account within this seven calendar day blackout period at a higher price then obtained by the Employee. While the Employee is still subject to the disgorgement of profits policy, the share price differential will be negative and there will be no “profits” to disgorge.
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An Employee may purchase or sell a security for his or her personal account within seven calendar days of a trade in this same security for any Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. clients, if all three of the following conditions are met (the “block trading” exemption):
1. | The Employee’s personal securities transaction is included in a block or aggregated trade with a Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. client (client being defined as including any and all clients for whom Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. has trading authority) (Note that the Trader must be informed in advance that the Employee wants to include his or her trade in the next available Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.’s client’s block or aggregated trade), |
2. | The personal component of the block or aggregated trade is limited to 15% of the total transaction, as measured by broker, and |
3. | The Employee is other than the Employee whose personal trade was responsible for commencing the blackout period (in other words, the Employee whose personal trade was responsible for commencing the blackout period cannot participate in block or aggregated trades in that security during that blackout period). |
Consistent with the personal trading requirements of Large and Mid Cap Stocks and Small Cap Stocks, all of the shares in that particular block or aggregated trade must be executed at the average price calculated by the broker, which must be done by the end of the day. Partially filled orders will go first to clients and then pro-rata to personal accounts, which include Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.’s 401(k) Plan equity fund and the Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. Corporate Accounts. Because personal trades are approved for only one day, unfilled or partially filled personal trades will not automatically be worked the next trading day. If an Employee still wants to complete the unfilled or partially filled personal trade order, the personal trade order must be resubmitted for pre-clearance approval, including for compliance with the 15% rule.
If the personal component of the block or aggregated trade exceeds 15% of the total transaction, the Employee’s personal transaction will be reduced to the 15% limit. If more than one Employee’s personal transaction is included in the personal component of the block or aggregated trade and the personal component exceeds 15% of the total transaction, each Employee’s personal transaction will be reduced on a pro-rated basis to achieve the 15% limit.
In addition, an Employee may sell a security for his or her personal account within seven calendar days of a sale of this same security for any Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. clients, if both of the following conditions are met (the “no client holdings” exemption):
1. | No Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. client (client being defined as including any and all clients for whom Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. has trading authority) holds the security as of the trade date of the sale by the Employee and |
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2. | The price obtained by the Employee is equal to or less than that obtained in the last client transaction involving that security. |
Exemption from Disgorgement of Profits Policy
The disgorgement of profits policy does not apply to the Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. 401(k) Plan equity fund which Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. manages. The Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. 401(k) Plan is treated as a client account for purposes of this provision. However, the Portfolio Manager managing the Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. 401(k) Plan equity fund must observe the seven calendar day blackout period in regard to trades in securities for his or her other personal account(s) – unless the Portfolio Manager meets all of the conditions of the block trading exemption or the no client holdings exemption described above – or disgorge the profits, if any.
Also, if a Portfolio Manager executes a de minimis trade for a single client account, thereby commencing a blackout period, followed by an employee trade that would otherwise be subject to the disgorgement rule, the disgorgement of profits policy will not apply unless the Employee who traded for his or her personal account and the Portfolio Manager who traded for this client account is the same person.
De Minimis Tests
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if an Employee trades for his or her personal account, thereby starting a seven calendar day blackout period, and a Portfolio Manager trades for his clients’ accounts within that seven calendar day blackout period, the Employee’s personal trade will be deemed to be de minimis and not subject to the disgorgement of profits policy if the trade qualifies under at least one of the following de minimis transaction tests:
1. | The number of shares in the personal trade is equal to or less than 1% of the last 10 days average trading volume (the “1% rule”) or |
2. | The dollar amount of the personal trade is equal to or less than $25,000 (the “$25,000 rule”). |
Note: If multiple personal trades were executed by an Employee throughout a single trading day and/or personal trades were executed by an Employee in more than one personal account during a single trading day, all of the personal trades for all of the personal accounts must be combined for the purpose of calculating number of shares or dollar amount. In other words, the de minimis tests are applied to cumulative daily personal trading activity, not individual transactions.
If the trade does not meet the requirements of the 1% rule or the $25,000 rule, the amount in excess of the higher of the two requirements will be subject to the disgorgement of profits policy.
Exception: If the Employee who traded for his or her personal account and the Portfolio Manager who traded for his or her clients’ accounts within the following seven calendar day blackout period is the same person, that Portfolio Manager’s personal trades will not qualify for de minimis treatment. Rather, the entire amount of his or her personal trades will be subject to the disgorgement of profits policy.
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Daily Trading Activity – Electronic Record
In order to coordinate trading in Small Cap Stocks for client accounts and Employees’ personal accounts, the Trader will maintain a current electronic record of daily trading activity in Small Cap Stocks on the Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. Guidance List. That record will be available to all Employees on the Company’s H drive under the heading Small Cap Stocks Daily Trading Activity.
Guidance List Categorization Changes
Every two weeks, in conjunction with updating the Company’s Guidance List, the following procedures will be used to determine the timing of re-categorizing a security from Small Cap to Large and Mid Cap and from Large and Mid Cap to Small Cap:
1. | If the market capitalization of a Small Cap Stock exceeds the $2 billion threshold, the security will be re-categorized as a Large or Mid Cap Stock. |
2. | If the market capitalization of a Large or Mid Cap Stock falls below the $2 billion threshold, the security will be re-categorized as a Small Cap Stock. |
Market capitalization will be calculated as the closing price per share times the number of shares outstanding.
Because all situations (e.g., market volatility) cannot be contemplated or provided for in advance, the Chief Compliance Officer has the authority to require that the re-categorization “test” be performed more often than every two weeks.
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Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.
Appendix D: Client Privacy Policy – Employee Procedures
This document establishes the Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. Employee procedures for upholding client privacy. It is the policy of Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. to maintain the confidentiality, integrity, and security of personal information entrusted to us by former, current, and prospective clients. This is a top priority for Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. All Employees are required to protect client information and use that information only as our clients intended. Employees will read and review Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.’s Client Privacy Policy – Employee Procedures (“Privacy Policy”) annually, concurrently with the Ethics Policy.
Training – All new Employees will be trained in these procedures by the Senior Operations Officer during his or her first week of employment.
The procedures below are to be followed by all Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. Employees.
● | Personal and/or client account information will be provided only to the beneficial owner of an account unless prior written authorization has been submitted by the beneficial owner of the account to allow others to view such information. (See attached Authorization to Release Account Information form.) |
● | In the case of a trust, account information will be provided only to a Trustee of an account unless prior written authorization has been submitted by the Trustee of the account to allow others to view such information. (See attached Authorization to Release Account Information form.) |
● | We use client information to fulfill our regulatory obligations (government agencies, self-regulatory organizations, in conjunction with an examination of our records and/or practices). In addition, certain key vendors assisting with the implementation and maintenance of systems to assist us with our operations may have temporary access to certain client information. We must attempt to limit vendor access to information to only what is necessary for such vendors to complete their job. The Employee responsible for contracting the vendor must require that all such key vendors agree to confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements. |
● | Only the beneficial owner of an account or persons authorized in writing by the beneficial owner of the account may give trading instructions. |
● | Only the beneficial owner of an account or persons authorized in writing by the beneficial owner of the account may give instructions for distributing cash and/or securities (Example: A request by Mr. Doe to wire funds from Mrs. Doe’s individual account to their joint account will be executed only if Mrs. Doe has previously provided written authorization for Mr. Doe to issue such instructions.) |
● | It is the policy of Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. that Employees may not share clients’ names, or any other information about clients, with other clients of the firm or with individuals outside of the firm. |
● | As required by law, we will send our current clients our most recent Privacy Policy at least annually. New clients will receive a copy of the Privacy Policy and cover letter as part of their account-opening package. (Both documents are listed as required disclosures/distributions on the New Account Opening Checklist.) |
● | New clients will receive a copy of the Authorization to Release Account Information form as part of their account-opening package. (This document is listed as a required distribution on the New Account Opening Checklist.) For existing clients, an authorization form will be obtained when appropriate. |
February 28, 2012
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Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.
Authorization to Release Account Information
Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.’s Privacy Policy mandates that client information cannot be shared with anyone other than the beneficial owner of an account (or Trustee, in the case of a trust) without prior authorization. Accordingly, if you wish information about your account to be made available to another individual, (e.g., spouse, family member, accountant, and/or attorney), kindly complete the form below.
Additionally, for billing purposes, your account may be grouped with other related, but not beneficially owned, accounts giving you the opportunity to benefit from a more favorable fee schedule than would otherwise have been available to you if your account was billed separately. You will be billed your pro-rated share of the total fee, based on the percentage the market value of your account represents of the total market value of the grouped accounts. Our invoices disclose the market value of the grouped accounts. Some may view the sharing of such information as a violation of their privacy. To avoid the possibility of such a situation, we believe it is in the best interest of all parties concerned to pre-authorize the sharing of this information.
Account Name: | «Account_Name» |
Account #: | «Account_Number» |
Beneficial owner: | «Name» |
(trustee, individual, power of attorney)
Address: | «Address» | Fax: |
«City», «St» «Zip» | Home Tel.: | «Client_Phone_Number» |
Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. is authorized to release account information regarding the above referenced account(s) to the person(s) named below until future written notification/revocation from me.
Authorized Persons:
Attorney: | ☐ General Account Information |
Firm: | ☐ Account Value Only (Grouped Billing) |
Accountant: | ☐ General Account Information |
Firm: | ☐ Account Value Only (Grouped Billing) | |||
☐ General Account Information | ||||
Name: | ☐ Account Value Only (Grouped Billing) |
«Name» | Date | |||
«Name» | Date |
This should not be considered authorization to make any changes to the account setup, make withdrawals and transfers, or give trading instructions for my account(s).
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Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.
Appendix E: Annual Compliance Questionnaire
Please answer the following questions accurately. If you mark any shaded boxes, explain your response in the space following the table.
Question | Yes | No |
1. Are you or any members of your immediate family employed by a financial services company or a company that provides products or services to Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.? | ||
2. Do you or any members of your immediate family serve as a general partner or managing member for an investment-related pooled investment vehicle (limited partnership, limited liability company, etc.)? | ||
3. Do you or any members of your immediate family have some other business or personal relationship with, or substantive investment in, a financial services company or a company that provides products or services to Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.? | ||
4. Do you or any members of your immediate family serve as trustee (including sole-trustee, co-trustee, and successor-trustee), executor, or in a similar capacity for any Client’s account (other than for personal accounts)? | ||
5. Are you or any members of your immediate family the direct or indirect beneficiary of any Client’s account (other than for personal accounts)? | ||
6. Do you or any members of your immediate family have power-of-attorney, check-writing authority, or bill-paying privileges, or similar authority for any Client’s account (other than for personal accounts)? | ||
7. Are any members of your immediate family employed by any government or governmental agency? | ||
8. Do you or any members of your immediate family serve as officers or directors of any organizations (including private companies and public companies)? | ||
9. Do you or any members of your immediate family serve on any creditors’ committees? | ||
10. Have you or any members of your immediate family served as witnesses, plaintiffs, or defendants in any securities, financial, or investment-related legal actions? | ||
11. Are you aware of any conflicts of interest that have not already been disclosed to the CCO involving Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc., you, or your immediate family members and any Client? |
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Question | Yes | No |
12. Have you complied with Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.’s requirements regarding the disclosure of outside business activities? | ||
13. Have you improperly transmitted proprietary information between Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. and any prior employers or other individuals or entities? | ||
14. Have you reported to the CCO all political contributions you made, or contributions you solicited, in the past 12 months to any federal, state or local politician or for any federal, state or local political party or political action committees? | ||
15. Have you complied with Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.’s requirements regarding disclosing to the CCO certain gifts? | ||
16. Have you complied with Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.’s Employee Handbook: A Guide to Personnel Policies and Practices? | ||
17. In the past ten years, have you been convicted of or plead guilty or no contest in a domestic, foreign, or military court to any: ● Felony ● Misdemeanor involving investments or an investment-related business, or any fraud, false statements, or omissions, wrongful taking of property, bribery, perjury, forgery, counterfeiting, extortion, or a conspiracy to commit any of these offenses? |
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18. Are any felony or misdemeanor charges, as described above, currently pending? | ||
19. In the past ten years, has the SEC or the CFTC found you: ● To have made a false statement or omission? ● To have been involved in a violation of SEC or CFTC regulations or statutes? ● To have been a cause of an investment-related business having its authorization to do business denied, suspended, revoked, or restricted? |
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20. In the past ten years, has the SEC or the CFTC: ● Entered an order against you in connection with investment-related activity? ● Imposed a civil monetary penalty on you, or ordered you to cease and desist from any activity? |
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Question | Yes | No |
21. In the past ten years, has any other federal regulatory agency, any state regulatory agency, or any foreign financial regulatory authority found you or an advisory affiliate to have: ● Made a false statement or omission, or been dishonest, unfair, or unethical? ● Been involved in a violation of investment-related regulations or statutes? ● Been a cause of an investment-related business having its authorization to do business denied, suspended, revoked, or restricted? |
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22. In the past ten years, has any other federal regulatory agency, any state regulatory agency, or any foreign financial regulatory authority: ● Entered an order against you in connection with an investment-related activity? ● Denied, suspended, or revoked your or any advisory affiliate’s registration or license, or otherwise prevented you, by order, from associating with an investment-related business or restricted your or any advisory affiliate’s activity? |
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23. In the past ten years, has any self-regulatory organization or commodities exchange found you or an advisory affiliate to have: ● Made a false statement or omission? ● Been involved in a violation of its rules (other than a violation designated as a “minor rule violation” under a plan approved by the SEC)? ● Been the cause of an investment-related business having its authorization to do business denied, suspended, revoked, or restricted? |
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24. In the past ten years, has any self-regulatory organization or commodities exchange disciplined you by expelling or suspending you or the advisory affiliate from membership, barring or suspending you or the advisory affiliate from association with other members, or otherwise restricting your or the advisory affiliate’s activities? | ||
25. Has an authorization to act as an attorney, accountant, or federal contractor granted to you ever been revoked or suspended? | ||
26. In the past ten years, has any domestic or foreign court: ● Enjoined you in connection with any investment-related activity? ● Found that you were involved in a violation of investment-related statutes or regulations? ● Dismissed, pursuant to a settlement agreement, an investment-related civil action brought against you by a state or foreign financial regulatory authority? |
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Question | Yes | No |
27. Are you now the subject of any proceeding that could result in a “yes” answer to any of the preceding questions? | ||
New Employees (i.e., hired during the previous calendar year) should skip the remaining question and explain any marks in shaded boxes below the table. | ||
28. During the past 12 months, have you become aware of any violation of Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc.’s Ethics Policy that you did not disclose to the CCO? |
Please use the space below to explain any marks in shaded boxes. For each explanation, indicate the relevant question number. Use additional pages as necessary.
Question Number |
Explanation | ||
By signing below, I certify that I responded to the Annual Compliance Questionnaire completely and accurately.
Print Name: |
Signature: |
Date: |
Bradley, Foster & Sargent, Inc. Ethics Policy and Standards of Professional Conduct
Revision: April 6, 2017
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DANA INVESTMENT ADVISORS, INC.
CODE OF ETHICS
I. | INTRODUCTION |
It is the policy of Dana Investment Advisors, Inc. (“Dana”) to adhere to the highest ethical standards with respect to its client relationships. Dana believes it is important that all who work at Dana understand that its role as an investment manager involves important responsibilities and carries with it certain burdens not typically assumed by other service providers. With respect to the operation of its business, Dana expects all of its employees to adhere to the highest ethical standards. Set forth below in this Code of Ethics (“Code”) are certain minimum duties and restrictions on each employee’s activities.
As a condition to continued employment, all Dana employees are required to annually execute an Annual Certification of Receipt and Compliance (Exhibit G) regarding Dana’s Code of Ethics and complete a Potential Employee Conflicts of Interest Checklist (Exhibit F). Newly hired employees are required to acknowledge their receipt and understanding of Dana’s Code of Ethics within 15 days after being hired. Failure to execute the required certification will subject the employee to dismissal.
II. | CONFIDENTIALITY POLICY |
The information that clients convey to Dana must be held in the strictest confidence. Without the express permission of the respective client, no employee, officer or director of Dana shall disclose to any unauthorized person any client information. Client names, investment objectives, the amount of assets under management and other client-specific information shall not generally be disclosed to anyone but another employee of Dana. Additionally, specific management techniques and strategies used by Dana in managing client accounts are considered proprietary information and, unless otherwise authorized by the CEO of Dana, shall in all events be kept confidential. Violation of these confidentiality rules constitutes a breach of the professional ethical standards imposed by Dana and may lead to disciplinary proceedings.
As a condition to employment with Dana, each employee will be required to read and acknowledge Dana’s Confidentiality Policy as well as the Corporate Privacy Policy and Practices Statement (See Exhibit A).
III. | PERSONAL SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS |
A. | Requirements. Each officer, director and employee of Dana is prohibited, in connection with the purchase or sale of a security: |
1. | To employ any device, scheme or artifice to defraud Dana or any of its clients; |
2. | To make any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state to Dana or any of its clients a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading; |
3. | To engage in any act, practice or course of business that operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon Dana or any of its clients; or |
4. | To engage in any manipulative practice with respect to Dana or any of its clients. |
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B. | Definitions. |
1. | “Access Person” includes (a) each director or officer of Dana; (b) each employee of Dana who in connection with his or her regular duties obtains information about the purchase or sale of a security by Dana or a client of Dana or whose functions are related to the making of such recommendations; (c) any natural person in a control relationship to Dana who obtains information concerning recommendations made by Dana with regard to the purchase or sale of a security. |
2. | Generally, you should consider yourself to be the “beneficial owner” of securities held by your spouse, your minor children, a relative who shares your home, or other persons if by reason of any contract, understanding, relationship, agreement or other arrangement, you obtain from such securities benefits substantially equivalent to those of ownership. You should also consider yourself the beneficial owner of securities if you can vest or re-vest title in yourself, now or in the future. |
3. | A security is considered “restricted” if it has been identified by either the CEO or Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”) as having been placed and actively managed in one or more of Dana’s investment strategies. Options on restricted securities, other than covered calls, shall also be deemed to be a restricted security. For purposes of this section, non-reportable securities placed in one or more of Dana’s investment strategies shall not be deemed restricted. In addition, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) that are placed in one or more of Dana’s investment strategies shall not be deemed restricted. |
4. | A security is considered “non-restricted” as long as it is not identified as a restricted security. |
5. | A “reportable security” includes but is not limited to all publicly traded equities, preferred stocks, corporate and convertible bonds, municipal bonds, warrants, options, exchange traded funds and notes (ETF/ETN), and other similar investments. In addition, investments made in any mutual fund that Dana serves as the Fund’s advisor or sub-advisor shall be considered a reportable security. Investments in non-publicly traded hedge funds, limited partnerships, and private placement arrangements shall also be considered reportable securities. A reportable security does not include securities issued by the U.S. Government and Government Agencies, bankers’ acceptances, bank certificates of deposit, open-end mutual funds, common trusts or commingled funds that provide either an NAV or unit value at the end of each business trading day, commercial paper and other high-quality short term debt instruments that when purchased will mature in less than 366 days, or any security in which transactions are effected pursuant to an automatic investment plan/program. However, with respect to automatic investment programs, any transactions that override the preset investment allocation or formula shall be considered a reportable security under this section (such as selling shares rather than purchasing them). |
6. | A “Covered Security” means any security as defined in Section 2(a)(36) of the Investment Company Act. A Covered Security does not include: |
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● | Direct obligations of the Government of the United States; |
● | Bankers’ acceptances, bank certificates of deposit, commercial paper and high-quality short-term debt instruments, including repurchase agreements; and |
● | Shares issued by open-end funds when purchased directly from an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act. |
C. | Policy of Dana. It is the policy of Dana Investment Advisors, Inc. to prohibit purchases by Access Persons in all restricted securities. All sale transactions involving a restricted security must first be submitted, in writing whenever possible, to either the Chief Compliance Officer or the CEO for pre-clearance. Personal security transactions by Access persons in non-restricted securities do not require pre-clearance. |
D. | Procedures. |
1. | Restricted Securities List. |
Generally, personal securities transactions in restricted securities are prohibited. A complete list containing all currently restricted securities (the “Restricted Securities List”) will be posted on Dana’s internal intranet site, which is available to all Access Persons. Such list will be continually updated and should be reviewed prior to initiating a personal securities transaction in a reportable security.
2. | Pre-Clearance of Trades. |
All personal securities transactions involving a sale of a restricted security must first be submitted to either the Chief Compliance Officer or his or her designee, or the CEO for pre-clearance. In addition, all transactions in IPOs, non-publicly traded hedge funds, limited partnerships, and private placement arrangements must first be submitted for pre-clearance. The CCO or his or her designee, or CEO will then communicate to the Access Person whether or not such transaction(s) will be permitted. Authorization for all pre-cleared transactions shall only be effective for trades executed during the authorized time period (normally 1-2 trading days). All non-executed pre-cleared transactions must be resubmitted for pre-clearance each subsequent trading day until the desired execution is completed.
3. | Reporting Transactions. |
In order to provide Dana with information to enable it to determine with reasonable assurance whether the requirements set forth above are being observed by its Access Persons, each Access Person of Dana shall submit Personal Securities Transactions reports in the form attached hereto as Exhibit B to the Chief Compliance Officer or his or her designee, showing all transactions in “reportable securities” in which the person has, or by reason of such transaction acquires, any direct or indirect beneficial ownership. Such reports shall be filed no later than 30 business days after the end of each calendar quarter. Dana’s Chief Compliance Officer or his or her designee shall review such reports at least quarterly. In addition to regularly filing quarterly transaction reports, each Access Person shall also file annually a complete holdings list showing all holdings of any Covered Security by security name, ticker/CUSIP, and share amount/number of bonds/principal amount as of December 31st (i.e., copy of December 31st year-end account statements) within 45 days of a calendar year end. For Access Persons hired during the calendar year, an initial holdings report dated no more than 45 days prior shall be submitted to the CCO within the first 10 business days of employment. Holdings reports do not need to be submitted for accounts that cannot hold Covered Securities (i.e., 529 accounts, variable life insurance, fixed annuities, etc.)
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4. | Notification to Access Persons. |
Dana’s Chief Compliance Officer shall periodically notify each Access Person of their responsibilities contained within this Code of Ethics, and shall further provide to each Access Person a copy of this Code of Ethics for review at least annually and following each material amendment. Each Access Person shall at least annually, and following any material amendment, sign a written acknowledgment (see Exhibit G) demonstrating receipt, understanding and compliance with Dana’s Code of Ethics.
5. | Dana’s Chief Compliance Officer shall report to the Board of Directors. |
a) | At the next Board of Directors meeting following the review of any report on Exhibit B with respect to each reported transaction in violation of the “Restricted Securities List,” unless the total transaction amount involved was less than $20,000. |
b) | With respect to any transaction not required to be reported to the Board by the operation of subparagraph 5.(a) that the Chief Compliance Officer believes nonetheless may evidence a violation of this Code; and |
c) | Apparent violations of the reporting requirements stated herein. |
6. | The Board shall consider reports made to it hereunder and shall determine whether the policy established in paragraph III.C has been violated, and what sanctions, if any, should be imposed. The Board shall review the operation of this policy at least once per year. |
If the Board determines that an Access Person has committed a violation of the Code, the Board may impose, or it may authorize the CCO to impose, sanctions and take other actions as it deems appropriate, including a letter of caution or warning, suspension of personal trading privileges, suspension or termination of employment, fine, civil referral to the SEC, and, in certain cases, criminal referral. The Board may also require the offending Access Person to reverse the trades in question, forfeit any profit or absorb any loss derived there from, and such forfeiture shall be disposed of in a manner that shall be determined by the board in its sole discretion. Failure to timely abide by directions to reverse a trade or forfeit profits may result in the imposition of additional sanctions.
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7. | Exceptions to the Code will rarely, if ever, be granted. However, the CCO may grant an occasional exception on a case-by-case basis when the proposed conduct involves negligible opportunities for abuse. All exceptions shall be requested and issued in writing. Pre-Clearance and quarterly reports are not required under this Code for transactions effected pursuant to an automatic investment plan. Quarterly reports are required, however, pre-Clearance is not required, under this Code for transactions placed by a discretionary Investment Advisor or Trustee that an Access person has retained to manage their account(s) and who unilaterally executes transactions on their behalf. Quarterly reports are required, however, pre-Clearance is not required, under this Code for transactions placed by Dana for an Access person that has a Dana managed account(s) in one or more of Dana’s composite strategies or in a Dana managed mutual fund. Quarterly reports are required for executed trailing stop loss orders. Pre-Clearance is not required under this Code for trailing stop loss orders placed on non-restricted securities provided documentation of the original order entry date is retained and produced if a trailing stop loss order is subsequently executed on a security that became restricted. Quarterly reports are required, however, pre- Clearance is not required, under this Code for transactions in securities held in accounts over which the Access Person has no direct control, to include investment club transactions provided the Access Person does not determine the purchase and/or sale execution criteria for the club and does not take part in initiating club related securities transactions. Annual holdings reports are still required for all of the accounts described in this paragraph. |
8. | Quarterly reports are not required, and pre-clearance is not required for accounts managed by Robo-Advisors that solely invest in mutual funds (to include ETFs/ETNs) and in which the Access Person has no direct control over initiating transactions and is otherwise unaware of the particular securities the Robo-Advisor is actually transacting in at any point in time. Annual holdings reports are not required for all of the accounts described in this paragraph (e.g. Acorns and Betterment). |
9. | This Code, a copy of each report by an Access Person, any written report hereunder by the Chief Compliance Officer, and lists of all persons required to make reports shall be preserved with Dana’s records for the period required by Rule 204-2 et al. of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. |
IV. | INSIDER TRADING POLICIES |
This Code of Ethics is based on the principle that all Access Persons of Dana Investment Advisors, Inc. have a fiduciary duty to place the interest of clients ahead of their own and Dana’s. Access Persons must avoid activities, interests and relationships that might interfere with making decisions in the best interests of Dana clients. Each Employee is obligated to comply with Dana’s Insider Trading Policies and to generally refrain from trading in any securities on the basis of inside information. A violation of Dana’s Insider Trading Compliance Policies will subject the employee to immediate discipline.
A. | Insider Trading Defined. Essentially, insider trading consists of the use of material nonpublic information in purchasing or selling a particular security (trading based on nonpublic information that, if public, could affect the price of the security traded).* |
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* | This definition of insider trading is not to be relied upon as a legal definition. Courts and regulatory authorities construing insider trading may apply a different standard. |
B. | Fiduciary Duty. |
As fiduciaries, all Access Persons must at all times:
1. | Place the interests of advisory clients first. All Access Persons must scrupulously avoid serving their own personal interests ahead of the interests of Dana’s advisory clients. Access Persons may not induce or cause an advisory client to take action or not to take action for personal benefit, rather than for the benefit of the advisory client. For example, a supervisor or employee would violate the policy by causing an advisory client to purchase a security the supervisor or employee owned if the purchase was for the purpose of increasing the price of that security. |
2. | Avoid taking inappropriate advantage of their position. The receipt of investment opportunities, perquisites or gifts from persons seeking business with Dana or its advisory clients, could call into question the exercise of the independent judgment of an Access Person. Access Persons may not, for example, use their knowledge of portfolio transactions to profit by the market effect of such transactions. |
3. | Conduct all personal securities transactions in full compliance with this Code, including both pre-clearance and reporting requirements. Doubtful situations always should be resolved in favor of Dana’s clients. Technical compliance with the Code’s provisions shall not automatically insulate from scrutiny any securities transactions or actions that indicate a violation of Dana’s fiduciary duties. |
C. | Procedures to be Followed. |
1. | Chief Compliance Officer. The Chief Compliance Officer, or other individual appointed by the CEO, shall be responsible for reviewing employee trading and maintaining and enforcing the insider trading compliance policies (the “Compliance Policies”) set forth in this document. |
2. | Monitoring of Employee Transactions. |
a) | No-Trade Order. Dana has the right at any time to name a security with respect to which no trading will be allowed. If Dana issues a no-trade order, the existence of such order and the security(ies) subject to such order are to be kept strictly confidential. |
b) | Reports to Dana. In accordance with Dana’s existing “personal trading policy,” all transactions should be submitted to the Chief Compliance Officer within thirty (30) days after the end of each quarter. The Chief Compliance Officer will review such information. |
3. | Acknowledgement. Annually, each employee will be required to sign an acknowledgment that he or she (1) has read and agrees to abide by these Compliance Policies, (2) will refrain from trading on the basis of material nonpublic information and (3) will hold Dana harmless from the consequences of any breach of these representations and warranties. |
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The annual execution of the Acknowledgment is a condition to continued employment. Failure to execute the Acknowledgment will subject the employee to dismissal.
4. | Discipline and Enforcement. A violation of any of these Compliance Policies, including the representations and warranties in the Acknowledgment, will subject the Employee to immediate discipline. Depending on the severity of the violation, discipline may include, but shall not be limited to, an oral warning, a written warning, suspension, dismissal and reporting the violations to the proper regulatory authorities. |
V. | CONFLICTS OF INTEREST POLICY. |
It is Dana Investment Advisors’ Policy to identify potential conflicts of interest that may arise from time to time in managing client accounts. Dana takes seriously its responsibilities in identifying and disclosing potential conflicts of interest regarding the investment management of client accounts. Each stage of the investment management process may potentially involve a conflict. Dana seeks to proactively eliminate those conflicts that are associated with managing client accounts. For any conflicts that cannot be effectively eliminated, Dana provides adequate disclosure in several documents that are either delivered to clients or made available upon request (e.g. ADV Part 2 Brochure, Form CRS, Investment Advisory Agreement, etc.).
VI. | WHISTLEBLOWER POLICY. |
All employees shall report evidence of any material violation of federal or state securities laws and any material breach of fiduciary duty by the Firm or any of its Access Persons to Dana’s Chief Compliance Officer. Dana’s Whistleblower Policy prohibits retaliation against any employee who makes a good-faith report of known or suspected misconduct (see Exhibit E). All employees shall receive a copy of the current Whistleblower Policy at least annually.
VII. | OTHER DUTIES |
A. | Confidentiality. Access Persons are prohibited from revealing information relating to the investment intentions, activities or portfolios of advisory clients except to the person whose responsibilities require knowledge of the information. |
B. | Gifts. The following provisions on gifts apply to Access Persons: |
1. | Giving and Receiving Gifts. In general, the term “gifts” shall include both the giving and receiving of physical gifts, as well as meals and entertainment. On occasion, because of their position with Dana, Access Persons may either give gifts to or receive gifts from clients, brokers, vendors or other persons. Giving and receiving extraordinary or extravagant gifts is prohibited. When Access Persons are offered extraordinary or extravagant gifts, such gifts must be declined and returned in order to protect Dana’s reputation and integrity. One-time gifts of nominal value not exceeding $100 (e.g., candy, pens, mugs, T-shirts, etc.) are allowed whether alone or in the aggregate if there are multiple gifts at the same time. Single gifts of $100 or more in value during any twelve-month period (e.g., customary business meals, entertainment and sporting activities) are also allowed, but must be disclosed on the employee’s quarterly Gifts Report (see Exhibit C). In addition, nominal gifts shall also be reported on the employee’s next quarterly gift reporting when the total value of nominal gifts either received from or given to the same party during the prior twelve months will exceed $100. Access persons are encouraged to seek pre-clearance from the CCO for any gifts that might reasonably be seen to violate the Firm’s gift policy. |
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2. | Giving and Receiving Gifts: Registered Investment Companies. Dana Access Persons are prohibited from accepting gifts and entertainment of any value from persons doing business or hoping to do business with a Registered Investment Company (i.e., mutual fund) that Dana acts as Advisor or Sub-Advisor to. Access persons are encouraged to seek pre-clearance from the CCO for any gifts that might reasonably be seen to violate the Firm’s gift policy. |
3. | Solicitation of Gifts. Access Persons are prohibited from soliciting gifts of any value under any circumstances. |
4. | Gift or Inheritance of Securities. Access Persons are allowed to receive a gift or inheritance of any security, even if a particular security is a restricted security. All gifts of restricted securities shall be reported to the CCO within 90 days. Dana’s regular personal transactions policy will apply to the subsequent sale and reporting of any gifted or inherited securities. |
5. | Required Notification. Any employee with knowledge that a gift received by an Access Person might violate this Code must promptly notify the CCO of the suspected gift violation. |
C. | Opportunities. Access Persons may not take personal advantage of any opportunity properly belonging to any advisory client or to Dana. This includes, but is not limited to, acquiring Reportable Securities for one’s own account that would otherwise be acquired for an advisory client. |
D. | Undue Influence. Access Persons shall not cause or attempt to cause any advisory client to purchase, sell or hold any security in a manner calculated to create any personal benefit to such Access Person. If an Access Person stands to materially benefit from an investment decision for an advisory client that the Access Person is recommending or participating in, the Access Person must disclose to those persons with authority to make investment decisions for the advisory client the full nature of the beneficial interest that the Access Person has in that security, any derivative security of that security, or the security issuer where the decision could create a material benefit to the Access Person or the appearance of impropriety. The person to whom the Access Person reports the interest, in consultation with the CCO, must determine whether or not the Access Person will be restricted in making investment decisions in respect of the subject security. |
Updated August 27, 2020
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EXHIBIT A
Dana Investment Advisors, Inc.
CORPORATE PRIVACY POLICY AND PRACTICES STATEMENT
Federal legislation requires all investment advisors registered with the SEC to provide a privacy notice to all of their clients.
This notice will describe our practices and policies concerning our handling of your personal information.
Protecting and Safeguarding Your Nonpublic Personal Information
Our relationship with our clients is of utmost importance to us. As you have entrusted us with your private financial information, we will always act accordingly to maintain that trust. Our employees are trained so that your personal information is held in strict confidence and safeguarded. Physical, procedural, and electronic safeguards are in place and well established.
Nonpublic Personal Information We Collect to Serve You
The nonpublic personal information we use is collected to enable us to open and administer your account, process your transactions, and help us to provide you with quality service. The information we collect may include name, address, phone number, email address, birth date, social security number (or tax ID number) and information about your income, net worth, risk tolerance and investment experience. Personal information is collected to meet our regulatory obligations. This information is neither sold nor otherwise disseminated to disinterested outside parties.
Nonpublic Personal Information is Held in Strict Confidence
Personal information is not disclosed to any third parties unless it is necessary for processing investment transactions or for the servicing of one or more of your investment accounts. We will always act in good faith and disclose only the information that is required or permitted under law. If, at any time, it is necessary to disclose any of your nonpublic personal information in a manner that is not consistent with this policy, you will be notified in advance in order to have the opportunity to opt out of such disclosure. If, at any time, you decide to close your account(s) or become an inactive client, we will continue to adhere to our ongoing privacy policies and practices as described in this notice and as amended by any future notices.
Public Personal Information is Used in a Limited Capacity
Personal information regarding high net worth individuals is not used for marketing purposes. Certain public information identifying the name of an institutional client and its corresponding industry group, or State location, is occasionally used in direct presentations to potential clients. This information is often required by institutional client prospects and helps us to demonstrate our knowledge of a potential client’s investment management needs through past experience with similarly situated clients. Rarely is any other public information disclosed beyond this limited capacity. You will always have the right to opt out of such a limited disclosure by informing us in writing of your intentions.
We reserve the right to change this Privacy Policy at any time without notice and will notify clients of any modifications on an annual basis.
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EXHIBIT B
QUARTERLY PERSONAL SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS REPORT
NAME: | ||
TIME FRAME: | [insert applicable time frame] |
Please list any personal security transactions which were executed by you or in which you were the beneficial owner (i.e. transactions your spouse made), during the above stated time frame. Please include the following information:
All transactions in “reportable securities” should be listed above or on a separate sheet. If no reportable transactions were executed during this time frame, please write “None” in the security name section and sign at the bottom of this form.
By executing this form you are attesting that you have included all reportable security transactions from all accounts in which you were either the direct or beneficial owner. Please sign at the bottom and return to Dana’s Chief Compliance Officer or his or her designee by [insert applicable date].
SIGNATURE: | DATE: |
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EXHIBIT C
GIFTS REPORT
Date of Gift(s):
Receiving Party:
Gifting Party:
Approximate $Value:
Description of the gift(s):
** | For personal political contributions, include the name of the political candidate. Signature on this form is your verification that only personal, non-business resources were used to make such political contributions. |
Employee Name: | ||
Employee Signature: | ||
Date: |
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EXHIBIT D
POLITICAL CONTRIBUTION POLICY
Regulatory Background
In response to a perceived spike in “pay-to-play” activity, the Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted Rule 206(4)-5 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Rule”). In general, the Rule contains three key prohibitions:
- | a two-year prohibition on an adviser’s providing compensated services to a government entity following a political contribution to certain officials of that entity; |
- | a prohibition on the use of third-party solicitors who are not themselves “regulated persons” subject to pay-to-play restrictions on political contributions; and |
- | a prohibition on “bundling” and other efforts by advisers to solicit political contributions to certain officials of a government entity to which the adviser is seeking to provide services. |
Specifically, Rule 206(4)-5 prohibits advisers from “receiving” any compensation for providing investment advice to a “government entity” within two years after a contribution has been made by the adviser or one of its “covered associates”. A “covered associate” includes (i) any partner, managing member or executive officer or individual with a similar status or function, (ii) any employee who solicits a government entity for the adviser (and any person who directly or indirectly supervises such employee) and (iii) any political action committees (“PACs”) controlled by the adviser or a covered associate. A person’s activities and not his or her title will ultimately determine whether he or she is a covered associate. For example, an “executive officer,” under the Rule, not only includes the president and vice-president in charge of a principal business unit, division or function, but also any other officer or person who performs a policy-making functions. Generally, non-executive level personnel and those employees that do not directly solicit business from government entities are not considered to be covered associates.
U.S. federal, state and local contributions are subject to significant legal restrictions and prohibitions, including pay-to-play laws that can prohibit Dana from engaging in certain businesses if its employees make political contributions to covered officials, candidates or political committees. The Rule broadly defines “contributions” to include a gift, subscription, loan, advance, deposit of money or anything of value made for the purpose of influencing a federal, state or local election, including payments of campaign debts and transition or inaugural expenses incurred by successful candidates for state or local (but not federal) office. Such definition would not include (i) an individual’s donated time (if the adviser does not solicit such person’s efforts or provide the use of its resources) and (ii) charitable donations made at the request of a government entity. Importantly, contributions to PACs do not directly implicate the Rule’s prohibitions on contributions if the contributions are not attributable to a particular covered official.
For purposes of the Rule, an “official” includes an incumbent, candidate or successful candidate for office if the office is directly or indirectly responsible for, or can influence the outcome of, the hiring of an adviser or has the authority to appoint such a person. The Rule does not specify particular types of officials who could influence the hiring of an adviser. In addition, political contributions to public officials or candidates for public office outside the U.S. may be subject to local regulations and some jurisdictions may not permit political contributions by foreign companies or persons. Prior to making any non-U.S. contribution, you should confirm that you are in compliance with such rules.
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Rule 206(4)-5 contains a “look back” provision under which advisers must look back in time to determine whether a covered associate has made a triggering contribution. Pursuant to the look back provision, contributions made by a covered associate will be attributed to an adviser if those contributions were made within (i) two years prior to the date the individual became a covered associate, in the case of covered associates who solicit clients for the adviser or (ii) six months prior to the date the individual became a covered associate, in the case of covered associates who do not solicit clients for the adviser.
Dana Policy
Dana employees may engage in legitimate political activities and make political contributions to the extent permitted under law. However, you are prohibited from making contributions to any political officials or political causes if those contributions are intended to influence the award or retention of any Dana Investment Advisors (“Dana”) business. You are also responsible for confirming that your personal political activity is in compliance with legal limits.
The Rule permits individuals to make aggregate contributions within certain de minimis limits without triggering the two-year “time out” period. In accordance with these limits, Dana employees are specifically allowed to make political contributions intended to be covered by the Rule of up to $350 per election to an elected official or candidate for whom the individual is entitled to vote, and up to $150 per election to an elected official or candidate for whom the individual is not entitled to vote. Please note that these de minimis limits are available only for contributions made by individual covered associates, not advisers, and primary and general elections are treated as separate under both exceptions. You may not use Dana resources for any political event or political contribution. In general, family members of covered associates are not covered under the Rule, however, any political contributions from financial accounts held jointly by an employee and their family member(s) could be viewed as contributions in whole or in part by the employee. In addition, the Advisers Act prohibits doing anything indirectly which would be prohibited if done directly.
In order to further Dana’s and all covered associates’ compliance with the Rule, Dana employees are required to report all political contribution activity relating to U.S. federal, state or local political candidates, officials, party committees, organizations or ballot measure committees. Within 30 calendar days following each calendar quarter end, any employee making a political contribution during the prior calendar quarter shall promptly communicate to Dana’s CCO via email the following details for each separate contribution:
- | Date that the political contribution was made |
- | Amount of the contribution |
- | Name of the political candidate or PAC receiving such contribution |
- | Verification that personal resources were used in making payment for such contribution |
Adherence to Dana’s Political Contributions Policy is considered mandatory and failure to abide by it can ultimately serve as grounds for discipline and potentially termination under certain circumstances. Any questions regarding this policy should be directed to Dana’s CCO.
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EXHIBIT E
Dana Investment Advisors, Inc.
WHISTLEBLOWER POLICY
Purpose:
The Dodd-Frank Act (the “Act”) contains provisions that protect whistleblowers who report fraudulent activities at financial services firms. Section 922 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act provides that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) shall pay awards to eligible whistleblowers who voluntarily provides the SEC with original information that leads to a successful enforcement action yielding monetary sanctions of over $1 million. The award amount is required to be between 10 percent and 30 percent of the total monetary sanctions collected in the Commission’s action or any related action such as in a criminal case.
The Dodd-Frank Act also expressly prohibits retaliation by employers against whistleblowers and provides them with a private cause of action in the event that they are discharged or discriminated against by their employers in violation of the Act.
Policy:
In accordance with the Act, Dana Investment Advisors (“Dana” or the “Firm”) has adopted the following procedures for handling the whistleblower reporting requirements:
A. | All employees shall report evidence of: (i) a material violation of any federal or state securities laws; (ii) material breach of fiduciary duty arising under any federal or state laws; or (iii) a similar material violation of any federal or state law by the Firm or any of its officers, directors, employees or agents (“Reports”) to Dana’s Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”), who shall report the matter to Dana’s senior management team. The Firm’s senior management team shall retain this information in confidence. |
B. | Upon receipt of any such Reports, the Firm’s senior management team shall inform Dana’s legal counsel of the Report and determine whether an investigation is necessary. If it is determined that an investigation is necessary after considering the Report, the senior management team shall: |
1. | Initiate an investigation and determine whether it should be conducted by the CCO or outside legal counsel; |
2. | Retain such additional experts as senior management deems necessary. |
C. | At the conclusion of any such investigation, the senior management team shall: |
1. | Recommend that the Firm implement an appropriate response to the findings of a material violation; |
2. | Inform the CCO and CEO of the results of the investigation and the appropriate remedial measures to be adopted; and |
3. | Inform the whistleblower of the findings of the investigation as well as any remedial actions recommended, if any, to ensure that the activities are corrected. |
D. | The senior management team shall monitor the status of the whistleblower to ensure that he or she is not retaliated against due to his or her reporting of the improper activities. Senior management is responsible for communicating to all of the whistleblower’s superiors that they are prohibited in any way from retaliating against the whistleblower for bringing the activities in question to the attention of the senior management team. |
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E. | The senior management team shall take all other actions that it deems appropriate in the event that the Firm fails in any material respect to implement an appropriate response that has been recommended. |
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EXHIBIT F
POTENTIAL EMPLOYEE CONFLICTS OF INTEREST CHECK LIST
Definitions
Party of Interest: Any immediate family member of either you or your spouse eg. mother, father, brother, sister, step-children, adopted children, grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle. This definition does not include ex-spouses or cousins at this time.
1. | DANA CLIENT ACCOUNTS |
List the name and relationship (eg. mother, father, brother-in-law), of anyone in your party of interest who could be considered: 1) an owner of a Dana managed account, or 2) either an employee, officer, general partner, managing member, board member, director or more than a 5% shareholder of any entity which Dana manages one or more accounts for:
Dana Client name and account number: |
Name/Relationship: |
Dana Client name and account number: |
Name/Relationship: |
Are you authorized to effect securities transactions in the above account(s)? Yes__________ No __
2. | PUBLICALLY TRADED COMPANIES |
List the name and relationship (eg. mother, father, brother-in-law), of anyone in your party of interest who is a Board Member/Director/Officer of a publicly traded company:
Company Name: | Name/Relationship: | ||
Company Name: | Name/Relationship: |
3. | INVESTMENT INDUSTRY TIES |
List the name and relationship (eg. spouse, mother, father, brother-in-law), of anyone in your party of interest who could be considered either an employee, officer, general partner, managing member, board member, director or more than a 5% shareholder of the following:
Brokerage/Advisory Firm: |
Custodian/Trust Firm: |
Solicitor Firm: |
Consulting Firm: |
Vendor or Supplier of Services to either Dana or its Clients: |
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4. | ACTIVITIES OUTSIDE OF EMPLOYMENT WITH DANA |
Outside your employment at Dana, do you serve in any of the following capacities?
Board of Director (List name of company or organization): |
Volunteer for a Non-Profit Organization (List organization name): |
General Partner (List name of Partnership/LLC): |
Partner/Limited Partner/Member (eg. Private equity, hedge fund, venture capital, etc.): | |
Trustee (List name and relationship of trust account): |
Power of Attorney, excluding Healthcare POA (List name and relationship): | |
Other Employment (List company name and title): |
Please list any other potential conflicts of interest that you may be aware of at this time: |
Signature | |
Printed Name | |
Date |
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EXHIBIT G
ANNUAL CERTIFICATION OF RECEIPT AND COMPLIANCE WITH
DANA INVESTMENT ADVISORS, INC.
CODE OF ETHICS
I hereby acknowledge that:
1. | I have received a copy of the Dana Investment Advisors, Inc. Code of Ethics dated August 27, 2020. |
2. | I understand it is my responsibility to read the policies and guidelines contained in the Code of Ethics and to fully understand and comply with the stated requirements. I also understand that I have a duty to notify Dana’s Chief Compliance Officer if I become aware that either I, or a fellow employee, has violated a provision of Dana’s Code of Ethics. |
3. | I understand that adhering to the policies described in the Code are employment requirements, and that failure to comply with such policies and procedures may be grounds for disciplinary actions and may include termination of employment. |
I certify that during the year ended December 31, 2019:
1. | I have fully disclosed all securities holdings in which I have, or a member of my immediate household has, a beneficial interest. |
2. | I have reviewed the Restricted Securities List prior to placing transactions in reportable securities and have obtained pre-clearance for all securities transactions in which I have, or an immediate member of my family has, a beneficial interest except for transactions exempt from pre-clearance as indicated in this Code, or for which I have received an exception in writing from the CCO. |
3. | I have reported all “reportable” securities transactions in which I have, or any member of my immediate family (spouse, children, parents, relatives) living in my home has, a beneficial interest. |
4. | I have complied with the Code of Ethics in all other respects. |
Signature | |
Printed Name | |
Date |
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APPENDIX H
PROSPECTOR PARTNERS, LLC
PROSPECTOR PARTNERS ASSET MANAGEMENT, LLC
Code of Ethics - Personal Trading Procedures
Adopted July 11, 2005
Revised October, 2015
INTRODUCTION
High ethical standards are essential for the success of the Prospector Partners, LLC and Prospector Partners Asset Management, LLC (collectively, the “Advisor”) and to maintain the confidence of clients and investors in investment funds managed by the Advisor (“clients”). The Advisor’s long-term business interests are best served by adherence to the principle that the interests of clients come first. We have a fiduciary duty to clients to act solely for the benefit of our clients. All personnel of the Advisor, including members, officers and employees of the Advisor must put the interests of the Advisor’s clients before their own personal interests and must act honestly and fairly in all respects in dealings with clients. All personnel of the Advisor must also comply with all federal securities laws.
Potential conflicts of interest between the interests of the Advisor’s personnel and the interests of the Advisor’s clients may arise in connection with the operation of the Advisor’s investment advisory activities, including conflicts arising in connection with the personal trading activities of the Advisor’s personnel. In recognition of the Advisor’s fiduciary duty to its clients and the Advisor’s desire to maintain its high ethical standards, the Advisor has adopted this Code of Business Conduct and Personal Trading Procedures (the “Code”) containing provisions designed to prevent improper personal trading, identify conflicts of interest and provide a means to resolve any actual or potential conflicts in favor of the Advisor’s clients. The Code is intended to comply with Rule 204A-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the "Advisers Act") and Rule 17j-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "Investment Company Act").
Adherence to the Code and the related restrictions on personal investing is considered a basic condition of employment by the Advisor. If you have any doubt as to the propriety of any activity, you should consult with the Compliance Officer, who is charged with the administration of this Code.
DEFINITIONS
Access Person means (i) any partner, officer, or employee of the Advisor, or other person who provides investment advice on behalf of the Advisor and is subject to the supervision and control of the Advisor, (i) who has access to nonpublic information regarding any clients’ purchase or sale of securities, or nonpublic information regarding portfolio holdings of any reportable fund or who is involved in making securities recommendations to clients (or who has access to such recommendations that are nonpublic), or (ii) any natural person in a control relationship to the Advisor who obtains information concerning recommendations made to clients with regard to the purchase or sale of Reportable Securities.
1. | Automatic Investment Plan means a program in which regular periodic purchases (or withdrawals) are made automatically in (or from) investment accounts in accordance with a predetermined schedule and allocation, including a dividend reinvestment plan. |
2. | Beneficial ownership is defined in accordance with Rule 16a-1(a)(2) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and includes ownership by any person who, directly or indirectly, through any contract, arrangement, understanding, relationship or otherwise, has or shares a direct or indirect "pecuniary" or financial interest in a security. For example, an individual has an indirect pecuniary interest in any security owned by the individual's spouse. Beneficial ownership also includes, directly or indirectly, through any contract, arrangement, understanding, relationship, or otherwise, having or sharing "voting power" or "investment power" as those terms are used in Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and Rule 13d-3 thereunder. |
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3. | Covered Person means any member, officer, employee or Access Person of the Advisor. |
4. | Initial Public Offering means an offering of securities registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), the issuer of which, immediately before registration, was not subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act. |
5. | Limited Offering means an offering that is exempt from registration under the Securities Act pursuant to Section 4(2) or Section 4(6) or pursuant to Rule 504, Rule 505, or Rule 506 under the Securities Act. |
6. | Personal Account means any account in which a Covered Person has any beneficial ownership. For purposes of this Code, beneficial ownership is interpreted in the same manner as it would be under Rule 16a-1(a)(2) under the Exchange Act. |
7. | Reportable Fund means (i) any registered investment company for which the Advisor serves as investment advisor and (ii) any registered investment company whose investment advisor or principal underwriter controls the Advisor, is controlled by the Advisor or is under common control with the Advisor. |
8. | Reportable Security means a security as defined in section 202(a)(18) of the Act (15 U.S.C. 80b-2(a)(18)) and includes any derivative, commodities, options or forward contracts relating thereto, except that it does not include: |
(i) | Direct obligations of the Government of the United States; |
(ii) | Bankers' acceptances, bank certificates of deposit, commercial paper and high quality short-term debt instruments, including repurchase agreements; |
(iii) | Shares issued by money market funds; |
(iv) | Shares issued by registered open-end funds other than Reportable Funds and exchange traded funds (“ETFs”); and |
(v) | Shares issued by unit investment trusts that are invested exclusively in one or more registered open-end funds, none of which are Reportable Funds or ETFs. |
9. | Security Held or to be Acquired by a client means |
(1) | Any Reportable Security which, within the most recent 15 days: |
(i) | Is or has been held by a client; or |
(ii) | Is or has been considered by the Advisor for purchase by the client; and |
(2) | Any option to purchase or sell and any security convertible into or exchangeable for, a Reportable Security described in (1)(i) or (1)(ii) above; |
10. | Short Sale means the sale of securities that the seller does not own. A Short Sale is "against the box" to the extent that the seller contemporaneously owns or has the right to obtain securities identical to those sold short, at no added cost. |
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STANDARDS OF CONDUCT
It is unlawful for a Covered Person in connection with the purchase or sale, directly or indirectly, by the Covered Person of a Reportable Security Held or to be Acquired by a client to:
(a) | Employ any device, scheme or artifice to defraud the client; |
(b) | Make any untrue statement of a material fact to the client or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made to the client, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading; |
(c) | Engage in any act, practice or course of business that operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit on the client; or |
(d) | Engage in any manipulative practice with respect to the client. |
In addition, it is expected that all Covered Persons will:
(e) | Use reasonable care and exercise professional judgment in all actions affecting a client. |
(f) | Maintain general knowledge of and comply with all applicable federal and state laws, rules and regulations governing the Advisor’s activities, and not knowingly participate or assist in any violation of such laws, rules or regulations. |
(g) | Not engage in any conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation or commit any act that reflects adversely on their honesty, trustworthiness, or professional competence. |
(h) | Respect and maintain the confidentiality of clients’ information, their securities transactions and potential transactions, their portfolio strategy, or any other matters within the bounds of fiduciary duty. |
(i) | Be aware of the inability to trade where there is material nonpublic information related to the value of a security. |
(j) | Avoid any trading or causing any other party to trade in a security if such trading would breach a fiduciary duty or if the information was misappropriated or relates to a material corporate event. |
(k) | Exercise diligence and thoroughness in securities research and in the making of investment recommendations and decisions; and maintain appropriate records as required by the Advisers Act and the Investment Company Act in respect of such recommendations and decisions. |
(l) | Deal fairly and objectively with clients when disseminating investment recommendations, disseminating material changes in recommendations, and taking investment action. |
(m) | Refrain from any misrepresentations or factual omissions that could affect clients’ investment decisions. |
(n) | Comply on a timely basis with the reporting requirements of this Code. |
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APPLICABILITY OF CODE OF ETHICS
Personal Accounts of Covered Persons. This Code of Ethics applies to all Personal Accounts of all Covered Persons.
A Personal Account is an account in which a Covered Person, directly or indirectly, through any contract, arrangement, understanding, relationship or otherwise, has or shares a direct or indirect "pecuniary" or financial interest such as an account maintained by or for:
• | A Covered Person's spouse (other than a legally separated or divorced spouse of the Covered Person for which the Covered Person provides no financial support), domestic partner (of the same or opposite gender) and minor children; |
• | Any immediate family members who live in the Covered Person’s household; |
• | Any persons (i) who is financially dependent on the Covered Person including those persons residing with the Covered Person and those not residing with the Covered Person, such as financially dependent children away at college, or (ii) for whom the Covered Person provides discretionary advisory services; and |
• | Any partnership, corporation or other entity in which the Covered Person has a 25% or greater beneficial interest, or in which the Covered Person exercises effective control; provided, however, that the following entities are not deemed to be Personal Accounts of a Covered Person: Prospector Partners Fund, L.P., Prospector Partners Small Cap Fund, L.P., Prospector Turtle Fund, L.P., Prospector Offshore Fund (Bermuda), Ltd., Prospector Summit Fund, L.P., and Prospector Partners Connecticut Fund, L.P. |
A comprehensive list of all Covered Persons and Personal Accounts will be maintained by the Advisor’s Compliance Officer.
RESTRICTIONS ON PERSONAL INVESTING ACTIVITIES
1. | General. It is the responsibility of each Covered Person to ensure that a particular securities transaction being considered for his or her Personal Account is not subject to a restriction contained in this Code or otherwise prohibited by any applicable laws. Personal securities transactions for Covered Persons may be effected only in accordance with the provisions of this Section. |
2. | Preclearance of Transactions in Personal Account. A Covered Person must obtain the prior written approval of each Portfolio Manager and the Chief Financial Officer before engaging in any transaction in a Reportable Security in his or her Personal Account, including transactions in investment companies (mutual funds) managed by the Advisor or ETFs. Transactions in mutual funds that are not managed by the Advisor will not require preclearance. The Chief Financial Officer must obtain the prior written approval of each Portfolio Manager and the Compliance Officer before engaging in any transaction in his Personal Account. The transaction may be approved if it is concluded that the transaction would comply with the provisions of this Code and is not likely to have any adverse economic impact on clients. A request for preclearance must be made by completing the Preclearance Form and submitting it to the appropriate individuals for approval in advance of the contemplated transaction. A Preclearance Form is attached as Attachment A. Any approval given under this paragraph will remain in effect for 2 days. |
3. | Prohibitions on Trading in Securities. A Covered Person shall not execute a personal securities transaction of any kind in the same security to be purchased or sold for a client within seven (7) days of the transaction consummated on behalf of the client. This prohibition shall not apply to securities that were completely sold from a client account. |
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Separately, the Chief Compliance Officer will maintain a list of “Prohibited Securities” which includes securities that the Advisor will not allow a Covered Person to acquire at any time.
4. | Service on Boards of Directors; Outside Business Activities. A Covered Person shall not serve as a director (or similar position) on the board of any company unless the Covered Person has received written approval from the Managing Member. Authorization will be based upon a determination that the board service would not be inconsistent with the interest of any client account. At the time a Covered Person submits the initial holdings report in accordance with Section VII.2.b of the Code, and annually thereafter, the Covered Person will submit to the Compliance Officer a description of any business activities in which the Covered Person has a significant role. The Chief Financial Officer will review and approve any arrangement involving the Managing Member. |
5. | Excessive Trading. The Advisor believes that excessive personal trading by its Covered Persons can raise compliance and conflicts issues. Accordingly, no Covered Person may engage in more than 20 personal securities transactions during any 30 day period without the prior written approval by the Chief Financial Officer. |
6. | Management of Non-Advisor Accounts. Covered Persons are prohibited from managing accounts for third parties who are not clients of the Advisor or serving as a trustee for third parties unless the Managing Member preclears the arrangement and finds that the arrangement would not harm any client. The Managing Member may require the Covered Person to report transactions for such account and may impose such conditions or restrictions as are warranted under the circumstances. The Chief Financial Officer will review any arrangement involving the Managing Member. |
EXCEPTIONS FROM PRECLEARANCE PROVISIONS
This section sets forth exceptions from the preclearance requirements. Unless otherwise noted, the restrictions and reporting obligations of the Code continue to apply to any transaction excepted from preclearance pursuant to this Section. The following transactions are excepted from the preclearance requirements of Section V.2:
1. | Purchases or sales that are non-volitional on the part of the Covered Person such as purchases or acquisitions arising from stock dividends, dividend reinvestments, stock splits, mergers, consolidations, tender offers or exercise of rights; |
2. | Purchases or sales pursuant to an Automatic Investment Plan; and |
3. | Transactions effected in, and the holdings of, any account over which the Covered Person has no direct or indirect influence or control (i.e., blind trust, discretionary account or trust managed by a third party). |
4. | Purchases or sales of municipal bonds. |
REPORTING AND OTHER MATTERS
1. | Transaction Reports |
a. | Duplicate Copies of Broker's Confirmations. All Covered Persons must direct their brokers or custodians or any persons managing the Covered Person's account in which any Reportable Securities are held to supply the Compliance Officer with duplicate copies of securities trade confirmations ("Broker's Confirmations") within 30 days after the Covered Person's transaction. The Broker’s Confirmations must have the following information: |
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• | The date of the transaction, the title, the exchange ticker symbol or CUSIP number (as applicable), the interest rate and maturity date (if applicable) the number of shares and the principal amount (if applicable) of each reportable security involved. |
• | The nature of the transaction (i.e. purchase, sale or any other type of acquisition or disposition); |
• | The price of the reportable security at which the transaction was effected; |
• | The name of the broker, dealer or bank through which the transaction was effected; |
b. | With respect to any account established by the Covered Person in which any securities were held during the previous quarter for the direct or indirect benefit of the Covered Person: |
• | The name of the broker, dealer or bank through which the Covered Person established the account; |
• | The date the account was established; and |
• | The date that the report was submitted by the Covered Person |
c. | Quarterly Certifications. Not later then (30) days after the end of each calendar quarter, each Covered Person is required to certify that all of its personal transactions and any new accounts opened during such quarter have been reported to the Compliance Officer in accordance with this Section VII. |
2. | Holding Reports |
a. | Annual Statement of Securities Holdings. All Covered Persons shall annually as of each June 30, submit a statement to the Compliance Officer listing all of the |
• | Reportable securities in which the Covered Person has any beneficial ownership, (including title and exchange ticker symbol or CUSIP number, type of security, number of shares and principal amount (if applicable); |
• | the names of any broker, dealer or bank with which the Covered Person maintains an account in which ANY securities are held for the Covered Person’s direct or indirect benefit; and |
• | The date the report is submitted by the Covered Person. |
• | The report must be dated the day the Covered Person submits it, and must contain information that is current as of a date no more than 45 days prior to the date the person becomes a Covered Person of the Advisor. |
b. | Initial Statement of Securities Holdings. Covered Persons shall, within 10 days of the commencement of employment with the Advisor, submit to the Compliance Officer an initial statement containing the information in the Annual Statement of Securities Holdings described above with respect to ALL securities held, which must be current as of a date no more than 45 days prior to the date the report was submitted. |
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3. | Exceptions to Reporting Requirements. An Access Person need not submit any report with respect to securities held in accounts over which the Access Person has no direct or indirect influence or control (each a “Non-Control Account”) or transaction reports with respect to transactions effected pursuant to an automatic investment plan. Prior to relying on the reporting exception for a Non-Control Account, the Covered Person must obtain the approval of the Compliance Officer that the account qualifies as a Non-Control Account. In connection with seeking and maintaining such approval, the Covered Person must submit to the Compliance Officer: |
(i) an executed Certification Form, a form of which is attached as Attachment E, at the time of the initial request for approval and annually thereafter;
(ii) information about the relationship between the trustee or manager of the account and the Covered Person; and
(iii) to the extent reasonably practicable, a certification from the manager or trustee of the account that the Covered Person has no direct or indirect influence or control over the account ; and
(iv).any other requirements imposed by the Advisor or Compliance Officer (e.g., annual or periodic holdings or transaction reports)
Violations. Covered Persons must report immediately any suspected violations to the Compliance Officer.
Transactions Subject to Review. The transactions reported on the Broker's Confirmations will be reviewed and compared against client transactions.
RECORDKEEPING
The Compliance Officer shall maintain records in the manner and extent set forth below, and these records shall be available for examination by representatives of the Securities and Exchange Commission:
(a) | a copy of this Code which is, or at any time within the past five years has been, in effect shall be preserved in an easily accessible place; |
(b) | a record of any violation of this Code and of any action taken as a result of such violation shall be preserved in an easily accessible place for a period of not less than five years following the end of the fiscal year in which the violation occurs; |
(c) | a copy of all written acknowledgements of the receipt of the Code and any amendments thereto for each Covered Person who is currently, or within the past five years was a Covered Person; |
(d) | a copy of each report made pursuant to this Code and brokerage confirmations, statements and certifications and other information relating to Non-Control Accounts submitted on behalf of Covered Persons shall be preserved for a period of not less than five years from the end of the fiscal year in which the last entry was made on such record, the first two years in an easily accessible place; |
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(e) | a list of all Covered Persons (which includes all Access Persons) who are required, or within the past five years have been required, to make reports under the Code or who are responsible for reviewing such reports pursuant to this Code shall be maintained in an easily accessible place; |
(f) | a record of any decision and supporting reasons for approving the acquisition of securities by a Covered Person shall be preserved for a period of not less than five years from the end of the fiscal year in which the approval was granted; |
(g) | a record of persons responsible for reviewing reports and a copy of reports provided pursuant to Section VII; and |
(h) | a record of any report furnished pursuant to Section IX below to the board of any registered investment company to which the Advisor provides advisory services shall be preserved for a period of not less than five years from the end of the fiscal year in which the last entry was made on such record, the first two years in an easily accessible place. |
REPORTS TO THE BOARD(S) OF REGISTERED INVESTMENT COMPANIES
No less frequently than annually, the Advisor will furnish the Board of Directors of any registered investment company managed by the Advisor (the “Board”) with a written report that:
(a) | describes any issues arising under the Code or procedures since the last report to the Board, including, but not limited to, information about material violations of the Code or procedures and sanctions imposed in response to the material violations; and |
(b) | certifies that the Advisor has adopted procedures reasonably necessary to prevent Access Persons from violating the Code. |
OVERSIGHT OF CODE OF ETHICS
General Principle. The Advisor will use reasonable diligence and institute procedures reasonably necessary to prevent violations of the Code.
1. Acknowledgment. The Compliance Officer shall annually distribute a copy of the Code to all Covered Persons. The Compliance Officer will also distribute promptly all amendments to the Code. All Covered Persons are required annually to sign and acknowledge their receipt of this Code of Ethics by signing the form of acknowledgment attached as Attachment B or such other form as may be approved by the Compliance Officer.
2. New Accounts. Each Covered Person must notify the Compliance Officer promptly if the Covered Person opens any new account in which any securities are held with a broker or custodian or moves such an existing account to a different broker or custodian (“New Accounts”).
3. Review of Transactions. Each Covered Person's transactions in his/her Personal Account will be reviewed on a regular basis and compared with transactions for the clients and against the list of Prohibited Securities. Any Covered Person transactions that are believed to be a violation of this Code will be reported promptly to the management of the Advisor. The Compliance Officer will review the Chief Financial Officer’s transactions and preclearance requests.
4. Reports to the Board. The Advisor shall report to the Board of each registered investment company managed by the Advisor, any violation of the Code by a Covered Person, and such Covered Person may be called upon to explain the circumstances surrounding his or her non-clerical violation for evaluation by a Board.
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5. Sanctions. Advisor’s management, with advice of legal counsel, at their discretion, shall consider reports made to them and upon determining that a violation of this Code of Ethics has occurred, may impose such sanctions or remedial action as they deem appropriate or to the extent required by law. These sanctions may include, among other things, disgorgement of profits, suspension or termination of employment and/or criminal or civil penalties.
6. Authority to Exempt Transactions. The Managing Member, or his designee, has the authority to exempt any Covered Person or any personal securities transaction of a Covered Person from any or all of the provisions of this Code if the Managing Member, or his designee, determines that such exemption would not be against any interests of a client. The Managing Member, or his designee with the assistance of the Compliance Officer, shall prepare and file a written memorandum of any exemption granted, describing the circumstances and reasons for the exemption.
7. ADV Disclosure. The Compliance Officer shall ensure that the Advisor’s Form ADV (i) describes the Code of Ethics in Item 11 of Part 2A and (ii) offers to provide a copy of the Code to any client or prospective client upon request.
CONFIDENTIALITY
All reports of personal securities transactions and any other information filed pursuant to this Code shall be treated as confidential to the extent permitted by law.
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APPENDIX H
ATTACHMENT A
PROSPECTOR PARTNERS, LLC AND PROSPECTOR PARTNERS ASSET MANAGEMENT, LLC
Preclearance Form
To: The Chief Financial Officer
From: [Covered Person]
Subject: Authorization for Securities Transaction(s)
This memorandum requests authorization to execute the securities transaction(s) listed below.
Trans. # | Proposed Transaction Date | Transaction Type | Title of Security | No.Shs./Par |
1. | ||||
2. | ||||
3. | ||||
4. | ||||
5. |
Additional information concerning the securities transaction(s):
If approved, I understand that the authorization is valid for only 2 days from the date/time of approval, subject to any exception described below:
Approved By: | |||||
Approved By: | |||||
Covered Person: | Approved By: | ||||
Approved By: | |||||
Date of Request: | Date/Time of Approval: |
NOTE: Approval required by the Managing Member, all Portfolio Managers and the Chief Financial Officer.
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APPENDIX H
ATTACHMENT B
PROSPECTOR PARTNERS, LLC and PROSPECTOR PARTNERS ASSET MANAGEMENT, LLC
INITIAL AND ANNUAL HOLDINGS REPORT, EMPLOYEE QUESTIONNAIRE &
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Name: | As of: |
Identification of Personal Accounts:
1. | Identify household members: |
(Spouse, children, immediate family members who live in your household, and other persons to whom you provide primary financial support)
2. | List all brokers, dealers or banks with which you or your immediate family members and others residing in your household have a direct or indirect beneficial ownership and maintain accounts in which any securities are maintained: |
FIRM | ADDRESS |
ACCOUNT NUMBER |
|||
3. | Do you own any interests in any reportable securities not included on your brokerage statements, e.g., private placements, limited partnerships, etc. (non-custodial securities)? |
YES | NO | ||||
If YES, List: |
4. | Do you have any ownership interest (a minimum of 5% interest) in other entities (public or non- public) not included on brokerage statements? |
YES | NO | ||||
If YES, List: |
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Identification of Potential Conflicts of Interest:
5. | Do you have any outside employment or business activity? |
YES | NO | ||||
If YES, Describe: |
6. | Do you serve as a Director, Officer, Trustee, Member, Partner, or in any other capacity, for any other entity? (Reference: Section V.6 of the Code of Business Conduct)[1] |
YES | NO | ||||
If YES, Describe: |
7. | Have you received any gifts from, or made any gifts to, clients or anyone doing business with the firm other than gifts of less than de minimis value? (Reference: Gifts and Business Entertainment Policy) |
YES | NO | ||||
If YES, Describe: |
8. | Have you provided or accepted a business entertainment event in excess of a value of $200? (Reference: Gifts and Business Entertainment Policy) |
YES | NO | ||||
If YES, Describe: |
9. | Are you related to anyone employed by a Broker/Dealer that Prospector Partners, LLC or Prospector Partners Asset Management, LLC does business with? |
YES | NO | ||||
If YES, Describe: |
10. | To the extent known, do you have an immediate family member (or a close, personal contact as described below) that is: |
• | employed by a brokerage firm, investment bank, investment Advisor or other financial institution; |
• | employed by a competitor in a business unit that could reasonably be expected to benefit financially from information to which the employee has access; |
• | an officer, director, or partner of a public or private company, or otherwise routinely comes in contact with sensitive confidential information on public or private companies ; or |
• | a beneficial owner of five percent or more of the outstanding shares or capital of a public or private company, respectively. |
"Immediate family member" shall generally mean spouses, domestic partners, siblings, parents, in-laws and children. (If you have a close familial or personal relationship with someone who does not fall into one of these categories (e.g., a roommate), and a reasonable person could question whether a conflict exists, such as someone residing in your home, please disclose).
YES | NO | ||||
If YES, Describe: |
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REPORTING OF PERSONAL SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS AND HOLDINGS:
11. | As of each June 30, provide a listing of current holdings of reportable securities (including the title and type of security and, if applicable, the exchange ticker symbol or CUSIP Number, number of shares, principal amount of each security, the name of the bank, broker or dealer with which you maintain the securities and the date of the report (account holding statements may be attached)) in which you or any person who is a household member or immediate family member have a direct or indirect beneficial ownership (the list of securities provided must be current as of a date no more than 45 days prior to the date on which the list of securities is submitted), (ii) Please provide the information described above for ALL securities in which you or any person who is a household member or immediate family member have a direct or indirect beneficial ownership, no later than 10 days after the date on which the undersigned became an employee. |
YES | NO | N/A |
For existing employees,
12. | Have you reviewed, understand, and agree to comply with the reporting requirements relating to personal securities transactions mandated by the SEC and described in Section VII. of the Code of Business Conduct |
YES | NO | N/A |
Acknowledgement:
12. I hereby acknowledge receipt of the Code of Business Conduct and Personal Trading Procedures of Prospector Partners LLC and Prospector Partners Asset Management, LLC the “Code”) and the Policies and Procedures to Prevent Insider Trading of Prospector Partners, LLC and Prospector Partners Asset Management, LLC (the “Insider Trading Policies”). I certify that I have read and understand the Code and the Insider Trading Policies and agree to abide by them. I hereby represent that all my personal securities transactions will be effected in compliance with the Code and the Insider Trading Policies.
Date: | ||||
(Signature) | ||||
(Print Name) |
[1] | The Code of Business Conduct is included as Appendix H to the Compliance Manual of the Advisor. |
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APPENDIX H
ATTACHMENT C
Quarterly Certification
Personal Investing:
I hereby certify that all Broker’s Confirmations have been sent to Prospector Partners, LLC or Prospector Partners Asset Management, LLC (collectively, the “Advisor”) with respect to all securities trades by me in my Personal Accounts during the previous quarter and I have not opened any new accounts in which any securities are held with a broker or custodian or moved such an existing account to a different broker or custodian during the previous quarter without having previously notified the Advisor. I have provided the information for the previous quarter as required by Section VII of The Code of Business Conduct and Personal Trading Procedures for Prospector Partners, LLC and Prospector Partners Asset Management, LLC.
Outside Business Activities:
I hereby certify that I do not serve as a director (or similar position) on the board of any company without obtaining the written approval from the Managing Member.
Management of Non-Advisor accounts:
I hereby certify that I do not manage accounts for third parties who are not clients of the Advisor or serve as trustee for third parties unless the Managing Member pre-cleared the arrangement and found that the arrangement would not harm any client.
Gifts and Entertainment:
I hereby certify that I have complied with the Advisor’s Gifts and Business Entertainment Policy including required reporting to the Chief Compliance Officer during the previous quarter.
Please note any exceptions here: | |
Date: | ||||
(Signature) | ||||
(Print Name) |
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APPENDIX H
ATTACHMENT D
PERSONAL ACCOUNTS CERTIFICATION FORM
Adopted as of October, 2015
With respect to each account listed below, I, , hereby certify that [during the reporting period from [ ] to [ ]], I have not exercised any direct or indirect influence or control over the account[ and have requested that the manager or trustee of the account provide a certification to this effect].
Name of Account: | |
Date: | ||||
(Signature) | ||||
(Print Name) |
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APPENDIX H1
PROSPECTOR PARTNERS, LLC and PROSPECTOR PARTNERS ASSET MANAGEMENT, LLC
Gifts and Business Entertainment Policy
Adopted June, 2007
Revised October, 2015
In order to address conflicts of interest that may arise when any member, officer or employee of the Advisor (a ”Covered Person”) accepts or gives a gift, favor, special accommodation, or other items of value, the Advisor places restrictions on gifts and certain types of business entertainment. Set forth below is the Advisor’s policy relating to gifts and business entertainment:
Gifts
• | General - No Covered Person may give or receive any gift, service, or other item of more than de minimis value, which for the purpose of this Policy is $200, to or from any person or entity that does business with or potentially could conduct business with or on behalf of the Advisor. |
• | Solicited Gifts - No Covered Person may use his or her position with the Advisor to obtain anything of value from a client, supplier, person to whom the Covered Person refers business, or any other entity with which the Advisor does business. |
• | Cash Gifts - No Covered Person may give or accept cash gifts or cash equivalents to or from an investor, prospective investor, or any entity that does business with or potentially could conduct business with or on behalf of the Advisor. |
Business Entertainment
• | General – Covered Persons may provide or accept a business entertainment event, such as dinner or a sporting event, of reasonable value, if the person or entity providing the entertainment is present. |
• | Extravagant Entertainment - No Covered Person may provide or accept extravagant or excessive entertainment to or from an investor, prospective investor, or any person or entity that does or potentially could do business with or on behalf of the Advisor. |
Reporting/Recordkeeping
• | Gifts - Each Covered Person must report any gifts in excess of de minimis value received in connection with the Covered Person’s employment to the Compliance Officer. The Compliance Officer may require that any such gift be returned to the provider or that an expense be repaid by the Covered Person. |
• | Business Entertainment – Each Covered Person must obtain pre-approval by the Compliance Officer for any business entertainment event if the value is greater than $200. |
• | Recordkeeping - The Compliance Officer will maintain records of any gifts and/or business entertainment events so reported. |
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APPENDIX H2
PROSPECTOR PARTNERS, LLC and PROSPECTOR PARTNERS ASSET MANAGEMENT, LLC
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES RELATING TO POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS
AND PAYMENTS TO THIRD PARTY SOLICITORS
Adopted September 13, 2010
I. | Statement of Policy |
To the extent the Advisor provides or seeks to provide investment advisory services to a government entity,1 the Advisor will take the measures described herein to seek to ensure that contributions to an official of such government entity and payments to any third party who is engaged to solicit advisory business from such government entity are not made with the purpose of influencing the award of an advisory contract or the decision to invest in a covered investment pool managed by the Advisor. All italicized terms used in these procedures are defined in Section III, “Definitions”.
In this regard, the Advisor has adopted policies and procedures in order to comply with Rule 206(4)-5 under the Advisors Act (the “Rule”).2 The Rule, with certain exceptions, prohibits the Advisor from:
(i) receiving compensation for providing investment advisory services to a government entity, directly or indirectly, for two years after the Advisor or any of its covered associates makes a contribution to an official of such government entity;
(ii) coordinating, or soliciting any person or political action committee to make, (a) contributions to an official of a government entity to which the Advisor is providing or seeking to provide advisory services or (b) payments to a political party of a state or locality where the Advisor is providing or seeking to provide advisory services to a government entity; and
(iii) making or agreeing to make payments to third parties to solicit advisory business from a government entity on behalf of the Advisor unless such third parties are registered investment Advisors or registered broker-dealers who are themselves subject to similar restrictions regarding contributions to officials of government entities as the Advisor.
The Rule applies only to the extent that the Advisor provides or seeks to provide investment advisory services to a government entity, either directly or through a government entity’s investment in a covered investment pool managed by the Advisor.
1 | The Advisor will be deemed to be seeking to provide investment advisory services to a government entity when it responds to a request for proposal, communicates with the government entity regarding the entity’s formal selection process for investment Advisors or engages in some other solicitation of the government entity for the purpose of providing advisory services to such government entity, either directly or through a government entity’s investment in a covered investment pool managed by the Advisor. |
2 | The Advisor may have additional responsibilities under the code of conduct of a government program or plan it manages and/or the laws of the state or city in which such program or plan is located. (See, for example, the Code of Conduct of the New York State and Local Employees’ Retirement System, the New York State and Local Police and Fire Retirement System and the New York State Common Retirement Fund at www.osc.state.ny.us/pension/codeofconduct.pdf.) |
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II. | Procedures |
These procedures seek to ensure that neither the Advisor nor any of its covered associates makes or has made a contribution in violation of the restrictions on political contributions that the Advisor has adopted herein on or after March 14, 2011. In addition, these procedures prohibit the Advisor from paying or entering into an agreement to pay a third party on or after September 13, 2011 to solicit advisory business from a government entity on its behalf unless such third party has affirmed its status as a regulated person.
A. | Political Contributions |
(i) It is the policy of the Advisor that the following are prohibited on or after March 14, 2011 for each covered associate:
(a) contributions to any person (including any election committee for the person) who is an incumbent, candidate or successful candidate for state or local office, including any such person who is running for federal office (a “Candidate”).
(b) soliciting any person or political action committee on or after March 14, 2011 to make (a) a contribution to a Candidate, or (b) a payment to a political party of a state or locality. In this regard, the Advisor and each covered associate is prohibited from consenting to the use of its name on any fundraising literature for a Candidate or sponsoring a meeting or conference which features a Candidate as an attendee or guest speaker and which involves fundraising for such person.
(c) contributions to a political action committee or a state or local political party.
The Advisor’s Managing Member has the authority to override the prohibition of A(i)(a),(b), or (c) at his discretion on a case by case basis. In the event an override is granted, it must be provided in writing and approved by the Managing Member and the Chief Compliance Officer. In the case of the Managing Member, approval will be granted by the Chief Compliance Officer and the Chief Financial Officer. The approval must be submitted to the Advisor’s Chief Compliance Officer.
(ii) Special Disclosure Prior to Hire, Promotion or Transfer: Prior to the hiring, promotion or transfer of a person that would result in such person serving as a covered associate of the Advisor, such person will be required to disclose, as a condition of the hiring, promotion or transfer, all of the contributions and payments made by such person to Candidates, political action committees and state and local political parties within the preceding two years (if the person will solicit clients for the Advisor) or six months (if the person will not solicit clients for the Advisor), but not prior to March 14, 2011. To the extent the Advisor is aware that the person has made a contribution or payment in violation of these procedures, the Advisor will make a determination as to whether to hire, promote or transfer such person to serve as a covered associate.
(iii.) Exception for Certain Returned Contributions: The prohibition of the Rule (on receiving compensation for providing advisory services to a government entity for two years after the Advisor or a covered associate has made a contribution to an official of such government entity) will not apply in certain instances where the triggering contribution is returned. In the event the Chief Compliance Officer discovers that a covered associate has made a contribution in violation of these procedures, the Chief Compliance Officer will make a determination as to whether it will require the covered associate to seek to obtain a return of the contribution. In the event the Chief Compliance Officer determines that it is necessary to require the covered associate to seek to obtain a return of the contribution, it will, within four months after the date of the contribution and 60 days after discovering the contribution, take all available steps to cause the contributing covered associate to seek to obtain a return of such contribution and will take such other remedial or preventive measures that it determines are appropriate under the circumstances. The Advisor’s reliance on this exception for returned contributions is limited to no more than two times per a 12-month period and no more than once for each covered associate, regardless of the time period.
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(iv) Indirect Violations: Neither the Advisor nor any of its covered associates may do anything indirectly that would result in a violation of these procedures.
(v) Reporting of Political Contributions and Payments: In the event that the Advisor or a covered associate makes a direct or indirect contribution or payment to a Candidate, a political action committee or a political party of a state or political subdivision thereof, the Chief Financial Officer (on behalf of the Advisor) or such covered associate, as applicable, must submit a written report to the Chief Compliance Officer as soon as possible, and in no event later than 30 days after the date such contribution or payment was made, disclosing the amount and date of such contribution or payment and the name and title of the recipient.
(vi) Recordkeeping: The Chief Compliance Officer will compile and keep a list of (a) the names, titles and business and residence addresses of all covered associates of the Advisor, (b) all government entities to which the Advisor provides or has provided investment advisory services, or which are or were investors in any covered investment pool to which the Advisor provides or has provided investment advisory services, as applicable, in the past five years (but not prior to March 14, 2011), and (c) all direct or indirect contributions made by the Advisor or any of its covered associates to an official of a government entity, or direct or indirect payments to a political party of a state or political subdivision thereof, or a political action committee on or after March 14, 2011. The records described in (c) above will be listed in chronological order and will indicate (1) the name and title of each contributor, (2) the name and title (including any city/county/state or other political subdivision) of each recipient of a contribution or payment, (3) the amounts and date of each contribution or payment, and (4) whether any such contribution was the subject of the exception for certain returned contributions.
(vii) With respect to any covered investment pool client that is a registered investment company in which a government entity may invest through an omnibus account (each a “registered covered investment pool”), the Advisor may make and keep, as an alternative to the records relating to a covered investment pool described in (vi)(b) above, a list or other record that includes:
(a) Each government entity that invests in a registered covered investment pool, where the account of such government entity can reasonably be identified as being held in the name of or for the benefit of the government entity on the records of the registered covered investment pool or its transfer agent.
(b) Each government entity, the account of which was identified as that of a government entity – at or around the time of the initial investment – to the Advisor or one of its client servicing employees, regulated persons, or covered associates.
(c) Each government entity that sponsors or establishes a 529 Plan and has selected a specific registered covered investment pool as an option to be offered by such 529 Plan.
(d) Each government entity that has been solicited to invest in a registered covered investment pool either (1) by a covered associate or regulated person of the Advisor; or (2) by an intermediary or affiliate of the registered covered investment pool if a covered associated, regulated person or client servicing employee of the Advisor participated in or was involved in such solicitation, regardless of whether such government entity invested in the registered covered investment pool; and
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(e) A list of each government entity to which the Advisor markets, whether successful or not.
B. | Payments to Third Parties to Solicit Advisory Business from Government Entities |
(i) | Review and Approval of Third Party Solicitation Agreements: The Chief Compliance Officer will review and approve each third party solicitation agreement or arrangement prior to the Advisor entering into such agreement or arrangement. |
(ii) | Required Disclosure by Regulated Persons: Prior to the Advisor providing or agreeing to provide payment to a third party on or after September 13, 2011 to solicit advisory business from a government entity on its behalf, the Chief Compliance Officer will require the third party to provide, as a condition to the Advisor engaging such third party, a written representation regarding its status as a regulated person. In addition, the Chief Compliance Officer will take any additional measures it deems necessary to verify such third party’s status as a regulated person. |
(iii) | Ongoing Review of Regulated Person Status: In the event the Advisor provides or agrees to provide payment to a third party on or after September 13, 2011 to solicit advisory business from a government entity, the Advisor will require such third party to provide the Advisor with satisfactory representations that the third party meets and will continue to meet the definition of a regulated person as of such date or will obtain such other evidence as the Advisor deems satisfactory to verify such third party’s status as a regulated person as of such date. |
(iv) | Recordkeeping: The Advisor will keep a list of the name and business address of each regulated person to whom the Advisor provides or agrees to provide, on or after September 13, 2011, directly or indirectly, payment to solicit a government entity for investment advisory services on its behalf. |
C. | Sub-Advisory Arrangements |
(i) | Serving as Subadvisor: In the event the Advisor enters into an agreement or other arrangement with a third party whereby the Advisor will serve as a subadvisor to an account or a covered investment pool managed by such third party, the Chief Compliance Officer will obtain all necessary information from the third party in order to determine whether a government entity invests in such account or covered investment pool. In the event a government entity does invest in such account or covered investment pool, the Chief Compliance Officer will take appropriate measures with respect to such government entity in order to ensure compliance with these procedures. In addition, the Chief Compliance Officer will use reasonable efforts to require the third party to obtain the prior written approval of the Advisor prior to admitting a government entity as an investor in a covered investment pool to which the Advisor is providing subadvisory services. |
(ii) | Hiring of Subadvisor: In the event the Advisor hires a third party to serve as a subadvisor to an account or a covered investment pool in which a government entity invests, the Chief Compliance Officer will require such third party to disclose whether it or any of its covered associates has made a contribution or payment that would result in a serious adverse consequence to such third party under the Rule. In addition, the Chief Compliance Officer will require the third party to verify on an ongoing basis that neither the third party nor any of its covered associates has made a contribution or payment that would result in a serious adverse consequence to such third party under the Rule. |
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III. | Definitions |
“Contributions” means gifts, subscriptions, loans, advances, deposits of money, or anything of value made for: (i) the purpose of influencing any election for federal, state or local office; (ii) payments of debt incurred in connection with any such election; or (iii) transition or inaugural expenses of the successful candidate for state or local office.
“Covered associates” means (i) the Advisor’s general partners, managing members, executive officers and other individuals with a similar status or function; (ii) the Advisor’s employees who solicit a government entity for the Advisor and persons who supervise, directly or indirectly, such employees; and (iii) any political action committee controlled by the Advisor or by any person described in (i) or (ii) above. An “executive officer” of the Advisor means the president, any vice president in charge of a principal business unit, division or function (such as sales, administration or finance), any other officer of the Advisor who performs a policy-making function or any other person who performs similar policy-making functions for the Advisor.
“Covered Investment Pool” means (i) an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 that is an investment option of a plan or program of a government entity or (ii) any company that would be an investment company under section 3(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, but for the exclusion provided from that definition by either section 3(c)(1), section 3(c)(7) or section 3(c)(11) of that Act.
“Government entity” means any state or political subdivision of a state, including (i) any agency, authority or instrumentality of the state or political subdivision; (ii) a pool of assets sponsored or established by the state or political subdivision or any agency, authority or instrumentality thereof, including, but not limited to, a “defined benefit plan” as defined in section 414(j) of the Internal Revenue Code, or a state general fund; (iii) a plan or program of a government entity; and (iv) officers, agents or employees of the state or political subdivision or any agency, authority or instrumentality thereof, acting in their official capacity.
“Official” means any person (including any election committee for the person) who was, at the time of the contribution, an incumbent, candidate or successful candidate for elective office of a government entity if the office (i) is directly or indirectly responsible for, or can influence the outcome of, the hiring of the Advisor by the government entity or (ii) has the authority to appoint any person who is directly or indirectly responsible for, or can influence the outcome of, the hiring of the Advisor by the government entity. “Payments” means gifts, subscriptions, loans, advances or deposits of money or anything of value.
“Regulated person” means
(i) an investment advisor registered with the SEC that has not, and whose covered associates have not, within two years of soliciting a government entity, (A) made a contribution to an official of that government entity other than as permitted by Rule 206(4)-5(b)(1), and (B) coordinated or solicited any person or political action committee to make any contribution to an official of a government entity to which the Advisor is providing or seeking to provide investment advisory services or payment to a political party of a state or locality where the Advisor is providing or seeking to provide investment advisory services, or
(ii) a “broker”, as defined in section 3(a)(4) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), or a “dealer”, as defined in section 3(a)(5) of that Act, that is registered with the SEC and is a member of a national securities association registered under section 15A of that Act (e.g., FINRA), provided that (A) the rules of the association prohibit members from engaging in distribution or solicitation activities if certain political contributions have been made and (B) the SEC, by order, finds that such rules impose substantially equivalent or more stringent restrictions on broker-dealers than the restrictions imposed by Rule 206(4)-5 of the Advisors Act and that such rules are consistent with the objectives of such Rule; or
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(iii) a “municipal advisor” registered with the SEC under section 15B of the Exchange Act and subject to the rules of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, provided that (A) such rules prohibit municipal advisors from engaging in distribution or solicitation activities if certain political contributions have been made and (B) the SEC, by order, finds that such rules impose substantially equivalent or more stringent restrictions on municipal advisors than the restrictions imposed by Rule 206(4)-5 of the Advisors Act and that such rules are consistent with the objectives of such Rule.
“Solicit” means (i) with respect to investment advisory services, to communicate, directly or indirectly, for the purpose of obtaining or retaining a client for, or referring a client to, the Advisor, and (ii) with respect to a contribution or payment, to communicate, directly or indirectly, for the purpose of obtaining or arranging a contribution or payment.
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APPENDIX H3
PROSPECTOR PARTNERS, LLC and PROSPECTOR PARTNERS ASSET MANAGEMENT, LLC
POLICY AND PROCEDURES FOR INTERNAL REPORTING OF POSSIBLE MISCONDUCT
Adopted August, 2012
Revised October, 2015
Statement of Policy
The Advisor strives to maintain an environment that encourages compliance with securities laws and internal reporting of any possible violation thereof. Each employee who believes that a possible securities law violation in connection with the Advisor’s business or operations (referred to herein as “Misconduct”) has occurred, is ongoing or is about to occur, is encouraged to immediately report the possible Misconduct in accordance with these procedures. The Advisor has established the following procedures (commonly referred to as “whistleblower procedures”) for the receipt of, and response to, such reports.
Procedures
Making a Report
Any employee who believes that possible Misconduct by one or more employees or other representatives of the Advisor has occurred, is ongoing or is about to occur, is encouraged to bring the concern to the attention of the Compliance Officer or Managing Member (the “Contact Person”). A report of possible Misconduct (each, a “Report”) may be made orally or in writing.
Addressing a Report
Upon receiving a Report, the Contact Person will review the information and consider all appropriate actions to address the Report, which may include involving the Compliance Officer, internal or outside counsel, accounting firms or other personnel or third parties. The Contact Person may determine, in his or her discretion, whether or not it is appropriate to investigate the issues raised in the Report and, if so, the course of any investigation.
Nothing in this policy is intended to preclude any employee from reporting possible Misconduct by one or more employees or other representatives of the Advisor directly to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of the Whistleblower (www.sec.gov/whistleblower).
R-1
2.0 | CODE OF ETHICS |
Rule 204A-1 under the Advisers Act requires BCG to establish, maintain and enforce a written code of ethics that includes: 1. Standards of business conduct that are required of Access Persons; 2. Provisions that require compliance with applicable Federal securities laws; 3. Provisions that require Access Persons to report their personal securities transactions and holdings; 4. Provisions requiring Access Persons to report any violations of the code of ethics to the CCO; and 5. Provisions requiring that each Access Person is provided with a copy of the code of ethics and any amendments, and requiring Access Persons to provide a written acknowledgement of their receipt of the code of ethics.
In order to ensure that officers and employees of BCG comply with their fiduciary duties, BCG has adopted this Code of Ethics (the “Code”). The Code of Ethics is predicated on the principle that BCG owes a fiduciary duty to Clients. Accordingly, Access Persons must avoid activities, interests and relationships that run contrary (or appear to run contrary) to the best interests of Clients. At all times, BCG and its employees must:
• | Place client interests first - As a fiduciary, BCG must serve in its Clients' best interests and may not benefit at the expense of Clients. |
• | Be in full compliance with BCG’s Code of Ethics - Employees must review and abide by BCG’s Code of Ethics and its constituent policies. |
The success of BCG as a provider of investment management services depends upon its reputation for excellence and integrity in the investment marketplace. Access Persons must therefore act in accordance with the highest ethical standards and comply with applicable Federal securities laws.
In addition, the activities of BCG and its personnel must comply with the broad antifraud provisions of Section 206 of the Advisers Act, and personal securities transactions must generally be reported under Rule 204-2 of the Advisers Act. Rule 204-2 requires that BCG keeps a record of every transaction in a security in which BCG or any Access Person has, or by reason of the transaction acquires, any direct or indirect beneficial ownership, except under certain circumstances.
The Code includes specific provisions with which all Access Persons must comply. However, compliance with these technical provisions alone will not be sufficient to insulate from scrutiny actions or behavior which show a pattern of abuse of the individual’s responsibilities. All Access Persons are expected to abide by the spirit of the Code and the principles articulated herein.
Any violations of the Code of Ethics shall be subject to the imposition of sanctions, including but not limited to a letter of censure, suspension or termination of employment. Access Persons are required to report any violations of the Code promptly to the CCO. The CCO shall record of any violation of the Code, and any action taken as a result in the BCG Compliance Issue Log.
Access Persons are required to read and sign the BCG Code of Ethics and Compliance Policies & Procedures Acknowledgement Form, thereby acknowledging the receipt and understanding of the contents of this manual. Any questions with respect to BCG’s Code of Ethics should be directed to the CCO.
BCG’s Code of Ethics consists of: 1. Personal Trading Policy; 2. Insider Trading Policy; 3. Policy on Outside Affiliations; and 4. Gifts Policy.
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2.1 | Personal Trading Policy |
BCG has adopted a Personal Trading Policy relating to personal securities transactions that, combined with the other provisions of the Code of Ethics, is intended to satisfy the applicable requirements of Section 206, Rule 204A-1 and Rule 204-2 under the Advisers Act.
The Personal Trading Policy establishes standards and procedures for the detection and prevention of activities by which personnel of BCG having knowledge of the investments and investment intentions of BCG with respect to any Client may abuse their fiduciary duties, and deals with the types of conflict of interest situations that the federal securities laws address. BCG’s Personal Trading Policy is based on the principle that the Access Persons of BCG owe a fiduciary duty to Clients to conduct personal securities transactions in a manner that does not interfere with Client transactions or otherwise take unfair advantage of their relationship with Clients. The Personal Trading Policy requires that all of BCG’s Access Persons adhere to this general principle as well as comply with all of the specific provisions of the Personal Trading Policy that are applicable to them.
BCG’s Access Persons must obtain Pre-Approval before directly or indirectly acquiring Beneficial Ownership in any securities in an Initial Public Offering, a Limited Offering, or a Private Placement.
The Personal Trading Policy requires that all information concerning the securities being considered for purchase or sale on behalf of a Client be kept confidential by Access Persons and disclosed by them only on a “need to know” basis unless and until all such information is disclosed in a public report to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in the normal course.
A. | Personal Securities Accounts |
This Code applies to all “Personal Securities Accounts.” These include:
1. | Accounts in the Access Person’s name or accounts in which the Access Person has a direct or indirect Beneficial Ownership; |
2. | Accounts in the name of the Access Person's spouse; |
3. | Accounts in the name of children under the age of 18, whether or not living with the Access Person, and accounts in the name of relatives or other individuals living with the Access Person or for whose support the Access Person is wholly or partially responsible (together with the Access Person's spouse and minor children, “Related Persons”); |
4. | Accounts in which the Access Person or any Related Person directly or indirectly controls, participates in, or has the right to control or participate in, investment decisions; |
5. | Accounts that hold either shares of open-end mutual funds bought or sold through a broker-dealer or other intermediary or closed-end funds. Note: closed-end funds are subject to the restrictions of this policy; |
6. | Estate or trust accounts in which an Access Person or Related Person has a Beneficial Ownership, but no power to affect investment decisions. There must be no communication between the account(s) and the Access Person or Related Person with regard to investment decisions prior to execution; and |
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7. | Accounts that do not include cash bank accounts but do include any brokerage account that holds cash if it could hold securities (even if it does not hold securities at the present time). |
Note: Access Persons with accounts managed by BCG (including on behalf of Related Persons) are Personal Security Accounts.
B. | Beneficial Ownership |
Access Persons are considered to have “Beneficial Ownership” of securities if they have or share a direct or indirect “Pecuniary Interest” in the securities. Access Persons have a "Pecuniary Interest" in securities if they have the opportunity, directly or indirectly, to profit or share in any profit derived from a transaction in the securities.
The following are examples of an indirect Pecuniary Interest in securities:
1. | Securities held by members of your immediate family sharing the same household; however, this presumption may be rebutted by convincing evidence that profits derived from transactions in these securities will not provide you with any economic benefit. “Immediate family” means any child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, spouse, sibling, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, any significant other covered by an employee benefits plan, and any child covered by an adoptive relationship. |
2. | Your interest as a general partner in securities held by a general or limited partnership. |
3. | Your interest as a manager-member in the securities held by a limited liability company. |
Access Persons do not have an indirect Pecuniary Interest in securities held by a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or other entity in which they hold an equity interest, unless they are a controlling equity-holder or have or share investment control over the securities held by the entity.
The foregoing is a summary of the meaning of “beneficial ownership”. For purposes of the attached Code, “beneficial ownership” shall be interpreted in the same manner as it would be in determining whether a person is subject to the provisions of Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
C. | Reportable Funds and Reportable Securities |
For the purpose for complying with BCG’s Personal Trading Policy, pursuant to Rule 204A- 1(e)(9), Reportable Fund means any fund for which BCG serves as an investment adviser as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940. Belmont Theta Income Fund is a Reportable Fund.
For the purpose for complying with BCG’s Personal Trading Policy, pursuant to Rule 204A- 1(e)(10), Reportable Securities means a security as defined in Section 202(a)(18) of the Advisers Act:
Stocks, bonds, debentures, convertible and/or exchangeable securities, notes, options on any security (or on any group or index of securities), warrants, rights, shares of a closed-end registered investment company, or, in general, any interest or instrument commonly known as a security.
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The definition of Reportable Security does not include: (i) U.S. Treasury obligations; mortgage pass-throughs (e.g., Ginnie Maes) that are direct obligations of the U.S. government; (ii) bankers' acceptances; bank certificates of deposit; commercial paper; and high quality short- term debt instruments including repurchase agreements; (iii) shares issued by a money market fund; (iv) shares issued by open-end funds other than reportable funds; and (v) shares issued by unit investment trusts that are invested exclusively in one or more open- end funds.
However, all Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are Reportable Securities. In the National Compliance Services, Inc. no-action letter (available Nov. 30, 2005), the SEC states, “Open- end ETF shares are excluded from the definition of Reportable Securities under Rule 204A- 1(e)(10)(iv) because they are shares issued by an open-end fund, while UIT ETF shares are Reportable Securities because UITs are not open-end funds.” The SEC also noted, “That trading in open-end ETF shares presents the same opportunity for conflicts of interest as trading in UIT ETF shares because both types of shares are purchased and sold in the secondary market at a negotiated price, unlike traditional open-end funds. We recommend, therefore, that investment advisers consider treating open-end ETF shares as Reportable Securities”.
D. | Exempt Transactions |
The following transactions are considered exempt transactions:
• | Any transactions occurring in an account that is managed by BCG according to one of BCG’s investment strategies; |
• | Any transactions occurring in an account that is managed on a fully-discretionary basis by an unaffiliated investment manager; |
• | Acquisitions or dispositions of securities as a result of a stock dividend, stock split, or other corporation actions; |
• | Any transaction in an account over which the Access Person does not have any direct or indirect influence or control; |
• | Purchases of securities in Dividend Reinvestment Plans (DRIPs); and |
• | Purchases of securities by the exercise of rights issued to holders of a class of securities on a pro-rata basis. |
E. | Acknowledgement and Reporting |
1. | Within 10 days of becoming an Access Person, such Access Person must submit to the Chief Compliance Officer the BCG Code of Ethics and Compliance Policies & Procedures Acknowledgement Form which confirms that he/she has received a copy of this Code, and that he/she has read and understood its provisions. |
2. | Within 10 days of becoming an Access Person, all BCG personnel must submit to the Chief Compliance Officer a report of all Reportable Funds or Reportable Securities in which such Access Person has any direct or indirect beneficial ownership as of the date of becoming an Access Person. This report must include (i) the title, number of shares and principal amount of each security, (ii) the name of any broker, dealer or bank with whom the Access Person maintained an account in which any securities were held for the direct or indirect benefit of such Access Person and (iii) the date of submission by the Access Person. Such information should be provided using the BCG Personal Securities Holdings Initial Report. |
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3. | Within 30 days of the end of each calendar quarter, each Access Person shall submit a report to the Chief Compliance Officer of all personal securities transactions in Reportable Funds or Reportable Securities in which such Access Person has any direct or indirect beneficial ownership. This report must include (i) date of transaction, the title and exchange symbol / CUSIP, number of shares and principal amount of each security; (ii) the nature of the transaction (i.e., purchase, sale or any other type of acquisition or disposition); (iii) the price of the security at which the transaction was effected; (iv) the name of any broker, dealer or bank with or through which the transaction was effected; and (v) the date of submission by the Access Person. Such information should be provided using the BCG Personal Securities Transactions Report form. |
4. | Within 45 days of each year-ending, each Access Person shall submit an annual report to the Chief Compliance Officer with holdings information as of December 31st. This report must include: (i) all holdings in Reportable Funds or Reportable Securities in which the person had any direct or indirect beneficial ownership; and (ii) the name of any broker, dealer or bank with whom the person maintains an account in which any Reportable Funds or Reportable Securities are held for the direct or indirect benefit of the Access Person or Related Persons. Such information should be provided using the BCG Personal Securities Holdings Annual Report form. |
5. | All Access Persons are required to certify annually that they have: (i) read and understand this Code and recognize that they are subject to its terms and conditions; (ii) complied with the requirements of this Code; and (iii) disclosed or reported all personal securities transactions required to be disclosed or reported pursuant to this Code. |
6. | Pursuant to Rule 204-2(a)(13)(ii), the CCO shall maintain the BCG Access Person Log by recording the names of persons who are currently, or within the past five years were, an Access Person of BCG. |
F. | Pre-Approval Procedures |
Access Persons must submit the BCG Personal Trading Pre-Approval Form and have written approval before non-exempt transactions for Personal Securities Accounts are placed which meet the following criteria:
• | Initial Public Offerings |
• | Limited Offerings |
• | Private Placements |
BCG reserves the right to disapprove any proposed transaction that may have the appearance of improper conduct. Access Person should complete BCG’s Pre-Approval Form. All Pre-Approval requests must be submitted to the CCO, while the CCO shall submit Pre-Approval requests for his/her personal transactions to Daniel Beckwith, Managing Partner. Once Pre-Approval is granted to an Access Person, such Access Person may only transact in that security for the remainder of the trading day.
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G. | Personal Security Trading Monitoring |
While BCG allows our Access Persons to purchase or sell the same securities that may be recommended to and purchased on behalf of Clients, at no time will any Access Person purchase or sell any Reportable Fund or Reportable Security prior to a transaction(s) being implemented for a Client’s account during the same day.
When trading for Personal Security Accounts, Access Persons may have a conflict of interest if trading in the same securities as Clients. As fiduciaries, BCG must disclose and mitigate the risk of possible conflicts of interest through policies and procedures. Access Persons will place Client interests ahead of their own interests, and will refrain from buying or selling the same Reportable Funds or Reportable Securities prior to buying or selling for our Clients. This risk is mitigated by BCG conducting a coordinated review of Personal Security Accounts and the accounts of the Clients.
BCG has implemented a comprehensive procedure for Personal Security Trading Monitoring of any Reportable Fund or Reportable Security. Personal Security Account daily transactions are automatically collected from the custodians in ByAllAccounts (BAA), and these daily transactions are batch processed into BCG’s portfolio accounting system. As all Clients’ daily transactions are also batch processed into BCG’s portfolio accounting system, both Personal Security Accounts’ and Clients’ transactions are extracted from BCG’s portfolio accounting system and reviewed to assure that no Personal Security Trades are made prior to buying or selling for our Clients in the same Reportable Funds or Reportable Securities during the same day.
Access Persons, in conjunction with the CCO, are required setup all Personal Security Account login credentials in BAA. During BAA setup, the Access Person’s passwords are entered directly by the Access Person, and these passwords are “masked” after being entered. This preserves the confidentiality of the Access Person’s passwords. Also in BAA, Personal Security Accounts are identified by a generic ID, so that Personal Security Accounts are not identified by the Access Person’s name. In BCG’s portfolio accounting system, access to Personal Security Accounts is restricted to the CCO.
H. | Confidentiality |
All information obtained from any person pursuant to this Code shall be kept in strict confidence, except that such information will be made available to the Securities and Exchange Commission or any other regulatory or self-regulatory organization to the extent required by law, regulation or this Code.
I. | Sanctions |
BCG may impose sanctions that are designed to discourage its Access Persons from violating the Personal Securities Transaction Policy. In general, these sanctions are as follows, but may be more severe based on the circumstances:
• | 1st Violation: Verbal Warning; |
• | 2nd Violation: Written warning; |
• | 3rd Violation: Suspension and/or termination of employment. |
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J. | Retention of Records |
All records relating to personal securities transactions hereunder and other records meeting the requirements of applicable law, including a copy of this Code and any other policies covering the subject matter hereof, shall be maintained in the manner and to the extent required by applicable law, including Rules 204A-1 and 204-2 under the Advisers Act.
The CCO shall be responsible for administering Personal Securities Transaction Policy. All questions regarding the policy should be directed to the CCO.
K. | Amendments |
Unless otherwise noted herein, this Code shall become effective as to all Access Persons on February 6, 2015. This Code may be amended as to Access Persons from time to time by BCG.
L. | Disclosure |
BCG shall describe the Codes of Ethics to Clients in Part 2 of Form ADV and, upon request, furnish Clients with a copy of the Code of Ethics. All Client requests for BCG’s Code of Ethics shall be directed to the CCO.
2.2 | Insider Trading Policy |
BCG has adopted policies and procedures to prevent violations of Federal securities laws pursuant to Section 204A-1 of the Advisers Act. "Insider trading" is a usually associate with illegal conduct. But the term actually includes both legal and illegal conduct. The legal version is when corporate insiders (e.g. officers, directors, and employees) buy and sell stock in their own companies. When corporate insiders trade in their own securities, they must report their trades to the SEC.
Illegal insider trading refers generally to buying or selling a security, in breach of a fiduciary duty or other relationship of trust, while in possession of material, non-public information about the security. Insider trading violations may also include "tipping" such information, securities trading by the person "tipped”, and securities trading by those who misappropriate such information.
Examples of insider trading cases that have been brought by the SEC are cases against:
• | Corporate officers, directors, and employees who traded the corporation's securities after learning of significant, confidential corporate developments; |
• | Friends, business associates, family members, and other "tippees" of such officers, directors, and employees, who traded the securities after receiving such information; |
• | Employees of law, banking, brokerage and printing firms who were given such information to provide services to the corporation whose securities they traded; |
• | Government employees who learned of such information because of their employment by the government; and |
• | Other persons who misappropriated, and took advantage of, confidential information from their employers. |
Because insider trading undermines investor confidence in the fairness and integrity of the securities markets, the SEC has treated the detection and prosecution of insider trading violations as one of its enforcement priorities. Set forth below is the policy that BCG has adopted which forbids the use or disclosure, for direct or indirect personal gain or profit, of material, non-public information received in connection with the business of BCG or from any source.
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A. | Whom Does the Policy Cover? |
This policy covers Access Persons and Related Persons, as well as trusts or corporations directly or indirectly controlled by Access Persons. In addition, this policy applies to transactions engaged in by corporations in which an Access Person is an officer, director or 10% or greater stockholder and a partnership of which the Access Person is a partner unless the Access Person has no direct or indirect control over the partnership.
B. | What Information is Material? |
Individuals may not be held liable for trading on non-public information unless the information is material. “Material information” is generally defined as information for which there is a substantial likelihood that an investor would consider it important in making his or her investment decisions, or information that is reasonably certain to have a substantial effect on the price of a company’s securities.
Advance knowledge of the following types of information is generally regarded as “material”:
• | Dividend or earnings announcements; |
• | Write-downs or write-offs of assets; |
• | Additions to reserves for bad debts or contingent liabilities; |
• | Expansion or curtailment of company or major division operations; |
• | Merger, acquisition, disposition, or joint venture announcements; |
• | New product/service vice announcements; |
• | Discovery or research developments; |
• | Criminal, civil and government investigations and indictments; |
• | Pending labor disputes; |
• | Debt service or liquidity problems; |
• | Bankruptcy or insolvency problems; and |
• | Tender offers, stock repurchase plans, recapitalizations or other proposed capital share transactions. |
Information provided by a company could be material because of its expected effect on a particular class of a company’s securities, all of the company’s securities, the securities of another company, or the securities of several companies. The misuse of material non-public information applies to all types of securities, including equity, debt, commercial paper, government securities and options.
Material information does not have to relate to a company’s business. For example, material information about the contents of an upcoming newspaper column may affect the price of a security, and therefore be considered material.
C. | What Information is Non-Public? |
In order for issues concerning insider trading to arise, information must not only be material, but also non-public. “Non-public” information generally means information that has not been available to the investing public.
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Once material, non-public information has been effectively distributed to the investing public, it is no longer classified as material, non-public information. However, the distribution of non- public information must occur through commonly recognized channels for the classification to change. In addition, the information must not only be publicly disclosed, there must be adequate time for the public to receive and digest the information. Every situation must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to see if an adequate amount of time has passed. Access Persons must consult with the CCO to make this determination. Lastly, non-public information does not change to public information solely by selective dissemination.
Access Persons must be aware that even where there is no expectation of confidentiality, a person may become an insider upon receiving material, non-public information. Whether the “tip” made to the person makes him/her a “tippee” depends on whether the corporate insider expects to benefit personally, either directly or indirectly, from the disclosure.
The “benefit” is not limited to a present or future monetary gain; it could be a reputational benefit or an expectation of a quid pro quo from the recipient by a gift of the information. Access Persons may also become insiders or tippees if they obtain material, non-public information by happenstance, at social gatherings, by overhearing conversations, etc.
D. | Prohibited Communications and Transactions |
Access Persons are prohibited from communicating material, non-public information concerning any security to others unless such communication is properly within their duties for BCG. Without limiting the foregoing, such persons may not disclose, except as required by their duties for BCG, the identity of securities which BCG may purchase or sell for Clients.
Access Persons are prohibited from engaging in any securities transaction, for their own benefit or the benefit of others, while in possession of:
• | Material, non-public information concerning such securities which is known to the any person by virtue of his or her position as an insider with respect to the issuer of such securities or through such person's association with BCG; |
• | Material, non-public information concerning such securities where the information has been obtained by any person either through theft or misappropriation, or from an insider who has breached their fiduciary duty by disclosing the information to any person who knows, or should know that a fiduciary duty has been breached. |
The term "insider" includes officers, directors and employees of a company. In addition, a person can be a "temporary insider" if he or she enters into a special confidential relationship in the conduct of a company's affairs and as a result is given access to information solely for the company's purposes. Temporary insiders can include, among others, a company's attorneys, accountants, consultants, advisers, bank lending officers, and the employees of such organizations.
A "fiduciary duty" is breached by an insider when the insider personally will benefit, directly or indirectly, from his or her disclosure of material, non-public information.
The prohibited benefit would include pecuniary gain, a reputational benefit that could translate into future earnings, a relationship between the insider and the recipient that suggests a quid pro quo from the recipient, or an intention to benefit the particular recipient. An intention to benefit a particular recipient includes a situation in which an insider makes a "gift" of confidential information to a relative or friend who trades in securities.
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E. | Penalties |
Penalties for trading on or communicating material, non-public information in violation of the law are severe, both for the individuals involved in such unlawful conduct and, possibly, their employers. A person who violates the prohibition against insider trading can be subject to some or all of the penalties below, even if he or she does not personally benefit from the violation.
Penalties include:
• | Civil Injunctions; |
• | Treble Damages; |
• | Disgorgement of Profits; |
• | Jail Sentences; |
• | Fines for the person who committed the violation of up to three times the profit gained or loss avoided, whether or not the person actually benefited; and |
• | Fines for the employer or other controlling person of up to the greater of $1,000,000 or three times the amount of the profit gained or loss avoided. |
In addition, any violation of this policy can be expected to result in serious sanctions by BCG, including dismissal of the persons involved.
F. | Procedures to Implement Policy |
The following procedures have been established to aid Access Persons in avoiding insider trading, and to assist BCG in preventing, detecting and imposing sanctions against such conduct. Every Access Person must follow these procedures or risk serious sanctions, including dismissal, substantial personal liability and criminal penalties. Any questions about these procedures should be directed to the CCO. Interpretive issues which arise under these procedures shall be decided by, and are subject to the discretion of the CCO.
Before Access Persons trade for themselves or others in securities of a company about which they have or may have potential inside information, they should ask themselves the following questions:
1. | Is the information material? Is this information that an investor would consider important in making his or her investment decisions? Is this information that would substantially affect the market price of the securities if generally disclosed? |
2. | Is the information non-public? From whom have they received the information? Has this information been communicated by an insider in breach of his or her fiduciary duties? Have they received this information for corporate purposes only by virtue of their position as an insider? Has the information been made available to the general public? |
If, after consideration of the above, Access Persons are unsure whether they may be in violation of the law by disseminating or acting on the information they should:
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1. | Report the matter immediately to the CCO; |
2. | Refrain from the purchase or sale of the securities on behalf of themselves or others; |
3. | Refrain from communicating the information either inside or outside of BCG, other than to the CCO; |
4. | Wait for instructions from the CCO. |
Once the CCO has reviewed the issue, they will be instructed to continue the prohibitions against trading and communication, or they will be allowed to trade and/or communicate the information.
G. | Restrictions on Access to Material Non-Public Information |
Information in the possession of Access Persons which has been identified as material, non-public information disseminated or used for BCG’s business purposes may not be communicated to anyone, including persons within BCG, except as may be required in the performance of duties on behalf of BCG. In addition, care should be taken so that such information is secure. For example, files containing such information should be sealed, and access to computer files containing such information should be restricted by access codes, so that only those persons whose duties for BCG require such information shall have access thereto. Confidential matters, such as the identity of securities which may be purchased or sold by BCG or its Clients, should not be discussed in public places.
Except in the performance of duties for BCG, Access Persons should not use or discuss information as to which securities BCG intends to purchase or sell for its Clients' accounts.
2.3 | Policy on Outside Affiliations |
BCG’s Access Persons are not required to be employed with BCG as their sole and exclusive business. BCG’s Access Persons may have other business interests and may participate in other investments or activities in addition to those relating to the BCG. All other business activities, whether paid or unpaid, must be reported to the CCO.
Each year-end, BCG’s Access Persons will submit to the CCO a BCG Outside Affiliation Attestation Form which documents the nature of any other business activities. The CCO will assess if such outside business activities are required to be disclosed, and is responsible for any disclosures if required. Outside business activities are required to be disclosed if it consumes more than 10% of an individual’s time during trading hours or comprise more than 10% of their income. Outside business activities are also required to be disclosed if they create an inherent conflict of interest.
2.4 | Gifts Policy |
The following provisions on gifts apply to Access Persons:
A. | Accepting Gifts |
On occasion, because of their position with BCG, Access Persons may be offered or may receive, without notice, gifts from Clients, brokers, vendors or other persons. Acceptance of extraordinary or extravagant gifts is prohibited. Any such gifts must be declined and returned in order to protect the reputation and integrity of BCG. Gifts of nominal value (i.e., a gift whose reasonable value, alone or in the aggregate, is not more than $175 in any twelve month period), customary business meals, entertainment (e.g., sporting events), and promotional items (i.e., pens, mugs, T-shirts) may be accepted. All gifts received by an Access Person that might violate this Code must be promptly reported to the CCO.
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B. | Solicitation of Gifts |
Access Persons are prohibited from soliciting gifts of any size under any circumstances.
C. | Giving Gifts |
Access Persons may not give any gift with a value in excess of $175 (per year) to a Client or persons who does business with, regulate, advise or render professional services to BCG.
D. | Gifts Accepted or Given Log |
Each year-end, each Access Person will submit to the CCO a BCG Gifts Accepted or Given Attestation Form which documents gifts accepted or given during the past 12 months. The CCO shall maintain the BCG Gifts Acceptance or Giving Log by recording all gifts received and given. The log contains the following for Acceptance or Giving: Name of employee, Date, Client/Customer Name, Name of Approver, Description, and Value of gift.
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