As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 29, 2019 .
No. 333- 201473
No. 811- 22926
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM N-1A
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 |
[ ] |
Pre-Effective Amendment No. |
[ ] |
Post-Effective Amendment No. 157 |
[ x ] |
and/or |
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REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 |
[ ] |
Amendment No. 159 |
[ x ] |
Innovator ETFs Trust II
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
120 North Hale Street, Suite 200
Wheaton, Illinois 60187
(Address of Principal Executive Office)
Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code: ( 800) 208-5212
H. Bruce Bond
Innovator ETF s Trust II
120 North Hale Street, Suite 200
Wheaton, Illinois 60187
(Name and Address of Agent for Service)
Copy to:
Morrison C. Warren, Esq.
Chapman and Cutler LLP
111 West Monroe Street
Chicago, IL 60603
It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box):
[ ] Immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b) of Rule 485.
[ X ] On August 1, 2019 pursuant to paragraph (b) of Rule 485.
[ ] 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) of Rule 485.
[ ] On (date) pursuant to paragraph (a) of Rule 485.
[ ] 75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485.
[ ] On (date) pursuant to paragraph (a) 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.
Contents of Post-Effective Amendment No. 157
This Registration Statement comprises the following papers and contents:
The Facing Sheet
Part A - Prospectus for Innovator S&P Investment Grade Preferred ETF
Part B - Statement of Additional Information for Innovator S&P Investment Grade Preferred ETF
Part C - Other Information
Signatures
Index to Exhibits
Exhibits
Prospectus
Innovator S&P Investment Grade Preferred ETF
(Cboe BZX — EPRF)
August 1, 2019
Innovator S&P Investment Grade Preferred ETF (the “Fund” ) is a series of Innovator ETFs Trust II (the “Trust” ) and an exchange-traded index fund. The Fund lists and principally trades its shares on Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. ( “ Cboe BZX ” or the “Exchange” ).
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ( “SEC” ) has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Table of Contents
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Summary Information |
1 |
Additional Information About the Fund’s Principal Investment Strategies |
9 |
Fund Investments |
9 |
Additional Risks of Investing in the Fund |
10 |
Management of the Fund |
16 |
How to Buy and Sell Shares |
18 |
Dividends, Distributions and Taxes |
19 |
Distributor |
23 |
Net Asset Value |
23 |
Disclaimers |
24 |
Fund Service Providers |
25 |
Premium/Discount Information |
25 |
Investments by Other Investment Companies |
26 |
Financial Highlights |
27 |
Innovator S&P Investment Grade Preferred ETF
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Investment Objective
The Fund seeks investment results that generally correspond (before fees and expenses) to the price and yield of the S&P U.S. High Quality Preferred Stock Index (the “Index” ).
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund ( “Shares” ). Investors may pay brokerage commissions on their purchases and sales of Shares, which are not reflected in the table or the example below.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees |
0.47% |
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees |
0.00% |
Other Expenses |
0.00% |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
0.47% |
Example
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.
This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell 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 at current levels. This example does not include the brokerage commissions that investors may pay to buy and sell Shares.
|
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, your costs, based on these assumptions, would be: |
$48 |
$151 |
$263 |
$591 |
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it purchases and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover will cause the Fund to incur additional transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, may affect the Fund’s performance. During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 58% of the average value of its portfolio, excluding the value of portfolio securities received or delivered as a result of the Fund’s in-kind creations and redemptions.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund normally invests at least 90% of its total assets in the securities that comprise the Index. The Fund, using an indexing investment approach, attempts to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. The Fund’s investment sub-adviser seeks a correlation of 0.95 or better (before fees and expenses) between the Fund’s performance and the performance of the Index; a figure of 1.00 would represent perfect correlation. S&P Opco LLC (a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices, LLC) ( “S&P” or the “Index Provider” ) compiles, maintains and calculates the Index. Penserra Capital Management LLC ( “Penserra” or the “Sub-Adviser” ) serves as the investment sub-adviser to the Fund.
The Index seeks to measure the performance of U.S.-listed preferred securities possessing quality characteristics pertaining to type of issuance, payment and rating. The Index is composed of all preferred stocks that are constituents of the S&P U.S. Investment Grade Preferred Stock Index (the “Base Index” ). To be eligible for inclusion in the Base Index, a security must be considered investment grade with a credit rating minimum of BBB-/Baa3/BBB- issued by S&P, Moody’s and Fitch, respectively. For an issue rated by all of S&P, Moody’s and Fitch, the lowest of the three ratings is used as the issue’s credit rating. When there are two ratings, the lower of the two ratings must be considered investment grade. When there is only one rating, that rating must be considered investment grade. Defaulted securities are removed at the next Index rebalance and reconstitution. In addition to the credit rating minimum, to be eligible for inclusion in the Base Index, a preferred security must be listed on a qualifying U.S. securities exchange, have a total market capitalization of greater than or equal to $100 million and have traded more than 250,000 shares per month over each of the prior six months. Once included in the Index, a security must maintain a market capitalization of $75 million and have traded more than 125,000 shares per month over each of the prior six months in order to remain eligible. Preferred stocks for which the Index Provider cannot determine an indicated dividend yield are not eligible for inclusion.
Once eligible securities have been selected for inclusion in the Index, the Index assigns an equal weight to each issuer represented by the selected securities. That weight is then equally distributed among that issuer’s component securities. The Index is rebalanced quarterly.
To the extent the Index concentrates ( i.e. , holds 25% or more of its total assets) in the securities of a particular industry or group of industries, the Fund will concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent. As of March 31, 2019, the Fund was concentrated in the financial sector.
Principal Risks
You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s investment objective will be achieved.
Active Markets Risk. Although the Shares are listed for trading on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Shares will develop or be maintained. Shares trade on the Exchange at market prices that may be below, at or above the Fund’s net asset value ( “NAV” ). Securities, including the Shares, are subject to market fluctuations and liquidity constraints that may be caused by such factors as economic, political, or regulatory developments, changes in interest rates, and/or perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of the Fund could decline in value or underperform other investments.
Authorized Participation Concentration Risk. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as authorized participants on an agency basis ( i.e. , on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that authorized participants exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other authorized participant is able to step forward to create or redeem “Creation Units,” Shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to the Fund’s NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting.
Concentration Risk. To the extent that the Index concentrates in the securities of issuers in a particular industry or sector, the Fund will also concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent. The Fund may be susceptible to loss due to adverse occurrences to the extent that the Fund’s investments are concentrated in a particular issuer or issuers, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class.
Cyber Security Risk. The Fund is susceptible to operational risks through breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cyber security breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding, but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks through efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cyber security breaches of the Fund’s third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-adviser, as applicable, or issuers in which the Fund invests, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. While the Fund has established business continuity plans and risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems. Additionally, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber security systems of issuers or third-party service providers.
Financials Sector Risk. Companies in the financial sector, including retail and commercial banks, insurance companies and financial services companies, may be adversely impacted by many factors, including, among others, government regulations, economic conditions, credit rating downgrades, changes in currency exchange rates, volatile interest rates, decreased liquidity in credit markets and competition from new entrants. Profitability of these companies is largely dependent on the availability and cost of capital and can fluctuate significantly when interest rates change. Credit losses resulting from financial difficulties of borrowers also can negatively impact the sector. These companies are also subject to substantial government regulation and intervention, which may adversely impact the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge, the amount of capital they must maintain, and potentially, their size. The impact of more stringent capital requirements, or recent or future regulation in various countries on any individual financial company or of the financial sector as a whole cannot be predicted. The financial sector is also a target for cyberattacks and may experience technology malfunctions and disruptions.
Index Provider Risk. The Fund seeks to achieve returns that generally correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of their Index, as published by their Index Provider. There is no assurance that the Index Provider will compile its Index accurately, or that the Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. While the Index Provider gives descriptions of what the Index is designed to achieve, the Index Provider does not provide any warranty or accept any liability in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in its indices, and it does not guarantee that its Index will be in line with its methodology. Additionally, the Index Provider has a limited history of experience as an index provider or investment adviser for a registered fund, which may create additional risks for investing in the Fund.
Interest Rate Risk. An increase in interest rates may cause the value of securities held by the Fund to decline. Fixed income securities with longer durations tend to be more sensitive to changes in interest rates, making them more volatile than securities with shorter durations or floating or adjustable interest rates. The negative impact on the Fund from potential interest rate increases could be swift and significant, including falling market values, increased redemptions and reduced liquidity. The Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates than would normally be the case due to the current period of historically low rates and the effect of potential government fiscal policy initiatives and resulting market reaction to those initiatives.
Market Maker Risk . If the Fund has lower average daily trading volumes, it may rely on a small number of third party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of Shares. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund’s net asset value and the price at which the Fund’s Shares are trading on the Exchange which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund’s Shares. In addition, decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Funds’ market price. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund Shares trading at a discount to net asset value and also in greater than normal intraday bid-ask spreads for Fund Shares.
Market Risk. Market risks include political, regulatory, market and economic developments, including developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market, which may affect the Fund’s value. Turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers worldwide, which could have an adverse effect on the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit in a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. When you sell your Shares, they could be worth less than what you paid for them.
Non-Correlation Risk. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. Although the Fund currently intends to seek to fully replicate the Index, the Fund may use a representative sampling approach, which may cause the Fund not to be as well-correlated with the return of the Index as would be the case if the Fund purchased all of the securities in the Index in the proportions represented in the Index. In addition, the performance of the Fund and the Index may vary due to asset valuation differences and differences between the Fund’s portfolio and the Index resulting from legal restrictions, cost or liquidity constraints.
Passive Investment Risk. The Fund invests in the securities included in the Index regardless of their investment merit. The Fund does not attempt to outperform the Index or take defensive positions in declining markets, except in connection with the Index’s risk reduction mechanism. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to the Index.
Preferred Securities Risk. Preferred securities combine some of the characteristics of both common stocks and bonds. Preferred securities are typically subordinated to bonds and other debt securities in a company’s capital structure in terms of priority to corporate income, subjecting them to greater credit risk than those debt securities. Generally, holders of preferred securities have no voting rights with respect to the issuing company unless preferred dividends have been in arrears for a specified number of periods, at which time the preferred security holders may obtain limited rights. In certain circumstances, an issuer of preferred securities may defer payment on the securities and, in some cases, redeem the securities prior to a specified date. Preferred securities may also be substantially less liquid than other securities, including common stock.
Premium/Discount Risk. The net asset value of Shares will generally fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. The market prices of Shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with change in net asset value as well as the relative supply of and demand for Shares on the Exchange. The Fund cannot predict whether Shares will trade bellow (discount), at or above (premium) their net asset value. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for Shares will be closely related to, but not identical to, the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time.
Security Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause a security held by the Fund to be more volatile than the market generally. The value of an individual security or particular type of security may be more volatile than the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of the market as a whole.
REIT Risk. REITs typically own and operate income-producing real estate, such as residential or commercial buildings, or real-estate related assets, including mortgages. As a result, investments in REITs are subject to the risks associated with investing in real estate, which may include, but are not limited to: fluctuations in the value of underlying properties; defaults by borrowers or tenants; market saturation; changes in general and local operating expenses; and other economic, political or regulatory occurrences affecting companies in the real estate sector. REITs are also subject to the risk that the real estate market may experience an economic downturn generally, which may have a material effect on the real estate in which the REITs invest and their underlying portfolio securities. REITs may have also a relatively small market capitalization which may result in their shares experiencing less market liquidity and greater price volatility than larger companies.
Small- and/or Mid-Capitalization Companies Risk. Small- and mid-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse general market or economic developments, and their securities may be less liquid and may experience greater price volatility than larger, more established companies as a result of several factors, including narrower markets for their goods and/or services, more limited managerial and financial resources, limited product lines, services, markets, financial resources or are dependent on a small management group. Because these stocks may not be well-known to the investing public, do not have significant institutional ownership and are followed by relatively few security analysts, there will normally be less publicly available information concerning these securities compared to what is available for the securities of larger companies. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, can decrease the value and liquidity of securities held by the Fund resulting in more volatile performance. Accordingly, such companies are generally subject to greater market risk than larger, more established companies.
Trading Issues Risk. Although the Shares are listed for trading on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will develop or be maintained. Further, secondary markets may be subject to irregular trading activity and wide bid-ask spreads (which may be especially pronounced for smaller funds). Trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange’s “circuit breaker” rules. Market makers are under no obligation to make a market in the Fund’s Shares, and authorized participants are not obligated to submit purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. In the event market makers cease making a market in the Fund’s Shares or authorized participants stop submitting purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units, Fund Shares may trade at a larger premium or discount to their net asset value. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. The Fund may have difficulty maintaining its listing on the Exchange in the event the Fund’s assets are small or the Fund does not have enough shareholders.
The Shares will change in value, and you could lose money by investing in the Fund. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective.
Performance
The bar chart and table below illustrate the annual calendar year returns of the Fund based on net asset value as well as the average annual Fund and Index returns. The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year-to-year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual total returns based on net asset value compare to those of the Index and a broad-based market index. The Fund’s performance information is accessible on the Fund’s website at www.innovatoretfs.com.
The Fund’s calendar year-to-date total return based on net value for the period January 1, 2019 to June 30, 2019 was 12.41%.
During the period shown in the chart, the Fund’s highest return in a quarter was 5.29% (quarter ended March 31, 2017) and lowest return in a quarter was (5.48)% (quarter ended December 31, 2018).
The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
Returns before taxes do not reflect the effects of any income or capital gains taxes. All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of any state or local tax. Returns after taxes on distributions reflect the taxed return on the payment of dividends and capital gains.
Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Shares in tax-deferred accounts such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) or employee-sponsored retirement plans.
Management
Investment Adviser
Innovator Capital Management, LLC ( “Innovator” or the “Adviser” )
Investment Sub- Adviser
Penserra Capital Management LLC ( “Penserra” or the “ Sub- Adviser” )
Portfolio Manager s
The following persons serve as the portfolio managers of the Fund.
● |
Dustin Lewellyn |
● |
Ernesto Tong |
● |
Anand Desai |
The portfolio managers are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund and have served in such capacity since April 1, 2018.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund will issue and redeem Shares at NAV only with authorized participants ( “APs” ) that have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor and only in Creation Units (large blocks of 50,000 Shares) or multiples thereof ( “Creation Unit Aggregations” ), in exchange for the deposit or delivery of a basket of securities in which the Fund invests. The Fund may issue and redeem Shares in exchange for cash at a later date but has no current intention of doing so. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the Shares are not redeemable securities of the Fund.
Individual Shares may be purchased and sold only on a national securities exchange through brokers. Shares are expected to be listed for trading on the Exchange and because the Shares will trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at prices greater than NAV (at a premium), at NAV, or less than NAV (at a discount).
Tax Information
The Fund’s distributions will generally be taxable as ordinary income, returns of capital or capital gains. A sale of Shares may result in capital gain or loss.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), Innovator and Foreside Fund Services, LLC, the Fund’s distributor, may pay the intermediary for the sale of Shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict 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.
Additional Information About the Fund’s Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund’s investment objective may be changed by the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board” ) without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ prior written notice. Additionally, the Fund may liquidate and terminate at any time without shareholder approval.
The Fund uses an “indexing” investment approach to attempt to replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Index. The Adviser seeks correlation over time of 0.95 or better between the Fund’s performance and the performance of the Index; a figure of 1.00 would represent perfect correlation. Another means of evaluating the relationship between the returns of the Fund and its Index is to assess the “tracking error” between the two. Tracking error means the variation between the Fund’s annual return and the return of the Index, expressed in terms of standard deviation. The Fund seeks to have a tracking error of less than 5%, measured on a monthly basis over a one-year period by taking the standard deviation of the difference in the Fund’s returns versus the Index’s returns. There is no guarantee that the tracking error will not exceed 5%. The Fund generally invests in all of the securities comprising the Index in proportion to the weightings of the securities in the Index. Under various circumstances, it may not be possible or practicable to purchase all of the securities comprising the Index. In those circumstances, the Fund may purchase a representative sample of securities in the Index.
NON-PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
Securities Lending . The Fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions. In connection with such loans, the Fund receives liquid collateral equal to at least 102% (105% for international securities) of the value of the loaned portfolio securities. This collateral is marked-to-market on a daily basis. To the extent that the Fund receives cash collateral, it will invest such collateral in readily marketable, high quality, short-term obligations.
Fund Investments
Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 90% of its total assets in the securities that comprise the Index.
Principal Investments
Preferred Stock
Preferred stock is a class of equity ownership that has a more senior claim on the earnings and assets of a business than common stock. In the event of liquidation, the holders of preferred stock are generally paid before common stock holders, but after secured debt holders. Preferred stock also generally pays a dividend; this payment may be cumulative, in which any delayed prior payments must also be paid before distributions can be made to the holders of common stock. In addition, preferred stock may not pay a dividend, an issuer may suspend payment of dividends on preferred stock at any time, and in certain situations an issuer may call or redeem its preferred stock or convert it to common stock. Preferred stock is a class of equity ownership that has a more senior claim on the earnings and assets of a business than common stock. In the event of liquidation, the holders of preferred stock must be paid off before common stock holders, but after secured debt holders. Preferred stock also pays a dividend; this payment is usually cumulative, so any delayed prior payments must also be paid before distributions can be made to the holders of common stock. The preferred stocks in which the Fund invests pay dividends at a fixed rate; therefore, a preferred stock’s market price may be sensitive to changes in interest rates in a manner similar to bonds — that is, as interest rates rise, the value of the preferred stock is likely to decline. Many preferred stocks also allow holders to convert the preferred stock into common stock of the issuer; the market price of such preferred stocks may be sensitive to changes in the value of the issuer’s common stock. In addition, the ability of an issuer of preferred stock to pay dividends may deteriorate or the issuer may default ( i.e. , fail to make scheduled dividend payments on the preferred stock or scheduled interest payments on other obligations of the issuer), which would negatively affect the value of any such holding. Dividend payments on a preferred stock typically must be declared by the issuer’s board of directors. An issuer’s board of directors is generally not under any obligation to pay a dividend (even if such dividends have accrued), and may suspend payment of dividends on preferred stock at any time. Preferred stock is also subject to market volatility and the price of preferred stock will fluctuate based on market demand. Preferred stock often has a call feature which allows the issuer to redeem the security at its discretion.
Additional Risks of Investing in the Fund
Risk is inherent in all investing. Investing in the Fund involves risk, including the risk that you may lose all or part of your investment. There can be no assurance that the Fund will meet its stated objective. Before you invest, you should consider the following supplemental disclosure pertaining to the Principal Risks set forth above as well as additional Non-Principal Risks set forth below in this prospectus.
Active Markets Risk. Although the Shares are listed for trading on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Shares will develop or be maintained. Shares trade on the Exchange at market prices that may be below, at or above the Fund’s NAV. Securities, including the Shares, are subject to market fluctuations and liquidity constraints that may be caused by such factors as economic, political, or regulatory developments, changes in interest rates, and/or perceived trends in securities prices. Shares of the Fund could decline in value or underperform other investments.
Authorized Participation Concentration Risk. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as authorized participants on an agency basis ( i.e. , on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that authorized participants exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other authorized participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units, Shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting.
Concentration Risk. In following its methodology, the Index from time to time may be concentrated to a significant degree in securities of issuers located in a single industry or a sector. To the extent that the Index concentrates in the securities of issuers in a particular industry or sector, the Fund will also concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent. By concentrating its investments in an industry or sector, the Fund faces more risks than if it were diversified broadly over numerous industries or sectors. Such industry-based risks, any of which may adversely affect the companies in which the Fund invests, may include, but are not limited to, the following: general economic conditions or cyclical market patterns that could negatively affect supply and demand in a particular industry; competition for resources, adverse labor relations, political or world events; obsolescence of technologies; and increased competition or new product introductions that may affect the profitability or viability of companies in an industry. In addition, at times, such industry or sector may be out of favor and underperform other industries or the market as a whole. Information about the Fund’s exposure to a particular industry is available in the Fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to Shareholders.
Cyber Security Risk. The Fund, Adviser, Sub-Adviser, APs, services providers, Exchange and investment industry as a whole are susceptible to operational, information security and related “cyber” risks both directly and through their service providers. Similar types of cyber security risks are also present for issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause the Fund’s investment in such portfolio companies to lose value. Similarly, cyber security breaches of the Fund’s third-party service providers, such as the Adviser, Sub-Adviser, distributor or other service providers (including, but not limited to, index providers, fund accountants, custodians, transfer agents and administrators), market makers, or the issuers of the securities in which the Fund invests, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. Such cyber security breaches have the ability to cause disruptions and impact business operations, potentially resulting in: financial loss, interference with the Fund’s ability to calculate its NAV, disclosure of confidential trading information, impediments to trading, submission of erroneous trades or erroneous creation or redemption orders, the inability of the Fund or its service providers to transact business, violations of applicable privacy or other laws, regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, or additional compliance costs. In addition, cyber attacks may render records of Fund assets and transactions, shareholder ownership of Shares, and other data integral to the functioning of the Fund inaccessible or inaccurate or incomplete. Unlike many other types of risks faced by the Fund, these risks typically are not covered by insurance. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cyber incidents include, but are not limited to, gaining unauthorized access to digital systems ( e.g. , through “hacking” or malicious software coding) for purposes of misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting data, or causing operational disruption. Cyber attacks may also be carried out in a manner that does not require gaining unauthorized access, such as causing denial-of-service attacks on websites ( i.e. , efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users). The Fund has established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security. However, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber security systems of issuers or third-party service providers. The Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result.
Financials Sector Risk. Companies in the financial sector, including retail and commercial banks, insurance companies and financial services companies, may be adversely impacted by many factors, including, among others, government regulations, economic conditions, credit rating downgrades, changes in currency exchange rates, volatile interest rates, decreased liquidity in credit markets and competition from new entrants. Profitability of these companies is largely dependent on the availability and cost of capital and can fluctuate significantly when interest rates change. Credit losses resulting from financial difficulties of borrowers also can negatively impact the sector. Companies in the financial sector are often subject to extensive governmental regulation and intervention, which may adversely affect the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge and the amount of capital they must maintain. Governmental regulation may change frequently and may have significant adverse consequences for companies in the financial sector, including effects not intended by such regulation. The impact of recent or future regulation in various countries on any individual financial company or on the sector as a whole cannot be predicted. Certain risks may impact the value of investments in the financial sector more severely than those of investments outside this sector, including the risks associated with companies that operate with substantial financial leverage. Companies in the financial sector may also be adversely affected by increases in interest rates and loan losses, decreases in the availability of money or asset valuations, credit rating downgrades and adverse conditions in other related markets. Insurance companies, in particular, may be subject to severe price competition and/or rate regulation, which may have an adverse impact on their profitability. The financial sector is particularly sensitive to fluctuations in interest rates. The financial sector has been subject to increased scrutiny by international regulators and future regulations could be imposed that would have an adverse economic impact on financial companies. Recently, the financial sector has been prone to cyberattacks and technology malfunctions and failures, which have caused losses to financial companies.
Index Provider Risk. The Fund seeks to achieve returns that generally correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of their Index, as published by their Index Provider. There is no assurance that the Index Provider will compile its Index accurately, or that the Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. While the Index Provider gives descriptions of what the Index is designed to achieve, the Index Provider does not provide any warranty or accept any liability in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in its indices, and it does not guarantee that its Index will be in line with its methodology. Errors made by the Index Provider with respect to the quality, accuracy and completeness of the data within the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time, if at all. Therefore, gains, losses or costs associated with Index Provider errors will generally be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.
Interest Rate Risk. An increase in interest rates may cause the value of certain fixed income securities held by the Fund to decline. Many factors can cause interest rates to rise, such as central bank monetary policies, inflation rates, general economic conditions and expectations about the foregoing. Fixed income securities with longer durations tend to be more sensitive to changes in interest rates, making them more volatile than securities with shorter durations or floating or adjustable interest rates. The negative impact on the Fund from potential interest rate increases could be swift and significant, including falling market values, increased redemptions and reduced liquidity. Substantial shareholder redemptions may worsen this impact. An increase in interest rates could also cause principal payments on a fixed income security to be repaid at a slower rate than expected. This risk is particularly prevalent for a callable debt security where an increase in interest rates could cause the issuer of that security to not redeem the security as anticipated on the call date, effectively lengthening the security’s expected maturity, in turn making that security more vulnerable to interest rate risk and reducing its market value. The Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates than would normally be the case due to the current period of historically low rates and the effect of potential government fiscal policy initiatives and resulting market reaction to those initiatives.
Market Maker Risk. If the Fund has lower average daily trading volumes, it may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of Shares. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund’s NAV and the price at which the Shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Shares. In addition, decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. This reduced effectiveness could result in Shares trading at a discount to NAV and also in greater than normal intra-day bid-ask spreads for Shares.
Market Risk. Market risks include political, regulatory, market and economic developments, including developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market, which may affect a Fund’s value. Turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers worldwide, which could have an adverse effect on a Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit in a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. When you sell your Shares, they could be worth less than what you paid for them.
Passive Investment Risk. The Fund is not actively managed. The Fund invests in securities included in its Index regardless of their investment merit. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not utilize an investing strategy that seeks returns in excess of the Index. Therefore, it would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.
Preferred Securities Risk. Preferred securities combine some of the characteristics of both common stocks and bonds. Preferred securities are typically subordinated to bonds and other debt securities in a company’s capital structure in terms of priority to corporate income, subjecting them to greater credit risk than those debt securities. Preferred securities often include provisions that permit the issuer, at its discretion, to defer distributions for a stated period without any adverse consequences to the issuer. If a Fund owns a preferred security that is deferring its distributions, the Fund may be required to report income for federal income tax purposes although it has not yet received such income in cash. Generally, holders of preferred securities have no voting rights with respect to the issuing company unless preferred dividends have been in arrears for a specified number of periods, at which time the preferred security holders may elect a number of directors to the issuer’s board of director. Generally, once the issuer pays all the arrearages, the preferred security holders no longer have voting rights. In certain circumstances, an issuer of preferred securities may redeem the securities prior to a specified date. For instance, for certain types of preferred securities, a redemption may be triggered by a change in federal income tax or securities laws or a change in regulatory trademark. As with redemption provisions of debt securities, a special redemption by the issuer may negatively impact the return of the preferred security held by a Fund. Preferred securities may also be substantially less liquid than other securities, including common stock.
Premium/Discount Risk. The net asset value of Shares will generally fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. The market prices of shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in net asset value as well as the relative supply of and demand for Shares on the Exchange. The Fund cannot predict whether Shares will trade below (discount), at or above (premium) their net asset value. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for Shares will be closely related to, but not identical to, the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time.
REIT Risk. REITs typically own and operate income-producing real estate, such as residential or commercial buildings, or real-estate related assets, including mortgages. As a result, investments in REITs are subject to the risks associated with investing in real estate, which may include, but are not limited to: fluctuations in the value of underlying properties; defaults by borrowers or tenants; market saturation; changes in general and local operating expenses; and other economic, political or regulatory occurrences affecting companies in the real estate sector. Additionally, investing in REITs involves certain other risks related to their structure and focus, which include, but are not limited to, dependency upon management skills, limited diversification, the risks of locating and managing financing for projects, heavy cash flow dependency, possible default by borrowers, the costs and potential losses of self-liquidation of one or more holdings, the risk of a possible lack of mortgage funds and associated interest rate risks, overbuilding, property vacancies, increases in property taxes and operating expenses, changes in zoning laws, losses due to environmental damages, changes in neighborhood values and appeal to purchasers, the possibility of failing to maintain exemptions from registration under the 1940 Act, failure to satisfy the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for maintaining REIT status and, in many cases, relatively small market capitalization, which may result in less market liquidity and greater price volatility for a REIT’s shares. REITs are also subject to the risk that the real estate market may experience an economic downturn generally, which may have a material effect on the real estate in which the REITs invest and their underlying portfolio securities.
Security Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause a security held by the Fund to be more volatile than the market generally. The value of an individual security or particular type of security may be more volatile than the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of the market as a whole.
Small- and/or Mid-Capitalization Companies Risk . Small- and mid-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse general market or economic developments, and their securities may be less liquid and may experience greater price volatility than larger, more established companies as a result of several factors, including narrower markets for their goods and/or services, more limited managerial and financial resources, limited product lines, services, markets, financial resources or are dependent on a small management group. Because these stocks may not be well-known to the investing public, do not have significant institutional ownership and are followed by relatively few security analysts, there will normally be less publicly available information concerning these securities compared to what is available for the securities of larger companies. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, can decrease the value and liquidity of securities held by the Fund resulting in more volatile performance. Accordingly, such companies are generally subject to greater market risk than larger, more established companies.
Trading Issues Risk. Although the shares of the Fund are listed for trading on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will develop or be maintained. Further, secondary markets may be subject to irregular trading activity and wide bid-ask spreads (which may be especially pronounced for smaller funds). Trading in shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange’s “circuit breaker” rules. Market makers are under no obligation to make a market in the Fund’s shares, and authorized participants are not obligated to submit purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. In the event market makers cease making a market in the Fund's shares or authorized participants stop submitting purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units, Fund shares may trade at a larger premium or discount to their net asset value. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. The Fund may have difficulty maintaining its listing on the Exchange in the event the Fund’s assets are small or the Fund does not have enough shareholders.
Non-Principal Risks
Legislation and Litigation Risk. Legislation or litigation that affects the value of securities held by the Fund may reduce the value of the Fund. From time to time, various legislative initiatives are proposed that may have a negative impact on certain securities in which the Fund invests. In addition, litigation regarding any of the securities owned by the Fund may negatively impact the value of the Shares. Such legislation or litigation may cause the Fund to lose value or may result in higher portfolio turnover if the Adviser determines to sell such a holding.
Limitations of Intraday Indicative Value Risk. The Exchange intends to disseminate the approximate per share value of the Fund’s published basket of portfolio securities every 15 seconds (the ‘‘intraday indicative value’’ or ‘‘IIV’’ ). The IIV should not be viewed as a ‘‘real-time’’ update of the NAV per Share because (i) the IIV may not be calculated in the same manner as the NAV, which is computed once a day, generally at the end of the business day, (ii) the calculation of NAV may be subject to fair valuation at different prices than those used in the calculations of the IIV, (iii) unlike the calculation of NAV, the IIV does not take into account Fund expenses, and (iv) the IIV is based on the published basket of portfolio securities and not on the Fund’s actual holdings. The IIV calculations are based on local market prices and may not reflect events that occur subsequent to the local market’s close, which could affect premiums and discounts between the IIV and the market price of the Shares. The Fund, Adviser and Sub-Adviser are not involved in, or responsible for, any aspect of the calculation or dissemination of the IIV and do not make any warranty as to the accuracy of these calculations.
Liquidity Risk. The Fund may hold certain investments that may be subject to restrictions on resale, trade over-the-counter or in limited volume, or lack an active trading market. Accordingly, the Fund may not be able to sell or close out of such investments at favorable times or prices (or at all), or at prices approximating those at which the Fund currently values them. Illiquid securities may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments and may be subject to wide fluctuations in market value.
Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. Although the Fund and the Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
Securities Lending Risk. Securities lending involves a risk of loss because the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. If the Fund were unable to recover the securities loaned, it may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement security in the market. Lending securities entails a risk of loss to the Fund if and to the extent that the market value of the loaned securities increases and the collateral is not increased accordingly. Any cash received as collateral for loaned securities will be invested in readily marketable, high quality, short-term obligations. This investment is subject to market appreciation or depreciation and the Fund will bear any loss on the investment of its cash collateral.
Management of the Fund
The Fund is a series of Innovator ETFs Trust II, an investment company registered under the 1940 Act. The Fund is treated as a separate fund with its own investment objectives and policies. The Trust is organized as a Massachusetts business trust. The Board is responsible for the overall management and direction of the Trust. The Board elects the Trust’s officers and approves all significant agreements, including those with the Adviser, Sub-Adviser, custodian and fund administrative and accounting agent.
Investment Adviser
Innovator Capital Management, LLC, 120 North Hale Street, Suite 200, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, serves as the Fund’s investment adviser. In its capacity as Adviser to the Fund, Innovator has overall responsibility for selecting and monitoring the Fund’s investments and managing the Fund’s business affairs.
Investment Sub- Adviser
Penserra Capital Management LLC, 140 Broadway, 26th Floor, New York, NY 10005, serves as the Fund’s investment sub-adviser. Penserra has responsibility for managing the Fund’s investment program in pursuit of its investment objective.
Portfolio Manager s
Dustin Lewellyn, CFA . Mr. Lewellyn has been Chief Investment Officer with Penserra since 2012. He was President and Founder of Golden Gate Investment Consulting LLC from 2011 through 2015. Prior to that, Mr. Lewellyn was a managing director at Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. ( “CSIM” ), which he joined in 2009, and head of portfolio management for Schwab ETFs. Prior to joining CSIM, he worked for two years as director of ETF product management and development at a major financial institution focused on asset and wealth management. Prior to that, he was a portfolio manager for institutional clients at a financial services firm for three years. In addition, he held roles in portfolio operations and product management at a large asset management firm for more than 6 years.
Ernesto Tong, CFA . Mr. Tong has been a Managing Director with Penserra since 2015. Prior to that, Mr. Tong spent seven years a vice president at Blackrock, where he was a portfolio manager for a number of the iShares ETFs, and prior to that, he spent two years in the firm’s index research group.
Anand Desai . Mr. Desai has been an Associate with Penserra since 2015. Prior to that, Mr. Desai was a portfolio fund accountant at State Street for five years.
For additional information concerning Innovator and Penserra, including a description of the services provided to the Fund, please see the Fund’s statement of additional information. Additional information regarding the portfolio manager’s compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and the portfolio managers’ ownership of Shares may also be found in the statement of additional information.
Management F ee
Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement between Innovator and the Trust, on behalf of the Fund (the “Investment Management Agreement” ), the Fund has agreed to pay an annual management fee to Innovator in an amount equal to 0.47% of its average daily net assets. This management fee is designed to compensate Innovator for the services it provides to the Fund.
Pursuant to an investment sub-advisory agreement between Innovator, Penserra and the Trust, on behalf of the Fund (the “Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement” ), Innovator has agreed to pay an annual sub-advisory fee to Penserra in an amount based on the Fund’s average daily net assets. Innovator is responsible for paying the entirety of Penserra’s sub-advisory fee. The Fund does not directly pay Penserra.
A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of the Investment Management Agreement and Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement appears in the Fund’s Annual Report to Shareholders dated March 31, 2019.
How to Buy and Sell Shares
The Fund issues or redeems its Shares at NAV per Share only in Creation Units. Most investors will buy and sell Shares in secondary market transactions through brokers. Shares will be listed for trading on the secondary market on the Exchange. Shares can be bought and sold throughout the trading day like other publicly traded shares. Share prices are reported in dollars and cents per Share. There is no minimum investment. When buying or selling Shares through a broker, you will incur customary brokerage commissions and charges, and you may pay some or all of the spread between the bid and the offered price in the secondary market on each leg of a round trip (purchase and sale) transaction. Because Shares trade at market price rather than NAV, an investor may pay more than NAV when purchasing Shares and receive less than NAV when selling Shares.
APs may acquire Shares directly from the Fund, and APs may tender their Shares for redemption directly to the Fund, at NAV per Share only in Creation Units or Creation Unit Aggregations, and in accordance with the procedures described in the SAI.
Book Entry
Shares are held in book-entry form, which means that no stock certificates are issued. The Depository Trust Company ( “DTC” ) or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding Shares and is recognized as the owner of all Shares for all purposes.
Investors owning Shares are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. DTC serves as the securities depository for all Shares. Participants in DTC include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other institutions that directly or indirectly maintain a custodial relationship with DTC. As a beneficial owner of Shares, you are not entitled to receive physical delivery of stock certificates or to have Shares registered in your name, and you are not considered a registered owner of Shares. Therefore, to exercise any right as an owner of Shares, you must rely upon the procedures of DTC and its participants. These procedures are the same as those that apply to any other stocks that you hold in book entry or “street name” form.
Fund Share Trading Prices
The trading prices of Shares on the Exchange may differ from the Fund’s daily NAV. Market forces of supply and demand, economic conditions and other factors may affect the trading prices of Shares.
The approximate value of Shares, an amount representing on a per Share basis the sum of the current market price of the securities accepted by the Fund in exchange for Shares and an estimated cash component, will be disseminated every 15 seconds throughout the trading day through the facilities of the Consolidated Tape Association. This approximate value should not be viewed as a “real-time” update of the NAV per Share of the Fund because the approximate value may not be calculated in the same manner as the NAV, which is computed once a day, generally at the end of the business day. The Fund is not involved in, or responsible for, the calculation or dissemination of the approximate value and the Fund does not make any warranty as to its accuracy.
Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Fund Shares
Shares may be purchased and redeemed directly from the Fund only in Creation Units by APs that have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor. The vast majority of trading in Shares occurs on the secondary market and does not involve the Fund directly. In-kind purchases and redemptions of Creation Units by APs and cash trades on the secondary market are unlikely to cause many of the harmful effects of frequent purchases and/or redemptions of Shares. Cash purchases and/or redemptions of Creation Units, however, can result in increased tracking error, disruption of portfolio management, dilution to the Fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objectives, and may lead to the realization of capital gains. These consequences may increase as the frequency of cash purchases and redemptions of Creation Units by APs increases. However, direct trading by APs is critical to ensuring that Shares trade at or close to NAV.
To minimize these potential consequences of frequent purchases and redemptions of Shares, the Fund imposes transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units to cover the custodial and other costs the Fund incurs in effecting trades. In addition, the Fund reserves the right to not accept orders from APs that Innovator has determined may be disruptive to the management of the Fund or otherwise are not in the best interests of the Fund. For these reasons, the Board has not adopted policies and procedures with respect to frequent purchases and redemptions of Shares.
Dividends, Distributions and Taxes
The Fund expects to declare and distribute all of its net investment income and its net realized capital gains, if any, at least annually. The Fund may distribute such income dividends and capital gains more frequently, if necessary, in order to reduce or eliminate federal excise or income taxes on the Fund. The amount of any distribution will vary, and there is no guarantee the Fund will pay either an income dividend or a capital gains distribution. Distributions may be reinvested automatically in additional whole Shares only if the broker through whom you purchased Shares makes such option available.
Taxes
This section summarizes some of the main U.S. federal income tax consequences of owning Shares of the Fund. This section is current as of the date of this prospectus. Tax laws and interpretations change frequently, and these summaries do not describe all of the tax consequences to all taxpayers. For example, these summaries generally do not describe your situation if you are a corporation, a non-U.S. person, a broker dealer, or other investor with special circumstances. In addition, this section does not describe your state, local or non-U.S. tax consequences.
This federal income tax summary is based in part on the advice of counsel to the Fund. The Internal Revenue Service could disagree with any conclusions set forth in this section. In addition, counsel to the Fund was not asked to review, and has not reached a conclusion with respect to, the federal income tax treatment of the assets to be included in the Fund. This may not be sufficient for you to use for the purpose of avoiding penalties under federal tax law.
As with any investment, you should seek advice based on your individual circumstances from your own tax advisor.
The Fund intends to continue qualify as a “regulated investment company” under the federal tax laws. If the Fund qualifies as a regulated investment company and distributes its income as required by the tax law, the Fund generally will not pay federal income taxes.
Unless your investment in Shares is made through a tax-exempt entity or tax-deferred retirement account, such as an IRA plan, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when:
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Your Fund makes distributions, |
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You sell your Shares listed on the Exchange, and |
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You purchase or redeem Creation Units. |
Taxes on Distributions
The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable. After the end of each year, you will receive a tax statement that separates the distributions of the Fund into two categories, ordinary income distributions and capital gain dividends. Ordinary income distributions are generally taxed at your ordinary tax rate; however, as further discussed below, certain ordinary income distributions received from the Fund may be taxed at the capital gains tax rates. Generally, you will treat all capital gain dividends as long-term capital gains regardless of how long you have owned your Shares. To determine your actual tax liability for your capital gain dividends, you must calculate your total net capital gain or loss for the tax year after considering all of your other taxable transactions, as described below. In addition, the Fund may make distributions that represent a return of capital for tax purposes and thus will generally not be taxable to you; however, such distributions may reduce your tax basis in your Shares, which could result in you having to pay higher taxes in the future when Shares are sold, even if you sell the Shares at a loss from your original investment. The tax status of your distributions from the Fund is not affected by whether you reinvest your distributions in additional Shares or receive them in cash. The income from the Fund that you must take into account for federal income tax purposes is not reduced by amounts used to pay a deferred sales fee, if any. The tax laws may require you to treat distributions made to you in January as if you had received them on December 31 of the previous year.
Income from the Fund may also be subject to a 3.8% “Medicare tax.” This tax generally applies to your net investment income if your adjusted gross income exceeds certain threshold amounts, which are $250,000 in the case of married couples filing joint returns and $200,000 in the case of single individuals.
A corporation that owns Shares generally will not be entitled to the dividends received deduction with respect to many dividends received from the Fund because the dividends received deduction is generally not available for distributions from regulated investment companies. However, certain ordinary income dividends on Shares that are attributable to qualifying dividends received by the Fund from certain corporations may be reported by the Fund as being eligible for the dividends received deduction.
If you are an individual, the maximum marginal stated federal tax rate for net capital gain is generally 20% (15% or 0% for taxpayers with taxable incomes below certain thresholds). Some portion of your capital gain dividends may be taxed at a higher maximum stated tax rate. Capital gains may also be subject to the Medicare tax described above.
Net capital gain equals net long-term capital gain minus net short-term capital loss for the taxable year. Capital gain or loss is long-term if the holding period for the asset is more than one year and is short-term if the holding period for the asset is one year or less. You must exclude the date you purchase your Shares to determine your holding period. However, if you receive a capital gain dividend from the Fund and sell your Share at a loss after holding it for six months or less, the loss will be recharacterized as long-term capital loss to the extent of the capital gain dividend received. The tax rates for capital gains realized from assets held for one year or less are generally the same as for ordinary income. The Code treats certain capital gains as ordinary income in special situations.
Ordinary income dividends received by an individual shareholder from a regulated investment company such as the Fund are generally taxed at the same rates that apply to net capital gain (as discussed above), provided certain holding period requirements are satisfied and provided the dividends are attributable to qualifying dividends received by the Fund itself. The Fund will provide notice to its shareholders of the amount of any distribution which may be taken into account as a dividend which is eligible for the capital gains tax rates.
Taxes on Exchange Listed Shares
If you sell or redeem your Shares, you will generally recognize a taxable gain or loss. To determine the amount of this gain or loss, you must subtract your tax basis in your Shares from the amount you receive in the transaction. Your tax basis in your Shares is generally equal to the cost of your Shares, generally including sales charges. In some cases, however, you may have to adjust your tax basis after you purchase your Shares.
Taxes on Purchases and Redemptions of Creation Units
If you exchange securities for Creation Units you will generally recognize a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time and your aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and the cash component paid. If you exchange Creation Units for securities, you will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between your basis in the Creation Units and the aggregate market value of the securities received and any cash redemption amount. The Internal Revenue Service, however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units or Creation Units for securities cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position.
Treatment of Fund Expenses
Expenses incurred and deducted by the Fund will generally not be treated as income taxable to you.
Non-U.S. Tax Credit
If the Fund invests in non-U.S. securities, the tax statement that you receive may include an item showing non-U.S. taxes the Fund paid to other countries. In this case, dividends taxed to you will include your share of the taxes the Fund paid to other countries. You may be able to deduct or receive a tax credit for your share of these taxes.
Non-U.S. Investors
If you are a non-U.S. investor ( i.e., an investor other than a U.S. citizen or resident or a U.S. corporation, partnership, estate or trust), you should be aware that, generally, subject to applicable tax treaties, distributions from the Fund will be characterized as dividends for federal income tax purposes (other than dividends which the Fund properly reports as capital gain dividends) and will be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes, subject to certain exceptions described below. However, distributions received by a non-U.S. investor from the Fund that are properly reported by the Fund as capital gain dividends may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes, provided that the Fund makes certain elections and certain other conditions are met. Distributions from the Fund that are properly reported by the Fund as an interest-related dividend attributable to certain interest income received by the Fund or as a short-term capital gain dividend attributable to certain net short-term capital gain income received by the Fund may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes when received by certain non-U.S. investors, provided that the Fund makes certain elections and certain other conditions are met.
Distributions may be subject to a U.S. withholding tax of 30% in the case of distributions to (i) certain non-U.S. financial institutions that have not entered into an agreement with the U.S. Treasury to collect and disclose certain information and are not resident in a jurisdiction that has entered into such an agreement with the U.S. Treasury and (ii) certain other non-U.S. entities that do not provide certain certifications and information about the entity’s U.S. owners. Dispositions of Shares by such persons may be subject to such withholding after December 31, 2018.
Investments in Certain Non-U.S. Corporations
If the Fund holds an equity interest in any “passive foreign investment companies” ( “PFICs” ), which are generally certain non-U.S. corporations that receive at least 75% of their annual gross income from passive sources (such as interest, dividends, certain rents and royalties or capital gains) or that hold at least 50% of their assets in investments producing such passive income, the Fund could be subject to U.S. federal income tax and additional interest charges on gains and certain distributions with respect to those equity interests, even if all the income or gain is timely distributed to its shareholders. The Fund will not be able to pass through to its shareholders any credit or deduction for such taxes. The Fund may be able to make an election that could ameliorate these adverse tax consequences. In this case, the Fund would recognize as ordinary income any increase in the value of such PFIC shares, and as ordinary loss any decrease in such value to the extent it did not exceed prior increases included in income. Under this election, the Fund might be required to recognize in a year income in excess of its distributions from PFICs and its proceeds from dispositions of PFIC stock during that year, and such income would nevertheless be subject to the distribution requirement and would be taken into account for purposes of the 4% excise tax. Dividends paid by PFICs are not treated as qualified dividend income.
The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the possible consequences under current federal tax law of an investment in the Fund. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. You also may be subject to state and local tax on Fund distributions and sales of Shares.
Consult your personal tax advisor about the potential tax consequences of an investment in Shares under all applicable tax laws. See “Distributions and Taxes” in the statement of additional information for more information.
Distributor
Foreside Fund Services, LLC (the “Distributor ”) serves as the distributor of Creation Units for the Fund on an agency basis. The Distributor does not maintain a secondary market in the Shares.
Net Asset Value
The Fund’s administrator calculates the Fund’s NAV at the close of regular trading (ordinarily 4:00 p.m. E.S.T.) every day the New York Stock Exchange is open. The NAV for one Share is the value of that Share’s portion of all of the net assets of the Fund. In calculating NAV, the Fund generally values its investment portfolio at market price. If market prices are not readily available or the Fund reasonably believes that they are unreliable, such as in the case of a security value that has been materially affected by events occurring after the relevant market closes, the Fund is required to price those securities at fair value as determined in good faith using methods approved by the Board. The Fund’s determination of a security’s fair value price often involves the consideration of a number of subjective factors, and is therefore subject to the unavoidable risk that the value that the Fund assigns to a security may be higher or lower than the security’s value would be if a reliable market quotation for the security was readily available.
Although the Fund invests primarily in the stocks of U.S. companies that are traded on U.S. exchanges, there may be limited circumstances in which the Fund would price securities at fair value. For example, if the exchange on which a portfolio security is principally-traded closed early or if trading in a particular security was halted during the day and did not resume prior to the time the Fund calculated its NAV the Fund may price the security at fair value.
With respect to any non-U.S. securities held by the Fund, the Fund may take factors influencing specific markets or issuers into consideration in determining the fair value of a non-U.S. security. International securities markets may be open on days when the U.S. markets are closed. In such cases, the value of any international securities owned by the Fund may be significantly affected on days when investors cannot buy or sell Shares. In addition, due to the difference in times between the close of the international markets and the time the Fund prices its Shares, the value the Fund assigns to securities generally will not be the same as the quoted or published prices of those securities on their primary markets or exchanges. In determining fair value prices, the Fund may consider the performance of securities on their primary exchanges, foreign currency appreciation/depreciation, securities market movements in the U.S., or other relevant information as related to the securities.
Disclaimers
Innovator does not guarantee the accuracy and/or the completeness of the Index or any data included therein, and Innovator shall have no liability for any errors, omissions, restatements, re-calculations or interruptions therein. Innovator makes no warranty, express or implied, as to results to be obtained by the Fund, owners of the Shares any other person or entity from the use of the Index or any data included therein. Innovator makes no express or implied warranties, and expressly disclaims all warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or use with respect to the Index or any data included therein. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall Innovator have any liability for any special, punitive, direct, indirect or consequential damages (including lost profits) arising out of matters relating to the use of the Index even if notified of the possibility of such damages.
Standard & Poor’s ® and S&P ® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC ( “S&P” ) and Dow Jones ® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC ( “Dow Jones” ). The trademarks have been licensed to S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and its affiliates and have been sublicensed for use for certain purposes by Innovator. The Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and/or its affiliates and has been licensed for use by Innovator. Innovator’s products are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, Dow Jones, S&P, any of their respective affiliates or third-party licensors (collectively, “S&P Dow Jones Indices” ). S&P Dow Jones Indices make no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Innovator’s products or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in Innovator’s products particularly or the ability of the Index to track general market performance. S&P Dow Jones Indices’ only relationship to Innovator with respect to the Index is the licensing of the Index and certain trademarks, service marks and/or trade names of S&P Dow Jones Indices. The Index is determined, composed and calculated by S&P Dow Jones Indices without regard to Innovator or Innovator’s products. S&P Dow Jones Indices have no obligation to take the needs of Innovator or the owners of Innovator’s products into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Index. S&P Dow Jones Indices are not responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the prices, and amount of Innovator’s products or the timing of the issuance or sale of Innovator’s products or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which Innovator’s products is to be converted into cash. S&P Dow Jones Indices have no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of Innovator’s products. There is no assurance that investment products based on the Index will accurately track index performance or provide positive investment returns. S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and its subsidiaries are not investment advisers. Inclusion of a security within an index is not a recommendation by S&P Dow Jones Indices to buy, sell, or hold such security, nor is it considered to be investment advice.
S&P DOW JONES INDICES DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ADEQUACY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE INDEX OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO OR ANY COMMUNICATION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ORAL OR WRITTEN COMMUNICATION (INCLUDING ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS) WITH RESPECT THERETO. S&P DOW JONES INDICES SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO ANY DAMAGES OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR DELAYS THEREIN. S&P DOW JONES INDICES MAKE NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE OR AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY THE ADVISER, OWNERS OF THE ADVISER’S PRODUCTS, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE INDEX OR WITH RESPECT TO ANY DATA RELATED THERETO. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT WHATSOEVER SHALL S&P DOW JONES INDICES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF PROFITS, TRADING LOSSES, LOST TIME OR GOODWILL, EVEN IF THEY HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. THERE ARE NO THIRD-PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN S&P DOW JONES INDICES AND THE ADVISER, OTHER THAN THE LICENSORS OF S&P DOW JONES INDICES.
Fund Service Providers
US Bancorp Fund Services LLC, doing business as U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, is the administrator and transfer agent for the Trust. U.S. Bank, N.A. serves as the custodian for the Trust.
Chapman and Cutler LLP serves as legal counsel to the Trust.
Cohen & Company, Ltd. serves as the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm and is responsible for auditing the annual financial statements of the Trust. Prior to June 20, 2018, another independent registered public accounting firm served as the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm. Financial statements dated prior to June 20, 2018, were audited by another independent registered accounting firm and not Cohen & Company, Ltd.
Premium/Discount Information
The market prices of the Shares generally will fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV, as well as the relative supply of and demand for Shares on the Exchange. Innovator cannot predict whether the Shares will trade below, at or above their NAV. The approximate value of the Shares, which is an amount representing on a per share basis the sum of the current market price of the securities (and an estimated cash component) accepted by the Fund in exchange for Shares, will be disseminated every 15 seconds throughout the trading day through the facilities of the Consolidated Tape Association. This approximate value should not be viewed as a “real-time” update of the NAV per Share of the Fund because the approximate value may not be calculated in the same manner as the NAV, which is computed once a day, generally at the end of the business day. The Fund is not involved with, or responsible for, the calculation or dissemination of the approximate value, and the Fund does not make any warranty as to its accuracy.
Information regarding how often the Shares traded on the Exchange at a price above (at a premium) or below (at a discount) the NAV of the Fund during the past four calendar quarters, when available, will be found at www.innovatoretfs.com.
Investments by Other Investment Companies
For purposes of the 1940 Act, the Fund is treated as a registered investment company, and the acquisition of Shares by other registered investment companies is subject to the restrictions of Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act. The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, has received an exemptive order from the Securities and Exchange Commission that permits certain registered investment companies to invest in the Fund beyond the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1), subject to certain terms and conditions, including that any such investment companies enter into an agreement with the Fund regarding the terms of any investment.
Financial Highlights
The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the Fund’s financial performance for the period of the Fund’s operations. Certain information reflects financial results for a single Share. The total return in the table represents the rate than an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). This information has been derived from the Fund’s financial statements, which have been audited by Cohen & Company, Ltd., the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with financial information and additional Fund performance and portfolio information appears in the Fund’s Annual Report to Shareholders dated March 31, 2019, which is available at www.innovatoretfs.com. Information for the fiscal periods ended March 31, 2017 and March 31, 2018 was audited by a former independent registered public accounting firm.
Year
|
Year
|
Period
|
||||||||||
Per Share Operating Performance (For a share outstanding throughout each period) |
||||||||||||
Net Asset Value, Beginning of Period |
$ | 23.38 | $ | 24.06 | $ | 25.07 | ||||||
Investment Operations: |
||||||||||||
Net investment income/(loss) (2) |
1.18 | 1.29 | 1.21 | |||||||||
Net realized and unrealized gain/(loss) |
(0.18 | ) | (0.57 | ) | (1.17 | ) | ||||||
Total from Investment Operations |
1.00 | 0.72 | 0.04 | |||||||||
Distributions Paid to Shareholders: |
||||||||||||
Distributions paid from net investment income |
(1.20 | ) | (1.36 | ) | (1.05 | ) | ||||||
Distributions paid from return of capital |
– | (0.04 | ) | – | ||||||||
Total Distributions Paid |
(1.20 | ) | (1.40 | ) | (1.05 | ) | ||||||
Change in Net Asset Value for the Period |
(0.20 | ) | (0.68 | ) | (1.01 | ) | ||||||
Net Asset Value, End of Period |
$ | 23.18 | $ | 23.38 | $ | 24.06 | ||||||
Total Return |
4.54 | % | 2.98 | % | 0.18 | % (3) | ||||||
Ratios/Supplemental Data: |
||||||||||||
Net assets, end of period (000) |
$ | 13,911 | $ | 19,870 | $ | 12,030 | ||||||
Ratio of expenses to average net assets |
0.47 | % | 0.47 | % | 0.48 | % (4)(5) | ||||||
Ratio of net investment income/(loss) to average net assets |
5.12 | % | 5.39 | % | 5.86 | % (4) | ||||||
Portfolio turnover rate(6) |
58 | % | 67 | % | 171 | % (3) |
(1) |
Since Commencement of Operations on May 23, 2016. |
(2) |
Net investment income/loss per share has been calculated on average shares outstanding during the period. |
(3) |
Not annualized. |
(4) |
Annualized. |
(5) |
The ratio of net expenses to average net assets includes tax expense of 0.01%. |
(6) |
Excludes in-kind transactions associated with creations and redemptions of the Fund. |
Innovator S&P Investment Grade Preferred ETF
For more detailed information on the Fund, several additional sources of information are available to you. The Statement of Additional Information, incorporated by reference into this Prospectus, contains detailed information on the Fund’s policies and operation. Additional information about the Fund’s investments is available in the annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. In the Fund’s annual reports, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly impacted the Fund’s performance during the last fiscal year. The Fund’s most recent Statement of Additional Information, annual or semi-annual reports and certain other information are available free of charge by calling the Fund at (800) 208-5212, on the Fund’s website at www.innovatoretfs.com or through your financial advisor. Shareholders may call the toll-free number above with any inquiries.
You may obtain this and other information regarding the Fund, including the Statement of Additional Information and Codes of Ethics adopted by the Adviser, Sub-Adviser, Distributor and the Trust, directly from the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” ). Information on the SEC’s website is free of charge. Visit the SEC’s on-line EDGAR database at http://www.sec.gov or in person at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C., or call the SEC at (202) 551-8090 for information on the Public Reference Room. You may also request information regarding the Fund by sending a request (along with a duplication fee) to the SEC’s Public Reference Section, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549-1520 or by sending an electronic request to publicinfo@sec.gov.
Innovator Capital Management, LLC
|
SEC File #: 333-201473
|
Statement of Additional Information
Investment Company Act File No. 811-22926
INNOVATOR ETFs TRUST II
Fund Name |
Ticker Symbol |
Exchange |
Innovator S&P Investment Grade Preferred ETF |
EPRF |
Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. |
Dated August 1, 2019
This Statement of Additional Information ( “SAI” ) is not a prospectus. It should be read in conjunction with the prospectus dated August 1, 2019, as it may be revised from time to time (the “Prospectus” ), for the Innovator S&P Investment Grade Preferred ETF (the “Fund” ), a series of the Innovator ETFs Trust II (the “Trust” ). Capitalized terms used herein that are not defined have the same meanings as in the Prospectus, unless otherwise noted. A copy of the Prospectus may be obtained without charge by writing to the Trust’s distributor, Foreside Fund Services, LLC, Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101, or by calling toll free at 1-844-355-3837.
Table of Contents
General Description of the Trust and the Fund |
1 |
Exchange Listing and Trading |
3 |
Investment Objective and Policies |
4 |
Investment Strategies |
6 |
Sublicense Agreement |
8 |
Investment Risks |
9 |
Management of the Fund |
12 |
Accounts Managed by the Portfolio Managers |
21 |
Brokerage Allocations |
22 |
Administrator, Fund Accountant, Custodian, Transfer Agent, Dividend Agent, Securities Lending Agent, Distributor, Index Provider and Exchange |
24 |
Additional Information |
28 |
Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures |
30 |
Creation and Redemption of Creation Unit Aggregations |
32 |
Federal Tax Matters |
38 |
Determination of Net Asset Value |
45 |
Dividends and Distributions |
46 |
Miscellaneous Information |
47 |
Financial Statements |
47 |
Exhibit A – Proxy Voting Guidelines |
A-1 |
Exhibit B – Principal Holders Table |
B-1 |
General Description of the Trust and the Fund
The Trust was organized as a Massachusetts business trust on December 17, 2013 and is authorized to issue an unlimited number of shares in one or more series. On April 10, 2018, the Trust changed its name from “Elkhorn ETF Trust” to “Innovator ETFs Trust II.” The Trust is an open-end management investment company, registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act” ). The Trust currently offers shares in two series, including the Fund, a diversified series.
This SAI relates to the Fund. The Fund, as a series of the Trust, represents a beneficial interest in a separate portfolio of securities and other assets, with its own objective and policies. On April 10, 2018, the Fund’s name changed from “Elkhorn S&P High Quality Preferred ETF” to “Innovator S&P High Quality Preferred ETF.” On July 16, 2018, the Fund’s name changed from “Innovator S&P High Quality Preferred ETF” to “Innovator S&P Investment Grade Preferred ETF.”
The Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board of Trustees” or the “Trustees” ) has the right to establish additional series in the future, to determine the preferences, voting powers, rights and privileges thereof and to modify such preferences, voting powers, rights and privileges without shareholder approval. Shares of any series may also be divided into one or more classes at the discretion of the Trustees.
The Trust or any series or class thereof may be terminated at any time by the Board of Trustees upon written notice to the shareholders.
Each share has one vote with respect to matters upon which a shareholder vote is required, consistent with the requirements of the 1940 Act and the rules promulgated thereunder. Shares of all series of the Trust vote together as a single class except as otherwise required by the 1940 Act, or if the matter being voted on affects only a particular series; and, if a matter affects a particular series differently from other series, the shares of that series will vote separately on such matter. The Trust’s Declaration of Trust (the “Declaration” ) requires a shareholder vote only on those matters where the 1940 Act requires a vote of shareholders and otherwise permits the Trustees to take actions without seeking the consent of shareholders. For example, the Declaration gives the Trustees broad authority to approve reorganizations between the Fund and another entity, such as another exchange-traded fund, or the sale of all or substantially all of the Fund’s assets, or the termination of the Trust or the Fund without shareholder approval if the 1940 Act would not require such approval.
The Declaration provides that by becoming a shareholder of the Fund, each shareholder shall be expressly held to have agreed to be bound by the provisions of the Declaration. The Declaration may, except in limited circumstances, be amended by the Trustees in any respect without a shareholder vote. The Declaration provides that the Trustees may establish the number of Trustees and that vacancies on the Board of Trustees may be filled by the remaining Trustees, except when election of Trustees by the shareholders is required under the 1940 Act. Trustees are then elected by a plurality of votes cast by shareholders at a meeting at which a quorum is present. The Declaration also provides that Trustees may be removed, with or without cause, by a vote of shareholders holding at least two-thirds of the voting power of the Trust, or by a vote of two-thirds of the remaining Trustees. The provisions of the Declaration relating to the election and removal of Trustees may not be amended without the approval of two-thirds of the Trustees.
The holders of Fund shares are required to disclose information on direct or indirect ownership of Fund shares as may be required to comply with various laws applicable to the Fund or as the Trustees may determine, and ownership of Fund shares may be disclosed by the Fund if so required by law or regulation. In addition, pursuant to the Declaration, the Trustees may, in their discretion, require the Trust to redeem shares held by any shareholder for any reason under terms set by the Trustees. The Declaration provides a detailed process for the bringing of derivative actions by shareholders in order to permit legitimate inquiries and claims while avoiding the time, expense, distraction and other harm that can be caused to the Fund or its shareholders as a result of spurious shareholder demands and derivative actions. Prior to bringing a derivative action, a demand must first be made on the Trustees. The Declaration details various information, certifications, undertakings and acknowledgements that must be included in the demand. Following receipt of the demand, the Trustees have a period of 90 days, which may be extended by an additional 60 days, to consider the demand. If a majority of the Trustees who are considered independent for the purposes of considering the demand determine that maintaining the suit would not be in the best interests of the Fund, the Trustees are required to reject the demand and the complaining shareholder may not proceed with the derivative action unless the shareholder is able to sustain the burden of proof to a court that the decision of the Trustees not to pursue the requested action was not a good faith exercise of their business judgment on behalf of the Fund. In making such a determination, a Trustee is not considered to have a personal financial interest by virtue of being compensated for his or her services as a Trustee. If a demand is rejected, the complaining shareholder will be responsible for the costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by the Fund in connection with the consideration of the demand under a number of circumstances. If a derivative action is brought in violation of the Declaration, the shareholder bringing the action may be responsible for the Fund’s costs, including attorneys’ fees. The Declaration also provides that any shareholder bringing an action against the Fund waives the right to trial by jury to the fullest extent permitted by law.
The Trust is not required to and does not intend to hold annual meetings of shareholders.
Under Massachusetts law applicable to Massachusetts business trusts, shareholders of such a trust may, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable as partners for its obligations. However, the Declaration contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for acts or obligations of the Trust and requires that notice of this disclaimer be given in each agreement, obligation or instrument entered into or executed by the Trust or the Trustees. The Declaration further provides for indemnification out of the assets and property of the Trust for all losses and expenses of any shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the Trust. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which both inadequate insurance existed and the Trust or the Fund itself was unable to meet its obligations.
The Declaration further provides that a Trustee acting in his or her capacity as Trustee is not personally liable to any person other than the Trust or its shareholders, for any act, omission, or obligation of the Trust. The Declaration requires the Trust to indemnify any persons who are or who have been Trustees, officers or employees of the Trust for any liability for actions or failure to act except to the extent prohibited by applicable federal law. In making any determination as to whether any person is entitled to the advancement of expenses in connection with a claim for which indemnification is sought, such person is entitled to a rebuttable presumption that he or she did not engage in conduct for which indemnification is not available. The Declaration provides that any Trustee who serves as chair of the Board of Trustees or of a committee of the Board of Trustees, lead independent Trustee, or audit committee financial expert, or in any other similar capacity will not be subject to any greater standard of care or liability because of such position.
The Fund is advised by Innovator Capital Management, LLC (the “Adviser” or “ Innovator ” ). From the Fund’s inception until March 31, 2018, the Fund was advised by Elkhorn Investments, LLC (the “Previous Adviser” ). Penserra Capital Management LLC (the “Sub-Adviser” or “Penserra” ) serves as the investment sub-adviser to the Fund.
The shares of the Fund list and principally trade on Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. ( “ Cboe BZX ” or the “Exchange” ). The shares trade on the Exchange at market prices that may be below, at or above net asset value. The Fund offers and issues shares at net asset value only in aggregations of a specified number of shares (each a “Creation Unit” or a “Creation Unit Aggregation” ), generally in exchange for a basket of securities (the “Deposit Securities” ) included in the S&P U.S. High Quality Preferred Stock Index (the “Index” ), the Index the Fund seeks to track, together with the deposit of a specified cash payment (the “Cash Component” ). Shares are redeemable only in Creation Unit Aggregations and, generally, in exchange for portfolio securities and a specified cash payment. Creation Units are aggregations of 50,000 shares of the Fund.
The Trust reserves the right to permit creations and redemptions of Fund shares to be made in whole or in part on a cash basis under certain circumstances. Fund shares may be issued in advance of receipt of Deposit Securities subject to various conditions including a requirement to maintain on deposit with the Fund cash at least equal to 105% of the market value of the missing Deposit Securities. See the “Creation and Redemption of Creation Unit Aggregations” section. In each instance of such cash creations or redemptions, transaction fees may be imposed that will be higher than the transaction fees associated with in-kind creations or redemptions. In all cases, such fees will be limited in accordance with the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” ) applicable to management investment companies offering redeemable securities.
Exchange Listing and Trading
There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of shares of the Fund will continue to be met. The Exchange may, but is not required to, remove the shares of the Fund from listing if: (i) following the initial 12-month period beginning at the commencement of trading of the Fund, there are fewer than 50 beneficial owners of the shares of the Fund for 30 or more consecutive trading days; (ii) the value of the Fund’s Index (as defined below) is no longer calculated or available; or (iii) such other event shall occur or condition exist that, in the opinion of the Exchange makes further dealings on the Exchange inadvisable. The Exchange will remove the shares of the Fund from listing and trading upon termination of the Fund.
As in the case of other stocks traded on the Exchange, brokers’ commissions on transactions will be based on negotiated commission rates at customary levels.
The Fund reserves the right to adjust the price levels of shares in the future to help maintain convenient trading ranges for investors. Any adjustments would be accomplished through stock splits or reverse stock splits, which would have no effect on the net assets of the Fund.
Investment Objective and Policies
The Prospectus describes the investment objective and certain policies of the Fund. The following supplements the information contained in the Prospectus concerning the investment objective and policies of the Fund.
The Fund is subject to the following fundamental policies, which may not be changed without approval of the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as such term is defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund:
(1) The Fund may not issue senior securities, except as permitted under the 1940 Act.
(2) The Fund may not borrow money, except as permitted under the 1940 Act.
(3) The Fund will not underwrite the securities of other issuers except to the extent the Fund may be considered an underwriter under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act” ), in connection with the purchase and sale of portfolio securities.
(4) The Fund will not purchase or sell real estate or interests therein, unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prohibit the Fund from purchasing or selling securities or other instruments backed by real estate or of issuers engaged in real estate activities).
(5) The Fund may not make loans, except as permitted under the 1940 Act and exemptive orders granted thereunder.
(6) The Fund may not purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the Fund from purchasing or selling options, futures contracts, forward contracts or other derivative instruments, or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).
(7) The Fund will not concentrate its investments in securities of issuers in any one industry, as the term “concentrate” is used in the 1940 Act, except to the extent the Index upon which the Fund is based concentrates in an industry or a group of industries. This restriction does not apply to obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, or securities of other investment companies.
For purposes of applying restriction (1) above, under the 1940 Act as currently in effect, the Fund is not permitted to issue senior securities, except that the Fund may borrow from any bank if immediately after such borrowing the value of the Fund’s total assets is at least 300% of the principal amount of all of the Fund’s borrowings ( i.e. , the principal amount of the borrowings may not exceed 33 1/3% of the Fund’s total assets). In the event that such asset coverage shall at any time fall below 300% the Fund shall, within three days thereafter (not including Sundays and holidays), reduce the amount of its borrowings to an extent that the asset coverage of such borrowings shall be at least 300%. The fundamental investment limitations set forth above limit the Fund’s ability to engage in certain investment practices and purchase securities or other instruments to the extent permitted by, or consistent with, applicable law. As such, these limitations will change as the statute, rules, regulations or orders (or, if applicable, interpretations) change, and no shareholder vote will be required or sought.
For purposes of applying restriction (5) above, the Fund may not make loans to other persons, except through (i) the purchase of debt securities permissible under the Fund’s investment policies, (ii) repurchase agreements, or (iii) the lending of portfolio securities, provided that no such loan of portfolio securities may be made by the Fund if, as a result, the aggregate of such loans would exceed 33-1/3% of the value of the Fund’s total assets.
Except for restriction (2), if a percentage restriction is adhered to at the time of investment, a later increase in percentage resulting from a change in market value of the investment or the total assets will not constitute a violation of that restriction. With respect to restriction (2), if the limitations are exceeded as a result of a change in market value then the Fund will reduce the amount of borrowings within three days thereafter to the extent necessary to comply with the limitations (not including Sundays and holidays).
The foregoing fundamental policies of the Fund may not be changed without the affirmative vote of the majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. The 1940 Act defines a majority vote as the vote of the lesser of (i) 67% or more of the voting securities represented at a meeting at which more than 50% of the outstanding securities are represented; or (ii) more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities. With respect to the submission of a change in an investment policy to the holders of outstanding voting securities of the Fund, such matter shall be deemed to have been effectively acted upon with respect to the Fund if a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund vote for the approval of such matter, notwithstanding that such matter has not been approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of any other series of the Trust affected by such matter.
In addition to the foregoing fundamental policies, the Fund is also subject to strategies and policies discussed herein which, unless otherwise noted, are non-fundamental policies and may be changed by the Board of Trustees.
Investment Strategies
Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 90% of its total assets in U.S.-listed preferred stocks, which represent the securities in the Index. Fund shareholders are entitled to 60 days’ notice prior to any change in this non-fundamental investment policy.
Types of Investments
Equities . Equity securities represent an ownership position in a company. The prices of equity securities fluctuate based on, among other things, events specific to their issuers and market, economic, and other conditions. Equity securities in which the Fund invests include common stocks. Common stocks include the common stock of any class or series of a domestic or foreign corporation or any similar equity interest, such as a trust or partnership interest. These investments may or may not pay dividends and may or may not carry voting rights. Common stock occupies the most junior position in a company’s capital structure. Holders of common stocks incur more risk than holders of preferred stocks and debt obligations because common stockholders, as owners of the issuer, generally have inferior rights to receive payments from the issuer in comparison with the rights of creditors, or holders of debt obligations or preferred stocks. Unlike debt securities, which typically have a stated principal amount payable at maturity (whose value, however, is subject to market fluctuations prior thereto), or preferred stocks, which typically have a liquidation preference and which may have stated optional or mandatory redemption provisions, common stocks have neither a fixed principal amount nor a maturity.
Illiquid Securities . The Fund may invest in illiquid securities ( i.e. , securities that cannot be sold within seven days in the ordinary course of business at approximately the amount at which the Fund values the securities for purposes of determining the Fund’s net asset value). For purposes of this restriction, illiquid securities include, but are not limited to, certain restricted securities (securities the disposition of which is restricted under the federal securities laws), securities that may only be resold pursuant to Rule 144A under the 1933 Act but that are deemed to be illiquid; and repurchase agreements with maturities in excess of seven days. However, the Fund will not acquire illiquid securities if, as a result, such securities would comprise more than 15% of the value of the Fund’s net assets. The Board of Trustees or its delegate has the ultimate authority to determine, to the extent permissible under the federal securities laws, which securities are liquid or illiquid for purposes of this 15% limitation. The Board of Trustees has delegated to the Adviser the day-to-day determination of the illiquidity of any equity or fixed-income security, although it has retained oversight for such determinations. With respect to Rule 144A securities, Innovator considers factors such as (i) the nature of the market for a security (including the institutional private resale market, the frequency of trades and quotes for the security, the number of dealers willing to purchase or sell the security, the amount of time normally needed to dispose of the security, the method of soliciting offers and the mechanics of transfer); (ii) the terms of certain securities or other instruments allowing for the disposition to a third party or the issuer thereof ( e.g., certain repurchase obligations and demand instruments); and (iii) other permissible relevant factors.
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. Illiquid securities will be priced at fair value as determined in good faith under procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees. 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, including restricted securities which are not readily marketable, the Fund will take such steps as is deemed advisable, if any, to protect liquidity.
Preferred Stocks. Normally, the Fund invests substantially all of its assets in U.S.-listed preferred stocks. A fund that invests in preferred stock may be exposed to certain risks not typically encountered by investing in common stock. Many preferred stocks pay dividends at a fixed rate; therefore, a preferred stock’s market price may be sensitive to changes in interest rates in a manner similar to bonds — that is, as interest rates rise, the value of the preferred stock is likely to decline. Many preferred stocks and trust preferred securities also allow holders to convert the preferred stock into common stock of the issuer; the market price of such preferred stocks may be sensitive to changes in the value of the issuer’s common stock. In addition, the ability of an issuer of preferred stock to pay dividends may deteriorate or the issuer may default ( i.e. , fail to make scheduled dividend payments on the preferred stock or scheduled interest payments on other obligations of the issuer), which would negatively affect the value of any such holding. Dividend payments on a preferred stock typically must be declared by the issuer’s board of directors. An issuer’s board of directors is generally not under any obligation to pay a dividend (even if such dividends have accrued) and may suspend payment of dividends on preferred stock at any time. Preferred stock is also subject to market volatility and the price of preferred stock will fluctuate based on market demand. Preferred stock often has a call feature which allows the issuer to redeem the security at its discretion. Therefore, preferred stocks having a higher than average yield may be called by the issuer, which may cause a decrease in the yield of a Fund that invested in the preferred stock.
Real Estate Investment Trusts. Real estate investment trusts ( “ REITs” ) are typically publicly traded corporations or trusts that invest in residential or commercial real estate. REITs generally can be divided into the following three types: (i) equity REITs which invest the majority of their assets directly in real property and derive their income primarily from rents and capital gains or real estate appreciation; (ii) mortgage REITs which invest the majority of their assets in real estate mortgage loans and derive their income primarily from interest payments; and (iii) hybrid REITs which combine the characteristics of equity REITs and mortgage REITs.
Securities Lending . The Fund may lend portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial organizations that meet capital and other credit requirements or other criteria established by the Board of Trustees. These loans, if and when made, may not exceed 33 1/3% of the total asset value of the Fund (including the loan collateral). The Fund will not lend portfolio securities to its investment adviser or its affiliates unless it has applied for and received specific authority to do so from the SEC. Loans of portfolio securities will be fully collateralized by cash, letters of credit or U.S. government securities, and the collateral will be maintained in an amount equal to at least 100% of the current market value of the loaned securities by marking to market daily. Any gain or loss in the market price of the securities loaned that might occur during the term of the loan would be for the account of the Fund. The Fund may pay a part of the interest earned from the investment of collateral, or other fee, to an unaffiliated third party for acting as the Fund’s securities lending agent.
By lending its securities, the Fund may increase its income by receiving payments from the borrower that reflect the amount of any interest or any dividends payable on the loaned securities as well as by either investing cash collateral received from the borrower in short-term instruments or obtaining a fee from the borrower when U.S. government securities or letters of credit are used as collateral. The Fund will adhere to the following conditions whenever its portfolio securities are loaned: (i) the Fund must receive at least 100% cash collateral or equivalent securities of the type discussed in the preceding paragraph from the borrower; (ii) the borrower must increase such collateral whenever the market value of the securities rises above the level of such collateral; (iii) the Fund must be able to terminate the loan on demand; (iv) the Fund must receive reasonable interest on the loan, as well as any dividends, interest or other distributions on the loaned securities and any increase in market value; (v) the Fund may pay only reasonable fees in connection with the loan (which fees may include fees payable to the lending agent, the borrower, the Fund’s administrator and the custodian); and (vi) voting rights on the loaned securities may pass to the borrower, provided, however, that if a material event adversely affecting the investment occurs, the Fund must terminate the loan and regain the right to vote the securities. Any securities lending activity in which the Fund may engage will be undertaken pursuant to Board approved procedures reasonably designed to ensure that the foregoing criteria will be met. Loan agreements involve certain risks in the event of default or insolvency of the borrower, including possible delays or restrictions upon the Fund’s ability to recover the loaned securities or dispose of the collateral for the loan, which could give rise to loss because of adverse market action, expenses and/or delays in connection with the disposition of the underlying securities.
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund buys and sells portfolio securities in the normal course of its investment activities. The proportion of the Fund’s investment portfolio that is bought and sold during a year is known as the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate. A turnover rate of 100% would occur, for example, if the Fund bought and sold securities valued at 100% of its net assets within one year. A high portfolio turnover rate could result in the payment by the Fund of increased brokerage costs, expenses and taxes. During the fiscal periods ended March 31, 2018 and March 31, 2019, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 67% and 58%, respectively, of the average value of its portfolio.
Sublicense Agreement
Innovator and S&P Opco, LLC (a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC) (“ Index Provider ”) have entered into a product license agreement (the “ License Agreement ”) whereby the Index Provider has granted Innovator a non-exclusive and non-transferable license to use certain intellectual property of the Index Provider, in connection with the issuance, distribution, marketing and/or promotion of the Fund, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the License Agreement. Innovator has executed a sublicense agreement with the Fund that contains substantially similar terms to the License Agreement (the “Sub-License Agreement ” ), but Innovator remains responsible for, and obligated under the terms of the License Agreement with respect to, any actions taken by the Fund.
Investment Risks
Overview
An investment in the Fund should be made with an understanding of the risks that an investment in the Fund shares entails, including the risk that the financial condition of the issuers of the equity securities or the general condition of the securities market may worsen and the value of the securities and therefore the value of the Fund may decline. The Fund may not be an appropriate investment for those who are unable or unwilling to assume the risks involved generally with such an investment. The past market and earnings performance of any of the securities included in the Fund is not predictive of their future performance.
Borrowing and Leverage Risk
When the Fund borrows money, it must pay interest and other fees, which will reduce the Fund’s returns if such costs exceed the returns on the portfolio securities purchased or retained with such borrowings. Any such borrowings are intended to be temporary. However, under certain market conditions, including periods of low demand or decreased liquidity, such borrowings might be outstanding for longer periods of time. As prescribed by the 1940 Act, the Fund will be required to maintain specified asset coverage of at least 300% with respect to any bank borrowing immediately following such borrowing. The Fund may be required to dispose of assets on unfavorable terms if market fluctuations or other factors reduce the Fund’s asset coverage to less than the prescribed amount.
Common Stocks Risk
Common stocks are especially susceptible to general market movements and to volatile increases and decreases of value as market confidence in and perceptions of the issuers change. These perceptions are based on unpredictable factors including expectations regarding government, economic, monetary and fiscal policies, inflation and interest rates, economic expansion or contraction, and global or regional political, economic or banking crises. The Sub-Adviser cannot predict the direction or scope of any of these factors. Shareholders of common stocks have rights to receive payments from the issuers of those common stocks that are generally subordinate to those of creditors of, or holders of debt obligations or preferred stocks of, such issuers.
Convertible Securities Risk
The market values of convertible securities tend to decline as interest rates increase and, conversely, to increase as interest rates decline. However, a convertible security’s market value also tends to reflect the market price of the common stock of the issuing company, particularly when the stock price is greater than the convertible security’s conversion price ( i.e. , the predetermined price or exchange ratio at which the convertible security can be converted or exchanged for the underlying common stock). Convertible securities are also exposed to the risk that an issuer is unable to meet its obligation to make dividend or principal payments when due as a result of changing financial or market conditions. Convertible securities generally offer lower interest or dividend yields than non-convertible debt securities of similar credit quality because of their potential for capital appreciation.
Cyber Security Risk
As the use of Internet technology has become more prevalent in the course of business, the Fund has become more susceptible to potential operational risks through breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cyber security breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding, but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks through efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cyber security breaches of the Fund’s third party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-advisor, as applicable, or issuers in which the Fund invests, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. The Fund has established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security. However, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber security systems of issuers or third-party service providers.
Index Correlation Risk
The value of the Fund’s shares will decline, more or less, in correlation with any decline in the value of the Index.
Liquidity Risk
Whether or not the equity securities in the Fund are listed on a securities exchange, the principal trading market for certain of the equity securities in the Fund may be in the OTC market. As a result, the existence of a liquid trading market for the equity securities may depend on whether dealers will make a market in the equity securities. There can be no assurance that a market will be made for any of the equity securities, that any market for the equity securities will be maintained or that there will be sufficient liquidity of the equity securities in any markets made. The price at which the equity securities are held in the Fund will be adversely affected if trading markets for the equity securities are limited or absent.
Listing Standards Risk
The Fund is required by the Exchange to comply with certain listing standards (which includes certain investment parameters) in order to maintain its listing on the Exchange. Compliance with these listing standards may compel the Fund to sell securities at inopportune time or for a price other than the security’s then-current market value. The sale of securities in such circumstances could limit the Fund’s profit or require the Fund to incur a loss, and as a result, the Fund’s performance could be impacted.
Non-Correlation Risk
The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Index for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Index. In addition, the performance of the Fund and the Index may vary due to asset valuation differences and differences between the Fund’s portfolio and the Index resulting from legal restrictions or cost.
Preferred Stocks Risk
Preferred stocks are subject to many of the risks associated with debt securities, including interest rate risk. In addition, preferred stock may not pay a dividend, an issuer may suspend payment of dividends on preferred stock at any time, and in certain situations an issuer may call or redeem its preferred stock or convert it to common stock. To the extent that the Fund invests a portion of its assets in convertible preferred stocks, declining common stock values may also cause the value of the Fund’s investments to decline. Many preferred stocks pay dividends at a fixed rate; therefore, a preferred stock’s market price may be sensitive to changes in interest rates in a manner similar to bonds — that is, as interest rates rise, the value of the preferred stock is likely to decline. Many preferred stocks and trust preferred securities also allow holders to convert the preferred stock into common stock of the issuer; the market price of such preferred stocks may be sensitive to changes in the value of the issuer’s common stock. In addition, the ability of an issuer of preferred stock to pay dividends may deteriorate or the issuer may default ( i.e. , fail to make scheduled dividend payments on the preferred stock or scheduled interest payments on other obligations of the issuer), which would negatively affect the value of any such holding. Dividend payments on a preferred stock typically must be declared by the issuer’s board of directors. An issuer’s board of directors is generally not under any obligation to pay a dividend (even if such dividends have accrued), and may suspend payment of dividends on preferred stock at any time. Preferred stock is also subject to market volatility and the price of preferred stock will fluctuate based on market demand. Preferred stock often has a call feature which allows the issuer to redeem the security at its discretion. Therefore, preferred stocks having a higher than average yield may be called by the issuer, which may cause a decrease in the yield of a Fund that invested in the preferred stock.
Real Estate Investment Trust Risk
REITs are financial vehicles that pool investors’ capital to purchase or finance real estate. REITs may concentrate their investments in specific geographic areas or in specific property types, e.g., hotels, shopping malls, residential complexes and office buildings. The market value of REIT shares and the ability of the REITs to distribute income may be adversely affected by several factors, including rising interest rates; changes in the national, state and local economic climate and real estate conditions; perceptions of prospective tenants of the safety, convenience and attractiveness of the properties; the ability of the owners to provide adequate management, maintenance and insurance; the cost of complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act; increased competition from new properties; the impact of present or future environmental legislation and compliance with environmental laws; changes in real estate taxes and other operating expenses; adverse changes in governmental rules and fiscal policies; adverse changes in zoning laws; and other factors beyond the control of the issuers of the REITs. In addition, distributions received by the Fund from REITs may consist of dividends, capital gains and/or return of capital. Many of these distributions however will not generally qualify for favorable treatment as qualified dividend income.
Trust Preferred Securities Risk
The Fund may be subject to additional risk because a corporation issuing interest bearing notes may defer interest payments on these instruments for up to 20 consecutive quarters; if such election is made, distributions will not be made on the trust preferred securities during the deferral period. Further, certain tax or regulatory events may trigger the redemption of the interest-bearing notes by the issuing corporation and result in prepayment of the trust preferred securities prior to their stated maturity date.
Management of the Fund
Trustees and Officers
The general supervision of the duties performed for the Fund under the investment management agreement is the responsibility of the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees is comprised of four Trustees, three of whom are Trustees who are not officers or employees of Innovator or any of its affiliates ( “Independent Trustees” ). Mr. Bond is deemed an “interested person” (as that term is defined in the 1940 Act) (“ Interested Trustee ”) of the Trust due to his positions as Chief Executive Officer of Innovator Capital Management, LLC and the President and Chief Principal Officer of the Trust. Each Trustee currently serves as a trustee of the all the series comprising the Innovator ETFs Trust and the Trust (each, an “Innovator Fund ” and collectively, the “Innovator Fund Complex ” ). None of the Trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Trust, nor any of their immediate family members, have ever been a director, officer or employee of, or consultant to, Innovator or any of its affiliates. The Board of Trustees sets broad policies for the Innovator Fund Complex, choose the Trust’s officers and hire the Trust’s investment adviser. The officers of the Trust manage its day-to-day operations and are responsible to the Board of Trustees. Each Trustee has been elected for an indefinite term. The officers of the Trust serve indefinite terms as well.
Name, Address and Year of Birth |
Position(s) Held with the Trust |
Length of Time Served |
Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years |
Number of Portfolios in Fund Complex Overseen by Trustee or Officer |
Other Directorships Held by Trustee or Officer in the Past Five Years |
Independent Trustees |
|||||
Mark Berg
120 N. Hale Street, Suite 200
Year of Birth: 1971 |
Trustee |
Since 2018 |
Founding Principal (2001-present), Chief Executive Officer (2019-present), President (2001 – 2019), Timothy Financial Counsel Inc. |
23 |
None |
Joe Stowell 120 N. Hale Street, Suite 200 Wheaton, IL 60187
Year of Birth: 1968 |
Trustee |
Since 2018 |
Chief Operating Officer, Woodman Valley Chapel (2015-present); Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, English Language Institute/China (2007-2015) |
23 |
Board of Advisors, Westmont College |
Brian J. Wildman
120 N. Hale Street, Suite 200
Year of Birth: 1963 |
Trustee |
Since 2018 |
President, Timothy Financial Counsel Inc. (2019-present); Executive Vice President, Consumer Banking (2016-2019), Chief Risk Officer (2013-2016), Head of Wealth Management (2003-2013), Head of Commercial Services (2010-2013), MB Financial Bank |
23 |
Missionary Furlough Homes Inc. (2008 – present); MB Financial Bank (2003 – 2019) |
Interested Trustee 1 and Officers |
|||||
H. Bruce Bond 120 N. Hale Street, Suite 200, Wheaton, IL 60187
Year of Birth: 1963 |
Interested Trustee, President and Principal Executive Officer |
Since 2018 |
Chief Executive Officer, Innovator Capital Management, LLC (2017-present) |
23 |
None |
John W. Southard, Jr. 120 N. Hale Street, Suite 200, Wheaton, IL 60187
Year of Birth: 1969 |
Vice President, Treasurer and Principal Financial Accounting Officer |
Since 2018 |
Chief Investment Officer, Innovator Capital Management, LLC (2017-present); Director and Co-Founder, T2 Capital Management, LLC (2010-present) |
N/A |
ETF Managers Group (2012-2018) |
James Nash (2) 10 High Street, Suite 302 Boston, MA 02110
|
Chief Compliance Officer |
Since 2018 |
Fund Chief Compliance Officer, Foreside Fund Officer Services, LLC (2016 – present); Senior Associate, Regulatory Administration Advisor, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (2014 –2016); Product Analyst, Linedata Services, (2011 – 2014) |
N/A |
N/A |
____________________
(1) |
Mr. Bond is deemed an “interested person” of the Trust due to his position as Chief Executive Officer of Innovator Capital Management, LLC, the Fund’s investment adviser. |
(2) |
Mr. Nash is an employee of Foreside Fund Officer Services, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Fund’s principal underwriter. |
Unitary Board Leadership Structure
The Innovator Fund Complex utilizes a unitary board structure, meaning that one group of board members serve on the board of each Innovator Fund. In adopting a unitary board structure, the Board of Trustees seeks to provide effective governance through establishing a board, the overall composition of which will, as a body, possess the appropriate skills, independence and experience to oversee the business of the Innovator Funds. Each Innovator Fund is subject to the rules and regulations of the 1940 Act (and other applicable securities laws), meaning that many of the Innovator Funds face similar issues with respect to certain of their fundamental activities, including risk management, portfolio liquidity, portfolio valuation and financial reporting. Because of the similar and often overlapping issues facing the Innovator Funds, including among any such exchange-traded funds, the Board of Trustees believes that maintaining a unitary board structure promotes efficiency and consistency in the governance and oversight of all Innovator Funds and reduces the costs, administrative burdens and possible conflicts that may result from having multiple boards.
Annually, the Board of Trustees reviews its governance structure and the committee structures, its performance and functions and any processes that would enhance board governance over the business of the Innovator Funds. The Board of Trustees has determined that its leadership structure, including the unitary board and committee structure, is appropriate based on the characteristics of the funds it serves and the characteristics of the Innovator Fund Complex as a whole.
In order to streamline communication between the Adviser and the Independent Trustees, and create certain efficiencies, the Board has a Lead Independent Trustee who is responsible for: (i) coordinating activities of the Independent Trustees; (ii) working with the Adviser, Fund counsel and the independent legal counsel to the Independent Trustees to determine the agenda for Board meetings; (iii) serving as the principal contact for and facilitating communication between the Independent Trustees and each Innovator Fund’s service providers, particularly the Adviser; and (iv) any other duties that the Independent Trustees may delegate to the Lead Independent Trustee. The Lead Independent Trustee is selected by the Independent Trustees and serves until his or her successor is selected. Mr. Berg serves as the Lead Independent Trustee.
Mr. Bond serves as the Chairman of the Board. The Chairman of the Board presides at all meetings of the Board, and acts as a liaison with service providers, officers, attorneys, and other Trustees. The Chair of each Board committee performs a similar role with respect to the committee. The Chairman of the Board of Trustees or the Chair of a Board committee may also perform such other functions as may be delegated by the Board or the committee from time to time. The Independent Trustees meet regularly outside the presence of Trust management, in executive session or with other service providers to the Fund. The Board of Trustees has regular meetings throughout the year and may hold special meetings if required before its next regular meeting.
The Board of Trustees has established two standing committees (as described below) and has delegated certain of its responsibilities to those committees. The Board of Trustees and its committees meet frequently throughout the year to oversee the activities of each Innovator Fund, review contractual arrangements with and the performance of service providers, oversee compliance with regulatory requirements and review Fund performance. The Independent Trustees are represented by independent legal counsel at all Board and committee meetings. Generally, the Board of Trustees acts by majority vote of the Trustees present at a meeting, assuming a quorum is present, unless otherwise required by applicable law.
The two standing committees of the Board of Trustees are the Nominating Committee and the Audit Committee. Mr. Stowell serves as the Chairman of the Nominating Committee and Mr. Wildman serves as the Chairman of the Audit Committee.
The Nominating Committee is responsible for appointing and nominating non-interested persons to the Board of Trustees. Messrs. Berg, Wildman and Stowell are currently members of the Nominating Committee. If there is no vacancy on the Board of Trustees, the Board of Trustees will not actively seek recommendations from other parties, including shareholders. The Nominating Committee met one time during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019. When a vacancy on the Board of Trustees occurs and nominations are sought to fill such vacancy, the Nominating Committee may seek nominations from those sources it deems appropriate in its discretion, including shareholders of the Innovator Funds. To submit a recommendation for nomination as a candidate for a position on the Board of Trustees, shareholders of an Innovator Fund should mail such recommendation to the Nominating Committee, c/o Innovator ETFs Trust II, at the Trust’s address, 120 North Hale Street, Suite 200, Wheaton, Illinois 60187. Such recommendation shall include the following information: (i) a statement in writing setting forth (A) the name, age, date of birth, business address, residence address and nationality of the person or persons to be nominated; (B) the class or series and number of all shares of the Innovator Fund owned of record or beneficially by each such person or persons, as reported to such shareholder by such nominee(s); (C) any other information regarding each such person required by paragraphs (a), (d), (e) and (f) of Item 401 of Regulation S-K or paragraph (b) of Item 22 of Rule 14a-101 (Schedule 14A) under the 1934 Act (as defined below); (D) any other information regarding the person or persons to be nominated that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filings required to be made in connection with solicitation of proxies for election of trustees or directors pursuant to Section 14 of the 1934 Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder; and (E) whether such shareholder believes any nominee is or will be an “interested person” of an Innovator Fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) and, if not an “interested person,” information regarding each nominee that will be sufficient for the Innovator Fund to make such determination; and (ii) the written and signed consent of any person to be nominated to be named as a nominee and to serve as a trustee if elected. In addition, the Board of Trustees may require any proposed nominee to furnish such other information as they may reasonably require or deem necessary to determine the eligibility of such proposed nominee to serve as a Trustee.
The Audit Committee is responsible for overseeing the Fund’s accounting and financial reporting process, the system of internal controls and audit process and for evaluating and appointing independent auditors (subject also to approval of the Board of Trustees). Messrs. Berg, Wildman and Stowell currently serve on the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee met four times during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019.
Risk Oversight
As part of the general oversight of the Innovator Fund Complex, the Board of Trustees is involved in the risk oversight of the Innovator Funds. The Board of Trustees has adopted and periodically reviews policies and procedures designed to address the risks of each Innovator Fund. Oversight of investment and compliance risk, including, if applicable, oversight of any sub-adviser, is performed primarily at the Board level in conjunction with the Adviser’s investment oversight group and the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer ( “ CCO ” ).
James Nash of Foreside Fund Officer Services, LLC ( “Foreside Officer Services” ) serves as CCO of the Trust. In a joint effort between the Trust and Foreside Officer Services to ensure the Trust complies with Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act, Foreside Officer Services has agreed to render services to the Trust by entering into a Chief Compliance Officer Services Agreement (the “CCO Services Agreement” ) with the Trust. Pursuant to the CCO Services Agreement, Foreside Officer Services designates, subject to the Trust’s approval, one of its own employees to serve as CCO of the Trust within the meaning of Rule 38a-1. Mr. Nash currently serves in such capacity under the terms of the CCO Services Agreement.
Oversight of other risks also occurs at the committee level. The Adviser’s investment oversight group reports to the Board of Trustees at quarterly meetings regarding, among other things, Fund performance and the various drivers of such performance as well as information related to the Adviser and its operations and processes. The Board of Trustees reviews reports on each Innovator Fund’s and the service providers’ compliance policies and procedures at each quarterly Board meeting and receives an annual report from the CCO regarding the operations of the Innovator Funds’ and the service providers’ compliance programs. In addition, the Independent Trustees meet privately each quarter with the CCO. The Audit Committee reviews with the Adviser the major financial risk exposures of each Innovator Fund and the steps the Adviser has taken to monitor and control these exposures, including the Fund’s risk assessment and risk management policies and guidelines. The Audit Committee also, as appropriate, reviews in a general manner the processes other Board committees have in place with respect to risk assessment and risk management. The Nominating Committee monitors all matters related to the corporate governance of the Trust.
Not all risks that may affect an Innovator Fund can be identified nor can controls be developed to eliminate or mitigate their occurrence or effects. It may not be practical or cost effective to eliminate or mitigate certain risks, the processes and controls employed to address certain risks may be limited in their effectiveness, and some risks are simply beyond the reasonable control of an Innovator Fund, the Adviser or other service providers. Moreover, it is necessary to bear certain risks (such as investment-related risks) to achieve the Innovator Funds’ goals. As a result of the foregoing and other factors, the Innovator Funds’ ability to manage risk is subject to substantial limitations.
Board Diversification and Trustee Qualifications
As described above, the Nominating Committee of the Board of Trustees oversees matters related to the nomination of Trustees. The Nominating Committee seeks to establish an effective Board with an appropriate range of skills and diversity, including, as appropriate, differences in background, professional experience, education, vocations, and other individual characteristics and traits in the aggregate. Each Trustee must meet certain basic requirements, including relevant skills and experience, time availability and, if qualifying as an Independent Trustee, independence from the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, underwriters or other service providers, including any affiliates of these entities.
Listed below for each current Trustee are the experiences, qualifications and attributes that led to the conclusion, as of the date of this SAI, that each current Trustee should serve as a Trustee in light of the Trust’s business and structure.
Independent Trustees. Mark Berg is the Chief Executive Officer and Founding Principal of Timothy Financial Counsel Inc. Mr. Berg’s primary role is the leadership and management of Timothy Financial Counsel Inc. He is the primary advisor for select clients, but also oversees the financial planning process for all Timothy Financial clients. Mr. Berg has served in the fee-only financial planning industry since 1995. He holds a BA in Economics from Wheaton College and is a Certified Financial Planner™ practitioner. He is also a NAPFA Registered Financial Advisor where he has served as the Regional President and Chair, as well as on the National Board of Directors. He speaks regularly at conferences on financial planning and practice management. He has been interviewed and/or quoted by a variety of publications, such as Dow Jones Newswire, The Wall Street Journal, Reader's Digest, and Kiplinger's and has been interviewed on NBC television.
Joe Stowell is the Chief Operating Officer of Woodmen Valley Chapel in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He oversees the financial, human resources and congregational management of this multi-campus organization. Prior to joining Woodman in September of 2015, Mr. Stowell served for eight years as the Executive Vice President/COO of the English Language Institute/China (ELIC), a global educational non-profit focused primarily in Asia and the Middle East. Before his work in the non-profit business management sector, Joe traded futures, options and swaps for over a decade, focusing on currencies and bonds both in the US and abroad for McNamara Trading and Chicago Research & Trading. He was on trading floors and desks in Chicago, New York and Tokyo.
Brian J. Wildman is the President of Timothy Financial Counsel, Inc. From 2016 until 2019, Mr. Wildman served as Executive Vice President of Consumer Banking of MB Financial Bank ( “MB Financial” ). During that time Mr. Wildman also served as a director of MB Financial. From 2013 to 2016, Mr. Wildman was responsible for Risk Management and was the Chief Risk Officer at MB Financial. Prior to April 2013, Mr. Wildman was responsible for the MB Financial’s Wealth Management and Commercial Services groups. Prior to joining MB Financial in 2003, he was First Vice President of Bank One and served in various management positions with its predecessor organization, American National Bank and Trust Company of Chicago, since 1988. Mr. Wildman is a member of the Board of Trustees of Missionary Furlough Homes, Inc. Additionally, Mr. Wildman serves as the “audit committee financial expert” for the Board.
Interested Trustee. H. Bruce Bond is the Chief Executive Officer of the Adviser, responsible for the firm’s strategic vision. Mr. Bond began his career in 1986 at Griffin, Kubik, Stephens and Thompson, a small boutique firm specializing in municipal bonds. In 1994 he continued his career at First Trust Portfolios as Vice President responsible for wholesale distribution of financial products across the Midwest and Florida. In 1998 Mr. Bond joined Nuveen Investments as a Managing Director to lead an effort in its Structured Products Group to develop, market and distribute closed-end funds, unit investment trusts and exchange-traded fund products. Mr. Bond became the head of marketing for all Nuveen products before leaving to start PowerShares in early 2003. As Founder and Chief Executive Officer of PowerShares, Mr. Bond pioneered many firsts in the ETF industry. In 2006, PowerShares was acquired by Invesco, a global asset manager. Mr. Bond remained the President and Chief Executive Officer of PowerShares and Chairman of the Board of the PowerShares Funds until September of 2011. During his time at PowerShares, Mr. Bond helped develop, list and distribute over 130 fund products on various exchanges located in the United States and throughout Europe, with assets under management in excess of $80 billion.
Effective January 1, 2019, Each Independent Trustee is paid a fixed annual retainer of $30,000 per year. The fixed annual retainer is allocated pro rata among each fund in the Innovator Fund Complex based on net assets. Trustees are also reimbursed by the investment companies in the Innovator Fund Complex for travel and out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with all meetings.
The following table sets forth the compensation (including reimbursement for travel and out-of-pocket expenses) paid by the Fund and by the Innovator Fund Complex to each of the Independent Trustees for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019. The Trust has no retirement or pension plans. The officers and Trustee who are “interested persons” as designated above serve without any compensation from the Trust. The Trust has no employees. Its officers are compensated by Innovator.
Name of Trustee |
Compensation from the Fund |
Total Compensation from
|
Mark Berg* |
$131 |
$17,500 |
Joe Stowell* |
$148 |
$19,206 |
Brian J. Wildman* |
$131 |
$17,500 |
* Elected to the Board of Trustees on June 20, 2018.
The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by the Trustees in the Fund and in other funds overseen by the Trustees in the Innovator Fund Complex as of December 31, 2018:
Trustee |
Dollar Range of
|
Aggregate Dollar Range of
Registered Investment Companies Overseen by Trustee
in the
|
Interested Trustee |
||
H. Bruce Bond |
None |
Over $100,000 |
Independent Trustees |
||
Mark Berg |
None |
$10,001-$50,000 |
Joe Stowell |
None |
None |
Brian J. Wildman |
None |
$50,001-$100,000 |
As of December 31, 2018, the Independent Trustees of the Trust and immediate family members did not own beneficially or of record any class of securities of an investment adviser or principal underwriter of the Fund or any person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with an investment adviser or principal underwriter of the Fund.
As of December 31, 2018, the officers and Trustees, in the aggregate, owned less than 1% of the shares of the Fund.
A principal shareholder is any person who owns (either of record or beneficially) 5% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund. A control person is one who owns, either directly or indirectly, more than 25% of the voting securities of a company or acknowledges the existence of control. The table set forth as Exhibit B shows the percentage ownership of each person or “group” (as that term is used in Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act” )) who, as of July 2, 2019, owned of record, or is known by the Trust to have owned of record or beneficially, 5% or more of the shares of the Fund.
Investment Adviser . Innovator Capital Management, LLC, located at 120 North Hale Street, Suite 200, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, furnishes investment management services to the Fund, subject to the supervision and direction of the Board. Substantially all of the interests of the Adviser are owned by Messrs. H. Bruce Bond, John Wilder Southard, Jr. and Jeffrey Brown. The Adviser is controlled by a Board of Managers which currently consists of Mr. Bond, Mr. Southard and Mr. Brown. Mr. Bond controls the Board of Managers by virtue of his majority ownership of the Adviser. Mr. Southard owns in excess of twenty-five percent of the Adviser and Mr. Brown owns a minority interest in the Adviser. The Adviser compensates all officers (including the chief compliance officer) and employees of the Adviser who are affiliated with both the Adviser and the Trust. The Adviser is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended.
Pursuant to an investment management agreement between Innovator and the Trust, on behalf of the Fund (the “Investment Management Agreement” ), Innovator oversees the investment of the Fund’s assets by Penserra and is responsible for paying all expenses of the Funds, excluding the fee payments under the Investment Management Agreement, interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses and other expenses connected with the execution of portfolio transactions, distribution and service fees payable pursuant to a Rule 12b-1 plan, if any, and extraordinary expenses. As compensation for the investment advisory services rendered under the Investment Management Agreement, the Fund has agreed to pay Innovator an annual management fee equal to 0.47% of its average daily net assets. For services rendered during the fiscal periods set forth below, the following table sets forth the management fee paid by the Fund to the investment adviser.
Management Fees |
Fiscal period ended |
Management Fees Paid |
March 31, 2017 (1),(2) |
$40,373 |
March 31, 2018 (2) |
$88,355 |
March 31, 2019 |
$80,971 |
(1) The Fund commenced operations on May 23, 2016. |
|
(2) Management fees paid to Elkhorn Investments, LLC, the Fund’s previous investment adviser. |
Pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement, Innovator shall not be liable for any loss sustained by reason of the purchase, sale or retention of any security, whether or not such purchase, sale or retention shall have been based upon the investigation and research made by any other individual, firm or corporation, if such recommendation shall have been selected with due care and in good faith, except loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence on the part of Innovator in the performance of its obligations and duties, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties. The Investment Management Agreement continues for two years, and thereafter only if approved annually by the Board of Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Trustees. The Investment Management Agreement terminates automatically upon assignment and is terminable at any time without penalty as to the Fund by the Board of Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, or by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities on 60 days’ written notice to Innovator, or by Innovator on 60 days’ written notice to the Fund.
Investment Sub- Adviser . Penserra Capital Management LLC, located at 4 Orinda Way, Suite 100-A, Orinda CA 94563, is responsible for implementing the Fund’s investment program by, among other things, trading portfolio securities and performing related services, rebalancing the Fund’s portfolio, and providing cash management services in accordance with the investment advice formulated by, and model portfolios delivered by, Innovator, subject to the ultimate supervision and direction of the Board of Trustees.
Pursuant to an investment sub-advisory agreement between Innovator, Penserra and the Trust, on behalf of the Fund (the “Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement” ), Penserra manages the investment of the Fund’s assets. As compensation for the sub-advisory services rendered under the Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement, Innovator has agreed to pay Penserra an annual sub-advisory fee that is based upon the Fund’s average daily net assets. Innovator is responsible for paying the entire amount of Penserra’s sub-advisory fee. For services rendered during the fiscal period set forth below, the following table sets forth the management fee paid by Innovator to Penserra. Prior to Penserra’s appointment as investment sub-adviser on April 1, 2018, the Fund was not sub-advised.
Sub-Advisory Fees
Fiscal period ended |
Sub-Advisory Fees Paid |
|
March 31, 2019 |
$20,000 |
Portfolio Managers . The portfolio managers are primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. There are currently three portfolio managers, as follows: Dustin Lewellyn, Ernest Tong and Anand Desai. As of August 1, 2019, none of the portfolio managers beneficially owned any shares of the Fund.
Compensation. Mr. Lewellyn’s portfolio management compensation includes a salary and discretionary bonus based on the profitability of the Sub-Adviser. No compensation is directly related to the performance of the underlying assets. Mr. Tong receives from Penserra a fixed base salary and discretionary bonus, and he is also eligible to participate in a retirement plan and to receive an equity interest in Penserra. Mr. Tong’s compensation is based on the performance and profitability of Penserra and his individual performance with respect to following a structured investment process. Mr. Desai receives from Penserra a fixed base salary and discretionary bonus, and is also eligible to participate in a retirement plan. Mr. Desai’s compensation is based on the performance and profitability of Penserra and his individual performance with respect to following a structured investment process.
Accounts Managed by the Portfolio Managers
The portfolio managers manage the investment vehicles (other than the Fund) with the number of accounts and assets, as of March 31, 2019, set forth in the table below:
Registered Investment Companies # of Accounts ($ Assets) |
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles # of Accounts ($ Assets) |
Other Accounts # of Accounts ($ Assets) |
|
Dustin Lewellyn |
25 ($1,400,000,000) |
1 ($3,000,000) |
0 ($0) |
Ernesto Tong |
25 ($1,400,000,000) |
1 ($3,000,000) |
0 ($0) |
Anand Desai |
25 ($1,400,000,000) |
1 ($3,000,000) |
0 ($0) |
____________________
Conflicts. None of the accounts managed by the portfolio managers pay an advisory fee that is based upon the performance of the account. In addition, Penserra believes that there are no material conflicts of interest that may arise in connection with the portfolio managers’ management of the Fund’s investments and the investments of the other accounts managed by the portfolio managers. However, because the investment strategy of the Fund and the investment strategies of many of the other accounts managed by the portfolio managers are based on fairly mechanical investment processes, the portfolio managers may recommend that certain clients sell and other clients buy a given security at the same time. In addition, because the investment strategies of the Fund and other accounts managed by the portfolio managers generally result in the clients investing in readily available securities, Penserra believes that there should not be material conflicts in the allocation of investment opportunities between the Fund and other accounts managed by the portfolio managers.
In addition, the Adviser may make payments out of its own internal resources and profits from all sources to other financial intermediaries to encourage the sale of shares of the Fund. The payments are intended to compensate financial intermediaries (including broker-dealers) for, among other things: marketing shares, which may consist of payments relating to the Fund, including but not limited to: inclusion on preferred or recommended fund lists or in certain sales programs from time to time sponsored by the financial intermediaries; access to the financial intermediaries registered sales persons; and/or other specified services or persons intended to assist in the marketing of the Fund. Such payments may be based on various factors, including levels of assets and/or sales (based on gross or net sales or some other criteria). These payments may create an incentive for a financial intermediary to sell and recommend certain investment products, including the Fund, over other products for which it may receive less compensation. You may contact your financial intermediary if you want information regarding the any payment it receives from the Adviser.
Brokerage Allocations
Penserra is responsible for decisions to buy and sell securities for the Fund and for the placement of the Fund’s securities business, the negotiation of the commissions to be paid on brokered transactions, the prices for principal trades in securities, and the allocation of portfolio brokerage and principal business. It is the policy of Penserra to seek the best execution at the best security price available with respect to each transaction, and with respect to brokered transactions in light of the overall quality of brokerage and research services provided to Penserra and its clients. The best price to the Fund means the best net price without regard to the mix between purchase or sale price and commission, if any. Purchases may be made from underwriters, dealers, and, on occasion, the issuers. Commissions will be paid on the Fund’s futures transactions, if any. The purchase price of portfolio securities purchased from an underwriter or dealer may include underwriting commissions and dealer spreads. The Fund may pay mark-ups on principal transactions. In selecting broker/dealers and in negotiating commissions, Innovator considers, among other things, the firm’s reliability, the quality of its execution services on a continuing basis and its financial condition. Fund portfolio transactions may be effected with broker/dealers who have assisted investors in the purchase of shares.
Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act” ) permits an investment adviser, under certain circumstances, to cause an account to pay a broker or dealer who supplies brokerage and research services a commission for effecting a transaction in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting the transaction. Brokerage and research services include (i) furnishing advice as to the value of securities, the advisability of investing, purchasing or selling securities, and the availability of securities or purchasers or sellers of securities; (ii) furnishing analyses and reports concerning issuers, industries, securities, economic factors and trends, portfolio strategy, and the performance of accounts; and (iii) effecting securities transactions and performing functions incidental thereto (such as clearance, settlement, and custody). Such brokerage and research services are often referred to as “soft dollars.” Penserra has advised the Board of Trustees that it does not currently intend to use soft dollars.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, in selecting brokers, Penserra may in the future consider investment and market information and other research, such as economic, securities and performance measurement research, provided by such brokers, and the quality and reliability of brokerage services, including execution capability, performance, and financial responsibility. Accordingly, the commissions charged by any such broker may be greater than the amount another firm might charge if Penserra determines in good faith that the amount of such commissions is reasonable in relation to the value of the research information and brokerage services provided by such broker to Innovator or the Trust. In addition, Penserra must determine that the research information received in this manner provides the Fund with benefits by supplementing the research otherwise available to the Fund. The Investment Management Agreement provides that such higher commissions will not be paid by the Fund unless the Adviser determines in good faith that the amount is reasonable in relation to the services provided. The investment advisory fees paid by the Fund to Innovator under the Investment Management Agreement would not be reduced as a result of receipt by Innovator of research services.
Penserra places portfolio transactions for other advisory accounts advised by it, and research services furnished by firms through which the Fund effects securities transactions may be used by Penserra in servicing all of its accounts; not all of such services may be used by Penserra in connection with the Fund. Penserra believes it is not possible to measure separately the benefits from research services to each of the accounts (including the Fund) advised by it. Because the volume and nature of the trading activities of the accounts are not uniform, the amount of commissions in excess of those charged by another broker paid by each account for brokerage and research services will vary. However, Penserra believes such costs to the Fund will not be disproportionate to the benefits received by the Fund on a continuing basis. Penserra seeks to allocate portfolio transactions equitably whenever concurrent decisions are made to purchase or sell securities by the Fund and another advisory account. In some cases, this procedure could have an adverse effect on the price or the amount of securities available to the Fund. In making such allocations between the Fund and other advisory accounts, the main factors considered by Innovator are the respective investment objectives, the relative size of portfolio holding of the same or comparable securities, the availability of cash for investment and the size of investment commitments generally held. The following table sets forth the brokerage commissions paid by Fund during the specified periods.
Brokerage Commissions
Fiscal period ended |
Brokerage Commissions Paid |
March 31, 2017 (1) |
$11,884 |
March 31, 2018 |
$7,794 |
March 31, 2019 |
$7,084 |
(1) The Fund commenced operations on May 23, 2016.
For the fiscal period ended March 31, 2017, and the fiscal years ended March 31, 2018 and March 31, 2019, the Fund did not pay any brokerage commissions to an affiliate of the Trust, investment adviser or sub-adviser.
Neither the Fund, the Adviser nor the Sub-Adviser has an agreement or understanding with a broker-dealer, or other arrangements to direct the Fund’s brokerage transactions to a broker-dealer because of the research services such broker provides to the Fund, Adviser nor Sub-Adviser. While the Adviser and Sub-Adviser do not have arrangements with any broker-dealers to direct such brokerage transactions to them because of research services provided, the Adviser and Sub-Adviser may receive research services from such broker-dealers.
Administrator, Fund Accountant, Custodian, Transfer Agent, Dividend Agent, Securities Lending Agent, Distributor, Index Provider and Exchange
Administrator and Fund Accountant. The Administrator and Fund Accountant for the Fund is U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, doing business as U.S. Bank Global Fund Services (the “Administrator” ), which has its principal office at 615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202 and is primarily in the business of providing administrative, fund accounting and stock transfer services to retail and institutional mutual funds. The Administrator performs these services pursuant to two separate agreements, a Fund Administration Servicing Agreement and a Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement. Pursuant to the Fund Administration Servicing Agreement ( “Administration Agreement” ) with the Fund, the Administrator provides all administrative services necessary for the Fund, other than those provided by Innovator, subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees. Employees of the Administrator generally will not be officers of the Fund for which they provide services.
The Administration Agreement is terminable by the Board or the Administrator on ninety (90) days’ written notice and may be assigned provided the non-assigning party provides prior written consent. The Administration Agreement shall remain in effect for three years from the date of its initial approval, unless amended, and its renewal is subject to approval of the Board for periods thereafter. The Administration Agreement provides that in the absence of the Administrator’s refusal or willful failure to comply with the Agreement or bad faith, negligence or willful misconduct on the part of the Administrator, the Administrator shall not be liable for any action or failure to act in accordance with its duties thereunder.
Under the Administration Agreement, the Administrator provides all administrative services, including, without limitation: (i) providing services of persons competent to perform such administrative and clerical functions as are necessary to provide effective administration of the Fund; (ii) overseeing the performance of administrative and professional services to the Fund by others, including the Custodian (as defined below); (iii) preparing, but not paying for, the periodic updating of the Fund’s Registration Statement, Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information in conjunction with Fund counsel, including the printing of such documents for the purpose of filings with the SEC and state securities administrators, preparing the Fund’s tax returns, and preparing reports to the Fund’s shareholders and the SEC; (iv) calculation of yield and total return for the Fund; (v) monitoring and evaluating daily income and expense accruals, and sales and redemptions of Shares of the Fund; (vi) preparing in conjunction with Fund counsel, but not paying for, all filings under the securities or “Blue Sky” laws of such states or countries as are designated by the Distributor, which may be required to register or qualify, or continue the registration or qualification, of the Fund and/or its Shares under such laws; (vii) preparing notices and agendas for meetings of the Board and minutes of such meetings in all matters required by the 1940 Act to be acted upon by the Board; and (viii) monitoring periodic compliance with respect to all requirements and restrictions of the 1940 Act, the Internal Revenue Code and the Prospectus.
The Administrator, pursuant to a Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement ( “Accounting Agreement” ), also provides the Fund with accounting services, including, without limitation: (i) daily computation of NAV; (ii) maintenance of security ledgers and books and records as required by the 1940 Act; (iii) production of the Fund’s listing of portfolio securities and general ledger reports; (iv) reconciliation of accounting records; and (v) maintaining certain books and records described in Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act, and reconciling account information and balances among the Custodian and Adviser.
Custodian, Transfer Agent and Dividend Agent . U.S. Bank, N.A. ( “US Bank” ), Custody Operations, 1555 N. River Center Drive, Suite 302, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212 (the “Custodian” ), serves as custodian for the Fund’s cash and securities. Pursuant to a Custodian Servicing Agreement with the Fund, it is responsible for maintaining the books and records of the Fund’s portfolio securities and cash. The Custodian is also entitled to certain out-of-pocket expenses and portfolio transaction fees. The Custodian does not assist in, and is not responsible for, investment decisions involving assets of the Fund. U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, the Fund’s Administrator, also acts as the Fund’s transfer and dividend agent. U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC has its principal office at 615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202.
The Fund has not paid any fees to the Administrator or Custodian as the Previous Adviser and Adviser have assumed responsibility for payment of these fees as part of the unitary management fee.
Securities Lending Agent. The Fund may participate in securities lending arrangements whereby the Fund lends certain of its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers, and financial institutions (not with individuals) to receive additional income and increase the rate of return of its portfolio. U.S. Bank, N.A. serves as the Fund’s’ securities lending agent and is responsible for (i) negotiating the fees (rebates) of securities loans within parameters approved by the Board; (ii) delivering loaned securities to the applicable borrower(s), a list of which has been approved by the Board; (iii) investing any cash collateral received for a securities loan in investments pre-approved by the Board; (iv) receiving the returned securities at the expiration of a loan’s term; (v) daily monitoring of the value of the loaned securities and the collateral received; (vi) notifying borrowers to make additions to the collateral, when required; (vii) accounting and recordkeeping services as necessary for the operation of the securities lending program, and (viii) establishing and operating a system of controls and procedures to ensure compliance with its obligations under the Fund’s securities lending program. The following table sets forth information regarding the Fund’s securities lending activities during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019.
Gross income from securities lending activities |
$ | 1,068 | ||
Fees and/or compensation for securities lending activities and related services |
||||
Fees paid to securities lending agent from a revenue split |
$ | 266 | ||
Fees paid for any cash collateral management service (including fees deducted from a pooled cash collateral reinvestment vehicle) that are not included in the revenue split |
$ | 3 | ||
Administrative fees not included in revenue split |
$ | 0 | ||
Indemnification fee not included in revenue split |
$ | 0 | ||
Rebate (paid to borrower) |
$ | 0 | ||
Other fees not included in revenue split (specify) |
$ | 0 | ||
Aggregate fees/compensation for securities lending activities |
$ | 269 | ||
Net income from securities lending activities |
$ | 799 |
Distributor. Foreside Fund Services, LLC is the distributor (the “ Distributor ”) and principal underwriter of the Creation Unit Aggregations of the Fund. Its principal address is Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101. The Distributor has entered into a Distribution Agreement with the Trust pursuant to which it distributes Fund shares. Shares are continuously offered for sale by the Fund through the Distributor only in Creation Unit Aggregations, as described below under the heading “Creation and Redemption of Creation Unit Aggregations.”
Innovator may, from time to time and from its own resources, pay, defray or absorb costs relating to distribution, including payments out of its own resources to the Distributor, or to otherwise promote the sale of shares. Innovator’ available resources to make these payments include profits from advisory fees received from the Fund. The services Innovator may pay for include, but are not limited to, advertising and attaining access to certain conferences and seminars, as well as being presented with the opportunity to address investors and industry professionals through speeches and written marketing materials.
Aggregations. Fund shares in less than Creation Unit Aggregations are not distributed by the Distributor. The Distributor will deliver the Prospectus and, upon request, this SAI to Authorized Participants purchasing Creation Unit Aggregations and will maintain records of both orders placed with it and confirmations of acceptance furnished by it. The Distributor is a broker-dealer registered under the 1934 Act and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ( “FINRA” ).
The Distribution Agreement provides that it may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, on at least 60 days’ written notice by the Trust to the Distributor (i) by vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees; or (ii) by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund. The Distribution Agreement will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act).
The Distributor may also enter into agreements with participants that utilize the facilities of the Depository Trust Company (the “DTC Participants” ), which have international, operational, capabilities and place orders for Creation Unit Aggregations of Fund shares. Participating Parties (as defined in “Procedures for Creation of Creation Unit Aggregations” below) shall be DTC Participants (as defined in “DTC Acts as Securities Depository for Fund Shares” below).
Index Provider. The Index Provider is not affiliated with the Trust, Innovator, Administrator, Custodian or the Distributor. The Fund is entitled to use the Index pursuant to a sublicensing arrangement by and between the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, and Innovator, which in turn has a license agreement with the Index Provider. Standard & Poor’s ® and S&P ® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC ( “S&P” ) and Dow Jones ® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC ( “Dow Jones” ). The trademarks have been licensed to S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and its affiliates and have been sublicensed for use for certain purposes by the Adviser. The Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and/or its affiliates and has been licensed for use by the Adviser. The Adviser’s products are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, Dow Jones, S&P, any of their respective affiliates or third-party licensors (collectively, “S&P Dow Jones Indices” ). S&P Dow Jones Indices make no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Adviser’s products or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in Adviser’s products particularly or the ability of the Index to track general market performance. S&P Dow Jones Indices’ only relationship to the Adviser with respect to the Index is the licensing of the Index and certain trademarks, service marks and/or trade names of S&P Dow Jones Indices. The Index is determined, composed and calculated by S&P Dow Jones Indices without regard to the Adviser or the Adviser’s products. S&P Dow Jones Indices have no obligation to take the needs of the Adviser or the owners of Adviser’s products into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Index. S&P Dow Jones Indices are not responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the prices, and amount of Adviser’s products or the timing of the issuance or sale of Adviser’s products or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which Adviser’s products is to be converted into cash. S&P Dow Jones Indices have no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of Adviser’s products. There is no assurance that investment products based on the Index will accurately track index performance or provide positive investment returns. S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and its subsidiaries are not investment advisers. Inclusion of a security within an index is not a recommendation by S&P Dow Jones Indices to buy, sell, or hold such security, nor is it considered to be investment advice.
S&P DOW JONES INDICES DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ADEQUACY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE INDEX OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO OR ANY COMMUNICATION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ORAL OR WRITTEN COMMUNICATION (INCLUDING ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS) WITH RESPECT THERETO. S&P DOW JONES INDICES SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO ANY DAMAGES OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR DELAYS THEREIN. S&P DOW JONES INDICES MAKE NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE OR AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY THE ADVISER, OWNERS OF THE ADVISER’S PRODUCTS, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE INDEX OR WITH RESPECT TO ANY DATA RELATED THERETO. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT WHATSOEVER SHALL S&P DOW JONES INDICES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF PROFITS, TRADING LOSSES, LOST TIME OR GOODWILL, EVEN IF THEY HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. THERE ARE NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN S&P DOW JONES INDICES AND THE ADVISER, OTHER THAN THE LICENSORS OF S&P DOW JONES INDICES.
The Adviser does not guarantee the accuracy and/or the completeness of the Index or any data included therein, and the Adviser shall have no liability for any errors, omissions, restatements, re-calculations or interruptions therein. The Adviser makes no warranty, express or implied, as to results to be obtained by the Fund, owners of the shares of the Fund or any other person or entity from the use of the Index or any data included therein. The Adviser makes no express or implied warranties, and expressly disclaims all warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or use with respect to the Index or any data included therein. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall the Adviser have any liability for any special, punitive, direct, indirect or consequential damages (including lost profits) arising out of matters relating to the use of the Index even if notified of the possibility of such damages.
Exchange . The only relationship that the Exchange has with Innovator or the Distributor of the Fund in connection with the Fund is that the Exchange lists the shares of the Fund pursuant to its listing agreement with the Trust. The Exchange is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of pricing or the timing of the issuance or sale of the shares of the Fund or in the determination or calculation of the asset value of the Fund. The Exchange has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Fund.
Additional Information
Book Entry Only System. The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus.
DTC Acts as Securities Depository for Fund Shares. Shares of the Fund are represented by securities registered in the name of The Depository Trust Company ( “DTC” ) or its nominee, Cede & Co., and deposited with, or on behalf of, DTC.
DTC, a limited-purpose trust company, was created to hold securities of its participants (the “DTC Participants” ) and to facilitate the clearance and settlement of securities transactions among the DTC Participants in such securities through electronic book-entry changes in accounts of the DTC Participants, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of securities, certificates. DTC Participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and certain other organizations, some of whom (and/or their representatives) own DTC. More specifically, DTC is owned by a number of its DTC Participants and by the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE” ) and FINRA. Access to the DTC system is also available to others such as banks, brokers, dealers and trust companies that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a DTC Participant, either directly or indirectly (the “Indirect Participants” ).
Beneficial ownership of shares is limited to DTC Participants, Indirect Participants and persons holding interests through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants. Ownership of beneficial interests in shares (owners of such beneficial interests are referred to herein as “Beneficial Owners” ) is shown on, and the transfer of ownership is effected only through, records maintained by DTC (with respect to DTC Participants) and on the records of DTC Participants (with respect to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners that are not DTC Participants). Beneficial Owners will receive from or through the DTC Participant a written confirmation relating to their purchase and sale of shares.
Conveyance of all notices, statements and other communications to Beneficial Owners is effected as follows. Pursuant to a letter agreement between DTC and the Trust, DTC is required to make available to the Trust upon request and for a fee to be charged to the Trust a listing of the shares of the Fund held by each DTC Participant. The Trust shall inquire of each such DTC Participant as to the number of Beneficial Owners holding shares, directly or indirectly, through such DTC Participant. The Trust shall provide each such DTC Participant with copies of such notice, statement or other communication, in such form, number and at such place as such DTC Participant may reasonably request, in order that such notice, statement or communication may be transmitted by such DTC Participant, directly or indirectly, to such Beneficial Owners. In addition, the Trust shall pay to each such DTC Participants a fair and reasonable amount as reimbursement for the expenses attendant to such transmittal, all subject to applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
Fund distributions shall be made to DTC or its nominee, as the registered holder of all Fund shares. DTC or its nominee, upon receipt of any such distributions, shall immediately credit DTC Participants’ accounts with payments in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in shares of the Fund as shown on the records of DTC or its nominee. Payments by DTC Participants to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners of shares held through such DTC Participants will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is now the case with securities held for the accounts of customers in bearer form or registered in a “street name,” and will be the responsibility of such DTC Participants.
The Trust has no responsibility or liability for any aspect of the records relating to or notices to Beneficial Owners, or payments made on account of beneficial ownership interests in such shares, or for maintaining, supervising or reviewing any records relating to such beneficial ownership interests, or for any other aspect of the relationship between DTC and the DTC Participants or the relationship between such DTC Participants and the Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners owning through such DTC Participants.
DTC may decide to discontinue providing its service with respect to shares at any time by giving reasonable notice to the Trust and discharging its responsibilities with respect thereto under applicable law. Under such circumstances, the Trust shall take action to find a replacement for DTC to perform its functions at a comparable cost.
Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures
The Trust has adopted a proxy voting policy that seeks to ensure that proxies for securities held by the Fund are voted consistently with the best interests of the Fund.
The Board has delegated to Innovator the proxy voting responsibilities for the Fund and has directed Innovator to vote proxies consistent with the Fund’s best interests. In order to facilitate the proxy voting process, Broadridge Investor Communication Solutions, Inc. ( “Broadridge” ) has been retained to provide access to a selection of third-party providers that are available to provide proxy vote recommendations and research. Votes are cast through the Broadridge ProxyEdge ® platform ( “ProxyEdge” ). With the assistance of Broadridge, Egan-Jones Proxy Services ( “Egan-Jones” ) has been selected to provide vote recommendations based on its own internal guidelines. The services provided to Innovator through Egan Jones include access to Egan-Jones’ research analysis and their voting recommendations. Services provided to Innovator through ProxyEdge include receipt of proxy ballots, vote execution based upon the recommendations of Egan-Jones, access to the voting recommendations of Egan-Jones, as well as reporting, auditing, working with custodian banks, and consulting assistance for the handling of proxy voting responsibilities. ProxyEdge also maintains proxy voting records and provides Innovator with reports that reflect the proxy voting activities of client portfolios.
The fundamental guideline followed by Innovator in voting proxies is to make every effort to confirm that the manner in which shares are voted is in the best interest of clients and the value of the investment. Absent special circumstances of the types described below, it is the policy of Adviser to exercise its proxy voting discretion in accordance with the Egan-Jones Proxy Voting Principles and Guidelines set forth in Exhibit A.
A description of the Fund’s proxy voting policies and procedures, as well as a record of how the Fund voted proxies during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, is available without charge upon request by calling (800) 208-5212. This information is available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
Quarterly Portfolio Schedule. The Trust is required to disclose, after its first and third fiscal quarters, the complete schedule of the Fund’s portfolio holdings with the SEC on Form N-Q. Form N-Q for the Trust is available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. The Fund’s Form N-Q may also be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. and information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling 1-800-SEC-0330. The Trust’s Forms N-Q are available without charge, upon request, by calling 1-844-355-3837 or by writing to Innovator ETFs Trust II, 120 North Hale Street, Suite 200, Wheaton, Illinois 60187.
Beginning in 2020, the Trust will cease to disclose the Fund’s holdings on Form N-Q and will disclose, on a monthly basis, the complete schedule of the Fund’s portfolio holdings with the SEC on Form N-PORT. Form N-PORT for the Trust will be available in the same manner as the Form N-Q discussed above. The Fund may, however, voluntarily disclose all or part of its portfolio holdings other than in connection with the creation/redemption process, as discussed above, in advance of required filings with the SEC, provided that such information is made generally available to all shareholders and other interested parties in a manner that is consistent with the above policy for disclosure of portfolio holdings information. Such information may be made available through a publicly available website or other means that make the information available to all likely interested parties contemporaneously.
Policy Regarding Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings. The Trust has adopted a policy regarding the disclosure of information about the Fund’s portfolio holdings. The Board of Trustees must approve all material amendments to this policy. The Fund’s portfolio holdings are publicly disseminated each day the Fund is open for business through financial reporting and news services, including publicly accessible Internet websites. In addition, a basket composition file, which includes the security names and share quantities to deliver in exchange for Fund shares, together with estimates and actual cash components, is publicly disseminated each day the NYSE is open for trading via the National Securities Clearing Corporation ( “NSCC” ). The basket represents one Creation Unit of the Fund. The Fund’s portfolio holdings are also available on the Fund’s website at http://www.innovatoretfs.com. The Trust, Innovator and the Distributor will not disseminate non-public information concerning the Trust.
Codes of Ethics. In order to mitigate the possibility that the Fund will be adversely affected by personal trading, the Trust, Innovator and Penserra have adopted Codes of Ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act. These Codes of Ethics contain policies restricting securities trading in personal accounts access persons, Trustees and others who normally come into possession of information on portfolio transactions. Personnel subject to the Codes of Ethics may invest in securities that may be purchased or held by the Fund; however, the Codes of Ethics require that each transaction in such securities be reviewed by the Compliance Department. These Codes of Ethics are on public file with, and are available from, the SEC.
The Distributor relies on the principal underwriter’s exception under Rule 17j-1(c)(3). Foreside Financial Group, LLC, on behalf of Foreside Fund Officer Services, LLC, has adopted a code of ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act. These codes of ethics permit, subject to certain conditions, personnel of each of those entities to invest in securities that may be purchased or held by the Fund.
Creation and Redemption of Creation Unit Aggregations
General. The Trust issues and sells shares of the Fund only in Creation Unit Aggregations on a continuous basis through the Distributor, without a sales load, at their net asset values next determined after receipt, on any Business Day (as defined below), of an order in proper form.
A “Business Day” is generally any day on which the NYSE, the Exchange and the Trust are open for business. As of the date of this SAI, the NYSE observes the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
Purchase and Issuance of Creation Unit Aggregations. Unless cash purchases are required or permitted for the Fund under the circumstances described below, the consideration for purchase of a Creation Unit Aggregation of shares of the Fund generally consists of the in-kind deposit of a designated portfolio of securities and other instruments (the “Deposit Instruments” ) and an amount of cash computed as described below (the “Cash Component” ). Together, the Deposit Instruments (and/or any cash with respect to cash purchases and cash-in-lieu amounts) and the Cash Component constitute the “Fund Deposit,” which represents the minimum initial and subsequent investment amount for a Creation Unit Aggregation of the Fund.
The Cash Component is sometimes also referred to as the Balancing Amount. The Cash Component serves the function of compensating for any differences between the net asset value per Creation Unit Aggregation and the Deposit Amount (as defined below). The Cash Component is an amount equal to the difference between the net asset value of Fund shares (per Creation Unit Aggregation) and the “Deposit Amount”—an amount equal to the aggregate market value of the Deposit Instruments and/or cash in lieu of all or a portion of the Deposit Instruments. If the Cash Component is a positive number ( i.e., the net asset value per Creation Unit Aggregation exceeds the Deposit Amount), the creator will deliver the Cash Component. If the Cash Component is a negative number ( i.e., the net asset value per Creation Unit Aggregation is less than the Deposit Amount), the creator will receive the Cash Component.
On each Business Day, prior to the opening of business of the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m., Eastern Time), the list of the names and the required quantity of each Deposit Instrument, as well as the estimated Cash Component (if any) that will be applicable to Fund Deposits for the Fund for that day (subject to correction of any errors), are made available through the NSCC. Such Fund Deposit information is applicable in order to effect creations of Creation Unit Aggregations of the Fund until a new list is announced on the next Business Day.
The Fund reserves the right to require or permit purchases of Creation Unit Aggregations to be made in whole or in part on a cash basis, rather than in-kind, under the following circumstances: (i) to the extent there is a Cash Component; (ii) if, on a given Business Day, the Fund announces before the open of trading that all purchases on that day will be made entirely in cash; (iii) if, upon receiving a purchase order from an Authorized Participant (as defined below), the Fund determines to require the purchase to be made entirely in cash; (iv) if, on a given Business Day, the Fund requires all Authorized Participants purchasing shares on that day to deposit cash in lieu of some or all of the Deposit Instruments because: (a) such instruments are not eligible for transfer through either the NSCC or DTC; or (b) in the case of non-U.S. investments (if any), such instruments are not eligible for trading due to local trading restrictions, local restrictions on securities transfers or other similar circumstances; or (v) if the Fund permits an Authorized Participant to deposit cash in lieu of some or all of the Deposit Instruments because: (a) such instruments are not available in sufficient quantity; or (b) such instruments are not eligible for trading by an Authorized Participant or the investor on whose behalf the Authorized Participant is acting.
In addition, it is possible that Deposit Instruments may not correspond pro rata to the positions in the Fund’s portfolio under the following circumstances: (i) in the case of bonds, with respect to minor differences when it is impossible to break up bonds beyond certain minimum sizes needed for transfer and settlement; (ii) with respect to minor differences when rounding is necessary to eliminate fractional shares or lots that are not tradeable round lots (a tradeable round lot for a security will be the standard unit of trading in that particular type of security in its primary market); (iii) with respect to “to-be-announced” transactions, short positions, derivatives, and other positions that cannot be transferred in kind (including instruments that can be transferred in kind only with the consent of the original counterparty to the extent the Fund does not intend to seek such consents), and they will therefore be excluded from the Deposit Instruments with their value reflected in the determination of the Cash Component; (iv) to the extent the Fund determines, on a given Business Day, to use a representative sampling of the Fund’s portfolio; or (v) with respect to temporary periods, to effect changes in the Fund’s portfolio as a result of the rebalancing of its underlying index.
Procedures for Creation of Creation Unit Aggregations. All orders to purchase shares of the Fund in Creation Unit Aggregations must be placed with the Transfer Agent by or through an “Authorized Participant” or “AP” which is either: (1) a “Participating Party,” i.e., a broker-dealer or other participant in the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC, or (2) a DTC Participant, which, in either case, has signed a “Participant Agreement” with the Distributor. Investors should contact the Distributor for the names of Authorized Participants that have signed a Participant Agreement. All Fund shares, however created, will be entered on the records of DTC in the name of Cede & Co. for the account of a DTC Participant.
All orders to create Creation Unit Aggregations must be received by the transfer agent no later than the closing time of the regular trading session on the NYSE ( “Closing Time” ) (ordinarily 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time) in each case on the date such order is placed in order for creation of Creation Unit Aggregations to be effected based on the net asset value of shares of the Fund as next determined on such date after receipt of the order in proper form. In the case of custom orders, the order must be received by the transfer agent no later than 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The date on which an order to create Creation Unit Aggregations (or an order to redeem Creation Unit Aggregations, as discussed below) is placed is referred to as the “Transmittal Date.” Orders must be transmitted by an AP by telephone or other transmission method acceptable to the transfer agent pursuant to procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement. Severe economic or market disruptions or changes, or telephone or other communication failure may impede the ability to reach the transfer agent or an AP.
All orders from investors who are not APs to create Creation Unit Aggregations shall be placed with an AP, as applicable, in the form required by such AP. In addition, the AP may request the investor to make certain representations or enter into agreements with respect to the order, e.g., to provide for payments of cash, when required. Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not have executed a Participant Agreement and that, therefore, orders to create Creation Unit Aggregations of the Fund have to be placed by the investor’s broker through an AP that has executed a Participant Agreement. In such cases there may be additional charges to such investor. At any given time, there may be only a limited number of broker-dealers that have executed a Participant Agreement. Those persons placing orders should ascertain the deadlines applicable to DTC and the Federal Reserve Bank wire system by contacting the operations department of the broker or depository institution effectuating such transfer of Deposit Instruments and Cash Component.
Placement of Creation Orders. In order to purchase Creation Units of a Fund, an AP must submit an order to purchase for one or more Creation Units. All such orders must be received by a Fund’s transfer agent in proper form no later than the close of regular trading on the NYSE (ordinarily 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time) in order to receive that day’s closing net asset value per share. Orders must be placed in proper form by or through an AP, which is a DTC Participant, i.e., a subcustodian of the Trust. Deposit Instruments must be delivered to the Trust through DTC or NSCC, and Deposit Instruments which are non-U.S. securities must be delivered to an account maintained at the applicable local subcustodian of the Trust on or before the International Contractual Settlement Date, as defined below. If a Deposit Security is an American Depository Receipt ( “ADR” ) or similar domestic instrument, it may be delivered to the Custodian.
Deposit Instruments must be delivered to the Fund through the applicable processes set forth in the Participant Agreement. The custodian will monitor the movement of the underlying Deposit Instruments and/or cash and will instruct the movement of shares only upon validation that such instruments and/or cash have settled correctly.
Issuance of Creation Unit Aggregations. A Creation Unit Aggregation will generally not be issued until the transfer of good title to the Fund of the Deposit Instruments and the payment of the Cash Component, the Creation Transaction Fee (as defined below) and any other required cash amounts have been completed. To the extent contemplated by the applicable Participant Agreement, Creation Unit Aggregations of the Fund will be issued to such AP notwithstanding the fact that the corresponding Fund Deposits have not been received in part or in whole, in reliance on the undertaking of the AP to deliver the missing Deposit Instruments as soon as possible, which undertaking shall be secured by such AP’s delivery and maintenance of collateral consisting of cash in the form of U.S. dollars in immediately available funds having a value (marked to market daily) at least equal to 105% which Innovator may change from time to time of the value of the missing Deposit Instruments. Such cash collateral must be delivered no later than 2:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on the contractual settlement date. The Participant Agreement will permit the Fund to use such collateral to buy the missing Deposit Instruments at any time and will subject the AP to liability for any shortfall between the cost to the Fund of purchasing such securities and the value of the collateral.
Acceptance of Orders for Creation Unit Aggregations. The Fund reserves the absolute right to reject a creation order transmitted to it if: (i) the order is not in proper form; (ii) the purchaser or group of related purchasers, upon obtaining the Creation Unit Aggregations of Fund shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding shares of the Fund; (iii) the required Fund Deposit is not delivered; (iv) the acceptance of the Fund Deposit would have certain adverse tax consequences; (v) the acceptance of the Fund Deposit would, in the opinion of the Fund, be unlawful; (vi) the acceptance of the Fund Deposit would otherwise, in the discretion of the Fund, Innovator and/or any sub-advisor, have an adverse effect on the Fund or the rights of the Fund’s Beneficial Owners; or (vii) there exist circumstances outside the control of the Fund that make it impossible to process purchases of Creation Units for all practical purposes. Examples of such circumstances include: acts of God or public service or utility problems such as fires, floods, extreme weather conditions and power outages resulting in telephone, telecopy and computer failures; market conditions or activities causing trading halts; systems failures involving computer or other information systems affecting the Fund, Innovator, the Distributor, DTC, NSCC, the transfer agent, the custodian, any sub-custodian or any other participant in the purchase process; and similar extraordinary events. The Transfer Agent shall notify a prospective creator of a Creation Unit and/or the Authorized Participant acting on behalf of such prospective creator of the rejection of the order of such person. The Trust, the Fund, the Transfer Agent, the custodian, any sub-custodian and the Distributor are under no duty, however, to give notification of any defects or irregularities in the delivery of Fund Deposits, nor shall any of them incur any liability for the failure to give any such notification.
All questions as to the number of shares of each security in the Deposit Instruments and the validity, form, eligibility, and acceptance for deposit of any securities to be delivered shall be determined by the Trust, and the Trust’s determination shall be final and binding.
Creation Transaction Fee. Purchasers of Creation Units must pay a creation transaction fee (the “Creation Transaction Fee” ) that is currently $500. The Creation Transaction Fee is applicable to each purchase transaction regardless of the number of Creation Units purchased in the transaction. The Creation Transaction Fee is based on the composition of the securities included in the Fund’s portfolio and the countries in which the transactions are settled. The Creation Transaction Fee may increase or decrease as the Fund’s portfolio is adjusted to conform to changes in the composition of the Index. The price for each Creation Unit will equal the daily net asset value per share times the number of shares in a Creation Unit plus the fees described above and, if applicable, any operational processing and brokerage costs, transfer fees or stamp taxes. When the Fund permits an AP to substitute cash in lieu of depositing one or more of the requisite Deposit Instruments, the AP may be assessed a higher amount to cover the cost of purchasing the Deposit Instruments, including operational processing and brokerage costs, transfer fees, stamp taxes, and part or all of the spread between the expected bid and offer side of the market related to such Deposit Instruments.
As discussed above, shares of the Fund may be issued in advance of receipt of all Deposit Instruments subject to various conditions including a requirement to maintain on deposit with the Fund cash at least equal to 105% of the market value of the missing Deposit Instruments.
Redemptions of Creation Unit Aggregations
Redemption of Fund Shares in Creation Unit Aggregations. Beneficial Owners of Fund shares may sell their shares in the secondary market, but must accumulate enough shares to constitute a Creation Unit Aggregation to redeem through the Fund. The Fund will not redeem shares in amounts less than Creation Unit Aggregations and there can be no assurance that there will be sufficient liquidity in the public trading market at any time to permit assembly of a Creation Unit Aggregation. Investors should expect to incur customary brokerage and other costs in connection with assembling a sufficient number of Fund shares to constitute a redeemable Creation Unit Aggregation. Redemption requests must be placed by or through an Authorized Participant. Creation Unit Aggregations will be redeemable at their net asset value per Creation Unit Aggregation next determined after receipt of a request for redemption by the Fund.
On each Business Day, prior to the opening of business of the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m., Eastern Time), the list of the names and the required quantity of Deposit Instruments, as well as the estimated Cash Redemption Amount (as defined below) (if any) that will be applicable to redemptions for the Fund for that day (subject to correction of any errors), are made available through the NSCC. Such information is applicable in order to effect redemptions of Creation Unit Aggregations of the Fund until a new list is announced on the next Business Day.
Unless cash redemptions are required or permitted for the Fund under the circumstances described below, the redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit Aggregation generally consist of Deposit Instruments—as announced on the Business Day of the request for redemption received in proper form—plus or minus cash in an amount equal to the difference between the net asset value of the Fund shares (per Creation Unit Aggregation) being redeemed, as next determined after a receipt of a request in proper form, and the aggregate market value of the Deposit Instruments (the “Cash Redemption Amount” ), less the applicable Redemption Transaction Fee as described below and, if applicable, any operational processing and brokerage costs, transfer fees or stamp taxes. In the event that the Deposit Instruments have an aggregate market value greater than the net asset value of the Fund shares (per Creation Unit Aggregation), a compensating cash payment equal to the difference plus the applicable Redemption Transaction Fee and, if applicable, any operational processing and brokerage costs, transfer fees or stamp taxes, is required to be made by or through an Authorized Participant by the redeeming shareholder.
The Fund reserves the right to require or permit redemptions of Creation Unit Aggregations to be made in whole or in part on a cash basis, rather than in-kind, under the following circumstances: (i) to the extent there is a Cash Redemption Amount; (ii) if, on a given Business Day, the Fund announces before the open of trading that all redemptions on that day will be made entirely in cash; (iii) if, upon receiving a redemption order from an Authorized Participant, the Fund determines to require the redemption to be made entirely in cash; (iv) if, on a given Business Day, the Fund requires all Authorized Participants redeeming shares on that day to receive cash in lieu of some or all of the Deposit Instruments because: (a) such instruments are not eligible for transfer through either the NSCC or DTC; or (b) in the case of non-U.S. investments (if any), such instruments are not eligible for trading due to local trading restrictions, local restrictions on securities transfers or other similar circumstances; or (v) if the Fund permits an Authorized Participant to receive cash in lieu of some or all of the Deposit Instruments because: (a) such instruments are not eligible for trading by an Authorized Participant or the investor on whose behalf the Authorized Participant is acting; or (b) to the extent the Fund holds non-U.S. investments, a holder of shares would be subject to unfavorable income tax treatment if the holder receives redemption proceeds in kind.
In addition, it is possible that Deposit Instruments may not correspond pro rata to the positions in the Fund’s portfolio under the following circumstances: (i) in the case of bonds, with respect to minor differences when it is impossible to break up bonds beyond certain minimum sizes needed for transfer and settlement; (ii) with respect to minor differences when rounding is necessary to eliminate fractional shares or lots that are not tradeable round lots; (iii) with respect to “to-be-announced” transactions, short positions, derivatives and other positions that cannot be transferred in kind (including instruments that can be transferred in kind only with the consent of the original counterparty to the extent the Fund does not intend to seek such consents), and they will therefore be excluded from the Deposit Instruments with their value reflected in the determination of the Cash Redemption Amount; (iv) to the extent the Fund determines, on a given Business Day, to use a representative sampling of the Fund’s portfolio; or (v) with respect to temporary periods, to effect changes in the Fund’s portfolio as a result of the rebalancing of its underlying index.
The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed (i) for any period during which the NYSE is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings); (ii) for any period during which trading on the NYSE is suspended or restricted; (iii) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which disposal of the shares of the Fund or determination of the Fund’s net asset value is not reasonably practicable; or (iv) in such other circumstances as are permitted by the SEC.
Redemption Transaction Fee. Parties redeeming Creation Units must pay a redemption transaction fee (the “Redemption Transaction Fee” ) that is currently $500. The Redemption Transaction Fee is applicable to each redemption transaction regardless of the number of Creation Units redeemed in the transaction. The Redemption Transaction Fee may vary and is based on the composition of the securities included in the Fund’s portfolio and the countries in which the transactions are settled. The Redemption Transaction Fee may increase or decrease as the Fund’s portfolio is adjusted to conform to changes in the composition of the Index. Investors will also bear the costs of transferring the Fund Instruments from the Trust to their account or on their order. Investors who use the services of a broker or other such intermediary in addition to an AP to effect a redemption of a Creation Unit Aggregation may be charged an additional fee for such services.
Placement of Redemption Orders. Orders to redeem Creation Unit Aggregations must be delivered through an AP that has executed a Participant Agreement. Investors other than APs are responsible for making arrangements for a redemption request to be made through an AP. An order to redeem Creation Unit Aggregations of the Fund is deemed received by the Trust on the Transmittal Date if: (i) such order is received by US Bank (in its capacity as transfer agent) not later than the Closing Time on the Transmittal Date; (ii) such order is accompanied or followed by the requisite number of shares of the Fund specified in such order, which delivery must be made through DTC to US Bank; and (iii) all other procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement are properly followed.
Deliveries of Fund Securities to investors are generally expected to be made within two Business Days. Due to the schedule of holidays in certain countries, however, the delivery of in-kind redemption proceeds for the Fund may take longer than two Business Days after the day on which the redemption request is received in proper form. In such cases, the local market settlement procedures will not commence until the end of the local holiday periods. Under the 1940 Act, the Fund would generally be required to make payment of redemption proceeds within seven days after a security is tendered for redemption. However, because the settlement of redemptions of Fund shares is contingent not only on the settlement cycle of the United States securities markets, but also on delivery cycles of foreign markets, pursuant to an exemptive order on which the Fund may rely, the Fund’s in-kind redemption proceeds must be paid within the maximum number of calendar days required for such payment or satisfaction in the principal local foreign markets where transactions in portfolio securities customarily clear and settle, but generally no later than 15 calendar days following tender of a Creation Unit Aggregation.
In connection with taking delivery of shares of non-U.S. Fund Securities upon redemption of shares of the Fund, a redeeming Beneficial Owner, or AP acting on behalf of such Beneficial Owner, must maintain appropriate security arrangements with a qualified broker-dealer, bank or other custody provider in each jurisdiction in which any of the Fund Securities are customarily traded, to which account such Fund Securities will be delivered.
To the extent contemplated by an AP’s agreement, in the event the AP has submitted a redemption request in proper form but is unable to transfer all or part of the Creation Unit Aggregation to be redeemed to the Fund’s transfer agent, the transfer agent will nonetheless accept the redemption request in reliance on the undertaking by the AP to deliver the missing shares as soon as possible. Such undertaking shall be secured by the AP’s delivery and maintenance of collateral consisting of cash having a value (marked to market daily) at least equal to 105%, which Innovator may change from time to time, of the value of the missing shares.
Because the portfolio securities of the Fund may trade on the relevant exchange(s) on days that the listing exchange for the Fund is closed or are otherwise not Business Days for the Fund, shareholders may not be able to redeem their shares of the Fund, or purchase and sell shares of the Fund on the listing exchange for the Fund, on days when the net asset value of the Fund could be significantly affected by events in the relevant foreign markets, if any.
Federal Tax Matters
This section summarizes some of the main U.S. federal income tax consequences of owning shares of the Fund. This section is current as of the date of the Prospectus. Tax laws and interpretations change frequently, and these summaries do not describe all of the tax consequences to all taxpayers. For example, these summaries generally do not describe your situation if you are a corporation, a non-U.S. person, a broker-dealer, or other investor with special circumstances. In addition, this section does not describe your state, local or foreign tax consequences.
This federal income tax summary is based in part on the advice of counsel to the Fund. The Internal Revenue Service could disagree with any conclusions set forth in this section. In addition, our counsel was not asked to review, and has not reached a conclusion with respect to the federal income tax treatment of the assets to be deposited in the Fund. This may not be sufficient for prospective investors to use for the purpose of avoiding penalties under federal tax law.
As with any investment, prospective investors should seek advice based on their individual circumstances from their own tax advisor.
The Fund intends to qualify annually and to elect to be treated as a regulated investment company under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code” ).
To qualify for the favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment generally accorded to regulated investment companies, the Fund must, among other things, (i) derive in each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income from dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans and gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies or other income derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies, or net income derived from interests in certain publicly traded partnerships; (ii) diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each quarter of the taxable year, (a) at least 50% of the market value of the Fund’s assets is represented by cash and cash items (including receivables), U.S. government securities, the securities of other regulated investment companies and other securities, with such other securities of any one issuer generally limited for the purposes of this calculation to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets and not greater than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (b) not more than 25% of the value of its total assets is invested in the securities (other than U.S. government securities or the securities of other regulated investment companies) of any one issuer, or two or more issuers which the Fund controls which are engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more of certain publicly traded partnerships; and (iii) distribute at least 90% of its investment company taxable income (which includes, among other items, dividends, interest and net short-term capital gains in excess of net long-term capital losses) and at least 90% of its net tax-exempt interest income each taxable year. There are certain exceptions for failure to qualify if the failure is for reasonable cause or is de minimis , and certain corrective action is taken and certain tax payments are made by the Fund.
As a regulated investment company, the Fund generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on its investment company taxable income (as that term is defined in the Code, but without regard to the deduction for dividends paid) and net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss), if any, that it distributes to shareholders. The Fund intends to distribute to its shareholders, at least annually, substantially all of its investment company taxable income and net capital gain. If the Fund retains any net capital gain or investment company taxable income, it will generally be subject to federal income tax at regular corporate rates on the amount retained. In addition, amounts not distributed on a timely basis in accordance with a calendar year distribution requirement are subject to a nondeductible 4% excise tax unless, generally, the Fund distributes during each calendar year an amount equal to the sum of (1) at least 98% of its ordinary income (not taking into account any capital gains or losses) for the calendar year, (2) at least 98.2% of its capital gains in excess of its capital losses (adjusted for certain ordinary losses) for the one-year period ending October 31 of the calendar year, and (3) any ordinary income and capital gains for previous years that were not distributed during those years. In order to prevent application of the excise tax, the Fund intends to make its distributions in accordance with the calendar year distribution requirement. A distribution will be treated as paid on December 31 of the current calendar year if it is declared by the Fund in October, November or December with a record date in such a month and paid by the Fund during January of the following calendar year. Such distributions will be taxable to shareholders in the calendar year in which the distributions are declared, rather than the calendar year in which the distributions are received.
Subject to certain reasonable cause and de minimis exceptions, if the Fund failed to qualify as a regulated investment company or failed to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement in any taxable year, the Fund would be taxed as an ordinary corporation on its taxable income (even if such income were distributed to its shareholders) and all distributions out of earnings and profits would be taxed to shareholders as ordinary income.
Distributions
Dividends paid out of the Fund’s investment company taxable income are generally taxable to a shareholder as ordinary income to the extent of the Fund’s earnings and profits, whether paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares. However, certain ordinary income distributions received from the Fund may be taxed at capital gains tax rates. In particular, ordinary income dividends received by an individual shareholder from a regulated investment company such as the Fund are generally taxed at the same rates that apply to net capital gain, provided that certain holding period requirements are satisfied and provided the dividends are attributable to qualifying dividends received by the Fund itself. Dividends received by the Fund from foreign corporations are qualifying dividends eligible for this lower tax rate only in certain circumstances.
The Fund will provide notice to its shareholders of the amount of any distributions that may be taken into account as a dividend, which is eligible for the capital gains tax rates. The Fund cannot make any guarantees as to the amount of any distribution, which will be regarded as a qualifying dividend.
Income from the Fund may also be subject to a 3.8% “Medicare tax.” This tax generally applies to net investment income if the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income exceeds certain threshold amounts, which are $250,000 in the case of married couples filing joint returns and $200,000 in the case of single individuals.
A corporation that owns shares generally will not be entitled to the dividends received deduction with respect to many dividends received from the Fund because the dividends received deduction is generally not available for distributions from regulated investment companies. However, certain ordinary income dividends on shares that are attributable to qualifying dividends received by the Fund from certain domestic corporations may be reported by the Fund as being eligible for the dividends received deduction.
Distributions of net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss), if any, properly reported as capital gain dividends are taxable to a shareholder as long-term capital gains, regardless of how long the shareholder has held Fund shares. Shareholders receiving distributions in the form of additional shares, rather than cash, generally will have a cost basis in each such share equal to the value of a share of the Fund on the reinvestment date. A distribution of an amount in excess of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits will be treated by a shareholder as a return of capital which is applied against and reduces the shareholder’s basis in his or her shares. To the extent that the amount of any such distribution exceeds the shareholder’s basis in his or her shares, the excess will be treated by the shareholder as gain from a sale or exchange of the shares.
Shareholders will be notified annually as to the U.S. federal income tax status of distributions, and shareholders receiving distributions in the form of additional shares will receive a report as to the value of those shares.
Sale or Exchange of Fund Shares
Upon the sale or other disposition of shares of the Fund, which a shareholder holds as a capital asset, such a shareholder may realize a capital gain or loss, which will be long-term or short-term, depending upon the shareholder’s holding period for the shares. Generally, a shareholder’s gain or loss will be a long-term gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than one year.
Any loss realized on a sale or exchange will be disallowed to the extent that shares disposed of are replaced (including through reinvestment of dividends) within a period of 61 days beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after disposition of shares or to the extent that the shareholder, during such period, acquires or enters into an option or contract to acquire, substantially identical stock or securities. In such a case, the basis of the shares acquired will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss. Any loss realized by a shareholder on a disposition of Fund shares held by the shareholder for six months or less will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any distributions of long-term capital gain received by the shareholder with respect to such shares.
Taxes on Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units
If a shareholder exchanges securities for Creation Units the shareholder will generally recognize a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time and the shareholder’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and the Cash Component paid. If a shareholder exchanges Creation Units for securities, then the shareholder will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the shareholder’s basis in the Creation Units and the aggregate market value of the securities received and the Cash Redemption Amount. The Internal Revenue Service, however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units or Creation Units for securities cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position.
Nature of Fund Investments
Certain of the Fund’s investment practices are subject to special and complex federal income tax provisions that may, among other things, (i) disallow, suspend or otherwise limit the allowance of certain losses or deductions; (ii) convert lower taxed long-term capital gain into higher taxed short-term capital gain or ordinary income; (iii) convert an ordinary loss or a deduction into a capital loss (the deductibility of which is more limited); (iv) cause the Fund to recognize income or gain without a corresponding receipt of cash; (v) adversely affect the time as to when a purchase or sale of stock or securities is deemed to occur; and (vi) adversely alter the characterization of certain complex financial transactions.
Futures Contracts and Options
The Fund’s transactions in futures contracts and options, if any, will be subject to special provisions of the Code that, among other things, may affect the character of gains and losses realized by the Fund ( i.e., may affect whether gains or losses are ordinary or capital, or short-term or long-term), may accelerate recognition of income to the Fund and may defer Fund losses. These rules could, therefore, affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to shareholders. These provisions also (i) will require the Fund to mark-to-market certain types of the positions in its portfolio ( i.e., treat them as if they were closed out); and (ii) may cause the Fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement for qualifying to be taxed as a regulated investment company and the distribution requirements for avoiding excise taxes.
Investments in Certain Foreign Corporations
If the Fund holds an equity interest in any “passive foreign investment companies” (“PFICs” ), which are generally certain foreign corporations that receive at least 75% of their annual gross income from passive sources (such as interest, dividends, certain rents and royalties or capital gains) or that hold at least 50% of their assets in investments producing such passive income, the Fund could be subject to U.S. federal income tax and additional interest charges on gains and certain distributions with respect to those equity interests, even if all the income or gain is timely distributed to its shareholders. The Fund will not be able to pass through to its shareholders any credit or deduction for such taxes. The Fund may be able to make an election that could ameliorate these adverse tax consequences. In this case, the Fund would recognize as ordinary income any increase in the value of such PFIC shares, and as ordinary loss any decrease in such value to the extent it did not exceed prior increases included in income. Under this election, the Fund might be required to recognize in a year income in excess of its distributions from PFICs and its proceeds from dispositions of PFIC stock during that year, and such income would nevertheless be subject to the distribution requirement and would be taken into account for purposes of the 4% excise tax (described above). Dividends paid by PFICs are not treated as qualified dividend income.
Backup Withholding
The Fund may be required to withhold U.S. federal income tax from all taxable distributions and sale proceeds 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 that they are subject to backup withholding. Corporate shareholders and certain other shareholders specified in the Code generally are exempt from such backup withholding. This withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld may be credited against the shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability.
Non-U.S. Shareholders
U.S. taxation of a shareholder who, as to the United States, is a nonresident alien individual, a foreign trust or estate, a foreign corporation or foreign partnership ( “non-U.S. shareholder” ) depends on whether the income of the Fund is “effectively connected” with a U.S. trade or business carried on by the shareholder.
In addition to the rules described in this section concerning the potential imposition of withholding on distributions to non-U.S. persons, distributions, to non-U.S. persons that are “financial institutions” may be subject to a withholding tax of 30% unless an agreement is in place between the financial institution and the U.S. Treasury to collect and disclose information about accounts, equity investments, or debt interests in the financial institution held by one or more U.S. persons or the institution is resident in a jurisdiction that has entered into such an agreement with the U.S. Treasury. For these purposes, a “financial institution” means any entity that (i) accepts deposits in the ordinary course of a banking or similar business; (ii) holds financial assets for the account of others as a substantial portion of its business; or (iii) is engaged (or holds itself out as being engaged) primarily in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities, partnership interests, commodities or any interest (including a futures contract or option) in such securities, partnership interests or commodities. Dispositions of shares by such persons may be subject to such withholding after December 31, 2018.
Distributions to non-financial non-U.S. entities (other than publicly traded foreign entities, entities owned by residents of U.S. possessions, foreign governments, international organizations, or foreign central banks), will also be subject to a withholding tax of 30% if the entity does not certify that the entity does not have any substantial U.S. owners or provide the name, address and TIN of each substantial U.S. owner. Dispositions of shares by such persons may be subject to such withholding after December 31, 2018.
Income Not Effectively Connected. If the income from the Fund is not “effectively connected” with a U.S. trade or business carried on by the non-U.S. shareholder, distributions of investment company taxable income will generally be subject to a U.S. tax of 30% (or lower treaty rate), which tax is generally withheld from such distributions.
Distributions of capital gain dividends and any amounts retained by the Fund which are properly reported by the Fund as undistributed capital gains will not be subject to U.S. tax at the rate of 30% (or lower treaty rate) unless the non-U.S. shareholder is a nonresident alien individual and is physically present in the United States for more than 182 days during the taxable year and meets certain other requirements. However, this 30% tax on capital gains of nonresident alien individuals who are physically present in the United States for more than the 182 day period only applies in exceptional cases because any individual present in the United States for more than 182 days during the taxable year is generally treated as a resident for U.S. income tax purposes; in that case, he or she would be subject to U.S. income tax on his or her worldwide income at the graduated rates applicable to U.S. citizens, rather than the 30% U.S. tax. In the case of a non-U.S. shareholder who is a nonresident alien individual, the Fund may be required to withhold U.S. income tax from distributions of net capital gain unless the non-U.S. shareholder certifies his or her non-U.S. status under penalties of perjury or otherwise establishes an exemption. If a non-U.S. shareholder is a nonresident alien individual, any gain such shareholder realizes upon the sale or exchange of such shareholder’s shares of the Fund in the United States will ordinarily be exempt from U.S. tax unless the gain is U.S. source income and such shareholder is physically present in the United States for more than 182 days during the taxable year and meets certain other requirements.
Distributions from the Fund that are properly reported by the Fund as an interest-related dividend attributable to certain interest income received by the Fund or as a short-term capital gain dividend attributable to certain net short-term capital gain income received by the Fund may not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, including withholding taxes when received by certain non-U.S. investors, provided that the Fund makes certain elections and certain other conditions are met.
In addition, capital gains distributions attributable to gains from U.S. real property interests (including certain U.S. real property holding corporations) will generally be subject to United States withholding tax and will give rise to an obligation on the part of the foreign shareholder to file a United States tax return.
Income Effectively Connected. If the income from the Fund is “effectively connected” with a U.S. trade or business carried on by a non-U.S. shareholder, then distributions of investment company taxable income and capital gain dividends, any amounts retained by the Fund which are properly reported by the Fund as undistributed capital gains and any gains realized upon the sale or exchange of shares of the Fund will be subject to U.S. income tax at the graduated rates applicable to U.S. citizens, residents and domestic corporations. Non-U.S. corporate shareholders may also be subject to the branch profits tax imposed by the Code. The tax consequences to a non-U.S. shareholder entitled to claim the benefits of an applicable tax treaty may differ from those described herein. Non-U.S. shareholders are advised to consult their own tax advisors with respect to the particular tax consequences to them of an investment in the Fund.
Capital Loss Carry Forward
As of March 31, 2019, for Federal income tax purposes, the Fund had capital loss carryforwards available to offset future capital gains for an unlimited period. To the extent that these loss carryforwards are utilized, capital gains so offset will not be distributed to shareholders.
Indefinite Short-Term |
Indefinite Long-Term |
$1,099,823 |
$106,716 |
Other Taxation
Fund shareholders may be subject to state, local and foreign taxes on their Fund distributions. Shareholders are advised to consult their own tax advisors with respect to the particular tax consequences to them of an investment in the Fund.
Determination of Net Asset Value
The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled “Net Asset Value.”
The per share net asset value of the Fund is determined by dividing the total value of the securities and other assets, less liabilities, by the total number of shares outstanding. Market value prices represent last sale or official closing prices from a national or foreign exchange ( i.e. , a regulated market) and are primarily obtained from third party pricing services. Under normal circumstances, daily calculation of the net asset value will utilize the last closing price of each security held by the Fund at the close of the market on which such security is principally listed. In determining net asset value, portfolio securities for the Fund for which accurate market quotations are readily available will be valued by the Fund accounting agent as follows:
(1) Common stocks and other equity securities listed on any national or foreign exchange other than The NASDAQ Stock Market ® LLC ( “NASDAQ” ) and the London Stock Exchange Alternative Investment Market ( “AIM” ) will be valued at the last sale price on the business day as of which such value is being determined. Securities listed on NASDAQ or AIM are valued at the official closing price on the business day as of which such value is being determined. If there has been no sale on such day, or no official closing price in the case of securities traded on NASDAQ and AIM, the securities are valued at the mean of the most recent bid and ask prices on such day. Portfolio securities traded on more than one securities exchange are valued at the last sale price or official closing price, as applicable, on the business day as of which such value is being determined at the close of the exchange representing the principal market for such securities.
(2) Securities traded in the OTC market are valued at the mean of the bid and asked price, if available, and otherwise at their closing bid prices.
In addition, the following types of securities will be valued as follows:
(1) Fixed income securities with a remaining maturity of 60 days or more will be valued by the fund accounting agent using a pricing service. When price quotes are not available, fair value is based on prices of comparable securities.
(2) Fixed income securities maturing within 60 days are valued by the Fund accounting agent on an amortized cost basis.
The value of any portfolio security held by the Fund for which market quotations are not readily available will be determined by Innovator in a manner that most fairly reflects fair market value of the security on the valuation date, based on a consideration of all available information.
Certain securities may not be able to be priced by pre-established pricing methods. Such securities may be valued by the Board of Trustees or its delegate at fair value. These securities generally include but are not limited to, restricted securities (securities which may not be publicly sold without registration under the 1933 Act) for which a pricing service is unable to provide a market price; securities whose trading has been formally suspended; a security whose market price is not available from a pre-established pricing source; a security with respect to which an event has occurred that is likely to materially affect the value of the security after the market has closed but before the calculation of Fund net asset value (as may be the case in foreign markets on which the security is primarily traded) or make it difficult or impossible to obtain a reliable market quotation; and a security whose price, as provided by the pricing service, does not reflect the security’s “fair value.” As a general principle, the current “fair value” of an issue of securities would appear to be the amount, that the owner might reasonably expect to receive for them upon their current sale. A variety of factors may be considered in determining the fair value of such securities.
Valuing the Fund’s investments using fair value pricing will result in using prices for those investments that may differ from current market valuations. Use of fair value prices and certain current market valuations could result in a difference between the prices used to calculate the Fund’s net asset value and the prices used by the Index, which, in turn, could result in a difference between the Fund’s performance and the performance of the Index.
Because foreign markets may be open on different days than the days during which a shareholder may purchase the shares of the Fund, the value of the Fund’s investments may change on the days when shareholders are not able to purchase the shares of the Fund.
The Fund may suspend the right of redemption for the Fund only under the following unusual circumstances: (i) when the NYSE is closed (other than weekends and holidays) or trading is restricted; (ii) when trading in the markets normally utilized is restricted, or when an emergency exists as determined by the SEC so that disposal of the Fund’s investments or determination of its net assets is not reasonably practicable; or (iii) during any period when the SEC may permit.
Dividends and Distributions
The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled “Dividends, Distributions and Taxes.”
General Policies. Dividends from net investment income of the Fund, if any, are declared and paid at least annually. Distributions of net realized securities gains, if any, generally are declared and paid once a year, but the Trust may make distributions on a more frequent basis. The Trust reserves the right to declare special distributions if, in its reasonable discretion, such action is necessary or advisable to preserve the status of the Fund as a regulated investment company or to avoid imposition of income or excise taxes on undistributed income.
Dividends and other distributions of Fund shares are distributed, as described below, on a pro rata basis to Beneficial Owners of such shares. Dividend payments are made through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants to Beneficial Owners then of record with proceeds received from the Fund.
Dividend Reinvestment Service. No reinvestment service is provided by the Trust. Broker-dealers may make available the DTC book-entry Dividend Reinvestment Service for use by Beneficial Owners of the Fund for reinvestment of their dividend distributions. Beneficial Owners should contact their brokers in order to determine the availability and costs of the service and the details of participation therein. Brokers may require Beneficial Owners to adhere to specific procedures and timetables. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and realized gains will be automatically reinvested in additional whole shares of the Fund purchased in the secondary market.
Miscellaneous Information
Counsel. Chapman and Cutler LLP, 111 West Monroe Street, Chicago, Illinois 60603, is counsel to the Trust.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. Cohen & Company, Ltd., 1350 Euclid Avenue, Suite 800, Cleveland, Ohio 44115, serves as the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm. The firm audits the Trust’s financial statements and performs other related audit services.
Financial Statements
The audited financial statements and notes thereto in the Fund’s Annual Report to Shareholders for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019 (the “Annual Report” ) are incorporated by reference into this SAI. No other parts of the Annual Report are incorporated by reference herein. The financial statements included in the Annual Report have been audited by Cohen & Company, Ltd., the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm, whose report thereon also appears in the Annual Report and is incorporated by reference into this SAI. The financial statements included in the annual report for the fiscal period ended March 31, 2017 and the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018 were audited by another independent registered public accounting firm.
A copy of the Fund’s Annual Report for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019 may be obtained upon request and without charge by writing or by calling the Adviser, at the address and telephone number on the back cover of the Fund’s Prospectus.
Exhibit A - Proxy Voting Guidelines
Egan-Jones Proxy Services
Standard Proxy Voting
Principles and Guidelines
Egan-Jones Proxy Voting Principles
Introduction
Our Proxy Voting Principles serve as the background for our Proxy Voting Guidelines, which, in turn, act as general guidelines for the specific recommendations that we make with respect to proxy voting. It is important to recognize that such principles are not intended to dictate but guide. Certain of the principles may be inappropriate for a given company, or in a given situation. Additionally, the principles are evolving and should be viewed in that light. Our principles are and will be influenced by current and forthcoming legislation, rules and regulations, and stock exchange rules. Examples include:
• |
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and implementing rules promulgated by the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission |
• |
revised corporate governance listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange and resulting SEC rules |
• |
corporate governance reforms and subsequent proposed rule filings made with the SEC by The NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. and resulting SEC rules |
In general:
• |
Directors should be accountable to shareholders, and management should be accountable to directors. |
• |
Information on the Company supplied to shareholders should be transparent. |
• |
Shareholders should be treated fairly and equitably according to the principle of one share, one vote. |
Principles
A. |
Director independence |
It is our view that:
• |
A two-thirds majority of the board should be comprised of independent directors. |
• |
Independent directors should meet alone at regularly scheduled meetings, no less frequently than semi-annually, without the Chief Executive Officer or other non-independent directors present. |
• |
When the Chairman of the Board also serves as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, the board should designate one independent director to act as a leader to coordinate the activities of the other independent directors. |
• |
Committees of the board dealing with the following responsibilities should consist only of independent directors: audit, compensation, nomination of directors, corporate governance, and compliance. |
• |
No director should serve as a consultant or service provider to the Company. |
• |
Director compensation should be a combination of cash and stock in the Company, with stock constituting a significant component. |
In our opinion, an independent director, by definition, has no material relationship with the Company other than his or her directorship. This avoids the potential for conflict of interest. Specifically such director:
• |
should not have been employed by the Company or an affiliate within the previous five years. |
• |
should not be the founder of the Company. |
• |
should not be a director of the Company serving in an ex officio capacity. |
• |
should not be a member of the Company’s Board of Directors for 10 years or more, however, a director who is a diverse nominee may be exempted from this rule on the case-by-case basis. |
• |
should have no services contract regarding such matters as aircraft rental contract, real property lease or similar contract with the Company or affiliate, or with a member of the Company’s senior management or provide legal or consulting services to the Company within the previous three years. |
• |
should not be employed by a public company at which an executive officer of the Company serves as a director, and thereby be part of an interlocking relationship. |
• |
should not be a member of the immediate family (spouse, parents, children, siblings, mothers and fathers-in-law, sons and daughters-in-law, brothers and sisters-in-law, and anyone other than domestic employees who share such person’s home) of any person described above. |
• |
a director who receives, or whose immediate family member receives, more than $120,000 per year in direct compensation (base salary plus cash bonus) from the Company, other than director and committee fees and pension or other forms of deferred compensation for prior service (provided such compensation is not contingent in any way on continued service), is not independent until three years after he or she ceases to receive more than $120,000 per year in such compensation. |
• |
a director who is an executive officer or an employee, or whose immediate family member is an executive officer, of another company (other than a utility) or non-profit organization that makes payments to, or receives payments from, the Company for property or services in an amount which, in any single fiscal year, exceeds the greater of $1 million, or 2% of the recipient company’s consolidated gross revenues, is not “independent” until three years after falling below such threshold. However, the existence of a credit agreement between a bank and the Company shall not affect the independence of a director who is an executive of that bank within the previous three years. |
B. |
Board operating procedures |
• |
The board should adopt a written statement of its governance principles, and regularly re-evaluate them. |
• |
Independent directors should establish performance criteria and compensation incentives for the Chief Executive Officer, and regularly review his or her performance against such criteria. Such criteria should align the interests of the CEO with those of shareholders, and evaluate the CEO against peer groups. |
• |
The independent directors should be provided access to professional advisers of their own choice, independent of management. |
• |
The board should have a CEO succession plan, and receive periodic reports from management on the development of other members of senior management. |
• |
Directors should have access to senior management through a designated liaison person. |
• |
The board should periodically review its own size, and determine the appropriate size. |
C. |
Requirements for individual directors |
We recommend that:
• |
The board should provide guidelines for directors serving on several Boards addressing competing commitments. |
• |
The board should establish performance criteria for itself and for individual directors regarding director attendance, preparedness, and participation at meetings of the board and of committees of the board, and directors should perform satisfactorily in accordance with such criteria in order to be re-nominated. |
D. |
Shareholder rights |
• |
A simple majority of shareholders should be able to amend the Company’s bylaws, call special meetings, or act by written consent. |
• |
“Greenmail” should be prohibited. |
• |
Shareholder approval should be required to enact or amend a “poison pill” (i.e., “shareholder rights”) plan |
• |
Directors should be elected annually. |
• |
The board should ordinarily implement a shareholder proposal that is approved by a majority of proxy votes. |
• |
Shareholders should have effective access to the director nomination process. |
Egan-Jones Proxy Voting Guidelines
Consistent with the above-listed principles, the proxy voting guidelines outlined below are written to guide the specific recommendations that we make to our clients. Ordinarily, we do not recommend that clients ABSTAIN on votes; rather, we recommend that they vote FOR or AGAINST proposals (or, in the case of election of directors, that they vote FOR ALL nominees, AGAINST the nominees, or that they WITHHOLD votes for certain nominees). In the latter instance, the recommendation on our report takes the form ALL, EXCEPT FOR and lists the nominees from whom votes should be withheld.
Whether or not the guideline below indicates “case-by-case basis,” every case is examined to ensure that the recommendation is appropriate.
Board Of Directors
Election of Directors in Uncontested Elections
Case-by-case basis, examining composition of board and key board committees, attendance history, corporate governance provisions and takeover activity, long-term company financial performance relative to a market index, directors’ investment in the Company, etc.
WITHHOLD votes from nominees who:
• |
are affiliated outside directors and sit on the Audit, Compensation, or Nominating committees. |
• |
are inside directors and sit on the Audit, Compensation, or Nominating committees. |
• |
are inside directors and the Company does not have Audit, Compensation, or Nominating committees. |
• |
attend less than 75 percent of the board and committee meetings. Participation by phone is acceptable. |
• |
ignore a shareholder proposal that is approved by a majority of the shares outstanding. |
• |
ignore a shareholder proposal that is approved by a majority of the votes cast for two consecutive years. |
• |
fail to act on takeover offers where the majority of the shareholders have tendered their shares. |
• |
implement or renew a “dead-hand” or modified “dead-hand” poison pill. |
• |
sit on more than five other public boards. |
• |
serve as both Chairmen of the Board and CEOs and the Company receives a poor Board Score. |
• |
serve as CEOs and hold more than one outside public directorship. |
• |
serve as Chairmen of the Board and hold more than one outside public directorship. |
• |
sit on the existing board, which has failed to respond adequately to a say-on-pay vote in which the majority of votes cast voted AGAINST. |
• |
sit on the existing board, which has implemented a less frequent say-on-pay vote than the frequency option which received a majority of votes cast in the previous frequency vote. |
Underperforming Board Policy
WITHHOLD votes from Compensation Committee members in cases when the Company obtains a questionable score on the Egan-Jones compensation rating model.
WITHHOLD votes from Compensation Committee members in cases when the Company’s Compensation Plans (Cash Bonus Plan or Stock Option Plan) receive an “AGAINST” recommendation from Egan-Jones.
Board Accountability
Case-by-case basis for the following:
• |
Evidence or belief of failure of the board to properly account and prepare for risk (i.e. carbon or cyber issues) |
• |
A low board score, coupled with poor performance |
• |
Legal or ethical problems in the Company or its management |
In cases in which the Company has engaged in the practice commonly referred to as “options backdating,” Egan-Jones may recommend that votes be withheld from nominees serving on the Company’s compensation committee, the Company’s entire board of directors, and/or its chief executive officer. Such recommendations will be made on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration such matters as intent of the individuals involved, scope and timing of the practice, significance of financial restatement required, and corrective action taken.
Furthermore, we may recommend withholding votes from either members of the Company’s compensation committee, its entire board of directors and/or its chief executive officer where the Company has engaged in what we judge to be other unsatisfactory compensation practices. Considerations may include such factors as “pay-for-failure” executive severance provisions, change-in-control payments which are either excessive or which are not tied to loss of job or significant reduction in duties, excessive executive perquisites, unjustified changes in the performance standards applied to performance-based compensation, and executive compensation out of proportion to performance of the Company.
FOR responsible shareholder proposals calling for the Company to name as directors only those who receive a majority of shareholder votes.
Separating Chairman and CEO
FOR shareholder proposals requiring that positions of Chairman and CEO be held separately.
Independent Directors
FOR shareholder proposals asking that a two-thirds majority of directors be independent.
FOR shareholder proposals asking that the board’s Audit, Compensation, and/or Nominating committees be composed exclusively of independent directors.
FOR shareholder proposals that the Chairman OR lead director be independent when the Company obtains a questionable score on the Egan-Jones director independence rating. AGAINST in all other cases.
Stock Ownership Requirements
AGAINST shareholder proposals requiring directors to own a minimum amount of company stock in order to qualify as a director or to remain on the board.
Term Limits
AGAINST shareholder proposals to limit tenure of outside directors.
Age Limits
AGAINST shareholder proposals to impose a mandatory retirement age for outside directors.
Director and Officer Indemnification and Liability
Case-by-case basis on management proposals regarding director and officer indemnification and liability, using Delaware law as the standard.
AGAINST management proposals to eliminate entirely directors and officers liability for monetary damages for violating the duty of care.
AGAINST management indemnification proposals that would expand coverage beyond legal expenses to acts, such as negligence, that are more serious violations of fiduciary obligation than mere carelessness.
FOR only those management proposals providing such expanded coverage in cases when a director’s or officer’s legal defense was unsuccessful if (1) the director was found to have acted in good faith and in a manner that he or she reasonably believed was in the best interests of the company, and (2) only if the director’s legal expenses would be covered.
Charitable Contributions
AGAINST shareholder proposals regarding disclosure of charitable contributions.
Political Contributions
AGAINST shareholder proposals regarding disclosure of political contributions.
FOR management proposals regarding approval of political contributions.
Lobbying Expenditures
AGAINST shareholder proposals for disclosure of lobbying expenditures.
Proxy Contests and Other Contested Elections
Election of Directors in Contested Elections
Case-by-case basis for voting for directors in contested elections, considering long-term financial performance of the target company relative to its industry, management’s track record, background to the proxy contest, qualifications of director nominees on both slates, evaluation of what each side is offering shareholders as well as likelihood that proposed objectives and goals will be met, and stock ownership positions.
FOR plurality voting standard in contested elections.
Reimbursement of Proxy Solicitation Expenses
Case-by-case basis for shareholder proposals for reimbursement of proxy solicitation expenses. FOR reimbursing proxy solicitation expenses where EGAN-JONES recommends in favor of the dissidents.
Auditors
Ratifying Auditors
FOR management proposals to ratify appointment of independent auditor unless:
• |
Auditor obtains a questionable score on the Egan-Jones Auditor Rating Model which takes into account a number of factors including but not limited to: |
|
Auditor rotation every seven years |
|
Non-audit fees exceeding 50% of total fees |
|
Significant and material disciplinary actions taken against the Company’s Auditor |
• |
Auditor has a financial interest in or association with the Company, and is therefore not independent; or there is reason to believe that the independent auditor has rendered an opinion which is neither accurate nor indicative of the Company’s financial position. |
Proxy Contest Defenses
Classified Board vs. Annual Election
AGAINST management proposals to classify the board.
FOR shareholder proposals to repeal (“de-stagger”) classified boards and to elect all directors annually.
Removal of Directors
AGAINST management proposals that provide that directors may be removed only for cause.
FOR shareholder proposals to restore shareholder ability to remove directors with or without cause.
CASE-BY-CASE basis for shareholder proposal to remove a director, usually AGAINST unless there are compelling reasons to remove a director or a director does not fulfill Egan-Jones criteria examining independence, meetings attendance, other board memberships, then in such cases FOR.
AGAINST management proposals that provide that only continuing directors may elect replacements to fill board vacancies.
FOR shareholder proposals that permit shareholders to elect directors to fill board vacancies.
Cumulative Voting
FOR management proposals to eliminate cumulative voting.
AGAINST shareholder proposals to provide for cumulative voting.
Calling Special Meetings
AGAINST management proposals to restrict or prohibit shareholder ability to call special meetings.
FOR shareholder proposals to allow a shareholder holding a 25% or greater interest to call a special shareholder meeting.
Acting by Written Consent
Case by case for management proposals to restrict or prohibit shareholder ability to take action by written consent.
FOR shareholder proposals to allow or make easier shareholder action by written consent.
Altering Size of the Board
FOR management proposals to fix the size of the board.
AGAINST management proposals that give management the ability to alter size of the board without shareholder approval.
Tender Offer Defenses
“Poison Pills”
FOR shareholder proposals that ask the Company to submit its “poison pill” for shareholder ratification.
Case-by-case basis for shareholder proposals to redeem a company’s existing “poison pill.”
Case-by-case basis for management proposals to ratify a “poison pill.”
Fair Price Provisions
Case-by-case basis for adopting fair price provisions, considering vote required to approve the proposed acquisition, vote required to repeal the fair price provision, and mechanism for determining the fair price.
AGAINST fair price provisions with shareholder vote requirements greater than a majority of disinterested shares.
“Greenmail”
FOR proposals to adopt anti-”greenmail” charter or bylaw amendments or otherwise restrict the company’s ability to make “greenmail” payments.
Case-by-case basis for anti-”greenmail” proposals which are bundled with other charter or bylaw amendments.
“Pale Greenmail”
Case-by-case basis for restructuring plans that involve the payment of pale greenmail.
Unequal Voting Rights
AGAINST dual-class exchange offers and dual-class recapitalizations.
Supermajority Requirement to Amend Charter or Bylaws
AGAINST management proposals to require a supermajority shareholder vote to approve charter and bylaw amendments.
FOR shareholder proposals to lower supermajority shareholder vote requirements for charter and bylaw amendments.
Supermajority Requirement to Approve Mergers
AGAINST management proposals to require a supermajority shareholder vote to approve mergers and other significant business combinations.
FOR shareholder proposals to lower supermajority shareholder vote requirements for mergers and other significant business combinations.
Placement of Equity with “White Squire”
FOR shareholder proposals to require approval of “blank check preferred stock” issues for other than general corporate purposes.
Other Governance Proposals
Confidential Voting
FOR shareholder proposals that request that the company adopt confidential voting, use independent tabulators, and use independent inspectors of election as long as the proposals include clauses for proxy contests as follows: In the case of a contested election, management should be permitted to request that the dissident group honor its confidential voting policy. If the dissidents agree, the policy remains in place. If the dissidents do not agree, the confidential voting policy is waived.
FOR management proposals to adopt confidential voting.
Equal Access
AGAINST shareholder proposals that would allow significant company shareholders equal access to management’s proxy material in order to evaluate and propose voting recommendations on proxy proposals and director nominees, and in order to nominate their own candidates to the board.
Proxy Access
FOR binding shareholder proxy access proposals considering the following criteria:
• |
0.5% ownership threshold |
• |
Number of board members that may be elected - cap of 1/3 of board or minimum 2 nominees, if the board size is being lowered the calculation is based upon the original board size, if it is being increased the calculation would be based upon the original board size, with each new slot added to the total, so two plus six if six new board positions are being created |
• |
We prefer no limit or caps on the number of shareowners in the nominations group |
• |
Loaned securities will count towards total |
• |
We prefer that all participants affirm that they intend to be “long term shareholders” of the company with at least 6 month ownership duration requirement |
• |
Proposals with no re-nominations restrictions are preferred |
Bundled Proposals
Case-by-case basis for bundled or “conditioned” proxy proposals. Where items are conditioned upon each other, examine benefits and costs. AGAINST in instances when the joint effect of the conditioned items is not in shareholders’ best interests. FOR if the combined effect is positive.
Shareholder Advisory Committees
Case-by-case basis for shareholder proposals establishing a shareholder advisory committee.
Capital Structure
Common Stock Authorization
AGAINST management proposals increasing the number of authorized shares of the class of stock that has superior voting rights in companies that have dual-class capitalization structures.
AGAINST management proposals to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock, or equivalents, that exceeds the maximum amount indicated by Egan-Jones model without any specified legitimate purpose.
FOR management proposals to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock, or equivalents, that does not exceed the maximum amount indicated by Egan-Jones model or are targeted for a specified legitimate purpose.
Case-by-case basis on other such management proposals considering the specified purposes of the proposed increase, any explanation of risks to shareholders of failing to approve the request, potential dilution, and recent track record for using authorized shares, in which case judgment is applied to weigh such factors. Factors which are normally weighed in making such judgments include prior performance of the issuer, changes within the industry, relative performance within the industry, client preferences and overall good corporate governance. In general, we view the authorization of additional common shares to be ordinary and necessary and in the best long-term interests of the issuer and its shareholders.
Stock Distributions: Splits and Dividends
FOR management proposals to increase common share authorization for a stock split, provided that the increase in authorized shares would not result in an excessive number of shares available for issuance, considering the industry and company’s returns to shareholders.
Reverse Stock Splits
FOR management proposals to implement a reverse stock split when the number of shares will be proportionately reduced to avoid delisting.
Case-by-case basis on management proposals to implement a reverse stock split that do not proportionately reduce the number of shares authorized for issuance.
Preferred Stock
AGAINST management proposals authorizing creation of new classes of “blank check preferred stock” (i.e., classes with unspecified voting, conversion, dividend distribution, and other rights).
FOR management proposals to authorize preferred stock in cases where the Company specifies the voting, dividend, conversion, and other rights of such stock and the terms are reasonable.
Case-by-case basis on management proposals to increase the number of “blank check preferred shares” after analyzing the number of preferred shares available for issuance considering the industry and Company’s returns to shareholders.
“Blank Check Preferred Stock”
FOR shareholder proposals to have placements of “blank check preferred stock” submitted for shareholder approval, except when those shares are issued for the purpose of raising capital or making acquisitions in the normal course.
FOR management proposals to create “blank check preferred stock” in cases when the Company specifically states that the stock will not be used as a takeover defense.
Adjustments to Par Value of Common Stock
FOR management proposals to reduce the par value of common stock.
Preemptive Rights
Case-by-case basis on shareholder proposals that seek preemptive rights, considering size of the company and shareholder characteristics.
Debt Restructurings
Case-by-case basis on management proposals to increase number of common and/or preferred shares and to issue shares as part of a debt restructuring plan, considering dilution, any resulting change in control.
FOR management proposals that facilitate debt restructurings except where signs of self- dealing exist.
Share Repurchase Programs
FOR management proposals to institute open-market share repurchase plans in which all shareholders may participate on equal terms.
Tracking Stock
Case-by-case basis for management proposals for creation of tracking stock, considering the strategic value of the transaction vs. adverse governance changes, excessive increases in authorized stock, inequitable distribution method, diminution of voting rights, adverse conversion features, negative impact on stock option plans, and other alternatives, such as spin-offs.
Stock buybacks
Case-by-case on management proposals requesting stock buybacks. AGAINST in cases when the Company receives a poor Board or Compensation score. FOR otherwise.
Compensation of Officers and Directors
Compensation of Officers and Directors
FOR compensation plans that result in an amount of dilution (or the equivalent value in cash) that is less than the total amount suggested by Egan-Jones compensation rating model’s maximum dilution function as determined by the Company’s compensation rating.
AGAINST compensation plans that result in an excess amount of dilution (or the equivalent value in cash) that is more than the total amount suggested by Egan-Jones compensation rating model’s maximum dilution function as determined by the Company’s compensation rating.
AGAINST compensation plans involving “pay for failure,” such as excessively long contracts, guaranteed compensation, excessive severance packages, or other problematic practice not accounted for in the Egan-Jones compensation rating.
Case-by-case (but generally FOR) plans that are completely “decoupled” from the CEOs compensation and thus have no impact on the CEO’s current or future total compensation.
Advisory Votes on Executive Compensation (“Say-on-Pay”)
Case-by-case basis on advisory votes on executive compensation (“Say-on-Pay”), based on the score obtained by the Company in Egan-Jones Compensation Rating. AGAINST a non-binding compensation advisory vote when the Company obtains a questionable score on the Egan-Jones Compensation Rating model, FOR otherwise.
Relative Compensation is based upon a number of quantitative and qualitative metrics which produce a final score that is both forward looking and based upon the prior performance metrics of the company’s wealth creation and market capitalization as compared to the CEO’s total compensation package. Higher wealth creation, market capitalization and lower CEO compensation all contribute to a higher score in this rating. Additional qualitative measures such as 162m compliance, executive pension plan status and other relevant factors are then used to calculate the final score.
Advisory Votes Regarding Frequency of Advisory Votes on Executive Compensation
FOR management proposals that recommend that advisory votes on executive compensation take place annually.
AGAINST management proposals that recommend that advisory votes on executive compensation take place every two years or triennially.
AGAINST shareholder proposals regarding advisory vote on directors’ compensation.
Management Proposals Seeking Approval to Re-price Options
Case-by-case basis on management proposals seeking approval to re-price options.
Director Compensation
Case-by-case basis on stock-based plans for directors.
Employee Stock Purchase Plans
Case-by-case basis on employee stock purchase plans.
Amendments that Place a Maximum Limit on Annual Grants or Amend Administrative Features
FOR plans that amend shareholder-approved plans to include administrative features or place maximum limit on annual grants that any participant may receive to comply with the provisions of Section 162(m) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA).
Amendments to Added Performance-Based Goals
FOR amendments to add performance goals to existing compensation plans to comply with the provisions of Section 162(m) of OBRA.
Amendments to Increase Shares and Retain Tax Deductions under OBRA
Case-by-case basis on amendments to existing plans to increase shares reserved and to qualify the plan for favorable tax treatment under the provisions of Section 162(m).
Approval of Cash or Cash & Stock Bonus Plans
Case-by-case basis on cash or cash & stock bonus plans to exempt compensation from taxes under the provisions of Section 162(m) of OBRA.
Limits on Director and Officer Compensation
FOR shareholder proposals requiring additional disclosure of officer and director compensation.
Case-by-case basis for all other shareholder proposals seeking limits on officer and director compensation.
“Golden Parachutes” and “Tin Parachutes”
FOR shareholder proposals to have “golden and tin parachutes” submitted for shareholder ratification.
Case-by-case basis on proposals to ratify or cancel “golden or tin parachutes.”
Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)
FOR proposals that request shareholder approval in order to implement an ESOP or to increase authorized number of shares for existing ESOPs, except in cases when the number of shares allocated to the ESOP is “excessive” (i.e., greater than five percent of outstanding shares).
401(k) Employee Benefit Plans
FOR proposals to implement a 401(k) savings plan for employees.
State of Incorporation
State Takeover Statutes
Case-by-case basis on proposals to opt in or out of state takeover statutes (including control share acquisition statutes, control share cash-out statutes, freeze-out provisions, fair price provisions, stakeholder laws, poison pill endorsements, severance pay and labor contract provisions, anti-“greenmail” provisions, and disgorgement provisions).
Reincorporation Proposals
Case-by-case basis on proposals to change the Company’s state of incorporation.
Business Combinations and Corporate Restructurings
Mergers and Acquisitions
Case-by-case basis on mergers and acquisitions, considering projected financial and operating benefits, offer price, prospects of the combined companies, negotiation process, and changes in corporate governance.
Corporate Restructuring
Case-by-case basis on corporate restructurings, including minority squeeze-outs, leveraged buyouts, spin-offs, liquidations, and asset sales.
Spin-offs
Case-by-case basis on spin-offs, considering tax and regulatory advantages, planned use of proceeds, market focus, and managerial incentives.
Asset Sales
Case-by-case basis on asset sales, considering impact on the balance sheet and working capital, and value received.
Liquidations
Case-by-case basis on liquidations considering management’s efforts to pursue alternatives, appraisal value, and compensation for executives managing the liquidation.
Appraisal Rights
FOR providing shareholders with appraisal rights.
Mutual Fund Proxies
Election of Directors
Case-by-case basis for election of directors, considering board structure, director independence, director qualifications, compensation of directors within the fund and the family of funds, and attendance at board and committee meetings.
WITHHOLD votes for directors who:
• |
are interested directors and sit on key board committees (Audit or Nominating committees) |
• |
are interested directors and the company does not have one or more of the following committees: Audit or Nominating. |
• |
attend less than 75 percent of the board and committee meetings. Participation by phone is acceptable. |
• |
ignore a shareholder proposal that is approved by a majority of shares outstanding. |
• |
ignore a shareholder proposal that is approved by a majority of the votes cast for two consecutive years |
• |
serve as Chairman but are not independent (e.g. serve as an officer of the fund’s advisor) |
Converting Closed-end Fund to Open-end Fund
Case-by-case basis for conversion of closed-end fund to open-end fund, considering past performance as a closed-end fund, market in which the fund invests, measures taken by the board to address the market discount, and past shareholder activism, board activity, and votes on related proposals.
Proxy Contests
Case-by-case basis on proxy contests, considering past performance, market in which fund invests, and measures taken by the board to address issues raised, past shareholder activism, board activity, and votes on related proposals.
Investment Advisory Agreements
Case-by-case basis on investment advisory agreements, considering proposed and current fee schedules, fund category and investment objective, performance benchmarks, share price performance relative to that of peers; and magnitude of any fee increase.
New Classes or Series of Shares
FOR creating new classes or series of shares.
Preferred Stock Authorization
Case-by-case basis for authorization for or increase in preferred shares, considering financing purpose and potential dilution for common shares.
1940 Act Policies
Case-by-case basis for 1940 Act policies, considering potential competitiveness, regulatory developments, current and potential returns, and current and potential risk.
Changing a Fundamental Restriction to a Non-fundamental Restriction
Case-by-case basis on changing fundamental restriction to non-fundamental restriction, considering fund’s target investments, reasons for change, and projected impact on portfolio.
Changing Fundamental Investment Objective to Non-fundamental
AGAINST proposals to change the fund’s fundamental investment objective to non- fundamental.
Name Rule Proposals
Case-by-case basis for name rule proposals, considering the following factors: political/economic changes in target market; bundling with quorum requirements or with changes in asset allocation, and consolidation in the fund’s target market.
Disposition of Assets, Termination, Liquidation
Case-by-case basis for disposition of assets, termination or liquidation, considering strategies employed, company’s past performance, and terms of liquidation.
Charter Modification
Case-by-case basis for changes to the charter, considering degree of change, efficiencies that could result, state of incorporation, and regulatory standards and implications.
Change of Domicile
Case-by-case basis for changes in state of domicile, considering state regulations of each state, required fundamental policies of each state; and the increased flexibility available.
Change in Sub-classification
Case-by-case basis for change in sub-classification, considering potential competitiveness, current and potential returns, risk of concentration, and industry consolidation in the target industry.
Authorizing Board to Hire and Terminate Sub-advisors without Shareholder Approval
AGAINST authorizing the board to hire and terminate sub-advisors without shareholder approval.
Distribution Agreements
Case-by-case basis for approving distribution agreements, considering fees charged to comparably sized funds with similar objectives, proposed distributor’s reputation and past performance, and competitiveness of fund in industry.
Master-Feeder Structure
FOR establishment of a master-feeder structure.
Changes to Charter
Case-by-case basis for changes to the charter, considering degree of change implied by the proposal, resulting efficiencies, state of incorporation, and regulatory standards and implications.
Mergers
Case-by-case basis for proposed merger, considering resulting fee structure, performance of each fund, and continuity of management.
Advisory Vote on Merger Related Compensation
AGAINST “golden parachutes” which are abusive,
• |
such as those that exceed 3x of the cash severance or |
• |
if the cash severance multiple is greater than 2.99x or |
• |
contain tax gross-ups or |
• |
provide for accelerated vesting of equity awards, (however, pro-rata vesting of awards based on past service is acceptable) or |
• |
are triggered prior to completion of the transaction or |
• |
if the payouts are not contingent on the executive’s termination. |
Miscellaneous Shareholder Proposals
Independent Directors
FOR shareholder proposals asking that a three-quarters majority of directors be independent.
FOR shareholder proposals asking that board’s Audit, Compensation, and/or Nominating committees be composed exclusively of independent directors.
FOR shareholder proposals that the Chairman OR lead director be independent when the company obtains a questionable score on the Egan-Jones director independence rating. AGAINST in all other cases.
Establish Director Ownership Requirement
AGAINST proposals establishing a director ownership requirement.
Reimbursement of Shareholder for Expenses Incurred
CASE-BY-CASE for proposals for reimbursing proxy solicitation expenses in contested meetings.
FOR proposals for reimbursing proxy solicitation expenses in contested meetings in cases where EGAN-JONES recommends in favor of the dissidents.
Terminate the Investment Advisor
CASE-BY-CASE basis for proposals for terminating the investment advisor, considering fund’s performance and history of shareholder relations.
Tax Payments on Restricted Awards
AGAINST shareholder proposals to adopt a policy that the Company will pay the personal taxes owed on restricted stock awards on behalf of named executive officers.
Recovery of Unearned Management Bonuses
AGAINST shareholder proposals to adopt an executive compensation recoupment policy.
Clawback Provision Amendment
AGAINST shareholder proposals that request the board of directors amend the Company’s clawback policy for executive compensation.
Quantifiable Performance Metrics
CASE-BY-CASE on shareholder proposals that request the board adopt the policy regarding quantifiable performance metrics. FOR this proposal in cases when Egan-Jones compensation rating model results in an ‘Against’ recommendation on ‘Say-on-Pay’ proposal. AGAINST this proposal in cases of when Egan-Jones compensation rating model results in a ‘For’ recommendation on ‘Say-on-Pay’ proposal.
Vote Tabulation
FOR shareholder proposals that request all matters presented to shareholders, other than the election of directors, shall be decided by a simple majority of the shares voted ‘For’ and ‘Against’ an item and abstentions from the vote count be excluded.
Maryland’s Unsolicited Takeover Act
FOR shareholder proposals requesting that the Board opt out of MUTA, which allows the board of directors to make changes by board resolution only, without shareholder approval, to a company’s capital structure and charter/bylaws. These include, but are not limited to:
› the ability to re-classify a board;
› the exclusive right to set the number of directors;
› limiting shareholders’ ability to call special meetings to a threshold of at least a majority of shares.
Accelerated Vesting
FOR shareholder proposals to implement double triggered with pro-rata vesting of awards.
Dividends
CASE-BY-CASE basis for shareholder proposals to increase dividends, but generally AGAINST in the absence of a compelling reason for.
Shareholder Proposals on Social Issues
Energy and Environment
AGAINST shareholder proposals that request companies to follow the CERES Principles.
Generally AGAINST proposals requesting reports that seek additional information, unless it appears that the Company has not adequately addressed shareholders’ relevant environmental concerns but FOR shareholder proposals requesting additional disclosure regarding hydraulic fracturing.
AGAINST proposals that request that the Board prepare, at reasonable expense and omitting proprietary information, a sustainability report.
AGAINST shareholder proposals that requests that company develop and implement a comprehensive sustainable palm oil sourcing policy.
AGAINST shareholder proposals promoting recycling.
AGAINST shareholder proposals requesting a report on recyclable packaging.
AGAINST shareholder proposals requesting that a company voluntarily label genetically engineered (GE) ingredients in its products.
AGAINST shareholder proposals that requests the Company prepare a report, at reasonable expense and omitting proprietary information, assessing actual and potential material financial risks or operational impacts on the Company related to these genetically modified organisms (GMO issues).
AGAINST shareholder proposals to eliminate GE ingredients from the company’s products, or proposals asking for reports outlining the steps necessary to eliminate GE ingredients from the company’s products.
AGAINST shareholder proposals requesting that a company adopt GHG emissions reductions goals and issue a report by at reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information, on its plans to achieve these goals.
AGAINST shareholder proposals to encourage energy conservation and the development of alternate renewable and clean energy resources and to reduce or eliminate toxic wastes and greenhouse gas emissions.
AGAINST shareholder proposals on proper disposal of pharmaceuticals.
AGAINST shareholder proposals requesting a report on electronic waste.
CASE-BY-CASE on shareholder proposals requesting a report on renewable energy adoption. FOR in cases when the Company receives a poor Board score, AGAINST otherwise.
CASE-BY-CASE on shareholder proposals requesting a report on distributed - scale clean electricity. FOR in cases when the Company receives a poor Board score, AGAINST otherwise.
FOR shareholder proposals requesting a report on climate change and business model.
AGAINST shareholder proposals requesting a report on nanomaterials.
FOR shareholder proposals requesting a report on antibiotics in livestock.
Northern Ireland
AGAINST proposals related to the MacBride Principles.
AGAINST proposals requesting reports that seek additional information about progress being made toward eliminating employment discrimination, unless it appears Company has not adequately addressed shareholder relevant concerns.
Military Business
AGAINST proposals on defense issues.
AGAINST proposals requesting reports that seek additional information on military related operations, unless the Company has been unresponsive to shareholder relevant requests.
Maquiladora Standards and International Operations Policies
AGAINST on proposals relating to the Maquiladora Standards and international operating policies.
AGAINST proposals requesting reports on international operating policy issues, unless it appears the Company has not adequately addressed shareholder relevant concerns.
World Debt Crisis
AGAINST proposals dealing with Third World debt.
AGAINST proposals requesting reports on Third World debt issues, unless it appears the Company has not adequately addressed shareholder relevant concerns.
Equal Employment Opportunity and Discrimination
AGAINST on proposals regarding equal employment opportunities and discrimination.
AGAINST proposals requesting reports that seek additional information about affirmative action efforts, unless it appears the Company has been unresponsive to shareholder relevant requests.
Holy Land Principles
AGAINST shareholder proposals to approve the implementation of the Holy Land Principles.
Animal Rights
AGAINST proposals that deal with animal rights.
Product Integrity and Marketing
AGAINST proposals on ceasing production of socially questionable products.
AGAINST proposals requesting reports that seek additional information regarding product integrity and marketing issues, unless it appears the Company has been unresponsive to shareholder relevant requests.
Human Resources Issues
AGAINST proposals regarding human resources issues.
AGAINST proposals requesting reports that seek additional information regarding human resources issues, unless it appears the Company has been unresponsive to shareholder relevant requests.
Exhibit B - Principal Holders Table
Name and Address of Owner |
Percentage of Record Ownership |
National Financial Services LLC 82 Devonshire Street Boston, MA 02109 |
20.02% |
Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. 2423 East Lincoln Drive Phoenix, AZ 85016 |
14.82% |
LPL Financial Co. 4707 Executive Drive San Diego, CA 92121 |
13.48% |
TD Ameritrade 200 South 108th Avenue Omaha, NE 68154 |
11.98% |
Pershing, L.L.C. One Pershing Plaza Jersey City, NJ 07399 |
10.15% |
Vanguard Marketing Corporation 100 Vanguard Boulevard Malvern, PA 19355 |
6.86% |
RBC Capital Markets, LLC 3 World Financial Center 200 Vesey Street New York, NY 10281 |
6.41% |
Elkhorn ETF Trust
Part C – Other Information
Item 28. |
Exhibits |
Exhibit No. |
Description |
(a) |
(1) Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust of the Registrant (1) |
(2) |
Amendment to Declaration of Trust (2) |
(2) |
Amended and Restated Establishment and Designation of Series of Shares of Beneficial Interest (2) |
(b) |
By-Laws of the Registrant (1) |
(c) |
Not Applicable |
(d) |
(1) Investment Management Agreement between the Registrant and Innovator Capital Management, LLC (2) |
(2) |
Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement between the Registrant, Innovator Capital Management, LLC and Penserra Capital Management LLC (2) |
(e) |
(1) ETF Distribution Agreement by and between the Registrant and Foreside Fund Services, LLC (2) |
(2) |
First Amendment to ETF Distribution Agreement (2) |
(f) |
Not Applicable |
(g) |
(1) Custody Agreement by and between the Registrant and U.S. Bank National Association (3) |
(2) |
First Amendment to Custody Agreement (3) |
(h) |
(1) Form of Subscription Agreement (1) |
(2) |
Form of Participant Agreement (1) |
(3) |
Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement by and between the Registrant and U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (3) |
(4) |
First Amendment to Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement (3) |
(5) |
Fund Administration Servicing Agreement by and between the Registrant and U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (3) |
(6) |
First Amendment to Fund Administration Servicing Agreement (3) |
(7) |
Transfer Agent Servicing Agreement by and between the Registrant and U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (3) |
(8) |
First Amendment to the Transfer Agency Servicing Agreement (3) |
(9) |
Sub-License Agreement by and between Registrant and Innovator Capital Management, LLC (2) |
(i) |
Not Applicable |
(j) |
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (3) |
(k) |
Not Applicable |
(l) |
Not Applicable |
(m) |
Form of 12b-1 Service Plan (1) |
(n) |
Not Applicable |
(o) |
Not Applicable |
(p) |
(1) Joint Code of Ethics of the Registrant and Innovator Capital Management, LLC (2) |
(2) |
Code of Ethics of Penserra Capital Management LLC (2) |
(3) |
Code of Ethics of Foreside Fund Services, LLC (2) |
(q) |
Powers of Attorney (2) |
__________________
(1) |
Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 333-201473) filed on April 28, 2015. |
(2) |
Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 333-201473) filed on July 30, 2018. |
(3) |
Filed herewith. |
Item 29. |
Persons Controlled By or Under Common Control with Registrant |
Not Applicable
Item 30. |
Indemnification |
Section 9.5 of the Registrant’s Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust provides as follows:
Section 9.5. Indemnification and Advancement of Expenses. Subject to the exceptions and limitations contained in this Section 9.5, every person who is, or has been, a Trustee, officer, or employee of the Trust, including persons who serve at the request of the Trust as directors, trustees, officers, employees or agents of another organization in which the Trust has an interest as a shareholder, creditor or otherwise (hereinafter referred to as a “Covered Person” ), shall be indemnified by the Trust to the fullest extent permitted by law against liability and against all expenses reasonably incurred or paid by him or in connection with any claim, action, suit or proceeding in which he becomes involved as a party or otherwise by virtue of his being or having been such a Trustee, director, officer, employee or agent and against amounts paid or incurred by him in settlement thereof.
No indemnification shall be provided hereunder to a Covered Person to the extent such indemnification is prohibited by applicable federal law.
The rights of indemnification herein provided may be insured against by policies maintained by the Trust, shall be severable, shall not affect any other rights to which any Covered Person may now or hereafter be entitled, shall continue as to a person who has ceased to be such a Covered Person and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such a person.
Subject to applicable federal law, expenses of preparation and presentation of a defense to any claim, action, suit or proceeding subject to a claim for indemnification under this Section 9.5 shall be advanced by the Trust prior to final disposition thereof upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of the recipient to repay such amount if it is ultimately determined that he is not entitled to indemnification under this Section 9.5.
To the extent that any determination is required to be made as to whether a Covered Person engaged in conduct for which indemnification is not provided as described herein, or as to whether there is reason to believe that a Covered Person ultimately will be found entitled to indemnification, the Person or Persons making the determination shall afford the Covered Person a rebuttable presumption that the Covered Person has not engaged in such conduct and that there is reason to believe that the Covered Person ultimately will be found entitled to indemnification.
As used in this Section 9.5, the words “claim,” “action,” “suit” or “proceeding” shall apply to all claims, demands, actions, suits, investigations, regulatory inquiries, proceedings or any other occurrence of a similar nature, whether actual or threatened and whether civil, criminal, administrative or other, including appeals, and the words “liability” and “expenses” shall include without limitation, attorneys’ fees, costs, judgments, amounts paid in settlement, fines, penalties and other liabilities.
Insofar as indemnification for liability arising under the Securities Act of 1933 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 Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant, in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
Item 31. |
Business and Other Connections of the Investment Adviser |
Certain information pertaining to the business and other connections of Innovator Capital Management, LLC, the investment adviser to the Fund, is hereby incorporated by reference from the Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information contained herein. The information required by this Item with respect to any director, officer or partner of Innovator Capital Management, LLC is incorporated by reference to the Form ADV filed by Innovator Capital Management, LLC with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (File No. 801-110111).
Certain information pertaining to the business and other connections of Penserra Capital Management LLC, the investment sub-adviser to the Fund, is hereby incorporated by reference from the Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information contained herein. The information required by this Item with respect to any director, officer or partner of Penserra Capital Management LLC is incorporated by reference to the Form ADV filed by Penserra Capital Management LLC with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (File No. 801-80466).
Item 32. |
Principal Underwriter |
(a) Foreside Fund Services, LLC also acts as the distributor for the Registrant and the following investment companies: ABS Long/Short Strategies Fund; Absolute Shares Trust; AdvisorShares Trust; American Century ETF Trust; Amplify ETF Trust; Ark ETF Trust; Bluestone Community Development Fund (f/k/a The 504 Fund); Braddock Multi-Strategy Income Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust; Bridgeway Funds, Inc.; Brinker Capital Destinations Trust; Calvert Ultra-Short Duration Income NextShares, Series of Calvert Management Series; Center Coast MLP & Infrastructure Fund; Center Coast MLP Focus Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust; CornerCap Group of Funds; Davis Fundamental ETF Trust; Direxion Shares ETF Trust; Eaton Vance NextShares Trust; Eaton Vance NextShares Trust II; EIP Investment Trust; EntrepreneurShares Series Trust; Evanston Alternative Opportunities Fund; EventShares U.S. Policy Alpha ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust (f/k/a Active Weighting Funds ETF Trust); Exchange Listed Funds Trust (f/k/a Exchange Traded Concepts Trust II); FEG Absolute Access Fund I LLC; Fiera Capital Series Trust; FlexShares Trust; Forum Funds; Forum Funds II; FQF Trust; Friess Small Cap Growth Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series; GraniteShares ETF Trust; Guinness Atkinson Funds; Infinity Core Alternative Fund; Innovator ETFs Trust II (f/k/a Elkhorn ETF Trust); Ironwood Institutional Multi-Strategy Fund LLC; Ironwood Multi-Strategy Fund LLC; John Hancock Exchange-Traded Fund Trust; Manor Investment Funds; Miller/Howard Funds Trust; Miller/Howard High Income Equity Fund; Moerus Worldwide Value Fund, Series of Northern Lights Fund Trust IV; OSI ETF Trust; Morningstar Funds Trust; MProved Systematic Long-Short Fund, Series Portfolios Trust; MProved Systematic Merger Arbitrage Fund, Series Portfolios Trust; MProved Systematic Multi-Strategy Fund, Series Portfolios Trust; NYSE ® Pickens Oil Response ™ ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions; OSI ETF Trust; Pacific Global ETF Trust; Palmer Square Opportunistic Income Fund; Partners Group Private Income Opportunities, LLC; PENN Capital Funds Trust; Performance Trust Mutual Funds, Series of Trust for Professional Managers; Plan Investment Fund, Inc.; PMC Funds, Series of Trust for Professional Managers; Point Bridge GOP Stock Track ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions; Quaker Investment Trust; Ranger Funds Investment Trust; Renaissance Capital Greenwich Funds; RMB Investors Trust (f/k/a Burnham Investors Trust); Robinson Opportunistic Income Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust; Robinson Tax Advantaged Income Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust; Salient MF Trust; SharesPost 100 Fund; Six Circles Trust;Sound Shore Fund, Inc.; Steben Alternative Investment Funds; Strategy Shares; Syntax ETF Trust; The Chartwell Funds; The Community Development Fund; The Relative Value Fund; Third Avenue Trust; Third Avenue Variable Series Trust; Tidal ETF Trust; TIFF Investment Program; Timothy Plan High Dividend Stock ETF, Series of the Timothy Plan; Timothy Plan US Large Cap Core ETF, Series of the Timothy Plan; Transamerica ETF Trust U.S. Global Investors Funds; Varient Alternative Income Fund; VictoryShares Developed Enhanced Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II; VictoryShares Dividend Accelerator ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II; VictoryShares Emerging Market Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II; VictoryShares International High Div Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II; VictoryShares International Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II; VictoryShares US 500 Enhanced Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II; VictoryShares US 500 Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II; VictoryShares US Discovery Enhanced Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II; VictoryShares US EQ Income Enhanced Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II; VictoryShares US Large Cap High Div Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II; VictoryShares US Multi-Factor Minimum Volatility ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II; VictoryShares US Small Cap High Div Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II; VictoryShares US Small Cap Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II; Vivaldi Opportunities Fund; West Loop Realty Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust (f/k/a Chilton Realty Income & Growth Fund); Wintergreen Fund, Inc. and WisdomTree Trust.
(b) To the best of Registrant’s knowledge, the directors and executive officers of Foreside Fund Services, LLC, are as follows:
Name* |
Position with Underwriter |
Positions with Fund *** |
Richard J. Berthy |
President, Treasurer and Manager |
None |
Mark A. Fairbanks |
Vice President |
None |
Jennifer K. DiValerio** |
Vice President |
None |
Nanette K. Chern |
Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer |
None |
Jennifer E. Hoopes |
Secretary |
None |
________________________
* |
Except as otherwise noted, the principal business address for each of the above directors and executive officers is Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101. |
** |
The principal business address for Ms. DiValerio is 899 Cassatt Road, 400 Berwyn Park, Suite 110, Berwyn, PA 19312. |
*** None of the directors or executive officers of Foreside Fund Services, LLC are employed by the Fund.
(c) Not Applicable
Item 33. |
Location of Accounts and Records |
All accounts, books and other documents required to be maintained by Section 31(a) of 15 U.S.C. 80a-3-(a) and rules under that section, are maintained by U.S. Bank Fund Services, LLC and U.S. Bank, N.A., with the exception of those maintained by the Registrant’s investment adviser, Innovator Capital Management, LLC, 120 North Hale Street, Suite 200, Wheaton, Illinois 60187.
U.S. Bank Fund Services, LLC and U.S. Bank, N.A. provide general administrative, accounting, portfolio valuation, and custodian services, respectively, to the Registrant, including the coordination and monitoring of any third-party service providers and maintain all such records relating to these services.
Item 34. |
Management Services |
Not Applicable
Item 35. |
Undertakings |
Not Applicable
Signatures
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act” ) and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the Registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirements for effectiveness of this Registration Statement under rule 485(b) under the Securities Act and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, duly authorized, in the City of Wheaton, and State of Illinois, on July 29, 2019.
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Innovator ETFs Trust II |
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By: |
/s/ H. Bruce Bond |
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H. Bruce Bond |
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President |
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Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the date indicated:
Signature |
Title |
Date |
/s/ H. Bruce Bond |
Chief Executive Officer, President and Trustee |
July 29, 2019 |
H. Bruce Bond |
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/s/ John Southard |
Vice President, Treasurer and Principal Financial Accounting Officer |
July 29, 2019 |
John Southard |
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Mark Berg* |
) Trustee) |
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)
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By: / s / H. Bruce Bond |
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Joe Stowell* |
) Trustee) |
H. Bruce Bond
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) |
July 29, 2019 |
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Brian J. Wildman* |
) Trustee) |
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) |
* |
An original power of attorney authorizing H. Bruce Bond and John Southard to execute this Registration Statement, and amendments thereto, for each of the trustees of the Registrant on whose behalf this Registration Statement is filed, were previously executed, and are filed as an exhibit herewith. |
Index to Exhibits
(g)(1) |
Custody Agreement by and between the Registrant and U.S. Bank National Association |
(g)(2) |
First Amendment to Custody Agreement |
(h)(3) |
Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement by and between the Registrant and U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC |
(h)(4) |
First Amendment to Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement |
(h)(5) |
Fund Administration Servicing Agreement by and between the Registrant and U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC |
(h)(6) |
First Amendment to Fund Administration Servicing Agreement |
(h)(7) |
Transfer Agent Servicing Agreement by and between the Registrant and U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC |
(h)(8) |
First Amendment to Transfer Agent Servicing Agreement |
(j) |
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm |
-9-
Exhibit (g)(1)
CUSTODY AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT is made and entered into as of the last date on the signature page, by and between INNOVATOR ETFs TRUST II , a Massachusetts business trust (the “Trust”), and U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION , a national banking association organized and existing under the laws of the United States of America with its principal place of business at Minneapolis, Minnesota (the “Custodian”).
WHEREAS, the Trust is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), as an [open-end] management investment company that is advised by Innovator Management LLC (the “Adviser”), and is authorized to issue shares of beneficial interest in separate series, with each such series representing interests in a separate portfolio of securities and other assets; and
WHEREAS, the Custodian is a bank having the qualifications prescribed in Section 26(a)(1) of the 1940 Act; and
WHEREAS, the Trust desires to retain the Custodian to act as custodian of the cash and securities of each series of the Trust listed on Exhibit B hereto (as amended from time to time) (each a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”); and
WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees (as defined below has delegated to the Custodian the responsibilities set forth in Rule 17f-5(c) under the 1940 Act and the Custodian is willing to undertake the responsibilities and serve as the foreign custody manager for the Trust.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto, intending to be legally bound, do hereby agree as follows:
ARTICLE I
CERTAIN DEFINITIONS
Whenever used in this Agreement, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings set forth below unless the context otherwise requires:
1.01 “Authorized Person” means any Officer or person (including an authorized person of one of the Advisers or other agent) who has been designated by written notice as such from the Trust or one of the Advisers or other agent and is named in Exhibit A attached hereto. Such officer or person shall continue to be an Authorized Person until such time as the Custodian receives Written Instructions from the Trust or the Trust’s investment advisor or other agent that any such person is no longer an Authorized Person.
1.02 “Board of Trustees” shall mean the trustees from time to time serving under the Trust’s declaration of trust, as amended from time to time.
1.03 “Book-Entry System” shall mean a federal book-entry system as provided in Subpart O of Treasury Circular No. 300, 31 CFR 306, in Subpart B of 31 CFR Part 350, or in such book-entry regulations of federal agencies as are substantially in the form of such Subpart O.
1.04 “Business Day” shall mean any day recognized as a settlement day by The New York Stock Exchange, Inc. and any other day for which the Trust computes the net asset value of Shares of the Fund.
1.05 “Eligible Foreign Custodian” has the meaning set forth in Rule 17f-5(a)(1), including a majority-owned or indirect subsidiary of a U.S. Bank (as defined in Rule 17f-5), a bank holding company meeting the requirements of an Eligible Foreign Custodian (as set forth in Rule 17f-5 or by other appropriate action of the SEC), or a foreign branch of a Bank (as defined in Section 2(a)(5) of the 1940 Act) meeting the requirements of a custodian under Section 17(f) of the 1940 Act; the term does not include any Eligible Securities Depository.
1.06 “Eligible Securities Depository” shall mean a system for the central handling of securities as that term is defined in Rule 17f-4 and 17f-7 under the 1940 Act.
1.07 “Foreign Securities” means any investments of a Fund (including foreign currencies) for which the primary market is outside the United States and such cash and cash equivalents as are reasonably necessary to effect such Fund’s transactions in such investments.
1.08 “Fund Custody Account” shall mean any of the accounts in the name of the Trust, which is provided for in Section 3.02 below.
1.09 “IRS” shall mean the Internal Revenue Service.
1.10 “FINRA” shall mean the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.
1.11 “Officer” shall mean the Chairman, President, any Vice President, any Assistant Vice President, the Secretary, any Assistant Secretary, the Treasurer, or any Assistant Treasurer of the Trust. “Proper Instructions” shall mean Written Instructions.
1.12 “SEC” shall mean the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
1.13 “Securities” shall include, without limitation, common and preferred stocks, bonds, call options, put options, debentures, notes, bank certificates of deposit, bankers' acceptances, mortgage-backed securities or other obligations, and any certificates, receipts, warrants or other instruments or documents representing rights to receive, purchase or subscribe for the same, or evidencing or representing any other rights or interests therein, or any similar property or assets that the Custodian or its agents have the facilities to clear and service.
1.14 “Securities Depository” shall mean The Depository Trust Company and any other clearing agency registered with the SEC under Section 17A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”), which acts as a system for the central handling of Securities where all Securities of any particular class or series of an issuer deposited within the system are treated as fungible and may be transferred or pledged by bookkeeping entry without physical delivery of the Securities.
1.15 “Shares” shall mean, with respect to a Fund, the shares of common stock issued by the Trust on account of the Fund.
1.16 “Sub-Custodian” shall mean and include (i) any branch of a “U.S. bank,” as that term is defined in Rule 17f-5 under the 1940 Act, and (ii) any “Eligible Foreign Custodian”, as that term is defined in Rule 17f-5 under the 1940 Act, having a contract with the Custodian which the Custodian has determined will provide reasonable care of assets of the Fund based on the standards specified in Section 3.03 below. Such contract shall be in writing and shall include provisions that provide: (i) for indemnification or insurance arrangements (or any combination of the foregoing) such that the Fund will be adequately protected against the risk of loss of assets held in accordance with such contract; (ii) that the Foreign Securities will not be subject to any right, charge, security interest, lien or claim of any kind in favor of the Sub-Custodian or its creditors except a claim of payment for their safe custody or administration, in the case of cash deposits, liens or rights in favor of creditors of the Sub-Custodian arising under bankruptcy, insolvency, or similar laws; (iii) that beneficial ownership for the Foreign Securities will be freely transferable without the payment of money or value other than for safe custody or administration; (iv) that adequate records will be maintained identifying the assets as belonging to the Fund or as being held by a third party for the benefit of the Fund; (v) that the Fund’s independent public accountants will be given access to those records or confirmation of the contents of those records; and (vi) that the Fund will receive periodic reports with respect to the safekeeping of the Fund’s assets, including, but not limited to, notification of any transfer to or from a Fund's account or a third party account containing assets held for the benefit of the Fund. Such contract may contain, in lieu of any or all of the provisions specified in (i)-(vi) above, such other provisions that the Custodian determines will provide, in their entirety, the same or a greater level of care and protection for Fund assets as the specified provisions.
1.17 “Written Instructions” shall mean (i) written communications received by the Custodian and signed by an Authorized Person, (ii) communications by facsimile or Internet electronic e-mail or any other such system from one or more persons reasonably believed by the Custodian to be an Authorized Person, or (iii) communications between electronic devices.
ARTICLE II.
APPOINTMENT OF CUSTODIAN
2.01 Appointment . The Trust hereby appoints the Custodian as custodian of all Securities and cash owned by or in the possession of the Fund at any time during the period of this Agreement, on the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, and the Custodian hereby accepts such appointment and agrees to perform the services and duties set forth in this Agreement. The Trust hereby delegates to the Custodian, subject to Rule 17f-5(b), the responsibilities with respect to the Fund’s Foreign Securities, and the Custodian hereby accepts such delegation as foreign custody manager with respect to the Fund. The services and duties of the Custodian shall be confined to those matters expressly set forth herein, and no implied duties are assumed by or may be asserted against the Custodian hereunder.
2.02 Documents to be Furnished . The following documents, including any amendments thereto, will be provided contemporaneously with the execution of the Agreement to the Custodian by the Trust:
(a) |
A copy of the Trust’s declaration of trust, certified by the Secretary; |
(b) |
A copy of the Trust’s bylaws, certified by the Secretary; |
(c) |
A copy of the resolution of the Board of Trustees of the Trust appointing the Custodian, certified by the Secretary; |
(d) |
A copy of the current prospectus of the Fund (the “Prospectus”); |
(e) |
A certification of the Chairman or the President and the Secretary of the Trust setting forth the names and signatures of the current Officers of the Trust and other Authorized Persons; and |
(f) |
An executed authorization required by the Shareholder Communications Act of 1985, attached hereto as Exhibit D . |
2.03 Notice of Appointment of Transfer Agent . The Fund agrees to notify the Custodian in writing of the appointment, termination or change in appointment of any transfer agent of the Fund, except if the Trust appoints an affiliate of the Custodian to serve as transfer agent of the Trust, the Custodian hereby waives the Trust’s obligation to provide such written notice.
ARTICLE III.
CUSTODY OF CASH AND SECURITIES
3.01 Segregation . All Securities and non-cash property held by the Custodian for the account of the Fund (other than Securities maintained in a Securities Depository, Eligible Securities Depository or Book-Entry System) shall be physically segregated from other Securities and non-cash property in the possession of the Custodian (including the Securities and non-cash property of the other series of the Trust, if applicable) and shall be identified as subject to this Agreement.
3.02 Fund Custody Accounts . As to each Fund, the Custodian shall open and maintain in its trust department a custody account in the name of the Trust coupled with the name of the Fund, subject only to draft or order of the Custodian, in which the Custodian shall enter and carry all Securities, cash and other assets of such Fund which are delivered to it.
3.03 Appointment of Agents.
(a) |
In its discretion, the Custodian may appoint one or more Sub-Custodians to establish and maintain arrangements with (i) Eligible Securities Depositories or (ii) Eligible Foreign Custodians that are members of the Sub-Custodian’s network to hold Securities and cash of the Fund and to carry out such other provisions of this Agreement as it may determine; provided, however, that the appointment of any such agents and maintenance of any Securities and cash of the Fund shall be at the Custodian's expense and shall not relieve the Custodian of any of its obligations or liabilities under this Agreement. The Custodian shall be liable for the actions of any Sub-Custodians (regardless of whether assets are maintained in the custody of a Sub-Custodian, a member of its network or an Eligible Securities Depository) appointed by it as if such actions had been done by the Custodian. |
(b) |
If, after the initial appointment of Sub-Custodians by the Board of Trustees in connection with this Agreement, the Custodian wishes to appoint other Sub-Custodians to hold property of the Fund, it will so notify the Trust and make the necessary determinations as to any such new Sub-Custodian's eligibility under Rule 17f-5 under the 1940 Act. |
(c) |
In performing its delegated responsibilities as foreign custody manager to place or maintain the Fund’s assets with a Sub-Custodian, the Custodian will determine that the Fund’s assets will be subject to reasonable care, based on the standards applicable to custodians in the country in which the Fund’s assets will be held by that Sub-Custodian, after considering all factors relevant to safekeeping of such assets, including, without limitation the factors specified in Rule 17f-5(c)(1). |
(d) |
The agreement between the Custodian and each Sub-Custodian acting hereunder shall contain the required provisions set forth in Rule 17f-5(c)(2) under the 1940 Act. |
(e) |
At the end of each calendar quarterafter the date of this Agreement, the Custodian shall provide written reports notifying the Board of Trustees of the withdrawal or placement of the Securities and cash of the Fund with a Sub-Custodian and of any material changes in the Fund’s arrangements. Such reports shall include an analysis of the custody risks associated with maintaining assets with any Eligible Securities Depositories. The Custodian shall promptly take such steps as may be required to withdraw assets of the Fund from any Sub-Custodian arrangement that has ceased to meet the requirements of Rule 17f-5 or Rule 17f-7 under the 1940 Act, as applicable. |
(f) |
With respect to its responsibilities under this Section 3.03, the Custodian hereby warrants to the Trust that it agrees to exercise reasonable care, prudence and diligence such as a person having responsibility for the safekeeping of property of the Fund. The Custodian further warrants that the Fund's assets will be subject to reasonable care if maintained with a Sub-Custodian, after considering all factors relevant to the safekeeping of such assets, including, without limitation: (i) the Sub-Custodian's practices, procedures, and internal controls for certificated securities (if applicable), its method of keeping custodial records, and its security and data protection practices; (ii) whether the Sub-Custodian has the requisite financial strength to provide reasonable care for Fund assets; (iii) the Sub-Custodian's general reputation and standing and, in the case of a Securities Depository, the Securities Depository's operating history and number of participants; and (iv) whether the Fund will have jurisdiction over and be able to enforce judgments against the Sub-Custodian, such as by virtue of the existence of any offices of the Sub-Custodian in the United States or the Sub-Custodian's consent to service of process in the United States. |
(g) |
The Custodian shall establish a system or ensure that its Sub-Custodian has established a system to monitor on a continuing basis (i) the appropriateness of maintaining the Fund’s assets with a Sub-Custodian or Eligible Foreign Custodians who are members of a Sub-Custodian’s network; (ii) the performance of the contract governing the Fund’s arrangements with such Sub-Custodian or Eligible Foreign Custodian’s members of a Sub-Custodian’s network; and (iii) the custody risks of maintaining assets with an Eligible Securities Depository. The Custodian must promptly notify the Fund or its investment adviser of any material change in these risks. |
(h) |
The Custodian shall use commercially reasonable efforts to collect all income and other payments with respect to Foreign Securities to which the Fund shall be entitled and shall credit such income, as collected, to the Trust. In the event that extraordinary measures are required to collect such income, the Trust and Custodian shall consult as to the measurers and as to the compensation and expenses of the Custodian relating to such measures. |
3.04 Delivery of Assets to Custodian . The Trust shall deliver, or cause to be delivered, to the Custodian all of the Fund's Securities, cash and other investment assets, including (i) all payments of income, payments of principal and capital distributions received by the Fund with respect to such Securities, cash or other assets owned by the Fund at any time during the period of this Agreement, and (ii) all cash received by the Fund for the issuance of Shares. The Custodian shall not be responsible for such Securities, cash or other assets until actually received by it.
3.05 Securities Depositories and Book-Entry Systems . The Custodian may deposit and/or maintain Securities of the Fund in a Securities Depository or in a Book-Entry System, subject to the following provisions:
(a) |
The Custodian, on an on-going basis, shall deposit in a Securities Depository or Book-Entry System all Securities eligible for deposit therein and shall make use of such Securities Depository or Book-Entry System to the extent possible and practical in connection with its performance hereunder, including, without limitation, in connection with settlements of purchases and sales of Securities, loans of Securities, and deliveries and returns of collateral consisting of Securities. |
(b) |
Securities of the Fund kept in a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository shall be kept in an account (“Depository Account”) of the Custodian in such Book-Entry System or Securities Depository which includes only assets held by the Custodian as a fiduciary, custodian or otherwise for customers. |
(c) |
The records of the Custodian with respect to Securities of the Fund maintained in a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository shall, by book-entry, identify such Securities as belonging to the Fund. |
(d) |
If Securities purchased by the Fund are to be held in a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository, the Custodian shall pay for such Securities upon (i) receipt of advice from the Book-Entry System or Securities Depository that such Securities have been transferred to the Depository Account, and (ii) the making of an entry on the records of the Custodian to reflect such payment and transfer for the account of the Fund. If Securities sold by the Fund are held in a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository, the Custodian shall transfer such Securities upon (i) receipt of advice from the Book-Entry System or Securities Depository that payment for such Securities has been transferred to the Depository Account, and (ii) the making of an entry on the records of the Custodian to reflect such transfer and payment for the account of the Fund. |
(e) |
The Custodian shall provide the Trust with copies of any report (obtained by the Custodian from a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository in which Securities of the Fund are kept) on the internal accounting controls and procedures for safeguarding Securities deposited in such Book-Entry System or Securities Depository. |
(f) |
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, the Custodian shall be liable to the Trust for any loss or damage to the Fund resulting from (i) the use of a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository by reason of any negligence or willful misconduct on the part of the Custodian or any Sub-Custodian, or (ii) failure of the Custodian or any Sub-Custodian to enforce effectively such rights as it may have against a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository. At its election, the Trust shall be subrogated to the rights of the Custodian with respect to any claim against a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository or any other person from any loss or damage to the Fund arising from the use of such Book-Entry System or Securities Depository, if and to the extent that the Fund has not been made whole for any such loss or damage. |
(g) |
With respect to its responsibilities under this Section 3.05 and pursuant to Rule 17f-4 under the 1940 Act, the Custodian hereby warrants to the Trust that it agrees to (i) exercise due care in accordance with reasonable commercial standards in discharging its duty as a securities intermediary to obtain and thereafter maintain such assets, (ii) provide, promptly upon request by the Trust, such reports as are available concerning the Custodian’s internal accounting controls and financial strength, and (iii) require any Sub-Custodian to exercise due care in accordance with reasonable commercial standards in discharging its duty as a securities intermediary to obtain and thereafter maintain assets corresponding to the security entitlements of its entitlement holders. |
3.06 Disbursement of Moneys from Fund Custody Account . Upon receipt of Written Instructions, the Custodian shall disburse moneys from the Fund Custody Account but only in the following cases:
(a) |
For the purchase of Securities for the Fund but only in accordance with Section 4.01 of this Agreement and only (i) in the case of Securities (other than options on Securities, futures contracts and options on futures contracts), against the delivery to the Custodian (or any Sub-Custodian) of such Securities registered as provided in Section 3.09 below or in proper form for transfer, or if the purchase of such Securities is effected through a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository, in accordance with the conditions set forth in Section 3.05 above; (ii) in the case of options on Securities, against delivery to the Custodian (or any Sub-Custodian) of such receipts as are required by the customs prevailing among dealers in such options; (iii) in the case of futures contracts and options on futures contracts, against delivery to the Custodian (or any Sub-Custodian) of evidence of title thereto in favor of the Fund or any nominee referred to in Section 3.09 below; and (iv) in the case of repurchase or reverse repurchase agreements entered into between the Trust and a bank that is a member of the Federal Reserve System or between the Trust and a primary dealer in U.S. Government securities, against delivery of the purchased Securities either in certificate form or through an entry crediting the Custodian's account at a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository with such Securities; |
(b) |
In connection with the conversion, exchange or surrender, as set forth in Section 3.07(f) below, of Securities owned by the Fund; |
(c) |
For the payment of any dividends or capital gain distributions declared by the Fund; |
(d) |
In payment of the repurchase price of Shares as provided in Section 5.01 below; |
(e) |
For the payment of any expense or liability incurred by the Fund, including, but not limited to, the following payments for the account of the Fund: interest; taxes; administration, investment advisory, accounting, auditing, transfer agent, custodian, trustee and legal fees; and other operating expenses of the Fund; in all cases, whether or not such expenses are to be in whole or in part capitalized or treated as deferred expenses; |
(f) |
For transfer in accordance with the provisions of any agreement among the Trust, the Custodian and a broker-dealer registered under the 1934 Act and a member of FINRA, relating to compliance with rules of the Options Clearing Corporation and of any registered national securities exchange (or of any similar organization or organizations) regarding escrow or other arrangements in connection with transactions by the Fund; |
(g) |
For transfer in accordance with the provisions of any agreement among the Trust, the Custodian and a futures commission merchant registered under the Commodity Exchange Act, relating to compliance with the rules of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and/or any contract market (or any similar organization or organizations) regarding account deposits in connection with transactions by the Fund; |
(h) |
For the funding of any uncertificated time deposit or other interest-bearing account with any banking institution (including the Custodian), which deposit or account has a term of one year or less; and |
(i) |
For any other proper purpose, but only upon receipt, in addition to Proper Instructions, declaring such purpose to be a proper trust purpose, and naming the person or persons to whom such payment is to be made. |
3.07 Delivery of Securities from Fund Custody Account . Upon receipt of Proper Instructions, the Custodian shall release and deliver, or cause the Sub-Custodian to release and deliver, Securities from the Fund Custody Account but only in the following cases:
(a) |
Upon the sale of Securities for the account of the Fund but only against receipt of payment therefor in cash, by certified or cashiers check or bank credit; |
(b) |
In the case of a sale effected through a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository, in accordance with the provisions of Section 3.05 above; |
(c) |
To an offeror’s depository agent in connection with tender or other similar offers for Securities of the Fund; provided that, in any such case, the cash or other consideration is to be delivered to the Custodian; |
(d) |
To the issuer thereof or its agent (i) for transfer into the name of the Fund, the Custodian or any Sub-Custodian, or any nominee or nominees of any of the foregoing, or (ii) for exchange for a different number of certificates or other evidence representing the same aggregate face amount or number of units; provided that, in any such case, the new Securities are to be delivered to the Custodian; |
(e) |
To the broker selling the Securities, for examination in accordance with the “street delivery” custom; |
(f) |
For exchange or conversion pursuant to any plan of merger, consolidation, recapitalization, reorganization or readjustment of the issuer of such Securities, or pursuant to provisions for conversion contained in such Securities, or pursuant to any deposit agreement, including surrender or receipt of underlying Securities in connection with the issuance or cancellation of depository receipts; provided that, in any such case, the new Securities and cash, if any, are to be delivered to the Custodian; |
(g) |
Upon receipt of payment therefor pursuant to any repurchase or reverse repurchase agreement entered into by the Fund; |
(h) |
In the case of warrants, rights or similar Securities, upon the exercise thereof, provided that, in any such case, the new Securities and cash, if any, are to be delivered to the Custodian; |
(i) |
For delivery in connection with any loans of Securities of the Fund, but only against receipt of such collateral as the Trust shall have specified to the Custodian in Proper Instructions; |
(j) |
For delivery as security in connection with any borrowings by the Fund requiring a pledge of assets by the Trust, but only against receipt by the Custodian of the amounts borrowed; |
(k) |
Pursuant to any authorized plan of liquidation, reorganization, merger, consolidation or recapitalization of the Trust; |
(l) |
For delivery in accordance with the provisions of any agreement among the Trust, the Custodian and a broker-dealer registered under the 1934 Act and a member of FINRA, relating to compliance with the rules of the Options Clearing Corporation and of any registered national securities exchange (or of any similar organization or organizations) regarding escrow or other arrangements in connection with transactions by the Fund; |
(m) |
For delivery in accordance with the provisions of any agreement among the Trust, the Custodian and a futures commission merchant registered under the Commodity Exchange Act, relating to compliance with the rules of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and/or any contract market (or any similar organization or organizations) regarding account deposits in connection with transactions by the Fund; |
(n) |
For any other proper corporate purpose, but only upon receipt , in addition to Proper Instructions, specifying the Securities to be delivered, declaring such purpose to be a proper trust purpose, and naming the person or persons to whom delivery of such Securities shall be made; or |
(o) |
To brokers, clearing banks or other clearing agents for examination or trade execution in accordance with market custom; provided that in any such case the Custodian shall have no responsibility or liability for any loss arising from the delivery of such securities prior to receiving payment for such securities except as may arise from the Custodian’s own negligence or willful misconduct. |
3.08 Actions Not Requiring Proper Instructions . Unless otherwise instructed by the Trust, the Custodian shall with respect to all Securities held for the Fund:
(a) |
Subject to Section 9.04 below, collect on a timely basis all income and other payments to which the Fund is entitled either by law or pursuant to custom in the securities business; |
(b) |
Present for payment and, subject to Section 9.04 below, collect on a timely basis the amount payable upon all Securities that may mature or be called, redeemed, or retired, or otherwise become payable; |
(c) |
Endorse for collection, in the name of the Fund, checks, drafts and other negotiable instruments; |
(d) |
Surrender interim receipts or Securities in temporary form for Securities in definitive form; |
(e) |
Execute, as custodian, any necessary declarations or certificates of ownership under the federal income tax laws or the laws or regulations of any other taxing authority now or hereafter in effect, and prepare and submit reports to the IRS and the Trust at such time, in such manner and containing such information as is prescribed by the IRS; |
(f) |
Hold for the Fund, either directly or, with respect to Securities held therein, through a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository, all rights and similar Securities issued with respect to Securities of the Fund; and |
(g) |
In general, and except as otherwise directed in Proper Instructions, attend to all non-discretionary details in connection with the sale, exchange, substitution, purchase, transfer and other dealings with Securities and other assets of the Fund. |
3.09 Registration and Transfer of Securities . All Securities held for the Fund that are issued or issuable only in bearer form shall be held by the Custodian in that form, provided that any such Securities shall be held in a Book-Entry System if eligible therefor. All other Securities held for the Fund may be registered in the name of the Fund, the Custodian, a Sub-Custodian or any nominee thereof, or in the name of a Book-Entry System, Securities Depository or any nominee of either thereof. The records of the Custodian with respect to the Trust’s Foreign Securities that are maintained with a Sub-Custodian in an account that is identified as belonging to the Custodian for the benefit of its customers shall identify those securities as belonging to the Fund. The Trust shall furnish to the Custodian appropriate instruments to enable the Custodian to hold or deliver in proper form for transfer, or to register in the name of any of the nominees referred to above or in the name of a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository, any Securities registered in the name of the Fund.
3.10 Records .
(a) |
The Custodian shall maintain complete and accurate records with respect to Securities, cash or other property held for the Fund, including (i) journals or other records of original entry containing an itemized daily record in detail of all receipts and deliveries of Securities and all receipts and disbursements of cash; (ii) ledgers (or other records) reflecting (A) Securities in transfer, (B) Securities in physical possession, (C) monies and Securities borrowed and monies and Securities loaned (together with a record of the collateral therefor and substitutions of such collateral), (D) dividends and interest received, and (E) dividends receivable and interest receivable; (iii) canceled checks and bank records related thereto; and (iv) all records relating to its activities and obligations under this Agreement. The Custodian shall keep such other books and records of the Fund as the Trust shall reasonably request, or as may be required by the 1940 Act, including, but not limited to, Section 31 of the 1940 Act and Rule 31a-2 promulgated thereunder. |
(b) |
All such books and records maintained by the Custodian shall (i) be maintained in a form acceptable to the Trust and in compliance with the rules and regulations of the SEC, (ii) be the property of the Trust and at all times during the regular business hours of the Custodian be made available upon request for inspection by duly authorized officers, employees or agents of the Trust and employees or agents of the SEC, and (iii) if required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act, be preserved for the periods prescribed in Rules 31a-1 and 31a-2 under the 1940 Act. |
3.11 Fund Reports by Custodian . The Custodian shall furnish the Trust with a daily activity statement and a summary of all transfers to or from each Fund Custody Account on the day following such transfers. At least monthly, the Custodian shall furnish the Trust with a detailed statement of the Securities and moneys held by the Custodian and the Sub-Custodians for the Fund under this Agreement.
3.12 Other Reports by Custodian . As the Trust may reasonably request from time to time, the Custodian shall provide the Trust with reports on the internal accounting controls and procedures for safeguarding Securities which are employed by the Custodian or any Sub-Custodian.
3.13 Proxies and Other Materials . The Custodian shall cause all proxies relating to Securities which are not registered in the name of the Fund to be promptly executed by the registered holder of such Securities, without indication of the manner in which such proxies are to be voted, and shall promptly deliver to the Trust such proxies, all proxy soliciting materials and all notices relating to such Securities. With respect to the foreign Securities, the Custodian will use reasonable commercial efforts to facilitate the exercise of voting and other shareholder rights, subject to the laws, regulations and practical constraints that may exist in the country where such securities are issued. The Trust acknowledges that local conditions, including lack of regulation, onerous procedural obligations, lack of notice and other factors may have the effect of severely limiting the ability of the Trust to exercise shareholder rights.
3.14 Information on Corporate Actions . The Custodian shall promptly deliver to the Trust all information received by the Custodian and pertaining to Securities being held by the Fund with respect to optional tender or exchange offers, calls for redemption or purchase, or expiration of rights. If the Trust desires to take action with respect to any tender offer, exchange offer or other similar transaction, the Trust shall notify the Custodian at least three Business Days prior to the date on which the Custodian is to take such action. The Trust will provide or cause to be provided to the Custodian all relevant information for any Security which has unique put/option provisions at least three Business Days prior to the beginning date of the tender period.
ARTICLE IV.
PURCHASE AND SALE OF INVESTMENTS OF THE FUND
4.01 Purchase of Securities . Promptly upon each purchase of Securities for the Fund, Written Instructions shall be delivered to the Custodian, specifying (i) the name of the issuer or writer of such Securities, and the title or other description thereof, (ii) the number of shares, principal amount (and accrued interest, if any) or other units purchased, (iii) the date of purchase and settlement, (iv) the purchase price per unit, (v) the total amount payable upon such purchase, and (vi) the name of the person to whom such amount is payable. The Custodian shall upon receipt of such Securities purchased by the Fund pay out of the moneys held for the account of the Fund the total amount specified in such Written Instructions to the person named therein. The Custodian shall not be under any obligation to pay out moneys to cover the cost of a purchase of Securities for the Fund, if in the Fund Custody Account there is insufficient cash available to the Fund for which such purchase was made.
4.02 Liability for Payment in Advance of Receipt of Securities Purchased . In any and every case where payment for the purchase of Securities for the Fund is made by the Custodian in advance of receipt of the Securities purchased and in the absence of specified Written Instructions to so pay in advance, the Custodian shall be liable to the Fund for such payment.
4.03 Sale of Securities . Promptly upon each sale of Securities by the Fund, Written Instructions shall be delivered to the Custodian, specifying (i) the name of the issuer or writer of such Securities, and the title or other description thereof, (ii) the number of shares, principal amount (and accrued interest, if any), or other units sold, (iii) the date of sale and settlement, (iv) the sale price per unit, (v) the total amount payable upon such sale, and (vi) the person to whom such Securities are to be delivered. Upon receipt of the total amount payable to the Fund as specified in such Written Instructions, the Custodian shall deliver such Securities to the person specified in such Written Instructions. Subject to the foregoing, the Custodian may accept payment in such form as shall be satisfactory to it, and may deliver Securities and arrange for payment in accordance with the customs prevailing among dealers in Securities.
4.04 Delivery of Securities Sold . Notwithstanding Section 4.03 above or any other provision of this Agreement, the Custodian, when instructed to deliver Securities against payment, shall be entitled, if in accordance with generally accepted market practice, to deliver such Securities prior to actual receipt of final payment therefor. In any such case, the Fund shall bear the risk that final payment for such Securities may not be made or that such Securities may be returned or otherwise held or disposed of by or through the person to whom they were delivered, and the Custodian shall have no liability for any for the foregoing.
4.05 Payment for Securities Sold . In its sole discretion and from time to time, the Custodian may credit the Fund Custody Account, prior to actual receipt of final payment thereof, with (i) proceeds from the sale of Securities which it has been instructed to deliver against payment, (ii) proceeds from the redemption of Securities or other assets of the Fund, and (iii) income from cash, Securities or other assets of the Fund. Any such credit shall be conditional upon actual receipt by Custodian of final payment and may be reversed if final payment is not actually received in full. The Custodian may, in its sole discretion and from time to time, permit the Fund to use funds so credited to the Fund Custody Account in anticipation of actual receipt of final payment. Any such funds shall be repayable immediately upon demand made by the Custodian at any time prior to the actual receipt of all final payments in anticipation of which funds were credited to the Fund Custody Account.
4.06 Advances by Custodian for Settlement . The Custodian may, in its sole discretion and from time to time, advance funds to the Trust to facilitate the settlement of a Fund's transactions in the Fund Custody Account. Any such advance shall be repayable immediately upon demand made by Custodian.
ARTICLE V.
REDEMPTION OF FUND SHARES
5.01 Transfer of Funds . From such funds as may be available for the purpose in the relevant Fund Custody Account, and upon receipt of Proper Instructions specifying that the funds are required to repurchase Shares of the Fund, the Custodian shall wire each amount specified in such Proper Instructions to or through such bank or broker-dealer as the Trust may designate.
5.02 No Duty Regarding Paying Banks . Once the Custodian has wired amounts to a bank or broker-dealer pursuant to Section 5.01 above, the Custodian shall not be under any obligation to effect any further payment or distribution by such bank or broker-dealer.
ARTICLE VI.
SEGREGATED ACCOUNTS
Upon receipt of Proper Instructions, the Custodian shall establish and maintain a segregated account or accounts for and on behalf of the Fund, into which account or accounts may be transferred cash and/or Securities, including Securities maintained in a Depository Account:
(a) |
in accordance with the provisions of any agreement among the Trust, the Custodian and a broker-dealer registered under the 1934 Act and a member of FINRA (or any futures commission merchant registered under the Commodity Exchange Act), relating to compliance with the rules of the Options Clearing Corporation and of any registered national securities exchange (or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission or any registered contract market), or of any similar organization or organizations, regarding escrow or other arrangements in connection with transactions by the Fund; |
(b) |
for purposes of segregating cash or Securities in connection with securities options purchased or written by the Fund or in connection with financial futures contracts (or options thereon) purchased or sold by the Fund; |
(c) |
which constitute collateral for loans of Securities made by the Fund; |
(d) |
for purposes of compliance by the Fund with requirements under the 1940 Act for the maintenance of segregated accounts by registered investment companies in connection with reverse repurchase agreements and when-issued, delayed delivery and firm commitment transactions; and |
(e) |
for other proper trust purposes, but only upon receipt of Proper Instructions, setting forth the purpose or purposes of such segregated account and declaring such purposes to be proper trust purposes. |
Each segregated account established under this Article VI shall be established and maintained for the Fund only. All Proper Instructions relating to a segregated account shall specify the Fund.
ARTICLE VII.
COMPENSATION OF CUSTODIAN
7.01 Compensation . The Custodian shall be compensated for providing the services set forth in this Agreement in accordance with the fee schedule set forth on Exhibit C hereto (as amended from time to time). The Custodian shall also be compensated for such miscellaneous expenses (e.g., telecommunication charges, postage and delivery charges, and reproduction charges) as are reasonably incurred by the Custodian in performing its duties hereunder. The Trust shall pay all such fees and reimbursable expenses within 30 calendar days following receipt of the billing notice, except for any fee or expense subject to a good faith dispute. The Trust shall notify the Custodian in writing within 30 calendar days following receipt of each invoice if the Trust is disputing any amounts in good faith. The Trust shall pay such disputed amounts within 10 calendar days of the day on which the parties agree to the amount to be paid. With the exception of any fee or expense the Trust is disputing in good faith as set forth above, unpaid invoices shall accrue a finance charge of 1½% per month after the due date. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, amounts owed by the Trust to the Custodian shall only be paid out of the assets and property of the particular Fund involved.
7.02 Overdrafts . The Trust is responsible for maintaining an appropriate level of short term cash investments to accommodate cash outflows. The Trust may obtain a formal line of credit for potential overdrafts of its custody account. In the event of an overdraft or in the event the line of credit is insufficient to cover an overdraft, the overdraft amount or the overdraft amount that exceeds the line of credit will be charged in accordance with the fee schedule set forth on Exhibit C hereto (as amended from time to time)
ARTICLE VIII.
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES
8.01 Representations and Warranties of the Trust . The Trust hereby represents and warrants to the Custodian, which representations and warranties shall be deemed to be continuing throughout the term of this Agreement, that:
(a) |
It is duly organized and existing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, with full power to carry on its business as now conducted, to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder; |
(b) |
This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Trust in accordance with all requisite action and constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of the Trust, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting the rights and remedies of creditors and secured parties; and |
(c) |
It is conducting its business in compliance in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations, both state and federal, and has obtained all regulatory approvals necessary to carry on its business as now conducted; there is no statute, rule, regulation, order or judgment binding on it and no provision of its charter, bylaws or any contract binding it or affecting its property which would prohibit its execution or performance of this Agreement. |
8.02 Representations and Warranties of the Custodian . The Custodian hereby represents and warrants to the Trust, which representations and warranties shall be deemed to be continuing throughout the term of this Agreement, that:
(a) |
It is duly organized and existing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, with full power to carry on its business as now conducted, to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder; |
(b) |
It is a U.S. Bank as defined in section (a)(7) of Rule 17f-5. |
(c) |
This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Custodian in accordance with all requisite action and constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of the Custodian, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting the rights and remedies of creditors and secured parties; and |
(d) |
It is conducting its business in compliance in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations, both state and federal, and has obtained all regulatory approvals necessary to carry on its business as now conducted; there is no statute, rule, regulation, order or judgment binding on it and no provision of its charter, bylaws or any contract binding it or affecting its property which would prohibit its execution or performance of this Agreement. |
ARTICLE IX.
CONCERNING THE CUSTODIAN
9.01 Standard of Care . The Custodian shall exercise reasonable care in the performance of its duties under this Agreement. The Custodian shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Trust in connection with its duties under this Agreement, except a loss arising out of or relating to the Custodian’s (or a Sub-Custodian’s) refusal or failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement (or any sub-custody agreement) or from its (or a Sub-Custodian’s) bad faith, negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties under this Agreement (or any sub-custody agreement). The Custodian shall be entitled to rely on and may act upon advice of counsel on all matters, and shall be without liability for any action reasonably taken or omitted pursuant to such advice. The Custodian shall promptly notify the Trust of any action taken or omitted by the Custodian pursuant to advice of counsel.
9.02 Actual Collection Required . The Custodian shall not be liable for, or considered to be the custodian of, any cash belonging to the Fund or any money represented by a check, draft or other instrument for the payment of money, until the Custodian or its agents actually receive such cash or collect on such instrument.
9.03 No Responsibility for Title, etc. So long as and to the extent that it is in the exercise of reasonable care, the Custodian shall not be responsible for the title, validity or genuineness of any property or evidence of title thereto received or delivered by it pursuant to this Agreement.
9.04 Limitation on Duty to Collect . Custodian shall not be required to enforce collection, by legal means or otherwise, of any money or property due and payable with respect to Securities held for the Fund if such Securities are in default or payment is not made after due demand or presentation.
9.05 Reliance Upon Documents and Instructions . The Custodian shall be entitled to rely upon any certificate, notice or other instrument in writing received by it and reasonably believed by it to be genuine. The Custodian shall be entitled to rely upon any Written Instructions actually received by it pursuant to this Agreement.
9.06 Cooperation . The Custodian shall cooperate with and supply necessary information to the entity or entities appointed by the Trust to keep the books of account of the Fund and/or compute the value of the assets of the Fund. The Custodian shall take all such reasonable actions as the Trust may from time to time request to enable the Trust to obtain, from year to year, favorable opinions from the Trust's independent accountants with respect to the Custodian's activities hereunder in connection with (i) the preparation of the Trust's reports on Form N-SAR, Form N-CSR and any other reports required by the SEC or any future registration statement on Form N-2, and (ii) the fulfillment by the Trust of any other requirements of the SEC.
ARTICLE X.
INDEMNIFICATION
10.01 Indemnification by Trust . The Trust shall indemnify and hold harmless the Custodian, any Sub-Custodian and any nominee thereof (each, an “Indemnified Party” and collectively, the “Indemnified Parties”) from and against any and all claims, demands, losses, reasonable expenses and liabilities of any and every nature (including reasonable attorneys' fees) that an Indemnified Party may sustain or incur or that may be asserted against an Indemnified Party by any person arising directly or indirectly (i) from the fact that Securities are registered in the name of any such nominee, (ii) from any action taken or omitted to be taken by the Custodian or such Sub-Custodian (a) at the request or direction of or in reliance on the advice of the Trust, or (b) upon Proper Instructions, or (iii) from the performance of its obligations under this Agreement or any sub-custody agreement, provided that neither the Custodian nor any such Sub-Custodian shall be indemnified and held harmless from and against any such claim, demand, loss, expense or liability arising out of or relating to its refusal or failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement (or any sub-custody agreement), or from its bad faith, negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties under this Agreement (or any sub-custody agreement). This indemnity shall be a continuing obligation of the Trust, its successors and assigns, notwithstanding the termination of this Agreement. As used in this paragraph, the terms “Custodian” and “Sub-Custodian” shall include their respective directors, officers and employees.
10.02 Indemnification by Custodian . The Custodian shall indemnify and hold harmless the Trust from and against any and all claims, demands, losses, expenses, and liabilities of any and every nature (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) that the Trust may sustain or incur or that may be asserted against the Trust by any person arising directly or indirectly out of any action taken or omitted to be taken by an Indemnified Party as a result of the Indemnified Party’s refusal or failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement (or any sub-custody agreement), or from its bad faith, negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties under this Agreement (or any sub-custody agreement). This indemnity shall be a continuing obligation of the Custodian, its successors and assigns, notwithstanding the termination of this Agreement. As used in this paragraph, the term “Trust” shall include the Trust’s trustees, officers and employees.
10.03 Security . If the Custodian advances cash or Securities to the Fund for any purpose, either at the Trust's request or as otherwise contemplated in this Agreement, or in the event that the Custodian or its nominee incurs, in connection with its performance under this Agreement, any claim, demand, loss, expense or liability (including reasonable attorneys' fees) (except such as may arise from its or its nominee's bad faith, negligence or willful misconduct), then, in any such event, any property at any time held for the account of the Fund shall be security therefor, and should the Fund fail promptly to repay or indemnify the Custodian, the Custodian shall be entitled to utilize available cash of such Fund and to dispose of other assets of such Fund to the extent necessary to obtain reimbursement or indemnification.
10.04 Miscellaneous.
(a) |
Neither party to this Agreement shall be liable to the other party for consequential, special or punitive damages under any provision of this Agreement. |
(b) |
The indemnity provisions of this Article shall indefinitely survive the termination and/or assignment of this Agreement. |
(c) |
In order that the indemnification provisions contained in this Article X shall apply, it is understood that if in any case the indemnitor may be asked to indemnify or hold the indemnitee harmless, the indemnitor shall be fully and promptly advised of all pertinent facts concerning the situation in question, and it is further understood that the indemnitee will use all reasonable care to notify the indemnitor promptly concerning any situation that presents or appears likely to present the probability of a claim for indemnification. The indemnitor shall have the option to defend the indemnitee against any claim that may be the subject of this indemnification. In the event that the indemnitor so elects, it will so notify the indemnitee and thereupon the indemnitor shall take over complete defense of the claim, and the indemnitee shall in such situation initiate no further legal or other expenses for which it shall seek indemnification under this Article X. The indemnitee shall in no case confess any claim or make any compromise in any case in which the indemnitor will be asked to indemnify the indemnitee except with the indemnitor’s prior written consent. |
ARTICLE XI.
FORCE MAJEURE
Neither the Custodian nor the Trust shall be liable for any failure or delay in performance of its obligations under this Agreement arising out of or caused, directly or indirectly, by circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including, without limitation, acts of God; earthquakes; fires; floods; wars; civil or military disturbances; acts of terrorism; sabotage; strikes; epidemics; riots; power failures; computer failure and any such circumstances beyond its reasonable control as may cause interruption, loss or malfunction of utility, transportation, computer (hardware or software) or telephone communication service; accidents; labor disputes; acts of civil or military authority; governmental actions; or inability to obtain labor, material, equipment or transportation; provided, however, that in the event of a failure or delay, the Custodian (i) shall not discriminate against the Fund in favor of any other customer of the Custodian in making computer time and personnel available to input or process the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and (ii) shall use its best efforts to ameliorate the effects of any such failure or delay.
ARTICLE XII.
PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
12.01 The Custodian agrees on behalf of itself and its directors, officers, and employees to treat confidentially and as proprietary information of the Trust, all records and other information relative to the Trust and prior, present, or potential shareholders of the Trust (and clients of said shareholders), and not to use such records and information for any purpose other than the performance of its responsibilities and duties hereunder, except (i) after prior notification to and approval in writing by the Trust, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld and may not be withheld where the Custodian may be exposed to civil or criminal contempt proceedings for failure to comply, (ii) when requested to divulge such information by duly constituted governmental or regulatory authorities with jurisdiction over the Custodian, although the Custodian will promptly report such disclosure to the Trust if disclosure is permitted by applicable law and regulation, or (iii) when so requested by the Trust. Records and other information which have become known to the public through no wrongful act of the Custodian or any of its employees, agents or representatives, and information that was already in the possession of the Custodian prior to receipt thereof from the Trust or its agent, shall not be subject to this paragraph.
12.02 Further, the Custodian will adhere to the privacy policies adopted by the Trust pursuant to Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, as may be modified from time to time. In this regard, the Custodian shall have in place and maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards reasonably designed to protect the security, confidentiality and integrity of, and to prevent unauthorized access to or use of, records and information relating to the Trust and its shareholders.
ARTICLE XIII.
EFFECTIVE PERIOD; TERMINATION
13.01 Effective Period . This Agreement shall become effective as of the date last written in the signature block and will continue in effect for a period of three (3) years.
13.02 Termination . This Agreement may be terminated by either party upon giving 90 days prior written notice to the other party or such shorter notice period as is mutually agreed upon by the parties. Subsequent to the end of the three (3) year period, this Agreement continues until one party gives 90 days prior written notice to the other party or such shorter notice period as is mutually agreed upon by the parties. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Agreement may be terminated by any party upon the breach of the other party of any material term of this Agreement if such breach is not cured within 15 days of notice of such breach to the breaching party. In addition, the Trust may, at any time, immediately terminate this Agreement in the event of the appointment of a conservator or receiver for the Custodian by regulatory authorities or upon the happening of a like event at the direction of an appropriate regulatory agency or court of competent jurisdiction.
13.03 Early Termination . In the absence of any material breach of this agreement, should the Trust elect to terminate this Agreement prior to the end of the three (3) year term, the trust agrees to pay the following fees:
a) All monthly fees through the life of the Agreement, including the repayment of any negotiated discounts;
b) All miscellaneous fees associated with converting services to a successor service provider;
c) All fees associated with any record retention and/or tax reporting obligations that may not be eliminated due to the conversion to a successor service provider;
d) All miscellaneous costs associated with a) through c) above
13.04 Appointment of Successor Custodian . If a successor custodian shall have been appointed by the Board of Trustees, the Custodian shall, upon receipt of a notice of acceptance by the successor custodian, on such specified date of termination (i) deliver directly to the successor custodian all Securities (other than Securities held in a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository) and cash then owned by the Fund and held by the Custodian as custodian, and (ii) transfer any Securities held in a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository to an account of or for the benefit of the Fund at the successor custodian, provided that the Trust shall have paid to the Custodian all fees, expenses and other amounts to the payment or reimbursement of which it shall then be entitled. In addition, the Custodian shall, at the expense of the Trust, transfer to such successor all relevant books, records, correspondence, and other data established or maintained by the Custodian under this Agreement in a form reasonably acceptable to the Trust (if such form differs from the form in which the Custodian has maintained the same, the Trust shall pay any expenses associated with transferring the data to such form), and will cooperate in the transfer of such duties and responsibilities, including provision for assistance from the Custodian’s personnel in the establishment of books, records, and other data by such successor. Upon such delivery and transfer, the Custodian shall be relieved of all obligations under this Agreement.
13.05 Failure to Appoint Successor Custodian . If a successor custodian is not designated by the Trust on or before the date of termination of this Agreement, then the Custodian shall have the right to deliver to a bank or trust company of its own selection, which bank or trust company (i) is a “bank” as defined in the 1940 Act, and (ii) has aggregate capital, surplus and undivided profits as shown on its most recent published report of not less than $25 million, all Securities, cash and other property held by the Custodian under this Agreement and to transfer to an account of or for the Fund at such bank or trust company all Securities of the Fund held in a Book-Entry System or Securities Depository. Upon such delivery and transfer, such bank or trust company shall be the successor custodian under this Agreement and the Custodian shall be relieved of all obligations under this Agreement. In addition, under these circumstances, all books, records and other data of the Trust shall be returned to the Trust.
ARTICLE XIV .
CLASS ACTIONS
The Custodian shall use its best efforts to identify and file claims for the Fund(s) involving any class action litigation that impacts any security the Fund(s) may have held during the class period. The Trust agrees that the Custodian may file such claims on its behalf and understands that it may be waiving and/or releasing certain rights to make claims or otherwise pursue class action defendants who settle their claims. Further, the Trust acknowledges that there is no guarantee these claims will result in any payment or partial payment of potential class action proceeds and that the timing of such payment, if any, is uncertain.
However, the Trust may instruct the Custodian to distribute class action notices and other relevant documentation to the Fund(s) or its designee and, if it so elects, will relieve the Custodian from any and all liability and responsibility for filing class action claims on behalf of the Fund(s).
ARTICLE XV.
MISCELLANEOUS
15.01 Compliance with Laws . The Trust has and retains primary responsibility for all compliance matters relating to the Fund, including but not limited to compliance with the 1940 Act, the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the USA Patriot Act of 2001 and the policies and limitations of the Fund relating to its portfolio investments as set forth in its prospectus and statement of additional information on Form N-2. The Custodian’s services hereunder shall not relieve the Trust of its responsibilities for assuring such compliance or the Board of Trustee’s oversight responsibility with respect thereto.
15.02 Amendment . This Agreement may not be amended or modified in any manner except by written agreement executed by the Custodian and the Trust, and authorized or approved by the Board of Trustees.
15.03 Assignment . This Agreement shall extend to and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns; provided, however, that this Agreement shall not be assignable by the Trust without the written consent of the Custodian, or by the Custodian without the written consent of the Trust accompanied by the authorization or approval of the Board of Trustees.
15.04 Governing Law . This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Minnesota, without regard to conflicts of law principles. To the extent that the applicable laws of the State of Minnesota, or any of the provisions herein, conflict with the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the latter shall control, and nothing herein shall be construed in a manner inconsistent with the 1940 Act or any rule or order of the SEC thereunder.
15.05 No Agency Relationship . Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to authorize or empower either party to act as agent for the other party to this Agreement, or to conduct business in the name, or for the account, of the other party to this Agreement.
15.06 Services Not Exclusive . Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the Custodian from providing services to other parties that are similar or identical to some or all of the services provided hereunder.
15.07 Invalidity. Any provision of this Agreement which may be determined by competent authority to be prohibited or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such prohibition or unenforceability without invalidating the remaining provisions hereof, and any such prohibition or unenforceability in any jurisdiction shall not invalidate or render unenforceable such provision in any other jurisdiction. In such case, the parties shall in good faith modify or substitute such provision consistent with the original intent of the parties.
15.08 Notices . Any notice required or permitted to be given by either party to the other shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been given on the date delivered personally or by courier service, or three days after sent by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, or on the date sent and confirmed received by facsimile transmission to the other party’s address set forth below:
Notice to the Custodian shall be sent to:
U.S Bank, N.A.
1555 N. Rivercenter Dr., MK-WI-S302
Milwaukee, WI 53212
Attn: Tom Fuller
Phone: 414-905-6118
Fax: 866-350-5066
and notice to the Trust shall be sent to:
Innovator ETFs Trust II
120 North Hale Street, Suite 200
Wheaton, Illinois 6018724
ATTN: Bruce Bond
15.09 Multiple Originals . This Agreement may be executed on two or more counterparts, each of which when so executed shall be deemed an original, but such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the same instrument.
15.10 No Waiver . No failure by either party hereto to exercise, and no delay by such party in exercising, any right hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof. The exercise by either party hereto of any right hereunder shall not preclude the exercise of any other right, and the remedies provided herein are cumulative and not exclusive of any remedies provided at law or in equity.
15.11 References to Custodian . The Trust shall not circulate any written material that contains any reference to the Custodian without the prior written approval of the Custodian, excepting written material contained in the Prospectus or statement of additional information for the Fund and such other written material as merely identifies the Custodian as custodian for the Fund. The Trust shall submit written material requiring approval to the Custodian in draft form, allowing sufficient time for review by the Custodian and its counsel prior to any deadline for publication.
( signatures on the following page)
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by a duly authorized officer on one or more counterparts as of the last date written below.
INNOVATOR ETF’s TRUST II | U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION | ||||
By: | By: | ||||
Name: | Bruce Bond | Name: | |||
Title: | CEO | Title: | |||
Date: | 11/30/2018 | Date: | 11/30/2018 |
EXHIBIT A
AUTHORIZED PERSONS
Set forth below are the names and specimen signatures of the persons authorized by the Trust to administer the Fund Custody Accounts.
Name |
Telephone/Fax Number |
Signature |
Bruce Bond |
630.480.4584 |
|
John Southard |
630.283.1823 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
EXHIBIT B
to the Custody Agreement
Fund Names
Separate Series of Innovator ETF’s Trust II
Name of Series
Innovator S&P Investment Grade Preferred ETF
Innovator Lunt Low Vol/High Beta Tactical ETF
EXHIBIT C to the Custody Agreement
Domestic Custody Services – Base Fee at December 2018
The following reflects the greater of the basis point fee or annual minimum 1 for Funds in the Innovator ETFs Trust and the Innovator ETFs Trust II (Fund Complex) where Innovator Management LLC acts as Adviser to a Fund . 2
Annual Minimum Fee
$1,000 per Fund
B asis Poi nts on Fund Complex AUM
0.40
1 Each fund, regardless of asset size, will have fees allocated to it equal to the per fund minimum. Should the complex level basis point fee calculation exceed the complex level minimum fee level calculation, the fees in excess of the minimum will be allocated to each fund based on percent on AUM.
2 Fees are calculated pro rata and billed monthly
Domestic Custody Services in addition to the Base Fee 1
Portfolio Transaction Fees 2
■ |
$4.00 – Book entry DTC transaction, Federal Reserve transaction, principal paydown |
■ |
$7.00 – Repurchase agreement, reverse repurchase agreement, time deposit/CD or other non-depository transaction |
■ |
$8.00 – Option/SWAPS/future contract written, exercised or expired |
■ |
$15.00 – Mutual fund trade, Margin Variation Wire and outbound Fed wire |
■ |
$50.00 – Physical security transaction |
■ |
$5.00 – Check disbursement (waived if U.S. Bancorp is Administrator) |
A transaction is a purchase/sale of a security, free receipt/free delivery, maturity, tender or exchange.
Miscellaneous Expenses
Including but not limited to expenses incurred in the safekeeping, delivery and receipt of securities, shipping, transfer fees, deposit withdrawals at custodian (DWAC) fees, SWIFT charges and extraordinary expenses based upon complexity.
Additional Services
■ |
Additional fees apply for global servicing. |
■ |
$500 per Sub Advisor or Segregated custody account per year |
■ |
No charge for the initial conversion free receipt. |
■ |
Overdrafts – charged to the account at prime interest rate plus 2 unless a line of credit is in place. |
1 Fees are calculated pro rata and billed monthly
2 “Sponsor trades” are defined as any trades put through the Portfolio, on behalf of the Fund by any portfolio manager/sub advisor and their affiliates authorized by the BOT to act on behalf of the Fund, outside of the create/redeem process. Cash-in-Lieu proceeds received as part of the create/redeem process, and their related transactions are not considered to be “Sponsor trades.
Additional Global Sub-Custodial Services Annual Fee Schedule
Base Fee
A monthly fee per ETF (fund) will apply based on the below-
■ |
foreign securities: $500 |
■ |
Euroclear – Eurobonds only. Eurobonds are held in Euroclear at a standard rate, but other types of securities (including but not limited to equities, domestic market debt and mutual funds) will be subject to a surcharge. In addition, certain transactions that are delivered within Euroclear or from a Euroclear account to a third party depository or settlement system, will be subject to a surcharge. |
■ |
For all other markets specified above, surcharges may apply if a security is held outside of the local market. |
Plus:
Global Custody Transaction Fees 1
Global Custody transaction fees associate with Sponsor Trades 2 . (See schedule below)
■ |
A transaction is defined as any purchase/sale, free receipt / free delivery, maturity, tender or exchange of a security. |
Global Safekeeping and Transaction Fees
(See schedule below)
Tax Reclamation Services
Tax reclaims that have been outstanding for more than 6 (six) months with the client will be charged $50 per claim.
Miscellaneous Expenses
■ |
Charges incurred by U.S. Bank, N.A. directly or through sub-custodians for account opening fees, local taxes, stamp duties or other local duties and assessments, stock exchange fees, foreign exchange transactions, postage and insurance for shipping, facsimile reporting, extraordinary telecommunications fees, proxy services and other shareholder communications, recurring administration fees or other expenses which are unique to a country in which the client or its clients is investing will be passed along as incurred. |
■ |
A surcharge may be added to certain Miscellaneous expenses listed herein to cover handling, servicing and other administrative costs associated with the activities giving rise to such expenses. Also, certain expenses are charged at a predetermined flat rate. |
■ |
SWIFT reporting and message fees. |
1 Fees are calculated pro rata and billed monthly
2 “Sponsor trades” are defined as any trades put through the Portfolio, on behalf of the Fund by any portfolio manager/sub advisor and their affiliates authorized by the BOT to act on behalf of the Fund, outside of the create/redeem process. Cash-in-Lieu proceeds received as part of the create/redeem process, and their related transactions are not considered to be “Sponsor trades.”
Additional Global Sub-Custodial Services Annual Fee Schedule (continued)
*Safekeeping and transaction fees are assessed on security and currency transactions.
EXHIBIT D
SHAREHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS ACT AUTHORIZATION
[TRUST]
The Shareholder Communications Act of 1985 requires banks and trust companies to make an effort to permit direct communication between a company which issues securities and the shareholder who votes those securities.
Unless you specifically require us to NOT release your name and address to requesting companies, we are required by law to disclose your name and address.
Your “yes” or “no” to disclosure will apply to all securities U.S. Bank holds for you now and in the future, unless you change your mind and notify us in writing.
______ YES |
U.S. Bank is authorized to provide the Trust’s name, address and security position to requesting companies whose stock is owned by the Trust. |
|
______ NO |
U.S. Bank is NOT authorized to provide the Trust’s name, address and security position to requesting companies whose stock is owned by the Trust. |
INNOVATOR ETFs TRUST | |||
By: | |||
Title: | CEO | ||
Date: | 11/30/2018 |
31
Exhibit (g)(2)
FIRST AMENDMENT to the
CUSTODY AGREEMENT
THIS FI R ST AMENDMENT to the Custody Agreement is made as of March 7, 2019 by and between INNOVATOR ETF s TRUST II , a Massachusetts statutory trust (the “Trust”), INNOVATOR CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC the investment advise r to the Trust ( the “ Adviser ”) and U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION , a national banking association organized and existing under the laws of the United States of America (the “Custodian”).
WHEREAS, the Trust and Custodian have previously entered into a certain Custody Agreement, dated as of December 4, 2018, (the "Agreement"); and
WHEREAS, the parties desire to amend Article VII Section 7.01 (Compensation) of the Agreement and to add an additional party to the Agreement, as hereinafter provided;
NOW, THEREFORE, for good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto do hereby agree as follows:
(1) |
Amendment. The Agreement shall be amended as follows: |
(a) The Agreement shall be amended by adding Innovator Capital Management, LCC , the investment advisor to the Trust ( the “ Adviser ”) as an additional party.
The preamble to the Agreement shall be deleted and replaced in its entirety with the following:
THIS AGREEMENT is made as of the last date on the signature block below by and between INNOVATOR ETF s TRUST II , a Massachusetts statutory trust (the “Trust”), and U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION , a national banking association organized and existing under the laws of the United States of America (the “Custodian”). Innovator Capital Management, LCC , the investment advise r to the Trust (the “ Adviser ”), is a party hereto with respect to Article 7.01 only.
(b) Article 7.01 (Compensation) of the Agreement shall be deleted and replaced in its entirety with the following:
7.01 . Compensation
Custodian shall be compensated for providing the services set forth in this Agreement in accordance with the fee schedule set forth on Exhibit C hereto (as amended from time to time). The Adviser shall pay the fees set out in Exhibit C together with the fees for all other services provided to the Trust by U. S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC ( including its affiliated entities, together “Fund Services”) pursuant to a certain Fund Administration Agreement, Fund Accounting Agreement and Transfer Agent Agreement as a combined unit are y fee to Fund Services. Custodian shall also be reimbursed for such miscellaneous expenses set forth in Exhibit C as are reasonably incurred by Custodian in performing its duties hereunder. The Adviser shall pay all such fees and reimbursable expenses within 30 calendar days following receipt of the billing notice, except for any fee or expense subject to a good faith dispute. The Trust Adviser shall notify Fund Services in writing within 30 calendar days following receipt of each invoice if the Trust is disputing any amounts in good faith. The Adviser shall pay such disputed amounts within 10 calendar days of the day on which the parties agree to the amount to be paid. With the exception of any fee or expense the Adviser is disputing in good faith as set forth above, unpaid invoices shall accrue a finance charge of 1½% per month after the due date.
(2) |
Entire Agreement. This Amendment constitutes the entire agreement and understanding of the parties with respect to its subject matter and supersedes all oral communications or prior writings (except as otherwise provided herein) with respect thereto. Except as expressly amended herein, all of the provisions of the Agreement shall remain in full force and effect, and all references to the Agreement in the Agreement or any document related thereto shall for all purposes constitute references to the Agreement as amended hereby. This Amendment shall in no way operate as a novation, release, or discharge of any of the provisions of the Agreement (except as amended herein), or any indebtedness thereby evidenced. |
Signatures on the following page
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Amendment to be executed by their respective officers thereunto duly authorized as of the day and year first above written.
INNOVATOR ETF s TRUST II | U.S. BAN K NATIONAL ASSOCIATION | ||||
By: | By: | ||||
Name: | Name: | ||||
Title: | Title: | ||||
Date: | Date: |
INNOVATOR CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC | ||
By: | ||
Name: | ||
Title: |
3
Exhibit (h)(3)
FUND ACCOUNTING SERVICING AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT is made as of the last date on the signature page by and between INNOVATOR ETFs TRUST II , a Massachusetts business trust (the “Trust”) and U.S. BANCORP FUND SERVICES, LLC , a Wisconsin limited liability company (“Fund Services”).
WHEREAS, the Trust is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) as an open-end management investment company; and
WHEREAS, the Trust desires to retain Fund Services to provide accounting services to each series of the Trust listed on Exhibit A attached hereto (as amended from time to time) (each, a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”) the services described herein, all as more fully set forth below;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises and covenants herein contained, and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto, intending to be legally bound, do hereby agree as follows:
1. |
Appointment of Fund Services as Fund Accountant |
The Trust hereby appoints Fund Services as fund accountant of the Trust on the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, and Fund Services hereby accepts such appointment and agrees to perform the services and duties set forth in this Agreement. The services and duties of Fund Services shall be confined to those matters expressly set forth herein, and no implied duties are assumed by or may be asserted against Fund Services hereunder.
2. |
Services and Duties of Fund Services |
Fund Services shall provide the following accounting services to the Funds:
A. |
Portfolio Accounting Services: |
(1) |
Maintain portfolio records on a trade date+1 basis using security trade information communicated from the Fund’s investment adviser. |
(2) |
For each valuation date, obtain prices from a pricing source approved by the board of trustees of the Trust (the “Board of Trustees”) and apply those prices to the portfolio positions. For those securities where market quotations are not readily available, the Board of Trustees shall approve, in good faith, procedures for determining the fair value for such securities. |
(3) |
Identify interest and dividend accrual balances as of each valuation date and calculate gross earnings on investments for each accounting period. |
(4) |
Determine gain/loss on security sales and identify them as short-term or long-term; account for periodic distributions of gains or losses to shareholders and maintain undistributed gain or loss balances as of each valuation date. |
(5) |
On a daily basis, reconcile cash of the Fund with the Fund’s custodian. |
(6) |
Transmit a copy of the portfolio valuation to the Fund’s investment adviser daily. |
(7) |
Review the impact of current day’s activity on a per share basis, and review changes in market value. |
B. |
Expense Accrual and Payment Services: |
(1) |
For each valuation date, calculate the expense accrual amounts as directed by the Trust as to methodology, rate or dollar amount. |
(2) |
Process and record payments for Fund expenses upon receipt of written authorization from the Trust. |
(3) |
Account for Fund expenditures and maintain expense accrual balances at the level of accounting detail, as agreed upon by Fund Services and the Trust. |
(4) |
Provide expense accrual and payment reporting. |
C. |
Fund Valuation and Financial Reporting Services: |
(1) |
Account for Fund share purchases, sales, exchanges, transfers, dividend reinvestments, and other Fund share activity as reported by the Fund’s transfer agent on a timely basis. |
(2) |
Determine net investment income (earnings) for the Fund as of each valuation date. Account for periodic distributions of earnings to shareholders and maintain undistributed net investment income balances as of each valuation date. |
(3) |
Maintain a general ledger and other accounts, books, and financial records for the Fund. |
(4) |
Determine the net asset value of the Fund according to the accounting policies and procedures set forth in the Fund's current prospectus. |
(5) |
Calculate per share net asset value, per share net earnings, and other per share amounts reflective of Fund operations at such time as required by the nature and characteristics of the Fund. |
(6) |
Communicate to the Trust, at an agreed upon time, the per share net asset value for each valuation date. |
(7) |
Prepare monthly reports that document the adequacy of accounting detail to support month-end ledger balances. |
(8) |
Prepare monthly security transactions listings. |
D. |
Tax Accounting Services: |
(1) |
Maintain accounting records for the investment portfolio of the Fund to support the tax reporting required for “regulated investment companies” under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). |
(2) |
Maintain tax lot detail for the Fund’s investment portfolio. |
(3) |
Calculate taxable gain/loss on security sales using the tax lot relief method designated by the Trust. |
(4) |
Provide the necessary financial information to calculate the taxable components of income and capital gains distributions to support tax reporting to the shareholders. |
E. |
Compliance Control Services: |
(1) |
Support reporting to regulatory bodies and support financial statement preparation by making the Fund's accounting records available to the Trust, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and the independent accountants. |
(2) |
Maintain accounting records for the Fund as required by the 1940 Act and regulations provided thereunder. |
(3) |
Perform its duties hereunder in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations and provide any sub-certifications reasonably requested by the Trust in connection with any certification required of the Trust pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “SOX Act”) or any rules or regulations promulgated by the SEC thereunder, provided the same shall not be deemed to change Fund Services’ standard of care as set forth herein. |
(4) |
In order to assist the Trust in satisfying the requirements of Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act (the “Rule”), Fund Services will provide the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer with reasonable access to Fund Services’s fund records relating the services provided by it under this Agreement, and will provide quarterly compliance reports and related certifications regarding any Material Compliance Matter (as defined in the Rule) involving Fund Services that affect or could affect the Trust. |
(5) |
Cooperate with the Trust’s independent accountants and take all reasonable action in the performance of its obligations under this Agreement to ensure that the necessary information is made available to such accountants for the expression of their opinion on the Fund’s financial statements without any qualification as to the scope of their examination. |
3. |
License of Data; Warranty; Termination of Rights |
A. |
The valuation information and evaluations being provided to the Trust by Fund Services pursuant hereto (collectively, the “Data”) are being licensed, not sold, to the Trust. The Trust has a limited license to use the Data only for purposes necessary to valuing the Trust’s assets and reporting to regulatory bodies (the “License”). The Trust does not have any license nor right to use the Data for purposes beyond the intentions of this Agreement including, but not limited to, resale to other users or use to create any type of historical database. The License is non-transferable and not sub-licensable. The Trust’s right to use the Data cannot be passed to or shared with any other entity. |
The Trust acknowledges the proprietary rights that Fund Services and its suppliers have in the Data.
B. |
THE TRUST HEREBY ACCEPTS THE DATA AS IS, WHERE IS, WITH NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE OR ANY OTHER MATTER. |
C. |
Fund Services may stop supplying some or all Data to the Trust if Fund Services’ suppliers terminate any agreement to provide Data to Fund Services. Also, Fund Services may stop supplying some or all Data to the Trust if Fund Services reasonably believes that the Trust is using the Data in violation of the License, or breaching its duties of confidentiality provided for hereunder, or if any of Fund Services’ suppliers demand that the Data be withheld from the Trust. Fund Services will provide notice to the Trust of any termination of provision of Data as soon as reasonably possible. |
4. |
Pricing of Securities |
A. |
For each valuation date, Fund Services shall obtain prices from a pricing source recommended by Fund Services and approved by the Board of Trustees and apply those prices to the portfolio positions of the Fund. For those securities where market quotations are not readily available, the Board of Trustees shall approve, in good faith, procedures for determining the fair value for such securities. |
If the Trust desires to provide a price that varies from the price provided by the pricing source, the Trust shall promptly notify and supply Fund Services with the price of any such security on each valuation date. All pricing changes made by the Trust will be in writing and must specifically identify the securities to be changed by CUSIP, name of security, new price or rate to be applied, and, if applicable, the time period for which the new price(s) is/are effective.
B. |
In the event that the Trust at any time receives Data containing evaluations, rather than market quotations, for certain securities or certain other data related to such securities, the following provisions will apply: (i) evaluated securities are typically complicated financial instruments. There are many methodologies (including computer-based analytical modeling and individual security evaluations) available to generate approximations of the market value of such securities, and there is significant professional disagreement about which method is best. No evaluation method, including those used by Fund Services and its suppliers, may consistently generate approximations that correspond to actual “traded” prices of the securities; (ii) methodologies used to provide the pricing portion of certain Data may rely on evaluations; however, the Trust acknowledges that there may be errors or defects in the software, databases, or methodologies generating the evaluations that may cause resultant evaluations to be inappropriate for use in certain applications; and (iii) the Trust assumes all responsibility for edit checking, external verification of evaluations, and ultimately the appropriateness of using Data containing evaluations, regardless of any efforts made by Fund Services and its suppliers in this respect. |
5. |
Changes in Accounting Procedures |
Any resolution passed by the Board of Trustees that affects accounting practices and procedures under this Agreement shall be effective upon written notice to Fund Services.
6. |
Changes in Equipment, Systems, Etc. |
Fund Services reserves the right to make changes from time to time, as it deems advisable, relating to its systems, programs, rules, operating schedules and equipment, so long as such changes do not adversely affect the services provided to the Trust under this Agreement.
7. |
Compensation |
Fund Services shall be compensated for providing the services set forth in this Agreement in accordance with the fee schedule set forth on Exhibit B attached hereto (as amended from time to time). Fund Services shall also be reimbursed for such miscellaneous expenses (set forth in Exhibit A as are reasonably incurred by Fund Services in performing its duties hereunder. The Trust shall pay all such fees and reimbursable expenses within 30 calendar days following receipt of the billing notice, except for any fee or expense subject to a good faith dispute. The Trust shall notify Fund Services in writing within 30 calendar days following receipt of each invoice if the Trust is disputing any amounts in good faith. The Trust shall pay such disputed amounts within 10 calendar days of the day on which the parties agree to the amount to be paid. With the exception of any fee or expense the Trust is disputing in good faith as set forth above, unpaid invoices shall accrue a finance charge of 1½% per month after the due date. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, amounts owed by the Trust to Fund Services shall only be paid out of the assets and property of the Fund involved.
8. |
Representations and Warranties |
A. |
The Trust hereby represents and warrants to Fund Services, which representations and warranties shall be deemed to be continuing throughout the term of this Agreement, that: |
(1) |
It is duly organized and existing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, with full power to carry on its business as now conducted, to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder; |
(2) |
This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Trust in accordance with all requisite action and constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of the Trust, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting the rights and remedies of creditors and secured parties; and |
(3) |
It is conducting its business in compliance in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations, both state and federal, and has obtained all regulatory approvals necessary to carry on its business as now conducted; there is no statute, rule, regulation, order or judgment binding on it and no provision of its charter, bylaws or any contract binding it or affecting its property which would prohibit its execution or performance of this Agreement. |
B. |
Fund Services hereby represents and warrants to the Trust, which representations and warranties shall be deemed to be continuing throughout the term of this Agreement, that: |
(1) |
It is duly organized and existing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, with full power to carry on its business as now conducted, to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder; |
(2) |
This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by Fund Services in accordance with all requisite action and constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of Fund Services, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting the rights and remedies of creditors and secured parties; and |
(3) |
It is conducting its business in compliance in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations, both state and federal, and has obtained all regulatory approvals necessary to carry on its business as now conducted; there is no statute, rule, regulation, order or judgment binding on it and no provision of its charter, bylaws or any contract binding it or affecting its property which would prohibit its execution or performance of this Agreement. |
9. |
Standard of Care; Indemnification; Limitation of Liability |
A. |
Fund Services shall exercise reasonable care in the performance of its duties under this Agreement. Neither Fund Services nor its suppliers shall be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Trust or any third party in connection with its duties under this Agreement, except a loss arising out of or relating to Fund Services’ refusal or failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement or from its bad faith, negligence, or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties under this Agreement. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, if Fund Services has exercised reasonable care in the performance of its duties under this Agreement, the Trust shall indemnify and hold harmless Fund Services and its suppliers from and against any and all claims, demands, losses, expenses, and liabilities of any and every nature (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) that Fund Services or its suppliers may sustain or incur or that may be asserted against Fund Services or its suppliers by any person arising out of or related to (X) any action taken or omitted to be taken by it in performing the services hereunder (i) in accordance with the foregoing standards, or (ii) in reliance upon any written or oral instruction provided to Fund Services by any duly authorized officer of the Trust, as approved by the Board of Trustees of the Trust, or (Y) the Data, or any information, service, report, analysis or publication derived therefrom, except for any and all claims, demands, losses, expenses, and liabilities arising out of or relating to Fund Services’ refusal or failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement or from its bad faith, negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties under this Agreement. This indemnity shall be a continuing obligation of the Trust, its successors and assigns, notwithstanding the termination of this Agreement. As used in this paragraph, the term “Fund Services” shall include Fund Services’ directors, officers and employees. |
The Trust acknowledges that the Data are intended for use as an aid to institutional investors, registered brokers or professionals of similar sophistication in making informed judgments concerning securities. The Trust accepts responsibility for, and acknowledges it exercises its own independent judgment in, its selection of the Data, its selection of the use or intended use of such, and any results obtained. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to be a waiver of any rights existing under applicable law for the protection of investors.
Fund Services shall indemnify and hold the Trust harmless from and against any and all claims, demands, losses, expenses, and liabilities of any and every nature (including reasonable attorneys' fees) that the Trust may sustain or incur or that may be asserted against the Trust by any person arising out of any action taken or omitted to be taken by Fund Services as a result of Fund Services’ refusal or failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement, or from Fund Services’ bad faith, negligence, or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties under this Agreement. This indemnity shall be a continuing obligation of Fund Services, its successors and assigns, notwithstanding the termination of this Agreement. As used in this paragraph, the term “Trust” shall include the Trust’s trustees, officers and employees.
In the event of a mechanical breakdown or failure of communication or power supplies beyond its reasonable control, Fund Services shall take all reasonable steps to minimize service interruptions for any period that such interruption continues. Fund Services will make every reasonable effort to restore any lost or damaged data and correct any errors resulting from such a breakdown at the expense of Fund Services. Fund Services agrees that it shall, at all times, have reasonable business continuity and disaster contingency plans with appropriate parties, making reasonable provision for emergency use of electrical data processing equipment to the extent appropriate equipment is available. Representatives of the Trust shall be entitled to inspect Fund Services’ premises and operating capabilities at any time during regular business hours of Fund Services, upon reasonable notice to Fund Services. Moreover, Fund Services shall provide the Trust, at such times as the Trust may reasonably require, copies of reports rendered by independent accountants on the internal controls and procedures of Fund Services relating to the services provided by Fund Services under this Agreement.
Notwithstanding the above, Fund Services reserves the right to reprocess and correct administrative errors at its own expense.
In no case shall either party be liable to the other for (i) any special, indirect or consequential damages, loss of profits or goodwill (even if advised of the possibility of such); (ii) any delay by reason of circumstances beyond its control, including acts of civil or military authority, national emergencies, labor difficulties, fire, mechanical breakdown, flood or catastrophe, acts of God, insurrection, war, riots, or failure beyond its control of transportation or power supply; or (iii) any claim that arose more than one year prior to the institution of suit therefor.
B. |
In order that the indemnification provisions contained in this section shall apply, it is understood that if in any case the indemnitor may be asked to indemnify or hold the indemnitee harmless, the indemnitor shall be fully and promptly advised of all pertinent facts concerning the situation in question, and it is further understood that the indemnitee will use all reasonable care to notify the indemnitor promptly concerning any situation that presents or appears likely to present the probability of a claim for indemnification. The indemnitor shall have the option to defend the indemnitee against any claim that may be the subject of this indemnification. In the event that the indemnitor so elects, it will so notify the indemnitee and thereupon the indemnitor shall take over complete defense of the claim, and the indemnitee shall in such situation initiate no further legal or other expenses for which it shall seek indemnification under this section. The indemnitee shall in no case confess any claim or make any compromise in any case in which the indemnitor will be asked to indemnify the indemnitee except with the indemnitor’s prior written consent. |
C. |
The indemnity and defense provisions set forth in this Section 9 shall indefinitely survive the termination and/or assignment of this Agreement. |
D. |
If Fund Services is acting in another capacity for the Trust pursuant to a separate agreement, nothing herein shall be deemed to relieve Fund Services of any of its obligations in such other capacity. |
10. |
Notification of Error |
The Trust will notify Fund Services of any discrepancy between Fund Services and the Trust, including, but not limited to, failing to account for a security position in the Fund’s portfolio, upon the later to occur of: (i) three business days after receipt of any reports rendered by Fund Services to the Trust; (ii) three business days after discovery of any error or omission not covered in the balancing or control procedure; or (iii) three business days after receiving notice from any shareholder regarding any such discrepancy.
11. |
Data Necessary to Perform Services |
The Trust or its agent shall furnish to Fund Services the data necessary to perform the services described herein at such times and in such form as mutually agreed upon.
12. |
Proprietary and Confidential Information |
A. |
Fund Services agrees on behalf of itself and its directors, officers, and employees to treat confidentially and as proprietary information of the Trust, all records and other information relative to the Trust and prior, present, or potential shareholders of the Trust (and clients of said shareholders), and not to use such records and information for any purpose other than the performance of its responsibilities and duties hereunder, except (i) after prior notification to and approval in writing by the Trust, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld and may not be withheld where Fund Services may be exposed to civil or criminal contempt proceedings for failure to comply, (ii) when requested to divulge such information by duly constituted authorities, or (iii) when so requested by the Trust. Records and other information which have become known to the public through no wrongful act of Fund Services or any of its employees, agents or representatives, and information that was already in the possession of Fund Services prior to receipt thereof from the Trust or its agents or service providers, shall not be subject to this paragraph. |
Further, Fund Services will adhere to the privacy policies adopted by the Trust pursuant to Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, as may be modified from time to time. In this regard, Fund Services shall have in place and maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards reasonably designed to protect the security, confidentiality and integrity of, and to prevent unauthorized access to or use of, records and information relating to the Trust and its shareholders.
B. |
The Trust, on behalf of itself and its trustees, directors, officers, and employees, will maintain the confidential and proprietary nature of the Data and agrees to protect it using the same efforts, but in no case less than reasonable efforts, that it uses to protect its own proprietary and confidential information. |
13. |
Records |
Fund Services shall keep records relating to the services to be performed hereunder in the form and manner, and for such period, as it may deem advisable and is agreeable to the Trust, but not inconsistent with the rules and regulations of appropriate government authorities, in particular, Section 31 of the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder. Fund Services agrees that all such records prepared or maintained by Fund Services relating to the services to be performed by Fund Services hereunder are the property of the Trust and will be preserved, maintained, and made available in accordance with such applicable sections and rules of the 1940 Act and will be promptly surrendered to the Trust or its designee on and in accordance with its request.
14. |
Compliance with Laws |
The Trust has and retains primary responsibility for all compliance matters relating to the Funds, including but not limited to compliance with the 1940 Act, the Code, the SOX Act, the USA Patriot Act of 2001 and the policies and limitations of the Fund relating to its portfolio investments as set forth in its current prospectus and statement of additional information (or similar disclosure documents) included in its registration statement on Form N-2 filed with the SEC. Fund Services’ services hereunder shall not relieve the Trust of its responsibilities for assuring such compliance or the Board of Trustee’s oversight responsibility with respect thereto.
15. |
Term of Agreement; Amendment |
This Agreement shall become effective as of the date last written below and will continue in effect for a period of three (3) years. This Agreement may be terminated by either party upon giving 90 days prior written notice to the other party or such shorter notice period as is mutually agreed upon by the parties. Subsequent to the end of the three (3) year period, this Agreement continues until one party gives 90 days prior written notice to the other party or such shorter notice period as is mutually agreed upon by the parties. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Agreement may be terminated by any party upon the breach of the other party of any material term of this Agreement if such breach is not cured within 15 days of notice of such breach to the breaching party. This Agreement may not be amended or modified in any manner except by written agreement executed by Fund Services and the Trust, and authorized or approved by the Board of Trustees.
16. |
Early Termination |
In the absence of any material breach of this Agreement, should the Trust elect to terminate this Agreement prior to the end of the three (3) year term, the Trust agrees to pay the following fees:
a. |
all monthly fees through the life of the Agreement, including the repayment of any negotiated discounts; |
b. |
all fees associated with converting services to successor service provider; |
c. |
all fees associated with any record retention and/or tax reporting obligations that may not be eliminated due to the conversion to a successor service provider; |
d. |
all miscellaneous costs associated with a. to c. above. |
17. |
Duties in the Event of Termination |
In the event that, in connection with termination, a successor to any of Fund Services’ duties or responsibilities hereunder is designated by the Trust by written notice to Fund Services, Fund Services will promptly, upon such termination and at the expense of the Trust, transfer to such successor all relevant books, records, correspondence and other data established or maintained by Fund Services under this Agreement in a form reasonably acceptable to the Trust (if such form differs from the form in which Fund Services has maintained the same, the Trust shall pay any expenses associated with transferring the data to such form), and will cooperate in the transfer of such duties and responsibilities, including provision for assistance from Fund Services’ personnel in the establishment of books, records and other data by such successor. If no such successor is designated, then such books, records and other data shall be returned to the Trust.
18. |
Assignment |
This Agreement shall extend to and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns; provided, however, that this Agreement shall not be assignable by the Trust without the written consent of Fund Services, or by Fund Services without the written consent of the Trust accompanied by the authorization or approval of the Trust’s Board of Trustees.
19. |
Governing Law |
This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Wisconsin, without regard to conflicts of law principles. To the extent that the applicable laws of the State of Wisconsin, or any of the provisions herein, conflict with the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the latter shall control, and nothing herein shall be construed in a manner inconsistent with the 1940 Act or any rule or order of the SEC thereunder.
20. |
No Agency Relationship |
Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to authorize or empower either party to act as agent for the other party to this Agreement, or to conduct business in the name, or for the account, of the other party to this Agreement.
21. |
Services Not Exclusive |
Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict Fund Services from providing services to other parties that are similar or identical to some or all of the services provided hereunder.
22. |
Invalidity |
Any provision of this Agreement which may be determined by competent authority to be prohibited or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such prohibition or unenforceability without invalidating the remaining provisions hereof, and any such prohibition or unenforceability in any jurisdiction shall not invalidate or render unenforceable such provision in any other jurisdiction. In such case, the parties shall in good faith modify or substitute such provision consistent with the original intent of the parties.
23. |
Notices |
Any notice required or permitted to be given by either party to the other shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been given on the date delivered personally or by courier service, or three days after sent by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, or on the date sent and confirmed received by facsimile transmission to the other party’s address set forth below:
Notice to Fund Services shall be sent to:
U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC
615 East Michigan Street
Milwaukee, WI 53202
ATTN: President
and notice to the Trust shall be sent to:
Innovator ETFs Trust II
120 North Hale Street, Suite 200
Wheaton, Illinois 6018724
ATTN: Bruce Bond
24. |
Multiple Originals |
This Agreement may be executed on two or more counterparts, each of which when so executed shall be deemed to be an original, but such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the same instrument.
SIGNATURES ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by a duly authorized officer on one or more counterparts as of the last date written below.
INNOVATOR ETF’s TRUST II
By:________________________________
Name: Bruce Bond
Title: CEO
Date: 11/30/2018
U.S. BANCORP FUND SERVICES, LLC
By:_______________________________
Name: ____________________________
Title: _____________________________
Date: _____________________________
Exhibit A to the Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement
Separate Series of Innovator ETF’s Trust II
Name of Series
Innovator S&P Investment Grade Preferred ETF
Innovator Lunt Low Vol/High Beta Tactical ETF
Exhibit B to the Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement – Innovator ETFs Trust II
Base Fee for Accounting, Administration, Transfer Agent, & Account Services at December 2018
The following reflects the greater of the basis point fee or annual minimum 1 for Funds in the Innovator ETFs Trust and the Innovator ETFs Trust II (Fund Complex) where Innovator Management LLC acts as Adviser to a Fund .
Annual Minimum Fund Complex Fee |
|
Funds 1-5 |
$45,000 |
Funds 6-10 |
$35,000 |
Funds 11+ |
$20,000 |
Basis Points on AUM of Fund Complex |
|
First $500m |
5 bps |
Next $500m |
4 bps |
Next $4B |
3 bps |
$5b+ |
2 bps |
1 Each fund, regardless of asset size, will have fees allocated to it equal to the per fund minimum. Should the complex level basis point fee calculation exceed the complex level minimum fee level calculation, the fees in excess of the minimum will be allocated to each fund based on percent on AUM.
2 Fees are calculated pro rata and billed monthly
Additional services not included above shall be mutually agreed upon at the time of the service being added. In addition to the fees described above, additional fees may be charged to the extent that changes to applicable laws, rules or regulations require additional work or expenses related to services provided (e.g., compliance with new liquidity risk management and reporting requirements).
Accounting, Administration, TA Services in addition to the Base Fee 1
Pricing Services
For daily pricing of each securities (estimated 252 pricing days annually)
■ |
$0.08 - Domestic Equities, Options, ADRs, Foreign Equities, Futures, Forwards |
■ |
$0.50 - Domestic Corporates, Convertibles, Governments, Agencies, Currency Rates, Mortgage Backed |
■ |
$0.80 - CMOs, Municipal Bonds, Money Market Instruments, Foreign Corporates, Convertibles, Governments, Agencies, Asset Backed, High Yield |
■ |
$0.90 - Interest Rate Swaps, Foreign Currency Swaps, Total Return Swaps, Total Return Bullet Swaps |
■ |
$1.00 - Bank Loans |
■ |
$1.50 - Swaptions |
■ |
$3.00 - Credit Default Swaps |
■ |
$500 per Month Manual Security Pricing (>25 per day) |
NOTE: Prices are based on using U.S. Bancorp primary pricing service which may vary by security type and are subject to change. Use of alternative and/or additional sources may result in additional fees. Pricing vendors may designate certain securities as hard to value or as a non-standard security type, such as CLOs and CDOs, which may result in additional fees. All schedules subject to change depending upon the use of unique security type requiring special pricing or accounting arrangements.
Corporate Action Services
Fee for IDC data used to monitor corporate actions
■ |
$2.00 per Foreign Equity Security per Month |
■ |
$1.00 per Domestic Equity Security per Month |
■ |
$2.00 per CMOs, Asset Backed, Mortgage Backed Security per Month |
Chief Compliance Officer Support Fee
■ |
CCO support annual fee $3,000 per trust for each USBFS service selected (administration, accounting, transfer agent, distributor, custodian) |
Third Party Administrative Data Charges (descriptive data for analytics, reporting and compliance)
■ |
$1 per security per month |
SEC Modernization Requirements
■ |
Form N-PORT – $12,000 per year, per Fund |
■ |
Form N-CEN – $250 per year, per Fund |
Supplemental Services for Fund Accounting, Fund Administration & Portfolio Compliance (provided by USBFS upon client need and/ or request)
Daily Compliance Services
■ |
Base fee – $20,000 per fund per year |
■ |
Setup – $2,500 per fund group |
Section 18 Daily Compliance Testing (for derivatives and leverage)
■ |
$1,500 set up fee per fund complex |
■ |
$500 per fund per month |
Controlled Foreign Corporation (CFC)
■ |
USBFS Fee Schedule plus $15,000 |
C- Corp Administrative Services
■ |
1940 Act C-Corp – USBFS Fee Schedule plus $15,000 |
■ |
1933 Act C-Corp – USBFS Fee Schedule plus $25,000 |
Ongoing Annual Legal Administration Services
Add the following for legal administration services in support of external legal counsel, including annual registration statement update and drafting of supplements
■ |
$15,000 first fund |
■ |
$5,000 each additional fund up to 5 funds |
■ |
Fees will be negotiated for fund 6+ |
Section 15(c) Reporting
■ |
$2,000 per fund per standard reporting package* |
■ |
Additional 15c reporting is subject to additional charges |
*Standard reporting packages for annual 15(c) meeting
- |
Expense reporting package: 2 peer comparison reports (adviser fee) and (net expense ratio w classes on one report) OR Full 15(c) report |
- |
Performance reporting package: Peer Comparison Report |
■ |
Standard data source – Morningstar; additional charges will apply for other data services |
Miscellaneous Expenses
Including but not limited to, SWIFT processing, customized reporting, third-party data provider costs (including GICS, MSCI, Lipper, etc.), postage, stationary, programming, special reports, proxies, insurance, EDGAR/XBRL filing, retention of records, federal and state regulatory filing fees, expenses related to and including travel to and from Board of Trustee meetings, third party auditing and legal expenses, wash sales reporting (GainsKeeper), tax e-filing, PFIC monitoring, conversion expenses (if necessary).
1 Fees are calculated pro rata and billed monthly
19
Exhibit (h)(4)
FIRST AMENDMENT to the
FUND ACCOUNTING SERVICING AGREEMENT
THIS FI R ST AMENDMENT to the Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement is made of March 7, 2019 by and between INNOVATOR ETF s TRUST II , a Massachusetts statutory trust (the “Trust”), INNOVATOR CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC the investment advise r to the Trust ( the “ Adviser ”) and U.S. BANCORP FUND SERVICES, LLC d/b/a/ U. S. Bank Global Fund Services , a Wisconsin limited liability company (“Fund Services”).
WHEREAS, the Trust and Fund Services have previously entered into a certain Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement (the "Agreement"), dated as of December 4, 2018; and
WHEREAS, the parties desire to amend Article 7 (Compensation) of the Agreement and to add an additional party to the Agreement, as hereinafter provided;
NOW, THEREFORE, for good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto do hereby agree as follows:
(1) |
Amendment. The Agreement shall be amended as follows: |
(a) The Agreement shall be amended by adding Innovator Capital Management, LCC , the investment advisor to the Trust ( the “ Adviser ”) as an additional party.
The preamble to the Agreement shall be deleted and replaced in its entirety with the following:
THIS AGREEMENT is made as of the last date on the signature block below by and between INNOVATOR ETF s TRUST II , a Massachusetts statutory trust (the “Trust”), and U.S. BANCORP FUND SERVICES, LLC d/b/a/ U. S. Bank Global Fund Services , a Wisconsin limited liability company (“Fund Services”). Innovator Capital Management, LCC, the investment advisor to the Trust (the “ Adviser ”), is a party hereto with respect to Article 7 only.
(b) Article 7 (Compensation) of the Agreement shall be deleted and replaced in its entirety with the following:
7 . Compensation
Fund Services shall be compensated for providing the services set forth in this Agreement in accordance with the fee schedule set forth on Exhibit B hereto (as amended from time to time). The Advisershall pay the fees set out in Exhibit B together with the fees for all other services provided to the Trust by Fund Services ( including its parent and affiliated entities) pursuant to a certain Fund Administration Agreement, Transfer Agent Agreement and Custody Agreement as a combined unit ar y fee to Fund Services. Fund Services shall also be reimbursed for such miscellaneous expenses set forth in Exhibit B as are reasonably incurred by Fund Services in performing its duties hereunder. The Adviser shall pay all such fees and reimbursable expenses within 30 calendar days following receipt of the billing notice, except for any fee or expense subject to a good faith dispute. The the Adviser shall notify Fund Services in writing within 30 calendar days following receipt of each invoice if the Adviser is disputing any amounts in good faith. The Adviser shall pay such disputed amounts within 10 calendar days of the day on which the parties agree to the amount to be paid. With the exception of any fee or expense the Adviser is disputing in good faith as set forth above, unpaid invoices shall accrue a finance charge of 1½% per month after the due date.
(2) |
Entire Agreement. This Amendment constitutes the entire agreement and understanding of the parties with respect to its subject matter and supersedes all oral communications or prior writings (except as otherwise provided herein) with respect thereto. Except as expressly amended herein, all of the provisions of the Agreement shall remain in full force and effect, and all references to the Agreement in the Agreement or any document related thereto shall for all purposes constitute references to the Agreement as amended hereby. This Amendment shall in no way operate as a novation, release, or discharge of any of the provisions of the Agreement (except as amended herein), or any indebtedness thereby evidenced. |
Signatures on the following page
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Amendment to be executed by their respective officers thereunto duly authorized as of the day and year first above written.
INNOVATOR ETF s TRUST II | U.S. BANCORP FUND SERVICES, LLC | ||||
By: | By: | ||||
Name: | Name: | ||||
Title: | Title: | ||||
Date: | Date: |
INNOVATOR CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC | |||
By: | |||
Name: | |||
Title: |
2
Exhibit (h)(5)
FUND ADMINISTRATION SERVICING AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT is made as of the last date on the signature page by and between INNOVATOR ETFs TRUST II , a Massachusetts business trust (the “Trust”) and U.S. BANCORP FUND SERVICES, LLC d/b/a U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, a Wisconsin limited liability company (“Fund Services”).
WHEREAS, the Trust is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), as an open-end management investment company, and is authorized to issue shares of beneficial interest in separate series, with each such series representing interests in a separate portfolio of securities and other assets;
WHEREAS, Fund Services is, among other things, in the business of providing fund administration services for the benefit of its customers; and
WHEREAS, the Trust desires to retain Fund Services to provide fund administration services to each series of the Trust listed on Exhibit A hereto (as amended from time to time) (each a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”).
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises and covenants herein contained, and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto, intending to be legally bound, do hereby agree as follows:
1. |
Appointment of Fund Services as Administrator |
The Trust hereby appoints Fund Services as administrator of the Trust on the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, and Fund Services hereby accepts such appointment and agrees to perform the services and duties set forth in this Agreement. The services and duties of Fund Services shall be confined to those matters expressly set forth herein, and no implied duties are assumed by or may be asserted against Fund Services hereunder.
2. |
Services and Duties of Fund Services |
Fund Services shall provide the following administration services to each Fund:
A. |
General Fund Management: |
(1) |
Act as liaison among Fund service providers. |
(2) |
Supply: |
a. | Office facilities (which may be in Fund Services’, or an affiliate’s, or Fund’s own offices). | |
b. |
Non-investment-related statistical and research data as requested. |
(3) |
Coordinate the Trust’s board of trustees (the “Board of Trustees” or the “Trustees”) communications, such as: |
a. | Prepare meeting agendas and resolutions, with the assistance of Fund counsel and Adviser in-house counsel. | |
b. |
Prepare reports for the Board of Trustees based on financial and administrative data. |
c. |
Assist with the selection of the independent auditor. |
d. |
Secure and monitor fidelity bond and director and officer liability coverage, and make the necessary Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) filings relating thereto. |
e. |
Prepare minutes of meetings of the Board of Trustees and Fund shareholders. |
f. |
Recommend dividend declarations to the Board of Trustees and prepare and distribute to appropriate parties notices announcing declaration of dividends and other distributions to shareholders. |
g. |
Attend Board of Trustees meetings and present materials for the Trustees’ review at such meetings. |
(4) |
Audits: |
a. | For the annual Fund audit, prepare appropriate schedules and materials. Provide requested information to the independent auditors, and facilitate the audit process. | |
b. |
For SEC, FINRA or other regulatory audits, provide requested information to the SEC or other regulatory agencies and facilitate the audit process. |
c. |
For all audits, provide office facilities, as needed. |
(5) |
Assist with overall operations of the Fund. |
(6) |
Pay Fund expenses upon written authorization from the Trust. |
(7) |
Keep the Trust’s governing documents, including its charter, bylaws and minute books, but only to the extent such documents are provided to Fund Services by the Trust or its representatives for safe keeping. |
B. |
Compliance: |
(1) |
Regulatory Compliance: |
a. |
Monitor compliance with the 1940 Act requirements, including: |
(i) |
Asset and diversification tests. |
(ii) |
Total return and SEC yield calculations. |
(iii) |
Maintenance of books and records under Rule 31a-3. |
(iv) |
Code of ethics requirements under Rule 17j-1 for the disinterested Trustees. |
b. |
Monitor Fund's compliance with the policies and investment limitations as set forth in its prospectus (the “Prospectus”) and statement of additional information (the “SAI”) (or similar disclosure documents) included in its registration statement on Form N-2 filed with the SEC (“Registration Statement”). |
c. |
Perform its duties hereunder in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations and provide any sub-certifications reasonably requested by the Trust in connection with (i) any certification required of the Trust pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “SOX Act”) or any rules or regulations promulgated by the SEC thereunder, and (ii) the operation of Fund Services’ compliance program as it relates to the Trust, provided the same shall not be deemed to change Fund Services’ standard of care as set forth herein. |
d. |
In order to assist the Trust in satisfying the requirements of Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act (the “Rule”), USBFS will provide the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer with reasonable access to Fund Services’ fund records relating to the services provided by it under this Agreement, and will provide quarterly compliance reports and related certifications regarding any Material Compliance Matter (as defined in the Rule) involving Fund Services that affect or could affect the Trust. |
e. |
Monitor applicable regulatory and operational service issues, including exchange listing requirements, and update Board of Trustees periodically. |
f. |
Monitor compliance with regulatory exemptive relief (as applicable) for ETFs. |
(2) |
SEC Registration and Reporting: |
a. | Assist Fund counsel in annual update of the Registration Statement. | |
b. |
Prepare and file annual and semiannual shareholder reports, Form N-SAR, Form N-CSR, Form N-Q filings and Rule 24f-2 notices. As requested by the Trust, prepare and file Form N-PX filings. |
c. |
Coordinate the printing, filing and mailing of Prospectuses and shareholder reports, and amendments and supplements thereto. |
d. |
File fidelity bond under Rule 17g-1. |
e. |
Monitor sales of Fund shares and ensure that such shares are properly registered or qualified, as applicable, with the SEC and the appropriate state authorities. |
f. |
Assist Fund counsel in preparation of proxy statements and information statements, as requested by the Trust. |
g. |
Assist Fund counsel with application for exemptive relief, when applicable |
(3) |
IRS Compliance: |
a. |
Monitor the Trust’s status as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), including without limitation, review of the following: |
(i) |
Diversification requirements. |
(ii) |
Qualifying income requirements. |
(iii) |
Distribution requirements. |
b. |
Calculate required annual excise distribution amounts for the review and approval of Fund management and/or its independent accountant. |
C. |
Financial Reporting: |
(1) |
Provide financial data required by the Registration Statement. |
(2) |
Prepare financial reports for officers, shareholders, tax authorities, performance reporting companies, the Board of Trustees, the SEC, and the independent auditor. |
(3) |
Supervise the Fund’s custodian and fund accountants in the maintenance of the Fund’s general ledger and in the preparation of the Fund’s financial statements, including oversight of expense accruals and payments, and the declaration and payment of dividends and other distributions to shareholders. |
(4) |
Compute total return, expense ratio and portfolio turnover rate of the Fund. |
(5) |
Monitor expense accruals and make adjustments as necessary; notify the Fund’s management of adjustments expected to materially affect the Fund’s expense ratio. |
(6) |
Prepare financial statements, which include, without limitation, the following items: |
a. | Schedule of Investments. | |
b. |
Statement of Assets and Liabilities. |
c. |
Statement of Operations. |
d. |
Statement of Changes in Net Assets. |
e. |
Statement of Cash Flows (if applicable). |
f. |
Financial Highlights. |
(7) |
Pursuant to Rule 31a-1(b)(9) of the 1940 Act, prepare quarterly broker security transaction summaries. |
D. |
Tax Reporting: |
(1) |
Prepare for the review of the independent accountants and/or Fund management the federal and state tax returns including without limitation, Form 1120 RIC and applicable state returns including any necessary schedules. Fund Services will prepare annual Fund federal and state income tax return filings as authorized by and based on the instructions received by Fund management and/or its independent accountant. File on a timely basis appropriate federal and state tax returns including, without limitation, Forms 1120/8613, with any necessary schedules. |
(2) |
Provide the Fund’s management and Fund’s independent accountant with tax reporting information pertaining to the Fund and available to Fund Services as required in a timely manner. |
(3) |
Prepare Fund financial statement tax footnote disclosures for the review and approval of Fund management and/or the Fund’s independent accountant. |
(4) |
Prepare and file on behalf of Fund management Form 1099 MISC for payments to disinterested directors and other qualifying service providers. |
(5) |
Monitor wash sale losses. |
(6) |
Calculate Qualified Dividend Income (“QDI”) for qualifying Fund shareholders. |
3. |
License of Data; Warranty; Termination of Rights |
A . |
Fund Services has entered into agreements with MSCI index data services (“MSCI”), Standard & Poor Financial Services LLC (“S&P”), and FactSet Research Systems Inc. (“FACTSET”) which obligates Fund Services to include a list of required provisions in this Agreement attached hereto as Exhibit B . The index data services being provided to the Trust by Fund Services pursuant hereto (collectively, the “Data”) are being licensed, not sold, to the Trust. The provisions in Exhibit B shall not have any effect upon the standard of care and liability Fund Services has set forth in Section 6 of this Agreement. |
B. |
The Trust agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Fund Services, its information providers, and any other third party involved in or related to the making or compiling of the Data, their affiliates and subsidiaries and their respective directors, officers, employees and agents from and against any claims, losses, damages, liabilities, costs and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, as incurred, arising in and any manner out of the Trust’s or any third party’s use of, or inability to use, the Data or any breach by the Trust of any provision contained in this Agreement regarding the Data. The immediately preceding sentence shall not have any effect upon the standard of care and liability of Fund Services as set forth in Section 6 of this Agreement. |
C . |
Fund Services has entered into agreements with Bloomberg Finance L.P. (“Bloomberg”) to provide data (the “N-PORT Data”) for use in or in connection with the reporting requirements under the Rule, including preparation and filing of Form N-PORT. In connection with the provision of the N-PORT Data, Bloomberg requires certain provisions to be included in the Agreement. |
The Trust agrees that it shall (a) comply with all laws, rules and regulations applicable to accessing and using the N-PORT Data, (b) not extract the N-PORT Data from the view-only portal, (c) not use the N-PORT Data for any purpose independent of complying with the requirements of Rule 30b1-9 (which prohibition shall include, for the avoidance of doubt, use in risk reporting or other systems or processes (e.g., systems or processes made available enterprise-wide for the Trust’s internal use)), (d) permit audits of its use of the N-PORT Data by Bloomberg, its affiliates or, at the Trust’s request, a mutually agreed upon third-party auditor (provided that the costs of an audit by a third party shall be borne by the Trust), (e) exculpate Bloomberg, its affiliates and their respective suppliers from any liability or responsibility of any kind relating to the Trust’s receipt or use of the N-PORT Data (including expressly disclaiming all warranties). The Trust further agrees that Bloomberg shall be a third-party beneficiary of the Agreement solely with respect to the foregoing provisions (a) – (e).
4. |
Compensation |
Fund Services shall be compensated for providing the services set forth in this Agreement in accordance with the fee schedule set forth on Exhibit C hereto (as amended from time to time by consent of both parties to this Agreement). Fund Services shall also be reimbursed for such miscellaneous expenses as set forth on Exhibit C hereto as are reasonably incurred by Fund Services in performing its duties hereunder. The Trust shall pay all such fees and reimbursable expenses within 30 calendar days following receipt of the billing notice, except for any fee or expense subject to a good faith dispute. The Trust shall notify Fund Services in writing within 30 calendar days following receipt of each invoice if the Trust is disputing any amounts in good faith. The Trust shall pay such disputed amounts within 10 calendar days of the day on which the parties agree to the amount to be paid. With the exception of any fee or expense the Trust is disputing in good faith as set forth above, unpaid invoices shall accrue a finance charge of 1½% per month after the due date. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, amounts owed by the Trust to Fund Services shall only be paid out of the assets and property of the particular Fund involved.
5. |
Representations and Warranties |
A. |
The Trust hereby represents and warrants to Fund Services, which representations and warranties shall be deemed to be continuing throughout the term of this Agreement, that: |
(1) |
It is duly organized and existing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, with full power to carry on its business as now conducted, to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder; |
(2) |
This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Trust in accordance with all requisite action and constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of the Trust, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting the rights and remedies of creditors and secured parties; and |
(3) |
It is conducting its business in compliance in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations, both state and federal, and has obtained all regulatory approvals necessary to carry on its business as now conducted; there is no statute, rule, regulation, order or judgment binding on it and no provision of its charter, bylaws or any contract binding it or affecting its property which would prohibit its execution or performance of this Agreement. |
B. |
Fund Services hereby represents and warrants to the Trust, which representations and warranties shall be deemed to be continuing throughout the term of this Agreement, that: |
(1) |
It is duly organized and existing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, with full power to carry on its business as now conducted, to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder; |
(2) |
This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by Fund Services in accordance with all requisite action and constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of Fund Services, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting the rights and remedies of creditors and secured parties; and |
(3) |
It is conducting its business in compliance in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations, both state and federal, and has obtained all regulatory approvals necessary to carry on its business as now conducted; there is no statute, rule, regulation, order or judgment binding on it and no provision of its charter, bylaws or any contract binding it or affecting its property which would prohibit its execution or performance of this Agreement. |
6. |
Standard of Care; Indemnification; Limitation of Liability |
A. |
Fund Services shall exercise reasonable care in the performance of its duties under this Agreement. Fund Services shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Trust in connection with its duties under this Agreement, except a loss arising out of or relating to Fund Services’ refusal or failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement or from its bad faith, negligence, or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties under this Agreement. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, if Fund Services has exercised reasonable care in the performance of its duties under this Agreement, the Trust shall indemnify and hold harmless Fund Services from and against any and all claims, demands, losses, expenses, and liabilities of any and every nature (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) that Fund Services may sustain or incur or that may be asserted against Fund Services by any person arising out of any action taken or omitted to be taken by it in performing the services hereunder (i) in accordance with the foregoing standards, or (ii) in reliance upon any written or oral instruction provided to Fund Services by any duly authorized officer of the Fund, except for any and all claims, demands, losses, expenses, and liabilities arising out of or relating to Fund Services’ refusal or failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement or from its bad faith, negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties under this Agreement. This indemnity shall be a continuing obligation of the Trust, its successors and assigns, notwithstanding the termination of this Agreement. As used in this paragraph, the term “Fund Services” shall include Fund Services’ directors, officers and employees. |
Fund Services shall indemnify and hold the Trust harmless from and against any and all claims, demands, losses, expenses, and liabilities of any and every nature (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) that the Trust may sustain or incur or that may be asserted against the Trust by any person arising out of any action taken or omitted to be taken by Fund Services as a result of Fund Services’ refusal or failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement, or from Fund Services’ bad faith, negligence, or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties under this Agreement. This indemnity shall be a continuing obligation of Fund Services, its successors and assigns, notwithstanding the termination of this Agreement. As used in this paragraph, the term “Trust” shall include the Fund’s directors, officers and employees.
In no case shall either party be liable to the other for (i) any special, indirect or consequential damages, loss of profits or goodwill (even if advised of the possibility of such); or (ii) any delay by reason of circumstances beyond its control, including acts of civil or military authority, national emergencies, labor difficulties, fire, mechanical breakdown, flood or catastrophe, acts of God, insurrection, war, riots, or failure beyond its control of transportation or power supply.
In the event of a mechanical breakdown or failure of communication or power supplies beyond its reasonable control, Fund Services shall take all reasonable steps to minimize service interruptions for any period that such interruption continues. Fund Services will make every reasonable effort to restore any lost or damaged data and correct any errors resulting from such a breakdown at the expense of Fund Services. Fund Services agrees that it shall, at all times, have reasonable business continuity and contingency plans with appropriate parties, making reasonable provision for emergency use of electrical data processing equipment to the extent appropriate equipment is available. Representatives of the Trust shall be entitled to inspect Fund Services’ premises and operating capabilities at any time during regular business hours of Fund Services, upon reasonable notice to Fund Services. Moreover, Fund Services shall provide the Trust, at such times as the Trust may reasonably require, copies of reports rendered by independent accountants on the internal controls and procedures of Fund Services relating to the services provided by Fund Services under this Agreement.
Notwithstanding the above, Fund Services reserves the right to reprocess and correct administrative errors at its own expense.
B. |
In order that the indemnification provisions contained in this section shall apply, it is understood that if in any case the indemnitor may be asked to indemnify or hold the indemnitee harmless, the indemnitor shall be fully and promptly advised of all pertinent facts concerning the situation in question, and it is further understood that the indemnitee will use all reasonable care to notify the indemnitor promptly concerning any situation that presents or appears likely to present the probability of a claim for indemnification. The indemnitor shall have the option to defend the indemnitee against any claim that may be the subject of this indemnification. In the event that the indemnitor so elects, it will so notify the indemnitee and thereupon the indemnitor shall take over complete defense of the claim, and the indemnitee shall in such situation initiate no further legal or other expenses for which it shall seek indemnification under this section. The indemnitee shall in no case confess any claim or make any compromise in any case in which the indemnitor will be asked to indemnify the indemnitee except with the indemnitor’s prior written consent. |
C. |
The indemnity and defense provisions set forth in this Section 6 shall indefinitely survive the termination and/or assignment of this Agreement. |
D. |
If Fund Services is acting in another capacity for the Trust pursuant to a separate agreement, nothing herein shall be deemed to relieve Fund Services of any of its obligations in such other capacity. |
E. |
In conjunction with the tax services provided to the Fund by Fund Services hereunder, Fund Services shall not be deemed to act as an income tax return preparer for any purpose including as such term is defined under Section 7701(a)(36) of the IRC, or any successor thereof. Any information provided by Fund Services to a Fund for income tax reporting purposes with respect to any item of income, gain, loss, or credit will be performed solely in Fund Services’ administrative capacity. Fund Services shall not be required to determine, and shall not take any position with respect to whether, the reasonable belief standard described in Section 6694 of the IRC has been satisfied with respect to any income tax item. Each Fund, and any appointees thereof, shall have the right to inspect the transaction summaries produced and aggregated by Fund Services, and any supporting documents thereto, in connection with the tax reporting services provided to each Fund by Fund Services. Fund Services shall not be liable for the provision or omission of any tax advice with respect to any information provided by Fund Services to a Fund. The tax information provided by Fund Services shall be pertinent to the data and information made available to Fund Services, and is neither derived from nor construed as tax advice. |
7. |
Data Necessary to Perform Services |
The Trust or its agent shall furnish to Fund Services the data necessary to perform the services described herein at such times and in such form as mutually agreed upon.
8. |
Proprietary and Confidential Information |
Fund Services agrees on behalf of itself and its directors, officers, and employees to treat confidentially and as proprietary information of the Trust, all records and other information relative to the Trust and prior, present, or potential shareholders of the Trust (and clients of said shareholders), and not to use such records and information for any purpose other than the performance of its responsibilities and duties hereunder, except (i) after prior notification to and approval in writing by the Trust, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld and may not be withheld where Fund Services may be exposed to civil or criminal contempt proceedings for failure to comply, (ii) when requested to divulge such information by duly constituted authorities, or (iii) when so requested by the Trust. Records and other information which have become known to the public through no wrongful act of Fund Services or any of its employees, agents or representatives, and information that was already in the possession of Fund Services prior to receipt thereof from the Trust or its agent, shall not be subject to this paragraph.
Further, Fund Services will adhere to the privacy policies adopted by the Trust pursuant to Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, as may be modified from time to time. In this regard, Fund Services shall have in place and maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards reasonably designed to protect the security, confidentiality and integrity of, and to prevent unauthorized access to or use of, records and information relating to the Trust and its shareholders.
9. |
Records |
Fund Services shall keep records relating to the services to be performed hereunder in the form and manner, and for such period, as it may deem advisable and is agreeable to the Trust, but not inconsistent with the rules and regulations of appropriate government authorities, in particular, Section 31 of the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder. Fund Services agrees that all such records prepared or maintained by Fund Services relating to the services to be performed by Fund Services hereunder are the property of the Trust and will be preserved, maintained, and made available in accordance with such applicable sections and rules of the 1940 Act and will be promptly surrendered to the Trust or its designee on and in accordance with its request .
10. |
Compliance with Laws |
The Trust has and retains primary responsibility for all compliance matters relating to the Fund, including but not limited to compliance with the 1940 Act, the Code, the SOX Act, the USA Patriot Act of 2001 and the policies and limitations of the Fund relating to its portfolio investments as set forth in its Registration Statement. Fund Services’ services hereunder shall not relieve the Trust of its responsibilities for assuring such compliance or the Board of Trustee’s oversight responsibility with respect thereto.
11. |
Terms of Agreement; Amendment |
This Agreement shall become effective as of the date last written on the signature page and will continue in effect for a period of three (3) years. However, this Agreement may be terminated by either party upon giving 90 days prior written notice to the other party or such shorter notice period as is mutually agreed upon by the parties. Subsequent to the end of the three (3) year period, this Agreement continues until one party gives 90 days prior written notice to the other party or such shorter period as is mutually agreed upon by the parties. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Agreement may be terminated by any party upon the breach of the other party of any material term of this Agreement if such breach is not cured within 15 days of notice of such breach to the breaching party. This Agreement may not be amended or modified in any manner except by written agreement executed by Fund Services and the Trust, and authorized or approved by the Fund’s Board of Trustees.
12. |
Early Termination |
In the absence of any material breach of this Agreement, should the Trust elect to terminate this Agreement prior to the end of the three (3) year term, the Trust agrees to pay the following fees:
a. |
all monthly fees through the life of the Agreement, including the repayment of any negotiated discounts; |
b. |
all fees associated with converting services to successor service provider; |
c. |
all fees associated with any record retention and/or tax reporting obligations that may not be eliminated due to the conversion to a successor service provider; all miscellaneous costs associated with a.-c. above |
13. |
Duties in the Event of Termination |
In the event that, in connection with termination, a successor to any of Fund Services’ duties or responsibilities hereunder is designated by the Trust by written notice to Fund Services, Fund Services will promptly, upon such termination and at the expense of the Fund, transfer to such successor all relevant books, records, correspondence, and other data established or maintained by Fund Services under this Agreement in a form reasonably acceptable to the Trust (if such form differs from the form in which Fund Services has maintained the same, the Trust shall pay any expenses associated with transferring the data to such form), and will cooperate in the transfer of such duties and responsibilities, including provision for assistance from Fund Services’ personnel in the establishment of books, records, and other data by such successor. If no such successor is designated, then such books, records and other data shall be returned to the Trust.
14. |
Assignment |
This Agreement shall extend to and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns; provided, however, that this Agreement shall not be assignable by the Trust without the written consent of Fund Services, or by Fund Services without the written consent of the Trust accompanied by the authorization or approval of the Trust’s Board of Trustees.
15. |
Governing Law |
This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Wisconsin, without regard to conflicts of law principles. To the extent that the applicable laws of the State of Wisconsin, or any of the provisions herein, conflict with the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the latter shall control, and nothing herein shall be construed in a manner inconsistent with the 1940 Act or any rule or order of the SEC thereunder.
16. |
No Agency Relationship |
Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to authorize or empower either party to act as agent for the other party to this Agreement, or to conduct business in the name, or for the account, of the other party to this Agreement.
17. |
Services Not Exclusive |
Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict Fund Services from providing services to other parties that are similar or identical to some or all of the services provided hereunder.
18. |
Invalidity |
Any provision of this Agreement which may be determined by competent authority to be prohibited or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such prohibition or unenforceability without invalidating the remaining provisions hereof, and any such prohibition or unenforceability in any jurisdiction shall not invalidate or render unenforceable such provision in any other jurisdiction. In such case, the parties shall in good faith modify or substitute such provision consistent with the original intent of the parties.
19. |
Legal-Related Services |
Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to appoint Fund Services and its officers, directors and employees as the Trust attorneys, form attorney-client relationships or require the provision of legal advice. The Trust acknowledges that in-house Fund Services attorneys exclusively represent Fund Services and rely on outside counsel retained by the Trust to review all services provided by in-house Fund Services attorneys and to provide independent judgment on the Trust’s behalf. The Trust acknowledges that because no attorney-client relationship exists between in-house Fund Services attorneys and the Trust, any information provided to Fund Services attorneys may not be privileged and may be subject to compulsory disclosure under certain circumstances. Fund Services represents that it will maintain the confidentiality of information disclosed to its in-house attorneys on a best efforts basis.
20. |
Notices |
Any notice required or permitted to be given by either party to the other shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been given on the date delivered personally or by courier service, or three days after sent by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, or on the date sent and confirmed received by facsimile transmission to the other party’s address set forth below:
Notice to Fund Services shall be sent to:
U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC
615 East Michigan Street
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Attn: President
and notice to the Trust shall be sent to:
Innovator ETFs Trust II
120 North Hale Street, Suite 200
Wheaton, Illinois 6018724
ATTN: Bruce Bond
21. |
Multiple Originals |
This Agreement may be executed on two or more counterparts, each of which when so executed shall be deemed to be an original, but such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the same instrument.
(SIGNATURES ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE )
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by a duly authorized officer on one or more counterparts as of the date last written below.
INNOVATOR ETF’s TRUST II |
U.S. BANCORP FUND SERVICES, LLC |
By:________________________________ |
By:______________________________ |
Name: Bruce Bond |
Name: ____________________________ |
Title: CEO |
Title: _____________________________ |
Date: 11/30/2018 |
Date:_____________________________ |
Exhibit A
to the
Fund Administration Servicing Agreement
Fund Names
Separate Series of Innovator ETF’s Trust II
Name of Series
Innovator S&P Investment Grade Preferred ETF
Innovator Lunt Low Vol/High Beta Tactical ETF
Exhibit B to the Fund Administration Servicing Agreement
REQUIRED PROVISIONS OF MSCI, S&P AND FACTSET
● |
The Trust shall represent that it will use the Data solely for internal purposes and will not redistribute the Data in any form or manner to any third party. |
● |
The Trust shall represent that it will not use or permit anyone else to use the Data in connection with creating, managing, advising, writing, trading, marketing or promoting any securities or financial instruments or products, including, but not limited to, funds, synthetic or derivative securities (e.g., options, warrants, swaps, and futures), whether listed on an exchange or traded over the counter or on a private-placement basis or otherwise or to create any indices (custom or otherwise). |
● |
The Trust shall represent that it will treat the Data as proprietary to MSCI, S&P and FACTSET. Further, the Trust shall acknowledge that MSCI, S&P and FACTSET are the sole and exclusive owners of the Data and all trade secrets, copyrights, trademarks and other intellectual property rights in or to the Data. |
● |
The Trust shall represent that it will not (i) copy any component of the Data, (ii) alter, modify or adapt any component of the Data, including, but not limited to, translating, decompiling, disassembling, reverse engineering or creating derivative works, or (iii) make any component of the Data available to any other person or organization (including, without limitation, the Trust’s present and future parents, subsidiaries or affiliates) directly or indirectly, for any of the foregoing or for any other use, including, without limitation, by loan, rental, service bureau, external time sharing or similar arrangement. |
● |
The Trust shall be obligated to reproduce on all permitted copies of the Data all copyright, proprietary rights and restrictive legends appearing on the Data. |
● |
The Trust shall acknowledge that it assumes the entire risk of using the Data and shall agree to hold MSCI or S&P or FACTSET harmless from any claims that may arise in connection with any use of the Data by the Trust. |
● |
The Trust shall acknowledge that MSCI or S&P or FACTSET may, in its sole and absolute discretion and at any time, terminate Fund Services’ right to receive and/or use the Data. |
● |
The Trust shall acknowledge that MSCI, S&P and FACTSET are third party beneficiaries of the Customer Agreement between S&P, MSCI, FACTSET and Fund Services, entitled to enforce all provisions of such agreement relating to the Data. |
THE DATA IS PROVIDED TO THE TRUST ON AN "AS IS" BASIS. Fund Services, ITS INFORMATION PROVIDERS, AND ANY OTHER THIRD PARTY INVOLVED IN OR RELATED TO THE MAKING OR COMPILING OF THE DATA MAKE NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, WITH RESPECT TO THE DATA (OR THE RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY THE USE THEREOF). Fund Services, ITS INFORMATION PROVIDERS AND ANY OTHER THIRD PARTY INVOLVED IN OR RELATED TO THE MAKING OR COMPILING OF THE DATA EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF ORIGINALITY, ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
Exhibit B (continued) to the Fund Administration Servicing Agreement
THE TRUST ASSUMES THE ENTIRE RISK OF ANY USE THE TRUST MAY MAKE OF THE DATA. IN NO EVENT SHALL Fund Services, ITS INFORMATION PROVIDERS OR ANY THIRD PARTY INVOLVED IN OR RELATED TO THE MAKING OR COMPILING OF THE DATA, BE LIABLE TO THE TRUST, OR ANY OTHER THIRD PARTY, FOR ANY DIRECT OR INDIRECT DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY LOST PROFITS, LOST SAVINGS OR OTHER INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THIS AGREEMENT OR THE INABILITY OF THE TRUST TO USE THE DATA, REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF ACTION, EVEN IF Fund Services, ANY OF ITS INFORMATION PROVIDERS, OR ANY OTHER THIRD PARTY INVOLVED IN OR RELATED TO THE MAKING OR COMPILING OF THE DATA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF OR OTHERWISE MIGHT HAVE ANTICIPATED THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
Exhibit C to the Fund Administration Servicing Agreement
Base Fee for Accounting, Administration, Transfer Agent, & Account Services at December 2018
The following reflects the greater of the basis point fee or annual minimum 1 for Funds in the Innovator ETFs Trust and the Innovator ETFs Trust II (Fund Complex) where Innovator Management LLC acts as Adviser to a Fund .
Annual Minimum Fund Complex Fee |
|
Funds 1-5 |
$45,000 |
Funds 6-10 |
$35,000 |
Funds 11+ |
$20,000 |
Basis Points on AUM of Fund Complex |
|
First $500m |
5 bps |
Next $500m |
4 bps |
Next $4B |
3 bps |
$5b+ |
2 bps |
1 Each fund, regardless of asset size, will have fees allocated to it equal to the per fund minimum. Should the complex level basis point fee calculation exceed the complex level minimum fee level calculation, the fees in excess of the minimum will be allocated to each fund based on percent on AUM.
2 Fees are calculated pro rata and billed monthly
Additional services not included above shall be mutually agreed upon at the time of the service being added. In addition to the fees described above, additional fees may be charged to the extent that changes to applicable laws, rules or regulations require additional work or expenses related to services provided (e.g., compliance with new liquidity risk management and reporting requirements).
Accounting, Administration, TA Services in addition to the Base Fee 1
Pricing Services
For daily pricing of each securities (estimated 252 pricing days annually)
■ |
$0.08 - Domestic Equities, Options, ADRs, Foreign Equities, Futures, Forwards |
■ |
$0.50 - Domestic Corporates, Convertibles, Governments, Agencies, Currency Rates, Mortgage Backed |
■ |
$0.80 - CMOs, Municipal Bonds, Money Market Instruments, Foreign Corporates, Convertibles, Governments, Agencies, Asset Backed, High Yield |
■ |
$0.90 - Interest Rate Swaps, Foreign Currency Swaps, Total Return Swaps, Total Return Bullet Swaps |
■ |
$1.00 - Bank Loans |
■ |
$1.50 - Swaptions |
■ |
$3.00 - Credit Default Swaps |
■ |
$500 per Month Manual Security Pricing (>25 per day) |
NOTE: Prices are based on using U.S. Bancorp primary pricing service which may vary by security type and are subject to change. Use of alternative and/or additional sources may result in additional fees. Pricing vendors may designate certain securities as hard to value or as a non-standard security type, such as CLOs and CDOs, which may result in additional fees. All schedules subject to change depending upon the use of unique security type requiring special pricing or accounting arrangements.
Corporate Action Services
Fee for IDC data used to monitor corporate actions
■ |
$2.00 per Foreign Equity Security per Month |
■ |
$1.00 per Domestic Equity Security per Month |
■ |
$2.00 per CMOs, Asset Backed, Mortgage Backed Security per Month |
Chief Compliance Officer Support Fee
■ |
CCO support annual fee $3,000 per trust for each USBFS service selected (administration, accounting, transfer agent, distributor, custodian) |
Third Party Administrative Data Charges (descriptive data for analytics, reporting and compliance)
■ |
$1 per security per month |
SEC Modernization Requirements
■ |
Form N-PORT – $12,000 per year, per Fund |
■ |
Form N-CEN – $250 per year, per Fund |
Supplemental Services for Fund Accounting, Fund Administration & Portfolio Compliance (provided by USBFS upon client need and/ or request)
Daily Compliance Services
■ |
Base fee – $20,000 per fund per year |
■ |
Setup – $2,500 per fund group |
Section 18 Daily Compliance Testing (for derivatives and leverage)
■ |
$1,500 set up fee per fund complex |
■ |
$500 per fund per month |
Controlled Foreign Corporation (CFC)
■ |
USBFS Fee Schedule plus $15,000 |
C- Corp Administrative Services
■ |
1940 Act C-Corp – USBFS Fee Schedule plus $15,000 |
■ |
1933 Act C-Corp – USBFS Fee Schedule plus $25,000 |
Ongoing Annual Legal Administration Services
Add the following for legal administration services in support of external legal counsel, including annual registration statement update and drafting of supplements
■ |
$15,000 first fund |
■ |
$5,000 each additional fund up to 5 funds |
■ |
Fees will be negotiated for fund 6+ |
Section 15(c) Reporting
■ |
$2,000 per fund per standard reporting package* |
■ |
Additional 15c reporting is subject to additional charges |
*Standard reporting packages for annual 15(c) meeting
- |
Expense reporting package: 2 peer comparison reports (adviser fee) and (net expense ratio w classes on one report) OR Full 15(c) report |
- |
Performance reporting package: Peer Comparison Report |
■ |
Standard data source – Morningstar; additional charges will apply for other data services |
Miscellaneous Expenses
Including but not limited to, SWIFT processing, customized reporting, third-party data provider costs (including GICS, MSCI, Lipper, etc.), postage, stationary, programming, special reports, proxies, insurance, EDGAR/XBRL filing, retention of records, federal and state regulatory filing fees, expenses related to and including travel to and from Board of Trustee meetings, third party auditing and legal expenses, wash sales reporting (GainsKeeper), tax e-filing, PFIC monitoring, conversion expenses (if necessary).
1 Fees are calculated pro rata and billed monthly
20
Exhibit (h)(6)
FIRST AMENDMENT to the
FUND ADMINISTRATION SERVICING AGREEMENT
THIS FI R ST AMENDMENT to the Fund Administration Servicing Agreement is made as of March 7, 2019 by and between INNOVATOR ETF s TRUST II , a Massachusetts statutory trust (the “Trust”), INNOVATOR CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC the investment advise r to the Trust ( the “ Adviser ”) and U.S. BANCORP FUND SERVICES, LLC d/b/a/ U.S. Bank Global Fund Services , a Wisconsin limited liability company (“Fund Services”).
WHEREAS, the Trust and Fund Services have previously entered into a certain Fund Administration Servicing Agreement, dated as of December 4, 2018 (the "Agreement"); and
WHEREAS, the parties desire to amend Article 4 (Compensation) of the Agreement and to add an additional party to the Agreement, as hereinafter provided;
NOW, THEREFORE, for good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto do hereby agree as follows:
(1) |
Amendment. The Agreement shall be amended as follows: |
(a) The Agreement shall be amended by adding Innovator Capital Management, LCC , the investment advisor to the Trust ( the “ Adviser ”) as an additional party.
The preamble to the Agreement shall be deleted and replaced in its entirety with the following:
THIS AGREEMENT is made as of the last date on the signature block below by and between INNOVATOR ETF s TRUST II , a Massachusetts statutory trust (the “Trust”), and U.S. BANCORP FUND SERVICES, LLC d/b/a/ U. S. Bank Global Fund Services , a Wisconsin limited liability company (“Fund Services”). Innovator Capital Management, LCC, the investment advise r to the Trust (the “ Adviser ”), is a party hereto with respect to Article 4 only .
(b) Article 4 (Compensation) of the Agreement shall be deleted and replaced in its entirety with the following:
4 . Compensation
Fund Services shall be compensated for providing the services set forth in this Agreement in accordance with the fee schedule set forth on Exhibit C hereto (as amended from time to time). The Adviser shall pay the fees set out in Exhibit C together with the fees for all other services provided to the Trust by Fund Services ( including its parent and affiliated entities) pursuant to a certain Fund Fund Accounting Agreement, Transfer Agent Agreement and Custody Agreement as a combined unit ar y fee to Fund Services. Fund Services shall also be reimbursed for such miscellaneous expenses set forth in Exhibit C as are reasonably incurred by Fund Services in performing its duties hereunder. The Adviser shall pay all such fees and reimbursable expenses within 30 calendar days following receipt of the billing notice, except for any fee or expense subject to a good faith dispute. The Adviser shall notify Fund Services in writing within 30 calendar days following receipt of each invoice if the Trust is disputing any amounts in good faith. The Adviser shall pay such disputed amounts within 10 calendar days of the day on which the parties agree to the amount to be paid. With the exception of any fee or expense the Adviser is disputing in good faith as set forth above, unpaid invoices shall accrue a finance charge of 1½% per month after the due date.
(2) |
Entire Agreement. This Amendment constitutes the entire agreement and understanding of the parties with respect to its subject matter and supersedes all oral communications or prior writings (except as otherwise provided herein) with respect thereto. Except as expressly amended herein, all of the provisions of the Agreement shall remain in full force and effect, and all references to the Agreement in the Agreement or any document related thereto shall for all purposes constitute references to the Agreement as amended hereby. This Amendment shall in no way operate as a novation, release, or discharge of any of the provisions of the Agreement (except as amended herein), or any indebtedness thereby evidenced. |
Signatures on the following page
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Amendment to be executed by their respective officers thereunto duly authorized as of the day and year first above written.
INNOVATOR ETF’s TRUST II |
U.S. BANCORP FUND SERVICES, LLC |
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By: | By: | ||||
Name: | Name: | ||||
Title: | Title: | ||||
Date: | Date: |
INNOVATOR CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC | ||
By: | ||
Name: | ||
Title: |
3
Exhibit (h)(7)
TRANSFER AGENT SERVICING AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT is made as of the last date on the signature page by and between INNOVATOR ETFs TRUST II , a Massachusetts business trust (the “Trust”) and U.S. BANCORP FUND SERVICES, LLC d/b/a U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, a Wisconsin limited liability company (“Fund Services”).
WHEREAS, the Trust intends to issue in respect of its series listed on Exhibit A attached hereto (each a “Fund” or an “ ETF Series”) an exchange-traded class of shares known as “Shares” for each ETF Series. The Shares shall be created and redeemed in bundles called “Creation Units.” The Trust, on behalf of the ETF Series, shall create and redeem Shares of each ETF Series only in Creation Units principally in kind for portfolio securities of the particular ETF Series (“Deposit Securities”), as more fully described in the current prospectus and statement of additional information of the Trust, included in its registration statement on Form N-1A; and as authorized under the Order of Exemption granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Only brokers or dealers that are “Authorized Participants” and that have entered into an Authorized Participant Agreement with [Name of Distributor], the Fund’s Distributor (the “Distributor”), acting on behalf of the Trust, shall be authorized to create and redeem Shares in Creation Units from the Trust. The Trust wishes to engage Fund Services to perform certain services on behalf of the Trust with respect to the creation and redemption of Shares, as the Trust’s agent, namely to provide transfer agent services for Shares of each ETF Series; and to act as Index Receipt Agent (as such term is defined in the rules of the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”)) with respect to the settlement of trade orders with Authorized Participants. The Trust has engaged U.S. Bank, National Association (the “Custodian”) to provide custody services under the terms of a Custody Agreement, as supplemented hereby, for the settlement of Creation Units against Deposit Securities and/or cash that shall be delivered by Authorized Participants in exchange for Shares and the redemption of Shares in Creation Unit size against the delivery of Redemption Securities and/or cash of each ETF Series.
WHEREAS, the Trust is registered as an open-end management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”); and
WHEREAS, the Trust will ordinarily issue for purchase and redeem Shares only in aggregations of Shares known as Creation Units (currently 50,000 Shares) principally in kind or in cash;
WHEREAS, The Depository Trust Company, a limited purpose trust company organized under the laws of the State of New York (“DTC”), or its nominee Cede & Company, will be the registered owner (the “Shareholder”) of all Shares; and
WHEREAS, the Trust desires to retain Fund Services as its transfer agent, dividend disbursing agent, and agent in connection with certain other activities to each series of the Trust
listed on Exhibit A attached hereto (as amended from time to time).
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto, intending to be legally bound, do hereby agree as follows:
1. |
Appointment of Fund Services as Transfer Agent |
The Trust hereby appoints Fund Services as transfer agent of the Trust on the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, and Fund Services hereby accepts such appointment and agrees to perform the services and duties set forth in this Agreement. The services and duties of Fund Services shall be confined to those matters expressly set forth herein, and no implied duties are assumed by or may be asserted against Fund Services hereunder.
2. |
Services and Duties of Fund Services |
Fund Services shall provide the following transfer agent and dividend disbursing agent services to each Fund:
A. Perform and facilitate the performance of purchases and redemption of Creation Units;
B. Prepare and transmit by means of DTC’s book-entry system payments for dividends and distributions on or with respect to the Shares declared by the Trust on behalf of the applicable Fund;
C. Maintain the record of the name and address of the Shareholder and the number of Shares issued by the Trust and held by the Shareholder;
D. Record the issuance of Shares of the Trust and maintain a record of the total number of Shares of the Trust which are outstanding, and, based upon data provided to it by the Trust, the total number of authorized Shares. Fund Services shall have no obligation, when recording the issuance of Shares, to monitor the issuance of such Shares
E. Prepare and transmit to the Trust and the Trust’s administrator and to any applicable securities exchange (as specified to Fund Services by the Trust) information with respect to purchases and redemptions of Shares;
F. On days that the Trust may accept orders for purchases or redemptions, calculate and transmit to Fund Services and the Trust the number of outstanding Shares;
G. On days that the Trust may accept orders for purchases or redemptions (pursuant to the Participant Agreement), transmit to Fund Services, the Trust and DTC the amount of Shares purchased on such day;
H. Confirm to DTC the number of Shares issued to the Shareholder, as DTC may reasonably request;
I. Prepare and deliver other reports, information and documents to DTC as DTC may reasonably request;
J. Extend the voting rights to the Shareholder for extension by DTC to DTC participants and the beneficial owners of Shares in accordance with policies and procedures of DTC for book-entry only securities;
K. Maintain those books and records of the Trust specified by the Trust and agreed upon by Fund Services;
L. Prepare a monthly report of all purchases and redemptions of Shares during such month on a gross transaction basis, and identify on a daily basis the net number of Shares either redeemed or purchased on such business day and with respect to each Authorized Participant purchasing or redeeming Shares, the amount of Shares purchased or redeemed;
M. Receive from the Distributor or from its agent purchase orders from Authorized Participants (as defined in the Authorized Participant Agreement) for Creation Unit Aggregations of Shares received in good form and accepted by or on behalf of the Trust by the Distributor, transmit appropriate trade instructions to the NSCC, if applicable, and pursuant to such orders issue the appropriate number of Shares of the Trust and hold such Shares in the account of the Shareholder for each of the respective Funds;
N. Receive from the Authorized Participants redemption requests, deliver the appropriate documentation thereof to the Trust’s custodian, generate and transmit or cause to be generated and transmitted confirmation of receipt of such redemption requests to the Authorized Participants submitting the same; transmit appropriate trade instructions to the NSCC, if applicable, and redeem the appropriate number of Creation Unit Aggregations of Shares held in the account of the Shareholder for each of the respective Funds;
O. Confirm the name, U.S. taxpayer identification number and principle place of business of each Authorized Participant;
P. In addition to the services set forth above, Fund Services shall: perform the customary services of a transfer agent and dividend disbursing agent including, but not limited to, maintaining the account of the Shareholder; and obtaining at the request of the Trust from the Shareholder a list of DTC participants holding interests in the Global Certificate; and
Q. Fund Services shall keep records relating to the services to be performed hereunder, in the form and manner required by applicable laws, rules, and regulations under the 1940 Act and to the extent required by Section 31 of the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder (the “Rules”), all such books and records shall be the property of the Trust, will be preserved, maintained and made available in accordance with such Section and Rules, and will be surrendered promptly to the Trust on and in accordance with its request.
3. Lost Shareholder Due Diligence Searches and Servicing
The Trust hereby acknowledges that Fund Services has an arrangement with an outside vendor to conduct lost shareholder searches required by Rule 17Ad-17 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Costs associated with such searches will be passed through to the Trust as miscellaneous expenses in accordance with the fee schedule set forth on Exhibit B attached hereto. If a shareholder remains lost and the shareholder’s account unresolved after completion of the mandatory Rule 17Ad-17 search, the Trust hereby authorizes vendor to enter, at its discretion, into fee sharing arrangements with the lost shareholder (or such lost shareholder’s representative or executor) to conduct a more in-depth search in order to locate the lost shareholder before the shareholder’s assets escheat to the applicable state. The Trust hereby acknowledges that Fund Services is not a party to these arrangements and does not receive any revenue sharing or other fees relating to these arrangements. Furthermore, the Trust hereby acknowledges that vendor may receive up to 35% of the lost shareholder’s assets as compensation for its efforts in locating the lost shareholder.
4. Anti-Money Laundering and Red Flag Identity Theft Prevention Programs
The Trust acknowledges that it has had an opportunity to review, consider and comment upon the written procedures provided by Fund Services describing various tools used by Fund Services which are designed to promote the detection and reporting of potential money laundering activity and identity theft by monitoring certain aspects of shareholder activity as well as written procedures for verifying a customer’s identity (collectively, the “Procedures”). Further, the Trust and Fund Services have each determined that the Procedures, as part of the Trust’s overall Anti-Money Laundering Program and Red Flag Identity Theft Prevention Program, are reasonably designed to: (i) prevent each Fund from being used for money laundering or the financing of terrorist activities; (ii) prevent identity theft; and (iii) achieve compliance with the applicable provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act, Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 and the USA Patriot Act of 2001 and the implementing regulations thereunder.
Based on this determination, the Trust hereby instructs and directs Fund Services to implement the Procedures on the Trust’s behalf, as such may be amended or revised from time to time. It is contemplated that these Procedures will be amended from time to time by the parties as additional regulations are adopted and/or regulatory guidance is provided relating to the Trust’s anti-money laundering and identity theft responsibilities.
Fund Services agrees to provide to the Trust:
(a) |
Prompt written notification of any transaction or combination of transactions that Fund Services believes, based on the Procedures, evidence money laundering or identity theft activities in connection with the Trust or any Fund shareholder; |
(b) |
Prompt written notification of any customer(s) that Fund Services reasonably believes, based upon the Procedures, to be engaged in money laundering or identity theft activities, provided that the Trust agrees not to communicate this information to the customer; |
(c) |
Any reports received by Fund Services from any government agency or applicable industry self-regulatory organization pertaining to Fund Services’ Anti-Money Laundering Program or the Red Flag Identity Theft Prevention Program on behalf of the Trust; |
(d) |
Prompt written notification of any action taken in response to anti-money laundering violations or identity theft activity as described in (a), (b) or (c) immediately above; and |
(e) |
Certified annual and quarterly reports of its monitoring and customer identification activities pursuant to the Procedures on behalf of the Trust. |
The Trust hereby directs, and Fund Services acknowledges, that Fund Services shall (i) permit federal regulators access to such information and records maintained by Funder Services and relating to Fund Services’ implementation of the Procedures, on behalf of the Trust, as they may request, and (ii) permit such federal regulators to inspect Fund Services’ implementation of the Procedures on behalf of the Trust.
5. Compensation
Fund Services shall be compensated for providing the services set forth in this Agreement in accordance with the fee schedule set forth on Exhibit B attached hereto (as amended from time to time by written request of the parties to this Agreement). Fund Services shall be reimbursed for such miscellaneous expenses (e.g., telecommunication charges, postage and delivery charges, and reproduction charges) as are reasonably incurred by Fund Services in performing its duties hereunder. Fund Services shall also be compensated for any increases in costs due to the adoption of any new or amended industry, regulatory or other applicable rules. The Trust shall pay all such fees and reimbursable expenses within thirty (30) calendar days following receipt of the monthly billing notice, except for any fee or expense subject to a good faith dispute. The Trust shall notify Fund Services in writing within thirty (30) calendar days following receipt of each invoice if the Trust is disputing any amounts in good faith. The Trust shall pay such disputed amounts within 10 calendar days of the day on which the parties agree to the amount to be paid, if any. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, amounts owed by the Trust to Fund Services shall only be paid out of the assets and property of the particular Fund involved.
6. Representations and Warranties
A. |
The Trust hereby represents and warrants to Fund Services, which representations and warranties shall be deemed to be continuing throughout the term of this Agreement, that: |
(1) |
It is duly organized and existing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, with full power to carry on its business as now conducted, to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder; |
(2) |
This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Trust in accordance with all requisite action and constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of the Trust, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting the rights and remedies of creditors and secured parties; |
(3) |
It is conducting its business in compliance in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations, both state and federal, and has obtained all regulatory approvals necessary to carry on its business as now conducted; there is no statute, rule, regulation, order or judgment binding on it and no provision of its charter, bylaws or any contract binding it or affecting its property which would prohibit its execution or performance of this Agreement; and |
(4) |
A registration statement under the 1940 Act and the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, will be made effective prior to the effective date of this Agreement and will remain effective during the term of this Agreement, and appropriate state securities law filings will be made prior to the effective date of this Agreement and will continue to be made during the term of this Agreement as necessary to enable the Trust to make a continuous public offering of its shares. |
B. |
Fund Services hereby represents and warrants to the Trust, which representations and warranties shall be deemed to be continuing throughout the term of this Agreement, that: |
(1) |
It is duly organized and existing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, with full power to carry on its business as now conducted, to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder; |
(2) |
This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by Fund Services in accordance with all requisite action and constitutes a valid and legally binding obligation of Fund Services, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws of general application affecting the rights and remedies of creditors and secured parties; |
(3) |
It is conducting its business in compliance in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations, both state and federal, and has obtained all regulatory approvals necessary to carry on its business as now conducted; there is no statute, rule, regulation, order or judgment binding on it and no provision of its charter, bylaws or any contract binding it or affecting its property which would prohibit its execution or performance of this Agreement; and |
(4) |
It is a registered transfer agent under the Exchange Act. |
7. Standard of Care; Indemnification; Limitation of Liability
A. |
Fund Services shall exercise reasonable care in the performance of its duties under this Agreement. Fund Services shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Trust in connection with its duties under this Agreement, including losses resulting from mechanical breakdowns or the failure of communication or power supplies beyond fund Services’ control, except a loss arising out of or relating to Fund Services’ refusal or failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement or from its bad faith, negligence, or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties under this Agreement. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, if Fund Services has exercised reasonable care in the performance of its duties under this Agreement, the Trust shall indemnify and hold harmless Fund Services from and against any and all claims, demands, losses, expenses, and liabilities of any and every nature (including reasonable attorneys' fees) that Fund Services may sustain or incur or that may be asserted against Fund Services by any person arising out of any action taken or omitted to be taken by it in performing the services hereunder (i) in accordance with the foregoing standards, or (ii) in reliance upon any written or oral instruction provided to Fund Services by any duly authorized officer of the Trust, as approved by the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board of Trustees”), except for any and all claims, demands, losses, expenses, and liabilities arising out of or relating to Fund Services’ refusal or failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement or from its bad faith, negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties under this Agreement. This indemnity shall be a continuing obligation of the Trust, its successors and assigns, notwithstanding the termination of this Agreement. As used in this paragraph, the term “Fund Services” shall include Fund Services’ directors, officers and employees. |
Fund Services shall indemnify and hold the Trust harmless from and against any and all claims, demands, losses, expenses, and liabilities of any and every nature (including reasonable attorneys' fees) that the Trust may sustain or incur or that may be asserted against the Trust by any person arising out of any action taken or omitted to be taken by Fund Services as a result of Fund Services’ refusal or failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement, or from its bad faith, negligence, or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties under this Agreement. This indemnity shall be a continuing obligation of Fund Services, its successors and assigns, notwithstanding the termination of this Agreement. As used in this paragraph, the term “Trust” shall include the Trust’s directors, trustees, officers and employees.
Neither party to this Agreement shall be liable to the other party for consequential, special or punitive damages under any provision of this Agreement.
In the event of a mechanical breakdown or failure of communication or power supplies beyond its control, Fund Services shall take all reasonable steps to minimize service interruptions for any period that such interruption continues. Fund Services will make every reasonable effort to restore any lost or damaged data and correct any errors resulting from such a breakdown at the expense of Fund Services. Fund Services agrees that it shall, at all times, have reasonable contingency plans with appropriate parties, making reasonable provision for emergency use of electrical data processing equipment to the extent appropriate equipment is available. Representatives of the Trust shall be entitled to inspect Fund Services’ premises and operating capabilities at any time during regular business hours of Fund Services, upon reasonable notice to Fund Services. Moreover, Fund Services shall provide the Trust, at such times as the Trust may reasonably require, copies of reports rendered by independent accountants on the internal controls and procedures of Fund Services relating to the services provided by Fund Services under this Agreement.
Notwithstanding the above, Fund Services reserves the right to reprocess and correct administrative errors at its own expense.
B. |
In order that the indemnification provisions contained in this section shall apply, it is understood that if in any case the indemnitor may be asked to indemnify or hold the indemnitee harmless, the indemnitor shall be fully and promptly advised of all pertinent facts concerning the situation in question, and it is further understood that the indemnitee will use all reasonable care to notify the indemnitor promptly concerning any situation that presents or appears likely to present the probability of a claim for indemnification. The indemnitor shall have the option to defend the indemnitee against any claim that may be the subject of this indemnification. In the event that the indemnitor so elects, it will so notify the indemnitee and thereupon the indemnitor shall take over complete defense of the claim, and the indemnitee shall in such situation initiate no further legal or other expenses for which it shall seek indemnification under this section. The indemnitee shall in no case confess any claim or make any compromise in any case in which the indemnitor will be asked to indemnify the indemnitee except with the indemnitor’s prior written consent. |
C. |
The indemnity and defense provisions set forth in this Section 7 shall indefinitely survive the termination and/or assignment of this Agreement. |
D. |
If Fund Services is acting in another capacity for the Trust pursuant to a separate agreement, nothing herein shall be deemed to relieve Fund Services of any of its obligations in such other capacity. |
8. Data Necessary to Perform Services
The Trust or its agent shall furnish to Fund Services the data necessary to perform the services described herein at such times and in such form as mutually agreed upon.
9. Proprietary and Confidential Information
Fund Services agrees on behalf of itself and its directors, officers, and employees to treat confidentially and as proprietary information of the Trust, all records and other information relative to the Trust and prior, present, or potential shareholders of the Trust (and clients of said shareholders), and not to use such records and information for any purpose other than the performance of its responsibilities and duties hereunder, except (i) after prior notification to and approval in writing by the Trust, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld and may not be withheld where Fund Services may be exposed to civil or criminal contempt proceedings for failure to comply, (ii) when requested to divulge such information by duly constituted authorities, or (iii) when so requested by the Trust. Records and other information which have become known to the public through no wrongful act of Fund Services or any of its employees, agents or representatives, and information that was already in the possession of Fund Services prior to receipt thereof from the Trust or its agent, shall not be subject to this paragraph.
Further, Fund Services will adhere to the privacy policies adopted by the Trust pursuant to Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, as may be modified from time to time. In this regard, Fund Services shall have in place and maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards reasonably designed to protect the security, confidentiality and integrity of, and to prevent unauthorized access to or use of, records and information relating to the Trust and its shareholders.
10. Records
Fund Services shall keep records relating to the services to be performed hereunder in the form and manner, and for such period, as it may deem advisable and is agreeable to the Trust, but not inconsistent with the rules and regulations of appropriate government authorities, in particular, Section 31 of the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder. Fund Services agrees that all such records prepared or maintained by Fund Services relating to the services to be performed by Fund Services hereunder are the property of the Trust and will be preserved, maintained, and made available in accordance with such applicable sections and rules of the 1940 Act and will be promptly surrendered to the Trust or its designee on and in accordance with its request.
11. Compliance with Laws
The Trust has and retains primary responsibility for all compliance matters relating to the Fund, including but not limited to compliance with the 1940 Act, the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the USA Patriot Act of 2001 and the policies and limitations of the Fund relating to its portfolio investments as set forth in its Prospectus and statement of additional information. Fund Services’ services hereunder shall not relieve the Trust of its responsibilities for assuring such compliance or the Board of Trustee’s oversight responsibility with respect thereto.
12. Term of Agreement; Amendment
This Agreement shall become effective as of the last date written in the signature block below and will continue in effect for a period of three (3) years. This Agreement may be terminated by either party upon giving 90 days prior written notice to the other party or such shorter period as is mutually agreed upon by the parties. Subsequent to the end of the three (3) year period, this Agreement continues until one party gives 90 days prior written notice to the other party or such shorter period as is mutually agreed upon by the parties. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Agreement may be terminated by any party upon the breach of the other party of any material term of this Agreement if such breach is not cured within 15 days of notice of such breach to the breaching party. This Agreement may not be amended or modified in any manner except by written agreement executed by Fund Services and the Trust, and authorized or approved by the Board of Trustees.
13. Early Termination
In the absence of any material breach of this Agreement, should the Trust elect to terminate this Agreement prior to the end of the three (3) year term, the Trust agrees to pay the following fees:
a. |
all monthly fees through the life of the Agreement, including the repayment of any negotiated discounts; |
b. |
all fees associated with converting services to successor service provider; |
c. |
all fees associated with any record retention and/or tax reporting obligations that may not be eliminated due to the conversion to a successor service provider; |
d. |
all miscellaneous costs associated with a-c above |
1 4 . Duties in the Event of Termination
In the event that, in connection with the termination of this Agreement, a successor to any of Fund Services’ duties or responsibilities hereunder is designated by the Trust by written notice to Fund Services, Fund Services will promptly, upon such termination and at the expense of the Trust, transfer to such successor all relevant books, records, correspondence, and other data established or maintained by Fund Services under this Agreement in a form reasonably acceptable to the Trust (if such form differs from the form in which Fund Services has maintained the same, the Trust shall pay any expenses associated with transferring the data to such form), and will cooperate in the transfer of such duties and responsibilities, including provision for assistance from Fund Services’ personnel in the establishment of books, records, and other data by such successor. The Fund shall also be responsible for any fees associated with any record retention and/or tax reporting obligations that may not be eliminated due to the conversion to a successor provider. If no such successor is designated, then such books, records and other data shall be returned to the Trust.
1 5 . Assignment
This Agreement shall extend to and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns; provided, however, that this Agreement shall not be assignable by the Trust without the written consent of Fund Services, or by Fund Services without the written consent of the Trust accompanied by the authorization or approval of the Board of Trustees.
16. Governing Law
This Agreement shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Wisconsin, without regard to conflicts of law principles. To the extent that the applicable laws of the State of Wisconsin, or any of the provisions herein, conflict with the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the latter shall control, and nothing herein shall be construed in a manner inconsistent with the 1940 Act or any rule or order of the Securities and Exchange Commission thereunder.
17. No Agency Relationship
Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to authorize or empower either party to act as agent for the other party to this Agreement, or to conduct business in the name, or for the account, of the other party to this Agreement.
1 8 . Services Not Exclusive
Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict Fund Services from providing services to other parties that are similar or identical to some or all of the services provided hereunder.
1 9 . Invalidity
Any provision of this Agreement which may be determined by competent authority to be prohibited or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such prohibition or unenforceability without invalidating the remaining provisions hereof, and any such prohibition or unenforceability in any jurisdiction shall not invalidate or render unenforceable such provision in any other jurisdiction. In such case, the parties shall in good faith modify or substitute such provision consistent with the original intent of the parties.
20. Notices
Any notice required or permitted to be given by either party to the other shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been given on the date delivered personally or by courier service, or three days after sent by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, or on the date sent and confirmed received by facsimile transmission to the other party’s address set forth below:
Notice to Fund Services shall be sent to:
U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC
615 East Michigan Street
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Attn: President
and notice to the Trust shall be sent to:
Innovator ETFs Trust II
120 North Hale Street, Suite 200
Wheaton, Illinois 6018724
ATTN: Bruce Bond
2 1 . Multiple Originals
This Agreement may be executed on two or more counterparts, each of which when so executed shall be deemed to be an original, but such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the same instrument.
[SIGNATURES ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by a duly authorized officer on one or more counterparts as of the date last written below.
INNOVATOR ETF's TRUST II |
U.S. BANCORP FUND SERVICES, LLC |
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By: |
By: |
||||
Name: |
Bruce Bond |
Name: |
|||
Title: |
CEO |
Title: |
|||
Date: |
11/30/2018 |
Date: |
Exhibit A to the Trans fer Agent Servicing Agreement- _______________
Separate Series of Innovator ETF’s Trust II
Name of Series
Innovator S&P Investment Grade Preferred ETF
Innovator Lunt Low Vol/High Beta Tactical ETF
Exhibit B to Transfer Agent Servicing Agreement
Base Fee for Accounting, Administration, Transfer Agent, & Account Services at December 2018
The following reflects the greater of the basis point fee or annual minimum 1 for Funds in the Innovator ETFs Trust and the Innovator ETFs Trust II (Fund Complex) where Innovator Management LLC acts as Adviser to a Fund .
Annual Minimum Fund Complex Fee |
|
Funds 1-5 |
$45,000 |
Funds 6-10 |
$35,000 |
Funds 11+ |
$20,000 |
Basis Points on AUM of Fund Complex |
|
First $500m |
5 bps |
Next $500m |
4 bps |
Next $4B |
3 bps |
$5b+ |
2 bps |
1 Each fund, regardless of asset size, will have fees allocated to it equal to the per fund minimum. Should the complex level basis point fee calculation exceed the complex level minimum fee level calculation, the fees in excess of the minimum will be allocated to each fund based on percent on AUM.
2 Fees are calculated pro rata and billed monthly
Additional services not included above shall be mutually agreed upon at the time of the service being added. In addition to the fees described above, additional fees may be charged to the extent that changes to applicable laws, rules or regulations require additional work or expenses related to services provided (e.g., compliance with new liquidity risk management and reporting requirements).
Accounting, Administration, TA Services in addition to the Base Fee 1
Pricing Services
For daily pricing of each securities (estimated 252 pricing days annually)
■ |
$0.08 - Domestic Equities, Options, ADRs, Foreign Equities, Futures, Forwards |
■ |
$0.50 - Domestic Corporates, Convertibles, Governments, Agencies, Currency Rates, Mortgage Backed |
■ |
$0.80 - CMOs, Municipal Bonds, Money Market Instruments, Foreign Corporates, Convertibles, Governments, Agencies, Asset Backed, High Yield |
■ |
$0.90 - Interest Rate Swaps, Foreign Currency Swaps, Total Return Swaps, Total Return Bullet Swaps |
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$1.00 - Bank Loans |
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$1.50 - Swaptions |
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$3.00 - Credit Default Swaps |
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$500 per Month Manual Security Pricing (>25 per day) |
NOTE: Prices are based on using U.S. Bancorp primary pricing service which may vary by security type and are subject to change. Use of alternative and/or additional sources may result in additional fees. Pricing vendors may designate certain securities as hard to value or as a non-standard security type, such as CLOs and CDOs, which may result in additional fees. All schedules subject to change depending upon the use of unique security type requiring special pricing or accounting arrangements.
Corporate Action Services
Fee for IDC data used to monitor corporate actions
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$2.00 per Foreign Equity Security per Month |
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$1.00 per Domestic Equity Security per Month |
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$2.00 per CMOs, Asset Backed, Mortgage Backed Security per Month |
Chief Compliance Officer Support Fee
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CCO support annual fee $3,000 per trust for each USBFS service selected (administration, accounting, transfer agent, distributor, custodian) |
Third Party Administrative Data Charges (descriptive data for analytics, reporting and compliance)
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$1 per security per month |
SEC Modernization Requirements
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Form N-PORT – $12,000 per year, per Fund |
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Form N-CEN – $250 per year, per Fund |
Supplemental Services for Fund Accounting, Fund Administration & Portfolio Compliance (provided by USBFS upon client need and/ or request)
Daily Compliance Services
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Base fee – $20,000 per fund per year |
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Setup – $2,500 per fund group |
Section 18 Daily Compliance Testing (for derivatives and leverage)
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$1,500 set up fee per fund complex |
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$500 per fund per month |
Controlled Foreign Corporation (CFC)
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USBFS Fee Schedule plus $15,000 |
C- Corp Administrative Services
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1940 Act C-Corp – USBFS Fee Schedule plus $15,000 |
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1933 Act C-Corp – USBFS Fee Schedule plus $25,000 |
Ongoing Annual Legal Administration Services
Add the following for legal administration services in support of external legal counsel, including annual registration statement update and drafting of supplements
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$15,000 first fund |
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$5,000 each additional fund up to 5 funds |
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Fees will be negotiated for fund 6+ |
Section 15(c) Reporting
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$2,000 per fund per standard reporting package* |
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Additional 15c reporting is subject to additional charges |
*Standard reporting packages for annual 15(c) meeting
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Expense reporting package: 2 peer comparison reports (adviser fee) and (net expense ratio w classes on one report) OR Full 15(c) report |
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Performance reporting package: Peer Comparison Report |
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Standard data source – Morningstar; additional charges will apply for other data services |
Miscellaneous Expenses
Including but not limited to, SWIFT processing, customized reporting, third-party data provider costs (including GICS, MSCI, Lipper, etc.), postage, stationary, programming, special reports, proxies, insurance, EDGAR/XBRL filing, retention of records, federal and state regulatory filing fees, expenses related to and including travel to and from Board of Trustee meetings, third party auditing and legal expenses, wash sales reporting (GainsKeeper), tax e-filing, PFIC monitoring, conversion expenses (if necessary).
1 Fees are calculated pro rata and billed monthly
17
Exhibit (h)(8)
FIRST AMENDMENT to the
TRANSFER AGENT SERVICING AGREEMENT
THIS FI R ST AMENDMENT to the Transfer Agent Servicing Agreement is made as of March 7, 2019 by and between INNOVATOR ETF s TRUST II , a Massachusetts statutory trust (the “Trust”), INNOVATOR CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC the investment advise r to the Trust ( the “ Adviser ”) and U.S. BANCORP FUND SERVICES, LLC d/b/a/ U. S. Bank Global Fund Services , a Wisconsin limited liability company (“Fund Services”).
WHEREAS, the Trust and Fund Services have previously entered into a certain Transfer Agent Servicing Agreement, dated as of December 4, 2018 (the "Agreement); and
WHEREAS, the parties desire to amend Article 5 (Compensation) of the Agreement and to add an additional party to the Agreement, as hereinafter provided;
NOW, THEREFORE, for good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto do hereby agree as follows:
(1) |
Amendment. The Agreement shall be amended as follows: |
(a) The Agreement shall be amended by adding Innovator Capital Management, LCC , the investment advisor to the Trust ( the “ Adviser ”) as an additional party.
The preamble to the Agreement shall be deleted and replaced in its entirety with the following:
THIS AGREEMENT is made as of the last date on the signature block below by and between INNOVATOR ETF s TRUST II , a Massachusetts statutory trust (the “Trust”), and U.S. BANCORP FUND SERVICES, LLC d/b/a/ U. S. Bank Global Fund Services , a Wisconsin limited liability company (“Fund Services”). Innovator Capital Management, LLC , the investment advise r to the Trust (the “ Adviser ”), is a party hereto with respect to Article 5 only.
(b) Article 5 (Compensation) of the Agreement shall be deleted and replaced in its entirety with the following:
5 . Compensation
Fund Services shall be compensated for providing the services set forth in this Agreement in accordance with the fee schedule set forth on Exhibit B hereto (as amended from time to time). The Adviser shall pay the fees set out in Exhibit B together with the fees for all other services provided to the Trust by Fund Services ( including its parent and affiliated entities) pursuant to a certain Fund Administration Agreement, Fund Accounting Agreement and Custody Agreement as a combined unit ar y fee to Fund Services. Fund Services shall also be reimbursed for such miscellaneous expenses set forth in Exhibit C as are reasonably incurred by Fund Services in performing its duties hereunder. The Adviser shall pay all such fees and reimbursable expenses within 30 calendar days following receipt of the billing notice, except for any fee or expense subject to a good faith dispute. The Adviser shall notify Fund Services in writing within 30 calendar days following receipt of each invoice if the Adviser is disputing any amounts in good faith. The Adviser shall pay such disputed amounts within 10 calendar days of the day on which the parties agree to the amount to be paid. With the exception of any fee or expense the Adviser is disputing in good faith as set forth above, unpaid invoices shall accrue a finance charge of 1½% per month after the due date.
(2) |
Entire Agreement. This Amendment constitutes the entire agreement and understanding of the parties with respect to its subject matter and supersedes all oral communications or prior writings (except as otherwise provided herein) with respect thereto. Except as expressly amended herein, all of the provisions of the Agreement shall remain in full force and effect, and all references to the Agreement in the Agreement or any document related thereto shall for all purposes constitute references to the Agreement as amended hereby. This Amendment shall in no way operate as a novation, release, or discharge of any of the provisions of the Agreement (except as amended herein), or any indebtedness thereby evidenced. |
Signatures on the following page
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Amendment to be executed by their respective officers thereunto duly authorized as of the day and year first above written.
INNOVATOR CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC
By:___________________________
Name: ________________________
Title: __________________________
3
Exhibit (j)
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 May 28, 2019, relating to the financial statements and financial highlights of Innovator S&P Investment Grade Preferred ETF, a series of Innovator ETFs Trust II, for the year ended March 31, 2019, and to the references to our firm under the headings “Fund Service Providers” and “Financial Highlights” in the Prospectus and “Miscellaneous Information” and “Financial Statements” in the Statement of Additional Information.
/s/ Cohen & Company, Ltd.
Cohen & Company, Ltd.
Cleveland, Ohio
July 29, 2019