02/02/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 02/02/2026 14:19
AS FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ON FEBRUARY 2, 2026
REGISTRATION NOS. 033-79858
811-08544
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. 141 | ☒ | |
| AND/OR | ||
| REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 | ☐ | |
| AMENDMENT NO. 142 | ☒ |
INVESTMENT MANAGERS SERIES TRUST III
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
235 West Galena Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212
(Address of Principal Executive Offices, including Zip Code)
Registrant's Telephone Number, Including Area Code: (626) 385-5777
Diane J. Drake
Mutual Fund Administration, LLC
2220 E. Route 66, Suite 226
Glendora, California 91740
(Name and Address of Agent for Service)
COPIES TO:
Laurie Anne Dee
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
600 Anton Boulevard, Suite 1800
Costa Mesa, California 92626
It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box):
| ☒ | immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b) of Rule 485; or | |
| ☐ | on _______________ pursuant to paragraph (b) of Rule 485; or | |
| ☐ | 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) of Rule 485; | |
| ☐ | on _______________ pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) of Rule 485; or | |
| ☐ | 75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485; or | |
| ☐ | on _______________ pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485; or | |
| ☐ | on _______________ pursuant to paragraph (a)(3) 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.
FPA Queens Road Value ETF
(FPAV)
PROSPECTUS
February 2, 2026
This Prospectus provides important information about the FPA Queens Road Value ETF (the "Fund") that you should know before investing. Please read it carefully and keep it for future reference.
THESE SECURITIES HAVE NOT BEEN APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED BY THE U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (THE "SEC") NOR HAS THE SEC PASSED UPON THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS PROSPECTUS. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
Shares of the Fund are listed and traded on the CBOE BZX Exchange, Inc. (the "Exchange").
|
https://fpav/fpa.com |
(800 |
) 982-4372 |
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Distributor:
DISTRIBUTION SERVICES, LLC
190 Middle Street, Suite 301
Portland, Maine 04101
Table of Contents
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Page |
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Summary Section-FPA Queens Road Value ETF |
2 |
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Additional Information About the Fund's Principal Investment Strategies and Risks |
12 |
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|
Management of the Fund |
19 |
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Buying and Selling Fund Shares |
21 |
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Dividends, Distributions and Taxes |
23 |
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Distributor |
25 |
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Fund Service Providers |
26 |
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Additional Information |
26 |
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Financial Highlights |
28 |
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1
SUMMARY SECTION-FPA QUEENS ROAD VALUE ETF
Investment Objective
The FPA Queens Road Value ETF (the "Fund") seeks long-term capital growth.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below.
|
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
|||||||
|
Management Fees |
0.95 |
% |
|||||
|
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees |
None |
||||||
|
Other Expenses |
0.33 |
% |
|||||
|
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses |
0.01 |
% |
|||||
|
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
1.29 |
% |
|||||
|
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement1 |
(0.55 |
)% |
|||||
|
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses after Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement1 |
0.74 |
% |
|||||
1 The Fund's investment adviser has contractually agreed to waive management fees and/or reimburse the Fund for operating expenses in excess of 0.73% of average daily net assets of the Fund, excluding interest, taxes, brokerage fees and commissions payable by the Fund in connection with the purchase or sale of portfolio securities, fees and expenses of other funds in which the Fund invests, and extraordinary expenses, including litigation expenses not incurred in the Fund's ordinary course of business, for a period of two years following the reorganization of the Predecessor Fund (defined below). These fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements are subject to possible recoupment by the adviser from the Fund in future years (within the three years from the date when the amount is waived or reimbursed) if such recoupment can be achieved within the lesser of the foregoing expense limits or the then-current expense limits. Similarly, the adviser is permitted to seek reimbursement from the Fund, subject to certain limitations, of fees waived or payments made by adviser to the Predecessor Fund prior to the Predecessor Fund's reorganization for a period ending three years after the date of the waiver or payment. This agreement may be terminated only by the Fund's Board of Trustees upon written notice to the adviser.
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then 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 the same. The Example reflects the Fund's contractual fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement only for the term of the contractual fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement.
2
Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based upon these assumptions your costs would be:
| One Year |
Three Years |
Five Years |
Ten Years |
||||||||||||
| $ |
76 |
$ |
297 |
$ |
599 |
$ |
1,457 |
||||||||
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Predecessor Fund's portfolio turnover was 0% of the average value of its portfolio. The Fund's portfolio turnover rate may vary from year to year as well as within a year.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing primarily in the equity securities (common stocks, preferred stocks and convertible securities) of U.S. companies. Investments will be made based on their potential for capital growth without limitation on issuer capitalization.
The Fund's sub-adviser, Bragg Financial Advisors, Inc., invests the Fund's assets by pursuing a value-oriented strategy. The sub-adviser's strategy begins with a screening process that seeks to identify companies whose stocks sell at discounted price-to-earnings (P/E) and price-to-cash flow (P/CF) multiples. The sub-adviser favors companies that maintain strong balance sheets and have experienced management. Generally, the sub-adviser attempts to identify situations where stock prices are undervalued by the market. The sub-adviser generally sells securities when it believes they are trading for more than their intrinsic value, to generate tax losses to offset taxable gains, or if additional cash is needed to fund redemptions.
Principal Risks
Risk is inherent in all investing and you could lose money by investing in the Fund. A summary description of certain principal risks of investing in the Fund is set forth below. Before you decide whether to invest in the Fund, carefully consider these risk factors associated with investing in the Fund, which may cause investors to lose money. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.
Risks Associated with Investing in Equities. Equity securities, generally common stocks, held by the Fund may experience sudden, unpredictable drops in value or long periods of decline in value. This may occur because of factors that affect the securities markets generally, such as adverse changes in economic or political conditions, the general outlook for corporate earnings, interest rates or investor sentiment. Sustained periods of market volatility, either globally or in any jurisdiction in which the Fund invests, may increase the risks associated with an investment in the Fund. Equity securities may also lose value because of factors affecting an entire industry or sector, such as increases in production costs, or factors directly related to a specific company,
3
such as decisions made by its management. Equity securities generally have greater price volatility than debt securities.
Issuer-Specific Changes. The value of an individual security can be more volatile than the market as a whole and can perform differently than the value of the market as a whole. The prices of, and income generated by, securities held by the Fund may decline in response to various factors directly related to the issuers of such securities, including reduced demand for an issuer's goods or services, poor management performance, major litigation, investigations or other controversies related to the issuer, changes in the issuer's financial condition or credit rating, changes in government regulation affecting the issuer or its competitive environment, and strategic initiatives such as mergers, acquisitions or dispositions and the market response to any such initiatives. An individual security may also be affected by factors related to the industry or sector of the issuer or the securities markets as a whole, and conversely an industry or sector or the securities markets may be affected by a change in financial condition or another event affecting a single issuer. At times, the Fund may invest more significantly in a single issuer, which could increase the Fund's volatility and the risk of loss arising from the factors described above.
Stock Market Volatility. Stock markets are volatile and can decline significantly in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments.
Small and Medium Cap Securities. The prices of securities of small and medium capitalization companies generally are more volatile, less liquid, and more likely to be adversely affected by poor economic or market conditions than securities of larger companies. Small and medium size companies may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources, and they may be dependent upon a limited management group.
Risks Associated with Value Investing. Value securities, including those selected by the portfolio manager for the Fund, are subject to the risks that their intrinsic value may never be realized by the market and that their prices may go down. In addition, value style investing may fall out of favor and underperform growth or other styles of investing during given periods. The Fund's value discipline may result in a portfolio of stocks that differs materially from its illustrative index.
Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk as an actively-managed investment portfolio. The sub-adviser's skill in choosing appropriate investments for the Fund will determine, in part, the Fund's ability to achieve its investment objective. The portfolio manager will apply investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the Fund, but there can be no guarantee that these will produce the desired results. The portfolio manager's opinion about the intrinsic worth or creditworthiness of a company or security may be incorrect, the portfolio manager may not make timely purchases or sales of securities for the Fund, the Fund's investment objective may not be achieved, or the market may continue to undervalue the Fund's securities. In addition, the Fund may not be able to quickly dispose of certain securities holdings. The frequency of trading within the Fund impacts portfolio turnover rates, which are shown in the financial highlights table. A higher rate of portfolio turnover could produce higher trading costs and taxable distributions, which would
4
detract from the Fund's performance. Moreover, there can be no assurance that all of the sub-adviser's personnel will continue to be associated with the sub-adviser for any length of time. The loss of services of one or more key employees of the sub-adviser, including the Fund's portfolio manager, could have an adverse impact on the Fund's ability to achieve its investment objective. Certain securities or other instruments in which the Fund seeks to invest may not be available in the quantities desired. In such circumstances, the portfolio manager may determine to purchase other securities or instruments as substitutes. Such substitute securities or instruments may not perform as intended, which could result in losses to the Fund.
Market Risk. The market price of a security or instrument may decline, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably, due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic, political, or geo-political conditions throughout the world, changes in the general outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates, or adverse investor sentiment generally. The market value of a security or instrument also may decline because of factors that affect a particular industry or industries, such as tariffs, labor shortages or increased production costs and competitive conditions within an industry. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, international conflicts, trade disputes, supply chain disruptions, cybersecurity events, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, natural disasters or climate events, or other events could have a significant impact on a security or instrument. The increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market.
ETF Structure Risks. The Fund is an ETF, and, as a result of an ETF's structure, it is exposed to the following risks:
• Authorized Participant 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 act as authorized participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that these institutions 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, shares may trade at a discount to the Fund's net asset value per share ("NAV") and possibly face delisting.
• 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 Fund 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 Fund shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund 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 Fund's NAV and the Fund's market price. This
5
reduced effectiveness could result in Fund shares trading at a discount to NAV and also in greater than normal intra-day bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.
• Fluctuation of NAV Risk. As with all ETFs, shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market prices of shares will approximate the Fund's NAV, there may be times when the market prices of shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount). Differences in market price and NAV 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. These differences can be especially pronounced during times of market volatility or stress. During these periods, the demand for Fund shares may decrease considerably and cause the market price of Fund shares to deviate significantly from the Fund's NAV.
• Market Price Could Vary From NAV Due to Foreign Holdings. The Fund may hold shares of non-U.S. securities traded in local markets that close at a different time than the Exchange. To the extent underlying securities held by the Fund trade on foreign exchanges that are closed when the Exchange is open, there may be deviations between the current price of an underlying security and the last quoted price for the underlying security on the closed foreign market. This could lead to differences between the market price of the Fund's shares and the underlying value of the Fund shares. These differences can be magnified during times of significant market activity.
• Trading Issues Risk. Although the Fund shares are listed for trading on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such Fund shares will develop or be maintained. Trading in Fund shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Fund shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Fund shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange "circuit breaker" rules. Market makers are under no obligation to make a market in the Fund shares, and authorized participants are not obligated to submit purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units (as defined below). 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. Initially, due to the small asset size of the Fund, it may have difficulty maintaining its listings on the Exchange.
• Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Investors buying or selling shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers, as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of shares. In addition, secondary market investors will also incur the cost of the difference between the price at which an investor is willing to buy shares (the "bid" price) and the price at which an investor is willing to sell shares (the "ask" price). This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the "spread" or "bid-ask spread." The bid-ask spread varies over time for shares based on trading volume and market
6
liquidity, and the spread is generally lower if shares have more trading volume and market liquidity and higher if shares have little trading volume and market liquidity. Further, a relatively small investor base in the Fund, asset swings in the Fund, and/or increased market volatility may cause increased bid-ask spreads. Due to the costs of buying or selling shares, including bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
Sector Focus Risk. The Fund may invest a larger portion of its assets in one or more sectors than many other funds, and thus will be more susceptible to negative events affecting those sectors. For example, as of May 31, 2025, 31.6% of the Predecessor Fund's assets were invested in the financial sector, and 26.2% of the Predecessor Fund's assets were invested in the industrial sector.
Financial Sector Risk. Companies in the financial sector are subject to extensive governmental regulation, which may limit both the amounts and types of loans and other financial commitments they can make, the interest rates and fees they can charge, the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge and the amount of capital they must maintain. Profitability is largely dependent on the availability and cost of capital funds and can fluctuate significantly when interest rates change or due to increased competition. In addition, deterioration of the credit markets generally may cause an adverse impact in a broad range of markets, including U.S. and international credit and interbank money markets generally, thereby affecting a wide range of financial institutions and markets. Certain events in the financial sector may cause an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets, both domestic and foreign, and cause certain companies in the financial sector to incur large losses. Securities of companies in the financial sector may experience a dramatic decline in value when such companies experience substantial declines in the valuations of their assets, take action to raise capital (such as the issuance of debt or equity securities), or cease operations. Credit losses resulting from financial difficulties of borrowers and financial losses associated with investment activities can negatively impact the sector. Adverse economic, business or political developments could adversely affect financial institutions engaged in mortgage finance or other lending or investing activities directly or indirectly connected to the value of real estate.
Industrial Sector Risk. Industrial companies are affected by supply and demand both for their specific product or service and for industrial sector products and services in general. Government regulation, world events, exchange rates and economic conditions, technological developments and liabilities for environmental damage and general civil liabilities may likewise affect the performance of these companies. Aerospace and defense companies, a component of the industrial sector, can be significantly affected by government spending policies because companies involved in this industry rely, to a significant extent, on U.S. and foreign government demand for their products and services. Thus, the financial condition of, and investor interest in, aerospace and defense companies are heavily influenced by governmental defense spending policies which are typically under pressure from efforts to control the U.S. (and other) government budgets. Transportation securities, another component of the industrial sector, are cyclical and have occasional sharp price movements which may result from changes in the economy, fuel prices, labor agreements and insurance costs.
7
Recent Market Events. Periods of market volatility may occur in response to market events, public health emergencies, natural disasters or climate events, and other economic, political, and global macro factors. U.S. and international markets have recently experienced, and may continue to experience, periods of significant volatility due to various factors, including uncertainty regarding inflation and central banks' interest rate changes, the possibility of a national or global recession, trade tensions and tariffs, and political and geopolitical events. In addition, wars or threats of war and aggression, such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine and conflicts among nations and militant groups in the Middle East, have led, and in the future may lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on the U.S. and world economies and markets generally, each of which may negatively impact the Fund's investments. Additionally, since the change in the U.S. presidential administration in 2025, the administration has pursued an aggressive foreign policy agenda, including actual or potential imposition of tariffs, which may have consequences on the United States' relations with foreign countries, the economy, and markets generally. These and other similar events could be prolonged and could adversely affect the value and liquidity of the Fund's investments, impair the Fund's ability to satisfy redemption requests, and negatively impact the Fund's performance.
Cybersecurity Risk. Cybersecurity incidents may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, or cause the Fund, the Adviser, the sub-adviser and/or other service providers (including custodians, sub-custodians, transfer agents and financial intermediaries) to suffer data breaches, data corruption or loss of operational functionality. In an extreme case, a shareholder's ability to exchange or redeem Fund shares may be affected. The use of artificial intelligence and machine learning could exacerbate these risks. Issuers of securities in which the Fund invests are also subject to cybersecurity risks, and the value of those securities could decline if the issuers experience cybersecurity incidents.
Who May Want to Invest in the Fund?
The Fund is designed for investors who:
• seek an aggressive stock fund with the long-term goal of growth of capital;
• seek a fund to complement a portfolio of more conservative investments; and
• are willing to accept significant changes (up or down) in the value of an investment.
The Fund is NOT appropriate for investors who:
• want to avoid high volatility or possible losses;
• want an investment that pursues market trends or focuses on particular sectors or industries;
• are pursuing a short term goal or investing emergency reserve money; and
• are seeking regular income or preservation of capital.
8
Performance
The Fund will acquire the assets and liabilities of the FPA Queens Road Value Fund (the "Predecessor Fund"), a series of Investment Managers Series Trust III, through the reorganization of the Predecessor Fund into the Fund (the "Reorganization"). As a result of the Reorganization, the Fund will be the accounting and performance successor of the Predecessor Fund.
The returns presented for the periods prior to July 28, 2023, reflect the performance of the FPA Queens Road Value Fund (the "Value Fund"), which was a series of Bragg Capital Trust and reorganized into the Predecessor Fund on July 28, 2023. As a result of this reorganization, the Predecessor Fund adopted the accounting and performance history of the Value Fund.
Performance results shown in the bar chart and the performance table below for periods prior to the Reorganization reflect the performance of the Predecessor Fund and the Value Fund.
The bar chart and Average Annual Total Returns table below 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 returns for the 1, 5 and 10 calendar year periods compare with those of the S&P 500 Index, a broad-based market index, and the S&P 500 Value Index, an additional index that provides a measure of the U.S. large cap value equity market. The chart and table reflect the reinvestment of dividends and distributions. In addition, past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. To obtain updated monthly performance information, please visit the Fund's website at https://fpav/fpa.com or call (800) 982-4372.
Calendar-Year Total Return (before taxes)
For each calendar year at NAV
Highest Calendar Quarter Return at NAV 15.04% (Quarter ended 12/31/2022)
Lowest Calendar Quarter Return at NAV (20.97)% (Quarter ended 03/31/2020)
9
|
Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2025) |
One Year |
Five Years |
Ten Years |
||||||||||||
|
Return Before Taxes |
6.05 |
% |
11.26 |
% |
11.39 |
% |
|||||||||
|
Return After Taxes on Distributions1 |
5.36 |
% |
9.84 |
% |
10.02 |
% |
|||||||||
|
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares1 |
4.08 |
% |
8.72 |
% |
9.07 |
% |
|||||||||
|
S&P 500 Index |
17.88 |
% |
14.42 |
% |
14.82 |
% |
|||||||||
|
S&P 500 Value Index |
13.19 |
% |
12.96 |
% |
11.73 |
% |
|||||||||
1 After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on a shareholder's tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns are not relevant if you hold your Fund shares in tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts ("IRA").
Investment Adviser
First Pacific Advisors, LP ("FPA" or the "Adviser") serves as the Fund's investment adviser.
Sub-Adviser
Bragg Financial Advisors, Inc. ("BFA") is the Fund's investment sub-adviser.
Portfolio Managers
Steve Scruggs, CFA, Director of Research and Senior Portfolio Manager of the sub-adviser, has served the Fund as portfolio manager since the Reorganization of the Predecessor Fund. Mr. Scruggs has served as portfolio manager of the Predecessor Fund since July 2023, and the Value Fund since 2004.
Purchase and Sale of Shares
The Fund issues and redeems shares on a continuous basis, at NAV, only in large blocks of shares called "Creation Units." Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the shares are not redeemable securities of the Fund.
Individual shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold on the secondary market through a broker-dealer. Since shares of the Fund trade on securities exchanges in the secondary market at their market price rather than their NAV, the Fund's shares may trade at a price greater than (premium) or less than (discount) the Fund's NAV. An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the "bid-ask spread"). Recent information, including the Fund's NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads, is available online at https://fpav/fpa.com.
10
Tax Information
The Fund's distributions will generally be taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend 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), the Adviser and Distribution 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.
11
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND'S PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS
The Fund is a series of Investment Managers Series Trust III (the "Trust") and is regulated as an "investment company" under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"). The Fund's investment objective is fundamental and may not be changed without approval by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. Unless an investment policy is identified as being fundamental, all investment policies included in this prospectus and the Fund's Statement of Additional Information ("SAI") are non-fundamental and may be changed by the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the "Board") without shareholder approval. If there is a material change to the Fund's investment objective or principal investment strategies, you should consider whether the Fund remains an appropriate investment for you. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.
Investment Objective
The Fund's objective is long-term capital growth.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing primarily in the equity securities (common stocks, preferred stocks and convertible securities) of U.S. companies. Investments will be made based on their potential for capital growth without limitation on issuer capitalization.
BFA invests the Fund's assets by pursuing a value-oriented strategy. BFA's strategy begins with a screening process that seeks to identify companies whose stocks sell at discounted price-to-earnings (P/E) and price-to-cash flow (P/CF) multiples. BFA favors companies that maintain strong balance sheets and have experienced management. Generally, BFA attempts to identify situations where stock prices are undervalued by the market. BFA generally sells securities when it believes they are trading for more than their intrinsic value, to generate tax losses to offset taxable gains, or if additional cash is needed to fund redemptions.
Non-Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund reserves the right to invest in other securities, as further detailed in the Fund's SAI.
Temporary Defensive Positions
To respond to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions, the Fund may invest 100% of its total assets, without limitation, in cash, cash equivalents, high-quality short-term debt securities, and money market instruments. These short-term debt securities and money market instruments include: shares of money market mutual funds, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, bankers' acceptances, U.S. government securities and repurchase agreements. While the Fund is in a defensive position, the opportunity to achieve its investment objective will be limited. Furthermore, to the extent that the Fund invests in money market mutual funds for cash positions, there will be some duplication of expenses because the Fund pays a proportional amount of such
12
money market funds' advisory fees and operational fees. The Fund may also invest a substantial portion of its assets in such instruments at any time to maintain liquidity or pending selection of investments in accordance with its policies.
Percentage Investment Limitations
Unless otherwise stated, all percentage limitations on Fund investments listed in this prospectus will apply at the time of purchase. The Fund would not violate these limitations unless an excess or deficiency occurs or exists immediately after and as a result of an investment.
Principal Risks
Risk is inherent in all investing and you could lose money by investing in the Fund. A summary description of certain principal risks of investing in the Fund is set forth below. Before you decide whether to invest in the Fund, carefully consider these risk factors associated with investing in the Fund, which may cause investors to lose money. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.
Risks Associated with Investing in Equities. Equity securities, generally common stocks, held by the Fund may experience sudden, unpredictable drops in value or long periods of decline in value. This may occur because of factors that affect the securities markets generally, such as adverse changes in economic or political conditions, the general outlook for corporate earnings, interest rates or investor sentiment. Sustained periods of market volatility may increase the risks associated with an investment in the Fund. Equity securities may also lose value because of factors affecting an entire industry or sector, such as increases in production costs or factors directly related to a specific company, such as decisions made by its management.
Common stock of an issuer in the Fund's portfolio may decline in price if the issuer fails to make anticipated dividend payments because, among other reasons, the issuer of the security experiences a decline in its financial condition. Common stock is subordinated to preferred stocks, bonds, and other debt instruments in a company's capital structure, in terms of priority with respect to corporate income, and therefore will be subject to greater dividend risk than preferred stocks or debt instruments of such issuers. In addition, while broad market measures of common stocks have historically generated higher average returns than fixed income securities, common stocks have also experienced significantly more volatility in those returns. Because preferred stock is generally junior to debt securities and other obligations of the issuer, deterioration in the credit quality of the issuer will cause greater changes in the value of a preferred stock than in a more senior debt security with similar stated yield characteristics.
Issuer-Specific Changes. The value of an individual security can be more volatile than the market as a whole and can perform differently than the value of the market as a whole. The prices of, and income generated by, securities held by the Fund may decline in response to various factors directly related to the issuers of such securities, including reduced demand for an issuer's goods or services, poor management performance, major litigation, investigations or other controversies related to the issuer, changes in the issuer's financial condition or credit rating, changes in government regulation affecting the issuer or its competitive environment,
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and strategic initiatives such as mergers, acquisitions or dispositions and the market response to any such initiatives. An individual security may also be affected by factors related to the industry or sector of the issuer or the securities markets as a whole, and conversely an industry or sector or the securities markets may be affected by a change in financial condition or another event affecting a single issuer. To the extent that the securities of issuers in the same or related industries or sectors behave similarly to each other, and these issuers make up a sizeable portion of the market, events affecting one issuer, industry or sector or the securities markets generally may have a larger impact. If such issuers represent a substantial portion of major market indices, a downturn in their stock prices may have a disproportionate adverse effect on the overall equity markets, even if other segments of the market perform well. At times, the Fund may invest more significantly in a single issuer, which could increase the Fund's volatility and the risk of loss arising from the factors described above.
Stock Market Volatility. While stocks have historically outperformed other asset classes over the long term, stock markets are volatile and can decline significantly in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments. Different parts of the market can react differently to these developments.
Small and Medium Cap Securities. Investing in the securities of small and medium capitalization companies involves special risks. Among other things, the prices of securities of these companies generally are more volatile than those of larger companies; the securities of small and medium capitalization companies generally are less liquid; and smaller companies generally are more likely to be adversely affected by poor economic or market conditions. In addition, it is anticipated that some of the Fund's portfolio securities may not be widely traded, and that the Fund's position in such securities may be substantial in relation to the market for such securities. Accordingly, it may be difficult for the Fund to dispose of such securities quickly at prevailing market prices. Investments in securities of companies with small and medium market capitalizations are generally considered to offer greater opportunity for appreciation but also may involve greater risks than customarily are associated with more established companies. The securities of smaller and medium capitalization companies may be subject to more abrupt fluctuations in market price than larger, more established companies. Small and medium capitalization companies have limited product lines, markets or financial resources, or they may be dependent upon a limited management group. In addition to exhibiting greater volatility, small cap stocks may, to a degree, fluctuate independently of larger cap stocks, i.e., small cap stocks may decline in price as the prices of large cap stocks rise or vice versa.
Risks Associated with Value Investing. Value securities, including those selected by the portfolio manager for the Fund, are subject to the risks that their intrinsic value may never be realized by the market and that their prices may go down. In addition, value style investing may fall out of favor and underperform growth or other styles of investing during given periods. The Fund's value discipline may result in a portfolio of stocks that differs materially from its illustrative index.
Securities selected by the portfolio manager using a value strategy may never reach their intrinsic value because the market fails to recognize what the portfolio manager considers to be the true business value or because the portfolio manager has misjudged those values. There
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may be periods during which the investment performance of the Fund suffers while using a value strategy.
Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk as an actively managed investment portfolio. The sub-adviser's skill in choosing appropriate investments for the Fund will determine in part the Fund's ability to achieve its investment objective. The portfolio manager will apply investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the Fund, but there can be no guarantee that these will produce the desired results. The portfolio manager's opinion about the intrinsic worth or creditworthiness of a company or security may be incorrect, the portfolio manager may not make timely purchases or sales of securities for the Fund, the Fund's investment objective may not be achieved, or the market may continue to undervalue the Fund's securities. In addition, the Fund may not be able to quickly dispose of certain securities holdings. The frequency of trading within the Fund impacts portfolio turnover rates, which are shown in the financial highlights table. A higher rate of portfolio turnover could produce higher trading costs and taxable distributions, which would detract from the Fund's performance. Moreover, there can be no assurance that all of the sub-adviser's personnel will continue to be associated with the sub-adviser for any length of time. The loss of services of one or more key employees of the sub-adviser, including the portfolio manager, could have an adverse impact on the Fund's ability to achieve its investment objective. Certain securities or other instruments in which the Fund seeks to invest may not be available in the quantities desired. In such circumstances, the portfolio manager may determine to purchase other securities or instruments as substitutes. Such substitute securities or instruments may not perform as intended, which could result in losses to the Fund.
Market Risk. The market price of a security or instrument may decline, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably, due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic, political, or geopolitical conditions throughout the world, changes in the general outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates, or adverse investor sentiment generally. The market value of a security or instrument also may decline because of factors that affect a particular industry or industries, such as tariffs, labor shortages or increased production costs and competitive conditions within an industry. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, international conflicts, trade disputes, supply chain disruptions, cybersecurity events, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, natural disasters or climate events, or other events could have a significant impact on a security or instrument. Such events could make identifying investment risks and opportunities especially difficult for the Adviser. In response to certain crises, the United States and other governments have taken steps to support financial markets. The withdrawal of this support or failure of efforts in response to a crisis could negatively affect financial markets generally as well as the value and liquidity of certain securities. In addition, policy and legislative changes in the United States and in other countries are changing many aspects of financial regulation. The impact of these changes on the markets, and the practical implications for market participants, may not be fully known for some time. The increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market.
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ETF Structure Risks. The Fund is an ETF, and, as a result of an ETF's structure, it is exposed to the following risks:
• Authorized Participant 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 act as authorized participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that these institutions 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, shares may trade at a discount to the Fund's NAV and possibly face delisting.
• 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 Fund 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 Fund shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Fund 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 Fund's NAV and the Fund's market price. This reduced effectiveness could result in Fund shares trading at a discount to NAV and also in greater than normal intra-day bid-ask spreads for Fund shares.
• Fluctuation of Net Asset Value Risk. As with all ETFs, shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market prices of shares will approximate the Fund's NAV, there may be times when the market prices of shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount). Differences in market price and NAV 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. These differences can be especially pronounced during times of market volatility or stress. During these periods, the demand for Fund shares may decrease considerably and cause the market price of Fund shares to deviate significantly from the Fund's NAV.
• Market Price Could Vary From NAV Due to Foreign Holdings. The Fund may hold shares of non-U.S. securities traded in local markets that close at a different time than the Exchange. To the extent underlying securities held by the Fund trade on foreign exchanges that are closed when the Exchange is open, there may be deviations between the current price of an underlying security and the last quoted price for the underlying security on the closed foreign market. This could lead to differences between the market price of the Fund's shares and the underlying value of the Fund shares. These differences can be magnified during times of significant market activity.
• Trading Issues Risk. Although the Fund shares are listed for trading on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such Fund shares will develop
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or be maintained. Trading in Fund shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Fund shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Fund shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange "circuit breaker" rules. Market makers are under no obligation to make a market in the Fund shares, and authorized participants are not obligated to submit purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. 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. Initially, due to the small asset size of the Fund, it may have difficulty maintaining its listings on the Exchange.
• Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Investors buying or selling shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers, as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of shares. In addition, secondary market investors will also incur the cost of the difference between the price at which an investor is willing to buy shares (the "bid" price) and the price at which an investor is willing to sell shares (the "ask" price). This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the "spread" or "bid-ask spread." The bid-ask spread varies over time for shares based on trading volume and market liquidity, and the spread is generally lower if shares have more trading volume and market liquidity and higher if shares have little trading volume and market liquidity. Further, a relatively small investor base in the Fund, asset swings in the Fund, and/or increased market volatility may cause increased bid-ask spreads. Due to the costs of buying or selling shares, including bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
Sector Focus Risk. From time to time, the Fund may invest a significant amount of its total assets in each of certain sectors of the economy. Each of those sectors may be subject to specific risks. These risks include governmental regulation of the sector and governmental monetary and fiscal policies, which may impact interest rates and currencies and affect corporate funding and international trade. Certain sectors may be more vulnerable than others to these factors. In addition, market sentiment and expectations toward a particular sector could affect a company's market valuation and access to equity funding. For example, as of May 31, 2025, 31.6% of the Predecessor Fund's total assets were invested in the financial sector, and 26.2% of the Predecessor Fund's total assets were invested in the industrial sector.
Financial Sector Risk. Companies in the financial sector are subject to extensive governmental regulation, which may limit both the amounts and types of loans and other financial commitments they can make, the interest rates and fees they can charge, the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge and the amount of capital they must maintain. Profitability is largely dependent on the availability and cost of capital funds and can fluctuate significantly when interest rates change or due to increased competition. In addition, deterioration of the credit markets generally may cause an adverse impact in a broad range of markets, including U.S. and international credit and interbank money markets generally, thereby affecting a wide
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range of financial institutions and markets. Certain events in the financial sector may cause an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets, both domestic and foreign, and cause certain companies in the financial sector to incur large losses. Securities of companies in the financial sector may experience a dramatic decline in value when such companies experience substantial declines in the valuations of their assets, take action to raise capital (such as the issuance of debt or equity securities), or cease operations. Credit losses resulting from financial difficulties of borrowers and financial losses associated with investment activities can negatively impact the sector. Adverse economic, business or political developments could adversely affect financial institutions engaged in mortgage finance or other lending or investing activities directly or indirectly connected to the value of real estate.
Industrial Sector Risk. Industrial companies are affected by supply and demand both for their specific product or service and for industrial sector products and services in general. Government regulation, world events, exchange rates and economic conditions, technological developments and liabilities for environmental damage and general civil liabilities may likewise affect the performance of these companies. Aerospace and defense companies, a component of the industrial sector, can be significantly affected by government spending policies because companies involved in this industry rely, to a significant extent, on U.S. and foreign government demand for their products and services. Thus, the financial condition of, and investor interest in, aerospace and defense companies are heavily influenced by governmental defense spending policies which are typically under pressure from efforts to control the U.S. (and other) government budgets. Transportation securities, another component of the industrial sector, are cyclical and have occasional sharp price movements which may result from changes in the economy, fuel prices, labor agreements and insurance costs.
Recent Market Events. Periods of market volatility may occur in response to market events, public health emergencies, natural disasters or climate events, and other economic, political, and global macro factors. U.S. and international markets have recently experienced, and may continue to experience, periods of significant volatility due to various factors, including uncertainty regarding inflation and central banks' interest rate changes, the possibility of a national or global recession, trade tensions and tariffs, and political and geopolitical events. In addition, wars or threats of war and aggression, such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine and conflicts among nations and militant groups in the Middle East, have led, and in the future may lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on the U.S. and world economies and markets generally, each of which may negatively impact the Fund's investments. Additionally, since the change in the U.S. presidential administration in 2025, the administration has pursued an aggressive foreign policy agenda, including through suggestions that the United States should control sovereign foreign territories, attempts to restructure federal government agencies with international influence, and the actual or potential imposition of tariffs on foreign countries, including China and long-time U.S. allies. In particular, the imposition of tariffs has led to retaliatory tariffs by certain foreign countries and could lead to retaliatory tariffs imposed by additional foreign countries, as well as increased and prolonged market volatility, and sector-specific downturns in industries reliant on international trade.
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In September 2024, the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates for the first time since 2020. Changing interest rate environments (whether downward or upward) impact various sectors of the economy and asset classes in different ways. For example, low interest rate environments tend to be positive for the equity markets, whereas high interest rate environments tend to apply downward pressure on earnings and equity prices.
In addition, raising the ceiling on U.S. government debt and passing periodic legislation to fund the government have become increasingly politicized. Any failure to do either could lead to a default on U.S. government obligations, with unpredictable consequences for economies and markets in the United States and elsewhere.
The events and circumstances described above could be prolonged and could adversely affect the value and liquidity of the Fund's investments, impair the Fund's ability to satisfy redemption requests, and negatively impact the Fund's performance. Other market events may cause similar disruptions and effects.
Cybersecurity Risk. Cybersecurity incidents may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, or cause the Fund, the Adviser, and/or other service providers (including custodians, sub-custodians, transfer agents and financial intermediaries) to suffer data breaches, data corruption or loss of operational functionality. A cybersecurity incident may disrupt the processing of shareholder transactions, impact the Fund's ability to calculate its NAV, and prevent shareholders from redeeming their shares. The use of artificial intelligence and machine learning could exacerbate these risks. Issuers of securities in which the Fund invests are also subject to cybersecurity risks, and the value of those securities could decline if the issuers experience cybersecurity incidents.
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings
The Fund's portfolio holdings will be disclosed each day on its website at https://fpav/fpa.com. A description of the Trust's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund's portfolio holdings is available in the Fund's SAI, which is available at https://fpav/fpa.com. Currently, disclosure of the Fund's holdings is required to be made quarterly within 60 days of the end of each fiscal quarter in the Fund's Financials and Other Information, which is included in the Fund's Form N-CSR filings, and in its monthly holdings report on Form N-PORT. For instructions on how to obtain an SAI, please refer to the back cover of this Prospectus.
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND
The Fund is a series of the Trust, an investment company registered under the 1940 Act. The Fund is treated as a separate fund with its own investment objective and policies. The Trust is organized as a Delaware statutory 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, custodian and fund administrative and accounting agent.
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Investment Adviser
First Pacific Advisors, LP, located at 2101 E. El Segundo Blvd., Suite 301, El Segundo, California 90245, serves as the investment adviser for the Fund. The Adviser is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. The Adviser manages accounts for individuals and institutions as well as the Fund. As of December 31, 2025, the Adviser had approximately $31.9 billion in assets under management. Subject to the oversight of the Board, the Adviser is responsible for managing the Fund's investments, placing trade orders and providing related administrative services and facilities under an advisory agreement between the Fund and the Adviser (the "Investment Advisory Agreement").
As compensation for the management and advisory services furnished to the Fund, the Adviser will be paid an annual advisory fee of 0.95% of the Fund's average daily net assets. For the fiscal year ended May 31, 2025, FPA received advisory fees of 0.25% of the Predecessor Fund's average daily net assets, after waiving fees pursuant to its expense limitation agreement with the Trust on behalf of the Predecessor Fund.
Sub-Adviser
Bragg Financial Advisors, Inc., a registered investment adviser located at 1031 South Caldwell Street, Suite 200, Charlotte, NC 28203, serves as the Fund's sub-adviser. BFA provides investment management and supervision to individuals and institutions. As of December 31, 2025, BFA manages approximately $4.6 billion on a discretionary basis. For its sub-advisory investment services, BFA receives a sub-advisory fee from FPA, computed quarterly and paid monthly, at a rate of approximately 0.57% of the Fund's average daily net assets.
A discussion regarding the basis for the Board's approval of the Investment Advisory Agreement and Sub-Advisory Agreement will be available in the Fund's first Form N-CSR following the reorganization.
Portfolio Manager
Steve Scruggs, CFA has been employed by BFA since January 2000. Mr. Scruggs is Director of Research and Senior Portfolio Manager of BFA. Mr. Scruggs holds a Bachelor's Degree from North Carolina State University and an MBA from Wake Forest University. He is a CFA charter holder and member of the CFA Institute.
The Fund's Statement of Additional Information contains additional information regarding Mr. Scruggs' compensation, other accounts managed by Mr. Scruggs, and Mr. Scruggs's ownership of securities in the Fund.
Fund Expenses
FPA has contractually agreed to waive management fees and to reimburse the Fund for Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage fees and commissions payable by the Fund in connection with the purchase or sale of portfolio securities, fees and expenses of other
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funds in which the Fund invests, and extraordinary expenses, including litigation expenses not incurred in the Fund's ordinary course of business) in excess of, in the aggregate, per annum, 0.73% with respect to Fund's average daily net assets for a period of two years following the Reorganization of the Predecessor Fund. These fee waivers and expense reimbursements are subject to possible recoupment by the adviser from the Fund in future years (within three years from the date when the amount is waived or reimbursed) if such recoupment can be achieved within the lesser of the foregoing expense limits or the then-current expense limits. This agreement may only be terminated earlier by the Fund's Board of Trustees or upon termination of the Advisory Agreement.
BUYING AND SELLING FUND SHARES
Fund shares are listed for trading on the Exchange. When you buy or sell the Fund's shares on the secondary market, you will pay or receive the market price. You may incur customary brokerage commissions and charges and 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. The shares of the Fund will trade on the Exchange at prices that may differ to varying degrees from the daily NAV of such shares. A "Business Day" with respect to the Fund is any day on which the Exchange is open for business. The Exchange is generally open Monday through Friday and is closed on weekends and the following holidays: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
The Fund's NAV is calculated as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, the normal close of regular trading on the Exchange, on each day the Exchange is open for trading. If for example, the Exchange closes at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time, the Fund's NAVs would still be determined as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. In this example, portfolio securities traded on the Exchange would be valued at their closing prices unless the Adviser determines that a "fair value" adjustment is appropriate due to subsequent events. The NAV is determined by dividing the value of the Fund's portfolio securities, cash and other assets (including accrued interest), less all liabilities (including accrued expenses), by the total number of outstanding shares. The Fund's NAV may be calculated earlier if permitted by the SEC. The Exchange is closed on weekends and most U.S. national holidays. However, foreign securities listed primarily on non-U.S. markets may trade on weekends or other days on which the Fund does not value its shares, which may significantly affect the Fund's NAV on those days.
The Fund's securities generally are valued at market price. Securities are valued at fair value when market quotations are not readily available. The Board has designated the Adviser as the Fund's valuation designee (the "Valuation Designee") to make all fair value determinations with respect to the Fund's portfolio investments, subject to the Board's oversight. As the Valuation Designee, the Adviser has adopted and implemented policies and procedures to be followed when the Fund must utilize fair value pricing, including when reliable market quotations are not readily available, when the Fund's pricing service does not provide a valuation (or provides a valuation that, in the judgment of the Adviser, does not represent the security's fair value), or when, in the judgment of the Adviser, events have rendered the market value unreliable (see, for example, the discussion of fair value pricing of foreign securities in the paragraph below). Valuing securities at fair value involves reliance on the judgment of the Adviser, and may result in a different price being used in
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the calculation of the Fund's NAV from quoted or published prices for the same securities. Fair value determinations are made by the Adviser, in good faith, in accordance with procedures approved by the Board. There can be no assurance that the Fund will obtain the fair value assigned to a security if it sells the security.
Other types of portfolio securities that the Adviser may fair value include, but are not limited to: (1) investments that are illiquid or traded infrequently, including "restricted" securities and private placements for which there is no public market; (2) investments for which, in the judgment of the Adviser, the market price is stale; (3) securities of an issuer that has entered into a restructuring; (4) securities for which trading has been halted or suspended; and (5) fixed income securities for which there is not a current market value quotation.
Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Fund Shares
The Fund does not impose any restrictions on the frequency of purchases and redemptions of Creation Units; however, the Fund reserves the right to reject or limit purchases at any time as described in the SAI. When considering that no restriction or policy was necessary, the Board evaluated the risks posed by arbitrage and market timing activities, such as whether frequent purchases and redemptions would interfere with the efficient implementation of the Fund's investment strategy, or whether they would cause the Fund to experience increased transaction costs. The Board considered that, unlike traditional mutual funds, shares of the Fund are issued and redeemed only in large quantities of shares known as Creation Units available only from the Fund directly to authorized participants, and that most trading in the Fund occurs on the Exchange at prevailing market prices and does not involve the Fund directly. Given this structure, the Board determined that it is unlikely that trading due to arbitrage opportunities or market timing by shareholders would result in negative impact to the Fund or its shareholders. In addition, frequent trading of shares of the Fund done by authorized participantsand arbitrageurs is critical to ensuring that the market price remains at or close to NAV.
Availability of Information
Each Business Day, the following information will be available at https://fpav/fpa.com with respect to the Fund: (i) information for each portfolio holding that will form the basis of the next calculation of the Fund's NAV per share; (ii) the Fund's NAV per share, market price, and premium or discount, each as of the end of the prior Business Day; (iii) a table showing the number of days the Fund's shares traded at a premium or discount during the most recently completed calendar year and the most recently completed calendar quarter since that year; (iv) a line graph showing Fund share premiums or discounts for the most recently completed calendar year and the most recently completed calendar quarter since that year; (v) the Fund's median bid-ask spread over the last thirty calendar days; and (vi) if during the past year the Fund's premium or discount was greater than 2% for more than seven consecutive trading days, a statement that the Fund's premium or discount, as applicable, was greater than 2% and a discussion of the factors that are reasonably believed to have materially contributed to the premium or discount.
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DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES
Fund Distributions
The Fund pays out dividends from its net investment income quarterly and distributes its net capital gains, if any, to investors at least annually. The Fund may also make additional payments of dividends or distributions if it deems it desirable at any other time during the year.
Dividend Reinvestment Service
No dividend reinvestment service is provided by the Fund. 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 broker 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.
Distributions in cash may be reinvested automatically in additional whole shares only if the broker through whom you purchased shares makes such option available.
Federal Income Tax Consequences
The following discussion is very general and does not address investors subject to special rules, such as investors who hold Fund shares through an IRA, 401(k) plan or other tax-advantaged account. The SAI contains further information about taxes. Because each shareholder's circumstances are different and special tax rules may apply, you should consult your tax advisor about your investment in the Fund.
You will generally have to pay federal income taxes, as well as any state or local taxes, on distributions received from the Fund, whether paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares. If you sell Fund shares, it is generally considered a taxable event. Distributions of net investment income, other than distributions the Fund reports as "qualified dividend income," are taxable for federal income tax purposes at ordinary income tax rates. Distributions of net short-term capital gains are also generally taxable at ordinary income tax rates. Distributions from the Fund's net capital gain (i.e., the excess of its net long-term capital gain over its net short-term capital loss) are taxable for federal income tax purposes as long-term capital gain, regardless of how long the shareholder has held Fund shares.
Dividends paid by the Fund (but none of the Fund's capital gain distributions) may qualify in part for the dividends-received deduction available to corporate shareholders, provided certain holding period and other requirements are satisfied. Distributions that the Fund reports as "qualified dividend income" may be eligible to be taxed to non-corporate shareholders at the reduced rates applicable to long-term capital gain if derived from the Fund's qualified dividend income and/or if certain other requirements are satisfied. "Qualified dividend income" generally is income derived from dividends paid by U.S. corporations or certain foreign corporations that are either incorporated
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in a U.S. possession or eligible for tax benefits under certain U.S. income tax treaties. In addition, dividends that the Fund receives in respect of stock of certain foreign corporations may be qualified dividend income if that stock is readily tradable on an established U.S. securities market.
If, at the time you purchase shares of the Fund, the Fund has recognized gain or income and has not yet distributed that gain or income or the Fund has unrealized gain in its assets, you may subsequently receive a portion of your purchase price back as a taxable dividend.
Although distributions are generally taxable when received, dividends declared in October, November or December to shareholders of record as of a date in such month and paid during the following January are treated as if received on December 31 of the calendar year when the dividends were declared.
Information on the federal income tax status of dividends and distributions is provided annually.
Dividends and distributions from the Fund and net gain from sales of Fund shares will generally be taken into account in determining a shareholder's "net investment income" for purposes of the 3.8% Medicare contribution tax applicable to certain individuals, estates and trusts.
If you do not provide the Fund with your correct taxpayer identification number and any required certifications, you will be subject to backup withholding on your dividends and other distributions. The backup withholding rate is currently 24%.
Dividends and certain other payments made by the Fund to a non-U.S. shareholder are subject to withholding of federal income tax at the rate of 30% (or such lower rate as may be determined in accordance with any applicable treaty). Dividends that are reported by the Fund as "interest-related dividends" or "short-term capital gain dividends" are generally exempt from such withholding. In general, the Fund may report interest-related dividends to the extent of its net income derived from U.S.-source interest and the Fund may report short-term capital gain dividends to the extent its net short-term capital gain for the taxable year exceeds its net long-term capital loss. Backup withholding will not be applied to payments that have been subject to the 30% withholding tax described in this paragraph.
Under legislation commonly referred to as "FATCA," unless certain non-U.S. entities that hold shares comply with Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") requirements that will generally require them to report information regarding U.S. persons investing in, or holding accounts with, such entities, a 30% withholding tax may apply to dividends payable to such entities. A non-U.S. shareholder may be exempt from the withholding described in this paragraph under an applicable intergovernmental agreement between the United States and a foreign government, provided that the shareholder and the applicable foreign government comply with the terms of the agreement.
Some of the Fund's investment income may be subject to foreign income taxes that are withheld at the country of origin. Tax treaties between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes, but there can be no assurance that the Fund will qualify for treaty benefits.
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An authorized participant who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time and the sum of the exchanger's aggregate basis in the securities surrendered plus the amount of any cash paid for such Creation Units. A person who redeems Creation Units will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanger's basis in the Creation Units and the sum of the aggregate market value of any securities received plus the amount of any cash received for such Creation Units. The IRS, however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing "wash sales," or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position.
Any gain or loss realized upon a creation of Creation Units will be treated as capital gain or loss if the authorized participant holds the securities exchanged therefor as capital assets, and otherwise will be ordinary income or loss. Similarly, any gain or loss realized upon a redemption of Creation Units will be treated as capital gain or loss if the authorized participantholds the shares of the Fund comprising the Creation Units as capital assets, and otherwise will be ordinary income or loss. Any capital gain or loss realized upon the creation of Creation Units will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the securities exchanged for such Creation Units have been held for more than one year, and otherwise will be short-term capital gain or loss. Any capital gain or loss realized upon the redemption of Creation Units will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the shares of the Fund comprising the Creation Units have been held for more than one year, and otherwise, will generally be short-term capital gain or loss. Any capital loss realized upon a redemption of Creation Units held for 6 months or less will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any amounts treated as distributions to the applicable authorized participant of long-term capital gains with respect to the Creation Units (including any amounts credited to the authorized participant as undistributed capital gains).
The Fund has the right to reject an order for Creation Units if the purchaser (or a group of purchasers) would, upon obtaining the shares of the Fund so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund and if, pursuant to Section 351 of the Code, the Fund would have a basis in any securities different from the market value of such securities on the date of deposit. The Fund also has the right to require information necessary to determine beneficial share ownership for purposes of the 80% determination. If the Fund does issue Creation Units to a purchaser (or a group of purchasers) that would, upon obtaining the shares of the Fund so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund, the purchaser (or a group of purchasers) may not recognize gain or loss upon the exchange of securities for Creation Units.
Persons purchasing or redeeming Creation Units should consult their own tax advisors with respect to the tax treatment of any creation or redemption transaction.
DISTRIBUTOR
Distribution Services, LLC, located at 190 Middle Street, Suite 301, Portland, Maine 04101, Portland, Maine 04101, serves as the distributor for the shares of the Fund. The Distributor is a registered broker-dealer and member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. ("FINRA").
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FUND SERVICE PROVIDERS
Co-Administrators. UMB Fund Services, Inc. ("UMBFS"), 235 West Galena Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212, and Mutual Fund Administration, LLC ("MFAC"), 2220 E. Route 66, Suite 226, Glendora, California 91740 (collectively the "Co-Administrators"), serve as co-administrators for the Fund. Pursuant to the Co-Administration Agreement, the Co-Administrators receive a fee for administration services based on the Fund's average daily net assets, which is paid by the Adviser.
Transfer Agent. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., located at 50 Post Office Square, Boston, Massachusetts 02110, serves as the Fund's transfer agent. The transfer agent provides record keeping and shareholder services.
Custodian. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., located at 50 Post Office Square, Boston, Massachusetts 02110, serves as the Fund's custodian. The custodian holds the securities, cash and other assets of the Fund.
Fund Accounting Agent. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., located at 50 Post Office Square, Boston, Massachusetts 02110, serves as the fund accounting agent for the Fund. The fund accounting agent calculates the Fund's daily NAV.
Legal Counsel. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, 600 Anton Boulevard, Suite 1800, Costa Mesa, California 92626, serves as legal counsel to the Trust and to the Independent Trustees.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. Tait, Weller & Baker LLP, Two Liberty Place, 50 S. 16th Street, Suite 2900, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102-2529, serves as the Fund's independent registered public accounting firm and is responsible for auditing the annual financial statements of the Fund.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Investments by Other Registered Investment Companies
For purposes of the 1940 Act, the Fund is treated as a registered investment company. Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act restricts investments by investment companies in the securities of other investment companies, including shares of the Fund. Rule 12d1-4 permits other investment companies to invest in the Fund beyond the limits in Section 12(d)(1), subject to certain terms and conditions, including that such registered investment companies enter into an agreement with the Trust.
Continuous Offering
The method by which Creation Units are purchased and traded may raise certain issues under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation Units are issued and sold by the Fund on an ongoing basis, at any point a "distribution," as such term is used in the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), may occur. Broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed
26
participants in a distribution in a manner which could render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the Prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the Securities Act.
For example, a broker-dealer firm or its client may be deemed a statutory underwriter if it takes Creation Units after placing an order with the transfer agent, breaks them down into individual shares, and sells such shares directly to customers, or if it chooses to couple the creation of a supply of new shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary market demand for shares. A determination of whether one is an underwriter for purposes of the Securities Act must take into account all the facts and circumstances pertaining to the activities of the broker-dealer or its client in the particular case, and the examples mentioned above should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could lead to categorization as an underwriter.
Broker-dealer firms should also note that dealers who are not "underwriters" but are effecting transactions in shares of the Fund, whether or not participating in the distribution of shares of the Fund, are generally required to deliver a prospectus. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act is not available with respect to such transactions as a result of Section 24(d) of the 1940 Act. As a result, broker dealer-firms should note that dealers who are not underwriters but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted with ordinary secondary market transactions) and thus dealing with shares of the Fund that are part of an unsold allotment within the meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the Securities Act would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act. Firms that incur a prospectus delivery obligation with respect to shares of the Fund are reminded that under Rule 153 under the Securities Act, a prospectus delivery obligation under Section 5(b)(2) of the Securities Act owed to an exchange member in connection with a sale on the Exchange is satisfied by the fact that the Fund's Prospectus is available on the SEC's electronic filing system. The prospectus delivery mechanism provided in Rule 153 is only available with respect to transactions on an exchange.
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FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The Predecessor Fund's Financial Highlights for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2025, are incorporated in this Prospectus by reference to the Predecessor Fund's Annual Financials and Other Information, which are included as part of the Predecessor Fund's most recent Form N-CSRfiling. The Predecessor Fund's Form N-CSR filings can be located on the SEC's website, and the Predecessor Fund's Annual Financials and Other Information are available upon request (see back cover).
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Investment Adviser
First Pacific Advisors, LP
2101 E. El Segundo Blvd., Suite 301
El Segundo, California 90245
Sub-Adviser
Bragg Financial Advisors, Inc.
1031 South Caldwell Street, Suite 200
Charlotte, North Carolina 28203
Fund Co-Administrators
Mutual Fund Administration, LLC
2220 E. Route 66, Suite 226
Glendora, California 91740
UMB Fund Services, Inc.
235 West Galena Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212
Custodian, Transfer Agent and Fund Accountant
Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
50 Post Office Square
Boston, Massachusetts 02110
Distributor
Distribution Services, LLC
190 Middle Street, Suite 301
Portland, Maine 04101
Counsel to the Trust and Independent Trustees
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
600 Anton Boulevard, Suite 1800
Costa Mesa, California 92626
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Tait, Weller & Baker LLP
Two Liberty Place
50 S. 16th Street, Suite 2900
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102-2529
FPA Queens Road Value ETF
A series of Investment Managers Series Trust III
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Annual/Semi-Annual Report to Shareholders and Financials and Other Information
Additional information about the Fund's investments is available in the Fund's Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to shareholders and the Fund's Form N-CSR filings. In the Fund's Annual Report, you will find a summary of the key factors that significantly affected the Fund's performance during its most recent fiscal year. In Form N-CSR, you will find the Fund's Annual and Semi-Annual financial statements.
Statement of Additional Information (SAI)
The SAI provides additional details about the investments and techniques of the Fund and certain other additional information. The SAI is on file with the SEC and is incorporated into this Prospectus by reference. This means that the SAI is legally considered a part of this Prospectus even though it is not physically within this Prospectus.
The Fund's SAI and Annual and Semi-Annual Reports are available, free of charge, on the Fund's website at https://fpav/fpa.com. You can also obtain a free copy of the Fund's SAI or Annual and Semi-Annual Reports, request other information, or inquire about the Fund by contacting Distribution Services, LLC at 190 Middle Street, Suite 301, Portland, Maine 04101, or (800) 638-3060, or go to https://fpav/fpa.com. Reports and other information about the Fund are also available:
• Free of charge, on the SEC's EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at https://www.sec.gov; or
• For a duplication fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: [email protected].
Investment Company Act File No. 811-08544
FPA Queens Road Value ETF
(FPAV)
a series of Investment Managers Series Trust III
Statement of Additional Information
February 2, 2026
Listed and traded on:
CBOE BZX Exchange, Inc. (the "Exchange")
This Statement of Additional Information (the "SAI") is not a prospectus, and it should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus dated February 2, 2026, of the FPA Queens Road Value ETF (the "Fund"), a series of Investment Managers Series Trust III (the "Trust"). Although this SAI is not itself a prospectus, it is, in its entirety, incorporated by reference into the Fund's Prospectus. First Pacific Advisors, LP ("FPA" or the "Adviser") serves as the investment adviser to the Fund. Bragg Financial Advisors, Inc. ("BFA" or the "Sub-Adviser") serves as the investment sub-adviser to the Fund.
The audited financial statements for FPA Queens Road Value Fund (the "Predecessor Fund") for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2025 are incorporated in this SAI by reference to the Predecessor Fund's annual Financials and Other Information, which are included as part of the Predecessor Fund's most recent Form N-CSR filing. A copy of the Fund's Prospectus, Annual Report, Semi-Annual Report, and Financials and Other Information can be obtained by visiting the Fund's website at https://fpav/fpa.comor by contacting the Fund at the address or telephone number specified below.
FPA Queens Road Value ETF
c/o Distribution Services, LLC
190 Middle Street
Suite 301
Portland, Maine 04101
(800) 638-3060
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| tHE tRUST AND the FUND | 2 |
| Investment Strategies, Policies and Risks | 3 |
| Investment Restrictions | 18 |
| Portfolio turnover | 21 |
| portfolio holdings information | 21 |
| Management of the Fund | 22 |
| brokerage allocation and other practices | 38 |
| ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING PROGRAM | 40 |
| Determination of Net Asset Value | 40 |
| BOOK ENTRY ONLY SYSTEM | 42 |
| PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION OF SHARES IN CREATION UNITS | 43 |
| Federal Income Tax Matters | 53 |
| Dividends and Distributions | 63 |
| General Information | 64 |
| Financial Statements | 66 |
| proxy voting policies and procedures | 66 |
| APPENDIX A - DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES RATINGS | 67 |
1
The Trust and The Fund
Investment Managers Series Trust III was organized under the name The Regis Fund II as a Delaware business trust on May 18, 1994. On October 31, 1995, the Trust changed its name to UAM Funds Trust. On August 30, 2002, the Trust's name was changed to FPA Funds Trust. On January 10, 2024, the Trust's name was changed to Investment Managers Series Trust III. The Adviser serves as the investment adviser to the following other series of the Trust: (i) FPA Crescent Fund, (ii) FPA Flexible Fixed Income Fund, (iii) FPA New Income Fund, (iv) FPA Queens Road Small Cap Value Fund, (v) FPA Global Equity ETF, and (vi) FPA Short Duration Government ETF (collectively, the "FPA Funds"). The Adviser also serves as investment adviser to Source Capital, a closed-end investment management company. The FPA Funds and Source Capital are referred to herein as the "FPA Fund Complex." This SAI relates only to the Fund and not to the other series of the Trust.
The Trust is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") as an open-end management investment company. Such a registration does not involve supervision of the management or policies of the Fund. The Prospectus of the Fund and this SAI omit certain of the information contained in the Registration Statement filed with the SEC. Copies of such information may be obtained from the SEC upon payment of the prescribed fee.
The Fund will acquire all the assets and liabilities of the FPA Queens Road Value Fund, a series of the Trust (the "Predecessor Fund"), following the reorganization of the Predecessor Fundwhich is expected to occur during the third or fourth quarter of 2026.
The Fund is classified as a diversified fund, which means it is subject to the diversification requirements under the Investment Company Act of 1940 Act, as amended (the "1940 Act"). Under the 1940 Act, a diversified fund may not, with respect to 75% of its total assets, invest more than 5% of its total assets in the securities of one issuer (and in not more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of an issuer), excluding cash, government securities, and securities of other investment companies.
The Fund offers and issues shares at their net asset value ("NAV") only in aggregations of a specified number of shares (each, a "Creation Unit"). The Fund generally offers and issues shares in exchange for a basket of securities designated by the Fund ("Deposit Securities") together with the deposit of a specified cash payment ("Cash Component"). The Trust reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of a "cash in lieu" amount ("Deposit Cash") to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Deposit Security. The shares of the Fund are listed on the Exchange and trade on the Exchange at market prices. These prices may differ from the shares' NAV per share. The shares of the Fund are also redeemable only in Creation Unit aggregations, and generally in exchange for portfolio securities designated by the Fund and a specified cash payment.
2
Investment Strategies, Policies and Risks
The discussion below supplements information contained in the Fund's Prospectus pertaining to the investment policies of the Fund.
Additional information concerning the characteristics of certain of the Fund's investments, strategies and risks is set forth below. The Fund may employ new strategies without prior notification to shareholders, unless it expects such strategies to become principal strategies. You can find more information concerning the limits on the ability of the Fund to use these investments in "Investment Restrictions."
Equity Securities. Equity securities represent ownership interests in a company or corporation, and include common stock, preferred stock, warrants and other rights to acquire such instruments. Holders of equity securities are not creditors of the issuer and, in the event the issuer is liquidated, would be entitled to their pro rata share of the issuer's assets, if any, after creditors (including the holders of fixed income securities and senior equity securities) are paid.
Common Stocks. Common stocks represent units of ownership in a company. Common stocks usually carry voting rights and earn dividends. Unlike preferred stocks, which are described below, dividends on common stocks are not fixed but are declared at the discretion of the company's board.
Preferred Stocks. Preferred stocks are also units of ownership in a company. Preferred stocks normally have preference over common stock in the payment of dividends and the liquidation of the company. However, in all other respects, preferred stocks are subordinated to the liabilities of the issuer. Unlike common stocks, preferred stocks are generally not entitled to vote on corporate matters. Types of preferred stocks include adjustable-rate preferred stock, fixed dividend preferred stock, perpetual preferred stock, and sinking fund preferred stock. Generally, the market values of preferred stock with a fixed dividend rate and no conversion element vary inversely with interest rates and perceived credit risk.
Rights and Warrants. The Fund may receive warrants in relation to certain investments. Warrants generally confer a right, but not the obligation, to buy a stated number of shares of common stock at a specified price anytime during the life of the warrants. A right is a privilege granted to existing shareholders of a corporation to subscribe to shares of a new issue of common stock before it is issued. Rights normally have a short life, usually two to four weeks, are freely transferable and entitle the holder to buy the new common stock at a lower price than the public offering price. Warrants are securities that are usually issued together with a debt security or preferred stock and that give the holder the right to buy proportionate amount of common stock at a specified price. Warrants are freely transferable and are traded on major exchanges. Unlike rights, warrants normally have a life that is measured in years and entitles the holder to buy common stock of a company at a price that is usually higher than the market price at the time the warrant is issued. Corporations often issue warrants to make the accompanying debt security more attractive.
An investment in warrants and rights may entail greater risks than certain other types of investments. Generally, rights and warrants do not carry the right to receive dividends or exercise voting rights with respect to the underlying securities, and they do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuer. In addition, their value does not necessarily change with the value of the underlying securities, and they cease to have value if they are not exercised on or before their expiration date. Investing in rights and warrants increases the potential profit or loss to be realized from the investment as compared with investing the same amount in the underlying securities.
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Risks of Investing in Equity Securities. While investing in stocks allows investors to participate in the benefits of owning a company, investors must accept the risks of ownership. Unlike bondholders, who have preferential rights to a company's earnings and cash flow, preferred stockholders, followed by common stockholders in order of priority, are entitled only to the residual amount after a company meets its other obligations. For this reason, the value of a company's stock will usually react more strongly to actual or perceived changes in the company's financial condition or prospects than its debt obligations. Stockholders of a company that fares poorly can lose money.
Stock markets tend to move in cycles with short or extended periods of rising and falling stock prices. The value of a company's stock may fall because of:
| ● | Factors that directly relate to that company, such as decisions made by its management or lower demand for the company's products or services; |
| ● | Factors affecting an entire industry, such as increases in production costs; and |
| ● | Changes in financial market conditions that are relatively unrelated to the company or its industry, such as changes in interest rates, currency exchange rates or inflation rates. |
Because preferred stock is generally junior to debt securities and other obligations of the issuer, deterioration in the credit quality of the issuer will cause greater changes in the value of a preferred stock than in a more senior debt security with similar stated yield characteristics.
Small and Medium-Sized Company Risk. Investors in small and medium-sized companies typically take on greater risk and price volatility than they would by investing in larger, more established companies. This increased risk may be due to the greater business risks of their small or medium-sized limited markets and financial resources, narrow product lines, shorter operating histories, and frequent lack of management depth. The securities of small and medium-sized companies are often traded in the over-the-counter ("OTC") market and might not be traded in volumes typical of securities traded on a national securities exchange. Thus, the securities of small and medium capitalization companies are less likely to be liquid, and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements, than securities of larger, more established companies.
Money-Market Investments. The Fund may invest in no-load money market mutual funds, high-quality short-term debt securities and money market instruments (such as repurchase agreements, commercial paper and certificates of deposit) (collectively, "money market investments"), when and to the extent deemed advisable by the Sub-Adviser. A mutual fund investment by the Fund, the portfolio of which consists of money market investments, typically involves some duplication of advisory fees and other expenses. Money market funds typically invest in short-term debt instruments and attempt to maintain a stable NAV. Although, the risk is low, these funds may lose value.
4
Securities of Foreign Issuers. The Fund may invest in the securities of foreign issuers including sponsored or unsponsored American Depository Receipts ("ADRs") and investments in developing markets.
(For purposes of this restriction, securities issued by a foreign domiciled company that are registered with the SEC under Section 12 (b) or (g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 are not treated as securities of foreign issuers.) Foreign investments involve certain risks which typically are not present in securities of domestic issuers. There may be less information available about a foreign company than a domestic company; foreign companies may not be subject to accounting, auditing and reporting standards and requirements comparable to those applicable to domestic companies; and foreign markets, brokers and issuers are generally subject to less extensive government regulation than their domestic counterparts. Markets for foreign securities may be less liquid and may be subject to greater price volatility than those for domestic securities. Foreign brokerage commissions and custodial fees are generally higher than those in the United States.
Foreign markets also have different clearance and settlement procedures, and in certain markets there have been times when settlements have been unable to keep pace with the volume of securities transactions, thereby making it difficult to conduct such transactions. Delays or problems with settlements might affect the liquidity of a Fund's portfolio. Foreign investments may also be subject to local economic and political risks, political, economic and social instability, military action or unrest or adverse diplomatic developments, and possible nationalization of issuers or expropriation of their assets, which might adversely affect a Fund's ability to realize on its investment in such securities. The Sub-Adviser may not be able to anticipate these potential events or counter their effects. Furthermore, some foreign securities are subject to brokerage taxes levied by foreign governments, which have the effect of increasing the cost of such investment and reducing the realized gain or increasing the realized loss on such securities at the time of sale.
Although changes in foreign currency rates may adversely affect the Fund's foreign investments, the Fund does not expect to purchase or sell foreign currencies for the Fund to hedge against declines in the U.S. dollar or to lock in the value of any foreign securities they purchase. Consequently, the risks associated with such investments may be greater than if the Fund were to engage in foreign currency transactions for hedging purposes.
Exchange control regulations in such foreign markets may also adversely affect the Fund's foreign investments and the Fund's ability to make certain distributions necessary to maintain their eligibility as regulated investment companies and avoid the imposition of income and excise taxes may, to that extent, be limited.
The considerations noted above are generally intensified for investments in developing countries. Developing countries may have relatively unstable governments, economies based on only a few industries and securities markets that trade a small number of securities.
The Fund may purchase the securities of foreign companies in the form of ADRs. ADRs are certificates held in trust by a bank or similar financial institution evidencing ownership of securities of a foreign-based issuer. Designed for use in U.S. securities markets, ADRs are alternatives to the purchase of the underlying foreign securities in their national markets and currencies.
5
Depositories may establish either unsponsored or sponsored ADR facilities. While ADRs issued under these two types of facilities are in some respects similar, there are distinctions between them relating to the rights and obligations of ADR holders and the practices of market participants. A depository may establish an unsponsored facility without participation by the issuer of the deposited securities, although typically the depository requests a letter of non-objection from such issuer prior to the establishment of the facility. Holders of unsponsored ADRs generally bear all the costs of such facilities. The depository usually charges fees upon the deposit and withdrawal of the deposited securities, the conversion of dividends into U.S. dollars, the disposition of non-cash distributions and the performance of other services. The depository of an unsponsored facility frequently is under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the issuer of the deposited securities or to pass through voting rights to ADR holders in respect of the deposited securities. Depositories create sponsored ADR facilities in generally the same manner as unsponsored facilities, except that the issuer of the deposited securities enters into a deposit agreement with the depository. The deposit agreement sets out the rights and responsibilities of the issuer, the depository and the ADR holders. With sponsored facilities, the issuer of the deposited securities generally will bear some of the costs relating to the facility (such as deposit and withdrawal fees). Under the terms of most sponsored arrangements, depositories agree to distribute notices of shareholder meetings and voting instructions and to provide shareholder communications and other information to the ADR holders at the request of the issuer of the deposited securities.
Convertible Securities. The Fund may invest in convertible securities which is generally a debt obligation or preferred stock that may be converted within a specified period of time into a certain amount of common stock of the same or a different issuer. A convertible security provides a fixed-income stream and the opportunity, through its conversion feature, to participate in the capital appreciation resulting from a market price advance in its underlying common stock. As with a straight fixed- income security, a convertible security tends to increase in market value when interest rates decline and decrease in value when interest rates rise. Like a common stock, the value of a convertible security also tends to increase as the market value of the underlying stock rises, and it tends to decrease as the market value of the underlying stock declines. Because its value can be influenced by both interest rates and market movements, a convertible security is not as sensitive to interest rates as a similar fixed-income security, nor is it as sensitive to changes in share price as its underlying stock.
A convertible security is usually issued either by an operating company or by an investment bank. When issued by an operating company, a convertible security tends to be senior to common stock, but subordinate to other types of fixed-income securities issued by that company. When a convertible security issued by an operating company is "converted," the operating company often issues new stock to the holder of the convertible security but, if the parity price of the convertible security is less than the call price, the operating company may pay out cash instead of common stock. If the convertible security is issued by an investment bank, the security is an obligation of and is convertible through the issuing investment bank. The issuer of a convertible security may be important in determining the security's true value. This is because the holder of a convertible security will have recourse only to the issuer. In addition, a convertible security may be subject to redemption by the issuer, but only after a specified date and under circumstances established at the time the security is issued.
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While the Fund uses the same criteria to rate a convertible debt security that it uses to rate a more conventional debt security, a convertible preferred stock is treated like a preferred stock for the Fund's financial reporting, credit rating, and investment limitation purposes. A preferred stock is subordinated to all debt obligations in the event of insolvency, and an issuer's failure to make a dividend payment is generally not an event of default entitling the preferred shareholder to take action. A preferred stock generally has no maturity date, so that its market value is dependent on the issuer's business prospects for an indefinite period of time. In addition, distributions from preferred stock are dividends, rather than interest payments, and are usually treated as such for corporate tax purposes.
Investment Company Shares. The Fund may invest in shares of other investment companies (each, an "Underlying Fund"), including open-end funds, closed-end funds, unit investment trusts ("UITs") and exchange-traded funds ("ETFs"), to the extent permitted by applicable law and subject to certain restrictions set forth in this SAI.
Under Section 12(d)(1)(A) of the 1940 Act, the Fund may acquire shares of an Underlying Fund in amounts which, as determined immediately after the acquisition is made, do not exceed (i) 3% of the total outstanding voting stock of such Underlying Fund, (ii) 5% of the value of the Fund's total assets, and (iii) 10% of the value of the Fund's total assets when combined with all other Underlying Fund shares held by the Fund. The Fund may exceed these statutory limits when permitted by SEC order or other applicable law or regulatory guidance, such as is the case with many ETFs. In October 2020, the SEC adopted certain regulatory changes and took other actions related to the ability of an investment company to invest in the shares of another investment company. These changes include, in part, the rescission of certain SEC exemptive orders permitting investments in excess of the statutory limits, the withdrawal of certain related SEC staff no-action letters, and the adoption of Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act, which permits the Fund to invest in other investment companies beyond the statutory limits, subject to certain conditions. Rule 12d1-4, among other things, (1) applies to both "acquired funds" and "acquiring funds," each as defined under the rule; (2) includes limits on control and voting of acquired funds' shares; (3) requires that the investment advisers of acquired funds and acquiring funds relying on the rule make certain specified findings based on their evaluation of the relevant fund of funds structure; (4) requires acquired funds and acquiring funds that are relying on the rule, and which do not have the same investment adviser, to enter into fund of funds investment agreements, which must include specific terms; and (5) includes certain limits on complex fund of funds structures.
Generally, under Sections 12(d)(1)(F) and 12(d)(1)(G) of the 1940 Act and SEC rules adopted pursuant to the 1940 Act, the Fund may acquire the shares of affiliated and unaffiliated Underlying Funds subject to the following guidelines and restrictions:
| ● | The Fund may own an unlimited amount of the shares of any registered open-end fund or registered UIT that is affiliated with the Fund, so long as any such Underlying Fund has a policy that prohibits it from acquiring any shares of registered open-end funds or registered UITs in reliance on certain sections of the 1940 Act. |
7
| ● | The Fund and its "affiliated persons" may own up to 3% of the outstanding stock of any fund, subject to the following restrictions: |
| i. | the Fund and each Underlying Fund, in the aggregate, may not charge a sales load greater than the limits set forth in Rule 2830(d)(3) of the Conduct Rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA") applicable to funds of funds; |
| ii. | each Underlying Fund is not obligated to redeem more than 1% of its total outstanding shares during any period less than 30 days; and |
| iii. | the Fund is obligated either to (i) seek instructions from its shareholders with regard to the voting of all proxies with respect to the Underlying Fund and to vote in accordance with such instructions, or (ii) to vote the shares of the Underlying Fund held by the Fund in the same proportion as the vote of all other shareholders of the Underlying Fund. |
Underlying Funds typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by the Fund. The Fund's purchase of such investment company shares results in the layering of expenses as Fund shareholders would indirectly bear a proportionate share of the operating expenses of such investment companies, including advisory fees, in addition to paying Fund expenses. In addition, the shares of other investment companies may also be leveraged and will therefore be subject to certain leverage risks. The NAV and market value of leveraged securities will be more volatile and the yield to shareholders will tend to fluctuate more than the yield generated by unleveraged securities. Investment companies may have investment policies that differ from those of the Fund.
Under certain circumstances an open-end investment company in which the Fund invests may determine to make payment of a redemption by the Fund wholly or in part by a distribution in kind of securities from its portfolio, instead of in cash. As a result, the Fund may hold such securities until the Adviser determines it is appropriate to dispose of them. Such disposition will impose additional costs on the Fund.
Investment decisions by the investment advisers to the registered investment companies in which the Fund invests are made independently of the Fund. At any particular time, one Underlying Fund may be purchasing shares of an issuer whose shares are being sold by another Underlying Fund. As a result, under these circumstances the Fund indirectly would incur certain transactional costs without accomplishing any investment purpose.
Exchange-Traded Funds. The Fund may invest in ETFs. ETFs are pooled investment vehicles that generally seek to track the performance of specific indices. ETFs may be organized as open-end funds or as UITs. Their shares are listed on stock exchanges and can be traded throughout the day at market-determined prices.
An ETF generally issues index-based investments in large aggregations of shares known as "Creation Units" in exchange for a "Portfolio Deposit" consisting of (a) a portfolio of securities designated by the ETF, (b) a cash payment equal to a pro rata portion of the dividends accrued on the ETF's portfolio securities since the last dividend payment by the ETF, net of expenses and liabilities, and (c) a cash payment or credit designed to equalize the net asset value of the shares and the net asset value of a Portfolio Deposit.
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Shares of ETFs are not individually redeemable, except upon the reorganization, merger, conversion or liquidation of the ETF. Individual shares of an ETF may only be purchased and sold on the secondary market through a broker-dealer, therefore, the liquidity of small holdings of ETF shares will depend upon the existence of a secondary market for such shares. ETFs redeem shares on a continuous basis, at net asset value, only in large blocks of shares called "Creation Units." Upon redemption of a Creation Unit, the investor will receive securities designated by the ETF ("Redemption Securities") and a cash payment in an amount equal to the difference between the net asset value of the shares being redeemed and the net asset value of the Redemption Securities.
The price of ETF shares is based upon (but not necessarily identical to) the value of the securities held by the ETF. Accordingly, the level of risk involved in the purchase or sale of ETF shares is similar to the risk involved in the purchase or sale of traditional common stock, with the exception that the pricing mechanism for ETF shares is based on a basket of stocks. Disruptions in the markets for the securities underlying ETF shares purchased or sold by the Fund could result in losses on such shares. There is no assurance that the requirements of the national securities exchanges necessary to maintain the listing of shares of any ETF will continue to be met.
Real Estate Investment Trusts ("REITs"). REITs are sometimes described as equity REITs, mortgage REITs and hybrid REITs. An equity REIT invests primarily in the fee ownership or leasehold ownership of land and buildings and derives its income primarily from rental income. An equity REIT may also realize capital gains (or losses) by selling real estate properties in its portfolio that have appreciated (or depreciated) in value. A mortgage REIT invests primarily in mortgages on real estate, which may secure construction, development or long-term loans. A mortgage REIT generally derives its income primarily from interest payments on the credit it has extended. A hybrid REIT combines the characteristics of equity REITs and mortgage REITs, generally by holding both ownership interests and mortgage interests in real estate.
Equity REITs may be further characterized as operating companies or financing companies. To the extent that an equity REIT provides operational and management expertise to the properties held in its portfolio, the REIT generally exercises some degree of control over the number and identity of tenants, the terms of their tenancies, the acquisition, construction, repair and maintenance of properties and other operational issues. A mortgage REIT or an equity REIT that provides financing rather than operational and management expertise to the properties in its portfolio will generally not have control over the operations that are conducted on the real estate in which the REIT has an interest.
An investment in REITs by the Fund may involve some duplication of advisory fees and other expenses.
Debt Securities. The Fund may invest in debt securities of corporate and governmental issuers. There are no credit quality or maturity limitations on the Fund's investments in debt securities. The risks inherent in short-, intermediate- and long-term debt securities depend on a variety of factors, including the term of the obligations, the size of a particular offering and the credit quality and rating of the issuer, in addition to general market conditions. In general, the longer the maturity of a debt obligation, the higher its yield and the greater its sensitivity to changes in interest rates. Conversely, the shorter the maturity, the lower the yield but the greater the price stability. A decline in the prevailing levels of interest rates will generally increase the value of the securities held by the Fund, and an increase in rates will generally have the opposite effect.
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Yields on debt securities depend on a variety of factors, including the financial condition of the issuer or other obligor thereon or the revenue source from which debt service is payable, the general economic and monetary environment, conditions in the relevant market, the size of a particular issue, maturity of the obligation and the rating of the issue.
Debt obligations rated high and some debt obligations rated medium quality are commonly referred to as "investment-grade" debt obligations. Investment-grade debt obligations are generally believed to have relatively low degrees of credit risk. However, medium-quality debt obligations, while considered investment grade, may have some speculative characteristics, since their issuers' capacity for repayment may be more vulnerable to adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances than that of higher-rated issuers. The principal value of lower-rated securities generally will fluctuate more widely than higher- quality securities. Lower-quality securities entail a higher degree of risk as to the payment of interest and return of principal. Such securities are also subject to special risks, discussed below. To compensate investors for taking on such increased risk, issuers deemed to be less creditworthy generally must offer their investors higher interest rates than do issuers with better credit ratings.
In conducting its credit research and analysis, the Fund will consider both qualitative and quantitative factors to evaluate the creditworthiness of individual issuers and will rely to a great extent on credit ratings compiled by a number of nationally recognized statistical rating organizations ("NRSROs").
"High-Yield" Risk (Junk Bonds). The Fund is permitted to invest in non-investment grade debt obligations, sometimes referred to as "junk bonds" (hereinafter referred to as "lower-quality securities"). Lower-quality securities are those securities that are rated lower than investment grade and unrated securities believed by to be of comparable quality. Although these securities generally offer higher yields than investment grade securities with similar maturities, lower-quality securities involve greater risks, including the possibility of default or bankruptcy. In general, they are regarded to be more speculative with respect to the issuer's capacity to pay interest and repay principal. Other potential risks associated with investing in lower-quality securities include:
Effect of Interest Rates and Economic Changes. The market for lower-quality and comparable unrated securities is relatively new and its growth has paralleled a long economic expansion. As a result, it is not clear how this market would withstand a prolonged recession or economic downturn. Such conditions could severely disrupt the market for, and adversely affect the value of, such securities.
All interest-bearing securities typically experience price appreciation when interest rates decline and price depreciation when interest rates rise. The market values of lower-quality and comparable unrated securities tend to reflect individual issuer developments to a greater extent than do higher rated securities, which react primarily to fluctuations in the general level of interest rates. Lower-quality and comparable unrated securities also tend to be more sensitive to economic conditions than are higher rated securities. As a result, they generally involve more credit risk than securities in the higher-rated categories. During an economic downturn or a sustained period of rising interest rates, highly leveraged issuers of lower-quality and comparable unrated securities may experience financial stress and may not have sufficient revenues to meet their payment obligations. The issuer's ability to service its debt obligations may also be adversely affected by specific corporate developments, the issuer's inability to meet specific projected business forecasts or the unavailability of additional financing. The risk of loss due to default by an issuer of the securities is significantly greater than issues of higher-rated securities because such securities are generally unsecured and are often subordinated to their creditors. Further, if the issuer of a lower-quality or comparable unrated security defaulted, a Fund might incur additional expense to seek recovery. Periods of economic uncertainty and changes would also generally result in increased volatility in the market prices of these securities and thus in a Fund's net asset value.
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As previously noted, the value of a lower-quality or comparable unrated security generally will decrease in a rising interest rate market, and the Fund's net asset value will decline correspondingly. If the Fund experiences unexpected net redemptions in such a market, it may be forced to liquidate a portion of its portfolio securities without regard to their investment merits. Due to the limited liquidity of lower-quality and comparable unrated securities (discussed below), the Fund may be forced to liquidate these securities at a substantial discount. Any such liquidation could force a Fund to sell the more liquid portion of its portfolio.
Credit Risk. Credit ratings issued by credit rating agencies are designed to evaluate the safety of principal and interest payments of rated securities. They do not, however, evaluate the market value risk of lower-quality securities, and therefore may not fully reflect the true risks of an investment. In addition, credit rating agencies may or may not make timely changes in a rating to reflect changes in the economy or in the condition of the issuer that affect the market value of the security. Consequently, credit ratings, including, for example, those published by S&P Global Ratings, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings, are used only as a preliminary indicator of investment quality. Investments in lower-quality and comparable unrated obligations will be more dependent on the Sub-Advisers' credit analysis than would be the case with investments in investment-grade debt obligations.
Legal Risk. Securities in which the Fund may invest are subject to the provisions of bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization and other laws affecting the rights and remedies of creditors, such as the Federal Bankruptcy Code, and laws, if any, which may be enacted by Congress, state legislatures or other governmental agencies extending the time for payment of principal or interest, or both, or imposing other constraints upon enforcement of such obligations within constitutional limitations. There is also the possibility that, as a result of litigation or other conditions, the power or ability of issuers to make principal and interest payments on their debt securities may be materially impaired. From time to time, legislation designed to limit the use of certain lower-quality and comparable unrated securities by certain issuers may be adopted. It is anticipated that if legislation is enacted or proposed, it could have a material effect on the value of these securities and the existence of a secondary trading market for such securities.
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Liquidity Risk. The Fund may have difficulty disposing of certain lower quality and comparable unrated securities because there may be a thin trading market for such securities. Because not all dealers maintain markets in all lower- quality and comparable unrated securities, there is no established retail secondary market for many of these securities. The Fund anticipates that such securities could be sold only to a limited number of dealers or institutional investors. To the extent a secondary trading market does exist, it generally is not as liquid as the secondary market for higher- rated securities. The lack of a liquid secondary market may have an adverse impact on the market price of the security and disposition of the security may involve time-consuming negotiation and legal expense. As a result, the Fund's net asset value and ability to dispose of particular securities when necessary to meet the Fund's liquidity needs, or in response to a specific economic event, may be affected.
U.S. Government Obligations. The Fund may invest in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities. These securities include a variety of Treasury securities, which differ in their interest rates, maturities and times of issuance. Treasury Bills generally have maturities of one year or less; Treasury Notes generally have maturities of one to ten years; and Treasury Bonds generally have maturities of greater than ten years. Some obligations issued or guaranteed by U.S. Government agencies and instrumentalities, such as Government National Mortgage Association pass- through certificates, are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury; other obligations, such as those of the Federal Home Loan Banks, are secured by the right of the issuer to borrow from the Treasury; other obligations, such as those issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association ("FNMA"), are supported by the discretionary authority of the U.S. Government to purchase certain obligations of the agency or instrumentality; and other obligations, such as those issued by the Student Loan Marketing Association, are supported only by the credit of the instrumentality itself. Although the U.S. Government provides financial support to such U.S. Government-sponsored agencies or instrumentalities, no assurance can be given that it will always do so, since it is not so obligated by law. On September 7, 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Authority (the "FHFA") announced that FNMA and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("FHLMC") had been placed into conservatorship, a statutory process designed to stabilize a troubled institution with the objective of returning the entity to normal business operations. Under the Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008 (the "Reform Act"), which was included as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, FHFA, as conservator or receiver, has the power to repudiate any contract entered into by FNMA or FHLMC prior to FHFA's appointment as conservator or receiver, as applicable, if FHFA determines, in its sole discretion, that performance of the contract is burdensome and that repudiation of the contract promotes the orderly administration of FNMA's or FHLMC's affairs. The Reform Act requires FHFA to exercise its right to repudiate any contract within a reasonable period of time after its appointment as conservator or receiver.
FHFA, in its capacity as conservator, has indicated that it has no intention to repudiate the guaranty obligations of FNMA or FHLMC because FHFA views repudiation as incompatible with the goals of the conservatorship. However, in the event that FHFA, as conservator or if it is later appointed as receiver for FNMA or FHLMC, were to repudiate any such guaranty obligation, the conservatorship or receivership estate, as applicable, would be liable for actual direct compensatory damages in accordance with the provisions of the Reform Act. Any such liability could be satisfied only to the extent of FNMA's or FHLMC's assets available therefore.
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In the event of repudiation, the payments of interest to holders of FNMA or FHLMC mortgage-backed securities would be reduced if payments on the mortgage loans represented in the mortgage loan groups related to such mortgage-backed securities are not made by the borrowers or advanced by the servicer. Any actual direct compensatory damages for repudiating these guaranty obligations may not be sufficient to offset any shortfalls experienced by such mortgage-backed security holders.
Further, in its capacity as conservator or receiver, FHFA has the right to transfer or sell any asset or liability of FNMA or FHLMC without any approval, assignment or consent. Although FHFA has stated that it has no present intention to do so, if FHFA, as conservator or receiver, were to transfer any such guaranty obligation to another party, holders of FNMA or FHLMC mortgage- backed securities would have to rely on that party for satisfaction of the guaranty obligation and would be exposed to the credit risk of that party.
In addition, certain rights provided to holders of mortgage-backed securities issued by FNMA and FHLMC under the operative documents related to such securities may not be enforced against FHFA, or enforcement of such rights may be delayed, during the conservatorship or any future receivership. The operative documents for FNMA and FHLMC mortgage-backed securities may provide (or with respect to securities issued prior to the date of the appointment of the conservator may have provided) that upon the occurrence of an event of default on the part of FNMA or FHLMC, in its capacity as guarantor, which includes the appointment of a conservator or receiver, holders of such mortgage- backed securities have the right to replace FNMA or FHLMC as trustee if the requisite percentage of mortgage-backed securities holders consent. The Reform Act prevents mortgage-backed security holders from enforcing such rights if the event of default arises solely because a conservator or receiver has been appointed. The Reform Act also provides that no person may exercise any right or power to terminate, accelerate or declare an event of default under certain contracts to which FNMA or FHLMC is a party, or obtain possession of or exercise control over any property of FNMA or FHLMC, or affect any contractual rights of FNMA or FHLMC, without the approval of FHFA, as conservator or receiver, for a period of 45 or 90 days following the appointment of FHFA as conservator or receiver, respectively.
No assurance can be given that the U.S. government will continue to support FNMA and FHLMC. In addition, the future for FNMA and FHLMC remains uncertain. Congress continues to evaluate proposals to reduce the U.S. government's role in the mortgage market of both FNMA and FHLMC, including proposals as to whether FNMA and FHLMC should be nationalized, privatized, restructured or eliminated altogether. Should the federal government adopt any such proposal, the value of a Fund's investments in securities issued by FNMA and FHLMC would be impacted. FNMA and FHLMC are also the subject of continuing legal actions and investigations, which may have an adverse effect on these entities.
Floating And Variable Rate Securities. The Fund may invest in securities which offer a variable or floating rate of interest. Floating rate securities generally provide for automatic adjustment of the interest rate whenever some specified interest rate index changes. Variable rate securities, on the other hand, provide for automatic establishment of a new interest rate at fixed intervals. Interest rates on floating and variable rate securities are based on a designated rate or a specified percentage thereof, such as a bank's prime rate.
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Floating or variable rate securities typically include a demand feature entitling the holder to demand payment of the obligation on short notice at par plus accrued interest. Some securities which do not have floating or variable interest rates may be accompanied by puts producing similar results and price characteristics. The issuer of these securities normally has a corresponding right, after a given period, to prepay in its discretion the outstanding principal amount of the note plus accrued interest upon a specified number of days' notice to the noteholders. When considering the maturity of any instrument which may be sold or put to the issuer or a third party, the Fund may consider the instrument's maturity to be shorter than its stated maturity.
Options. The Fund may invest in put and call options for which the Fund pays a premium (cost of option), and the Fund may buy or sell from a long position such options, exercise such options, or permit such options to expire, in each case, when and to the extent deemed advisable by the Sub-Adviser there are two basic types of options: "puts" and "calls." A call option on a security gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy, and the writer the obligation to sell, the underlying asset at the exercise price during the option period. Alternatively, a put option on a security gives the purchaser the right to sell, and the writer the obligation to buy, the underlying asset at the exercise price during the option period. Purchased options have defined risk, that is, the premium paid for the option, regardless of how much the affording an opportunity for gain corresponding to the increase or decrease in the value of the optioned asset. In general, a purchased put increases in value as the price of the underlying security falls and a purchased call increases in value as the value of the underlying security rises. The Fund will not engage in the writing of call or put options.
In addition to options on individual securities, the Fund may buy or sell from a long position options on securities indices. In general, options on indices of securities are similar to option on individual securities except that delivery requirements are different. For example, a put option on an index of securities does not give the holder the right to make actual delivery of a basket of securities but instead gives the holder the right to receive an amount of cash upon exercise of the option if the value of the underlying index has fallen below the exercise price. The amount of cash received will be equal to the difference between the closing price of the index and the exercise price of the option expressed in dollars times a specified multiple. As with option on equity securities or futures contracts, the Fund may offset its position in index options prior to expiration by entering into a closing transaction on an exchange or it may let the option expire unexercised.
The Fund may engage in both hedging and non-hedging strategies. Although effective hedging can generally capture the bulk of a desired risk adjustment, no hedge is completely effective. The Fund's ability to hedge effectively through transactions in options depends on the degree to which price movements in its holdings correlate with price movements of the options.
Short Sales. The Fund may engage in short sale transactions in securities listed on one or more worldwide securities exchanges, particularly the United States, when and to the extent deemed advisable by the Sub-Adviser. The Fund may only make short sales "against the box", i.e., sales made when the Fund owns securities identical to those sold short. A short sale is a transaction in which the Fund sells a security it does not own by borrowing it from a broker, and consequently becomes obligated to replace that security. A short sale against the box is a short sale where the Fund owns the security sold short or has an immediate and unconditional right to acquire that security without additional cash consideration upon conversion, exercise or exchange of options with respect to securities held in its portfolio. The effect of selling a security short against the box is to insulate that security against any future gain or loss.
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Illiquid Investments and Restricted Securities Investments. Pursuant to Rule 22e-4 under the 1940 Act, the Fund may not acquire any "illiquid investment" if, immediately after the acquisition, the Fund would have invested more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments that are assets. An "illiquid investment" is any investment that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment. The Fund has implemented a written liquidity risk management program and related procedures ("Liquidity Program") that is reasonably designed to assess and manage the Fund's "liquidity risk" (defined by the SEC as the risk that the Fund could not meet requests to redeem shares issued by the Fund without significant dilution of remaining 33 investors' interests in the Fund). Liquidity classifications will be made after reasonable inquiry and taking into account, among other things, market, trading and investment-specific considerations deemed to be relevant to the liquidity classification of the Fund's investments in accordance with the Liquidity Program.
The Fund may invest in restricted securities. Restricted securities are securities that may not be sold freely to the public absent registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act"), or an exemption from registration. While restricted securities are generally presumed to be illiquid, it may be determined that a particular restricted security is liquid. Rule 144A under the 1933 Act establishes a safe harbor from the registration requirements of the 1933 Act for resales of certain securities to qualified institutional buyers. Institutional markets for restricted securities sold pursuant to Rule 144A in many cases provide both readily ascertainable values for restricted securities and the ability to liquidate an investment to satisfy share redemption orders. Such markets might include automated systems for the trading, clearance and settlement of unregistered securities of domestic and foreign issuers, such as the PORTAL System sponsored by NASDAQ. An insufficient number of qualified buyers interested in purchasing Rule 144A eligible restricted securities, however, could adversely affect the marketability of such portfolio securities and result in the Fund's inability to dispose of such securities promptly or at favorable prices.
Political, Social and Economic Uncertainty. Social, political, economic and other conditions and events (such as natural disasters, epidemics and pandemics, terrorism, conflicts and social unrest) that occur from time to time will create uncertainty and may have significant impacts on issuers, industries, governments and other systems, including the financial markets, to which the Fund and the issuers in which it invests are exposed. As global systems, economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, events that once had only local impact are now more likely to have regional or even global effects. Events that occur in one country, region or financial market will, more frequently, adversely impact issuers in other countries, regions or markets, including in established markets such as the United States. These impacts can be exacerbated by failures of governments and societies to adequately respond to an emerging event or threat.
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Uncertainty can result in or coincide with: increased volatility in the global financial markets, including those related to equity and debt securities, loans, credit, derivatives and currency; a decrease in the reliability of market prices and difficulty in valuing assets; greater fluctuations in currency exchange rates; increased risk of default (by both government and private issuers); further social, economic, and political instability; nationalization of private enterprises; greater governmental involvement in the economy or in social factors that impact the economy; greater, less or different governmental regulation and supervision of the securities markets and market participants and increased, decreased or different processes for and approaches to monitoring markets and enforcing rules and regulations by governments or self-regulatory organizations; limited, or limitations on the, activities of investors in such markets; controls or restrictions on foreign investment, capital controls and limitations on repatriation of invested capital; inability to purchase and sell assets or otherwise settle transactions (i.e., a market freeze); unavailability of currency hedging techniques; substantial, and in some periods extremely high, rates of inflation, which can last many years and have substantial negative effects on markets as well as the economy as a whole; recessions; and difficulties in obtaining and/or enforcing legal judgments.
Although it is impossible to predict the precise nature and consequences of these events, or of any political or policy decisions and regulatory changes occasioned by emerging events or uncertainty on applicable laws or regulations that impact the Fund's investments, it is clear that these types of events will impact the Fund and the issuers in which it invest. The issuers in which the Fund invests could be significantly impacted by emerging events and uncertainty of this type and the Fund will be negatively impacted if the value of its portfolio holdings decrease as a result of such events and the uncertainty they cause. There can be no assurance that emerging events will not cause the Fund to suffer a loss of any or all of their investments or interest thereon. The Fund will also be negatively affected if the operations and effectiveness of the Adviser, Sub-Adviser, their affiliates, the issuers in which the Fund invests or their key service providers are compromised or if necessary or beneficial systems and processes are disrupted.
Use of Artificial Intelligence. The Adviser may use artificial intelligence technology tools ("AI"), including generative artificial intelligence and similar technologies ("GenAI"), to aid in the development of infrastructure and technology, to assist in the research process, and for other use cases as identified by the Adviser. AI is an emerging and rapidly evolving technology and therefore it is difficult to fully assess the risks associated with it. While the Adviser endeavors to evaluate AI tools before using them in its business, and is developing protocols for use of AI which attempt to address certain known risks associated with the technology, there can be no assurance that it will do so successfully, and the use of AI may adversely affect the Adviser and the Fund. GenAI may create output that superficially appears correct but may in fact be incorrect. To the extent the Adviser uses GenAI software, there is no assurance that such software will function correctly, efficiently, or without security weaknesses. While the Adviser has implemented certain quality control procedures for software development generally, there is no assurance that such procedures will identify all relevant issues, defects or errors in any software, including any AI-generated output. There is no assurance that the Adviser can successfully assert proprietary rights in any AI-generated output. The intellectual property laws relating to AI-generated works of authorship or inventions is unclear, and there is no assurance that intellectual property laws would be sufficient to permit the Adviser to protect its AI-generated output in the event that others obtain access to it. Conversely, it is possible that the output from any GenAI model may be similar to preexisting content on which the GenAI model was trained and there is also a risk that the Adviser and the Fund could incur liability or expense in connection with claims of infringement or similar claims by third parties related to information which the Adviser receives through GenAI.
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The use of AI as a tool in investment management is relatively new and has not been the subject of significant regulatory oversight. The regulatory landscape for the use of AI for investment management purposes is likely to evolve. It is possible that new regulations may emerge in this area which impede or hinder the Adviser's ability to use AI in the future. There can be no assurance that the Adviser's anticipated use of AI will be able to continue without restrictive regulatory requirements.
Cybersecurity Risk. As the use of technology has become more prevalent in the course of business, the Fund has become potentially more susceptible to operational and information security risks resulting from breaches in cybersecurity. A breach in cybersecurity refers to both intentional and unintentional cyber events from outside threat actors or internal resources that may, among other things, cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption and/or destruction or lose operational capacity, result in the unauthorized release or other misuse of confidential information, or otherwise disrupt normal business operations. Cybersecurity breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund's digital information systems (e.g., through "hacking," malicious software coding, etc.), from multiple sources including outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks (i.e., efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users) or (cyber extortion including exfiltration of data held for ransom and/or "ransomware" attacks that renders systems inoperable until ransom is paid) or insider actions. In addition, cybersecurity breaches involving the Fund's third party service providers (including but not limited to advisers, administrators, transfer agents, custodians, vendors, suppliers, distributors and other third parties), trading counterparties or issuers in which the Fund invests can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches or extortion of company data. Moreover, cybersecurity breaches involving trading counterparties or issuers in which the Fund invests could adversely impact such counterparties or issuers and cause the Fund's investment to lose value.
Cybersecurity failures or breaches may result in financial losses to the Fund and its shareholders. These failures or breaches may also result in disruptions to business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses; interference with the Fund's ability to calculate its NAV, process shareholder transactions or otherwise transact business with shareholders; impediments to trading; violations of applicable privacy and other laws; regulatory fines; penalties; third party claims in litigation; reputational damage; reimbursement or other compensation costs; additional compliance and cybersecurity risk management costs and other adverse consequences. In addition, substantial costs may be incurred in order to prevent any cyber incidents in the future.
Like with operational risk in general, the Fund has established business continuity plans and risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cybersecurity. However, there are inherent limitations in these plans and systems, including that certain risks may not have been identified, in large part because different or unknown threats may be unknown or emerge in the future. As such, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cybersecurity systems of issuers in which the Fund may invest, trading counterparties or third party service providers to the Fund. Such entities have experienced cyber-attacks and other attempts to gain unauthorized access to systems from time to time, and there is no guarantee that efforts to prevent or mitigate the effects of such attacks will be successful. There is also a risk that cybersecurity breaches may not be detected. The Fund and its shareholders may suffer losses as a result of a cybersecurity breach related to the Fund, its service providers, trading counterparties or the issuers in which the Fund invests.
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Temporary Defensive Position. The Fund may hold up to 100% of its assets in cash or high quality short- term debt securities and money market instruments for temporary defensive purposes. The Fund will adopt a temporary defensive position when, in the opinion of the Sub-Adviser, such a position is more likely to provide protection against adverse market conditions than adherence to the Fund's other investment policies. The types of high-quality instruments in which the Fund may invest for such purposes include money market mutual funds, money market securities (such as repurchase agreements) and securities issued or guaranteed by the United States Government or its agencies or instrumentalities, certificates of deposit, time deposits, and bankers' acceptances of certain qualified financial institutions and corporate commercial paper, which at the time of purchase are rated at least within the "A" major rating category by S&P Global Ratings or the "Prime" major rating category by Moody's Investor's Service, Inc. ("Moody's"), or, if not rated, issued by companies having an outstanding long-term unsecured debt issued rated at least "A" category by S&P Global Ratings or Moody's.
Short Term Trading. The Fund may engage in short term trading of securities and reserves full freedom with respect to portfolio turnover. In period where there are rapid changes in economic conditions and security price levels or when reinvestment strategy changes significantly, portfolio turnover may be higher than during times of economic and market price stability or when investment strategy remains relatively constant. A higher portfolio turnover rate may involve greater transaction costs, relative to other funds in general, and may have tax and other consequences.
Leverage. The Fund may borrow money from a bank not to exceed 33 1/3% of total assets (including the proceeds of any such borrowing). However, such borrowing is permitted only in extraordinary circumstances such as to raise cash to fund redemptions. Leverage involves the borrowing of money to purchase securities. The use of borrowed money will incur interest charges and may have an adverse impact on a Fund's performance. Although the Fund will only use leverage for extraordinary or emergency purposes, the use of leverage may increase the overall riskiness of the Fund's portfolio. Typically, use of leverage will cause the Fund's assets to increase more when portfolio assets increase in value and decrease more when portfolio assets decrease in value than if the Fund did not use leverage. Additionally, if securities values fall, the Fund may have to liquidate securities at a loss to pay off any borrowings.
Investment Restrictions
The Fund has adopted certain investment restrictions. These restrictions are classified as either fundamental or non-fundamental. Fundamental restrictions, including the Fund's investment objective, may not be changed without the affirmative vote of a majority of outstanding voting securities of the applicable fund. Non-Fundamental restrictions may be changed without a shareholder vote.
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In addition, as a diversified investment management company, the Fund intends to abide by the 1940 Act requirements that the Fund must have at least 75% of the value of its total assets represented by cash and cash items (including receivables), U.S. government securities, securities of other investment companies, and other securities for the purposes of this calculation limited in respect of any one issuer to an amount not greater in value than 5% of the value of the total assets of the Fund and to not more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer.
For more information, see "Investment Objective and Principal Investment Strategies" and "Risk Factors" in the Fund's prospectus.
Fundamental Restrictions
The fundamental investment restrictions with respect to the Fund are set forth below. Under these restrictions, the Fund may not:
| (1) | issue senior securities as defined in the 1940 Act, except as permitted by that Act and the rules, regulations or pronouncements thereunder or as permitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the creation of general liens or security interests under industry practices for transactions in portfolio assets are not deemed to involve the issuance of senior securities); |
| (2) | underwrite or participate in the marketing of securities of other issuers, except (a) the Fund may, acting alone or in syndicates or groups, purchase or otherwise acquire securities of other issuers for investment, either from the issuers or from persons in a control relationship with the issuers or from underwriters of such securities; and (b) to the extent that, in connection with the disposition of the Fund's securities, the Fund may be a selling shareholder in an offering or deemed to be an underwriter under certain federal securities laws; |
| (3) | make direct investments in real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments, although the Fund may purchase and sell other interests in real estate including securities which are secured by real estate, or securities of companies which make real estate loans or own, or invest or deal in, real estate; |
| (4) | invest in physical commodities or physical commodity contracts, except that investments in essentially financial items or arrangements such as, but not limited to, swap arrangements, hybrids, currencies, currency and other forward contracts, delayed delivery and when-issued contracts, futures contracts and options on futures contracts on securities, securities indices, interest rates and currencies shall not be deemed investments in commodities or commodities contracts; |
| (5) | lend any security or make any other loan if, as a result, more than 33 1/3% of its total assets would be lent to other parties, but this restriction does not apply to purchases of debt securities or repurchase agreements. |
| (6) | invest 25% or more of the value of its total assets in any one industry or group of industries, as determined by standard industry classification codes. However, the Fund is not obligated to sell excess securities when securities of a given industry come to constitute 25% or more of the value of the Fund's total assets by reason of changes in value of either the concentrated securities or other securities, and |
| (7) | borrow money, including reverse repurchase agreements in so far as such agreements may be regarded as borrowings, except for borrowings from a bank and not in an amount in excess of 33 1/3% of the value of its total assets (including the proceeds of any such borrowings). The Fund will not make investments in securities when the outstanding borrowing exceeds 5% of the Fund's total assets. |
19
Non-Fundamental Restrictions
The following investment restrictions are non-fundamental and may be changed with respect to the Fund without shareholder approval. Under these restrictions, the Fund may not:
| (1) | purchase any security or enter into a repurchase agreement if as a result more than 15% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are illiquid (including repurchase agreements not entitling the holder to payment of principal and interest within seven days); |
| (2) | engage in transactions in options except in connection with options on securities, securities indices, currencies and interest rates, and options on futures of securities, securities indices, currencies and interest rates; |
| (3) | purchase securities on margin or make short sales of securities or maintain a short position except for short sales "against the box" (for the purpose of this restriction, escrow or custodian receipts or letters, margin or safekeeping accounts, or similar arrangements used in the industry in connection with the trading of futures, options and forward commitments are not deemed to involve the use of margin); |
| (4) | purchase a security issued by another investment company, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act or any exemptive order from the SEC; |
| (5) | invest 10% or more of the value of its total assets in options. However, a Fund is not obligated to sell options when options come to constitute 10% or more of the value of the Fund's total assets by reason of changes in value of either options or other securities; and |
| (6) | with regard to Fundamental Restriction (7) above - Such borrowing will only be made from a bank and for extraordinary or emergency purposes, such as permitting redemption requests to be honored. |
Excluding the Fund's restrictions regarding borrowing (Fundamental Restriction (7) above) and illiquid securities (Non-fundamental Restriction (1) above), any investment restriction or limitation which involves a maximum percentage of securities or assets shall not be considered to be violated unless an excess over the percentage occurs immediately after an acquisition of securities and such excess results therefrom. If events subsequent to a transaction result in the Fund exceeding the percentage limitation on illiquid securities, the Sub-Adviser will reduce the percentage of held in illiquid securities as soon as practical until the Fund is in compliance with that percentage limitation. If events subsequent to a transaction result in the Fund exceeding the percentage limitation on borrowings, the Sub-Adviser will reduce the percentage of borrowings within 3 days (not including Sundays or holidays or such longer period as the Commission may prescribe by rules and regulations) until the Fund is in compliance with that percentage limitation.
20
Portfolio Turnover
Although the Fund generally will not invest for short-term trading purposes, portfolio securities may be sold without regard to the length of time they have been held when, in the opinion of the Adviser, as applicable, investment considerations warrant such action. Portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing (1) the lesser of purchases or sales of portfolio securities for the fiscal year by (2) the monthly average of the value of portfolio securities owned during the fiscal year. A 100% turnover rate would occur if all the securities in the Fund's portfolio, with the exception of securities whose maturities at the time of acquisition were one year or less, were sold and either repurchased or replaced within one year. A high rate of portfolio turnover (100% or more) generally leads to higher transaction costs and may result in a greater number of taxable transactions. To the extent net short-term capital gains are realized, any distributions resulting from such gains will generally be taxed at ordinary income tax rates for federal income tax purposes.
The Predecessor Fund's portfolio turnover rates for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2025, and May 31, 2024, were 0% and 9%, respectively.
Portfolio Holdings Information
The Trust's Board has adopted a policy regarding the disclosure of information about the Fund's security holdings. The Fund's entire portfolio holdings are publicly disseminated each day the Fund is open for business through financial reporting and news services including publicly available internet web sites. In addition, the composition of the in-kind creation basket and the in-kind redemption basket is publicly disseminated daily prior to the opening of the Exchange via the National Securities Clearing Corporation ("NSCC").
Greater than daily access to information concerning the Fund's portfolio holdings will be permitted (i) to certain personnel of service providers to the Fund involved in portfolio management and providing administrative, operational, risk management, or other support to portfolio management, and (ii) to other personnel of the Fund's service providers who deal directly with, or assist in, functions related to investment management, administration, custody and fund accounting, as may be necessary to conduct business in the ordinary course, agreements with the Fund, and the terms of the Trust's current registration statement. From time to time, and in the ordinary course of business, such information may also be disclosed (i) to other entities that provide services to the Fund, including pricing information vendors, and third parties that deliver analytical, statistical or consulting services to the Fund and (ii) generally after it has been disseminated to the NSCC.
21
The Fund will disclose its complete portfolio holdings in public filings with the SEC on a quarterly basis, based on the Fund's fiscal year-end, within 60 days of the end of the quarter, and will provide that information to shareholders, as required by federal securities laws and regulations thereunder.
No person is authorized to disclose any of the Fund's portfolio holdings or other investment positions (whether in writing, by fax, by e-mail, orally, or by other means) except in accordance with this policy. The Trust's Chief Compliance Officer may authorize disclosure of portfolio holdings. The Board reviews the implementation of this policy on a periodic basis.
Management of the Fund
Trustees and Officers
The overall management of the business and affairs of the Trust is vested with the Board. The Board approves all significant agreements between the Trust and persons or companies furnishing services to it, including the agreements with the Adviser, Distributor, co-administrators, custodian and transfer agent. The day-to-day operations of the Trust are delegated to its officers, except that the Adviser is responsible for making day-to-day investment decisions in accordance with the Fund's investment objective, strategies, and policies, all of which are subject to general supervision by the Board. All Trustees are trustees of the FPA Fund Complex.
Trustees serve until the next meeting of shareholders or until their successors are duly elected. Since shareholder meetings are not held each year, a Trustee's term is indefinite in length. If a Trustee dies or resigns, a successor generally can be elected by the remaining Trustees. Each Trustee was last elected to the Board at a shareholder meeting held on June 1, 2023.
Sandra Brown, Robert F. Goldrich, and John P. Zader, are all of the Trustees of the Trust who are not "interested persons" of the Trust, as that term is defined in the 1940 Act (collectively, the "Independent Trustees").
The Trustees and officers of the Trust, their years of birth and positions with the Trust, term of office with the Trust and length of time served, their business addresses and principal occupations during the past five years and other directorships held during the past five years are listed in the table below.
|
Name, Address(1) and Age |
Position(s) with Trust |
Term of Office and Length of Time Served |
Principal Occupations During Past Five Years and Other Affiliations |
Number of Portfolios in FPA Fund Complex Overseen By Trustee(4) |
Other Directorships Held By Trustee During Past Five Years(5) |
| Independent Trustees | |||||
|
Sandra Brown Born 1955 |
Trustee | Unlimited; Since 2016 | Consultant (2009 - present). Formerly, CEO and President of Transamerica Financial Advisers, Inc. (1999 - 2009); President, Transamerica Securities Sales Corp. (1998 - 2009); Vice President, Bank of America Mutual Fund Administration (1990 - 1998); Trustee of Bragg Capital Trust (2020 - 2023). | 8 | None |
22
|
Name, Address(1) and Age |
Position(s) with Trust |
Term of Office and Length of Time Served |
Principal Occupations During Past Five Years and Other Affiliations |
Number of Portfolios in FPA Fund Complex Overseen By Trustee(4) |
Other Directorships Held By Trustee During Past Five Years(5) |
|
Robert F. Goldrich Born 1962 |
Trustee | Unlimited; Since 2022 | President of WireFox LLC (2022 - present); SVP Strategies Initiative of CMW Strategies (2022 - 2024); President/CFO of the Leon Levy Foundation (2014 - 2022); Trustee of Bragg Capital Trust (2022 - 2023). | 8 | None |
|
John P. Zader Born 1961 |
Trustee | Unlimited; Since 2023 | Retired (2014 - present); Formerly, CEO, UMB Fund Services, Inc.-, a mutual fund and hedge fund service provider (2006 - 2014); President, Investment Managers Series Trust (2007 - 2014). | 8 | Investment Managers Series Trust, a registered investment company (2007-2022) and Investment Managers Series Trust II, a registered investment company (includes 222 portfolios) (2013 -present). |
| Interested Trustees | |||||
|
J. Richard Atwood Born 1960(2) |
Trustee | Unlimited; Since 2016 | Retired (January 2025 - present); Formerly, Director and President of FPA GP, Inc., the General Partner of the Adviser (2018 - 2024) and Managing Partner of FPA (2000 - 2024); Director/Trustee of each FPA Fund since 2016; President of each FPA Fund (2016 - 2023). | 8 | None |
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|
Name, Address(1) and Age |
Position(s) with Trust |
Term of Office and Length of Time Served |
Principal Occupations During Past Five Years and Other Affiliations |
Number of Portfolios in FPA Fund Complex Overseen By Trustee(4) |
Other Directorships Held By Trustee During Past Five Years(5) |
|
Maureen Quill(3) Born 1963 |
Trustee and President |
Unlimited; Since 2023 |
President, Investment Managers Series Trust III (2023 - present); President-, Investment Managers Series Trust (2019 - present); EVP/Executive Director Registered Funds (2018 - present). Formerly, Chief Operating Officer (2014 - 2018), and Executive Vice President (2007 - 2014), UMB Fund Services, Inc.; President, UMB Distribution Services (2013 - 2020); Vice President, Investment Managers Series Trust (2013 - 2014). |
Investment Managers Series Trust, a registered investment company (includes 30 portfolios) (2019 - present). |
| (1) | The address of each Trustee is 235 West Galena Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212. |
| (2) | Mr. Atwood is an "interested person" within the meaning of the 1940 Act by virtue of his affiliation with the Adviser. Mr. Atwood will resign as Trustee of the Trust by April 30, 2026. |
| (3) | Ms. Quill is an "interested person" within the meaning of the 1940 Act by virtue of her affiliation with UMB Fund Services, Inc. |
| (4) | The Trust is comprised of multiple series managed by unaffiliated investment advisers. Each Trustee serves as Trustee of each series of the Trust. The term "FPA Fund Complex" applies only to the series managed by the same investment adviser, as well as to Source Capital, a closed-end investment management company, to which the Trustees also serve as Trustees. The Adviser also serves as investment adviser to the (i) FPA Crescent Fund, (ii) FPA New Income Fund, (iii) FPA Flexible Fixed Income Fund, (iv) FPA Queens Road Small Cap Value Fund, (v) FPA Queens Road Value Fund, and (vi) FPA Short Duration Government ETF which are offered in separate prospectuses. The Fund does not hold itself out as related to any other series within the Trust, for purposes of investment and investor services. |
| (5) | "Other Directorships Held" includes only directorships of companies required to register or file reports with the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (that is, "public companies"), or other investment companies registered under the 1940 Act. |
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Officers of the Trust
Officers of the Trust are elected annually by the Board. The following individuals serve as officers of the Trust.
|
Name, Address(1) and |
Position with Trust |
Year First Elected as Officer of the Trust |
Principal Occupation(s) |
|||
|
Rita Dam Born 1966 |
Treasurer and Assistant Secretary | 2023 | Co-Chief Executive Officer (2016 - present), and Vice President (2006 - 2015), Mutual Fund Administration, LLC; Treasurer and Assistant Secretary, Investment Managers Series Trust (2007 - present); Co-President, Foothill Capital Management, LLC, a registered investment adviser (2018 - 2022). | |||
|
Diane Drake Born 1967 |
Secretary | 2023 | Senior Counsel, Mutual Fund Administration, LLC (2015 - present); Chief Compliance Officer, Foothill Capital Management, LLC, a registered investment adviser (2018 - 2019). | |||
|
Martin Dziura Born 1959 |
Chief Compliance Officer | 2023 | Principal, Dziura Compliance Consulting, LLC (2014 - present); Managing Director, Cipperman Compliance Services (2010 - 2014); Chief Compliance Officer, Hanlon Investment Management (2009 - 2010); Vice President - Compliance, Morgan Stanley Investment Management (2000 - 2009). | |||
|
Max Banhazl Born 1987 |
Vice President | 2023 | Vice President, Mutual Fund Administration, LLC (2012 - present); Managing Director, Marketing and Sales Director, Foothill Capital Management (2018 - 2022). | |||
|
Korey Bauer Born 1989 |
Vice President | 2023 | Vice President/Business Development, Mutual Fund Administration, LLC (2022-present); Chief Investment Officer, Managing Director, and Portfolio Manager of Foothill Capital Management (2018 - 2022); Portfolio Manager, AXS Investments, LLC (2020 - 2022); President, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of Bauer Capital Management, LLC (2014 - 2018). |
| (1) |
The address for Ms. Dam, Ms. Drake, Mr. Banhazl, and Mr. Bauer: 2220 E. Route 66, Suite 226, Glendora, California 91740. The address for Mr. Dziura: 309 Woodridge Lane, Media, Pennsylvania 19063. |
Leadership Structure and Responsibilities of the Board and its Committees
The Board has general oversight responsibility with respect to the Fund's business and affairs. Although the Board has delegated day-to-day oversight to the Adviser, all Fund operations are overseen by the Board, which meets at least quarterly. The Board is currently composed of five Trustees, three of whom are each not an "interested person" of the Fund, as that term is defined in the 1940 Act (each an "Independent Trustee"). The Board holds executive sessions (with and without partners and/or employees of the Adviser) in connection with its regularly scheduled Board meetings. The Independent Trustees have retained "independent legal counsel" as defined in the rules under the 1940 Act.
The Board has appointed an Independent Trustee to serve in the role of Chairman. The Chairman's responsibilities include presiding at all meetings of the Board, working with the President to set the agenda for meetings and serving as liaison among the other Trustees and with Trust officers and management personnel.
The Board periodically reviews its leadership structure, including the role of the Chairman. The Board also conducts an annual self- assessment during which it reviews its leadership and Committee structure and considers whether its structure remains appropriate in light of the Fund's current operations, among other matters. The Board believes that its leadership structure, including the current percentage of the Board who are Independent Trustees, is appropriate given its specific characteristics.
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The Board is comprised of individuals with considerable and varied business experiences, backgrounds, skills, and qualifications who collectively have a strong knowledge of business and financial matters and are committed to helping the Fund achieve its investment objective while acting in the best interests of the Fund's shareholders. Several members of the Board have had a long and continued service with the Fund. As noted in the table above, the Trustees bring a variety of experiences and qualifications through their business backgrounds in the fields of consulting and strategic planning, education, corporate management, and investment management. The Board believes that each particular Trustee's financial and business experience gives him or her the qualifications and skills to serve as a Trustee. Notwithstanding the accomplishments noted above, none of the members of the Board is considered an "expert" within the meaning of the federal securities laws with respect to the information in the Fund's registration statement.
Day-to-day management of the Fund, including risk management, is the responsibility of the Adviser, which is responsible for managing all Fund operations and the Fund's risk management processes. The Board oversees the processes implemented by the Adviser, Sub- Adviser and other service providers to manage relevant risks and considers risk management issues as part of its responsibilities throughout the year at regular meetings. The Audit Committee also considers risk management issues affecting the Fund's financial reporting and controls at its regular meetings throughout the year. The Adviser and other service providers prepare regular reports for Board and Audit Committee meetings that address a variety of risk-related matters, and the Board as a whole or the Audit Committee may also receive special written reports or presentations on a variety of risk issues at their request. For example, the portfolio manager of the Fund meets regularly with the Board to discuss portfolio performance, including investment risk trading, and the impact on the Fund's investments in particular securities. The Adviser also prepares reports for the Board regarding various issues, including valuation and liquidity.
Not all risks that may affect the Fund can be identified or processes and controls developed to eliminate or mitigate their effect. Moreover, it is necessary to bear certain risks (such as investment-related risks) to achieve the Fund's objectives. As a result of the foregoing and other factors, the ability of the Fund's service providers to eliminate or mitigate risks is subject to limitations.
The Board has also appointed a chief compliance officer ("CCO") for the Fund. The CCO reports directly to the Board and participates in the meetings of the Board. The Independent Trustees meet quarterly in executive session with the CCO, and the CCO prepares and presents periodic compliance reports, which update compliance activities to date and results thereon. Additionally, the CCO presents an annual written report to the Board evaluating and reporting on the Fund's compliance policies and procedures.
26
Committees of the Board
The Board has an Audit Committee and a Nominating, Governance and Regulatory Review Committee ("Nominating Committee"). The responsibilities of each committee are described below.
The Audit Committee is comprised of all of the Independent Trustees. The Committee makes recommendations to the Board concerning the selection of the Fund's independent registered public accounting firm and reviews with such firm the results of the annual audit, including the scope of auditing procedures, the adequacy of internal controls, and compliance by the Fund with the accounting, recording and financial reporting requirements of the 1940 Act. The Audit Committee is expected to meet at least twice a year with respect to each series of the Trust.
The Nominating Committee is comprised of all of the Independent Trustees. The Committee recommends to the full Board nominees for election as Trustees of the Fund to fill the vacancies on the Board, when and as they occur. The Committee periodically reviews such issues as the Board's composition and compensation and other relevant issues, and recommends any appropriate changes to the full Board. While the Committee normally is able to identify from its own resources an ample number of qualified candidates, it will consider shareholders' suggestions of persons to be considered as nominees to fill future vacancies on the Board. Such suggestions must be sent in writing to the Nominating Committee of the Fund, in care of the Fund's Secretary, and must be accompanied by complete biographical and occupational data on the prospective nominee along with a written consent of the prospective nominee for consideration of their name by the Committee. The determination of nominees recommended by the Committee is within the full discretion of the Committee, and a final selection of nominees is within the sole discretion of the Board. Therefore, no assurance can be given that any persons recommended by shareholders will be nominated as Trustees.
The Nominating Committee is responsible for searching for Trustee candidates that meet the evolving needs of the Board. Trustee candidates must have the highest personal and professional ethics and integrity. Additional criteria weighed by the Nominating Committee in the Trustee identification and selection process include the relevance of a candidate's experience in investment company and/or public company businesses, enterprise or business leadership and managerial experience, broad economic and policy knowledge, the candidate's independence from conflicts of interest or direct economic relationship with the Fund, financial literacy and knowledge, and the candidate's ability and willingness to devote the proper time to prepare for, attend and participate in discussions in meetings. The Committee also takes into account whether a candidate satisfies the criteria for independence under the rules and regulations of the 1940 Act, and if a nominee is sought for service on the Audit Committee, the financial and accounting expertise of a candidate, including whether the candidate would qualify as an Audit Committee financial expert. While the Nominating Committee does not have a formal policy regarding diversity on the Board, consideration is given to nominating persons with different perspectives and experience to enhance the deliberation and decision-making processes of the Board.
27
Trustee Compensation
The following information relates to compensation paid to the Trustees. The Fund typically pays each Independent Trustee an annual retainer, as well as fees for attending meetings of the Board and its Committees. Board and Committee chairs receive additional fees for their services. No pension or retirement benefits are accrued as part of Fund expenses. Each such Independent Trustee is also reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses incurred as a Trustee. No other entity affiliated with the Trust pays any compensation to the Trustees.
Effective January 1, 2026, each Independent Trustee receives a fixed annual retainer of $195,000, payable in equal quarterly increments; $6,000 for each special in-person meeting attended; and $2,500 for each other special meeting attended by videoconference or teleconference at which Board action is taken and/or materials were prepared for review. In addition, Mr. Zader receives an additional annual retainer of $50,000 for serving as Chair of the Board; Ms. Brown receives an additional annual retainer of $20,000 for serving as Chair of the Audit Committee; and Mr. Goldrich receives an additional annual retainer of $20,000 for serving as Chair of the Nominating Committee.
Previously, each Independent Trustee received a fixed annual retainer of $177,500, payable in equal quarterly increments; $6,000 for each special in-person meeting attended; and $2,500 for each other special meeting attended by videoconference or teleconference at which Board action is taken and/or materials were prepared for review. In addition, Mr. Zader received an additional annual retainer of $40,000 for serving as Chair of the Board; Ms. Brown received an additional annual retainer of $20,000 for serving as Chair of the Audit Committee; and Mr. Goldrich received an additional annual retainer of $20,000 for serving as chair of the Nominating Committee. The Trust has no pension or retirement plan.
The Trust has no pension or retirement plan. No other entity affiliated with the Trust pays any compensation to the Trustees.
The Trustees may elect to defer payment of their compensation from the Fund pursuant to the Trust's non-qualified Deferred Compensation Plan for Trustees which permits the Trustees to defer receipt of all or part of their compensation from the Trust. Amounts deferred are deemed invested in shares of one or more series of the Trust, as selected by the Trustee from time to time. A Trustee's deferred compensation account will be paid in cash at such times as elected by the Trustee, subject to certain mandatory payment provisions in the Deferred Compensation Plan. Deferral and payment elections under the Deferred Compensation Plan are subject to strict requirements for modification.
Mr. Atwood is not compensated for his service as Trustee because of his affiliation with the Adviser. Ms. Quill is not compensated for her service as Trustee because of her affiliation with UMB Fund Services, Inc. Officers of the Trust are not compensated by the Fund for their services.
28
|
Sandra Brown, Independent Trustee and Audit Committee Chair |
Robert F. Goldrich, Independent Trustee and Nominating Committee Chair |
John P. Zader, Independent Trustee and Chairperson |
||||||||||
| FPA Queens Road Value Fund - Predecessor Fund1,3 | $ | 8,281.23 | $ | 8,281.23 | $ | 9,046.53 | ||||||
| Pension or Retirement Benefits Accrued as Part of Fund's Expenses3 | None | None | None | |||||||||
| Estimated Annual Benefits Upon Retirement | None | None | None | |||||||||
| Total Compensation from FPA Fund Complex Paid to Trustees1,2,3 | $ | 186,775.25 | $ | 186,755.25 | $ | 202,478.52 | ||||||
| 1 | For the Predecessor Fund's fiscal year ended May 31, 2025. | |
| 2 | There are currently multiple portfolios comprising the Trust. Total compensation from the FPA Fund Complex also includes compensation for serving as a Trustee of Source Capital. The FPA Funds do not hold themselves out as related to any other series within the Trust, for purposes of investment and investor services. For the fiscal year ended May 31, 2025, the aggregate Independent Trustees' fees for the Trust were $576,029. | |
| 3 | Mr. Zader elected to defer payment of his compensation from the Predecessor Fund under the Predecessor Fund's non-qualified Deferred Compensation Plan for Trustees under which trustees may defer receipt of all or part of their compensation from the Fund. As of the fiscal year ended May 31, 2025, the total amount of deferred compensation payable to Mr. Zader was $57,430. |
29
Fund Shares Owned by Trustees
Certain information regarding ownership by the Trustees of the Predecessor Fund and the FPA Fund Complex, as of December 31, 2025 is set forth in the following table.
| Name of Trustee |
Ownership in Predecessor Fund ($) |
Ownership in FPA Fund Complex ($) |
||
| Sandra Brown, Independent Trustee | None | $10,001-$50,000 | ||
| Robert F. Goldrich, Independent Trustee | None | None | ||
| John P. Zader, Independent Trustee | None | None | ||
| J. Richard Atwood, Interested Trustee | Over $100,000 | Over $100,000 | ||
| Maureen Quill, Interested Trustee | None | None |
Code of Ethics
The Trust, the Adviser, and the Sub-Adviser have each adopted Codes of Ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act. These Codes of Ethics are designed to prevent officers and/or employees who may have access to nonpublic information about the trading activities of the Fund (access persons) from profiting from that information.
The Adviser's Code of Ethics outlines policies and procedures designed to detect and prevent conflicts of interest relating to personal trading by employees and to ensure that FPA effects transactions for clients in a manner consistent with its fiduciary duty and in accordance with applicable laws. The Adviser's Code of Ethics prohibits FPA employees from purchasing securities (with certain limited exceptions) that are held in any client account or are under active consideration for purchase or sale by any client account. Included in this prohibition are all equivalent and/or related securities, based on the issuer. In addition, all employees are prohibited from trading, either personally or on behalf of others, on material nonpublic information or communicating material nonpublic information to others in violation of the law. Various procedures have been adopted under the Adviser's Code of Ethics including the requirement to pre-clear all applicable transactions. Additional restrictions relating to short-term trading and purchases of initial public offerings are also defined in the Adviser's Code of Ethics and applicable to all employees. This requirement does not apply to 401(k) investments and month-end direct payroll deductions into the mutual funds managed by the Adviser, nor does it apply to money market funds, bankers' acceptances, bank certificates of deposit, or commercial paper. The Sub-Adviser has adopted a Code of Ethics pursuant to the requirements of the 1940 Act. Under the Sub-Adviser Code of Ethics, personnel are allowed to engage in personal securities transactions only in accordance with certain conditions relating to such person's position, the identity of the security, the timing of the transaction, and other similar factors. Transactions in securities held by the Fund are permitted, subject to compliance with the Code of Ethics.
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Control Persons and Principal Shareholders
A control person is one who owns beneficially or through controlled companies more than 25% of the voting securities of a fund or acknowledges the existence of control1. Shareholders with a controlling interest could affect the outcome of voting or the direction of management of a fund. The following table lists the control persons of the Predecessor Fund as of January 6, 2026.1
| Control Persons | Jurisdiction |
% of Total Outstanding Shares of the Predecessor Fund as of January 6, 2026 |
||||
|
Pershing LLC Jersey City, NJ 07303 |
New Jersey | 53.52 | % | |||
| 1 | The Predecessor Fund has no information regarding the beneficial owners of Fund shares owned through accounts with financial intermediaries. |
The following table lists the principal shareholders of the Predecessor Fund as of January 6, 2026. The principal shareholders are holders of record of 5% or more of the outstanding shares of the Predecessor Fund, including the listed shareholders that are financial intermediaries.1
| Principal Shareholders |
% of Total Outstanding Shares of the Predecessor Fund as of January 6, 2026 |
|||
| FPA Queens Road Value Fund - Predecessor Fund | ||||
|
Pershing LLC Jersey City, NJ 07303 |
53.54 | % | ||
|
National Financial Services LLC Jersey City, NJ 07310 |
13.56 | % | ||
|
LPL Financial San Diego, CA 92121 |
8.70 | % | ||
|
Ascensus Trust Company FBO Fargo, ND 58106 |
7.89 | % | ||
|
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. San Francisco, CA 94105 |
6.95 | % | ||
| 1 | The Predecessor Fund has no information regarding the beneficial owners of Fund shares owned through accounts with financial intermediaries. |
As of the date of this SAI, the Trustees and officers of the Trust as a group did not own more than 1% of the outstanding shares of the Fund or Predecessor Fund. Furthermore, neither the Independent Trustees, nor members of their immediate families, own securities beneficially or of record in the Adviser, the Fund's distributor, Distribution Services, LLC (the "Distributor"), or any of their respective affiliates.
The Adviser
First Pacific Advisors, LP, 2101 E. El Segundo Blvd., Suite 301, El Segundo, California 90245, serves as the Fund's investment adviser. The Adviser is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. As of December 31, 2025, the Adviser manages assets of approximately $31.9 billion and serves as the investment adviser for other investment companies as well as institutional, sub-advised and private fund accounts. As of December 31, 2025, the personnel of First Pacific Advisors, LP consists of 20 persons engaged full time in portfolio management or investment research in addition to 57 persons engaged full time in trading, administrative, sales, client service, financial, legal, compliance or clerical activities. FPA is a privately owned limited partnership. FPA GP is the general partner of FPA. Steven Romick has a controlling interest in FPA.
31
Subject to the oversight of the Board, the Adviser is responsible for the overall management of the Fund's investment related business affairs. Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement (the "Advisory Agreement") with the Fund, the Adviser, subject to the supervision of the Board, and in conformity with the stated policies of the Fund, manages the portfolio investment operations of the Fund. The Adviser has overall supervisory responsibilities for the general management and investment of the Fund's securities portfolio, as detailed below, which are subject to review and approval by the Board. In general, the Adviser's duties include setting the Fund's overall investment strategies and asset allocation.
Expenses not expressly assumed by the Adviser under the Advisory Agreement are paid by the Fund. Under the terms of the Advisory Agreement, the Fund is responsible for the payment of the following expenses among others: (a) the fees payable to the Adviser, (b) the fees and expenses of Trustees who are not affiliated persons of the Adviser or the Distributor, (c) the fees and certain expenses of the custodian and transfer and dividend disbursing agent, including the cost of maintaining certain required records of the Fund and of pricing the Shares, (d) the charges and expenses of legal counsel and independent accountants for the Fund, (e) brokerage commissions and any issue or transfer taxes chargeable to the Fund in connection with its securities transactions, (f) all taxes and corporate fees payable by the Fund to governmental agencies, (g) the fees of any trade association of which the Fund may be a member, (h) the cost of fidelity and liability insurance, (i) the fees and expenses involved in registering and maintaining registration of the Fund and of shares with the SEC, qualifying its shares under state securities laws, including the preparation and printing of the Fund's registration statements and prospectuses for such purposes, (j) all expenses of shareholders and Board meetings (including travel expenses of trustees and officers of the Trust who are not directors, officers or employees of the Adviser) and of preparing, printing and mailing reports, proxy statements and prospectuses to shareholders in the amount necessary for distribution to the shareholders and (k) litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund's business.
The Advisory Agreement will remain in effect for an initial two-year period. After the initial two-year period, the Advisory Agreement will continue in effect with respect to the Fund from year to year only if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the Board or by vote of a majority of the Fund's outstanding voting securities and by a majority of the Trustees who are not parties to the Advisory Agreement or interested persons of any such party, at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on the Advisory Agreement. The Advisory Agreement is terminable without penalty by the Trust on behalf of the Fund, upon giving the Adviser 60 days' notice when authorized either by a majority vote of the Fund's shareholders or by a vote of a majority of the Board, or by the Adviser on 60 days' written notice, and will automatically terminate in the event of its "assignment" (as defined in the 1940 Act). The Advisory Agreement provides that the Adviser shall not be liable for any error of judgment or for any loss suffered by the Trust in connection with the Advisory Agreement, except for a loss resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty, or for a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its duties, or from reckless disregard by the Adviser of its duties under the Advisory Agreement.
32
In consideration of the services to be provided by the Adviser pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser is entitled to receive from the Fund an investment advisory fee (computed daily and payable monthly) of 0.95% of the Fund's average daily net assets.
The Adviser has contractually agreed to limit the Fund's total annual fund operating expenses (excluding any front-end or contingent deferred loads, brokerage fees and commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses, borrowing costs (such as interest and dividend expense on securities sold short), taxes, and extraordinary expenses, such as litigation expenses (which may include indemnification of Fund officers and Trustees, contractual indemnification of Fund service providers (other than the Adviser))), to 0.73% of the Fund's average daily net assets for a period of two years following the reorganization of the Predecessor Fund. The Adviser may recoup operating expenses in excess of these limits from the Fund within three years if such recoupment can be achieved within the lesser of the foregoing expense limits and the expense limits in place at the time of recoupment. This agreement may be terminated by the Board only on 60 days' written notice to the Adviser. In addition, the Adviser may seek reimbursement from the Fund of fees waived or payments made by the Adviser to the Predecessor Fund prior to the Predecessor Fund's reorganization for a period ending three years after the date of the waiver or payment if such recoupment can be achieved within the lesser of the foregoing expense limited and the expense limits in place at the time of the recoupment.
For the fiscal years ended May 31, 2025, May 31, 2024, and May 31, 2023, the Predecessor Fund paid the following advisory fees:
| Fiscal Year |
Gross Advisory Fees Earned by the Adviser |
Advisory Fees Waived |
Net Fees Earned by the Adviser |
|||||||||
| For the fiscal year ended May 31, 2025 | $ | 476,269 | $ | 352,543 | $ | 123,726 | ||||||
| For the fiscal year ended May 31, 20241 | $ | 349,533 | $ | 349,533 | $ | 0 | ||||||
| For the fiscal year ended May 31, 20231 | $ | 310,556 | $ | 310,556 | $ | 0 | ||||||
1 Prior to July 28, 2023, fees were paid to the respective predecessor fund.
The Sub-Adviser
The Fund's sub-adviser, Bragg Financial Advisors, Inc., is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisors Act of 1940. BFA is owned by Benton Bragg, John Bragg, Phillip Bragg, and Steve Scruggs.
The Sub-Adviser acts as investment sub-adviser to the Fund pursuant to an Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement among the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser and the Trust (the "Sub-Advisory Agreement"). This Sub-Advisory Agreement will continue in effect for two years after its initial effectiveness and will continue from year to year as long as it is approved at least annually by both (i) a vote of the majority of the Trustees or a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund (as defined by the 1940 Act), and (ii) a vote of the majority of the Trustees who are not parties to the Sub-Advisory Agreement or "interested persons" of any party thereto, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. The Sub-Advisory Agreement may be terminated by the Fund upon 60 days' notice to the Sub- Adviser, and by the Sub-Adviser upon 90 days' notice to the Fund. The Sub-Advisory Agreement cannot be assigned, and automatically terminates in the event of assignment. A transaction that does not result in a change of actual control or management of an adviser is not deemed an assignment, as provided by the 1940 Act.
33
Subject to the supervision and direction of the Adviser and the Board of Trustees, the Sub-Adviser manages the Fund's portfolio in accordance with the stated policies of the Fund. As described in the Prospectus, the Adviser pays the Sub-Adviser a sub-advisory fee based on the net assets of the Fund. Under the terms of the Sub-Advisory Agreement, the Sub-Adviser is entitled to receive an annual fee from FPA equal to approximately 0.57% of the Fund's average daily net assets.
Portfolio Manager
Set forth below is the following information with respect to the portfolio manager who is primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund's portfolio, as identified in the Prospectus: (i) other accounts managed by the portfolio manager, (ii) a description of the portfolio manager's compensation structure and (iii) the dollar range of the portfolio manager's investments in the Fund.
Other Accounts* Managed by Portfolio Manager. As of May 31, 2025, information on other accounts managed by the Predecessor Fund's portfolio manager is as follows:
|
Registered Investment Companies |
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles | Other Accounts | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portfolio Manager |
Number of Accounts |
Total Assets (in millions) |
Number of Accounts |
Total Assets (in millions) |
Number of Accounts |
Total Assets (in millions) |
||||||||||||||||||
| Steven H. Scruggs | 0 | $ | 0 | 0 | $ | 0 | 0 | $ | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| Number of Accounts with Advisory Fee Based on Performance | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Registered Investment Companies |
Other Pooled Investment Vehicles | Other Accounts | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portfolio Manager |
Number of Accounts |
Total Assets (in millions) |
Number of Accounts |
Total Assets (in millions) |
Number of Accounts |
Total Assets (in millions) |
||||||||||||||||||
| Steven H. Scruggs | 0 | $ | 0 | 0 | $ | 0 | 0 | $ | 0 | |||||||||||||||
* Other accounts include separate accounts and high net worth individual accounts.
Potential Conflicts of Interest. The fact that the portfolio manager may have day-to-day management responsibility for more than one client account may create actual, potential or only apparent conflicts of interest. For example, the portfolio manager may have an opportunity to purchase securities of limited availability. In this circumstance, the portfolio manager is expected to review each account's investment guidelines, restrictions, tax considerations, cash balances, liquidity needs and other factors to determine the suitability of the investment for each account and to ensure that his or her managed accounts are treated equitably. The portfolio manager may also decide to purchase or sell the same security for multiple managed accounts at approximately the same time. The portfolio manager may allocate securities in a manner other than pro-rata if it determines that the allocation is fair and equitable under the circumstances and does not discriminate against any account.
34
Finally, conflicts of interest may arise when the portfolio manager personally buys, holds or sells securities held or to be purchased or sold for the Fund or other client account or personally buys, holds or sells the shares of the Fund. To address this, the Fund has adopted a written Code of Ethics designed to prevent and detect personal trading activities that may interfere or conflict with client interests (including Fund shareholders' interests). A copy of the Code of Ethics is available free of charge by calling toll free 1-800-638-3060.
The Fund has adopted certain compliance procedures which are designed to address the above-described types of conflicts. However, there is no guarantee that such procedures will detect each and every situation in which a conflict arises.
Compensation. The portfolio manager is paid a base salary plus bonuses based on the operating profit of the Fund. In setting the base salary, the Sub-Adviser seeks to be competitive in light of the portfolio manager's experience and responsibilities.
The portfolio manager is paid a discretionary performance bonus based on the performance of the firm. The amount, nature and timing of the performance bonus are made at the discretion of the owners of the Sub-Adviser.
Additionally, the portfolio manager may receive distributions of the Sub-Adviser's profits to the extent that the portfolio manager is a shareholder of the Sub-Adviser. Steven H. Scruggs is a portfolio manager and shareholder of the Sub-Adviser.
Portfolio Manager Fund Ownership. As of May 31, 2025, the portfolio manager owned shares of the Predecessor Fund as set forth in the table below.
| Name of Portfolio Manager |
Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Predecessor Fund |
|
| Steven H. Scruggs | Over $1,000,000 |
Service Providers
Pursuant to a Co-Administration Agreement (the "Co-Administration Agreement"), UMB Fund Services, Inc. ("UMBFS"), 235 West Galena Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212, and Mutual Fund Administration, LLC ("MFAC"), 2220 E. Route 66, Suite 226, Glendora, California 91740 (collectively the "Co-Administrators"), serve as co-administrators for the Fund. The Co-Administrators provide certain administrative services to the Fund, including, among other responsibilities, coordinating the negotiation of contracts and fees with, and the monitoring of performance and billing of, the Fund's independent contractors and agents; preparing for signature by an officer of the Trust of all documents required to be filed for compliance with applicable laws and regulations including those of the securities laws of various states; arranging for the computation of performance data, including net asset value and yield; arranging for the maintenance of books and records of the Fund; and providing, at their own expense, office facilities, equipment and personnel necessary to carry out their duties. In this capacity, the Co-Administrators do not have any responsibility or authority for the management of the Fund, the determination of investment policy, or for any matter pertaining to the distribution of Fund shares. The Co-Administration Agreement provides that neither Co-Administrator shall be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Trust or its series, except for losses resulting from a Co-Administrator's willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence in the performance of its duties or from reckless disregard by it of its obligations and duties under the Agreement. The Adviser pays the Co-Administrators a fee for administration services. The fee is payable monthly based on the Fund's average daily net assets.
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The Predecessor Fund paid the following co-administration fees for the period(s) indicated:
| Co-Administration Fees ($)1 | ||||
| For the fiscal year ended May 31, 2025 | $ | 57,580 | ||
| For the period July 28, 20232 through May 31, 2024 | $ | 63,214 | ||
1 Includes Fund Administration, Accounting, Transfer Agent and Custody fees.
2 Prior to the July 28, 2023, fees were paid to the predecessor administrator.
Transfer Agent. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., located at 50 Post Office Square, Boston, Massachusetts 02110, serves as the Fund's transfer agent. The transfer agent provides record keeping and shareholder services.
Custodian. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., located at 50 Post Office Square, Boston, Massachusetts 02110, serves as the Fund's custodian. The custodian holds the securities, cash and other assets of the Fund.
Fund Accounting Agent. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., located at 50 Post Office Square, Boston, Massachusetts 02110, serves as the fund accounting agent for the Fund. The fund accounting agent calculates the Fund's daily NAV.
Legal Counsel. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, 600 Anton Boulevard, Suite 1800, Costa Mesa, California 92626, serves as legal counsel to the Trust and the Independent Trustees.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. Tait, Weller & Baker LLP ("Tait Weller"), Two Liberty Place, 50 S. 16th Street, Suite 2900, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102-2529, is the independent registered public accounting firm for the Fund. Its services include auditing the Fund's financial statements and the performance of related tax services.
Distributor. Distribution Services, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Foreside Financial Group, LLC (d/b/a ACA Group), is the distributor (also known as the principal underwriter) of the shares of the Fund and is located at 190 Middle Street, Suite 301, Portland, Maine 04101. The Distributor is a registered broker-dealer and is a member of FINRA. The Distributor is not affiliated with the Trust, the Adviser, or any other service provider for the Fund.
Distribution Agreement
Under a Distribution Agreement with the Trust (the "Distribution Agreement"), the Distributor acts as the agent of the Trust in connection with the continuous offering of shares of the Fund. The Distributor continually distributes shares of the Fund on a commercially reasonable efforts basis. The Distributor has no obligation to sell any specific quantity of Fund shares. The Distributor and its officers have no role in determining the investment policies or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the Trust.
36
The Distributor may enter into agreements with selected broker-dealers, banks or other financial intermediaries for distribution of shares of the Fund. With respect to certain financial intermediaries and related fund "supermarket" platform arrangements, the Fund and/or the Adviser, rather than the Distributor, typically enter into such agreements. These financial intermediaries may charge a fee for their services and may receive shareholder service or other fees from parties other than the Distributor. These financial intermediaries may otherwise act as processing agents and are responsible for promptly transmitting purchase, redemption and other requests to the Fund. Investors who purchase shares through financial intermediaries will be subject to the procedures of those intermediaries through which they purchase shares, which may include charges, investment minimums, cutoff times and other restrictions in addition to, or different from, those listed herein. Information concerning any charges or services will be provided to customers by the financial intermediary through which they purchase shares. Investors purchasing shares of the Fund through financial intermediaries should acquaint themselves with their financial intermediary's procedures and should read the Prospectus in conjunction with any materials and information provided by their financial intermediary. The financial intermediary, and not its customers, will be the shareholder of record, although customers may have the right to vote shares depending upon their arrangement with the financial intermediary. The Distributor does not receive compensation from the Fund for its distribution services except the distribution/service fees with respect to the shares of those classes for which a Rule 12b-1 distribution plan is effective. The Adviser pays the Distributor a fee for certain distribution-related services.
The Distribution Agreement has an initial term of up to two years and will continue in effect only if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the Board or by vote of a majority of the Fund's outstanding voting securities in accordance with the 1940 Act. The Distribution Agreement is terminable without penalty by the Trust on behalf of the Fund on no less than 60 days' written notice when authorized either by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund or by vote of a majority of the members of the Board who are not "interested persons" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Distribution Agreement, or by the Distributor, and will automatically terminate in the event of its "assignment" (as defined in the 1940 Act). The Distribution Agreement provides that the Distributor shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Trust in connection with the performance of the Distributor's obligations and duties under the Distribution Agreement, except a loss resulting from the Distributor's willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of such duties and obligations, or by reason of its reckless disregard thereof.
Pursuant to the Distribution Agreement, should any amounts be retained by the Distributor, such amounts would not be held for profit by the Distributor, but instead would be used solely for distribution-related expenditures.
37
Platform Support Fee
The Adviser may, at its own expense and out of its own resources, make payments to financial firms or their affiliated companies, which may be used for their platform development, maintenance, improvement and/or the availability of services including, but not limited to, platform education and communications, relationship management support, development to support new or changing products, risk management and regulatory compliance infrastructure in support of investment-related products, programs and services (collectively, "platform support").
Shareholder Service Plan
The Board has adopted, on behalf of the Fund, a Shareholder Service Plan (the "Service Plan") under which the Adviser will provide, or arrange for others (such as banks, trust companies, broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries (each, a "Service Organization")) to provide, certain specified non- distribution shareholder servicing functions for Fund shares owned by its respective customers, including but not limited to (a) establishing and maintaining accounts and records relating to customers who invest in the Fund; (b) aggregating and processing orders involving Fund shares; (c) processing dividend and other distribution payments from the Fund on behalf of customers; (d) preparing tax reports or forms on behalf of customers; (e) forwarding communications from the Fund; (f) providing sub-accounting with respect to shares for the Fund; (g) providing customers with a service that invests the assets of their accounts in Fund shares pursuant to specific or pre-authorized instructions; and (h) providing such other similar services as the Adviser may reasonably request to the extent it or a Service Organization is permitted to do so under applicable statutes, rules or regulations. The Fund will pay the Service Organizations at an annual rate of up to 0.25% attributable shares of the Fund's average daily net assets, payable monthly. The amount paid by the Fund to any Service Organization may be expressed in terms of a dollar amount per shareholder account in the Fund held by clients of the Service Organization, and/or in terms of percentage of the net assets of such accounts. For the fiscal year ended May 31, 2024, the Predecessor Fund paid $16,625 in shareholder servicing fees.
BROKERAGE ALLOCATION AND OTHER PRACTICES
Portfolio Transactions. Decisions to buy and sell securities for the Fund are made by the Sub-Adviser. Portfolio security transactions for the Fund are effected by or under the supervision of the Sub-Adviser.
Transactions on stock exchanges involve the payment of negotiated brokerage commissions. There is generally no stated commission in the case of securities traded in the OTC markets, but the price of those securities includes an undisclosed commission or markup. The cost of securities purchased from underwriters includes an underwriting commission or concession, and the prices at which securities are purchased from and sold to dealers include a dealer's markup or markdown.
In executing portfolio transactions and selecting brokers and dealers, it is the Fund's policy to seek the best overall terms available. In assessing the best overall terms available for any transaction, the Sub-Adviser shall consider the factors it deems relevant, including the breadth of the market in the security, the price of the security, the financial condition and execution capability of the broker or dealer, and the reasonableness of the commission, if any, for the specific transaction and on a continuing basis. In addition, the Sub-Advisory Agreement authorizes the Sub-Adviser to pay a higher commission than is charged by other broker-dealers if the Sub-Adviser determines in good faith that the commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) provided to the Fund.
38
The Board of Trustees will periodically review the commissions paid by the Fund to determine if the commissions paid over representative periods of time were reasonable in relation to the benefits inuring to the Fund. It is possible that certain of the services received will primarily benefit one or more other accounts for which investment discretion is exercised. Conversely, the Fund may be the primary beneficiary of services received as a result of portfolio transactions effected for other accounts. The Sub-Adviser's fee under the Sub-Advisory Agreement is not reduced by reason of the Sub-Adviser's receiving such brokerage and research services.
Although investment decisions for the Fund are made independently from those of the other accounts managed by the Sub-Adviser, investments of the kind made by the Fund may also be made by those other accounts. When the Fund and one or more accounts managed by the Sub-Adviser are prepared to invest in, or desire to dispose of, the same security, available investments or opportunities for sales will be allocated in a manner believed by the Sub-Adviser to be equitable. In some cases, this procedure may adversely affect the price paid or received by a Fund or the size of the position obtained for or disposed of by the Fund.
When selecting brokers, the Fund negotiates with its brokers to ensure that the Fund pays a rate of commission that is competitive with the current market environment as determined by the Sub-Adviser.
All trades are made in accordance with the 17e-1 procedures of the Trust. The Predecessor Fund paid the following brokerage commissions for the periods indicated:
| Fund | Brokerage Commissions | |||||||||||
|
Fiscal year ended May 31, 2025 |
Fiscal year ended May 31, 2024 |
Fiscal year ended May 31, 2023 |
||||||||||
| FPA Queens Road Value Fund - Predecessor Fund | $ | 0 | $ | 1,738 | 1 | $ | 100 | |||||
1 The variations in brokerage commissions for the Predecessor Fund were due to portfolio turnover.
No commissions were paid by the Predecessor Fund to any affiliated broker during the last three fiscal years.
39
Holdings of Securities of the Fund's Regular Brokers and Dealers
From time to time, the Fund may acquire and hold securities issued by its "regular brokers or dealers" or the parents of those brokers or dealers. "Regular brokers or dealers" (as such term is defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund are the ten brokers or dealers that, during the most recent fiscal year, (i) received the greatest dollar amounts of brokerage commissions from the Fund's portfolio transactions, (ii) engaged as principal in the largest dollar amounts of the portfolio transactions of the Fund, or (iii) sold the largest dollar amounts of the Fund's shares. For the fiscal year ended May 31, 2025, the Predecessor Fund did not hold any securities of its regular brokers or dealers.
Anti-Money Laundering Program
The Trust has established an Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Program (the "Program") as required by the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 ("USA PATRIOT Act"). In order to ensure compliance with this law, the Program provides for the development and implementation of internal practices, procedures and controls, designation of anti-money laundering compliance officers, an ongoing training program and an independent audit function to determine the effectiveness of the Program. An officer of the Trust's Transfer Agent serves as the Trust's Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer.
Procedures to implement the Program include, but are not limited to, determining that the Fund's Transfer Agent has established proper anti-money laundering procedures, reporting suspicious and/or fraudulent activity, checking shareholder names against designated government lists, including Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC"), and providing a complete and thorough review of all new opening account applications. The Trust will not transact business with any person or entity whose identity cannot be adequately verified under the provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act.
Determination of Net Asset Value
The NAV of the Fund's shares will fluctuate and is determined as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, the normal close of regular trading on the Exchange on each day the Exchange is open for trading. The NAV may be calculated earlier if permitted by the SEC. The Exchange annually announces the days on which it will not be open for trading. The most recent announcement indicates that the Exchange will not be open for the following holidays: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. However, the Exchange may close on days not included in that announcement.
The NAV of the Fund is computed by dividing (a) the difference between the value of the Fund's securities, cash and other assets and the amount of the Fund's expenses and liabilities attributable to the class by (b) the number of shares outstanding in that class (assets - liabilities / # of shares = NAV). The NAV takes into account all of the expenses and fees of that class of the Fund, including management fees and administration fees, which are accrued daily.
40
| Net Assets | = | NAV |
| Shares Outstanding |
Generally, the Fund's investments are valued at market value or, in the absence of a market value, at fair value as determined in good faith by the Adviser pursuant to procedures approved by or under the direction of the Board. Pursuant to those procedures, the Board has appointed the Adviser as the Fund's valuation designee (the "Valuation Designee") to perform all fair valuations of the Fund's portfolio investments, subject to the Board's oversight. The Adviser considers, among other things: 1) the last sale price on the securities exchange, if any, on which a security is primarily traded; 2) the mean between the bid and ask prices; 3) price quotations from an approved pricing service (which use information provided by market makers or estimates of market value based on similar securities), and 4) other factors as necessary to determine a fair value under certain circumstances. As the Valuation Designee, the Adviser has established procedures for its fair valuation of the Fund's portfolio investments. These procedures address, among other things, determining when market quotations are not readily available or reliable and the methodologies to be used for determining the fair value of investments, as well as the use and oversight of third-party pricing services for fair valuation.
The Fund's securities which are traded on securities exchanges are valued at the last sale price on the exchange on which such securities are traded, as of the close of business on the day the securities are being valued or, lacking any reported sales, at the last available bid price.
Pricing services generally value debt securities assuming orderly transactions of an institutional round lot size, but such securities may be held or transactions may be conducted in such securities in smaller, odd lot sizes. Odd lots often trade at lower prices than institutional round lots.
Securities that are traded on more than one exchange are valued on the exchange determined by the Adviser to be the primary market. Securities primarily traded on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation ("Nasdaq"), National Market System for which market quotations are readily available shall be valued using the Nasdaq Official Closing Price ("NOCP"). If the NOCP is not available, such securities shall be valued at the last sale price on the day of valuation, or if there has not been any sale on such day, at the mean between the bid and ask prices. OTC securities which are not traded on the Nasdaq National Market System shall be valued at the most recent trade price.
Stocks that are "thinly traded" or events occurring when a foreign market is closed but the NYSE is open (for example, the value of a security held by the Fund has been materially affected by events occurring after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded) may create a situation in which a market quote would not be readily available. When a market quote is not readily available, the security's value is based on "fair value" as determined by procedures adopted by the Adviser. The Adviser will periodically review the reliability of the Fund's fair value methodology. The Fund may hold portfolio securities such as those traded on foreign securities exchanges that trade on weekends or other days when the Fund's shares are not priced. Therefore, the value of the Fund's shares may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or redeem shares.
41
Short-term debt obligations with remaining maturities in excess of 60 days are valued at current market prices, as discussed above. Short-term securities with 60 days or less remaining to maturity are, unless conditions indicate otherwise, are amortized to maturity based on their cost to the Fund if acquired within 60 days of maturity or, if already held by the Fund on the 60th day, based on the value determined on the 61st day.
All other assets of the Fund are valued in such manner as the Adviser in good faith deems appropriate to reflect as their fair value.
BOOK ENTRY ONLY SYSTEM
Depository Trust Company ("DTC") acts as securities depositary for the Fund's shares. Shares of the Fund are represented by securities registered in the name of DTC or its nominee, Cede & Co., and deposited with, or on behalf of, DTC. Except in limited circumstances set forth below, certificates will not be issued for shares.
DTC is a limited-purpose trust company that was created to hold securities of its participants (the "DTC Participants") and to facilitate the clearance and settlement of securities transactions among the DTC Participants in such securities through electronic book-entry changes in accounts of the DTC Participants, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of securities certificates. DTC Participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and certain other organizations, some of whom (and/or their representatives) own DTC. More specifically, DTC is owned by a number of its DTC Participants and by the 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 of the Fund is limited to DTC Participants, Indirect Participants, and persons holding interests through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants. Ownership of beneficial interests in shares of the Fund (owners of such beneficial interests are referred to herein as "Beneficial Owners") is shown on, and the transfer of ownership is effected only through, records maintained by DTC (with respect to DTC Participants) and on the records of DTC Participants (with respect to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners that are not DTC Participants). Beneficial Owners will receive from or through the DTC Participant a written confirmation relating to their purchase of shares of the Fund. The Trust recognizes DTC or its nominee as the record owner of all shares of the Fund for all purposes. Beneficial Owners of shares of the Fund are not entitled to have such shares registered in their names, and will not receive or be entitled to physical delivery of share certificates. Each Beneficial Owner must rely on the procedures of DTC and any DTC Participant and/or Indirect Participant through which such Beneficial Owner holds its interests, to exercise any rights of a holder of shares of the Fund.
Conveyance of all notices, statements, and other communications to Beneficial Owners is effected as follows. DTC will make available to the Trust upon request and for a fee a listing of shares of the Fund held by each DTC Participant. The Trust shall obtain from each such DTC Participant the number of Beneficial Owners holding shares of the Fund, directly or indirectly, through such DTC Participant. The Trust shall provide each such DTC Participant with copies of such notice, statement, or other communication, in such form, number and at such place as such DTC Participant may reasonably request, in order that such notice, statement or communication may be transmitted by such DTC Participant, directly or indirectly, to such Beneficial Owners. In addition, the Trust shall pay to each such DTC Participant a fair and reasonable amount as reimbursement for the expenses attendant to such transmittal, all subject to applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
42
Share distributions shall be made to DTC or its nominee, Cede & Co., as the registered holder of all shares of the Fund. DTC or its nominee, upon receipt of any such distributions, shall credit immediately DTC Participants' accounts with payments in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in the Fund as shown on the records of DTC or its nominee. Payments by DTC Participants to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners of shares of the Fund 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 the Fund's shares, or for maintaining, supervising, or reviewing any records relating to such beneficial ownership interests, or for any other aspect of the relationship between DTC and the DTC Participants or the relationship between such DTC Participants and the Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners owning through such DTC Participants.
DTC may determine to discontinue providing its service with respect to the Fund at any time by giving reasonable notice to the Fund and discharging its responsibilities with respect thereto under applicable law. Under such circumstances, the Fund shall take action either to find a replacement for DTC to perform its functions at a comparable cost or, if such replacement is unavailable, to issue and deliver printed certificates representing ownership of shares of the Fund, unless the Trust makes other arrangements with respect thereto satisfactory to the Exchange.
PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION OF SHARES IN CREATION UNITS
The Fund issues and redeems its shares on a continuous basis, at NAV, only in a large, specified number of shares called a "Creation Unit," either principally in-kind for securities designated by the Fund together with the deposit of a specified cash payment or in cash for the value of such securities. The NAV of the Fund's shares is determined once each Business Day (defined below), as described below under "Determination of Net Asset Value." The Creation Unit size may change. Authorized Participants will be notified of such change.
Purchase (Creation)
The Trust issues and sells shares of the Fund only: (i) in Creation Units on a continuous basis through the Distributor, without a sales load (but subject to transaction fees), at their NAV per share next determined after receipt of an order, on any Business Day, in proper form pursuant to the terms of the Authorized Participant Agreement ("Participant Agreement"); or (ii) pursuant to the Dividend Reinvestment Service (defined below). The Fund will not issue fractional Creation Units. A Business Day is, generally, any day on which the Exchange is open for business.
43
Fund Deposit
The consideration for purchase of a Creation Unit of the Fund generally consists of either (i) the in-kind deposit of the Deposit Securities and the Cash Component (defined below), computed as described below, or (ii) the cash value of the Deposit Cash and the Cash Component. When accepting purchases of Creation Units for cash, the Fund may incur additional costs associated with the acquisition of Deposit Securities that would otherwise be provided by an in-kind purchaser. These additional costs may be recoverable from the purchaser of Creation Units.
Together, the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, and the Cash Component constitute the "Fund Deposit," which represents the minimum initial and subsequent investment amount for a Creation Unit of the Fund. The "Cash Component" is an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of the shares of the Fund (per Creation Unit) and the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable. If the Cash Component is a positive number (i.e., the NAV per Creation Unit exceeds the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable), the Cash Component shall be such positive amount. If the Cash Component is a negative number (i.e., the NAV per Creation Unit is less than the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable), the Cash Component shall be such negative amount and the creator will be entitled to receive cash in an amount equal to the Cash Component. The Cash Component serves the function of compensating for any differences between the NAV per Creation Unit and the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable. Computation of the Cash Component excludes any stamp duty or other similar fees and expenses payable upon transfer of beneficial ownership of the Deposit Securities, if applicable, which shall be the sole responsibility of the Authorized Participant (as defined below).
The Fund, through NSCC, makes available on each Business Day, prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m., Eastern time), the list of the names and the required number of shares of each Deposit Security or the required amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, to be included in the current standard Fund Deposit (based on information at the end of the previous Business Day) for the Fund. Such standard Fund Deposit is subject to any applicable adjustments as described below, in order to effect purchases of Creation Units of the Fund until such time as the next-announced composition of the Deposit Securities or the required amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, is made available.
The identity and number of shares of the Deposit Securities or the amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, required for the Fund Deposit for the Fund may be changed from time to time with a view to the investment objective of the Fund. The composition of the Deposit Securities may also change in response to corporate action events and adjustments to the weighting or composition of the Fund's portfolio.
The Trust reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of Deposit Cash to replace any Deposit Security, which shall be added to the Cash Component, including, without limitation, in situations where the Deposit Security: (i) may not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery; (ii) may not be eligible for transfer through the systems of DTC for corporate securities and municipal securities or the Federal Reserve System for U.S. Treasury securities; (iii) may not be eligible for trading by an Authorized Participant (as defined below) or the investor for which it is acting; (iv) would be restricted under the securities laws or where the delivery of the Deposit Security to the Authorized Participant would result in the disposition of the Deposit Security by the Authorized Participant becoming restricted under the securities laws; or (v) in certain other situations (collectively, "custom orders"). The Trust also reserves the right to (i) permit or require the substitution of Deposit Securities in lieu of Deposit Cash; and (ii) include or remove Deposit Securities from the basket in anticipation of or implementation of changes to the Fund's portfolio.
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Cash Purchase Method
The Trust may at its discretion permit full or partial cash purchases of Creation Units of the Fund. When full or partial cash purchases of Creation Units are available or specified for the Fund, they will be effected in essentially the same manner as in-kind purchases thereof. In the case of a full or partial cash purchase, the Authorized Participant must pay the cash equivalent of the Deposit Securities it would otherwise be required to provide through an in-kind purchase, plus the same Cash Component required to be paid by an in-kind purchaser together with a creation transaction fee and non-standard charges, as may be applicable.
Procedures for Purchase of Creation Units
To be eligible to place orders with the Transfer Agent to purchase a Creation Unit of the Fund, an entity must be (i) a "Participating Party", i.e., a broker-dealer or other participant in the clearing process through the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC (the "Clearing Process"), a clearing agency that is registered with the SEC; or (ii) a DTC Participant (see "Book Entry Only System"). In addition, each Participating Party or DTC Participant (each, an "Authorized Participant") must execute a Participant Agreement that has been agreed to by the Distributor, and that has been accepted by the Transfer Agent and the Trust, with respect to purchases and redemptions of Creation Units. Each Authorized Participant will agree, pursuant to the terms of a Participant Agreement, on behalf of itself or any investor on whose behalf it will act, to certain conditions, including that it will pay to the Trust, an amount of cash sufficient to pay the Cash Component together with the creation transaction fee (defined below) and any other applicable fees, taxes, and additional variable charge. The Adviser may retain all or a portion of the creation transaction fee to the extent the Adviser bears the expenses that otherwise would be borne by the Trust in connection with the purchase of a Creation Unit, which the creation transaction fee is designed to cover.
All orders to purchase shares of the Fund directly from the Fund, including custom orders, must be placed for one or more Creation Units in the manner and by the time set forth in the Participant Agreement and/or applicable order form. The date on which an order to purchase Creation Units (or an order to redeem Creation Units, as set forth below) is received and accepted is referred to as the "Order Placement Date."
An Authorized Participant may require an investor to make certain representations or enter into agreements with respect to the order, (e.g., to provide for payments of cash, when required). Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not have executed a Participant Agreement and that, therefore, orders to purchase shares directly from the Fund in Creation Units have to be placed by the investor's broker through an Authorized Participant that has executed a Participant Agreement. In such cases there may be additional charges to such investor. At any given time, there may be only a limited number of broker-dealers that have executed a Participant Agreement and only a small number of such Authorized Participants may have international capabilities.
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On days when the Exchange closes earlier than normal, the Fund may require orders to create Creation Units to be placed earlier in the day. In addition, if a market or markets on which the Fund's investments are primarily traded is closed, the Fund will also generally not accept orders on such day(s). Orders must be transmitted by an Authorized Participant by telephone or other transmission method acceptable to the Transfer Agent pursuant to procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement and in accordance with the AP Handbook or applicable order form. The Transfer Agent will notify the Custodian of such order. The Custodian will then provide such information to the appropriate local sub-custodian(s). Those placing orders through an Authorized Participant should allow sufficient time to permit proper submission of the purchase order to the Transfer Agent by the applicable cut-off time on such Business Day. Economic or market disruptions or changes, or telephone or other communication failure may impede the ability to reach the Transfer Agent or an Authorized Participant.
Fund Deposits must be delivered by an Authorized Participant through the Federal Reserve System (for cash and U.S. government securities) or through DTC (for corporate securities), through a sub-custody agent (for foreign securities) and/or through such other arrangements allowed by the Trust or its agents. With respect to foreign Deposit Securities, the Custodian shall cause the sub-custodian of the Fund to maintain an account into which the Authorized Participant shall deliver, on behalf of itself or the party on whose behalf it is acting, such Deposit Securities (or Deposit Cash for all or a part of such securities, as permitted or required), with any appropriate adjustments as advised by the Trust. Foreign Deposit Securities must be delivered to an account maintained at the applicable local sub-custodian. The Fund Deposit transfer must be ordered by the Authorized Participant in a timely fashion so as to ensure the delivery of the requisite number of Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, to the account of the Fund or its agents by no later than the Settlement Date. The "Settlement Date" for the Fund is generally the first Business Day after the Order Placement Date. The Fund reserves the right to settle transactions on a basis other than "T" plus one Business Day (i.e., days on which the Exchange is open) ("T+1"). All questions as to the number of Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash to be delivered, as applicable, and the validity, form and eligibility (including time of receipt) for the deposit of any tendered securities or cash, as applicable, will be determined by the Trust, whose determination shall be final and binding. The amount of cash represented by the Cash Component must be transferred directly to the Custodian through the Federal Reserve Bank wire transfer system in a timely manner so as to be received by the Custodian no later than the Settlement Date. If the Cash Component and the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, are not received by the Custodian in a timely manner by the Settlement Date, the creation order may be cancelled and the Authorized Participant shall be liable to the Fund for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. Upon written notice to the Distributor, such canceled order may be resubmitted the following Business Day using the Fund Deposit as newly constituted to reflect the then current NAV of the Fund.
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The order shall be deemed to be received on the Business Day on which the order is placed provided that the order is placed in proper form prior to the applicable cut-off time and the federal funds in the appropriate amount are deposited by 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, with the Custodian on the Settlement Date. If the order is not placed in proper form as required, or federal funds in the appropriate amount are not received by 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on the Settlement Date, then the order may be deemed to be rejected and the Authorized Participant shall be liable to the Fund for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. A creation request is considered to be in "proper form" if all procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement, AP Handbook, order form, and this SAI are properly followed.
Issuance of a Creation Unit
Except as provided herein, Creation Units will not be issued until the transfer of good title to the Trust of the Deposit Securities or payment of Deposit Cash, as applicable, and the payment of the Cash Component have been completed. When the sub-custodian has confirmed to the Custodian that the required Deposit Securities (or the cash value thereof) have been delivered to the account of the relevant sub-custodian or sub-custodians, the Adviser shall be notified of such delivery, and the Trust will issue and cause the delivery of the Creation Units. The delivery of Creation Units so created generally will occur no later than the first Business Day following the day on which the purchase order is deemed received by the Transfer Agent. However, the Fund reserves the right to settle Creation Unit transactions on a basis other than the first Business Day following the day on which the purchase order is deemed received by the Transfer Agent in order to accommodate foreign market holiday schedules, to account for different treatment among foreign and U.S. markets of dividend record dates and ex-dividend dates (that is the last day the holder of a security can sell the security and still receive dividends payable on the security), and in certain other circumstances. The Authorized Participant shall be liable to the Fund for losses, if any, resulting from unsettled orders.
Creation Units may be purchased in advance of receipt by the Trust of all or a portion of the applicable Deposit Securities as described below. In these circumstances, the initial deposit will have a value greater than the NAV of the shares of the Fund on the date the order is placed in proper form since in addition to available Deposit Securities, cash must be deposited in an amount equal to the sum of (i) the Cash Component, plus (ii) an additional amount of cash equal to a percentage of the market value as set forth in the Participant Agreement, of the undelivered Deposit Securities (the "Additional Cash Deposit"), which shall be maintained in a separate non-interest bearing collateral account. The Authorized Participant must deposit with the Custodian the Additional Cash Deposit, as applicable, by the time set forth in the Participant Agreement on the Settlement Date. If the Fund or its agents do not receive the Additional Cash Deposit in the appropriate amount, by such time, then the order may be deemed rejected and the Authorized Participant shall be liable to the Fund for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. An additional amount of cash shall be required to be deposited with the Trust, pending delivery of the missing Deposit Securities to the extent necessary to maintain the Additional Cash Deposit with the Trust in an amount at least equal to the applicable percentage, as set forth in the Participant Agreement, of the daily marked to market value of the missing Deposit Securities. The Trust may use such Additional Cash Deposit to buy the missing Deposit Securities at any time. Authorized Participants will be liable to the Trust for all costs, expenses, dividends, income, and taxes associated with missing Deposit Securities, including the costs incurred by the Trust in connection with any such purchases. These costs will be deemed to include the amount by which the actual purchase price of the Deposit Securities exceeds the value of such Deposit Securities on the day the purchase order was deemed received by the Transfer Agent plus the brokerage and related transaction costs associated with such purchases. The Trust will return any unused portion of the Additional Cash Deposit once all of the missing Deposit Securities have been properly received by the Custodian or purchased by the Trust and deposited into the Trust. In addition, a creation transaction fee as set forth below under "Creation Transaction Fee" may be charged and an additional variable charge may also apply. The delivery of Creation Units so created generally will occur no later than the Settlement Date.
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Acceptance of Orders of Creation Units
The Trust reserves the right to reject an order for Creation Units transmitted to it by the Transfer Agent in respect of the Fund including, without limitation, if (a) the order is not in proper form or the Deposit Securities delivered do not consist of the securities that the Custodian specified; (b) the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, delivered by the Authorized Participant are not as disseminated through the facilities of the NSCC for that date by the Custodian; (c) the investor(s), upon obtaining the shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding shares of the Fund; (d) the acceptance of the Fund Deposit would, in the opinion of counsel, be unlawful; (e) the acceptance or receipt of the order for a Creation Unit would, in the opinion of counsel to the Trust, be unlawful; or (f) circumstances outside the control of the Trust, the Custodian, the Transfer Agent, the Distributor and/or the Adviser make it for all practical purposes not feasible to process orders for Creation Units.
Examples of such circumstances include acts of God or public service or utility problems such as fires, floods, extreme weather conditions and power outages resulting in telephone, telecopy and computer failures; market conditions or activities causing trading halts; systems failures involving computer or other information systems affecting the Trust, the Distributor, the Custodian, a sub-custodian, the Transfer Agent, DTC, NSCC, Federal Reserve System, or any other participant in the creation process, and other extraordinary events. The Distributor shall notify a prospective creator of a Creation Unit and/or the Authorized Participant acting on behalf of the creator of a Creation Unit of its rejection of the order of such person. The Trust, the Transfer Agent, the Custodian, any sub-custodian and the Distributor are under no duty, however, to give notification of any defects or irregularities in the delivery of Fund Deposits nor shall either of them incur any liability for the failure to give any such notification. The Trust, the Transfer Agent, the Custodian and the Distributor shall not be liable for the rejection of any purchase order for Creation Units.
All questions as to the number of shares of each security in the Deposit Securities and the validity, form, eligibility and acceptance for deposit of any securities to be delivered shall be determined by the Trust, and the Trust's determination shall be final and binding.
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Creation Transaction Fee
A fixed purchase (i.e., creation) transaction fee may be imposed for the transfer and other transaction costs associated with the purchase of Creation Units ("Creation Order Costs"). The standard creation transaction fee for the Fund is currently $400 for in-kind purchases and $100 for cash purchases, regardless of the number of Creation Units created in the transaction. The Fund may adjust the creation transaction fee from time to time. The creation transaction fee may be waived on certain orders if the Custodian has determined to waive some or all of the Creation Order Costs associated with the order or another party, such as the Adviser, has agreed to pay such fee.
In addition, a variable fee may be imposed for cash purchases, non-standard orders, or partial cash purchases of Creation Units. The variable fee is primarily designed to cover non-standard charges, e.g., brokerage, taxes, foreign exchange, execution, market impact, and other costs and expenses, related to the execution of trades resulting from such transaction. In all cases, such fees will be limited in accordance with the requirements of the SEC applicable to management investment companies offering redeemable securities. The Fund may determine not to charge a variable fee on certain orders when the Adviser has determined that doing so is in the best interests of Fund shareholders, e.g., for creation orders that facilitate the rebalance of the Fund's portfolio in a more efficient manner than could have been achieved without such order.
Investors who use the services of an Authorized Participant, broker or other such intermediary may be charged a fee for such services which may include an amount for the creation transaction fee and non-standard charges. Investors are responsible for the costs of transferring the securities constituting the Deposit Securities to the account of the Trust. The Adviser may retain all or a portion of the Transaction Fee to the extent the Adviser bears the expenses that otherwise would be borne by the Trust in connection with the issuance of a Creation Unit, which the Transaction Fee is designed to cover.
Risks of Purchasing Creation Units
There are certain legal risks unique to investors purchasing Creation Units directly from the Fund. Because the Fund's shares may be issued on an ongoing basis, a "distribution" of shares could be occurring at any time. Certain activities that a shareholder performs as a dealer could, depending on the circumstances, result in the shareholder being deemed a participant in the distribution in a manner that could render the shareholder a statutory underwriter and subject to the prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the Securities Act of 1933. For example, a shareholder could be deemed a statutory underwriter if it purchases Creation Units from the Fund, breaks them down into the constituent shares, and sells those shares directly to customers, or if a shareholder chooses to couple the creation of a supply of new shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary-market demand for shares. Whether a person is an underwriter depends upon all of the facts and circumstances pertaining to that person's activities, and the examples mentioned here should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could cause you to be deemed an underwriter.
Dealers who are not "underwriters" but are participating in a distribution (as opposed to engaging in ordinary secondary-market transactions), and thus dealing with the Fund's shares as part of an "unsold allotment" within the meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the Securities Act, will be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act.
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Redemption
Shares of the Fund may be redeemed only in Creation Units at their NAV next determined after receipt of a redemption request in proper form by the Fund through the Transfer Agent and only on a Business Day. EXCEPT UPON REORGANIZATION, MERGER, CONVERSION OR LIQUIDATION OF THE FUND, THE TRUST WILL NOT REDEEM SHARES IN AMOUNTS LESS THAN CREATION UNITS. Investors must accumulate enough shares of the Fund in the secondary market to constitute a Creation Unit in order to have such shares redeemed by the Trust. There can be no assurance, however, that there will be sufficient liquidity in the public trading market at any time to permit assembly of a Creation Unit. Investors should expect to incur brokerage and other costs in connection with assembling a sufficient number of shares to constitute a redeemable Creation Unit.
With respect to the Fund, the Custodian, through the NSCC, makes available prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m. Eastern time) on each Business Day, the list of the names and share quantities of securities designated by the Fund that will be applicable (subject to possible amendment or correction) to redemption requests received in proper form (as defined below) on that day ("Redemption Securities"). Redemption Securities received on redemption may not be identical to Deposit Securities. The identity and number of shares of the Redemption Securities or the Cash Redemption Amount (defined below) may be changed from time to time with a view to the investment objective of the Fund.
Redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit are paid either in-kind or in cash, or combination thereof, as determined by the Trust. With respect to in-kind redemptions of the Fund, redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit will consist of Redemption Securities plus cash in an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of the shares of the Fund being redeemed, as next determined after a receipt of a request in proper form, and the value of the Redemption Securities (the "Cash Redemption Amount"), less any fixed redemption transaction fee as set forth below and any applicable additional variable charge as set forth below. In the event that the Redemption Securities have a value greater than the NAV of the shares of the Fund, a compensating cash payment equal to the differential is required to be made by or through an Authorized Participant by the redeeming shareholder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, at the Trust's discretion, an Authorized Participant may receive the corresponding cash value of the securities in lieu of the in-kind securities value representing one or more Redemption Securities.
Cash Redemption Method
Full or partial cash redemptions of Creation Units will be effected in essentially the same manner as in-kind redemptions thereof. In the case of full or partial cash redemptions, the Authorized Participant receives the cash equivalent of the Redemption Securities it would otherwise receive through an in-kind redemption, plus the same Cash Redemption Amount to be paid to an in-kind redeemer.
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Redemption Transaction Fee
A fixed redemption transaction fee may be imposed for the transfer and other transaction costs associated with the redemption of Creation Units ("Redemption Order Costs"). The transaction fee for the redemption of Creation Units is $400 for in-kind redemptions and $100 for cash redemptions. The Fund may adjust the redemption transaction fee from time to time. The redemption transaction fee may be waived on certain orders if the Custodian has determined to waive some or all of the Redemption Order Costs associated with the order or another party, such as the Adviser, has agreed to pay such fee.
In addition, a variable fee, payable to the Fund, may be imposed for cash redemptions, non-standard orders, or partial cash redemptions for the Fund. The variable fee is primarily designed to cover non-standard charges, e.g., brokerage, taxes, foreign exchange, execution, market impact, and other costs and expenses, related to the execution of trades resulting from such transaction. In all cases, such fees will be limited in accordance with the requirements of the SEC applicable to management investment companies offering redeemable securities. The Fund may determine not to charge a variable fee on certain orders when the Adviser has determined that doing so is in the best interests of Fund shareholders, e.g., for redemption orders that facilitate the rebalance of the Fund's portfolio in a more tax efficient manner than could be achieved without such order.
Investors who use the services of an Authorized Participant, broker or other such intermediary may be charged a fee for such services, which may include an amount for the redemption transaction fees and non-standard charges. Investors are responsible for the costs of transferring the securities constituting the Redemption Securities to the account of the Trust. The non-standard charges are payable to the Fund as it incurs costs in connection with the redemption of Creation Units, the receipt of Redemption Securities and the Cash Redemption Amount and other transactions costs. The Adviser may retain all or a portion of the redemption transaction fee to the extent the Adviser bears the expenses that otherwise would be borne by the Trust in connection with the redemption of a Creation Unit, which the redemption transaction fee is designed to cover.
When redeeming Creation Units for cash, the Fund may incur additional costs associated with the disposition of Deposit Securities that would otherwise be provided to an in-kind redeemer. These additional costs may be recoverable from the redeemer of Creation Units.
Procedures for Redemption of Creation Units
Orders to redeem Creation Units must be submitted in proper form to the Transfer Agent prior to the time as set forth in the Participant Agreement. A redemption request is considered to be in "proper form" if (i) an Authorized Participant has transferred or caused to be transferred to the Trust's Transfer Agent the Creation Unit(s) being redeemed through the book-entry system of DTC so as to be effective by the time as set forth in the Participant Agreement and (ii) a request in form satisfactory to the Trust is received by the Transfer Agent from the Authorized Participant on behalf of itself or another redeeming investor within the time periods specified in the Participant Agreement. If the Transfer Agent does not receive the investor's shares of the Fund through DTC's facilities by the times and pursuant to the other terms and conditions set forth in the Participant Agreement, the redemption request shall be rejected, unless, to the extent contemplated by the Participant Agreement, collateral is posted in an amount equal to a percentage of the value of the missing shares of the Fund as specified in the Participant Agreement (and marked to market daily).
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The Authorized Participant must transmit the request for redemption, in the form required by the Trust, to the Transfer Agent in accordance with procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement. Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not have executed a Participant Agreement, and that, therefore, requests to redeem Creation Units may have to be placed by the investor's broker through an Authorized Participant who has executed a Participant Agreement. Investors making a redemption request should be aware that such request must be in the form specified by such Authorized Participant. Investors making a request to redeem Creation Units should allow sufficient time to permit proper submission of the request by an Authorized Participant and transfer of the shares of the Fund to the Trust's Transfer Agent; such investors should allow for the additional time that may be required to effect redemptions through their banks, brokers or other financial intermediaries if such intermediaries are not Authorized Participants.
Additional Redemption Procedures
In connection with taking delivery of shares of Redemption Securities upon redemption of Creation Units, a redeeming shareholder or Authorized Participant acting on behalf of such shareholder must maintain appropriate custody arrangements with a qualified broker-dealer, bank or other custody providers in each jurisdiction in which any of the Redemption Securities are customarily traded, to which account such Redemption Securities will be delivered. Deliveries of redemption proceeds generally will be made within one Business Day of the trade date. However, due to the schedule of holidays in certain countries, the different treatment among foreign and U.S. markets of dividend record dates and dividend ex-dates (that is the last date the holder of a security can sell the security and still receive dividends payable on the security sold), and in certain other circumstances, the delivery of in-kind redemption proceeds may take longer than one Business Day after the day on which the redemption request is received in proper form. If neither the redeeming shareholder nor the Authorized Participant acting on behalf of such redeeming shareholder has appropriate arrangements to take delivery of the Redemption Securities in the applicable foreign jurisdiction and it is not possible to make other such arrangements, or if it is not possible to effect deliveries of the Redemption Securities in such jurisdiction, the Trust may, in its discretion, exercise its option to redeem such shares in cash, and the redeeming shareholders will be required to receive redemption proceeds in cash.
If it is not possible to make other such arrangements, or it is not possible to effect deliveries of the Redemption Securities, the Trust may in its discretion exercise its option to redeem such shares in cash, and the redeeming investor will be required to receive its redemption proceeds in cash. In addition, an investor may request a redemption in cash that the Fund may, in its sole discretion, permit. In either case, the investor will receive a cash payment equal to the NAV of its shares based on the NAV of shares of the Fund next determined after the redemption request is received in proper form (minus a redemption transaction fee and additional charge for requested cash redemptions specified above, to offset the Trust's brokerage and other transaction costs associated with the disposition of Redemption Securities). The Fund may also, in its sole discretion, upon request of a shareholder, provide such redeemer a portfolio of securities that differs from the exact composition of the Redemption Securities but does not differ in NAV.
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Pursuant to the Participant Agreement, an Authorized Participant submitting a redemption request is deemed to make certain representations to the Trust regarding the Authorized Participant's ability to tender for redemption the requisite number of shares of the Fund. The Trust reserves the right to verify these representations at its discretion, but will typically require verification with respect to a redemption request from the Fund in connection with higher levels of redemption activity and/or short interest in the Fund. If the Authorized Participant, upon receipt of a verification request, does not provide sufficient verification of its representations as determined by the Trust, the redemption request will not be considered to have been received in proper form and may be rejected by the Trust.
Redemptions of shares for Redemption Securities will be subject to compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws and the Fund (whether or not it otherwise permits cash redemptions) reserves the right to redeem Creation Units for cash to the extent that the Trust could not lawfully deliver specific Redemption Securities upon redemptions or could not do so without first registering the Redemption Securities under such laws. An Authorized Participant or an investor for which it is acting subject to a legal restriction with respect to a particular security included in the Redemption Securities applicable to the redemption of Creation Units may be paid an equivalent amount of cash. The Authorized Participant may request the redeeming investor of the shares of the Fund to complete an order form or to enter into agreements with respect to such matters as compensating cash payment. Further, an Authorized Participant that is not a "qualified institutional buyer," ("QIB") as such term is defined under Rule 144A of the Securities Act, will not be able to receive Redemption Securities that are restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A. An Authorized Participant may be required by the Trust to provide a written confirmation with respect to QIB status in order to receive Redemption Securities.
Because the portfolio securities of the Fund may trade on the relevant exchange(s) on days that the Exchange is closed or are otherwise not Business Days for the Fund, shareholders may not be able to redeem their shares, or to purchase or sell shares on the Exchange, on days when the NAV of the Fund could be significantly affected by events in the relevant foreign markets.
The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed with respect to the Fund (1) for any period during which the New York Stock Exchange is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings); (2) for any period during which trading on the New York Stock Exchange is suspended or restricted; (3) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which disposal of the securities owned by the Fund or determination of the NAV of the shares of the Fund is not reasonably practicable; or (4) in such other circumstance as is permitted by the SEC.
Federal Income Tax Matters
The following is a summary of certain material U.S. federal (and, where noted, state and local) income tax considerations affecting the Fund and its shareholders. The discussion is very general. Current and prospective shareholders are therefore urged to consult their own tax advisors with respect to the specific federal, state, local and foreign tax consequences of investing in the Fund. The summary is based on the laws in effect on the date of this SAI and existing judicial and administrative interpretations thereof, all of which are subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect.
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The Fund is treated as a separate entity from other series of the Trust for federal income tax purposes. The Fund has elected to be, and intends to qualify each year for treatment as, a "regulated investment company" under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), by complying with all applicable requirements of the Code, including, among other things, requirements as to the sources of the Fund's income, diversification of the Fund's assets and timing of Fund distributions. To so qualify, the Fund must, among other things: (a) derive at least 90% of its gross income in each taxable year from dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities loans, and gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or foreign currencies, or other income derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies, and net income derived from interests in "qualified publicly traded partnerships" (i.e., partnerships that are traded on an established securities market or tradable on a secondary market, other than partnerships that derive 90% of their income from interest, dividends, capital gains, and other traditionally permitted mutual fund income) (collectively, "qualifying income"); (b) diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each quarter of the Fund's taxable year, (i) at least 50% of the market value of the Fund's assets is represented by cash, securities of other regulated investment companies, U.S. government securities and other securities, with such other securities limited, in respect of any one issuer, to an amount not greater than 5% of the Fund's assets and not greater than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of its assets is invested, including through corporations in which the Fund owns a 20% or more voting stock interest, in the securities (other than U.S. government securities or securities of other regulated investment companies) of any one issuer, in the securities (other than the securities of other regulated investment companies) of any two or more issuers that the Fund controls and that are determined to be engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses or related trades or businesses, or in the securities of one or more "qualified publicly traded partnerships"; and (c) distribute an amount equal to the sum of at least 90% of its investment company taxable income (computed without regard to the dividends-paid deduction) and 90% of its net tax-exempt income, if any, for the tax year (including, for purposes of satisfying this distribution requirement, certain distributions made by the Fund after the close of its taxable year that are treated as made during such taxable year).
As a regulated investment company, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its taxable investment income and capital gains that it distributes to its shareholders provided that it satisfies a minimum distribution requirement. In order to also avoid liability for a non-deductible federal excise tax, the Fund must distribute (or be deemed to have distributed) by December 31 of each calendar year at least the sum of (i) 98% of its ordinary income for such year, (ii) 98.2% of the excess of its realized capital gains over its realized capital losses for the 12-month period generally ending on October 31 during such year and (iii) any amounts from the prior calendar year that were not distributed and on which the Fund paid no federal income tax. The Fund will be subject to income tax at the applicable corporate tax rate on any taxable income or gains that it does not distribute to its shareholders. The Fund's policy is to distribute to its shareholders all investment company taxable income (determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid) and any net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss) for each fiscal year in a manner that complies with the distribution requirements of the Code, so that the Fund will not be subject to any federal income or excise taxes.
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If, for any taxable year, the Fund were to fail to qualify as a regulated investment company or were to fail to meet certain minimum distribution requirements under the Code, it would be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation and distributions to its shareholders would not be deductible by the Fund in computing its taxable income. In addition, in the event of a failure to qualify, the Fund's distributions, to the extent derived from the Fund's current or accumulated earnings and profits, including any distributions of net capital gain, would be taxable to shareholders as ordinary dividend income for federal income tax purposes. However, such dividends would be eligible, subject to any generally applicable limitations, (i) to be treated as qualified dividend income in the case of shareholders taxed as individuals and (ii) for the dividends received deduction in the case of corporate shareholders. Moreover, if the Fund were to fail to qualify as a regulated investment company in any year, it would be required to distribute its earnings and profits accumulated in that year in order to qualify again as a regulated investment company. Under certain circumstances, the Fund may be able to cure a failure to qualify as a regulated investment company, but in order to do so the Fund might incur significant Fund-level taxes and might be forced to dispose of certain assets. If the Fund failed to qualify as a regulated investment company for a period greater than two taxable years, the Fund would generally be required to recognize any net built-in gains with respect to certain of its assets upon a disposition of such assets within five years of qualifying as a regulated investment company in a subsequent year.
Shareholders generally will be subject to federal income taxes on distributions made by the Fund whether paid in cash or additional shares. Distributions of net investment income (including interest, dividend income and net short-term capital gain in excess of any net long-term capital loss, less certain expenses), other than qualified dividend income, will be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income. Distributions of qualified dividend income, generally will be taxed to non-corporate shareholders at the federal income tax rates applicable to net capital gain, provided the Fund reports the amount distributed as qualified dividend income.
In general, dividends may be reported by the Fund as qualified dividend income if they are attributable to qualified dividend income received by the Fund. Qualified dividend income generally means dividend income received from the Fund's investments in common and preferred stock of U.S. companies and stock of certain qualified foreign corporations, provided that certain holding period and other requirements are met by both the Fund and its shareholders. If 95% or more of the Fund's gross income (calculated without taking into account net capital gain derived from sales or other dispositions of stock or securities) consists of qualified dividend income, the Fund may report all distributions of such income as qualified dividend income.
A foreign corporation is treated as a qualified foreign corporation for this purpose if it is incorporated in a possession of the United States or it is eligible for the benefits of certain income tax treaties with the United States and meets certain additional requirements. Certain foreign corporations that are not otherwise qualified foreign corporations will be treated as qualified foreign corporations with respect to dividends paid by them if the stock with respect to which the dividends are paid is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States. Passive foreign investment companies are not qualified foreign corporations for this purpose. Dividends received by the Fund from REITs generally do not qualify for treatment as qualified dividend income.
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Dividends paid by the Fund may qualify in part for the dividends-received deduction available to corporate shareholders, provided the Fund reports the amount distributed as a qualifying dividend and certain holding period and other requirements under the Code are satisfied. The reported amount, however, cannot exceed the aggregate amount of qualifying dividends received by the Fund for its taxable year. Eligibility for qualified dividend income treatment and the dividends-received deduction may be reduced or eliminated if, among other things, (i) the shareholder is under an obligation (whether pursuant to a short sale or otherwise) to make related payments with respect to positions in substantially similar or related property or (ii) certain holding period requirements are not satisfied at both the Fund and shareholder levels. In addition, qualified dividend income treatment is not available if a shareholder elects to have the dividend income treated as investment income for purposes of the limitation on deductibility of investment interest.
If the Fund receives a dividend (other than a capital gain dividend) in respect of any share of REIT stock with a tax holding period of at least 46 days during the 91-day period beginning on the date that is 45 days before the date on which the stock becomes ex-dividend as to that dividend, then Fund dividends attributable to that REIT dividend income (as reduced by certain Fund expenses) may be reported by the Fund as eligible for the 20% deduction for "qualified REIT dividends" generally available to noncorporate shareholders under the Code. In order to qualify for this deduction, noncorporate shareholders must meet minimum holding period requirements with respect to their Fund shares.
Under Section 163(j) of the Code, a taxpayer's business interest expense is generally deductible to the extent of the taxpayer's business interest income plus certain other amounts. If the Fund earns business interest income, it may report a portion of its dividends as "Section 163(j) interest dividends," which its shareholders may be able to treat as business interest income for purposes of Section 163(j) of the Code. The Fund's "Section 163(j) interest dividend" for a tax year will be limited to the excess of its business interest income over the sum of its business interest expense and other deductions properly allocable to its business interest income. In general, the Fund's shareholders may treat a distribution reported as a Section 163(j) interest dividend as interest income only to the extent the distribution exceeds the sum of the portions of the distribution reported as other types of tax-favored income. To be eligible to treat a Section 163(j) interest dividend as interest income, a shareholder may need to meet certain holding period requirements in respect of the Fund shares and must not have hedged its position in the Fund shares in certain ways.
Distributions of net capital gain, if any, that the Fund reports as capital gain dividends will be taxable to non-corporate shareholders as long-term capital gain without regard to how long a shareholder has held shares of the Fund. The Fund may retain certain amounts of capital gains and designate them as undistributed net capital gain in a notice to its shareholders, who (i) will be required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gain, their proportionate shares of the undistributed amounts so designated, (ii) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the income tax paid by the Fund on those undistributed amounts against their federal income tax liabilities and to claim refunds to the extent such credits exceed their liabilities and (iii) will be entitled to increase their federal income tax basis in their shares by an amount equal to the excess of the amounts of undistributed net capital gain included in their respective income over their respective income tax credits.
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For U.S. federal income tax purposes, the Fund is permitted to carry forward indefinitely a net capital loss from any taxable year to offset its capital gains, if any, in years following the year of the loss. To the extent subsequent capital gains are offset by such losses, they will not result in U.S. federal income tax liability to the Fund and may not be distributed as capital gains to shareholders. Generally, the Fund may not carry forward any losses other than net capital losses. Under certain circumstances, the Fund may elect to treat certain losses as though they were incurred on the first day of the taxable year immediately following the taxable year in which they were actually incurred.
Distributions in excess of earnings and profits will, as to each shareholder, be treated as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of the shareholder's basis in his or her Fund shares. A distribution treated as a return of capital will reduce the shareholder's basis in his or her shares, which will result in an increase in the amount of gain (or a decrease in the amount of loss) that will be recognized by the shareholder for tax purposes on a later sale of such shares. After the shareholder's basis is reduced to zero, any distributions in excess of earnings and profits will be treated as a capital gain, assuming the shareholder holds his or her shares as capital assets.
A 3.8% Medicare contribution tax generally applies to all or a portion of the net investment income of a shareholder who is an individual and not a nonresident alien for federal income tax purposes and who has adjusted gross income (subject to certain adjustments) that exceeds a threshold amount ($250,000 if married filing jointly or if considered a "surviving spouse" for federal income tax purposes, $125,000 if married filing separately, and $200,000 in other cases). This 3.8% tax also applies to all or a portion of the undistributed net investment income of certain shareholders that are estates and trusts. For these purposes, interest, dividends and certain capital gains (among other categories of income) are generally taken into account in computing a shareholder's net investment income.
Certain tax-exempt educational institutions are subject to an excise tax on net investment income. For these purposes, certain dividends and capital gain distributions, and certain gains from the disposition of Fund shares (among other categories of income), are generally taken into account in computing a shareholder's net investment income.
Distributions are generally taxable when received. However, distributions declared in October, November or December to shareholders of record on a date in such a month and paid the following January are taxable for federal income tax purposes as if received on December 31 of the calendar year in which declared. In addition, certain distributions made after the close of a taxable year of the Fund may be "spilled back" and treated for certain purposes as paid by the Fund during such taxable year. In such case, shareholders generally will be treated as having received such dividends in the taxable year in which the distributions were actually made. For purposes of calculating the amount of a regulated investment company's undistributed income and gain subject to the 4% excise tax described above, such "spilled back" dividends are treated as paid by the regulated investment company when they are actually paid.
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A sale of Fund shares may result in recognition of a taxable gain or loss. The gain or loss will generally be treated as a long-term capital gain or loss if the shares are held for more than one year, and as a short-term capital gain or loss if the shares are held for one year or less. Any loss realized upon a sale or exchange of shares held for six months or less will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any amounts treated as distributions of long-term capital gains during such six-month period. Any loss realized upon a sale may be disallowed under certain wash sale rules to the extent shares of the Fund or substantially identical stock or securities are purchased (through reinvestment of distributions or otherwise) within 30 days before or after the sale.
An Authorized Participant who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize gain or loss from the exchange. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time of the exchange and the sum of the exchanger's aggregate basis in the securities surrendered plus the amount of cash paid for such Creation Units. The ability of Authorized Participants to receive a full or partial cash redemption of Creation Units of the Fund may limit the tax efficiency of the Fund. A person who redeems Creation Units will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the sum of the aggregate market value of any securities received plus the amount of any cash received for such Creation Units and the exchanger's basis in the Creation Units. The Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS"), however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing "wash sales" (for an Authorized Participant which does not mark-to-market its holdings) or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position.
Any gain or loss realized upon a creation of Creation Units will be treated as capital gain or loss if the Authorized Participant holds the securities exchanged therefor as capital assets, and otherwise will be ordinary income or loss. Similarly, any gain or loss realized upon a redemption of Creation Units will be treated as capital gain or loss if the Authorized Participant holds the shares comprising the Creation Units as capital assets, and otherwise will be ordinary income or loss. Any capital gain or loss realized upon the creation of Creation Units will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the securities exchanged for such Creation Units have been held for more than one year, and otherwise will be short-term capital gain or loss. Any capital gain or loss realized upon the redemption of Creation Units will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the shares comprising the Creation Units have been held for more than one year, and otherwise will generally be short-term capital gain or loss. Any capital loss realized upon a redemption of Creation Units held for six months or less should be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any amounts treated as distributions to the applicable Authorized Participant of long-term capital gains with respect to the shares included in the Creation Units (including any amounts credited to the Authorized Participant as undistributed capital gains).
The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, has the right to reject an order for a purchase of shares of the Fund if the purchaser (or a group of purchasers) would, upon obtaining the shares so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund and if, pursuant to Section 351 of the Code, the Fund would have a basis in the securities different from the market value of such securities on the date of deposit. The Trust also has the right to require information necessary to determine beneficial share ownership for purposes of the 80% determination. If the Fund does issue Creation Units to a purchaser (or a group of purchasers) that would, upon obtaining the shares so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund, the purchaser (or a group of purchasers) may not recognize gain or loss upon the exchange of securities for Creation Units. Persons purchasing or redeeming Creation Units should consult their own tax advisers with respect to the tax treatment of any creation or redemption transaction.
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If a shareholder recognizes a loss with respect to the Fund's shares of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder (or certain greater amounts over a combination of years), the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on IRS Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases exempted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a regulated investment company are not exempted. The fact that a loss is so reportable does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer's treatment of the loss is proper.
The Fund's entry into a short sale transaction could be treated as the constructive sale of an appreciated financial position, causing the Fund to realize gain, but not loss, on the position.
If the Fund invests in certain pay-in-kind securities, zero coupon securities, deferred interest securities or, in general, any other securities with original issue discount (or with market discount if the Fund elects to include market discount in income currently), the Fund must accrue income on such investments for each taxable year, which generally will be prior to the receipt of the corresponding cash payments. However, the Fund must distribute, at least annually, all or substantially all of its investment company taxable income (determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid), including such accrued income to shareholders to avoid federal income and excise taxes. Therefore, the Fund may have to sell portfolio securities (potentially under disadvantageous circumstances) to generate cash, or may have to undertake leverage by borrowing cash, to satisfy these distribution requirements. Dispositions of portfolio securities may result in additional gains and additional distribution requirements.
If the Fund invests in a market discount bond, it will be required to treat any gain recognized on the disposition of such market discount bond as ordinary income (instead of capital gain) to the extent of the accrued market discount, unless the Fund elects to include the market discount in income as it accrues as discussed above. A market discount bond is a security acquired in the secondary market at a price below its redemption value (or its adjusted issue price if it is also an original issue discount bond).
The Fund may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries, including taxes on interest, dividends and capital gains with respect to its investments in those countries, which would, if imposed, reduce the yield on or return from those investments. Tax treaties between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes in some cases. So long as the Fund qualifies for treatment as a regulated investment company and incurs "qualified foreign taxes," if more than 50% of its net assets at the close of its taxable year consist of stock or securities of foreign corporations, which for this purpose may include obligations of foreign governmental issuers, the Fund may elect to "pass through" to its shareholders the amount of such foreign taxes paid. If this election is made, information with respect to the amount of the foreign income taxes that are allocated to the Fund's shareholders will be provided to them and any shareholder subject to tax on dividends will be required (i) to include in ordinary gross income (in addition to the amount of the taxable dividends actually received) his/her proportionate share of the foreign taxes paid that are attributable to such dividends; and (ii) either to deduct his/her proportionate share of such foreign taxes in computing his/her taxable income or to claim that amount as a foreign tax credit (subject to applicable limitations) against U.S. income taxes.
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Shareholders who do not itemize deductions for U.S. federal income tax purposes will not be able to deduct their pro rata portion of qualified foreign taxes paid by the Fund, although such shareholders will be required to include their shares of such taxes in gross income if the Fund makes the election described above. Qualified foreign taxes generally include taxes that would be treated as income taxes under U.S. Treasury regulations but do not include most other taxes, such as stamp taxes, securities transaction taxes, and similar taxes. No deduction for such taxes will be permitted to individuals in computing their alternative minimum tax liability.
If the Fund makes the election to pass through qualified foreign taxes and a shareholder chooses to take a credit for the foreign taxes deemed paid by such shareholder, the amount of the credit that may be claimed in any year may not exceed the same proportion of the U.S. tax against which such credit is taken that the shareholder's taxable income from foreign sources (but not in excess of the shareholder's entire taxable income) bears to his entire taxable income. For this purpose, long-term and short-term capital gains the Fund realizes and distributes to shareholders will generally not be treated as income from foreign sources in their hands, nor will distributions of certain foreign currency gains subject to Section 988 of the Code or of any other income realized by the Fund that is deemed, under the Code, to be U.S. source income in the hands of the Fund. This foreign tax credit limitation may also be applied separately to certain specific categories of foreign-source income and the related foreign taxes. As a result of these rules, which may have different effects depending upon each shareholder's particular tax situation, certain shareholders may not be able to claim a credit for the full amount of their proportionate share of the foreign taxes paid by the Fund. Shareholders who are not liable for U.S. federal income taxes, including tax-exempt shareholders, will ordinarily not benefit from this election. If the Fund does make the election, it will provide required tax information to shareholders. The Fund generally may deduct any foreign taxes that are not passed through to its shareholders in computing its income available for distribution to shareholders to satisfy applicable tax distribution requirements. Under certain circumstances, if the Fund receives a refund of foreign taxes paid in respect of a prior year, the value of the Fund's shares could be affected, or any foreign tax credits or deductions passed through to shareholders in respect of the Fund's foreign taxes for the current year could be reduced.
Foreign exchange gains or losses realized by the Fund in connection with certain transactions involving foreign currency-denominated debt securities, foreign currencies, or payables or receivables denominated in a foreign currency are subject to Section 988 of the Code, which generally causes such gains or losses to be treated as ordinary gain or loss and may affect the amount, timing and character of distributions to shareholders.
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The Fund may purchase the securities of certain foreign companies treated as passive foreign investment companies for federal income tax purposes ("PFICs"). PFICs may be the only or primary means by which the Fund may invest in some countries. If the Fund invests in equity securities of PFICs, it may be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a portion of any "excess distribution" or gain from the disposition of such securities even if such income is distributed as a taxable dividend to shareholders. Additional charges in the nature of interest may be imposed on the Fund with respect to deferred taxes arising from such distributions or gains. Capital gains on the sale of such holdings will be deemed to be ordinary income regardless of how long such PFICs are held. A "qualified electing fund" election or a "mark to market" election may generally be available that would ameliorate these adverse tax consequences, but such elections could require the Fund to recognize taxable income or gain (subject to the distribution requirements applicable to regulated investment companies, as described above) without the concurrent receipt of cash. In order to satisfy the distribution requirements and avoid a tax on the Fund, the Fund may be required to liquidate portfolio securities that it might otherwise have continued to hold, potentially resulting in additional taxable gain or loss to the Fund. In order for the Fund to make a qualified electing fund election with respect to a PFIC, the PFIC would have to agree to provide certain tax information to the Fund on an annual basis, which it might not agree to do. The Fund may limit and/or manage its holdings in PFICs to limit its tax liability or maximize its return from these investments. The Fund may limit and/or manage its holdings in PFICs to limit its tax liability or maximize its return from these investments.
If a sufficient percentage of the interests in a foreign issuer are held by the Fund, independently or together with certain other U.S. persons, that issuer may be treated as a "controlled foreign corporation" (a "CFC") with respect to the Fund, in which case the Fund will be required to take into account each year, as ordinary income, its share of certain portions of that issuer's income, whether or not such amounts are distributed. The Fund may have to dispose of its portfolio securities (potentially resulting in the recognition of taxable gain or loss, and potentially under disadvantageous circumstances) to generate cash, or may have to borrow the cash, to meet its distribution requirements and avoid Fund-level taxes. In addition, some Fund gains on the disposition of interests in such an issuer may be treated as ordinary income. The Fund may limit and/or manage its holdings in issuers that could be treated as CFCs in order to limit its tax liability or maximize its after-tax return from these investments.
In addition, if the Fund owned 10% or more of the voting power of a foreign entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes for the last tax year of the foreign entity beginning before January 1, 2018, the Fund may have been required to include in its income its share of certain deferred foreign income of that foreign entity. Under those circumstances, the Fund may be able to make an election for such amounts to be included in income over eight years. Any income included under this rule may have to be distributed to satisfy the distribution requirements referred to above even though the Fund may receive no corresponding cash amounts, and even though shareholders derived no economic benefit from the foreign entity's deferred income.
Non-U.S. persons are subject to U.S. tax on disposition of a "United States real property interest" (a "USRPI"). Gain on such a disposition is sometimes referred to as "FIRPTA gain." The Code provides a look-through rule for distributions of "FIRPTA gain" if certain requirements are met. If the look-through rule applies, certain distributions attributable to income received by the Fund, e.g., from REITs, may be treated as gain from the disposition of a USRPI, causing distributions to be subject to U.S. withholding tax at rates of up to 21%, and require non-U.S. shareholders to file nonresident U.S. income tax returns.
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The Fund is required to withhold (as "backup withholding") a portion of reportable payments, including dividends, capital gain distributions and the proceeds of redemptions and exchanges or repurchases of Fund shares, paid to shareholders who have not complied with certain U.S. Treasury regulations. The backup withholding rate is currently 24%. In order to avoid this withholding requirement, shareholders, other than certain exempt entities, must certify on IRS Forms W-9 or on certain other documents, that the Social Security Numbers or other Taxpayer Identification Numbers they provide are their correct numbers and that they are not currently subject to backup withholding, or that they are exempt from backup withholding. The Fund may nevertheless be required to backup withhold if it receives notice from the IRS or a broker that a number provided is incorrect or that backup withholding is applicable as a result of previous underreporting of interest or dividend income.
Ordinary dividends and certain other payments made by the Fund to non-U.S. shareholders are generally subject to withholding tax at a 30% rate (or a lower rate as may be determined in accordance with any applicable treaty). In order to obtain a reduced rate of withholding, a non-U.S. shareholder will be required to provide an IRS Form W-8BEN or similar form certifying its entitlement to benefits under a treaty. The withholding tax does not apply to regular dividends paid to a non-U.S. shareholder who provides an IRS Form W-8ECI, certifying that the dividends are effectively connected with the non-U.S. shareholder's conduct of a trade or business within the United States. Instead, the effectively connected dividends will be subject to regular U.S. income tax as if the non-U.S. shareholder were a U.S. shareholder. A non-U.S. corporation receiving effectively connected dividends may also be subject to additional "branch profits tax" imposed at a rate of 30% (or a lower treaty rate).
The 30% withholding tax described in the preceding paragraph generally will not apply to distributions of net capital gain, to redemption proceeds, or to dividends that the Fund reports as (a) interest-related dividends, to the extent such dividends are derived from the Fund's "qualified net interest income," or (b) short-term capital gain dividends, to the extent such dividends are derived from the Fund's "qualified short-term gain." "Qualified net interest income" is the Fund's net income derived from U.S.-source interest and original issue discount, subject to certain exceptions and limitations. "Qualified short-term gain" generally means the excess of the net short-term capital gain of the Fund for the taxable year over its net long-term capital loss, if any. In order to qualify for an exemption from withholding, a non-U.S. shareholder will need to comply with applicable certification requirements relating to its non-U.S. status (including, in general, furnishing an IRS Form W-8BEN or other applicable form). Backup withholding will not be applied to payments that are subject to this 30% withholding tax.
Unless certain non-U.S. entities that hold Fund shares comply with IRS requirements that will generally require them to report information regarding U.S. persons investing in, or holding accounts with, such entities, a 30% withholding tax may apply to the Fund's dividends payable to such entities. A non-U.S. shareholder may be exempt from the withholding described in this paragraph under an applicable intergovernmental agreement between the United States and a foreign government, provided that the shareholder and the applicable foreign government comply with the terms of such agreement.
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This discussion and the related discussion in the Prospectus have been prepared by management of the Fund, and counsel to the Trust has expressed no opinion in respect thereof.
Shareholders and prospective shareholders of the Fund should consult their own tax advisors concerning the effect of owning shares of the Fund in light of their particular tax situations.
Dividends and Distributions
The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled "Dividends, Distributions and Taxes."
General Policies
Dividends from net investment income, if any, are declared and paid quarterly by the Fund. Distributions of remaining net realized capital gains, if any, generally are declared and paid once a year, but the Fund may make distributions on a more frequent basis for the Fund to comply with the distribution requirements of the Code, in all events in a manner consistent with the provisions of the 1940 Act.
Dividends and other distributions on shares of the Fund are distributed, as described below, on a pro rata basis to Beneficial Owners of such shares. Dividend payments are made through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants to Beneficial Owners then of record with proceeds received from the Trust.
The Fund will make additional distributions to the extent necessary (i) to distribute the entire annual taxable income of the Fund, plus any net capital gains and (ii) to avoid imposition of the excise tax imposed by Section 4982 of the Code. Management of the Trust reserves the right to declare special dividends if, in its reasonable discretion, such action is necessary or advisable to preserve the Fund's eligibility for treatment as a regulated investment company ("RIC") or to avoid imposition of income or excise taxes on undistributed income.
Dividend Reinvestment Service
The Trust will not make the DTC book-entry dividend reinvestment service available for use by Beneficial Owners for reinvestment of their cash proceeds, but certain individual broker-dealers may make available the DTC book-entry Dividend Reinvestment Service for use by Beneficial Owners of the Fund through DTC Participants for reinvestment of their dividend distributions. Investors should contact their brokers to ascertain the availability and description of these services. Beneficial Owners should be aware that each broker may require investors to adhere to specific procedures and timetables in order to participate in the dividend reinvestment service and investors should ascertain from their brokers such necessary details. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and realized gains will be automatically reinvested in additional whole shares issued by the Trust of the same Fund at NAV per share. Distributions reinvested in additional shares of the Fund will nevertheless be taxable to Beneficial Owners acquiring such additional shares to the same extent as if such distributions had been received in cash.
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General Information
The Trust is an open-end management investment company organized as a Delaware statutory trust under the laws of the State of Delaware. The Trust has a number of outstanding series of shares of beneficial interest, each of which represents interests in a separate portfolio of securities.
The Trust's Declaration of Trust permits the Trustees to create additional series of shares, to issue an unlimited number of full and fractional shares of beneficial interest of each series, including the Fund, and to divide or combine the shares of any series into a greater or lesser number of shares without thereby changing the proportionate beneficial interest in the series. The assets belonging to a series are charged with the liabilities in respect of that series and all expenses, costs, charges and reserves attributable to that series only. Therefore, any creditor of any series may look only to the assets belonging to that series to satisfy the creditor's debt. Any general liabilities, expenses, costs, charges or reserves of the Trust which are not readily identifiable as pertaining to any particular series are allocated and charged by the Trustees to and among the existing series in the sole discretion of the Trustees. Each share of the Fund represents an interest in the Fund proportionately equal to the interest of each other share. Upon the Fund's liquidation, all shareholders would share pro rata in the net assets of the Fund available for distribution to shareholders.
The Trust may offer more than one class of shares of any series. Each share of a series or class represents an equal proportionate interest in that series or class with each other share of that series or class.
The shares of each series or class participate equally in the earnings, dividends and assets of the particular series or class. Expenses of the Trust, which are not attributable to a specific series or class, are allocated among all the series in a manner believed by management of the Trust to be fair and equitable. Shares issued do not have pre-emptive or conversion rights. Shares when issued are fully paid and non-assessable, except as set forth below. Shareholders are entitled to one vote for each share held. Shares of each series or class generally vote together, except when required under federal securities laws to vote separately on matters that only affect a particular series or class, such as the approval of distribution plans for a particular class.
The Trust is not required to hold annual meetings of shareholders but will hold special meetings of shareholders of a series or class when, in the judgment of the Board, it is necessary or desirable to submit matters for a shareholder vote. Shareholders have, under certain circumstances, the right to communicate with other shareholders in connection with requesting a meeting of shareholders for the purpose of removing one or more trustees. Shareholders also have, in certain circumstances, the right to remove one or more trustees without a meeting. No material amendment may be made to the Trust's Declaration of Trust without the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of each portfolio affected by the amendment.
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The Trust's Declaration of Trust provides that, at any meeting of shareholders of the Trust or of any series or class, a shareholder servicing agent may vote any shares as to which such shareholder servicing agent is the agent of record for shareholders who are not represented in person or by proxy at the meeting, proportionately in accordance with the votes cast by holders of all shares of that portfolio otherwise represented at the meeting in person or by proxy as to which such shareholder servicing agent is the agent of record. Any shares so voted by a shareholder servicing agent will be deemed represented at the meeting for purposes of quorum requirements. Any series or class may be terminated (i) upon the merger or consolidation with, or the sale or disposition of all or substantially all of its assets to, another entity, if approved by the vote of the holders of two-thirds of its outstanding shares, except that if the Board recommends such merger, consolidation or sale or disposition of assets, the approval by vote of the holders of a majority of the series' or class' outstanding shares will be sufficient, or (ii) by the vote of the holders of a majority of its outstanding shares, or (iii) by the Board by written notice to the series' or class' shareholders. Unless each series and class is so terminated, the Trust will continue indefinitely.
Shareholders may send communications to the Board. Shareholders should send communications intended for the Board by addressing the communications to the Board, in care of the Secretary of the Trust and sending the communication to 2220 E. Route 66, Suite 226, Glendora, California 91740. A shareholder communication must (i) be in writing and be signed by the shareholder, (ii) provide contact information for the shareholder, (iii) identify the Fund to which it relates, and (iv) identify the class and number of shares held by the shareholder. The Secretary of the Trust may, in good faith, determine that a shareholder communication should not be provided to the Board because it does not reasonably relate to the Trust or its operations, management, activities, policies, service providers, Board, officers, shareholders or other matters relating to an investment in the Fund or is otherwise immaterial in nature. Other shareholder communications received by the Fund not directly addressed and sent to the Board will be reviewed and generally responded to by management, and will be forwarded to the Board only at management's discretion based on the matters contained therein.
The Declaration of Trust provides that no Trustee or officer of the Trust shall be subject to any personal liability in connection with the assets or affairs of the Trust or any of its series except for losses in connection with his or her willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of his or her duties. The Trust has also entered into an indemnification agreement with each Trustee which provides that the Trust shall advance expenses and indemnify and hold harmless the Trustee in certain circumstances against any expenses incurred by the Trustee in any proceeding arising out of or in connection with the Trustee's service to the Trust, to the maximum extent permitted by the Delaware Statutory Trust Act, the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act, and which provides for certain procedures in connection with such advancement of expenses and indemnification.
The Declaration of Trust does not require the issuance of stock certificates. If stock certificates are issued, they must be returned by the registered owners prior to the transfer or redemption of shares represented by such certificates.
Rule 18f-2 under the 1940 Act provides that as to any investment company which has two or more series outstanding and as to any matter required to be submitted to shareholder vote, such matter is not deemed to have been effectively acted upon unless approved by the holders of a "majority" (as defined in the rule) of the voting securities of each series affected by the matter. Such separate voting requirements do not apply to the election of Trustees or the ratification of the selection of accountants. The Rule contains special provisions for cases in which an advisory contract is approved by one or more, but not all, series. A change in investment policy may go into effect as to one or more series whose holders so approve the change even though the required vote is not obtained as to the holders of other affected series.
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The Trust and the Adviser have adopted Codes of Ethics under Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act. These Codes of Ethics govern the personal securities transactions of their board members, officers and employees who may have access to current trading information of the Trust. Under the Trust Code of Ethics, the Trustees are permitted to invest in securities that may also be purchased by the Fund.
Financial Statements
The Trust's independent registered public accounting firm, Tait Weller, audits and reports on the Fund's annual financial statements. Incorporated by reference herein is the Predecessor Fund's Annual Financials and Other Information for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2025, which is included as part of the Predecessor Fund's most recent Form N-CSR filing and includes the "Schedule of Investments", "Statement of Assets and Liabilities", "Statement of Operations", "Statement of Changes in Net Assets", "Financial Highlights" and "Notes to Financial Statements." The Fund has adopted the financial statements of the Predecessor Fund. Those financial statements were audited by the Predecessor Fund's independent public accounting firm. The Fund's most recent Annual Financials and Other Information is available upon request without charge by contacting the Fund at the address or telephone number set forth on the cover page of this SAI or on the Fund's website https://fpav/fpa.com.
PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
The Board of Trustees has adopted proxy voting procedures and guidelines to govern the voting of proxies relating to the Fund's portfolio securities. The procedures and guidelines delegate to the Sub-Adviser the authority to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities and provide guidelines to ensure that proxies are voted in the best interest of the Fund's shareholders. The Sub-Adviser will put the interests of the Fund's shareholders above all others when voting proxies. If a conflict of interest should arise between the interests of the Sub-Adviser and the interests of the Fund's shareholders, the Sub-Adviser will vote the proxies in the shareholders' best interests. Any such conflict of interest will be reported to the Board of Trustees at the next meeting of the Trustees.
A copy of the proxy voting procedures for the Fund is available at no charge upon request by calling (800) 638-3060 or at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Also, a report filed on Form N-PX is available, upon request, at no charge that details the proxy votes made by the Fund for the previous 12-month period ended June 30. These reports are available by calling (800) 638-3060, visiting the Fund's website at https://fpav/fpa.com, and will also be made available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.
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Appendix A
Description of Securities Ratings
A debt obligation rating by Moody's, Fitch, S&P, Morningstar DBRS ("Morningstar"), or Kroll Bond Rating Agency ("Kroll") reflects their current assessment of the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific obligation. The purpose of the rating systems is to provide investors with a simple system of gradation by which the relative investment qualities of bonds may be noted. A rating is not a recommendation as to investment value, inasmuch as it does not comment as to market price or suitability for a particular investor.
The ratings are based on current information furnished by the issuer or from other sources that the rating agencies deem reliable. The ratings are based on the opinion and judgment of the rating agencies and may prove to be inaccurate. The ratings may be changed, suspended, or withdrawn as a result of changes in, or unavailability of, such information, or for other circumstances.
Unless a modifier is included, all references in this SAI and the Fund's Prospectus to a rating classification incorporate the full range of modifiers for the classification. For example, a reference to Moody's "Baa" or S&P's "BBB" quality rating incorporates Baa1 to Baa3 and BBB+ to BBB-, respectively.
The following is a description of the characteristics of ratings as recently published by Moody's, Fitch, S&P, Morningstar and Kroll.
Moody's
Aaa - Bonds judged to be of the best quality. They carry the smallest degree of investment risk and are generally referred to as gilt- edge. Interest payments are protected by a large or an exceptionally stable margin and principal is secure. While the various protective elements are likely to change, such changes as can be visualized are most unlikely to impair the fundamentally strong position of such issues.
Aa - Bonds judged to be of high quality by all standards. Together with the Aaa group they comprise what are generally known as high-grade bonds. They are rated lower than the best bonds because margins of protection may not be as large as in Aaa securities, fluctuation of protective elements may be of greater amplitude, or there may be other elements present which make the long-term risks appear somewhat larger.
A - Bonds which possess many favorable investment attributes and are to be considered as upper medium- grade obligations. Factors giving security to principal and interest are considered adequate, but elements may be present which suggest a susceptibility to impairment some time in the future.
Baa - Bonds considered as medium-grade obligations (i.e., they are neither highly protected nor poorly secured). Interest payments and principal security appear adequate for the present but certain protective elements may be lacking or may be characteristically unreliable over any great length of time. Such bonds lack outstanding investment characteristics and, in fact, have speculative characteristics as well.
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Ba - Bonds judged to have speculative elements. Their future cannot be considered to be as well assured. Often the protection of interest and principal payments may be very moderate and thereby not well safeguarded during both good and bad times over the future. Uncertainty of position characterizes bonds in this class.
B - Bonds which generally lack characteristics of the desirable investment. Assurance of interest and principal payments or of maintenance of other terms of the contract over any long period of time may be small.
Caa - Bonds of poor standing. Such issues may be in default or there may be present elements of danger with respect to principal or interest.
Ca - Bonds which represent obligations that are speculative in a high degree. Such issues are often in default or have other marked shortcomings.
C - The lowest rated class of bonds and issues so rated can be regarded as having extremely poor prospects of ever attaining any real investment standing.
Nonrated - Where no rating has been assigned or where a rating has been suspended or withdrawn, it may be for reasons unrelated to the quality of the issue.
Should no rating be assigned, the reason may be one of the following:
| 1. | An application for rating was not received or accepted. |
| 2. | The issue or issuer belongs to a group of securities that are not rated as a matter of policy. |
| 3. | There is a lack of essential data pertaining to the issue or issuer. |
| 4. | The issue was privately placed, in which case the rating is not published in Moody's publications. |
Suspension or withdrawal may occur if new and material circumstances arise, the effects of which preclude satisfactory analysis; if there is no longer available reasonable up-to-date data to permit a judgment to be formed; if a bond is called for redemption; or for other reasons.
Note: Those bonds in the Aa, A, Baa, Ba and B groups which Moody's believe possess the strongest investment attributes are designated by the symbols Aa 1, A 1, Baa 1, Ba 1 and B 1.
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Fitch
AAA - Highest credit quality. 'AAA' ratings denote the lowest expectation of credit risk. They are assigned only in cases of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.
AA - Very high credit quality. 'AA' ratings denote expectations of very low credit risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.
A - High credit quality. 'A' ratings denote expectations of low credit risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.
BBB - Good credit quality. 'BBB' ratings indicate that expectations of credit risk are currently low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate but adverse business or economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity.
BB - Speculative. 'BB' ratings indicate an elevated vulnerability to credit risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time; however, business or financial alternatives may be available to allow financial commitments to be met.
B - Highly speculative. 'B' ratings indicate that material default risk is present, but a limited margin of safety remains. Financial commitments are currently being met; however, capacity for continued payment is vulnerable to deterioration in the business and economic environment.
CCC - Substantial credit risk. Default is a real possibility.
CC - Very high levels of credit risk. Default of some kind seems probable.
C - Exceptionally high levels of credit risk. Default is imminent or inevitable, or the issuer is in standstill.
Note: The modifiers Plus (+) or Minus (-) may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories. Such suffixes are not added to the 'AAA' obligation category, or to corporate finance obligation ratings in the categories below 'CCC'.
S&P
AAA - Capacity to pay interest and repay principal is extremely strong.
AA - Capacity to pay interest and repay principal is very strong, and these bonds differ from AAA issues only in small degree.
A - Capacity to pay interest and repay principal is strong although they are somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than bonds in higher rated categories.
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BBB - Capacity to pay interest and repay principal is adequate. Whereas these bonds normally exhibit adequate protection parameters, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity to pay interest and repay principal than for bonds in higher rated categories.
BB, B, CCC, CC, C - Debt rated BB, B, CCC, CC and C is regarded, on balance, as predominantly speculative with respect to capacity to pay interest and repay principal in accordance with the terms of the obligations. BB indicates the lowest degree of speculation and C the highest degree of speculation. While such debt will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these are outweighed by large uncertainties or major risk exposures to adverse conditions.
CI - reserved for income bonds on which no interest is being paid.
D - in default, and payment of interest and/or repayment of principal is in arrears.
Plus (+) or Minus (-): The ratings from "AA" to "CCC" may be modified by the addition of a plus or minus sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.
NR: Indicates that no rating has been requested, that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that S&P Global Ratings does not rate a particular type of obligation as a matter of policy.
Morningstar
AAA - A rating of AAA is the highest credit rating assigned by Morningstar. A rating of AAA indicates an extremely strong ability to make timely interest payments and ultimate principal payments on or prior to a rated final distribution or maturity date.
AA+, AA, AA- A rating in the AA category indicates a very strong ability to make timely interest and ultimate principal payments on or prior to a rated final distribution or maturity date.
A+, A, A- A rating in the A category indicates a strong ability to make timely interest and ultimate principal payments on or prior to a rated final distribution or maturity date, but that ability could be influenced by adverse changes in circumstances or conditions, such as adverse business or economic conditions.
BBB+, BBB, BBB- A rating in the BBB category indicates the ability to make timely payments of interest and ultimate principal payments on or prior to a rated final distribution or maturity date, but that ability could be impacted by adverse changes in circumstances or conditions, such as adverse business or economic conditions.
BB+, BB, BB- A rating in the BB category indicates the ability to make timely payments of interest and ultimate payment of principal on or prior to a rated final distribution or maturity date in the absence of various adverse circumstances or conditions such as adverse business or economic conditions. The vulnerability of securities rated BB to the previously mentioned conditions is greater than that of higher rated securities or issuers.
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B+, B, B- A rating in the B category indicates a default has not yet occurred, but the issuer or securities are vulnerable to adverse changes in the business or economic environment. Securities rated in the B category are more vulnerable to nonpayment of timely interest and ultimate payment of principal on or prior to a rated final distribution date than higher rated securities.
CCC+, CCC, CCC- A rating in the CCC category indicates a material likelihood of default, and for corporate and financial institution obligations, significant dependence on favorable business conditions to avoid default or capital restructuring. For structured finance securities, forecasted or actual losses may have eroded but not yet eliminated available credit support.
CC - A rating of CC on a corporate or financial institution issuer or security indicates a default has not yet occurred but the issuer or security is extremely dependent on favorable business conditions to avoid default or significant capital restructuring. This rating does not apply to structured finance securities.
C - A rating of C on a corporate or financial institution issuer or security indicates a default is expected in the very near term. Corporate and financial institution issuers or securities will be rated C and placed on Under Review Negative during a cure period for payments of interest and principal. This rating does not apply to structured finance securities.
SD - A rating of SD indicates a selective default when an issuer has defaulted on one or more but not all its debt obligations without entering bankruptcy. Selective Default is not applicable to individual issues and therefore is not applicable to structured finance securities.
D - A rating of 'D' indicates that a default has occurred; or, for structured finance securities, (1) actual losses have reduced the principal balance of the security; or (2) actual losses have eliminated available credit support. Additionally, forecasted losses that would reduce the principal balance of the security or eliminate the available credit support, subject to our reasonable judgment, may be indicative of a D rating.
Kroll
AAA - Determined to have almost no risk of loss due to credit-related events. Assigned only to the very highest quality obligors and obligations able to survive extremely challenging economic events.
AA - Determined to have minimal risk of loss due to credit-related events. Such obligors and obligations are deemed very high quality.
A - Determined to be of high quality with a small risk of loss due to credit-related events. Issuers and obligations in this category are expected to weather difficult times with low credit losses.
BBB - Determined to be of medium quality with some risk of loss due to credit-related events. Such issuers and obligations may experience credit losses during stress environments.
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BB - Determined to be of low quality with moderate risk of loss due to credit-related events. Such issuers and obligations have fundamental weaknesses that create moderate credit risk.
B - Determined to be of very low quality with high risk of loss due to credit-related events. These issuers and obligations contain many fundamental shortcomings that create significant credit risk.
CCC - Determined to be at substantial risk of loss due to credit-related events, near default or in default with high recovery expectations.
CC - Determined to be near default or in default with average recovery expectations.
C - Determined to be near default or in default with low recovery expectations.
D - Kroll defines default as occurring if: 1. There is a missed interest payment, principal payment, or preferred dividend payment, as applicable, on a rated obligation which is unlikely to be recovered. 2. The rated entity files for protection from creditors, is placed into receivership, or is closed by regulators such that a missed payment is likely to result. 3. The rated entity seeks and completes a distressed exchange, where existing rated obligations are replaced by new obligations with a diminished economic value.
Kroll may append - or + modifiers to ratings in categories AA through CCC to indicate, respectively, upper and lower risk levels within the broader category.
Commercial Paper Ratings. Moody's and S&P employ the designations set forth below to rate commercial paper.
Moody's designations, all judged to be investment grade, indicate the relative repayment capacity of rated issuers. Issuers rated Prime- 1 have a superior capacity for repayment of short-term promissory obligations.
Issuers rated Prime-2 have a strong capacity for repayment of short-term promissory obligations. Issuers rated Prime-3 have an acceptable capacity for repayment of short-term promissory obligations.
S&P ratings are an assessment of the likelihood of timely payment of debt having an original maturity of no more than 365 days. Issuers assigned the highest rating by S&P ("A") are regarded as having the greatest capacity for timely payment. Issuers in this category are further refined with the designations 1, 2 and 3 to indicate the relative degree of safety. A-1 indicates that the degree of safety regarding timely payment is either overwhelming (denoted with a plus sign) or very strong. A-2 indicates that capacity for timely payment is strong; however, the relative degree of safety is not as high as for issuers designated A-1. A-3 indicates a satisfactory capacity for timely payment. They are, however, somewhat more vulnerable to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances than obligations carrying the higher designations.
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PART C: OTHER INFORMATION
FPA Queens Road Value ETF
| ITEM 28. | EXHIBITS. |
| ITEM 29. | PERSONS CONTROLLED BY OR UNDER COMMON CONTROL WITH THE FUNDS. |
Not applicable.
| ITEM 30. | INDEMNIFICATION. |
Reference is made to Article VI of Registrant's Declaration of Trust, which is incorporated herein by reference. Registrant hereby also makes the undertaking consistent with Rule 484 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. 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 trustee, 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.
Pursuant to the Distribution Agreement between Registrant and Distribution Services, LLC ("Provider"), Registrant shall indemnify, defend and hold Provider, and each of its present or former directors, members, officers, employees, representatives and any person who controls or previously controlled Provider within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act ("Provider Indemnitees"), free and harmless from and against: (1) any and all losses, claims, demands, liabilities, damages, charges, payments, costs and expenses (including the costs of investigating or defending any alleged losses, claims, demands, liabilities, damages, charges, payments, fines, penalties, costs or expenses and any counsel fees incurred in connection therewith) of any and every nature ("Losses") which Provider and each of the Provider Indemnitees may incur under the Securities Act, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940 and any other statute (including Blue Sky laws) or any rule or regulation thereunder, or under common law or otherwise arising out of or based upon any untrue statement, or alleged untrue statement, of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement or any Prospectus, an annual or interim report to shareholders or sales literature, or any amendments or supplements thereto, or arising out of or based upon any omission, or alleged omission, to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; provided, however, that Registrant's obligation to indemnify Provider and any of the foregoing Provider Indemnitees shall not be deemed to cover any Losses arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made therein in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to Provider and furnished to Registrant or its counsel by Provider in writing for the purpose of, and used in, the preparation thereof; or (2) any and all Losses which Provider and each of the Provider Indemnitees may incur in connection with this Agreement, Provider's performance hereunder, or Provider's acting in accordance with instructions from Registrant or its representatives, except to the extent the Losses result from Provider's breach of this Agreement or from Provider's willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its duties, or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under this Agreement.
ITEM 31. BUSINESS AND OTHER CONNECTIONS OF INVESTMENT ADVISER.
With respect to the Adviser, the response to this Item is incorporated by reference to the Adviser's Uniform Application for Investment Adviser Registration (Form ADV) on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). The Adviser's Form ADV may be obtained, free of charge, at the SEC's website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.
ITEM 32. PRINCIPAL UNDERWRITERS.
| Item 32. | Distribution Services, LLC |
| Item 32(a) | Distribution Services, LLC (the "Distributor") serves as principal underwriter for the following investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended: |
| 1. | AOG Institutional Fund |
| 2. | Aspiriant Risk-Managed Capital Appreciation Fund |
| 3. | Aspiriant Risk-Managed Real Assets Fund |
| 4. | Aspiriant Trust |
| 5. | Callodine Specialty Income Fund |
| 6. | EP Emerging Markets Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust |
| 7. | EuroPac Gold Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust |
| 8. | EuroPac International Bond Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust |
| 9. | EuroPac International Dividend Income Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust |
| 10. | EuroPac International Value Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust |
| 11. | E-Valuator Funds Trust |
| 12. | Felicitas Private Markets Fund |
| 13. | FlowStone Opportunity Fund |
| 14. | Green Century Funds |
| 15. | Hamilton Lane Private Assets Fund |
| 16. | Hamilton Lane Private Infrastructure Fund |
| 17. | Investment Managers Series Trust III |
| 18. | MA Specialty Credit Income Fund |
| 19. | Monachil Credit Income Fund |
| 20. | Pender Real Estate Credit Fund |
| 21. | Pursuit Asset-Based Income Fund |
| 22. | Redwood Private Real Estate Debt Fund |
| 23. | StepStone Private Credit Income Fund |
| 24. | StepStone Private Equity Strategies Fund |
| 25. | StepStone Private Infrastructure Fund |
| 26. | StepStone Private Markets |
| 27. | StepStone Private Venture and Growth Fund |
| 28. | The Marsico Investment Fund |
| 29. | Thirdline Real Estate Income |
| 30. | Variant Alternative Income Fund |
| 31. | Variant Alternative Lending Fund |
| 32. | Variant Impact Fund |
| Item 32(b) | The following are the Officers of the Distributor, the Registrant's underwriter. The Distributor's main business address is 190 Middle Street, Suite 301, Portland, Maine 04101. |
| Name | Address | Position with Underwriter | Position with Registrant |
| Teresa Cowan | 190 Middle Street, Suite 301, Portland, ME 04101 | President | None |
| Chris Lanza | 190 Middle Street, Suite 301, Portland, ME 04101 | Vice President | None |
| Kate Macchia | 190 Middle Street, Suite 301, Portland, ME 04101 | Vice President | None |
| Gordon B. Taylor | 190 Middle Street, Suite 301, Portland, ME 04101 | Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer | None |
| Gabriel E. Edelman | 190 Middle Street, Suite 301, Portland, ME 04101 | Secretary | None |
| Susan L. LaFond | 190 Middle Street, Suite 301, Portland, ME 04101 | Treasurer | None |
| Weston Sommers | 190 Middle Street, Suite 301, Portland, ME 04101 | Financial and Operations Principal and Chief Financial Officer | None |
| Item 32(c) | Not applicable. |
ITEM 33. LOCATION OF BOOKS AND RECORDS.
The account books and other documents required to be maintained by Registrant pursuant to Section 31(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 and the Rules thereunder will be maintained at the offices of:
| (a) | First Pacific Advisors, LP, 2101 E. El Segundo Blvd., Suite 301, El Segundo, California 90245 (records as investment adviser); |
| (b) | Bragg Financial Advisors, Inc., 1031 South Caldwell Street, Suite 200, Charlotte, North Carolina 28203 (records as investment sub-adviser to FPA Queens Road Small Cap Value Fund and FPA Queens Road Value Fund); |
| (c) | Mutual Fund Administration LLC, 2220 E. Route 66, Suite 226, Glendora, California 91740 (records as co-administrator); |
| (d) | Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., 50 Post Office Square, Boston, Massachusetts 02110 (records as transfer agent, fund accounting agent and custodian); and |
| (e) | Distribution Services, LLC, 190 Middle Street, Suite 301, Portland, Maine 04101 (records relating to its function as distributor). |
ITEM 34. MANAGEMENT SERVICES.
There is no management-related service contract under which services are provided to Registrant which is not discussed in Parts A or B hereof.
ITEM 35. UNDERTAKINGS.
Not applicable.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, 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 of 1933 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, duly authorized, in the City of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, on the 2nd day of February, 2026.
| INVESTMENT MANAGERS SERIES TRUST III | ||
| By: | /s/Maureen Quill | |
| Maureen Quill | ||
| President and Principal Executive Officer | ||
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed on 2nd day of February, 2026, by the following persons in the capacities set forth below.
|
Signatures |
Title | |
| /s/ Maureen Quill | Trustee, President & Principal Executive Officer | |
| Maureen Quill | ||
| † | Trustee | |
| Sandra Brown | ||
| † | Trustee | |
| Robert F. Goldrich | ||
| † | Trustee | |
| John P. Zader | ||
| † | Trustee | |
| J. Richard Atwood | ||
| /s/ Rita Dam | Treasurer, Principal Accounting Officer & Principal | |
| Rita Dam | Financial Officer | |
| † By: | /s/Rita Dam | |
| Rita Dam | ||
|
Attorney-in-fact, pursuant to power of attorney previously filed with Post-Effective Amendment No. 127 filed on November 19, 2024. |
||
Exhibit Index
| Investment Advisory Agreement | EX-99.28(d)(1) |
| Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement (Certain identified information has been excluded from the exhibit because it is both not material and the type that the Registrant treats as private or confidential.) | EX-99.28(d)(2) |
| Form of Expense Limitation Agreement | EX-99.28(d)(3) |
| Form of Authorized Participant Agreement | EX-99.28(e)(6) |
| Opinion and Consent of Legal Counsel | EX-99.28(i) |
| Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm | EX-99.28(j) |
| Initial Subscription Agreement | EX-99.28(l) |
| 101.INS XBRL Instance Document - the instance document does not appear on the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document | |
| 101.SCH XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document | |
| 101.CAL XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document | |
| 101.DEF XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document | |
| 101.LAB XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document | |
| 101.PRE XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document |