497K 1 s130163_497k.htm 497K

ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF

Trading Symbol: MJ

Listed on NYSE Arca

 

ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF

Summary Prospectus

January 29, 2021

 

www.etfmj.com

 

Before you invest, you may want to review the Alternative Harvest ETF’s (the “Fund”) statutory prospectus and statement of additional information, which contain more information about the Fund and its risks. The current statutory prospectus and statement of additional information dated January 29, 2021, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus. You can find the Fund’s statutory prospectus, statement of additional information and other information about the Fund online at www.etfmj.com. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-844-ETFMGRS (383-6477) or by sending an e-mail request to info@etfmg.com.

  

Investment Objective

 

The ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to provide investment results that, before fees and expenses, correspond generally to the total return performance of the Prime Alternative Harvest Index (the “Index”).

 

Fees and Expenses

 

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). This table and the Example below do not include the brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries that investors may pay on their purchases and sales of Shares.

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)    
Management Fee   0.75 %
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees   None
Other Expenses   0.00 %
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses   0.75 %

 

Example

 

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. This Example does not take into account the brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your cost would be:

 

1 Year   3 Years   5 Years   10 Years  
$ 77   $ 240   $ 417   $ 930  

 

Portfolio Turnover

 

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when the 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. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2020, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 46% of the average value of its portfolio.

 

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Principal Investment Strategies

 

The Fund uses a “passive” or indexing approach to try to achieve its investment objective. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not try to “beat” the Index and does not seek temporary defensive positions when markets decline or appear overvalued.

 

The Fund uses a replication strategy. A replication strategy is an indexing strategy that involves investing in the securities of the Index in approximately the same proportions as in the Index. However, the Fund may utilize a representative sampling strategy with respect to the Index when a replication strategy might be detrimental to shareholders, such as when there are practical difficulties or substantial costs involved in compiling a portfolio of equity securities to follow the Index, in instances in which a security in the Index becomes temporarily illiquid, unavailable or less liquid, or as a result of legal restrictions or limitations (such as tax diversification requirements) that apply to the Fund but not the Index.

 

The Index tracks the performance of the exchange-listed common stock (or corresponding American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) or Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”)) of companies across the globe, including U.S. companies, that (i) are engaged in the legal cultivation of cannabis, including industrial hemp, or the legal production, marketing or distribution of cannabis, including industrial hemp, products for medical or non-medical purposes (“Cannabis Companies”); (ii) engage in the lawful creation, marketing or distribution of prescription drugs that utilize cannabinoids as an active ingredient (“Pharmaceutical Companies”); (iii) trade tobacco or produce tobacco products, such as cigarettes, cigars or electronic cigarettes; (iv) produce cigarette and cigar components, such as cigarette paper and filters; or (v) engage in the creation, production and distribution of fertilizers, plant foods, pesticides or growing equipment to be used in the cultivation of cannabis or tobacco. The Index only includes companies that are engaged exclusively in legal activities under applicable national and local laws, including U.S. federal and state laws. Companies whose business activities are legal under state marijuana law, but not legal under federal marijuana law, are automatically ineligible for inclusion in the Index. Because the Index only includes companies that are currently engaged exclusively in legal activities under applicable national and local laws, the Index will not include any company that engages in the cultivation, production or distribution of marijuana or products derived from marijuana for medical or non-medical purposes in a particular country, including the United States, unless and until such time as the cultivation, production or distribution of medical or non-medical marijuana, as applicable, becomes legal under all local and national laws governing the company in such country.

 

“Applicable national and local laws” refers to (i) controlled substance laws and regulations or (ii) food, drug, and cosmetics, or equivalent laws and regulations under whose jurisdiction the company is subject that govern the cultivation, production or distribution, for medical or non-medical purposes, of marijuana in a particular country. “Hemp” refers to cannabis plants with a tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”) concentration of not more than 0.3% on a dry weight basis, as well as derivatives thereof, whereas “marijuana” refers to all other cannabis plants and derivatives thereof.

 

A Cannabis Company is considered to be primarily engaged in a line of business if it derives more than 50% of its revenue from such activity. The Cannabis Companies would possess all necessary permits and licenses to legally grow marijuana. As of the date of this prospectus, the Cannabis Companies do not include companies that grow or distribute marijuana inside of the United States. Cannabis Companies may, however, include companies that have a business interest in the hemp and hemp-based products markets within the United States. Additionally, the Cannabis Companies only supply products for activities that are legal under applicable national and local laws, including U.S. federal and state laws.

 

The Pharmaceutical Companies produce, market or distribute drug products that use cannabinoids to create government approved drugs. Cannabinoids are extracts from the cannabis plant and include tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol (“CBD”), dronabinol and nabilone. All Pharmaceutical Companies would have the necessary permits and licenses to engage in lawful medical research using cannabinoids to produce government approved drugs, or to otherwise produce, market or distribute such drugs. This activity is distinct from the “medical marijuana” business, which refers to the use of the cannabis leaf, as opposed to specific extracts in pharmaceutical form, to alleviate the symptoms of injury or illness.

 

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The initial universe of companies engaged in the above activities is determined based on proprietary research and analysis conducted by the Index Provider. The Index Provider uses a variety of publicly available resources for such analysis, including shareholder reports of issuers or the Bloomberg Terminal, to determine whether a company is engaged in one of the businesses described in categories (i)-(v), above. The Index universe is then screened to eliminate the stocks that have a market capitalization of less than $200 million or a three-month average daily trading volume of less than $500,000. Additionally, component securities of the Index must not be listed on an exchange in a country which employs restrictions on foreign capital investment such that those restrictions render the component effectively non-investable for a U.S.-based fund.

 

The Index may also consist of U.S.-listed common stocks of Special Purpose Acquisitions Corporations (“SPACs”) that have been organized with the stated purpose of acquiring one or more operating businesses that would otherwise be eligible for inclusion in the Index (a SPAC-derived company), including because it is engaged exclusively in legal activities under applicable national and local laws. A SPAC is a “blank check” company with no commercial operations that is designed to raise capital via an initial public offering for the purpose of engaging in a merger, acquisition, reorganization, or similar business combination (a “Combination”) with one or more operating companies. If a SPAC that is included in the Index announces a Combination with an operating company that will be eligible for inclusion in the Index, the pre-Combination SPAC and, subsequently, the SPAC-derived company will continue to be included in the Index, so long as it continues to satisfy the remaining eligibility criteria. If the SPAC announces a Combination with a non-qualifying business, the SPAC will be removed from the Index at the time of the next Index reconstitution.

 

The Index is developed and owned by Prime Indexes (the “Index Provider”), and the Index is calculated and maintained by Solactive AG. The Index Provider is independent of Solactive AG, the Fund, the Fund’s investment adviser, and the Fund’s distributor.

 

As of January 15, 2021, the Index had 32 constituents, 18 of which were foreign companies, and the three largest stocks and their weightings in the Index were Aphria Inc. (11.85%), Tilray Inc. (10.60%), and Canopy Growth Corp. (7.62%).

 

The Index is reconstituted and rebalanced quarterly. The Fund rebalances its portfolio in accordance with its Index, and, therefore, any changes to the Index’s rebalance schedule will result in corresponding changes to the Fund’s rebalance schedule.

 

The Fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets, exclusive of collateral held from securities lending, in the component securities of the Index and in ADRs and GDRs based on the component securities in the Index (the “80% Policy”). The Fund may invest up to 20% of its total assets in securities that are not in the Index to the extent that the Fund’s investment adviser believes that such investments should help the Fund’s overall portfolio track the Index.

 

The Fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers, and other financial organizations. These loans, if and when made, may not exceed 33 1/3% of the total asset value of the Fund (including the loan collateral). By lending its securities, the Fund may increase its income by receiving payments from the borrower.

 

Correlation: Correlation is the extent to which the values of different types of investments move in tandem with one another in response to changing economic and market conditions. An index is a theoretical financial calculation, while the Fund is an actual investment portfolio. The performance of the Fund and the Index may vary somewhat due to transaction costs, asset valuations, foreign currency valuations, market impact, corporate actions (such as mergers and spin-offs), legal restrictions or limitations, illiquid or unavailable securities, and timing variances.

 

The Fund’s investment adviser expects that, over time, the correlation between the Fund’s performance and that of the Index, before fees and expenses, will exceed 95%. A correlation percentage of 100% would indicate perfect correlation. If the Fund uses a replication strategy, it can be expected to have greater correlation to the Index than if it uses a representative sampling strategy.

 

Industry Concentration Policy: The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold more than 25% of its net assets) in a particular industry or group of related industries to approximately the same extent that the Index is concentrated. As of January 15, 2021, the Index was concentrated in the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology and Life Sciences group of industries.

 

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Principal Risks

 

As with all funds, a shareholder is subject to the risk that his or her investment could lose money. The principal risks affecting shareholders’ investments in the Fund are set forth below. An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any government agency.

 

United States Regulatory Risks of the Marijuana Industry: The possession and use of marijuana, even for medical purposes, is illegal under federal and certain states’ laws, which may negatively impact the value of the Fund’s investments. Use of marijuana is regulated by both the federal government and state governments, and state and federal laws regarding marijuana often conflict. Even in those states in which the use of marijuana has been legalized, its possession and use remains a violation of federal law. Federal law criminalizing the use of marijuana pre-empts state laws that legalizes its use for medicinal and recreational purposes. It is not yet known whether the current Administration will push back against states where marijuana use and possession is legal, step up the enforcement of federal marijuana laws and the prosecution of nonviolent federal drug crimes and, in the event the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment is not renewed by Congress, begin using federal funds to prevent states from implementing laws that authorize medical marijuana use, possession, distribution, and cultivation. Such actions by the DOJ could produce a chilling effect on the industry’s growth and discourage banks from expanding their services to cannabis-related companies where such services are currently limited. This conflict between the regulation of marijuana under federal and state law creates volatility and risk for all cannabis-related companies. In particular, the stepped up enforcement of marijuana laws by the federal government would adversely affect the value of the Fund’s U.S. investments. Certain Cannabis Companies or Pharmaceutical Companies may never be able to legally produce and sell products in the United States or other national or local jurisdictions.

 

Marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) (21 U.S.C. § 811), meaning that it has a high potential for abuse, has no currently “accepted medical use” in the United States, lacks accepted safety for use under medical supervision, and may not be prescribed, marketed or sold in the United States. Few drug products containing natural cannabis or naturally-derived cannabis extracts have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) for use in the United States or obtained registrations from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) for commercial production.

 

Cannabis-related companies in the U.S. that engage in medical or pharmaceutical research or the production and distribution of controlled substances such as marijuana must be registered with the DEA to perform such activities and have the security, control, recordkeeping, reporting and inventory mechanisms required by the DEA to prevent drug loss and diversion. Failure to obtain the necessary registrations or comply with necessary regulatory requirements may significantly impair the ability of certain companies in which the Fund invests to pursue medical marijuana research or to otherwise cultivate, possess or distribute marijuana.

 

Non-U.S. Regulatory Risks of the Marijuana Industry: The companies in which the Fund invests are subject to various laws, regulations and guidelines relating to the manufacture, management, transportation, storage and disposal of marijuana, as well as being subject to laws and regulations relating to health and safety, the conduct of operations and the protection of the environment. Even if a company’s operations are permitted under current law, they may not be permitted in the future, in which case such company may not be in a position to carry on its operations in its current locations. Additionally, controlled substance legislation differs between countries and legislation in certain countries may restrict or limit the ability of certain companies in which the Fund invests to sell their products.

 

Operational Risks of the Marijuana Industry: Companies involved in the marijuana industry face intense competition, may have limited access to the services of banks, may have substantial burdens on company resources due to litigation, complaints or enforcement actions, and are heavily dependent on receiving necessary permits and authorizations to engage in medical marijuana research or to otherwise cultivate, possess or distribute marijuana. Since the use of marijuana is illegal under United States federal law, federally regulated banking institutions may be unwilling to make financial services available to growers and sellers of marijuana.

 

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United States Regulatory Risks of Hemp: The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (or the “Farm Bill”) effectively removes hemp from the list of controlled substances and allows states to regulate its production, commerce and research with approval from the United States Department of Agriculture. Certain Index constituents may sell dietary supplements and/or foods containing CBD within the United States. The Farm Bill delegates to the FDA responsibility for regulating products containing hemp or derivatives thereof (including CBD) under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the “FD&C”).  Under the FD&C, if a substance (such as CBD) is an active ingredient in a drug product that has been approved by the FDA, then the substance cannot be sold in dietary supplements or foods without FDA approval, unless the substance was marketed as a dietary supplement or as a conventional food before the drug was approved or before the new drug investigations were authorized.  The FDA has publicly taken the position that CBD cannot be sold in dietary supplements or foods because CBD is an active ingredient in an FDA-approved drug.  However, companies that sell CBD in dietary supplements and foods have taken the position that CBD was marketed as a dietary supplement and/or as a conventional food before the drug was approved or before the new drug investigations were authorized, and because the FDA has not brought enforcement action against such companies, this question of fact has not yet been adjudicated. In the absence of a conclusive legal determination to the contrary, as of the date of this prospectus, it has not been determined that the sale of dietary supplements and/or foods containing CBD within the United States would cause a company’s securities to be ineligible for inclusion in the Index. It is possible that such a legal determination or future federal and/or state laws or regulations could drastically curtail permissible uses of hemp, which could have an adverse effect of the value of the Fund’s investments in companies with business interests in hemp and hemp-based products.

 

The remaining principal risks are presented in alphabetical order. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears.

 

Associated Risks of Investments in SPACs. The Fund invests in equity securities of SPACs, which raise assets to seek potential acquisition opportunities. Unless and until an acquisition is completed, a SPAC generally invests its assets in U.S. government securities, money market securities, and cash. Because SPACs have no operating history or ongoing business other than seeking acquisitions, the value of their securities is particularly dependent on the ability of the entity’s management to identify and complete a profitable acquisition. There is no guarantee that the SPACs in which the Fund invests will complete an acquisition or that any acquisitions that are completed will be profitable. Public stockholders of SPACs may not be afforded a meaningful opportunity to vote on a proposed initial business combination because certain stockholders, including stockholders affiliated with the management of the SPAC, may have sufficient voting power, and a financial incentive, to approve such a transaction without support from public stockholders. As a result, a SPAC may complete a business combination even though a majority of its public stockholders do not support such a combination. Because the SPACs included in the Index will be designed to pursue acquisitions only within certain industries or regions, their stock prices may experience greater volatility than stocks of other SPACs.

 

Associated Risks of SPAC-Derived Companies. The Fund invests in companies that are derived from a SPAC. These companies may be unseasoned and lack a trading history, a track record of reporting to investors, and widely available research coverage. SPAC-derived companies are thus often subject to extreme price volatility and speculative trading. These stocks may have above-average price appreciation in connection with a potential business combination with a SPAC prior to inclusion in the Index. The price of stocks included in the Index may not continue to appreciate and the performance of these stocks may not replicate the performance exhibited in the past. In addition, SPAC-derived companies may share similar illiquidity risks of private equity and venture capital. The free float shares held by the public in a SPAC-derived company are typically a small percentage of the market capitalization. The ownership of many SPAC-derived companies often includes large holdings by venture capital and private equity investors who seek to sell their shares in the public market in the months following a business combination transaction when shares restricted by lock-up are released, causing greater volatility and possible downward pressure during the time that locked-up shares are released.

 

Concentration Risk: The Fund’s investments will be concentrated in an industry or group of industries to the extent that the Index is so concentrated. In such event, the value of the Fund’s shares may rise and fall more than the value of shares of a fund that invests in securities of companies in a broader range of industries.

 

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Consumer Staples Sector Risk: The consumer staples sector may be affected by the permissibility of using various product components and production methods, marketing campaigns and other factors affecting consumer demand. Tobacco companies, in particular, may be adversely affected by new laws, regulations and litigation. The consumer staples sector may also be adversely affected by changes or trends in commodity prices, which may be influenced or characterized by unpredictable factors.

 

Equity Market Risk: The equity securities held in the Fund’s portfolio may experience sudden, unpredictable drops in value or long periods of decline in value. This may occur because of factors that affect securities markets generally or factors affecting specific issuers, industries, or sectors in which the Fund invests such as political, market and economic developments, as well as events that impact specific issuers. Additionally, natural or environmental disasters, widespread disease or other public health issues, war, acts of terrorism or other events could result in increased premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV.

 

ETF Risks:

 

Absence of an Active Market: Although the Fund’s shares are approved for listing on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market will develop and be maintained for Fund shares. There can be no assurance that the Fund will grow to or maintain an economically viable size, in which case the Fund may experience greater tracking error to its Index than it otherwise would at higher asset levels or the Fund may ultimately liquidate.

 

Authorized Participants (“APs”), Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk: The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as APs. In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to net asset value (“NAV”) and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services, or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions. The risks associated with limited APs may be heightened in scenarios where APs have limited or diminished access to the capital required to post collateral.

 

Costs of Buying or Selling Shares: Investors buying or selling Fund 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.

 

Fluctuation of NAV: The NAV of Fund shares will generally fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s securities holdings. The market prices of shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the Fund’s NAV and supply and demand of shares on the Exchange. It cannot be predicted whether Fund shares will trade below, at or above their NAV. During periods of unusual volatility or market disruptions, market prices of Fund shares may deviate significantly from the market value of the Fund’s securities holdings or the NAV of Fund shares. As a result, investors in the Fund may pay significantly more or receive significantly less for Fund shares than the value of the Fund’s underlying securities or the NAV of Fund shares.

 

Market Trading Risk: An investment in the Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors, among others, may lead to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV.

 

Trading Issues: Although Fund shares are listed for trading on the NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”), there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will develop or be maintained. Trading in Fund shares may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of any Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged or that the shares will trade with any volume, or at all. Further, secondary markets may be subject to erratic trading activity, wide bid/ask spreads and extended trade settlement periods in times of market stress because market makers and Authorized Participants may step away from making a market in Fund shares and in executing creation and redemption orders, which could cause a material deviation in the Fund’s market price from its NAV.

 

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Foreign Investment Risk: Returns on investments in foreign stocks could be more volatile than, or trail the returns on, investments in U.S. stocks.

 

Currency Risk: Indirect and direct exposure to foreign currencies subjects the Fund to the risk that currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar. Currency rates in foreign countries may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time for a number of reasons, including changes in interest rates and the imposition of currency controls or other political developments in the U.S. or abroad.

 

Depositary Receipts Risk:   The Fund may invest in depositary receipts. Investment in ADRs and GDRs may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market and GDRs, many of which are issued by companies in emerging markets, may be more volatile and less liquid than depositary receipts issued by companies in more developed markets.

 

Foreign Market and Trading Risk: The trading markets for many foreign securities are not as active as U.S. markets and may have less governmental regulation and oversight. Foreign markets also may have clearance and settlement procedures that make it difficult for the Fund to buy and sell securities. These factors could result in a loss to the Fund by causing the Fund to be unable to dispose of an investment or to miss an attractive investment opportunity, or by causing Fund assets to be uninvested for some period of time.

 

Foreign Securities Risk: The Fund invests a significant portion of its assets directly in securities of issuers based outside of the U.S., or in depositary receipts that represent such securities. Investments in securities of non-U.S. issuers involve certain risks that may not be present with investments in securities of U.S. issuers, such as risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations or to political or economic instability, as well as varying regulatory requirements applicable to investments in non-U.S. issuers. There may be less information publicly available about a non-U.S. issuer than a U.S. issuer. Non-U.S. issuers may also be subject to different regulatory, accounting, auditing, financial reporting and investor protection standards than U.S. issuers.

 

Political and Economic Risk: The Fund is subject to foreign political and economic risk not associated with U.S. investments, meaning that political events, social and economic events and natural disasters occurring in a country where the Fund invests could cause the Fund’s investments in that country to experience gains or losses. The Fund also could be unable to enforce its ownership rights or pursue legal remedies in countries where it invests.

 

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

 

Biotechnology Company Risk:  A biotechnology company’s valuation can often be based largely on the potential or actual performance of a limited number of products and can accordingly be greatly affected if one of its products proves, among other things, unsafe, ineffective or unprofitable. Biotechnology companies are subject to regulation by, and the restrictions of, the FDA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, state and local governments, and foreign regulatory authorities.

 

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Pharmaceutical Company Risk:  Companies in the pharmaceutical industry can be significantly affected by, among other things, government approval of products and services, government regulation and reimbursement rates, product liability claims, patent expirations and protection and intense competition.

 

Natural Disaster/Epidemic Risk: Natural or environmental disasters, such as earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis and other severe weather-related phenomena generally, and widespread disease, including pandemics and epidemics, have been and may be highly disruptive to economies and markets, adversely impacting individual companies, sectors, industries, markets, currencies, interest and inflation rates, credit ratings, investor sentiment, and other factors affecting the value of the Fund’s investments, Given the increasing interdependence among global economies and markets, conditions in one country, market, or region are increasingly likely to adversely affect markets, issues, and/or foreign exchange rates in other countries, including the U.S. Any such events could have a significant adverse impact on the value of the Fund’s investments.

 

Non-Diversification Risk: Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a small number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a small number of issuers could cause the Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Fund held a more diversified portfolio. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.

 

Non-Cannabis Related Business Risk: Many of the companies in the Index are engaged in other lines of business unrelated to the activities identified in the principal investment strategies, above, and these lines of business could adversely affect their operating results. The operating results of these companies may fluctuate as a result of events in the other lines of business. In addition, a company’s ability to engage in new activities may expose it to business risks with which it has less experience than it has with the business risks associated with its traditional businesses. There can be no assurance that the other lines of business in which these companies are engaged will not have an adverse effect on a company’s business or financial condition.

 

Passive Investment Risk: The Fund is not actively managed and therefore would not sell an equity security due to current or projected underperformance of a security, industry or sector, unless that security is removed from the Index. Unlike with an actively managed fund, the Advisor does not use techniques or defensive strategies designed to lessen the effects of market volatility or to reduce the impact of periods of market decline. The means that, based on market and economic conditions, the Fund’s performance could be lower than that of other types of funds that may actively shift their portfolio assets to take advantage of market opportunities or to lessen the impact of a market decline.

 

Risks Related to Investing in Canada: Because the investments of the Fund are geographically concentrated in Canadian companies or companies that have a significant presence in Canada, investment results could be dependent on the financial condition of the Canadian economy. The Canadian economy is reliant on the sale of natural resources and commodities, which can pose risks such as the fluctuation of prices and the variability of demand for exportation of such products. Changes in spending on Canadian products by the economies of other countries or changes in any of these economies may cause a significant impact on the Canadian economy. In particular, the Canadian economy is heavily dependent on relationships with certain key trading partners, including the United States and China.

 

Sector Risk: To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors.

 

Securities Lending Risk: The Fund may engage in securities lending. The Fund may lose money if the borrower of the loaned securities delays returning in a timely manner or fails to return the loaned securities. Securities lending involves the risk that the Fund could lose money in the event of a decline in the value of collateral provided for loaned securities. In addition, the Fund bears the risk of loss in connection with its investment of the cash collateral it receives from a borrower. To the extent that the value or return of the Fund’s investment of the cash collateral declines below the amount owed to the borrower, the Fund may incur losses that exceed the amount it earned on lending the security.

 

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Smaller Companies Risk: The Fund’s Index may be composed primarily of, or have significant exposure to, securities of smaller companies. If it does so, it may be subject to certain risks associated with smaller companies. Smaller companies may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies, and may underperform other segments of the market or the equity market as a whole. The securities of smaller companies also tend to be bought and sold less frequently and at significantly lower trading volumes than the securities of larger companies. As a result, it may be more difficult for the Fund to buy or sell a significant amount of the securities of a smaller company without an adverse impact on the price of the company’s securities, or the Fund may have to sell such securities in smaller quantities over a longer period of time, which may increase the Fund’s tracking error.

 

Tax Risk: To qualify for the favorable tax treatment generally available to regulated investment companies, the Fund must satisfy certain diversification requirements under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). In particular, the Fund generally may not acquire a security if, as a result of the acquisition, more than 50% of the value of the Fund’s assets would be invested in (a) issuers in which the Fund has, in each case, invested more than 5% of the Fund’s assets and (b) issuers more than 10% of whose outstanding voting securities are owned by the Fund. When the Index is concentrated in a relatively small number of securities, it may not be possible for the Fund to fully implement a replication strategy or a representative sampling strategy while satisfying these diversification requirements. The Fund’s efforts to satisfy the diversification requirements may cause the Fund’s return to deviate from that of the Index, and the Fund’s efforts to replicate the Index may cause it inadvertently to fail to satisfy the diversification requirements. If the Fund were to fail to qualify as a regulated investment company, 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.

 

Tracking Error Risk: The Fund’s return may not match or achieve a high degree of correlation with the return of the Index. To the extent the Fund utilizes a sampling approach, it may experience tracking error to a greater extent than if the Fund sought to replicate the Index. In addition, in order to minimize the market impact of an Index rebalance, the Fund may begin trading to effect the rebalance in advance of the effective date of the rebalance and continue trading after the effective date of the rebalance, which may contribute to tracking error.

 

Valuation Risk: The sales price that the Fund could receive for a security may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security and may differ from the value used by the Index, particularly for securities that trade in low volume or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology. In addition, the value of the securities in the Fund’s portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund’s shares.

 

Performance Information

 

The following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows the annual return for the Fund. The table shows how the Fund’s average annual returns for one year, five years and since inception periods compare with those of the Index and a broad measure of market performance. The Fund’s past performance, before and after taxes, is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. On December 26, 2017, the Fund’s investment objective and principal investment strategy were substantially revised; therefore, the performance and average annual total returns shown for periods prior to December 26, 2017 is likely to have differed had the Fund’s current investment strategy been in effect during those periods.

 

Updated performance information is available on the Fund’s website at www.etfmj.com or by calling 844-ETFMGRS (844-383-6477).

 

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During the period of time shown in the bar chart, the Fund’s highest return for a calendar quarter was 46.31% (quarter ended 3/31/2019) and the Fund’s lowest return for a calendar quarter was -36.33% (quarter ended 12/31/2018).

 

Average Annual Total Returns
(for the period ended December 31, 2020)

1 Year 5 Years Since
Inception
12/3/15
Return Before Taxes -11.43% -3.82% -4.72%
Return After Taxes on Distributions -13.05% -6.02% -6.86%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares -6.69% -3.34% -3.98%
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 18.40% 15.22% 14.94%
Solactive Latin America Real Estate Index/Prime Alternative Harvest Index
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)1
-15.58% -3.93% -5.03%

1 The table reflects performance of the Solactive Latin America Real Estate Index through December 26, 2017 and the Prime Alternative Harvest Index thereafter.

 

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown and are not relevant if you hold your shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period.

 

Investment Adviser

 

ETF Managers Group LLC (the “Adviser”) serves as the investment adviser to the Fund.

 

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Portfolio Managers

 

Samuel R. Masucci, III, Chief Executive Officer of the Adviser, and Devin Ryder, Portfolio Manager of the Adviser, have been the Fund’s portfolio managers since 2018. Frank Vallario, Chief Investment Officer of the Adviser, and Donal Bishnoi, Portfolio Manager of the Adviser, have been the Fund’s portfolio managers since 2019.

 

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

 

Shares are listed on the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through brokers at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).

 

The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only APs (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the Fund’s shares are not redeemable securities.

 

Investors may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (ask) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information about the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available on the Fund’s website at www.etfmj.com

 

Tax Information

 

The distributions made by the Fund are taxable, and will be taxed as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless your investment is in an IRA or other tax-advantaged account. However, subsequent withdrawals from such a tax-advantaged account may be subject to federal income tax. You should consult your tax advisor about your specific tax situation.

 

Financial Intermediary Compensation

 

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more knowledgeable about exchange traded products, including the Fund, or for other activities, such as marketing, educational training or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Fund shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s website for more information.

 

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