485APOS 1 f25596d1.htm 485A 485A

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 1, 2023

Registration Nos. 333-89822; 811-21114

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form N-1A

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

 

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

X

Pre-Effective Amendment No.

Post-Effective Amendment No. 272

X

and/or

 

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

 

UNDER

 

THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940

X

Amendment No. 281

X

ProShares Trust

(Exact name of Registrant as Specified in Trust Instrument)

7272 Wisconsin Avenue, 21st Floor

Bethesda, MD 20814

(Address of Principal Executive Office) (Zip Code)

(240) 497-6400

(Area Code and Telephone Number)

Michael L. Sapir, CEO

ProShare Advisors LLC

7272 Wisconsin Avenue, 21st Floor

Bethesda, MD 20814

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

 

with copies to:

John Loder, Esq.

Richard F. Morris

c/o Ropes & Gray LLP

ProShare Advisors LLC

Prudential Tower

7272 Wisconsin Avenue, 21st Floor

800 Boylston Street

Bethesda, MD 20814

Boston, MA 02199-3600

 

Approximate date of Proposed Public Offering:

 

It is proposed that this filing will become effective:

immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)

On [ ] pursuant to paragraph (b)

60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)

 

On pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)

X75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2)

On pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485

If appropriate, check the following:

This post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment.



SUBJECT TO COMPLETION—Preliminary Prospectus dated August 1, 2023
The information in this Prospectus is not complete and may be changed. Shares of the Fund may not be sold until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This Prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

PROSPECTUS[]
[ticker]
Short Ether Strategy ETF
ProShares Short Ether Strategy ETF is listed on [exchange] (“Exchange”).
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

PROSHARES TRUSTDistributor: SEI Investments Distribution Co.

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Summary Section

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Investment Objective
ProShares Short Ether Strategy ETF (the “Fund”) seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to the inverse (-1x) of the daily performance of the S&P CME Ether Futures Index (the “Index”).
Important Information About the Fund
If the Fund is successful in meeting its investment objective, it should gain approximately as much as the Index loses when the Index falls on a given day. Conversely, it should lose approximately as much as the Index gains when the Index rises on a given day. The Fund does not seek to achieve the inverse (-1x) of the daily performance of the Index (the “Daily Target”) for any period other than a day.
While the Fund has a daily investment objective, you may hold Fund shares for longer than one day if you believe doing so is consistent with your goals and risk tolerance. If you hold fund shares for any period other than a day, it is important for you to understand that over your holding period:
Your return may be higher or lower than the Daily Target, and this difference may be significant.
Factors that contribute to returns that are worse than the Daily Target include smaller Index gains or losses and higher Index volatility, as well as longer holding periods when these factors apply.
Factors that contribute to returns that are better than the Daily Target include larger Index gains or losses and lower Index volatility, as well as longer holding periods when these factors apply.
The more extreme these factors are, the more your return will tend to deviate from the Daily Target.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
 
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the
value of your investment)
 
Management Fees
[]
Other Expenses1
[]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses2
[]
1. “Other Expenses” are estimated. Other Expenses are expected to include []% of interest expense and fees charged by futures commission merchants incurred in the course of implementing the Fund’s strategy.
2. ProShare Advisors LLC (“ProShare Advisors”) has contractually agreed to waive fees or reimburse the amount of any interest expense incurred in connection with investments in reverse repurchase agreements and any net fees charged by futures commission merchants through []. After such date, the expense limitation may be terminated or revised by ProShare Advisors.
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 or hold all of your shares at the end of each period. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same, except that the fee waiver/expense reimbursement is assumed only to pertain to the first year. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your approximate costs would be:
1 Year
3 Years
 
 
$[]
$[]
 
 
The Fund pays transaction and financing costs associated with the purchase and sale of securities and derivatives. These costs are not reflected in the table or the example above.
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’s shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example above, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund invests in financial instruments that ProShare Advisors believes, in combination, should produce daily returns consistent with the Daily Target.
Ether is a digital asset, sometimes referred to as a digital currency or “cryptocurrency.” The ownership and operation of ether is determined by participants in an online, peer-to-peer network sometimes referred to as the “Ethereum Network.” The Ethereum Network connects computers that run publicly accessible, or “open source,” software that follows the rules and procedures governing the Ethereum Network. This is commonly referred to as the Ethereum Protocol (and is described in more detail in the section entitled “The Ethereum Protocol” in the Fund’s Prospectus).
The value of ether is not backed by any government, corporation, or other identified body. Instead, its value is determined in part by the supply and demand in markets created to facilitate the trading of ether. Ownership and transaction records for ether are protected through public-key cryptography. The supply of ether is determined by the Ethereum Protocol. No single entity owns or operates the Ethereum Network. The Ethereum Network is collectively maintained by (1) a decentralized group of participants who run computer software

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that results in the recording and validation of transactions (commonly referred to as “validators”), (2) developers who propose improvements to the Ethereum Protocol and the software that enforces the Protocol and (3) users who choose which version of the Ethereum software to run. From time to time, the developers suggest changes to the Ethereum software. If a sufficient number of users and validators elect not to adopt the changes, a new digital asset, operating on the earlier version of the Ethereum software, may be created. This is often referred to as a “fork.” The price of the ether futures contracts in which the Fund invests may reflect the impact of these forks.
The Index is constructed and maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC. The Index measures the performance of the front-month ether futures contract trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (“CME”). The Index is constructed from futures contracts and includes a provision for the replacement of the Index futures contracts as the contracts approach maturity. This is often referred to as “rolling” a futures contract. The replacement occurs over a five-day roll period every month, effective prior to the open of trading five business days preceding the last trading date of the futures contract. The last trading date of ether futures contracts is the last Friday of the contract month. The Index rolls monthly and distributes the weights 20% each day over the five-day roll period. The Index is published under the Bloomberg ticker symbol “SPETHFUE.”
In order to obtain inverse or “short” exposure to the Index, the Fund intends to enter into cash-settled ether futures contracts as the “seller.” In simplest terms, in a cash-settled futures market the seller pays the counterparty if the price of a futures contract goes up and receives cash from the counterparty if the price of the futures contract goes down.
While the Fund seeks to invest primarily in ether futures contracts, the Fund also may invest in other instruments as described below.
Ether Futures Contracts – Standardized, cash-settled ether futures contracts traded on commodity exchanges registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”). The Fund seeks to invest in front-month ether futures. The Fund may also invest in back-month ether futures contracts. Front-month ether futures contracts are those contracts with the shortest time to maturity. Back-month ether futures contracts are those with longer times to maturity.
The Fund expects to gain inverse exposure by investing a portion of its assets in a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Fund organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands and advised by ProShare Advisors. Because the Fund intends to qualify for treatment as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, the Fund intends to invest no more than 25% of the Fund’s total assets in the subsidiary at each quarter end of the Fund’s tax year. Exceeding this amount may have tax consequences, see the section below entitled “Tax Risk” for more
information. References to investments by the Fund should be read to mean investments by either the Fund or the subsidiary.
Money Market Instruments — The Fund expects that any cash balances maintained in connection with its use of derivatives will typically be held in high quality, short-term money market instruments, for example:
U.S. Treasury Bills — U.S. government securities that have initial maturities of one year or less, and are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
Repurchase Agreements — Contracts in which a seller of securities, usually U.S. government securities or other money market instruments, agrees to buy the securities back at a specified time and price.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements – The Fund seeks to engage in reverse repurchase agreements, a form of borrowing, and use the proceeds for investment purposes.
The Fund does not invest in, or seek direct inverse exposure to, a current “spot” or cash price of ether. Investors seeking direct inverse exposure to the price of ether should consider an investment other than the Fund.
Please see “Investment Objective, Principal Investment Strategies and Related Risks” in the Fund’s Prospectus for additional details.
Principal Risks
Investment Strategy Risk – The Fund obtains short exposure to ether futures contracts in a manner designed to provide inverse exposure to the single day returns of the Index. The price and performance of ether futures should be expected to differ from a current cash price of ether, which is sometimes referred to as a “spot” price of ether.
Ether Volatility Risk – The prices of ether and ether futures have historically been highly volatile. The value of the Fund’s inverse exposure to ether futures – and therefore the value of an investment in the Fund – could decline significantly and without warning, including to zero.
Ether Futures Risk – The market for ether futures may be less developed, and potentially less liquid and more volatile, than more established futures markets. While the ether futures market has grown substantially since ether futures commenced trading, there can be no assurance that this growth will continue. The price for ether futures contracts is based on a number of factors, including the supply of and the demand for ether futures contracts. Market conditions and expectations, position limits, accountability levels, collateral requirements, availability of counterparties, and other factors each can impact the supply of and demand for ether futures contracts.
Market conditions and expectations, position limits, accountability levels, collateral requirements, availability of counterparties, and other factors may also limit the Fund’s ability to achieve its desired exposure to ether

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futures contracts. If the Fund is unable to achieve such exposure it may not be able to meet its investment objective and the Fund’s returns may be different or lower than expected. Additionally, collateral requirements may require the Fund to liquidate its positions, potentially incurring losses and expenses, when it otherwise would not do so. Investing in derivatives like ether futures may be considered aggressive and may expose the Fund to significant risks. These risks include counterparty risk and liquidity risk.
The performance of ether futures contracts and ether may differ and may not be correlated with each other, over short or long periods of time. The performance of back-month futures contracts is likely to differ more significantly from the performance of the spot prices of ether. To the extent the Fund is invested in back-month ether future contracts, the performance of the Fund should be expected to deviate more significantly from the performance of the spot prices of ether.
Short or Inverse Investing Risk — You will lose money when the Index rises – a result that is the opposite from a traditional index fund. Obtaining inverse or “short” exposure may be considered an aggressive investment technique. The costs of obtaining this short exposure will lower your returns.If the level of Index approaches a 100% increase at any point in the day, you could lose your entire investment.
Holding Period Risk — The performance of the Fund for periods longer than a single day will likely differ from the Daily Target. This difference may be significant. If you are considering holding fund shares for longer than a day, it’s important that you understand the impact of Index returns and Index volatility (how much the value of the Index moves up and down from day-to-day) on your holding period return.
The table below uses hypothetical annualized Index volatility and Index returns to illustrate the impact of these two principal factors on Fund performance over a one-year period. It does not represent actual returns. Each row corresponds to the level of a hypothetical Index return for a one-year period. Each column corresponds to a level of hypothetical annualized Index volatility. For example, the Fund may incorrectly be expected to achieve a -20% return on a yearly basis if the annual Index return were 20%; however, as the table shows, with a one-year Index return of 20% and an annualized Index volatility of 50%, the Fund could be expected to return -35.1%.
Areas shaded darker represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return less than the Daily Target.
Estimated Fund Returns
Index Performance
One Year Volatility Rate
One
Year
Index
Inverse (-1x)
of the
One Year
Index
10%
25%
50%
75%
100%
-90%
90%
890.0%
839.4%
678.8%
469.8%
267.9%
-80%
80%
395.0%
369.7%
289.4%
184.9%
83.9%
-70%
70%
230.0%
213.1%
159.6%
89.9%
22.6%
-60%
60%
147.5%
134.9%
94.7%
42.4%
-8.0%
-50%
50%
98.0%
87.9%
55.8%
14.0%
-26.4%
-40%
40%
65.0%
56.6%
29.8%
-5.0%
-38.7%
-30%
30%
41.4%
34.2%
11.3%
-18.6%
-47.4%
-20%
20%
23.8%
17.4%
-2.6%
-28.8%
-54.0%
-10%
10%
10.0%
4.4%
-13.5%
-36.7%
-59.1%
0%
0%
-1.0%
-6.1%
-22.1%
-43.0%
-63.2%
10%
-10%
-10.0%
-14.6%
-29.2%
-48.2%
-66.6%
20%
-20%
-17.5%
-21.7%
-35.1%
-52.5%
-69.3%
30%
-30%
-23.8%
-27.7%
-40.1%
-56.2%
-71.7%
40%
-40%
-29.3%
-32.9%
-44.4%
-59.3%
-73.7%
50%
-50%
-34.0%
-37.4%
-48.1%
-62.0%
-75.5%
60%
-60%
-38.1%
-41.3%
-51.3%
-64.4%
-77.0%
70%
-70%
-41.8%
-44.7%
-54.2%
-66.5%
-78.4%
80%
-80%
-45.0%
-47.8%
-56.7%
-68.3%
-79.6%
90%
-90%
-47.9%
-50.6%
-59.0%
-70.0%
-80.6%
100%
-100%
-50.5%
-53.0%
-61.1%
-71.5%
-81.6%
Assumes: (a) no dividends paid with respect to securities included in the Index; (b) no Fund expenses; and (c) borrowing/lending rates (to obtain leveraged exposure) of zero percent.
As the table illustrates, your return will tend to be worse than the Daily Target when there are smaller Index gains or losses and higher Index volatility. Your return will tend to be better than the Daily Target when there are larger Index gains or losses and lower Index volatility. You may lose money when the Index return is flat (i.e., close to zero) and you may lose money when the Index falls.
The Fund’s Index was created in [inception date], but has historical data available beginning in [date]. For the period since [inception date] through May 31, 2023, the Fund’s Index’s annualized historical volatility rate was []%. Due to the Fund’s Index’s limited operating history, the [], a “spot” ether index, is used for comparative purposes. []’s annualized historical volatility rate for the five-year period ended May 31, 2023 was []%. The []’s highest May to May volatility rate during the five-year period was []% ([date]). The Fund’s Index’s annualized total return performance for the period

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since [inception date] through May 31, 2023 was []%. The []’s annualized total return performance for the five-year period ended May 31, 2023 was []%. Historical index volatility and performance are not indications of what the index volatility and performance will be in the future. The volatility of ether futures contracts may differ from the volatility of the Fund’s Index. Historical Index volatility and performance are not indications of what the Index volatility and performance will be in the future.
The table illustrates the impact of Index volatility and Index return on Fund returns for a hypothetical one-year period, however, these effects will impact your return for any holding period other than a day. The longer you hold shares of the Fund, the more magnified these effects will be. For additional graphs and charts demonstrating the effects of Index volatility and Index return on the long-term performance of the Fund, see “Understanding the Risks and Long-Term Performance of a Daily Objective Fund” in the Fund’s Prospectus.
Correlation Risk — The Fund’s exposure may not be consistent with the Daily Target. Fees, expenses, transaction costs, financing costs associated with the use of derivatives, among other factors, will adversely impact the Fund’s ability to meet its Daily Target. In addition, the Fund may not have inverse exposure to all of the securities in the Index, its weighting of securities may be different from that of the Index, and it may invest in instruments not included in the Index. Moreover, if for any reason the Fund is unable to rebalance all or a portion of its investments, the Fund may have exposure to the Index that is significantly greater or less than the Daily Target. Any of these factors may prevent the Fund’s from achieving exposure consistent with the Daily Target.
Counterparty Risk — The Fund may lose money if a counterparty does not meet its contractual obligations.
Leverage Risk — Leverage increases the risk of a total loss of an investor’s investment, may increase the volatility of the Fund, and may magnify any differences between the performance of the Fund and the Index.
Ether Futures Capacity Risk – If the Fund’s ability to obtain exposure to ether futures contracts consistent with its investment objective is disrupted for any reason including, for example, limited liquidity in the ether futures market, a disruption to the ether futures market, or as a result of margin requirements, position limits, accountability levels, or other limitations imposed by the Fund’s futures commission merchants (“FCMs”), the listing exchanges, or the CFTC, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective and may experience significant losses.
In such circumstances, the Advisor intends to take such action as it believes appropriate and in the best interest of the Fund. Any disruption in the Fund’s ability to obtain inverse exposure to ether futures contracts will cause the Fund’s performance to deviate from the performance of
ether and ether futures. Additionally, the ability of the Fund to obtain inverse exposure to ether futures contracts is limited by certain tax rules that limit the amount the Fund can invest in its wholly-owned subsidiary as of the end of each tax quarter. Exceeding this amount may have tax consequences, see the section entitled “Tax Risk” in the Fund’s Prospectus for more information.
Cost of Futures Investment Risk – As discussed above, when a ether futures contract is nearing expiration, the Fund will “roll” the futures contract. This means it will generally exit its position in such contract and enter into a new position in a ether futures contract with a later expiration date. When rolling short futures contracts that are in backwardation, the Fund will close its short position by buying the expiring contract at a relatively higher price and selling a longer-dated contract at a relatively lower price. Backwardation in the ether futures market may have a significant adverse impact on the performance of the Fund. Both contango and backwardation may cause ether futures to perform differently than spot ether and may limit or prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective.
Ether Risk – Ether is a relatively new innovation and the market for ether is subject to rapid price swings, changes and uncertainty. The further development of the Ethereum Network and the acceptance and use of ether are subject to a variety of factors that are difficult to evaluate. The slowing, stopping or reversing of the development of the Ethereum Network or the acceptance of ether may adversely affect the price of ether. Ether is subject to the risk of fraud, theft, manipulation or security failures, operational or other problems that impact ether trading venues. Additionally, if one or a coordinated group of validators were to gain control of two-thirds of staked ether, they would have the ability to manipulate transactions and fraudulently obtain ether. If such a validator or group of validators were to gain control of one-third of staked ether, they could halt payments. A significant portion of ether is held by a small number of holders sometimes referred to as “whales”. Transactions of these holders may influence the price of ether.
Unlike the exchanges for more traditional assets, such as equity securities and futures contracts, ether and ether trading venues are largely unregulated. As a result of the lack of regulation, individuals or groups may engage in fraud or market manipulation (including using social media to promote ether in a way that artificially increases the price of ether). Investors may be more exposed to the risk of theft, fraud and market manipulation than when investing in more traditional asset classes. Over the past several years, a number of ether trading venues have been closed due to fraud, failure or security breaches. Investors in ether may have little or no recourse should such theft, fraud or manipulation occur and could suffer significant losses. Legal or regulatory changes may negatively impact the operation of the Ethereum Network or restrict the use

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of ether. Alternatively, legal or regulatory changes may increase the acceptance and adoption of ether. The realization of any of these risks could result in increased volatility and in some instances could result in a sharp increase in the value of ether and ether futures.
Subsidiary Investment Risk — Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which the Fund and the subsidiary are organized, respectively, could result in the inability of the Fund to operate as intended and could negatively affect the Fund and its shareholders.
Borrowing Risk – The Fund may borrow for investment purposes using reverse repurchase agreements. The cost of borrowing may reduce the Fund’s return. Borrowing may cause the Fund to liquidate positions under adverse market conditions to satisfy its repayment obligations. Borrowing increases the risk of loss and may increase the volatility of the Fund.
Non-Diversification Risk — The Fund has the ability to invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in the securities of a small number of issuers or in financial instruments with a single counterparty or a few counterparties. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and increase the risk that the Fund’s performance will decline based on the performance of a single issuer or the credit of a single counterparty.
Index Performance Risk — The Index used by the Fund may underperform other asset classes and may underperform other similar indices. The Index is maintained by a third party provider unaffiliated with the Fund or ProShare Advisors. There can be no guarantee that the methodology underlying the Index or the daily calculation of the Index will be free from error.
Intraday Price Performance Risk — The intraday performance of Fund shares traded in the secondary market generally will be different from the performance of the Fund when measured from one NAV calculation-time to the next. When shares are bought intraday, the performance of the Fund’s shares relative to the Index until the Fund’s next NAV calculation time will generally be higher or lower than the Daily Target.
Market Price Variance Risk — Investors buy and sell Fund shares in the secondary market at market prices. Market prices may be different from the NAV per share of the Fund (i.e., the secondary market price may trade at a price greater than NAV (a premium) or less than NAV (a discount)). The market price of the Fund’s shares will fluctuate in response to changes in the value of the Fund’s holdings, supply and demand for shares and other market factors.
Authorized Participant Risk — The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that act as Authorized Participants or market markers. Only Authorized Participants may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. If some or all of these Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to process creation and/or redemption orders, and other Authorized Partici
pants are not willing or able to create and redeem Fund shares, investors may experience a significantly diminished trading market and the shares may trade at a discount to NAV.
Cash Purchases and Redemption Risk — The Fund expects to effect all of its creations and redemption in cash rather than in-kind. Cash purchases and redemptions may increase transaction costs. The relatively high costs associated with obtaining inverse exposure to ether futures contracts, particularly near contract expiration, may have a significant adverse impact on the performance of the Fund. Additionally, cash purchases and redemptions may cause the Fund to recognize a gain or loss.
Early Close/Late Close/Trading Halt Risk — An exchange or market may close early, close late or issue trading halts on ether futures contracts. In these circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses.
New Fund Risk — The Fund recently commenced operations, has a limited operating history, and started operations with a small asset base. There can be no assurance that the Fund will be successful or grow to or maintain a viable size, that an active trading market for the Fund’s shares will develop or be maintained, or that the Fund’s shares’ listing will continue unchanged. The fair value of the Fund’s ether futures may be determined by reference, in whole or in part, to the cash market in ether. These circumstances may be more likely to occur with respect to ether futures than with respect to futures on more traditional assets. In addition, the ether futures held by the Fund and ether may be traded in markets on days and at times when the Fund is not open for business. As a result, the value of the Fund’s holdings may vary, perhaps significantly, on days and at times when investors are unable to purchase or sell Fund shares.
Please see “Investment Objective, Principal Investment Strategies and Related Risks” in the Fund’s Prospectus for additional details.
Investment Results
Performance history will be available for the Fund after it has been in operation for a full calendar year. After the Fund has a full calendar year of performance information, performance information will be shown on an annual basis.
Management
The Fund is advised by ProShare Advisors. Alexander Ilyasov, Senior Portfolio Manager, and George Banian, Portfolio Manager, have jointly and primarily managed the Fund since inception.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund will issue and redeem shares only to Authorized Participants (typically broker-dealers) in exchange for cash in large blocks, known as Creation Units. Shares of the Fund may

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only be purchased and sold by retail investors in secondary market transactions through broker-dealers or other financial intermediaries. Shares of the Fund are listed for trading on a national securities exchange and because shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares of the Fund may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). In addition to brokerage commissions, investors incur the costs of the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Funds (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”). The bid-ask spread varies over time for
Fund shares based on trading volume and market liquidity. Recent information, including information about a Fund’s NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads, is included on the Fund’s website (www.proshares.com).
Tax Information
Income and capital gains distributions you receive from the Fund generally are subject to federal income taxes and may also be subject to state and local taxes. The Fund intends to distribute income, if any, monthly, and capital gains, if any, at least annually.

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Investment Objective, Principal Investment Strategies and Related Risks

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE, PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RELATED RISKS :: 11
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This section contains additional details about the Fund’s investment objective, principal investment strategies and related risks.
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to the inverse (-1x) of the daily performance of the Index (the “Daily Target”) for a single day, not for any other period. The Fund does not seek to achieve its stated investment objective over a period of time greater than a single day.A “single day” is measured from the time the Fund calculates its net asset value (“NAV”) to the time of the Fund’s next NAV calculation.
The return of the Fund for periods longer than a day is the product of a series of daily leveraged returns for each trading day during that period. The Fund’s return for periods longer than a single day will very likely differ in amount, and possibly even direction, from the Fund’s Daily Target.
If you hold Fund shares for any period other than a day, it is important for you to understand that over your holding period:
Your return may be higher or lower than the Daily Target, and this difference may be significant.
Factors that contribute to returns that are worse than the Daily Target include smaller Index gains or losses and higher Index volatility, as well as longer holding periods when these factors apply.
Factors that contribute to returns that are better than the Daily Target include larger Index gains or losses and lower Index volatility, as well as longer holding periods when these factors apply.
The more extreme these factors are, the more your return will tend to deviate from the Daily Target.
For periods longer than a day, you will lose money if the Index’s performance is flat and it is possible that you will lose money even if the value of the Index falls during that period. During periods of higher Index volatility, the Index volatility may affect your return as much or more than the return of the Index.
Investment in the Fund involves risks that are different from and additional to the risks of investments in other types of funds. An investor in the Fund could potentially lose the full value of their investment within a single day.
The Fund’s investment objective is non-fundamental, meaning it may be changed by the Board of Trustees (“Board”), without the approval of Fund shareholders.
Principal Investment Strategies
In seeking to achieve the Fund’s investment objective, ProShare Advisors LLC (“ProShare Advisors” or the “Advisor”)
follows a passive approach to investing that is designed to correspond to the inverse (-1x) of the daily performance of the Index.
The Index measures the performance of the front-month ether futures contract trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (“CME”). The Index is constructed from futures contracts and includes a provision for the replacement of the Index futures contracts as the contracts approach maturity. This is often referred to as “rolling” a futures contract. The replacement occurs over a five-day roll period every month, effective prior to the open of trading five business days preceding the last trading date of the futures contract. The last trading date of ether futures contracts is the last Friday of the contract month. The Index rolls monthly and distributes the weights 20% each day over the five-day roll period.
In selecting investments for the Fund, the Advisor takes into consideration the relative liquidity of and costs associated with ether futures contracts as well as regulatory requirements imposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Internal Revenue Service, and other factors. The Fund generally seeks to remain fully invested at all times in investments that, in combination, provide inverse exposure to ether futures without regard to market conditions, trends, or direction.
The Fund does not take temporary defensive positions. The Fund will generally hold its ether-related investments during periods in which the value ether is flat or rising as well as during periods in which the value of ether is declining. For example, if the Fund’s ether-related investments are declining in value, the Fund generally will not exit its positions except as needed to meet redemption requests.
The Fund seeks to provide capital appreciation primarily through managed exposure to ether futures contracts. The Fund does not invest directly in ether.
In seeking to achieve the Fund’s investment objective, ProShare Advisors LLC (“ProShare Advisors” or the “Advisor”) takes into consideration, among other things, the relative liquidity of and costs associated with ether futures contracts as well as regulatory requirements imposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Internal Revenue Service. The Fund generally seeks to remain fully invested at all times in investments that, in combination, provide exposure to ether futures without regard to market conditions, trends, or direction.
The Fund does not take temporary defensive positions. The Fund will generally hold its ether-related investments during periods in which the value ether is flat or declining as well as during periods in which the value of ether is rising. For example, if the Fund’s ether-related investments are declining in value, the Fund generally will not exit its positions except as needed to meet redemption requests.

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Ether
Ether is a digital asset which serves as the unit of account on an open-source, decentralized, peer-to-peer computer network. Ether may be used to pay for goods and services, stored for future use, or converted to a government-issued currency. As of the date of this Prospectus, the adoption of ether for these purposes has been limited. The value of ether is not backed by any government, corporation, or other identified body.
The value of ether is determined in part by the supply of and demand for, ether in the markets for exchange that have been organized to facilitate the trading of ether. Ether is the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization behind bitcoin.
Ether is maintained on the decentralized, open source, peer-to-peer computer network (“Ethereum Network”). No single entity owns or operates the Ethereum Network. The Ethereum Network is accessed through software and governs the creation and movement of ether. The source code for the Ethereum Network is open-source, and anyone can contribute to its development.
Ethereum Network
The infrastructure of the Ethereum Network is collectively maintained by participants in the Ethereum Network, which include validators, developers, and users. Validators validate transactions and are currently compensated for that service in ether, as determined by the Ethereum Protocol. Developers maintain and contribute updates to the Ethereum Network’s source code. Users access the Ethereum Network using open-source software. Anyone can be a user, developer, or validator.
Ether is maintained on a digital transaction ledger commonly known as a “blockchain.” A blockchain is a type of shared and continually reconciled database, stored in a decentralized manner on the computers of certain users of the digital asset and is protected by cryptography. The Ethereum blockchain contains a record and history for each ether transaction.
The Ethereum blockchain allows for the creation of decentralized applications that are supported by a transaction protocol referred to as “smart contracts,” which includes the cryptographic operations that verify and secure ether transactions. A smart contract operates by a pre-defined set of rules (i.e., “if/then statements”) that allows it to automatically execute code on the Ethereum Network. Such actions taken by the pre-defined set of rules are not necessarily contractual in nature but are intended to eliminate the need for a third party to carry out code execution on behalf of users, making the system decentralized, allowing decentralized application developers to create a wide range of applications.
Ethereum Protocol
The Ethereum Protocol is an open source project with no official company or group in control. Anyone can review the underlying code and suggest changes. Because there is no
central authority, the release of updates to the Ethereum Protocol source code by developers does not guarantee that the updates will be automatically adopted by the other participants. Users and validators must accept any changes made to the source code by downloading the proposed modification and that modification is effective only with respect to those ether users and validators who choose to download it. As a practical matter, a modification to the source code becomes part of the Ethereum Network only if it is accepted by validators that collectively represent a supermajority (two-thirds) of the cumulative validations on the Ethereum blockchain.
If a modification is accepted by only a portion of users and validators, a division will occur such that one network will run the pre-modification source code and the other network will run the modified source code. Such a division is known as a “fork.”
New ether is created through “staking” of ether by validators. Validators are required to stake ether in order to perform validation activities and then, as a reward, earn newly created ether. Validation activities include verifying transactions, storing data, and adding to the Ethereum blockchain. Further, with its collective computing power on the distributed network, the Ethereum network provides the ability to execute peer-to-peer transactions to realize, via smart contracts, automatic, conditional transfer of value and information, including money, voting rights, and property.
An Ethereum private key controls the transfer or “spending” of ether from its associated public Ethereum address. An Ethereum “wallet” is a collection of public Ethereum addresses and their associated private key(s). It is designed such that only the owner of ether can send ether, only the intended recipient of ether can unlock what the sender sent and both transactions and ownership can be verified by any third party anywhere in the world.
Fees need to be paid in ether in order to facilitate transactions and execute smart contracts. The fee that is charged is called “gas.” Gas price is often a small fraction of ether, which is denoted in the unit of Gwei (10^9 Gwei = 1 ether). Gas is essential in sustaining the Ethereum network. It incentivizes validators to process and verify transactions and incentivizes new validators to stake ether. Gas fees are a product of Ethereum network demand relative to the Ethereum network’s capacity.
Ether Futures
A futures contract is a standardized contract traded on, or subject to the rules of, an exchange to buy or sell a specified type and quantity of a particular underlying asset at a designated price. Futures contracts are traded on a wide variety of underlying assets, including ether, bonds, interest rates, agricultural products, stock indexes, currencies, digital assets, energy, metals, economic indicators and statistical measures. The contract unit (i.e., the total amount of the underlying

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asset referenced in cash futures contract) and calendar term of futures contracts on a particular underlying asset are identical and are not subject to any negotiation, other than with respect to price and the number of contracts traded between the buyer and seller. Futures contracts expire on a designated date, referred to as the “expiration date.”
The Fund generally deposits cash (also known as “margin”) with an FCM for its open positions in futures contracts. The margin requirements or position limits may be based on the notional exposure (i.e., the total dollar value of exposure the Fund has to the asset that underlies the futures contract) of the futures contracts or the number of futures contracts purchased. The FCM, in turn, generally transfers such deposits to the clearing house to protect the clearing house against non-payment by the Fund. “Variation Margin” is the amount of cash that each party agrees to pay to or receive from the other to reflect the daily fluctuation in the value of the futures contract. The clearing house becomes substituted for each counterparty to a futures contract and, in effect, guarantees performance. In addition, the FCM may require the Fund to deposit additional margin collateral in excess of the clearing house’s requirements for the FCM’s own protection. Margin requirements for ether futures are substantially higher than margin requirements for many other types of futures contracts.
CME Ether Futures commenced trading on the CME Globex electronic trading platform on February 8, 2021 under the ticker symbol “ETH”. CME Ether Futures are cash-settled in U.S. dollars, based on the CME CF Ether Reference Rate. The CME CF Ether Reference Rate is a volume-weighted composite of U.S. dollar-ether trading activity on the Constituent Exchanges. The Constituent Exchanges are selected by CF Benchmarks based on the Constituent Exchange Criteria. The Constituent Exchange Criteria requires each Constituent Exchange to implement policies and procedures designed to ensure fair and transparent market conditions and to identify and impede illegal, unfair or manipulative trading practices. Additionally, each Constituent Exchange must comply with, among other things, capital market regulations, money transmission regulations, client money custody regulations, know-you-client regulations and anti-money laundering regulations.
Each Constituent Exchange is reviewed annually by an oversight committee established by CF Benchmarks to confirm that the Constituent Exchange continues to meet all criteria. CF Benchmarks and the CME CF Ether Reference Rate are subject to United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority Regulation
Rolling of the Ether Futures
Futures contracts expire on a designated date, referred to as the “expiration date.” The Fund generally seeks to invest in “front month” CME Ether futures contracts. “Front month”
contracts are the monthly contracts with the nearest expiration date. CME Ether Futures are cash settled on their expiration date unless they are “rolled” prior to expiration. The Fund intends to “roll” its CME Ether Futures prior to expiration. Typically, the Fund will roll to the next “nearby” CME Ether Futures. The “nearby” contracts are those contracts with the next closest expiration date.
Investment in the Cayman subsidiary
The Fund expects to gain exposure to ether futures contracts by investing a portion of its assets in a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Fund organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands, the ProShares Short Ether Strategy Portfolio (the “Portfolio”). The Portfolio will be managed and advised by ProShare Advisors and overseen by the Portfolio’s board of directors.
Additional Ether-Related Investments
If the Fund is unable to obtain the desired exposure to ether futures contracts because it is approaching or has exceeded position limits or accountability levels or because of liquidity or other constraints, the Advisor intends to take such action as it believes appropriate and in the best interest of the Fund. This may include, among other things, shorting equity securities of “ether-related companies.” For these purposes, ether-related companies are companies listed on a U.S. stock exchange that the Advisor believes provide returns that generally correspond, or are closely related, to the performance of ether or ether futures. For example, ether-related companies are U.S. listed companies engaged in digital asset mining or offering digital asset trading platforms.
Understanding the Risks and Long-Term Performance of a Daily Objective Fund
The Fund is designed to provide inverse (-1x) results on a daily basis. The Fund, however, is unlikely to provide a simple multiple (-1x) of an index’s performance over periods longer than a single day.
Why? The hypothetical example below illustrates how daily Fund returns can behave for periods longer than a single day.
Take a hypothetical fund XYZ that seeks the inverse (-1x) of the daily investment results of index XYZ. On each day, fund XYZ performs in line with its objective (-1x the index’s daily investment results before fees and expenses). Notice that over the entire five-day period, the fund’s total return is less than the inverse of the period return of the index. For the five-day period, index XYZ returned 5.1% while fund XYZ returned -5.3% (versus -1 x 5.1% or -5.1%). In other scenarios, the return of a daily rebalanced fund could be greater or less than the inverse of the index’s return.

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Index XYZ
Fund XYZ
 
Level
Daily
Performance
Daily
Performance
Net Asset
Value
Start
100.0
 
 
$100.00
Day 1
103.0
3.0%
-3.0%
$97.00
Day 2
99.9
-3.0%
3.0%
$99.92
Day 3
103.9
4.0%
-4.0%
$95.92
Day 4
101.3
-2.5%
2.5%
$98.32
Day 5
105.1
3.8%
-3.8%
$94.63
Total Return
5.1%
 
 
-5.3%
Why does this happen? This effect is caused by compounding, which exists in all investments. The return of the Fund for a period longer than a single day is the result of its return for each day compounded over the period and usually will differ in amount, and possibly even direction, from the inverse (-1x) of the return of the index for the same period. In general, during periods of higher index volatility, compounding will cause longer term results to be more or less than the multiple of the return of the index. This effect becomes more pronounced as volatility increases. Conversely, in periods of lower index volatility (particularly when combined with higher index returns), fund returns over longer periods can be higher than the inverse (-1x) return of the daily performance of the index. Actual results for a particular period, before fees and expenses, are also dependent on the following factors: a) the index’s volatility; b) the index’s performance; c) period of time; d) financing rates associated with derivatives; and e) other Fund expenses. The examples herein illustrate the impact of two principal factors — index volatility and index performance — on Fund performance. The significance of this effect is even greater for inverse (-1x) funds. Please see the SAI for additional details.
The graphs that follow illustrate this point. Each of the graphs shows a simulated hypothetical one year performance of an index compared with the performance of a fund that perfectly achieves its investment objective. The graphs demonstrate that, for periods longer than a single day, the Fund is likely to underperform or overperform (but not match) the inverse (-1x) of the return of the index for the same period. Investors should understand the consequences of seeking daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to the performance of a daily benchmark such as the inverse (-1x) of the daily performance of an index, for a single day, not for any other period, including the impact of compounding on fund performance. Investors should actively monitor and/or periodically rebalance their portfolios (which will possibly trigger transaction costs and tax consequences), as frequently as daily. A one-year period is used for illustrative purposes only. Deviations from the index return times the fund multiple can occur over periods as short as a single day (as measured from one day’s NAV to the next day’s NAV) and may also occur in periods shorter than a single day (when measured intraday as opposed to
NAV to NAV). An investor in the Fund could potentially lose the full value of his/her investment within a single day.
To isolate the impact of inverse exposure, these graphs assume: a) no Fund expenses and b) borrowing/lending rates of zero percent. If these were reflected, the Fund’s performance would be lower than the performance returns shown. Each of the graphs also assumes a volatility rate of []%, which is an approximation of the five-year historical volatility rate of the []. An index’s volatility rate is a statistical measure of the magnitude of fluctuations in the returns of an index.
One-Year Simulation; Index Return 0%
(Annualized Index Volatility []%)[Graphic]
The graph above shows a scenario where the index, which exhibits day to day volatility, is flat or trendless over the year (i.e., begins and ends the year at 0%), but the Short (-1x) Fund is down.
One-Year Simulation; Index Return []%
(Annualized Index Volatility []%)[Graphic]
The graph above shows a scenario where the index, which exhibits day to day volatility, is up over the year, and the Short (-1x) Fund is down more than the inverse of the index.
One-Year Simulation; Index Return –[]%
(Annualized Index Volatility []%)[Graphic]
The graph above shows a scenario where the index, which exhibits day-to-day volatility, is down over the year, and the Short (-1x) Fund is up less than the inverse of the index.
[Performance benchmark]’s annualized historical volatility rate for the five-year period ended May 31, 2023 was []%.
For additional details about fund performance over periods longer than a single day in the Fund, please see the SAI.
What it means for you. The daily objective of the Fund, if used properly and in conjunction with the investor’s view on the future direction and volatility of the markets, can be a useful tool for knowledgeable investors who want to manage their exposure to ether futures. Investors should understand the consequences of seeking daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to the daily performance of a benchmark (such as the inverse (-1x) of the daily performance of an index), for a single day, not for any other period, including the impact of compounding on fund performance. Investors should actively monitor and/or periodically rebalance their portfolios (which will possibly trigger transaction costs and tax consequences), as frequently as daily. Investors considering the Fund should understand that it is designed to provide returns that are the inverse (-1x) of an index for a single day, not for any other period.
Additionally, investors should recognize that the degree of volatility of the Fund’s index can have a dramatic effect on the Fund’s longer-term performance. The more volatile an index is, the more the Fund’s longer-term performance will negatively deviate from the inverse (-1x) of its index’s

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longer-term return. The return of the Fund for a period longer than a single day is the result of its return for each day compounded over the period and usually will differ in amount, and possibly even direction, from the inverse (-1x) of the return of the index for the same period. For periods longer than a single day, the Fund will lose money if its index’s performance is flat over time, and it is possible that the Fund will lose money over time regardless of the performance of its index, as a result of daily rebalancing, the index’s volatility, compounding and other factors. An investor in the Fund could potentially lose the full value of his/her investment within a single day.
Additional Information Regarding Principal Risks
Like all investments, investing in the Fund entails risks. The factors most likely to have a significant impact on the Fund’s portfolio are called “principal risks.” The principal risks for the Fund are described in the Fund’s Summary Prospectus and additional information regarding certain of these risks, as well as information related to other potential risks to which the Fund may be subjected, is provided below. The principal risks are intended to provide information about the factors likely to have a significant adverse impact on the Fund’s returns and consequently the value of an investment in the Fund. The risks are presented in an order intended to facilitate readability and their order does not imply that the realization of one risk is more likely to occur than another risk or likely to have a greater adverse impact than another risk. The Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) contains additional information about the Fund, investment strategies and related risks. The Fund may be subject to other risks in addition to those identified as principal risks.
While the realization of certain of these risks may benefit the Fund because the Fund seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to the inverse of the Index, such occurrences may introduce more volatility to the Fund and have a negative impact on Fund performance.
Ether and Ether Futures Risk – Investments linked to ether can be highly volatile compared to investments in traditional securities and the Fund may experience sudden and large losses. The markets for ether and ether futures may become illiquid. These markets may fluctuate widely based on a variety of factors including changes in overall market movements, political and economic events, wars, acts of terrorism, natural disasters (including disease, epidemics and pandemics) and changes in interest rates or inflation rates. An investor should be prepared to lose the full principal value of their investment suddenly and without warning.
A number of factors impact the price and market for ether and ether futures.
Supply and demand for ether – It is believed that speculators and investors who seek to profit from trading and holding ether currently account for a significant portion of ether demand. Such speculation regarding the poten
tial future appreciation in the price of ether may artificially inflate or deflate the price of ether. Market fraud and/or manipulation and other fraudulent trading practices such as the intentional dissemination of false or misleading information (e.g., false rumors) can, among other things, lead to a disruption of the orderly functioning of markets, significant market volatility, and cause the value of ether futures to fluctuate quickly and without warning.
Supply and demand for ether futures contracts – The price of ether futures contracts is based on a number of factors, including the supply of and the demand for ether futures contracts. Market conditions and expectations, position limits, collateral requirements, and other factors each can impact the supply of and demand for ether futures contracts. Typically, demand paired with supply constraints and other factors have caused ether futures to trade at a premium to a “spot” price of ether. Additional demand, including demand resulting from the purchase, or anticipated purchase, of futures contracts by the Fund or other entities may increase that premium, perhaps significantly. It is not possible to predict whether or how long such conditions will continue. To the extent the Fund sells futures contracts at a premium and the premium increases, the value of an investment in the Fund also should be expected to decline.
Adoption and use of ether – The continued adoption of ether will require growth in its usage as a means of payment. Even if growth in ether adoption continues in the near or medium-term, there is no assurance that ether usage will continue to grow over the long-term. A contraction in the use of ether may result in a lack of liquidity and increased volatility in the price of ether. Conversely, an expansion in the use of ether may result in a sharp increase in the price of ether.
The regulatory environment relating to ether and ether futures – The regulation of ether, digital assets and related products and services continues to evolve. There is a possibility of future regulatory change altering, perhaps to a material extent, the ability to buy and sell ether and ether futures. Similarly, future regulatory changes could impact the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective or alter the nature of an investment in the Fund or the ability of the Fund to continue to operate as planned.
Margin requirements and position limits applicable to ether futures contracts – Margin levels for ether futures contracts are substantially higher than the margin requirements for more established futures contracts. Additionally, the FCMs utilized by the Fund may impose margin requirements in addition to those imposed by the exchanges. Margin requirements are subject to change, and may be raised in the future by the exchanges and the FCMs. High margin requirements could prevent the Fund

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from obtaining sufficient exposure to ether futures and may adversely affect its ability to achieve its investment objective. Further, FCMs utilized by the Fund may impose limits on the amount of exposure to futures contracts the Fund can obtain through such FCMs. If the Fund cannot obtain sufficient exposure through its FCMs, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective.
Largely unregulated marketplace – Ether, the Ethereum Network and the ether trading venues are relatively new and, in most cases, largely unregulated. As a result of this lack of regulation, individuals, or groups may engage in insider trading, fraud or market manipulation with respect to ether. Such manipulation could cause investors in ether to lose money, possibly the entire value of their investments. Over the past several years, a number of ether trading venues have been closed due to fraud, failure or security breaches. The nature of the assets held at ether trading venues make them appealing targets for hackers and a number of ether trading venues have been victims of cybercrimes and other fraudulent activity. These activities have caused significant, in some cases total, losses for ether investors. Investors in ether may have little or no recourse should such theft, fraud or manipulation occur. There is no central registry showing which individuals or entities own ether or the quantity of ether that is owned by any particular person or entity. There are no regulations in place that would prevent a large holder of ether or a group of holders from attempting to manipulate the price of ether or the Ethereum Network.
Cybersecurity – As a digital asset ether is subject to the risk that malicious actors will exploit flaws in its code or structure, or that of ether trading venues, that will allow them to, among other things, steal ether held by others, control the blockchain, steal personally identifying information, or issue significant amounts of ether in contravention of the Ethereum Protocol. Additionally, the Ethereum Network’s functionality relies on the Internet. A significant disruption of Internet connectivity affecting large numbers of users or geographic areas could impede the functionality of the Ethereum Network. Any technical disruptions or regulatory limitations that affect Internet access may have an adverse effect on the Ethereum Network.
Declining staking compensation – Transactions in ether are processed by validators who are primarily compensated in ether based on the amount of ether staked, as determined by the Ethereum Protocol. If this compensation is not sufficient to incentivize validators to stake, the confirmation process for transactions may slow and the Ethereum Network may become more vulnerable to malicious actors. These and similar events may have a significant adverse effect on the price and liquidity of ether and the value of an investment in the Fund.
Forks – The open-source nature of the Ethereum Protocol permits any developer to review the underlying code and suggest changes. If some users and validators adopt a change while others do not and that change is not compatible with the existing software, a fork occurs. Several forks have already occurred in the Ethereum Network resulting in the creation of new, separate digital assets. Which fork will be considered to be ether for purposes of the CME CF Ether Reference Rate is determined by CF Benchmarks. Forks and similar events could adversely affect the price and liquidity of ether and the value of an investment in the Fund. A fork may be intentional such as the Ethereum ’Merge.’ The ’Merge’ represents the Ethereum Network’s shift from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. This means that instead of miners solving complex mathematical problems to verify transactions and earn rewards in ether, validators will be able to stake their ether to bet on the authenticity of a transaction.
Costs of Rolling Futures Contracts – Futures contracts with a longer term to expiration may be priced higher than futures contracts with a shorter term to expiration, a relationship called “contango.” Conversely, futures contracts with a longer term to expiration may be priced lower than futures contracts with a shorter term to expiration, a relationship called “backwardation.” When rolling futures contracts that are in backwardation, the Fund would buy a higher priced expiring ether futures contract to close its existing short position and sell a lower priced, longer-dated ether futures to open a new short position. The price difference between the expiring contract and longer-dated contract associated with rolling ether futures may be substantially higher than the price difference associated with rolling other futures contracts. Backwardation in the ether futures market may have a significant adverse impact on the performance of the Fund and may cause ether futures to perform differently than spot ether. Both contango and backwardation may limit or prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective. Additionally, because of the frequency with which the Fund may roll futures contracts, the impact of contango or backwardation on Fund performance may be greater than it would have been if the Fund rolled futures contracts less frequently.
Liquidity Risk – The market for ether futures contracts is still developing and may be subject to periods of illiquidity. During such times it may be difficult or impossible to enter into or exit a position at the desired price. Market disruptions or volatility can also make it difficult to find a counterparty willing to transact at a reasonable price and sufficient size. Illiquid markets may cause losses, which could be significant. The large size of the positions which the Fund may acquire increases the risk of illiquidity, may make its positions more difficult to liquidate, and may increase the losses incurred while trying to do so. It is also possible that, if the Fund’s assets

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become significant relative to the overall market, the large size of its positions potentially could impact futures contracts prices and contribute to illiquidity. Limits imposed by counterparties, exchanges or other regulatory organizations, such as accountability levels, position limits and daily price fluctuation limits, may contribute to a lack of liquidity and have a negative impact on Fund performance. During periods of market illiquidity, including periods of market disruption and volatility, it may be difficult or impossible for a Fund to enter into or exit futures at desired prices or at all.
Ether Tax Risk – Current U.S. Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) guidance indicates that convertible virtual currency, defined as a digital representation of value that functions as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, and/or a store of value that has an equivalent value in real currency, or that acts as a substitute for real currency, should be treated and taxed as property, and that transactions involving the payment of convertible virtual currency for goods and services should be treated as barter transactions. While this treatment allows for the possibility of capital gains treatment, it creates a potential tax reporting requirement in any circumstance where the ownership of convertible virtual currency passes from one person to another, usually by means of convertible virtual currency transactions (including off-blockchain transactions), which could discourage the use of ether as a medium of exchange, especially for a holder of ether that has appreciated in value.
Risks Associated with the Use of Derivatives — The Fund will obtain inverse exposure to ether through derivatives (i.e., ether futures contracts). Investing in derivatives may be considered aggressive and may expose the Fund to risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in the reference asset(s) underlying the derivative. The use of derivatives may result in larger losses or smaller gains than directly investing in securities. The risks of using derivatives include: 1) the risk that there may be imperfect correlation between the price of the financial instruments and movements in the prices of the reference asset(s); 2) the risk that an instrument is mispriced; 3) credit or counterparty risk on the amount the Fund expects to receive from a counterparty; 4) the risk that the cost of holding a financial instrument might exceed its total return; and 5) the possible absence of a liquid secondary market for a particular instrument and possible exchange imposed price fluctuation limits, either of which may make it difficult or impossible to adjust the Fund’s position in a particular instrument when desired. Each of these factors may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective and may increase the volatility (i.e., fluctuations) of the Fund’s returns. Because derivatives often require limited initial investment, the use of derivatives also may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts initially invested.
Borrowing Risk – The Fund may borrow for investment purposes using reverse repurchase agreements. Reverse repurchase agreements are financing arrangements that involve sales by the Fund of portfolio financial instruments concurrently with an agreement by the Fund to repurchase the same financial instruments at a later date at a fixed price. Reverse repurchase agreements do not mitigate the Fund’s risk that the market value of the financial instruments the Fund is obligated to repurchase under the agreement may decline below the repurchase price. The Fund may enter into both exchange-traded and over-the-counter reverse repurchase agreements. The cost of borrowing may reduce the Fund’s return. Borrowing may cause a Fund to liquidate positions under adverse market conditions to satisfy its repayment obligations. Borrowing increases the risk of loss and may increase the volatility of the Fund.
Subsidiary Investment Risk — Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which the Fund and the Subsidiary are organized, respectively, could result in the inability of the Fund to operate as intended and could negatively affect the Fund and its shareholders. The Fund complies with the provisions of the 1940 Act governing investment policies, capital structure, and leverage on an aggregate basis with the Subsidiary.
Counterparty Risk — The Fund will be subject to credit risk (i.e., the risk that a counterparty is unwilling or unable to make timely payments or otherwise meet its contractual obligations) with respect to the amount the Fund expects to receive from counterparties to financial instruments (including derivatives and repurchase agreements) entered into by the Fund. The Fund generally structures the agreements such that either party can terminate the contract without penalty prior to the termination date. If a counterparty terminates a contract, the Fund may not be able to invest in other derivatives to achieve the desired exposure, or achieving such exposure may be more expensive. The Fund may be negatively impacted if a counterparty becomes bankrupt or otherwise fails to perform its obligations under such an agreement. The Fund may experience significant delays in obtaining any recovery in a bankruptcy or other reorganization proceeding and the Fund may obtain only limited recovery or may obtain no recovery in such circumstances. In order to attempt to mitigate potential counterparty credit risk, the Fund typically enters into transactions with major financial institutions.
The Fund also seeks to mitigate risks by generally requiring that the counterparties agree to post collateral for the benefit of the Fund, marked to market daily, in an amount approximately equal to what the counterparty owes the Fund, subject to certain minimum thresholds. To the extent any such collateral is insufficient or there are delays in accessing the collateral, the Fund will be exposed to the risks described above, including possible delays in recovering amounts as a result of bankruptcy proceedings.

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The counterparty to an exchange-traded futures contract is subject to the credit risk of the clearing house and the futures commission merchant (“FCM”) through which it holds its position. Specifically, the FCM or the clearing house could fail to perform its obligations, causing significant losses to the Fund. For example, the Fund could lose margin payments it has deposited with an FCM as well as any gains owed but not paid to the Fund, if the FCM or clearing house becomes insolvent or otherwise fails to perform its obligations. Credit risk of market participants with respect to derivatives that are centrally cleared is concentrated in a few clearing houses and it is not clear how an insolvency proceeding of a clearing house would be conducted and what impact an insolvency of a clearing house would have on the financial system. Under current Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) regulations, a FCM maintains customers’ assets in a bulk segregated account. If a FCM fails to do so, or is unable to satisfy a substantial deficit in a customer account, its other customers may be subject to risk of loss of their funds in the event of that FCM’s bankruptcy. In that event, in the case of futures, the FCM’s customers are entitled to recover, even in respect of property specifically traceable to them, only a proportional share of all property available for distribution to all of that FCM’s customers. In addition, if the FCM does not comply with the applicable regulations, or in the event of a fraud or misappropriation of customer assets by the FCM, the Fund could have only an unsecured creditor claim in an insolvency of the FCM with respect to the margin held by the FCM. FCMs are also required to transfer to the clearing house the amount of margin required by the clearing house, which amount is generally held in an omnibus account at the clearing house for all customers of the FCM.
In addition, the Fund may enter into agreements with a limited number of counterparties, which may increase the Fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk. The Fund does not specifically limit its counterparty risk with respect to any single counterparty. Further, there is a risk that no suitable counterparties are willing to enter into, or continue to enter into, transactions with the Fund and, as a result, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective. Contractual provisions and applicable law may prevent or delay the Fund from exercising its rights to terminate an investment or transaction with a financial institution experiencing financial difficulties, or to realize on collateral, and another institution may be substituted for that financial institution without the consent of the Fund. If the credit rating of a counterparty to a futures contract and/or repurchase agreement declines, the Fund may nonetheless choose or be required to keep existing transactions in place with the counterparty, in which event the Fund would be subject to any increased credit risk associated with those transactions. Also, in the event of a counterparty’s (or its affiliate’s) insolvency, the possibility exists that the Fund’s ability to exercise remedies, such as the termination of transactions, netting of obligations and
realization on collateral, could be stayed or eliminated under special resolution regimes adopted in the United States, the European Union and various other jurisdictions. Such regimes provide government authorities with broad authority to intervene when a financial institution is experiencing financial difficulty. In particular, the regulatory authorities could reduce, eliminate, or convert to equity the liabilities to the Fund of a counterparty who is subject to such proceedings in the European Union or the United Kingdom (sometimes referred to as a “bail in”).
Market Price Variance Risk — Individual shares of the Fund can be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices rather than at NAV. There is no guarantee that an active secondary market will develop for shares of the Fund, which may also cause NAV and market price to vary significantly. The market price of the Fund’s shares will fluctuate in response to changes in the value of the Fund’s holdings, supply and demand for shares and other market factors. ProShare Advisors cannot predict whether shares will trade above, below or at a price equal to the value of the Fund’s holdings. Differences between secondary market prices and the value of the Fund’s holdings may be due largely to supply and demand forces in the secondary market, which may not be the same forces as those influencing prices for securities or financial instruments held by the Fund at a particular time. In addition, there may be times when the market price and the NAV of the Fund’s shares vary significantly, such as during periods of market volatility, and a shareholder may trade shares at a premium or a discount to the Fund’s NAV and may receive less than the value of the Fund’s holdings when you sell those shares.
The Fund may have a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants or market markers. Only Authorized Participants who have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. If some or all of these Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to process creation and/or redemption orders, and no other Authorized Participant is willing or able to create and redeem Fund shares, shares may trade at a discount to NAV (and may even face trading halts or delisting). Similar effects may result if market makers exit the business or are unable to continue making markets in the shares. Further, while the creation/redemption feature is designed to make it likely that shares normally will trade at prices correlated to the price of the Fund’s portfolio holdings, disruptions to creations and redemptions, including disruptions at market makers, Authorized Participants or market participants, or during periods of significant market volatility, among other factors, may result in market prices that differ significantly from NAV. Investors purchasing and selling shares in the secondary market may not experience investment results based on the price of their shares in the secondary market. The market price of shares, like the price of any exchange-traded security,

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includes a “bid-ask spread” charged by the exchange specialist, market makers or other participants that trade the particular security. In times of severe market disruption or during after-hours trading, the bid-ask spread often increases significantly. This means that shares may trade at a discount to the value of the Fund’s holdings, and the discount is likely to be greatest when the price of shares is falling fastest, which may be the time that you most want to sell your shares. The Fund’s investment results are measured based upon the daily NAV of the Fund.
Short Sale Exposure Risk — The Fund may seek inverse or “short” exposure through financial instruments, which would cause the Fund to be exposed to certain risks associated with selling short. These risks include, under certain market conditions, an increase in the volatility and decrease in the liquidity of securities or financial instruments or credits underlying the short position, which may lower the Fund’s return, result in a loss, have the effect of limiting the Fund’s ability to obtain inverse exposure through financial instruments, or requiring the Fund to seek inverse exposure through alternative investment strategies that may be less desirable or more costly to implement. To the extent that, at any particular point in time, the securities or financial instruments or credits underlying the short position may be thinly-traded or have a limited market, including due to regulatory action, the Fund may be unable to meet its investment objective (e.g., due to a lack of available securities or financial instruments or counterparties). During such periods, the Fund’s ability to issue additional Creation Units may be adversely affected. Obtaining inverse exposure may be considered an aggressive investment technique. Any income, dividends or payments by the assets underlying the Fund’s short positions will negatively impact the Fund.
Tax Risk — In order to qualify for the special tax treatment accorded a RIC and its shareholders, the Fund must derive at least 90% of its gross income for each taxable year from “qualifying income,” meet certain asset diversification tests at the end of each taxable quarter, and meet annual distribution requirements. The Fund’s pursuit of its investment strategies will potentially be limited by the Fund’s intention to qualify for such treatment and could adversely affect the Fund’s ability to so qualify. The Fund may make certain investments, the treatment of which for these purposes is unclear. In particular, direct investments by the Fund in futures are not expected to produce qualifying income for purposes of the Fund’s qualification as a RIC. The Fund, however, expects to gain exposure to futures and generate qualifying income by investing a portion of its assets in a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Fund organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands. To comply with the asset diversification test applicable to a RIC, the Fund will limit its investments in such subsidiary to 25% of the Fund’s total assets at the end of each tax quarter. The Fund may, however, exceed this amount from time to time if the
Advisor believes doing so is in the best interests of the Fund, provided, however, that the Fund intends to continue to comply with the asset diversification test applicable to RICs. If the Fund’s investments in the subsidiary were to exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at the end of a tax quarter, the Fund may no longer be eligible to be treated as a RIC. The Advisor will carefully monitor the Fund’s investments in the subsidiary to ensure that no more than 25% of the Fund’s assets are invested in the subsidiary at the end of each tax quarter. The Fund intends to invest in complex derivatives for which there is not clear guidance from the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) as to the calculation of such investments under the asset diversification test applicable to RICs. There are no assurances that the IRS will agree with the Fund’s calculation under the asset diversification test which could cause the Fund to fail to qualify as a RIC.
If, in any year, the Fund were to fail to qualify for the special tax treatment accorded a RIC and its shareholders, and were ineligible to or were not to cure such failure, the Fund would be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation subject to U.S. federal income tax on all its income at the fund level. The resulting taxes could substantially reduce the Fund’s net assets and the amount of income available for distribution. In addition, in order to requalify for taxation as a RIC, the Fund could be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest, and make certain distributions. Please see the section entitled “Taxation” in the Statement of Additional Information for more information.
Other Risks
In addition to the risks noted above, many other factors may also affect the value of an investment in the Fund, such as market conditions, interest rates and other economic, political or financial developments. The impact of these developments on the Fund will depend upon the types of investments in which the Fund invests, the Fund’s level of investment in particular issuers and other factors, including the financial condition, industry, economic sector and location of such issuers. The SAI contains additional information about the Fund, its investment strategies and related risks. The Fund may be subject to other risks in addition to those identified as principal risks.
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 (for example, the novel coronavirus COVID-19), have been and can be highly disruptive to economies and markets and have recently led, and may continue to lead, to increased market volatility and significant market losses. Such natural disaster and health crises could exacerbate political, social, and economic risks, and result in

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significant breakdowns, delays, shutdowns, social isolation, and other disruptions to important global, local and regional supply chains affected, with potential corresponding results on the operating performance of the Fund and its investments. A climate of uncertainty and panic, including the contagion of infectious viruses or diseases, may adversely affect global, regional, and local economies and reduce the availability of potential investment opportunities, and increases the difficulty of performing due diligence and modeling market conditions, potentially reducing the accuracy of financial projections. Under these circumstances, the Fund may have difficulty achieving its investment objectives which may adversely impact Fund performance. Further, such events can be highly disruptive to economies and markets, significantly disrupt the operations of individual companies (including, but not limited to, the Fund’s investment advisor, third party service providers, and counterparties), sectors, industries, markets, securities and commodity exchanges, currencies, interest and inflation rates, credit ratings, investor sentiment, and other factors affecting the value of the Fund’s investments. These factors can cause substantial market volatility, exchange trading suspensions and closures, changes in the availability of and the margin requirements for certain instruments, and can impact the ability of the Fund to complete redemptions and otherwise affect Fund performance and Fund trading in the secondary market. A widespread crisis would also affect the global economy in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen. How long such events will last and whether they will continue or recur cannot be predicted. Impacts from these events could have a significant impact on the Fund’s performance, resulting in losses to your investment.
Risk of Public Health Disruptions — Widespread disease, including public health disruptions, pandemics and epidemics (for example, COVID-19 including its variants), have been and may continue to be highly disruptive to economies and markets. Health crises could exacerbate political, social, and economic risks, and result in breakdowns, delays, shutdowns, social isolation, civil unrest, periods of high unemployment, shortages in and disruptions to the medical care and consumer goods and services industries, and other disruptions to important global, local and regional supply chains, with potential corresponding results on the performance of the Fund and its investments.

Additionally, war, military conflicts, sanctions, acts of terrorism, sustained elevated inflation, supply chain issues or other events could have a significant negative impact on global financial markets and economies. Russia’s military incursions in Ukraine have led to, and may lead to additional sanctions being levied by the United States, European Union and other countries against Russia. The ongoing hostilities between the two countries could result in additional widespread conflict and could have a severe adverse effect on the region and certain markets. Sanctions on Russian exports could have a significant adverse impact
on the Russian economy and related markets and could affect the value of the Fund’s investments, even beyond any direct exposure the Fund may have to the region or to adjoining geographic regions. The extent and duration of the military action, sanctions and resulting market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could have a severe adverse effect on the region, including significant negative impacts on the economy and the markets for certain securities and commodities, such as oil and natural gas. How long such tensions and related events will last cannot be predicted. These tensions and any related events could have significant impact on the Fund performance and the value of an investment in the Fund.
Risks of Government Regulation —The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) issued a notice on March 8, 2022 seeking comment on measures that could prevent or restrict investors from buying a broad range of public securities designated as “complex products”—which could include the cryptocurrency (such as ether) funds offered by ProShare Advisors. The ultimate impact, if any, of these measures remains unclear. However, if regulations are adopted, they could, among other things, prevent or restrict investors’ ability to buy the funds.
Cash and Cash Equivalents Risk — Cash and cash equivalents, including money market instruments, may be adversely affected by market and economic events. Adverse economic, political or other developments affecting issuers of money market instruments; or defaults by transaction counterparties may also have a negative impact on the performance of such instruments. Each of these could have a negative impact on the performance of the Fund. Money market instruments may include government money market funds. To the extent the Fund invests in a government money market fund, the Fund will indirectly bear a proportionate share of the government money market fund’s fees and expenses.
Cybersecurity Risk — With the increased use of technologies such as the Internet and the dependence on computer systems to perform necessary business functions, the Fund, Authorized Participants, service providers and the relevant listing exchange are susceptible to operational, information security and related “cyber” risks. In general, cyber incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events. Cyber attacks include, but are not limited to gaining unauthorized access to digital systems for purposes of misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting data, or causing operational disruption. Cyber attacks may also be carried out in a manner that does not require gaining unauthorized access, such as causing among other behaviors, stealing or corrupting data maintained online or digitally, and denial of service attacks on websites. Cybersecurity failures or breaches of the Fund’s third party service provider (including, but not limited to, index providers, the administrator and transfer agent) or the issuers of securities and/or financial instruments in

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which the Fund invests, have the ability to cause disruptions and impact business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses, the inability of Fund shareholders to transact business, violations of applicable privacy and other laws. For instance, cyber attacks may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, impact the Fund’s ability to calculate its NAV, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential Fund information, impede trading, cause reputational damage, and subject the Fund to regulatory fines, penalties or financial losses, reimbursement or other compensation costs, and/or additional compliance costs. In addition, substantial costs may be incurred in order to prevent any cyber incidents in the future. The Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result. While the Fund or its service providers may have established business continuity plans and systems designed to guard against such cyber attacks or adverse effects of such attacks, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems including the possibility that certain risks have not been identified, in large part because different unknown threats may emerge in the future. Similar types of cybersecurity risks also are present for issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers, and may cause the Fund’s investments in such securities to lose value. In addition, cyber attacks involving a counterparty to the Fund could affect such a counterparty’s ability to meets it obligations to the Fund, which may result in losses to the Fund and its shareholders. ProShare Advisors and the Trust do not control the cybersecurity plans and systems put in place by third party service providers, and such third party service providers may have no or limited indemnification obligations to ProShare Advisors or the Fund.
Operational Risk — The Fund, its service providers, Authorized Participants, and the relevant listing exchange are subject to operational risks arising from, among other things, human error, systems and technology errors and disruptions, failed or inadequate controls, and fraud. These errors may adversely affect the Fund’s operations, including its ability to execute its investment process, calculate or disseminate its NAV or intraday indicative optimized portfolio value in a timely manner, and process creations or redemptions. While the Fund seeks to minimize such events through controls and oversight, there may still be failures and the Fund may be unable to recover any damages associated with such failures. These failures may have a material adverse effect on the Fund’s returns.
Trading Risks — The shares of the Fund are listed for trading on the listing exchange identified on the cover of this Prospectus, may be listed or traded on U.S. and non-U.S. stock exchanges other than such exchange, and may trade on an electronic communications network. Nevertheless, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will develop or be maintained. Trading in shares of
the Fund on an exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of an exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in shares of the Fund on an exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to exchange “circuit breaker” rules. 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 or that the shares of the Fund will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange or other venue.
Precautionary Notes
A Precautionary Note to Retail Investors — The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”), a limited trust company and securities depositary that serves as a national clearinghouse for the settlement of trades for its participating banks and broker-dealers, or its nominee will be the registered owner of all outstanding shares of the Fund. Your ownership of shares will be shown on the records of DTC and the DTC Participant broker through whom you hold the shares. PROSHARES TRUST WILL NOT HAVE ANY RECORD OF YOUR OWNERSHIP. Your account information will be maintained by your broker, who will provide you with account statements, confirmations of your purchases and sales of shares, and tax information. Your broker also will be responsible for furnishing certain cost basis information and ensuring that you receive shareholder reports and other communications from the Fund whose shares you own. Typically, you will receive other services (e.g., average cost information) only if your broker offers these services.
A Precautionary Note to Purchasers of Creation Units — You should be aware of certain legal risks unique to investors purchasing Creation Units directly from the issuing Fund. Because new shares from the Fund may be issued on an ongoing basis, a “distribution” of that Fund’s shares could be occurring at any time. As a dealer, certain activities on your part could, depending on the circumstances, result in your being deemed a participant in the distribution, in a manner that could render you a statutory underwriter and subject you to the prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the Securities Act of 1933. For example, you could be deemed a statutory underwriter if you purchase Creation Units from an issuing Fund, break them down into the constituent shares, and sell those shares directly to customers, or if you choose to couple the creation of a supply of new shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary market demand for shares. Whether a person is an underwriter depends upon all of the facts and circumstances pertaining to that person’s activities, and the examples mentioned here should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could cause you to be deemed an underwriter. Dealers who are not “underwriters,” but are participating in a distribution (as opposed to engaging in ordinary secondary market transactions), and thus dealing with shares as part of an “unsold allotment”

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within the meaning of Section 4(3)(C) of the Securities Act, will be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(3) of the Securities Act.
The Trust reserves the absolute right to reject a purchase order. For example, the Trust may reject a purchase order if (a) the order is not in proper form; (b) the purchaser or group of purchasers, upon obtaining the Shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding Shares of the Fund; (c) acceptance of the purchase transaction order would have certain adverse tax consequences to the Fund; (d) the acceptance of the purchase transaction order would, in the opinion of counsel, be unlawful; (e) the acceptance of the purchase order transaction would otherwise, in the discretion of the Trust or ProShare Advisors, have an adverse effect on the Trust or the rights of beneficial owners; (f) the value of a Cash Purchase Amount exceeds a purchase authorization limit extended to an Authorized Participant by the Custodian and the Authorized Participant has not deposited an amount in excess of such purchase authorization with the Custodian prior to the relevant cut-off time for the Fund on the transmittal date; or (g) in the event that circumstances outside the control of the Trust, the Distributor and ProShare Advisors make it impractical to process purchase orders. The Trust will notify a prospective purchaser of its rejection of the order.
A Precautionary Note to Investment Companies — For purposes of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), the Fund is a registered investment company, and the acquisition of the Fund’s shares by other investment companies is subject to the restrictions of Section 12(d)(1) thereof. Any investment company considering purchasing shares of the Fund in amounts that would cause it to exceed the restrictions of Section 12(d)(1) should contact the Trust. Rule 12d1-4 under the
1940 Act permits investments in acquired funds in excess of the limits of Section 12(d)(1) subject to certain conditions. Among these conditions, prior to a fund acquiring securities of another fund exceeding the limits of Section 12(d)(1), the acquiring fund must enter into a “Fund of Funds Investment Agreement” with the acquired fund setting forth the material terms of the arrangement.
A Precautionary Note Regarding Unusual Circumstances — ProShares Trust can, in its discretion, postpone payment of redemption proceeds for any period during which: (1) the Exchange is closed other than customary weekend and holiday closings; (2) trading on Exchange is restricted; (3) any emergency circumstances exist, as determined by the SEC; (4) the SEC by order permits for the protection of shareholders of the Fund; and (5) for up to 14 calendar days for any Fund holding non-U.S. investments during a period of an international local holiday, as further described in the SAI.
A Precautionary Note Regarding Regulatory Initiatives — There is a possibility of future regulatory changes altering, perhaps to a material extent, the nature of an investment in the Fund or the ability of the Fund to continue to implement its investment strategies.
Additional Information About the Index, the Index Providers and the Index Calculation Agent
[Index Provider Disclaimer]
Portfolio Holdings Information
A description of the Trust’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio holdings is available in the SAI.

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Management of ProShares Trust

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Board of Trustees and Officers
The Board is responsible for the general supervision of the Fund. The officers of the Trust are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Fund.
Investment Advisor
ProShare Advisors, located at 7272 Wisconsin Avenue, 21st Floor, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, serves as the investment adviser to the Fund and provides investment advice and management services to the Fund. ProShare Advisors oversees the investment and reinvestment of the assets in the Fund. For its investment advisory and management services, the Fund pays ProShare Advisors a fee at an annualized rate of []% of its average daily net assets.
A discussion regarding the basis for the Board approving the investment advisory agreement for the Fund is expected to be included in the Trust’s report to shareholders dated [ ].
Portfolio Management
The following individuals have responsibility for the day-to-day management of the Fund as set forth in the Summary Prospectus relating to the Fund. The Portfolio Managers’ business experience for the past five years is listed below. Additional information about the Portfolio Managers’ compensation, other accounts managed by the Portfolio Managers and their ownership of other investment companies can be found in the SAI.
Other Service Providers
SEI Investments Distribution Co. (the “Distributor”), located at One Freedom Valley Drive, Oaks, PA 19456, acts as the distributor and principal underwriter in all fifty states and the District of Columbia. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (“JPMorgan”), located at One Beacon Street, 19th Floor, Boston, MA 02108, acts as the administrator to the Fund, providing operational and certain administrative services. In addition, JPMorgan acts as the Custodian and Index Receipt Agent. Citi Fund Services Ohio, Inc. (“Citi”), located at 4400 Easton Commons, Suite 200, Columbus, Ohio 43219, provides regulatory administration services to the Trust.
Additional Information
The Trust enters into contractual arrangements with various parties who provide services to the Fund including, ProShare Advisors, the Fund’s administrator and fund accounting agent, custodian, transfer agent, and distributor. Shareholders are not parties to, or intended (or “third-party”) beneficiaries of, any of those contractual arrangements, and those contractual arrangements are not intended to create in any individual shareholder or group of shareholders any right to enforce them against the service providers or to seek any remedy under them against the service providers, either directly or on behalf of the Trust.
This Prospectus provides information concerning the Trust and the Fund that you should consider in determining whether to purchase shares of the Fund. None of this Prospec
tus, the SAI or any contract that is an exhibit to the Trust’s registration statement, is intended to, nor does it, give rise to an agreement or contract between the Trust or the Fund and any investor, or give rise to any contract or other rights in any individual shareholder, group of shareholders or other person than any rights conferred explicitly by federal or state securities laws that may not be waived.
A shareholder may bring derivative action on behalf of the Trust only if the shareholder or shareholders first make a pre-suit demand upon the Trustees to bring the subject action unless an effort to cause the Trustees to bring such action is excused. A demand on the Trustees shall only be excused if a majority of the Board of Trustees, or a majority of any committee established to consider such action, has a personal financial interest in the action at issue. A Trustee shall not be deemed to have a personal financial interest in an action or otherwise be disqualified from ruling a shareholder demand by virtue of the fact that such Trustee receives remuneration from their service on the Board of Trustees of the Trust or on the boards of one or more investment companies with the same or an affiliated investment advisor or underwriter.
Determination of NAV
The NAV per share of the Fund is computed by dividing the value of the net assets of the Fund (i.e., the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by its total number of shares outstanding. Expenses and fees are accrued daily and taken into account for purposes of determining NAV. The NAV of the Fund is calculated by JPMorgan and is generally determined each business day as of the close of regular trading on the exchange on which the shares of the Fund are listed (typically calculated as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time).
Securities and other assets are generally valued at their market value using information provided by a pricing service or market quotations. Securities that are listed or traded on a stock exchange or the Nasdaq or National Market System are generally valued at the closing price, if available, on the exchange or market where the security is principally traded (including the Nasdaq Official Closing Price). Short-term securities are generally valued using market prices or at amortized cost. Routine valuation of certain derivatives is performed using procedures approved by the Board.
When a market price is not readily available, securities and other assets are valued at fair value in good faith. The Board has designated ProShare Advisors as “valuation designee” to perform fair value determinations for all of the Funds’ investments for which market quotations are not readily available (or are deemed unreliable). The Board shall oversee ProShare Advisors’ fair value determinations and its performance as valuation designee. The use of a fair valuation methodology may be appropriate if, for example: (i) ProShare Advisors believes market quotations do not accurately reflect fair value of an investment; (ii) ProShare Advisors believes an investment’s value has been materially affected by events occurring

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after the close of the exchange or market on which the investment is principally traded (for example, a foreign exchange or market); (iii) a trading halt closes an exchange or market early; or (iv) other events result in an exchange or market delaying its normal close. Fair valuation has the risk that the valuation may be higher or lower than the securities might actually command if the Fund sold them. In those circumstances, certain derivatives linked to an index may be valued based on the performance of one or more U.S. ETFs or instruments that reflect the values of the securities in such index. See the Statement of Additional Information for more details.
To the extent the Fund’s portfolio investments trade in markets on days or at times when the Fund is not open for business or when the primary exchange for the shares is not open, the value of the Fund’s assets may vary, shareholders may not be able to purchase or sell Fund shares and Authorized Participants may not be able to create or redeem Creation Units. In addition, certain portfolio investments may not be traded on days or at times the Fund is open for business. In particular, calculation of the NAV of the Fund may not take place contemporaneously with the determination of the prices of foreign securities used in NAV calculations.
Exchanges are open every week, Monday through Friday, except when the following holidays are celebrated: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (the third Monday in January), President’s Day (the third Monday in February), Good Friday, Memorial Day (the last Monday in May), Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day (the first Monday in September), Thanksgiving Day (the fourth Thursday in November) and Christmas Day. An Exchange may close early on the business day before each of these holidays and on the day after Thanksgiving Day. Exchange holiday schedules are subject to change without notice. If the exchange on which the shares of the Fund are listed closes early, the NAV may be calculated at the close of regular trading or at its normal calculation time. If the exchange or market on which the Fund’s investments are primarily traded closes early, the NAV may be calculated prior to its normal calculation time. Creation/redemption transaction order time cutoffs would also be accelerated.
Distributions
As a shareholder on the Fund record date, you will earn a share of the investment income and net realized capital gains, if any, derived from the Fund’s direct security holdings and derivative instruments. You will receive such earnings as either an income dividend or a capital gains distribution. The Fund intends to declare and distribute net investment income, if any, and net realized capital gains, if any, to its shareholders at least annually. Subject to Board approval, some or all of any net realized capital gains distribution may be declared payable in either additional shares of the distributing Fund or in cash.
Distributions may be declared and paid more frequently to comply with the distribution requirements of the Internal Revenue Code or for other reasons.
Dividend Reinvestment Services
As noted above under “Distributions”, the Fund may declare a distribution from net realized capital gains to be payable in additional shares or cash. Even if the Fund does not declare a distribution to be payable in shares, brokers may make available to their customers who own shares the DTC book-entry dividend reinvestment service. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and capital gains will automatically be reinvested in additional whole shares of the same Fund. Without this service, investors would have to take their distributions in cash. To determine whether the dividend reinvestment service is available and whether there is a commission or other charge for using this service, please consult your broker.
Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Shares
The Board has not adopted a policy of monitoring for frequent purchases and redemptions of shares that appear to attempt to take advantage of potential arbitrage opportunities. The Board believes this is appropriate because ETFs, such as the Fund, are intended to be attractive to arbitrageurs, as trading activity is critical to ensuring that the market price of shares remains at or close to NAV.
Taxes
The following is certain general information about taxation of the Fund:
The Fund intends to qualify for treatment as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In order to so qualify, the Fund must meet certain tests with respect to the sources and types of its income, the nature and diversification of its assets, and the timing and amount of its distributions.
If the Fund qualifies for treatment as a RIC, it is not subject to federal income tax on net investment income and net realized capital gains that the Fund timely distributes to its shareholders. If the Fund were to fail to so qualify, and were ineligible to or otherwise did not cure such failure, its taxable income and gains would be subject to tax at the Fund level, and distributions from earnings and profits would be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income.
Investments by the Fund in futures and swap agreements are subject to numerous special and complex tax rules. These rules could affect the amount, timing or character of the distributions to shareholders by the Fund. In addition, because the application of these rules may be uncertain under current law, an adverse determination or future IRS guidance with respect to these rules may affect whether the Fund has made sufficient distributions, and otherwise satisfied the relevant requirements, to maintain its qualification as a RIC and avoid fund-level tax.
Investments by the Fund in debt obligations issued or purchased at a discount and certain derivative instruments could cause the Fund to recognize taxable income in excess of the cash generated by such investments, potentially

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requiring the Fund to dispose of investments (including when otherwise disadvantageous to do so) in order to meet its distribution requirements, and such investments could affect the amount, timing or character of the income distributed to shareholders by the Fund. Investments by the Fund in shares of other investment companies could affect the amount, timing or character of the Fund’s distributions to shareholders relative to the Fund’s distributions had it invested directly in the securities held by the other investment companies.
In order to qualify for the special tax treatment accorded a RIC and its shareholders, the Fund must derive at least 90% of its gross income for each taxable year from “qualifying income,” meet certain asset diversification tests at the end of each taxable quarter, and meet an annual distribution requirement. The Fund’s pursuit of its investment strategies will potentially be limited by the Fund’s intention to qualify for such treatment and could adversely affect the Fund’s ability to so qualify. The Fund may make certain investments, the treatment of which for these purposes is unclear. If, in any year, the Fund were to fail to qualify for the special tax treatment accorded a RIC and its shareholders, and were ineligible to or were not to cure such failure, the Fund would be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation subject to U.S. federal income tax on all its income at the fund level. The resulting taxes could substantially reduce the Fund’s net assets and the amount of income available for distribution. In addition, in order to requalify for taxation as a RIC, the Fund could be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest, and make certain distributions. Please see the Statement of Additional Information for more information.
Taxable investors should be aware of the following basic tax points:
Distributions are taxable to you for federal income tax purposes whether you receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional shares.
Distributions declared in October, November or December of one year payable to shareholders of record in such month and paid by the end of January of the following year are taxable for federal income tax purposes as if received on December 31 of the calendar year in which the distributions were declared.
Any distributions from income or short-term capital gains that you receive generally are taxable to you as ordinary dividends for federal income tax purposes. Ordinary dividends you receive that the Fund reports as “qualified dividend income” may be taxed at the same rates as long-term capital gains, but will not be considered long-term capital gains for other federal income tax purposes, including the calculation of net capital losses. The Fund’s investment strategy may significantly limit its ability to distribute dividends as “qualified dividend income.”
Any distributions of net long-term capital gains are taxable to you for federal income tax purposes as long-term capital gains includible in net capital gain and taxable to individuals at reduced rates, no matter how long you have owned your Fund shares.
Distributions from net realized capital gains may vary considerably from year to year as a result of the Fund’s normal investment activities and cash flows.
The Code generally imposes a 3.8% contribution tax on the “net investment income” of certain individuals, trusts and estates to the extent their income exceeds certain threshold amounts. For these purposes, “net investment income” generally includes, among other things, (i) distributions paid by the Fund of ordinary dividends and capital gain dividends, and (ii) any net gain from the sale, redemption or exchange of Fund shares. Shareholders are advised to consult their tax advisors regarding the possible implications of this additional tax on their investment in the Fund.
A sale or exchange of Fund shares is a taxable event. This means that you may have a capital gain to report as income, or a capital loss to report as a deduction, when you complete your federal income tax return.
Dividend and capital gain distributions that you receive, as well as your gains or losses from any sale or exchange of Fund shares, may be subject to state and local income taxes.
Dividends paid to a shareholder that is not a “United States person” within the meaning of the Code (such a shareholder, a “foreign person”) that the Fund properly reports as capital gain dividends, short-term capital gain dividends or interest -related dividends, each as further defined in the SAI, are not subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax, provided that certain other requirements are met. The Fund (or intermediary, as applicable) is permitted, but is not required, to report any part of its dividends as are eligible for such treatment. The Fund’s dividends other than those the Fund properly reports as capital gain dividends, short-term capital gain dividends or interest-related dividends generally will be subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax at a rate of 30% (or lower applicable treaty rate). Special tax considerations may apply to foreign persons investing in the Fund. Please see the SAI for more information.
The Fund’s income from or the proceeds of dispositions of its non-U.S. investments may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries, which will reduce the Fund’s return on and taxable distributions in respect of its non-U.S. investments. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate these taxes. If more than 50% of the value of the Fund’s total assets at the close of a taxable year consists of foreign securities, the Fund will be eligible to elect to “pass through” to you foreign income taxes that it has paid. If

MANAGEMENT OF PROSHARES TRUST :: 27
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this election is made, you will be required to include your share of those taxes in gross income as a distribution from the Fund and you generally will be allowed to claim a credit (or a deduction, if you itemize deductions) for these amounts on your federal U.S. income tax return, subject to certain limitations.
By law, a percentage of your distributions and proceeds will generally be withheld if you have not provided a taxpayer identification number or social security number, have underreported dividend or interest income or have failed to certify to the Fund or its agent that you are not subject to this withholding.
In addition, taxable investors who purchase or redeem Creation Units should be aware of the following:
A person who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time of the exchange and the exchanger’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and any cash amount paid.
A person who exchanges Creation Units for securities generally will recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanger’s basis in the Creation Units and the aggregate market value of the securities received and any cash received. However, all or a portion of any loss a person realizes upon an exchange of Creation Units for securities will be disallowed by the IRS if such person purchases other substantially identical shares of the Fund within 30 days before or after the exchange. In such case, the basis of the newly purchased shares will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss.
Note: This Prospectus provides general U.S. federal income tax information only. Your investment in the Fund may have other tax implications. If you are investing through a tax-deferred retirement account, such as an individual retirement account (IRA), special tax rules apply. Please consult your tax advisor for detailed information about the Fund’s tax consequences for you. See “Taxation” in the SAI for more information.
Premium/Discount Information
The Trust’s website (www.proshares.com) has information about the premiums and discounts for the Fund. Premiums or discounts are the differences between the NAV and market price of the Fund on a given day, generally at the time NAV is calculated. A premium is the amount that the Fund is trading above the NAV. A discount is the amount that the Fund is trading below the NAV.
Escheatment
Many states have unclaimed property rules that provide for transfer to the state (also known as “escheatment”) of unclaimed property under various circumstances. These circumstances include inactivity (e.g., no owner-intiated contact for a certain period), returned mail (e.g., when mail sent to a shareholder is returned by the post office as undeliverable), or a combination of both inactivity and returned mail. Unclaimed or inactive accounts may be subject to escheatment laws, and the Fund and the Fund’s transfer agent will not be liable to shareholders and their representatives for good faith compliance with those laws.
Distribution (12b-1) Plan
Under a Rule 12b-1 Distribution Plan (the “Plan”) adopted by the Board, the Fund may pay the distributor and financial intermediaries, such as broker-dealers and investment advisors, up to 0.25% on an annualized basis of the average daily net assets of the Fund as reimbursement or compensation for distribution related activities with respect to the Fund. Because these fees would be paid out of the Fund’s assets on an on-going basis, over time these fees would increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges. No payments have yet been authorized by the Board, nor are any such expected to be made by the Fund under the Plan during the current fiscal year.

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Financial Highlights
Because the Fund has only recently commenced investment operations, no financial highlights are available for the Fund at this time. In the future, financial highlights will be presented in this section of the Prospectus.

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Investment Company Act file number 811-21114
ProShares Trust
7272 Wisconsin Avenue, 21st Floor, Bethesda, MD 20814
866.PRO.5125 866.776.5125
ProShares.com

You can find additional information about the Fund in its current SAI, dated [], as may be amended from time to time has been filed electronically with the SEC and which is incorporated by reference into, and are legally a part of, this Prospectus. Copies of the SAI are available, free of charge, online at the Fund’s website (www.proshares.com). You may also request a free copy of the SAI or make inquiries to ProShares Trust by writing us at the address set forth above or calling us toll-free at the telephone number set forth above.
You can find other information about ProShares Trust on the SEC’s website (www.sec.gov) or you can get copies of this information after payment of a duplicating fee via email to publicinfo@sec.gov.
© 2023 ProShare Advisors LLC. All rights reserved. []


SUBJECT TO COMPLETION—Preliminary Statement of Additional Information dated August 1, 2023
The information in this Statement of Additional Information is not complete and may be changed. Shares of the Fund may not be sold until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This Statement of Additional Information is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION— []
ProShares Trust
7272 Wisconsin Avenue, 21st Floor, Bethesda, MD 20814 866.PRO.5125 866.776.5125
Short Ether Strategy ETF
[Ticker]
This SAI is not a prospectus. It should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus of the series of ProShares Trust (the “Trust”) listed above dated []. A copy of the Prospectus is available, without charge, upon request to the address above, by telephone at the number above, or on the Trust’s website at proshares.com.
Principal U.S. National Stock Exchange
Fund
[Exchange]
Short Ether Strategy ETF
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GLOSSARY OF TERMS
For ease of use, certain terms or names that are used in this SAI have been shortened or abbreviated. A list of many of these terms and their corresponding full names or definitions can be found below. An investor may find it helpful to review the terms and names before reading the SAI.
Term
Definition
1933 Act
Securities Act of 1933, as amended
1934 Act
Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
1940 Act
Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended
Advisor or ProShare Advisors
ProShare Advisors LLC
Board of Trustees or Board
Board of Trustees of ProShares Trust
CCO
Chief Compliance Officer
CFTC
U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Code or Internal Revenue Code
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended
CPO
Commodity Pool Operator
Distributor or SEI
SEI Investments Distribution Co.
ETF
Exchange traded fund
Exchange
NYSE Arca
Fund Complex
All operational registered investment companies that are
advised by the Advisor or its affiliates
Independent Trustee(s)
Trustees who are not “Interested Persons” of ProShare
Advisors or Trust as defined under Section 2(a)(19) of the
1940 Act
NAV
Net asset value
New Fund(s)
ProShares Short Ether Strategy ETF
SEC
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Shares
The shares of the Fund
Trust
ProShares Trust
Trustee(s)
One or more of the trustees of the Trust
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GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE TRUST
ProShares Trust is a Delaware statutory trust and is registered with the SEC as an open-end management investment company under the 1940 Act. The Trust was organized on May 29, 2002 and consists of multiple series.
The Fund’s investment objective is non-fundamental, meaning it may be changed by the Board of Trustees of the Trust, without the approval of Fund shareholders. Other funds may be added in the future.
The Fund is an exchange-traded fund and the shares of the Fund are listed on the Exchange set forth on the cover of this SAI. The Shares trade on the relevant Exchange at market prices that may differ to some degree from the Shares’ NAVs. The Fund issues and redeems Shares on a continuous basis at NAV in large, specified numbers of Shares called “Creation Units.” Creation Units of the Fund are issued and redeemed entirely in cash. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, Shares cannot be purchased from and are not redeemable securities of the Fund. Retail investors, therefore, generally will not be able to purchase or redeem the Shares directly. Rather, most retail investors will purchase and sell Shares in the secondary market with the assistance of a broker. Reference is made to the Prospectus for a discussion of the investment objective and policies of the Fund. The discussion below supplements, and should be read in conjunction with, the Prospectus.
Portfolio management is provided to the Fund by ProShare Advisors, a Maryland limited liability company with offices at 7272 Wisconsin Avenue, 21st Floor, Bethesda, MD 20814.
The investment restrictions of the Fund specifically identified as fundamental policies may not be changed without the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the outstanding voting securities of that Fund, as defined in the 1940 Act. The investment objective and all other investment policies of the Fund not specified as fundamental (including the index of the Fund) may be changed by the Board without the approval of shareholders.
The investment techniques and strategies discussed below may be used by the Fund if, in the opinion of ProShare Advisors, the techniques or strategies may be advantageous to the Fund. The Fund may reduce or eliminate its use of any of these techniques or strategies without changing the Fund’s fundamental policies. There is no assurance that any of the techniques or strategies listed below, or any of the other methods of investment available to the Fund, will result in the achievement of the Fund’s objective. Also, there can be no assurance that the Fund will grow to, or maintain, an economically viable size, and management may determine to liquidate the Fund at a time that may not be opportune for shareholders.
EXCHANGE LISTING AND TRADING
There can be no assurance that the requirements of an Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of Shares of the Fund will continue to be met. An Exchange may remove the Fund from listing under certain circumstances.
As in the case of all equities traded on an Exchange, the brokers’ commission on transactions in the Fund will be based on negotiated commission rates at customary levels for retail customers.
In order to provide current Share pricing information, an Exchange disseminates an updated Indicative Optimized Portfolio Value (“IOPV”) for the Fund. The Trust is not involved in or responsible for any aspect of the calculation or dissemination of the IOPVs and makes no warranty as to the accuracy of the IOPVs. IOPVs are expected to be disseminated on a per Fund basis every 15 seconds during regular trading hours of an Exchange.
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INVESTMENT POLICIES, TECHNIQUES AND RELATED RISKS
GENERAL
TheFund may consider changing its index at any time, including if, for example: the current index becomes unavailable; the Board believes that the current index no longer serves the investment needs of a majority of shareholders or that another index may better serve their needs; or the financial or economic environment makes it difficult for the Fund’s investment results to correspond sufficiently to its current index. If believed appropriate, the Fund may specify an index for itself that is proprietary.
There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.
For purposes of this SAI, the word “invest” refers to the Fund directly and indirectly investing in securities or other instruments. Similarly, when used in this SAI, the word “investment” refers to the Fund’s direct and indirect investments in securities and other instruments. For example, the Fund may often invest indirectly in securities or instruments by using financial instruments with economic exposure similar to those securities or instruments.
Additional information concerning the Fund, its investment policies and techniques, and the securities and financial instruments in which it may invest is set forth below.
ETHER RELATED INVESTMENTS
Ether
Ether is a digital asset which serves as the unit of account on an open-source, decentralized, peer-to-peer computer network. Ether may be used to pay for goods and services, stored for future use, or converted to a fiat currency. As of the date of this Prospectus, the adoption of ether for these purposes has been limited. The value of ether is not backed by any government, corporation, or other identified body.
The value of ether is determined in part by the supply of and demand for, ether in the markets for exchange that have been organized to facilitate the trading of ether. Ether is the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization behind bitcoin.
Ether is maintained on the decentralized, open source, peer-to-peer computer network (“Ethereum Network”). No single entity owns or operates the Ethereum Network.
Ethereum Network
The infrastructure of the Ethereum Network is collectively maintained by participants in the Ethereum Network, which include validators, developers, and users. Validators validate transactions and are currently compensated for that service in ether, as determined by the Ethereum Protocol. Developers maintain and contribute updates to the Ethereum Network’s source code. Users access the Ethereum Network using open-source software. Anyone can be a user, developer, or validator.
Ether is maintained on a digital transaction ledger commonly known as a “blockchain.” A blockchain is a type of shared and continually reconciled database, stored in a decentralized manner on the computers of certain users of the digital asset and is protected by cryptography. The Ethereum blockchain contains a record and history for each ether transaction.
The Ethereum blockchain allows for the creation of decentralized applications that are supported by a transaction protocol referred to as “smart contracts,” which includes the cryptographic operations that verify and secure ether transactions. A smart contract operates by a pre-defined set of rules (i.e., “if/then statements”) that allows it to automatically execute code on the Ethereum Network. Such actions taken by the pre-defined set of rules are not necessarily contractual in nature but are intended to eliminate the need for a third party to carry out code execution on behalf of users, making the system decentralized, allowing decentralized application developers to create a wide range of applications.
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Ethereum Protocol
The Ether Protocol is an open source project with no official company or group in control. Anyone can review the underlying code and suggest changes. Because there is no central authority, the release of updates to the Ethereum Protocol source code by developers does not guarantee that the updates will be automatically adopted by the other participants. Users and validators must accept any changes made to the source code by downloading the proposed modification and that modification is effective only with respect to those ether users and validators who choose to download it. As a practical matter, a modification to the source code becomes part of the Ethereum Network only if it is accepted by validators that collectively represent a supermajority (two-thirds) of the cumulative validations on the Ethereum blockchain.
If a modification is accepted by only a portion of users and validators, a division will occur such that one network will run the pre-modification source code and the other network will run the modified source code. Such a division is known as a “fork.”
New ether is created through “staking” of ether by validators. Validators are required to stake ether in order to perform validation activities and then, as a reward, earn newly created ether. Validation activities include verifying transactions, storing data, and adding to the Ethereum blockchain. Further, with its collective computing power on the distributed network, the Ethereum network provides the ability to execute peer-to-peer transactions to realize, via smart contracts, automatic, conditional transfer of value and information, including money, voting rights, and property.
An Ethereum private key controls the transfer or “spending” of ether from its associated public Ethereum address. An Ethereum “wallet” is a collection of public Ethereum addresses and their associated private key(s). It is designed such that only the owner of ether can send ether, only the intended recipient of ether can unlock what the sender sent and both transactions and ownership can be verified by any third party anywhere in the world.’
Fees need to be paid in ether in order to facilitate transactions and execute smart contracts. The fee that is charged is called “gas.” Gas price is often a small fraction of ether, which is denoted in the unit of Gwei (10^9 Gwei = 1 ether). Gas is essential in sustaining the Ethereum network. It incentivizes validators to process and verify transactions and incentivizes new validators to stake ether. Gas fees are a product of Ethereum network demand relative to the Ethereum network’s capacity.
Ether Futures
A futures contract is a standardized contract traded on, or subject to the rules of, an exchange to buy or sell a specified type and quantity of a particular underlying asset at a designated price. Futures contracts are traded on a wide variety of underlying assets, including ether, bonds, interest rates, agricultural products, stock indexes, currencies, digital assets, energy, metals, economic indicators and statistical measures. The notional size and calendar term of futures contracts on a particular underlying asset are identical and are not subject to any negotiation, other than with respect to price and the number of contracts traded between the buyer and seller. Futures contracts expire on a designated date, referred to as the “expiration date.”
The Fund generally deposits cash (also known as “margin”) with an FCM for its open positions in futures contracts. The margin requirements or position limits may be based on the notional exposure of the futures contracts or the number of futures contracts purchased. The FCM, in turn, generally transfers such deposits to the clearing house to protect the clearing house against non-payment by the Fund. “Variation Margin” is the amount of cash that each party agrees to pay to or receive from the other to reflect the daily fluctuation in the value of the futures contract. The clearing house becomes substituted for each counterparty to a futures contract and, in effect, guarantees performance. In addition, the FCM may require the Fund to deposit additional margin collateral in excess of the clearing house’s requirements for the FCM’s own protection. Margin requirements for CME Ether Futures are substantially higher than margin requirements for many other types of futures contracts.
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CME Ether Futures commenced trading on the CME Globex electronic trading platform on February 8, 2021 under the ticker symbol “ETH”. CME Ether Futures are cash-settled in U.S. dollars, based on the CME CF Ether Reference Rate. The CME CF Ether Reference Rate is a volume-weighted composite of U.S. dollar-ether trading activity on the Constituent Exchanges. The Constituent Exchanges are selected by CF Benchmarks based on the Constituent Exchange Criteria. The Constituent Exchange Criteria requires each Constituent Exchange to implement policies and procedures to ensure fair and transparent market conditions and to identify and impede illegal, unfair or manipulative trading practices. Additionally, each Constituent Exchange must comply with, among other things, capital market regulations, money transmission regulations, client money custody regulations, know-you-client regulations and anti-money laundering regulations.
Each Constituent Exchange is reviewed annually by an oversight committee established by CF Benchmarks to confirm that the Constituent Exchange continues to meet all criteria. CF Benchmarks and the CME CF Ether Reference Rate are subject to United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority Regulation
Although the Fund does not invest in ether, events impacting the price of ether across all ether trading venues could impact the price and market for ether futures, and therefore the performance of the Fund.
The liquidity of the market for ether futures depends on, among other things: the supply and demand for ether futures; the supply and demand for ether; the adoption of ether for commercial uses; the anticipated increase of investments in ether-related investment products by retail and institutional investors; speculative interest in ether, ether futures, and ether-related investment products; regulatory or other restrictions on investors’ ability to invest in ether futures; and the potential ability to hedge against the price of ether with ether futures (and vice versa).
The market for ether futures may be illiquid. This means that the Fund may not be able to buy and sell ether futures quickly or at the desired price. For example, it is difficult to execute a trade at a specific price when there is a relatively small volume of buy and sell orders in a market. A materially adverse development in one or more of the factors on which the liquidity of the market for ether futures depends may cause the market to become illiquid, for short or long periods. In such markets, the Fund may not be able to buy and sell ether futures quickly (or at all) or at the desired price. Market illiquidity may cause losses for the Fund. Additionally, the large size of the futures positions which the Fund may acquire increases the risk of illiquidity, as larger positions may be more difficult to fully liquidate, may take longer to liquidate, and, as a result of their size, may expose the Fund to potentially more significant losses while trying to do so. Limits imposed by counterparties, exchanges or other regulatory organizations, such as accountability levels, position limits and daily price fluctuation limits, may contribute to a lack of liquidity with respect to some financial instruments and have a negative impact on Fund performance. During periods of market illiquidity, including periods of market disruption and volatility, it may be difficult or impossible for the Fund to buy or sell futures contracts or other financial instruments.
The contractual obligations of a buyer or seller holding a futures contract to expiration may be satisfied by settling in cash as provided by the terms of such contract. However, the Fund does not intend to hold ether futures through expiration. Instead, the Fund intends to “roll” futures positions. “Rolling” refers to a process whereby futures contracts nearing expiration are closed out and replaced with identical futures contracts with a later expiration date. Accordingly, the Fund is subject to risks related to rolling.
When the market for certain futures contracts is such that the prices are higher in the more distant delivery months than in the nearer delivery months, the sale during the course of the “rolling process” of the more nearby ether futures would take place at a price that is lower than the price of the more distant ether futures. This pattern of higher futures prices for longer expiration ether futures is often referred to as “contango.” Alternatively, when the market for certain ether futures is such that the prices are higher in the nearer months than in the more distant months, the sale during the course of the rolling process of the more nearby ether futures would take place at a price that is higher than the price of the more distant ether futures. This pattern of higher future prices for shorter expiration ether futures is referred to as “backwardation.”
There have been extended periods in which contango or backwardation has existed in certain futures markets in general. Such periods could occur in the future for ether futures and may cause significant and
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sustained losses. Additionally because of the frequency with which the Fund may roll futures contracts, the impact of contango or backwardation on Fund performance may be greater than it would have been if the Fund rolled futures contracts less frequently.
The CME has established margin requirements for ether futures at levels that may be substantially higher than the margin requirements for more established futures contracts. The Futures Commission Merchants (“FCMs”) utilized by the Fund may impose margin requirements in addition to those imposed by the exchanges. Margin requirements are subject to change, and may be raised in the future by the exchanges and the FCMs. Margin Requirements may be more likely to change during periods of high volatility. High margin requirements could prevent the Fund from obtaining sufficient exposure to ether futures and may adversely affect its ability to achieve its investment objective. An FCM’s failure to return required margin to the Fund on a timely basis may cause such Fund to delay redemption settlement dates and/or restrict, postpone or limit the right of redemption.
The term “margin” refers to the minimum amount the Fund must deposit and maintain with its FCM in order to establish an open position in futures contracts. The minimum amount of margin required in connection with a particular futures contract is set by the exchange on which such contract is traded and is subject to change at any time during the term of the contract. FCMs may require customers to post additional amounts above the required minimums. Futures contracts are customarily bought and sold on margins that represent a percentage of the aggregate purchase or sales price of the contract.
In addition, FCMs utilized by the Fund may impose limits on the amount of exposure to futures contracts the Fund can obtain through such FCMs. As a result, the Fund may need to transact through a number of FCMs to achieve its investment objective. If enough FCMs are not willing to transact with the Fund, or if exposure limits imposed by such FCMs do not provide sufficient exposure, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective.
There may be circumstances that could prevent or make it impractical for the Fund to operate in a manner consistent with its investment objective and investment strategies.
The price of ether has experienced periods of extreme volatility. The price of ether may change dramatically and without warning. This volatility is due to a number of factors, including the supply and demand for ether, concerns about potential manipulation of the price of ether and the safety of ether, market perceptions of the value of ether as an investment, continuing development of the regulations applicable to ether, and the changes exhibited by an early-stage technological innovation.
It is believed that speculators and investors who seek to profit from trading and holding ether currently account for a significant portion of ether demand. Such speculation regarding the potential future appreciation in the price of ether may artificially inflate or deflate the price of ether. Conversely, evolving government regulation, the perception of onerous regulatory actions, concerns over the potential for fraud and manipulation of the price of ether and other factors may cause a drop in the price of ether. Developments related to the Ethereum Network’s operations, also contribute to the volatility in the price of ether. These factors may continue to cause the price of ether to be volatile, which may have a negative impact on the performance of the ether futures and on the performance of the Fund.
The trading of ether is fragmented across numerous trading venues. The fragmentation of the volume of ether transactions across multiple trading venues can lead to a higher volatility than would be expected if volume was concentrated in a single trading venue. Market fragmentation and volatility increases the likelihood of price differences across different trading venues.
Market participants trading ether futures may seek to “hedge” or otherwise manage their exposure to such contracts by taking offsetting positions in ether. Fragmentation may require market participants to analyze multiple prices, which may be inconsistent and quickly changing. Fragmentation also may require market participants to potentially fill their positions through a number of transactions on different exchanges. These factors potentially increase the cost and uncertainty of trading ether and may decrease the effectiveness of using transactions in ether to help manage or offset positions in ether futures. Market participants who are
8

unable to fully or effectively manage or hedge their positions in ether futures typically would be expected to widen the bid-ask spreads on such contracts, which could potentially decrease the trading volume and liquidity of such contracts and have a negative impact on the price of such contracts.
Ether, the Ethereum Network and ether trading venues are relatively new and not subject to the same regulations as regulated securities or futures exchanges. Ether exchanges that are regulated typically must comply with minimum net worth, cybersecurity, and anti-money laundering requirements, but are not typically required to protect customers or their markets to the same extent that regulated securities exchanges or futures exchanges are required to do so. As a result, markets for ether may be subject to manipulation or fraud and may be subject to larger and/or more frequent sudden declines than assets traded on more traditional exchanges. Investors in ether may lose money, possibly the entire value of their investments.
There is no central registry showing which individuals or entities own ether or the quantity of ether that is owned by any particular person or entity. It is possible that a small group of early ether adopters hold a significant proportion of the ether that has been thus far created. There are no regulations in place that would prevent a large holder of ether or a group of holders from selling their ether, which could depress the price of ether, or otherwise attempting to manipulate the price of ether or the Ethereum Network.
Events could adversely affect the price of ether, reduce user confidence in ether, the Ethereum Network and the fairness of the venues for trading ether and slow (or even reverse) the further adoption of ether.
Malicious actors could theoretically structure an attack whereby they gain control of more than half of the network’s staked ether, or “aggregate stake.” If a malicious actor or group of actors acquired a stake exceeding the rest of the Ethereum network, they would be able to exert unilateral control over the addition of blocks to the Ethereum Blockchain. This would allow them to engage in “double spending,” prevent other transactions from being confirmed on the Ethereum Blockchain or prevent other validators from validating any new blocks. Each of these events, among other things, could adversely affect the price of ether, reduce user confidence in the Ethereum Network and the fairness of ether trading venues, and slow (or even reverse) the further adoption of ether.
The Ethereum Protocol was built using open source software by a small group of developers who help develop and maintain the original version of ether, the underlying asset upon which ether futures are based. The open source nature of the Ethereum Protocol permits any developer to review the underlying code and suggest changes to it. If accepted by a sufficient number of validators, these changes may result in substantial changes to the Ethereum Network, including changes that result in “forks” (as described herein). It is possible that the price of ether futures subsequent to a “fork” may be linked to the price of ether on only one of the resulting Ethereum Networks, rather than the aggregate price of ether on all resulting Ethereum Networks.
The CME considers a hard fork of the Ethereum blockchain where both forks continue to be actively validated and traded but may not be fungible with each other, as an unusual and extreme circumstance. The CME has determined, in the event of a hard fork or other circumstance in which the split of ether is expected, CME shall decide what action to take to align ether futures exposure with cash market exposures, as the CME deems appropriate. It is possible that, notwithstanding the protocols implemented to attempt to address the impact of forks on ether futures, forks and similar events could have an adverse effect on the price of ether and the ether futures in which the Fund invests and may adversely affect an investment in the Fund. The price of ether is highly volatile, which could have a negative impact on the price and trading of ether futures, the performance of the Fund.
It is believed that speculators and investors who seek to profit from trading and holding ether currently account for a significant portion of ether demand. Such speculation regarding the potential future appreciation in the price of ether may artificially inflate or deflate the price of ether. Conversely, evolving government regulation, the perception of onerous regulatory actions, concerns over the potential for fraud and manipulation of the price of ether and other factors may cause a drop in the price of ether. Developments related to the Ethereum Network’s operations, also contribute to the volatility in the price of ether. These
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factors may continue to cause the price of ether to be volatile, which may have a negative impact on the performance of the ether futures and on the performance of the Fund.
Since the price and trading of ether futures is influenced by the price of ether and events impacting the price of ether, the Ethereum Network or the ether trading venues, each of the events described above could have a negative impact on the price and market for ether futures. For example, such events could lead to a lack of liquidity in the market for ether futures or have a negative impact on the price of ether futures.
Changes in the Ethereum Network could have an adverse effect on the operation and price of ether, which could have an adverse effect on the price of ether futures and the value of an investment in the Fund.
New ether is created when ether “validators” use their stake on the Ethereum Network to participate in the consensus mechanism, which records and verifies every ether transaction on the Ethereum Blockchain. In return for their services, validators are rewarded through receipt of a set amount of ether. If transaction fees are not sufficiently high or if transaction fees increase to the point of being prohibitively expensive for users, validators may not have an adequate incentive to continue validating and may cease their operations.
If the price of ether or the reward for validating new blocks is not sufficiently high to incentivize validators, validators may cease participating in the consensus mechanism and, as a result, confirmations of transactions on the Ethereum blockchain could be slowed temporarily and inhibit the function of the Ethereum Network. This could have a negative impact on the value of an investment in the Fund.
Additionally, if the price of ether falls below that which is required for validators to turn a profit, some validators may temporarily discontinue their operations. If validators reduce or cease their operations, it would reduce the aggregate stake on the Ethereum Network, which would adversely affect the confirmation process for transactions (i.e., temporarily decreasing the speed at which blocks are added to the blockchain until the next scheduled adjustment in difficulty for block solutions) and make the Ethereum Network more vulnerable to a malicious actor obtaining control in excess of thirty-three (33) percent of the aggregate stake on the Ethereum Network. Periodically, the Ethereum Network is designed to adjust the difficulty for block solutions so that solution speeds remain in the vicinity of the expected twelve (12) second confirmation time currently targeted by the Ethereum Network protocol, but significant reductions in aggregate stake on the Ethereum Network could result in material delays in transaction confirmation time. Any reduction in confidence in the confirmation process or aggregate stake of the Ethereum Network may adversely affect the utility and price of ether, which may negatively impact the ether futures and an investment in the Fund.
A decline in the adoption of ether could have a negative impact on the price of ether and the ether trading venues and, in turn, a negative impact on the price and market for ether futures and the value of an investment in the Fund.
Ether is used as a form of payment both directly and, more commonly, through an intermediary service which converts ether payments into local currency. However, the adoption of ether has been limited when compared with the increase in the price of ether as determined by the ether trading venues. This may indicate that the majority of ether’s use continues to be for investment and speculative purposes. The continued adoption of ether will require growth in its usage as a means of payment and in the Ethereum blockchain for various applications.
A lack of expansion or a reduction in usage of ether and the Ethereum blockchain could adversely affect the ether trading venues. This, in turn, may have a negative impact on the market for ether futures and the performance of the Fund. Even if growth in ether adoption continues in the near or medium-term, there is no assurance that ether usage, or the market for ether futures, will continue to grow over the long-term. A contraction in the use of ether may result in a lack of liquidity in the ether trading venues, increased volatility in or a reduction in the price of ether, and other negative consequences. This, in turn, could exacerbate any lack of liquidity in the market for ether futures, cause increased volatility in, or a reduction to the price, of ether futures and other negative consequences. Each of these events could adversely impact the value of an investment in the Fund.
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A new competing digital asset may pose a challenge to ether’s current market dominance, resulting in a reduction in demand for ether, which could have a negative impact on the price and market for ether and, in turn, a negative impact on the price and market for ether futures and the value of an investment in the Fund.
Regulatory initiatives by governments and uniform law proposals by academics and participants in the ether economy may impact the use of ether or the operation of the Ethereum Network in a manner that adversely affects ether futures and the value of an investment in the Fund.
As ether and other digital assets have grown in popularity and market size, certain U.S. federal and state governments, foreign governments and self-regulatory agencies have begun to examine the operations of ether, cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, the Ethereum Network, ether users, and the ether trading venues. Regulation of cryptocurrencies, like ether, and initial coin offerings (“ICOs”) in the U.S. and foreign jurisdictions could restrict the use of ether or impose other requirements that may adversely impact the liquidity and price of ether, the demand for ether, the operations of the ether trading venues and the performance of the ether futures. If the ether trading venues become subject to onerous regulations, among other things, trading in ether may be concentrated in a smaller number of exchanges, which may materially impact the price, volatility and trading volumes of ether. Additionally, the ether trading venues may be required to comply with tax, anti-money laundering (“AML”), know-your-customer (“KYC”) and other regulatory requirements, compliance and reporting obligations that may make it more costly to transact in or trade ether (which may materially impact price, volatility or trading of ether more generally). Each of these events could have a negative impact on ether futures and the value of an investment in the Fund.
The regulation of ether, digital assets and related products and services continues to evolve. The inconsistent and sometimes conflicting regulatory landscape may make it more difficult for ether businesses to provide services, which may impede the growth of the ether economy and have an adverse effect on consumer adoption of ether. There is a possibility of future regulatory change altering, perhaps to a material extent, the nature of an investment in the Fund or the ability of the Fund to continue to operate.
Additionally, to the extent that ether itself is determined to be a security, commodity future or other regulated asset, or to the extent that a United States or foreign government or quasi-governmental agency exerts regulatory authority over the Ethereum Network, ether trading or ownership in ether, the ether futures may be adversely affected, which may have an adverse effect on the value of your investment in the Fund. In sum, ether regulation takes many different forms and will, therefore, impact ether and its usage in a variety of manners.
No single entity owns the Ethereum Network. However, with the growing adoption of ether and the significant increase in speculative activity surrounding ether and cryptocurrencies, third parties may be increasingly motivated to assert intellectual property rights claims relating to the operation of the Ethereum Network or applications built upon the Ethereum Blockchain. Regardless of the merit of any intellectual property or other legal action, any threatened action that reduces confidence in the Ethereum Network’s or the Ethereum Blockchain’s long-term viability or the ability of end-users to hold and transfer ether may adversely affect the price of ether and adversely affect the ether futures. Additionally, a meritorious intellectual property rights claim could prevent end-users from accessing the Ethereum Network or holding or transferring their ether, which could adversely affect the value of the ether futures. As a result, an intellectual property rights claim against Ethereum Network participants could have a material adverse impact on the Fund.
An interruption in Internet service or a limitation of Internet access could impact the functionality of the Ethereum Network.
The Ethereum Network’s functionality relies on the Internet. A broadly accepted and widely adopted decentralized network is necessary for a fully-functional blockchain network, such as the Ethereum Network. Features of the Ethereum Network, such as decentralization, open source protocol, and reliance on peer-to-peer connectivity, are essential to preserve the stability of the network and decrease the risk of fraud or cyber-attacks. A significant disruption of Internet connectivity affecting large numbers of users or geographic areas could impede the functionality of the Ethereum Network. Any technical disruptions or
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regulatory limitations that affect Internet access may have an adverse effect on the Ethereum Network, the price of ether and ether futures and therefore adversely affect the value of an investment in the Fund.
FUTURES CONTRACTS
Futures in General
A cash-settled futures contract obligates the seller to deliver (and the purchaser to accept) an amount of cash equal to a specific dollar amount multiplied by the difference between the final settlement price of a specific futures contract and the price at which the agreement is made. No physical delivery of the underlying asset is made.
The Fund generally engages in closing or offsetting transactions before final settlement of a futures contract wherein a second identical futures contract is bought to offset a short position. In such cases, the obligation is to deliver (or take delivery of) cash equal to a specific dollar amount multiplied by the difference between the price of the offsetting transaction and the price at which the original contract was entered into. If the original position entered into is a short position (futures contract sold) there will be a gain (loss) if the offsetting buy transaction is carried out at a lower (higher) price, inclusive of commissions.
Whether the Fund realizes a gain or loss from futures activities depends generally upon movements in the underlying index. The extent the Fund’s loss from an unhedged short position in futures contracts is potentially unlimited, and investors may lose the amount that they invest plus any profits recognized on their investment. The Fund will engage in transactions in futures contracts that are traded on a U.S. exchange or board of trade or that have been approved for sale in the U.S. by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”).
All of the Fund’s transactions in futures will be entered into through an FCM regulated by the CFTC or under a foreign regulatory regime that has been recognized as equivalent by the CFTC. Under U.S. law, an FCM is the sole type of entity that may hold collateral in respect of cleared futures. All futures entered by the Fund will be cleared by a clearing house that is regulated by the CFTC. A Fund’s FCM may limit the Fund’s ability to invest in certain futures contracts. Such restrictions may adversely affect the Fund’s performance and its ability to achieve its objective.
In addition, the CFTC and the exchanges are authorized to take extraordinary actions in the event of a market emergency, including, for example, the implementation of higher margin requirements, the establishment of daily price limits and the suspension of trading.
Futures Margin Requirements
Upon entering into a futures contract, the Fund will be required to deposit with its FCM an amount of cash or cash equivalents equal to a small percentage of the contract’s value (these amounts are subject to change by the FCM or clearing house through which the trade is cleared). This amount, known as “initial margin,” is in the nature of a performance bond or good faith deposit on the contract and is returned to the Fund upon termination of the futures contract, assuming all contractual obligations have been satisfied. Subsequent payments, known as “variation margin,” to and from the broker will be made daily as the price of the index underlying the futures contract fluctuates, making the short positions in the futures contract more or less valuable, a process known as “marking-to-market.” At any time prior to expiration of a futures contract, the Fund may elect to close its position by taking an opposite position, which will operate to terminate the Fund’s existing position in the contract. A party to a futures contract is subject to the credit risk of the clearing house and the FCM through which it holds its position. Credit risk of market participants with respect to futures is concentrated in a few clearing houses, and it is not clear how an insolvency proceeding of a clearing house would be conducted and what impact an insolvency of a clearing house would have on the financial system. An FCM is generally obligated to segregate all funds received from customers with respect to customer futures positions from the FCM’s proprietary assets. However, all funds and other property received by an FCM from its customers are generally held by the FCM on a commingled basis in an omnibus
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account, and the FCM may invest those funds in certain instruments permitted under the applicable regulations. The assets of the Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the bankruptcy of the Fund’s FCM, because the Fund would be limited to recovering only a pro rata share of all available funds segregated on behalf of the FCM’s customers for a relevant account class. Also, the FCM is required to transfer to the clearing house the amount of margin required by the clearing house for futures positions, which amounts are generally held in an omnibus account at the clearing house for all customers of the FCM. If an FCM does not comply with the applicable regulations or its agreement with the Fund, or in the event of fraud or misappropriation of customer assets by a FCM, the Fund could have only an unsecured creditor claim in an insolvency of the FCM with respect to the margin held by the FCM.
Correlation Risk
The primary risks associated with the use of futures contracts are imperfect correlation between movements in the price of the futures and the market value of the underlying assets, and the possibility of an illiquid market for a futures contract. Although the Fund intends to sell futures contracts only if there is an active market for such contracts, no assurance can be given that a liquid market will exist for any particular contract at any particular time. Many futures exchanges and boards of trade limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in futures contract prices during a single trading day. Once the daily limit has been reached in a particular contract, no trades may be made that day at a price beyond that limit or trading may be suspended for specified periods during the day. Futures contract prices could move to the limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of futures positions and potentially subjecting the Fund to substantial losses. If trading is not possible, or if the Fund determines not to close a futures position in anticipation of adverse price movements, the Fund will be required to make daily cash payments of variation margin. The risk that the Fund will be unable to close out a futures position will be minimized by entering into such transactions on a national exchange with an active and liquid secondary market.
Risks of Government Regulation of Derivatives and Related Instruments
It is possible that government regulation of various types of derivatives and related instruments, including futures, repurchase agreements, and reverse repurchase agreements, may limit or prevent the Fund from using such instruments as a part of its investment strategy, and could ultimately prevent the Fund from being able to achieve its investment objective. It is impossible to predict fully the effects of legislation and regulation in this area, but the effects could be substantial and adverse.
The SEC recently adopted Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act providing for the regulation of registered investment companies’ use of derivatives and certain related instruments (e.g. reverse repurchase agreements). The new rule, among other things, limits derivatives exposure through one of two value-at-risk tests and requires the adoption and implementation of a derivatives risk management program. In connection with the adoption of the rule, the SEC has eliminated the asset segregation framework for covering derivatives and certain financial instruments arising from the SEC’s Release 10666 and ensuing staff guidance. Limited derivatives users (as determined by Rule 18f-4) are not, however, subject to the full requirements under the rule.
Regulations adopted by global prudential regulators that are now in effect require certain bank-regulated counterparties and certain of their affiliates to include in certain financial contracts, including repurchase and reverse repurchase agreements, terms that delay or restrict the rights of counterparties, such as the Fund, to terminate such agreements, take foreclosure action, exercise other default rights or restrict transfers of credit support in the event that the counterparty and/or its affiliates are subject to certain types of resolution or insolvency proceedings. It is possible that these new requirements, as well as potential additional government regulation and other developments in the market, could adversely affect the Fund’s ability to terminate existing repurchase agreements and purchase and sale contracts or to realize amounts to be received under such agreements.
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Position Limits and Accountability Levels
The CFTC, exchanges and, in certain cases, FCMs, have established (and continue to evaluate and monitor) position limits (“position limits”) on the maximum speculative position which any person, or group of persons acting in concert, may hold or control in particular futures and options on futures contracts. All positions owned or controlled by the same person or entity, even if in different accounts, must be aggregated for purposes of determining whether the applicable position limits have been exceeded. Thus, even if the Fund does not intend to exceed applicable position limits, it is possible that different clients managed by the Advisor may be aggregated for this purpose. Although it is possible that the trading decisions of the Advisor may have to be modified and that positions held by the Fund may have to be liquidated in order to avoid exceeding such limits, the Advisor believes that this is unlikely. The modification of investment decisions or the elimination of open positions, if it occurs, may adversely affect the profitability of the Fund. A violation of position limits could also lead to regulatory action materially adverse to the Fund’s investment strategy.
In addition the domestic exchanges have established accountability levels (“accountability levels”) on futures contracts traded on U.S.-based Futures exchanges. The accountability levels establish a threshold above which the exchange may exercise greater scrutiny and control over the Fund’s positions.
If the Fund were to reach its position limits and position accountability levels on ether futures contracts, or if the Advisor believes it is reasonably likely to do so, the Advisor intends to take such action as it believes appropriate and in the best interest of the Fund in light of the totality of the circumstances at such time. The Fund may consider investing any cash on hand due to position limits or accountability levels in money market instruments. The Fund also may consider obtaining exposure to U.S. listed futures contracts on cryptocurrencies other than ether or in other ether-related instruments whose performance the Advisor believes may correspond to the performance of ether or ether futures contracts, such as exchange traded notes and funds, privately offered funds, or swaps on a ether reference rate. In addition, the Advisor might recommend to the Board that the Fund convert to an open-end or closed-end fund structure or other pooled investment vehicle that invests directly in spot ether.
DEBT INSTRUMENTS
Below is a description of various types of money market instruments and other debt instruments that the Fund may utilize for investment purposes or for liquidity purposes. Other types of money market instruments and debt instruments may become available that are similar to those described below and in which the Fund also may invest consistent with their investment goals and policies. The Fund may also invest in pooled investment vehicles that invest in, and themselves qualify as, money market instruments.
Money Market Instruments
To seek its investment objective, as a cash reserve, for liquidity purposes the Fund may invest all or part of its assets in cash or cash equivalents, which include, but are not limited to, short-term money market instruments, U.S. government securities, floating and variable rate notes, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, time deposits, bankers’ acceptances or repurchase agreements and other short-term liquid instruments secured by U.S. government securities. The Fund may invest in money market instruments issued by foreign and domestic governments, financial institutions, corporations and other entities in the U.S. or in any foreign country. The Fund may also invest in pooled investment vehicles that invest in, and themselves qualify as, money market instruments.
U.S. Government Securities
The Fund may invest in U.S. government securities in pursuit of their investment objectives or for liquidity purposes.
U.S. government securities include U.S. Treasury securities, which are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury and which differ only in their interest rates, maturities, and times of issuance: U.S. Treasury bills, which have initial maturities of one year or less; U.S. Treasury notes, which have initial
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maturities of one to ten years; and U.S. Treasury bonds, which generally have initial maturities of greater than ten years. In addition, U.S. government securities include Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (“TIPS”). TIPS are inflation-protected public obligations of the U.S. Treasury. These securities are designed to provide inflation protection to investors. TIPS are income generating instruments whose interest and principal payments are adjusted for inflation—a sustained increase in prices that erodes the purchasing power of money. The inflation adjustment, which is typically applied monthly to the principal of the bond, follows a designated inflation index such as the Consumer Price Index. A fixed-coupon rate is applied to the inflation-adjusted principal so that as inflation rises, both the principal value and the interest payments increase. This can provide investors with a hedge against inflation, as it helps preserve the purchasing power of an investment. Because of the inflation-adjustment feature, inflation-protected bonds typically have lower yields than conventional fixed-rate bonds. In addition, TIPS decline in value when real interest rates rise. However, in certain interest rate environments, such as when real interest rates are rising faster than nominal interest rates, TIPS may experience greater losses than other fixed income securities with similar duration.
Certain U.S. government securities are issued or guaranteed by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government including, but not limited to, obligations of U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities, such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae” or “FNMA”), the Government National Mortgage Association (“Ginnie Mae” or “GNMA”), the Small Business Administration, the Federal Farm Credit Administration, Federal Home Loan Banks, Banks for Cooperatives (including the Central Bank for Cooperatives), Federal Land Banks, Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Federal Financing Bank, the Student Loan Marketing Association, the National Credit Union Administration and the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation. Some obligations issued or guaranteed by U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities, including, for example, GNMA pass-through certificates, are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury. Other obligations issued by or guaranteed by federal agencies, such as those securities issued by FNMA, are supported by the discretionary authority of the U.S. government to purchase certain obligations of the federal agency but are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, while other obligations issued by or guaranteed by federal agencies, such as those of the Federal Home Loan Banks, are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury. While the U.S. government provides financial support to such U.S. government-sponsored federal agencies and instrumentalities described above, no assurance can be given that the U.S. government will always do so, since the U.S. government is not so obligated by law. U.S. Treasury notes and bonds typically pay coupon interest semi-annually and repay the principal at maturity. All U.S. government securities are subject to credit risk.
Yields on U.S. government securities depend on a variety of factors, including the general conditions of the money and bond markets, the size of a particular offering, and the maturity of the obligation. Debt securities with longer maturities tend to produce higher yields and are generally subject to potentially greater capital appreciation and depreciation than obligations with shorter maturities and lower yields. The market value of U.S. government securities generally varies inversely with changes in market interest rates. An increase in interest rates, therefore, would generally reduce the market value of the Fund’s portfolio investments in U.S. government securities, while a decline in interest rates would generally increase the market value of the Fund’s portfolio investments in these securities.
From time to time, uncertainty regarding the status of negotiations in the U.S. government to increase the statutory debt ceiling could increase the risk that the U.S. government may default on payments on certain U.S. government securities, cause the credit rating of the U.S. government to be downgraded, increase volatility in the stock and bond markets, result in higher interest rates, reduce prices of U.S. Treasury securities, and/or increase the costs of various kinds of debt. If a U.S. government-sponsored entity is negatively impacted by legislative or regulatory action, is unable to meet its obligations, or its creditworthiness declines, the performance of a fund that holds securities of the entity may be adversely impacted.
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INVESTMENT IN A SUBSIDIARY
The Fund intends to achieve commodity exposure through investment in ProShares Cayman Ether Inverse Strategy Portfolio, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Fund (the “Subsidiary”) organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands. The Fund’s investment in its Subsidiary is intended to provide the Fund with exposure to commodity and financial markets in accordance with applicable rules and regulations. The Subsidiary may invest in futures and other investments intended to serve as margin or collateral or otherwise support the Subsidiary’s futures positions. The Subsidiary is not registered under the 1940 Act, and will not have all of the protections offered to investors in RICs. The Board, however, has oversight responsibility for the investment activities of the Fund, including its investment in its Subsidiary, and the Fund’s role as the sole shareholder of the Subsidiary.
Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which the Fund and the Subsidiary is organized, respectively, could result in the inability of the Fund and/or its Subsidiary to operate as described in this SAI and could negatively affect the Fund and its shareholders. For example, the Cayman Islands does not currently impose any income, corporate or capital gains tax, estate duty, inheritance tax, gift tax or withholding tax on the Subsidiary. If Cayman Islands law changes such that the Subsidiary must pay Cayman Islands taxes, Fund shareholders would likely suffer decreased investment returns. See “Taxation” below for more information.
The financial statements of the Subsidiary will be consolidated with the Fund’s financial statements in the Fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports.
BORROWING
The Fund may borrow money for cash management purposes or investment purposes. Borrowing for investment is a form of leverage. Leveraging investments, by purchasing securities with borrowed money, is a speculative technique which increases investment risk, but also increases investment opportunity. Because substantially all of the Fund’s assets will fluctuate in value, whereas the interest obligations on borrowings may be fixed, the NAV per share of the Fund will fluctuate more when the Fund is leveraging its investments than would otherwise be the case. Moreover, interest costs on borrowings may fluctuate with changing market rates of interest and may partially offset or exceed the returns on the borrowed funds. Under adverse conditions, the Fund might have to sell portfolio securities to meet interest or principal payments at a time when investment considerations would not favor such sales. Consistent with the requirements of the 1940 Act, the Fund must maintain continuous asset coverage (total assets, including assets acquired with borrowed funds, less liabilities exclusive of borrowings) of 300% of all amounts borrowed. If at any time the value of the Fund’s assets should fail to meet this 300% coverage test, the Fund, within three days (not including weekends and holidays), will reduce the amount of the Fund’s borrowings to the extent necessary to meet this 300% coverage requirement. Maintenance of this percentage limitation may result in the sale of portfolio securities at a time when investment considerations would not favor such sale. In addition to the foregoing, the Fund is authorized to borrow money as a temporary measure for extraordinary or emergency purposes in amounts not in excess of 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets. This borrowing is not subject to the foregoing 300% asset coverage requirement. The Fund is authorized to pledge portfolio securities as ProShare Advisors deems appropriate in connection with any borrowings.
The Fund may also enter into reverse repurchase agreements, which may be viewed as a form of borrowing, with financial institutions. Subject to applicable law, such agreements may be subject to the 300% asset coverage requirement applicable to borrowings by the Fund.
CASH RESERVES
In seeking to achieve its investment objective, as a cash reserve, for liquidity purposes, or as cover for positions it has taken, the Fund may invest all or part of its assets in cash or cash equivalents, which include, but are not limited to, short-term money market instruments, U.S. government securities, certificates of deposit, bankers acceptances, or repurchase agreements secured by U.S. government securities.
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SHORT SALES
The Fund may engage in short sales transactions. A short sale is a transaction in which the Fund sells a security it does not own in anticipation that the market price of that security will decline. To complete such a transaction, the Fund must borrow the security to make delivery to the buyer. The Fund is then obligated to replace the security borrowed by borrowing the same security from another lender, purchasing it at the market price at the time of replacement or paying the lender an amount equal to the cost of purchasing the security. The price at such time may be more or less than the price at which the security was sold by the Fund. Until the security is replaced, the Fund is required to repay the lender any dividends it receives, or interest which accrues, during the period of the loan. To borrow the security, the Fund also may be required to pay a premium, which would increase the cost of the security sold. The net proceeds of the short sale will be retained by the broker, to the extent necessary to meet the margin requirements, until the short position is closed out. The Fund also will incur transaction costs in effecting short sales.
The Fund may make short sales “against the box,” i.e., when a security identical to or convertible or exchangeable into one owned by the Fund is borrowed and sold short.
The Fund will incur a loss as a result of a short sale if the price of the security increases between the date of the short sale and the date on which the Fund replaces the borrowed security. The Fund will realize a gain if the price of the security declines in price between those dates. The amount of any gain will be decreased, and the amount of any loss will be increased, by the amount of the premium, dividends or interest the Fund may be required to pay, if any, in connection with a short sale.
REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS
The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements with financial institutions in pursuit of its investment objective, or for liquidity purposes. Under a repurchase agreement, the Fund purchases a debt security and simultaneously agrees to sell the security back to the seller at a mutually agreed-upon future price and date, normally one day or a few days later. The resale price is greater than the purchase price, reflecting an agreed-upon market interest rate during the purchaser’s holding period. While the maturities of the underlying securities in repurchase transactions may be more than one year, the term of each repurchase agreement will always be less than one year. The Fund follows certain procedures designed to minimize the risks inherent in such agreements. These procedures include effecting repurchase transactions generally with major global financial institutions. The creditworthiness of each of the firms that is a party to a repurchase agreement with the Fund will be monitored by ProShare Advisors. In addition, the value of the collateral underlying the repurchase agreement will always be at least equal to the repurchase price, including any accrued interest earned on the repurchase agreement. In the event of a default or bankruptcy by a selling financial institution, the Fund will seek to liquidate such collateral which could involve certain costs or delays and, to the extent that proceeds from any sale upon a default of the obligation to repurchase were less than the repurchase price, the Fund could suffer a loss. The Fund also may experience difficulties and incur certain costs in exercising its rights to the collateral and may lose the interest the Fund expected to receive under the repurchase agreement. Repurchase agreements usually are for short periods, such as one week or less, but may be longer. It is the current policy of the Fund not to invest in repurchase agreements that do not mature within seven days if any such investment, together with any other illiquid assets held by the Fund, amounts to more than 15% of the Fund’s total net assets. The investments of the Fund in repurchase agreements at times may be substantial when, in the view of ProShare Advisors, liquidity, investment, regulatory, or other considerations so warrant.
REVERSE REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS
The Fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements as part of its investment strategy, which may be viewed as a form of borrowing. Reverse repurchase agreements involve sales by the Fund of portfolio assets for cash concurrently with an agreement by the Fund to repurchase those same assets at a later date at a fixed price. Generally, the effect of such a transaction is that the Fund can recover all or most of the cash invested in the portfolio securities involved during the term of the reverse repurchase agreement, while the
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Fund will be able to keep the interest income associated with those portfolio securities. Such transactions are advantageous only if the interest cost to the Fund of the reverse repurchase transaction is less than the cost of obtaining the cash otherwise. Opportunities to achieve this advantage may not always be available, and the Fund intends to use the reverse repurchase technique only when it will be to the Fund’s advantage to do so.
CYBERSECURITY
With the increased use of technologies such as the Internet and the dependence on computer systems to perform necessary business functions, the Fund is susceptible to operational and information security risks. In general, cyber incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events. Cyber attacks include, but are not limited to gaining unauthorized access to digital systems for purposes of misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting data, or causing operational disruption. Cyber attacks may also be carried out in a manner that does not require gaining unauthorized access, such as causing denial-of-service attacks on websites. Cyber security failures or breaches of the Fund’s third -party service provider (including, but not limited to, index providers, the administrator and transfer agent) or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invest, have the ability to cause disruptions and impact business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses, the inability of Fund shareholders to transact business, violations of applicable privacy and other laws, regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, and/or additional compliance costs. In addition, substantial costs may be incurred in order to prevent any cyber incidents in the future. The Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result. While the Fund has established business continuity plans and systems to prevent such cyber attacks, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems including the possibility that certain risks have not been identified. Furthermore, the Fund cannot control the cyber security plans and systems put in place by issuers in which the Fund invests.
MANAGEMENT
There may be circumstances outside the control of ProShare Advisors, the Trust, the Administrator (as defined below), the transfer agent, the Custodian (as defined below), any sub-custodian, the Distributor (as defined below), and/or the Fund that make it, for all practical purposes, impossible to re-position such Fund and/or to process a purchase or redemption order. Examples of such circumstances include: natural disasters; public service disruptions or utility problems such as those caused by 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 aforementioned parties, as well as the DTC, the NSCC, or any other participant in the purchase process; and similar extraordinary events. Accordingly, while ProShare Advisors has implemented and tested a business continuity plan that transfers functions of any disrupted facility to another location and has effected a disaster recovery plan, circumstances, such as those above, may prevent the Fund from being operated in a manner consistent with its investment objective and/or principal investment strategies.
NON-DIVERSIFIED STATUS
The Fund is a “non-diversified” series of the Trust. The Fund’s classification as a “non-diversified” investment company means that the proportion of the Fund’s assets that may be invested in the securities of a single issuer is not limited by the 1940 Act. Notwithstanding the Fund’s status as a “non-diversified” investment company under the 1940 Act, the Fund intends to qualify as a RIC accorded special tax treatment under the Code, which imposes its own diversification requirements that are less restrictive than the requirements applicable to the “diversified” investment companies under the 1940 Act. The Fund’s ability to pursue its investment strategy may be limited by that Fund’s intention to qualify as a RIC and its strategy may bear adversely on its ability to so qualify. For more details, see “Taxation” below. With respect to a “non-diversified” Fund, a relatively high percentage of such the Fund’s assets may be invested in the securities of a limited number of issuers, primarily within the same economic sector. That Fund’s portfolio securities, therefore, may be more susceptible to any single economic, political, or regulatory occurrence than the portfolio securities of a more diversified investment company.
18

MARKET DISRUPTION AND GEOPOLITICAL RISK
War, terrorism, economic uncertainty, and related geopolitical events, such as sanctions, tariffs, the imposition of exchange controls or other cross-border trade barriers, have led, and in the future may lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on U.S. and world economies and markets generally. For example, the U.S. has imposed economic sanctions, which consist of asset freezes, restrictions on dealings in debt and equity, and certain industry-specific restrictions. These sanctions, any additional sanctions or intergovernmental actions, or even the threat of further sanctions, may result in a decline of the value and liquidity of securities in affected countries, a weakening of the affected countries’ currencies or other adverse consequences to their respective economies. Sanctions impair the ability of the Fund to buy, sell, receive or deliver those securities and/or assets that are within the scope of the sanctions.
TRADE DISPUTES
Global economies interdependent on and may be adversely affected by trade disputes with key trading partners and escalating tariffs imposed on goods and services produced by such countries. To the extent a country engages in retaliatory tariffs, a company that relies on imported parts to produce its own goods may experience increased costs of production or reduced profitability, which may affect consumers, investors and the domestic economy. Trade disputes and retaliatory actions may include embargoes and other trade limitations, which may trigger a significant reduction in international trade and impact the global economy. Trade disputes may also lead to increased currency exchange rate volatility, which can adversely affect the prices of the Fund securities valued in U.S. dollars. The potential threat of trade disputes may also negatively affect investor confidence in the markets generally and investment growth.
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER
A Fund may pay transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). Purchases and sales of U.S. government securities are normally transacted through issuers, underwriters or major dealers in U.S. government securities acting as principals. Such transactions, along with other fixed income securities transactions, are made on a net basis and do not typically involve payment of brokerage commissions. However, the Fund may trade through broker-dealers that charge a commission. The overall reasonableness of brokerage commissions is evaluated by ProShare Advisors based upon its knowledge of available information as to the general level of commissions paid by other institutional investors for comparable services.
A Fund’s portfolio turnover rate may vary from year to year, as well as within a year. It is difficult to estimate what the Fund’s actual portfolio turnover rate will be in the future. A higher portfolio turnover rate would likely involve correspondingly greater brokerage commissions and transaction and other expenses that would be borne by the Fund. In addition, the Fund’s portfolio turnover level may adversely affect the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective. “Portfolio Turnover Rate” is defined under the rules of the SEC as the value of the securities purchased or securities sold, excluding all securities whose maturities at time of acquisition were one year or less, divided by the average monthly value of such securities owned during the year. Based on this definition, instruments with remaining maturities of less than one year, including the futures contracts in which the Fund invests, are excluded from the calculation of Portfolio Turnover Rate for the Fund. If such transactions were included, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate would be significantly higher.
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS
To the extent discussed herein and in the Fund’s Prospectus, the Fund presents certain risks, some of which are further described below.
19

TRACKING AND CORRELATION
Several factors may affect the Fund’s ability to achieve a high degree of correlation with its benchmark. Among these factors are: (i) the Fund’s fees and expenses, including brokerage (which may be increased by high portfolio turnover) and the costs associated with the use of derivatives; (ii) less than all of the securities underlying the Fund’s benchmark being held by the Fund and/or securities not included in its benchmark being held by the Fund; (iii) an imperfect correlation between the performance of instruments held by the Fund, such as futures contracts, and the performance of the underlying securities in a benchmark; (iv) bid-ask spreads (the effect of which may be increased by portfolio turnover); (v) holding instruments traded in a market that has become illiquid or disrupted; (vi) the Fund’s share prices being rounded to the nearest cent; (vii) changes to the benchmark that are not disseminated in advance; (viii) the need to conform the Fund’s portfolio holdings to comply with investment restrictions or policies or regulatory or tax law requirements; (ix) limit-up or limit-down trading halts on options or futures contracts which may prevent the Fund from purchasing or selling options or futures contracts; (x) early and unanticipated closings of the markets on which the holdings of the Fund trade, resulting in the inability of the Fund to execute intended portfolio transactions; and (xi) fluctuations in currency exchange rates.
Also, because the Fund engages in daily rebalancing to position its portfolio so that its exposure to its index is consistent with the Fund’s daily investment objective, disparities between estimated and actual purchases and redemptions of the Fund may cause the Fund to be under- or overexposed to its benchmark. This may result in greater tracking and correlation error.
Furthermore, the Fund has an investment objective to seek daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to the performance of the inverse (-1x) of the daily performance of an index for a single day, not for any other period. A “single day” is measured from the time the Fund calculates its NAV to the time of the Fund’s next NAV calculation. The Fund is subject to the correlation risks described above. In addition, while a close correlation of the Fund to its benchmark may be achieved on any single day, the Fund’s performance for any other period is the result of its return for each day compounded over the period. This usually will differ in amount and possibly even direction from the inverse (-1x) of the daily return of the Fund’s index for the same period, before accounting for fees and expenses, as further described in the Prospectus and below.
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING THE CORRELATION RISKS OF THE FUND
As a result of compounding, for periods greater than one day, the performance of the Fund may vary from its benchmark performance times the inverse multiple in the Fund’s investment objective, before accounting for fees and expenses. Compounding affects all investments but has a more significant impact on the Fund. Four factors significantly affect how close daily compounded returns are to longer-term benchmark returns times the Fund’s multiple: the length of the holding period, benchmark volatility, and inverse exposure. Longer holding periods, higher benchmark volatility, and greater inverse exposure each can lead to returns that differ in amount, and possibly even direction, from the Fund’s stated multiple times its benchmark return. As the tables below show, particularly during periods of higher benchmark volatility, compounding will cause longer term results to vary from the benchmark performance times the stated multiple in the Fund’s investment objective. This effect becomes more pronounced as volatility increases.
The Fund’s return for periods longer than one day is primarily a function of the following:
a) benchmark performance;
b) benchmark volatility;
c) period of time;
d) financing rates associated with inverse exposure;
e) other Fund expenses; and
f) daily rebalancing of the underlying portfolio.
20

The Fund’s performance can be estimated given any set of assumptions for the factors described above. The tables below illustrate the impact of two factors, benchmark volatility and benchmark performance, on the Fund. Benchmark volatility is a statistical measure of the magnitude of fluctuations in the returns of a benchmark and is calculated as the standard deviation of the natural logarithm of one plus the benchmark return (calculated daily), multiplied by the square root of the number of trading days per year (assumed to be 252). The table shows estimated Fund returns for a number of combinations of benchmark performance and benchmark volatility over a one-year period. Assumptions used in the tables include: (a) no Fund expenses and (b) borrowing/lending rates (to obtain inverse exposure) of zero percent. If Fund expenses and/or actual borrowing/lending rates were reflected, the Fund’s performance would be different than shown.
The table below shows a performance example of the Fund that has an investment objective to correspond to the inverse (-1x) of the daily performance of an index. In the chart below, areas shaded lighter represent those scenarios where the Fund will return the same or outperform (i.e., return more than) the index performance; conversely, areas shaded darker represent those scenarios where the Fund will underperform (i.e., return less than) the index performance.
Estimated Fund Return Over One Year When the Fund’s Investment Objective is to Seek Daily Investment Results, Before Fees and Expenses, that Correspond to the Inverse (-1x) of the Daily Performance of an Index.
One Year Index
Performance
Inverse (-1x) of
One Year Index
Performance
Index Volatility
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
-90%
90%
900.00%
890.05%
860.79%
813.93%
752.14%
678.80%
597.68%
512.63%
427.29%
344.86%
267.88%
-80%
80%
400.00%
395.02%
380.39%
356.97%
326.07%
289.40%
248.84%
206.31%
163.65%
122.43%
83.94%
-70%
70%
233.33%
230.02%
220.26%
204.64%
184.05%
159.60%
132.56%
104.21%
75.76%
48.29%
22.63%
-60%
60%
150.00%
147.51%
140.20%
128.48%
113.04%
94.70%
74.42%
53.16%
31.82%
11.21%
-8.03%
-50%
50%
100.00%
98.01%
92.16%
82.79%
70.43%
55.76%
39.54%
22.53%
5.46%
-11.03%
-26.42%
-40%
40%
66.67%
65.01%
60.13%
52.32%
42.02%
29.80%
16.28%
2.10%
-12.12%
-25.86%
-38.69%
-30%
30%
42.86%
41.44%
37.26%
30.56%
21.73%
11.26%
-0.33%
-12.48%
-24.67%
-36.45%
-47.45%
-20%
20%
25.00%
23.76%
20.10%
14.24%
6.52%
-2.65%
-12.79%
-23.42%
-34.09%
-44.39%
-54.02%
-10%
10%
11.11%
10.01%
6.75%
1.55%
-5.32%
-13.47%
-22.48%
-31.93%
-41.41%
-50.57%
-59.12%
0%
0%
0.00%
-1.00%
-3.92%
-8.61%
-14.79%
-22.12%
-30.23%
-38.74%
-47.27%
-55.51%
-63.21%
10%
-10%
-9.09%
-10.00%
-12.66%
-16.92%
-22.53%
-29.20%
-36.57%
-44.31%
-52.06%
-59.56%
-66.56%
20%
-20%
-16.67%
-17.50%
-19.93%
-23.84%
-28.99%
-35.10%
-41.86%
-48.95%
-56.06%
-62.93%
-69.34%
30%
-30%
-23.08%
-23.84%
-26.09%
-29.70%
-34.45%
-40.09%
-46.33%
-52.87%
-59.44%
-65.78%
-71.70%
40%
-40%
-28.57%
-29.28%
-31.37%
-34.72%
-39.13%
-44.37%
-50.17%
-56.24%
-62.34%
-68.22%
-73.72%
50%
-50%
-33.33%
-34.00%
-35.95%
-39.07%
-43.19%
-48.08%
-53.49%
-59.16%
-64.85%
-70.34%
-75.47%
60%
-60%
-37.50%
-38.12%
-39.95%
-42.88%
-46.74%
-51.32%
-56.40%
-61.71%
-67.04%
-72.20%
-77.01%
70%
-70%
-41.18%
-41.76%
-43.48%
-46.24%
-49.87%
-54.19%
-58.96%
-63.96%
-68.98%
-73.83%
-78.36%
80%
-80%
-44.44%
-45.00%
-46.62%
-49.23%
-52.66%
-56.73%
-61.24%
-65.97%
-70.71%
-75.29%
-79.56%
90%
-90%
-47.37%
-47.89%
-49.43%
-51.90%
-55.15%
-59.01%
-63.28%
-67.76%
-72.25%
-76.59%
-80.64%
100%
-100%
-50.00%
-50.50%
-51.96%
-54.30%
-57.39%
-61.06%
-65.12%
-69.37%
-73.64%
-77.76%
-81.61%
21

INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS
The Fund has adopted certain investment restrictions as fundamental policies that cannot be changed without a “vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities” of the Fund. The phrase “majority of outstanding voting securities” is defined in the 1940 Act as the lesser of: (i) 67% or more of the shares of the Fund present at a duly-called meeting of shareholders, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund are present or represented by proxy; or (ii) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund. (All policies of the Fund not specifically identified in this SAI or its Prospectus as fundamental may be changed without a vote of the shareholders of the Fund.) For purposes of the following limitations (except for the restriction on concentration), all percentage limitations apply immediately after a purchase or initial investment.
The Fund may not:
1.
Make investments for the purpose of exercising control or management.
2.
Purchase or sell real estate, except that, to the extent permitted by applicable law, the Fund may invest in securities directly or indirectly secured by real estate or interests therein or issued by companies that invest in real estate or interests therein.
3.
Make loans to other persons, except that the acquisition of bonds, debentures or other corporate debt securities and investment in government obligations, commercial paper, pass-through instruments, certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances and repurchase agreements and purchase and sale contracts and any similar instruments shall not be deemed to be the making of a loan, and except, further, that the Fund may lend its portfolio securities, provided that the lending of portfolio securities may be made only in accordance with applicable law and the guidelines set forth in the Prospectus and this SAI, as they may be amended from time to time.
4.
Issue senior securities to the extent such issuance would violate applicable law.
5.
Borrow money, except that the Fund (i) may borrow from banks (as defined in the 1940 Act) in amounts up to 33 13% of its total assets (including the amount borrowed), (ii) may, to the extent permitted by applicable law, borrow up to an additional 5% of its total assets for temporary purposes, (iii) may obtain such short-term credit as may be necessary for the clearance of purchases and sales of portfolio securities, (iv) may purchase securities on margin to the extent permitted by applicable law and (v) may enter into reverse repurchase agreements. The Fund may not pledge its assets other than to secure such borrowings or, to the extent permitted by the Fund’s investment policies as set forth in the Prospectus and SAI, as they may be amended from time to time.
6.
Underwrite securities of other issuers, except insofar as the Fund technically may be deemed an underwriter under the 1933 Act, as amended, in selling portfolio securities.
7.
Purchase or sell commodities or contracts on commodities, except to the extent the Fund may do so in accordance with applicable law and the Fund’s Prospectus and SAI, as they may be amended from time to time.
8.
Concentrate (i.e., hold more than 25% of its assets in the stocks of a single industry or group of industries) its investments in issuers of one or more particular industries, except that the Fund may invest more than 25% of its total assets in investments that provide exposure to ether and/or ether futures contracts.
22

MANAGEMENT OF THE TRUST
THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND ITS LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE
The Board has general oversight responsibility with respect to the operation of the Trust and the Fund. The Board has engaged ProShare Advisors to manage the Fund and is responsible for overseeing ProShare Advisors and other service providers to the Trust and the Fund in accordance with the provisions of the federal securities laws.
The Board is currently composed of four Trustees, including three Independent Trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Fund, as that term is defined in the 1940 Act (each an “Independent Trustee”). In addition to four regularly scheduled meetings per year, the Board periodically meets in executive session (with and without employees of ProShare Advisors), and holds special meetings, and/or informal conference calls relating to specific matters that may require discussion or action prior to its next regular meeting. The Independent Trustees have retained “independent legal counsel” as the term is defined in the 1940 Act.
The Board has appointed Michael L. Sapir to serve as Chairman of the Board. Mr. Sapir is also the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of ProShare Advisors and, as such, is not an Independent Trustee. The Chairman’s primary role is to participate in the preparation of the agenda for Board meetings, determine (with the advice of counsel) which matters need to be acted upon by the Board, and to ensure that the Board obtains all the information necessary to perform its functions and take action. The Chairman also presides at all meetings of the Board and acts, with the assistance of staff, as a liaison with service providers, officers, attorneys and the Independent Trustees between meetings. The Chairman performs such other functions as requested by the Board from time to time. The Board does not have a lead Independent Trustee.
The Board has determined that its leadership structure is appropriate in light of the characteristics of the Trust and the Fund. These characteristics include, among other things, the fact that multiple series are organized under one Trust; all series of the Trust are registered investment companies; all series of the Trust have common service providers; and that the majority of the series of the Trust are geared funds, with similar principal investment strategies. As a result, the Board addresses governance and management issues that are often common to each series of the Trust. In light of these characteristics, the Board has determined that a four-member Board, including three Independent Trustees, is of an adequate size to oversee the operations of the Trust, and that, in light of the small size of the Board, a complex Board leadership structure is not necessary or desirable. The relatively small size of the Board facilitates ready communication among the Board members, and between the Board and management, both at Board meetings and between meetings, further leading to the determination that a complex board structure is unnecessary. In view of the small size of the Board, the Board has concluded that designating one of the three Independent Trustees as the “lead Independent Trustee” would not be likely to meaningfully enhance the effectiveness of the Board. The Board reviews its leadership structure at least annually and believes that its structure is appropriate to enable the Board to exercise its oversight of the Fund.
The Board oversight of the Trust and the Fund extends to the Trust’s risk management processes. The Board and its Audit Committee consider risk management issues as part of their responsibilities throughout the year at regular and special meetings. ProShare Advisors 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 the request of the Board or the Audit Committee. For example, the portfolio managers of the Fund meet regularly with the Board to discuss portfolio performance, including investment risk, counterparty risk and the impact on the Fund of investments in particular securities or derivatives. As noted above, given the relatively small size of the Board, the Board determined it is not necessary to adopt a complex leadership structure in order for the Board to effectively exercise its risk oversight function.
The Board has appointed a Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”) for the Trust (who is also the CCO for ProFund Advisors LLC). The CCO reports directly to the Board and participates in the Board’s meetings. The Independent Trustees meet at least annually in executive session with the CCO, and the Fund’s CCO prepares and presents an annual written compliance report to the Board. The CCO also provides updates to
23

the Board on the operation of the Trust’s compliance policies and procedures and on how these procedures are designed to mitigate risk. Finally, the CCO and/or other officers or employees of ProShare Advisors report to the Board in the event that any material risk issues arise.
In addition, the Audit Committee of the Board meets regularly with the Trust’s independent public accounting firm to review reports on, among other things, the Fund’s controls over financial reporting. The Trustees, their birth date, term of office and length of time served, principal business occupations during the past five years and the number of portfolios in the Fund Complex overseen and other directorships, if any, held by each Trustee, are shown below. Unless noted otherwise, the address of each Trustee is: c/o ProShares Trust, 7272 Wisconsin Avenue, 21st Floor, Bethesda, MD 20814.
Name and Birth Date
Term of Office
and Length of
Time Served
Principal Occupation(s)
During
the Past 5 Years
Number of
Operational
Portfolios in
Fund Complex*
Overseen by Trustee
Other Directorships
Held by Trustee
During
Past 5 Years
Independent Trustees
 
 
 
William D. Fertig
Birth Date: 9/56
Indefinite; June
2011 to present
Context Capital
Management
(Alternative Asset
Management): Chief
Investment Officer
(September 2002 to
present).
ProShares (121)
ProFunds (117)
Context Capital
Russell S. Reynolds III
Birth Date: 7/57
Indefinite;
November 2005 to
present
RSR Partners, Inc.
(Retained Executive
Recruitment and
Corporate
Governance
Consulting):
Managing Director
(February 1993 to
present).
ProShares (121)
ProFunds (117)
RSR Partners, Inc.
Michael C. Wachs
Birth Date: 10/61
Indefinite;
November 2005 to
present
Linden Lane Capital
Partners LLC (Real
Estate Investment
and Development):
Managing Principal
(2010 to present).
ProShares (121)
ProFunds (117)
NAIOP (the
Commercial Real
Estate Development
Association)
Interested Trustee and Chairman of the Board
 
 
24

Name and Birth Date
Term of Office
and Length of
Time Served
Principal Occupation(s)
During
the Past 5 Years
Number of
Operational
Portfolios in
Fund Complex*
Overseen by Trustee
Other Directorships
Held by Trustee
During
Past 5 Years
Michael L. Sapir**
Birth Date: 5/58
Indefinite; 2002 to
present
Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer of
ProFund
Advisors LLC
(April 1997 to
present); ProShare
Advisors
(November 2005 to
present); and
ProShare Capital
Management LLC
(July 2008 to
present).
ProShares (121)
ProFunds (117)
None

*
The “Fund Complex” consists of all operational registered investment companies under the 1940 Act that are advised by ProShare Advisors and any registered investment companies that have an investment adviser that is an affiliated person of ProShare Advisors. Investment companies that are non-operational (and therefore, not publicly offered) as of the date of this SAI are excluded from these figures.
**
Mr. Sapir is an “interested person,” as defined by the 1940 Act, because of his ownership interest in ProShare Advisors.
The Board was formed in 2002, prior to the inception of the Trust’s operations. Messrs. Reynolds, Wachs and Sapir were appointed to serve as the Board’s initial trustees prior to the Trust’s operations. Mr. Fertig was added in June 2011. Each Trustee was and is currently believed to possess the specific experience, qualifications, attributes and skills necessary to serve as a Trustee of the Trust. In addition to their years of service as Trustees to ProFunds and Access One Trust, and gathering experience with funds with investment objectives and principal investment strategies similar to series of the Trust, each individual brings experience and qualifications from other areas. In particular, Mr. Reynolds has significant senior ex