PROSPECTUS December 14, 2023
|
ISPY |
S&P 500 High Income ETF |
ProShares S&P 500 High Income ETF is listed on Cboe BZX U.S. Equities Exchange (“Exchange”). Neither the Securities and Exchange 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.
4 :: S&P 500 High Income ETF
PROSHARES.COM
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Management Fees |
|
|
Other Expenses1 |
|
|
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
|
1
|
1 Year |
3 Years |
|
|
|
S&P 500 High Income ETF :: 5PROSHARES.COM
You could lose money by investing in the Fund.
6 :: S&P 500 High Income ETF
PROSHARES.COM
S&P 500 High Income ETF :: 7PROSHARES.COM
Please see “Investment Objectives, Principal Investment Strategies and Related Risks” in the Fund’s Prospectus for additional details.
Management
The Fund is advised by ProShare Advisors. Michael Neches, Senior Portfolio Manager, and Devin Sullivan, 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 the deposit or delivery of a basket of assets (securities and/or cash) in large blocks, known as Creation Units. Shares of the Fund may 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 (dis
count). 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 Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). 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. In addition, due to the manner in which the Fund implements its investment program, the Fund expects that a substantial portion of its monthly distributions will constitute a return of capital that will have the effect of reducing your cost basis in the Fund’s shares and thereby increasing the amount of capital gain, if any, or decreasing the amount of capital loss, if any, that you will realize when selling Fund shares. The Fund does not guarantee that distributions will always be paid or will be paid at a relatively stable level.
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RELATED RISKS :: 9
PROSHARES.COM
This section contains additional details about the Fund’s investment objective, principal investment strategies and related risks.
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks investment results, before fees and expenses, that track the performance of the S&P 500 Daily Covered Call Index. The Fund’s investment objective is non-fundamental, meaning that it may be changed by the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of ProShares Trust (the “Trust”), without the approval of Fund shareholders. The Fund reserves the right to substitute a different index for the Index without shareholder approval.
Principal Investment Strategies
In seeking to achieve the Fund’s investment objective, ProShare Advisors follows a passive approach to investing that is designed to track the performance of the Index. The Fund attempts to achieve its investment objective by investing (directly or through the use of derivatives) all, or substantially all, of its assets in the component securities of the Index. The Fund employs various investment techniques that ProShare Advisors believes should, in the aggregate, simulate the movement of the Index and provide for distributions similar in amount to the cash received by the Index from dividend and call premium income. The Fund does not invest in covered call options.
ProShare Advisors does not invest the assets of the Fund in securities or financial instruments based on ProShare Advisors’ view of the investment merit of a particular security, or company, other than for cash management purposes, nor does it conduct conventional investment research or analysis (other than in determining counterparty creditworthiness), or forecast market movement or trends, in managing the assets of the Fund. The Fund generally seeks to remain fully invested at all times in instruments that, in combination, provide exposure to the Index without regard to market conditions, trends, direction, or the financial condition of a particular issuer. The Fund’s ability to do so may be affected by certain expenses, transaction costs, and other factors. The Fund may not have exposure to all securities in the Index or similar weightings to that of the Index.
Please see “Principal Investment Strategies” in the Fund’s Summary Prospectus for more detail about the financial instruments in which the Fund invests.
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 and under the section titled “Other Risks.” 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.
•Risks Associated with the Use of Derivatives — The Fund may obtain exposure through derivatives (including investing in: swap agreements; futures contracts; options on futures contracts; securities and indexes; forward contracts; and similar instruments). 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 (e.g., the securities contained in the Fund’s index). 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 securities prices, interest rates and currency markets will move adversely and the Fund will incur significant losses; 5) the risk that the cost of holding a financial instrument might exceed its total return; and 6) 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.
In addition, the Fund may use a combination of swaps on an underlying index and swaps on an ETF that is designed to track the performance of that index. The performance of an ETF may not track the performance of its underlying index due to embedded costs and other factors. Thus, to the extent the Fund invests in swaps that use an ETF as the reference asset, the Fund may be subject to greater correlation risk and may not achieve as high a degree of correlation with its index as it would if the Fund only used swaps on the underlying index.
•Counterparty Risk — The Fund will be subject to credit risk (i.e., the risk that a counterparty is unwilling or unable to make
10 :: INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RELATED RISKS
PROSHARES.COM
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, a 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.
The counterparty to a cleared swap agreement and/or 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 and options on 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, a 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 certain cases with respect to cleared swaps, the FCM may also transfer any excess initial margin posted by the Fund to the clearing house. Regulations promulgated by the CFTC require that the FCM notify the clearing house of the excess initial margin provided by the FCM to the clearing house that is attributable to each customer. However, if the FCM does not accurately report the Fund’s initial margin, the Fund is subject to the risk that a clearing house will use the assets attributable to it in the clearing house’s omnibus account to satisfy payment obligations a defaulting customer of the FCM has to the clearing house.
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 derivatives counterparty 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, United Kingdom 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 United Kingdom (sometimes referred to as a “bail in”).
•Correlation Risk — There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation with its benchmark. Failure to achieve a high degree of correlation may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective, and the percentage change of the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”)
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RELATED RISKS :: 11
PROSHARES.COM
each day may differ, perhaps significantly, from the percentage change of the Fund’s benchmark on such day. This may be due, among other reasons, to the impact of a limited trading market in the underlying component securities on the calculation of the benchmark. A number of other factors may adversely affect the Fund’s correlation with its benchmark, including material over- or underexposure, fees, expenses, transaction costs, financing costs associated with the use of derivatives, income items, valuation methodology, infrequent trading in the securities underlying its benchmark, accounting standards and disruptions or illiquidity in the markets for the financial instruments in which the Fund invests. The Fund may not have investment exposure to all financial instruments in the Index, or its weighting of investment exposure to financial instruments may be different from that of the Index. In addition, the Fund may invest in financial instruments not included in the Index. The Fund may take or refrain from taking positions in order to improve tax efficiency or comply with regulatory restrictions, either of which may negatively affect the Fund’s correlation with its benchmark. The Fund may be subject to large movements of assets into and out of the Fund, potentially resulting in the Fund being over- or underexposed to its benchmark and may be impacted by index reconstitutions and index rebalancing events. Additionally, the Fund’s underlying holdings or reference assets may trade on markets that may not be open on the same day as the Fund, which may cause a difference between the changes in the daily performance of the Fund and changes in the level of the Index.
•Equity and Market Risk — Equity markets are volatile, and the value of securities, swaps, futures and other instruments correlated with equity markets may fluctuate dramatically from day to day. Equity markets are subject to corporate, political, regulatory, market and economic developments, as well as developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market. Further, stocks in the Index may underperform other equity investments. Volatility in the markets and/or market developments may cause the value of an investment in the Fund to decrease over short or long periods of time.
○Large-Cap Company Investment Risk — Although returns on investments in large-cap companies are often perceived as being less volatile than the returns of companies with smaller market capitalizations, the return on large-cap securities could trail the returns on investments in smaller and mid-sized companies for a number of reasons. For example, large-cap companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology, and also may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies.
•Industry Concentration Risk — The Index may have a significant portion of its value in issuers in an industry or group of industries. The Fund will allocate its investments to
approximately the same extent as the Index. As a result, the Fund may be subject to greater market fluctuations than a fund that is more broadly invested across industries. Financial, economic, business, regulatory conditions, and other developments affecting issuers in a particular industry or group of industries will have a greater effect on the Fund, and if securities of the particular industry or group of industries fall out of favor, the Fund could underperform, or its net asset value may be more volatile than, funds that have greater industry diversification.
•Information Technology Industry Risk — Securities of information technology companies may be subject to greater volatility than stocks of companies in other market sectors. Like other technology companies, information technology companies may be affected by intense competition, obsolescence of existing technology, general economic conditions and government regulation and may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. Information technology companies may experience dramatic and often unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for qualified personnel. These companies also are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights, the loss or impairment of which may adversely affect profitability. A small number of companies represent a large portion of the information technology industry as a whole.
•Money Market Instruments Risk — 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 money market funds. To the extent the Fund invests in a money market fund, the Fund will indirectly bear a proportionate share of the money market fund’s fees and expenses.
•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
12 :: INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RELATED RISKS
PROSHARES.COM
vary significantly, such as during periods of market volatility. Investors purchasing and selling shares in the secondary market 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 they 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 consistent with those experienced by Authorized Participants creating and redeeming directly with a Fund. The market price of shares, like the price of any exchange-traded security, 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 a shareholder most wants to sell their shares. The Fund’s investment results are measured based upon the daily NAV of the Fund.
•Early Close/Late Close/Trading Halt Risk — An exchange or market may close early, close late or issue trading halts on specific securities or financial instruments. As a result, the ability to trade certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may disrupt the Fund’s creation and redemption process, potentially affect the price at which the Fund’s shares trade in the secondary market, and/or result in the Fund being unable to trade certain securities or financial instruments at all. 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. If trading in the Fund’s shares are halted, investors may be temporarily unable to trade shares of the Fund.
•Tax Risk — In order to qualify for the special tax treatment accorded a regulated investment company (“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. 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.
•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, for example, stealing or corrupting data maintained digitally and denial of service attacks on websites. Cybersecurity failures or breaches of the Fund’s third party service providers (including, but
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RELATED RISKS :: 13
PROSHARES.COM
not limited to, index providers, the custodian, administrator and transfer agent) or the issuers of securities and/or financial instruments in 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.
•Risk of Global Economic Shock — 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 ongo
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 ongo
ing 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.
•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 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
14 :: INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RELATED RISKS
PROSHARES.COM
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.
•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.
•Portfolio Turnover Risk — The Fund may incur high portfolio turnover to manage the Fund’s investment exposure. Additionally, active market trading of the Fund’s shares may cause more frequent creation or redemption activities that could, in certain circumstances, increase the number of portfolio transactions. High levels of portfolio transactions increase brokerage and other transaction costs and may result in increased taxable capital gains. Each of these factors could have a negative impact on the performance of the Fund.
•Cash Purchases and Redemption Risk — To the extent the Fund effects creations and redemptions in cash rather than in-kind, the Fund may incur certain costs, including transaction costs. The Fund may impose a transaction fee on Authorized Participants in connection with cash purchases and redemptions, however, the transaction fee may not be sufficient to fully offset the related costs. Additionally, cash purchases and redemptions may cause the Fund to recognize taxable gains or losses at disadvantageous times.
•Securities Lending Risk — The Fund may engage in securities lending. Securities lending involves the risk, as with other extensions of credit, that the Fund may lose money because (a) the borrower of the loaned securities fails to return the securities in a timely manner or at all or (b) it loses its rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially. The Fund could also lose money in the event of a decline in the value of collateral provided for loaned securities or a decline in the value of any investments made with cash collateral. These events could also trigger adverse tax consequences for the Fund. In determining whether to lend securities, ProShare Advisors or the Fund’s securities lending agent will consider relevant facts and circumstances, including the creditworthiness of the borrower.
•Trading Risks — The shares of the Fund are listed for trading on the listing exchange identified on the cover of this Pro
spectus, 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.
•Valuation Risk — In certain circumstances (e.g., if ProShare Advisors believes market quotations are not reliable, or a trading halt closes an exchange or market early), ProShare Advisors may, pursuant to procedures approved by the Board of Trustees of the Fund, choose to determine a fair value price as the basis for determining the value of such investment for such day. The fair value of an investment determined by ProShare Advisors may be different from other value determinations of the same investment. Portfolio investments that are valued using techniques other than market quotations, including “fair valued” investments, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their value from one day to the next than would be the case if market quotations were used. In addition, there is no assurance that the Fund could sell a portfolio investment for the value established for it at any time, and it is possible that the Fund would incur a loss because a portfolio investment is sold at a discount to its established value.
Additional Securities, Instruments and Strategies
This section describes additional securities, instruments and strategies that may be utilized by the Fund that are not principal investment strategies of the Fund unless otherwise noted in the Fund’s description of principal strategies in the Fund’s Summary Prospectus. Additional Information about the types of investments that the Fund may make is set forth in the SAI.
In certain circumstances, the Fund may gain exposure to only a representative sample of the securities in the index, which exposure is intended to have aggregate characteristics similar to the index. In addition, the Fund may overweight or underweight certain components contained in its underlying index, or invest in investments not contained in the index but that are designed to provide the requisite exposure to the index.
•Securities Lending — The Fund may lend securities to brokers, dealers and financial organizations under guidelines adopted by the Board. The Fund may loan up to one-third of the value of the Fund’s total assets (including the value of
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RELATED RISKS :: 15
PROSHARES.COM
any collateral received). Each loan may be secured by collateral in the form of cash, Money Market Instruments or U.S. Government securities.
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” 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.
A Precautionary Note to Investment Companies — For purposes of 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.
The derivatives markets are subject to comprehensive statutes, and regulations, including margin requirements. In addition, certain regulators including the CFTC and the exchanges are authorized to take extraordinary actions in the event of a market emergency, including, for example, in respect of the futures markets, the implementation of higher margin requirements, the establishment of daily price limits and the suspension of trading. The regulation of derivative transactions (including swaps and futures transactions) is an evolving area of law and is subject to modification by government and judicial action. The full impact of derivatives regulations on the Fund is difficult to predict, but could be substantial and adverse.
In particular, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) made broad changes to the OTC derivatives market and granted significant authority to regulators, including the SEC and CFTC to regulate OTC derivatives and market participants. The European Union, the United Kingdom, and some other countries have implemented and continue to implement similar requirements that will affect a Fund when it enters into derivatives transactions with a counterparty organized in those jurisdictions or otherwise subject to applicable derivatives regulations. Global derivatives regulations include clearing, trade execution, margin and reporting requirements.
In addition, the SEC has adopted Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act providing for the regulation of registered investment companies’ use of derivatives and certain related instruments. The rule, among other things, limits derivatives exposure through one of two value-at-risk tests and eliminates 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
16 :: INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RELATED RISKS
PROSHARES.COM
(as determined by Rule 18f-4) are not, however, subject to the full requirements under the rule.
Regulations can, among other things, adversely affect the value of the investments held by the Fund, restrict the Fund’s ability to engage in derivatives transactions (for example, by making certain derivatives transactions no longer available to that Fund) and/or increase the costs of such derivatives transactions (for example, by increasing margin or capital requirements), which could adversely affect investors. It is also unclear how regulatory changes will affect counterparty risk. In particular, position limits imposed on the Fund or its counterparties may impact that Fund’s ability to invest in a manner that efficiently meets its investment objective, and requirements, including capital and mandatory clearing for certain swaps, may increase the cost of the Fund’s investments and cost of doing business, which could adversely affect investors. Because these requirements are evolving, their ultimate impact remains unclear.
Additional Information on Underlying Index
The brief description of the index provided in the Summary Prospectus for the Fund is supplemented below:
The Index is designed to replicate the performance of an investment strategy that combines a long position in the S&P 500 Index with a short position in S&P 500 Index daily call options. The long component of the Index consists of the equity securities represented in the S&P 500 Index. The S&P 500 Index is a measure of large-cap U.S. stock market performance. It is a float-adjusted, market capitalization-weighted index of 500 U.S. operating companies and real estate investment trusts selected through a process that factors in criteria such as liquidity, price, market capitalization, financial viability and public float.
The short component of the Index consists of out-of-the-money S&P 500 Index call options having one day to expiration when sold. The short call option position is reestablished at the end of each day. When reestablished, the short call option position size is equivalent to 100% of the long portfolio position size. The options are traded on national securities exchanges.
The options used to effectuate the short component may only be exercised at expiration and are cash-settled. When the option is sold, the seller receives the option premium. At the expiration date, if the price of the S&P 500 Index is above the strike price (“in-the-money”), the option seller must pay the option buyer the difference between the price of the S&P 500 Index and the strike price of the option sold, referred to as the “intrinsic value” of the option. Conversely, if at expiration the price of the S&P 500 Index is at or below the strike price, the option seller is not required to make any payments.
The options have a strike price that is higher than the price of the S&P 500 Index at the time the option is sold. The strike price of the options is determined based on a mathematic formula that takes into consideration the level of the S&P 500 Index and the level of the Cboe VIX Index. The Cboe VIX Index
is constructed and maintained by Cboe Global Indices, LLC. The Cboe VIX Index measures the expectation of stock market volatility over the next 30 days.
The options included in the Index are valued by the index provider using time-weighted average prices. In general, the value of the S&P 500 Index for purposes of strike selection is based on the average price of the S&P 500 Index measured at 15 second intervals over a 10-minute period beginning at 2 p.m. EST. Similarly, the value of options included in the Index for purposes of end-of-day valuation is based on the average price measured at 1 second intervals over a 30 second period beginning immediately prior to close.
The calculation of the Fund’s monthly distribution is intended to generally reflect the dividends and call premiums earned by the Index as measured by the S&P 500 Daily Covered Call Index - Income Only (the “Income Only Sub-Index”). The Income Only Sub-Index measures the amount of cash received by the Index and consists of the option premiums received along with any dividends received from the long position in the S&P 500 Index.
All limits, weights, and caps for any index described herein are as of the most recent index rebalance or reconstitution date. As a result of changes to the price of index components, corporate actions, and other factors, between such dates the index components may not meet those criteria.
Additional Information About the Index, the Index Providers and the Index Calculation Agent
The Fund operates pursuant to licensing agreements for the use of the relevant index. A brief description of the Fund’s index is included in each Summary Prospectus, as supplemented below:
The S&P 500 Daily Covered Call Index (the “Index”) is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC or its affiliates (“SPDJI”), and has been licensed for use by ProShares Trust. S&P® and S&P 500® are registered trademarks of S&P Global, Inc. or its affiliates (“S&P”); Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”); and these trademarks have been licensed for use by SPDJI and sublicensed for certain purposes by ProShares Trust. The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones, S&P, their respective affiliates, or their third party licensors and none of such parties make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in such product(s) nor do they have any liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions of the Index. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones, S&P, any of their respective affiliates (collectively, “S&P Dow Jones Indices”) or their third party licensors. Neither S&P Dow Jones Indices nor their third party licensors make any representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the Fund particularly or the ability of the Index to track general market performance. Past performance of an
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RELATED RISKS :: 17
PROSHARES.COM
index is not an indication or guarantee of future results. S&P Dow Jones Indices’ and their third party licensors only relationship to ProShares Trust with respect to the Index is the licensing of the Index and certain trademarks, service marks and/or trade names of S&P Dow Jones Indices and/or their third party licensors. The Index is determined, composed and calculated by S&P Dow Jones Indices or their third party licensors without regard to ProShares Trust or the Fund. S&P Dow Jones Indices and their third party licensors have no obligation to take the needs of ProShares Trust or the owners of the Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Index. Neither S&P Dow Jones Indices nor their third party licensors are responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the prices, and amount of the Fund or the timing of the issuance or sale of the Fund or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Fund is to be converted into cash, surrendered or redeemed, as the case may be. S&P Dow Jones Indices and their third party licensors have no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Fund. There is no assurance that investment products based on the Index will accurately track index performance or provide positive investment returns. S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC is not an investment adviser, commodity trading advisory, commodity pool operator, broker dealer, fiduciary, promoter” (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended), “expert” as enumerated within 15 U.S.C. § 77k(a) or tax advisor. Inclusion of a security, commodity, crypto currency or other asset within an index is not a recommendation by S&P Dow Jones Indices to buy, sell, or hold such security, commodity, crypto currency or other asset, nor is it considered to be investment advice or commodity trading advice.
NEITHER S&P DOW JONES INDICES NOR THEIR THIRD PARTY LICENSORS GUARANTEES THE ADEQUACY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE INDEX OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO OR ANY COMMU
NICATION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ORAL OR WRITTEN COMMUNICATION (INCLUDING ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS) WITH RESPECT THERETO. S&P DOW JONES INDICES AND THEIR THIRD PARTY LICENSORS SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO ANY DAMAGES OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR DELAYS THEREIN. S&P DOW JONES INDICES AND THEIR THIRD PARTY LICENSORS MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE OR AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY PROSHARES TRUST, OWNERS OF THE FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE INDEX OR WITH RESPECT TO ANY DATA RELATED THERETO. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT WHATSOEVER SHALL S&P DOW JONES INDICES OR THEIR THIRD PARTY LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF PROFITS, TRADING LOSSES, LOST TIME OR GOODWILL, EVEN IF THEY HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. S&P DOW JONES INDICES HAS NOT REVIEWED, PREPARED AND/OR CERTIFIED ANY PORTION OF, NOR DOES S&P DOW JONES INDICES HAVE ANY CONTROL OVER, THE FUND’S REGISTRATION STATEMENT, PROSPECTUS OR OTHER OFFERING MATERIALS. THERE ARE NO THIRD-PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN S&P DOW JONES INDICES AND PROSHARES TRUST, OTHER THAN THE LICENSORS OF S&P DOW JONES INDICES.
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.
MANAGEMENT OF PROSHARES TRUST :: 19
PROSHARES.COM
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 0.55% 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 first report to shareholders that includes the Fund.
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.
Michael Neches, ProShare Advisors: Senior Portfolio Manager since November 2010. ProFunds Advisors LLC: Senior Portfolio Manager since October. ProShare Capital Management LLC: Senior Portfolio Manager from June 2012 through September 2013.
Devin Sullivan, ProShare Advisors: Portfolio Manager since September 2016 and Associate Portfolio Manager from December 2011 to August 2016. ProFund Advisors: Portfolio Manager since September 2016 and Associate Portfolio Manager from December 2011 to August 2016.
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 Prospectus, 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 except as may be otherwise provided by federal or state securities laws.
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. In addition, 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, when the level of
20 :: MANAGEMENT OF PROSHARES TRUST
PROSHARES.COM
the index is not computed as of the close of the U.S. securities markets. 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 ProShares 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 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. See the SAI 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 National Independence Day, 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
The Fund intends to make distributions each month of an amount that generally reflects the dividend and call premium
income earned by the Index. A significant portion of the monthly distribution may be characterized as return of capital for financial reporting and tax purposes. A distribution or a portion of a distribution may be characterized as investment income or net realized capital gains 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 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.
There is no guarantee that the Fund will make distributions or make distributions at regular intervals.
Dividend Reinvestment Services
As noted above under “Distributions”, the Fund may declare a distribution 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 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 elect and intends to qualify each year for treatment as a “regulated investment company” (“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
MANAGEMENT OF PROSHARES TRUST :: 21
PROSHARES.COM
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 options, futures, forward contracts, swap agreements and other derivative financial instruments 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 Internal Revenue Service 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 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 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 can 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 applicable to individual investors, but will not be considered long-term capital gains for other federal income tax purposes, including the calculation of net capital losses.
•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% Medicare 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.
•Distributions in excess of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits will, as to each shareholder, be treated as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of a shareholder’s basis in his shares of the Fund, and as a capital gain thereafter (if the shareholder holds their shares of the Fund as capital assets).
•An investor that purchases shares just before a distribution should note that the purchase price would reflect the amount of the upcoming distribution. In this case, the investor would be taxed on the entire amount of the distribution received, even though, as an economic matter, the distribution simply constitutes a return of your investment. This is known as “buying a dividend” and generally should be avoided by taxable investors.
•A sale or exchange of Fund shares is a taxable event. Assuming a shareholder holds Fund shares as a capital
22 :: MANAGEMENT OF PROSHARES TRUST
PROSHARES.COM
asset, any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Fund shares is generally treated as a long-term gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than twelve months. Any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Fund shares held for twelve months or less is generally treated as short-term gain or loss. Any capital loss on the sale of shares held for six months or less is treated as long-term capital loss to the extent distributions of long-term capital gain were paid (or treated as paid) with respect to such shares. Any loss realized on a sale will be disallowed to the extent shares of a Fund are acquired, including through reinvestment of dividends, within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the disposition of shares. The ability to deduct capital losses may be limited.
•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 securities of foreign corporations, the Fund will be eligible to elect to “pass through” to you foreign income taxes that it has paid. If 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 Internal Revenue Service 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.
MANAGEMENT OF PROSHARES TRUST :: 23
PROSHARES.COM
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.
24
PROSHARES.COM
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.
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
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 December 14, 2023, 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.DEC-23
