497K 1 r919220497k.htm WISDOMTREE EMERGING MARKETS EX-CHINA FUND

 

 

 

 

 

WisdomTree Emerging Markets ex-China Fund – XC (NYSE Arca)

 

 

Summary Prospectus – September 20, 2022

 

Before you invest in the Fund, as defined below, you may want to review the Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information (“SAI”), which contain more information about the Fund and the risks of investing in the Fund. The Fund’s current prospectus and SAI are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus. You can find the Fund’s prospectus and SAI, reports to shareholders, as well as other information about the Fund, online at www.wisdomtree.com/resource-library/prospectus-regulatory-reports. You may also obtain this information at no charge by calling 1-866-909-9473 or by sending an e-mail request to getinfo@wisdomtree.com.

 

Investment Objective

The WisdomTree Emerging Markets ex-China Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the WisdomTree Emerging Markets ex-China Index (the “Index”).

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The following table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below. The fees are expressed as a percentage of the Fund’s average net assets.

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)  
Management Fees 0.32%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees None
Other Expenses 0.00%1
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.32%

1 Other Expenses are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.

 

Example

The following example is intended to help retail investors compare the cost of investing in the Fund shares with the cost of investing in other funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that such investors would incur over various periods if they were to invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of the shares at the end of those periods. This example assumes that the Fund provides a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. This example does not include the brokerage commissions that retail investors may pay to buy and sell shares of the Fund. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

 

  1 Year 3 Years
  $33 $103

 

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 Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.

 

WisdomTree Trust Prospectus     1

 

 

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

The Fund employs a “passive management” – or indexing – investment approach designed to track the performance of the Index. The Fund generally uses a representative sampling strategy to achieve its investment objective, meaning it generally will invest in a sample of the securities in the Index whose risk, return and other characteristics resemble the risk, return and other characteristics of the Index as a whole. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets (exclusive of collateral held from securities lending) will be invested in component securities of the Index and investments that have economic characteristics that are substantially identical to the economic characteristics of such component securities.

 

The Index is a modified float-adjusted market cap weighted index that consists of common stocks issued by companies in emerging markets, excluding companies incorporated or domiciled (i.e., maintain their principal place of business) in China (“Emerging Markets Companies”). The Index also excludes common stocks of “state- owned enterprises”. WisdomTree Investments, Inc. (“WisdomTree Investments”), as Index provider, defines state- owned enterprises as companies with over 20% government ownership.

 

The starting universe for the Index (the “pre-screening universe”) is comprised solely of companies, as of the Index screening date, that: (i) are incorporated or domiciled in one of the following emerging market countries: Brazil, Chile, Czech Republic, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand or Turkey (the “Emerging Market Countries”); (ii) list shares on a stock exchange in one of the Emerging Market Countries or the United States; (iii) have a float-adjusted market capitalization of at least $1 billion (“float-adjusted” means that the share amounts reflect only shares available to investors); (iv) have an average daily dollar trading volume of at least $100,000 for the preceding three months; and (v) trade at least 250,000 shares per month or $25 million notional for each of the preceding six months. The Index is comprised solely of companies in the pre-screening universe that are not state-owned enterprises as of the annual Index screening date.

 

The Index also excludes companies based on environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) criteria. The ESG criteria seeks to exclude from the Index’s eligible investment universe companies that: (i) violate, or are at risk of violating, commonly accepted international norms and standards established by the Global Standards Screening (“GSS”) guidelines of the United Nations Global Compact Principles related to human rights, labor, the environment and corruption; (ii) are involved directly or through corporate ownership in the production and/or distribution of, or the provision of components/services for, core weapon systems; (iii) are significantly involved in the tobacco industry; or (iv) are significantly involved in thermal coal activity.

 

Securities are weighted in the Index based on a modified market cap weighting scheme that adjusts the weight of Index securities from each country to approximate the weight of securities from that country in the pre-screening universe. The weight of Index securities from a single country will not be multiplied by a factor greater than three. After applying the foregoing country weight adjustment, should any sector have a weight that is 3% higher or lower than its pre-screening universe sector weight, such sector’s weight will be adjusted by a factor so that the sector’s weight is 3% higher or lower, respectively, than its pre-screening universe weight. For example, if the market cap weight of Malaysian companies in the pre-screening universe is 2.8% and the market cap weight of Malaysian companies after screening is 0.8%, the Fund will only scale the weight for Malaysian companies 3x to 2.4% instead of 2.8%.

 

Companies that are not state-owned, but are incorporated within countries that have a higher percentage of state- owned companies relative to other Emerging Market Countries, could potentially see higher weights than they would under a normal market cap weighting scheme. Companies that are not state-owned, but are incorporated within countries that have a lower percentage of state-owned companies relative to other Emerging Market Countries, could potentially see lower weights than they would under a normal market cap weighting scheme. Sector and/or country weights may fluctuate above the specified cap or below their adjusted weights in response to market conditions and/or the application of volume factor adjustments (described below) but will be reset at each annual rebalance date.

 

The Index methodology applies a volume factor adjustment to reduce a component security’s weight in the Index and reallocate the reduction in weight pro rata among the other securities if, as of the annual Index screening date, an existing component security no longer meets certain trading volume thresholds.

 

WisdomTree Investments, as Index provider, currently uses Standard & Poor’s Global Industry Classification Standards (“S&P GICS”) to define companies within a sector. The following sectors are included in the Index: consumer discretionary, consumer staples, energy, financials, health care, industrials, information technology, materials, real estate, communication services, and utilities. A sector is comprised of multiple industries. For example, the energy sector is comprised of companies in, among others, the natural gas, oil and petroleum

 

2     WisdomTree Trust Prospectus

 

 

industries. As of the date of this Prospectus, companies in the information technology, financials and materials sectors comprised a significant portion of the Index.

 

To the extent the Index concentrates (i.e., holds 25% or more of its total assets) in the securities of a particular industry or group of industries, the Fund will concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent as the Index.

 

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

You can lose money on your investment in the Fund. The Fund is subject to the risks described below. The risks are generally presented in alphabetical order to facilitate finding particular risks when comparing them with other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value per share (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its objective. For more information about the risks of investing in the Fund, see the sections in the Fund’s Prospectus titled “Additional Principal Risk Information About the Fund” and “Additional Non-Principal Risk Information.”

 

Emerging Markets Risk. Investments in securities and instruments traded in developing or emerging markets, or that provide exposure to such securities or markets, can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions not associated with investments in U.S. securities and instruments or investments in more developed international markets. Such conditions may impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell or otherwise transfer securities, adversely affect the trading market and price for Fund shares and cause the Fund to decline in value.

 

Investment Risk. As with all investments, an investment in the Fund is subject to loss, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount of an investment, over short or long periods of time.

 

Market Risk. The trading prices of equity securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors, such as economic, financial or political events that impact the entire market, market segments, or specific issuers. The Fund’s NAV and market price may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time. In addition, the respiratory illness COVID-19 has spread globally for over a year, resulting in a global pandemic and major disruption to economies and markets around the world, including the United States. During this time, financial markets have experienced extreme volatility and severe losses, and trading in many instruments has been disrupted or suspended. Liquidity for many instruments has been greatly reduced for periods of time. Although many global economies have begun to re-open as infection and hospitalization rates decline, some economies, including those of countries with limited access to COVID-19 vaccines, have struggled to control the spread of the virus and re-open their economies. As a result, it remains unclear how COVID-19 will impact global markets in the future.

 

Shares of the Fund May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The trading prices of the Fund’s shares in the secondary market generally differ from the Fund’s daily NAV and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the NAV (premium) or less than the NAV (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines. Because securities held by the Fund trade on, or have exposure to, foreign exchanges that are closed when the Fund’s primary listing exchange is open, the Fund is likely to experience premiums and discounts greater than those of domestic ETFs. Additionally, in stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings.

 

Capital Controls and Sanctions Risk. Economic conditions, such as volatile currency exchange rates and interest rates, political events, military action and other conditions may, without prior warning, lead to foreign government intervention (including intervention by the U.S. government with respect to foreign governments, economic sectors, foreign companies and related securities and interests) and the imposition of capital controls and/or sanctions, which may also include retaliatory actions of one government against another government, such as seizure of assets. Capital controls and/or sanctions include the prohibition of, or restrictions on, the ability to own or transfer currency, securities or other assets, which may potentially include derivative instruments related thereto. Capital controls and/or sanctions may also impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell, transfer, receive, deliver or otherwise obtain exposure to, foreign securities or currency, negatively impact the value and/or liquidity of such instruments, adversely affect the trading market and price for shares of the Fund, and cause the Fund to decline in value.

 

Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund generally redeems shares for cash or otherwise includes cash as part of its redemption proceeds. The Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments in order to obtain the

 

WisdomTree Trust Prospectus     3

 

 

cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used.

 

Currency Exchange Rate Risk. Changes in currency exchange rates and the relative value of non-U.S. currencies will affect the value of the Fund’s investment and the value of your Fund shares. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may also change quickly, unpredictably, and without warning, and you may lose money.

 

Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be susceptible to operational and information security risks resulting from a breach in cybersecurity, including cyber-attacks. A breach in cybersecurity, intentional or unintentional, may adversely impact the Fund in many ways, including, but not limited to, disruption of the Fund’s operational capacity, loss of proprietary information, theft or corruption of data, denial- of-service attacks on websites or network resources, and the unauthorized release of confidential information. Cyber-attacks affecting the Fund’s third-party service providers, market makers, institutional investors authorized to purchase and redeem shares directly from the Fund (i.e., Authorized Participants), or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cybersecurity breaches.

 

ESG Investing Risk. The Fund’s ESG investment strategy limits the types and number of investment opportunities available to the Fund and, as a result, the Fund may underperform other funds that do not have an ESG focus. The Fund’s ESG investment strategy may result in the Fund investing in securities, industries or sectors that underperform the market as a whole or underperform other funds screened for ESG criteria. In addition, companies selected for inclusion in the Fund may not exhibit positive or favorable ESG characteristics at all times and may shift into and out of favor depending on market and economic conditions.

 

Financials Sector Risk. The Fund currently invests a significant portion of its assets in the financials sector, and therefore, the Fund’s performance could be negatively impacted by events affecting this sector. The financials sector includes, for example, banks and financial institutions providing mortgage and mortgage related services. This sector can be significantly affected by, among other things, changes in interest rates, government regulation, the rate of defaults on corporate, consumer and government debt, the availability and cost of capital, and fallout from the housing and sub-prime mortgage crisis.

 

Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in non-U.S. securities involve political, regulatory, and economic risks that may not be present in U.S. securities. For example, investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations, political or economic instability, or geographic events that adversely impact issuers of foreign securities. Investments in non-U.S. securities also may be subject to withholding or other taxes and may be subject to additional trading, settlement, custodial, and operational risks. These and other factors can make investments in the Fund more volatile and potentially less liquid than other types of investments and may be heightened in connection with investments in developing or emerging markets countries.

 

Geographic Investment Risk. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in securities of companies of a single country or region, it is more likely to be impacted by events or conditions affecting that country or region. The Fund currently invests a significant portion of its assets in companies incorporated and/or domiciled in India, Taiwan, and South Korea, although this may change from time to time.

 

Geopolitical Risk. Some countries and regions in which the Fund invests have experienced security concerns, war, threats of war, aggression and/or conflict, terrorism, economic uncertainty, sanctions or the threat of sanctions, natural and environmental disasters, the spread of infectious illness, widespread disease or other public health issues and/or systemic market dislocations (including due to events outside of such countries or regions) that have led, and in the future may lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on the U.S. and world economies and markets generally, each of which may negatively impact the Fund’s investments.

 

Index and Data Risk. The Fund is not “actively” managed and seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Index. The Index provider has the right to make adjustments to the Index or to cease making the Index available without regard to the particular interests of the Fund or its shareholders. If the computers or other facilities of the Index provider, Index calculation agent, data providers and/or relevant stock exchange malfunction for any reason, calculation and dissemination of Index values may be delayed and trading in Fund shares may be suspended for a period of time. Errors in Index data, Index calculations and/or the construction of the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and/or corrected by the Index

 

4     WisdomTree Trust Prospectus

 

 

provider, Index calculation agent or other applicable party for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. The potential risk of continuing error may be particularly heightened in the case of the Index, which is generally not used as a benchmark by other funds or managers.

 

Information Technology Sector Risk. The Fund currently invests a significant portion of its assets in the information technology sector, and therefore, the Fund’s performance could be negatively impacted by events affecting this sector. The information technology sector includes, for example, internet, semiconductor, software, hardware, and technology equipment companies. This sector can be significantly affected by, among other things, the supply and demand for specific products and services, the pace of technological development, and government regulation.

 

Investment Style Risk. The Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, the Index regardless of their investment merit. The Fund does not attempt to outperform the Index or take defensive positions in declining markets. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to the Index.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the actual or perceived financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.

 

Large-Capitalization Investing Risk. The Fund invests in the securities of large-capitalization companies. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected if securities of these companies underperform securities of smaller capitalization companies or the market as a whole. Large-capitalization companies may adapt more slowly to new competitive challenges and be subject to slower growth during times of economic expansion.

 

Materials Sector Risk. The Fund currently invests a significant portion of its assets in the basic materials sector. This sector includes, for example, metals and mining, chemicals and forest product companies. This sector can be significantly affected by, among other things, commodity price volatility, demand for basic materials, world economic growth, depletion of natural resources, technological progress, and government regulations.

 

Mid-Capitalization Investing Risk. The Fund invests in the securities of mid-capitalization companies. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected if securities of these companies underperform securities of other capitalization ranges or the market as a whole. Securities of mid-capitalization companies are often less stable and more vulnerable to market volatility and adverse economic developments than securities of larger companies, but mid-capitalization companies may also underperform the securities of small-capitalization companies because medium capitalization companies are more mature and are subject to slower growth during economic expansion.

 

Non-Correlation Risk. As with all index funds, the performance of the Fund and its Index may differ from each other for a variety of reasons. When markets are volatile, the ability to sell securities at fair value prices may be adversely impacted and may result in additional trading costs and/or increase the Index tracking risk.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. To the extent the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, the Fund is subject to the risks of investing in those few issuers, and may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence. As a result, changes in the market value of a single security could cause greater fluctuations in the value of Fund shares than would occur in a diversified fund. The Fund may become diversified for periods of time solely as a result of tracking the Index (e.g., changes in weightings of one or more component securities).

 

Fund Performance

The Fund is new and therefore does not have a performance history. Updated performance information for the Fund will be available online on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com.

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser

WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. (“WisdomTree Asset Management” or the “Adviser”) serves as investment adviser to the Fund. Mellon Investments Corporation (the “Sub-Adviser”) serves as sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

WisdomTree Trust Prospectus     5

 

 

Portfolio Managers

The Fund is managed by the Sub-Adviser’s Equity Index Strategies Portfolio Management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio are described below.

 

Marlene Walker-Smith, a Director, Head of Equity Index Portfolio Management, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception.

 

David France, CFA, a Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager and Team Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception.

 

Todd Frysinger, CFA, a Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager and Team Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception.

 

Vlasta Sheremeta, CFA, a Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager and Team Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception.

 

Michael Stoll, a Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager and Team Manager, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception.

 

Buying and Selling Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. This means that individual shares of the Fund are listed on a national securities exchange, such as NYSE Arca and may only be purchased and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). In addition, an investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) when buying and selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid/ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid/ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website at www.wisdomtree.com.

 

The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in large blocks of shares (“Creation Units”), which only certain institutions or large investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities and/or U.S. cash.

 

Tax Information

The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

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

 

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WIS-XC-SUM-0922