485APOS 1 d46497d485apos.htm 485APOS 485APOS

AS FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ON SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

No. 333-147622

No. 811-22148

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM N-1A

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

   THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933  
   Pre-Effective Amendment No.  
   Post-Effective Amendment No. 417  

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

   THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940  
   Amendment No. 418  

(Check appropriate box or boxes)

 

 

Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

 

 

3500 Lacey Road, Suite 700, Downers Grove, Illinois 60515

(Address of Principal Executive Office)

Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code: (800) 983-0903

Adam Henkel, Esquire

3500 Lacey Road, Suite 700, Downers Grove, Illinois 60515

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

 

 

With Copies to:

 

Alan P. Goldberg

Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP

191 rth Wacker Drive, Suite 1601

Chicago, Illinois 60606

 

Eric S. Purple

Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP

2000 K Street, NW, Suite 700

Washington, DC 20006

 

 

 


APPROXIMATE DATE OF PROPOSED PUBLIC OFFERING:

It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box):

 

immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)

on [date] pursuant to paragraph (b)

60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)

on [date] pursuant to paragraph (a)

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

on [date] pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485

If appropriate, check the following box:

 

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

 

 

 


Subject to Completion – dated September 9, 2020

The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

LOGO    Prospectus    [DATE]
   Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust
[ticker]    Invesco US Large Cap Core ESG ETF    [Exchange]

This ETF is different from traditional ETFs.

Traditional ETFs tell the public what assets they hold each day. This ETF will not. This may create additional risks for your investment. For example:

 

   

You may have to pay more money to trade the ETF’s shares. This ETF will provide less information to traders, who tend to charge more for trades when they have less information.

 

   

The price you pay to buy ETF shares on an exchange may not match the value of the ETF’s portfolio. The same is true when you sell shares. These price differences may be greater for this ETF compared to other ETFs because it provides less information to traders.

 

   

These additional risks may be even greater in bad or uncertain market conditions.

 

   

The ETF will publish on its website each day a “Tracking Basket” designed to help trading in shares of the ETF. While the Tracking Basket includes some of the ETF’s holdings, it is not the ETF’s actual portfolio.

The differences between this ETF and other ETFs may also have advantages. By keeping certain information about the ETF secret, this ETF may face less risk that other traders can predict or copy its investment strategy. This may improve the ETF’s performance. If other traders are able to copy or predict the ETF’s investment strategy, however, this may hurt the ETF’s performance.

For additional information regarding the unique attributes and risks of the ETF, see the section “Portfolio Holdings” below.

Beginning on January 1, 2021, as permitted by regulations adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, paper copies of the Fund’s shareholder reports will no longer be sent by mail, unless you specifically request paper copies of the reports from your financial intermediary, such as a broker-dealer or bank. Instead, the reports will be made available on a website, and you will be notified by mail each time a report is posted and provided with a website link to access the report.

If you already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and you need not take any action. If you hold accounts through a financial intermediary, you may contact your financial intermediary to enroll in electronic delivery. Please note that not all financial intermediaries may offer this service.


You may elect to receive all future reports in paper free of charge. If you hold accounts through a financial intermediary, you can follow the instructions included with this disclosure, if applicable, or contact your financial intermediary to request that you continue to receive paper copies of your shareholder reports. Please note that not all financial intermediaries may offer this service. Your election to receive reports in paper will apply to all funds held with your financial intermediary.

 

LOGO

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

 

 

 

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Table of Contents

 

Summary Information

     4  

Additional Information About the Fund’s Strategies and Risks

     9  

Tax Structure of ETFs

     16  

Portfolio Holdings

     16  

Management of the Fund

     17  

How to Buy and Sell Shares

     18  

Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Shares

     19  

Dividends, Other Distributions and Taxes

     20  

Distributor

     22  

Net Asset Value

     22  

Fund Service Providers

     23  

Financial Highlights

     23  

Fund Metrics and Related Information

     23  

Other Information

     23  

 

 

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[ticker]    Invesco US Large Cap Core ESG ETF

 

 

 

 

Summary Information

Investment Objective

Invesco US Large Cap Core ESG ETF (the “Fund”) seeks capital appreciation.

Fund Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). Investors may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table or in the example below.

 

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

 

(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

  

Management Fees

     [___ ]% 

Other Expenses(1)

     [___ ]% 

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

     [___ ]% 

 

(1)

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

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds.

This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. This example does not include the brokerage commissions that investors may pay to buy and sell Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, your costs, based on these assumptions, would be:

 

1 Year

   3 Years  

$[___]

   $ [___

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it purchases and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate will cause the Fund to incur additional transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, may affect the Fund’s performance. As of the date of this Prospectus, the Fund has not yet commenced operations and portfolio turnover data therefore is not available.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that invests, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in exchange-traded equity securities of U.S. large capitalization issuers. Additionally, the Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing mainly in common stock of U.S. companies that meet high environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) standards, as determined by the Fund’s sub-adviser, Invesco Adviser’s Inc. (the “Sub-Adviser”) through the process described below.

The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in common stock of foreign issuers, including up to 10% of its net assets in emerging markets countries, i.e., those that are in the early stages of their industrial cycles. The Fund may make such investment in common stock of foreign issuers by either: (i) investing directly in common stock listed on a foreign exchange that trades on such exchange contemporaneously with the Fund’s Shares; or (ii) investing in exchange-traded American depositary receipts (“ADRs”) representing common stock trading on any foreign exchange.

The Sub-Adviser utilizes fundamental research to select securities for the Fund’s portfolio, which is comprised of both growth and value stocks. In selecting the Fund’s portfolio investments, the portfolio managers also actively employ ESG criteria in the investment selection process described below.

 

 

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In general, the portfolio managers utilize a fundamental approach in analyzing issuers on factors such as a company’s financial performance, company strength and prospects, industry position, and business model and management strength. Industry outlook, market trends and general economic conditions may also be considered.

Additionally, as part of the portfolio construction process, the Fund employs a proprietary framework for evaluating each issuer based on ESG criteria that the portfolio managers have determined to be important in the investment selection process. The Fund’s ESG methodology actively utilizes both proprietary and third party ESG indicators, as well as ESG exclusionary screens to construct the Fund’s portfolio. The portfolio managers integrate qualitative research in an effort to assess an issuer’s impact on the environment, society and communities, and soundness of corporate governance practices.

Under normal market conditions, the Sub-Adviser will employ the following process to assess investment opportunities for the Fund’s portfolio: The portfolio managers first employ ESG product and service screens to exclude issuers from the investment universe of securities in which the Fund may invest. Such screens include substantial involvement in the production of tobacco products, controversial weapons, engagement in cultivation, production or distribution of recreational cannabis, extraction of thermal coal, and extraction of fossil fuels from unconventional sources, among other exclusionary criteria. Issuers will also be excluded based on their non-compliance with United Nations (“UN”) Global Compact principles. The principles of the UN Global Compact represent a set of values that the UN believes responsible businesses should incorporate into their operations in order to meet fundamental responsibilities in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. To the extent an issuer’s status changes to meet the qualification for exclusion, the Fund shall take steps to divest its holdings of the issuer within a reasonable period of time. This screening criteria may be updated periodically.

Next, based on research and due diligence, each investment opportunity is evaluated by the investment team related to multiple ESG factors under each individual pillar of the ESG framework. The environmental topics (“E”) include energy management, environmental management systems, toxic emissions, water management, low carbon transition and carbon emissions. The social topics (“S”) include employee relations, health and safety, workforce retention and product quality and safety. The governance topic (“G”) include business ethics, board composition, compensation and alignment, audit and shareholder rights, tax transparency. The foregoing factors in each ESG topics may be updated periodically.

Each investment opportunity is assigned a weighted average score for individual ESG topics. An overall aggregated, or composite, ESG score is also calculated, with pillars weighted differently depending on the industry. These scores are determined at the time of purchase and reviewed at least annually. The Fund will not invest in securities from issuers that have a composite ESG rating exceeding certain negative levels and will seek to divest within a reasonable period of time from investments for which the aggregate ESG rating deteriorates beyond such limits.

The portfolio managers use the following sell criteria: the stock price is approaching its target, the stock’s ESG attributes have degraded, deterioration in the company’s competitive position, poor execution by the company’s management, or identification of more attractive alternative investment ideas.

The Fund aims to maintain a portfolio of securities broadly spread across major economic sectors by applying investment parameters for both sector and position size.

The Fund is “non-diversified” and, therefore, is not required to meet certain diversification requirements under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

 

 

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The following summarizes the principal risks of the Fund.

The Shares will change in value, and you could lose money by investing in the Fund. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective.

Equity Risk. Equity risk is the risk that the value of equity securities, including common stocks, may fall due to both changes in general economic conditions that impact the market as a whole, as well as factors that directly relate to a specific company or its industry. Such general economic conditions include changes in interest rates, periods of market turbulence or instability, or general and prolonged periods of economic decline and cyclical change. It is possible that a drop in the stock market may depress the price of most or all of the common stocks that the Fund holds. In addition, equity risk includes the risk that investor sentiment toward one or more industries will become negative, resulting in those investors exiting their investments in those industries, which could cause a reduction in the value of companies in those industries more broadly. The value of a company’s common stock may fall solely because of factors, such as an increase in production costs, that negatively impact other companies in the same region, industry or sector of the market. A company’s common stock also may decline significantly in price over a short period of time due to factors specific to that company, including decisions made by its management or lower demand for the company’s products or services. For example, an adverse event, such as an unfavorable earnings report or the failure to make anticipated dividend payments, may depress the value of common stock.

ESG Investing Strategy Risk. The stocks of companies with favorable ESG practices may underperform the stock market as a whole. As a result, the Fund may underperform other funds that do not screen companies based on ESG practices. The criteria used to select companies for investment 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 standards.

Growth Risk. The market values of “growth” securities may be more volatile than other types of investments. The returns on “growth” securities may or may not move in tandem with the returns on other styles of investing or the overall stock market. Growth securities typically invest a high portion of their earnings back into their business and may lack the dividend yield that could cushion their decline in a market downturn. Thus, the value of the Fund’s investments will vary and at times may be lower than that of other types of investments.

Value Risk. Value securities are subject to the risk that valuations never improve or that the returns on value securities are less than returns on other styles of investing or the overall stock market. Thus, the value of the Fund’s investments will vary and at times may be lower or higher than that of other types of investments.

Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. In managing the Fund’s portfolio holdings, the Sub-Adviser applies investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the Fund, but there can be no guarantee that these actions will produce the desired results.

Non-Transparent Actively Managed Fund Risk. Unlike other actively managed ETFs, which publicly disclose the composition of their portfolios each day that their exchange is open for regular trading (a “Business Day”), the Fund does not publicly disclose the composition of its portfolio each Business Day, which may affect the price at which Shares trade in the secondary market. The Fund instead publishes each Business Day on its website a “Tracking Basket,” which is designed to closely track the daily performance of the Fund but is not the Fund’s actual portfolio. The Tracking Basket is comprised of: (1) select recently disclosed portfolio holdings (“Strategy Components”); (2) ETFs that convey information about the types of instruments (that are not otherwise fully represented by the Strategy Components) in which the Fund invests (“Representative ETFs”); and (3) cash and cash equivalents. The Fund also publishes each Business Day on its website the “Tracking Basket Weight Overlap,” which is the percentage weight overlap between the holdings of the prior Business Day’s Tracking Basket compared to the holdings of the Fund that formed the basis for the Fund’s calculation of net asset value (“NAV”) per share at the end of the prior Business Day. The Tracking Basket Weight Overlap is designed to provide investors with an understanding of how similar the Tracking Basket is to the Fund’s actual portfolio in percentage terms.

Given the differences between the Fund and ETFs that disclose their complete holdings daily, there is a risk that market prices of the Fund may vary significantly from NAV, and that the Shares may trade at a

 

 

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wider bid/ask spread – and therefore cost investors more to trade – than shares of other ETFs. These risks are heightened during periods of market disruption or volatility. In addition, although the Fund seeks to benefit from keeping its portfolio information secret, market participants may attempt to use the Tracking Basket to identify the Fund’s trading strategy. If successful, this could result in such market participants engaging in certain predatory trading practices that may have the potential to harm the Fund and its shareholders, such as front running the Fund’s trades of portfolio securities.

Foreign Investment Risk. Investments in the securities of non-U.S. issuers involve risks beyond those associated with investments in U.S. securities. Foreign securities may have relatively low market liquidity, greater market volatility, decreased publicly available information and less reliable financial information about issuers, and inconsistent and potentially less stringent accounting, auditing and financial reporting requirements and standards of practice comparable to those applicable to domestic issuers. Foreign securities also are subject to the risks of expropriation, nationalization, political instability or other adverse political or economic developments and the difficulty of enforcing obligations in other countries. Investments in foreign securities also may be subject to dividend withholding or confiscatory taxes, currency blockage and/or transfer restrictions and higher transactional costs. As the Fund will invest in securities denominated in foreign currencies, fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to the values of other currencies may adversely affect investments in foreign securities and may negatively impact the Fund’s returns.

ADR Risk. ADRs are certificates that evidence ownership of shares of a foreign issuer and are alternatives to purchasing the underlying foreign securities directly in their national markets and currencies. ADRs may be subject to certain of the risks associated with direct investments in the securities of foreign companies, such as currency, political, economic and market risks, because their values depend on the performance of the non-dollar denominated underlying foreign securities. Moreover, ADRs may not track the price of the underlying foreign securities on which they are based, and their value may change materially at times when U.S. markets are not open for trading.

Emerging Markets Investment Risk. Investments in the securities of issuers in emerging market countries involve risks often not associated with investments in the securities of issuers in developed countries. Securities in emerging markets may be subject to greater price fluctuations than securities in more developed markets. Fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to the values of other currencies may adversely affect investments in emerging market securities, and emerging market securities may have relatively low market liquidity, decreased publicly available information about issuers, and inconsistent and potentially less stringent accounting, auditing and financial reporting requirements and standards of practice comparable to those applicable to domestic issuers. Emerging market securities also are subject to the risks of expropriation, nationalization or other adverse political or economic developments and the difficulty of enforcing obligations in other countries. Investments in emerging market securities also may be subject to dividend withholding or confiscatory taxes, currency blockage and/or transfer restrictions. Emerging markets usually are subject to greater market volatility, lower trading volume, political and economic instability, uncertainty regarding the existence of trading markets and more governmental limitations on foreign investment than are more developed markets. Securities law in many emerging market countries is relatively new and unsettled. Therefore, laws regarding foreign investment in emerging market securities, securities regulation, title to securities, and shareholder rights may change quickly and unpredictably. In addition, the enforcement of systems of taxation at federal, regional and local levels in emerging market countries may be inconsistent and subject to sudden change.

Non-Diversified Fund Risk. Because the Fund is non-diversified and can invest a greater portion of its assets in securities of individual issuers than a diversified fund, changes in the market value of a single investment could cause greater fluctuations in Share price than would occur in a diversified fund. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively small number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.

Issuer-Specific Changes Risk. The value of an individual holding, or particular asset class or type of instrument may be more volatile than the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of the market as a whole.

Active Trading Risk. Active trading of portfolio securities may result in added expenses, a lower return and increased tax liability.

Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only authorized participants (“APs”) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as APs and such APs have no obligation to submit creation or redemption orders. Consequently, there is no assurance that APs will establish or maintain an active trading market for the Shares. This risk may be heightened to the extent that securities held by the Fund are traded outside a collateralized settlement system. In that case, APs may be required to post collateral on certain trades on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants), which only a limited number of APs may be able to do. In addition, to the extent that APs exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other AP is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units (as defined below), this may result in a significantly diminished trading market for Shares, and Shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to the Fund’s NAV and to face trading halts and/or delisting. Investments in non-U.S. securities, which may have lower trading volumes, may increase this risk.

Large Shareholder Risk. Certain shareholders, including a third party investor, the Fund’s investment adviser or an affiliate of the investment adviser, an AP, a lead market maker, or another entity, may from time to time own a substantial amount of Shares, or may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a limited period of time solely to facilitate commencement of the Fund or to facilitate the Fund’s achieving a specified size or scale. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder would not redeem its investment, that the size of the Fund would be maintained at such levels or that the Fund would continue to meet applicable listing requirements. Redemptions by large shareholders could have a significant negative impact on the Fund. Similarly, to the extent the Fund permits cash purchases, large purchases of Shares may adversely affect the Fund’s performance to the extent that the Fund is delayed in investing new cash and is required to maintain a larger cash position than it ordinarily would. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the exchange and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the Shares. To the extent the Fund permits redemptions in cash, the Fund may hold a relatively large proportion of its assets in cash in anticipation of large redemptions, diluting its investment returns.

Market Risk. Securities held by the Fund are subject to market fluctuations. You should anticipate that the value of the Shares will decline, more or less, in correlation with any decline in value of the holdings in the Fund’s portfolio.

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

Arbitrage Risk. Unlike ETFs that publicly disclose their complete portfolio holdings each Business Day, the Fund provides certain other information intended to allow market participants to estimate the value of positions in Shares. Although this information is designed to facilitate arbitrage opportunities in Shares to reduce bid/ask spreads and minimize discounts or premiums between the market price and NAV of the

 

 

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Shares, there is no guarantee the Fund’s arbitrage mechanism will operate as intended and that the Fund will not experience wide bid/ask spreads and/or large discounts or premiums to NAV.

Operational Risk. The Fund is exposed to operational risks arising from a number of factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund and the investment adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.

Performance

As of the date of this Prospectus, the Fund has not commenced operations and therefore does not have a performance history. Once available, the Fund’s performance information will be accessible on the Fund’s website at www.invesco.com/ETFs and will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund.

Management of the Fund

Investment Adviser. Invesco Capital Management LLC (the “Adviser”).

Investment Sub-Adviser. Invesco Advisers, Inc. (the “Sub-Adviser”).

Portfolio Managers. The following individuals are responsible jointly and primarily for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio:

 

Name    Title with Sub-Adviser   

Date Began

Managing the Fund

Mani Govil    Portfolio Manager (Lead) of the Sub-Adviser    Since Inception
Benjamin Ram    Portfolio Manager of the Sub-Adviser    Since Inception
Paul Larson    Portfolio Manager of the Sub-Adviser    Since Inception

Purchase and Sale of Shares

The Fund is an actively-managed ETF that will not disclose its complete portfolio holdings daily. The Fund will issue and redeem Shares at NAV only with APs and only in large blocks of Shares (each block of Shares is called a “Creation Unit”) or multiples thereof (“Creation Unit Aggregations”), generally in-kind in exchange for the Strategy Components included in the Fund’s Tracking Basket, together with an amount of cash corresponding to the value of the Representative ETFs and cash and cash equivalents that form the remainder of the Tracking Basket. However, the Fund also reserves the right to permit or require Creation Units to be issued in exchange solely for cash and/or cash equivalents. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the Shares are not redeemable securities of the Fund.

Individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market (i.e., on a national securities exchange) through a broker or a dealer at a market price. Because the Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (at a premium), at NAV, or less than NAV (at a discount). 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 or selling Shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”).

Recent information, including information on the Fund’s NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads, is available online at www.invesco.com/ETFs.

Tax Information

The Fund’s distributions generally are taxed as ordinary income, capital gains or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case your distributions may be taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn from such account.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund’s distributor or its related companies may pay the intermediary for certain Fund-related activities, including those that are designed to make the intermediary more knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, such as the Fund, as well as for marketing, education or other initiatives related to the sale or

 

 

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promotion of Fund shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson or financial adviser to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or financial adviser or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

Additional Information About the Fund’s Strategies and Risks

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund is an actively managed ETF that invests, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in exchange-traded equity securities of U.S. large capitalization issuers. Additionally, the Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing mainly in common stock of U.S. companies that meet high environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) standards, as determined by the Sub-Adviser through the process described below.

[The Fund deems an issuer to be a U.S. issuer if (i) its principal securities trading market (i.e., a U.S. stock exchange, NASDAQ or over-the-counter markets) is in the U.S.; (ii) it (alone or through its consolidated subsidiaries) derives 50% or more of its annual revenue from either goods produced, sales made or services performed in the U.S.; or (iii) it is organized under the laws of, or has a principal office in, the U.S.]

The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in common stock of foreign issuers, including up to 10% of its net assets in emerging markets countries, i.e., those that are in the early stages of their industrial cycles. The Fund may make such investment in common stock of foreign issuers by either: (i) investing directly in common stock listed on a foreign exchange that trades on such exchange contemporaneously with the Fund’s Shares; or (ii) investing in exchange-traded ADRs representing common stock trading on any foreign exchange.

The Sub-Adviser utilizes fundamental research to select securities for the Fund’s portfolio, which is comprised of both growth and value stocks. In selecting the Fund’s portfolio investments, the portfolio managers also actively employ ESG criteria in the investment selection process described below.

In general, the portfolio managers utilize a fundamental approach in analyzing issuers on factors such as a company’s financial performance, company strength and prospects, industry position, and business model and management strength. Industry outlook, market trends and general economic conditions may also be considered.

Additionally, as part of the portfolio construction process, the Fund employs a proprietary framework for evaluating each issuer based on ESG criteria that the portfolio managers have determined to be important in the investment selection process. The Fund’s ESG methodology actively utilizes both proprietary and third party ESG indicators, as well as ESG exclusionary screens to construct the Fund’s portfolio. The portfolio managers integrate qualitative research in an effort to assess an issuer’s impact on the environment, society and communities, and soundness of corporate governance practices.

Under normal market conditions, the Sub-Adviser will employ the following process to assess investment opportunities for the Fund’s portfolio: The portfolio managers first employ ESG product and service screens to exclude issuers from the investment universe of securities in which the Fund may invest. Such screens include substantial involvement in the production of tobacco products, controversial weapons, engagement in cultivation, production or distribution of recreational cannabis, extraction of thermal coal, and extraction of fossil fuels from unconventional sources, among other exclusionary criteria. Issuers will also be excluded based on their non-compliance with UN Global Compact principles. The principles of the UN Global Compact represent a set of values that the UN believes responsible businesses should incorporate into their operations in order to meet fundamental responsibilities in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. To the extent an issuer’s status changes to meet the qualification for exclusion, the Fund shall take steps to divest its holdings of the issuer within a reasonable period of time. This screening criteria may be updated periodically.

Next, based on research and due diligence, each investment opportunity is evaluated by the investment team related to multiple ESG factors under each individual pillar of the ESG framework. The environmental topics (“E”) include energy management, environmental management systems, toxic emissions, water management, low carbon transition and carbon emissions. The social topics (“S”) include employee relations, health and safety, workforce retention and product quality and safety. The governance topic (“G”) include business ethics, board composition, compensation and alignment, audit and shareholder rights, tax transparency. The foregoing factors in each ESG topics may be updated periodically.

Each investment opportunity is assigned a weighted average score for individual ESG topics. An overall aggregated, or composite, ESG score is also calculated, with pillars weighted differently depending on the industry. These scores are determined at the time of purchase and reviewed at least annually. The Fund will not invest in securities from issuers that have a composite ESG rating exceeding certain negative levels and will seek to divest within a reasonable period of time from investments for which the aggregate ESG rating deteriorates beyond such limits.

The portfolio managers use the following sell criteria: the stock price is approaching its target, the stock’s ESG attributes have degraded, deterioration in the company’s competitive position, poor execution by the company’s management, or identification of more attractive alternative investment ideas.

The Fund aims to maintain a portfolio of securities broadly spread across major economic sectors by applying investment parameters for both sector and position size. The Fund is “non-diversified” and, therefore, is not required to meet certain diversification requirements under the 1940 Act.

 

 

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In anticipation of or in response to market, economic, political, or other conditions, the Fund’s portfolio managers may temporarily use a different investment strategy for defensive purposes. If the Fund’s portfolio managers do so, different factors could affect the Fund’s performance and the Fund may not achieve its investment objective.

The Fund’s investments in the types of securities and other investments described in this prospectus vary from time to time, and, at any time, the Fund may not be invested in all of the types of securities and other investments described in this prospectus. The Fund may also invest in securities and other investments not described in this prospectus. For more information, please refer to the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).

Cash Management and Temporary Defensive Strategies

The Fund may take a temporary defensive position and hold a portion of its assets in cash or cash equivalents comprised of short-term U.S. Treasury Securities, repurchase agreements, and government money market funds (including government money market funds affiliated with the Fund) for cash management purposes or if there are inadequate investment opportunities available due to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions, or atypical circumstances such as unusually large cash inflows or redemptions. By making such defensive investments, the Sub-Adviser may help the Fund avoid losses in the event of falling market prices and provide liquidity to make additional investments, but this may mean lost investment opportunities in a period of rising market prices. During these periods, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective.

The Fund’s investment in such assets will be subject to market appreciation or depreciation and the Fund will bear any loss on such investment. While the Fund will incur expenses associated with its investment in government money market funds, the Adviser has agreed to waive certain fees it receives from the Fund in an amount equal to the indirect management fees that the Fund incurs through investments in affiliated government money market funds (see the section titled “Management of the Fund” below).

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

The following provides additional information regarding certain of the principal risks identified under “Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund” in the Fund’s “Summary Information” section. Any of the following risks may impact the Fund’s NAV, which could result in the Fund trading at a premium or discount to NAV.

Equity Risk. Equity risk is the risk that the value of equity securities, including common stocks, will fall. The value of an equity security may fall due to changes in general economic conditions that impact the market as a whole and that are relatively unrelated to an issuer or its industry. These conditions include changes in interest rates, specific periods of overall market turbulence or instability, or general and prolonged periods of economic decline and cyclical change. An issuer’s common stock in particular may be especially sensitive to, and more adversely affected by, these general movements in the stock market; it is possible that a drop in the stock market may depress the price of most or all of the common stocks that the Fund holds.

 

 

  10  

 


In addition, equity risk includes the risk that investor sentiment toward, and perceptions regarding, particular industries or economic sectors will become negative. Price changes of equity securities may occur in a particular region, industry, or sector of the market, and as a result, the value of an issuer’s common stock may fall solely because of factors, such as increases in production costs, that negatively impact other companies in the same industry or in a number of different industries.

Equity risk also includes the financial risks of a specific company, including that the value of the company’s securities may fall as a result of factors directly relating to that company, such as decisions made by its management or lower demand for the company’s products or services. In particular, the common stock of a company may decline significantly in price over short periods of time. For example, an adverse event, such as an unfavorable earnings report, may depress the value of common stock; similarly, the common stock of an issuer may decline in price if the issuer fails to make anticipated dividend payments because, among other reasons, the issuer experiences a decline in its financial condition.

ESG Investing Strategy Risk. The stocks of companies with favorable ESG practices may underperform the stock market as a whole. As a result, the Fund may underperform other funds that do not screen companies based on ESG practices. The criteria used to select companies for investment 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 standards.

Growth Risk. Growth stocks generally are priced higher than non-growth stocks, in relation to the issuer’s earnings and other measures, because investors believe they have greater growth potential. However, there is no guarantee that such an issuer will realize that growth potential. In addition, the market values of “growth” common stocks may be more volatile than other types of investments, and therefore such stocks may be more susceptible to rapid price swings, especially during periods of economic uncertainty or in response to adverse news about the condition of the issuer, such as earnings disappointments. The returns on “growth” common stocks may or may not move in tandem with the returns on other styles of investing or the overall stock market. “Growth” stocks may fall out of favor and trail the returns of other styles of investing. Growth stocks also may be more adversely affected in a down market, as growth stocks typically have little or no dividend income to absorb the effect of adverse market conditions.

Value Risk. A value style of investing focuses on undervalued companies with characteristics for improved valuations. “Value” securities are subject to the risk that valuations never improve or that the returns on “value” securities are less than returns on other styles of investing or the overall stock market. Thus, the value of the Fund’s investments will vary and at times may be lower or higher than that of other types of investments. Historically, value investments have performed best during periods of economic recovery. Therefore, the value investing style may over time go in and out of favor. Value stocks also may decline in price, even though in theory they are already underpriced.

Management Risk. Actively managed portfolios are subject to management risk. In managing portfolio securities of actively managed funds, an investment adviser applies investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions, but there can be no guarantee that they will produce the desired results.

Non-Transparent Actively Managed Fund Risk. Unlike other actively managed ETFs, the Fund does not publicly disclose the composition of its portfolio each Business Day, which may affect the price at which Shares trade in the secondary market. The Fund instead publishes each Business Day on its website a “Tracking Basket,” which is designed to closely track the daily performance of the Fund but is not the Fund’s actual portfolio. The Tracking Basket is comprised of: (1) Strategy Components; (2) Representative ETFs; and (3) cash and cash equivalents. The Fund also publishes each Business Day on its website the “Tracking Basket Weight Overlap,” which is the percentage weight overlap between the holdings of the prior Business Day’s Tracking Basket compared to the holdings of the Fund that formed the basis for the Fund’s calculation of NAV per share at the end of the prior Business Day. The Tracking Basket Weight Overlap is designed to provide investors with an understanding of how similar the Tracking Basket is to the Fund’s actual portfolio in percentage terms.

Given the differences between the Fund and ETFs that disclose their complete holdings daily, there is a risk that market prices of the Fund may vary significantly from NAV, and that the Shares may trade at a wider bid/ask spread – and therefore cost investors more to trade – than shares of other ETFs. These risks are heightened during periods of market disruption or volatility. In addition, although the Fund seeks to benefit from keeping its portfolio information secret, market participants may attempt to use the Tracking

 

 

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Basket to identify the Fund’s trading strategy. If successful, this could result in such market participants engaging in certain predatory trading practices that may have the potential to harm the Fund and its shareholders, such as front running the Fund’s trades of portfolio securities.

Foreign and Emerging Markets Investment Risk. Investments in foreign securities involve risks that are beyond those associated with investments in U.S. securities, and investments in securities of issuers in emerging market countries involve risks not often associated with investments in securities of issuers in developed countries. Fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to the values of other currencies may adversely affect investments in foreign and emerging market securities, and foreign and emerging market securities may have relatively low market liquidity, decreased publicly available information about issuers, and inconsistent and potentially less stringent accounting, auditing and financial reporting requirements and standards of practice comparable to those applicable to issuers in developed countries.

Foreign and emerging market securities also are subject to the risks of expropriation, nationalization or other adverse political or economic developments and the difficulty of enforcing obligations in other countries. Investments in foreign and emerging market securities also may be subject to dividend withholding or confiscatory taxes, currency blockage and/or transfer restrictions and higher transactional costs. Emerging markets are subject to greater market volatility, lower trading volume, political and economic instability, uncertainty regarding the existence of trading markets and more governmental limitations on foreign investment than more developed markets. In addition, securities in emerging markets may be subject to greater price fluctuations than securities in more developed markets. Securities law in many emerging market countries is relatively new and unsettled. Therefore, laws regarding foreign investment in emerging market securities, securities regulation, title to securities, and shareholder rights may change quickly and unpredictably. In addition, the enforcement of systems of taxation at federal, regional and local levels in emerging market countries may be inconsistent and subject to sudden change. Each country has different laws specific to that country that impact investment, which may increase the risks to which investors are subject. Country-specific rules or legislation addressing investment-related transactions may inhibit or prevent certain transactions from transpiring in a particular country.

Furthermore, foreign exchanges and broker-dealers generally are subject to less government and exchange scrutiny and regulation than their U.S. counterparts. Differences in clearance and settlement procedures in foreign markets may cause delays in settlement of a fund’s trades effected in those markets and could result in losses to the fund due to subsequent declines in the value of the securities subject to the trades. Depositary receipts also involve substantially identical risks to those associated with investments in foreign securities. Additionally, the issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, have no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities.

ADR Risk. ADRs are certificates that evidence ownership of shares of a foreign issuer and are alternatives to purchasing the underlying foreign securities directly in their national markets and currencies. ADRs may be subject to certain of the risks associated with direct investments in the securities of foreign companies, such as currency, political, economic and market risks, because their values depend on the performance of the non-dollar denominated underlying foreign securities. Moreover, ADRs may not track the price of the underlying foreign securities on which they are based, and their value may change materially at times when U.S. markets are not open for trading.

Non-Diversified Fund Risk. Because the Fund is considered non-diversified and can invest a greater portion of its assets in securities of individual issuers than a diversified fund, changes in the market value of a single investment could cause greater fluctuations in Share price than would occur in a diversified fund. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively small number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.

Issuer-Specific Changes Risk. The performance of the Fund depends on the performance of individual holdings. The value of an individual holding, or particular asset class or type of instrument may be more volatile than the market as a whole and may perform worse than the market as a whole, causing the value to decline. Poor performance may be caused by poor management decisions, competitive pressures, changes in technology, expiration of patent protection, disruptions in supply, labor problems or shortages, corporate restructurings, fraudulent disclosures or other factors. Issuers may, in times of distress or at their own discretion, decide to reduce or eliminate dividends, which may also cause their stock prices to decline.

Active Trading Risk. Active trading of portfolio securities may result in added expenses, a lower return and increased tax liability. Specifically, active trading of portfolio securities may result in high brokerage costs, which may lower the Fund’s actual return. Active trading also may increase the proportion of the Fund’s gains that are short-term capital gains, which are treated as ordinary income and taxed at a higher rate than long-term gains.

Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only APs may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that may act as APs, and such APs have no obligation to submit creation or redemption orders. Consequently, there is no assurance that APs will establish or maintain an active trading market for the Shares. The risk may be heightened to the extent that securities held by the Fund are traded outside a collateralized settlement system. In that case, APs may be required to post collateral on certain trades on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants), which only a limited number of APs may be able to do. In addition, to the extent that APs exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other AP is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units, this may result in a significantly diminished trading market for Shares, and Shares may be more likely to trade at a premium or discount to NAV and to face trading halts and/or delisting. Investments in non-U.S. securities, which may have lower trading volumes, may increase this risk.

Large Shareholder Risk. Certain shareholders, including a third party investor, the Fund’s investment adviser or an affiliate of the investment adviser, an AP, a lead market maker, or another entity, may from time to time own a substantial amount of Shares or may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a limited period of time solely to facilitate commencement of the Fund or to facilitate the Fund’s achieving a specified size or scale. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder would not redeem its investment, that the size of the Fund would be maintained at such levels or that the Fund would continue to meet applicable listing requirements. Redemptions by large shareholders could have a significant negative impact on the Fund. Similarly, to the extent the Fund permits cash purchases, large purchases of Shares may adversely affect the Fund’s performance to the extent that the Fund is delayed in investing new cash and is required to maintain a larger cash position than it ordinarily would. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the Exchange and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the Shares. To the extent the Fund permits redemptions in cash, the Fund may hold a relatively large proportion of its assets in cash in anticipation of large redemptions, diluting its investment returns.

Market Risk. The Fund’s holdings are subject to market fluctuations, and the Fund could lose money due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during market downturns. You should anticipate that the value of the Shares will decline, more or less, in correlation with any decline in value of the holdings in the Fund’s portfolio. The value of an asset may decline due to general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the issuer or due to factors that affect a particular industry or group of industries. During a general downturn in the securities markets, multiple asset classes may be negatively affected.

 

 

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Market Trading Risk. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including losses from trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility and disruption in the creation/redemption process. Although Shares are listed for trading on a securities exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for Shares will develop or be maintained by market makers or APs, that Shares will continue to trade on an exchange or that Shares will continue to meet the requirements for listing on an exchange. Any of these factors, among others, may lead to Shares trading at a premium or discount to the Fund’s NAV. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods. Further, the Fund may experience low trading volume and wide bid/ask spreads. Bid/ask spreads vary over time based on trading volume and market liquidity (including for the underlying securities held by the Fund) and are generally lower if Shares have more trading volume and market liquidity and higher if Shares have little trading volume and market liquidity. Additionally, in stressed market conditions, the market for Shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the Fund’s portfolio holdings, which may cause a variance in the market price of the Shares and their underlying value.

Arbitrage Risk. Unlike ETFs that publicly disclose their complete portfolio holdings each Business Day, the Fund discloses the Tracking Basket and Tracking Basket Weight Overlap, which is intended to allow market participants to estimate the value of positions in the Shares. Although this information is designed to facilitate arbitrage opportunities in the Shares to reduce bid/ask spreads and minimize discounts or premiums between the market price and NAV of Shares, there is no guarantee the Fund’s arbitrage mechanism will operate as intended and that the Fund will not experience wide bid/ask spreads and/or large discounts or premiums to NAV. In addition, market participants may attempt to use the disclosed information to “reverse engineer” the Fund’s trading strategy, which, if successful, could increase opportunities for predatory trading practices that may have the potential to negatively impact the Fund’s performance. These practices may include front running (trading ahead of the Fund) or free riding (mirroring the Fund’s strategies).

Operational Risk. The Fund is exposed to operational risks arising from a number of factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund and the investment adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.

Non-Principal Investment Strategies

[In addition to the principal investments discussed above, the Fund may, in pursuing its investment objective, invest its assets in other ETFs and exchange-traded notes, as well as preferred stocks, real estate investment trusts, commodity pools and currency trusts that are exchange-traded. The Fund also may invest in short-term U.S. Treasury securities, government money market funds, repurchase agreements and other funds, including affiliated funds, that invest exclusively in money market instruments (subject to applicable limitations under the 1940 Act or exemptions therefrom).]

In accordance with 1940 Act rules, the Fund has adopted a policy to invest at least 80% of the value of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in exchange-traded equity securities of U.S. large capitalization issuers (the “80% investment policy”). The Fund’s investment objective and its 80% investment policy each constitute a non-fundamental policy that the Board of Trustees (“Board”) of the Trust may change at any time without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ prior written notice to the Fund’s shareholders. The fundamental and non-fundamental policies of the Fund are set forth in the SAI under the section “Investment Restrictions.”

Borrowing Money

The Fund may borrow money up to the limits set forth in the SAI under the section “Investment Restrictions.” However, the Fund will not borrow for investment purposes or to hold short positions.

Securities Lending

The Fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions. In connection with such loans, the Fund receives liquid collateral equal to at least 102% (105% for international securities) of the value of the loaned portfolio securities. This collateral is marked-to-market on a daily basis.

Additional Risks of Investing in the Fund

The following provides additional risk information regarding investing in the Fund.

 

 

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Futures Contract Risk. Exchange-traded futures are U.S.-listed futures contracts where the future contract’s reference asset is an asset that the Fund could invest in directly, or in the case of an index future, is based on an index of a type of asset that the Fund could invest in directly, such as an S&P 500 index future. The Fund will only invest in futures contracts that are traded on a U.S. futures exchange, such as the Chicago Board of Trade or the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Unlike equities, which typically entitle the holder to a continuing stake in a corporation, futures contracts normally specify a certain date for delivery of the underlying asset for settlement in cash based on the level of the underlying asset. As the futures contracts approach expiration, they may be replaced by similar contracts that have a later expiration. This process is referred to as “rolling.” If the market for these contracts is in “contango,” meaning that the prices of futures contracts in the nearer months are lower than the price of contracts in the distant months, the sale of the near-term month contract would be at a lower price than the longer-term contract, resulting in a cost to “roll” the futures contract. The actual realization of a potential roll cost will depend on the difference in price of the near and distant contracts.

The successful use of a futures contract depends upon the Sub-Adviser’s skill and experience with respect to such instruments. Futures contracts may involve risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in the underlying assets. Such risks include:

 

(i)

an imperfect correlation between the value of the futures contract and the value of the underlying asset;

 

(ii)

possible lack of a liquid secondary market for a futures contract;

 

(iii)

the inability to open or close a futures contract or cash position when desired;

 

(iv)

losses caused by unanticipated market movement, which may result in losses in excess of the amount invested in the futures contract (and potentially may be unlimited);

 

(v)

in the event of adverse price movements, an obligation of the Fund to make daily cash payments to maintain its required margin, including at times when it may have insufficient cash and must sell securities from its portfolio to meet those margin requirements at a disadvantageous time;

 

(vi)

the possibility that a failure to close a position may result in delivery of an illiquid asset to the Fund; and

 

(vii)

the possibility that rapid selling to avoid delivery may result in unfavorable execution prices.

To enter into a futures contract, the Fund must post an amount of assets with a futures commission merchant (“FCM”) to serve as “initial margin,” which is a good faith deposit on the contract and which the FCM returns to the Fund upon termination of the futures contract, assuming all contractual obligations have been satisfied. Because futures contracts project price levels in the future, market circumstances may cause a discrepancy between the price of a stock index future and the movement in the underlying index. In the event of adverse price movements, the Fund may be required to post additional “variation margin” to satisfy the necessary collateral requirements of the FCM.

In addition, to comply with federal securities rules, the Fund must segregate liquid assets or take other appropriate measures to “cover” open positions in futures contracts. Depending on their terms, futures contracts settle through either physical delivery of the underlying asset (“physically settle”) or payment of an equivalent cash amount (“cash settle”). Cash settled futures contracts require that a registered investment company set aside liquid assets in an amount equal to its daily marked-to-market net obligations under the contract (i.e., its daily net liability, minus any posted margin and variation margin). Physically settled futures contracts require that a registered investment company segregate a greater amount of liquid assets, equal to the full notional value of the contract (minus any applicable margin and variation margin posted with the FCM).

Money Market Funds Risk. Money market funds are subject to management fees and other expenses, and the Fund’s investments in money market funds will cause it to bear proportionately the costs incurred by the money market funds’ operations while simultaneously paying its own management fees and expenses. An investment in a money market fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency; it is possible to lose money by investing in a money market fund. To the extent that the Fund invests in money market funds, the Fund will be subject to the same risks that investors experience when investing in money market funds. These risks may include the impact of

 

 

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significant fluctuations in assets as a result of the cash sweep program or purchase and redemption activity in those funds.

Money market funds are open-end registered investment companies that historically have traded at a stable $1.00 per share price. However, money market funds that do not meet the definition of a “retail money market fund” or “government money market fund” under the 1940 Act are required to transact at a floating NAV per share (i.e., in a manner similar to how all other non-money market mutual funds transact), instead of at a $1.00 stable share price. Money market funds may also impose liquidity fees and redemption gates for use in times of market stress. If the Fund invested in a money market fund with a floating NAV, the impact on the trading and value of the money market instrument may negatively affect the Fund’s return potential.

Repurchase Agreements Risk. Repurchase agreements are agreements pursuant to which the Fund acquires securities from a third party with the understanding that the seller will repurchase them at a fixed price on an agreed date. Repurchase agreements may be characterized as loans secured by the underlying securities. If the seller of securities under a repurchase agreement defaults on its obligation to repurchase the underlying securities, as a result of its bankruptcy or otherwise, the Fund will seek to dispose of such securities, which action could involve costs or delays. If the seller becomes insolvent and subject to liquidation or reorganization under applicable bankruptcy or other laws, the Fund’s ability to dispose of the underlying securities may be restricted. If the seller fails to repurchase the securities, the Fund may suffer a loss to the extent proceeds from the sale of the underlying securities are less than the repurchase prices.

Securities Lending Risk. Securities lending involves a risk of loss because the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. If the Fund were unable to recover the securities loaned, it may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement security in the market. Lending securities entails a risk of loss to the Fund if and to the extent that the market value of the loaned securities increases and the collateral is not increased accordingly. Any cash received as collateral for loaned securities will be invested in an affiliated government money market fund. This investment is subject to market appreciation or depreciation and the Fund will bear any loss on the investment of its cash collateral.

Shares May Trade at Prices Different than NAV. The NAV of the Shares generally will fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. The market prices of Shares generally will fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV, as well as the relative supply of and demand for Shares on [___] (the “Exchange”). The Adviser cannot predict whether Shares will trade below, at or above the Fund’s NAV. Price differences may be due largely to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for Shares will be related, but not identical, to the same forces influencing the prices of the Fund’s holdings, individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. In addition, disruptions to creations and redemptions or the existence of extreme market volatility may result in trading prices that differ significantly from NAV. If a shareholder purchases at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV or sells at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholder may sustain losses.

Unlike conventional ETFs, the Fund is not an index fund, nor does it provide daily transparency of its portfolio holdings. The Fund is actively managed and does not seek to replicate the performance of a specified index or disclose its full portfolio holdings on a daily basis. Traditional ETFs generally have traded at prices that closely correspond to NAV per share. However, there can be no assurance as to whether and/or the extent to which the Shares will trade at premiums or discounts to NAV. See “Portfolio Holdings” for more discussion of the differences between the Fund and conventional ETFs.

Trading Issues Risk. Investors buying or selling Shares in the secondary market may pay brokerage commissions or other charges, which may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of Shares. Moreover, trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange’s “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.

Natural Disaster/Epidemic Risk. Natural or environmental disasters, such as earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis and other severe weather-related phenomena generally, and widespread disease, including pandemics and epidemics, have been and may be highly disruptive to economies and markets,

 

 

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adversely impacting individual companies, sectors, industries, markets, currencies, interest and inflation rates, credit ratings, investor sentiment, and other factors affecting the value of the Fund’s investments. Given the increasing interdependence among global economies and markets, conditions in one country, market, or region are increasingly likely to adversely affect markets, issuers, and/or foreign exchange rates in other countries, including the U.S. Any such events could have a significant adverse impact on the value of the Fund’s investments.

COVID-19. The current outbreak of the novel strain of coronavirus, COVID-19, has resulted in market closures and dislocations, extreme volatility, liquidity constraints and increased trading costs. Efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 have resulted in travel restrictions, closed international borders, disruptions of healthcare systems, business operations and supply chains, layoffs, lower consumer demand, defaults and other significant economic impacts, all of which have disrupted global economic activity across many industries and may exacerbate other pre-existing political, social and economic risks, locally or globally. The ongoing effects ofCOVID-19 are unpredictable and may result in significant and prolonged effects on the Fund’s performance.

Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund, like all companies, may be susceptible to operational and information security risks. Cyber security failures or breaches of the Fund or its service providers or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, have the ability to cause disruptions and impact business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses, the inability of shareholders to transact business, violations of applicable privacy and other laws, regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, and/or additional compliance costs. The Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result.

 

 

Tax Structure of ETFs

Unlike interests in conventional mutual funds, which typically are bought and sold only at closing NAVs, Shares are traded throughout the day in the secondary market on a national securities exchange on an intra-day basis, and are created and redeemed principally in-kind in Creation Units at each day’s next calculated NAV. These in-kind arrangements are designed to protect shareholders from the adverse effects on the Fund’s portfolio that could arise from frequent cash creation and redemption transactions. In a conventional mutual fund, redemptions can have an adverse tax impact on taxable shareholders because the mutual funds may need to sell portfolio securities to obtain cash to meet such redemptions. These sales may generate taxable gains that must be distributed to the shareholders of the mutual fund, whereas the Shares’ in-kind redemption mechanism generally will not lead to such taxable events for the Fund or its shareholders. However, the tax advantages of investing in Shares may be less pronounced because (1) the Fund is actively managed and, therefore, may have greater turnover in its portfolio securities, which could result in less tax efficiency than an investment in a fund that is not actively managed, and (2) it will buy and sell representative ETFs as part of the creation and redemption process, which could limit the tax efficiency of the creation and redemption process.

The Fund also may be required to distribute any gains to its shareholders to avoid adverse federal income tax consequences. For information concerning the tax consequences of distributions, see the section entitled “Dividends, Other Distributions and Taxes” in this Prospectus.

 

 

Portfolio Holdings

Most ETFs disclose on a website, on each Business Day prior to the opening of the Exchange, the identities and quantities of all the portfolio instruments held by such ETF that will form the basis for the ETF’s calculation of NAV at the end of the Business Day. However, unlike those ETFs, the Fund will not disclose daily the holdings in its portfolio. Nevertheless, the Fund provides investors with information to permit efficient trading of Shares through substantial portfolio transparency and publication of informative metrics, while still shielding the identity of the full portfolio contents of the Fund to protect the Fund’s investment strategies.

The Fund seeks to achieve this goal by disseminating publicly each Business Day, prior to the opening of the Exchange, a “Tracking Basket” that differs from the Fund’s actual portfolio, but is designed to closely

 

 

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track the daily performance of the Fund. The Tracking Basket includes select recently disclosed portfolio holdings, liquid U.S. ETFs that convey information about the types of securities in which the Fund invests, and cash and cash equivalents. While different from the Fund’s actual portfolio holdings, the Tracking Basket constitutes a basket of securities and cash designed to closely track the daily performance of the Fund’s portfolio. In addition, the percentage weight overlap between the prior Business Day’s Tracking Basket, compared to the portfolio holdings of the Fund that formed the basis for the Fund’s calculation of NAV at the end of the prior Business Day, is also disseminated daily (the “Tracking Basket Weight Overlap”). The Tracking Basket and the Tracking Basket Weight Overlap are disseminated publicly each day prior to the opening of the Exchange via www.invesco.com/capital markets and the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”).

The correlation between the Tracking Basket and the Fund’s portfolio holdings can alert market participants to premium and discount opportunities that will effectively keep the market price of the Fund at or close to the underlying NAV per Share of the Fund. However, there is a risk that ETFs trading on the basis of a published Tracking Basket, such as the Fund, may trade at wider bid/ask spreads than ETFs that publish their full portfolio holdings daily, or may experience significant variation between the Fund’s market price and its NAV. As a result, investors potentially may pay higher costs for the Fund than ETFs that fully disclose their portfolio holdings daily. These risks may be heightened during periods of market disruption or volatility. Further, although the Fund seeks to benefit from shielding the identity of its full portfolio holdings, market participants may attempt to use the Tracking Basket and Tracking Basket Weight Overlap to identify the Fund’s investment trading strategies, which if successful, could result in such market participants engaging in predatory trading practices that may potentially harm the Fund and its shareholders.

The Fund will disclose its full portfolio holdings, including the name, identifier, market value and weight of each security and instrument in the portfolio on its website on a quarterly basis with a 30-day lag.

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, which is available at www.invesco.com/ETFs.

 

 

Management of the Fund

Invesco Capital Management LLC is a registered investment adviser with its offices at 3500 Lacey Road, Suite 700, Downers Grove, Illinois 60515. Invesco Capital Management LLC serves as the investment adviser to the Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Commodity Fund Trust, Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II, Invesco Exchange-Traded Self-Indexed Fund Trust and Invesco India Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, a family of ETFs with combined assets under management of approximately $107.5 billion as of June 30, 2020.

As the Fund’s investment adviser, the Adviser has overall responsibility for selecting the Fund’s investments, and continuously monitoring the investments of the Fund, managing the Fund’s business affairs, providing certain clerical, bookkeeping and other administrative services of the Trust and oversight of the Sub-Adviser.

Invesco Advisers, Inc., a subsidiary of Invesco Ltd., the parent of Invesco Capital Management LLC, is a registered investment adviser and serves as the investment sub-adviser to the Fund and, subject to the supervision of the Adviser and the Board, is responsible for the investment management of the Fund. The Sub-Adviser’s principal business address is 1555 Peachtree Street, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia 30309. In addition, the Sub-Adviser serves as the investment adviser to the Invesco mutual funds with combined assets under management of approximately $[___] billion as of [___], 2020.

Portfolio Managers

Investment decisions for the Fund are made by investment management teams at the Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser uses teams of portfolio managers, investment strategists and other investment specialists (collectively, the “Portfolio Managers”) who are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. This team approach brings together many disciplines and leverages the Adviser’s and Sub-Adviser’s extensive resources.

 

 

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Each Portfolio Manager is responsible for various functions related to portfolio management, including investing cash flows, coordinating with other team members to focus on certain asset classes, implementing investment strategy and researching and reviewing investment strategy. Each Portfolio Manager has limitations on his or her authority for risk management and compliance purposes that the Sub-Adviser believes to be appropriate.

The following individuals are responsible jointly and primarily for the day-to-day management of Fund’s portfolio:

 

   

Mani Govil, Lead Portfolio Manager, has been responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund since its inception in [             ] and has been associated with Invesco and/or its affiliates since 2005.

 

   

Benjamin Ram, Portfolio Manager, has been responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund since its inception in [             ] and has been associated with Invesco and/or its affiliates since 2005.

 

   

Paul Larson, Portfolio Manager, has been responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund since its inception in [             ] and has been associated with Invesco and/or its affiliates since 2005.

The SAI provides additional information about the Portfolio Managers’ compensation structure, other accounts that the Portfolio Managers manage and the Portfolio Managers’ ownership of Shares.

Advisory Fees

Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement between the Adviser and the Trust (the “Investment Advisory Agreement”), the Fund pays the Adviser an annual fee equal to [    ]% of its average daily net assets set (the “Advisory Fee”).

The Advisory Fee paid by the Fund is an annual unitary management fee. Out of the unitary management fee, the Adviser pays substantially all expenses of the Fund, including the payments to the Sub-Adviser, the costs of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other services, except for advisory fees, distribution fees, if any, brokerage expenses, taxes, interest, acquired fund fees and expenses, if any, litigation expenses and other extraordinary expenses.

The Fund may invest in government money market funds that are managed by affiliates of the Adviser or Sub-Adviser. The indirect portion of the management fee the Fund incurs through such investments is in addition to the Adviser’s unitary management fee. [Therefore, the Adviser has agreed to waive the management fees that it receives under the unitary management fee in an amount equal to the indirect management fees the Fund incurs through its investments in such affiliated government money market funds through [                ]. There is no guarantee that the Adviser will extend the waiver of the fees past that date. The waiver does not apply to any cash invested in an affiliated government money market fund that the Fund receives as collateral for securities that it lends.]

The Adviser has entered into an Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement with the Sub-Adviser. The sub-advisory fee is paid by the Adviser to the Sub-Adviser from the Adviser’s compensation of the sub-advised assets of the Fund. Additional information about the Sub-Adviser and the Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement is described in the SAI.

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of the Trust’s Investment Advisory Agreement and Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement with respect to the Fund will be available in the Fund’s [Semi-Annual Report to shareholders for the fiscal period ending April 30, 2021.]

 

 

How to Buy and Sell Shares

The Fund issues or redeems its Shares at NAV per Share only in Creation Units, or Creation Unit Aggregations, and only to APs. The Creation Units generally can be purchased or redeemed in-kind in exchange for the Strategy Components included in the Fund’s Tracking Basket, together with an amount

 

 

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of cash corresponding to the value of the Representative ETFs and cash and cash equivalents that form the remainder of the Tracking Basket.

Most investors will buy and sell Shares of the Fund in secondary market transactions through brokers. Shares of the Fund are listed for trading on the secondary market on the Exchange. Shares can be bought and sold throughout the trading day like other publicly traded shares. There is no minimum investment. Although Shares generally are purchased and sold in “round lots” of 100 Shares, brokerage firms typically permit investors to purchase or sell Shares in smaller “odd-lots,” at no per share price differential. When buying or selling Shares through a broker, you will incur customary brokerage commissions and charges, and you may pay some or all of the spread between the bid and the offered price in the secondary market on each leg of a round trip (purchase and sale) transaction.

The Shares of the Fund trade on the Exchange under the symbol “[                ]”.

Share prices are reported in dollars and cents per Share.

APs may acquire Shares directly from the Fund, and APs may tender their Shares for redemption directly to the Fund, at NAV per Share, only in Creation Units or Creation Unit Aggregations, and in accordance with the procedures described in the SAI.

Under normal circumstances, the Fund will pay out redemption proceeds to a redeeming AP within two days after the AP’s redemption request is received, in accordance with the process set forth in the SAI and in the agreement between the AP and the Fund’s distributor. However, the Fund reserves the right, including under stressed market conditions, to take up to seven days after the receipt of a redemption request (as discussed above) to pay an AP, all as permitted by the 1940 Act.

The Fund anticipates regularly meeting redemption requests primarily through in-kind redemptions of the Strategy Components in the Tracking Basket. However, the Fund reserves the right to pay redemption proceeds to an AP in cash, consistent with the Trust’s exemptive relief. Cash used for redemptions will be raised from the sale of portfolio assets or may come from existing holdings of cash or cash equivalents. If the Fund holds Rule 144A securities, an AP that is not a “qualified institutional buyer,” as such term is defined under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), will not be able to receive those Rule 144A securities.

The Fund may liquidate and terminate at any time without shareholder approval.

Book Entry

Shares are held in book-entry form, which means that no stock certificates are issued. The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding Shares and is recognized as the owner of all Shares for all purposes.

Investors owning Shares are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. DTC serves as the securities depository for all Shares. Participants in DTC include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other institutions that directly or indirectly maintain a custodial relationship with DTC. As a beneficial owner of Shares, you are not entitled to receive physical delivery of stock certificates or to have Shares registered in your name, and you are not considered a registered owner of Shares. Therefore, to exercise any right as an owner of Shares, you must rely upon the procedures of DTC and its participants. These procedures are the same as those that apply to any other securities that you hold in book entry or “street name” form.

Share Trading Prices

The trading prices of Shares on the Exchange may differ from the Fund’s daily NAV. Market forces of supply and demand, economic conditions and other factors may affect the trading prices of Shares.

 

 

Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Shares

Shares of the Fund may be purchased and redeemed directly from the Fund only in Creation Units by APs. The vast majority of trading in Shares of the Fund occurs on the secondary market, and does not involve the Fund directly. In-kind purchases and redemptions of Creation Units by APs and cash trades on the secondary market are unlikely to cause many of the harmful effects of frequent purchases and/or

 

 

  19  

 


redemptions of Shares of the Fund. Cash purchases and/or redemptions of Creation Units, however, can result in disruption of portfolio management, dilution to the Fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective, and may lead to the realization of capital gains. These consequences may increase as the frequency of cash purchases and redemptions of Creation Units by APs increases. However, direct trading by APs is critical to ensuring that Shares trade at or close to NAV.

To minimize these potential consequences of frequent purchases and redemptions of Shares, the Fund imposes transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units to cover the custodial and other costs the Fund incurs in effecting trades. In addition, the Adviser monitors trades by APs for patterns of abusive trading and the Fund reserves the right to not accept orders from APs that the Adviser has determined may be disruptive to the management of the Fund, or otherwise are not in the best interests of the Fund. [For these reasons, the Board has not adopted policies and procedures with respect to frequent purchases and redemptions of Shares of the Fund.]

 

 

Dividends, Other Distributions and Taxes

Dividends and Other Distributions

Generally, dividends from net investment income, if any, are declared and paid [quarterly] by the Fund. The Fund also intends to distribute its net realized capital gains, if any, to shareholders annually.

Dividends and other distributions may be declared and paid more frequently to comply with the distribution requirements of Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code and to avoid a federal excise tax imposed on regulated investment companies.

Distributions in cash may be reinvested automatically in additional whole Shares only if the broker through whom you purchased Shares makes such option available.

Taxes

The Fund intends to qualify each year as a regulated investment company (RIC) and, as such, is not subject to entity-level tax on the income and gain it distributes. If you are a taxable investor, dividends and distributions you receive generally are taxable to you whether you reinvest distributions in additional Fund shares or take them in cash. Every year, you will be sent information showing the amount of dividends and distributions you received during the prior calendar year. In addition, investors in taxable accounts should be aware of the following basic tax points as supplemented below where relevant:

Fund Tax Basics

 

   

The Fund earns income generally in the form of dividends or interest on its investments. This income, less expenses incurred in the operation of the Fund, constitutes the Fund’s net investment income from which dividends may be paid to shareholders. If you are a taxable investor, distributions of net investment income generally are taxable to you as ordinary income.

 

   

Distributions of net short-term capital gains are taxable to you as ordinary income. A higher portfolio turnover rate (a measure of how frequently assets within the Fund are bought and sold) is more likely to generate short-term capital gains than a lower portfolio turnover rate.

 

   

Distributions of net long-term capital gains are taxable to you as long-term capital gains no matter how long you have owned your Shares.

 

   

A portion of income dividends paid by the Fund may be reported as qualified dividend income eligible for taxation by individual shareholders at long-term capital gain rates, provided certain holding period requirements are met. These reduced rates generally are available for dividends derived from the Fund’s investment in stocks of domestic corporations.

 

   

The use of futures contracts by the Fund may cause the Fund to realize higher amounts of ordinary income or short-term capital gain, distributions from which are taxable to individual shareholders at ordinary income tax rates rather than at the more favorable tax rates for long-term capital gain.

 

 

  20  

 


   

Distributions declared to shareholders with a record date in December—if paid to you by the end of January—are taxable for federal income tax purposes as if received in December.

 

   

Any long-term or short-term capital gains realized on the sale of your Fund Shares will be subject to federal income tax.

 

   

A shareholder’s cost basis information will be provided on the sale of any of the shareholder’s Shares, subject to certain exceptions for exempt recipients. Please contact the broker (or other nominee) that holds your Shares with respect to reporting of cost basis and available elections for your account.

 

   

At the time you purchase your Fund Shares, the Fund’s NAV may reflect undistributed income or undistributed capital gains. A subsequent distribution to you of such amounts, although constituting a return of your investment, would be taxable. Buying Shares in the Fund just before it declares an income dividend or capital gains distribution is sometimes known as “buying a dividend.” In addition, the Fund’s NAV may, at any time, reflect net unrealized appreciation, which may result in future taxable distributions to you.

 

   

By law, if you do not provide the Fund with your proper taxpayer identification number and certain required certifications, you may be subject to backup withholding on any distributions of income, capital gains, or proceeds from the sale of your Shares. The Fund also must withhold if the IRS instructs it to do so. When withholding is required, the amount will be 24% of any distributions or proceeds paid.

 

   

An additional 3.8% Medicare tax is imposed on certain net investment income (including ordinary dividends and capital gain distributions received from the Fund and net gains from taxable dispositions of Fund Shares) of U.S. individuals, estates and trusts to the extent that such person’s “modified adjusted gross income” (in the case of an individual) or “adjusted gross income” (in the case of an estate or trust) exceeds a threshold amount. This Medicare tax, if applicable, is reported by you on, and paid with, your federal income tax return.

 

   

You will not be required to include the portion of dividends paid by the Fund derived from interest on U.S. government obligations in your gross income for purposes of personal and, in some cases, corporate income taxes in many state and local tax jurisdictions. The percentage of dividends that constitutes dividends derived from interest on federal obligations will be determined annually. This percentage may differ from the actual percentage of interest received by the Fund on federal obligations for the particular days on which you hold shares.

 

   

Fund distributions and gains from sale of Fund Shares generally are subject to state and local income taxes.

 

   

Foreign investors should be aware that U.S. withholding, special certification requirements to avoid U.S. backup withholding and claim any treaty benefits, and estate taxes may apply to an investment in the Fund.

 

   

If the Fund qualifies to pass through the tax benefits from foreign taxes it pays on its investments, and elects to do so, then any foreign taxes it pays on these investments may be passed through to you. You will then be required to include your pro-rata share of these taxes in gross income, even though not actually received by you, and will be entitled either to deduct your share of these taxes in computing your taxable income, or to claim a foreign tax credit for these taxes against your U.S. federal income tax.

 

   

Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), a 30% withholding tax is imposed on income dividends made by the Fund to certain foreign entities, referred to as foreign financial institutions or non-financial foreign entities, that fail to comply (or be deemed compliant) with extensive reporting and withholding requirements designed to inform the U.S. Department of the Treasury of U.S.-owned foreign investment accounts. After December 31, 2018, FATCA withholding also would have applied to certain capital gain distributions, return of capital distributions and the proceeds arising from the sale of Shares; however, based on proposed regulations issued by the IRS, which can be relied upon currently, such withholding is no longer

 

 

  21  

 


 

required unless final regulations provide otherwise (which is not expected). The Fund may disclose the information that it receives from its shareholders to the IRS, non-U.S. taxing authorities or other parties as necessary to comply with FATCA or similar laws. Withholding also may be required if a foreign entity that is a shareholder of the Fund fails to provide the Fund with appropriate certifications or other documentation concerning its status under FATCA.

Taxes on Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units

To the extent that the Fund permits in-kind transactions, an AP that exchanges equity securities for a Creation Unit generally will recognize a capital gain or loss equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time of exchange (plus any cash received by the AP as part of the issue) and the sum of the AP’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered plus any cash component paid. Similarly, an AP that redeems a Creation Unit in exchange for securities generally will recognize a capital gain or loss equal to the difference between the AP’s basis in the Creation Units (plus any cash paid by the AP as part of the redemption) and the aggregate market value of the securities received (plus any cash received by the AP as part of the redemption). The IRS, however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for a Creation Unit, or of a Creation Unit for securities, cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales” or on the ground that there has been no significant change in the AP’s economic position. An AP exchanging securities should consult its own tax advisor(s) with respect to whether wash sale rules apply and when a loss otherwise might not be deductible.

Any capital gain or loss realized on a redemption of a Creation Unit generally is treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the Shares have been held for more than one year and as short-term capital gain or loss if the Shares have been held for one year or less, assuming that such Creation Units are held as a capital asset. If you purchase or redeem one or more Creation Units, you will be sent a confirmation statement showing how many Shares you purchased or sold and at what price.

The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the more important possible consequences under current federal, state and local tax law of an investment in the Fund. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. You also may be subject to state, local and/or foreign tax on the Fund’s distributions and sales and/or redemptions of Shares. Consult your personal tax advisor(s) about the potential tax consequences of an investment in the Shares under all applicable tax laws.

 

 

Distributor

Invesco Distributors, Inc. (the “Distributor”) serves as the distributor of Creation Units for the Fund on an agency basis. The Distributor does not maintain a secondary market in Shares. The Distributor is an affiliate of the Adviser.

 

 

Net Asset Value

The Bank of New York Mellon (“BNYM”) calculates the Fund’s NAV at the close of regular trading (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern time) every day the NYSE is open. U.S. fixed-income assets may be valued as of the announced closing time for trading in fixed-income instruments on any day that the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association announces an early closing time. The NAV for the Fund will be calculated and disseminated daily on each day that the NYSE is open. NAV is calculated by deducting all of the Fund’s liabilities from the total value of its assets and dividing the result by the number of Shares outstanding, rounding to the nearest cent. Generally, the portfolio securities are recorded in the NAV no later than trade date plus one day. All valuations are subject to review by the Board or its delegate.

In determining NAV, expenses are accrued and applied daily and securities and other assets for which market quotations are readily available are valued at market value. Securities listed or traded on an exchange (except convertible securities) generally are valued at the last sales price or official closing price that day as of the close of the exchange where the security is primarily traded. Investment companies are valued using such company’s NAV per share, unless the shares are exchange-traded, in which case they will be valued at the last sale or official closing price on the exchanges on which they primarily trade. Deposits, other obligations of U.S. and non-U.S. banks and financial institutions, and cash equivalents are

 

 

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valued at their daily account value. Debt obligations (including convertible securities) and securities not listed on an exchange normally are valued on the basis of prices provided by independent pricing services. Pricing services generally value debt securities assuming orderly transactions of institutional round lot size, but the Fund may hold or transact in the same securities in smaller, odd lot sizes. Odd lots often trade at lower prices than institutional round lots. Futures contracts are valued at the final settlement price set by an exchange on which they are principally traded. For purposes of determining NAV per Share, futures generally are valued 15 minutes after the close of the customary trading session of the NYSE.

Certain securities may not be listed on an exchange; typically, those securities are bought and sold by institutional investors in individually negotiated private transactions. Such securities, as well as listed securities whose market price is not readily available, will be valued using pricing provided from independent pricing services or by another method that the Adviser or Sub-Adviser (as applicable), in its judgment, believes will better reflect the security’s fair value in accordance with the Trust’s valuation policies and procedures approved by the Board.

Even when market quotations are available for portfolio securities, they may be stale or unreliable because the security is not traded frequently, or issuer specific events occurred after the security ceased trading. Events that may cause the last market quotation to be unreliable include a merger or insolvency, events which affect a geographical area or an industry segment, such as political events or natural disasters, or market events, such as a significant movement in the U.S. market. Where market quotations are not readily available, including where the Adviser or Sub-Adviser (as applicable) determines that the closing price of the security is unreliable, the Adviser and Sub-Adviser (as applicable) will value the security at fair value in good faith using procedures approved by the Board. Fair value pricing involves subjective judgments and it is possible that a fair value determination for a security is materially different than the value that could be realized upon the sale of the security.

 

 

Fund Service Providers

BNYM, 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286, is the administrator, custodian and fund accounting and transfer agent for the Fund.

Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP, 191 North Wacker Drive, Suite 1601, Chicago, Illinois 60606 and 2000 K Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20006, serves as legal counsel to the Trust.

[                ] serves as the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm. [     ] is responsible for auditing the annual financial statements of the Fund and assists in the preparation and/or review of the Fund’s federal and state income tax returns.

 

 

Financial Highlights

The Fund is new and has no performance history as of the date of this Prospectus. Financial information for the Fund therefore is not available.

 

 

Fund Metrics and Related Information

Information regarding how often the Shares of the Fund traded on the Exchange at a price above (at a premium) or below (at a discount) the NAV of the Fund during the prior calendar year and subsequent quarters, when available, can be found on the Fund’s website, www.invesco.com/ETFs. Additionally, information on the daily NAV per Share for the Fund (as of the prior Business Day), the closing price or bid/ask price, and a calculation of the premium or discount of the closing price or bid/ask price against such NAV, the Tracking Basket and the amount Tracking Basket Weight Overlap, and bid/ask spread information can be found at www.invesco.com/ETFs.

 

 

Other Information

 

 

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Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act restricts investments by investment companies (and companies relying on Sections 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act) in the securities of other investment companies. However, registered investment companies are permitted to invest in the beyond the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1) subject to certain terms and conditions set forth in an SEC exemptive order issued to the Trust, including that such investment companies enter into a participation agreement with the Trust on behalf of the Fund prior to exceeding the limits imposed by Section 12(d)(1). Additionally, the Fund is permitted pursuant to an SEC exemptive order to invest in other registered investment companies beyond the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1) subject to certain terms and conditions set forth in another exemptive order the SEC has issued to the Trust. If the Fund relies on this exemptive relief, however, other investment companies may not invest in the Fund beyond the statutory provisions of Section 12(d)(1).

Continuous Offering

The method by which Creation Unit Aggregations of Shares are created and traded may raise certain issues under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation Unit Aggregations of Shares are issued and sold by the Fund on an ongoing basis, a “distribution,” as such term is used in the Securities Act, may occur at any point. Broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner which could render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus-delivery requirement and liability provisions of the Securities Act.

For example, a broker-dealer firm or its client may be deemed a statutory underwriter if it takes Creation Unit Aggregations after placing an order with the Distributor, breaks them down into constituent Shares and sells such Shares directly to customers, or if it chooses to couple the creation of a supply of new Shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary market demand for Shares. A determination of whether one is an underwriter for purposes of the Securities Act must take into account all the facts and circumstances pertaining to the activities of the broker-dealer or its client in the particular case, and the examples mentioned above should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could lead to a characterization as an underwriter.

Broker-dealer firms also should note that dealers who are not “underwriters” but are effecting transactions in Shares, whether or not participating in the distribution of Shares, generally are required to deliver a prospectus. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the Securities Act is not available in respect of such transactions as a result of Section 24(d) of the 1940 Act. As a result, broker-dealer firms should note that dealers who are not “underwriters” but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted with engaging in ordinary secondary market transactions), and thus dealing with the Shares that are part of an overallotment within the meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the Securities Act, will be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act. For delivery of prospectuses to exchange members, the prospectus delivery mechanism of Rule 153 under the Securities Act only is available with respect to transactions on a national exchange.

Delivery of Shareholder Documents—Householding

Householding is an option available to certain investors of the Fund. Householding is a method of delivery, based on the preference of the individual investor, in which a single copy of certain shareholder documents can be delivered to investors who share the same address, even if their accounts are registered under different names. Householding for the Fund is available through certain broker-dealers. If you are interested in enrolling in householding and receiving a single copy of the Prospectus and other shareholder documents, please contact your broker-dealer. If you currently are enrolled in householding and wish to change your householding status, please contact your broker-dealer.

For More Information

For more detailed information on the Trust, the Fund and the Shares, you may request a copy of the SAI. The SAI provides detailed information about the Fund and is incorporated by reference into this Prospectus. This means that the SAI legally is a part of this Prospectus. Additional information about the Fund’s investments also is available in the Fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to Shareholders. In the Fund’s Annual Report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund’s performance during the last fiscal year. If you have questions about the

 

 

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Fund or Shares or you wish to obtain the SAI, Annual Report, and/or Semi-Annual Report, free of charge, or to make shareholder inquiries, please:

 

        Call:   

Invesco Distributors, Inc. at 1.800.983.0903

Monday through Friday

8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central Time

        Write:   

Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

c/o Invesco Distributors, Inc.

11 Greenway Plaza, Suite 1000

Houston, Texas 77046-1173

        Visit:    www.invesco.com/ETFs

Reports and other information about the Fund are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s internet site at www.sec.gov, and copies of this information may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov.

No person is authorized to give any information or to make any representations about the Fund and its Shares not contained in this Prospectus, and you should not rely on any other information. Read and keep this Prospectus for future reference.

Dealers effecting transactions in the Shares, whether or not participating in this distribution, generally are required to deliver a Prospectus. This is in addition to any obligation of dealers to deliver a Prospectus when acting as underwriters.

The Trust’s registration number under the 1940 Act is 811-22148.

 

Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

3500 Lacey Road, Suite 700

Downers Grove, IL 60515

   P-[    ]-PRO-1   

www.invesco.com/ETFs

800 983 0903  LOGO  @InvescoETFs

 

 

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Subject to Completion – dated September 9, 2020

The information in this Statement of Additional Information is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This Statement of Additional Information is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

Investment Company Act File No. 811-22148

 

 

Invesco Actively Managed

Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

 

 

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

[DATE]

This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus. It should be read in conjunction with the prospectus, dated [___] (the “Prospectus”), for the Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust (the “Trust” or the “Registrant”), relating to the series of the Trust listed below (the “Fund”), as such may be revised from time to time.

 

Fund

  

Principal U.S. Listing Exchange

  

Ticker

Invesco US Large Cap Core ESG ETF

   [___]    [___]

Capitalized terms used in this SAI that are not defined have the same meaning as in the Prospectus, unless otherwise noted. A copy of the Prospectus may be obtained without charge by writing to the Trust’s Distributor, Invesco Distributors, Inc. (the “Distributor”), 11 Greenway Plaza, Suite 1000, Houston, Texas 77046-1173, or by calling toll free 800.983.0903.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

     Page  

General Description of the Trust and the Fund

     1  

Exchange Listing and Trading

     1  

Investment Strategies and Restrictions

     2  

Investment Policies and Risks

     4  

Portfolio Turnover

     10  

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

     10  

Management

     11  

Brokerage Transactions and Commissions on Affiliated Transactions

     27  

Additional Information Concerning the Trust

     30  

Creation and Redemption of Creation Unit Aggregations

     32  

Taxes

     38  

Determination of NAV

     46  

Dividends and Other Distributions

     46  

Miscellaneous Information

     46  

Financial Statements

     47  

Appendix A

     [    

Appendix B

     [    


GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST AND THE FUND

The Trust was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on November 6, 2007 and is authorized to have multiple series or portfolios. The Trust is an open-end management investment company, registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). The Trust consists of [19] series. This SAI relates to one series of the Trust. The Fund is classified as “non-diversified,” and as such, the Fund’s investments are not required to meet certain diversification requirements under the 1940 Act. The shares of the Fund are referred to herein as “Shares.”

The Fund seeks capital appreciation. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit with a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Invesco Capital Management LLC (the “Adviser”), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Invesco Ltd., manages the Fund.

The Adviser has entered into an investment sub-advisory agreement with an affiliate to serve as investment sub-adviser to the Fund. The affiliated sub-adviser, Invesco Advisers, Inc. (“Invesco” or the “Sub-Adviser”), is a registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”). The Sub-Adviser is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Invesco Ltd.

The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) and in many respects operates similarly to other ETFs. The Fund issues and redeems Shares at net asset value (“NAV”) only in aggregations of [___] Shares (each, a “Creation Unit” or a “Creation Unit Aggregation”). The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units principally in exchange for a basket of securities and/or cash or cash equivalents, together with the deposit of a specified cash payment (the “Cash Component”), plus certain transaction fees; however, the Fund also reserves the right to permit or require Creation Units to be issued or redeemed partially or solely for cash and/or cash equivalents.

To the extent that the Fund issues or redeems Creation Units in-kind, it may issue Shares in advance of receipt of the underlying securities subject to various conditions, including a requirement to maintain on deposit with the Trust cash at least equal to 105% of the market value of the missing securities. To offset the added brokerage and other transaction costs the Fund incurs with using cash to purchase the requisite Deposit Securities (as defined below), during each instance of cash creations or redemptions, the Fund may impose variable transaction fees that will be higher than the transaction fees associated with in-kind creations or redemptions. For more information, see the section below titled “Creation and Redemption of Creation Unit Aggregations.”

Shares the Fund are expected to be listed and trade throughout the day on [___] (the “Exchange”). Shares trade on the Exchange at market prices that may be below, at or above NAV. In the event of the liquidation of the Fund, the Trust may decrease the number of Shares in a Creation Unit.

The Fund operates as a “non-transparent” actively managed ETF. Therefore, the Fund has some unique features that differentiate it from other ETFs. The principal difference between the Fund and traditional “transparent” actively managed ETFs is that the Fund does not publicly disclose the composition of its portfolio each business day, which may affect the price at which Shares of the Fund trade in the secondary market. Instead, the Fund publishes on its website each day on which the market is open information regarding a basket of securities and cash that is designed to closely track the daily performance of the Fund’s portfolio (a “Tracking Basket”). The Tracking Basket will be comprised of: (i) select recently disclosed portfolio holdings of the Fund (“Strategy Components”); (ii) liquid U.S. exchange-traded ETFs that convey information about the types of instruments (that are not otherwise fully represented by the Strategy Components) in which a Fund invests (“Representative ETFs”); and (iii) cash and cash equivalents. The Tracking Basket will be constructed utilizing a mathematical optimization process to minimize deviations in the daily returns of the Tracking Basket relative to the daily returns of the Fund. The Tracking Basket also will constitute the names and quantities of instruments to be exchanged with the Fund for both purchases and redemptions of Shares (as discussed in greater deal in this SAI).

In addition to providing information regarding the Tracking Basket, the Fund also will disclose the percentage weight overlap between the holdings of the prior Business Day’s Tracking Basket compared to the holdings of the Fund that formed the basis for the Fund’s calculation of NAV at the end of the prior Business Day (the “Tracking Basket Weight Overlap”). The Tracking Basket Weight Overlap is designed to provide investors with an understanding of how similar the Tracking Basket is to the Fund’s actual portfolio in percentage terms. Finally, the Fund will generally disclose a its portfolio holdings quarterly with a 30-day lag.

EXCHANGE LISTING AND TRADING

There can be no assurance that the Fund will meet the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of its Shares. The Exchange may, but is not required to, remove Shares from listing if: (a) if, following the initial 12-

 

 

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month period after commencement of trading on the Exchange of the Fund, there are fewer than 50 beneficial owners of the Shares [for 30 or more consecutive trading days]; (b) if either the Tracking Basket or Fund portfolio is not made available to all market participants at the same time; (c) if the Fund has failed to file any filings required by the Commission or if the Exchange is aware that the Fund is not in compliance with the conditions of any exemptive order or no-action relief granted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to the Fund; (d) if any of the requirements set forth in its listing agreement are not continuously maintained; (e) if the Fund fails to comply with its continued listing requirements, or (f) if such other event shall occur or condition exists which, in the opinion of the Exchange, makes further dealings on the Exchange inadvisable. The Exchange will remove the Shares from listing and trading upon termination of the Fund.

As in the case of other stocks traded on the Exchange, brokers’ commissions on transactions will be based on negotiated commission rates at customary levels.

The Trust reserves the right to adjust the price levels of the Shares in the future to help maintain convenient trading ranges for investors. Any adjustments would be accomplished through stock splits or reverse stock splits, which would have no effect on the net assets of the Fund.

Shares of the Fund are not sponsored, endorsed, or promoted by the Exchange. The Exchange makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Shares of the Fund and the Exchange is not responsible for, nor has it participated in, the determination of the timing of, prices of, or quantities of the Shares of the Fund to be issued, nor in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Shares are redeemable. The Exchange has no obligation or liability to owners of the Shares of the Fund in connection with the administration, marketing, or trading of the Shares of the Fund.

The Exchange makes no warranty, express or implied, as to results to be obtained by the Trust on behalf of the Fund, owners of the Shares, or any other person or entity. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall the Exchange have any liability for any lost profits or indirect, punitive, special, or consequential damages even if notified of the possibility thereof.

INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RESTRICTIONS

Investment Strategies

Unlike conventional ETFs, the Fund is “actively managed” and does not seek to replicate the performance of a specified index. The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in exchange-traded equity securities of U.S. large capitalization issuers. Additionally, the Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing mainly in common stock of U.S. companies that meet high environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) standards, as determined by the Sub-Adviser.

The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in common stock of foreign issuers, including up to 10% of its net assets in emerging markets countries, i.e., those that are in the early stages of their industrial cycles. The Fund may make such investment in common stock of foreign issuers by either: (i) investing directly in common stock listed on a foreign exchange that trades on such exchange contemporaneously with the Fund’s Shares; or (ii) investing in exchange-traded ADRs representing common stock trading on any foreign exchange.

The Sub-Adviser utilizes fundamental research to select securities for the Fund’s portfolio, which is comprised of both growth and value stocks. In selecting the Fund’s portfolio investments, the portfolio managers also actively employ ESG criteria in the investment selection process described below.

In general, the portfolio managers utilize a fundamental approach in analyzing issuers on factors such as a company’s financial performance, company strength and prospects, industry position, and business model and management strength. Industry outlook, market trends and general economic conditions may also be considered.

Additionally, as part of the portfolio construction process, the Fund employs a proprietary framework for evaluating each issuer based on ESG criteria that the portfolio managers have determined to be important in the investment selection process. The Fund’s ESG methodology actively utilizes both proprietary and third party ESG indicators, as well as ESG exclusionary screens to construct the Fund’s portfolio. The portfolio managers integrate qualitative research in an effort to assess an issuer’s impact on the environment, society and communities, and soundness of corporate governance practices.

Under normal market conditions, the Sub-Adviser will employ the following process to assess investment opportunities for the Fund’s portfolio: The portfolio managers first employ ESG product and service screens to exclude issuers from the investment universe of securities in which the Fund may invest. Such screens include substantial involvement in the production of tobacco products, controversial weapons, engagement in cultivation, production or distribution of recreational cannabis, extraction of thermal coal, and extraction of fossil fuels from unconventional sources, among other exclusionary criteria. Issuers will also be excluded based on their non-compliance with UN Global Compact principles. The principles of the UN Global Compact represent a set of values that the UN believes responsible businesses should incorporate into their operations in order to meet fundamental responsibilities in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. To the extent an issuer’s status changes to meet the qualification for exclusion, the Fund shall take steps to divest its holdings of the issuer within a reasonable period of time. This screening criteria may be updated periodically.

Next, based on research and due diligence, each investment opportunity is evaluated by the investment team related to multiple ESG factors under each individual pillar of the ESG framework. The environmental topics (“E”) include energy management, environmental management systems, toxic emissions, water management, low carbon transition and carbon emissions. The social topics (“S”) include employee relations, health and safety, workforce retention and product quality and safety. The governance topic (“G”) include business ethics, board composition, compensation and alignment, audit and shareholder rights, tax transparency. The foregoing factors in each ESG topics may be updated periodically.

Each investment opportunity is assigned a weighted average score for individual ESG topics. An overall aggregated, or composite, ESG score is also calculated, with pillars weighted differently depending on the industry. These scores are determined at the time of purchase and reviewed at least annually. The Fund will not invest in securities from issuers that have a composite ESG rating exceeding certain negative levels and will seek to divest within a reasonable period of time from investments for which the aggregate ESG rating deteriorates beyond such limits.

The portfolio managers use the following sell criteria: the stock price is approaching its target, the stock’s ESG attributes have degraded, deterioration in the company’s competitive position, poor execution by the company’s management, or identification of more attractive alternative investment ideas.

The Fund aims to maintain a portfolio of securities broadly spread across major economic sectors by applying investment parameters for both sector and position size. The Fund is “non-diversified” and, therefore, is not required to meet certain diversification requirements under the 1940 Act.

 

 

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The Fund’s investment in such assets will be subject to market appreciation or depreciation and the Fund will bear any loss on such investment. While the Fund will incur expenses associated with its investment in money market funds, the Adviser has agreed to waive certain fees it receives from the Fund in an amount equal to the indirect management fees that the Fund incurs through investments in affiliated money market funds.

As discussed more fully below, the Fund generally will create and redeem Shares with authorized participants in exchange for the cash and securities disclosed in the Tracking Basket, which will be comprised of: (i) select recently disclosed portfolio holdings of the Fund (i.e., the Strategy Components), (ii) liquid U.S. exchange-traded ETFs that convey information about the types of instruments (that are not otherwise fully represented by the Strategy Components) in which a Fund invests; and (iii) cash and cash equivalents. In light of these special aspects of the Fund’s nature as an actively managed non-transparent ETF, the Fund may sell its investments to purchase components reflected in the Tracking Basket to facilitate redemption, or may sell components reflected in the Tracking Basket that are received for the creation of Shares in order to reinvest the proceeds in the Fund’s portfolio.

Investment Restrictions

The Fund has adopted as fundamental policies the investment restrictions. The Fund, as a fundamental policy, may not:

(1) Invest more than 25% of the value of its net assets in securities of issuers in any one industry or group of industries. This restriction does not apply to obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities.

(2) Borrow money, except the Fund may borrow money to the extent permitted by (i) the 1940 Act, (ii) the rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC under the 1940 Act, or (iii) an exemption or other relief applicable to the Fund from the provisions of the 1940 Act.

(3) Act as an underwriter of another issuer’s securities, except to the extent that the Fund may be deemed to be an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), in connection with the purchase and sale of portfolio securities.

(4) Make loans to other persons, except through (i) the purchase of debt securities permissible under the Fund’s investment policies, (ii) repurchase agreements or (iii) the lending of portfolio securities, provided that no such loan of portfolio securities may be made by the Fund if, as a result, the aggregate of such loans would exceed 33 1/3% of the value of the Fund’s total assets.

(5) Purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the Fund (i) from purchasing or selling options, futures contracts or other derivative instruments, or (ii) from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).

(6) Purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prohibit the Fund from purchasing or selling securities or other instruments backed by real estate or of issuers engaged in real estate activities).

(7) Issue senior securities, except as permitted under the 1940 Act.

Except for restrictions (2), (4)(iii) and (7), if the Fund adheres to a percentage restriction at the time of investment, a later increase in percentage resulting from a change in market value of the investment or the total assets, or the sale of a security out of the portfolio, will not constitute a violation of that restriction.

With respect to restrictions (2), (4)(iii) and (7), in the event that the Fund’s borrowings, repurchase agreements and loans of portfolio securities at any time exceed 33 1/3% of the value of the Fund’s total assets (including the amount borrowed and the collateral received), less the Fund’s liabilities (other than borrowings or loans) due to subsequent changes in the value of the Fund’s assets or otherwise, within three days (excluding Sundays and holidays), the Fund will take corrective action to reduce the amount of its borrowings, repurchase agreements and loans of portfolio securities to an extent that such borrowings, repurchase agreements and loans will not exceed 33 1/3% of the value of the Fund’s total assets (including the amount borrowed and collateral received) less the Fund’s liabilities (other than borrowings or loans).

The foregoing fundamental investment policies cannot be changed without approval by holders of a “majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities.” As defined in the 1940 Act, this means the vote of (i) 67% or more of the Fund’s Shares present at a meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the Shares are present or represented by proxy, or (ii) more than 50% of the Shares, whichever is less.

 

 

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In addition to the foregoing fundamental investment policies, the Fund also is subject to the following non-fundamental restrictions and policies, which may be changed by the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”) without shareholder approval. The Fund, except as otherwise noted below, may not:

(1) Borrow for investment purposes or hold any short positions or sell securities short.

(2) Purchase securities on margin, except that the Fund may obtain such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of transactions; and provided that margin deposits in connection with futures contracts or other derivative instruments shall not constitute purchasing securities on margin.

(3) Purchase securities of open-end or closed-end investment companies except in compliance with the 1940 Act, although the Fund may not acquire any securities of registered open-end investment companies or registered unit investment trusts in reliance on Sections 12(d)(1)(F) and 12(d)(1)(G) of the 1940 Act.

(4) Invest in direct interests in oil, gas or other mineral exploration programs or leases; however, the Fund may invest in the securities of issuers that engage in these activities.

(5) Purchase securities that, at the time of purchase, the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment, as determined pursuant to the 1940 Act and applicable rules and regulations thereunder.

[(6) Invest in a “penny stock” as defined by Rule 3a51-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.]

In accordance with the 1940 Act, the Fund has adopted a non-fundamental policy to invest at least 80% of the value of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in exchange-traded equity securities of U.S. large capitalization issuers (the “80% investment policy”). The investment objective of the Fund and its 80% investment policy are non-fundamental policies that can be changed by the Board without approval by shareholders upon 60 days’ prior written notice to shareholders.

INVESTMENT POLICIES AND RISKS

A discussion of the Fund’s investment policies and the risks associated with an investment in the Fund is contained in the “Summary Information—Principal Investment Strategies” and “Summary Information—Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund” sections for the Fund and the “Additional Information About the Fund’s Strategies and Risks” section of the Prospectus. The discussion below supplements, and should be read in conjunction with, those sections of the Fund’s Prospectus.

An investment in the Fund should be made with an understanding that the value of the Fund’s portfolio holdings may fluctuate in accordance with changes in the value of the Fund’s portfolio holdings or other instruments or changes in the financial condition of the issuers of those portfolio holdings and other factors that affect the market, as applicable.

An investment in the Fund also should be made with an understanding of the risks inherent in an investment in futures contracts, securities and other assets, including the risk that the financial condition of issuers may become impaired or that the general condition of the securities market may deteriorate (either of which may cause a decrease in the value of the portfolio securities and thus in the value of Shares). The Fund’s portfolio holdings are susceptible to general market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence and investor emotions and perceptions change. Investor perceptions are based on various and unpredictable factors, including expectations regarding government, economic, monetary and fiscal policies, inflation and interest rates, economic expansion or contraction, and global or regional political, economic or banking crises.

The existence of a liquid trading market for certain securities may depend on whether dealers will make a market in such securities. There can be no assurance that dealers will make or maintain a market or that any such market will be or remain liquid. The price at which securities may be sold and the value of the Shares will be adversely affected if trading markets for the Fund’s portfolio securities are limited or absent, or if bid/ask spreads are wide.

Futures. The Fund may invest in exchange-traded futures contracts that are listed on a U.S. futures exchange and trade contemporaneously with the Shares. The Fund can invest in such instruments to seek exposure to certain asset classes that the Fund can invest in directly, or in the case of an index future, an index of a type of asset that the Fund could invest in directly. The Fund will not invest in futures contracts to hedge against adverse movements in the foreign currencies in which portfolio securities are denominated.

Futures contracts provide for the future sale by one party and purchase by another party (a “Counterparty”) of a specified amount of a specific instrument or index at a specified future time and at a specified price. Stock index contracts are futures contracts based on indices that reflect the market value of common stock of the firms included in the indices. This type of futures contract differs from over-the-counter futures contracts (“OTC futures”), which are negotiated directly with a Counterparty. As such, investments in stock index futures contracts do not subject the Fund

 

 

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to the standard counterparty risks of OTC futures, which include the risk that the Counterparty will default on its obligations. In the futures markets, the exchange clearing corporation takes the other side in all transactions, either buying or selling directly to the market participants. The clearinghouse acts as the counterparty to all exchange-traded futures contracts. That is, the Fund’s obligation is to the clearinghouse, and the Fund will look to the clearinghouse to satisfy the Fund’s rights under the futures contract. The Fund will not invest in OTC futures.

The Fund must segregate liquid assets or enter into off-setting positions to “cover” open positions in futures contracts. For futures contracts that do not cash settle, the Fund must segregate liquid assets equal to the full notional value of the futures contracts while the positions are open. For futures contracts that do cash settle, the Fund is permitted to set aside liquid assets in an amount equal to the Fund’s daily marked-to-market net obligations (i.e., the Fund’s daily net liability) under the futures contract, if any, rather than their full notional value.

A futures contract provides for a specified settlement month in which the cash settlement is made or in which the underlying asset or financial instrument is to be delivered by the seller (whose position is therefore described as “short”) and acquired by the purchaser (whose position is therefore described as “long”). There is no purchase price paid or received on the purchase or sale of a futures contract. Instead, an amount of cash or cash equivalents must be deposited with the broker as “initial margin.” This amount varies based on the requirements imposed by the exchange clearing houses, but may be lower than 5% of the notional value of the contract. This margin deposit provides collateral for the obligations of the parties to the futures contract. This initial margin is in the nature of a performance bond or good faith deposit on the contract and is returned to the Fund upon termination of the futures contract, assuming all contractual obligations have been satisfied. Subsequent payments, known as “variation margin,” to and from the broker will be made daily as the price of the reference asset underlying the futures contract fluctuates, making the long and short positions in the futures contract more or less valuable, a process known as “marking-to-market.” At any time prior to expiration of a futures contract, the Fund may elect to close the position by taking an opposite position, which will operate to terminate the Fund’s existing position in the contract. The Fund may only hold long positions in its futures contracts.

General Risks of Futures. The use of futures contracts involves special considerations and risks, as described below. Risks pertaining to particular strategies are described in the sections that follow:

(1) Successful use of hedging and non-hedging transactions depends upon the Adviser’s or Sub-Adviser’s ability to correctly predict the direction of changes in the value of the applicable markets and securities. There can be no assurance that any particular hedging strategy will succeed.

(2) In a hedging transaction, there might be imperfect correlation, or even no correlation, between the price movements of an instrument (such as a futures contract) and the price movements of the investments being hedged. Such a lack of correlation might occur due to factors unrelated to the value of the investments being hedged, such as changing interest rates, market liquidity, and speculative or other pressures on the markets in which the hedging instrument is traded.

(3) Hedging strategies, if successful, can reduce risk of loss by wholly or partially offsetting the negative effect of unfavorable price movements in the investments being hedged. However, hedging strategies can also reduce opportunity for gain by offsetting the positive effect of favorable price movements in the hedged instruments.

(4) There is no assurance that a liquid secondary market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time.

(5) As described above, the might be required to maintain assets as “cover,” maintain segregated accounts or make margin payments when it takes positions in instruments involving obligations to third parties. If the Fund were unable to close out its positions in such instruments, it might be required to continue to maintain such assets or accounts or make such payments until the position expired or matured. The requirements might impair the Fund’s ability to sell a portfolio security or make an investment at a time when it would otherwise be favorable to do so, or require that the Fund sell a portfolio security at a disadvantageous time.

(6) There is no assurance that the Fund will use hedging transactions. For example, if the Fund determines that the cost of hedging will exceed the potential benefit to the Fund, the Fund will not enter into such transaction.

(7) Non-hedging transactions present greater profit potential but also involve increased risk relative to hedging transactions.

Rolling, Backwardation and Contango. When purchasing stocks or bonds, the buyer acquires ownership in the security; however, buyers of futures contracts are not entitled to ownership of the underlying asset until and unless

 

 

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they decide to accept delivery at expiration of the contract. In practice, delivery of the underlying asset to satisfy a futures contract rarely occurs because most futures traders use the liquidity of the central marketplace to sell their futures contract before expiration. As futures contracts approach expiration, they may be replaced by similar contracts that have a later expiration. For example, a contract purchased and held in June 2020 may have an expiration date in September 2020. As this contract nears expiration, a long position in the contract may be replaced by selling the September 2022 contract and purchasing a contract expiring in March 2020. This process is referred to as “rolling.”

The price of a futures contract is generally higher or lower than the spot price of the underlying asset when there is significant time to expiration of the contract due to various factors within the market. As a futures contract nears expiration, the futures price will tend to converge to the spot price. Historically, the prices of some futures contracts with near-term expirations may be higher for futures contracts than for futures contracts with longer-term expirations. This circumstance is referred to as “backwardation.” If the market for futures contracts is “backwardated,” the sale of the near-term month contract would be at a higher price than the longer-term contract, and futures investors generally will earn positive returns. Conversely, a “contango” market is one in which the price of futures contracts in the near-term months are lower than the price of futures contracts in the longer-term months. If the market for futures contacts is in “contango,” meaning that the prices of futures contracts in the nearer months are lower than the price of contracts in the distant months, the sale of the near-term month contract would be at a lower price than the longer-term contract, resulting in a cost to “roll” the futures contract, and futures investors generally will see negative returns. The actual realization of a potential roll cost will depend on the difference in price of the near and distant contracts. There can be no guarantee that such a strategy will produce the desired results.

CFTC Regulation. Rule 4.5 of the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”) significantly limits the ability of certain regulated entities, including registered investment companies such as the Fund, to rely on an exclusion that would not require its investment adviser from registering with the CFTC as a commodity pool operator (“CPO”). However, under Rule 4.5, the investment adviser of a registered investment company may claim exclusion from registration as a CPO only if the registered investment company that it advises uses futures contracts solely for “bona fide hedging purposes” or limits its use of futures contracts for non-bona fide hedging purposes such that (i) the aggregate initial margin and premiums required to establish non-bona fide hedging positions with respect to futures contracts do not exceed 5% of the liquidation value of the registered investment company’s portfolio, or (ii) the aggregate “notional value” of the non-bona fide hedging commodity interests do not exceed 100% of the liquidation value of the registered investment company’s portfolio (taking into account unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions).

[The Adviser intends to claim exclusion on behalf of the Fund under Rule 4.5, which effectively limits the Fund’s use of futures. The Fund currently intends to comply with the terms of Rule 4.5 so as to avoid regulation as a commodity pool, and as a result, the ability of the Fund to utilize futures may be limited in accordance with the terms of the rule, as well as any limits set forth in the Fund’s Prospectus and this SAI. The Fund therefore will not be subject to CFTC registration or regulation as a commodity pool. The CFTC has neither reviewed nor approved the Adviser’s reliance on these exclusions, or the Fund, its investment strategy or the Prospectus.

While not anticipated, should the Fund invest in futures contracts in excess of the limitations imposed by Rule 4.5, the Fund may be subject to regulation under the CEA and CFTC Rules as a commodity pool. Registration as a commodity pool may have negative effects on the ability of the Fund to engage in its planned investment program, while registration as a CPO imposes additional laws, regulations and enforcement policies, which could increase compliance costs and may affect the operations and financial performance of the Fund.]

Money Market Instruments. The Fund may invest a portion of its assets in high-quality money market instruments on an ongoing basis to provide liquidity. The instruments in which the Fund may invest include: (i) short-term obligations issued by the U.S. Government; (ii) repurchase agreements; and (iii) money market mutual funds (including affiliated money market funds).

U.S. Government Obligations. The Fund may invest in short-term U.S. Treasury Securities, and certain underlying government money market funds in which the Fund invests may invest in short-term U.S. Government obligations. U.S. Government obligations are a type of bond and include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities. These include bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury, as well as “stripped” or “zero coupon” U.S. Treasury obligations representing future interest or principal payments on U.S. Treasury notes or bonds. Stripped securities are created when the issuer separates the interest and principal components of an instrument and sells them as separate securities. In general, one security is entitled to receive the interest payments on the underlying assets (the interest only or “IO” security) and the other to receive the principal payments (the principal only or “PO” security). Some stripped securities may receive a combination of interest and principal payments. The yields to maturity on IOs and POs are sensitive to the expected or anticipated rate of principal payments (including prepayments) on the related underlying assets, and principal payments may have

 

 

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a material effect on yield to maturity. If the underlying assets experience greater than anticipated prepayments of principal, the Fund may not fully recoup its initial investment in IOs. Conversely, if the underlying assets experience less than anticipated prepayments of principal, the yield on POs could be adversely affected. Stripped securities may be highly sensitive to changes in interest rates and rates of prepayment. Stripped securities are sold at a discount to their “face value,” and may exhibit greater price volatility than interest-bearing securities because investors receive no payment until maturity.

Short-term obligations of certain agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S. Government, such as the Government National Mortgage Association (“GNMA”), are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury; others, such as those of the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”), are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury; others, such as those of the former Student Loan Marketing Association (“SLMA”), are supported by the discretionary authority of the U.S. Government to purchase the agency’s obligations; still others, although issued by an instrumentality chartered by the U.S. Government, like the Federal Farm Credit Bureau (“FFCB”), are supported only by the credit of the instrumentality.

With respect to obligations that are not supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury, an underlying government money market fund in which the Fund invests must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, which agency or instrumentality may be privately owned. There can be no assurance that the U.S. government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities where it is not obligated to do so. As a general matter, the value of debt instruments, including U.S. government obligations, declines when market interest rates increase and rises when market interest rates decrease. Certain types of U.S. government obligations are subject to fluctuations in yield or value due to their structure or contract terms.

In 2008, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”) placed Fannie Mae and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”) into conservatorship. Since that time, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have received significant capital support through U.S. Treasury preferred stock purchases as well as U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve purchases of their mortgage backed securities. While the purchase programs for mortgage-backed securities ended in 2010, the U.S. Treasury continued its support for the entities’ capital as necessary to prevent a negative net worth. However, no assurance can be given that the Federal Reserve, U.S. Treasury, or FHFA initiatives discussed above will ensure that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will remain successful in meeting their obligations with respect to the debt and mortgage-backed securities they issue. In addition, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are also the subject of several continuing class action lawsuits and investigations by federal regulators, which (along with any resulting financial restatements) may adversely affect the guaranteeing entities. Importantly, the future of the entities is in serious question as the U.S. Government is considering multiple options, ranging from significant reform, nationalization, privatization, consolidation, or abolishment of the entities.

The FHFA and the U.S. Treasury (through its agreements to purchase preferred stock of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) also have imposed strict limits on the size of the mortgage portfolios of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In August 2012, the U.S. Treasury amended its preferred stock purchase agreements to provide that the portfolios of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be wound down at an annual rate of 15 percent (up from the previously agreed annual rate of 10 percent), requiring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to reach the $250 billion target four years earlier than previously planned. Further, when a ratings agency downgraded long-term U.S. Government debt in August 2011, the agency also downgraded the bond ratings of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, from AAA to AA+, based on their direct reliance on the U.S. Government (although that rating did not directly relate to their mortgage-backed securities). The U.S. Government’s commitment to ensure that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have sufficient capital to meet their obligations was, however, unaffected by the downgrade.

The U.S. Treasury has put in place a set of financing agreements to help ensure that these entities continue to meet their obligations to holders of bonds they have issued or guaranteed. The U.S. Government may choose not to provide financial support to U.S. Government-sponsored agencies or instrumentalities if it is not legally obligated to do so, in which case, if the issuer were to default, a fund holding securities of such issuer might not be able to recover their investment from the U.S. Government.

Other Investment Companies. The Fund may invest in the securities of other investment companies, including ETFs, non-exchange traded U.S. registered open-end investment companies (mutual funds), closed-end investment companies, or non-U.S. investment companies traded on foreign exchanges, beyond the limits permitted under the 1940 Act, subject to certain terms and conditions set forth in an SEC exemptive order issued to the Trust or an affiliate of the Trust in 2012 (as subsequently amended) pursuant to Section 12(d)(1)(J) of the 1940 Act (the “2012 Order”). Absent such exemptive relief, the Fund’s investments in investment companies would be limited to, subject to certain exceptions, (i) 3% of the total outstanding voting stock of any one investment company, (ii) 5% of the Fund’s total assets with respect to any one investment company and (iii) 10% of the Fund’s total assets of investment companies in the aggregate.

 

 

  7  

 


The Fund’s investment performance when investing in other investment companies may depend on the investment performance such underlying investment companies in which it invests. An investment in the Fund may be subject to the risks associated with the underlying investment company. The Fund will pay indirectly a proportional share of the fees and expenses of the underlying investment company in which it invests, while continuing to pay its own management fee. As a result, shareholders indirectly will absorb duplicate levels of fees with respect to investments in the underlying investment company. In addition, at times certain segments of the market represented by the underlying investment company in which the Fund invests may be out of favor and underperform other segments.

Under the pertinent terms of the 2012 Order, the Fund may invest in registered investment companies in excess of the 3% limitations imposed by Sections 12(d)(1)(A) and 12(d)(1)(C) of the 1940 Act. The total amount of securities held by the Fund, both individually and when aggregated with all other shares of the acquired fund held by other registered investment companies or private investment pools advised by the Adviser or its affiliates (as well as shares held by the Adviser and its affiliates) cannot exceed 25% of the outstanding voting securities of the acquired investment company, and none of these entities (including the Fund) may individually or collectively exert a controlling influence over the acquired investment company. The Fund may not rely on the 2012 Order to acquire an investment company that itself has ownership of investment company shares in excess of the limitations contained in Section 12(d)(1)(A) of the 1940 Act. To the extent necessary to comply with the provisions of the 1940 Act or the 2012 Order, on any matter upon which an underlying investment company’s shareholders are solicited to vote, the Adviser or Sub-Adviser, as applicable, will vote the underlying investment company shares in the same general proportion as shares held by other shareholders of the underlying investment company.

[In addition, the Trust may rely on exemptive relief that allows other investment companies to acquire shares of the Fund in excess of the limitations imposed by Section 12(d)(1)(A) (the “2020 Order”). This relief is conditioned in pertinent part on those acquiring funds obtaining a participation agreement signed by both the acquiring fund and the Fund. Under the 2020 Order, the Fund may not acquire securities of any investment company or any company relying on Section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act in excess of the limits contained in Section 12(d)(1)(A) of the 1940 Act, except (i) to the extent permitted by exemptive relief from the SEC permitting the Fund to purchase shares of other investment companies for short-term cash management purposes; and (ii) in connection with a Fund’s receipt of Representative ETFs included in its Tracking Basket solely for purposes of effecting transactions in Creation Units. If the Fund relies on the 2012 Order, it will not enter into a participation agreement pursuant to the 2020 Order, and if the Fund has a signed participation agreement in effect pursuant to the 2020 Order, it will not acquire investment companies in reliance on the 2012 Order.]

Exchange-Traded Products. The Fund may invest in Exchange Traded Products (“ETPs”), which include ETFs, exchange-traded commodity pools, exchange-traded metals trusts, and exchange-traded currency trusts. ETFs are registered under the 1940 Act as investment companies, although other ETPs are generally not registered as investment companies and are not regulated as such. Therefore, the Fund’s purchase of shares of an ETF may be subject to the restrictions on investments in other investment companies discussed above in “Other Investment Companies.” Generally, ETPs hold portfolios of securities, commodities futures, physical commodities and/or currencies that are designed to replicate, as closely as possible before expenses, the performance of a specified market index or in accordance with their investment objectives and strategies. The performance results of ETPs will not replicate exactly the performance of the pertinent index or strategy due to transaction and other expenses, including fees to service providers, borne by ETPs. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that the portfolio of securities, commodities futures, physical commodities, and/or currencies purchased by an ETP will replicate a particular index. Some ETPs are actively managed and instead of replicating, they seek to outperform a particular index or basket or price of commodity futures, physical commodity or currency. Investments in ETPs involve the same risks associated with a direct investment in the types of securities, commodities futures, physical commodities, and/or currencies included in the indices the ETPs are designed to replicate or invest in.

Illiquid Securities. The Fund may not acquire any illiquid investment if, immediately after the acquisition, the Fund would have invested more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments that are assets. For purposes of this 15% limitation, illiquid investment means any investment that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment, as determined pursuant to the 1940 Act and applicable rules and regulations thereunder. The Fund will monitor its portfolio liquidity on an ongoing basis to determine whether, in light of current circumstances, the appropriate level of liquidity is being maintained, and will take steps to ensure it adjusts its liquidity consistent with the policies and procedures adopted by the Trust on behalf of the Fund. The existence of a liquid

 

 

  8  

 


trading market for certain securities may depend on whether dealers will make a market in such securities. There can be no assurance that dealers will make or maintain a market or that any such market will be or remain liquid. The price at which securities may be sold and the value of Shares will be adversely affected if trading markets for the Fund’s portfolio securities are limited or absent, or if bid/ask spreads are wide.

Lending Portfolio Securities. From time to time, the Fund (as the Adviser shall so determine) may lend its portfolio securities (principally to brokers, dealers or other financial institutions) to generate additional income. Such loans are callable at any time and are secured continuously by segregated cash collateral equal to at least 102% (105% for international securities) of the market value, determined daily, of the loaned securities. The Fund may lend portfolio securities to the extent of one-third of its total assets. The Fund will loan its securities only to parties that the Adviser has determined are in good standing and when, in the Adviser’s judgment, the potential income earned would justify the risks.

The Fund will not have the right to vote securities while they are on loan, but it will recall securities on loan if the Adviser determines that the shareholder meeting is called for purposes of voting on material events that could have a material impact on the Fund’s loaned securities and for which the vote could be material to the Fund. The Fund would receive income in lieu of dividends on loaned securities and may, at the same time, generate income on the loan collateral or on the investment of any cash collateral.

Securities lending involves a risk of loss because the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. If the borrower defaults on its obligation to return the securities loaned because of insolvency or other reasons, the Fund could experience delays and costs in recovering securities loaned or gaining access to the collateral. If the Fund is not able to recover the securities loaned, the Fund may sell the collateral and purchase a replacement security in the market. Lending securities entails a risk of loss to the Fund if and to the extent that the market value of the loaned securities increases and the collateral is not increased accordingly. Securities lending also involves exposure to operational risk (the risk of loss resulting from errors in the settlement and accounting process) and “gap risk” (the risk that the return on cash collateral reinvestments will be less than the fees paid to the borrower).

Any cash received as collateral for loaned securities will be invested, in accordance with the Fund’s investment guidelines, in an affiliated money market fund. Investing this cash subjects that investment to market appreciation or depreciation. For purposes of determining whether the Fund is complying with its investment policies, strategies and restrictions, the Fund or the Adviser will consider the loaned securities as assets of the Fund, but will not consider any collateral received as the Fund asset. The Fund will bear any loss on the investment of cash collateral. The Fund may have to pay the borrower a fee based on the amount of cash collateral.

For a discussion of the federal income tax considerations relating to lending portfolio securities, see “Taxes.”

Borrowing. The Fund may borrow money from a bank or another person up to limits set forth in the section “Investment Strategies and Restrictions—Investment Restrictions” to meet shareholder redemptions, for temporary or emergency purposes and for other lawful purposes. However, the Fund will not borrow for investment purposes or to hold short positions. Borrowed money will cost the Fund interest expense and/or other fees. The costs of borrowing may reduce the Fund’s return. Borrowing also may cause the Fund to liquidate positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations to repay borrowed monies. To the extent that the Fund has outstanding borrowings, it will be leveraged. Leveraging generally exaggerates the effect on NAV of any increase or decrease in the market value of the Fund’s portfolio securities.

Leverage. In addition to structural leverage, such as borrowings, the Fund may invest in portfolio investments, such as futures contracts, that may give rise to a form of economic leverage. Because futures contracts may have a component of economic leverage, adverse changes in the value or level of the underlying asset can result in the magnification of gains or losses on the investment held by the Fund, and depending on the investment can potentially result in a loss greater than the amount invested in the futures contract itself. Any investments in instruments with economic leverage will be covered with segregated or ear-marked assets in accordance with SEC guidance. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions to satisfy its obligations or to meet any required asset segregation requirements when it may not be advantageous for the Fund to do so.

Currently, the Fund has no intention of investing in “leveraged ETFs” (i.e., inverse ETFs operated in a manner designed to seek a multiple or inverse multiple of the performance of an underlying reference index), or inverse leveraged ETFs.

Common Stocks and Equity Securities. The Fund may invest in exchange-traded equity securities and common stocks. Holders of common stocks incur more risk than holders of preferred stock and debt obligations because common stockholders, as owners of the issuer, generally have inferior rights to receive payments from the issuer in comparison with the rights of creditors, or holders of debt obligations or preferred stocks. Unlike debt securities, which typically have a stated principal amount payable at maturity (whose value, however, is subject to market fluctuations prior thereto), or preferred stocks, which typically

 

 

  9  

 


have a liquidation preference and which may have stated optional or mandatory redemption provisions, equity securities have neither a fixed principal amount nor a maturity.

Receipt of Issuer’s Nonpublic Information. The Adviser or Sub-Adviser (through their portfolio managers, analysts, or other representatives) may receive material nonpublic information about an issuer that may restrict the ability of the Adviser or Sub-Adviser to cause the Fund to buy or sell securities of the issuer on behalf of the Fund for substantial periods of time. This may impact the Fund’s ability to realize profit or avoid loss with respect to the issuer and may adversely affect the Fund’s flexibility with respect to buying or selling securities, potentially impacting Fund performance. For example, activist investors of certain issuers in which the Adviser or Sub-Adviser holds large positions may contact representatives of the Adviser or Sub-Adviser and may disclose material nonpublic information in such communication. The Adviser or Sub-Adviser would be restricted from trading on the basis of such material nonpublic information, limiting their flexibility in managing the Fund and possibly impacting Fund performance.

Cybersecurity Risk. The Fund, like all companies, may be susceptible to operational and information security risks. Cyber security failures or breaches of the Fund or its service providers or the issuers of securities 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, regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, and/or additional compliance costs. The Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result.

Market Trading Risks. The Fund faces several risks as an actively managed, non-transparent ETF, including the following:

 

   

Arbitrage Risk. Unlike ETFs that publicly disclose their complete portfolio holdings each business day, the Fund provides certain other information, such as the Tracking Basket and Tracking Basket Weight Overlap, which is intended to allow market participants to estimate the value of positions in Shares. Although this information is designed to facilitate arbitrage opportunities in Shares to reduce bid/ask spread and minimize discounts or premiums between the market price and NAV of the Shares, there is no guarantee the Fund’s arbitrage mechanism will operate as intended and that the Fund will not experience wide bid/ask spreads and/or large discounts or premiums to NAV.

 

   

Trading Issues. There is no guarantee that the Fund will be able to attract market makers and Authorized Participants. Market makers and Authorized Participants are not obligated to make a market in the Shares or to submit purchase and redemption orders for creation units. There can be no assurance that an active trading market will develop or be maintained for the Fund, or that the market for Shares will operate as intended. In addition, trading may be halted, for example, due to market conditions.

 

   

Lack of Trading History. The Fund is new and has no public trading history, and it will operate differently from other actively managed ETFs. Given the differences between the Fund and ETFs that disclose their complete holdings daily, there is a risk that market prices of the Fund may vary significantly from NAV, and that the Fund’s shares may trade at a wider bid/ask spread – and therefore cost investors more to trade – than shares of other ETFs. These risks are heightened during periods of market disruption or volatility.

 

   

Harmful Trading Practices. Although the Fund seeks to benefit from keeping its portfolio information secret, market participants may attempt to use the Tracking Basket to “reverse engineer” the Fund’s trading strategy. If successful, this could result in such market participants engaging in certain predatory trading practices that may have the potential to harm the Fund and its shareholders. These practices may include front running (trading ahead of the Fund) or free riding (mirroring the Fund’s strategies).

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

The Fund calculates its portfolio turnover rate by dividing the value of the lesser of purchases or sales of portfolio securities for the fiscal period by the monthly average of the value of portfolio securities owned by the Fund during the fiscal period. A 100% portfolio turnover rate would occur, for example, if all of the portfolio securities (other than short-term securities) were replaced once during the fiscal period. Portfolio turnover rates will vary from year to year, depending on market conditions and the nature of the Fund’s holdings. As of the date of this SAI, the Fund is new and has no operating history, and therefore portfolio turnover information is not yet available.

DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS

 

 

  10  

 


Quarterly Portfolio Schedule. The Trust is required to disclose, after its first and third fiscal quarters, the complete schedule of the Fund’s portfolio holdings with the SEC on Form N-PORT. The Trust also discloses a complete schedule of the Fund’s portfolio holdings with the SEC on Form N-CSR after its second and fourth fiscal quarters.

The Trust’s Forms N-PORT and Forms N-CSR on behalf of its funds are available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. The Trust’s Forms N-PORT and Forms N-CSR are available without charge, upon request, by calling 630.933.9600 or 800.983.0903 or by writing to Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust at 3500 Lacey Road, Suite 700, Downers Grove, Illinois 60515.

Portfolio Holdings Policy. The Trust has adopted a policy regarding the disclosure of information about the Trust’s portfolio holdings. The Board must approve all material amendments to this policy.

As noted above, the Fund operates as a non-transparent, actively managed ETF. As such, unlike traditional actively managed ETFs, the Fund does not disclose its full portfolio on each day the Exchange is open for business (a “Business Day”). Rather, the Fund disseminates its Tracking Basket publicly each Business Day, prior to the opening of the Exchange. The Tracking Basket is designed to differ from the Fund’s actual portfolio, but is designed to closely track the daily performance of the Fund. The Tracking Basket includes Strategy Components, Representative ETFs, and cash and cash equivalents. In addition, Tracking Basket Weight Overlap is also disseminated daily. Both the Tracking Basket and Tracking Basket Weight Overlap are disseminated publicly each day prior to the opening of the Exchange via www.invesco.com/capitalmarkets and the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”). Finally, the Fund will disclose its full portfolio holdings, including the name, identifier, market value and weight of each security and instrument in the portfolio on its website on a quarterly basis with a 30-day lag.

The Trust, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser and The Bank of New York Mellon (“BNYM” or the “Administrator”) will not disseminate non-public information concerning the Trust.

Access to information concerning the Fund’s portfolio holdings may be permitted at other times to personnel of third party service providers, including the Fund’s custodian, transfer agent, [Fidelity,] auditors and counsel, as may be necessary to conduct business in the ordinary course in a manner consistent with such service providers’ agreements with the Trust on behalf of the Fund. All disclosures by the Fund will be consistent with the requirements of Regulation Fair Disclosure as if those provisions otherwise applied to the Fund.

MANAGEMENT

The primary responsibility of the Board is to represent the interests of the Fund and to provide oversight of the management of the Fund. The Trust currently has 10 Trustees. Nine Trustees are not “interested,” as that term is defined under the 1940 Act, and have no affiliation or business connection with the Adviser or any of its affiliated persons and do not own any stock or other securities issued by the Adviser (the “Independent Trustees”). The remaining Trustee (the “Interested Trustee”) is affiliated with the Adviser.

The Independent Trustees of the Trust, their term of office and length of time served, their principal business occupations during at least the past five years, the number of portfolios in the Fund Complex (defined below) that they oversee, and other directorships, if any, that they hold are shown below. The “Fund Complex” includes all open- and closed-end funds (including all of their portfolios) advised by the Adviser and any affiliated person of the Adviser. As of the date of this SAI, the “Fund Family” consists of the Trust and five other ETF trusts advised by the Adviser.

 

Name, Address and Year

of Birth of Independent Trustees

  

Position(s) Held
with Trust

  

Term of
Office and
Length of
Time Served*

  

Principal Occupation(s)
During the Past 5 Years

  

Number of
Portfolios in
Fund
Complex
Overseen by
Independent
Trustees

  

Other Directorships
Held by
Independent Trustees
During
the Past 5 Years

Ronn R. Bagge—1958

c/o Invesco Capital

Management LLC 3500 Lacey Road,

Suite 700

Downers Grove, IL 60515

   Vice Chairman of the Board; Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee and Trustee    Vice Chairman since 2018; Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee and Trustee since 2008    Founder and Principal, YQA Capital Management LLC (1998-Present); formerly, Owner/CEO, Electronic Dynamic Balancing Co., Inc. (high-speed rotating equipment service provider).    [___]   

Trustee and

Investment Oversight Committee member, Mission Aviation Fellowship (2017-Present).

 

 

  11  

 


Name, Address and Year

of Birth of Independent Trustees

  

Position(s) Held
with Trust

  

Term of
Office and
Length of
Time Served*

  

Principal Occupation(s)
During the Past 5 Years

  

Number of
Portfolios in
Fund
Complex
Overseen by
Independent
Trustees

  

Other Directorships
Held by
Independent Trustees
During
the Past 5 Years

Todd J. Barre—1957

c/o Invesco Capital

Management LLC

3500 Lacey Road,

Suite 700

Downers Grove, IL 60515

   Trustee    Since 2010    Assistant Professor of Business, Trinity Christian College (2010-2016); formerly, Vice President and Senior Investment Strategist (2001-2008), Director of Open Architecture and Trading (2007-2008), Head of Fundamental Research (2004-2007) and Vice President and Senior Fixed Income Strategist (1994-2001), BMO Financial Group/Harris Private Bank.    [___]    None

Edmund P.

Giambastiani, Jr.—1948

c/o Invesco Capital Management LLC

3500 Lacey Road,

Suite 700

Downers Grove, IL 60515

   Trustee    Since 2019    President, Giambastiani Group LLC (national security and energy consulting) (2007-Present); Director, The Boeing Company (2009-Present); Trustee, MITRE Corporation (federally-funded research development) (2008-Present); Director, THL Credit, Inc. (alternative credit investment manager) (2016-Present); Trustee, U.S. Naval Academy Foundation Athletic & Scholarship Program (2010-Present); Advisory Board Member, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory (federally-funded research development) (2010-Present); Defense Advisory Board Member, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (2013-Present); formerly, Chairman (2015-2016), Lead Director (2011-2015) and Director (2008-2011), Monster Worldwide, Inc. (career services); Advisory Board Member, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs of Syracuse University (2012-2016); United States Navy, career nuclear submarine officer (1970-2007); Seventh Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (2005-2007); first NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (2003-2005) and Commander, U.S. Joint Forces Command (2002-2005).    [___]    Formerly, Trustee, certain funds in the Oppenheimer Funds complex (2013-2019); Director, Mercury Defense Systems Inc. (information technology) (2011-2013); Independent Director, QinetiQ Group Plc (defense technology and security) (2008-2011); Chairman, Alenia North America, Inc. (military and defense products) (2008-2009); Director, SRA International, Inc. (information technology and services) (2008- 2011).

 

 

  12  

 


Name, Address and Year

of Birth of Independent Trustees

  

Position(s) Held
with Trust

  

Term of
Office and
Length of
Time Served*

  

Principal Occupation(s)
During the Past 5 Years

  

Number of
Portfolios in
Fund
Complex
Overseen by
Independent
Trustees

  

Other Directorships
Held by
Independent Trustees
During
the Past 5 Years

Victoria J. Herget—1951

c/o Invesco Capital

Management LLC

3500 Lacey Road,

Suite 700

Downers Grove, IL 60515

   Trustee   

Since 2019

  

Formerly, Managing Director (1993-2001), Principal (1985-1993), Vice President (1978-1985) and Assistant Vice President (1973-1978), Zurich Scudder Investments (investment adviser) (and its predecessor firms).

   [___]    Trustee (2000-Present) and Chair (2010-2017), Newberry Library; Trustee, Mather LifeWays (2001-Present); Trustee, Chikaming Open Lands (2014-Present); formerly, Trustee, certain funds in the Oppenheimer Funds complex (2012-2019); Board Chair (2008-2015) and Director (2004-2018), United Educators Insurance Company; Independent Director, First American Funds (2003-2011); Trustee (1992-2007), Chair of the Board of Trustees (1999-2007), Investment Committee Chair (1994-1999) and Investment Committee member (2007-2010), Wellesley College; Trustee, BoardSource (2006-2009); Trustee, Chicago City Day School (1994-2005).

Marc M. Kole—1960

c/o Invesco Capital

Management LLC

3500 Lacey Road,

Suite 700

Downers Grove, IL 60515

   Chairman of the Audit Committee and Trustee   

Chairman of the Audit Committee and Trustee since 2008

  

Senior Director of Finance, By The Hand Club for Kids (not-for-profit) (2015-Present); formerly, Chief Financial Officer, Hope Network (social services) (2008-2012); Assistant Vice President and Controller, Priority Health (health insurance) (2005-2008); Regional Chief Financial Officer, United Healthcare (2005); Chief Accounting Officer, Senior Vice President of Finance, Oxford Health Plans (2000-2004); Audit Partner, Arthur Andersen LLP (1996-2000).

  

[___]

   Treasurer (2018-Present), Finance Committee Member (2015-Present) and Audit Committee Member (2015), Thornapple Evangelical Covenant Church; formerly, Board and Finance Committee Member (2009-2017) and Treasurer (2010-2015, 2017), NorthPointe Christian Schools.

Yung Bong Lim—1964

c/o Invesco Capital Management LLC

3500 Lacey Road,

Suite 700

Downers Grove, IL 60515

   Chairman of the Investment Oversight Committee and Trustee   

Chairman of the Investment Oversight Committee since 2014; Trustee since 2013

  

Managing Partner, RDG Funds LLC (real estate) (2008-Present); formerly, Managing Director, Citadel LLC (1999-2007).

  

[___]

   Advisory Board Member, Performance Trust Capital Partners, LLC (2008-Present); Board Director, Beacon Power Services, Corp. (2019-Present).

 

 

  13  

 


Name, Address and Year

of Birth of Independent Trustees

  

Position(s) Held
with Trust

  

Term of
Office and
Length of
Time Served*

  

Principal Occupation(s)
During the Past 5 Years

  

Number of
Portfolios in
Fund
Complex
Overseen by
Independent
Trustees

  

Other Directorships
Held by
Independent Trustees
During
the Past 5 Years

Joanne Pace—1958

c/o Invesco Capital

Management LLC

3500 Lacey Road,

Suite 700

Downers Grove, IL 60515

   Trustee    Since 2019    Formerly, Senior Advisor, SECOR Asset Management, LP (2010-2011); Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, Morgan Stanley Investment Management (2006-2010); Partner and Chief Operating Officer, FrontPoint Partners, LLC (alternative investments) (2005-2006); Managing Director (2003-2005), Global Head of Human Resources and member of Executive Board and Operating Committee (2004-2005), Global Head of Operations and Product Control (2003-2004), Credit Suisse (investment banking); Managing Director (1997-2003), Controller and Principal Accounting Officer (1999-2003), Morgan Stanley; Chief Financial Officer (temporary assignment) for the Oversight Committee, Long Term Capital Management (1998-1999).    [___]    Board Director, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (2012-Present); Advisory Board Director, The Alberleen Group LLC (2012-Present); Governing Council Member (2016-Present) and Chair of Education Committee (2017-Present), Independent Directors Council (IDC); Board Member, 100 Women in Finance (2015-Present); Advisory Council Member, Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital (2012- Present); formerly, Trustee, certain funds in the Oppenheimer Funds complex (2012-2019); Lead Independent Director and Chair of the Audit and Nominating Committee of The Global Chartist Fund, LLC, Oppenheimer Asset Management (2011-2012); Board Director, Managed Funds Association (2008-2010); Board Director (2007-2010) and Investment Committee Chair (2008-2010), Morgan Stanley Foundation.

Gary R. Wicker—1961

c/o Invesco Capital Management LLC

3500 Lacey Road,

Suite 700

Downers Grove, IL 60515

   Trustee    Since 2013    Senior Vice President of Global Finance and Chief Financial Officer, RBC Ministries (publishing company) (2013-Present); formerly, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Zondervan Publishing (a division of Harper Collins/NewsCorp) (2007-2012); Senior Vice President and Group Controller (2005- 2006), Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (2003-2004), Chief Financial Officer (2001-2003), Vice President, Finance and Controller (1999-2001) and Assistant Controller (1997-1999), divisions of The Thomson Corporation (information services provider); Senior Audit Manager (1994-1997), PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.    [___]    Board Member and Treasurer, Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada (2015-Present); Board and Finance Committee Member, West Michigan Youth For Christ (2010-Present).

 

 

  14  

 


Name, Address and Year

of Birth of Independent Trustees

  

Position(s) Held
with Trust

  

Term of
Office and
Length of
Time Served*

  

Principal Occupation(s)
During the Past 5 Years

  

Number of
Portfolios in
Fund
Complex
Overseen by
Independent
Trustees

  

Other Directorships
Held by
Independent Trustees
During
the Past 5 Years

Donald H. Wilson—1959

c/o Invesco Capital Management LLC

3500 Lacey Road,

Suite 700

Downers Grove, IL 60515

  

Chairman of

the Board and

Trustee

   Chairman since 2012; Trustee since 2008    Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, McHenry Bancorp Inc. and McHenry Savings Bank (subsidiary) (2018-Present); Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Stone Pillar Advisors, Ltd. (2010-Present); formerly, President and Chief Executive Officer, Stone Pillar Investments, Ltd. (advisory services to the financial sector) (2016- 2018); Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Community Financial Shares, Inc. and Community Bank—Wheaton/Glen Ellyn (subsidiary) (2013-2015); Chief Operating Officer, AMCORE Financial, Inc. (bank holding company) (2007-2009); Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, AMCORE Financial, Inc. (2006-2007); Senior Vice President and Treasurer, Marshall & Ilsley Corp. (bank holding company) (1995-2006).    [___]    Director, Penfield Children’s Center (2004-Present); Board Chairman, Gracebridge Alliance, Inc. (2015-Present).

 

*

This is the date the Independent Trustee began serving the Trust. Each Independent Trustee serves an indefinite term, until his or her successor is elected.

The Interested Trustee and the executive officers of the Trust, their term of office and length of time served, their principal business occupations during at least the past five years, the number of portfolios in the Fund Complex overseen by the Interested Trustee and the other directorships, if any, held by the Interested Trustee, are shown below:

 

 

  15  

 


Name, Address and Year

of Birth of Independent Trustees

  

Position(s) Held
with Trust

  

Term of
Office and
Length of
Time Served*

  

Principal Occupation(s)
During the Past 5 Years

  

Number of
Portfolios in
Fund
Complex
Overseen by
Independent
Trustees

  

Other Directorships
Held by
Independent Trustees
During
the Past 5 Years

Kevin M. Carome—1956

Invesco Ltd.

Two Peachtree Pointe,

1555 Peachtree St., N.E.,

Suite 1800

Atlanta, GA 30309

   Trustee    Since 2010    Senior Managing Director, Secretary and General Counsel, Invesco Ltd. (2007-Present); Director, Invesco Advisers, Inc. (2009-Present); Director (2006-Present) and Executive Vice President (2008-Present), Invesco North American Holdings, Inc.; Executive Vice President (2008-Present), Invesco Investments (Bermuda) Ltd.; Manager, Horizon Flight Works LLC; and Executive Vice President (2014-Present), INVESCO Asset Management (Bermuda) Ltd.; formerly, Director and Secretary (2012-2020), Invesco Services (Bahamas) Private Limited; Director, Invesco Finance PLC (2011-2019); Director, INVESCO Asset Management (Bermuda) Ltd. (2014-2019); Director and Executive Vice President, Invesco Finance, Inc. (2011-2018); Director (2006-2018) and Executive Vice President (2008-2018), Invesco Group Services, Inc., Invesco Holding Company (US), Inc.; Director, Invesco Holding Company Limited (2007-2019); Director and Chairman, INVESCO Funds Group, Inc., Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel, Invesco Advisers, Inc. (2003-2006); Director, Invesco Investments (Bermuda) Ltd. (2008-2016); Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Liberty Financial Companies, Inc. (2000-2001); General Counsel of certain investment management subsidiaries of Liberty Financial Companies, Inc. (1998-2000); Associate General Counsel, Liberty Financial Companies, Inc. (1993-1998); Associate, Ropes & Gray LLP.    [___]    None

 

*

This is the date the Interested Trustee began serving the Trust. The Interested Trustee serves an indefinite term, until his successor is elected.

 

 

  16  

 


Name, Address and Year

of Birth of Executive Officers

  

Position(s) Held
with Trust

  

Term of

Office and
Length of

Time Served*

  

Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years

Anna Paglia—1974

Invesco Capital Management LLC

3500 Lacey Road,

Suite 700

Downers Grove, IL 60515

  

President and Principal

Executive Officer

   Since 2020    President and Principal Executive Officer, Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II, Invesco India Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Commodity Fund Trust and Invesco Exchange-Traded Self-Indexed Fund Trust (May 2020-Present); Managing Director and Global Head of ETFs and Indexed Strategies, Chief Executive Officer and Principal Executive Officer, Invesco Capital Management LLC (June 2020-Present); Chief Executive Officer, Manager and Principal Executive Officer, Invesco Specialized Products, LLC (June 2020-Present); Secretary, Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II, Invesco India Exchange-Traded Fund Trust and Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust (2011-Present), Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Commodity Fund Trust (2014-Present) and Invesco Exchange-Traded Self-Indexed Fund Trust (2015-Present); Head of Legal (2010-Present) and Secretary (2015-Present), Invesco Capital Management LLC; Manager and Assistant Secretary, Invesco Indexing LLC (2017-Present); and Head of Legal and Secretary, Invesco Specialized Products, LLC (2018-Present). Formerly, K&L Gates LLP (formerly, Bell Boyd & Lloyd LLP) (2007-2010); and Associate Counsel at Barclays Global Investors Ltd. (2004-2006)..

Kelli Gallegos—1970

Invesco Capital

Management LLC

3500 Lacey Road,

Suite 700

Downers Grove, IL 60515

   Vice President and Treasurer    Since 2018    Assistant Treasurer, Invesco Specialized Products, LLC (2018-Present); Vice President and Treasurer, Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II, Invesco India Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Commodity Fund Trust and Invesco Exchange-Traded Self-Indexed Fund Trust (2018-Present); Principal Financial and Accounting Officer-Pooled Investments, Invesco Capital Management LLC (2018-Present); Vice President, Principal Financial Officer (2016-Present) and Assistant Treasurer (2008-Present), The Invesco Funds; formerly, Assistant Treasurer, Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II, Invesco India Exchange-Traded Fund Trust and Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust (2012-2018), Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Commodity Fund Trust (2014-2018) and Invesco Exchange-Traded Self-Indexed Fund Trust (2016-2018); Assistant Treasurer, Invesco Capital Management LLC (2013-2018); and Assistant Vice President, The Invesco Funds (2008-2016).

Adam Henkel—1980

Invesco Capital

Management LLC

3500 Lacey Road,

Suite 700

Downers Grove, IL 60515

   Secretary    Since 2020    Head of Legal – US ETFs and Secretary, Invesco Capital Management LLC (2020-Present); Head of Legal and Secretary, Invesco Specialized Products, LLC (2020-Present); Secretary, Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II, Invesco India Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Commodity Fund Trust and Invesco Exchange-Traded Self-Indexed Fund Trust (2020-Present); Manager and Assistant Secretary, Invesco Indexing LLC (2020-Present); Assistant Secretary (2020-Present), Invesco Capital Markets, Inc. and Invesco Investment Advisers LLC; Assistant Secretary, The Invesco Funds (2014-Present); formerly, Assistant Secretary, Invesco Capital Management LLC (2015-2020) and Invesco Specialized Products, LLC (2018-2020); Assistant Secretary (2014-2020) and Chief Compliance Officer(2017-2017), Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II, Invesco India Exchange-Traded Fund Trust and Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Commodity Fund Trust and Invesco Exchange-Traded Self-Indexed Fund Trust.

Peter Hubbard—1981 Invesco Capital

Management LLC

3500 Lacey Road,

Suite 700

Downers Grove, IL 60515

   Vice President    Since 2009    Vice President, Invesco Specialized Products, LLC (2018-Present); Vice President, Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II, Invesco India Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust (2009-Present), Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Commodity Fund Trust (2014-Present) and Invesco Exchange-Traded Self-Indexed Fund Trust (2016-Present); Vice President and Director of Portfolio Management, Invesco Capital Management LLC (2010-Present); formerly, Vice President of Portfolio Management, Invesco Capital Management LLC (2008-2010); Portfolio Manager, Invesco Capital Management LLC (2007-2008); Research Analyst, Invesco Capital Management LLC (2005-2007); Research Analyst and Trader, Ritchie Capital, a hedge fund operator (2003-2005).

 

 

  17  

 


Name, Address and Year

of Birth of Executive Officers

  

Position(s) Held
with Trust

  

Term of

Office and
Length of

Time Served*

  

Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years

Sheri Morris—1964

Invesco Capital Management LLC

3500 Lacey Road,

Suite 700

Downers Grove, IL 60515

   Vice President    Since 2012    Vice President, OppenheimerFunds, Inc. (2019-Present); President and Principal Executive Officer, The Invesco Funds (2016-Present); Treasurer, The Invesco Funds (2008-Present); Vice President, Invesco Advisers, Inc. (formerly known as Invesco Institutional (N.A.), Inc.) (registered investment adviser) (2009-Present) and Vice President, Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II, Invesco India Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust (2012-Present), Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Commodity Fund Trust (2014-Present) and Invesco Exchange-Traded Self-Indexed Fund Trust (2016-Present); formerly, Vice President and Principal Financial Officer, The Invesco Funds (2008-2016); Treasurer, Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II, Invesco India Exchange-Traded Fund Trust and Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust (2011-2013); Vice President, Invesco Aim Advisers, Inc., Invesco Aim Capital Management, Inc. and Invesco Aim Private Asset Management, Inc.; Assistant Vice President and Assistant Treasurer, The Invesco Funds and Assistant Vice President, Invesco Advisers, Inc., Invesco Aim Capital Management, Inc. and Invesco Aim Private Asset Management, Inc.

Rudolf E. Reitmann—1971

Invesco Capital

Management LLC

3500 Lacey Road,

Suite 700

Downers Grove, IL 60515

   Vice President    Since 2013    Head of Global Exchange Traded Funds Services, Invesco Specialized Products, LLC (2018-Present); Vice President, Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II, Invesco India Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust (2013-Present), Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Commodity Fund Trust (2014-Present) and Invesco Exchange-Traded Self-Indexed Fund Trust (2016-Present); Head of Global Exchange Traded Funds Services, Invesco Capital Management LLC (2013-Present); Vice President, Invesco Capital Markets, Inc. (2018-Present).

Melanie Zimdars—1976

Invesco Capital

Management LLC

3500 Lacey Road,

Suite 700

Downers Grove, IL 60515

  

Chief Compliance

Officer

   Since 2017    Chief Compliance Officer, Invesco Specialized Products, LLC (2018-Present); Chief Compliance Officer, Invesco Capital Management LLC (2017-Present); Chief Compliance Officer, Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II, Invesco India Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Commodity Fund Trust and Invesco Exchange-Traded Self-Indexed Fund Trust (2017-Present); formerly, Vice President and Deputy Chief Compliance Officer, ALPS Holding, Inc. (2009-2017); Mutual Fund Treasurer/ Chief Financial Officer, Wasatch Advisors, Inc. (2005-2008); Compliance Officer, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2001-2005).

 

*

This is the date each Officer began serving the Trust. Each Officer serves an indefinite term, until his or her successor is elected.

The Fund is newly established. As of the date of this SAI, none of the Trustees held equity securities in the Fund. As of December 31, 2019, each Trustee, except for Admiral Edmund P. Giambastiani, Jr. and Ms. Victoria J. Herget, held in the aggregate over $100,000 in equity securities in all of the registered investment companies overseen by the Trustees in the Fund Family. The dollar range of Shares for Mr. Lim includes shares of certain funds in which Mr. Lim is deemed to be invested pursuant to the Trust’s deferred compensation plan (“DC Plan”), which is described below.

As of the date of this SAI, as to each Independent Trustee and his or her immediate family members, no person owned beneficially or of record securities in an investment adviser or principal underwriter of the Fund, or a person (other than a registered investment company) directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with an investment adviser or principal underwriter of the Fund.

Board and Committee Structure. As noted above, the Board is responsible for oversight of the Fund, including oversight of the duties performed by the Adviser for the Fund under the investment advisory agreement between the Adviser and the Trust, on behalf of the Fund (the “Investment Advisory Agreement”). The Board generally meets in regularly scheduled meetings five times a year and may meet more often as required. During the fiscal year ended [___], the Board held [___] meetings.

The Board has three standing committees, the Audit Committee, the Investment Oversight Committee and the Nominating and Governance Committee and has delegated certain responsibilities to those Committees.

 

 

  18  

 


Mr. Kole (Chair), Ms. Pace, and Messrs. Wicker and Wilson currently serve as members of the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee has the responsibility, among other things, to: (i) approve and recommend to the Board the selection of the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm, (ii) review the scope of the independent registered public accounting firm’s audit activity, (iii) review the audited financial statements and (iv) review with such independent registered public accounting firm the adequacy and the effectiveness of the Trust’s internal controls over financial reporting. During the fiscal year ended [___], the Audit Committee held [___] meetings.

Mr. Bagge, Dr. Barre, Admiral Giambastiani, Ms. Herget and Mr. Lim (Chair) currently serve as members of the Investment Oversight Committee. The Investment Oversight Committee has the responsibility, among other things, (i) to review fund investment performance, including tracking error and correlation to its underlying index, as applicable, (ii) to review any proposed changes to a fund’s investment policies, comparative benchmark indices or underlying index, as applicable, and (iii) to review a fund’s market trading activities and portfolio transactions. During the fiscal year ended [___], the Investment Oversight Committee held [___] meetings.

Mr. Bagge (Chair), Dr. Barre, Admiral Giambastiani, Ms. Herget, Messrs. Kole and Lim, Ms. Pace, and Messrs. Wicker and Wilson currently serve as members of the Nominating and Governance Committee. The Nominating and Governance Committee has the responsibility, among other things, to identify and recommend individuals for Board membership and evaluate candidates for Board membership. The Board will consider recommendations for trustees from shareholders. Nominations from shareholders should be in writing and sent to the Secretary of the Trust to the attention of the Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee, as described below under the caption “Shareholder Communications.” During the fiscal year ended [___], the Nominating and Governance Committee held [___] meetings.

Mr. Wilson, one of the Independent Trustees, serves as the chair of the Board (the “Independent Chair”). The Independent Chair, among other things, chairs the Board meetings, participates in the preparation of the Board agendas and serves as a liaison between, and facilitates communication among, the other Independent Trustees, the full Board, the Adviser and other service providers with respect to Board matters. Mr. Bagge, as Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee, serves as vice chair of the Board (the “Vice Chair”). In the absence of the Independent Chair, the Vice Chair is responsible for all of the Independent Chair’s duties and may exercise any of the Independent Chair’s powers. The Chairs of each Committee also serve as liaisons between the Adviser and other service providers and the other Independent Trustees for matters pertaining to the respective Committee. The Board believes that its current leadership structure is appropriate taking into account the assets and number of funds in the Fund Family overseen by the Trustees, the size of the Board and the nature of the funds’ business, as the Interested Trustee and officers of the Trust provide the Board with insight as to the daily management of the funds while the Independent Chair promotes independent oversight of the funds by the Board.

Risk Oversight. The Fund is subject to a number of risks, including operational, investment and compliance risks. The Board, directly and through its Committees, as part of its oversight responsibilities, oversees the services provided by the Adviser and the Trust’s other service providers in connection with the management and operations of the Fund, as well as its associated risks. Under the oversight of the Board, the Trust, the Adviser and other service providers have adopted policies, procedures and controls to address these risks. The Board, directly and through its Committees, receives and reviews information from the Adviser, other service providers, the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm, Trust counsel and counsel to the Independent Trustees to assist it in its oversight responsibilities. This information includes, but is not limited to, reports regarding the Fund’s investments, including Fund performance and investment practices, valuation of Fund portfolio securities, and compliance. The Board also reviews, and must approve any proposed changes to, the Fund’s investment objective, policies and restrictions, and reviews any areas of non-compliance with the Fund’s investment policies and restrictions. The Audit Committee monitors the Trust’s accounting policies, financial reporting and internal control system and reviews any internal audit reports impacting the Trust. As part of its compliance oversight, the Board reviews the annual compliance report issued by the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer on the policies and procedures of the Trust and its service providers, proposed changes to those policies and procedures and quarterly reports on any material compliance issues that arose during the period.

Experience, Qualifications and Attributes. As noted above, the Nominating and Governance Committee is responsible for identifying, evaluating and recommending trustee candidates. The Nominating and Governance Committee reviews the background and the educational, business and professional experience of trustee candidates and the candidates’ expected contributions to the Board. Trustees selected to serve on the Board are expected to possess relevant skills and experience, time availability and the ability to work well with the other Trustees. In addition to these qualities and based on each Trustee’s experience, qualifications and attributes and the Trustees’ combined contributions to the Board, following is a brief summary of the information that led to the conclusion that each Board member should serve as a Trustee.

 

 

  19  

 


Mr. Bagge has served as a trustee and Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee with the Fund Family since 2003 and as Vice Chair with the Fund Family since 2018. He founded YQA Capital Management, LLC in 1998 and has since served as a principal. Mr. Bagge serves as a Trustee and a member of the Investment Oversight Committee of Mission Aviation Fellowship. Previously, Mr. Bagge was the owner and CEO of Electronic Dynamic Balancing Company from 1988 to 2001. He began his career as a securities analyst for institutional investors, including CT&T Asset Management and J.C. Bradford & Co. The Board considered that Mr. Bagge has served as a board member or advisor for several privately held businesses and charitable organizations and the executive, investment and operations experience that Mr. Bagge has gained over the course of his career and through his financial industry experience.

Dr. Barre has served as a trustee with the Fund Family since 2010. He served as Assistant Professor of Business at Trinity Christian College from 2010 to 2016. Additionally, he earned his Doctor of Business Administration degree from Anderson University in 2019 with final dissertation researched focused on exchange-traded funds. Previously, he served in various positions with BMO Financial Group/Harris Private Bank, including Vice President and Senior Investment Strategist (2001-2008), Director of Open Architecture and Trading (2007-2008), Head of Fundamental Research (2004-2007) and Vice President and Senior Fixed Income Strategist (1994-2001). From 1983 to 1994, Dr. Barre was with the Office of the Manager of Investments at Commonwealth Edison Co. He also was a staff accountant at Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co. from 1981 to 1983. The Board considered the executive, financial and investment experience that Dr. Barre has gained over the course of his career and through his financial industry experience.

Mr. Carome has served as a trustee with the Fund Family since 2010. He has served as the Senior Managing Director and General Counsel of Invesco Ltd. since 2007, and has held various senior executive positions with Invesco Ltd. since 2003. Previously, he served in various positions with Liberty Financial Companies, Inc., including Senior Vice President and General Counsel (2000-2001), General Counsel of certain investment management subsidiaries (1998-2000) and Associate General Counsel (1993-1998). Prior to his employment with Liberty Financial Companies, Inc., Mr. Carome was an associate with Ropes & Gray LLP. The Board considered Mr. Carome’s senior executive position with Invesco Ltd.

Admiral Giambastiani has served as a trustee with the Fund Family since 2019. He founded Giambastiani Group LLC in 2007 and has since served as its President. He has served as Director of The Boeing Company since 2009, as Director of THL Credit, Inc. since 2016, as Trustee of the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation Athletic & Scholarship Program since 2010, as an Advisory Board Member of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory since 2010, as Trustee of MITRE Corporation since September 2008 and as a Defense Advisory Board Member of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 2013. Previously, he served as Trustee of certain funds in the Oppenheimer Funds complex (2013-2019), an Advisory Board Member of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs of Syracuse University (2012-2016), Director of Mercury Defense Systems Inc. (2011-2013), Independent Director of QinetiQ Group Plc (2008-2011), Chairman (2015- 2016), Lead Director (2011-2015) and Director (2008-2011) of Monster Worldwide, Inc., and Chairman of Alenia North America, Inc. (2008-2009) and Director of SRA International, Inc. (2008-2011). Admiral Giambastiani also served in the United States Navy as a career nuclear submarine officer (1970-2007), as Seventh Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (2005-October 2007), as the first NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (2003-2005) and Commander, U.S. Joint Forces Command (2002-2005). Since his retirement from the U.S. Navy in October 2007, Admiral Giambastiani has also served on numerous U.S. Government advisory boards, investigations and task forces for the Secretaries of Defense, State and Interior and the Directors of National Intelligence and Central Intelligence Agency. He recently completed serving as a federal commissioner on the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission. The Board considered the executive and operations experience that Admiral Giambastiani has gained over the course of his career and through his financial industry experience.

Ms. Herget has served as a trustee with the Fund Family since 2019. She has served as Trustee of Mather LifeWays since 2001, as Chair (2010-2017) and Trustee of Newberry Library since 2000, and as Trustee of Chikaming Open Lands since 2014. Previously, she served as Board Chair (2008-2015) and Director (2004-2018) of United Educators Insurance Company, as Trustee of certain funds in the Oppenheimer Funds complex (2012-2019) and as Independent Director of the First American Funds (2003-2011). Ms. Herget served as Managing Director (1993-2001), Principal (1985-1993), Vice President (1978-1985) and Assistant Vice President (1973-1978) of Zurich Scudder Investments (and its predecessor firms), as Trustee (1992-2007), Chair of the Board of Trustees (1999-2007), Investment Committee Chair (1994-1999) and Investment Committee member (2007-2010) of Wellesley College and as Trustee of BoardSource (2006-2009) and Chicago City Day School (1994-2005). The Board considered the executive,

 

 

  20  

 


financial and investment experience that Ms. Herget has gained over the course of her career and through her financial industry experience.

Mr. Kole has served as a trustee with the Fund Family since 2006 and Chairman of the Audit Committee with the Fund Family since 2008. He has been the Senior Director of Finance of By The Hand Club for Kids since 2015. Previously, he was the Chief Financial Officer of Hope Network from 2008 to 2012 and he was the Assistant Vice President and Controller at Priority Health from 2005 to 2008, Regional Chief Financial Officer of United Healthcare from 2004 to 2005, Chief Accounting Officer and Senior Vice President of Finance of Oxford Health Plans from 2000 to 2004 and Audit Partner at Arthur Andersen LLP from 1996 to 2000. Mr. Kole has served as Treasurer (2018-Present), Finance Committee Member (2015-Present) and Audit Committee Member (2015) of Thornapple Evangelical Covenant Church and previously served as Board and Finance Committee Member (2009-2017) and Treasurer (2010-2015, 2017) of NorthPointe Christian Schools. The Board has determined that Mr. Kole qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined by the SEC. The Board considered the executive, financial and operations experience that Mr. Kole has gained over the course of his career and through his financial industry experience.

Mr. Lim has served as a trustee with the Fund Family since 2013 and Chairman of the Investment Oversight Committee with the Fund Family since 2014. He has been a Managing Partner of RDG Funds LLC since 2008. Previously, he was a Managing Director and the Head of the Securitized Products Group of Citadel LLC (1999-2007). Prior to his employment with Citadel LLC, he was a Managing Director with Salomon Brothers Inc. Mr. Lim has served as an Advisory Board Member of Performance Trust Capital Partners, LLC (2008-Present) and as a Board Director of Beacon Power Services, Corp. (2019-Present). The Board considered the executive, financial, operations and investment experience that Mr. Lim has gained over the course of his career and through his financial industry experience.

Ms. Pace has served as a trustee with the Fund Family since 2019. She has served as Board Director of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey since 2012, as an Advisory Board Director of The Alberleen Group LLC since 2012, as Governing Council Member (since 2016) and Chair of Education Committee (since 2017) of Independent Directors Council (IDC), as a Board Member of 100 Women in Finance since January 2015 and as a Council Member of New York-Presbyterian Hospital’s Leadership Council on Children’s and Women’s Health since 2012. Previously, she has served as Trustee of certain funds in the Oppenheimer Funds complex (2012-2019), as Senior Advisor of SECOR Asset Management, LP (2010-2011), as Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Morgan Stanley Investment Management (2006-2010) and as Partner and Chief Operating Officer of FrontPoint Partners, LLC (2005-2006). Ms. Pace also held the following positions at Credit Suisse: Managing Director (2003-2005); Global Head of Human Resources and member of Executive Board and Operating Committee (2004-2005), and Global Head of Operations and Product Control (2003-2004). She also held the following positions at Morgan Stanley: Managing Director (1997-2003), Controller and Principal Accounting Officer (1999-2003); and Chief Financial Officer (temporary assignment) for the Oversight Committee, Long Term Capital Management (1998-1999). She also served as Lead Independent Director and Chair of the Audit and Nominating Committee of The Global Chartist Fund, LLC of Oppenheimer Asset Management (2011-2012), as Board Director of Managed Funds Association (2008-2010) and as Board Director of Morgan Stanley Foundation (2007-2010) and Investment Committee Chair (2008-2010). The Board has determined that Ms. Pace qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined by the SEC. The Board considered the executive, financial, operations and investment experience that Ms. Pace has gained over the course of her career and through her financial industry experience.

Mr. Wicker has served as a trustee with the Fund Family since 2013. He has served as Senior Vice President of Global Finance and Chief Financial Officer at RBC Ministries since 2013. Previously, he was the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Zondervan Publishing from 2007 to 2012. Prior to his employment with Zondervan Publishing, he held various positions with divisions of The Thomson Corporation, including Senior Vice President and Group Controller (2005-2006), Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (2003-2004), Chief Financial Officer (2001-2003), Vice President, Finance and Controller (1999-2001) and Assistant Controller (1997-1999). Prior to that, Mr. Wicker was Senior Manager in the Audit and Business Advisory Services Group of Price Waterhouse (1994-1996). Mr. Wicker has served as a Board Member and Treasurer of Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada (2015-Present) and as a Board and Finance Committee Member of West Michigan Youth For Christ (2010-Present). The Board has determined that Mr. Wicker qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined by the SEC. The Board considered the executive, financial and operations experience that Mr. Wicker has gained over the course of his career and through his financial industry experience.

Mr. Wilson has served as a trustee with the Fund Family since 2006 and as the Independent Chair with the Fund Family since 2012. He also served as lead Independent Trustee in 2011. He has served as the Chairman, President and

 

 

  21  

 


Chief Executive Officer of McHenry Bancorp Inc. and McHenry Savings Bank since 2018. Previously, he was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Stone Pillar Advisors, Ltd. (2010-2017). He was also President and Chief Executive Officer of Stone Pillar Investments, Ltd. (2016-2018). Mr. Wilson was also the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Community Financial Shares, Inc. and its subsidiary, Community Bank—Wheaton/Glen Ellyn (2013-2015). He also was the Chief Operating Officer (2007-2009) and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (2006-2007) of AMCORE Financial, Inc. Mr. Wilson also served as Senior Vice President and Treasurer of Marshall & Ilsley Corp. from 1995 to 2006. He started his career with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, serving in several roles in the bank examination division and the economic research division. Mr. Wilson has served as a Director of Penfield Children’s Center (2004-Present) and as Board Chairman of Gracebridge Alliance, Inc. (2015-Present). The Board has determined that Mr. Wilson qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined by the SEC. The Board considered the executive, financial and operations experience that Mr. Wilson has gained over the course of his career and through his financial industry experience.

This disclosure is not intended to hold out any Trustee as having any special expertise and shall not impose greater duties, obligations or liabilities on the Trustees. The Trustees’ principal occupations during at least the past five years are shown in the above tables.

For his or her services as a Trustee of the Trust and other trusts in the Fund Family, each Independent Trustee receives an annual retainer of $320,000 (the “Retainer”). The Retainer for the Independent Trustees is allocated half pro rata among all the funds in the Fund Family and the other half is allocated among all of the funds in the Fund Family based on average net assets. The Independent Chair receives an additional $120,000 per year for his service as the Independent Chair, allocated in the same manner as the Retainer. The chair of the Audit Committee receives an additional fee of $35,000 per year and the chairs of the Investment Oversight Committee and the Nominating and Governance Committee each receive an additional fee of $20,000 per year, each allocated in the same manner as the Retainer. Each Trustee also is reimbursed for travel and other out-of-pocket expenses incurred in attending Board and committee meetings.

The Trust’s DC Plan allows each Independent Trustee to defer payment of all, or a portion, of the fees that the Trustee receives for serving on the Board throughout the year. Each eligible Trustee generally may elect to have deferred amounts credited with a return equal to the total return of one or more registered investment companies within the Fund Family that are offered as investment options under the DC Plan. At the Trustee’s election, distributions are either in one lump sum payment, or in the form of equal annual installments over a period of years designated by the Trustee. The rights of an eligible Trustee and the beneficiaries to the amounts held under the DC Plan are unsecured, and such amounts are subject to the claims of the creditors of a fund. The Independent Trustees are not eligible for any pension or profit sharing plan in their capacity as Trustees.

The following sets forth the fees paid to each Trustee for the fiscal year ended [___].

 

Name of Trustee

   Aggregate
Compensation From
Trust(1)
     Pension or Retirement
Benefits accrued as part of
Fund Expenses
     Total Compensation Paid
From Fund Complex(2)
 

Independent Trustees

        

Ronn R. Bagge

     $[___]        N/A        $[___]  

Todd J. Barre

     $[___]        N/A        $[___]  

Edmund P. Giambastiani, Jr.

     $[___]        N/A        $[___]  

Victoria J. Herget

     $[___]        N/A        $[___]  

Marc M. Kole

     $[___]        N/A        $[___]  

Yung Bong Lim

     $[___]        N/A        $[___]  

Joanne Pace

     $[___]        N/A        $[___]  

Gary R. Wicker

     $[___]        N/A        $[___]  

Donald H. Wilson

     $[___]        N/A        $[___]  

 

 

  22  

 


Interested Trustee

        

Kevin M. Carome

     N/A        N/A        N/A  

 

(1)

Because the Fund had not commenced operations as of [___], the Fund did not pay any portion of the amounts shown in this table.

(2)

The amounts shown in this column represent the aggregate compensation paid by all of the funds of the trusts in the Fund Family for the fiscal year ended [___] before deferral by the Trustee under the DC Plan. During the fiscal year ended [___], Mr. Lim deferred 100% of his compensation, which amount is reflected in the above table.

Personal Holdings. As of the date of this SAI, the Trustees and officers, as a group, owned none of the Fund’s outstanding Shares.

Principal Holders and Control Persons. The Fund is new and, as of the date of this SAI, no person owned of record more than 5% of the outstanding Shares.

Shareholder Communications. Shareholders may send communications to the Trustees by addressing the communications directly to the Board (or individual Board members) and/or otherwise clearly indicating in the salutation that the communication is for the Board (or individual Board members). Shareholders may send the communication to either the Trust’s office or directly to such Board members at the address specified for each Trustee. Other shareholder communications the Trust receives not directly addressed and sent to the Board will be reviewed and generally responded to by management. Such communications will be forwarded to the Board at management’s discretion based on the matters contained therein.

Investment Adviser. The Adviser acts as investment adviser for, and manages the investment and reinvestment of, the assets of the Fund. The Adviser oversees the Sub-Adviser and delegates to the Sub-Adviser the duties of the investment and reinvestment of the Fund’s assets. The Adviser also administers the Trust’s business affairs, provides office facilities and equipment and certain clerical, bookkeeping and administrative services, and permits any of its officers or employees to serve without compensation as Trustees or officers of the Trust if elected to such positions.

Invesco Capital Management LLC, organized February 7, 2003, is located at 3500 Lacey Road, Suite 700, Downers Grove, Illinois 60515.

Invesco Ltd. is the parent company of the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser and is located at Two Peachtree Pointe, 1555 Peachtree Street, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia 30309. Invesco Ltd. and its subsidiaries are an independent global investment management group.

Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser manages the investment and reinvestment of the assets of the Fund on an ongoing basis under the supervision of the Adviser. The Sub-Adviser, Invesco Advisers, Inc., is located at Two Peachtree Pointe, 1555 Peachtree Street, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia 30309.

Portfolio Managers. The Adviser and Sub-Adviser use teams of portfolio managers (the “Portfolio Managers”), investment strategists and other investment specialists. This team approach brings together many disciplines and leverages the Adviser’s and Sub-Adviser’s extensive resources.

The Sub-Adviser’s portfolio managers develop investment models which are used in connection with the management of the Fund. The information below reflects the other funds for which each portfolio manager has day-to-day management responsibilities. Accounts are grouped into three categories: (i) registered investment companies, (ii) other pooled investment vehicles and (iii) other accounts. To the extent that any of these registered investment companies, other than pooled investment vehicles or other accounts, pay advisory fees that are based on account performance (“performance-based fees”), information on those accounts is specifically broken out. In addition, any assets denominated in foreign currencies have been converted into U.S. dollars using the exchange rates as of the applicable date.

As of [___], Mani Govil managed [___] registered investment companies with a total of approximately $[___] in assets, [___] other pooled investment vehicles with approximately $[___] in assets and [___] other accounts with approximately $[___] in assets.

As of [___], Benjamin Ram managed [___] registered investment companies with a total of approximately $[___] in assets, [___] other pooled investment vehicles with approximately $[___] in assets and [___] other accounts with approximately $[___] in assets.

 

 

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As of [___], Paul Larson managed [___] registered investment companies with a total of approximately $[___] in assets, [___] other pooled investment vehicles with approximately $[___] in assets and [___] other accounts with approximately $[___] in assets.

Because the portfolio managers of the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser may manage assets for other investment companies, pooled investment vehicles and/or other accounts, there may be an incentive to favor one client over another, resulting in conflicts of interest. For instance, the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser may receive fees from certain accounts that are higher than the fee it receives from the Fund. In addition, a conflict of interest could exist to the extent that the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser has proprietary investments in certain accounts, where portfolio managers have personal investments in certain accounts or when certain accounts are investment options in the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser’s employee benefits and/or deferred compensation plans. If the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser manages accounts that engage in short sales of securities of the type in which the Fund invests, the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser could be seen as harming the performance of the Fund for the benefit of the accounts engaging in short sales if the short sales cause the market value of the securities to fall. The Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser have adopted trade allocation and other policies and procedures that it believes are reasonably designed to address these and other conflicts of interest.

Description of Compensation Structure—Adviser. The Portfolio Managers are compensated with a fixed salary amount by the Adviser. The Portfolio Managers are eligible, along with other senior employees of the Adviser, to participate in a year-end discretionary bonus pool. There is no policy regarding, or agreement with, the Portfolio Managers or any other senior executive of the Adviser to receive bonuses or any other compensation in connection with the performance of any of the accounts managed by the Portfolio Managers.

Description of Compensation Structure—Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser seeks to maintain a compensation program that is competitively positioned to attract and retain high-caliber investment professionals. The Portfolio Managers receive a base salary, an incentive bonus opportunity, and an equity compensation opportunity. The Sub-Adviser’s Portfolio Manager compensation is reviewed and may be modified each year as appropriate to reflect changes in the market, as well as to adjust the factors used to determine bonuses to promote competitive Fund performance. The Sub-Adviser evaluates competitive market compensation by reviewing compensation survey results conducted by an independent third party of investment industry compensation. Each Portfolio Manager’s compensation consists of the following three elements:

Base Salary. The Portfolio Managers are paid a base salary. In setting the base salary, the Sub-Adviser’s intention is to be competitive in light of the particular Portfolio Manager’s experience and responsibilities.

Annual Bonus. The Portfolio Managers are eligible, along with other employees of the Sub-Adviser, to participate in a discretionary year-end bonus pool. The Compensation Committee of Invesco Ltd. reviews and approves the amount of the bonus pool available considering investment performance and financial results in its review. In addition, while having no direct impact on individual bonuses, assets under management are considered when determining the starting bonus funding levels. A Sub-Adviser’s portfolio manager is eligible to receive an annual cash bonus which is based on quantitative (i.e., investment performance) and non-quantitative factors (which may include, but are not limited to, individual performance, risk management and teamwork).

Each Portfolio Manager’s compensation is linked to the pre-tax investment performance of the funds/accounts managed by the Portfolio Manager as described in the table below.

 

    

Performance Time Period(2)

Sub-Adviser(1)

   One-, Three- and Five-year performance against Fund peer group

 

(1)

Portfolio Managers may be granted an annual deferral award that vests on a pro-rata basis over a four-year period.

(2)

Rolling time periods based on calendar year end.

High investment performance (against applicable peer group and/or benchmarks) would deliver compensation generally associated with top pay in the industry (determined by reference to the third-party

 

 

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provided compensation survey information) and poor investment performance (versus applicable peer group) would result in low bonus compared to the applicable peer group or no bonus at all. These decisions are reviewed and approved collectively by senior leadership which has responsibility for executing the compensation approach across the organization.

Deferred / Long Term Compensation. Portfolio Managers may be granted a deferred compensation award based on a firm-wide bonus pool approved by the Compensation Committee of Invesco Ltd. Deferred compensation awards may take the form of annual deferral awards or long-term equity awards. Annual deferral awards may be granted as an annual stock deferral award or an annual fund deferral award. Annual stock deferral awards are settled in Invesco Ltd. common shares. Annual fund deferral awards are notionally invested in certain Invesco Funds selected by the Portfolio Manager and are settled in cash. Long-term equity awards are settled in Invesco Ltd. common shares. Both annual deferral awards and long-term equity awards have a four-year ratable vesting schedule. The vesting period aligns the interests of the Portfolio Managers with the long-term interests of clients and shareholders and encourages retention.

Retirement and health and welfare arrangements. Portfolio Managers are eligible to participate in retirement and health and welfare plans and programs that are available generally to all employees.

Portfolio Holdings. As of the date of this SAI, the Fund has not yet commenced investment operations, and none of the Portfolio Managers beneficially own any Shares.

Investment Advisory Agreement. Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement between the Adviser and the Trust (the “Investment Advisory Agreement”), the Fund has agreed to pay the Adviser for its services an annual fee equal to a percentage of its average daily net assets as set forth in the chart below (the “Advisory Fee”).

 

Fund

   Advisory
Fee
 

Invesco US Large Cap Core ESG ETF

     [___]

The Advisory Fee paid by the Fund to the Adviser set forth in the table above is an annual unitary management fee. Out of the unitary management fee, the Adviser pays for substantially all expenses of the Fund, including the cost of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other services, except for advisory fees, distribution fees, if any, brokerage expenses, taxes, interest, litigation expenses, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, if any, and other extraordinary expenses.

The Fund may invest in money market funds that are managed by affiliates of the Adviser. The indirect portion of the management fee that the Fund incurs through such investments is in addition to the Adviser’s management fee. [Therefore, the Adviser has agreed to waive the management fees that it receives under the unitary management fee in an amount equal to the indirect management fees the Fund incurs through its investments in such affiliated money market funds through [                    ]. There is no guarantee that the Adviser will extend the waiver of the fees past that date. The waiver does not apply to any cash invested in an affiliated money market fund that the Fund receives as collateral for securities that it lends.]

Under the Investment Advisory Agreement, the Adviser will not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Fund in connection with the performance of the Investment Advisory Agreement, except a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of the Adviser in the performance of its duties or from reckless disregard of its duties and obligations thereunder. The Investment Advisory Agreement continues in effect (following its initial term) only if approved annually by the Board, including a majority of the Independent Trustees. The Investment Advisory Agreement terminates automatically upon assignment and is terminable at any time without penalty as to the Fund by the Board, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, or by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities on 60 days’ written notice to the Adviser, or by the Adviser on 60 days’ written notice to the Fund.

Sub-Advisory Agreement. The Adviser has entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Invesco, an affiliate of the Adviser, to serve as sub-adviser to the Fund (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”) pursuant to which the sub-adviser may be appointed by the Adviser from time to time to provide discretionary investment management services, investment advice and/or order execution services to the Fund.

The Adviser and the Sub-Adviser are indirect, wholly owned subsidiaries of Invesco Ltd. Under the Sub-Advisory Agreement, the Sub-Adviser will not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Fund in connection with the performance of the Sub-Advisory Agreement, except a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of sub-adviser in the performance of its duties or from reckless

 

 

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disregard of its duties and obligations thereunder. The Sub-Advisory Agreement continues in effect (following their initial term) only if approved annually by the Board, including a majority of the Independent Trustees.

The Sub-Advisory Agreement terminates automatically upon assignment or termination of the Advisory Agreement and is terminable at any time without penalty as to the Fund by the Board, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, or by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities on 60 days’ written notice to the Sub-Adviser, by the Adviser on 60 days’ written notice to the Sub-Adviser or by the Sub-Adviser on 60 days’ written notice to the Trust.

The Adviser pays the Sub-Adviser a fee which will be computed daily and paid as of the last day of each month equal to [40]% of the Adviser’s monthly compensation with respect to the assets of the Fund. On an annual basis, the Sub-Advisory fee is equal to [40]% of the Adviser’s compensation of the sub-advised assets per year.

Invesco is located at Two Peachtree Pointe, 1555 Peachtree Street, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia 30309.

Payments to Financial Intermediaries. The Adviser, the Distributor and/or their affiliates may enter into contractual arrangements with certain broker-dealers, banks and other financial intermediaries (each, an “Intermediary” and together, the “Intermediaries”) that the Adviser, the Distributor and/or their affiliates believe may benefit the Fund. Pursuant to such arrangements, the Adviser, the Distributor and/or their affiliates may provide cash payments or non-cash compensation, from their own assets and not from the assets of the Fund, to Intermediaries for certain activities that are designed to make registered representatives and other professionals more knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund; or for other activities, such as marketing, presentations, educational training programs, conferences, data collection and provision, technology support, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems, and providing their customers with access to the Fund via online platforms.

Any payments made pursuant to such arrangements may vary in any year and may be different for different Intermediaries. In certain cases, the payments described here may be subject to certain minimum payment levels. Although a portion of the Adviser’s revenue comes directly or indirectly in part from fees paid by the Fund, payments to Intermediaries are not financed by the Fund and therefore do not increase the price paid by investors for the purchase of shares of, or the cost of owning, the Fund or reduce the amount received by a shareholder as proceeds from the redemption of Shares. As a result, such payments are not reflected in the fees and expenses listed in the fees and expenses sections of the Fund’s Prospectus.

The Adviser periodically assesses the advisability of continuing to make these payments. Payments to an Intermediary may be significant to that Intermediary, and amounts that Intermediaries pay to your adviser, broker or other investment professional, if any, may also be significant to such adviser, broker or investment professional. Because an Intermediary may make decisions about what investment options it will make available or recommend, and what services to provide in connection with various products, based on payments it receives or is eligible to receive, such payments create conflicts of interest between the Intermediary and its clients. For example, these financial incentives may cause the Intermediary to recommend the Fund over other investments. The same conflict of interest exists with respect to your financial adviser, broker or investment professionals if he or she receives similar payments from his or her intermediary firm.

[As of the date of this SAI, as amended or supplemented from time to time, the Fund has entered into an agreement with [FIDELITY ENTITY] pursuant to which the Fund licenses the computer software used to optimize its Tracking Basket. In addition, the Fund has arranged to trade on the no-fee ETF platform maintained by Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC.]

Please contact your salesperson, adviser, broker or other investment professional for more information regarding any such payments or financial incentives his or her intermediary firm may receive. Any payments made, or financial incentives offered, by the Adviser, Distributor and/or their affiliates to an Intermediary may create the incentive for the Intermediary to encourage customers to buy Shares.

Administrator. BNYM serves as administrator for the Fund. Its principal address is 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286.

BNYM serves as administrator for the Fund pursuant to a fund administration and account services agreement (the “Administrative Services Agreement”) with the Trust. Under the Administrative Services Agreement, BNYM is obligated on a continuous basis to provide such administrative services as the Board reasonably deems necessary for the proper administration of the Trust and the Fund. BNYM will generally assist in many aspects of the Trust’s and the Fund’s operations, including accounting, bookkeeping and record keeping services (including, without limitation, the maintenance of such books and records as are required under the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder, except as maintained by other service providers); assist in preparing reports to shareholders or investors; assist in the preparation

 

 

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and filing of tax returns; supply financial information and supporting data for reports to and filings with the SEC; and supply supporting documentation for meetings of the Board.

Pursuant to the Administrative Services Agreement, the Trust has agreed to indemnify the Administrator for certain liabilities, including certain liabilities arising under the federal securities laws, unless such loss or liability results from negligence or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties.

Custodian, Transfer Agent and Fund Accounting Agent. BNYM (the “Custodian” or “Transfer Agent”), located at 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286, also serves as custodian for the Fund pursuant to a custodian agreement. As Custodian, BNYM holds the Fund’s assets, calculates the NAV of the Shares and calculates net income and realized capital gains or losses. BNYM also serves as Transfer Agent of the Fund pursuant to a transfer agency agreement. Further, BNYM serves as Fund accounting agent pursuant to the Administrative Services Agreement. As compensation for the foregoing services, BNYM may be reimbursed for its out-of-pocket costs, and receive transaction fees and asset-based fees which are accrued daily and paid monthly by the Adviser from the Advisory Fee.

Distributor. Invesco Distributors, Inc. is the distributor of the Fund’s Shares. The Distributor’s principal address is 11 Greenway Plaza, Suite 1000, Houston, Texas 77046-1173. The Distributor has entered into a distribution agreement (the “Distribution Agreement”) with the Trust pursuant to which it distributes the Fund’s Shares. The Fund continuously offers Shares for sale through the Distributor only in Creation Unit Aggregations, as described in the Prospectus and below under the heading “Creation and Redemption of Creation Unit Aggregations.”

The Distribution Agreement for the Fund provides that it may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, on at least 60 days’ written notice by the Trust to the Distributor (i) by vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees or (ii) by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund. The Distribution Agreement will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act).

Securities Lending Arrangements. The Fund may participate in a securities lending program (the “Program”) pursuant to a securities lending agreement that establishes the terms of the loan, including collateral requirements. While collateral may consist of cash, U.S. government securities, letters of credit, or such other collateral as may be permitted under the Program. By participating in the Program, the Fund may lend securities to securities brokers and other borrowers. The Adviser renders certain administrative services to the Fund because it engages in securities lending activities, which includes: (a) overseeing participation in the Program to ensure compliance with all applicable regulatory and investment guidelines; (b) assisting the securities lending agent or principal (the agent) in determining which specific securities are available for loan; (c) monitoring the agent to ensure that securities loans are effected in accordance with the Adviser’s instructions and with procedures adopted by the Board; (d) monitoring the creditworthiness of the agent and borrowers to ensure that securities loans are effected in accordance with the Adviser’s risk policies; (e) preparing appropriate periodic Board reports with respect to securities lending activities; (f) responding to agent inquiries; and (g) performing such other duties as may be necessary.

BNYM serves as the securities lending agent for the Program.

The securities lending agent provides the following services for the Fund in connection with securities lending activities: (i) entering into loans with approved entities subject to guidelines or restrictions provided by the Fund; (ii) receiving and holding collateral from borrowers, and facilitating the investment and reinvestment of cash collateral; (iii) monitoring daily the value of the loaned securities and collateral, including receiving and delivering additional collateral as necessary from/to borrowers; (iv) negotiating loan terms; (v) selecting securities to be loaned subject to guidelines or restrictions provided by the Fund; (vi) recordkeeping and account servicing; (vii) monitoring dividend/distribution activity and material proxy votes relating to loaned securities; and (viii) arranging for return of loaned securities to the Fund at loan termination.

Aggregations. The Distributor does not distribute Shares in less than Creation Unit Aggregations. The Distributor will deliver the Prospectus (or a Summary Prospectus) and, upon request, this SAI to persons purchasing Creation Unit Aggregations and will maintain records of both orders placed with it and confirmations of acceptance furnished by it. The Distributor is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”).

The Distributor also may enter into agreements with securities dealers (“Soliciting Dealers”) who will solicit purchases of Creation Unit Aggregations of the Shares. Such Soliciting Dealers also may be Participating Parties (as defined in “Procedures for Creation of Creation Unit Aggregations” below) and DTC Participants (as defined in “DTC Acts as Securities Depository for Shares” below).

BROKERAGE TRANSACTIONS AND COMMISSIONS ON AFFILIATED TRANSACTIONS

 

 

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The policies of the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser regarding purchases and sales of securities is to give primary consideration to obtaining the most favorable prices and efficient executions of transactions under the circumstances. Consistent with this policy, when securities transactions are effected on a stock exchange, the Adviser’s and the Sub-Adviser’s policies are to pay commissions that are considered fair and reasonable without necessarily determining that the lowest possible commissions are paid in all circumstances. In seeking to determine the reasonableness of brokerage commissions paid in any transaction, the Sub-Adviser relies upon its experience and knowledge regarding commissions generally charged by various brokers. The sale of Shares by a broker-dealer is not a factor in the selection of broker-dealers.

In seeking to implement its policies, the Sub-Adviser effects transactions with those brokers and dealers that the Sub-Adviser believes provide the most favorable prices and are capable of providing efficient executions. The Sub-Adviser may select brokers that are not affiliated with Invesco that provide brokerage and/or research services (i.e., soft dollar products) to the Fund and/or the other accounts over which the Sub-Adviser and its affiliates have investment discretion. Accordingly, the Fund may pay a broker commissions higher than those available from another broker in recognition of the broker’s provision of soft dollar products to the Sub-Adviser or its affiliates.

The Sub-Adviser faces a potential conflict of interest when it uses client trades to obtain soft dollar products. This conflict exists because the Sub-Adviser is able to use the soft dollar products to manage client accounts without paying cash for such products, which reduces the Sub-Adviser’s expenses to the extent that it would have purchased such products had they not been provided by brokers. Section 28(e) of the 1940 Act permits the Sub-Adviser to use soft dollar products for the benefit of any account it manages. Certain Invesco-managed accounts (or accounts managed by the Sub-Adviser) may generate soft dollars used to purchase those products that ultimately benefit other Sub-Adviser-managed accounts), effectively cross subsidizing the other Sub-Adviser-managed accounts that benefit directly from the product. The Sub-Adviser may not use all of the soft dollar products provided by brokers through which a fund effects securities transactions in connection with managing a fund whose trades generated the soft dollars used to purchase such products.

The Sub-Adviser presently engages in the following instances of cross-subsidization: Fixed income funds normally do not generate soft dollar commissions to pay for soft dollar products. Therefore, soft dollar commissions used to pay for such products which are used to manage certain fixed income funds are generated entirely by equity funds and other equity client accounts managed by the Sub-Adviser. In other words, certain fixed income funds are cross-subsidized by the equity funds in that the fixed income funds receive the benefit of soft dollar products services for which they do not pay. Similarly, other accounts managed by the Sub-Adviser or certain of its affiliates may benefit from soft dollar products services for which they do not pay.

Invesco attempts to reduce or eliminate the potential conflicts of interest concerning the use of soft dollar products by directing client trades for such products only if the Sub-Adviser concludes that the broker supplying the product is capable of providing best execution.

Certain soft dollar products may be available directly from a vendor on a hard dollar basis; other soft dollar products are available only through brokers in exchange for soft dollars. The Sub-Adviser uses soft dollars to purchase two types of soft dollar products: (1) proprietary research created by the broker executing the trade, and (2) other products created by third parties that are supplied to the Sub-Adviser through the broker executing the trade.

Proprietary research consists primarily of traditional research reports, recommendations and similar materials produced by the in-house research staffs of broker-dealer firms. This research includes evaluations and recommendations of specific companies or industry groups, as well as analyses of general economic and market conditions and trends, market data, contacts and other related information and assistance. The Sub-Adviser periodically rates the quality of proprietary research produced by various brokers. Based on the evaluation of the quality of information that the Sub-Adviser receives from each broker, the Sub-Adviser develops an estimate of each broker’s share of Invesco clients’ commission dollars and attempts to direct trades to these firms to meet these estimates.

Invesco also uses soft dollars to acquire products from third parties that are supplied to it or its affiliates through brokers executing the trades or other brokers who “step in” to a transaction and receive a portion of the brokerage commission for the trade. Invesco may from time to time instruct the executing broker to allocate or “step out” a portion of a transaction to another broker. The broker to which the Sub-Adviser has “stepped out” would then settle and complete the designated portion of the transaction, and the executing broker would settle and complete the remaining portion of the transaction that has not been “stepped out.” Each Broker may receive a commission or brokerage fee with respect to that portion of the transaction that it settles and completes.

 

 

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Soft dollar products received from brokers supplement the Sub-Adviser’s own research (and the research of certain of its affiliates), and may include the following types of products and services:

 

   

Database Services –comprehensive databases containing current and/or historical information on companies and industries and indices. Examples include historical securities prices, earnings estimates and financial data. These services may include software tools that allow the user to search the database or to prepare value-added analyses related to the investment process (such as forecasts and models used in the portfolio management process).

 

   

Quotation/Trading/News Systems –products that provide real time market data information, such as pricing of individual securities and information on current trading, as well as a variety of news services.

 

   

Economic Data/Forecasting Tools –various macro-economic forecasting tools, such as economic data or currency and political forecasts for various countries or regions.

 

   

Quantitative/Technical Analysis –software tools that assist in quantitative and technical analysis of investment data.

 

   

Fundamental/Industry Analysis –industry specific fundamental investment research.

 

   

Fixed Income Security Analysis –data and analytical tools that pertain specifically to fixed income securities. These tools assist in creating financial models, such as cash flow projections and interest rate sensitivity analyses, which are relevant to fixed income securities.

 

   

Other Specialized Tools –other specialized products, such as consulting analyses, access to industry experts, and distinct investment expertise such as forensic accounting or custom built investment-analysis software.

If Invesco determines that any service or product has a mixed use (i.e., it also serves functions that do not assist the investment decision-making or trading process), it will allocate the costs of such service or product accordingly in its reasonable discretion. The Sub-Adviser will allocate brokerage commissions to brokers only for the portion of the service or product that Invesco determines assists it in the investment decision-making or trading process and will pay for the remaining value of the product or service in cash.

Outside research assistance is useful to the Sub-Adviser because the brokers used by the Sub-Adviser tend to provide more in-depth analysis of a broader universe of securities and other matters than the Sub-Adviser’s staff follow. In addition, such services provide the Sub-Adviser with a diverse perspective on financial markets. Some Brokers may indicate that the provision of research services is dependent upon the generation of certain specified levels of commissions and underwriting concessions by the Sub-Adviser’s clients, including the Fund. However, the Fund is not under any obligation to deal with any broker in the execution of transactions in portfolio securities. In some cases, soft dollar products are available only from the broker providing them. In other cases, such products may be obtainable from alternative sources in return for cash payments. The Sub-Adviser believes that because broker research supplements rather than replaces its own research, the receipt of such research tends to improve the quality of the Sub-Adviser’s investment advice. The advisory fee paid by the Fund is not reduced because the Sub-Adviser receives such services. To the extent the Fund’s portfolio transactions are used to obtain soft dollar products, the brokerage commissions obtained by the Fund might exceed those that might otherwise have been paid.

The Sub-Adviser may determine target levels of brokerage business with various brokers on behalf of its clients (including the Fund) over a certain time period. Invesco determines target levels based upon the following factors, among others: (1) the execution services provided by the broker; and (2) the research services provided by the broker. Portfolio transactions may be affected through brokers that recommend funds to their clients, or that act as agent in the purchase of a fund’s shares for their clients, provided that the Sub-Adviser believes such brokers provide best execution and such transactions are executed in compliance with Invesco’s policy against using directed brokerage to compensate brokers for promoting or selling fund shares. The Sub-Adviser will not enter into a binding commitment with brokers to place trades with such brokers involving brokerage commissions in precise amounts.

Affiliated Transactions. The Adviser or Sub-Adviser may place trades with Invesco Capital Markets, Inc. (“ICMI”) a broker-dealer with whom it is affiliated, provided the Adviser or Sub-Adviser determines that ICMI’s trade execution abilities and costs are at least comparable to those of non-affiliated brokerage firms with which the Adviser or Sub-Adviser could otherwise place similar trades. ICMI receives brokerage commissions in connection with effecting trades for the Fund and, therefore, use of ICMI presents a conflict of interest for the Adviser and Sub-Adviser. Trades placed through ICMI, including the brokerage commissions paid to ICMI, are subject to procedures adopted by the Board.

 

 

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Allocation of Portfolio Transactions. The Sub-Adviser assumes the general supervision over placing orders on behalf of the Fund for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities. The Sub-Adviser manages numerous Invesco funds and other accounts. Some of these accounts may have investment objectives similar to the Fund. Occasionally, identical securities will be appropriate for investment by multiple investment companies or other accounts. However, the position of each account in the same security and the length of time that each account may hold its investment in the same security may vary. The Sub-Adviser will also determine the timing and amount of purchases for an account based on its cash position. If the purchase or sale of securities is consistent with the investment policies of the Fund and one or more other accounts, and is considered at or about the same time, the Sub-Adviser will allocate transactions in such securities among the Fund and these accounts on a pro rata basis based on order size or in such other manner believed by the Sub-Adviser to be fair and equitable. The Sub-Adviser may combine transactions in accordance with applicable laws and regulations to obtain the most favorable execution. Simultaneous transactions could, however, adversely affect the Fund’s ability to obtain or dispose of the full amount of a security which it seeks to purchase or sell.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING THE TRUST

The Trust is an open-end management investment company registered under the 1940 Act. The Trust was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on November 6, 2007 pursuant to the Declaration of Trust.

The Trust is authorized to issue an unlimited number of shares in one or more series or “funds.” The Board has the right to establish additional series in the future, to determine the preferences, voting powers, rights and privileges thereof and to modify such preferences, voting powers, rights and privileges without shareholder approval. The Declaration of Trust provides that the assets associated solely with any series shall be held and accounted for separately from the assets of the Trust generally or of any other series, and that liabilities belonging to a particular series shall be enforceable only against the assets belonging to that series and not against the assets of the Trust generally or against the assets belonging to any other series.

Each Share issued by the Fund has a pro rata interest in the assets of the Fund. Shares have no preemptive, exchange, subscription or conversion rights and are freely transferable. Each Share is entitled to participate equally in dividends and other distributions declared by the Board with respect to the Fund, and in the net distributable assets of the Fund on liquidation.

Each Share has one vote with respect to matters upon which a shareholder vote is required consistent with the requirements of the 1940 Act and the rules promulgated thereunder. Shares of all funds of the Trust vote together as a single class, except as otherwise required by the 1940 Act or if the matter being voted on affects only a particular fund, and, if the matter affects a particular fund differently from other funds, the shares of that fund will vote separately on such matter.

The Trustees may, except in limited circumstances, amend or supplement the Declaration of Trust without shareholder vote. The holders of Shares are required to disclose information on direct or indirect ownership of Shares as may be required to comply with various laws applicable to the Fund, and ownership of Shares may be disclosed by the Fund if so required by law or regulation.

The Trust is not required and does not intend to hold annual meetings of shareholders. Shareholders owning more than 33% of the outstanding Shares of the Trust have the right to call a special meeting to remove one or more Trustees or for any other purpose by written request provided that (1) such request shall state the purposes of such meeting and the matters proposed to be acted on, and (2) the shareholders requesting such meeting shall have paid to the Trust the reasonably estimated cost of preparing and mailing the notice thereof, which the Secretary shall determine and specify to such shareholders.

The Trust’s bylaws require that to the fullest extent permitted by law, including Section 3804 (e) of the Delaware Statutory Trust Act, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or, if such court does not have subject matter jurisdiction thereof, any other court in the State of Delaware with subject matter jurisdiction, shall be the sole and exclusive forum for any shareholder (including a beneficial owner of shares) to bring derivatively or directly (i) any claim, suit, action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Trust, (ii) any claim, suit, action or proceeding asserting a claim for breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any Trustee, officer or employee, if any, of the Trust to the Trust or the Trust’s shareholders, (iii) any claim, suit, action or proceeding asserting a claim against the Trust, its Trustees, officers or employees, if any, arising pursuant to any provision of Delaware statutory or common law, or any federal or state securities law, in each case as amended from time to time, or the Trust’s Declaration of Trust or bylaws; or (iv) any claim, suit, action or proceeding asserting a claim against the Trust, its Trustees, officers or employees, if any, governed by the internal affairs doctrine.

 

 

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The Trust does not have information concerning the beneficial ownership of Shares held by DTC Participants (as defined below).

Shareholders may make inquiries by writing to the Trust, c/o the Distributor, Invesco Distributors, Inc., 11 Greenway Plaza, Suite 1000, Houston, Texas 77046-1173.

Book Entry Only System. The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled “Book Entry.”

DTC Acts as Securities Depository for Shares. Shares of the Fund are represented by securities registered in the name of DTC or its nominee and deposited with, or on behalf of, DTC.

DTC, a limited purpose trust company, was created to hold securities of its participants (the “DTC Participants”) and to facilitate the clearance and settlement of securities transactions among the DTC Participants in such securities through electronic book-entry changes in accounts of the DTC Participants, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of securities certificates. DTC Participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and certain other organizations, some of whom (and/or their representatives) own DTC. More specifically, DTC is owned by a number of its DTC Participants and by the NYSE and FINRA. Access to the DTC system also is available to others such as banks, brokers, dealers and trust companies that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a DTC Participant, either directly or indirectly (the “Indirect Participants”).

Beneficial ownership of Shares is limited to DTC Participants, Indirect Participants and persons holding interests through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants. Ownership of beneficial interests in Shares (owners of such beneficial interests are referred to herein as “Beneficial Owners”) is shown on, and the transfer of ownership is effected only through, records DTC maintains (with respect to DTC Participants) and on the records of DTC Participants (with respect to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners that are not DTC Participants).

Beneficial Owners will receive from or through the DTC Participant a written confirmation relating to their purchase and sale of Shares.

Conveyance of all notices, statements and other communications to Beneficial Owners is effected as follows. Pursuant to the Depositary Agreement between the Trust and DTC, DTC is required to make available to the Trust upon request and for a fee to be charged to the Trust a listing of the Shares of the Fund held by each DTC Participant. The Trust shall inquire of each such DTC Participant as to the number of Beneficial Owners holding Shares, directly or indirectly, through such DTC Participant. The Trust shall provide each such DTC Participant with copies of such notice, statement or other communication, in such form, number and at such place as such DTC Participant may reasonably request, in order that such DTC Participant may transmit such notice, statement or communication, directly or indirectly, to such Beneficial Owners. In addition, the Trust shall pay to each such DTC Participant a fair and reasonable amount as reimbursement for the expenses attendant to such transmittal, all subject to applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.

Fund distributions shall be made to DTC or its nominee, Cede & Co., as the registered holder of all Shares. DTC or its nominee, upon receipt of any such distributions, shall immediately credit DTC Participants’ accounts with payments in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in Shares of the Fund as shown on the records of DTC or its nominee. Payments by DTC Participants to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners of Shares held through such DTC Participants will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is now the case with securities held for the accounts of customers in bearer form or registered in a “street name,” and will be the responsibility of such DTC Participants.

The Trust has no responsibility or liability for any aspect of the records relating to or notices to Beneficial Owners, or payments made on account of beneficial ownership interests in such Shares, or for maintaining, supervising or reviewing any records relating to such beneficial ownership interests, or for any other aspect of the relationship between DTC and the DTC Participants or the relationship between such DTC Participants and the Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners owning through such DTC Participants.

DTC may decide to discontinue providing its service with respect to Shares at any time by giving reasonable notice to the Trust and discharging its responsibilities with respect thereto under applicable law. Under such circumstances, the Trust shall take action to find a replacement for DTC to perform its functions at a comparable cost.

Proxy Voting. The Board has delegated responsibility for decisions regarding proxy voting for securities held by the Fund to the Adviser or Sub-Adviser, as applicable. The Adviser or Sub-Adviser, as applicable, votes such proxies in accordance with its proxy policies and procedures, which are summarized in Appendix A (for the Adviser) and in Appendix B (for the Sub-Adviser) to this SAI. The Board periodically reviews the Fund’s proxy voting record.

 

 

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The Trust is required to disclose annually the Fund’s complete proxy voting record on Form N-PX covering the period July 1 through June 30 and file it with the SEC no later than August 31. Form N-PX for the Trust also is available at no charge upon request by calling 800-983-0903 or by writing to Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust at 3500 Lacey Road, Suite 700, Downers Grove, Illinois 60515. The Trust’s Form N-PX also will be available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Codes of Ethics. Pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act, the Board has adopted a Code of Ethics for the Trust and approved Codes of Ethics adopted by the Adviser, Sub-Adviser and Distributor (collectively, the “Ethics Codes”). The Ethics Codes are intended to ensure that the interests of shareholders and other clients are placed ahead of any personal interest, that no undue personal benefit is obtained from the person’s employment activities and that actual and potential conflicts of interest are avoided.

The Ethics Codes apply to the personal investing activities of Trustees and officers of the Trust, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser and the Distributor (“Access Persons”). Rule 17j-1 and the Ethics Codes are designed to prevent unlawful practices in connection with the purchase or sale of securities by Access Persons. Under the Ethics Codes, Access Persons may engage in personal securities transactions, but must report their personal securities transactions for monitoring purposes. The Ethics Codes permit personnel subject to the Ethics Codes to invest in securities subject to certain limitations, including securities that the Fund may purchase or sell. In addition, certain Access Persons must obtain approval before investing in initial public offerings or private placements. The Ethics Codes are on file with the SEC and are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s Internet site at www.sec.gov. The Ethics Codes may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by e-mail at publicinfo@sec.gov.

Continued Monitoring. The Fund’s operations will be subject to ongoing monitoring, including monitoring by the Adviser of how Shares trade, including the level of any market price premium or discount to NAV and the bid/ask spreads on market transactions. For at least the first three years after launch of the Fund, and for further three-year periods as may be determined by the Board, the Adviser will promptly request a meeting of the Board, or a designated Committee thereof (and present to the Board or Committee for its consideration, recommendations for appropriate remedial measures) and the Board or Committee will promptly meet (1) if the Fund’s tracking error (i.e., the standard deviation over the past three months of the daily proxy spread – the difference, in percentage terms, between the Tracking Basket per share NAV and that of the Fund at the end of the trading day) exceeds 1.00%; or (2) if, for 30 or more days in any quarter or 15 days in a row: (a) the absolute difference between either the Fund’s closing price or the bid/ask price, on one hand, and NAV, on the other, exceeds 2.00%; or (b) the bid/ask spread exceeds 2.00%. For at least the first three years after launch of the Fund, the Board or its Committee will also undertake these considerations on an annual basis, regardless of whether the Fund’s preset thresholds have been crossed. In each case, the Board or its Committee will consider the continuing viability of the Fund, whether shareholders are being harmed, and what, if any, action would be appropriate to among other things, narrow the premium/discount, spread, or tracking error as applicable. The Board or its Committee will then decide whether to take any such action. Potential actions may include, but are not limited to, changing lead market makers, listing the Fund on a different Exchange, changing the size of Creations Units, modifications to the Tracking Basket process, changing the Fund’s investment objective or strategy, and liquidating the Fund.

CREATION AND REDEMPTION OF CREATION UNIT AGGREGATIONS

Creation. The Trust issues and sells Shares only in Creation Unit Aggregations on a continuous basis through the Distributor, without a sales load, at the Fund’s NAV next determined after receipt of an order in “proper form” (as defined below) on any Business Day. A “Business Day” is any day on which the Exchange is open for business. As of the date of this SAI, each Exchange is closed in observance of the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. On days when an Exchange closes earlier than normal, the Fund may require orders to be placed earlier in the day.

The number of Shares that constitute a Creation Unit Aggregation for the Fund is set forth in the Fund’s Prospectus. In its discretion, the Trust reserves the right to increase or decrease the number of Shares that constitutes a Creation Unit Aggregation for the Fund.

Role of the Authorized Participant

The Fund only may issue Creation Units to, or redeem Creation Units from, an authorized participant, referred to herein as an “AP.” To be eligible to place orders for the purchase or redemption of a Creation Unit of the Fund, an AP must have executed a written agreement with the Fund or one of its service providers that allows the AP to place such orders (“Participant Agreement”). In addition, an AP must be a member or participant of a clearing agency that is

 

 

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registered with the SEC. An AP may place orders for the creation or redemption of Creation Units through the clearing process of the Continuous Net Settlement System (the “Clearing Process”) of the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”), Euroclear, the Fed Book-Entry System and/or DTC, subject to the procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement. (APs that participate in the Clearing Process are sometimes referred to as a “Participating Party,” and APs that are eligible to utilize the Fed Book Entry System and/or DTC are sometimes referred to as a “DTC Participant.”) Transfers of securities settling through Euroclear or other foreign depositories may require AP access to such facilities. Pursuant to the terms of its Participant Agreement, an AP will agree, and on behalf of itself or any investor on whose behalf it will act, to certain conditions, including that the AP will make available in advance of each purchase of Shares an amount of cash sufficient to pay the Cash Component, together with the transaction fees described below. An AP acting on behalf of an investor may require the investor to enter into an agreement with such AP with respect to certain matters, including payment of the Cash Component. Investors who are not APs make appropriate arrangements with an AP to submit orders to purchase or redeem Creation Units of the Fund. Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not be a DTC Participant or may not have executed a Participant Agreement and that, therefore, orders to purchase Creation Units may have to be placed by the investor’s broker through an AP. In such cases, there may be additional charges to such investor. At any given time, there may be only a limited number of APs. A list of current APs may be obtained from the Distributor. In addition, the Distributor may be appointed as the proxy of the AP and may be granted a power of attorney under the Participant Agreement.

Creations

Portfolio Deposit. The consideration for purchase of a Creation Unit generally consists of the in-kind deposit of the Tracking Basket. The Tracking Basket differs from the Fund’s actual portfolio, but is designed to closely track the daily performance of the Fund. The Tracking Basket will be comprised of (i) select recently disclosed portfolio securities, (ii) liquid U.S. Exchange Traded Funds, and (iii) cash and cash equivalents (collectively, the “Deposit Securities”) and an amount of cash denominated in U.S. dollars (the “Cash Component”) computed as described below, plus any applicable administrative or other transaction fees, also as discussed below. Together, the Deposit Securities and the Cash Component constitute the “Portfolio Deposit,” which represents the minimum initial and subsequent investment amount for a Creation Unit Aggregation of the Fund. While different from the Fund’s actual portfolio holdings, the Tracking Basket constitutes a basket of securities and cash designed to closely track the daily performance of the Fund’s portfolio.

The “Cash Component” is an amount equal to the difference between the NAV attributable to the Creation Unit and the “Deposit Amount,” which is an amount equal to the total aggregate market value (per Creation Unit) of the Deposit Securities that constitute the Tracking Basket. The Cash Component, which is sometimes called the “Balancing Amount,” serves to compensate for any differences between the NAV per Creation Unit and the Deposit Amount. Payment of any stamp duty or other similar fees and expenses payable upon transfer of beneficial ownership of the Deposit Securities are the sole responsibility of the AP purchasing the Creation Unit.

The Fund, through the NSCC, makes available on each Business Day, immediately prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m., Eastern time), the list of the names and the required number of shares of each Deposit Security in the Tracking Basket and/or the amount of the applicable Cash Component to be included in the current Portfolio Deposit (based on information at the end of the previous Business Day) for the Fund. Such Portfolio Deposit is applicable, subject to any adjustments as described below, to effect purchases of Creation Units of the Fund until such time as the next-announced Portfolio Deposit is made available. In addition, the percentage weight overlap between the prior Business Day’s Tracking Basket, compared to the portfolio holdings of the Fund that formed the basis for the Fund’s calculation of NAV at the end of the prior Business Day, also will be disseminated publicly each day prior to the opening of the Exchange via www.invesco.com/capital markets and the NSCC. The identity and number of shares of the Deposit Securities in the Tracking Basket will change as rebalancing adjustments and corporate action events are reflected within the Fund from time to time by the Adviser or Sub-Adviser with a view to the investment objective of the Fund. Such adjustments will reflect changes known to the Adviser or Sub-Adviser by the time of determination of the Deposit Securities resulting from stock splits and other corporate actions.

The Adviser expects that the Deposit Securities should correspond, to the extent practicable, to the Tracking Basket. However, the Trust reserves the right to permit or require an order containing the substitution of an amount of cash—i.e., a “cash in lieu” amount—to be added, at its discretion, to the Cash Component to replace one or more Deposit Securities. In determining whether the Fund will issue or redeem Creation Units entirely or partly on a cash or in-kind basis (whether for a given day or a given order), the key consideration will be the benefit that would accrue to the Fund and its investors. For example, a cash substitution may be permitted or required for any Deposit Security that (i) may not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery, (ii) may not be eligible for transfer through the systems of DTC or the Clearing Process (discussed below), (iii) might not be eligible for trading by an AP or the investor on

 

 

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whose behalf the AP is acting, or (iv) in certain other situations at the sole discretion of the Trust. The Fund also may permit or require the consideration for Creation Unit Aggregations to consist solely of cash (see “—Cash Creations” below).

Cash Creations. If the Fund permits or requires partial or full cash creations, such purchases shall be effected in essentially the same manner as in-kind purchases. In the case of a cash creation, the AP must pay the same Cash Component required to be paid by an in-kind purchaser, plus the Deposit Amount (i.e., the cash equivalent of the Deposit Securities it would otherwise be required to provide through an in-kind purchase, as described in the subsection “—Portfolio Deposit” above).

Trading costs, operational processing costs and brokerage commissions associated with using cash to purchase requisite Deposit Securities will be incurred by the Fund and will affect the value of its Shares; therefore, the Fund may require APs to pay transaction fees to offset brokerage and other costs associated with using cash to purchase the requisite Deposit Securities (see “Creation and Redemption Transaction Fees” below).

Creation Orders

Procedures for Creation of Creation Unit Aggregations. Orders must be transmitted by an AP, in such form and by such transmission method acceptable to the Transfer Agent or Distributor, pursuant to procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement, and such procedures may change from time to time. APs purchasing Creation Units may transfer Deposit Securities in one of two ways: (i) through the Clearing Process (see “Placing Creation Orders Using the Clearing Process”), or (ii) “outside” the Clearing Process through the facilities of DTC (see “Placing Creation Orders Outside the Clearing Process”).

All orders to purchase Creation Units, whether through or outside the Clearing Process, must be received by the Transfer Agent and/or Distributor no later than the order cut-off time designated in the Participant Agreement (“Order Cut-Off Time”) on the relevant Business Day in order for the creation of Creation Units to be effected based on the NAV of Shares of the Fund as determined on such date. With certain exceptions, the Order Cut-Off Time, as set forth in the Participant Agreement, usually is the closing time of the regular trading session on the New York Stock Exchange—i.e., ordinarily 4:00 p.m., Eastern time. Additionally, on days when the NYSE or the Exchange close earlier than normal, the Fund may require creation orders to be placed earlier in the day. The Business Day on which an order is placed and deemed received is referred to as the “Transmittal Date.”

Orders must be transmitted by an AP by telephone, online portal or other transmission method acceptable to the Transfer Agent and the Distributor. Economic or market disruptions or changes, or telephone or other communication failure, may impede the ability to reach the Transfer Agent, the Distributor or an AP. APs placing creation orders should afford sufficient time to permit proper submission of the order.

Orders effected outside the Clearing Process likely will require transmittal by the DTC Participant earlier on the Transmittal Date than orders effected through the Clearing Process. APs placing orders outside the Clearing Process should ascertain all deadlines applicable to DTC and the Federal Reserve Bank wire system. Additional transaction fees may be imposed with respect to transactions effected outside the Clearing Process (see “Creation and Redemption Transaction Fees” below).

A creation order is considered to be in “proper form” if: (i) a properly completed irrevocable purchase order has been submitted by the AP (either on its own or another investor’s behalf) not later than the Fund’s specified Order Cut-Off Time on the Transmittal Date, and (ii) arrangements satisfactory to the Fund are in place for payment of the Cash Component and any other cash amounts which may be due, and (iii) all other procedures regarding placement of a creation order set forth in the Participant Agreement are properly followed.

All questions as to the number of shares of each security in the Deposit Securities to be delivered, and the validity, form, eligibility (including time of receipt) and acceptance for deposit of any securities to be delivered shall be determined by the Fund, and the Fund’s determination shall be final and binding.

Placing Creation Orders Using the Clearing Process. The Clearing Process is the process of creating or redeeming Creation Unit Aggregations through the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC. Portfolio Deposits made through the Clearing Process must be delivered through a Participating Party that has executed a Participant Agreement. The Participant Agreement authorizes the Transfer Agent to transmit, on behalf of the Participating Party, such trade instructions to the NSCC as are necessary to effect the Participating Party’s creation order. Pursuant to such trade instructions, the Participating Party agrees to deliver the Portfolio Deposit to the Transfer Agent, together with such additional information as may be required by the Distributor.

Placing Creation Orders Outside the Clearing Process. Portfolio Deposits made outside the Clearing Process must be delivered through a DTC Participant that has executed a Participant Agreement. A DTC Participant who wishes to

 

 

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place a creation order outside the Clearing Process need not be a Participating Party, but such orders must state that the DTC Participant is not using the Clearing Process and that the creation instead will be effected through a transfer of securities and cash directly through DTC.

Acceptance of Creation Orders. The Transfer Agent will deliver to the AP a confirmation of acceptance of a creation order within 15 minutes of the receipt of a submission received in proper form. A creation order is deemed to be irrevocable upon the delivery of the confirmation of acceptance, subject to the conditions below.

The Fund reserves the absolute right to reject a creation order transmitted to it by the Distributor if: (i) the order is not in proper form; (ii) the investor(s), upon obtaining the Shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding Shares of the Fund; (iii) the Deposit Securities delivered are not as designated for that date by the Custodian; (iv) acceptance of the Deposit Securities would have certain adverse tax consequences to the Fund; (v) acceptance of the Portfolio Deposit would, in the opinion of counsel, be unlawful; (vi) acceptance of the Portfolio Deposit would otherwise, in the discretion of the Fund, the Adviser or the Sub-Adviser, have an adverse effect on the Fund or the rights of Beneficial Owners; or (vii) there exist circumstances outside the control of the Trust that make it impossible to process creation orders for all practical purposes. Examples of such circumstances include acts of God; public service or utility problems such as fires, floods, extreme weather conditions and power outages resulting in telephone, telecopy and computer failures; market conditions or activities causing trading halts; systems failures involving computer or other information systems affecting the Fund, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, the Distributor, DTC, NSCC, the Federal Reserve, the Transfer Agent, a sub-custodian or any other participant in the creation process, and similar extraordinary events. The Transfer Agent shall notify a prospective purchaser of a Creation Unit (and/or the AP acting on its behalf) of the rejection of such creation order. The Trust, the Custodian, any sub-custodian and the Distributor are under no duty, however, to give notification of any defects or irregularities in the delivery of Portfolio Deposits, nor shall any of them incur any liability for the failure to give any such notification.

Issuance of a Creation Unit

Except as provided herein, a Creation Unit will not be issued until the transfer of good title to the Fund of the Deposit Securities and the payment of the Cash Component have been completed.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Fund may issue Creation Units to an AP, notwithstanding the fact that the corresponding Portfolio Deposit has not been delivered in part or in whole, in reliance on the undertaking of the AP to deliver the missing Deposit Securities as soon as possible. To secure such undertaking, the AP must deposit and maintain cash collateral in an amount equal to the sum of (i) the Cash Component, plus (ii) at least 105% of the market value of the undelivered Deposit Securities. In such circumstances, the creation order shall be deemed to be received on the Transmittal Date, provided that (i) such order is placed in proper form prior to the Order Cut-Off Time, and (ii) requisite federal funds in an appropriate amount are delivered by certain deadlines on the contractual settlement date, as set forth in such Participant Agreement (typically, 11:00 a.m., Eastern time on such date). If such order is not placed in proper form prior to the Order Cut-Off Time, and/or all other deadlines and conditions set forth in the Participant Agreement relating to such additional deposits are not met, then the order may be deemed to be canceled, and the AP shall be liable to the Fund for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. The Trust may use such collateral at any time to buy Deposit Securities for the Fund, and the AP agrees to accept liability for any shortfall between the cost to the Trust of purchasing such Deposit Securities and the value of the collateral, which may be sold by the Trust at such time, and in such manner, as the Trust may determine in its sole discretion.

Using the Clearing Process. An AP that is a Participating Party is required to transfer to the Transfer Agent: (i) the requisite Deposit Securities expected to be delivered through NSCC, and (ii) the Cash Component, if any, to the Transfer Agent by means of the Trust’s Clearing Process. In each case, the delivery must occur by the “regular way” settlement date—i.e., generally, the second Business Day following the Transmittal Date (“T+2”). At that time, the Transfer Agent shall initiate procedures to transfer the requisite Shares and the Cash Component, if any, through the Clearing Process so as to be received no later than on the “regular way” settlement date (i.e., T+2).

Outside the Clearing Process. An AP that is a DTC Participant that orders a creation outside the Clearing Process is required to transfer to the Transfer Agent: (i) the requisite Deposit Securities through DTC, and (ii) the Cash Component, if any, through the Federal Reserve Bank wire system. Such Deposit Securities must be received by the Transfer Agent by 11:00 a.m., Eastern time on the “regular way” settlement date (i.e., T+2), while the Cash Component must be received by 2:00 p.m., Eastern time on that same date. Otherwise, the creation order shall be canceled. For creation units issued principally for cash (see “—Cash Creations” above), the DTC Participant shall be required to transfer the Cash Component through the Federal Reserve Bank wire system to be received by 2:00 p.m., Eastern time on the Contractual Settlement Date (as defined below). At that time, the Transfer Agent shall initiate procedures to transfer the requisite Shares through DTC and the Cash Component, if any, through the Federal Reserve Bank wire

 

 

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system so as to be received by the purchaser no later than T+2 (except as otherwise set forth in the Participant Agreement).

Creation and Redemption Transaction Fees

Creation and redemption transactions for the Fund are subject to an administrative fee, payable to BNYM, in the amount listed in the table below, irrespective of the size of the order. As shown in the table below, the administrative fee has a base amount; however, BNYM may increase the administrative fee to a maximum of four times the base amount for administration and settlement of non-standard orders requiring additional administrative processing by BNYM. These fees may be changed by the Trust.

 

Fund

   Base Administrative Fee
(Payable to BNYM)
     Maximum
Administrative Fee
(Payable to BNYM)
 

Invesco US Large Cap Core ESG ETF

   $ [___    $ [___

Additionally, the Fund may charge an additional, variable fee (sometimes referred to as a “cash-in-lieu” fee) to cover the estimated trading costs incurred in converting the Deposit Securities into the Fund’s portfolio holdings, or to the extent the Fund permits APs to create or redeem Creation Units for cash, or otherwise substitute cash for any Deposit Security. Such cash-in-lieu fees are payable to the Fund and are charged to defray the transaction cost to the Fund of buying (or selling) Deposit Securities, to cover spreads and slippage costs and to protect existing shareholders. The cash-in-lieu fees will be negotiated between the Adviser and the AP and may be different for any given transaction, Business Day or AP; however, in no instance will such cash-in-lieu fees exceed 2% of the value of a Creation Unit. From time to time, the Adviser, in its sole discretion, may adjust the Fund’s cash-in-lieu fees or reimburse APs for all or a portion of the creation or redemption transaction fees.

Redemptions

Shares may be redeemed only by APs at their NAV per Share next determined after receipt by the Distributor of a redemption request in proper form. The Fund will not redeem Shares in amounts less than a Creation Unit. Beneficial Owners of Shares may sell their Shares in the secondary market, but they must accumulate enough Shares to constitute a Creation Unit to redeem those Shares with the Fund. There can be no assurance that there will be sufficient liquidity in the public trading market at any time to permit assembly of a Creation Unit. Investors should expect to incur brokerage and other costs in connection with assembling a sufficient number of Shares to constitute a redeemable Creation Unit.

Redemption Securities. The redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit generally consist of the Tracking Basket. The Tracking Basket will be comprised of (i) select recently disclosed portfolio securities, (ii) liquid U.S. Exchange Traded Funds, and (iii) cash and cash equivalents (collectively, (the “Redemption Securities”), plus or minus an amount of cash denominated in U.S. dollars (the “Cash Redemption Amount”), representing an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of the Shares being redeemed, as next determined after receipt of a request in proper form, and the total aggregate market value of the Redemption Securities, less any applicable administrative or other transaction fees, as discussed above. The Cash Redemption Amount is calculated in the same manner as the Balancing Amount. To the extent that the Redemption Securities have a value greater than the NAV of the Shares being redeemed, a Cash Redemption Amount payment equal to the differential is required to be paid by the redeeming shareholder.

The Fund, through the NSCC, makes available on each Business Day, immediately prior to the opening of business on the applicable Exchange, the Redemption Securities that will be applicable (subject to possible amendment or correction) to redemption requests received in proper form (as defined below) on that day, as well as the Cash Redemption Amount. Such Redemption Securities and the corresponding Cash Redemption Amount are applicable to effect redemptions of Creation Units of the Fund until such time as the next-announced composition of the Redemption Securities and Cash Redemption Amount is made available.

The Adviser expects that the Redemption Securities should generally correspond, to the extent practicable, to the Tracking Basket. In addition, the Fund reserves the right to permit or require an amount of cash to be added, at its discretion, to the Cash Redemption Amount to replace one or more Redemption Securities (see “—Cash Redemptions” below).

Cash Redemptions. If the Fund permits partial or full cash redemptions, the Fund generally will pay out the proceeds of redemptions of Creation Units partially or principally for cash (or through any combination of cash and Redemption Securities). In addition, an investor may request a redemption in cash that the Fund may, in its sole discretion, permit.

 

 

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In either case, the investor will receive a cash payment in an amount equal to the NAV of its Shares next determined after a redemption request is received (less any redemption transaction fees imposed, as specified above).

Redemptions of Shares will be subject to compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws and the Fund (whether or not it otherwise permits cash redemptions) reserves the right to redeem Creation Unit Aggregations for cash to the extent that the Trust could not lawfully deliver specific Redemption Securities upon redemptions. The AP may request the redeeming beneficial owner of the Shares to complete an order form or to enter into agreements with respect to such matters as compensating cash payment.

Redemption Requests

Procedures for Redemption of Creation Unit Aggregations. Orders must be transmitted by an AP, in such form and by such transmission method acceptable to the Transfer Agent or Distributor, pursuant to procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement, and such procedures may change from time to time. APs seeking to redeem Shares of the Fund may transfer Creation Units through the Clearing Process (see “Placing Redemption Requests Using the Clearing Process”) or outside the Clearing Process through the facilities of DTC (see “Placing Redemption Requests Outside the Clearing Process”). All requests to redeem Creation Units, whether through the Clearing Process, or outside the Clearing Process through DTC or otherwise, must be received by the Distributor no later than the Order Cut-Off Time on the relevant Business Day.

A redemption request will be considered to be in “proper form” if (i) a duly completed request form is received by the Distributor from the AP on behalf of itself or another redeeming investor at the specified Order Cut-Off Time, and (ii) arrangements satisfactory to the Fund are in place for the AP to transfer or cause to be transferred to the Fund the Creation Unit of the Fund being redeemed on or before contractual settlement of the redemption request.

Placing Redemption Requests Using the Clearing Process. Requests to redeem Creation Units through the Clearing Process must be delivered through a Participating Party that has executed a Participant Agreement, in such form and by such transmission method acceptable to the Transfer Agent or Distributor, pursuant to procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement.

Placing Redemption Requests Outside the Clearing Process. Orders to redeem Creation Units outside the Clearing Process must be delivered through a DTC Participant that has executed a Participant Agreement. A DTC Participant who wishes to place a redemption order outside the Clearing Process need not be a Participating Party, but such orders must state that the DTC Participant is not using the Clearing Process and that redemption instead will be effected through a transfer of Fund Shares directly through DTC.

Acceptance of Redemption Requests. The Transfer Agent will deliver to the AP a confirmation of acceptance of a request to redeem Shares in Creation Units within 15 minutes of the receipt of a submission received in proper form. A redemption order is deemed to be irrevocable upon the delivery of the confirmation of acceptance. The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed (i) for any period during which the NYSE is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings); (ii) for any period during which trading on the NYSE is suspended or restricted; (iii) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which disposal of the Shares of the Fund or determination of the Fund’s NAV is not reasonably practicable; or (iv) in such other circumstances as is permitted by the SEC.

Issuance of Redemption Securities

To the extent contemplated by a Participant Agreement, in the event an AP has submitted a redemption request in proper form but is unable to transfer all or part of the Creation Unit to be redeemed to the Distributor, on behalf of the Fund, by the closing time of the regular trading session on the Exchange on the date such redemption request is submitted, the Distributor will nonetheless accept the redemption request in reliance on the undertaking by the AP to deliver the missing Shares as soon as possible, which undertaking shall be secured by the AP’s delivery and maintenance of collateral consisting of cash having a value at least equal to 105% of the value of the missing Shares. The Trust may use such collateral at any time to purchase the missing Shares, and will subject the AP to liability for any shortfall between the cost of the Fund acquiring such Shares and the value of the collateral, which may be sold by the Trust at such time, and in such manner, as the Trust may determine in its sole discretion.

Using the Clearing Process. An AP that is a Participating Party is required to transfer to the Transfer Agent: (i) the requisite Shares, and (ii) the Cash Redemption Amount, if any, to the Transfer Agent by means of the Trust’s Clearing Process. In each case, the delivery must occur by the “regular way” settlement date (i.e., T+2). At that time, the Transfer Agent shall initiate procedures to transfer the requisite Redemption Securities and the Cash Redemption Amount, if any, through the Clearing Process so as to be received no later than on the “regular way” settlement date (i.e., T+2).

 

 

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Outside the Clearing Process. An AP that is a DTC Participant making a redemption request outside the Clearing Process is required to transfer to the Transfer Agent: (i) the requisite Shares through DTC, and (ii) the Cash Redemption Amount, if any, through the Federal Reserve Bank wire system. Such Shares and Cash Redemption Amount must be received by the Transfer Agent by 11:00 a.m., Eastern time on the Contractual Settlement Date. At that time, the Transfer Agent shall initiate procedures to transfer the requisite Redemption Securities through DTC and the Cash Redemption Amount, if any, through the Federal Reserve Bank wire system so as to be received no later than T+2 (except as otherwise set forth in the Participant Agreement).

Regular Holidays

The Fund may effect deliveries of Creation Units and Redemption Securities on a basis other than T+2 in order to accommodate local holiday schedules or under certain other circumstances.

TAXES

The following is a summary of certain additional tax considerations generally affecting the Fund and its shareholders that are not described in the Prospectus. No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of the tax treatment of the Fund or its shareholders, and the discussion here and in the Prospectus is not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning.

This section is based on the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) and applicable regulations in effect on the date of this SAI. Future legislative, regulatory or administrative changes including provisions of current law that sunset and thereafter no longer apply, or court decisions may significantly change the tax rules applicable to the Fund and its shareholders. Any of these changes or court decisions may have a retroactive effect.

The following is for general information only and is not tax advice. All investors should consult their own tax advisors as to the federal, state, local and foreign tax provisions applicable to them.

Taxation of the Fund

Each Fund has elected and intends to qualify each year as a “regulated investment company” (sometimes referred to as a “RIC”) under Subchapter M of the Code. If the Fund qualifies, the Fund will not be subject to federal income tax on the portion of its investment company taxable income (i.e., generally, taxable interest, dividends, net short-term capital gains and other taxable ordinary income net of expenses without regard to the deduction for dividends paid) and net capital gain (i.e., the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses) that it distributes.

Qualification as a RIC. In order to qualify for treatment as a RIC, the Fund must satisfy the following requirements:

 

   

Distribution Requirement—the Fund must distribute an amount equal to the sum of at least 90% of its investment company taxable income and 90% of its net tax-exempt income, if any, for the tax year (certain distributions made by the Fund after the close of its tax year are considered distributions attributable to the previous tax year for purposes of satisfying this requirement).

 

   

Income Requirement—the Fund must derive at least 90% of its gross income from dividends, interest, certain payments with respect to securities loans, and gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including, but not limited to, gains from options, futures or forward contracts) derived from its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies and net income derived from qualified publicly traded partnerships (“QPTPs”).

 

   

Asset Diversification Test—the Fund must satisfy the following asset diversification test at the close of each quarter of the Fund’s tax year: (1) at least 50% of the value of the Fund’s assets must consist of cash and cash items, U.S. Government Securities, securities of other regulated investment companies, and securities of other issuers (as to which the Fund has not invested more than 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets in securities of an issuer and as to which the Fund does not hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of the issuer); and (2) no more than 25% of the value of the Fund’s total assets may be invested in the securities of any one issuer (other than U.S. Government Securities or securities of other regulated investment companies) or of two or more issuers which the Fund controls and which are engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses, or, collectively, in the securities of QPTPs.

In some circumstances, the character and timing of income realized by the Fund for purposes of the Income Requirement or the identification of the issuer for purposes of the Asset Diversification Test is uncertain under current law with respect to a particular investment, and an adverse determination or future guidance by the IRS with respect to such type of investment may adversely affect the Fund’s ability to satisfy these requirements. See “Tax Treatment of Portfolio Transactions” below with respect to the application of these requirements to certain types of investments.

 

 

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In other circumstances, the Fund may be required to sell portfolio holdings in order to meet the Income Requirement, Distribution Requirement, or Asset Diversification Test, which may have a negative impact on the Fund’s income and performance. In lieu of potential disqualification, the Fund is permitted to pay a tax for certain failures to satisfy the Asset Diversification Test or Income Requirement, which, in general, are limited to those due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect.

The Fund may use “equalization accounting” (in lieu of making some cash distributions) in determining the portion of its income and gains that has been distributed. If the Fund uses equalization accounting, it will allocate a portion of its undistributed investment company taxable income and net capital gain to redemptions of Shares and will correspondingly reduce the amount of such income and gains that it distributes in cash. However, the Fund intends to make cash distributions for each taxable year in an aggregate amount that is sufficient to satisfy the Distribution Requirement without taking into account its use of equalization accounting. If the IRS determines that the Fund’s allocation is improper and/or that the Fund has under-distributed its income and gain for any taxable year, the Fund may be liable for federal income and/or excise tax.

If for any taxable year the Fund does not qualify as a RIC, all of its taxable income (including its net capital gain) would be subject to tax at the corporate income tax rate without any deduction for dividends paid to shareholders, and the dividends would be taxable to the shareholders as ordinary income (or possibly as qualified dividend income) to the extent of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits. Failure to qualify as a RIC thus would have a negative impact on the Fund’s income and performance. Subject to savings provisions for certain inadvertent failures to satisfy the Income Requirement or Asset Diversification Test which, in general, are limited to those due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect, it is possible that the Fund will not qualify as a RIC in any given tax year. Even if such savings provisions apply, the Fund may be subject to a monetary sanction of $50,000 or more. Moreover, the Board reserves the right not to maintain the qualification of the Fund as a RIC if it determines such a course of action to be beneficial to shareholders.

Portfolio turnover. For investors that hold their Shares in a taxable account, a high portfolio turnover rate may result in higher taxes. This is because a fund with a high turnover rate may accelerate the recognition of capital gains and more of such gains are likely to be taxable as short-term rather than long-term capital gains in contrast to a comparable fund with a low turnover rate. Any such higher taxes would reduce the Fund’s after-tax performance. See “Taxation of Fund Distributions—Capital gain dividends” below. For non-U.S. investors, any such acceleration of the recognition of capital gains that results in more short-term and less long-term capital gains being recognized by the Fund may cause such investors to be subject to increased U.S. withholding taxes. See “Foreign Shareholders—U.S. withholding tax at the source” below. For ETFs for which in-kind redemptions are the primary redemption mechanism and, therefore, the Fund may be less likely to sell securities in order to generate cash for redeeming shareholders, which a mutual fund might do. This provides a greater opportunity for ETFs to defer the recognition of gain on appreciated securities which it may hold thereby reducing the distribution of capital gains to its shareholders. Actively managed funds tend to have higher portfolio turnovers than funds that track an index.

Capital loss carryovers. The capital losses of the Fund, if any, do not flow through to shareholders. Rather, the Fund may use its capital losses, subject to applicable limitations, to offset its capital gains without being required to pay taxes on or distribute to shareholders such gains that are offset by the losses. If the Fund has a “net capital loss” (that is, capital losses in excess of capital gains), the excess (if any) of the Fund’s net short-term capital losses over its net long-term capital gains is treated as a short-term capital loss arising on the first day of the Fund’s next taxable year, and the excess (if any) of the Fund’s net long-term capital losses over its net short-term capital gains is treated as a long-term capital loss arising on the first day of the Fund’s next taxable year. Any net capital losses of the Fund that are not used to offset capital gains may be carried forward indefinitely to reduce any future capital gains realized by the Fund in succeeding taxable years. However, for any net capital losses realized in taxable years of the Fund beginning on or before December 22, 2010, the Fund is permitted to carry forward such capital losses for eight years as a short-term capital loss. Capital losses arising in a taxable year beginning after December 22, 2010 must be used before capital losses realized in a taxable year beginning on or before December 22, 2010. The amount of capital losses that can be carried forward and used in any single year is subject to an annual limitation if there is a more than 50% “change in ownership” of the Fund. An ownership change generally results when shareholders owning 5% or more of the Fund increase their aggregate holdings by more than 50% over a three-year look-back period. An ownership change could result in capital loss carryovers being used at a slower rate (or, in the case of those realized in taxable years of the Fund beginning on or before December 22, 2010, to expire), thereby reducing the Fund’s ability to offset capital gains with those losses. An increase in the amount of taxable gains distributed to the Fund’s shareholders could result from an ownership change. The Fund undertakes no obligation to avoid or prevent an ownership change, which can occur in the normal course of shareholder purchases and redemptions or as a result of engaging in a tax-free reorganization with another fund. Moreover, because of circumstances beyond the Fund’s

 

 

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control, there can be no assurance that the Fund will not experience, or has not already experienced, an ownership change.

Deferral of late year losses. The Fund may elect to treat part or all of any “qualified late year loss” as if it had been incurred in the succeeding taxable year in determining the Fund’s taxable income, net capital gain, net short-term capital gain, and earnings and profits. The effect of this election is to treat any such “qualified late year loss” as if it had been incurred in the succeeding taxable year, which may change the timing, amount, or characterization of Fund distributions (see “Taxation of Fund Distributions—Capital gain dividends” below). A “qualified late year loss” includes:

 

  (i)

any net capital loss incurred after October 31 of the current taxable year, or, if there is no such loss, any net long-term capital loss or any net short-term capital loss incurred after October 31 of the current taxable year (post-October capital losses), and

 

  (ii)

the sum of (1) the excess, if any, of (a) specified losses incurred after October 31 of the current taxable year, over (b) specified gains incurred after October 31 of the current taxable year and (2) the excess, if any, of (a) ordinary losses incurred after December 31 of the current taxable year, over (b) the ordinary income incurred after December 31 of the current taxable year.

The terms “specified losses” and “specified gains” mean ordinary losses and gains from the sale, exchange, or other disposition of property (including the termination of a position with respect to such property), foreign currency losses and gains, and losses and gains resulting from holding stock in a passive foreign investment company (“PFIC”) for which a mark-to-market election is in effect. The terms “ordinary losses” and “ordinary income” mean other ordinary losses and income that are not described in the preceding sentence.

Undistributed capital gains. The Fund may retain or distribute to shareholders its net capital gain for each taxable year. Each Fund currently intends to distribute net capital gains. If the Fund elects to retain its net capital gain, the Fund will be taxed thereon (except to the extent of any available capital loss carryovers) at the corporate income tax rate. If the Fund elects to retain its net capital gain, it is expected that the Fund also will elect to have shareholders treated as if each received a distribution of its pro rata share of such gain, with the result that each shareholder will be required to report its pro rata share of such gain on its tax return as long-term capital gain, will receive a refundable tax credit for its pro rata share of tax paid by the Fund on the gain and will increase the tax basis for its Shares by an amount equal to the deemed distribution less the tax credit.

Federal excise tax. To avoid a 4% non-deductible excise tax, the Fund must distribute by December 31 of each year an amount equal to at least: (1) 98% of its ordinary income for the calendar year, (2) 98.2% of capital gain net income (the excess of the gains from sales or exchanges of capital assets over the losses from such sales or exchanges) for the one-year period ended on October 31 of such calendar year, and (3) any prior year undistributed ordinary income and capital gain net income. The Fund may elect to defer to the following year any net ordinary loss incurred for the portion of the calendar year which is after the beginning of the Fund’s taxable year. Also, the Fund will defer any “specified gain” or “specified loss” which would be properly taken into account for the portion of the calendar after October 31. Any net ordinary loss, specified gain, or specified loss deferred shall be treated as arising on January 1 of the following calendar year. Generally, the Fund may make sufficient distributions to avoid liability for federal income and excise tax, but can give no assurances that all or a portion of such liability will be avoided. In addition, under certain circumstances temporary timing or permanent differences in the realization of income and expense for book and tax purposes can result in the Fund having to pay an excise tax.

Purchase of Shares. As a result of tax requirements, the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, has the right to reject an order to purchase Shares if the purchaser (or group of purchasers acting in concert with each other) would, upon obtaining the Shares so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding Shares of the Fund and if, pursuant to Sections 351 and 362 of the Code, the Fund would have a basis in the Deposit Securities different from the market value of such securities on the date of deposit. The Trust also has the right to require information necessary to determine beneficial Share ownership for purposes of the 80% determination.

Taxation of Fund Distributions. Each Fund anticipates distributing substantially all of its investment company taxable income and net capital gain for each taxable year. Distributions by the Fund will be treated in the manner described below regardless of whether such distributions are paid in cash or reinvested in additional Shares of the Fund (or of another Fund). You will receive information annually as to the federal income tax consequences of distributions made (or deemed made) during the year.

Distributions of ordinary income. Each Fund receives income generally in the form of dividends and/or interest on its investments. Each Fund may also recognize ordinary income from other sources, including, but not limited to,

 

 

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certain gains on foreign currency-related transactions. This income, less expenses incurred in the operation of the Fund, constitutes the Fund’s net investment income from which dividends may be paid to you. If you are a taxable investor, distributions of net investment income generally are taxable as ordinary income to the extent of the Fund’s earnings and profits. In the case of the Fund whose strategy includes investing in stocks of corporations, a portion of the income dividends paid to you may be qualified dividends eligible to be taxed at reduced rates.

Capital gain dividends. Taxes on distributions of capital gains are determined by how long the Fund owned the investments that generated them, rather than how long a shareholder has owned his or her Shares. In general, the Fund will recognize long-term capital gain or loss on the sale or other disposition of assets it has owned for more than one year, and short-term capital gain or loss on investments it has owned for one year or less. Distributions of net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss) that are properly reported to Fund shareholders as capital gain dividends generally will be taxable to a shareholder receiving such distributions as long-term capital gain. Long-term capital gain rates applicable to individuals are 0%, 15%, 20% or 25% depending on the nature of the capital gain and the individual’s taxable income. Distributions of net short-term capital gains for a taxable year in excess of net long-term capital losses for such taxable year generally will be taxable to a shareholder receiving such distributions as ordinary income.

Qualified dividend income for individuals. Ordinary income dividends reported as derived from qualified dividend income will be taxed in the hands of individuals and other noncorporate shareholders at the rates applicable to long-term capital gain. Qualified dividend income means dividends paid to the Fund (a) by domestic corporations, (b) by foreign corporations that are either (i) incorporated in a possession of the United States, or (ii) are eligible for benefits under certain income tax treaties with the United States that include an exchange of information program, or (c) with respect to stock of a foreign corporation that is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States. Both the Fund and the investor must meet certain holding period requirements to qualify Fund dividends for this treatment. Income derived from investments in derivatives, fixed-income securities, PFICs, and income received “in lieu of” dividends in a securities lending transaction generally is not eligible for treatment as qualified dividend income. If the qualifying dividend income received by the Fund is equal to 95% (or a greater percentage) of the Fund’s gross income (exclusive of net capital gain) in any taxable year, all of the ordinary income dividends paid by the Fund will be qualifying dividend income.

Corporate dividends-received deduction. Ordinary income dividends reported to Fund shareholders as derived from qualified dividends from domestic corporations will qualify for the 50% dividends-received deduction generally available to corporations. The availability of the dividends-received deduction is subject to certain holding period and debt financing restrictions imposed under the Code on the corporation claiming the deduction. Income derived by the Fund from investments in derivatives, fixed-income and foreign securities generally is not eligible for this treatment.

Return of capital distributions. Distributions by the Fund that are not paid from earnings and profits will be treated as a return of capital to the extent of (and in reduction of) the shareholder’s tax basis in his Shares; any excess will be treated as gain from the sale of his Shares. Thus, the portion of a distribution that constitutes a return of capital will decrease the shareholder’s tax basis in his Shares (but not below zero), and will result in an increase in the amount of gain (or decrease in the amount of loss) that will be recognized by the shareholder for tax purposes on the later sale of such Shares. Return of capital distributions can occur for a number of reasons including, among others, the Fund overestimates the income to be received from certain investments such as those classified as partnerships.

Impact of realized but undistributed income and gains, and net unrealized appreciation of portfolio securities. At the time of your purchase of Shares, the price of the Shares may reflect undistributed income, undistributed capital gains, or net unrealized appreciation of portfolio securities held by the Fund. A subsequent distribution to you of such amounts, although constituting a return of your investment, would be taxable and would be taxed as either ordinary income (some portion of which may be taxed as qualified dividend income) or capital gain unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account. The Fund may be able to reduce the amount of such distributions by utilizing its capital loss carryovers, if any.

Tax credit bonds. If the Fund holds, directly or indirectly, one or more “tax credit bonds” (including build America bonds, clean renewable energy bonds and qualified tax credit bonds) on one or more applicable dates during a taxable year, the Fund may elect to permit its shareholders to claim a tax credit on their income tax returns equal to each shareholder’s proportionate share of tax credits from the applicable bonds that otherwise would be allowed to the Fund. In such a case, shareholders must include in gross income (as interest) their proportionate share of the income attributable to their proportionate share of those offsetting tax credits. A shareholder’s ability to claim a tax credit associated with one or more tax credit bonds may be subject to certain limitations imposed by the Code. (Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the build America bonds, clean renewable energy bonds and certain other qualified bonds may

 

 

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no longer be issued after December 31, 2017.) Even if the Fund is eligible to pass-through tax credits, the Fund may choose not to do so.

U.S. Government interest. Income earned on certain U.S. Government obligations is exempt from state and local personal income taxes if earned directly by you. States also grant tax-free status to dividends paid to you from interest earned on direct obligations of the U.S. Government, subject in some states to minimum investment or reporting requirements that must be met by the Fund. Income on investments by the Fund in certain other obligations, such as repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government obligations, commercial paper and federal agency-backed obligations (e.g., GNMA or FNMA obligations), generally does not qualify for tax-free treatment. The rules on exclusion of this income are different for corporations.

Dividends declared in December and paid in January. Ordinarily, shareholders are required to take distributions by the Fund into account in the year in which the distributions are made. However, dividends declared in October, November or December of any year and payable to shareholders of record on a specified date in such a month will be deemed to have been received by the shareholders (and made by the Fund) on December 31 of such calendar year if such dividends are actually paid in January of the following year. Shareholders will be advised annually as to the U.S. federal income tax consequences of distributions made (or deemed made) during the year in accordance with the guidance that has been provided by the IRS.

Medicare tax. Medicare tax. A 3.8% Medicare tax is imposed on net investment income earned by certain individuals, estates and trusts. “Net investment income,” for these purposes, means investment income, including ordinary dividends and capital gain distributions received from the Fund and net gains from taxable dispositions of Fund Shares, reduced by the deductions properly allocable to such income. In the case of an individual, the tax will be imposed on the lesser of (1) the shareholder’s net investment income or (2) the amount by which the shareholder’s modified adjusted gross income exceeds $250,000 (if the shareholder is married and filing jointly or a surviving spouse), $125,000 (if the shareholder is married and filing separately) or $200,000 (in any other case). This Medicare tax, if applicable, is reported by you on, and paid with, your federal income tax return.

Sale of Fund Shares. A sale of Shares is a taxable transaction for federal and state income tax purposes. If you sell your Shares, the IRS requires you to report any gain or loss on your sale. If you held your Shares as a capital asset, the gain or loss that you realize will be a capital gain or loss and will be long-term or short-term, generally depending on how long you have held your Shares. Capital losses in any year are deductible only to the extent of capital gains plus, in the case of a noncorporate taxpayer, $3,000 of ordinary income.

Taxes on Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units. An AP who exchanges equity securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a capital gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time of purchase (plus any cash received by the AP as part of the issue) and the AP’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered (plus any cash paid by the AP as part of the issue). An AP that exchanges Creation Units for equity securities generally will recognize a capital gain or loss equal to the difference between the AP’s basis in the Creation Units (plus any cash paid by the AP as part of the redemption) and the aggregate market value of the securities received (plus any cash received by the AP as part of the redemption). The IRS, however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position. Persons exchanging securities should consult their own tax advisor with respect to whether wash sale rules apply and when a loss might be deductible.

Under current federal tax laws, any capital gain or loss realized upon redemption of Creation Units is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the Shares have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if the Shares have been held for one year or less, assuming that such Creation Units are held as a capital asset.

If the Fund redeems Creation Units in cash, it may recognize more capital gains than it will if it redeems Creation Units in-kind.

Tax Basis Information. A shareholder’s cost basis information will be provided on the sale of any of the shareholder’s Shares, subject to certain exceptions for exempt recipients. Please contact the broker (or other nominee) that holds your Shares with respect to reporting of cost basis and available elections for your account.

Wash Sales. All or a portion of any loss that you realize on a sale of your Shares in the Fund will be disallowed to the extent that you buy other Shares in such Fund (through reinvestment of dividends or otherwise) within 30 days before or after your Share sale. Any loss disallowed under these rules will be added to your tax basis in the new Shares.

 

 

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Sales at a Loss Within Six Months of Purchase. Any loss incurred on a sale of Shares held for six months or less will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of any long-term capital gain distributed to you by the Fund on those Shares.

Reportable transactions. Under Treasury regulations, if a shareholder recognizes a loss with respect to Shares of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder (or certain greater amounts over a combination of years), the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on Form 8886. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.

Tax Treatment of Portfolio Transactions. Set forth below is a general description of the tax treatment of certain types of securities, investment techniques and transactions that may apply to the Fund. This section should be read in conjunction with the discussion above under “Investment Strategies and Restrictions” and “Investment Policies and Risks” for a detailed description of the various types of securities and investment techniques that apply to the Fund.

In general. In general, gain or loss recognized by the Fund on the sale or other disposition of portfolio investments will be a capital gain or loss. Such capital gain and loss may be long-term or short-term depending, in general, upon the length of time a particular investment position is maintained and, in some cases, upon the nature of the transaction. Property held for more than one year generally will be eligible for long-term capital gain or loss treatment. The application of certain rules described below may serve to alter the manner in which the holding period for a security is determined or may otherwise affect the characterization as long-term or short-term, and also the timing of the realization and/or character, of certain gains or losses.

Futures and hedging transactions. The tax treatment of certain futures contracts entered into by the Fund may be governed by section 1256 of the Code (section 1256 contracts). Gains or losses on section 1256 contracts generally are considered 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital gains or losses (60/40), although certain foreign currency gains and losses from such contracts may be treated as ordinary in character. Also, any section 1256 contracts held by the Fund at the end of each taxable year (and, for purposes of the 4% excise tax, on certain other dates as prescribed under the Code) are “marked-to-market” with the result that unrealized gains or losses are treated as though they were realized and the resulting gain or loss is treated as ordinary or 60/40 gain or loss, as applicable. Section 1256 contracts do not include any interest rate swap, currency swap, basis swap, interest rate cap, interest rate floor, commodity swap, equity swap, equity index swap, credit default swap, or similar agreement.

In addition to the special rules described above in respect of futures transactions, the Fund’s other hedging transactions may be subject to one or more special tax rules (including the constructive sale, notional principal contract, straddle, wash sale and short sale rules). These rules may affect whether gains and losses recognized by the Fund are treated as ordinary or capital or as short-term or long-term, accelerate the recognition of income or gains to the Fund, defer losses to the Fund, and cause adjustments in the holding periods of the Fund’s securities. These rules, therefore, could affect the amount, timing and/or character of distributions to shareholders. Moreover, because the tax rules applicable to derivative financial instruments are in some cases uncertain under current law, an adverse determination or future guidance by the IRS with respect to these rules (which determination or guidance could be retroactive) may affect whether the Fund has made sufficient distributions and otherwise satisfied the relevant requirements to maintain its qualification as a RIC and avoid a fund-level tax.

The Fund’s hedging activities may produce a difference between its book income and its taxable income. If the Fund’s book income is less than the sum of its taxable income and net tax-exempt income (if any), the Fund could be required to make distributions exceeding book income to qualify as a RIC. If the Fund’s book income exceeds the sum of its taxable income and net tax-exempt income (if any), the distribution of any such excess will be treated as (i) a dividend to the extent of the Fund’s remaining earnings and profits (including current earnings and profits arising from tax-exempt income, reduced by related deductions), (ii) thereafter, as a return of capital to the extent of the recipient’s basis in the shares, and (iii) thereafter, as gain from the sale or exchange of a capital asset.

Securities Lending. While securities are loaned out by the Fund, the Fund generally will receive from the borrower amounts equal to any dividends or interest paid on the borrowed securities. For federal income tax purposes, payments made “in lieu of” dividends are not considered dividend income. These distributions will neither qualify for the reduced rate of federal income taxation for individuals on qualified dividends income, if otherwise available, nor the 50% dividends received deduction for corporations. Also, any foreign tax withheld on payments made “in lieu of” dividends or interest may not qualify for the pass-through of foreign tax credits to shareholders.

Tax Certification and Backup Withholding. Tax certification and backup withholding tax laws may require that you certify your tax information when you become an investor in the Fund. For U.S. citizens and resident aliens, this

 

 

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certification is made on IRS Form W-9. Under these laws, the Fund must withhold a portion of your taxable distributions and sales proceeds unless you:

 

   

provide your correct Social Security or taxpayer identification number;

 

   

certify that this number is correct;

 

   

certify that you are not subject to backup withholding; and

 

   

certify that you are a U.S. person (including a U.S. resident alien).

Withholding also is imposed if the IRS requires it. When withholding is required, the amount will be 24% of any distributions or proceeds paid. Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld may be credited against the shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, provided the appropriate information is furnished to the IRS. Certain payees and payments are exempt from backup withholding and information reporting.

Non-U.S. investors have special U.S. tax certification requirements. See “Foreign Shareholders—Tax certification and backup withholding.”

Foreign Shareholders. Shareholders who, as to the United States, are nonresident alien individuals, foreign trusts or estates, foreign corporations, or foreign partnerships (foreign shareholder), may be subject to U.S. withholding and estate tax and are subject to special U.S. tax certification requirements.

Taxation of a foreign shareholder depends on whether the income from the Fund is “effectively connected” with a U.S. trade or business carried on by such shareholder.

U.S. withholding tax at the source. If the income from the Fund is not effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business carried on by a foreign shareholder, distributions to such shareholder will be subject to U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30% (or lower treaty rate) upon the gross amount of the distribution, subject to certain exemptions including those for dividends reported as:

 

   

exempt-interest dividends paid by the Fund from its net interest income earned on municipal securities;

 

   

capital gain dividends paid by the Fund from its net long-term capital gains (other than those from disposition of a U.S. real property interest), unless you are a nonresident alien present in the United States for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the calendar year; and

 

   

interest-related dividends paid by the Fund from its qualified net interest income from U.S. sources and short-term capital gain dividends.

The Fund may report interest-related dividends or short-term capital gain dividends, but reserves the right not to do so. Additionally, the Fund’s reporting of interest-related dividends or short-term capital gain dividends may not be passed through to shareholders by intermediaries who have assumed tax reporting responsibilities for this income in managed or omnibus accounts due to systems limitations or operational constraints. Moreover, notwithstanding such exemptions from U.S. withholding at the source, any dividends and distributions of income and capital gains, including the proceeds from the sale of your Shares, will be subject to backup withholding at a rate of 24% if you fail to properly certify that you are not a U.S. person.

Foreign shareholders may be subject to U.S. withholding tax at a rate of 30% on the income resulting from an election to pass-through foreign tax credits to shareholders, but may not be able to claim a credit or deduction with respect to the withholding tax for the foreign tax treated as having been paid by them.

Income effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business. If the income from the Fund is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business carried on by a foreign shareholder, then ordinary income dividends, capital gain dividends and any gains realized upon the sale of Shares of the Fund will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at the rates applicable to U.S. citizens or domestic corporations and require the filing of a nonresident U.S. income tax return.

Tax certification and backup withholding. Foreign shareholders may have special U.S. tax certification requirements to avoid backup withholding (at a rate of 24%) and, if applicable, to obtain the benefit of any income tax treaty between the foreign shareholder’s country of residence and the United States. To claim these tax benefits, the foreign shareholder must provide a properly completed Form W-8BEN (or other Form W-8, where applicable, or their substitute forms) to establish his or her status as a non-U.S. investor, to claim beneficial ownership over the assets in the account, and to claim, if applicable, a reduced rate of or exemption from withholding tax under the applicable treaty. A Form W-8BEN provided without a U.S. taxpayer identification number remains in effect for a period of three years beginning on the date that it is signed and ending on the last day of the third succeeding calendar year unless an

 

 

  44  

 


earlier change of circumstances makes the information given on the form incorrect, and the shareholder must then provide a new W-8BEN to avoid the prospective application of backup withholding. Forms W-8BEN with U.S. taxpayer identification numbers remain valid indefinitely, or until the investor has a change of circumstances that renders the form incorrect and necessitates a new form and tax certification. Certain payees and payments are exempt from backup withholding.

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Under FATCA, a 30% withholding tax is imposed on income dividends made by the Fund to certain foreign entities, referred to as foreign financial institutions (“FFI”) or non-financial foreign entities (“NFFE”). After December 31, 2018, FATCA withholding also would have applied to certain capital gain distributions, return of capital distributions and the proceeds arising from the sale of Shares; however, based on proposed regulations issued by the IRS, which can be relied upon currently, such withholding is no longer required unless final regulations provide otherwise (which is not expected). The FATCA withholding tax generally can be avoided: (a) by an FFI, if it reports certain direct and indirect ownership of foreign financial accounts held by U.S. persons with the FFI and (b) by an NFFE, if it: (i) certifies that it has no substantial U.S. persons as owners or (ii) if it does have such owners, reporting information relating to them. The U.S. Treasury has negotiated intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) with certain countries and is in various stages of negotiations with a number of other foreign countries with respect to one or more alternative approaches to implement FATCA.

An FFI can avoid FATCA withholding if it is deemed compliant or by becoming a “participating FFI,” which requires the FFI to enter into a U.S. tax compliance agreement with the IRS under section 1471(b) of the Code (FFI agreement) under which it agrees to verify, report and disclose certain of its U.S. accountholders and meet certain other specified requirements.

The FFI will either report the specified information about the U.S. accounts to the IRS, or, to the government of the FFI’s country of residence (pursuant to the terms and conditions of applicable law and an applicable IGA entered into between the U.S. and the FFI’s country of residence), which will, in turn, report the specified information to the IRS. An FFI that is resident in a country that has entered into an IGA with the U.S. to implement FATCA will be exempt from FATCA withholding provided that the FFI shareholder and the applicable foreign government comply with the terms of such agreement.

An NFFE that is the beneficial owner of a payment from the Fund can avoid the FATCA withholding tax generally by certifying that it does not have any substantial U.S. owners or by providing the name, address and taxpayer identification number of each substantial U.S. owner. The NFFE will report the information to the applicable withholding agent, which will, in turn, report the information to the IRS.

Such foreign shareholders also may fall into certain exempt, excepted or deemed compliant categories as established by U.S. Treasury regulations, IGAs, and other guidance regarding FATCA. An FFI or NFFE that invests in the Fund will need to provide documentation properly certifying the entity’s status under FATCA in order to avoid FATCA withholding. Non-U.S. investors should consult their own tax advisors regarding the impact of these requirements on their investment in the Fund. The requirements imposed by FATCA are different from, and in addition to, the U.S. tax certification rules to avoid backup withholding described above. Shareholders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the application of these requirements to their own situation.

U.S. estate tax. Transfers by gift of Shares of the Fund by a foreign shareholder who is a nonresident alien individual will not be subject to U.S. federal gift tax. An individual who, at the time of death, is a foreign shareholder will nevertheless be subject to U.S. federal estate tax with respect to Shares at the graduated rates applicable to U.S. citizens and residents, unless a treaty exemption applies. If a treaty exemption is available, a decedent’s estate may nonetheless need to file a U.S. estate tax return to claim the exemption in order to obtain a U.S. federal transfer certificate. The transfer certificate will identify the property (i.e., Shares) as to which the U.S. federal estate tax lien has been released. In the absence of a treaty, there is a $13,000 statutory estate tax credit (equivalent to an estate with assets of $60,000).

Local Tax Considerations. Rules of state and local taxation of ordinary income, qualified dividend income and capital gain dividends may differ from the rules for U.S. federal income taxation described above. Distributions may also be subject to additional state, local and foreign taxes depending on each shareholder’s particular situation.

* * * * *

The foregoing discussion is a summary only and is not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning. Purchasers of Shares should consult their own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of investing in Shares, including under federal, state, local and other tax laws. Finally, the foregoing discussion is based on applicable provisions of the Code, regulations, judicial authority, and administrative interpretations in effect on the date hereof, all of which are subject

 

 

  45  

 


to change, which change may be retroactive. Changes in any applicable authority could materially affect the conclusions discussed above, possibly retroactively, and such changes often occur.

DETERMINATION OF NAV

The following information should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled “Net Asset Value.” Additional information regarding the current NAV per share of the Fund can be found at www.invesco.com/ETFs.

The Custodian calculates and determines the Fund’s NAV per Share at the close of the regular trading session of the NYSE (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern time) on each day that the NYSE is open. NAV is calculated by deducting all of the Fund’s liabilities from the total value of its assets and dividing the result by the number of Shares outstanding, rounding to the nearest cent. All valuations are subject to review by the Board or its delegate.

In determining NAV, expenses are accrued and applied daily and securities and other assets for which market quotations are available are valued at market value. Securities listed or traded on an exchange (except convertible securities) generally are valued at the last sales price or official closing price of the exchange where the security primarily is traded. Investment companies are valued using such company’s NAV per share, unless the shares are exchange-traded, in which case they will be valued at the last sale or official closing price on the exchanges on which they primarily trade. Deposits, other obligations of U.S. and non-U.S. banks and financial institutions, and cash equivalents are valued at their daily account value. Debt obligations (including convertible securities) and securities not listed on an exchange normally are valued on the basis of prices provided by independent pricing services. Pricing services generally value debt securities assuming orderly transactions of institutional round lot size, but a Fund may hold or transact in the same securities in smaller, odd lot sizes. Odd lots often trade at lower prices than institutional round lots. Futures contracts are valued at the final settlement price set by an exchange on which they are principally traded. For purposes of determining NAV per Share, futures contracts generally are valued 15 minutes after the close of the customary trading session of the NYSE. The Adviser and Sub-Adviser may use various pricing services or discontinue the use of any pricing service at any time. When price quotes are not readily available, securities will be valued using pricing provided from independent pricing services or by another method that the Adviser or Sub-Adviser, in its judgment, believes will better reflect the securities’ fair value in accordance with the Trust’s valuation policies and procedures approved by the Board.

Even when market quotations are available for portfolio securities, they may be stale or unreliable because the security is not traded frequently, or issuer specific events occurred after the security ceased trading. Events that may cause the last market quotation to be unreliable include a merger or insolvency, events which affect a geographical area or an industry segment, such as political events or natural disasters, or market events, such as a significant movement in the U.S. market. Where market quotations are not readily available, including where the Adviser or Sub-Adviser (as applicable) determines that the closing price of the security is unreliable, the Adviser and Sub-Adviser (as applicable) will value the security at fair value in good faith using procedures approved by the Board. Fair value pricing involves subjective judgments, and it is possible that a fair value determination for a security is materially different than the value that could be realized upon the sale of that security.

DIVIDENDS AND OTHER DISTRIBUTIONS

The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled “Dividends, Other Distributions and Taxes.”

General Policies. Dividends from net investment income, if any, generally are declared and paid [quarterly]. Distributions of net realized securities gains, if any, generally are declared and paid once a year, but the Fund may make distributions on a more frequent basis. The Fund reserves the right to declare special distributions if, in its reasonable discretion, such action is necessary or advisable to preserve its status as a RIC or to avoid imposition of income tax or the Excise Tax on undistributed income. Dividends and other distributions on Shares are distributed on a pro rata basis to Beneficial Owners of the Shares. Dividend payments are made through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants to Beneficial Owners then of record with proceeds received from the Fund.

Dividend Reinvestment Service. No reinvestment service is provided by the Trust. Broker-dealers may make available the DTC book-entry Dividend Reinvestment Service for use by Beneficial Owners of Shares for reinvestment of their distributions. Beneficial Owners should contact their broker to determine the availability and costs of the service and the details of participation therein. Brokers may require Beneficial Owners to adhere to specific procedures and timetables.

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

 

 

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Counsel. Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP, located at 191 North Wacker Drive, Suite 1601, Chicago, Illinois 60606, and 2000 K Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20006, serves as legal counsel to the Trust.

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. [             ] serves as the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm. [        ] audits the Fund’s annual financial statements and assists in the preparation and/or review of the Fund’s federal and state income tax returns.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The Fund is new and has no performance history as of the date of this SAI. Financial information therefore is not yet available. The audited financial statements for the Fund will appear in the Trust’s Annual Report to shareholders when available. When available, you may request a copy of the Trust’s Annual Report at no charge by calling 1-800-983-0903 during normal business hours.

 

 

  47  

 


APPENDIX A

 

LOGO

PROXY VOTING GUIDELINES

Applicable to: All funds advised by Invesco Capital Management LLC (“ICM” or the “Adviser”) for which it has been delegated proxy voting authority.

Risk Addressed by Policy: Breach of fiduciary duty to clients under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 by placing Invesco’s interests ahead of clients’ best interests in voting proxies

Relevant Law and Other Sources: Investment Advisers Act of 1940

Effective Date: June 24, 2014

Last Amended Date: December 12, 2019

 

I.

GENERAL POLICY

ICM has adopted proxy voting policies with respect to securities owned by series for which it serves as investment adviser and has been delegated the authority to vote proxies. ICM’s proxy voting policies are designed to provide that proxies are voted in the best interests of shareholders.

Invesco Ltd. (“Invesco”), the parent to the Adviser, has adopted a global policy statement on corporate governance and proxy voting (the “Global Invesco Policy”) (see Exhibit A), which details Invesco’s views on governance matters and describes the proxy administration and governance approach. The Adviser will approach proxy constraints according to the Invesco global statement on corporate governance and proxy voting. The Adviser will approach conflicts of interest in accordance with Invesco’s global policy statement on corporate governance and proxy voting. The Adviser votes proxies by utilizing the procedures and mechanisms outlined in the Global Invesco Policy, while maintaining specific guidelines for products advised by the Adviser or an affiliate of the Adviser (“Affiliated Funds”), as set forth below:

Overlapping Securities

In instances where both an Affiliated Fund advised by the Adviser and an Affiliated Fund advised by an Invesco Ltd. entity hold an equity security (“Overlapping Securities”), the Adviser will vote proxies in accordance with the recommendation of an Invesco Ltd. adviser based on the comprehensive proxy review and under the Global Invesco Policy. The Global Invesco Policy is overseen by the Invesco Proxy Advisory Committee (“IPAC”), which also orchestrates the review and analysis of the top twenty-five proxy voting matters, measured by overall size of holdings by funds within the Invesco family. The Adviser consults with the IPAC on specific proxy votes and general proxy voting matters as it deems necessary. In addition, as part of the Global Invesco Proxy Voting Process, the IPAC oversees instances when possible conflicts of interest arise among funds. (Please see the Global Invesco Policy for the detailed conflicts of interest approach.)

In instances where the global proxy administration team does not receive a recommendation in a timely manner, the proxy administration team will automatically vote such ballots in accordance with Invesco’s custom guidelines established in Invesco’s global proxy voting policy and US guidelines.


Non-Overlapping Securities

In instances where securities are held only by an Affiliated Fund advised by the Adviser and not also by an Invesco Ltd. active equity entity fund, the Adviser will instruct the proxy administration team to vote proxies in accordance with said Invesco custom guidelines implemented by ISS, Invesco’s vote execution agent.

Under this Policy, the Adviser retains the power to vote contrary to the recommendation of the Invesco Voting Process (for Overlapping Securities) or Invesco’s custom guidelines (for Non-Overlapping Securities) at its discretion, so long as the reasons for doing so are well documented.

 

II.

SPECIAL POLICY

Certain Affiliated Funds pursue their investment objectives by investing in other registered investment companies pursuant to an exemptive order granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The relief granted by that order is conditioned upon complying with a number of undertakings, some of which require such Affiliated Fund to vote its shares in an acquired investment company in the same proportion as other holders of the acquired fund’s shares. In instances in which an Affiliated Fund is required to vote in this manner to rely on the exemptive order, the Adviser will vote shares of these acquired investment companies in compliance with the voting mechanism required by the order.


Exhibit A to Appendix A

INVESCO’S POLICY STATEMENT ON GLOBAL CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

AND PROXY VOTING    

June 2019

 

I.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND PHILOSOPHY

Public companies hold shareholder meetings, attended by the company’s executives, directors, and shareholders, during which important issues, such as appointments to the company’s board of directors, executive compensation, and auditors, are addressed and where applicable, voted on. Proxy voting gives shareholders the opportunity to vote on issues that impact the company’s operations and policies without being present at the meetings.

Invesco views proxy voting as an integral part of its investment management responsibilities and believes that the right to vote proxies should be managed with the same high standards of care and fiduciary duty to its clients as all other elements of the investment process. Invesco’s proxy voting philosophy, governance structure and process are designed to ensure that proxy votes are cast in accordance with clients’ best interests, which Invesco interprets to mean clients’ best economic interests, this Policy and the operating guidelines and procedures of Invesco’s regional investment centers.

Invesco investment teams vote proxies on behalf of Invesco-sponsored funds and non-fund advisory clients that have explicitly granted Invesco authority in writing to vote proxies on their behalf.

The proxy voting process at Invesco, which is driven by investment professionals, focuses on maximizing long-term value for our clients, protecting clients’ rights and promoting governance structures and practices that reinforce the accountability of corporate management and boards of directors to shareholders. Invesco takes a nuanced approach to voting and, therefore, many matters to be voted upon are reviewed on a case by case basis.

Votes in favor of board or management proposals should not be interpreted as an indication of insufficient consideration by Invesco fund managers. Such votes may reflect the outcome of past or ongoing engagement and active ownership by Invesco with representatives of the companies in which we invest.

 

II.

APPLICABILITY OF THIS POLICY

This Policy sets forth the framework of Invesco’s corporate governance approach, broad philosophy and guiding principles that inform the proxy voting practices of Invesco’s investment teams around the world. Given the different nature of these teams and their respective investment processes, as well as the significant differences in regulatory regimes and market practices across jurisdictions, not all aspects of this Policy may apply to all Invesco investment teams at all times. In the case of a conflict between this Policy and the operating guidelines and procedures of a regional investment center the latter will control.

 

III.

PROXY VOTING FOR CERTAIN FIXED INCOME, MONEY MARKET, INDEX AND LEGACY OPPENHEIMERFUNDS ACCOUNTS

For proxies held by certain client accounts managed in accordance with fixed income, money market and index strategies (including exchange traded funds), Invesco will typically vote in line with the majority holder of the active-equity shares held by Invesco outside of those strategies and legacy accounts (“Majority Voting”). In this manner Invesco seeks to leverage the active-equity expertise and comprehensive proxy voting reviews conducted by teams employing active-equity strategies (other than legacy Oppenheimer Funds investment teams), which typically incorporate analysis of proxy issues as a core component of the investment process. Portfolio managers for accounts employing Majority Voting still retain full discretion to


override Majority Voting and to vote the shares as they determine to be in the best interest of those accounts, absent certain types of conflicts of interest, which are discussed elsewhere in this Policy. When there are no corresponding active-equity shares held by Invesco, the proxies for those strategies and legacy accounts will be voted in the following manner: (i) for U.S. issuers, in line with Invesco custom voting guidelines derived from the guidelines set forth below; and (ii) for non-U.S. issuers, in line with the recommendations of a third-party proxy advisory service.

 

IV.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

There may be occasions where voting proxies may present a real or perceived conflict of interest between Invesco, as investment manager, and one or more of Invesco’s clients or vendors. Under Invesco’s Code of Conduct, Invesco entities and individuals are strictly prohibited from putting personal benefit, whether tangible or intangible, before the interests of clients. “Personal benefit” includes any intended benefit for Invesco, oneself or any other individual, company, group or organization of any kind whatsoever, except a benefit for the relevant Invesco client.

Firm-level Conflicts of Interest

A conflict of interest may exist if Invesco has a material business relationship with, or is actively soliciting business from, either the company soliciting a proxy or a third party that has a material interest in the outcome of a proxy vote or that is actively lobbying for a particular outcome of a proxy vote (e.g., issuers that are distributors of Invesco’s products, or issuers that employ Invesco to manage portions of their retirement plans or treasury accounts). Invesco’s proxy governance team maintains a list of all such issuers for which a conflict of interest exists.

If the proposal that gives rise to the potential conflict is specifically addressed by this Policy or the operating guidelines and procedures of the relevant regional investment center, Invesco generally will vote the proxy in accordance therewith. Otherwise, based on a majority vote of its members, the Global IPAC (as described below) will vote the proxy.

Because this Policy and the operating guidelines and procedures of each regional investment center are pre-determined and crafted to be in the best economic interest of clients, applying them to vote client proxies should, in most instances, adequately resolve any potential conflict of interest. As an additional safeguard, persons from Invesco’s marketing, distribution and other customer-facing functions may not serve on the Global IPAC. For the avoidance of doubt, Invesco may not consider Invesco Ltd.’s pecuniary interest when voting proxies on behalf of clients.

Personal Conflicts of Interest

A conflict also may exist where an Invesco employee has a known personal relationship with other proponents of proxy proposals, participants in proxy contests, corporate directors, or candidates for directorships.

All Invesco personnel with proxy voting responsibilities are required to report any known personal conflicts of interest regarding proxy issues with which they are involved. In such instances, the individual(s) with the conflict will be excluded from the decision-making process relating to such issues.

Other Conflicts of Interest

To avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest, Invesco will not vote proxies issued by, or related to matters involving, Invesco Ltd. that may be held in client accounts from time to time.1 Shares of an Invesco-sponsored fund held by other Invesco funds will be voted in the same proportion as the votes of external shareholders of the underlying fund. Shares of an unaffiliated registered fund held by one or more Invesco funds will be voted in the same proportion as the votes of external shareholders of the underlying fund as required by federal securities law or any exemption therefrom. Additionally, Invesco or its Funds may vote proportionally in other cases where required by law.

 

 

1

Generally speaking, Invesco does not invest for its clients in the shares of Invesco Ltd., however, limited exceptions apply in the case of funds or accounts designed to track an index that includes Invesco Ltd. as a component.


V.

USE OF THIRD PARTY PROXY ADVISORY SERVICES

Invesco may supplement its internal research with information from third-parties, such as proxy advisory firms. However, Invesco generally retains full and independent discretion with respect to proxy voting decisions.

As part of its fiduciary obligation to clients, Invesco performs extensive initial and ongoing due diligence on the proxy advisory firms it engages. This includes reviews of information regarding the capabilities of their research staffs, methodologies for formulating voting recommendations, the adequacy and quality of staffing, personnel and technology, as applicable, and internal controls, policies and procedures, including those relating to possible conflicts of interest. In addition, Invesco regularly monitors and communicates with these firms and monitors their compliance with Invesco’s performance and policy standards.

 

VI.

GLOBAL PROXY VOTING PLATFORM AND ADMINISTRATION

Guided by its philosophy that investment teams should manage proxy voting, Invesco has created the Global Invesco Proxy Advisory Committee (“Global IPAC”). The Global IPAC is a global investments-driven committee comprised of representatives from various investment management teams and Invesco’s Global Head of Proxy Governance and Responsible Investment (“Head of Proxy Governance”). The Global IPAC provides a forum for investment teams to monitor, understand and discuss key proxy issues and voting trends within the Invesco complex. Absent a conflict of interest, the Global IPAC representatives, in consultation with the respective investment team, are responsible for voting proxies for the securities the team manages (unless such responsibility is explicitly delegated to the portfolio managers of the securities in question). In addition to the Global IPAC, for some clients, third parties (e.g., U.S. mutual fund board) provide oversight of the proxy process. The Global IPAC and Invesco’s proxy administration and governance team, compliance and legal teams regularly communicate and review this Policy and the operating guidelines and procedures of each regional investment center to ensure that they remain consistent with clients’ best interests, regulatory requirements, governance trends and industry best practices.

Invesco maintains a proprietary global proxy administration platform, known as the “fund manager portal” and supported by the Global Head of Proxy Governance and a dedicated team of internal proxy specialists. The platform streamlines the proxy voting and ballot reconciliation processes, as well as related functions, such as share blocking and managing conflicts of interest issuers. Managing these processes internally, as opposed to relying on third parties, gives Invesco greater quality control, oversight and independence in the proxy administration process.

The platform also includes advanced global reporting and record-keeping capabilities regarding proxy matters that enable Invesco to satisfy client, regulatory and management requirements. Historical proxy voting information, including commentary by investment professionals regarding the votes they cast, where applicable, is stored to build institutional knowledge across the Invesco complex with respect to individual companies and proxy issues. Certain investment teams also use the platform to access third-party proxy research.


VII.

NON-VOTES

In the great majority of instances, Invesco can vote proxies successfully. However, in certain circumstances, Invesco may refrain from voting where the economic or other opportunity costs of voting exceeds any anticipated benefits of that proxy proposal. In addition, there may be instances in which Invesco is unable to vote all of its clients’ proxies despite using commercially reasonable efforts to do so. For example:

 

   

Invesco may not receive proxy materials from the relevant fund or client custodian with sufficient time and information to make an informed independent voting decision. In such cases, Invesco may choose not to vote, to abstain from voting, to vote in line with management or to vote in accordance with proxy advisor recommendations. These matters are left to the discretion of the relevant portfolio manager.

 

   

If the security in question is on loan as part of a securities lending program, Invesco may determine that the benefit to the client of voting a particular proxy is outweighed by the revenue that would be lost by terminating the loan and recalling the securities;

 

   

In some countries the exercise of voting rights imposes temporary transfer restrictions on the related securities (“share blocking”). Invesco generally refrains from voting proxies in share-blocking countries unless Invesco determines that the benefit to the client(s) of voting a specific proxy outweighs the client’s temporary inability to sell the security.

 

   

Some companies require a representative to attend meetings in person to vote a proxy. In such cases, Invesco may determine that the costs of sending a representative or signing a power-of-attorney outweigh the benefit of voting a particular proxy.

In addition, there may be instances in which Invesco is unable to vote all of its clients’ proxies despite using commercially reasonable efforts to do so. For example, Invesco may not receive proxy materials from the relevant fund or client custodian with sufficient time and information to make an informed independent voting decision. In other cases, voting may not be practicable due to operational limitations. In such cases, Invesco may choose not to vote, to abstain from voting, to vote in line with management or to vote in accordance with proxy advisor recommendations. These matters are left to the discretion of the relevant portfolio manager.

 

VIII. 

PROXY VOTING GUIDELINES

The following guidelines describe Invesco’s general positions on various proxy voting issues. The guidelines are not intended to be exhaustive or prescriptive. As noted above, Invesco’s proxy process is investor-driven, and each portfolio manager retains ultimate discretion to vote proxies in the manner he or she deems most appropriate, consistent with Invesco’s proxy voting principles and philosophy discussed in Sections I. through IV. Individual proxy votes therefore will differ from these guidelines from time to time.

Invesco generally affords management discretion with respect to the operation of a company’s business and will generally support a board’s discretion on proposals relating to ordinary business practices and routine matters, unless there is insufficient information to decide about the nature of the proposal.

Invesco generally abstains from voting on or opposes proposals that are “bundled” or made contingent on each other (e.g., proposals to elect directors and approve compensation plans) where there is insufficient information to decide about the nature of the proposals.


A.

SHAREHOLDER ACCESS AND TREATMENT OF SHAREHOLDER PROPOSALS-GENERAL

Invesco reviews on a case by case basis but generally votes in favor of proposals that would increase shareholders’ opportunities to express their views to boards of directors, proposals that would lower barriers to shareholder action, and proposals to promote the adoption of generally accepted best practices in corporate governance, provided that such proposals would not require a disproportionate amount of management attention or corporate resources or otherwise that may inappropriately disrupt the company’s business and main purpose, usually set out in their reporting disclosures and business model. Likewise, Invesco reviews on a case by case basis but generally votes for shareholder proposals that are designed to protect shareholder rights if a company’s corporate governance standards indicate that such additional protections are warranted (for example, where minority shareholders’ rights are not adequately protected).

 

B.

ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY ISSUES

Invesco believes that a company’s long-term response to environmental, social and corporate responsibility issues can significantly affect long-term shareholder value. We recognize that to manage a corporation effectively, directors and management may consider not only the interests of shareholders, but also the interests of employees, customers, suppliers, creditors and the local community, among others. While Invesco generally affords management discretion with respect to the operation of a company’s business, Invesco generally will evaluate proposals relating to environmental, social and corporate responsibility issues on a case by case basis and will vote on those proposals in a manner intended to maximize long-term shareholder value. Invesco may choose, however, to abstain on voting on proposals relating to environmental, social and corporate responsibility issues.

Invesco reviews on a case by case basis but generally supports the following proposals relating to these issues:

 

   

Gender pay gap proposals

 

   

Political contributions disclosure/political lobbying disclosure/political activities and action

 

   

Data security, privacy, and internet issues

 

   

Report on climate change/climate change action

 

   

Gender diversity on boards

 

C.

CAPITALIZATION STRUCTURE ISSUES

 

  i.

Stock Issuances

Invesco generally supports a board’s proposal to issue additional capital stock to meet ongoing corporate needs, except where the request could adversely affect Invesco clients’ ownership stakes or voting rights. Some capitalization proposals, such as those to authorize common or preferred stock with special voting rights or to issue additional stock in connection with an acquisition, may require additional analysis. Invesco generally opposes proposals to issue additional stock without preemptive rights, as those issuances do not permit shareholders to share proportionately in any new issues of stock of the same class. Invesco generally opposes proposals to authorize classes of preferred stock with unspecified voting, conversion, dividend or other rights (“blank check” stock) when they appear to be intended as an anti-takeover mechanism; such issuances may be supported when used for general financing purposes.

 

  ii.

Stock Splits

Invesco generally supports a board’s proposal to increase common share authorization for a stock split, provided that the increase in authorized shares would not result in excessive dilution given the company’s industry and performance in terms of shareholder returns.


iii. Share Repurchases

Invesco generally supports a board’s proposal to institute open-market share repurchase plans only if all shareholders participate on an equal basis.

 

D.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE ISSUES

 

  i.

General

Invesco reviews on a case by case basis but generally supports the following proposals related to governance matters:

 

   

Adopt proxy access right

 

   

Require independent board chairperson

 

   

Provide right to shareholders to call special meetings

 

   

Provide right to act by written consent

 

   

Submit shareholder rights plan (poison pill) to shareholder vote

 

   

Reduce supermajority vote requirement

 

   

Remove antitakeover provisions

 

   

Declassify the board of directors

 

   

Require a majority vote for election of directors

 

   

Require majority of independent directors on the board

 

   

Approve executive appointment

 

   

Adopt exclusive forum provision

Invesco generally supports a board’s discretion to amend a company’s articles concerning routine matters, such as formalities relating to shareholder meetings. Invesco generally opposes non-routine amendments to a company’s articles if any of the proposed amendments would limit shareholders’ rights or there is insufficient information to decide about the nature of the proposal.

 

  ii.

Board of Directors

 

  1.

Director Nominees in Uncontested Elections

Subject to the other considerations described below, in an uncontested director election for a company without a controlling shareholder, Invesco generally votes in favor of the director slate if it is comprised of at least a majority of independent directors and if the board’s key committees are fully independent, effective and balanced. Key committees include the audit, compensation/remuneration and governance/nominating committees. Invesco’s standard of independence excludes directors who, in addition to the directorship, have any material business or family relationships with the companies they serve.


  2.

Director Nominees in Contested Elections

Invesco recognizes that short-term investment sentiments influence the corporate governance landscape and may influence companies in Invesco clients’ portfolios and more broadly across the market. Invesco recognizes that short-term investment sentiment may conflict with long-term value creation and as such looks at each proxy contest matter on a case by case basis, considering factors such as:

 

   

Long-term financial performance of the company relative to its industry

 

   

Management’s track record

 

   

Background to the proxy contest

 

   

Qualifications of director nominees (both slates)

 

   

Evaluation of what each side is offering shareholders as well as the likelihood that the proposed objectives and goals can be met

 

   

Stock ownership positions in the company

 

  3.

Director Accountability

Invesco generally withholds votes from directors who exhibit a lack of accountability to shareholders. Examples include, without limitation, poor attendance (less than 75%, absent extenuating circumstances) at meetings, director “overboarding” (as described below), failing to implement shareholder proposals that have received a majority of votes and/or by adopting or approving egregious corporate-governance or other policies. In cases of material financial restatements, accounting fraud, habitually late filings, adopting shareholder rights plan (“poison pills”) without shareholder approval, or other areas of poor performance, Invesco may withhold votes from some or all of a company’s directors. Invesco generally supports shareholder proposals relating to the competence of directors that are in the best interest of the company’s performance and the interest of its shareholders. In situations where directors’ performance is a concern, Invesco may also support shareholder proposals to take corrective actions such as so-called “clawback” provisions.

Invesco generally withholds votes from directors who serve on an excessive number of boards of directors (“overboarding”). Examples of overboarding may include when (i) a non-executive director is sitting on more than six public company boards, and (ii) a CEO is sitting on the board of more than two public companies besides the CEO’s own company, excluding the boards of majority-owned subsidiaries of the parent company.

 

  4.

Director Independence

Invesco generally supports proposals to require a majority of directors to be independent unless particular circumstances make this not feasible or in the best interests of shareholders. We generally vote for proposals that would require the board’s audit, compensation/remuneration, and/or governance/nominating committees to be composed exclusively of independent directors because this minimizes the potential for conflicts of interest.

 

  5.

Director Indemnification

Invesco recognizes that individuals may be reluctant to serve as corporate directors if they are personally liable for all related lawsuits and legal costs. As a result, reasonable limitations on directors’ liability can benefit a company and its shareholders by helping to attract and retain qualified directors while preserving recourse for shareholders in the event of misconduct by directors. Accordingly, unless there is insufficient information to make a decision about the nature of the proposal, Invesco will generally support a board’s discretion regarding proposals to limit directors’ liability and provide indemnification and/or exculpation, provided that the arrangements are limited to the director acting honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interests of the company and, in criminal matters, are limited to the director having reasonable grounds for believing the conduct was lawful.


  6.

Separate Chairperson and CEO

Invesco evaluates these proposals on a case by case basis, recognizing that good governance requires either an independent chair or a qualified, proactive, and lead independent director. Voting decisions may consider, among other factors, the presence or absence of:

 

   

a designated lead director, appointed from the ranks of the independent board members, with an established term of office and clearly delineated powers and duties

 

   

a majority of independent directors

 

   

completely independent key committees

 

   

committee chairpersons nominated by the independent directors

 

   

CEO performance reviewed annually by a committee of independent directors

 

   

established governance guidelines

 

  7.

Majority/Supermajority/Cumulative Voting for Directors

The right to elect directors is the single most important mechanism shareholders have to promote accountability. Invesco generally votes in favor of proposals to elect directors by a majority vote. Except in cases where required by law in the jurisdiction of incorporation or when a company has adopted formal governance principles that present a meaningful alternative to the majority voting standard, Invesco generally votes against actions that would impose any supermajority voting requirement, and generally supports actions to dismantle existing supermajority requirements.

The practice of cumulative voting can enable minority shareholders to have representation on a company’s board. Invesco generally opposes such proposals as unnecessary where the company has adopted a majority voting standard. However, Invesco generally supports proposals to institute the practice of cumulative voting at companies whose overall corporate-governance standards indicate a particular need to protect the interests of minority shareholders.

 

  8.

Staggered Boards/Annual Election of Directors

Invesco generally supports proposals to elect each director annually rather than electing directors to staggered multi-year terms because annual elections increase a board’s level of accountability to its shareholders.

 

  9.

Board Size

Invesco believes that the number of directors is an important factor to consider when evaluating the board’s ability to maximize long-term shareholder value. Invesco approaches proxies relating to board size on a case by case basis but generally will defer to the board with respect to determining the optimal number of board members, provided that the proposed board size is sufficiently large to represent shareholder interests and sufficiently limited to remain effective.


  10.

Director Term Limits and Retirement Age

Invesco believes it is important for a board of directors to examine its membership regularly with a view to ensuring that the company continues to benefit from a diversity of director viewpoints and experience. We generally believe that an individual board’s nominating committee is best positioned to determine whether director term limits would be an appropriate measure to help achieve these goals and, if so, the nature of such limits. Invesco generally opposes proposals to limit the tenure of outside directors through mandatory retirement ages.

 

  iii.

Audit Committees and Auditors

 

  1.

Qualifications of Audit Committee and Auditors

Invesco believes a company’s Audit Committee has a high degree of responsibility to shareholders in matters of financial disclosure, integrity of the financial statements and effectiveness of a company’s internal controls. Independence, experience and financial expertise are critical elements of a well-functioning Audit Committee. When electing directors who are members of a company’s Audit Committee, or when ratifying a company’s auditors, Invesco considers the past performance of the Audit Committee and holds its members accountable for the quality of the company’s financial statements and reports.

 

  2.

Auditor Indemnifications

A company’s independent auditors play a critical role in ensuring and attesting to the integrity of the company’s financial statements. It is therefore essential that they perform their work in accordance with the highest standards. Invesco generally opposes proposals that would limit the liability of or indemnify auditors because doing so could serve to undermine this obligation.

 

  3.

Adequate Disclosure of Auditor Fees

Understanding the fees earned by the auditors is important for assessing auditor independence. Invesco’s support for the re-appointment of the auditors will take into consideration the availability of adequate disclosure concerning the amount and nature of audit versus non-audit fees. Invesco generally will support proposals that call for this disclosure if it is not already being made.

 

E.

REMUNERATION AND INCENTIVES

Invesco believes properly constructed compensation plans that include equity ownership are effective in creating incentives that induce management and employees of portfolio companies to create greater shareholder wealth. Invesco generally supports equity compensation plans that promote the proper alignment of incentives with shareholders’ long-term interests, and generally votes against plans that are overly dilutive to existing shareholders, plans that contain objectionable structural features, and plans that appear likely to reduce the value of the client’s investment.

 

  i.

Independent Compensation/Remuneration Committee

Invesco believes that an independent, experienced and well-informed compensation/remuneration committee is critical to ensuring that a company’s remuneration practices align with shareholders’ interests and, therefore, generally supports proposals calling for a compensation/remuneration committee to be comprised solely of independent directors.

 

  ii.

Advisory Votes on Executive Compensation

Invesco believes that an independent compensation/remuneration committee of the board, with input from management, is generally best positioned to determine the appropriate components and levels of executive compensation, as well as the appropriate frequency of related shareholder advisory votes. This is particularly the case where shareholders can express their views on remuneration matters through annual votes for or against the election of the individual directors who comprise the compensation/remuneration committee. Invesco, therefore, generally will support management’s recommendations regarding the components and levels of executive compensation and the frequency of shareholder advisory votes on executive compensation. However, Invesco will vote against such recommendations where Invesco determines that a company’s executive remuneration policies are not properly aligned with shareholder interests or may create inappropriate incentives for management.


  iii.

Equity Based Compensation Plans

Invesco generally votes against plans that contain structural features that would impair the alignment of incentives between shareholders and management. Such features include, without limitation, the ability to reprice or reload options without shareholder approval, the ability to issue options below the stock’s current market price, or the ability to replenish shares automatically without shareholder approval.

 

  iv.

Severance Arrangements

Invesco considers proposed severance arrangements (sometimes known as “golden parachute” arrangements) on a case by case basis due to the wide variety among their terms. Invesco acknowledges that in some cases such arrangements, if reasonable, may be in shareholders’ best interests as a method of attracting and retaining high quality executive talent. Invesco generally votes in favor of proposals requiring advisory shareholder ratification of senior executives’ severance agreements while generally opposing proposals that require such agreements to be ratified by shareholders in advance of their adoption.

 

  v.

“Claw Back” Provisions

Invesco generally supports so called “claw back” policies intended to recoup remuneration paid to senior executives based upon materially inaccurate financial reporting (as evidenced by later restatements) or fraudulent accounting or business practices.

 

  vi.

Employee Stock Purchase Plans

Invesco generally supports employee stock purchase plans that are reasonably designed to provide proper incentives to a broad base of employees, provided that the price at which employees may acquire stock represents a reasonable discount from the market price.

 

F.

ANTI-TAKEOVER DEFENSES

Measures designed to protect a company from unsolicited bids can adversely affect shareholder value and voting rights, and they have the potential to create conflicts of interests among directors, management and shareholders. Such measures include adopting or renewing shareholder rights plans (“poison pills”), requiring supermajority voting on certain corporate actions, classifying the election of directors instead of electing each director to an annual term, or creating separate classes of common or preferred stock with special voting rights. In determining whether to support a proposal to add, eliminate or restrict anti-takeover measures, Invesco will examine the elements of the proposal to assess the degree to which it would adversely affect shareholder rights of adopted. Invesco generally supports shareholder proposals directing companies to subject their anti-takeover provisions to a shareholder vote, as well as the following proposals:

 

   

Provide right to act by written consent

 

   

Provide right to call special meetings

 

   

Adopt fair price provision

 

   

Approve control share acquisition

Invesco generally opposes payments by companies to minority shareholders intended to dissuade such shareholders from pursuing a takeover or another change (sometimes known as “greenmail”) because these payments result in preferential treatment of some shareholders over others.


Companies occasionally require shareholder approval to engage in certain corporate actions or transactions such as mergers, acquisitions, name changes, dissolutions, reorganizations, divestitures and reincorporations. Invesco generally determines its votes for these types of corporate actions after a careful evaluation of the proposal. Generally, Invesco will support proposals to approve different types of restructurings that provide the necessary financing to save the company from involuntary bankruptcy. However, Invesco will generally oppose proposals to change a company’s corporate form or to “go dark” (i.e., going private transactions) without shareholder approval.

Reincorporation involves re-establishing the company in a different legal jurisdiction. Invesco generally will vote for proposals to reincorporate a company if the board and management have demonstrated sound financial or business reasons for the move. Invesco generally will oppose proposals to reincorporate if they are solely part of an anti-takeover defense or intended to limit directors’ liability.

Invesco will generally support proposals that ask the board to consider non-shareholder constituencies or other non-financial effects when evaluating a merger or business combination.

 


APPENDIX B

 

LOGO

PROXY VOTING GUIDELINES

Applicable to All Advisory Clients, including the Invesco Funds

Risk Addressed by the Guidelines Breach of fiduciary duty to client under Investment Advisers Act of 1940 by placing Invesco’s interests ahead of client’s best interests in voting proxies

Relevant Law and Other Sources U.S. Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended

Last Reviewed and Revised by Compliance for Accuracy April 19, 2016    

Guideline Owner U.S. Compliance and Legal

Policy Approver Invesco Advisers, Inc., Invesco Funds Board

Approved/Adopted Date May 3-4, 2016

The following guidelines apply to all institutional and retail funds and accounts that have explicitly authorized Invesco Advisers, Inc. (“Invesco”) to vote proxies associated with securities held on their behalf (collectively, “Clients”).

 

A.

INTRODUCTION

Invesco Ltd. (“IVZ”), the ultimate parent company of Invesco, has adopted a global policy statement on corporate governance and proxy voting (the “Invesco Global Proxy Policy”). The policy describes IVZ’s views on governance matters and the proxy administration and governance approach. Invesco votes proxies by using the framework and procedures set forth in the Invesco Global Proxy Policy, while maintaining the Invesco- specific guidelines described below.

 

B.

PROXY VOTING OVERSIGHT: THE MUTUAL FUNDS’ BOARD OF TRUSTEES

In addition to the Global Invesco Proxy Advisory Committee, the Invesco mutual funds’ board of trustees provides oversight of the proxy process through quarterly reporting and an annual in-person presentation by Invesco’s Global Head of Proxy Governance and Responsible Investment.

 

C.

USE OF THIRD PARTY PROXY ADVISORY SERVICES

Invesco has direct access to third-party proxy advisory analyses and recommendations (currently provided by Glass Lewis (“GL”) and Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc. (“ISS”)), among other research tools, and uses the information gleaned from those sources to make independent voting decisions.

Invesco’s proxy administration team performs extensive initial and ongoing due diligence on the proxy advisory firms that it engages. When deemed appropriate, representatives from the proxy advisory firms are asked to deliver updates directly to the mutual funds’ board of trustees. Invesco conducts semi-annual, in-person policy roundtables with key heads of research from ISS and GL to ensure transparency, dialogue and engagement with the firms. These meetings provide Invesco with an opportunity to assess


the firms’ capabilities, conflicts of interest and service levels, as well as provide investment professionals with direct insight into the advisory firms’ stances on key governance and proxy topics and their policy framework/methodologies. Invesco’s proxy administration team also reviews the annual SSAE 16 reports for, and the periodic proxy guideline updates published by, each proxy advisory firm to ensure that their guidelines remain consistent with Invesco’s policies and procedures. Furthermore, each proxy advisory firm due diligence at each firm, in part to discuss their responses to the questionnaire.

If Invesco becomes aware of any material inaccuracies in the information provided by ISS or GL, Invesco’s proxy administration team will investigate the matter to determine the cause, evaluate the adequacy of the proxy advisory firm’s control structure and assess the efficacy of the measures instituted to prevent further errors.

ISS and GL provide updates to previously issued proxy reports when necessary to incorporate newly available information or to correct factual errors. ISS also has a Feedback Review Board, which provides a mechanism for stakeholders to communicate with ISS about issues related to proxy voting and policy formulation, research, and the accuracy of data contained in ISS reports.

 

D.

PROXY VOTING GUIDELINES

The following guidelines describe Invesco’s general positions on various common proxy issues. The guidelines are not intended to be exhaustive or prescriptive. Invesco’s proxy process is investor-driven, and each portfolio manager retains ultimate discretion to vote proxies in the manner that he or she deems to be the most appropriate, consistent with the proxy voting principles and philosophy discussed in the Invesco Global Proxy Policy. Individual proxy votes therefore will differ from these guidelines from time to time.

 

I.

Corporate Governance

Management teams of companies are accountable to the boards of directors and directors of publicly held companies are accountable to shareholders. Invesco endeavors to vote the proxies of companies in a manner that will reinforce the notion of a board’s accountability. Consequently, Invesco generally votes against any actions that would impair the rights of shareholders or would reduce shareholders’ influence over the board.

The following are specific voting issues that illustrate how Invesco applies this principle of accountability.

Elections of directors

In uncontested director elections for companies that do not have a controlling shareholder, Invesco generally votes in favor of slates if they are comprised of at least a majority of independent directors and if the boards’ key committees are fully independent. Key committees include the audit, compensation and governance or nominating Committees. Invesco’s standard of independence excludes directors who, in addition to the directorship, have any material business or family relationships with the companies they serve. Contested director elections are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Director performance

Invesco generally withholds votes from directors who exhibit a lack of accountability to shareholders, either through their level of attendance at meetings or by adopting or approving egregious corporate-governance or other policies. In cases of material financial restatements, accounting fraud, habitually late filings, adopting shareholder rights plan (“poison pills”) without shareholder approval, or other areas of poor performance, Invesco may withhold votes from some or all of a company’s directors. In situations where directors’ performance is a concern, Invesco may also support shareholder proposals to take corrective actions, such as so-called “clawback” provisions.


Auditors and Audit Committee members

Invesco believes a company’s audit committee has a high degree of responsibility to shareholders in matters of financial disclosure, integrity of the financial statements and effectiveness of a company’s internal controls.

Independence, experience and financial expertise are critical elements of a well-functioning audit committee. When electing directors who are members of a company’s audit committee, or when ratifying a company’s auditors, Invesco considers the past performance of the committee and holds its members accountable for the quality of the company’s financial statements and reports.

Majority standard in director elections

The right to elect directors is the single most important mechanism shareholders have to promote accountability. Invesco supports the nascent effort to reform the U.S. convention of electing directors, and generally votes in favor of proposals to elect directors by a majority vote.

Staggered Boards/Annual Election of Directors

Invesco generally supports proposals to elect each director annually rather than electing directors to staggered multi-year terms because annual elections increase a board’s level of accountability to its shareholders.

Supermajority voting requirements

Unless required by law in the state of incorporation, Invesco generally votes against actions that would impose any supermajority voting requirement, and generally supports actions to dismantle existing supermajority requirements.

Responsiveness of Directors

Invesco generally withholds votes for directors who do not adequately respond to shareholder proposals that were approved by a majority of votes cast the prior year.

Cumulative voting

The practice of cumulative voting can enable minority shareholders to have representation on a company’s board. Invesco generally supports proposals to institute the practice of cumulative voting at companies whose overall corporate-governance standards indicate a particular need to protect the interests of minority shareholders.

Proxy access

Invesco generally supports shareholders’ nominations of directors in the proxy statement and ballot because it increases the accountability of the board to shareholders. Invesco will generally consider the proposed minimum period of ownership (e.g., three years), minimum ownership percentage (e.g., three percent), limitations on a proponent’s ability to aggregate holdings with other shareholders and the maximum percentage of directors who can be nominated when determining how to vote on proxy access proposals.

Shareholder access

On business matters with potential financial consequences, Invesco generally votes in favor of proposals that would increase shareholders’ opportunities to express their views to boards of directors, proposals that would lower barriers to shareholder action and proposals to promote the adoption of generally accepted best practices in corporate governance. Furthermore, Invesco generally votes for shareholder proposals that are designed to protect shareholder rights if a company’s corporate governance standards indicate that such additional protections are warranted.


Exclusive Forum

Invesco generally supports proposals that would designate a specific jurisdiction in company bylaws as the exclusive venue for certain types of shareholder lawsuits in order to reduce costs arising out of multijurisdictional litigation.

 

II.

Compensation and Incentives

Invesco believes properly constructed compensation plans that include equity ownership are effective in creating incentives that induce management and employees of companies to create greater shareholder wealth. Invesco generally supports equity compensation plans that promote the proper alignment of incentives with shareholders’ long-term interests, and generally votes against plans that are overly dilutive to existing shareholders, plans that contain objectionable structural features, and plans that appear likely to reduce the value of the Client’s investment.

Following are specific voting issues that illustrate how Invesco evaluates incentive plans.

Executive compensation

Invesco evaluates executive compensation plans within the context of the company’s performance under the executives’ tenure. Invesco believes independent compensation committees are best positioned to craft executive-compensation plans that are suitable for their company-specific circumstances. Invesco views the election of independent compensation committee members as the appropriate mechanism for shareholders to express their approval or disapproval of a company’s compensation practices. Therefore, Invesco generally does not support shareholder proposals to limit or eliminate certain forms of executive compensation. In the interest of reinforcing the notion of a compensation committee’s accountability to shareholders, Invesco generally supports proposals requesting that companies subject each year’s compensation record to an advisory shareholder vote, or so-called “say on pay” proposals.

Equity-based compensation plans

Invesco generally votes against plans that contain structural features that would impair the alignment of incentives between shareholders and management. Such features include the ability to reprice or reload options without shareholder approval, the ability to issue options below the stock’s current market price, or the ability automatically to replenish shares without shareholder approval.

Employee stock-purchase plans

Invesco generally supports employee stock-purchase plans that are reasonably designed to provide proper incentives to a broad base of employees, provided that the price at which employees may acquire stock is at most a 15 percent discount from the market price.

Severance agreements

Invesco generally votes in favor of proposals requiring advisory shareholder ratification of executives’ severance agreements. However, Invesco generally opposes proposals requiring such agreements to be ratified by shareholders in advance of their adoption. Given the vast differences that may occur in these agreements, some severance agreements are evaluated on an individual basis.

 

III.

Capitalization

Examples of management proposals related to a company’s capital structure include authorizing or issuing additional equity capital, repurchasing outstanding stock, or enacting a stock split or reverse stock split. On requests for additional capital stock, Invesco analyzes the company’s stated reasons for the request. Except where the request could adversely affect the Client’s ownership stake or voting rights, Invesco generally supports a board’s decisions on its needs for additional capital stock. Some capitalization proposals require a case-by-case analysis. Examples of such proposals include authorizing common or preferred stock with special voting rights, or issuing additional stock in connection with an acquisition.


IV.

Mergers, Acquisitions and Other Corporate Actions

Issuers occasionally require shareholder approval to engage in certain corporate actions such as mergers, acquisitions, name changes, dissolutions, reorganizations, divestitures and reincorporations and the votes for these types of corporate actions are generally determined on a case-by-case basis.

 

V.

Anti-Takeover Measures

Practices designed to protect a company from unsolicited bids can adversely affect shareholder value and voting rights, and they potentially create conflicts of interests among directors, management and shareholders. Except under special issuer-specific circumstances, Invesco generally votes to reduce or eliminate such measures. These measures include adopting or renewing “poison pills”, requiring supermajority voting on certain corporate actions, classifying the election of directors instead of electing each director to an annual term, or creating separate classes of common or preferred stock with special voting rights. Invesco generally votes against management proposals to impose these types of measures, and generally votes for shareholder proposals designed to reduce such measures. Invesco generally supports shareholder proposals directing companies to subject their anti-takeover provisions to a shareholder vote.

 

VI.

Environmental, Social and Corporate Responsibility Issues

Invesco believes that a company’s response to environmental, social and corporate responsibility issues and the risks attendant to them can have a significant effect on its long-term shareholder value. Invesco recognizes that to manage a corporation effectively, directors and management must consider not only the interest of shareholders, but also the interests of employees, customers, suppliers and creditors, among others. While Invesco generally affords management discretion with respect to the operation of a company’s business, Invesco will evaluate such proposals on a case-by-case basis and will vote proposals relating to these issues in a manner intended to maximize long-term shareholder value.

 

VII.

Routine Business Matters

Routine business matters rarely have the potential to have a material effect on the economic prospects of Clients’ holdings, so Invesco generally supports a board’s discretion on these items. However, Invesco generally votes against proposals where there is insufficient information to make a decision about the nature of the proposal. Similarly, Invesco generally votes against proposals to conduct other unidentified business at shareholder meetings.

 

E.

EXCEPTIONS

Client Maintains Right to Vote Proxies

In the case of institutional or sub-advised Clients, Invesco will vote the proxies in accordance with these guidelines and the Invesco Global Proxy Policy, unless the Client retains in writing the right to vote or the named fiduciary of a Client (e.g., the plan sponsor of an ERISA Client) retains in writing the right to direct the plan trustee or a third party to vote proxies.

Voting for Certain Investment Strategies

For cash sweep investment vehicles selected by a Client but for which Invesco has proxy voting authority over the account and where no other Client holds the same securities, Invesco will vote proxies based on ISS recommendations.


Funds of Funds

Some Invesco Funds offering diversified asset allocation within one investment vehicle own shares in other Invesco Funds. A potential conflict of interest could arise if an underlying Invesco Fund has a shareholder meeting with any proxy issues to be voted on, because Invesco’s asset-allocation funds or target-maturity funds may be large shareholders of the underlying fund. In order to avoid any potential for a conflict, the asset- allocation funds and target maturity funds vote their shares in the same proportion as the votes of the external shareholders of the underlying fund.

 

F.

POLICIES AND VOTE DISCLOSURE

A copy of these guidelines, the Invesco Global Proxy Policy and the voting record of each Invesco Retail Fund are available on Invesco’s web site, www.invesco.com. In accordance with Securities and Exchange Commission regulations, all Invesco Funds file a record of all proxy-voting activity for the prior 12 months ending June 30th. That filing is made on or before August 31st of each year. In the case of institutional and sub-advised Clients, Clients may contact their client service representative to request information about how Invesco voted proxies on their behalf. Absent specific contractual guidelines, such requests may be made on a semi-annual basis.


INVESCO ACTIVELY MANAGED EXCHANGE-TRADED FUND TRUST

PART C. OTHER INFORMATION

 

Item 28.

Exhibits.

 

Exhibit
Number

  

Description

(a)

 

(1)

    

Agreement and Declaration of Trust of the Registrant dated November 7, 2007.

   

(a)

  

Amendment No.  1 to the Agreement and Declaration of Trust.

 

(2)

    

Certificate of Trust.

(b)

      

Amended and Restated By-Laws of the Registrant adopted November 7, 2008, as most recently amended June 20, 2019.

(c)

      

Not applicable.

(d)

 

(1)(a)

    

Amended and Restated Investment Advisory Agreement dated April 30, 2009 between the Registrant and Invesco Capital Management LLC, for unitary fee funds.

   

(i)

  

Schedule A (as of December  12, 2019) to the Amended and Restated Investment Advisory Agreement for unitary fees.

 

(1)(b)

    

Investment Advisory Agreement dated December 19, 2017 between the Registrant and Invesco Capital Management LLC, for non-unitary fee funds.

   

(i)

  

Schedule A (as of April  30, 2019) to the Investment Advisory Agreement for non-unitary fees.

 

(2)

 

(a)

  

Amended and Restated Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement dated April 14, 2010 between Sub-Advisers and Invesco Capital Management LLC.

   

(b)

  

Acknowledgement and Waiver of Notice of Termination, dated January 14, 2015, on behalf of Invesco Australia Limited for Amended and Restated Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement.

   

(c)

  

Schedule A dated December  12, 2019 to the Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement.

 

(3)

 

(a)

  

Excess Expense Agreement dated June  16, 2011, and as amended June 4, 2018, between the Registrant and Invesco Capital Management LLC.

   

(b)

  

Schedule A (as of April  11, 2019) to the Excess Expense Agreement.

 

(4)

    

Affiliated Fund Fee Waiver Agreement dated March 8, 2018.

 

(5)

 

(a)

  

Amended and Restated Memorandum of Agreement (Advisory Fee Waivers) dated April 11, 2019 between the Registrant and Invesco Capital Management LLC.

   

(b)

  

Exhibit A (as of December  12, 2019) to the Memorandum of Agreement.

   

(c)(1)

  

Management Fee Waiver Agreement dated December 19, 2017.

   

(c)(2)

  

Schedule A, dated December  12, 2018, to the Management Fee Waiver Agreement

(e)

 

(1)

    

Amended and Restated Master Distribution Agreement dated April 30, 2009 between the Registrant and Invesco Distributors, Inc.

 

(2)

    

Schedule A dated December  12, 2019 to the Amended and Restated Master Distribution Agreement.

(f)

      

Not applicable.


(g)

 

(1)

 

(a)

  

Custody Agreement with Schedule I (as of September 17, 2018) between Registrant and The Bank of New York Mellon.

   

(b)

  

Schedule I (as of December  12, 2019) for Custody Agreement between Registrant and The Bank of New York Mellon.

(h)

 

(1)

 

(a)

  

Fund Administration and Accounting Agreement (as of September 17, 2018) between Registrant and The Bank of New York Mellon.

   

(b)

  

Amendment A to Exhibit A (as of December  12, 2019) for Fund Administration and Accounting Agreement between Registrant and The Bank of New York Mellon.

 

(2)

    

Form of Participant Agreement between Invesco Distributors, Inc. and the Participant.

 

(3)

    

Amended and Restated Transfer Agency and Service Agreement dated June 17, 2013 between Registrant and The Bank of New York Mellon.

   

(a)

  

Exhibit D (as of December  12, 2019) to the Amended and Restated Transfer Agency and Service Agreement between Registrant and The Bank of New York Mellon.

 

(4)

    

Form of Sublicense Agreement between Registrant and Invesco Capital Management LLC.

 

(5)

    

Management Services Agreement dated December 12, 2012 between Registrant and Invesco Capital Management LLC.

(i)

      

Opinion of Counsel. (*)

(j)

      

Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. (*)

(k)

      

Not applicable.

(m)

      

Not applicable.

(n)

      

Not applicable.

(o)

      

Not applicable.

(p)

 

(1)

    

Code of Ethics adopted by the Invesco Family of ETFs.

 

(2)

    

Code of Ethics adopted by Invesco investment advisers and distributor.

 

(*)

To be filed by amendment.

 

Item 29.

Persons Controlled by or Under Common Control with the Fund.

None.

 

Item 30.

Indemnification.

The Registrant (also, the “Trust”) is organized as a Delaware business trust and is operated pursuant to a Declaration of Trust, dated November 7, 2007 (the “Declaration of Trust”).

Reference is made to Article IX of the Registrant’s Declaration of Trust:

Subject to the exceptions and limitations contained in Section 9.5, every person who is, or has been, a Trustee, officer, or employee of the Trust, including persons who serve at the request of the Trust as directors, trustees, officers, employees or agents of another organization in which the Trust has an interest as a shareholder, creditor or otherwise (hereinafter referred to as a “Covered Person”), shall be indemnified by the Trust to the fullest extent permitted by law against liability and against all expenses reasonably incurred or paid by him or in connection with any claim, action, suit or proceeding in which he becomes involved as a party or otherwise by virtue of his being or having been such a Trustee, director, officer, employee or agent and against amounts paid or incurred by him in settlement thereof.

No indemnification shall be provided hereunder to a Covered Person to the extent such indemnification is prohibited by applicable federal law.

The rights of indemnification herein provided may be insured against by policies maintained by the Trust, shall be severable, shall not affect any other rights to which any Covered Person may now or hereafter be entitled, shall continue as to a person who has ceased to be such a Covered Person and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such a person.

 


Subject to applicable federal law, expenses of preparation and presentation of a defense to any claim, action, suit or proceeding subject to a claim for indemnification under this Section 9.5 shall be advanced by the Trust prior to final disposition thereof upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of the recipient to repay such amount if it is ultimately determined that he is not entitled to indemnification under this Section 9.5.

To the extent that any determination is required to be made as to whether a Covered Person engaged in conduct for which indemnification is not provided as described herein, or as to whether there is reason to believe that a Covered Person ultimately will be found entitled to indemnification, the Person or Persons making the determination shall afford the Covered Person a rebuttable presumption that the Covered Person has not engaged in such conduct and that there is reason to believe that the Covered Person ultimately will be found entitled to indemnification.

As used in this Section 9.5, the words “claim,” “action,” “suit” or “proceeding” shall apply to all claims, demands, actions, suits, investigations, regulatory inquiries, proceedings or any other occurrence of a similar nature, whether actual or threatened and whether civil, criminal, administrative or other, including appeals, and the words “liability” and “expenses” shall include without limitation, attorneys’ fees, costs, judgments, amounts paid in settlement, fines, penalties and other liabilities.

Further Indemnification.

Nothing contained herein shall affect any rights to indemnification to which any Covered Person or other Person may be entitled by contract or otherwise under law or prevent the Trust from entering into any contract to provide indemnification to any Covered Person or other Person. Without limiting the foregoing, the Trust may, in connection with the acquisition of assets subject to liabilities pursuant to Section 4.2 hereof or a reorganization or consolidation pursuant to Section 10.2 hereof, assume the obligation to indemnify any Person including a Covered Person or otherwise contract to provide such indemnification, and such indemnification shall not be subject to the terms of this Article IX.

Amendments and Modifications.

Without limiting the provisions of Section 11.1(b) hereof, in no event will any amendment, modification or change to the provisions of this Declaration or the By-laws adversely affect in any manner the rights of any Covered Person to (a) indemnification under Section 9.5 hereof in connection with any proceeding in which such Covered Person becomes involved as a party or otherwise by virtue of being or having been a Trustee, officer or employee of the Trust or (b) any insurance payments under policies maintained by the Trust, in either case with respect to any act or omission of such Covered Person that occurred or is alleged to have occurred prior to the time such amendment, modification or change to this Declaration or the By-laws.

 

Item 31.

Business and Other Connections of the Investment Adviser.

Reference is made to the caption “Management of the Fund” in the Prospectus constituting Part A, which is included in this Registration Statement, and “Management” in the Statement of Additional Information constituting Part B, which is included in this Registration Statement.

The information as to the directors and executive officers of Invesco Capital Management LLC as set forth in Invesco Capital Management LLC’s Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 6, 2020, and as amended through the date hereof, is incorporated herein by reference.

The information as to the directors and executive officers of Invesco Advisers, Inc. as set forth in Invesco Advisers, Inc.’s Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 12, 2020, and as amended through the date hereof, is incorporated herein by reference.

 

Item 32.

Principal Underwriters.

(a) Invesco Distributors, Inc. serves as the principal underwriter for the following investment companies, including the Registrant, registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended:

AIM Counselor Series Trust (Invesco Counselor Series Trust)

AIM Equity Funds (Invesco Equity Funds)

AIM Funds Group (Invesco Funds Group)

AIM Growth Series (Invesco Growth Series)

AIM International Mutual Funds (Invesco International Mutual Funds)

AIM Investment Funds (Invesco Investment Funds)

AIM Investment Securities Funds (Invesco Investment Securities Funds)

AIM Sector Funds (Invesco Sector Funds)


AIM Tax-Exempt Funds (Invesco Tax-Exempt Funds)

AIM Treasurer’s Series Trust (Invesco Treasurer’s Series Trust)

AIM Variable Insurance Funds (Invesco Variable Insurance Funds)

Invesco Senior Loan Fund

Invesco Management Trust

Short-Term Investments Trust

Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Commodity Fund Trust

Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II

Invesco India Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Exchange-Traded Self-Indexed Fund Trust

(b) The following are the Officers and Managers of Invesco Distributors, Inc., the Registrant’s underwriter.

 

NAME AND PRINCIPAL
BUSINESS ADDRESS*
  

POSITIONS AND

OFFICES
WITH REGISTRANT

   POSITIONS AND OFFICES
WITH UNDERWRITER
John McDonough    None    Director and Chief Executive Officer
Clint Harris    None    President
Ben Utt    None    Executive Vice President
Mark W. Gregson    None    Chief Financial Officer and Financial and Operations Principal
Trisha B. Hancock    None    Chief Compliance Officer and Senior Vice President
Rocco Benedetto    None    Senior Vice President
Paul Blease    None    Senior Vice President
David Borrelli    None    Senior Vice President
Ken Brodsky    None    Senior Vice President
George Fahey    None    Senior Vice President
Jay Fortuna    None    Senior Vice President
John Hoffman    None    Senior Vice President
Eliot Honaker    None    Senior Vice President
Brian Kiley    None    Senior Vice President
Brian Levitt    None    Senior Vice President
Peter Mintzberg    None    Senior Vice President
Kevin Neznek    None    Senior Vice President
Tony Oh    None    Senior Vice President
Adam Rochlin    None    Senior Vice President
Benjamin Stewart    None    Senior Vice President
Paul E. Temple    None    Senior Vice President
Rohit Vohra    None    Senior Vice President
Gary K. Wendler    None    Senior Vice President, Director, Marketing Research & Analysis
Donna White    None    Senior Vice President
Jeffrey H. Kupor    Chief Legal Officer    Secretary
Annette Janecka Lege    None    Treasurer


NAME AND PRINCIPAL
BUSINESS ADDRESS*
  

POSITIONS AND

OFFICES
WITH REGISTRANT

   POSITIONS AND OFFICES
WITH UNDERWRITER
Crissie Wisdom    Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer    Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer
John M. Zerr    None    Senior Vice President

 

*

The principal business address for all directors and executive officers is Invesco Distributors, Inc., 11 Greenway Plaza, Suite 1000, Houston, Texas 77046-1173.

(c) Not applicable.

 

Item 33.

Location of Accounts and Records.

All accounts, books and other documents required to be maintained by Section 31(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder, are held in physical possession at the offices, as applicable, of: (1) the Registrant, (2) the Registrant’s investment adviser and (3) the Registrant’s custodian and administrator.

 

  1.

Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

3500 Lacey Road, Suite 700

Downers Grove, Illinois 60515

 

  2.

Invesco Capital Management LLC

3500 Lacey Road, Suite 700

Downers Grove, Illinois 60515

 

  3.

The Bank of New York Mellon

240 Greenwich Street

New York, New York 10286

 

Item 34.

Management Services.

Not applicable.

 

Item 35.

Undertakings.

None


SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the Registrant has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, duly authorized, in the City of Downers Grove and State of Illinois, on the 9th day of September, 2020.

Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

 

By:  

/s/ Anna Paglia

  Anna Paglia
Title:   President

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this registration statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities indicated on the dates indicated.

 

SIGNATURE

  

TITLE

  

DATE

/s/ Anna Paglia

   President    September 9, 2020
Anna Paglia      

/s/ Kelli Gallegos

   Treasurer    September 9, 2020
Kelli Gallegos      

/s/ Adam Henkel

   Secretary    September 9, 2020
Adam Henkel      

*/s/ Ronn R. Bagge

   Vice Chairman and Trustee    September 9, 2020
Ronn R. Bagge      

*/s/ Todd J. Barre

   Trustee    September 9, 2020
Todd J. Barre      

*/s/ Kevin M. Carome

   Trustee    September 9, 2020
Kevin M. Carome      

*/s/ Edmund P. Giambastiani, Jr.

   Trustee    September 9, 2020
Edmund P. Giambastiani, Jr.      

*/s/ Victoria J. Herget

   Trustee    September 9, 2020
Victoria J. Herget      

*/s/ Marc M. Kole

   Trustee    September 9, 2020
Marc M. Kole      

*/s/ Yung Bong Lim

   Trustee    September 9, 2020
Yung Bong Lim      

*/s/ Joanne Pace

   Trustee    September 9, 2020
Joanne Pace      

*/s/ Gary R. Wicker

   Trustee    September 9, 2020
Gary R. Wicker      

*/s/ Donald H. Wilson

   Chairman and Trustee    September 9, 2020

Donald H. Wilson

     

*By: /s/ Adam Henkel

      September 9, 2020

Adam Henkel

     

Attorney-In-Fact

 

*

Adam Henkel signs this Registration Statement pursuant to powers of attorney filed herewith.


Power of Attorney

Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II

Invesco India Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Commodity Fund Trust

Invesco Exchange-Traded Self-Indexed Fund Trust

(each, a “Trust”)

The undersigned does hereby constitute and appoint Alan P. Goldberg, Eric S. Purple and Adam Henkel, and each of them, his true and lawful attorney and agent, with power of substitution or resubstitution, to do any and all acts and things and to execute any and all instruments which said attorney and agent may deem necessary or advisable or which may be required to enable each Trust to comply with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”) and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), and any rules, regulations or requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in respect thereof, in connection with each Trust’s Registration Statement on a form prescribed by the SEC pursuant to the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act, together with any and all amendments thereto, including within the foregoing, the power and authority to sign in the name and on behalf of the undersigned as a Trustee of each Trust such Registration Statement and any and all such amendments filed with the SEC under the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act, and any other instruments or documents related thereto, and the undersigned does hereby ratify and confirm all that said attorney and agents shall do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

/s/ Ronn R. Bagge
Ronn R. Bagge

Date: June 25, 2020


Power of Attorney

Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II

Invesco India Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Commodity Fund Trust

Invesco Exchange-Traded Self-Indexed Fund Trust

(each, a “Trust”)

The undersigned does hereby constitute and appoint Alan P. Goldberg, Eric S. Purple and Adam Henkel, and each of them, his true and lawful attorney and agent, with power of substitution or resubstitution, to do any and all acts and things and to execute any and all instruments which said attorney and agent may deem necessary or advisable or which may be required to enable each Trust to comply with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”) and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), and any rules, regulations or requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in respect thereof, in connection with each Trust’s Registration Statement on a form prescribed by the SEC pursuant to the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act, together with any and all amendments thereto, including within the foregoing, the power and authority to sign in the name and on behalf of the undersigned as a Trustee of each Trust such Registration Statement and any and all such amendments filed with the SEC under the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act, and any other instruments or documents related thereto, and the undersigned does hereby ratify and confirm all that said attorney and agents shall do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

/s/ Todd J. Barre
Todd J. Barre

Date: June 25, 2020


Power of Attorney

Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II

Invesco India Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Commodity Fund Trust

Invesco Exchange-Traded Self-Indexed Fund Trust

(each, a “Trust”)

The undersigned does hereby constitute and appoint Alan P. Goldberg, Eric S. Purple and Adam Henkel, and each of them, his true and lawful attorney and agent, with power of substitution or resubstitution, to do any and all acts and things and to execute any and all instruments which said attorney and agent may deem necessary or advisable or which may be required to enable each Trust to comply with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”) and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), and any rules, regulations or requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in respect thereof, in connection with each Trust’s Registration Statement on a form prescribed by the SEC pursuant to the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act, together with any and all amendments thereto, including within the foregoing, the power and authority to sign in the name and on behalf of the undersigned as a Trustee of each Trust such Registration Statement and any and all such amendments filed with the SEC under the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act, and any other instruments or documents related thereto, and the undersigned does hereby ratify and confirm all that said attorney and agents shall do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

/s/ Kevin M. Carome
Kevin M. Carome

Date: June 25, 2020


Power of Attorney

Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II

Invesco India Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Commodity Fund Trust

Invesco Exchange-Traded Self-Indexed Fund Trust

(each, a “Trust”)

The undersigned does hereby constitute and appoint Alan P. Goldberg, Eric S. Purple and Adam Henkel, and each of them, his true and lawful attorney and agent, with power of substitution or resubstitution, to do any and all acts and things and to execute any and all instruments which said attorney and agent may deem necessary or advisable or which may be required to enable each Trust to comply with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”) and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), and any rules, regulations or requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in respect thereof, in connection with each Trust’s Registration Statement on a form prescribed by the SEC pursuant to the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act, together with any and all amendments thereto, including within the foregoing, the power and authority to sign in the name and on behalf of the undersigned as a Trustee of each Trust such Registration Statement and any and all such amendments filed with the SEC under the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act, and any other instruments or documents related thereto, and the undersigned does hereby ratify and confirm all that said attorney and agents shall do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

/s/ Edmund P. Giambastiani, Jr.
Edmund P. Giambastiani, Jr.

Date: June 25, 2020


Power of Attorney

Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II

Invesco India Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Commodity Fund Trust

Invesco Exchange-Traded Self-Indexed Fund Trust

(each, a “Trust”)

The undersigned does hereby constitute and appoint Alan P. Goldberg, Eric S. Purple and Adam Henkel, and each of them, his true and lawful attorney and agent, with power of substitution or resubstitution, to do any and all acts and things and to execute any and all instruments which said attorney and agent may deem necessary or advisable or which may be required to enable each Trust to comply with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”) and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), and any rules, regulations or requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in respect thereof, in connection with each Trust’s Registration Statement on a form prescribed by the SEC pursuant to the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act, together with any and all amendments thereto, including within the foregoing, the power and authority to sign in the name and on behalf of the undersigned as a Trustee of each Trust such Registration Statement and any and all such amendments filed with the SEC under the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act, and any other instruments or documents related thereto, and the undersigned does hereby ratify and confirm all that said attorney and agents shall do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

/s/ Victoria J. Herget
Victoria J. Herget

Date: June 25, 2020


Power of Attorney

Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II

Invesco India Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Commodity Fund Trust

Invesco Exchange-Traded Self-Indexed Fund Trust

(each, a “Trust”)

The undersigned does hereby constitute and appoint Alan P. Goldberg, Eric S. Purple and Adam Henkel, and each of them, his true and lawful attorney and agent, with power of substitution or resubstitution, to do any and all acts and things and to execute any and all instruments which said attorney and agent may deem necessary or advisable or which may be required to enable each Trust to comply with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”) and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), and any rules, regulations or requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in respect thereof, in connection with each Trust’s Registration Statement on a form prescribed by the SEC pursuant to the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act, together with any and all amendments thereto, including within the foregoing, the power and authority to sign in the name and on behalf of the undersigned as a Trustee of each Trust such Registration Statement and any and all such amendments filed with the SEC under the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act, and any other instruments or documents related thereto, and the undersigned does hereby ratify and confirm all that said attorney and agents shall do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

/s/ Marc M. Kole
Marc M. Kole

Date: June 25, 2020


Power of Attorney

Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II

Invesco India Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Commodity Fund Trust

Invesco Exchange-Traded Self-Indexed Fund Trust

(each, a “Trust”)

The undersigned does hereby constitute and appoint Alan P. Goldberg, Eric S. Purple and Adam Henkel, and each of them, his true and lawful attorney and agent, with power of substitution or resubstitution, to do any and all acts and things and to execute any and all instruments which said attorney and agent may deem necessary or advisable or which may be required to enable each Trust to comply with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”) and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), and any rules, regulations or requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in respect thereof, in connection with each Trust’s Registration Statement on a form prescribed by the SEC pursuant to the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act, together with any and all amendments thereto, including within the foregoing, the power and authority to sign in the name and on behalf of the undersigned as a Trustee of each Trust such Registration Statement and any and all such amendments filed with the SEC under the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act, and any other instruments or documents related thereto, and the undersigned does hereby ratify and confirm all that said attorney and agents shall do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

/s/ Yung Bong Lim
Yung Bong Lim

Date: June 25, 2020


Power of Attorney

Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II

Invesco India Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Commodity Fund Trust

Invesco Exchange-Traded Self-Indexed Fund Trust

(each, a “Trust”)

The undersigned does hereby constitute and appoint Alan P. Goldberg, Eric S. Purple and Adam Henkel, and each of them, his true and lawful attorney and agent, with power of substitution or resubstitution, to do any and all acts and things and to execute any and all instruments which said attorney and agent may deem necessary or advisable or which may be required to enable each Trust to comply with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”) and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), and any rules, regulations or requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in respect thereof, in connection with each Trust’s Registration Statement on a form prescribed by the SEC pursuant to the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act, together with any and all amendments thereto, including within the foregoing, the power and authority to sign in the name and on behalf of the undersigned as a Trustee of each Trust such Registration Statement and any and all such amendments filed with the SEC under the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act, and any other instruments or documents related thereto, and the undersigned does hereby ratify and confirm all that said attorney and agents shall do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

/s/ Joanne Pace
Joanne Pace

Date: June 25, 2020


Power of Attorney

Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II

Invesco India Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Commodity Fund Trust

Invesco Exchange-Traded Self-Indexed Fund Trust

(each, a “Trust”)

The undersigned does hereby constitute and appoint Alan P. Goldberg, Eric S. Purple and Adam Henkel, and each of them, his true and lawful attorney and agent, with power of substitution or resubstitution, to do any and all acts and things and to execute any and all instruments which said attorney and agent may deem necessary or advisable or which may be required to enable each Trust to comply with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”) and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), and any rules, regulations or requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in respect thereof, in connection with each Trust’s Registration Statement on a form prescribed by the SEC pursuant to the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act, together with any and all amendments thereto, including within the foregoing, the power and authority to sign in the name and on behalf of the undersigned as a Trustee of each Trust such Registration Statement and any and all such amendments filed with the SEC under the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act, and any other instruments or documents related thereto, and the undersigned does hereby ratify and confirm all that said attorney and agents shall do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

/s/ Gary R. Wicker
Gary R. Wicker

Date: June 25, 2020


Power of Attorney

Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II

Invesco India Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust

Invesco Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Commodity Fund Trust

Invesco Exchange-Traded Self-Indexed Fund Trust

(each, a “Trust”)

The undersigned does hereby constitute and appoint Alan P. Goldberg, Eric S. Purple and Adam Henkel, and each of them, his true and lawful attorney and agent, with power of substitution or resubstitution, to do any and all acts and things and to execute any and all instruments which said attorney and agent may deem necessary or advisable or which may be required to enable each Trust to comply with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”) and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), and any rules, regulations or requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in respect thereof, in connection with each Trust’s Registration Statement on a form prescribed by the SEC pursuant to the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act, together with any and all amendments thereto, including within the foregoing, the power and authority to sign in the name and on behalf of the undersigned as a Trustee of each Trust such Registration Statement and any and all such amendments filed with the SEC under the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act, and any other instruments or documents related thereto, and the undersigned does hereby ratify and confirm all that said attorney and agents shall do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

/s/ Donald H. Wilson
Donald H. Wilson

Date: June 25, 2020