485APOS 1 d497371d485apos.htm 485APOS 485APOS
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 14, 2023
1933 Act File No. 333-150525
1940 Act File No. 811-22201
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM N-1A
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
[ X ]
Pre-Effective Amendment No.
___
[  ]
Post-Effective Amendment No.
396
[ X ]
and/or
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940
[ X ]
Amendment No.
398
[ X ]
(Check appropriate box or boxes.)
DIREXION SHARES ETF TRUST
(Exact name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
1301 Avenue of the Americas (6th Avenue), 28th Floor
New York, New York 10019
(Address of Principal Executive Office) (Zip Code)
Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code: (646) 572-3390
Angela Brickl
1301 Avenue of the Americas (6th Avenue), 28th Floor
New York, New York 10019
(Name and Address of Agent for Service)
Copy to:
Stacy L. Fuller
K&L Gates LLP
1601 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
 
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)(1)
[ ]
on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)
[ X ]
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.

DIREXION SHARES ETF TRUST
CONTENTS OF REGISTRATION STATEMENT
This registration document is comprised of the following:
Cover Sheet;
Contents of Registration Statement:
Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information for the Direxion Daily NVDA Bull 1.5X Shares;
Part C of Form N-1A; and
Signature Page.


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 state where the offer or sale is not permitted.
Subject to completion, dated June 14, 2023
Direxion Shares ETF Trust
Prospectus
1301 Avenue of the Americas (6th Avenue), 28th Floor
New York, New York 10019
(866) 476-7523
www.direxion.com
1.5X BULL FUND
Direxion Daily NVDA Bull 1.5X Shares
[ ]
The shares offered in this prospectus (the “Fund”), upon commencement of operations, will be listed and traded on Nasdaq.
The Fund seeks daily leveraged investment results and is intended to be used as a short-term trading vehicle. The Fund attempts to provide daily investment results that correspond to 1.5 times the performance of the underlying security.
The Fund is not intended to be used by, and is not appropriate for, investors who do not intend to actively monitor and manage their portfolios. The Fund is very different from most mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. Investors should note that:
(1)
The Fund pursues a daily leveraged investment objective, which means that the Fund is riskier than alternatives that do not use leverage because the Fund magnifies the performance of the underlying security.
(2)
The pursuit of a daily investment objective means that the return of the Fund for a period longer than a full trading day will be the product of a series of daily leveraged returns for each trading day during the relevant period. As a consequence, especially in periods of market volatility, the volatility of the underlying security may affect the Fund’s return as much as, or more than, the return of the underlying security. Further, the return for investors that invest for periods less than a full trading day will not be the product of the return of the Fund’s stated daily leveraged investment objective and the performance of the underlying security for the full trading day. During periods of high volatility, the Fund may not perform as expected and the Fund may have losses when an investor may have expected gains if the Fund is held for a period that is different than one trading day.
The Fund is not suitable for all investors. The Fund is designed to be utilized only by sophisticated investors, such as traders and active investors employing dynamic strategies. Investors in the Fund should:
(a)
understand the risks associated with the use of leverage;
(b)
understand the consequences of seeking daily leveraged investment results;
(c)
intend to actively monitor and manage their investments.
Investors who do not understand the Fund, or do not intend to actively manage their funds and monitor their investments, should not buy the Fund.
There is no assurance that any Fund will achieve its investment objective and an investment in a Fund could lose money. The Fund is not a complete investment program.
If the Fund’s underlying security moves more than 66.7% on a given trading day in a direction adverse to the Fund, the Fund’s investors would lose all of their money. The Fund’s investment adviser, Rafferty Asset Management, LLC, will attempt to position the Fund’s portfolio to ensure that the Fund does not gain or lose more than 90% of its net asset value on a given trading day. As a consequence, the Fund’s portfolio should not be responsive to underlying security movements beyond 60% on a given trading day, whether that movement is favorable or adverse to the Fund. For example, if the Fund’s underlying security was to gain 66.7% on a given trading day, the Fund should be limited to a gain of 90% for that day, which corresponds to 150% of an underlying security gain of 60%, rather than 150% of an underlying security gain of 66.7%.
These securities have not been approved or disapproved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) or the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”), nor have the SEC or CFTC passed upon the adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

Summary Section
Direxion Daily NVDA Bull 1.5X Shares
Important Information Regarding the Fund
The Direxion Daily NVDA Bull 1.5X Shares (the “Fund”) seeks daily leveraged 1.5X investment results and is very different from most other exchange-traded funds. As a result, the Fund may be riskier than alternatives that do not use leverage because the Fund’s objective is to magnify the daily performance of the common shares of NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) ("NVDA"). The return for investors that invest for periods longer or shorter than a trading day should not be expected to be 150% of the performance of NVDA for the period. The return of the Fund for a period longer than a trading day will be the result of each trading day’s compounded return over the period, which will very likely differ from 150% of the return of NVDA for that period. Longer holding periods, higher volatility of NVDA and leverage increase the impact of compounding on an investor’s returns. During periods of higher NVDA volatility, the volatility of NVDA may affect the Fund’s return as much as, or more than, the return of NVDA.
The Fund is not suitable for all investors. The Fund is designed to be utilized only by knowledgeable investors who understand the potential consequences of seeking daily leveraged 1.5X investment results, understand the risks associated with the use of leverage and are willing to monitor their portfolios frequently. The Fund is not intended to be used by, and is not appropriate for, investors who do not intend to actively monitor and manage their portfolios. For periods longer than a single day, the Fund will lose money if NVDA’s performance is flat, and it is possible that the Fund will lose money even if NVDA’s performance increases over a period longer than a single day. An investor could lose the full principal value of his/her investment within a single day if NVDA loses more than 66.7% in one day.
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, of 150% of the daily performance of NVDA. The Fund does not seek to achieve its stated investment objective for a period of time different than a trading day.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fees
[ ]%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees
[ ]%
Other Expenses of the Fund(1)
[ ]%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses(1)
[ ]%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
[ ]%
Expense Cap/Reimbursement(2)
[ ]%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Expense
Cap/Reimbursement
[ ]%
(1)
Estimated for the Fund's current fiscal year.
(2)
Rafferty Asset Management, LLC (“Rafferty” or the “Adviser”) has entered into an Operating Expense Limitation Agreement with the Fund. Under the Operating Expense Limitation Agreement, Rafferty has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its management fee and/or reimburse the Fund for Other Expenses through September 1, 2024, to the extent that the Fund’s Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses exceed [ ]% of the Fund’s average daily net assets (excluding, as applicable, among other expenses, taxes, swap financing and related costs, acquired fund fees and expenses, dividends or interest on short positions, other interest expenses, brokerage commissions and extraordinary expenses).
Any expense waiver or reimbursement is subject to recoupment by the Adviser within the three years after the expense was waived/reimbursed only if Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses fall below the lesser of this percentage limitation and any percentage limitation in place at the time the expense was waived/reimbursed. This agreement may be terminated or revised at any time with the consent of the Board of Trustees.
Example - This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year
3 Years
$[ ]
$[ ]
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance.
Principal Investment Strategy
The Fund, under normal circumstances, invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in the securities of NVDA and financial instruments, such as swap agreements and options, that provide leveraged exposure to NVDA.
1
Direxion Shares ETF Trust Prospectus

The Fund will enter into one or more swap agreements with major global financial institutions whereby the Fund and the global financial institution will agree to exchange the return earned on an investment by the Fund in NVDA that is equal, on a daily basis, to 150% of the value of the Fund's net assets. The Adviser attempts to consistently apply leverage to obtain NVDA exposure for the Fund equal to 150% of the value of its net assets and expects to rebalance the Fund’s holdings daily to maintain such exposure. As a result of its investment strategies, the Fund will be concentrated in the industry to which NVDA is assigned (i.e., hold 25% or more of its total assets in investments that provide leveraged exposure in the industry to which NVDA is assigned).
The Fund will attempt to achieve its investment objective without regard to overall market movement or the increase or decrease of the value of NVDA. At the close of the markets each trading day, Rafferty rebalances the Fund’s portfolio so that its exposure to NVDA is consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. The impact of NVDA’s price movements during the day will affect whether the Fund’s portfolio needs to be rebalanced. For example, if the price of NVDA has risen on a given day, net assets of the Fund should rise, meaning that the Fund’s exposure will need to be increased. Conversely, if the price of NVDA has fallen on a given day, net assets of the Fund should fall, meaning the Fund’s exposure will need to be reduced. This daily rebalancing typically results in high portfolio turnover. On a day-to-day basis, the Fund is expected to hold money market funds, deposit accounts with institutions with high quality (investment grade) credit ratings, and/or short-term debt instruments that have terms-to-maturity of less than 397 days and exhibit high quality (investment grade) credit profiles, including U.S. government securities and repurchase agreements. The Fund may lend securities representing up to one-third of the value of the Fund’s total assets (including the value of the collateral received).
Generally, the Fund pursues its investment objective regardless of market conditions and does not generally take defensive positions. If the Fund’s underlying security moves more than 66.7% on a given trading day in a direction adverse to the Fund, the Fund’s investors would lose all of their money. The Adviser will attempt to position the Fund’s portfolio to ensure that the Fund does not gain or lose more than 90% of its net asset value on a given trading day. As a consequence, the Fund’s portfolio should not be responsive to underlying security movements beyond 60% on a given trading day, whether that movement is favorable or adverse to the Fund. Taking a temporary defensive position may result in the Fund not achieving its investment objective.
The terms “daily,” “day,” and “trading day,” refer to the period from the close of the markets on one trading day to the close of the markets on the next trading day. The Fund is “non-diversified,” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. Additionally, the Fund’s investment objective is not a fundamental policy and may be changed by the Fund’s Board of Trustees without shareholder approval.
NVIDIA Corporation operates as a visual computing company worldwide. It operates in two segments, graphics and compute & networking. NVDA is registered under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Information provided to or filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by NVIDIA Corporation pursuant to the Exchange Act can be located by reference to the Securities and Exchange Commission file number 000-23985 through the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, information regarding NVIDIA Corporation may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles and other publicly disseminated documents. As of March 31, 2023, NVDA is assigned to the technology sector and the semiconductor industry.
The Fund has derived all disclosures contained in this document regarding NVIDA Corporation from the publicly available documents described above. Neither the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser nor any affiliate has participated in the preparation of such documents. Neither the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser nor any affiliate makes any representation that such publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding NVIDA Corporation is accurate or complete. Furthermore, the Fund cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the date of the prospectus (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described above) that would affect the trading price of NVDA have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events or the disclosure of, or failure to disclose, material future events concerning NVIDA Corporation could affect the value of the Fund’s investments with respect to NVDA and therefore the value of the Fund.
Because of daily rebalancing and the compounding of each day’s return over time, the return of the Fund for periods longer than a single day will be the result of each day’s returns compounded over the period, which will very likely differ from 150% of the return of the underlying security over the same period. The Fund will lose money if the underlying security performance is flat over time, and as a result of daily rebalancing, the underlying security’s volatility and the effects of compounding, it is even possible that the Fund will lose money over time while the underlying security’s performance increases over a period longer than a single day.
Principal Investment Risks
An investment in the Fund entails risk. The Fund may not achieve its leveraged investment objective and there is a risk that you could lose all of your money invested in the Fund. The Fund is not a complete investment program. In addition, the Fund presents risks not traditionally associated with other mutual funds and ETFs. It is important that investors closely review all of the risks listed below and understand them before making an investment in the Fund.
Effects of Compounding and Market Volatility Risk - The Fund has a daily leveraged investment objective and the Fund’s performance for periods greater than a trading day will be the result of each day's returns compounded over the period, which is very likely to differ from 150% of NVDA’s performance, before fees and expenses. Compounding affects all investments, but has a more significant impact on funds that are leveraged and that rebalance daily and becomes
Direxion Shares ETF Trust Prospectus
2

more pronounced as volatility and holding periods increase. The impact of compounding will impact each shareholder differently depending on the period of time an investment in the Fund is held and the volatility of NVDA during the shareholder’s holding period of an investment in the Fund.
The chart below provides examples of how volatility and its return could affect the Fund’s performance. Fund performance for periods greater than one single day can be estimated given any set of assumptions for the following factors: a) volatility; b) performance; c) period of time; d) financing rates associated with leveraged exposure; e) other Fund expenses; and f) dividends or interest paid with respect to securities of NVDA. The chart below illustrates the impact of two principal factors volatility and performance on Fund performance. The chart shows estimated Fund returns for a number of combinations of volatility and performance over a one-year period. Performance shown in the chart assumes that: (i) no dividends were paid with respect to the securities; (ii) there were no Fund expenses; and (iii) borrowing/lending rates (to obtain leveraged exposure) of 0%. If Fund expenses and/or actual borrowing/lending rates were reflected, the estimated returns would be different than those shown. Particularly during periods of higher volatility, compounding will cause results for periods longer than a trading day to vary from 150% of the performance of NVDA.
As shown in the chart below, the Fund would be expected to lose 6.4% if NVDA provided no return over a one year period during which NVDA experienced annualized volatility of 25%. At higher ranges of volatility, there is a chance of a significant loss of value in the Fund, even if NVDA’s return is flat. For instance, if NVDA’s annualized volatility is 100%, the Fund would be expected to lose 43.1% of its value, even if the cumulative return for the year was 0%. Areas shaded red (or dark gray) represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return less than 150% of the performance of NVDA and those shaded green (or light gray) represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return more than 150% of the performance of NVDA. The table below is not a representation of the Fund’s actual returns, which may be significantly better or worse than the returns shown below as a result of any of the factors discussed above or in “Daily Correlation Risk” below.
One
Year
Stock
150%
One
Year
Stock
Volatility Rate
Return
Simple Return
10%
25%
50%
75%
100%
-60%
-90%
-75.2%
-76.9%
-81.3%
-85.4%
-88.3%
-50%
-75%
-65.2%
-67.4%
-73.0%
-78.6%
-82.6%
-40%
-60%
-54.2%
-56.9%
-63.8%
-70.8%
-76.0%
-30%
-45%
-42.2%
-45.4%
-53.6%
-62.1%
-68.8%
-20%
-30%
-29.3%
-33.1%
-43.4%
-53.2%
-60.8%
-10%
-15%
-15.6%
-20.1%
-32.0%
-43.3%
-52.2%
0%
0%
-1.1%
-6.4%
-19.4%
-33.3%
-43.1%
10%
15%
14.1%
8.0%
-7.6%
-22.5%
-33.6%
20%
30%
30.0%
23.0%
6.2%
-11.2%
-23.5%
30%
45%
46.5%
38.5%
18.2%
-0.3%
-13.3%
40%
60%
63.6%
54.6%
33.2%
10.7%
-2.7%
50%
75%
81.3%
71.0%
45.0%
22.8%
6.9%
60%
90%
99.6%
87.8%
58.7%
33.3%
19.3%
NVDA’s annualized historical volatility rate for the five year period ended December 31, 2022 was 51.89%. NVDA’s highest volatility rate for any one calendar year during the five year period was 63.16% and volatility for a shorter period of time may have been substantially higher. NVDA’s annualized performance for the five-year period ended December 31, 2022 was 24.97%. Historical volatility and performance are not indications of what NVDA volatility and performance will be in the future.
For information regarding the effects of volatility and performance on the long-term performance of the Fund, see “Additional Information Regarding Investment Techniques and Policies” in the Fund’s statutory prospectus, and "Leverage - Special Note Regarding the Correlation Risks of the Fund" in the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information.
Leverage Risk The Fund obtains investment exposure in excess of its net assets by utilizing leverage and may lose more money in market conditions that are adverse to its investment objective than a fund that does not utilize leverage. An investment in the Fund is exposed to the risk that a decline in the daily performance of NVDA will be magnified. This means that an investment in the Fund will be reduced by an amount equal to 1.5% for every 1% daily decline in NVDA, not including the costs of financing leverage and other operating expenses, which would further reduce its value. The Fund could theoretically lose an amount greater than its net assets in the event of NVDA decline of more than 66.7%. This would result in a total loss of a shareholder’s investment in one day even if NVDA subsequently moves in the opposite direction and eliminates all or a portion of its earlier daily change. A total loss may occur in a single day even if NVDA does not lose all of its value. Leverage will also have the effect of magnifying any differences in the Fund’s correlation with NVDA and may increase the volatility of the Fund.
To the extent that the instruments utilized by the Fund are thinly traded or have a limited market, the Fund may be unable to meet its investment objective due to a lack of available investments or counterparties. During such periods, the Fund’s ability to issue additional Creation Units may be adversely affected. As a result, the Fund’s shares could trade at a premium or discount to their net asset value and/or
3
Direxion Shares ETF Trust Prospectus

the bid-ask spread of the Fund’s shares could widen. Under such circumstances, the Fund may increase its transaction fee, change its investment objective by, for example, seeking to track an alternative index, reduce its leverage or close.
Derivatives Risk Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. Investing in derivatives may be considered aggressive and may expose the Fund to greater risks, and may result in larger losses or small gains, than investing directly in the reference assets underlying those derivatives, which may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective.
The Fund expects to use swap agreements to achieve its investment objective, and may use options in certain circumstances. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other investments, including risk related to the market, leverage, imperfect correlations with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions. The performance of a derivative may not track the performance of its reference asset, including due to fees and other costs associated with it. Because derivatives often require only a limited initial investment, the use of derivatives may expose the Fund to losses in excess of the amount initially invested. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning. Additionally, any financing, borrowing or other costs associated with using derivatives may also have the effect of lowering the Fund’s return. Such costs may increase as interest rates rise.
In addition, the Fund’s investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:
Swap Agreements. Swap agreements are entered into primarily with major global financial institutions for a specified period which may range from one day to more than one year. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined reference or underlying securities or instruments. The gross return to be exchanged or swapped between the parties is calculated based on a notional amount or the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a reference asset. Swap agreements are generally traded in over-the-counter, and therefore, may not receive regulatory protection, which may expose investors to significant losses.
Options. An option is a contract that gives the purchaser (holder) of the option, in return for a premium, the right to buy from (call) or sell to (put) the seller (writer) of the option the security or currency underlying the option at a specified exercise price at any time during the term of the option (normally not exceeding nine months). The writer of an option has the obligation upon exercise of the option to deliver the underlying security or currency upon payment of the exercise price or to pay the exercise price upon delivery of the underlying security or currency.
The Fund will be subject to regulatory constraints relating to the level of value at risk that the Fund may incur through its derivative portfolio. To the extent the Fund exceeds these regulatory thresholds over an extended period, the Fund may determine that it is necessary to make adjustments to the Fund’s investment strategy.
Counterparty Risk A counterparty may be unwilling or unable to make timely payments to meet its contractual obligations or may fail to return holdings that are subject to the agreement with the counterparty. If the counterparty or its affiliate becomes insolvent, bankrupt or defaults on its payment obligations to the Fund, the value of an investment held by the Fund may decline. Additionally, if any collateral posted by the counterparty for the benefit of the Fund is insufficient or there are delays in the Fund’s ability to access such collateral, the Fund may not be able to achieve its leveraged investment objective.
In addition, the Fund may enter into swap agreements with a limited number of counterparties, which may increase the Fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk. Further, there is a risk that no suitable counterparties will be willing to enter into, or continue to enter into, transactions with the Fund and, as a result, the Fund may not be able to achieve its leveraged investment objective or may decide to change its leveraged investment objective.
Rebalancing Risk If for any reason the Fund is unable to rebalance all or a part of its portfolio, or if all or a portion of the portfolio is rebalanced incorrectly, the Fund’s investment exposure may not be consistent with its investment objective. In these instances, the Fund may have investment exposure to NVDA that is significantly greater or significantly less than its stated multiple. The Fund may be more exposed to leverage risk than if it had been properly rebalanced and may not achieve its investment objective, leading to significantly greater losses or reduced gains.
Intra-Day Investment Risk - The Fund seeks leveraged investment results from the close of the market on a given trading day until the close of the market on the subsequent trading day. The exact exposure of an investment in the Fund intraday in the secondary market is a function of the difference between the value of NVDA at the market close on the first trading day and the value of NVDA at the time of purchase. If NVDA gains value, the Fund’s net assets will rise by the same amount as the Fund’s exposure. Conversely, if NVDA declines, the Fund’s net assets will decline by the same amount as the Fund’s exposure. Thus, an investor that purchases shares intra-day may experience performance that is greater than, or less than, the Fund’s stated multiple of NVDA.
If there is a significant intra-day market event and/or the securities experience a significant change in value, the Fund may not meet its investment objective, be able to rebalance its portfolio appropriately, or may experience significant premiums or discounts, or widened bid-ask spreads. Additionally, the Fund may close to purchases and sales of Shares prior to the close of trading on the Exchange and incur significant losses.
Daily Correlation Risk - There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation to NVDA and
Direxion Shares ETF Trust Prospectus
4

therefore achieve its daily leveraged investment objective. The Fund’s exposure to NVDA is impacted by NVDA’s movement. Because of this, it is unlikely that the Fund will be perfectly exposed to NVDA at the end of each day. The possibility of the Fund being materially over- or under-exposed to NVDA increases on days when NVDA is volatile near the close of the trading day. Market disruptions, regulatory restrictions and high volatility will also adversely affect the Fund’s ability to adjust exposure to the required levels.
The Fund may have difficulty achieving its daily leveraged investment objective for many reasons, including fees, expenses, transaction costs, financing costs related to the use of derivatives, accounting standards and their application to income items, disruptions, illiquid or high volatility in the markets for the securities or financial instruments in which the Fund invests, early and unanticipated closings of the markets on which the holdings of the Fund trade, resulting in the inability of the Fund to execute intended portfolio transactions, regulatory and tax considerations, which may cause the Fund to hold (or not to hold) NVDA. The Fund may take or refrain from taking positions in order to improve tax efficiency, comply with regulatory restrictions, or for other reasons, each of which may negatively affect the Fund’s desired correlation with NVDA. The Fund may be subject to large movements of assets into and out of the Fund, potentially resulting in the Fund being over- or under-exposed to NVDA. Additionally, the Fund’s underlying investments and/or reference assets may trade on markets that may not be open on the same day as the Fund, which may cause a difference between the changes in the daily performance of the Fund and changes in the performance of NVDA. Any of these factors could decrease the correlation between the performance of the Fund and NVDA and may hinder the Fund’s ability to meet its daily leveraged investment objective on or around that day.
Market Risk The Fund’s investments are subject to changes in general economic conditions, general market fluctuations and the risks inherent in investment in securities markets. Investment markets can be volatile and prices of investments can change substantially due to various factors including, but not limited to, economic growth or recession, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived creditworthiness of issuers, general market liquidity, exchange trading suspensions and closures, and public health risks. The Fund is subject to the risk that geopolitical events will disrupt markets and adversely affect global economies, markets, and exchanges. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, natural disasters, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, conflicts and social unrest or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund, its investments, and the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective.
Indirect Investment Risk NVIDA Corporation is not affiliated with the Trust, the Adviser or any affiliates thereof and is not involved with this offering in any way, and has no obligation to consider the Fund in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of the Fund. The Trust, the Fund and any affiliate are not responsible for the performance of NVIDA Corporation and make no representation as to the performance of NVDA. Investing
in the Fund is not equivalent to investing in NVDA. Fund shareholders will not have voting rights or rights to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to NVDA.
Trading Halt Risk Although NVDA’s shares are listed for trading on an exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will be available at all times and the exchange may halt trading of such shares in certain circumstances. A halt in trading in NVDA’s shares is expected, in turn, to result in a halt in the trading in the Fund’s shares. Trading in NVDA’s and/or the Fund’s shares on the exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the exchange, make trading in NVDA’s and/or the Fund’s shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in NVDA’s and/or the Fund’s shares on an exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to exchange “circuit breaker” rules.” In the event of a trading halt for an extended period of time, the Fund may be unable to rebalance the Fund’s portfolio or execute arrangements with swap counterparties that are necessary to implement the Fund’s investment strategy which may lead to the Fund having investment exposure to NVDA that is significantly larger or smaller than its stated multiple. This may result in the Fund having significantly larger losses or reduced gains.
NVIDIA Corporation Investing Risk Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment held by the Fund to be more volatile than the market generally. The value of an individual security or particular type of security may be more volatile than the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of the market as a whole. As of the date of this prospectus, in addition to the risks associated with companies in the technology sector and the semiconductor industry, NVIDIA Corporation faces risks associated with meeting the evolving needs of its large markets gaming, data center, professional visualization and automotive and identifying new products, services and technologies; competition in its current and target markets; changes in customer demand; supply chain issues; manufacturing delays; potential significant mismatches between supply and demand giving rise to product shortages or excessive inventory; the dependence on third-parties and their technology to manufacture, assemble, test, package or design its products which reduces control over product quantity and quality, manufacturing yields, development, enhancement and product delivery schedules; significant product defects; international operations, including adverse economic conditions; impacts from climate change, including water and energy availability; business investment and acquisitions; system security and data protection breaches, including cyberattacks; business disruptions; a limited number of customers; the ability to attract, retain and motivate executives and key employees; the proper function of its business processes and information systems; impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic; its intellectual property; and other regulatory, and legal issues.
Industry Concentration Risk The Fund will be concentrated in the industry to which NVIDA Corporation is assigned (i.e., hold more than 25% of its total assets in investments that provide leveraged exposure to the industry to which NVIDA Corporation is assigned). A portfolio concentrated
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Direxion Shares ETF Trust Prospectus

in a particular industry may present more risks than a portfolio broadly diversified over several industries.
Technology Sector Risk The market prices of technology-related securities tend to exhibit a greater degree of market risk and sharp price fluctuations than other types of securities. These securities may fall in and out of favor with investors rapidly, which may cause sudden selling and dramatically lower market prices. Technology securities may be affected by intense competition, obsolescence of existing technology, general economic conditions and government regulation and may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. Technology companies may experience dramatic and often unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for qualified personnel. These companies are also heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights, the loss or impairment of which may adversely impact a company’s profitability. A small number of companies represent a large portion of the technology industry. In addition, a rising interest rate environment tends to negatively affect technology companies, those technology companies seeking to finance expansion would have increased borrowing costs, which may negatively impact earnings. Technology companies having high market valuations may appear less attractive to investors, which may cause sharp decreases in their market prices.
Semiconductor Industry Risk Semiconductor companies may face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, and such competition may have an adverse effect on such companies’ profit margins. Semiconductor companies may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. Companies in the semiconductor industry may have products that face obsolescence due to rapid technological developments and frequent new product introduction, unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for qualified personnel. Capital equipment expenditures may be substantial and equipment generally suffers from rapid obsolescence. Semiconductor companies are also heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights. The loss or impairment of those rights, would adversely impact the profitability of these companies.
Money Market Instrument Risk The Fund may use a variety of money market instruments for cash management purposes, including money market funds, depositary accounts and repurchase agreements. Money market funds may be subject to credit risk with respect to the debt instruments in which they invest. Depository accounts may be subject to credit risk with respect to the financial institution in which the depository account is held. Repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk related to the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. Money market instruments may lose money.
Large-Capitalization Company Risk Large-capitalization companies typically have significant financial resources, extensive product lines and broad markets for their goods and/or services. However, they may be less able to adapt to changing market conditions or to respond quickly to competitive challenges or to changes in business, product, financial, or market conditions and may not be able to maintain growth at rates that may be achieved by
well-managed smaller and mid-size companies, which may affect the companies’ returns.
Liquidity Risk Holdings of the Fund may be difficult to buy or sell or may be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, especially in changing or volatile markets. If the Fund is forced to buy or sell an illiquid security or derivative instrument at an unfavorable time or price, the Fund may be adversely impacted. Certain market conditions or restrictions, such as market rules related to short sales, may prevent the Fund from limiting losses, realizing gains or achieving a high correlation with the Index. There is no assurance that a security or derivative instrument that is deemed liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid. Market illiquidity may cause losses for the Fund. To the extent that the Index value increases or decreases significantly, the Fund may be one of many market participants that are attempting to transact in the securities of the Index. Under such circumstances, the market for securities of the Index may lack sufficient liquidity for all market participants' trades. Therefore, the Fund may have more difficulty transacting in the securities or financial instruments and the Fund's transactions could exacerbate the price changes of the securities of the Index and may impact the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective.
In certain cases, the market for certain securities in the Index and/or Fund may lack sufficient liquidity for all market participants' trades. Therefore, the Fund may have difficulty transacting in it and/or in correlated investments, such as swap contracts. Further, the Fund's transactions could exacerbate illiquidity and volatility in the price of the securities and correlated derivative instruments.
Early Close/Trading Halt Risk An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities or financial instruments, including the shares of the Fund. Under such circumstances, the ability to buy or sell certain portfolio securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell investments for its portfolio, may disrupt the Fund’s creation/redemption process and may temporarily prevent investors from buying and selling shares of the Fund. In addition, the Fund may be unable to accurately price its investments, may fail to achieve performance that is correlated with NVDA and may incur substantial losses. If there is a significant intra-day market event and/or the price of NVDA experiences a significant increase or decrease, the Fund may not meet its investment objective or rebalance its portfolio appropriately. Additionally, the Fund may close to purchases and sales of Shares prior to the close of regular trading on Nasdaq and incur significant losses
Equity Securities Risk Publicly issued equity securities, including common stocks, are subject to market risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate over time. Fluctuations in the value of equity securities in which the Fund invests, and/or has exposure to, will cause the net asset value of the Fund to fluctuate.
Cash Transaction Risk - At certain times, the Fund may effect creations and redemptions for cash rather than for in-kind securities. As a result, the Fund may not be tax efficient
Direxion Shares ETF Trust Prospectus
6

and may incur brokerage costs related to buying and selling securities to achieve its investment objective thus incurring additional expenses than if it had effected creations and redemptions in kind. To the extent that such costs are not offset by transaction fees paid by an authorized participant, the Fund may bear such costs, which will decrease the Fund’s net asset value.
Tax Risk In order to qualify for the special tax treatment accorded a regulated investment company (“RIC”) and its shareholders, the Fund must derive at least 90% of its gross income for each taxable year from “qualifying income,” meet certain asset diversification tests at the end of each taxable quarter, and meet annual distribution requirements. The Fund’s pursuit of its investment strategy will potentially be limited by the Fund’s intention to qualify for such treatment and could adversely affect the Fund’s ability to so qualify. The Fund may make certain investments, the treatment of which for these purposes is unclear. If, in any year, the Fund was to fail to qualify for the special tax treatment accorded a RIC and its shareholders, and was ineligible to or was not able to cure such failure, the Fund would be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation subject to U.S. federal income tax on all its income at the fund level. The resulting taxes could substantially reduce the Fund’s net assets and the amount of income available for distribution. In addition, in order to requalify for taxation as a RIC, the Fund could be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest, and make certain distributions. Please see the section entitled “Dividends, Other Distributions and Taxes” in the Statement of Additional Information for more information.
Non-Diversification Risk The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. This means it has the ability to invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in the securities of a small number of issuers or in financial instruments with a single counterparty or a few counterparties. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and increase the risk that the Fund’s performance will decline based on the performance of a single issuer or the credit of a single counterparty and make the Fund more susceptible to risks associated with a single economic, political or regulatory occurrence than a diversified fund.
Securities Lending Risk Securities lending involves the risk that the Fund may lose money because the borrower of the loaned securities fails to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. The Fund could also lose money in the event of a decline in the value of collateral provided for loaned securities, a decline in the value of any investments made with cash collateral, or a “gap” between the return on cash collateral reinvestments and any fees the Fund has agreed to pay a borrower. These events could also trigger adverse tax consequences for the Fund.
Special Risks of Exchange-Traded Funds
Authorized Participants Concentration Risk. The Fund may have a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants. To the extent that those Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to process creation and/or redemption orders, Shares may trade
at larger bid-ask spreads and/or premiums or discounts to net asset value. Authorized Participant concentration risk may be heightened for a fund that invests in non-U.S. securities or other securities or instruments that have lower trading volumes.
Absence of Active Market Risk. Although Shares are listed for trading on a stock exchange, there is no assurance that an active trading market for them will develop or be maintained. In the absence of an active trading market for Shares, they will likely trade with a wider bid/ask spread and at a greater premium or discount to net asset value.
Market Price Variance Risk. Fund Shares can be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices, which may be higher or lower than the net asset value of the Fund. When Shares trade at a price greater than net asset value, they are said to trade at a “premium.” When they trade at a price less than net asset value, they are said to trade at a “discount.” The market price of Shares fluctuates based on changes in the value of the Fund’s holdings and on the supply and demand for Shares. The market price of Shares may vary significantly from the Fund’s net asset value especially during times of market volatility. Further, to the extent that exchange specialists, market makers, Authorized Participants, or other market participants are unavailable or unable to trade the Fund’s Shares and/or create or redeem Creation Units premiums or discounts may increase.
Trading Cost Risk. When buying or selling shares of the Fund in the secondary market, you will likely incur brokerage commission or other charges. In addition, you may incur the cost of the “spread” also known as the bid-ask spread, which is the difference between what investors are willing to pay for Fund shares (the “bid” price) and the price at which they are willing to sell Fund shares (the “ask” price). The bid-ask spread varies over time based on, among other things, trading volume, market liquidity and market volatility. Because of the costs inherent in buying or selling Fund shares, frequent trading may detract significantly from investment results and an investment in Fund shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments due to the associated trading costs.
Exchange Trading Risk. Trading in Shares on their listing exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable, such as extraordinary market volatility. Also, there is no assurance that Shares will continue to meet the listing requirements of the exchange and Shares may be delisted. Like other listed securities, Shares of the Fund may be sold short, and short positions in Shares may place downward pressure on their market price.
Fund Performance
No prior investment performance is provided for the Fund because it had not commenced operations prior to the date of this Prospectus. Upon commencement of operations, updated performance will be available on the Fund’s website at www.direxion.com/etfs?producttab=performance or by calling the Fund toll-free at (866) 476-7523.
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Direxion Shares ETF Trust Prospectus

Management
Investment Adviser. Rafferty Asset Management, LLC is the Fund’s investment adviser.
Portfolio Managers. The following members of Rafferty’s investment team are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund:
Portfolio Managers
Years of Service
with the Fund
Primary Title
Paul Brigandi
Since Inception
Portfolio Manager
Tony Ng
Since Inception
Portfolio Manager
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund’s individual shares may only be purchased or sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediaries at market price rather than at net asset value. The market price of Shares will fluctuate in response to changes in the value of the Fund’s holdings and supply and demand for the Shares, which may result in shareholders purchasing or selling the Shares on the secondary market at a market price that is greater than net asset value (a premium) or less than net asset value (a discount). A shareholder may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay for the Fund’s Shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for the Fund’s Shares (ask) when buying or selling Shares on the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”) in addition to brokerage commissions. The bid-ask spread may vary over time for Shares based on trading volume and market liquidity. Recent information regarding the Fund Shares such as net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts and bid-ask spreads and related other information
is available on the Fund’s website, www.direxion.com/etfs?producttab=performance.
The Fund’s shares are not individually redeemable by the Fund. The Fund will issue and redeem Shares only to Authorized Participants in exchange for cash or a deposit or delivery of a basket of assets (securities and/or cash) in large blocks, known as creation units, each of which is comprised of 25,000 Shares.
Tax Information
The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or long-term capital gains. Those distributions will be subject to federal income tax and may also be subject to state and local taxes, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account. Distributions or investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal. Distributions by the Fund may be significantly higher than those of most other ETFs.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank or financial adviser), the Fund and/or its Adviser may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other financial intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
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8

Overview of the Fund
The Direxion Shares ETF Trust (the “Trust”) is a registered investment company offering a number of separate exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”). This Prospectus describes the ETF noted below (the “Fund”). Rafferty Asset Management, LLC serves as the investment advisor to each Fund ("Rafferty" or the "Adviser").
The Fund seeks daily leveraged investment results, before fees and expenses, of 150% of the performance of the common shares of NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) ("NVDA"). For example, the daily leveraged investment objective for the Fund is 150% of the daily total return of the performance of NVDA. If, on a given day, NVDA gains 1%, the Fund is designed to gain approximately 1.5% (which is equal to 150% of 1%). Conversely, if NVDA loses 1% on a given day, the Fund is designed to lose approximately 1.5%. As used in this Prospectus, the terms “daily,” “day,” and “trading day,” refer to the period from the close of the markets on one trading day to the close of the markets on the next trading day.
Shares of the Fund (“Shares”), upon commencement of operations, will be listed and traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (the “Exchange”), where the market prices for the Shares may be different from the intra-day value of the Shares disseminated by the Exchange and from their net asset value (“NAV”). Unlike conventional mutual funds, Shares are not individually redeemable directly with the Fund. Rather, the Fund issues and redeems Shares on a continuous basis at NAV only in large blocks of Shares called “Creation Units.” A Creation Unit consists of 25,000 Shares. Creation Units of the Fund are issued and redeemed in cash and/or in-kind for securities included in the relevant underlying security. As a result, retail investors generally will not be able to purchase or redeem Shares directly from, or with, the Fund. Most retail investors will purchase or sell Shares in the secondary market through a broker.
The Fund is not suitable for all investors. The Fund is designed to be utilized only by sophisticated investors, such as traders and active investors employing dynamic strategies. Such investors are expected to monitor and manage their portfolios frequently. Investors in the Fund should: (a) understand the risks associated with the use of leverage; (b) understand the consequences of seeking daily leveraged investment results; and (c) intend to actively monitor and manage their investments. Investors who do not understand the Fund or do not intend to actively manage their funds and monitor their investments should not buy the Fund.
There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective and an investment in the Fund could lose money. The Fund is not a complete investment program.
Changes in Investment Objective. The Fund’s investment objective is not a fundamental policy and may be changed by the Fund's Board of Trustees without shareholder approval.
Additional Information Regarding Investment Techniques and Policies
Rafferty uses a number of investment techniques in an effort to achieve the stated investment objective for the Fund. The Fund seeks 150% of the return of the underlying security on a given day.
Rafferty attempts to provide 1.5 times the returns of the underlying security for a one-day period. To do this, Rafferty creates net “long” positions for the Fund. (Rafferty may create short positions in the Fund even though the net exposure in the Fund will be long.) Long positions move in the same direction as the underlying security, advancing when the underlying security advances and declining when the underlying security declines. Short positions move in the opposite direction of the underlying security, advancing when the underlying security declines and declining when the underlying security advances. Additionally, the Fund does not seek income that is exempt from federal, state or local income taxes.
In seeking to achieve the Fund’s investment objective, Rafferty uses statistical and quantitative analysis to determine the investments the Fund makes and the techniques it employs. Rafferty relies upon a pre-determined model to generate orders that result in repositioning the Fund’s investments in accordance with its daily leveraged investment objective. Using this approach, Rafferty determines the type, quantity and mix of investment positions that it believes in combination should produce daily returns consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. In general, if the Fund is performing as designed, the return of the underlying security will dictate the return for the Fund. Rafferty does not invest the assets of the Fund in securities, derivatives or other investments based on Rafferty’s view of the investment merit of a particular security, instrument or company, nor does it conduct conventional investment research or analysis or forecast market movements or trends. The Fund generally pursues its investment objective regardless of the market conditions and does not take defensive positions.
The Fund has a clearly articulated daily leveraged investment objective which requires the Fund to seek economic exposure in excess of its net assets (i.e., economic leverage). To meet its objectives, the Fund invests in some combination of financial instruments so that it generates economic exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective.
The Fund offered in this Prospectus may invest significantly in: futures contracts; options on securities, indices and futures contracts; equity caps, floors and collars; swap agreements; forward contracts; short positions; reverse repurchase agreements; ETFs; and other financial instruments to obtain economic “leverage.” Leveraging allows Rafferty to generate a greater
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Direxion Shares ETF Trust Prospectus

positive or negative return for the Fund than what would be generated on the invested capital without leverage, thus changing small market movements into larger changes in the value of the investments of the Fund.
The Fund is non-diversified, which means that it may invest in the securities of a limited number of issuers.
At the close of the markets each trading day, the Fund will position its portfolio to ensure that the Fund’s exposure to the underlying security is consistent with the Fund’s stated investment objective. The impact of market movements during the day determines whether a portfolio needs to be repositioned. If the underlying security has risen on a given day, the Fund’s net assets should rise, meaning its exposure will typically need to be increased. Conversely, if the underlying security has fallen on a given day, the Fund’s net assets should fall, meaning its exposure will typically need to be reduced.
The Fund may have difficulty in achieving its daily leveraged investment objective due to fees, expenses, transaction costs, income items, accounting standards, significant purchase and redemption activity by Fund shareholders and/or disruptions or a temporary lack of liquidity in the markets for the securities held by the Fund.
An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses.
If the Fund is unable to obtain leveraged exposure to the underlying security consistent with its investment objective, such as situations in which the instruments utilized by the Fund are thinly traded or have a limited market, the Fund could, among other things, fail to meet its daily investment objective, increase its transaction fee, or reject one or more orders for Creation Units. Under such circumstances, the Fund could trade at a premium or discount to its NAV and the bid-ask spread in its shares could widen.
A Cautionary Note to Investors Regarding Dramatic Stock Movement. The Fund seeks daily exposure to the underlying security equal to 150% of its net assets. As a consequence, the Fund could lose an amount greater than its net assets in the event of a movement of the underlying security in excess of 66.7% in a direction adverse to the Fund (meaning a decline in the value of the underlying security of the Fund). Rafferty will attempt to position the Fund’s portfolio to ensure that the Fund does not gain or lose more than 90% of its NAV on a given day. If Rafferty successfully positions the Fund’s portfolio to provide such limits, the Fund’s portfolio and NAV will not be responsive to movements in the underlying security beyond 60% in a given day, whether that movement is favorable or adverse to the Fund.
If the underlying security of the Fund has a dramatic adverse move that causes a material decline in the Fund’s net assets, the terms of the Fund’s swap agreements may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the swap transaction. In that event, the Fund may be unable to enter into another swap agreement or invest in other derivatives to achieve exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. This may prevent the Fund from achieving its leveraged investment objective, even if the underlying security later reverses all or a portion the move.
Examples of the Impact of Daily Compounding. Seeking daily leveraged investment results provides potential for greater gains and losses for the Fund relative to the underlying security’s performance. For a period longer than one day, the pursuit of a daily investment objective will result in daily leveraged compounding for the Fund. This means that the return of the underlying security over a period of time greater than one day multiplied by the Fund’s daily leveraged investment objective (e.g., 150%) generally will not equal a Fund’s performance over that same period. As a consequence, investors should not plan to hold the Fund unmonitored for periods longer than a single trading day. Further, the return for investors that invest for periods less than a full trading day or for a period different than a trading day will not be the product of the return of the Fund’s stated daily leveraged investment objective and the performance of the underlying security for the full trading day. The Fund is not suitable for all investors.
Consider the following examples:
Mary is considering investments in two funds, Funds A and B. Fund A is a traditional stock ETF which seeks (before fees and expenses) to match the performance of the XYZ stock. Fund B is a leveraged ETF and seeks daily leveraged investment results (before fees and expenses) that correspond to 150% of the daily performance of the XYZ stock.
On Day 1, the XYZ stock increases in value from $100 to $108, a gain of 8%. On Day 2, the XYZ stock declines from $108 back to $100, a loss of 7.41%. In the aggregate, the XYZ stock has not moved.
An investment in Fund A would be expected to gain 8% on Day 1 and lose 7.41% on Day 2 to return to its original value. The following example assumes a $100 investment in Fund A when the stock is also valued at $100:
Day
Stock Value
Stock Performance
Value of Investment
 
$100.00
 
$100.00
1
$108.00
8.00%
$108.00
2
$100.00
-7.41%
$100.00
The same $100 investment in Fund B, however, would be expected to gain in value on Day 1 but decline in value on Day 2.
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The $100 investment in Fund B would be expected to gain 10% on Day 1 (150% of 8%) but decline 9.26% on Day 2.
Day
Stock Performance
150% of Stock Performance
Value of Fund B Investment
 
 
 
$100.00
1
8.00%
12.0%
$112.00
2
-7.41%
-11.12%
$99.551
Although the percentage decline in Fund B is smaller on Day 2 than the percentage gain on Day 1, the loss is applied to a higher principal amount, so the investment in Fund B experiences a loss even when the aggregate stock value for the two-day period has not declined. (These calculations do not include the charges for fund fees and expenses.)
As you can see, an investment in Fund B has additional risks due to the effects of leverage and compounding.
An investor who purchases shares of a Fund intra-day will generally receive more, or less, than 150% exposure to the underlying security from that point until the end of the trading day. The actual exposure will be largely a function of the performance of the underlying security from the end of the prior trading day. If a Fund’s shares are held for a period longer than a single trading day, the Fund’s performance is likely to deviate from 150% of the return of the underlying security’s performance for the longer period. This deviation will increase with higher underlying security volatility and longer holding periods.
Examples of the Impact of Stock Volatility. The Fund rebalances its portfolio on a daily basis, increasing exposure in response to that day’s gains or reducing exposure in response to that day’s losses. Daily rebalancing will typically cause a Fund to lose money if the underlying security experiences volatility. The volatility rate of NVDA is a statistical measure of the magnitude of fluctuations in the stock’s returns over a defined period. For periods longer than a trading day, volatility in the performance of the underlying security from day to day is the primary cause of any disparity between a Fund’s actual returns and the returns of the underlying security for such period. Volatility causes such disparity because it exacerbates the effects of compounding on a Fund’s returns. In addition, the effects of volatility are magnified in the Funds due to leverage. Consider the following three examples that demonstrate the effect of volatility on a hypothetical fund:
Example 1 Underlying Stock Experiences Low Volatility
Mary invests $10.00 in the hypothetical Fund at the close of trading on Day 1. During Day 2, the Fund’s underlying stock rises from 100 to 106, a 6% gain. Mary’s investment rises 9% to $10.90. Mary holds her investment through the close of trading on Day 3, during which the underlying stock rises from 106 to 110, a gain of 3.77%. Mary’s investment rises to $11.52, a gain during Day 3 of 5.66%. For the two day period since Mary invested in the Fund, the underlying stock gained 10% although Mary’s investment increased by 15.2%. Because the underlying stock continued to trend upwards with low volatility, Mary’s return closely correlates to 150% of the return of the underlying stock for the period.
Example 2 Underlying Stock Experiences High Volatility
Mary invests $10.00 in the hypothetical Fund after the close of trading on Day 1. During Day 2, the Fund’s underlying stock rises from 100 to 106, a 6% gain, and Mary’s investment rises 9% to $10.90. Mary continues to hold her investment through the end of Day 3, during which the Fund’s underlying stock declines from 106 to 96, a loss of 9.44%. Mary’s investment declines by 14.16%, from $10.90 to $9.36. For the two day period since Mary invested in the Fund, the Fund’s underlying stock lost 4% while Mary’s investment decreased from $10 to $9.36, a 6.4% loss. The volatility of the underlying stock affected the correlation between the underlying stock’s return for the two day period and Mary’s return. In this situation, Mary lost more than 150% of the return of the underlying stock.
Example 3 Intra-day Investment with Volatility
The examples above assumed that Mary purchased the hypothetical Bull Fund at the close of trading on Day 1 and sold her investment at the close of trading on a subsequent day. However, if she made an investment intra-day, she would have received a beta determined by the performance of the underlying stock from the end of the prior trading day until her time of purchase on the next trading day. Consider the following example.
Mary invests $10.00 in the hypothetical Fund at 11 a.m. on Day 2. From the close of trading on Day 1 until 11 a.m. on Day 2, the underlying stock moved from 100 to 94, a 6% loss. In light of that loss, the Fund beta at the point at which Mary invests is 155%. During the remainder of Day 2, the Fund’s underlying stock rises from 94 to 97, a gain of 3.19%, and Mary’s investment rises 4.95% (which is the underlying stock’s gain of 3.19% multiplied by the 155% beta that she received) to $10.49.
Market Volatility. Each Fund seeks to provide a return which is a multiple of the daily performance of the underlying security. No Fund attempts to, and no Fund should be expected to, provide returns which are a multiple of the return of the underlying security for periods other than a single day. Each Fund rebalances its portfolio on a daily basis, increasing exposure in response to that day’s gains or reducing exposure in response to that day’s losses.Daily rebalancing will impair a Fund’s performance if the underlying security experiences volatility. For instance, the Fund would be expected to lose 6.4% (as shown in Table 1 below) if the underlying security provided no return over a one year period and experienced annualized volatility of 25%.
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Direxion Shares ETF Trust Prospectus

Table 1 - Impact of Hypothetical Volatility Levels on Returns
Volatility
Range
1.5X Fund
Loss
10%
1.1%
25%
6.4%
50%
19.4%
75%
33.3%
100%
43.1%
Note that at higher volatility levels, there is a chance of a significant loss of Fund assets even if the underlying security is flat. For instance, if annualized volatility of the underlying security were 75%, the Fund based on that underlying security would be expected to lose 33.3%, even if the underlying security returned 0% for the year.
The annualized historical volatility rate for the five year period ended December 31, 2022 for NVDA is 51.89%. Since market volatility has negative implications for funds which rebalance daily, investors should be sure to monitor and manage their investments in the Fund particularly in volatile markets. The negative implications of volatility in Table 1 can be combined with the five year volatility rate to give investors some sense of the risks of holding the Fund for long periods. This information is intended to simply underscore the fact that the the Fund is designed as a short-term trading vehicle. The Fund is not intended to be used by, and is not appropriate for, investors who do not intend to actively monitor and manage their portfolios.
The Projected Returns of Funds for Intra-Day Purchases. Because the Fund rebalances its portfolio once daily, an investor who purchases shares during a day will likely have more, or less, than 150% leveraged investment exposure to the underlying security. The exposure to the underlying security received by an investor who purchases a Fund intra-day will differ from the Fund’s stated daily leveraged investment objective (e.g., 150%) by an amount determined by the movement of the underlying security from its value at the end of the prior day. If the underlying security moves in a direction favorable to the Fund between the close of the market on one trading day through the time on the next trading day when the investor purchases Fund shares, the investor will receive less exposure to the underlying security than the stated fund daily leveraged investment objective (e.g., 150%). Conversely, if the underlying security moves in a direction adverse to the Fund, the investor will receive more exposure to the underlying security than the stated fund daily leveraged investment objective (e.g., 150%).
Table 2 below indicates the exposure to the underlying security that an intra-day purchase of the Fund would be expected to provide based upon the movement in the value of the Fund’s underlying security from the close of the market on the prior trading day. Such exposure holds until a subsequent sale on that same trading day or until the close of the market on that trading day. For instance, if the underlying security of the Fund has moved 5% in a direction favorable to the Fund, the investor would receive exposure to the performance of the underlying security from that point until the investor sells later that day or the end of the day equal to approximately 146.51% of the investor’s investment. Conversely, if the underlying security has moved 5% in a direction unfavorable to the Fund, an investor at that point would receive exposure to the performance of the underlying security from that point until the investor sells later that day or the end of the day equal to approximately 154.05% of the investor’s investment.
The table includes a range of underlying security moves from -20% to 20% for the Fund. Movement of the underlying security beyond the range noted below will result in exposure further from the Fund’s daily leveraged investment objective.
Table 2 - Intra-Day Leverage of Fund Given Market Movements
Stock Move
Resulting Exposure for the Fund
-20%
171.43%
-15%
164.52%
-10%
158.82%
-5%
154.05%
0%
150.00%
5%
146.51%
10%
143.48%
15%
140.82%
20%
138.46%
The Projected Returns of Funds for Periods Other Than a Single Trading Day. The Fund seeks a leveraged investment result on a daily basisfrom the close of regular trading on one trading day to the close on the next trading daywhich should not be equated with seeking a leveraged investment objective for any other period. For instance, if the common shares of NVIDIA Corporation gains 10% for a week, the Direxion Daily NVDA Bull 1.5X Shares should not be expected to provide a return of 15% for the week even if it meets its daily leveraged investment objective throughout the week. This is true because of the financing charges noted above but also because the pursuit of daily goals may result in daily leveraged compounding, which means that the return of the underlying security over a period of time greater than one day multiplied
Direxion Shares ETF Trust Prospectus
12

by a Fund’s daily leveraged investment objective of 150% will not generally equal a Fund’s performance over that same period. In addition, the effects of compounding become greater the longer Shares are held beyond a single trading day.
The following tables set out a range of hypothetical daily performances during a given 10 trading days of a hypothetical underlying security and demonstrate how changes in the hypothetical underlying security impacts a hypothetical Fund’s performance for trading day and cumulatively up to, and including, the entire 10 trading day period. The charts are based on a $100 investment in the hypothetical Funds over a 10 trading day period and do not reflect expenses of any kind.
Table 3 The Stock Lacks a Clear Trend
Stock
Fund
 
Value
Daily
Performance
Cumulative
Performance
NAV
Daily
Performance
Cumulative
Performance
 
100
$100.00
Day 1
105
5.00%
5.00%
$107.50
7.50%
7.50%
Day 2
110
4.76%
10.00%
$115.18
7.14%
15.18%
Day 3
100
-9.09%
0.00%
$99.47
-13.64%
-0.53%
Day 4
90
-10.00%
-10.00%
$84.55
-15.00%
-15.45%
Day 5
85
-5.56%
-15.00%
$77.49
-8.34%
-22.51%
Day 6
100
17.65%
0.00%
$98.02
26.48%
-1.98%
Day 7
95
-5.00%
-5.00%
$90.66
-7.50%
-9.34%
Day 8
100
5.26%
0.00%
$97.82
7.89%
-2.18%
Day 9
105
5.00%
5.00%
$105.15
7.50%
5.15%
Day 10
100
-4.76%
0.00%
$97.65
-7.14%
-2.35%
The cumulative performance of the hypothetical underlying security in Table 4 is 0% for 10 trading days. The return of the hypothetical Fund for the 10 trading day period is -2.35%. The volatility of the hypothetical underlying stock performance and lack of a clear trend results in performance for each hypothetical Fund for the period which bears little relationship to the performance of the hypothetical underlying stock for the 10 trading day period.
Table 4 The Stock Rises in a Clear Trend
Stock
Fund
 
Value
Daily
Performance
Cumulative
Performance
NAV
Daily
Performance
Cumulative
Performance
 
100
$100.00
Day 1
102
2.00%
2.00%
$103.00
3.00%
3.00%
Day 2
104
1.96%
4.00%
$106.03
2.94%
6.03%
Day 3
106
1.92%
6.00%
$109.08
2.88%
9.08%
Day 4
108
1.89%
8.00%
$112.18
2.84%
12.18%
Day 5
110
1.85%
10.00%
$115.30
2.78%
15.30%
Day 6
112
1.82%
12.00%
$118.45
2.73%
18.45%
Day 7
114
1.79%
14.00%
$121.63
2.69%
21.63%
Day 8
116
1.75%
16.00%
$124.83
2.63%
24.83%
Day 9
118
1.72%
18.00%
$128.05
2.58%
28.05%
Day 10
120
1.69%
20.00%
$131.30
2.54%
31.30%
The cumulative performance of the hypothetical underlying security in Table 5 is 20% for 10 trading days. The return of the hypothetical Fund for the 10 trading day period is 31.30%. In this case, because of the positive hypothetical underlying stock trend, the hypothetical Fund’s gain is greater than 150% of the hypothetical underlying security.
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Direxion Shares ETF Trust Prospectus

Table 5 The Stock Declines in a Clear Trend
Stock
Fund
 
Value
Daily
Performance
Cumulative
Performance
NAV
Daily
Performance
Cumulative
Performance
 
100
$100.00
Day 1
98
-2.00%
-2.00%
$97.00
-3.00%
-3.00%
Day 2
96
-2.04%
-4.00%
$94.03
-3.06%
-5.97%
Day 3
94
-2.08%
-6.00%
$91.10
-3.12%
-8.90%
Day 4
92
-2.13%
-8.00%
$88.18
-3.20%
-11.82%
Day 5
90
-2.17%
-10.00%
$85.31
-3.26%
-14.69%
Day 6
88
-2.22%
-12.00%
$82.47
-3.33%
-17.53%
Day 7
86
-2.27%
-14.00%
$79.66
-3.41%
-20.34%
Day 8
84
-2.33%
-16.00%
$76.87
-3.50%
-23.13%
Day 9
82
-2.38%
-18.00%
$74.12
-3.57%
-25.88%
Day 10
80
-2.44%
-20.00%
$71.42
-3.66%
-28.59%
The cumulative performance of the hypothetical underlying security in Table 6 is -20% for 10 trading days. The return of a hypothetical Fund for the 10 trading day period is -28.59%. In this case, because of the negative hypothetical underlying security trend, a hypothetical Fund’s decline is less than 150% of the hypothetical underlying security decline.
Direxion Shares ETF Trust Prospectus
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Additional Information Regarding Principal Risks
An investment in the Fund entails risks. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective and may decline in value. The Fund presents risks not traditionally associated with other mutual funds and ETFs. For example, due to the Fund's daily leveraged investment objectives, a small adverse move in NVDA will result in larger and potentially substantial declines in the Fund. It is important that investors closely review and understand all of the Fund’s risks before making an investment. The Fund is not a complete investment program. Risks of investing in the Fund are described below.
Effects of Compounding and Market Volatility Risk
The Fund has a daily leveraged investment objective and the Fund’s performance for periods greater than a trading day will be the result of each day's returns compounded over the period, which is very likely to differ from an underlying security’s performance times the stated multiple in the Fund’s investment objective, before fees and expenses. Compounding affects all investments, but has a more significant impact on leveraged funds and funds that rebalance daily.
Over time, the cumulative percentage increase or decrease in the value of the Fund’s portfolio may diverge significantly from the cumulative percentage increase or decrease in 150% of the return of the security due to the compounding effect of losses and gains on the returns of the Fund. It also is expected that the Fund's use of leverage will cause the Fund to underperform the return of 150% of the underlying security in a trendless or flat market.
The chart below provides examples of how volatility could affect the Fund’s performance. The Security’s volatility rate is a statistical measure of the magnitude of fluctuations in the returns of the security. Fund performance for periods greater than one single day can be estimated given any set of assumptions for the following factors: a) volatility; b) performance; c) period of time; d) financing rates associated with leveraged exposure; e) other Fund expenses; and f) dividends or interest paid with respect to securities in the underlying security. The chart below illustrates the impact of two principal factors volatility and performance on Fund performance. The chart shows estimated Fund returns for a number of combinations of volatility and performance over a one-year period. Performance shown in the chart assumes that: (i) no dividends were paid with respect to the securities included in the underlying security; (ii) there were no Fund expenses; and (iii) borrowing/lending rates (to obtain leveraged exposure for the Fund) of 0%. If Fund expenses and/or actual borrowing/lending rates were reflected, the estimated returns would be different than those shown. Particularly during periods of higher volatility, compounding will cause results for periods longer than a trading day to vary from 150% of the performance of the underlying security.
As shown below, the Fund would be expected to lose 6.4% if the underlying security provided no return over a one year period during which the underlying security experienced annualized volatility of 25%. If the underlying security’s annualized volatility were to rise to 75%, the hypothetical loss for a one-year period for the Fund widens to approximately 33.3%.
At higher ranges of volatility, there is a chance of a significant loss of value in the Fund. For instance, if the underlying security’s annualized volatility is 100%, the Fund would be expected to lose approximately 43.1% of its value, even if the cumulative return of the underlying security for the year was 0%. The volatility of ETFs or instruments that reflect the value of the underlying security, such as swaps, may differ from the volatility of the security.
One
Year
Stock
150%
One
Year
Stock
Volatility Rate
Return
Simple Return
10%
25%
50%
75%
100%
-60%
-90%
-75.2%
-76.9%
-81.3%
-85.4%
-88.3%
-50%
-75%
-65.2%
-67.4%
-73.0%
-78.6%
-82.6%
-40%
-60%
-54.2%
-56.9%
-63.8%
-70.8%
-76.0%
-30%
-45%
-42.2%
-45.4%
-53.6%
-62.1%
-68.8%
-20%
-30%
-29.3%
-33.1%
-43.4%
-53.2%
-60.8%
-10%
-15%
-15.6%
-20.1%
-32.0%
-43.3%
-52.2%
0%
0%
-1.1%
-6.4%
-19.4%
-33.3%
-43.1%
10%
15%
14.1%
8.0%
-7.6%
-22.5%
-33.6%
20%
30%
30.0%
23.0%
6.2%
-11.2%
-23.5%
30%
45%
46.5%
38.5%
18.2%
-0.3%
-13.3%
40%
60%
63.6%
54.6%
33.2%
10.7%
-2.7%
50%
75%
81.3%
71.0%
45.0%
22.8%
6.9%
60%
90%
99.6%
87.8%
58.7%
33.3%
19.3%
Holding an unmanaged position opens the investor to the risk of market volatility adversely affecting the performance of the investment. The Fund is not appropriate for investors who do not intend to actively monitor and manage their portfolios. The table is intended to underscore the fact that the Fund is designed as a short-term trading vehicle for investors who intend to actively monitor and manage their portfolios.
For additional information and examples demonstrating the effects of volatility and performance on the long-term performance of the Fund, see the “Additional Information Regarding Investment Techniques and Policies” section, and “Special Note Regarding the Correlation Risks of the Fund” in the Fund's Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).
Leverage Risk
To achieve its daily investment objective, the Fund employs leverage and is exposed to the risk that adverse daily performance of the security will be magnified. This means that, if the security experiences adverse daily performance, an investment in the Fund will be reduced by an amount equal to 1.5% for every 1% of adverse performance, not including the costs of financing leverage and other operating expenses, which would further reduce its value.
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Direxion Shares ETF Trust Prospectus

The Fund could theoretically lose an amount greater than its net assets if the underlying security moves more than 66.7% in a direction adverse to the Fund (meaning a decline in the value of the underlying security of the Fund). This would result in a total loss of an shareholder’s investment in one day even if the underlying security subsequently moves in the opposite direction and eliminates all or a portion of its earlier daily change. A total loss may occur in a single day even if the underlying security does not lose all of its value. Leverage will also have the effect of magnifying any differences in the Fund’s correlation with the underlying security or may increase the Fund’s volatility.
To the extent that the instruments utilized by the Fund is thinly traded or have a limited market, the Fund may be unable to meet its investment objective due to a lack of available investments or counterparties. During such periods, the Fund’s ability to issue additional Creation Units may be adversely affected. As a result, the Fund’s shares could trade at a premium or discount to their NAV and/or the bid-ask spread of a Fund’s shares could widen. Under such circumstances, the Fund may increase its transaction fee, change its investment objective by, for example, seeking to track an alternative index, reduce its leverage or close.
Derivatives Risk
The Fund may obtain exposure through derivatives by investing in swap agreements, futures contracts, forward contracts, options, and options on futures contracts. Investing in derivatives may be considered aggressive and may expose the Fund to risks different from, and possibly greater than, risks associated with investing directly in the reference asset(s) underlying the derivative. The use of derivatives may result in larger losses or smaller gains than investing in the underlying security directly, . The use of derivatives may expose the Fund to additional risks such as counterparty risk, liquidity risk and increased daily correlation risk. When the Fund uses derivatives, there may be imperfect correlation between the value of the underlying reference assets and the derivative, which may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective.
The Fund expects to use a combination of swaps on the underlying security and swaps on an ETF that is designed to track the performance of that index. The performance of an ETF may not track the performance of the underlying security due to embedded costs and other factors. Thus, to the extent the Fund invests in swaps that use an ETF as the reference asset, the Fund may be subject to greater correlation risk and may not achieve as high a degree of correlation with the underlying security as it would if the Fund only used swaps on the underlying security. If the underlying security has a dramatic intraday move in value that causes a material decline in the Fund’s NAV, the terms of the swap agreement between the Fund and its counterparty may allow the counterparty to immediately close out of the transaction with the Fund. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to enter into another swap agreement or invest in other derivatives to achieve the desired exposure consistent with the Fund’s daily leveraged investment objective. This may prevent the Fund from achieving its daily leveraged investment objective
particularly if the underlying security reverses all or a portion of its intraday move by the end of the day. The value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning. Any financing, borrowing or other costs associated with using derivatives may also have the effect of lowering the Fund’s return. Such costs may increase as interest rates rise.
In addition, the Fund’s investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:
Swap Agreements. Swap agreements are entered into primarily with major global financial institutions for a specified period which may range from one day to more than one year. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined reference or underlying securities or instruments. The gross return to be exchanged or swapped between the parties is calculated based on a notional amount or the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a reference asset. Swap agreements are generally traded over-the-counter, and therefore, may not receive regulatory protection, which may exposure investors to significant losses.
Futures Contracts. A futures contact is a contract to purchase or sell a particular security, or the cash value of an index, at a specified future date at a price agreed upon when the contract is made. Under such contracts, no delivery of the actual securities is required. Rather, upon the expiration of the contract, settlement is made by exchanging cash in an amount equal to the difference between the contract price and the closing price of a security or index at expiration, net of the variation margin that was previously paid.
Forward Contracts. Forward contracts are two-party contracts pursuant to which one party agrees to pay the counterparty a fixed price for an agreed upon amount of commodities, securities, or the cash value of the commodities, securities or the securities index, at an agreed upon date. A forward currency contract is an obligation to buy or sell a specific currency at a future date, which may be any fixed number of days from the date of the contract agreed upon by the parties, at a price set at the time of the contract.
Options. An option is a contract that gives the purchaser (holder) of the option, in return for a premium, the right to buy from (call) or sell to (put) the seller (writer) of the option the security or currency underlying the option at a specified exercise price at any time during the term of the option (normally not exceeding nine months). The writer of an option has the obligation upon exercise of the option to deliver the underlying security or currency upon payment of the exercise price or to pay the exercise price upon delivery of the underlying security or currency.
Options on Futures Contracts. An option on a futures contract provides the holder with the right to enter into a “long” position in the underlying futures contract, in the case of a call option, or a “short” position in the underlying futures contract in the case of a put option,
Direxion Shares ETF Trust Prospectus
16

at a fixed exercise price to a stated expiration date. Upon exercise of the option by the holder, the contract market clearing house establishes a corresponding short position for the writer of the option, in the case of a call option, or a corresponding long position, in the case of a put option.
Counterparty Risk
Counterparty risk is the risk that a counterparty is unwilling or unable to make timely payments to meet its contractual obligations with respect to the amount the Fund expects to receive from a counterparty to a financial instrument entered into by the Fund. The Fund generally enters into derivatives transactions, such as the swap agreements, with counterparties such that either party can terminate the contract without penalty prior to the termination date. If a counterparty terminates a contract, the Fund may not be able to invest in other derivatives to achieve the desired exposure, or achieving such exposure may be more expensive. The Fund may be negatively impacted if a counterparty becomes bankrupt or otherwise fails to perform its obligations under such a contract, or if any collateral posted by the counterparty for the benefit of the Fund is insufficient or there are delays in the Fund’s ability to access such collateral. If the counterparty becomes bankrupt or defaults on its payment obligations to the Fund, it may experience significant delays in obtaining any recovery, may obtain only a limited recovery or obtain no recovery and the value of an investment held by the Fund may decline. The Fund may also not be able to exercise remedies, such as the termination of transactions, netting of obligations and realization on collateral, if such remedies are stayed or eliminated under special resolutions adopted in the United States, the European Union and various other jurisdictions. European Union rules and regulations intervene when a financial institution is experiencing financial difficulties and could reduce, eliminate, or convert to equity a counterparty’s obligations to the Fund (sometimes referred to as a “bail in”).
The Fund typically enters into transactions with counterparties that present minimal risks based on the Adviser’s assessment of the counterparty’s creditworthiness, or its capacity to meet its financial obligations during the term of the derivative agreement or contract. The Adviser considers factors such as counterparty credit rating among other factors when determining whether a counterparty is creditworthy. The Adviser regularly monitors the creditworthiness of each counterparty with which the Fund transacts. The Fund generally enters into swap agreements or other financial instruments with major, global financial institutions and seeks to mitigate risks by generally requiring that the counterparties for the Fund to post collateral, marked to market daily, in an amount approximately equal to what the counterparty owes the Fund, subject to certain minimum thresholds. To the extent any such collateral is insufficient or there are delays in accessing the collateral, the Fund will be exposed to the risks described above. If a counterparty’s credit ratings decline, the Fund may be subject to a bail-in, as described above.
In addition, the Fund may enter into swap agreements with a limited number of counterparties, which may increase
the Fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk. The Fund does not specifically limit its counterparty risk with respect to any single counterparty. There is a risk that no suitable counterparties are willing to enter into, or continue to enter into, transactions with the Fund and, as a result, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective or may decide to change its leveraged investment objective. Additionally, although a counterparty to a centrally cleared swap agreement and/or an exchange-traded futures contract is often backed by a futures commission merchant (“FCM”) or a clearing organization that is further backed by a group of financial institutions, there may be instances in which a FCM or a clearing organization would fail to perform its obligations, causing significant losses to the Fund.
Rebalancing Risk
If for any reason a Fund is unable to rebalance all or a part of its portfolio, or if all or a portion of the portfolio is rebalanced incorrectly, a Fund’s investment exposure may not be consistent with its investment objective. In these instances, a Fund may have investment exposure to the underlying security that is significantly greater or less than its stated multiple. A Fund may be more exposed to leverage risk than if it had been properly rebalanced and may not achieve its investment objective, leading to significantly greater losses or reduced gains.
Intra-Day Investment Risk
The Fund seeks daily leveraged investment results, which should not be equated with seeking an investment objective for shorter than a day. Thus, an investor who purchases Fund shares after the close of the markets on one trading day and before the close of the markets on the next trading day will likely have more, or less, than 150% leveraged investment exposure to the underlying security, depending upon the movement of the underlying security from the end of one trading day until the time of purchase. If the underlying security moves in a direction favorable to the Fund, the investor will receive less than 150% exposure to the underlying security. Conversely, if the underlying security moves in a direction adverse to the Fund, the investor will receive exposure to the underlying security greater than 150%. Thus, an investor that purchases shares intra-day may experience performance that is greater than, or less than, the Fund’s stated multiple of the underlying security.
Daily Correlation Risk
There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation to NVDA and therefore achieve its respective daily leveraged investment objective. The Fund’s exposure to NVDA is impacted by NVDA’s movement. Because of this, it is unlikely that the Fund will be perfectly exposed to its NVDA at the end of each day. The possibility of a Fund being materially over- or under-exposed to NVDA increases on days when NVDA is volatile near the close of the trading day. Market disruptions, regulatory restrictions and high volatility will also adversely affect the Fund’s ability to adjust exposure to the required levels.
The Fund may have difficulty achieving its daily leveraged investment objective for many reasons, including fees, expenses, transaction costs, financing costs related to the
17
Direxion Shares ETF Trust Prospectus

use of derivatives, investments in ETFs, directly or indirectly, accounting standards and their application to income items, disruptions, illiquid or high volatility in the markets for the securities or financial instruments in which the Fund invests, early and unanticipated closings of the markets on which the holdings of the Fund trade, resulting in the inability of the Fund to execute intended portfolio transactions, regulatory and tax considerations, which may cause the Fund to hold (or not to hold) NVDA. The Fund may take or refrain from taking positions in order to improve tax efficiency, comply with regulatory restrictions, or for other reasons, each of which may negatively affect the Fund’s correlation with NVDA. The Fund may be subject to large movements of assets into and out of the Fund, potentially resulting in the Fund being over- or under-exposed to NVDA. Additionally, the Fund’s underlying investments and/or reference assets may trade on markets that may not be open on the same day as the Fund, which may cause a difference between the changes in the daily performance of the Fund and changes in the performance of NVDA. Any of these factors could decrease the correlation between the performance of the Fund and NVDA and may hinder the Fund’s ability to meet its daily investment objective on or around that day.
Market Risk
The Fund’s investments are subject to changes in general economic conditions, general market fluctuations and the risks inherent in investment in securities markets. Investment markets can be volatile and prices of investments can change substantially due to various factors including, but not limited to, economic growth or recession, inflation rates and/or investor expectations concerning such rates, changes in interest rates, changes in the actual or perceived creditworthiness of issuers, general market liquidity, exchange trading suspensions and closures, and public health risks. Securities markets also may experience long periods of decline in value. During a general downturn in the securities markets, multiple asset classes may decline in value simultaneously and changes in the financial condition of a single issuer can impact a market the markets broadly. The Fund is subject to the risk that geopolitical events will disrupt markets and adversely affect global economies, markets, and exchanges. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, natural disasters, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, conflicts and social unrest or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund, its investments and the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective.
Markets and market participants are increasingly reliant on information data systems. Inaccurate data, software or other technology malfunctions, programming inaccuracies, unauthorized use or access and similar circumstances may impair the performance of these systems and may have an adverse impact upon a single issuer, a group of issuers, or securities markets more broadly.
Indirect Investment Risk
The issuers of the underlying company is not affiliated with the Trust, the Adviser, or any affiliates thereof and is not involved with this offering in any way, and has no obligation
to consider the Fund in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of the Fund. Investing in the Fund is not equivalent to investing in the security. Fund shareholders will not have voting rights or rights to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the security.
Trading Halt Risk
Although the underlying security’s shares are listed for trading on an exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will be available at all times and the exchange may halt trading of such shares in certain circumstances. A halt in trading in the underlying security’s shares is expected, in turn, to result in a halt in the trading in the Fund’s shares. Trading in the underlying security’s and/or Fund’s shares on the exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the exchange, make trading in the underlying security’s and/or Fund’s shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in the underlying security’s and/or Fund’s shares on an exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to exchange “circuit breaker” rules.” In the event of a trading halt for an extended period of time, a Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio or execute arrangements with swap counterparties that are necessary to implement a Fund’s investment strategy which may lead to the Fund having investment exposure to a security that is significantly larger or smaller than its stated multiple. This may result in a Fund having significantly larger losses or reduced gains.
NVIDIA Corporation Investing Risk
Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment held by the Fund to be more volatile than the market generally. The value of an individual security or particular type of security may be more volatile than the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of the market as a whole. As of the date of this prospectus, in addition to the risks associated with companies in the technology sector and the semiconductor industry, NVIDIA Corporation faces risks associated with meeting the evolving needs of its large markets gaming, data center, professional visualization and automotive and identifying new products, services and technologies; competition in its current and target markets; changes in customer demand; supply chain issues; manufacturing delays; potential significant mismatches between supply and demand giving rise to product shortages or excessive inventory; the dependence on third-parties and their technology to manufacture, assemble, test, package or design its products which reduces control over product quantity and quality, manufacturing yields, development, enhancement and product delivery schedules; significant product defects; international operations, including adverse economic conditions; impacts from climate change, including water and energy availability; business investment and acquisitions; system security and data protection breaches, including cyberattacks; business disruptions; a limited number of customers; the ability to attract, retain and motivate executives and key employees; the proper function of its
Direxion Shares ETF Trust Prospectus
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business processes and information systems; impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic; its intellectual property; and other regulatory, and legal issues.
Industry Concentration Risk
The Fund will be concentrated in the industry to which its underlying security is assigned (i.e., hold more than 25% of its total assets in investments that provide leveraged exposure, as applicable, to the industry to which its underlying security is assigned). A portfolio concentrated in a particular industry may present more risks than a portfolio broadly diversified over several industries.
Technology Sector Risk
The market prices of technology-related securities tend to exhibit a greater degree of market risk and sharp price fluctuations than other types of securities. These securities may fall in and out of favor with investors rapidly, which may cause sudden selling and dramatically lower market prices. Technology securities also may be affected adversely by changes in technology, consumer and business purchasing patterns, government regulation and/or obsolete products or services. In addition, a rising interest rate environment tends to negatively affect technology companies. Technology companies having high market valuations may appear less attractive to investors, which may cause sharp decreases in their market prices. Further, those technology companies seeking to finance expansion would have increased borrowing costs, which may negatively impact earnings.
Semiconductor Industry Risk
Semiconductor companies may face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, and such competition may have an adverse effect on such companies’ profit margins. Semiconductor companies may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. Companies in the semiconductor industry may have products that face obsolescence due to rapid technological developments and frequent new product introduction, unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for qualified personnel. Capital equipment expenditures may be substantial and equipment generally suffers from rapid obsolescence. Semiconductor companies are also heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights. The loss or impairment of those rights, would adversely impact the profitability of these companies.
Money Market Instrument Risk
Money market instruments, including money market funds, depositary accounts and repurchase agreements may be used for cash management purposes. Money market funds may be subject to credit risk with respect to the short-term debt instruments in which they invest. Depository accounts may be subject to credit risk with respect to the financial institution in which the depository account is held. Repurchase agreements are contracts in which a seller of securities agrees to buy the securities back at a specified time and price. Repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk related to the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. Money market instruments may also be subject to credit risks associated with the instruments in which they invest. There is no guarantee that money market instruments will maintain a stable value, and they may lose money.
Large-Capitalization Company Risk
Large-capitalization companies typically have significant financial resources, extensive product lines and broad markets for their goods and/or services. However, they may be less able to adapt to changing market conditions or to respond quickly to competitive challenges or to changes in business, product, financial, or market conditions. Larger companies may not be able to maintain growth at rates that may be achieved by well-managed smaller and mid-size companies, which may affect the companies’ returns.
Liquidity Risk
Some securities held by the Fund may be difficult to buy or sell or illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, especially in changing or volatile markets. If the Fund is forced to buy or sell an illiquid security or derivative instrument at an unfavorable time or price, the Fund may incur a loss. Certain market conditions may prevent the Fund from limiting losses, realizing gains or achieving a high correlation with the underlying security. There is no assurance that a security or derivative instrument that is deemed liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid. Market illiquidity may cause losses for certain Funds. For these Funds, to the extent that a Fund's underlying security moves adversely, a Fund may be one of many market participants that are attempting to facilitate a transaction. Under such circumstances, the market may lack sufficient liquidity for all market participants' trades. Therefore, a Fund may have more difficulty transacting in the security or correlated derivative instruments and a Fund's transactions could exacerbate the price change of the security. Additionally, because a Fund is leveraged, a minor adverse change in the value of underlying security should be expected to have a substantial adverse impact on a Fund and impact its ability to achieve its investment objective.
In certain cases, the market for certain securities in the underlying security and/or Fund may lack sufficient liquidity for all market participants' trades. Therefore, the Fund may have difficulty transacting in it and/or in correlated investments, such as swap contracts. Further, the Fund's transactions could exacerbate illiquidity and volatility in the price of the securities and correlated derivative instruments.
Early Close/Trading Halt Risk
When indices or securities experience a sharp decline in price, an exchange or market may close entirely or halt for a period of time in accordance with exchange “circuit breaker” rules or issue trading halts on specific securities and therefore, a Fund’s ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted. These exchange or market actions may result in a Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. A Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses. If the Fund is unable to rebalance its portfolio due to a market closure, a trading halt, an emergency, or other market disrupting event, it may result in the Fund not achieving its investment objective and a Fund having a significantly larger leverage multiple than 150%, which may
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result in significant losses to Fund shareholders in certain circumstances.
Additionally, exchange or market closures or trading halts may result in a Fund’s shares trading at an increasingly large discount to NAV and/or at increasingly wide bid-ask spreads during part of, or all of, the trading day.
Equity Securities Risk
Publicly-issued equity securities, including common stocks, are subject to market risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate over time. Fluctuations in the value of equity securities in which the Fund invests will cause the NAV of the Fund to fluctuate.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk
Daily rebalancing of the Fund’s holdings pursuant to its daily investment objective causes a much greater number of portfolio transactions when compared to most ETFs. Additionally, active market trading of a Fund’s Shares on such exchanges as Nasdaq, could cause more frequent creation and redemption activities, which could increase the number of portfolio transactions. Frequent and active trading may lead to higher transaction costs because of increased broker commissions resulting from such transactions. In addition, there is the possibility of significantly increased short-term capital gains (which will be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income when distributed to them). The Fund calculates portfolio turnover without including the short-term cash instruments or derivative transactions that comprise the majority of the Fund’s trading. As such, if the Fund’s extensive use of derivative instruments were reflected, the calculated portfolio turnover rate would be significantly higher.
Cash Transaction Risk
At certain times, the Fund may effect creations and redemptions for cash rather than for in-kind securities. As a result, the Fund may not be tax efficient and may incur brokerage costs related to buying and selling securities to achieve its investment objective thus incurring additional expenses than if it had effected creations and redemptions in kind. To the extent that such costs are not offset by fees payable by an authorized participant, the Fund may bear such costs, which will decrease the Fund’s NAV.
Tax Risk
In order to qualify for the special tax treatment accorded a regulated investment company (“RIC”) and its shareholders, the Fund must derive at least 90% of its gross income for each taxable year from “qualifying income,” meet certain asset diversification tests at the end of each taxable quarter, and meet annual distribution requirements. The Fund’s pursuit of its investment strategy will potentially be limited by the Fund’s intention to qualify for such treatment and could adversely affect the Fund’s ability to so qualify. The Fund can make certain investments, the treatment of which for these purposes is unclear. If, in any year, the Fund was to fail to qualify for the special tax treatment accorded a RIC and its shareholders, and was ineligible to or was not able to cure such failure, the Fund would be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation subject to U.S. federal income tax on all its income at the fund level. The resulting taxes could substantially reduce the Fund’s net assets and
the amount of income available for distribution. In addition, in order to requalify for taxation as a RIC, the Fund could be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest, and make certain distributions. Please see the section entitled “Dividends, Other Distributions and Taxes” in the SAI for more information.
Non-Diversification Risk
The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. This means it has the ability to invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in the securities of a small number of issuers or in financial instruments with a single counterparty or a few counterparties. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and increase the risk that the Fund’s performance will decline based on the performance of a single issuer or the credit of a single counterparty and make the Fund more susceptible to risks associated with a single economic, political or regulatory occurrence than a diversified fund.
Securities Lending Risk
Securities lending involves the risk that the Fund may lose money because the borrower of the loaned securities fails to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. The Fund could also lose money in the event of a decline in the value of collateral provided for loaned securities, a decline in the value of any investments made with cash collateral, or a “gap” between the return on cash collateral reinvestments and any fees the Fund has agreed to pay a borrower. These events could also trigger adverse tax consequences for the Fund. In the event of a large redemption while the Fund has loaned portfolio securities, the Fund may suffer losses (e.g. overdraft fees) if it is unable to recall the securities on loan in time to fulfill the redemption. There is also a risk that the Fund may not be able to recall loaned securities in sufficient time to vote on material proxy matters.
Special Risks of Exchange-Traded Funds
Authorized Participants Concentration Risk. The Fund may have a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants. To the extent that those Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to process creation and/or redemption orders, Shares may trade at larger bid-ask spreads and/or premiums or discounts to NAV. Authorized Participant concentration risk may be heightened for a fund that invests in non-U.S. securities or other securities or instruments that have lower trading volumes.
Absence of Active Market Risk. Although Shares are listed for trading on a stock exchange, there is no assurance that an active trading market for them will develop or be maintained. In the absence of an active trading market for Shares, they will likely trade with a wider bid/ask spread and at a greater premium or discount to NAV.
Market Price Variance Risk. Shares of the Fund can be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices rather than at NAV. When Shares trade at a price greater than NAV, they are said to trade at a “premium.” When they trade at a price less than NAV, they are said to trade at a “discount.” The market price of Shares fluctuates based on changes in the value of the Fund’s holdings and on the supply
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and demand for Shares. Because Shares can be created and redeemed in Creation Units at NAV, the Adviser believes that large discounts or premiums to the net asset value of Shares should not be sustained over the long term. Nevertheless, the market price of Shares may vary significantly from NAV during periods of market volatility. Further, to the extent that exchange specialists, market makers and/or Authorized Participants are unavailable or unable to trade the Fund’s Shares and/or create and redeem Creation Units, bid/ask spreads and premiums or discounts may widen. The exact exposure of an investment in the Fund intraday in the secondary market is a function of the difference between the value of the underlying security at the market close on the first trading day and the value of the underlying security at the time of purchase. Thus, an investor that purchases shares intra-day may experience performance that is greater than, or less than, the Fund’s stated multiple of the underlying security.
Trading Cost Risk. Buying or selling Fund shares on an exchange involves two types of costs that apply to all securities transactions. When buying or selling shares of the Fund through a broker, you will likely incur a brokerage commission and other charges. In addition, you may incur the cost of the “spread”; that is, the difference between what investors are willing to pay for Fund shares (the “bid” price) and the price at which they are willing to sell Fund shares (the “ask” price). The spread, which varies over time for shares of the Fund based on trading volume and market liquidity, is generally narrower if the Fund has more trading volume and market liquidity and wider if the Fund has less trading volume and market liquidity. In addition, increased market volatility may cause wider spreads. There may also be regulatory and other charges that are incurred as a result of trading activity. Because of the costs inherent in buying or selling Fund shares, frequent trading may detract significantly from investment results and an investment in Fund shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments through a brokerage account.
Exchange Trading Risk. Trading in Shares on an exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of that exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable, such as extraordinary market volatility or other reasons. Extraordinary market volatility can lead to trading halts pursuant to “circuit breaker” rules of the exchange or market. There can be no assurance that Shares will continue to meet the listing requirements of the exchange on which they trade, and the listing requirements may be amended from time to time.
Other Risks of the Fund
Investment Strategy Implementation Risk
The Adviser utilizes a quantitative methodology to select investments for the Fund. Although this methodology is designed to correlate the Fund's daily performance with 150% of the daily performance of NVDA, there is no assurance
that the implementation of such methodology will be successful and will enable the Fund to achieve its investment objective.
Aggressive Investment Technique Risk
Using investment techniques that may be considered aggressive, such as futures contracts, forward contracts, options and swap agreements, includes the risk of potentially dramatic changes (losses) in the value of the instruments, imperfect correlations between the price of the instrument and the underlying asset, security or index, and volatility of the Fund.
Cybersecurity Risk
The increased use of technologies, such as the internet, to conduct business increases the operational, information security and related “cyber” risks both directly to the Fund and through its service providers. Similar types of cyber security risks are also present for issuers of securities in which the Fund may invest, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers. Unlike many other types of risks faced by the Fund, these risks typically are not covered by insurance. Cyber incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events. Cyber incidents may include, but are not limited to, gaining unauthorized access to digital systems (e.g., through “hacking” or malicious software coding) for purposes of misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting data, causing physical damage to computer or network systems, or causing operational disruption. Cyber attacks may also be carried out in a manner that does not require gaining unauthorized access, such as causing denial-of-service attacks on websites (i.e., efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users).
Failures or breaches of the electronic systems of the Fund, the Fund’s adviser, distributor, other service providers, counterparties, securities trading venues, or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests have the ability to cause disruptions and negatively impact the Fund’s business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses to the Fund and its shareholders. Cyber attacks may also interfere with the Fund’s calculation of its NAV, result in the submission of erroneous trades or erroneous creation or redemption orders, and could lead to violations of applicable privacy and other laws, regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs and/or additional compliance costs. While the Fund has established business continuity plans, there are inherent limitations in such plans, including the possibility that certain risks have not been identified and that prevention and remediation efforts will not be successful. Furthermore, the Fund cannot control the cyber security plans and systems of the Fund’s service providers or issuers of securities in which the Fund invests.
Commodity Pool Registration Risk
The Fund is considered a commodity pool, and therefore is subject to regulation under the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC rules. Compliance with such additional laws, regulations and enforcement policies may potentially increase
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compliance costs and may affect the operations and financial performance of the Fund.
Gain Limitation Risk
Rafferty will attempt to position the Fund’s portfolio to ensure that the Fund does not gain or lose more than 90% of its NAV on a given day. As a consequence, the Fund’s portfolio should not be responsive to underlying security movements of more than 60% in a given day. For example, for the Fund, if the underlying security were to gain 66.7%, its gains should be limited to a daily gain of 90% (i.e. 150% of 60%) rather than 100% (i.e. 150% of 66.7%).
Investment Risk
An investment in the Fund is not a deposit in a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. When you sell your Shares, they could be worth less than what you paid for them.
Money Market Instrument Risk
Money market instruments, including money market funds, depositary accounts and repurchase agreements may be used for cash management purposes. Money market funds may be subject to credit risk with respect to the short-term debt instruments in which they invest. Depository accounts may be subject to credit risk with respect to the financial institution in which the depository account is held. Repurchase agreements are contracts in which a seller of securities agrees to buy the securities back at a specified time and price. Repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk related to the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. Money market instruments may also be subject to credit risks associated with the instruments in which they invest. There is no guarantee that money market instruments will maintain a stable value, and they may lose money.
Regulatory Risk
The Fund is subject to the risk that a change in U.S. law and related regulations will impact the way the Fund operates, increase the particular costs of the Fund’s operations and/or change the competitive landscape. Additional legislative or regulatory changes could occur that may materially and adversely affect the Fund.
Valuation Risk
In certain circumstances, such as when market quotations for securities or other assets are unavailable or unreliable or when a trading halt ends trading in a security or closes an exchange or market early, a holding may be fair valued for the day or for a longer period of time. The fair valuation of the holding may be different from other value determinations of the same holding. Holdings that are valued using techniques other than market quotations, including “fair valued” holdings, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their value form one day to the next than would be the case if market quotations were used. In addition, the price the Fund could receive upon the sale of a holding may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the holding or from the value used by the underlying security, particularly for holdings that trade in low volume or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology as a result of trade suspensions or halts or for any other reason.
A Precautionary Note to Retail Investors. The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”), a limited trust company and securities depositary that serves as a national clearinghouse for the settlement of trades for its participating banks and broker-dealers, or its nominee, will be the registered owner of all outstanding Shares of each Fund of the Trust. Your ownership of Shares will be shown on the records of DTC and the DTC Participant broker through whom you hold the Shares. THE TRUST WILL NOT HAVE ANY RECORD OF YOUR OWNERSHIP. Your account information will be maintained by your broker, who will provide you with account statements, confirmations of your purchases and sales of Shares, and tax information. Your broker also will be responsible for ensuring that you receive shareholder reports and other communications from the Fund whose Shares you own. Typically, you will receive other services (e.g., average basis information) only if your broker offers these services.
A Precautionary Note to Purchasers of Creation Units. Because new Shares may be issued on an ongoing basis, a “distribution” of Shares could be occurring at any time. As a dealer, certain activities on your part could, depending on the circumstances, result in your being deemed a participant in the distribution, in a manner that could render you a statutory underwriter and subject you to the prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“Securities Act”). For example, you could be deemed a statutory underwriter if you purchase Creation Units from an issuing Fund, break them down into the constituent Shares and sell those Shares directly to customers, or if you choose to couple the creation of a supply of new Shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary market demand for Shares. Whether a person is an underwriter depends upon all of the facts and circumstances pertaining to that person’s activities, and the examples mentioned here should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could cause you to be deemed an underwriter. Dealers who are not “underwriters,” but are participating in a distribution (as opposed to engaging in ordinary secondary market transactions), and thus dealing with Shares as part of an “unsold allotment” within the meaning of Section 4(3)(C) of the Securities Act, will be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(3) of the Securities Act.
A Precautionary Note to Investment Companies. For purposes of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (“1940 Act”), the Fund is a registered investment company, and the acquisition of its Shares by other investment companies is subject to the restrictions of Section 12(d)(1) thereof. Rule 12d1-4 provides an exemption from these restrictions for registered investment companies seeking to invest in the Fund, subject to certain terms and conditions, including that such registered investment companies enter into an agreement with the Trust. Any investment company considering purchasing Shares of the Fund in amounts that may cause it to exceed the restrictions in Section 12(d)(1) should contact the Trust.
A Precautionary Note Regarding Unusual Circumstances. Under certain circumstances, the Fund may postpone payment
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of redemption proceeds. For information on such potential postponements, see the “Purchases and Redemptions -
Suspension or Postponement of Right of Redemption” section of the SAI.
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About Your Investment
Share Price of the Fund
A fund’s share price is known as its NAV. The Fund’s share price is calculated as of the close of regular trading on the NYSE, usually 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time (“Valuation Time”), each day the NYSE is open for business (“Business Day”). The NYSE is open for business Monday through Friday, except in observation of the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, President’s Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. The NYSE may close early on the business day before each of these holidays and on the day after Thanksgiving Day. NYSE holiday schedules are subject to change without notice. Because the Fund is exchange traded, the price an individual shareholder will buy or sell Fund shares at will be based on the market price determined by the secondary market, which may be higher or lower than the NAV of the Fund.
If the exchange or market on which the Fund’s investments are primarily traded closes early, the NAV may be calculated prior to its normal calculation time. Creation/redemption transaction order time cutoffs would also be accelerated.
The value of the Fund’s assets that trade in markets outside the United States or in currencies other than the U.S. Dollar may fluctuate when foreign markets are open but the Fund is not open for business.
Share price is calculated by dividing the Fund’s net assets by its shares outstanding. Portfolio securities and other assets are valued chiefly by market prices from the primary market in which they are traded. Under Rule 2a-5 under the 1940 Act, a market quotation is readily available when that “quotation is a quoted price (unadjusted) in active markets for identical investments that the fund can access at the measurement date, provided that a quotation will not be readily available if it is not reliable.” The Fund uses the following methods to price securities or assets held in its portfolio with readily available market quotations:
Equity securities listed and traded principally on any domestic or foreign national securities exchange are valued at the last sales price. Exchange-traded funds are valued at the last sales price prior to Valuation Time. Securities primarily traded in the NASDAQ Global Market® are valued using the NASDAQ® Official Closing Price. Over-the counter securities are valued at the last sales price in the over-the-counter market;
Futures contracts are valued at (1) the settlement prices established each day on the exchange on which they are traded if the settlement price reflects trading prior to the Valuation Time, (2) at the last sales price prior to the Valuation Time if the settlement prices established by the exchange reflects trading after Valuation Time, or (3) at the last sales price of the exchange prior to the Valuation Time; and
Options are valued at the composite price, using National Best Bid and Offer quotes.
Securities and other assets for which market quotations are unavailable or unreliable are valued at fair value estimates as determined by the Adviser pursuant to its fair valuation policies.
Fair Value Pricing. When a market quotation is not readily available or is unreliable, the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) is responsible for determining in good faith the fair value of the portfolio security or other asset. Pursuant to Rule 2a-5, the Board designated the responsibility for fair valuation to the Adviser as its valuation designee (“Valuation Designee”). Fair value determinations are made in good faith in accordance with procedures adopted by the Adviser, which set forth the methodologies by which a portfolio security or other asset will be fair valued. The Adviser may utilize fair valuation services of a pricing service to obtain a fair value for certain portfolio securities or other assets as well.
An investment that relies on Level 2 or Level 3 inputs according to ASC 820, such as swap agreements, is required to be fair valued as such investments do not have readily available market quotations by definition. Swap agreements are valued based on the closing value of the underlying reference instrument. Additionally, the Adviser will fair value a portfolio security or other asset if there is not a readily available market quotation, which may occur in the following situations: (1) to the extent that a Fund holds foreign securities, when foreign markets close before the NYSE opens or may not be open for business on the same calendar days as the Fund; (2) if there has been a significant event in the markets that makes the price of a portfolio security or asset unreliable; (3) if there is a lack of an active market, such as the market for certain preferred securities or for corporate bonds; and (4) if trading in a security is limited during the trading day and a limited number of quotes are available or If trading in a security is halted during a trading day and does not resume prior to the closing of the exchange or other market.
Fair valuation determinations of portfolio securities or other assets introduce an element of subjectivity to pricing of such portfolio securities or other assets. As a result, the price of a security or other asset determined through fair valuation techniques may differ from the price quoted or published by other sources and may not accurately reflect the market value of the security when trading resumes. If a reliable market quotation becomes available for a security formerly valued through fair valuation techniques, the Adviser compares the market quotation to the fair value price to evaluate the effectiveness of the Adviser’s fair valuation procedures.
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Rule 12b-1 Fees
The Board of Trustees of the Trust has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan (the “Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. In accordance with the Plan, the Fund may pay an amount up to 0.25% of its average daily net assets each year for certain distribution-related activities and shareholder services.
No 12b-1 fees are currently authorized to be paid by the Fund, and there are no plans to impose these fees. However, in the event 12b-1 fees are charged in the future, because the fees are paid out of the Fund’s assets, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than certain other types of sales charges.
Frequent Purchases and Redemptions. Rafferty expects a significant portion of the Fund's assets to come from professional money managers and investors who use the Fund as part of “asset allocation” and “market timing” investment strategies. These strategies often call for frequent trading to take advantage of anticipated changes in market conditions. Investors such as market makers, large investors and institutions who wish to deal in Creation Units directly with the Fund must have entered into an authorized participant agreement (“Authorized Participant Agreement”) with the principal underwriter and the transfer agent, or purchase through a broker-dealer that has entered into such an agreement. The Trust’s Board of Trustees has determined not to adopt policies and procedures designed to prevent or monitor for frequent purchases and redemptions of the Fund’s shares because the Fund sells and redeems its shares at NAV only in Creation Units pursuant to the terms of an Authorized Participant Agreement between the Authorized Participant and the Distributor, and such direct trading between the Fund and Authorized Participants is critical to ensuring that the Fund’s shares trade at or close to NAV. Further, the vast majority of trading in Fund shares occurs on the secondary market, which does not involve the Fund directly and therefore does not cause the Fund to experience many of the harmful effects of market timing, such as dilution and disruption of portfolio management. In addition, the Fund imposes a Transaction Fee on Creation Unit transactions, which is designed to offset transfer and other transaction costs incurred by the Fund in connection with the issuance and redemption of Creation Units and may employ fair valuation pricing to minimize potential dilution from market timing. Although the Fund reserves the right to reject any purchase orders, the Fund does not currently impose any trading restrictions on frequent trading or actively monitor for trading abuses. Transaction fees are imposed as set forth in the table in the SAI.
How to Buy and Sell Shares
The Fund directly issues and redeems Shares only in large blocks (called “Creation Units”) of 25,000 and only in transactions with Authorized Participants.
Individual Shares, once listed for trading on the Exchange, can be bought and sold throughout the trading day in the secondary market like other listed securities. Most investors will buy and sell Shares in secondary market transactions through brokers. The Fund does not require any minimum investment in secondary market transactions.
When buying or selling Shares through a broker, investors may incur customary brokerage commissions and charges, and may pay some or all of the “spread” that is, any difference between the bid price (the highest price a buyer is willing to pay for a share of a fund) and the ask price (the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for a share of a fund). In addition, because secondary market transactions occur at market prices, which typically vary from NAV, investors may pay more than NAV when buying Shares, and receive less than NAV when selling Shares.
The Fund’s Exchange trading symbol is [ ].
Book Entry. Shares are held in book-entry form, which means that no stock certificates are issued. DTC or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding Shares of the Fund and is recognized as the record owner of all Shares for all purposes.
Investors owning Shares are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. 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. Beneficial owners of Shares must rely upon the procedures of DTC and its participants to exercise any rights as owners of Shares. These procedures are the same as those that apply to any other stocks that held in book entry or “street name” through a brokerage account.
Management of the Fund
Rafferty provides investment management services to the Fund. Rafferty has been managing investment companies since 1997. Rafferty is located at 1301 Avenue of the Americas (6th Avenue), 28th Floor, New York, New York 10019. As of [ ], the Adviser had approximately $[ ] billion in assets under management.
Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement between the Trust and Rafferty, the Fund pays Rafferty at an annualized rate based on a percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets of [ ]%
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Rafferty has entered into a contractual Advisory Fee Waiver Agreement for the Fund that reduces the annualized advisory fee rate based on its average daily net assets, as follows: 0.75% of the first $1.5 billion of average daily net assets of a Fund; 0.70% of the average daily net assets of a Fund over $1.5 billion to $2 billion; 0.65% of the average daily net assets of a Fund over $2 billion to $2.5 billion; 0.60% of the average daily net assets of a Fund over $2.5 billion to $3 billion; 0.55% of the average daily net assets of a Fund over $3 billion to $3.5 billion; 0.50% of the average daily net assets of a Fund over $3.5 billion to $4 billion; 0.45% of the average daily net assets of a Fund over $4 billion to $4.5 billion; and 0.40% of the average daily net assets of a Fund over $4.5 billion. There is no guarantee that the Advisory Fee Waiver Agreement will continue after September 1, 2024. This contractual fee waiver may be terminated at any time by the Board of Trustees.
A discussion regarding the basis on which the Board of Trustees approved the investment advisory agreement for the Fund will be included in the Fund's Annual Report for the period ended October 31, 2023.
Rafferty has entered into an Operating Expense Limitation Agreement with the Fund. Under this Operating Expense Limitation Agreement, Rafferty has contractually agreed to waive all or a portion of its management fee and/or reimburse the Fund for Other Expenses through September 1, 2024, to the extent that the Fund’s Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses exceed [ ]% of the Fund’s average daily net assets (excluding, as applicable, among other expenses, taxes, swap financing and related costs, acquired fund fees and expenses, dividends or interest on short positions, other interest expenses, brokerage commissions and extraordinary expenses).
Any expense waiver or reimbursement is subject to recoupment by the Adviser within three years after the expense was waived/reimbursed only if Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses fall below the lesser of this percentage limitation and any percentage limitation in place at the time the expense was waived/reimbursed. Rafferty may pay, reimburse or otherwise assume one or more of the excluded expenses, in which case such expense will be subject to the Operating Expense Limitation Agreement and recoupment by Rafferty in accordance with the Agreement. This Agreement may be terminated or revised at any time with the consent of the Board of Trustees.
Paul Brigandi and Tony Ng are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund (the “Portfolio Managers”). An investment trading team of Rafferty employees assists the Portfolio Managers in the day-to-day management of the Fund subject to their primary responsibility and oversight. The Portfolio Managers work with the investment trading team to decide the target allocation of the Fund’s investments and on a day-to-day basis, an individual portfolio trader executes transactions for the Fund consistent with the target allocation. The members of the investment trading team rotate periodically among the various series of the Trust, including the Fund, so that no single individual is assigned to a specific Fund for extended periods of time.
Mr. Brigandi has been a Portfolio Manager at Rafferty since June 2004. Mr. Brigandi was previously involved in the equity trading training program for Fleet Boston Financial Corporation from August 2002 to April 2004. Mr. Brigandi is a 2002 graduate of Fordham University.
Mr. Ng has been a Portfolio Manager at Rafferty since April 2006. Mr. Ng was previously a Team Leader in the Trading Assistant Group with Goldman Sachs from 2004 to 2006. He was employed with Deutsche Asset Management from 1998 to 2004. Mr. Ng graduated from State University of New York at Buffalo in 1998.
The Fund's SAI provides additional information about the investment team members’ compensation, other accounts they manage and their ownership of securities in the Fund.
Portfolio Holdings
The Fund’s portfolio holdings are disclosed on the Fund’s website at www.direxion.com each day the Fund is open for business. A description of the Fund's policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund's portfolio securities is available in the Fund's SAI.
other service providers
Foreside Fund Services, LLC (“Distributor”) serves as the Fund's distributor. U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (“USBFS”) serves as the Fund's administrator. Bank of New York Mellon (“BNYM”) serves as the Fund's transfer agent, fund accountant, custodian and index receipt agent. The Distributor is not affiliated with Rafferty, USBFS, or BNYM.
Direxion Shares ETF Trust Prospectus
26

Distributions
Fund Distributions. The Fund pays out dividends from its net investment income, and distributes any net capital gains, if any, to its shareholders at least annually. The Fund is authorized to declare and pay capital gain distributions in additional Shares or in cash. The Fund may have extremely high portfolio turnover, which may cause it to generate significant amounts of taxable income. The Fund will generally need to distribute net short-term capital gain to satisfy certain tax requirements. As a result of the Fund's high portfolio turnover, they could need to make larger and/or more frequent distributions than traditional ETFs.
Dividend Reinvestment Service. Brokers may make the DTC book-entry dividend reinvestment service (“Reinvestment Service”) available to their customers who are shareholders of the Fund. If the Reinvestment Service is used with respect to the Fund, its distributions of both net income and capital gains will automatically be reinvested in additional and fractional Shares thereof purchased in the secondary market. Without the Reinvestment Service, investors will receive Fund distributions in cash, except as noted above under “Fund Distributions.” To determine whether the Reinvestment Service is available and whether there is a commission or other charge for using the service, consult your broker. Fund shareholders should be aware that brokers may require them to adhere to specific procedures and timetables to use the Reinvestment Service.
Taxes
As with any investment, you should consider the tax consequences of buying, holding, and disposing of Shares. The tax information in this Prospectus is only a general summary of some important federal tax considerations generally affecting the Fund and its shareholders. No attempt is made to present a complete explanation of the federal tax treatment of the Fund's activities, and this discussion is not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning. Accordingly, potential investors are urged to consult their own tax advisers for more detailed information and for information regarding any state, local, or foreign taxes applicable to the Fund and to an investment in Shares.
Fund distributions to you and your sale of your Shares will have tax consequences to you unless you hold your Shares through a tax-exempt entity or tax-deferred retirement arrangement, such as an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or 401(k) plan.
The Fund intends to qualify each taxable year for taxation as a “regulated investment company” under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). If the Fund so qualifies and satisfies certain distribution requirements, the Fund will not be subject to federal income tax on income that is distributed in a timely manner to its shareholders in the form of income dividends or capital gain distributions.
Taxes on Distributions. Dividends from the Fund’s investment company taxable income generally, the sum of net investment income, the excess of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss, and net gains and losses from certain foreign currency transactions, if any, all determined without regard to any deduction for dividends paid will be taxable to you as ordinary income to the extent of its earnings and profits, whether they are paid in cash or reinvested in additional Shares. However, dividends the Fund pays to you that are attributable to its “qualified dividend income” (i.e., dividends it receives on stock of most domestic and certain foreign corporations with respect to which it satisfies certain holding period and other restrictions) generally will be taxed to you, if you are an individual, trust, or estate and satisfy those restrictions with respect to your Shares, for federal income tax purposes, at the rates of 15% or 20% for such shareholders with taxable income exceeding certain thresholds (which will be indexed for inflation annually). A portion of the Fund’s dividends also may be eligible for the dividends-received deduction allowed to corporations the eligible portion may not exceed the aggregate dividends the Fund receives from domestic corporations subject to federal income tax (excluding real estate investment trusts) and excludes dividends from foreign corporations subject to similar restrictions; however, dividends a corporate shareholder deducts pursuant to that deduction are subject indirectly to the federal alternative minimum tax. The Fund does not expect to earn a significant amount of income that would qualify for those maximum rates or that deduction.
Distributions of the Fund’s net capital gain (which is the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss) that it recognizes on sales or exchanges of capital assets (“capital gain distributions”), if any, will be taxable to you as long-term capital gains, at the maximum rates mentioned above if you are an individual, trust, or estate, regardless of your holding period for the Shares on which the distributions are paid and regardless of whether they are paid in cash or reinvested in additional Shares. The Fund’s capital gain distributions may vary considerably from one year to the next as a result of its investment activities and cash flows and the performance of the markets in which it invests. The Fund does not expect to earn a significant amount of net capital gain.
Distributions in excess of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits, if any, first will reduce your adjusted tax basis in your Shares in the Fund and, after that basis is reduced to zero, will constitute capital gain. That capital gain will be long-term capital gain, and thus will be taxed at the maximum rates mentioned above if you are an individual, trust, or estate if the distributions are attributable to Shares you held for more than one year.
27
Direxion Shares ETF Trust Prospectus

Investors should be aware that the price of Shares at any time may reflect the amount of a forthcoming dividend or capital gain distribution, so if they purchase Shares shortly before the record date therefor, they will pay full price for the Shares and receive some part of the purchase price back as a taxable distribution even though it represents a partial return of invested capital.
In general, distributions are subject to federal income tax for the year when they are paid. However, certain distributions paid in January may be treated as paid on December 31 of the prior year.
Because of the possibility of high portfolio turnover, the Fund may generate significant amounts of taxable income. Accordingly, the Fund may need to make larger and/or more frequent distributions than traditional unleveraged ETFs. A substantial portion of that income typically will be short-term capital gain, which will generally be treated as ordinary income when distributed to shareholders.
Fund distributions to tax-deferred or qualified plans, such as an IRA, retirement plan or pension plan, generally will not be taxable. However, distributions from such plans will be taxable to the individual participant notwithstanding the character of the income earned by the qualified plan. Please consult a tax adviser for a more complete explanation of the federal, state, local and foreign tax consequences of investing in the Fund through such a plan.
Taxes When Shares are Sold. Generally, you will recognize taxable gain or loss if you sell or otherwise dispose of your Shares. Any gain arising from such a disposition generally will be treated as long-term capital gain if you held the Shares for more than one year, taxable at the maximum rates (15% or 20%) mentioned above if you are an individual, trust, or estate; otherwise, the gain will be treated as short-term capital gain. However, any capital loss arising from the disposition of Shares held for six months or less will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of capital gain distributions, if any, received with respect to those Shares. In addition, all or a portion of any loss recognized on a sale or exchange of Shares of the Fund will be disallowed to the extent other Shares of the same Fund are purchased (whether through reinvestment of distributions or otherwise) within a period of 61 days beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the date of the sale or exchange; in that event, the basis in the newly purchased Shares will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss.
Holders of Creation Units. A person who purchases Shares of the Fund by exchanging securities for a Creation Unit generally will recognize capital gain or loss equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Unit and the person’s aggregate basis in the exchanged securities, adjusted for any Balancing Amount paid or received. A shareholder who redeems a Creation Unit generally will recognize gain or loss to the same extent and in the same manner as described in the immediately preceding paragraph.
Miscellaneous. Backup Withholding. The Fund must withhold and remit to the U.S. Treasury 24% of dividends and capital gain distributions otherwise payable to any individual or certain other non-corporate shareholder who fails to certify that the social security or other taxpayer identification number furnished to the Fund is correct or who furnishes an incorrect number (together with the withholding described in the next sentence, “backup withholding”). Withholding at that rate also is required from the Fund’s dividends and capital gain distributions otherwise payable to such a shareholder who is subject to backup withholding for any other reason. Backup withholding is not an additional tax, and any amounts so withheld may be credited against a shareholder’s federal income tax liability or refunded.
Additional Tax. An individual must pay a 3.8% federal tax on the lesser of (1) the individual’s “net investment income,” which generally includes dividends, interest, and net gains from the disposition of investment property (including dividends and capital gain distributions the Fund pays and net gains realized on the sale or redemption of Shares), or (2) the excess of the individual’s “modified adjusted gross income” over a threshold amount ($250,000 for married persons filing jointly and $200,000 for single taxpayers). This tax is in addition to any other taxes due on that income. A similar tax will apply for those years to estates and trusts. Shareholders should consult their own tax advisers regarding the effect, if any, this provision may have on their investment in Fund shares.
Basis Determination. A shareholder who wants to use the average basis method for determining basis in Shares he or she acquires after December 31, 2011 (“Covered Shares”), must elect to do so in writing (which may be electronic) with the broker through which he or she purchased the Shares. A shareholder who wishes to use a different IRS-acceptable method for basis determination (e.g., a specific identification method) may elect to do so. Fund shareholders are urged to consult with their brokers regarding the application of the basis determination rules to them.
You may also be subject to state and local taxes on Fund distributions and dispositions of Shares.
Non-U.S. Shareholders. A “non-U.S. shareholder” is an investor that, for federal tax purposes, is a nonresident alien individual, a foreign corporation or a foreign estate or trust. Except where discussed otherwise, the following disclosure assumes that a non-U.S. shareholder’s ownership of Shares is not effectively connected with a trade or business conducted by such non-U.S. shareholder in the United States and does not address non-U.S. shareholders who are present in the United States for 183 days or more during the taxable year. The tax consequences to a non-U.S. shareholder entitled to claim the benefits of an applicable tax treaty may be different from those described herein. Non-U.S. shareholders should consult their tax advisers with respect to the particular tax consequences to them of an investment in the Fund.
Withholding. Dividends paid by the Fund to non-U.S. shareholders will be subject to withholding tax at a 30% rate or a reduced rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty to the extent derived from investment income (other than “qualified
Direxion Shares ETF Trust Prospectus
28

interest income” or “qualified short-term capital gains,” as described below). In order to obtain a reduced rate of withholding, a non-U.S. shareholder will be required to provide an IRS Form W-8BEN (or substitute form) certifying its entitlement to benefits under a treaty. The withholding tax does not apply to regular dividends paid to a non-U.S. shareholder who provides an IRS Form W-8ECI, certifying that the dividends are effectively connected with the non-U.S. shareholder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States. Instead, the effectively connected dividends will be subject to regular U.S. income tax as if the non-U.S. shareholder were a U.S. shareholder. A non-U.S. corporation’s earnings and profits attributable to such dividends may also be subject to additional “branch profits tax” imposed at a rate of 30% (or lower treaty rate).
A non-U.S. shareholder who fails to provide an IRS Form W-8BEN or other applicable form may be subject to backup withholding at the appropriate rate. See the discussion of backup withholding under “Miscellaneous” above.
Exemptions from Withholding. In general, federal income tax will not apply to gain realized on the sale or other disposition of Shares or to any Fund distributions reported as capital gain dividends, short-term capital gain dividends, or interest-related dividends.
“Short-term capital gain dividends” are dividends that are attributable to “qualified short-term gain” the Fund realizes (generally, the excess of the Fund’s net short-term capital gain over long-term capital loss for a taxable year, computed with certain adjustments). “Interest-related dividends” are dividends that are attributable to “qualified net interest income” from U.S. sources. Depending on its circumstances, the Fund may report all, some or none of its potentially eligible dividends as short-term capital gain dividends and interest-related dividends and/or treat such dividends, in whole or in part, as ineligible for this exemption from withholding. To qualify for the exemption, a non-U.S. shareholder will need to comply with applicable certification requirements relating to its non-U.S. status (including, in general, furnishing an IRS Form W-8BEN or substitute form). In the case of shares held through an intermediary, the intermediary may withhold even if the Fund designates the payment as a short-term capital gain dividend or an interest-related dividend. Non-U.S. shareholders should contact their intermediaries with respect to the application of these rules to their accounts.
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”). Under FATCA, “foreign financial institutions” (“FFIs”) or “non-financial foreign entities” (“NFFEs”) that are Fund shareholders may be subject to a generally nonrefundable 30% withholding tax on income dividends. As discussed more fully in the Fund's SAI under “Taxes,” the FATCA withholding tax generally can be avoided (a) by an FFI, if it reports certain information regarding direct and indirect ownership of financial accounts U.S. persons hold with the FFI and (b) by an NFFE, if it certifies as such and, in certain circumstances, that (i) it has no substantial U.S. persons as owners or (ii) it does have such owners and reports information relating to them to the withholding agent. The U.S. Treasury has negotiated intergovernmental agreements (“IGAs”) with certain countries and is in various stages of negotiations with other foreign countries with respect to one or more alternative approaches to implement FATCA; entities in those countries may be required to comply with the terms of the IGA instead of Treasury regulations. Non-U.S. shareholders should consult their own tax advisers regarding the application of these requirements to their own situation and the impact thereof on their investment in the Fund.
More information about taxes is available in the Fund's SAI.
Additional Information
The Trust enters into contractual arrangements with various parties, which may include, among others, the Fund's investment adviser, custodian, and transfer agent, who provide services to the Fund. Shareholders are not parties to any such contractual arrangements and are not intended beneficiaries of those contractual arrangements, and those contractual arrangements are not intended to create in any shareholder any right to enforce them against the service providers or to seek any remedy under them against the service providers, either directly or on behalf of the Trust.
This Prospectus provides information concerning the Fund that you should consider in determining whether to purchase Fund shares. Neither this Prospectus nor the SAI is intended, or should be read, to be or give rise to an agreement or contract between the Trust or the Fund and any investor, or to give rise to any rights in any shareholder or other person other than any rights under federal or state law that may not be waived.
Financial Highlights
No financial information is available for the Fund because the Fund had not commenced operations prior to the date of this Prospectus. The Fund’s fiscal year end is October 31st.
Information provided to, or filed with, the SEC by each company named in this Prospectus, pursuant to the Exchange Act, including the financial statements of the company’s Form 10-K, can be located by reference to the SEC file numbers noted in the table below through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov:
29
Direxion Shares ETF Trust Prospectus

Underlying Security
SEC File Number
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA)
000-23985
Direxion Shares ETF Trust Prospectus
30

  
Prospectus
1301 Avenue of the Americas (6th Avenue), 28th Floor
New York, New York 10019
(866) 476-7523
More Information on the Direxion Shares ETF Trust
Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”):
The Fund's SAI contains more information on the Fund and its investment policies. The SAI is incorporated in this Prospectus by reference (meaning it is legally part of this Prospectus). A current SAI is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).
Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to Shareholders:
The Fund's reports will provide additional information on the Fund's investment holdings, performance data and a letter discussing the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund's performance during that period.
To Obtain the SAI or Fund Reports Free of Charge or for Other Information or Shareholder Inquiries:
Write to:
Direxion Shares ETF Trust
 
1301 Avenue of the Americas (6th Avenue), 28th Floor
New York, New York 10019
Call:
(866) 476-7523
By Internet:
www.direxion.com
Reports and other information about the Fund may be viewed on screen or downloaded from the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of these documents may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov.
SEC File Number: 811-22201


The information in this Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) 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 SAI is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.
Subject to completion, dated June 14, 2023
Direxion Shares ETF Trust
Statement of Additional Information
1301 Avenue of the Americas (6th Avenue), 28th Floor
New York, New York 10019
(866) 476-7523
www.direxion.com
The Direxion Shares ETF Trust (“Trust”) is an investment company that offers shares of exchange-traded funds to the public. Shares of the fund offered in this Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”), upon commencement of operations, will be listed and traded on the The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC. (the “Fund”).
1.5X BULL FUND
Direxion Daily NVDA Bull 1.5X Shares
The Fund seeks daily leveraged investment results and is intended to be used as a short-term trading vehicle. The Fund attempts to provide daily investment results that correspond to 1.5 times the performance of the underlying security.
The Fund is not intended to be used by, and is not appropriate for, investors who do not intend to actively monitor and manage their portfolios. The Fund is very different from most mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. Investors should note that:
(1)
The Fund pursues a daily leveraged investment objective, which means that the Fund is riskier than alternatives that do not use leverage because the Fund magnifies the performance of the underlying security.
(2)
The pursuit of a daily investment objective means that the return of the Fund for a period longer than a full trading day will be the product of a series of daily leveraged returns for each trading day during the relevant period. As a consequence, especially in periods of market volatility, the volatility of the underlying security may affect the Fund’s return as much as, or more than, the return of the underlying security. Further, the return for investors that invest for periods less than a full trading day will not be the product of the return of the Fund’s stated daily leveraged investment objective and the performance of the underlying security for the full trading day. During periods of high volatility, the Fund may not perform as expected and the Fund may have losses when an investor may have expected gains if the Fund is held for a period that is different than one trading day.
The Fund is not suitable for all investors. The Fund is designed to be utilized only by sophisticated investors, such as traders and active investors employing dynamic strategies. Investors in the Fund should:
(a)
understand the risks associated with the use of leverage;
(b)
understand the consequences of seeking daily leveraged investment results;
(c)
intend to actively monitor and manage their investments.
Investors who do not understand the Fund, or do not intend to actively manage their funds and monitor their investments, should not buy the Fund.
There is no assurance that any Fund will achieve its investment objective and an investment in a Fund could lose money. The Fund is not a complete investment program.
If the Fund’s underlying security moves more than 66.7% on a given trading day in a direction adverse to the Fund, the Fund’s investors would lose all of their money. The Fund’s investment adviser, Rafferty Asset Management, LLC, will attempt to position the Fund’s portfolio to ensure that the Fund does not gain or lose more than 90% of its net asset value on a given trading day. As a consequence, the Fund’s portfolio should not be responsive to underlying security movements beyond 60% on a given trading day, whether that movement is favorable or adverse to the Fund. For example, if the Fund’s underlying security was to gain 66.7% on a given trading day, the Fund should be limited to a gain of 90% for that day, which corresponds to 150% of an underlying security gain of 60%, rather than 150% of an underlying security gain of 66.7%.

This SAI, dated [ ], is not a prospectus. It should be read in conjunction with the Fund's prospectus dated [ ] (“Prospectus”). This SAI is incorporated by reference into the Prospectus. In other words, it is legally part of the Prospectus. To receive a copy of the Prospectus, without charge, write or call the Trust at the address or telephone number listed above.
[ ]

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Direxion Shares ETF Trust
The Trust is a Delaware statutory trust organized on April 23, 2008 and is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) as an open-end management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (“1940 Act”). The Trust currently consists of [ ] separate series or “Funds.”
Shares of the Fund (“Shares”) are issued and redeemed only in large blocks called “Creation Units.” The Shares offered in this SAI , upon commencement of operations, will be listed and traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC. (the “Exchange”). Most investors will buy and sell Shares of the Fund in secondary market transactions through brokers. Shares can be bought and sold throughout the trading day like other publicly traded shares. There is no minimum investment. Investors may acquire Shares directly from the Fund, and shareholders may tender their Shares for redemption directly to the Fund, only in Creation Units of 25,000 Shares, as discussed in the “Purchases and Redemptions” section below.
Certain employees of the Adviser are responsible for interacting with market participants that transact in baskets for one or more Creation Units. As part of these discussions, these employees may discuss with a market participant the securities the Fund is willing to accept in connection with a purchase (“creation”) of shares, and securities that the Fund will provide on a redemption of shares. The Adviser's employees may also discuss portfolio holdings-related information with broker/dealers in connection with settling the Fund's transactions, as may be necessary to conduct business in the ordinary course.
There is no assurance that any Fund offered in this SAI will achieve its objective and an investment in the Fund could lose money. No single Fund is a complete investment program.
Classification of the Fund
The Fund is a “non-diversified” series of the Trust pursuant to the 1940 Act. The Fund is considered “non-diversified” if a relatively high percentage of its assets may be invested in the securities of a limited number of issuers. As a non-diversified fund, the Fund’s net asset value ("NAV") may fluctuate to a greater extent than that of a diversified company as a result of changes in the financial condition or in the market’s assessment of the underlying security, and the Fund may be more susceptible to any single economic, political or regulatory occurrence than a diversified company.
Exchange Listing and Trading
The Shares, upon commencement of operations, will be listed and traded on the Exchange. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of Shares of the Fund will continue to be met. The Exchange may, but is not required to, remove the Shares of the Fund from listing if (i) following the initial 12-month period beginning at the commencement of trading of the Fund, there are fewer than 50 beneficial owners of the Shares of the Fund; (ii) the Fund is no longer eligible to rely on Rule 6c-11 under the 1940 Act; (iii) the Fund no longer complies with the requirements set forth in Nasdaq Rule 5704; or (iv) such other event shall occur or condition exist that, in the opinion of the Exchange, makes further dealings on the Exchange inadvisable. The Exchange will remove the Shares of the Fund from listing and trading upon termination of such Fund.
As is the case with other listed securities, when Shares of the Fund are bought or sold through a broker, an investor may incur a brokerage commission determined by that broker, as well as other charges.
The trading prices of the Fund’s shares in the secondary market generally differ from the Fund’s daily NAV per share and are affected by market forces such as supply and demand, economic conditions and other factors. Rafferty Asset Management, LLC ("Rafferty" or "Adviser") may, from time to time, make payments to certain market makers in the Trust’s shares pursuant to an Exchange authorized program. 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 or an investor’s equity interest in the Fund.
Investment Policies and Techniques
The Fund seeks investment results that correspond to 150%, before fees and expenses, of the daily performance of the common shares of NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA).
The Fund’s investment objective is a non-fundamental policy of the Fund that may be changed by the Board without shareholder approval.
Subject to the limitations described in the “Investment Restrictions” section, the Fund may engage in the investment strategies discussed below.
1

Asset-Backed Securities
The Fund may invest in asset-backed securities of any rating or maturity. Asset-backed securities are securities issued by trusts and special purpose entities that are backed by pools of assets, such as automobile and credit-card receivables and home equity loans, which pass through the payments on the underlying obligations to the security holders (less servicing fees paid to the originator or fees for any credit enhancement). Typically, the originator of the loan or accounts receivable paper transfers it to a specially created trust, which repackages it as securities with a minimum denomination and a specific term. The securities are then privately placed or publicly offered. Examples include certificates for automobile receivables and so-called plastic bonds, backed by credit card receivables.
The value of an asset-backed security is affected by, among other things, changes in the market’s perception of the asset backing the security, the creditworthiness of the servicing agent for the loan pool, the originator of the loans and the financial institution providing any credit enhancement. Payments of principal and interest passed through to holders of asset-backed securities are frequently supported by some form of credit enhancement, such as a letter of credit, surety bond, limited guarantee by another entity or by having a priority to certain of the borrower’s other assets. The degree of credit enhancement varies, and generally applies to only a portion of the asset-backed security’s par value. Value is also affected if any credit enhancement has been exhausted.
Bank Obligations
Money Market Instruments. The Fund may invest in bankers’ acceptances, certificates of deposit, demand and time deposits, savings shares and commercial paper of domestic banks and savings and loans that have assets of at least $1 billion and capital, surplus, and undivided profits of over $100 million as of the close of their most recent fiscal year, or instruments that are insured by the Bank Insurance Fund or the Savings Institution Insurance Fund of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”). The Fund also may invest in high quality, short-term, corporate debt obligations, including variable rate demand notes, having terms-to-maturity of less than 397 days. Because there is no secondary trading market in demand notes, the inability of the issuer to make required payments could impact adversely the Fund’s ability to resell when it deems advisable to do so.
The Fund may invest in foreign money market instruments, which typically involve more risk than investing in U.S. money market instruments. See “Foreign Securities” below. These risks include, among others, higher brokerage commissions, less public information, and less liquid markets in which to sell and meet large shareholder redemption requests.
Bankers’ Acceptances. Bankers’ acceptances generally are negotiable instruments (time drafts) drawn to finance the export, import, domestic shipment or storage of goods. They are termed “accepted” when a bank writes on the draft its agreement to pay it at maturity, using the word “accepted.” The bank is, in effect, unconditionally guaranteeing to pay the face value of the instrument on its maturity date. The acceptance may then be held by the accepting bank as an asset, or it may be sold in the secondary market at the going rate of interest for a specified maturity.
Certificates of Deposit (“CDs”). The FDIC is an agency of the U.S. government that insures the deposits of certain banks and savings and loan associations up to $250,000 per deposit. The interest on such deposits may not be insured to the extent this limit is exceeded. Current federal regulations also permit such institutions to issue insured negotiable CDs in amounts of $250,000 or more without regard to the interest rate ceilings on other deposits. To remain fully insured, these investments must be limited to $250,000 per insured bank or savings and loan association.
Commercial Paper. Commercial paper includes notes, drafts or similar instruments payable on demand or having a maturity at the time of issuance not exceeding nine months, exclusive of days of grace or any renewal thereof. The Fund may invest in commercial paper rated A-l or A-2 by Standard & Poor’s® Ratings Services (“S&P®”) or Prime-1 or Prime-2 by Moody’s Investors Service®, Inc. (“Moody’s”), and in other lower quality commercial paper.
Corporate Debt Securities
The Fund may invest in investment grade corporate debt securities of any rating or maturity. Investment grade corporate bonds are those rated BBB or better by S&P® or Baa or better by Moody’s. Securities rated BBB by S&P® are considered investment grade, but Moody’s considers securities rated Baa to have speculative characteristics. See Appendix A for a description of corporate bond ratings. The Fund may also invest in unrated securities.
Corporate debt securities are fixed-income securities issued by businesses to finance their operations, although corporate debt instruments may also include bank loans to companies. Notes, bonds, debentures and commercial paper are the most common types of corporate debt securities, with the primary difference being their maturities and secured or un-secured status. Commercial paper has the shortest term and is usually unsecured.
2

The broad category of corporate debt securities includes debt issued by domestic or foreign companies of all kinds, including those with small-, mid- and large-capitalizations. Corporate debt may be rated investment-grade or below investment-grade and may carry variable or floating rates of interest.
Because of the wide range of types and maturities of corporate debt securities, as well as the range of creditworthiness of its issuers, corporate debt securities have widely varying potentials for return and risk profiles. For example, commercial paper issued by a large established domestic corporation that is rated investment grade may have a modest return on principal, but carries relatively limited risk. On the other hand, a long-term corporate note issued by a small foreign corporation from an emerging market country that has not been rated may have the potential for relatively large returns on principal, but carries a relatively high degree of risk.
Corporate debt securities carry both credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk is the risk that the Fund could lose money if the issuer of a corporate debt security is unable to pay interest or repay principal when it is due. Some corporate debt securities that are rated below investment grade are generally considered speculative because they present a greater risk of loss, including default, than higher-quality debt securities. The credit risk of a particular issuer’s debt security may vary based on its priority for repayment. For example, higher ranking (senior) debt securities have a higher priority than lower ranking (subordinated) securities. This means that the issuer might not make payments on subordinated securities while continuing to make payments on senior securities. In addition, in the event of bankruptcy, holders of higher-ranking senior securities may receive amounts otherwise payable to the holders of more junior securities. Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of certain corporate debt securities will tend to fall when interest rates rise. In general, corporate debt securities with longer terms tend to fall more in value when interest rates rise than corporate debt securities with shorter terms.
The Fund may invest in certain debt securities, derivatives or other financial instruments that utilize the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) as a benchmark or reference rate for various interest rate calculations. LIBOR may be a significant factor in determining the Fund’s payment obligations under a derivative investment, the cost of financing to the Fund or an investment’s value or return to the Fund, and may be used in other ways that affect the Fund’s investment performance.
On July 27, 2017, the head of the United Kingdom’s (“UK”) Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”) announced that it would cease its active encouragement of banks to provide quotations needed to sustain the LIBOR rate, which means that the LIBOR rate may no longer be published. Also in 2017, the Alternative Reference Rates Committee, a group of large US banks working with the Federal Reserve, announced its selection of a new Secured Overnight Funding Rate (“SOFR”), which is a broad measure of the cost of overnight borrowings secured by Treasury Department securities, as an appropriate replacement for LIBOR. Bank working groups and regulators in other countries have suggested other alternatives for their markets, including the Sterling Overnight Interbank Average Rate (“SONIA”) in England. As previously announced by the FCA, most maturities and currencies of LIBOR were phased out at the end of 2021, with the remaining ones to be phased out on June 30, 2023. There is a risk that remaining LIBOR maturities may cease to be published before this date. This announcement impacted several LIBOR transition dates, including the EU Benchmark Regulations regarding the European Commission designating one or more LIBOR replacement rates. Additionally, fallback language that was voluntarily entered into by contractual parties, including those related to corporate debt or other securities may be impacted by the FCA’s announcement, thereby triggering transition dates for various instruments.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York began publishing SOFR in April 2018, with the expectation that it could be used on a voluntary basis in new USD-denominated instruments and for new transactions under existing instruments. However, SOFR is fundamentally different from LIBOR. It is a secured, nearly risk-free rate, while LIBOR is an unsecured rate that includes an element of bank credit risk. Also, while term SOFR for various maturities has begun to be adopted by some parties and for some types of transactions, SOFR is strictly an overnight rate, while LIBOR historically has been published for various maturities, ranging from overnight to one year. Thus, LIBOR may be expected to be higher than SOFR, and the spread between the two is likely to widen in times of market stress. Certain existing contracts provide for a spread adjustment when transitioning to SOFR from LIBOR, but there is no assurance that it will provide adequate compensation. Term SOFR rates for various maturities may not be available, recommended, or operationally feasible at the applicable benchmark replacement date.
Various financial industry groups have planned for the transition from LIBOR to SOFR (or another new benchmark), but there are obstacles to converting certain longer term securities and transactions. Neither the effect of the transition process nor its ultimate success can yet be known. The transition process might lead to increased volatility and illiquidity in markets that currently rely on the LIBOR to determine interest rates. It also could lead to a reduction in the value of some LIBOR-based investments and reduce the effectiveness of new hedges placed against existing LIBOR-based instruments. New York has passed legislation to ease the transition from LIBOR and federal LIBOR transition relief legislation has been proposed, but there is no assurance whether or when such legislation will be enacted or if it will adequately address all issues or be subject to litigation. Among other negative consequences, the transition away from LIBOR could:
Adversely impact the pricing, liquidity, value of, return on and trading for a broad array of financial products, including any LIBOR-linked securities, loans and derivatives in which the Fund may invest;
Require extensive negotiations of and/or amendments to agreements and other documentation governing LIBOR-linked investments products;
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Lead to disputes, litigation or other actions with counterparties or portfolio companies regarding the interpretation and enforceability of “fall back” provisions that provide for an alternative reference rate in the event of LIBOR’s unavailability; or
Cause the Fund to incur additional costs in relation to any of the above factors.
The risks associated with the above factors are heightened with respect to investments in LIBOR-based products that do not include a fall back provision that addresses how interest rates will be determined after LIBOR stops being published. Other important factors include the pace of the transition, the specific terms of alternative reference rates accepted in the market and the depth of the market for investments based on alternative reference rates. The risks associated with this discontinuation and transition may be exacerbated if the work necessary to effect an orderly transition to an alternative reference rate is not completed in a timely manner. Any such effects of the transition away from LIBOR, as well as other unforeseen effects, could result in losses to the Fund.
Equity Securities
Common Stocks. The Fund may invest in common stocks. Common stocks represent the residual ownership interest in the issuer and are entitled to the income and increase in the value of the assets and business of the entity after all of its obligations and preferred stock are satisfied. Common stocks generally have voting rights. Common stocks fluctuate in price in response to many factors including historical and prospective earnings of the issuer, the value of its assets, general economic conditions, interest rates, investor perceptions and market liquidity.
Convertible Securities. The Fund may invest in convertible securities that may be considered high yield securities. Convertible securities include corporate bonds, notes and preferred stock that can be converted into or exchanged for a prescribed amount of common stock of the same or a different issue within a particular period of time at a specified price or formula. A convertible security entitles the holder to receive interest paid or accrued on debt or dividends paid on preferred stock until the convertible stock matures or is redeemed, converted or exchanged. While no securities investment is without some risk, investments in convertible securities generally entail less risk than the issuer’s common stock, although the extent to which such risk is reduced depends in large measure upon the degree to which the convertible security sells above its value as a fixed income security. The market value of convertible securities tends to decline as interest rates increase and, conversely, to increase as interest rates decline. While convertible securities generally offer lower interest or dividend yields than nonconvertible debt securities of similar quality, they do enable the investor to benefit from increases in the market price of the underlying common stock. When investing in convertible securities, the Fund may invest in the lowest credit rating category.
Preferred Stock. The Fund may invest in preferred stock. A preferred stock blends the characteristics of a bond and common stock. It can offer the higher yield of a bond and has priority over common stock in equity ownership, but does not have the seniority of a bond and its participation in the issuer’s growth may be limited. Preferred stock has preference over common stock in the receipt of dividends and in any residual assets after payment to creditors if the issuer is dissolved. Although the dividend is set at a fixed annual rate, in some circumstances it can be changed or omitted by the issuer. When investing in preferred stocks, the Fund may invest in the lowest credit rating category.
Warrants and Rights. The Fund may purchase warrants and rights, which are instruments that permit the Fund to acquire, by subscription, the capital stock of a corporation at a set price, regardless of the market price for such stock. Warrants may be either perpetual or of limited duration, but they usually do not have voting rights or pay dividends. The market price of warrants is usually significantly less than the current price of the underlying stock. Thus, there is a greater risk that warrants might drop in value at a faster rate than the underlying stock.
Foreign Securities
The Fund may have both direct and indirect exposure to foreign securities through investments in publicly traded securities such as stocks and bonds, stock index futures contracts, options on stock index futures contracts and options on securities and on stock indices to foreign securities. In most cases, the best available market for foreign securities will be on exchanges or in OTC markets located outside the United States.
Investing in foreign securities carries political and economic risks distinct from those associated with investing in the United States. Non-U.S. securities may be subject to currency risks or to foreign government taxes. There may be less information publicly available about a non-U.S. issuer than about a U.S. issuer, and a foreign issuer may or may not be subject uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and practices comparable to those in the U.S. Other risks of investing in such securities include political or economic instability in the country involved, the difficulty of predicting international trade patterns and the possibility of the imposition of exchange controls. The prices of such securities may be more volatile than those of U.S. securities. There maybe also be the possibility of expropriation of assets or nationalization, imposition of withholding taxes on dividend or interest payments, difficulty obtaining and enforcing judgments against foreign entities
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or diplomatic developments which could affect investment in these countries. Losses and other expenses may be incurred in converting currencies in connection with purchases and sales of foreign securities.
Non-U.S. stock markets may not be as developed or efficient as, and may be more volatile than, those in the U.S. While the volume of shares traded on non-U.S. stock markets generally has been growing, such markets usually have substantially less volume than U.S. markets. Therefore, the Fund’s investment in non-U.S. equity securities may be less liquid and subject to more rapid and erratic price movements than comparable securities listed for trading on U.S. exchanges. Non-U.S. equity securities may trade at price/earnings multiples higher than comparable U.S. securities and such levels may not be sustainable. There may be less government supervision and regulation of foreign stock exchanges, brokers, banks and listed companies abroad than in the U.S. Moreover, settlement practices for transactions in foreign markets may differ from those in U.S. markets. Such differences may include delays beyond periods customary in the U.S. and practices, such as delivery of securities prior to receipt of payment, that increase the likelihood of a failed settlement, which can result in losses to the Fund. The value of non-U.S. investments and the investment income derived from them may also be affected unfavorably by changes in currency exchange control regulations. Foreign brokerage commissions, custodial expenses and other fees are also generally higher than for securities traded in the U.S. This may cause the Fund to incur higher portfolio transaction costs than domestic equity funds. Fluctuations in exchanges rates may also affect the earning power and asset value of the foreign entity issuing a security, even on denominated in U.S. dollars. Dividend and interest payments may be repatriated based on the exchange rate at the time of disbursement, and restrictions on capital flows may be imposed.
Developing and Emerging Markets. Emerging and developing markets abroad may offer special opportunities for investing, but may have greater risks than more developed foreign markets, such as those in Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. There may be even less liquidity in their securities markets, and settlements of purchases and sales of securities may be subject to additional delays. They are subject to greater risks of limitations on the repatriation of income and profits because of currency restrictions imposed by local governments. Those countries may also be subject to the risk of greater political and economic instability, which can greatly affect the volatility of prices of securities in those countries.
Investing in emerging market securities imposes risks different from, or greater than, risks of investing in foreign developed countries. These risks include: smaller market capitalization of securities markets, which may suffer periods of relative illiquidity; significant price volatility; restrictions on foreign investment; and possible repatriation of investment income and capital. In addition, foreign investors may be required to register the proceeds of sales and future economic or political crises could lead to price controls, forced mergers, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, seizure, nationalization, or creation of government monopolies. The currencies of emerging market countries may experience significant declines against the U.S. Dollar. Inflation and rapid fluctuations in inflation rates have had, and may continue to have, negative effects on the economies and securities markets of certain emerging market countries. Additional risks of emerging markets securities may include: greater social, economic and political uncertainty and instability; more substantial governmental involvement in the economy; less governmental supervision and regulation; unavailability of currency hedging techniques; companies that are newly organized and small; differences in auditing and financial reporting standards, which may result in unavailability of material information about issuers; and less developed legal systems. Shareholder claims and legal remedies that are common in the United States may be difficult or impossible to pursue in many emerging market countries. In addition, due to jurisdictional limitations, matters of comity and various other factors, U.S. authorities may be limited in their ability to bring enforcement actions against non-U.S. companies and non-U.S. persons in certain emerging market countries. In addition, emerging securities markets may have different clearance and settlement procedures, which may be unable to keep pace with the volume of securities transactions or otherwise make it difficult to engage in such transactions.
Asia-Pacific Countries. In addition to the risks associated with foreign and emerging markets, the developing market Asia-Pacific countries in which the Fund may invest are subject to certain additional or specific risks. The Fund may make substantial investments in Asia-Pacific countries. In the Asia-Pacific markets, there is a high concentration of market capitalization and trading volume in a small number of issuers representing a limited number of industries, as well as a high concentration of investors and financial intermediaries. Many of these markets also may be affected by developments with respect to more established markets in the region, such as Japan and Hong Kong. Brokers in developing market Asia-Pacific countries typically are fewer in number and less well-capitalized than brokers in the United States. These factors, combined with the U.S. regulatory requirements for open-end investment companies and the restrictions on foreign investment, result in potentially fewer investment opportunities for the Fund and may have an adverse impact on the Fund’s investment performance.
Many of the developing market Asia-Pacific countries may be subject to a greater degree of economic, political and social instability than is the case in the United States and Western European countries. Such instability may result from, among other things: (i) authoritarian governments or military involvement in political and economic decision-making, including changes in government through extra-constitutional means; (ii) popular unrest associated with demands for improved political, economic and social conditions; (iii) internal insurgencies; (iv) hostile relations with neighboring countries; and/or (v) ethnic, religious and racial disaffection. In addition, the governments of many of such countries, such as Indonesia, have a heavy role in regulating and supervising the economy.
An additional risk common to most such countries is that the economy is heavily export-oriented and, accordingly, is dependent upon international trade. The existence of overburdened infrastructure and obsolete financial systems also present risks in certain countries, as do environmental problems. Certain economies also depend to a significant degree upon exports
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of primary commodities and, therefore, are vulnerable to changes in commodity prices that, in turn, may be affected by a variety of factors. The legal systems in certain developing market Asia-Pacific countries also may have an adverse impact on the Fund. For example, while the potential liability of a shareholder in a U.S. corporation with respect to acts of the corporation is generally limited to the amount of the shareholder's investment, the notion of limited liability is less clear in certain emerging market Asia-Pacific countries. Similarly, the rights of investors in developing market Asia-Pacific companies may be more limited than those of shareholders of U.S. corporations. It may be difficult or impossible to obtain and/or enforce a judgment in a developing market Asia-Pacific country.
Governments of many developing market Asia-Pacific countries have exercised and continue to exercise substantial influence over many aspects of the private sector. In certain cases, the government owns or controls many companies, including the largest in the country. Accordingly, government actions in the future could have a significant effect on economic conditions in developing market Asia-Pacific countries, which could affect private sector companies and the Fund itself, as well as the value of securities in the Fund's portfolio. In addition, economic statistics of developing market Asia-Pacific countries may be less reliable than economic statistics of more developed nations.
It is possible that developing market Asia-Pacific issuers may not be subject to the same accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards as U.S. companies. Inflation accounting rules in some developing market Asia-Pacific countries require companies that keep accounting records in the local currency, for both tax and accounting purposes, to restate certain assets and liabilities on the company’s balance sheet in order to express items in terms of currency of constant purchasing power. Inflation accounting may indirectly generate losses or profits for certain developing market Asia-Pacific companies. In addition, satisfactory custodial services for investment securities may not be available in some developing Asia-Pacific countries, which may result in the Fund incurring additional costs and delays in providing transportation and custody services for such securities outside such countries.
Certain developing Asia-Pacific countries are especially large debtors to commercial banks and foreign governments. Fund management may determine that, notwithstanding otherwise favorable investment criteria, it may not be practicable or appropriate to invest in a particular developing Asia-Pacific country. The Fund may invest in countries in which foreign investors, including management of the Fund, have had no or limited prior experience.
Brazil. Investing in Brazil involves certain considerations not typically associated with investing in the United States. Additional considerations include: (i) investment and repatriation controls, which could affect the Fund’s ability to operate, and to qualify for the favorable tax treatment afforded to RICs for U.S. federal income tax purposes; (ii) fluctuations in the rate of exchange between the Brazilian Real and the U.S. Dollar; (iii) the generally greater price volatility and lesser liquidity that characterize Brazilian securities markets, as compared with U.S. markets; (iv) the effect that balance of trade could have on Brazilian economic stability and the Brazilian government's economic policy; (v) potentially high rates of inflation, a rising unemployment rate, and a high level of debt, each of which may hinder economic growth; (vi) governmental involvement in and influence on the private sector; (vii) Brazilian accounting, auditing and financial standards and requirements, which differ from those in the United States; (viii) political and other considerations, including changes in applicable Brazilian tax laws; and (ix) restrictions on investments by foreigners. In addition, commodities, such as oil, gas and minerals, represent a significant percentage of Brazil’s exports and, therefore, its economy is particularly sensitive to fluctuations in commodity prices. Additionally, an investment in Brazil is subject to certain risks stemming from political and economic corruption.
China. Investing in China involves special considerations not typically associated with investing in countries with more democratic governments or more established economies or currency markets. These risks include: (i) the risk of nationalization or expropriation of assets or confiscatory taxation; (ii) greater governmental involvement in and control over the economy, interest rates and currency exchange rates; (iii) controls on foreign investment and limitations on repatriation of invested capital; (iv) greater social, economic and political uncertainty ; (v) dependency on exports and the corresponding importance of international trade; (vi) currency exchange rate fluctuations; (vii) differences in, or lack of, auditing and financial reporting standards that may result in unavailability of material information about issuers and restrictions on issuers’ ability to access the U.S. capital markets; and (viii) the risk that certain companies, including those in which the Fund may invest, may have dealings with countries subject to sanctions or embargoes imposed by the U.S. government or identified as state sponsors of terrorism.
For over three decades, the Chinese government has been reforming economic and market practice and has been providing a larger sphere for private ownership of property. While currently contributing to growth and prosperity, the government could technically decide not to continue to support these economic reform programs and return to the completely centrally planned economy that existed prior to 1978. There is also a greater risk in China than in many other countries of currency fluctuations, currency non-convertibility, interest rate fluctuations and higher rates of inflation as a result of internal social unrest or conflicts with other countries. China is an emerging market and demonstrates significantly higher volatility from time to time in comparison to developed markets. The government of China maintains strict currency controls in support of economic, trade and political objectives and regularly intervenes in the currency market. The government's actions in this respect may not be transparent or predictable. As a result, the value of the Yuan (or renminbi), and the value of securities designed to provide exposure to the Yuan, can change quickly and arbitrarily. Furthermore, it is difficult for foreign investors to directly access money market securities in China because of investment and trading restrictions. Chinese law also prohibits direct foreign investments in certain issuers in certain industries. Chinese companies listed on U.S. exchanges often use variable interest entities (“VIEs”) in their structure. Instead of directly owning the equity securities of a Chinese operating
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company, in a VIE structure, a non-U.S. shell company (often organized in the Cayman Islands) that is listed and traded on a U.S. exchange enters into service contracts and other contracts with the Chinese operating company which provide the foreign shell company with exposure to the Chinese company. Although the U.S. listed shell company has no equity ownership of the Chinese operating company, the contractual arrangements provide the U.S. listed shell company economic exposure to the Chinese operating company and permit the U.S. listed shell company to consolidate the Chinese operating company into its financial statements. VIE structures are subject to legal and regulatory uncertainties and risks. Intervention by the Chinese government with respect to VIE structures or the non-enforcement of VIE-related contractual rights could significantly affect a Chinese operating company's business, the enforceability of the U.S. listed shell company's contractual arrangements with the Chinese operating company and the value of the U.S. listed stock. Intervention by the Chinese government could include nationalization of the Chinese operating company, confiscation of its assets, restrictions on operations and/or constraints on the use of VIE structures. In addition, because the Chinese operating company is not owned, directly or indirectly, by the U.S. listed shell company, the U.S. listed shell company cannot control the Chinese operating company and must rely on the Chinese operating company to perform its contractual obligations in order for the U.S. listed company to receive economic benefits.
While the economy of China has enjoyed substantial economic growth in recent years, there can be no guarantee this growth will continue. Reduction in spending on Chinese products and services, the institution of additional tariffs or other trade barriers, including as a result of heightened trade tensions between China and the United States, or a downturn in any of the economies of China’s key trading partners may have an adverse impact on the Chinese economy. Actions like these may have unanticipated and disruptive effects on the Chinese economy. Any such response that targets Chinese financial markets or securities exchanges could interfere with orderly trading, delay settlement or cause market disruptions. These and other factors may decrease the value and liquidity of a Fund's investments. The Chinese economy may experience a significant slowdown as a result of, among other things, a deterioration of global demand for Chinese exports, as well as contraction in spending on domestic goods by Chinese consumers. In addition, China may experience substantial rates of inflation or economic recessions, which would have a negative effect on its economy and securities market.
Hong Kong reverted to Chinese sovereignty on July 1, 1997 as a Special Administrative Region of the PRC under the principle of “one country, two systems.” Although China is obligated to maintain the current capitalist economic and social system of Hong Kong through June 30, 2047, the continuation of economic and social freedoms enjoyed in Hong Kong is dependent on the government of China. Since 1997, there have been tensions between the Chinese government and many people in Hong Kong regarding China's perceived tightening of control over Hong Kong's semi-autonomous liberal political, economic, legal, and social framework. Recent protests may prompt the Chinese and Hong Kong governments to rapidly address Hong Kong's future relationship with mainland China, which remains unresolved. Due to the interconnected nature of the Hong Kong and Chinese economies, this instability in Hong Kong may cause uncertainty in the Hong Kong and Chinese markets.
There has been increased attention from the U.S. government and U.S. regulators, including the Department of the Treasury (“DOT”) and its Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”). In a series of executive orders issued between November 2020 and June 2021, the DOT prohibited investment by U.S. investors in certain companies tied to the Chinese military or China's surveillance technology sector. The prohibited companies were described in the executive orders as “Chinese Military Industrial Complex Companies,” and the restrictions on investing in such companies was interpreted by OFAC to extend to instruments that are derivative of, or designed to provide investment exposure to, these companies, including diversified investment companies. The orders only contained a limited exception for transactions that made solely for the purpose of divestment through June 3, 2022. As a result, prior to that date, the Fund will sell any positions in such companies and will not make future investments in them, notwithstanding their potential inclusion in a Fund’s underlying index (if applicable).
There has also been increased attention from the SEC and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) with regard to international auditing standards of U.S.-listed companies with operations in China as well as PCAOB-registered auditing firms in China. The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act ("HFCAA") requires the SEC to identify reporting public companies that use public accounting firms with a branch or office located in a foreign jurisdiction that the PCAOB determines that it is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by a governmental entity in that jurisdiction ("Commission-Identified Issuers"). If an issuer is identified as a Commission-Identified Issuer for three consecutive years, the issuer's shares will be prohibited in U.S. exchange and over-the-counter markets. On March 8, 2022, pursuant to the implementing regulations established by the SEC as required by the HFCAA, the SEC began to identify companies as provisional Commission-Identified Issuers. Although the PCAOB in 2021 had determined that positions taken by PRC authorities prevented the PCAOB from inspecting and investigating audit firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong, in December 2022 the PCAOB announced that it had been able to secure complete access to inspect and investigate audit firms in the PRC for the first time in history. As a result, on December 15, 2022, the PCAOB voted to vacate the previous 2021 determinations. Depending on the PRC's continued cooperation, under the HFCAA, PCAOB determinations may result in certain issuers becoming Commission-Identified Issuers.
Recently, there have been intensified concerns about trade tariffs and a potential trade war between China and the United States, despite the United States’ signing a partial trade agreement with China that reduced some U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods while boosting Chinese purchases of American goods. However, this agreement left in place a number of existing
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tariffs, and it is unclear whether further trade agreements may be reached in the future. The ability and willingness of China to comply with the trade deal may determine to some degree the extent to which its economy will be adversely affected, which cannot be predicted at the present time. Future tariffs imposed by China and the United States on the other country’s products, or other escalating actions, may trigger a significant reduction in international trade, the oversupply of certain manufactured goods, substantial price reductions of goods and possible failure of individual companies and/or large segments of China’s export industry with a potentially negative impact to a Fund.
For decades, a state of hostility has existed between Taiwan and the PRC. Beijing has long deemed Taiwan a part of the “one China” and has made a nationalist cause of recovering it. This situation poses a threat to Taiwan’s economy and could negatively affect its stock market. In addition, China could be affected by military events on the Korean peninsula or internal instability within North Korea. These situations may cause uncertainty in the Chinese market and may adversely affect performance of the Chinese economy.
Foreign investors had historically been unable to participate in the PRC securities market. However, in late 2002, Investment Regulations promulgated by the China Securities Regulatory Commission ("CSRC") came into effect, which were replaced by the updated Investment Regulations (i.e., “Measures for the Administration of the Securities Investments of Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors in the PRC”), which came into effect on September 1, 2006, that provided a legal framework for certain Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (“QFIIs”) to invest in PRC securities and certain other securities historically not eligible for investment by non-Chinese investors, through quotas granted by China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (“SAFE”) to those QFIIs which have been approved by the CSRC. The RMB QFII (“RQFII”) program was instituted in December 2011 and is substantially similar to the QFII program, but provides for greater flexibility in repatriating assets. In 2020, the PRC government eliminated QFII and RQFII quotas, meaning that entities registered with the appropriate Chinese regulator will no longer be subject to quotas when investing in PRC securities (but will remain subject to foreign shareholder limits), and merged the two programs into the Qualified Foreign Investor regime (“QFI”).
China A-shares are equity securities of companies based in mainland China that trade on Chinese stock exchanges such as the Shanghai Stock Exchange (“SSE”) and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (“SZSE”) (“A-shares”). The ability of a Fund to invest in China A-Shares is dependent, in part, on the availability of A-Shares either through the trading and clearing facilities of a participating exchange located outside of mainland China (“Stock Connect Programs”) which currently include the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect, Shanghai-London Stock Connect, and China-Japan Stock Connect, and/or through a QFI license. Thus, the Fund’s investment in A-Shares may be limited by the daily A-Shares quota limitation and by the amount of A-Shares available through the Stock Connect Programs.
The Stock Connect Programs are subject to daily and aggregate quota limitations, and an investor cannot purchase and sell the same security on the same trading day, which may restrict a Fund’s ability to invest in A-Shares through the Stock Connect Programs and to enter into or exit trades on a timely basis. The Shanghai and Shenzhen markets may be open at a time when the participating exchanges located outside of mainland China are not active, with the result that prices of A-Shares may fluctuate at times when a Fund is unable to add to or exit a position. The mainland Chinese and Hong Kong regulators have announced in August 2022 to enhance the trading calendar for Stock Connect, to allow Stock Connect trading on all the days which are trading days in both mainland Chinese and Hong Kong markets, even when the corresponding settlement days would be public holidays. However, as of the date of this SAI, such enhancements have not been implemented and detailed operational rules are yet to be issued. As such, it is uncertain how such enhanced trading calendar will be operated. Only certain A-Shares are eligible to be accessed through the Stock Connect Programs. Such securities may lose their eligibility at any time, in which case they may no longer be able to be purchased or sold through the Stock Connect Programs. Because the Stock Connect Programs are still evolving, the actual effect on the market for trading A-Shares with the introduction of large numbers of foreign investors is still relatively unknown. In addition, there is no assurance that the necessary systems required to operate the Stock Connect Programs will function properly or will continue to be adapted to changes and developments in both markets. In the event that the relevant systems do not function properly, trading through the Stock Connect Programs could be disrupted. The Stock Connect Programs are subject to regulations promulgated by regulatory authorities for both exchanges and further regulations or restrictions, such as limitations on redemptions or suspension of trading, may adversely impact the Stock Connect Programs, if the authorities believe it necessary to assure orderly markets or for other reasons. There is no guarantee that the participating exchanges will continue to support the Stock Connect Programs in the future. Each of the foregoing could restrict a Fund from selling its investments, adversely affect the value of its holdings and negatively affect a Fund’s ability to meet shareholder redemptions.
Europe. Investing in European countries may impose economic and political risks associated with Europe in general and the specific European countries in which it invests. The economies and markets of European countries are often closely connected and interdependent, and events in one European country can have an adverse impact on other European countries. The Fund makes investments in securities of issuers that are domiciled in, or have significant operations in, member countries of the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union (the “EU”), which requires member countries to comply with restrictions on inflation rates, deficits, interest rates, debt levels and fiscal and monetary controls, each of which may significantly affect every country in Europe. Decreasing imports or exports, changes in governmental or EU regulations on trade, changes in the exchange rate of the euro (the common currency of certain EU countries), the default or threat of default by an EU member country on its sovereign debt, and/or an economic recession in an EU member country may have a significant
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adverse effect on the economies of EU member countries and their trading partners, including some or all of the emerging markets materials sector countries. Although certain European countries do not use the euro, many of these countries are obliged to meet the criteria for joining the euro zone. Consequently, these countries must comply with many of the restrictions noted above. The European financial markets have experienced volatility and adverse trends in recent years due to concerns about economic downturns, rising government debt levels and the possible default of government debt in several European countries, including Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain. In order to prevent further economic deterioration, certain countries, without prior warning, can institute “capital controls.” Countries may use these controls to restrict volatile movements of capital entering and exiting their country. Such controls may negatively affect the Fund’s investments. A default or debt restructuring by any European country would adversely impact holders of that country’s debt and sellers of credit default swaps linked to that country’s creditworthiness, which may be located in countries other than those listed above. In addition, the credit ratings of certain European countries were recently downgraded. These downgrades may result in further deterioration of investor confidence. These events have adversely affected the value and exchange rate of the euro and may continue to significantly affect the economies of every country in Europe, including countries that do not use the euro and non-EU member countries. Responses to the financial problems by European governments, central banks and others, including austerity measures and reforms, may not produce the desired results, may result in social unrest and may limit future growth and economic recovery or have other unintended consequences. Further defaults or restructurings by governments and other entities of their debt could have additional adverse effects on economies, financial markets and asset valuations around the world. In addition, one or more countries may abandon the euro and/or withdraw from the EU. The impact of these actions, especially if they occur in a disorderly fashion, is not clear but could be significant and far-reaching and could adversely impact the value of investments in the region.
In a referendum held on June 23, 2016, the United Kingdom (the “UK”) resolved to leave the EU (referred to as “Brexit”). On January 31, 2020, the UK officially withdrew from the EU pursuant to a withdrawal agreement, providing for a transition period in which the UK negotiated and finalized a trade deal with the EU, the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (the “Trade Agreement”). As a result, since January 1, 2021, the United Kingdom is no longer part of the EU customs union and single market, nor is it subject to EU policies and international agreements. The Trade Agreement, among other things, provides for zero tariffs and zero quotas on all goods that comply with appropriate rules of origin and establishes the treatment and level of access the United Kingdom and EU have agreed to grant each other’s service suppliers and investors. The Trade Agreement also covers digital trade, intellectual property, public procurement, aviation and road transport, energy, fisheries, social security coordination, law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, thematic cooperation and participation in EU programs. Even with the Trade Agreement in place, the UK’s withdrawal from the EU may create new barriers to trade in goods and services and to cross-border mobility and exchanges.
The UK has one of the largest economies in Europe, and member countries of the EU are substantial trading partners of the UK. The City of London’s economy is dominated by financial services and uncertainty remains regarding the treatment of cross-border trade in financial services. While the Trade Agreement includes certain provisions to support cross-border trade in financial services, it is not comprehensively addressed in the Trade Agreement and the parties continue to discuss ‘equivalence’ rights to allow market access for cross-border financial services. In March 2021, the EU and the UK reached a memorandum of understanding, establishing a framework for voluntary regulatory cooperation on financial services. Without access to the EU single market, certain financial services in the UK may move outside of the UK as a result of its withdrawal from the EU. In addition, financial services firms in the UK may need to move staff and comply with two separate sets of rules or lose business to financial services firms in the EU. Furthermore, the withdrawal from the EU creates the potential for decreased trade, the possibility of capital outflows, devaluation of the pound sterling, the cost of higher corporate bond spreads due to continued uncertainty, and the risk that all the above could damage business and consumer spending as well as foreign direct investment. As a result of the withdrawal from the EU, the British economy and its currency may be negatively impacted by changes to its economic and political relations with the EU. Additional member countries seeking to withdraw from the EU would likely cause additional market disruption globally and introduce new legal and regulatory uncertainties.
Brexit may also have a destabilizing impact on the EU to the extent that other member states similarly seek to withdraw from the EU. Any further exits from the EU would likely cause additional market disruptions globally and introduce new legal and regulatory uncertainties.
Russia's increasing international assertiveness could negatively impact EU economic activity. The effect on the economies of EU countries of the Russia/Ukraine war and Russia's response to sanctions imposed by the US and other countries are impossible to predict, but have been and could continue to be significant.
India. Investments in India involve special considerations not typically associated with investing in countries with more established economies or currency markets. Political, religious, and border disputes persist in India. India has recently experienced and may continue to experience civil unrest and hostilities with certain of its neighboring countries, including Pakistan, and the Indian government has confronted separatist movements in several Indian states, including Kashmir. Government control over the economy, currency fluctuations or blockage, and the risk of nationalization or expropriation of assets offer higher potential losses. Governmental actions could have a negative effect on the economic conditions in India, which could adversely affect the value and liquidity of investments made by the Fund. The securities markets in India are comparatively
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underdeveloped with some exceptions and consist of a small number of listed companies with small market capitalization, greater price volatility and substantially less liquidity than companies in more developed markets. The limited liquidity of the Indian securities market may also affect the Fund’s ability to acquire or dispose of securities at the price or time that it desires or the Fund’s ability to track NVDA.
The Indian government exercises significant influence over many aspects of the economy, and the number of public sector enterprises in India is substantial. While the Indian government has implemented economic structural reform with the objectives of liberalizing India's exchange and trade policies, reducing the fiscal deficit, controlling inflation, promoting a sound monetary policy, reforming the financial sector, and placing greater reliance on market mechanisms to direct economic activity, there can be no assurance that these policies will continue or that the economic recovery will be sustained.
Global factors and foreign actions may inhibit the flow of foreign capital on which India is dependent to sustain its growth. In addition, the Reserve Bank of India has imposed limits on foreign ownership of Indian companies, which may decrease the liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio and result in extreme volatility in the prices of Indian securities. In November 2016, the Indian government eliminated certain large denomination cash notes as legal tender, causing uncertainty in certain financial markets. These factors, coupled with the lack of extensive accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and practices, as applicable in the United States, may increase the risk of loss for the Fund.
Securities laws in India are relatively new and unsettled and, as a result, there is a risk of significant and unpredictable change in laws governing foreign investment, securities regulation, title to securities and shareholder rights. Foreign investors in particular may be adversely affected by new or amended laws and regulations. Certain Indian regulatory approvals, including approvals from the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the central government and the tax authorities (to the extent that tax benefits need to be utilized), may be required before the Fund can make investments in Indian companies. Foreign investors in India still face burdensome taxes on investments in income producing securities.
While the Indian economy has enjoyed substantial economic growth in recent years, there can be no guarantee this growth will continue. Technology and software sectors represent a significant portion of the total capitalization of the Indian securities markets. The value of these companies will generally fluctuate in response to technological and regulatory developments, and, as a result, the Fund’s holdings are expected to experience correlated fluctuations. Natural disasters, such as tsunamis, flooding or droughts, could occur in India or surrounding areas and could negatively affect the Indian economy. Agriculture occupies a prominent position in the Indian economy, therefore, it may be negatively affected by adverse weather conditions and the effects of global climate change. These and other factors may decrease the value and liquidity of the Fund's investments.
Italy. Investment in Italian issuers involves risks that are specific to Italy, including, regulatory, political, currency, and economic risks. Italy’s economy is dependent upon external trade with other economiesspecifically Germany, France and other Western European developed countries. As a result, Italy is dependent on the economies of these other countries and any change in the price or demand for Italy’s exports may have an adverse impact on its economy. Interest rates on Italy’s debt may rise to levels that may make it difficult for it to service high debt levels without significant financial help from the EU and could potentially lead to default. Recently, the Italian economy has experienced volatility due to concerns about economic downturn and rising government debt levels. Italy has been warned by the Economic and Monetary Union of the EU to reduce its public spending and debt and actions by Italy to cut spending or increase taxes in response could have significant adverse effects on the Italian economy. These events have adversely impacted the Italian economy, causing credit agencies to lower Italy’s sovereign debt rating and could decrease outside investment in Italian companies. High amounts of debt and public spending may stifle Italian economic growth or cause prolonged periods of recession.
Japan. Japanese investments may be significantly affected by events influencing Japan’s economy and changes in the exchange rate between the Japanese yen and the U.S. Dollar. Japan’s economy fell into a long recession in the 1990s. After a few years of mild recovery in the mid-2000s, Japan’s economy fell into another recession as a result of the recent global economic crisis. In December 2019, Japan’s government approved a fiscal stimulus package of nearly $120 billion in order to stimulate its slowing economy, which has been negatively affected by decreased demand from China and by recent political conflicts with South Korea. Japan is heavily dependent on exports and foreign oil and may be adversely affected by higher commodity prices, trade tariffs, protectionist measures, competition from emerging economies, and the economic conditions of its trading partners, such as China. Furthermore, Japan is located in a seismically active area, and in 2011 experienced an earthquake and a tsunami that significantly affected important elements of its infrastructure and resulted in a nuclear crisis. Since these events, Japan’s financial markets have fluctuated dramatically. The full extent of the impact of these events on Japan’s economy and on foreign investment in Japan is difficult to estimate. The risks of natural disaster of varying degrees, such as earthquakes and tsunamis, and the resulting damage, continue to exist. Japan’s economic prospects may be affected by the political and military situations of its near neighbors, notably North and South Korea, China, and Russia. In addition, the Japanese economic growth rate could be impacted by Bank of Japan monetary policies, rising interest rates, tax increases, budget deficits, consumer confidence and volatility in the Japanese yen. Japan’s labor market is adapting to an aging workforce, declining population, and demand for increased labor mobility. These demographic shifts and fundamental structural changes to the labor markets may negatively impact Japan’s economic competitiveness.
South Korea. South Korean investments may be significantly affected by events influencing its economy, which is heavily dependent on exports and the demand for certain finished goods. South Korea’s main industries include electronics, automobile
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production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel, textiles, clothing, footwear, and food processing. Conditions that weaken demand for such products worldwide or in other Asian countries could have a negative impact on the South Korean economy as a whole. The South Korean economy’s reliance on international trade makes it highly sensitive to fluctuations in international commodity prices, currency exchanges rates and government regulation, and vulnerable to downturns of the world economy, particularly with respects to its four largest export markets (the EU, Japan, United States, and China). South Korea has experienced modest economic growth in recent years, but such continued growth may slow due, in part, to the economic slowdown in China and the increased competitive advantage of Japanese exports with the weakened yen. The South Korean economy’s long-term challenges include an aging population, inflexible labor market, and overdependence on exports to drive economic growth. Relations between South Korea and North Korea remain tense, as exemplified in periodic acts of hostility, and the possibility of serious military engagement still exists. Armed conflict between North Korea and South Korea could have a severe adverse impact on the South Korean economy and its securities markets.
Latin America. The economies of certain Latin American countries have experienced high interest rates, economic volatility, inflation, currency devaluations, government defaults, high unemployment rates and political instability which can adversely affect issuers in these countries. In addition, commodities (such as oil, gas and minerals) represent a significant percentage of the region’s exports and many economies in this region are particularly sensitive to fluctuations in commodity prices. Adverse economic events in one country may have a significant adverse effect on other countries of this region. The governments of certain countries in Latin America may exercise substantial influence over many aspects of the private sector and may own or control many companies. Future government actions could have a significant effect on the economic conditions in such countries, which could have a negative impact on the securities in which a Fund invests. Diplomatic developments may also adversely affect investments in certain countries in Latin America. Some countries in Latin America may be affected by public corruption and crime, including organized crime. Certain countries in Latin America may be heavily dependent upon international trade and, consequently, have been and may continue to be negatively affected by trade barriers, exchange controls, managed adjustments in relative currency values and other protectionist measures imposed or negotiated by the countries with which they trade. These countries also have been and may continue to be adversely affected by economic conditions in the countries with which they trade. In addition, certain issuers located in countries in Latin America in which a Fund invests may be the subject of sanctions (for example, the U.S. has imposed sanctions on certain Venezuelan individuals, corporate entities and the Venezuelan government) or have dealings with countries subject to sanctions and/or embargoes imposed by the U.S. government and the United Nations and/or countries identified by the U.S. government as state sponsors of terrorism. An issuer may sustain damage to its reputation if it is identified as an issuer that has dealings with such countries. A Fund may be adversely affected if it invests in such issuers. Certain Latin American countries may also have managed currencies, which are maintained at artificial levels to the U.S. Dollar rather than at levels determined by the market. This type of system can lead to sudden and large adjustments in the currency which, in turn, can have a disruptive and negative effect on foreign investors. Certain Latin American countries also restrict the free conversion of their currency into foreign currencies, including the U.S. Dollar. There is no significant foreign exchange market for many currencies and it would, as a result, be difficult for the Fund to engage in foreign currency transactions designed to protect the value of the Fund’s interests in securities denominated in such currencies. Finally, a number of Latin American countries are among the largest debtors of developing countries. There have been moratoria on, and reschedulings of, repayment with respect to these debts. Such events can restrict the flexibility of these debtor nations in the international markets and result in the imposition of onerous conditions on their economies.
Mexico. Investment in Mexican issuers involves risks that are specific to Mexico, including regulatory, political, and economic risks. In the past, Mexico has experienced high interest rates, economic volatility, significant devaluation of its currency (the peso), and high unemployment rates. The Mexican economy is dependent upon external trade with other economies, specifically with the United States and certain Latin American countries. Additionally, a high level of foreign investment in Mexican assets may increase Mexico’s exposure to risks associated with changes in international investor sentiment. In 2018, the United States, Mexico and Canada signed and ratified the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”), which replaces the current North American Free Trade Agreement among the three countries. The adoption of USMCA may have a significant impact on Mexico’s economy and, consequently, the value of the securities held by a Fund.
The Mexican economy is heavily dependent on trade with, and foreign investment from, the U.S. and Canada, which are Mexico’s principal trading partners. Any changes in the supply, demand, price or other economic component of Mexico’s imports or exports, as well as any reductions in foreign investment from, or changes in the economies of, the U.S. or Canada, may have an adverse impact on the Mexican economy. Because commodities such as oil and gas, minerals and metals represent a large portion of the region’s exports, the economies of these countries are particularly sensitive to fluctuations in commodity prices. Mexico’s economy has also become increasingly manufacturing-oriented. Because Mexico’s top export is automotive vehicles, its economy is strongly tied to the U.S. automotive market, and changes to certain segments in the U.S. market could have an impact on the Mexican economy. The automotive industry and other industrial products can be highly cyclical, and companies in these industries may suffer periodic operating losses. These industries can also be significantly affected by labor relations and fluctuating component prices. The agricultural and mining sectors of Mexico’s economy also account for a large portion of its exports, and Mexico is susceptible to fluctuations in the price and demand for agricultural products and natural resources. In addition, Mexico has privatized or has begun the process of privatization of certain entities and
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industries, and some investors have suffered losses due to the inability of the newly privatized entities to adjust to a competitive environment and changing regulatory standards.
Mexico has been destabilized by local insurrections, social upheavals and drug-related violence. Additionally, violence near border areas, border-related political disputes, and other social upheaval may lead to strained international relations. Mexico has also experienced contentious and very closely decided elections. Changes in political parties and other political events may affect the economy and contribute to additional instability. Recurrence of these or similar conditions may adversely impact the Mexican economy.
Russia. Investing in Russia involves risks and special considerations not typically associated with investing in United States. Since the breakup of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991, Russia has experienced dramatic political, economic, and social change. The political system in Russia is emerging from a long history of extensive state involvement in economic affairs. The country is undergoing a rapid transition from a centrally-controlled command system to a market-oriented, democratic model. As a result, companies in Russia are characterized by a lack of: (i) management with experience of operating in a market economy; (ii) modern technology; and, (iii) a sufficient capital base with which to develop and expand their operations. It is unclear what will be the future effect on Russian companies, if any, of Russia’s continued attempts to move toward a more market-oriented economy. Russia’s economy has been characterized by high rates of inflation, high rates of unemployment, declining gross domestic product, deficit government spending, and a devalued currency. The economic reform program has involved major disruptions and dislocations in various sectors of the economy, and those problems have been exacerbated by growing liquidity problems. Russia’s economy is also heavily reliant on the energy and defense-related sectors, and is therefore susceptible to the risks associated with these industries. Further, Russia presently receives significant financial assistance from a number of countries through various programs. To the extent these programs are reduced or eliminated in the future, Russian economic development may be adversely impacted. The laws and regulations in Russia affecting Western business investment continue to evolve in an unpredictable manner. Russian laws and regulations, particularly those involving taxation, foreign investment and trade, title to property or securities, and transfer of title, which may be applicable to the Fund’s activities are relatively new and can change quickly and unpredictably in a manner far more volatile than in the United States or other developed market economies. Although basic commercial laws are in place, they are often unclear or contradictory and subject to varying interpretation, and may at any time be amended, modified, repealed or replaced in a manner adverse to the interest of the Fund.
Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine, and corresponding events in late February 2022, have had, and could continue to have, severe adverse effects on regional and global economic markets for securities and commodities. Following Russia’s actions, various governments, including the United States, have issued broad-ranging economic sanctions against Russia, including, among other actions, a prohibition on doing business with certain Russian companies, large financial institutions, officials and oligarchs; the removal by certain countries and the European Union of selected Russian banks from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (“SWIFT”), the electronic banking network that connects banks globally; and restrictive measures to prevent the Russian Central Bank from undermining the impact of the sanctions. The current events, including sanctions and the potential for future sanctions, including any impacting Russia’s energy sector, and other actions, and Russia’s retaliatory responses to those sanctions and actions, may continue to adversely impact the Russian economy and economies of surrounding countries and may result in the further decline of the value and liquidity of Russian securities and securities of surrounding countries, a continued weakening of currencies in the region and continued exchange closures, and may have other adverse consequences on the economies of countries in the region that could impact the value of investments in the region and impair the ability of a Fund to buy, sell, receive or deliver securities of companies in the region or a Fund’s ability to collect interest payments on fixed income securities in the region. For example, exports in Eastern Europe have been disrupted for certain key commodities, pushing commodity prices to record highs, and energy prices in Europe have increased significantly. Moreover, those events have, and could continue to have, an adverse effect on global markets performance and liquidity, thereby negatively affecting the value of a Fund’s investments beyond any direct exposure to issuers in the region. The duration of ongoing hostilities and the vast array of sanctions and related events cannot be predicted. Those events present material uncertainty and risk with respect to markets globally and the performance of a Fund and its investments or operations could be negatively impacted.
Depositary Receipts
To the extent the Fund invests in stocks of foreign corporations, the Fund’s investment in such stocks may also be in the form of depositary receipts or other securities convertible into securities of foreign issuers. Depository receipts are receipts, typically issued by a financial institution, with evidence of underlying securities issued by a non-U.S. issuer. Types of depositary receipts include American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”) and European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”). Depository receipts may not necessarily be denominated in the same currency as the underlying securities into which they may be converted.
ADRs are receipts typically issued by an American bank or trust company that evidence ownership of underlying securities issued by a foreign corporation. Investments in ADRs have certain advantages over direct investment in the underlying foreign securities because: (i) ADRs are U.S. dollar-denominated investments that are easily transferable and for which
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market quotations are readily available, and (ii) issuers whose securities are represented by ADRs are generally subject to auditing, accounting and financial reporting standards similar to those applied to domestic issuers. By investing in ADRs rather than directly in the stock of foreign issuers outside the U.S. the Fund may avoid certain risks related to investing in foreign securities in non-U.S. markets, however, ADRs do not eliminate all risks inherent in investing in the securities of foreign issuers.
EDRs are receipts issued in Europe that evidence a similar ownership arrangement. GDRs are receipts issued throughout the world that evidence a similar arrangement. Generally, ADRs, in registered form, are designed for use in the U.S. securities markets, and EDRs, in bearer form, are designed for use in European securities markets. GDRs are tradable both in the United States and in Europe and are designed for use throughout the world.
Depositary receipts may be purchased through “sponsored” or “unsponsored” facilities, in which the Fund may invest. A sponsored facility is established jointly by the issuer of the underlying security and a depositary, whereas a depositary may establish an unsponsored facility without participation by the issuer of the depositary security. Holders of unsponsored depositary receipts generally bear all the costs of such facilities and the depositary of an unsponsored facility frequently is under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the issuer of the deposited security or to pass through voting rights to the holders of such receipts of the deposited securities.
Fund investments in depositary receipts, which include ADRs, GDRs and EDRs, are deemed to be investments in foreign securities for purposes of the Fund’s investment strategy.
Foreign Currencies
The Fund may invest directly and indirectly in foreign currencies. Investments in foreign currencies are subject to numerous risks not least being the fluctuation of foreign currency exchange rates with respect to the U.S. Dollar. Exchange rates fluctuate for a number of reasons.
Inflation. Exchange rates change to reflect changes in a currency’s buying power. Different countries experience different inflation rates due to different monetary and fiscal policies, different product and labor market conditions, and a host of other factors.
Trade Deficits. Countries with trade deficits tend to experience a depreciating currency. Inflation may be the cause of a trade deficit, making a country’s goods more expensive and less competitive and so reducing demand for its currency.
Interest Rates. High interest rates may raise currency values in the short term by making such currencies more attractive to investors. However, since high interest rates are often the result of high inflation, long-term results may be the opposite.
Budget Deficits and Low Savings Rates. Countries that run large budget deficits and save little of their national income tend to suffer a depreciating currency because they are forced to borrow abroad to finance their deficits. Payments of interest on this debt can inundate the currency markets with the currency of the debtor nation. Budget deficits also can indirectly contribute to currency depreciation if a government chooses inflationary measures to cope with its deficits and debt.
Political Factors. Political instability in a country can cause a currency to depreciate. Demand for a certain currency may fall if a country appears a less desirable place in which to invest and do business.
Government Control. Through their own buying and selling of currencies, the world’s central banks sometimes manipulate exchange rate movements. In addition, governments occasionally issue statements to influence people’s expectations about the direction of exchange rates, or they may instigate policies with an exchange rate target as the goal.
The value of the Fund’s investments is calculated in U.S. Dollars each day that the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open for business. As a result, to the extent that the Fund’s assets are invested in instruments denominated in foreign currencies and the currencies appreciate relative to the U.S. Dollar, the Fund’s NAV per share as expressed in U.S. Dollars (and, therefore, the value of your investment) should increase. If the U.S. Dollar appreciates relative to the other currencies, the opposite should occur.
The currency-related gains and losses experienced by the Fund will be based on changes in the value of portfolio securities attributable to currency fluctuations only in relation to the original purchase price of such securities as stated in U.S. Dollars. Gains or losses on shares of the Fund will be based on changes attributable to fluctuations in the NAV of such shares, expressed in U.S. Dollars, in relation to the original U.S. Dollar purchase price of the shares. The amount of appreciation or depreciation in the Fund’s assets also will be affected by the net investment income generated by the money market instruments in which the Fund invests and by changes in the value of the securities that are unrelated to changes in currency exchange rates.
The Fund may incur currency exchange costs when it sells instruments denominated in one currency and buys instruments denominated in another.
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Currency Transactions. The Fund conducts currency exchange transactions on a spot basis. Currency transactions made on a spot basis are for cash at the spot rate prevailing in the currency exchange market for buying or selling currency. The Fund also enters into forward currency contracts. See “Futures Contracts, Options, and Other Derivative Strategies” section below. A forward currency contract is an obligation to buy or sell a specific currency at a future date, which may be any fixed number of days from the date of the contract agreed upon by the parties, at a price set at the time of the contract. These contracts are entered into on the interbank market conducted directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. A currency forward contract will tend to reduce or eliminate exposure to the currency that is sold, and increase exposure to the currency that is purchased, similar to when a fund sells a security denominated in one currency and purchases a security denominated in another currency. For example, the Fund may enter into a forward contract when it owns a security that is denominated in a non-U.S. currency and desires to “lock in” the U.S. dollar value of the security.
The Fund may invest in a combination of forward currency contracts and U.S. Dollar-denominated market instruments in an attempt to obtain an investment result that is substantially the same as a direct investment in a foreign currency-denominated instrument. This investment technique creates a “synthetic” position in the particular foreign-currency instrument whose performance the Adviser is trying to duplicate. For example, the combination of U.S. Dollar-denominated instruments with “long” forward currency exchange contracts creates a position economically equivalent to a money market instrument denominated in the foreign currency itself. Such combined positions are sometimes necessary when the money market in a particular foreign currency is small or relatively illiquid.
The Fund may invest in forward currency contracts to hedge either specific transactions (transaction hedging) or portfolio positions (position hedging). Transaction hedging is the purchase or sale of forward currency contracts with respect to specific receivables or payables of the Fund in connection with the purchase and sale of portfolio securities. Position hedging is the sale of a forward currency contract on a particular currency with respect to portfolio positions denominated or quoted in that currency.
The Fund may use forward currency contracts for position hedging if consistent with its policy of trying to expose its net assets to foreign currencies. The Fund is not required to enter into forward currency contracts for hedging purposes and it is possible that the Fund may not be able to hedge against a currency devaluation that is so generally anticipated that the Fund is unable to contract to sell the currency at a price above the devaluation level it anticipates. It also is possible, under certain circumstances, that the Fund may have to limit its currency transactions to qualify as a “regulated investment company” (“RIC”) under Subchapter M of Chapter 1 of Subtitle A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (“Code”). See “Dividends, Other Distributions and Taxes.”
The Fund currently does not intend to enter into a forward currency contract with a term of more than one year, or to engage in position hedging with respect to the currency of a particular country to more than the aggregate market value (at the time the hedging transaction is entered into) of its portfolio securities denominated in (or quoted in or currently convertible into or directly related through the use of forward currency contracts in conjunction with money market instruments to) that particular currency.
Under definitions adopted by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and SEC, non-deliverable forwards are considered swaps, and therefore are included in the definition of “commodity interests.” Although non-deliverable forwards have historically been traded in the over-the-counter (“OTC”) market, as swaps they may in the future be required to be centrally cleared and traded on public facilities. For more information on central clearing and trading of cleared swaps, see “Cleared swaps,” “Risks of cleared swaps,” “Comprehensive swaps regulation” and “Developing government regulation of derivatives.” Currency forwards that qualify as deliverable forwards are not regulated as swaps for most purposes, and are not included in the definition of “commodity interests.” However these forwards are subject to some requirements applicable to swaps, including reporting to swap data repositories, documentation requirements, and business conduct rules applicable to swap dealers. CFTC regulation of currency forwards, especially non-deliverable forwards, may restrict the Fund’s ability to use these instruments in the manner described above or subject the investment manager to CFTC registration and regulation as a commodity pool operator (“CPO”).
At or before the maturity of a forward currency contract, the Fund may either sell a portfolio security and make delivery of the currency, or retain the security and terminate its contractual obligation to deliver the currency by buying an “offsetting” contract obligating it to buy, on the same maturity date, the same amount of the currency. If the Fund engages in an offsetting transaction, it may later enter into a new forward currency contract to sell the currency.
If the Fund engages in an offsetting transaction, it will incur a gain or loss to the extent that there has been movement in forward currency contract prices. If forward prices go down during the period between the date the Fund enters into a forward currency contract for the sale of a currency and the date it enters into an offsetting contract for the purchase of the currency, the Fund will realize a gain to the extent that the price of the currency it has agreed to sell exceeds the price of the currency it has agreed to buy. If forward prices go up, the Fund will suffer a loss to the extent the price of the currency it has agreed to buy exceeds the price of the currency it has agreed to sell.
Since the Fund invests in money market instruments denominated in foreign currencies, it may hold foreign currencies pending investment or conversion into U.S. Dollars. Although the Fund values its assets daily in U.S. Dollars, it does not
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convert its holdings of foreign currencies into U.S. Dollars on a daily basis. The Fund will convert its holdings from time to time, however, and incur the costs of currency conversion. Foreign exchange dealers do not charge a fee for conversion, but they do realize a profit based on the difference between the prices at which they buy and sell various currencies. Thus, a dealer may offer to sell a foreign currency to the Fund at one rate, and offer to buy the currency at a lower rate if the Fund tries to resell the currency to the dealer.
Risks of currency forward contracts. Should exchange rates move in an unexpected manner, the Fund may not achieve the anticipated benefits of the transaction, or it may realize losses. In addition, these techniques could result in a loss if the counterparty to the transaction does not perform as promised, including because of the counterparty’s bankruptcy or insolvency. While the Fund uses only counterparties that meet its credit quality standards, in unusual or extreme market conditions, a counterparty’s creditworthiness and ability to perform may deteriorate rapidly, and the availability of suitable replacement counterparties may become limited. Currency forward contracts may limit potential gain from a positive change in the relationship between the U.S. Dollar and foreign currencies. Unanticipated changes in currency prices may result in poorer overall performance for the Fund than if it had not engaged in such contracts. Moreover, there may be an imperfect correlation between the Fund’s portfolio holdings of securities denominated in a particular currency and the currencies bought or sold in the forward contracts entered into by the Fund. This imperfect correlation may cause the Fund to sustain losses that will prevent the Fund from achieving a complete hedge or expose the Fund to risk of foreign exchange loss.
Foreign Currency Options. The Fund may invest in foreign currency-denominated securities and may buy or sell put and call options on foreign currencies. The Fund may buy or sell put and call options on foreign currencies either on exchanges or in the OTC market. A put option on a foreign currency gives the purchaser of the option the right to sell a foreign currency at the exercise price until the option expires. A call option on a foreign currency gives the purchaser of the option the right to purchase the currency at the exercise price until the option expires. Currency options traded on U.S. or other exchanges may be subject to position limits which may limit the ability of the Fund to reduce foreign currency risk using such options. OTC options differ from traded options in that they are two-party contracts with price and other terms negotiated between buyer and seller, and generally do not have as much market liquidity as exchange-traded options.
Foreign Currency Exchange-Related Securities
Foreign Currency Warrants. Foreign currency warrants such as Currency Exchange WarrantsSM (“CEWsSM”) are warrants which entitle the holder to receive from their issuer an amount of cash (generally, for warrants issued in the United States, in U.S. Dollars) which is calculated pursuant to a predetermined formula and based on the exchange rate between a specified foreign currency and the U.S. Dollar as of the exercise date of the warrant. Foreign currency warrants generally are exercisable upon their issuance and expire as of a specified date and time. Foreign currency warrants have been issued in connection with U.S. Dollar-denominated debt offerings by major corporate issuers in an attempt to reduce the foreign currency exchange risk which, from the point of view of prospective purchasers of the securities, is inherent in the international fixed-income marketplace. Foreign currency warrants may attempt to reduce the foreign exchange risk assumed by purchasers of a security by, for example, providing for a supplemental payment in the event that the U.S. Dollar depreciates against the value of a major foreign currency such as the Japanese yen or the Euro. The formula used to determine the amount payable upon exercise of a foreign currency warrant may make the warrant worthless unless the applicable foreign currency exchange rate moves in a particular direction (e.g., unless the U.S. Dollar appreciates or depreciates against the particular foreign currency to which the warrant is linked or indexed). Foreign currency warrants are severable from the debt obligations with which they may be offered, and may be listed on exchanges. Foreign currency warrants may be exercisable only in certain minimum amounts, and an investor wishing to exercise warrants who possesses less than the minimum number required for exercise may be required either to sell the warrants or to purchase additional warrants, thereby incurring additional transaction costs. In the case of any exercise of warrants, there may be a time delay between the time a holder of warrants gives instructions to exercise and the time the exchange rate relating to exercise is determined, during which time the exchange rate could change significantly, thereby affecting both the market and cash settlement values of the warrants being exercised. The expiration date of the warrants may be accelerated if the warrants should be delisted from an exchange or if their trading should be suspended permanently, which would result in the loss of any remaining “time value” of the warrants (i.e., the difference between the current market value and the exercise value of the warrants), and, in the case the warrants were “out-of-the-money,” in a total loss of the purchase price of the warrants.
Warrants are generally unsecured obligations of their issuers and are not standardized foreign currency options issued by the Options Clearing Corporation (“OCC”). Unlike foreign currency options issued by OCC, the terms of foreign exchange warrants generally will not be amended in the event of governmental or regulatory actions affecting exchange rates or in the event of the imposition of other regulatory controls affecting the international currency markets. The initial public offering price of foreign currency warrants is generally considerably in excess of the price that a commercial user of foreign currencies might pay in the interbank market for a comparable option involving significantly larger amounts of foreign currencies. Foreign currency warrants are subject to significant foreign exchange risk, including risks arising from complex political or economic factors.
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Principal Exchange Rate Linked Securities. Principal exchange rate linked securities (“PERLsSM”) are debt obligations the principal on which is payable at maturity in an amount that may vary based on the exchange rate between the U.S. Dollar and a particular foreign currency at or about that time. The return on “standard” principal exchange rate linked securities is enhanced if the foreign currency to which the security is linked appreciates against the U.S. Dollar, and is adversely affected by increases in the foreign exchange value of the U.S. Dollar; “reverse” principal exchange rate linked securities are like the “standard” securities, except that their return is enhanced by increases in the value of the U.S. Dollar and adversely impacted by increases in the value of foreign currency. Interest payments on the securities are generally made in U.S. Dollars at rates that reflect the degree of foreign currency risk assumed or given up by the purchaser of the notes (i.e., at relatively higher interest rates if the purchaser has assumed some of the foreign exchange risk, or relatively lower interest rates if the issuer has assumed some of the foreign exchange risk, based on the expectations of the current market). Principal exchange rate linked securities may in limited cases be subject to acceleration of maturity (generally, not without the consent of the holders of the securities), which may have an adverse impact on the value of the principal payment to be made at maturity.
Performance Indexed Paper. Performance indexed paper (“PIPsSM”) is U.S. Dollar-denominated commercial paper the yield of which is linked to certain foreign exchange rate movements. The yield to the investor on performance indexed paper is established at maturity as a function of spot exchange rates between the U.S. Dollar and a designated currency as of or about that time (generally, the index maturity two days prior to maturity). The yield to the investor will be within a range stipulated at the time of purchase of the obligation, generally with a guaranteed minimum rate of return that is below, and a potential maximum rate of return that is above, market yields on U.S. Dollar-denominated commercial paper, with both the minimum and maximum rates of return on the investment corresponding to the minimum and maximum values of the spot exchange rate two business days prior to maturity.
Hybrid Instruments
The Fund may invest in hybrid instruments. A hybrid instrument is a type of potentially high-risk derivative that combines a traditional stock, bond, or commodity with an option or forward contract. Generally, the principal amount, amount payable upon maturity or redemption, or interest rate of a hybrid is tied (positively or negatively) to the price of some commodity, currency or securities index or another interest rate or some other economic factor (each a “benchmark”). The interest rate or (unlike most fixed income securities) the principal amount payable at maturity of a hybrid security may be increased or decreased, depending on changes in the value of the benchmark. A hybrid could be, for example, a bond issued by an oil company that pays a small base level of interest, in addition to interest that accrues when oil prices exceed a certain predetermined level. Such a hybrid instrument would be a combination of a bond and a call option on oil.
Hybrids can be used as an efficient means of pursuing a variety of investment goals, including currency hedging, and increased total return. Hybrids may not bear interest or pay dividends. The value of a hybrid or its interest rate may be a multiple of a benchmark and, as a result, may be leveraged and move (up or down) more steeply and rapidly than the benchmark. These benchmarks may be sensitive to economic and political events, such as commodity shortages and currency devaluations, which cannot be readily foreseen by the purchaser of a hybrid. Under certain conditions, the redemption value of a hybrid could be zero. Thus, an investment in a hybrid may entail significant market risks that are not associated with a similar investment in a traditional, U.S. Dollar-denominated bond that has a fixed principal amount and pays a fixed rate or floating rate of interest. The purchase of hybrids also exposes the Fund to the credit risk of the issuer of the hybrids. These risks may cause significant fluctuations in the NAV of the Fund.
Certain issuers of structured products such as hybrid instruments may be deemed to be investment companies as defined in the 1940 Act. As a result, the Fund’s investment in these products may be subject to limits applicable to investments in investment companies and may be subject to restrictions contained in the 1940 Act.
Illiquid Investments and Restricted Securities
The Fund may purchase and hold illiquid investments. The term “illiquid investments” for this purpose 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. The Fund will not acquire illiquid securities if, as a result, such securities would comprise more than 15% of the value of the Fund’s net assets. Rafferty, subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees, has the ultimate authority to determine, to the extent permissible under the federal securities laws, which securities are liquid or illiquid for purposes of this 15% limitation under the Fund’s liquidity risk management program, adopted pursuant to Rule 22e-4 under the 1940 Act. Illiquid securities will be priced at fair value as determined in good faith under procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees. If, through the appreciation of illiquid securities or the depreciation of liquid securities, the Fund should be in a position where more than 15% of the value of its net assets are invested in illiquid securities, including restricted securities which are not readily marketable, Rafferty will report such occurrence
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to the Board of Trustees and take such steps as are deemed advisable to protect liquidity in accordance with the Fund’s liquidity risk management program.
The Fund may not be able to sell illiquid investments when Rafferty considers it desirable to do so or may have to sell such investments at a price that is lower than the price that could be obtained if the investments were liquid. In addition, the sale of illiquid investments may require more time and result in higher dealer discounts and other selling expenses than does the sale of investments that are not illiquid. Illiquid investments also may be more difficult to value due to the unavailability of reliable market quotations for such investments, and investment in illiquid investments may have an adverse impact on NAV.
Rule 144A establishes a “safe harbor” from the registration requirements of the 1933 Act for resales of certain securities to qualified institutional buyers. Institutional markets for restricted securities that have developed as a result of Rule 144A provide both readily ascertainable values for certain restricted securities and the ability to liquidate an investment to satisfy share redemption orders. This policy does not include restricted securities eligible for resale pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“1933 Act”), which the Trust’s Board of Trustees (“Board” or “Trustees”), or Rafferty, under Board-approved guidelines, has determined are liquid. The Fund currently does not anticipate investing in such restricted securities. However, to the extent that the Fund does invest in such restricted securities, an insufficient number of qualified institutional buyers interested in purchasing Rule 144A-eligible securities held by the Fund could adversely affect the marketability of such portfolio securities, and the Fund may be unable to dispose of such securities promptly or at reasonable prices.
Indexed Securities
The Fund may purchase indexed securities, which are securities, the value of which varies positively or negatively in relation to the value of other securities, securities indices or other financial indicators, consistent with its investment objective. Indexed securities may be debt securities or deposits whose value at maturity or coupon rate is determined by reference to a specific instrument or s