485APOS 1 lp1.htm POST-EFFECTIVE AMENDMENT NO. 7

File No. 333-234030

811-23477

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. 4 [X]

and/or

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 [X]

Amendment No. 7 [X]

(Check appropriate box or boxes.)

BNY Mellon ETF Trust

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286

(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

Registrant's Telephone Number, including Area Code: (212) 922-6400

Bennett A. MacDougall, Esq.

240 Greenwich Street

New York, New York 10286

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

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

__ immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)

__ on _________ pursuant to paragraph (b)

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

__ on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)

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.

The information in this Prospectus is not complete and may be changed. A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The securities described herein may not be sold until the registration statement becomes effective. This Prospectus is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state in which the offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

BNY Mellon ETF Trust

Prospectus

[ ], 2021

BNY Mellon Ultra Short Income ETF

Ticker: [__]

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved
these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is
a criminal offense.

Principal U.S. Listing Exchange: [__]

Contents

Fund Summary

Fund Details

Goal and Approach

Investment Risks

Management

Distributor and Distribution and Service Plan

Additional Information

Additional Purchase and Sale Information

Portfolio Holdings Disclosure

Distributions

Additional Tax Information

General Information

Financial Highlights

For More Information

See back cover.

Fund Summary

Investment Objective

The fund seeks high current income consistent with the maintenance of liquidity and low volatility of principal.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the 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			0.[ ]%
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees			None
Other expenses¹			0.00%
Total annual fund operating expenses			0.[ ]%
¹"Other expenses" are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.
^*The fund's management agreement provides that BNY Mellon ETF Investment Adviser, LLC (Adviser), the fund's investment adviser, will pay substantially all expenses of the fund, except for the [ ].

Example

The Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then hold or 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 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. The fund is new and does not yet have a portfolio turnover rate to disclose.

Principal Investment Strategy

To pursue its goal, the fund normally invests in investment grade, U.S. dollar denominated fixed, variable, and floating rate debt or cash equivalents, including the following:

Corporate securities;

Asset-backed securities;

Repurchase agreements;

High quality money market instruments, such as commercial paper, certificates of deposit, time deposits and bankers' acceptances;

U.S. Treasury securities;

Securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, or government-sponsored enterprises (U.S. government securities);

Obligations issued or guaranteed by one or more foreign governments or any of their political subdivisions or agencies;

Securities issued by foreign corporations or a U.S. affiliate of a foreign corporation; and

Securities subject to purchase and sale restrictions that are offered pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

The fund's investments are concentrated in the banking industry. In particular, the fund normally invests at least 25% of its net assets in domestic or dollar-denominated foreign bank obligations.

The fund's portfolio managers seek to achieve what they believe provides the optimal portfolio for the fund in terms of preservation of principal, liquidity and producing high current income. To do so, the portfolio managers leverage the breadth and depth of [_____] research resources and:

Focus on preservation of principal and downside protection by proactively monitoring issuer and counterparty risk.

Consider account statistical metrics to ensure appropriate portfolio liquidity.

Use a top-down approach to monitor global regulatory, macro, sector and country developments with a potential indirect impact.

Use a bottom-up optimization approach for yield and risk-adjusted returns by relying on proprietary research and trading resources at the macro, sector and issuer levels.

In selecting securitites for the fund's portfolio, the portfolio managers conduct broad top-down, macroeconomic analysis that identifies general investment themes and risks with an emphasis on region, country, interest rate curve and duration. The main indicators used to achieve the desired strategy results are grouped into the following categories:

Valuation: The portfolio managers use a number of valuation indicators and quantitative models to help establish fair value for a bond.

Cyclical Research: Once the level of fair value is estimated, the portfolio managers then perform cyclical research, which is based on classical fundamental macroeconomics, to assess why a bond is over- or undervalued.

Market Expectations: Finally, the last step of the portfolio managers' macroeconomic assessment is to understand market expectations, which is used as a behavioral or contrarian indicator. For example, if there is a highly bullish position, then the good news is likely already “priced-in.”

Conclusion of Top-Down Macroeconomic Assessment: The portfolio managers believe they are best able to capture the highest risk-adjusted returns from a security: 1) when the portfolio managers can find a security that is undervalued, 2) where the cyclical research indicates that the fund's portfolio should rebalance in favor of the security and 3) when the consensus view towards the security is at a bearish extreme.

When the portfolio managers complete their top-down macroeconomic assessment, they proceed with their duration/yield curve and sector allocation positioning.

Sector Allocation - Top down strategy: The portfolio managers’ sector allocation decision begins with the broad top-down, macroeconomic assessment of region, country, curve and duration. They then attempt to identify those sectors they believe will outperform.

Principal Risks

An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit. It is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency. It is not a complete investment program. The fund's share price fluctuates, sometimes dramatically, which means you could lose money.

Interest rate risk. Prices of bonds and other fixed rate fixed-income securities tend to move inversely with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in rates will adversely affect fixed-income securities and, accordingly, will cause the value of the fund's investments in these securities to decline. During periods of very low interest rates, which occur from time to time due to market forces or actions of governments and/or their central banks, including the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in the U.S., the fund may be subject to a greater risk of principal decline from rising interest rates. When interest rates fall, the fund's investments in new securities may be at lower yields and may reduce the fund's income. The magnitude of these fluctuations in the market price of fixed-income securities is generally greater for securities with longer effective maturities and durations because such instruments do not mature, reset interest rates or become callable for longer periods of time.

Floating and variable rate securities risk. Floating and variable rate securities provide for a periodic adjustment in the interest rate paid on the securities. The rate adjustment intervals may be regular and range from daily up to annually, or may be based on an event, such as a change in the prime rate. Securities with floating or variable interest rates can be less sensitive to interest rate changes than securities with fixed interest rates, but may decline in value if their coupon rates do not reset as high, or as quickly, as comparable market interest rates, and generally carry lower yields than fixed notes of the same maturity. Floating and variable rate securities may be subject to greater liquidity risk than other debt securities, meaning that there may be limitations on the fund’s ability to sell the securities at any given time. Such securities may also lose value.

Credit risk. Failure of an issuer of a security to make timely interest or principal payments when due, or a decline or perception of a decline in the credit quality of the security, can cause the security's price to fall. The lower a security's credit rating, the greater the chance that the issuer of the security will default or fail to meet its payment obligations.

Banking industry risk. The risks generally associated with concentrating investments in the banking industry include interest rate risk, credit risk, and regulatory developments relating to the banking industry such as extensive governmental regulation and/or nationalization that affects the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge and the amount of capital they must maintain; adverse effects on profitability due to increases in interest rates or loan losses; severe price competition; and increased inter-industry consolidation and competition.

Repurchase agreement counterparty risk. The fund is subject to the risk that a counterparty in a repurchase agreement and/or, for a tri-party repurchase agreement, the third party bank providing payment administration, collateral custody and management services for the transaction, could fail to honor the terms of the agreement.

Commercial paper risk. Commercial paper is a short-term obligation with a maturity generally ranging from one to 270 days and is issued by U.S. or foreign companies or other entities in order to finance their current operations. Such investments are unsecured and usually discounted from their value at maturity. The value of commercial paper may be affected by changes in the credit rating or financial condition of the issuing entities and will tend to fall when interest rates rise and rise when interest rates fall.

Certificates of deposit, time deposits and bankers' acceptances risk. The activities of banks, which are the primary issuers of certificates of deposit, time deposits and bankers' acceptances are subject to comprehensive regulations. The enactment of new legislation or regulations, as well as changes in interpretation and enforcement of current laws, may affect the manner of operations and profitability of banks. Banks may be particularly susceptible to certain economic factors, such as interest rate changes and adverse developments in the real estate markets. Fiscal and monetary policy and general economic cycles can affect the availability and cost of funds, loan demand and asset quality and thereby impact the earnings and financial conditions of banks.

U.S. Treasury securities risk. A security backed by the U.S. Treasury or the full faith and credit of the United States is guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity, but the market prices for such securities are not guaranteed and will fluctuate. In addition, such guarantees do not extend to shares of the fund itself. Because U.S. Treasury securities trade actively outside the United States, their prices may rise and fall as changes in global economic conditions affect the demand for these securities.

Government securities risk. Not all obligations of the U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury. Some obligations are backed only by the credit of the issuing agency or instrumentality, and in some cases there may be some risk of default by the issuer. Any guarantee by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities of a security held by the fund does not apply to the market value of such security or to shares of the fund itself. A security backed by the U.S. Treasury or the full faith and credit of the United States is guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. In addition, because many types of U.S. government securities trade actively outside the United States, their prices may rise and fall as changes in global economic conditions affect the demand for these securities.

Foreign investment risk. To the extent the fund invests in foreign securities, the fund's performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting investments in foreign issuers. Special risks associated with investments in foreign issuers include exposure to less liquidity, less developed or less efficient trading markets, lack of comprehensive company information, political and economic instability and differing auditing and legal standards.

Foreign government obligations, debt obligations of supranational entities and sovereign debt obligations risk. Investing in foreign government obligations, debt obligations of supranational entities and the sovereign debt of foreign countries creates exposure to the direct or indirect consequences of political, social or economic changes in the countries that issue the securities or in which the issuers are located. A governmental obligor may default on its obligations. Some sovereign obligors have been among the world's largest debtors to commercial banks, other governments, international financial organizations and other financial institutions. These obligors, in the past, have experienced substantial difficulties in servicing their external debt obligations, which led to defaults on certain obligations and the restructuring of certain indebtedness.

Rule 144A securities risk. Rule 144A securities are restricted securities that, while privately placed, are eligible for purchase and resale pursuant to Rule 144A by “qualified institutional buyers,” as defined under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“Securities Act”). The market for Rule 144A securities typically is less active than the market for publicly-traded securities. As such, investing in Rule 144A securities may reduce the liquidity of the fund’s investments, and the fund may be unable to sell the security at the desired time or price, if at all. The purchase price and subsequent valuation of Rule 144A securities normally reflect a discount, which may be significant, from the market price of comparable unrestricted securities for which a liquid trading market exists. A restricted security that was liquid at the time of purchase may subsequently become illiquid and its value may decline as a result. The sub-adviser will evaluate the liquidity of Rule 144A securities prior to investing in such securities and monitor their liquidity thereafter. In addition, transaction costs may be higher for restricted securities than for more liquid securities.

Issuer risk. A security's market value may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's products or services, or factors that affect the issuer's industry, such as labor shortages or increased production costs and competitive conditions within an industry.

Management risk. The investment process used by the fund's portfolio managers could fail to achieve the fund's investment goal and cause your fund investment to lose value.

cash, rather than in-kind, because of the nature of the fund’s investments. As such, the fund may be required to sell portfolio securities to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds, which includes cash transaction costs. Therefore, the fund may recognize a capital gain on these sales that might not have been incurred if the fund had made a redemption in-kind. This may decrease the tax efficiency of the fund compared to ETFs that utilize in-kind redemption process, and there may be a substantial difference in the after-tax rate of return between the fund and conventional ETFs.

Market risk. The value of the securities in which the fund invests may be affected by political, regulatory, economic and social developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the fund. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, and conditions and events in one country, region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market. These risks may be magnified if certain events or developments adversely interrupt the global supply chain; in these and other circumstances, such risks might affect companies world-wide. Recent examples include pandemic risks related to COVID-19 and aggressive measures taken world-wide in response by governments, including closing borders, restricting international and domestic travel, and the imposition of prolonged quarantines of large populations, and by businesses, including changes to operations and reducing staff. The effects of COVID-19 have contributed to increased volatility in global markets and will likely affect certain countries, companies, industries and market sectors more dramatically than others. The COVID-19 pandemic has had, and any other outbreak of an infectious disease or other serious public health concern could have, a significant negative impact on economic and market conditions and could trigger a prolonged period of global economic slowdown. To the extent the fund may overweight its investments in certain companies, industries or market sectors, such positions will increase the fund's exposure to risk of loss from adverse developments affecting those companies, industries or sectors.

Fluctuation of net asset value, share premiums and discounts risk. As with all exchange-traded funds, fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The trading prices of fund shares in the secondary market may differ from the fund's daily net asset value per share and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the net asset value per share (premium) or less than the net asset value per share (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines.

Non-money market fund risk. The fund is not a money market fund. The fund does not seek to maintain a stable net asset value (“NAV”) of $1.00 per share. The fund’s NAV and market value will fluctuate every day and these fluctuations may be significant on certain days. Also, the fund is not subject to the liquidity requirements and investment and credit quality restrictions applicable to money market funds. There can be no guarantee that the fund will generate higher returns than money market funds.

New fund risk. The fund is newly organized with limited operating history and there can be no assurance that the fund will grow to or maintain sufficient assets to achieve investment and trading efficiencies.

Performance

Since the fund does not have a full calendar year of operations, past performance information for the fund is not presented in this prospectus. Annual performance returns provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing changes in performance from year to year. Comparison of fund performance to an appropriate index indicates how the fund's average annual returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. The fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future. Recent performance information may be available at www.im.bnymellon.com.

Portfolio Management

The fund's investment adviser is BNY Mellon ETF Investment Adviser, LLC, and the fund's sub-adviser is [___], an affiliate of the Adviser.

[_____] and [______] are the fund's primary portfolio managers. Each portfolio manager has been a primary portfolio manager of the fund since its inception in [____] 2021. Each portfolio manager is jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund's portfolio.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

The fund will issue (or redeem) fund shares to certain institutional investors known as “Authorized Participants” (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) only in large blocks of fund shares known as “Creation Units,”

principally in exchange for cash. However, the fund also reserves the right to permit or require Creation Units to be issued in exchange for the deposit or delivery of a portfolio of in-kind securities designated by the fund.

Individual fund shares may only be purchased and sold on the [ ], other national securities exchanges, electronic crossing networks and other alternative trading systems through your broker-dealer at market prices. Because fund shares trade at market prices rather than at NAV, fund shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). When buying or selling shares in the secondary market, you may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the fund (ask) (the "bid-ask spread"). When available, recent information regarding the fund's NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads will be available at www.im.bnymellon.com.

Tax Information

The fund's distributions are taxable as ordinary income or capital gains, except when your investment is through an IRA, Retirement Plan or other U.S. tax-advantaged investment plan (in which case you may be taxed upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase fund shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay the financial intermediary for certain activities related to the fund, including educational training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems, or other services related to the sale or promotion of the fund. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.

Fund Details

Goal and Approach

The fund seeks high current income consistent with the maintenance of liquidity and low volatility of principal. The fund's investment objective may be changed by the fund's board. To pursue its goal, the fund normally invests in investment grade, U.S. dollar denominated fixed, variable, and floating rate debt or cash equivalents, including the following:

Corporate securities;

Asset-backed securities;

Repurchase agreements;

High quality money market instruments, such as commercial paper, certificates of deposit, time deposits and bankers' acceptances;

U.S. Treasury securities;

Securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, or government-sponsored enterprises (U.S. government securities);

Obligations issued or guaranteed by one or more foreign governments or any of their political subdivisions or agencies and Brady bonds;

Securities issued by foreign corporations or a U.S. affiliate of a foreign corporation; and

Securities subject to purchase and sale restrictions that are offered pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

The fund's investments are concentrated in the banking industry. In particular, the fund normally invests at least 25% of its net assets in domestic or dollar-denominated foreign bank obligations.

The fund typically seeks to maintain an effective duration of one year or less, although, under certain market conditions, such as in periods of significant volatility in interest rates and spreads, the fund’s duration may be longer than one year. Duration is an indication of an investment's "interest rate risk," or how sensitive a bond or the fund's portfolio may be to changes in interest rates. Generally, the longer a bond's duration, the more likely it is to react to interest rate fluctuations and the greater its long-term risk/return potential. The change in the value of a fixed-income security or portfolio can be approximated by multiplying its duration by a change in interest rates. For example, the market price of a fixed-income security with a duration of three years would be expected to decline 3% if interest rates rose 1%. Conversely, the market price of the same security would be expected to increase 3% if interest rates fell 1%. In calculating effective duration, the fund may treat a security that can be repurchased by its issuer on an earlier date (known as a "call date") as maturing on the call date rather than on its stated maturity date. The fund does not have any restrictions on its average effective portfolio maturity or on the maturity or effective duration of the individual fixed-income securities the fund may purchase.

The fund's portfolio, under normal market conditions, will have an average credit rating of A or equivalent. The fund's investments, at the time of purchase, will have a minimum short-term credit rating of P-2, A-2 or F2 or better by Moody’s Investors Service Inc. (Moody’s), Standard & Poor’s Corporation (S&P), or Fitch Ratings (Fitch), respectively, or the equivalent by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO); or a minimum long-term credit rating of Baa3, BBB-, or BBB- by Moody’s, S&P, or Fitch, respectively, or the equivalent by another NRSRO; or if such investments are unrated, deemed by the fund's sub-adviser, [__], an affiliate of the Adviser, to be of comparable quality. In a case when a security is or may be downgraded below investment grade, [____] will decide appropriate action such as an immediate sale of the security, sale at a later time, or hold to maturity. While the credit ratings for the asset backed-securities that the fund may invest in will be investment grade, the assets underlying those asset-backed securities may include “sub-prime” assets, which are assets rated below investment grade and subject to additional risk.

Focus on preservation of principal and downside protection by proactively monitoring issuer and counterparty risk. The fund's portfolio is structured to minimize the likely impact of a potential credit event by applying a decreasing issuer concentration allowance based on maturity and rating.

Consider account statistical metrics to ensure appropriate portfolio liquidity. Liquidity comprises a blend of overnight liquidity, maturity distribution and secondary market liquidity.

Use a top-down approach to monitor global regulatory, macro, sector and country developments with a potential indirect impact.

Use a bottom-up optimization approach for yield and risk-adjusted returns by relying on proprietary research and trading resources at the macro, sector and issuer levels.

Valuation: The portfolio managers use a number of valuation indicators and quantitative models to help establish fair value for a bond.

When the portfolio managers complete their top-down macroeconomic assessment, they proceed with their duration/yield curve and sector allocation positioning.

Duration/Yield Curve Positioning: Active duration and yield curve positioning are not central to the portfolio managers’ investment philosophy. Generally, the portfolio managers only take active duration positions when they are highly confident that interest rates deviate from fair value. When the portfolio managers think about the term structure of interest rates, they generally consider: 1) inflation expectations, 2) growth expectations, 3) central bank policy expectations and 4) other technical or flow-driven factors.

Sector Allocation - Top down strategy: The portfolio managers’ sector allocation decision begins with the broad top-down, macroeconomic assessment of region, country, curve and duration . They then attempt to identify those sectors they believe will outperform.

Although not a principal investment strategy, the fund’s investments also may include mortgage-related securities, collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), municipal securities, securities of companies in emerging markets and Yankee Dollar securities.

Although not a principal investment strategy, the fund also may purchase or sell securities on a forward commitment (including "TBA" (to be announced)) basis. These transactions involve a commitment by the fund to purchase or sell particular securities, with payment and delivery taking place at a future date, and permit the fund to lock in a price or yield on a security it owns or intends to purchase, regardless of future changes in interest rates or market conditions.

The fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions. Loans of portfolio securities may not exceed 33-1/3% of the value of the fund’s total assets.

The fund is not a money market fund and is not subject to the special regulatory requirements (including maturity and credit quality constraints) designed to enable money market funds to maintain a stable share price. Accordingly, the fund does not seek to maintain a stable net asset value of $1.00 per share.

For temporary defensive purposes, during adverse market conditions, any portion of the fund’s total assets may be invested in cash, money market funds and cash equivalents. During periods when the fund invests for temporary defensive purposes, its assets may not be concentrated in the banking industry. The fund's portfolio managers have broad discretion to shift the fund’s exposure to strategies and sectors based on changing market conditions and their view of the best mix of investment opportunities.

Investment Risks

An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit. It is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any other government agency. It is not a complete investment program. The value of your investment in the fund will fluctuate, sometimes dramatically, which means you could lose money.

Fixed-income market risk. The market value of a fixed-income security may decline due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in the outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates or adverse investor sentiment generally. The fixed-income securities market can be susceptible to increases in volatility and decreases in liquidity. Liquidity can decline unpredictably in response to overall economic conditions or credit tightening. Increases in volatility and decreases in liquidity may be caused by a rise in interest rates (or the expectation of a rise in interest rates). During periods of reduced market liquidity, the fund may not be able to readily sell fixed-income securities at prices at or near their perceived value. If the fund needed to sell large blocks of fixed-income securities to meet Authorized Participant redemption requests or to raise cash, those sales could further reduce the prices of such securities. Requests from Authorized Participants who may own a significant percentage of the fund’s shares, which may be triggered by market turmoil or an increase in interest rates, could cause the fund to sell certain of its holdings at a loss or at undesirable prices and adversely affect the fund’s share price and increase the fund’s liquidity risk, fund expenses and/or taxable distributions. Economic and other market developments can adversely affect fixed-income securities markets. Regulations and business practices, for example, have led some financial intermediaries to curtail their capacity to engage in trading (i.e., "market making") activities for certain fixed-income securities, which could have the potential to decrease liquidity and increase volatility in the fixed-income securities markets. Federal Reserve policy in response to market conditions, including with respect to interest rates, may adversely affect the value, volatility and liquidity of dividend and interest paying securities. Policy and legislative changes worldwide are affecting many aspects of financial regulation. The impact of these changes on the markets, and the practical implications for market participants, may not be fully known for some time.

Interest rate risk. Prices of bonds and other fixed rate fixed-income securities tend to move inversely with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in rates will adversely affect fixed-income securities and, accordingly, will cause the value of the fund's investments in these securities to decline. During periods of very low interest rates, which occur from time to time due to market forces or actions of governments and/or their central banks, including the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in the U.S., the fund may be subject to a greater risk of principal decline from rising interest rates. When interest rates fall, the values of already-issued fixed rate fixed-income securities generally rise. However, when interest rates fall, the fund's investments in new securities may be at lower yields and may reduce the fund's income. The magnitude of these fluctuations in the market price of fixed-income securities is generally greater for securities with longer effective maturities and durations because such instruments do not mature, reset interest rates or become callable for longer periods of time. In the event that the fund were to have a negative average effective duration, the net asset value of the fund could decline in a declining interest rate environment.

Certain securities with floating interest rates in which the fund may invest may reference the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). On July 27, 2017, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates LIBOR, announced that it intends to phase out LIBOR by the end of 2021. On November 30, 2020, the administrator of LIBOR announced its intention to begin consultation on delaying the phase out of the majority of the U.S. dollar LIBOR publications until June 30, 2023, with the remainder of LIBOR publications to still end at the end of 2021. There remains uncertainty regarding the future of LIBOR and the nature of any replacement rate. While some instruments may contemplate a scenario where LIBOR is no longer available by providing for an alternative rate setting methodology, not all instruments may have such provisions and there is uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of any alternative methodology. The replacement and/or discontinuation of LIBOR could lead to significant short-term and long-term uncertainty and market instability. The unavailability and/or discontinuation of LIBOR could have adverse impacts on newly issued financial instruments and existing financial instruments that reference LIBOR. In addition, the unavailability or replacement of LIBOR may affect the value, liquidity or return

on certain fund investments and may result in costs incurred in connection with closing out positions and entering into new positions. Any pricing adjustments to the fund’s investments resulting from a substitute reference rate may also adversely affect the fund’s performance and/or net asset value.

Credit risk. Failure of an issuer of a security to make timely interest or principal payments when due, or a decline or perception of a decline in the credit quality of the security, can cause the security's price to fall, lowering the value of the fund's investment in such security. The lower a security's credit rating, the greater the chance that the issuer of the security will default or fail to meet its payment obligations.

Banking industry risk. The risks generally associated with concentrating investments in the banking industry include interest rate risk, credit risk, and regulatory developments relating to the banking industry such as extensive governmental regulation and/or nationalization that affects the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge and the amount of capital they must maintain; adverse effects on profitability due to increases in interest rates or loan losses; severe price competition; and increased inter-industry consolidation and competition.

Asset-backed securities risk. Asset-backed securities are subject to credit, prepayment and extension risk, and may be more volatile, less liquid and more difficult to price accurately than more traditional debt securities. General downturns in the economy could cause the value of asset-backed securities to fall. Asset-backed securities are often subject to more rapid repayment than their stated maturity date would indicate as a result of the pass-through of prepayments of principal on the underlying loans. During periods of declining interest rates, prepayment of loans underlying asset-backed securities can be expected to accelerate. Accordingly, the fund's ability to maintain positions in such securities will be affected by reductions in the principal amount of such securities resulting from prepayments, and its ability to reinvest the returns of principal at comparable yields is subject to generally prevailing interest rates at that time. In addition, asset-backed securities present certain risks that are not presented by mortgage-backed securities. Primarily, these securities may provide the fund with a less effective security interest in the related collateral than do mortgage-backed securities. Therefore, there is the possibility that recoveries on the underlying collateral may not, in some cases, be available to support payments on these securities.

Commercial paper risk. Commercial paper is a short-term obligation with a maturity generally ranging from one to 270 days and is issued by U.S. or foreign companies or other entities in order to finance their current operations. Such investments are unsecured and usually discounted from their value at maturity. The value of commercial paper may be affected by changes in the credit rating or financial condition of the issuing entities and will tend to fall when interest rates rise and rise when interest rates fall.

Certificates of deposit, time deposit and bankers' acceptances risk. The activities of banks, which are the primary issuers of certificates of deposit, time deposits and bankers' acceptances, are subject to comprehensive regulations. The enactment of new legislation or regulations, as well as changes in interpretation and enforcement of current laws, may affect the manner of operations and profitability of banks. Banks may be particularly susceptible to certain economic factors, such as interest rate changes and adverse developments in the real estate markets. Fiscal and monetary policy and general economic cycles can affect the availability and cost of funds, loan demand and asset quality and thereby impact the earnings and financial conditions of banks.

Foreign investment risk. To the extent the fund invests in foreign securities, the fund's performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting investments in foreign issuers. Special risks associated with investments in foreign issuers include exposure to currency fluctuations, less liquidity, less developed or less

efficient trading markets, lack of comprehensive company information, political and economic instability and differing auditing and legal standards. The imposition of sanctions, confiscations, trade restrictions (including tariffs) and other government restrictions by the United States and other governments, or problems in share registration, settlement or custody, may result in losses for the fund

· Foreign government obligations, debt obligations of supranational entities and sovereign debt obligations risk. Investing in foreign government obligations, debt obligations of supranational entities and the sovereign debt of foreign countries, including emerging market countries, creates exposure to the direct or indirect consequences of political, social or economic changes in the countries that issue the securities or in which the issuers are located. The ability and willingness of sovereign obligors or the governmental authorities that control repayment of their external debt to pay principal and interest on such debt when due may depend on general economic and political conditions within the relevant country. Certain countries in which the fund may invest have historically experienced, and may continue to experience, high rates of inflation, high interest rates, exchange rate trade difficulties and extreme poverty and unemployment. Many of these countries also are characterized by political uncertainty or instability. Additional factors which may influence the ability or willingness of a foreign government or country to service debt include a country's cash flow situation, the availability of sufficient foreign exchange on the date a payment is due, the relative size of its debt service burden to the economy as a whole and its government's policy towards the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other international agencies. The ability of a foreign sovereign obligor to make timely payments on its external debt obligations also will be strongly influenced by the obligor's balance of payments, including export performance, its access to international credit and investments, fluctuations in interest rates and the extent of its foreign reserves. A governmental obligor may default on its obligations. If such an event occurs, the fund may have limited legal recourse against the issuer and/or guarantor. In some cases, remedies must be pursued in the courts of the defaulting party itself, and the ability of the holder of foreign sovereign debt securities to obtain recourse may be subject to the political climate in the relevant country. In addition, no assurance can be given that the holders of commercial bank debt will not contest payments to the holders of other foreign sovereign debt obligations in the event of default under their commercial bank loan agreements. Sovereign obligors in emerging market countries are among the world's largest debtors to commercial banks, other governments, international financial organizations and other financial institutions. These obligors, in the past, have experienced substantial difficulties in servicing their external debt obligations, which led to defaults on certain obligations and the restructuring of certain indebtedness. Moreover, no established secondary markets may exist for many of the sovereign debt obligations in which the fund may invest. Reduced secondary market liquidity may have an adverse effect on the market price and the fund's ability to dispose of particular instruments when necessary to meet its liquidity requirements or in response to specific economic events such as a deterioration in the creditworthiness of the issuer. Reduced secondary market liquidity for certain sovereign debt obligations also may make it more difficult for the fund to obtain accurate market quotations for purposes of valuing its portfolio.

Rule 144A securities risk. Rule 144A securities are restricted securities that, while privately placed, are eligible for purchase and resale pursuant to Rule 144A by “qualified institutional buyers,” as defined under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The market for Rule 144A securities typically is less active than the market for publicly-traded securities. As such, investing in Rule 144A securities may reduce the liquidity of the fund’s investments, and the fund may be unable to sell the security at the desired time or price, if at all. The purchase price and subsequent valuation of Rule 144A securities normally reflect a discount, which may be significant, from the market price of comparable unrestricted securities for which a liquid trading market exists. A restricted security that was liquid at the time of purchase may subsequently become illiquid and its value may decline as a result. The sub-adviser will evaluate the liquidity of Rule 144A securities prior to investing in such securities and monitor their liquidity thereafter. In addition, transaction costs may be higher for restricted securities than for more liquid securities.

Management risk. The investment process and techniques used by the fund's portfolio managers could fail to achieve the fund's investment goal, may cause your fund investment to lose value or may cause the fund to underperform other funds with similar investment goals.

Cash transaction risk. Most ETFs generally make in-kind redemptions to avoid being taxed at the fund level on gains on the distributed portfolio securities. However, unlike most ETFs, the fund currently intends to effect redemptions for cash, rather than in-kind, because of the nature of the fund's investments. As such, the fund may be required to sell portfolio securities to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds, which involves transaction costs. Therefore, the fund may recognize a capital gain on these sales that might not have been incurred if the fund had made a redemption in-kind. This may decrease the tax efficiency of the fund compared to ETFs that utilize in-

kind redemption process, and there may be a substantial difference in the after-tax rate of return between the fund and conventional ETFs.

Market risk. The value of the securities in which the fund invests may be affected by political, regulatory, economic and social developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the fund. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, and conditions and events in one country, region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market. These risks may be magnified if certain events or developments adversely interrupt the global supply chain; in these and other circumstances, such risks might affect companies worldwide. Recent examples include pandemic risks related to COVID-19 and aggressive measures taken worldwide in response by governments, including closing borders, restricting international and domestic travel, and the imposition of prolonged quarantines of large populations, and by businesses, including changes to operations and reducing staff. The effects of COVID-19 have contributed to increased volatility in global markets and will likely affect certain countries, companies, industries and market sectors more dramatically than others. The COVID-19 pandemic has had, and any other outbreak of an infectious disease or other serious public health concern could have, a significant negative impact on economic and market conditions and could trigger a prolonged period of global economic slowdown. To the extent the fund may overweight its investments in certain companies, industries or market sectors, such positions will increase the fund's exposure to risk of loss from adverse developments affecting those companies, industries or sectors.

Fluctuation of net asset value, share premiums and discounts risk. The net asset value of fund shares will generally fluctuate with changes in the market value of the fund's securities holdings. The market prices of fund shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the fund's net asset value and supply and demand of fund shares on the exchange. It cannot be predicted whether fund shares will trade below, at or above their net asset value. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for fund shares will be closely related to, but not identical to, the same forces influencing the prices of the securities of the underlying portfolio trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. The market prices of fund shares may deviate significantly from the net asset value of fund shares during periods of market volatility. However, given that fund shares can be created and redeemed in Creation Units (unlike shares of many closed-end funds, which frequently trade at appreciable discounts from, and sometimes at premiums to, their net asset value), the Adviser believes that large discounts or premiums to the net asset value of fund shares should not be sustained over long periods. While the creation/redemption feature is designed to make it likely that fund shares normally will trade close to the fund's net asset value, disruptions to creations and redemptions or market volatility may result in trading prices that differ significantly from the fund's net asset value. If an investor purchases fund shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the net asset value of fund shares or sells at a time when the market price is at a discount to the net asset value of fund shares, then the investor may sustain losses.

New fund risk. The fund is newly organized with limited operating history. The fund has limited performance history for investors to evaluate and may not attract sufficient assets to achieve investment and trading efficiencies. There can be no assurance that the fund will grow to or maintain an economically viable size, in which case the board of trustees may determine to liquidate the fund, which can be initiated without shareholder approval if the board determines it is in the best interest of shareholders. As a result, the timing of the fund's liquidation may not be favorable to certain individual shareholders.

In addition to the principal risks described above, the fund is subject to the following additional risks that are not anticipated to be principal risks of investing in the fund:

Mortgage-related securities risk. Mortgage-related securities represent a participation in, or are secured by, mortgage loans. Certain of the mortgage-backed securities in which the fund may invest are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and there can be no assurance that the U.S. government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities where it was not obligated to do so. Mortgage-backed securities tend to increase in value less than other debt securities when interest rates decline, but are subject to similar or greater risk of decline in market value during periods of rising interest rates. Because of prepayment and extension risk, mortgage-backed securities react differently to changes in interest rates than other bonds. Small movements in interest rates may quickly and significantly affect the value of certain mortgage-backed securities. Transactions in mortgage-backed pass-through securities often occur through TBA transactions. Default by or bankruptcy of a

counterparty to a TBA transaction could expose the fund to possible losses because of an adverse market action, expenses, or delays in connection with the purchase or sale of the pools of mortgage-backed pass-through securities specified in the TBA transaction.

CLOs risk. A CLO is an asset-backed security whose underlying collateral is a pool of loans. Such loans may include domestic and foreign senior secured loans, senior unsecured loans and subordinate corporate loans, some of which may be below investment grade or equivalent unrated loans. The cash flows from the CLO are split into two or more portions, called tranches, varying in risk and yield. The risks of an investment in a CLO depend largely on the type of the collateral and the tranche of the CLO in which the fund invests. CLO tranches can experience substantial losses due to actual defaults, increased sensitivity to defaults due to collateral default, market anticipation of defaults, as well as aversion to CLO securities as an asset class. These risks may be magnified depending on the tranche of the CLO securities. For example, investments in a junior tranche of CLO securities will likely be more sensitive to loan defaults or credit impairment than investments in more senior tranches. Normally, CLOs are privately offered and sold, and thus, are not registered under the securities laws and may not have an active secondary trading market. As a result, investments in CLOs may be characterized by the fund as illiquid securities. In addition to the normal risks associated with credit-related securities discussed elsewhere in this prospectus (e.g., interest rate risk and default risk), investments in CLOs may be more volatile, less liquid and more difficult to price than other types of investments.

Brady bonds risk. "Brady Bonds" are securities created through the exchange of existing commercial bank loans to public and private entities in certain emerging markets for new bonds in connection with debt restructurings. In light of the history of defaults of countries issuing Brady Bonds on their commercial bank loans, investments in Brady Bonds may be viewed as speculative. Brady Bonds may be fully or partially collateralized or uncollateralized, are issued in various currencies (but primarily in U.S. dollars) and are actively traded in over-the-counter secondary markets. Brady Bonds with no or limited collateralization of interest or principal payment obligations have increased credit risk, and the holders of such bonds rely on the willingness and ability of the foreign government to make payments in accordance with the terms of such Brady Bonds. U.S. dollar-denominated collateralized Brady Bonds, which may be fixed rate bonds or floating rate bonds, generally are collateralized by Treasury zero coupon bonds having the same maturity as the Brady Bonds. One or more classes of securities (structured securities) may be backed by, or represent interests in, Brady Bonds. The cash flow on the underlying instruments may be apportioned among the newly-issued structured securities to create securities with different investment characteristics such as varying maturities, payment priorities and interest rate provisions, and the extent of the payments made with respect to structured securities is dependent on the extent of the cash flow on the underlying instruments.

Yankee Dollar investment risk. Yankee Dollar instruments are U.S. dollar-denominated obligations typically issued in the United States by foreign enitites, such as foreign banks, corporations, or governments. Yankee Dollar instruments include Yankee Certificates of Deposit, which are U.S. dollar-denominated certificates of deposit issued by U.S. branches of foreign banks and held in the United States. These investments involve risks that are different from investments in securities issued by U.S. issuers, as the issuers may face potential unfavorable political and economic developments, foreign withholding or other taxes, seizure of foreign deposits, currency controls, interest limitations or other governmental restrictions which might affect payment of principal or interest.

Municipal securities risk. The amount of public information available about municipal securities is generally less than that for corporate equities or bonds. Special factors, such as legislative changes, and state and local economic and business developments, may adversely affect the yield and/or value of the fund's investments in municipal securities. Other factors include the general conditions of the municipal securities market, the size of the particular offering, the maturity of the obligation and the rating of the issue. The municipal securities market can be susceptible to increases in volatility and decreases in liquidity. Liquidity can decline unpredictably in response to overall economic conditions or credit tightening. Increases in volatility and decreases in liquidity may be caused by a rise in interest rates (or the expectation of a rise in interest rates). An unexpected increase in redemption requests, including requests from Authorized Participants who may own a significant percentage of the fund's shares, which may be triggered by market turmoil or an increase in interest rates, could cause the fund to sell its holdings at a loss or at undesirable prices and adversely affect the fund's share price and increase the fund's liquidity risk and fund expenses. Changes in economic, business or political conditions relating to a particular municipal project, municipality, or state, territory or possession of the United States in which the fund invests may have an impact on the fund's share price. In addition, the cost associated with combating the outbreak of COVID-19 and its negative impact on tax revenues has adversely affected the financial condition of many state and local governments. The effects of this outbreak could affect the ability of state and local governments to make payments on debt obligations when due and could adversely impact the value of their bonds, which could negatively impact the performance of the fund.

Call risk. Some securities give the issuer the option to prepay or call the securities before their maturity date, which may reduce the market value of the security and the anticipated yield-to-maturity. Issuers often exercise this right when interest rates fall. If an issuer "calls" its securities during a time of declining interest rates, the fund might have to reinvest the proceeds in an investment offering a lower yield, and therefore might not benefit from any increase in value as a result of declining interest rates. During periods of market illiquidity or rising interest rates, prices of "callable" issues are subject to increased price fluctuation.

Prepayment and extension risk. When interest rates fall, the principal on certain asset-backed securities may be prepaid. The loss of higher yielding underlying securities and the reinvestment of proceeds at lower interest rates can reduce the fund’s potential price gain in response to falling interest rates, reduce the fund’s yield, or cause the fund’s share price to fall. When interest rates rise, the effective duration of the fund’s asset-backed securities may lengthen due to a drop in prepayments of the underlying assets. This is known as extension risk and would increase the fund’s sensitivity to rising interest rates and its potential for price declines.

Emerging market risk. The securities of issuers located or doing substantial business in emerging market countries tend to be more volatile and less liquid than the securities of issuers located in countries with more mature economies, potentially making prompt liquidation at an attractive price difficult. The economies of countries with emerging markets may be based predominantly on only a few industries, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme debt burdens or volatile inflation rates. There may be less information publicly available about an emerging market issuer than about a developed market issuer and/or the available information may be outdated or unreliable. In addition, emerging market issuers may not be subject to accounting, auditing, legal and financial reporting standards comparable to those in developed markets. Transaction settlement and dividend collection procedures also may be less reliable in emerging markets than in developed markets. Emerging markets generally have less diverse and less mature economic structures and less stable political systems than those of developed countries. Investments in these countries may be subject to political, economic, legal, market and currency risks. The risks may include less protection of property rights and uncertain political and economic policies, the imposition of capital controls and/or foreign investment limitations by a country, nationalization of businesses and the imposition of sanctions by other countries, such as the United States.

Forward commitments risk. The purchase or sale of securities on a forward commitment basis means delivery and payment take place at a future date at a predetermined price. When purchasing a security on a forward commitment basis, the fund would assume the risks of ownership of the security, including the risk of price fluctuations, and takes such fluctuations into account when determining its net asset value.

Liquidity risk. When there is little or no active trading market for specific types of securities, it can become more difficult to sell the securities in a timely manner at or near their perceived value. In such a market, the value of such securities and the fund's share price may fall dramatically. Other market developments can adversely affect fixed-income securities markets. Regulations and business practices, for example, have led some financial intermediaries to curtail their capacity to engage in trading (i.e., "market making") activities for certain fixed-income securities, which could have the potential to decrease liquidity and increase volatility in the fixed-income securities markets. Investments that are illiquid or that trade in lower volumes may be more difficult to value. Investments in foreign securities, particularly those of issuers located in emerging markets, tend to have greater exposure to liquidity risk than domestic securities. No active trading market may exist for some of the floating rate securities in which the fund invests and certain other securities may be subject to restrictions on resale. Because some floating rate securities that the fund invests in may have a more limited secondary market, liquidity risk is more pronounced for the fund than for funds that invest primarily in other types of fixed-income instruments or equity securities. Liquidity can decline unpredictably in response to overall economic conditions or credit tightening. Increases in volatility and decreases in liquidity may be caused by a rise in interest rates (or the expectation of a rise in interest rates). Liquidity risk also may refer to the risk that the fund will not be able to pay redemption proceeds within the allowable time period stated in this prospectus because of unusual market conditions, an unusually high volume of redemption requests, or other reasons. To meet redemptions, the fund may be forced to sell securities at an unfavorable time and/or under unfavorable conditions, which may adversely affect the fund's share price.

Authorized participants, market makers and liquidity providers risk. The fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants, which are responsible for the creation and redemption activity for the fund. In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, fund shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) Authorized Participants exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other Authorized Participants step forward to perform these services, or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.

Costs of buying and selling shares risk. Investors buying or selling fund shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers, as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of fund shares. In addition, secondary market investors will also incur the cost of the difference between the price that an investor is willing to pay for fund shares (the "bid" price) and the price at which an investor is willing to sell fund shares (the "ask" price). This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the "spread" or "bid/ask spread." The bid/ask spread varies over time for fund shares based on trading volume and market liquidity, and is generally lower if fund shares have more trading volume and market liquidity and higher if fund shares have little trading volume and market liquidity. Further, increased market volatility may cause increased bid/ask spreads. Due to the costs of buying or selling fund shares, including bid/ask spreads, frequent trading of fund shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in fund shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.

Portfolio turnover risk. The fund may engage in short-term trading, which could produce higher transaction costs and taxable distributions, and lower the fund's after-tax performance.

Securities lending risk. The fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions. In connection with such loans, the fund will receive collateral from the borrower equal to at least 100% of the value of the loaned securities. If the borrower of the securities fails financially, there could be delays in recovering the loaned securities or exercising rights to the collateral.

Temporary investment risk. Under adverse market conditions, the fund may invest a significant portion or all of its assets in cash, money market funds and cash equivalents. Although the fund would do this for temporary defensive purposes, it could reduce the benefit from any upswing in the market. During such periods, the fund's investments may not be consistent with its principal investment strategy, and the fund may not achieve its investment objective.

Trading issues risk. Although fund shares are listed for trading on an exchange and may be listed or traded on other U.S. and non-U.S. stock exchanges as well, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such fund shares will develop or be maintained. Trading in fund shares may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the listing exchange, make trading in fund shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in fund shares on an exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to exchange "circuit breaker" rules. Similar to the shares of operating companies listed on a stock exchange, fund shares may be sold short and are therefore subject to the risk of increased volatility in the trading price of the fund's shares. While the fund expects that the ability of Authorized Participants to create and redeem fund shares at net asset value should be effective in reducing any such volatility, there is no guarantee that it will eliminate the volatility associated with such short sales. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the listing exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged or that fund shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange.

Management

Investment Adviser

The fund's investment adviser is BNY Mellon ETF Investment Adviser, LLC, 201 Washington Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02108. As of [ 2021], the Adviser managed approximately $[ ] in [ ] fund portfolios. The fund will pay the Adviser a management fee at an annual rate of [ ]% of the value of the fund's average daily net assets.

The fund's management agreement provides that the Adviser will pay substantially all expenses of the fund, except for [ ]

The Adviser is an investment adviser registered with the SEC as such pursuant to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The Adviser is the primary ETF business, and a wholly-owned subsidiary, of BNY Mellon, a global investments company dedicated to helping its clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle. Whether providing financial services for institutions, corporations or individual investors, BNY Mellon delivers informed investment management and investment services in 35 countries. BNY Mellon is a leading investment management and investment services company, uniquely focused to help clients manage and move their financial assets in the rapidly changing global marketplace. As of [ ], BNY Mellon has $[ ] trillion in assets under custody and administration and $[ ] trillion in assets under management. "BNY Mellon" is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. BNY Mellon Investment Management is one of the world's leading investment management organizations, and one of the top U.S. wealth managers, encompassing BNY Mellon's affiliated investment management

firms, wealth management services and global distribution companies. Additional information is available at www.im.bnymellon.com.

The asset management philosophy of the Adviser is based on the belief that discipline and consistency are important to investment success. For each fund, the Adviser seeks to establish clear guidelines for portfolio management and to be systematic in making decisions. This approach is designed to provide each fund with a distinct, stable identity.

The Adviser has engaged its affiliate, [_____], to serve as the fund's sub-adviser. [___], a registered investment adviser, is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of BNY Mellon with its principal office located at [____________]. [___], subject to the Adviser's supervision and approval, provides investment advisory assistance and research and the day-to-day management of the fund's investments. As of [_____] [__], 2021, [___] had aggregate assets under management of approximately $[___] billion.

A discussion regarding the basis for the board's approval of the fund's advisory agreement with the Adviser and the sub-investment advisory agreement between the Adviser and [_____] on behalf of the fund will be available in the fund's [____] report for the period ended [____].

The Adviser has obtained from the SEC an exemptive order, upon which the fund may rely, to use a manager of managers approach that permits the Adviser , subject to certain conditions and approval by the fund's board, to enter into and materially amend sub-investment advisory agreements with one or more sub-advisers who are either unaffiliated or affiliated with the Adviser without obtaining shareholder approval. The exemptive order also relieves the fund from disclosing the sub-investment advisory fee paid by the Adviser to a sub-adviser in documents filed with the SEC and provided to shareholders. The fund is required to disclose (as a dollar amount and a percentage of the fund's assets) (1) the aggregate fees paid to the Adviser and any wholly-owned sub-adviser and (2) the aggregate fees paid to affiliated (i.e., less than wholly-owned) and unaffiliated sub-advisers. The Adviser has ultimate responsibility (subject to oversight by the fund's board) to supervise any sub-adviser and recommend the hiring, termination, and replacement of any sub-adviser to the fund's board. The fund's board, including a majority of the "non-interested" board members, must approve each new sub-adviser. In addition, the fund is required to provide shareholders with information about each new sub-adviser within 90 days of the hiring of any new sub-adviser.

Portfolio Managers

[____] and [____] are the fund's primary portfolio managers, positions they have held with the fund since the fund's inception in [_______], 2021. [____] and [____] are jointly and primarily responsible for managing the fund's portfolio.

The fund's Statement of Additional Information (SAI) provides additional portfolio manager information, including compensation, other accounts managed and ownership of fund shares.

Code of Ethics

The fund, the Adviser, [___] and BNY Mellon Securities Corporation (BNYMSC) have each adopted a code of ethics that permits its personnel, subject to such code, to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund. Each code of ethics restricts the personal securities transactions of employees, and requires portfolio managers and other investment personnel to comply with the code's preclearance and disclosure procedures. The primary purpose of the respective codes is to ensure that personal trading by employees is done in a manner that does not disadvantage the fund or other client accounts.

Distributor and Distribution and Service Plan

BNYMSC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the BNY Mellon, serves as the fund's distributor. BNYMSC does not distribute fund shares in less than creation units, nor does it maintain a secondary market in fund shares. BNYMSC may enter into selected agreements with other broker-dealers or other qualified financial institutions for the sale of creation units of fund shares. BNYMSC also serves as distributor for other affiliated mutual funds.

The board of trustees of the trust has adopted a distribution and service plan (Plan) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act for the fund. Under the Plan, the fund is authorized to pay fees in connection with the sale and distribution of its shares in an amount up to 0.25% of the fund's average daily net assets each year. No payments pursuant to the Plan will be made through at least the first twelve (12) months of operation. Additionally, the implementation of any such payments would have to be approved by the board prior to implementation. Because these fees would be paid out of the fund's assets on an ongoing basis, if payments are made in the future, these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more over time.

Additional Information

Additional Purchase and Sale Information

Fund shares are listed for secondary trading on the [ ] and individual fund shares may only be purchased and sold in the secondary market through a broker-dealer. The secondary markets are closed on weekends and also are generally closed on the following holidays: New Year's Day, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day (observed), Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. An exchange may close early on the business day before certain holidays and on the day after Thanksgiving Day. Exchange holiday schedules are subject to change without notice. If you buy or sell fund shares in the secondary market, you will pay the secondary market price for fund shares. In addition, you may incur customary brokerage commissions and charges and may pay some or all of the spread between the bid and the offered price in the secondary market on each leg of a round trip (purchase and sale) transaction.

The trading prices of fund shares will fluctuate continuously throughout trading hours based on market supply and demand rather than the relevant fund's net asset value, which is calculated at the end of each business day (normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time). Fund shares will trade on an exchange at market prices that may be above (i.e., at a premium) or below (i.e., at a discount), to varying degrees, the daily net asset value of fund shares. The trading prices of fund shares may deviate significantly from the fund's net asset value during periods of market volatility. Given, however, that fund shares can be issued and redeemed daily in Creation Units, the Adviser believes that large discounts and premiums to net asset value should not be sustained over long periods. Each business day, the following information will be available at www.im.bnymellon.com with respect to the fund: (i) information for each portfolio holding that will form the basis of the next calculation of the fund's net asset value per fund share; (ii) the fund's net asset value per fund share, market price, and premium or discount, each as of the end of the prior business day; (iii) a table showing the number of days the fund's shares traded at a premium or discount during the most recently completed calendar year and the most recently completed calendar quarter since that year (or the life of the fund, if shorter); (iv) a line graph showing fund share premiums or discounts for the most recently completed calendar year and the most recently completed quarter since that year (or the life of the fund, if shorter); (v) the fund's median bid-ask spread over the last thirty calendar days (when available); and (vi) if during the past year the fund's premium or discount was greater than 2% for more than seven consecutive trading days, a statement that the fund's premium or discount, as applicable, was greater than 2% and a discussion of the factors that are reasonably believed to have materially contributed to the premium or discount.

[________] will disseminate, every fifteen seconds during the regular trading day, an indicative optimized portfolio value (IOPV) relating to the fund. The IOPV calculations are estimates of the value of the fund's net asset value per fund share. Premiums and discounts between the IOPV and the market price may occur. This should not be viewed as a "real-time" update of the net asset value per fund share. The IOPV is based on the current market value of the published basket of portfolio securities and/or cash required to be deposited in exchange for a Creation Unit and does not necessarily reflect the precise composition of the fund's actual portfolio at a particular point in time. Moreover, the IOPV is generally determined by using current market quotations and/or price quotations obtained from broker-dealers and other market intermediaries and valuations based on current market rates. The IOPV may not be calculated in the same manner as the NAV, which (i) is computed only once a day, (ii) unlike the calculation of the IOPV, takes into account fund expenses, and (iii) may be subject, in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act, to fair valuation at different prices than those used in the calculations of the IOPV. The IOPV price is based on quotes and closing prices from the securities' local market converted into U.S. dollars at the current currency rates and may not reflect events that occur subsequent to the local market's close. Therefore, the IOPV may not reflect the best possible valuation of the fund's current portfolio. Neither the fund nor the Adviser or any of their affiliates are involved in, or responsible for, the calculation or dissemination of such IOPVs and make no warranty as to their accuracy.

The vast majority of trading in fund shares occurs on the secondary market and does not involve the fund directly. Fund shares may be purchased and redeemed directly from the fund only in Creation Units by Authorized Participants, principally in exchange for cash. Cash purchases and/or redemptions of Creation Units can result in disruption of portfolio management, dilution to the fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact the fund's ability to achieve its investment objective, and may lead to the realization of capital gains. These consequences may increase as the frequency of cash purchases and redemptions of Creation Units by Authorized Participants increases. Because purchase and redemption transactions with Authorized Participants are an essential part of the ETF process and may help keep ETF trading prices in line with net asset value, the fund accommodates frequent purchases and redemptions by Authorized Participants and the board has not adopted policies and procedures with respect to frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares. To help mitigate the costs associated with cash transactions, the fund

imposes additional transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units in cash. The fund reserves the right to not accept creation orders.

Portfolio Holdings Disclosure

The fund's portfolio holdings disclosure policy is described in the SAI. In addition, the identities and quantities of the securities held by the fund are disclosed on the fund’s website, www.im.bnymellon.com.

Distributions

Each fund shareholder is entitled to his or her pro rata share of the fund's income and net realized gains on the fund's investments. The fund pays out substantially all of its net earnings to its shareholders as "distributions."

The fund may earn income dividends from stocks, interest from debt securities and, if participating, securities lending income. These amounts, net of expenses and taxes (if applicable), are passed along to fund shareholders as "income dividend distributions." The fund will generally realize short-term capital gains or losses whenever it sells or exchanges assets held for one year or less. Net short-term capital gains will generally be treated as ordinary income when distributed to shareholders. The fund will generally realize long-term capital gains or losses whenever it sells or exchanges assets held for more than one year. Net capital gains (the excess of the fund's net long-term capital gains over its net short-term capital losses) are distributed to shareholders as "capital gain distributions."

Income dividend distributions, if any, for the fund are generally distributed to shareholders monthly, but may vary significantly from period to period. Net capital gains for the fund are distributed at least annually. Dividends may be declared and paid more frequently or at any other time to improve to comply with the distribution requirements of the Code.

If you buy shares of the fund when the fund has realized but not yet distributed income or capital gains, you will be "buying a dividend" by paying the full price for the shares and then receiving a portion back in the form of a taxable distribution.

Distributions in cash may be reinvested automatically in additional whole fund shares only if the broker through whom you purchased fund shares makes such option available. Distributions which are reinvested will nevertheless be taxable to the same extent as if such distributions had not been reinvested (unless you are investing through an IRA, retirement plan or other U. S. tax-advantaged investment plan).

Additional Tax Information

The following discussion is a summary of some important U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to an investment in the fund. The summary is based on current tax laws, which may be changed by legislative, judicial or administrative action. You should not consider this summary to be a comprehensive explanation of the tax treatment of the fund, or the tax consequences of an investment in the fund. An investment in the fund may have other tax implications. Please consult a tax advisor about the applicable federal, state, local, foreign or other tax laws. Investors, including non-U.S. investors, may wish to consult the SAI tax section for additional disclosure.

Tax Status of the Fund. The fund intends to qualify for the special tax treatment afforded a regulated investment company (RIC) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code). If the fund meets certain minimum distribution requirements, as a RIC it is not subject to tax at the fund level on income and gains from investments that are timely distributed to shareholders. However, if the fund fails to qualify as a RIC or to meet minimum distribution requirements, it would result in fund-level taxation if certain relief provisions were not available, and consequently a reduction in income available for distribution to shareholders. Unless you are a tax-exempt entity or your investment in the fund's shares is made through a tax-deferred retirement account, such as an IRA, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when the fund makes distributions, you sell fund shares and you purchase or redeem Creation Units (institutional investors only).

Taxes on Distributions.

In general, distributions are subject to federal income tax when they are paid, whether the distributions are taken in cash or reinvested in the fund. The income dividends and short-term capital gains distributions received from the fund will be taxed as either ordinary income or qualified dividend income. Distributions from the fund's short-term capital gains are generally taxable as ordinary income. Subject to certain limitations, dividends that are reported by the fund as qualified dividend income are taxable to non-corporate shareholders at rates of up to 20%. Any distributions of the fund's net capital gains are taxable as long-term capital gain regardless of how long fund shares have been owned by an investor. Long-term capital gains are generally taxed to non-corporate shareholders at rates of up to 20%. Distributions

in excess of the fund's current and accumulated earnings and profits are treated as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of the investor' basis in the fund's shares, and, in general, as capital gain thereafter.

In general, dividends may be reported by the fund as qualified dividend income if they are attributable to qualified dividend income received by the fund, which, in general, includes dividend income from taxable U.S. corporations and certain foreign corporations (i.e., certain foreign corporations incorporated in a possession of the United States or in certain countries with a comprehensive tax treaty with the United States, and certain other foreign corporations if the stock with respect to which the dividend is paid is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States), provided that the fund satisfies certain holding period requirements in respect of the stock of such corporations and has not hedged its position in the stock in certain ways. A dividend generally will not be treated as qualified dividend income if the dividend is received with respect to any share of stock held by a fund for fewer than 61 days during the 121-day period beginning at the date which is 60 days before the date on which such share becomes ex-dividend with respect to such dividend or, in the case of certain preferred stock, for fewer than 91 days during the 181-day period beginning 90 days before such date. These holding period requirements will also apply to investor ownership of fund shares. Holding periods may be suspended for these purposes for stock that is hedged. Because the fund’s income consists primarily of interest income, the fund expects that it will not be treated as qualified dividend income. Additionally, income derived in connection with the fund's securities lending activities will not be treated as qualified dividend income.

U.S. individuals with income exceeding specified thresholds are subject to a 3.8% tax on all or a portion of their "net investment income," which includes taxable interest, dividends and certain capital gains (generally including capital gain distributions and capital gains realized upon the sale of fund shares). This 3.8% tax also applies to all or a portion of the undistributed net investment income of certain shareholders that are estates and trusts.

Corporate shareholders may be entitled to a dividends-received deduction for the portion of dividends they receive from the fund that are attributable to dividends received by the fund from U.S. corporations, subject to certain limitations. Because the fund’s income consists primarily of interest income, the fund expects that it will not be able to distribute dividends eligible for the dividends-received deduction for corporations.

Certain tax-exempt educational institutions will be subject to a 1.4% tax on net investment income. For these purposes, certain dividends and capital gain distributions, and certain gains from the disposition of fund shares (among other categories of income), are generally taken into account in computing a shareholder's net investment income.

If an investor lends his or her fund shares pursuant to securities lending arrangements, he or she may lose the ability to treat fund dividends (paid while the fund shares are held by the borrower) as qualified dividend income. Please consult a financial intermediary or tax advisor to discuss the particular circumstances.

Distributions paid in January, but declared by the fund in October, November or December of the previous year, payable to shareholders of record in such a month, may be taxable to an investor in the calendar year in which they were declared. The fund will inform shareholders of the amount of any ordinary income dividends, qualified dividend income and capital gain distributions shortly after the close of each calendar year.

A distribution will reduce the fund's net asset value per fund share and may be taxable to a shareholder as ordinary income or capital gain even though, from an investment standpoint, the distribution may constitute a return of capital.

You should note that if you purchase shares of the fund just before a distribution, the purchase price would reflect the amount of the upcoming distribution. In this case, you would be taxed on the entire amount of the distribution received, even though, as an economic matter, the distribution simply constitutes a return of your investment. This is known as "buying a dividend" and generally should be avoided by taxable investors.

The fund (or your broker) will inform you of the amount of your ordinary income dividends, qualified dividend income, and net capital gain distributions shortly after the close of each calendar year.

Complex Securities. The fund may invest in complex securities. These investments may be subject to numerous special and complex rules. These rules could affect whether gains and losses recognized by the fund are treated as ordinary income or capital gain, accelerate the recognition of income to the fund and/or defer the fund's ability to recognize losses. In turn, these rules may affect the amount, timing or character of the income distributed to a shareholder by the fund. Please consult a personal tax advisor regarding the application of these rules.

Foreign Income Taxes. Investment income received by the fund from sources within foreign countries may be subject to foreign income taxes withheld at the source. The United States has entered into tax treaties with many foreign countries which may entitle the fund to a reduced rate of such taxes or exemption from taxes on such income. It is impossible to determine the effective rate of foreign tax for the fund in advance since the amount of the assets to be invested within various countries is not known. If more than 50% of the total assets of the fund at the close of its taxable year consist of certain foreign stocks or securities, the fund may elect to "pass through" to shareholders certain foreign income taxes

(including withholding taxes) paid by the fund. If the fund in which a shareholder holds fund shares makes such an election, the shareholder will be considered to have received as an additional dividend his or her share of such foreign taxes, but the shareholder may be entitled to either a corresponding tax deduction in calculating his or her taxable income, or, subject to certain limitations, a credit in calculating his or her federal income tax. No deduction for such taxes will be permitted to individuals in computing their alternative minimum tax liability. If the fund does not so elect, the fund will be entitled to claim a deduction for certain foreign taxes incurred by the fund. Under certain circumstances, if the fund receives a refund of foreign taxes paid in respect of a prior year, the value of fund shares could be reduced or any foreign tax credits or deductions passed through to shareholders in respect of the fund's foreign taxes for the current year could be reduced.

Taxes on Exchange-Listed Share Sales. Any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of fund shares is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if fund shares have been held for more than one year and as short-term capital gain or loss if fund shares have been held for one year or less, except that any capital loss on the sale of fund shares held for six months or less is treated as long-term capital loss to the extent that capital gain dividends were paid with respect to such fund shares.

Taxes on Creations and Redemptions of Creation Units. A person who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time and the exchanger's aggregate basis in the securities surrendered plus any cash paid for the Creation Units. A person who exchanges Creation Units for securities will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanger's basis in the Creation Units and the aggregate market value of the securities and the amount of cash received. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing "wash sales" (for an Authorized Participant who does not mark-to-market its holdings), or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position. Persons exchanging securities should consult their own tax advisor with respect to whether wash sale rules apply and when a loss might be deductible.

Under current federal tax laws, any capital gain or loss realized upon a redemption (or creation) of Creation Units is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the applicable fund shares (or securities surrendered) have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if the applicable fund shares (or securities surrendered) have been held for one year or less.

When creating or redeeming Creation Units, a confirmation statement showing the number of fund shares purchased or sold and at what price will be sent.

The trust, on behalf of the fund, has the right to reject an order for Creation Units if the purchaser (or a group of purchasers) would, upon obtaining the fund shares so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding shares of the applicable fund and if, pursuant to Section 351 of the Code, the applicable fund would have a basis in the securities different from the market value of the securities on the date of deposit. The trust also has the right to require information necessary to determine beneficial share ownership for purposes of the 80% determination. If the trust does issue Creation Units to a purchaser (or a group of purchasers) that would, upon obtaining the fund shares so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding shares of the applicable fund, the purchaser (or group of purchasers) will not recognize gain or loss upon the exchange of securities for Creation Units.

If the fund redeems Creation Units in cash, it may bear additional costs and recognize more capital gains than it would if it redeems Creation Units in-kind.

Certain Tax-Exempt Investors. The fund, if investing in certain limited real estate investments, may be required to pass through certain "excess inclusion income" and other income as "unrelated business taxable income" (UBTI). Prior to investing in the fund, tax-exempt investors sensitive to UBTI should consult their tax advisors regarding this issue and IRS pronouncements addressing the treatment of such income in the hands of such investors.

Investments in Certain Foreign Corporations: The fund may invest in foreign entities classified as passive foreign investment companies or "PFICs" or controlled foreign corporations or "CFCs" under the Code. PFIC and CFC investments are subject to complex rules that may under certain circumstances adversely affect the fund. Accordingly, investors should consult their own tax advisors and carefully consider the tax consequences of PFIC and CFC investments by the fund before making an investment in the fund. Fund dividends attributable to dividends received from PFICs generally will not be treated as qualified dividend income. Additional information pertaining to the potential tax consequences to the fund, and to the shareholders, from the fund’s potential investment in PFICs and CFCs can be found in the SAI.

Non-U.S. Investors. Ordinary income dividends paid by the fund to shareholders who are non-resident aliens or foreign entities will generally be subject to a 30% U.S. withholding tax (other than distributions reported by the fund as interest-related dividends and short-term capital gain dividends), unless a lower treaty rate applies or unless such income is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business. In general, the fund may report interest-related dividends to the

extent of its net income derived from U.S.-source interest, and the fund may report short-term capital gain dividends to the extent its net short-term capital gain for the taxable year exceeds its net long-term capital loss. Gains on the sale of fund shares and dividends that are, in each case, effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business within the U.S. will generally be subject to U.S. federal net income taxation at regular income tax rates.

Unless certain non-U.S. entities that hold fund shares comply with IRS requirements that will generally require them to report information regarding U.S. persons investing in, or holding accounts with, such entities, a 30% withholding tax may apply to distributions payable to such entities. A non-U.S. shareholder may be exempt from the withholding described in this paragraph under an applicable intergovernmental agreement between the U.S. and a foreign government, provided that the shareholder and the applicable foreign government comply with the terms of such agreement.

Backup Withholding. The fund will be required in certain cases to withhold (as "backup withholding") on amounts payable to any shareholder who (1) has provided the fund either an incorrect tax identification number or no number at all, (2) is subject to backup withholding by the IRS for failure to properly report payments of interest or dividends, (3) has failed to certify to the fund that such shareholder is not subject to backup withholding, or (4) has not certified that such shareholder is a U.S. person (including a U.S. resident alien). The backup withholding rate is currently 24%. Backup withholding will not be applied to payments that have been subject to the 30% withholding tax on shareholders who are neither citizens nor permanent residents of the United States.

Certain Potential Tax Reporting Requirements. Under U.S. Treasury regulations, if a shareholder recognizes a loss of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder (or certain greater amounts over a combination of years), the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance shareholders of a RIC are not excepted. Significant penalties may be imposed for the failure to comply with the reporting requirements. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer's treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.

Other Tax Issues. The fund may be subject to tax in certain states where the fund does business (or is treated as doing business as a result of its investments). Furthermore, in those states which have income tax laws, the tax treatment of the fund and of fund shareholders with respect to distributions by the fund may differ from federal tax treatment.

The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the consequences under current federal income tax law of an investment in the fund. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. Consult a personal tax advisor about the potential tax consequences of an investment in the fund under all applicable tax laws.

General Information

Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act restricts investments by investment companies in the securities of other investment companies, including shares of the fund. Registered investment companies are permitted to invest in the fund beyond the limits set forth in section 12(d)(1) subject to certain terms and conditions as set forth in an SEC exemptive order issued to the trust, including that such investment companies enter into an agreement with the fund. This order will be rescinded by the SEC on January 19, 2022. However, effective January 19, 2021, new Rule 12d1-4 permits other investment companies to invest in the fund beyond the limits in Section 12(d)(1), subject to similar conditions.

Financial Highlights

Because the fund has not commenced operations prior to the date of this prospectus, financial highlights are not available.

For More Information

BNY Mellon Ultra Short Income ETF

More information on the fund is available free upon request, including the following:

Annual/Semiannual Report

The fund's annual and semiannual reports describe the fund's performance, list portfolio holdings and contain a letter from the fund's manager discussing recent market conditions, economic trends and fund strategies that significantly affected the fund's performance during the period covered by the report. The fund's most recent annual and semiannual reports will be available at www.im.bnymellon.com.

Statement of Additional Information (SAI)

The SAI provides more details about the fund and its policies. A current SAI is available at www.im.bnymellon.com and is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SAI is incorporated by reference (and is legally considered part of this prospectus).

Portfolio Holdings

BNY Mellon ETF Trust discloses, at www.im.bnymellon.com, the identities and quantities of the securities held by the fund. A complete 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.

To Obtain Information

By telephone. Call 1-833-ETF-BNYM (383-2696) (inside the U.S. only)

By mail.
BNY Mellon ETF Trust
240 Greenwich Street

New York, New York 10286

On the Internet. Certain fund documents can be viewed online or downloaded from:

SEC: The EDGAR Database at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of this information may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following E-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov.

BNY Mellon ETF Trust: www.im.bnymellon.com

This prospectus does not constitute an offer or solicitation in any state or jurisdiction in which, or to any person to whom, such offering or solicitation may not lawfully be made.

No person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus in connection with the offer of shares of the fund, and, if given or made, the information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the trust or the fund. Neither the delivery of this prospectus nor any sale of shares of the fund shall under any circumstance imply that the information contained herein is correct as of any date after the date of this prospectus.

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

SEC file number: 811-23477

The information in this Statement of Additional Information is not complete and may be changed. A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The securities described herein may not be sold until the registration statement becomes effective. This Statement of Additional Information is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state in which the offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

[ ], 2021

This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”), which is not a prospectus, supplements and should be read in conjunction with the current prospectus of BNY Mellon Ultra Short Income ETF (the "fund"), a series of BNY Mellon ETF Trust (the "Trust"), as such prospectus may be revised from time to time. To obtain a copy of the fund’s prospectus, please call your financial adviser, or write to the fund at 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286, visit at www.im.bnymellon.com, or call 1-833-ETF-BNYM (383-2696) (inside the U.S. only).

Capitalized but undefined terms used in this SAI are defined in the Glossary at the end of this SAI.

The fund's Principal U.S. Listing Exchange: [ ]

The fund's Ticker: [_]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

BOARD INFORMATION

Information About Each Board Member’s Experience, Qualifications, Attributes or Skills

Committee Meetings

Board Members’ Fund Share Ownership

Board Members’ Compensation

OFFICERS

CERTAIN PORTFOLIO MANAGER INFORMATION

ADVISER’S AND SUB-ADVISER’S COMPENSATION; COMPLIANCE SERVICES

Adviser’s Compensation

Sub-Adviser’s Compensation

Compliance Services

SECURITIES LENDING ACTIVITIES

OFFERING PRICE

CONTINUOUS OFFERING

EXCHANGE LISTING AND TRADING

BOOK ENTRY ONLY SYSTEM

SECURITIES OF REGULAR BROKERS OR DEALERS

COMMISSIONS

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER VARIATION

SHARE OWNERSHIP

PART II

PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION OF CREATION UNITS

INVESTMENTS, INVESTMENT TECHNIQUES AND RISKS

INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS

Fundamental Policies

Other Investment Restriction Policies

Investment Objection

Funds-of Funds

INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDS’ ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE CERTAIN EXPENSE ARRANGEMENTS COUNSEL AND INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM PART III ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT BUYING AND SELLING SHARES Frequent Purchases and Exchanges INFORMATION ABOUT SHAREHOLDER SERVICES INFORMATION ABOUT DISTRIBUTION AND SERVICE PLANS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT INVESTMENTS, INVESTMENT TECHNIQUES AND RISKS Fixed-Income Securities U.S. Government Securities Corporate Debt Securities Ratings of Securities; Unrated Securities High Yield and Lower-Rated Securities Inflation-Indexed Securities Zero Coupon, Pay-in-Kind and Step-Up Securities Variable and Floating Rate Securities Variable Rate Demand Notes Floating and Inverse Floating Rate Debt Instruments Mortgage-Related Securities Asset-Backed Securities Collateralized Debt Obligations Municipal Securities Money Market Instruments Bank Obligations Repurcahse Agreements
Commercial Paper Foreign Securities Emerging Markets Sovereign Debt Obligations Sovereign Debt Obligations of Emerging Market Countries Brady Bonds 3 Eurodollar and Yankee Dollar Investments Investment Companies Exchange-Traded Funds and Similar Exchange-Traded Products (“ETFs”) Derivatives Risks CPO Exemption Specific Types of Derivatives. Lending Portfolio Securities Borrowing Money Forward Commitments Forward Roll Transactions LIBOR Rate Risk Illiquid Securities Section 4(2) Paper and Rule 144A Securities Diversified Status Cybersecurities Risk Recent Market and Economic Developments Rating Categories
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE BOARD Board Oversight Role in Management Board Composition and Leadership Structure Additional Information About the Board and its Committees MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS The Adviser Sub-Advisers Portfolio Managers and Portfolio Manager Compensation Certain Conflicts of Interest with Other Accounts Code of Ethics Distributor Service Agents Transfer Agent and Custodian Annual Anti-Money Laundering Program Review Funds’ Compliance Policies and Procedures Combined Prospectuses Escheatment 4
DETERMINATION OF NAV Valuation of Portfolio Securities Calculation of NAV Expense Allocations Exchange and Transfer Agent Closings ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS CERTAIN MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS Taxation of the Funds Taxation of Shareholders - Distributions Taxation of Shareholders – Sale of Shares Cost Basis Reporting Taxation of Fund Investments Tax-Exempt Shareholders Foreign Shareholders Backup Withholding Creation Units Certain Potential Tax Reporting Requirements State Tax Matters PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS Trading the Funds’ Portfolio Securities Soft Dollars DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS Policy on Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings SUMMARY OF THE PROXY VOTING POLICY AND PROCEDURES Delegation of Proxy Voting Responsibility and Adoption of Proxy Voting Procedures Proxy Voting Operations Policies and Procedures; Oversight Review of Proxy Voting Availability of Fund Proxy Voting Records Proxy Voting By [ ] Voting Poxies of Designated BHCs BNY Melon Proxy Conflicts Policy
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDS’ STRUCTURE; FUND SHARES AND VOTING RIGHTS Massachusetts Business Trusts Fund Shares and Voting Rights LOCAL MARKET HOLIDAY SCHEDULES FINANCIAL STATEMENTS GLOSSARY 5

PART I

BOARD INFORMATION

Information About Each Board Member’s Experience, Qualifications, Attributes or Skills

Board members for the fund, together with information as to their positions with the fund, principal occupations and other board memberships during the past five years, are shown below. All of the board members are Independent Board Members. The address of each board member is 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286.

Name (Age) Position	Year Joining the Board	Principal Occupation During Past 5 Years	Number of Investment Companies in Fund Complex2 Overseen by Trustee	Other Public Company Board Memberships During Past 5 Years
J. Charles Cardona (65) Chairman of the Board1	2020	Mutual fund director and trustee (since 2014); President and a Director of BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc. (f/k/a The Dreyfus Corporation) (“BNYMIA”) (until 2016); Chief Executive Officer of Dreyfus Cash InvestmentStrategies, a division of BNYMIA (until 2016); Chairman of the Distributor (until 2016).	37	BNY Mellon Liquidity Funds, Director (2004-Present) and Chairman (2019 – 2021); BNY Mellon Family of Funds, Interested Director (2014 – 2018), Independent Director (2019 – Present).
Kristen M. Dickey (61) Board Member1	2020	Independent board director of Marstone, Inc., a financial technology company (since 2018); Lead non-executive director for Aperture Investors, LLC, an investment management firm (since 2018);Managing Director— Global Head of Index Strategy at BlackRock, Inc. (until 2017).	8	N/A
F. Jack Liebau, Jr. (57) Board Member1	2020	Managing Director at Beach Investment Counsel, a financial advisory firm (since 2020); Corporate director (since 2015); President and Chief Executive Officer at Roundwood Asset Management (until 2015).	8	Myers Industries, an industrial company, Director (2015 – Present; Chairman 2016 – Present); Pep Boys an automotive aftermarket retailer, Director (2015-2016).
Jill I. Mavro (48) Board Member¹	2020	Managing Director at CapWGlobal, LLC, a financial technology consulting company (since 2020); Founder and Principal of Spoondrift Advisory, LLC (since 2018); Senior Managing Director, Head of Strategic Relationships and Member of SPDR Executive Committee at State Street Global Advisors (until 2018); Interested Trustee on the Board of Sectoral Asset Management(2013-2015).	8	N/A

Kevin W. Quinn (61) Board Member¹	2020	Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLC (until 2019)	8	N/A
Stacy L. Schaus (60) Board Member¹	2020	Chief Executive Officer of Schaus Group LLC, a consulting firm (since 2019); Advisory board member of A&P Capital, a consulting firm (since 2019); Executive Vice President – Defined Contribution Practice Founder at PIMCO Investment Management (until 2018).	8	N/A

¹ Serves on the board’s audit committee and nominating committee.

² Represents the number of separate portfolios comprising the investment companies in the “Fund Complex,” including the fund, for which the board member served as of the date of this SAI. “Fund complex” comprises registered investment companies for which the Adviser or an affiliate of the Adviser serves as investment adviser.

Additional information about each board member follows (supplementing the information provided in the table above) that describes some of the specific experiences, qualifications, attributes or skills that each board member possesses which the board believes has prepared them to be effective board members. The board believes that the significance of each board member’s experience, qualifications, attributes or skills is an individual matter (meaning that experience that is important for one board member may not have the same value for another) and that these factors are best evaluated at the board level, with no single board member, or particular factor, being indicative of board effectiveness. However, the board believes that board members need to have the ability to critically review, evaluate, question and discuss information provided to them, and to interact effectively with fund management, service providers and counsel, in order to exercise effective business judgment in the performance of their duties; the board believes that its members satisfy this standard. Experience relevant to having this ability may be achieved through a board member’s educational background; business, professional training or practice (e.g., medicine, accounting or law), public service or academic positions; experience from service as a board member or as an executive of investment funds, public companies or significant private or not-for-profit entities or other organizations; and/or other life experiences.

J. Charles Cardona – Mr. Cardona has served as the Chairman of the Board for the funds in the BNY Mellon ETF Trust since 2020. He currently also serves as an independent board member for certain funds in the BNY Mellon Family of Funds. Mr. Cardona was the President and a Director of BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc. (f/k/a The Dreyfus Corporation) ("BNYMIA"), an affiliate of the Adviser, and the Chief Executive Officer of Dreyfus Cash Investment Strategies, a division of BNYMIA, until he retired in 2016. From 2013 to 2016, Mr. Cardona served as Chairman of the Distributor, and he previously served as an Executive Vice President of the Distributor from 1997 to 2013. He also served as President of the Institutional Services Division of the Distributor. He joined the Institutional Services Division in 1985 with management responsibility for all Institutional Operations and Client Service units. Prior to joining the Institutional Services Division, he served as Assistant Director of Sales and Services in the Dreyfus Retail Division of the Distributor, which he joined in 1981.

Kristen M. Dickey – Ms. Dickey’s career spans over 20 years of experience in the investment management industry, before her retirement in 2017. She served in various roles at BlackRock, Inc. over the course of her career, including as Managing Director—Global Head of Index Strategy from 2014 to 2017, Managing Director—Head of Corporate Investor Relations from 2012 to 2014 and Managing Director—Global Head of Financial Institutions Group from 1996 to 2011. Ms. Dickey has served as the lead non-executive director for Aperture Investors, LLC, an investment management firm, since 2018. She has also served as an independent board director of Marstone, Inc., a financial technology company, since 2018. Ms. Dickey has served as a trustee for the New York City park nonprofits Friends of the High Line from 2006, where she is also the head of the investment committee, and the Battery Conservancy, where she is also the treasurer, since 2005 and 2011, respectively. She has served as an advisory board member for the nonprofits Girls Who Invest and the Council for Economic Education since 2018 and 2017, respectively.

F. Jack Liebau, Jr. – Mr. Liebau has over 30 years of experience in the investment management industry. He has served in various roles over the course of his career, including as a partner, portfolio manager and head of compliance at Primecap Management Co. from 1986 to 2003, president, portfolio manager and head of compliance at Liebau Asset Management from 2003 to 2011, portfolio manager and partner at Davis Advisors from 2011 to 2013, President and Chief Executive Officer at Roundwood Asset Management from 2013 to 2015, a private investor and corporate director since 2015 and a Managing Director at Beach Investment Counsel since 2020. Mr. Liebau has served as a board member of numerous organizations, including as a director of media company Media General from 2008 to 2009, a director of defense firm Herley Industries from 2010 to 2011, a corporate director of automotive aftermarket retailer Pep Boys from 2015 to 2016, a director of industrial company Myers Industries from 2015 to present and the Chairman of the Board from 2016 to present, the Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of information technology and investigations firm Special Investigations Limited Company from 2017 to present, and independent director of S3 Software, an unlisted software company serving media companies, from 2020 to present.

Jill I. Mavro – Ms. Mavro gained over 23 years of experience in the asset management industry before her retirement in 2018. She served in various roles at State Street Global Advisors over the course of her career, including as an associate and principal in the asset servicing division from 1995 to 1997, a principal and vice president in the asset management division from 1997 to 2002, a vice president and sales manager from 2002 to 2004, Vice President—Head of National Accounts from 2004 to 2012, Managing Director—Head of Strategic Relationships from 2012 to 2016 and Senior Managing Director—Head of Strategic Relationships from 2016 to 2018. Ms. Mavro has served as a Managing Director at CapWGlobal, LLC since 2020. Ms. Mavro has served as a board member of several organizations, including as a board member of Sectoral Asset Management from 2013 to 2015, a member of the Overseers Board of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center from 2014 to present, a board member of nonprofit Women in ETFs, Inc. from 2013 to present and a member of the SPDR Executive Committee at State Street Global Advisors from 2014 to 2018.

Kevin W. Quinn – Mr. Quinn gained over 35 years of experience in the audit, tax and accounting field before his retirement in 2019. He served as a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLC from 1997 to 2019. He is a Certified Public Accountant and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation from the CFA Institute. Mr. Quinn has also served as trustee as part of the Catholic Charities – Archdiocese of Boston, MA from 2001-2013, Mutual Funds Against Cancer from 2003-2008 and INROADS, an organization that seeks to promote ethnic and racial diversity in the corporate workplace, from 1997-2000.

Stacy L. Schaus – Ms. Schaus has over 37 years of experience in the financial and investment management industries. She served as a vice president at Merrill Lynch Capital Markets from 1981 to 1989, as the founder and Chief Executive Officer/Chief Operating Officer of Hewitt Financial Services, a registered investment adviser and brokerage, from 1992 to 2006, as the President of the Hewitt Series Trust from 1992 to 2006, as Executive Vice President—Defined Contribution Practice Founder at PIMCO Investment Management from 2006 to 2018, and has served as the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Schaus Group LLC, a consulting firm, since 2019. Ms. Schaus has served as a board member of several organizations, including as a board member of the nonprofit Financial Planning Association from 2005 to 2007, the founder and chairwoman of the nonprofit Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association from 2010 to 2012 and the chairwoman of the nonprofit Employee Benefit Research Institute from 2018 to present. She has served as a

member of the financial technology committee of the nonprofit Society of Actuaries and as an advisory board member of A&P Capital, a consulting firm, each since 2019.

Committee Meetings

The board has the following standing committees: audit committee and nominating committee. The board has also established a valuation committee composed of officers noted in the “Officers” table below. Because the fund had not commenced operations as of the date of this SAI, there have been no committee meetings with respect to the fund.

Board Members’ Fund Share Ownership

The fund had not commenced operations as of the date of this SAI and therefore, as of the date of this SAI, no board member owned any shares in the fund.

As of December 31, 2020, none of the independent board members or their immediate family members owned securities of the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, the Distributor or any person (other than a registered investment company) directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser or the Distributor.

Board Members’ Compensation

The Independent Board Members are not compensated directly by the fund. The Independent Board Members are paid by the Adviser from the unitary management fee paid to the Adviser by the fund. The Independent Board Members are also reimbursed for their covered expenses.

The below is an estimate of the aggregate amount of fees to be paid to each current Independent Board Member for the fund's first fiscal period ending [________].

Name of Independent Board Member	Aggregate Compensation from the Trust⁽¹⁾	Pension of Retirement Benefits Accrued as Part of Trust Expenses	Estimated Annual Benefits Upon Retirement	Total Compensation From the Fund and Fund Complex Paid to Independent Board Members ⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾
J. Charles Cardona	$ [ ]	N/A	N/A	$ [ ]
Kristen M. Dickey	$ [ ]	N/A	N/A	$ [ ]
F. Jack Liebau, Jr.	$ [ ]	N/A	N/A	$ [ ]
Jill I. Mavro	$ [ ]	N/A	N/A	$ [ ]
Kevin W. Quinn	$ [ ]	N/A	N/A	$ [ ]
Stacy L. Schaus	$ [ ]	N/A	N/A	$ [ ]

⁽¹⁾

Represents an estimate of the aggregate amount of fees to be paid to each current Independent Board Member for the fund's first fiscal period ending [__________].

⁽²⁾

Represents the number of separate portfolios comprising the investment companies in the fund complex, including the fund, for which the board member served as of the date of this SAI. “Fund complex” comprises registered investment companies for which the Adviser or an affiliate of the Adviser serves as investment adviser.

OFFICERS

Name Year of Birth Position	Principal Occupation During Past 5 Years	Number of Investment Companies (and Portfolios) in the Fund Complex²for which Officer serves as an Officer

David DiPetrillo 1978 President 2020	Vice President and Director of BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc., an affiliate of the Adviser since February 2021, Head of North America Product, BNY Mellon Investment Management since January 2018; Director of Product Strategy, BNY Mellon Investment Management from January 2016 to December 2017.	61 (114 portfolios)
Bennett A. MacDougall 1971 Chief Legal Officer 2020	Chief Legal Officer of Adviser and Associate General Counsel and Managing Director of BNY Mellon since June 2015.	62 (137 portfolios)
Sarah S. Kelleher 1975 Vice President and Secretary 2020	Managing Counsel of BNY Mellon since December 2017, from March 2013 to December 2017, Senior Counsel of BNY Mellon.	62 (137 portfolios)
Amanda Quinn 1985 Vice President and Assistant Secretary 2020	Counsel of BNY Mellon since June 2019; Regulatory Administration Manager at BNY Mellon Investment Management Services from September 2018 to May 2019; Senior Regulatory Specialist at BNY Mellon Investment Management Services from April 2015 to August 2018.	62 (137 portfolios)
James Bitetto 1966 Vice President and Assistant Secretary 2020	Senior Managing Counsel of BNY Mellon since December 2019; Managing Counsel of BNY Mellon from April 2014 to December 2019; Secretary of BNY Mellon Investment Adviser.	62 (137 portfolios)
Deirdre Cunnane 1990 Vice President and Assistant Secretary 2020	Counsel of BNY Mellon since August 2018; Senior Regulatory Specialist at BNY Mellon Investment Management Services from February 2016 to August 2018; Trustee Associate at BNY Mellon Trust Company (Ireland) Limited from August 2013 to February 2016.	62 (137 portfolios)

Natalya Zelensky 1985 Vice President and Assistant Secretary 2020	Managing Counsel of BNY Mellon since December 2019; Counsel of BNY Mellon from May 2016 to December 2019; Attorney at Wildermuth Endowment Strategy Fund/Wildermuth Advisory, LLC from November 2015 to May 2016.	62 (137 portfolios)
Jeff S. Prusnofsky 1965 Vice President and Assistant Secretary 2020	Senior Managing Counsel of BNY Mellon.	62 (137 portfolios)
Peter M. Sullivan 1968 Vice President and Assistant Secretary 2020	Senior Managing Counsel of BNY Mellon since December 2020; Managing Counsel of BNY Mellon from March 2009 to December 2020.	62 (137 portfolios)
James Windels¹1958 Treasurer 2020	Vice President of BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc., an affiliate of the Adviser since September 2020; Director – BNY Mellon Fund Administration.	62 (137 portfolios)
Gavin C. Reilly 1968 Assistant Treasurer 2020	Tax Manager - BNY Mellon Fund Administration.	62 (137 portfolios)
Robert Salviolo¹ 1967 Assistant Treasurer 2020	Senior Accounting Manager – BNY Mellon Fund Administration.	62 (137 portfolios)
Robert Svagna¹ 1967 Assistant Treasurer 2020	Senior Accounting Manager – BNY Mellon Fund Administration.	62 (137 portfolios)
Jennifer Cassedy 1971 Chief Compliance Officer 2020	Chief Compliance Officer of BNY Mellon ETF Investment Adviser, LLC since 2019; Chief Compliance Officer of Mellon Investments Corporation since 2018; Chief Compliance Officer of The Boston Company Asset Management, LLC since 2004.	1 (8 portfolios)
Caridad M. Carosella 1968 Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer 2020	Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer of the BNY Mellon Family of Funds and BNY Mellon Funds Trust since January 2016.	55 (130 portfolios)

¹Serves on the valuation committee of the board.

² “Fund complex” comprises registered investment companies for which the Adviser or an affiliate of the Adviser serves as investment adviser.

The address of each officer is 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286.

CERTAIN PORTFOLIO MANAGER INFORMATION

The following table lists the number and types of accounts advised by the fund’s primary portfolio managers and assets under management in those accounts as of [ ].

Primary Portfolio Manager	Registered Investment Companies	Total Assets Managed (in millions)	Other Pooled Investment Vehicles	Total Assets Managed (in millions)	Other Accounts	Total Assets Managed (in millions)
	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]
	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]
	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]
	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]
	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]

The following table provides information on accounts managed (included within the table above) by each primary portfolio manager that are subject to performance-based advisory fees.

Primary Portfolio Manager	Type of Account	Number of Accounts Subject to Performance Fees	Total Assets of Accounts (in millions)
	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]
	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]
	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]
	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]
	[ ]	[ ]	[ ]

Because the fund had not commenced operations as of the date of this SAI, no portfolio manager owned any shares in the fund.

ADVISER’S AND SUB-ADVISER’S COMPENSATION; COMPLIANCE SERVICES

Adviser’s Compensation

The fund will pay a monthly management fee to the Adviser at the annual rate of [__]% of the value of the fund’s average daily net assets.

Sub-Adviser’s Compensation

The Adviser will pay a monthly sub-advisory fee to [________] at the annual rate of [___]% of the value of the fund’s average daily net assets. The Adviser, and not the fund, pays the Sub-Adviser’s fee rate.

Compliance Services

The fund's compliance program is developed, implemented and maintained by the fund's CCO and her staff. The CCO’s staff works on the compliance program and related matters for the fund. There will be no allocation to the fund of compensation expenses for the CCO and her staff. Because the fund is a unitary fee fund, such compliance compensation and expenses are borne by the Adviser.

SECURITIES LENDING ACTIVITIES

The board has approved participation in a securities lending program for the fund. Under the securities lending program, The Bank of New York Mellon serves as the fund’s securities lending agent (“Securities Lending Agent”). As the fund was not operational as of the date of this SAI, the fund has not earned any income from securities lending nor paid any fees to the Securities Lending Agent. The fund’s share of securities lending income will be credited back to the fund.

The services intended to be provided by The Bank of New York Mellon as Securities Lending Agent are as follows: selection of securities to be loaned; locating borrowers previously approved by the fund’s board; negotiation of loan terms; monitoring daily the value of the loaned securities and collateral; requiring additional collateral as necessary; investing cash collateral in accordance with the fund’s instructions; marking to market non-cash collateral; maintaining custody of non-cash collateral; recordkeeping and account servicing; monitoring dividend activity and material proxy votes relating to loaned securities; transferring loaned securities; recalling loaned securities in accordance with the fund’s instructions; and arranging for return of loaned securities to the fund at loan termination.

OFFERING PRICE

The fund offers and issues its shares at their net asset value (“NAV”) only in aggregations of a specified number of shares (each, a “Creation Unit”). The fund generally offers and issues its shares either in exchange for (i) a basket of securities designated by the fund (“Deposit Securities”) together with the deposit of a specified cash payment (“Cash Component”) or (ii) a cash payment equal in value to the Deposit Securities (“Deposit Cash”) together with the Cash Component. The primary consideration accepted by the fund (i.e., Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash) is set forth under “Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units” later in this SAI. The Trust reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of a “cash in lieu” amount to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Deposit Security and reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of Deposit Securities in lieu of Deposit Cash (subject to applicable legal requirements). The Trust also reserves the right to deviate from a representative selection of the fund’s portfolio holdings as part of the Deposit Securities if such deviation is in the best interests of the fund and its shareholders. The shares have been approved for listing and secondary trading on a national securities exchange (“Exchange”). The shares will trade on the Exchange at market prices. These prices may differ from the shares’ NAVs. The shares are also redeemable only in Creation Unit aggregations, and generally in exchange either for (i) portfolio securities and a specified cash payment or (ii) cash (subject to applicable legal requirements). For the preceding, the Trust reserves the right to deviate from a representative selection of the fund’s portfolio holdings if such deviation is in the best interests of the fund and its shareholders.

Shares may be issued in advance of receipt of Deposit Securities subject to various conditions including a requirement to maintain on deposit with the Trust cash at least equal to a specified percentage of the market value of the missing Deposit Securities as set forth in the Participant Agreement. See “Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units.” The Trust may impose a transaction fee for each creation or redemption. In all cases, such fees will be limited in accordance with the requirements of the SEC applicable to management investment companies offering redeemable securities. In addition to the fixed creation or redemption transaction fee, an additional transaction fee of up to three times the fixed creation or redemption transaction fee and/or an additional variable charge may apply as discussed in the section “Purchase and Redemptions of Creation Units” in Part II of this SAI below.

CONTINUOUS OFFERING

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

For example, a broker-dealer firm or its client may be deemed a statutory underwriter if it takes Creation Units after placing an order with the Distributor, breaks them down into constituent shares, and sells such shares directly to customers, or if it chooses to couple the creation of a supply of new shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary market demand for shares. A determination of whether one is an underwriter for purposes

of the Securities Act must take into account all the facts and circumstances pertaining to the activities of the broker-dealer or its client in the particular case, and the examples mentioned above should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could lead to a categorization as an underwriter.

Broker-dealer firms should also note that dealers who are not “underwriters” but are affecting transactions in shares, whether or not participating in the distribution of shares, are generally required to deliver a prospectus. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act is not available in respect of such transactions as a result of Section 24(d) of the 1940 Act. Firms that incur a prospectus-delivery obligation with respect to shares of the fund are reminded that under Securities Act Rule 153, a prospectus-delivery obligation under Section 5(b)(2) of the Securities Act owed to an exchange member in connection with a sale on an exchange is satisfied by the fact that the fund’s prospectus is available at the exchange upon request. The prospectus delivery mechanism provided in Rule 153 is only available with respect to transactions on an exchange.

The Adviser or its affiliates (the “Selling Shareholder”) may purchase Creation Units through a broker-dealer to “seed” (in whole or in part) funds as they are launched, or may purchase shares from broker-dealers or other investors that have previously provided “seed” for funds when they were launched or otherwise in secondary market transactions, and because the Selling Shareholder may be deemed an affiliate of such funds, the fund shares are being registered to permit the resale of these shares from time to time after purchase. The fund will not receive any of the proceeds from the resale by the Selling Shareholders of these fund shares.

The Selling Shareholder intends to sell all or a portion of the fund shares owned by it and offered hereby from time to time directly or through one or more broker-dealers, and may also hedge such positions. The fund shares may be sold on any national securities exchange on which the fund shares may be listed or quoted at the time of sale, in the over-the-counter market or in transactions other than on these exchanges or systems at fixed prices, at prevailing market prices at the time of the sale, at varying prices determined at the time of sale, or at negotiated prices. These sales may be effected in transactions, which may involve cross or block transactions.

The Selling Shareholder may also loan or pledge fund shares to broker-dealers that in turn may sell such fund shares, to the extent permitted by applicable law. The Selling Shareholder may also enter into options or other transactions with broker-dealers or other financial institutions or the creation of one or more derivative securities which require the delivery to such broker-dealer or other financial institution of fund shares, which fund shares such broker-dealer or other financial institution may resell.

The Selling Shareholder and any broker-dealer or agents participating in the distribution of fund shares may be deemed to be “underwriters” within the meaning of Section 2(11) of the Securities Act in connection with such sales. In such event, any commissions paid to any such broker-dealer or agent and any profit on the resale of the fund shares purchased by them may be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts under the Securities Act. The Selling Shareholder who may be deemed an “underwriter” within the meaning of Section 2(11) of the Securities Act will be subject to the applicable prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act.

EXCHANGE LISTING AND TRADING

A discussion of exchange listing and trading matters associated with an investment in the fund is contained in the fund's prospectus under “Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares” and “Additional Purchase and Sale Information.” The discussion below supplements, and should be read in conjunction with, such sections of the prospectus.

Shares are approved for listing and trading on the Exchange, subject to notice of issuance. Shares trade on the Exchange at prices that may differ to some degree from their NAV. 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 consider the suspension of trading in, and may initiate delisting proceedings of, the shares of the fund under any of the following circumstances: (A) if the Exchange becomes aware that the fund is no longer eligible to operate in reliance on Rule 6c-11 under the 1940 Act; (B) if the fund no longer complies with the

applicable listing requirements set forth in the Exchange’s rules; (C) if, following the initial twelve-month period after commencement of trading on the Exchange of the fund, there are fewer than 50 beneficial holders of the fund; or (D) if such other event shall occur or condition exists which, in the opinion of the Exchange, makes further dealings on the Exchange inadvisable. The Exchange will remove the shares from listing and trading upon termination of the fund. The Trust reserves the right to adjust the share price of the fund in the future to 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.

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

The base and trading currencies of the fund is the U.S. dollar. The base currency is the currency in which the fund’s NAV per share is calculated and the trading currency is the currency in which shares of the fund are listed and traded on the Exchange.

BOOK ENTRY ONLY SYSTEM

The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the prospectus entitled “Additional Purchase and Sale Information.”

The DTC acts as securities depositary for the shares. Shares of the fund are represented by securities registered in the name of DTC or its nominee, Cede & Co., and deposited with, or on behalf of, DTC. Except in the limited circumstance provided below, certificates will not be issued for shares.

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

Beneficial ownership of shares is limited to DTC Participants, Indirect Participants and persons holding interests through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants. Ownership of beneficial interests in shares (owners of such beneficial interests are referred to herein as “Beneficial Owners”) is shown on, and the transfer of ownership is effected only through, records maintained by DTC (with respect to DTC Participants) and on the records of DTC Participants (with respect to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners that are not DTC Participants). Beneficial Owners will receive from or through the DTC Participant a written confirmation relating to their purchase of shares.

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

Share distributions shall be made to DTC or its nominee, Cede & Co., as the registered holder of all shares. DTC or its nominee, upon receipt of any such distributions, shall credit immediately DTC Participants’ accounts with payments in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in shares of the fund as shown on the records of DTC or its nominee. Payments by DTC Participants to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners of

shares held through such DTC Participants will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is now the case with securities held for the accounts of customers in bearer form or registered in a “street name,” and will be the responsibility of such DTC Participants.

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

DTC may determine to discontinue providing its service with respect to shares at any time by giving reasonable notice to the Trust and discharging its responsibilities with respect thereto under applicable law. Under such circumstances, the Trust shall take action either to find a replacement for DTC to perform its functions at a comparable cost or, if such a replacement is unavailable, to issue and deliver printed certificates representing ownership of shares, unless the Trust makes other arrangements with respect thereto satisfactory to the Exchange.

SECURITIES OF REGULAR BROKERS OR DEALERS

The fund may acquire securities issued by one or more of its “regular brokers or dealers,” as defined in Rule 10b-1 under the 1940 Act. Rule 10b-1 provides that a “regular broker or dealer” is one of the ten brokers or dealers that, during the fund’s last fiscal year: (1) received the greatest dollar amount of brokerage commissions from participating, either directly or indirectly, in the fund’s portfolio transactions, (2) engaged as principal in the largest dollar amount of the fund’s portfolio transactions or (3) sold the largest dollar amount of the fund’s securities. As the fund was not operational as of the date of this SAI, there is no information with respect to ownership of any securities of any “regular broker or dealer” as of that date.

COMMISSIONS

As the fund was not operational as of the date of this SAI, there is no information with respect to brokerage transactions or commissions as of that date.

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER VARIATION

As the fund was not operational as of the date of this SAI, there is no information with respect to the fund's portfolio turnover rates as of that date.

SHARE OWNERSHIP

The fund had not yet commenced operations as of the date of this SAI, and therefore did not have any beneficial owners that owned greater than 5% of the outstanding voting securities as of the date of this SAI.

A shareholder who beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, more than 25% of the fund’s voting securities may be deemed to “control” (as defined in the 1940 Act) the fund. An Authorized Participant may hold of record more than 25% of the outstanding shares of the fund. From time to time, Authorized Participants may be a beneficial and/or legal owner of the fund, may be deemed to have control of the fund and/or may be able to affect the outcome of matters presented for a vote of the shareholders of the fund. Authorized Participants may execute an irrevocable proxy granting the Distributor or an affiliate of the Distributor (the “Agent”) power to vote or abstain from voting such Authorized Participant’s beneficially or legally owned shares of the fund. In such cases, the Agent shall mirror vote (or abstain from voting) such shares in the same proportion as all other beneficial owners of the fund.

Board members and officers, as a group, owned less than 1% of the fund’s voting securities outstanding as of the date of this SAI.

Certain shareholders of the fund may from time to time own or control a significant percentage of the fund’s shares (“Large Shareholders”). Large Shareholders may include, for example, institutional investors, funds of funds,

affiliates of the Adviser, and discretionary advisory clients whose buy-sell decisions are controlled by a single decision-maker, including separate accounts and/or funds managed by the Adviser or its affiliates. Large Shareholders may sell all or a portion of their shares of the fund at any time or may be required to sell all or a portion of their shares in order to comply with applicable regulatory restrictions (including, but not limited to, restrictions that apply to U.S. banking entities and their affiliates, such as the Adviser). Sales by Large Shareholders of their shares of the fund may cause Authorized Participants to engage in redemption requests, which in turn may force the fund to sell securities at an unfavorable time and/or under unfavorable conditions, or sell more liquid assets of the fund, in order to meet redemption requests for any redemptions in cash as opposed to in-kind. These sales for any cash redemption baskets may adversely affect both the fund’s market price and NAV and may result in increasing the fund’s liquidity risk, transaction costs and/or taxable distributions.

From time to time, BNY Mellon Investment Management managers, and the Adviser, may sponsor and/or manage a fund in which a BNY Mellon affiliate invests seed capital (“Seed Capital”). Such investments may raise potential conflicts of interest because a BNY Mellon affiliate, as an investor in the fund, may possess material information about the fund that may not be available to other fund investors. This informational advantage could be perceived as enabling a BNY Mellon affiliate to invest or redeem Seed Capital in a manner that conflicts with the interests of other fund investors and/or benefits BNY Mellon or its affiliates. In order to mitigate such conflicts, BNY Mellon has implemented a policy (the “Seed Capital Investment and Redemption Policy”) that governs its affiliates’ investment and redemption of Seed Capital in the fund. The Seed Capital Investment and Redemption Policy includes specific parameters that govern the timing and extent of the investment and redemption of Seed Capital, which may be set according to one or more objective factors expressed in terms of timing, asset level, investment performance goals or other criteria approved by BNY Mellon. In extraordinary circumstances and subject to certain conditions, BNY Mellon will have the authority to modify the application of the Seed Capital Investment and Redemption Policy to a particular investment of Seed Capital after the investment has been made. The Seed Capital Investment and Redemption Policy does not apply (i) in cases where Seed Capital is invested in a fund that has no third party investors and (ii) to investments or redemptions that are required in order to comply with applicable regulatory restrictions (including, but not limited to, restrictions that apply to U.S. banking entities and their affiliates, such as the Adviser).

PART II

PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION OF CREATION UNITS

The fund issues and redeems its shares on a continuous basis, at NAV, only in a large specified number of shares called a “Creation Unit.” The value of the fund is determined once each business day. The Creation Unit size for the fund may change. Authorized Participants will be notified of such change. Creation Unit transactions may be made in-kind, for cash, or for a combination of securities and cash. The principal consideration for creations and redemptions for the fund is cash, although this may be revised at any time without notice.

PURCHASE (CREATION). The Trust issues and sells shares of the fund only: in Creation Units on a continuous basis through the Distributor, without a sales load (but subject to transaction fees), at their NAV per share next determined after receipt of an order, on any Business Day, in proper form pursuant to the terms of the Authorized Participant Agreement (“Participant Agreement”).

FUND DEPOSIT. The consideration for purchase of a Creation Unit of the fund generally consists of either (i) the Deposit Securities and the Cash Component (defined below), computed as described below; or (ii) the cash value of the Deposit Securities and the Cash Component, computed as described below. When accepting purchases of Creation Units for cash, the fund may incur additional costs associated with the acquisition of Deposit Securities that would otherwise be provided by an in-kind purchaser.

Together, the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, and the Cash Component constitute the “Fund Deposit,” which represents the minimum initial and subsequent investment amount for a Creation Unit of the fund. The Cash Component, which may include a Dividend Equivalent Payment, is an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of the shares (per Creation Unit) and the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable. The “Dividend Equivalent Payment” enables the fund to make a complete distribution of dividends on the day preceding the next dividend payment date, and is an amount equal, on a per Creation Unit basis, to the dividends on all the portfolio securities of the fund (“Dividend Securities”) with ex-dividend dates within the accumulation period for such distribution (the “Accumulation Period”), net of expenses and liabilities for such period, as if all of the Dividend Securities had been held by the fund for the entire Accumulation Period. The Accumulation Period begins on the ex-dividend date for the fund and ends on the day preceding the next ex-dividend date. If the Cash Component is a positive number (i.e., the NAV per Creation Unit exceeds the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable), the Cash Component shall be such positive amount. If the Cash Component is a negative number (i.e., the NAV per Creation Unit is less than the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable), the Cash Component shall be such negative amount and the creator will be entitled to receive cash in an amount equal to the Cash Component. The Cash Component serves the function of compensating for any differences between the NAV per Creation Unit and the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable. Computation of the Cash Component excludes any stamp duty or other similar fees and expenses payable upon transfer of beneficial ownership of the Deposit Securities, if applicable, which shall be the sole responsibility of the Authorized Participant (as defined below).

The Custodian, through NSCC, makes available on each Business Day, prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m., Eastern time), the list of the names and the required number of shares of each Deposit Security or the required amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, to be included in the current standard Fund Deposit (based on information at the end of the previous Business Day) for the fund. Such standard Fund Deposit is subject to any applicable adjustments as described below, in order to effect purchases of Creation Units of the fund until such time as the next-announced composition of the Deposit Securities or the required amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, is made available.

The identity and number of shares of the Deposit Securities or the amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, required for a Fund Deposit for the fund may be changed from time to time with a view to the investment objective of the fund. Information regarding the Fund Deposit necessary for the purchase of a Creation Unit is made available to Authorized Participants and other market participants seeking to transact in Creation Unit aggregations.

With respect to in-kind purchases, the Trust intends to require the substitution of an amount of cash (i.e., a "cash in lieu" amount) to replace any Deposit Security that is a TBA transaction. The amount of cash contributed will be equivalent to the price of the TBA transaction listed as a Deposit Security. As noted above, the Trust reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of Deposit Cash to replace any Deposit Security, which shall be added to the Cash Component, including, without limitation, in situations where the Deposit Security: (i) may not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery, (ii) may not be eligible for transfer through the systems of DTC for corporate securities and municipal securities or the Federal Reserve System for U.S. Treasury securities; (iii) may not be eligible for trading by an Authorized Participant or the investor for which it is acting; (iv) would be restricted under the securities laws or where the delivery of the Deposit Security to the Authorized Participant would result in the disposition of the Deposit Security by the Authorized Participant becoming restricted under the securities laws, or (v) in certain other situations (collectively, “non-standard orders”). The Trust also reserves the right to: (i) permit or require the substitution of Deposit Securities in lieu of Deposit Cash; and (ii) include or remove Deposit Securities from the basket in anticipation of portfolio changes.

PROCEDURES FOR PURCHASE OF CREATION UNITS. To be eligible to place orders with the Distributor, as facilitated via the Transfer Agent, to purchase a Creation Unit of the fund, an entity must be (i) a “Participating Party”, i.e., a broker-dealer or other participant in the clearing process through the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC (the “Clearing Process”), a clearing agency that is registered with the SEC; or (ii) a DTC Participant (see “Book Entry Only System”) and must have the ability to clear through the Federal Reserve System. In addition, each Participating Party or DTC Participant (each, an “Authorized Participant”) must execute a Participant Agreement that has been agreed to by the Distributor and the Transfer Agent, and that has been accepted by the Trust, with respect to purchases and redemptions of Creation Units. Each Authorized Participant will agree, pursuant to the terms of a Participant Agreement, on behalf of itself or any investor on whose behalf it will act, to certain conditions, including that it will pay to the Trust, an amount of cash sufficient to pay the Cash Component together with the creation transaction fee (described below) and any other applicable fees, taxes and additional variable charge.

All orders to purchase shares directly from the fund, including non-standard orders, must be placed for one or more Creation Units and in the manner and by the time set forth in the Participant Agreement and/or the applicable order form. The date on which an order to purchase Creation Units (or an order to redeem Creation Units, as set forth below) is received and accepted is referred to as the “Order Placement Date.”

An Authorized Participant may require an investor to make certain representations or enter into agreements with respect to the order (e.g., to provide for payments of cash, when required). Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not have executed a Participant Agreement and that, therefore, orders to purchase shares directly from the fund in Creation Units have to be placed by the investor’s broker through an Authorized Participant that has executed a Participant Agreement. In such cases there may be additional charges to such investor. At any given time, there may be only a limited number of broker-dealers that have executed a Participant Agreement and only a small number of such Authorized Participants may have international capabilities.

On days when the Exchange or the bond market closes earlier than normal, the fund may require orders to create Creation Units to be placed earlier in the day. In addition, if a market or markets on which the fund’s investments are primarily traded is closed, the fund will also generally not accept orders on such day(s). Orders must be transmitted by an Authorized Participant by telephone or other transmission method acceptable to the Distributor pursuant to procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement and in accordance with the applicable order form. Those placing orders through an Authorized Participant should allow sufficient time to permit proper submission of the purchase order by the cut-off time. Economic or market disruptions or changes, or telephone or other communication failure may impede the ability to reach the Distributor or an Authorized Participant.

Fund Deposits must be delivered by an Authorized Participant through the Federal Reserve System (for cash and U.S. government securities), or through DTC (for corporate securities and municipal securities), through a subcustody agent (for foreign securities) and/or through such other arrangements allowed by the Trust or its agents. With respect to foreign Deposit Securities, the Custodian shall cause the subcustodian of the fund to maintain an account into which the Authorized Participant shall deliver, on behalf of itself or the party on whose behalf it is acting, such Deposit Securities. Foreign Deposit Securities must be delivered to an account maintained at the applicable local subcustodian. The Fund Deposit transfer must be ordered by the Authorized Participant in a timely fashion so as to ensure the delivery of the requisite number of Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, to

the account of the fund or its agents by no later than the Settlement Date. The “Settlement Date” for the fund is generally the second Business Day (“T+2”) after the Order Placement Date. All questions as to the number of Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash to be delivered, as applicable, and the validity, form and eligibility (including time of receipt) for the deposit of any tendered securities or cash, as applicable, will be determined by the Trust, whose determination shall be final and binding. The amount of cash represented by the Cash Component must be transferred directly to the Custodian through the Federal Reserve Bank wire transfer system in a timely manner so as to be received by the Custodian no later than the Settlement Date. If the Cash Component and the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, are not received in a timely manner by the Settlement Date, the creation order may be cancelled. Upon written notice to the Distributor, such canceled order may be resubmitted the following Business Day using a Fund Deposit as newly constituted to reflect the then current NAV of the fund. The delivery of Creation Units so created generally will occur no later than the second Business Day following the day on which the purchase order is deemed received by the Distributor.

The order shall be deemed to be received on the Business Day on which the order is placed provided that the order is placed in proper form prior to the applicable cut-off time and the federal funds in the appropriate amount are deposited with the Custodian on the Settlement Date per applicable instructions. If the order is not placed in proper form as required, or federal funds in the appropriate amount are not received on the Settlement Date per applicable instructions, then the order may be deemed to be rejected and the Authorized Participant shall be liable to the fund for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. A creation request is considered to be in “proper form” if all procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement, order form and this SAI are properly followed.

Fund	Order Type	Cutoff Time (Eastern Standard Time)
BNY Mellon Ultra Short Income ETF	Standard	3:00 PM
	Negotiated	3:00 PM
	Cash	3:00 PM

ISSUANCE OF A CREATION UNIT. Except as provided herein, Creation Units will not be issued until the transfer of good title to the Trust of the Deposit Securities or payment of Deposit Cash, as applicable, and the payment of the Cash Component have been completed. When the subcustodian has confirmed to the Custodian that the required Deposit Securities (or the cash value thereof) have been delivered to the account of the relevant subcustodian or subcustodians, the Distributor and the Adviser shall be notified of such delivery, and the Trust will issue and cause the delivery of the Creation Units.

In instances where the Trust accepts Deposit Securities for the purchase of a Creation Unit, the Creation Unit may be purchased in advance of receipt by the Trust of all or a portion of the applicable Deposit Securities as described below. In these circumstances, the initial deposit will have a value greater than the NAV of the shares on the date the order is placed in proper form since in addition to available Deposit Securities, cash must be deposited in an amount equal to the sum of (i) the Cash Component, plus (ii) an additional amount of cash equal to a percentage of the market value as set forth in the Participant Agreement, of the undelivered Deposit Securities (the “Additional Cash Deposit”), which shall be maintained in a general non-interest bearing collateral account. An additional amount of cash shall be required to be deposited with the Trust, pending delivery of the missing Deposit Securities to the extent necessary to maintain the Additional Cash Deposit with the Trust in an amount at least equal to the applicable percentage, as set forth in the Participant Agreement, of the daily marked to market value of the missing Deposit Securities. The Trust may use such Additional Cash Deposit to buy the missing Deposit Securities at any time. Authorized Participants will be liable to the Trust for all costs, expenses, dividends, income and taxes associated with missing Deposit Securities, including the costs incurred by the Trust in connection with any such purchases. These costs will be deemed to include the amount by which the actual purchase price of the Deposit Securities exceeds the market value of such Deposit Securities on the day the purchase order was deemed received by the Distributor plus the brokerage and related transaction costs associated with such purchases. The Trust will return any unused portion of the Additional Cash Deposit once all of the missing Deposit Securities have been properly received by the Custodian or purchased by the Trust and deposited into the Trust. In addition, a transaction fee as set forth below under “Creation and Redemption Transaction Fees” will be charged in all cases and an additional variable charge may also be applied. The delivery of Creation Units so created generally will occur no later than the Settlement Date.

ACCEPTANCE OF ORDERS OF CREATION UNITS. The Trust reserves the absolute right to reject an order for Creation Units transmitted for the fund at its discretion, including, without limitation, if (a) the order is not in proper form; (b) the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, delivered by the Authorized Participant are not as disseminated through the facilities of the NSCC for that date by the Custodian; (c) the investor(s), upon obtaining the shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding shares of the fund; (d) acceptance of the Deposit Securities would have certain adverse tax consequences to the fund; (e) the acceptance of the Fund Deposit would, in the opinion of counsel, be unlawful; (f) the acceptance of the Fund Deposit would otherwise, in the discretion of the Trust or the Adviser, have an adverse effect on the Trust or the rights of beneficial owners; (g) the acceptance or receipt of the order for a Creation Unit would, in the opinion of counsel to the Trust, be unlawful; or (h) in the event that circumstances outside the control of the Trust, the Custodian, the Transfer Agent and/or the Adviser make it for all practical purposes not feasible to process orders for Creation Units. Examples of such circumstances include acts of God or public service or utility problems such as fires, floods, extreme weather conditions and power outages resulting in telephone, telecopy and computer failures; market conditions or activities causing trading halts; systems failures involving computer or other information systems affecting the Trust, the Distributor, the Custodian, the Transfer Agent, DTC, NSCC, Federal Reserve System, or any other participant in the creation process, and other extraordinary events. The Trust or its agents shall communicate to the Authorized Participant its rejection of an order. The Trust, the Transfer Agent, the Custodian and the Principal Underwriter are under no duty, however, to give notification of any defects or irregularities in the delivery of Fund Deposits nor shall either of them incur any liability for the failure to give any such notification. The Trust, the Transfer Agent, the Custodian and the Distributor shall not be liable for the rejection of any purchase order for Creation Units.

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

REDEMPTION. Shares may be redeemed only in Creation Units at their NAV next determined after receipt of a redemption request in proper form by the fund through the Transfer Agent and only on a Business Day. EXCEPT UPON LIQUIDATION OF THE FUND, THE TRUST WILL NOT REDEEM SHARES IN AMOUNTS LESS THAN CREATION UNITS. Investors must accumulate enough shares in the secondary market to constitute a Creation Unit in order to have such shares redeemed by the Trust. There can be no assurance, however, that there will be sufficient liquidity in the public trading market at any time to permit assembly of a Creation Unit. Investors should expect to incur brokerage and other costs in connection with assembling a sufficient number of shares to constitute a redeemable Creation Unit.

The Custodian, through the NSCC, makes available prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m. Eastern time) on each Business Day, the list of the names and share quantities of securities designated by the fund that will be applicable (subject to possible amendment or correction) to redemption requests received in proper form (as defined below) on that day (“Redemption Securities”). Redemption Securities received on redemption may not be identical to Deposit Securities. The identity and number of shares of the Redemption Securities or the Cash Redemption Amount (defined below) may be changed from time to time with a view to the investment objective of the fund.

Redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit are paid either in-kind or in cash or a combination thereof, as determined by the Trust. With respect to in-kind redemptions of the fund, redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit will consist of Redemption Securities plus cash in an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of the shares being redeemed, as next determined after a receipt of a request in proper form, and the value of the Redemption Securities (the “Cash Redemption Amount”), less a fixed redemption transaction fee and any applicable additional variable charge as set forth below. In the event that the Redemption Securities have a value greater than the NAV of the shares, a compensating cash payment equal to the differential is required to be made by or through an Authorized Participant by the redeeming shareholder. Notwithstanding the foregoing: (i) the Trust will substitute a cash in lieu amount to replace any Fund Security that is a TBA transaction and the amount of cash paid out in such cases will be equivalent to the value of the TBA transaction listed as a Fund Security and (ii) at the Trust’s discretion, an Authorized Participant may receive the corresponding cash value of the securities in lieu of the in-kind securities value representing one or more Redemption Securities.

PROCEDURES FOR REDEMPTION OF CREATION UNITS. After the Trust has deemed an order for redemption received, the Trust will initiate procedures to transfer the requisite Redemption Securities and the Cash Redemption

Amount to the Authorized Participant by the Settlement Date. With respect to in-kind redemptions of the fund, the calculation of the value of the Redemption Securities and the Cash Redemption Amount to be delivered upon redemption will be made by the Custodian computed on the Business Day on which a redemption order is deemed received by the Trust. Therefore, if a redemption order in proper form is submitted to the Distributor by a DTC Participant by the specified time on the Order Placement Date, and the requisite number of shares of the fund are delivered to the Custodian per applicable instructions on the Settlement Date, then the value of the Redemption Securities and the Cash Redemption Amount to be delivered will be determined by the Custodian on such Order Placement Date. If the requisite number of shares of the fund are not delivered on the Settlement Date per applicable instructions, the fund will not release the underlying securities for delivery unless collateral is posted in such percentage amount of missing shares as set forth in the Participant Agreement (marked to market daily).

Fund	Order Type	Cutoff Time (Eastern Standard Time)
BNY Mellon Ultra Short Income ETF	Standard	3:00 PM
	Negotiated	3:00 PM
	Cash	3:00 PM

With respect to in-kind redemptions of the fund, in connection with taking delivery of shares of Redemption Securities upon redemption of Creation Units, an Authorized Participant must maintain appropriate custody arrangements with a qualified broker-dealer, bank or other custody providers in each jurisdiction in which any of the Redemption Securities are customarily traded (or such other arrangements as allowed by the Trust or its agents), to which account such Redemption Securities will be delivered. Deliveries of redemption proceeds generally will be made within two Business Days. With respect to in-kind redemptions of the fund, due to the schedule of holidays in certain countries, however, the delivery of in-kind redemption proceeds may take longer than two Business Days after the day on which the redemption request is received in proper form. If the Authorized Participant has not made appropriate arrangements to take delivery of the Redemption Securities in the applicable foreign jurisdiction and it is not possible to make other such arrangements, or if it is not possible to effect deliveries of the Redemption Securities in such jurisdiction, the Trust may, in its discretion, exercise its option to redeem such shares in cash, and the Authorized Participant will be required to receive its redemption proceeds in cash.

If it is not possible to make other such arrangements, or if it is not possible to effect deliveries of the Redemption Securities, the Trust may in its discretion exercise its option to redeem such shares in cash, and the redeeming investor will be required to receive its redemption proceeds in cash. In addition, an investor may request a redemption in cash that the fund may, in its sole discretion, permit. In either case, the investor will receive a cash payment equal to the NAV of its shares based on the NAV of shares of the fund next determined after the redemption request is received in proper form (minus a redemption transaction fee and additional charge for cash redemptions described below, to offset the Trust’s brokerage and other transaction costs associated with the disposition of Redemption Securities). The fund may also, in its sole discretion, upon request of a shareholder, provide such redeemer a portfolio of securities that differs from the exact composition of the Redemption Securities but does not differ in NAV.

An Authorized Participant submitting a redemption request is deemed to represent to the Trust that, as of the close of the Business Day on which the redemption request was submitted, it (or its client) will own (within the meaning of Rule 200 of Regulation SHO) or has arranged to borrow for delivery to the Trust on or prior to the Settlement Date of the redemption request, the requisite number of shares of the fund to be redeemed as a Creation Unit. In either case, the Authorized Participant is deemed to acknowledge that: (i) it (or its client) has full legal authority and legal right to tender for redemption the requisite number of shares of the fund and to receive the entire proceeds of the redemption; and (ii) if such shares submitted for redemption have been loaned or pledged to another party or are the subject of a repurchase agreement, securities lending agreement or any other arrangement affecting legal or beneficial ownership of such shares being tendered, there are no restrictions precluding the tender and delivery of such shares (including borrowed shares, if any) for redemption, free and clear of liens, on the redemption Settlement Date. The Trust reserves the right to verify these representations at its discretion, but will typically require verification with respect to a redemption request from the fund in connection with higher levels of redemption activity and/or short interest in the fund. If the Authorized Participant, upon receipt of a verification request, does

not provide sufficient verification of its representations as determined by the Trust, the redemption request will not be considered to have been received in proper form and may be rejected by the Trust.

Redemptions of shares for Redemption Securities will be subject to compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws and the fund (whether or not it otherwise permits cash redemptions) reserves the right to redeem Creation Units for cash to the extent that the Trust could not lawfully deliver specific Redemption Securities upon redemptions or could not do so without first registering the Redemption Securities under such laws. An Authorized Participant or an investor for which it is acting subject to a legal restriction with respect to a particular security included in the Redemption Securities applicable to the redemption of Creation Units may be paid an equivalent amount of cash. The Authorized Participant may request the redeeming investor of the shares to complete an order form or to enter into agreements with respect to such matters as compensating cash payment. Further, an Authorized Participant that is not a “qualified institutional buyer,” (“QIB”) as such term is defined under Rule 144A of the Securities Act, will not be able to receive Redemption Securities that are restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A. An Authorized Participant may be required by the Trust to provide a written confirmation with respect to QIB status in order to receive Redemption Securities.

The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed for the fund (1) for any period during which the Exchange is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings); (2) for any period during which trading on the Exchange is suspended or restricted; (3) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which disposal of the shares of the fund or determination of the NAV of the shares is not reasonably practicable; or (4) in such other circumstance as is permitted by the SEC.

CREATION AND REDEMPTION TRANSACTION FEES. A transaction fee, as set forth in the tables below, is imposed for the transfer and other transaction costs associated with the purchase or redemption of Creation Units, as applicable. Authorized Participants will be required to pay a fixed creation transaction fee and/or a fixed redemption transaction fee, as applicable, on a given day regardless of the number of Creation Units created or redeemed on that day. The fund may adjust the transaction fee from time to time. An additional charge or a variable charge (discussed below) will be applied to certain creation and redemption transactions, including non-standard orders and whole or partial cash purchases or redemptions. With respect to creation orders, Authorized Participants are responsible for the costs of transferring the securities constituting the Deposit Securities to the account of the Trust and with respect to redemption orders, Authorized Participants are responsible for the costs of transferring the Redemption Securities from the Trust to their account or on their order. Investors who use the services of a broker or other such intermediary may also be charged a fee for such services.

The transaction fee for purchases and redemptions of Creation Units of the fund is $______.

From time to time, the fund may waive all or a portion of its applicable transaction fee(s). An additional charge of up to three (3) times the standard transaction fee may be charged to the extent a transaction is outside of the clearing process.

In addition to the transaction fees noted above, the fund may charge an additional variable fee for transactions in cash to offset brokerage and impact expenses associated with the cash transaction. The variable transaction fee will be calculated based on historical transaction cost data and the Adviser’s view of current market conditions; however, the actual variable fee charged for a given transaction may be lower or higher than the trading expenses incurred by the fund with respect to that transaction.

INVESTMENTS, INVESTMENT TECHNIQUES AND RISKS

The following charts, which supplement and should be read together with the information in the prospectus, indicate some of the specific investments and investment techniques applicable to the fund. Additional policies and restrictions are described in the prospectus and below in the next section (see “Investment Restrictions”). See “Additional Information About Investments, Investment Techniques and Risks” in Part III of this SAI for more information, including important risk disclosure, about the investments and investment techniques applicable to the fund.

Fund	U.S. Government Securities	Corporate Debt Securities	High Yield and Lower-Rated Securities^[1]	Zero Coupon, Pay-in-Kind and Step-Up Securities	Inflation-Indexed Securities
BNY Mellon Ultra Short Income ETF	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü

Fund

Variable and Floating Rate Securities

Mortgage-Related Securities

Asset-Backed Securities

Collateralized Debt Obligations

BNY Mellon Ultra Short Income ETF

Fund	Municipal Securities	Money Market Instruments	Foreign Securities	Emerging Markets	Sovereign Debt Obligations and Brady Bonds
BNY Mellon Ultra Short Income ETF	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü

Fund	Eurodollar and Yankee Dollar Investments	Investment Companies	ETFs	Futures Transactions	Options Transactions
BNY Mellon Ultra Short Income ETF	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü

⁷

Fund	Lending Portfolio Securities	Borrowing Money
BNY Mellon Ultra Short Income ETF	ü	ü

Fund	Forward Commitments	Forward Roll Transactions	Illiquid Securities	Section 4(2) Paper and Rule 144A Securities
BNY Mellon Ultra Short Income ETF	ü	ü	ü	ü

INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS

“Fundamental Policies” may not be changed without approval of the holders of a majority of the fund’s outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 1940 Act). “Nonfundamental Policies” may be changed at any time, without shareholder approval, by a vote of a majority of the board members and in compliance with applicable law and regulatory policy. Notwithstanding investments and activities referenced in the Fundamental and Nonfundamental Policies of the fund, the fund will not invest in a manner, or engage in activities, inconsistent with or not permitted by the fund’s investment strategy and policies as described in the fund’s prospectus and this SAI.

Fundamental Policies

As a matter of Fundamental Policy, the fund may not:

1. Borrowing

Borrow money, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act. For purposes of this Fundamental Policy, the entry into options, forward contracts, futures contracts, including those related to indices, other derivatives and options on futures contracts or indices or other derivatives shall not constitute borrowing, to the extent covered in accordance with applicable SEC and staff guidance.

Commodities

Invest in physical commodities, except that the fund may purchase and sell commodity-linked or index-linked structured notes, commodity-related ETFs or ETNs, options, forward contracts, futures contracts, including those related to indices, and options on futures contracts or indices and enter into swap agreements and other derivative instruments.

Issuer Diversification

With respect to 75% of its total assets, purchase securities of an issuer (other than the U.S. Government, its agencies, instrumentalities or authorities or repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities and other investment companies), if: (a) such purchase would cause more than 5% of the fund's total assets taken at market value to be invested in the securities of such issuer; or (b) such purchase would at the time result in more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer being held by the fund.

Industry Concentration

Invest more than 25% of its assets in the securities of issuers in any single industry, provided that there shall be no limitation on the purchase of obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or

instrumentalities or shares of other investment companies; except that under normal circumstances the fund will invest more than 25% of its assets in the banking industry.

5. Loans

Lend any securities or make loans to others, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act (which currently limits such loans to no more than 33-1/3% of the value of the fund’s total assets) or as otherwise permitted by the SEC. For purposes of this Fundamental Policy, the purchase of debt obligations (including acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments) and the entry into repurchase agreements shall not constitute loans by the fund. Any loans of portfolio securities will be made according to guidelines established by the SEC and the board.

6. Real Estate

Purchase, hold or deal in real estate, but the fund may purchase and sell securities that are secured by real estate or issued by companies that invest or deal in real estate or REITs and may acquire and hold real estate or interests therein through exercising rights or remedies with regard to such securities.

7. Senior Securities

Issue any senior security (as such term is defined in Section 18(f) of the 1940 Act), except insofar as the fund may be deemed to have issued a senior security by reason of borrowing money in accordance with the fund’s borrowing policies or otherwise to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act. For purposes of this Fundamental Policy, collateral, escrow, or margin or other deposits with respect to the making of short sales, the purchase or sale of futures contracts or options and other derivative instruments, purchase or sale of forward foreign currency contracts and the writing of options are not deemed to be an issuance of a senior security, to the extent covered in accordance with applicable SEC and staff guidance.

8. Underwriting

Act as an underwriter of securities of other issuers, except to the extent the fund may be deemed an underwriter under the Securities Act by virtue of disposing of portfolio securities.

*****

References to “commodities” in the Fundamental Policy described above are to physical commodities, typically natural resources or agricultural products, and are not intended to refer to instruments that are strictly financial in nature and are not related to the purchase or delivery of physical commodities.

For purposes of the Fundamental Policy regarding industry concentration, the fund will not invest more than 25% of the fund's total assets in securities issued or guaranteed by a foreign government or by a foreign supranational entity.

For purposes of the Fundamental Policy regarding senior securities, the 1940 Act generally prohibits funds from issuing senior securities, although it does not treat certain transactions as senior securities, such as certain borrowings, short sales, reverse repurchase agreements, firm commitment agreements and standby commitments, with appropriate earmarking or segregation of assets to cover such obligation.

The fund's Fundamental Policies will be interpreted broadly. For example, the policies will be interpreted to refer to the 1940 Act and the related rules as they are in effect from time to time, and to interpretations and modifications of or relating to the 1940 Act by the SEC and others as they are given from time to time. When a Fundamental Policy provides that an investment practice may be conducted as permitted by the 1940 Act, this will be interpreted to mean that the investment practice is either (i) expressly permitted by the 1940 Act or (ii) not expressly prohibited by the 1940 Act.

For both Fundamental and Nonfundamental Policies, if a percentage restriction is adhered to at the time of investment, a later change in percentage resulting from a change in values or assets will not constitute a

violation of such restriction, except as otherwise required by the 1940 Act. With respect to the fund's policies pertaining to borrowing, however, if borrowings exceed 33-1/3% of the value of the fund’s total assets as a result of a change in values or assets, the fund must take steps to reduce such borrowings within three days (not including Sundays and holidays) thereafter at least to the extent of such excess.

The fund is classified as "diversified" under the 1940 Act.

Nonfundamental Policies

Investment Objective. The fund’s investment objective is disclosed in its prospectus. The fund’s investment objective is a Nonfundamental Policy.

Funds-of-Funds. The fund has adopted a Nonfundamental policy prohibiting it from acquiring shares of other funds in reliance on Section 12(d)(1)(F) or Section 12(d)(1)(G) of the 1940 Act.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND'S ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE

The Trust is an open-end management investment company, registered under the 1940 Act, consisting of multiple fund series. The fund is a series of the Trust, and investments are made through, and shareholders invest in, the fund. The offering of the fund’s shares is registered under the Securities Act. References in this SAI to the “fund” generally refer to a series of the Trust. The Trust was organized as a Massachusetts business trust on June 4, 2010.

CERTAIN EXPENSE ARRANGEMENTS

The fund's management agreement provides that the Adviser will pay substantially all expenses of the fund, except for [________].

COUNSEL AND INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004 serves as counsel to the fund.

[ ], an independent registered public accounting firm, has been selected to serve as the independent registered public accounting firm for the fund.

PART III

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT BUYING AND SELLING SHARES

The Code imposes various limitations on the amount that may be contributed by fund shareholders to certain Retirement Plans or government sponsored programs. These limitations apply to participants at the Retirement Plan level and, therefore, do not directly affect the amount that may be invested in the fund by a Retirement Plan or government sponsored programs. Participants and Retirement Plan or program sponsors should consult their tax advisors for details.

Frequent Purchases and Exchanges

The vast majority of trading in fund shares occurs on the secondary market and does not involve the fund directly. Unlike frequent trading of shares of a traditional open-end mutual fund (i.e., not exchange-traded shares), frequent trading of shares on the secondary market does not disrupt portfolio management, increase the fund’s trading costs, lead to realization of capital gains by the fund, or otherwise harm fund shareholders because these trades do not involve the fund directly. Fund shares may be purchased and redeemed directly from the fund only in Creation Units by Authorized Participants, principally in exchange for cash. Cash purchases and/or redemptions of Creation Units can result in disruption of portfolio management, dilution to the fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact the fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective, and may lead to the realization of capital gains. These consequences may increase as the frequency of cash purchases and redemptions of Creation Units by Authorized Participants increases. When these trades are effected in-kind (i.e., for securities, and not for cash), the potential for harmful effects that may result from frequent cash trades is not as present. Because purchase and redemption transactions with Authorized Participants are an essential part of the ETF process and may help keep ETF trading prices in line with net asset value, the fund accommodates frequent purchases and redemptions by Authorized Participants and the board has not adopted policies and procedures with respect to frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares. The fund imposes transaction fees on in-kind purchases and redemptions of the fund intended to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by the fund in effecting in-kind trades. To help mitigate the costs associated with cash transactions, the fund imposes additional transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units in cash. The fund reserves the right to not accept creation orders, as discussed above under “Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units.”

INFORMATION ABOUT SHAREHOLDER SERVICES

Broker dealers or other financial intermediaries, at their own discretion, may offer a dividend reinvestment service under which shares are purchased in the secondary market at current market prices. Investors should consult their broker dealer or other financial intermediary for further information regarding any dividend reinvestment service offered.

INFORMATION ABOUT DISTRIBUTION AND SERVICE PLANS

The board of the Trust has adopted a Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act for the fund. Under the 12b-1 Plan, the fund is authorized to pay shareholder services and distribution fees in connection with the sale and distribution of its shares in an amount up to 0.25% of its average daily net assets each year. No payments pursuant to the 12b-1 Plan will be made through at least the first twelve (12) months of operation. Additionally, the implementation of any such payments would have to be approved by the board prior to implementation. Because these fees would be paid out of the fund’s assets on an ongoing basis, if payments are made in the future, these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more over time.

A written quarterly report of the amounts expended under the fund’s 12b-1 Plan, and the purposes for which such expenditures were incurred, must be made to the fund’s board for its review. Currently, only a Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 has been adopted, but other Plans may be adopted in the future not pursuant to Rule 12b-1 (although none are currently intended to be adopted). For a Plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1, such Plan provides that it may not be amended to increase materially the costs that holders of the fund’s shares may bear pursuant to the Plan without the approval of the holders of such shares; other material amendments of the Plan must be approved by the board and by the Independent Board Members of the fund who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Plan or in any agreements entered into in connection with the Plan, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of considering such amendments. The 12b-1 Plan is subject to annual approval by such vote of the board members cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on the Plan. The 12b-1 Plan is generally terminable at any time by vote of a majority of the Independent Board Members of the fund who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Plan or in any agreements related to the Plan or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the fund.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT INVESTMENTS, INVESTMENT TECHNIQUES AND RISKS

Fixed-Income Securities

Fixed-income securities include interest-bearing securities, such as corporate debt securities. Interest-bearing securities are investments which promise a stable stream of income, although the prices of fixed rate fixed-income securities are inversely affected by changes in interest rates and, therefore, are subject to interest rate risk, as well as the risk of unrelated market price fluctuations. Fixed-income securities may have various interest rate payment and reset terms, including fixed rate, floating or adjustable rate, zero coupon, contingent, deferred, payment in kind and auction rate features. Floating rate instruments, the rates of which adjust periodically by reference to another measure, such as the market interest rate, are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than fixed rate instruments, although the value of floating rate loans and other floating rate securities may decline if their interest rates do not rise as quickly, or as much, as general interest rates or as expected. Certain securities, such as those with interest rates that fluctuate directly or indirectly based on multiples of a stated index, are designed to be highly sensitive to changes in interest rates and can subject the holders thereof to extreme reductions of yield and possibly loss of principal. Certain fixed-income securities may be issued at a discount from their face value or purchased at a price less than their stated face amount or at a price less than their issue price plus the portion of "original issue discount" previously accrued thereon, i.e., purchased at a "market discount." The amount of original issue discount and/or market discount on certain obligations may be significant, and accretion of market discount together with original issue discount will cause the fund to realize income prior to the receipt of cash payments with respect to these securities. In order for the fund to maintain its qualification as a RIC and avoid liability for federal income taxes, the fund may be required to distribute such income accrued with respect to these securities and may have to dispose of portfolio securities under disadvantageous circumstances in order to generate cash to satisfy these distribution requirements.

Failure of an issuer to make timely interest or principal payments, or a decline or perception of a decline in the credit quality of a fixed-income security (known as credit risk), can cause the security's price to fall, potentially lowering the fund's share price. The values of fixed-income securities also may be affected by changes in the credit rating of the issuer. Once the rating of a portfolio security has been changed, the fund will consider all circumstances deemed relevant in determining whether to continue to hold the security. Fixed-income securities rated below investment grade by the Rating Agencies may be subject to greater risks with respect to the issuing entity and to greater market fluctuations (and not necessarily inversely with

changes in interest rates) than certain lower yielding, higher-rated fixed-income securities. See "High Yield and Lower-Rated Securities" below for a discussion of those securities and see "Rating Categories" below for a general description of the Rating Agencies' ratings.

As a measure of a fixed-income security's cash flow, duration is an alternative to the concept of "term to maturity" in assessing the price volatility associated with changes in interest rates (known as interest rate risk). Generally, the longer the duration, the more volatility an investor should expect. For example, the market price of a bond with a duration of three years would be expected to decline 3% if interest rates rose 1%. Conversely, the market price of the same bond would be expected to increase 3% if interest rates fell 1%. The market price of a bond with a duration of six years would be expected to increase or decline twice as much as the market price of a bond with a three-year duration. Duration is a way of measuring a security's maturity in terms of the average time required to receive the present value of all interest and principal payments as opposed to its term to maturity. The maturity of a security measures only the time until final payment is due; it does not take account of the pattern of a security's cash flows over time, which would include how cash flow is affected by prepayments and by changes in interest rates. Incorporating a security's yield, coupon interest payments, final maturity and option features into one measure, duration is computed by determining the weighted average maturity of a bond's cash flows, where the present values of the cash flows serve as weights. In computing the duration of the fund, the Sub-Adviser will estimate the duration of obligations that are subject to features such as prepayment or redemption by the issuer, put options retained by the investor or other imbedded options, taking into account the influence of interest rates on prepayments and coupon flows.

Average weighted maturity is the length of time, in days or years, until the securities held by the fund, on average, will mature or be redeemed by their issuers. The average maturity is weighted according to the dollar amounts invested in the various securities by the fund. In general, the longer a fund's average weighted maturity, the more its share price will fluctuate in response to changing interest rates. For purposes of calculating average effective portfolio maturity, a security that is subject to redemption at the option of the issuer on a particular date (the "call date") which is prior to the security's stated maturity may be deemed to mature on the call date rather than on its stated maturity date. The call date of a security will be used to calculate average effective portfolio maturity when the Sub-Adviser reasonably anticipates, based upon information available to it, that the issuer will exercise its right to redeem the security. The Sub-Adviser may base its conclusion on such factors as the interest rate paid on the security compared to prevailing market rates, the amount of cash available to the issuer of the security, events affecting the issuer of the security, and other factors that may compel or make it advantageous for the issuer to redeem a security prior to its stated maturity.

When interest rates fall, the principal on certain fixed-income securities, including mortgage-backed and certain asset-backed securities (discussed below), may be prepaid. The loss of higher yielding underlying mortgages and the reinvestment of proceeds at lower interest rates can reduce the fund's potential price gain in response to falling interest rates, reduce the fund's yield, or cause the fund's share price to fall. This is known as prepayment risk. Conversely, when interest rates rise, the effective duration of the fund's fixed rate mortgage-related and other asset- backed securities may lengthen due to a drop in prepayments of the underlying mortgages or other assets. This is known as extension risk and would increase the fund's sensitivity to rising interest rates and its potential for price declines.

U.S. Government Securities. U.S. Government securities are issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. Government securities include Treasury bills, Treasury notes and Treasury bonds, which differ in their interest rates, maturities and times of issuance. Treasury bills have

initial maturities of one year or less; Treasury notes have initial maturities of one to ten years; and Treasury bonds generally have initial maturities of greater than ten years. The prices of U.S. Government securities are inversely affected by changes in interest rates and, therefore, are subject to interest rate risk, as well as the risk of unrelated market price fluctuations. In general, the longer a security's maturity, the more it will fluctuate in response to changing interest rates. Some obligations issued or guaranteed by U.S. Government agencies and instrumentalities are supported by the full faith and credit of Treasury; others by the right of the issuer to borrow from Treasury; others by discretionary authority of the U.S. Government to purchase certain obligations of the agency or instrumentality; and others only by the credit of the agency or instrumentality. These securities bear fixed, floating or variable rates of interest. While the U.S. Government currently provides financial support to such U.S. Government-sponsored agencies or instrumentalities, no assurance can be given that it will always do so, since it is not so obligated by law. A security backed by Treasury or the full faith and credit of the United States is guaranteed only as to timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity. Neither the market value nor the fund's share price is guaranteed.

TIPS are issued by Treasury and are designed to provide investors a long-term investment vehicle that is not vulnerable to inflation. The interest rate paid by TIPS is fixed, while the principal value rises or falls semi-annually based on changes in a published Consumer Price Index. Thus, if inflation occurs, the principal and interest payments on the TIPS are adjusted accordingly to protect investors from inflationary loss. During a deflationary period, the principal and interest payments decrease, although the TIPS' principal will not drop below its face value at maturity. In exchange for the inflation protection, TIPS generally pay lower interest rates than typical Treasury securities. Only if inflation occurs will TIPS offer a higher real yield than a conventional Treasury bond of the same maturity. The secondary market for TIPS may not be as active or liquid as the secondary market for conventional Treasury securities. Principal appreciation and interest payments on TIPS generally will be taxed annually as ordinary interest income or original issue discount for federal income tax calculations. As a result, any appreciation in principal generally will be counted as income in the year the increase occurs, even though the investor will not receive such amounts until the TIPS are sold or mature. Principal appreciation and interest payments will be exempt from state and local income taxes.

Many states grant tax-free status to dividends paid to shareholders of a fund from interest income earned by that fund from direct obligations of the U.S. Government, subject in some states to minimum investment requirements that must be met by the fund. Investments in securities issued by GNMA, bankers' acceptances, commercial paper and repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Government securities do not generally qualify for tax-free treatment.

On August 5, 2011, S&P lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating for the United States of America to "AA+" from "AAA." The value of shares of a fund that may invest in U.S. Government obligations may be adversely affected by S&P's downgrade or any future downgrades of the U.S. Government's credit rating.

Corporate Debt Securities. Corporate debt securities include corporate bonds, debentures, notes and other similar instruments, including certain convertible securities. Debt securities may be acquired with warrants attached to purchase additional fixed-income securities at the same coupon rate. A decline in interest rates would permit the fund to buy additional bonds at the favorable rate or to sell the warrants at a profit. If interest rates rise, the warrants would generally expire with no value. Corporate income-producing securities also may include forms of preferred or preference stock, which may be considered equity securities. The rate of interest on a corporate debt security may be fixed, floating or variable, and may vary inversely with respect to a reference rate such as interest rates or other financial indicators. The rate of

return or return of principal on some debt obligations may be linked or indexed to the level of exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and a foreign currency or currencies. Such securities may include those whose principal amount or redemption price is indexed to, and thus varies directly with, changes in the market price of certain commodities, including gold bullion or other precious metals.

Ratings of Securities; Unrated Securities. Subsequent to its purchase by the fund, an issue of rated securities may cease to be rated or its rating may be reduced below any minimum that may be required for purchase by the fund. Neither event will require the sale of such securities by the fund, but the Sub-Adviser will consider such event in determining whether the fund should continue to hold the securities. In addition, it is possible that a Rating Agency might not timely change its ratings of a particular issue to reflect subsequent events. To the extent the ratings given by a Rating Agency for any securities change as a result of changes in such organizations or their rating systems, the fund will attempt to use comparable ratings as standards for its investments in accordance with its investment policies.

The fund may purchase unrated securities, which are not rated by a Rating Agency but that the Sub-Adviser determines are of comparable quality to the rated securities in which the fund may invest. Unrated securities may be less liquid than comparable rated securities, because dealers may not maintain daily markets in such securities and retail markets for many of these securities may not exist. As a result, the fund's ability to sell these securities when, and at a price, the Sub-Adviser deems appropriate may be diminished. Investing in unrated securities involves the risk that the Sub-Adviser may not accurately evaluate the security's comparative credit rating. To the extent that the fund invests in unrated securities, the fund's success in achieving its investment objective(s) may depend more heavily on the Sub-Adviser's credit analysis than if the fund invested exclusively in rated securities.

High Yield and Lower-Rated Securities. Fixed-income securities rated below investment grade, those rated below Baa3 by Moody's or BBB- by S&P and Fitch, at the time of purchase (commonly known as "high yield" or "junk" bonds), or, if unrated, deemed to be of comparable quality by the Sub-Adviser, though higher yielding, are characterized by higher risk. See "Rating Categories" below for a general description of securities ratings. These securities may be subject to certain risks with respect to the issuing entity and to greater market fluctuations than certain lower yielding, higher-rated securities. These securities generally are considered by the Rating Agencies to be, on balance, predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer's ability to make principal and interest payments in accordance with the terms of the obligation and generally will involve more credit risk than securities in the higher rating categories. The ratings of Rating Agencies represent their opinions as to the quality of the obligations which they undertake to rate. It should be emphasized, however, that ratings are relative and subjective and are not absolute standards of quality and, although ratings may be useful in evaluating the safety or interest and principal payments, they do not evaluate the market value risk of such obligations. Although these ratings may be an initial criterion for selection of portfolio investments, the Sub-Adviser also will evaluate these securities and the ability of the issuers of such securities to pay interest and principal based upon financial and other available information. The success of the fund's investments in lower-rated securities may be more dependent on the Sub-Adviser's credit analysis than might be the case for investments in higher-rated securities.

Bond prices generally are inversely related to interest rate changes. However, bond price volatility also may be inversely related to coupon. Accordingly, below investment grade securities may be relatively less sensitive to interest rate changes than higher quality securities of comparable maturity, because of their higher coupon. This higher coupon is what the investor receives in return for bearing greater credit risk. The higher credit risk associated with below investment grade securities potentially can have a greater

effect on the value of such securities than may be the case with higher quality issues of comparable maturity, and will be a substantial factor in the fund's relative share price volatility.

The prices of these securities can fall dramatically in response to negative news about the issuer or its industry. The market values of many of these securities also tend to be more sensitive to general economic conditions than are higher-rated securities and will fluctuate over time. Companies that issue certain of these securities often are highly leveraged and may not have available to them more traditional methods of financing. Therefore, the risk associated with acquiring the securities of such issuers generally is greater than is the case with the higher-rated securities. These securities may be particularly susceptible to economic downturns. For example, during an economic downturn or a sustained period of rising interest rates, highly leveraged issuers of these securities may not have sufficient revenues to meet their interest payment obligations. The issuer's ability to service its debt obligations also may be affected adversely by specific corporate developments, forecasts or the unavailability of additional financing. The risk of loss because of default by the issuer is significantly greater for the holders of these securities because such securities generally are unsecured and often are subordinated to other creditors of the issuer. It is likely that an economic recession also would disrupt severely the market for such securities and have an adverse impact on their value.

Because there is no established retail secondary market for many of these securities, it may be anticipated that such securities could be sold only to a limited number of dealers or institutional investors. To the extent a secondary trading market for these securities does exist, it generally is not as liquid as the secondary market for higher-rated securities. The lack of a liquid secondary market may have an adverse impact on market price and yield and the fund's ability to dispose of particular issues when necessary to meet the fund's liquidity needs or in response to a specific economic event such as a deterioration in the creditworthiness of the issuer. The lack of a liquid secondary market for certain securities also may make it more difficult for the fund to obtain accurate market quotations for purposes of valuing the fund's portfolio and calculating its NAV. Adverse conditions could make it difficult at times for the fund to sell certain securities or could result in lower prices than those used in calculating the fund's NAV. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may decrease the values and liquidity of these securities. In such cases, the Sub-Adviser's judgment may play a greater role in valuation because less reliable, objective data may be available.

The fund may invest in these securities when their issuers will be close to, or already have entered, reorganization proceedings. As a result, it is expected that these securities will cease or will have ceased to meet their interest payment obligations, and accordingly would trade in much the same manner as an equity security. Consequently, the fund would intend to make such investments on the basis of potential appreciation in the price of these securities, rather than any expectation of realizing income. Reorganization entails a complete change in the structure of a business entity. An attempted reorganization may be unsuccessful, resulting in substantial or total loss of amounts invested. If reorganization is successful, the value of securities of the restructured entity may depend on numerous factors, including the structure of the reorganization, the market success of the entity's products or services, the entity's management and the overall strength of the marketplace.

High yield, lower-rated securities acquired during an initial offering may involve special risks because they are new issues. The fund will not have any arrangement with any person concerning the acquisition of such securities.

Inflation-Indexed Securities. Inflation-indexed securities are fixed-income securities whose value is periodically adjusted according to the rate of inflation. Two structures are common. Treasury and some other issuers utilize a structure that accrues inflation into the principal value of the bond. Most other issuers pay out the Consumer Price Index accruals as part of a semi-annual coupon.

Inflation-indexed securities issued by Treasury have varying maturities and pay interest on a semi-annual basis equal to a fixed percentage of the inflation-adjusted principal amount. If the periodic adjustment rate measuring inflation falls, the principal value of inflation-index bonds will be adjusted downward, and consequently the interest payable on these securities (calculated with respect to a smaller principal amount) will be reduced. Repayment of the original bond principal upon maturity (as adjusted for inflation) is guaranteed in the case of Treasury inflation-indexed bonds, even during a period of deflation. However, the current market value of the bonds is not guaranteed and will fluctuate. Other inflation-related bonds may or may not provide a similar guarantee. If a guarantee of principal is not provided, the adjusted principal value of the bond repaid at maturity may be less than the original principal amount.

The periodic adjustment of U.S. inflation-indexed securities is tied to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers ("CPI-U"), which is calculated monthly by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The CPI-U is a measurement of changes in the cost of living, made up of components such as housing, food, transportation and energy. Inflation-indexed securities issued by a foreign government are generally adjusted to reflect a comparable inflation index calculated by that government. There can be no assurance that the CPI-U or any foreign inflation index will accurately measure the real rate of inflation in the prices of goods and services. Moreover, there can be no assurance that the rate of inflation in a foreign country will be correlated to the rate of inflation in the United States.

The value of inflation-indexed securities is expected to change in response to changes in real interest rates. Real interest rates in turn are tied to the relationship between nominal interest rates and the rate of inflation. Therefore, if the rate of inflation rises at a faster rate than nominal interest rates, real interest rates might decline, leading to an increase in value of inflation-indexed securities. In contrast, if nominal interest rates increase at a faster rate than inflation, real interest rates might rise, leading to a decrease in value of inflation-index securities. Any increase in the principal amount of an inflation-indexed security generally will be considered taxable ordinary income, even though investors do not receive their principal until maturity. While these securities are expected to be protected from long-term inflationary trends, short-term increases in inflation may lead to a decline in value. If interest rates rise due to reasons other than inflation (for example, due to changes in currency exchange rates), investors in these securities may not be protected to the extent that the increase is not reflected in the security's inflation measure.

Zero Coupon, Pay-In-Kind and Step-Up Securities. Zero coupon securities are issued or sold at a discount from their face value and do not entitle the holder to any periodic payment of interest prior to maturity or a specified redemption date or cash payment date. Zero coupon securities also may take the form of notes and bonds that have been stripped of their unmatured interest coupons, the coupons themselves and receipts or certificates representing interests in such stripped debt obligations and coupons. Zero coupon securities issued by corporations and financial institutions typically constitute a proportionate ownership of the issuer's pool of underlying Treasury securities. A zero coupon security pays no interest to its holders during its life and is sold at a discount to its face value at maturity. The amount of any discount varies depending on the time remaining until maturity or cash payment date, prevailing interest rates, liquidity of the security and perceived credit quality of the issuer. Pay-in-kind securities generally pay interest through the issuance of additional securities. Step-up coupon bonds are debt securities that typically do not pay interest for a specified period of time and then pay interest at a series of different rates. The amount of any

discount on these securities varies depending on the time remaining until maturity or cash payment date, prevailing interest rates, liquidity of the security and perceived credit quality of the issuer. The market prices of these securities generally are more volatile and are likely to respond to a greater degree to changes in interest rates than the market prices of securities that pay cash interest periodically having similar maturities and credit qualities. In addition, unlike bonds that pay cash interest throughout the period to maturity, the fund will realize no cash until the cash payment date unless a portion of such securities are sold and, if the issuer defaults, the fund may obtain no return at all on its investment. Federal income tax law requires the holder of a zero coupon security or of certain pay-in-kind or step-up bonds to accrue income with respect to these securities prior to the receipt of cash payments. In order for the fund to maintain its qualification as a RIC and avoid liability for federal income taxes, such fund may be required to distribute such income accrued with respect to these securities and may have to dispose of portfolio securities under disadvantageous circumstances in order to generate cash to satisfy these distribution requirements.

The credit risk factors pertaining to high-yield, lower-rated securities (discussed above) also apply to lower-rated zero coupon, pay-in-kind and step-up securities. In addition to the risks associated with the credit rating of the issuers, the market prices of these securities may be very volatile during the period no interest is paid.

Variable and Floating Rate Securities. Variable and floating rate securities provide for adjustment in the interest rate paid on the obligations. The terms of such obligations typically provide that interest rates are adjusted based upon an interest or market rate adjustment as provided in the respective obligations. The adjustment intervals may be regular, and range from daily up to annually, or may be event-based, such as based on a change in the prime rate. Variable rate obligations typically provide for a specified periodic adjustment in the interest rate, while floating rate obligations typically have an interest rate which changes whenever there is a change in the external interest or market rate. Because of the interest rate adjustment feature, variable and floating rate securities provide the fund with a certain degree of protection against rises in interest rates, although the fund will participate in any declines in interest rates as well. Generally, changes in interest rates will have a smaller effect on the market value of variable and floating rate securities than on the market value of comparable fixed-income obligations. Thus, investing in variable and floating rate securities generally allows less opportunity for capital appreciation and depreciation than investing in comparable fixed-income securities.

Variable Rate Demand Notes. Variable rate demand notes include master demand notes, which are obligations that permit the fund to invest fluctuating amounts, at varying rates of interest, pursuant to direct arrangements between the fund, as lender, and the borrower. These obligations permit daily changes in the amounts borrowed. Because these obligations are direct lending arrangements between the lender and borrower, it is not contemplated that such instruments generally will be traded, and there generally is no established secondary market for these obligations, although they are redeemable on demand at face value, plus accrued interest. Accordingly, where these obligations are not secured by letters of credit or other credit support arrangements, the fund's right to redeem is dependent on the ability of the borrower to pay principal and interest on demand. Such obligations frequently are not rated by credit rating agencies. Changes in the credit quality of banks or other financial institutions providing any credit support or liquidity enhancements could cause losses to the fund.

Floating and Inverse Floating Rate Debt Instruments. The interest rate on a floating rate debt instrument ("floater") is a variable rate which is tied to another interest rate, such as a prime rate or Treasury bill rate. The interest rate on an inverse floating rate debt instrument moves or resets in the opposite direction from

the market rate of interest to which the inverse floater is indexed or inversely to a multiple of the applicable index. An inverse floating rate debt instrument may exhibit greater price volatility than a fixed rate obligation of similar credit quality, and investing in these instruments involves leveraging which may magnify gains or losses.

Mortgage-Related Securities. Mortgage-related securities are a form of derivative collateralized by pools of residential or commercial mortgages. Pools of mortgage loans are assembled as securities for sale to investors by various governmental, government-related and private organizations. These securities may include complex instruments such as collateralized mortgage obligations ("CMOs") and stripped mortgage-backed securities, mortgage pass-through securities, interests in REMICs, adjustable rate mortgage loans, or other kinds of mortgage- backed securities, including those with fixed, floating and variable interest rates; interest rates based on multiples of changes in a specified index of interest rates; interest rates that change inversely to changes in interest rates; and those that do not bear interest.

Mortgage-related securities are subject to credit, prepayment and interest rate risk, and may be more volatile and less liquid, and more difficult to price accurately, than more traditional debt securities. Although certain mortgage- related securities are guaranteed by a third party (such as a U.S. Government agency with respect to GNMA mortgage-backed securities), the market value of the security may fluctuate. Mortgage-backed securities issued by private issuers, whether or not such securities are subject to guarantees or another form of credit enhancement, may entail greater risk than securities directly or indirectly guaranteed by the U.S. Government. The market value of mortgage-related securities depends on, among other things, the level of interest rates, the securities' coupon rates and the payment history of the mortgagors of the underlying mortgages.

Mortgage-related securities generally are subject to credit risks associated with the performance of the underlying mortgage properties and to prepayment risk. In certain instances, the credit risk associated with mortgage-related securities can be reduced by third party guarantees or other forms of credit support. Improved credit risk does not reduce prepayment risk, which is unrelated to the rating assigned to the mortgage-related security. Prepayment risk may lead to pronounced fluctuations in value of the mortgage-related security. If a mortgage-related security is purchased at a premium, all or part of the premium may be lost if there is a decline in the market value of the security, whether resulting solely from changes in interest rates or from prepayments on the underlying mortgage collateral (the rates of which are highly dependent upon changes in interest rates, as discussed below). Mortgage loans are generally partially or completely prepaid prior to their final maturities as a result of events such as sale of the mortgaged premises, default, condemnation or casualty loss. Because these securities may be subject to extraordinary mandatory redemption in whole or in part from such prepayments of mortgage loans, a substantial portion of such securities may be redeemed prior to their scheduled maturities or even prior to ordinary call dates. Extraordinary mandatory redemption without premium could also result from the failure of the originating financial institutions to make mortgage loans in sufficient amounts within a specified time period. The ability of issuers of mortgage-backed securities to make payments depends on such factors as rental income, occupancy levels, operating expenses, mortgage default rates, taxes, government regulations and appropriation of subsidies.

Certain mortgage-related securities, such as inverse floating rate CMOs, have coupons that move inversely to a multiple of a specific index, which may result in a form of leverage. As with other interest-bearing securities, the prices of certain mortgage-related securities are inversely affected by changes in interest rates. However, although the value of a mortgage-related security may decline when interest rates rise, the converse is not necessarily true, since in periods of declining interest rates the mortgages underlying the

security are more likely to be prepaid. For this and other reasons, a mortgage-related security's stated maturity may be shortened by unscheduled prepayments on the underlying mortgages, and, therefore, it is not possible to predict accurately the security's return to the fund. Moreover, with respect to certain stripped mortgage-backed securities, if the underlying mortgage securities experience greater than anticipated prepayments of principal, the fund may fail to fully recoup its initial investment even if the securities are rated in the highest rating category by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization. During periods of rapidly rising interest rates, prepayments of mortgage-related securities may occur at slower than expected rates. Slower prepayments effectively may lengthen a mortgage-related security's expected maturity, which generally would cause the value of such security to fluctuate more widely in response to changes in interest rates. Were the prepayments on the fund's mortgage-related securities to decrease broadly, the fund's effective duration, and thus sensitivity to interest rate fluctuations, would increase. Commercial real property loans, however, often contain provisions that reduce the likelihood that such securities will be prepaid. The provisions generally impose significant prepayment penalties on loans and in some cases there may be prohibitions on principal prepayments for several years following origination.

Residential Mortgage-Related Securities. Residential mortgage-related securities representing participation interests in pools of one- to four-family residential mortgage loans issued or guaranteed by governmental agencies or government-sponsored entities, such as GNMA, FNMA and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("FHLMC"), or issued by private entities, have been issued using a variety of structures, including multi-class structures featuring senior and subordinated classes. Some mortgage-related securities have structures that make their reactions to interest rate changes and other factors difficult to predict, making their value highly volatile.

Mortgage-related securities issued by GNMA include Ginnie Maes which are guaranteed as to the timely payment of principal and interest by GNMA and such guarantee is backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. Ginnie Maes are created by an "issuer," which is a Federal Housing Administration ("FHA") approved mortgagee that also meets criteria imposed by GNMA. The issuer assembles a pool of FHA or Department of Veterans' Affairs ("VA") insured or guaranteed mortgages which are homogeneous as to interest rate, maturity and type of dwelling. Upon application by the issuer, and after approval by GNMA of the pool, GNMA provides its commitment to guarantee timely payment of principal and interest on the Ginnie Maes backed by the mortgages included in the pool. The Ginnie Maes, endorsed by GNMA, then are sold by the issuer through securities dealers. Ginnie Maes bear a stated "coupon rate" which represents the effective underlying mortgage rate at the time of issuance, less GNMA's and the issuer's fees. GNMA is authorized under the National Housing Act to guarantee timely payment of principal and interest on Ginnie Maes. This guarantee is backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. GNMA may borrow Treasury funds to the extent needed to make payments under its guarantee. When mortgages in the pool underlying a Ginnie Mae are prepaid by mortgagors or by result of foreclosure, such principal payments are passed through to the certificate holders. Accordingly, the life of the Ginnie Mae is likely to be substantially shorter than the stated maturity of the mortgages in the underlying pool. Because of such variation in prepayment rates, it is not possible to predict the life of a particular Ginnie Mae. Payments to holders of Ginnie Maes consist of the monthly distributions of interest and principal less GNMA's and the issuer's fees. The actual yield to be earned by a holder of a Ginnie Mae is calculated by dividing interest payments by the purchase price paid for the Ginnie Mae (which may be at a premium or a discount from the face value of the certificate). Monthly distributions of interest, as contrasted to semi- annual distributions which are common for other fixed interest investments, have the effect of compounding and thereby raising the effective annual yield earned on Ginnie Maes.

Mortgage-related securities issued by FNMA, including FNMA Guaranteed Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates (also known as "Fannie Maes"), are solely the obligations of FNMA and are not backed by or entitled to the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. Fannie Maes are guaranteed as to timely payment of principal and interest by FNMA. Mortgage-related securities issued by FHLMC include FHLMC Mortgage Participation Certificates (also known as "Freddie Macs" or "PCs"). Freddie Macs are not guaranteed by the U.S. Government or by any Federal Home Loan Bank and do not constitute a debt or obligation of the U.S. Government or of any Federal Home Loan Bank. Freddie Macs entitle the holder to timely payment of interest, which is guaranteed by FHLMC. FHLMC guarantees either ultimate collection or timely payment of all principal payments on the underlying mortgage loans. When FHLMC does not guarantee timely payment of principal, FHLMC may remit the amount due on account of its guarantee of ultimate payment of principal at any time after default on an underlying mortgage, but in no event later than one year after it becomes payable.

In September 2008, Treasury and the Federal Housing Finance Agency ("FHFA") announced that FNMA and FHLMC had been placed in conservatorship. Since that time, FNMA and FHLMC have received significant capital support through Treasury preferred stock purchases, as well as Treasury and Federal Reserve purchases of their mortgage-backed securities. The FHFA and Treasury (through its agreement to purchase FNMA and FHLMC preferred stock) have imposed strict limits on the size of their mortgage portfolios. While the mortgage-backed securities purchase programs ended in 2010, Treasury continued its support for the entities' capital as necessary to prevent a negative net worth through at least 2012. When a credit rating agency downgraded long-term U.S. Government debt in August 2011, the agency also downgraded FNMA and FHLMC's bond ratings, from AAA to AA+, based on their direct reliance on the U.S. Government (although that rating did not directly relate to their mortgage-backed securities). From the end of 2007 through the fourth quarter of 2017, FNMA and FHLMC required Treasury support of approximately $187.5 billion through draws under the preferred stock purchase agreements. However, no payments will be made due to net losses incurred by each entity. FNMA and FHLMC paid approximately $278.8 billion in aggregate cash dividends to Treasury over the same period (although these payments do not constitute a repayment of their draws). Each entity's projected fourth quarter payment was ultimately decreased due to an agreement entered into with Treasury that modified the dividend provisions of the senior preferred stock. In its 2016 report to Congress, FHFA stated that FNMA and FHLMC had been stabilized. However, FHFA also conducted a stress test mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act, which suggested that in a "severely adverse scenario" additional Treasury support of between $49.2 billion and $125.8 billion (depending on the treatment of deferred tax assets) might be required. FNMA did not require any draws from Treasury from the fourth quarter of 2011 through the fourth quarter of 2017. Similarly, FHLMC did not require any draws from Treasury from the first quarter of 2012 through the fourth quarter of 2017. However, in the first quarter of 2018, FNMA and FHLMC each reported that the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December 2017 had resulted in a decrease in the value of their deferred tax assets. As a result, FNMA and FHLMC each reported net losses during the fourth quarter of 2017 and indicated that they would request draws from Treasury in the amount of $3.7 billion and $0.3 billion, respectively. No assurance can be given that the Federal Reserve or Treasury will ensure that FNMA and FHLMC will be successful in meeting their obligations with respect to the debt and mortgage-backed securities that they issue.

In addition, the problems faced by FNMA and FHLMC, resulting in their being placed into federal conservatorship and receiving significant U.S. Government support, have sparked serious debate among federal policymakers regarding the continued role of the U.S. Government in providing liquidity for mortgage loans. In December 2011, Congress enacted the Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011 which, among other provisions, requires that FNMA and FHLMC increase their single-family guaranty fees by at least 10 basis points and remit this increase to Treasury with respect to all loans acquired by FNMA or FHLMC on or after April 1, 2012 and before January 1, 2022. Serious discussions among policymakers continue, however, as to whether FNMA and FHLMC should be nationalized,

privatized, restructured or eliminated altogether. FNMA reported in the third quarter of 2016 that it expected "continued significant uncertainty" regarding its future and the housing finance system, including how long FNMA will continue to exist in its current form, the extent of its role in the market, how long it will be in conservatorship, what form it will have and what ownership interest, if any, current common and preferred stockholders will hold after the conservatorship is terminated, and whether FNMA will continue to exist following conservatorship. FHLMC faces similar uncertainty about its future role. FNMA and FHLMC also are the subject of several continuing legal actions and investigations over certain accounting, disclosure or corporate governance matters, which (along with any resulting financial restatements) may continue to have an adverse effect on the guaranteeing entities.

FHFA is mandating that FNMA and FHLMC cease issuing their own MBS and begin issuing "Uniform Mortgage-Backed Securities" or "UMBS" in 2019. Each UMBS will have a 55-day remittance cycle and can be used as collateral in either a FNMA or a FHLMC CMO or held for investment. Investors may be approached to convert existing mortgage-backed securities into UMBS, possibly with an inducement fee being offered to holders of FHLMC PCs.

Commercial Mortgage-Related Securities. Commercial mortgage-related securities generally are multi- class debt or pass-through certificates secured by mortgage loans on commercial properties. These mortgage-related securities generally are constructed to provide protection to holders of the senior classes against potential losses on the underlying mortgage loans. This protection generally is provided by having the holders of subordinated classes of securities ("Subordinated Securities") take the first loss if there are defaults on the underlying commercial mortgage loans. Other protection, which may benefit all of the classes or particular classes, may include issuer guarantees, reserve funds, additional Subordinated Securities, cross-collateralization and over-collateralization. Commercial lending, however, generally is viewed as exposing the lender to a greater risk of loss than one- to four-family residential lending. Commercial lending, for example, typically involves larger loans to single borrowers or groups of related borrowers than residential one- to four-family mortgage loans. In addition, the repayment of loans secured by income-producing properties typically is dependent upon the successful operation of the related real estate project and the cash flow generated therefrom. Consequently, adverse changes in economic conditions and circumstances are more likely to have an adverse impact on mortgage-related securities secured by loans on certain types of commercial properties than those secured by loans on residential properties. The risks that recovery or repossessed collateral might be unavailable or inadequate to support payments on commercial mortgage-related securities may be greater than is the case for non-multifamily residential mortgage-related securities.

Subordinated Securities. Subordinated Securities, including those issued or sponsored by commercial banks, savings and loan institutions, mortgage bankers, private mortgage insurance companies and other non-governmental issuers, have no governmental guarantee, and are subordinated in some manner as to the payment of principal and/or interest to the holders of more senior mortgage-related securities arising out of the same pool of mortgages. The holders of Subordinated Securities typically are compensated with a higher stated yield than are the holders of more senior mortgage-related securities. On the other hand, Subordinated Securities typically subject the holder to greater risk than senior mortgage-related securities and tend to be rated in a lower rating category, and frequently a substantially lower rating category, than the senior mortgage-related securities issued in respect of the same pool of mortgages. Subordinated Securities generally are likely to be more sensitive to changes in prepayment and interest rates and the market for such securities may be less liquid than is the case for traditional fixed-income securities and senior mortgage-related securities.

Collateralized Mortgage Obligations (“CMOs”) and Multi-Class Pass-Through-Securities. CMOs are multiclass bonds backed by pools of mortgage pass-through certificates or mortgage loans. CMOs may be collateralized by: (1) Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac pass-through certificates; (2) unsecuritized mortgage loans insured by the FHA or guaranteed by the Department of Veterans' Affairs; (3) unsecuritized conventional mortgages; (4) other mortgage-related securities; or (5) any combination thereof.

Each class of CMOs, often referred to as a "tranche," is issued at a specific coupon rate and has a stated maturity or final distribution date. Principal prepayments on collateral underlying a CMO may cause it to be retired substantially earlier than the stated maturities or final distribution dates. The principal and interest on the underlying mortgages may be allocated among the several classes of a series of a CMO in many ways. One or more tranches of a CMO may have coupon rates which reset periodically at a specified increment over an index or market rate, such as LIBOR (or sometimes more than one index). These floating rate CMOs typically are issued with lifetime caps on the coupon rate thereon. Inverse floating rate CMOs constitute a tranche of a CMO with a coupon rate that moves in the opposite direction to an applicable index or market rate such as LIBOR. Accordingly, the coupon rate thereon will increase as interest rates decrease. Inverse floating rate CMOs are typically more volatile than fixed or floating rate tranches of CMOs.

Many inverse floating rate CMOs have coupons that move inversely to a multiple of the applicable indexes. The effect of the coupon varying inversely to a multiple of an applicable index creates a leverage factor. Inverse floating rate CMOs based on multiples of a stated index are designed to be highly sensitive to changes in interest rates and can subject the holders thereof to extreme reductions of yield and loss of principal. The markets for inverse floating rate CMOs with highly leveraged characteristics at times may be very thin. The ability of the fund to dispose of positions in such securities will depend on the degree of liquidity in the markets for such securities. It is impossible to predict the amount of trading interest that may exist in such securities, and therefore the future degree of liquidity. It should be noted that inverse floaters based on multiples of a stated index are designed to be highly sensitive to changes in interest rates and can subject the holders thereof to extreme reductions of yield and loss of principal.

As CMOs have evolved, some classes of CMO bonds have become more prevalent. The planned amortization class ("PAC") and targeted amortization class ("TAC"), for example, were designed to reduce prepayment risk by establishing a sinking-fund structure. PAC and TAC bonds assure to varying degrees that investors will receive payments over a predetermined period under varying prepayment scenarios. Although PAC and TAC bonds are similar, PAC bonds are better able to provide stable cash flows under various prepayment scenarios than TAC bonds because of the order in which these tranches are paid.

Stripped Mortgage-Backed Securities. Stripped mortgage-backed securities are created by segregating the cash flows from underlying mortgage loans or mortgage securities to create two or more new securities, each with a specified percentage of the underlying security's principal or interest payments. Mortgage securities may be partially stripped so that each investor class receives some interest and some principal. When securities are completely stripped, however, all of the interest is distributed to holders of one type of security, known as an interest-only security ("IO") and all of the principal is distributed to holders of another type of security known as a principal-only security ("PO"). IOs and POs can be created in a pass-through structure or as tranches of a CMO. The yields to maturity on IOs and POs are very sensitive to the rate of principal payments (including prepayments) on the related underlying mortgage assets. If the underlying mortgage assets experience greater than anticipated prepayments of principal, the fund may not fully recoup its initial investment in IOs. Conversely, if the underlying mortgage assets experience less than anticipated prepayments of principal, the yield on POs could be materially and adversely affected.

Adjustable-Rate Mortgage Loans ("ARMs"). ARMs eligible for inclusion in a mortgage pool will generally provide for a fixed initial mortgage interest rate for a specified period of time, generally for either the first three, six, twelve, thirteen, thirty-six, or sixty scheduled monthly payments. Thereafter, the interest rates are subject to periodic adjustment based on changes in an index. ARMs typically have minimum and maximum rates beyond which the mortgage interest rate may not vary over the lifetime of the loans. Certain ARMs provide for additional limitations on the maximum amount by which the mortgage interest rate may adjust for any single adjustment period. Negatively amortizing ARMs may provide limitations on changes in the required monthly payment. Limitations on monthly payments can result in monthly payments that are greater or less than the amount necessary to amortize a negatively amortizing ARM by its maturity at the interest rate in effect during any particular month.

Private Entity Securities. Mortgage-related securities may be issued by commercial banks, savings and loan institutions, mortgage bankers, private mortgage insurance companies and other non-governmental issuers. Timely payment of principal and interest on mortgage-related securities backed by pools created by non-governmental issuers often is supported partially by various forms of insurance or guarantees, including individual loan, title, pool and hazard insurance. The insurance and guarantees are issued by government entities, private insurers and the mortgage poolers. There can be no assurance that the private insurers or mortgage poolers can meet their obligations under the policies, so that if the issuers default on their obligations the holders of the security could sustain a loss. No insurance or guarantee covers the fund or the price of the fund's shares. Mortgage-related securities issued by non-governmental issuers generally offer a higher rate of interest than government-agency and government-related securities because there are no direct or indirect government guarantees of payment.

Other Mortgage-Related Securities. Other mortgage-related securities include securities other than those described above that directly or indirectly represent a participation in, or are secured by and payable from, mortgage loans on real property, including a CMO tranche which collects any cash flow from collateral remaining after obligations to the other tranches have been met. Other mortgage-related securities may be equity or debt securities issued by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. Government or by private originators of, or investors in, mortgage loans, including savings and loan associations, homebuilders, mortgage banks, commercial banks, investment banks, partnerships, trusts and special purpose entities of the foregoing.

Asset-Backed Securities. Asset-backed securities are a form of derivative instrument. Non-mortgage asset-backed securities are securities issued by special purpose entities whose primary assets consist of a pool of loans, receivables or other assets. Payment of principal and interest may depend largely on the cash flows generated by the assets backing the securities and, in certain cases, supported by letters of credit, surety bonds or other forms of credit or liquidity enhancements. The value of these asset-backed securities also may be affected by the creditworthiness of the servicing agent for the pool of assets, the originator of the loans or receivables or the financial institution providing the credit support. The securitization techniques used for asset-backed securities are similar to those used for mortgage-related securities, including the issuance of securities in senior and subordinated classes (see "Mortgage-Related Securities—Commercial Mortgage-Related Securities" and "—Subordinated Securities" above). These securities include debt securities and securities with debt-like characteristics. The collateral for these securities has included home equity loans, automobile and credit card receivables, boat loans, computer leases, airplane leases, mobile home loans, recreational vehicle loans and hospital account receivables. Other types of asset-backed securities may be developed in the future. The purchase of non-mortgage asset-backed securities raises considerations particular to the financing of the instruments underlying such securities.

Asset-backed securities present certain risks of mortgage-backed securities, such as prepayment risk, as well as risks that are not presented by mortgage-backed securities. Primarily, these securities may provide a less effective security interest in the related collateral than do mortgage-backed securities. Therefore, there is the possibility that recoveries on the underlying collateral may not, in some cases, be available to support payments on these securities.

Collateralized Debt Obligations. Collateralized debt obligations ("CDOs") are securitized interests in pools of—generally non-mortgage—assets. Assets called collateral usually are comprised of loans or other debt instruments. A CDO may be called a collateralized loan obligation (CLO) or collateralized bond obligation (CBO) if it holds only loans or bonds, respectively. Investors bear the credit risk of the collateral. Multiple tranches of securities are issued by the CDO, offering investors various maturity and credit risk characteristics. Tranches are categorized as senior, mezzanine and subordinated/equity, according to their degree of credit risk. If there are defaults or the CDO's collateral otherwise underperforms, scheduled payments to senior tranches take precedence over those of mezzanine tranches, and scheduled payments to mezzanine tranches take precedence over those to subordinated/equity tranches. Senior and mezzanine tranches are typically rated, with the former receiving ratings of A to AAA/Aaa and the latter receiving ratings of B to BBB/Baa. The ratings reflect both the credit quality of underlying collateral as well as how much protection a given tranche is afforded by tranches that are subordinate to it.

Municipal Securities.

Municipal Securities Generally. "Municipal securities" are debt securities or other obligations issued by states, territories and possessions of the United States and the District of Columbia and their political subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities, or multistate agencies and authorities, and certain other specified securities, the interest from which generally is, in the opinion of bond counsel to the issuer, exempt from federal and, with respect to certain municipal securities in which the fund may invest, the personal income taxes of a specified state (referred to in this SAI as Municipal Bonds, Municipal Obligations, State Municipal Bonds or State Municipal Obligations, as applicable—see "Glossary" below). Municipal securities generally include debt obligations issued to obtain funds for various public purposes and include certain industrial development bonds issued by or on behalf of public authorities. Municipal securities are classified as general obligation bonds, revenue bonds and notes. General obligation bonds are secured by the issuer's pledge of its full faith, credit and taxing power for the payment of principal and interest. Revenue bonds are payable from the revenue derived from a particular facility or class of facilities or, in some cases, from the proceeds of a special excise or other specific revenue source, but not from the general taxing power. Tax-exempt industrial development bonds, in most cases, are revenue bonds that do not carry the pledge of the credit of the issuing municipality, but generally are guaranteed by the corporate entity on whose behalf they are issued. Notes are short-term instruments which are obligations of the issuing municipalities or agencies and are sold in anticipation of a bond issuance, collection of taxes or receipt of other revenues. Issues of municipal commercial paper typically represent short-term, unsecured, negotiable promissory notes. These obligations are issued by agencies of state and local governments to finance seasonal working capital needs of municipalities or to provide interim construction financing and are paid from general revenues of municipalities or are refinanced with long-term debt. In most cases, municipal commercial paper is backed by letters of credit, lending agreements, note repurchase agreements or other credit facility agreements offered by banks or other institutions. Municipal securities include municipal lease/purchase agreements which are similar to installment purchase contracts for property or equipment issued by municipalities.

The fund's investments in municipal securities may include investments in U.S. territories or possessions such as Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. The fund's investments in a territory or possession could be affected by economic, legislative, regulatory or political developments affecting issuers in the territory or possession. For example, Puerto Rico, like many other states and U.S. municipalities, experienced a significant downturn during the recent recession and

continues to face significant fiscal challenges, including persistent government deficits, underfunded public pensions, sizable debt service obligations and a high unemployment rate. As a result, many Rating Agencies have downgraded Puerto Rico's various municipal issuers, including the Commonwealth itself and its general obligation debt, or placed them on "negative watch." If the economic situation in Puerto Rico persists or worsens, the volatility, credit quality and performance of the fund's holdings in securities of issuers in Puerto Rico could be adversely affected.

Municipal securities bear fixed, floating or variable rates of interest, which are determined in some instances by formulas under which the municipal security's interest rate will change directly or inversely to changes in interest rates or an index, or multiples thereof, in many cases subject to a maximum and minimum. Certain municipal securities are subject to redemption at a date earlier than their stated maturity pursuant to call options, which may be separated from the related municipal security and purchased and sold separately. The purchase of call options on specific municipal securities may protect the fund from the issuer of the related municipal security redeeming, or other holder of the call option from calling away, the municipal security before maturity. The sale by the fund of a call option that it owns on a specific municipal security could result in the receipt of taxable income by the fund.

The municipal securities market is not subject to the same level of regulation as other sectors of the U.S. capital markets due to broad exemptions under the federal securities laws for municipal securities. As a result, there may be less disclosure, including current audited financial information, available about municipal issuers than is available for issuers of securities registered under the Securities Act.

For a fund that is a RIC for tax purposes and invests less than 50% of its assets in municipal securities, dividends received by shareholders on fund shares which are attributable to interest income received by the fund from municipal securities generally will be subject to federal income tax. While, in general, municipal securities are tax exempt securities having relatively low yields as compared to taxable, non-municipal securities of similar quality, certain municipal securities are taxable obligations, offering yields comparable to, and in some cases greater than, the yields available on other permissible investments.

For the purpose of diversification under the 1940 Act, the identification of the issuer of municipal securities depends on the terms and conditions of the security. When the assets and revenues of an agency, authority, instrumentality or other political subdivision are separate from those of the government creating the subdivision and the security is backed only by the assets and revenues of the subdivision, such subdivision would be deemed to be the sole issuer. Similarly, in the case of an industrial development bond, if the bond is backed only by the assets and revenues of the non-governmental user, then such non-governmental user would be deemed to be the sole issuer. If, however, in either case, the creating government or some other entity guarantees a security, such a guaranty would be considered a separate security and would be treated as an issue of such government or other entity.

Municipal securities include certain private activity bonds (a type of revenue bond issued by or on behalf of public authorities to raise money to finance various privately operated or public facilities and for which the payment of principal and interest is dependent solely on the ability of the facility's user to meet its financial obligations and the pledge, if any, of real and personal property so financed as security for such payment), the income from which is subject to AMT. Taxable municipal securities also may include remarketed certificates of participation. The fund may invest in these municipal securities if the Sub-Adviser determines that their purchase is consistent with the fund's investment objective.

Municipal securities may be repayable out of revenue streams generated from economically related projects or facilities or whose issuers are located in the same state. Sizable investments in these securities could increase risk to the fund should any of the related projects or facilities experience financial difficulties. An

investment in a fund that focuses its investments in securities issued by a particular state or entities within that state may involve greater risk than investments in certain other types of municipal funds.

The yields on municipal securities are dependent on a variety of factors, including general economic and monetary conditions, money market factors, conditions in the municipal securities market, size of a particular offering, maturity of the obligation and rating of the issue. The achievement of the investment objective of a municipal or other tax-exempt fund is dependent in part on the continuing ability of the issuers of municipal securities in which the fund invests to meet their obligations for the payment of principal and interest when due. Municipal securities historically have not been subject to registration with the SEC, although there have been proposals which would require registration in the future. Issuers of municipal securities, like issuers of corporate securities, may declare bankruptcy, and obligations of issuers of municipal securities are subject to the provisions of bankruptcy, insolvency and other laws affecting the rights and remedies of creditors. Many such bankruptcies historically have been of smaller villages, towns, cities and counties, but in November 2011 Jefferson County, Alabama (the state's most populous county) became the subject of what was then the largest municipal bankruptcy ever in the U.S., at over $4 billion in total indebtedness, surpassing in size the 1994 bankruptcy of Orange County, California. Other prominent municipal bankruptcies have followed. In July 2013, Detroit, Michigan filed for bankruptcy. With an estimated $18 to $20 billion in total indebtedness, it became the largest municipal bankruptcy in the U.S. The obligations of municipal issuers may become subject to laws enacted in the future by Congress or state legislatures, or referenda extending the time for payment of principal and/or interest, or imposing other constraints upon enforcement of such obligations or upon the ability of municipalities to levy taxes. There is also the possibility that, as a result of litigation or other conditions, the ability of any municipal issuer to pay, when due, the principal of and interest on its municipal securities may be materially affected.

Certain provisions in the Code relating to the issuance of municipal securities may reduce the volume of municipal securities qualifying for federal tax exemption. One effect of these provisions could be to increase the cost of the municipal securities available for purchase by the fund and thus reduce available yield.

Instruments Related to Municipal Securities. The following is a description of certain types of investments related to municipal securities in which the fund may invest. The fund's use of certain of the investment techniques described below may give rise to taxable income.

Floating and Variable Rate Demand Notes and Bonds. Floating and variable rate demand notes and bonds are tax exempt obligations ordinarily having stated maturities in excess of one year, but which permit the holder to demand payment of principal at any time, or at specified intervals. Variable rate demand notes include master demand notes. See "Fixed-Income Securities—Variable and Floating Rate Securities" above.

Tax Exempt Participation Interests. A participation interest in municipal securities (such as industrial development bonds and municipal lease/purchase agreements) purchased from a financial institution gives the fund an undivided interest in the municipal security in the proportion that the fund's participation interest bears to the total principal amount of the municipal security. These instruments may have fixed, floating or variable rates of interest and generally will be backed by an irrevocable letter of credit or guarantee of a bank. For certain participation interests, the fund will have the right to demand payment, on not more than seven days' notice, for all or any part of the fund's participation interest in the municipal security, plus accrued interest. As to these instruments, the fund intends to exercise its right to demand payment only upon a default under the terms of the municipal security, as needed to provide liquidity to meet redemptions, or to maintain or improve the quality of its investment portfolio.

· Municipal Lease Obligations. Municipal lease obligations or installment purchase contract obligations (collectively, "lease obligations") have special risks not ordinarily associated with general obligation or revenue bonds. Leases and installment purchase or conditional sale contracts (which normally provide for title to the leased asset to pass eventually to the government issuer) have evolved as a means for governmental issuers to acquire property and equipment without meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements for the issuance of debt. Although lease obligations do not constitute general obligations of the municipality for which the municipality's taxing power is pledged, a lease obligation ordinarily is backed by the municipality's covenant to budget for, appropriate and make the payments due under the lease obligation. However, lease obligations in which the fund may invest may contain "non-appropriation" clauses which provide that the municipality has no obligation to make lease or installment purchase payments in future years unless money is appropriated for such purpose on a yearly basis. Although "non-appropriation" lease obligations are secured by the leased property, disposition of the property in the event of foreclosure might prove difficult. Certain lease obligations may be considered illiquid. Determination as to the liquidity of such securities is made in accordance with guidelines established by the board. Pursuant to such guidelines, the board has directed the Adviser to monitor carefully the fund's investment in such securities with particular regard to: (1) the frequency of trades and quotes for the lease obligation; (2) the number of dealers willing to purchase or sell the lease obligation and the number of other potential buyers; (3) the willingness of dealers to undertake to make a market in the lease obligation; (4) the nature of the marketplace trades, including the time needed to dispose of the lease obligation, the method of soliciting offers and the mechanics of transfer; and (5) such other factors concerning the trading market for the lease obligation as the Adviser may deem relevant. In addition, in evaluating the liquidity and credit quality of a lease obligation that is unrated, the board has directed the Adviser to consider: (1) whether the lease can be canceled; (2) what assurance there is that the assets represented by the lease can be sold; (3) the strength of the lessee's general credit (e.g., its debt, administrative, economic and financial characteristics); (4) the likelihood that the municipality will discontinue appropriating funding for the leased property because the property is no longer deemed essential to the operations of the municipality (e.g., the potential for an "event of non-appropriation"); (5) the legal recourse in the event of failure to appropriate; and (6) such other factors concerning credit quality as the Adviser may deem relevant.

Tender Option Bonds. A tender option bond is a municipal security (generally held pursuant to a custodial arrangement) having a relatively long maturity and bearing interest at a fixed rate substantially higher than prevailing short-term tax exempt rates, that has been coupled with the agreement of a third party, such as a bank, broker-dealer or other financial institution, pursuant to which such institution grants the security holders the option, at periodic intervals, to tender their securities to the institution and receive the face value thereof. As consideration for providing the option, the financial institution receives periodic fees equal to the difference between the municipal security's fixed coupon rate and the rate, as determined by a remarketing or similar agent at or near the commencement of such period, that would cause the securities, coupled with the tender option, to trade at par on the date of such determination. Thus, after payment of this fee, the security holder effectively holds a demand obligation that bears interest at the prevailing short-term tax exempt rate. In certain instances and for certain tender option bonds, the option may be terminable in the event of a default in payment of principal or interest on the underlying municipal security and for other reasons. The fund expects to be able to value tender option bonds at par; however, the value of the instrument will be monitored to assure that it is valued at fair value. The quality of the underlying creditor or of the third party provider of the tender option, as the case may be, as determined by the Sub-Adviser, must be equivalent to the quality standard prescribed for the fund. In addition, the Sub-Adviser monitors the earning power, cash flow and other liquidity ratios of the issuers of such obligations.

Pre-Refunded Municipal Securities. The principal and interest on pre-refunded municipal securities are no longer paid from the original revenue source for the securities. Instead, the source of such payments is typically an escrow fund consisting of U.S. government securities. The assets in the escrow fund are derived from the proceeds of refunding bonds issued by the same issuer as the pre-refunded municipal securities. Issuers of municipal securities use this advance refunding technique to obtain more favorable terms with respect to bonds that are not yet subject to call or redemption by the issuer. For example, advance refunding enables an issuer to refinance debt at lower market interest rates, restructure debt to improve cash flow or eliminate restrictive covenants in the indenture or other governing instrument for the pre-refunded municipal securities. However, except for a change in the revenue source from which principal and interest payments are made, the pre-refunded municipal securities remain outstanding on their original terms until they mature or are redeemed by the issuer.

Mortgage-Related and Asset-Backed Municipal Securities. Mortgage-backed municipal securities are municipal securities of issuers that derive revenues from mortgage loans on multiple family residences, retirement housing or housing projects for low- to moderate-income families. Certain of such securities may be single family mortgage revenue bonds issued for the purpose of acquiring from originating financial institutions notes secured by mortgages on residences located within the issuer's boundaries. Non-mortgage asset-based securities are securities issued by special purpose entities whose primary assets consist of a pool of loans, receivables or other assets. See "Fixed-Income Securities—Mortgage-Related Securities" and "Fixed-Income Securities—Asset-Backed Securities" above.

· Custodial Receipts. Custodial receipts represent the right to receive certain future principal and/or interest payments on municipal securities which underlie the custodial receipts. A number of different arrangements are possible. The fund also may purchase directly from issuers, and not in a private placement, municipal securities having characteristics similar to custodial receipts. These securities may be issued as part of a multi-class offering and the interest rate on certain classes may be subject to a cap or floor. See "Derivatives—Custodial Receipts" below.

· Indexed and Inverse Floating Rate Municipal Securities. Indexed rate municipal securities are securities that pay interest or whose principal amount payable upon maturity is based on the value of an index of interest rates. Interest and principal payable on certain securities also may be based on relative changes among particular indexes. So-called "inverse floating obligations" or "residual interest bonds" ("inverse floaters") are derivative instruments created by depositing municipal securities in a trust which divides the bond's income stream into two parts: (1) a short-term variable rate demand note; and (2) a residual interest bond (the inverse floater) which receives interest based on the remaining cash flow of the trust after payment of interest on the note and various trust expenses. The interest rate on the inverse floater varies inversely with a floating rate (which may be reset periodically by a "Dutch" auction, a remarketing agent or by reference a short-term tax-exempt interest rate index), usually moving in the opposite direction as the interest on the variable rate demand note.

The fund may either participate in structuring an inverse floater or purchase an inverse floater in the secondary market. When structuring an inverse floater, the fund will transfer to a trust fixed rate municipal securities held in the fund's portfolio. The trust then typically issues the inverse floaters and the variable rate demand notes that are collateralized by the cash flows of the fixed rate municipal securities. In return for the transfer of the municipal securities to the trust, the fund receives the inverse floaters and cash associated with the sale of the notes from the trust. For accounting purposes, the fund treats these transfers as part of a secured borrowing or financing transaction (not a sale), and the interest payments and related expenses due on the notes issued by the trusts and sold to third parties as expenses and liabilities of the fund. Inverse floaters purchased in the secondary market are treated as the purchase of a security and not as a secured

borrowing or financing transaction. Synthetically created inverse floating rate bonds evidenced by custodial or trust receipts are securities that have the effect of providing a degree of investment leverage, since they may increase or decrease in value in response to changes in market interest rates at a rate that is a multiple of the rate at which fixed rate securities increase or decrease in response to such changes.

An investment in inverse floaters may involve greater risk than an investment in a fixed rate municipal security. Because changes in the interest rate on the other security or index inversely affect the residual interest paid on the inverse floater, the value of an inverse floater is generally more volatile than that of a fixed rate municipal security. Inverse floaters have interest rate adjustment formulas which generally reduce or, in the extreme, eliminate the interest paid to the fund when short-term interest rates rise, and increase the interest paid to the fund when short-term interest rates fall. Investing in inverse floaters involves leveraging which may magnify the fund's gains or losses. Although volatile, inverse floaters typically offer the potential for yields exceeding the yields available on fixed rate municipal securities with comparable credit quality, coupon, call provisions and maturity. These securities usually permit the investor to convert the floating rate to a fixed rate (normally adjusted downward), and this optional conversion feature may provide a partial hedge against rising rates if exercised at an opportune time. Investments in inverse floaters may be illiquid.

· Zero Coupon, Pay-In-Kind and Step-Up Municipal Securities. Zero coupon municipal securities are issued or sold at a discount from their face value and do not entitle the holder to any periodic payment of interest prior to maturity or a specified redemption date or cash payment date. Zero coupon securities also may take the form of municipal securities that have been stripped of their unmatured interest coupons, the coupons themselves and receipts or certificates representing interest in such stripped debt obligations and coupons. Pay-in-kind municipal securities generally pay interest through the issuance of additional securities. Step-up municipal securities typically do not pay interest for a specified period of time and then pay interest at a series of different rates. See "Fixed-Income Securities—Zero Coupon, Pay-In-Kind and Step-Up Securities."

Special Taxing Districts. Some municipal securities may be issued in connection with special taxing districts. Special taxing districts are organized to plan and finance infrastructure development to induce residential, commercial and industrial growth and redevelopment. The bond financing methods, such as tax increment finance, tax assessment, special services district and Mello-Roos bonds, generally are payable solely from taxes or other revenues attributable to the specific projects financed by the bonds without recourse to the credit or taxing power of related or overlapping municipalities. They often are exposed to real estate development-related risks and can have more taxpayer concentration risk than general tax-supported bonds, such as general obligation bonds. Further, the fees, special taxes or tax allocations and other revenues that are established to secure such financings generally are limited as to the rate or amount that may be levied or assessed and are not subject to increase pursuant to rate covenants or municipal or corporate guarantees. The bonds could default if development failed to progress as anticipated or if larger taxpayers failed to pay the assessments, fees and taxes as provided in the financing plans of the districts.

Stand-By Commitments. Under a stand-by commitment, the fund obligates a broker, dealer or bank to repurchase, at the fund's option, specified securities at a specified price prior to such securities' maturity date and, in this respect, stand-by commitments are comparable to put options. The exercise of a stand-by commitment, therefore, is subject to the ability of the seller to make payment on demand. The fund will acquire stand-by commitments solely to facilitate portfolio liquidity and do not intend to exercise their rights thereunder for trading purposes. The fund may pay for stand-by commitments if such action is deemed necessary, thus increasing to a degree the

cost of the underlying municipal security and similarly decreasing such security's yield to investors. Gains realized in connection with stand-by commitments will be taxable.

Structured Notes. Structured notes typically are purchased in privately negotiated transactions from financial institutions and, therefore, may not have an active trading market. When the fund purchases a structured note, it will make a payment of principal to the counterparty. Some structured notes have a guaranteed repayment of principal while others place a portion (or all) or the principal at risk. The possibility of default by the counterparty or its credit provider may be greater for structured notes than for other types of money market instruments.

Taxable Municipal Securities. States, municipalities and public authorities issue taxable municipal bonds to raise money for a variety of purposes. General obligation bonds are backed by the general taxing power of the issuer. The issuer secures these bonds by pledging its faith, credit and unlimited taxing power for the payment of principal and interest. Revenue bonds are payable only from the revenue of a specific project or authority. They are not supported by the issuer's general power to levy taxes. The risk of default in payment of interest or principal increases if the income of the related project falters because that income is the only source of payment. All of the following bonds are revenue bonds.

Build America Bonds. Build America Bonds were issued pursuant to The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the "Recovery Act"), authorizing states and local governments to issue taxable bonds and to elect to receive a federal subsidy for a portion of their borrowing costs through a refundable tax credit paid by the Treasury and the IRS, in an amount equal to 35 percent of the total coupon interest payable to investors (45 percent for those Build America Bonds that qualify and are designated as Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds). The Recovery Act added a section to the Code which authorized Build America Bonds that meet the definition of "qualified bonds", as described below, to receive the refundable credit. The Code section defined the term "qualified bond" to mean a Build America Bond (a) issued before January 1, 2011, (b) with 100 percent of the excess of (i) the available project proceeds (as defined to mean sale proceeds of such issue less not more than two percent of such proceeds used to pay issuance costs plus investment proceeds thereon), over (ii) the amounts in a reasonably required reserve fund with respect to such issue, are to be used for capital expenditures, and (c) where the issuer makes an irrevocable election to have this subsection of the Code apply. Should a Build America Bond's issuer fail to continue to meet the applicable requirements as imposed on the bonds by the Code, it is possible that such issuer may not receive federal cash subsidy payments, impairing the issuer's ability to make scheduled interest payments. In addition, Build America Bonds are often subject to extraordinary redemption in the event that changes to the Code or other federal legislation causes to reduce or eliminate the federal cash subsidy payment for a portion of a Build America Bond issuer's borrowing costs. Build America Bonds are classified into a variety of the bond types described herein (i.e. transportation, utility, etc.).

Qualified School Construction Bonds, Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds and Clean Renewable Green Energy Bonds (collectively, "Qualified Bonds"). Qualified Bond are taxable bonds that are similar to certain Build America Bonds, in that state and municipal Qualified Bond issuers may elect to receive direct interest-subsidy payments from the Treasury if certain conditions are met. The Code permitted issuers of Qualified Bonds to seek applicable subsidies on bond interest payments. Qualified School Construction Bonds, issued pursuant to provisions in the Recovery Act, are issued to finance the construction, rehabilitation, or repair of a public school facility or for the acquisition of land on which such a bond- financed facility will be constructed.

Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds and Clean Renewable Energy Bonds were both issued pursuant to the "Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008", and like Qualified School Construction Bonds, were governed by Section 54A of the Code. Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds are issued for qualified energy conservation purposes, and Clean Renewable Energy Bonds are issued to finance qualified renewable energy facilities that produce electricity. Although the year of issuance is not restricted for Qualified Bonds, federal law provides for limits on the dollar amounts that may be issued for these bond types. Eligible issuers of Qualified School Construction Bonds may receive subsidy payments equal to 100% of the lesser of the actual interest rate of the bonds or the tax credit rate for municipal tax-credit bonds, set daily by the U.S. Treasury. Eligible issuers of Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds and Clean Renewable Energy Bonds may receive subsidy payments equal to 70% of the lesser of the actual interest rate of the bonds or the tax credit rate for municipal tax-credit bonds, set daily by the Treasury.

Should the issuer of a Qualified Bond fail to continue to meet the applicable requirements as imposed on any such bond by the Code or other federal laws, it is possible that such issuer may not receive federal cash subsidy payments, impairing the issuer's ability to make scheduled interest payments or even causing mandatory redemption of a portion of the bonds. As provided in Section 54A of the Code, Qualified Bonds are also subject to mandatory redemption of any portion of available project proceeds that remain unexpended by the issuer after three years from the date of issuance. This mandatory redemption must be completed within 90 days after such three-year period, unless an extension is granted by the Treasury. Additionally, Qualified Bonds may be subject to extraordinary redemption in the event that changes to applicable sections of the Code or other federal legislation causes to reduce or eliminate the federal cash subsidy payment for any Qualified Bond issuer's borrowing costs.

Certificates of participation. Certificates of participation are generally a type of municipal lease obligation. Lease payments of a governmental entity secure payments on these bonds. These payments depend on the governmental entity budgeting appropriations for the lease payments. A governmental body cannot obligate future governments to appropriate for or make lease payments, but governments typically promise to take action necessary to include lease payments in their budgets. If a government fails to budget for or make lease payments, sufficient funds may not exist to pay interest or principal on these bonds.

Tax district bonds. Tax district bonds are obligations secured by a pledge of taxing power by a municipality, such as tax increment financing or tax allocation bonds. These bonds are similar to general obligation bonds. Unlike general obligation bonds, however, the municipality does not pledge its unlimited taxing power to pay these bonds. Instead, the municipality pledges revenues from a specific tax to pay these bonds. If the tax cannot support payment of interest and principal, a municipality may need to raise the related tax to pay these bonds. An inability to raise the tax could have an adverse effect on these bonds.

Airport bonds. Airport bonds are obligations of issuers that own and operate airports. The ability of the issuer to make payments on these bonds primarily depends on the ability of airlines to meet their obligations under use agreements. Due to increased competition, deregulation, increased fuel costs and other factors, some airlines may have difficulty meeting these obligations.

General purpose bonds. General purpose bonds may include categorizations including, but not limited to, industrial revenue bonds, housing and building bonds, facilities bonds and tax district bonds. In general, the ability of these issuers to make payments on bonds depends on a variety factors such as the creditworthiness of the company or issuer operating the projects, government regulations and solvency of municipalities.

Health care bonds. Health care bonds are obligations of issuers that derive revenue from hospitals and hospital systems, including mental health facilities, nursing homes and intermediate care facilities. The ability of these issuers to make payments on bonds depends on factors such as facility occupancy levels, demand for services, competition resulting from hospital mergers and affiliations, the need to reduce costs, government regulation, costs of malpractice insurance and claims, and government financial assistance (such as Medicare and Medicaid).

Higher education bonds. Higher education bonds are obligations of issuers that operate universities and colleges. These issuers derive revenues from tuition, dormitories, grants and endowments. These issuers face problems related to declines in the number of college-age individuals, possible inability to raise tuitions and fees, uncertainty of continued federal grants, state funding or donations, and government legislation or regulation.

Public education bonds. Public education bonds are obligations of issuers that operate primary and secondary schools. The ability of these issuers to make payments on these bonds depends primarily on ad valorem taxes. These issuers may also face problems related to litigation contesting state constitutionality of public education financing.

Transportation bonds. Transportation bonds are obligations of issuers that own and operate public transit systems, ports, highways, turnpikes, bridges and other transportation systems. The ability of these issuers to make payments on these bonds depends on variations in use, the degree of government subsidization, competition from other forms of transportation and increased costs. Port authorities derive revenues primarily from fees imposed on ships using the port facilities. These fees can fluctuate depending on the local economy and competition from air, rail and truck transportation. Increased fuel costs, alternative transportation modes and competition from toll-free bridges and roads will impact revenues of issuers that operate bridges, roads or tunnels.

Utilities bonds. Utilities bonds are obligations of issuers that derive revenue from the retail sale of utilities to customers. This category of bonds consists of bonds including, but not limited to, retail electric, gas and telephone bonds, waste disposal bonds, water and sewer bonds, and wholesale electric bonds. The ability of these issuers to make payments on these bonds depends on factors such as the rates and demand for these utilities, competition, government regulation and rate approvals, overhead expenses and the cost of fuels. These issuers face problems such as cost and delays due to environmental concerns, effects of conservation and recycling, destruction or condemnation of a project, void or unenforceable contracts, changes in the economic availability of raw materials, operating supplies or facilities, zoning ordinances, and other unavoidable changes that adversely affect operation of a project.

Money Market Instruments

The fund may purchase money market instruments for investment purposes, when it has cash reserves or in anticipation of taking a market position.

Investing in money market instruments is subject to certain risks. Money market instruments (other than certain U.S. Government securities) are not backed or insured by the U.S. Government, its agencies or its instrumentalities. Accordingly, only the creditworthiness of an issuer, or guarantees of that issuer, support such instruments.

Bank Obligations. Bank obligations include certificates of deposit (“CDs”), time deposits (“TDs”), bankers’ acceptances and other short-term obligations issued by domestic or foreign banks or thrifts or their subsidiaries or branches and other banking institutions. CDs are negotiable certificates evidencing the obligation of a bank to repay funds deposited with it for a specified period of time. TDs are non-negotiable deposits maintained in a banking institution for a specified period of time (in no event longer than seven days) at a stated interest rate. Bankers’ acceptances are credit instruments evidencing the obligation of a bank to pay a draft drawn on it by a customer. These instruments reflect the obligation both of the bank and the drawer to pay the face amount of the instrument upon maturity. The other short-term obligations may include uninsured, direct obligations bearing fixed, floating or variable interest rates. TDs and CDs may be issued by domestic or foreign banks or their subsidiaries or branches. The fund may purchase CDs issued by banks, savings and loan associations and similar institutions with less than $1 billion in assets, the deposits of which are insured by the FDIC, provided the fund purchases any such CD in a principal amount of no more than an amount that would be fully insured by the Deposit Insurance Fund administered by the FDIC. Interest payments on such a CD are not insured by the FDIC. The fund would not own more than one such CD per such issuer.

Domestic commercial banks organized under federal law are supervised and examined by the Comptroller of the Currency and are required to be members of the Federal Reserve System and to have their deposits insured by the FDIC. Domestic banks organized under state law are supervised and examined by state banking authorities but are members of the Federal Reserve System only if they elect to join. In addition, state banks whose CDs may be purchased by the fund are insured by the FDIC (although such insurance may not be of material benefit to the fund, depending on the principal amount of the CDs of each bank held by the fund) and are subject to federal examination and to a substantial body of federal law and regulation. As a result of federal and state laws and regulations, domestic branches of domestic banks whose CDs may be purchased by the fund generally, among other things, are required to maintain specified levels of reserves and are subject to other supervision and regulation designed to promote financial soundness. However, not all of such laws and regulations apply to the foreign branches of domestic banks.

Obligations of foreign subsidiaries or branches of domestic banks may be general obligations of the parent banks in addition to the issuing subsidiary or branch, or may be limited by the terms of a specific obligation and governmental regulation. Such obligations and obligations of foreign banks or their subsidiaries or branches are subject to different risks than are those of domestic banks. These risks include foreign economic and political developments, foreign governmental restrictions that may adversely affect payment of principal and interest on the obligations, foreign exchange controls, seizure of assets, declaration of a moratorium and foreign withholding and other taxes on interest income. Foreign subsidiaries and branches of domestic banks and foreign banks are not necessarily subject to the same or similar regulatory requirements that apply to domestic banks, such as mandatory reserve requirements, loan limitations, and accounting, auditing and financial recordkeeping requirements. In addition, less information may be publicly available about a foreign subsidiary or branch of a domestic bank or about a foreign bank than about a domestic bank.

Obligations of U.S. branches of foreign banks may be general obligations of the parent bank in addition to the issuing branch, or may be limited by the terms of a specific obligation or by federal or state regulation as well as governmental action in the country in which the foreign bank has its head office. A U.S. branch of a foreign bank with assets in excess of $1 billion may or may not be subject to reserve requirements imposed by the Federal Reserve System or by the state in which the branch is located if the branch is licensed in that state. In addition, federal branches licensed by the Comptroller of the Currency and branches licensed by certain states may be required to: (1) pledge to the regulator, by depositing assets with a designated bank within the state, a certain percentage of their assets as fixed from time to time by the appropriate regulatory authority; and (2) maintain assets within the state in an amount equal to a specified percentage of the aggregate amount of liabilities of the foreign bank payable at or through all of its agencies or branches within the state.

In view of the foregoing factors associated with the purchase of CDs and TDs issued by foreign subsidiaries or branches of domestic banks, or by foreign banks or their branches or subsidiaries, the Sub-Adviser carefully evaluates such investments on a case-by-case basis.

Repurchase Agreements. A repurchase agreement is a contract under which the fund would acquire a security for a relatively short period subject to the obligation of the seller, typically a bank, broker/dealer or other financial institution, to repurchase and the fund to resell such security at a fixed time and at a price higher than the purchase price (representing the fund’s cost plus interest). The repurchase agreement thereby determines the yield during the purchaser’s holding period, while the seller’s obligation to repurchase is secured by the value of the underlying security. The fund’s custodian or sub-custodian engaged in connection with tri-party repurchase agreement transactions will have custody of, and will segregate, securities acquired by the fund under a repurchase agreement. In connection with its third party repurchase transactions, the fund will engage only eligible sub-custodians that meet the requirements set forth in Section 17(f) of the 1940 Act. The value of the underlying securities (or collateral) will be at least equal at all times to the total amount of the repurchase obligation, including the interest factor. The fund bears a risk of loss if the other party to the repurchase agreement defaults on its obligations and the fund is delayed or prevented from exercising its rights to dispose of the collateral securities. This risk includes the risk of procedural costs or delays in addition to a loss on the securities if their value should fall below their repurchase price. Repurchase agreements are considered by the staff of the SEC to be loans by the fund that enters into them. Repurchase agreements could involve risks in the event of a default or insolvency of the other party to the agreement, including possible delays or restrictions upon the fund’s ability to dispose of the underlying securities. The fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions that are collateralized by U.S. Government securities (which are deemed to be “collateralized fully” pursuant to the 1940 Act) or, to the extent consistent with the fund’s investment policies, collateralized by securities other than U.S. Government securities (credit and/or equity collateral). Transactions that are collateralized fully enable the fund to look to the collateral for diversification purposes under the 1940 Act. Conversely, transactions secured with credit and/or equity collateral require the fund to look to the counterparty to the repurchase agreement for determining diversification. Because credit and/or equity collateral is subject to certain credit, liquidity, market and/or other additional risks that U.S. Government securities are not subject to, the amount of collateral posted in excess of the principal value of the repurchase agreement is expected to be higher in the case of repurchase agreements secured with credit and/or equity collateral compared to repurchase agreements secured with U.S. Government securities. In an attempt to reduce the risk of incurring a loss on a repurchase agreement, the fund will require that additional securities be deposited with it if the value of the securities purchased should decrease below resale price. See "Fixed-Income Securities—High Yield and Lower-Rated Securities" above for a discussion of certain risks of collateral rated below investment grade. The fund and certain affiliated funds may jointly enter into one or more repurchase agreements in accordance with an exemptive order granted by the SEC pursuant to Section 17(d) of the 1940 Act and Rule 17d-1 thereunder. Any joint repurchase agreements must be collateralized fully by U.S. Government securities.

Commercial Paper. Commercial paper represents short-term, unsecured promissory notes issued in bearer form by banks or bank holding companies, corporations and finance companies used to finance short-term credit needs and may consist of U.S. dollar-denominated obligations of domestic issuers and foreign currency-denominated obligations of domestic or foreign issuers. Commercial paper may be backed only by the credit of the issuer or may be backed by some form of credit enhancement, typically in the form of a guarantee by a commercial bank. Commercial paper backed by guarantees of foreign banks may involve additional risk due to the difficulty of obtaining and enforcing judgments against such banks and the generally less restrictive regulations to which such banks are subject.

Foreign Securities

Foreign securities include the securities of companies organized under the laws of countries other than the United States and those issued or guaranteed by governments other than the U.S. Government or by foreign supranational entities. They also include securities of companies whose principal trading market is in a country other than the United States or of companies (including those that are located in the United States or organized under U.S. law) that derive a significant portion of their revenue or profits from foreign businesses, investments or sales, or that have a majority of their assets outside the United States. They may be traded on foreign securities exchanges or in the foreign over-the-counter markets. Supranational entities include international organizations designated or supported by governmental entities to promote economic reconstruction or development and international banking institutions and related government agencies. Examples include the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the “World Bank”), the European Coal and Steel Community, the Asian Development Bank and the InterAmerican Development Bank. Obligations of the World Bank and certain other supranational organizations are supported by subscribed but unpaid commitments of member countries. There is no assurance that these commitments will be undertaken or complied with in the future.

Investing in the securities of foreign issuers, as well as instruments that provide investment exposure to foreign securities and markets, involves risks that are not typically associated with investing in U.S. dollar-denominated securities of domestic issuers. Investments in foreign issuers may be affected by changes in currency rates (i.e., affecting the value of assets as measured in U.S. dollars), changes in foreign or U.S. laws or restrictions applicable to such investments and in exchange control regulations (e.g., currency blockage). A decline in the exchange rate of the currency (i.e., weakening of the currency against the U.S. dollar) in which a portfolio security is quoted or denominated relative to the U.S. dollar would reduce the value of the portfolio security. A change in the value of such foreign currency against the U.S. dollar also will result in a change in the amount of income available for distribution. If a portion of the fund’s investment income may be received in foreign currencies, the fund will be required to compute its income in U.S. dollars for distribution to shareholders, and therefore the fund will absorb the cost of currency fluctuations. After the fund has distributed income, subsequent foreign currency losses may result in the fund having distributed more income in a particular fiscal period than was available from investment income, which could result in a return of capital to shareholders. In addition, if the exchange rate for the currency in which the fund receives interest payments declines against the U.S. dollar before such income is distributed as dividends to shareholders, the fund may have to sell portfolio securities to obtain sufficient cash to enable the fund to pay such dividends. Commissions on transactions in foreign securities may be higher than those for similar transactions on domestic stock markets, and foreign custodial costs are higher than domestic custodial costs. In addition, clearance and settlement procedures may be different in foreign countries and, in certain markets, such procedures have on occasion been unable to keep pace with the volume of securities transactions, thus making it difficult to conduct such transactions.

Foreign securities markets generally are not as developed or efficient as those in the United States. Securities of some foreign issuers are less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers. Similarly, volume and liquidity in most foreign securities markets are less than in the United States and, at times, volatility of price can be greater than in the United States.

Many countries throughout the world are dependent on a healthy U.S. economy and are adversely affected when the U.S. economy weakens or its markets decline. For example, in 2007 and 2008, the meltdown in the U.S. subprime mortgage market quickly spread throughout global credit markets, triggering a liquidity crisis that affected fixed-income and equity markets around the world.

Foreign investments involve risks unique to the local political, economic, and regulatory structures in place, as well as the potential for social instability, military unrest or diplomatic developments that could prove adverse to the interests of U.S. investors. Individual foreign economies can differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross national product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency and balance of payments position. In addition, significant external political and economic risks currently affect some foreign countries. For example, both Taiwan and China claim sovereignty over Taiwan and there is a demilitarized border and hostile relations between North and South Korea. War and terrorism affect many countries, especially those in Africa and the Middle East. A number of countries in Europe have suffered terror attacks. The future proliferation and effects of these and similar events and other socio-political or geographical issues are not known but could suddenly and/or profoundly affect global economies, markets, certain industries and/or specific securities.

Because evidences of ownership of foreign securities usually are held outside the United States, additional risks of investing in foreign securities include possible adverse political and economic developments, seizure or nationalization of foreign deposits and adoption of governmental restrictions that might adversely affect or restrict the payment of principal and interest on the foreign securities to investors located outside the country of the issuer, whether from currency blockage, exchange control regulations or otherwise. Foreign securities held by the fund may trade on days when the fund does not calculate its NAV and thus may affect the fund’s NAV on days when shareholders have no access to the fund.

Emerging Markets. Investments in, or economically tied to, emerging market countries may be subject to higher risks than investments in companies in developed countries. Risks of investing in emerging markets and emerging market securities include, but are not limited to (in addition to those described above): less social, political and economic stability; less diverse and mature economic structures; the lack of publicly available information, including reports of payments of dividends or interest on outstanding securities; certain national policies that may restrict the fund’s investment opportunities, including restrictions on investment in issuers or industries deemed sensitive to national interests; local taxation; the absence of developed structures governing private or foreign investment or allowing for judicial redress for injury to private property; the absence until recently, in certain countries, of a capital structure or market-oriented economy; the possibility that recent favorable economic developments in certain countries may be slowed or reversed by unanticipated political or social events in these countries; restrictions that may make it difficult or impossible for the fund to vote proxies, exercise shareholder rights, pursue legal remedies, and obtain judgments in foreign courts; the risk of uninsured loss due to lost, stolen, or counterfeit stock certificates; possible losses through the holding of securities in domestic and foreign custodial banks and depositories; heightened opportunities for governmental corruption; large amounts of foreign debt to finance basic governmental duties that could lead to restructuring or default; and heavy reliance on exports that may be severely affected by global economic downturns.

The purchase and sale of portfolio securities in certain emerging market countries may be constrained by limitations as to daily changes in the prices of listed securities, periodic trading or settlement volume and/or limitations on aggregate holdings of foreign investors. In certain cases, such limitations may be computed based upon the aggregate trading by or holdings of the fund, its Adviser and its affiliates and their respective clients and other service providers. The fund may not be able to sell securities in circumstances where price, trading or settlement volume limitations have been reached.

Economic conditions, such as volatile currency exchange rates and interest rates, political events and other conditions may, without prior warning, lead to government intervention and the imposition of “capital controls.” Countries use these controls to restrict volatile movements of capital entering (“inflows”) and exiting (“outflows”) their country to respond to certain economic conditions. Such controls are mainly

applied to short-term capital transactions to counter speculative flows that threaten to undermine the stability of the exchange rate and deplete foreign exchange reserves. Capital controls include the prohibition of, or restrictions on, the ability to transfer currency, securities or other assets in such a way that may adversely affect the ability of the fund to repatriate its income and capital. These limitations may have a negative impact on the fund’s performance and may adversely affect the liquidity of the fund’s investment to the extent that it invests in certain emerging market countries. Some emerging market countries may have fixed or managed currencies which are not free-floating against the U.S. dollar. Further, certain emerging market countries’ currencies may not be internationally traded. Certain of these currencies have experienced a steady devaluation relative to the U.S. dollar. If the fund does not hedge the U.S. dollar value of securities it owns denominated in currencies that are devalued, the fund’s NAV will be adversely affected. Many emerging market countries have experienced substantial, and in some periods, extremely high rates of inflation for many years. Inflation and rapid fluctuations in inflation rates have had, and may continue to have, adverse effects on the economies and securities markets of certain of these countries. Further, the economies of emerging market countries generally are heavily dependent upon international trade and, accordingly, have been and may continue to be adversely 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.

The fund may invest in companies organized or with their principal place of business, or majority of assets or business, in pre-emerging markets, also known as frontier markets. The risks associated with investments in frontier market countries include all the risks described above for investments in foreign securities and emerging markets, although the risks are magnified for frontier market countries. Because frontier markets are among the smallest, least mature and least liquid of the emerging markets, investments in frontier markets generally are subject to a greater risk of loss than investments in developed markets or traditional emerging markets. Frontier market countries have smaller economies, less developed capital markets, more political and economic instability, weaker legal, financial accounting and regulatory infrastructure, and more governmental limitations on foreign investments than typically found in more developed countries, and frontier markets typically have greater market volatility, lower trading volume, lower capital flow, less investor participation, fewer large global companies and greater risk of a market shutdown than more developed markets. Frontier markets are more prone to economic shocks associated with political and economic risks than are emerging markets generally. Many frontier market countries may be dependent on commodities, foreign trade or foreign aid.

Sovereign Debt Obligations. Investments in sovereign debt obligations involve special risks which are not present in corporate debt obligations. The foreign issuer of the sovereign debt or the foreign governmental authorities that control the repayment of the debt may be unable or unwilling to repay principal or interest when due, and the fund may have limited recourse in the event of a default. During periods of economic uncertainty, the market prices of sovereign debt, and the NAV of the fund, to the extent it invests in such securities, may be more volatile than prices of U.S. debt issuers. In the past, certain foreign countries have encountered difficulties in servicing their debt obligations, withheld payments of principal and interest and declared moratoria on the payment of principal and interest on their sovereign debt.

A sovereign debtor's willingness or ability to repay principal and pay interest in a timely manner may be affected by, among other factors, its cash flow situation, the extent of its foreign currency reserves, the availability of sufficient foreign exchange, the relative size of the debt service burden, the sovereign debtor's policy toward principal international lenders and local political constraints. Sovereign debtors may also be dependent on expected disbursements from foreign governments, multilateral agencies and other entities to reduce principal and interest arrearages on their debt. The failure of a sovereign debtor to implement economic reforms, achieve specified levels of economic performance or repay principal or interest when due may result in the cancellation of third party commitments to lend funds to the sovereign debtor, which may further impair such debtor's ability or willingness to service its debts.

Moreover, no established secondary markets may exist for many of the sovereign debt obligations in which the fund may invest. Reduced secondary market liquidity may have an adverse effect on the market price

and the fund's ability to dispose of particular instruments when necessary to meet its liquidity requirements or in response to specific economic events such as a deterioration in the creditworthiness of the issuer. Reduced secondary market liquidity for certain sovereign debt obligations also may make it more difficult for the fund to obtain accurate market quotations for purposes of valuing its portfolio. Market quotations are generally available on many sovereign debt obligations only from a limited number of dealers and may not necessarily represent firm bids of those dealers or prices of actual sales.

Sovereign Debt Obligations of Emerging Market Countries. Investing in foreign government obligations and the sovereign debt of emerging market countries creates exposure to the direct or indirect consequences of political, social or economic changes in the countries that issue the securities or in which the issuers are located. The ability and willingness of sovereign obligors in emerging market countries or the governmental authorities that control repayment of their external debt to pay principal and interest on such debt when due may depend on general economic and political conditions within the relevant country. Certain countries in which the fund may invest have historically experienced, and may continue to experience, high rates of inflation, high interest rates, exchange rate trade difficulties and extreme poverty and unemployment. Many of these countries also are characterized by political uncertainty or instability. Additional factors which may influence the ability or willingness to service debt include a country's cash flow situation, the availability of sufficient foreign exchange on the date a payment is due, the relative size of its debt service burden to the economy as a whole and its government's policy towards the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other international agencies. The ability of a foreign sovereign obligor to make timely payments on its external debt obligations also will be strongly influenced by the obligor's balance of payments, including export performance, its access to international credits and investments, fluctuations in interest rates and the extent of its foreign reserves. A governmental obligor may default on its obligations. If such an event occurs, the fund may have limited legal recourse against the issuer and/or guarantor. In some cases, remedies must be pursued in the courts of the defaulting party itself, and the ability of the holder of foreign sovereign debt securities to obtain recourse may be subject to the political climate in the relevant country. In addition, no assurance can be given that the holders of commercial bank debt will not contest payments to the holders of other foreign sovereign debt obligations in the event of default under their commercial bank loan agreements. Sovereign obligors in emerging market countries are among the world's largest debtors to commercial banks, other governments, international financial organizations and other financial institutions. These obligors, in the past, have experienced substantial difficulties in servicing their external debt obligations, which led to defaults on certain obligations and the restructuring of certain indebtedness. Restructuring arrangements have included, among other things, reducing and rescheduling interest and principal payments by negotiating new or amended credit agreements or converting outstanding principal and unpaid interest to Brady Bonds (discussed below), and obtaining new credit to finance interest payments. Holders of certain foreign sovereign debt securities may be requested to participate in the restructuring of such obligations and to extend further loans to their issuers. There can be no assurance that the Brady Bonds and other foreign sovereign debt securities in which the fund may invest will not be subject to similar restructuring arrangements or to requests for new credit which may adversely affect the fund's holdings. Obligations of the World Bank and certain other supranational organizations are supported by subscribed but unpaid commitments of member countries. There is no assurance that these commitments will be undertaken or complied with in the future.

Brady Bonds. "Brady Bonds" are securities created through the exchange of existing commercial bank loans to public and private entities in certain emerging markets for new bonds in connection with debt restructurings. In light of the history of defaults of countries issuing Brady Bonds on their commercial bank loans, investments in Brady Bonds may be viewed as speculative. Brady Bonds may be fully or partially collateralized or uncollateralized, are issued in various currencies (but primarily in U.S. dollars) and are actively traded in over-the-counter secondary markets. Brady Bonds with no or limited collateralization of interest or principal payment obligations have increased credit risk, and the holders of such bonds rely on the willingness and ability of the foreign government to make payments in accordance with the terms of such Brady Bonds. U.S. dollar-denominated collateralized Brady Bonds, which may be

fixed rate bonds or floating rate bonds, generally are collateralized by Treasury zero coupon bonds having the same maturity as the Brady Bonds. One or more classes of securities (structured securities) may be backed by, or represent interests in, Brady Bonds. The cash flow on the underlying instruments may be apportioned among the newly-issued structured securities to create securities with different investment characteristics such as varying maturities, payment priorities and interest rate provisions, and the extent of the payments made with respect to structured securities is dependent on the extent of the cash flow on the underlying instruments. See "Derivatives—Structured Securities" below.

Eurodollar and Yankee Dollar Investments. Eurodollar instruments are bonds of foreign corporate and government issuers that pay interest and principal in U.S. dollars generally held in banks outside the United States, primarily in Europe. Yankee Dollar instruments are U.S. dollar-denominated bonds typically issued in the United States by foreign governments and their agencies and foreign banks and corporations. Eurodollar Certificates of Deposit are U.S. dollar-denominated certificates of deposit issued by foreign branches of domestic banks; Eurodollar Time Deposits are U.S. dollar-denominated deposits in a foreign branch of a U.S. bank or in a foreign bank; and Yankee Certificates of Deposit are U.S. dollar-denominated certificates of deposit issued by a U.S. branch of a foreign bank and held in the United States. These investments involve risks that are different from investments in securities issued by U.S. issuers, including potential unfavorable political and economic developments, foreign withholding or other taxes, seizure of foreign deposits, currency controls, interest limitations or other governmental restrictions which might affect payment of principal or interest.

Investment Companies

The 1940 Act, subject to the fund’s own more restrictive limitations, if applicable, currently limits the fund’s investment in securities issued by registered and unregistered investment companies, including exchange-traded funds (discussed below), subject to certain exceptions to: (1) 3% of the total voting stock of any one investment company; (2) 5% of the fund’s total assets with respect to any one investment company; and (3) 10% of the fund’s total assets in the aggregate. Exemptions in the 1940 Act or the rules thereunder or exemptive orders granted by the SEC may allow the fund to invest in another investment company in excess of (1), (2) and/or (3).

As a shareholder of another investment company, the fund would bear, along with other shareholders, its pro rata portion of the other investment company’s expenses, including advisory fees. These expenses would be in addition to the advisory fees and other expenses that the fund bears directly in connection with its own operations, subject to the conditions of the applicable exemptive order and any expense arrangement.

The fund also may invest its uninvested cash reserves or cash it receives as collateral from borrowers of its portfolio securities in connection with the fund’s securities lending program, in shares of one or more money market funds advised by the Adviser or an affiliate of the Adviser. In addition, the fund may invest in shares of one or more money market funds advised by the Adviser or an affiliate of the Adviser for strategic purposes related to the management of the fund. Such investments will not be subject to the limitations described above.

Exchange-Traded Funds and Similar Exchange-Traded Products (“ETFs”)

Although certain ETFs are actively managed, most ETFs are designed to provide investment results that generally correspond to the performance of the component securities or commodities of an underlying index. ETF shares are listed on an exchange, and shares are generally purchased and sold in the secondary market at market price. At times, the market price may be at a premium or discount to the ETF’s per share NAV. In addition, ETFs are subject to the risk that an active trading market for an ETF’s shares may not develop or be maintained. Because shares of ETFs trade on an exchange, they may be subject to trading

halts on the exchange. Trading of an ETF’s shares may be halted if the listing exchange’s officials deem such action appropriate, the shares are de-listed from the exchange, or market-wide “circuit breakers” (which are tied to large decreases in stock prices) halt stock trading generally.

The values of ETFs’ shares are subject to change as the values of their respective component securities or commodities fluctuate according to market volatility (although, as noted above, the market price of an ETF’s shares may be at a premium or discount to the ETF’s per share NAV). The price of an ETF’s shares can fluctuate within a wide range, and the fund could lose money investing in an ETF if the prices of the securities or commodities owned by the ETF go down. Investments in ETFs that are designed to correspond to an index of securities involve certain inherent risks generally associated with investments in a portfolio of such securities, including the risk that the general level of securities prices may decline, thereby adversely affecting the value of ETFs invested in by the fund. Similarly, investments in ETFs that are designed to correspond to commodity returns involve certain inherent risks generally associated with investment in commodities. Moreover, investments in ETFs designed to correspond to indexes of securities may not exactly match the performance of a direct investment in the respective indexes to which they are intended to correspond due to the temporary unavailability of certain index securities in the secondary market or other extraordinary circumstances, such as discrepancies with respect to the weighting of securities.

With respect to the fund’s investments in ETFs, the fund may enter into an agreement with certain ETFs pursuant to SEC exemptive orders obtained by the ETFs, and on which the fund may rely, that permit the fund to invest in excess of the limits in the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder. These agreements and orders also may require the Adviser to vote the fund’s ETF shares in proportion to votes cast by other ETF stockholders and may subject the fund to other requirements in connection with investments in these ETFs.

Derivatives

Derivatives may be used for a variety of reasons, including to provide a substitute for purchasing or selling particular securities, to reduce portfolio turnover, to seek to obtain a particular desired return at a lower cost to the fund than if the fund had invested directly in an instrument yielding the desired return, such as when the fund “equitizes” available cash balances by using a derivative instrument to gain exposure to relevant equity investments or markets consistent with its investment objective and policies, or for other reasons. The fund may seek to achieve investment exposure to markets and securities through long and short positions in derivatives. Generally, a derivative is a financial contract whose value depends upon, or is derived from, the value of an underlying asset, reference rate or index, and may relate to stocks, bonds, interest rates, currencies or currency exchange rates and related indexes. Derivatives may provide a cheaper, quicker or more specifically focused way to invest than “traditional” securities would. Examples of derivative instruments include futures contracts, options, forward volatility agreements, credit linked securities, credit derivatives, structured securities and hybrid instruments, exchange-linked notes, participation notes, custodial receipts and currency forward contracts. In addition, the fund’s portfolio managers may decide not to employ some or all of these strategies, and there is no assurance that any derivatives strategy used by the fund will succeed.

Risks. Successful use of certain derivatives may be a highly specialized activity that requires skills that may be different than the skills associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. If the Sub-Adviser is incorrect in its forecasts of market factors, or a counterparty defaults, investment performance would diminish compared with what it would have been if derivatives were not used. Successful use of derivatives by the fund also is subject to the Sub-Adviser’s ability to predict correctly movements in the direction of the relevant market and, to the extent the transaction is entered into for hedging purposes, to ascertain the appropriate correlation between the securities or position being hedged and the price movements of the corresponding derivative position. For example, if the fund enters into a derivative position to hedge against the possibility of a decline in the market value of securities held in its portfolio and the prices of such

securities instead increase, the fund will lose part or all of the benefit of the increased value of securities which it has hedged because it will have offsetting losses in the derivative position.

It is possible that developments in the derivatives markets, including potential government regulation, could adversely affect the ability to terminate existing derivatives positions or to realize amounts to be received in such transactions. On October 28, 2020, the SEC adopted Rule 18f-4 (the “Derivatives Rule”) under the 1940 Act which, following an implementation period, will replace existing SEC and staff guidance with an updated, comprehensive framework for registered funds’ use of derivatives. Among other changes, the Derivatives Rule will require the fund to trade derivatives and certain other instruments that create future payment or delivery obligations subject to a value-at-risk (“VaR”) leverage limit, develop and implement a derivatives risk management program and new testing requirements, and comply with new requirements related to board and SEC reporting. These new requirements will apply unless the fund qualifies as a “limited derivatives user,” as defined in the Derivatives Rule. To the extent the fund uses derivatives, complying with the Derivatives Rule may increase the cost of the fund’s investments and cost of doing business, which could adversely affect investors. Other new regulations could adversely affect the value, availability and performance of certain derivative instruments, may make them more costly, and may limit or restrict their use by the fund.

Derivatives can be volatile and involve various types and degrees of risk, depending upon the characteristics of the particular derivative and the portfolio as a whole. Derivatives permit the fund to increase or decrease the level of risk, or change the character of the risk, to which its portfolio is exposed in much the same way as the fund can increase or decrease the level of risk, or change the character of the risk, of its portfolio by making investments in specific securities. However, derivatives may entail investment exposures that are greater than their cost would suggest, meaning that a small investment in derivatives could have a large potential impact on the fund’s performance. Derivatives involve greater risks than if the fund had invested in the reference obligation directly.

An investment in derivatives at inopportune times or when market conditions are judged incorrectly may lower return or result in a loss. The fund could experience losses if its derivatives were poorly correlated with underlying instruments or the fund’s other investments or if the fund were unable to liquidate its position because of an illiquid secondary market. The market for many derivatives is, or suddenly can become, illiquid. Changes in liquidity may result in significant, rapid and unpredictable changes in the prices for derivatives.

Over-the-Counter Derivatives. Derivatives may be purchased on established exchanges or through privately negotiated transactions referred to as over-the-counter derivatives. Exchange-traded derivatives, primarily futures contracts and options, generally are guaranteed by the clearing agency that is the issuer or counterparty to such derivatives. This guarantee usually is supported by a variation margin payment system operated by the clearing agency in order to reduce overall credit risk. As a result, unless the clearing agency defaults, there is relatively little counterparty credit risk associated with derivatives purchased on an exchange. In contrast, no clearing agency guarantees over-the-counter derivatives. Therefore, each party to an over-the-counter derivative bears the risk that the counterparty will default. Accordingly, the Sub-Adviser will consider the creditworthiness of counterparties to over-the-counter derivatives in the same manner as it would review the credit quality of a security to be purchased by the fund. Over-the-counter derivatives are less liquid than exchange-traded derivatives since the other party to the transaction may be the only investor with sufficient understanding of the derivative to be interested in bidding for it. Derivatives that are considered illiquid will be subject to the fund’s limit on illiquid investments.

Leverage. Some derivatives may involve leverage (e.g., an instrument linked to the value of a securities index may return income calculated as a multiple of the price movement of the underlying index). This economic leverage will increase the volatility of these instruments as they

may increase or decrease in value more quickly than the underlying security, index, futures contract, currency or other economic variable. Pursuant to regulations and/or published positions of the SEC, the fund may be required to segregate permissible liquid assets, or engage in other measures approved by the SEC or its staff, to “cover” the fund’s obligations relating to its transactions in derivatives. For example, in the case of futures contracts or forward contracts that are not contractually required to cash settle, the fund must set aside liquid assets equal to such contracts’ full notional value (generally, the total numerical value of the asset underlying a future or forward contract at the time of valuation) while the positions are open. With respect to futures contracts or forward contracts that are contractually required to cash settle, however, the fund is permitted to set aside liquid assets in an amount equal to the fund’s daily marked-to-market net obligation (i.e., the fund’s daily net liability) under the contracts, if any, rather than such contracts’ full notional value. By setting aside assets equal to only its net obligations under cash-settled derivatives, the fund may employ leverage to a greater extent than if the fund were required to segregate assets equal to the full notional value of such contracts. Requirements to maintain cover might impair the fund’s ability to sell a portfolio security, meet redemption requests or other current obligations, or make an investment at a time when it would otherwise be favorable to do so, or require that the fund sell a portfolio security at a disadvantageous time.

Options and Futures Contracts. Options and futures contracts prices can diverge from the prices of their underlying instruments. Options and futures contracts prices are affected by such factors as current and anticipated short-term interest rates, changes in volatility of the underlying instrument, and the time remaining until expiration of the contract, which may not affect the prices of the underlying instruments in the same way. Imperfect correlation may also result from differing levels of demand in the options and futures markets and the securities markets, from structural differences in how options and futures and securities are traded, or from imposition of daily price fluctuation limits or trading halts. The fund may purchase or sell options and futures contracts with a greater or lesser value than any securities it wishes to hedge or intends to purchase in order to attempt to compensate for differences in volatility between the contract and the securities, although this may not be successful in all cases. If price changes in the fund’s options or futures positions used for hedging purposes are poorly correlated with the investments the fund is attempting to hedge, the options or futures positions may fail to produce anticipated gains or result in losses that are not offset by gains in other investments.

Margin. Certain derivatives require the fund to make margin payments, a form of security deposit intended to protect against nonperformance of the derivative contract. The fund may have to post additional margin if the value of the derivative position changes in a manner adverse to the fund, which could affect performance as cash that would otherwise be directly invested is posted as margin. Derivatives may be difficult to value, which may result in increased payment requirements to counterparties or a loss of value to the fund. If the fund has insufficient cash to meet additional margin requirements, it might need to sell securities at a disadvantageous time.

CPO Exemption. The Adviser has claimed an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” pursuant to Regulation 4.5 under the CEA with respect to the fund and, therefore, is not subject to registration or regulation as a CPO under the CEA. The Adviser relies on the exemption in Regulation 4.14(a)(8) to provide commodity interest trading advice with respect to the fund for which the Adviser is an excluded CPO.

The fund may be limited in its ability to use commodity futures or options thereon, or make certain other investments (collectively, “commodity interests”) if the Adviser continues to claim the exclusion from the definition of CPO with respect to the fund. In order to be eligible to continue to claim this exclusion, if the fund uses commodity interests other than for bona fide hedging purposes (as defined by the CFTC), the aggregate initial margin and premiums required to establish those positions (after taking into account unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions and excluding the amount by which options are “in-the-money” at the time of purchase) may not exceed 5% of the fund’s NAV, or, alternatively, the

aggregate net notional value of those positions, as determined at the time the most recent position was established, may not exceed 100% of the fund’s NAV (after taking into account unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions). In addition to meeting one of the foregoing trading limitations, the fund may not market itself as a commodity pool or otherwise as a vehicle for trading in the commodity futures or options markets. Even if the fund’s direct use of commodity interests complies with the trading limitations described above, the fund may have indirect exposure to commodity interests in excess of such limitations. Such exposure may result from the fund’s investment in other investment vehicles, including investment companies that are not managed by the Adviser or one of its affiliates, certain securitized vehicles that may invest in commodity interests and/or non-equity REITs that may invest in commodity interests (collectively, “underlying funds”). Because the Adviser may have limited or no information as to the commodity interests in which an underlying fund invests at any given time, the CFTC has issued temporary no-action relief permitting registered investment companies, such as the fund, to continue to allow their commodity pool operators to rely on the exclusion from the definition of CPO. The Adviser, on behalf of the fund, has filed the required notice to claim this no-action relief. In order to rely on the temporary no-action relief, the Adviser must meet certain conditions and the fund must otherwise comply with the trading and market limitations described above with respect to their direct investments in commodity interests.

If the fund were to invest in commodity interests in excess of the trading limitations discussed above and/or market itself as a vehicle for trading in the commodity futures or options markets, the Adviser would withdraw its exclusion from the definition of CPO with respect to the fund and the Adviser would become subject to regulation as a CPO, and would need to comply with the harmonization rules adopted by the CFTC for funds that are dually registered, with respect to the fund, in addition to all applicable SEC regulations.

Specific Types of Derivatives.

Futures Contracts. A futures contract is an agreement between two parties to buy and sell a security or other asset for a set price on a future date. When the fund sells a futures contract, it incurs an obligation to deliver a specified amount of the obligation underlying the futures contract at a specified time in the future for an agreed upon price. With respect to index futures, no physical transfer of the securities underlying the index is made. Rather, the parties settle by exchanging in cash an amount based on the difference between the contract price and the closing value of the index on the settlement date. An option on a futures contract gives the holder of the option the right to buy from or sell to the writer of the option a position in a futures contract at a specified price on or before a specified expiration date. When the fund writes an option on a futures contract, it becomes obligated, in return for the premium paid, to assume a position in a futures contract at a specified exercise price at any time during the term of the option. If the fund has written a call option, it assumes a short futures position. If the fund has written a put option, it assumes a long futures position. When the fund purchases an option on a futures contract, it acquires the right, in return for the premium it pays, to assume a position in a futures contract (a long position if the option is a call and a short position if the option is a put). The purchase of futures or call options on futures can serve as a long hedge, and the sale of futures or the purchase of put options on futures can serve as a short hedge. Writing call options on futures contracts can serve as a limited short hedge, using a strategy similar to that used for writing call options on securities or indexes. Similarly, writing put options on futures contracts can serve as a limited long hedge.

Futures contracts are traded on exchanges, so that, in most cases, either party can close out its position on the exchange for cash, without delivering the security or other asset. Although some futures contracts call for making or taking delivery of the underlying securities or other asset, generally these obligations are closed out before delivery by offsetting purchases or sales of matching futures contracts (same exchange, underlying asset, and delivery month). Closing out a

futures contract sale is effected by purchasing a futures contract for the same aggregate amount of the specific type of financial instrument with the same delivery date. If an offsetting purchase price is less than the original sale price, the fund realizes a capital gain, or if it is more, the fund realizes a capital loss. Conversely, if an offsetting sale price is more than the original purchase price, the fund realizes a capital gain, or if it is less, the fund realizes a capital loss. Transaction costs also are included in these calculations.

Engaging in these transactions involves risk of loss to the fund which could adversely affect the value of the fund’s net assets. No assurance can be given that a liquid market will exist for any particular contract at any particular time. Many futures exchanges and boards of trade limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in futures contract prices during a single trading day. Once the daily limit has been reached in a particular contract, no trades may be made that day at a price beyond that limit or trading may be suspended for specified periods during the trading day. Futures contract prices could move to the limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of futures positions and potentially leading to substantial losses.

The fund may engage in futures transactions in foreign markets to the extent consistent with applicable law and the fund’s ability to invest in foreign securities. Foreign futures markets may offer advantages such as trading opportunities or arbitrage possibilities not available in the United States. Foreign markets, however, may have greater risk potential than domestic markets. For example, some foreign exchanges are principal markets so that no common clearing facility exists and an investor may look only to the broker for performance of the contract. In addition, any profits that the fund might realize in trading could be eliminated by adverse changes in the currency exchange rate, or the fund could incur losses as a result of those changes.

Futures contracts and options on futures contracts include those with respect to securities, securities indexes, interest rates and foreign currencies and Eurodollar contracts, to the extent the fund can invest in the underlying reference security, instrument or asset.

Security Futures Contract. A security future obligates the fund to purchase or sell an amount of a specific security at a future date at a specific price.

Index Futures Contract. An index future obligates the fund to pay or receive an amount of cash based upon the change in value of the index based on the prices of the securities that comprise the index.

Interest Rate Futures Contract. An interest rate future obligates the fund to purchase or sell an amount of a specific debt security at a future date at a specific price (or, in some cases, to settle an equivalent amount in cash).

Foreign Currency Futures Contract. A foreign currency future obligates the fund to purchase or sell an amount of a specific currency at a future date at a specific price.

Eurodollar Contracts. A Eurodollar contract is a U.S. dollar-denominated futures contract or option thereon which is linked to the LIBOR, although foreign currency-denominated instruments are available from time to time. Eurodollar futures contracts enable purchasers to obtain a fixed rate for the lending of funds and sellers to obtain a fixed rate for borrowings. The fund might use Eurodollar futures contracts and options thereon to hedge against changes in LIBOR, to which many fixed-income instruments are linked.

Options. A call option gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy, and obligates the writer to sell, the underlying security, securities or other asset at the exercise price at any time during the option period, or at a specific date. Conversely, a put option gives the purchaser of the option the right to sell, and obligates the writer to buy, the underlying security, securities or other asset at the exercise price at any time during the option period, or at a specific date. The fund receives a premium from writing an option which it retains whether or not the option is exercised.

A covered call option written by the fund is a call option with respect to which the fund owns the underlying security or otherwise covers the transaction such as by segregating permissible liquid assets. The principal reason for writing covered call options is to realize, through the receipt of premiums, a greater return than would be realized on the underlying securities alone.

Options may be traded on U.S. or, to the extent the fund may invest in foreign securities, foreign securities exchanges or in the over-the-counter market. There is no assurance that sufficient trading interest to create a liquid secondary market on a securities exchange will exist for any particular option or at any particular time, and for some options no such secondary market may exist. A liquid secondary market in an option may cease to exist for a variety of reasons. In the past, for example, higher than anticipated trading activity or order flow, or other unforeseen events, at times have rendered certain of the clearing facilities inadequate and resulted in the institution of special procedures, such as trading rotations, restrictions on certain types of orders or trading halts or suspensions in one or more options. There can be no assurance that similar events, or events that may otherwise interfere with the timely execution of customers’ orders, will not recur. In such event, it might not be possible to effect closing transactions in particular options. If, as a covered call option writer, the fund is unable to effect a closing purchase transaction in a secondary market, it will not be able to sell the underlying security until the option expires or it delivers the underlying security upon exercise or it otherwise covers its position.

Purchases or sales of options on exchanges owned by The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. may result, indirectly, in a portion of the transaction and other fees assessed on options trading being paid to The Bank of New York Mellon, an affiliate of the Adviser, as the result of an arrangement between The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. and The Bank of New York Mellon.

Call and put options in which the fund may invest include the following, in each case, to the extent that the fund can invest in such securities or instruments (or securities underlying an index, in the case of options on securities indexes).

Options on Securities. Call and put options on specific securities (or groups or “baskets” of specific securities), including equity securities (including convertible securities ) U.S. Government securities, municipal securities, mortgage-related securities, asset-backed securities, foreign sovereign debt, corporate debt securities or Eurodollar instruments, convey the right to buy or sell, respectively, the underlying securities at prices which are expected to be lower or higher than the current market prices of the securities at the time the options are exercised.

Options on Securities Indexes. An option on an index is similar to an option in respect of specific securities, except that settlement does not occur by delivery of the securities comprising the index. Instead, the option holder receives an amount of cash if the closing level of the index upon which the option is based is greater in the case of a call, or less, in the case of a put, than the exercise price of the option. Thus, the effectiveness of purchasing or writing index options will depend upon price movements in the level of the index rather than the price of a particular security.

Foreign Currency Options. Call and put options on foreign currency convey the right to buy or sell the underlying currency at a price which is expected to be lower or higher than the spot price of the currency at the time the option is exercised or expires.

Forward Volatility Agreements. Forward volatility agreements are agreements in which two parties agree to exchange a straddle option (holding a position in both call and put options with the same exercise price and expiration date, allowing the holder to profit regardless of whether the price of the underlying asset goes up or down, assuming a significant change in the price of the underlying asset) at a specific expiration date and volatility. Essentially, a forward volatility agreement is a forward contract on the realized volatility of a given underlying asset, which may be, among other things, a stock, stock index, interest rate or currency. Forward volatility agreements are over-the-counter derivative instruments that are subject to the credit risk of the counterparty.

Credit Derivatives. Credit derivative transactions include those involving default price risk derivatives and credit spread derivatives. Default price risk derivatives are linked to the price of reference securities or loans after a default by the issuer or borrower, respectively. Credit spread derivatives are based on the risk that changes in credit spreads and related market factors can cause a decline in the value of a security, loan or index. Credit derivatives may take the form of options, credit-linked notes and other over-the-counter instruments. The risk of loss in a credit derivative transaction varies with the form of the transaction. For example, if the fund purchases a default option on a security, and if no default occurs with respect to the security, the fund's loss is limited to the premium it paid for the default option. In contrast, if there is a default by the grantor of a default option, the fund's loss will include both the premium it paid for the option and the decline in value of any underlying security that the default option hedged (if the option was entered into for hedging purposes). Credit-linked notes are funded balance sheet assets that offer synthetic credit exposure to a reference entity in a structure designed to resemble a synthetic corporate bond or loan. Credit-linked notes are frequently issued by special purpose vehicles that would hold some form of collateral securities financed through the issuance of notes or certificates to the fund. The fund receives a coupon and par redemption, provided there has been no credit event of the reference entity. The vehicle enters into a credit swap with a third party in which it sells default protection in return for a premium that subsidizes the coupon to compensate the fund for the reference entity default risk. The fund will enter into credit derivative transactions only with counterparties that meet the Sub-Adviser's standards of creditworthiness.

Combined Transactions. The fund may enter into multiple transactions, including multiple options, futures and/or interest rate transactions, and any combination of options, futures and/or interest rate transactions (“combined transactions”), instead of a single transaction, as part of a single or combined strategy when, in the opinion of the Sub-Adviser, it is in the best interests of the fund to do so. A combined transaction will usually contain elements of risk that are present in each of its component transactions. Although combined transactions are normally entered into based on the Sub-Adviser’s judgment that the combined strategies will reduce risk or otherwise more effectively achieve the desired portfolio management goal, it is possible that the combination will instead increase such risks or hinder achievement of the portfolio management objective.

Future Developments. The fund may take advantage of opportunities in derivatives transactions which are not presently contemplated for use by the fund or which are not currently available but which may be developed, to the extent such opportunities are both consistent with the fund’s investment objective and legally permissible for the fund. Before the fund enters into such transactions or makes any such investment, the fund will provide appropriate disclosure in its prospectus or this SAI.

Lending Portfolio Securities

Fund portfolio securities may be lent to brokers, dealers and other financial institutions needing to borrow securities to complete certain transactions. In connection with such loans, the fund would remain the owner of the loaned securities and continue to be entitled to payments in amounts equal to the interest, dividends or other distributions payable on the loaned securities. The fund also has the right to terminate a loan at any time. Subject to the fund's own more restrictive limitations, if applicable, an investment company is limited in the amount of portfolio securities it may loan to 33-1/3% of its total assets (including the value of all assets received as collateral for the loan). Except as may be otherwise described in "Investments, Investment Techniques and Risks" in Part II of this SAI, the fund will receive collateral consisting of cash, cash equivalents, U.S. Government securities or irrevocable letters of credit, which will be maintained at all times in an amount equal to at least 100% of the current market value of the loaned securities. If the collateral consists of a letter of credit or securities, the borrower will pay the fund a loan premium fee. If the collateral consists of cash, the fund will reinvest the cash and pay the borrower a pre-negotiated fee or "rebate" from any return earned on the investment. The fund may participate in a securities lending program operated by the Securities Lending Agent. The Securities Lending Agent will receive a percentage of the total earnings of the fund derived from lending its portfolio securities. Should the borrower of the securities fail financially, the fund may experience delays in recovering the loaned securities or exercising its rights in the collateral. Loans are made only to borrowers that are deemed by the Adviser to be of good financial standing. In a loan transaction, the fund will also bear the risk of any decline in value of securities acquired with cash collateral. The fund will minimize this risk by limiting the investment of cash collateral to money market funds advised by the Adviser, repurchase agreements or other high quality instruments with short maturities, in each case to the extent it is a permissible investment for the fund.

Borrowing Money

The 1940 Act, subject to the fund’s own more restrictive limitations, if applicable, permits an investment company to borrow in an amount up to 33-1/3% of the value of its total assets. Such borrowings may be for temporary or emergency purposes or for leveraging. If borrowings are for temporary or emergency (not leveraging) purposes, when such borrowings exceed 5% of the value of the fund’s total assets the fund will not make any additional investments.

Forward Commitments. The purchase or sale of securities on a forward commitment (including "TBA" (to be announced)), when-issued or delayed-delivery basis, means delivery and payment take place at a future date at a predetermined price and/or yield. Typically, no interest accrues to the purchaser until the security is delivered. When purchasing a security on a forward commitment basis, the fund assumes the risks of ownership of the security, including the risk of price and yield fluctuations, and takes such fluctuations into account when determining its NAV. Purchasing securities on a forward commitment, when-issued or delayed-delivery basis can involve the additional risk that the yield available in the market when the delivery takes place actually may be higher than that obtained in the transaction itself. The sale of securities on a forward commitment or delayed-delivery basis involves the risk that the prices available in the market on the delivery date may be greater than those obtained in the sale transaction.

Debt securities purchased on a forward commitment, when-issued or delayed-delivery basis are subject to changes in value based upon the perception of the creditworthiness of the issuer and changes, real or anticipated, in the level of interest rates (i.e., appreciating when interest rates decline and depreciating when interest rates rise). Securities purchased on a forward commitment, when-issued or delayed-delivery basis may expose the fund to risks because they may experience declines in value prior to their actual delivery. The fund will make commitments to purchase such securities only with the intention of actually acquiring the securities, but the fund may sell these securities or dispose of the commitment before the settlement date if it is deemed advisable as a matter of investment strategy. The fund would engage in forward

commitments to increase its portfolio's financial exposure to the types of securities in which it invests. If the fund is fully or almost fully invested when forward commitment purchases are outstanding, such purchases may result in a form of leverage. Leveraging the portfolio in this manner will increase the fund's exposure to changes in interest rates and may result in greater potential fluctuation in the value of the fund's net assets and its NAV per share. The fund will segregate permissible liquid assets at least equal at all times to the amount of the fund's purchase commitments.

Forward Roll Transactions. In a forward roll transaction, the fund sells a security, such as a mortgage-related security, to a bank, broker-dealer or other financial institution and simultaneously agrees to purchase a similar security from the institution at a later date at an agreed upon price. During the period between the sale and purchase, the fund will not be entitled to receive interest and principal payments on the securities sold by the fund. Proceeds of the sale typically will be invested in short-term instruments, particularly repurchase agreements, and the income from these investments, together with any additional fee income received on the sale, will be expected to generate income for the fund exceeding the yield on the securities sold. Forward roll transactions involve the risk that the market value of the securities sold by the fund may decline below the purchase price of those securities. The fund will segregate permissible liquid assets at least equal to the amount of the repurchase price (including accrued interest).

In a mortgage "dollar roll" transaction, the fund sells mortgage-related securities for delivery in the current month and simultaneously contracts to purchase substantially similar securities on a specified future date. The mortgage- related securities that are purchased will be of the same type and will have the same interest rate as those securities sold, but generally will be supported by different pools of mortgages with different prepayment histories than those sold. The fund forgoes principal and interest paid during the roll period on the securities sold in a dollar roll, but the fund is compensated by the difference between the current sales price and the lower prices of the future purchase, as well as by any interest earned on the proceeds of the securities sold. The dollar rolls entered into by the fund normally will be "covered." A covered roll is a specific type of dollar roll for which there is an offsetting cash position or a cash equivalent security position that matures on or before the forward settlement date of the related dollar roll transaction. Covered rolls are not treated as borrowings or other senior securities and will be excluded from the calculation of the fund's borrowings.

Illiquid Securities

The 1940 Act, subject to the fund’s own more restrictive limitations, if applicable, limits funds other than money market funds to 15% of net assets in illiquid securities. Illiquid securities, which are securities that the fund reasonably expects to be unable to sell or dispose of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the securities, may include securities that are not readily marketable, such as securities that are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale that do not have readily available market quotations, repurchase agreements providing for settlement in more than seven days after notice and certain privately negotiated derivatives transactions and securities used to cover such derivatives transactions. As to these securities, there is a risk that, should the fund desire to sell them, a ready buyer will not be available at a price the fund deems representative of their value, which could adversely affect the value of the fund’s net assets.

Section 4(2) Paper and Rule 144A Securities.

“Section 4(2) paper” consists of commercial obligations issued in reliance on the so-called “private placement” exemption from registration afforded by Section 4(2) of the Securities Act. Section 4(2) paper is restricted as to disposition under the federal securities laws, and generally is sold to institutional investors that agree that they are purchasing the paper for investment and not with a view to public distribution. Any resale by the purchaser must be pursuant to registration or an exemption therefrom. Section 4(2) paper normally is resold to other institutional investors through or with the assistance of the issuer or investment dealers who make a market in the Section 4(2) paper, thus providing liquidity. “Rule 144A securities” are

securities that are not registered under the Securities Act but that can be sold to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A under the Securities Act. Rule 144A securities generally must be sold to other qualified institutional buyers. If a particular investment in Section 4(2) paper or Rule 144A securities is not determined to be liquid, that investment will be included within the percentage limitation on investment in illiquid securities. Investing in Rule 144A securities could have the effect of increasing the level of fund illiquidity to the extent that qualified institutional buyers become, for a time, uninterested in purchasing these securities from the fund or other holders. Liquidity determinations with respect to Section 4(2) paper and Rule 144A securities will be made by the fund’s board or by the Adviser pursuant to guidelines established by the board. The fund’s board or the Adviser will consider availability of reliable price information and other relevant information in making such determinations.

LIBOR Rate Risk

Many debt securities, derivatives and other financial instruments, including some of the fund’s investments, utilize LIBOR as the reference or benchmark rate for variable interest rate calculations. However, the use of LIBOR started to come under pressure following manipulation allegations in 2012. Despite increased regulation and other corrective actions since that time, concerns have arisen regarding its viability as a benchmark, due largely to reduced activity in the financial markets that it measures.

On July 27, 2017, the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates LIBOR, announced that it intends to phase out LIBOR by the end of 2021. On November 30, 2020, the administrator of LIBOR announced its intention to begin consultation on delaying the phase out of the majority of the USD LIBOR publications until June 30, 2023, with the remainder of LIBOR publications to still end on December 31, 2021.

The Federal Reserve, in conjunction with the Alternative Reference Rates Committee, a steering committee comprised of large U.S. financial institutions, is considering replacing U.S. dollar LIBOR with a new index calculated by short-term repurchase agreements, backed by Treasury securities. The replacement or abandonment of, or modification to, LIBOR could have adverse impacts on newly issued financial instruments and existing financial instruments which reference LIBOR. While some instruments may contemplate a scenario where LIBOR is no longer available by providing for an alternative rate setting methodology, not all instruments may have such provisions and there are significant uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of any such alternative methodologies. Abandonment of or modifications to LIBOR could lead to significant short-term and long-term uncertainty and market instability. Instruments in which the fund invests may pay interest at floating or adjusting rates based on LIBOR or may be subject to interest caps or floors. There remains uncertainty regarding the future utilization of LIBOR and the nature of any replacement rate. The unavailability or replacement of LIBOR may affect the value, liquidity or return on certain fund investments and may result in costs incurred in connection with closing out positions and entering into new trades. Any pricing adjustments to the fund's investments resulting from a substitute reference rate may also adversely affect the fund's performance and/or NAV. Such successor or substitute reference rate and any adjustments selected may negatively impact the fund's investments, performance or financial condition, and may expose the fund to additional tax, accounting and regulatory risks, Additionally, if LIBOR ceases to exist, the fund may need to renegotiate the credit agreements extending beyond the applicable phase out date with the fund's obligors that utilize LIBOR as a factor in determining the interest rate and certain of the fund's existing credit facilities to replace LIBOR with the new standard that is established. Any pricing adjustments to the fund's investments resulting from a substitute reference rate may also adversely affect the fund's performance and/or NAV. Such successor or substitute reference rate and any adjustments selected may negatively impact the fund's investments, performance or financial condition, and may expose the fund to additional tax, accounting and regulatory risks.

Various financial industry groups have begun planning for the transition, but there are obstacles to converting certain longer term securities and transactions to a new benchmark. Transition planning is at an early stage, and 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 could also 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. Since the usefulness of LIBOR as a benchmark could deteriorate during the transition period, these effects could occur prior to the phase out of LIBOR.

Diversification Status

The fund is classified as diversified under the 1940 Act. The 1940 Act generally requires a "diversified" investment company, with respect to 75% of its total assets, to invest not more than 5% of such assets in securities of a single issuer.

To meet federal tax requirements, at the close of each quarter the fund may not have more than 25% of its total assets invested in any one issuer and, with respect to 50% of its total assets, not more than 5% of its total assets invested in any one issuer. These limitations do not apply to U.S. Government securities or investments in certain other investment companies.

Cybersecurity Risk

The fund and its service providers are susceptible to operational and information security risks due to cybersecurity incidents. In general, cybersecurity incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events. Cybersecurity attacks 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 or causing operational disruption. Cyber attacks also may 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 services unavailable to intended users). Cybersecurity incidents affecting the Adviser, Sub-adviser(s), Transfer Agent or Custodian or other service providers such as financial intermediaries have the ability to cause disruptions and impact business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses, including by interference with the fund’s ability to calculate its NAV; impediments to trading for the fund’s portfolio; the inability of fund shareholders to transact business with the fund; violations of applicable privacy, data security or other laws; regulatory fines and penalties; reputational damage; reimbursement or other compensation or remediation costs; legal fees; or additional compliance costs. Similar adverse consequences could result from cybersecurity incidents affecting issuers of securities in which the fund invests, counterparties with which the fund engages in transactions, governmental and other regulatory authorities, exchange and other financial market operators, banks, brokers, dealers, insurance companies and other financial institutions and other parties. While information risk management systems and business continuity plans have been developed which are designed to reduce the risks associated with cybersecurity, there are inherent limitations in any cybersecurity risk management systems or business continuity plans, including the possibility that certain risks have not been identified.

Recent Market and Economic Developments

A recent outbreak of respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China and has now been detected internationally. The virus, named "SARS-CoV-2" (sometimes referred to as the "coronavirus") and the resulting disease, which is referred to as "COVID-19," has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization and has resulted in border closings, enhanced health screenings, healthcare service preparation and delivery, quarantines, cancellations, disruptions to supply chains and customer activity, as well as general concern and uncertainty.

The United States and global debt and equity capital markets have been negatively impacted by significant uncertainty related to the pandemic spread of COVID-19. This uncertainty and related concerns that financial institutions as well as the global financial system are experiencing severe economic distress have materially and adversely impacted the broader financial and credit markets and the debt and equity capital

for the market as a whole. These events contributed to severe market volatility which may adversely impact the fund's net asset values and result in heightened volatility in the performance of the fund's portfolio investments.

Markets generally, and the energy sector specifically, have also been adversely impacted by reduced demand for oil and other energy commodities as a result of the slowdown in economic activity resulting from the pandemic spread of COVID-19 and by price competition among key oil producing countries.

The current market conditions, as well as various social and political tensions in the United States and around the world, may continue to contribute to increased market volatility, may have long-term effects on the U.S. and global financial markets, and may cause further economic uncertainties or deterioration in the United States and worldwide. The prolonged continuation or further deterioration of the current U.S. and global economic downturn could adversely impact the fund. The Adviser does not know how long the financial markets will continue to be affected by these events and cannot predict the effects of these or similar events in the future on the U.S. economy, the securities markets and issuers held in the fund's portfolio. Federal Reserve policy in response to market conditions, including with respect to certain interest rates, may adversely affect the value, volatility and liquidity of dividend and interest paying securities. Market volatility, dramatic changes to interest rates and/or a return to unfavorable economic conditions may lower the fund's performance or impair the fund's ability to achieve its investment objective. The Adviser intends to monitor developments and seek to manage the fund in a manner consistent with achieving the fund's investment objective, but there can be no assurance that it will be successful in doing so.

RATING CATEGORIES

The following is a description of certain ratings assigned by S&P, Moody's, Fitch and DBRS.

S&P

An S&P issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation, a specific class of financial obligations or a specific financial program (including ratings on medium-term note programs and commercial paper programs). It takes into consideration the creditworthiness of guarantors, insurers or other forms of credit enhancement on the obligation and takes into account the currency in which the obligation is denominated. The opinion reflects S&P's view of the obligor's capacity and willingness to meet its financial commitments as they come due, and may assess terms, such as collateral security and subordination, which could affect ultimate payment in the event of default.

Issue credit ratings can be either long-term or short-term. Short-term ratings are generally assigned to those obligations considered short-term in the relevant market. Short-term ratings also are used to indicate the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to put features on long-term obligations. Medium-term notes are assigned long-term ratings.

Long-Term Issue Credit Ratings. Issue credit ratings are based, in varying degrees, on S&P's analysis of the following considerations: likelihood of payment capacity and willingness of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on an obligation in accordance with the terms of the obligation; nature of and provisions of the financial obligation and the promise S&P imputes; and protection afforded by, and relative position of, the financial obligation in the event of bankruptcy, reorganization or other arrangement under the laws of bankruptcy and other laws affecting creditors' rights.

Issue ratings are an assessment of default risk, but may incorporate an assessment of relative seniority or ultimate recovery in the event of default. Junior obligations are typically rated lower than senior obligations, to reflect the lower priority in bankruptcy, as noted above. (Such differentiation may apply

when an entity has both senior and subordinated obligations, secured and unsecured obligations, or operating company and holding company obligations.)

An obligation rated "AAA" has the highest rating assigned by S&P. The obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong.

An obligation rated "AA" differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong.

An obligation rated "A" is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories. However, the obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong.

An obligation rated "BBB" exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

Obligations rated "BB," "B," "CCC," "CC" and "C" are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. "BB" indicates the least degree of speculation and "C" the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposures to adverse conditions.

An obligation rated "BB" is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial or economic conditions which could lead to the obligor's inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

An obligation rated "B" is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated "BB," but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. Adverse business, financial or economic conditions will likely impair the obligor's capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

An obligation rated "CCC" is currently vulnerable to nonpayment, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

An obligation rated "CC" is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The "CC" rating is used when a default has not yet occurred, but S&P expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to default.

An obligation rated "C" is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, and the obligation is expected to have lower relative seniority or lower ultimate recovery compared to obligations that are rated higher.

An obligation rated "D" is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the "D" rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless S&P believes that such payments will be made within five business days in the absence of a stated grace period or within the earlier of the stated grace period or 30 calendar days. The "D" rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligation's rating is lowered to "D" if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.

Note: The ratings from "AA" to "CCC" may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.

An "NR" indicates that a rating has not been assigned or is no longer assigned.

Short-Term Issue Credit Ratings. A short-term obligation rated "A-1" is rated in the highest category by S&P. The obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on these obligations is extremely strong.

A short-term obligation rated "A-2" is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory.

A short-term obligation rated "A-3" exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

A short-term obligation rated "B" is regarded as vulnerable and has significant speculative characteristics. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties which could lead to the obligor's inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments.

A short-term obligation rated "C" is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

A short-term obligation rated "D" is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the "D" rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless S&P believes that such payments will be made within any stated grace period. However, any stated grace period longer than five business days will be treated as five business days. The "D" rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligation's rating is lowered to "D" if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.

Municipal Short-Term Note Ratings Definitions. An S&P U.S. municipal note rating reflects S&P's opinion about the liquidity factors and market access risks unique to the notes. Notes due in three years or less will likely receive a note rating. Notes with an original maturity of more than three years will most likely receive a long-term debt rating. In determining which type of rating, if any, to assign, S&P analysis will review the following considerations: amortization schedule the larger the final maturity relative to other maturities, the more likely it will be treated as a note; and source of payment the more dependent the issue is on the market for its refinancing, the more likely it will be treated as a note.

Note rating symbols are as follows:

SP-1 Strong capacity to pay principal and interest. An issue determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service is given a plus (+) designation.

SP-2 Satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes.

SP-3 Speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.

D There has been a failure to pay the note when due, completion of a distressed exchange offer, or the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions.

Moody's

Ratings assigned on Moody's global long-term and short-term rating scales are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations issued by non-financial corporates, financial institutions, structured finance vehicles, project finance vehicles and public sector entities.

Long-Term Obligation Ratings and Definitions. Long-term ratings are assigned to issuers or obligations with an original maturity of one year or more and reflect both on the likelihood of a default or impairment on contractual financial obligations and the expected financial loss suffered in the event of default or impairment.

Obligations rated "Aaa" are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk.

Obligations rated "Aa" are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.

Obligations rated "A" are judged to be upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.

Obligations rated "Baa" are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.

Obligations rated "Ba" are judged to be speculative and are subject to substantial credit risk. Obligations rated "B" are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk.

Obligations rated "Caa" are judged to be speculative, of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk.

Obligations rated "Ca" are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.

Obligations rated "C" are the lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest.

Note: Moody's appends numerical modifiers 1, 2, and 3 to each generic rating classification from Aa through Caa. The modifier 1 indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a mid-range ranking and the modifier 3 indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category. Additionally, a "(hyb)" indicator is appended to all ratings of hybrid securities issued by banks, insurers, finance companies and securities firms.

Short-Term Ratings. Short-term ratings are assigned to obligations with an original maturity of thirteen months or less and reflect both on the likelihood of a default or impairment on contractual financial obligations and the expected financial loss suffered in the event of default or impairment.

Moody's employs the following designations to indicate the relative repayment ability of rated issuers:

P-1 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-1 have a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations.

P-2 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-2 have a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations.

P-3 Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-3 have an acceptable ability to repay short-term debt obligations.

NP Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.

U.S. Municipal Short-Term Debt and Demand Obligation Ratings.

Short-Term Obligation Ratings. The Municipal Investment Grade ("MIG") scale is used to rate U.S. municipal bond anticipation notes of up to three years maturity. MIG ratings are divided into three levels—MIG 1 through MIG 3—while speculative grade short-term obligations are designated "SG."

MIG 1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by established cash flows, highly reliable liquidity support, or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing.

MIG 2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group.

MIG 3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established.

SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection.

Demand Obligation Ratings. In the case of variable rate demand obligations ("VRDOs"), a two-component rating is assigned: a long- or short-term debt rating and a demand obligation rating. The first element represents Moody's evaluation of risk associated with scheduled principal and interest payments. The second element represents Moody's evaluation of risk associated with the ability to receive purchase price upon demand ("demand feature"). The second element uses a rating from a variation of the MIG scale called the Variable Municipal Investment Grade ("VMIG") scale.

VMIG 1 This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by the superior short- term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.

VMIG 2 This designation denotes strong credit quality. Good protection is afforded by the strong short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.

VMIG 3 This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Adequate protection is afforded by the satisfactory short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.

SG This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Demand features rated in this category may be supported by a liquidity provider that does not have an investment grade short-term rating or may lack the structural and/or legal protections necessary to ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.

For VRDOs supported with conditional liquidity support, short-term ratings transition down at higher long-term ratings to reflect the risk of termination of liquidity support as a result of a downgrade below investment grade.

VMIG ratings of VRDOs with unconditional liquidity support reflect the short-term debt rating (or counterparty assessment) of the liquidity support provider with VMIG 1 corresponding to P-1, VMIG 2 to P-2, VMIG 3 to P-3 and SG to not prime.

Fitch

Corporate Finance Obligations — Long-Term Rating Scales. Ratings of individual securities or financial obligations of a corporate issuer address relative vulnerability to default on an ordinal scale. In addition,

for financial obligations in corporate finance, a measure of recovery given default on that liability also is included in the rating assessment. This notably applies to covered bond ratings, which incorporate both an indication of the probability of default and of the recovery given a default of this debt instrument.

The relationship between issuer scale and obligation scale assumes a generic historical average recovery. As a result, individual obligations of entities, such as corporations, are assigned ratings higher, lower or the same as that entity's issuer rating. Highest credit quality: "AAA" ratings denote the lowest expectation of credit risk. They are assigned only in cases of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.

Very high credit quality: "AA" ratings denote expectations of very low credit risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.

High credit quality: "A" ratings denote expectations of low credit risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.

Good credit quality: "BBB" ratings indicate that expectations of credit risk are currently low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate, but adverse business or economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity.

Speculative: "BB" ratings indicate an elevated vulnerability to credit risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time; however, business or financial alternatives may be available to allow financial commitments to be met.

Highly speculative: "B" ratings indicate that material credit risk is present. Substantial credit risk: "CCC" ratings indicate that substantial credit risk is present. Very high levels of credit risk: "CC" ratings indicate very high levels of credit risk.

Exceptionally high levels of credit risk: "C" indicates exceptionally high levels of credit risk.

Defaulted obligations typically are not assigned "RD" or "D" ratings (see "Short-Term Ratings Assigned to Obligations in Corporate, Public and Structured Finance" below), but are instead rated in the "CCC" to "C" rating categories, depending on their recovery prospects and other relevant characteristics. This approach better aligns obligations that have comparable overall expected loss but varying vulnerability to default and loss.

Note: The modifiers "+" or "-" may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories. Such suffixes are not added to the "AAA" obligation rating category, or to ratings in the categories below "CCC."

Structured, Project & Public Finance Obligations — Long-Term Rating Scales. Ratings of structured finance obligations on the long-term scale consider the obligations' relative vulnerability to default. These ratings are typically assigned to an individual security or tranche in a transaction and not to an issuer.

Highest credit quality: "AAA" ratings denote the lowest expectation of default risk. They are assigned only in cases of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.

Very high credit quality: "AA" ratings denote expectations of very low default risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.

High credit quality: "A" ratings denote expectations of low default risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.

Good credit quality: "BBB" ratings indicate that expectations of default risk are currently low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate, but adverse business or economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity.

Speculative: "BB" ratings indicate an elevated vulnerability to default risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time.

Highly speculative: "B" ratings indicate that material default risk is present, but a limited margin of safety remains. Financial commitments are currently being met; however, capacity for continued payment is vulnerable to deterioration in the business and economic environment.

Substantial credit risk: "CCC" indicates that default is a real possibility.

Very high levels of credit risk: "CC" indicates that default of some kind appears probable. Exceptionally high levels of credit risk: "C" indicates that default appears imminent or inevitable.

Default: "D" indicates a default. Default generally is defined as one of the following: failure to make payment of principal and/or interest under the contractual terms of the rated obligation; the bankruptcy filings, administration, receivership, liquidation or other winding-up or cessation of the business of an issuer/obligor; or the distressed exchange of an obligation, where creditors were offered securities with diminished structural or economic terms compared with the existing obligation to avoid a probable payment default.

Short-Term Ratings Assigned to Issuers and Obligations. A short-term issuer or obligation rating is based in all cases on the short-term vulnerability to default of the rated entity and relates to the capacity to meet financial obligations in accordance with the documentation governing the relevant obligation. Short-term ratings are assigned to obligations whose initial maturity is viewed as "short-term" based on market convention. Typically, this means up to 13 months for corporate, sovereign and structured obligations, and up to 36 months for obligations in U.S. public finance markets.

Highest short-term credit quality: "F1" indicates the strongest intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments; may have an added "+" to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature.

Good short-term credit quality: "F2" indicates good intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.

Fair short-term credit quality: "F3" indicates that the intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate.

Speculative short-term credit quality: "B" indicates minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus heightened vulnerability to near term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions.

High short-term default risk: "C" indicates that default is a real possibility.

Restricted default: "RD" indicates an entity that has defaulted on one or more of its financial commitments, although it continues to meet other financial obligations. Typically applicable to entity ratings only.

Default: "D" indicates a broad-based default event for an entity, or the default of a specific short-term obligation.

DBRS

Long Term Obligations. The DBRS long-term rating scale provides an opinion on the risk of default. That is, the risk that an issuer will fail to satisfy its financial obligations in accordance with the terms under which an obligation has been issued. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer, and the relative ranking of claims. All ratings categories other than AAA and D also contain subcategories "(high)" and "(low)." The absence of either a "(high)" or "(low)" designation indicates the rating is in the middle of the category.

Long-term debt rated "AAA" is considered to be of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is exceptionally high and unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.

Long-term debt rated "AA" is considered to be of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered high. Credit quality differs from AAA only to a small degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.

Long-term debt rated "A" is considered to be of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is substantial, but of lesser credit quality than AA. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.

Long-term debt rated "BBB" is considered to be of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is considered acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.

Long-term debt rated "BB" is considered to be of speculative, non-investment-grade credit quality. The capacity for the payment of financial obligations is uncertain. Vulnerable to future events.

Long-term debt rated "B" is considered to be of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet financial obligations.

Long-term debt rated "CCC," "CC" or "C" is of very highly speculative credit quality. In danger of defaulting on financial obligations. There is little difference between these three categories, although CC and C ratings are normally applied to obligations that are seen as highly likely to default, or subordinated to obligations rated in the CCC to B range. Obligations in respect of which default has not technically taken place but is considered inevitable may be rated in the C category.

A "D" rating may occur when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods. DBRS may also use SD ("Selective Default") in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a "distressed exchange."

Commercial Paper and Short Term Debt. The DBRS short-term debt rating scale provides an opinion on the risk that an issuer will not meet its short-term financial obligations in a timely manner. Ratings are based on quantitative and qualitative considerations relevant to the issuer and the relative ranking of claims. The R-1 and R-2 rating categories are further denoted by the subcategories "(high)," "(middle)" and "(low)."

Short-term debt rated "R-1 (high)" is considered to be of the highest credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is exceptionally high. Unlikely to be adversely affected by future events.

Short-term debt rated "R-1 (middle)" is considered to be of superior credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is very high. Differs from R-1 (high) by a relatively modest degree. Unlikely to be significantly vulnerable to future events.

Short-term debt rated "R-1 (low)" is considered to be of good credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short- term financial obligations as they fall due is substantial. Overall strength is not as favorable as higher rating categories. May be vulnerable to future events, but qualifying negative factors are considered manageable.

Short-term debt rated "R-2 (high)" is considered to be at the upper end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events.

Short-term debt rated "R-2 (middle)" is considered to be of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events or may be exposed to other factors that could reduce credit quality.

Short-term debt rated "R-2 (low)" is considered to be at the lower end of adequate credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due is acceptable. May be vulnerable to future events. A number of challenges are present that could affect the issuer's ability to meet such obligations.

Short-term debt rated "R-3" is considered to be at the lowest end of adequate credit quality. There is a capacity for the payment of short-term financial obligations as they fall due. May be vulnerable to future events and the certainty of meeting such obligations could be impacted by a variety of developments.

Short-term debt rated "R-4" is considered to be of speculative credit quality. The capacity for the payment of short- term financial obligations as they fall due is uncertain.

Short-term debt rated "R-5" is considered to be of highly speculative credit quality. There is a high level of uncertainty as to the capacity to meet short-term financial obligations as they fall due. A security rated "D" rating may occur when the issuer has filed under any applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding up statute or there is a failure to satisfy an obligation after the exhaustion of grace periods. DBRS may also use SD ("Selective Default") in cases where only some securities are impacted, such as the case of a "distressed exchange."

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE BOARD

Board Oversight Role in Management

The board’s role in management of the fund is oversight. As is the case with virtually all investment companies (as distinguished from operating companies), service providers to the fund, primarily the Adviser and its affiliates, have responsibility for the day-to-day management of the fund, which includes responsibility for risk management (including management of investment risk, valuation risk, issuer and counterparty credit risk, compliance risk and operational risk). As part of their oversight, the board, acting at their scheduled meetings, or the Chairman acting between board meetings, regularly interacts with and receives reports from senior personnel of the Adviser and its affiliates, service providers, including the Adviser’s Director of Investment Oversight (or a senior representative of his office), the fund's and the Adviser’s CCO and portfolio management personnel. The board’s audit committee (which consists of all Independent Board Members) meets during its regularly scheduled and special meetings, and between meetings the audit committee chair is available to the fund's independent registered public accounting firm and the fund's Treasurer. The board also receives periodic presentations from senior personnel of the Adviser and its affiliates regarding risk management generally, as well as periodic presentations regarding specific operational, compliance or investment areas, such as cybersecurity, anti-money laundering, personal trading, valuation, investment research and securities lending (if any). As warranted, the board also receives informational reports from the counsel to the fund regarding regulatory compliance and

governance matters. The board has adopted policies and procedures designed to address certain risks to the fund. In addition, the Adviser and other service providers to the fund have adopted a variety of policies, procedures and controls designed to address particular risks to the fund. Different processes, procedures and controls are employed with respect to different types of risks. However, it is not possible to eliminate all of the risks applicable to the fund, and the board’s risk management oversight is subject to inherent limitations.

Board Composition and Leadership Structure

The 1940 Act requires that at least 40% of the board members be Independent Board Members and as such are not affiliated with the Adviser. To rely on certain exemptive rules under the 1940 Act, a majority of the Trust's board members must be Independent Board Members, and for certain important matters, such as the approval of investment advisory agreements or transactions with affiliates, the 1940 Act or the rules thereunder require the approval of a majority of the Independent Board Members. Currently, all of the Trust's board members are Independent Board Members. The board has determined that its leadership structure, in which the Chairman of the Board is not affiliated with the Adviser, is appropriate in light of the specific characteristics and circumstances of the fund, including, but not limited to: (i) the services that the Adviser and its affiliates provide to the fund and potential conflicts of interest that could arise from these relationships; (ii) the extent to which the day-to-day operations of the fund are conducted by fund officers and employees of the Adviser and its affiliates; and (iii) the board’s oversight role in management of the fund.

Additional Information About the Board and its Committees

Board members are subject to a maximum term of 15 years, provided that the Board shall have the ability to extend the maximum term up to an additional three years pursuant to a policy adopted by the Board or the By-laws. The board has a standing audit committee and nominating committee. The board has also created a valuation committee composed of officers of the Trust.

The function of the audit committee is (i) to oversee the fund's accounting and financial reporting processes and the audits of the fund's financial statements and (ii) to assist in the board’s oversight of the integrity of the fund's financial statements, the fund's compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and the independent registered public accounting firm’s qualifications, independence and performance.

The nominating committee is responsible for selecting and nominating persons as members of the board for election or appointment by the board and for election by shareholders. In evaluating potential nominees, including any nominees recommended by shareholders, the committee takes into consideration various factors listed in the nominating committee charter. The nominating committee will consider recommendations for nominees from shareholders submitted to the Secretary of the Trust, 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286, which includes information regarding the recommended nominee as specified in the nominating committee charter.

The valuation committee assists in valuing fund investments.

MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS

The Adviser

The Adviser is an investment adviser registered with the SEC as such pursuant to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The Adviser is the primary ETF business, and a wholly-owned subsidiary, of BNY Mellon, a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 35 countries and serving more than 100 markets. BNY Mellon is a leading investment management and investment services company, uniquely focused to help clients manage and move their financial assets in the rapidly changing global marketplace. BNY Mellon Investment Management is one of the world’s leading investment management organizations, and one of the top U.S. wealth managers, encompassing BNY Mellon’s affiliated investment management firms, wealth management services and global distribution companies. Additional information is available at www.im.bnymellon.com.

Pursuant to a management agreement between the Adviser and the Trust with respect to the fund, the Adviser generally maintains office facilities on behalf of the fund, and furnishes statistical and research data, clerical help, data processing, bookkeeping and internal auditing and certain other required services to the fund.

For the services provided to the fund under the management agreement, the fund pays the Adviser a monthly fee, if any, based on a percentage of the fund’s average daily net assets as set forth in the fund’s prospectus.

The fund's management agreement provides that the Adviser will pay substantially all expenses of the fund, except for [______].

The Adviser may from time to time voluntarily waive and/or reimburse fees or expenses in order to limit total annual fund operating expenses. Any such voluntary waiver or reimbursement may be eliminated by the Adviser at any time. The Adviser may pay the Distributor or financial intermediaries for shareholder or other services from the Adviser’s own assets, including past profits but not including the management fee paid by the fund. The Distributor may use part or all of such payments to pay Service Agents. The Adviser also may make such advertising and promotional expenditures, using its own resources, as it from time to time deems appropriate, and may make revenue transfers to affiliates. Service Agents and their representatives generally will be able to accept payments or other compensation only to the extent consistent with applicable law and the Service Agent’s own policies, procedures and practices.

Sub-Adviser

The Adviser has entered into a Sub-Advisory Agreement with the Sub-Adviser. The Sub-Adviser provides day-to-day investment management of the fund’s portfolio, and certain related services. For [__], which is a subsidiary of BNY Mellon, see “The Adviser” above for ownership information.

Portfolio Managers and Portfolio Manager Compensation

The Sub-Adviser provides the fund with portfolio managers who are authorized by the board to execute purchases and sales of securities. Portfolio managers are compensated by the company that employs them, and are not compensated by the fund. The fund’s portfolio managers are listed in Part I of this SAI.

The fund's portfolio managers are employed by [__]. The following provides information as of the date of this SAI about the compensation policies for portfolio managers.

[To be inserted by amendment]

Certain Conflicts of Interest with Other Accounts

Portfolio managers may manage multiple accounts for a diverse client base, including mutual funds, separate accounts (assets managed on behalf of private clients or institutions such as pension funds, insurance companies and foundations), private funds, bank collective trust funds or common trust accounts and wrap fee programs that invest in securities in which the fund may invest or that may pursue a strategy similar to the fund’s component strategies (“Other Accounts”).

Potential conflicts of interest may arise because of an Adviser’s or portfolio manager’s management of the fund and Other Accounts. For example, conflicts of interest may arise with both the aggregation and allocation of securities transactions and allocation of limited investment opportunities, as an Adviser may be perceived as causing accounts it manages to participate in an offering to increase the Adviser’s overall allocation of securities in that offering, or to increase the Adviser’s ability to participate in future offerings by the same underwriter or issuer. Allocations of bunched trades, particularly trade orders that were only partially filled due to limited availability, and allocation of investment opportunities generally, could raise a potential conflict of interest, as an Adviser may have an incentive to allocate securities that are expected to increase in value to preferred accounts. IPOs, in particular, are frequently of very limited availability. A potential conflict of interest may be perceived to arise if transactions in one account closely follow related transactions in a different account, such as when the fund purchase increases the value of securities previously purchased by the Other Account or when a sale in one account lowers the sale price received in a sale by a second account. Conflicts of interest may also exist with respect to portfolio managers who also manage performance-based fee accounts, which could give the portfolio managers an incentive to favor such Other Accounts over the corresponding funds such as deciding which securities to allocate to a fund versus the performance-based fee account. Additionally, portfolio managers may be perceived to have a conflict of interest if there are a large number of Other Accounts, in addition to the fund, that they are managing on behalf of an Adviser. The Advisers periodically review each portfolio manager’s overall responsibilities to ensure that he or she is able to allocate the necessary time and resources to effectively manage the fund. In addition, an Adviser could be viewed as having a conflict of interest to the extent that the Adviser or its affiliates and/or portfolio managers have a materially larger investment in Other Accounts than their investment in the fund.

Other Accounts may have investment objectives, strategies and risks that differ from those of the relevant fund. In addition, the fund, as a registered investment company, is subject to different regulations than certain of the Other Accounts and, consequently, may not be permitted to engage in all the investment techniques or transactions, or to engage in such techniques or transactions to the same degree, as the Other Accounts. For these or other reasons, the portfolio managers may purchase different securities for the fund and the Other Accounts, and the performance of securities purchased for the fund may vary from the performance of securities purchased for Other Accounts. The portfolio managers may place transactions on behalf of Other Accounts that are directly or indirectly contrary to investment decisions made for the fund, which could have the potential to adversely impact the fund, depending on market conditions. In addition, if the fund’s investment in an issuer is at a different level of the issuer’s capital structure than an investment in the issuer by Other Accounts, in the event of credit deterioration of the issuer, there may be a conflict of interest between the fund’s and such Other Accounts’ investments in the issuer. If an Adviser sells securities short, it may be seen as harmful to the performance of any funds investing “long” in the same or similar securities whose market values fall as a result of short-selling activities.

BNY Mellon and its affiliates, including the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser and others involved in the management, sales, investment activities, business operations or distribution of the fund, are engaged in businesses and have interests other than that of managing the fund. These activities and interests include potential multiple advisory, transactional, financial and other interests in securities, instruments and companies that may be directly or indirectly purchased or sold by the fund or the fund's service providers, which may cause conflicts that could disadvantage the fund.

BNY Mellon and its affiliates may have deposit, loan and commercial banking or other relationships with the issuers of securities purchased by the fund. BNY Mellon has no obligation to provide to the Adviser or the fund, or effect transactions on behalf of the fund in accordance with, any market or other information, analysis, or research in its possession. Consequently, BNY Mellon (including, but not limited to, BNY Mellon’s central Risk Management Department) may have information that could be material to the management of the fund and may not share that information with relevant personnel of the Adviser. Accordingly, in making investment decisions for the fund, the Adviser does not seek to obtain or use material inside information that BNY Mellon may possess with respect to such issuers. However, because an Adviser, in the course of investing fund assets in loans (as described above), may have access to material non-public information regarding a Borrower, the ability of a fund or funds advised by such Adviser to purchase or sell publicly-traded securities of such Borrowers may be restricted.

Code of Ethics. The fund, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser and the Distributor each have adopted a Code of Ethics that permits its personnel, subject to such respective Code of Ethics, to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund. The Code of Ethics subjects the personal securities transactions of employees to various restrictions to ensure that such trading does not disadvantage the fund. In that regard, portfolio managers and other investment personnel employed by the Adviser or an Affiliated Entity or a Sub-Adviser affiliated with the Adviser must preclear and report their personal securities transactions and holdings, which are reviewed for compliance with the Code of Ethics and also are subject to the oversight of BNY Mellon’s Investment Ethics Committee. Portfolio managers and other investment personnel may be permitted to purchase, sell or hold securities which also may be or are held in fund(s) they manage or for which they otherwise provide investment advice.

Distributor

The Distributor, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the BNY Mellon, located at 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286, serves as the fund’s distributor on a best efforts basis pursuant to an agreement, which continues for two years after its effective date and thereafter is renewable annually, with the fund. Shares will be continuously offered for sale by series of the Trust through the Distributor only in Creation Units, as described in the prospectus and below under “Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares.” Shares in less than Creation Units are not distributed by the Distributor. The Distributor will deliver the prospectus to persons purchasing Creation Units and will maintain records of both orders placed with it and confirmations of acceptance furnished by it. The Distributor is a broker-dealer registered under the Exchange Act and a member of FINRA. The Distributor has no role in determining the investment policies of the Trust series or which securities are to be purchased or sold. An affiliate of the Distributor may assist Authorized Participants in assembling shares to purchase Creation Units or upon redemption, for which it may receive commissions or other fees from such Authorized Participants. The Distributor also serves as distributor for other affiliated mutual funds.

Service Agents. The Adviser or the Distributor may provide additional cash payments out of its own resources to Service Agents that provide services. Such payments are separate from any 12b-1 fees and/or shareholder services fees or other expenses paid by the fund, as applicable. Because those payments are not made by you or the fund, the fund’s total expense ratio will not be affected by any such payments. These additional payments may be made to Service Agents, including affiliates, that provide shareholder servicing, sub-administration, recordkeeping and/or sub-transfer agency services, marketing support and/or access to sales meetings, sales representatives and management representatives of the Service Agent. Cash compensation also may be paid from the Adviser’s or the Distributor’s own resources to Service Agents for inclusion of the fund on a sales list, including a preferred or select sales list or in other sales programs. From time to time, the Adviser or the Distributor also may provide cash or non-cash compensation to Service Agents in the form of: occasional gifts; occasional meals, tickets or other entertainment; support for due diligence trips; educational conference sponsorships; support for recognition programs; technology or infrastructure support; and other forms of cash or non-cash compensation permissible under broker-dealer regulations. In some cases, these payments or compensation may create an incentive for a Service

Agent to recommend or sell shares of the fund to you. In addition, except when not consistent with legal requirements, the Distributor may provide additional and differing compensation from its own assets to certain of its employees who promote the sale of select funds to certain Service Agents, who in turn may recommend such funds to their clients; in some cases, these payments may create an incentive for the employees of the Distributor to promote the fund for which the Distributor provides a higher level of compensation. This potential conflict of interest may be addressed by policies, procedures or practices that are adopted by the Service Agent. As there may be many different policies, procedures or practices adopted by different Service Agents to address the manner in which compensation is earned through the sale of investments or the provision of related services, the compensation rates and other payment arrangements that may apply to a Service Agent and its representatives may vary by Service Agent.

Please contact your financial intermediary, as a potential Service Agent, for details about any payments it may receive in connection with the sale of fund shares or the provision of services to the fund.

The Distributor also may act as a Service Agent. Any payment as well as other payments from the fund to the Distributor’s affiliates, such as the management fee payable to the Adviser, may create an incentive for the Distributor to recommend or sell shares of the fund. The Distributor and its representatives generally will be able to accept the applicable payments in exchange for serving as a Service Agent only to the extent consistent with applicable law and any related policies, procedures or practices adopted by the Distributor.

Transfer Agent and Custodian

The Transfer Agent, an affiliate of the Adviser, located at 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286, is the fund’s transfer and dividend disbursing agent. Pursuant to a transfer agency agreement with the fund, the Transfer Agent will arrange for the maintenance of a record of fund shares held by The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) and prepare and transmit by means of DTC’s book entry system, payments for dividends and distributions on or with respect to the shares declared by the Trust on behalf of the fund. For these services, the Transfer Agent receives a monthly fee from the Adviser, and is reimbursed for certain out-of-pocket expenses.

The Custodian, an affiliate of the Adviser, located at 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286, serves as custodian for the investments of the fund. The Custodian has no part in determining the investment policies of the fund or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the fund. Pursuant to a custody agreement applicable to the fund, the Custodian holds the fund’s securities and keeps all necessary accounts and records. For its custody services, the Custodian receives a monthly fee from the Adviser based on the market value of the fund’s assets held in custody and receives certain securities transaction charges.

Annual Anti-Money Laundering Program Review

The fund may engage an accounting firm (which may be the independent registered public accounting firm that audits certain of the fund's financial statements) to perform an annual independent review of the fund's anti-money laundering program.

Fund's Compliance Policies and Procedures

The fund has adopted compliance policies and procedures pursuant to Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act that cover, among other matters, certain compliance matters relevant to the management and operations of the fund.

Combined Prospectuses

The fund’s prospectus may be combined with the prospectus of one or more funds that are not governed by the same board as the fund. This practice of combining prospectuses is for the convenience of fund shareholders and prospective fund shareholders, so that they can review features of multiple funds simultaneously. However, the fund’s board is only responsible for the disclosure in the fund’s prospectus applicable to the fund, regardless of other disclosure that may be contained in a combined prospectus for the fund and one or more other funds.

Escheatment

Under certain circumstances, your financial intermediary account may be deemed “abandoned” or “unclaimed” under a state’s abandoned or unclaimed property laws. The financial intermediary then may be required to “escheat” or transfer the assets in your account, including fund shares, to the applicable state’s unclaimed property administration. Escheatment rules vary from state to state, but generally, your account could be escheated if:

there has been no account activity or contact initiated by you for the period of time specified by your state (usually three or five years) and/or
mail to the account address is returned as undeliverable by the United States Postal Service

In addition, no interest will accrue on uncashed dividends, capital gains or redemption checks, and such checks may be escheated. Please contact your financial intermediary for more information.

DETERMINATION OF NAV

Valuation of Portfolio Securities

The fund’s equity investments, such as option contracts and ETFs (but not including investments in other open-end registered investment companies), generally are valued at the last sale price on the day of valuation on the securities exchange or national securities market on which such securities primarily are traded. Securities listed on NASDAQ markets generally will be valued at the official closing price. If there are no transactions in a security, or no official closing prices for a NASDAQ market-listed security on that day, the security will be valued at the average of the most recent bid and asked prices. Bid price is used when no asked price is available. Open short positions for which there is no sale price on a given day are valued at the lowest asked price. Investments in other open-end investment companies are valued at their reported NAVs each day.

Substantially all of the fund’s debt securities and instruments generally will be valued, to the extent possible, by one or more independent pricing services (the “Service”). When, in the judgment of the Service, quoted bid prices for investments are readily available and are representative of the bid side of the market, these investments are valued at the quoted bid prices (as obtained by the Service from dealers in such securities). The value of other debt securities and instruments is determined by the Service based on methods which include consideration of: yields or prices of securities of comparable quality, coupon, maturity and type; indications as to values from dealers; and general market conditions. The Services are engaged under the general supervision of the board. Overnight and certain other short-term debt securities and instruments (excluding Treasury bills) will be valued by the amortized cost method, which approximates value, unless a Service provides a valuation for such security or, in the opinion of the board or a committee or other persons designated by the board, the amortized cost method would not represent fair value.

If the fund has to obtain prices as of the close of trading on various exchanges throughout the world, the calculation of the fund’s NAV may not take place contemporaneously with the determination of prices of certain of the fund’s portfolio securities. Foreign securities held by the fund may trade on days when the fund does not calculate its NAV and thus may affect the fund’s NAV on days when investors will not be able to purchase or sell (redeem) fund shares.

Generally, over-the-counter option contracts will be valued by the Service. Equity-linked instruments, such as contracts for difference, generally will be valued by the Service based on the value of the underlying reference asset(s). Futures contracts will be valued at the most recent settlement price. Restricted securities, as well as securities or other assets for which recent market quotations or official closing prices are not readily available or are determined not to reflect accurately fair value (such as when the value of a security has been materially affected by events occurring after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded (for example, a foreign exchange or market) but before the fund calculates its NAV), or which are not valued by the Service, are valued at fair value as determined in good faith based on procedures approved by the board. Fair value of investments may be determined by the board or the fund’s valuation committee using such information as it deems appropriate under the circumstances. The factors that may be considered when fair valuing a security include fundamental analytical data, the nature and duration of restrictions on disposition, an evaluation of the forces that influence the market in which the securities are purchased and sold, and public trading in similar securities of the issuer or comparable issuers. Using fair value to price investments may result in a value that is different from a security’s most recent closing price and from the prices used by other funds to calculate their NAVs.

Calculation of NAV

Except as otherwise described in the prospectus, NAV per share of the fund is determined on each day the Exchange is scheduled to be open for regular business, as of the scheduled close of regular session trading on the Exchange (normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time). For purposes of determining NAV, certain options and futures contracts may be valued 15 minutes after the scheduled close of trading on the floor of the Exchange. The NAV per share of the fund is computed by dividing the value of the fund’s net assets (i.e., the value of its assets less liabilities) by the total number of shares of the fund outstanding.

Fund expenses and fees, including management fees and fees pursuant to Plans (if applicable, and reduced by the fund’s expense limitation, if any), are accrued daily and taken into account for the purpose of determining the NAV of the fund’s shares.

Expense Allocations

Except as may be otherwise described in “Certain Expense Arrangements and Other Disclosures” in Part II of this SAI, all expenses incurred in the operation of the series of a fund company are borne by the fund company. Expenses attributable to a particular series of a fund company are charged against the assets of that series; other expenses of the fund company are allocated among the series on the basis determined by the board, including, but not limited to, proportionately in relation to the net assets of each series.

Exchange and Transfer Agent Closings

The holidays (as observed) on which both the Exchange and the Transfer Agent are closed currently are: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. In addition, the Exchange is closed on Good Friday.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS

The fund usually pays dividends, if any, from net investment income monthly. The amount of such dividends will vary from period to period.

Distributions of net realized capital gains (i.e. the excess of the fund’s net long-term capital gains over its net short-term capital losses), if any, generally are declared and paid once a year. The fund may make distributions on a more frequent basis to comply with the distribution requirements of the Code, in all events in a manner consistent with the provisions of the 1940 Act. The fund may not make distributions from net realized securities gains unless capital loss carryovers, if any, have been utilized or have expired.

Dividends and other distributions on shares are distributed on a pro rata basis to Beneficial Owners of such shares. Dividend payments are made through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants to Beneficial Owners then of record with proceeds received from the fund.

Broker-dealers or other financial intermediaries, at their own discretion, may offer a dividend reinvestment service under which shares are purchased in the secondary market at current market prices. Investors should consult their broker-dealer or other financial intermediary for further information regarding any dividend reinvestment service offered.

Any dividend or distribution paid shortly after an investor’s purchase of fund shares may have the effect of reducing the aggregate NAV of the shares below the cost of the investment (“buying a dividend”). Such a dividend or distribution would be a return of capital in an economic sense, although taxable as stated in the prospectus and this SAI. In addition, the Code provides that if a shareholder holds shares of the fund for six months or less and has (or is deemed to have) received a capital gain distribution with respect to such shares, any loss incurred on the sale of such shares will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of the capital gain distribution received or deemed to have been received. The Code further provides that if a shareholder holds shares of a municipal or other tax-exempt fund for six months or less and has received an exempt-interest dividend with respect to such shares, any loss incurred on the sale of such shares generally will be disallowed to the extent of the exempt-interest dividend received.

CERTAIN MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS

The following is a summary of certain federal income tax considerations generally affecting the fund and its shareholders that supplements the discussions in the prospectus. No attempt is made to present a comprehensive explanation of the federal, state, local or foreign tax treatment of the fund or its shareholders, and the discussion here and in the prospectus is not intended to be a substitute for careful tax planning. The summary is very general, and does not address investors subject to special rules, such as investors who hold shares through an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-advantaged account.

The following general discussion of certain federal income tax consequences is based on the Code and the regulations issued thereunder as in effect on the date of this SAI. New legislation, as well as administrative changes or court decisions, may significantly change the conclusions expressed herein, and may have a retroactive effect with respect to the transactions contemplated herein.

The following information should be read in conjunction with the section in the prospectus entitled “Additional Tax Information.”

Shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisers regarding the application of the provisions of tax law described in this SAI in light of the particular tax situations of the shareholders and regarding specific questions as to federal, state, or local taxes.

Taxation of the Fund. The fund is treated as a separate corporation for federal income tax purposes. The fund therefore is considered to be a separate entity in determining its treatment under the rules for RICs described herein and in the prospectus. Losses in one series of the Trust do not offset gains in any other series of the Trust and the requirements (other than certain organizational requirements) for qualifying for treatment as a RIC are determined at the fund level rather than at the Trust level. The fund has elected or will elect and intends to qualify each year to be treated as a separate RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. As such, the fund should not be subject to federal income tax on its net investment income and capital gains, if any, to the extent that it timely distributes such income and capital gains to its shareholders. In order to qualify for treatment as a RIC, the fund must distribute annually to its shareholders at least the sum of 90% of its taxable net investment income (including for this purpose, dividends, taxable interest, the excess of net short-term capital gains over net long-term capital losses, less operating expenses), computed without regard to the dividends-paid deduction, and 90% of its net tax-exempt interest income, if any (the “Distribution Requirement”) and also must meet several additional requirements. Among these requirements are the following: (i) at least 90% of the fund’s gross income each taxable year must be derived from dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including but not limited to gains from options, futures or forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies, and net income derived from interests in qualified publicly traded partnerships (the “Qualifying Income Requirement”); and (ii) at the end of each quarter of the fund’s taxable year, its assets must be diversified so that (a) at least 50% of the market value of its total assets must be represented by cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other RICs and other securities, with such other securities limited, in respect to any one issuer, to an amount not greater in value than 5% of the value of the fund’s total assets and to not more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (b) not more than 25% of the value of its total assets is invested, including through corporations in which the fund owns a 20% or more voting stock interest, in the securities (other than U.S. government securities or securities of other RICs) of any one issuer, the securities (other than securities of other RICs) of two or more issuers that it controls and that are engaged in the same, similar, or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships (the “Diversification Requirement”).

If the fund fails to satisfy the Qualifying Income Requirement or the Diversification Requirement in any taxable year, the fund may be eligible for relief provisions if the failures are due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect and if a penalty tax is paid with respect to each failure to satisfy the applicable requirements. Additionally, relief is provided for certain de minimis failures of the Diversification Requirement where the fund corrects the failure within a specified period of time. In order to be eligible for the relief provisions with respect to a failure to meet the Diversification Requirement, the fund may be required to dispose of certain assets. If these relief provisions were not available to the fund and it were to fail to qualify for treatment as a RIC for a taxable year, all of its taxable income would be subject to tax at the regular corporate rate (currently 21%) without any deduction for distributions to shareholders, and its distributions (including capital gains distributions) generally would be taxable as ordinary income dividends to its shareholders, subject to the dividends received deduction for corporate shareholders and the lower tax rates on qualified dividend income received by non-corporate shareholders. In addition, the fund could be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest, and make substantial distributions before requalifying as a RIC. If the fund determines that it will not qualify for treatment as a RIC, the fund will establish procedures to reflect the anticipated tax liability in the fund’s NAV. To requalify for treatment as a RIC in a subsequent taxable year, the fund would be required to satisfy the RIC qualification requirements for that year and to distribute any earnings and profits from any year in which the fund failed to qualify for tax treatment as a RIC. If the fund failed to qualify as a RIC for a period greater than two taxable years, it would generally be required to pay a fund-level tax on certain net built-in

gains recognized with respect to certain of its assets upon a disposition of such assets within five years of qualifying as a RIC in a subsequent year. The Board reserves the right not to maintain the qualification of the fund for treatment as a RIC if it determines such course of action to be beneficial to shareholders.

As discussed more fully below, the fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and its capital gains for each taxable year.

Although the fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and may distribute its capital gains for any taxable year, if the fund meets the Distribution Requirement but retains some or all of its income or gains, it will be subject to federal income tax to the extent any such income or gains are not distributed. The fund may designate certain amounts retained as undistributed net capital gain in a notice to its shareholders, who (i) will be required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gain, their proportionate shares of the undistributed amount so designated, (ii) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the income tax paid by the fund on that undistributed amount against their federal income tax liabilities and to claim refunds to the extent such credits exceed their liabilities and (iii) will be entitled to increase their tax basis, for federal income tax purposes, in their shares by an amount equal to the excess of the amount of undistributed net capital gain included in their respective income over their respective income tax credits. If the fund failed to satisfy the Distribution Requirement for any taxable year, it would be taxed as a regular corporation, with consequences generally similar to those described in the second paragraph of this section “Taxation of the Funds.”

The fund will be subject to a 4% excise tax on certain undistributed income if it does not distribute to its shareholders in each calendar year an amount at least equal to 98% of its ordinary income for the calendar year plus 98.2% of its capital gain net income for the twelve months ended October 31 of such year, subject to an increase for any shortfall in the prior year’s distribution. For this purpose, any ordinary income or capital gain net income retained by the fund and subject to corporate income tax will be considered to have been distributed. The fund intends to declare and distribute dividends and distributions in the amounts and at the times necessary to avoid the application of this 4% excise tax, but can make no assurances that such tax liability will be entirely eliminated. The fund may in certain circumstances be required to liquidate fund investments in order to make sufficient distributions to avoid federal excise tax liability at a time when the investment adviser might not otherwise have chosen to do so, and liquidation of investments in such circumstances may affect the ability of the fund to satisfy the requirement for qualification as a RIC.

The fund may elect to treat part or all of any “qualified late year loss” as if it had been incurred in the succeeding taxable year in determining the fund’s taxable income, net capital gain, net short-term capital gain, and earnings and profits. The effect of this election is to treat any such “qualified late year loss” as if it had been incurred in the succeeding taxable year in characterizing fund distributions for any calendar year. A “qualified late year loss” generally includes net capital loss, net long-term capital loss, or net short-term capital loss incurred after October 31 of the current taxable year (commonly referred to as “post-October losses”) and certain other late-year losses.

Capital losses in excess of capital gains (“net capital losses”) are not permitted to be deducted against a RIC’s net investment income. Instead, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, potentially subject to certain limitations, the fund may carry a net capital loss from any taxable year forward to offset its capital gains in future years. The fund is permitted to carry forward a net capital loss to offset its capital gains, if any, in years following the year of the loss. The fund is permitted to carryforward indefinitely a net capital loss. To the extent subsequent capital gains are offset by such losses, they will not result in U.S. federal income tax liability to the fund and may not be distributed as capital gains to its shareholders. Generally, the fund may not carry forward any losses other than net capital losses. Moreover, the carryover of capital losses may be limited under the general loss limitation rules if the fund experiences an ownership change as defined in the Code.

Taxation of Shareholders - Distributions. The fund receives income generally in the form of dividends and interest on investments. This income, plus net short-term capital gains, if any, less expenses incurred in the operation of the fund, constitutes the fund’s net investment income. The fund intends to distribute annually to its shareholders substantially all of its investment company taxable income (computed without regard to the deduction for dividends paid), its net tax-exempt income, if any, and any net capital gain (net recognized long-term capital gains in excess of net recognized short-term capital losses, taking into account any capital loss carryforwards). The fund will report to shareholders annually the amounts of dividends paid from ordinary income, the amount of distributions of net capital gain, the portion of dividends which may qualify for the dividends-received deduction, the portion of dividends which may qualify for treatment as qualified dividend income, and the amount of exempt-interest dividends, if any.

Subject to certain limitations, dividends reported by the fund as qualified dividend income will be taxable to non-corporate shareholders at rates of up to 20%. Dividends may be reported by the fund as qualified dividend income if they are attributable to qualified dividend income received by the fund. Qualified dividend income includes, in general, subject to certain holding period requirements and other requirements, dividend income from certain U.S. and foreign corporations. Subject to certain limitations, eligible foreign corporations include those incorporated in possessions of the United States, those incorporated in certain countries with comprehensive tax treaties with the United States and other foreign corporations if the stock with respect to which the dividends are paid is tradable on an established securities market in the United States. A dividend generally will not be treated as qualified dividend income to the extent that (i) the shareholder has not held the stock on which the dividend was paid for more than 60 days during the 121-day period that begins on the date that is 60 days before the date on which the stock becomes ex-dividend (which is the day on which declared distributions (dividends or capital gains) are deducted from the fund’s assets before it calculates the NAV) with respect to such dividend or, in the case of certain preferred stock, for more than 90 days during the 181-day period beginning 90 days before such date, (ii) the shareholder is under an obligation (whether pursuant to a short sale or otherwise) to make related payments with respect to substantially similar or related property, (iii) the fund has not satisfied similar holding period requirements with respect to the securities it holds that paid the dividends distributed to the shareholder, or (iv) the shareholder elects to treat such dividend as investment income under section 163(d)(4)(B) of the Code. The holding period requirements described in this paragraph apply to shareholders’ investments in the fund and to the fund’s investments in underlying dividend-paying stocks. Dividends treated as received by the fund from an ETF, an underlying fund taxable as a RIC, or from a REIT may be treated as qualified dividend income generally only to the extent the dividend distributions are attributable to qualified dividend income received by such ETF, underlying fund, or REIT. However, certain of the fund’s investment strategies may significantly limit their to distribute dividends eligible to be treated as qualified divided income. It is expected that dividends received by a fund from a REIT and distributed from that fund to a shareholder generally will be taxable to the shareholder as ordinary income. A fund’s participation in the lending of securities may affect the amount, timing, and character of distributions to its shareholders. If a fund participates in a securities lending transaction and receives a payment in lieu of dividends (a “substitute payment”) with respect to securities on loan in a securities lending transaction, such income generally will not constitute qualified dividend income and thus dividends attributable to such income will not be eligible for taxation at the rates applicable to qualified dividend income for individual shareholders and will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction for corporate shareholders. If 95% or more of a fund’s gross income (calculated without taking into account net capital gain derived from sales or other dispositions of stock or securities) consists of qualified dividend income, that fund may report all distributions of such income as qualified dividend income.

Certain dividends received by a fund from U.S. corporations (generally, dividends received by a fund in respect of any share of stock (1) with a tax holding period of at least 46 days during the 91-day period beginning on the date that is 45 days before the date on which the stock becomes ex-dividend as to that dividend and (2) that is held in an unleveraged position) when distributed and appropriately so reported by the fund may be eligible for the 50% dividends received deduction generally available to corporations under the Code. Dividends received by a fund from REITs will not be eligible for that deduction. In order

to qualify for the deduction, corporate shareholders must meet the minimum holding period requirement stated above with respect to their shares, taking into account any holding period reductions from certain hedging or other transactions or positions that diminish their risk of loss with respect to their shares, and, if they borrow to acquire or otherwise incur debt attributable to shares, they may be denied a portion of the dividends-received deduction with respect to those shares. Any corporate shareholder should consult its tax advisor regarding the possibility that its tax basis in its shares may be reduced, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, by reason of “extraordinary dividends” received with respect to the shares and, to the extent such basis would be reduced below zero, current recognition of income may be required. Certain of the fund’s investment strategies may significantly limit their ability to distribute dividends eligible to for the dividends received deduction.

Distributions from the fund’s net short-term capital gains will generally be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income. Distributions from the fund’s net capital gain will be taxable to shareholders at long-term capital gains rates, regardless of how long shareholders have held their shares. Long-term capital gains are generally taxed to noncorporate shareholders at rates of up to 20%.

Although dividends generally will be treated as distributed when paid, any dividend declared by the fund in October, November or December and payable to shareholders of record in such a month that is paid during the following January will be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as received by shareholders on December 31 of the calendar year in which it was declared. A taxable shareholder may wish to avoid investing in the fund shortly before a dividend or other distribution, because the distribution will generally be taxable even though it may economically represent a return of a portion of the shareholder’s investment.

If the fund’s distributions exceed its current and accumulated earnings and profits, all or a portion of the distributions made in the taxable year may be treated as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution generally will not be taxable but will reduce the shareholder’s cost basis and result in a higher capital gain or lower capital loss when the shares on which the distribution was received are sold. After a shareholder’s basis in the shares has been reduced to zero, distributions in excess of earnings and profits will be treated as gain from the sale of the shareholder’s shares.

Distributions that are reinvested in additional shares of the fund through the means of a dividend reinvestment service, if offered by your broker-dealer, will nevertheless be taxable dividends to the same extent as if such dividends had been received in cash.

A 3.8% tax generally applies to all or a portion of the net investment income of a shareholder who is an individual and not a nonresident alien for federal income tax purposes and who has adjusted gross income (subject to certain adjustments) that exceeds a threshold amount ($250,000 if married filing jointly or if considered a “surviving spouse” for federal income tax purposes, $125,000 if married filing separately, and $200,000 in other cases). This 3.8% tax also applies to all or a portion of the undistributed net investment income of certain shareholders that are estates and trusts. For these purposes, interest, dividends and certain capital gains (generally including capital gain distributions and capital gains realized on the sale of shares) are generally taken into account in computing a shareholder’s net investment income, but exempt-interest dividends generally are not taken into account.

The fund’s shareholders will be notified annually by financial intermediaries, such as brokers, through which a shareholder holds fund shares as to the federal tax status of all distributions made by the fund. Shareholders who have not held the fund’s shares for a full year should be aware that the fund may report and distribute to a shareholder, as ordinary dividends or capital gain dividends, a percentage of income that is not equal to the percentage of the fund’s ordinary income or net capital gain, respectively, actually earned during the shareholder’s period of investment in the fund. Distributions of ordinary income and capital gains may also be subject to foreign, state and local taxes depending on a shareholder’s circumstances.

Taxation of Shareholders – Sale of Shares. In general, a sale of shares results in capital gain or loss, and for individual shareholders, is taxable at a federal rate dependent upon the length of time the shares were held. A sale of shares held for a period of one year or less at the time of such sale will, for tax purposes, generally result in short-term capital gains or losses, and a sale of those held for more than one year will generally result in long-term capital gains or losses. Long-term capital gains are generally taxed to non-corporate shareholders at rates of up to 20%.

Gain or loss on the sale of shares is measured by the difference between the amount received and the adjusted tax basis of the shares. Shareholders should keep records of investments made (including shares acquired through reinvestment of dividends and distributions) so they can compute the tax basis of their shares.

A loss realized on a sale of shares may be disallowed if substantially identical shares are acquired (whether through the reinvestment of dividends or otherwise) within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the date that the shares are disposed of. In such a case, the basis of the shares acquired must be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss. Any loss upon the sale of shares held for six months or less will be disallowed to the extent of exempt-interest dividends paid on such shares, and any amount of the loss that exceeds the amount disallowed will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of any amounts treated as distributions to the shareholder of long-term capital gain (including any amounts credited to the shareholder as undistributed capital gains).

Cost Basis Reporting. The cost basis of shares acquired by purchase will generally be based on the amount paid for the shares and then may be subsequently adjusted for other applicable transactions as required by the Code. The difference between the selling price and the cost basis of shares generally determines the amount of the capital gain or loss realized on the sale or exchange of shares. Contact the broker through whom you purchased your shares to obtain information with respect to the available cost basis reporting methods and elections for your account.

Taxation of Fund Investments. Dividends and interest received by the fund on foreign securities may give rise to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries. Any such taxes would, if imposed, reduce the yield on or return from those investments. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes. If the fund meets certain requirements, which include a requirement that more than 50% of the value of the fund’s total assets at the close of its respective taxable year consist of certain foreign securities (generally including foreign government securities), then the fund should be eligible to file an election with the IRS that may enable its shareholders, in effect, to receive either the benefit of a foreign tax credit, or a tax deduction, with respect to certain foreign and U.S. possessions income taxes paid by the fund, subject to certain limitations. If at least 50% of the fund’s total assets at the close of each quarter of a taxable year consists of interests in other RICs (including money market funds and ETFs that are taxable as RICs), the fund may make the same election and pass through to its shareholders their pro rata shares of qualified foreign taxes paid by those other RICs and passed through to the fund for that taxable year. Pursuant to this election, the fund would treat the applicable foreign taxes as dividends paid to its shareholders. Each such shareholder would be required to include a proportionate share of those taxes in gross income as income received from a foreign source and must treat the amount so included as if the shareholder had paid the foreign tax directly. The shareholder may then either deduct the taxes deemed paid by him or her in computing his or her taxable income or, alternatively, use the foregoing information in calculating any foreign tax credit the shareholder may be entitled to use against such shareholder’s federal income tax. If the fund makes this election, the fund will report annually to its shareholders the respective amounts per share of the fund’s income from sources within, and taxes paid to, foreign countries and U.S. possessions. No deduction for such taxes will be permitted to individuals in computing their AMT liability. If the fund does not make this election, the fund will be entitled to claim a deduction for certain foreign taxes incurred by the fund. In certain instances, the fund might not elect to apply otherwise allowable U.S. federal income tax deductions for those foreign taxes, whether or not credits or deductions for those foreign taxes could be passed through to its shareholders pursuant to the

election described above. If the fund does not elect to apply these deductions, taxable distributions you receive from the fund may be larger than they would have been if the fund had taken deductions for such taxes. Under certain circumstances, if the fund receives a refund of foreign taxes paid in respect of a prior year, the value of shares could be reduced or any foreign tax credits or deductions passed through to shareholders in respect of the fund’s foreign taxes for the current year could be reduced.

Certain of the fund’s investments may be subject to complex provisions of the Code (including provisions relating to hedging transactions, straddles, integrated transactions, foreign currency contracts, forward foreign currency contracts, and notional principal contracts) that, among other things, may affect the fund’s ability to qualify as a RIC, affect the character of gains and losses realized by the fund (e.g., may affect whether gains or losses are ordinary or capital), accelerate recognition of income to the fund and defer losses. These rules could therefore affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to shareholders. These provisions also may require the fund to annually mark-to-market certain types of positions in its portfolio (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out) which may cause the fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to make distributions to its shareholders in amounts necessary to satisfy the RIC distribution requirements for avoiding income and excise taxes. The fund intends to monitor its transactions, make appropriate tax elections, and make appropriate entries in its books and records in order to mitigate the effect of these rules and preserve the fund’s qualification for treatment as RICs.

Certain investments made by the fund may be treated as equity in passive foreign investment companies (“PFICs”) for federal income tax purposes. In general, a PFIC is a foreign corporation (i) that receives at least 75% of its annual gross income from passive sources (such as interest, dividends, certain rents and royalties, or capital gains) or (ii) where at least 50% of its assets (computed based on average fair market value) either produce or are held for the production of passive income. If the fund acquires any equity interest (under Treasury regulations that may be promulgated in the future, generally including not only stock but also an option to acquire stock such as is inherent in a convertible bond) in a PFIC, the fund could be subject to U.S. federal income tax and nondeductible interest charges on “excess distributions” received from such companies or on gain from the sale of stock in such companies, even if all income or gain actually received by the fund is timely distributed to its shareholders. The fund would not be able to pass through to its shareholders any credit or deduction for such a tax. A “qualified electing fund” election or a “mark to market” election may be available that would ameliorate these adverse tax consequences, but such elections could require the applicable fund to recognize taxable income or gain (subject to the distribution requirements applicable to RICs, as described above) without the concurrent receipt of cash. In order to satisfy the distribution requirements and avoid a tax at the fund level, the fund may be required to liquidate portfolio securities that it might otherwise have continued to hold, potentially resulting in additional taxable gain or loss to the fund. Gains from the sale of stock of PFICs may also be treated as ordinary income. Amounts included in income each year by the fund arising from a qualified electing fund election, will be “qualifying income” under the Qualifying Income Requirement even if not distributed to the fund, if the fund derives such income from its business of investing in stock, securities or currencies. The fund intends to make the appropriate tax elections, if possible, and take any additional steps that are necessary to mitigate the effect of these rules. In order for the fund to make a qualified electing fund election with respect to a PFIC, the PFIC would have to agree to provide certain tax information to the fund on an annual basis, which it might not agree to do. The funds may limit and/or manage their holdings in PFICs to limit their tax liability or maximize their returns from these investments.

If a sufficient portion of the interests in a foreign issuer are held or deemed held by the fund, independently or together with certain other U.S. persons, that issuer may be treated as a controlled foreign corporation (a “CFC”) with respect to the fund, in which case the fund will be required to take into account each year, as ordinary income, its share of certain portions of that issuer’s income, whether or not such amounts are distributed. The fund may have to dispose of its portfolio securities (potentially resulting in the recognition of taxable gain or loss, and potentially under disadvantageous circumstances) to generate cash, or may have to borrow the cash, to meet its distribution requirements and avoid fund-level taxes. In addition, some fund gains on the disposition of interests in such an issuer may be treated as ordinary income. The fund may

limit and/or manage its holdings in issuers that could be treated as CFCs in order to limit its tax liability or maximize its after-tax return from these investments.

The fund is required for federal income tax purposes to mark-to-market and recognize as income for each taxable year its net unrealized gains and losses on certain futures and options contracts subject to section 1256 of the Code (“Section 1256 Contracts”) as of the end of the year as well as those actually realized during the year. Gain or loss from Section 1256 Contracts on broad-based indexes required to be marked to market will be 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital gain or loss. Application of this rule may alter the timing and character of distributions to shareholders. The fund may be required to defer the recognition of losses on Section 1256 Contracts to the extent of any unrecognized gains on offsetting positions held by the fund. It is anticipated that certain net gain realized from the closing out of futures or options contracts will be considered gain from the sale of securities and therefore will be qualifying income for purposes of the Qualifying Income Requirement.

With respect to investments by the fund in zero coupon or other discount securities which are sold at original issue discount (“OID”) each year that the securities are held, the fund will be required to include as part of its current income the imputed interest on such obligations even though the fund may receive no cash interest payments or may receive cash interest payments that are less than the income recognized for tax purposes during that period. In other circumstances, whether pursuant to the terms of a security or as a result of other factors outside the control of the fund, the fund may recognize income without receiving a commensurate amount of cash. Such income is included in determining the amount of income that the fund must distribute to maintain its eligibility for treatment as a RIC and to avoid the payment of federal income tax, including the nondeductible 4% excise tax described above. Because the fund intends to distribute all of its net investment income to its shareholders, the fund may have to sell fund securities to distribute such imputed income which may occur at a time when the Adviser would not have chosen to sell such securities and which may result in taxable gain or loss.

Any market discount recognized on a market discount bond is taxable as ordinary income. A market discount bond is a bond acquired in the secondary market at a price below redemption value, or below adjusted issue price if issued with OID. Absent an election by the fund to include the market discount in income as it accrues, gain on the fund’s disposition of such an obligation will be treated as ordinary income rather than capital gain to the extent of the accrued market discount. If the fund purchases a municipal security at a market discount, any gain realized by such fund upon sale or redemption of the municipal security will be treated as taxable interest income to the extent of the market discount, and any gain realized in excess of the market discount will be treated as capital gains. Where the income required to be recognized as a result of the OID and/or market discount rules is not matched by a corresponding cash receipt by the fund, the fund may be required to borrow money or dispose of securities to enable the fund to make distributions to its shareholders in order to qualify for treatment as a RIC and eliminate taxes at the fund level.

Special rules apply if the fund holds inflation-indexed bonds, such as TIPS. Generally, all stated interest on inflation-indexed bonds is taken into account in income of the fund under its regular method of accounting for interest income. The amount of any positive inflation adjustment for a taxable year, which results from an increase in the inflation-adjusted principal amount of the bond, is treated as OID. The amount of the fund’s OID in a taxable year with respect to a bond will increase the fund’s taxable income for such year without a corresponding receipt of cash, until the bond matures. As a result, the fund may need to use other sources of cash to satisfy its distribution requirements for the applicable year. The amount of any negative inflation adjustments, which result from a decrease in the inflation-adjusted principal amount of the bond, first reduces the amount of interest (including stated interest, OID, and market discount, if any) otherwise includable in the fund’s taxable income with respect to the bond for the taxable year; any remaining negative adjustments will be either treated as ordinary loss or, in certain circumstances, carried forward to reduce the amount of interest income taken into account with respect to the bond in future taxable years.

Foreign Taxes. Dividends and interest received by the fund on foreign securities may give rise to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries. Any such taxes would, if imposed, reduce the yield on or return from those investments. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes.

If the fund meets certain requirements, which include a requirement that more than 50% of the value of the fund’s total assets at the close of its respective taxable year consist of certain foreign securities (generally including foreign government securities), then the fund should be eligible to file an election with the IRS that may enable its shareholders, in effect, to receive either the benefit of a foreign tax credit, or a tax deduction, with respect to certain foreign and U.S. possessions income taxes paid by the fund, subject to certain limitations.

Pursuant to this election, the fund would treat the applicable foreign taxes as dividends paid to its shareholders. Each such shareholder would be required to include a proportionate share of those taxes in gross income as income received from a foreign source and must treat the amount so included as if the shareholder had paid the foreign tax directly. The shareholder may then either deduct the taxes deemed paid by him or her in computing his or her taxable income or, alternatively, use the foregoing information in calculating any foreign tax credit the shareholder may be entitled to use against such shareholder’s federal income tax. If the fund makes this election, the fund will report annually the respective amounts per share of the fund’s income from sources within, and taxes paid to, foreign countries and U.S. possessions. No deduction for such taxes will be permitted to individuals in computing their alternative minimum tax liability. If the fund does not make this election, the fund will be entitled to claim a deduction for certain foreign taxes incurred by the fund. In certain instances, the fund might not elect to apply otherwise allowable U.S. federal income tax deductions for those foreign taxes, whether or not credits or deductions for those foreign taxes could be passed through to its shareholders pursuant to the election described above. If the fund does not elect to apply these deductions, taxable distributions you receive from the fund may be larger than they would have been if the fund had taken deductions for such taxes. Under certain circumstances, if the fund receives a refund of foreign taxes paid in respect of a prior year, the value of shares could be reduced or any foreign tax credits or deductions passed through to shareholders in respect of the fund’s foreign taxes for the current year could be reduced.

Tax-Exempt Shareholders. Certain tax-exempt shareholders, including qualified pension plans, IRAs, salary deferral arrangements, 401(k) plans, and other tax-exempt entities, generally are exempt from federal income taxation except with respect to their unrelated business taxable income (“UBTI”). Under current law, the fund generally serves to block UBTI from being realized by its tax-exempt shareholders. However, notwithstanding the foregoing, tax-exempt shareholders could realize UBTI by virtue of their investment in the fund where, for example, (i) the fund invests in REITs that hold residual interests in REMICs, (ii) the fund invests in a REIT that is a taxable mortgage pool (“TMP”) or has a subsidiary that is a TMP or that invests in the residual interest of a REMIC, or (iii) shares constitute debt-financed property in the hands of the tax-exempt shareholders within the meaning of section 514(b) of the Code. Charitable remainder trusts are subject to special rules and should consult their tax advisors. There are no restrictions preventing the fund from holding investments in REITs that hold residual interests in REMICs, and the fund may do so. The IRS has issued guidance with respect to these issues and prospective shareholders, especially charitable remainder trusts, are strongly encouraged to consult with their tax advisors regarding these issues.

Certain tax-exempt educational institutions will be subject to a 1.4% tax on net investment income. For these purposes, certain dividends and capital gain distributions, and certain gains from the disposition of shares (among other categories of income), are generally taken into account in computing a shareholder’s net investment income.

Foreign Shareholders. Dividends, other than capital gains dividends and exempt-interest dividends, “short-term capital gain dividends” and “interest-related dividends” (described below), paid by the fund to shareholders who are nonresident aliens or foreign entities will generally be subject to a 30% United States

withholding tax unless a reduced rate of withholding or a withholding exemption is provided under applicable treaty law to the extent derived from investment income and short-term capital gain or unless such income is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business carried on through a permanent establishment in the United States. Any foreign shareholders in the fund may be subject to U.S. withholding and estate tax and such shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisors concerning the applicability of such taxes and the proper withholding form(s) to be submitted to the fund. A foreign shareholder who fails to provide an appropriate series of IRS Form W-8 may be subject to backup withholding (discussed below) at the appropriate rate.

Dividends reported by the fund as (i) interest-related dividends, to the extent such dividends are derived from the fund’s “qualified net interest income,” or (ii) short-term capital gain dividends, to the extent such dividends are derived from the fund’s “qualified short-term gain,” are generally exempt from this 30% withholding tax. “Qualified net interest income” is the fund’s net income derived from U.S.-source interest and OID, subject to certain exceptions and limitations. “Qualified short-term gain” generally means the excess of the fund’s net short-term capital gain for the taxable year over its net long-term capital loss, if any. In the case of shares held through an intermediary, the intermediary may withhold even if the fund reports the payment as an interest-related dividend or as a short-term capital gain dividend. Short-term capital gain dividends received by a nonresident alien individual who is present in the United States for a period of periods aggregating 183 days or more during the taxable year are not exempt from the 30% withholding tax. Gains realized by foreign shareholders from the sale or other disposition of shares of the fund generally are not subject to U.S. taxation, unless the recipient is an individual who is physically present in the U.S. for 183 days or more per year. Foreign shareholders should contact their intermediaries with respect to the application of these rules to their accounts.

Unless certain foreign entities that hold shares comply with IRS requirements that will generally require them to report information regarding U.S. persons investing in, or holding accounts with, such entities, a 30% withholding tax may apply to fund distributions (other than exempt-interest dividends) payable to such entities. A foreign shareholder may be exempt from the withholding described in this paragraph under an applicable intergovernmental agreement between the U.S. and a foreign government, provided that the shareholder and the applicable foreign government comply with the terms of such agreement.

Foreign persons are subject to U.S. tax on disposition of a “United States real property interest” (a “USRPI”). Gain on such a disposition is sometimes referred to as “FIRPTA gain.” The Code provides a look-through rule for distributions of “FIRPTA gain” if certain requirements are met. If the look-through rule applies, certain distributions attributable to income treated as received by the fund from REITs may be treated as gain from the disposition of a USRPI, causing distributions to be subject to U.S. withholding tax at rates of up to 37% for non-corporate shareholders and 21% for corporate shareholders, and requiring foreign shareholders to file U.S. income tax returns. Also, FIRPTA gain may be subject to a 30% branch profits tax in the hands of a foreign shareholder that is treated as a corporation for federal income tax purposes. Under certain circumstances, the fund’s shares may qualify as USRPIs, which could result in 15% withholding on certain distributions and gross redemption proceeds paid to certain foreign investors.

Backup Withholding. The fund will be required in certain cases to withhold (as “backup withholding”) on amounts (including exempt-interest dividends) payable to any shareholder who (1) has provided the fund either an incorrect tax identification number or no number at all, (2) is subject to backup withholding by the IRS for failure to properly report payments of interest or dividends, (3) has failed to certify to the fund that such shareholder is not subject to backup withholding, or (4) has not certified that such shareholder is a U.S. person (including a U.S. resident alien). The backup withholding rate is currently 24%. Backup withholding will not be applied to payments that have been subject to the 30% withholding tax on shareholders who are neither citizens nor permanent residents of the U.S.

Creation Units. An Authorized Participant who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the

Creation Units at the time and the sum of the exchanger’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered plus the amount of cash paid for such Creation Units. A person who redeems Creation Units will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanger’s basis in the Creation Units and the sum of the aggregate market value of any securities received plus the amount of any cash received for such Creation Units. The IRS, however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales” (for an Authorized Participant that does not mark-to-market its holdings) or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position.

Any gain or loss realized upon a creation of Creation Units will be treated as capital gain or loss if the Authorized Participant holds the securities exchanged therefor as capital assets, and otherwise will be ordinary income or loss. Similarly, any gain or loss realized upon a redemption of Creation Units will be treated as capital gain or loss if the Authorized Participant holds the shares comprising the Creation Units as capital assets, and otherwise will be ordinary income or loss. Any capital gain or loss realized upon the creation of Creation Units will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the securities exchanged for such Creation Units have been held for more than one year, and otherwise will be short-term capital gain or loss. Any capital gain or loss realized upon the redemption of Creation Units will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the shares comprising the Creation Units have been held for more than one year, and otherwise, will generally be short-term capital gain or loss. Any capital loss realized upon a redemption of Creation Units held for six months or less will be disallowed to the extent of exempt-interest dividends paid with respect to the Creation Units, and to the extent not disallowed will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any amounts treated as distributions to the applicable Authorized Participant of long-term capital gains with respect to the Creation Units (including any amounts credited to the Authorized Participant as undistributed capital gains).

The fund has the right to reject an order for Creation Units if the purchaser (or a group of purchasers) would, upon obtaining the shares so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding shares of the fund and if, pursuant to section 351 of the Code, the fund would have a basis in any deposit securities different from the market value of such securities on the date of deposit. The fund also has the right to require information necessary to determine beneficial share ownership for purposes of the 80% determination. If the fund does issue Creation Units to a purchaser (or a group of purchasers) that would, upon obtaining the shares so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding shares of the fund, the purchaser (or a group of purchasers) may not recognize gain or loss upon the exchange of securities for Creation Units.

Persons purchasing or redeeming Creation Units should consult their own tax advisors with respect to the tax treatment of any creation or redemption transaction.

Certain Potential Tax Reporting Requirements. Under promulgated Treasury regulations, if a shareholder recognizes a loss on disposition of the fund’s shares of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder (or certain greater amounts over a combination of years), the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on IRS Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a RIC are not excepted. A shareholder who fails to make the required disclosure to the IRS may be subject to adverse tax consequences, including significant penalties. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.

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

on the date hereof. Changes in applicable authority could materially affect the conclusions discussed above, and such changes often occur.

State Tax Matters. The discussion of state and local tax treatment is based on the assumptions that the fund will qualify for treatment under Subchapter M of the Code as RICs, that it will satisfy the conditions which will cause distributions to qualify as exempt-interest dividends to shareholders when distributed as intended, and that the fund will distribute all interest and dividends it receives to its shareholders. The tax discussion summarizes general state and local tax laws which are currently in effect and which are subject to change by legislative, judicial or administrative action; any such changes may be retroactive with respect to the applicable fund’s transactions. Investors should consult a tax advisor for more detailed information about state and local taxes to which they may be subject.

Many states grant tax-free status to dividends paid to you from interest earned on direct obligations of the U.S. government, subject in some states to minimum investment requirements that must be met by the fund. Investment in Ginnie Maes or Fannie Maes, banker’s acceptances, commercial paper, and repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. government securities do not generally qualify for such tax-free treatment. The rules on exclusion of this income are different for corporate shareholders. It is expected that the fund will not be liable for any corporate excise, income or franchise tax in Massachusetts if such fund qualifies as a RIC for federal income tax purposes.

PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS

The Adviser assumes general supervision over the placement of securities purchase and sale orders on behalf of the fund. The fund employs a Sub-Adviser.^[2] The fund uses the research facilities, and is subject to the internal policies and procedures, of the Sub-Adviser and executes portfolio transactions through the trading desk of the Sub-Adviser (collectively the “Trading Desk”).

Trading the Fund's Portfolio Securities

Debt securities purchased and sold by the fund generally are traded on a net basis (i.e., without a commission) through dealers acting for their own account and not as brokers, or otherwise involve transactions directly with the issuer of the instrument. This means that a dealer makes a market for securities by offering to buy at one price and sell at a slightly higher price. The difference between the prices is known as a “spread.” Other portfolio transactions may be executed through brokers acting as agents, which are typically paid a commission.

The Trading Desk generally has the authority to select brokers (for equity securities) or dealers (for fixed-income securities) and the commission rates or spreads to be paid. Allocation of brokerage transactions is made in the best judgment of the Trading Desk and in a manner deemed fair and reasonable. In choosing brokers or dealers, the Trading Desk evaluates the ability of the broker or dealer to execute the transaction at the best combination of price and quality of execution.

In general, brokers or dealers involved in the execution of portfolio transactions on behalf of the fund are selected on the basis of their professional capability and the value and quality of their services. The

Trading Desk seeks to obtain best execution by choosing brokers or dealers to execute transactions based on a variety of factors, which may include, but are not limited to, the following: (i) price; (ii) liquidity; (iii) the nature and character of the relevant market for the security to be purchased or sold; (iv) the quality and efficiency of the broker’s or dealer’s execution; (v) the broker’s or dealer’s willingness to commit capital; (vi) the reliability of the broker or dealer in trade settlement and clearance; (vii) the level of counterparty risk (i.e., the broker’s or dealer’s financial condition); (viii) the commission rate or the spread; (ix) the value of research provided; (x) the availability of electronic trade entry and reporting links; and (xi) the size and type of order (e.g., foreign or domestic security, large block, illiquid security). In selecting brokers or dealers no factor is necessarily determinative; however, at various times and for various reasons, certain factors will be more important than others in determining which broker or dealer to use. Seeking to obtain best execution for all trades takes precedence over all other considerations.

Investment decisions for one fund or account are made independently from those for other funds or accounts managed by the portfolio managers. Under the Trading Desk’s procedures, portfolio managers and their corresponding Trading Desks may, but are not required to, seek to aggregate (or “bunch”) orders that are placed or received concurrently for more than one fund or account, and available investments or opportunities for sales will be allocated equitably to each. In some cases, this policy may adversely affect the size of the position obtained or sold or the price paid or received by the fund. When transactions are aggregated, but it is not possible to receive the same price or execution on the entire volume of securities purchased or sold, the various prices may be averaged, and the fund will be charged or credited with the average price.

The portfolio managers will make investment decisions for the fund as they believe are in the best interests of the fund. Investment decisions made for the fund may differ from, and may conflict with, investment decisions made for other funds and accounts advised by the Adviser and its Affiliated Entities or a Sub-Adviser. Actions taken with respect to such other funds or accounts may adversely impact the fund, and actions taken by the fund may benefit the Adviser or its Affiliated Entities or a Sub-Adviser or other funds or accounts advised by the Adviser or an Affiliated Entity or Sub-Adviser. Funds and accounts managed by the Adviser, an Affiliated Entity or a Sub-Adviser may own significant positions in an issuer of securities which, depending on market conditions, may affect adversely the ability to dispose of some or all of such positions. Regulatory restrictions (including, but not limited to, those related to the aggregation of positions among other funds and accounts or those restricting trading while in possession of material non-public information, such as may be deemed to be received by the fund’s portfolio manager by virtue of the portfolio manager’s position or other relationship with the fund’s portfolio company) and internal BNY Mellon policies, guidance or limitations (including, but not limited to, those related to the aggregation of positions among all fiduciary accounts managed or advised by BNY Mellon and all its affiliates (including the Adviser and its Affiliated Entities) and the aggregate exposure of such accounts) may restrict investment activities of the fund. While the allocation of investment opportunities among the fund and other funds and accounts advised by the Adviser and its Affiliated Entities may raise potential conflicts because of financial, investment or other interests of BNY Mellon or its personnel (or, with respect to a fund advised by a Sub-Adviser, the Sub-Adviser and its affiliates), the portfolio managers will make allocation decisions consistent with the interests of the fund and other funds and accounts and not solely based on such other interests.

Portfolio managers may deem it appropriate for one fund or account they manage to sell a security while another fund or account they manage is purchasing the same security. Under such circumstances, the portfolio managers may arrange to have the purchase and sale transactions effected directly between the funds and/or accounts (“cross transactions”). Cross transactions will be effected in accordance with procedures adopted pursuant to Rule 17a-7 under the 1940 Act.

The Adviser, an Affiliated Entity or a Sub-Adviser may buy for the fund securities of issuers in which other funds or accounts advised by the Adviser, the Affiliated Entity or the Sub-Adviser may have, or are making, an investment in the same issuer that are subordinate or senior to the securities purchased for the

fund. For example, the fund may invest in debt securities of an issuer at the same time that other funds or accounts are investing, or currently have an investment, in equity securities of the same issuer. To the extent that the issuer experiences financial or operational challenges which may impact the price of its securities and its ability to meet its obligations, decisions by the Adviser, an Affiliated Entity or a Sub-Adviser relating to what actions are to be taken may raise conflicts of interests, and the Adviser, the Affiliated Entity or the Sub-Adviser, as applicable, may take actions for certain funds or accounts that have negative impacts on other funds or accounts.

Portfolio turnover may vary from year to year as well as within a year. In periods in which extraordinary market conditions prevail, portfolio managers will not be deterred from changing the fund’s investment strategy as rapidly as needed, in which case higher turnover rates can be anticipated which would result in greater brokerage expenses. The overall reasonableness of brokerage commissions paid is evaluated by the Trading Desk based upon its knowledge of available information as to the general level of commissions paid by other institutional investors for comparable services. Higher portfolio turnover rates usually generate additional brokerage commissions and transaction costs, and any short-term gains realized from these transactions are taxable to shareholders as ordinary income.

To the extent that the fund invests in foreign securities, certain of the fund’s transactions in those securities may not benefit from the negotiated commission rates available to funds for transactions in securities of domestic issuers. Foreign exchange transactions are made with banks or institutions in the interbank market at prices reflecting a mark-up or mark-down and/or commission.

The Adviser (and, where applicable, an Affiliated Entity or a Sub-Adviser) may utilize the services of an affiliate to effect certain client transactions when it determines that the use of such affiliate is consistent with its fiduciary obligations, including its obligation to obtain best execution, and the transactions are in the best interests of its clients. Procedures have been adopted in conformity with Rule 17e-1 under the 1940 Act to provide that all brokerage commissions paid by the fund to the Adviser (and, where applicable, an Affiliated Entity or a Sub-Adviser) are reasonable and fair.

Municipal securities are purchased from and sold to parties acting as either principal or agent. Newly-issued securities ordinarily are purchased directly from the issuer or from an underwriter; other purchases and sales usually are placed with those dealers from which it appears that the best price or execution will be obtained. Usually no brokerage commissions as such are paid by the fund for such purchases and sales, although the price paid usually includes an undisclosed compensation to the dealer acting as agent. The prices paid to underwriters of newly-issued securities usually include a concession paid by the issuer to the underwriter and purchases of after-market securities from dealers ordinarily are executed at a price between the bid and asked price.

Soft Dollars

The term “soft dollars” is commonly understood to refer to arrangements where an investment adviser uses client (or fund) brokerage commissions to pay for research and brokerage services to be used by the investment adviser. Section 28(e) of the Exchange Act provides a “safe harbor” that permits investment advisers to enter into soft dollar arrangements if the investment adviser determines in good faith that the amount of the commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided. Eligible products and services under Section 28(e) include those that provide lawful and appropriate assistance to the investment adviser in the performance of its investment decision-making responsibilities.

As of the date of this SAI, the fund does not engage in any soft dollar arrangements or transactions with respect to its assets.

DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS

Policy on Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

The Trust has adopted a policy regarding the disclosure of information about the fund's portfolio holdings. The board must approve all material amendments to this policy. The fund's portfolio holdings are publicly disseminated each day the fund is open for business through financial reporting and news services including publicly accessible Internet web sites. In addition, a basket composition file, which includes the security names and share quantities to deliver in exchange for shares, together with estimates and actual cash components, is publicly disseminated daily prior to the opening of the Exchange via the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”). The basket represents one Creation Unit of the fund. The Trust, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser or BNY Mellon will not disseminate non-public information concerning the Trust, except information may be made available prior to its public availability: (i) to a party for a legitimate business purpose related to the day-to-day operations of the fund including (a) a service provider, (b) the stock exchanges upon which an ETF is listed, (c) the NSCC, (d) the Depository Trust Company, and (e) financial data/research companies such as Morningstar, Bloomberg L.P., FactSet, Barra LLC and RiskMetrics Group, and Reuters, or (ii) to any other party for a legitimate business or regulatory purpose, upon waiver or exception, with the consent of an applicable Trust officer.

SUMMARY OF THE PROXY VOTING POLICY AND PROCEDURES

The board has delegated to the Adviser and the Adviser has delegated to [__], the fund's Sub-adviser, the authority to vote proxies of companies held in a fund’s portfolio, except that the board has delegated to Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”) the sole authority to vote proxies of Designated BHCs (defined below) as described below.

Proxy Voting Operations

The fund has engaged ISS as their proxy voting agent to administer the ministerial, non-discretionary elements of proxy voting and reporting.

Policies and Procedures; Oversight

The CCO is responsible for confirming that [___] has adopted and implemented written policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to ensure that the fund's proxies are voted in the best interests of the fund. In addition, the adequacy of such policies and procedures are reviewed at least annually, and proxy voting for the fund is monitored to ensure compliance with [___] procedures, as applicable, such as by sampling votes cast for the fund, including routine proposals as well as those that require more analysis, to determine whether they complied with the applicable [___] proxy voting procedures.

Review of Proxy Voting

The Adviser reports annually to the board on the funds' proxy voting, including information regarding: (1) proxy voting proposals that were voted; (2) proxy voting proposals that were voted against the management company's recommended vote, but in accordance with the applicable proxy voting guidelines; and (3) proxy voting proposals that were not voted, including the reasons the proxy voting proposals were not voted.

Availability of Fund Proxy Voting Records

Information regarding how a fund’s proxies were voted during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30^th is available, by the following August 31^st, on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov on a fund’s Form N-PX.

Voting Shares of Certain Registered Investment Companies

Under certain circumstances, when a fund owns shares of another registered investment company (an “Acquired Fund”), the fund may be required by the 1940 Act or the rules thereunder, or exemptive relief from the 1940 Act and/or the rules thereunder, to vote such Acquired Fund shares in a certain manner, such as voting the Acquired Fund shares in the same proportion as the vote of all other holders of the same type of such Acquired Fund shares.

Proxy Voting By [___]

[To be inserted by amendment]

Voting Proxies of Designated BHCs

BNY Mellon is subject to the requirements of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the "BHCA"). Among other things, the BHCA prohibits BNY Mellon, funds that BNY Mellon “controls” by virtue of share ownership (“Bank Controlled Funds”), and any fund or other investment account over which BNY Mellon exercises sole voting discretion (collectively, the "BNYM Entities"), in the aggregate, from owning or controlling or holding sole voting discretion with respect to 5% or more of any class of voting stock of certain U.S. bank holding companies, savings and loan holding companies, insured depository institutions and companies that control an insured depository institution (collectively, “BHCs"), without the prior approval of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the "BHCA Rules").

For all funds except Bank Controlled Funds, the board has delegated to ISS the sole authority to vote proxies of BHCs for which one or more funds or other investment accounts over which BNYM Entities, in the aggregate, exercise sole voting discretion with respect to 5% or more of any class of voting stock of the BHC (collectively, the "Designated BHCs"). Because ISS has sole voting authority over voting securities issued by the Designated BHCs, the holdings of such securities by the funds (other than Bank Controlled Funds) are excluded from the 5% aggregate computation under the BHCA Rules and the funds (other than Bank Controlled Funds) are permitted to purchase and hold securities of BHCs without limits imposed by the BHCA. (Voting securities of BHCs held by funds that are Bank Controlled Funds, however, continue to be aggregated with the holdings of other BNYM Entities because of BNY Mellon's share ownership in those funds.)

An issuer that is a BHC will be identified as a Designated BHC (and voting authority over its voting securities will be delegated to ISS) when BNYM Entities in the aggregate own, control or hold sole voting discretion with respect to approximately 4.9% of any class of voting securities issued by the BHC. If such aggregate level of ownership, control or voting discretion decreases to approximately 3%, the issuer will no longer be considered a Designated BHC and [__] will be redelegated sole voting authority over the BHC's voting securities held by a fund. BNY Mellon's Global Holdings Reporting Group is primarily responsible for monitoring (i) investments in BHCs for compliance with the 5% ownership limit under the BHCA Rules and (ii) the determination of the application of the delegation to ISS, and reappointment of [__], with respect to voting authority over Designated BHC securities.

ISS votes proxies delegated by the board in accordance with the voting guidelines of ISS, available at https://www.issgovernance.com/policy-gateway/voting-policies/.

Material Conflicts of Interest. ISS has policies and procedures in place to manage potential conflicts of interest that may arise as a result of work that ISS’s subsidiary performs for a corporate governance client and any voting of proxies relating to such client’s securities that ISS performs on behalf of the funds. Such

policies and procedures include separate staffs for the work performed for corporate governance clients and ISS’s proxy voting services; a firewall that includes legal, physical and technological separations of the two businesses; and the employment of a blackout period on work performed with a corporate governance client during the pendency of a live voting issue in respect of securities of such client.

BNY Mellon Proxy Conflicts Policy

Under certain circumstances, BNY Mellon has determined that it may not be appropriate for its subsidiaries and business units with discretionary authority to vote proxies on behalf of clients, including [__] (each, a “Voting Firm”), and has established a Proxy Voting Conflicts Policy (the “BNYM Policy”) that sets forth the required actions and reporting of Voting Firms when actual or potential conflicts of interest involving BNY Mellon arise. The BNYM Policy identifies several specific types of proxy solicitations that are considered “Primary Conflicts” for all Voting Firms. Primary Conflicts typically arise when proxies are issued by BNY Mellon or by a pooled vehicle when relating to services provided by a BNY Mellon affiliate and may also arise due to relationships between a proxy issuer and BNY Mellon or BNY Mellon’s Chief Executive Officer or Board of Directors. The BNYM Policy directs the manner in which such Primary Conflicts are to be addressed (e.g., application of pre-determined, written guidelines, client consent, or delegation to an independent fiduciary). The BNYM Policy also identifies as “Secondary Conflicts” situations that, while not identified as a Primary Conflict, may present an actual, potential or perceived material conflict for Voting Firms because of a relationship between a proxy issuer and BNY Mellon or its executive officers or Board of Directors.

When Primary Conflicts or Secondary Conflicts are voted in accordance with a Voting Firm’s pre-determined, written voting guidelines, it is BNY Mellon’s view that these votes do not present the potential for a material conflict of interest and no additional safeguards are needed.

The Voting Firms, including [__], are also subject to the policies and decisions of BNY Mellon’s Proxy Conflicts Committee (the “PCC”). Among other responsibilities, BNY Mellon has empowered the PCC to maintain, interpret and effect the BNYM Policy. If a Voting Firm needs interpretive guidance concerning a Primary Conflict or identifies a Secondary Conflict, the PCC shall review the matter, and (in the case of identified conflicts) determine how best to resolve the conflict (e.g., independent fiduciary, abstention, or mirror voting).

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND's STRUCTURE; FUND SHARES AND VOTING RIGHTS

Massachusetts Business Trusts

If a fund is a series of a fund company organized as an unincorporated business trust under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, shareholders of the fund could, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable for the obligations of the fund. However, the fund company’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust (the “Trust Agreement”) disclaims shareholder liability for acts or obligations of the fund company and requires that notice of such disclaimer be given in each agreement, obligation or instrument entered into or executed by the fund company or a board member. The Trust Agreement provides for indemnification from a fund’s property for all losses and expenses of any shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which the fund itself would be unable to meet its obligations, a possibility which management believes is remote. Upon payment of any liability incurred by a fund, the shareholder paying such liability will be entitled to reimbursement from the general assets of the fund. The fund companies intend to conduct their operations in such a way so as to avoid, as far as possible, ultimate liability of the shareholders for liabilities of a fund.

Fund Shares and Voting Rights

Fund shares have equal rights as to dividends and in liquidation. Shares have no preemptive, subscription rights or, except as described in the prospectus or this SAI, conversion rights and are freely transferable. The fund share has one vote and, when issued and paid for in accordance with the terms of its offering, is fully paid and non-assessable.

Unless otherwise required by the 1940 Act, ordinarily it will not be necessary for a fund to hold annual meetings of shareholders. As a result, shareholders may not consider each year the election of board members or the appointment of an independent registered public accounting firm. However, for a fund that is organized as a Massachusetts business trust or a series of a Massachusetts business trust, the holders of at least 30% of shares outstanding and entitled to vote may require a special meeting of shareholders to be held, including for purposes of removing a board member from office. In addition, the board will call a meeting of shareholders for the purpose of electing board members if, at any time, less than a majority of the board members then holding office have been elected by shareholders.

Rule 18f-2 under the 1940 Act provides that any matter required to be submitted under the provisions of the 1940 Act or applicable state law or otherwise to the holders of the outstanding voting securities of an investment company will not be deemed to have been effectively acted upon unless approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of each series, if any, affected by such matter. Rule 18f-2 further provides that a series shall be deemed to be affected by a matter unless it is clear that the interests of each series in the matter are identical or that the matter does not affect any interest of such series. Rule 18f-2 exempts the selection of the independent registered public accounting firm and the election of board members from the separate voting requirements of the rule.

LOCAL MARKET HOLIDAY SCHEDULES

The Trust generally intends to effect deliveries of portfolio securities on a basis of “T” plus two Business Days (i.e., days on which the NYSE is open). The ability of the Trust to effect in-kind redemptions within two Business Days of receipt of a redemption request is subject, among other things, to the condition that, within the time period from the date of the request to the date of delivery of the securities, there are no days that are local market holidays on the relevant Business Days. For every occurrence of one or more intervening holidays in the local market that are not holidays observed in the United States, the redemption settlement cycle may be extended by the number of such intervening local holidays. In addition to holidays, other unforeseeable closings in a foreign market due to emergencies may also prevent the Trust from delivering securities within two Business Days. The securities delivery cycles currently practicable for transferring portfolio securities to redeeming investors, coupled with local market holiday schedules, may require a delivery process longer than the standard settlement period. In certain circumstances during the calendar year, the settlement period may be greater than seven calendar days.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The Fund had not commenced operations as of the date of this SAI and therefore did not have any financial information to report as of that date.

GLOSSARY

The following are definitions of certain terms used in this Statement of Additional Information. Other terms are defined in the Statement Additional Information.

Term	Meaning

12b-1 Plan	A Plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act
1940 Act	Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended
ACH	Automated Clearing House
Accumulation Period	The period beginning on the fund’s ex-dividend date and ending on the day preceding the next ex-dividend date.
Adviser	BNY Mellon ETF Investment Adviser, LLC
Advisers Act	Investment Advisers Act of 1940
Adviser-sponsored	An IRA or Retirement Plan sponsored by the Adviser or its affiliates, including the Distributor
Affiliated Broker	A broker that is (1) an affiliate of the fund, or an affiliated person of such person or (2) an affiliated person of which is an affiliated person of the fund, its Adviser or the Distributor
Affiliated Entity	An affiliate of the Adviser that, along with the Adviser, employs fund portfolio managers who are dual employees of the Adviser and such affiliate
AMT	Federal alternative minimum tax
Authorized Participant	A Participating Party or DTC Participant that has executed a Participant Agreement with the Distributor, and has been accepted by the Trust, with respect to purchases and redemptions of Creation Units.
Business Day	Generally, any day on which the NYSE is open for business, although fixed income ETFs will also not be open for orders on Veterans Day and Columbus Day.
BNY Mellon	The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation; BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. BNY Mellon may also refer to BNY Mellon and its direct and indirect subsidiaries
Cash Component	The deposit of a specified cash payment, which together with the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash is deposited for a Creation Unit
CCO	Chief Compliance Officer
CEA	Commodities Exchange Act
CEO	Chief Executive Officer
CFTC	Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Code	Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended
CPO	Commodity pool operator

Creation Unit	Aggregations of a specified number of shares offered and issued by the fund
Custodian	The Bank of New York Mellon
Deposit Cash	A cash payment equal in value to the Deposit Securities
Deposit Securities	The basket of securities part of an underlying portfolio of the fund accepted for deposit for a Creation Unit
Distributor	BNY Mellon Securities Corporation
Dividend Equivalent Payment	A complete distribution of dividends on the day preceding the next dividend payment date of the fund, and is an amount equal, on a per Creation Unit basis, to the dividends on all the portfolio securities of the fund (“Dividend Securities”) with ex-dividend dates within the accumulation period for such distribution (the “Accumulation Period”), net of expenses and liabilities for such period, as if all of the Dividend Securities had been held by the fund for the entire Accumulation Period.
Dividend Securities	An amount equal, on a per Creation Unit basis, to the dividends on all the portfolio securities of the fund
Dodd-Frank Act	Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
DTC	Depository Trust Company
DTC Participants	Participants of DTC who hold holding their securities there
ETFs	Exchange-traded funds and similar exchange-traded products
ETNs	Exchange-traded notes
Exchange	[_______]
Exchange Act	Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
FDIC	Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Funds	Monies of member banks within the Federal Reserve System which are held on deposit at a Federal Reserve Bank
FINRA	Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
Fitch	Fitch Ratings
FNMA	Federal National Mortgage Association
Fund Deposit	The Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, and the Cash Component, which represent the minimum initial and subsequent investment amount for a Creation Unit of the fund
GDRs	Global Depositary Receipts
Ginnie Maes	GNMA
GNMA	Government National Mortgage Association
In-Kind Redemption	Distribution to a redeeming Authorized Participant of redemption proceeds in whole or in part in securities or other assets of the fund

Independent Board Member	A board member who is not an “interested person” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the relevant fund
Interested Board Member	A board member who is considered to be an “interested person” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the relevant fund
IRAs	Individual retirement accounts (including, without limitation, traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, IRA “Rollover Accounts” or IRAs set up under Simplified Employee Pension Plans (“SEP-IRAs”), Salary Reduction Simplified Employee Pension Plans (“SARSEPs”) or Savings Incentive Match Plans for Employees (“SIMPLE IRAs”))
IRS	Internal Revenue Service
ISS	Institutional Shareholder Services Inc.
Moody’s	Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.
Municipal Bonds Municipal Obligations	Debt obligations or other securities issued by states, territories and possessions of the United States and the District of Columbia and their political subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities, including cities, counties, municipalities, municipal agencies and regional districts, or multi-state agencies or authorities, and certain other specified securities, the interest from which is, in the opinion of bond counsel to the issuer, exempt from federal income tax
NAV	Net asset value
NFA	National Futures Association
NSCC	National Securities Clearing Corporation
NYSE	New York Stock Exchange
Participant Agreement	An agreement entered into with a financial participant so that the participant may engage in Creation Unit transactions
Participating Party	A broker-dealer or other participant in the clearing process through the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC
Plans	Distribution Plans, Service Plans and Shareholder Services Plans
Rating Agencies	S&P, Moody's, Fitch and, with respect to money market funds, DBRS
REIT	Real estate investment trust, as defined in the Code
REMIC	Real estate mortgage investment conduit, as defined in the Code
Retirement Plans	Qualified or non-qualified employee benefit plans, such as 401(k), 403(b)(7), Keogh, pension, profit-sharing and other deferred compensation plans, whether established by corporations, partnerships, sole proprietorships, non-profit entities, trade or labor unions, or state and local governments, but not including IRAs

RIC	Regulated investment company, as defined in the Code
S&P	Standard & Poor's Ratings Services
SEC	Securities and Exchange Commission
Securities Act	Securities Act of 1933, as amended
Securities Lending Agent	The Bank of New York Mellon
Service Agents	Certain financial intermediaries (which may include banks), securities dealers and other industry professionals that have entered into an agreement with the Distributor
Sub-Adviser	The fund’s sub-investment adviser, if any, as described in the prospectus; the fund may have more than one Sub-Adviser in the future
Sub-Advised Funds	Funds that use a Sub-Adviser
TIPS	Treasury Inflation Protection Securities
Transfer Agent	The Bank of New York Mellon
Treasury	U.S. Department of the Treasury
Trust	BNY Mellon ETF Trust
USA PATRIOT Act	Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001
Weekly Liquid Assets	(i) Cash; (ii) direct obligations of the U.S. government; (iii) securities issued by U.S. government agencies at a discount and have a remaining maturity of 60 days or less; (iv) securities that will mature or are subject to a demand feature that is exercisable and payable within five business days; and (v) amounts receivable and due unconditionally within five business days on pending sales of portfolio securities

^[1] The fund will not invest more than 20% of its assets, at the time of purchase, in high yield securities.

^[2] The fund does not use a dual employee arrangement between the Adviser and an Affiliated Entity as referenced in this section.

PART C. OTHER INFORMATION

_________________________

Item 28. Exhibits.

_______ ________

(a)(1) Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust of BNY Mellon ETF Trust (the "Registrant") dated January 14, 2020 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (a)(3) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2 to the Registrant's registration statement on Form N-1A, as filed with the SEC February 14, 2020.

(a)(2) Certificate of Designation dated March 2, 2021 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (a)(2) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant's registration statement on Form N-1A, as filed with the SEC March 22, 2021.

(a)(3) Certificate of Designation.*

(b) Registrant's By-Laws, as adopted September 24, 2019, are incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (b) to the Registrant's initial registration statement on Form N-1A, as filed with the SEC on October 1, 2019.

(d)(1) Management Agreement dated March 2, 2020 between the Registrant and BNY Mellon ETF Investment Adviser, LLC is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (d)(1) of Pre-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant's registration statement filed with the SEC on March 5, 2020 ("Pre-Effective Amendment No.3").

(d)(2) Revised Schedule 1 to the Management Agreement, reflecting the addition of the BNY Mellon Sustainable US Equity ETF, BNY Mellon Sustainable International Equity ETF and BNY Mellon Sustainable Global Emerging Markets ETF, to be filed by amendment.

(d)(3) Revised Schedule 1 to the Management Agreement, reflecting the addition of the BNY Mellon Ultra Short Bond ETF, to be filed by amendment.

(d)(4) Sub-Investment Advisory Agreement dated March 2, 2020 between BNY Mellon ETF Investment Adviser, LLC and Mellon Investments Corporation is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (d)(2) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant's registration statement filed with the SEC on March 5, 2020.

(d)(5) Sub-Investment Advisory Agreement between BNY Mellon ETF Investment Adviser, LLC and Newton Investment Management Limited, to be filed by amendment.

(e) (1) Distribution Agreement dated March 2, 2020 between the Registrant and BNY Mellon Securities Corporation is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (e)(1) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant's registration statement filed with the SEC on March 5, 2020.

(e)(2) Revised Exhibit A to the Distribution Agreement, reflecting the addition of BNY Mellon Sustainable US Equity ETF, BNY Mellon Sustainable International Equity ETF and BNY Mellon Sustainable Global Emerging Markets ETF, to be filed by amendment.

(e)(3) Revised Exhibit A to the Distribution Agreement, reflecting the addition of BNY Mellon Ultra Short Bond ETF, to be filed by amendment.

(e)(4) Form of Authorized Participant Agreement is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (e)(2) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant's registration statement filed with the SEC on March 5, 2020.

(f) Not applicable.

(g) Custody Agreement dated February 12, 2020 between the Registrant and The Bank of New York Mellon is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (g) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant's registration statement filed with the SEC on March 5, 2020.

(h)(1) Fund Administration and Accounting Agreement dated February 12, 2020 between the Registrant and The Bank of New York Mellon is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (h)(1) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant's registration statement filed with the SEC on March 5, 2020.

(h)(2) Revised Exhibit A to the Fund Administration and Accounting Agreement, reflecting the addition of the BNY Mellon Sustainable US Equity ETF, BNY Mellon Sustainable International Equity ETF and BNY Mellon Sustainable Global Emerging Markets ETF, to be filed by amendment.

(h)(3) Revised Exhibit A to the Fund Administration and Accounting Agreement, reflecting the addition of the BNY Mellon Ultra Short Bond ETF, to be filed by amendment.

(h)(4) Transfer Agency and Service Agreement dated February 20, 2020 between the Registrant and The Bank of New York Mellon is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (h)(2) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant's registration statement filed with the SEC on March 5, 2020.

(h)(5) Revised Appendix A to the Transfer Agency and Service Agreement, reflecting the addition of the BNY Mellon Sustainable US Equity ETF, BNY Mellon Sustainable International Equity ETF and BNY Mellon Sustainable Global Emerging Markets ETF, to be filed by amendment.

(h)(6) Revised Appendix A to the Transfer Agency and Service Agreement, reflecting the addition of the BNY Mellon Ultra Short Bond ETF, to be filed by amendment.

(h)(7) Master Index Services License Agreement dated February 5, 2020 between the Registrant and Bloomberg Index Services Limited is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(3) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2 to the Registrant's registration statement filed with the SEC on February 14, 2020.

(h)(8) Sublicense Agreement dated February 10, 2020 between the Registrant and BNY Mellon ETF Investment Adviser, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(4) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2 to the Registrant's registration statement filed with the SEC on February 14, 2020.

(i)(1) Opinion and Consent of Counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (i) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant's registration statement filed with the SEC on March 5, 2020.

(i)(2) Opinion and Consent of Counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the addition of BNY Mellon Sustainable US Equity ETF, BNY Mellon Sustainable International Equity ETF and BNY Mellon Sustainable Global Emerging Markets ETF, to be filed by amendment.

(i)(3) Opinion and Consent of Counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the addition of BNY Mellon Ultra Short Bond ETF, to be filed by amendment.

(j) Consent of independent registered public accountants, Ernst & Young LLP, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (j) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 2 to the Registrant's Registration Statement filed with the SEC on February 25, 2021.

(k) Not applicable.

(l)(1) Seed Capital Subscription Agreement dated February 5, 2020 is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (l)(1) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant's registration statement filed with the SEC on March 5, 2020.

(l)(2) Seed Capital Subscription Agreement dated February 13, 2020 is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (l)(2) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant's registration statement filed with the SEC on March 5, 2020.

(m)(1) Plan of Distribution dated February 5, 2020 is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (l)(2) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant's registration statement filed with the SEC on March 5, 2020.

(m)(2) Revised Schedule A to the Plan of Distribution, reflecting the addition of the BNY Mellon Sustainable US Equity ETF, BNY Mellon Sustainable International Equity ETF and BNY Mellon Sustainable Global Emerging Markets ETF, to be filed by amendment.

(m)(3) Revised Schedule A to the Plan of Distribution, reflecting the addition of the BNY Mellon Utra Short Bond ETF, to be filed by amendment.

(n) Not applicable

(o) Not applicable.

(p)(1) Code of Ethics of the Registrant, The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation , BNY Mellon ETF Investment Adviser, LLC and Mellon Investments Corporation, as last revised January 15, 2019, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (p)(1) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant's registration statement filed with the SEC on March 5, 2020.

(p)(2) Code of Ethics of Nonmanagement Board Members, as last revised February 5, 2020, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (p)(2) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant's registration statement filed with the SEC on March 5, 2020.

(q) Powers of Attorney dated February 5, 2020 are incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (q) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2 to the Registrant's registration statement filed with the SEC on February 14, 2020.

Other Exhibits

EX-101.INS XBRL Instance Document - the instance document does not appear on the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document.

EX-101.SCH XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document.

EX-101.CAL XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document.

EX-101.DEF XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document.

EX-101.LAB XBRL Taxonomy Extension Labels Linkbase Document.

EX-101.PRE XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document.

^*Filed herewith

Item 29. Persons Controlled by or under Common Control with Registrant

_______ ______________________________________________________________

Not Applicable.

Item 30. Indemnification.

_______ _______________

(a) The Registrant shall indemnify each of its Trustees and officers (including persons who serve at the Registrant's request as directors, officers or trustees of another organization in which the Registrant has any interest as a shareholder, creditor or otherwise) (hereinafter referred to as a "Covered Person") against all liabilities and expenses, including, but not limited to, amounts paid in satisfaction of judgments, in compromise or as fines and penalties, and counsel fees reasonably incurred by any Covered Person in connection with the defense or disposition of any action, suit or other proceeding, whether civil or criminal, before any court or administrative or legislative body, in which such Covered Person may be or may have been involved as a party or otherwise or with which such person may be or may have been threatened, while in office or thereafter, by reason of being or having been such a Trustee or officer, except with respect to any matter as to which such Covered Person shall have been finally adjudicated in a decision on the merits in any such action, suit or other proceeding not to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that such Covered Person's action was in the best interests of the Registrant and except that no Covered Person shall be indemnified against any liability to the Registrant or its shareholders to which such Covered Person would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of such Covered Person's office. Expenses, including counsel fees so incurred by any such Covered Person (but excluding amounts paid in satisfaction of judgments, in compromise or as fines or penalties), may be paid from time to time by the Registrant in advance of the final disposition or any such action, suit or proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such Covered Person to repay amounts so paid to the Registrant if it is ultimately determined that indemnification of such expenses is not authorized under Article 10 of the Registrant's By-Laws, provided that (i) such Covered Person shall provide security for his or her undertaking, (ii) the Registrant shall be insured against losses arising by reason of such Covered Person's failure to fulfill his or her undertaking, or (iii) a majority of the Trustees who are disinterested persons and who are not Interested Persons (as that term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act")) (provided that a majority of such Trustees then in office act on the matter), or independent legal counsel in a written opinion, shall determine, based on a review of readily available facts (but not a full trial-type inquiry), that there is reason to believe such Covered Person ultimately will be entitled to indemnification.

(b) As to any matter disposed of (whether by a compromise payment, pursuant to a consent decree or otherwise) without an adjudication in a decision on the merits by a court, or by any other body before which the proceeding was brought, that such Covered Person either (i) did not act in good faith in the reasonable belief that such Covered Person's action was in the best interests of the Registrant or (ii) is liable to the Registrant or its shareholders by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of such Covered Person's office, indemnification shall be provided if (i) approved as in the best interest of the Registrant, after notice that it involves such indemnification, by at least a majority of the Trustees who are disinterested persons and are not Interested Persons (as that term is defined in 1940 Act) (provided that a majority of such Trustees then in office act on the matter), upon a determination, based upon a review of readily available facts (but not a full trial-type inquiry) that such Covered Person acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that such Covered Person's action was in the best interests of the Registrant and is not liable to the Registrant or its shareholders by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of such Covered Person's office, or (ii) there has been obtained an opinion in writing of independent legal counsel, based upon a review of readily available facts (but not a full trial-type inquiry) to the effect that such Covered Person appears to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that such Covered Person's action was in the best interests of the Registrant and that such indemnification would not protect such Covered Person against any liability to the Registrant to which such Covered Person would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his office. Any approval pursuant to this Section shall not prevent the recovery from any Covered Person of any amount paid to such Covered Person in accordance with this Section as indemnification if such Covered Person is subsequently adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction not to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that such Covered Person's action was in the best interests of the Registrant or to have been liable to the Registrant or its shareholders by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of such Covered Person's office.

(c) The right of indemnification hereby provided shall not be exclusive of or affect any other rights to which any such Covered Person may be entitled. As used Article 10 of the Registrant's By-Laws, the term "Covered Person" shall include such person's heirs, executors and administrators, and a "disinterested person" is a person against whom none of the actions, suits or other proceedings in question or another action, suit, or other proceeding on the same or similar grounds is then or has been pending. Nothing contained in Article 10 of the Registrant's By-Laws shall affect any rights to indemnification to which personnel of the Registrant, other than Trustees and officers, and other persons may be entitled by contract or otherwise under law, nor the power of the Registrant to purchase and maintain liability insurance on behalf of such person.

(d) Notwithstanding any provisions in the Registrant's Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust and By-Laws pertaining to indemnification, all such provisions are limited by the following undertaking set forth in the rules promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission:

In the event that a claim for indemnification is asserted by a Trustee, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in connection with the registered securities of the Registrant, the Registrant will not make such indemnification unless (i) the Registrant has submitted, before a court or other body, the question of whether the person to be indemnified was liable by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of duties, and has obtained a final decision on the merits that such person was not liable by reason of such conduct or (ii) in the absence of such decision, the Registrant shall have obtained a reasonable determination, based upon review of the

facts, that such person was not liable by virtue of such conduct, by (a) the vote of a majority of Trustees who are neither Interested Persons as such term is defined in the 1940 Act, nor parties to the proceeding or (b) an independent legal counsel in a written opinion.

The Registrant will not advance attorneys' fees or other expenses incurred by the person to be indemnified unless (i) the Registrant shall have received an undertaking by or on behalf of such person to repay the advance unless it is ultimately determined that such person is entitled to indemnification and (ii) one of the following conditions shall have occurred: (a) such person shall provide security for his undertaking, (b) the Registrant shall be insured against losses arising by reason of any lawful advances or (c) a majority of the disinterested, non-party Trustees of the Registrant, or an independent legal counsel in a written opinion, shall have determined that based on a review of readily available facts there is reason to believe that such person ultimately will be found entitled to indemnification.

(e) Insofar as indemnification for liability arising under the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act") may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

Item 31. Business and Other Connections of Investment Adviser

_______ ______________________________________________

BNY Mellon ETF Investment Adviser, LLC (the "Adviser") and affiliate companies comprise a financial service organization whose business consists primarily of providing investment management services as the investment adviser, manager and distributor for sponsored investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and as an investment adviser to institutional and individual accounts. The Adviser does not currently, but may in the future, also serve as sub-investment adviser to and/or administrator of other investment companies. BNY Mellon Securities Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the parent company of the Adviser, The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, serves primarily as a registered broker-dealer of shares of investment companies sponsored by Adviser and of other investment companies for which the Adviser's affiliates act as an investment adviser, sub-investment adviser or administrator.

(b) Business and Other Connections of Sub-Investment Adviser

Registrant is fulfilling the requirement of this Item 31(b) to provide a list of the officers and directors of Newton, a sub-investment adviser of the Registrant, together with information as to any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature engaged in by Newton or that firm's officers and directors during the past two years, by incorporating by reference the information contained in the Form ADV filed with the SEC pursuant to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 by Newton (SEC File No. 801-42114).

Any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature in which each director or principal officer of the Adviser is or has been, at any time during the last two calendar years, engaged for his or her own account or in the capacity of director, officer, employee, partner or trustee are as follows:


Name and Position With BNY Mellon ETF Investment Adviser, LLC	Other Businesses	Position Held	Dates

Stephanie Pierce Chief Executive Officer and Manager
	Mellon Investments Corporation^*	Executive Vice President	8/20 – Present
		Chief Executive Officer of Index

	Mellon Investments Corporation^*	Chief Executive Officer	3/21 – Present

	Mellon Investments Corporation^*	Director	7/19 – 12/19
Jennifer Cassedy Chief Compliance Officer
	Mellon Investments Corporation ^*	Chief Compliance Officer Executive Vice President	1/18 – Present

Parker Wertz Chief Financial Officer
	Mellon Investments Corporation ^*	Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer	6/19 – Present

	Newton Investment Management North America, LLC^	Chief Financial Officer	1/21 – Present

Nataly Zelensky Vice President

	BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc.⁺⁺	Assistant Secretary	4/18 – Present

	BNY Mellon Transfer, Inc.⁺⁺	Secretary Vice President	5/17 – Present 5/17 – Present


Alice Helscher Secretary
	Agency Brokerage Holding LLC^***	Assistant Secretary	7/20 – Present

	Alcentra NY, LLC ⁺⁺	Secretary	3/19 - Present

	Alcentra US, Inc. ^††††	Secretary	12/19 - Present

	Alternative Holdings I, LLC^***	Assistant Secretary	7/20 – Present

	Alternative Holdings II, LLC^***	Assistant Secretary	7/20 – Present

	AP Residential Realty, Inc.^{†††††}	Assistant Secretary	7/20 – Present


Name and Position With BNY Mellon ETF Investment Adviser, LLC	Other Businesses	Position Held	Dates

	BNY Administrative Services LLC^***	Secretary	5/19 - Present

	BNY Alcentra Group Holdings, Inc.^{††††††}	Secretary	11/19 – Present

	BNY Aurora Holding Corp.^***	Secretary	1/19 - Present

	BNY International Financing Corporation^***	Assistant Secretary	5/17 - Present

	BNY Investment Management Services LLC^#	Assistant Secretary	7/20 – Present

	BNY Lease Equities (Cap Funding) LLC^########	Assistant Secretary	10/20 – Present

	BNY Mellon Asset Management Canada Ltd.^<	Assistant Secretary	9/18 - Present

	BNY Mellon Asset Management Operations LLC^^^	Assistant Secretary	2/20 - Present

	BNY Mellon Performance & Risk Analytics, Inc.^±±±±±	Secretary	3/19 Present

	BNY Mellon Performance & Risk Analytics, LLC⁺	Secretary	9/17 Present

	BNY Mellon Securities Corporation⁺⁺	Assistant Secretary	3/18 - Present

	BNY Mellon Trust of Delaware^#	Assistant Secretary	5/19 - Present

	BNY Mezzanine Holdings LLC^******	Assistant Secretary	12/19 - Present

	Bny Partnership Funding LLC^***	Assistant Secretary	7/20 - Present

	BNY Real Estate Holdings LLC	Assistant Secretary	12/20 – Present

	BNY Salvage Inc.^***	Assistant Secretary	12/19 - Present

	BNYM RECAP Holdings, LLC^***	Assistant Secretary	11/20 – Present

	CenterSquare Investment Management Holdigs, Inc.⁺⁺⁺	Assistant Secretary	7/20 - Present

	Colson Services Corp.^±	Assistant Secretary	12/19 - Present

	EACM Advisors LLC^±±±	Assistant Secretary	6/19 - Present

	ECM DE, LLC^***	Assistant Secretary	2/19 - Present

	HedgeMark International, LLC^##	Assistant Secretary	3/20 - Present

	Lockwood Advisors, Inc.^######	Assistant Secretary	3/19 - Present


Name and Position With BNY Mellon ETF Investment Adviser, LLC	Other Businesses	Position Held	Dates
	Madison Pershing LLC ^###	Assistant Secretary	10/20 – Present

	MBC Investments Corporation ^#	Assistant Secretary	5/20 – Present

	Mellon Canada Holding Company^<<<<	Assistant Secretary	2/20 - Present

	Mellon Financial Services Corporation #1⁺	Assistant Secretary	3/19 - Present

	Mellon Global Investing Corp.⁺	Assistant Secretary	7/20 – Present

	Mellon Holdings LLC⁺⁺	Assistant Secretary	6/19 - Present

	Mellon Investments Corporation^*	Secretary	5/17 - Present

	Mellon Leasing Corporation⁺	Secretary	12/19 – Present

	Mellon Overseas Investment Corporation^***	Secretary	5/17 - Present

	Newton Investment Management North America, LLC^	Secretary	1/21 – Present

	PAS Holdings LLC^***	Assistant Secretary	8/17 – 7/19 10/20 – Present

	PAS Holdings LLC^***	Secretary	7/19 – 10/20

	Pershing Advisor Solutions LLC ^###	Secretary	3/20 – Present

	Pershing Group LLC^###	Secretary	6/20 – Present

	Pershing Investments LLC^***	Assistant Secretary	10/20 - Present
	Pershing LLC^###	Secretary	3/20 – Present

	Pershing Securities Canada Limited	Secretary	6/20 – Present

	TBC Securities Co., Inc^*	Assistant Clerk	6/19 - Present

	Technology Services group, Inc. ⁺⁺	Assistant Secretary	8/20 – Present

	Tennessee Processing Center LLC⁺⁺	Assistant Secretary	2/19 - Present

	xBK LLC^{^^^}	Secretary	9/18 Present

Amy Brennan Assistant Secretary
	Albridge Solutions, Inc. ^††††	Secretary	6/2/14 – Present

	B.N.Y. Holdings (Delaware) Corporation^***	Secretary	2/19 Present

	BNY Administrative Services LLC^***	Assistant Secretary	5/19 - Present

	BNY Alcentra Group Holdings, Inc.^{††††††}	Assistant Secretary	11/19 - Present


Name and Position With BNY Mellon ETF Investment Adviser, LLC	Other Businesses	Position Held	Dates

	BNY Aurora Holding Corp.^***	Assistant Secretary	10/19 – Present

	BNY Capital Corporation^***	Secretary	2/20 – Present

	BNY Capital Markets Holdings, Inc.^***	Secretary	2/20 – Present

	BNY Mellon Government Securities Services Corp.⁺⁺	Assistant Secretary	4/17 – Present

	BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.⁺	Secretary	6/14 –Present

	BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company ^#	Secretary	6/14 –Present

	BNY Mellon Investor Solutions, LLC^*	Secretary	2/19 –Present

	BNY Mellon Trust Company of Illinois^*****	Secretary	3/19 – Present

	BNY Mellon Trust of Delaware^#	Assistant Secretary	7/20 – Present

	BNY Mellon US Services Holdings LLC⁺⁺	Secretary	6/19 - Present

	BNY Mezzanine Holdings LLC^******	Assistant Secretary	12/19 – Present

	Colson Services Corp.^±	Secretary	5/19 – Present

	Eagle Access LLC^±±±±	Secretary	12/19 – Present

	Eagle Investment Systems LLC^±±±±±	Secretary	12/19 – Present

	MUNB Loan Holdings, LLC^***	Assistant Secretary	4/20 – Present

	Sumday Administration LLC⁺⁺	Secretary	6/20 – Present

	The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, National Association⁺	Assistant Secretary	7/20 – Present

	xBK LLC^{^^^}	Assistant Secretary	12/19 – Present

Jennifer Jablon Assistant Secretary
	Agency Broker Holding LLC^***	Secretary	7/20 – Present

	Alcentra NY, LLC⁺⁺	Assistant Secretary	11/20 – Present

	Alcentra US, Inc.^††††	Assistant Secretary	12/20 – Present

	Alternative Holdings I, LLC^***	Secretary	7/20 – Present

	Alternative Holdings II, LLC^***	Secretary	7/20 – Present

	BNY Administrative Services LLC^***	Assistant Secretary	6/20 – Present


Name and Position With BNY Mellon ETF Investment Adviser, LLC	Other Businesses	Position Held	Dates

	BNY Alcentra Group Holdings, Inc.^{††††††}	Assistant Secretary	11/20 – Present

	BNY Mellon Performance & Risk Analytics, Inc.^±±±±±	Assistant Secretary	4/20 – Present

	CenterSquare Investment Management Holdings, Inc.⁺⁺⁺	Secretary	7/20 – Present

	Insight North America LLC⁺⁺	Secretary	5/20 – Present

	Mellon Funding Corportion⁺	Secretary	7/20 – Present

	Mellon Global Investing Corp.⁺	Secretary	6/20 – Present

	Mellon Hedge Advisors, LLC^*	Secretary	6/20 – Present

	Mellon Investments Corporation^*	Assistant Secretary	8/20 – Present

	Mellon Overseas Investment Corporation^***	Assistant Secretary	1/21 – Present

	Mellon Residential Funding Corporation⁺	Secretary	8/20 – Present

	National Residential Assets Corp.^***	Secretary	7/20 – Present

	Newton Investment Management North America, LLC^	Assistant Secretary	1/21 – Present

	Newton Management North America LLC^	Secretary	7/20 – Present

	Pershing Advisor Solutions LLC ^###	Assistant Secretary	3/20 – Present

	Pershing Group LLC ^###	Assistant Secretary	6/20 – Present

	Pershing LLC^###	Assistant Secretary	3/20 – Present

	TBC Securities Co., Inc.^*	Clerk	12/20 – Present

	The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, National Association⁺	Secretary	4/20 – Present

	xBK LLC^{^^^}	Assistant Secretary	1/21 – Present

Cristina M. Rice Assistant Secretary
	Agency Brokerage Holding LLC^***	Assistant Secretary	1/10 – Present

	Albridge Solutions, Inc.^††††	Assistant Secretary	7/10 - Present

	Alcentra NY, LLC⁺⁺	Assistant Secretary	5/08 – Present

	Alcentra US, Inc.^††††	Assistant Secretary	5/08 – Present


Name and Position With BNY Mellon ETF Investment Adviser, LLC	Other Businesses	Position Held	Dates

	AP Residential Realty, Inc.^{†††††}	Assistant Secretary	8/16 – Present

	Asset Recovery IV, LLC ^***	Assistant Secretary	9/11 – Present

	Asset Recovery V, LLC ^***	Assistant Secretary	9/11 – Present

	Asset Recovery XIX, LLC ^***	Assistant Secretary	7/12 – Present

	Asset Recovery XX, LLC ^***	Assistant Secretary	7/12 – Present

	Asset Recovery XXII, LLC ^***	Assistant Secretary	7/12 – Present

	B.N.Y. Holdings (Delaware) Corporation^#	Assistant Secretary	9/08 – Present

	BNY Administrative Services LLC ^***	Assistant Secretary	12/08 – Present

	BNY Alcentra Group Holdings, Inc.^{††††††}	Assistant Secretary	5/08 – Present

	BNY Aurora Holding Corp.^***	Assistant Secretary	5/08 – Present

	BNY Capital Corporation^***	Assistant Secretary	9/08 – Present

	BNY Capital Funding LLC^***	Assistant Secretary	7/08 – Present

	BNY Capital Markets Holdings, Inc.^***	Assistant Secretary	9/08 – Present

	BNY Capital Resources Corporation^#######	Assistant Secretary	7/08 – Present

	BNY Foreign Holdings, Inc. ^***	Assistant Secretary	8/08 – Present

	BNY International Financing Corporation⁺⁺	Secretary	5/19 – Present

	BNY Investment Management Services LLC^#	Assistant Secretary	7/09 – Present

	BNY Lease Equities (Cap Funding) LLC^########	Assistant Secretary	7/08 – Present

	BNY Mellon Asset Management Canada Ltd.^<	Secretary	9/18 – Present

	BNY Mellon Asset Management Operations LLC ^^^	Assistant Secretary	1/15 – Present

	BNY Mellon Capital Markets, LLC⁺⁺	Assistant Secretary	6/08 – Present

	BNY Mellon Clearing Holding Company, LLC ^***	Assistant Secretary	7/10 - Present

	BNY Mellon Investment Management Holdings LLC^#	Assistant Secretary	9/20 – Present

	BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.⁺	Assistant Secretary	7/10 – Present


Name and Position With BNY Mellon ETF Investment Adviser, LLC	Other Businesses	Position Held	Dates

	BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company ^#	Assistant Secretary	7/10 – Present

	BNY Mellon Investor Solutions, LLC^*	Assistant Secretary	6/15 – Present

	BNY Mellon Performance & Risk Analytics, Inc.^±±±±±	Assistant Secretary	1/09 – Present

	BNY Mellon Performance & Risk Analytics, LLC⁺	Assistant Secretary	2/09 – Present

	BNY Mellon Securities Corporation⁺⁺	Assistant Secretary	2/11 – Present

	BNY Mellon Trust Company of Illinois^*****	Assistant Secretary	3/08 – Present

	BNY Mellon Trust of Delaware^#	Secretary	5/19 – Present

	BNY Mellon US Services Holdings LLC⁺⁺	Assistant Secretary	6/10 – Present

	BNY Mezzanine Holdings LLC^******	Assistant Secretary	5/09 – Present

	BNY Real Estate Holdings LLC^***	Assistant Secretary	4/09 – Present

	BNY Salvage Inc.^***	Assistant Secretary	4/09 – Present

	BNY Trust Company of Canada^<	Secretary	2/19 – 4/20

	BNY Trust Company of Canada^<	Assistant Secretary	4/20 – Present

	BNYM RECAP Holdings, LLC^***	Secretary	11/20 – Present

	BNY-N.J. II Corp.^***	Assistant Secretary	6/08 – Present

	CenterSquare Investment Management Holdings, Inc.⁺⁺⁺	Assistant Secretary	11/08 – Present

	Colson Services Corp.^±	Assistant Secretary	5/08 – Present

	EACM Advisors LLC^±±±	Assistant Secretary	2/09 – Present

	Eagle Access LLC^±±±±	Assistant Secretary	1/14 – Preset

	Eagle Investment Systems LLC^±±±±±	Assistant Secretary	1/13 – Present

	ECM DE, LLC^***	Assistant Secretary	3/10 – Present

	Hamilton Insurance Corp. (The)⁺⁺	Assistant Secretary	6/10 – Present

	HedgeMark International, LLC^##	Assistant Secretary	5/14 – Present

	iNautix (USA) LLC^###	Assistant Secretary	5/08 – Present


Name and Position With BNY Mellon ETF Investment Adviser, LLC	Other Businesses	Position Held	Dates
	Insight North America LLC⁺⁺	Assistant Secretary	11/08 – Present

	Lockwood Advisors, Inc.^######	Assistant Secretary	1/08 – Present

	Madison Pershing LLC^###	Assistant Secretary	7/08 - Present

	MBC Investments Corporation^#	Secretary	11/13 – Present

	Mellon Canada Holding Company^<<<<	Secretary	1/14 – Present

	Mellon Financial Services Corporation #1⁺	Secretary	3/19 – Present

	Mellon Funding Corporation⁺	Assistant Secretary	10/08 – Present

	Mellon Global Investing Corp.⁺	Assistant Secretary	5/08 – Present

	Mellon Hedge Advisors, LLC^*	Assistant Secretary	11/15 – Present

	Mellon Holdings LLC⁺⁺	Secretary	2/15 – Present

	Mellon Investments Corporation^*	Assistant Secretary	8/08 – Present

	Mellon Leasing Corporation⁺	Assistant Secretary	6/16 – Present

	Mellon Overseas Investment Corporation^***	Assistant Secretary	6/16 – Present

	Mellon Residential Funding Corporation⁺	Assistant Secretary	3/10 – Present

	MUNB Loan Holdings, LLC^***	Assistant Secretary	10/10 – Present

	National Residential Assets Corp.^***	Assistant Secretary	1/09 – Present

	Newton Investment Management North America, LLC^	Assistant Secretary	1/21 – Present

	Newton Management North America LLC ^	Assistant Secretary	10/10 – Present

	PAS Holdings LLC^***	Assistant Secretary	9/08 – Present

	Pershing Advisor Solutions LLC^###	Assistant Secretary	5/08 – Present

	Pershing Group LLC^###	Assistant Secretary	7/08 – Present

	Pershing Investments LLC^***	Assistant Secretary	7/08 – Present

	Pershing LLC^###	Assistant Secretary	5/08 – Present

	PFS Holdings, LLC^***	Assistant Secretary	1/11 – Present

	Sumday Administration LLC⁺⁺	Assistant Secretary	11/16 – Present

	TBC Securities Co., Inc^*	Assistant Clerk	7/09 – Present


Name and Position With BNY Mellon ETF Investment Adviser, LLC	Other Businesses	Position Held	Dates
	Technology Services Group, Inc. ⁺⁺	Assistant Secretary	4/08 – Present

	Tennessee Processing Center LLC⁺⁺	Assistant Secretary	5/08 – Present

	Trinity Residual Limited^<<	Assistant Secretary	9/13 – Present

	xBK LLC^{^^^}	Assistant Secretary	11/17 – Present

Charles Doumar Assistant Treasurer – Tax

	Agency Brokerage Holding LLC^***	Vice President – Tax	6/13 – Present

	Albridge Solutions, Inc.^††††	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	7/13 - Present

	Alcentra NY LLC ⁺⁺	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	9/14 - Present

	Alcentra US. Inc.^††††	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	9/14 - Present

	Alternative Holdings I, LLC ^***	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	1/14 - Present

	Alternative Holdings II, LLC ^***	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	1/14 - Present

	AP Residential Realty, Inc.^{†††††}	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	8/13 – Present

	Asset Recovery IV, LLC ^***	Assistant Treasurer	9/13 – Present

	Asset Recovery V, LLC ^***	Assistant Treasurer	9/13 – Present

	Asset Recovery XIX, LLC ^***	Assistant Treasurer	7/13 – Present

	Asset Recovery XX, LLC ^***	Assistant Treasurer	7/13 – Present

	Asset Recovery XXII, LLC ^***	Assistant Treasurer	7/13 – Present

	B.I.E Corporation⁺	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	12/13 – Present

	B.N.Y. Holdings (Delaware) Corporation^#	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	4/13 – Present

	BNY Administrative Services LLC^***	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	12/17 – Present

	BNY Alcentra Group Holdings, Inc. ^{††††††}	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	3/13 – Present

	BNY Aurorua Holding Corp.^***	Vice President	11/13 – Present

	BNY Capital Corporation^***	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	9/13 – Present

	BNY Capital Funding LLC ^***	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	9/13 - Present

	BNY Capital Markets Holdings, Inc. ^***	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	9/13 – Present

	BNY Foreign Holdings, Inc.^***	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	10/13 – Present


Name and Position With BNY Mellon ETF Investment Adviser, LLC	Other Businesses	Position Held	Dates
	BNY Investment Management Services LLC^#	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	11/18 – Present

	BNY Lease Equities (Cap Funding) LLC^########	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	7/13 – Present

	BNY Mellon Capital Markets, LLC⁺⁺	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	7/13 – Present

	BNY Mellon Clearing Holding Company, LLC^***	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	7/13 – Present

	BNY Mellon IHC, LLC	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	6/17 – Present

	BNY Mellon Insurance Agency, Inc.⁺⁺	Vice President – Tax	3/14 – Present

	BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc.⁺⁺	Vice President – Tax	2/14 – Present

	BNY Mellon Investments Management Holdings LLC^#	Assistant Vice President – Tax	1/14 – Present

	BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. ⁺	Assistant Treasurer	3/14 – Present

	BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company ^#	Assistant Treasurer	3/14 – Present

	BNY Mellon Investor Solutions, LLC^*	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	6/15 – Present

	BNY Mellon Performance & Risk Analytics, LLC⁺	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	9/17 – Present

	BNY Mellon Securities Corporation⁺⁺	Vice Preseidnet – Tax	2/14 – Present

	BNY Mellon Transfer, Inc.⁺⁺	Assistant Treasurer	12/14 – Present

	BNY Mellon Trust Company of Illinois^*****	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	3/13 – Present

	BNY Mellon Trust of Delaware^#	Assistant Treasurer	11/13 – Present

	BNY Mellon US Services Holdings LLC⁺⁺	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	6/13 – Present

	BNY Mezzanine Holdings LLC^******	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	5/13 – Present

	BNY Partnership Funding LLC^***	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	7/13 – Present

	BNY Salvage Inc.^***	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	3/13 – Present

	BNYM RECAP Holdings, LLC^***	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	11/14 – Present

	BNY-N.J. II Corp.^***	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	4/13 – Present

	CenterSquare Investment Management Holdings, Inc.⁺⁺⁺	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	12/13 – Present

	EACM Advisors LLC^±±±	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	3/14 – Present


Name and Position With BNY Mellon ETF Investment Adviser, LLC	Other Businesses	Position Held	Dates

	Eagle Access LLC^±±±±	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	1/14 – Present

	Eagle Investment Systems LLC^±±±±±	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	1/14 – Present

	ECM DE, LLC^***	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	1/14 – Present

	HedgeMark International, LLC^##	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	5/14 – Present

	iNautix (USA) LLC^###	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	11/13 – Present

	Insight North America LLC⁺⁺	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	11/13 – Present

	Lockwood Advisors, Inc.^######	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	3/14 – Present

	Madison Pershing LLC^###	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	6/13 – Present

	MBC Investments Corporation^#	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	11/13 – Present

	Mellon Financial Services Corporation #1	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	7/13 – Present

	Mellon Funding Corporation⁺	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	3/14 – Present

	Mellon Global Investing Corp.⁺	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	5/14 – Present

	Mellon Hedge Advisors, LLC ^*	Assistant Treasurer	10/13 – Present

	Mellon Holdings LLC⁺⁺	Assistant Treasurer	2/15 – Present

	Mellon Investments Corporation^*	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	1/14 – Present

	Mellon Leasing Corporation⁺	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	7/13 – Present

	Mellon Overseas Investment Corporation^***	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	12/13 – Present

	Mellon Residential Funding Corporation⁺	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	4/14 – Present

	MUNB Loan Holdings, LLC^***	Assistant Treasurer	10/13 – Present

	National Residential Assets Corp.^***	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	4/13 – Present

	Newton Investment Management North America LLC^	Assistant Vice Preseidnet– Tax	1/21 - Present

	Newton Managemnet North America LLC^	Assistant Treasuer – Tax	8/14 – Present

	PAS Holdings LLC ^***	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	6/13 – Present

	Pershing Advisor Solutions LLC ^###	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	6/13 – Present

	Pershing Group LLC ^###	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	6/13 – Present

	Pershing Investments LLC ^***	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	6/13 – Present


Name and Position With BNY Mellon ETF Investment Adviser, LLC	Other Businesses	Position Held	Dates

	Pershing LLC^###	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	7/13 – Present

	Sumday Administration LLC⁺⁺	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	11/16 – Present

	TBC Securities Co., Inc.^*	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	6/13 – Present

	TBCAM, LLC ^*	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	10/13 – Present

	Technology Services Group, Inc. ⁺⁺	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	9/13 – Present

	Tennessee Processing Center LLC⁺⁺	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	9/13 – Present

	The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, National Association ⁺	Assistant Treasurer	10/13 - Present

	xBK LLC^{^^^}	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	6/18 – Present

Claudine Ferguson Assistant Treasurer - Tax

	Agency Brokerage Holding LLC^***	Vice President – Tax	2/11 – Present

	Albridge Solutions, Inc. ^††††	Assistant Treasurer -Tax	6/11 – Present

	Alcentra NY, LLC ⁺⁺	Assistant Treasurer -Tax	10/12 – Present

	Alcentra US, Inc. ^††††	Assistant Treasurer -Tax	10/11 – Present

	Alternative Holdings I, LLC^***	Assistant Treasurer -Tax	1/13 – Present

	Alternative Holdings II, LLC ^***	Assistant Treasurer -Tax	1/13 – Present

	AP Residential Realty, Inc. ^{†††††}	Assistant Treasurer -Tax	8/11 – Present

	Asset Recovery IV, LLC ^***	Assistant Treasurer	9/11 – Present

	Asset Recovery V, LLC ^***	Assistant Treasurer	9/11 – Present

	Asset Recovery XIX, LLC ^***	Assistant Treasurer	7/11 – Present

	Asset Recovery XX, LLC ^***	Assistant Treasurer	7/11 – Present

	Asset Recovery XXII, LLC ^***	Assistant Treasurer	7/11 – Present

	B.N.Y. Holdings (Delaware) Corporation ^#	Assistant Treasurer -Tax	4/12 – Present

	BNY Administrative Services LLC ^***	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	12/11 – Present

	BNY Alcentra Group Holdings, Inc. ^{††††††}	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	3/13 – Present

	BNY Aurora Holding Corp.	Vice President	10/11 - Present


Name and Position With BNY Mellon ETF Investment Adviser, LLC	Other Businesses	Position Held	Dates

	BNY Capital Corporation ^***	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	11/11 – Present

	BNY Capital Funding LLC ^***	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	7/11 – Present

	BNY Capital Markets Holdings, Inc. ^***	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	11/11 – Present

	BNY Capital Resources Corporation ^#######	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	7/11 – Present

	BNY Foreign Holdings, Inc. ^***	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	9/11 – Present

	BNY Investment Management Services LLC ^#	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	10/11 – Present

	BNY Lease Equities (Cap Funding) LLC ^########	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	7/11 – Present

	BNY Lease Partners LLC ^***	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	9/11 – 7/19

	BNY Mellon Asset Management Operations LLC^{^^^}	Assistant Treasurer	3/18 - Present

	BNY Mellon Capital Markets, LLC ⁺⁺	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	7/11 – Present

	BNY Mellon Clearing Holding Company, LLC ^***	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	7/11 – Present

	BNY Mellon Government Securities Services Corp.⁺⁺	Vice President –Tax	2/21 – Present

	BNY Mellon IHC, LLC	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	4/17 – Present

	BNY Mellon Insurance Agency, Inc.⁺⁺	Vice President –Tax	8/14 – Present

	BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc.⁺⁺	Vice President - Tax	8/14 - Present

	BNY Mellon Investment Management Holdings LLC^#	Assistant Vice President –Tax	12/12 – Present

	BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.^*	Assistant Treasurer - Tax	3/11 – Present

	BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company^#	Assistant Treasurer - Tax	3/11 – Present

	BNY Mellon Investor Solutions, LLC^*	Assistant Treasurer - Tax	6/15 - Present

	BNY Mellon Performance & Risk Analytics, LLC ⁺	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	7/11 – Present

	BNY Mellon Securities Corporation⁺⁺	Vice President - Tax	2/12 – Present

	BNY Mellon Transfer, Inc.⁺⁺	Assistant Treasurer	12/14 – Present


Name and Position With BNY Mellon ETF Investment Adviser, LLC	Other Businesses	Position Held	Dates

	BNY Mellon Trust Company of Illinois ^*****	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	3/11 – Present

	BNY Mellon Trust of Delaware #	Assistant Treasurer	11/11 – Present

	BNY Mellon US Services Holdings LLC⁺⁺	Assistant Treasurer - Tax	6/12 – Present

	BNY Mezzanine Holdings LLC ^******	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	5/11 – Present

	BNY Partnership Funding LLC ^***	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	7/11 – Present

	BNY Real Estate Holdings LLC ^***	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	4/11 – Present

	BNY Salvage Inc. ^***	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	3/11 – Present

	BNYM RECAP Holdings, LLC ^***	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	11/14 – Present

	BNY-N.J. I Corp. ^***	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	4/11 – Present

	CenterSquare Investment Management Holdings, Inc. ⁺⁺⁺	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	2/13 – Present

	Colson Services Corp. ^±	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	2/11 – Present

	EACM Advisors LLC ^±±	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	4/14 – Present

	Eagle Access LLC ^±±±	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	1/12 – Present

	Eagle Investment Systems LLC ^±±±±	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	1/12 – Present

	ECM DE, LLC ^***	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	3/11 – Present

	HedgeMark International, LLC ^##	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	5/14 – Present

	iNautix (USA) LLC	Assistant Treasurer – Tax	7/12 – Present

	Insight North America LLC⁺⁺	Assistant Treasurer - Tax	11/11 – Present

	Lockwood Advisors, Inc. ^######	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	3/11 – Present

	Madison Pershing LLC ^###	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	4/11 – Present

	MBC Investment Corporation ^#	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	11/11 – Present

	Mellon Financial Services Corporation #1 ⁺	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	7/11 – Present

	Mellon Funding Corporation ⁺	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	12/11 – Present

	Mellon Global Investing Corp. ⁺	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	5/11 – Present

	Mellon Hedge Advisors, LLC^*	Assistant Treasurer	10/11 – Present


Name and Position With BNY Mellon ETF Investment Adviser, LLC	Other Businesses	Position Held	Dates
	Mellon Holdings LLC⁺⁺	Assistant Treasurer	12/11 – Present

	Mellon Investments Corporation ^*	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	1/19 – Present

	Mellon Leasing Corporation ⁺	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	9/11 – Present

	Mellon Overseas Investment Corporation ^***	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	11/11 – Present

	Mellon Residential Funding Corporation⁺	Assistant Treasurer - Tax	4/14 – Present

	MUNB Loan Holdings, LLC^***	Assistant Treasurer	10/11 – Present

	National Residential Assets Corp. ^***	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	4/12 – Present

	Newton Investment Management North America, LLC^	Assistant Treasurer-Tax	1/21 Present

	Newton Management North America LLC^	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	10/11 – Present

	PAS Holdings LLC ^***	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	6/11 – Present

	Pershing Advisor Solutions LLC ^###	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	6/11 – Present

	Pershing Group LLC ^###	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	4/11 – Present

	Pershing Investments LLC ^***	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	2/11 – Present

	Pershing LLC ^###	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	4/11 – Present

	PFS Holdings, LLC ^***	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	1/12 – Present

	Sumday Administration LLC⁺⁺	Assistant Treasurer - Tax	11/16 – Present

	TBC Securities Co., Inc. ^*	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	7/11 – Present

	TBCAM, LLC ^*	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	10/13 – Present

	Technology Services Group, Inc. ⁺⁺	Assistant Treasurer –Tax Agent	5/11 – Present 8/20 – Present

	Tennessee Processing Center LLC ⁺⁺	Assistant Treasurer –Tax Agent	9/11 – Present 8/20 – Present

	The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, National Association ⁺	Assistant Treasurer	10/13 - Present

	xBK^{^^^}	Assistant Treasurer –Tax	6/18 – Present


^*	The address of the business so indicated is One Boston Place, Boston, MA, 02108.
^**	The address of the business so indicated is 50 Fremont Street, Suite 3900, San Francisco, CA 94105.
^***	The address of the business so indicated is One Wall Street, New York, NY 10286.
^****	The address of the business so indicated is 3601 N. I-10 Service Road, Suite 102, Metairie, LA 70002.
^*****	The address of the business so indicated is 2 North LaSalle Street, Suite 1020, Chicago, IL, 60602
^******	The address of the business so indicated is 445 Park Avenue, 12th Floor, New York, NY, 10022.
^*******	The address of the business so indicated is 225 Liberty Street, New York, NY 10286.
^********	The address of the business so indicated is Grand Canal House, 1 Upper Grand Canal Street, Dublin, 4 Ireland.
^{^}	The address of the business so indicated is BNY Mellon Centre 160 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4V 4LA.
^{^^}	The address of the business so indicated is 87 Mary Street, George Town, KY1-9005, Cayman Islands.
^{^^^}	The address of the business so indicated is 201 Washington Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02108.
^{^^^^}	The address of the business so indicated is 2-4, rue Eugène Ruppert, L-2453 Luxembourg, Luxembourg.
^{^^^^^}	The address of the business so indicated is One Dockland Central, Guild Street, IFSC, Dublin 1.
^{^^^^^^}	The address of the business so indicated is 33 Sir John Rogersons Quay, Dublin 2.
^{^^^^^^^}	The address of the business so indicated is Ogier House, The Esplanade, St Helier, Jersey, JE4 9WG.
^{^^^^^^^^}	The address of the business so indicated is Room 6053, Level 6, 21st Century Building, No.210, Century Avenue, China, (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone.
^{^^^^^^^^^}	The address of the business so indicated is 6th Floor, 2 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland.
^{^^^^^^^^^^}	The address of the business so indicated is 32 Molesworth Street, Dublin 2, Ireland.
⁺	The address of the business so indicated is One Mellon Bank Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15258.
⁺⁺	The address of the business so indicated is 240 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10286
⁺⁺⁺	The address of the business so indicated is 630 West Germantown Pike, Suite 300, Plymouth Meeting, PA, 19462.
⁺⁺⁺⁺	The address of the business so indicated is 113 King Street, Armonk, NY 10504.
⁺⁺⁺⁺⁺	The address of the business so indicated is 320 Bay Street, Toronto, ON M5H 4A6.
⁺⁺⁺⁺⁺⁺	The address of the business so indicated is 480 Washington Blvd, Jersey City, NJ 07310.
^+++++++	The address of the business so indicated is Hartpiece, Lamarsh, Bures, Suffolk, CO8 5EP..
^†	The address of the business so indicated is Two Mellon Center, Suite 329, Pittsburgh, PA 15259.
^†††	The address of the business so indicated is 100 White Clay Center, Newark, DE 19711.
^†††	The address of the business so indicated is 1633 Broadway, New York, NY, 10019.
^††††	The address of the business so indicated is 10877 Wilshire Blvd, #1550, Los Angeles, CA, 90024.
^{†††††}	The address of the business so indicated is 1735 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19103.
^{††††††}	The address of the business so indicated is 10 Gresham Street, London, EC2V 7JD.
^{†††††††}	The address of the business so indicated is 114 Queen Victoria Street, London, EC4V 4BJ.
^±	The address of the business so indicated is 4 New York Plaza, New York, NY, 10004.
^±±	The address of the business so indicated is 200 Connecticut Avenue, Norwalk, CT, 06854-1940.
^±±±	The address of the business so indicated is One Wells Avenue, Newton, MA, 02459.
^±±±±	The address of the business so indicated is 65 LaSalle Road, Suite 305, West Hartford, CT, 06107.
^±±±±±	The address of the business so indicated is 1313 Broadway Plaza, Tacoma, WA, 98402.
^±±±±±±	The address of the business so indicated is David M. Breen & Co. Suite 4, Wallace House, Maritana Gate, Canada Street, Waterford.
^#	The address of the business so indicated is 301 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, DE, 19809.
^##	The address of the business so indicated is 780, Third Avenue, 44th Floor, New York, NY, 10017.
^###	The address of the business so indicated is One Pershing Plaza, Jersey City, NJ, 07399.
^####	The address of the business so indicated is 601 Travis Street, 17th Floor, Houston, TX, 77002.
^#####	The address of the business so indicated is 1201 Louisiana, Suite 3160, Houston, TX, 77002.
^######	The address of the business so indicated is 760 Moore Road, King of Prussia, PA, 19406-1212.
^#######	The address of the business so indicated is 8400 E. Prentice Ave, Greenwood Village, CO, 80111.
^########	The address of the business so indicated is 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY, 10104.
^#########	The address of the business so indicated is 6 C, route de Trèves, L-2633 Senningerberg, Luxembourg.
^<	The address of the business so indicated is 200 Wellington Street, Suite 300, Toronto, ON M5V 3C7.
^<<	The address of the business so indicated is Claredon House, 2 Church Street, Hamilton, Bermuda, HM 11.
^<<<	The address of the business so indicated is 444 Madison Ave. NY, NY 10022.
^<<<<	The address of the business so indicated is 1 York Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5J 0B6.

Mellon Investments Corporation serves as sub-adviser to each series of the Trust. The Registrant is fulfilling the requirement of this Item 31 to provide a list of the officers and directors of Mellon Investments Corporation, together with information as to any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature engaged in by Mellon Investments Corporation, or those of its officers and directors during the past two years, by incorporating by reference the information contained in the Form ADV filed with the SEC pursuant to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 by Mellon Investments Corporation (SEC File No. 801-19785).

Item 32. Principal Underwriters

BNY Mellon Securities Corporation serves as principal underwriter for each series of the Registrant.

(a) Other investment companies for which BNY Mellon Securities Corporation acts as principal underwriter or exclusive distributor:


1.	BNY Mellon Absolute Insight Funds, Inc.
2.	BNY Mellon Advantage Funds, Inc.
3.	BNY Mellon Alcentra Global Multi-Strategy Credit Fund, Inc.
4.	BNY Mellon Appreciation Fund, Inc.
5.	BNY Mellon California AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund, Inc.
6.	BNY Mellon Funds Trust
7.	BNY Mellon Index Funds, Inc.
8.	BNY Mellon Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund, Inc.
9.	BNY Mellon International Securities Funds, Inc.
10.	BNY Mellon Investment Funds I
11.	BNY Mellon Investment Funds II, Inc.
12.	BNY Mellon Investment Funds III
13.	BNY Mellon Investment Funds IV, Inc.
14.	BNY Mellon Investment Funds V, Inc.
15.	BNY Mellon Investment Funds VI, Inc.
16.	BNY Mellon Investment Grade Funds, Inc.
17.	BNY Mellon Investment Portfolios
18.	BNY Mellon Large Cap Securities Fund, Inc.
19.	BNY Mellon Midcap Index Fund, Inc.


20.	BNY Mellon Municipal Bond Funds, Inc.
21.	BNY Mellon Municipal Funds, Inc.
22.	BNY Mellon New Jersey Municipal Bond Fund, Inc.
23.	BNY Mellon New York AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund
24.	BNY Mellon New York Tax Exempt Bond Fund, Inc.
25.	BNY Mellon Opportunistic Municipal Securities Fund
26.	BNY Mellon Opportunity Funds
27.	BNY Mellon Research Growth Fund, Inc.
28.	BNY Mellon Short-Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund
29.	BNY Mellon State Municipal Bond Funds
30.	BNY Mellon Stock Funds
31.	BNY Mellon Stock Index Fund, Inc.
32.	BNY Mellon Strategic Funds, Inc.
33.	BNY Mellon Sustainable U.S. Equity Fund, Inc.
34.	BNY Mellon Sustainable U.S. Equity Portfolio, Inc.
35.	BNY Mellon Ultra Short Income Fund
36.	BNY Mellon U.S. Mortgage Fund, Inc.
37.	BNY Mellon Variable Investment Fund
38.	BNY Mellon Worldwide Growth Fund, Inc.
39.	CitizensSelect Funds
40.	Dreyfus AMT-Free Municipal Cash Management Plus
41.	Dreyfus AMT-Free New York Municipal Cash Management
42.	Dreyfus BASIC Money Market Fund, Inc.
43.	Dreyfus Cash Management
44.	Dreyfus Government Cash Management Funds
45.	Dreyfus Institutional Liquidity Funds
46.	Dreyfus Institutional Preferred Money Market Funds
47.	Dreyfus Institutional Reserves Funds
48.	Dreyfus Liquid Assets, Inc.
49.	Dreyfus Tax Exempt Cash Management Funds


50.	Dreyfus Treasury Obligations Cash Management
51.	Dreyfus Treasury Securities Cash Management
52.	General Government Securities Money Market Funds, Inc
53.	General Money Market Fund, Inc.
54.	General Municipal Money Market Funds, Inc.
55.	General New York AMT-Free Municipal Money Market Fund

(b) The following information is furnished with respect to the directors and officers of BNY Mellon Securities Corporation. BNY Mellon Securities Corporation's principal business address is 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286.



me and principal Business address	Positions and offices with the Distributor	Positions and Offices with Registrant
Kenneth Bradle**	Director and President	None
David DiPetrillo****	Director and Executive Vice President	President
Sue Ann Cormack†	Executive Vice President	None
Catherine Keating*	Executive Vice President	None
Tracy Hopkins-Condon*	Executive Vice President	None
Peter Arcabascio⁺⁺	Executive Vice President	None
Christopher D. O'Connor****	Executive Vice President	None
Irene Papadoulis**	Executive Vice President	None
Matthew Perrone****	Executive Vice President	None
Andrew Provencher****	Executive Vice President and Director	None
Gregory Pasquale ***	Chief Financial Officer	None
Brie A. Steingarten****	Chief Legal Officer and Secretary	None
John Squillace****	Chief Compliance Officer (Investment Advisory Business)	None
William Kennedy****	Chief Compliance Officer (Broker-Dealer Business)	None
Katherine M. Scott*	Chief Risk Officer	None
Anthony Mayo*	Chief Technology Officer	None
Timothy I. Barrett**	Senior Vice President	None
Eric P. Cola****	Senior Vice President	None
Christopher A. Stallone**	Senior Vice President	None
John Cimino****	Vice President	None
Christopher Donoghue**	Vice President	None
Tina Rizzo**	Vice President and Privacy Officer	None
James Windels****	Vice President	Treasurer
Caridad M. Carosella**	Vice President – Compliance/Anti-Money Laundering Officer	Anti-Money Laundering Officer
Donna M. Impagliazzo**	Vice President – Compliance	None
Marianne Thomas+	Vice President – Human Resources	None
Kathleen J. Geis^††	Vice President – Real Estate	None
Charles Doumar****	Vice President – Tax	None
Claudine Orloski***	Vice President – Tax	None
Paul V. Mazziotti**	Anti-Money Laundering Officer	None
James Bitetto****	Assistant Secretary	Vice President and Secretary
Alice Helscher***	Assistant Secretary	None
Cristina Rice***	Assistant Secretary	None


*	Principal business address is 200 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10166.
**	Principal business address is 144 Glenn Curtiss Blvd., Uniondale, NY 11556-0144.
***	Principal business address is BNY Mellon Center, 500 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15258.
****	Principal business address is 240 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10286.
^†	Principal business address is 100 Saint Paul Street Denver, CO 80206
^††	Principal business address is 500 Ross Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15262-0001
^†††	Principal business address is 160 Queen Victoria Street, London, England, Greater London EC4V4LA
⁺	Principal business address is 19 Vreeland Road Florham Park, NJ 07932
⁺⁺	Principal business address is 1 Boston Place, Boston, MA 02108-4407

Item 33. Location of Accounts and Records:

Books or other documents required to be maintained by Section 31(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, and the rules promulgated thereunder, are maintained as follows:

1. The Bank of New York Mellon
240 Greenwich Street
New York, New York 10286

2. BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US), Inc.
4400 Computer Drive
Westborough, Massachusetts 01581

3. BNY Mellon ETF Investment Adviser, LLC
201 Washington Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02108

Item 34. Management Services

Not Applicable.

Item 35. Undertakings

Not Applicable.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant has duly caused this Amendment to the Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, duly authorized, in the City of New York, and State of New York on the 3rd of May, 2021.

BNY Mellon ETF Trust


BY:	/s/ David DiPetrillo
	David DiPetrillo, PRESIDENT

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Amendment to the Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the date indicated.


Signatures	Title	Date

/s/ David DiPetrillo	President (Principal Executive Officer)	5/3/2021
David DiPetrillo
/s/ James Windels^*	Treasurer (Principal Financial	5/3/2021
James Windels	and Accounting Officer)
/s/ J. Charles Cardona^*	Chairman of the Board	5/3/2021
J. Charles Cardona
/s/ Kristen M. Dickey^*	Board Member	5/3/2021
Kristen M. Dickey
/s/ F. Jack Liebau, Jr.^*	Board Member	5/3/2021
F. Jack Liebau, Jr
/s/ Jill I. Mavro^*	Board Member	5/3/2021
Jill I. Mavro
/s/ Kevin W. Quinn^*	Board Member	5/3/2021
Kevin W. Quinn
/s/ Stacy L. Schaus^*	Board Member	5/3/2021
Stacy L. Schaus

BY: /s/ Bennett A. MacDougall
Bennett A. MacDougall
Attorney-in-Fact

INDEX OF EXHIBITS

Exhibits

(a)(3) Certificate of Designation.