497K 1 ss7handl497k.htm 497K

 

STRATEGY SHARES NASDAQ 7 HANDL™ Index ETF

NASDAQ Ticker: HNDL

 

SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

JANUARY 12, 2018

 

Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s complete prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund’s prospectus and other information about the Fund at http://strategysharesetfs.com/literature-forms/, You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1-855-HSS-ETFS or (855)-477-3837, emailing info@strategysharesetfs.com or by asking any financial intermediary that offers shares of the Fund. The Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated January 12, 2018, are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus and may be obtained, free of charge, at the website or phone number noted above.

 

Investment Objective: The Fund’s investment objective is to seek investment results that correlate generally, before fees and expenses, to the price and yield performance of the NASDAQ 7 HANDL™ Index.

 

Fees and Expenses: This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. If you purchase or sell shares of the Fund in the secondary market through your financial institution, your financial institution may assess brokerage commissions or other charges to process the transactions.

 

 

       

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

 

None

         

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

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

 
Management Fee 0.60%
Distribution and/or Service Fee (12b-1) Fees 0.00%
Other Expenses (1) 0.13%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses(1) 0.23%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.96%
(1)Estimated for the current fiscal year.

 

Example: This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. 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. This Example does not reflect the effect of brokerage commissions or other transaction costs you pay in connection with the purchase or sale of Fund shares. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same and the expense reduction/reimbursement remains in place for the contracted period only. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

1 Year 3 Years
$98 $306

 

 

Portfolio Turnover: The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund has not commenced operations as of the date of this prospectus, the portfolio turnover rate for the last fiscal year is not available. In the future, the portfolio turnover rate for the most recent fiscal year will be provided here.

 

 

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Principal Investment Strategy:

 

The Fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in securities of the NASDAQ 7 HANDL™ Index (the “Index”). The Index consists of securities issued by exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) and is split into two components, with a 50% allocation to fixed income and equity ETFs (the “Core Portfolio”) and a 50% allocation to ETFs of 12 asset categories (the “Explore Portfolio”) as described below. Because the Index is comprised of securities issued by other investment companies, the Fund operates as a “fund of funds”.

 

The Index is broadly diversified and seeks to offer the potential for high monthly distributions while maintaining a stable net asset value over time. The goal of the Index is to represent an allocation to a balanced portfolio of U.S. equities, bonds and alternative investments that employs leverage in an amount equal to 23% of the total portfolio. Accordingly, returns for the Index are calculated assuming leverage on the underlying portfolio in the amount of 23% (net of the estimated cost of employing such leverage). To achieve leveraged returns, the Fund will purchase a total return swap on a securities-only version of the Index, the NASDAQ 7 HANDL™ Base Index (the “Base Index”), which is composed of only ETFs and does not include a leverage component. The Index will have risk characteristics similar to the broad US capital markets and will generally rise and fall with prevailing market conditions, with the goal, but not the guarantee, of achieving a total return sufficient, over time and after expenses, to support a seven percent (7.0%) annual distribution rate.

 

The Core Portfolio component of the Index seeks to provide broad exposure to the U.S. fixed-income and equity markets and consists of a 70% allocation to U.S. aggregate fixed-income ETFs (the “Core Fixed Income Sleeve”) and a 30% allocation to U.S. large capitalization equity ETFs (the “Core Equity Sleeve”). The Index defines large cap as the market capitalization range of the large capitalization segment of Nasdaq’s US Benchmark Index. The Core Fixed Income Sleeve is allocated on an equal weight basis to the three largest (by assets under management) U.S. aggregate bond ETFs that have no maturity or duration limitations. Half of the Core Equity Sleeve is allocated on an equal weight basis to the three largest (by assets under management) ETFs that track large capitalization U.S. stocks. The remaining half of the Core Equity Sleeve is allocated to the largest ETF (by assets under management) that tracks the NASDAQ-100 Index. The Core Portfolio is rebalanced monthly to weight the Core Portfolio in accordance with the Index’s methodology and is reconstituted annually in December.

 

The Explore Portfolio component of the Index employs a 100% rules-based proprietary tactical asset allocation methodology to provide exposure to ETFs across a range of asset categories that have historically provided high levels of income. There are 12 asset categories represented in the Explore Portfolio, which include various types of equity and fixed income securities.

 

Each asset category in the Explore Portfolio is represented by a single ETF. By default, the ETF representative of an asset category is the largest ETF (by assets under management) in the asset category. In certain circumstances, an alternative ETF with a lower expense ratio may instead serve as the ETF representative of an asset category. The 12 ETF representatives of the Explore Portfolio asset categories are weighted on a monthly basis using a proprietary asset allocation methodology, subject to the constraints that no position may be less than 50% nor more than 200% of an equal weight position within the Explore Portfolio.

 

The Fund employs a “passive management” investment strategy in seeking to achieve its investment objective. The Fund will typically invest 90% of its assets in the Index’s component securities and use 10% of its assets as collateral for the Fund’s 40% total return swap on the Base Index. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not try to “beat” the Index and does not seek temporary defensive positions when markets decline or appear overvalued. The Fund generally will use a replication methodology, meaning it will invest in all of the ETFs comprising the Index in proportion to the weightings in the Index. However, the Fund may utilize a sampling methodology when there is severe, unforeseen market stress or a market disruption where it may not be possible or practicable to purchase all of the ETFs in the Index. The Fund will concentrate its investments in a particular industry or group of industries to the extent that the Index concentrates in an industry or group of industries. As of the date of this prospectus, the Index is not concentrated.

 

The Index was created and is provided by Bryant Avenue Ventures LLC (the “Index Provider”) and is calculated by Nasdaq, Inc (the “Index Calculator”). The Index Provider and Index Calculator are not affiliated with the Fund or the Advisor.

 

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Distribution Policy: In order to allow shareholders of the Fund to realize a predictable, but not assured, level of cash flow, the Fund has adopted a policy (which may be modified at any time by its Board of Trustees) to pay monthly distributions on Fund shares at a target rate that represents an annualized payout of approximately 7.0% on the Fund’s per-share net asset value on the date of a distribution’s declaration. Shareholders receiving periodic payments from the Fund may be under the impression that they are receiving net profits. However, all or a portion of a distribution may consist of a return of capital. Shareholders should not assume that the source of a distribution from the Fund is net profit. For more information about the Fund’s distribution policy, please turn to “Additional Information About the Fund’s Principal Investment Strategies and Related Risks – Principal Investment Strategies –Distribution Policy and Goals” section in the Fund’s Prospectus.

 

Principal Investment Risks

 

As with any ETF, there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its objective. Investment markets are unpredictable and there will be certain market conditions where the Fund will not meet its investment objective and will lose money. The Fund’s net asset value and returns will vary and you could lose money on your investment in the Fund and those losses could be significant. An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

 

The following summarizes the principal risks of investing in the Fund. These risks could adversely affect the net asset value, total return and the value of the Fund and your investment.

 

Authorized Participant Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants. An “Authorized Participant” is a participant in the Continuous Net Settlement System of the National Securities Clearing Corporation or the Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) and that has executed a Participant Agreement with the applicable Fund’s distributor (“Distributor”). To the extent these Authorized Participants exit the business or are unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to process creation and/or redemption orders, in either of these cases, shares of the Fund may trade like closed-end fund shares at a discount to NAV and possibly face delisting.

 

Concentration Risk. The Fund may focus its investments in securities of a particular industry to the extent the Index does, which may cause the Fund's net asset value to fluctuate more than that of a fund that does not focus in a particular industry.

 

Distribution Policy Risk. Shareholders receiving periodic payments from the Fund may be under the impression that they are receiving net profits. However, all or a portion of a distribution may consist of a return of capital (i.e., from your original investment). Shareholders should not assume that the source of a distribution from the Fund is net profit. Shareholders should note that return of capital will reduce the tax basis of their shares and potentially increase the taxable gain, if any, upon disposition of their shares.

 

Early Close/Trading Halt Risk. An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may prevent the Fund from buying or selling certain securities or financial instruments. In these circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and may incur substantial trading losses.

 

Equity Securities Risk. Equity securities are susceptible to general stock market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value. Equity securities may experience sudden, unpredictable drops in value or long periods of decline in value.

 

ETF Structure Risks: The Fund is structured as an ETF and as a result is subject to the special risks, including:

oNot Individually Redeemable. Shares are not individually redeemable and may be redeemed by the Fund at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units.” You may incur brokerage costs purchasing enough Shares to constitute a Creation Unit.
oTrading Issues. Trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable, such as extraordinary market volatility. There can be no assurance that Shares will continue to meet the listing requirements of the
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Exchange. An active trading market for the Fund’s shares may not be developed or maintained. If the Fund’s shares are traded outside a collateralized settlement system, the number of financial institutions that can act as authorized participants that can post collateral on an agency basis is limited, which may limit the market for the Fund’s shares.

oMarket Price Variance Risk. The market prices of Shares will fluctuate in response to changes in NAV and supply and demand for Shares and will include a “bid-ask spread” charged by the exchange specialists, market makers or other participants that trade the particular security. There may be times when the market price and the NAV vary significantly. This means that Shares may trade at a discount to NAV.
§In times of market stress, market makers may step away from their role market making in shares of ETFs and in executing trades, which can lead to differences between the market value of Fund shares and the Fund’s net asset value.
§The market price for the Fund’s shares may deviate from the Fund’s net asset value, particularly during times of market stress, with the result that investors may pay significantly more or significantly less for Fund shares than the Fund’s net asset value, which is reflected in the bid and ask price for Fund shares or in the closing price.
§When all or a portion of an ETFs underlying securities trade in a market that is closed when the market for the Fund’s shares is open, there may be changes from the last quote of the closed market and the quote from the Fund’s trading day, which could lead to differences between the market value of the Fund’s shares and the Fund’s net asset value.
§In stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s shares may become less liquid in response to the deteriorating liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio. This adverse effect on the liquidity of the Fund’s shares may, in turn, lead to differences between the market value of the Fund’s shares and the Fund’s net asset value.

 

Fixed Income Risk. When the Fund invests in fixed income securities, the value of your investment in the Fund will fluctuate with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities owned by the Fund. In general, the market price of fixed income securities with longer maturities will increase or decrease more in response to changes in interest rates than shorter-term securities. Other risk factors include credit risk (the debtor may default) and prepayment risk (the debtor may pay its obligation early, reducing the amount of interest payments). These risks could affect the value of a particular investment by the Fund, possibly causing the Fund’s share price and total return to be reduced and fluctuate more than other types of investments.

Index Risk. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not utilize an investing strategy that seeks returns in excess of the Index. Therefore, it would not necessarily sell a security unless that security is removed from the Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.

 

Issuer Risk. The performance of the Fund depends on the performance of the issuers of the individual securities in which the Fund invests. Poor performance by any issuer may cause the value of its securities, and the value of the Fund’s Shares, to decline.

 

Leverage Risk. When the Fund invests in swaps, it can create leverage, which can amplify the effects of market volatility on the Fund’s share price and make the Fund’s returns more volatile. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it would not be advantageous to do so in order to satisfy its obligations. The use of leverage may also cause the Fund to have higher expenses than those of funds that do not use such techniques.

Management Risk. As the Fund may not fully replicate the Index, it is subject to the risk that investment management strategy may not produce the intended results.

 

Market Risk. Overall stock market risks may also affect the value of the Fund. Factors such as domestic economic growth and market conditions, interest rate levels and political events affect the securities markets.

 

Medium Capitalization Stock Risk. The earnings and prospects of mid-capitalization companies are more volatile than larger companies, they may experience higher failure rates than larger companies and normally have a lower

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trading volume than larger companies, which may tend to make their market price fall more disproportionately than larger companies in response to selling pressures.

 

Passive Investment Risk. The Fund is not actively managed and the Advisor will not sell a security due to current or projected underperformance of a security, industry or sector, unless that security is removed from the Index or the selling of that security is otherwise required upon a rebalancing of the Index as addressed in the Index methodology.

 

Sampling Risk. The Fund’s use of a representative sampling approach, if used, could result in its holding a smaller number of securities than are in the Index. As a result, an adverse development with an issuer of securities held by the Fund could result in a greater decline in NAV than would be the case if the Fund held all of the securities in the Index. To the extent the assets in the Fund are smaller, these risks will be greater.

 

Swaps Risk. Swaps are subject to tracking risk because they may not be perfect substitutes for the instruments they are intended to replace. Over the counter swaps are subject to counterparty default. Leverage inherent in derivatives will tend to magnify the Fund's losses.

 

Tracking Error Risk. Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of the Index. Tracking error may occur because of imperfect correlation between the Fund’s holdings of portfolio securities and those in the Index, pricing differences, the Fund’s holding of cash, differences on timing of the accrual of dividends, changes to the Index or the need to meet various regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, while the Index does not.

Turnover Risk. The Fund may have a high turnover of the securities held in its portfolio. Increased portfolio turnover causes the Fund to incur higher brokerage costs, which may adversely affect the Fund’s performance and may produce increased taxable distributions.

Underlying Fund Risk. Other investment companies including ETFs (“Underlying Funds”) in which the Fund invests are subject to investment advisory and other expenses, which will be indirectly paid by the Fund. As a result, the cost of investing in the Fund will be higher than the cost of investing directly in the Underlying Funds and may be higher than other mutual funds that invest directly in stocks and bonds. Each of the Underlying Funds is subject to its own specific risks, but the sub-adviser expects the principal investments risks of such Underlying Funds will be similar to the risks of investing in the Fund. Additional risks of investing in ETFs and mutual funds are described below:

 

oNet Asset Value and Market Price Risk: The market value of ETF shares may differ from their net asset value. This difference in price may be due to the fact that the supply and demand in the market for fund shares at any point in time is not always identical to the supply and demand in the market for the underlying basket of securities. Accordingly, there may be times when shares trade at a premium or discount to net asset value.

Performance:

 

Because the Fund is a new fund and does not yet have a full calendar year of investment operations, no performance information is presented for the Fund at this time. In the future, performance information will be presented in this section of this Prospectus. Updated performance information will be available at www.strategysharesetfs.com or by calling (855) 4SS-ETFS or (855) 477-3837.

 

Advisor: Rational Advisors, Inc. is the Fund’s investment advisor (the “Advisor”).

 

Portfolio Managers: David Miller, Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, serves as the Fund’s Portfolio Manager. Mr. Miller has served the Fund in this capacity since 2018.

 

Purchase and Sale of Shares: You may purchase and sell individual Fund shares on the NASDAQ Stock Market (“Exchange”) through your financial institution on each day that the Exchange is open for business (“Business Day”). Because Fund shares trade at market prices rather than at their NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).

 

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The Fund only offers and redeems shares on a continuous basis at NAV in large blocks of shares, currently 25,000 shares (“Creation Unit”). Creation Units are available for purchase and redemption on each Business Day. Generally, Creation Units are offered and redeemed on an in-kind basis. Except under limited circumstances, purchasers will be required to purchase Creation Units by making an in-kind deposit of specified instruments (“Deposit Instruments”), and shareholders redeeming Creation Units will receive an in-kind transfer of specified securities (“Redemption Instruments”). If there is a difference between the net asset value of a Creation Unit being purchased or redeemed and the Deposit Instruments or Redemption Instruments exchanged for the Creation Unit, the party conveying the instruments with the lower value will also pay to the other an amount in cash equal to that difference.

 

Tax Information: The Fund’s distributions from current and accumulated earnings and profits generally will be taxable as ordinary income or long-term capital gains. 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 your basis in the Shares and as capital gain thereafter. A sale of Shares may result in capital gain or loss.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries: If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s web site for more information.

 

 

 

 

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