N-1A/A 1 n1aa.htm N-1A/A GemCom, LLC

 

AS FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ON April 3, 2012.

No. 811-22624

No. 333-177651

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 





 

FORM N-1A/A

 

 

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

 

 

 

UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

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x

 

Pre-Effective Amendment No 2.

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x

                                                                                               

 

Post-Effective Amendment No. 

 

o

 

 

 

 

and/or

 

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940

 

x 

 

 

Amendment No. 2

 

x

 

(Check appropriate box or boxes)

 





 

NORTHERN LIGHTS ETF TRUST

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

 

4020 South 147th Street

Omaha, NE 68137

Attention:  Emile R. Molineaux

 (Address of Principal Executive Office)

 

Registrants Telephone Number, including Area Code:  (402) 895-1600

 

Name and Address of Agent for Service:

 

With a copy to:

The Corporation Trust Company

 

Stacy L. Fuller

Corporate Trust Center

 

K&L Gates LLP

1209 Orange Street

 

1601 K Street NW

Wilmington, DE 19801

 

Washington, D.C. 20006

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

APPROXIMATE DATE OF PROPOSED PUBLIC OFFERING: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.


The registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that the registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said section 8(a), may determine.


 



 



 

 

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



[Arrow Logo]





Arrow Dow Jones Global Yield ETF


GYLD



Subject to Completion,

Dated April 3, 2012

Preliminary PROSPECTUS
______, 2012


1-877-277-6933

1-877-ARROW-FD
www.ArrowShares.com


This Prospectus provides important information about the Fund that you should know before investing.  Please read it carefully and keep it for future reference.

These securities have not been approved or disapproved by the Securities and Exchange Commission nor has the Securities and Exchange Commission passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this Prospectus.  Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.


Shares of the Fund are listed and traded on NYSE Arca, Inc.




 

Table of Contents

FUND SUMMARY

 

Investment Objective

 

Fees and Expenses

 

Principal Investment Strategies

 

Principal Investment Risks

 

Performance

 

Management

 

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

 

Tax Information

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS

 

Principal Investment Strategies

 

Principal Investment Risks

 

Portfolio Holdings Disclosure

 

MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND

 

Investment Advisor

 

Portfolio Manager

 

NET ASSET VALUE

 

PREMIUM/DISCOUNT INFORMATION

 

HOW TO BUY AND SELL SHARES

 

Book Entry

 

Share Trading Prices

 

FREQUENT PURCHASES AND REDEMPTIONS OF FUND SHARES

 

DISTRIBUTION AND SERVICE PLAN

 

DIVIDENDS, OTHER DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES

 

FUND SERVICE PROVIDERS

 

INDEX PROVIDER

 

Disclaimers

 

OTHER INFORMATION

 

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

 

Notice of Privacy Policy & Practices

 

 

No person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this Prospectus and the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”) dated [       ] (which is incorporated by reference into this Prospectus and is legally a part of this Prospectus) and, if given or made, such information or representations may not be relied upon as having been authorized by us.

 




 



FUND SUMMARY


Investment Objective  The Arrow Dow Jones Global Yield ETF (the “Fund”) seeks investment results that generally correspond, before fees and expenses, to the price and yield performance of the Dow Jones Global Composite Yield Index (the “Underlying Index”).


Fees and Expenses  The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund (“Shares”).  Investors may pay brokerage commissions on their purchases and sales of Shares in the secondary market, which are not reflected in the table or the example below.


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


Management Fees

0.75% 

Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees

0.00% 

Other Expenses*

0.00% 

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.75% 

 

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


Example


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


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


1 YEAR

 

3 YEARS

$ 77

 

$ 240

 


Portfolio Turnover


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


Principal Investment Strategies


The Fund uses a “passive” or “indexing” investment approach to seek to track the price and yield performance of the Underlying Index.  Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not try to “beat” the Underlying Index and does not seek temporary defensive positions when markets decline.  


Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its total assets in the component securities of the Underlying Index (or depositary receipts representing those securities).  The Underlying Index seeks to identify the 150 highest yielding investable securities in the world within three “asset classes.”

 

Common Stocks are the common equity securities issued by corporate issuers and usually include voting rights.


Preferred Stocks are equity securities issued by corporate issuers that typically pay dividends and have a higher claim on the assets of an issuer than common stock in a bankruptcy or similar proceeding, but do not include voting rights.   

 

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The three global “asset classes” in the Underlying Index are equity securities, fixed income securities and alternative investments, and the asset classes are represented in the Underlying Index by the following five types of securities:


Equity securities are represented by depository receipts, common stocks and preferred stocks of companies of any size, including small and medium-sized companies;

Fixed income securities (sometimes referred to as “debt securities” or “bonds”) are represented by

                  •   Sovereign debt securities; and

Corporate bonds, including investment and non-investment (or “junk”) bonds; and

Alternative investments are represented by

•  Real estate securities, including REITs; and

Energy-related investments, including preferred stocks of energy companies, royalty income trusts (“royalty trusts”) and MLPs.


Each type of security (i.e., equity, sovereign debt, corporate debt, real estate and energy securities) is equal weighted at 20% of the Underlying Index on rebalance and reconstitution dates and represented by approximately 30 component securities in the Underlying Index.  The Underlying Index is rebalanced and reconstituted at the end of each calendar quarter.  


Between quarter-ends, the relative weights of the types of securities in the Underlying Index will fluctuate with changes in the component securities’ market values.  Since the Underlying Index is composed of securities of all five types, there may be times when lower yielding securities of one type are selected for the Underlying Index and higher yielding securities of another type are not.  

 

Depositary Receipts are receipts for shares of a foreign-based company that entitles the holder to distributions on the underlying security.  


Corporate Bonds are debt securities issued by corporate issuers.  They typically pay dividends and have a higher claim on an issuer’s assets in a bankruptcy or similar proceeding but do not include voting rights or other equity characteristics.   


Sovereign Debt Securities are debt securities issued or supported by domestic or foreign governments, their agencies and municipalities.  Sovereign debt securities can be backed by the general credit of the government issuer or by a specific revenue source, such as a toll road.   

 

REITs are real estate investment trusts.  REITs are investment trusts, corporations, or associations that invest in real estate assets and/or interests in mortgages on real estate assets.  REITs include similar investment vehicles that invest in real estate assets, pay dividends and are treated as REITs for tax purposes.


Royalty Trusts are investment trusts that invest in natural resource companies.  They may buy natural resource companies and/or the right to these companies’ cash flows and/or royalties from the production and sale of natural resources.  


MLPs are master limited partnerships.  Many MLPs are publicly traded partnerships engaged in the transportation, storage and processing of minerals and natural resources.  

 

The Underlying Index aggregates five different sub-indexes to identify its component securities – one sub-index for each type of security.   The component securities of each sub-index are equal-weighted.  The equity, real estate and energy sub-indexes are rebalanced quarterly and reconstituted annually.  The sovereign and corporate debt sub-indexes are rebalanced and reconstituted quarterly.


Securities in the Underlying Index may include securities from developed or emerging market countries and securities of any credit quality, including junk bonds.   Preferred stocks, other debt securities, convertible securities and sovereign debt securities may be rated by credit rating agencies and their ratings may be considered by the Underlying Index’s methodology .  The Fund may be concentrated in an industry or group of industries or in a sector to the extent the Underlying Index is concentrated in an industry or group of industries or sector.


Although it is expected that the Fund will invest in all of the positions in the Underlying Index in the same weight as they appear in the Index (i.e., replicate the Underlying Index), the Fund may use a “sampling” methodology to seek its investment objective .  Sampling involves using a quantitative analysis to select securities that in the aggregate have investment characteristics resembling the Underlying Index in terms of key risk factors, performance attributes and other characteristics.  The Fund may invest up to 20% of its total assets in instruments that are not component securities of the Underlying Index, including other exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”).  

 

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Principal Investment Risks


The following summarizes the principal investment risks of the Fund.


The Shares will change in value, and you could lose money by investing in the Fund.  The Fund may not achieve its investment objective and an investment in the Fund is not by itself a complete or balanced investment program.  An investment in the Fund is not a deposit with a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.


Concentration Risk. A significant percentage of the Underlying Index may be comprised of issuers in a single industry or group of industries.  If the Fund is focused in an industry or group of industries, the value of Shares may rise and fall more than the value of shares of a fund that invests in a broader range of securities.


Counterparty Risk.  The Fund may invest in financial instruments involving counterparties for the purpose of attempting to gain exposure to particular securities or asset classes without actually purchasing those securities or investments.  These financial instruments may involve risks that are different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions, and expose the Fund to the risk that the counterparty will be unable or unwilling to pay obligations due to the Fund.  


Depositary Receipt Risk. The Fund’s investments in foreign companies may be in the form of depositary receipts or other securities convertible into securities of foreign issuers, including American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”) and Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”).  ADRs, EDRs and GDRs are generally subject to the risks of investing directly in foreign securities and, in some cases, there may be less information available about the underlying issuers than would be the case with a direct investment in the foreign issuer.  


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.  Fluctuations in the value of equity securities held by the Fund will cause the net asset value (“NAV”) of the Fund to fluctuate.


Common Stock Risks.  Common stock of an issuer in the Fund’s portfolio may decline in price if the issuer fails to make anticipated dividend payments.  Common stock will be subject to greater dividend risk than preferred stocks or debt instruments of the same issuer.  In addition, common stocks have experienced significantly more volatility in returns than other asset classes.


Preferred Stock Risks.  Generally, preferred stockholders (such as the Fund) have no voting rights with respect to the issuing company unless certain events occur.  In addition, preferred stock will be subject to greater credit risk than debt instruments of an issuer, and could be subject to interest rate risk like fixed income securities, as described below.  An issuer’s board of directors is generally not under any obligation to pay a dividend (even if dividends have accrued), and may suspend payment of dividends on preferred stock at any time.  There is also a risk that the issuer of any of the Fund’s holdings will default and fail to make scheduled dividend payments on the preferred stock held by the Fund).  


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


Not 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.


Trading 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 Exchange.  There is no guarantee that an active secondary market will develop for Shares of the Fund.

 

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Market 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.  


Fixed-Income Securities Risk.  Fixed-income securities are subject to special risks, including interest rate risk, credit risk and prepayment risk.  


Interest Rate Risk.  Interest rate risk is the risk that fixed income securities will decline in value because of changes in interest rates.  Generally, the value of debt securities falls as interest rates rise.  Fixed income securities differ in their sensitivities to changes in interest rates.  Fixed income securities with longer effective durations tend to be more sensitive to changes in interest rates, usually making them more volatile than securities with shorter effective durations.  


Credit Risk.  Credit risk is the risk that the inability or perceived inability of an issuer to make interest and principal payments will cause the value of its securities to decrease, and cause the Fund a loss.  If an issuer’s financial health deteriorates, it may result in a reduction of the credit rating of the issuer’s securities.  Declines in credit quality can result in bankruptcy for the issuer and permanent loss of investment.


The fixed income securities held by the Fund are subject to the risk that the issuer will be unwilling or unable to satisfy its obligations to the Fund, including the periodic payment of interest or the payment of principal upon maturity.


Prepayment Risk.  Prepayment risk is the risk that issuers of callable securities with high interest coupons prepay (or “call”) their bonds before their maturity date due to falling interest rates.  If a call were exercised by the issuer during a period of declining interest rates, the Fund is likely to have to replace such called security with a lower yielding security.  If that were to happen, it would decrease the Fund’s net investment income.


Foreign Securities Risk.  Foreign investments are subject to the same risks as domestic investments and additional risks, including international trade, currency, political, regulatory and diplomatic risks, which may affect their value.  Foreign markets are subject to special risks associated with foreign investment including, but not limited to: lower levels of liquidity and market efficiency; greater securities price volatility; exchange rate fluctuations and exchange controls; limitations on foreign ownership of securities; imposition of withholding or other taxes; imposition of restrictions on the expatriation of the assets of the Fund; difficulties in enforcing contractual obligations; lower levels of regulation of the securities market; risks in clearance and settlement processes; and weaker accounting, disclosure and reporting requirements.  Shareholder rights under the laws of some foreign countries may not be as favorable as U.S. laws.  Also, foreign securities are subject to the risk that their market price may not reflect the issuer’s condition because there is not sufficient publicly available information about the issuer.   


Currency Risk.  Currency risk is the potential for price fluctuations in the dollar value of foreign securities because of changing currency exchange rates.  Because the Fund’s NAV is determined on the basis of U.S. dollars, the Fund may lose money if the local currency of a foreign market depreciates against the U.S. dollar, even if the local currency value of the Fund’s holdings goes up.


Emerging Markets Risk. Emerging markets securities are subject to the same risks as foreign investments and to additional risks due to greater political and economic uncertainties, including governmental interference in the markets, as well as a relative lack of information about companies in these markets.  As a result, emerging markets may experience greater market volatility and lower trading volumes.  Moreover, many emerging securities markets are relatively small, potentially illiquid, occasionally volatile and subject to high transaction costs.

 

 

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


“Junk Bond” Risk.  Non-investment grade securities and unrated securities of comparable credit quality – generally known as junk bonds – are subject to the increased risk of an issuer’s inability to meet principal and interest payment obligations and are considered highly speculative.  These securities may be subject to greater price volatility due to such factors as specific corporate developments, interest rate sensitivity, negative perceptions whether real or perceived, and adverse economic conditions.  In addition, there may be little trading in the secondary market for particular bonds or other debt securities, which may make them more difficult to value or sell.   Issuers of lower-rated securities also have a greater risk of default and bankruptcy.


Liquidity Risk.  Some securities held by the Fund may be difficult to sell or illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil.  Illiquid securities also may be difficult to value.  If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security at an unfavorable time, the Fund may incur a loss and may not achieve a high correlation with the Underlying Index.


Market Risk.  Market risk is the risk that the market will go down in value, including the possibility that these changes will be sharp and unpredictable, impacting the securities held by the Fund.  The financial problems in global economies over the past several years, including the European sovereign debt crisis, may continue to cause high volatility in global financial markets.  In addition, global economies are increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact a different country or region.  The severity or duration of these conditions may also be affected if one or more countries leave the euro currency or by other policy changes made by governments or quasi-governmental organizations.  


MLP Securities Risk.  Investments in the debt and equity securities of MLPs involve risks that differ from an investment in common stock.  Holders of units of MLPs have more limited control rights and limited rights to vote on matters affecting the MLP as compared to holders of stock of a corporation.  MLPs are controlled by their general partners, which may be subject to conflicts of interest.  General partners typically have limited fiduciary duties to an MLP, which could allow a general partner to favor its own interests over the MLP’s interests.  General partners of MLPs also often have limited call rights that may require unitholders to sell their common units at an undesirable time or price.  MLPs may issue additional common units without unitholder approval, which would dilute the interests of existing unitholders, including the Fund’s ownership interest.


The amount of cash that each individual MLP can distribute to the Fund, which the Fund then uses to pay or distribute to its shareholders, will depend on the amount of cash the MLP generates from operations.  This will vary from quarter to quarter depending on factors affecting the natural gas infrastructure market generally and on factors affecting the particular business lines of the MLP.  Available cash will also depend on an MLP’s level of operating costs (including incentive distributions to its general partner), level of capital expenditures, debt service requirements, acquisition costs (if any), fluctuations in working capital needs and other factors.


One benefit of MLPs depends largely on the MLPs being classified as partnerships for federal tax purposes and the MLPs having no federal income tax liability at the entity level.  A change in current federal tax law or a change in an MLP’s business might cause the MLP not to be taxed as a partnership.  Treatment of one or more MLPs as a corporation for federal tax purposes could affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective and would reduce the amount of cash available to pay or distribute to shareholders.

 

Non-Correlation Risk.  The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Underlying Index for a number of reasons, including: the Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Underlying Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities; the Fund may not be fully invested at times; the performance of the Fund and the Underlying Index may vary due to asset valuation differences and differences between the Fund’s portfolio and the Underlying Index resulting from legal restrictions, cost or liquidity constraints and; if used, representative sampling may cause the Fund’s tracking error to be higher than would be the case if the Fund purchased all of the securities in the Underlying Index.  

 

 

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Recent Market Conditions Risk. The financial crisis in the U.S. and global economies over the past several years, including the European sovereign debt crisis, has resulted, and may continue to result, in an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets, both domestic and foreign, and in the net asset values of many mutual funds, including to some extent the Fund. In addition, global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers in a different country or region. Because the situation is widespread and largely unprecedented, it may be unusually difficult to identify both risks and opportunities using past models of the interplay of market forces, or to predict the duration of these market conditions. The severity or duration of these conditions may also be affected by policy changes made by governments or quasi-governmental organizations.  


REIT Risk.  Investments in securities of real estate companies involve risks including, among others, adverse changes in national, state or local real estate conditions; obsolescence of properties; changes in the availability, cost and terms of mortgage funds; and the impact of changes in environmental laws.  The value of a REIT can depend on the structure of and cash flow generated by the REIT.  In addition, like mutual funds, REITs have expenses, including advisory and administration fees, which are paid by their shareholders.  Further, the failure of a company to qualify as a REIT or comply with applicable federal tax requirements could have adverse consequences for the Fund, including significantly reducing return to the Fund on its investment.


RIC Qualification Risk. To qualify for treatment as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (“Code”), the Fund must meet certain income source, asset diversification and annual distribution requirements.  The Fund’s MLP investments may make it more difficult for the Fund to meet these requirements.   The asset diversification requirements include a requirement that, at the end of each quarter of each taxable year, not more than 25% of the value of the Fund’s total assets is invested in the securities (including debt securities) of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships; the Fund anticipates that the MLPs in which it invests will be qualified publicly traded partnerships.  If the Fund’s MLP investments exceed this 25% limitation, then the Fund would not satisfy the diversification requirements and could fail to qualify as a RIC.  If, in any taxable year, the Fund fails to qualify as a RIC for any reason, the Fund would be taxed as an ordinary corporation and would become (or remain) subject to corporate income tax.  The resulting corporate taxes could substantially reduce the Fund’s net assets, the amount of income available for distribution and the amount of our distributions.


Royalty Trust Risk.  Investments in royalty trusts, which differ from owning shares of a corporation, will have varying degrees of risk depending on the sector and the underlying assets.  They will also be subject to general risks associated with business cycles, commodity prices, interest rates, and other economic factors.  Typically, royalty trusts are more volatile than fixed-income securities and preferred shares.  To the extent that claims against a royalty trust are not satisfied by the trust, investors in the trust (including the Fund if it is an investor in the Trust) could be held responsible for those claims.  

Royalty trusts may be subject to certain risks associated with a decline in demand for crude oil, natural gas and refined petroleum products, which, in turn, could adversely affect income and royalty trust revenues and cash flows.  Factors that could lead to a decrease in market demand include a recession or other adverse economic conditions, an increase in the market price of the underlying commodity, higher taxes or other regulatory actions that increase costs, or a shift in consumer demand for such products.  A rising interest rate environment could adversely impact the performance of royalty trusts.  Rising interest rates could limit the capital appreciation of royalty trusts because of the increased availability of alternative investments at more competitive yields.


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 Underlying 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 Underlying Index.  To the extent the assets in the Fund are smaller, these risks will be greater.


Sector Risk – Financial Services Sector.  The financial services industries are subject to extensive government regulation, can be subject to relatively rapid change due to increasingly blurred distinctions between service segments, and can be significantly affected by availability and cost of capital funds, changes in interest rates, the rate of corporate and consumer debt defaults, and price competition.  In addition, the deterioration of the credit markets since late 2007 generally has caused an adverse impact in a broad range of markets, including U.S. and international credit and interbank money markets generally, thereby affecting a wide range of financial institutions and markets.  

 

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Sector Risk - Oils/Energy Sector.  The profitability of companies in the oils/energy sector is related to worldwide energy prices, exploration, and production spending.  These companies also are subject to risks of changes in exchange rates, government regulation, world events, depletion of resources and economic conditions, as well as market, economic and political risks of the countries where energy companies are located or do business.  Oil and gas exploration and production can be significantly affected by natural disasters.  Oil exploration and production companies may be adversely affected by changes in exchange rates, interest rates, government regulation, world events, and economic conditions.  Oil exploration and production companies may be at risk for environmental damage claims.  


Small and Medium Capitalization Company Risk.  Investing in securities of small and medium capitalization companies involves greater risk than is customarily associated with investing in larger, more established companies.  These companies’ securities may be more volatile and less liquid than those of more established companies.  These companies may be more dependent on single products or key personnel, and may be newer than larger, more established companies with less information to evaluate.  


Sovereign Debt Securities Risk.  Investments in sovereign debt obligations involve special risks not present in corporate debt obligations.  The issuer of the sovereign debt or the 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 Fund’s net asset value, may be more volatile than prices of U.S. debt obligations.  In the past, certain non-U.S. markets 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 debts.  


Performance


The Fund has not yet commenced operations and therefore does not have a performance history.  Once available, the Fund’s performance information will be accessible on the Fund’s website at www.ArrowShares.com and will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing how the Fund’s average annual returns compare with a broad measure of market performance.  Past performance (before and after taxes) does not necessarily indicate how the Fund will perform in the future.  


Management


Investment Advisor.  Arrow Investment Advisors, LLC (the “Advisor”).


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


Name

Title with Advisor

Date Began Managing Fund

William E. Flaig, Jr.

Chief Investment Officer

Since Inception in 2012

Adrian Bachman

Portfolio Manager

Since Inception in 2012



Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares


The Fund will issue and redeem Shares at NAV only in large blocks of 75,000 Shares (each block of Shares is called a “Creation Unit ”).  Creation Units are issued and redeemed for cash and/or in-kind for securities.  Individual Shares may only be purchased and sold in secondary market transactions through brokers.  Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the Shares are not redeemable securities of the Fund.


Shares of the Fund will be listed for trading on NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”) and will trade at market prices rather than NAV.  Shares of the Fund may trade at a price that is greater than, at, or less than NAV.

 

 

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Tax Information


The Fund’s distributions generally will be taxable as ordinary income or long-term capital gains.  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 website for more information.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS


Principal Investment Strategies


The Fund’s investment objective, to seek investment results that generally correspond (before fees and expenses) to the price and yield performance of the Underlying Index, is non-fundamental.  The Fund has adopted a policy to provide its shareholders with at least 60 days prior written notice of any change to the investment objective.


The Advisor seeks correlation over time of 0.95 or better between the Fund’s performance and the performance of the Underlying Index; a figure of 1.00 would represent perfect correlation.


Although the Advisor intends for the Fund to replicate the Underlying Index, the Fund may employ representative sampling to achieve its investment objective.  In particular, the Fund may use representative sampling when securities in the Underlying Index are not available in the quantities needed by the Fund, when any security in the Underlying Index is subjecting to trading in round lots that are too large for inclusion in the basket of in-kind securities deposited for a Creation Unit, and until the Fund achieves scale.  


The Fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets in the components of the Underlying Index and up to 20% of its assets in instruments that are not component securities of the Underlying Index, if the Advisor believes that such instruments will help the Fund to track its Underlying Index.  For example, provided that the Fund continues to invest at least 80% of its total assets in the components of the Underlying Index and the Advisor believes it will help the Fund to track its Underlying Index, the Fund may invest in securities not included in the Underlying Index, other ETFs and money market instruments, including repurchase agreements or other funds which invest exclusively in money market instruments (subject to applicable limitations under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, (the “1940 Act”), or rules under the 1940 Act).  Further, the Fund may sell securities included in its Underlying Index in anticipation of their removal from the Underlying Index, purchase securities not included in the Underlying Index in anticipation of their addition to the Underlying Index and/or hold a security no longer included in the Underlying Index.  The Advisor anticipates that it may take approximately three business days (a business day is any day that the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open) for the Advisor to reflect fully the additions and deletions to the Underlying Index in the portfolio composition of the Fund.


The Fund will not implement a temporary defensive strategy to protect it against potential securities market declines.


The Underlying Index uses rules-based criteria to select and identify the highest yielding securities within a range of asset classes determined in accordance with the Underlying Index’s methodologies from a universe of foreign and domestic securities.  The Underlying Index is based on five sub-indexes.  These sub-indexes, together, comprise the Underlying Index and include (1) common stock, preferred stock and depositary receipts, (2) real-estate related investments, including REITs, (3) investment grade and non-investment grade corporate bonds, (4) energy-related investments, including preferred stock of energy companies, royalty trusts and MLPs, and (5) sovereign debt securities.  

 

 

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Each sub-index may include both foreign and domestic issuers.  The equity, real estate and energy sub-indexes include issues from the following 47 different countries:  Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and United States of America.  The equity, real estate and energy sub-indexes also include securities of Chinese issuers that are trading other than in mainland China.  The sovereign and corporate debt sub-indexes include issues from the same 47 countries as the equity, real estate and energy sub-indexes and also include issues from Luxembourg and Panama.


Each sub-index represents, at each quarterly rebalancing and reconstitution of the Underlying Index, 20% of the Underlying Index; that percentage fluctuates in between quarterly rebalancings.   Each of the sub-indexes in the Underlying Index is rebalanced quarterly and its components are re-weighted at that time.  The equity, real estate and energy sub-indexes are reconstituted annually in December.  The corporate and sovereign debt sub-indexes are reconstituted quarterly.  Each sub-index has a different investment universe and selection criteria, determined in accordance with pre-determined methodologies maintained by the sub-index providers.  At rebalance and reconstitution dates, each sub-index selects 30 securities for inclusion in the Underlying Index.  The combination of the five sub-indexes results in the Underlying Index normally having 150 components.  


The sub-indexes include liquidity screens that are designed to make them investable.   The MLP sub-index also includes a screen that excludes from the universe of eligible MLPs those investing in the financial services industry .  


The sub-indexes may be subject to quarterly reviews by their providers.  In connection with such reviews, if a component security has exhibited significant negative dividend growth or negative earnings from continuing operations over the past twelve-month period, the security may be removed from the sub-index by the provider.  In addition, component securities may be removed from a sub-index during a quarter if the company is affected by a corporate action (i.e., delisting or bankruptcy), eliminates its dividend, or lowers, but does not eliminate, its dividend in certain circumstances.  The removal of a security from a sub-index would result also in its removal from the Underlying Index.  In these instances, the removed security is replaced by another security in the same sub-index before the quarter end .  


As of December 31 , 2011:  The average market capitalization of issuers of component securities in the equity, real estate and energy sub-indexes was $6.05 billion.  The average principal outstanding of issuers of component securities in the corporate and sovereign debt sub-indexes was $ 500 million .  The minimum maturities of the securities in the corporate and sovereign debt sub-indexes are, respectively, 2 ½ and 1 ½ years.  The Underlying Index consisted of 150 issues with an average annual yield 8.61%.  More than 25% of the components of the Underlying Index, as measured by total assets , were concentrated in the financial services sector.


The methodology of the Underlying Index is published by the Index Provider on the Index Provider’s website, at http://www.djindexes.com/mdsidx/downloads/meth_info/Dow_Jones_Global_Composite_Yield_Index .  


Principal Investment Risks


The following provides additional information about certain of the principal risks identified under “Principal Investment Risks” and other risks applicable to the Fund.


Counterparty Risk.  The Fund may invest in financial instruments involving counterparties for the purpose of attempting to gain exposure to a particular group of securities or asset class without actually purchasing those securities or investments. These financial instruments may include swap agreements and structured notes.  The use of swap agreements and other counterparty instruments involves risks that are different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. For example, the Fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty.  Swap agreements and other counterparty instruments also may be considered to be illiquid.  In addition, the Fund may enter into swap agreements that involve a limited number of counterparties, which may increase the Fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk.  The Fund does not specifically limit its counterparty risk with respect to any single counterparty.  Further, there is a risk that no suitable counterparties will be willing to enter into, or continue to enter into, transactions with the Fund and, as a result, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective.

 

 

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Equity Securities Risk.  The value of the Fund’s stock holdings may decline in price because of changes in prices of its holdings or a broad stock market decline.  These fluctuations could be a sustained trend or a drastic movement. The stock markets generally move in cycles, with periods of rising prices followed by periods of declining prices.  The value of the Fund may reflect these fluctuations.  


Common Stock Risks.  Common stock of an issuer in the Fund’s portfolio may decline in price if the issuer fails to make anticipated dividend payments because the issuer of the security experiences a decline in its financial condition.  Common stock is subordinated to preferred stocks, bonds and other debt instruments in a company’s capital structure, in terms of priority to corporate income, and therefore will be subject to greater dividend risk than preferred stocks or debt instruments of these issuers.  In addition, common stocks have experienced significantly more volatility in returns than other asset classes.


Preferred Stock Risks.  There are special risks associated with investing in preferred stock.  Generally, preferred stockholders (such as the Fund) have no voting rights with respect to the issuing company unless certain events occur.  In addition, preferred stock is subordinated to bonds and other debt instruments in a company’s capital structure and therefore will be subject to greater credit risk than those debt instruments, including interest rate risk.  As interest rates rise, the value of the preferred stocks held by the Fund are likely to decline.  Unlike debt securities, dividend payments on preferred stock typically must be declared by the issuer’s board of directors.  An issuer’s board of directors is generally not under any obligation to pay a dividend (even if dividends have accrued), and may suspend payment of dividends on preferred stock at any time.  If an issuer of preferred stock experiences economic difficulties, the issuer’s preferred stock may lose substantial value due to the reduced likelihood that the issuer’s board of directors will declare a dividend and the fact that the preferred stock may be subordinated to other securities of the same issuer.  There is a chance that the issuer of any of the Fund’s holdings will default (fail to make scheduled dividend payments on the preferred stock or scheduled interest payments on other obligations of the issuer not held by the Fund).  


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


Not 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.


Trading 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 Exchange.  There is no guarantee that an active secondary market will develop for Shares of the Fund.


Market Price Variance Risk.  Individual Shares of the Fund that are listed for trading on the Exchange can be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices.  The market prices of Shares will fluctuate in response to changes in NAV and supply and demand for Shares.  There may be times when the market price and the NAV vary significantly and you may pay more than NAV when buying Shares on the secondary market, and you may receive less than NAV when you sell those Shares.  The market price of Shares, like the price of any exchange-traded security, includes a “bid-ask spread” charged by the exchange specialists, market makers or other participants that trade the particular security.  In times of severe market disruption, the bid-ask spread often increases significantly.  This means that Shares may trade at a discount to NAV and the discount is likely to be greatest when the price of Shares is falling fastest, which may be the time that you most want to sell your Shares.  The Fund’s investment results are measured based upon the daily NAV of the Fund over a period of time.  Investors purchasing and selling Shares in the secondary market may not experience investment results consistent with those experienced by those creating and redeeming directly with the Fund.  


Fixed-Income Securities Risk.  Fixed-income securities are subject to special risks, including interest rate risk, credit risk and prepayment risk.  

 

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Interest Rate Risk.  Interest rate risk is the risk that fixed income securities will decline in value because of changes in interest rates.  Generally, the value of debt securities falls as interest rates rise.  Fixed income securities differ in their sensitivities to changes in interest rates.  Fixed income securities with longer effective durations tend to be more sensitive to changes in interest rates, usually making them more volatile than securities with shorter effective durations.  


Credit Risk.  Credit risk is the risk that the inability or perceived inability of an issuer to make interest and principal payments will cause the value of its securities to decrease, and cause the Fund a loss.  If an issuer’s financial health deteriorates, it may result in a reduction of the credit rating of the issuer’s securities and may lead to the issuer’s inability to honor its obligations, including making timely payment of interest and principal.  Although a downgrade of a bond’s credit ratings may not affect its price, a decline in credit quality may make bonds less attractive, thereby increasing the yield on the bond and driving down the price.  Declines in credit quality can result in bankruptcy for the issuer and permanent loss of investment.


The fixed income securities held by the Fund are subject to the risk that the issuer will be unwilling or unable to satisfy its obligations to the Fund, including the periodic payment of interest or the payment of principal upon maturity.


Rating agencies are private services that provide ratings of the credit quality of fixed income securities.  Ratings assigned by a rating agency are not absolute standards of credit quality and do not evaluate market risks.  Rating agencies may fail to make timely changes in credit ratings and an issuer’s current financial condition may be better or worse than a rating indicates.  Further, rating agencies may end coverage of a previously-rated security.  Unrated securities may be less liquid than comparable rated securities.


Prepayment Risk.  Prepayment risk is the risk that issuers of callable securities with high interest coupons prepay (or “call”) their bonds before their maturity date due to falling interest rates.  If a call were exercised by the issuer during a period of declining interest rates, the Fund is likely to have to replace such called security with a lower yielding security.  If that were to happen, it would decrease the Fund’s net investment income.


Foreign and Emerging Markets Risk.  Foreign investments involve special risks not present in U.S. investments that can increase the chances that the Fund will lose money.  These risks are higher for emerging markets investments, which can be subject to greater social, economic, regulatory and political uncertainties.  In particular, investments in, or exposure to, foreign securities involve the following risks:

• The economies of some foreign markets often do not compare favorably with that of the U.S. in areas such as growth of gross domestic product, reinvestment of capital, resources, and balance of payments.  Some of these economies may rely heavily on particular industries or foreign capital.  They may be more vulnerable to adverse diplomatic developments, the imposition of economic sanctions against a country, changes in international trading patterns, trade barriers and other protectionist or retaliatory measures.

• Governmental actions – such as the imposition of capital controls, nationalization of companies or industries, expropriation of assets or the imposition of punitive taxes – may adversely affect long investments in foreign markets.

• The governments of certain countries may prohibit or substantially restrict foreign investing in their capital markets or in certain industries.  This could severely affect security prices.  This could also impair the Fund’s ability to purchase or sell foreign securities or transfer its assets or income back to the U.S., or otherwise adversely affect the Fund’s operations.  

• Other foreign market risks include foreign exchange controls, difficulties in pricing securities, defaults on foreign government securities, difficulties in enforcing favorable legal judgments in foreign courts, and political and social instability.  Legal remedies available to investors in some foreign countries are less extensive than those available to investors in the U.S.  Many foreign governments supervise and regulate stock exchanges, brokers and the sale of securities less than the U.S. government does.  Corporate governance may not be as robust as in more developed countries.  As a result, protections for minority investors may not be strong, which could affect security prices.

 

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• Accounting standards in other countries are not necessarily the same as in the U.S.  If the accounting standards in another country do not require as much disclosure or detail as U.S. accounting standards, it may be harder to assess a company’s financial condition.

• Because there are usually fewer investors on foreign exchanges and smaller numbers of shares traded each day, it may be difficult for the Fund to buy and sell securities on those exchanges.  In addition, prices of foreign securities may go up and down more than prices of securities traded in the U.S.

• Foreign markets may have different clearance and settlement procedures.  In certain markets, settlements may not keep pace with the volume of securities transactions.  If this occurs, settlement may be delayed and the Fund’s assets may be uninvested and may not be earning returns.  The Fund also may not be able to sell an investment because of these delays.

• Changes in currency exchange rates will affect the value of the Fund’s foreign holdings or exposures.  

• The costs of foreign securities transactions tend to be higher than those of U.S. transactions, increasing the transaction costs paid by the Fund.

• International trade barriers or economic sanctions against foreign countries may adversely affect the Fund’s foreign holdings or exposures.



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


“Junk Bond” Risk.  Investments in securities rated below investment grade, or “junk bonds,” generally involve significantly greater risks of loss than an investment in investment grade bonds. Junk bonds are debt securities that are rated BB or lower by S&P and/or Ba or lower by Moody’s or the equivalent by another ratings agency, or, if unrated at the time of purchase, are deemed to be of comparable quality by the Advisor.  Compared with issuers of investment grade bonds, junk bonds are more likely to encounter financial difficulties and to be materially affected by these difficulties, and are considered highly speculative.  Rising interest rates may compound these difficulties and reduce an issuer’s ability to repay principal and interest obligations.  These bonds are often thinly traded and can be more difficult to sell and value accurately than high quality bonds and, as a result, may be less liquid than higher quality investments.  A real or perceived economic downturn or higher interest rates could cause a decline in high yield bond prices by lessening the ability of issuers to make principal and interest payments.  Because objective pricing data may be less available, judgment may play a greater role in the valuation process.  In addition, the entire high yield bond market can experience sudden and sharp price swings due to a variety of factors, including changes in economic forecasts, stock market activity, large or sustained sales by major investors, a high-profile default, or just a change in the market’s psychology.  This type of volatility is usually associated more with stocks than bonds, but junk bond investors should be prepared for it.


Market Risk.  The Fund’s NAV and investment return will fluctuate based upon changes in the value of its portfolio securities, which could go down in value, sometimes sharply and unpredictably.  You could lose money on your investment in the Fund, or the Fund could underperform other investments.  An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.  The Fund’s NAV will fluctuate based upon changes in the value of its portfolio securities.  The market value of securities in which the Fund invests is based upon the market’s perception of value and is not necessarily an objective measure of the securities’ value.  There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective, and an investment in the Fund is not by itself a complete or balanced investment program.  The financial problems in global economies over the past several years, including the European sovereign debt crisis, may continue to cause high volatility in global financial markets.  In addition, global economies are increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact a different country or region.  The severity or duration of these conditions may also be affected if one or more countries leave the euro currency or by other policy changes made by governments or quasi-governmental organizations.  

 

 

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MLP Risk. Investments in securities of MLPs involve risks that differ from an investment in common stock.

Holders of units of MLPs have more limited control rights and limited rights to vote on matters affecting the MLP as compared to holders of stock of a corporation. For example, MLP unit holders may not elect the general partner or the directors of the general partner and the MLP unit holders have limited ability to remove an MLP’s general partner.


MLPs are controlled by their general partners, which generally have conflicts of interest and limited fiduciary duties to the MLP, which may permit the general partner to favor its own interests over the MLPs.


The Fund derives some of its cash flow from investments in equity securities of MLPs. The amount of cash that a Fund will have available to pay or distribute to you depends on the ability of the MLPs that the Fund invests in to make distributions to their partners and the tax character of those distributions. Neither the Fund nor the Investment Advisor has control over the actions of underlying MLPs. The amount of cash that each individual MLP can distribute to its partners will depend on the amount of cash it generates from operations, which will vary from quarter to quarter depending on factors affecting the natural gas infrastructure market generally and on factors affecting the particular business lines of the MLP. Available cash will also depend on an MLPs’ level of operating costs (including incentive distributions to its general partner), level of capital expenditures, debt service requirements, acquisition costs (if any), fluctuations in working capital needs, and other factors. The Fund expects to generate significant investment income, and the Fund’s investments may not distribute the expected or anticipated levels of cash, resulting in the risk that the Fund may not have the ability to make cash distributions as investors expect from MLP-focused investments.


MLP Tax Risks.  The benefit you are expected to derive from the Fund’s investments in MLPs depends largely on the MLPs being classified as partnerships for federal tax purposes. As a partnership, an MLP has no federal income tax liability at the entity level. If, as a result of a change in current law or a change in an MLP’s business, an MLP were treated as a corporation for federal tax purposes, the MLP would be obligated to pay federal income tax on its taxable income at the corporate tax rate and the amount of cash available for distribution would be reduced and part or all of the distributions the Fund receives might be taxed entirely as dividend income. Therefore, treatment of one or more MLPs as a corporation for federal tax purposes could affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective and would reduce the amount of cash available to pay or distribute to shareholders.


The tax treatment of publicly traded partnerships could be subject to potential legislative, judicial, or administrative changes and differing interpretations, possibly on a retroactive basis. Any such changes could negatively impact the value of an investment in MLPs and therefore the value of your investment in the Fund.


Non-Correlation Risk. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Underlying Index for a number of reasons, including the following:


·

The Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Underlying Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s securities holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Underlying Index.


·

The Fund’s use of representative sampling may cause the Fund’s tracking error with respect to the Underlying Index to be higher than would be the case if the Fund purchased all of the securities in the Underlying Index.  


·

The performance of the Fund and the Underlying Index may vary due to asset valuation differences:  the Fund may fair value certain of the securities it holds and to the extent it calculates its NAV based on fair value prices, the Fund’s ability to track the Underlying Index may be adversely affected.  

 

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·

There may be differences between the Fund’s portfolio and the Underlying Index as a result of legal restrictions, cost or liquidity constraints.  For example, the Underlying Index is not subject to the tax diversification requirements to which the Fund must adhere; so the Fund may be required to deviate its investments from the securities and relative weightings of the Underlying Index. Similarly, the Fund may not invest in certain securities included in the Underlying Index due to liquidity constraints. Liquidity constraints also may delay the Fund’s purchase or sale of securities included in the Underlying Index.


·

The investment activities of one or more of the Advisor’s affiliates for their proprietary accounts and for client accounts may also adversely impact the Fund’s ability to track the Underlying Index. For example, in regulated industries, and in corporate and regulatory ownership definitions, there may be limits on the aggregate amount of investment by affiliated investors that may not be exceeded, or that may not be exceeded without the grant of a license or other regulatory or corporate consent or, if exceeded, may cause the Advisor, the Fund or other client accounts to suffer disadvantages or business restrictions. As a result, the Fund may be restricted in its ability to acquire particular securities due to positions held by the Advisor’s affiliates.


Recent Market Conditions Risk. The financial crisis in the U.S. and global economies over the past several years, including the European sovereign debt crisis, has resulted, and may continue to result, in an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets, both domestic and foreign, and in the net asset values of many mutual funds, including to some extent the Fund. Liquidity in some markets has decreased; credit has become scarcer worldwide; and the values of some sovereign debt and of securities of issuers that hold that sovereign debt have fallen. These market conditions may continue or get worse. In addition, global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers in a different country or region. In response to the crisis, the U.S. and other governments and the Federal Reserve and certain foreign central banks have taken steps to support financial markets. Withdrawal of this support, failure of efforts in response to the crisis, or investor perception that such efforts are not succeeding, could adversely impact the value and liquidity of certain securities. Because the situation is widespread and largely unprecedented, it may be unusually difficult to identify both risks and opportunities using past models of the interplay of market forces, or to predict the duration of these market conditions. The severity or duration of these conditions may also be affected by policy changes made by governments or quasi-governmental organizations. Changes in market conditions will not have the same impact on all types of securities.


REIT Risk.  Investments in securities of real estate companies involve risks.  These risks include, among others, adverse changes in national, state or local real estate conditions; obsolescence of properties; changes in the availability, cost and terms of mortgage funds; and the impact of changes in environmental laws.  In addition, a REIT that fails to comply with federal tax requirements affecting REITs may be subject to federal income taxation, or the federal tax requirement that a REIT distribute substantially all of its net income to its shareholders may result in a REIT having insufficient capital for future expenditures.  The value of a REIT can depend on the structure of and cash flow generated by the REIT.  In addition, like mutual funds, REITs have expenses, including advisory and administration fees, which are paid by their shareholders.  As a result, shareholders will absorb duplicate levels of fees when the Fund invests in REITs.  In addition, REITs are subject to certain provisions under federal tax law.  The failure of a company to qualify as a REIT could have adverse consequences for the Fund, including significantly reducing return to the Fund on its investment.


RIC Qualification Risk. To qualify for treatment as a RIC under the Code, the Fund must meet certain income source, asset diversification and annual distribution requirements. The Fund’s MLP investments may make it more difficult for the Fund to meet these requirements. The asset diversification requirements include a requirement that, at the end of each quarter of each taxable year, not more than 25% of the value of the Fund’s total assets is invested in the securities (including debt securities) of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships; the Fund anticipates that the MLPs in which it invests will be qualified publicly traded partnerships. If the Fund’s MLP investments exceed this 25% limitation, then the Fund would not satisfy the diversification requirements and could fail to qualify as a RIC. If, in any taxable year, the Fund fails to qualify as a RIC for any reason, the Fund would be taxed as an ordinary corporation and would become (or remain) subject to corporate income tax. The resulting corporate taxes could substantially reduce the Fund’s net assets, the amount of income available for distribution and the amount of our distributions.

 

 

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Royalty Trust Risk.  An investment in units of a royalty trust is not the equivalent of owning shares in a corporation, as unitholders do not have the statutory rights normally associated with owning shares in a corporation.  Investments in royalty trusts will have varying degrees of risk depending on the sector and the underlying assets.  They will also be subject to general risks associated with business cycles, commodity prices, interest rates, and other economic factors.  Typically, royalty trusts are more volatile than fixed-income securities and preferred shares.  The value of royalty trust units may decline significantly if they are unable to meet distribution targets.  To the extent that claims against a royalty trust are not satisfied by the trust, investors in the trust (including the Fund if it is an investor in the Trust) could be held responsible for those claims.  Certain, but not all, jurisdictions have enacted legislation to protect investors from some of this liability.

Royalty trusts may be subject to certain risks associated with a decline in demand for crude oil, natural gas and refined petroleum products, which, in turn, could adversely affect income and royalty trust revenues and cash flows.  Factors that could lead to a decrease in market demand include a recession or other adverse economic conditions, an increase in the market price of the underlying commodity, higher taxes or other regulatory actions that increase costs, or a shift in consumer demand for such products.  A rising interest rate environment could adversely impact the performance of royalty trusts.  Rising interest rates could limit the capital appreciation of royalty trusts because of the increased availability of alternative investments at more competitive yields.

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 Underlying 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 Underlying Index.  To the extent the assets in the Fund are smaller, these risks will be greater.


Sector Risk – Financial Services Sector.  The financial services industries are subject to extensive government regulation, can be subject to relatively rapid change due to increasingly blurred distinctions between service segments, and can be significantly affected by availability and cost of capital funds, changes in interest rates, the rate of corporate and consumer debt defaults, and price competition.  In addition, the deterioration of the credit markets since late 2007 generally has caused an adverse impact in a broad range of markets, including U.S. and international credit and interbank money markets generally, thereby affecting a wide range of financial institutions and markets.  In particular, events in the financial sector since late 2008 have resulted, and may continue to result, in an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets, both domestic and foreign.  These events have included, but are not limited to, the U.S. government’s placement of the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation under conservatorship, the bankruptcy filing of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America, the U.S. government support of American International Group, Inc., the sale of Wachovia to Wells Fargo, reports of credit and liquidity issues involving certain money market mutual funds, and emergency measures by the U.S. and foreign governments banning short-selling.  This situation has created instability in the financial markets and caused certain financial services companies to incur large losses.  Numerous financial services companies have experienced substantial declines in the valuations of their assets, taken action to raise capital (such as the issuance of debt or equity securities), or even ceased operations.  These actions have caused the securities of many financial services companies to experience a dramatic decline in value.  Moreover, certain financial companies have avoided collapse due to intervention by the U.S. regulatory authorities (such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the Federal Reserve System), but such interventions have often not averted a substantial decline in the value of such companies’ common stock.  Issuers that have exposure to the real estate, mortgage and credit markets have been particularly affected by the foregoing events and the general market turmoil, and it is uncertain whether or for how long these conditions will continue.


Sector Risk - Oils/Energy Sector.  The profitability of companies in the oils/energy sector is related to worldwide energy prices, exploration, and production spending.  These companies also are subject to risks of changes in exchange rates, government regulation, world events, depletion of resources and economic conditions, as well as market, economic and political risks of the countries where energy companies are located or do business.  Oil and gas exploration and production can be significantly affected by natural disasters.  Oil exploration and production companies may be adversely affected by changes in exchange rates, interest rates, government regulation, world events, and economic conditions.  Oil exploration and production companies may be at risk for environmental damage claims.  

 

 

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Small and Medium Capitalization Company Risk.  Investing in securities of small and medium capitalization companies involves greater risk than is customarily associated with investing in larger, more established companies.  These companies’ securities may be more volatile and less liquid than those of more established companies.  These companies may be more dependent on single products or key personnel, and may be newer than larger, more established companies with less information to evaluate.  


Sovereign Debt Securities Risk. 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.


MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND


Investment Advisor


Arrow Investment Advisors, LLC, located at 2943 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Suite A, Olney, Maryland 20832, serves as the Fund’s investment advisor.  Subject to the authority of the Board of Trustees, the Advisor is responsible for the overall management of the Fund’s business affairs.  The Advisor is responsible for selecting the Fund’s investments according to the Fund’s investment objective, policies and restrictions.  The Advisor was established in February 2006.  


The Fund pays the Advisor a unitary management fee equal to 0.75% of its average daily net assets.


The Advisor’s unitary management fee is designed to pay the Fund’s expenses and to compensate the Advisor for providing service for the Fund.  Out of the unitary management fee, the Advisor pays substantially all expenses of the Fund, including the costs of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other services, except for the fee payment under the Advisory Agreement, the fees and expenses of the Trustees who are not “interested persons” within the meaning of the 1940 Act, payments under the Fund’s 12b-1 plan , if any, brokerage expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, interest (including borrowing costs and dividend expenses on securities sold short), litigation expense and other extraordinary expenses (including litigation to which the Trust or the Fund may be a party and indemnification of the Trustees and officers with respect thereto).  The Advisor, and not Fund shareholders, would benefit from any reduction in fees paid for third-party services, including reductions based on increases in assets.


A discussion regarding the Board’s basis for approving the Investment Advisory Agreement with respect to the Fund will be available in the semi-annual report to shareholders for the period ending July 31, 2012.  


Portfolio Managers


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


William E. Flaig Jr., Chief Investment Officer


William E. Flaig, Jr. has been responsible for the day to day management of the Fund since its inception in 2012.  Mr. Flaig joined Arrow Investment Advisors in February of 2007.  From 2005 to 2007 he was a principal of Paladin Asset Management, where Mr. Flaig refined original research in absolute return factors which evolved into Paladin’s corresponding alternative investment strategies.  From 2000 to 2005, Mr. Flaig served Rydex Investments in portfolio management roles of increasing responsibility, culminating with his appointment as Director of Portfolio Management/Director of Investment Strategy with responsibility for all Rydex Portfolio Managers.  Mr. Flaig graduated from Purdue University with a degree in Management.

 

 

16



 


Adrian Bachman, CFA, Portfolio Manager


Adrian Bachman has been responsible for the day to day management of the Fund since its inception in 2012.  Before joining Arrow Investment Advisors in June of 2008, Mr. Bachman spent 11 years at Rydex Investments.  As Portfolio Manager, Mr. Bachman managed Rydex’s Sector Rotation Fund and several sector funds.  During the course of his tenure with Rydex he also aided in the management of numerous other funds including inverse, leveraged and international funds.  Mr. Bachman was also the chairman of the Rydex Advisory Services Investment Committee, responsible for the oversight of the entire Dynamic Advantage Program, including asset allocation.  Mr. Bachman has a bachelor’s degree in finance and international business from the University of Maryland College Park and holds the Charter Financial Analyst designation.


The Fund’s SAI provides additional information about the portfolio managers’ compensation structure, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and the portfolio managers’ ownership of securities in the Fund.


NET ASSET VALUE


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


In determining NAV, expenses are accrued and applied daily and securities and other assets for which market quotations are readily available are valued at market value.  Securities listed or traded on an exchange are generally valued at the last sales price or official closing price of the exchange where the security is primarily traded.  The NAV for the Fund will be calculated and disseminated daily.  The value of the Fund’s portfolio securities is based on market value when market quotations are readily available.  Money market securities maturing in 60 days or less will be valued at amortized cost.   Securities not listed or traded on an exchange for which over-the-counter market quotations are readily available are generally valued at the mean of the current bid and ask prices.  Debt securities are valued on the basis of prices provided by independent pricing services.  If a security’s market price is not readily available, the security will be valued at fair value as determined by the Trust’s Fair Value Committee in accordance with the Trust’s valuation policies and procedures approved by the Board.   The values of assets denominated in foreign currencies are converted into U.S. dollars based on the mean of the current bid and asked prices by major banking institutions and currency dealers.  Any use of a different rate from the rates used by each Index Provider may adversely affect the Fund’s ability to track its Underlying Index .  


Even when market quotations are available, they may be stale or unreliable because the security is not traded frequently, trading on the security ceased before the close of the trading market or issuer specific events occurred after the security ceased trading or because of the passage of time between the close of the market on which the security trades and the close of NYSE and when the Fund calculates its NAV.  Issuer-specific events may cause the last market quotation to be unreliable.  These events may include a merger or insolvency, events which affect a geographical area or an industry segment, such as political events or natural disasters, or market events, such as a significant movement in the U.S. market.  Where market quotations are not readily available, including where the Advisor determines that the closing price of the security is unreliable, the Advisor will value the security at fair value in good faith using procedures approved by the Board.  Fair value pricing involves subjective judgments and it is possible that a fair value determination for a security is materially different than the value that could be realized upon the sale of the security.  In addition, fair value pricing could result in a difference between the prices used to calculate the Fund’s NAV and the prices used by the Underlying Index.  This may adversely affect the Fund’s ability to track the Underlying Index.


Because foreign markets may be open on different days than the days during which a shareholder may purchase Shares, the value of the Fund’s investments may change on days when shareholders are not able to purchase Shares.  Additionally, due to varying holiday schedules, redemption requests made on certain dates may result in a settlement period exceeding seven calendar days.  A list of the holiday schedules of the foreign exchanges of the Fund’s Underlying Indexes, as well as the dates on which a settlement period would exceed seven calendar days in 2012, is contained in an appendix to the SAI.


 

17



 

 

PREMIUM/DISCOUNT INFORMATION


Most investors will buy and sell Shares of the Fund in secondary market transactions through brokers at market prices and the Fund’s Shares will trade at market prices.  The market price of Shares of the Fund may be greater than, equal to, or less than NAV.  Market forces of supply and demand, economic conditions and other factors may affect the trading prices of Shares of each Fund.  


Information regarding how often the Shares of the Fund traded at a price above (at a premium to) or below (at a discount to) the NAV of the Fund during the past four calendar quarters, when available, can be found at www.ArrowShares.com.


HOW TO BUY AND SELL SHARES


Shares of the Fund will be listed for trading on NYSE Arca under the symbol GYLD.  Share prices are reported in dollars and cents per Share.  Shares can be bought and sold on the secondary market throughout the trading day like other publicly traded shares, and Shares typically trade in blocks of less than a Creation Unit.  There is no minimum investment required.  Shares may only be purchased and sold on the secondary market when the Exchange is open for trading.  The Exchange is open for trading Monday through Friday and is closed on weekends and the following holidays, as observed: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.


When buying or selling Shares through a broker, you will incur customary brokerage commissions and charges, and you may pay some or all of the spread between the bid and the offered price in the secondary market on each leg of a round trip (purchase and sale) transaction.


Authorized participants (“APs”) may acquire Shares directly from the Fund, and APs may tender their Shares for redemption directly to the Fund, at NAV per Share only in large blocks, or Creation Units, of 75,000 Shares.  Purchases and redemptions directly with the Fund must follow the Fund’s procedures, which are described in the SAI.


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


Share Trading Prices


The approximate value of Shares of the Fund, an amount representing on a per share basis the sum of the current market price of the securities accepted by the Fund in exchange for Shares of the Fund and an estimated cash component will be disseminated every 15 seconds throughout the trading day through the facilities of the Consolidated Tape Association.  This approximate value should not be viewed as a “real-time” update of the NAV per Share of the Fund because the approximate value may not be calculated in the same manner as the NAV, which is computed once a day, generally at the end of the business day.  The Fund is not involved in, or responsible for, the calculation or dissemination of the approximate value of the Shares and the Fund does not make any warranty as to the accuracy of these values.


Book Entry


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


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


 

18



 

 

FREQUENT PURCHASES AND REDEMPTIONS OF SHARES


The Board has evaluated the risks of market timing activities by the Fund’s shareholders.  The Board noted that the Fund’s Shares can only be purchased and redeemed directly from the Fund in Creation Units by APs and that the vast majority of trading in the Fund’s Shares occurs on the secondary market.  Because the secondary market trades do not directly involve the Fund, it is unlikely those trades would cause the harmful effects of market timing, including dilution, disruption of portfolio management, increases in the Fund’s trading costs and the realization of capital gains.  With regard to the purchase or redemption of Creation Units directly with the Fund, to the extent effected in-kind (i.e., for securities), the Board noted that those trades do not cause the harmful effects (as previously noted) that may result from frequent cash trades.  To the extent trades are effected in whole or in part in cash, the Board noted that those trades could result in dilution to the Fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective.  However, the Board also noted that direct trading by APs is critical to ensuring that the Fund’s Shares trade at or close to NAV.  The Fund also employs fair valuation pricing to minimize potential dilution from market timing.  In addition, the Fund imposes transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Fund Shares to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by the Fund in effecting trades.  These fees increase if an investor substitutes cash in part or in whole for securities, reflecting the fact that the Fund’s trading costs increase in those circumstances.  Given this structure, the Board determined that it is not necessary to adopt policies and procedures to detect and deter market timing of the Fund’s Shares.


PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS


A description of the Trust’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio holdings is available in the Fund’s SAI, which is available at www.ArrowShares.com.


DISTRIBUTION AND SERVICE PLAN


The Fund has adopted a distribution and service plan (“Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act.  Under the Plan, the Fund is authorized to pay distribution fees to the distributor and other firms that provide distribution and shareholder services (“Service Providers”).  If a Service Provider provides these services, the Fund may pay fees at an annual rate not to exceed 0.25% of average daily net assets, pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the1940 Act.


No distribution or service fees are currently paid by the Fund and there are no current plans to impose these fees.  In the event Rule 12b-1 fees were charged, over time they would increase the cost of an investment in the Fund.


DIVIDENDS, OTHER DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES


Unlike interests in conventional mutual funds, which typically are bought and sold from and to the fund only at closing NAVs, the Fund’s Shares are traded throughout the day in the secondary market on a national securities exchange on an intra-day basis and are created and redeemed in-kind and/or for cash in Creation Units at each day’s next calculated NAV.  In-kind arrangements are designed to protect ongoing shareholders from the adverse effects on the Fund’s portfolio that could arise from frequent cash redemption transactions.  In a conventional mutual fund, redemptions can have an adverse tax impact on taxable shareholders if the mutual fund needs to sell portfolio securities to obtain cash to meet net fund redemptions.  These sales may generate taxable gains for the ongoing shareholders of the mutual fund, whereas the Shares’ in-kind redemption mechanism generally will not lead to a tax event for the Fund or its ongoing shareholders.

 

Ordinarily, dividends from net investment income, if any, are declared and paid monthly by the Fund.  The Fund distributes its net realized capital gains, if any, to shareholders annually.


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


Taxes


As with any investment, you should consider how your investment in Shares will be taxed.  The tax information in this Prospectus is provided as general information.  You should consult your own tax professional about the tax consequences of an investment in Shares.

 

 

19



 


Unless your investment in Shares is made through a tax-exempt entity or tax-deferred retirement account, such as an individual retirement account, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when:


•  The Fund makes distributions,


•  You sell your Shares listed on the Exchange, and


•  You purchase or redeem Creation Units.


Taxes on Distributions


As stated above, dividends from net investment income, if any, ordinarily are declared and paid monthly by the Fund.  The Fund may also pay a special distribution at the end of a calendar year to comply with federal tax requirements.  Distributions from the Fund’s net investment income, including net short-term capital gains, if any, are taxable to you as ordinary income, except that the Fund’s dividends attributable to its “qualified dividend income” (i.e., dividends received on stock of most domestic and certain foreign corporations with respect to which the Fund satisfies certain holding period and other restrictions), if any, generally are subject to federal income tax for non-corporate shareholders who satisfy those restrictions with respect to their Fund shares at the rate for net capital gain -- a maximum of 15% for taxable years beginning before 2013.  A part of the Fund’s dividends also may be eligible for the dividends-received deduction allowed to corporations -- the eligible portion may not exceed the aggregate dividends the Fund receives from domestic corporations subject to federal income tax (excluding REITs) and excludes dividends from foreign corporations -- subject to similar restrictions.  However, dividends a corporate shareholder deducts pursuant to that deduction are subject indirectly to the federal alternative minimum tax.

 

 

20



 


In general, your distributions are subject to federal income tax when they are paid, whether you take them in cash or reinvest them in the Fund (if that option is available).  Distributions reinvested in additional Shares of the Fund through the means of a dividend reinvestment service, if available, will be taxable to shareholders acquiring the additional Shares to the same extent as if such distributions had been received in cash.  Distributions of net long-term capital gains, if any, in excess of net short-term capital losses are taxable as long-term capital gains (at the 15% maximum rate referred to above through the end of 2012), regardless of how long you have held the Shares.


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 distribution will reduce the Fund’s NAV per Share and may be taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gain (as described above) even though, from an investment standpoint, the distribution may constitute a return of capital.


By law, the Fund is required to withhold 28% of your distributions and redemption proceeds if you have not provided the Fund with a correct Social Security number or other taxpayer identification number and in certain other situations.


Taxes on Exchange-Listed Share Sales


Any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of Shares is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the Shares have been held for more than one year and as short-term capital gain or loss if the Shares have been held for one year or less.  The ability to deduct capital losses from sales of Shares may be limited.


Taxes on Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units


An AP who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or a loss equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time of the exchange and the sum of the exchanger’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered plus any Cash Component it pays.  An AP 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 sum of the aggregate market value of the securities received plus any cash equal to the difference between the NAV of the Shares being redeemed and the value of the securities.  The Internal Revenue Service (“Service”), however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales” or for other reasons.  Persons exchanging securities should consult their own tax advisor with respect to whether wash sale rules apply and when a loss might be deductible.


Any capital gain or loss realized upon redemption of Creation Units is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the Shares have been held for more than one year and as short-term capital gain or loss if the Shares have been held for one year or less.


If you purchase or redeem Creation Units, you will be sent a confirmation statement showing how many Shares you purchased or sold and at what price.  See “T AXES” in the SAI for a description of the newly effective requirement regarding basis determination methods applicable to Share redemptions and the Fund’s obligation to report basis information to the Service.


The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the possible consequences under current federal tax law of an investment in the Fund.  It is not a substitute for personal tax advice.  Consult your personal tax advisor about the potential tax consequences of an investment in the Shares under all applicable tax laws.  See “TAXES” in the SAI for more information.


FUND SERVICE PROVIDERS


Gemini Fund Services, LLC is the Fund’s administrator and fund accountant.  It has its principal office at 450 Wireless Blvd., Hauppauge, New York 11788, and is primarily in the business of providing administrative, fund accounting and transfer agent services to retail and institutional mutual funds.  It is an affiliate of the Distributor.


Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., 40 Water Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109, is the Fund’s transfer agent and custodian.


Northern Lights Distributors, LLC, 4020 South 147th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68137, is the distributor for the shares of the Funds.  Distributor is a registered broker-dealer and member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”).


K&L Gates LLP, 1601 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20006, serves as legal counsel to the Trust.


BBD, LLP, 1835 Market Street, 26th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103, serves as the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm.  The independent registered public accounting firm is responsible for auditing the annual financial statements of the Fund.


INDEX PROVIDER


The Fund is based upon the Dow Jones Global Composite Yield Index (the “Underlying Index”).  The Underlying Index is calculated and maintained by CME Group Index Services LLC (d/b/a Dow Jones) (the “Index Provider”).  The Index Provider is not affiliated with the Trust, the Advisor or the Distributor.  The Advisor has entered into a license agreement with the Index Provider. The Fund is entitled to use the Underlying Index pursuant to a sub-licensing agreement with the Advisor.


No entity that creates, compiles, sponsors or maintains the Underlying Index is or will be an affiliated person, as defined in Section 2(a)(3) of the 1940 Act, or an affiliated person of an affiliated person, of the Trust, the Advisor, the Distributor or a promoter of the Fund.


Neither the Advisor nor any affiliate of the Advisor has any right to influence the selection of the securities in the Underlying Index.


 

21



 

 

Disclaimer


The “ Dow Jones Global Composite Yield Index SM” is a product of Dow Jones Indexes, the marketing name and a licensed trademark of CME Group Index Services LLC (“CME”), and has been licensed for use .  “Dow Jones®”, “ Dow Jones Global Composite Yield Index SM” and “Dow Jones Indexes” are service marks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings, LLC (“Dow Jones”) and have been licensed for use for certain purposes by Advisor (“Licensee”).  The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Dow Jones, CME or their respective affiliates.  Dow Jones, CME and their respective affiliates make no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of trading in the Fund.  Dow Jones’, CME’s and their respective affiliates’ only relationship to the Licensee is the licensing of certain trademarks and trade names of Dow Jones and of the Dow Jones Global Composite Yield Index SM which is determined, composed and calculated by CME without regard to the Licensee or the Fund.  Dow Jones and CME have no obligation to take the needs of the Licensee or the owners of the Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating Dow Jones Global Composite Yield Index SM.  Dow Jones, CME and their respective affiliates are not responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of the Fund to be sold or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Fund is to be converted into cash.  Dow Jones, CME and their respective affiliates have no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Fund.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, CME Group Inc. and its affiliates may independently issue and/or sponsor financial products unrelated to the Fund currently being issued by the Licensee, but which may be similar to and competitive with the Fund.  In addition, CME Group Inc. and its affiliates may trade financial products which are linked to the performance of the Dow Jones Global Composite Yield Index SM.  It is possible that this trading activity will affect the value of the Dow Jones Global Composite Yield Index SM and the Fund.


DOW JONES, CME AND THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE DOW JONES GLOBAL COMPOSITE YIELD INDEX  OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN AND DOW JONES, CME AND THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR INTERRUPTIONS THEREIN.  DOW JONES, CME AND THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES MAKE NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY THE LICENSEE, OWNERS OF THE FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE DOW JONES GLOBAL COMPOSITE YIELD INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN.  DOW JONES, CME AND THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES MAKE NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE DOW JONES GLOBAL COMPOSITE YIELD INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN.  WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL DOW JONES, CME OR THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR LOSSES, EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.  THERE ARE NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN CME AND THE LICENSEE, OTHER THAN THE LICENSORS OF CME.


OTHER INFORMATION


Investments by Investment Companies


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 set forth in an SEC exemptive order issued to the Trust, including that such investment companies enter into an agreement with the Trust on behalf of the Fund.


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 Fund on an ongoing basis, a “distribution,” as such term is used in the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), may occur at any point.  Broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner which could render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus delivery requirement and liability provisions of the Securities Act.

 

 

22



 


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 the Shares directly to customers or if it chooses to couple the creation of a supply of new Shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary market demand for Shares.  A determination of whether one is an underwriter for purposes of the Securities Act must take into account all the facts and circumstances pertaining to the activities of the broker-dealer or its client in the particular case, and the examples mentioned above should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could lead to a characterization as an underwriter.


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


Dealers effecting transactions in the Fund’s Shares, 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.


Householding


To reduce expenses, we mail only one copy of the Prospectus or summary prospectus and each annual and semi-annual report to those addresses shared by two or more accounts.  If you wish to receive individual copies of these documents, please call the Fund at 1-877-277-6933 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 6 :00 p.m. Eastern time on days the Fund is open for business or contact your financial institution.  We will begin sending you individual copies thirty days after receiving your request.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS


No financial highlights are available for the Fund because it had not commenced operations prior to the date of this Prospectus.




23



 

 


ARROW [LOGO/BRAND]



Advisor


Arrow Investment Advisors, LLC
2943 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Suite A

Olney, MD 20832


Distributor

Northern Lights Distributors, LLC

4020 South 147th Street,

Omaha, NE 68137


Legal Counsel

K&L Gates LLP

1601 K Street, NW

Washington, DC 20006


Administrator

Gemini Fund Services, LLC

450 Wireless Blvd.

Hauppauge, NY 11788


Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

BBD, LLP

1835 Market Street, 26th Floor

Philadelphia, PA 19103


Custodian and Transfer Agent

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

40 Water Street

Boston, MA 02109


Additional information about the Fund, including the Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio holdings, is included in the Fund’s SAI dated [___], 2012.  The SAI provides more details about the Fund’s policies and management.  Additional information about the Fund’s investments will be available in the Fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to Shareholders.


To obtain a free copy of the SAI, the annual report, the semi-annual report, (when available) to request other information about the Fund, or to make shareholder inquires about the Fund, please call 1-877-277-6933 or visit the Fund’s website, at www.ArrowShares.com. You may also write to:


Arrow Dow Jones Global Yield ETF

c/o Gemini Fund Services, LLC

450 Wireless Blvd.

Hauppauge, NY 11788


You may review and obtain copies of the Fund’s information at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C.  Please call 1-202-551-8090 for information relating to the operation of the Public Reference Room.  Reports and other information about the Fund are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.  Copies of the information may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following E-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing the Public Reference Section, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20549-0102.







Investment Company Act File # 811-22624





 

Investment Company Act File No. 811-22624


Arrow Dow Jones Global Yield ETF


GYLD




Subject to Completion, dated April 3, 2012


STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION


Dated [          ], 2012













This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus.  It should be read in conjunction with the prospectus dated [           ], 2012, for Northern Lights ETF Trust (the “Trust”) relating to the series of the Trust listed below, as it may be revised from time to time.

Fund

 

Principal U.S. Listing Exchange

 

Ticker

Arrow Dow Jones Global Yield ETF

 

NYSE Arca, Inc.

 

GYLD

 

 


Capitalized terms used herein that are not defined have the same meaning as in the Prospectus, unless otherwise noted.  Copies of the Prospectus may be obtained without charge by writing to the Trust’s Distributor, Northern Lights Distributors, LLC, 4020 South 147th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68137, or by calling toll free 1-877-277-6933.






TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

Page

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST AND THE FUND

 

 

1

 

 

EXCHANGE LISTING AND TRADING

 

 

1

 

 

INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RESTRICTIONS

 

 

1

 

 

INVESTMENT POLICIES AND RISKS

 

 

2

 

 

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

 

 

16

 

 

DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS

 

 

16

 

 

MANAGEMENT

 

 

16

 

 

BROKERAGE TRANSACTIONS

 

 

25

 

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING THE TRUST

 

 

26

 

 

PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION OF CREATION UNITS

 

 

28

 

 

TAXES

 

 

33

 

 

DETERMINATION OF NAV

 

 

37

 

 

DIVIDENDS AND OTHER DISTRIBUTIONS

 

 

37

 

 

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

 

 

38

 

 

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

 

38

 

 

APPENDIX A

 

 

A-1

 

 

 

 

 

 

APPENDIX B

 

 

B-1

 

 

 

 

 

 

APPENDIX C

 

 

C-1

 

 







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GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST AND FUNDS


The Trust was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on August 29, 2011 and is authorized to have multiple series or portfolios.  The Trust is an open-end management investment company, registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).  The Trust currently consists of one portfolio and this SAI relates to Arrow Dow Jones Global Yield ETF (the “Fund”).  The shares of the Fund are referred to as “Shares” in this SAI.


The investment objective of the Fund is to seek investment results that generally correspond (before fees and expenses) to the price and yield performance of the Dow Jones Global Composite Yield Index (the “Underlying Index”).  The Fund is managed by Arrow Investment Advisors, LLC (the “Advisor”).


The Fund will issue and redeem Shares at net asset value ("NAV") only in aggregations of 75,000 Shares (each a "Creation Unit").  The Fund will issue and redeem Creation Units principally in exchange for a basket of securities included in the Underlying Index (the "Deposit Securities"), together with the deposit of a specified cash payment (the "Cash Component"), plus a transaction fee.  The Fund is expected to be approved for listing, subject to notice of issuance, on NYSE Arca, Inc. ("NYSE Arca" or the "Exchange").  Shares will trade on the Exchange at market prices that may be below, at, or above NAV.  In the event of the liquidation of the Fund, a share split, reverse split or the like, the Trust may revise the number of Shares in a Creation Unit.


The Fund reserves the right to offer creations and redemptions of Shares for cash.  In addition, 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 equal to up to 115% of the market value of the missing Deposit Securities.  In each instance of such cash creations or redemptions, transaction fees, may be imposed  and may be higher than the transaction fees associated with in-kind creations or redemptions.  See PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION OF CREATION UNITS below.  


EXCHANGE LISTING AND TRADING


Shares of the Fund are expected to be listed for trading and trade throughout the day on NYSE Arca.


In order to provide additional information regarding the indicative value of Shares of the Fund, NYSE Arca or a market data vendor will disseminate every 15 seconds through the facilities of the Consolidated Tape Association or other widely disseminated means an updated "intraday indicative value" ("IIV") for the Fund as calculated by an information provider or market data vendor.  The Trust is not involved in or responsible for any aspect of the calculation or dissemination of the IIV and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the IIV.


INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RESTRICTIONS


Investment Strategies


The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing primarily in securities that comprise the Underlying Index.  The Fund operates as an index fund and will not be actively managed.  The Fund will seek to utilize a “replication” methodology in seeking to achieve its investment objective, meaning that it will seek to hold the securities in the Underlying Index in the weights that they appear in the Underlying Index; however, the Fund may use a “sampling” methodology –  in seeking to achieve its investment objective including when securities in the Underlying Index are unavailable or trading in round lots that are too large to include in the Deposit Securities or until the Fund achieves scale.  Sampling involves using a quantitative analysis to select securities that in the aggregate have investment characteristics resembling the Underlying Index in terms of key risk factors, performance attributes and other characteristics.


Investment Restrictions


The Fund has adopted certain investment restrictions as fundamental policies which cannot be changed without the approval of the holders of a “majority” of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, as that term is defined in the 1940 Act.  As defined in the 1940 Act, the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities means the lesser of: (i) 67% or more of the voting securities of the series present at a duly called meeting of shareholders, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund are present or represented by proxy; or (ii) more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of the series.  (All policies of the Fund not specifically identified in this SAI or the Prospectus as fundamental may be changed without a vote of the shareholders of the Fund, upon approval of a majority of the Trustees.)  For purposes of the following limitations, all percentage limitations apply immediately after a purchase or initial investment.


1.

The Fund may not borrow money, except to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations thereunder and any applicable exemptive relief.



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2.

The Fund may not issue senior securities, except to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations thereunder and any applicable exemptive relief.


3.

The Fund may not engage in the business of underwriting securities except to the extent that the Fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act in the acquisition, disposition or resale of its portfolio securities or in connection with investments in other investment companies, or to the extent otherwise permitted under the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations thereunder and any applicable exemptive relief.


4.

The Fund may not purchase or sell real estate, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations thereunder and any applicable exemptive relief.  This policy shall not prevent the Fund from purchasing real estate related investments, including real estate investment trusts.


5.

The Fund may not purchase or sell commodities, contracts relating to commodities or options on contracts relating to commodities except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations thereunder and any applicable exemptive relief.  This policy shall not prevent the Fund from purchasing or selling foreign currency or purchasing, selling or entering into futures contracts, options, forward contracts, swaps, caps, floors, collars and other financial instruments as currently exist or may in the future be developed.


6.

The Fund may not make loans, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations thereunder and any applicable exemptive relief.


7.

The Fund will not concentrate (i.e., hold more than 25% of its assets in the stocks of a single industry or group of industries) its investments in issuers of one or more particular industries, except that the Fund will concentrate to approximately the same extent that its Underlying Index concentrates in the stocks of such particular industry or industries.


If a percentage limitation is satisfied at the time of investment, a later increase or decrease in such percentage resulting from a change in the value of the Fund’s investments will not constitute a violation of such limitation.  Thus, the Fund may continue to hold a security even though it causes the Fund to exceed a percentage limitation because of fluctuation in the value of the Fund’s assets, except that any borrowing by the Fund that exceeds the fundamental investment limitations stated above must be reduced to meet such limitations within the period required by the 1940 Act or the relevant rules, regulations or interpretations thereunder.


The Fund is “diversified” as defined in the 1940 Act.  This means that at least 75% of the value of the Fund’s total assets is represented by cash and cash items (including receivables), government securities, securities of other investment companies, and securities of other issuers, which for purposes of this calculation, are limited in respect of any one issuer to an amount not greater in value than 5% of the Fund’s total assets and to not more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer.  The Fund may not change from “diversified” to “non-diversified” without shareholder approval (as defined above).


For purposes of the limitation on industry concentration, securities of the U.S. government (including its agencies and instrumentalities) and tax-free securities of state or municipal governments and their political subdivisions (and repurchase agreements collateralized by government securities) are not considered to be issued by members of any industry.  The Fund uses proprietary Dow Jones classifications to measure concentration.  


Investment Policies and Risks


A discussion of the Fund’s investment policies and the risks associated with an investment in the Fund is contained in the Prospectus under FUND SUMMARY—PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES, FUND SUMMARY—PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT RISKS and ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS.  The discussion below supplements, and should be read in conjunction with, these sections of the Prospectus.


An investment in the Fund should be made with an understanding that the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities may fluctuate in accordance with changes in the financial condition of the issuers of the portfolio securities, the value of securities in general and other factors that affect the market.


An investment in the Fund should also be made with an understanding of the risks inherent in an investment in securities, including the risk that the financial condition of issuers may become impaired or that the general condition of the securities market may deteriorate (either of which may cause a decrease in the value of the portfolio securities and thus in the value of Shares).  Securities are susceptible to general securities market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence and perceptions of their issuers’ change.  These investor perceptions are based on various and unpredictable factors, including expectations



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regarding government, economic, monetary and fiscal policies, inflation and interest rates, economic expansion or contraction, and global or regional political, economic or banking crises.


The existence of a liquid trading market for certain securities may depend on whether dealers will make a market in such securities.  There can be no assurance that a market will be made or maintained or that any such market will be or remain liquid.  The price at which securities may be sold and the value of the Fund’s Shares will be adversely affected if trading markets for the Fund’s portfolio securities are limited or absent, or if bid/ask spreads are wide.  The performance of the Fund and the Underlying Index may vary due to asset valuation differences:  the Fund may fair value certain of the securities it holds and to the extent it calculates its NAV based on fair value prices, the Fund’s ability to track the Underlying Index may be adversely affected.  There may also be differences between the Fund’s portfolio and the Underlying Index as a result of legal restrictions, cost or liquidity constraints.  Similarly, liquidity constraints also may delay the Fund’s purchase or sale of securities included in the Underlying Index.  Further, the investment activities of one or more of the Advisor’s affiliates for their proprietary accounts and for client accounts may also adversely impact the Fund’s ability to track the Underlying Index.  For example, in regulated industries, and in corporate and regulatory ownership definitions, there may be limits on the aggregate amount of investment by affiliated investors that may not be exceeded, or that may not be exceeded without the grant of a license or other regulatory or corporate consent or, if exceeded, may cause the Advisor, the Fund or other client accounts to suffer disadvantages or business restrictions.  As a result, the Fund may be restricted in its ability to acquire particular securities due to positions held by the Advisor’s affiliates.


In addition, the use of a representative sampling approach by the Fund may cause the Fund to not be as well correlated with the return of the Underlying Index as would be the case if the Fund purchased all of the securities in the Underlying Index in the proportions represented in the Underlying Index.  It is also possible that the Fund may not replicate the performance of the Underlying Index due to the temporary unavailability of certain Underlying Index securities in the secondary market or due to other extraordinary circumstances.  The Fund may also have to vary its portfolio holdings from the composition of the Underlying Index in order to qualify, and continue to qualify, as a “regulated investment company” under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Internal Revenue Code”).  See TAXES below for additional information on the Fund’s tax treatment.


The Fund is not actively managed, and therefore would not necessarily sell a security, even if the security’s issuer is in financial trouble, unless the security is removed from the Underlying Index.


Security Ratings


Rated Securities.  The Fund’s investments in certain equity securities, such as preferred securities and convertible securities, and in debt securities are subject to the credit risk relating to the financial condition of the issuers of the securities that the Fund holds.  The Fund may invest in convertible and other debt securities that are investment or non-investment grade.  Investment grade means rated in the top four long-term rating categories, or unrated and determined by the Advisor to be of comparable quality.  The Fund may also purchase unrated securities if, at the time of purchase, the Advisor believes that they are of comparable quality to rated securities that the Fund may purchase.  

 

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (“S & P”), Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) and other organizations provide ratings of the credit quality of debt obligations, including convertible securities.  A description of the range of ratings assigned to various types of bonds and other securities is included in Appendix A to this SAI.  The Fund may use these ratings to determine whether to purchase, sell or hold a security.  Because a ratings downgrade often results in a reduction in the market price of the security, sale of a downgraded security may result in a loss.  To the extent that a rating changes as a result of changes in an organization or its rating systems, the Advisor may attempt to substitute comparable ratings or to use such information to determine whether the Fund should continue to hold the obligation.  Credit ratings attempt to evaluate the safety of principal and interest payments and do not evaluate the risks of fluctuations in market value.  Ratings are general and are not absolute standards of quality.  The rating of an issuer is a view of potential developments related to the issuer and may not necessarily reflect actual outcomes.  An issuer’s current financial condition may be better or worse than a rating indicates.


Unrated Securities.  The Fund may also invest in unrated debt and similar securities.  Unrated debt, while not necessarily lower in quality than rated securities, may not be as actively traded as rated securities.  Because of the size and perceived demand for the issue, among other factors, certain issuers may decide not to pay the cost of getting a rating for their bonds.  The creditworthiness of the issuer, as well as any financial institution or other party responsible for payments on the security, will be analyzed to determine whether to purchase unrated bonds.


Equity Securities


Equity securities in which the Fund invests include common stocks, preferred stocks and securities convertible into common stocks, such as convertible bonds, warrants, rights and options.  The value of equity securities varies in response to many factors, including



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the activities and financial condition of individual companies, the business market in which individual companies compete and general market and economic conditions.  Equity securities fluctuate in value, often based on factors unrelated to the value of the issuer of the securities, and such fluctuations can be significant.


Common and Preferred Stock.  Common stock represents an equity (ownership) interest in a company, and usually possesses voting rights and earns dividends.  Dividends on common stock are not fixed but are declared at the discretion of the issuer.  Common stock generally represents the riskiest investment in a company.  In addition, common stock generally has the greatest appreciation and depreciation potential because increases and decreases in earnings are usually reflected in a company’s stock price.

 

Preferred stock is a class of stock having a preference over common stock as to the payment of dividends and the recovery of investment should a company be liquidated, although preferred stock is usually junior to the debt securities of the issuer.  Preferred stock typically does not possess voting rights and its market value may change based on changes in interest rates.


The Fund may also purchase trust preferred securities, also known as “trust preferreds”, which are preferred stocks issued by a special purpose trust subsidiary backed by subordinated debt of the corporate parent.  An issuer creates trust preferred securities by creating a trust and issuing debt to the trust.  The trust in turn issues trust preferred securities.  Trust preferred securities are hybrid securities with characteristics of both subordinated debt and preferred stock.  Such characteristics include long maturities (typically 30 years or more), early redemption by the issuer, periodic fixed or variable interest payments, and maturities at face value.  In addition, trust preferred securities issued by bank holding company may allow deferral of interest payments for up to 5 years.  Holders of trust preferred securities have limited voting rights to control the activities of the trust, and no voting rights with respect to the parent company.


The fundamental risk of investing in common and preferred stock is the risk that the value of the stock might decrease.  Stock values fluctuate in response to the activities of an individual company or in response to general market and/or economic conditions.  Historically, common stocks have provided greater long-term returns and have entailed greater short-term risks than preferred stocks, fixed-income securities and money market investments.  The market value of all securities, including common and preferred stocks, is based upon the market’s perception of value and not necessarily the book value of an issuer or other objective measures of a company’s worth.


Convertible Securities.  The Fund may invest in convertible securities.  Convertible securities include debt securities, preferred stock or other securities that may be converted into or exchanged for a given amount of common stock of the same or a different issuer during a specified period and at a specified price in the future.  A convertible security entitles the holder to receive interest on debt or the dividend on preferred stock until the convertible security matures or is redeemed, converted or exchanged.


Convertible securities rank senior to common stock in a company’s capital structure but are usually subordinated to comparable nonconvertible securities.  Convertible securities have unique investment characteristics in that they generally: (1) have higher yields than common stocks, but lower yields than comparable non-convertible securities; (2) are less subject to fluctuation in value than the underlying stocks since they have fixed income characteristics; and (3) provide the potential for capital appreciation if the market price of the underlying common stock increases.


A convertible security may be subject to redemption at the option of the issuer at a price established in the convertible security’s governing instrument.  If a convertible security is called for redemption, the Fund will be required to permit the issuer to redeem the security, convert it into the underlying common stock or sell it to a third party.


Investment in convertible securities sometimes entails less risk than an investment in the issuer’s common stock.  Convertible securities are typically issued by smaller capitalization companies whose stock price may be volatile.  Therefore, the price of a convertible security may reflect variations in the price of the underlying common stock in a way that nonconvertible debt does not.  The extent to which such risk may be refont-size:10pt r, depends in large measure upon the degree to which the convertible security sells above its value as a fixed-income security, which may not be present in some cases.  Convertible securities are subject to special risks, including the risk of default in interest or principal payments, which could result in a loss of income to the Fund, or a decline in the market value of the securities.


Warrants.  Warrants are options to purchase common stock at a specific price (usually at a premium above the market value of the optioned common stock at issuance) valid for a specific period of time.  Warrants may have a life ranging from less than one year to twenty years, or they may be perpetual.  However, most warrants have expiration dates after which they are worthless.  In addition, a warrant is worthless if the market price of the common stock does not exceed the warrant’s exercise price during the life of the warrant.  Warrants have no voting rights, pay no dividends, and have no rights with respect to the assets of the corporation issuing them.  The percentage increase or decrease in the market price of the warrant may tend to be greater than the percentage increase or



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decrease in the market price of the optioned common stock.


Foreign Securities.  The Fund may invest in foreign securities.  Foreign security investment involves special risks not present in U.S. investments that can increase the chances that a Fund will lose money, as described in the Prospectus.  These risks are higher for emerging markets investments, which can be subject to greater social, economic, regulatory and political uncertainties, and may have significantly less liquidity, than developed markets.  In particular, the Fund is subject to the risk that because there are generally fewer investors on foreign exchanges and a smaller number of shares traded each day, it may be difficult for the Fund to buy and sell securities, or increase or decrease exposures to securities, on those exchanges.  In addition, prices of foreign securities may fluctuate more than prices of securities traded in the U.S.

Foreign Economy Risk.  The economies of certain foreign markets often do not compare favorably with that of the U.S. with respect to such issues as growth of gross domestic product, reinvestment of capital, resources, and balance of payments positions.  Certain foreign economies may rely heavily on particular industries or foreign capital and are more vulnerable to diplomatic developments, the imposition of economic sanctions against a particular country or countries, changes in international trading patterns, trade barriers, and other protectionist or retaliatory measures.  Investments in foreign markets may also be adversely affected by governmental actions such as the imposition of capital controls, nationalization of companies or industries, expropriation of assets, or the imposition of punitive taxes.  In addition, the governments of certain countries may prohibit or impose substantial restrictions on foreign investing in their capital markets or in certain industries.  Any of these actions could severely affect security prices, impair the Fund’s ability to purchase or sell foreign securities, or transfer the Fund’s assets back into the U.S., or otherwise adversely affect the Fund’s operations.  Other foreign market risks include foreign exchange controls, difficulties in pricing securities, defaults on foreign government securities, difficulties in enforcing favorable legal judgments in foreign courts, and political and social instability.  Legal remedies available to investors in certain foreign countries may be less extensive than those available to investors in the U.S. or other foreign countries.  Foreign corporate governance may not be as robust as in the U.S.  As a result, protections for minority investors may not be strong, which could affect security prices.

Currency Risk and Exchange Risk.  Securities in which the Fund invests may be denominated or quoted in currencies other than the U.S. dollar.  Changes in foreign currency exchange rates will affect the value of these securities.  Generally, when the U.S. dollar rises in value against a foreign currency, an investment in a security denominated in that currency loses value because the currency is worth fewer U.S. dollars.  Similarly when the U.S. dollar decreases in value against a foreign currency, an investment in a security denominated in that currency gains value because the currency is worth more U.S. dollars.  This risk is generally known as “currency risk” which is the possibility that a stronger U.S. dollar will reduce returns for U.S. investors investing overseas.  Foreign currencies also involve the risk that they will be devalued or replaced, adversely affecting the Fund’s investments.

Governmental Supervision and Regulation/Accounting Standards.  Many foreign governments supervise and regulate stock exchanges, brokers and the sale of securities to a lesser extent than the U.S. government.  Some countries may not have laws to protect investors the way that the U.S. securities laws do.  Accounting standards in other countries are not necessarily the same as in the U.S.  If the accounting standards in another country do not require as much disclosure or detail as U.S. accounting standards, it may be harder to assess a company’s financial condition.

Certain Risks of Holding Fund Assets Outside the U. S.  Foreign securities in which the Fund invests are generally held outside the U.S. in foreign banks and securities depositories.  The Fund’s custodian is the Fund’s “foreign custody manager” as provided in Rule 17f-5 under the 1940 Act.  The “foreign custody manager” is responsible for determining that the Fund’s directly-held foreign assets will be subject to reasonable care, based on standards applicable to custodians in relevant foreign markets.  However, certain foreign banks and securities depositories may be recently organized or new to the foreign custody business.  They may also have operations subject to limited or no regulatory oversight.  Also, the laws of certain countries may put limits on the Fund’s ability to recover its assets if a foreign bank or depository or issuer of a security or an agent of any of the foregoing goes bankrupt.  In addition, it likely will be more expensive for the Fund to buy, sell and hold securities in certain foreign markets than it is in the U.S. market due to higher brokerage, transaction, custody and/or other costs.  The increased expense of investing in foreign markets reduces the amount the Fund can earn on its investments.

Settlement and clearance procedures in certain foreign markets differ significantly from those in the U.S.  Foreign settlement and clearance procedures and trade regulations also may involve certain risks (such as delays in payment for or delivery of securities) not typically involved with the settlement of U.S. investments.  Communications between the U.S. and emerging market countries may be unreliable, increasing the risk of delayed settlements or losses of security certificates.  Settlements in certain foreign countries at times have not kept pace with the number of securities transactions.  The problems may make it difficult for the Fund to carry out transactions.  If the Fund cannot settle or is delayed in settling a purchase of securities, the Fund may miss investment opportunities and certain of its assets may be uninvested with no return earned thereon for some period.  If the Fund cannot settle or is delayed in settling a sale of securities, directly or indirectly, it may lose money if the value of the security then declines or, if it has contracted to



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sell the security to another party, the Fund could be liable to that party for any losses incurred.


In addition, dividends payable on foreign securities may be subject to foreign withholding taxes, thereby reducing the income available for distribution to shareholders.  Some foreign brokerage commissions and custody fees are higher than those in the United States  


Emerging Markets. If the Fund invests in emerging markets, markets that can have more risk than investing in developed foreign markets, an investment in the Fund may have the following additional risks:

·

Information about the companies in these countries is not always readily available;

·

Stocks of companies traded in these countries may be less liquid and the prices of these stocks may be more volatile than the prices of the stocks in more established markets;

·

Greater political and economic uncertainties exist in emerging markets than in developed foreign markets;

·

The securities markets and legal systems in emerging markets may not be well developed and may not provide the protections and advantages of the markets and systems available in more developed countries;

·

Very high inflation rates may exist in emerging markets and could negatively impact a country’s economy and securities markets;

·

Emerging markets may impose restrictions on the Fund’s ability to repatriate investment income or capital and thus, may adversely effect the operations of the Fund;

·

Certain emerging markets impose constraints on currency exchange and some currencies in emerging may have been devalued significantly against the U.S. dollar;

·

Governments of some emerging markets exercise substantial influence over the private sector and may own or control many companies.  As such, governmental actions could have a significant effect on economic conditions in emerging markets, which, in turn, could effect the value of the Fund’s investments; and

·

Emerging markets may be subject to less government supervision and regulation of business and industry practices, stock exchanges, brokers and listed companies.


For these and other reasons, the prices of securities in emerging markets can fluctuate more significantly than the prices of securities of companies in developed countries.  The less developed the country, the greater effect these risks may have on an investment in the Fund.  As a result, an investment in the Fund may exhibit a higher degree of volatility than either the general domestic securities market or the securities markets of developed foreign countries.


Depositary Receipts. To the extent the Fund invests in stocks of foreign corporations, the Fund’s investment in such stocks may also be in the form of Depositary Receipts or other securities convertible into securities of foreign issuers.  Depositary Receipts may not necessarily be denominated in the same currency as the underlying securities into which they may be converted.  American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) are receipts typically issued by an American bank or trust company that evidence ownership of underlying securities issued by a foreign corporation.  European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”) are receipts issued in Europe that evidence a similar ownership arrangement.  Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”) are receipts issued throughout the world that evidence a similar arrangement.  Generally, ADRs, in registered form, are designed for use in the U.S. securities markets, and EDRs, in bearer form, are designed for use in European securities markets.  GDRs are tradable both in the United States and in Europe and are designed for use throughout the world.  Depositary Receipts will not necessarily be denominated in the same currency as their underlying securities.


The Fund will not invest in any unlisted Depositary Receipts or any Depositary Receipt that the Advisor deems to be illiquid or for which pricing information is not readily available.  In addition, the Fund will generally invest in sponsored Depositary Receipts, but may invest in unsponsored Depositary Receipts from time to time. The issuers of unsponsored Depositary Receipts are not obligated to disclose material information in the United States, and, therefore, there may be less information available regarding such issuers and there may not be a correlation between such information and the market value of the Depositary Receipts. The use of Depositary Receipts may increase tracking error relative to the Underlying Index.


Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”). The Fund may purchase interests in REITs.  A REIT is a company that pools investor funds to invest primarily in income producing real estate or real estate related loans or interests.  A REIT is not taxed on income distributed to its shareholders if, among other things, it distributes substantially all of its taxable income (other than net capital gain) for each taxable year.  


Investment in REITs may be the most practical available means for the Fund to invest in the real estate industry.  As a shareholder in a REIT, the Fund would bear its ratable share of the REIT’s expenses, including its advisory and administration fees.  At the same time, the Fund would continue to pay its own investment advisory fees and other expenses, as a result of which the Fund and its



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shareholders in effect would be absorbing duplicate levels of fees with respect to investments in REITs.  A REIT may focus on particular projects, such as apartment complexes, or geographic regions, such as the southeastern United States, or both.


REITs generally can be classified as equity REITs, mortgage REITs and hybrid REITs.  Equity REITs generally invest a majority of their assets in income-producing real estate properties to generate cash flow from rental income and gradual asset appreciation.  The income-producing real estate properties in which equity REITs invest typically include properties such as office, retail, industrial, hotel and apartment buildings, self storage, specialty and diversified and healthcare facilities.  Equity REITs can realize capital gains by selling properties that have appreciated in value.  Mortgage REITs invest the majority of their assets in real estate mortgages and derive their income primarily from interest payments on the mortgages.  Hybrid REITs combine the characteristics of both equity REITs and mortgage REITs.


Because REITs have ongoing fees and expenses, which may include management, operating and administration expenses, REIT shareholders, including the Fund, will indirectly bear a proportionate share of those expenses in addition to the expenses of the Fund.  However, such expenses are not considered to be Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses and, therefore, are not reflected as such in the Fund’s fee table.


REITs can be listed and traded on national securities exchanges or can be traded privately between individual owners.   The Fund will generally invest only in publicly traded REITs.


The Fund conceivably could own real estate directly as a result of a default on the securities it owns.  Therefore, the Fund may be subject to certain risks associated with the direct ownership of real estate, including difficulties in valuing and trading real estate, declines in the values of real estate, risks related to general and local economic conditions, adverse changes in the climate for real estate, environmental liability risks, increases in property taxes and operated expenses, changes in zoning laws, casualty or condemnation losses, limitations on rents, changes in neighborhood values, the appeal of properties to tenants and increases in interest rates.


In addition to the risks described above, equity REITs may be affected by any changes in the value of the underlying property owned by the trusts, while mortgage REITs may be affected by the quality of any credit extended.  Equity and mortgage REITs depend upon management skill, are not diversified and therefore are subject to the risk of financing single or a limited number of projects.  Changes in interest rates also may affect the value of debt securities held by the Fund.  By investing in REITs indirectly through the Fund, a shareholder will bear not only his/her proportionate share of the expenses of the Fund, but also, indirectly, similar expenses of the REITs.  The Fund also may be subject to certain risks associated with the direct investments of the REITs.  REITs may be affected by changes in their underlying properties and by defaults by borrowers or tenants.  Mortgage REITs may be affected by the quality of the credit extended.  Some REITs may have limited diversification and may be subject to risks inherent in financing a limited number of properties.  REITs depend generally on their ability to generate cash flow to make distributions to shareholders or unitholders, and may be subject to defaults by borrowers and to self-liquidations.  In addition, the performance of a REIT may be affected by its failure to qualify for tax-free pass-through of income under the Internal Revenue Code or its failure to maintain exemption from registration under the 1940 Act.


Royalty or Income Trusts.  A royalty trust (also known as an “income trust”) is an entity that typically owns oil or natural gas wells or the mineral rights of wells and of property, such as mines.  Royalty trusts in which the Fund may invest primarily will be organized in Canada.  Royalty trusts commonly hold debt or equity securities in, or are entitled to receive royalties from, an underlying active business.  The royalty trust structure is typically adopted by businesses that require a limited amount of capital in maintenance and that generate stable cash flows.  The value of a royalty trust can rise or fall for the same reasons that affect equity securities or because of changes in interest rates.

An investment in units of a royalty trust is not the equivalent of owning shares in a corporation, as unitholders do not have the statutory rights normally associated with owning shares in a corporation.  Investments in royalty trusts will have varying degrees of risk depending on the sector and the underlying assets.  They will also be subject to general risks associated with business cycles, commodity prices, interest rates, and other economic factors.  Typically, royalty trusts are more volatile than fixed-income securities and preferred shares.  The value of royalty trust units may decline significantly if they are unable to meet distribution targets.  To the extent that claims against a royalty trust are not satisfied by the trust, investors in the trust (including the Fund if it is an investor in the Trust) could be held responsible for those claims.  Certain, but not all, jurisdictions have enacted legislation to protect investors from some of this liability.

The tax rules relating to Canadian royalty trusts have recently changed in a way that is negative to their investors.  Indeed, part of the attractiveness of Canadian royalty trusts to investors has been that they have been treated as “mutual fund trusts” under Canadian law (and thus able to avoid Canadian income tax at the trust level).  In October 2006, however, the Canadian Finance Minister announced plans to introduce a tax on Canadian trusts, and that announcement resulted in a massive sell-off on Toronto markets of income trusts’ (especially oil and gas trusts’) shares.  It appears that that proposal recently has been implemented, effective January 1, 2011, with the result that a tax will be imposed at the trust level on distributions of certain income from publicly traded mutual fund trusts at a tax rate comparable to the combined federal and provincial corporate tax rates and treats those distributions as dividends to unitholders.  See “TAXES” for a description of certain federal income tax considerations regarding Canadian royalty trusts.  



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Royalty trusts may be subject to certain risks associated with a decline in demand for crude oil, natural gas and refined petroleum products, which, in turn, could adversely affect income and royalty trust revenues and cash flows.  Factors that could lead to a decrease in market demand include a recession or other adverse economic conditions, an increase in the market price of the underlying commodity, higher taxes or other regulatory actions that increase costs, or a shift in consumer demand for such products.  A rising interest rate environment could adversely impact the performance of royalty trusts.  Rising interest rates could limit the capital appreciation of royalty trusts because of the increased availability of alternative investments at more competitive yields.


Because royalty trusts have ongoing fees and expenses, which may include management, operating and administration expenses, royalty trust shareholders, including the Fund, will indirectly bear a proportionate share of those expenses in addition to the expenses of the Fund. However, such expenses are not considered to be Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses and, therefore, are not reflected as such in the Fund’s fee table.


Master Limited Partnerships.  Master limited partnerships (“MLPs”) are limited partnerships (or similar entities) in which the ownership units (e.g., limited partnership interests) are publicly traded.  MLP units are registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and are freely traded on a securities exchange or in the over-the-counter (“OTC”) market.  Many MLPs operate in the oil and gas related businesses, including energy processing and distribution.  Many MLPs are pass-through entities that generally are taxed at the unitholder level and are not subject to federal or state income tax at the entity level; annual income, gains, losses, and deductions of such an MLP pass through directly to its unitholders.  Distributions from an MLP may consist in part of a return of capital.  Generally, an MLP is operated under the supervision of one or more general partners, and limited partners are not involved in the day-to-day management of the MLP.

Investing in MLPs involves certain risks related to investing in the underlying assets of the MLPs and risks associated with pooled investment vehicles.  MLPs holding credit-related investments are subject to interest rate risk and the risk of default on payment obligations by debt issuers.  MLPs that concentrate in a particular industry or a particular geographic region are subject to risks associated with that industry or region.  Investments held by MLPs may be relatively illiquid, limiting their ability to vary their portfolios promptly in response to changes in economic or other conditions.  MLPs may have limited financial resources, their securities may trade infrequently and in limited volume, and they may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than securities of larger or more broadly based companies.

The risks of investing in an MLP are generally those inherent in investing in a partnership as opposed to a corporation.  For example, state law governing partnerships is often less restrictive than state law governing corporations.  Accordingly, there may be fewer protections afforded investors in an MLP than investors in a corporation.  Although unitholders of an MLP are generally limited in their liability, similar to a corporation’s shareholders, creditors typically have the right to seek the return of distributions made to unitholders if the liability in question arose before the distributions were paid.  This liability may stay attached to the unitholder even after the units are sold.  There are certain risks associated with the Fund’s investments in MLPs, which are detailed below in “TAXES.”


Investment Companies and Other Pooled Vehicles.  The Fund may invest in the securities of other investment companies (including money market funds).  Under the 1940 Act, the Fund’s investment in investment companies is limited to, subject to certain exceptions, (i) 3% of the total outstanding voting stock of any one investment company, (ii) 5% of the Fund’s total assets with respect to any one investment company and (iii) 10% of the Fund’s total assets of investment companies in the aggregate.  The Fund may invest in shares of open-end and closed-end investment companies, including other exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) and money market funds (including pending investment of cash balances).  ETFs are investment companies whose shares are bought and sold on a securities exchange.  An ETF typically holds a portfolio of securities designed to track a particular market segment or index.  Some examples of ETFs are SPDRs®, streetTRACKS®, DIAMONDS SM, NASDAQ 100 Index Tracking StockSM (“QQQs SM”) iShares® and VIPERs®. The Fund could purchase an ETF to gain exposure to a portion of the U.S. or foreign market.  


The Fund may invest in exchange traded notes (“ETNs”), which are similar to ETFs in that they may be designed to provide returns that track an index; ETNs are different from ETFs, however, in one important respect.  They are not secured by an underlying pool of assets, but rather are notes (or debt securities) secured only by the ability of the issuer to pay.  As such, their shares are subject to the same risks described for “Corporate Debt Securities” below.


The Fund may invest also in other exchange traded products (“ ETPs ”) that, like an ETF, invest in a pool of assets and are traded on an exchange.  ETPs, however, are generally organized as commodity pools registered under the Commodity Exchange Act or as grantor trusts and are not registered as investment companies under the 1940 Act.  This is due to the fact that they invest in, for example, commodities or currencies rather than securities.  



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The Fund, as a shareholder of another investment company, ETF, ETN or ETP, will bear its pro rata portion of the entity’s fees and expenses, in addition to its own fees and expenses.  In addition, it will be exposed to the investment risks associated with the entity, which generally reflect the risks of the entity’s underlying investments.

 

As a shareholder of an investment company, ETF, ETN or ETP, the Fund must rely on the entity to achieve its investment objective.  If its fails to achieve its investment objective, the Fund may likewise fail to achieve its investment objective or otherwise be adversely affected.  


Investments in ETFs, ETNs and ETPs are also subject to brokerage and other trading costs, which could result in greater expenses to a Fund and lack of liquidity in an entity could result in its market price being more volatile than the underlying portfolio of securities.  In addition, because such entities are listed on national stock exchanges and are traded like stocks listed on an exchange, their shares potentially may trade at a discount or a premium to their NAV.  Finally, because the value of ETF shares depends on the demand in the market, the Advisor may not be able to liquidate the Fund’s holdings at the most optimal time, adversely affecting the Fund’s performance.  


Fixed Income Securities


The market value of the fixed income investments in which the Fund may invest will change in response to interest rate changes and other factors.  During periods of falling interest rates, the values of outstanding fixed income securities generally rise.  Conversely, during periods of rising interest rates, the values of such securities generally decline.  Moreover, while securities with longer maturities tend to produce higher yields, the prices of longer maturity securities are also subject to greater market fluctuations as a result of changes in interest rates.  Changes by recognized agencies in the rating of any fixed income security and in the ability of an issuer to make payments of interest and principal also affect the value of these investments.  Changes in the value of these securities will not necessarily affect cash income derived from these securities but will affect the Fund’s NAV.  Additional information regarding fixed income securities is described below:


Duration.  Duration is a measure of the expected change in value of a fixed income security for a given change in interest rates.  For example, if interest rates changed by one percent, the value of a security having an effective duration of two years generally would vary by two percent.  Duration takes the length of the time intervals between the present time and time that the interest and principal payments are scheduled, or in the case of a callable bond, expected to be received, and weighs them by the present values of the cash to be received at each future point in time.


Variable and Floating Rate Securities.  Variable and floating rate instruments involve certain obligations that may carry variable or floating rates of interest, and may involve a conditional or unconditional demand feature.  Such instruments bear interest at rates which are not fixed, but which vary with changes in specified market rates or indices.  The interest rates on these securities may be reset daily, weekly, quarterly, or some other reset period, and may have a set floor or ceiling on interest rate changes.  There is a risk that the current interest rate on such obligations may not accurately reflect existing market interest rates.  A demand instrument with a demand notice exceeding seven days may be considered illiquid if there is no secondary market for such security.


Corporate Debt Securities.  The Fund may seek investment in corporate debt securities representative of one or more high yield bond or credit derivative indices, which may change from time to time.  Selection will generally be dependent on independent credit analysis or fundamental analysis performed by the Advisor.  The Fund may invest in all grades of corporate securities including below investment grade as discussed below.  The Fund also may invest in unrated securities.


Corporate debt securities are typically fixed-income securities issued by businesses to finance their operations.  Notes, bonds, debentures and commercial paper are the most common types of corporate debt securities.  The primary differences between the different types of corporate debt securities are their maturities and secured or un-secured status.  Commercial paper has the shortest term and is usually unsecured.  The broad category of corporate debt securities includes debt issued by domestic or foreign companies of all kinds, including those with small-, mid- and large-capitalizations.  Corporate debt may be rated investment-grade or below investment-grade and may carry variable or floating rates of interest.


Because of the wide range of types, and maturities, of corporate debt securities, as well as the range of creditworthiness of its issuers, corporate debt securities have widely varying potentials for return and risk profiles.  For example, commercial paper issued by a large established domestic corporation that is rated investment-grade may have a modest return on principal, but carries relatively limited



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risk.  On the other hand, a long-term corporate note issued by a small foreign corporation from an emerging market country that has not been rated may have the potential for relatively large returns on principal, but carries a relatively high degree of risk.


Corporate debt securities carry both credit risk and interest rate risk.  Credit risk is the risk that a fund could lose money if the issuer of a corporate debt security is unable to pay interest or repay principal when it is due.  Some corporate debt securities that are rated below investment-grade are generally considered speculative because they present a greater risk of loss, including default, than higher quality debt securities.  The credit risk of a particular issuer’s debt security may vary based on its priority for repayment.  For example, higher ranking (senior) debt securities have a higher priority than lower ranking (subordinated) securities.  This means that the issuer might not make payments on subordinated securities while continuing to make payments on senior securities.  In addition, in the event of bankruptcy, holders of higher-ranking senior securities may receive amounts otherwise payable to the holders of more junior securities.  Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of certain corporate debt securities will tend to fall when interest rates rise.  In general, corporate debt securities with longer terms tend to fall more in value when interest rates rise than corporate debt securities with shorter terms.


Non-Investment-Grade Debt Securities. The Fund may invest in non-investment-grade securities.  Non-investment-grade securities, also referred to as “high yield securities” or “junk bonds,” are debt securities that are rated lower than the four highest rating categories by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (for example, lower than Baa3 by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. or lower than BBB- by Standard & Poor’s) or are determined to be of comparable quality by the Fund’s Advisor.  These securities are generally considered to be, on balance, highly speculative with respect to capacity to pay interest and repay principal in accordance with the terms of the obligation and will generally involve more credit risk than securities in the investment-grade categories.  Investment in these securities generally provides greater income and increased opportunity for capital appreciation than investments in higher quality securities, but they also typically entail greater price volatility and principal and income risk.


Some high yield securities are issued by smaller, less-seasoned companies, while others are issued as part of a corporate restructuring, such as an acquisition, merger, or leveraged buyout.  Companies that issue high yield securities are often 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 investment-grade securities.  Some high yield securities were once rated as investment-grade but have been downgraded to junk bond status because of financial difficulties experienced by their issuers.


The market values of high yield securities tend to reflect individual issuer developments to a greater extent than do investment-grade securities, which in general react to fluctuations in the general level of interest rates.  High yield securities also tend to be more sensitive to economic conditions than are investment-grade securities.  A projection of an economic downturn or of a period of rising interest rates, for example, could cause a decline in junk bond prices because the advent of a recession could lessen the ability of a highly leveraged company to make principal and interest payments on its debt securities.  If an issuer of high yield securities held by the Fund defaults, in addition to risking payment of all or a portion of interest and principal, the Fund may incur additional expenses to seek recovery.


The secondary market on which high yield securities are traded may be less liquid than the market for investment-grade securities.  Less liquidity in the secondary trading market could adversely affect the ability of the Fund to sell a high yield security or the price at which the Fund could sell a high yield security, and could adversely affect the daily NAV of Fund Shares.  When secondary markets for high yield securities are less liquid than the market for investment-grade securities, it may be more difficult to value the securities because such valuation may require more research, and elements of judgment may play a greater role in the valuation because there is less reliable, objective data available.


The Fund will not necessarily dispose of a security if a credit-rating agency down grades the rating of the security below its rating at the time of purchase.  


Sovereign Debt Obligations.  Sovereign debt obligations are issued or guaranteed by a foreign government or one of its agencies, authorities, instrumentalities or political subdivisions.  Investments in sovereign debt obligations involve special risks not present in corporate debt obligations.  The issuer of the sovereign debt or the 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 Fund’s net asset value, may be more volatile than prices of U.S. debt obligations.  In the past, certain non-U.S. markets 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 debts.


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



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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.


Other Investments, Strategies and Risks


Recent Market Conditions Risk. The financial crisis in the U.S. and global economies over the past several years, including the European sovereign debt crisis, has resulted, and may continue to result, in an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets and the economy at large. Both domestic and international equity and fixed income markets have been experiencing heightened volatility and turmoil, with issuers that have exposure to the real estate, mortgage and credit markets particularly affected.  It is uncertain how long these conditions will continue.


In addition to the recent unprecedented turbulence in financial markets, the reduced liquidity in credit and fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers worldwide.  Illiquidity in these markets may mean there is less money available to purchase raw materials, goods and services, which may, in turn, bring down the prices of these economic staples.  It may also result in issuers having more difficulty obtaining financing and ultimately a decline in their stock prices.  The values of some sovereign debt and of securities of issuers that hold that sovereign debt have fallen.  These events and the potential for continuing market turbulence may have an adverse effect on each Fund.  In addition, global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers in a different country or region.


The U.S. federal government and certain foreign central banks have acted to calm credit markets and increase confidence in the U.S. and world economies. Certain of these entities have injected liquidity into the markets and taken other steps in an effort to stabilize the markets and grow the economy. The ultimate effect of these efforts is, of course, not yet known.  Changes in government policies may exacerbate the market’s difficulties and withdrawal of this support, or other policy changes by governments or central banks, could negatively affect the value and liquidity of certain securities.


The situation in the financial markets has resulted in calls for increased regulation, and the need of many financial institutions for government help has given lawmakers and regulators new leverage. The Dodd-Frank Act has initiated a dramatic revision of the U.S. financial regulatory framework that is now expected to unfold over several years. The Dodd-Frank Act covers a broad range of topics, including (among many others) a reorganization of federal financial regulators; a process intended to improve financial systemic stability and the resolution of potentially insolvent financial firms; new rules for derivatives trading; the creation of a consumer financial protection watchdog; the registration and additional regulation of hedge and private equity fund managers; and new federal requirements for residential mortgage loans. Instruments in which the Funds may invest, or the issuers of such instruments, may be affected by the new legislation and regulation in ways that are unforeseeable. Most of the implementing regulations have not yet been finalized.  Most of the implementing regulations have not yet been finalized.  Accordingly, the ultimate impact of the Dodd-Frank Act, including on the derivative instruments in which a Fund may invest, is not yet certain.


The statutory provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act significantly change in several respects the ways in which investment products are marketed, sold, settled or terminated.  In particular, the Dodd-Frank Act mandates the elimination of references to credit ratings in numerous securities laws, including the 1940 Act. Derivatives may be mandated for central clearing under the Dodd-Frank Act, which would likely require technological and other changes to Fund operations and the market in which it will trade. Central clearing would also entail the use of assets of a Fund to satisfy margin calls and this may have an effect on the performance of the Fund. Final regulations implementing the Dodd-Frank Act’s margin requirements and clearing mandates have not yet been issued by the regulators.


The regulators that have been charged with the responsibility for implementing the Dodd-Frank Act (i.e., the SEC and the CFTC) are reviewing generally and have proposed regulations or guidelines on the use of futures by funds governed by the 1940 Act (in the case of the CFTC) and guidelines on the use of derivatives by 1940 Act funds (in the case of the SEC). It is not clear whether final guidelines for such use will be published, or when these rules will become final.


Because the situation in the markets is widespread and largely unprecedented, it may be unusually difficult to identify both risks and opportunities using past models of the interplay of market forces, or to predict the duration of these market conditions.


Lending Portfolio Securities. The Fund may lend its portfolio securities (principally to brokers, dealers or other financial institutions) to generate additional income.  Such loans are callable at any time and are continuously secured by segregated cash collateral equal to



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at least 102% of the market value, determined daily, of the loaned securities.


The Fund may lend portfolio securities to the extent of one-third of its total assets.  The Fund may loan its securities only to parties that the Advisor has determined are in good standing and when, in the Advisor’s judgment, the potential income earned would justify the risks.


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


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


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



Repurchase Agreements.  The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements, which are agreements pursuant to which the Fund acquires securities from a third party with the understanding that the seller will repurchase them at a fixed price on an agreed date.  These agreements may be made with respect to any of the portfolio securities in which the Fund is authorized to invest.  Repurchase agreements may be characterized as loans secured by the underlying securities.  The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements with (i) member banks of the Federal Reserve System having total assets in excess of $500 million and (ii) securities dealers (“Qualified Institutions”).  The Advisor will monitor the continued creditworthiness of Qualified Institutions.


The use of repurchase agreements involves certain risks.  For example, if the seller of securities under a repurchase agreement defaults on its obligation to repurchase the underlying securities, as a result of its bankruptcy or otherwise, the Fund will seek to dispose of such securities, which could involve costs or delays.  If the seller becomes insolvent and subject to liquidation or reorganization under applicable bankruptcy or other laws, the Fund’s ability to dispose of the underlying securities may be restricted.  Finally, the Fund may not be able to substantiate its interest in the underlying securities.  To minimize this risk, the custodian will hold the securities underlying the repurchase agreement at all times in an amount at least equal to the repurchase price, including accrued interest.  If the seller fails to repurchase the securities, the Fund may suffer a loss to the extent proceeds from the sale of the underlying securities are less than the repurchase price.


The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed upon market rate of interest.  The collateral is marked-to-market daily.


Reverse Repurchase Agreements. The Fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements, which involve the sale of securities with an agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price, date and interest payment and have the characteristics of borrowing.  The securities purchased with the funds obtained from the agreement and securities collateralizing the agreement will have maturity dates no later than the repayment date.


Generally, the effect of such transactions is that the Fund can recover all or most of the cash invested in the portfolio securities involved during the term of the reverse repurchase agreement, while in many cases the Fund is able to keep some of the interest income associated with those securities.  Such transactions are only advantageous if the Fund has an opportunity to earn a greater rate of return on the cash derived from these transactions than the interest cost of obtaining the same amount of cash.  Opportunities to realize earnings from the use of the proceeds equal to or greater than the interest required to be paid may not always be available and the Fund intends to use the reverse repurchase technique only when the Advisor believes it will be advantageous to the Fund.  The use of reverse repurchase agreements may exaggerate any interim increase or decrease in the value of the Fund’s assets.  The custodian bank will maintain a separate account for the Fund with securities having a value equal to or greater than such commitments.  Under the 1940 Act, reverse repurchase agreements are considered borrowings.




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Illiquid Securities. The Fund may purchase illiquid securities, including securities that are not readily marketable and securities that are not registered (“restricted securities”) under the Securities Act, but which can be sold to qualified institutional buyers under Rule 144A under the Securities Act.  The Fund will not invest more than 15% of the Fund’s net assets in illiquid securities.  The term “illiquid securities” for this purpose means securities that cannot be disposed of within seven days in the ordinary course of business at approximately the amount at which the Fund has valued the securities.  Under the current guidelines of the staff of the SEC, illiquid securities also are considered to include, among other securities, purchased OTC options, certain cover for OTC options, repurchase agreements with maturities in excess of seven days, and certain securities whose disposition is restricted under the Federal securities laws.  The Fund may not be able to sell illiquid securities when the Advisor considers it desirable to do so or may have to sell such securities at a price that is lower than the price that could be obtained if the securities were more liquid.  In addition, the sale of illiquid securities also may require more time and may result in higher dealer discounts and other selling expenses than does the sale of securities that are not illiquid.  Illiquid securities also may be more difficult to value due to the unavailability of reliable market quotations for such securities, and investments in illiquid securities may have an adverse impact on NAV.

 

Institutional markets for restricted securities have developed as a result of the promulgation of Rule 144A under the Securities Act, which provides a safe harbor from Securities Act registration requirements for qualifying sales to institutional investors.  When Rule 144A restricted securities present an attractive investment opportunity and otherwise meet selection criteria, the Fund may make such investments.  Whether or not such securities are illiquid depends on the market that exists for the particular security.  The staff of the SEC has taken the position that the liquidity of Rule 144A restricted securities is a question of fact for a board of trustees to determine, such determination to be based on a consideration of the readily-available trading markets and the review of any contractual restrictions.  The staff also has acknowledged that, while a board of trustees retains ultimate responsibility, trustees may delegate this function to an investment adviser.  The Board of Trustees has delegated this responsibility for determining the liquidity of Rule 144A restricted securities which may be invested in by the Fund to the Advisor.  It is not possible to predict with assurance exactly how the market for Rule 144A restricted securities or any other security will develop.  A security which when purchased enjoyed a fair degree of marketability may subsequently become illiquid and, accordingly, a security which was deemed to be liquid at the time of acquisition may subsequently become illiquid. In such event, appropriate remedies will be considered to minimize the effect on the Fund’s liquidity.


Borrowing. The Fund may borrow money from a bank or another person to the extent permitted under the Investment Restrictions.  Such borrowings may be utilized (i) for temporary or emergency purposes; (ii) in anticipation of or in response to adverse market conditions; or, (iii) for cash management purposes.  Borrowed money will cost the Fund interest expense and/or other fees.  The costs of borrowing may reduce the Fund’s return.  To the extent that the Fund has outstanding borrowings, it will be leveraged.  Leveraging generally exaggerates the effect on NAV of any increase or decrease in the market value of the Fund’s portfolio securities.  All borrowings are limited to an amount not exceeding 33 1/3% of the Fund’s total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings).  Any borrowings that exceed this amount will be reduced within three days (excluding Sundays and holidays) to the extent necessary to comply with the 33 1/3% limitation even if it is not advantageous to sell securities at that time.


If there are unusually heavy redemptions, the Fund may have to sell a portion of its investment portfolio at a time when it may not be advantageous to do so.  Selling Fund securities under these circumstances may result in a lower net asset value per share.  The Advisor believes that, in the event of abnormally heavy redemption requests, the Fund’s borrowing ability would help to mitigate any such effects and could make the forced sale of its portfolio securities less likely.


Options. The Fund may enter into options contracts.  These options contracts will be used to simulate full investment in the Underlying Index to facilitate trading or to reduce transaction costs.   The Fund will not use options for speculative purposes.


A call option gives a holder the right to purchase a specific security or an index at a specified price (“exercise price”) within a specified period of time.  A put option gives a holder the right to sell a specific security or an index at a specified price within a specified period of time.  The initial purchaser of a call option pays the “writer,” i.e., the party selling the option, a premium which is paid at the time of purchase and is retained by the writer whether or not such option is exercised.  The Fund may purchase put options to hedge its portfolio against the risk of a decline in the market value of securities held and may purchase call options to hedge against an increase in the price of securities it is committed to purchase.  The Fund may write put and call options along with a long position in options to increase its ability to hedge against a change in the market value of the securities it holds or is committed to purchase.




Swap Agreements. The Fund may enter into swap agreements.  Swap agreements are contracts between parties in which one party agrees to make periodic payments to the other party (the “Counterparty”) based on the change in market value or level of a specified rate, index or asset.  In return, the Counterparty agrees to make periodic payments to the first party based on the return of a different specified rate, index or asset.  Swap agreements usually will be done on a net basis, the Fund receiving or paying only the net amount of the two payments.  The net amount of the excess, if any, of the Fund’s obligations over its entitlements with respect to each swap is accrued on a daily basis and an amount of cash or highly liquid securities having an aggregate value at least equal to the accrued excess is maintained in an account at the Trust’s custodian bank.



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The risk of loss with respect to swaps generally is limited to the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually obligated to make.  Swap agreements are subject to the risk that the swap counterparty will default on its obligations.  If such a default were to occur, the Fund will have contractual remedies pursuant to the agreements related to the transaction.  However, such remedies may be subject to bankruptcy and insolvency laws that could affect the Fund’s rights as a creditor (e.g., the Fund may not receive the net amount of payments that it contractually is entitled to receive).


In a total return swap transaction, one party agrees to pay the other party an amount equal to the total return on a defined underlying asset or a non-asset reference during a specified period of time.  The underlying asset might be a security or basket of securities, and the non-asset reference could be a securities index.  In return, the other party would make periodic payments based on a fixed or variable interest rate or on the total return from a different underlying asset or non-asset reference.  The payments of the two parties could be made on a net basis.


Total return swaps could result in losses to the Fund if the underlying asset or reference does not perform as anticipated.  Total return swaps can have the potential for unlimited losses.  The Fund may lose money in a total return swap if the counterparty fails to meet its obligations.


The Fund will earmark or segregate assets in the form of cash and cash equivalents in an amount equal to the aggregate market value of the swaps of which it is the seller, marked-to-market on a daily basis.


Currency Transactions. The Fund may enter into foreign currency forward  contracts to facilitate local securities settlements or to protect against currency exposure in connection with distributions to shareholders.  The Fund does not expect to engage in currency transactions for the purpose of hedging against declines in the value of the Fund’s assets that are denominated in one or more foreign currencies.  The Fund may invest in various types of currency contracts to hedge against changes in the value of the U.S. dollar against specified non-U.S. currencies.


Forward Foreign Currency Contracts. A forward foreign currency exchange contract (“forward contract”) involves an obligation to purchase or sell a specific currency at a future date, which may be any fixed number of days from the date of the contract agreed upon by the parties, at a price set at the time of the contract.  These contracts are principally traded in the interbank market conducted directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers.  A forward contract generally has no margin deposit requirement, and no commissions are charged at any stage for trades.


A non-deliverable forward contract is a forward contract where there is no physical settlement of two currencies at maturity.  Non-deliverable forward contracts are contracts between parties in which one party agrees to make a payment to the other party (the “Counterparty”) based on the change in market value or level of a specified currency.  In return, the Counterparty agrees to make payment to the first party based on the return of a different specified currency.  Non-deliverable forward contracts will usually be done on a net basis, with the Fund receiving or paying only the net amount of the two payments.  The net amount of the excess, if any, of the Fund’s obligations over its entitlements with respect to each non-deliverable forward contract is accrued on a daily basis and an amount of cash or highly liquid securities having an aggregate value at least equal to the accrued excess is maintained in an account at the Trust’s custodian bank.  The risk of loss with respect to non-deliverable forward contracts generally is limited to the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually obligated to make or receive.]




Short Sales.  A short sale is a transaction in which the Fund sells a security it does not own.  To complete such a transaction, the Fund must borrow the security to make delivery to the buyer.  The Fund is then obligated to replace the security borrowed by borrowing the same security from another lender, purchasing it at the market price at the time of replacement or paying the lender an amount equal to the cost of purchasing the security.  The price at such time may be more or less than the price at which the security was sold by the Fund.  Until the security is replaced, the Fund is required to repay the lender any dividends it receives, or interest which accrues, during the period of the loan.  To borrow the security, the Fund also may be required to pay a premium, which would increase the cost of the security sold.  The net proceeds of the short sale will be retained by the broker, to the extent necessary to meet margin requirements, until the short position is closed out.  The Fund also will incur transaction costs in effecting short sales.

 

The Fund may make short sales “against the box,” i.e., when a security identical to or convertible or exchangeable into one owned by the Fund is borrowed and sold short.  Whenever the Fund engages in short sales, it earmarks or segregates liquid securities or cash in an amount that, when combined with the amount of collateral deposited with the broker in connection with the short sale (other than the proceeds of the short sale), equals the current market value of the security sold short.  The earmarked or segregated assets are marked-to-market daily.

 



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The Fund will incur a loss as a result of a short sale if the price of the security increases between the date of the short sale and the date on which the Fund replaces the borrowed security.  The Fund will realize a gain if the price of the security declines in price between those dates.  The amount of any gain will be decreased, and the amount of any loss increased, by the amount of the premium, dividends or interest the Fund may be required to pay, if any, in connection with a short sale.  Short sales may be subject to unlimited losses as the price of a security can rise infinitely.


The Fund may not be able to borrow stocks that are short positions in the Underlying Index as their supply may be insufficient or the cost to borrow may be prohibitively expensive due to market or stock specific conditions.  Under such circumstances, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective.


Sector Risk – Financial Services Sector.  The financial services industries are subject to extensive government regulation, can be subject to relatively rapid change due to increasingly blurred distinctions between service segments, and can be significantly affected by availability and cost of capital funds, changes in interest rates, the rate of corporate and consumer debt defaults, and price competition.  In addition, the deterioration of the credit markets since late 2007 generally has caused an adverse impact in a broad range of markets, including U.S. and international credit and interbank money markets generally, thereby affecting a wide range of financial institutions and markets.  In particular, events in the financial sector since late 2008 have resulted, and may continue to result, in an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets, both domestic and foreign.  These events have included, but are not limited to, the U.S. government’s placement of the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation under conservatorship, the bankruptcy filing of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America, the U.S. government support of American International Group, Inc., the sale of Wachovia to Wells Fargo, reports of credit and liquidity issues involving certain money market mutual funds, and emergency measures by the U.S. and foreign governments banning short-selling.  This situation has created instability in the financial markets and caused certain financial services companies to incur large losses.  Numerous financial services companies have experienced substantial declines in the valuations of their assets, taken action to raise capital (such as the issuance of debt or equity securities), or even ceased operations.  These actions have caused the securities of many financial services companies to experience a dramatic decline in value.  Moreover, certain financial companies have avoided collapse due to intervention by the U.S. regulatory authorities (such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the Federal Reserve System), but such interventions have often not averted a substantial decline in the value of such companies’ common stock.  Issuers that have exposure to the real estate, mortgage and credit markets have been particularly affected by the foregoing events and the general market turmoil, and it is uncertain whether or for how long these conditions will continue.


Sector Risk - Oils/Energy Sector.  The profitability of companies in the oils/energy sector is related to worldwide energy prices, exploration, and production spending.  These companies also are subject to risks of changes in exchange rates, government regulation, world events, depletion of resources and economic conditions, as well as market, economic and political risks of the countries where energy companies are located or do business.  Oil and gas exploration and production can be significantly affected by natural disasters.  Oil exploration and production companies may be adversely affected by changes in exchange rates, interest rates, government regulation, world events, and economic conditions.  Oil exploration and production companies may be at risk for environmental damage claims.  


Correlation and Tracking Error. Correlation measures the degree of association between the returns of the Fund and the Underlying Index.  The Fund seeks a correlation over time of 0.95 or better between the Fund’s performance and the performance of the Underlying Index; a figure of 1.00 would indicate perfect correlation.


Correlation is calculated at the Fund’s fiscal year-end by comparing the Fund’s average monthly total returns, before fees and expenses, to the Underlying Index’s average monthly total returns over the prior one-year period or since inception if the Fund has been in existence for less than one year.  Another means of evaluating the degree of correlation between the returns of the Fund and the Underlying Index is to assess the “tracking error” between the two.  Tracking error means the variation between the Fund’s annual return and the return of the Underlying Index, expressed in terms of standard deviation.  The Fund seeks to have a tracking error of less than 5%, measured on a monthly basis over a one-year period by taking the standard deviation of the difference in the Fund’s returns versus the Underlying Index’s returns.


Exchange Listing and Trading. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of Shares of the Fund will continue to be met.  The Exchange may, but is not required to, remove the Shares of the Fund from listing if (i) following the initial 12-month period beginning at the commencement of trading of the Fund, there are fewer than 50 beneficial owners of the Shares of the Fund for 30 or more consecutive trading days; (ii) the value of the Underlying Index is no longer calculated or available; or (iii) such other event shall occur or condition exist that, in the opinion of the Exchange, makes further dealings on the Exchange inadvisable.  The Exchange will remove the Shares of the Fund from listing and trading upon termination of the Fund.


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



15





rates at customary levels.


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


PORTFOLIO TURNOVER


The Fund is newly established.  Accordingly, information on its portfolio turnover rate is not available as of the date of this SAI.


DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS


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


Each business day, the Fund’s portfolio holdings information will generally be provided for dissemination through the facilities of the National Securities Clearing Corporation ("NSCC") and/or other fee-based subscription services to NSCC members and/or subscribers to those other fee-based subscription services, including Authorized Participants (as defined below), and to entities that publish and/or analyze such information in connection with the process of purchasing or redeeming Creation Units or trading shares of the Fund in the secondary market.  This information typically reflects the Fund’s anticipated holdings on the current business day.


For in-kind creations, a basket composition file, which includes the  names and  quantities of Deposit Securities to deliver in exchange for a Creation Unit of Shares, together with an estimated Cash Component for the current business day, will be publicly disseminated daily prior to the opening of the Exchange via the NSCC.  The basket represents one Creation Unit of the Fund.  The Trust and the Advisor will not disseminate non-public information concerning the Fund’s portfolio holdings.  However, access to information concerning the Fund’s portfolio holdings may be permitted to personnel of third party service providers, including the Fund’s custodian, transfer agent, auditors and counsel, as may be necessary to conduct business in the ordinary course in a manner consistent with such service providers’ agreements with the Trust on behalf of the Fund.


Full portfolio holdings information may be provided to ratings agencies, such as Morningstar and Lipper, generally quarterly on a 60-day lag basis with the understanding that such holdings may be posted or disseminated to the public by the ratings agencies at any time.  


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


Form N-Q and Form N-CSR for the Fund will be available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.  The Fund’s Form N-Q and Form N-CSR, when available, may also be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C., and information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling 202-551-8090.  The Fund’s Form N-Q and Form N-CSR will be available without charge, upon request, by calling 1-877-277-6933 or by writing to: Arrow Dow Jones Global Yield ETF, c/o Gemini Fund Services, LLC, 450 Wireless Blvd., Hauppauge, New York 11788.


MANAGEMENT


The business of the Trust is managed under the direction of the Board in accordance with the Trust Instrument and the Trust’s By-laws (the “Governing Documents”), which are filed with the SEC and are available upon request.  The Board consists of four (4) individuals, three (3) of whom are not “interested persons” (as defined under the 1940 Act) of the Trust or the Advisor (“Independent Trustees”).  Pursuant to the Governing Documents of the Trust, the Trustees shall elect officers including a President and a Treasurer.  The Trust will also appoint a Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”) and may appoint one or more other officers as the Trustees determine.  


The Board retains the power to conduct, operate and carry on the business of the Trust and has the power to incur and pay any expenses, which, in the opinion of the Board, are necessary or incidental to carry out any of the Trust’s purposes.  The Trustees, officers, employees and agents of the Trust, when acting in such capacities, shall not be subject to any personal liability except for his or her own willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of his or her duties.


Board Structure.  Board members who are Independent Trustees currently constitute three-quarters of the Board.  Mr. Barrato is considered an interested Trustee, and serves as Chairman of the Board.  The Chairman’s responsibilities include: setting an agenda for each meeting of the Board; presiding at all meetings of the Board; and serving as a liaison between the other Trustees, Trust officers,



16





management personnel and counsel.  The Board believes that having an interested Chairman, who is familiar with the Advisor and its operations, while also having three-quarters of the Board composed of Independent Trustees, strikes an appropriate balance that allows the Board to benefit from the insights and perspective of a representative of management while empowering the Independent Trustees with the ultimate decision-making authority.  The Board does not believe that an independent Chairman would enhance the Board’s effectiveness, as the relatively small size of the Board allows for diverse viewpoints to be shared and for effective communications between and among Independent Trustees and management so that meetings proceed efficiently.  Independent Trustees have effective control over the Board’s agenda because they form a majority of the Board and can request presentations and agenda topics at Board meetings.  For these reasons, the Board also determined not to appoint a lead Independent Trustee.


The Trustees discharge their responsibilities collectively as a Board, as well as through Board committees, each of which operates pursuant to a charter or procedures approved by the Board that delineates the specific responsibilities of that committee.  The Board has established two standing committees: the Audit Committee and the Nominating Committee.  The members and responsibilities of each Board committee are summarized below.  

 

The Board holds four regularly scheduled in-person or telephonic meetings each year.  The Board may hold special meetings, as needed, either in person or by telephone, to address matters arising between regular meetings.  The Independent Trustees also hold at least one in-person meeting each year during a portion of which management is not present and may hold special meetings, as needed, either in person or by telephone.


Board Risk Oversight.  The Board is responsible for and oversees the overall management and operations of the Trust and the Fund, which includes the general oversight and review of the Fund’s investment activities.  The Board oversees the Trust’s officers and service providers, including the Advisor, who is responsible for the management of the day-to-day operations of the Fund based on policies and agreements reviewed and approved by the Board.  In carrying out these responsibilities, the Board regularly interacts with and receives reports from senior personnel of service providers and the Trust’s CCO.  The Board also is assisted by the Trust’s independent auditor (who reports directly to the Trust’s Audit Committee), counsel and other experts as appropriate, all of whom are selected by the Board.  The Audit Committee considers financial and reporting risk within its area of responsibilities.  


The Board periodically evaluates its structure and composition as well as various aspects of its operations.  The Board believes that its structure is appropriate for the Trust in light of, among other factors, the asset size and nature of the Fund, the number of funds overseen by the Board, the arrangements for the conduct of the Fund’s operations, the number of Trustees, and the Board’s responsibilities.  On an annual basis, the Board conducts a self-evaluation that considers, among other matters, whether the Board and its committees are functioning effectively and whether, given the size and composition of the Board and each of its committees, the Trustees are able to oversee effectively the number of funds in the complex.


Generally, the Board believes that its oversight of material risks is adequately maintained through the compliance-reporting chain where the CCO is the primary recipient and communicator of such risk-related information and the Board receives periodic reports on other aspects of Fund operations.


Trustee Qualifications. The Trustees are identified in the table below, which provides information as to their principal business occupations held during the last five years and certain other information.  The Board has determined that each Trustee on an individual basis and in combination with the other Trustees is qualified to serve, and should serve, on the Board.  To make this determination the Board considered a variety of criteria, none of which in isolation was controlling.  Among other things, the Board considered each Trustee’s experience, qualifications, attributes and skills, including the background information set forth below.


Each Trustee serves until his or her death, resignation or removal and replacement.  Each Trustee currently oversees one series of the Trust.  Joseph Barrato is considered an Interested Trustee due to his affiliation with the Advisor.  Mr. Barrato is also an interested trustee of Arrow Investments Trust, another registered open-end investment company.


Unless otherwise noted, the address of each Trustee and Officer is 450 Wireless Blvd., Hauppauge, New York 11788.  The Trustees and the executive officers of the Trust, their term of office and length of time served, their principal business occupations during the past five years, the number of portfolios in the Fund Complex overseen by the Independent Trustees and the other directorships, if any, held by the Independent Trustees, are shown below.  As shown, Mr. Sarkany is a trustee of the Northern Lights Fund Trust II (“NLFT II”), which may be deemed to be in the same Fund Complex as the Trust and, therefore, the portfolios of NLFT II are reflected as portfolios in the Fund Complex overseen by Mr. Sarkany.  

 



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Name, Address and Age

 of Independent Trustee

 

Position(s) Held

 with Trust

 

Term of

 Office and

 Length of

 Time Served*

 

Principal Occupation(s)

 During Past 5 Years

 

Number of Portfolios in Fund Complex Overseen by Independent Trustee

 

Other Directorships Held b  Independent Trustee

 during the past 5 years

 

 

Thomas T. Sarkany

Age: 65

 

Trustee

 

Since 2012

 

Founder and President, TTS Consultants, LLC, 2010 – present; Director of Marketing and of Asset Management; Director of Index Licensing, Value Line, 1994 – 2010.

 

 

 

26

 

 

Trustee, Northern Lights Fund Trust II; Director, Value Line Funds; Director, Value Line, Inc.; Director, Aquila Distributors.

 

 

Robert S. Andrialis

Age:   68

 

Trustee

 

Since 2012

 

 President, Secured Growth Quantitative Research, 2011 – Present; Independent Consultant 2010-2011, President & Founder, Mergent, Inc., 1996-2010, Founding Principal, Berwick Capital, 1994- 1996 ; President/CEO, Warren, Gorham & Lamont (subsidiary of The Thomson Corp.), 1989-1993; Senior Executive, Standard & Poors (including Chief Financial Officer, Group Vice President, and Executive Managing Director - U.S. Ratings ), 1969-1989.

 

 

1

 

 

Trustee Emeritus, College of William and Mary Endowment Association; former Trustee, William and Mary Alumni Association (until      1993 ).

 

 

John McClure

Age:   45

Address:

439 East Shore Drive, Suite 200, Eagle, ID 83616

 

Trustee

 

Since 2012

 

President and Chief Executive Officer, ProfitScore Capital Management, Inc., 2001 – present.

 

 

1

 

 

Board Member, National Association of Active Investment Managers; Board Member, Charger Blue (nonprofit); Board Member, Hoop Dreams (nonprofit).

 

 



Name, Address and Age

 of Interested Trustee

 

Position(s) Held

 with Trust

 

Term of

 Office and

 Length of

 Time Served*

 

Principal Occupation(s)

 During Past 5 Years

 

Number of

 Portfolios in

 Fund

 Complex

 Overseen by

 Interested

 Trustee

 

Other Directorships

 Held by

 Interested

 Trustee

 during the past

 5 years

 

Joseph Barrato1
Age: 47

 

Trustee

 

Since 2012

 

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Arrow Investment Advisor, LLC (registered investment adviser), 2006-present.

 

 

1

 

 

N/A

 

 

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




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Name, Address and Age

 of Executive Officer

 

Position(s) Held

 with Trust

 

Length of

 Time Served

 

Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years

 

Andrew Rogers


Age: 42

 

President

 

Since 2011

 

President and Manager, Gemini Fund Services, LLC since 2006, formerly Senior Vice President and Director of Administration from 2001 to 2005; formerly Manager, Northern Lights Compliance Services, LLC from 2006 to 2008; Manager since 2006 and President since 2004, GemCom LLC.

 

Kevin E. Wolf


Age: 42

 

Treasurer

 

Since 2011

 

Executive Vice President of Gemini Fund Services, LLC since 2004.

 

Emile R. Molineaux


Age: 49

 

Secretary

 

Since 2011

 

General Counsel, CCO and Senior Vice President, Gemini Fund Services, LLC; Secretary and CCO, Northern Lights Compliance Services, LLC since 2003; In-house Counsel, The Dreyfus Funds from 1999 to 2003.

 

James P. Ash


Age: 35

 

Assistant Secretary

 

Since 2011

 

Vice-President, Gemini Fund Services, LLC since 2011; Director of Legal Administration, Gemini Fund Services, LLC since 2009; Assistant Vice President of Legal Administration, Gemini Fund Services, LLC (2008 - 2011).

 

James Colantino


Age: 42

 

Assistant Treasurer

 

Since 2011

 

Vice President from 2004 to Present; Senior Fund Administrator from 1999 to 2004, Gemini Fund Services, LLC.

 

Erik Naviloff


Age: 43

 

Assistant Treasurer

 

Since 2011

 

Assistant Vice President, Gemini Fund Services, LLC, since 2007; Senior Accounting Manager, Fixed Income, Dreyfus Corporation, from 2002 to 2007.

 



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Richard Gleason


Age: 35

 

Assistant Treasurer

 

Since 2011

 

Manager of Fund Administration, Gemini Fund Services, LLC since 2008;

Senior Fund Administrator, Gemini Fund Services, LLC from 2005 to 2008. 

 

Dawn Borelli


Age: 40

 

Assistant Treasurer

 

Since 2011

 

Assistant Vice President, Fund Administration, Gemini Fund Services, LLC since 2010, Assistant Vice President, Global Fund Administration, Legg Mason & Co. LLC (financial service company) from 2003 to 2010.

 

Michael J. Wagner


Age:  61

 

Chief Compliance Officer

 

Since 2011

 

President of Northern Lights Compliance Services, LLC (formerly Fund Compliance Services, LLC), 2006 to present; Senior Vice President of Northern Lights Compliance Services, LLC, 2004 to 2006; Vice President of GemCom, LLC, 2004 to present; President from 2004 to 2006 and Chief Operations Officer from 2003 to 2006 of Gemini Fund Services, LLC.

 

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


Audit Committee.  The Board has an Audit Committee that consists of all the Trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Trust within the meaning of the 1940 Act.  The Audit Committee’s responsibilities include: (i) recommending to the Board the selection, retention or termination of the Trust’s independent auditors; (ii) reviewing with the independent auditors the scope, performance and anticipated cost of their audit; (iii) discussing with the independent auditors certain matters relating to the Trust’s financial statements, including any adjustment to such financial statements recommended by such independent auditors, or any other results of any audit; (iv) reviewing on a periodic basis a formal written statement from the independent auditors with respect to their independence, discussing with the independent auditors any relationships or services disclosed in the statement that may impact the objectivity and independence of the Trust’s independent auditors and recommending that the Board take appropriate action in response thereto to satisfy itself of the auditor’s independence; and (v) considering the comments of the independent auditors and management’s responses thereto with respect to the quality and adequacy of the Trust’s accounting and financial reporting policies and practices and internal controls.  The Audit Committee operates pursuant to an Audit Committee Charter.     


Nominating Committee.  The Board has a Nominating Committee that consists of all the Trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Trust within the meaning of the 1940 Act.  The purposes of the Nominating Committee are, among other things, to: (1) identify and recommend for nomination candidates to serve as Trustees and/or on Board committees who are not interested persons of the Trust and who meet any independence requirements of Exchange Rule 5.3(k)(1) or the applicable rule of any other exchange on which shares of the Trust are listed; (2) evaluate and make recommendations to the full Board regarding potential trustee candidates who are not interested persons of the Trust; and (3) review periodically the workload and capabilities of the Trustees and, as the Committee deems appropriate, to make recommendations to the Board if such a review suggests that changes to the size or composition of the Board and/or its committees are warranted.  The Committee will generally not consider potential candidates for nomination identified by shareholders.  




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Trustee Compensation.  Each Trustee who is not affiliated with the Trust or Advisor will receive a quarterly retainer of $2,000, as well as reimbursement for any reasonable expenses incurred attending the meetings.  The “interested persons” who serve as Trustees of the Trust receive no compensation for their services as Trustees.  None of the executive officers receive compensation from the Trust.


The table below details the amount of compensation the Trustees are expected to receive from the Trust during the fiscal year ending July 31, 2012.  The Trust does not have a bonus, profit sharing, pension or retirement plan.  



Name and Position

Aggregate Compensation From Trust 1

Pension or Retirement Benefits Accrued as Part of Funds Expenses

Estimated Annual Benefits Upon Retirement

Total Compensation From Trust Paid to Trustees

Thomas T. Sarkany

$6,0002

N/A

N/A

$6,0002

Robert S. Andrialis

$6,0002

N/A

N/A

$6,0002

John McClure

$6,0002

N/A

N/A

$6,0002


1 If there are additional series of the Trust, Trustees’ fees will be allocated pro rata among the series in the Trust.

2 Amount of trustee compensation is estimated.  


Trustee ownership of Fund Shares.  The Fund is newly established.  As of the date of this SAI, none of the Trustees held Shares of the Fund.  


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


Principal Holders and Control Persons.   NorthStar Financial Services, LLC owns all of the initial Shares issued by the Fund prior to the commencement of investment operations and the public launch of the Fund.  No other person owns of record or is known by the Fund to own beneficially 5% or more of the Fund’s outstanding equity securities.  


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


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


The Advisor for the Fund is Arrow Investment Advisors, LLC, located at 2943 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Suite A, Olney, Maryland 20832.


Portfolio Managers. William E. Flaig, Jr. and Adrian Bachman, CFA, have been responsible for the day to day management of the Fund since its inception in 2012.  Mr. Flaig is the Chief Investment Officer of the Advisor and in that capacity oversees all research, portfolio management and trading operations of the Advisor.  Mr. Bachman serves as Portfolio Manager at the Advisor.


As of March 16, 2012, Mr. Flaig managed  five registered investment companies with a total of approximately $ 755 million in assets and no other accounts, and Mr. Bachman   assisted Mr. Flaig in the management of such assets.   None of the  assets  managed by Mr. Flaig or Mr. Bachman are subject to a performance fee.  



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As  the portfolio managers for multiple registered investment companies, accounts, the portfolio managers make investment decisions for each account based on the investment objectives and policies and other relevant investment considerations applicable to that portfolio.  When a portfolio manager has responsibility for managing more than one account, potential conflicts of interest may arise.  Those conflicts could include preferential treatment of one account over others in terms of allocation of resources or of investment opportunities.  For instance, the Advisor may receive fees from certain accounts that are higher than the fee it receives from the Fund.  In those instances, the portfolio managers may have an incentive to favor the higher fee accounts over the Fund.


When allocating investments among client accounts, the portfolio managers have the fiduciary obligation to treat each client equally, regardless of account size or fees paid.  All clients at the same custodian (or trading desk) receive the same average price for each transaction.  When multiple trading desks or custodians are used to execute transactions, the portfolio managers execute the trades in such a fashion as to ensure no client grouping consistently receives preferential treatment.  When trades in the same security must be executed over multiple days, the portfolio managers execute the trades in a random order to ensure no client grouping consistently receives preferential treatment.


“Cross trades” in which a portfolio managers sells a particular security held by a Fund to another account managed by the Advisor (potentially saving transaction costs for both accounts), could involve a potential conflict of interest if, for example, a portfolio manager is permitted to sell a security from one account to another account at a higher price than the independent third party would pay.  The Advisor and the Funds have adopted compliance procedures that provide that any transactions between a Fund and another account managed by the Advisor are to be made at an independent current market price, consistent with applicable laws and regulation.


Overall, the Advisor does not believe that management of the different funds presents a material conflict of interest for the Portfolio Managers or the Advisor.  


Description of Compensation Structure. As compensation for their responsibilities as Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager, respectively, of Arrow Investment Advisors, LLC, Messrs. Flaig and Bachman receive a fixed base salary designed to be competitive relative to the size of the Advisor within the mutual fund industry.  The base salary is determined by the Advisor’s management committee.  In addition, they are eligible to participate in a bonus program based on the pre-tax performance and asset growth of the funds managed by the Advisor relative to the benchmark index of the funds.   Messrs. Flaig and Bachman also participate in an incentive program that provides a percentage of ownership in the Advisor in set amounts over a set time frame.  


Investment Advisory Agreement. Pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement with the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, the Advisor, subject to the supervision of the Board of the Trust, and in conformity with the stated policies of the Fund, manages the operations of the Fund.  The Advisory Agreement for the Fund was approved by the Board, including by a majority of the Independent Trustees, at a meeting held on January 19, 2012.


Under the Advisory Agreement, subject to the supervision and direction of the Trust’s Board, the Adviser will provide a continuous investment program for the Fund, including investment research and management with respect to all securities and investments and cash equivalents in the Fund.  Advisor will determine, from time to time, what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained or sold by the Fund.  In making purchases and sales of securities and other investment assets for the Fund, the Adviser shall comply with the directions set from time to time by the Board as well as the limitations imposed by the Fund’s constituent documents and the Fund’s registration statement, the limitations in the 1940 Act, the Securities Act of 1933, the Internal Revenue Code, as amended, and other applicable laws.


Under the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser agrees that, in placing orders with brokers, it will attempt to obtain the best net result in terms of price and execution; provided that, consistent with Section 28(e) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Adviser may allocate brokerage on behalf of the Fund to broker-dealers who provide research, analysis, advice and similar services.  Subject to compliance with Section 28(e), the Adviser may cause the Fund to pay to any broker-dealer who provides such services a commission that exceeds the commission the Fund might have paid to a different broker-dealer for the same transaction.  The Adviser may aggregate sales and purchase orders of the assets of the Fund with similar orders being made simultaneously for other accounts advised by the Adviser or its affiliates.  Whenever the Adviser simultaneously places orders to purchase or sell the same asset on behalf of the Fund and one or more other accounts advised by the Adviser, the orders will be allocated as to price and amount among all such accounts in a manner believed to be equitable over time to each account.


The annual management fee rate payable by the Fund to the Advisor pursuant to the Advisory Agreements is 0.75% of the Fund’s average daily net assets.  The unitary management fee paid to the Advisor under the Advisory Agreement is designed to pay the Fund’s expenses and to compensate the Advisor for providing service for the Fund.  Out of the unitary management fee, the Advisor pays substantially all expenses of the Fund, including the costs of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other services, except for the fee payment under the Advisory Agreement, the fees and expenses of the Trustees who are not “interested persons” within the meaning of the 1940 Act, payments under the Fund’s 12b-1 plan, if any, brokerage expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, interest (including borrowing costs and dividend expenses on securities sold short), litigation expense and other extraordinary expenses (including litigation to which the Trust or the Fund may be a party and indemnification of the Trustees and officers with respect thereto).



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The Advisory Agreement will continue in effect for two  years initially and thereafter shall continue from year to year provided such continuance is approved at least annually by (a) a vote of the majority of the Independent Trustees, cast in person at a meeting specifically called for the purpose of voting on such approval and by (b) the majority vote of either all of the Trustees or the vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund.  The Advisory Agreement may be terminated without penalty on 60 days’ written notice by a vote of a majority of the Trustees or by the Advisor, or by holders of a majority of that Trust’s outstanding shares.  The Advisory Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment.


The Advisory Agreement provides that, except for losses resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of the Advisor in the performance of its duties, or reckless disregard by the Advisor of its obligations and duties under the Advisory Agreement, the Advisor shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Fund, the Trust or any of its shareholders, in connection with the matters to which the Advisory Agreement relates.  


Distributor.  Northern Lights Distributors, LLC, located at 4020 South 147th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68137 (the “Distributor”) serves as the principal underwriter and national distributor for the shares of the Trust pursuant to a Distribution Agreement with the Trust (the “Distribution Agreement”).  The Distributor is registered as a broker-dealer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and each state’s securities laws and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA").  The offering of the Fund’s Shares are continuous and the Distributor acts as an agent for the Trust.  The Distributor will deliver a Prospectus to persons purchasing Shares in Creation Units and will maintain records of both orders placed with it and confirmations of acceptance furnished by it.  The Distributor has no role in determining the investments or investment policies of the Fund.  



The Distribution Agreement provides that, unless sooner terminated, it will continue in effect for two years initially and thereafter shall continue from year to year, subject to annual approval by (a) the Board or a vote of a majority of the outstanding shares, and (b) by a majority of the Trustees who are not parties to the Distribution Agreement or the Trust’s distribution plan or interested persons of the Trust or of the Distributor (“Qualified Trustees”) by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.


The Distribution Agreement may at any time be terminated, without penalty by the Trust, by vote of a majority of the Qualified Trustees or by vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of the Trust on 60 days’ written notice to the other party.  The Distribution Agreement will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment.  The Fund does not pay the Distributor any fees under the Distribution Agreement. However, the Advisor pays an annual fee to the Distributor plus reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by Distributor in connection with activities performed for the Fund, including, without limitation, printing and distribution of prospectuses and shareholder reports, out of its own resources.


Rule 12b-1 Plan.  The Board has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (“Plan”).  In accordance with its Plan, the Fund is authorized to pay an amount up to 0.25% of its average daily net assets each year for certain distribution-related activities.  In addition, if the payment of management fees by the Fund is deemed to be indirect financing by the Fund of the distribution of its Shares, such payment is authorized by the Plan.  The Plan specifically recognizes that the Advisor and other persons may use management fee revenue, as well as past profits or other resources, to pay for expenses incurred in connection with providing services intended to result in the sale of Shares.  The Advisor and such other persons, as well as their affiliates, may pay amounts to third parties for distribution or marketing services on behalf of the Fund.  The making of the types of payments described in this paragraph could create a conflict of interest for the party receiving such payments.

 

The Plan was adopted in order to permit the implementation of the Fund’s method of distribution.  No fees are currently paid by the Fund under the Plan, however, and there are no current plans to impose such fees.  In the event such fees were to be charged, over time they would increase the cost of an investment in the Fund.

 

Under the Plan, the Trustees would receive and review at the end of each quarter a written report provided by the Distributor of the amounts expended under the Plan, if made, and the purpose for which such expenditures were made.


The Plan will remain in effect for a period of one year and is renewable from year to year with respect to the Fund, so long as its continuance is approved at least annually (1) by the vote of a majority of the Trustees and (2) by a vote of the majority of those Independent Trustees who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the Plan (“Rule 12b-1 Trustees”), cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.  The Plan may not be amended to increase materially the amount of fees paid by the Fund unless such amendment is approved by a 1940 Act majority vote of the outstanding Shares and by the Fund Trustees in the manner described above.  The Plan is terminable with respect to the Fund at any time by a vote of a majority of the Rule 12b-1 Trustees or by a 1940 Act majority vote of the outstanding shares.



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Administrator. The Administrator for the Fund is Gemini Fund Services, LLC (the “Administrator”), which has its principal office at 450 Wireless Blvd., Hauppauge, New York 11788, and is primarily in the business of providing administrative, fund accounting and transfer agent services to retail and institutional mutual funds.  The Administrator is an affiliate of the Distributor.


Pursuant to a Fund Services Agreement with the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, the Administrator provides administrative services to the Fund, subject to the supervision of the Board.  The Administrator will provide qualified persons to serve as President, Treasurer and Secretary of the Trust and may provide other officers of the Trust.  Such officers may be directors, officers or employees of Administrator or its affiliates.


The Fund Services Agreement was initially approved by the Board at a meeting held on January 19, 2012.  The Agreement shall remain in effect for  two years from its effective date, and subject to annual approval by a majority of the Board for one-year periods thereafter.  The Fund Services Agreement is terminable by the Board or Administrator on 90 days’ written notice and may be assigned by either party, provided the  Administrator provides prior written consent of an assignment by the Trust.   The Board or the Administrator may terminate the Fund Services Agreement upon 30 days’ written notice in the event of a breach.  The Fund Services Agreement is terminable at any time upon 30 days’ written notice if the Board makes a determination to liquidate the Fund.   The Agreement provides that in the absence of willful misconduct, bad faith or  negligence on the part of the Administrator or reckless disregard of its obligations thereunder, the Administrator shall not be liable for any action or failure to act in accordance with its duties thereunder.


Under the fund Services Agreement, the Administrator provides facilitating administrative services, including:  (i) providing services of persons competent to perform such administrative and clerical functions as are necessary to provide effective administration of the Fund; (ii) facilitating the performance of administrative and professional services to the Fund by others, including the Fund’s Custodian; (iii) preparing, but not paying for, the periodic updating of the Fund’s Registration Statement, Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information in conjunction with Trust counsel, including the printing of such documents for the purpose of filings with the SEC and state securities administrators, and preparing reports to the Fund’s shareholders and the SEC; (iv) preparing in conjunction with Trust counsel, but not paying for, all filings under the securities or “Blue Sky” laws of such states or countries as are designated by the Distributor, if any; (v) in consultation with Trust counsel, the Advisor, officers of the Trust and other relevant parties, preparing notices and agendas for meetings of the Board and minutes of such meetings in all matters required by the 1940 Act to be acted upon by the Board; and (vi) monitoring daily and periodic compliance with respect to all requirements and restrictions of the 1940 Act, the Internal Revenue Code and the Prospectus.


Pursuant to the  Fund Services Agreement, the Administrator also provides the Fund with accounting services, including:  (i) daily computation of net asset value; (ii) maintenance of security ledgers and books and records as required by the 1940 Act; (iii) production of the Fund’s listing of portfolio securities and general ledger reports; (iv) reconciliation of accounting records; (v) calculation of yield and total return for the Fund; (vi) maintaining certain books and records described in Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act, and reconciling account information and balances among the Fund’s custodian and Advisor; and (vii) monitoring and evaluating daily income and expense accruals, and sales and redemptions of shares of the Fund.


For the services rendered to the Fund by the Administrator,  Administrator minimum receives from the Advisor an annual fee of $6,000 and 0.05% of the Fund’s average daily net assets, except if more than 25% of the Fund is invested non-domestically, the Administrator receives from the Advisor an annual fee of $9,000 and 0.075% of the Fund ’s average daily net assets.  The Administrator also receives out-of-pocket expenses.  


Transfer Agent.  Brown Brothers Harriman & Co, located at 40 Water Street, Boston, MA 02109 (the “Transfer Agent”), acts as transfer, dividend disbursing, and shareholder servicing agent for the Fund pursuant to a Custodian and Transfer Agent Agreement with the Trust.  Under the agreement, the Transfer Agent is responsible for administering and performing transfer agent functions, dividend distribution,  and maintaining necessary records in accordance with applicable rules and regulations. As compensation for these services, the Transfer Agent receives certain out-of-pocket costs, transaction fees and asset-based fees which are accrued daily and paid monthly by the Advisor from its fees.


Custodian.  Brown Brothers Harriman & Co, located at 40 Water Street, Boston, MA 02109 (the “Custodian”), serves as the custodian of the Fund’s assets pursuant to a Custodian and Transfer Agent Agreement by and between Brown Brothers Harriman & Co and the Trust on behalf of the Fund.  The Custodian’s responsibilities include safeguarding and controlling the Fund’s cash and securities, handling the receipt and delivery of securities, and collecting interest and dividends on the Fund’s investments. Pursuant to the  Custodian and Transfer Agent Agreement, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co also maintains original entry documents and books of record and general ledgers; posts cash receipts and disbursements; and records purchases and sales based upon communications from the Advisor.   As compensation for these services, the Custodian receives certain out-of-pocket costs, transaction fees and asset-based fees which are accrued daily and paid monthly by the Advisor from its fees.



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Index Provider.  The Underlying Index is calculated and maintained by CME Group Index Services LLC (d/b/a Dow Jones) ("[Dow Jones ®" or the "Index Provider").  The Index Provider is not affiliated with the Trust, the Advisor or the Distributor.  The Advisor has entered into a license agreement with the Index Provider.  The Fund is entitled to use the Underlying Index pursuant to a sub-licensing agreement with the Advisor.


No entity that creates, compiles, sponsors or maintains the Underlying Index is or will be an affiliated person, as defined in Section 2(a)(3) of the 1940 Act, or an affiliated person of an affiliated person, of the Trust, the Advisor, the Distributor or a promoter of the Fund.


Neither the Advisor nor any affiliate of the Advisor has any right to influence the selection of the securities in the Underlying Index.


The Fund is based upon the Dow Jones Global Composite Yield Index.  Additional information about the Fund’s Underlying Index methodology is set forth in the Prospectus.


Disclaimers.


The “ Dow Jones Global Composite Yield Index SM ” is a product of Dow Jones Indexes, the marketing name and a licensed trademark of CME Group Index Services LLC (“CME”), and has been licensed for use.  “Dow Jones®”, “ Dow Jones Global Composite Yield Index SM ” and “Dow Jones Indexes” are service marks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings, LLC (“Dow Jones”) and have been licensed for use for certain purposes by Advisor (“Licensee”).  The Fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Dow Jones, CME or their respective affiliates.  Dow Jones, CME and their respective affiliates make no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Fund or any member of the public regarding the advisability of trading in the Fund.  Dow Jones’, CME’s and their respective affiliates’ only relationship to the Licensee is the licensing of certain trademarks and trade names of Dow Jones and of the “ Dow Jones Global Composite Yield Index ” SM which is determined, composed and calculated by CME without regard to the Licensee or the Fund.  Dow Jones and CME have no obligation to take the needs of the Licensee or the owners of the Fund into consideration in determining, composing or calculating “ Dow Jones Global Composite Yield Index ” SM .  Dow Jones, CME and their respective affiliates are not responsible for and have not participated in the determination of the timing of, prices at, or quantities of the Fund to be sold or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Fund is to be converted into cash.  Dow Jones, CME and their respective affiliates have no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the Fund.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, CME Group Inc. and its affiliates may independently issue and/or sponsor financial products unrelated to the Fund currently being issued by the Licensee, but which may be similar to and competitive with the Fund.  In addition, CME Group Inc. and its affiliates may trade financial products which are linked to the performance of the Dow Jones Global Composite Yield Index SM .  It is possible that this trading activity will affect the value of the Dow Jones Global Composite Yield Index SM and the Fund.


DOW JONES, CME AND THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE DOW JONES GLOBAL COMPOSITE YIELD INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN AND DOW JONES, CME AND THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR INTERRUPTIONS THEREIN.  DOW JONES, CME AND THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES MAKE NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY THE LICENSEE, OWNERS OF THE FUND, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE DOW JONES GLOBAL COMPOSITE YIELD INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN.  DOW JONES, CME AND THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES MAKE NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE DOW JONES GLOBAL COMPOSITE YIELD INDEX OR ANY DATA INCLUDED THEREIN.  WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL DOW JONES, CME OR THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR LOSSES, EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.  THERE ARE NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARIES OF ANY AGREEMENTS OR ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN CME AND THE LICENSEE, OTHER THAN THE LICENSORS OF CME.


BROKERAGE TRANSACTIONS


Portfolio changes will generally be implemented through in-kind transactions for Creation Units, however the Advisor may execute brokerage transactions for the Fund and the Fund may incur brokerage commissions.  Also, the Fund may accept cash as part or all of an in-kind creation or redemption of a Creation Unit, in which case the Advisor may need to execute brokerage transactions for the Fund.  The policy of the Advisor regarding purchases and sales of securities is that primary consideration will be given to obtaining the most favorable prices and efficient executions of transactions under the circumstances.  Consistent with this policy, when



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securities transactions are effected on a stock exchange, the Advisor’s policy is to pay commissions that are considered fair and reasonable without necessarily determining that the lowest possible commissions are paid in all circumstances.  In seeking to determine the reasonableness of brokerage commissions paid in any transaction, the Advisor relies upon its experience and knowledge regarding commissions generally charged by various brokers.  The sale of Shares by a broker-dealer is not a factor in the selection of broker-dealers.


In seeking to implement its policies, the Advisor effects transactions with those brokers and dealers that the Advisor believes provide the most favorable prices and are capable of providing efficient executions.  The Advisor and its affiliates do not currently participate in soft dollar transactions.


The Advisor assumes general supervision over placing orders on behalf of the Fund for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities.  If purchases or sales of portfolio securities by the Fund and one or more other investment companies or clients supervised by the Advisor are considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities are allocated among the Fund, the several investment companies and clients in a manner deemed equitable to all by the Advisor.  In some cases, this procedure could have a detrimental effect on the price or volume of the security as far as the Fund is concerned.  However, in other cases, it is possible that the ability to participate in volume transactions and to negotiate lower brokerage commissions will be beneficial to the Fund.  The primary consideration is prompt execution of orders at the most favorable net price under the circumstances.


Purchases and sales of fixed-income securities for the Fund usually are principal transactions and ordinarily are purchased directly from the issuer or from an underwriter or broker-dealer.  The Fund does not usually pay brokerage commissions in connection with such purchases and sales, although purchases of new issues from underwriters of securities typically include a commission or concession paid by the issuer to the underwriter, and purchases from dealers serving as market-makers typically include a dealer’s mark-up (i.e., a spread between the bid and the ask prices).


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING THE TRUST


The Trust is a Delaware statutory trust and registered open-end investment company.  The Trust was organized on August 29, 2011 and has authorized capital of unlimited Shares of beneficial interest of no par value which may be issued in more than one class or series.  Currently, the Trust consists of one series, which has not commenced operations prior to the date of this SAI.  The Board may designate additional series and classify Shares of a particular series into one or more classes of that series.


Under Delaware law, the Trust is not required to hold an annual shareholders meeting if the 1940 Act does not require such a meeting.  Generally, there will not be annual meetings of Trust shareholders, but if requested in writing by shareholders of at least 25% of the outstanding Shares of the Trust, the Trust will call a meeting of shareholders.  Shareholders holding two-thirds of Shares outstanding of the Fund may remove Trustees from office by votes cast at a meeting of Trust shareholders or by written consent.


All Shares are freely transferable.  Shares will not have preemptive rights or cumulative voting rights, and none of the Shares will have any preference to conversion, exchange, dividends, retirements, liquidation, redemption, or any other feature.  Shares have equal voting rights.  The Trust Instrument confers upon the Board the power, by resolution, to alter the number of Shares constituting a Creation Unit or to specify that Shares of the Fund may be individually redeemable.  The Trust reserves the right to adjust the stock prices of Shares to maintain convenient trading ranges for investors.  Any such adjustments would be accomplished through stock splits or reverse stock splits which would have no effect on the NAV of the Fund.


The Trust Instrument of the Trust disclaims liability of the shareholders or the officers of the Trust for acts or obligations of the Trust which are binding only on the assets and property of the Trust.  The Trust Instrument provides for indemnification out of the Fund’s property for all loss and expense of the Fund’s shareholders being held personally liable solely by reason of his or her being or having been a shareholder and not because of his or her acts or omissions or for some other reason.  The risk of a Trust shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which the Fund itself would not be able to meet the Trust’s obligations and this risk should be considered remote.


If the Fund does not grow to a size to permit it to be economically viable, the Fund may cease operations.  In such an event, shareholders may be required to liquidate or transfer their Shares at an inopportune time and shareholders may lose money on their investment.


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


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




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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 New York Stock Exchange, Inc. (“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 and sale of Shares.


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


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


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


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


Proxy Voting. The Board has adopted Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures (“Policies”) on behalf of the Trust, which delegate the responsibility for voting proxies of securities held by the Fund to the Advisor, subject to the Board’s continuing oversight.  The Policies require that the Advisor vote proxies received in a manner consistent with the best interests of the Fund and its shareholders.  The Policies also require the Advisor to present to the Board, at least annually, the Advisor’s Proxy Policies and a record of each proxy voted by the Advisor on behalf of the Fund, including a report on the resolution of all proxies identified by the Advisor as involving a conflict of interest.


A copy of the Advisor’s Proxy Voting Policies is attached hereto as Appendix B.  


More information.  Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities held by the Fund during the most recent 12-month period ending June 30 will be available (1) without charge, upon request, by calling the Fund at 1-877-277-6933; and (2) on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.  In addition, a copy of the Fund’s proxy voting policies and procedures are also available by calling 1-877-277-6933 and will be sent within three business days of receipt of a request.


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




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The Codes apply to the personal investing activities of Trustees and Officers of the Trust, the Advisor and the Distributor (“Access Persons”).  Rule 17j-1 and the Codes are designed to prevent unlawful practices in connection with the purchase or sale of securities by Access Persons.  Under the Codes, Access Persons are permitted to engage in personal securities transactions, but are required to report their personal securities transactions for monitoring purposes.  The Codes permit personnel subject to the Codes to invest in securities subject to certain limitations, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Fund.  In addition, certain Access Persons are required to obtain approval before investing in initial public offerings or private placements.  The Codes are on file with the SEC, and are available to the public.


PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION OF CREATION UNITS


Creation Units l.    Each ETF sells and redeems S hares in Creation Units on a continuous basis through the Distributor, without a sales load, at the  NAV next determined after receipt  of an order in proper form on any Business Day.  A “Business Day” is any day on which the NYSE is open for business.  As of the date of this SAI, the NYSE observes the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.


A Creation Unit is an aggregation of 75,000 Shares.  The Board may declare a split or a consolidation in the number of Shares outstanding of the Fund or Trust, and make a corresponding change in the number of Shares in a Creation Unit.


Authorized Participants.   To purchase or redeem any Creation Units, you must be, or transact through, an Authorized Participant.  In order to be an Authorized Participant, you must be either a broker-dealer or other participant (“Participating Party”) in the Continuous Net Settlement System (“Clearing Process”) of the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”) or a participant in DTC with access to the DTC system (“DTC Participant”), and you must execute an agreement (“Participant Agreement”) with the Distributor that governs transactions in the Fund’s Creation Units.  

 

Investors who are not Authorized Participants but want to transact in Creation Units may contact the Distributor for the names of Authorized Participants.   An Authorized Participant may require investors to enter into a separate agreement to transact through it for Creation Units and may require orders for purchases of shares placed with it to be in a particular form.  Investors transacting through a broker that is not itself an Authorized Participant and therefore must still transact through an Authorized Participant may incur additional charges.  There are expected to be a limited number of Authorized Participants at any one time.  


Orders must be transmitted by an Authorized Participant by telephone or other transmission method acceptable to the Distributor.  Market disruptions and telephone or other communication failures may impede the transmission of orders.


Transaction Fees.  A fixed fee payable to the Custodian is imposed on each creation and redemption transaction regardless of the number of Creation Units involved in the transaction (“Fixed Fee”).  Purchases and redemptions of Creation Units for cash or involving cash-in-lieu (as defined below) are required to pay an additional variable charge to compensate the Fund and its ongoing shareholders for brokerage and market impact expenses relating to Creation Unit transactions (“Variable Charge,” and together with the Fixed Fee, the “Transaction Fees”).  With the approval of the Board, the Advisor may waive or adjust the Transaction Fees, including the Fixed Fee and/or Variable Charge (shown in the table below), from time to time.  In such cases, the Authorized Participant will reimburse the Fund for, among other things, any difference between the market value at which the securities and/or financial instruments were purchased by the Fund and the cash-in-lieu amount, applicable registration fees, brokerage commissions and certain taxes.  In addition, purchasers of Creation Units are responsible for the costs of transferring the Deposit Securities to the account of the Fund.


Investors who use the services of a broker, or other such intermediary may be charged a fee for such services.  The Transaction Fees for the Fund are listed in the table below.


 

Fee for In-Kind and Cash Purchases

Maximum Additional Variable Charge for Cash Purchases*

Fund

$3,170

1.00%


* As a percentage of the amount invested.




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The Clearing Process.  Transactions by an Authorized Participant that is a Participating Party using the NSCC system are referred to as transactions “through the Clearing Process.”  Transactions by an Authorized Participant that is a DTC Participant using the DTC system are referred to as transactions “outside the Clearing Process.”  The Clearing Process is an enhanced clearing process that is available only for certain securities and only to DTC participants that are also participants in the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC.  In-kind (portions of) purchase orders not subject to the Clearing Process will go through a manual clearing process run by DTC.  Portfolio Deposits that include government securities must be delivered through the Federal Reserve Bank wire transfer system (“Federal Reserve System”).  Fund Deposits that include cash may be delivered through the Clearing Process or the Federal Reserve System.  In-kind deposits of securities for orders outside the Clearing Process must be delivered through the Federal Reserve System (for government securities) or through DTC (for corporate securities).


Foreign Securities.   Because the portfolio securities of the Fund may trade on days that the Exchange is closed or are otherwise not Business Days for the Fund, shareholders may not be able to redeem their shares of the Fund, or to purchase or sell shares of the Fund on the Exchange, on days when the NAV of the Fund could be significantly affected by events in the relevant foreign markets.


Purchasing Creation Units


Portfolio Deposit.  The consideration for a Creation Unit  generally consists of the in-kind deposit of designated  securities ( “Deposit Securities”) and an amount of cash in U.S. dollars  ( “Cash Component”).  Together, the Deposit Securities and the Cash Component constitute the “Portfolio Deposit. ”   The Cash Component  serves the function of compensating for any differences between the net asset value per Creation Unit and the Deposit Securities.  Thus, the Cash Component is equal to the difference between (x) the net asset value per Creation Unit  of the Fund and (y) the market value of the Deposit Securities.  If (x) is more than (y), the Authorized Participant will  pay the Cash Component to the Fund.  If (x) is less than (y), the Authorized Participant will receive the Cash Component from the Fund.


On each Business Day, prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m., Eastern Time), the Advisor through the Custodian makes available through NSCC the name and amount of each Deposit Security  in the current Portfolio Deposit (based on information at the end of the previous Business Day) for the Fund and the (estimated) Cash Component, effective through and including the previous Business Day, per Creation Unit.  The Deposit Securities announced are applicable, subject to any adjustments as described below, to purchases of Creation Units until  the next announcement of Deposit Securities.    


The Deposit Securities may change and as rebalancing adjustments and corporate action events Of the Underlying Index are reflected from time to time by the Advisor  in the Fund’s portfolio.  T he Deposit Securities may also change in response to    the rebalancing and/or constitution of  the Underlying Index.   These adjustments will reflect changes known to the Advisor on the date of announcement to be in effect by the time of delivery of the Portfolio Deposit.


Payment of any stamp duty or the like shall be the sole responsibility of the Authorized Participant purchasing a Creation Unit.  The Authorized Participant must ensure that all Deposit Securities properly denote change in beneficial ownership.


Custom Orders and Cash-in-lieu.  The Fund may, in its sole discretion, permit or require the substitution of an amount of cash ( “cash - in - lieu” ) to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Deposit Security  The  Fund may permit or require cash-in-lieu when, for example, a Deposit Security may not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery or  may not be eligible for transfer through the systems of DTC or the Clearing Process.  Similarly, the Fund may permit or require cash in lieu of Deposit Securities  when, for example, the Authorized Participant  or its underlying investor is restricted under  U.S. or local  securities laws or policies from transacting in one or more Deposit Securities.   The Fund will comply with the federal securities laws in accepting Deposit Securities including that the Deposit Securities are sold in transactions that would be exempt from registration under the Securities Act.  All orders involving cash-in-lieu are considered to be “Custom Orders.”



Purchase Orders.  To order a Creation Unit, an Authorized Participant must submit an irrevocable purchase order to the Distributor.  


Timing of Submission of Purchase Orders.  An Authorized Participant must submit an irrevocable purchase order no later than the earlier of (i) 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time or (ii) the closing time of the bond markets and/or the trading session on the Exchange, on any Business Day in order to receive that Business Day’s NAV (“Cut-off Time”).  The Cut-off Time for Custom Orders is generally two hours earlier.  The Business Day the order is deemed received by the Distributor is referred to as the “Transmittal Date.”  An order to create Creation Units is deemed received on a Business Day if (i) such order is received by the Distributor by the Cut-off Time on such day and (ii) all other procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement are properly followed.  Persons placing or effectuating custom orders and/or orders involving cash should be mindful of time deadlines imposed by intermediaries, such as DTC and/or the Federal Reserve Bank wire system, which may impact the successful processing of such orders to ensure that cash and securities are transferred by the “Settlement Date,” which is generally the Business Day immediately following the Transmittal Date (“T+1”) for cash and the third Business Day following the Transmittal Date for securities (“T+3”).    



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Orders Using the Clearing Process.  If available, (portions of) orders may be settled through the Clearing Process.  In connection with such orders, the Distributor transmits, on behalf of the Authorized Participant, such trade instructions as are necessary to effect the creation order.  Pursuant to such trade instructions, the Authorized Participant agrees to deliver the requisite Portfolio Deposit to the Fund, together with such additional information as may be required by the Distributor.  Cash Components will be delivered using either the Clearing Process or the Federal Reserve System.

 

Orders Outside the Clearing Process.  If the Clearing Process is not available for (portions of) an order, Portfolio Deposits will be made outside the Clearing Process.  Orders outside the Clearing Process must state that the DTC Participant is not using the Clearing Process and that the creation of Creation Units will be effected through DTC.  The Portfolio Deposit transfer must be ordered by the DTC Participant on the Transmittal Date in a timely fashion so as to ensure the delivery of Deposit Securities (whether standard or custom) through DTC to the Fund account by 11:00 a.m., Eastern time, on T+1.  The Cash Component, along with any cash-in-lieu and Transaction Fee, must be transferred directly to the Custodian through the Federal Reserve System in a timely manner so as to be received by the Custodian no later than 12:00 p.m., Eastern time, on T+1.  If the Custodian does not receive both the Deposit Securities and the cash by the appointed time, the order may be canceled.  A canceled order may be resubmitted the following Business Day but must conform to that Business Day’s Portfolio Deposit.  Authorized Participants that submit a canceled order will be liable to the Fund for any losses incurred by the Fund in connection therewith.


Orders involving foreign Deposit Securities are expected to be settled outside the Clearing Process.  Thus, upon receipt of an irrevocable purchase order, the  Distributor will notify the Advisor and the Custodian of such order.  The Custodian, who will have caused the appropriate local sub-custodian(s) of the Fund to maintain an account into which  an Authorized Participant  may deliver Deposit Securities (or  cash -in-lieu), with adjustments determined by the Fund, will then provide information of the order to such local sub-custodian(s).  The ordering Authorized Participant will then deliver the Deposit Securities (and any cash-in-lieu) to the Fund’s n account at the applicable local sub-custodian.   The Authorized Participant

must also make available on or before the contractual settlement date, by means satisfactory to the Fund, immediately available or same day funds in U.S. dollars estimated by the Fund to be sufficient to pay the Cash Component  and Transaction Fee.     When a relevant local market is closed due to local market holidays, the local market settlement process will not commence until the end of the local holiday period. Settlement must occur by 2:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the contractual settlement date.  



Acceptance of Purchase Order.  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 Fund.  The Fund’s determination shall be final and binding.


The Fund reserves the absolute right to reject or revoke acceptance of a purchase order transmitted to it by the Distributor if (a) the order is not in proper form; (b) the investor(s), upon obtaining the shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding shares of the Fund; (c) the Deposit Securities delivered do not conform to the Deposit Securities for the applicable date; (d) acceptance of the Deposit Securities would have certain adverse tax consequences to the Fund; (e) the acceptance of the Portfolio Deposit would, in the opinion of counsel, be unlawful; (f) the acceptance of the Portfolio Deposit would otherwise, in the discretion of the Trust, Fund or the Advisor, have an adverse effect on the Trust, Fund or the rights of beneficial owners; or (g) in the event that circumstances outside the control of the Trust, the Distributor and the Advisor make it for all practical purposes impossible to process purchase orders.  Examples of such circumstances include acts of God; public service or utility problems resulting in telephone, telecopy or computer failures; fires, floods or extreme weather conditions; market conditions or activities causing trading halts; systems failures involving computer or other informational systems affecting the Trust, the Distributor, DTC, NSCC, the Advisor, the Funds’ Custodian, a sub-custodian or any other participant in the creation process; and similar extraordinary events.  The  Distributor shall notify an Authorized Participant of its rejection of the order.  The Fund, the  Custodian, any sub-custodian and the Distributor are under no duty, however, to give notification of any defects or irregularities in the delivery of Portfolio Deposits, and they shall  not incur any liability for the failure to give any such notification.

 

Issuance of a Creation Unit.   Once the Fund has accepted an order, upon next determination of the Fund’s NAV, the Fund will confirm the issuance of a Creation Unit, against receipt of payment, at such NAV.  The Distributor will transmit a confirmation of acceptance to the Authorized Participant that placed the order.  


Except as provided below, a Creation Unit  will not be issued until the Fund obtains good title to the Deposit Securities and the Cash Component, along with any cash-in-lieu and Transaction Fee.  Except as provided in Appendix C, the delivery of Creation Units will generally occur no later than T+3.  


In certain cases, Authorized Participants will create and redeem Creation Units on the same trade date.  In these instances, the Trust reserves the right to settle these transactions on a net basis.



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With respect to orders involving foreign Deposit Securities, when the applicable local sub-custodian(s) have confirmed to the Custodian that the Deposit Securities (or cash -in-lieu ) have been delivered to the Fund’s account at the applicable local sub-custodian (s), the Distributor and the Advisor shall be notified of such delivery, and the Fund will issue and cause the delivery of the Creation Unit.   While, as stated above, Creation Units  are   generally delivered on T+3, as discussed in Appendix C the Fund may settle Creation Unit transactions on a basis other than T+3 in order to accommodate foreign market holiday schedules, to account for different treatment among foreign and U.S. markets of dividend record dates and ex-dividend dates (that is the last day the holder of a security can sell the security and still receive dividends payable on the security), and in certain other circumstances.


The Fund may issue a Creation Unit prior to receiving good title to the Deposit Securities, under the following circumstances.  Pursuant to the applicable Participant Agreement, the Fund may issue a Creation Unit notwithstanding  that (certain) Deposit Securities have not been delivered, in reliance on an undertaking by the relevant Authorized Participant to deliver the missing Deposit Securities as soon as possible, which undertaking  is secured by such Authorized Participant’s delivery to and maintenance with the Custodian of collateral having a value equal to at least 105% of the value of the missing Deposit Securities   (“Collateral”), as adjusted by time to time by the Advisor.  Such Collateral will have a value greater than the NAV of the Creation Unit on the date the order is placed.    Such collateral must be delivered no later than 2:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on T+1.  The only Collateral that is acceptable to the Fund is cash in U.S. Dollars.    


While (certain) Deposit Securities remain undelivered, the Collateral shall at all times have a value equal to at least 105% (as adjusted by the Advisor) of the daily marked-to-market value of the missing Deposit Securities.  At any time, the Fund may use the Collateral to purchase the missing securities, and the Authorized Participant will be liable to the Fund for any costs incurred thereby or losses resulting therefrom, whether or not they exceed the amount of the Collateral, including any Transaction Fee, any amount by which the purchase price of the missing Deposit Securities exceeds the market value of such securities on the Transmittal Date, brokerage and other transaction costs.  The Trust will return any unused Collateral once all of the missing securities have been received by the Fund.  More information regarding the Fund’s current procedures for collateralization is available from the Distributor.


Cash Purchase Method. When cash purchases of Creation Units are available or specified for the Fund, they will be effected in essentially the same manner as in-kind purchases In the case of a cash purchase, the investor must pay the cash equivalent of the Portfolio Deposit.  In addition, cash purchases will be subject to Transaction Fees, as described above.


Redeeming a Creation Unit


Redemption Basket.  The consideration received in connection with the redemption of a Creation Unit generally consists of an in-kind basket of designated securities (“Redemption Securities”) and an amount of cash in U.S. dollars (“Cash Component”).  Together, the Redemption Securities and the Cash Component constitute the “Redemption Basket.”  


There can be no assurance that there will be sufficient liquidity in Shares in the secondary market to permit assembly of a Creation Unit.  In addition, investors may incur brokerage and other costs in connection with assembling a Creation Unit.  


The Cash Component serves the function of compensating for any differences between the net asset value per Creation Unit and the Redemption Securities.  Thus, the Cash Component is equal to the difference between (x) the net asset value per Creation Unit of the Fund and (y) the market value of the Redemption Securities.  If (x) is more than (y), the Authorized Participant will receive the Cash Component from the Fund.  If (x) is less than (y), the Authorized Participant will pay the Cash Component to the Fund.


If the Redemption Securities on a Business Day are different from the Deposit Securities, prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m., Eastern Time), the Advisor through the Custodian makes available through NSCC the name and amount of each Redemption Security in the current Redemption Basket (based on information at the end of the previous Business Day) for the Fund and the (estimated) Cash Component, effective through and including the previous Business Day, per Creation Unit.  If the Redemption Securities on a Business Day are different from the Deposit Securities, all redemption requests that day will be processed outside the Clearing Process.


The Redemption Securities may change as rebalancing adjustments and corporate action events of the Underlying Index are reflected from time to time by the Advisor in the Fund’s portfolio.  The Redemption Securities may also change in response to the rebalancing and/or reconstitution of the Underlying Index.  These adjustments will reflect changes known to the Advisor on the date of announcement to be in effect by the time of delivery of the Redemption Basket.




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The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed: (i) for any period during which the NYSE is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings); (ii) for any period during which trading on the NYSE is suspended or restricted; (iii) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which disposal of the Shares or determination of the ETF’s NAV is not reasonably practicable; or (iv) in such other circumstances as permitted by the SEC, including as described below.


Custom Redemptions and Cash-in-lieu.   The Fund may, in its sole discretion, permit or require the substitution of an amount of cash (“cash-in-lieu”) to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Redemption Security.  The Fund may permit or require cash-in-lieu when, for example, a Redemption Security may not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery or may not be eligible for transfer through the systems of DTC or the Clearing Process.  Similarly, the Fund may permit or require cash-in-lieu of Redemption Securities when, for example, the Authorized Participant or its underlying investor is restricted under U.S. or local securities law or policies from transacting in one or more Redemption Securities.  The Fund will comply with the federal securities laws in satisfying redemptions with Redemption Securities, including that the Redemption Securities are sold in transactions that would be exempt from registration under the Securities Act.  All redemption requests involving cash-in-lieu are considered to be “Custom Redemptions.”


Redemption Requests.  To redeem a Creation Unit, an Authorized Participant must submit an irrevocable redemption request to the Distributor.


An Authorized Participant submitting a redemption request is deemed to represent to the Fund that it or, if applicable, the investor on whose behalf it is acting, (i) owns outright or has full legal authority and legal beneficial right to tender for redemption the Creation Unit to be redeemed and can receive the entire proceeds of the redemption, and (ii) all of the Shares the are in the Creation Unit to be redeemed have not been borrowed, loaned or pledged to another party nor are they the subject of a repurchase agreement, securities lending agreement or such other arrangement which would preclude the delivery of such Shares to the Fund. The Fund reserves the absolute right, in its sole discretion, to verify these representations, but will typically require verification 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 the requested representations, the redemption request will not be considered to be in proper form and may be rejected by the Fund.


Timing of Submission of Redemption Requests   An Authorized Participant must submit an irrevocable redemption  order no later than the earlier of (i) 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time or (ii) the closing time of the bond markets and/or the trading session on the Exchange, on any Business Day in order to receive that Business Day’s NAV.    (“Cut-off Time”).  The Cut-off Time for Custom Orders is generally two hours earlier.  The Business Day the order is deemed received by the Distributor is referred to as the “Transmittal Date.”   A redemption request is deemed received if (i) such order is received by the Distributor by the Cut-off Time on such day and (ii) all other procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement are properly followed.  Persons placing or effectuating Custom Redemptions and/or orders involving cash should be mindful of time deadlines imposed by intermediaries, such as DTC and/or the Federal Reserve System, which may impact the successful processing of such orders to ensure that cash and securities are transferred by the Settlement Date, as defined above.  



Requests Using the Clearing Process.  If available, (portions of) redemption requests may be settled through the Clearing Process.  In connection with such orders, the Distributor transmits on behalf of the Authorized Participant, such trade instructions as are necessary to effect the redemption.  Pursuant to such trade instructions, the Authorized Participant agrees to deliver the requisite Creation Unit(s) to the Fund, together with such additional information as may be required by the Distributor.  Cash Components will be delivered using either the Clearing Process or the Federal Reserve System, as described above.



Requests Outside the Clearing Process.  If the Clearing Process is not available for (portions of) an order, Redemption Baskets will be delivered outside the Clearing Process.  Orders outside the Clearing Process must state that the DTC Participant is not using the Clearing Process and that the redemption will be effected through DTC.  The Authorized Participant must transfer or cause to be transferred  the Creation Unit (s) of shares being redeemed through the book-entry system of DTC so as to be delivered through DTC to the Custodian by 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time, on T+1.  In addition, the Cash Component must be received by the Custodian by 12:00 p.m., Eastern time, on T+1.  If the Custodian does not receive the Creation Unit(s) and Cash Component by the appointed times on T+1, the redemption  will be rejected, except in the circumstances described below.  A rejected redemption request may be resubmitted the following Business Day.

 

Orders involving foreign Redemption Securities are expected to be settled outside the Clearing Process.  Thus, upon receipt of an irrevocable redemption request, the Distributor will notify the Advisor and the Custodian.  The Custodian will then provide information of the redemption to the Fund’s local sub-custodian(s).  The redeeming Authorized Participant, or the investor on whose behalf  is is acting, will have established appropriate arrangements with a broker-dealer, bank or other custody provider in each jurisdiction in which the  Redemption Securities are customarily traded and  to which  such Redemption   Securities  (and any cash-in-lieu) can be delivered from the Fund’s accounts at the applicable local sub-custodian(s).




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Acceptance of Redemption Requests.  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.   The Trust’s determination shall be final and binding.


Delivery of Redemption Basket.  


Once the Fund has accepted a redemption request, upon next determination of the Fund’s NAV, the Fund will confirm the issuance of a Redemption Basket, against receipt of the Creation Unit(s) at such NAV, any cash-in-lieu and Transaction Fee.  A Creation Unit tendered for redemption and the payment of the Cash Component, any cash-in-lieu and Transaction Fee will be effected through DTC.  The Authorized Participant, or the investor on whose behalf it is acting, will be recorded on the book-entry system of DTC.  


The Redemption Basket will generally be delivered to the redeeming Authorized Participant within T+3.  Except under the circumstances described below, however, a Redemption Basket generally will not be issued until the Creation Unit(s) are delivered to the Fund, along with the Cash Component, any cash-in-lieu and Transaction Fee.  


In certain cases, Authorized Participants will create and redeem Creation Units on the same trade date.  In these instances, the Trust reserves the right to settle these transactions on a net basis.


With respect to orders involving foreign Redemption Securities, the Fund may settle Creation Unit transactions  on a basis other than T+3 in order to accommodate foreign market holiday schedules, to account for different treatment among foreign and U.S. markets of dividend record dates and ex- dividend dates (that is the last day the holder of a security can sell the security and still receive dividends payable on the security), and in certain other circumstances.   When a relevant local market is closed due to local market holidays, the local market settlement process will not commence until the end of the local holiday period.  A list of relevant local market holidays is provided in Appendix C hereto.


Cash Redemption Method. When cash redemptions of Creation Units are available or specified for the Fund, they will be effected in essentially the same manner as in-kind redemptions.  In the case of a cash redemption, the investor will receive the cash equivalent of the Redemption Basket minus any Transaction Fees, as described above.  


Taxes

 

The Fund’s Tax Status.  The Fund is treated as a separate corporation for federal tax purposes.  The Fund, therefore, is considered to be a separate entity in determining its treatment under the rules for RICs described below and in the Prospectus.  Losses the Fund realizes will not offset gains realized by any other series of the Trust, and the requirements (other than certain organizational requirements) for qualifying for RIC status are determined at the Fund level rather than the Trust level.

The Fund intends to elect to be, and to qualify to be treated each taxable year as, a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of Chapter 1 of Subtitle A of the Internal Revenue Code (a "RIC").  If it qualifies for that treatment, the Fund will not be subject to federal income tax on the portion of its investment company taxable income (which includes dividends, interest, the excess of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss (“net short-term capital gain”) and net gains and losses from certain foreign currency transactions, if any) and net capital gain (i.e., the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss) that it distributes to its shareholders.  To qualify for that treatment, the Fund must annually distribute at least 90% of its investment company taxable income (“Distribution Requirement”) and must meet requirements relating to the source and nature of its income (“Income Requirement”) and the diversification of its assets, among other things.

If the Fund failed to qualify for any taxable year for treatment as a RIC, all of its taxable income would be subject to tax at regular corporate income tax rates without any deduction for distributions to shareholders, and such distributions (including distributions of net capital gain) generally would be taxable to shareholders as ordinary dividends to the extent of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits (except that, (1) for individual shareholders, the part thereof that is “qualified dividend income,” as described in the Prospectus, would be subject to federal income tax at the rate for net capital gain -- a maximum of 15% -- for taxable years through 2012, and (2) a part of those distributions would be eligible for the dividends-received deduction available to corporations under certain circumstances).  Furthermore, the Fund could be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest and make substantial distributions before requalifying for RIC treatment.

The Fund will be subject to a nondeductible 4% federal excise tax (“Excise Tax”) to the extent it does not distribute to its shareholders in any calendar year at least 98% of its ordinary income for the year plus 98.2% of its capital gain net income for the twelve months ended October 31 of such year.  The Fund intends to declare and distribute dividends and other distributions in the amounts and at the times necessary to avoid the application of the Excise Tax.



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The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, has the right to reject an order to purchase Shares if (1) the purchaser (or group of purchasers) would, upon obtaining the ordered Shares, own 80% or more of the outstanding Shares and (2) pursuant to Section 351 of the Internal Revenue Code, the Fund would have a basis in the Deposit Securities exchanged therefor different from the market value of such securities on the date of deposit.  The Trust also has the right to require information necessary to determine beneficial Share ownership for purposes of making the 80% determination.

Taxation of the Fund’s Investments and Activities.  The Fund’s use of hedging strategies, such as entering into forward contracts, involves complex rules that will determine for income tax purposes the amount, character and timing of recognition of the gains and losses the Fund realizes in connection therewith.  Gains from the disposition of foreign currencies (except certain gains therefrom that may be excluded by future regulations), and gains from options, forward contracts the Fund derives with respect to its business of investing in securities or foreign currencies, will be treated as qualifying income under the Income Requirement.  The Fund will monitor its transactions, make appropriate tax elections and make appropriate entries in its books and records when it acquires any foreign currency,  forward contract or hedged investment to mitigate the effect of these rules, prevent its disqualification as a RIC and minimize the imposition of federal income and excise taxes.

Some foreign currency contracts and “nonequity” options (i.e., certain listed options, such as those on a “broad-based” securities index) -- except any “securities futures contract” that is not a “dealer securities futures contract” (both as defined in the Internal Revenue Code) and any interest rate swap, currency swap, basis swap, interest rate cap, interest rate floor, commodity swap, equity swap, equity index swap, credit default swap or similar agreement -- in which the Fund invests may be subject to Internal Revenue Code section 1256 (collectively, “section 1256 contracts”).  Any section 1256 contracts the Fund holds at the end of its taxable year (and generally for purposes of the Excise Tax, on October 31 of each year) generally must be “marked to market” (that is, treated as having been sold at that time for their fair market value) for federal income tax purposes, with the result that unrealized gains or losses will be treated as though they were realized.  Sixty percent of any net gain or loss recognized on these deemed sales, and 60% of any net realized gain or loss from any actual sales of section 1256 contracts, will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss, and the balance will be treated as short-term capital gain or loss; however, certain foreign currency gains or losses arising from section 1256 contracts will be treated as ordinary income or loss.  These rules may operate to increase the amount that the Fund must distribute to satisfy the Distribution Requirement (i.e., with respect to the portion treated as short-term capital gain, which will be includible in investment company taxable income and thus taxable to its shareholders as ordinary income when distributed to them), and to increase the net capital gain the Fund recognizes, even though the Fund may not have closed the transactions and received cash to pay the distributions.  Section 1256 contracts also are marked to market for purposes of the Excise Tax.

Section 988 of the Internal Revenue Code also may apply to forward contracts on foreign currencies.  Under that section, each foreign currency gain or loss generally is computed separately and treated as ordinary income or loss.  In the case of overlap between sections 1256 and 988, special provisions determine the character and timing of any income, gain or loss.  If the Fund’s section 988 losses exceed other investment company taxable income for a taxable year, it would not be able to distribute any dividends, and any distributions made during that year before the losses were realized would be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders, rather than as a dividend, thereby reducing each shareholder’s basis in his or her Shares.

The premium the Fund receives for writing (selling) a put or call option is not included in income at the time of receipt.  When a covered call option written by the Fund expires, however, it will realize a short-term capital gain equal to the amount of the premium it received for writing the option.  When the Fund terminates its obligations under such an option by entering into a closing transaction, it will realize a short-term capital gain (or loss), depending on whether the cost of the closing transaction is less (or more) than the premium it received when it wrote the option.  When a covered call option written by the Fund is exercised, it will be treated as having sold the underlying security, producing long-term or short-term capital gain or loss, depending on the holding period of the underlying security and whether the sum of the option price it receives on the exercise plus the premium it received when it wrote the option is more or less than the underlying security’s basis.

If the Fund has an “appreciated financial position” -- generally, an interest (including an interest through a forward contract or short sale) with respect to any stock, debt instrument (other than “straight debt”) or partnership interest the fair market value of which exceeds its adjusted basis -- and enters into a “constructive sale” of the position, the Fund will be treated as having made an actual sale thereof, with the result that it will recognize gain at that time.  A constructive sale generally consists of a short sale, an offsetting notional principal contract or a forward contract the Fund or a related person enters into with respect to the same or substantially identical property.  In addition, if the appreciated financial position is itself a short sale or such a contract, acquisition of the underlying property or substantially identical property will be deemed a constructive sale.  The foregoing will not apply, however, to any Fund transaction during any taxable year that otherwise would be treated as a constructive sale if the transaction is closed within 30 days after the end of that year and the Fund holds the appreciated financial position unhedged for 60 days after that closing (i.e., at no time during that 60-day period is the Fund’s risk of loss regarding that position reduced by reason of certain specified transactions with respect to substantially identical or related property, such as having an option to sell, being contractually obligated to sell, making a short sale of or granting an option to buy substantially identical stock or securities).



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Any market discount recognized by the Fund on a bond is taxable as ordinary income.  A market discount bond is a bond acquired in the secondary market at a price below its principal amount or adjusted issue price if issued with original issue discount.  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.

Dividends and interest the Fund receives, and gains it realizes, on foreign securities may be subject to income, withholding or other taxes foreign countries and U.S. possessions impose that would reduce the yield and/or total return on its investments.  Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate those taxes, however, and many foreign countries do not impose taxes on capital gains in respect of investments by foreign investors.

The Fund may invest in the stock of “passive foreign investment companies” (“PFICs”).  A PFIC is any foreign corporation (with certain exceptions) that, in general, meets either of the following tests: (1) at least 75% of its gross income for the taxable year is passive or (2) an average of at least 50% of its assets produce, or are held for the production of, passive income.  The determination whether a foreign corporation is a PFIC is a fact-intensive determination that is based on various facts and circumstances and thus is subject to change, and the principles and methodology used in determining whether a foreign corporation is a PFIC are subject to interpretation.  Investors should be aware that the Fund may not be able, at the time it acquires a foreign corporation’s shares, to ascertain whether the corporation is a PFIC and that a foreign corporation may become a PFIC after the Fund acquires shares therein.

Under certain circumstances, the Fund will be subject to federal income tax on a portion of any “excess distribution” it receives on the stock of a PFIC or of any gain on its disposition of that stock (collectively, “PFIC income”), plus interest thereon, even if the Fund distributes the PFIC income as a dividend to its shareholders.  The balance of the PFIC income will be included in the Fund’s investment company taxable income and, accordingly, will not be taxable to it to the extent it distributes that income to its shareholders.  Fund distributions thereof will not be eligible for the 15% maximum federal income tax rate on individuals’ “qualified dividend income.”

If the Fund invests in a PFIC and elects to treat the PFIC as a “qualified electing fund” (“QEF”), then in lieu of the foregoing tax and interest obligation, the Fund would be required to include in income each taxable year its pro rata share of the QEF’s annual ordinary earnings and net capital gain -- which the Fund likely would have to distribute to satisfy the Distribution Requirement and avoid imposition of the Excise Tax -- even if the QEF did not distribute those earnings and gain to the Fund.  In most instances it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to make this election because of certain requirements thereof.

The Fund may elect to “mark to market” any stock in a PFIC it owns at the end of its taxable year.  “Marking-to-market,” in this context, means including in gross income each taxable year (and treating as ordinary income) the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the stock over the Fund’s adjusted basis therein (including mark-to-market gain for each prior year for which an election was in effect) as of the end of that year.  Pursuant to the election, the Fund also may deduct (as an ordinary, not a capital, loss) the excess, if any, of its adjusted basis in PFIC stock over the fair market value thereof as of the taxable year-end, but only to the extent of any net mark-to-market gains with respect to that stock the Fund included in income for prior taxable years under the election; any such deduction would reduce the Fund’s adjusted basis in the PFIC stock.

Pursuant to a section added to the Internal Revenue Code in 2010, U.S. shareholders of a PFIC must file an annual report containing information the Internal Revenue Service (“Service”) requires.  The Service has announced that it is developing guidance regarding those reporting obligations and, in the meantime, persons that were required to file Form 8621 before the new section’s enactment must continue to file that form as provided in the instructions thereto (e.g., on disposition of PFIC stock or with respect to a QEF).

The Fund may invest in units of Canadian royalty trusts.  The tax consequences to the Fund of an investment in such a trust depend on the trust’s classification for federal tax purposes, which generally is a corporation or a partnership.

(1)  If a Canadian royalty trust is classified as a corporation, it would be a PFIC (with the income tax consequences to the Fund described above) if it primarily held equity or debt securities of an underlying operating entity but would not be a PFIC if it was actively engaged in a business, such as oil and gas exploration (as a large proportion of Canadian royalty trusts are), and did not hold substantial investment-type assets.  In the latter event, distributions from the royalty trust to the Fund would be treated as dividends that likely would be eligible for the 15% maximum federal income tax rate on “qualified dividend income.”


35





(2)  If a Canadian royalty trust is classified for federal tax purposes as a partnership (by making a certain election or otherwise), it likely would be a “qualified publicly traded partnership” ( i.e., a publicly traded partnership -- generally, a partnership the interests in which are “traded on an established securities market” or are “readily tradable on a secondary market (or the substantial equivalent thereof)” -- other than a partnership at least 90% of the gross income of which consists of income that satisfies the Income Requirement) (“QPTP”), in which event all its net income, regardless of source, would be qualifying income to the Fund under that requirement.  But if such a royalty trust is not a QPTP (because, for example, it satisfies the Income Requirement, i.e., at least 90% of its gross income is qualifying income), then (a) it would be a publicly traded partnership that likely would be treated for federal tax purposes as a corporation, with the income tax consequences mentioned in (1) above, or (b) if not, (i) the Fund would treat its share of the trust’s income as qualifying income under the Income Requirement only to the extent it would be qualifying income if realized directly by the Fund in the same manner as realized by the trust and (ii) any non-qualifying income of the trust would pass through to the Fund.

The Fund may invest in ownership units (i.e., limited partnership interests) in MLPs, which generally are classified as partnerships for federal tax purposes.  Most MLPs in which the Fund may invest are expected to be QPTPs, all the net income from which (regardless of source) would be qualifying income to the Fund under the Income Requirement, but the Fund’s investments therein generally may not exceed 25% of the value of its total assets.  If the Fund invests in an MLP that is not a QPTP, the net income the Fund earns therefrom would be treated as qualifying income under the Income Requirement only to the extent it would be qualifying income if realized directly by the Fund in the same manner as realized by the MLP.


Taxation of the Fund’s Shareholders.  Dividends and other distributions declared by the Fund in October, November or December and paid to shareholders of record in such a month during the following January will be treated as having been received by such shareholders on December 31 of the year in which the distributions were declared.

If a shareholder sells Shares at a loss and acquires other Shares (whether through purchase, the automatic reinvestment of distributions, if available, or otherwise) within 30 days before or after the sale, all or part of that loss will not be deductible and instead will increase the basis in the newly purchased shares.  Any loss on the sale or exchange of Shares held for six months or less will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of any capital gain distributions received on those Shares.

Investors should be aware that the price of Shares at any time may reflect the amount of a forthcoming dividend or other distribution, so if they purchase Shares shortly before the record date for a distribution, they will pay full price for the shares and receive some portion of the price back as a taxable distribution even though it represents a partial return of invested capital.

A Fund shareholder who wants to use the average basis method for determining basis in Fund shares he or she acquires after December 31, 2011 (“Covered Shares”), must elect to do so in writing (which may be electronic).  If a Fund shareholder fails to affirmatively elect the average basis method, then basis determination will be made in accordance with the Fund’s default method, which might be a method other than average basis.  If, however, the Fund’s default method is average basis and a Fund shareholder wishes to use a different acceptable method for basis determination (e.g., a specific identification method), the shareholder may elect to do so.  The basis determination method a Fund shareholder elects may not be changed with respect to a redemption of Covered Shares after the settlement date of the redemption.

In addition to the current requirement to report the gross proceeds from the redemption of shares, the Fund (or its administrative agent) must report to the Service and furnish to its shareholders the basis information for Covered Shares and indicate whether they had a short-term or long-term holding period.  Fund shareholders should consult with their tax advisors to determine the best Service-accepted basis determination method for their tax situation and to obtain more information about how the basis reporting law will apply to them.

The Health Care Reform and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 requires an individual to pay a 3.8% tax on the lesser of (1) the individual’s “net investment income,” which generally includes dividends, interest and net gains from the disposition of investment property (including certain dividends and capital gain distributions the Fund will pay), or (2) the excess of the individual’s “modified adjusted gross income” over a threshold amount ($250,000 for married persons filing jointly and $200,000 for single taxpayers), for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2012.  This tax is in addition to any other taxes due on that income.  A similar tax will apply for those years to estates and trusts. Shareholders should consult their own tax advisers regarding the effect, if any, this provision may have on their investment in Shares.

Distributions of ordinary income and net capital gains may also be subject to state and local income taxes.


36





Income dividends the Fund pays to a nonresident alien individual, foreign corporation or partnership, or foreign trust or estate (each, a “Non-U.S. Shareholder”), other than (1) dividends paid to a Non-U.S. Shareholder whose ownership of Shares is effectively connected with a  trade or business within the United States the shareholder conducts (“effectively connected”) and (2) capital gain distributions paid to a nonresident alien individual who is physically present in the United States for no more than 182 days during the taxable year, generally will be subject to a federal withholding tax of 30% (or lower treaty rate).   A Non-U.S. Shareholder will generally not be subject to federal withholding or income tax on gains, if any, realized on the sale of Shares unless (1) the gain is effectively connected or (2) in the case of an individual shareholder, he or she is present in the United States for no more than 182 days during the taxable year of the sale and certain other conditions are met. Gains on the sale of Shares and income dividends that are effectively connected will generally be subject to federal income tax at regular income tax rates. Non-U.S. Shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisors concerning the applicability of federal income tax or withholding tax to their investment in the Fund.

 

The foregoing discussion is a summary only and is not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning.  Purchasers of Shares should consult their own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of investing in Shares, including under federal, state, local and foreign tax laws.  Finally, the foregoing discussion is based on applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and regulations, judicial authority and administrative interpretations in effect on the date hereof; changes in any applicable authority, which often occur, could materially affect the conclusions discussed above.

DETERMINATION OF NAV


The following information should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled "Net Asset Value."


The NAV per Share is calculated by the Administrator and determined as of the close of the regular trading session on the NYSE (ordinarily 4:00 p.m., Eastern time) on each day that the NYSE is open.  NAV is calculated by deducting all of the Fund’s liabilities from the total value of its assets and dividing the result by the number of Shares outstanding, rounding to the nearest cent.  All valuations are subject to review by the Trust’s Board or its delegate.  In determining NAV, expenses are accrued and applied daily and securities and other assets for which market quotations are available are valued at market value.   Securities listed or traded on an exchange are generally valued at the last sales price or official closing price of the exchange where the security is primarily traded.  Money market securities maturing in 60 days or less will be valued at amortized cost.   Securities not listed or traded on an exchange   for which over-the-counter market quotations are readily available are generally valued at the mean of the current bid and ask prices.  Debt securities  are valued on the basis of prices provided by independent pricing services.  The Advisor may use various pricing services or discontinue the use of any pricing service at any time.  When price quotes are not readily available, securities will be valued  at fair value as determined by the Trust’s Fair Value Committee in accordance with the Trust’s valuation policies and procedures approved by the Board.


Even when market quotations are available, they may be stale or unreliable because the security is not traded frequently, trading on the security ceased before the close of the trading market or issuer specific events occurred after the security ceased trading or because of the passage of time between the close of the market on which the security trades and the close of NYSE and when the Fund calculates its NAV.  Events that may cause the last market quotation to be unreliable include a merger or insolvency, events which affect a geographical area or an industry segment, such as political events or natural disasters, or market events, such as a significant movement in the U.S. market.  Where market quotations are not readily available, including where the Advisor determines that the closing price of the security is unreliable, the Advisor will value the security at fair value in good faith using procedures approved by the Board.  Fair value pricing involves subjective judgments, and it is possible that a fair value determination for a security is materially different than the value that could be realized upon the sale of that security.  With respect to securities that are primarily listed on foreign exchanges, the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities may change on days when you will not be able to purchase or sell your Shares.


DIVIDENDS AND OTHER DISTRIBUTIONS


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


General Policies.  Ordinarily, dividends from net investment income, if any, are declared and paid monthly.


Distributions of net realized securities gains, if any, generally are declared and paid once a year, but the Trust may make distributions on a more frequent basis.  The Trust reserves the right to declare special distributions if, in its reasonable discretion, such action is necessary or advisable to preserve the status of the Fund as a RIC or to avoid imposition of income or excise taxes on undistributed income.


Dividends and other distributions on Shares are distributed, as described below, on a pro rata basis to Beneficial Owners of the Shares.  Dividend payments are made through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants to Beneficial Owners then of record with proceeds received from the Fund.



37





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


MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION


Legal Counsel. K&L Gates LLP, 1601 K St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20006, is counsel to the Trust.


Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. BBD, LLP, 1835 Market Street, 26th Floor, Philadelphia, PA  19103 serves as the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm.   BBD, LLP will audit the Fund’s financial statements and perform other related audit services.


FINANCIAL STATEMENTS



Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

March 30, 2012


 

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM




To the Board of Trustees of Northern Lights ETF Trust

and the Shareholder of Arrow Dow Jones Global Yield ETF



We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities of Arrow Dow Jones Global Yield ETF (“the Fund”), a series of shares of beneficial interest of Northern Lights ETF Trust, as of March 27, 2012. This financial statement is the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on this financial statement based on our audit.


We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States).   Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statement is free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statement. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.


In our opinion, the financial statement referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Fund as of March 27, 2012, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.



    [opinion001.jpg]

                                                                    

        

                                                                                          BBD, LLP



Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

March 30, 2012

 




38







ARROW DOW JONES GLOBAL YIELD ETF

 

STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

 

March 27, 2012



ASSETS

Cash

$ 100,000


Total Assets

100,000


LIABILITIES

-




NET ASSETS

$100,000


At March 27, 2012 the components of net assets were as follows:

Paid-in capital

$100,000


Shares of beneficial interest outstanding, unlimited number of

no par value shares of beneficial interest authorized

4,000


Net asset value per share

$25.00










Sees notes to financial statement.

 


39




 

ARROW DOW JONES GLOBAL YIELD ETF


NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENT

 March 27, 2012


(1)   ORGANIZATION


The Arrow Dow Jones Global Yield ETF (the “Fund”) is a diversified series of shares of beneficial interest of Northern Lights Fund ETF Trust (the “Trust”), a statutory trust organized under the laws of the State of Delaware on November 1, 2011, and is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"), as an open-end management investment company.    The Funds Investment Advisor is Arrow Investment Advisors, LLC (the “Advisor”).


The investment objective of the Fund is to seek investment results that generally correspond (before fees and expenses) to the price and yield performance of the Dow Jones Global Yield Index (the “Index”). The investment objective is non-fundamental.


The Fund had no operations from its organization to March 27, 2012, other than those relating to organizational matters and the registration of its shares under applicable securities laws. NorthStar Financial Services Group, LLC purchased the initial shares at $25.00 per share on March 27, 2012.




(2)  SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES Basis of Presentation

The accompanying financial statement has been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”).  The following is a summary of significant accounting policies used in preparing the financial statement.


Cash


The Fund maintains its cash in an account with its custodian which, at times, may exceed federally insured limits. The Fund has not experienced any losses in such account and management believes it is not exposed to any significant credit risk on it cash deposits.


Organizational and Offering Costs


All of the costs incurred in conjunction with the organization of the Fund and all costs of offering the Funds shares of beneficial interest for sale will be paid by the Advisor under the terms of the unitary management fee arrangement described in Note 3.


Use of Estimates


The preparation of financial statement in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions related to the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statement and the reported amounts of income and expenses during the period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.



40





ARROW DOW JONES GLOBAL YIELD ETF


NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENT (continued)

 March 27, 2012



Federal Income Taxes


The Fund intends to qualify as a “regulated investment company” under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and, if so qualified, will not be liable for federal income taxes to the extent earnings are distributed to shareholders on a timely basis.


Indemnification


The Fund indemnifies its officers and trustees for certain liabilities that may arise from the performance of their duties to the Fund.  Additionally, in the normal course of business, the Fund enters into contracts that contain a variety of representations and warranties which provide general indemnities.  The Funds maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown, as this would involve future claims that may be made against the Fund that have not yet occurred.  However, the Fund expects the risk of loss due to these warranties and indemnities to be remote.


(3)  INVESTMENT ADVISORY, AFFILIATES AND OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS


As compensation for its services, the Fund pays to the Advisor a unitary management fee at an annual rate of 0.75% of its average daily net assets.


The Advisors unitary management fee is designed to pay the Funds expenses and to compensate the Advisor for providing service for the Fund.  Out of the unitary management fee, the Advisor pays substantially all expenses of the Fund, including the costs of transfer agency, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other services, except for distribution fees, if any, independent Trustee fees and expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage expenses, taxes, interest, litigation expenses and other extraordinary expenses.   The Advisor, and not Fund shareholders, would benefit from any reduction in fees paid for third-party services, including reductions based on increases in net assets of the Fund.


On behalf of the Fund, the Trust has entered into agreements with Gemini Fund Services, LLC to provide administrative and fund accounting services.  The Trust has also entered into a Global Custody Agreement with Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. to serve as Custodian and to act as transfer and shareholder services agent. The Trust has also entered into an Underwriting Agreement with Northern Lights Distributors, LLC to serve as the principal underwriter and distributor for the Trust. Gemini Fund Services, LLC and Northern Lights Distributors, LLC are entities affiliated with NorthStar Financial Services Group, LLC and are therefore affiliated with the Fund. Certain officers of Gemini Fund Services, LLC are officers of the Trust.


(4)   DISTRIBUTION AND SERVICE PLAN


The Fund has adopted a distribution and service plan (“Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940

Act.  Under the Plan, the Fund is authorized to pay distribution fees to the distributor and other firms that provide distribution and shareholder services (“Service Providers”).  If a Service Provider provides these services, the Fund may pay fees at an annual rate not to exceed 0.25% of average daily net assets, pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act.


No distribution or service fees are currently paid by the Fund and there are no current plans to impose these fees.  In the event Rule 12b-1 fees were charged, over time they would increase the cost of owning an investment in the Fund.


41





ARROW DOW JONES GLOBAL YIELD ETF


NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENT (continued)

 March 27, 2012



(5)   SUBSEQUENT EVENTS


The Fund is required to recognize in the financial statement the effects of all subsequent events that provide additional evidence about conditions that existed at the date of the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.   For non-recognized subsequent events that must be disclosed to keep the financial statement from being misleading, the Fund is required to disclose the nature of the event as well as an estimate of its financial effect, or a statement that such an estimate cannot be made.  Management has evaluated subsequent events through the issuance of the financial statement and has noted no such events.


 

42




APPENDIX A

Description Of Securities Ratings

 

A.

 

Long-Term Ratings

 

 

 

1.

 

Moody’s Investors Service — Long-Term Corporate Obligation Ratings

Moody’s long-term obligation ratings are opinions of the relative credit risk of fixed-income obligations with an original maturity of one year or more. They address the possibility that a financial obligation will not be honored as promised. Such ratings use Moody’s Global Scale and reflect both the likelihood of default and any financial loss suffered in the event of default.

 

 

 

Aaa

 

Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, with minimal credit risk.

 

 

 

Aa

 

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

 

 

 

A

 

Obligations rated A are considered upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.

 

 

 

Baa

 

Obligations rated Baa are subject to moderate credit risk. They are considered medium grade and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.

 

 

 

Ba

 

Obligations rated Ba are judged to have speculative elements and are subject to substantial credit risk.

 

 

 

B

 

Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk.

 

 

 

Caa

 

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

 

 

 

Ca

 

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

 

 

 

C

 

Obligations rated C are the lowest rated class of bonds 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.

 

 

 

2.

 

Standard and Poor’s — Long-Term Issue Credit Ratings (including Preferred Stock)

 

 

 

 

 

Issue credit ratings are based, in varying degrees, on the following considerations:

 

 

·

Likelihood of paymentcapacity 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 obligation;

 

 

·

Protection afforded by, and relative position of, the obligation in the event of bankruptcy, reorganization, or other arrangement under the laws of bankruptcy and other laws



A-1





 

 

 

 

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.)

 

 

 

AAA

 

An obligation rated ‘AAA’ has the highest rating assigned by Standard & Poor’s. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong.

 

 

 

AA

 

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.

 

 

 

A

 

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.

 

 

 

BBB

 

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.

 

 

 

Note

 

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.

 

 

 

BB

 

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.

 

 

 

B

 

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.

 

 

 

CCC

 

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.

 

 

 

CC

 

An obligation rated ‘CC’ is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment.

 

 

 

C

 

A ‘C’ rating is assigned to obligations that are currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, obligations that have payment arrearages allowed by the terms of the documents, or obligations of an issuer that is the subject of a bankruptcy petition or similar action which have not experienced a payment default. Among others, the ‘C’ rating may be assigned to subordinated debt, preferred stock or other obligations on which cash payments have been suspended in accordance with the instrument’s terms.



A-2





 

D

 

An obligation rated ‘D’ is in payment default. The ‘D’ rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due even if the applicable grace period has not expired, unless Standard & Poor’s believes that such payments will be made during such grace period. The ‘D’ rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action if payments on an obligation are jeopardized.

 

 

 

Note

 

Plus (+) or minus (-). 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.

 

 

 

NR

 

This indicates that no rating has been requested, that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that Standard & Poor’s does not rate a particular obligation as a matter of policy.

 

 

 

3.

 

Fitch — International Long-Term Credit Ratings

 

International Long-Term Credit Ratings (LTCR) may also be referred to as Long-Term Ratings. When assigned to most issuers, it is used as a benchmark measure of probability of default and is formally described as an Issuer Default Rating (IDR). The major exception is within Public Finance, where IDRs will not be assigned as market convention has always focused on timeliness and does not draw analytical distinctions between issuers and their underlying obligations. When applied to issues or securities, the LTCR may be higher or lower than the issuer rating (IDR) to reflect relative differences in recovery expectations.

 

The following rating scale applies to foreign currency and local currency ratings:

 

 

 

 

 

Investment Grade

 

 

 

AAA

 

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

 

 

 

AA

 

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.

 

 

 

A

 

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 changes in circumstances or in economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.

 

 

 

BBB

 

Good credit quality. ‘BBB’ ratings indicate that there are currently expectations of low credit risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate but adverse changes in circumstances and economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity.  This is the lowest investment grade category.

 

 

 

 

 

Speculative Grade

 

 

 

BB

 

Speculative. ‘BB’ ratings indicate that there is a possibility of credit risk developing, particularly as the result of adverse economic change over time; however, business or financial alternatives may be available to allow financial commitments to be met. Securities rated in this category are not investment grade.



A-3





 

B

 

Highly speculative. ‘B’ ratings indicate that significant credit risk is present, but a limited margin of safety remains. Financial commitments are currently being met; however, capacity for continued payment is contingent upon a sustained, favorable business and economic environment.

 

 

 

CCC

 

Default is a real possibility. Capacity for meeting financial commitments is solely reliant upon sustained, favorable business or economic conditions.

 

 

 

CC

 

Default of some kind appears probable.

 

 

 

C

 

Default is imminent.

 

 

 

RD

 

Indicates an entity that has failed to make due payments (within the applicable grace period) on some but not all material financial obligations, but continues to honor other classes of obligations.

 

D

 

Indicates an entity or sovereign that has defaulted on all of its financial obligations. Default generally is defined as one of the following:

 

 

 

 

 

·   Failure of an obligor to make timely payment of principal and/or interest under the contractual terms of any financial obligation;

 

 

 

 

 

 

·   The bankruptcy filings, administration, receivership, liquidation or other winding-up or cessation of business of an obligor;

 

 

 

 

 

 

·   The distressed or other coercive exchange of an obligation, where creditors were offered securities with diminished structural or economic terms compared with the existing obligation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Default ratings are not assigned prospectively; within this context, non-payment on an instrument that contains a deferral feature or grace period will not be considered a default until after the expiration of the deferral or grace period.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Issuers will be rated ‘D’ upon a default. defaulted and distressed obligations typically are rated along the continuum of ‘C’ to ‘B’ ratings categories, depending upon their recovery prospects and other relevant characteristics. Additionally, in structured finance transactions, where analysis indicates that an instrument is irrevocably impaired such that it is not expected to meet pay interest and/or principal in full in accordance with the terms of the obligation’s documentation during the life of the transaction, but where no payment default in accordance with the terms of the documentation is imminent, the obligation may be rated in the ‘B’ or ‘CCC-C’ categories.  

 

 

 

 

 

Default is determined by reference to the terms of the obligations’ documentation. Fitch will assign default ratings where it has reasonably determined that payment has not been made on a material obligation in accordance with the requirements of the obligation’s documentation, or where it believes that default ratings consistent with Fitch’s published definition of default are the most appropriate ratings to assign.

 

 

 

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’ Long-term rating category, to categories below ‘CCC’, or to Short-term ratings other than ‘F1’. (The +/- modifiers are only used to denote issues within the CCC category, whereas issuers are only rated CCC without the use of modifiers.)



A-4





 

B.

 

Preferred Stock Ratings

 

 

 

1.

 

Moody’s Investors Service

 

 

 

aaa

 

An issue which is rated “aaa” is considered to be a top-quality preferred stock. This rating indicates good asset protection and the least risk of dividend impairment within the universe of preferred stocks.

 

 

 

aa

 

An issue which is rated “aa” is considered a high-grade preferred stock. This rating indicates that there is a reasonable assurance the earnings and asset protection will remain relatively well-maintained in the foreseeable future.

 

 

 

a

 

An issue which is rated “a” is considered to be an upper-medium grade preferred stock. While risks are judged to be somewhat greater than in the “aaa” and “aa” classification, earnings and asset protection are, nevertheless, expected to be maintained at adequate levels.

 

 

 

baa

 

An issue which is rated “baa” is considered to be a medium-grade preferred stock, neither highly protected nor poorly secured. Earnings and asset protection appear adequate at present but may be questionable over any great length of time.

 

 

 

ba

 

An issue which is rated “ba” is considered to have speculative elements and its future cannot be considered well assured. Earnings and asset protection may be very moderate and not well safeguarded during adverse periods. Uncertainty of position characterizes preferred stocks in this class.

 

 

 

b

 

An issue which is rated “b” generally lacks the characteristics of a desirable investment. Assurance of dividend payments and maintenance of other terms of the issue over any long period of time may be small.

 

 

 

caa

 

An issue which is rated “caa” is likely to be in arrears on dividend payments. This rating designation does not purport to indicate the future status of payments.

 

 

 

ca

 

An issue which is rated “ca” is speculative in a high degree and is likely to be in arrears on dividends with little likelihood of eventual payments.

 

 

 

c

 

This is the lowest rated class of preferred or preference stock. Issues so rated can be regarded as having extremely poor prospects of ever attaining any real investment standing.

 

 

 

Note

 

Moody’s applies numerical modifiers 1, 2, and 3 in each rating classification; The modifier 1 indicates that the security ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a mid-range ranking and the modifier 3 indicates that the issue ranks in the lower end of its generic rating category.

 

 

 

C.

 

Short Term Ratings

 

 

 

1.

 

Moody’s Investors Service

 

 

 

 

 

Moody’s short-term ratings are opinions of the ability of issuers to honor short-term financial obligations. Ratings may be assigned to issuers, short-term. programs or to individual short-term debt instruments. Such obligations generally have an original maturity not exceeding thirteen months, unless explicitly noted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 obligations.

 

 

 

NP

 

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

 

 

 

Note

 

Canadian issuers rated P-1 or P-2 have their short-term ratings enhanced by the senior-most long-term rating of the issuer, its guarantor or support-provider.



A-5








 

 

 

2.

 

Standard and Poor’s

 

 

 

A-1

 

A short-term obligation rated ‘A-1’ is rated in the highest category by Standard & Poor’s. 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-2

 

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-3

 

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.

 

 

 

B

 

A short-term obligation rated ‘B’ is regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. Ratings of ‘B-1’, ‘B-2’, and ‘B-3’ may be assigned to indicate finer distinctions within the ‘B’ category. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties which could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

 

 

 

B-1

 

A short-term obligation rated ‘B-1’ is regarded as having significant speculative characteristics, but the obligor has a relatively stronger capacity to meet its financial commitments over the short-term compared to other speculative-grade obligors.

 

 

 

B-2

 

A short-term obligation rated ‘B-2’ is regarded as having significant speculative characteristics, and the obligor has an average speculative-grade capacity to meet its financial commitments over the short-term compared to other speculative-grade obligors.

 

 

 

B-3

 

A short-term obligation rated ‘B-3’ is regarded as having significant speculative characteristics, and the obligor has a relatively weaker capacity to meet its financial commitments over the short-term compared to other speculative-grade obligors.

 

 

 

C

 

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.

 

 

 

D

 

A short-term obligation rated ‘D’ is in payment default. The ‘D’ rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due even if the applicable grace period has not expired, unless Standard & Poor’s believes that such payments will be made during such grace period. The ‘D’ rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action if payments on an obligation are jeopardized.

 

 

 

Note

 

Dual Ratings. Standard & Poor’s assigns “dual” ratings to all debt issues that have a put option or demand feature as part of their structure. The first rating addresses the likelihood of repayment of principal and interest as due, and the second rating addresses only the demand feature. The long-term rating symbols are used for bonds to denote the long-term maturity and the short-term rating symbols for the put option (for example, ‘AAA/A-1+’). With U.S. municipal short-term demand debt, note rating symbols are used with the short-term issue credit rating symbols (for example, ‘SP-1+/A-1+’).

 

 

 

3.

 

Fitch

 

 

 

 

 

The following ratings scale applies to foreign currency and local currency ratings. A Short-term rating has a time horizon of less than 13 months for most obligations, or up to three years for US public finance, in line with industry standards, to reflect unique risk characteristics of bond, tax, and revenue anticipation notes that are commonly issued with terms up to three years. Short-term ratings thus place greater emphasis on the liquidity necessary to meet financial commitments in a timely manner.

 

 

 

F1

 

Highest credit quality. Indicates the strongest capacity for timely payment of financial commitments; may have an added “+” to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature.

 

 

 



A-6








F2

 

Good credit quality. A satisfactory capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, but the margin of safety is not as great as in the case of the higher ratings.

 

 

 

F3

 

Fair credit quality. The capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate; however, near term adverse changes could result in a reduction to non investment grade.

 

 

 

B

 

Speculative. Minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus vulnerability to near term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions.

 

 

 

C

 

High default risk. Default is a real possibility. Capacity for meeting financial commitments is solely reliant upon a sustained, favorable business and economic environment.

 

 

 

D

 

Indicates an entity or sovereign that has defaulted on all of its financial obligations.

 

 

 

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’ Long-term rating category, to categories below ‘CCC’, or to Short-term ratings other than ‘F1’. (The +/- modifiers are only used to denote issues

 

 

within the CCC category, whereas issuers are only rated CCC without the use of modifiers.)




A-7





APPENDIX B


PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

OF ARROW INVESTMENT ADVISORS, LLC


Arrow Investment Advisors, LLC (“Arrow”) votes (or refrains from voting) proxies for a client in a manner that Arrow, in the exercise of its independent business judgment, concludes are in the best economic interests of such client. In some cases, Arrow may determine that it is in the best economic interests of a client to refrain from exercising the fund’s proxy voting rights (such as, for example, proxies on certain non-U.S. securities that might impose costly or time-consuming in-person voting requirements). With regard to the relationship between securities lending and proxy voting, Arrow’s approach is also driven by our clients’ economic interests. The evaluation of the economic desirability of recalling loans involves balancing the revenue producing value of loans against the likely economic value of casting votes. Based on our evaluation of this relationship, we believe that the likely economic value of casting a vote generally is less than the securities lending income, either because the votes will not have significant economic consequences or because the outcome of the vote would not be affected by Arrow recalling loaned securities in order to ensure they are voted. Periodically, Arrow analyzes the process and benefits of voting proxies for securities on loan, and will consider whether any modification of its proxy voting policies or procedures are necessary in light of any regulatory changes. Arrow will normally vote on specific proxy issues in accordance with its proxy voting guidelines.  Arrow’s proxy voting guidelines provide detailed guidance as to how to vote proxies on certain important or commonly raised issues. Arrow may, in the exercise of its business judgment, conclude that the proxy voting guidelines do not cover the specific matter upon which a proxy vote is requested, or that an exception to the proxy voting guidelines would be in the best economic interests of a client. Arrow votes (or refrains from voting) proxies without regard to the relationship of the issuer of the proxy (or any shareholder of such issuer) to the client, the client’s affiliates (if any), Arrow or Arrow’s affiliates. When voting proxies, Arrow attempts to encourage companies to follow practices that enhance shareholder value and increase transparency and allow the market to place a proper value on their assets. With respect to certain specific issues:


·

Arrow generally supports the board’s nominees in the election of directors and generally supports proposals that strengthen the independence of boards of directors;

·

Arrow generally does not support proposals on social issues that lack a demonstrable economic benefit to the issuer and a Fund investing in such issuer; and

·

Arrow generally votes against anti-takeover proposals and proposals that would create additional barriers or costs to corporate transactions that are likely to deliver a premium to shareholders.


When Arrow exercises voting rights, by proxy or otherwise, with respect to investment companies owned by the Funds, Arrow will vote the shares held by the client in the same proportion as the vote of all other holders of such security.


Arrow may conclude that the best interest of the firm’s client requires that a proxy be voted in a manner that differs from the predetermined proxy voting policy. In this situation, Arrow may vote the proxy other than according to such policy.


Information with respect to how Arrow voted the Fund’s proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period will be available: (i) without charge, upon request, by calling (877) 277-6933 or through the Fund’s website at www.ArrowShares.com: and (ii) on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.




B-1





APPENDIX C


The Fund generally intends to effect deliveries of Creation Units and portfolio securities on a basis of “T” plus three business days.  The Fund may effect deliveries of Creation Units and portfolio securities on a basis other than T plus three in order to accommodate local holiday schedules, to account for different treatment among foreign and U.S. markets of dividend record dates and ex-dividend dates, or under certain other circumstances.  The ability of the Trust to effect in-kind creations and redemptions within three business days of receipt of an order in good form is subject, among other things, to the condition that, within the time period from the date of the order to the date of delivery of the securities, there are no days that are holidays in the applicable foreign market.  For every occurrence of one or more intervening holidays in the applicable foreign market that are not holidays observed in the U.S. equity market, the redemption settlement cycle will be extended by the number of such intervening holidays.  In addition to holidays, other unforeseeable closings in a foreign market due to emergencies may also prevent the Trust from delivering securities within the normal settlement period.


The securities delivery cycles currently practicable for transferring portfolio securities to redeeming investors, coupled with foreign market holiday schedules, will require a delivery process longer than seven calendar days in certain circumstances.


The holidays applicable to the Fund during such periods are listed below, as are instances where more than seven days will be needed to deliver redemption proceeds.  Although certain holidays may occur on different dates in subsequent years, the number of days required to deliver redemption proceeds in any given year is not expected to exceed the maximum number of days listed below for the Fund.  The proclamation of new holidays, the treatment by market participants of certain days as “informal holidays” (e.g., days on which no or limited securities transactions occur, as a result of substantially shortened trading hours), the elimination of existing holidays, or changes in local securities delivery practices, could affect the information set forth herein at some time in the future.


The dates of the Regular Holidays in calendar year 2012 are:


Australia:









April 6

August 6

December 25

April 9

 

October 1

December 26


April 25

November 6

December 31

June 11

 

December 24

 


Austria:





April 6

May 28

November 1


April 9

June 7

December 24

 

May 1

August 15

December 25

 

May 17

October 26

December 26

 


Belgium:

April 6


December 25

April 9


December 26

May 1


 



 


Canada:


April 6

September 3

December 26


May 21

October 8

 


July 2

November 12

 


August 6

December 25

 


Czech Republic:

April 9

July 6

December 26

May 1

September 28

December 31

May 8

December 24

 

July 5

December 25

 




C-1





Denmark:




April 5

May 17

December 24

April 6

May 18

December 25

April 9

May 28

December 26

May 4

June 5

December 31


Finland:

April 5

May 17

December 25

April 6

June 22

December 26

April 9

December 6

December 31

May 1

December 24

 


France:

April 6


December 26

April 9


May 1


December 25



Germany:



April 6

December 25



April 9

December 26



May 1

December 31



December 24

 


Greece:







April 6

May 1

December 25

April 9

June 4

December 26

April 13

August 15

December 31

April 16

December 24

 


Hong Kong:
















 

April 4

July 2

December 24

 

April 6

October 1

December 25

 

April 9

October 2

December 26

 

May 1

October 23

December 31

 


Hungary:


April 21

October 22

November 10

December 31


April 30

October 23

December 15

 


May 1

October 27

December 24

 

April 6

May 28

November 1

December 25

 

April 9

August 20

November 2

December 26

 


Iceland:

April 5

May 1

December 24

April 6

May 17

December 25

April 9

May 28

December 26

April 19

August 6

December 31



C-2




Indonesia:



August 17

October 26

December 25

April 6


August 20

November 15

December 31

May 17


August 21

November 16


May 18


August 22

December 24

 


Ireland:






May 7

April 6


June 4

April 9

 

December 25

May 1


December 26


Israel:


May 27

September 18

September 30


April 12

July 29

September 19

October 1

 

April 25

September 16

September 25

October 7

 

April 26

September 17

September 26

October 8

 


Italy:







April 6

August 15

December 26

April 9

May 1

December 24

December 25

December 31


Japan:


March 20

July 16

December 24


April 30

September 17

December 31


May 3

October 8



May 4

November 23

 


Mexico:


May 1

December 1

April 5

November 2

December 12

April 6

November 19

December 25



 


Netherlands:

April 6


December 25

April 9


December 26

May 1


 


New Zealand:




April 6

June 4

December 26



 

April 9

October 22

 

April 25

December 25

 


Norway:







April 4

May 1

December 25

April 5

May 17

December 26

April 6

May 28

December 31

April 9

December 24

 


Philippines:

April 5

June 12

November 2

December 31

April 6

August 21

November 30

 

April 9

August 27

December 25

 

May 1

November 1

December 31

 




C-3





Poland:

April 6

June 7

December 25

April 9

August 15

December 26

May 1

November 1

December 31

May 3

December 24

 


Portugal:








 




 

April 26


December 25

 

April 9

 

December 26

 

May 1

 

 

 


Russia:


April 30

May 8

June 11

December 31


May 1

May 9

June 12

 


May 5

May 12

November 5

 

April 28

May 7

June 9

December 29

 


Singapore:


April 6

October 26


May 1

November 13


August 9

December 25


August 20

 


South Africa:





May 1

December 25

April 6

August 9

December 26

April 9

September 24

 

April 27

December 17

 


Spain:



May 1

December 31



December 24


April 6


December 25


April 9


December 26

 



Sweden:


 




 



April 5

May 1

June 22

December 26

April 6

May 16

November 2

December 31

May 9

May 17

December 24

 

April 30

June 6

December 25

 


Switzerland:












April 6

May 17

December 24

December 31


April 9

May 28

December 25

 

May 1

 

August 1

December 26

 


Turkey:



 



 



 

April 23

August 30

October 29

May 1

October 24

 

August 20

October 25

 

August 21

October 26

 




C-4





United Kingdom:

April 6

June 5

April 9

August 27



May 7

December 25

June 4

December 26


Redemption:  The longest redemption cycle for the Fund is a function of the longest redemption cycle among the countries whose stocks comprise the Fund.

In the calendar year 2012, the dates of regular holidays affecting the following securities markets present the worst-case redemption cycle for the Fund as follows: Australia

 

Redemption

Request Date

Redemption

Settlement Date

Settlement Period

 

12/19/2012

12/27/2012

8

 

12/20/2012

12/28/2012

8

 

12/21/2012

1/1/2013

11


Austria:

 

Redemption

Request Date

Redemption

Settlement Date

Settlement Period

 

12/19/2012

12/27/2012

8

 

12/20/2012

12/28/2012

8

 

12/21/2012

12/31/2012

10


The Czech Republic:

 

Redemption

Request Date

Redemption

Settlement Date

Settlement Period

 

12/19/2012

12/27/2012

8

 

12/20/2012

12/28/2012

8

 

12/21/2012

1/1/2013

11


Denmark:


 

Redemption

Request Date

Redemption

Settlement Date

Settlement Period

 

4/2/2012

4/10/2012

8

 

4/3/2012

4/11/2012

8

 

4/4/2012

4/12/2012

8

 

12/19/2012

12/27/2012

8

 

12/20/2012

12/28/2012

8

 

12/21/2012

1/1/2013

11


Finland:

 

Redemption

Request Date

Redemption

Settlement Date

Settlement Period

 

4/2/2012

4/10/2012

8

 

4/3/2012

4/11/2012

8

 

4/4/2012

4/12/2012

8

 

12/19/2012

12/27/2012

8

 

12/20/2012

12/28/2012

8

 

12/21/2012

1/1/2013

11




C-5





Germany:

Redemption

Request Date

Redemption

Settlement Date

Settlement Period

12/19/2012

12/ 27 /2012

8

12/20/2012

12/ 28 /2012

8

12/21/2012

1/1/2013

11


Greece:

Redemption

Request Date

Redemption

Settlement Date

Settlement Period

12/19/2012

12/27/2012

8

12/20/2012

12/28/2012

8

12/21/2012

1/1/2013

11


Hong Kong:

Redemption

Request Date

Redemption

Settlement Date

Settlement Period

12/19/2012

12/27/2012

8

12/20/2012

12/28/2012

8

12/21/2012

1/1/2013

11


Hungary:

Redemption

Request Date

Redemption

Settlement Date

Settlement Period

12/19/2012

12/27/2012

8

12/20/2012

12/28/2012

8

12/21/2012

1/1/2013

11


Iceland:

 

Redemption

Request Date

Redemption

Settlement Date

Settlement Period

 

4/2/2012

4/10/2012

8

 

4/3/2012

4/11/2012

8

 

4/4/2012

4/12/2012

8

 

12/19/2012

12/27/2012

8

 

12/20/2012

12/28/2012

8

 

12/21/2012

1/1/2013

11


Indonesia:

 

Redemption

Request Date

Redemption

Settlement Date

Settlement Period

 

8/14/2012

8/27/2012

13

 

8/15/2012

8/28/2012

13

 

8/16/2012

8/29/2012

13

 

12/19/2012

12/27/2012

8

 

12/20/2012

12/28/2012

8

 

12/21/2012

1/1/2013

11


Israel :

 

Redemption

Request Date

Redemption

Settlement Date

Settlement Period

 

9/12/2012

9/20/2012

8

 

9/13/2012

9/21/2012

8

 

9/14/2012

9/24/2012

10



C-6






Italy:

 

Redemption

Request Date

Redemption

Settlement Date

Settlement Period

 

12/19/2012

12/27/2012

8

 

12/20/2012

12/28/2012

8

 

12/21/2012

1/1/2013

11


Norway:

 

Redemption

Request Date

Redemption

Settlement Date

Settlement Period

 

 

4/2/2012

4/11/2012

9

 

4/3/2012

4/12/2012

9

 

12/19/2012

12/27/2012

8

 

12/20/2012

12/28/2012

8

 

12/21/2012

1/1/2013

11


Philippines:

 

Redemption

Request Date

Redemption

Settlement Date

Settlement Period

 

4/2/2012

4/10/2012

8

 

4/3/2012

4/11/2012

8

 

4/4/2012

4/12/2012

8


Poland :

 

Redemption

Request Date

Redemption

Settlement Date

Settlement Period

 

12/19/2012

12/27/2012

8

 

12/20/2012

12/28/2012

8

 

12/21/2012

1/1/2013

11


Russia:

 

Redemption

Request Date

Redemption

Settlement Date

Settlement Period

 

5/2/2012

5/10/2012

8

 

5/3/2012

5/11/2012

8

 

5/4/2012

5/14/2012

10


Spain:

 

Redemption

Request Date

Redemption

Settlement Date

Settlement Period

 

12/19/2012

12/27/2012

8

 

12/20/2012

12/28/2012

8

 

12/21/2012

1 / 1 / 2013

11


Sweden:

 

Redemption

Request Date

Redemption

Settlement Date

Settlement Period

 

4/2/2012

4/10/2012

8

 

4/3/2012

4/11/2012

8

 

4/4/2012

4/12/2012

8

 

12/19/2012

12/27/2012

8

 

12/20/2012

12/28/2012

8

 

12/21/2012

1/1/2013

11



C-7





Switzerland:

 

Redemption

Request Date

Redemption

Settlement Date

Settlement Period

 

12/19/2012

12/27/2012

8

 

12/20/2012

12/28/2012

8

 

12/21/2012

1/1/2013

11


Turkey:

 

Redemption

Request Date

Redemption

Settlement Date

Settlement Period

 

10/19/2012

10/30/2012

11

 

10/22/2012

10/31/2012

9

 

10/23/2012

11/1/2012

9





C-8






 

NORTHERN LIGHTS ETF TRUST

 

PART C

 

Item 28. Exhibits.

 

(a)

(i)

Certificate of Trust. (incorporated by reference to the Registrants registration statement filed on November 1, 2011).

  (ii) Trust Instrument. (incorporated by reference to the Registrants registration statement filed on November 1, 2011).(Filed herewith).
(b)   By-laws. (incorporated by reference to the Registrants registration statement filed on November 1, 2011). (Filed herewith).

(c)

 

 Trust Instrument, Articles IV, V, and VI, and By-Laws, Articles V, VI, VII and VIII.

(d)

 

Investment Advisory Agreement.  (Filed herewith).

(e)

(i)

Distribution Agreement.  (Filed herewith).  

 

(ii)

Form of Authorized Participant Agreement.  (Filed herewith).

(f)

 

Bonus, profit sharing or pension plans.  (Not applicable).

(g)

 

Custody and Transfer Agent Agreement with Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.  (Filed herewith).

(h)

(i)

Fund Services Agreement with Gemini Fund Services, LLC.  (Filed herewith).  

 (ii) Compliance Consulting Agreement. (Filed herewith)

(i)

 

Opinion and Consent of Counsel.  (Filed herewith).

(j)

 

Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.  (Filed herewith).

(k)

 

Financial Statements Omitted from Prospectus.  (None).

(l)

 

Letter of Investment Intent.  (Filed herewith).

(m)

 

Plan Pursuant to Rule 12b-1 with respect to shares of the Registrant.  (Filed herewith).

(n)

 

Plan Pursuant to Rule 18f-3 under the 1940 Act.  (Not applicable).

(o)

 

Reserved.

(p)

(i)

Code of Ethics of Registrant.  (Filed herewith).

 

(ii)

Code of Ethics of Arrow Investment Advisors, LLC.  (Filed herewith).

 

Item 29. Persons Controlled by or Under Common Control with the Registrant.

 

None.

 

Item 30. Indemnification.

 

The Registrant is organized as a Delaware statutory trust and is operated pursuant to an Trust Instrument dated as of August 29, 2011 (the “Trust Instrument”), that permits the Registrant to indemnify its trustees and officers under certain circumstances.  Such indemnification, however, is subject to the limitations imposed by the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“1933 Act”), and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.  The Registrants Trust Instrument provides that officers and trustees of the Trust shall be indemnified by the Trust against liabilities and expenses of defense in proceedings against them by reason of the fact that they each serve as an officer or trustee of the Trust or as an officer or trustee of another entity at the request of the entity.

In particular, Article IX, Section 2 of the Registrants Trust Instrument provides that:


Section 2.

INDEMNIFICATION.


(a) Subject to the exceptions and limitations contained in subsection (b) below:


(i)

every person who is, or has been, a Trustee or an officer, employee or agent of the Trust, including persons who act at the request of the Trust as directors, trustees, officers, employees or agents of another organization in which the Trust has an interest as a shareholder, creditor or otherwise (“Covered Person”) shall be indemnified by the Trust or the appropriate Series to the fullest extent permitted by law against liability and against all expenses reasonably incurred or paid by him or her in connection with any



 

 claim, action, suit or proceeding in which he or she becomes involved as a party or otherwise by virtue of his or her being or having been a Covered Person and against amounts paid or incurred by him or her in the settlement thereof.  


(ii)

as used herein, the words “claim,” “action,” “suit” or “proceeding” shall apply to all claims, actions, suits or proceedings (whether civil, criminal or administrative proceedings, regulatory investigations, or other proceedings, including appeals), actual or threatened, and the words “liability” and “expenses” shall include, without limitation, counsel fees, costs, judgments, amounts paid in settlement, fines, penalties and other liabilities.


(b)

No indemnification shall be provided hereunder to a Covered Person:


(i)

who shall have been adjudicated by a court or body before which the proceeding was brought (A) to be liable to the Trust or its Shareholders by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his or her office or (B) not to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that his or her action was in the best interest of the Trust; or


(ii)

in the event of a settlement, if there has been a determination that such Covered Person engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his or her office:  (A) by the court or other body approving the settlement; (B) by at least a majority of those Trustees who are neither Interested Persons of the Trust nor are parties to the matter based upon a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry); or (C) by written opinion of independent legal counsel based upon a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry).


(c)

The rights of indemnification herein provided may be insured against by policies maintained by the Trust, shall be severable, shall not be exclusive of or affect any other rights to which any Covered Person may now or hereafter be entitled and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of a Covered Person.  Nothing contained herein shall affect any rights to indemnification to which Trust personnel other than Covered Persons may be entitled by contract or otherwise under law.


(d)

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, expenses in connection with the preparation and presentation of a defense to any claim, action, suit or proceeding of the character described in subsection (a) of this Section shall be paid by the Trust or applicable Series from time to time prior to final disposition thereof upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such Covered Person that such amount will be paid over by him or her to the Trust or applicable Series if it is ultimately determined that he or she is not entitled to indemnification under this Section.


(e)

Any repeal or modification of this Article IX by the Shareholders, or adoption or modification of any other provision of this Trust Instrument or the By-laws inconsistent with this Article, shall be prospective only, to the extent that such, repeal or modification would, if applied retrospectively, adversely affect any limitation on the liability of any Covered Person or indemnification available to any Covered Person with respect to any act or omission which occurred prior to such repeal, modification or adoption.


Section 3.

INDEMNIFICATION OF SHAREHOLDERS.

  


If any Shareholder or former Shareholder of any Series is held personally liable solely by reason of his or her being or having been a Shareholder and not because of his or her acts or omissions or for some other reason, the Shareholder or former Shareholder (or his or her heirs, executors, administrators or other legal representatives or, in the case of any entity, its general successor) shall be entitled out of the Assets belonging to the applicable Series to be held harmless from and indemnified against all loss and expense arising from such liability.  The Trust, on behalf of the affected Series, shall, upon request by such Shareholder or former Shareholder, assume the defense of any claim made against him or her for any act or obligation of the Series and satisfy any judgment thereon from the Assets belonging to the Series.

  

Item 31.  Business and Other Connections of the Investment Advisor.

 

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

 

The information as to the directors and executive officers of Arrow Investment Advisors, LLC is set forth in Arrow Investment Advisors, LLCs Form ADV filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 21, 2011 and amended through the date hereof, and is incorporated herein by reference.

 

Item 32.  Principal Underwriters.

 

(a)

The sole principal underwriter for the Fund is Northern Lights Distributors, LLC (“NLD”) which acts as distributor for all series of the Registrant and as the principal underwriter for the following other funds:  AdvisorOne Funds, Bryce Capital Funds, Copeland Trust, Epiphany Funds, Equinox Funds Trust, GL Beyond Income Fund, Ladenburg Thalmann Alternative Strategies Fund, Lifetime Achievement Fund, Inc., Miller Investment Trust, Nile Capital Investment Trust, North Country Funds, Northern Lights Fund Trust II, Northern Lights Variable Trust, Roge Partners Funds and The Saratoga Advantage Trust.



 


(b)

NLD is registered with Securities and Exchange Commission as a broker-dealer and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.  The principal business address of NLD is 4020 South 147th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68137.  NLD is an affiliate of Gemini Fund Services, LLC.  To the best of Registrants knowledge, the following are the members and officers of NLD:



NAME

 

POSITIONS AND OFFICES

 WITH REGISTRANT

 

POSITIONS AND OFFICES

WITH UNDERWRITER

W. Patrick Clarke

 

Manager

 

None

Brian Nielsen

 

Manager, President, Secretary

 

None

Daniel Applegarth

 

Treasurer

 

None

Mike Nielsen

 

Chief Compliance Officer, Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer

 

None

 

 

 

 

 

 


(c)

Not applicable.

 

Item 33.  Location of Accounts and Records.

 

Gemini Fund Services, LLC (“GFS”) is located at 4020 South 147th Street, Suite 2, Omaha, Nebraska 68137.  

NLD is located at 4020 South 147th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68137.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (“BBH”) is located at 50 Milk Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109

Arrow Investment Advisors, LLC is located at 2943 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Suite A, 20832.

Item 34.  Management Services.

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 35.  Undertakings.

 

None.

 




 



SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act and the Investment Company Act, the Fund has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, duly authorized, in the City of Hauppauge and State of New York, on the 3rd day of April, 2012.

 

 

Arrow Dow Jones Global Yield ETF

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/ Andrew Rogers

 

 

Title: Andrew Rogers

 

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

 

SIGNATURE

 

TITLE

 

DATE

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ Andrew Rogers

 

President

 

April 3, 2012

Andrew Rogers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ Kevin E. Wolf

 

Treasurer

 

April 3, 2012

Kevin E. Wolf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ Robert S. Andrialis*

 

Trustee

 

April 3, 2012

Emile R. Molineaux

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ John McClure*

 

Trustee

 

April 3, 2012

John McClure

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ Thomas T. Sarkany*

 

Trustee

 

April 3, 2012

Thomas T. Sarkany

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ Joseph Barrato

 

Trustee

 

April 3, 2012

Joseph Barrato

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




*

By:  /s/ Stacy L. Fuller

Pursuant to Power of Attorney






 




 Exhibit Index

 

(d)

 

Investment Advisory Agreement  

(e)

(i)

Distribution Agreement

(e)

(ii)

Authorized Participant Agreement

(g)

 

Custody and Transfer Agent Agreement

(h)

(i)

Fund Services Agreement

  (ii) Compliance Consulting Agreement

(i)

 

Opinion and Consent of Counsel

(j)

 

Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

(l)

 

Letter of Investment Intent

(m)

 

Plan Pursuant to Rule 12b-1

(p)

(i)

Code of Ethics of Registrant

(p)

(ii)

Code of Ethics of Arrow Investment Advisors, LLC