N-CSR 1 fp0083443-3_ncsr.htm

 As filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on July 10, 2023

 

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM N-CSR

 

CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED

MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

 

Investment Company Act file number 811-22668

 

ETF Series Solutions

 

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

 

615 East Michigan Street 

Milwaukee, WI 53202

 

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

 

Kristina R. Nelson 

ETF Series Solutions 

615 East Michigan Street 

Milwaukee, WI 53202

 

 (Name and address of agent for service)

 

414-516-1645

 

Registrant's telephone number, including area code

 

Date of fiscal year end: April 30

 

Date of reporting period: April 30, 2023

 

 

 

 

Item 1. Reports to Stockholders.

 

(a)

 

 

Annual Report

 

April 30, 2023

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

(Formerly, Aptus Collared Income Opportunity ETF)

Ticker: ACIO

 

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

Ticker: DRSK

 

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

Ticker: ADME

 

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

Ticker: OSCV

 

International Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

Ticker: IDME

 

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF

Ticker: JUCY

 

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

Page

Shareholder Letters

1

Performance Summaries

16

Portfolio Allocations

22

Schedules of Investments and Schedules of Written Options

24

Statements of Assets and Liabilities

39

Statements of Operations

41

Statements of Changes in Net Assets

43

Financial Highlights

49

Notes to Financial Statements

55

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

68

Trustees and Officers

70

Expense Examples

72

Review of Liquidity Risk Management Program

74

Approval of Advisory Agreement and Board Considerations

75

Federal Tax Information

79

Information About Portfolio Holdings

79

Information About Proxy Voting

79

Frequency Distribution of Premiums and Discounts

80

 

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited)

 

 

Dear ACIO Shareholders,

 

Thank you for your investment in the Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF (formerly Aptus Collared Income Opportunity ETF), referred to herein as “ACIO” or the “Fund”. The information presented in this letter relates to ACIO’s performance period from May 1, 2022 through April 30, 2023 (the “current fiscal period”).

 

The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve its investment objective principally by investing in a portfolio of U.S.-listed equity securities of any market capitalization and buying put options or an options collar (i.e., a mix of written (sold) call options and long (bought) put options) on the same underlying equity securities, a U.S. equity ETF, or on an index tracking a portfolio of U.S. equity securities (a “U.S. Equity Index”). The U.S. Equity Index, U.S. equity ETF, and the underlying equity securities may be of any market capitalization. The equity securities and options held by the Fund must be listed on a U.S.- exchange, and the equity securities may include common stocks of U.S. companies, American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) (i.e., receipts evidencing ownership of foreign equity securities), and real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). The Fund will typically limit investments in ADRs to approximately 20% of the Fund’s net assets.

 

All in all, we believe that ACIO continues to deliver on its structural mandate, even in a relatively challenging environment. The product aims to exhibit a strong downside hedge when markets fall (50% or less Down-Market Capture ratio) and 65% UMC when markets are rising. We believe the structural and deployment advantage across our strategy will continue to provide allocators with a full cycle product that provides correlation benefits which can improve overall asset allocation decisions.

 

For the current fiscal period, ACIO was up 2.34% at market and up 2.53% at net asset value (“NAV”). Over the same period, the S&P 500® Total Return Index was up 2.66%.

 

Fear gauges remained muted even with the systemic fireworks seen throughout the latter part of the fiscal period. The Cboe Volatility Index (“VIX”) was down -10.5%, grinding lower for most of the quarter, which did not benefit the core aspect of the Fund, capital preservation through owning long puts.

 

Though, ACIO’s active implementation of the long puts showed effectiveness during the market weakness of February and early March where the Fund was slightly ahead of the SPX through 3/13/23, maintaining a strong downside hedge. Throughout the fiscal period, the portfolio team had multiple opportunities to harvest put profits, showing downside mitigation and purchasing equities with the proceeds.

 

During this period, the written calls faced a challenging environment of low correlation between the individual positions and the index, as a muted volatility environment, as measured by the VIX, kept healthy premiums at bay. We were very active in maneuvering during the period, taking advantage of the very brief spikes in volatility to reset the short call book. Given the concentration of returns, especially in the most recent quarter during the fiscal period, we had a net detractor to performance from the written calls.

 

Lastly, the third leg of the strategy, long stocks performed above expectations, as the market rewarded pragmatic investors, alongside diligent managers that invested in what we would consider to be higher-quality stocks. Though there was not broad-based volatility at the index level, underneath the hood of the market, there was volatility and performance dispersion across sectors. Given our style agnostic approach, even in the face of a strong rally in Growth and Tech, we were able to outperform the S&P 500® Index (“SPX”) modestly. The equity basket outperformed by 53 basis points (bps), led by positive security selection, as allocation effects were de minimis. Given our tilt to quality, the team was able to navigate this market reasonably well as ACIO remained equal weight the mega-caps, which proved to be beneficial in the latter half of the fiscal period.

 

The largest positive equity contributor to return for the current fiscal period was a put option position expiring in March 2023 on the S&P 500 Index (SPXW), gaining 61.74% and adding 3.47% to the return of ACIO. The second largest contributor was a put option position expiring in July 2022 on the S&P 500 Index (SPX), gaining 258.90% and adding 3.20% to the return of ACIO. The third largest contributor was a put option position expiring in May 2022 on the S&P 500 Index (SPX), gaining 187.54% and adding 2.92% to the return of ACIO.

 

The largest negative contributor to the return of the Fund for the current fiscal period was a written put option position expiring in March 2023 on the S&P 500 Index (SPXW), down -65.69% and detracting -3.12% from the return of ACIO. The second largest negative contributor was a put option position expiring in January 2023 on the S&P 500 Index (SPX), down -98.98% and detracting -2.11% from the return of ACIO. The third largest negative contributor was a put option position expiring in October 2022 on the S&P 500 Index (SPX), down -63.95% and detracting -1.93% from the return of ACIO.

 

1

 

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited) (Continued)

 

 

We are excited about the opportunity to give our investors access to the Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF. We think it’s possible future returns from a traditional 60/40 portfolio may be well below recent history, at risk of being insufficient to meet the income needs of today’s retirees. We believe we can help the math with a focus on global dividend growers. With overall valuations high, and growth difficult to project, we place great emphasis on sustainable yield in building return assumptions. The ACIO screening process takes large capitalization U.S.-listed equity securities that a) meet the filter, b) provide diversified exposure, and c) maintain an active options market from which we can sell call options on the individual names along with buying puts on the broad market index to more efficiently collar the equity portfolio. The powerful combination of a high dividend paying basket of large capitalization U.S.-listed equity securities with a collar strategy aims to deliver consistent and repeatable yield and minimal drawdown.

 

We appreciate your interest in ACIO. If we can elaborate on the underlying Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity strategy, please don’t hesitate to ask as we would love an opportunity to discuss. Thanks again for your interest.

 

Sincerely,

 

JD Gardner
Founder and Managing Member
Aptus Capital Advisors, Adviser to the Fund

 

2

 

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited) (Continued)

 

 

Past performance does not guarantee future performance. Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible. The Fund’s use of call and put options can lead to losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the underlying security, which may be magnified by certain features of the options. The Fund’s use of options may reduce the Fund’s ability to profit from increases in the value of the underlying securities. Derivatives, such as the options in which the Fund invests, can be volatile and involve various types and degrees of risks. Derivatives may entail investment exposures that are greater than their cost would suggest, meaning that a small investment in a derivative could have a substantial impact on the performance of the Fund. The Fund could experience a loss if its derivatives do not perform as anticipated, the derivatives are not correlated with the performance of their underlying security, or if the Fund is unable to purchase or liquidate a position because of an illiquid secondary market. Investments in ETFs are subject to additional risks that do not apply to conventional mutual funds, including the risks that the market price of the shares may trade at a discount to the net asset value (“NAV”), an active secondary trading market may not develop or be maintained, or trading may be halted by the exchange in which they trade, which may impact a fund’s ability to sell its shares.

 

Call options give the owner the right to buy the underlying security at the specified price within a specific time period. Put options give the owner the right to sell the underlying security at the specified price within a specific time period. A collar is an options strategy constructed by holding shares of the underlying stock while simultaneously buying put options and selling call options against that holding.

 

Shares of an ETF are bought and sold at market price (rather than NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Market returns are based on the daily composite close price from all active exchanges at 4:00pm Eastern Time (when NAV is normally determined for most ETFs), and do not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times.

 

Must be preceded or accompanied by a prospectus.

 

Fund holdings and sector allocations are subject to change and are not recommendations to buy or sell any security. Please refer to the schedule of investments and schedule of written options in this report for complete holdings information.

 

Definitions:

 

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) is a real-time index that represents the market’s expectations for the relative strength of near-term price changes of the S&P 500 Index (SPX). Because it is derived from the prices of SPX index options with near-term expiration dates, it generates a 30-day forward projection of volatility. Volatility, or how fast prices change, is often seen as a way to gauge market sentiment, and in particular the degree of fear among market participants.

 

S&P 500® Total Return Index - a market capitalization weighted index of the 500 largest U.S. publicly traded companies by market value. The total return index is a type of equity index that tracks both the capital gains of a group of stocks over time, and assumes that any cash distributions, such as dividends, are reinvested back into the index.

 

Basis points, otherwise known as bps or “bips,” are a unit of measure used in finance to describe the percentage change in the value of financial instruments or the rate change in an index or other benchmark. One basis point is equivalent to 0.01% (1/100th of a percent) or 0.0001 in decimal form.

 

Aptus Capital Advisors is the adviser to the Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF, which is distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC.

 

3

 

 

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited)

 

 

Dear DRSK Shareholders,

 

Thank you for your investment in the Aptus Defined Risk ETF, referred to herein as “DRSK” or the “Fund”. The information presented in this letter relates to DRSK’s performance from May 1, 2022 through April 30, 2023 (the “current fiscal period”).

 

The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve its objective through a hybrid fixed income and equity strategy. The Fund typically invests approximately 75% to 95% of its assets to obtain exposure to investment-grade corporate bonds (the “Fixed Income Strategy”) and invests the remainder of its assets to obtain exposure to U.S. stocks, while limiting downside risk (the “Equity Strategy”).

 

For the fiscal period, the Defined Risk strategy (DRSK) underperformed the Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index. Interest rates for the fiscal period (“FY”) were historically volatile. The MOVE Index, a measurement of volatility within the US Treasury securities hovered near crisis levels while yields had massive shifts in both directions but ultimately ended the FY down significantly. While interest rate volatility was high, equity market volatility on the other hand was underwhelming.

 

The portfolio managers incrementally increased duration on the portfolio during the selloff in interest rates back in February 2023. As of the end of the FY, the fixed income portion of the Fund offers nearly a 5% yield on a 4.3 year duration. We view the allocation to the belly of the curve as offering the most risk-adjusted valued, currently. We continue to see relative strength within the balance sheets and financial positions of Investment Grade issuers, which should insulate spreads in the event of a recession. We will continue to seek high risk-adjusted income levels for the fixed income portfolio and actively adjust as opportunities present. While the options portfolio was not as effective in this period, we continue to see value in having exposure to long volatility and convexity within our portfolios given the breakdown of stock/bond correlations experienced the last 40 years.

 

For the current fiscal period, DRSK was down -2.35% at market and down -2.39% at net asset value (“NAV”). Over the same period, the Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index was down -0.43%.

 

The largest positive contributor to return for the current fiscal period was a put option position expiring in March 2023 on the S&P 500 Index (SPXW), gaining 61.74% and adding 4.96% to the return of DRSK. The second largest contributor was a call option position expiring in March 2023 on Meta Platforms, Inc. (META), gaining 287.79% and adding 1.66% to the return of DRSK. The third largest contributor was a written call option position expiring during June 2023 on Datadog, Inc. (DDOG), gaining 95.76% and adding 0.79% to the return of DRSK.

 

The largest negative contributor to the return of the Fund for the current fiscal period was a written put option position expiring in March 2023 on the S&P 500 Index (SPXW), down -65.69% and detracting -4.46% from the return of DRSK. The second largest negative contributor was a call option position expiring in June 2023 on Datadog, Inc. (DDOG), down -97.85% and detracting -1.36% from the return of DRSK. The third largest negative contributor was a written call option position expiring in March 2023 on Meta Platforms, Inc. (META), down -977.22% and detracting -1.36% from the return of DRSK.

 

We are excited about the opportunity to give our investors access to the Aptus Defined Risk ETF. We see income generation as a major issue for investors in a low interest rate environment and extending maturities or accepting poorer credit bring added risk. Our “income plus” approach utilizes call options that allows for significant upside capture in a rising market and defined risk in a declining market. The powerful combination of laddered bonds over a short duration and asymmetric payoff opportunity of the call options aims to give investors expected returns not typically seen in the traditional fixed income space.

 

We appreciate your interest in DRSK. If we can elaborate on the underlying Aptus Defined Risk strategy, please don’t hesitate to ask as we would love an opportunity to discuss. Thanks again for your interest.

 

Sincerely,

 

JD Gardner
Founder and Managing Member
Aptus Capital Advisors, Adviser to the Fund

 

4

 

 

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited) (Continued)

 

 

Past Performance does not guarantee future performance. Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible. The Fund invests indirectly in fixed income securities through investments in Underlying Bond ETFs, which involve certain risks. Options enable the Fund to purchase exposure that is significantly greater than the premium paid. Consequently, the value of such options can be volatile, and a small investment in options can have a large impact on the performance of the Fund. Because the Fund only purchases options (as opposed to writing/selling options), the Fund’s losses from its exposure to options are limited to the amount of premiums paid.

 

Shares of an ETF are bought and sold at market price (rather than NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Market returns are based on the daily composite close price from all active exchanges at 4:00pm Eastern Time (when NAV is normally determined for most ETFs), and do not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times.

 

Must be preceded or accompanied by a prospectus.

 

Fund holdings and sector allocations are subject to change and are not recommendations to buy or sell any security. Please see the Schedule of Investments and Schedule of Written Options for a complete list of Fund holdings.

 

Definitions:

 

Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index – a flagship measure of global investment grade debt from twenty-four local currency markets. This multi-currency benchmark includes treasury, government related, corporate and securitized fixed-rate bonds from both developed and emerging market issuers. One cannot invest directly in an index.

 

S&P 500® Total Return Index - a market capitalization weighted index of the 500 largest U.S. publicly traded companies by market value. The total return index is a type of equity index that tracks both the capital gains of a group of stocks over time, and assumes that any cash distributions, such as dividends, are reinvested back into the index.

 

The MOVE index, or Merrill Lynch Option Volatility Estimate Index, is a crucial gauge of interest rate volatility in the U.S. Treasury market.

 

Duration can measure how long it takes, in years, for an investor to be repaid a bond’s price by the bond’s total cash flows. Duration can also measure the sensitivity of a bond’s or fixed income portfolio’s price to changes in interest rates.

 

Call Option: Call options are financial contracts that give the option buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy a stock, bond, commodity or other asset or instrument at a specified price within a specific time period.

 

Put Option: A put option is a contract giving the owner the right, but not the obligation, to sell–or sell short–a specified amount of an underlying security at a pre-determined price within a specified time frame.

 

Aptus Capital Advisors is the adviser to the Aptus Defined Risk ETF, which is distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC.

 

5

 

 

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited)

 

 

Dear ADME Shareholders,

 

Thank you for your investment in the Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF, referred to herein as “ADME” or the “Fund”. The information presented in this letter relates to ADME’s performance from May 1, 2022 through April 30, 2023 (the “current fiscal period”).

 

The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve its objective principally by investing in a portfolio of U.S.-listed equity securities, while limiting downside risk by purchasing exchange-listed put options on one or more of such equity securities or on broad-based indexes or ETFs that track the performance of the U.S. equity market. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s net assets (plus borrowings for investment purposes) will be invested in equity securities.

 

During the current fiscal period, the market witnessed, what we would consider to be, a period of muted volatility, even though there were lots of movement underneath the hood of the market. The CBOE Volatility Index (“VIX”), also known as the fear gauge, remained muted even with the systemic fireworks seen throughout the last part of the fiscal period. For reference, the VIX was down -10.5%, grinding lower for most of the quarter. This is a prime example of the difficult market environment for a tail hedging strategy like this fund.

 

Given this type of muted volatility, it was a difficult environment for this strategy, which attempts to provide downside mitigation during left-tail events. Of which, we did not witness during the fiscal period. ADME’s active implementation of the puts showed effectiveness during multiple different periods that the market showed weakness, though, given our exposure to lower delta puts, we were not as successful as we would have hoped for.

 

The portfolio team did utilize a few opportunities to harvest put profits during the period, showing some downside mitigation and purchasing equities with the proceeds. Again, ADME is a tail hedge fund where the capital preservation we carry (long puts) are out of the money (OTM). These tail hedges carry a lower delta but higher gamma (or convexity) allowing for the managers to own more contracts and have a large percentage of the fund notionally preserved. In a true volatility event (we define as VIX >40), these hedges quickly can come to life and offset declines in our equity portfolio. Due to a muted volatility environment, ADME’s hedges didn’t realize to the extent that we’d hoped given the lower volatility regime. The managers did make an addition to the strategy over the summer of 2022 which allowed the Fund to sell covered calls against individual equity positions held by the Fund which has been additive to performance.

 

For the current fiscal period, ADME was down -7.52% at market and down -7.24% at net asset value (“NAV”). Over the same period, the S&P 500® Total Return Index was up 2.66%.

 

The largest positive equity contributor to return for the current fiscal period was a put option position expiring during October 2022 on the S&P 500 Index (SPXW), gaining 223.46% and adding 4.59% to the return of ADME. The second largest contributor was a put option position expiring during March 2023 on the S&P 500 Index (SPXW), gaining 61.74% and adding 2.58% to the return of ADME. The third largest contributor was a call option position expiring during March 2023 on the S&P 500 Index (SPX), gaining 81.94% and adding 1.10% to the return of ADME.

 

The largest negative equity contributor to the return of the Fund for the current fiscal period was a put option position expiring during March 2023 on the S&P 500 Index (SPX), down -99.87% and detracting -3.52% from the return of ADME. The second largest negative contributor was a put option position expiring during October 2022 on the S&P 500 Index (SPX), down -76.61% and detracting -3.00% from the return of ADME. The third largest negative contributor was a written put option position expiring in March 2023 on the S&P 500 Index (SPXW), down -65.69% and detracting -2.32% from the return of ADME.

 

We are excited about the opportunity to give our investors access to the Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF. Historically, a small group of big winners have comprised most of each year’s market gains. Rather than diluting with hundreds of mediocre holdings, we prefer to focus on selection of large, mid, or small-capitalization U.S.-listed names. We build from a Yield + Growth framework, tilting holdings to favor companies with solid fundamentals and reasonable valuations while avoiding those with negative price momentum. We believe there’s an upside to less downside behaviorally and mathematically. Rather than try to time the markets, we actively hedge our holdings in an effort to mitigate downside risk. We build a portfolio that attempts to capture market upside, with a fraction of the downside.

 

6

 

 

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited) (Continued)

 

 

We appreciate your interest in ADME. If we can elaborate on the underlying Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity strategy, please don’t hesitate to ask as we would love an opportunity to discuss. Thanks again for your interest.

 

Sincerely,

 

JD Gardner
Founder and Managing Member
Aptus Capital Advisors, Adviser to the Fund

 

7

 

 

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited) (Continued)

 

 

Past performance does not guarantee future performance. Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible. The Fund’s use of put options can lead to losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the underlying security, which may be magnified by certain features of the options. The Fund’s use of options may reduce the Fund’s ability to profit from increases in the value of the underlying securities. Derivatives, such as the options in which the Fund invests, can be volatile and involve various types and degrees of risks. Derivatives may entail investment exposures that are greater than their cost would suggest, meaning that a small investment in a derivative could have a substantial impact on the performance of the Fund. The Fund could experience a loss if its derivatives do not perform as anticipated, the derivatives are not correlated with the performance of their underlying security, or if the Fund is unable to purchase or liquidate a position because of an illiquid secondary market. Investments in ETFs are subject to additional risks that do not apply to conventional mutual funds, including the risks that the market price of the shares may trade at a discount to the net asset value (“NAV”), an active secondary trading market may not develop or be maintained, or trading may be halted by the exchange in which they trade, which may impact a fund’s ability to sell its shares.

 

Shares of an ETF are bought and sold at market price (rather than NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Market returns are based on the daily composite close price from all active changes at 4:00pm Eastern Time (when NAV is normally determined for most ETFs), and do not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times.

 

Must be preceded or accompanied by a prospectus.

 

Fund holdings and sector allocations are subject to change and are not recommendations to buy or sell any security. Please see the Schedule of Investments and Schedule of Written Options for a complete list of Fund holdings.

 

Definitions:

 

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) is a real-time index that represents the market’s expectations for the relative strength of near-term price changes of the S&P 500 Index (SPX). Because it is derived from the prices of SPX index options with near-term expiration dates, it generates a 30-day forward projection of volatility. Volatility, or how fast prices change, is often seen as a way to gauge market sentiment, and in particular the degree of fear among market participants.

 

“Out of the Money” (OTM) is a matter of the strike price’s position relative to the market value of the underlying stock. An OTM option is one that has a strike price that the underlying security has yet to reach, meaning the option has no intrinsic value.

 

Delta (Δ) is a risk metric that estimates the change in price of a derivative, such as an options contract, given a $1 change in its underlying security. The delta also tells options traders the hedging ratio to become delta neutral. A third interpretation of an option’s delta is the probability that it will finish in-the-money.

 

An option position’s gamma is the rate of change in its delta for every 1-point move in the underlying asset’s price. Gamma is an important measure of the convexity of a derivative’s value, in relation to the underlying asset.

 

S&P 500® Total Return Index - a market capitalization weighted index of the 500 largest U.S. publicly traded companies by market value. The total return index is a type of equity index that tracks both the capital gains of a group of stocks over time, and assumes that any cash distributions, such as dividends, are reinvested back into the index.

 

Aptus Capital Advisors is the adviser to the Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF, which is distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC.

 

8

 

 

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited)

 

 

Dear OSCV Shareholders,

 

Thank you for your investment in the Opus Small Cap Value ETF, referred to herein as “OSCV” or the “Fund”. The information presented in this letter relates to OSCV’s performance from May 1, 2022 through April 30, 2023 (the “current fiscal period”).

 

The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities of small-capitalization U.S. companies. The Fund defines a small capitalization company as an issuer whose market capitalization at the time of purchase is in the range of those found in the Russell 2000® Index. The Fund’s equity securities primarily include common stocks, real estate investment trusts (“REITs”), and American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) representing the stock of a foreign company. The Fund will generally limit its investments in ADRs to 20% of its total assets. The Fund may invest in securities offered in an initial public offering (“IPO”) or in companies that have recently completed an IPO.

 

For the current fiscal period, OSCV was down -0.05% at market and down -0.39% at net asset value (“NAV”). Over the same period, the S&P SmallCap 600 Value Total Return Index was down -2.97%.

 

In a fiscal period that witnessed volatility, the Opus Small Cap Value ETF (“OSCV”) outperformed its benchmark, the Russell 2000 Value, by 7.9%, as measured by at market. Contribution of the Fund’s outperformance was split between stock selection (67%) and sector allocation (33%). The largest detractors from the Fund were Real Estate and Financials, respectively. The former was solely due to stock selection, as we have our Financial exposure heightened in the banking space, which underperformed during the asset-liability matching banking dilemma. Industrials and Consumer Discretionary were the biggest helpers, as both allocation and selection were both value additive. Over the past year, OSCV has neglected to capture any of the benchmark’s downside.

 

Surprisingly, OSCV’s largest contributors were more on the risk-on spectrum, as Texas Pacific Land Trust (TPL), 93.94% and adding 1.17% Encore Wire Inc., (WIRE), gaining 67.11% and adding 0.76% and Churchill Downs, Inc. (CHDN) gaining 44.61% and adding 0.75% led the charge contributing to the total return of OSCV. Given relative performance, each one of these names hit our “Interval Winner List”. We sold the former and trimmed the latter one. The Fund was fortunate to avoid the landmines in the banking industry in the last half of the fiscal year, but still held an almost market neutral weight in the space, which was our largest detractor during the fiscal period. Our largest losers during the period were: Hingham Institution for Savings (HIFS) down -39.03% and detracting -0.96%, Gladstone Land Corporation (LAND) down -49.14% and detracting -0.74% and NexPoint Residential Trust, Inc. (NXRT) down -42.95% and detracting -0.63%, from the return of OSCV. We remain disciplined on our process, continuing to uncover companies that meet our rigorous fundamental criteria for ownership.

 

Lately, we’ve been uncovering more names that have very strong free-cash-flow profiles, alongside what we would consider to be high-quality business models that have pricing inelasticity. Over longer periods of time, the strategy will continue to focus on what we would consider to be high-quality companies, which we feel are currently undervalued.

 

We are excited about the opportunity to give our investors access to the Opus Small Cap Value ETF. OSCV selects stocks across a variety of sectors and industries by combining factor-based analysis with rigorous fundamental research to identify high-quality, growing companies that are believed to be undervalued. OSCV is focused on three core themes to identify companies: 1. higher quality companies with sound business models, higher returns on equity, strong balance sheets, and shareholder-friendly management. 2. higher growth companies that are well-positioned to grow sales, earnings, cash flows, and dividends. 3. lower valuation companies whose valuations reflect lower price-to-earnings and higher yields than their peers. OSCV generally sells a stock when the company is no longer believed to be high quality, when its anticipated growth rate has significantly declined, when it is no longer considered undervalued, or when it is no longer considered a small-capitalization company after a significant period of time (e.g., more than one year).

 

We appreciate your interest in OSCV. If we can elaborate on the underlying Opus Small Cap Value ETF strategy, please don’t hesitate to ask as we would love an opportunity to discuss. Thanks again for your interest.

 

Sincerely,

 

JD Gardner
Founder and Managing Member
Aptus Capital Advisors, Adviser to the Fund

 

9

 

 

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited) (Continued)

 

 

Past performance does not guarantee future performance. Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible. The Fund invests in the securities of small-capitalization companies. As a result, the Fund may be more volatile than funds that invest in larger, more established companies. The securities of small capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole. Small capitalization companies may be particularly sensitive to changes in interest rates, government regulation, borrowing costs and earnings. The value investing style may over time go in and out of favor. At times when the value investing style is out of favor, the Fund may underperform other funds that use different investing styles. Investments in ETFs are subject to additional risks that do not apply to conventional mutual funds, including the risks that the market price of the shares may trade at a discount to the net asset value (“NAV”), an active secondary trading market may not develop or be maintained, or trading may be halted by the exchange in which they trade, which may impact a fund’s ability to sell its shares.

 

Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible. Shares of an ETF are bought and sold at market price (rather than NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the Fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Market returns are based on the daily composite close price from all active exchanges at 4:00pm Eastern Time (when NAV is normally determined for most ETFs), and do not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times.

 

Must be preceded or accompanied by a prospectus.

 

Fund holdings and sector allocations are subject to change and are not recommendations to buy or sell any security. Please see the Schedule of Investments for a complete list of Fund holdings.

 

Definitions:

 

S&P SmallCap 600 Value Total Return Index - a market capitalization weighted index. All the stocks in the underlying parent index are allocated into value or growth. Stocks that do not have pure value or pure growth characteristics have their market caps distributed between the value & growth indices.

 

Russell 2000® Index – The Russell 2000 index is an index measuring the performance of approximately 2,000 small-cap companies in the Russell 3000 Index, which is made up of 3,000 of the biggest U.S. stocks. The Russell 2000® serves as a benchmark for small-cap stocks in the United States.

 

Cash flow – a measure of a company’s financial performance, calculated as operating cash flow minus capital expenditures.

 

Price-to-earnings ratio (or “P/E ratio”) is the ratio for valuing a company that measures its current share price relative to its earnings per share (“EPS”). The price-to-earnings ratio is also sometimes known as the price multiple or the earnings multiple. P/E ratios are used by investors and analysts to determine the relative value of a company’s shares in an apples-to-apples comparison. It can also be used to compare a company against its own historical record or to compare aggregate markets against one another or over time.

 

Aptus Capital Advisors is the adviser to the Opus Small Cap Value ETF, which is distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC.

 

10

 

 

International Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited)

 

 

Dear IDME Shareholders,

 

Thank you for your investment in the International Drawdown Managed Equity ETF, referred to herein as “IDME” or the “Fund”. The information presented in this letter relates to IDME’s performance period from May 1, 2022 through April 30, 2023 (the “current fiscal period”).

 

The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve its objective principally by investing in a portfolio of other ETFs that invest in equity securities of non-U.S. (international) companies in developed and emerging markets throughout the world, while purchasing and/or writing (selling) exchange-listed call or put options on one or more broad-based indexes or ETFs that track the performance of equity markets outside of the United States to (i) limit downside (“drawdown”) risk, (ii) create additional equity exposure, and/or (iii) generate premiums from writing call options on the Fund’s equity investments.

 

During the current fiscal period, the market saw a period of moderation, as interest rates and the international market treaded sideways and implied volatility levels fell. Moreso, in the most recent period, as the U.S. had a flashback to a series of collateral damage effects of Fed policy, contagion did not occur in the international markets. Trepidation from this mini-banking crisis did not fray investor’s nerves international, in fact, it led to a weaker USD, which boosted the MSCI ACWI’s net return.

 

The equity exposure across the IDME portfolio decreased in-line with the MSCI All Cap World Index ex USA Net (the blend of EFA/EEM) as the market was slightly positive. Regarding the options portion of the Fund, I.e., the hedging component, the volatility environment (as measured by the CBOE Volatility Index (“VIX”) for the year was slightly elevated, but did not show an exuberance that was experienced in the 2020 Global Pandemic or other prolonged drawdowns. This strategy is a tail hedge fund where the capital preservation we carry (via long puts) are out-of-the-money (“OTM”). These tail hedges carry a lower delta, but higher gamma (higher convexity) allowing for managers to own more contracts and have a larger portion of the Fund notionally covered.

 

Given that the market did not have any exuberance in implied volatility levels, as measured by the VIX, our hedges were not additive to the Fund’s performance. Said another way, due to a relatively muted volatility environment, these hedges did not realize to the extent that we’d hope given the environment.

 

The managers did make an addition to the strategy over the summer of 2022 which allowed the Fund to sell covered calls against the equity positions held by the Fund which has been additive to performance.

 

For the current fiscal period, IDME was down -4.88% at market and down -3.62% at net asset value (“NAV”). Over the same period, the MSCI All Cap World Index ex USA Net (USD) was up 3.05%.

 

The largest positive equity contributor to return for the current fiscal period was the iShares Core MSCI International Developed Markets ETF (IDEV), gaining 8.77% and adding 5.76% to the return of IDME. The second largest contributor was the SPDR Portfolio Emerging Markets ETF (SPEM), gaining 14.59% and adding 3.56% to the return of IDME. The third largest contributor was a put option position expiring in July 2022 on iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (EFA), gaining 283.26% and adding 1.96% to the return of IDME.

 

The largest negative contributor to the return of the Fund for the current fiscal period was the Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund (VWO), down -17.55% and detracting -5.23% from the return of IDME. The second largest negative contributor was a put option position expiring in Nov 2022 on iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (EFA), down -99.79% and detracting -4.01% from the return of IDME. The third largest negative contributor was a call option position expiring in December 2022 on iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (EFA), down -98.01% and detracting -2.30% from the return of IDME.

 

We are excited about the opportunity to give our investors access to International Drawdown Managed Equity ETF. We believe, IDME is able to capture the upside potential of investing in an All Cap World Index ex-U.S., but with structurally less downside potential. Using cost efficient and liquid passive index ETFs, we believe Aptus has created a portfolio intended to look very much like All Cap World Index (ACWX) on the way up but offer notionally hedged protection on the way down. We believe there is upside in capturing less downside, both behaviorally and mathematically. Rather than try to time the markets, we actively hedge our holdings in an effort to mitigate downside risk. We believe IDME provides a solution to every Investor’s foreign equity exposures that helps mitigate geopolitical economic risks in an ever-growing divide between Developed and Emerging markets.

 

11

 

 

International Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited) (Continued)

 

 

We appreciate your interest in IDME. If we can elaborate on the underlying International Drawdown Managed Equity strategy, please don’t hesitate to ask as we would love an opportunity to discuss. Thanks again for your interest.

 

Sincerely,

 

JD Gardner
Founder and Managing Member
Aptus Capital Advisors, Adviser to the Fund

 

12

 

 

International Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited) (Continued)

 

 

Past performance does not guarantee future performance. Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible. The Fund is non-diversified, meaning it may concentrate its assets in fewer individual holdings than diversified funds. Therefore, the Fund is more exposed to individual stock or ETF volatility than diversified funds. The Fund’s use of call and put options can lead to losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the underlying security, which may be magnified by certain features of the options. The Fund’s use of options may reduce the Fund’s ability to profit from increases in the value of the underlying securities. Derivatives, such as the options in which the Fund invests, can be volatile and involve various types and degrees of risks. Derivatives may entail investment exposures that are greater than their cost would suggest, meaning that a small investment in a derivative could have a substantial impact on the performance of the Fund. The Fund could experience a loss if its derivatives do not perform as anticipated, the derivatives are not correlated with the performance of their underlying security, or if the Fund is unable to purchase or liquidate a position because of an illiquid secondary market. Investments in ETFs are subject to additional risks that do not apply to conventional mutual funds, including the risks that the market price of the shares may trade at a discount to the net asset value (“NAV”), an active secondary trading market may not develop or be maintained, or trading may be halted by the exchange in which they trade, which may impact a fund’s ability to sell its shares.

 

Call options give the owner the right to buy the underlying security at the specified price within a specific time period. Put options give the owner the right to sell the underlying security at the specified price within a specific time period. A collar is an options strategy constructed by holding shares of the underlying stock while simultaneously buying put options and selling call options against that holding

 

Shares of an ETF are bought and sold at market price (rather than NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Market returns are based on the daily composite close price from all active changes at 4:00pm Eastern Time (when NAV is normally determined for most ETFs), and do not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times.

 

Must be preceded or accompanied by a prospectus.

 

Fund holdings and sector allocations are subject to change and are not recommendations to buy or sell any security. Please refer to the schedule of investments in this report for complete holdings information.

 

Definitions:

 

MSCI All Cap World Index ex USA Net (USD) - captures large and mid-cap representation across 22 of 23 Developed Markets (DM) countries (excluding the US) and 27 Emerging Markets (EM) countries. With 2,350 constituents, the index covers approximately 85% of the global equity opportunity set outside the U.S.

 

The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) is a real-time index that represents the market’s expectations for the relative strength of near-term price changes of the S&P 500 Index (SPX). Because it is derived from the prices of SPX index options with near-term expiration dates, it generates a 30-day forward projection of volatility. Volatility, or how fast prices change, is often seen as a way to gauge market sentiment, and in particular the degree of fear among market participants.

 

“Out of the Money” (OTM) is a matter of the strike price’s position relative to the market value of the underlying stock. An OTM option is one that has a strike price that the underlying security has yet to reach, meaning the option has no intrinsic value.

 

Delta is a risk metric that estimates the change in price of a derivative, such as an options contract, given a $1 change in its underlying security. The delta also tells options traders the hedging ratio to become delta neutral. A third interpretation of an option’s delta is the probability that it will finish in-the-money.

 

Gamma is an important measure of the convexity of a derivative’s value, in relation to the underlying asset. An option position’s gamma is the rate of change in its delta for every 1-point move in the underlying asset’s price.

 

Aptus Capital Advisors is the adviser to the International Drawdown Managed Equity ETF, which is distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC.

 

13

 

 

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited)

 

 

Dear JUCY Shareholders,

 

Thank you for your investment in the Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF, referred to herein as “JUCY” or the “Fund”. The information presented in this letter relates to JUCY’s performance from inception date of October 31, 2022 through April 30, 2023 (the “current fiscal period”).

 

The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve its investment objectives through a hybrid fixed income and equity-linked note strategy. The Fund invests primarily in U.S. Treasury Bills, U.S. Treasury Notes, and the securities of U.S. government-sponsored entities (“GSEs”) (the “Fixed Income Strategy”) and invests the remainder of its assets in Equity-Linked Notes (“ELNs”) (the “ELN Strategy”).

 

Since the inception of the strategy, it was a very weird environment for the market. Specifically, it proved to be a volatile one in the rates market. For example, in Q1 ‘23, it was a period in which we saw the 2YR U.S. Treasury yield rise from 4.10% to 5.07% in a matter of 34 days, only to revert lower to 3.77% in an even shorter period of just 16 days! These wild swings in the market represented the tug of war between a continued march forward of Fed rate hikes and the highly anticipated “pivot” to rate cuts and more accommodative monetary policy.

 

Volatility markets also had a couple weeks in the sun as we saw issues flare up in the banking sector with the failures of SVB Financial Group (SIVB) and Signature Bank (SBNY). Despite these challenges, we only saw the volatility market, as measured by the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), rise to a peak of 26.52 during the period, with a low of 17.87, and average of 20.68. The 20-year average is 19.34.

 

The Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF (JUCY) returned 2.99% at market and 2.99% at NAV, in-line with the benchmark ICE U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Bond Index’s return of 2.71%. Despite the Fund having roughly ½ the duration of the benchmark during a period where duration assets rallied, the Fund was able to perform in-line due to the options overlay. For the first quarter of 2023, which was the majority of the Fund’s history, we had 13 ELNs mature in which the average return was 2.32% and the contribution to NAV return was roughly 20 basis points (bps). JUCY was also able to perform in-line with a much lower standard deviation, the annualized standard deviation for the period for JUCY was 0.39% vs. the 2.44% for the benchmark. We remain convicted in the structure of the strategy and will continue to strive to provide an attractive level of income combined with capital preservation.

 

The largest positive equity contributor to return for the current fiscal period was U.S. Treasury Note maturing January 2024, gaining 1.65% and adding 0.65% to the return of JUCY. The second largest contributor was U.S. Treasury Note maturing September 2024, gaining 2.44% and adding 0.31% to the return of JUCY. The third largest contributor was a S&P 500 Index Equity Linked Note maturing in March 2023 (SPX_6_2023), gaining 6.31% and adding 0.23% to the return of JUCY.

 

The largest negative equity contributor to the return of the Fund for the current fiscal period was a S&P 500 Index Equity Linked Note maturing in April 2023 (SPX_10_2023), down -5.87% and detracting -0.21% from the return of JUCY. The second largest negative contributor was a S&P 500 Index Equity Linked Note maturing in February 2023 (SPX_1_2023) down -3.32% and detracting- 0.12% from the return of JUCY. The third largest negative contributor was a S&P 500 Index Equity Linked Note maturing in March 2023 (SPX_8_2023), down -3.07% and detracting- 0.11% from the return of JUCY.

 

We are excited about the opportunity to give our investors access to Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF. JUCY provides investors an actively managed strategy that seeks attractive income with capital preservation. The strategy typically invests in a portfolio of lower-duration US Treasuries and Agency Securities to provide stability and income. It then seeks to enhance the portfolio’s yield by using an option overlay to provide more distributable income.

 

We appreciate your interest in JUCY. If we can elaborate on the underlying Aptus Enhanced Yield strategy, please don’t hesitate to ask as we would love an opportunity to discuss. Thanks again for your interest.

 

Sincerely,

 

JD Gardner
Founder and Managing Member
Aptus Capital Advisors, Adviser to the Fund

 

 

14

 

 

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Shareholder Letter
(Unaudited) (Continued)

 

 

Past performance does not guarantee future performance. Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible. Investments in ETFs are subject to additional risks that do not apply to conventional mutual funds, including the risks that the market price of the shares may trade at a discount to the net asset value (“NAV”), an active secondary trading market may not develop or be maintained, or trading may be halted by the exchange in which they trade, which may impact a fund’s ability to sell its shares.

 

Shares of an ETF are bought and sold at market price (rather than NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the Fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Market returns are based on the daily composite close price from all active changes at 4:00pm Eastern Time (when NAV is normally determined for most ETFs), and do not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times.

 

Must be preceded or accompanied by a prospectus.

 

Fund holdings and sector allocations are subject to change and are not recommendations to buy or sell any security. Please refer to the schedule of investments in this report for complete holdings information.

 

Definitions:

 

Government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) - a quasi-governmental entity established to enhance the flow of credit to specific sectors of the U.S. economy. Created by acts of Congress, these agencies—although they are privately-held—provide public financial services. GSEs help to facilitate borrowing for a variety of individuals, including students, farmers, and homeowners.

 

Equity-linked note (ELN) - an investment product that combines a fixed-income investment with additional potential returns that are tied to the performance of equities.

 

Basis points, otherwise known as bps or “bips,” are a unit of measure used in finance to describe the percentage change in the value of financial instruments or the rate change in an index or other benchmark. One basis point is equivalent to 0.01% (1/100th of a percent) or 0.0001 in decimal form.

 

Duration can measure how long it takes, in years, for an investor to be repaid a bond’s price by the bond’s total cash flows. Duration can also measure the sensitivity of a bond’s or fixed income portfolio’s price to changes in interest rates.

 

Standard deviation is a statistical measurement in finance that, when applied to the annual rate of return of an investment, sheds light on that investment’s historical volatility. The greater the standard deviation of securities, the greater the variance between each price and the mean, which shows a larger price range. Aptus Capital Advisors is the adviser to the Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF, which is distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC.

 

15

 

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

 

Performance Summary
(Unaudited)

 

 

Growth of $10,000

 

 

Average Annual Returns
April 30, 2023

One Year

Three Years

Since Inception
(7/9/2019)

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF — NAV

2.53%

9.14%

6.52%

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF — Market

2.34%

9.07%

6.52%

S&P 500® Index

2.66%

14.52%

11.05%

 

This chart illustrates the performance of a hypothetical $10,000 investment made on July 9, 2019 and is not intended to imply any future performance. The returns shown do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares. The chart assumes reinvestment of capital gains and dividends.

 

The total operating expenses as stated in the fee table to the Fund’s prospectus dated August 31, 2022, is 0.79%. The performance data represents past performance & does not guarantee future results. Investment return & principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares may be worth more or less than their original cost when sold or redeemed. Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance quoted. Returns for periods greater than one year are annualized. Short term performance in particular is not a good indication of the fund’s future performance and an investment should not be made based solely on returns. For performance data current to the most recent month end, please call (251) 517-7198, or visit www.aptusetfs.com.

 

Shares of any ETF are bought and sold at Market Price (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Market returns are based upon the midpoint of the bid/ask spread at 4:00pm Eastern Time (when NAV is normally determined for most ETFs), and do not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times.

 

16

 

 

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

 

Performance Summary
(Unaudited)

 

 

Growth of $10,000

 

 

Average Annual Returns
April 30, 2023

One Year

Three Years

Since Inception
(8/7/2018)

Aptus Defined Risk ETF — NAV

-2.39%

-0.95%

4.14%

Aptus Defined Risk ETF — Market

-2.35%

-1.08%

4.14%

Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index

-0.43%

-3.15%

1.11%

 

This chart illustrates the performance of a hypothetical $10,000 investment made on August 7, 2018 and is not intended to imply any future performance. The returns shown do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares. The chart assumes reinvestment of capital gains and dividends.

 

The total operating expenses as stated in the fee table to the Fund’s prospectus dated August 31, 2022, is 0.79%. The performance data represents past performance & does not guarantee future results. Investment return & principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares may be worth more or less than their original cost when sold or redeemed. Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance quoted. Returns for periods greater than one year are annualized. Short term performance in particular is not a good indication of the fund’s future performance and an investment should not be made based solely on returns. For performance data current to the most recent month end, please call (251) 517-7198, or visit www.aptusetfs.com.

 

Shares of any ETF are bought and sold at Market Price (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Market returns are based upon the midpoint of the bid/ask spread at 4:00pm Eastern Time (when NAV is normally determined for most ETFs), and do not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times.

 

17

 

 

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

 

Performance Summary
(Unaudited)

 

 

Growth of $10,000

 

 

Average Annual Returns
April 30, 2023

One Year

Three Years

Five Years

Since Inception
(6/8/2016)

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF — NAV

-7.24%

5.62%

2.20%

5.68%

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF — Market

-7.52%

5.57%

2.16%

5.67%

S&P 500® Index

2.66%

14.52%

11.45%

12.35%

 

This chart illustrates the performance of a hypothetical $10,000 investment made on June 8, 2016 and is not intended to imply any future performance. The returns shown do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares. The chart assumes reinvestment of capital gains and dividends.

 

The total operating expenses as stated in the fee table to the Fund’s prospectus dated August 31, 2022, is 0.79%. The performance data represents past performance & does not guarantee future results. Investment return & principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares may be worth more or less than their original cost when sold or redeemed. Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance quoted. Returns for periods greater than one year are annualized. Short term performance in particular is not a good indication of the fund’s future performance and an investment should not be made based solely on returns. For performance data current to the most recent month end, please call (251) 517-7198, or visit www.aptusetfs.com.

 

Shares of any ETF are bought and sold at Market Price (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Market returns are based upon the midpoint of the bid/ask spread at 4:00pm Eastern Time (when NAV is normally determined for most ETFs), and do not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times.

 

18

 

 

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

 

Performance Summary
(Unaudited)

 

 

Growth of $10,000

 

 

Average Annual Returns
April 30, 2023

One Year

Three Years

Since Inception
(7/17/2018)

Opus Small Cap Value ETF — NAV

-0.39%

15.96%

5.97%

Opus Small Cap Value ETF — Market

-0.05%

15.96%

6.04%

Russell 2000® Value Index

-7.99%

15.44%

2.14%

S&P SmallCap 600 Value Total Return Index

-2.97%

19.06%

3.77%

 

This chart illustrates the performance of a hypothetical $10,000 investment made on July 17, 2018 and is not intended to imply any future performance. The returns shown do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares. The chart assumes reinvestment of capital gains and dividends.

 

The total operating expenses as stated in the fee table to the Fund’s prospectus dated August 31, 2022 is 0.79%. The performance data represents past performance & does not guarantee future results. Investment return & principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares may be worth more or less than their original cost when sold or redeemed. Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance quoted. Returns for periods greater than one year are annualized. Short term performance in particular is not a good indication of the fund’s future performance and an investment should not be made based solely on returns. For performance data current to the most recent month end, please call (251) 517-7198, or visit www.aptusetfs.com.

 

Shares of any ETF are bought and sold at Market Price (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Market returns are based upon the midpoint of the bid/ask spread at 4:00pm Eastern Time (when NAV is normally determined for most ETFs), and do not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times.

 

19

 

 

International Drawdown Managed Risk ETF

 

Performance Summary
(Unaudited)

 

 

Growth of $10,000

 

 

Average Annual Returns
April 30, 2023

One Year

Since Inception
(7/22/2021)

International Drawdown Managed Equity ETF — NAV

-3.62%

-9.73%

International Drawdown Managed Equity ETF — Market

-4.88%

-9.76%

MSCI All Cap World Index ex USA Net

3.05%

-4.96%

 

This chart illustrates the performance of a hypothetical $10,000 investment made on July 22, 2021 and is not intended to imply any future performance. The returns shown do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares. The chart assumes reinvestment of capital gains and dividends.

 

The total operating expenses as stated in the fee table to the Fund’s prospectus dated August 31, 2022 is 0.63%. The performance data represents past performance & does not guarantee future results. Investment return & principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares may be worth more or less than their original cost when sold or redeemed. Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance quoted. Returns for periods greater than one year are annualized. Short term performance in particular is not a good indication of the fund’s future performance and an investment should not be made based solely on returns. For performance data current to the most recent month end, please call (251) 517-7198, or visit www.aptusetfs.com.

 

Shares of any ETF are bought and sold at Market Price (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Market returns are based upon the midpoint of the bid/ask spread at 4:00pm Eastern Time (when NAV is normally determined for most ETFs), and do not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times.

 

20

 

 

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Performance Summary
(Unaudited)

 

 

Growth of $10,000

 

 

Cumulative Returns
Period Ended April 30, 2023

Since Inception
(10/31/2022)

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF — NAV

2.99%

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF — Market

2.99%

ICE U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Bond Total Return Index

2.71%

 

This chart illustrates the performance of a hypothetical $10,000 investment made on October 31, 2022 and is not intended to imply any future performance. The returns shown do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares. The chart assumes reinvestment of capital gains and dividends.

 

The total operating expenses as stated in the fee table to the Fund’s prospectus dated October 14, 2022, is 0.59%. The performance data represents past performance & does not guarantee future results. Investment return & principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares may be worth more or less than their original cost when sold or redeemed. Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance quoted. Returns for periods greater than one year are annualized. Short term performance in particular is not a good indication of the fund’s future performance and an investment should not be made based solely on returns. For performance data current to the most recent month end, please call (251) 517-7198, or visit www.aptusetfs.com.

 

Shares of any ETF are bought and sold at Market Price (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Market returns are based upon the midpoint of the bid/ask spread at 4:00pm Eastern Time (when NAV is normally determined for most ETFs), and do not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times.

 

21

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Portfolio Allocations

As of April 30, 2023 (Unaudited)

 

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

 

Sector

Percentage of
Net Assets

Technology (a)

26.0%

Consumer, Non-cyclical

19.4

Financial

14.0

Communications

11.6

Consumer, Cyclical

9.7

Industrial

7.8

Energy

4.9

Utilities

2.8

Basic Materials

2.6

Purchased Options

1.4

Short-Term Investments

0.3

Liabilities in Excess of Other Assets

(0.5)

Total

100.0%

 

(a)

To the extent that the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors. See Note 9 in Notes to Financial Statements.

 

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

 

Asset Type

Percentage of
Net Assets

Exchange Traded Funds

95.5%

Short-Term Investments

2.1

Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities

2.1

Purchased Options

0.3

Total

100.0%

 

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

 

Sector

Percentage of
Net Assets

Technology (a)

25.9%

Consumer, Non-cyclical

19.2

Financial

14.0

Communications

11.5

Consumer, Cyclical

9.7

Industrial

7.8

Energy

4.9

Utilities

2.8

Basic Materials

2.6

Purchased Options

1.2

Short-Term Investments

0.9

Liabilities in Excess of Other Assets

(0.5)

Total

100.0%

 

(a)

To the extent that the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors. See Note 9 in Notes to Financial Statements.

 

22

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Portfolio Allocations

As of April 30, 2023 (Unaudited) (Continued)

 

 

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

 

Sector

Percentage of
Net Assets

Financial (a)

28.0%

Industrial

20.9

Consumer, Cyclical

15.0

Consumer, Non-cyclical

13.2

Energy

7.5

Utilities

5.9

Short-Term Investments

4.4

Basic Materials

3.4

Technology

1.7

Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities (b)

0.0

Total

100.0%

 

(a)

To the extent that the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors. See Note 9 in Notes to Financial Statements.

(b)

Represents less than 0.05% of net assets.

 

International Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

 

Asset Type

Percentage of
Net Assets

Exchange Traded Funds

99.1%

Short-Term Investments

0.9

Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities (a)

0.0

Total

100.0%

 

(a)

Represents less than 0.05% of net assets.

 

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Asset Type

Percentage of
Net Assets

U.S. Government Notes

62.3%

Short-Term Investments

21.3

Equity-Linked Notes

14.4

Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities

2.0

Total

100.0%

 

23

 

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

 

Schedule of Investments
April 30, 2023

 

 

 

Shares

 

Security Description

 


Value

 
       

COMMON STOCKS — 98.8%

       
       

Basic Materials — 2.6%

       
    64,120  

Freeport-McMoRan, Inc. (a)

  $ 2,430,789  
    29,438  

Linde plc (a)

    10,875,869  
    9,088  

Sherwin-Williams Company (a)

    2,158,764  
              15,465,422  
       

Communications — 11.6%

       
    187,856  

Alphabet, Inc. - Class C (a)(b)

    20,329,776  
    150,825  

Amazon.com, Inc. (a)(b)

    15,904,496  
    71,650  

Cisco Systems, Inc. (a)

    3,385,463  
    115,242  

Comcast Corporation - Class A (a)

    4,767,562  
    37,440  

Meta Platforms, Inc. - Class A (a)(b)

    8,997,581  
    7,830  

Netflix, Inc. (a)(b)

    2,583,352  
    58,496  

T-Mobile US, Inc. (a)(b)

    8,417,574  
    32,566  

Walt Disney Company (a)(b)

    3,338,015  
              67,723,819  
       

Consumer, Cyclical — 9.7%

       
    7,582  

Costco Wholesale Corporation (a)

    3,815,414  
    24,043  

Dollar General Corporation (a)

    5,324,563  
    27,600  

Home Depot, Inc. (a)

    8,294,904  
    26,648  

Marriott International, Inc. - Class A (a)

    4,512,572  
    26,529  

McDonald’s Corporation (a)

    7,845,952  
    21,305  

NIKE, Inc. - Class B (a)

    2,699,770  
    75,535  

PulteGroup, Inc. (a)

    5,072,175  
    45,995  

Tesla, Inc. (a)(b)

    7,557,438  
    77,018  

TJX Companies, Inc. (a)

    6,070,559  
    39,250  

Walmart, Inc. (a)

    5,925,572  
              57,118,919  
       

Consumer, Non-cyclical — 19.4%

       
    41,213  

Abbott Laboratories (a)

    4,552,800  
    50,749  

AbbVie, Inc. (a)

    7,669,189  
    85,672  

Altria Group, Inc. (a)

    4,070,277  
    36,062  

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (a)

    2,407,860  
    6,635  

Chemed Corporation (a)

    3,657,544  
    20,576  

Elevance Health, Inc. (a)

    9,642,942  
    17,679  

Eli Lilly & Company (a)

    6,998,409  
    34,532  

Gilead Sciences, Inc.

    2,838,876  
    43,217  

Johnson & Johnson (a)

    7,074,623  
    42,312  

Merck & Company, Inc. (a)

    4,885,767  
    76,881  

Mondelez International, Inc. - Class A (a)

    5,898,310  
    40,597  

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (a)(b)

    3,085,372  
    49,215  

PepsiCo, Inc. (a)

    9,394,651  
    93,762  

Pfizer, Inc. (a)

    3,646,404  
    51,946  

Procter & Gamble Company (a)

    8,123,315  
    33,783  

Stryker Corporation (a)

    10,123,076  
       

COMMON STOCKS — 98.8% (Continued)

       

Consumer, Non-cyclical — 19.4% (Continued)

    15,996  

Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (a)

  8,876,180  
    21,376  

UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (a)

    10,518,916  
              113,464,511  
       

Energy — 4.9%

       
    40,119  

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (a)

    5,704,922  
    120,492  

Exxon Mobil Corporation (a)

    14,259,023  
    30,812  

Pioneer Natural Resources Company (a)

    6,703,151  
    43,574  

Schlumberger, Ltd. (a)

    2,150,377  
              28,817,473  
       

Financial — 14.0%

       
    28,565  

American Tower Corporation (a)

    5,838,400  
    195,350  

Bank of America Corporation (a)

    5,719,848  
    31,203  

Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. - Class B (a)(b)

    10,251,746  
    9,538  

BlackRock, Inc. (a)

    6,401,906  
    64,829  

Citigroup, Inc.

    3,051,501  
    35,479  

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (a)

    3,864,727  
    71,851  

JPMorgan Chase & Company (a)

    9,932,682  
    31,600  

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (a)

    5,694,004  
    67,940  

Morgan Stanley (a)

    6,112,562  
    53,260  

Progressive Corporation (a)

    7,264,664  
    46,287  

Prologis, Inc. (a)

    5,797,447  
    11,473  

Public Storage (a)

    3,382,585  
    38,762  

Visa, Inc. - Class A (a)

    9,021,080  
              82,333,152  
       

Industrial — 7.8%

       
    35,314  

Caterpillar, Inc. (a)

    7,726,703  
    227,434  

CSX Corporation (a)

    6,968,578  
    11,438  

Deere & Company (a)

    4,323,793  
    23,341  

FedEx Corporation (a)

    5,316,613  
    31,991  

Honeywell International, Inc. (a)

    6,393,081  
    22,838  

Lockheed Martin Corporation (a)

    10,607,109  
    26,785  

Waste Management, Inc. (a)

    4,447,649  
              45,783,526  
       

Technology — 26.0% (c)

       
    24,900  

Accenture plc - Class A (a)

    6,979,221  
    8,807  

Adobe, Inc. (a)(b)

    3,325,171  
    43,738  

Analog Devices, Inc. (a)

    7,867,591  
    251,191  

Apple, Inc. (a)

    42,622,089  
    57,052  

Applied Materials, Inc. (a)

    6,448,588  
    9,900  

Broadcom, Inc. (a)

    6,202,350  
    56,306  

Fiserv, Inc. (a)(b)

    6,876,089  
    21,093  

Intuit, Inc. (a)

    9,364,237  
    125,566  

Microsoft Corporation (a)

    38,581,409  

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

24

 

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

 

Schedule of Investments
A
pril 30, 2023 (Continued)

 

 

 

Shares

 

Security Description

 


Value

 
       

COMMON STOCKS — 98.8% (Continued)

       

Technology — 26.0% (c) (Continued)

    41,498  

NVIDIA Corporation (a)

  $ 11,515,280  
    15,980  

ServiceNow, Inc. (a)(b)

    7,341,532  
    32,530  

Texas Instruments, Inc. (a)

    5,439,016  
              152,562,573  
       

Utilities — 2.8%

       
    139,261  

NextEra Energy, Inc. (a)

    10,671,570  
    77,916  

Southern Company (a)

    5,730,722  
              16,402,292  
       

TOTAL COMMON STOCKS (Cost $499,294,288)

    579,671,687  

 

Contracts      Notional
Amount
     
     PURCHASED OPTIONS (d) — 1.4%          
     Call Options — 0.1%          
 2,500   Apple, Inc., Expiration: 06/16/2023, Exercise Price: $180.00 (d)   $42,420,000    526,250 
                
     Put Options — 1.3%          
 2,500   Apple, Inc., Expiration: 06/16/2023, Exercise Price: $140.00    42,420,000    152,500 
 1,550   S&P 500 Index, Expiration: 06/16/2023, Exercise Price: $3,700.00 (e)    646,269,400    1,836,750 
 1,400   S&P 500 Index, Expiration: 06/16/2023, Exercise Price: $4,000.00 (e)    583,727,200    5,390,000 
              7,379,250 
     TOTAL PURCHASED OPTIONS
(Cost $9,640,380)
        7,905,500 

 

 

Shares

 

Security Description

 


Value

 
       

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS — 0.3%

    1,856,413  

First American Treasury Obligations Fund - Class X, 4.76% (f)

  $ 1,856,413  
       

TOTAL SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS (Cost $1,856,413)

    1,856,413  
       

Total Investments (Cost $510,791,081) — 100.5%

    589,433,600  
       

Liabilities in Excess of Other Assets — (0.5)%

    (2,727,674 )
       

NET ASSETS — 100.0%

  $ 586,705,926  

 

Percentages are stated as a percent of net assets.

   

(a)

All or a part of this security is held as collateral for the options written. At April 30, 2023, the value of these securities amounts to $556,612,197 or 94.9% of net assets.

(b)

Non-income producing security.

(c)

To the extent that the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors. See Note 9 in Notes to Financial Statements.

(d)

Exchange traded.

(e)

Securities are held in connection with written options, see Schedule of Written Options for more details.

(f)

Rate shown is the annualized seven-day yield as of April 30, 2023.

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

25

 

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

 

Schedule of Written Options
April 30, 2023

 

 

 

Contracts

 

Security Description

 

Notional
Amount

   

Value

 
       

Written Options (a) - (0.9)%

       

Call Options - (0.5)%

    (245 )

Accenture plc - Class A, Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $295.00

  $ (6,867,105 )   $ (15,925 )
    (88 )

Adobe, Inc., Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $410.00

    (3,322,528 )     (6,160 )
    (1,850 )

Alphabet, Inc. - Class C, Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $115.00

    (20,020,700 )     (111,000 )
    (277 )

American Tower Corporation, Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $220.00

    (5,661,603 )     (13,850 )
    (2,500 )

Apple, Inc., Expiration: 06/16/2023, Exercise Price: $175.00

    (42,420,000 )     (968,750 )
    (304 )

Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. - Class B, Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $335.00

    (9,987,920 )     (72,352 )
    (99 )

Broadcom, Inc., Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $670.00

    (6,202,350 )     (15,345 )
    (750 )

Comcast Corporation - Class A, Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $42.50

    (3,102,750 )     (25,875 )
       

Written Options (a) - (0.9)% (Continued)

       

Call Options - (0.5)% (Continued)

    (75 )

Costco Wholesale Corporation, Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $520.00

  (3,774,150 )   (17,437 )
    (390 )

Diamondback Energy, Inc., Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $155.00

    (5,545,800 )     (26,325 )
    (197 )

Elevance Health, Inc., Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $480.00

    (9,232,405 )     (81,755 )
    (160 )

Eli Lilly & Company, Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $410.00

    (6,333,760 )     (56,000 )
    (1,200 )

Exxon Mobil Corporation, Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $125.00

    (14,200,800 )     (44,400 )
    (233 )

FedEx Corporation, Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $240.00

    (5,307,274 )     (18,756 )
    (540 )

Fiserv, Inc., Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $125.00

    (6,594,480 )     (58,050 )
    (210 )

Intuit, Inc., Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $470.00

    (9,322,950 )     (86,100 )
    (400 )

Johnson & Johnson, Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $170.00

    (6,548,000 )     (10,600 )

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

26

 

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

 

Schedule of Written Options
April 30, 2023 (Continued)

 

 

 

Contracts

 

Security Description

 

Notional
Amount

   

Value

 
       

Written Options (a) - (0.9)% (Continued)

       

Call Options - (0.5)% (Continued)

    (280 )

Linde plc, Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $385.00

  $ (10,344,600 )   $ (32,200 )
    (300 )

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $185.00

    (5,405,700 )     (28,500 )
    (360 )

Meta Platforms, Inc. - Class A, Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $265.00

    (8,651,520 )     (25,740 )
    (633 )

Microsoft Corporation, Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $305.00

    (19,449,558 )     (488,993 )
    (600 )

Microsoft Corporation, Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $315.00

    (18,435,600 )     (166,200 )
    (78 )

Netflix, Inc., Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $370.00

    (2,573,454 )     (4,602 )
    (300 )

NVIDIA Corporation, Expiration: 05/05/2023, Exercise Price: $295.00

    (8,324,700 )     (15,300 )
    (400 )

PepsiCo, Inc., Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $195.00

    (7,635,600 )     (25,600 )
       

Written Options (a) - (0.9)% (Continued)

       

Call Options - (0.5)% (Continued)

    (500 )

Procter & Gamble Company, Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $162.50

  (7,819,000 )   (8,250 )
    (380 )

PulteGroup, Inc., Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $65.00

    (2,551,700 )     (117,800 )
    (150 )

ServiceNow, Inc., Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $525.00

    (6,891,300 )     (6,000 )
    (360 )

Southern Company, Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $76.00

    (2,647,800 )     (7,200 )
    (320 )

Stryker Corporation, Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $320.00

    (9,588,800 )     (36,000 )
    (400 )

Tesla, Inc., Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $195.00

    (6,572,400 )     (20,200 )
    (700 )

TJX Companies, Inc., Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $82.00

    (5,517,400 )     (42,350 )
                      (2,653,615 )

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

27

 

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

 

Schedule of Written Options
April 30, 2023 (Continued)

 

 

 

Contracts

 

Security Description

 

Notional
Amount

   

Value

 
       

Written Options (a) - (0.9)% (Continued)

       

Put Options - (0.4)%

    (1,550 )

S&P 500 Index, Expiration: 06/16/2023, Exercise Price: $3,300.00

  $ (646,269,400 )   $ (558,000 )
    (1,400 )

S&P 500 Index, Expiration: 06/16/2023, Exercise Price: $3,750.00

    (583,727,200 )     (1,995,000 )
                      (2,553,000 )
       

TOTAL WRITTEN OPTIONS (Premiums Received $4,739,561)

  $ (5,206,615 )

 

Percentages are stated as a percent of net assets.

 

(a)

Exchange traded.

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

28

 

 

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

 

Schedule of Investments
April 30, 2023

 

 

 

Shares

 

Security Description

 


Value

 
       

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS — 95.5% (a)

       

Investment Grade Corporate Bonds — 95.5%

    3,916,360  

Invesco BulletShares 2025 Corporate Bond ETF (b)

  $ 79,541,272  
    4,351,251  

Invesco BulletShares 2026 Corporate Bond ETF (b)

    83,565,775  
    1,623,340  

Invesco BulletShares 2027 Corporate Bond ETF (b)

    31,419,746  
    1,365,352  

Invesco BulletShares 2028 Corporate Bond ETF (b)

    27,511,843  
    1,502,992  

Invesco BulletShares 2029 Corporate Bond ETF (b)

    27,573,140  
    1,750,038  

Invesco BulletShares 2030 Corporate Bond ETF (b)

    28,980,629  
    1,360,089  

Invesco BulletShares 2031 Corporate Bond ETF (b)

    22,149,049  
    4,226,575  

iShares iBonds Dec 2027 Term Corporate ETF (b)

    100,888,345  
    4,053,884  

iShares iBonds Dec 2028 Term Corporate ETF (b)

    101,347,100  
    2,399,160  

iShares iBonds Dec 2029 Term Corporate ETF (b)

    54,988,747  
    1,896,145  

iShares iBonds Dec 2030 Term Corporate ETF (b)

    40,994,655  
    1,651,563  

iShares iBonds Dec 2031 Term Corporate ETF (b)

    34,187,354  
       

TOTAL EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS (Cost $638,453,860)

    633,147,655  

 

Contracts      Notional
Amount
     
    PURCHASED OPTIONS (c) — 0.3%
     Call Options — 0.3%          
 20,000   Datadog, Inc. - Class A, Expiration: 06/16/2023, Exercise Price: $110.00 (d)   $134,760,000    230,000 
 6,500   NextEra Energy, Inc., Expiration: 06/16/2023, Exercise Price: $82.50    49,809,500    276,250 
     PURCHASED OPTIONS (c) — 0.3% (Continued)          
     Call Options — 0.3% (Continued)          
 15,000   Visa, Inc. - Class A, Expiration: 06/16/2023, Exercise Price: $250.00   349,095,000   1,200,000 
              1,706,250 
     Put Options — 0.0% (e)          
 600   S&P 500 Index, Expiration: 05/05/2023, Exercise Price: $3,950.00 (d)    250,168,800    70,500 
     TOTAL PURCHASED OPTIONS
(Cost $15,315,809)
        1,776,750 

 

 

Shares

                   
       

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS — 2.1%

    14,266,365  

First American Treasury Obligations Fund - Class X, 4.76% (f)

    14,266,365  
       

TOTAL SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS (Cost $14,266,365)

    14,266,365  
       

Total Investments (Cost $668,036,034) — 97.9%

    649,190,770  
       

Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities — 2.1%

    13,709,563  
       

NET ASSETS — 100.0%

  $ 662,900,333  

 

Percentages are stated as a percent of net assets.

 

(a)

The risks of investing in investment companies, such as the underlying ETFs, typically reflect the risks of the types of investments in which the investment companies invest. See Note 9 in Notes to Financial Statements.

(b)

Affiliated Exchange Traded Fund during the period. See Note 5 in Notes to Financial Statements.

(c)

Exchange traded.

(d)

Securities are held in connection with written options, see Schedule of Written Options for more details.

(e)

Represents less than 0.05% of net assets.

(f)

Rate shown is the annualized seven-day yield as of April 30, 2023.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

29

 

 

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

 

Schedule of Written Options
April 30, 2023

 

 

 

Contracts

 

Security Description

 

Notional
Amount

   

Value

 
       

Written Options (a) — 0.0% (b)

       

Call Options - (0.0)% (b)

    (20,000 )

Datadog, Inc. - Class A, Expiration: 06/16/2023, Exercise Price: $130.00

  $ (134,760,000 )   $ (210,000 )
                 
       

Put Options — 0.0% (b)

       
    (600 )

S&P 500 Index, Expiration: 05/05/2023, Exercise Price: $3,850.00

    (250,168,800 )     (31,500 )
       

TOTAL WRITTEN OPTIONS (Premiums Received $4,923,144)

  $ (241,500 )

 

Percentages are stated as a percent of net assets.

 

(a)

Exchange traded.

(b)

Represents less than 0.05% of net assets.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

30

 

 

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

 

Schedule of Investments
April 30, 2023

 

 

 


Shares

 

Security Description

 

Value

 
       

COMMON STOCKS — 98.4%

       
       

Basic Materials — 2.6%

       
    22,232  

Freeport-McMoRan, Inc.

  $ 842,815  
    10,183  

Linde plc (a)

    3,762,109  
    3,131  

Sherwin-Williams Company (a)

    743,738  
              5,348,662  
       

Communications — 11.5%

       
    64,716  

Alphabet, Inc. - Class C (a)(b)

    7,003,566  
    51,898  

Amazon.com, Inc. (a)(b)

    5,472,644  
    24,630  

Cisco Systems, Inc.

    1,163,767  
    39,643  

Comcast Corporation - Class A

    1,640,031  
    12,904  

Meta Platforms, Inc. - Class A (b)

    3,101,089  
    2,700  

Netflix, Inc. (b)

    890,811  
    20,022  

T-Mobile US, Inc. (a)(b)

    2,881,166  
    11,237  

Walt Disney Company (a)(b)

    1,151,793  
              23,304,867  
       

Consumer, Cyclical — 9.7%

       
    2,649  

Costco Wholesale Corporation

    1,333,030  
    8,343  

Dollar General Corporation (a)

    1,847,641  
    9,604  

Home Depot, Inc. (a)

    2,886,386  
    9,220  

Marriott International, Inc. - Class A

    1,561,315  
    9,153  

McDonald’s Corporation (a)

    2,707,000  
    7,330  

NIKE, Inc. - Class B

    928,857  
    26,012  

PulteGroup, Inc. (a)

    1,746,706  
    15,819  

Tesla, Inc. (a)(b)

    2,599,220  
    26,387  

TJX Companies, Inc.

    2,079,823  
    13,576  

Walmart, Inc. (a)

    2,049,569  
              19,739,547  
       

Consumer, Non-cyclical — 19.2%

       
    14,259  

Abbott Laboratories (a)

    1,575,192  
    17,621  

AbbVie, Inc. (a)

    2,662,885  
    29,658  

Altria Group, Inc. (a)

    1,409,052  
    12,398  

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

    827,814  
    2,319  

Chemed Corporation

    1,278,349  
    7,068  

Elevance Health, Inc. (a)

    3,312,418  
    6,097  

Eli Lilly & Company (a)

    2,413,558  
    12,137  

Gilead Sciences, Inc.

    997,783  
    14,857  

Johnson & Johnson (a)

    2,432,091  
    14,582  

Merck & Company, Inc. (a)

    1,683,783  
    26,412  

Mondelez International, Inc. - Class A

    2,026,329  
    13,905  

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (a)(b)

    1,056,780  
    16,944  

PepsiCo, Inc. (a)

    3,234,440  
    32,700  

Pfizer, Inc.

    1,271,703  
    17,850  

Procter & Gamble Company (a)

    2,791,383  
    11,615  

Stryker Corporation

    3,480,435  
       

COMMON STOCKS — 98.4% (Continued)

       

Consumer, Non-cyclical — 19.2% (Continued)

    5,489  

Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (a)

  3,045,846  
    7,343  

UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (a)

    3,613,417  
              39,113,258  
       

Energy — 4.9%

       
    13,836  

Diamondback Energy, Inc. (a)

    1,967,479  
    41,445  

Exxon Mobil Corporation

    4,904,601  
    10,662  

Pioneer Natural Resources Company (a)

    2,319,518  
    14,979  

Schlumberger, Ltd.

    739,214  
              9,930,812  
       

Financial — 14.0%

       
    9,840  

American Tower Corporation

    2,011,198  
    67,414  

Bank of America Corporation (a)

    1,973,882  
    10,775  

Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. - Class B (a)(b)

    3,540,126  
    3,275  

BlackRock, Inc. (a)

    2,198,180  
    22,283  

Citigroup, Inc.

    1,048,861  
    12,210  

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (a)

    1,330,035  
    24,852  

JPMorgan Chase & Company (a)

    3,435,540  
    10,877  

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.

    1,959,927  
    23,459  

Morgan Stanley

    2,110,606  
    18,401  

Progressive Corporation (a)

    2,509,896  
    15,911  

Prologis, Inc. (a)

    1,992,853  
    3,943  

Public Storage

    1,162,515  
    13,329  

Visa, Inc. - Class A (a)

    3,102,058  
              28,375,677  
       

Industrial — 7.8%

       
    12,287  

Caterpillar, Inc. (a)

    2,688,396  
    78,806  

CSX Corporation

    2,414,616  
    3,981  

Deere & Company

    1,504,898  
    8,119  

FedEx Corporation

    1,849,346  
    11,042  

Honeywell International, Inc.

    2,206,633  
    7,867  

Lockheed Martin Corporation (a)

    3,653,828  
    9,244  

Waste Management, Inc.

    1,534,966  
              15,852,683  
       

Technology — 25.9% (c)

       
    8,582  

Accenture plc - Class A (a)

    2,405,449  
    3,033  

Adobe, Inc. (b)

    1,145,139  
    15,096  

Analog Devices, Inc.

    2,715,468  
    86,534  

Apple, Inc. (a)

    14,683,089  
    19,595  

Applied Materials, Inc.

    2,214,823  
    3,413  

Broadcom, Inc. (a)

    2,138,244  
    19,390  

Fiserv, Inc. (b)

    2,367,907  
    7,264  

Intuit, Inc. (a)

    3,224,853  

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

31

 

 

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

 

Schedule of Investments
A
pril 30, 2023 (Continued)

 

 

 


Shares

 

Security Description

 

Value

 
       

COMMON STOCKS — 98.4% (Continued)

       

Technology — 25.9% (c) (Continued)

       
    43,425  

Microsoft Corporation (a)

  $ 13,342,766  
    14,308  

NVIDIA Corporation (a)

    3,970,327  
    5,498  

ServiceNow, Inc. (a)(b)

    2,525,891  
    11,268  

Texas Instruments, Inc.

    1,884,010  
              52,617,966  
       

Utilities — 2.8%

       
    48,190  

NextEra Energy, Inc. (a)

    3,692,800  
    26,998  

Southern Company

    1,985,703  
              5,678,503  
       

TOTAL COMMON STOCKS (Cost $ 185,998,139)

    199,961,975  

 

 

Contracts

     

Notional
Amount

         
       

PURCHASED OPTIONS (d) — 1.2%

       

Call Options — 0.1%

               
    850  

Apple, Inc., Expiration: 06/16/2023, Exercise Price: $180.00 (e)

  $ 14,422,800       178,925  
                         
       

Put Options — 1.1%

               
    850  

Apple, Inc., Expiration: 06/16/2023, Exercise Price: $140.00

    14,422,800       51,850  
    5,600  

S&P 500 Index, Expiration: 06/16/2023, Exercise Price: $3,000.00 (e)

    2,334,908,800       1,106,000  
    740  

S&P 500 Index, Expiration: 09/15/2023, Exercise Price: $3,000.00 (e)

    308,541,520       1,091,500  
                      2,249,350  
       

TOTAL PURCHASED OPTIONS (Cost $7,034,599)

    2,428,275  
 


Shares

 

Security Description

 

Value

 
       

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS — 0.9%

       
    1,942,071  

First American Treasury Obligations Fund - Class X, 4.76% (f)

  $ 1,942,071  
       

TOTAL SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS (Cost $1,942,071)

    1,942,071  
       

Total Investments (Cost $194,974,809) — 100.5%

    204,332,321  
       

Liabilities in Excess of Other Assets — (0.5)%

    (1,074,147 )
       

NET ASSETS — 100.0%

  $ 203,258,174  

 

Percentages are stated as a percent of net assets.

 

(a)

All or a portion of this security is held as collateral for the options written. At April 30, 2023, the value of these securities amounts to $138,335,219 or 68.1% of net assets.

(b)

Non-income producing security.

(c)

To the extent that the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors. See Note 9 in Notes to Financial Statements.

(d)

Exchange traded.

(e)

Securities are held in connection with written options, see Schedule of Written Options for more details.

(f)

Rate shown is the annualized seven-day yield as of April 30, 2023.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

32

 

 

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

 

Schedule of Written Options
April 30, 2023

 

 

 

Contracts

 

Security Description

 

Notional
Amount

   

Value

 
       

Written Options (a) — (0.8)%

       

Call Options — (0.3)%

    (640 )

Alphabet, Inc. - Class C, Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $115.00

  $ (6,926,080 )   $ (38,400 )
    (850 )

Apple, Inc., Expiration: 06/16/2023, Exercise Price: $175.00

    (14,422,800 )     (329,375 )
    (32 )

Broadcom, Inc., Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $660.00

    (2,004,800 )     (9,280 )
    (58 )

Eli Lilly & Company, Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $410.00

    (2,295,988 )     (20,300 )
    (400 )

Exxon Mobil Corporation, Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $125.00

    (4,733,600 )     (14,800 )
    (80 )

FedEx Corporation, Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $240.00

    (1,822,240 )     (6,440 )
    (70 )

Intuit, Inc., Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $470.00

    (3,107,650 )     (28,700 )
    (99 )

Linde plc, Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $385.00

    (3,657,555 )     (11,385 )
    (120 )

Meta Platforms, Inc. - Class A, Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $265.00

    (2,883,840 )     (8,580 )
       

Written Options (a) — (0.8)% (Continued)

       

Call Options — (0.3)% (Continued)

    (210 )

Microsoft Corporation, Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $305.00

  (6,452,460 )   (162,225 )
    (200 )

Microsoft Corporation, Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $315.00

    (6,145,200 )     (55,400 )
    (134 )

NVIDIA Corporation, Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $315.00

    (3,718,366 )     (9,581 )
    (140 )

PulteGroup, Inc., Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $65.00

    (940,100 )     (43,400 )
    (53 )

ServiceNow, Inc., Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $525.00

    (2,434,926 )     (2,120 )
    (110 )

Stryker Corporation, Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $320.00

    (3,296,150 )     (12,375 )
    (150 )

Tesla, Inc., Expiration: 05/19/2023, Exercise Price: $200.00

    (2,464,650 )     (5,175 )
                      (757,536 )

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

33

 

 

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

 

Schedule of Written Options
April 30, 2023 (Continued)

 

 

 

Contracts

 

Security Description

 

Notional
Amount

   

Value

 
       

Put Options — (0.5)%

    (5,600 )

S&P 500 Index, Expiration: 06/16/2023, Exercise Price: $2,500.00

  $ (2,334,908,800 )   $ (392,000 )
    (740 )

S&P 500 Index, Expiration: 09/15/2023, Exercise Price: $2,500.00

    (308,541,520 )     (532,800 )
                      (924,800 )
       

TOTAL WRITTEN OPTIONS (Premiums Received $3,379,511)

  $ (1,682,336 )

 

Percentages are stated as a percent of net assets.

 

(a)

Exchange traded.

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

34

 

 

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

 

Schedule of Investments
April 30, 2023

 

 

 

Shares

 

Security Description

 

Value

 
       

COMMON STOCKS — 95.0%

       
       

Basic Materials — 3.4%

       
    31,086  

Ashland, Inc.

  $ 3,158,649  
    147,308  

Valvoline, Inc.

    5,089,491  
              8,248,140  
       

Consumer, Cyclical — 15.0%

       
    48,936  

Boyd Gaming Corporation

    3,396,158  
    20,274  

Casey’s General Stores, Inc.

    4,639,097  
    20,553  

Churchill Downs, Inc.

    6,012,369  
    28,266  

Columbia Sportswear Company

    2,361,342  
    111,132  

KB Home

    4,869,804  
    26,587  

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation

    3,577,547  
    8,440  

Pool Corporation

    2,965,141  
    42,511  

RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc.

    3,184,074  
    51,631  

Texas Roadhouse, Inc.

    5,711,421  
              36,716,953  
       

Consumer, Non-cyclical — 13.2%

       
    34,137  

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation

    3,267,594  
    12,769  

Chemed Corporation

    7,038,911  
    51,239  

Encompass Health Corporation

    3,286,982  
    64,730  

Ensign Group, Inc.

    6,284,636  
    71,935  

EVERTEC, Inc.

    2,495,425  
    40,032  

ICF International, Inc.

    4,563,648  
    61,922  

Kforce, Inc.

    3,662,067  
    78,383  

SpartanNash Company

    1,921,951  
              32,521,214  
       

Energy — 7.5%

       
    27,318  

Chord Energy Corporation

    3,888,171  
    30,226  

Civitas Resources, Inc.

    2,087,105  
    95,285  

Helmerich & Payne, Inc.

    3,159,651  
    154,090  

Sitio Royalties Corporation - Class A

    3,912,345  
    185,168  

Viper Energy Partners LP

    5,451,346  
              18,498,618  
       

Financial — 28.0% (a)

       
    36,914  

Agree Realty Corporation

    2,509,783  
    122,351  

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc.

    1,821,806  
    41,418  

Community Healthcare Trust, Inc.

    1,482,350  
    191,191  

Compass Diversified Holdings

    3,644,100  
    22,542  

EastGroup Properties, Inc.

    3,754,596  
    83,793  

Enterprise Financial Services Corporation

    3,582,989  
    124,991  

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc.

    3,093,527  
    69,591  

Four Corners Property Trust, Inc.

    1,775,266  
    88,444  

German American Bancorp, Inc.

    2,571,067  
    36,184  

Hanover Insurance Group, Inc.

    4,326,159  
    19,302  

Hingham Institution for Savings

    3,755,397  
       

COMMON STOCKS — 95.0% (Continued)

       

Financial — 28.0% (a) (Continued)

    122,323  

Home BancShares, Inc.

    2,662,972  
    240,087  

Ladder Capital Corporation

    2,244,813  
    53,216  

Lakeland Financial Corporation

    2,696,455  
    50,051  

National Storage Affiliates Trust

    1,929,466  
    136,159  

NewtekOne, Inc.

    1,546,766  
    202,062  

Old Second Bancorp, Inc.

    2,483,342  
    100,534  

Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc.

    2,235,876  
    59,873  

Preferred Bank

    2,878,694  
    20,988  

Primerica, Inc.

    3,830,520  
    147,634  

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida

    3,275,998  
    63,584  

Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc.

    3,090,182  
    43,628  

Terreno Realty Corporation

    2,687,048  
    72,350  

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc.

    2,033,759  
    163,055  

West BanCorp, Inc.

    2,809,438  
              68,722,369  
       

Industrial — 20.9%

       
    25,637  

AptarGroup, Inc.

    3,038,241  
    53,469  

Arcosa, Inc.

    3,611,296  
    21,990  

Comfort Systems USA, Inc.

    3,287,285  
    41,117  

Forward Air Corporation

    4,338,255  
    26,840  

Franklin Electric Company, Inc.

    2,401,375  
    45,266  

Graco, Inc.

    3,589,141  
    35,173  

Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte SAB de CV - ADR

    3,076,934  
    18,798  

Hubbell, Inc.

    5,062,677  
    16,796  

Kadant, Inc.

    3,121,201  
    24,852  

Landstar System, Inc.

    4,374,698  
    27,341  

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc.

    4,587,820  
    30,660  

Owens Corning

    3,274,795  
    30,642  

Tetra Tech, Inc.

    4,239,933  
    41,864  

UFP Industries, Inc.

    3,287,161  
              51,290,812  
       

Technology — 1.7%

       
    147,721  

Magic Software Enterprises, Ltd.

    1,980,939  
    113,331  

Sapiens International Corporation NV

    2,281,353  
              4,262,292  
       

Utilities — 5.9%

    138,782  

Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure plc

    3,694,377  
    73,054  

California Water Service Group

    4,096,868  
    65,465  

New Jersey Resources Corporation

    3,380,613  
    46,271  

Otter Tail Corporation

    3,329,198  
              14,501,056  
       

TOTAL COMMON STOCKS (Cost $228,882,292)

    234,761,454  

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

35

 

 

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

 

Schedule of Investments
A
pril 30, 2023 (Continued)

 

 

 

Shares

 

Security Description

 

Value

 
       

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS — 4.4%

       
    10,832,464  

First American Treasury Obligations Fund - Class X, 4.76% (b)

  $ 10,832,464  
       

TOTAL SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS (Cost $10,832,464)

    10,832,464  
       

Total Investments (Cost $239,714,756) — 100.0%

    245,593,918  
       

Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities — 0.0% (c)

    51,061  
       

NET ASSETS — 100.0%

  $ 245,644,979  

 

Percentages are stated as a percent of net assets.

 

ADR

American Depositary Receipt.

(a)

To the extent that the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors. See Note 9 in Notes to Financial Statements.

(b)

Rate shown is the annualized seven-day yield as of April 30, 2023.

(c)

Represents less than 0.05% of net assets.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

36

 

 

International Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

 

Schedule of Investments
April 30, 2023

 

 

 

Shares

 

Security Description

 

Value

 
       

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS — 99.1% (a)

       

Developed Market Equity — 70.9%

    724,179  

iShares Core MSCI International Developed Markets ETF (b)(c)

  $ 45,014,967  
                 
       

Emerging Market Equity — 26.2%

       
    484,408  

SPDR Portfolio Emerging Markets ETF (c)

    16,528,001  
       

TOTAL EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS (Cost $55,934,866)

    61,542,968  

 

       

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS — 0.9%

       
    560,984  

First American Treasury Obligations Fund - Class X, 4.76% (d)

    560,984  
       

TOTAL SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS (Cost $560,984)

    560,984  
       

Total Investments (Cost $56,495,850) — 100.0%

    62,103,952  
       

Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities — 0.0% (e)

    2,901  
       

NET ASSETS — 100.0%

  $ 62,106,853  

 

Percentages are stated as a percent of net assets.

 

(a)

The risks of investing in investment companies, such as the underlying ETFs, typically reflect the risks of the types of investments in which the investment companies invest. See Note 9 in Notes to Financial Statements.

(b)

All or a portion of this security is held as collateral for options written. At April 30, 2023, the value of these securities amounts to $45,014,967 or 70.9% of net assets.

(c)

Fair value of this security exceeds 25% of the Fund’s net assets. Additional information for this security, including the financial statements, is available from the SEC’s EDGAR database at www.sec.gov.

(d)

Rate shown is the annualized seven-day yield as of April 30, 2023.

(e)

Represents less than 0.05% of net assets.

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

37

 

 

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Schedule of Investments
April 30, 2023

 

 

 

Principal
Amount

 

Security Description

 


Value

 
       

EQUITY-LINKED NOTES — 14.4%

  $ 16,800,000  

BofA Finance, LLC, ELN, 44.15%, 06/01/2023, (linked to S&P 500 Index) (a)(b)

  $ 16,800,000  
    10,700,000  

Citigroup Global Markets Holdings, Inc., ELN, 34.70%, 05/17/2023, (linked to S&P 500 Index) (a)(b)

    10,706,783  
    10,100,000  

GS Finance Corporation, ELN, 45.38%, 05/10/2023, (linked to S&P 500 Index) (a)(b)

    10,241,274  
    14,200,000  

RBC Capital Markets, LLC, ELN, 34.52%, 05/24/2023, (linked to S&P 500 Index) (a)(b)

    14,298,404  
       

TOTAL EQUITY-LINKED NOTES (Cost $51,800,000)

    52,046,461  
         
         
       

U.S. GOVERNMENT NOTES — 62.3%

       

U.S. Treasury Notes — 62.3%

       

United States Treasury Notes

       
    20,000,000  

10/15/2023, 0.125%

    19,573,874  
    3,225,000  

11/15/2023, 2.750%

    3,187,669  
    111,000,000  

01/31/2024, 0.875%

    107,721,642  
    15,000,000  

02/29/2024, 1.500%

    14,586,919  
    15,000,000  

03/15/2024, 0.250%

    14,415,848  
    8,000,000  

04/30/2024, 2.000%

    7,778,502  
    25,000,000  

04/30/2024, 2.250%

    24,365,437  
    16,625,000  

09/30/2024, 4.250%

    16,576,619  
    14,000,000  

11/30/2024, 4.500%

    14,028,711  
    1,975,000  

10/15/2025, 4.250%

    1,989,735  
    1,550,000  

09/30/2027, 4.125%

    1,582,604  
       

TOTAL U.S. GOVERNMENT NOTES (Cost $225,834,473)

    225,807,560  

 

 

Shares

 

Security Description

 


Value

 
       

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS — 21.3%

  $ 77,036,183  

First American Treasury Obligations Fund - Class X, 4.76% (c)

  $ 77,036,183  
       

TOTAL SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS (Cost $77,036,183)

    77,036,183  
       

Total Investments (Cost $354,670,656) — 98.0%

    354,890,204  
       

Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities — 2.0%

    7,314,671  
       

NET ASSETS — 100.0%

  $ 362,204,875  

 

Percentages are stated as a percent of net assets.

 

(a)

Securities exempt from registration under Rule 144A or section 4(a)(2), of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

(b)

These securities have been deemed illiquid according to the Fund’s liquidity guidelines. The value of these securities is $52,046,461, which represents 14.5% of net assets.

(c)

Rate shown is the annualized seven-day yield as of April 30, 2023.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

38

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Statements of Assets and Liabilities

April 30, 2023

 

 

   

Aptus Collared
Investment
Opportunity ETF

   

Aptus Defined
Risk ETF

   

Aptus Drawdown
Managed
Equity ETF

 

ASSETS

                       

Investments in unaffiliated securities, at value*

  $ 589,433,600     $ 238,081,750     $ 204,332,321  

Investments in affiliated securities, at value*

          411,109,020        

Receivable for capital shares sold

                 

Deposit at broker for options

    4,105,006       14,282,407       620,380  

Restricted cash for options

    254,529             33,173  

Dividends and interest receivable

    427,720       53,009       168,316  

Receivable for securities sold

    3,767,379             1,719,825  

Total assets

    597,988,234       663,526,186       206,874,015  
                         

LIABILITIES

                       

Written options, at value (premiums received, $4,739,561, $4,923,144, $3,379,511)

    5,206,615       241,500       1,682,336  

Payable for securities purchased

    5,694,408             29,141  

Management fees payable

    381,285       384,353       149,674  

Payable for capital shares redeemed

                1,754,690  

Total liabilities

    11,282,308       625,853       3,615,841  
                         

NET ASSETS

  $ 586,705,926     $ 662,900,333     $ 203,258,174  
                         

Net Assets Consist of:

                       

Paid-in capital

  $ 570,737,400     $ 760,861,503     $ 277,716,787  

Total distributable earnings (accumulated deficit)

    15,968,526       (97,961,170 )     (74,458,613 )

Net assets

  $ 586,705,926     $ 662,900,333     $ 203,258,174  
                         

Net Asset Value:

                       

Net assets

  $ 586,705,926     $ 662,900,333     $ 203,258,174  

Shares outstanding ^

    19,350,000       25,750,000       5,791,755  

Net asset value, offering and redemption price per share

  $ 30.32     $ 25.74     $ 35.09  
                         

* Identified cost:

                       

Investments in unaffiliated securities

  $ 510,791,081     $ 254,484,396     $ 194,974,809  

Investment in affiliated securities

          413,551,638        

 

^

No par value, unlimited number of shares authorized.

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

39

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Statements of Assets and Liabilities

April 30, 2023 (Continued)

 

 

   

Opus Small Cap
Value ETF

   

International
Drawdown
Managed
Equity ETF

   

Aptus Enhanced
Yield ETF

 

ASSETS

                       

Investments in unaffiliated securities, at value*

  $ 245,593,918     $ 62,103,952     $ 354,890,204  

Investments in affiliated securities, at value*

                 

Receivable for capital shares sold

    1,532,415             9,923,200  

Deposit at broker for options

                 

Restricted cash for options

                 

Dividends and interest receivable

    133,949       2,596       2,368,886  

Receivable for securities sold

          37,854       11,972,780  

Total assets

    247,260,282       62,144,402       379,155,070  
                         

LIABILITIES

                       

Written options, at value (premiums received, $0, $0, $0)

                 

Payable for securities purchased

    1,458,010             16,800,000  

Management fees payable

    157,293       37,549       150,195  

Payable for capital shares redeemed

                 

Total liabilities

    1,615,303       37,549       16,950,195  
                         

NET ASSETS

  $ 245,644,979     $ 62,106,853     $ 362,204,875  
                         

Net Assets Consist of:

                       

Paid-in capital

  $ 250,311,912     $ 94,334,149     $ 365,363,425  

Total distributable earnings (accumulated deficit)

    (4,666,933 )     (32,227,296 )     (3,158,550 )

Net assets

  $ 245,644,979     $ 62,106,853     $ 362,204,875  
                         

Net Asset Value:

                       

Net assets

  $ 245,644,979     $ 62,106,853     $ 362,204,875  

Shares outstanding ^

    7,975,000       3,100,000       14,600,000  

Net asset value, offering and redemption price per share

  $ 30.80     $ 20.03     $ 24.81  
                         

* Identified cost:

                       

Investments in unaffiliated securities

  $ 239,714,756     $ 56,495,850     $ 354,670,656  

Investment in affiliated securities

                 

 

^

No par value, unlimited number of shares authorized.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

40

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Statements of Operations

For the Year/Period Ended April 30, 2023

 

 

   

Aptus Collared
Investment
Opportunity ETF

   

Aptus Defined
Risk ETF

   

Aptus Drawdown
Managed
Equity ETF

 

INCOME

                       

Dividends from unaffiliated investments*

  $ 8,231,518     $ 626,947     $ 4,908,720  

Dividends from affiliated investments

          22,137,507        

Interest

    152,242       1,004,867       73,645  

Total investment income

    8,383,760       23,769,321       4,982,365  
                         

EXPENSES

                       

Management fees

    3,977,545       5,325,795       2,422,251  

Total expenses

    3,977,545       5,325,795       2,422,251  

Net investment income (loss)

    4,406,215       18,443,526       2,560,114  
                         

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS) ON INVESTMENTS

                       

Net realized gain (loss) on:

                       

Investments in unaffiliated securities

    (41,984,603 )     (3,974,142 )     (45,319,080 )

Investments in affiliated securities

          (41,448,977 )      

In-kind redemptions on unaffiliated securities

    9,891,565       (50,266 )     40,324,979  

In-kind redemptions on affiliated securities

          (2,746,251 )      

Capital gain distributions from affiliated underlying exchange traded funds

          12,210        

Written options

    (1,471,695 )     (21,129,686 )     4,164,299  

Foreign currency transactions

                 

Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on:

                       

Investments in unaffiliated securities

    45,331,356       (12,250,263 )     (32,890,447 )

Investments in affiliated securities

          35,732,125        

Written options

    120,943       4,900,415       3,061,924  

Foreign currency translation

                 

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments

    11,887,566       (40,954,835 )     (30,658,325 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

  $ 16,293,781     $ (22,511,309 )   $ (28,098,211 )
                         
* Net of foreign withholding taxes   $ 4,999     $     $ 12,368  

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

41

 

 

Aptus ETFs

 

Statements of Operations

For the Year/Period Ended April 30, 2023 (Continued)

 

 

   

Opus Small Cap
Value ETF

   

International
Drawdown
Managed
Equity ETF

   

Aptus Enhanced
Yield ETF
(1)

 

INCOME

                       

Dividends from unaffiliated investments*

  $ 4,598,685     $ 3,397,613     $  

Dividends from affiliated investments

                 

Interest

    209,329       25,512       11,621,835  

Total investment income

    4,808,014       3,423,125       11,621,835  
                         

EXPENSES

                       

Management fees

    1,666,198       649,382       639,363  

Total expenses

    1,666,198       649,382       639,363  

Net investment income (loss)

    3,141,816       2,773,743       10,982,472  
                         

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS) ON INVESTMENTS

                       

Net realized gain (loss) on:

                       

Investments in unaffiliated securities

    (9,016,343 )     (37,961,652 )     (4,215,593 )

Investments in affiliated securities

                 

In-kind redemptions on unaffiliated securities

    5,347,210       388,532        

In-kind redemptions on affiliated securities

                 

Capital gain distributions from affiliated underlying exchange traded funds

                 

Written options

          (132,764 )      

Foreign currency transactions

    14              

Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on:

                       

Investments in unaffiliated securities

    (60,906 )     26,976,397       219,548  

Investments in affiliated securities

                 

Written options

                 

Foreign currency translation

    169              

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments

    (3,729,856 )     (10,729,487 )     (3,996,045 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

  $ (588,040 )   $ (7,955,744 )   $ 6,986,427  

 

* Net of foreign withholding taxes   $ 32,015     $     $  

         

(1)

The Fund commenced operations on October 31, 2022. The information presented is from October 31, 2022 to April 30, 2023.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

42

 

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

 

Statements of Changes in Net Assets

 

 

   

Year Ended
April 30, 2023

   

Year Ended
April 30, 2022

 

OPERATIONS

               

Net investment income (loss)

  $ 4,406,215     $ 1,854,371  

Net realized gain (loss) on investments and written options

    (33,564,733 )     7,504,247  

Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments and written options

    45,452,299       (12,045,600 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

    16,293,781       (2,686,982 )
                 

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS

               

Net distributions to shareholders

    (7,687,025 )     (1,918,599 )

Total distributions to shareholders

    (7,687,025 )     (1,918,599 )
                 

CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS

               

Proceeds from shares sold

    226,161,150       222,153,030  

Payments for shares redeemed

    (50,295,320 )     (17,056,045 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets derived from capital share transactions (a)

    175,865,830       205,096,985  

Net increase (decrease) in net assets

  $ 184,472,586     $ 200,491,404  
                 

NET ASSETS

               

Beginning of year

  $ 402,233,340     $ 201,741,936  

End of year

  $ 586,705,926     $ 402,233,340  

 

(a)

A summary of capital share transactions is as follows:

 

   

Shares

   

Shares

 

Shares sold

    7,650,000       7,150,000  

Shares redeemed

    (1,700,000 )     (550,000 )

Net increase (decrease)

    5,950,000       6,600,000  

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

43

 

 

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

 

Statements of Changes in Net Assets

 

 

   

Year Ended
April 30, 2023

   

Year Ended
April 30, 2022

 

OPERATIONS

               

Net investment income (loss)

  $ 18,443,526     $ 6,299,033  

Net realized gain (loss) on investments and written options

    (69,337,112 )     (16,196,059 )

Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments and written options

    28,382,277       (42,924,225 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

    (22,511,309 )     (52,821,251 )
                 

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS

               

Net distributions to shareholders

    (17,431,596 )     (20,526,380 )

Total distributions to shareholders

    (17,431,596 )     (20,526,380 )
                 

CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS

               

Proceeds from shares sold

    112,734,745       389,698,415  

Payments for shares redeemed

    (313,261,710 )     (69,344,055 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets derived from capital share transactions (a)

    (200,526,965 )     320,354,360  

Net increase (decrease) in net assets

  $ (240,469,870 )   $ 247,006,729  
                 

NET ASSETS

               

Beginning of year

  $ 903,370,203     $ 656,363,474  

End of year

  $ 662,900,333     $ 903,370,203  

 

(a)

A summary of capital share transactions is as follows:

 

   

Shares

   

Shares

 

Shares sold

    4,300,000       13,500,000  

Shares redeemed

    (12,000,000 )     (2,400,000 )

Net increase (decrease)

    (7,700,000 )     11,100,000  

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

44

 

 

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

 

Statements of Changes in Net Assets

 

 

   

Year Ended
April 30, 2023

   

Year Ended
April 30, 2022

 

OPERATIONS

               

Net investment income (loss)

  $ 2,560,114     $ 808,362  

Net realized gain (loss) on investments and written options

    (829,802 )     832,249  

Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments and written options

    (29,828,523 )     (15,756,730 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

    (28,098,211 )     (14,116,119 )
                 

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS

               

Net distributions to shareholders

    (2,468,669 )     (772,332 )

Total distributions to shareholders

    (2,468,669 )     (772,332 )
                 

CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS

               

Proceeds from shares sold

    70,740,335       166,728,365  

Payments for shares redeemed

    (200,934,415 )     (10,154,155 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets derived from capital share transactions (a)

    (130,194,080 )     156,574,210  

Net increase (decrease) in net assets

  $ (160,760,960 )   $ 141,685,759  
                 

NET ASSETS

               

Beginning of year

  $ 364,019,134     $ 222,333,375  

End of year

  $ 203,258,174     $ 364,019,134  

 

(a)

A summary of capital share transactions is as follows:

 

   

Shares

   

Shares

 

Shares sold

    2,050,000       4,050,000  

Shares redeemed

    (5,800,000 )     (250,000 )

Net increase (decrease)

    (3,750,000 )     3,800,000  

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

45

 

 

Opus Small Cap Value ETF

 

Statements of Changes in Net Assets

 

 

   

Year Ended
April 30, 2023

   

Year Ended
April 30, 2022

 

OPERATIONS

               

Net investment income (loss)

  $ 3,141,816     $ 1,037,714  

Net realized gain (loss) on investments and foreign currency

    (3,669,119 )     4,954,649  

Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments and foreign currency

    (60,737 )     (16,164,875 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

    (588,040 )     (10,172,512 )
                 

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS

               

Net distributions to shareholders

    (2,979,351 )     (1,560,722 )

Total distributions to shareholders

    (2,979,351 )     (1,560,722 )
                 

CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS

               

Proceeds from shares sold

    82,471,160       102,346,398  

Payments for shares redeemed

    (20,681,575 )     (9,850,255 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets derived from capital share transactions (a)

    61,789,585       92,496,143  

Net increase (decrease) in net assets

  $ 58,222,194     $ 80,762,909  
                 

NET ASSETS

               

Beginning of year

  $ 187,422,785     $ 106,659,876  

End of year

  $ 245,644,979     $ 187,422,785  

 

(a)

A summary of capital share transactions is as follows:

 

   

Shares

   

Shares

 

Shares sold

    2,650,000       3,050,000  

Shares redeemed

    (650,000 )     (300,000 )

Net increase (decrease)

    2,000,000       2,750,000  

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

46

 

 

International Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

 

Statement of Changes in Net Assets

 

 

   

Year Ended
April 30, 2023

   

Period Ended
April 30, 2022
(1)

 

OPERATIONS

               

Net investment income (loss)

  $ 2,773,743     $ 1,580,226  

Net realized gain (loss) on investments and written options

    (37,705,884 )     (357,767 )

Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments

    26,976,397       (21,368,295 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

    (7,955,744 )     (20,145,836 )
                 

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS

               

Net distributions to shareholders

    (2,767,957 )     (1,732,695 )

Total distributions to shareholders

    (2,767,957 )     (1,732,695 )
                 

CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS

               

Proceeds from shares sold

    29,881,365       166,218,085  

Payments for shares redeemed

    (98,959,565 )     (2,430,800 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets derived from capital share transactions (a)

    (69,078,200 )     163,787,285  

Net increase (decrease) in net assets

  $ (79,801,901 )   $ 141,908,754  
                 

NET ASSETS

               

Beginning of year/period

  $ 141,908,754     $  

End of year/period

  $ 62,106,853     $ 141,908,754  

 

(a)

A summary of capital share transactions is as follows:

 

   

Shares

   

Shares

 

Shares sold

    1,500,000       6,750,000  

Shares redeemed

    (5,050,000 )     (100,000 )

Net increase (decrease)

    (3,550,000 )     6,650,000  

 

(1)

The Fund commenced operations on July 22, 2021. The information presented is from July 22, 2021 to April 30, 2022.

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

47

 

 

Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF

 

Statement of Changes in Net Assets

 

 

   

Period Ended
April 30, 2023
(1)

 

OPERATIONS

       

Net investment income (loss)

  $ 10,982,472  

Net realized gain (loss) on investments

    (4,215,593 )

Change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments

    219,548  

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations

    6,986,427  
         

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS

       

Net distributions to shareholders

    (10,144,977 )

Total distributions to shareholders

    (10,144,977 )
         

CAPITAL SHARE TRANSACTIONS

       

Proceeds from shares sold

    376,653,195  

Payments for shares redeemed

    (11,289,770 )

Net increase (decrease) in net assets derived from capital share transactions (a)

    365,363,425  

Net increase (decrease) in net assets

  $ 362,204,875  
         

NET ASSETS

       

Beginning of period

  $  

End of period

  $ 362,204,875  

 

(a)

A summary of capital share transactions is as follows:

 

   

Shares

 

Shares sold

    15,050,000  

Shares redeemed

    (450,000 )

Net increase (decrease)

    14,600,000  

 

(1)

The Fund commenced operations on October 31, 2022. The information presented is from October 31, 2022 to April 30, 2023.

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

48

 

 

Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF

 

Financial Highlights

For a capital share outstanding throughout the year/period

 

 

   

Year Ended April 30,

   

Period
Ended
April 30,

 
   

2023

   

2022

   

2021

   

2020(1)

 

Net asset value, beginning of year/period

  $ 30.02     $ 29.67     $ 24.04     $ 25.00  
                                 

INCOME (LOSS) FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS:

                               

Net investment income (loss) (2)

    0.26       0.19       0.27       0.49  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments (6)

    0.47       0.34       5.61       (1.01 )

Total from investment operations

    0.73       0.53       5.88       (0.52 )
                                 

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS:

                               

From net investment income

    (0.24 )     (0.18 )     (0.25 )     (0.44 )

From realized gains

    (0.19 )                  

Total distributions to shareholders

    (0.43 )     (0.18 )     (0.25 )     (0.44 )
                                 

Net asset value, end of year/period

  $ 30.32     $ 30.02     $ 29.67     $ 24.04  
                                 

Total return

    2.53 %     1.78 %     24.57 %     -2.14 %(3)
                                 

SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:

                               

Net assets at end of year/period (000’s)

  $ 586,706     $ 402,233     $ 201,742     $ 112,970  
                                 

RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS:

                               

Expenses to average net assets

    0.79 %     0.79 %     0.79 %     0.79 %(4)

Net investment income (loss) to average net assets

    0.88 %     0.60 %     0.99 %     2.46 %(4)

Portfolio turnover rate (5)

    69 %     48 %     46 %     170 %(3)

 

(1)

Commencement of operations on July 9, 2019.

(2)

Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the year/period.

(3)

Not annualized.

(4)

Annualized.

(5)

Excludes the impact of in-kind transactions.

(6)

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) per share in this caption are balancing amounts necessary to reconcile the change in net asset value per share for the period, and may not reconcile with the aggregate gain (loss) in the Statements of Operations due to share transactions for the period.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

49

 

 

Aptus Defined Risk ETF

 

Financial Highlights
For a capital share outstanding throughout the year/period

 

 

   

Year Ended April 30,

   

Period
Ended
April 30,

 
   

2023

   

2022

   

2021

   

2020

   

2019(1)

 

Net asset value, beginning of year/period

  $ 27.01     $ 29.37     $ 29.38     $ 26.51     $ 25.00  
                                         

INCOME (LOSS) FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS:

                                       

Net investment income (loss) (2)(3)

    0.62       0.23       0.32       0.55       0.35  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments (9)

    (1.28 )     (1.86 )     1.31       3.14       1.90  

Total from investment operations

    (0.66 )     (1.63 )     1.63       3.69       2.25  
                                         

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS:

                                       

From net investment income

    (0.61 )     (0.20 )     (0.33 )     (0.50 )     (0.27 )

From realized gains

          (0.53 )     (1.31 )     (0.32 )     (0.47 )

Total distributions to shareholders

    (0.61 )     (0.73 )     (1.64 )     (0.82 )     (0.74 )
                                         

Net asset value, end of year/period

  $ 25.74     $ 27.01     $ 29.37     $ 29.38     $ 26.51  
                                         

Total return

    -2.39 %     -5.73 %     5.62 %     14.12 %     9.23 %(4)
                                         

SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:

                                       

Net assets at end of year/period (000’s)

  $ 662,900     $ 903,370     $ 656,363     $ 260,029     $ 104,695  
                                         

RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS:

                                       

Expenses to average net assets (5)

    0.69 %     0.70 %(7)     0.70 %(7)     0.69 %     0.69 %(6)

Net investment income (loss) to average net assets (3)

    2.39 %     0.79 %(7)     1.07 %(7)     1.97 %     1.86 %(6)

Portfolio turnover rate (8)

    119 %     69 %     28 %     78 %     21 %(4)

 

(1)

Commencement of operations on August 7, 2018.

(2)

Calculated based on average shares outstanding during the year/period.

(3)

Recognition of net investment income by the Fund is affected by the timing of the declaration of dividends by the underlying investment companies in which the Fund invests. The ratio does not include net investment income of the underlying investment companies in which the Fund invests.

(4)

Not annualized.

(5)

Does not include expenses of the investment companies in which the Fund invests.

(6)

Annualized.

(7)

Includes broker interest expense of 0.01%.

(8)

Excludes the impact of in-kind transactions.

(9)

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) per share in this caption are balancing amounts necessary to reconcile the change in net asset value per share for the period, and may not reconcile with the aggregate gain (loss) in the Statements of Operations due to share transactions for the period.

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

50

 

 

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

 

Financial Highlights
For a capital share outstanding throughout the year

 

 

   

Year Ended April 30,

 
   

2023

   

2022

   

2021

   

2020

   

2019

 

Net asset value, beginning of year

  $ 38.15     $ 38.72     $ 30.23     $ 29.82     $ 32.49  
                                         

INCOME (LOSS) FROM INVESTMENT OPERATIONS:

                                       

Net investment income (loss) (1)

    0.29       0.11       0.10       0.28       0.29  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments (3)

    (3.06 )     (0.58 )     8.52       0.39       (2.72 )

Total from investment operations

    (2.77 )     (0.47 )     8.62       0.67       (2.43 )
                                         

DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS:

                                       

From net investment income

    (0.29 )     (0.10 )     (0.12 )     (0.26 )     (0.24 )

Tax return of capital to shareholders

                (0.01 )            

Total distributions to shareholders

    (0.29 )     (0.10 )     (0.13 )     (0.26 )     (0.24 )
                                         

Net asset value, end of year

  $ 35.09     $ 38.15     $ 38.72     $ 30.23     $ 29.82  
                                         

Total return

    -7.24 %     -1.23 %     28.59 %     2.27 %     -7.46 %
                                         

SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:

                                       

Net assets at end of year (000’s)

  $ 203,258     $ 364,019     $ 222,333     $ 131,249     $ 70,065  
                                         

RATIOS TO AVERAGE NET ASSETS:

                                       

Expenses to average net assets

    0.79 %     0.79 %     0.79 %     0.79 %     0.79 %

Net investment income (loss) to average net assets

    0.83 %     0.27 %     0.29 %     0.94 %