497K 1 wealthfront497k.htm 497K

WEALTHFRONT RISK PARITY FUND

 

SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

March 1, 2021

Class W WFRPX

a series of Two Roads Shared Trust

 

 

Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s Prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. The Fund’s prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, both dated March 1, 2021, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus. You can obtain these documents and other information about the Fund online at www.wealthfront.com/risk-parity-prospectus. You can also obtain these documents at no cost by calling 1-877-910-4232 or by sending an email request to WealthfrontFunds@ultimusfundsolutions.com.

 

Investment Objective

 

The Wealthfront Risk Parity Fund (the “Fund”) seeks long-term total return, which consists of both capital appreciation and income.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

 

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund.

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Class W
Management Fees(1) 0.24%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees None
Other Expenses(2) 0.00%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses(3) 0.01%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.25%
(1)The Fund’s management fee is a “unitary” fee that includes all operating expenses payable by the Fund, except for the Fund’s pro rata portion of the fees and expenses associated with the Fund’s independent trustees (including independent trustees legal counsel fees), brokerage fees and commissions, taxes, borrowing costs (such as dividend expenses on securities sold short and interest), fees and expenses of other investment companies in which the Fund may invest, and such extraordinary or non-recurring expenses as may arise, including litigation expenses.
(2)Amount rounds to less than 0.01%.
(3)Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are the indirect costs of investing in other investment companies. The operating expenses in this fee table will not correlate to the expense ratio in the Fund’s financial highlights because the financial statements include only the direct operating expenses incurred by the Fund.

 

Expense Example

 

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

 

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based upon these assumptions your costs would be:

 

  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
Class W $26 $80 $141 $318

 

Portfolio Turnover

 

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. For the fiscal period ended October 31, 2020 the portfolio turnover rate was 0% of the average value of its portfolio. The Fund calculates portfolio turnover without including derivative transactions such as swaps. If included, the calculated portfolio turnover rate would be higher.

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Principal Investment Strategies

 

The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by allocating its assets among a broad range of asset classes (including but not limited to global developed and emerging market equities, global developed and emerging markets fixed income, real estate investment trusts (REITs) and commodities). The Fund will generally have some level of investment in most of these asset classes but there is no stated limit on the percentage of assets the Fund will allocate to a particular asset class. The Fund’s exposure to these asset classes will be achieved principally through investments in exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) and in derivative instruments such as total return swaps, as discussed further below. Because the Fund will gain exposure to global developed and emerging markets fixed income asset classes either through ETFs or through total return swaps that reference relevant ETFs, the Fund’s investments in fixed income instruments may be of any duration, maturity and quality.

 

The Adviser will use proprietary portfolio construction methodologies to assemble a diversified portfolio that targets an annualized volatility for the Fund of 12%, but the Fund’s actual volatility level for longer or shorter periods may be materially higher or lower than the target depending on market conditions. Volatility measures the range of returns of a security, fund or index, as indicated by the annualized standard deviation of its returns. Higher volatility generally indicates higher risk and is often reflected by frequent and sometimes significant movements up and down in value. A volatility target does not provide any assurance about the maximum loss for an investor in the Fund.

 

In allocating assets among the different asset classes, the Adviser seeks to derive approximately equal risk exposures for the Fund from the underlying asset classes based on the Adviser’s assessment of the risk associated with each asset class. This means that lower risk asset classes (such as global fixed income) will generally have higher notional allocations than higher risk asset classes (such as global developed and emerging market equities). Based on the Adviser’s assessment of the Fund’s portfolio risk as well as the prevailing market conditions (such as market volatility), the Adviser will use leverage (through investments in derivative instruments such as total returns swaps) to adjust or to increase the Fund’s exposure to certain asset classes in order to seek higher returns than traditional portfolios at similar risk level, or lower risk at similar return levels. However, there can be no assurance that employing such a strategy will achieve any particular level of return or will reduce volatility or potential loss for the Fund. The Adviser will periodically (at least monthly) reassess the risk of each asset class and their correlations and will rebalance the Fund’s existing asset allocations based on the Adviser’s assessment. It is expected that, on average, the Fund would have a net notional investment exposure of approximately 250% of the Fund’s net assets, although the amount of exposure may be significantly higher or lower at any given time. Through the use of derivatives that have the effect of leverage, the Fund will have the potential for greater gains, as well as the potential for greater losses, than if the Fund did not use derivatives or other instruments that have an economic leveraging effect. Economic leveraging tends to magnify, sometimes significantly depending on the amount of leverage used, the effect of any increase or decrease in the Fund’s exposure to an asset class and may cause the Fund’s net asset value to be more volatile than a fund that does not use leverage. For example, if the Fund gains exposure to a specific asset class through an instrument that provides leveraged exposure to that asset class, and the leveraged instrument increases in value, the gain to the Fund will be magnified; however, if the leveraged instrument decreases in value, the loss to the Fund will also be magnified.

 

A total return swap is a contract in which a payer and receiver exchange the credit risk and market risk of an underlying asset for the payment of a fee. The payer owns the underlying asset, also called the reference asset, and agrees to pay the receiver the total return on the asset, including its market appreciation and coupons, while the receiver agrees to pay a set rate, which could be fixed or variable. If the reference asset depreciates, the receiver pays the depreciation to the payer because the payer has transferred default risk, credit deterioration risk and market risk to the receiver. The Fund’s exposure to the different asset classes will be achieved principally through investments in either ETFs or in total return swaps, where the Fund will pay a counterparty a set fee in exchange for the total return of a reference asset, sector, industry or sub-industry, which will usually be ETFs that are determined by the Adviser to be representative of a specific asset class. To a lesser extent, the Fund may also invest in other derivative instruments such as forward and futures contracts to also gain exposure to the various asset classes and employ leverage. The Adviser may choose whether to invest in ETFs directly or derivatives of those ETFs based on various factors including the financing cost of a derivative contract, the size and anticipated liquidity of an ETF relative to the Fund’s potential investment, the deteriorating financial condition of a counterparty to a derivative contract, or the overall cost of an investment in derivatives in periods when leverage is not required to achieve the stated volatility target. The inability of the Fund to invest in derivative instruments may prevent it from achieving its investment objective(s).

 

A significant portion of the assets of the Fund may be invested directly or indirectly in money market instruments, which may include, but are not limited to, short-term U.S. Government securities, U.S. Treasury securities, money market mutual fund shares, and cash and cash equivalents. These cash or cash equivalent holdings serve as margin or collateral for the derivative positions the Fund takes and also earn income for the Fund. The larger the value of the Fund’s derivative positions, the more the Fund will be required to maintain cash and cash equivalents as margin or collateral for such derivatives.

 

While Federal law limits the Fund’s bank borrowings to one-third of the Fund’s assets (which includes the borrowed amount), the use of derivatives is not limited in the same manner. Federal law generally requires the Fund to segregate or “earmark” liquid assets or otherwise cover the marked-to-market exposure of its derivatives. These derivatives transactions could create aggregate exposure to investments for the Fund in excess of its net assets, thereby leveraging the Fund. Liquid assets may include money market instruments held by the Fund.

 

The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading, which may result in frequent portfolio trading and high portfolio turnover.

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Principal Investment Risks

 

As with all mutual funds, there is the risk that you could lose some or all of the money you invest through your investment in the Fund. The Fund is not intended to be a complete investment program but rather one component of a diversified investment portfolio. An investment in the Fund is not guaranteed to achieve its investment objective; is not a deposit with a bank; is not insured, endorsed or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency; and is subject to investment risks. The value of your investment in the fund, as well as the amount of return you receive on your investment may fluctuate significantly. You may lose part or all of your investment in the Fund or your investment may not perform as well as other similar investments. Many factors affect the Fund’s net asset value and performance. The Fund will experience positive or negative performance based on changes in the value of the Fund’s investments. The Fund may invest in securities of other investment companies. The Fund may be subject to the risks of the securities and other instruments described below through its own direct investments and indirectly through investments in other investment companies. Each risk summarized below is a principal risk of investing in the Fund and different risks may be more significant at different times depending upon market conditions or other factors.

·Market Risk. Overall market risk may affect the value of individual instruments in which the Fund invests. The Fund is subject to the risk that the securities markets will move down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably, based on overall economic conditions and other factors, which may negatively affect the Fund’s performance. Factors such as domestic and foreign (non-U.S.) economic growth and market conditions, real or perceived adverse economic or political conditions, inflation, changes in interest rate levels, lack of liquidity in the bond or other markets, volatility in the equities markets or adverse investor sentiment and political events affect the securities markets. Markets also tend to move in cycles with periods of rising and falling prices. If there is a general decline in the securities and other markets, your investment in the Fund may lose value, regardless of the individual results of the securities and other instruments in which the Fund invests. Securities markets also may experience long periods of decline in value. When the value of the Fund’s investments goes down, your investment in the Fund decreases in value and you could lose money.

Local, state, regional, national or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments and could result in decreases to the Fund’s net asset value. Political, geopolitical, natural and other events, including war, terrorism, trade disputes, government shutdowns, market closures, natural and environmental disasters, epidemics, pandemics and other public health crises and related events and governments’ reactions to such events have led, and in the future may lead, to economic uncertainty, decreased economic activity, increased market volatility and other disruptive effects on U.S. and global economies and markets. Such events may have significant adverse direct or indirect effects on the Fund and its investments. For example, a widespread health crisis such as a global pandemic could cause substantial market volatility, exchange trading suspensions and closures, impact the ability to complete redemptions, and affect Fund performance. A health crisis may exacerbate other pre-existing political, social and economic risks. In addition, the increasing interconnectedness of markets around the world may result in many markets being affected by events or conditions in a single country or region or events affecting a single or small number of issuers.

·Management Risk. The net asset value of the Fund changes daily based on the performance of the securities and derivatives in which it invests. The Adviser’s assessment regarding the risk and correlation of the various asset classes and the Fund’s exposure to leverage through the use of derivatives may prove to be incorrect and may not produce the desired results.
·Leverage Risk. As part of the Fund’s principal investment strategy, the Fund will make investments in derivative instruments such as total return swaps, forward and futures contracts. These derivative instruments provide the economic effect of financial leverage by creating additional investment exposure to the underlying instrument. Financial leverage will magnify, sometimes significantly, the Fund’s exposure to any increase or decrease in prices associated with a particular reference asset resulting in increased volatility in the value of the Fund’s portfolio and small changes in the value of the underlying instrument may produce disproportionate losses to the Fund. While financial leverage has the potential to produce greater gains, it also may result in greater losses, which in some cases may cause the Fund to liquidate other portfolio investments at a loss to comply with limits on leverage and asset segregation requirements imposed by the 1940 Act, to meet additional margin requirements, or to meet redemption requests. If the Fund uses leverage through the purchase of derivative instruments, the Fund has the risk that losses may exceed the net assets of the Fund. The net asset value of the Fund while employing leverage will be more volatile and sensitive to market movements. In addition, the cost of leverage may increase due to the demands of a counterparty and such increased costs will have a negative impact the Fund’s investment performance.
·Derivatives Risk. In general, a derivative instrument typically involves leverage, i.e., it provides exposure to potential gain or loss from a change in the level of the market price of the underlying security or commodity (or a basket or index) in a notional amount that exceeds the amount of cash or assets required to establish or maintain the derivative instrument. Adverse changes in the value or level of the underlying asset can result in a loss to the Fund substantially greater than the amount invested in the derivative itself. The use of derivative instruments also exposes the Fund to additional risks and transaction costs. A risk of the Fund’s use of derivatives is that the fluctuations in their values may not correlate perfectly with the overall securities markets. Derivative instruments may be more volatile than other instruments and may be subject to unanticipated market movements, which are potentially unlimited. Additionally, to the extent the Fund is required to segregate or “set aside” (often
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referred to as “asset segregation”) liquid assets or otherwise cover open positions with respect to certain derivative instruments, the Fund may be required to sell portfolio instruments to meet these asset segregation requirements. There is a possibility that segregation involving a large percentage of the Fund’s assets could impede portfolio management or the Fund’s ability to meet redemption requests or other current obligations. Certain derivatives require the Fund to make margin payments and the Fund may have to post additional margin if the value of the derivative position decreases in a manner adverse to the Fund.

·Model and Data Risk. Given the complexity of the investments and strategies of the Fund, the Adviser relies heavily on models, and information and data supplied by third parties (“Models and Data”). Models and Data are used to construct sets of transactions and investments and to provide risk management insights. The Fund may be exposed to additional risks when Models and Data prove to be incorrect or incomplete. Some of the models used by the Adviser for the Fund are predictive in nature. The use of predictive models has inherent risks. Because predictive models are usually constructed based on historical data supplied by third parties, the success of relying on such models may depend heavily on the accuracy and reliability of the supplied historical data. The Fund bears the risk that the models used by the Adviser will not be successful in determining the weighting of investment positions that will enable the Fund to achieve its investment objective.
·Swap Risk. Swap agreements are subject to the risk that the counterparty to the swap will default on its obligation to pay the Fund and the risk that the Fund will not be able to meet its obligations to pay the counterparty to the swap. In addition, there is the risk that a swap may be terminated by the Fund or the counterparty in accordance with its terms. If a swap were to terminate, the Fund may be unable to implement its investment strategies and the Fund may not be able to seek to achieve its investment objective.
·Counterparty Credit Risk. The Fund may enter into various types of derivative contracts. Many of these derivative contracts will be privately negotiated in the over-the-counter market. These contracts also involve exposure to credit risk, since contract performance depends in part on the financial condition of the counterparty. The stability and liquidity of many derivative transactions depends in large part on the creditworthiness of the parties to the transactions. If a privately negotiated over-the-counter contract calls for payments by the Fund, the Fund must be prepared to make such payments when due. In addition, if a counterparty’s creditworthiness declines, or if a counterparty becomes the subject of insolvency proceedings, the Fund may not receive payments owed under the contract, or such payments may be delayed under such circumstances and the value of agreements with such counterparty can be expected to decline, potentially resulting in losses to the Fund. The Adviser considers factors such as counterparty credit ratings and financial statements among others when determining whether a counterparty is creditworthy. The Adviser regularly monitors the creditworthiness of each counterparty with which the Fund enters into a transaction. In addition, the Fund enters into swap agreements with only a single counterparty or with a limited number of counterparties, which as a result increases the Fund’s exposure to counterparty risk. There is the risk that a counterparty refuses to continue to enter into swap agreements with the Fund in the future, or requires increased fees, which could impair the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. A swap counterparty may also increase its collateral or margin requirements, due to regulatory requirements or otherwise, which may limit or restrict the Fund’s ability to use, or increase the cost to the Fund of, leverage and thereby reduce the Fund’s investment returns. If the Fund is not able to enter into a particular derivatives transaction, the Fund’s investment performance and risk profile could be adversely affected as a result. These risks are magnified by the Fund’s limited number of counterparties.
·Commodities Risk. Exposure to commodities markets may subject the Fund to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities. The value of commodity-linked derivative instruments may be affected by changes in overall market movements, commodity index volatility, changes in interest rates, or factors affecting a particular industry or commodity, such as drought, floods, weather, livestock disease, embargoes, tariffs and international economic, political and regulatory developments. The prices of energy, industrial metals, precious metals, agriculture and livestock sector commodities may fluctuate widely due to factors such as changes in value, supply and demand and governmental regulatory policies. The commodity-linked securities in which the Fund invests may be issued by companies in the financial services sector, including the banking, brokerage and insurance sectors. As a result, events affecting issuers in the financial services sector may cause the Fund’s share value to fluctuate.
·Correlation Risk. Because the Fund’s investment strategy seeks to balance risk across multiple asset classes, to the extent the asset classes become correlated in a way not anticipated by the Adviser, the Fund’s risk allocation process may result in magnified risks and loss instead of balancing (reducing) the risk of loss.
·Credit Risk. The risk that the Fund could lose money if the issuer or guarantor of a fixed income security, including as an asset of an ETF or as the issuer of the reference asset of a total return swap, is unwilling or unable to make timely payments to meet its contractual obligations on investments held by the Fund. In addition, the credit quality of securities held by the Fund may be lowered if any issuer’s financial condition changes, which may lower their value and may affect their liquidity.
·Cybersecurity Risk. There is risk to the Fund of an unauthorized breach and access to fund assets, customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, or the risk of an incident occurring that causes the Fund, the Adviser, custodian, transfer agent, distributor and other service providers and financial intermediaries to suffer data breaches, data corruption or lose operational functionality. Successful cyber-attacks or other cyber-failures or events affecting the Fund or its service providers may adversely impact the Fund or its shareholders.
·Equity Risk. Equity securities are susceptible to general market fluctuations and volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence in and perceptions of their issuers change. Factors that may influence the price of equity securities include developments affecting a specific company or industry, or changing economic, political or market conditions.
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·Emerging Market Risk. Investing in emerging markets involves not only the risks described herein with respect to investing in foreign securities, but also other risks, including exposure to economic structures that are generally less diverse and mature, and to political systems that can be expected to have less stability than those of developed countries. The typically small size of the markets may also result in a lack of liquidity and in price volatility of these securities. Emerging markets are riskier than more developed markets because they tend to develop unevenly and may never fully develop. Investments in emerging markets may be considered speculative and share the risks of foreign developed markets but to a greater extent. Emerging markets are more likely to experience hyperinflation and currency devaluations, which adversely affect returns to U.S. investors. In addition, many emerging financial markets have far lower trading volumes and less liquidity than developed markets, which may result in increased price volatility of emerging market investments. The legal remedies for investors in emerging markets may be more limited than the remedies available in the U.S., and the ability of U.S. authorities (e.g., SEC and the U.S. Department of Justice) to bring actions against bad actors may be limited.
·Fixed Income Securities Risk. Fixed income securities are subject to interest rate risk, call risk, prepayment and extension risk, credit risk, duration and liquidity risk. In addition, current market conditions may pose heightened risks for fixed income securities. Future increases in interest rates could result in less liquidity and greater volatility of fixed income securities. The Fund may lose money if short-term or long-term interest rates rise sharply in a manner not anticipated by the Adviser. Risks associated with rising interest rates are heightened given that interest rates in the U.S. currently remain near historic lows. Moreover, new regulations applicable to and changing business practices of financial intermediaries that make markets in fixed income securities have resulted in less market making activity for certain fixed income securities, which has reduced the liquidity and may increase the volatility for such fixed income securities. The fixed-income securities market can be susceptible to increases in volatility and decreases in liquidity. Liquidity may decline unpredictably in response to overall economic conditions or credit tightening. For example, a general rise in interest rates may cause investors to move out of fixed income securities on a large scale, which could adversely affect the price and liquidity of fixed income securities and could also result in increased redemptions for the Fund.
·Foreign (Non-U.S.) Investment Risk. Foreign (non-U.S.) securities present greater investment risks than investing in the securities of U.S. issuers and may experience more rapid and extreme changes in value than the securities of U.S. companies, due to less information about foreign (non-U.S.) companies in the form of reports and ratings than about U.S. issuers; different accounting, auditing and financial reporting requirements; smaller markets; nationalization; expropriation or confiscatory taxation; currency blockage; or political changes or diplomatic developments. Foreign (non-U.S.) securities may also be less liquid and more difficult to value than securities of U.S. issuers.
·Forward and Futures Contract Risk. The primary risks associated with the use of futures contracts are (a) the imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the instruments held by the Fund and the price of the forward or futures contract; (b) possible lack of a liquid secondary market for a forward or futures contract and the resulting inability to close a forward or futures contract when desired; (c) losses caused by unanticipated market movements, which are potentially unlimited; (d) the Adviser’s inability to predict correctly the direction of securities prices, interest rates, currency exchange rates and other economic factors; (e) the possibility that the counterparty will default in the performance of its obligations; and (f) if the Fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell securities from its portfolio to meet daily variation margin requirements, including increases to margin requirements by futures commission merchants as a result of market conditions or periods of high volatility, and the Fund may have to sell securities at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so. The Fund could be unable to recover assets held at the futures clearing broker, even assets directly traceable to the Fund from the futures clearing broker in the event of a bankruptcy of the broker. A counterparty to a forward and futures contract may also increase its collateral or margin requirements, due to regulatory requirements or otherwise, which may limit or restrict the Fund’s ability to use, or increase the cost to the Fund of, leverage and thereby reduce the Fund’s investment returns.
·Gap Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk that a stock price or derivative value will change dramatically from one level to another with no trading in between and/or before the Fund can exit from the investment. Usually such movements occur when there are adverse news announcements, which can cause a stock price or derivative value to drop substantially from the previous day’s closing price. Trading halts may lead to gap risk.
·Interest Rate Risk. Generally, when interest rates rise, prices of fixed-income securities fall. However, market factors, such as the demand for particular fixed-income securities, may cause the price of certain fixed-income securities to fall while the prices of other securities rise or remain unchanged. Interest rates in the United States are currently at historically low levels. Certain countries have experienced negative interest rates on certain fixed-income instruments. Very low or negative interest rates may magnify interest rate risk. Changing interest rates, including rates that fall below zero, may have unpredictable effects on markets, may result in heightened market volatility and may detract from Fund performance to the extent the Fund is exposed to such interest rates and/or volatility.
·Investment Companies and Exchange-Traded Funds Risk. When the Fund invests in other investment companies, including ETFs, it will bear expenses additional to those paid by the Fund based on its pro rata share of the other investment company’s operating expenses, including management fees. The risk of owning an investment company generally reflects the risks of owning the underlying investments held by the investment company. The Fund will incur brokerage costs when it purchases and sells ETFs.
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In addition to the risks associated with the underlying assets held by an ETF, investments in ETFs are subject to the following additional risks: (1) an ETF’s shares may trade above or below its net asset value; (2) an active trading market for the ETF’s shares may not develop or be maintained; (3) trading an ETF’s shares may be halted by the listing exchange; (4) a passively managed ETF may not track the performance of the reference asset; or underlying managed index and (5) a passively managed ETF may hold troubled securities.

The Fund may invest in money market mutual funds. An investment in a money market mutual fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Certain money market mutual funds are not required to preserve the value of the Fund’s investment at $1.00 per share.

·Market Events Risk. There has been increased volatility, depressed valuations, decreased liquidity and heightened uncertainty in the financial markets during the past several years, including 2020. These conditions may continue, recur, worsen or spread. The U.S. government and the Federal Reserve, as well as certain foreign governments and central banks, have taken steps to support financial markets, including by keeping interest rates at historically low levels. This and other government intervention may not work as intended, particularly if the efforts are perceived by investors as being unlikely to achieve the desired results. The U.S. government and the Federal Reserve may reduce market support activities. Such reduction, including interest rate increases, could negatively affect financial markets generally, increase market volatility and reduce the value of securities in which the Fund invests. Policy and legislative changes in the United States and in other countries may also continue to contribute to decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the financial markets. The impact of these changes on the markets, and the practical implications for market participants, may not be fully known for some time.
·LIBOR Risk. The Fund may invest in securities and other instruments whose interest payments are determined by references to the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”).

The United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates LIBOR, announced that after 2021 it will cease its active encouragement of banks to provide the quotations needed to sustain LIBOR. There is currently no definitive information regarding the future utilization of LIBOR or of any particular replacement rate. The transition process may lead to increased volatility and illiquidity in markets that currently rely on LIBOR to determine interest rates. The unavailability of LIBOR presents risks to the Fund, including the risk that any pricing or adjustments to the Fund’s investments resulting from a substitute or alternate reference rate may adversely affect the Fund’s performance and/or NAV. The utilization of an alternative reference rate, or the transition process to an alternative reference rate, may adversely affect the fund’s performance. It remains uncertain how such changes would be implemented and the effects such changes would have on the Fund, including any negative effects on the Fund’s liquidity and valuation of the Fund’s investments, issuers of instruments in which the Fund invests and financial markets generally.

·Managed Volatility Strategy Risk. Securities purchased by the Fund may exhibit higher price volatility than anticipated and the Fund may not be less volatile than the market as a whole. In addition, there is no guarantee that the Adviser’s managed volatility strategy will consistently minimize market impact. While the Adviser’s managed volatility strategy may limit the Fund’s downside risk over time, the Fund also may experience lesser gains in a rising market. The Fund is not required to engage in trades that manage volatility and may not choose to do so.
·Real Estate Investment Trusts Risk. There is risk that investments in real estate investment trusts (REITs) will make the Fund more susceptible to risks associated with the ownership of real estate and with the real estate industry in general. REITs may be less diversified than other pools of securities, may have lower trading volumes and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than the overall securities markets.
·Tax Risk. The Fund’s use of derivatives may cause the Fund to realize higher amounts of short-term capital gains (which are generally taxed at ordinary income tax rates for shareholders) than if the Fund had not used such instruments.
·U.S. Government Securities Risk. Treasury obligations may differ in their interest rates, maturities, times of issuance and other characteristics. Obligations of U.S. Government agencies and authorities are supported by varying degrees of credit but generally are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. No assurance can be given that the U.S. Government will provide financial support to its agencies and authorities if it is not obligated by law to do so. In addition, the value of U.S. Government securities may be affected by changes in the credit rating of the U.S. Government.
·Volatility Risk. The Fund or an underlying fund may have investments that appreciate or decrease significantly in value over short periods of time. The value of an investment in the Fund’s or an underlying fund’s portfolio may fluctuate due to factors that affect markets generally or that affect a particular industry or sector. This may cause the Fund’s or an underlying fund’s net asset value per share to experience significant increases or declines in value over short periods of time. In addition, the Fund’s derivative investments can be highly volatile, and the Fund may experience large losses when buying, selling or holding such instruments. High volatility may have an adverse impact on the Fund.

 

The Fund is not suitable for all investors. The Fund should be utilized only by investors who (a) understand the risks associated with the use of derivatives, (b) are willing to assume a high degree of risk, and (c) intend to actively monitor and manage their investments in the Fund. Investors who do not meet these criteria should not buy shares of the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a complete investment program.

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Performance

 

The bar chart and performance table below show the variability of the Fund’s returns, which is some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows performance of the Fund’s Class W shares for each calendar year since the Fund’s inception. The performance table compares the performance of the Fund’s shares over time to the performance of a broad-based market index. You should be aware that the Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) may not be an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at no cost by calling 1-877-910-4232.

 

Performance Bar Chart for Calendar Years Ended December 31st:

Highest Quarter: 03/31/2019 13.29%
Lowest Quarter: 03/31/2020 -21.19%

 

 

Performance Table Average Annual Total Returns

(For the year ended December 31, 2020)

Class W Shares One
Year
Since
Inception(1)
Return before taxes -6.57% 1.91%
Return after taxes on Distributions -6.69% 1.28%
Return after taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares -3.90% 1.26%

Blended Index 60% MSCI World Equity Index

40% Bloomberg-Barclays Global Aggregate Bond Index(2)
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

13.86% 7.51%
MSCI World Equity Index(3) 15.90% 8.73%
Bloomberg-Barclays Global Aggregate Bond Index(4) 9.20% 4.77%
·The Fund commenced operations on January 22, 2018.
·The Blended Index is a customized blend of unmanaged indices, weighted as follows: 60% MSCI World Equity Index (Net) and 40% Bloomberg-Barclays Global Aggregate Bond Index, rebalanced monthly. Investors cannot invest directly in an index or benchmark. Index returns are gross of any fees, brokerage commissions or other expenses of investing.
·The MSCI World Equity Index is a broad global equity index that represents large and mid-cap equity performance across all 23 developed markets countries. It covers approximately 85% of the free float-adjusted market capitalization in each country. Investors cannot invest directly in an index or benchmark. Index returns are gross of any fees, brokerage commissions or other expenses of investing.
·The Bloomberg-Barclays Global Aggregate Bond Index is a measure of global investment grade debt from twenty-four local currency markets. This multi-currency index includes treasury, government-related, corporate, and securitized fixed-rate bonds from both developed and emerging markets issuers. Investors cannot invest directly in an index or benchmark. Index returns are gross of any fees, brokerage commissions or other expenses of investing.

 

After-tax returns were calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold shares of the Fund through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

7 
 

 

Portfolio Management

 

Investment Adviser

 

Wealthfront Strategies LLC (the “Adviser”).

 

Portfolio Managers

 

Portfolio Managers Portfolio manager experience in this Fund Primary title with Investment Adviser
Alex Michalka, Ph.D. Since 2019 Director of Investments

 

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

 

  Purchase Minimum
Eligible Investors Initial
Investments
Subsequent
Investments
  • Direct Investors (both an individual investor or an institutional investor such as defined benefit plans, foundations, endowments and corporations investing on their own behalf)
  • Investors who invest through authorized broker-dealers or other financial intermediaries that have entered into a distribution agreement, service agreement or other type of arrangement with the Adviser or the Fund
$5 million* None
Eligible advisory clients of Wealthfront Advisers LLC, an affiliate of the Adviser. None None
*The Adviser may waive or reduce the initial investment minimums at its sole discretion.

 

You may purchase and redeem all or part of your Fund shares on any day that the New York Stock Exchange is open for trading through your broker, or the following options for direct purchasers:

  • Sending a written request by mail to:

Wealthfront Risk Parity Fund

c/o Gemini Fund Services, LLC

PO Box 541150

Omaha, NE 68154; or

  • Calling us at 1-877-910-4232

 

Redemptions will be paid by automated clearing house funds (“ACH”), check or wire transfer.

 

Tax Information

 

Dividends and capital gain distributions you receive from the Fund, whether you reinvest your distributions in additional Fund shares or receive them in cash, are generally subject to federal income taxes and may also be subject to state and local taxes, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred plan such as an IRA account or a 401(k) plan, in which case you may be subject to federal income tax upon withdrawal from such tax-deferred arrangements.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

 

The Fund and its related companies, including the Adviser, do not expect to make any payment to any broker-dealers or financial intermediaries for the sale of Fund shares and related services.