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SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

January 10, 2023

 

Strive Emerging Markets Ex-China ETF

Ticker Symbol: STXE

Listed on NYSE Arca, Inc.

 

Before you invest, you may want to review the statutory prospectus (the “Prospectus”), which contains more information about the Strive Emerging Markets Ex-China ETF (the “Fund”) and its risks. You can find the Fund’s Prospectus, reports to shareholders, and other information about the Fund, including the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information, online at www.strivefunds.com. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 215-882-9983. The current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information dated January 9, 2023 are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.

 

Strive Emerging Markets ex-China Etf

 

Fund Summary

 

Investment Objective

 

Strive Emerging Markets Ex-China ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to track the total return performance, before fees and expenses, of an index composed of emerging market, ex-China securities.

 

Fees And Expenses

 

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may also pay brokerage commissions on the purchase and sale of Shares, which are not reflected in the table or example below.

 

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

 

      
Management Fee   0.32%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees   None 
Other Expenses1   0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses   0.32%

 

1Other Expenses are estimated for the current fiscal year.

 

Example

 

The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that the Fund provides a return of 5% a year and that operating expenses remain the same. You may also pay brokerage commissions on the purchase and sale of Shares, which are not reflected in the example. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

  One Year: Three Years:  
  $33 $103  

 

Portfolio Turnover

 

The Fund may pay transaction costs, including commissions when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when 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. As of the date of this Prospectus, the Fund has not yet commenced operations and portfolio turnover data therefore is not available.

 

 

 

 

PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES

 

The Fund’s Investment Strategy

 

The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the Bloomberg Emerging Markets ex China Large & Mid Cap Index (the “Index”), which tracks large and mid-capitalization equity securities across 24 emerging market economies, excluding China. Components of the Index (each an “Index Component” and collectively the “Index Components”) are selected and weighted according to free-float market capitalization.

 

As of September 30, 2022, the Index consisted of 731 securities with a market capitalization range of between approximately $397.5 million and $2.1 trillion, and an average market capitalization of approximately $14.9 billion. The Index contained issuers in the following emerging market countries on that date: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and United Arab Emirates (each an “Emerging Market” and collectively, the “Emerging Markets”). As of September 30, 2022, the Index had significant exposure to the following countries: India 25.00%, Taiwan 17.51%, South Korea 12.56% and Saudi Arabia 10.54%. Also of September 30, 2022, the Index had significant exposure to the banking sector in the amount of 23.43%. The components of the Index and the Emerging Markets themselves will change over time.

 

Securities are first screened for inclusion in the “Index Universe.” The Index Universe is exclusively comprised of equity securities, which includes common stock and real estate investment trusts (REITs) from issuers in Emerging Markets.

 

To determine the Index Components, all equity securities in the Index Universe are sorted by Emerging Market country. Thereafter, Index Components are individually selected for inclusion based on such factors as free float market capitalization, trading volume thresholds, and market price cap levels. Equity securities passing these thresholds are included as Index Components within each Emerging Market.

 

Thereafter, the Index Components are aggregated together and ranked by total market capitalization. Each Index Component is subsequently assigned a weight based on its free float market capitalization. The weight represents the percentage amount of the Index Component as a percentage of the total Index. Starting with the largest free float market capitalization, the Index is fully comprised once approximately 85% of the accumulated free float market-capitalization of the Index Universe is selected.

 

The Fund’s exposure to any asset class, country or geographic region will vary from time to time as the weightings of the securities within the Index change, and the Fund may not be invested in each country or geographic region at all times. Bloomberg Index Services Limited (the “Index Provider”) will generally deem an issuer to be located in an emerging market country based on several factors related to economic development, market size and liquidity, and capital market structure. The Index is calculated as a net total return index in U.S. dollars.

 

The Index is normally reconstituted on a semi-annual basis in March and September and rebalanced on a quarterly basis. New securities from initial public offerings generally must have traded for at least three months before the semi-annual reconstitution date to be considered for inclusion in the Index. Securities subject to United States, United Nations, United Kingdom or European Union sanctions may not be eligible for inclusion in the Index. Index Components impacted by such sanctions will be dropped from the Index as soon as practically possible.

 

Strive Asset Management, LLC (the “Sub-Adviser”) uses a “passive” or indexing approach to try to achieve the Fund’s investment objective. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not try to “beat” the index it tracks and does not seek temporary defensive positions when markets decline or appear overvalued.

 

Indexing may eliminate the chance that the Fund will substantially outperform the Index but also may reduce some of the risks of active management, such as poor security selection. Indexing seeks to achieve lower costs and better after-tax performance by aiming to keep portfolio turnover low in comparison to actively managed investment companies.

 

Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets (exclusive of collateral held from securities lending) will be invested in the emerging market securities, which may include depositary receipts (including American Depository Receipts (“ADRs”) or Global Depository Receipts (“GDRs”) representing securities included in the Index. 

 

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The Fund will use a “representative sampling” strategy to seek to achieve its investment objective, meaning the Fund will invest in a sample of the securities in the Index whose risk, return and other characteristics closely resemble the risk, return and other characteristics of the Index as a whole. The Fund may or may not hold all of the securities in the Index. The Fund will be reconstituted and rebalanced on the same schedule as the Index.

 

The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its total assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent that the Index is concentrated.

 

Principal Risks

 

An investment in the Fund involves risk, including those described below. There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. An investor may lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any government agency. More complete risk descriptions are set forth below under the heading “Additional Information About the Fund’s Risks”.

 

Emerging Markets Risk. Investments in securities and instruments traded in developing or emerging markets, or that provide exposure to those securities or markets, can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions not associated with investments in U.S. securities and instruments. For example, developing and emerging markets may be subject to (i) greater market volatility, (ii) lower trading volume and liquidity, (iii) greater social, political and economic uncertainty, (iv) governmental controls on foreign investments and limitations on repatriation of invested capital, (v) lower disclosure, corporate governance, auditing and financial reporting standards, (vi) fewer protections of property rights, (vii) restrictions on the transfer of securities or currency, and (viii) settlement and trading practices that differ from those in U.S. markets. Each of these factors may impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell or otherwise transfer securities, adversely affect the trading market and price for Shares and cause the Fund to decline in value.

 

Foreign Investment Risk. Returns on investments in foreign securities could be more volatile than, or trail the returns on, investments in U.S. securities. Investments in or exposures to foreign securities are subject to special risks, including risks associated with foreign securities generally. Those special risks may arise due to differences in information available about issuers of securities and investor protection standards applicable in other jurisdictions; capital controls risks, including the risk of a foreign jurisdiction imposing restrictions on the ability to repatriate or transfer currency or other assets; currency risks; political, diplomatic and economic risks; regulatory risks; and foreign market and trading risks, including the costs of trading and risks of settlement in foreign jurisdictions.

 

Depositary Receipt Risk. The risks of investments in depositary receipts, including American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”), and Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”), are substantially similar to Foreign Investment Risk. In addition, depositary receipts may not track the price of the underlying foreign securities, and their value may change materially at times when the U.S. markets are not open for trading. In addition, the underlying issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. Therefore, the Sub-Adviser will not be able to vote on any matters with respect to these instruments.

 

Investment Risk. When you sell your Shares of the Fund, they could be worth less than what you paid for them. The Fund could lose money due to short-term market movements and over longer periods during market downturns. Securities may decline in value due to factors affecting securities markets generally or particular asset classes or industries represented in the markets. The value of a security may decline due to general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the issuer of the security or to factors that affect a particular industry or group of industries. During a general downturn in the securities markets, multiple asset classes may be negatively affected. Therefore, you may lose money by investing in the Fund.

 

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Equity Investing Risk. An investment in the Fund involves risks similar to those of investing in any fund holding equity securities, such as market fluctuations, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in stock prices. The values of equity securities could decline generally or could underperform other investments. In addition, securities may decline in value due to factors affecting a specific issuer, market or securities markets generally.

 

Large-Capitalization Companies Risk. Large-capitalization companies may trail the returns of the overall stock market. Large-capitalization stocks tend to go through cycles of doing better – or worse – than the stock market in general. These periods have, in the past, lasted for as long as several years. When large capitalization companies are out of favor, these securities may lose value or may not appreciate in line with the overall market.

 

Mid-Capitalization Companies Risk. The securities of mid-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse issuer, market, political, or economic developments than securities of larger-capitalization companies. The securities of mid-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. Some mid-capitalization companies have limited product lines, markets, and financial and managerial resources and tend to concentrate on fewer geographical markets relative to larger capitalization companies.

 

Banking Sector Risk. An adverse development in the banking sector may affect the value of the Fund’s investments more than if the Fund were not invested to such a degree in the banking sector. Banks may be particularly susceptible to certain economic factors such as interest rate changes, adverse developments in the real estate market, fiscal, regulatory and monetary policy and general economic cycles.

 

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) Risk. A REIT is a company that owns or finances income-producing real estate. Through its investments in REITs, the Fund is subject to the risks of investing in the real estate market, including decreases in property revenues, increases in interest rates, increases in property taxes and operating expenses, legal and regulatory changes, a lack of credit or capital, defaults by borrowers or tenants, environmental problems and natural disasters. Investments in REITs may be volatile. REITs are pooled investment vehicles with their own fees and expenses and the Fund will indirectly bear a proportionate share of those fees and expenses.

 

Concentration Risk. In following its methodology, the Index from time to time may be concentrated to a significant degree in securities of issuers located in a single industry or group of industries. To the extent that the Index concentrates in the securities of issuers in a particular industry or group of industries, the Fund also may concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent. By concentrating its investments in an industry or group of industries, the Fund may face more risks than if it were diversified broadly over numerous industries or groups of industries. If the Index is not concentrated in a particular industry or group of industries, the Fund will not concentrate in a particular industry or group of industries.

 

Passive Investment Risk. The Fund is not actively managed and the Sub-Adviser will not sell any investments due to current or projected underperformance of the securities, industries or sector in which it invests, unless the investment is removed from the Index, sold in connection with a rebalancing of the Index as addressed in the Index methodology, or sold to comply with the Fund’s investment limitations (for example, to maintain the Fund’s tax status). The Fund will maintain investments until changes to its Index are triggered, which could cause the Fund’s return to be lower than if the Fund employed an active strategy.

 

Index Calculation Risk. The Index relies on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the Index, including fundamental information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund, the Sub-Adviser nor the Index Provider can offer assurances that the Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide a correct valuation of securities, nor can they guarantee the availability or timeliness of the production of the Index.

 

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Tracking Error Risk. As with all index funds, the performance of the Fund and its respective Index may differ from each other for a variety of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses and portfolio transaction costs not incurred by the Index. In addition, the Fund may not be fully invested in the securities of the Index at all times or may hold securities not included in the Index. In addition, the Fund’s use of a representative sampling approach may cause the Fund’s returns to not be as well correlated with the return of the Index as would be the case if the Fund purchased all of the securities in the Index in the proportions in which they are represented in the Index.

 

Sampling Risk. The Fund’s use of a representative sampling approach will result in it holding a smaller number of securities than are in the Index. As a result, an adverse development respecting a security held by the Fund could result in a greater decline in NAV than would be the case if the Fund held all of the securities in the Index. Conversely, a positive development relating to a security in the Index that is not held by the Fund could cause the Fund to underperform the Index. To the extent the assets in the Fund are smaller, these risks will be greater.

 

ETF Risks.

 

  Authorized Participants, Market Makers and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants (“APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Fund Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services, or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.

 

  Premium-Discount Risk. The Shares may trade above or below their net asset value (“NAV”). The market prices of Shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV as well as the relative supply of, and demand for, Shares on NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”) or other securities exchanges. The trading price of Shares may deviate significantly from NAV during periods of market volatility or limited trading activity in Shares.

 

  Cost of Trading Risk. Investors buying or selling Shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of Shares.

 

  Trading Risk. Although the Shares are listed on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active or liquid trading market for them will develop or be maintained. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of the Fund’s Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of its underlying portfolio holdings, which can be less liquid than the Fund’s Shares, potentially causing the market price of the Fund’s Shares to deviate from its NAV.

 

Index Rebalance Risk. Pursuant to the methodology that the Index Provider uses to maintain the Index, securities will only be added or removed from the Index during regular Index updates. The Index is reconstituted semi-annually and rebalanced quarterly. Changes to the Index’s exposure may lag a significant change in the market’s direction (up or down) by as long as six months if such changes first take effect following the most recent reconstitution. Such lags between market performance and changes to the Index’s exposure may result in significant underperformance relative to the broader market. Index updates may cause the Fund to purchase or sell securities at inopportune times or for prices other than at current market values. Due to these factors, the variation between the Fund’s annual return and the return of the Index may increase significantly.

 

New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors have no track record or history on which to base their investment decision. There can be no assurance that the Fund will grow to or maintain an economically viable size.

 

Geopolitical/Natural Disaster Risks. The Fund’s investments are subject to geopolitical and natural disaster risks, such as war, terrorism, trade disputes, political or economic dysfunction within some nations, public health crises and related geopolitical events, as well as environmental disasters, epidemics and/or pandemics, which may add to instability in world economies and volatility in markets. The impact may be short-term or may last for extended periods.

 

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PERFORMANCE

 

Performance information is not provided below because the Fund has not yet been in operation for a full calendar year. When provided, the information will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing how the Fund’s average annual returns compare with a broad measure of market performance. Past performance does not necessarily indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Performance information is available on the Fund’s website at www.strivefunds.com or by calling the Fund at (215) 882-9983.

 

Investment Adviser & Investment Sub-Adviser

 

Investment Adviser: Empowered Funds, LLC dba EA Advisers (“Adviser”)
Investment Sub-Adviser: Strive Asset Management, LLC (“Sub-Adviser”)

 

Portfolio Managers

 

Matthew Cole, Portfolio Manager of the Sub-Adviser, has been primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund since its inception in 2023.

 

Summary Information about Purchases, Sales, Taxes, and Financial Intermediary Compensation

 

Purchase And Sale Of Fund Shares

 

The Fund issues and redeems Shares on a continuous basis only in large blocks of Shares, typically 100,000 Shares, called “Creation Units,” and only APs (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem Creation Units. Creation Units generally are issued and redeemed ‘in-kind’ for securities and partially in cash. Individual Shares may only be purchased and sold in secondary market transactions through brokers. Once created, individual Shares generally trade in the secondary market at market prices that change throughout the day. Market prices of Shares may be greater or less than their NAV. In addition, if you purchase Shares through an employee benefit plan, the Sub-Adviser may make payments to the recordkeeper, broker/dealer, bank, or other financial institution or organization (each a “Financial Intermediary”) that provides shareholder recordkeeping or other administrative services to the plan as compensation for those services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your Financial Intermediary to make available the Fund over other investments. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the Fund’s shares are not redeemable securities.

 

Tax Information

 

The Fund’s distributions generally are taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gain, or some combination of both, unless your investment is in an Individual Retirement Account (“IRA”) or other tax-advantaged account. However, subsequent withdrawals from such a tax-advantaged account may be subject to federal income tax. You should consult your tax advisor about your specific tax situation.

 

Purchases Through Broker-Dealers And Other Financial Intermediaries

 

If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary, the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend Shares over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 

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