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EXPLANATORY NOTE

The prospectus dated May 1, 2021 in the Registration Statement as electronically filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 30, 2021 via EDGAR (Accession Number 0001193125-21-143680 ) is hereby incorporated by reference.


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Transamerica ETF Trust

Statement of Additional Information

May 1, 2021

 

Fund

         Ticker

DeltaShares® S&P 400 Managed Risk ETF

       DMRM

DeltaShares® S&P 500 Managed Risk ETF

       DMRL

DeltaShares® S&P 600 Managed Risk ETF

       DMRS

DeltaShares® S&P International Managed Risk ETF

       DMRI

DeltaShares® S&P EM 100 & Managed Risk ETF

       DMRE

Principal U.S. Listing Exchange: NYSE Arca, Inc.

Each of the funds listed above is a series of Transamerica ETF Trust. This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus, and should be read in conjunction with the funds’ prospectus dated May 1, 2021, as it may be supplemented or revised from time to time.

This SAI is incorporated by reference in its entirety into the prospectus. The prospectus and this SAI may be obtained free of charge by writing or calling the funds at the below address or toll-free telephone number. This SAI sets forth information that may be of interest to shareholders, but that is not necessarily included in the prospectus. Additional information about the funds’ investments is available in the funds’ Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to Shareholders, which may be obtained free of charge by writing or calling the funds at the below address or telephone number. The Annual Report contains financial statements that are incorporated herein by reference.

Investment Manager: Transamerica Asset Management, Inc.

1801 California Street, Suite 5200, Denver, CO 80202

Customer Service (888) 316-8077 (toll free)


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

    Page

General Description of the Trust and the Funds

    1  

Investment Objectives, Policies, Practices and Associated Risk Factors

    1  

Investment Policies

    1  

Additional Information Regarding Investment Practices

    4  

Continuous Offering

    27  

Exchange Listing and Trading

    28  

Portfolio Turnover

    29  

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

    29  

Management of the Trust

    30  

Board Members and Officers

    30  

Trustee Ownership of Equity Securities

    35  

Trustee Compensation

    35  

Shareholder Communication Procedures with the Board of Trustees

    36  

Code of Ethics

    36  

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

    37  

Investment Management and Other Services

    37  

The Investment Manager

    37  

Conflicts of Interest

    40  

Sub-Adviser

    43  

Portfolio Manager Information

    44  

Transfer Agent

    46  

Custodian

    46  

Securities Lending Activities

    46  

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

    47  

Distributor and Distribution Plan

    47  

Book Entry Only System

    48  

Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units

    49  

Net Asset Valuation (“NAV”) Determination

    55  

Brokerage

    56  

Principal Shareholders and Control Persons

    59  

Further Information About the Trust and the Funds

    59  

Dividends and Other Distributions

    62  

Taxes

    62  

Local Market Holiday Schedules

    70  

Financial Statements

    72  

Appendix A – Proxy Voting Policies

    A-1  

Appendix B – Securities Lending Activities

    B-1  


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General Description of the Trust and the Funds

Transamerica ETF Trust (the “Trust”) is an open-end management investment company that is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). Shares of the Trust are currently divided into separate series (each a “fund” or together, the “funds”) described herein. The Trust may create additional series from time to time.

The Trust was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on May 5, 2016.

Each fund is classified as non-diversified under the 1940 Act.

Transamerica Asset Management, Inc. (“TAM” or the “Investment Manager”) is the investment manager for each fund. Milliman Financial Risk Management LLC (“Milliman”) is the sub-adviser for each fund.

Each fund offers and issues Fund Shares at their net asset value (sometimes referred to herein as “NAV”) only in aggregations of a specified number of Fund Shares (each, a “Creation Unit”). Each fund generally offers and issues Fund Shares in exchange for (i) a designated basket of securities (“Deposit Securities”) together with the deposit of a specified cash payment (“Cash Component”) or (ii) a cash payment equal in value to the Deposit Securities (“Deposit Cash”) together with the Cash Component. The primary consideration accepted by a fund (i.e., Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash) is set forth under “Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units” later in this SAI. The Trust reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of a “cash in lieu” amount to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Deposit Security and reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of Deposit Securities in lieu of Deposit Cash (subject to applicable legal requirements). The Fund Shares have been approved for listing and secondary trading on a national securities exchange (the “Exchange”). The Fund Shares will trade on the Exchange at market prices. These prices may differ from the Fund Shares’ net asset values. The Fund Shares are also redeemable only in Creation Unit aggregations, and generally in exchange for either (i) portfolio securities and a specified cash payment or (ii) cash (subject to applicable legal requirements).

Fund Shares may be issued in advance of receipt of Deposit Securities subject to various conditions including a requirement to maintain on deposit with the Trust cash at least equal to a specified percentage of the market value of the missing Deposit Securities as set forth in the Participant Agreement (as defined below). See “Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units.” The Trust may impose a transaction fee for each creation or redemption. In all cases, such fees will be limited in accordance with the requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) applicable to management investment companies offering redeemable securities. In addition to the fixed creation or redemption transaction fee, an additional transaction fee of up to three times the fixed creation or redemption transaction fee and/or an additional variable charge may apply.

Investment Objectives, Policies, Practices and Associated Risk Factors

The investment objective of each fund and the strategies each fund employs to achieve its objective are described in each fund’s prospectus. There can be no assurance that a fund will achieve its objective.

As indicated in the prospectus in the section entitled “Additional Information,” each fund’s investment objective, Underlying Index and, unless otherwise noted in the prospectus or in this SAI, its investment policies and techniques may be changed by the funds’ Board of Trustees (the “Board”) without approval of shareholders. A change in the investment objective, Underlying Index or policies of a fund may result in the fund having an investment objective or policies different from those which a shareholder deemed appropriate at the time of investment.

Investment Policies

Fundamental Investment Policies

Fundamental investment policies of each fund may not be changed without the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the fund, defined under the 1940 Act as the lesser of (a) 67% or more of the

 

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voting securities of the fund present at a shareholder meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of the fund are present or represented by proxy, or (b) more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of the fund.

Each fund has adopted, except as otherwise noted, the following fundamental policies:

1. Borrowing

The fund may not borrow money, except as permitted under the 1940 Act, and as interpreted, modified or otherwise permitted by regulatory authority having jurisdiction.

2. Underwriting Securities

The fund may not engage in the business of underwriting the securities of other issuers except as permitted by the 1940 Act.

3. Making Loans

The fund may make loans only as permitted under the 1940 Act, and as interpreted, modified or otherwise permitted by regulatory authority having jurisdiction, from time to time.

4. Senior Securities

The fund may not issue any senior security, except as permitted under the 1940 Act, and as interpreted, modified or otherwise permitted from time to time by regulatory authority having jurisdiction.

5. Real Estate

The fund may not purchase or sell real estate except as permitted by the 1940 Act.

6. Commodities

The fund may not purchase physical commodities or contracts relating to physical commodities, except as permitted from time to time under the 1940 Act, and as interpreted, modified or otherwise permitted by regulatory authority having jurisdiction.

7. Concentration of Investments

The fund may not make any investment if, as a result, the fund’s investments will be concentrated in any industry or group of industries, as the relevant terms are used in the 1940 Act, as interpreted or modified by regulatory authority having jurisdiction, from time to time, except to the extent that the corresponding Underlying Index is concentrated in an industry or group of industries.

Additional Information about Fundamental Investment Policies

The following provides additional information about each fund’s fundamental investment policies. This information does not form part of the funds’ fundamental investment policies.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to borrowing money set forth in (1) above, the 1940 Act permits a fund to borrow money in amounts of up to one-third of the fund’s total assets from banks for any purpose, and to borrow up to 5% of the fund’s total assets from banks or other lenders for temporary purposes (the fund’s total assets include the amounts being borrowed). To limit the risks attendant to borrowing, the 1940 Act requires the fund to maintain at all times an “asset coverage” of at least 300% of the amount of its borrowings. Asset coverage means the ratio that the value of the fund’s total assets (including amounts borrowed), minus liabilities other than borrowings, bears to the aggregate amount of all borrowings.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to underwriting set forth in (2) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from engaging in the underwriting business or from underwriting the securities of other issuers; in fact, the 1940 Act permits a fund to have underwriting commitments of up to 25% of its assets under certain circumstances. Those circumstances currently are that the amount of the fund’s underwriting commitments, when added to the value of the fund’s investments in issuers where the fund owns more than 10% of the outstanding

 

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voting securities of those issuers, cannot exceed the 25% cap. A fund engaging in transactions involving the acquisition or disposition of portfolio securities may be considered to be an underwriter under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”). Under the 1933 Act, an underwriter may be liable for material omissions or misstatements in an issuer’s registration statement or prospectus. Securities purchased from an issuer and not registered for sale under the 1933 Act are considered restricted securities. If these securities are registered under the 1933 Act, they may then be eligible for sale but participating in the sale may subject the seller to underwriter liability. Although it is not believed that the application of the 1933 Act provisions described above would cause a fund to be engaged in the business of underwriting, the policy in (2) above will be interpreted not to prevent the fund from engaging in transactions involving the acquisition or disposition of portfolio securities, regardless of whether the fund may be considered to be an underwriter under the 1933 Act.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to lending set forth in (3) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from making loans; however, SEC staff interpretations currently prohibit funds from lending more than one-third of their total assets. Each fund will be permitted by this policy to make loans of money, including to other funds, portfolio securities or other assets. A fund would have to obtain exemptive relief from the SEC to make loans of money to other funds.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to issuing senior securities set forth in (4) above, “senior securities” are defined as fund obligations that have a priority over the fund’s shares with respect to the payment of dividends or the distribution of fund assets. The 1940 Act prohibits a fund from issuing senior securities, except that the fund may borrow money in amounts of up to one-third of the fund’s total assets from banks for any purpose. A fund also may borrow up to 5% of the fund’s total assets from banks or other lenders for temporary purposes, and these borrowings are not considered senior securities. The issuance of senior securities by a fund can increase the speculative character of the fund’s outstanding shares through leveraging.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to real estate set forth in (5) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from owning real estate; however, a fund is limited in the amount of illiquid assets it may purchase. To the extent that investments in real estate are considered illiquid, rules under the 1940 Act generally limit a fund’s purchases of illiquid securities to 15% of net assets. The policy in (5) above will be interpreted not to prevent a fund from investing in real estate-related companies, companies whose businesses consist in whole or in part of investing in real estate, mortgage-backed securities (“MBS”) instruments (like mortgages) that are secured by real estate or interests therein, or real estate investment trust securities. Investing in real estate may involve risks, including that real estate is generally considered illiquid and may be difficult to value and sell. In addition, owners of real estate may be subject to various liabilities, including environmental liabilities.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to commodities set forth in (6) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from owning commodities, whether physical commodities and contracts related to physical commodities (such as oil or grains and related futures contracts), or financial commodities and contracts related to financial commodities (such as currencies and, possibly, currency futures). However, a fund is limited in the amount of illiquid assets it may purchase. To the extent that investments in commodities are considered illiquid, rules under the 1940 Act generally limit a fund’s purchases of illiquid securities to 15% of net assets.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to concentration set forth in (7) above, the 1940 Act does not define what constitutes “concentration” in an industry. The SEC staff has taken the position that investment of 25% or more of a fund’s total assets in one or more issuers conducting their principal activities in the same industry or group of industries constitutes concentration. It is possible that interpretations of concentration could change in the future. The policy in (7) above will be interpreted to refer to concentration as that term may be interpreted from time to time. The policy also will be interpreted to permit investment without limit in the following: securities of the U.S. government and its agencies or instrumentalities; tax-exempt securities of state, territory, possession or municipal government and their authorities, agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions (excluding private activity municipal securities backed principally by non-governmental issuers); and repurchase agreements collateralized by any such obligations. Accordingly, issuers of the foregoing securities will not be considered to be members of any industry. There also will be no limit on investment in issuers based solely on their domicile in a single jurisdiction or country as an issuer’s domicile will not be

 

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considered an industry for purposes of the policy. A type of investment (e.g., equity securities, fixed income securities, investment companies, etc.) will not be considered to be an industry under the policy. The policy also will be interpreted to give broad authority to a fund as to how to classify issuers within or among industries. For purposes of determining compliance with its concentration policy, each fund will consider the holdings of any underlying Transamerica-sponsored mutual funds in which the fund invests. The funds intend to comply with the SEC staff’s view that securities issued by a foreign government constitute a single industry for purposes of calculating applicable limits on concentration.

The funds’ fundamental policies are written and will be interpreted broadly. For example, the policies will be interpreted to refer to the 1940 Act and the related rules as they are in effect from time to time, and to interpretations and modifications of or relating to the 1940 Act by the SEC, its staff and others as they are given from time to time. When a policy provides that an investment practice may be conducted as permitted by the 1940 Act, the practice will be considered to be permitted if either the 1940 Act permits the practice or the 1940 Act does not prohibit the practice.

Except for the fundamental policy on borrowing set forth in (1) above, if any percentage restriction described above is complied with at the time of an investment, a later increase or decrease in the percentage resulting from a change in values or assets will not constitute a violation of such restriction.

The investment practices described above involve risks. Please see your fund’s prospectus and this SAI for a description of certain of these risks.

Non-Fundamental Policies

The funds have adopted the following non-fundamental policies, which may be changed by the Board without shareholder approval.

1. Illiquid investments

No fund may purchase any security if, as a result, more than 15% of its net assets would be invested in illiquid securities.

2. Investments in Securities Included in the Underlying Index

No fund, under normal circumstances, may invest less than 80% of its assets, exclusive of collateral held from securities lending, in component securities that comprise its Underlying Index, TBA transactions representing component securities that comprise its Underlying Index, and in depositary receipts (including ADRs or GDRs) based on the component securities in its Underlying Index (or, in the case of an Underlying Index for which depositary receipts themselves are component securities, underlying stocks in respect of such depositary receipt).

3. Investments in Other Investment Companies

Each fund may purchase securities of open-end or closed-end investment companies in compliance with the 1940 Act, although a fund may not acquire any securities of registered open-end investment companies or registered unit investment trusts in reliance on Sections 12(d)(1)(F) or 12(d)(1)(G) of the 1940 Act.

Additional Information Regarding Investment Practices

Each fund’s principal investment strategies are set forth in its prospectus. This section further explains policies and strategies utilized by the funds. Please refer to each fund’s prospectus and investment restrictions for the policies and strategies pertinent to a particular fund.

Unless otherwise indicated, all limitations applicable to fund investments (as stated in the prospectus and elsewhere in this SAI) apply only at the time a transaction is entered into. If a percentage limitation is complied with at the time of an investment, any subsequent change in percentage resulting from a change in values or assets, or a change in credit quality, will not constitute a violation of that limitation. There is no limit on the ability of a fund to make any type of investment or to invest in any type of security, except as expressly stated in the prospectus or in this SAI or as imposed by law.

 

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Diversification Status

Each fund is classified as a non-diversified investment company under the 1940 Act. A “non-diversified” classification means that a fund is not limited by the 1940 Act with regard to the percentage of its assets that may be invested in the securities of a single issuer. This means that a fund may invest a greater portion of its assets in the securities of a single issuer than a diversified fund. The securities of a particular issuer may constitute a greater portion of an Underlying Index of each fund and, therefore, the securities may constitute a greater portion of a fund’s portfolio. This may have an adverse effect on a fund’s performance or subject a fund’s Shares to greater price volatility than more diversified investment companies.

Although each fund is non-diversified for purposes of the 1940 Act, each fund intends to maintain the required level of diversification and otherwise conduct its operations so as to qualify as a ‘‘regulated investment company’’ for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Internal Revenue Code”), and to relieve each fund of any liability for federal income tax to the extent that its earnings are distributed to shareholders. Compliance with the diversification requirements of the Internal Revenue Code may limit the investment flexibility of a fund and may make it less likely that a fund will meet its investment objective.

Concentration

Each fund’s investments will generally be concentrated in a particular industry or group of industries to the extent that the fund’s Underlying Index is concentrated in a particular industry or group of industries. The securities of issuers in particular industries may dominate the Underlying Index of a fund and consequently a fund’s investment portfolio. This may adversely affect a fund’s performance or subject its Shares to greater price volatility than that experienced by less concentrated investment companies.

In pursuing its objective, each fund may hold the securities of a single issuer in an amount exceeding 10% of the market value of the outstanding securities of the issuer, subject to restrictions imposed by the Internal Revenue Code. In particular, as a fund’s size grows and its assets increase, it will be more likely to hold more than 10% of the securities of a single issuer if the issuer has a relatively small public float as compared to other components in its Underlying Index.

Recent Market Events

In the past decade, financial markets throughout the world have experienced increased volatility, depressed valuations, decreased liquidity and heightened uncertainty. Governmental and non-governmental issuers defaulted on, or were forced to restructure, their debts. These market conditions may continue, worsen or spread.

Economies and financial markets throughout the world are increasingly interconnected. Economic, financial or political events, trading and tariff arrangements, public health events, terrorism, technology and data interruptions, natural disasters and other circumstances in one or more countries or regions could be highly disruptive to, and have profound impacts on, global economies or markets. As a result, whether or not a fund invests in securities of issuers located in or with significant exposure to the countries directly affected, the value and liquidity of a fund’s investments may go down. Securities markets may also be susceptible to market manipulation or other fraudulent trade practices, which could disrupt the orderly functioning of these markets or adversely affect the value of securities traded in these markets, including a fund’s securities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused substantial market disruption and dislocation around the world, including in the United States. There have been periods of extreme volatility, and periods where there have been no buyers for certain securities, including U.S. Treasury securities. Some sectors of the economy and individual issuers have experienced particularly large losses. The pandemic has reduced liquidity of particular investments and asset classes; resulted in significant disruptions to business operations, including business closures; strained healthcare systems; disrupted supply chains, consumer demand and employee availability; and restricted travel. These conditions may continue for an extended period of time, or worsen. The pandemic may result in a sustained domestic or global economic downturn or recession. Developing or emerging market countries may be more adversely impacted. The ultimate economic fallout from the pandemic, and the long-term impact on economies, markets, industries and individual issuers, are not known.

 

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The U.S. government and the Federal Reserve, as well as certain foreign governments and central banks, have taken extraordinary actions to support local and global economies and the financial markets in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These actions have resulted in significant expansion of public debt, including in the United States. The long-term consequences of this level of public debt are not known. In addition, certain interest rates have been reduced to very low levels. This and other government intervention into the economy and financial markets to address the pandemic may not work as intended, particularly if the efforts are perceived by investors as being unlikely to achieve the desired results.

The COVID-19 pandemic could continue to adversely affect the value and liquidity of a fund’s investments, impair a fund’s ability to satisfy redemption requests, and negatively impact a fund’s performance.

Europe: A number of countries in Europe have experienced severe economic and financial difficulties. Many non-governmental issuers, and even certain governments, have defaulted on, or been forced to restructure, their debts; many other issuers have faced difficulties obtaining credit or refinancing existing obligations; financial institutions have in many cases required government or central bank support, have needed to raise capital, and/or have been impaired in their ability to extend credit; and financial markets in Europe and elsewhere have experienced extreme volatility and declines in asset values and liquidity. These difficulties may continue, worsen or spread within or outside Europe. Responses to the financial problems by European governments, central banks and others, including austerity measures and reforms, may not work, may result in conflicts and social unrest and may limit future growth and economic recovery or have other unintended consequences. Further defaults or restructurings by governments and others of their debt could have additional adverse effects on economies, financial markets and asset valuations around the world. On January 31, 2020, the United Kingdom withdrew from the European Union. This resulted in significant political and economic uncertainty, and the outcome and ramifications may not be known for some time. Given the size and importance of the United Kingdom’s economy, uncertainty about its legal, political, and economic relationship with the remaining member states of the European Union may continue to be a source of instability. Moreover, other countries may seek to withdraw from the European Union and/or abandon the euro, the common currency of the European Union. A number of countries in Europe have suffered terror attacks, and additional attacks may occur in the future. The Ukraine has experienced ongoing military conflict; this conflict may expand and military conflicts could potentially occur elsewhere in Europe. Europe has also been struggling with mass migration from the Middle East and Africa. The ultimate effects of these events and other socio-political or geopolitical issues are not known but could profoundly affect global economies and markets. Whether or not a fund invests in securities of issuers located in Europe or with significant exposure to European issuers or countries, these events could negatively affect the value and liquidity of the fund’s investments.

Debt Securities and Fixed-Income Investing

Debt securities include securities such as corporate bonds and debentures; commercial paper; trust preferreds, debt securities issued by the U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities; or foreign governments; asset-backed securities; collateralized-mortgage obligations (“CMOs”); zero coupon bonds; floating rate, inverse floating rate and index obligations; “strips”; structured notes; and pay-in-kind and step securities.

Fixed-income investing is the purchase of a debt security that maintains a level of income that does not change, at least for some period of time. When a debt security is purchased, the fund owns “debt” and becomes a creditor to the company or government.

Consistent with each fund’s investment policies, a fund may invest in debt securities, which may be referred to as fixed income instruments. These may include securities issued by the U.S. government, its agencies or government-sponsored enterprises; corporate debt securities of U.S. and non-U.S. issuers, including convertible securities and corporate commercial paper; mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities; inflation-indexed bonds issued both by governments and corporations; structured notes, including hybrid or “indexed” securities, event-linked bonds and loan participations; delayed funding loans and revolving credit facilities; bank certificates of deposit (“CDs”), fixed time deposits and bankers’ acceptances; repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements; debt securities issued by state or local governments and their agencies, authorities and other government-sponsored enterprises; obligations of non-U.S. governments or their subdivisions, agencies and

 

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government-sponsored enterprises; and obligations of international agencies or supranational entities. Consistent with its investment policies, a fund may invest in derivatives based on fixed income instruments.

Generally, a fund uses the terms “debt security,” “bond,” “fixed income instrument” and “fixed income security” interchangeably, and these terms are interpreted broadly by the funds and include instruments that are intended to provide one or more of the characteristics of a direct investment in one or more debt securities. As new debt securities are developed, the funds may invest in those securities as well.

Maturity and Duration: The maturity of a fixed income security is a measure of the time remaining until the final payment on the security is due. For simple fixed income securities, duration indicates the average time at which the security’s cash flows are to be received. For simple fixed income securities with interest payments occurring prior to the payment of principal, duration is always less than maturity. For example, a current coupon bullet bond with a maturity of 3.5 years will have a duration of approximately three years. In general, the lower the stated or coupon rate of interest of a fixed income security, the closer its duration will be to its final maturity; conversely, the higher the stated or coupon rate of interest of a fixed income security, the shorter its duration will be compared to its final maturity. The determination of duration becomes more complex when fixed income securities with features like floating coupon payments, optionality, prepayments, and structuring are evaluated. There are differing methodologies for computing effective duration prevailing in the industry. As a result, different investors may estimate duration differently.

Debt and fixed-income securities share three principal risks. First, the level of interest income generated by a fund’s fixed income investments may decline due to a decrease in market interest rates. If rates decline, when a fund’s fixed income securities mature or are sold, they may be replaced by lower-yielding investments. Second, the values of fixed income securities fluctuate with changes in interest rates. A decrease in interest rates will generally result in an increase in the value of a fund’s fixed income investments. Conversely, during periods of rising interest rates, the value of a fund’s fixed income investments will generally decline. However, a change in interest rates will not have the same impact on all fixed rate securities. For example, the magnitude of these fluctuations will generally be greater when a fund’s duration or average maturity is longer. Third, certain fixed income securities are subject to credit risk, which is the risk that an issuer of securities will be unable to pay principal and interest when due, or that the value of the security will suffer because investors believe the issuer is unable to pay.

Commercial Paper

Commercial paper refers to short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by commercial and industrial corporations to finance their current operations. Commercial paper may be issued at a discount and redeemed at par, or issued at par with interest added at maturity. The interest or discount rate depends on general interest rates, the credit standing of the issuer, and the maturity of the note, and generally moves in tandem with rates on large CDs and Treasury bills. An established secondary market exists for commercial paper, particularly that of stronger issuers which are rated by Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”) and Standard & Poor’s Rating Group (“S&P”). Investments in commercial paper are subject to the risks that general interest rates will rise, that the credit standing or rating of the issuer will fall, or that the secondary market in the issuer’s notes will become too limited to permit their liquidation at a reasonable price.

Commercial paper includes asset-backed commercial paper (“ABCP”) that is issued by structured investment vehicles or other conduits. These conduits may be sponsored by mortgage companies, investment banking firms, finance companies, hedge funds, private equity firms and special purpose finance entities. ABCP typically refers to a debt security with an original term to maturity of up to 270 days, the payment of which is supported by cash flows from underlying assets, or one or more liquidity or credit support providers, or both. Assets backing ABCP, which may be included in revolving pools of assets with large numbers of obligors, include credit card, car loan and other consumer receivables and home or commercial mortgages, including subprime mortgages. The repayment of ABCP issued by a conduit depends primarily on the cash collections received from the conduit’s underlying asset portfolio and the conduit’s ability to issue new ABCP. Therefore, there could be losses to a fund investing in ABCP in the event of credit or market value deterioration in the conduit’s underlying portfolio, mismatches in the timing of the cash flows of the underlying asset interests and the repayment obligations of

 

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maturing ABCP, or the conduit’s inability to issue new ABCP. To protect investors from these risks, ABCP programs may be structured with various protections, such as credit enhancement, liquidity support, and commercial paper stop-issuance and wind-down triggers. However, there can be no guarantee that these protections will be sufficient to prevent losses to investors in ABCP.

Some ABCP programs provide for an extension of the maturity date of the ABCP if, on the related maturity date, the conduit is unable to access sufficient liquidity through the issue of additional ABCP. This may delay the sale of the underlying collateral, and a fund may incur a loss if the value of the collateral deteriorates during the extension period. Alternatively, if collateral for ABCP deteriorates in value, the collateral may be required to be sold at inopportune times or at prices insufficient to repay the principal and interest on the ABCP. ABCP programs may provide for the issuance of subordinated notes as an additional form of credit enhancement. The subordinated notes are typically of a lower credit quality and have a higher risk of default. A fund purchasing these subordinated notes will therefore have a higher likelihood of loss than investors in the senior notes.

Bank Obligations

Bank obligations include dollar-denominated CDs, time deposits and bankers’ acceptances and other short-term debt obligations issued by domestic banks, foreign subsidiaries or foreign branches of domestic banks, domestic and foreign branches of foreign banks, domestic savings and loan associations and other banking institutions. CDs are short-term, unsecured, negotiable obligations of commercial banks. Time deposits are non-negotiable deposits maintained in banks for specified periods of time at stated interest rates. Bankers’ acceptances are negotiable time drafts drawn on commercial banks usually in connection with international transactions.

Domestic commercial banks organized under federal law are supervised and examined by the Comptroller of the Currency and are required to be members of the Federal Reserve System and to be insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”). Domestic banks organized under state law are supervised and examined by state banking authorities, but are members of the Federal Reserve System only if they elect to join. Most state institutions are insured by the FDIC (although such insurance may not be of material benefit to a fund, depending upon the principal amount of obligations of each held by the fund) and are subject to federal examination and to a substantial body of federal law and regulation. As a result of federal and state laws and regulations, domestic banks are, among other things, generally required to maintain specified levels of reserves and are subject to other supervision and regulation designed to promote financial soundness. However, not all of such laws and regulations apply to the foreign branches of domestic banks.

Obligations of foreign branches and subsidiaries of domestic banks and domestic and foreign branches of foreign banks, such as CDs and time deposits, may be general obligations of the parent bank in addition to the issuing branch, or may be limited by the terms of a specific obligation and governmental regulation. Such obligations are subject to different risks than are those of domestic banks or domestic branches of foreign banks. These risks include foreign economic and political developments, foreign governmental restrictions that may adversely affect payment of principal and interest on the obligations, foreign exchange controls and foreign withholding and other taxes on interest income. Foreign branches of domestic banks and foreign branches of foreign banks are not necessarily subject to the same or similar regulatory requirements that apply to domestic banks, such as mandatory reserve requirements, loan limitations and accounting, auditing and financial recordkeeping requirements. In addition, less information may be publicly available about a foreign branch of a domestic bank or about a foreign bank than about a domestic bank.

Obligations of domestic branches of foreign banks may be general obligations of the parent bank, in addition to the issuing branch, or may be limited by the terms of a specific obligation and by state and federal regulation as well as governmental action in the country in which the foreign bank has its head office. A domestic branch of a foreign bank with assets in excess of $1 billion may or may not be subject to reserve requirements imposed by the Federal Reserve System or by the state in which the branch is located if the branch is licensed in that state. In addition, branches licensed by the Comptroller of the Currency and branches licensed by certain states (“State Branches”) may or may not be required to: (i) pledge to the regulator, by depositing assets with a designated bank within the state; and (ii) maintain assets within the state in an amount equal to a specified percentage of the aggregate amount of liabilities of the foreign bank payable at or through all of its agencies or branches within the

 

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state. The deposits of State Branches may not necessarily be insured by the FDIC. In addition, there may be less publicly available information about a domestic branch of a foreign bank than about a domestic bank.

Repurchase Agreements

In a repurchase agreement, a fund purchases a security and simultaneously commits to resell that security to the seller at an agreed-upon price on an agreed-upon date within a number of days (usually not more than seven) from the date of purchase. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed-upon incremental amount which typically is unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased security and represents compensation to the seller for use of the purchased security. A repurchase agreement involves the obligation of the seller to pay the agreed-upon price, which obligation is in effect secured by the value (at least equal to the amount of the agreed-upon resale price and marked-to-market daily) of the underlying security or collateral. All repurchase agreements entered into by a fund are fully collateralized at all times during the period of the agreement.

Repurchase agreements involve the risk that the seller will fail to repurchase the security, as agreed. In that case, a fund will bear the risk of market value fluctuations until the security can be sold and may encounter delays and incur costs in liquidating the security. Repurchase agreements involve risks in the event of default or insolvency of the other party, including possible delays or restrictions upon a fund’s ability to dispose of the underlying securities, the risk of a possible decline in the value of the underlying securities during the period in which the fund seeks to assert its right to them, the risk of incurring expenses associated with asserting those rights and the risk of losing all or part of the income from the agreement.

A fund may, together with other registered investment companies managed by the fund’s sub-adviser or its affiliates, transfer uninvested cash balances into a single joint account, the daily aggregate balance of which will be invested in one or more repurchase agreements, including tri-party subcustody repurchase arrangements.

U.S. Government Securities

U.S. Government obligations generally include direct obligations of the U.S. Treasury (such as U.S. Treasury bills, notes, and bonds) and obligations issued or guaranteed by U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities. Examples of the types of U.S. government securities that a fund may hold include the Federal Housing Administration, Small Business Administration, General Services Administration, Federal Farm Credit Banks, Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, and Maritime Administration. U.S. government securities may be supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government (such as securities of the Small Business Administration); by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury (such as securities of the Federal Home Loan Bank); by the discretionary authority of the U.S. government to purchase the agency’s obligations (such as securities of Fannie Mae); or only by the credit of the issuing agency.

Examples of agencies and instrumentalities which may not always receive financial support from the U.S. government are: Federal Land Banks; Central Bank for Cooperatives; Federal Intermediate Credit Banks; Federal Home Loan Banks; Farmers Home Administration; and Fannie Mae.

Obligations guaranteed by U.S. government agencies or government-sponsored entities include issues by non-government-sponsored entities (like financial institutions) that carry direct guarantees from U.S. government agencies as part of government initiatives in response to the market crisis or otherwise. In the case of obligations not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S., a fund must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment and may not be able to assert a claim against the U.S. itself in the event the agency or instrumentality does not meet its commitments. Neither the U.S. government nor any of its agencies or instrumentalities guarantees the market value of the securities they issue. Therefore, the market value of such securities will fluctuate in response to changes in interest rates.

On August 5, 2011, S&P lowered the long-term sovereign credit rating assigned to the U.S. to AA+ with a negative outlook. On June 10, 2013, S&P revised the negative outlook to a stable outlook. The long-term impact of the downgrade or the impact of any potential future downgrades are unknown and could negatively impact the funds.

 

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Equity Securities and Related Investments

Equity securities, such as common stock, generally represent an ownership interest in a company. While equity securities have historically generated higher average returns than fixed income securities, equity securities have also experienced significantly more volatility in those returns. An adverse event, such as an unfavorable earnings report, may depress the value of a particular equity security held by a fund. Also, the prices of equity securities, particularly common stocks, are sensitive to general movements in the stock market. A drop in the stock market may depress the price of equity securities held by a fund.

Holders of equity securities are not creditors of the issuer. As such, if an issuer liquidates, holders of equity securities are entitled to their pro rata share of the issuer’s assets, if any, after creditors (including the holders of fixed income securities and senior equity securities) are paid.

There may be little trading in the secondary market for particular equity securities, which may adversely affect a fund’s ability to value accurately or dispose of such equity securities. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may decrease the value and/or liquidity of equity securities.

Common Stocks: Common stocks are the most prevalent type of equity security. Common stockholders receive the residual value of the issuer’s earnings and assets after the issuer pays its creditors and any preferred stockholders. As a result, changes in an issuer’s earnings directly influence the value of its common stock.

Preferred Stocks: A fund may purchase preferred stock. Preferred stock pays dividends at a specified rate and has preference over common stock in the payment of dividends and the liquidation of an issuer’s assets but is junior to the debt securities of the issuer in those same respects. Preferred stock generally pays quarterly dividends. Preferred stocks may differ in many of their provisions. Among the features that differentiate preferred stocks from one another are the dividend rights, which may be cumulative or non-cumulative and participating or non-participating, redemption provisions, and voting rights. Such features will establish the income return and may affect the prospects for capital appreciation or risks of capital loss.

The market prices of preferred stocks are subject to changes in interest rates and are more sensitive to changes in an issuer’s creditworthiness than are the prices of debt securities. Shareholders of preferred stock may suffer a loss of value if dividends are not paid. Under ordinary circumstances, preferred stock does not carry voting rights.

Investments in Initial Public Offerings: A fund may invest in initial public offerings of equity securities. The market for such securities may be more volatile and entail greater risk of loss than investments in more established companies. Investments in initial public offerings may represent a significant portion of a fund’s investment performance. A fund cannot assure that investments in initial public offerings will continue to be available to the fund or, if available, will result in positive investment performance. In addition, as a fund’s portfolio grows in size, the impact of investments in initial public offerings on the overall performance of the fund is likely to decrease.

Warrants and Rights

A fund may invest in warrants and rights. A warrant is a type of security that entitles the holder to buy a given number of common stock at a specified price, usually higher than the market price at the time of issuance, for a period of years or to perpetuity. The purchaser of a warrant expects the market price of the security will exceed the purchase price of the warrant plus the exercise price of the warrant, thus resulting in a profit. Of course, because the market price may never exceed the exercise price before the expiration date of the warrant, the purchaser of the warrant risks the loss of the entire purchase price of the warrant. In contrast, rights, which also represent the right to buy common shares, normally have a subscription price lower than the current market value of the common stock and are offered during a set subscription period.

Warrants and rights are subject to the same market risks as common stocks, but may be more volatile in price. An investment in warrants or rights may be considered speculative. In addition, the value of a warrant or right does not necessarily change with the value of the underlying securities and a warrant or right ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date.

 

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Derivatives

The following investments are subject to limitations as set forth in each fund’s investment restrictions and policies.

A fund may utilize options, futures contracts (sometimes referred to as “futures”), options on futures contracts, forward contracts, swaps, swaps on futures contracts, caps, floors, collars, indexed securities, various mortgage-related obligations, structured or synthetic financial instruments and other derivative instruments (collectively, “Financial Instruments”). A fund may use Financial Instruments for any purpose consistent with its objective, including to track its Underlying Index. No assurance can be given that any derivatives strategy employed will be successful.

The U.S. government and certain foreign governments are in the process of adopting and implementing regulations governing derivatives markets, including mandatory clearing of certain derivatives, margin and reporting requirements. In 2020, the SEC adopted new Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act, which provides a comprehensive regulatory framework for the use of derivatives by registered investment companies, such as a fund, and sets limits on a fund’s investments in derivatives. Generally, the requirements of Rule 18f-4 will not apply to a fund if it qualifies as a “limited derivatives user,” as defined in the Rule. Compliance with the rule is not required until Summer 2022, but the rule may impact the fund’s use of derivatives before that date. There may be additional regulation of the use of derivatives by registered investment companies, such as a fund, which could significantly affect their use. The ultimate impact of the regulations remains unclear. Additional regulation of derivatives may make them more costly, limit their availability or utility, otherwise adversely affect their performance or disrupt markets.

The use of Financial Instruments may be limited by applicable law and any applicable regulations of the SEC, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”), or the exchanges on which some Financial Instruments may be traded. (Note, however, that some Financial Instruments that a fund may use may not be listed on any exchange and may not be regulated by the SEC or the CFTC.) In addition, a fund’s ability to use Financial Instruments may be limited by tax considerations.

In addition to the instruments and strategies discussed in this section, the sub-adviser may discover additional opportunities in connection with Financial Instruments and other similar or related techniques. These opportunities may become available as the sub-adviser develops new techniques, as regulatory authorities broaden the range of permitted transactions and as new Financial Instruments or other techniques are developed. The sub-adviser may utilize these opportunities and techniques to the extent that they are consistent with a fund’s investment objective and permitted by its investment limitations and applicable regulatory authorities. These opportunities and techniques may involve risks different from or in addition to those summarized herein.

This discussion is not intended to limit a fund’s investment flexibility, unless such a limitation is expressly stated, and therefore will be construed by a fund as broadly as possible. Statements concerning what a fund may do are not intended to limit any other activity. Also, as with any investment or investment technique, even when the prospectus or this discussion indicates that a fund may engage in an activity, it may not actually do so for a variety of reasons, including cost considerations.

The use of Financial Instruments involves special considerations and risks, certain of which are summarized below, and may result in losses to a fund. In general, the use of Financial Instruments may increase the volatility of a fund and may involve a small investment of cash relative to the magnitude of the risk or exposure assumed. Even a small investment in derivatives may magnify or otherwise increase investment losses to a fund. As noted above, there can be no assurance that any derivatives strategy will succeed.

 

 

Financial Instruments are subject to the risk that the market value of the derivative itself or the market value of underlying instruments will change in a way adverse to a fund’s interest. Many Financial Instruments are complex, and successful use of them depends in part upon the sub-adviser’s ability to forecast correctly future market trends and other financial or economic factors or the value of the underlying security, index, interest rate, currency or other instrument or measure. Even if the sub-adviser’s forecasts are correct, other factors may cause distortions or dislocations in the markets that result in unsuccessful transactions. Financial Instruments may behave in unexpected ways, especially in abnormal or volatile market conditions.

 

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A fund may be required to maintain assets as “cover,” maintain segregated accounts, post collateral or make margin payments when it takes positions in Financial Instruments. Assets that are segregated or used as cover, margin or collateral may be required to be in the form of cash or liquid securities, and typically may not be sold while the position in the Financial Instrument is open unless they are replaced with other appropriate assets. If markets move against a fund’s position, the fund may be required to maintain or post additional assets and may have to dispose of existing investments to obtain assets acceptable as collateral or margin. This may prevent it from pursuing its investment objective. Assets that are segregated or used as cover, margin or collateral typically are invested, and these investments are subject to risk and may result in losses to a fund. These losses may be substantial, and may be in addition to losses incurred by using the Financial Instrument in question. If a fund is unable to close out its positions, it may be required to continue to maintain such assets or accounts or make such payments until the positions expire or mature, and the fund will continue to be subject to investment risk on the assets. In addition, a fund may not be able to recover the full amount of its margin from an intermediary if that intermediary were to experience financial difficulty. Segregation, cover, margin and collateral requirements may impair a fund’s ability to sell a portfolio security or make an investment at a time when it would otherwise be favorable to do so, or require the fund to sell a portfolio security or close out a derivatives position at a disadvantageous time or price.

 

 

A fund’s ability to close out or unwind a position in a Financial Instrument prior to expiration or maturity depends on the existence of a liquid market or, in the absence of such a market, the ability and willingness of the other party to the transaction (the “counterparty”) to enter into a transaction closing out the position. If there is no market or a fund is not successful in its negotiations, a fund may not be able to sell or unwind the derivative position at a particular time or at an anticipated price. This may also be the case if the counterparty to the Financial Instrument becomes insolvent. A fund may be required to make delivery of portfolio securities or other assets underlying a Financial Instrument in order to close out a position or to sell portfolio securities or assets at a disadvantageous time or price in order to obtain cash to close out the position. While the position remains open, a fund continues to be subject to investment risk on the Financial Instrument. A fund may or may not be able to take other actions or enter into other transactions, including hedging transactions, to limit or reduce its exposure to the Financial Instrument.

 

 

Certain Financial Instruments transactions may have a leveraging effect on a fund, and adverse changes in the value of the underlying security, index, interest rate, currency or other instrument or measure can result in losses substantially greater than the amount invested in the Financial Instrument itself. When a fund engages in transactions that have a leveraging effect, the value of the fund is likely to be more volatile and all other risks also are likely to be compounded. This is because leverage generally magnifies the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of an asset and creates investment risk with respect to a larger pool of assets than a fund would otherwise have. Certain Financial Instruments have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the initial investment.

 

 

Many Financial Instruments may be difficult to value, which may result in increased payment requirements to counterparties or a loss of value to a fund.

 

 

Liquidity risk exists when a particular Financial Instrument is difficult to purchase or sell. If a derivative transaction is particularly large or if the relevant market is illiquid, a fund may be unable to initiate a transaction or liquidate a position at an advantageous time or price. Certain Financial Instruments, including certain over-the-counter (or “OTC”) options and swaps, may be considered illiquid and therefore subject to a fund’s limitation on illiquid investments.

 

 

In a hedging transaction there may be imperfect correlation, or even no correlation, between the identity, price or price movements of a Financial Instrument and the identity, price or price movements of the investments being hedged. This lack of correlation may cause the hedge to be unsuccessful and may result in a fund incurring substantial losses and/or not achieving anticipated gains. Even if the strategy works as intended, a fund might have been in a better position had it not attempted to hedge at all.

 

 

Financial Instruments used for non-hedging purposes may result in losses which would not be offset by increases in the value of portfolio holdings or declines in the cost of securities or other assets to be acquired.

 

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In the event that a fund uses a Financial Instrument as an alternative to purchasing or selling other investments or in order to obtain desired exposure to an index or market, the fund will be exposed to the same risks as are incurred in purchasing or selling the other investments directly, as well as the risks of the transaction itself.

 

 

Certain Financial Instruments involve the risk of loss resulting from the insolvency or bankruptcy of the counterparty or the failure by the counterparty to make required payments or otherwise comply with the terms of the contract. In the event of default by a counterparty, a fund may have contractual remedies pursuant to the agreements related to the transaction, which may be limited by applicable law in the case of the counterparty’s bankruptcy.

 

 

Financial Instruments involve operational risk. There may be incomplete or erroneous documentation or inadequate collateral or margin, or transactions may fail to settle. For Financial Instruments not guaranteed by an exchange or clearinghouse, a fund may have only contractual remedies in the event of a counterparty default, and there may be delays, costs or disagreements as to the meaning of contractual terms and litigation, in enforcing those remedies.

 

 

Certain Financial Instruments transactions, including certain options, swaps, forward contracts, and certain options on foreign currencies, are entered into directly by the counterparties and/or through financial institutions acting as market makers (“OTC derivatives”), rather than being traded on exchanges or in markets registered with the CFTC or the SEC. Many of the protections afforded to exchange participants will not be available to participants in OTC derivatives transactions. For example, OTC derivatives transactions are not subject to the guarantee of an exchange, and only OTC derivatives that are either required to be cleared or submitted voluntarily for clearing to a clearinghouse will enjoy the protections that central clearing provides against default by the original counterparty to the trade. In an OTC derivatives transaction that is not cleared, the fund bears the risk of default by its counterparty. In a cleared derivatives transaction, the fund is instead exposed to the risk of default of the clearinghouse and the risk of default of the broker through which it has entered into the transaction. Information available on counterparty creditworthiness may be incomplete or outdated, thus reducing the ability to anticipate counterparty defaults.

 

 

Swap contracts involve special risks. Swaps may in some cases be illiquid. In the absence of a central exchange or market for swap transactions, they may be difficult to trade or value, especially in the event of market disruptions. The Dodd-Frank Act established a comprehensive new regulatory framework for swaps. Under this framework, regulation of the swap market is divided between the SEC and the CFTC. The SEC and CFTC have approved a number rules and interpretations as part of the establishment of this new regulatory regime. It is possible that developments in the swap market, including these new or additional regulations, could adversely affect a fund’s ability to terminate existing swap agreements or to realize amounts to be received under such agreements. Credit default swaps involve additional risks. For example, credit default swaps increase credit risk since a fund has exposure to both the issuer of the referenced obligation (typically a debt obligation) and the counterparty to the credit default swap.

 

 

Certain derivatives, such as interest rate swaps and credit default swaps that are based on an index, are required under applicable law to be cleared by a regulated clearinghouse. Swaps subject to this requirement are typically submitted for clearing through brokerage firms that are members of the clearinghouse. A fund would establish an account with a brokerage firm to facilitate clearing such a swap, and the clearinghouse would become the fund’s counterparty. A brokerage firm would guarantee the fund’s performance on the swap to the clearinghouse. The fund would be exposed to the credit risk of the clearinghouse and the brokerage firm that holds the cleared swap. The brokerage firm also would impose margin requirements with respect to open cleared swap positions held by the fund, and the brokerage firm would be able to require termination of those positions in certain circumstances. These margin requirements and termination provisions may adversely affect the fund’s ability to trade cleared swaps. In addition, the fund may not be able to recover the full amount of its margin from a brokerage firm if the firm were to go into bankruptcy. It is also possible that the fund would not be able to enter into a swap transaction that is required to be cleared if no clearinghouse will accept the swap for clearing.

 

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Swaps that are required to be cleared must be traded on a regulated execution facility or contract market that makes them available for trading. The transition from trading swaps bilaterally to trading them on such a facility or market may not result in swaps being easier to trade or value and may present certain execution risks if these facilities and markets do not operate properly. On-facility trading of swaps is also expected to lead to greater standardization of their terms. It is possible that a fund may not be able to enter into swaps that fully meet its investment needs, or that the costs of entering into customized swaps, including any applicable margin requirements, will be significant.

 

 

Financial Instruments transactions conducted outside the U.S. may not be conducted in the same manner as those entered into on U.S. exchanges, and may be subject to different margin, exercise, settlement or expiration procedures. Many of the risks of Financial Instruments transactions are also applicable to Financial Instruments used outside the U.S. Financial Instruments used outside the U.S. also are subject to the risks affecting foreign securities, currencies and other instruments.

 

 

Financial Instruments involving currency are subject to additional risks. Currency related transactions may be negatively affected by government exchange controls, blockages, and manipulations. Exchange rates may be influenced by factors extrinsic to a country’s economy. Also, there is no systematic reporting of last sale information with respect to foreign currencies. As a result, the information on which trading in currency derivatives is based may not be as complete as, and may be delayed beyond, comparable data for other transactions.

 

 

Use of Financial Instruments involves transaction costs, which may be significant. Use of Financial Instruments also may increase the amount of taxable income to shareholders.

Hedging: As stated above, the term “hedging” often is used to describe a transaction or strategy that is intended to mitigate risk of loss in some fashion. Hedging strategies can be broadly categorized as “short hedges” and “long hedges.” A short hedge is a purchase or sale of a Financial Instrument intended partially or fully to offset potential declines in the value of one or more investments held in a fund’s portfolio. In a short hedge, a fund takes a position in a Financial Instrument whose price is expected to move in the opposite direction of the price of the investment being hedged.

Conversely, a long hedge is a purchase or sale of a Financial Instrument intended partially or fully to offset potential increases in the acquisition cost of one or more investments that a fund intends to acquire. Thus, in a long hedge, a fund takes a position in a Financial Instrument whose price is expected to move in the same direction as the price of the prospective investment being hedged. A long hedge is sometimes referred to as an anticipatory hedge. In an anticipatory hedge transaction, a fund does not own a corresponding security and, therefore, the transaction does not relate to the portfolio security that a fund owns. Rather, it relates to a security that a fund intends to acquire. If a fund does not complete the hedge by purchasing the security it anticipated purchasing, the effect on the fund’s portfolio is the same as if the transaction were entered into for speculative purposes.

In hedging transactions, Financial Instruments on securities (such as options and/or futures) generally are used to attempt to hedge against price movements in one or more particular securities positions that a fund owns or intends to acquire. Financial Instruments on indices, in contrast, generally are used to attempt to hedge against price movements in market sectors in which a fund has invested or expects to invest. Financial Instruments on debt securities generally are used to hedge either individual securities or broad debt market sectors.

Options—Generally: A call option gives the purchaser the right to buy, and obligates the writer to sell, the underlying investment at the agreed-upon price during the option period. A put option gives the purchaser the right to sell, and obligates the writer to buy, the underlying investment at the agreed-upon price during the option period. Purchasers of options pay an amount, known as a premium, to the option writer in exchange for the right under the option contract.

Exchange-traded options in the U.S. are issued by a clearing organization affiliated with the exchange on which the option is listed that, in effect, guarantees completion of every exchange-traded option transaction. In contrast, OTC options are contracts between a fund and its counterparty (usually a securities dealer or a bank) with no

 

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clearing organization guarantee. Unlike exchange-traded options, which are standardized with respect to the underlying instrument, expiration date, contract size, and strike price, the terms of OTC options generally are established through negotiation with the other party to the option contract. When a fund purchases an OTC option, it relies on the counterparty from whom it purchased the option to make or take delivery of the underlying investment upon exercise of the option. Failure by the counterparty to do so would result in the loss of any premium paid by a fund as well as the loss of any expected benefit of the transaction.

Writing put or call options can enable a fund to enhance income or yield by reason of the premiums paid by the purchasers of such options. However, a fund may also suffer a loss. For example, if the market price of the security underlying a put option written by a fund declines to less than the exercise price of the option, minus the premium received, it can be expected that the option will be exercised and a fund would be required to purchase the security at more than its market value. If a security appreciates to a price higher than the exercise price of a call option written by a fund, it can be expected that the option will be exercised and a fund will be obligated to sell the security at less than its market value.

The value of an option position will reflect, among other things, the current market value of the underlying investment, the time remaining until expiration, the relationship of the exercise price to the market price of the underlying investment, the historical price volatility of the underlying investment and general market conditions. Options purchased by a fund that expire unexercised have no value, and the fund will realize a loss in the amount of the premium paid and any transaction costs. If an option written by a fund expires unexercised, the fund realizes a gain equal to the premium received at the time the option was written. Transaction costs must be included in these calculations.

A fund may effectively terminate its right or obligation under an option by entering into a closing transaction. For example, a fund may terminate its obligation under a call or put option that it had written by purchasing an identical call or put option; this is known as a closing purchase transaction. Conversely, a fund may terminate a position in a put or call option it had purchased by writing an identical put or call option; this is known as a closing sale transaction. Closing transactions permit a fund to realize profits or limit losses on an option position prior to its exercise or expiration. There can be no assurance that it will be possible for a fund to enter into any closing transaction.

A type of put that a fund may purchase is an “optional delivery standby commitment,” which is entered into by parties selling debt securities to a fund. An optional delivery standby commitment gives a fund the right to sell the security back to the seller on specified terms. This right is provided as an inducement to purchase the security.

Options on Indices: Puts and calls on indices are similar to puts and calls on securities (described above) or futures contracts (described below) except that all settlements are in cash and gain or loss depends on changes in the index in question rather than on price movements in individual securities or futures contracts. When a fund writes a call on an index, it receives a premium and agrees that, prior to the expiration date, the purchaser of the call, upon exercise of the call, will receive from a fund an amount of cash if the closing level of the index upon which the call is based is greater than the exercise price of the call. The amount of cash is equal to the difference between the closing price of the index and the exercise price of the call times a specified multiple (“multiplier”), which determines the total dollar value for each point of such difference. When a fund buys a call on an index, it pays a premium and has the same rights as to such call as are indicated above. When a fund buys a put on an index, it pays a premium and has the right, prior to the expiration date, to require the seller of the put, upon the fund’s exercise of the put, to deliver to the fund an amount of cash if the closing level of the index upon which the put is based is less than the exercise price of the put, which amount of cash is determined by the multiplier, as described above for calls. When a fund writes a put on an index, it receives a premium and the purchaser of the put has the right, prior to the expiration date, to require the fund to deliver to it an amount of cash equal to the difference between the closing level of the index and exercise price times the multiplier if the closing level is less than the exercise price.

Options on indices may, depending on the circumstances, involve greater risk than options on securities. Because index options are settled in cash, when a fund writes a call on an index it may not be able to provide in advance for its potential settlement obligations by acquiring and holding the underlying securities.

 

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Futures Contracts and Options on Futures Contracts: A financial futures contract sale creates an obligation by the seller to deliver the type of Financial Instrument or, in the case of index and similar futures, cash, called for in the contract in a specified delivery month for a stated price. A financial futures contract purchase creates an obligation by the purchaser to take delivery of the asset called for in the contract in a specified delivery month at a stated price. Options on futures give the purchaser the right to assume a position in a futures contract at the specified option exercise price at any time during the period of the option.

Futures strategies can be used to change the duration of a fund’s portfolio. If the sub-adviser wishes to shorten the duration of the fund’s portfolio, a fund may sell a debt futures contract or a call option thereon, or purchase a put option on that futures contract. If the sub-adviser wishes to lengthen the duration of a fund’s portfolio, the fund may buy a debt futures contract or a call option thereon, or sell a put option thereon.

Futures contracts may also be used for other purposes, such as to simulate full investment in underlying securities while retaining a cash balance for portfolio management purposes, as a substitute for direct investment in a security, to facilitate trading, to reduce transaction costs, or to seek higher investment returns when a futures contract or option is priced more attractively than the underlying security or index.

No price is paid upon entering into a futures contract. Instead, at the inception of a futures contract a fund is required to deposit “initial margin.” Margin must also be deposited when writing a call or put option on a futures contract, in accordance with applicable exchange rules. Under certain circumstances, such as periods of high volatility, a fund may be required by an exchange to increase the level of its initial margin payment, and initial margin requirements might be increased generally in the future by regulatory action.

Subsequent “variation margin” payments are made to and from the futures broker daily as the value of the futures position varies, a process known as “marking-to-market.” Daily variation margin calls could be substantial in the event of adverse price movements. If a fund has insufficient cash to meet daily variation margin requirements, it might need to sell securities at a disadvantageous time or price.

Although some futures and options on futures call for making or taking delivery of the underlying securities, currencies or cash, generally those contracts are closed out prior to delivery by offsetting purchases or sales of matching futures or options (involving the same index, currency or underlying security and delivery month). If an offsetting purchase price is less than the original sale price, a fund realizes a gain, or if it is more, a fund realizes a loss. If an offsetting sale price is more than the original purchase price, a fund realizes a gain, or if it is less, a fund realizes a loss. A fund will also bear transaction costs for each contract, which will be included in these calculations. Positions in futures and options on futures may be closed only on an exchange or board of trade that provides a secondary market. However, there can be no assurance that a liquid secondary market will exist for a particular contract at a particular time. In such event, it may not be possible to close a futures contract or options position.

Under certain circumstances, futures exchanges may establish daily limits on the amount that the price of a futures contract or an option on a futures contract can vary from the previous day’s settlement price; once that limit is reached, no trades may be made that day at a price beyond the limit. Daily price limits do not limit potential losses because prices could move to the daily limit for several consecutive days with little or no trading, thereby preventing liquidation of unfavorable positions.

If a fund were unable to liquidate a futures contract or an option on a futures position due to the absence of a liquid secondary market, the imposition of price limits or otherwise, it could incur substantial losses. A fund would continue to be subject to market risk with respect to the position. In addition, except in the case of purchased options, a fund would continue to be required to make daily variation margin payments and might be required to maintain the position being hedged by the future or option or to maintain cash or securities in a segregated account.

If an index future is used for hedging purposes the risk of imperfect correlation between movements in the price of index futures and movements in the price of the securities that are the subject of the hedge increases as the composition of a fund’s portfolio diverges from the securities included in the applicable index. The price of the index futures may move more than or less than the price of the securities being hedged. To compensate for the

 

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imperfect correlation of movements in the price of the securities being hedged and movements in the price of the index futures, a fund may buy or sell index futures in a greater dollar amount than the dollar amount of the securities being hedged if the historical volatility of the prices of such securities being hedged is more than the historical volatility of the prices of the securities included in the index. It is also possible that, where a fund has sold index futures contracts to hedge against a decline in the market, the market may advance and the value of the securities held in the fund may decline. If this occurred, a fund would lose money on the futures contract and also experience a decline in value of its portfolio securities.

Where index futures are purchased to hedge against a possible increase in the price of securities before a fund is able to invest in them in an orderly fashion, it is possible that the market may decline instead. If the sub-adviser then concludes not to invest in them at that time because of concern as to possible further market decline or for other reasons, a fund will realize a loss on the futures contract that is not offset by a reduction in the price of the securities it had anticipated purchasing.

Non-U.S. Currency Strategies: A fund may invest in securities that are denominated in non-U.S. currencies and may engage in a variety of non-U.S. currency exchange transactions to protect against uncertainty in the level of future exchange rates or to earn additional income. A fund may use options and futures contracts, swaps and indexed notes relating to non-U.S. currencies and forward currency contracts to attempt to hedge against movements in the values of the non-U.S. currencies in which the fund’s securities are denominated or to attempt to enhance income or yield. Currency hedges can protect against price movements in a security that a fund owns or intends to acquire that are attributable to changes in the value of the currency in which it is denominated. Such hedges do not, however, protect against price movements in the securities that are attributable to other causes.

The value of Financial Instruments on non-U.S. currencies depends on the value of the underlying currency relative to the U.S. dollar. Because non-U.S. currency transactions occurring in the interbank market might involve substantially larger amounts than those involved in the use of such Financial Instruments, a fund could be disadvantaged by having to deal in the odd lot market (generally consisting of transactions of less than $1 million) for the underlying non-U.S. currencies at prices that are less favorable than for round lots.

There is no systematic reporting of last sale information for non-U.S. currencies or any regulatory requirement that quotations available through dealers or other market sources be firm or revised on a timely basis. Quotation information generally is representative of very large transactions in the interbank market and thus might not reflect odd-lot transactions where rates might be less favorable. The interbank market in non-U.S. currencies is a global, round-the-clock market. To the extent the U.S. options or futures markets are closed while the markets for the underlying currencies remain open, significant price and rate movements might take place in the underlying markets that cannot be reflected in the markets for the Financial Instruments until they reopen.

Settlement of transactions involving non-U.S. currencies might be required to take place within the country issuing the underlying currency. Thus, a fund might be required to accept or make delivery of the underlying non-U.S. currency in accordance with any U.S. or non-U.S. regulations regarding the maintenance of non-U.S. banking arrangements by U.S. residents and might be required to pay any fees, taxes and charges associated with such delivery assessed in the issuing country.

Generally, OTC non-U.S. currency options used by a fund are European-style options. This means that the option is only exercisable immediately prior to its expiration. This is in contrast to American-style options, which are exercisable at any time prior to the expiration date of the option.

Forward Currency Contracts: A fund may enter into forward currency contracts to purchase or sell non-U.S. currencies for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars or another non-U.S. currency. A forward currency contract involves an obligation to purchase or sell a specific currency at a future date, which may be any fixed number of days (term) from the date of the forward currency contract agreed upon by the parties, at a price set at the time of the forward currency contract. These forward currency contracts are traded directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers.

The cost to a fund of engaging in forward currency contracts varies with factors such as the currency involved, the length of the contract period and the market conditions then prevailing. Because forward currency contracts

 

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are usually entered into on a principal basis, no fees or commissions are involved. When a fund enters into a forward currency contract, it relies on the counterparty to make or take delivery of the underlying currency at the maturity of the contract. Failure by the counterparty to do so would result in the loss of any expected benefit of the transaction.

As is the case with futures contracts, parties to forward currency contracts can enter into offsetting closing transactions, similar to closing transactions on futures contracts, by selling or purchasing, respectively, an instrument identical to the instrument purchased or sold. Secondary markets generally do not exist for forward currency contracts, with the result that closing transactions generally can be made for forward currency contracts only by negotiating directly with the counterparty.

If a fund engages in a forward currency contract with respect to particular securities, the precise matching of forward currency contract amounts and the value of the securities involved generally will not be possible because the value of such securities, measured in the non-U.S. currency, will change after the forward currency contract has been established. Thus, a fund might need to purchase or sell non-U.S. currencies in the spot (cash) market to the extent such non-U.S. currencies are not covered by forward currency contracts.

Swaps, Caps, Floors and Collars: A fund may enter into swaps, caps, floors and collars to preserve a return or a spread on a particular investment or portion of its portfolio, to protect against any increase in the price of securities the fund anticipates purchasing at a later date, to attempt to enhance yield or total return, or as a substitute for other investments. A swap typically involves the exchange by a fund with another party of their respective commitments to pay or receive cash flows, e.g., an exchange of floating rate payments for fixed-rate payments. The purchase of a cap entitles the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index exceeds a predetermined value, to receive payments on a notional principal amount from the party selling the cap. The purchase of a floor entitles the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index falls below a predetermined value, to receive payments on a notional principal amount from the party selling the floor. A collar combines elements of a cap and a floor.

Swap agreements, including caps, floors and collars, can be individually negotiated and structured to include exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors. Depending on their structure, swap agreements may increase or decrease the overall volatility of a fund’s investments and its share price and yield because, and to the extent, these agreements affect a fund’s exposure to long- or short-term interest rates, non-U.S. currency values, mortgage-backed or other security values, corporate borrowing rates or other factors such as security prices or inflation rates.

Swap agreements will tend to shift a fund’s investment exposure from one type of investment to another. Caps and floors have an effect similar to buying or writing options.

If a counterparty’s creditworthiness declines, the value of the agreement would be likely to decline, potentially resulting in losses.

A fund may enter into credit default swap contracts for investment purposes. As the seller in a credit default swap contract, a fund would be required to pay the par (or other agreed-upon) value of a referenced debt obligation to the counterparty in the event of a default by a third party, such as a U.S. or a non-U.S. corporate issuer, on the debt obligation. In return, a fund would receive from the counterparty a periodic stream of payments over the term of the contract provided that no event of default has occurred. If no default occurs, a fund would keep the stream of payments and would have no payment obligations. As the seller, a fund would be subject to investment exposure on the notional amount of the swap which may be significantly larger than a fund’s cost to enter into the credit default swap. When a fund is the seller of a credit default swap it will segregate the full notional amount of the swap to cover its obligations under the swap.

A fund may purchase credit default swap contracts in order to hedge against the risk of default of debt securities held in its portfolio, in which case a fund would function as the counterparty referenced in the preceding paragraph. This would involve the risk that the investment may expire worthless and would only generate income in the event of an actual default by the issuer of the underlying obligation (or, as applicable, a credit downgrade or other indication of financial instability). It would also involve credit risk – that the seller may fail to satisfy its payment obligations to a fund in the event of a default.

 

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The net amount of the excess, if any, of a fund’s obligations over its entitlements with respect to each swap will be accrued on a daily basis, depending on whether a threshold amount (if any) is exceeded, and an amount of cash or liquid assets having an aggregate net asset value approximately equal to the accrued excess will be earmarked or set aside as cover, as described below. A fund will also maintain collateral with respect to its total obligations under any swaps that are not entered into on a net basis, including segregating assets to cover any potential obligation under a credit default swap sold by it, and will maintain cover as required by SEC guidelines from time to time with respect to caps and floors written by a fund.

Combined Positions: A fund may purchase and write options in combination with each other, or in combination with other Financial Instruments, to adjust the risk and return characteristics of its overall position. Because combined options positions involve multiple trades, they result in higher transaction costs and may be more difficult to open and close out.

Cover: Transactions using Financial Instruments may involve obligations which if not covered could be construed as “senior securities.” A fund will comply with SEC guidelines regarding cover for these instruments and will, if the guidelines so require, segregate, set aside or earmark on its books cash or liquid assets in the prescribed amount as determined daily. A fund may cover such transactions using other methods permitted under the 1940 Act, orders or releases issued by the SEC thereunder, or no-action letters or other guidance of the SEC staff. Although SEC guidelines on cover are designed to limit the transactions involving Financial Instruments that a fund may be engaged in at any time, the segregation of assets does not reduce the risks to a fund of entering into transactions in Financial Instruments.

Turnover: A fund’s derivatives activities may affect its turnover rate and brokerage commission payments. The exercise of calls or puts written by a fund, and the sale or purchase of futures contracts, may cause it to sell or purchase related investments, thus increasing its turnover rate. Once a fund has received an exercise notice on an option it has written, it cannot effect a closing transaction in order to terminate its obligation under the option and must deliver or receive the underlying securities at the exercise price. The exercise of puts purchased by a fund may also cause the sale of related investments, also increasing turnover; although such exercise is within a fund’s control, holding a protective put might cause it to sell the related investments for reasons that would not exist in the absence of the put. A fund will pay a brokerage commission each time it buys or sells a put or call or purchases or sells a futures contract. Such commissions may be higher than those that would apply to direct purchases or sales.

Foreign Securities

The following investments are subject to limitations as set forth in each fund’s investment restrictions and policies.

A fund may invest in foreign securities through the purchase of securities of foreign issuers or of American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”), Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”) and Fiduciary Depositary Receipts (“FDRs”) or other securities representing underlying shares of foreign companies.

The risks of investing in securities of non-U.S. issuers or issuers with significant exposure to non-U.S. markets may be related, among other things, to (i) differences in size, liquidity and volatility of, and the degree and manner of regulation of, the securities markets of certain non-U.S. markets compared to the securities markets in the U.S.; (ii) economic, political and social factors; and (iii) foreign exchange matters, such as restrictions on the repatriation of capital, fluctuations in exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and the currencies in which a fund’s portfolio securities are quoted or denominated, exchange control regulations and costs associated with currency exchange. The political and economic structures in certain foreign countries, particularly emerging markets and frontier markets, are expected to undergo significant evolution and rapid development, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristic of more developed countries.

Unanticipated political or social developments may affect the values of a fund’s investments in such countries. The economies and securities and currency markets of many emerging markets have experienced significant disruption and declines. There can be no assurances that these economic and market disruptions will not continue.

 

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Securities of some foreign companies are less liquid, and their prices are more volatile, than securities of comparable domestic companies. Certain foreign countries are known to experience long delays between the trade and settlement dates of securities purchased or sold resulting in increased exposure of a fund to market and foreign exchange fluctuations brought about by such delays, and to the corresponding negative impact on fund liquidity.

The interest payable on a fund’s foreign securities may be subject to foreign withholding taxes, which will reduce the fund’s return on its investments. In addition, the operating expenses of a fund making such investment can be expected to be higher than those of an investment company investing exclusively in U.S. securities, since the costs of investing in foreign securities, such as custodial costs, valuation costs and communication costs, are higher than the costs of investing exclusively in U.S. securities.

There may be less publicly available information about non-U.S. markets and issuers than is available with respect to U.S. securities and issuers. Non-U.S. companies generally are not subject to accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, practices and requirements comparable to those applicable to U.S. companies. The trading markets for most non-U.S. securities are generally less liquid and subject to greater price volatility than the markets for comparable securities in the U.S. The markets for securities in frontier markets and certain emerging markets are in the earliest stages of their development. Even the markets for relatively widely traded securities in certain non-U.S. markets, including emerging countries, may not be able to absorb, without price disruptions, a significant increase in trading volume or trades of a size customarily undertaken by institutional investors in the U.S. In addition, market making and arbitrage activities are generally less extensive in such markets, which may contribute to increased volatility and reduced liquidity. The less liquid a market, the more difficult it may be for a fund to accurately price its portfolio securities or to dispose of such securities at the times determined by the sub-adviser to be appropriate. The risks associated with reduced liquidity may be particularly acute in situations in which a fund’s operations require cash, such as in order to meet redemptions and to pay its expenses.

A fund may invest in securities of emerging market and frontier market countries. Emerging market countries typically have economic and political systems that are less fully developed, and that can be expected to be less stable. Frontier market countries generally have smaller economies and even less developed capital markets than emerging markets countries. These securities may be U.S. dollar denominated or non-U.S. dollar denominated and include: (a) debt obligations issued or guaranteed by foreign national, provincial, state, municipal or other governments with taxing authority or by their agencies or instrumentalities, including Brady Bonds; (b) debt obligations of supranational entities; (c) debt obligations (including dollar and non-dollar denominated) and other debt securities of foreign corporate issuers; and (d) non-dollar denominated debt obligations of U.S. corporate issuers. A fund may also invest in securities denominated in currencies of emerging market or frontier market countries. There is no minimum rating criteria for a fund’s investments in such securities.

Certain non-U.S. countries, including emerging markets and frontier markets, may be subject to a greater degree of economic, political and social instability. Such instability may result from, among other things: (i) authoritarian governments or military involvement in political and economic decision making; (ii) popular unrest associated with demands for improved economic, political and social conditions; (iii) internal insurgencies; (iv) hostile relations with neighboring countries; and (v) ethnic, religious and racial disaffection and conflict. Such economic, political and social instability could significantly disrupt the financial markets in such countries and the ability of the issuers in such countries to repay their obligations. In addition, it may be difficult for the fund to pursue claims against a foreign issuer in the courts of a foreign country. Investing in emerging countries also involves the risk of expropriation, nationalization, confiscation of assets and property or the imposition of restrictions on foreign investments and on repatriation of capital invested. In the event of such expropriation, nationalization or other confiscation in any emerging country, a fund could lose its entire investment in that country. Certain emerging market countries restrict or control foreign investment in their securities markets to varying degrees. These restrictions may limit a fund’s investment in those markets and may increase the expenses of a fund. In addition, the repatriation of both investment income and capital from certain markets in the region is subject to restrictions such as the need for certain governmental consents. Even where there is no outright restriction on repatriation of capital, the mechanics of repatriation may affect certain aspects

 

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of a fund’s operation. Economies in individual non-U.S. countries may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross domestic product, rates of inflation, currency valuation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency and balance of payments positions. Many non-U.S. countries have experienced substantial, and in some cases extremely high, rates of inflation for many years. Inflation and rapid fluctuations in inflation rates have had, and may continue to have, very negative effects on the economies and securities markets of certain emerging countries. Economies in emerging countries generally are dependent heavily upon international trade and, accordingly, have been and may continue to be affected adversely by trade barriers, exchange controls, managed adjustments in relative currency values and other protectionist measures imposed or negotiated by the countries with which they trade. These economies also have been, and may continue to be, affected adversely and significantly by economic conditions in the countries with which they trade.

Custodian services and other costs relating to investment in international securities markets generally are more expensive than in the U.S. Such markets have settlement and clearance procedures that differ from those in the U.S. In certain markets there have been times when settlements have been unable to keep pace with the volume of securities transactions, making it difficult to conduct such transactions. The inability of a fund to make intended securities purchases because of settlement problems could cause a fund to miss attractive investment opportunities. Inability to dispose of a portfolio security caused by settlement problems could result either in losses to a fund because of a subsequent decline in value of the portfolio security or could result in possible liability to the fund. In addition, security settlement and clearance procedures in some emerging countries may not fully protect a fund against loss or theft of its assets.

A fund may be subject to taxes, including withholding taxes imposed by certain non-U.S. countries on income (possibly including, in some cases, capital gains) earned with respect to the fund’s investments in such countries. These taxes will reduce the return achieved by a fund. Treaties between the U.S. and such countries may reduce the otherwise applicable tax rates.

The value of the securities quoted or denominated in foreign currencies may be adversely affected by fluctuations in the relative currency exchange rates and by exchange control regulations. A fund’s investment performance may be negatively affected by a devaluation of a currency in which the fund’s investments are quoted or denominated. Further, a fund’s investment performance may be significantly affected, either positively or negatively, by currency exchange rates because the U.S. dollar value of securities quoted or denominated in another currency will increase or decrease in response to changes in the value of such currency in relation to the U.S. dollar.

The rate of exchange between the U.S. dollar and other currencies is determined by the forces of supply and demand in the foreign exchange markets. Changes in the exchange rate may result over time from the interaction of many factors directly or indirectly affecting economic conditions and political developments in other countries. Of particular importance are rates of inflation, interest rate levels, the balance of payments and the extent of government surpluses or deficits in the U.S. and the particular foreign country. All these factors are in turn sensitive to the monetary, fiscal and trade policies pursued by the governments of the U.S. and other foreign countries important to international trade and finance. Government intervention may also play a significant role. National governments rarely voluntarily allow their currencies to float freely in response to economic forces. Sovereign governments use a variety of techniques, such as intervention by a country’s central bank or imposition of regulatory controls or taxes, to affect the exchange rates of their currencies.

ADRs, EDRs and GDRs: A fund may also purchase ADRs, American Depositary Debentures, American Depositary Notes, American Depositary Bonds, EDRs, GDRs and FDRs, or other securities representing underlying shares of foreign companies. ADRs are publicly traded on exchanges or over-the-counter in the U.S. and are issued through “sponsored” or “unsponsored” arrangements. In a sponsored ADR arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes the obligation to pay some or all of the depository’s transaction fees, whereas under an unsponsored arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes no obligation and the depository’s transaction fees are paid by the ADR holders. In addition, less information is available in the U.S. about an unsponsored ADR than about a sponsored ADR, and the financial information about a company may not be as reliable for an unsponsored

 

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ADR as it is for a sponsored ADR. A fund may invest in ADRs through both sponsored and unsponsored arrangements. EDRs and GDRs are securities that are typically issued by foreign banks or foreign trust companies, although U.S. banks or U.S. trust companies may issue them. EDRs and GDRs are structured similarly to the arrangements of ADRs. EDRs, in bearer form, are designed for use in European securities markets.

Russian Securities

A fund may invest directly in the securities of Russian issuers or may have indirect exposure to Russian securities through its investment in one or more funds with direct investments in Russia. Investment in those securities presents many of the same risks as investing in the securities of emerging country issuers, as described above. The social, political, legal, and operational risks of investing in Russian issuers, and of having assets held in custody within Russia, however, may be particularly pronounced relative to investments in more developed countries. Russia’s system of share registration and custody creates certain risks of loss (including the risk of total loss) that are not normally associated with investments in other securities markets.

A risk of particular note with respect to direct investment in Russian securities results from the way in which ownership of shares of companies is normally recorded. Ownership of shares (except where shares are held through depositories that meet the requirements of the 1940 Act) is defined according to entries in the company’s share register and normally evidenced by “share extracts” from the register or, in certain circumstances, by formal share certificates. However, there is no central registration system for shareholders and these services are carried out by the companies themselves or by registrars located throughout Russia. The share registrars are controlled by the issuer of the security, and investors are provided with few legal rights against such registrars. These registrars are not necessarily subject to effective state supervision, nor are they licensed with any governmental entity. It is possible for a fund to lose its registration through fraud, negligence, or even mere oversight. Each applicable fund will endeavor to ensure that its interest is appropriately recorded, which may involve a custodian or other agent inspecting the share register and obtaining extracts of share registers through regular confirmations. However, these extracts have no legal enforceability and it is possible that a subsequent illegal amendment or other fraudulent act may deprive a fund of its ownership rights or improperly dilute its interests. In addition, while applicable Russian regulations impose liability on registrars for losses resulting from their errors, it may be difficult for a fund to enforce any rights it may have against the registrar or issuer of the securities in the event of a loss of share registration. Further, significant delays or problems may occur in registering the transfer of securities, which could cause a fund to incur losses due to a counterparty’s failure to pay for securities the fund has delivered or the fund’s inability to complete its contractual obligations because of theft or other reasons.

Also, although a Russian public enterprise having a certain minimum number of shareholders is required by law to contract out the maintenance of its shareholder register to an independent entity that meets certain criteria, this regulation has not always been strictly enforced in practice. Because of this lack of independence, management of a company may be able to exert considerable influence over who can purchase and sell the company’s shares by illegally instructing the registrar to refuse to record transactions in the share register.

Investments in the Real Estate Industry and Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”)

REITs are pooled investment vehicles which invest primarily in income producing real estate, or real estate related loans or interests. REITs are generally classified as equity REITs, mortgage REITs or a combination of equity and mortgage REITs. Equity REITs invest the majority of their assets directly in real property and derive income primarily from the collection of rents. Equity REITs can also realize capital gains by selling properties that have appreciated in value. Mortgage REITs invest the majority of their assets in real estate mortgages and derive income from the collection of interest payments. REITs are not taxed on income distributed to shareholders provided they comply with the applicable requirements of the Internal Revenue Code. Debt securities issued by REITs, for the most part, are general and unsecured obligations and are subject to risks associated with REITs.

Investing in REITs involves certain unique risks in addition to those risks associated with investing in the real estate industry in general. An equity REIT may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying properties

 

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owned by the REIT. A mortgage REIT may be affected by changes in interest rates and the ability of the issuers of its portfolio mortgages to repay their obligations. REITs are dependent upon the skills of their managers and are not diversified. REITs are generally dependent upon maintaining cash flows to repay borrowings and to make distributions to shareholders and are subject to the risk of default by lessees or borrowers. REITs whose underlying assets are concentrated in properties used by a particular industry, such as health care, are also subject to industry related risks.

REITs (especially mortgage REITs) are also subject to interest rate risk. When interest rates decline, the value of a REIT’s investment in fixed rate obligations can be expected to rise. Conversely, when interest rates rise, the value of a REIT’s investment in fixed rate obligations can be expected to decline. If the REIT invests in adjustable rate mortgage loans the interest rates on which are reset periodically, yields on a REIT’s investments in such loans will gradually align themselves to reflect changes in market interest rates. This causes the value of such investments to fluctuate less dramatically in response to interest rate fluctuations than would investments in fixed rate obligations. REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in a limited volume and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger company securities. Historically, REITs have been more volatile in price than the larger capitalization stocks included in the S&P 500 Index.

Certain funds may invest in foreign real estate companies, which are similar to entities organized and operated as REITs in the U.S. Foreign real estate companies may be subject to laws, rules and regulations governing those entities and their failure to comply with those laws, rules and regulations could negatively impact the performance of those entities. In addition, investments in REITs and foreign real estate companies may involve duplication of management fees and certain other expenses, and a fund indirectly bears its proportionate share of any expenses paid by REITs and foreign real estate companies in which it invests.

Other Investments

Illiquid Securities

An illiquid security is any security that a fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the security. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, and a fund may have difficulty disposing of such securities promptly.

Certain restricted securities can be traded freely among qualified purchasers in accordance with Rule 144A under the 1933 Act. The SEC has stated that an investment company’s board of directors, or its investment adviser acting under authority delegated by the board, may determine that a security eligible for trading under this rule is “liquid.” The Board has delegated to the funds’ sub-adviser authority to determine whether particular securities eligible for trading under Rule 144A are and continue to be “liquid.” Investing in these restricted securities could have the effect of increasing a fund’s illiquidity, however, if qualified purchasers become uninterested in buying these securities.

The sale of illiquid securities often requires more time and results in higher brokerage charges or dealer discounts and other selling expenses than does the sale of securities eligible for trading on national securities exchanges or in the OTC markets. A fund may be restricted in its ability to sell such securities at a time when a fund’s sub-adviser deems it advisable to do so. In addition, in order to meet redemption requests, a fund may have to sell other assets, rather than such illiquid securities, at a time that is not advantageous.

Each fund monitors the portion of its total assets that are invested in illiquid securities on an ongoing basis, not only at the time of the investment in such securities.

Passive Foreign Investment Companies

Certain foreign entities called passive foreign investment companies have been the only or primary way to invest in certain countries. In addition to bearing their proportionate share of a fund’s expenses (management fees and operating expenses), shareholders will also indirectly bear similar expenses of passive foreign investment

 

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companies in which the fund invests. Gains on the sale of such holdings may be considered ordinary income regardless of how long the fund held its investment. In addition, a fund may be subject to corporate income tax and an interest charge on certain dividends and capital gains earned with respect to these investments.

To avoid such tax and interest, each fund generally intends to treat these securities as sold on the last day of its fiscal year and recognize any gains for tax purposes at that time; deductions for losses are allowable only to the extent of any gains resulting from these deemed sales for prior taxable years. Such gains and losses will be treated as ordinary income. See “Taxes.”

Other Investment Companies

Subject to applicable statutory and regulatory limitations, a fund may invest in shares of other investment companies, including shares of other mutual funds, closed-end funds, and unregistered investment companies. Pursuant to an exemptive order obtained from the SEC or under a statutory exemption or an exemptive rule adopted by the SEC, a fund may invest in other investment companies beyond the statutory limits prescribed by the 1940 Act. The SEC recently adopted certain regulatory changes and took other actions related to the ability of an investment company to invest in the securities of another investment company. These changes include, among other things, the rescission of certain SEC exemptive orders permitting investments in excess of the statutory limits and the withdrawal of certain related SEC staff no-action letters, and the adoption of Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act. Rule 12d1-4, which was effective on January 19, 2021, permits a fund to invest in other investment companies beyond the statutory limits, subject to certain conditions. The rescission of the applicable exemptive orders and the withdrawal of the applicable no-action letters is effective on January 19, 2022. After such time, an investment company will no longer be able to rely on the aforementioned exemptive orders and no-action letters, and will be subject instead to Rule 12d1-4 and other applicable rules under Section 12(d)(1).

Investments in other investment companies are subject to the risk of the securities in which those investment companies invest. In addition, to the extent a fund invests in securities of other investment companies, fund shareholders would indirectly pay a portion of the operating costs of such companies in addition to the expenses of a fund’s own operation. These costs include management, brokerage, shareholder servicing and other operational expenses.

Exchange-Traded Funds (“ETFs”)

ETFs, such as the funds, are typically registered investment companies whose securities are traded over an exchange at their market price. ETFs generally represent a portfolio of securities designed to track a particular market index or other group of securities. Other ETFs are actively managed and seek to achieve a stated objective by investing in a portfolio of securities and other assets. A fund may purchase an ETF to temporarily gain exposure to a portion of the U.S. or a foreign market pending the purchase of individual securities. The risks of owning an ETF generally reflect the risks of owning the underlying securities, although the potential lack of liquidity of an ETF could result in it being more volatile. There is also a risk that the general level of securities prices may decline, thereby adversely affecting the value of ETFs invested in by a fund. Moreover, a fund’s investments in index-based ETFs may not exactly match the performance of a direct investment in the respective indices or portfolios of securities to which they are intended to correspond due to the temporary unavailability of certain index securities in the secondary market or other factors, such as discrepancies with respect to the weighting of securities. Additionally, ETFs have management fees which increase their costs.

Unlike shares of typical mutual funds or unit investment trusts, shares of ETFs are designed to be traded throughout a trading day, bought and sold based on market values and not at net asset value. For this reason, shares could trade at either a premium or discount to net asset value. However, the funds held by most ETFs are publicly disclosed on each trading day, and an approximation of actual net asset value is disseminated throughout the trading day. Because of this transparency, the trading prices of ETFs tend to closely track the actual net asset value of the underlying portfolios. However, gains or losses on a fund’s investment in ETFs will ultimately depend on the purchase and sale price of the ETF.

 

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Additional Information

Borrowings

A fund may engage in borrowing transactions as a means of raising cash to satisfy redemption requests, for other temporary or emergency purposes or, to the extent permitted by its investment policies, to raise additional cash to be invested by the fund’s portfolio managers in other securities or instruments.

When a fund invests borrowing proceeds in other securities, the fund will bear the risk that the market value of the securities in which the proceeds are invested goes down and is insufficient to repay borrowed proceeds. Like other leveraging risks, this makes the value of an investment in a fund more volatile and increases the fund’s overall investment exposure. In addition, if a fund’s return on its investment of the borrowing proceeds does not equal or exceed the interest that a fund is obligated to pay under the terms of a borrowing, engaging in these transactions will lower the fund’s return.

A fund may be required to liquidate portfolio securities at a time when it would be disadvantageous to do so in order to make payments with respect to its borrowing obligations. This could adversely affect the portfolio managers’ strategy and result in lower fund returns. Interest on any borrowings will be a fund expense and will reduce the value of a fund’s shares.

A fund may borrow on a secured or on an unsecured basis. If a fund enters into a secured borrowing arrangement, a portion of the fund’s assets will be used as collateral. During the term of the borrowing, the fund will remain at risk for any fluctuations in the market value of these assets in addition to any securities purchased with the proceeds of the loan. In addition, a fund may be unable to sell the collateral at a time when it would be advantageous to do so, which could adversely affect the portfolio managers’ strategy and result in lower fund returns. The fund would also be subject to the risk that the lender may file for bankruptcy, become insolvent, or otherwise default on its obligations to return the collateral to the fund. In the event of a default by the lender, there may be delays, costs and risks of loss involved in a fund’s exercising its rights with respect to the collateral or those rights may be limited by other contractual agreements or obligations or by applicable law.

The 1940 Act requires a fund to maintain at all times an “asset coverage” of at least 300% of the amount of its borrowings. Asset coverage means the ratio that the value of the fund’s total assets, minus liabilities other than borrowings, bears to the aggregate amount of all borrowings. Although complying with this guideline would have the effect of limiting the amount that the fund may borrow, it does not otherwise mitigate the risks of entering into borrowing transactions.

Reverse Repurchase Agreements

A reverse repurchase agreement has the characteristics of a secured borrowing and creates leverage. In a reverse repurchase transaction, a fund sells a portfolio instrument to another person, such as a financial institution or broker/dealer, in return for cash. At the same time, a fund agrees to repurchase the instrument at an agreed-upon time and at a price that is greater than the amount of cash that the fund received when it sold the instrument, representing the equivalent of an interest payment by the fund for the use of the cash. During the term of the transaction, a fund will continue to receive any principal and interest payments (or the equivalent thereof) on the underlying instruments.

A fund may engage in reverse repurchase agreements as a means of raising cash to satisfy redemption requests or for other temporary or emergency purposes. Unless otherwise limited in its prospectus or this SAI, a fund may also engage in reverse repurchase agreements to the extent permitted by its fundamental investment policies in order to raise additional cash to be invested by the fund’s portfolio managers in other securities or instruments in an effort to increase the fund’s investment returns.

During the term of the transaction, a fund will remain at risk for any fluctuations in the market value of the instruments subject to the reverse repurchase agreement as if it had not entered into the transaction. When a fund reinvests the proceeds of a reverse repurchase agreement in other securities, the fund will bear the risk that the market value of the securities in which the proceeds are invested goes down and is insufficient to satisfy the fund’s obligations under the reverse repurchase agreement. Like other leveraging risks, this makes the value of

 

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an investment in a fund more volatile and increases the fund’s overall investment exposure. This could also result in the fund having to dispose of investments at inopportune times and at disadvantageous amounts. In addition, if a fund’s return on its investment of the proceeds of the reverse repurchase agreement does not equal or exceed the implied interest that it is obligated to pay under the reverse repurchase agreement, engaging in the transaction will lower the fund’s return.

When a fund enters into a reverse repurchase agreement, it is subject to the risk that the buyer under the agreement may file for bankruptcy, become insolvent, or otherwise default on its obligations to the fund. In the event of a default by the counterparty, there may be delays, costs and risks of loss involved in a fund’s exercising its rights under the agreement, or those rights may be limited by other contractual agreements or obligations or by applicable law.

In addition, a fund may be unable to sell the instruments subject to the reverse repurchase agreement at a time when it would be advantageous to do so, or may be required to liquidate portfolio securities at a time when it would be disadvantageous to do so in order to make payments with respect to its obligations under a reverse repurchase agreement. This could adversely affect the portfolio managers’ strategy and result in losses. At the time a fund enters into a reverse repurchase agreement, the fund is required to set aside or earmark on its books cash or other appropriate liquid securities in the amount of the fund’s obligation under the reverse repurchase agreement or take certain other actions in accordance with SEC guidelines, which may affect a fund’s liquidity and ability to manage its assets. Although complying with SEC guidelines would have the effect of limiting the amount of fund assets that may be committed to reverse repurchase agreements and other similar transactions at any time, it does not otherwise mitigate the risks of entering into reverse repurchase agreements.

Lending

Consistent with applicable regulatory requirements and the limitations as set forth in each fund’s investment restrictions and policies, a fund may lend portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial organizations meeting capital and other credit requirements or other criteria established by the Board. Loans of securities will be secured continuously by collateral in cash or U.S. government or agency securities maintained on a current basis at an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities loaned. Cash collateral received by a fund will be invested in high quality short-term instruments, or in one or more funds maintained by the lending agent for the purpose of investing cash collateral. During the term of the loan, a fund will continue to have investment risk with respect to the security loaned, as well as risk with respect to the investment of the cash collateral. Either party has the right to terminate a loan at any time on customary industry settlement notice (which will not usually exceed three business days). During the existence of a loan, a fund will continue to receive the equivalent of the interest or dividends paid by the issuer on the securities loaned and, with respect to cash collateral, will receive any income generated by the fund’s investment of the collateral (subject to a rebate payable to the borrower and a percentage of the income payable to the lending agent). Where the borrower provides a fund with collateral other than cash, the borrower is also obligated to pay the fund a fee for use of the borrowed securities. A fund does not have the right to vote any securities having voting rights during the existence of the loan, but would retain the right to call the loan in anticipation of an important vote to be taken among holders of the securities or of the giving or withholding of their consent on a material matter affecting the investment. As with other extensions of credit, there are risks of delay in recovery or even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially. In addition, a fund could suffer loss if the loan terminates and the fund is forced to liquidate investments at a loss in order to return the cash collateral to the buyer.

Voluntary Actions

From time to time, a fund may voluntarily participate in actions (for example, rights offerings, conversion privileges, exchange offers, credit event settlements, etc.) where the issuer or counterparty offers securities or instruments to holders or counterparties, such as a fund, and the acquisition is determined to be beneficial to fund shareholders (“Voluntary Action”). Notwithstanding any percentage investment limitation listed under this section or any percentage investment limitation of the 1940 Act or rules thereunder, if a fund has the opportunity to acquire a permitted security or instrument through a Voluntary Action, and the fund will exceed a percentage investment limitation following the acquisition, it will not constitute a violation if, after announcement of the

 

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offering, but prior to the receipt of the securities or instruments, the fund sells an offsetting amount of assets that are subject to the investment limitation in question at least equal to the value of the securities or instruments to be acquired.

Cybersecurity

With the increased use of technologies such as the Internet to conduct business, a fund is susceptible to operational, information security and related risks through breaches in cybersecurity. In general, a breach in cybersecurity can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events. Cyber attacks include, but are not limited to, gaining unauthorized access to digital systems (e.g., through “hacking” or malicious software coding) for purposes of misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting data, or causing operational disruption. Cyber attacks may also be carried out in a manner that does not require gaining unauthorized access, such as causing denial-of-service attacks on websites (i.e., efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users). Cyber incidents affecting a fund’s investment manager, sub-adviser and other service providers (including, but not limited to, fund accountants, custodians, transfer agents and financial intermediaries) have the ability to cause disruptions and impact business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses, interference with a fund’s ability to calculate its NAV, impediments to trading, the inability of fund shareholders to transact business, violations of applicable privacy and other laws, regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, or additional compliance costs. Similar adverse consequences could result from cyber incidents affecting issuers of securities in which a fund invests, counterparties with which a fund engages in transactions, governmental and other regulatory authorities, exchange and other financial market operators, banks, brokers, dealers, insurance companies and other financial institutions (including financial intermediaries and service providers for fund shareholders) and other parties. In addition, substantial costs may be incurred in order to prevent any cyber incidents in the future. While a fund’s service providers have established business continuity plans in the event of, and risk management systems to prevent, such cyber incidents, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems including the possibility that certain risks have not been adequately identified or prepared for. Furthermore, a fund cannot control the cyber security plans and systems put in place by its service providers or any other third parties whose operations may affect the fund or its shareholders. Cybersecurity risks may also impact issuers of securities in which the fund invests, which may cause the fund’s investments in such issuers to lose value. A fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result.

Commodity Exchange Act Registration

The funds are operated by the Investment Manager pursuant to an exclusion from registration as a “commodity pool operator” (“CPO”) under the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”) with respect to the funds, and therefore, are not subject to registration or regulation under the CEA. The funds are limited in their ability to enter into commodity interests positions subject to CFTC jurisdiction.

Continuous Offering

The method by which Creation Units of Fund Shares are created and traded may raise certain issues under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation Units of Fund Shares are issued and sold by the Trust on an ongoing basis, at any point a “distribution,” as such term is used in the Securities Act, may occur. Broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner which could render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the Securities Act.

For example, a broker-dealer firm or its client may be deemed a statutory underwriter if it takes Creation Units after placing an order with the Transfer Agent (defined below), breaks them down into constituent Fund Shares, and sells such Fund Shares directly to customers, or if it chooses to couple the creation of a supply of new Fund Shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary market demand for Fund Shares. A determination of whether one is an underwriter for purposes of the Securities Act must take into account all the facts and circumstances pertaining to the activities of the broker-dealer or its client in the particular case, and the examples mentioned above should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could lead to a categorization as an underwriter.

 

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Broker-dealer firms should also note that dealers who are not “underwriters” but are effecting transactions in Fund Shares, whether or not participating in the distribution of Fund Shares, are generally required to deliver a prospectus. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act is not available in respect of such transactions as a result of Section 24(d) of the 1940 Act. Firms that incur a prospectus-delivery obligation with respect to Fund Shares are reminded that under Securities Act Rule 153, a prospectus-delivery obligation under Section 5(b)(2) of the Securities Act owed to an exchange member in connection with a sale on the Exchange is satisfied by the fact that a fund’s Prospectus is available at the Exchange upon request. The prospectus delivery mechanism provided in Rule 153 is only available with respect to transactions on an exchange.

Certain affiliates of the funds, including TAM and its affiliates and other accounts managed by TAM and its affiliates (the “Selling Shareholders”), may purchase Creation Units through a broker-dealer to “seed” funds as they are launched, or may purchase Fund Shares from other broker-dealers that have previously provided “seed” for funds when they were launched, or otherwise in secondary market transactions, and because a Selling Shareholder may be deemed an affiliate of such funds, the Fund Shares are being registered to permit the resale of these Fund Shares from time to time after purchase. The funds will not receive any of the proceeds from the resale by the Selling Shareholders of these Fund Shares.

The Selling Shareholders intend to sell all or a portion of the Fund Shares owned by them and offered hereby from time to time directly or through one or more broker-dealers. The Fund Shares may be sold on any national securities exchange on which the Fund Shares may be listed or quoted at the time of sale, in the over-the-counter market or in transactions other than on these exchanges or systems at fixed prices, at prevailing market prices at the time of the sale, at varying prices determined at the time of sale, or at negotiated prices. These sales may be effected in transactions, which may involve crosses or block transactions.

The Selling Shareholders may also loan or pledge Fund Shares to broker-dealers that in turn may sell such Fund Shares, to the extent permitted by applicable law. The Selling Shareholders may also enter into options or other transactions with broker-dealers or other financial institutions or the creation of one or more derivative securities which require the delivery to such broker-dealer or other financial institution of Fund Shares, which Fund Shares such broker-dealer or other financial institution may resell.

The Selling Shareholders and any broker-dealer or agents participating in the distribution of Fund Shares may be deemed to be “underwriters” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(11) of the 1933 Act in connection with such sales. In such event, any commissions paid to any such broker-dealer or agent and any profit on the resale of the Fund Shares purchased by them may be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts under the 1933 Act. A Selling Shareholder who may be deemed an “underwriter” within the meaning of Section  2(a)(11) of the 1933 Act will be subject to the applicable prospectus delivery requirements of the 1933 Act.

Exchange Listing and Trading

A discussion of exchange listing and trading matters associated with investments in the funds is contained in the Prospectus under “Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares” and “ADDITIONAL PURCHASE AND SALE INFORMATION.” The discussion below supplements, and should be read in conjunction with, such sections of the Prospectus.

The Fund Shares are approved for listing and trading on the Exchange, subject to notice of issuance. The Fund Shares trade on the Exchange at prices that may differ to some degree from their net asset value. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of a fund’s shares will continue to be met.

The Exchange will consider the suspension of trading in, and will initiate delisting procedures of, the shares of a fund under any of the following circumstances: (1) if the Exchange becomes aware that the fund is no longer eligible to operate in reliance on Rule 6c-11 under the 1940 Act; (2) if the fund no longer complies with the applicable listing requirements set forth in the Exchange’s rules; (3) if, following the initial twelve-month period after commencement of trading on the Exchange of the fund, there are fewer than 50 beneficial holders of the

 

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fund; or (4) if such other event shall occur or condition exists which, in the opinion of the Exchange, makes further dealings on the Exchange inadvisable. The Exchange will remove the shares from listing and trading upon termination of the Trust or the fund.

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

As in the case of other publicly-traded securities, brokers’ commissions on transactions will be based on negotiated commission rates at customary levels.

The base and trading currencies of each fund is the U.S. dollar. The base currency is the currency in which a fund’s net asset value per Fund Share is calculated and the trading currency is the currency in which the fund’s shares are listed and traded on the Exchange.

Portfolio Turnover

Portfolio turnover rate is, in general, the percentage calculated by taking the lesser of purchases or sales of portfolio securities (excluding short-term securities) for a year and dividing it by the monthly average of the market value of such securities held during the year.

The sub-adviser may engage in a significant number of short-term transactions if such investing serves a fund’s objective. The rate of portfolio turnover will not be a limiting factor when such short-term investing is considered appropriate. Increased turnover results in higher brokerage costs or mark-up charges for a fund, these charges are ultimately borne by the shareholders.

In computing the portfolio turnover rate, securities whose maturities or expiration dates at the time of acquisition are one year or less are excluded. Subject to this exclusion, the turnover rate for a fund is calculated by dividing (a) the lesser of purchases or sales of portfolio securities for the fiscal year by (b) the monthly average of portfolio securities owned by the fund during the fiscal year.

There are no fixed limitations regarding the portfolio turnover rates of the funds. Portfolio turnover rates are expected to fluctuate under constantly changing economic conditions and market circumstances. Higher turnover rates tend to result in higher brokerage fees. Securities initially satisfying the basic policies and objective of each fund may be disposed of when they are no longer deemed suitable.

DeltaShares S&P 400 Managed Risk ETF, DeltaShares S&P 500 Managed Risk ETF, DeltaShares S&P 600 Managed Risk ETF, DeltaShares S&P International Managed Risk ETF and DeltaShares S&P EM 100 & Managed Risk ETF each had increased trading in 2020, leading to a high turnover rate for that year. The increase in trading was due to an increase rebalancing activity for each fund’s underlying index as a result of volatility caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Historical turnover rates are included in the Financial Highlights tables in the prospectus.

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

The Trust has adopted a policy regarding the disclosure of information about the Trust’s portfolio holdings. The Board must approve all material amendments to this policy. The funds’ portfolio holdings are publicly disseminated each day a fund is open for business through financial reporting and news services including publicly accessible Internet web sites. In addition, a basket composition file, which includes the security names and share quantities to deliver in exchange for Fund Shares, together with estimates and actual cash components, is publicly disseminated daily prior to the opening of the Exchange via the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”). The basket represents one Creation Unit of a fund. The Trust, the Investment Manager or the sub-adviser will not disseminate non-public information concerning the Trust, except information may be made available prior to its public availability: (i) to a party for a legitimate business purpose related to the day-to-day operations of the funds, including: (a) a service provider, (b) the stock exchanges upon which a fund is listed, (c) the NSCC, (d) the Depository Trust Company, and (e) financial data/research companies such as Morningstar, Bloomberg L.P., and Reuters, or (ii) to any other party for a legitimate business or regulatory purpose, upon waiver or exception, with the consent of an applicable Trust officer.

 

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Management of the Trust

Board Members and Officers

The members of the Board (“Board Members”) and executive officers of the Trust are listed below.

“Interested Board Member” means a board member who may be deemed an “interested person” (as that term is defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust because of his current or former service with TAM or an affiliate of TAM. Interested Board Members may also be referred to herein as “Interested Trustees.” “Independent Board Member” means a Board Member who is not an “interested person” (as defined under the 1940 Act) of the Trust and may also be referred to herein as an “Independent Trustee.”

The Board governs each fund and is responsible for protecting the interests of the shareholders. The Board Members are experienced executives who meet periodically throughout the year to oversee the business affairs of each fund and the operation of each fund by its officers. The Board also reviews the management of each fund’s assets by the Investment Manager and the sub-adviser.

The funds are among the funds managed and sponsored by TAM (collectively, “Transamerica Fund Family”). The Transamerica Fund Family consists of (i) Transamerica Funds (“TF”); (ii) Transamerica Series Trust (“TST”); (iii) Transamerica ETF Trust (“TET”) and (iv) Transamerica Asset Allocation Variable Funds (“TAAVF”). The Transamerica Fund Family consists of 121 funds as of the date of this SAI. With the exception of Mr. Smit, none of the Board Members serve on the board of trustees of TF, TST or TAAVF. TF, TST and TAAVF are overseen by a separate board of trustees.

The mailing address of each Board Member is c/o Secretary, 1801 California Street, Suite 5200, Denver, Colorado 80202.

The Board Members, their age, their positions with the Trust, and their principal occupations at least for the past five years (their titles may have varied during that period), the number of funds in Transamerica Fund Family the Board oversees, and other board memberships they hold are set forth in the table below. The length of time served is provided from the date a Board Member became a member of the Board.

 

Name and Age   Position(s)
Held with
Trust
  Term of
Office and
Length
of Time
Served*
  Principal Occupation(s)
During Past Five Years
  Number of
Funds in
Complex
Overseen
by Board
Member
  Other
Directorships Held
By Board Member
INTERESTED BOARD MEMBERS
Marijn P. Smit
(47)
  Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer   Since 2017  

Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer, TF, TST and TAAVF (2014 – present);

Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer, TET (2017 – present);

Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer, Transamerica Partners Portfolio (“TPP”), Transamerica Partners Funds Group (“TPFG”) and Transamerica Partners Funds Group II (“TPFG II”) (2014 – 2018);

Director, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer, Transamerica Asset Management, Inc. (“TAM”) and Transamerica Fund Services, Inc. (“TFS”) (2014 – present);

Senior Vice President, Transamerica Retirement Solutions LLC (2012 – present);

Trust Officer, Massachusetts Fidelity Trust Company (2014 – present);

President, Investment Solutions, Transamerica Investments & Retirement (2014 – 2016);

Vice President, Transamerica Life Insurance Company (2010 – 2016);

Senior Vice President, Transamerica Financial Life Insurance Company (2013 – 2016);

Senior Vice President, Transamerica Retirement Advisors, Inc. (2013 – 2016); and

President and Director, Transamerica Stable Value Solutions, Inc. (2010 – 2016).

  121   Director, Massachusetts Fidelity Trust Company (2014 – 2021);
Director, Aegon Global Funds (2016 – present)

 

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Name and Age   Position(s)
Held with
Trust
  Term of
Office and
Length
of Time
Served*
  Principal Occupation(s)
During Past Five Years
  Number of
Funds in
Complex
Overseen
by Board
Member
  Other
Directorships Held
By Board Member
INDEPENDENT BOARD MEMBERS

James S. Parsons

(63)

  Trustee   Since 2017  

Retired 2009;

Advisory Board Member, Osprey Funds, LLC (2021 – present).

  8    

Francis J. Enderle

(55)

  Trustee   Since 2017  

Consultant, Lattice Strategies/Hartford Funds (2014 – present); and

Advisory Board Member, Smart Portfolio Strategies Ltd. (2020 – present).

  8   Chair, BlackRock Canada Independent Review Committee (2010 – 2017); Director, WineInStyle (Japan) (2006 – 2017)

 

*

Each Board Member shall hold office until: 1) his or her successor is elected and qualified or 2) he or she resigns, retires or his or her term as a Board Member is terminated in accordance with the Trust’s Declaration of Trust.

Officers

The mailing address of each officer is c/o Secretary, 1801 California Street, Suite 5200, Denver, CO 80202. The following table shows information about the officers, including their year of birth, their positions held with the Trust and their principal occupations during the past five years (their titles may have varied during that period). Each officer will hold office until his or her successor has been duly elected or appointed or until his or her earlier death, resignation or removal.

 

Name and Age   Position   Term of Office
and Length of 
Time Served*
  Principal Occupation(s) or
Employment During Past Five Years
Marijn P. Smit
(47)
  Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer   Since 2017   See Interested Board Members Table Above.

Timothy J. Bresnahan

(52)

  Senior Counsel and Assistant Secretary   Since 2019  

Assistant Secretary (2019 – present), Secretary (2019), TET;

Assistant Secretary, TF, TST and TAAVF (2020 – present);

Senior Counsel, TAM (2008 – present).

Thomas R. Wald, CFA

(60)

  Chief Investment Officer   Since 2017  

Chief Investment Officer, TF, TST and TAAVF (2014 – present);

TET (2017 – present);

Chief Investment Officer, TPP, TPFG and TPFG II (2014 – 2018);

Director (2017 – 2020), Akaan Transamerica, S.A. de C.V., Sociedad Operadora de Fondos de Inversión;

Chief Investment Officer, Transamerica Investments & Retirement (2014 – 2020);

Director, Transamerica Funds Services, Inc. (2019 – present);

Director (2019 – present);

Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, TAM (2014 – present);

Director, TFS (2019 – present); and

Trust Officer, Massachusetts Fidelity Trust Company (2015 – present).

 

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Name and Age   Position   Term of Office
and Length of 
Time Served*
  Principal Occupation(s) or
Employment During Past Five Years
Christopher A. Staples, CFA
(50)
  Vice President and Chief
Investment Officer
  Since 2017  

Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, Advisory Services, TF and TST (2007 – present);

Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, TET (2017 – present);

Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, Advisory Services, TAAVF (2007 – present);

Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, Advisory Services, TPP, TPFG and TPFG II (2007 – 2018);

Director (2005 – 2019), Senior Vice President (2006 – present), Senior Director, Investments (2016 – present), Chief Investment Officer, Advisory Services (2012 – 2016) and Lead Portfolio Manager (2007 – present), TAM;

Director, TFS (2005 – 2019);

Trust Officer, Massachusetts Fidelity Trust Company (2010 – present);

Registered Representative (2007 – 2016), Transamerica Capital, Inc. (“TCI”); and

Registered Representative, TFA (2005 – present).

Francine J. Rosenberger
(53)
  Chief Compliance Officer   Since 2019  

Chief Compliance Officer, TF, TST, TET and TAAVF (2019 – present);

Chief Compliance Officer (2019 – present), TAM; and

General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Fund Chief Compliance Officer, Steben & Company, Inc. (2013 – 2019).

Molly Possehl
(42)
  Anti-Money Laundering Officer   Since 2019  

Anti-Money Laundering Officer, TF, TST, TET and TAAVF (2019 – present);

Assistant General Counsel, Transamerica Life Insurance Company/Aegon USA (2013 – present); and

Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer and Fraud Officer, Transamerica Life Insurance Company/Aegon USA (2015 – present).

Erin D. Nelson

(43)

  Chief Legal Officer and Secretary   Since 2019  

Chief Legal Officer and Secretary, TF, TST, TET and TAAVF (2019 – present);

Assistant General Counsel II and Assistant Secretary, TAM (2019 – present);

Assistant Secretary (2019 – present), TFS; and

Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer, ALPS Advisors, Inc. (2015 – 2019).

Vincent J. Toner

(51)

  Vice President and Treasurer   Since 2017  

Vice President and Treasurer, TF, TST and TAAVF (2014 – present), Vice President and Treasurer (2017 – present), Vice President, Principal Financial Officer and Treasurer (2020 – present), TET;

Vice President and Treasurer, TPP, TPFG and TPFG II (2014 – 2018);

Vice President (2016 – present), Treasurer (2016 – 2019), Vice President, Administration and Treasurer (2014 – 2016), TAM;

Vice President, Administration and Treasurer (2014 – 2019), Senior Vice President (2019 – present, TFS;

Vice President (2016 – present), TCI; and

Trust Officer (2015 – present), Massachusetts Fidelity Trust Company.

 

*

Elected and serves at the pleasure of the Board of the Trust.

 

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If an officer has held offices for different funds for different periods of time, the earliest applicable date is shown. No officer of the Trust, except for the Chief Compliance Officer, receives any compensation from the Trust.

The Board believes that each Board Member’s experience, qualifications, attributes or skills on an individual basis and in combination with those of the other Board Members lead to the conclusion that the Board possesses the requisite skills and attributes. The Board believes that the Board Members’ ability to review critically, evaluate, question and discuss information provided to them, to interact effectively with TAM, the sub-adviser, other services providers, counsel and independent auditors, and to exercise effective business judgment in the performance of their duties, support this conclusion. The Board also has considered the following experience, qualifications, attributes and/or skills, among others, of its members in reaching its conclusion: his or her character and integrity; such person’s willingness to serve and willingness and ability to commit the time necessary to perform the duties of a Board Member; the fact that such person’s service would be consistent with the requirements of the retirement policies of the Trust; as to each Board Member other than Mr. Smit, his or her status as not being an “interested person” as defined in the 1940 Act; and, as to Mr. Smit, his status as a representative of TAM. In addition, the following specific experience, qualifications, attributes and/or skills apply as to each Board Member: Mr. Parsons, financial experience through various positions at investment management organizations and experience as a board member of multiple organizations; Mr. Enderle, investment experience through various positions, including Chief Investment Officer, at investment management organizations and experience as a board and committee member of multiple organizations; and Mr. Smit, investment management and insurance experience as an executive and leadership roles with TAM and affiliated entities. References to the qualifications, attributes and skills of Board Members are pursuant to requirements of the SEC, do not constitute holding out of the Board or any Board Member as having any special expertise or experience, and shall not impose any greater responsibility or liability on any such person or on the Board by reason thereof.

The Board is responsible for overseeing the management and operations of the funds. The Board is comprised of three members, two of whom are Independent Board Members. Mr. Smit serves as Chairman of the Board. Mr. Smit is an interested person of the funds. The Board currently believes that an interested Chairman is appropriate and is in the best interests of the funds and their shareholders, and that its committees, as further described below, help ensure that the funds have effective and independent governance and oversight. The Board believes that an interested Chairman has a professional interest in the quality of the services provided to the funds and that the Chairman is best equipped to provide oversight of such services on a day-to-day basis because of TAM’s sponsorship of the funds and TAM’s ongoing monitoring of the investment sub-adviser that manages the assets of each fund. The Board also believes that its leadership structure facilitates the orderly and efficient flow of information to the Independent Board Members from management. The Independent Board Members also believe that they can effectively act independently without having an Independent Board Members act as Chairman. Among other reasons, this belief is based on the small size of the Board, which assures significant participation by each member.

Board Committees

The Board has two standing committees: the Audit Committee and Nominating Committee. Both the Audit Committee and Nominating Committee are chaired by an Independent Board Member and composed of all of the Independent Board Members. In addition, the Board has a Lead Independent Board Member.

The Independent Board Members and the chairs of the Audit and Nominating Committees work with the Chairman to set the agendas for Board and committee meetings. Through the funds’ board committees, the Independent Board Members consider and address important matters involving the funds, including those presenting conflicts or potential conflicts of interest for management, and they believe they can act independently and effectively. The Board believes that its leadership structure is appropriate and facilitates the orderly and efficient flow of information to the Independent Board Members from management.

The Audit Committee, among other things, oversees the accounting and reporting policies and practices and internal controls of the Trust, oversees the quality and integrity of the financial statements of the Trust, approves, prior to appointment, the engagement of the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm, reviews and

 

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evaluates the independent registered public accounting firm’s qualifications, independence and performance, and approves the compensation of the independent registered public accounting firm.

The Audit Committee also approves all audit and permissible non-audit services provided to each fund by the independent registered public accounting firm and all permissible non-audit services provided by each fund’s independent registered public accounting firm to TAM and any affiliated service providers if the engagement relates directly to each fund’s operations and financial reporting.

The Nominating Committee is a forum for identifying, considering, selecting and nominating, or recommending for nomination by the Board, candidates to fill vacancies on the Board. The Nominating Committee may consider diversity in identifying potential candidates, including differences of viewpoint, professional experience and skill, as well as such other individual qualities and attributes as it may deem relevant. The Nominating Committee has not adopted a formal procedure for the implementation, or for assessing the effectiveness, of its policy with regard to the consideration of diversity in identifying potential candidates.

When addressing vacancies, the Nominating Committee sets any necessary standards or qualifications for service on the Board and may consider nominees recommended by any source it deems appropriate, including management and shareholders. Shareholders who wish to recommend a nominee should send recommendations to the Trust’s Secretary that include all information relating to such person that is required to be disclosed in solicitations of proxies for the election of Board Members. A recommendation must be accompanied by a written consent of the individual to stand for election if nominated by the Board and to serve if elected by the shareholders. The Nominating Committee will consider all submissions meeting the applicable requirements stated herein that are received by December 31 of the most recently completed calendar year.

The Nominating Committee also identifies potential nominees through its network of contacts and may also engage, if it deems appropriate, a professional search firm. The committee meets to discuss and consider such candidates’ qualifications and then chooses a candidate by majority vote. The committee does not have specific, minimum qualifications for nominees, nor has it established specific qualities or skills that it regards as necessary for one or more of the Board Members to possess (other than any qualities or skills that may be required by applicable law, regulation or listing standard). The committee has, however, established (and reviews from time to time as it deems appropriate) certain desired qualities and qualifications for nominees, including certain personal attributes and certain skills and experience.

Risk Oversight

Through its oversight of the management and operations of the funds, the Board also has a risk oversight function, which includes (without limitation) the following: (i) requesting and reviewing reports on the operations of the funds (such as reports about the performance of the funds); (ii) reviewing compliance reports and approving compliance policies and procedures of the funds and their service providers; (iii) meeting with management to consider areas of risk and to seek assurances that adequate resources are available to address risks; (iv) meeting with service providers, including fund auditors, to review fund activities; and (v) meeting with the Chief Compliance Officer and other officers of the funds and their service providers to receive information about compliance, and risk assessment and management matters. Such oversight is exercised primarily through the Board and its Audit Committee but, on an ad hoc basis, also can be exercised by the Independent Board Members during executive sessions. The Board has emphasized to TAM and the sub-adviser the importance of maintaining vigorous risk management.

The Board recognizes that not all risks that may affect the funds can be identified, that it may not be practical or cost-effective to eliminate or mitigate certain risks, that it may be necessary to bear certain risks (such as investment-related risks) to achieve the funds’ goals, and that the processes, procedures and controls employed to address certain risks may be limited in their effectiveness. Moreover, reports received by the Board Members as to risk management matters are typically summaries of the relevant information. Most of the funds’ investment management and business affairs are carried out by or through TAM, its affiliates, the sub-adviser and other service providers each of which has an independent interest in risk management but whose policies and the methods by which one or more risk management functions are carried out may differ from the funds’ and each other’s in the setting of priorities, the resources available or the effectiveness of relevant controls. As a result of

 

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the foregoing and other factors, the Board’s risk management oversight is subject to substantial limitations. In addition, some risks may be beyond the reasonable control of the Board, the funds, TAM, its affiliates, the sub-adviser or other service providers.

In addition, it is important to note that each fund is designed for investors that are prepared to accept investment risk, including the possibility that as yet unforeseen risks may emerge in the future.

Additional Information about the Committees of the Board

Both the Audit Committee and Nominating Committee are composed of all of the Independent Board Members. For the fiscal period ended December 31, 2020, the Audit Committee met 3 times and the Nominating Committee did not meet.

Trustee Ownership of Equity Securities

The tables below gives the dollar range of shares of each fund, as well as the aggregate dollar range of shares of all funds/portfolios in the Transamerica Fund Family, owned by each current Trustee as of December 31, 2020.

 

Fund    Marijn P.
Smit
     James S.
Parsons
   Francis J.
Enderle
 

DeltaShares S&P 400 Managed Risk ETF

     None      None      None  

DeltaShares S&P 500 Managed Risk ETF

     None      Over $100,000      None  

DeltaShares S&P 600 Managed Risk ETF

     None      Over $100,000      None  

DeltaShares S&P International Managed Risk ETF

     None      $10,001 - $50,000      None  

DeltaShares S&P EM 100 & Managed Risk ETF

     None      None      None  

 

Transamerica Fund Family
Trustee    Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity
Securities

Interested Trustees

    

Marijn P. Smit

   Over $100,000

Independent Trustees

    

James S. Parsons

   Over $100,000

Francis J. Enderle

   None

As of December 31, 2020, none of the Independent Board Members or their immediate family members owned beneficially or of record any securities of the Investment Manager, sub-adviser or Distributor of the funds, or in a person (other than a registered investment company) directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with the Investment Manager, sub-adviser or Distributor of the funds.

Trustee Compensation

The Independent Board compensation is determined as follows: Independent Board Members receive $10,000 for each regularly scheduled meeting attended and, in the event of special meetings, may receive additional compensation.

Any fees and expenses paid to an Interested Board Member and officers are paid by TAM or an affiliate and not by the Trust or any series, except that the compensation of the Chief Compliance Officer is paid as provided in the next sentence. A portion of the compensation of the Chief Compliance Officer is paid by TAM or an affiliate; the remaining portion is allocated ratably, based on relative net assets, among the mutual funds and ETFs sponsored by TAM, including the series of the Trust.

 

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Compensation Table

The following table provides compensation amounts paid to the Independent Trustees for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020. Trustees are not compensated by the funds. Mr. Smit is compensated for his Board service by TAM or an affiliate of TAM.

 

Name of Person,
Position
   Aggregate
Compensation from 
the Trust
   Pension or Retirement
Benefits Accrued as
Part of Funds
Expenses(a)
   Estimated Annual 
Benefits Upon
Retirement
   Total Compensation
from Transamerica
Fund Family
(including  the Trust) 

James S. Parsons

   $45,000    N/A    N/A    $45,000

Francis J. Enderle

   $45,000    N/A    N/A    $45,000

 

(a)

The Trust has no plan or other arrangement pursuant to which the Trustees receive pension or retirement benefits.

Shareholder Communication Procedures with the Board of Trustees

The Board of the Trust has adopted these procedures by which shareholders of the Trust may send written communications to the Board. Shareholders may mail written communications to the Board, addressed to the care of the Secretary of the Trust (“Secretary”), as follows:

Board of Trustees

Transamerica ETF Trust

c/o Secretary

1801 California Street, Suite 5200

Denver, CO 80202

Each shareholder communication must (i) be in writing and be signed by the shareholder and (ii) identify the underlying series of the Trust to which it relates. The Secretary is responsible for collecting, reviewing and organizing all properly submitted shareholder communications. Usually, with respect to each properly submitted shareholder communication, the Secretary shall either (i) provide a copy of the communication to the Board at the next regularly scheduled Board meeting or (ii) if the Secretary determines that the communication requires more immediate attention, forward the communication to the Board promptly after receipt. The Secretary may, in good faith, determine that a shareholder communication should not be provided to the Board because the communication (i) does not reasonably relate to a series of the Trust or its operation, management, activities, policies, service providers, Board, officers, shareholders or other matters relating to an investment in the Trust, or (ii) is ministerial in nature (such as a request for Trust literature, share data or financial information). These Procedures shall not apply to (i) any communication from an officer or Trustee of the Trust, (ii) any communication from an employee or agent of the Trust, unless such communication is made solely in such employee’s or agent’s capacity as a shareholder, (iii) any shareholder proposal submitted pursuant to Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) or any communication made in connection with such a proposal, or (iv) any communication that reasonably may be considered to be a complaint regarding the Trust or shareholder services, which complaint shall instead be promptly forwarded to the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer. The Trustees are not required to attend the Trust’s shareholder meetings, if any, or to otherwise make themselves available to shareholders for communications, other than pursuant to these Procedures.

Code of Ethics

The Trust, TAM, the sub-adviser and Foreside Financial Group, LLC, on behalf of the Distributor and its affiliates, have each adopted a Code of Ethics as required by applicable law, which is designed to prevent affiliated persons of the Trust, TAM, the sub-adviser and the Distributor from engaging in deceptive, manipulative, or fraudulent activities in connection with securities held or to be acquired by the funds (which may also be held by persons subject to a code of ethics). There can be no assurance that the codes of ethics will be effective in preventing such activities.

Pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act, the funds, TAM, the sub-adviser and Foreside Financial Group, LLC, on behalf of the Distributor and its affiliates each have adopted a code of ethics that permits their personnel to

 

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invest in securities for their own accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by a fund. All personnel must place the interests of clients first, must not act upon non-public information, must not take inappropriate advantage of their positions, and are required to fulfill their fiduciary obligations. All personal securities transactions by employees must adhere to the requirements of the codes of ethics and must be conducted in such a manner as to avoid any actual or potential conflict of interest, the appearance of such a conflict, or the abuse of an employee’s position of trust and responsibility.

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

The proxy voting policies and procedures of the sub-adviser are used to determine how to vote proxies relating to securities held by the funds. The proxy voting policies and procedures of the funds, TAM and the sub-adviser are attached hereto as Appendix A.

TAM’s proxy voting policy and procedures address material conflicts of interest that may arise between TAM or its affiliates and the funds by either: (i) providing for voting in accordance with the recommendation of an independent third party or the Board; (ii) voting shares in the same proportion as the vote of all of the other holders of a fund’s shares; or (iii) obtaining the consent of the Board (or a Board Committee) with full disclosure of the conflict.

The Trust files SEC Form N-PX, with the complete proxy voting records of the funds for the 12 months ended June 30th, no later than August 31st of each year. The Form is available without charge: (1) upon request by calling 1-888-233-4339; and (2) on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Investment Management and Other Services

The Investment Manager

TAM serves as Investment Manager for the funds. The Trust has entered into an Investment Management Agreement (“Management Agreement”), on behalf of each fund with TAM. TAM, located at 1801 California Street, Suite 5200, Denver, CO 80202, provides continuous and regular investment management services to the funds. TAM supervises each respective fund’s investments, conducts its investment program and provides supervisory, compliance and administrative services to each fund.

TAM currently acts as a “manager of managers” and hires a sub-adviser to furnish day-to-day investment advice and recommendations. TAM may, in the future, determine to provide all aspects of the day-to-day management of any such fund without the use of the sub-adviser. When acting as a manager of managers, TAM provides investment management services that include, without limitation, the design and development of each fund and its investment strategy and the ongoing review and evaluation of that investment strategy including recommending changes in strategy where it believes appropriate or advisable; the selection of one or more sub-advisers for each fund employing a combination of quantitative and qualitative screens, research, analysis and due diligence; negotiation of sub-advisory agreements and fees; oversight and monitoring of sub-advisers and recommending changes to sub-advisers where it believes appropriate or advisable; recommending fund combinations and liquidations where it believes appropriate or advisable; selection and oversight of transition managers, as needed; regular supervision of the funds’ investments; regular review and evaluation of sub-adviser performance; daily monitoring of the sub-advisers’ buying and selling of securities for the funds; regular review of holdings; ongoing trade oversight and analysis; regular monitoring to ensure adherence to investment process; regular calls and periodic on-site visits with the sub-adviser; risk management oversight and analysis; oversight of negotiation of investment documentation and agreements; design, development, implementation and regular monitoring of the valuation process; periodic due diligence reviews of pricing vendors and vendor methodology; design, development, implementation and regular monitoring of the compliance process; respond to regulatory inquiries and determine appropriate litigation strategy, as needed; review of proxies voted by the sub-adviser; oversight of preparation, and review, of materials for meetings of the fund’s Board, participation in these meetings and preparation of regular communications with the Board; oversight of preparation, and review, of prospectuses, shareholder reports and other disclosure materials and regulatory filings for the funds; oversight of other service providers to the funds, such as the custodian, the transfer agent, the funds’ independent accounting

 

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firm and legal counsel; working with the authorized participants for the ETFs, the index providers and the listing stock exchange; and supervision of the performance of recordkeeping and shareholder relations functions for the funds; and oversight of cash management services. TAM uses a variety of quantitative and qualitative tools to carry out its investment management services.

TAM’s investment management services also include the provision of supervisory and administrative services to each fund. These services include performing certain administrative services for the funds and supervising and overseeing the administrative, clerical, recordkeeping and bookkeeping services provided to the funds by State Street, to whom TAM has outsourced the provision of certain services as described below; to the extent agreed upon by TAM and the funds from time to time, monitoring and verifying the custodian’s daily calculation of net asset values; shareholder relations functions; compliance services; valuation services; assisting in due diligence and in oversight and monitoring of certain activities of sub-advisers and certain aspects of fund investments; assisting with fund combinations and liquidations; oversight of the preparation and filing, and review, of all returns and reports, in connection with federal, state and local taxes; oversight and review of regulatory reporting; supervising and coordinating the funds’ custodian and dividend disbursing agent and monitoring their services to the funds; assisting the funds in preparing reports to shareholders; acting as liaison with the funds’ independent public accountants and providing, upon request, analyses, fiscal year summaries and other audit related services; assisting in the preparation of agendas and supporting documents for and minutes of meetings of Trustees and committees of Trustees; assisting in the preparation of regular communications with the Trustees; and providing personnel and office space, telephones and other office equipment as necessary in order for TAM to perform supervisory and administrative services to the funds.

TAM is directly owned by Transamerica Life Insurance Company (“TLIC”) (77%) and AUSA Holding, LLC (“AUSA”) (23%), both of which are indirect, wholly owned subsidiaries of Aegon NV. TLIC is owned by Commonwealth General Corporation (“Commonwealth”). Commonwealth and AUSA are wholly owned by Transamerica Corporation (DE), a financial services holding company whose primary emphasis is on life and health insurance, and annuity and investment products. Transamerica Corporation (DE) is wholly owned by Aegon International B.V., which is wholly owned by Aegon NV, a Netherlands corporation, and a publicly traded international insurance group.

Management Agreement

TAM has agreed, under each fund’s Management Agreement, to regularly provide the fund with investment management services, including management, supervision and investment research and advice, and to furnish a continuous investment program for the fund’s portfolio of securities and other investments consistent with the fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the fund’s prospectus and SAI. TAM also provides supervisory and administrative services to each fund, as well as services incidental to the foregoing services. TAM is permitted to enter into contracts with sub-advisers, subject to the Board’s approval. TAM has entered into a sub-advisory agreement with the sub-adviser, as described below.

As compensation for services performed, each fund pays TAM a fee computed daily at an annual rate of the fund’s average daily net assets as described below. From time to time, TAM may waive all or a portion of its fee. Pursuant to the Management Agreement, TAM has agreed to pay all expenses of the funds, except for: (i) brokerage expenses and other fees, charges, taxes, levies or expenses (such as stamp taxes) incurred in connection with the execution of portfolio transactions or in connection with creation and redemption transactions (including without limitation any fees, charges, taxes, levies or expenses related to the purchase or sale of an amount of any currency, or the patriation or repatriation of any security or other asset, related to the execution of portfolio transactions or any creation or redemption transactions); (ii) legal fees or expenses in connection with any arbitration, litigation or pending or threatened arbitration or litigation, including any settlements in connection therewith; (iii) compensation and expenses of the Independent Trustees and the compensation and expenses of the Trust’s interested Trustees who are not directors, officers or employees of TAM, the sub-adviser or principal underwriter, or affiliate of any of the foregoing; (iv) compensation and expenses of any counsel to the Independent Trustees, (v) compensation and expenses of the Trust’s chief compliance officer; (vi) extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, expenses relating to the Trust’s or a fund’s obligation to indemnify others; (vii) distribution fees and expenses paid by the Trust under

 

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any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act; (viii) interest and taxes of any kind or nature (including, but not limited to, income, excise, transfer and withholding taxes) and any governmental fees levied against the Trust or a fund; (ix) any fees and expense related to the provision of securities lending services; (x) costs, including interest expenses and loan commitment fees, of borrowing money; and (xi) the management fee payable to TAM. The internal expenses of pooled investment vehicles in which a fund may invest (acquired fund fees and expenses) are not expenses of the fund and are not paid by TAM.

The Management Agreement for a fund will terminate, unless sooner terminated as set forth therein, two years from its effective date, and will continue in effect from year to year thereafter, if continuance is specifically approved at least annually by (i) the vote of a majority of the Board Members who are not parties thereto or interested persons of any party thereto, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on the approval of the terms of renewal, and by (ii) either the Board or the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of that fund.

Each Management Agreement provides that TAM may render services to others. Under each fund’s Management Agreement, TAM assumes no responsibility other than to render the services called for by the Management Agreement in good faith, and TAM and its affiliates will not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the execution of securities transactions for the fund or in the performance of its other services thereunder. TAM and its affiliates are not protected, however, against any liability to a fund to which TAM or an affiliate would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under the Management Agreement.

Each Management Agreement provides that it may be terminated with respect to any fund at any time, without the payment of any penalty, upon 60 days’ written notice to TAM, or by TAM upon 60 days’ written notice to the fund. A fund may effect termination by action of the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the fund, accompanied by appropriate notice. The Management Agreement terminates automatically in the event of its “assignment” (as defined in the 1940 Act).

TAM has outsourced the provision of certain specific administrative services to State Street. State Street performs back office services to support TAM, including furnishing financial and performance information about the funds for inclusion in regulatory filings and Trustee and shareholder reports; preparing drafts of regulatory filings, Trustee materials, tax returns, and reports and budgets; tax testing; and maintaining books and records. State Street’s address is One Lincoln Street, Boston, MA 02111.

Investment Manager Compensation

TAM receives compensation calculated daily and paid monthly from the funds, at the annual rates indicated below. TAM pays the sub-adviser its sub-advisory fees out of its management fees.

 

Fund Name    Percentage of Average Daily Net Assets

DeltaShares S&P 400 Managed Risk ETF

   0.45%

DeltaShares S&P 500 Managed Risk ETF

   0.35%

DeltaShares S&P 600 Managed Risk ETF

   0.45%

DeltaShares S&P International Managed Risk ETF

   0.50%

DeltaShares S&P EM 100 & Managed Risk ETF

   0.60%

 

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Management Fees Paid by the Funds

The following tables set forth the total amounts the funds paid to TAM (after waivers/expense reimbursements), Management Fees Waived/Expenses Reimbursed by TAM to the fund, and Management Fees Recaptured by TAM from the fund, if any, for the last three fiscal years. “N/A” in the tables below indicate that the fund was not in operation during the relevant fiscal year and, accordingly, no management fees are shown.

 

     Management Fees     Management Fees   Management Fees
Fund Name   (after waivers/expense
reimbursements and recapture)
    Waived/Expenses
Reimbursed
  Recaptured
     2020     2019     2018     2020   2019   2018   2020   2019   2018

DeltaShares S&P 400 Managed Risk ETF

  $ 396,769     $ 442,806     $ 519,626     -   -   -   -   -   -

DeltaShares S&P 500 Managed Risk ETF

  $ 1,373,987     $ 1,453,159     $ 1,470,125     -   -   -   -   -   -

DeltaShares S&P 600 Managed Risk ETF

  $ 154,577     $ 181,527     $ 215,484     -   -   -   -   -   -

DeltaShares S&P International Managed Risk ETF

  $ 865,337     $ 995,281     $ 1,118,935     -   -   -   -   -   -

DeltaShares S&P EM 100 & Managed Risk ETF(1)

  $ 267,241     $ 197,569       N/A     -   -   N/A   -   -   N/A

 

(1)

The fund commenced operations on March 20, 2019.

Conflicts of Interest

TAM and its affiliates, directors, officers, employees and personnel (collectively, for purposes of this section, “Transamerica”), including the entities and personnel who may be involved in the management, operations or distribution of the funds are engaged in a variety of businesses and have interests other than those related to managing the funds. Transamerica is a global financial services company with many lines of business providing a wide range of financial services. The broad range of activities and interests of Transamerica gives rise to actual, potential and perceived conflicts of interest that could affect the funds and their shareholders.

Certain actual and potential conflicts of interest are described below. This is not, and is not intended to be, a complete enumeration or description of all the actual and potential conflicts that met arise. Additional or unanticipated conflicts of interest may arise from time to time in the ordinary course of Transamerica’s various businesses.

TAM and the funds have adopted practices, policies and procedures that are intended to identify, manage and, where possible, mitigate conflicts of interest. There is no assurance, however, that these practices, policies and procedures will be effective, and these practices, policies and procedures also may limit the funds’ investment activities and affect their performance.

Transamerica manages or advises other funds and products in addition to the funds (collectively, the “Other Accounts”). In some cases, Transamerica oversees sub-advisers, including the sub-adviser to the funds, who provide day-to-day investment advice and recommendations with respect to the Other Accounts, and in other cases Transamerica itself performs the day-to-day management. Certain Other Accounts have investment objectives similar to or the same as those of the funds and/or engage in transactions in the same types of securities and instruments as the funds. Such transactions could affect the prices and availability of the securities and instruments in which a fund invests, and could have an adverse impact on the fund’s performance. Other Accounts may buy or sell positions while the funds are undertaking the same or a differing, including potentially opposite, strategy, which could disadvantage the funds. A position taken by Transamerica, on behalf of one or more Other Accounts, may be contrary to a position taken on behalf of a fund or may be adverse to a company or issuer in which the fund has invested.

The results of the investment activities of the funds may differ significantly from the results achieved for Other Accounts. Transamerica may give advice, and take action, with respect to any current or future Other Accounts that may compete or conflict with advice TAM may give to, or actions TAM may take for, the funds. Transamerica may receive more compensation with respect to certain Other Accounts than that received with respect to the funds or may receive compensation based on the performance of certain Other Accounts.

 

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Transamerica personnel may have greater economic and other interests in certain Other Accounts promoted or managed by such personnel as compared to the funds.

TAM and certain of its affiliates provide services including investment management, administration, investment sub-advisory, shareholder servicing, distribution, and transfer agency services to the funds and Other Accounts and earn fees from these relationships. TAM and its affiliates face conflicts of interest when the funds and Other Accounts select affiliated service providers because TAM and/or its affiliates receive greater compensation when they are used. Although these fees are generally based on asset levels, the fees are not directly contingent on fund performance and TAM and its affiliates as service providers will still receive significant compensation from the funds and Other Accounts even if shareholders lose money.

Transamerica and other financial service providers have conflicts associated with their promotion of the funds or other dealings with the funds that would create incentives for them to promote the funds. Transamerica will directly or indirectly receive a portion of the fees and/or commissions charged to the funds or their shareholders. Transamerica will also benefit from increased amounts of assets under management. These compensation matters may create a financial incentive on the part of Transamerica to recommend the funds over other accounts or products or to effect transactions differently in the funds as compared to other accounts or products. Transamerica has an interest in increasing fund assets, including in circumstances when that may not be in the funds’ or their shareholders’ interests.

Transamerica and/or the funds’ sub-adviser (or their affiliates), out of their past profits and other available sources, provide cash payments or non-cash compensation to brokers and other financial intermediaries to promote the distribution of the funds and Other Accounts or the variable insurance contracts that invest in certain Other Accounts. These arrangements are sometimes referred to as “revenue sharing” arrangements. The amount of revenue sharing payments is substantial and may be substantial to any given recipient. The presence of these payments and the basis on which an intermediary compensates its registered representatives or salespersons may create an incentive for a particular intermediary, registered representative or salesperson to highlight, feature or recommend the funds, Other Accounts or the variable insurance contracts that invest in certain Other Accounts, at least in part, based on the level of compensation paid. Revenue sharing payments benefit Transamerica to the extent the payments result in more assets being invested in the funds, Other Accounts and variable insurance contracts that invest in certain Other Accounts on which fees are being charged. The funds’ sub-adviser (or its affiliates) may also make revenue sharing payments to Transamerica for, among other things, its participation in functions, events and meetings sponsored by Transamerica. These payments present certain conflicts of interest and may provide a disincentive for TAM to recommend the termination of the sub-adviser.

Certain Other Accounts are offered as investment options through variable insurance contracts offered and sold by Transamerica insurance companies. Certain of these Other Accounts invest in the funds as of the date of this SAI. The performance of the funds and certain Other Accounts impacts Transamerica’s financial exposure under guarantees that the Transamerica insurance companies provide as issuers of the variable insurance contracts. TAM’s investment decisions and the design of the funds and certain Other Accounts may be influenced by these factors. For example, a fund or the Other Account being managed or designed in a more conservative fashion may help reduce potential losses and/or mitigate financial risks to the Transamerica insurance companies that provide the guarantees, and facilitate the provision of those guaranteed benefits, including by making more predictable the costs of the guarantees and by reducing the capital needed to provide them.

TAM serves as investment manager to and is responsible for all aspects of the day-to-day investment advice and management of certain Other Accounts which operate as fund of funds that invest in affiliated underlying funds and/or Other Accounts, and TAM is subject to conflicts of interest in allocating the fund of funds’ assets among the underlying Other Accounts. For certain funds and Other Accounts that operate as funds of funds, TAM has hired a sub-adviser and is subject to conflicts of interest in connection with the selection and allocation by the sub-adviser of the assets of the fund of funds or Other Account. TAM has designed certain funds and Other Accounts that operate as funds of funds where only affiliated funds are underlying investment options. This means that TAM or a fund of funds’ sub-adviser, as applicable, does not, nor does it expect to, consider any unaffiliated funds as underlying investment options for these funds and/or Other Accounts, even if unaffiliated

 

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funds have better investment performance or lower total expenses. TAM also acts as investment manager to certain Other Accounts that are funds of funds that are sub-advised and invest in the funds and/or Other Accounts. TAM will receive more revenue when it or a sub-adviser selects an affiliated fund rather than an unaffiliated fund for inclusion in a fund of funds. This conflict provides an incentive for TAM to include affiliated funds as investment options for funds of funds and, when making the underlying fund selections, to cause investments by funds of funds in affiliated funds that perform less well than unaffiliated funds. The inclusion of affiliated funds will also permit TAM and/or the sub-adviser to make increased revenue sharing payments, including to Transamerica. TAM has an incentive to allocate the fund of funds’ assets to those underlying funds or Other Accounts for which the net management fees payable to TAM are higher than the fees payable by other underlying Other Accounts or to those underlying Other Accounts for which an affiliate of TAM serves as the sub-adviser. TAM has an incentive for a fund or Other Account’s assets to be allocated to subscale underlying funds or Other Accounts to provide scale and reduce amounts waived and/or reimbursed by TAM to maintain applicable expense caps or reduce amounts covered by the unitary fee to TAM. Sub-advisers to certain funds of funds and certain funds of funds that are Other Accounts also have conflicts of interest in allocating the funds of funds’ assets among underlying funds and/or Other Accounts, including where the sub-adviser acts as investment adviser or sub-adviser to available underlying funds and/or Other Accounts. TAM Compliance monitors allocation changes by the funds of funds.

Certain Other Accounts invest in the funds. As of the date of this SAI, these Other Accounts hold a large portion of the outstanding shares of the funds. TAM serves as the investment manager and the sub-adviser serves as the sub-adviser to the applicable Other Accounts. TAM and the sub-adviser face actual and potential conflicts of interest with respect to the sub-adviser’s allocation of the Other Accounts’ assets among the funds and unaffiliated ETFs. For example, TAM and the sub-adviser will receive more revenue when the sub-adviser selects a fund rather than an unaffiliated ETF for inclusion in the Other Accounts. This conflict may provide an incentive for the sub-adviser to select funds that perform less well than unaffiliated ETFs and/or have higher expense ratios than unaffiliated ETFs. TAM and the sub-adviser have an incentive to provide scale to the funds to improve their viability and to reduce their expenses. The sub-adviser also has an incentive to take into account the effect on a fund in determining whether, and under what circumstances, to purchase or sell shares in that fund.

TAM may have a financial incentive to implement certain changes to the funds or Other Accounts. For example, TAM may, from time to time, recommend a change in sub-adviser or the combination of two or more funds. Transamerica will benefit to the extent that an affiliated sub-adviser replaces an unaffiliated sub-adviser or additional assets are combined into a fund or Other Account having a higher net management fee payable to TAM and/or that is sub-advised by an affiliate of TAM. TAM will also benefit to the extent that it replaces the sub-adviser with a new sub-adviser with a lower sub-advisory fee. Any recommendation to the Board concerning the appointment of or continued service of an affiliated sub-adviser for a fund, or a fund combination, is subject to TAM’s fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of a fund and its shareholders. Moreover, TAM’s “manager of managers” exemptive order from the SEC requires fund shareholder approval of any sub-advisory agreement appointing an affiliated sub-adviser as the sub-adviser to a fund (in the case of a new fund, the initial sole shareholder of the fund, typically an affiliate of Transamerica, may provide this approval).

The aggregation of assets of multiple funds or Other Accounts for purposes of calculating breakpoints or discounts in sub-advisory fees based on the level of assets allocated to a sub-adviser across funds and/or Other Accounts or otherwise, as applicable, give rise to actual, potential and/or perceived conflicts of interest that could disadvantage the funds and their shareholders. This aggregation of assets creates an incentive for TAM to select sub-advisers, or allocate additional assets to a sub-adviser, where the selection or allocation may serve to lower a sub-advisory fee and possibly increase the management fee retained by TAM on a fund and/or provides a disincentive for TAM to recommend the termination of a sub-adviser from a fund if the termination will cause the sub-advisory fee payable by TAM to increase on a fund and/or Other Account that aggregates its assets with the fund or if the assets of the fund are counted as part of a sub-advisory fee discount arrangement.

Transamerica has existing and may have potential future other business dealings or arrangements with current or proposed sub-advisers or other fund service providers (or their affiliates) recommended by TAM. Such other

 

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business dealings or arrangements present conflicts of interest that could influence TAM’s selection and retention or termination of sub-advisers or service providers. For example, TAM has an incentive to hire as a sub-adviser or other service provider an entity with which TAM or one or more of its affiliates have, or would like to have, significant or other business dealings or arrangements and TAM has a disincentive to recommend the termination of such a sub-adviser or service provider.

TAM and/or its affiliates also derive ancillary benefits from providing investment management, administration, investment sub-advisory, shareholder servicing, distribution, and transfer agency services to the funds and Other Accounts, and providing such services to the funds and Other Accounts may enhance TAM’s and/or its affiliates’ relationships with various parties, facilitate additional business development, and enable TAM and/or its affiliates to obtain additional business and generate additional revenue.

The range of activities, services and interests of a sub-adviser may give rise to actual, potential and/or perceived conflicts of interest that could disadvantage a fund and its shareholders. Among other things, a sub-adviser’s portfolio managers may manage multiple funds and accounts for multiple clients. Managing multiple funds and accounts may give rise to actual or potential conflicts of interest, including, for example, conflicts among investment strategies, conflicts in the allocation of limited investment opportunities, and conflicts in the aggregation and allocation of securities trades. A sub-adviser’s portfolio managers may also manage funds or accounts with different fee rates and/or fee structures, including performance-based fee arrangements. Differences in fee arrangements may create an incentive for a portfolio manager to favor higher-fee funds or accounts. A sub-adviser and/or its affiliates also may derive ancillary benefits from providing investment sub-advisory services to the funds, and providing such services to the funds may enhance the sub-adviser’s and/or applicable affiliate(s)’ relationships with various parties, facilitate additional business development, and enable the sub-adviser and/or affiliate to obtain additional business and generate additional revenue.

Sub-Adviser

The sub-adviser serves, pursuant to a sub-advisory agreement between TAM and such sub-adviser, as sub-adviser to the funds. Pursuant to the sub-advisory agreement, the sub-adviser carries out and effectuates the investment strategy designed for the funds by TAM. Subject to review by TAM and the Board, the sub-adviser is responsible for providing day-to-day investment advice and recommendations for the funds TAM assigns to them and for making decisions to buy, sell or hold a particular security. The sub-adviser bears all of its expenses in connection with the performance of its services under its sub-advisory agreement such as compensating its officers and employees connected with investment and economic research, trading and investment management of the respective fund(s) and furnishing them office space.

The sub-advisory agreement will terminate, unless sooner terminated as set forth therein, two years from its effective date, and will continue in effect from year to year thereafter, if continuance is specifically approved at least annually by (i) the vote of a majority of the Board Members who are not parties thereto or interested persons of any party thereto, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on the approval of the terms of renewal, and by (ii) either the Board or the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the particular fund.

The sub-adviser may also serve as investment adviser or sub-adviser to other funds and/or private accounts that may have investment objectives identical or similar to those of the funds. Securities may meet the investment objectives of one or all of these funds, the other funds and the private accounts. In such cases, the sub-adviser’s decision to recommend a purchase to one fund or account rather than another is based on a number of factors as set forth in the sub-adviser’s allocation procedures. The determining factors in most cases are the amounts available for investment by each fund or account, the amount of securities of the issuer then outstanding, the value of those securities and the market for them. Another factor considered in the investment recommendations is other investments which each fund or account presently has in a particular industry.

It is possible that at times identical securities will be held by more than one fund or account. However, positions in the same issue may vary and the length of time that any fund or account may choose to hold its investment in the same issue may likewise vary. To the extent that more than one of the funds or private accounts served by a

 

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sub-adviser seeks to acquire or sell the same security at about the same time, either the price obtained by the funds or the amount of securities that may be purchased or sold by a fund at one time may be adversely affected. On the other hand, if the same securities are bought or sold at the same time by more than one fund or account, the resulting participation in volume transactions could produce better executions for the funds. In the event more than one fund or account purchases or sells the same security on a given date, the purchase and sale transactions are allocated among the fund(s), the other funds and the private accounts in a manner believed by the sub-adviser to be equitable to each.

The sub-adviser is a registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”).

Sub-Advisory Fees

TAM, not the funds, is responsible for paying the sub-adviser for its services, and sub-advisory fees are TAM’s expense. As a matter of administrative convenience, sub-advisory fees may be deducted directly from a fund’s bank account, in which case payment to TAM of the management fee would be net of amounts paid to the applicable sub-adviser. For each fund, the sub-adviser receives monthly compensation from TAM at the annual rates indicated below.

 

Fund Name   Sub-Adviser   Percentage of Average Daily Net Assets

DeltaShares S&P 400 Managed Risk ETF

  Milliman Financial Risk Management LLC   0.125%

DeltaShares S&P 500 Managed Risk ETF

  Milliman Financial Risk Management LLC   0.125%

DeltaShares S&P 600 Managed Risk ETF

  Milliman Financial Risk Management LLC   0.125%

DeltaShares S&P International Managed Risk ETF

  Milliman Financial Risk Management LLC   0.15%

DeltaShares S&P EM 100 & Managed Risk ETF

  Milliman Financial Risk Management LLC   0.18%

The following table sets forth the total amounts of sub-advisory fees paid by TAM, on behalf of a fund, to the sub-adviser for the last three fiscal years. “N/A” in the tables below indicate that the fund was not in operation during the relevant fiscal year and, accordingly, no management fees are shown.

 

Fund Name   Sub-Advisory Fees Paid  
  2020     2019     2018  

DeltaShares S&P 400 Managed Risk ETF

    $110,214       $123,001       $144,341  

DeltaShares S&P 500 Managed Risk ETF

    $490,710       $518,985       $525,044  

DeltaShares S&P 600 Managed Risk ETF

    $42,938       $50,424       $59,857  

DeltaShares S&P International Managed Risk ETF

    $259,360       $297,708       $355,680  

DeltaShares S&P EM 100 & Managed Risk ETF(1)

    $80,712       $59,111       N/A  

 

(1)

The fund commenced operations on March 20, 2019.

Milliman Financial Risk Management LLC

Portfolio Manager Information

In addition to managing the assets of each fund, a portfolio manager may have responsibility for managing other client accounts of the sub-adviser or its affiliates. The table below shows, per portfolio manager, the number and asset size of (1) SEC registered investment companies (or series thereof) other than each fund, (2) pooled investment vehicles that are not registered investment companies and (3) other accounts (e.g., accounts managed for individuals or organizations) managed by a portfolio manager. Total assets attributed to a portfolio manager in the tables below include total assets of each account managed, although a portfolio manager may only manage a portion of such account’s assets. The tables also show the number of performance based fee accounts, as well as the total assets of the accounts for which the advisory fee is based on the performance of the account. This information is provided as of December 31, 2020.

 

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DeltaShares S&P 400 Managed Risk ETF

DeltaShares S&P 500 Managed Risk ETF

DeltaShares S&P 600 Managed Risk ETF

DeltaShares S&P International Managed Risk ETF

DeltaShares S&P EM 100 & Managed Risk ETF

 

Portfolio Manager   Registered Investment
Companies
  Other Pooled
Investment
Vehicles
  Other Accounts
  Number   Assets
Managed
  Number   Assets
Managed
  Number   Assets
Managed

Charles Lowery, CFA

  0   $0   0   $0   0   $0

Louis Ng

  0   $0   0   $0   0   $0

Emma Westwick

  0   $0   0   $0   0   $0
Fee Based Accounts
(The number of accounts and the total assets in the accounts managed by each portfolio manager with
respect to which the advisory fee is based on the performance of the account.)

Charles Lowery, CFA

  0   $0   0   $0   0   $0

Louis Ng

  0   $0   0   $0   0   $0

Emma Westwick

  0   $0   0   $0   0   $0

Conflicts of Interest

The sub-adviser maintains a compliance program and other corporate policies and procedures that are designed to identify, manage and, when possible, mitigate conflicts of interest in an effort to prevent conflicts of interest from affecting the sub-adviser’s performance or services provided to the funds. There is no assurance, however, that this program and these policies and procedures will be effective.

The sub-adviser has not identified any material conflicts between the funds and other accounts managed by the sub-adviser and its portfolio managers. However, actual and potential conflicts of interest exist and others may arise from time to time in connection with the day-to-day management of the funds and other accounts because the portfolio managers manage other accounts or otherwise. For example, the management of the funds and other accounts may result in unequal time and attention being devoted to the funds and other accounts. Another potential conflict of interest may arise where another account has the same investment objective as a fund, whereby the portfolio managers could favor the other account over the fund. Further, a potential conflict could include the portfolio managers’ knowledge about the size, timing and possible market impact of funds’ trades, whereby they could use this information to the advantage of other accounts and to the disadvantage of the funds. Potential conflicts could also arise as a result of the sub-adviser’s role as sub-adviser to Other Accounts advised by TAM. These potential conflicts of interest could create the appearance that the portfolio managers are favoring one investment vehicle over another.

As of the date of this SAI, certain Transamerica-sponsored mutual funds hold a large portion of the outstanding shares of each of the DeltaShares® S&P 400 Managed Risk ETF, DeltaShares® S&P 500 Managed Risk ETF, DeltaShares® S&P 600 Managed Risk ETF, DeltaShares® S&P International Managed Risk ETF and DeltaShares® S&P EM 100 & Managed Risk ETF. The sub-adviser serves as the sub-adviser to the applicable Transamerica-sponsored mutual funds. The sub-adviser faces actual and potential conflicts of interest with respect to its allocation of the Transamerica-sponsored mutual funds’ assets to and among the funds. For example, the sub-adviser will receive more revenue when it selects a fund rather than an unaffiliated ETF for inclusion in the Transamerica-sponsored mutual funds. The sub-adviser also may have an incentive to take into account the effect on a fund in determining whether, and under what circumstances, to purchase or sell shares in that fund. The sub-adviser has implemented procedures that are intended to mitigate the related conflicts of interest. These procedures provide for, among other things, the following: (i) separation of duties, with completely independent teams (portfolio management and trading staff) for the funds and the applicable Transamerica-sponsored mutual funds; and (ii) data access restrictions, pursuant to which the respective teams are restricted from viewing any non-public information of the other team.

 

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Compensation

The sub-adviser’s portfolio managers receive a base compensation with a discretionary bonus based on performance. The sub-adviser is primarily concerned with effectively achieving the funds’ investment objectives and managing the portfolios. Thus, performance bonuses are awarded based on how well portfolio managers achieve these goals. This compensation structure does not create incentives to take undue risk.

Ownership of Securities

As of December 31, 2020, the portfolio managers did not beneficially own any shares of the funds, except as follows:

 

Portfolio Manager    Range of Securities Owned    Fund

Charles Lowery, CFA

   $10,001 – $50,000    DeltaShares® S&P 500 Managed Risk ETF

Charles Lowery, CFA

   $10,001 – $50,000    DeltaShares® S&P International Managed Risk ETF

Charles Lowery, CFA

   $10,001 – $50,000    DeltaShares® S&P 400 Managed Risk ETF

Charles Lowery, CFA

   $0 – $10,000    DeltaShares® S&P 600 Managed Risk ETF

Louis Ng

   $0 – $10,000    DeltaShares® S&P EM 100 & Managed Risk ETF

Transfer Agent

State Street serves as the transfer agent (the “Transfer Agent”), withholding agent and dividend disbursing agent for each fund. As transfer agent, State Street maintains an account for each shareholder of a fund and performs other transfer agency functions. As compensation for its services, State Street shall receive certain out-of-pocket costs, transaction fees and asset-based fees.

Custodian

State Street, located at One Lincoln Street, Boston, MA 02111, serves as the Trust’s custodian (the “Custodian”).

The Custodian, among other things, maintains a custody account or accounts in the name of each fund, receives and delivers all assets for the funds upon purchase and upon sale or maturity, collects and receives all income and other payments and distributions on account of the assets of the funds and makes disbursements on behalf of the funds. The Custodian neither determines the funds’ investment policies nor decides which securities the funds will buy or sell. As compensation for its services, State Street shall receive certain out-of-pocket costs, transaction fees and asset-based fees. The funds may also periodically enter into arrangements with other qualified custodians with respect to certain types of securities or other transactions such as repurchase agreements or derivatives transactions. The Custodian may also act as the funds’ securities lending agent and in that case would receive a share of the income generated by such activities.

Securities Lending Activities

The dollar amounts of income and fees and compensation paid to all service providers (including fees paid to State Street as securities lending agent and for cash collateral management) related to a fund’s securities lending activities during the most recent fiscal year are provided in Appendix B of this SAI. The securities lending agent’s fees will be calculated on, and deducted from, the securities lending revenues of the fund.

To the extent a fund engages in securities lending activities, the services provided by State Street as securities lending agent would include: selection of securities to be loaned; locating borrowers previously approved by the fund’s board; negotiation of loan terms; monitoring daily the value of the loaned securities and collateral; requiring additional collateral as necessary; investing cash collateral in accordance with the fund’s instructions; marking to market non-cash collateral; maintaining custody of non-cash collateral; recordkeeping and account servicing; monitoring dividend activity and material proxy votes relating to loaned securities; transferring loaned securities; recalling loaned securities in accordance with the fund’s instructions; and arranging for return of loaned securities to the fund at loan termination.

 

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Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Ernst & Young LLP, located at 200 Clarendon Street, Boston, MA 02116, serves as the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm and will audit each fund’s financial statements annually.

Distributor and Distribution Plan

Distributor

Foreside Fund Services, LLC (the “Distributor”) serves as the distributor of Creation Units for the funds. The Trust has entered into a Distribution Agreement (“Distribution Agreement”), under which the Distributor reviews and approves orders from Authorized Participants to create and redeem shares in Creation Unit aggregations. The Distributor’s principal address is Three Canal Plaza, Portland, Maine 04101. The Distributor is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”). Shares will be continuously offered for sale only in Creation Units. The Distributor has no role in determining the investment policies of the funds or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the funds. No compensation is payable by the Trust to the Distributor for such distribution services. However, TAM has entered into an agreement with the Distributor under which it makes payments to the Distributor in consideration for its services under the Distribution Agreement.

The Distribution Agreement is renewable from year to year with respect to a fund if approved (a) by the Board or by a vote of a majority of the fund’s outstanding voting securities, and (b) by the affirmative vote of a majority of Trustees who are not parties to such agreement or interested persons of any party by votes cast in person at a meeting called for such purpose.

The Distribution Agreement is terminable with respect to any fund without penalty by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the fund, or by the Distributor, on not less than 60 days’ written notice to the other party (unless the notice period is waived by mutual consent). The Distribution Agreement will automatically and immediately terminate in the event of its assignment.

The Distributor may also enter into agreements with securities dealers (“Soliciting Dealers”) who will solicit purchases of Creation Unit aggregations of Fund Shares. Such Soliciting Dealers may also be Participating Parties (as defined in the “Book Entry Only System” section below) and/or DTC Participants (as defined below).

Distribution Plan

Each fund has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan (the “Plan”) in accordance with Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act pursuant to which payments at an annual rate of up to 0.25% of the fund’s average daily net assets may be made for the sale distribution of its fund shares. No payments pursuant to the Plan will be made through at least the next twelve (12) months of operation. Additionally, the implementation of any such payments would have to be approved by the Board prior to implementation. Because these fees would be paid out of a fund’s assets on an ongoing basis, if payments are made in the future, these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more over time than paying other types of sales charges. Under its terms, the Plan remains in effect from year to year, provided such continuance is approved annually by vote of the Board, including a majority of the “Independent Trustees” (Trustees who are not interested persons of the funds (as defined in the 1940 Act) and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Plan or any agreement related to the Plan). The Plan may not be amended to increase materially the amount to be spent for the services provided by the Distributor without approval by the shareholders of the relevant fund to which the Plan applies, and all material amendments of the Plan also require Board approval (as described above). The Plan may be terminated at any time, without penalty, by vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees, or, by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of a fund (as such vote is defined in the 1940 Act). Pursuant to the Distribution Agreement, the Distributor will provide the Board with periodic reports of any amounts expended under the Plan and the purpose for which such expenditures were made.

 

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Book Entry Only System

The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled “Additional Purchase and Sale Information.”

The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) acts as securities depositary for the Fund Shares. Shares of each fund are represented by securities registered in the name of DTC or its nominee, Cede & Co., and deposited with, or on behalf of, DTC. Except in the limited circumstance provided below, certificates will not be issued for Fund Shares.

DTC, a limited-purpose trust company, was created to hold securities of its participants (the “DTC Participants”) and to facilitate the clearance and settlement of securities transactions among the DTC Participants in such securities through electronic book-entry changes in accounts of the DTC Participants, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of securities certificates. DTC Participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and certain other organizations, some of whom (and/or their representatives) own DTC. More specifically, DTC is owned by a number of its DTC Participants and by the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) and the FINRA. Access to the DTC system is also available to others such as banks, brokers, dealers and trust companies that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a DTC Participant, either directly or indirectly (the “Indirect Participants”).

Beneficial ownership of Fund Shares is limited to DTC Participants, Indirect Participants and persons holding interests through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants. Ownership of beneficial interests in Fund Shares (owners of such beneficial interests are referred to herein as “Beneficial Owners”) is shown on, and the transfer of ownership is effected only through, records maintained by DTC (with respect to DTC Participants) and on the records of DTC Participants (with respect to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners that are not DTC Participants). Beneficial Owners will receive from or through the DTC Participant a written confirmation relating to their purchase of Fund Shares.

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

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

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

DTC may determine to discontinue providing its service with respect to Fund Shares at any time by giving reasonable notice to the Trust and discharging its responsibilities with respect thereto under applicable law.

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functions at a comparable cost or, if such a replacement is unavailable, to issue and deliver printed certificates representing ownership of Fund Shares, unless the Trust makes other arrangements with respect thereto satisfactory to the Exchange.

Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units

Each fund issues and redeems its fund shares on a continuous basis, at net asset value, only in a large specified number of fund shares called a “Creation Unit.” The value of each fund is determined once each business day, as described under “Net Asset Value (“NAV”) Determination.” The Creation Unit size for a fund may change. Authorized Participants (as defined below) will be notified of such change.

PURCHASE (CREATION). The Trust issues and sells fund shares of each fund only in Creation Units on a continuous basis through the Distributor, without a sales load (but subject to transaction fees), at their NAV per share next determined after receipt of an order, on any Business Day (as defined below), in proper form pursuant to the terms of the Authorized Participant Agreement (“Participant Agreement”). A “Business Day” with respect to a fund is, generally, any day on which the NYSE is open for business.

FUND DEPOSIT. The consideration for purchase of a Creation Unit of a fund generally consists of either (i) the Deposit Securities and the Cash Component (defined below), computed as described below or (ii) the cash value of the Deposit Securities and the Cash Component, computed as described below. When accepting purchases of Creation Units for cash, a fund may incur additional costs associated with the acquisition of Deposit Securities that would otherwise be provided by an in-kind purchaser.

Together, the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, and the Cash Component constitute the “Fund Deposit,” which represents the minimum initial and subsequent investment amount for a Creation Unit of any fund. The “Cash Component,” which may include a Dividend Equivalent Payment, is an amount equal to the difference between the net asset value of the fund shares (per Creation Unit) and the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable. The “Dividend Equivalent Payment” enables a fund to make a complete distribution of dividends on the day preceding the next dividend payment date, and is an amount equal, on a per Creation Unit basis, to the dividends on all the portfolio securities of the fund (“Dividend Securities”) with ex-dividend dates within the accumulation period for such distribution (the “Accumulation Period”), net of expenses and liabilities for such period, as if all of the Dividend Securities had been held by the fund for the entire Accumulation Period. The Accumulation Period begins on the ex-dividend date for each fund and ends on the day preceding the next ex-dividend date. If the Cash Component is a positive number (i.e., the net asset value per Creation Unit exceeds the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable), the Cash Component shall be such positive amount. If the Cash Component is a negative number (i.e., the net asset value per Creation Unit is less than the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable), the Cash Component shall be such negative amount and the creator will be entitled to receive cash in an amount equal to the Cash Component. The Cash Component serves the function of compensating for any differences between the net asset value per Creation Unit and the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable. Computation of the Cash Component excludes any stamp duty or other similar fees and expenses payable upon transfer of beneficial ownership of the Deposit Securities, if applicable, which shall be the sole responsibility of the Authorized Participant (as defined below).

For each fund, the Custodian, through NSCC, makes available on each Business Day, prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m., Eastern time), the list of the names and the required number of shares of each Deposit Security or the required amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, to be included in the standard Fund Deposit (based on information at the end of the previous Business Day). Such standard Fund Deposit is subject to any applicable adjustments as described below, in order to effect purchases of Creation Units of a fund until such time as the next-announced composition of the Deposit Securities or the required amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, is made available.

The identity and number of shares of the Deposit Securities or the amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, required for a Fund Deposit for each fund may be changed from time to time with a view to the investment objective of the fund. Information regarding the Fund Deposit necessary for the purchase of a Creation Unit is

 

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made available to Authorized Participants and other market participants seeking to transact in Creation Unit aggregations.

As noted above, the Trust reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of Deposit Cash to replace any Deposit Security, which shall be added to the Cash Component, including, without limitation, in situations where the Deposit Security: (i) may not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery; (ii) may not be eligible for transfer through the systems of DTC for corporate securities and municipal securities or the Federal Reserve System for U.S. Treasury securities; (iii) may not be eligible for trading by an Authorized Participant (as defined below) or the investor for which it is acting; (iv) would be restricted under the securities laws or where the delivery of the Deposit Security to the Authorized Participant would result in the disposition of the Deposit Security by the Authorized Participant becoming restricted under the securities laws; or (v) in certain other situations (collectively, “non-standard orders”). The Trust also reserves the right to: (i) permit or require the substitution of Deposit Securities in lieu of Deposit Cash; and (ii) include or remove Deposit Securities from the basket in anticipation of portfolio changes. These adjustments will reflect changes, known on the date of announcement to be in effect by the time of delivery of the Fund Deposit, in the composition of the subject index being tracked by the relevant fund or resulting from certain corporate actions.

PROCEDURES FOR PURCHASE OF CREATION UNITS. To be eligible to place orders with the fund, as facilitated via the Transfer Agent, to purchase a Creation Unit of a fund, an entity must be (i) a “Participating Party”, i.e., a broker-dealer or other participant in the clearing process through the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC (the “Clearing Process”), a clearing agency that is registered with the SEC; or (ii) a DTC Participant (see “BOOK ENTRY ONLY SYSTEM”). In addition, each Participating Party or DTC Participant (each, an “Authorized Participant”) must execute a Participant Agreement that has been agreed to by the Distributor and the Transfer Agent, and that has been accepted by the Trust, with respect to purchases and redemptions of Creation Units. Each Authorized Participant will agree, pursuant to the terms of a Participant Agreement, on behalf of itself or any investor on whose behalf it will act, to certain conditions, including that it will pay to the Trust, an amount of cash sufficient to pay the Cash Component together with the creation transaction fee (described below) and any other applicable fees, taxes and additional variable charge.

All orders to purchase fund shares directly from a fund, including non-standard orders, must be placed for one or more Creation Units and in the manner and by the time set forth in the Participant Agreement and/or applicable order form. The date on which an order to purchase Creation Units (or an order to redeem Creation Units, as set forth below) is received and accepted is referred to as the “Order Placement Date.”

An Authorized Participant may require an investor to make certain representations or enter into agreements with respect to the order, (e.g., to provide for payments of cash, when required). Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not have executed a Participant Agreement and that, therefore, orders to purchase fund shares directly from a fund in Creation Units have to be placed by the investor’s broker through an Authorized Participant that has executed a Participant Agreement. In such cases there may be additional charges to such investor. At any given time, there may be only a limited number of broker-dealers that have executed a Participant Agreement and only a small number of such Authorized Participants may have international capabilities.

On days when the Exchange closes earlier than normal, a fund may require orders to create Creation Units to be placed earlier in the day. In addition, if a market or markets on which a fund’s investments are primarily traded is closed, the fund will also generally not accept orders on such day(s). Orders must be transmitted by an Authorized Participant by telephone or other transmission method acceptable to the Transfer Agent pursuant to procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement and in accordance with the applicable order form. Those placing orders through an Authorized Participant should allow sufficient time to permit proper submission of the purchase order by the cut-off time. Economic or market disruptions or changes, or telephone or other communication failure may impede the ability to reach the Transfer Agent or an Authorized Participant.

Fund Deposits must be delivered by an Authorized Participant through the Federal Reserve System (for cash and U.S. government securities) or through DTC (for corporate securities), through a subcustody agent for (for foreign securities) and/or through such other arrangements allowed by the Trust or its agents. With respect to

 

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foreign Deposit Securities, the Custodian shall cause the subcustodian of such fund to maintain an account into which the Authorized Participant shall deliver, on behalf of itself or the party on whose behalf it is acting, such Deposit Securities. Foreign Deposit Securities must be delivered to an account maintained at the applicable local subcustodian. The Fund Deposit transfer must be ordered by the Authorized Participant in a timely fashion so as to ensure the delivery of the requisite number of Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, to the account of a fund or its agents by no later than the Settlement Date. The “Settlement Date” for a fund is generally the second Business Day after the Order Placement Date. All questions as to the number of Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash to be delivered, as applicable, and the validity, form and eligibility (including time of receipt) for the deposit of any tendered securities or cash, as applicable, will be determined by the Trust, whose determination shall be final and binding. The amount of cash represented by the Cash Component must be transferred directly to the Custodian through the Federal Reserve Bank wire transfer system in a timely manner so as to be received by the Custodian no later than the Settlement Date. If the Cash Component and the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, are not received in a timely manner by the Settlement Date, the creation order may be cancelled. Upon written notice to the fund, such canceled order may be resubmitted the following Business Day using a Fund Deposit as newly constituted to reflect the then current NAV of the fund. The delivery of Creation Units so created generally will occur no later than the second Business Day following the day on which the purchase order is deemed received by the Transfer Agent.

The order shall be deemed to be received on the Business Day on which the order is placed provided that the order is placed in proper form prior to the applicable cut-off time and the federal funds in the appropriate amount are deposited by 2:00 p.m. or 3:00 p.m. Eastern time (per applicable instructions), with the Custodian on the Settlement Date. If the order is not placed in proper form as required, or federal funds in the appropriate amount are not received by 2:00 p.m. or 3:00 p.m. Eastern time (per applicable instructions) on the Settlement Date, then the order may be deemed to be rejected and the Authorized Participant shall be liable to the fund for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. A creation request is considered to be in “proper form” if all procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement, order form and this SAI are properly followed.

ISSUANCE OF A CREATION UNIT. Except as provided herein, Creation Units will not be issued until the transfer of good title to the Trust of the Deposit Securities or payment of Deposit Cash, as applicable, and the payment of the Cash Component have been completed. When the subcustodian has confirmed to the Custodian that the required Deposit Securities (or the cash value thereof) have been delivered to the account of the relevant subcustodian or subcustodians, the Distributor and TAM shall be notified of such delivery, and the Trust will issue and cause the delivery of the Creation Units.

In instances where the Trust accepts Deposit Securities for the purchase of a Creation Unit, the Creation Unit may be purchased in advance of receipt by the Trust of all or a portion of the applicable Deposit Securities as described below. In these circumstances, the initial deposit will have a value greater than the net asset value of the fund shares on the date the order is placed in proper form since in addition to available Deposit Securities, cash must be deposited in an amount equal to the sum of (i) the Cash Component, plus (ii) an additional amount of cash equal to a percentage of the market value as set forth in the Participant Agreement, of the undelivered Deposit Securities (the “Additional Cash Deposit”), which shall be maintained in a general non-interest bearing collateral account. An additional amount of cash shall be required to be deposited with the Trust, pending delivery of the missing Deposit Securities to the extent necessary to maintain the Additional Cash Deposit with the Trust in an amount at least equal to the applicable percentage, as set forth in the Participant Agreement, of the daily marked to market value of the missing Deposit Securities. The Trust may use such Additional Cash Deposit to buy the missing Deposit Securities at any time. Authorized Participants will be liable to the Trust for all costs, expenses, dividends, income and taxes associated with missing Deposit Securities, including the costs incurred by the Trust in connection with any such purchases. These costs will be deemed to include the amount by which the actual purchase price of the Deposit Securities exceeds the market value of such Deposit Securities on the day the purchase order was deemed received by the Transfer Agent plus the brokerage and related transaction costs associated with such purchases. The Trust will return any unused portion of the Additional Cash Deposit once all of the missing Deposit Securities have been properly received by the Custodian or purchased by the Trust and deposited into the Trust. In addition, a transaction fee as set forth below under “Creation Transaction Fees” will

 

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be charged in all cases and an additional variable charge may also be applied. The delivery of Creation Units so created generally will occur no later than the Settlement Date.

ACCEPTANCE OF ORDERS OF CREATION UNITS. The Trust reserves the absolute right to reject an order for Creation Units transmitted in respect of a fund at its discretion, including, without limitation, if (a) the order is not in proper form; (b) the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, delivered by the Authorized Participant are not as disseminated through the facilities of the NSCC for that date by the Custodian; (c) the investor(s), upon obtaining the fund shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding fund shares of the fund; (d) acceptance of the Deposit Securities would have certain adverse tax consequences to the fund; (e) the acceptance of the Fund Deposit would, in the opinion of counsel, be unlawful; (f) the acceptance of the Fund Deposit would otherwise, in the discretion of the Trust or the Investment Manager, have an adverse effect on the Trust or the rights of beneficial owners; (g) the acceptance or receipt of the order for a Creation Unit would, in the opinion of counsel to the Trust, be unlawful; or (h) in the event that circumstances outside the control of the Trust, the Custodian, the Transfer Agent and/or the Investment Manager make it for all practical purposes not feasible to process orders for Creation Units. Examples of such circumstances include acts of God or public service or utility problems such as fires, floods, extreme weather conditions and power outages resulting in telephone, telecopy and computer failures; market conditions or activities causing trading halts; systems failures involving computer or other information systems affecting the Trust, the Distributor, the Custodian, the Transfer Agent, DTC, NSCC, Federal Reserve System, or any other participant in the creation process, and other extraordinary events. The Trust or its agents shall communicate to the Authorized Participant its rejection of an order. The Trust, the Transfer Agent, the Custodian and the Distributor are under no duty, however, to give notification of any defects or irregularities in the delivery of Fund Deposits nor shall either of them incur any liability for the failure to give any such notification. The Trust, the Transfer Agent, the Custodian and the Distributor shall not be liable for the rejection of any purchase order for Creation Units.

All questions as to the number of shares of each security in the Deposit Securities and the validity, form, eligibility and acceptance for deposit of any securities to be delivered shall be determined by the Trust, and the Trust’s determination shall be final and binding.

PROCEDURES FOR REDEMPTION OF CREATION UNITS.

Fund shares may be redeemed only in Creation Units at their net asset value next determined after receipt of a redemption request in proper form by a fund through the Transfer Agent and only on a Business Day. EXCEPT UPON LIQUIDATION OF A FUND, THE TRUST WILL NOT REDEEM FUND SHARES IN AMOUNTS LESS THAN CREATION UNITS. Investors must accumulate enough fund shares in the secondary market to constitute a Creation Unit in order to have such fund shares redeemed by the Trust. There can be no assurance, however, that there will be sufficient liquidity in the public trading market at any time to permit assembly of a Creation Unit. Investors should expect to incur brokerage and other costs in connection with assembling a sufficient number of fund shares to constitute a redeemable Creation Unit.

For each fund, the Custodian, through the NSCC, makes available, prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m. Eastern time) on each Business Day, the list of the names and share quantities of securities designated by the fund that will be applicable (subject to possible amendment or correction) to redemption requests received in proper form (as defined below) on that day (“Redemption Securities”). Redemption Securities received on redemption may not be identical to Deposit Securities. The identity and number of shares of the Redemption Securities or the Cash Redemption Amount (defined below) may be changed from time to time with a view to the investment objective of a fund.

Redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit are paid either in-kind or in cash, or a combination thereof, as determined by the Trust. With respect to in-kind redemptions of a fund, redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit will consist of Redemption Securities plus cash in an amount equal to the difference between the net asset value of the fund shares being redeemed, as next determined after a receipt of a request in proper form, and the value of the Redemption Securities (the “Cash Redemption Amount”), less a fixed redemption transaction fee and any applicable additional variable charge as set forth below. In the event that the Redemption Securities have a value greater than the net asset value of the fund shares, a compensating cash payment equal to the differential is

 

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required to be made by or through an Authorized Participant by the redeeming shareholder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, at the Trust’s discretion, an Authorized Participant may receive the corresponding cash value of the securities in lieu of the in-kind securities value representing one or more Redemption Securities.

After the Trust has deemed an order for redemption received, the Trust will initiate procedures to transfer the requisite Redemption Securities and the Cash Redemption Amount to the Authorized Participant by the Settlement Date. With respect to in-kind redemptions of a fund, the calculation of the value of the Redemption Securities and the Cash Redemption Amount to be delivered upon redemption will be made by the Custodian according to the procedures set forth under “Net Asset Value (“NAV”) Determination,” computed on the Business Day on which a redemption order is deemed received by the Trust. Therefore, if a redemption order in proper form is submitted to the Transfer Agent by a DTC Participant by the specified order cut-off time on the Order Placement Date, and the requisite number of fund shares of the fund are delivered to the Custodian prior to 2:00 p.m. or 3:00 p.m. Eastern time (per applicable instructions) on the Settlement Date, then the value of the Redemption Securities and the Cash Redemption Amount to be delivered will be determined by the Custodian on such Order Placement Date. If the requisite number of fund shares of the fund are not delivered by 2:00 p.m. or 3:00 p.m. Eastern time (per applicable instructions) on the Settlement Date, the fund will not release the underlying securities for delivery unless collateral is posted in such percentage amount of missing fund shares as set forth in the Participant Agreement (marked to market daily).

With respect to in-kind redemptions of a fund, in connection with taking delivery of shares of Redemption Securities upon redemption of Creation Units, an Authorized Participant must maintain appropriate custody arrangements with a qualified broker-dealer, bank or other custody providers in each jurisdiction in which any of the Redemption Securities are customarily traded (or such other arrangements as allowed by the Trust or its agents), to which account such Redemption Securities will be delivered. Deliveries of redemption proceeds generally will be made within two Business Days of the trade date. Due to the schedule of holidays in certain countries, however, the delivery of in-kind redemption proceeds may take longer than two business days after the day on which the redemption request is received in proper form. If the Authorized Participant has not made appropriate arrangements to take delivery of the Redemption Securities in the applicable foreign jurisdiction and it is not possible to make other such arrangements, or if it is not possible to effect deliveries of the Redemption Securities in such jurisdiction, the Trust may, in its discretion, exercise its option to redeem such Fund Shares in cash, and the Authorized Participant will be required to receive its redemption proceeds in cash.

If it is not possible to make other such arrangements, or if it is not possible to effect deliveries of the Redemption Securities, the Trust may in its discretion exercise its option to redeem such Fund Shares in cash, and the redeeming investor will be required to receive its redemption proceeds in cash. In addition, an investor may request a redemption in cash that a fund may, in its sole discretion, permit. In either case, the investor will receive a cash payment equal to the NAV of its Fund Shares based on the NAV of Fund Shares of the relevant fund next determined after the redemption request is received in proper form (minus a redemption transaction fee and additional charge for requested cash redemptions specified above, to offset the Trust’s brokerage and other transaction costs associated with the disposition of Redemption Securities). A fund may also, in its sole discretion, upon request of a shareholder, provide such redeemer a portfolio that differs from the exact composition of the Redemption Securities but does not differ in net asset value.

Pursuant to the Participant Agreement, an Authorized Participant submitting a redemption request is deemed to make certain representations to the Trust regarding the Authorized Participant’s ability to tender for redemption the requisite number of fund shares. The Trust reserves the right to verify these representations at its discretion, but will typically require verification with respect to a redemption request from a fund in connection with higher levels of redemption activity and/or short interest in the fund. If the Authorized Participant, upon receipt of a verification request, does not provide sufficient verification of its representations as determined by the Trust, the redemption request will not be considered to have been received in proper form and may be rejected by the Trust.

Redemptions of fund shares for Redemption Securities will be subject to compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws and each fund (whether or not it otherwise permits cash redemptions) reserves the right to redeem Creation Units for cash to the extent that the Trust could not lawfully deliver specific Redemption Securities upon redemptions or could not do so without first registering the Redemption Securities under such

 

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laws. An Authorized Participant or an investor for which it is acting subject to a legal restriction with respect to a particular security included in the Redemption Securities applicable to the redemption of Creation Units may be paid an equivalent amount of cash. The Authorized Participant may request the redeeming investor of the fund shares to complete an order form or to enter into agreements with respect to such matters as compensating cash payment. Further, an Authorized Participant that is not a “qualified institutional buyer,” (“QIB”) as such term is defined under Rule 144A of the Securities Act, will not be able to receive Redemption Securities that are restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A. An Authorized Participant may be required by the Trust to provide a written confirmation with respect to QIB status in order to receive Redemption Securities.

The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed with respect to a fund (1) for any period during which the Exchange is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings); (2) for any period during which trading on the Exchange is suspended or restricted; (3) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which disposal of the fund shares of the fund or determination of the NAV of the fund shares is not reasonably practicable; or (4) in such other circumstance as is permitted by the SEC.

REQUIRED EARLY ACCEPTANCE OF ORDERS FOR CERTAIN INTERNATIONAL FUNDS. Notwithstanding the foregoing, as described in the Participant Agreement and/or the applicable order form, certain funds may require orders to be placed prior to the trade date, as described in the Participant Agreement or the applicable order form, in order to receive the trade date’s net asset value. The cut-off time to receive the trade date’s net asset value will not precede the calculation of the net asset value of a fund’s shares on the prior Business Day. Orders to purchase shares of such funds that are submitted on the Business Day immediately preceding a holiday or a day (other than a weekend) that the equity markets in the relevant foreign market are closed may not be accepted. Authorized Participants may be notified that the cut-off time for an order may be earlier on a particular Business Day, as described in the Participant Agreement and the applicable order form.

CREATION AND REDEMPTION TRANSACTION FEES. A transaction fee, as set forth in the table below, is imposed for the transfer and other transaction costs associated with the purchase or redemption of Creation Units, as applicable. Authorized Participants will be required to pay a fixed creation transaction fee and/or a fixed redemption transaction fee, as applicable, on a given day regardless of the number of Creation Units created or redeemed on that day. A fund may adjust the transaction fee from time to time. An additional charge or a variable charge (discussed below) will be applied to certain creation and redemption transactions, including non-standard orders and whole or partial cash purchases or redemptions. In all cases, such transaction fees will be limited in accordance with requirements of the SEC applicable to management investment companies offering redeemable securities. With respect to creation orders, Authorized Participants are responsible for the costs of transferring the securities constituting the Deposit Securities to the account of the Trust and with respect to redemption orders, Authorized Participants are responsible for the costs of transferring the Redemption Securities from the Trust to their account or on their order. Investors who use the services of a broker or other such intermediary may also be charged a fee for such services.

Creation and Redemption Transaction Fees:

 

Fund    Transaction Fee*,**

DeltaShares S&P 400 Managed Risk ETF

     $ 1,250

DeltaShares S&P 500 Managed Risk ETF

     $ 1,250

DeltaShares S&P 600 Managed Risk ETF

     $ 1,250

DeltaShares S&P International Managed Risk ETF

     $ 4,250

DeltaShares S&P EM 100 & Managed Risk ETF

     $ 1,200

 

*

From time to time, a fund may waive all or a portion of its applicable transaction fee(s). An additional charge of up to three (3) times the standard transaction fee may be charged to the extent a transaction is outside of the clearing process.

**

In addition to the transaction fees listed above, the funds may charge an additional variable fee for creations and redemptions in cash to offset brokerage and impact expenses associated with the cash transaction. The variable transaction fee will be calculated based on historical transaction cost data and the Investment Manager’s view of current market conditions; however, the actual variable fee charged for a given transaction may be lower or higher than the trading expenses incurred by a fund with respect to that transaction.

 

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Net Asset Valuation (“NAV”) Determination

When NAV Is Determined

The NAV of all funds is determined on each day the NYSE is open for business as of the scheduled close of regular trading (normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time). If the NYSE closes at another time, each fund will calculate its NAV as of the scheduled closing time. The NAV is not determined on days when the NYSE is closed (generally New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas). Foreign securities may trade in their primary markets on weekends or other days when a fund does not price its shares (therefore, the value of a fund’s foreign securities may change on days when shareholders will not be able to buy or sell shares of the funds). These securities will be valued pursuant to the funds’ Pricing and Valuation procedures for such securities.

How NAV Is Calculated

The NAV of each fund is calculated by taking the value of its net assets and dividing by the number of shares of the fund that are then outstanding.

The Board has approved procedures to be used to value the funds’ securities for purposes of determining the funds’ NAV. The valuation of the securities of the funds is determined in good faith by or under the direction of the Board. While the Board has primary responsibility to shareholders for valuation of portfolio securities, the Board has delegated certain valuation functions for the funds to TAM.

In general, securities and other investments (including shares of ETFs) are valued based on market prices at the close of regular trading on the NYSE. Fund securities (including shares of ETFs) listed or traded on domestic securities exchanges or the NASDAQ/NMS, including dollar-denominated foreign securities or ADRs, are valued at the closing price on the exchange or system where the security is principally traded. With respect to securities traded on the NASDAQ/NMS, such closing price may be the last reported sale price or the NASDAQ Official Closing Price (“NOCP”). If there have been no sales for that day on the exchange or system where the security is principally traded, then the value should be determined with reference to the last sale price, or the NOCP, if applicable, on any other exchange or system. If there have been no sales for that day on any exchange or system, a security is valued at the closing bid quotes on the exchange or system where the security is principally traded, or at the NOCP, if applicable. Foreign securities traded on U.S. exchanges are generally priced using last sale price regardless of trading activity. Securities traded over-the-counter are valued at the last bid price. The market price for debt obligations is generally the price supplied by an independent third party pricing service, which may use market prices or quotations or a variety of fair value techniques and methodologies. Short-term debt obligations that will mature in 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, unless it is determined that using this method would not reflect an investment’s fair value. The prices that a fund uses may differ from the amounts that would be realized if the investments were sold and the differences could be significant, particularly for securities that trade in relatively thin markets and/or markets that experience extreme volatility. Foreign securities generally are valued based on quotations from the primary market in which they are traded, and are converted from the local currency into U.S. dollars using current exchange rates. Market quotations for securities prices may be obtained from automated pricing services. ETF shares are valued at the most recent sale price or official closing price on the exchange on which they are traded.

When a market quotation for a security is not readily available (which may include closing prices deemed to be unreliable because of the occurrence of a subsequent event), a valuation committee appointed by the Board may, in good faith, establish a value for the security in accordance with fair valuation procedures adopted by the Board. The Board reviews all fair value determinations typically at its regularly scheduled meetings. The types of securities for which such fair value pricing may be required include, but are not limited to: foreign securities, where a significant event occurs after the close of the foreign market on which such security principally trades that is likely to have changed the value of such security, or the closing value is otherwise deemed unreliable; securities of an issuer that has entered into a restructuring; securities whose trading has been halted or suspended; fixed-income securities that have gone into default and for which there is no current market value quotation; and securities that are restricted as to transfer or resale. The funds may use a fair value model developed by an

 

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independent third party pricing service to price foreign equity securities on days when there is a certain percentage change in the value of a domestic equity security index, as such percentage may be determined by TAM from time to time.

Valuing securities in accordance with fair value procedures involves greater reliance on judgment than valuing securities based on readily available market quotations. The valuation committee makes fair value determinations in good faith in accordance with the funds’ valuation procedures. There can be no assurance that a fund could obtain the fair value assigned to a security if it were to sell the security at approximately the time at which the fund determines its NAV.

Brokerage

Subject to policies established by the Board and TAM, the sub-adviser is responsible for placement of the funds’ securities transactions. In placing orders, it is the policy of a fund to seek to obtain the most favorable price and execution available, except to the extent it may be permitted to pay higher brokerage commissions as described below. In seeking the most favorable price and execution, TAM or the sub-adviser, as applicable, having in mind the fund’s best interests, considers all factors it deems relevant, including: the size of the transaction; the nature of the market for the security; the amount of the commission; the timing of the transaction taking into account market prices and trends; the reputation, experience and financial stability of the broker-dealer involved and the quality of service rendered by the broker-dealer in that or other transactions; trade confidentiality including anonymity; and research products and services provided, which include: (i) furnishing advice, either directly or through publications or writings, as to the value of securities, the advisability of purchasing or selling specific securities and the availability of securities or purchasers or sellers of securities and (ii) furnishing analyses and reports concerning issuers, industries, securities, economic factors and trends and portfolio strategy and products and other services (such as third party publications, reports and analyses, and computer and electronic access, equipment, software, information and accessories) that assist the sub-adviser in carrying out its responsibilities.

Decisions as to the selection of broker-dealers and the assignment of fund brokerage business for a fund and negotiation of its commission rates are made by TAM or the sub-adviser, as applicable, whose policy is to seek to obtain “best execution” (prompt and reliable execution at the most favorable security price) of all fund transactions. In doing so, a fund may pay higher commission rates than the lowest available when its sub-adviser believes it is reasonable to do so in light of the value of the brokerage and research services provided by the broker effecting the transaction, as discussed below.

There is generally no stated commission in the case of fixed-income securities and other securities traded on a principal basis in the over-the-counter markets, but the price paid by a fund usually includes an undisclosed dealer commission or mark-up. In underwritten offerings, the price paid by a fund includes a disclosed, fixed commission or discount retained by the underwriter or dealer. Transactions on U.S. stock exchanges and other agency transactions involve the payment by a fund of negotiated brokerage commissions. Such commissions vary among different brokers. Also, a particular broker may charge different commissions according to such factors as the difficulty and size of the transaction. Transactions in foreign securities generally involve the payment of fixed brokerage commissions, which are generally higher than those in the U.S.

It has for many years been a common practice in the investment advisory business for advisers of investment companies and other institutional investors to receive research and brokerage products and services (together, “services”) from broker-dealers that execute portfolio transactions for the clients of such advisers. Consistent with this practice, a sub-adviser may receive services from many broker-dealers with which the sub-adviser places the fund’s portfolio transactions. These services, which in some cases may also be purchased for cash, may include, among other things, such items as general economic and security market reviews, industry and company reviews, evaluations of securities, recommendations as to the purchase and sale of securities, and services related to the execution of securities transactions. The services obtained through brokers or dealers will be in addition to, and not in lieu of, the services required to be performed by the sub-adviser. The expenses of the sub-adviser will not necessarily be reduced as a result of the receipt of such supplemental information. The sub-adviser may use such services in servicing other accounts in addition to the respective fund. Conversely,

 

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services provided to the sub-adviser by broker-dealers in connection with trades executed on behalf of other clients of the sub-adviser may be useful to the sub-adviser in managing the fund, although not all of these services may be necessarily useful and of value to the sub-adviser in managing such other clients. The receipt of such services enables the sub-adviser to avoid the additional expenses that might otherwise be incurred if it were to attempt to develop comparable information through its own staff.

In reliance on the “safe harbor” provided by Section 28(e) of the Exchange Act and the SEC’s interpretive guidance thereunder, the sub-adviser may cause a fund to pay a broker-dealer that provides “brokerage and research services” (as defined for purposes of Section 28(e)) to the sub-adviser an amount of commission for effecting a securities transaction for the fund in excess of the commission that another broker-dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the sub-adviser determines in good faith that the commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by the broker-dealer. If the sub-adviser determines that any research product or service has a mixed use, such that it also serves functions that do not assist in the investment decision-making process, the sub-adviser will allocate the costs of such service or product accordingly. The portion of the product or service that the sub-adviser determines will assist it in the investment decision-making process may be paid for in brokerage commission dollars. Such allocation may create a conflict of interest for the sub-adviser. Conversely, such supplemental information obtained by the placement of business for the sub-adviser will be considered by and may be useful to the sub-adviser in carrying out its obligations to a fund.

The sub-adviser may place transactions for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities with affiliates of TAM or the sub-adviser. The sub-adviser may place transactions with a broker-dealer that is an affiliate of TAM or the sub-adviser where, in the judgment of the sub-adviser, such firm will be able to obtain a price and execution at least as favorable as other qualified broker-dealers. Pursuant to rules of the SEC, a broker-dealer that is an affiliate of TAM or the sub-adviser may receive and retain compensation for effecting portfolio transactions for the fund on a securities exchange if the commissions paid to such an affiliated broker-dealer by the fund do not exceed “usual and customary brokerage commissions.” The rules define “usual and customary” commissions to include amounts that are “reasonable and fair compared to the commission, fee or other remuneration received by other brokers in connection with comparable transactions involving similar securities being purchased or sold on a securities exchange during a comparable period of time.”

The sub-adviser, to the extent consistent with the best execution and with TAM’s usual commission rate policies and practices, may place security transactions with broker/dealers with which the Trust has established a Commission Recapture Program. A Commission Recapture Program is any arrangement under which a broker/dealer applies a portion of the commissions received by such broker/dealer on the security transactions to the funds. In no event will commissions paid by a fund be used to pay expenses that would otherwise be borne by any other fund in the Trust, or by any other party. These commissions are not used for promoting or selling fund shares or otherwise related to the distribution of fund shares.

Securities held by a fund may also be held by other separate accounts, mutual funds or other accounts for which TAM or the sub-adviser serves as an adviser, or held by TAM or the sub-adviser for their own accounts. Because of different investment objectives or other factors, a particular security may be bought by TAM or the sub-adviser for one or more clients when one or more clients are selling the same security. If purchases or sales of securities for a fund or other entities for which they act as investment adviser or for their advisory clients arise for consideration at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be made, insofar as feasible, for the respective entities and clients in a manner deemed equitable to all. To the extent that transactions on behalf of more than one client of TAM or the sub-adviser during the same period may increase the demand for securities being purchased or the supply of securities being sold, there may be an adverse effect on price.

On occasions when TAM or the sub-adviser deems the purchase or sale of a security to be in the best interests of a fund as well as other accounts or companies, it may to the extent permitted by applicable laws and regulations, but will not be obligated to, aggregate the securities to be sold or purchased for the fund with those to be sold or purchased for such other accounts or companies in order to obtain favorable execution and lower brokerage commissions. In that event, allocation of the securities purchased or sold, as well as the expenses incurred in the

 

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transaction, will be made by TAM or the sub-adviser in the manner it considers to be most equitable and consistent with its fiduciary obligations to the fund and to such other accounts or companies. In some cases this procedure may adversely affect the size of the position obtainable for a fund.

The Board of the Trust reviews on a quarterly basis the brokerage placement practices of the sub-adviser on behalf of the funds, and reviews the prices and commissions, if any, paid by the funds to determine if they were reasonable.

Brokerage Commissions Paid

The funds paid the aggregate brokerage commissions indicated for the last three fiscal years:

“N/A” in the table below indicates that the fund was not in operation during the relevant fiscal year and, accordingly, no commissions are shown.

 

Fund Name   Brokerage Commissions Paid
(including Affiliated Brokerage Commissions)
    Affiliated Brokerage
Commissions Paid
  2020($)     2020(%)   2019($)   2018($)     2020($)   2020(%)   2019($)   2018($)

DeltaShares S&P 400 Managed Risk ETF(1)

    $31,148     10.33%   $57,050     $73,268     $-   -   $-   $-

DeltaShares S&P 500 Managed Risk ETF(1)

    $72,513     24.06%   $87,937     $130,718     $-   -   $-   $-

DeltaShares S&P 600 Managed Risk ETF(1)

    $24,474     8.12%   $35,895     $47,636     $-   -   $-   $-

DeltaShares S&P International Managed Risk ETF

    $121,880     40.44%   $55,635     $102,570     $-   -   $-   $-

DeltaShares S&P EM 100 & Managed Risk ETF(1)

    $51,394     17.05%   $51,743     N/A     $-   -   $-   N/A

 

(1)

The fund commenced operations on March 20, 2019.

Securities of Regular Broker Dealers

During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, the following funds purchased securities issued by regular broker-dealers of the Transamerica Funds, which had the following values as of December 31, 2020.

 

Fund Name   Bank of
America
Corp.
  Goldman
Sachs
Group,
Inc.
  JPMorgan
Securities
LLC
  Societe
Generale
   State Street
Bank &
Trust Co.
   US Bank
National
Association

DeltaShares® S&P 400 Managed Risk ETF

  -   -   -   -    -    -

DeltaShares® S&P 500 Managed Risk ETF

  $2,527,733   $993,923   $4,243,249   -    $281,295    $699,689

DeltaShares® S&P 600 Managed Risk ETF

  -   -   -   -    -    -

DeltaShares® S&P International Managed Risk ETF

  -   -   -   $165,348    -    -

DeltaShares S&P EM 100 & Managed Risk ETF

  -   -   -   -    -    -

 

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Principal Shareholders and Control Persons

Although the Trust generally does not have information concerning the beneficial ownership of shares nominally held by Depository Trust Company (“DTC”), the name and percentage ownership of each DTC participant that owned of record 5% or more of the outstanding shares of a fund, as of April 1, 2021 is set forth in the table below.*

 

Fund   Name   Percent Owned

DeltaShares S&P 600 Managed Risk ETF

 

Bank of America

4 World Financial Center

New York, NY 10080

  7.37%

Any shareholder who holds beneficially 25% or more of a fund may be deemed to control the fund until such time as it holds beneficially less than 25% of the outstanding common shares of the fund. Any shareholder controlling a fund may be able to determine the outcome of issues that are submitted to shareholders for vote, and may be able to take action regarding the fund without the consent or approval of the other shareholders.

As of April 1, 2021, the shareholders who held beneficially 25% or more of a fund were as follows:

 

 

Fund   Name   Percent Owned

DeltaShares® S&P EM 100 & Managed Risk ETF

 

State Street Bank and Trust Company

One Lincoln Street

Boston, MA 02111

  94.44%

DeltaShares S&P 400 Managed Risk ETF

 

State Street Bank and Trust Company

One Lincoln Street

Boston, MA 02111

  95.31%

DeltaShares S&P 500 Managed Risk ETF

 

State Street Bank and Trust Company

One Lincoln Street

Boston, MA 02111

  91.25%

DeltaShares S&P 600 Managed Risk ETF

 

State Street Bank and Trust Company

One Lincoln Street

Boston, MA 02111

  86.74%

DeltaShares S&P International Managed Risk ETF

 

State Street Bank and Trust Company

One Lincoln Street

Boston, MA 02111

  93.77%

 

*

As of April 1, 2021, certain Transamerica-sponsored mutual funds collectively beneficially owned 94.93% of DeltaShares® S&P 400 Managed Risk ETF, 91.12% of DeltaShares® S&P 500 Managed Risk ETF, 86.64% of DeltaShares® S&P 600 Managed Risk ETF, 93.98% of DeltaShares® S&P International Managed Risk ETF and 94.71% of DeltaShares® S&P EM 100 & Managed Risk ETF.

Management Ownership

As of April 1, 2021, the Trustees and officers as a group owned less than 1% of any class of each fund’s outstanding shares.

Further Information About the Trust and the Funds

The Trust is organized as a Delaware statutory trust. Delaware law provides a statutory framework for the powers, duties, rights and obligations of the Trustees and shareholders of the Trust, while the more specific powers, duties, rights and obligations of the Trustees and the shareholders are determined by the Trustees as set forth in the Trust’s Declaration of Trust (“Declaration”) dated as of May 5, 2016, and the Trust’s Bylaws, as may be amended from time to time. Every shareholder, by virtue of purchasing shares and becoming a shareholder, agrees to be bound by the terms of the Declaration. Some of the more significant provisions of the Declaration are described below.

Shareholder Voting. The Declaration provides for shareholder voting as required by the 1940 Act or other applicable laws but otherwise permits, consistent with Delaware law, actions by the Trustees without seeking the consent of shareholders. A fund is not required to hold an annual meeting of shareholders, but a fund will call

 

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special meetings of shareholders whenever required by the 1940 Act or by the terms of the Declaration. The Declaration provides for “dollar-weighted voting” which means that a shareholder’s voting power is determined, not by the number of shares he or she owns, but by the net asset value, in U.S. dollars, of those shares determined at the close of business on the record date. All shareholders of record of all series of the Trust vote together, except where required by the 1940 Act to vote separately by series, or when the Trustees have determined that a matter affects only the interests of one or more series. There is no cumulative voting on any matter submitted to a vote of the shareholders.

Election and Removal of Trustees. The Declaration provides that the Trustees may establish the number of Trustees and that vacancies on the Board may be filled by a vote or consent of the remaining Trustees, except when election of Trustees by the shareholders is required under the 1940 Act. Trustees are then elected by a plurality of votes cast by shareholders at a meeting at which a quorum is present. The Declaration also provides that a mandatory retirement age may be set by action of two-thirds of the Trustees and that any Trustee may be removed by a vote of shareholders holding two-thirds of the voting power of the Trust, or by a vote of two-thirds of the remaining Trustees. The provisions of the Declaration relating to the election and removal of Trustees may not be amended without the approval of two-thirds of the Trustees.

Amendments to the Declaration. The Trustees are authorized to amend the Declaration without the vote of shareholders, but no amendment may be made that impairs the exemption from personal liability granted in the Declaration to persons who are or have been shareholders, Trustees, officers or employees of the Trust, that limits the rights to indemnification, advancement of expenses or insurance provided in the Declaration with respect to actions or omissions of persons entitled to indemnification, advancement of expenses or insurance under the Declaration prior to the amendment.

Issuance and Redemption of Shares. A fund may issue an unlimited number of shares for such consideration and on such terms as the Trustees may determine. All shares offered pursuant to the prospectus of a fund, when issued, will be fully paid and non-assessable. Shareholders are not entitled to any appraisal, preemptive, conversion, exchange or similar rights, except as the Trustees may determine. A fund may involuntarily redeem a shareholder’s shares upon certain conditions as may be determined by the Trustees, including, for example, if the shareholder fails to provide a fund with identification required by law, or if the fund is unable to verify the information received from the shareholder or the shareholder fails to provide the required information. In addition, as discussed below, shares may be redeemed in connection with the closing of small accounts.

Disclosure of Shareholder Holdings. The Declaration specifically requires shareholders, upon demand, to disclose in writing to a fund information with respect to the direct and indirect ownership of shares in order to comply with various laws or regulations, and a fund may disclose such ownership if required by law or regulation, or as the Trustees otherwise decide.

Small Accounts. The Declaration provides that a fund may close out a shareholder’s account by redeeming all of the shares in the account if the account falls below a minimum account size that may be set by the Trustees from time to time. Alternately, the Declaration permits a fund to assess a fee for small accounts and redeem shares in the account to cover such fees.

Shareholder, Trustee and Officer Liability. The Declaration provides that shareholders are not personally liable for the obligations of a fund and requires the fund to indemnify a shareholder against any loss or expense arising from any such liability. A fund will assume the defense of any claim against a shareholder for personal liability at the request of the shareholder.

The Declaration provides that a Trustee acting in his or her capacity as a Trustee is not personally liable to any person, other than the Trust or any series, in connection with the affairs of the Trust. The Declaration also provides that no Trustee, officer or employee of the Trust owes any duty to any person (including without limitation any shareholder), other than the Trust or any series. Each Trustee is required to perform his or her duties in good faith and in a manner he or she believes to be in the best interests of the Trust. All actions and omissions of Trustees are presumed to be in accordance with the foregoing standard of performance, and any person alleging the contrary has the burden of proving that allegation.

The Declaration requires the Trust to indemnify any persons who are or who have been Trustees, officers or employees of the Trust to the fullest extent permitted by law against liability and expenses in connection with

 

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any claim or proceeding in which he or she is involved by virtue of having been a Trustee, officer or employee. In making any determination as to whether any person is entitled to the advancement of expenses in connection with a claim for which indemnification is sought, such person is entitled to a rebuttable presumption that he or she did not engage in conduct for which indemnification is not available.

The Declaration provides that any Trustee who serves as chair of the Board, a member or chair of a committee of the Board, lead independent Trustee, audit committee financial expert, or in any other similar capacity will not be subject to any greater standard of care or liability because of such position.

Derivative and Direct Actions. The Declaration provides a detailed process for the bringing of derivative or direct actions by shareholders in order to permit legitimate inquiries and claims while avoiding the time, expense, distraction, and other harm that can be caused to a fund or its shareholders as a result of spurious shareholder claims, demands and derivative actions.

Prior to bringing a derivative action, the Declaration requires that a demand by no fewer than three unrelated shareholders must be made on the Trustees. The Declaration details information, certifications, undertakings and acknowledgements that must be included in the demand. The Trustees are not required to consider a demand that is not submitted in accordance with the requirements contained in the Declaration. The Declaration also requires that, in order to bring a derivative action, the complaining shareholders must be joined in the action by shareholders owning, at the time of the alleged wrongdoing, at the time of demand, and at the time the action is commenced, shares representing at least 5% of the voting power of the affected funds. The Trustees have a period of 90 days, which may be extended by up to an additional 60 days, to consider the demand. If a majority of the Trustees who are considered independent for the purposes of considering the demand (or a committee comprised of some or all of such Trustees), with the assistance of counsel who may be retained by such Trustees on behalf and at the expense of the Trust, determine that a suit should be maintained, then the Trust will commence the suit and the suit will proceed directly and not derivatively. If a majority of the independent Trustees determines that maintaining the suit would not be in the best interests of the funds, the Trustees are required to reject the demand and the complaining shareholders may not proceed with the derivative action unless the shareholders are able to sustain the burden of proof to a court that the decision of the Trustees not to pursue the requested action was not consistent with the standard of performance required of the Trustees in performing their duties. If a demand is rejected, each complaining shareholder will be responsible, jointly and severally with any and all other complaining shareholders, for the costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by the Trust in connection with the consideration of the demand, if, in the judgment of the independent Trustees, the demand was made without reasonable cause or for an improper purpose.

The Declaration provides that no Shareholder may bring a direct action claiming injury as a shareholder of the Trust, or any series thereof, where the matters alleged (if true) would give rise to a claim by the Trust or by the Trust on behalf of a series, unless the shareholder has suffered an injury distinct from that suffered by the shareholders of the Trust, or the series, generally. Under the Declaration, a shareholder bringing a direct claim must be a shareholder of the series with respect to which the direct action is brought at the time of the injury complained of, or have acquired the shares afterwards by operation of law from a person who was a shareholder at that time.

If a derivative or direct action is brought in violation of the Declaration, each shareholder who commences or maintains such action will be required. jointly and severally, to reimburse the Trust for the costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by the Trust in connection with the action if the action is dismissed on the basis of the failure to comply with the Declaration. In addition, if a court determines that any derivative action has been brought without reasonable cause or for an improper purpose, the costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by the Trust in connection with the action will be borne, jointly and severally, by each shareholder who commenced the action.

The Declaration further provides that a fund shall be responsible for payment of attorneys’ fees and legal expenses incurred by a complaining shareholder bring a derivative or direct claim only if required by law, and any attorneys’ fees that the fund is obligated to pay shall be calculated using reasonable hourly rates. The Declaration also requires that actions by shareholders against the Trust or a fund be brought only in the U.S.

 

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District Court for the Southern District of New York, or if not permitted to be brought in federal court, then in the New York Supreme Court sitting in New York County with assignment to the Commercial Division to the extent such assignment is permitted under the applicable court rules, and that the right to jury trial be waived to the fullest extent permitted by law.

Series. The Declaration provides that the Trustees may establish series in addition to those currently established and that the Trustees may determine the rights and preferences, limitations and restrictions, including qualifications for ownership, conversion and exchange features, minimum purchase and account size, expenses and charges, and other features of the series. The Trustees may change any of those features, terminate any series or combine series with other series in the Trust. Each share of a fund, as a series of the Trust, represents an interest in the fund only and not in the assets of any other series of the Trust.

Dividends and Other Distributions

The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled “Dividends and Distributions.”

General Policies

Dividends from net investment income, if any, are generally declared and paid periodically, as described in the Prospectus, but may vary significantly from period to period. Distributions of net realized securities gains, if any, generally are declared and paid once a year, but the Trust may make distributions on a more frequent basis for a fund to improve index tracking or to comply with the distribution requirements of the Internal Revenue Code, in all events in a manner consistent with the provisions of the 1940 Act.

Dividends and other distributions on Fund Shares are distributed, on a pro rata basis to beneficial owners of such Fund Shares. Dividend payments are made through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants to beneficial owners then of record with proceeds received from the Trust.

Management of the Trust reserves the right to declare special dividends if, in its reasonable discretion, such action is necessary or advisable to preserve a fund’s eligibility for treatment as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) under the Internal Revenue Code or to avoid imposition of income or excise taxes at the fund level.

Dividend Reinvestment

Broker dealers, at their own discretion, may offer a dividend reinvestment service under which Fund Shares are purchased in the secondary market at current market prices. Investors should consult their broker dealer for further information regarding any dividend reinvestment service offered by such broker dealer.

Taxes

Each fund has qualified (or expects to qualify in its first year), and expects to continue to qualify, for treatment as a RIC under the Internal Revenue Code. In order to qualify for that treatment, a fund must distribute to its shareholders for each taxable year at least the sum of 90% of its investment company taxable income, computed without regard to the dividends-paid deduction, and 90% of its net exempt-interest income, if any (the “Distribution Requirement”). Each fund must also meet several other requirements. These requirements include the following: (1) a fund must derive at least 90% of its gross income each taxable year from dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including gains from options, futures and forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies, and net income derived from interests in qualified publicly traded partnerships; (2) at the close of each quarter of a fund’s taxable year, at least 50% of the value of its total assets must be represented by cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other RICs and other securities (limited in respect of any one issuer of such other securities to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of the fund’s total assets and to not more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of the issuer); and (3) at the close of each quarter of a fund’s taxable year, not more than 25% of the

 

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value of its total assets may be invested in securities (other than U.S. government securities or the securities of other RICs) of any one issuer, in securities (other than securities of other RICs) of two or more issuers that the fund controls and that are engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or in securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships.

If a fund qualifies as a RIC and timely distributes to its shareholders substantially all of its net income and net capital gains, then the fund should have little or no income taxable to it under the Internal Revenue Code. If a fund meets the Distribution Requirement but retains some portion of its taxable income or gains, it generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at the regular corporate rate on the amounts retained. A fund may designate certain amounts retained as undistributed net capital gain in a notice to its shareholders, who (i) will be required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gain, their proportionate shares of the undistributed amount so designated, (ii) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the income tax paid by the fund on that undistributed amount against their federal income tax liabilities and to claim refunds to the extent such credits exceed those liabilities and (iii) will be entitled to increase their tax basis, for federal income tax purposes, in their shares by an amount equal to the excess of the amount of undistributed net capital gain included in their respective income over their respective income tax credits.

As discussed above, each fund must satisfy certain diversification requirements. Given the potential concentration of the Underlying Indexes in a relatively small number of securities, it may not be possible for the funds to fully implement a replication strategy while satisfying these diversification requirements. A fund’s efforts to satisfy the diversification requirements may affect the execution of its investment strategy and may cause its return to deviate from that of the applicable Underlying Index, and a fund’s efforts to replicate the applicable Underlying Index may cause the fund to inadvertently fail to satisfy the diversification requirements. If a fund were to fail to qualify as a regulated investment company, it would be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation, and distributions to its shareholders would not be deductible by the fund in computing its taxable income.

For U.S. federal income tax purposes, a fund is permitted to carry forward indefinitely a net capital loss from any taxable year to offset its capital gains, if any, in years following the year of the loss. To the extent subsequent capital gains are offset by such losses, they will not result in U.S. federal income tax liability to the fund and may not be distributed as such to shareholders. Generally, the funds may not carry forward any losses other than net capital losses. Under certain circumstances, a fund may elect to treat certain losses as though they were incurred on the first day of the taxable year immediately following the taxable year in which they were actually incurred.

Assuming a fund has sufficient earnings and profits, its shareholders generally are required to include distributions from the fund (whether paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares) as (1) ordinary income, to the extent the distributions are attributable to the fund’s investment income (except for qualified dividend income as discussed below), net short-term capital gain and certain net realized foreign exchange gains, or (2) capital gains, to the extent of the fund’s net capital gain (i.e., the fund’s net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses).

If a fund fails to qualify for treatment as a RIC, the fund will be subject to U.S. federal, and possibly state, corporate taxes on its taxable income and gains, and distributions to its shareholders (including distributions that would otherwise qualify as capital gain dividends) will constitute dividend income or qualified dividend income to the extent of the fund’s available earnings and profits. Under certain circumstances, a fund may be able to cure a failure to qualify as a regulated investment company, but in order to do so, the fund may incur significant fund-level taxes and may be forced to dispose of certain assets.

Distributions by a fund in excess of its current and accumulated earnings and profits will be treated as a return of capital to the extent of (and in reduction of) each shareholder’s tax basis in its shares, and any distributions in excess of that basis will be treated as gain from the sale of shares, as discussed below. Distributions that are reinvested in additional shares of a fund through the means of a dividend reinvestment service, if offered by your broker-dealer, will nevertheless be taxable dividends to the same extent as if such dividends had been received in cash.

 

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U.S. federal income tax law generally taxes non-corporate taxpayers on long-term capital gains and on “qualified dividend income” at rates of up to 20%. Certain capital gain dividends attributable to dividends received from U.S. REITs may be taxable to noncorporate shareholders at a rate of 25%.

Other distributions, including distributions of earnings from, in general, dividends paid to a fund that are not themselves qualified dividend income to the fund, interest income, other types of ordinary income and short-term capital gains, will generally be taxed at the ordinary income tax rate applicable to the taxpayer.

Qualified dividend income generally means dividend income received from a fund’s investments in common and preferred stock of U.S. companies and stock of certain “qualified foreign corporations,” provided that certain holding period and other requirements are met by both the fund and the shareholder receiving a distribution of the dividend income. If 95% or more of a fund’s gross income (calculated without taking into account net capital gain derived from sales or other dispositions of stock or securities) consists of qualified dividend income, that fund may report all distributions of such income as qualified dividend income.

A foreign corporation is treated as a qualified foreign corporation for this purpose if it is incorporated in a possession of the U.S. or it is eligible for the benefits of certain income tax treaties with the U.S. and meets certain additional requirements. Certain foreign corporations that are not otherwise qualified foreign corporations will be treated as qualified foreign corporations with respect to dividends paid by them if the stock with respect to which the dividends are paid is readily tradable on an established securities market in the U.S. Passive foreign investment companies are not qualified foreign corporations for this purpose.

A dividend that is attributable to qualified dividend income of a fund and that is paid by the fund to a shareholder will not be taxable as qualified dividend income to such shareholder (1) if the dividend is received with respect to any share of the fund held for fewer than 61 days during the 121-day period beginning on the date which is 60 days before the date on which such share became “ex-dividend” with respect to such dividend, (2) to the extent that the shareholder is under an obligation (whether pursuant to a short sale or otherwise) to make related payments with respect to positions in substantially similar or related property, or (3) if the shareholder elects to have the dividend treated as investment income for purposes of the limitation on deductibility of investment interest. The “ex-dividend” date is the date on which the owner of the share at the commencement of such date is entitled to receive the next issued dividend payment for such share even if the share is sold by the owner on that date or thereafter. Dividends received by a fund from REITs generally do not qualify for treatment as qualified dividend income.

Certain dividends received by a fund from U.S. corporations (generally, dividends received by the fund in respect of any share of stock (1) with a tax holding period of at least 46 days during the 91-day period beginning on the date that is 45 days before the date on which the stock becomes ex-dividend as to that dividend and (2) that is held in an unleveraged position) and distributed and appropriately reported by the fund may be eligible for the 50% dividends-received deduction generally available to corporations under the Internal Revenue Code. Certain preferred stock must have a holding period of at least 91 days during the 181-day period beginning on the date that is 90 days before the date on which the stock becomes ex-dividend as to that dividend in order to be eligible. Capital gain dividends distributed to a fund from other RICs are not eligible for the dividends-received deduction. In order to qualify for the deduction, corporate shareholders must meet the minimum holding period requirement stated above with respect to their fund shares, taking into account any holding period reductions from certain hedging or other transactions or positions that diminish their risk of loss with respect to their fund shares, and, if they borrow to acquire or otherwise incur debt attributable to fund shares, they may be denied a portion of the dividends-received deduction with respect to those shares. Any corporate shareholder should consult its tax advisor regarding the possibility that its tax basis in its shares may be reduced, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, by reason of “extraordinary dividends” received with respect to the shares and, to the extent such basis would be reduced below zero, current recognition of income may be required.

Any fund distribution will have the effect of reducing the per share net asset value of shares in the fund by the amount of the distribution. Shareholders purchasing shares shortly before the record date of any dividend

 

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distribution that is not declared daily may thus pay the full price for the shares then effectively receive a portion of the purchase price back as a taxable distribution.

Although dividends generally will be treated as distributed when paid, any dividend declared by a fund in October, November or December, payable to shareholders of record during such a month, and paid during the following January will be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as received by shareholders on December 31 of the calendar year in which it was declared. In addition, certain distributions made after the close of a taxable year of a fund may be “spilled back” and treated for certain purposes as paid by the relevant fund during such taxable year. In such case, shareholders generally will be treated as having received such dividends in the taxable year in which the distributions were actually made. For purposes of calculating the amount of a RIC’s undistributed income and gain subject to the 4% excise tax described above, such “spilled back” dividends are treated as paid by the RIC when they are actually paid.

A fund will be subject to a nondeductible 4% excise tax to the extent it fails to distribute by the end of any calendar year substantially all of its ordinary income (for that calendar year) and capital gain net income (for the one-year period generally ending on October 31 of that year), increased or decreased by certain other amounts. Each fund intends to distribute annually a sufficient amount of any taxable income and capital gains so as to avoid liability for this excise tax.

The U.S. federal income tax status of all distributions will be reported to shareholders annually.

A 3.8% Medicare contribution tax generally applies to all or a portion of the net investment income of a shareholder who is an individual and not a nonresident alien for federal income tax purposes and who has adjusted gross income (subject to certain adjustments) that exceeds a threshold amount ($250,000 if married filing jointly or if considered a “surviving spouse” for federal income tax purposes, $125,000 if married filing separately, and $200,000 in other cases). This 3.8% tax also applies to all or a portion of the undistributed net investment income of certain shareholders that are estates or trusts. For these purposes, dividends, interest and certain capital gains are generally taken into account in computing a shareholder’s net investment income.

Certain tax-exempt educational institutions will be subject to a 1.4% tax on net investment income. For these purposes, certain dividends and capital gain distributions, and certain gains from the disposition of fund shares (among other categories of income), are generally taken into account in computing a shareholder’s net investment income.

If a fund is the holder of record of any stock on the record date for any dividends payable with respect to such stock, such dividends will be included in the fund’s gross income not as of the date received, but as of the later of (a) the date such stock became ex-dividend with respect to such dividends or (b) the date the fund acquired such stock. Accordingly, in order to satisfy its income distribution requirements, a fund may be required to pay dividends based on anticipated earnings, and shareholders may receive dividends in an earlier year than would otherwise be the case.

Sales of fund shares generally are taxable events for shareholders that are subject to tax. In general, if shares of a fund are sold, the shareholder will generally recognize a capital gain or loss equal to the difference between the proceeds of the sale and the shareholder’s adjusted basis in the shares sold. This capital gain or loss may be long-term or short-term, generally depending upon the shareholder’s holding period for the shares. For tax purposes, a loss will be disallowed on the sale of shares if the disposed of shares are replaced (including replacement by shares acquired pursuant to a dividend reinvestment plan) within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the date of the sale of such shares. Should the replacement of such shares fall within this 61-day period, the basis of the acquired shares will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss. Any loss realized by the shareholder on its disposition of fund shares held by the shareholder for six months or less will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any amounts treated as distributions to the shareholder of long-term capital gain with respect to such shares (including any amounts credited to the shareholder as undistributed capital gains).

Creation Units. An Authorized Participant who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time and the sum of the exchanger’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered plus the

 

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amount of cash paid for such Creation Units. A person who redeems Creation Units will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanger’s basis in the Creation Units and the sum of the aggregate market value of any securities received plus the amount of any cash received for such Creation Units. The IRS, however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the grounds that there has been no significant change in economic position.

Any gain or loss realized upon a creation of Creation Units will be treated as capital gain or loss if the Authorized Participant holds the securities exchanged therefor as capital assets, and otherwise will be ordinary income or loss. Similarly, any gain or loss realized upon redemption of Creation Units will be treated as capital gain or loss if the Authorized Participant holds the shares comprising the Creation Units as capital assets, and otherwise will be ordinary income or loss. Any capital gain or loss realized upon the creation of Creation Units will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the securities exchanged for such Creation Units have been held for more than one year, and otherwise will be short-term capital gain or loss. Any capital gain or loss realized upon the redemption of Creation Units will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the shares comprising the Creation Units have been held for more than one year, and otherwise, will generally be short-term capital gain or loss. Any capital loss realized upon a redemption of Creation Units held for six months or less will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any amounts treated as distributions to the applicable Authorized Participant of long-term capital gain with respect to the Creation Units (including any amounts credited to the Authorized Participant as undistributed capital gains).

A fund has the right to reject an order for Creation Units if the purchaser (or a group of purchasers) would, upon obtaining the shares so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding shares of the fund and if, pursuant to section 351 of the Internal Revenue Code, the fund would have a basis in any deposit securities different from the market value of such securities on the date of deposit. A fund also has the right to require information necessary to determine beneficial share ownership for purposes of the 80% determination. If a fund does issue Creation Units to a purchaser (or a group of purchasers) that would, upon obtaining the shares so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding shares of the fund, the purchaser (or a group of purchasers) may not recognize gain or loss upon the exchange of securities for Creation Units.

Persons purchasing or redeeming Creation Units should consult their own tax advisors with respect to the tax treatment of any creation or redemption transaction.

Under Treasury regulations, if a shareholder recognizes a loss with respect to fund shares of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder, or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder, in any single taxable year (or certain greater amounts over a combination of years), the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on IRS Form 8886. Shareholders who own portfolio securities directly are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement but, under current guidance, shareholders of RICs are not excepted. A shareholder who fails to make the required disclosure to the IRS may be subject to substantial penalties. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether or not the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult with their tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.

The funds may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries, including taxes on interest, dividends and capital gains with respect to their investments in those countries. Any such taxes would, if imposed, reduce the yield on or return from those investments. Tax conventions between certain countries and the U.S. may reduce or eliminate such taxes in some cases. If more than 50% of a fund’s total assets at the close of any taxable year consist of stock or securities of foreign corporations, the fund may elect to pass through to its shareholders their pro rata shares of qualified foreign taxes paid by the fund for that taxable year. If at least 50% of a fund’s total assets at the close of each quarter of a taxable year consist of interests in other RICs, the fund may make the same election and pass through to its shareholders their pro rata shares of qualified foreign taxes paid by those other RICs and passed through to the fund for that taxable year. If the fund so elects, its shareholders would be required to include the passed-through taxes in their gross incomes (in addition to the dividends and distributions they actually receive), would treat such taxes as foreign taxes paid by them, and as

 

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described below may be entitled to a tax deduction for such taxes or a tax credit, subject to a holding period requirement and other limitations under the Internal Revenue Code.

Qualified foreign taxes generally include taxes that would be treated as income taxes under U.S. tax regulations but do not include most other taxes, such as stamp taxes, securities transaction taxes, and similar taxes. If a fund qualifies to make, and makes, the election described above, shareholders may deduct their pro rata portion of qualified foreign taxes paid by the fund or those other RICs for that taxable year in computing their income subject to U.S. federal income taxation or, alternatively, claim them as credits, subject to applicable limitations under the Internal Revenue Code, against their U.S. federal income taxes. Shareholders who do not itemize deductions for U.S. federal income tax purposes will not, however, be able to deduct their pro rata portion of qualified foreign taxes paid by the fund or those other RICs, although such shareholders will be required to include their shares of such taxes in gross income if the fund makes the election described above. No deduction for such taxes will be permitted to individuals in computing their alternative minimum tax liability.

If a fund makes this election and a shareholder chooses to take a credit for the foreign taxes deemed paid by such shareholder, the amount of the credit that may be claimed in any year may not exceed the same proportion of the U.S. tax against which such credit is taken that the shareholder’s taxable income from foreign sources (but not in excess of the shareholder’s entire taxable income) bears to his entire taxable income. For this purpose, long-term and short-term capital gains the fund realizes and distributes to shareholders will generally not be treated as income from foreign sources in their hands, nor will distributions of certain foreign currency gains subject to Section 988 of the Internal Revenue Code or of any other income realized by the fund that is deemed, under the Internal Revenue Code, to be U.S.-source income in the hands of the fund. This foreign tax credit limitation may also be applied separately to certain specific categories of foreign-source income and the related foreign taxes. As a result of these rules, which may have different effects depending upon each shareholder’s particular tax situation, certain shareholders may not be able to claim a credit for the full amount of their proportionate share of the foreign taxes paid by a fund or other RICs in which the fund invests. Shareholders who are not liable for U.S. federal income taxes, including tax-exempt shareholders, will ordinarily not benefit from this election. If a fund does make the election, it will provide required tax information to shareholders. The funds generally may deduct any foreign taxes that are not passed through to their shareholders in computing their income available for distribution to shareholders to satisfy applicable tax distribution requirements. Under certain circumstances, if a fund receives a refund of foreign taxes paid in respect of a prior year, the value of the fund’s shares could be affected, or any foreign tax credits or deductions passed through to shareholders in respect of the foreign taxes for the current year could be reduced.

Passive Foreign Investment Companies: Certain funds may invest in the stock of “passive foreign investment companies” (“PFICs”). A PFIC is a foreign corporation that, in general, meets either of the following tests: (1) at least 75% of its gross income is derived from passive investments; or (2) at least 50% of its assets (generally computed based on average fair market value) held during the taxable year produce, or are held for the production of, passive income. Under certain circumstances, a fund will be subject to federal income tax on gain from the disposition of PFIC shares and on certain distributions from a PFIC (collectively, “excess distributions”), plus interest thereon, even if the fund distributes the excess distributions as a taxable dividend to its shareholders. If a fund invests in a PFIC and elects in the first year in which it holds such investment (or if it elects subsequently and makes certain other elections) to treat the PFIC as a “qualified electing fund,” then in lieu of the foregoing tax and interest obligation, the fund will be required to include in income each year its pro rata share of the qualified electing fund’s annual ordinary earnings and net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses). This income inclusion is required even if the PFIC does not distribute such income and gains to the fund, and the amounts so included would be subject to the Distribution Requirement described above. In many instances it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to make the qualified electing fund election because of certain requirements thereof. In order to distribute any such income and gains and satisfy the distribution requirements applicable to RICs, a fund may be required to liquidate portfolio securities that it might otherwise have continued to hold, potentially resulting in additional taxable gain or loss to the fund.

 

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A fund may, in the alternative, elect to mark to market its PFIC stock at the end of each taxable year, with the result that unrealized gains are treated as though they were realized as of such date. Any such gains will be ordinary income rather than capital gain. In order for a fund making this election to distribute any such income and gains and satisfy the distribution requirements applicable to RICs, the fund may be required to liquidate portfolio securities that it might otherwise have continued to hold, potentially resulting in additional taxable gain or loss to the fund. If the mark-to-market election were made, tax at the fund level under the excess distribution rules would be eliminated, but a fund could still incur nondeductible interest charges if it makes the mark-to-market election in a year after the first taxable year in which it acquired the PFIC stock.

Controlled Foreign Corporations: If a sufficient percentage of the interests in a foreign issuer are held or deemed held by a fund, independently or together with certain other U.S. persons, that issuer may be treated as a “controlled foreign corporation” (a “CFC”) with respect to the fund, in which case the fund will be required to take into account each year, as ordinary income, its share of certain portions of that issuer’s income, whether or not such amounts are distributed. The fund may have to dispose of its portfolio securities (potentially resulting in the recognition of taxable gain or loss, and potentially under disadvantageous circumstances) to generate cash, or may have to borrow the cash, to meet its distribution requirements and avoid fund-level taxes. In addition, some fund gains on the disposition of interests in such an issuer may be treated as ordinary income. A fund may limit and/or manage its holdings in issuers that could be treated as CFCs in order to limit its tax liability or maximize its after-tax return from these investments.

Options, Futures and Forward Contracts and Swap Agreements: Certain options, futures contracts, and forward contracts in which a fund may invest may be “Section 1256 contracts.” Gains or losses on Section 1256 contracts generally are considered 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital gains or losses; however, foreign currency gains or losses arising from certain Section 1256 contracts may be treated as ordinary income or loss. Also, Section 1256 contracts held by a fund at the end of each taxable year are “marked to market” with the result that unrealized gains or losses are treated as though they were realized. In order to distribute any such gains, satisfy the distribution requirements applicable to RICs and avoid taxation, a fund may be required to liquidate portfolio securities that it might otherwise have continued to hold, potentially resulting in additional taxable gain or loss to the fund.

Generally, the hedging transactions undertaken by a fund may result in “straddles” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The straddle rules may affect the character of gains (or losses) realized by a fund. In addition, losses realized by a fund on positions that are part of a straddle may be deferred under the straddle rules, rather than being taken into account in calculating the taxable income for the taxable year in which such losses are realized. Because only a few regulations implementing the straddle rules have been promulgated, the tax consequences of transactions in options, futures, forward contracts, swap agreements and other financial contracts to a fund are not entirely clear. The transactions may increase the amount of short-term capital gain realized by a fund, which is taxed as ordinary income when distributed to shareholders.

A fund may make one or more of the elections available under the Internal Revenue Code which are applicable to straddles. If a fund makes any of the elections, the amount, character and timing of the recognition of gains or losses from the affected straddle positions will be determined under rules that vary according to the election(s) made. The rules applicable under certain of the elections may operate to accelerate the recognition of gains or losses from the affected straddle positions.

Because application of the straddle rules may affect the character of gains or losses, defer losses and/or accelerate the recognition of gains or losses from the affected straddle positions, the amount which must be distributed to shareholders, and which will be taxed to shareholders as ordinary income or long-term capital gain, may be increased or decreased as compared to a fund that did not engage in such hedging transactions.

Because only a few regulations regarding the treatment of swap agreements, and related caps, floors and collars, have been promulgated, the tax consequences of such transactions are not entirely clear. The funds intend to account for such transactions in a manner deemed by them to be appropriate, but the IRS might not accept such treatment. If it did not, the status of a fund as a RIC might be affected.

 

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The requirements applicable to a fund’s qualification as a RIC may limit the extent to which a fund will be able to engage in transactions in options, futures contracts, forward contracts, swap agreements and other financial contracts.

Certain hedging activities may cause a dividend that would otherwise be subject to the lower tax rate applicable to qualified dividend income to instead be taxed at the rate of tax applicable to ordinary income.

Original Issue Discount: If a fund invests in certain pay-in-kind securities, zero coupon securities, deferred interest securities or, in general, any other securities with original issue discount (or with market discount if the fund elects to include market discount in income currently), the fund generally must accrue income on such investments for each taxable year, which generally will be prior to the receipt of the corresponding cash payments. However, each fund must distribute to its shareholders, at least annually, all or substantially all of its investment company taxable income (determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid) and net tax-exempt income, including any such accrued income, to qualify for treatment as a RIC under the Internal Revenue Code and avoid U.S. federal income and excise taxes. Therefore, a fund may have to dispose of its portfolio securities to generate cash, or may have to borrow the cash, to satisfy distribution requirements. Such a disposition of securities may potentially result in additional taxable gain or loss to a fund.

Constructive Sales: The constructive sale rules may affect timing and character of gain if a fund engages in transactions that reduce or eliminate its risk of loss with respect to appreciated financial positions. If a fund enters into certain transactions in property while holding substantially identical property, the fund will be treated as if it had sold and immediately repurchased the property and will be taxed on any gain (but not loss) from the constructive sale. The character of any gain from a constructive sale will depend upon the fund’s holding period in the property. Any loss from a constructive sale will be recognized when the property is subsequently disposed of, and the character of such loss will depend on the fund’s holding period and the application of various loss deferral provisions of the Internal Revenue Code.

Foreign Currency Transactions: Under the Internal Revenue Code, gains or losses attributable to fluctuations in exchange rates which occur between the time a fund accrues income or expenses denominated in a foreign currency (or determined by reference to the value of one or more foreign currencies) and the time that a fund actually receives or makes payment of such income or expenses, generally are treated as ordinary income or ordinary loss. Similarly, on disposition of debt securities denominated in a foreign currency and on disposition of certain futures contracts, forward contracts and options, gains or losses attributable to fluctuations in the value of foreign currency between the date of acquisition of the security or contract and the date of disposition generally are also treated as ordinary gain or loss. Some of the funds have elected, or may elect, to treat this foreign currency income as capital gain or capital loss.

REITs: For tax years beginning after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026, a non-corporate taxpayer is generally eligible for a deduction of up to 20% of the taxpayer’s “qualified REIT dividends.” If a fund receives dividends (other than capital gain dividends) in respect of U.S. REIT shares, the fund may report its own dividends as eligible for the 20% deduction, to the extent the fund’s income is derived from such qualified REIT dividends, as reduced by allocable fund expenses. In order for a fund’s dividends to be eligible for this deduction when received by a non-corporate shareholder, the fund must meet certain holding period requirements with respect to the U.S. REIT shares on which the fund received the eligible dividends, and the non-corporate shareholder must meet certain holding period requirements with respect to the fund shares.

Backup Withholding: Each fund is required to withhold (as “backup withholding”) a portion of reportable payments, including dividends, capital gain distributions and the proceeds of sales and redemptions of fund shares, paid to shareholders who have not complied with certain IRS regulations. The backup withholding rate is currently 24%. In order to avoid this withholding requirement, shareholders, other than certain exempt entities, must certify that the Social Security Number or other Taxpayer Identification Number they provide is correct and that they are not currently subject to backup withholding, or that they are exempt from backup withholding. A fund may nevertheless be required to backup withhold if it receives notice from the IRS or a broker that the number provided is incorrect or backup withholding is applicable as a result of previous underreporting of interest or dividend income.

 

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Cost Basis: The cost basis of shares acquired by purchase will generally be based on the amount paid for the shares and then may be subsequently adjusted for other applicable transactions as required by the Internal Revenue Code. The difference between the selling price and the cost basis of shares generally determines the amount of the capital gain or loss realized on the sale or exchange of shares. Contact the broker through whom you purchased your shares to obtain information with respect to the available cost basis reporting methods and elections for your account.

Taxation of Non-U.S. Shareholders: Dividends from net investment income that are paid to a shareholder who, as to the U.S., is a nonresident alien individual, a foreign corporation or a foreign estate or foreign trust (each, a “foreign shareholder”) may be subject to a withholding tax at a rate of 30% or any lower applicable tax rate established in a treaty between the U.S. and the shareholder’s country of residence. Dividends that are derived from “qualified net interest income” and dividends that are derived from “qualified short-term gain” may be exempt from the 30% withholding tax, provided that the distributing fund chooses to follow certain procedures. A fund may choose to not follow such procedures and there can be no assurance as to the amount, if any, of dividends that would not be subject to withholding. Qualified net interest income is a fund’s net income derived from U.S.-source interest and original issue discount, subject to certain exceptions and limitations. Qualified short-term gain generally means the excess of the net short-term capital gain of a fund for the taxable year over its net long-term capital loss, if any. The withholding rules described in this paragraph do not apply to a dividend paid to a foreign shareholder if the dividend income is “effectively connected with the shareholder’s conduct of a trade or business within the U.S.” and the shareholder provides appropriate tax forms and documentation. Backup withholding (described above) will not be imposed on foreign shareholders who are subject to the 30% withholding tax described in this paragraph.

Unless certain non-U.S. entities that hold fund shares comply with IRS requirements that will generally require them to report information regarding U.S. persons investing in, or holding accounts with, such entities, a 30% withholding tax may apply to fund distributions payable to such entities. A non-U.S. shareholder may be exempt from the withholding described in this paragraph under an applicable intergovernmental agreement between the U.S. and a foreign government, provided that the shareholder and the applicable foreign government comply with the terms of such agreement.

Foreign shareholders are subject to U.S. tax on disposition of a “United States real property interest” (a “USRPI”). Gain on such a disposition is sometimes referred to as “FIRPTA gain.” The Code provides a look-through rule for distributions of “FIRPTA gain” if certain requirements are met. If the look-through rule applies, certain distributions attributable to income received by the fund, e.g., from REITs, may be treated as gain from the disposition of a USRPI, causing distributions to be subject to U.S. withholding tax at rates of up to 21%, and requiring non-U.S. shareholders to file nonresident U.S. income tax returns.

The treatment of dividends and other distributions by a fund to shareholders under the various state income tax laws may not parallel that under U.S. federal income tax law. Qualification as a RIC does not involve supervision of a fund’s management or of its investment policies and practices by any governmental authority.

Shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisors with specific reference to their own tax situations, including any federal, state, local or foreign tax liabilities.

Local Market Holiday Schedules

The Trust generally intends to effect deliveries of portfolio securities on a basis of “T” plus two business days (i.e., days on which the NYSE is open) in the relevant foreign market of a fund. The ability of the Trust to effect in-kind redemptions within two business days of receipt of a redemption request is subject, among other things, to the condition that, within the time period from the date of the request to the date of delivery of the securities, there are no days that are local market holidays on the relevant business days. For every occurrence of one or more intervening holidays in the local market that are not holidays observed in the United States, the redemption settlement cycle may be extended by the number of such intervening local holidays. In addition to holidays, other unforeseeable closings in a foreign market due to emergencies may also prevent the Trust from delivering

 

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securities within two business days. The securities delivery cycles currently practicable for transferring portfolio securities to redeeming investors, coupled with local market holiday schedules, may require a delivery process longer than the standard settlement period. In certain circumstances during the calendar year, the settlement period may be greater than seven calendar days.

 

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Financial Statements

The audited financial statements and financial highlights for the DeltaShares® S&P 400 Managed Risk ETF, DeltaShares® S&P 500 Managed Risk ETF, DeltaShares® S&P 600 Managed Risk ETF, DeltaShares® S&P International Managed Risk ETF and DeltaShares® S&P EM 100 & Managed Risk ETF as of December 31, 2020 have been filed with the SEC as part of the annual report of the funds on March 8, 2021 (SEC Accession #0001193125-21-073036), and are hereby incorporated by reference into this SAI.

 

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Appendix A – Proxy Voting Policies

MILLIMAN FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT LLC

PROXY VOTING POLICY

Last approved January 2, 2020

POLICY

Milliman Financial Risk Management LLC (“Milliman FRM”), as a matter of policy and as a fiduciary, has responsibility for voting proxies for portfolio securities consistent with the best economic interests of Investment Companies for which it is the primary investment adviser or a sub-adviser to whom proxy voting has been delegated by the client’s fund board. Milliman FRM maintains written policies and procedures as to the handling, research, voting and reporting of proxy voting and makes appropriate disclosures about its proxy policies and practices. Milliman FRM’s policy and practice includes the responsibility to monitor corporate actions, receive and vote client proxies and disclose any potential conflicts of interest as well as making information available to clients about the voting of proxies for their portfolio securities and maintaining relevant and required records.

RESPONSIBILITY

Milliman FRM’s Chief Compliance Officer and Compliance team are responsible for the implementation and monitoring of this proxy voting policy, practices, disclosures and record keeping, including outlining the voting guidelines in these procedures.

Milliman FRM employs a third party proxy advisory firm (a “Proxy Adviser”) to effectuate voting and the receipt of records related to voting, and employs policies and procedures in order to evaluate the services of the Proxy Adviser. Milliman FRM’s CCO and Proxy Committee are responsible for developing and overseeing “Proxy Voting Guidelines” where applicable, including oversight of the Proxy Adviser.

DISCLOSURE

Milliman FRM will provide conspicuously displayed information in its Form ADV Part 2A summarizing this proxy voting policy and procedures.

PROCEDURES

 

  1.

Principals.

 

  a.

Principles. Milliman FRM’s primary purpose is to vote proxies in the best interests of Investment Companies for which it is the primary adviser and will generally vote for, against, consider on a case-by-case basis, or abstain from voting as indicated below. Milliman FRM may utilize independent research reports to inform its proxy voting.

 

  b.

Proxy Committee. Milliman FRM’s Proxy Committee meets at least quarterly. Among other duties, the Committee:

 

  i.

Reviews voting activity during the previous quarter;

 

  ii.

Reviews timely voting issues which may be relevant to clients, and

 

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  iii.

Performs diligence and oversight of the Proxy Adviser to ensure the information and advice received results in proxy voting that is in the best interest of Milliman FRM’s clients, including:

 

   

evaluating any Proxy Adviser in advance of retention;

 

   

evaluating the process for addressing potential factual errors, incompleteness or methodological weakness in the Proxy Adviser’s analysis;

 

   

Adopting policies for evaluating the Proxy Adviser’s services; and

 

   

Determining when to exercise proxy voting opportunities.

 

  2.

Circumstances.

 

  i.

Milliman FRM is Primary Investment Adviser

 

   

Where Milliman FRM serves as the primary investment adviser to the Investment Company, Milliman FRM’s Proxy Committee will utilize the Proxy Voting Guidelines.

 

  ii.

Milliman FRM is Sub-adviser, and Investment Company retains voting rights

 

   

Where Milliman serves as a sub-adviser to the Investment Company and the Investment Company has retained the right to vote its own proxies, Milliman FRM will not be obligated to take any action with respect to proxy voting.

 

  iii.

Milliman FRM is Sub-adviser, and Investment Company delegates voting rights

 

   

Where Milliman FRM serves as a sub-adviser to the Investment Company and the Investment Company has delegated proxy voting responsibility to Milliman FRM, Milliman FRM will utilize the Proxy Voting Guidelines.

 

  iv.

Milliman is Primary Investment Adviser or Sub-Adviser to Mutual Funds of Funds

 

   

Milliman FRM serves as investment adviser to certain investment companies which invest in other investment companies that are not affiliated (“Underlying Funds”) and are required by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) Act to handle proxies received from Underlying Funds in a certain manner. Notwithstanding the guidelines provided in these procedures, it is the policy of Milliman FRM to vote all proxies received from the Underlying Funds in the same proportion that all shares of the Underlying Funds are voted, or in accordance with instructions received from fund shareholders, pursuant to Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act.

 

  3.

Obtaining More Information. Investment Companies for which Milliman FRM is the primary adviser may obtain a record of Milliman FRM’s proxy voting, free of charge, by calling its main office at (312) 726-0677.

 

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Transamerica Asset Management, Inc.

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

1. BACKGROUND

Rule 206(4)-6 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (“Advisers Act”) requires advisers to adopt and implement policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to ensure that the adviser votes proxies in the best interest of its clients. These policies and procedures must be in writing and must describe how the adviser addresses material conflicts between its interests and those of its clients with respect to proxy voting.

Rule 206(4)-6 also requires each investment adviser to (1) disclose to clients how they may obtain information from the adviser about how it voted with respect to their respective securities; and (2) describe to clients its proxy voting policies and procedures and, upon request, furnish a copy of the policies and procedures to the requesting client.

Accordingly, Transamerica Asset Management, Inc. (“TAM”) has adopted and implements written procedures designed to enable it to identify, address and monitor potential conflicts of interest.

2. POLICY

TAM recognizes that proxy voting is an important component of investment management and must be performed in a dutiful and purposeful fashion in order to secure the best long-term interests of the advisory clients of TAM. TAM’s proxy voting policies and procedures are designed to implement TAM’s duty to vote proxies in clients’ best interests.

3. SUB-ADVISED REGISTERED INVESTMENT COMPANIES

TAM has delegated the responsibility to exercise voting authority with respect to securities held in the portfolios of the registered investment companies for which one or more sub-advisers TAM has been retained as sub-adviser(s) for each such portfolio. The proxy voting policies and procedures of the respective sub-advisers are used to determine how to vote proxies relating to securities held by the remainder of the funds and portfolio.

4. ASSET ALLOCATION REGISTERED INVESTMENT COMPANIES

TAM exercises voting discretion for the Horizon Asset Allocation Funds and the Transamerica 60/40 Allocation VP of the Transamerica Series Trust as well as for the Transamerica Asset Allocation Variable Funds (“Asset Allocation Funds”). TAM manages portfolios for the Transamerica Funds, the Transamerica Series Trust, Transamerica Exchange Traded Funds and Transamerica Asset Allocation Funds (collectively, the “Funds”). TAM may invest an Asset Allocation Fund in shares of the Funds. If a Fund solicits a proxy for which an Asset Allocation Fund is entitled to vote, TAM’s interests as manager of the Fund might appear to conflict with the interests of the shareholders of the Asset Allocation Fund. In these cases, TAM’s proxy voting policy and procedures address material conflicts of interest that may arise between TAM, and/ or its affiliates and the funds by either: (i) providing for voting in accordance with the recommendation of an independent third party or the Board; (ii) voting shares in the same proportion as the vote of all of the other holders of a fund’s shares; or (iii) obtaining the consent of the Board (or a Board Committee) with full disclosure of the conflict.

Revision History

Date: 4/30/2020

Updated to reflect new format, standalone from fund policy and current processes

Date: 11/17/2020

Updated to reflect provisions in TAM sub-advisory agreements with respect to proxy voting

 

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TRANSAMERICA FUNDS

TRANSAMERICA SERIES TRUST

TRANSAMERICA ASSET ALLOCATION VARIABLE FUNDS

TRANSAMERICA ETF TRUST

PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

I.    Statement of Principle

Proxy voting is an important component of investment management and must be performed in a dutiful and purposeful fashion to secure the long-term interests of the shareholders of the Transamerica Funds, Transamerica Series Trust, Transamerica ETF Trust and Transamerica Asset Allocation Variable Funds (collectively, the “Funds”). The Funds seek to assure that proxies received by the Funds are voted in the best interests of the Funds’ shareholders and have accordingly adopted these procedures.

II.    Delegation of Proxy Voting/Adoption of Adviser and Sub-Adviser Policies

Each Fund delegates the authority to vote proxies related to portfolio securities to Transamerica Asset Management, Inc. (the “Manager”), as investment adviser to each Fund, which in turn delegates proxy voting authority for most portfolios of the Funds to the Sub-Adviser retained to provide day-to-day portfolio management for that portfolio. For each Fund, the Manager and/or the Sub-Adviser make voting decisions pursuant to their own proxy voting policies and procedures, which have been adopted by the applicable Fund and approved by the applicable Fund’s Board of Trustees.

III.    Securities on Loan

The Boards of Trustees/Directors of the Funds have authorized the Manager, in conjunction with State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”), to lend portfolio securities on behalf of the Funds. Securities on loan generally are voted by the borrower of such securities. Should a Sub-Adviser to the Fund wish to exercise its vote for a particular proxy, the Manager will promptly contact State Street and terminate the loan.

IV.    Conflicts of Interest

The Board of Trustees/Directors seeks to ensure that proxies are voted in the best interests of Fund shareholders. For certain proxy proposals, the Manager’s interests, the interests of the Sub-Adviser and/or their affiliates may differ from Fund shareholders’ interests. To avoid the appearance of impropriety and to fulfill their fiduciary responsibility to shareholders in these circumstances, the Manager and the Sub-Advisers are required to establish procedures that are reasonably designed to address material conflicts between their interests and those of the Funds.

When a Sub-Adviser deems that it is conflicted with respect to a voting matter, its policy may call for it to seek voting instructions from the client. The Manager is authorized by the Board of Trustees/Directors to consider any such matters and provide voting instructions to the Sub-Adviser, unless the Manager has determined that its interests are conflicted with Fund shareholders with respect to the voting matter. In those instances, the Manager will instruct the Sub-Adviser to vote in accordance with the recommendation of a third-party proxy voting advisory service.

If a material conflict arises between the Manager or its affiliates and the Funds, in every case where the Manager exercises voting discretion, the Manager will (i) vote in accordance with the recommendation of a third-party (such as Glass Lewis) or Board(s); (ii) vote the shares in the same proportion as the vote of all of the other holders of the Fund’s shares; or (iii) obtain the consent of the Board (or a Board Committee) with full disclosure of the conflict.

 

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If the methods for addressing conflicts of interest, as described above, are deemed by the Manager to be unreasonable due to cost, timing or other factors, then the Manager may decline to vote in those instances.

V.    Recordkeeping

The Manager and the Sub-Advisers shall maintain records of all votes cast on behalf of the Funds. Such documentation will include the firm’s proxy voting policies and procedures, company reports provided by proxy voting advisory services, additional information gathered by the Manager or the Sub-Adviser that was material to reaching a voting decision, and communications to the Manager regarding any identified conflicts. The Manager and the Sub-Advisers shall maintain voting records in a manner to facilitate the Funds’ production of the Form N-PX filing on an annual basis.

All books and records required to be maintained under this Section V will be maintained in an easily accessible place for a period of not less than five years from the end of the fiscal years during which the last entry was made on the record, the first two years in an appropriate location.

VI.    Disclosure

The Manager will coordinate the compilation of the Funds’ proxy voting record for each year ended June 30 and file the required information with the SEC via Form N-PX by August 31. The Manager will include a copy of or a summary of this policy and the proxy voting policies and procedures of the Manager and the Sub-Advisors, as applicable, in each Fund’s Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”). In each Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders, the Manager will disclose that a description of this policy and the proxy voting policies and procedures of the Manager and the Sub-Advisers, as applicable, is (a) available upon request, without charge, by toll-free telephone request, (b) on the Funds’ website (if applicable), and (c) on the SEC’s website in the SAI. The SAI and shareholder reports will also disclose that the Funds’ proxy voting record is available by toll-free telephone request (or on the Funds’ website) and on the SEC’s website by way of the Form N-PX. Within three business days of receiving a request, the Manager will send a copy of the policy description or voting record by first-class mail.

VII.    Manager Oversight

The Manager shall review a Sub-Adviser’s proxy voting policies and procedures for compliance with this Policy and applicable laws and regulations prior to initial delegation of proxy voting authority. The Manager will request each Sub-Adviser to provide a current copy of its Proxy Voting Policy, or certify that there have been no material changes to its Proxy Voting Policy or that all material changes have been previously provided for review, and verify that such Proxy Voting Policy is consistent with those of the Funds and Adviser.

Revised: July 2015, March 2020

 

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Appendix B – Securities Lending Activities

DELTASHARES S&P 400 MANAGED RISK ETF

(for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020)

 

Gross income earned by the fund from securities lending activities

    $29,118.75  
   

Fees and/or compensation paid by the fund for securities lending activities and related services

       

Fees paid to securities lending agent from a revenue split

    $1,246.50  

Fees paid for any cash collateral management service (including fees deducted from a pooled cash collateral reinvestment vehicle) that are not included in a revenue split

    $2,120.76  

Administrative fees not included in a revenue split

    $0.00  

Indemnification fees not included in a revenue split

    $0.00  

Rebate (paid to borrower)

    $14,309.49  

Other fees not included in a revenue split, if applicable, including a description of those other fees

    $0.00  

Aggregate fees/compensation paid by the fund for securities lending activities

    $17,676.75  

Net income from securities lending activities

    $11,442.00  

DELTASHARES S&P 500 MANAGED RISK ETF

(for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020)

 

Gross income earned by the fund from securities lending activities

    $57,704.69  
   

Fees and/or compensation paid by the fund for securities lending activities and related services

       

Fees paid to securities lending agent from a revenue split

    $4,009.95  

Fees paid for any cash collateral management service (including fees deducted from a pooled cash collateral reinvestment vehicle) that are not included in a revenue split

    $7,987.83  

Administrative fees not included in a revenue split

    $0.00  

Indemnification fees not included in a revenue split

    $0.00  

Rebate (paid to borrower)

    $9,529.91  

Other fees not included in a revenue split, if applicable, including a description of those other fees

    $0.00  

Aggregate fees/compensation paid by the fund for securities lending activities

    $21,527.69  

Net income from securities lending activities

    $36,177.00  

 

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DELTASHARES S&P 600 MANAGED RISK ETF

(for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020)

 

Gross income earned by the fund from securities lending activities

    $18,336.36  
   

Fees and/or compensation paid by the fund for securities lending activities and related services

       

Fees paid to securities lending agent from a revenue split

    $1,156.65  

Fees paid for any cash collateral management service (including fees deducted from a pooled cash collateral reinvestment vehicle) that are not included in a revenue split

    $947.23  

Administrative fees not included in a revenue split

    $0.00  

Indemnification fees not included in a revenue split

    $0.00  

Rebate (paid to borrower)

    $5,381.48  

Other fees not included in a revenue split, if applicable, including a description of those other fees7

    $0.00  

Aggregate fees/compensation paid by the fund for securities lending activities

    $7,485.36  

Net income from securities lending activities

    $10,851.00  

DELTASHARES S&P INTERNATIONAL MANAGED RISK ETF

(for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020)

 

Gross income earned by the fund from securities lending activities

    $52,948.72  
   

Fees and/or compensation paid by the fund for securities lending activities and related services

       

Fees paid to securities lending agent from a revenue split

    $3,187.75  

Fees paid for any cash collateral management service (including fees deducted from a pooled cash collateral reinvestment vehicle) that are not included in a revenue split

    $3,868.32  

Administrative fees not included in a revenue split

    $0.00  

Indemnification fees not included in a revenue split

    $0.00  

Rebate (paid to borrower)

    $16,502.65  

Other fees not included in a revenue split, if applicable, including a description of those other fees

    $0.00  

Aggregate fees/compensation paid by the fund for securities lending activities

    $23,558.72  

Net income from securities lending activities

    $29,390.00  

 

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DELTASHARES EM 100 & MANAGED RISK ETF

(for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020)

 

Gross income earned by the fund from securities lending activities

    $8,698.79  
   

Fees and/or compensation paid by the fund for securities lending activities and related services

       

Fees paid to securities lending agent from a revenue split

    $552.95  

Fees paid for any cash collateral management service (including fees deducted from a pooled cash collateral reinvestment vehicle) that are not included in a revenue split

    $857.19  

Administrative fees not included in a revenue split

    $0.00  

Indemnification fees not included in a revenue split

    $0.00  

Rebate (paid to borrower)

    $2,292.65  

Other fees not included in a revenue split, if applicable, including a description of those other fees

    $0.00  

Aggregate fees/compensation paid by the fund for securities lending activities

    $3,702.79  

Net income from securities lending activities

    $4,996.00  

 

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