485APOS 1 msetft-html6656_485apos.htm MORGAN STANLEY ETF TRUST - 485APOS

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 24, 2023

 

1933 Act Registration No. 333-266913

1940 Act Registration No. 811-23820

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM N-1A

 

  REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
  Pre-Effective Amendment No.     
  Post-Effective Amendment No. 1

 

and/or

 

  REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940
  Amendment No. 6

(Check appropriate box or boxes)

 

MORGAN STANLEY ETF TRUST

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

 

522 Fifth Avenue

New York, New York 10036
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

 

Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code: (800) 869-6397

 

Mary E. Mullin, Esq.

1633 Broadway

New York, New York 10019

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

 

Copies to:

 

Mark Parise, Esq.

Perkins Coie LLP

1155 Avenue of the Americas

22nd Floor

New York, New York 10036

Allison M. Fumai, Esq.

Dechert LLP

1095 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10036

 

 

Approximate Date of Proposed Public Offering:

 

As soon as practicable after this Post-Effective Amendment becomes effective.

 

It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box):

 

Immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)
On (date) pursuant to paragraph (b)
60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)
On (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)
75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2)
On (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485.
   

If appropriate, check the following box:

 

This post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment.

 

 

 

 

 

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

Subject to Completion. Dated July 24, 2023

Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF

Eaton Vance High Yield ETF

Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF


 

Prospectus   |   [ ], 2023 

Portfolio

Ticker Symbol

Exchange

Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF

[]

NYSE Arca

Eaton Vance High Yield ETF

[]

NYSE Arca

Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF

[]

NYSE Arca

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

An investment in a Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. An investment in a Fund involves investment risks, and you may lose money in the Fund.

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Eaton Vance   |   Fund Summary 

Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF 

Investment Objective

Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to maximize income, to the extent consistent with preservation of capital.

Fees and Expenses

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay fees other than the fees and expenses of the Fund, such as brokerage commissions and other fees charged by financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.

Annual Fund Operating Expenses1(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Management Fee1

[]%

 

Other Expenses2

[]%

 

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

[]%

 

1 The Fund’s management agreement provides that the Fund’s “Adviser,” Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc., will pay substantially all expenses of the Fund (including expenses of Morgan Stanley ETF Trust (the “Trust”) relating to the Fund), except for the distribution fees, if any, brokerage expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, interest, litigation expenses, and other extraordinary expenses, including the costs of proxies, not incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund’s business.
2 Other Expenses have been estimated for the current fiscal year.

Example

The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you pay when purchasing or selling shares of the Fund.

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

 

1 Year

3 Years

 

 

$[]

$[]

 

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund had not commenced operations as of the most recent fiscal year end, no portfolio turnover rate is available for the Fund.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by primarily investing in a portfolio of investment grade, short-term fixed, variable and floating-rate securities. The Fund is not a money market fund and does not seek to maintain a stable net asset value.

The Fund is actively managed, not designed to track a benchmark, and therefore not constrained by the composition of a benchmark.

Under normal circumstances, the Fund’s weighted average portfolio duration will be one year or less. In certain market or economic conditions, such as in periods of significant volatility in interest rates and spreads, the Fund’s weighted average portfolio duration may be longer than one year. The Fund seeks to manage duration and any hedging of interest rate risk through the purchase and sale of U.S. Treasury securities and related futures contracts (which are a type of derivative instrument). During periods when the Fund’s weighted average portfolio duration is longer than one year, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective.

The Fund typically invests at least 90% of its net assets in investment grade, U.S. dollar-denominated debt securities. A debt security is considered investment grade when assigned a credit quality rating of BBB- or higher by S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) or an equivalent rating by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization (‘‘NRSRO”), including Moody’s Investors Service or Fitch Ratings, or Kroll Bond Rating Agency, LLC for securitized debt instruments only (such as asset-backed securities (“ABS”) and mortgage-backed securities (“MBS”)) or if unrated, considered to be of comparable credit quality by the Adviser. For purposes of rating restrictions, if securities are rated differently by two or more rating agencies, the highest rating is used.

The Fund invests in bonds issued by U.S. corporations, the U.S. Government or its agencies, and U.S. government-sponsored enterprises (“GSEs”) such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (“FNMA”) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“FHLMC”). The Fund also may invest in trust preferred securities, money market instruments and taxable municipal

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Eaton Vance   |   Fund Summary 

Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF (Con’t) 

obligations. The Fund may invest in pooled investment vehicles, including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) and money market funds, for various portfolio management purposes, such as to maintain exposure to certain investments or for cash management purposes.

The Fund may invest in ABS and MBS that represent interests in pools of mortgage loans (MBS) or other assets (ABS) assembled for sale to investors by various U.S. governmental agencies, government-related organizations and private issuers (i.e., non-agency). MBS may include collateralized mortgage obligations (“CMOs”), residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”) and commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”). ABS may include collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”). In addition, the Fund may invest in to-be-announced pass-through mortgage securities, which settle on a delayed delivery basis (“TBA”).

Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest in below-investment grade, high-yield debt instruments (commonly known as “junk bonds”), including distressed instruments that are in default. The Fund’s investment in such instruments is limited to 10% of its net assets, as assessed at time of purchase.

The Fund may also invest up to 25% of its net assets in foreign debt securities. Foreign debt securities include American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”). The Fund may engage in forward foreign currency exchange contracts to seek to hedge against the decline in the value of currencies in which its portfolio holdings are denominated against the U.S. dollar. The Fund may also lend its securities.

In managing the Fund, the Adviser considers macroeconomic factors in determining the Fund’s sector allocation and yield curve positioning and uses fundamental research in selecting individual securities for the portfolio. Macroeconomic factors considered may include, among others, the pace of economic growth, unemployment rates, interest rates, inflation, monetary and fiscal policy, and general trends in global economies and currencies. In combination with the top-down macroeconomic approach, the Adviser employs a bottom-up process of fundamental securities analysis to select the specific securities for investment. This bottom-up, research-driven and value-oriented approach emphasizes the financial strength of issuers, current valuations and the interest rate sensitivity of investments, among other factors. In selecting securities, the Adviser generally seeks issuers with attractive valuations. The Adviser may sell a security when the Adviser’s valuation target for the security is reached, the fundamentals of the company deteriorate or to pursue more attractive investment options. When deemed by the Adviser to be relevant to its evaluation of creditworthiness and when applicable information is available, the Adviser considers environmental, social and/or governance issues (referred to as ESG) which may impact the prospects of an issuer (or obligor) or financial performance of an obligation. When considered, one or more ESG issues are taken into account alongside other factors in the investment decision-making process and are not the sole determinant of whether an investment can be made or will remain in the Fund’s portfolio. The Adviser also considers how purchasing or selling an investment would impact the overall portfolio’s potential return (income and capital gains) and risk profile (for example, its sensitivity to currency risk, interest rate risk and sector-specific risk) on both a benchmark-relative and absolute return basis, and may include allocations to securities outside the benchmark.

The Fund will concentrate its investments in the banking industry. Therefore, under normal conditions, the Fund will invest more than 25% of its total assets in securities issued by issuers in the banking industry. The Fund may, however, invest less than 25% of its total assets in this industry as a temporary defensive measure.

Principal Risks

There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective, and you can lose money investing in this Fund. The principal risks of investing in the Fund include:

 

Fixed-Income Securities. Fixed-income securities are subject to the risk of the issuer’s inability to meet principal and interest payments on its obligations (i.e., credit risk) and are subject to price volatility resulting from, among other things, interest rate sensitivity (i.e., interest rate risk), market perception of the creditworthiness of the issuer and general market liquidity (i.e., market risk). For example, a type of fixed-income securities in which the Fund may invest are corporate debt obligations. In addition to interest rate, credit and other risks, corporate debt obligations are also subject to factors directly related to the issuer, such as the credit rating of the corporation, the corporation’s performance and perceptions of the corporation in the marketplace, and by factors not directly related to the issuer, such as general market liquidity, economic conditions and inflation. The Fund may face a heightened level of interest rate risk in times of monetary policy change and/or uncertainty, such as when the Federal Reserve Board adjusts a quantitative easing program and/or changes rates. A changing interest rate environment increases certain risks, including the potential for periods of volatility, increased redemptions, shortened durations (i.e., prepayment risk) and extended durations (i.e., extension risk). The Fund is not limited as to the maturities (when a debt security provides its final payment) or durations (measure of interest rate sensitivity of the securities in which it may invest). Securities with longer durations are likely to be more sensitive to changes in interest rates, generally making them more volatile than securities with shorter durations. Lower rated fixed-income securities have greater volatility because there is less certainty that principal and interest payments will be made as scheduled. A portion of the Fund’s fixed-income securities may be rated below investment grade. The Fund may be subject to certain liquidity risks that may result from the lack of an active market and the reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in fixed-income securities.
 

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Eaton Vance   |   Fund Summary 

Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF (Con’t) 

 

Credit and Interest Rate Risk. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer or guarantor of a security will be unable or unwilling or perceived to be unable or unwilling to make interest payments and/or repay the principal on its debt. In such instances, the value of the Fund could decline and the Fund could lose money. Interest rate risk refers to the decline in the value of a fixed-income security resulting from changes in the general level of interest rates. When the general level of interest rates goes up, the prices of most fixed-income securities go down. When the general level of interest rates goes down, the prices of most fixed-income securities go up. The Fund may invest in variable and floating rate loans and other variable and floating rate securities. Although these instruments are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than fixed rate instruments, the value of variable and floating rate loans and other securities may decline if their interest rates do not rise as quickly, or as much, as general interest rates. The Fund may face a heightened level of interest rate risk in times of monetary policy change and/or uncertainty, such as when the Federal Reserve Board adjusts a quantitative easing program and/or changes rates. A changing interest rate environment increases certain risks, including the potential for periods of volatility, increased redemptions, shortened durations (i.e., prepayment risk) and extended durations (i.e., extension risk). During  periods when interest rates are low or there are negative interest rates, the Fund’s yield (and total return) also may be low or otherwise adversely affected or the Fund may be unable to maintain positive returns. Credit ratings may not be an accurate assessment of liquidity or credit risk. Although credit quality may not accurately reflect the true credit risk of an instrument, a change in the credit rating of an instrument or an issuer can have a rapid, adverse effect on the instrument’s liquidity and make it more difficult for the Fund to sell at an advantageous price or time.

 

High Yield Securities (“Junk Bonds”). The Fund’s investments in high yield securities expose it to a substantial degree of credit risk. Investing in emerging markets intensifies risk, because high yield securities may be more volatile in price in certain environments. High yield securities may be issued by companies that are restructuring, are smaller and less creditworthy or are more highly indebted than other companies, and therefore they may have more difficulty making scheduled payments of principal and interest. High yield securities are subject to greater risk of loss of income and principal than higher rated securities and may be considered speculative. High yield securities may experience reduced liquidity, and sudden and substantial decreases in price. An economic downturn affecting an issuer of high yield securities may result in an increased incidence of default. In the event of a default, the Fund may incur additional expenses to seek recovery.

 

Asset-Backed Securities. Asset-backed securities are subject to credit (such as a borrower’s default on its mortgage obligation and the default or failure of a guarantee underlying the asset-backed security), interest rate and certain additional risks, including the risk that various federal and state consumer laws and other legal and economic factors may result in the collateral backing the securities being insufficient to support payment on the securities. To the extent the Fund invests in asset-backed securities issued by non-governmental issuers, such as commercial banks, savings and loan institutions, and other secondary market issuers, the Fund will be exposed to additional risks because, among other things, there are no direct or indirect government or agency guarantees of payments in the pools underlying the securities. Some asset-backed securities also entail prepayment risk and extension risk, which may vary depending on the type of asset.

 

Mortgage-Backed Securities. Mortgage-backed securities entail prepayment risk, which generally increases during a period of falling interest rates. Rising interest rates tend to discourage refinancings, with the result that the average life and volatility of mortgage-backed securities will increase and market price will decrease. Rates of prepayment, faster or slower than expected by the Adviser, could reduce the Fund’s yield, increase the volatility of the Fund and/or cause a decline in net asset value (“NAV”). Mortgage-backed securities are also subject to extension risk, which is the risk that rising interest rates could cause mortgages or other obligations underlying the securities to be prepaid more slowly than expected, thereby lengthening the duration of such securities, increasing their sensitivity to interest rate changes and causing their prices to decline. Certain mortgage-backed securities may be more volatile and less liquid than other traditional types of debt securities. In addition, mortgage-backed securities are subject to credit risk. The Fund may invest in non-agency mortgage-backed securities offered by non-governmental issuers, such as commercial banks, savings and loan institutions, private mortgage insurance companies, mortgage bankers and other secondary market issuers. Non-agency mortgage-backed securities are not subject to the same underwriting requirements for the underlying mortgages that are applicable to those mortgage-backed securities that have a government or government-sponsored entity guarantee. As a result, the mortgage loans underlying non-agency mortgage-backed securities may, and frequently do, have less favorable collateral, credit risk or other underwriting characteristics than government or government-sponsored mortgage-backed securities and have wider variances in a number of terms including interest rate, term, size, purpose and borrower characteristics. To the extent the Fund invests in non-agency mortgage-backed securities offered by non-governmental issuers, the Fund will be exposed to additional risks because, among other things, there are no direct or indirect government or agency guarantees of payments in pools underlying the securities. An unexpectedly high rate of defaults on the mortgages held by a mortgage pool may adversely affect the value of a mortgage-backed security and could result in losses to the Fund. The risk of such defaults is generally higher in the case of mortgage pools that include subprime mortgages. Furthermore, mortgage-backed securities may be subject to risks associated with the assets underlying those securities, such as a decline in value. Investments in mortgage-backed securities may give rise to a form of leverage (indebtedness) and may cause the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate to appear higher. Leverage may cause the Fund to be more volatile than if the Fund had not been leveraged. The risks associated with mortgage-backed securities typically become elevated during periods of distressed economic, market, health and labor conditions. In particular, increased levels of unemployment, delays and delinquencies in payments of mortgage and rent
 

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Eaton Vance   |   Fund Summary 

Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF (Con’t) 

 

obligations, and uncertainty regarding the effects and extent of government intervention with respect to mortgage payments and other economic matters may adversely affect the Fund’s investments in mortgage-backed securities.  In addition, commercial mortgage-backed securities are also subject to risks associated with reduced demand for commercial and office space, tightening lending standards and increased interest and lending rates, and other developments adverse to the commercial real estate market.

 

Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities. CMBS are subject to credit risk and prepayment risk. Although prepayment risk is present, it is of a lesser degree in the CMBS market than in the residential mortgage market; commercial real estate property loans often contain provisions which substantially reduce the likelihood that such securities will be prepaid (e.g., significant prepayment penalties on loans and, in some cases, prohibition on principal payments for several years following origination).

 

Collateralized Mortgage Obligations. CMOs are comprised of various tranches, the expected cash flows of which have varying degrees of predictability as compared with the underlying mortgage loans or mortgage pass-through entities. The less predictable the cash flow, the higher the yield and the greater the risk. In addition, if the collateral securing CMOs or any third-party guarantees is insufficient to make payments, the Fund could sustain a loss. Like other mortgage backed-securities, some CMOs are subject to credit risk. The Fund invests in both Agency and Non-Agency bonds. Many Agency bonds do not have credit risk as they are government guaranteed.

 

Collateralized Loan Obligations Risk. CLOs  are a type of asset-backed security that is typically structured as a trust collateralized by a pool of loans. The cash flows from the trust are split into two or more portions, called tranches, varying in risk and yield. The risks of an investment in a CLO depend largely on the type of the collateral securities and the class of the instrument in which the Fund invests. In addition to the normal risks associated with fixed income securities, CLOs carry additional risks including, but not limited to: (i) the possibility that distributions from collateral securities will not be adequate to make interest or other payments; (ii) the quality of the collateral may decline in value or default; (iii) the Fund may invest in CLOs that are subordinate to other classes; and (iv) the complex structure of the security may not be fully understood at the time of investment and may produce disputes with the issuer or unexpected investment results.

 

U.S. Government Securities. Different types of U.S. government securities are subject to different levels of credit risk, including the risk of default, depending on the nature of the particular government support for that security. For example, a U.S. government-sponsored entity, such as FNMA or FHLMC, although chartered or sponsored by an Act of Congress, may issue securities that are neither insured nor guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury and, therefore, are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. With respect to U.S. government securities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, there is the risk that the U.S. Government will not provide financial support to such U.S. government agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises if it is not obligated to do so by law.

 

Money Market Instrument Risk. Money market instruments may be adversely affected by market and economic events, such as a sharp rise in prevailing short-term interest rates; adverse developments in the banking industry, which issues or guarantees many money market instruments; adverse economic, political or other developments affecting issuers of money market instruments; changes in the credit quality of issuers; and default by a counterparty.

 

Preferred Securities. Preferred stock is issued with a fixed par value and pays dividends based on a percentage of that par value at a fixed rate. As with fixed-income securities, which also make fixed payments, the market value of preferred stock is sensitive to changes in interest rates. Preferred stock generally decreases in value if interest rates rise and increases in value if interest rates fall.

 

Municipals. Because the Fund may invest in municipal securities (also referred to as municipal obligations), the Fund may be susceptible to political, legislative, economic, regulatory, tax or other factors affecting issuers of these municipal securities, such as state and local governments and their agencies. To the extent that the Fund invests in municipal securities of issuers in the same economic sector, it could be more sensitive to economic, business or political developments that affect such sector. Municipal securities and their issuers may be more susceptible to downgrade, loss of revenue, default and bankruptcy because of recent periods of economic stress. Municipal securities also involve the risk that an issuer may call the securities for redemption, which could force the Fund to reinvest the proceeds at a lower rate of interest. While interest earned on municipal securities is generally not subject to federal income tax, any interest earned on taxable municipal securities is fully taxable at the federal level and may be subject to state and/or local income tax.

 

Foreign Securities. Investments in foreign markets entail special risks such as currency, political (including geopolitical), economic and market risks. There also may be greater market volatility, less reliable financial information, less stringent investor protections and disclosure standards, higher transaction and custody costs, decreased market liquidity and less government and exchange regulation associated with investments in foreign markets. In addition, investments in certain foreign markets that have historically been considered stable may become more volatile and subject to increased risk due to ongoing developments and changing conditions in such markets. Moreover, the growing interconnectivity of global economies and financial markets has increased the probability that adverse developments and conditions in one country or region will affect the stability of economies and financial markets in other countries or regions. Certain foreign markets may rely heavily on particular industries or foreign capital and are more vulnerable to diplomatic developments, the imposition of economic sanctions against a particular country or countries, organizations, companies, entities and/or individuals, changes in international trading patterns, trade barriers and other protectionist or retaliatory measures. Investments in foreign markets may also be adversely affected by governmental actions such
 

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Eaton Vance   |   Fund Summary 

Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF (Con’t) 

 

as the imposition of capital controls, nationalization of companies or industries, expropriation of assets or the imposition of punitive taxes. The governments of certain countries may prohibit or impose substantial restrictions on foreign investing in their capital markets or in certain sectors or industries. In addition, a foreign government may limit or cause delay in the convertibility or repatriation of its currency which would adversely affect the U.S. dollar value and/or liquidity of investments denominated in that currency. Certain foreign investments may become less liquid in response to market developments or adverse investor perceptions, or become illiquid after purchase by the Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. When the Fund holds illiquid investments, its portfolio may be harder to value. The issuer or governmental authority that controls the repayment of sovereign debt may not be willing or able to repay the principal and/or pay interest when due in accordance with the terms of such obligations. In addition, foreign governments may default on their debt securities, which may require holders of such securities to participate in debt rescheduling or additional lending to defaulting governments. Moreover, there is no bankruptcy proceeding by which defaulted sovereign debt may be collected in whole or in part. In addition, the Fund’s investments in foreign issuers may be denominated in foreign currencies and therefore, to the extent unhedged, the value of those investments will fluctuate with U.S. dollar exchange rates. To the extent hedged by the use of foreign currency forward exchange contracts, the precise matching of the foreign currency forward exchange contract amounts and the value of the securities involved will not generally be possible because the future value of such securities in foreign currencies will change as a consequence of market movements in the value of those securities between the date on which the contract is entered into and the date it matures. There is additional risk that such transactions may reduce or preclude the opportunity for gain if the value of the currency should move in the direction opposite to the position taken and that foreign currency forward exchange contracts create exposure to currencies in which the Fund’s securities are not denominated. The use of foreign currency forward exchange contracts involves the risk of loss from the insolvency or bankruptcy of the counterparty to the contract or the failure of the counterparty to make payments or otherwise comply with the terms of the contract.

 

Foreign Currency. The Fund’s investments in foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies. The value of foreign currencies may fluctuate relative to the value of the U.S. dollar. Since the Fund may invest in such non-U.S. dollar-denominated securities, and therefore may convert the value of such securities into U.S. dollars, changes in currency exchange rates can increase or decrease the U.S. dollar value of the Fund’s assets. Currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time for a number of reasons, including changes in interest rates and the overall economic health of the issuer. Devaluation of a currency by a country’s government or banking authority also will have a significant impact on the value of any investments denominated in that currency. The Adviser may use derivatives to reduce this risk. The Adviser may in its discretion choose not to hedge against currency risk. In addition, certain market conditions may make it impossible or uneconomical to hedge against currency risk.

 

Liquidity. The Fund may make investments that are illiquid or restricted or that may become illiquid or less liquid in response to overall economic conditions or adverse investor perceptions, and which may entail greater risk than investments in other types of securities. These investments may be more difficult to value or sell, particularly in times of market turmoil, and there may be little trading in the secondary market available for particular securities. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid or restricted security to fund redemptions or for other cash needs, it may be forced to sell the security at a loss or for less than its fair value.

 

Derivatives. Derivatives and other similar instruments often have risks similar to those of the underlying asset or instrument, including market risk, and may have additional risks, including imperfect correlation between the value of the derivative and the underlying asset, risks of default by the counterparty to certain transactions, magnification of losses incurred due to changes in the market value of the securities, instruments, indices or interest rates to which the derivative instrument relates, risks that the transactions may not be liquid, risks arising from margin and payment requirements, risks arising from mispricing or valuation complexity and operational and legal risks. Certain derivative transactions may give rise to a form of leverage. Leverage magnifies the potential for gain and the risk of loss.

 

When-Issued Securities, Delayed Delivery Securities, TBAs and Forward Commitments. The Fund may purchase or sell securities that it is entitled to receive on a when-issued, delayed delivery or through a forward commitment basis. For example, the Fund may invest in TBAs, which settle on a delayed delivery basis. These investments may result in a form of leverage and may increase volatility in the Fund’s share price. In a TBA transaction, the seller agrees to deliver the MBS for an agreed upon price on an agreed upon future date, but makes no guarantee as to which or how many securities are to be delivered. Accordingly, the Fund’s investments in TBAs are subject to risks such as failure of the counterparty to perform its obligation to deliver the security, the characteristics of a security delivered to the Fund may be less favorable than expected and the security the Fund buys will lose value prior to its delivery. The Fund’s purchase of other securities on a when-issued, delayed delivery or through a forward commitment basis are subject to similar risks. When the Fund has sold a security on a when-issued, delayed delivery, or forward commitment basis, the Fund does not benefit if the value of the security appreciates above the sale price during the commitment period and the Fund is subject to failure of the counterparty to pay for the securities.

 

Market and Geopolitical Risk. The value of your investment in the Fund is based on the values of the Fund’s investments, which may change due to economic and other events that affect markets generally, as well as those that affect particular regions, countries, industries, companies or governments. These events may be sudden and unexpected, and could adversely affect the liquidity of the Fund’s investments, which may in turn impact valuation, the Fund’s ability to sell securities and/or its ability to
 

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Eaton Vance   |   Fund Summary 

Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF (Con’t) 

 

meet redemptions. The risks associated with these developments may be magnified if certain social, political, economic and other conditions and events (such as war, natural disasters, epidemics and pandemics, terrorism, conflicts, social unrest, recessions, inflation, rapid interest rate changes and supply chain disruptions) adversely interrupt the global economy and financial markets. It is difficult to predict when events affecting the U.S. or global financial markets may occur, the effects that such events may have and the duration of those effects (which may last for extended periods). These events may negatively impact broad segments of businesses and populations and have a significant and rapid negative impact on the performance of the Fund’s investments, adversely affect and increase the volatility of the Fund’s share price and exacerbate pre-existing risks to the Fund.

 

Distressed and Defaulted Securities. Distressed and defaulted securities are speculative and involve substantial risks in addition to the risks of investing in high yield securities. The Fund will generally not receive interest payments on the distressed securities and the repayment of principal may also be at risk. These securities may present a substantial risk of default or may be in default at the time of investment, requiring the Fund to incur additional costs. The repayment of defaulted securities is also subject to significant uncertainties. The Fund may incur substantial expenses in seeking recovery upon a default in the payment of principal of or interest on its portfolio holdings.

 

Securities Lending. Securities lending involves a possible delay in recovery of the loaned securities or a possible loss of rights in the collateral if the borrower fails financially. The Fund could also lose money if the value of the collateral decreases.

 

Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of intermediaries that act as authorized participants and none of these authorized participants is or will be obligated to engage in creation or redemption transactions. To the extent that these intermediaries exit the business or are unable to or choose not to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other authorized participant creates or redeems, shares may trade at a discount to NAV  and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting.

 

Cash Transactions Risk. Unlike certain ETFs, the Fund may effect creations and redemptions in cash or partially in cash. Therefore, it may be required to sell portfolio securities and subsequently recognize gains on such sales that the Fund might not have recognized if it were to distribute portfolio securities in-kind. As such, investments in shares may be less tax-efficient than an investment in an ETF that distributes portfolio securities entirely in-kind.

 

Active Management Risk. In pursuing the Fund’s investment objective, the Adviser has considerable leeway in deciding which investments to buy, hold or sell on a day-to-day basis, and which trading strategies to use. For example, the Adviser, in its discretion, may determine to use some permitted trading strategies while not using others. The success or failure of such decisions will affect the Fund’s performance.

 

Banking Industry. Investment opportunities in investment grade securities may be concentrated in the banking industry. Under normal conditions, the Fund will invest more than 25% of its total assets in securities issued by issuers in the banking industry. As a result, the Fund may have a high concentration of investments in the banking industry. The banking industry can be affected by global and local economic conditions, such as the levels and liquidity of the global and local financial and asset markets, the absolute and relative level and volatility of interest rates and equity prices, investor sentiment, inflation, the availability and cost of credit and other factors and such effects can at times be significant. The enactment of new legislation or regulations, as well as changes in interpretation and enforcement of current laws, may affect the manner of operations and profitability of the banking industry. Because the Fund’s investments will be concentrated in the banking industry, factors that have an adverse impact on this industry may have a disproportionate impact on the Fund’s performance.

 

Trading Risk. The market prices of shares are expected to fluctuate, in some cases materially, in response to changes in the Fund’s NAV, the intra-day value of the Fund’s holdings, and supply and demand for shares. The Adviser cannot predict whether shares will trade above, below or at their NAV. Disruptions to creations and redemptions, the existence of significant market volatility or potential lack of an active trading market for the shares (including through a trading halt), as well as other factors, may result in the shares trading significantly above (at a premium) or below (at a discount) to NAV or to the intraday value of the Fund’s holdings. Buying or selling shares in the secondary market may require paying brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost when seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of shares. In addition, the market price of shares, like the price of any exchange-traded security, includes a “bid-ask spread” charged by the market makers or other participants that trade the particular security. The spread of the Fund’s shares varies over time based on the Fund’s trading volume and market liquidity and may increase if the Fund’s trading volume, the spread of the Fund’s underlying securities, or market liquidity decrease.

 

Investment Company Securities. Subject to the limitations set forth in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), or as otherwise permitted by the SEC, the Fund may acquire shares in other investment companies, including foreign investment companies, ETFs and money market funds, which may be managed by the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser or their affiliates. The market value of the shares of other investment companies may differ from the NAV of the Fund. The shares of certain investment companies frequently trade at a discount to their NAV. As a shareholder in an investment company, the Fund would bear its ratable share of that entity’s expenses, including its investment advisory and administration fees. At the same time,
 

6 


 

Eaton Vance   |   Fund Summary 

Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF (Con’t) 

 

the Fund would continue to pay its own advisory and administration fees and other expenses. As a result, the Fund and its shareholders, in effect, will also be absorbing fees with respect to investments in other investment companies.

 

New Fund Risk. A new fund’s performance may not represent how the fund is expected to or may perform in the long term. In addition, new funds have limited operating histories for investors to evaluate and new funds may not attract sufficient assets to achieve investment and trading efficiencies.
 

Shares of the Fund are not bank deposits and are not guaranteed or insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

Performance Information

As of the date hereof, the Fund has not yet completed a full calendar year of investment operations. Upon the completion of a full calendar year of investment operations by the Fund, this section will include charts that provide some indication of the risks of an investment in the Fund, by showing the difference in annual total returns, highest and lowest quarterly returns and average annual total returns (before and after taxes) compared to the benchmark index selected for the Fund. Performance information for the Fund will be available online at [    ] or by calling toll-free [    ].

Fund Management

Adviser. Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc.

Portfolio Managers. Information about the members jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund is shown below:

Name

Title with Adviser

Date Began
Managing Fund

Brian S. Ellis, CFA

Executive Director

Since Inception

Eric Jesionowski

Executive Director

Since Inception

Brandon Matsui, CFA

Executive Director

Since Inception

Kinzer Jennings, CFA

Vice President

Since Inception

Alec Schaefer

Vice President

Since Inception

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Individual shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold in secondary market transactions through a broker or dealer at market price. Because shares trade at market prices, rather than NAV, shares of the Fund may trade at a price greater than NAV (i.e., a premium) or less than NAV (i.e., a discount).

You may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay for shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) (the “bid-ask spread”) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market.

Recent information, including information about the Fund’s NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads (when available), will be available on the Fund’s website at [    ].

Tax Information

The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Adviser and/or Foreside Fund Services, LLC (the “Distributor”) may pay the financial intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments, which may be significant in amount, may create a conflict of interest by influencing the financial intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

7 


 

Eaton Vance   |   Fund Summary 

Eaton Vance High Yield ETF 

Investment Objective

Eaton Vance High Yield ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to provide a high level of current income. The Fund’s secondary objectives are to seek growth of income and capital.

Fees and Expenses

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay fees other than the fees and expenses of the Fund, such as brokerage commissions and other fees charged by financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.

Annual Fund Operating Expenses1(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Management Fee1

[]%

 

Other Expenses2

[]%

 

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

[]%

 

1 The Fund’s management agreement provides that the Fund’s “Adviser,” Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc., will pay substantially all expenses of the Fund (including expenses of Morgan Stanley ETF Trust (the “Trust”) relating to the Fund), except for the distribution fees, if any, brokerage expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, interest, litigation expenses, and other extraordinary expenses, including the costs of proxies, not incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund’s business.
2 Other Expenses have been estimated for the current fiscal year.

Example

The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you pay when purchasing or selling shares of the Fund.

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

 

1 Year

3 Years

 

 

$[]

$[]

 

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund had not commenced operations as of the most recent fiscal year end, no portfolio turnover rate is available for the Fund.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) will be invested in high yield securities. This policy may be changed without shareholder approval; however, shareholders would be notified upon 60 days’ notice in writing of any changes. High-yield securities (commonly referred to as “junk bonds”) include U.S. dollar denominated high risk corporate bonds which are rated lower than investment grade (i.e., bonds rated lower than Baa3 by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) or lower than BBB- by S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) or Fitch Ratings (“Fitch”)) or are unrated and of comparable quality as determined by the Adviser or Morgan Stanley Investment Management Limited (the “Sub-Adviser”). Bonds rated BBB and Baa have speculative characteristics, while lower-rated bonds are predominantly speculative.

The Fund may invest up to 15% of its total assets in securities that are rated investment grade (i.e., bonds rated higher than Ba1 by Moody’s or higher than BB+ by S&P  or Fitch). The Fund may not hold more than 10% of total assets in securities rated below B3 by Moody’s or lower than B- by S&P  or Fitch). The Fund may invest up to 5% of its total assets in subordinated preferred securities. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its total assets in foreign and emerging market securities, which are predominantly U.S. dollar-denominated. The Fund may invest in securities with a minimum primary issuance of $500 million or greater. The Fund may not purchase senior floating rate loans or secured or unsecured subordinated (“junior”) floating rate loans, second lien loans or bridge loans. The Fund may not purchase convertible bonds or common equity. The Fund may not conduct short sales. The Fund may invest up to the greater of 15% of its total assets or 1.2x benchmark weight in an individual sector.

The Fund may purchase or sell derivative instruments for hedging purposes, to seek return, to manage certain investment risks and/or as a substitute for the purchase or sale of securities. Transactions in derivative instruments may include: the purchase or sale of futures contracts on securities, indices or other financial instruments or currencies; options on futures contracts; exchange-traded and over-the-counter options on securities, indices, currencies and other instruments; interest rate, credit default, inflation and total

8 


 

Eaton Vance   |   Fund Summary 

Eaton Vance High Yield ETF (Con’t) 

return swaps; forward rate contracts and credit linked notes as well as instruments that have a greater or lesser credit risk than the security underlying that instrument. The Fund may use interest rate swaps for risk management purposes and not as a speculative investment and would typically use interest rate swaps to seek to shorten the average interest rate reset dates of its holdings. With respect to non-U.S. dollar-denominated securities, the Fund may seek to hedge currency fluctuations by entering into forward foreign currency exchange contracts. The Fund may invest in pooled investment vehicles, including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) and money market funds, for various portfolio management purposes, such as to maintain exposure to certain investments or for cash management purposes.

The Fund’s investments are actively managed and securities may be bought and sold on a daily basis. Preservation of capital is considered when consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives. The Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser monitor the credit quality of securities held by the Fund. Although the Adviser and Sub-Adviser consider security ratings when making investment decisions, they perform their own credit and investment analysis utilizing various methodologies including “bottom up/top down” analysis and consideration of macroeconomic and technical factors, and do not rely primarily on the ratings assigned by the rating services. When deemed by the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser to be relevant to their evaluation of creditworthiness and when applicable information is available, the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser consider environmental, social and/or governance issues (referred to as ESG) which may impact the prospects of an issuer (or obligor) or financial performance of an obligation. When considered, one or more ESG issues are taken into account alongside other factors in the investment decision-making process and are not the sole determinant of whether an investment can be made or will remain in the Fund’s portfolio.

The portfolio managers attempt to improve yield and preserve and enhance principal value through timely trading. The portfolio managers also consider the relative value of securities in the marketplace in making investment decisions.

Principal Risks

There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective, and you can lose money investing in this Fund. The principal risks of investing in the Fund include:

 

Fixed-Income Securities. Fixed-income securities are subject to the risk of the issuer’s inability to meet principal and interest payments on its obligations (i.e., credit risk) and are subject to price volatility resulting from, among other things, interest rate sensitivity (i.e., interest rate risk), market perception of the creditworthiness of the issuer and general market liquidity (i.e., market risk). For example, a type of fixed-income securities in which the Fund may invest are corporate debt obligations. In addition to interest rate, credit and other risks, corporate debt obligations are also subject to factors directly related to the issuer, such as the credit rating of the corporation, the corporation’s performance and perceptions of the corporation in the marketplace, and by factors not directly related to the issuer, such as general market liquidity, economic conditions and inflation. The Fund may face a heightened level of interest rate risk in times of monetary policy change and/or uncertainty, such as when the Federal Reserve Board adjusts a quantitative easing program and/or changes rates. A changing interest rate environment increases certain risks, including the potential for periods of volatility, increased redemptions, shortened durations (i.e., prepayment risk) and extended durations (i.e., extension risk). The Fund is not limited as to the maturities (when a debt security provides its final payment) or durations (measure of interest rate sensitivity of the securities in which it may invest). Securities with longer durations are likely to be more sensitive to changes in interest rates, generally making them more volatile than securities with shorter durations. Lower rated fixed-income securities have greater volatility because there is less certainty that principal and interest payments will be made as scheduled. A portion of the Fund’s fixed-income securities may be rated below investment grade. The Fund may be subject to certain liquidity risks that may result from the lack of an active market and the reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in fixed-income securities.

 

Credit and Interest Rate Risk. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer or guarantor of a security will be unable or unwilling or perceived to be unable or unwilling to make interest payments and/or repay the principal on its debt. In such instances, the value of the Fund could decline and the Fund could lose money. Interest rate risk refers to the decline in the value of a fixed-income security resulting from changes in the general level of interest rates. When the general level of interest rates goes up, the prices of most fixed-income securities go down. When the general level of interest rates goes down, the prices of most fixed-income securities go up. The Fund may invest in variable and floating rate loans and other variable and floating rate securities. Although these instruments are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than fixed rate instruments, the value of variable and floating rate loans and other securities may decline if their interest rates do not rise as quickly, or as much, as general interest rates. The Fund may face a heightened level of interest rate risk in times of monetary policy change and/or uncertainty, such as when the Federal Reserve Board adjusts a quantitative easing program and/or changes rates. A changing interest rate environment increases certain risks, including the potential for periods of volatility, increased redemptions, shortened durations (i.e., prepayment risk) and extended durations (i.e., extension risk). During  periods when interest rates are low or there are negative interest rates, the Fund’s yield (and total return) also may be low or otherwise adversely affected or the Fund may be unable to maintain positive returns. Credit ratings may not be an accurate assessment of liquidity or credit risk. Although credit quality may not accurately reflect the true credit risk of an instrument, a change in the credit rating of an instrument or an issuer can have a rapid, adverse effect on the instrument’s liquidity and make it more difficult for the Fund to sell at an advantageous price or time.
 

9 


 

Eaton Vance   |   Fund Summary 

Eaton Vance High Yield ETF (Con’t) 

 

High Yield Securities (“Junk Bonds”). The Fund’s investments in high yield securities expose it to a substantial degree of credit risk. Investing in emerging markets intensifies risk, because high yield securities may be more volatile in price in certain environments. High yield securities may be issued by companies that are restructuring, are smaller and less creditworthy or are more highly indebted than other companies, and therefore they may have more difficulty making scheduled payments of principal and interest. High yield securities are subject to greater risk of loss of income and principal than higher rated securities and may be considered speculative. High yield securities may experience reduced liquidity, and sudden and substantial decreases in price. An economic downturn affecting an issuer of high yield securities may result in an increased incidence of default. In the event of a default, the Fund may incur additional expenses to seek recovery.

 

Preferred Securities. Preferred stock is issued with a fixed par value and pays dividends based on a percentage of that par value at a fixed rate. As with fixed-income securities, which also make fixed payments, the market value of preferred stock is sensitive to changes in interest rates. Preferred stock generally decreases in value if interest rates rise and increases in value if interest rates fall.

 

Foreign and Emerging Market Securities. Investments in foreign markets entail special risks such as currency, political (including geopolitical), economic and market risks. There also may be greater market volatility, less reliable financial information, less stringent investor protections and disclosure standards, higher transaction and custody costs, decreased market liquidity and less government and exchange regulation associated with investments in foreign markets. In addition, investments in certain foreign markets that have historically been considered stable may become more volatile and subject to increased risk due to ongoing developments and changing conditions in such markets. Moreover, the growing interconnectivity of global economies and financial markets has increased the probability that adverse developments and conditions in one country or region will affect the stability of economies and financial markets in other countries or regions. Certain foreign markets may rely heavily on particular industries or foreign capital and are more vulnerable to diplomatic developments, the imposition of economic sanctions against a particular country or countries, organizations, companies, entities and/or individuals, changes in international trading patterns, trade barriers and other protectionist or retaliatory measures. Investments in foreign markets may also be adversely affected by governmental actions such as the imposition of capital controls, nationalization of companies or industries, expropriation of assets or the imposition of punitive taxes. The governments of certain countries may prohibit or impose substantial restrictions on foreign investing in their capital markets or in certain sectors or industries. In addition, a foreign government may limit or cause delay in the convertibility or repatriation of its currency which would adversely affect the U.S. dollar value and/or liquidity of investments denominated in that currency. Certain foreign investments may become less liquid in response to market developments or adverse investor perceptions, or become illiquid after purchase by the Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. When the Fund holds illiquid investments, its portfolio may be harder to value. The risks of investing in emerging market countries are greater than the risks associated with investments in foreign developed countries. Certain emerging market countries may be subject to less stringent requirements regarding accounting, auditing, financial reporting and record keeping and therefore, material information related to an investment may not be available or reliable. In addition, the Fund is limited in its ability to exercise its legal rights or enforce a counterparty’s legal obligations in certain jurisdictions outside of the United States, in particular, in emerging market countries. In addition, the Fund’s investments in foreign issuers may be denominated in foreign currencies and therefore, to the extent unhedged, the value of those investments will fluctuate with U.S. dollar exchange rates. To the extent hedged by the use of foreign currency forward exchange contracts, the precise matching of the foreign currency forward exchange contract amounts and the value of the securities involved will not generally be possible because the future value of such securities in foreign currencies will change as a consequence of market movements in the value of those securities between the date on which the contract is entered into and the date it matures. There is additional risk that such transactions may reduce or preclude the opportunity for gain if the value of the currency should move in the direction opposite to the position taken and that foreign currency forward exchange contracts create exposure to currencies in which the Fund’s securities are not denominated. The use of foreign currency forward exchange contracts involves the risk of loss from the insolvency or bankruptcy of the counterparty to the contract or the failure of the counterparty to make payments or otherwise comply with the terms of the contract. Economic sanctions or other similar measures may be, and have been, imposed against certain countries, organizations, companies, entities and/or individuals. Economic sanctions and other similar measures could, among other things, effectively restrict or eliminate the Fund’s ability to purchase or sell securities, negatively impact the value or liquidity of  the Fund’s investments, significantly delay or prevent the settlement of the Fund’s securities transactions, force the Fund to sell or otherwise dispose of investments at inopportune times or prices, or impair the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective or invest in accordance with its investment strategies.

 

Foreign Currency. The Fund’s investments in foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies. The value of foreign currencies may fluctuate relative to the value of the U.S. dollar. Since the Fund may invest in such non-U.S. dollar-denominated securities, and therefore may convert the value of such securities into U.S. dollars, changes in currency exchange rates can increase or decrease the U.S. dollar value of the Fund’s assets. Currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time for a number of reasons, including changes in interest rates and the overall economic health of the issuer. Devaluation of a currency by a country’s government or banking authority also will have a significant impact on the value of any investments denominated in that currency. The Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser may use derivatives to reduce this risk. The Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser may in their discretion choose not to hedge against currency risk. In addition, certain market conditions may make it impossible or uneconomical to hedge against currency risk.
 

10 


 

Eaton Vance   |   Fund Summary 

Eaton Vance High Yield ETF (Con’t) 

 

Liquidity. The Fund may make investments that are illiquid or restricted or that may become illiquid or less liquid in response to overall economic conditions or adverse investor perceptions, and which may entail greater risk than investments in other types of securities. These investments may be more difficult to value or sell, particularly in times of market turmoil, and there may be little trading in the secondary market available for particular securities. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid or restricted security to fund redemptions or for other cash needs, it may be forced to sell the security at a loss or for less than its fair value.

 

Derivatives. Derivatives and other similar instruments often have risks similar to those of the underlying asset or instrument, including market risk, and may have additional risks, including imperfect correlation between the value of the derivative and the underlying asset, risks of default by the counterparty to certain transactions, magnification of losses incurred due to changes in the market value of the securities, instruments, indices or interest rates to which the derivative instrument relates, risks that the transactions may not be liquid, risks arising from margin and payment requirements, risks arising from mispricing or valuation complexity and operational and legal risks. Certain derivative transactions may give rise to a form of leverage. Leverage magnifies the potential for gain and the risk of loss.

 

Market and Geopolitical Risk. The value of your investment in the Fund is based on the values of the Fund’s investments, which may change due to economic and other events that affect markets generally, as well as those that affect particular regions, countries, industries, companies or governments. These events may be sudden and unexpected, and could adversely affect the liquidity of the Fund’s investments, which may in turn impact valuation, the Fund’s ability to sell securities and/or its ability to meet redemptions. The risks associated with these developments may be magnified if certain social, political, economic and other conditions and events (such as war, natural disasters, epidemics and pandemics, terrorism, conflicts, social unrest, recessions, inflation, rapid interest rate changes and supply chain disruptions) adversely interrupt the global economy and financial markets. It is difficult to predict when events affecting the U.S. or global financial markets may occur, the effects that such events may have and the duration of those effects (which may last for extended periods). These events may negatively impact broad segments of businesses and populations and have a significant and rapid negative impact on the performance of the Fund’s investments, adversely affect and increase the volatility of the Fund’s share price and exacerbate pre-existing risks to the Fund.

 

Distressed and Defaulted Securities. Distressed and defaulted securities are speculative and involve substantial risks in addition to the risks of investing in high yield securities. The Fund will generally not receive interest payments on the distressed securities and the repayment of principal may also be at risk. These securities may present a substantial risk of default or may be in default at the time of investment, requiring the Fund to incur additional costs. The repayment of defaulted securities is also subject to significant uncertainties. The Fund may incur substantial expenses in seeking recovery upon a default in the payment of principal of or interest on its portfolio holdings.

 

Securities Lending. Securities lending involves a possible delay in recovery of the loaned securities or a possible loss of rights in the collateral if the borrower fails financially. The Fund could also lose money if the value of the collateral decreases.

 

Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of intermediaries that act as authorized participants and none of these authorized participants is or will be obligated to engage in creation or redemption transactions. To the extent that these intermediaries exit the business or are unable to or choose not to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other authorized participant creates or redeems, shares may trade at a discount to NAV  and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting.

 

Cash Transactions Risk. Unlike certain ETFs, the Fund may effect creations and redemptions in cash or partially in cash. Therefore, it may be required to sell portfolio securities and subsequently recognize gains on such sales that the Fund might not have recognized if it were to distribute portfolio securities in-kind. As such, investments in shares may be less tax-efficient than an investment in an ETF that distributes portfolio securities entirely in-kind.

 

Active Management Risk. In pursuing the Fund’s investment objective, the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser have considerable leeway in deciding which investments to buy, hold or sell on a day-to-day basis, and which trading strategies to use. For example, the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser, in its discretion, may determine to use some permitted trading strategies while not using others. The success or failure of such decisions will affect the Fund’s performance.

 

Trading Risk. The market prices of shares are expected to fluctuate, in some cases materially, in response to changes in the Fund’s NAV, the intra-day value of the Fund’s holdings, and supply and demand for shares. The Adviser cannot predict whether shares will trade above, below or at their NAV. Disruptions to creations and redemptions, the existence of significant market volatility or potential lack of an active trading market for the shares (including through a trading halt), as well as other factors, may result in the shares trading significantly above (at a premium) or below (at a discount) to NAV or to the intraday value of the Fund’s holdings. Buying or selling shares in the secondary market may require paying brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost when seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of shares. In addition, the market price of shares, like the price of any exchange-traded security, includes a “bid-ask spread” charged by the market makers or other participants that trade the particular security. The spread of the Fund’s shares varies over time based on the Fund’s trading volume and market liquidity and may increase if the Fund’s trading volume, the spread of the Fund’s underlying securities, or market liquidity decrease.
 

11 


 

Eaton Vance   |   Fund Summary 

Eaton Vance High Yield ETF (Con’t) 

 

Investment Company Securities. Subject to the limitations set forth in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), or as otherwise permitted by the SEC, the Fund may acquire shares in other investment companies, including foreign investment companies, ETFs and money market funds, which may be managed by the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser or their affiliates. The market value of the shares of other investment companies may differ from the NAV of the Fund. The shares of certain investment companies frequently trade at a discount to their NAV. As a shareholder in an investment company, the Fund would bear its ratable share of that entity’s expenses, including its investment advisory and administration fees. At the same time, the Fund would continue to pay its own advisory and administration fees and other expenses. As a result, the Fund and its shareholders, in effect, will also be absorbing fees with respect to investments in other investment companies.

 

New Fund Risk. A new fund’s performance may not represent how the fund is expected to or may perform in the long term. In addition, new funds have limited operating histories for investors to evaluate and new funds may not attract sufficient assets to achieve investment and trading efficiencies.
 

Shares of the Fund are not bank deposits and are not guaranteed or insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

Performance Information

As of the date hereof, the Fund has not yet completed a full calendar year of investment operations. Upon the completion of a full calendar year of investment operations by the Fund, this section will include charts that provide some indication of the risks of an investment in the Fund, by showing the difference in annual total returns, highest and lowest quarterly returns and average annual total returns (before and after taxes) compared to the benchmark index selected for the Fund. Performance information for the Fund will be available online at [    ] or by calling toll-free [    ].

Fund Management

Adviser. Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc.

Sub-Adviser. Morgan Stanley Investment Management Limited

Portfolio Managers. Information about the members jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund is shown below:

Name

Title with Adviser or Sub-Adviser

Date Began
Managing Fund

Stephen Concannon, CFA

Managing Director

Since Inception

Jeffrey Mueller

Managing Director

Since Inception

Kelley Gerrity

Managing Director

Since Inception

Brandon Matsui, CFA

Executive Director

Since Inception

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Individual shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold in secondary market transactions through a broker or dealer at market price. Because shares trade at market prices, rather than NAV, shares of the Fund may trade at a price greater than NAV (i.e., a premium) or less than NAV (i.e., a discount).

You may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay for shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) (the “bid-ask spread”) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market.

Recent information, including information about the Fund’s NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads (when available), will be available on the Fund’s website at [    ].

Tax Information

The Fund intends to make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Adviser and/or Foreside Fund Services, LLC (the “Distributor”) may pay the financial intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments, which may be significant in amount, may create a conflict of interest by influencing the financial intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

12 


 

Eaton Vance   |   Fund Summary 

Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF 

Investment Objective

Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to provide current  income exempt from regular federal income tax.

Fees and Expenses

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay fees other than the fees and expenses of the Fund, such as brokerage commissions and other fees charged by financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.

Annual Fund Operating Expenses1(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Management Fee1

[]%

 

Other Expenses2

[]%

 

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

[]%

 

1 The Fund’s management agreement provides that the Fund’s “Adviser,” Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc., will pay substantially all expenses of the Fund (including expenses of Morgan Stanley ETF Trust (the “Trust”) relating to the Fund), except for the distribution fees, if any, brokerage expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, interest, litigation expenses, and other extraordinary expenses, including the costs of proxies, not incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund’s business.
2 Other Expenses have been estimated for the current fiscal year.

Example

The example below is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you pay when purchasing or selling shares of the Fund.

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

 

1 Year

3 Years

 

 

$[]

$[]

 

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund had not commenced operations as of the most recent fiscal year end, no portfolio turnover rate is available for the Fund.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in municipal obligations, the interest on which is exempt from regular federal income tax. This policy is fundamental and may not be changed without shareholder approval. The Fund may invest without limit in obligations the income from which is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. At least 65% of the Fund’s net assets normally will be invested in municipal obligations rated at least investment grade at the time of investment (which are those rated Baa3 or higher by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”), or BBB- or higher by either S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) or Fitch Ratings (“Fitch”)) or, if unrated, determined by the Adviser to be of at least investment grade quality. The balance of net assets may be invested in obligations rated below investment grade and in unrated obligations considered to be of comparable quality by the Adviser (“junk bonds”). The Fund will not invest more than 10% of its net assets in obligations rated below B- or in unrated obligations considered to be of comparable quality by the Adviser. For purposes of rating restrictions, if securities are rated differently by two or more rating agencies, the highest rating is used. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in other debt obligations, including (but not limited to) taxable municipal obligations, U.S. Treasury securities and obligations of the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities (“Agency Securities”). The Fund may purchase or sell derivative instruments (such as residual interest bonds, futures contracts and options thereon, interest rate swaps, and forward rate contracts) for hedging purposes, to seek total return or as a substitute for the purchase or sale of securities.

Although the Fund invests in obligations to seek to maintain a dollar-weighted average portfolio duration between two and eight years, the Fund may invest in individual municipal obligations of any maturity. Duration represents the dollar-weighted average maturity of expected cash flows (i.e., interest and principal payments) on one or more municipal obligations, discounted to their present values. The Fund may use various techniques to shorten or lengthen its dollar-weighted average duration, including the acquisition of municipal obligations at a premium or discount, and transactions in futures contracts and options on futures. The

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Eaton Vance   |   Fund Summary 

Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF (Con’t) 

Fund may invest 25% or more of its total assets in certain types of municipal obligations (such as general obligations, municipal leases, principal only municipal investments, revenue bonds and industrial development bonds) and in one or more states, territories and economic sectors (such as housing, hospitals, healthcare facilities or utilities). The Fund may invest in pooled investment vehicles, including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), to seek exposure to the municipal markets or municipal market sectors. The Fund may invest in restricted securities.

The Adviser’s process for selecting obligations for purchase and sale emphasizes the creditworthiness of the issuer or other person obligated to repay the obligation and the relative value of the obligation in the market. In evaluating creditworthiness, the Adviser  considers ratings assigned by rating agencies and generally performs additional credit and investment analysis. When deemed by the Adviser to be relevant to its evaluation of creditworthiness and when applicable information is available, the Adviser considers environmental, social and/or governance issues (referred to as ESG) which may impact the prospects of an issuer (or obligor) or financial performance of an obligation. When considered, one or more ESG issues are taken into account alongside other factors in the investment decision-making process and are not the sole determinant of whether an investment can be made or will remain in the Fund’s portfolio.

The Fund may engage in relative value trading to take advantage of price appreciation opportunities or to realize capital losses. The portfolio managers also may trade securities to minimize taxable capital gains to shareholders. A portion of the Fund’s distributions generally will be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. The Fund may not be suitable for investors subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.

Principal Risks

There is no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective, and you can lose money investing in this Fund. The principal risks of investing in the Fund include:

 

Fixed-Income Securities. Fixed-income securities are subject to the risk of the issuer’s inability to meet principal and interest payments on its obligations (i.e., credit risk) and are subject to price volatility resulting from, among other things, interest rate sensitivity (i.e., interest rate risk), market perception of the creditworthiness of the issuer and general market liquidity (i.e., market risk). For example, a type of fixed-income securities in which the Fund may invest are corporate debt obligations. In addition to interest rate, credit and other risks, corporate debt obligations are also subject to factors directly related to the issuer, such as the credit rating of the corporation, the corporation’s performance and perceptions of the corporation in the marketplace, and by factors not directly related to the issuer, such as general market liquidity, economic conditions and inflation. The Fund may face a heightened level of interest rate risk in times of monetary policy change and/or uncertainty, such as when the Federal Reserve Board adjusts a quantitative easing program and/or changes rates. A changing interest rate environment increases certain risks, including the potential for periods of volatility, increased redemptions, shortened durations (i.e., prepayment risk) and extended durations (i.e., extension risk). The Fund is not limited as to the maturities (when a debt security provides its final payment) or durations (measure of interest rate sensitivity of the securities in which it may invest). Securities with longer durations are likely to be more sensitive to changes in interest rates, generally making them more volatile than securities with shorter durations. Lower rated fixed-income securities have greater volatility because there is less certainty that principal and interest payments will be made as scheduled. A portion of the Fund’s fixed-income securities may be rated below investment grade. The Fund may be subject to certain liquidity risks that may result from the lack of an active market and the reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in fixed-income securities.

 

Credit and Interest Rate Risk. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer or guarantor of a security will be unable or unwilling or perceived to be unable or unwilling to make interest payments and/or repay the principal on its debt. In such instances, the value of the Fund could decline and the Fund could lose money. Interest rate risk refers to the decline in the value of a fixed-income security resulting from changes in the general level of interest rates. When the general level of interest rates goes up, the prices of most fixed-income securities go down. When the general level of interest rates goes down, the prices of most fixed-income securities go up. The Fund may invest in variable and floating rate loans and other variable and floating rate securities. Although these instruments are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than fixed rate instruments, the value of variable and floating rate loans and other securities may decline if their interest rates do not rise as quickly, or as much, as general interest rates. The Fund may face a heightened level of interest rate risk in times of monetary policy change and/or uncertainty, such as when the Federal Reserve Board adjusts a quantitative easing program and/or changes rates. A changing interest rate environment increases certain risks, including the potential for periods of volatility, increased redemptions, shortened durations (i.e., prepayment risk) and extended durations (i.e., extension risk). During  periods when interest rates are low or there are negative interest rates, the Fund’s yield (and total return) also may be low or otherwise adversely affected or the Fund may be unable to maintain positive returns. Credit ratings may not be an accurate assessment of liquidity or credit risk. Although credit quality may not accurately reflect the true credit risk of an instrument, a change in the credit rating of an instrument or an issuer can have a rapid, adverse effect on the instrument’s liquidity and make it more difficult for the Fund to sell at an advantageous price or time.
 

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Eaton Vance   |   Fund Summary 

Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF (Con’t) 

 

U.S. Government Securities. Different types of U.S. government securities are subject to different levels of credit risk, including the risk of default, depending on the nature of the particular government support for that security. For example, a U.S. government-sponsored entity, such as FNMA or FHLMC, although chartered or sponsored by an Act of Congress, may issue securities that are neither insured nor guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury and, therefore, are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. With respect to U.S. government securities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, there is the risk that the U.S. Government will not provide financial support to such U.S. government agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises if it is not obligated to do so by law.

 

Municipals. Because the Fund may invest in municipal securities (also referred to as municipal obligations), the Fund may be susceptible to political, legislative, economic, regulatory, tax or other factors affecting issuers of these municipal securities, such as state and local governments and their agencies. To the extent that the Fund invests in municipal securities of issuers in the same economic sector, it could be more sensitive to economic, business or political developments that affect such sector. Municipal securities and their issuers may be more susceptible to downgrade, loss of revenue, default and bankruptcy because of recent periods of economic stress. Municipal securities also involve the risk that an issuer may call the securities for redemption, which could force the Fund to reinvest the proceeds at a lower rate of interest. While interest earned on municipal securities is generally not subject to federal income tax, any interest earned on taxable municipal securities is fully taxable at the federal level and may be subject to state and/or local income tax.

 

Restricted Securities. The Fund’s investments may include securities which are subject to resale restrictions. These securities could have the effect of increasing the level of Fund illiquidity to the extent the Fund may be unable to sell or transfer these securities due to restrictions on transfers or on the ability to find buyers interested in purchasing the securities. Additionally, the market for certain investments deemed liquid at the time of purchase may become illiquid under adverse market or economic conditions. The illiquidity of the market, as well as the lack of publicly available information regarding these securities, may also adversely affect the ability to arrive at a fair value for certain securities at certain times and could make it difficult for the Fund to sell certain securities. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security to fund redemptions or for other cash needs, it may be forced to sell the security at a loss or for less than its fair value.

 

Derivatives. Derivatives and other similar instruments often have risks similar to those of the underlying asset or instrument, including market risk, and may have additional risks, including imperfect correlation between the value of the derivative and the underlying asset, risks of default by the counterparty to certain transactions, magnification of losses incurred due to changes in the market value of the securities, instruments, indices or interest rates to which the derivative instrument relates, risks that the transactions may not be liquid, risks arising from margin and payment requirements, risks arising from mispricing or valuation complexity and operational and legal risks. Certain derivative transactions may give rise to a form of leverage. Leverage magnifies the potential for gain and the risk of loss.

 

Liquidity. The Fund may make investments that are illiquid or restricted or that may become illiquid or less liquid in response to overall economic conditions or adverse investor perceptions, and which may entail greater risk than investments in other types of securities. These investments may be more difficult to value or sell, particularly in times of market turmoil, and there may be little trading in the secondary market available for particular securities. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid or restricted security to fund redemptions or for other cash needs, it may be forced to sell the security at a loss or for less than its fair value.

 

Market and Geopolitical Risk. The value of your investment in the Fund is based on the values of the Fund’s investments, which may change due to economic and other events that affect markets generally, as well as those that affect particular regions, countries, industries, companies or governments. These events may be sudden and unexpected, and could adversely affect the liquidity of the Fund’s investments, which may in turn impact valuation, the Fund’s ability to sell securities and/or its ability to meet redemptions. The risks associated with these developments may be magnified if certain social, political, economic and other conditions and events (such as war, natural disasters, epidemics and pandemics, terrorism, conflicts, social unrest, recessions, inflation, rapid interest rate changes and supply chain disruptions) adversely interrupt the global economy and financial markets. It is difficult to predict when events affecting the U.S. or global financial markets may occur, the effects that such events may have and the duration of those effects (which may last for extended periods). These events may negatively impact broad segments of businesses and populations and have a significant and rapid negative impact on the performance of the Fund’s investments, adversely affect and increase the volatility of the Fund’s share price and exacerbate pre-existing risks to the Fund.

 

Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of intermediaries that act as authorized participants and none of these authorized participants is or will be obligated to engage in creation or redemption transactions. To the extent that these intermediaries exit the business or are unable to or choose not to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other authorized participant creates or redeems, shares may trade at a discount to NAV  and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting.

 

Cash Transactions Risk. Unlike certain ETFs, the Fund may effect creations and redemptions in cash or partially in cash. Therefore, it may be required to sell portfolio securities and subsequently recognize gains on such sales that the Fund might not
 

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Eaton Vance   |   Fund Summary 

Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF (Con’t) 

 

have recognized if it were to distribute portfolio securities in-kind. As such, investments in shares may be less tax-efficient than an investment in an ETF that distributes portfolio securities entirely in-kind.

 

Active Management Risk. In pursuing the Fund’s investment objective, the Adviser has considerable leeway in deciding which investments to buy, hold or sell on a day-to-day basis, and which trading strategies to use. For example, the Adviser, in its discretion, may determine to use some permitted trading strategies while not using others. The success or failure of such decisions will affect the Fund’s performance.

 

Trading Risk. The market prices of shares are expected to fluctuate, in some cases materially, in response to changes in the Fund’s NAV, the intra-day value of the Fund’s holdings, and supply and demand for shares. The Adviser cannot predict whether shares will trade above, below or at their NAV. Disruptions to creations and redemptions, the existence of significant market volatility or potential lack of an active trading market for the shares (including through a trading halt), as well as other factors, may result in the shares trading significantly above (at a premium) or below (at a discount) to NAV or to the intraday value of the Fund’s holdings. Buying or selling shares in the secondary market may require paying brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost when seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of shares. In addition, the market price of shares, like the price of any exchange-traded security, includes a “bid-ask spread” charged by the market makers or other participants that trade the particular security. The spread of the Fund’s shares varies over time based on the Fund’s trading volume and market liquidity and may increase if the Fund’s trading volume, the spread of the Fund’s underlying securities, or market liquidity decrease.

 

High Yield Securities (“Junk Bonds”). The Fund’s investments in high yield securities expose it to a substantial degree of credit risk. Investing in emerging markets intensifies risk, because high yield securities may be more volatile in price in certain environments. High yield securities may be issued by companies that are restructuring, are smaller and less creditworthy or are more highly indebted than other companies, and therefore they may have more difficulty making scheduled payments of principal and interest. High yield securities are subject to greater risk of loss of income and principal than higher rated securities and may be considered speculative. High yield securities may experience reduced liquidity, and sudden and substantial decreases in price. An economic downturn affecting an issuer of high yield securities may result in an increased incidence of default. In the event of a default, the Fund may incur additional expenses to seek recovery.

 

New Fund Risk. A new fund’s performance may not represent how the fund is expected to or may perform in the long term. In addition, new funds have limited operating histories for investors to evaluate and new funds may not attract sufficient assets to achieve investment and trading efficiencies.

 

Investment Company Securities. Subject to the limitations set forth in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), or as otherwise permitted by the SEC, the Fund may acquire shares in other investment companies, including foreign investment companies and ETFs, which may be managed by the Adviser or its affiliates. The market value of the shares of other investment companies may differ from the NAV of the Fund. The shares of certain investment companies frequently trade at a discount to their NAV. As a shareholder in an investment company, the Fund would bear its ratable share of that entity’s expenses, including its investment advisory and administration fees. At the same time, the Fund would continue to pay its own advisory and administration fees and other expenses. As a result, the Fund and its shareholders, in effect, will also be absorbing fees with respect to investments in other investment companies.

 

Residual Interest Bonds. The Fund may enter into residual interest bond transactions, which expose the Fund to leverage and greater risk than an investment in a fixed-rate municipal bond. The interest payments that the Fund receives on the residual interest bonds acquired in such transactions vary inversely with short-term interest rates, normally decreasing when short-term rates increase. The value and market for residual interest bonds are volatile and such bonds may have limited liquidity. As required by applicable accounting standards, the Fund records interest expense as a liability with respect to floating-rate notes and also records offsetting interest income in an amount equal to this expense.
 

Shares of the Fund are not bank deposits and are not guaranteed or insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

Performance Information

As of the date hereof, the Fund has not yet completed a full calendar year of investment operations. Upon the completion of a full calendar year of investment operations by the Fund, this section will include charts that provide some indication of the risks of an investment in the Fund, by showing the difference in annual total returns, highest and lowest quarterly returns and average annual total returns (before and after taxes) compared to the benchmark index selected for the Fund. Performance information for the Fund will be available online at [    ] or by calling toll-free [    ].

Fund Management

Adviser. Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc.

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Eaton Vance   |   Fund Summary 

Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF (Con’t) 

Portfolio Managers. Information about the members jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund is shown below:

Name

Title with Adviser

Date Began
Managing Fund

Julie Callahan, CFA

Managing Director

Since Inception

Paul Metheny, CFA

Executive Director

Since Inception

Carl Thompson, CFA

Executive Director

Since Inception

Brandon Matsui, CFA

Executive Director

Since Inception

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

Individual shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold in secondary market transactions through a broker or dealer at market price. Because shares trade at market prices, rather than NAV, shares of the Fund may trade at a price greater than NAV (i.e., a premium) or less than NAV (i.e., a discount).

You may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay for shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares (ask) (the “bid-ask spread”) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market.

Recent information, including information about the Fund’s NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads (when available), will be available on the Fund’s website at [    ].

Tax Information

The Fund’s distributions of interest on municipal obligations generally are not subject to federal income tax. The Fund’s distributions from other portfolio securities may be subject to federal, state and/or local income taxes. Income derived from some municipal securities is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. If the Fund makes any capital gain distributions, those distributions will normally be subject to federal and state income tax when they are paid, whether you take them in cash or reinvest them in Fund shares.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Adviser and/or Foreside Fund Services, LLC (the “Distributor”) may pay the financial intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments, which may be significant in amount, may create a conflict of interest by influencing the financial intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

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Eaton Vance   |   Details of the Fund 

Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF 

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks to maximize income, to the extent consistent with preservation of capital.

The Fund’s investment objective may be changed by the Trust’s Board of Trustees without shareholder approval, but no change is anticipated. If the Fund’s investment objective changes, the Fund will notify shareholders and shareholders should consider whether the Fund remains an appropriate investment in light of the change.

Approach

The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by primarily investing in a portfolio of investment grade, short-term fixed, variable and floating-rate securities. The Fund is not a money market fund and does not seek to maintain a stable net asset value.

The Fund is actively managed, not designed to track a benchmark, and therefore not constrained by the composition of a benchmark.

Under normal circumstances, the Fund’s weighted average portfolio duration will be one year or less. In certain market or economic conditions, such as in periods of significant volatility in interest rates and spreads, the Fund’s weighted average portfolio duration may be longer than one year. The Fund seeks to manage duration and hedge interest rate risk through the purchase and sale of U.S. Treasury securities and related futures contracts (which are a type of derivative instrument). During periods when the Fund’s weighted average portfolio duration is longer than one year, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective.

Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest in below-investment grade, high-yield debt instruments (commonly known as “junk bonds”), including distressed instruments that are in default. The Fund’s investment in such instruments is limited to 10% of its net assets, as assessed at time of purchase.

Process

The Fund typically invests at least 90% of its net assets in investment grade, U.S. dollar-denominated debt securities. A debt security is considered investment grade when assigned a credit quality rating of BBB- or higher by S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) or an equivalent rating by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization (‘‘NRSRO”), including Moody’s Investors Service or Fitch Ratings, or Kroll Bond Rating Agency, LLC for securitized debt instruments only (such as asset-backed securities (“ABS”) and mortgage-backed securities (“MBS”)) or if unrated, considered to be of comparable credit quality by the Adviser. For purposes of rating restrictions, if securities are rated differently by two or more rating agencies, the highest rating is used.

The Fund invests in bonds issued by U.S. corporations, the U.S. Government or its agencies, and U.S. government-sponsored enterprises (“GSEs”) such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (“FNMA”) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“FHLMC”). The Fund also may invest in trust preferred securities, money market instruments and taxable municipal obligations. The Fund may invest in pooled investment vehicles, including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) and money market funds, for various portfolio management purposes, such as to maintain exposure to certain investments or for cash management purposes.

The Fund may invest in ABS and MBS that represent interests in pools of mortgage loans (MBS) or other assets (ABS) assembled for sale to investors by various U.S. governmental agencies, government-related organizations and private issuers (i.e., non-agency). MBS may include collateralized mortgage obligations (“CMOs”), residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”) and commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”). ABS may include collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”). In addition, the Fund may invest in to-be-announced pass-through mortgage securities, which settle on a delayed delivery basis (“TBA”).

The Fund may also invest up to 25% of its net assets in foreign debt securities. Foreign debt securities include American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”). The Fund may engage in forward foreign currency exchange contracts to seek to hedge against the decline in the value of currencies in which its portfolio holdings are denominated against the U.S. dollar. The Fund may also lend its securities.

In managing the Fund, the Adviser considers macroeconomic factors in determining the Fund’s sector allocation and yield curve positioning and uses fundamental research in selecting individual securities for the portfolio. Macroeconomic factors considered may include, among others, the pace of economic growth, unemployment rates, interest rates, inflation, monetary and fiscal policy, and general trends in global economies and currencies. In combination with the top-down macroeconomic approach, the Adviser employs a bottom-up process of fundamental securities analysis to select the specific securities for investment. This bottom-up, research-driven and value-oriented approach emphasizes the financial strength of issuers, current valuations and the interest rate sensitivity of investments, among other factors. In selecting securities, the  Adviser generally seeks issuers with attractive valuations. The Adviser may sell a security when the Adviser’s valuation target for the security is reached, the fundamentals of the company deteriorate or to pursue more attractive investment options. When deemed by the Adviser to be relevant to its evaluation of creditworthiness and when applicable information is available, the Adviser considers environmental, social and/or governance issues (referred to as ESG) which may impact the prospects of an issuer (or obligor) or financial performance of an obligation. When considered, one or more ESG issues are taken into account alongside other factors in the investment decision-making process and are

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Eaton Vance   |   Details of the Fund 

Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF (Con’t) 

not the sole determinant of whether an investment can be made or will remain in the Fund’s portfolio. The Adviser also considers how purchasing or selling an investment would impact the overall portfolio’s potential return (income and capital gains) and risk profile (for example, its sensitivity to currency risk, interest rate risk and sector-specific risk) on both a benchmark-relative and absolute return basis, and may include allocations to securities outside the benchmark.

The Fund will concentrate its investments in the banking industry. Therefore, under normal conditions, the Fund will invest more than 25% of its total assets in securities issued by issuers in the banking industry. The Fund may, however, invest less than 25% of its total assets in this industry as a temporary defensive measure.

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Eaton Vance   |   Details of the Fund 

Eaton Vance High Yield ETF 

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks to provide a high level of current income. The Fund’s secondary objectives are to seek growth of income and capital.

The Fund’s investment objective may be changed by the Trust’s Board of Trustees without shareholder approval, but no change is anticipated. If the Fund’s investment objective changes, the Fund will notify shareholders and shareholders should consider whether the Fund remains an appropriate investment in light of the change.

Approach

Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) will be invested in high yield securities. This policy may be changed without shareholder approval; however, shareholders would be notified upon 60 days’ notice in writing of any changes. High-yield securities (commonly referred to as “junk bonds”) include U.S. dollar denominated high risk corporate bonds which are rated lower than investment grade (i.e., bonds rated lower than Baa3 by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) or lower than BBB- by S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) or Fitch Ratings (“Fitch”)) or are unrated and of comparable quality as determined by the Adviser or Morgan Stanley Investment Management Limited (the “Sub-Adviser”). Bonds rated BBB and Baa have speculative characteristics, while lower-rated bonds are predominantly speculative.

The Fund’s investments are actively managed and securities may be bought and sold on a daily basis. Preservation of capital is considered when consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. The Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser monitor the credit quality of securities held by the Fund. Although the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser consider security ratings when making investment decisions, they perform their own credit and investment analysis utilizing various methodologies including “bottom up/top down” analysis and consideration of macroeconomic and technical factors, and do not rely primarily on the ratings assigned by the rating services. When deemed by the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser to be relevant to their evaluation of creditworthiness and when applicable information is available, the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser consider environmental, social and/or governance issues (referred to as ESG) which may impact the prospects of an issuer (or obligor) or financial performance of an obligation. When considered, one or more ESG issues are taken into account alongside other factors in the investment decision-making process and are not the sole determinant of whether an investment can be made or will remain in the Fund’s portfolio.

The portfolio managers attempt to improve yield and preserve and enhance principal value through timely trading. The portfolio managers also consider the relative value of securities in the marketplace in making investment decisions.

Process

The Fund may invest up to 15% of its total assets in securities that are rated investment grade (i.e., bonds rated higher than Ba1 by Moody’s or higher than BB+ by S&P  or Fitch). The Fund may not hold more than 10% of its total assets in securities rated below B3 by Moody’s or lower than B- by S&P  or Fitch. The Fund may invest up to 5% of its total assets in subordinated preferred securities. The Fund may invest up to 20% of total assets in foreign and emerging market securities, which are predominantly U.S. dollar-denominated. The Fund may invest in securities with a minimum primary issuance of $500 million or greater. The Fund may not purchase senior floating rate loans or secured or unsecured subordinated (“junior”) floating rate loans, second lien loans or bridge loans. The Fund may not purchase convertible bonds or common equity. The Fund may not conduct short sales. The Fund may invest up to the greater of 15% of its total assets or 1.2x benchmark weight in an individual sector.

The Fund may purchase or sell derivative instruments for hedging purposes, to seek return, to manage certain investment risks and/or as a substitute for the purchase or sale of securities. Transactions in derivative instruments may include: the purchase or sale of futures contracts on securities, indices or other financial instruments or currencies; options on futures contracts; exchange-traded and over-the-counter options on securities, indices, currencies and other instruments; interest rate, credit default, inflation and total return swaps; forward rate contracts and credit linked notes as well as instruments that have a greater or lesser credit risk than the security underlying that instrument. The Fund may use interest rate swaps for risk management purposes and not as a speculative investment and would typically use interest rate swaps to seek to shorten the average interest rate reset dates of its holdings. With respect to non-U.S. dollar-denominated securities, the Fund may to seek hedge currency fluctuations by entering into forward foreign currency exchange contracts. The Fund may invest in pooled investment vehicles, including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) and money market funds, for various portfolio management purposes, such as to maintain exposure to certain investments or for cash management purposes.

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Eaton Vance   |   Details of the Fund 

Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF 

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks to provide current income exempt from regular federal income tax.

The Fund’s investment objective may be changed by the Trust’s Board of Trustees without shareholder approval, but no change is anticipated. If the Fund’s investment objective changes, the Fund will notify shareholders and shareholders should consider whether the Fund remains an appropriate investment in light of the change.

Approach

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in municipal obligations, the interest on which is exempt from regular federal income tax. This policy is fundamental and may not be changed without shareholder approval.

Process

The Fund may invest without limit in obligations the income from which is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. At least 65% of the Fund’s net assets normally will be invested in municipal obligations rated at least investment grade at the time of investment (which are those rated Baa3 or higher by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”), or BBB- or higher by either S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) or Fitch Ratings (“Fitch”)) or, if unrated, determined by the Adviser to be of at least investment grade quality. The balance of net assets may be invested in obligations rated below investment grade and in unrated obligations considered to be of comparable quality by the Adviser (“junk bonds”). The Fund will not invest more than 10% of its net assets in obligations rated below B- or in unrated obligations considered to be of comparable quality by the Adviser. For purposes of rating restrictions, if securities are rated differently by two or more rating agencies, the highest rating is used. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in other debt obligations, including (but not limited to) taxable municipal obligations, U.S. Treasury securities and obligations of the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities (“Agency Securities”). The Fund may purchase or sell derivative instruments (such as residual interest bonds, futures contracts and options thereon, interest rate swaps, and forward rate contracts) for hedging purposes, to seek total return or as a substitute for the purchase or sale of securities.

Although the Fund invests in obligations to seek to maintain a dollar-weighted average portfolio duration between two and eight years, the Fund may invest in individual municipal obligations of any maturity. Duration represents the dollar-weighted average maturity of expected cash flows (i.e., interest and principal payments) on one or more municipal obligations, discounted to their present values. The Fund may use various techniques to shorten or lengthen its dollar-weighted average duration, including the acquisition of municipal obligations at a premium or discount, and transactions in futures contracts and options on futures. The Fund may invest 25% or more of its total assets in certain types of municipal obligations (such as general obligations, municipal leases, principal only municipal investments, revenue bonds and industrial development bonds) and in one or more states, territories and economic sectors (such as housing, hospitals, healthcare facilities or utilities). The Fund may invest in pooled investment vehicles, including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), to seek exposure to the municipal markets or municipal market sectors. The Fund may invest in restricted securities.

The Adviser’s process for selecting obligations for purchase and sale emphasizes the creditworthiness of the issuer or other person obligated to repay the obligation and the relative value of the obligation in the market. In evaluating creditworthiness, the Adviser considers ratings assigned by rating agencies and generally performs additional credit and investment analysis. When deemed by the Adviser to be relevant to its evaluation of creditworthiness and when applicable information is available, the Adviser considers environmental, social and/or governance issues (referred to as ESG) which may impact the prospects of an issuer (or obligor) or financial performance of an obligation. When considered, one or more ESG issues are taken into account alongside other factors in the investment decision-making process and are not the sole determinant of whether an investment can be made or will remain in the Fund’s portfolio.

The Fund may engage in relative value trading to take advantage of price appreciation opportunities or to realize capital losses. The portfolio managers also may trade securities to minimize taxable capital gains to shareholders. A portion of the Fund’s distributions generally will be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. The Fund may not be suitable for investors subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.

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Eaton Vance  |  Additional Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks 

Additional Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks 

This section discusses additional information relating to Fund investment strategies, other types of investments that the Funds may make and related risk factors. “Fund” as used herein and under “Additional Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks” refers to each Fund listed on the cover page of this Prospectus. Fund investment practices and limitations are described in more detail in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”), which is incorporated by reference and legally is a part of this Prospectus. For details on how to obtain a copy of the SAI and other reports and information, see the back cover of this Prospectus. 

Economies and financial markets worldwide have recently experienced periods of increased volatility, uncertainty, distress, government spending, inflation and disruption to consumer demand, economic output and supply chains. To the extent these conditions continue, the risks associated with an investment in a Fund, including those described below, could be heightened and a Fund’s investments (and thus a shareholder’s investment in a Fund) may be particularly susceptible to sudden and substantial losses, reduced yield or income or other adverse developments. The occurrence, duration and extent of these or other types of adverse economic and market conditions and uncertainty over the long term cannot be reasonably projected or estimated at this time.

The Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF is not a money market fund (or equivalent to a money market fund), does not attempt to maintain a stable net asset value, and is not subject to the rules that govern the quality, maturity, liquidity, and other features of securities that money market funds may purchase. Under normal conditions, the Fund’s investments may be more susceptible than a money market fund to interest rate risk, valuation risk, credit risk, and other risks relevant to the Fund’s investments.

Fixed-Income Securities

Fixed-income securities are securities that pay a fixed or a variable rate of interest until a stated maturity date. Fixed-income securities include U.S. government securities, securities issued by federal or federally sponsored agencies and instrumentalities, corporate bonds and notes, asset-backed securities, mortgage-backed securities, securities rated below investment grade (commonly referred to as “junk bonds” or “high yield/high risk securities”), municipal bonds, loan participations and assignments, zero coupon bonds, Eurobonds, Brady Bonds, Yankee Bonds, repurchase agreements, commercial paper and cash equivalents.

Fixed-income securities are subject to the risk of the issuer’s inability to meet principal and interest payments on its obligations (i.e., credit risk) and are subject to price volatility resulting from, among other things, interest rate sensitivity (i.e., interest rate risk), market perception of the creditworthiness of the issuer and general market liquidity (i.e., market risk). For example, a type of fixed-income securities in which a Fund may invest are corporate debt obligations. In addition to interest rate, credit and other risks, corporate debt obligations are also subject to factors directly related to the issuer, such as the credit rating of the corporation, the corporation’s performance and perceptions of the corporation in the marketplace, and by factors not directly related to the issuer, such as general market liquidity, economic conditions and inflation. A Fund may face a heightened level of interest rate risk in times of monetary policy change and/or uncertainty, such as when the Federal Reserve Board adjusts a quantitative easing program and/or changes rates. A changing interest rate environment increases certain risks, including the potential for periods of volatility, increased redemptions, shortened durations (i.e., prepayment risk) and extended durations (i.e., extension risk). Securities with longer durations are likely to be more sensitive to changes in interest rates, generally making them more volatile than securities with shorter durations. Lower rated fixed-income securities have greater volatility because there is less certainty that principal and interest payments will be made as scheduled. A portion of a Fund’s fixed-income securities may be rated below investment grade. The Funds may be subject to liquidity risk, which may result from the lack of an active market and the reduced number and capacity of traditional market participants to make a market in fixed-income securities. Fixed-income securities may be called (i.e., redeemed by the issuer) prior to final maturity. If a callable security is called, a Fund may have to reinvest the proceeds at a lower rate of interest.

Duration

Duration is a measure of the expected life of a bond that is used to determine the sensitivity of an instrument’s price to changes in interest rates. Thus, the average duration of a portfolio of fixed-income securities represents its exposure to changing interest rates. For example, when the level of interest rates increases by 1%, a fixed-income security having a positive duration of four years generally will decrease in value by 4%; when the level of interest rates decreases by 1%, the value of that same security generally will increase by 4%. A portfolio with a shorter average duration generally will experience less price volatility in response to changes in interest rates than a portfolio with a longer average duration.

Measures such as average duration may not accurately reflect the true interest rate sensitivity of a Fund, particularly if a Fund consists of securities with widely varying durations. As a result, if a Fund has an average duration that suggests a certain level of interest rate risk, the Fund may in fact be subject to greater interest rate risk than the average would suggest. This risk is greater to the extent the Adviser uses leverage or derivatives in connection with the management of a Fund.

Credit and Interest Rate Risk

Fixed-income securities, such as bonds, generally are subject to two types of risk: credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer or guarantor of a security will be unable or unwilling or perceived to be unable or unwilling to make

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Eaton Vance  |  Additional Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks 

Additional Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks (Con’t) 

interest payments and/or repay the principal on its debt. The risk of defaults across issuers and/or counterparties increases in adverse market and economic conditions. Interest rate risk refers to fluctuations (such as a decline) in the value of a fixed-income security resulting from changes in the general level of interest rates. When the general level of interest rates goes up, the prices of most fixed-income securities go down. When the general level of interest rates goes down, the prices of most fixed-income securities go up. A low interest rate environment may prevent a Fund from providing a positive yield or paying Fund expenses out of current income. A Fund may face a heightened level of interest rate risk in times of monetary policy change and/or uncertainty, such as when the Federal Reserve Board adjusts a quantitative easing program and/or changes rates. During periods when interest rates are low or there are negative interest rates, a Fund’s yield (and total return) also may be low or otherwise adversely affected or a Fund may be unable to maintain positive returns. Credit ratings may not be an accurate assessment of liquidity or credit risk. Although credit quality may not accurately reflect the true credit risk of an instrument, a change in the credit rating of an instrument or an issuer can have a rapid, adverse effect on the instrument’s liquidity and make it more difficult for a Fund to sell at an advantageous price or time.

In addition, under certain conditions, there may be an increasing amount of issuers that are unprofitable, have little cash on hand and/or are unable to pay the interest owed on their debt obligations and the number of such issuers may increase if demand for their goods and services falls, borrowing costs rise due to governmental action or inaction or other reasons.

Asset-Backed Securities

Asset-backed securities apply the securitization techniques used to develop mortgage-backed securities to a broad range of other assets. Various types of assets, primarily automobile and credit card receivables and home equity loans, are pooled and securitized in pass-through structures similar to pass-through structures developed with respect to mortgage securitizations. Asset-backed securities have risk characteristics similar to mortgage-backed securities. Like mortgage-backed securities, they generally decrease in value as a result of interest rate increases, but may benefit less than other fixed-income securities from declining interest rates, principally because of prepayments. Also, as in the case of mortgage-backed securities, prepayments generally increase during a period of declining interest rates, although other factors, such as changes in credit use and payment patterns, may also influence prepayment rates. Asset-backed securities also involve the risk that various federal and state consumer laws and other legal and economic factors may result in the collateral backing the securities being insufficient to support payment on the securities.

To the extent a Fund invests in asset-backed securities issued by non-governmental issuers, such as commercial banks, savings and loan institutions, and other secondary market issuers, the Fund will be exposed to additional risks because, among other things, there are no direct or indirect government or agency guarantees of payments in the pools underlying the securities. Privately-issued asset-backed securities may be less readily marketable and the market for such securities is typically smaller and less liquid than other asset-backed securities.

A Fund may invest in other asset-backed or similarly structured securities, such as collateralized debt obligations (“CDOs”), collateralized bond obligations (“CBOs”), and collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”) These investments are subject to many of the same risks as other forms of asset-backed securities, including interest rate risk, credit risk and default risk, and are also subject to additional risks, including but not limited to: (i) the possibility that distributions from collateral securities will not be adequate to make interest or other payments; (ii) the risk that the collateral may default or decline in value or be downgraded, if rated by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization; (iii) the Fund may invest in tranches of CDOs that are subordinate to other tranches; (iv) the structure and complexity of the transaction and the legal documents could lead to disputes among investors regarding the characterization of proceeds; (v) the investment return achieved by the Fund could be significantly different than those predicted by financial models; (vi) the lack of a readily available secondary market for CDOs; (vii) the risk of forced “fire sale” liquidation due to technical defaults such as coverage test failures; and (viii) the CDO’s manager may perform poorly. Investments in CDOs, CBOs and CLOs are also subject to risks particular to their respective asset class and structure.

For example, because CLOs are backed primarily by commercial loans, CLOs also bear many of the same risks as investing in loans directly. However, in addition to the risks associated with investing in commercial loans, the complex structure and highly leveraged nature of a CLO poses additional risks. CLOs may experience substantial losses attributable to loan defaults or trading losses. Such losses on the underlying assets are borne first by the holders of subordinate tranches. In addition, a Fund’s investments in CLOs may decrease in market value when the CLO’s assets experience loan defaults or credit impairment, losses that exceed the most subordinate tranches, or market anticipation of loan defaults and investor aversion to CLO securities as a class. CDOs are structured similarly to CLOs and bear many of the same risks as CLOs as well as additional risks because they are backed by pools of assets other than commercial loans, including securities (such as other asset-backed securities), synthetic instruments or bonds, and may be highly leveraged. Like CLOs, losses incurred by a CDO are borne first by holders of the most subordinate tranches. Accordingly, the risks of CDOs depend largely on the type of underlying collateral and the tranche of CDOs in which the Fund invests. Moreover, CDOs that obtain their exposure through synthetic investments are exposed to risks associated with derivative instruments.

Mortgage-Backed Securities

Mortgage-backed securities are fixed-income securities representing an interest in a pool of underlying mortgage loans. They are sensitive to changes in interest rates, but may respond to these changes differently from other fixed-income securities due to the possibility of prepayment of the underlying mortgage loans. As a result, it may not be possible to determine in advance the actual

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Eaton Vance  |  Additional Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks 

Additional Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks (Con’t) 

maturity date or average life of a mortgage-backed security. Rising interest rates tend to discourage refinancings, with the result that the average life and volatility of the security will increase and its market price will decrease. When interest rates fall, however, mortgage-backed securities may not gain as much in market value because additional mortgage prepayments must be reinvested at lower interest rates. Prepayment risk may make it difficult to calculate the average maturity of a portfolio of mortgage-backed securities and, therefore, to assess the volatility risk of that portfolio.

A Fund may invest in mortgage-backed securities that are issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities. These securities are either direct obligations of the U.S. Government or the issuing agency or instrumentality has the right to borrow from the U.S. Treasury to meet its obligations although it is not legally required to extend credit to the agency or instrumentality. Certain of these mortgage-backed securities purchased by a Fund, such as those issued by the Government National Mortgage Association and the Federal Housing Administration, are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. Other of these mortgage-backed securities purchased by a Fund, such as those issued by FNMA and FHLMC, are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States and there is a risk that the U.S. Government will not provide financial support to these agencies if it is not obligated to do so by law. The maximum potential liability of the issuers of some of the mortgage-backed securities held by a Fund may greatly exceed their current resources, including their legal right to support from the U.S. Treasury. It is possible that these issuers will not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future.

To the extent a Fund invests in mortgage-backed securities offered by non-governmental issuers, such as commercial banks, savings and loan institutions, private mortgage insurance companies, mortgage bankers and other secondary market issuers, the Fund may be subject to additional risks. Pools created by such non-governmental issuers generally offer a higher rate of interest than government and government-related pools because there are no direct or indirect government or agency guarantees of payments in such pools. However, timely payment of interest and principal of these pools may be supported by various forms of private insurance or guarantees, including individual loan, title, pool and hazard insurance and letters of intent. The insurance and guarantees are issued by governmental entities, private insurers and the mortgage poolers. There can be no assurance that the private insurers or guarantors can meet their obligations under the insurance policies or guarantee arrangements. Mortgage pools underlying mortgage-backed securities offered by non-governmental issuers more frequently include second mortgages, high loan-to-value ratio mortgages and manufactured housing loans, in addition to commercial mortgages and other types of mortgages where a government or government-sponsored entity guarantee is not available. An unexpectedly high rate of defaults on the mortgages held by a mortgage pool may adversely affect the value of a mortgage-backed security and could result in losses to a Fund. The risk of such defaults is generally higher in the case of mortgage pools that include subprime mortgages. Subprime mortgages refer to loans made to borrowers with weakened credit histories or with a lower capacity to make timely payments on their mortgages. For these reasons, the loans underlying these securities have had in many cases higher default rates than those loans that meet government underwriting requirements. The risk of non-payment is greater for mortgage-related securities that are backed by loans that were originated under weak underwriting standards, including loans made to borrowers with limited means to make repayment. A level of risk exists for all loans, although, historically, the poorest performing loans have been those classified as subprime. Other types of privately issued mortgage-related securities, such as those classified as pay-option adjustable rate or Alt-A, have also performed poorly.

Non-agency mortgage-backed securities are not traded on an exchange and there may be a limited market for the securities, especially when there is a perceived weakness in the mortgage and real estate market sectors. Without an active trading market, mortgage-related securities held in a Fund’s portfolio may be particularly difficult to value because of the complexities involved in assessing the value of the underlying mortgage loans. Non-agency mortgage-backed securities include securities that reflect an interest in, and are secured by, mortgage loans on commercial real property. Many of the risks of investing in CMBS  reflect the risks of investing in the real estate securing the underlying mortgage loans. These risks reflect the effects of local and other economic conditions on real estate markets, the ability of tenants to make loan payments, and the ability of a property to attract and retain tenants.

The risks associated with mortgage-backed securities are elevated in distressed economic, market, health and labor conditions, notably, increased levels of unemployment, delays and delinquencies in payments of mortgage and rent obligations, and uncertainty regarding the effects and extent of government intervention with respect to mortgage payments and other economic matters.

Delinquencies, defaults and losses on residential mortgage loans may increase substantially over certain periods, which may affect the performance of the mortgage-backed securities in which a Fund may invest. Mortgage loans backing non-agency mortgage-backed securities are more sensitive to economic factors that could affect the ability of borrowers to pay their obligations under the mortgage loans backing these securities. In addition, housing prices and appraisal values in many states and localities over certain periods have declined or stopped appreciating. A sustained decline or an extended flattening of those values may result in additional increases in delinquencies and losses on mortgage-backed securities generally (including the mortgaged-backed securities that a Fund may invest in as described above). Adverse changes in market conditions and regulatory climate may reduce the cash flow which a Fund, to the extent it invests in mortgage-backed securities or other asset-backed securities, receives from such securities and increase the incidence and severity of credit events and losses in respect of such securities. In the event that interest rate spreads for mortgage-backed securities and other asset-backed securities widen following the purchase of such assets by a Fund, the market value of such securities is likely to decline and, in the case of a substantial spread widening, could decline by a substantial amount. Furthermore, adverse changes in market conditions may result in reduced liquidity in the market for mortgage-backed securities and other asset-backed

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Eaton Vance  |  Additional Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks 

Additional Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks (Con’t) 

securities (including the mortgage-backed securities and other asset-backed securities in which a Fund may invest) and an unwillingness by banks, financial institutions and investors to extend credit to servicers, originators and other participants in the market for mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities. As a result, the liquidity and/or the market value of any mortgage-backed or asset-backed securities that are owned by a Fund may experience declines after they are purchased by the Fund.

Collateralized Mortgage Obligations. CMOs are debt obligations collateralized by mortgage loans or mortgage pass-through securities (collectively “Mortgage Assets”). Payments of principal and interest on the Mortgage Assets and any reinvestment income are used to make payments on the CMOs. CMOs are issued in multiple classes. Each class has a fixed or floating rate and a stated maturity or final distribution date. The principal and interest on the Mortgage Assets may be allocated among the classes in a number of different ways. Certain classes will, as a result of the allocation, have more predictable cash flows than others. As a general matter, the more predictable the cash flow, the lower the yield relative to other Mortgage Assets. The less predictable the cash flow, the higher the yield and the greater the risk. A Fund may invest in any class of CMO, including classes that vary inversely with interest rates and may be more volatile and sensitive to prepayment rates.

The principal and interest on the Mortgage Assets comprising a CMO may be allocated among the several classes of a CMO in many ways. The general goal in allocating cash flows on Mortgage Assets to the various classes of a CMO is to create certain tranches on which the expected cash flows have a higher degree of predictability than do the underlying Mortgage Assets. As a general matter, the more predictable the cash flow is on a particular CMO tranche, the lower the anticipated yield on that tranche at the time of issue will be relative to the prevailing market yields on the Mortgage Assets. As part of the process of creating more predictable cash flows on certain tranches of a CMO, one or more tranches generally must be created that absorb most of the changes in the cash flows on the underlying Mortgage Assets. The yields on these tranches are generally higher than prevailing market yields on other mortgage related securities with similar average lives. Principal prepayments on the underlying Mortgage Assets may cause the CMOs to be retired substantially earlier than their stated maturities or final distribution dates. Because of the uncertainty of the cash flows on these tranches, the market prices and yields of these tranches are more volatile and may increase or decrease in value substantially with changes in interest rates and/or the rates of prepayment. Due to the possibility that prepayments (on home mortgages and other collateral) will alter the cash flow on CMOs, it is not possible to determine in advance the final maturity date or average life. Faster prepayment will shorten the average life and slower prepayments will lengthen it. In addition, if the collateral securing CMOs or any third party guarantees are insufficient to make payments, a Fund could sustain a loss.

Stripped Mortgage-Backed Securities. SMBS are derivative multi-class mortgage securities. SMBS may be issued by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. Government, or by private originators. A common type of SMBS will have one class receiving some of the interest and most of the principal from the mortgage assets, while the other class receives most of the interest and the remainder of the principal. In the most extreme case, one class will receive all of the interest (the interest only or “IO” class), while the other class will receive all of the principal (the principal-only or “PO” class). Investments in each class of SMBS are extremely sensitive to changes in interest rates. IOs tend to decrease in value substantially if interest rates decline and prepayment rates become more rapid. POs tend to decrease in value substantially if interest rates increase and the rate of prepayment decreases. If the Fund invests in SMBS and interest rates move in a manner not anticipated by management, it is possible that the Fund could lose all or substantially all of its investment.

CMBS are generally multi-class or pass-through securities backed by a mortgage loan or a pool of mortgage loans secured by commercial property, such as industrial and warehouse properties, office buildings, retail space and shopping malls, multifamily properties and cooperative apartments. The commercial mortgage loans that underlie CMBS are generally not amortizing or not fully amortizing. That is, at their maturity date, repayment of their remaining principal balance or “balloon” is due and is repaid through the attainment of an additional loan or sale of the property. An extension of a final payment on commercial mortgages will increase the average life of the CMBS, generally resulting in a lower yield for discount bonds and a higher yield for premium bonds.

CMBS are subject to credit risk and prepayment risk. Although prepayment risk is present, it is of a lesser degree in the CMBS market than in the residential mortgage market; commercial real estate property loans often contain provisions that substantially reduce the likelihood that such securities will be prepaid (e.g., significant prepayment penalties on loans and, in some cases, prohibition on principal payments for several years following origination).

The values of, and income generated by, CMBS may be adversely affected by changing interest rates and other developments impacting the commercial real estate market, such as population shifts and other demographic changes, increasing vacancies (potentially for extended periods) and reduced demand for commercial and office space as well as maintenance or tenant improvement costs and costs to covert properties for other uses. These developments could result from, among other things, changing tastes and preferences (such as remote work arrangements) as well as cultural, technological, global or local economic and market developments. In addition, changing interest rate environments and associated changes in lending standards and higher refinancing rates may adversely affect the commercial real estate and CMBS markets. The occurrence of any of the foregoing or similar developments would likely increase default risk for the properties and loans underlying these investments as well as impact the value of, and income generated by, these investments. These developments could also result in reduced liquidity for CMBS.

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Eaton Vance  |  Additional Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks 

Additional Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks (Con’t) 

U.S. Treasury and Government Securities

The U.S. government securities that a Fund may purchase include U.S. Treasury bills, notes and bonds, all of which are direct obligations of the U.S. Government. In addition, a Fund may purchase securities issued or guaranteed by agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S. Government which are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. Among the agencies and instrumentalities issuing these obligations are the Government National Mortgage Association and the Federal Housing Administration. Also, a Fund may purchase securities issued by agencies and instrumentalities which are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, but whose issuing agency or instrumentality has the right to borrow, to meet its obligations, from the U.S. Treasury. Among these agencies and instrumentalities are FNMA, the FHLMC and the Federal Home Loan Banks. No assurance can be given that these initiatives will be successful. Further, a Fund may purchase securities issued by agencies and instrumentalities which are backed solely by the credit of the issuing agency or instrumentality. Among these agencies and instrumentalities is the Federal Farm Credit System. Because these securities are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, there is a risk that the U.S. Government will not provide financial support to these agencies if it is not obligated to do so by law. The maximum potential liability of the issuers of some U.S. government securities held by a Fund may greatly exceed their current resources, including their legal right to support from the U.S. Treasury. It is possible that these issuers will not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future. The interest from U.S. government securities generally is not subject to state and local taxation.

When-Issued Securities, Delayed Delivery Securities, TBAs and Forward Commitments

A Fund may purchase or sell securities that it is entitled to receive on a when-issued, delayed delivery or through a forward commitment basis. These transactions involve the purchase or sale of securities by a Fund at an established price with payment and delivery taking place in the future. A Fund enters into these transactions to obtain what is considered an advantageous price to the Fund at the time of entering into the transaction. For example, the Fund may invest in TBAs, which settle on a delayed delivery basis. In a TBA transaction, the seller agrees to deliver the MBS for an agreed upon price on an agreed upon future date, but makes no guarantee as to which or how many securities are to be delivered. Accordingly, a Fund’s investments in TBAs are subject to risks such as failure of the counterparty to perform its obligation to deliver the security, the characteristics of a security delivered to the Fund may be less favorable than expected and the security the Fund buys will lose value prior to its delivery. Investments in TBAs may give rise to a form of leverage. Leverage may cause a  Fund to be more volatile than if the Fund had not been leveraged and may increase the impact that gains (losses) have on the Fund. Further, TBAs may increase a Fund’s portfolio turnover rate. FINRA rules include mandatory margin requirements that will require a Fund to post collateral in connection with its TBA transactions, which could increase the cost of TBA transactions to the Fund and impose added operational complexity.

A  Fund’s purchase of other securities on a when-issued, delayed delivery or through a forward commitment basis are subject to similar risks, including counterparty risk and that the value of securities in these transactions on the delivery date may be less than the price paid by the Fund to purchase the securities. In addition, there can be no assurance that a security purchased on a when-issued basis will be issued. When a  Fund has sold a security on a  when-issued, delayed delivery, or forward commitment basis, the Fund does not benefit if the value of the security appreciates above the sale price during the commitment period and the Fund is subject to failure of the counterparty to pay for the securities.

Money Market Investments

Money market instruments may be adversely affected by market and economic events, such as a sharp rise in prevailing short-term interest rates; adverse developments in the banking industry, which issues or guarantees many money market securities; adverse economic, political or other developments affecting domestic issuers of money market securities; changes in the credit quality of issuers; and default by a counterparty. These securities may be subject to federal income, state income and/or other taxes. Instead of investing in money market instruments directly, a Fund may invest in an affiliated or unaffiliated money market fund. Recent actions by governmental authorities in response to the economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have included dramatic reductions in interest rates, which in some cases could result in negative rates on investments in money market funds and similar cash management products. During unusual market conditions, a Fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in cash or cash equivalents temporarily, which may be inconsistent with its investment objective(s) and other policies.

Preferred Securities

Preferred securities are subject to risks applicable generally to equity securities. In addition, a company’s preferred securities generally pay dividends only after the company makes required payments to holders of its bonds and other debt, so the value of preferred securities will usually react more strongly than bonds and other debt to actual or perceived changes in the company’s financial condition or prospects. Preferred securities may pay fixed or adjustable rates of return. Like fixed-income securities, preferred stock generally decreases in value if interest rates rise and increases in value if interest rates fall.

Distressed and Defaulted Securities

Distressed and defaulted securities are speculative and involve substantial risks in addition to the risks of investing in high yield securities. A Fund will generally not receive interest payments on the distressed securities and the repayment of principal may also be at risk. These securities may present a substantial risk of default or may be in default at the time of investment. The repayment of defaulted securities is also subject to significant uncertainties. A Fund may incur substantial expenses in seeking recovery upon a

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Eaton Vance  |  Additional Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks 

Additional Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks (Con’t) 

default in the payment of principal of or interest on its portfolio holdings. If the portfolio company is forced to reorganize or liquidate, a Fund may lose its entire investment or may be required to accept cash or securities with a value less than its original investment. Distressed securities and any securities received in an exchange for such securities may be subject to restrictions on resale.

Municipals

Municipal securities (also referred to as municipal obligations) include debt obligations of states, territories or possessions of the United States and the District of Columbia and their political subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities, such as local or regional governments. The income on municipal securities is generally exempt from federal income tax at the time of issuance, in the opinion of bond counsel or other counsel to the issuers of such securities. However, the Funds may purchase municipal securities that pay interest that is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax, and municipal securities on which the interest payments are taxable. These securities typically are “general obligation” or “revenue” bonds, notes or commercial paper, including participations in lease obligations and installment purchase contracts of municipalities. General obligation bonds are secured by the issuer’s full faith and credit including its taxing power for payment of principal and interest. Revenue bonds, however, are generally payable from a specific revenue source. They are issued for a wide variety of projects such as financing public utilities, hospitals, housing, airports, highways and educational facilities. These types of bonds involve the risk that the tax or other revenues so derived will not be sufficient to meet interest and/or principal payment obligations. These obligations may have fixed, variable or floating rates.

Because the Funds may invest in municipal securities, a Fund may be affected significantly by the economic, regulatory, legislative, tax or political developments affecting the ability of issuers of municipal securities to pay interest or repay principal. The risks of municipal securities generally depend on the financial and credit status of the issuer and may rely on a specific stream of revenue associated with a project or other revenue source. Thus, adverse developments related to a municipality’s ability to raise revenue, including through its taxing authority, or the failure of specific revenues to materialize would negatively impact such investments. These factors, which may also impact other municipal obligations, include, among others, changing demographic trends, such as population shifts or changing tastes and values, or increasing vacancies or declining rents resulting from legal, cultural, technological, global or local economic developments, as well as reduced demand for properties, revenues or goods. Changes in the financial health of an issuer of municipal securities may make it difficult for the issuer to make interest and principal payments when due. Some municipalities have had significant financial problems recently, and these and other municipalities could, potentially, continue to experience significant financial problems resulting from lower tax revenues and/or decreased aid from state and local governments in the event of an economic downturn. In addition, adverse legislative, tax, regulatory, demographic or political changes may negatively impact a Fund’s investments in municipal securities. These events could decrease the Fund’s income and/or adversely affect the Fund’s performance and investments. Municipal securities also involve the risk that an issuer may call securities for redemption, which could force the Fund to reinvest the proceeds at a lower rate of interest, and the value of municipal securities may be affected by the rights of municipal security holders.

Municipal securities may be more susceptible to downgrades, defaults or loss of tax or other revenue during recessions or similar periods of economic stress. Factors contributing to the financial stress on municipalities may include lower property tax collections as a result of lower home values, lower sales tax revenue as a result of consumers cutting back spending and lower income tax revenue as a result of a higher unemployment rate. In addition, because some municipal obligations may be secured or guaranteed by banks and other institutions, the risk to a Fund associated with investments in such municipal securities could increase if the banking or financial sector suffers an economic downturn and/or if the credit ratings of the institutions issuing the guarantee are downgraded or at risk of being downgraded by a national rating organization. If such events occur, the value of the security could decrease or the value could be lost entirely, and it may be difficult or impossible for the Fund to sell the security at the time and the price that normally prevails in the market.

For example, recent public health emergencies have significantly stressed the financial resources of many municipalities and other issuers of municipal securities, which may impair their ability to meet their financial obligations and may harm the value or liquidity of a Fund’s investments in municipal securities (or the income generated by such investments). In particular, responses by municipalities to recent public health emergencies have caused disruptions in business activities. These and other effects of recent public health emergencies, such as increased unemployment levels, have impacted tax and other revenues of municipalities and other issuers of municipal securities and the financial conditions of such issuers. As a result, there is an increased budgetary and financial pressure on municipalities and other issuers of municipal securities and heightened risk of default or other adverse credit or similar events for issuers of municipal securities, which would adversely impact the Fund’s investments.

In addition, the ability of an issuer to make payments or repay interest may be affected by litigation or bankruptcy. In the event of bankruptcy of such an issuer, a Fund investing in the issuer’s securities could experience delays in collecting principal and interest, and the Fund may not, in all circumstances, be able to collect all principal and interest to which it is entitled. To enforce its rights in the event of a default in the payment of interest or repayment of principal, or both, a Fund may, in some instances, take possession of, and manage, the assets securing the issuer’s obligations on such securities, which may increase the Fund’s operating expenses. Any income derived from a Fund’s ownership or operation of such assets may not be tax-exempt. Municipal securities are subject to, among other risks, credit and interest rate risk and market and geopolitical risk.

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Because many municipal securities are issued to finance similar projects (such as those relating to education, health care, housing, transportation, and utilities), conditions in those sectors may affect the overall municipal securities market. In addition, changes in the financial condition of an individual municipal issuer can affect the overall municipal market. Municipal securities backed by current or anticipated revenues from a specific project or specific assets can be negatively affected by the discontinuance of the supporting taxation or the inability to collect revenues for the specific project or specific assets.

Some municipal securities are subject to the risk that the Internal Revenue Service may determine that an issuer has not complied with applicable tax requirements (or the occurrence of other adverse tax developments) and that interest from the municipal security is taxable, which may result in a significant decline in the value of the security. In addition, interest on municipal obligations, while generally exempt from federal income tax, may not be exempt from the federal alternative minimum tax. Municipal securities may be less liquid than taxable bonds and there may be less publicly available information on the financial condition of municipal security issuers than for issuers of other securities, and the investment performance of a Fund investing in municipal securities may therefore be more dependent on the analytical abilities of the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser than if the Fund held other types of investments such as stocks or taxable bonds. The secondary market for municipal securities also tends to be less well developed or liquid than many other securities markets, which may adversely affect a Fund’s ability to sell municipal securities it holds at attractive prices or value municipal securities. In addition, the demand for municipal securities is strongly influenced by the value of tax-exempt income to investors and lower income tax rates could reduce the advantage of owning municipal securities, which may also adversely affect the value and liquidity of municipal securities.

State and Municipal Project-Specific Risk

The Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF may invest in municipal securities that are related in such a way that an economic, business, or political development or change affecting one such security would likewise affect the other municipal securities. For example, the Fund may invest 25% or more of its total assets in certain types of municipal obligations (such as general obligations, municipal leases, principal only municipal investments, revenue bonds and industrial development bonds) and in one or more states, territories and economic sectors (such as housing, hospitals, healthcare facilities or utilities). Because the Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in obligations issued in one or more states and/or U.S. territories and in certain types of municipal or other obligations and/or in certain sectors, the value of Fund shares may be affected by events that adversely affect that state, U.S. territory, sector or type of obligation and may fluctuate more than that of a fund that invests more broadly. These developments or changes may include, among other things, legislative developments involving the financing of projects, judicial decisions regarding the validity of the projects or the means of financing such projects, shortages or price increases of materials needed for the project or declining needs for the projects as well as other developments that may adversely affect municipalities and other issuers of municipal securities located within the same state, such as natural disasters, health emergencies, and adverse economic, political or social environments. General obligation bonds issued by municipalities can be adversely affected by economic downturns and any resulting decline in tax revenues. Revenue bonds can be adversely affected by the negative economic viability of the facility or revenue source.

Foreign Investing

To the extent that a Fund invests in foreign issuers, there is the risk that news and events unique to a country or region will affect those markets and their issuers. These same events will not necessarily have an effect on the U.S. economy or similar issuers located in the United States. In addition, some of the Funds’ securities, including underlying securities represented by depositary receipts, may be denominated in foreign currencies. As a result, changes in the value of a country’s currency compared to the U.S. dollar may affect the value of a Fund’s investments. These changes may happen separately from, and in response to, events that do not otherwise affect the value of the security in the issuer’s home country. These risks may be intensified for  a Fund’s investments in securities of issuers located in emerging market or developing countries.

High Yield Securities

Fixed-income securities that are not investment grade are commonly referred to as “junk bonds” or high yield, high risk securities. These securities offer a higher yield than other higher rated securities, but they carry a greater degree of risk. High yield securities are subject to greater risk of loss of income and principal than higher rated securities and may be considered speculative by the major credit rating agencies. High yield securities may be issued by companies that are restructuring, are smaller and less creditworthy or are more highly indebted than other companies. This means that they may have more difficulty making scheduled payments of principal and interest. Changes in the value of high yield securities are influenced more by changes in the financial and business position of the issuing company than by changes in interest rates when compared to investment grade securities. During adverse market or economic conditions, high yield securities are typically particularly susceptible to default risk.

In recent years, there has been a broad trend of weaker or less restrictive covenant protections in the high yield market. Among other things, under such weaker or less restrictive covenants, borrowers might be able to exercise more flexibility with respect to certain activities than borrowers who are subject to stronger or more protective covenants. For example, borrowers might be able to incur more debt, including secured debt, return more capital to shareholders, remove or reduce assets that are designated as collateral securing high yield securities, increase the claims against assets that are permitted against collateral securing high yield securities or otherwise manage their business in ways that could impact creditors negatively. In addition, certain privately held borrowers might be permitted to file less frequent, less detailed or less timely financial reporting or other information, which could negatively impact the

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value of the high yield securities issued by such borrowers. Each of these factors might negatively impact the high yield securities held by a Fund.

Foreign Securities

Foreign issuers generally are subject to different accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards than U.S. issuers. There may be less information available to the public about foreign issuers. Securities of foreign issuers can be less liquid and experience greater price movements. In addition, the prices of such securities may be susceptible to influence by large traders, due to the limited size of many foreign securities markets. Moreover, investments in certain foreign markets that have historically been considered stable may become more volatile and subject to increased risk due to ongoing developments and changing conditions in such markets. Also, the growing interconnectivity of global economies and financial markets has increased the probability that adverse developments and conditions in one country or region will affect the stability of economies and financial markets in other countries or regions. In some foreign countries, there is also the risk of government expropriation, excessive taxation, political or social instability, the imposition of currency controls or diplomatic developments that could affect  a Fund’s investment. There also can be difficulty obtaining and enforcing judgments against issuers in foreign countries. Foreign stock exchanges, broker-dealers and listed issuers may be subject to less government regulation and oversight. The cost of investing in foreign securities, including brokerage commissions and custodial expenses, can be higher than the cost of investing in domestic securities.

Certain foreign markets may rely heavily on particular industries or foreign capital and are more vulnerable to diplomatic developments, the imposition of economic sanctions against a particular country or countries, organizations, companies, entities and/or individuals, changes in international trading patterns, trade barriers and other protectionist or retaliatory measures. International trade barriers or economic sanctions against foreign countries, organizations, companies, entities and/or individuals may adversely affect a Fund’s foreign holdings or exposures. Investments in foreign markets may also be adversely affected by less stringent investor protections and disclosure standards, and governmental actions such as the imposition of capital controls, nationalization of companies or industries, expropriation of assets or the imposition of punitive taxes. Governmental actions can have a significant effect on the economic conditions in foreign countries, which also may adversely affect the value and liquidity of a Fund’s investments. Foreign investment in the securities markets of certain foreign countries is restricted or controlled to varying degrees. For example, the governments of certain countries may prohibit or impose substantial restrictions on foreign investing in their capital markets or in certain sectors or industries. In addition, a foreign government may limit or cause delay in the convertibility or repatriation of its currency which would adversely affect the U.S. dollar value and/or liquidity of investments denominated in that currency. Moreover, if a deterioration occurs in a country’s balance of payments, the country could impose temporary restrictions on foreign capital remittances. A Fund could also be adversely affected by delays in, or a refusal to grant, any required governmental approval for repatriation, as well as by the application to it of other restrictions on investment. Any of these actions could severely affect security prices, which could result in losses to a Fund and increased transaction costs, impair a Fund’s ability to purchase or sell foreign securities or transfer a Fund’s assets back into the United States, or otherwise adversely affect a Fund’s operations. Certain foreign investments may become less liquid in response to market developments or adverse investor perceptions, or become illiquid after purchase by a Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. Certain foreign investments may become illiquid when, for instance, there are few, if any, interested buyers and sellers or when dealers are unwilling to make a market for certain securities. When  a Fund holds illiquid investments, its portfolio may be harder to value.

Economic sanctions or other similar measures may be, and have been, imposed against certain countries, organizations, companies, entities and/or individuals. A  Fund’s investments in foreign securities are subject to trade laws and potential economic sanctions in the United States and other jurisdictions. These laws and related governmental actions, including counter-sanctions and other retaliatory measures, can, from time to time, prevent or prohibit a  Fund from investing in certain foreign securities. In addition, economic sanctions could prohibit a  Fund from transacting with particular countries, organizations, companies, entities and/or individuals by banning them from global payment systems that facilitate cross-border payments, restricting their ability to settle securities transactions, and freezing their assets. The imposition of sanctions and other similar measures could, among other things, cause a decline in the value of securities issued by the sanctioned country or companies located in, or economically linked to, the sanctioned country, downgrades in the credit ratings of the sanctioned country or companies located in, or economically linked to, the sanctioned country, devaluation of the sanctioned country’s currency, and increased market volatility and disruption in the sanctioned country and throughout the world. Economic sanctions or other similar measures could, among other things, effectively restrict or eliminate a  Fund’s ability to purchase or sell securities, negatively impact the value or liquidity of a  Fund’s investments, significantly delay or prevent the settlement of a  Fund’s securities transactions, force a  Fund to sell or otherwise dispose of investments at inopportune times or prices, increase a Fund’s transaction costs, make a Fund’s investments more difficult to value or impair a  Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective or invest in accordance with its investment strategies. These conditions may be in place for a substantial period of time and enacted with limited advance notice to a Fund.

A Fund may invest in debt obligations known as “sovereign debt,” which are obligations of governmental issuers in emerging market or developing countries and industrialized countries. Certain emerging market or developing countries are among the largest debtors to commercial banks and foreign governments. The issuer or governmental authority that controls the repayment of sovereign debt may not be willing or able to repay the principal and/or pay interest when due in accordance with the terms of such obligations.

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Uncertainty surrounding the level and sustainability of sovereign debt of certain countries has at times increased volatility in the financial markets. In addition, a number of Latin American countries are among the largest debtors of developing countries and have a long history of reliance on foreign debt. Additional factors that may influence the ability or willingness to service debt include, but are not limited to, a country’s cash flow situation, the availability of sufficient foreign exchange on the date a payment is due, the relative size of its debt service burden to the economy as a whole and its government’s policy towards the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other multilateral agencies. A country whose exports are concentrated in a few commodities or whose economy depends on certain strategic imports could be vulnerable to fluctuations in international prices of these commodities or imports. If a foreign sovereign obligor cannot generate sufficient earnings from foreign trade to service its external debt, it may need to depend on continuing loans and aid from foreign governments, commercial banks and multilateral organizations, and inflows of foreign investment. The commitment on the part of these foreign governments, multilateral organizations and others to make such disbursements may be conditioned on the government’s implementation of economic reforms and/or economic performance and the timely service of its obligations. Failure to implement such reforms, achieve such levels of economic performance or repay principal or interest when due may result in the cancellation of such third-parties’ commitments to lend funds, which may further impair the foreign sovereign obligor’s ability or willingness to timely service its debts. In addition, there is no legal process for collecting on a sovereign debt that a government does not pay or bankruptcy proceeding by which all or part of the sovereign debt that a government entity has not repaid may be collected.

A depositary receipt is generally issued by a bank or financial institution and represents the common stock or other equity securities of a foreign company. Depositary receipts involve many of the same risks as those associated with direct investment in foreign securities. In addition, the underlying issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities.

Foreign Currency

Investments in foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies. The value of foreign currencies may fluctuate relative to the value of the U.S. dollar or other applicable foreign currency. Since a Fund may invest in such non-U.S. dollar-denominated securities, and therefore may convert the value of such securities into U.S. dollars, changes in currency exchange rates can increase or decrease the U.S. dollar value of a Fund’s assets. Currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time for a number of reasons, including changes in interest rates and the overall economic health of the issuer. Devaluation of a currency by a country’s government or banking authority also will have a significant impact on the value of any investments denominated in that currency. The Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser may use derivatives to reduce this risk. The Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser may in their discretion choose not to hedge against currency risk. In addition, certain market conditions may make it impossible or uneconomical to hedge against currency risk.

Foreign Currency Forward Exchange Contracts

In connection with  their investments in foreign securities,  certain Funds also may enter into contracts with banks, brokers or dealers to purchase or sell securities or foreign currencies at a future date. A foreign currency forward exchange contract is a negotiated agreement between the contracting parties to exchange a specified amount of currency at a specified future time at a specified rate. The rate can be higher or lower than the spot rate between the currencies that are the subject of the contract. Foreign currency forward exchange contracts may be used to protect against uncertainty in the level of future foreign currency exchange rates or to gain or modify exposure to a particular currency. In addition,  a Fund may use cross currency hedging or proxy hedging with respect to currencies in which a Fund has or expects to have portfolio or currency exposure. Cross currency and proxy hedges involve the sale of one currency against the positive exposure to a different currency and may be used for hedging purposes or to establish an active exposure to the exchange rate between any two currencies.

Investments in foreign currency forward exchange contracts may substantially change the Funds’  exposure to currency exchange rates and could result in losses to the Funds  if currencies do not perform as the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser expect. The Adviser’s and/or Sub-Adviser’s success in these transactions will depend principally on its ability to predict accurately the future exchange rates between foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar. Foreign currency forward exchange contracts may be used for non-hedging purposes in seeking to meet the Funds’  investment objectives, such as when the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser anticipate that particular non-U.S. currencies will appreciate or depreciate in value, even though securities denominated in those currencies are not then held in the Funds’  investment portfolios. Investing in foreign currency forward exchange contracts for purposes of gaining from projected changes in exchange rates, as opposed to hedging currency risks applicable to the Funds’  holdings, further increases the Funds’  exposure to foreign securities losses. There is no assurance that the Adviser’s and/or Sub-Adviser’s use of currency derivatives will benefit the Funds or that they will be, or can be, used at appropriate times.

Restricted Securities

A Fund’s investments may include securities which are subject to resale restrictions. These securities could have the effect of increasing the level of Fund illiquidity to the extent a Fund may be unable to sell or transfer these securities due to restrictions on transfers or on the ability to find buyers interested in purchasing the securities. Additionally, the market for certain investments deemed liquid at the time of purchase may become illiquid under adverse market or economic conditions. The illiquidity of the

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market, as well as the lack of publicly available information regarding these securities, may also adversely affect the ability to arrive at a fair value for certain securities at certain times and could make it difficult for a Fund to sell certain securities. If a Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security to fund redemptions or for other cash needs, it may be forced to sell the security at a loss or for less than its fair value.

Derivatives

The Funds may, but are not required to, use derivatives and other similar instruments for a variety of purposes, including hedging, risk management, portfolio management or to earn income. Derivative instruments used by a Fund will be counted towards the Fund’s exposure in the types of securities listed herein to the extent they have economic characteristics similar to such securities. A derivative is a financial instrument whose value is based, in part, on the value of an underlying asset, interest rate, index or financial instrument. Prevailing interest rates and volatility levels, among other things, also affect the value of derivative instruments. Derivatives and other similar instruments often have risks similar to those of the underlying asset or instrument and may have additional risks, including imperfect correlation between the value of the derivative and the underlying asset, risks of default by the counterparty to certain transactions, magnification of losses incurred due to changes in the market value of the securities, instruments, indices or interest rates to which the derivative instrument relates, risks that the transactions may not be liquid, risks arising from margin and payment requirements, risks arising from mispricing or valuation complexity and operational and legal risks. The use of derivatives involves risks that are different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with other portfolio investments. Derivatives may involve the use of highly specialized instruments that require investment techniques and risk analyses different from those associated with other portfolio investments.

Certain derivative transactions may give rise to a form of leverage. Leverage magnifies the potential for gain and the risk of loss. Leverage associated with derivative transactions may cause  a Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so, or may cause a Fund to be more volatile than if the Fund had not been leveraged. Although the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser seek to use derivatives to further a Fund’s investment objective, there is no assurance that the use of derivatives will achieve this result.

The derivative instruments and techniques that a Fund may use include:

Futures. A futures contract is a standardized, exchange-traded agreement to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying asset, reference rate or index at a specific price at a specific future time. While the value of a futures contract tends to increase or decrease in tandem with the value of the underlying instrument, differences between the futures market and the market for the underlying asset may result in an imperfect correlation.  Depending on the terms of the particular contract, futures contracts are settled through either physical delivery of the underlying instrument on the settlement date or by payment of a cash settlement amount on the settlement date. A decision as to whether, when and how to use futures contracts involves the exercise of skill and judgment and even a well-conceived futures transaction may be unsuccessful because of market behavior or unexpected events. In addition to the derivatives risks discussed above, the prices of futures contracts can be highly volatile, using futures contracts can lower total return, and the potential loss from futures contracts can exceed a Fund’s initial investment in such contracts. No assurance can be given that a liquid market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time. There is also the risk of loss by  a Fund of margin deposits in the event of bankruptcy of a broker with which  a Fund has open positions in the futures contract.

Options. If  a Fund buys an option, it buys a legal contract giving it the right to buy or sell a specific amount of the underlying instrument, foreign currency or contract, such as a swap agreement or futures contract, on the underlying instrument or foreign currency at an agreed-upon price typically in exchange for a premium paid by the Fund. If a Fund sells an option, it sells to another person the right to buy from or sell to the Fund a specific amount of the underlying instrument, swap, foreign currency, or futures contract on the underlying instrument or foreign currency, at an agreed-upon price during a period of time or on a specified date typically in exchange for a premium received by the Fund. When options are purchased OTC, a Fund bears the risk that the counterparty that wrote the option will be unable or unwilling to perform its obligations under the option contract. Options may also be illiquid and  a Fund may have difficulty closing out its position. A decision as to whether, when and how to use options involves the exercise of skill and judgment and even a well-conceived option transaction may be unsuccessful because of market behavior or unexpected events. The prices of options can be highly volatile and the use of options can lower total returns.

Investments in foreign currency options may substantially change  a Fund’s exposure to currency exchange rates and could result in losses to the Fund if currencies do not perform as the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser expect. There is a risk that such transactions may reduce or preclude the opportunity for gain if the value of the currency should move in the direction opposite to the position taken. The value of a foreign currency option is dependent upon the value of the underlying foreign currency relative to the U.S. dollar or other applicable foreign currency. The price of the option may vary with changes in the value of either or both currencies and has no relationship to the investment merits of a foreign security. Options on foreign currencies are affected by all of those factors that influence foreign exchange rates and foreign investment generally. Unanticipated changes in currency prices may result in losses to a Fund and poorer overall performance for the Fund than if it had not entered into such contracts. Options on foreign currencies are traded primarily in the OTC market, but may also be traded on U.S. and foreign exchanges.

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Foreign currency options contracts may be used for hedging purposes or non-hedging purposes in pursuing  a Fund’s investment objective, such as when the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser anticipate that particular non-U.S. currencies will appreciate or depreciate in value, even though securities denominated in those currencies are not then held in a Fund’s investment portfolio. Investing in foreign currencies for purposes of gaining from projected changes in exchange rates, as opposed to only hedging currency risks applicable to a Fund’s holdings, further increases the Fund’s exposure to foreign securities losses. There is no assurance that the Adviser’s and/or Sub-Adviser’s use of currency derivatives will benefit a Fund or that they will be, or can be, used at appropriate times.

Swaps.A Fund may enter into OTC swap contracts or cleared swap transactions. An OTC swap contract is an agreement between two parties pursuant to which the parties exchange payments at specified dates on the basis of a specified notional amount, with the payments calculated by reference to specified securities, indices, reference rates, currencies or other instruments. Typically swap agreements provide that when the period payment dates for both parties are the same, the payments are made on a net basis (i.e., the two payment streams are netted out, with only the net amount paid by one party to the other).  A Fund’s obligations or rights under a swap contract entered into on a net basis will generally be equal only to the net amount to be paid or received under the agreement, based on the relative values of the positions held by each party. Cleared swap transactions may help reduce counterparty credit risk. In a cleared swap,  a Fund’s ultimate counterparty is a clearinghouse rather than a swap dealer, bank or other financial institution. OTC swap agreements are not entered into or traded on exchanges and often there is no central clearing or guaranty function for swaps. These OTC swaps are often subject to credit risk or the risk of default or non-performance by the counterparty. Certain swaps have begun trading on exchanges called swap execution facilities. Exchange trading is expected to increase liquidity of swaps trading. Both OTC and cleared swaps could result in losses if interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates or other factors are not correctly anticipated by a Fund or if the reference index, security or investments do not perform as expected. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and related regulatory developments require the clearing and exchange trading of certain standardized swap transactions. Mandatory exchange trading and clearing is occurring on a phased-in basis. A Fund may pay fees or incur costs each time it enters into, amends or terminates a swap agreement.

Liquidity

The Funds may make investments that are illiquid or restricted or that may become illiquid or less liquid in response to overall economic conditions or adverse investor perceptions, and which may entail greater risk than investments in other types of securities. Illiquidity can be caused by, among other things, a drop in overall market trading volume, an inability to find a willing buyer, or legal restrictions on the securities’ resale. These investments may be more difficult to value or sell, particularly in times of market turmoil, and there may be little trading in the secondary market available for particular securities. Liquidity risk may be magnified in a market where credit spread and interest rate volatility is rising and where investor redemptions from money market and other fixed-income mutual funds may be higher than normal. If a Fund is forced to sell an illiquid or restricted security to fund redemptions or for other cash needs, it may be forced to sell the security at a loss or for less than its fair value.

Market and Geopolitical Risk

The value of your investment in a Fund is based on the values of the Fund’s investments, which may change due to economic and other events that affect markets generally, as well as those that affect particular regions, countries, industries, companies or governments. Price movements, sometimes called volatility, may be greater or less depending on the types of securities a Fund owns and the markets in which the securities trade. Volatility and disruption in financial markets and economies may be sudden and unexpected, expose a Fund to greater risk, including risks associated with reduced market liquidity and fair valuation, and adversely affect a Fund’s operations. For example, the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser potentially will be prevented from executing investment decisions at an advantageous time or price as a result of any domestic or global market disruptions and reduced market liquidity may impact a Fund’s ability to sell securities to meet redemptions.

The increasing interconnectivity between global economies and markets increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one region, sector, industry, market or with respect to one company may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region, sector, industry, or market. For example, adverse developments in the banking or financial services sector could impact companies operating in various sectors or industries and adversely impact a Fund’s investments. Securities in a Fund’s portfolio may underperform due to inflation (or expectations for inflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, natural disasters, health emergencies (such as epidemics and pandemics), terrorism, regulatory events and governmental or quasi-governmental actions. The occurrence of global events similar to those in recent years, such as terrorist attacks around the world, natural disasters, health emergencies, social and political discord or debt crises  and downgrades, among others, may result in market volatility and may have long term effects on both the U.S. and global financial markets. Inflation rates may change frequently and significantly because of various factors, including unexpected shifts in the domestic or global economy and changes in monetary or economic policies (or expectations that these policies may change). Changes in  expected inflation rates may adversely affect market and economic conditions, a Fund’s investments and an investment in a Fund.  Other financial, economic and other global market and social developments or disruptions may result in similar adverse circumstances, and it is difficult to predict when similar events affecting the U.S. or global financial markets may occur, the effects that such events may have and the duration of those effects (which may last for extended periods). In general, the securities or other instruments that the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser believe represent an attractive investment opportunity or in which a Fund seeks to invest may be unavailable entirely or in the specific quantities sought by a Fund.

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As a result, a Fund may need to obtain the desired exposure through a less advantageous investment, forgo the investment at the time or seek to replicate the desired exposure through a derivative transaction or investment in another investment vehicle. Any such event(s) could have a significant adverse impact on the value and risk profile of a Fund’s portfolio. There is a risk that you may lose money by investing in a Fund.

Social, political, economic and other conditions and events, such as war, natural disasters, health emergencies (e.g., the coronavirus, epidemics and other pandemics), terrorism, conflicts, social unrest, recessions, inflation, rapid interest rate changes and supply chain disruptions could reduce consumer demand or economic output, result in market closures, travel restrictions or quarantines, and generally have a significant impact on the economies and financial markets and the Adviser’s and/or Sub-Adviser’s investment advisory activities and services of other service providers, which in turn could adversely affect a Fund’s investments and other operations.

Global events may negatively impact broad segments of businesses and populations, cause a significant negative impact on the performance of a Fund’s investments, adversely affect and increase the volatility of the Fund’s share price, and exacerbate pre-existing political, social and economic risks to the Fund. A Fund’s operations may be interrupted as a result, which may contribute to the negative impact on investment performance. In addition, governments, their regulatory agencies, or self-regulatory organizations may take actions that affect the instruments in which a Fund invests, or the issuers of such instruments, in ways that could have a significant negative impact on the Fund’s investment performance. In addition, government actions (such as changes to interest rates) could have unintended economic and market consequences that adversely affect a Fund’s investments.

Emerging Market Securities

A  Fund  may invest in emerging market or developing countries, which are countries that major international financial institutions generally consider to be less economically mature than developed nations (such as the United States or most nations in Western Europe). Emerging market or developing countries may be more likely to experience political turmoil or rapid changes in economic conditions than more developed countries, and the financial condition of issuers in emerging market or developing countries may be more precarious than in other countries. Certain emerging market countries may be subject to less stringent requirements regarding accounting, auditing, financial reporting and record keeping and therefore, material information related to an investment may not be available or reliable. In addition, a Fund is limited in its ability to exercise its legal rights or enforce a counterparty’s legal obligations in certain jurisdictions outside of the United States, in particular, in emerging markets countries. In addition, due to jurisdictional limitations, U.S. authorities (e.g., SEC and the U.S. Department of Justice) may be limited in their ability to enforce regulatory or legal obligations in emerging market countries. In addition, emerging market securities generally are less liquid and subject to wider price and currency fluctuations than securities issued in more developed countries. These characteristics result in greater risk of price volatility in emerging market or developing countries, which may be heightened by currency fluctuations relative to the U.S. dollar.

ESG Investment Risk

To the extent that the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser consider environmental, social and/or governance (“ESG”) issues as a component in their investment decision-making process, the Fund’s performance may be impacted. Additionally, the Adviser’s and/or Sub-Adviser’s consideration of ESG issues in their investment decision-making process may require subjective analysis and the ability of the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser to consider ESG issues may be difficult if data about a particular issuer (or obligor) is limited. The Adviser’s and/or Sub-Adviser’s consideration of ESG issues may contribute to the Adviser’s and/or Sub-Adviser’s decision to forgo opportunities to buy certain securities. ESG issues with respect to an issuer (or obligor) or the Adviser’s and/or Sub-Adviser’s assessment of such may change over time.

Large Shareholder Transactions Risk

The Funds may experience adverse effects when certain shareholders, or shareholders collectively, purchase or redeem large amounts of shares of a Fund. In addition, a third party investor, the Adviser, Sub-Adviser or an affiliate of the Adviser or Sub-Adviser, an authorized participant, a lead market maker, or another entity (i.e., a seed investor) may invest in a Fund and hold its investment solely to facilitate commencement of the Fund or to facilitate the Fund’s achieving a specified size or scale. Any such investment may be held for a limited period of time. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder would not redeem its investment, that the size of a Fund would be maintained at such levels or that the Fund would continue to meet applicable listing requirements. Such larger than normal redemptions may cause a Fund to sell portfolio securities at times when it would not otherwise do so, which may negatively impact the Fund’s NAV and liquidity. Similarly, large Fund share purchases may adversely affect a Fund’s performance to the extent that the Fund is delayed in investing new cash and is required to maintain a larger cash position than it ordinarily would. These transactions may also accelerate the realization of taxable income to shareholders if such sales of investments resulted in gains and may also increase transaction costs. In addition, a large redemption could result in a Fund’s current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the Fund’s expense ratio. Although large shareholder transactions may be more frequent under certain circumstances, the Funds are generally subject to the risk that shareholders can purchase or redeem a significant percentage of Fund shares at any time. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the New York Stock Exchange Arca (“NYSE Arca”) and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the shares.

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Eaton Vance  |  Additional Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks 

Additional Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks (Con’t) 

Cash Transactions Risk

Unlike certain ETFs, a Fund may effect its creations and redemptions in cash or partially in cash. As a result, an investment in a Fund may be less tax-efficient than an investment in such ETFs. Other ETFs generally are able to make in-kind redemptions and avoid realizing gains in connection with transactions designed to raise cash to meet redemption requests. If a Fund effects a portion of redemptions for cash, it may be required to sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds, which also involves transaction costs. If a Fund recognizes gain on these sales, this generally will cause a Fund to recognize gain it might not otherwise have recognized if it were to distribute portfolio securities in-kind, or to recognize such gain sooner than would otherwise be required. A Fund generally intends to distribute these gains to shareholders to avoid being taxed on this gain at a Fund level and otherwise comply with the special tax rules that apply to it. This strategy may cause shareholders to be subject to tax on gains they would not otherwise be subject to, or at an earlier date than, if they had made an investment in a different ETF.

Securities Lending

A Fund may lend its portfolio securities to broker-dealers and other institutional borrowers. During the existence of a loan, a Fund will continue to receive the equivalent of the interest paid by the issuer on the securities loaned, or all or a portion of the interest on investment of the collateral, if any. A Fund may pay lending fees to such borrowers. Loans will only be made to firms that have been approved by the Adviser, and the Adviser or the securities lending agent will periodically monitor the financial condition of such firms while such loans are outstanding. Securities loans will only be made when the Adviser believes that the expected returns, net of expenses, justify the attendant risks. Securities loans currently are required to be secured continuously by collateral in cash, cash equivalents (such as money market instruments) or other liquid securities held by the custodian and maintained in an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities loaned. A Fund may engage in securities lending to generate income. Upon return of the loaned securities, a Fund would be required to return the related collateral to the borrower and may be required to liquidate portfolio securities in order to do so. A Fund may lend up to one-third of the value of its total assets or such other amount as may be permitted by law.

As with other extensions of credit, there are risks of delay in recovery or even loss of rights in the securities loaned if the borrower of the securities fails financially. To the extent that the portfolio securities acquired with such collateral have decreased in value, it may result in a Fund realizing a loss at a time when it would not otherwise do so. As such, securities lending may introduce leverage into a Fund. A Fund also may incur losses if the returns on securities that it acquires with cash collateral are less than the applicable rebate rates paid to borrowers and related administrative costs.

Borrowing

The Funds are permitted to borrow for temporary purposes (such as to satisfy redemption requests, to remain fully invested in anticipation of expected cash inflows and to settle transactions). Any borrowings by a Fund are subject to the requirements of the 1940 Act. Borrowings are also subject to the terms of any credit agreement between a Fund and lender(s). Fund borrowings may be equal to as much as 33 1/3% of the value of a Fund’s total assets (including such borrowings) less the Fund’s liabilities (other than borrowings). The Funds will not purchase additional investments while outstanding borrowings exceed 5% of the value of their total assets.

Trading Risk

Shares are listed for trading on NYSE Arca and are bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market prices of shares are expected to fluctuate, in some cases materially, in response to changes in a Fund’s NAV, the intra-day value of the Fund’s holdings, and supply and demand for shares. The Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser cannot predict whether shares will trade above, below or at their NAV. Disruptions to creations and redemptions, the existence of significant market volatility or potential lack of an active trading market for the shares (including through a trading halt), as well as other factors, may result in the shares trading significantly above (at a premium) or below (at a discount) to NAV or to the intraday value of a Fund’s holdings. During such periods, you may incur significant losses if you sell your shares.

Buying or selling shares in the secondary market may require paying brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost when seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of shares. In addition, the market price of shares, like the price of any exchange-traded security, includes a “bid-ask spread” charged by the market makers or other participants that trade the particular security. The spread of the Funds’ shares varies over time based on the Funds’ trading volume and market liquidity and may increase if the Funds’ trading volume, the spread of the Funds’ underlying securities, or market liquidity decrease.

Trading in shares on NYSE Arca may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of NYSE Arca, make trading in shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in shares on NYSE Arca is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to NYSE Arca “circuit breaker” rules. If a trading halt or unanticipated closing of the exchange occurs, a shareholder may be unable to purchase or sell shares. There can be no assurance that the requirements of NYSE Arca necessary to maintain the listing of the Funds will continue to be met or will remain unchanged.

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Eaton Vance  |  Additional Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks 

Additional Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks (Con’t) 

Authorized Participant Concentration Risk

Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with a Fund. Each Fund has a limited number of intermediaries that act as authorized participants and none of these authorized participants is or will be obligated to engage in creation or redemption transactions. To the extent that these intermediaries exit the business or are unable to or choose not to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to a Fund and no other authorized participant creates or redeems, shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting.

Active Management Risk

In pursuing the Funds’ investment objectives, the Adviser has considerable leeway in deciding which investments to buy, hold or sell on a day-to-day basis, and which trading strategies to use. For example, the Adviser, in its discretion, may determine to use some permitted trading strategies while not using others. The success or failure of such decisions will affect a Fund’s performance.

Banking Industry

Investment opportunities in investment grade securities may be concentrated in the banking industry. Under normal conditions, the Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF will invest more than 25% of its total assets in securities issued by issuers in the banking industry. As a result, the Funds may have a high concentration of investments in the banking industry. The banking industry can be affected by global and local economic conditions, such as the levels and liquidity of the global and local financial and asset markets, the absolute and relative level and volatility of interest rates and equity prices, investor sentiment, inflation, the availability and cost of credit and other factors and such effects can at times be significant. The enactment of new legislation or regulations, as well as changes in interpretation and enforcement of current laws, may affect the manner of operations and profitability of the banking industry. Because the Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF’s investments will be concentrated in the banking industry, factors that have an adverse impact on this industry may have a disproportionate impact on a Fund’s performance.

Temporary Investments

Under adverse or unstable market conditions or abnormal circumstances or when the Adviser believes that changes in market, economic, political or other conditions warrant, the Funds may, in the discretion of the Adviser, take temporary positions that are inconsistent with the Funds’ principal investment strategies in attempting to respond to such conditions or circumstances. For example, the Funds may invest without limit in cash, cash equivalents or other fixed-income instruments, derivatives, repurchase agreements or securities of other investment companies, including money market funds, for temporary purposes. For example, with respect to the Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF, when the Adviser believes that conditions warrant, including when suitable municipal obligations are unavailable, the Fund may invest without limit in securities subject to federal income tax or in securities that pay interest income subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. Under such circumstances, a higher portion of the Fund’s distributions will likely be subject to federal income tax and/or the federal alternative minimum tax.  If the Adviser incorrectly predicts the effects of these changes or during periods of temporary defensive or other temporary positions, such temporary investments may adversely affect a Fund’s performance and the Fund may not achieve its investment objective.

Investment Company Securities

Subject to the limitations set forth in the 1940 Act, or as otherwise permitted by the SEC, certain Funds may acquire shares in other investment companies, including foreign investment companies, ETFs and money market funds, which may be managed by the Adviser or its affiliates. The market value of the shares of other investment companies may differ from the NAV of a Fund. The shares of certain investment companies, principally closed-end investment companies, frequently trade at a discount to their NAV. As a shareholder in an investment company, the Funds would bear  their ratable share of that entity’s expenses, including its investment advisory and administration fees. At the same time, the Funds would continue to pay their own advisory and administration fees and other expenses. As a result, Funds and their shareholders will directly bear the expenses of their investment in a Fund and indirectly bear the expenses of a Fund’s investments in other investment companies.

Cybersecurity Risk

With the increased use of technologies such as the internet to conduct business, the Funds, authorized participants, service providers and the relevant listing exchange are susceptible to operational, information security and related “cyber” risks both directly and through the service providers. Similar types of cybersecurity risks are also present for issuers of securities in which the Funds invest, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause a Fund’s investment in such issuers to lose value. In general, cyber incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events. Cyber incidents 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. Cyberattacks 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). Recently, geopolitical tensions may have increased the scale and sophistication of deliberate attacks, particularly those from nation-states or from entities with nation-state backing.

Cybersecurity failures by, or breaches of, the systems of the Adviser, distributor and other service providers (including, but not limited to, index and benchmark providers, fund accountants, custodians, transfer agents and administrators), market makers, authorized participants or the issuers of securities in which a  Fund invests have the ability to cause disruptions and impact business

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Eaton Vance  |  Additional Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks 

Additional Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks (Con’t) 

operations, potentially resulting in: financial losses, interference with a Fund’s ability to calculate its NAV, disclosure of confidential trading information, impediments to trading, submission of erroneous trades or erroneous creation or redemption orders, the inability of a Fund or its service providers to transact business, violations of applicable privacy and other laws, regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, or additional compliance costs. In addition, cyberattacks may render records of Fund assets and transactions, shareholder ownership of Fund shares, and other data integral to the functioning of the Fund inaccessible, inaccurate or incomplete. Substantial costs may be incurred by a Fund in order to resolve or prevent cyber incidents in the future. While the Funds 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 identified, that prevention and remediation efforts will not be successful or that cyberattacks will go undetected. Furthermore, the Funds cannot control the cybersecurity plans and systems put in place by service providers to the Funds, issuers in which the Funds invest, market makers or authorized participants. The Funds and their shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result.

Residual Interest Bonds

Certain Funds may enter into residual interest bond transactions, which expose the Fund to leverage and greater risk than an investment in a fixed-rate municipal bond. The interest payments that a Fund receives on the residual interest bonds acquired in such transactions vary inversely with short-term interest rates, normally decreasing when short-term rates increase. The value and market for residual interest bonds are volatile and such bonds may have limited liquidity. As required by applicable accounting standards, a Fund records interest expense as a liability with respect to floating-rate notes and also records offsetting interest income in an amount equal to this expense.

New Fund Risk

A new fund’s performance may not represent how the fund is expected to or may perform in the long term. In addition, new funds have limited operating histories for investors to evaluate and new funds may not attract sufficient assets to achieve investment and trading efficiencies.

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Eaton Vance  | Fund Management 

Fund Management 

Adviser

Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc., with principal offices at 522 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10036, conducts a worldwide portfolio management business and provides a broad range of portfolio management services to customers in the United States and abroad. Morgan Stanley (NYSE: “MS”) is the parent of the Adviser. Morgan Stanley is a preeminent global financial services firm engaged in securities trading and brokerage activities, as well as providing investment banking, research and analysis, financing and financial advisory services. As of [   ], 2023, the Adviser, together with its affiliated asset management companies, had approximately $[ ] in assets under management or supervision.

A discussion regarding the Board of Trustees’ approval of the Management Agreement will be available in the Funds’ semi-annual reports to shareholders for the period ending March 31, 2024.

The Adviser, Sub-Adviser and/or their affiliates may make payments to one or more investors that contribute seed capital to one or more of the Funds. Such payments may continue for a specified period of time and/or until a specified dollar amount is reached. Those payments will be made from the assets of the Adviser, Sub-Adviser and/or such affiliates (and not the Funds). Seed investors may contribute all or a majority of the assets in one or more of the Funds. There is a risk that such seed investors may redeem their investments in one or more of the Funds. As with redemptions by other large shareholders, such redemptions could have a significant negative impact on one or more of the Funds.

Sub-Adviser

With respect to the Eaton Vance High-Yield ETF, the Adviser has entered into a Sub-Advisory Agreement with Morgan Stanley Investment Management Limited, located at located at 25 Cabot Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 4QA, England. The Sub-Adviser is a wholly owned subsidiary of Morgan Stanley. The Sub-Adviser provides the Eaton Vance High-Yield ETF with investment advisory services subject to the overall supervision of the Adviser and the Trust’s officers and Trustees. The Adviser pays the Sub-Adviser on a monthly basis a portion of the net advisory fees the Adviser receives from the Eaton Vance High-Yield ETF.

Management Fees

The Adviser receives a fee for management services equal to the portion of the average daily net assets as set forth in the table below.

Fund (as a percentage of average daily net assets)

 

Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF

[]%

 

Eaton Vance High Yield ETF

[]%

 

Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF

[]%

 

Under the Management Agreement, the Adviser will pay substantially all the expenses of each Fund (including expenses of the Trust relating to each Fund), except for the distribution fees, if any, brokerage expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, interest, litigation expenses, and other extraordinary expenses, including the costs of proxies, not incurred in the ordinary course of the Funds’ business.

Portfolio Management

Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF
The Fund is managed by members of the Broad Markets team. The team consists of portfolio managers and analysts. The current members of the team primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund are Brian Ellis, CFA, Eric Jesionowski, Kinzer Jennings, CFA, Alec Schaefer  and Brandon Matsui, CFA.

Messrs. Ellis and Jesionowski are Executive Directors of the Adviser, manage other funds and have been employed by the Morgan Stanley organization for more than five years. Messrs. Schaefer and Jennings are Vice Presidents of the Adviser, manage other funds and have been employed by the Morgan Stanley organization for more than five years and since 2020, respectively. Mr. Matsui is an Executive Director of the Adviser. Prior to joining the Adviser in 2023, Mr. Matsui served as the Head of Fixed Income for DWS’ Systematic Investment Solutions group since 2016.

Eaton Vance High Yield ETF
The Fund is managed by members of the High Yield team. The team consists of portfolio managers and analysts. The current members of the team primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund are Stephen Concannon, CFA, Jeffrey Mueller, Kelley Gerrity and Brandon Matsui, CFA.

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Eaton Vance  | Fund Management 

Fund Management (Con’t) 

Messr. Concannon  and Ms. Gerrity are Managing Directors of the Adviser, manage other funds and have been employed by the Morgan Stanley organization for more than five years. Messr. Mueller is a Managing Director of the Sub-Adviser, manages other funds and has been employed by the Sub-Adviser for more than five years. Mr. Matsui is an Executive Director of the Adviser. Prior to joining the Adviser in 2023, Mr. Matsui served as the Head of Fixed Income for DWS’ Systematic Investment Solutions group since 2016.

Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF
The Fund is managed by members of the Municipal Bond team. The team consists of portfolio managers and analysts. The current members of the team primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund are Julie Callahan, CFA, Paul Metheny, CFA, Carl Thompson, CFA and Brandon Matsui, CFA.

Ms. Callahan is a Managing Director and Messrs. Metheny and Thompson are Executive Directors of the Adviser, manage other funds and have been employed by the Morgan Stanley organization for more than five years. Mr. Matsui is an Executive Director of the Adviser. Prior to joining the Adviser in 2023, Mr. Matsui served as the Head of Fixed Income for DWS’ Systematic Investment Solutions group since 2016.

The composition of the team may change from time to time.

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Eaton Vance  | Shareholder Information 

Shareholder Information 

Distribution of Fund Shares

The Distributor is the exclusive distributor of Creation Units of a Fund. The Distributor or its agent distributes Creation Units for the Funds on an agency basis. The Distributor does not maintain a secondary market in shares of the Fund. The Distributor has no role in determining the investment policies of the Funds or the securities that are purchased or sold by the Fund. The Distributor’s principal address is 3 Canal Plaza Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101.

The Board of Trustees of the Trust has adopted a distribution and service plan (“Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Under the Plan, the Funds are authorized to pay distribution fees in connection with the sale and distribution of its shares and pay service fees in connection with the provision of ongoing services to shareholders of the Funds and the maintenance of shareholder accounts in an amount up to [    ]% of its average daily net assets each year.

No Rule 12b-1 fees are currently paid by the Funds, and there are no current plans to impose these fees. However, in the event Rule 12b-1 fees are charged in the future, because these fees are paid out of the Funds’ assets on an ongoing basis, these fees will increase the cost of your investment in the Funds. By purchasing shares subject to distribution fees and service fees, you may pay more over time than you would by purchasing shares with other types of sales charge arrangements. Long-term shareholders may pay more than the economic equivalent of the maximum front-end sales charge permitted by the rules of FINRA. The net income attributable to shares will be reduced by the amount of distribution fees and service fees and other expenses of the Funds.

About Net Asset Value

A Fund’s NAV per share is determined by dividing the total of the value of the Fund’s investments and other assets, less any liabilities attributable to the Fund, by the total number of outstanding shares of the Fund. In making this calculation, a Fund generally values its portfolio securities and other assets at market price.

When no market quotations are readily available for a security or other asset, including circumstances under which the Adviser determines that a market quotation is not accurate, fair value for the security or other asset will be determined in good faith using methods approved by the Board of Trustees. The Adviser, consistent with its procedures and applicable regulatory guidance, may (but need not) determine to make an adjustment to the previous closing prices of either domestic or foreign securities in light of significant events, to reflect what it believes to be the fair value of the securities at the time of determining a Fund’s NAV. In these cases, the Fund’s NAV will reflect certain portfolio securities’ fair value rather than their market price. In addition, the securities held by a Fund may be traded in markets that close at a different time than the exchange on which the Fund’s shares are listed. Accordingly, during the time when a Fund’s listing exchange is open but after the applicable market closes, bid-ask spreads may widen and Fund shares may trade at a premium or discount to NAV. To the extent a Fund invests in open-end management companies (other than ETFs) that are registered under the 1940 Act, the Fund’s NAV is calculated based in relevant part upon the NAV of such funds. The prospectuses for such funds explain the circumstances under which they will use fair value pricing and its effects.

Fair value pricing involves subjective judgments and it is possible that the fair value determined for a security or other asset is materially different than the value that could be realized upon the sale of that security or other asset. With respect to securities that are primarily listed on foreign exchanges, the values of the Funds’ portfolio securities may change on days when you will not be able to purchase or sell your shares. The NAV of a Fund is based on the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities or other assets.

The Funds rely on various sources to calculate their NAV. The ability of a Fund’s provider of administrative services to calculate the NAV per share of the Fund is subject to operational risks associated with processing or human errors, systems or technology failures, cyber attacks and errors caused by third party service providers, data sources, or trading counterparties. Such failures may result in delays in the calculation of a Fund’s NAV and/or the inability to calculate NAV over extended time periods. A Fund may be unable to recover any losses associated with such failures. In addition, if the third party service providers and/or data sources upon which a Fund directly or indirectly relies to calculate its NAV or price individual securities are unavailable or otherwise unable to calculate the NAV correctly, it may be necessary for alternative procedures to be utilized to price the securities at the time of determining the Fund’s NAV.

A Fund’s NAV per share is subject to various investment and other risks. Please refer to the “Additional Information About Fund Investment Strategies and Related Risks” and “Investment Strategies and Techniques” sections of the Prospectus and SAI, respectively, for more information regarding risks associated with an investment in the Funds.

Book Entry

The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) serves as securities depository for the shares. (The shares may be held only in book-entry form; stock certificates will not be issued.) DTC, or its nominee, is the record or registered owner of all outstanding shares. Beneficial ownership of shares will be shown on the records of DTC or its participants (described below). Beneficial owners of shares are not entitled to have shares registered in their names, will not receive or be entitled to receive physical delivery of certificates in definitive form and are not considered the registered holder thereof. Accordingly, to exercise any rights of a holder of shares, each beneficial owner must rely on the procedures of: (i) DTC; (ii) “DTC Participants,” i.e., securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies,

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Eaton Vance  | Shareholder Information 

Shareholder Information (Con’t) 

clearing corporations and certain other organizations, some of whom (and/or their representatives) own DTC; and (iii) “Indirect Participants,” i.e., brokers, dealers, banks and trust companies that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a DTC Participant, either directly or indirectly, through which such beneficial owner holds its interests. The Trust understands that under existing industry practice, in the event the Trust requests any action of holders of shares, or a beneficial owner desires to take any action that DTC, as the record owner of all outstanding shares, is entitled to take, DTC would authorize the DTC Participants to take such action and that the DTC Participants would authorize the Indirect Participants and beneficial owners acting through such DTC Participants to take such action and would otherwise act upon the instructions of beneficial owners owning through them. As described above, the Trust recognizes DTC or its nominee as the owner of all shares for all purposes.

Buying and Selling Shares

Shares of a Fund may be acquired or redeemed directly from a Fund at NAV only in Creation Units or multiples thereof, as discussed in the Creations and Redemptions section of the Prospectus. Only an Authorized Participant (as defined in the Creations and Redemptions section below) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with a Fund. Once created, shares of a Fund generally trade in the secondary market in amounts less than a Creation Unit.

Shares of a Fund are listed for trading on a national securities exchange during the trading day. Shares can be bought and sold throughout the trading day at market price like shares of other publicly traded companies. However, there can be no guarantee that an active trading market will develop or be maintained, or that the Fund shares listing will continue or remain unchanged. The Trust does not impose any minimum investment for shares of the Fund purchased on an exchange. Buying or selling the Fund’s shares involves certain costs that apply to all securities transactions. When buying or selling shares of the Fund through a financial intermediary, you may incur a brokerage commission or other charges determined by your financial intermediary. Due to these brokerage costs, if any, frequent trading may detract significantly from investment returns. In addition, you may also incur the cost of the spread (the difference between the bid price and the ask price). The commission is frequently a fixed amount and may be a significant cost for investors seeking to buy or sell small amounts of shares. The spread varies over time for shares of the Fund based on its trading volume and market liquidity, and is generally less if the Fund has more trading volume and market liquidity and more if the Fund has less trading volume and market liquidity.

Each Fund’s primary listing exchange is NYSE Arca. NYSE Arca is open for trading Monday through Friday and is closed on the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

A “business day” with respect to the Funds is each day the NYSE Arca and the Trust are open and includes any day that a Fund is required to be open under Section 22(e) of the 1940 Act. Orders from authorized participants to create or redeem Creation Units will only be accepted on a business day. On days when NYSE Arca closes earlier than normal, a Fund may require orders to create or redeem Creation Units to be placed earlier in the day. See the SAI for more information.

The Trust’s Board of Trustees has not adopted a policy of monitoring for frequent purchases and redemptions of Fund shares (“frequent trading”) that appear to attempt to take advantage of potential arbitrage opportunities presented by a lag between a change in the value of a Fund’s portfolio securities after the close of the primary markets for the Fund’s portfolio securities and the reflection of that change in the Fund’s NAV (“market timing”). The Trust believes this is appropriate because ETFs, such as the Funds, are intended to be attractive to arbitrageurs, as trading activity is critical to ensuring that the market price of Fund shares remains at or close to NAV. Since each Fund issues and redeems Creation Units at NAV plus applicable transaction fees, and a Fund’s shares may be purchased and sold on NYSE Arca at prevailing market prices, the risks of frequent trading are limited.

Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act generally restricts investments by investment companies, including foreign and unregistered investment companies, in the securities of other investment companies. For example, a registered investment company (the “Acquired Fund”), such as a Fund, may not knowingly sell or otherwise dispose of any security issued by the Acquired Fund to any investment company (the “Acquiring Fund”) or any company or companies controlled by the Acquiring Fund if, immediately after such sale or disposition: (i) more than 3% of the total outstanding voting stock of the Acquired Fund is owned by the Acquiring Fund and any company or companies controlled by the Acquiring Fund, or (ii) more than 10% of the total outstanding voting stock of the Acquired Fund is owned by the Acquiring Fund and other investment companies and companies controlled by them. However, registered investment companies are permitted to invest in a Fund beyond the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1), subject to certain terms and conditions set forth in SEC rules. In order for a registered investment company to invest in shares of a Fund beyond the limitations of Section 12(d)(1) in reliance on Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act, the registered investment company must, among other things, enter into an agreement with the Trust. Foreign investment companies are permitted to invest in the Funds only up to the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1), subject to any applicable SEC Staff no-action relief.

The Funds and the Distributor will have the sole right to accept orders to purchase shares and reserve the right to reject any purchase order in whole or in part.

40 


 

Eaton Vance  | Shareholder Information 

Shareholder Information (Con’t) 

Creations and Redemptions

Prior to trading in the secondary market, shares of a Fund are “created” at NAV by market makers, large investors and institutions only in block-size Creation Units or multiples thereof. Each “creator” or authorized participant (an “Authorized Participant”) enters into an authorized participant agreement with the Funds’ Distributor. An Authorized Participant is a member or participant of a clearing agency registered with the SEC, which has a written agreement with the Fund or one of its service providers that allows such member or participant to place orders for the purchase and redemption of Creation Units.

A creation transaction, which is subject to acceptance by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as the Trust’s transfer agent, generally takes place when an Authorized Participant deposits into the Fund a designated portfolio of securities (including any portion of such securities for which cash may be substituted) and a specified amount of cash in exchange for a specified number of Creation Units.

Similarly, shares can be redeemed only in Creation Units, generally for a designated portfolio of securities (including any portion of such securities for which cash may be substituted) held by a Fund and a specified amount of cash. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, shares are not redeemable by a Fund.

The prices at which creations and redemptions occur are based on the next calculation of NAV after a creation or redemption order is received in an acceptable form under the authorized participant agreement.

Only an Authorized Participant may create or redeem Creation Units directly with the Fund.

In the event of a system failure or other interruption, including disruptions at market makers or authorized participants, orders to purchase or redeem Creation Units either may not be executed according to the Fund’s instructions or may not be executed at all, or the Fund may not be able to place or change orders.

To the extent the Fund engages in in-kind transactions, the Fund intends to comply with the U.S. federal securities laws in accepting securities for deposit and satisfying redemptions with redemption securities by, among other means, assuring that any securities accepted for deposit and any securities used to satisfy redemption requests will be sold in transactions that would be exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Further, an Authorized Participant that is not a “qualified institutional buyer,” as such term is defined under Rule 144A of the Securities Act, will not be able to receive restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A.

Creations and redemptions must be made through a firm that is either a member of the Continuous Net Settlement System of the National Securities Clearing Corporation or a DTC Participant and has executed an agreement with the Distributor with respect to creations and redemptions of Creation Unit aggregations. Information about the procedures regarding creation and redemption of Creation Units (including the cut-off times for receipt of creation and redemption orders) and the applicable transaction fees is included in the Fund’s SAI.

Portfolio Holdings

A description of the Trust’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of each Fund’s portfolio securities is available in the Trust’s SAI.

Dividends and Distributions

General Policies

Dividends from net investment income, if any, generally are declared and paid monthly by a Fund. 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. The Trust reserves the right to declare special distributions if, in its reasonable discretion, such action is necessary or advisable to preserve its status as a regulated investment company or to avoid imposition of income or excise taxes on undistributed income or realized gains. Dividends and other distributions on shares of a Fund are distributed on a pro rata basis to beneficial owners of such shares. Dividend payments are made through DTC participants and indirect participants to beneficial owners then of record with proceeds received from a Fund.

Dividend Reinvestment Service

No dividend reinvestment service is provided by the Trust. Broker-dealers may make available the DTC book-entry dividend reinvestment service for use by beneficial owners of a Fund for reinvestment of their dividend distributions. Beneficial owners should contact their broker to determine the availability and costs of the service and the details of participation therein. Brokers may require beneficial owners to adhere to specific procedures and timetables. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and realized gains will be automatically reinvested in additional whole shares of a Fund purchased in the secondary market.

41 


 

Eaton Vance  | Shareholder Information 

Shareholder Information (Con’t) 

Taxes

As with any investment, you should consider how your Fund investment will be taxed. The tax information in this Prospectus is provided as general information. You should consult your own tax professional about the tax consequences of an investment in a Fund. Unless your investment in a Fund is through a tax deferred retirement account, such as a 401(k) plan or IRA, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when the Fund makes distributions and when you sell shares, including an exchange to another Morgan Stanley Fund.

Taxation of Distributions. With respect to the Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF and Eaton Vance High Yield ETF, your distributions normally are subject to federal and state income tax when they are paid, whether you take them in cash or reinvest them in Fund shares. A distribution also may be subject to local income tax. Any income dividend distributions and any short-term capital gain distributions are taxable to you as ordinary income. Any long-term capital gain distributions are taxable as long-term capital gains, no matter how long you have owned shares in a Fund.

With respect to the Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF, your income dividend distributions are normally exempt from federal income tax—to the extent they are derived from municipal obligations. Income derived from other portfolio securities may be subject to federal, state and/or local income taxes. Income derived from some municipal securities is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. Certain tax-exempt securities whose proceeds are used to finance private, for-profit organizations are subject to this special tax system that ensures that individuals pay at least some federal taxes. Although interest on these securities is generally exempt from federal income tax, some individual taxpayers who have many tax deductions or exemptions nevertheless may have to pay tax on the income. However, the alternative minimum tax consequences discussed in this paragraph do not apply with respect to interest paid on bonds issued after December 31, 2008 and before January 1, 2011 (including refunding bonds issued during that period to refund bonds originally issued after December 31, 2003 and before January 1, 2009).

The Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF may derive gains in part from municipal obligations that the Fund purchased below their principal or face values. All or a portion of these gains may be taxable to you as ordinary income rather than capital gains. If the Fund makes any capital gain distributions, those distributions will normally be subject to federal and state income tax when they are paid, whether you take them in cash or reinvest them in Fund shares. Any short-term capital gain distributions are taxable to you as ordinary income. Any longterm capital gain distributions are taxable to you as long-term capital gains, no matter how long you have owned shares in the Fund. The Fund does not anticipate that it will make any distributions eligible for the reduced rate of taxation applicable to qualified dividend income or for a dividends-received deduction.

If you borrow money to purchase shares of the Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF, the interest on the borrowed money is generally not deductible for income tax purposes.

If you buy shares of a Fund before a distribution, you may be subject to tax on the entire amount of the taxable distribution you receive. Distributions are taxable to you even if they are paid from income or gain earned by the Fund before your investment (and thus were included in the price you paid for your Fund shares).

Investment income received by a Fund from sources within foreign countries may be subject to foreign income, withholding, and other taxes. Tax conventions between certain countries and the U.S. may reduce or eliminate such taxes.

You will be sent a statement (Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) Form 1099-DIV) by February of each year showing the taxable distributions paid to you in the previous year. The statement provides information on your dividends and any capital gains for tax purposes.

Taxation of Sales. Your sale of Fund shares normally is subject to federal and state income tax and may result in a taxable gain or loss to you. A sale also may be subject to local income tax. When you sell your shares, you will generally recognize a capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between your adjusted tax basis in the  shares and the amount received. Generally, this capital gain or loss is long-term or short-term depending on whether your holding period exceeds one year, except that any loss realized on shares held for six months or less will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any long-term capital gain dividends that were received on the  shares. Further, any loss realized on the sale of shares held for six months or less may be disallowed to the extent of any distributions treated as exempt-interest dividends with respect to the shares. Additionally, any loss realized on a sale of  shares of a Fund may be disallowed under “wash sale” rules to the extent the  shares disposed of are replaced with other shares of the Fund within a period of 61 days beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the date of disposition, such as pursuant to a dividend reinvestment in Fund shares. If disallowed, the loss will be reflected in an adjustment to the basis of the shares acquired.

Creations and Redemptions. A person who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time of exchange and the sum of the exchanger’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and the amount of any cash paid for such Creation Units. A person who exchanges Creation Units for securities will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanger’s basis in the Creation Units and the sum of the aggregate market value of the securities received. The IRS, however, may assert that a loss

42 


 

Eaton Vance  | Shareholder Information 

Shareholder Information (Con’t) 

realized upon an exchange of primarily securities for Creation Units cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position. Persons exchanging securities for Creation Units or redeeming Creation Units should consult their own tax adviser with respect to whether wash sale rules apply and when a loss might be deductible and the tax treatment of any creation or redemption transaction.

Under current U.S. federal income tax laws, any capital gain or loss realized upon a redemption (or creation) of Creation Units is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the Fund shares (or securities surrendered) have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if the Fund shares (or securities surrendered) have been held for one year or less.

Other Information. An additional 3.8% Medicare tax is imposed on certain net investment income (including ordinary dividends and capital gain distributions received from a Fund and net gains from redemptions or other taxable dispositions of Fund shares) of U.S. individuals, estates and trusts to the extent that such person’s “modified adjusted gross income” (in the case of an individual) or “adjusted gross income” (in the case of an estate or trust) exceeds certain threshold amounts.

You may be subject to backup withholding at a rate of 24% with respect to taxable distributions if you do not provide your correct taxpayer identification number, or certify that it is correct, or if you have been notified by the IRS that you are subject to backup withholding.

Shareholders who are not citizens or residents of the United States and certain foreign entities will generally be subject to withholding of U.S. tax of 30% on distributions made by a Fund of investment income (other than exempt-interest dividends) and short-term capital gains.

Withholding of U.S. tax is required (at a 30% rate) on payments of taxable dividends made to certain non-U.S. entities that fail to comply (or be deemed compliant) with extensive reporting and withholding requirements designed to inform the U.S. Department of the Treasury of U.S.-owned foreign investment accounts. Shareholders may be requested to provide additional information to a Fund to enable the Fund to determine whether withholding is required.

Reporting to you and the IRS is required annually on Form 1099-B not only the gross proceeds of Fund shares you sell or redeem but also their cost basis. Shareholders should contact their intermediaries with respect to reporting of cost basis and available elections with respect to their accounts. You should carefully review the cost basis information provided by the applicable intermediary and make any additional basis, holding period or other adjustments that are required when reporting these amounts on your federal income tax returns.

Because each investor’s tax circumstances are unique and the tax laws may change, you should consult your tax advisor about your investment.

Tax-Advantaged Product Structure

Unlike interests in many conventional mutual funds, each Fund’s shares are traded throughout the day on a national securities exchange, whereas mutual fund interests are typically only bought and sold at closing NAVs. Each Fund’s shares have been designed to be tradable in the secondary market on a national securities exchange on an intra-day basis, and to be created and redeemed in Creation Units at each day’s next calculated NAV. Certain Fund shares are created and redeemed principally in kind (but cash may be substituted in lieu of certain securities). The in-kind arrangements are designed to protect ongoing shareholders from adverse effects on certain Fund’s portfolio that could arise from frequent cash creation and redemption transactions. In a conventional mutual fund, redemptions can have an adverse tax impact on taxable shareholders because the mutual fund may need to sell portfolio securities to obtain cash to meet fund redemptions. These sales may generate taxable gains for the shareholders of the mutual fund, whereas the shares’ in-kind redemption mechanism generally will not lead to a tax event for certain Funds or their ongoing shareholders. To the extent a Fund substitutes cash in lieu of certain portfolio securities for redemption transactions, such Fund may be required to sell portfolio securities and subsequently recognize gains on such sales that the Fund might not have recognized if it were to distribute such portfolio securities in-kind.

Potential Conflicts of Interest

As a diversified global financial services firm, Morgan Stanley, the parent company of the Adviser, engages in a broad spectrum of activities, including financial advisory services, investment management activities, lending, commercial banking, sponsoring and managing private investment funds, engaging in broker-dealer transactions and principal securities, commodities and foreign exchange transactions, research publication and other activities. In the ordinary course of its business, Morgan Stanley is a full-service investment banking and financial services firm and therefore engages in activities where Morgan Stanley’s interests or the interests of its clients may conflict with the interests of a Fund. Morgan Stanley advises clients and sponsors, manages or advises other investment funds and investment programs, accounts and businesses (collectively, together with any new or successor funds, programs, accounts or businesses, the ‘‘Affiliated Investment Accounts’’) with a wide variety of investment objectives that in some instances may overlap or conflict with a Fund’s investment objectives and present conflicts of interest. In addition, Morgan Stanley may also from time to time create new or successor Affiliated Investment Accounts that may compete with a Fund and present similar conflicts of interest.

43 


 

Eaton Vance  | Shareholder Information 

Shareholder Information (Con’t) 

The discussion below enumerates certain actual, apparent and potential conflicts of interest. There is no assurance that conflicts of interest will be resolved in favor of Fund shareholders and, in fact, they may not be. Conflicts of interest not described below may also exist.

For more information about conflicts of interest, see the section entitled “Potential Conflicts of Interest” in the SAI.

Material Nonpublic Information. It is expected that confidential or material nonpublic information regarding an investment or potential investment opportunity may become available to the Adviser. If such information becomes available, the Adviser may be precluded (including by applicable law or internal policies or procedures) from pursuing an investment or disposition opportunity with respect to such investment or investment opportunity. Morgan Stanley has established certain information barriers and other policies to address the sharing of information between different businesses within Morgan Stanley. In limited circumstances, however, including for purposes of managing business and reputational risk, and subject to policies and procedures and any applicable regulations, personnel, including personnel of the adviser, on one side of an information barrier may have access to information and personnel on the other side of the information barrier through “wall crossings.” The Adviser faces conflicts of interest in determining whether to engage in such wall crossings. Information obtained in connection with such wall crossings may limit or restrict the ability of the Adviser to engage in or otherwise effect transactions on behalf of the Funds (including purchasing or selling securities that the Adviser may otherwise have purchased or sold for a Fund in the absence of a wall crossing).

Investments by Morgan Stanley and its Affiliated Investment Accounts. In serving in multiple capacities to Affiliated Investment Accounts, Morgan Stanley, including the Adviser and the Investment team, may have obligations to other clients or investors in Affiliated Investment Accounts, the fulfillment of which may not be in the best interests of a Fund or its shareholders. A Fund’s investment objectives may overlap with the investment objectives of certain Affiliated Investment Accounts. As a result, the members of an Investment team may face conflicts in the allocation of investment opportunities among a Fund and other investment funds, programs, accounts and businesses advised by or affiliated with the Adviser. Certain Affiliated Investment Accounts may provide for higher management or incentive fees or greater expense reimbursements or overhead allocations, all of which may contribute to this conflict of interest and create an incentive for the Adviser to favor such other accounts. To seek to reduce potential conflicts of interest and to attempt to allocate such investment opportunities in a fair and equitable manner, the Adviser has implemented allocation policies and procedures. These policies and procedures are intended to give all clients of the Adviser, including the Funds, fair access to investment opportunities consistent with the requirements of organizational documents, investment strategies, applicable laws and regulations, and the fiduciary duties of the Adviser.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries. The Adviser and/or the Distributor may pay compensation, out of their own funds and not as an expense of a Fund, to certain Financial Intermediaries (which may include affiliates of the Adviser and Distributor), including recordkeepers and administrators of various deferred compensation plans, in connection with the sale, distribution, marketing and retention of shares of the Fund and/or shareholder servicing. The prospect of receiving, or the receipt of, additional compensation, as described above, by Financial Intermediaries may provide such Financial Intermediaries and their financial advisors and other salespersons with an incentive to favor sales of shares of a Fund over other investment options with respect to which these Financial Intermediaries do not receive additional compensation (or receives lower levels of additional compensation). These payment arrangements, however, will not change the price that an investor pays for shares of a Fund or the amount that the Fund receives to invest on behalf of an investor. Investors may wish to take such payment arrangements into account when considering and evaluating any recommendations relating to Fund shares and should review carefully any disclosures provided by Financial Intermediaries as to their compensation. In addition, in certain circumstances, the Adviser restricts, limits or reduces the amount of a Fund’s investment, or restricts the type of governance or voting rights it acquires or exercises, where the Fund (potentially together with Morgan Stanley) exceeds a certain ownership interest, or possesses certain degrees of voting or control or has other interests.

Morgan Stanley Trading and Principal Investing Activities. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, Morgan Stanley will generally conduct its sales and trading businesses, publish research and analysis, and render investment advice without regard for a Fund’s holdings, although these activities could have an adverse impact on the value of one or more of the Fund’s investments, or could cause Morgan Stanley to have an interest in one or more portfolio investments that is different from, and potentially adverse to, that of a Fund.

Morgan Stanley’s Investment Banking and Other Commercial Activities. Morgan Stanley advises clients on a variety of mergers, acquisitions, restructuring, bankruptcy and financing transactions. Morgan Stanley may act as an advisor to clients, including other investment funds that may compete with a Fund and with respect to investments that a Fund may hold. Morgan Stanley may give advice and take action with respect to any of its clients or proprietary accounts that may differ from the advice given, or may involve an action of a different timing or nature than the action taken, by a Fund. Morgan Stanley may give advice and provide recommendations to persons competing with a Fund and/or any of a Fund’s investments that are contrary to the Fund’s best interests and/or the best interests of any of its investments. Morgan Stanley’s activities on behalf of its clients (such as engagements as an underwriter or placement agent) may restrict or otherwise limit investment opportunities that may otherwise be available to a Fund.

44 


 

Eaton Vance  | Shareholder Information 

Shareholder Information (Con’t) 

Morgan Stanley may be engaged to act as a financial advisor to a company in connection with the sale of such company, or subsidiaries or divisions thereof, may represent potential buyers of businesses through its mergers and acquisition activities and may provide lending and other related financing services in connection with such transactions. Morgan Stanley’s compensation for such activities is usually based upon realized consideration and is usually contingent, in substantial part, upon the closing of the transaction. Under these circumstances, the Fund may be precluded from participating in a transaction with or relating to the company being sold or participating in any financing activity related to a merger or an acquisition.

45 


 

Eaton Vance  | Financial Highlights 

Financial Highlights 

No financial information is provided for the Funds because they had not commenced operations as of the date of this Prospectus. Financial information will be provided in the first shareholder report after commencement of operations.

46 


 

Eaton Vance   |   Premium/Discount Information 

Premium/Discount Information 

Each Fund has not yet commenced operations and, therefore, does not have information about the differences between a Fund’s daily market price on NYSE Arca and its NAV. Information regarding how often the closing trading price of the shares of a Fund was above (i.e., at a premium) or below (i.e., at a discount) the NAV of the Fund for the most recently completed calendar year and the most recently completed calendar quarter(s) since that year (or the life of the Fund, if shorter) can be found at [    ].

47 


 

Eaton Vance   |   Continuous Offering Information 

Continuous Offering Information 

The method by which Creation Units are created and traded may raise certain issues under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation Units are issued and sold by the Trust on an ongoing basis, a “distribution,” as such term is used in the Securities Act may occur at any point. Broker dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner which could render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus delivery 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 Distributor, breaks them down into constituent shares, and sells such shares directly to customers, or if it chooses to couple the creation of a supply of new shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary market demand for shares. A determination of whether one is an underwriter for purposes of the Securities Act must take into account all the facts and circumstances pertaining to the activities of the broker dealer or its client in the particular case, and the examples mentioned above should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could lead to a categorization as an underwriter.

Broker dealers who are not “underwriters” but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted to ordinary secondary trading transactions), and thus dealing with shares that are part of an “unsold allotment” within the meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the Securities Act, would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act. 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. As a result, broker dealer firms should note that dealers who are not underwriters but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted with ordinary secondary market transactions) and thus dealing with the shares that are part of an overallotment within the meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(A) of the Securities Act would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act. Firms that incur a prospectus delivery obligation with respect to shares are reminded that, under Rule 153 of the Securities Act, 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 the 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.

In addition, certain affiliates of the Funds and the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser may purchase and resell Fund shares pursuant to this Prospectus.

48 


 

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Where to Find Additional Information

In addition to this Prospectus, the Funds have an SAI, dated [ ], 2023 (as may be supplemented from time to time), which contains additional, more detailed information about the Trust and the Funds. The SAI is incorporated by reference into this Prospectus and, therefore, legally forms a part of this Prospectus. Certain affiliates of the Funds and the Adviser may purchase and resell Fund shares pursuant to this Prospectus.

The Trust publishes Annual and Semi-Annual Reports (“Shareholder Reports”) that contain additional information about a Fund’s investments. In each Fund’s Annual Report to Shareholders, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and the investment strategies that significantly affected such Fund’s performance during the last fiscal year. For additional Trust information, including information regarding the investments comprising each of the funds, please call the toll-free number below.

You may obtain the SAI and Shareholder Reports without charge by contacting the Trust at the toll-free number below or on our website at: [ ]. If you purchased shares through a Financial Intermediary, you may also obtain these documents, without charge, by contacting your Financial Intermediary.

Shareholder Reports and other information about the Funds are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov, and copies of this information may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov.

Morgan Stanley ETF Trust
c/o Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc.
522 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10036
For Shareholder Inquiries,
call toll-free 800-836-2414.

The Trust’s 1940 Act registration number is 811-23820.

© 2023 Morgan Stanley 

[ ] 

 

 

The information in this Preliminary Statement of Additional Information is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This Preliminary Statement of Additional Information is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting offers to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

Subject to Completion. Dated July 24, 2023

Statement of Additional Information

[ ]

Morgan Stanley ETF Trust (the “Trust”) is an open-end management investment company consisting of 11 funds offering a variety of investment alternatives, certain of which are included in this Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) (each, a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”). Following is a list of the three Funds included in this SAI:

 

Ticker

Exchange

Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF

[]

NYSE Arca

Eaton Vance High Yield ETF

[]

NYSE Arca

Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF

[]

NYSE Arca

This SAI is not a prospectus, but should be read in conjunction with the Funds’ prospectuses, each dated [ ], as may be supplemented from time to time. To obtain any of these prospectuses, please call the Fund toll-free at [ ].

Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF, Eaton Vance High Yield ETF and Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF  are actively managed. Each Fund is “diversified” and, as such, each Fund’s investments are required to meet certain diversification requirements under federal securities laws.


 


 

INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND TECHNIQUES

This SAI provides additional information about the investment strategies and operations of the Trust and the Funds. Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc. (the “Adviser”) acts as investment adviser to each Fund. Under the supervision of the Adviser, Morgan Stanley Investment Management Limited (“MSIM Limited”) acts as investment sub-adviser to the Eaton Vance High Yield ETF. References to the Adviser, when used in connection with its activities as investment adviser, include any Sub-Adviser acting under its supervision.

The Funds will offer and issue shares at their net asset value (“NAV”) only in aggregations of a specified number of shares (each, a “Creation Unit”). Similarly, shares will be redeemable by the Funds only in Creation Units. The shares of the Funds are expected to be approved for listing, subject to notice of issuance, on  the New York Stock Exchange Arca (“NYSE Arca”). Shares  of the Funds trade in the secondary market at market prices that may differ from the shares’ NAV. The Trust reserves the right to permit or require a “cash” option for creations and redemptions of shares (subject to applicable legal requirements). The following tables summarize the permissible strategies and investments for each Fund. These tables should be used in conjunction with the investment strategies for each Fund contained in the Prospectus in order to provide a more complete description of such Fund’s investment policies. More details about each investment and related risks are provided in the discussion following the tables.

Purchases and redemptions of creation units primarily with cash, rather than through in-kind delivery of portfolio securities, may cause the Funds to incur certain costs, including brokerage costs and/or taxable gains or losses that it might not have incurred if the purchase or redemption had been made through in-kind delivery of portfolio securities. These costs could be imposed on the Funds, and to the extent they are not offset by transaction fees payable by investors who are authorized to deal in Creation Units (“Authorized Participants”), could decrease a Fund’s net asset value.

 

Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF

Eaton Vance High Yield ETF

Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF

Equity Securities:

 

 

 

Common Stocks

 

 

 

Depositary Receipts

X

 

X

Preferred Stocks

X

X

X

Rights

 

 

 

Warrants

 

 

 

IPOs

 

 

 

Convertible Securities

 

 

 

Investment Company Securities

X

X

X

Exchange-Traded Funds

X

X

X

Real Estate Investing

 

 

 

—REITs

 

 

 

—Foreign Real Estate Companies

 

 

 

—Specialized Ownership Vehicles

 

 

 

Special Purpose Acquisition Companies

 

 

 

Fixed-Income Securities:

 

 

 

Investment Grade Securities

X

X

X

High Yield Securities

X

X

X

U.S. Government Securities

X

X

X

Agencies

X

X

X

Corporates

X

X

X

Money Market Instruments

X

X

X

Cash Equivalents

X

X

X

Senior Loans

X

 

 

Mortgage-Related Securities

X

X

 

Repurchase Agreements

X

X

X

Municipals

X

 

X

Asset-Backed Securities

X

X

 

Temporary Investments

X

X

X

Residual Interest Bonds

 

 

X

Zero Coupons, Pay-In-Kind Securities or Deferred Payment Securities

X

X

X

1 


 

 

Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF

Eaton Vance High Yield ETF

Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF

Eurodollar and Yankee Dollar Obligations

X

X

X

Foreign Investment:

 

 

 

Emerging Market Securities

X

X

 

Foreign Equity Securities

 

 

 

Foreign Government Fixed-Income Securities

X

X

 

Foreign Currency Transactions

X

X

 

Brady Bonds

X

X

 

Investment Funds

X

X

 

Other Securities and Investment Strategies:

 

 

 

Loans of Portfolio Securities

X

X

X

Non-Publicly Traded Securities, Private Placements and Restricted Securities

X

X

X

When-Issued and Delayed Delivery Securities and Forward Commitments

X

X

X

Borrowing for Investment Purposes

X

X

X

Reverse Repurchase Agreements

 

X

 

Short Sales

X

 

X

Illiquid Investments

X

X

X

Special Risks Related to Cyber Security

X

X

X

Regulatory and Legal Risk

X

X

X

Market and Geopolitical Risk

X

X

X

Derivatives:

 

 

 

Currency Forwards

X

X

X

Futures Contracts

X

X

X

Options

X

X

X

Swaps

X

X

X

Contracts for Difference

X

X

X

Structured Investments

X

X

X

Combined Transactions

X

X

X

Preferred Stocks. Preferred stocks are securities that evidence ownership in a corporation and pay a fixed or variable stream of dividends. Preferred stocks have a preference over common stocks in the event of the liquidation of an issuer and usually do not carry voting rights. Preferred stocks have many of the characteristics of both equity securities and fixed-income securities.

Sector Risk. The Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF Fund may, from time to time, invest more heavily in companies in a particular economic sector or sectors. Economic or regulatory changes adversely affecting such sectors may have more of an impact on the Fund’s performance than if the Fund held a broader range of investments.

Investment Company Securities. Investment company securities are equity securities and include securities of other open-end, closed-end and unregistered investment companies, including foreign investment companies, hedge funds and exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”). A Fund may, to the extent noted in the Fund’s non-fundamental limitations, invest in investment company securities as may be permitted by (i) the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”); (ii) the rules and regulations promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) under the 1940 Act; or (iii) an exemption or other relief applicable to the Fund from provisions of the 1940 Act. The 1940 Act generally prohibits an investment company from acquiring more than 3% of the outstanding voting shares of an investment company and limits such investments to no more than 5% of a Fund’s total assets in any one investment company and no more than 10% in any combination of investment companies. The 1940 Act also prohibits a Fund from acquiring in the aggregate more than 10% of the outstanding voting shares of any registered closed-end investment company. A Fund may invest in investment company securities of investment companies managed by the Adviser or its affiliates to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act or as otherwise authorized by the SEC. To the extent a Fund invests a portion of its assets in investment company securities, those assets will be subject to the risks of the purchased investment company’s portfolio securities, and a shareholder in a Fund will bear not only their proportionate share of the expenses of a Fund, but also, indirectly the expenses of the purchased investment company.  

Money Market Funds. To the extent permitted by applicable law, a Fund may invest all or some of its short term cash investments in any money market fund advised or managed by the Adviser or its affiliates. In connection with any such investments, a Fund, to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act, will pay its share of all expenses (other than advisory and administrative fees) of a money market

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fund in which it invests, which may result in a Fund bearing some additional expenses. The rules governing money market funds: (1) permit (and, under certain circumstances, require) certain money market funds to impose a “liquidity fee” (up to 2%), or a “redemption gate” that temporarily restricts redemptions from a money market fund, if weekly liquidity levels fall below the required regulatory threshold, and (2) require “institutional money market funds” to operate with a floating NAV per share rounded to a minimum of the fourth decimal place in the case of a fund with a $1.0000 share price or an equivalent or more precise level of accuracy for money market funds with a different share price (e.g., $10.000 per share, or $100.00 per share). These may affect the investment strategies, performance and operating expenses of money market funds. “Government money market funds,” as defined under Rule 2a-7 of the 1940 Act, are exempt from these requirements, though such funds may choose to opt-in to the implementation of liquidity fees and redemption gates.

Exchange-Traded Funds. The Funds may invest in ETFs. Investments in ETFs are subject to a variety of risks, including risks of a direct investment in the underlying securities that the ETF holds. For example, the general level of stock prices may decline, thereby adversely affecting the value of the underlying investments of the ETF and, consequently, the value of the ETF. In addition, the market value of the ETF shares may differ from their NAV because the supply and demand in the market for ETF shares at any point is not always identical to the supply and demand in the market for the underlying securities. Also, ETFs that track particular indices typically will be unable to match the performance of the index exactly due to, among other things, the ETF’s operating expenses and transaction costs. ETFs typically incur fees that are separate from those fees incurred directly by the Funds. Therefore, as a shareholder in an ETF (as with other investment companies), a Fund would bear its ratable share of that entity’s expenses. At the same time, a Fund would continue to pay its own investment management fees and other expenses. As a result, a Fund and its shareholders, in effect, will be absorbing  fees at two levels with respect to investments in ETFs. Further, certain of the ETFs in which a Fund may invest are leveraged. Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver multiples of the performance of the index or other benchmark they track and use derivatives in an effort to amplify the returns of the underlying index or benchmark. While leveraged ETFs may offer the potential for greater return, the potential for loss and the speed at which losses can be realized also are greater. Most leveraged ETFs “reset” daily, meaning they are designed to achieve their stated objectives on a daily basis. Leveraged ETFs can deviate substantially from the performance of their underlying benchmark over longer periods of time, particularly in volatile periods. The more a Fund invests in such leveraged ETFs, the more this leverage will magnify any losses on those investments. Furthermore, disruptions in the markets for the securities underlying ETFs purchased or sold by a Fund could result in losses on the Fund’s investment in ETFs.

Fixed-Income Securities. Fixed-income securities generally represent an issuer’s obligation to repay to the investor (or lender) the amount borrowed plus interest over a specified time period. A typical fixed-income security specifies a fixed date when the amount borrowed (principal) is due in full, known as the maturity date, and specifies dates when periodic interest (coupon) payments will be made over the life of the security.

Fixed-income securities come in many varieties and may differ in the way that interest is calculated, the amount and frequency of payments, the type of collateral, if any, and the presence of special features (e.g., conversion rights). Prices of fixed-income securities fluctuate and, in particular, are subject to several key risks including, but not limited to, interest rate risk, credit risk, prepayment risk and spread risk.

Interest rate risk arises due to general changes in the level of market rates after the purchase of a fixed-income security. Generally, the values of fixed-income securities vary inversely with changes in interest rates. During periods of falling interest rates, the values of most outstanding fixed-income securities generally rise and during periods of rising interest rates, the values of most fixed-income securities generally decline. The  Funds may face  a heightened level of interest rate risk in times of monetary policy change and/or uncertainty, such as when the Federal Reserve Board adjusts a quantitative easing program and/or changes rates. A changing interest rate environment increases certain risks, including the potential for periods of volatility, increased redemptions, shortened durations (i.e., prepayment risk) and extended durations (i.e., extension risk). The Funds are not limited as to the maturities (when a debt security provides its final payment) or duration (measure of interest rate sensitivity) of the securities in which it may invest. While fixed-income securities with longer final maturities often have higher yields than those with shorter maturities, they usually possess greater price sensitivity to changes in interest rates and other factors. Traditionally, the remaining term to maturity has been used as a barometer of a fixed-income security’s sensitivity to interest rate changes. This measure, however, considers only the time until the final principal payment and takes no account of the pattern or amount of principal or interest payments prior to maturity. Duration combines consideration of yield, coupon, interest and principal payments, final maturity and call (prepayment) features. Duration measures the likely percentage change in a fixed-income security’s price for a small parallel shift in the general level of interest rates; it is also an estimate of the weighted average life of the remaining cash flows of a fixed-income security. In almost all cases, the duration of a fixed-income security is shorter than its term to maturity.

Credit risk represents the possibility that an issuer may be unable to meet scheduled interest and principal payment obligations. It is most often associated with corporate bonds, although it can be present in other fixed-income securities as well (note that the market generally assumes that obligations of the U.S. Treasury are free from credit risk). Credit ratings and quantitative models attempt to measure the degree of credit risk in fixed-income securities, and provide insight as to whether prevailing yield spreads afford sufficient

3 


 

compensation for such risk. Other things being equal, fixed-income securities with high degrees of credit risk should trade in the market at lower prices (and higher yields) than fixed-income securities with low degrees of credit risk.

Prepayment risk, also known as call risk, arises due to the issuer’s ability to prepay all or most of the fixed-income security prior to the stated final maturity date. Prepayments generally rise in response to a decline in interest rates as debtors take advantage of the opportunity to refinance their obligations. This risk is often associated with mortgage securities where the underlying mortgage loans can be refinanced, although it can also be present in corporate or other types of bonds with call provisions. When a prepayment occurs,  a Fund may be forced to reinvest in lower yielding fixed-income securities. Quantitative models are designed to help assess the degree of prepayment risk, and provide insight as to whether prevailing yield spreads afford sufficient compensation for such risk.

Spread risk is the potential for the value of  a Fund’s assets to fall due to the widening of spreads. Fixed-income securities generally compensate for greater credit risk by paying interest at a higher rate. The difference (or “spread”) between the yield of a security and the yield of a benchmark, such as a U.S. Treasury security with a comparable maturity, measures the additional interest paid for credit risk. As the spread on a security widens (or increases), the price (or value) of the security falls. Spread widening may occur, among other reasons, as a result of market concerns over the stability of the market, excess supply, general credit concerns in other markets, security- or market-specific credit concerns or general reductions in risk tolerance.

While assets in fixed-income markets have grown rapidly in recent years, the capacity for traditional dealer counterparties to engage in fixed-income trading has not kept pace and in some cases has decreased. For example, primary dealer inventories of corporate bonds, which provide a core indication of the ability of financial intermediaries to “make markets,” are at or near historic lows in relation to market size. This reduction in market-making capacity may be a persistent change, to the extent it is resulting from broader structural changes, such as fewer proprietary trading desks at broker-dealers and increased regulatory capital requirements. Because market makers provide stability to a market through their intermediary services, the significant reduction in dealer inventories could potentially lead to decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets. Such issues may be exacerbated during periods of economic uncertainty.

Economic, political and other events also may affect the prices of broad fixed-income markets, although the risks associated with such events are transmitted to the market via changes in the prevailing levels of interest rates, credit risk, prepayment risk or spread risk. From time to time, uncertainty regarding the status of negotiations in the U.S. government to increase the statutory debt ceiling could impact the creditworthiness of the United States and could impact the liquidity of the U.S. Government securities markets and ultimately the Fund.

Certain of the Funds’ investments are subject to inflation risk, which is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money (i.e., as inflation increases, the values of the Fund’s assets can decline). Inflation rates may change frequently and significantly as a result of various factors, including unexpected shifts in the domestic or global economy and changes in economic policies, and a Fund’s investments may not keep pace with inflation, which may result in losses to Fund shareholders. This risk is greater for fixed-income instruments with longer maturities.

Investment Grade Securities. Investment grade securities are fixed-income securities rated by one or more of the rating agencies in one of the four highest rating categories at the time of purchase (e.g., AAA, AA, A or BBB by S&P Global Ratings Group, a division of S&P Global Inc. (“S&P”), or Fitch Ratings (“Fitch”) or Aaa, Aa, A or Baa by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) or the equivalent by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization) or determined to be of equivalent quality by the Adviser. Securities rated BBB or Baa represent the lowest of four levels of investment grade securities and are regarded as borderline between sound obligations and those in which speculative elements predominate. A Fund is permitted to hold investment grade securities or “high grade” securities, and may hold unrated securities if the Adviser considers the risks involved in owning that security to be equivalent to the risks involved in holding an investment grade security. Ratings assigned to fixed-income securities represent only the opinion of the rating agency assigning the rating and are not dispositive of the credit risk associated with the purchase of a particular fixed-income security. Moreover, market risk also will affect the prices of even the highest rated fixed-income securities so that their prices may rise or fall even if the issuer’s capacity to repay its obligations remains unchanged.

High Yield Securities. High yield securities are generally considered to include fixed-income securities rated below the four highest rating categories at the time of purchase (e.g., Ba through C by Moody’s, or BB through D by S&P or Fitch) and unrated fixed-income securities considered by the Adviser to be of equivalent quality. High yield securities are not considered investment grade and are commonly referred to as “junk bonds” or high yield, high risk securities. Investment grade securities that  a Fund holds may be downgraded to below investment grade by the rating agencies. If  a Fund holds a security that is downgraded, the Fund may choose to retain the security.

While high yield securities offer higher yields, they also normally carry a high degree of credit risk and are considered speculative by the major credit rating agencies. High yield securities may be issued as a consequence of corporate restructuring or similar events. High yield securities are often issued by smaller, less creditworthy issuers, or by highly leveraged (indebted) issuers, that are generally less able than more established or less leveraged issuers to make scheduled payments of interest and principal. In comparison to investment grade securities, the price movement of these securities is influenced less by changes in interest rates and more by the

4 


 

financial and business position of the issuer. The values of high yield securities are more volatile and may react with greater sensitivity to market changes.

High yield securities are frequently ranked junior to claims by other creditors. If the issuer cannot meet its obligations, the senior obligations are generally paid off before the junior obligations, which will potentially limit  a Fund’s ability to fully recover principal or to receive interest payments when senior securities are in default. Thus, investors in high yield securities have a lower degree of protection with respect to principal and interest payments than do investors in higher rated securities. In addition, lower-rated securities frequently have call or redemption features that would permit an issuer to repurchase the security from a Fund. If a call were exercised by the issuer during a period of declining interest rates,  a Fund likely would have to replace such called security with a lower yielding security, thus decreasing the net investment income to the Fund and any dividends to investors.

The secondary market for high yield securities is concentrated in relatively few market makers and is dominated by institutional investors, including mutual funds, insurance companies and other financial institutions. Accordingly, the secondary market for such securities is not as liquid as, and is more volatile than, the secondary market for higher-rated securities. Because high yield securities are less liquid, judgment may play a greater role in valuing certain of  a  Fund’s  securities than is the case with securities trading in a more liquid market. Also, future legislation may have a possible negative impact on the market for high yield, high risk securities.

The credit rating of a high yield security does not necessarily address its market value risk. Ratings and market value may change from time to time, positively or negatively, to reflect new developments regarding the issuer.

The high yield securities markets may react strongly to adverse news about an issuer or the economy, or to the perception or expectation of adverse news, whether or not it is based on fundamental analysis. Additionally, prices for high yield securities may be affected by legislative and regulatory developments. These developments could adversely affect  a Fund’s NAV and investment practices, the secondary market for high yield securities, the financial condition of issuers of these securities and the value and liquidity of outstanding high yield securities, especially in a thinly traded market.

U.S. Government Securities. U.S. government securities refer to a variety of fixed-income securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government and its various instrumentalities and agencies. The U.S. government securities that certain Funds may purchase include U.S. Treasury bills, notes and bonds, all of which are direct obligations of the U.S. Government. In addition, certain Funds may purchase securities issued by agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S. Government that are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. Among the agencies and instrumentalities issuing these obligations are the Government National Mortgage Association (“Ginnie Mae”) and the Federal Housing Administration. The Funds may also purchase securities issued by agencies and instrumentalities that are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, but whose issuing agency or instrumentality has the right to borrow, to meet its obligations, from the U.S. Treasury. Among these agencies and instrumentalities are the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”) and the Federal Home Loan Banks. Further, certain Funds may purchase securities issued by agencies and instrumentalities that are backed solely by the credit of the issuing agency or instrumentality. Among these agencies and instrumentalities is the Federal Farm Credit System.

Agencies. Agencies refer to fixed-income securities issued or guaranteed by federal agencies and U.S. government sponsored instrumentalities. They may or may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. If they are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, the investor 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 United States itself in the event the agency or instrumentality does not meet its commitment. Agencies that are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States include the Export-Import Bank, Farmers Home Administration, Federal Financing Bank and others. Certain debt issued by Resolution Funding Corporation has both its principal and interest backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury in that its principal is backed by U.S. Treasury zero coupon issues, while the U.S. Treasury is explicitly required to advance funds sufficient to pay interest on it, if needed. Certain agencies and instrumentalities, such as Ginnie Mae, are, in effect, backed by the full faith and credit of the United States through provisions in their charters that they may make “indefinite and unlimited” drawings on the Treasury if needed to service their debt. Debt from certain other agencies and instrumentalities, including the Federal Home Loan Banks, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not guaranteed by the United States, but those institutions are protected by the discretionary authority of the U.S. Treasury to purchase certain amounts of their securities to assist them in meeting their debt obligations. Finally, other agencies and instrumentalities, such as the Farm Credit System, are federally chartered institutions under U.S. Government supervision, but their debt securities are backed only by the creditworthiness of those institutions, not the U.S. Government. Some of the U.S. government agencies that issue or guarantee securities include the Export-Import Bank of the United States, Farmers Home Administration, Federal Housing Administration, Maritime Administration, Small Business Administration and the Tennessee Valley Authority (“TVA”).  

An instrumentality of the U.S. Government is a government agency organized under federal charter with government supervision. Instrumentalities issuing or guaranteeing securities include, among others, Federal Home Loan Banks, the Federal Land Bank, Central Bank for Cooperatives, Federal Intermediate Credit Banks and Fannie Mae.

5 


 

Corporates. Corporates are fixed-income securities issued by private businesses. Holders, as creditors, have a prior legal claim over holders of equity securities of the issuer as to both income and assets for the principal and interest due to the holder.

Money Market Instruments. Money market instruments are high quality short-term fixed-income securities. Money market instruments may include obligations of governments, government agencies, banks, corporations and special purpose entities and repurchase agreements relating to these obligations. Certain money market instruments may be denominated in a foreign currency.

Cash Equivalents. Cash equivalents are short-term fixed-income securities comprising:

 

Time deposits, certificates of deposit (including marketable variable rate certificates of deposit) and bankers’ acceptances issued by a commercial bank or savings and loan association. Time deposits are non-negotiable deposits maintained in a banking institution for a specified period of time at a stated interest rate. Certificates of deposit are negotiable short-term obligations issued by commercial banks or savings and loan associations against funds deposited in the issuing institution. Variable rate certificates of deposit are certificates of deposit on which the interest rate is periodically adjusted prior to their stated maturity based upon a specified market rate. A bankers’ acceptance is a time draft drawn on a commercial bank by a borrower, usually in connection with an international commercial transaction (to finance the import, export, transfer or storage of goods);

 

Obligations of U.S. banks, foreign branches of U.S. banks (Eurodollars) and U.S. branches of foreign banks (Yankee dollars). Eurodollar and Yankee dollar investments will involve some of the same risks of investing in international securities that are discussed in various foreign investing sections of this SAI;

 

Any security issued by a commercial bank if (i) the bank has total assets of at least $1 billion, or the equivalent in other currencies or, in the case of domestic banks which do not have total assets of at least $1 billion, the aggregate investment made in any one such bank is limited to $250,000 principal amount per certificate and the principal amount of such investment is insured in full by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”), (ii) in the case of U.S. banks, it is a member of the FDIC and (iii) in the case of foreign branches of U.S. banks, the security is deemed by the Adviser to be of an investment quality comparable with other debt securities which a Funds  may purchase;

 

Commercial paper rated at time of purchase by one or more nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (“NRSROs”) in one of their two highest categories (e.g., A-l or A-2 by S&P, Prime 1 or Prime 2 by Moody’s  or F1 or F2 by Fitch) or, if unrated, determined to be of comparable quality by the Adviser;

 

Short-term corporate obligations rated high-grade at the time of purchase by an NRSRO (e.g., A or better by Moody’s, S&P or Fitch);

 

U.S. government obligations, including bills, notes, bonds and other debt securities issued by the U.S. Treasury. These are direct obligations of the U.S. Government and differ mainly in interest rates, maturities and dates of issue;

 

Government agency securities issued or guaranteed by U.S. government sponsored instrumentalities and Federal agencies. These include securities issued by the Federal Home Loan Banks, Federal Land Bank, Farmers Home Administration, Farm Credit Banks, Federal Intermediate Credit Bank, Fannie Mae, Federal Financing Bank, TVA and others; and

 

Repurchase agreements collateralized by the securities listed above.
 

Commercial Paper. Commercial paper refers to short-term fixed-income securities with maturities ranging from 1 to 397 days. They are primarily issued by corporations needing to finance large amounts of receivables, but may be issued by banks and other borrowers. Commercial paper is issued either directly or through broker-dealers, and may be discounted or interest bearing. Commercial paper is unsecured. Virtually all commercial paper is rated by Moody’s, Fitch or S&P.

Commercial paper rated A-1 by S&P has the following characteristics: (1) liquidity ratios are adequate to meet cash requirements; (2) long-term senior debt is rated “A” or better; (3) the issuer has access to at least two additional channels of borrowing; (4) basic earnings and cash flow have an upward trend with allowance made for unusual circumstances; (5) typically, the issuer’s industry is well established and the issuer has a strong position within the industry; and (6) the reliability and quality of management are unquestioned. Relative strength or weakness of the above factors determines whether the issuer’s commercial paper is A-1, A-2 or A-3.

The rating Prime-1 is the highest commercial paper rating assigned by Moody’s. Among the factors considered by Moody’s in assigning ratings are the following: (1) evaluation of the management of the issuer; (2) evaluation of the issuer’s industry or industries and the appraisal of speculative-type risks which may be inherent in certain areas; (3) evaluation of the issuer’s products in relation to competition and customer acceptance; (4) liquidity; (5) amount and quality of long-term debt; (6) trend of earnings over a period of ten years; (7) financial strength of a parent company and the relationships that exist with the issuer; and (8) recognition by the management of obligations which may be present or may arise as a result of public interest questions and preparations to meet such obligations.

With respect to Fitch, a short-term issuer or obligation rating is based in all cases on the short-term vulnerability to default of the rated entity and relates to the capacity to meet financial obligations in accordance with the documentation governing the relevant obligation. Short-term deposit ratings may be adjusted for loss severity. Short-term ratings are assigned to obligations whose initial maturity is viewed as “short term” based on market convention. Typically, this means up to 13 months for corporate, sovereign, and structured obligations and up to 36 months for obligations in U.S. public finance markets. An F1 rating indicates the strongest

6 


 

intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments whereas an F2 rating indicates good intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.

Senior Loans. Senior Loans are loans that are senior in repayment priority to other debt of the borrower. Senior Loans generally pay interest that floats, adjusts or varies periodically based on benchmark indicators, specified adjustment schedules or prevailing interest rates. Senior Loans are often secured by specific assets or “collateral,” although they may not be secured by collateral. A Senior Loan is typically originated, negotiated and structured by a U.S. or foreign commercial bank, insurance company, finance company or other financial institution (the “Agent”) for a group of loan investors (“Loan Investors”), generally referred to as a “syndicate.” The Agent typically administers and enforces the Senior Loan on behalf of the Loan Investors in the syndicate. In addition, an institution, typically but not always the Agent, holds any collateral on behalf of the Loan Investors. Loan interests primarily take the form of assignments purchased in the primary or secondary market. Loan interests may also take the form of participation interests in, or novations of, a Senior Loan. Senior Loans primarily include senior floating rate loans and secondarily senior floating rate debt obligations (including those issued by an asset-backed pool), and interests therein.

Loan Collateral. Borrowers generally will, for the term of the Senior Loan, pledge collateral to secure their obligation. In addition, Senior Loans may be guaranteed by or secured by assets of the borrower’s owners or affiliates. During the term of the Senior Loan, the value of collateral securing the Loan may decline in value, causing the Loan to be under-collateralized. Collateral may consist of assets that may not be readily liquidated, and there is no assurance that the liquidation of such assets would satisfy fully a borrower’s obligations under a Senior Loan. In addition, if a Senior Loan is foreclosed, the Fund could become part owner of the collateral and would bear the costs and liabilities associated with owning and disposing of such collateral.

Fees. The Fund may receive a facility fee when it buys a Senior Loan, and pay a facility fee when it sells a Senior Loan. On an ongoing basis, the Fund may receive a commitment fee based on the undrawn portion of the underlying line of credit portion of a Senior Loan. In certain circumstances, the Fund may receive a prepayment penalty fee upon the prepayment of a Senior Loan by a borrower or an amendment fee.

Loan Administration. In a typical Senior Loan, the Agent administers the terms of the loan agreement and is responsible for the collection of principal, and interest payments from the borrower and the apportionment of these payments to the Loan Investors. Failure by the Agent to fulfill its obligations may delay or adversely affect receipt of payment by the Fund. Furthermore, unless under the terms of a loan agreement or participation (as applicable) the Fund has direct recourse against the borrower, the Fund must rely on the Agent and the other Loan Investors to use appropriate remedies against the borrower. The Agent is typically responsible for monitoring compliance with covenants contained in the loan agreement based upon reports prepared by the borrower. The typical practice of an Agent or a Loan Investor in relying exclusively or primarily on reports from the borrower may involve the risk of fraud by the borrower. It is unclear whether an investment in a Senior Loan offers the securities law protections against fraud and misrepresentation.

A financial institution’s appointment as Agent may usually be terminated in the event that it fails to observe the requisite standard of care or becomes insolvent. A successor Agent would generally be appointed to replace the terminated Agent, and assets held by the Agent under the Loan Agreement should remain available to holders of Senior Loans. However, if assets held by the Agent for the benefit of the Fund were determined to be subject to the claims of the Agent’s general creditors, the Fund might incur certain costs and delays in realizing payment on a Senior Loan, or suffer a loss of principal and/or interest. In situations involving other Interposed Persons (as defined below), similar risks may arise.

Additional Information. The Fund may purchase and retain in its portfolio a Senior Loan where the borrower has experienced, or may be perceived to be likely to experience, credit problems, including involvement in or recent emergence from bankruptcy reorganization proceedings or other forms of debt restructuring. While such investments may provide opportunities for enhanced income as well as capital appreciation, they generally involve greater risk and may be considered speculative. The Fund may from time to time participate in ad-hoc committees formed by creditors to negotiate with the management of financially troubled borrowers. The Fund may incur legal fees as a result of such participation. In addition, such participation may restrict the Fund’s ability to trade in or acquire additional positions in a particular security when it might otherwise desire to do so. Participation by the Fund also may expose the Fund to potential liabilities under bankruptcy or other laws governing the rights of creditors and debtors. The Fund will participate in such committees only when the investment adviser believes that such participation is necessary or desirable to enforce the Fund’s rights as a creditor or to protect the value of a Senior Loan held by the Fund.

In some instances, other accounts managed by the investment adviser may hold other securities issued by borrowers the Senior Loans of which may be held by the Fund. These other securities may include, for example, debt securities that are subordinate to the Senior Loans held by the Fund, convertible debt or common or preferred equity securities. In certain circumstances, such as if the credit quality of the borrower deteriorates, the interests of holders of these other securities may conflict with the interests of the holders of the borrower’s Senior Loans. In such cases, the investment adviser may owe conflicting fiduciary duties to the Fund and other client accounts. The investment adviser will endeavor to carry out its obligations to all of its clients to the fullest extent possible, recognizing that in some cases, certain clients may achieve a lower economic return, as a result of these conflicting client interests, than if the

7 


 

investment adviser’s client accounts collectively held only a single category of the issuer’s securities. See “Potential Conflicts of Interest.”

The Fund may acquire warrants and other equity securities as part of a unit combining a Senior Loan and equity securities of a borrower or its affiliates. The Fund may also acquire equity securities or debt securities (including non-dollar denominated debt securities) issued in exchange for a Senior Loan or issued in connection with the debt restructuring or reorganization of a borrower, or if such acquisition, in the judgment of the investment adviser, may enhance the value of a Senior Loan or would otherwise be consistent with the Fund’s investment policies.

The Fund will generally acquire participations only if the Loan Investor selling the participation, and any other persons interpositioned between the Fund and the Loan Investor (an “Interposed Person”), at the time of investment, has outstanding debt or deposit obligations rated investment grade (BBB or A-3 or higher by S&P or Baa or P- 3 or higher by Moody’s or comparably rated by another nationally recognized statistical ratings organization) or determined by the investment adviser to be of comparable quality.

Mortgage-Related Securities. Mortgage-related securities are securities that, directly or indirectly, represent a participation in, or are secured by and payable from, mortgage loans on real property. Mortgage-related securities include collateralized mortgage obligations and MBS issued or guaranteed by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. Government or by private sector entities.

Mortgage-Backed Securities. With MBS, many mortgagees’ obligations to make monthly payments to their lending institution are pooled together and the risk of the mortgagees’ payment obligations is passed through to investors. The pools are assembled by various governmental, government-related and private organizations. A Fund may invest in securities issued or guaranteed by Ginnie Mae, Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae, private issuers and other government agencies. MBS issued by non-agency issuers, whether or not such securities are subject to guarantees, may entail greater risk, since private issuers may not be able to meet their obligations under the policies. If there is no guarantee provided by the issuer, a Fund will purchase only MBS that, at the time of purchase, are rated investment grade by one or more NRSROs or, if unrated, are deemed by the Adviser to be of comparable quality.

MBS are issued or guaranteed by private sector originators of or investors in mortgage loans and structured similarly to governmental pass-through securities. Because private pass-throughs typically lack a guarantee by an entity having the credit status of a governmental agency or instrumentality, however, they are generally structured with one or more of the types of credit enhancement described below. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac obligations are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government as Ginnie Mae certificates are. Freddie Mac securities are supported by Freddie Mac’s right to borrow from the U.S. Treasury. Each of Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guarantees timely distributions of interest to certificate holders. Each of Ginnie Mae and Fannie Mae also guarantees timely distributions of scheduled principal. Although Freddie Mac has in the past guaranteed only the ultimate collection of principal of the underlying mortgage loan, Freddie Mac now issues MBS (Freddie Mac Gold PCS) that also guarantee timely payment of monthly principal reductions. Resolution Funding Corporation obligations are backed, as to principal payments, by zero coupon U.S. Treasury bonds and, as to interest payments, ultimately by the U.S. Treasury.

There are two methods of trading MBS. A specified pool transaction is a trade in which the pool number of the security to be delivered on the settlement date is known at the time the trade is made. This is in contrast with the typical MBS transaction, called a to-be-announced (“TBA”) transaction, in which the type of MBS to be delivered is specified at the time of trade but the actual pool numbers of the securities that will be delivered are not known at the time of the trade. The pool numbers of the pools to be delivered at settlement are announced shortly before settlement takes place. The terms of the TBA trade may be made more specific if desired. Generally, agency pass-through MBS are traded on a TBA basis. Investments in TBAs may give rise to a form of leverage and may cause a Fund’s portfolio turnover rate to appear higher. Leverage may cause a Fund to be more volatile than if the Fund had not been leveraged.

Like fixed-income securities in general, MBS will generally decline in price when interest rates rise. Rising interest rates also tend to discourage refinancing of home mortgages, with the result that the average life of MBS held by a Fund may be lengthened. As average life extends, price volatility generally increases. This extension of average life causes the market price of the MBS to decrease further when interest rates rise than if their average lives were fixed. However, when interest rates fall, mortgages may not enjoy as large a gain in market value due to prepayment risk because additional mortgage prepayments must be reinvested at lower interest rates. Faster prepayment will shorten the average life and slower prepayments will lengthen it. However, it is possible to determine what the range of the average life movement could be and to calculate the effect that it will have on the price of the MBS. In selecting MBS, the Adviser looks for those that offer a higher yield to compensate for any variation in average maturity. If the underlying mortgage assets experience greater than anticipated prepayments of principal, a Fund may fail to fully recoup its initial investment in these securities, even if the security is in one of the highest rating categories. A Fund may invest, without limit, in MBS issued by private issuers when the Adviser deems that the quality of the investment, the quality of the issuer, and market conditions warrant such investments. A Fund will purchase securities issued by private issuers that are rated investment grade at the time of purchase by Moody’s, Fitch or S&P or are deemed by the Adviser to be of comparable investment quality.

Fannie Mae Certificates. Fannie Mae is a federally chartered and privately owned corporation organized and existing under the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act of 1938. Each Fannie Mae certificate represents a pro rata interest in one or more pools

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of mortgage loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration under the National Housing Act of 1934, as amended (the “Housing Act”), or Title V of the Housing Act of 1949 (“FHA Loans”), or guaranteed by the Department of Veteran Affairs under the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, as amended (“VA Loans”), or conventional mortgage loans (i.e., mortgage loans that are not insured or guaranteed by any governmental agency) of the following types: (i) fixed rate level payment mortgage loans; (ii) fixed rate growing equity mortgage loans; (iii) fixed rate graduated payment mortgage loans; (iv) variable rate California mortgage loans; (v) other adjustable rate mortgage loans; and (vi) fixed rate and adjustable mortgage loans secured by multi-family projects.

Freddie Mac Certificates. Freddie Mac is a corporate instrumentality of the United States created pursuant to the Emergency Home Finance Act of 1970, as amended (the “FHLMC Act”). Freddie Mac certificates represent a pro rata interest in a group of mortgage loans (a “Freddie Mac Certificate group”) purchased by Freddie Mac. The mortgage loans underlying the Freddie Mac Certificates consist of fixed rate or adjustable rate mortgage loans with original terms to maturity of between ten and thirty years, substantially all of which are secured by first liens on one-to-four-family residential properties or multi-family projects. Each mortgage loan must meet the applicable standards set forth in the FHLMC Act. A Freddie Mac Certificate group may include whole loans, participation interests in whole loans and undivided interests in whole loans and participations comprising another Freddie Mac Certificate group.

Ginnie Mae Certificates. Ginnie Mae is a wholly-owned corporate instrumentality of the United States within the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Housing Act authorizes Ginnie Mae to guarantee the timely payment of the principal and interest on certificates that are based on and backed by a pool of FHA Loans, VA Loans or by pools of other eligible mortgage loans. The Housing Act provides that the full faith and credit of the United States is pledged to the payment of all amounts that may be required to be paid under any guaranty. In order to meet its obligations under such guaranty, Ginnie Mae is authorized to borrow from the U.S. Treasury with no limitations as to amount.

Each Ginnie Mae certificate represents a pro rata interest in one or more of the following types of mortgage loans: (i) fixed rate level payment mortgage loans; (ii) fixed rate graduated payment mortgage loans; (iii) fixed rate growing equity mortgage loans; (iv) fixed rate mortgage loans secured by manufactured (mobile) homes; (v) mortgage loans on multi-family residential properties under construction; (vi) mortgage loans on completed multi-family projects; (vii) fixed rate mortgage loans as to which escrowed funds are used to reduce the borrower’s monthly payments during the early years of the mortgage loans (“buydown” mortgage loans); (viii) mortgage loans that provide for adjustments in payments based on periodic changes in interest rates or in other payment terms of the mortgage loans; and (ix) mortgage-backed serial notes. All of these mortgage loans will be FHA Loans or VA loans and, except as otherwise specified above, will be fully-amortizing loans secured by first liens on one-to-four-family housing units.

Collateralized Mortgage Obligations. The Funds may invest in collateralized mortgage obligations (“CMOs”), which are MBS that are collateralized by mortgage loans or mortgage pass-through securities, and multi-class pass-through securities, which are equity interests in a trust composed of mortgage loans or other MBS. Unless the context indicates otherwise, the discussion of CMOs below also applies to multi-class pass-through securities.

CMOs may be issued by governmental or government-related entities or by private entities, such as banks, savings and loan institutions, private mortgage insurance companies, mortgage bankers and other secondary market traders. CMOs are issued in multiple classes, often referred to as “tranches,” with each tranche having a specific fixed or floating coupon rate and stated maturity or final distribution date. Under the traditional CMO structure, the cash flows generated by the mortgages or mortgage pass-through securities in the collateral pool are used to first pay interest and then pay principal to the holders of the CMOs. Subject to the various provisions of individual CMO issues, the cash flow generated by the underlying collateral (to the extent it exceeds the amount required to pay the stated interest) is used to retire the bonds.

The principal and interest on the underlying collateral may be allocated among the several tranches of a CMO in innumerable ways, including “interest only” and “inverse interest only” tranches. In a common CMO structure, the tranches are retired sequentially in the order of their respective stated maturities or final distribution dates (as opposed to the pro-rata return of principal found in traditional pass-through obligations). The fastest-pay tranches would initially receive all principal payments. When those tranches are retired, the next tranches in the sequence receive all of the principal payments until they are retired. The sequential retirement of bond groups continues until the last tranche is retired. Accordingly, the CMO structure allows the issuer to use cash flows of long maturity, monthly-pay collateral to formulate securities with short, intermediate, and long final maturities and expected average lives and risk characteristics.

The primary risk of CMOs is the uncertainty of the timing of cash flows that results from the rate of prepayments on the underlying mortgages serving as collateral and from the structure of the particular CMO transaction (that is, the priority of the individual tranches). An increase or decrease in prepayment rates (resulting from a decrease or increase in mortgage interest rates) may cause the CMOs to be retired substantially earlier than their stated maturities or final distribution dates and will affect the yield and price of CMOs. In addition, if the collateral securing CMOs or any third-party guarantees are insufficient to make payments,  a Fund could sustain a loss. The prices of certain CMOs, depending on their structure and the rate of prepayments, can be volatile. Some CMOs may also not be as liquid as other types of mortgage-backed securities. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible to sell the securities at an advantageous time or price.

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Privately issued CMOs are arrangements in which the underlying mortgages are held by the issuer, which then issues debt collateralized by the underlying mortgage assets. Such securities may be backed by mortgage insurance, letters of credit, or other credit enhancing features. Although payment of the principal of, and interest on, the underlying collateral securing privately issued CMOs may be guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies and instrumentalities, these CMOs represent obligations solely of the private issuer and are not insured or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities or any other person or entity. Privately issued CMOs are subject to prepayment risk due to the possibility that prepayments on the underlying assets will alter the cash flow. Yields on privately issued CMOs have been historically higher than the yields on CMOs backed by mortgages guaranteed by U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities. The risk of loss due to default on privately issued CMOs, however, is historically higher since the U.S. Government has not guaranteed them.

New types of CMO tranches have evolved. These include floating rate CMOs, planned amortization classes, accrual bonds and CMO residuals. These newer structures affect the amount and timing of principal and interest received by each tranche from the underlying collateral. For example, an inverse interest-only class CMO entitles holders to receive no payments of principal and to receive interest at a rate that will vary inversely with a specified index or a multiple thereof. Under certain of these newer structures, given classes of CMOs have priority over others with respect to the receipt of prepayments on the mortgages. Therefore, depending on the type of CMOs in which  a Fund invests, the investment may be subject to a greater or lesser risk of prepayment than other types of MBS.

CMOs may include real estate mortgage investment conduits (“REMICs”). REMICs, which were authorized under the Tax Reform Act of 1986, are private entities formed for the purpose of holding a fixed pool of mortgages secured by an interest in real property. A REMIC is a CMO that qualifies for special tax treatment under the Code,  and invests in certain mortgages principally secured by interests in real property.

A  Fund may invest in, among others, parallel pay CMOs and planned amortization class CMOs (“PAC Bonds”). Parallel pay CMOs are structured to provide payments of principal on each payment date to more than one tranche. These simultaneous payments are taken into account in calculating the stated maturity date or final distribution date of each tranche which, as with other CMO structures, must be retired by its stated maturity date or final distribution date but may be retired earlier. PAC Bonds are a form of parallel pay CMO, with the required principal payment on such securities having the highest priority after interest has been paid to all classes. PAC Bonds generally require payments of a specified amount of principal on each payment date.

Stripped Mortgage-Backed Securities. Certain Funds may invest in stripped mortgage-backed securities (“SMBS”). An SMBS is a derivative multi-class mortgage-backed security. SMBS usually are structured with two classes that receive different proportions of the interest and principal distribution on a pool of mortgage assets. In the most extreme case, one class will receive all of the interest (the interest-only or “IO” class), while the other class will receive all of the principal (the principal-only or “PO” class). The yield to maturity on an IO class is extremely sensitive to the rate of principal payments (including prepayments) on the related underlying mortgage assets, and a rapid rate of principal payments may have a material adverse effect on such security’s yield to maturity. If the underlying mortgage assets experience greater than anticipated prepayments of principal, a Fund may fail to fully recoup its initial investment in these securities. Conversely, if the underlying mortgage assets experience less than anticipated prepayments of principal, the yield of POs could be materially adversely affected. The market values of IOs and POs are subject to greater risk of fluctuation in response to changes in market rates of interest than many other types of mortgage-backed securities. To the extent a Fund invests in IOs and POs, it may increase the risk of fluctuations in the NAV of a Fund.

Credit Enhancement. Mortgage-related securities are often backed by a pool of assets representing the obligations of a number of parties. To lessen the effect of failure by obligors on underlying assets to make payments, these securities may have various types of credit support. Credit support falls into two primary categories: (i) liquidity protection, and (ii) protection against losses resulting from ultimate default by an obligor on the underlying assets. Liquidity protection generally refers to the provision of advances, typically by the entity administering the pool of assets, to ensure that the pass-through of payments due on the underlying pool occurs in a timely fashion. Protection against losses resulting from ultimate default enhances the likelihood of ultimate payment of the obligations on at least a portion of the assets in the pool.

Such protection may be provided through guarantees, insurance policies or letters of credit obtained by the issuer or sponsor from third-parties (referred to herein as “third-party credit support”), through various means of structuring the transaction or through a combination of such approaches.

The ratings of mortgage-related securities for which third-party credit enhancement provides liquidity protection or protection against losses from default are generally dependent upon the continued creditworthiness of the provider of the credit enhancement.

The ratings of such securities could decline in the event of deterioration in the creditworthiness of the credit enhancement provider even in cases where the delinquency and loss experience on the underlying pool of assets is better than expected.

Examples of credit support arising out of the structure of the transaction include “senior-subordinated securities” (multiple class securities with one or more classes subordinate to other classes as to the payment of principal and interest thereon, with defaults on

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the underlying assets being borne first by the holders of the most subordinated class), creation of “reserve funds” (where cash or investments, sometimes funded from a portion of the payments on the underlying assets, are held in reserve against future losses) and “over-collateralization” (where the scheduled payments on, or the principal amount of, the underlying assets exceed those required to make payment of the securities and pay any servicing or other fees). The degree of credit support provided for each security is generally based on historical information with respect to the level of credit risk associated with the underlying assets. Delinquency or loss in excess of that which is anticipated could adversely affect the return on an investment in such a security.

Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities.  Commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”) are generally multi-class or pass-through securities issued by special purpose entities that represent an undivided interest in a portfolio of mortgage loans backed by commercial properties, including, but not limited to, industrial and warehouse properties, office buildings, retail space and shopping malls, hotels, healthcare facilities, multifamily properties and cooperative apartments. Private lenders, such as banks or insurance companies, originate these loans and then sell the loans directly into a CMBS trust or other entity. The commercial mortgage loans that underlie CMBS are generally not amortizing or not fully amortizing. That is, at their maturity date, repayment of the remaining principal balance or “balloon” is due and is repaid through the attainment of an additional loan or sale of this property. An extension of the final payment on commercial mortgages will increase the average life of the CMBS, generally resulting in a lower yield for discount bonds and a higher yield for premium bonds.

CMBS are subject to credit risk and prepayment risk. Although prepayment risk is present, it is of a lesser degree in the CMBS than in the residential mortgage market; commercial real estate property loans often contain provisions which substantially reduce the likelihood that such securities will be prepaid (e.g., significant prepayment penalties on loans and, in some cases, prohibition on principal payments for several years following origination).

CMBS may be less liquid and exhibit greater price volatility than other types of mortgage- or asset-backed securities. CMBS issued by private issuers may offer higher yields than CMBS issued by government issuers, but also may be subject to greater volatility and credit or default risk than CMBS issued by government issuers. In addition, at times the commercial real estate market has experienced substantially lower valuations combined with higher interest rates, leading to difficulty in refinancing debt and, as a result, the CMBS market has experienced (and could in the future experience) greatly reduced liquidity and valuations. CMBS held by the Fund may be subordinated to one or more other classes of securities of the same series for purposes of, among other things, establishing payment priorities and offsetting losses and other shortfalls with respect to the related underlying mortgage loans. There can be no assurance that the subordination will be sufficient on any date to offset all losses or expenses incurred by the underlying trust.

The values of, and income generated by, CMBS may be adversely affected by changing interest rates and other developments impacting the commercial real estate market, such as population shifts and other demographic changes, increasing vacancies (potentially for extended periods) and reduced demand for commercial and office space as well as maintenance or tenant improvement costs and costs to convert properties for other uses. These developments could result from, among other things, changing tastes and preferences (such as remote work arrangements) as well as cultural, technological, global or local economic and market developments. In addition, changing interest rate environments and associated changes in lending standards and higher refinancing rates may adversely affect the commercial real estate and CMBS markets. The occurrence of any of the foregoing developments would likely increase default risk for the properties and loans underlying these investments as well as impact the value of, and income generated by, these investments. These developments could also result in reduced liquidity for CMBS.

Repurchase Agreements. Repurchase agreements are transactions in which  a Fund purchases a security or basket of securities and simultaneously commits to resell that security or basket to the seller (a bank, broker or dealer) at a mutually agreed-upon date and price. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed-upon market rate of interest which is unrelated to the coupon rate or date of maturity of the purchased security. The term of these agreements usually ranges from overnight to one week, and never exceeds one year. Repurchase agreements with a term of over seven days are considered illiquid.

In these transactions,  a Fund receives securities that have a market value at least equal to the purchase price (including accrued interest) of the repurchase agreement, and this value is maintained during the term of the agreement. These securities are held by the Custodian  or an approved third-party for the benefit of the Fund until repurchased. Repurchase agreements permit a Fund to remain fully invested while retaining overnight flexibility to pursue investments of a longer-term nature. If the seller defaults and the value of the repurchased securities declines,  a Fund might incur a loss. If bankruptcy proceedings are commenced with respect to the seller,  a Fund’s realization upon the collateral may be delayed.

While repurchase agreements involve certain risks not associated with direct investments in debt securities, each Fund follows procedures approved by the Trustees that are designed to minimize such risks. These procedures include effecting repurchase transactions only with large, well-capitalized and well-established financial institutions whose financial condition will be continually monitored by the Adviser. In addition, as described above, the value of the collateral underlying the repurchase agreement will be at least equal to the repurchase price, including any accrued interest earned on the repurchase agreement. In the event of a default or bankruptcy by a selling financial institution, the Funds will seek to liquidate such collateral. However, the exercising of the Fund’s

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right to liquidate such collateral could involve certain costs or delays and, to the extent that proceeds from any sale upon a default of the obligation to repurchase were less than the repurchase price, the Fund could suffer a loss.  Repurchase agreements involving obligations other than U.S. government securities may be subject to special risks. Repurchase agreements secured by obligations that are not eligible for direct investment under  a Fund’s investment objectives and restrictions may require the Fund to promptly dispose of such collateral if the seller or guarantor becomes insolvent.

Each Fund may enter into repurchase agreements on a forward commitment basis. To the extent a Fund does so and the counterparty to the trade fails to effectuate the trade at the scheduled time, a Fund may be forced to deploy its capital in a repurchase agreement with a less favorable rate of return than it otherwise may have achieved or may be unable to enter into a repurchase agreement at all at the desired time.

Municipals. Municipal securities are fixed-income securities issued by local, state and regional governments that provide interest income which is exempt from federal income taxes. Municipals include both municipal bonds (those securities with maturities of five years or more) and municipal notes (those with maturities of less than five years). Municipal bonds are issued for a wide variety of reasons: to construct public facilities, such as airports, highways, bridges, schools, hospitals, mass transportation, streets, water and sewer works; to obtain funds for operating expenses; to refund outstanding municipal obligations; and to loan funds to various public institutions and facilities. Certain industrial development bonds are also considered municipal bonds if their interest is exempt from federal income tax. Industrial development bonds are issued by, or on behalf of, public authorities to obtain funds for various privately-operated manufacturing facilities, housing, sports arenas, convention centers, airports, mass transportation systems and water, gas or sewage works. Industrial development bonds are ordinarily dependent on the credit quality of a private user, not the public issuer.

The two principal classifications of municipal bonds are “general obligation” and “revenue” or “special tax” bonds. General obligation bonds are secured by the issuer’s pledge of its full faith, credit and taxing power for the payment of principal and interest. Revenue or special tax bonds are payable only from the revenues derived from a particular facility or class of facilities or, in some cases, from the proceeds of a special excise or other tax, but not from general tax revenues.

Industrial revenue bonds in most cases are revenue bonds and generally do not have the pledge of the credit of the issuer. The payment of the principal and interest on such industrial revenue bonds is dependent solely on the ability of the user of the facilities financed by the bonds to meet its financial obligations and the pledge, if any, of real and personal property so financed as security for such payment. Short-term municipal obligations issued by states, cities, municipalities or municipal agencies, include tax anticipation notes, revenue anticipation notes, bond anticipation notes, construction loan notes and short-term discount notes.

Municipal notes are issued to meet the short-term funding requirements of local, regional and state governments. Municipal notes include bond anticipation notes, revenue anticipation notes and tax and revenue anticipation notes. These are short-term debt obligations issued by state and local governments to aid cash flows while waiting for taxes or revenue to be collected, at which time the debt is retired. Other types of municipal notes in which  a Fund may invest are construction loan notes, short-term discount notes, tax-exempt commercial paper, demand notes and similar instruments.

Municipal bonds generally include debt obligations issued by states and their political subdivisions, and duly constituted authorities and corporations, to obtain funds to construct, repair or improve various public facilities such as airports, bridges, highways, hospitals, housing, schools, streets and water and sewer works. Municipal bonds may also be issued to refinance outstanding obligations as well as to obtain funds for general operating expenses and for loans to other public institutions and facilities.  In addition, municipal bonds may include obligations of municipal housing authorities and single-family mortgage revenue bonds. Weaknesses in federal housing subsidy programs and their administration may result in a decrease of subsidies available for payment of principal and interest on housing authority bonds. Economic developments, including fluctuations in interest rates and increasing construction and operating costs, may also adversely impact revenues of housing authorities. In the case of some housing authorities, inability to obtain additional financing could also reduce revenues available to pay existing obligations. Single-family mortgage revenue bonds are subject to extraordinary mandatory redemption at par in whole or in part from the proceeds derived from prepayments of underlying mortgage loans and also from the unused proceeds of the issue within a stated period which may be within a year from the date of issue.

Note obligations with demand or put options may have a stated maturity in excess of one year, but permit any holder to demand payment of principal plus accrued interest upon a specified number of days’ notice. Frequently, such obligations are secured by letters of credit or other credit support arrangements provided by banks. The issuer of such notes normally has a corresponding right, after a given period, to repay at its discretion the outstanding principal of the note plus accrued interest upon a specific number of days’ notice to the bondholders. The interest rate on a demand note may be based upon a known lending rate, such as the prime lending rate, and be adjusted when such rate changes, or the interest rate on a demand note may be a market rate that is adjusted at specified intervals. Each note purchased by the  Funds will meet the quality criteria set out in the applicable Prospectus for the Funds.

The yields of municipal bonds depend on, among other things, general money market conditions, conditions in the municipal bond market, the size of a particular offering, the maturity of the obligation, and the rating of the issue. The ratings of Moody’s and S&P

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represent their opinions of the quality of the municipal bonds rated by them. It should be emphasized that such ratings are general and are not absolute standards of quality. Consequently, municipal bonds with the same maturity, coupon and rating may have different yields, while municipal bonds of the same maturity and coupon, but with different ratings, may have the same yield. It will be the responsibility of the Adviser to appraise independently the fundamental quality of the bonds held by the Funds.

Municipal bonds are sometimes purchased on a “when-issued” or “delayed-delivery” basis, which means  a Fund has committed to purchase certain specified securities at an agreed-upon price when they are issued. The period between commitment date and issuance date can be a month or more. It is possible that the securities will never be issued and the commitment canceled.

From time to time proposals have been introduced before Congress to restrict or eliminate the federal income tax exemption for interest on municipal bonds. Similar proposals may be introduced in the future.

Similarly, from time to time proposals have been introduced before state and local legislatures to restrict or eliminate the state and local income tax exemption for interest on municipal bonds. Similar proposals may be introduced in the future.

The  Funds may also purchase bonds the income on which is subject to the alternative minimum tax (“AMT bonds”). AMT bonds are tax-exempt private activity bonds issued after August 7, 1986, the proceeds of which are directed, at least in part, to private, for-profit organizations. While the income from AMT bonds is exempt from regular federal income tax, it is a tax preference item in the calculation of the alternative minimum tax. The alternative minimum tax is a special separate tax that applies to some taxpayers who have certain adjustments to income or tax preference items.

Municipal obligations of any type, such as general obligation and revenue or special tax bonds as well as other municipal obligations associated with specific projects, can be negatively affected by changing demographic trends, such as population shifts or changing tastes and values, or increasing vacancies or declining rents resulting from legal, cultural, technological, global or local economic developments, as well as reduced demand for properties, revenues or goods. As a result of various economic, market and other factors, there could be reduced tax or other revenue available to issuers of municipal obligations and, in turn, increased budgetary and financial pressure on municipalities and other issuers of municipal obligations, which could adversely impact the risks associated with municipal obligations of such issuer. As a result, a Fund’s investments in municipal obligations may be subject to heightened risks relating to the occurrence of such developments.

An issuer of municipal securities may file for bankruptcy or otherwise seek to reorganize its debts by extending debt maturities, reducing the amount of principal or interest, refinancing the debt or taking other measures, in each case which may significantly affect the rights of creditors and the value of the municipal securities and the value of a Fund’s investments in such municipal securities. In addition, changes to bankruptcy laws may adversely impact a Fund’s investments in municipal securities, including creditor rights, if the issuer seeks bankruptcy protection.

Build America Bonds are taxable municipal securities on which the issuer receives federal support of the interest paid. Assuming certain specified conditions are satisfied, issuers of Build America Bonds may either (i) receive reimbursement from the U.S. Treasury with respect to a portion of its interest payments on the bonds (“direct pay” Build America Bonds) or (ii) provide tax credits to investors in the bonds (“tax credit” Build America Bonds). Unlike most other municipal securities, interest received on Build America Bonds is subject to federal and state income tax. Issuance of Build America Bonds ceased on December 31, 2010. The number of Build America Bonds available in the market is limited, which may negatively affect the value of the Build America Bonds.

The Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF may invest in municipal securities that are related in such a way that an economic, business, or political development or change affecting one such security would likewise affect the other municipal securities. For example, the Fund may invest 25% or more of its total assets in certain types of municipal obligations (such as general obligations, municipal leases, principal only municipal investments, revenue bonds and industrial development bonds) and in one or more states, territories and economic sectors (such as housing, hospitals, healthcare facilities or utilities).

The Funds may hold municipal private placements. These securities are sold through private negotiations, usually to institutions or mutual funds, and generally have resale restrictions. Their yields are usually higher than comparable public securities to compensate the investor for their limited marketability. No more than 15% of a Fund’s net assets may be comprised of illiquid investments that are assets, which may include unmarketable private placements.

Lease Obligations. Included within the revenue bonds category in which  a Fund may invest are participations in lease obligations or installment purchase contracts (hereinafter collectively called “lease obligations”) of municipalities. State and local governments, agencies or authorities issue lease obligations to acquire equipment and facilities. Lease obligations may have risks not normally associated with general obligation or other revenue bonds. Leases, and installment purchase or conditional sale contracts (which may provide for title to the leased asset to pass eventually to the issuer), have developed as a means for governmental issuers to acquire property and equipment without the necessity of complying with the constitutional and statutory requirements generally applicable for the issuance of debt. Certain lease obligations contain “non-appropriation” clauses that provide that the governmental issuer has no obligation to make future payments under the lease or contract unless money is appropriated for such purpose by the appropriate legislative body on an annual or other periodic basis. Consequently, continued lease payments on those lease obligations containing

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“non-appropriation” clauses are dependent on future legislative actions. If such legislative actions do not occur, the holders of the lease obligation may experience difficulty in exercising their rights, including disposition of the property.

In addition, lease obligations do not have the depth of marketability associated with more conventional municipal obligations, and, as a result, certain of such lease obligations may be considered illiquid securities. The  Adviser, pursuant to procedures adopted by the Trustees, will make a determination as to the liquidity of each lease obligation purchased by the Funds. If a lease obligation is determined to be “liquid,” the security will not be included within the category “illiquid securities.”

Asset-Backed Securities.  Certain Funds may invest in asset-backed securities. Asset-backed securities utilize the securitization techniques used to develop MBS. These techniques are also applied to a broad range of other assets. Various types of assets, primarily automobile and credit card receivables and home equity loans, are being securitized in pass-through structures similar to the mortgage pass-through structures. These types of securities are known as asset-backed securities. A Fund may invest in any type of asset-backed security. Asset-backed securities have risk characteristics similar to MBS. Like MBS, they generally decrease in value as a result of interest rate increases, but may benefit less than other fixed-income securities from declining interest rates, principally because of prepayments. Also, as in the case of MBS, prepayments generally increase during a period of declining interest rates although other factors, such as changes in credit use and payment patterns, may also influence prepayment rates. Asset-backed securities also involve the risk that various federal and state consumer laws and other legal, regulatory and economic factors may result in the collateral backing the securities being insufficient to support payment on the securities.

Temporary Investments. Under adverse or unstable market conditions or abnormal circumstances or when the Adviser believes that changes in market, economic, political or other conditions warrant, the Funds may, in the discretion of the Adviser, take temporary positions that are inconsistent with the Funds’ principal investment strategies in attempting to respond to such conditions or circumstances. For example, the Fund may invest without limit in cash, cash equivalents or other fixed-income instruments, derivatives, repurchase agreements or securities of other investment companies, including money market funds, for temporary purposes. In addition, with respect to the Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF, when the Adviser believes that conditions warrant, including when suitable municipal obligations are unavailable, the Fund may invest without limit in securities subject to federal income tax or in securities that pay interest income subject to the federal “alternative minimum tax.” Under such circumstances, a higher portion of the Fund’s distributions will likely be subject to federal income tax and/or the federal alternative minimum tax. If the Adviser incorrectly predicts the effects of these changes or during periods of temporary defensive or other temporary positions, such temporary investments may adversely affect a Fund’s performance and the Fund may not achieve its investment objective.

Zero Coupons, Pay-In-Kind Securities or Deferred Payment Securities. Zero coupon, pay-in-kind and deferred payment securities are all types of fixed-income securities on which the holder does not receive periodic cash payments of interest or principal. Generally, these securities are subject to greater price volatility and lesser liquidity in the event of adverse market conditions than comparably rated securities paying cash interest at regular intervals. Although  a Fund will not receive cash periodic coupon payments on these securities, the Fund may be deemed to have received interest income, or “phantom income” during the life of the obligation. The Fund may have to distribute such phantom income to avoid taxes at the Fund level, although it has not received any cash payment.

Zero Coupons. Zero coupons are fixed-income securities that do not make regular interest payments. Instead, zero coupons are sold at a discount from their face value. The difference between a zero coupon’s issue or purchase price and its face value represents the imputed interest an investor will earn if the obligation is held until maturity. For tax purposes, a portion of this imputed interest is deemed as income received by zero coupon bondholders each year. Each Fund intends to pass along such interest as a component of the Fund’s distributions of net investment income.

Zero coupons may offer investors the opportunity to earn a higher yield than that available on ordinary interest-paying obligations of similar credit quality and maturity. However, zero coupon prices may also exhibit greater price volatility than ordinary fixed-income securities because of the manner in which their principal and interest are returned to the investor.

Pay-In-Kind Securities. Pay-in-kind securities are securities that have interest payable by delivery of additional securities. Upon maturity, the holder is entitled to receive the aggregate par value of the securities.

Deferred Payment Securities. Deferred payment securities are securities that remain zero coupons until a predetermined date, at which time the stated coupon rate becomes effective and interest becomes payable at regular intervals.

Eurodollar and Yankee Dollar Obligations.The Funds may invest in Eurodollar and Yankee dollar obligations. Eurodollar and Yankee dollar obligations are fixed-income securities that include time deposits, which are non-negotiable deposits maintained in a bank for a specified period of time at a stated interest rate. The Eurodollar obligations may include bonds issued and denominated in euros. Eurodollar obligations may be issued by government and corporate issuers in Europe. Yankee dollar obligations, which include time deposits and certificates of deposit, are U.S. dollar-denominated obligations issued in the U.S. capital markets by foreign banks. Eurodollar bank obligations, which include time deposits and certificates of deposit, are U.S. dollar-denominated obligations issued

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outside the U.S. capital markets by foreign branches of U.S. banks and by  foreign banks. The  Funds may consider Yankee dollar obligations to be domestic securities for purposes of their investment policies.

Eurodollar and Yankee dollar obligations are subject to the same risks as domestic issues, notably credit risk, market risk and liquidity risk. However, Eurodollar (and to a limited extent, Yankee dollar) obligations are also subject to certain sovereign risks. One such risk is the possibility that a sovereign country might prevent capital from flowing across its borders. Other risks include adverse political and economic developments; the extent and quality of government regulations of financial markets and institutions; the imposition of foreign withholding taxes; and the expropriation or nationalization of foreign issuers.

Foreign Securities. Investing in foreign securities involves certain special considerations which are not typically associated with investments in the securities of U.S. issuers. Foreign issuers are not generally subject to uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and may have policies that are not comparable to those of domestic issuers. As a result, there may be less information available about foreign issuers than about domestic issuers. Securities of some foreign issuers may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable domestic issuers. There is generally less stringent investor protections and disclosure standards, and less government supervision and regulation of stock exchanges, brokers and listed issuers than in the United States. In addition, with respect to certain foreign countries, there is a possibility of expropriation or confiscatory taxation, political and social instability, or diplomatic developments which could affect U.S. investments in those countries. The costs of investing in foreign countries frequently are higher than the costs of investing in the United States. Although the Adviser endeavors to achieve the most favorable execution costs in portfolio transactions, fixed commissions on many foreign stock exchanges are generally higher than negotiated commissions on U.S. exchanges. In addition, investments in certain foreign markets that have historically been considered stable may become more volatile and subject to increased risk due to ongoing developments and changing conditions in such markets. Moreover, the growing interconnectivity of global economies and financial markets has increased the probability that adverse developments and conditions in one country or region will affect the stability of economies and financial markets in other countries or regions. For instance, if one or more countries leave the European Union (“EU”) or the EU dissolves, the world’s securities markets likely will be significantly disrupted.

Investments in foreign markets may also be adversely affected by governmental actions such as the imposition of capital controls, nationalization of companies or industries, expropriation of assets or the imposition of punitive taxes. The governments of certain countries may prohibit or impose substantial restrictions on foreign investing in their capital markets or in certain sectors or industries. In addition, a foreign government may limit or cause delay in the convertibility or repatriation of its currency which would adversely affect the U.S. dollar value and/or liquidity of investments denominated in that currency. Certain foreign investments may become less liquid in response to market developments or adverse investor perceptions, or become illiquid after purchase by a Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. When a Fund holds illiquid investments, its portfolio may be harder to value.

Investments in securities of foreign issuers may be denominated in foreign currencies. Accordingly, the value of a Fund’s assets, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be affected favorably or unfavorably by changes in currency exchange rates and in exchange control regulations. A Fund may incur costs in connection with conversions between various currencies.

Certain foreign markets may rely heavily on particular industries or foreign capital and are more vulnerable to diplomatic developments, the imposition of economic sanctions against a particular country or countries, organizations, companies, entities and/or individuals, changes in international trading patterns, trade barriers, and other protectionist or retaliatory measures. International trade barriers or economic sanctions against foreign countries, organizations, companies, entities and/or individuals, may adversely affect a Fund’s foreign holdings or exposures. Investments in foreign markets may also be adversely affected by governmental actions such as the imposition of capital controls, nationalization of companies or industries, expropriation of assets, or the imposition of punitive taxes. Governmental actions can have a significant effect on the economic conditions in foreign countries, which also may adversely affect the value and liquidity of a Fund’s investments. For example, the governments of certain countries may prohibit or impose substantial restrictions on foreign investing in their capital markets or in certain sectors or industries. In addition, a foreign government may limit or cause delay in the convertibility or repatriation of its currency which would adversely affect the U.S. dollar value and/or liquidity of investments denominated in that currency. Any of these actions could severely affect security prices, impair a Fund’s ability to purchase or sell foreign securities or transfer a Fund’s assets back into the U.S., or otherwise adversely affect a Fund’s operations. Certain foreign investments may become less liquid in response to market developments or adverse investor perceptions, or become illiquid after purchase by a Fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. Certain foreign investments may become illiquid when, for instance, there are few, if any, interested buyers and sellers or when dealers are unwilling to make a market for certain securities. When a Fund holds illiquid investments, its portfolio may be harder to value.

Certain foreign governments may levy withholding or other taxes on dividend and interest income. Although in some countries a portion of these taxes may be recoverable, the non-recovered portion of foreign withholding taxes will reduce the income received from investments in such countries. See “Taxes -- Special Tax Considerations Relating to Foreign Investments”, below.

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Foreign securities may include, without limitation, foreign equity securities, which are equity securities of a non-U.S. issuer, foreign government fixed-income securities, which are fixed-income securities issued by a government other than the U.S. Government or government-related issuer in a country other than the United States, and foreign corporate fixed-income securities, which are fixed-income securities issued by a private issuer in a country other than the United States.

Investments in foreign companies and countries are subject to economic sanction and trade laws in the United States and other jurisdictions. These laws and related governmental actions may, from time to time, prohibit a Fund from investing in certain countries and in certain companies. Investments in certain countries and companies may be, and have in the past been, restricted as a result of the imposition of economic sanctions. In addition, economic sanction laws in the United States and other jurisdictions may prohibit a Fund from transacting with a particular country or countries, organizations, companies, entities and/or individuals. These types of sanctions may significantly restrict or completely prohibit investment activities in certain jurisdictions.

Economic sanctions and other similar governmental actions could, among other things, effectively restrict or eliminate a Fund’s ability to purchase or sell securities or groups of securities, and thus may make the Fund’s investments in such securities less liquid or more difficult to value. In addition, as a result of economic sanctions, the Fund may be forced to sell or otherwise dispose of investments at inopportune times or prices, which could result in losses to the Fund and increased transaction costs. These conditions may be in place for a substantial period of time and enacted with limited advance notice to the Fund.

In addition, such economic sanctions or other government restrictions may negatively impact the value or liquidity of a Fund’s investments, and could impair the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective or invest in accordance with its investment strategy because the Fund may, for example, be prohibited from investing in securities issued by companies subject to such restrictions and the Fund could be required to freeze or divest its existing investments that the Adviser would otherwise consider to be attractive.

The risks posed by economic sanctions against a particular foreign country, its nationals or industries or businesses within the country may be heightened to the extent a Fund invests significantly in the affected country or region or in issuers from the affected country that depend on global markets.

Referendum on the UK’s EU Membership. In an advisory referendum held in June 2016, the United Kingdom (“UK”) electorate voted to leave the EU, an event widely referred to as “Brexit.” On January 31, 2020, the UK officially withdrew from the EU and the UK entered a transition period which ended on December 31, 2020. On December 30, 2020, the EU and UK signed the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (“TCA”), an agreement on the terms governing certain aspects of the EU’s and the UK’s relationship following the end of the transition period. Notwithstanding the TCA, following the transition period, there is likely to be considerable uncertainty as to the UK’s post-transition framework.

The impact on the UK and the EU and the broader global economy is still unknown but could be significant and could result in increased volatility and illiquidity and potentially lower economic growth. Brexit may have a negative impact on the economy and currency of the UK and the EU as a result of anticipated, perceived or actual changes to the UK’s economic and political relations with the EU. The impact of Brexit, and its ultimate implementation, on the economic, political and regulatory environment of the UK and the EU could have global ramifications.

The Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF and Eaton Vance High Yield ETF Funds may make investments in the UK, other EU members and in non-EU countries that are directly or indirectly affected by the exit of the UK from the EU. Adverse legal, regulatory or economic conditions affecting the economies of the countries in which the Funds conduct their business (including making investments) and any corresponding deterioration in global macro-economic conditions could have a material adverse effect on a Fund’s investment returns. Potential consequences to which the Funds may be exposed, directly or indirectly, as a result of the UK referendum vote include, but are not limited to, market dislocations, economic and financial instability in the UK and in other EU members, increased volatility and reduced liquidity in financial markets, reduced availability of capital, an adverse effect on investor and market sentiment, Sterling and Euro destabilization, reduced deal flow in a Fund’s target markets, increased counterparty risk and regulatory, legal and compliance uncertainties. Any of the foregoing or similar risks could have a material adverse effect on the operations, financial condition or investment returns of a Fund and/or the Adviser in general. The effects on the UK, European and global economies of the exit of the UK (and/or other EU members during the term of a Fund) from the EU, or the exit of other EU members from the European monetary area and/or the redenomination of financial instruments from the Euro to a different currency, are difficult to predict and to protect fully against. Many of the foregoing risks are outside of the control of a Fund and the Adviser. These risks may affect a Fund, the Adviser and other service providers given economic, political and regulatory uncertainty created by Brexit.

Emerging Market Securities. Certain Funds may invest in emerging market securities. An emerging market security is a security issued by an emerging market foreign government or private issuer. An emerging market foreign government or private issuer has one or more of the following characteristics: (i) its principal securities trading market is in an emerging market or developing country; (ii) alone or on a consolidated basis it derives 50% or more of its annual revenue or profits from goods produced, sales made or services performed in an emerging market or developing country or has at least 50% of its assets in an emerging market or developing country; or (iii) it is organized under the laws of, or has a principal office in, an emerging market or developing country. Based on

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these criteria it is possible for a security to be considered issued by an issuer in more than one country. Therefore, it is possible for the securities of any issuer that has one or more of these characteristics in connection with any emerging market or developing country to be considered an emerging market security when held in one Fund, but not considered an emerging market security when held in another Fund if it has one or more of these characteristics in connection with a developed country.

Emerging market describes any country that is generally considered to be an emerging or developing country by major organizations in the international financial community or by a Fund’s benchmark index.

The economies of individual emerging market or developing countries may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross domestic product, rate of inflation or deflation, currency depreciation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency and balance of payments position. Further, the economies of developing countries generally are heavily dependent upon international trade and, accordingly, have been, and may continue to be, adversely affected by trade barriers, exchange controls, managed adjustments in relative currency values and other protectionist measures. These economies also have been, and may continue to be, adversely affected by economic conditions in the countries with which they trade.

Prior governmental approval for foreign investments may be required under certain circumstances in some emerging market or developing countries, and the extent of foreign investment in certain fixed-income securities and domestic companies may be subject to limitation in other emerging market or developing countries. Foreign ownership limitations also may be imposed by the charters of individual companies in emerging market or developing countries to prevent, among other concerns, violation of foreign investment limitations. Repatriation of investment income, capital and the proceeds of sales by foreign investors may require governmental registration and/or approval in some emerging countries. A Fund could be adversely affected by delays in, or a refusal to grant, any required governmental registration or approval for such repatriation. Any investment subject to such repatriation controls will be considered illiquid if it appears reasonably likely that this process will take more than seven days.

Certain emerging market countries may be subject to less stringent requirements regarding accounting, auditing, financial reporting and record keeping and therefore, material information related to an investment may not be available or reliable. In addition, a Fund is limited in its ability to exercise its legal rights or enforce a counterparty’s legal obligations in certain jurisdictions outside of the United States, in particular, in emerging markets countries.

Investment in emerging market or developing countries may entail purchasing securities issued by or on behalf of entities that are insolvent, bankrupt, in default or otherwise engaged in an attempt to reorganize or reschedule their obligations and in entities that have little or no proven credit rating or credit history. In any such case, the issuer’s poor or deteriorating financial condition may increase the likelihood that a Fund will experience losses or diminution in available gains due to bankruptcy, insolvency or fraud. Emerging market or developing countries also pose the risk of nationalization, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, political changes, government regulation, social instability or diplomatic developments (including war) that could adversely affect the economies of such countries or the value of a Fund’s investments in those countries. In addition, it may be difficult to obtain and enforce a judgment in a court outside the United States.

A Fund may also be exposed to an extra degree of custodial and/or market risk, especially where the securities purchased are not traded on an official exchange or where ownership records regarding the securities are maintained by an unregulated entity (or even the issuer itself).

Foreign Currency Transactions. The U.S. dollar value of the assets of the Funds, to the extent they invest in securities denominated in foreign currencies, may be affected favorably or unfavorably by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations, and the Funds may incur costs in connection with conversions between various currencies. Currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time for a number of reasons, including changes in interest rates and the overall economic health of the issuer. Devaluation of a currency by a country’s government or banking authority also will have a significant impact on the value of any investments denominated in that currency. The Funds may conduct their foreign currency exchange transactions on a spot (i.e., cash) basis at the then-prevailing spot rate in the foreign currency exchange market. The Funds also may manage their foreign currency transactions by entering into foreign currency forward exchange contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies or by using other instruments and techniques described under “Derivatives.”

Under normal circumstances, consideration of the prospect for changes in the values of currency will be incorporated into the long-term investment decisions made with regard to overall diversification strategies. However, the Adviser believes that it is important to have the flexibility to use such derivative products when it determines that it is in the best interests of a Fund. It may not be practicable to hedge foreign currency risk in all markets, particularly emerging markets.

Foreign Currency Warrants. The Funds may invest in foreign currency warrants, which entitle the holder to receive from the issuer an amount of cash (generally, for warrants issued in the United States, in U.S. dollars) which is calculated pursuant to a predetermined formula and based on the exchange rate between a specified foreign currency and the U.S. dollar as of the exercise date of the warrant. Foreign currency warrants generally are exercisable upon their issuance and expire as of a specified date and time.

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Foreign currency warrants have been issued in connection with U.S. dollar-denominated debt offerings by major corporate issuers in an attempt to reduce the foreign currency exchange risk which, from the point of view of prospective purchasers of the securities, is inherent in the international fixed-income marketplace. Foreign currency warrants may attempt to reduce the foreign exchange risk assumed by purchasers of a security by, for example, providing for a supplemental payment in the event that the U.S. dollar depreciates against the value of a major foreign currency such as the Japanese Yen. The formula used to determine the amount payable upon exercise of a foreign currency warrant may make the warrant worthless unless the applicable foreign currency exchange rate moves in a particular direction (e.g., unless the U.S. dollar appreciates or depreciates against the particular foreign currency to which the warrant is linked or indexed). Foreign currency warrants are severable from the debt obligations with which they may be offered, and may be listed on exchanges.

Foreign currency warrants may be exercisable only in certain minimum amounts, and an investor wishing to exercise warrants who possesses less than the minimum number required for exercise may be required either to sell the warrants or to purchase additional warrants, thereby incurring additional transaction costs. In the case of any exercise of warrants, there may be a delay between the time a holder of warrants gives instructions to exercise and the time the exchange rate relating to exercise is determined, during which time the exchange rate could change significantly, thereby affecting both the market and cash settlement values of the warrants being exercised. The expiration date of the warrants may be accelerated if the warrants should be delisted from an exchange or if their trading should be suspended permanently, which would result in the loss of any remaining “time value” of the warrants (i.e., the difference between the current market value and the exercise value of the warrants), and, in the case where the warrants were “out-of-the-money,” in a total loss of the purchase price of the warrants.

Foreign currency warrants are generally unsecured obligations of their issuers and are not standardized foreign currency options issued by the Options Clearing Corporation (“OCC”). Unlike foreign currency options issued by the OCC, the terms of foreign exchange warrants generally will not be amended in the event of governmental or regulatory actions affecting exchange rates or in the event of the imposition of other regulatory controls affecting the international currency markets. The initial public offering price of foreign currency warrants is generally considerably in excess of the price that a commercial user of foreign currencies might pay in the interbank market for a comparable option involving significantly larger amounts of foreign currencies. Foreign currency warrants are subject to complex political or economic factors.

Principal Exchange Rate Linked Securities. Principal exchange rate linked securities are debt obligations the principal of which is payable at maturity in an amount that may vary based on the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and a particular foreign currency at or about that time. The return on “standard” principal exchange rate linked securities is enhanced if the foreign currency to which the security is linked appreciates against the U.S. dollar, and is adversely affected by increases in the foreign exchange value of the U.S. dollar; “reverse” principal exchange rate linked securities are like the “standard” securities, except that their return is enhanced by increases in the value of the U.S. dollar and adversely impacted by increases in the value of foreign currency. Interest payments on the securities are generally made in U.S. dollars at rates that reflect the degree of foreign currency risk assumed or given up by the purchaser of the notes (i.e., at relatively higher interest rates if the purchaser has assumed some foreign currency risk).

Brady Bonds. Brady Bonds are fixed-income securities that are created through the exchange of existing commercial bank loans to foreign entities for new obligations in connection with debt restructuring under a plan introduced by Nicholas F. Brady when he was the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. They may be collateralized or uncollateralized and issued in various currencies (although most are U.S. dollar-denominated) and they are actively traded in the over-the-counter (“OTC”) secondary market.  A Fund will invest in Brady Bonds only if they are consistent with the Fund’s quality specifications. Dollar-denominated, collateralized Brady Bonds may be fixed-rate par bonds or floating rate discount bonds. Interest payments on Brady Bonds generally are collateralized by cash or securities in an amount that, in the case of fixed-rate bonds, is equal to at least one year of rolling interest payments or, in the case of floating rate bonds, initially is equal to at least one year’s rolling interest payments based on the applicable interest rate at that time and is adjusted at regular intervals thereafter. Certain Brady Bonds are entitled to “value recovery payments” in certain circumstances, which in effect constitute supplemental interest payments but generally are not collateralized.

Brady Bonds are often viewed as having three or four valuation components: (i) the collateralized repayment of principal at final maturity; (ii) the collateralized interest payments; (iii) the uncollateralized interest payments; and (iv) any uncollateralized repayment of principal at maturity (these uncollateralized amounts constitute the “residual risk”). In the event of a default with respect to collateralized Brady Bonds as a result of which the payment obligations of the issuer are accelerated, the U.S. Treasury zero coupon obligations held as collateral for the payment of principal will not be distributed to investors, nor will such obligations be sold and the proceeds distributed. The collateral will be held by the collateral agent to the scheduled maturity of the defaulted Brady Bonds, which will continue to be outstanding, at which time the face amount of the collateral will equal the principal payments due on the Brady Bonds in the normal course. However, Brady Bonds should be viewed as speculative in light of the history of defaults with respect to commercial bank loans by public and private entities of countries issuing Brady Bonds.

Investment Funds.  Some emerging market countries have laws and regulations that currently preclude direct investment or make it undesirable to invest directly in the securities of their companies. However, indirect investment in the securities of companies listed and traded on the stock exchanges in these countries is permitted by certain emerging market countries through investment funds

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that have been specifically authorized.  A Fund may invest in these investment funds subject to the provisions of the 1940 Act, as applicable, and other applicable laws. The  Funds will invest in such investment funds only where appropriate given that the Fund’s shareholders will bear indirectly the layer of expenses of the underlying investment funds in addition to their proportionate share of the expenses of the Fund.

Loans of Portfolio Securities.Each  Fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers, banks and other institutional investors. By lending its portfolio securities,  a Fund attempts to increase its net investment income through the receipt of interest on the cash collateral with respect to the loan or fees received from the borrower in connection with the loan. Any gain or loss in the market price of the securities loaned that might occur during the term of the loan would be for the account of the Fund. The Funds employ an agent to implement the securities lending program and the agent receives a fee from the Funds for its services.  A Fund will not lend more than 33⅓% of the value of its total assets.

Each  Fund may lend its portfolio securities so long as the terms, structure and the aggregate amount of such loans are not inconsistent with the 1940 Act or the rules and regulations or interpretations of the SEC thereunder, which currently require that (i) the borrower pledge and maintain with the Fund collateral consisting of liquid, unencumbered assets having a value not less than 100% of the value of the securities loaned; (ii) the borrower adds to such collateral whenever the price of the securities loaned rises (i.e., the borrower “marks-to-market” on a daily basis); (iii) the loan be made subject to termination by the Fund at any time; and (iv) the Fund receives a reasonable return on the loan (which may include the Fund investing any cash collateral in interest bearing short-term investments), any distributions on the loaned securities and any increase in their market value. In addition, voting rights may pass with the loaned securities, but  a Fund will retain the right to call any security in anticipation of a vote that the Adviser deems material to the security on loan.

Loans of securities involve a risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities or may fail to maintain the proper amount of collateral, which may result in a loss of money by  a Fund. There may be risks of delay and costs involved in recovery of securities or even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially. These delays and costs could be greater for foreign securities. However, loans will be made only to borrowers deemed by the Adviser to be creditworthy and when, in the judgment of the Adviser, the income that can be earned from such securities loans justifies the attendant risk. All relevant facts and circumstances, including the creditworthiness of the broker, dealer, bank or institution, will be considered in making decisions with respect to the lending of securities, subject to review by the Trust’s Board of Trustees. Each Fund also bears the risk that the reinvestment of collateral will result in a principal loss. Finally, there is the risk that the price of the securities will increase while they are on loan and the collateral will not be adequate to cover their value.

Non-Publicly Traded Securities, Private Placements and Restricted Securities. The  Funds may invest in securities that are neither listed on a stock exchange nor traded OTC, including privately placed and restricted securities. Such unlisted securities may involve a higher degree of business and financial risk that can result in substantial losses. As a result of the absence of a public trading market for these securities, they may be less liquid than publicly traded securities. Although these securities may be resold in privately negotiated transactions, the prices realized from these sales could be less than those originally paid by a Fund or less than what may be considered the fair value of such securities. Furthermore, companies whose securities are not publicly traded may not be subject to the disclosure and other investor protection requirements which might be applicable if their securities were publicly traded. The illiquidity of the market, as well as the lack of publicly available information regarding these securities, may also adversely affect the ability of the Funds  to arrive at a fair value for certain securities at certain times and could make it difficult for  the Funds  to sell certain securities. If such securities are required to be registered under the securities laws of one or more jurisdictions before being sold,  a Fund may be required to bear the expenses of registration.

The  Funds may purchase equity securities, in a private placement, that are issued by issuers who have outstanding, publicly-traded equity securities of the same class (“private investments in public equity” or “PIPEs”). Shares in PIPEs generally are not registered with the SEC until after a certain time period from the date the private sale is completed. This restricted period can last many months. Until the public registration process is completed, PIPEs are restricted as to resale and the Funds  cannot freely trade the securities. Generally, such restrictions cause the PIPEs to be illiquid during this time. PIPEs may contain provisions that the issuer will pay specified financial penalties to the holder if the issuer does not publicly register the restricted equity securities within a specified period of time, but there is no assurance that the restricted equity securities will be publicly registered, or that the registration will remain in effect.

When-Issued and Delayed Delivery Securities, TBAs and Forward Commitments.   A  Fund may purchase or sell securities on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis or may purchase or sell securities on a forward commitment basis. When these transactions are negotiated, the price is fixed at the time of the commitment, but delivery and payment can take place a month or more after the date of commitment. The Funds may sell the securities before the settlement date if it is deemed advisable. The securities so purchased or sold are subject to market fluctuation and no interest or dividends accrue to the purchaser prior to the settlement date. In addition, a Fund may invest in to-be-announced pass-through mortgage securities, which settle on a delayed delivery basis (“TBAs”). In a TBA transaction, the buyer and seller agree upon general trade parameters such as agency, settlement date, par amount, and price at the time the contract is entered into but the MBS are delivered in the future, generally 30 days later. Accordingly, a Fund’s investments

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in TBAs are subject to risks such as failure of the counterparty to perform its obligation to deliver the security, the characteristics of a security delivered to a Fund may be less favorable than expected and the security a Fund buys will lose value prior to its delivery. Please see “Derivatives -- Regulatory Matters”, above.

At the time  a Fund makes the commitment to purchase or sell securities on a when-issued, delayed delivery or forward commitment basis, it will record the transaction and thereafter reflect the value, each day, of such security purchased, or if a sale, the proceeds to be received, in determining its NAV. At the time of delivery of the securities, their value may be more or less than the purchase or sale price. An increase in the percentage of  a Fund’s assets committed to the purchase of securities on a when-issued, delayed delivery or forward commitment basis may increase the volatility of its NAV.  Please see “Derivatives Agreements -- Regulatory Matters”, below.

Borrowing for Investment Purposes. Borrowing for investment purposes creates leverage which is a speculative characteristic. Funds authorized to borrow will do so only when the Adviser believes that borrowing will benefit the Fund after taking into account considerations such as the costs of borrowing and the likely investment returns on securities purchased with borrowed funds. Borrowing by a Fund will create the opportunity for increased net income but, at the same time, will involve special risk considerations. Leverage that results from borrowing will magnify declines as well as increases in a Fund’s NAV and net yield. Each Fund that engages in borrowing expects that all of its borrowing will be made on a secured basis. The Fund will either segregate the assets securing the borrowing for the benefit of the lenders or arrangements will be made with a suitable sub-custodian. If assets used to secure the borrowing decrease in value, a Fund may be required to pledge additional collateral to the lender in the form of cash or securities to avoid liquidation of those assets.

Reverse Repurchase Agreements. Under a reverse repurchase agreement, a Fund sells a security and promises to repurchase that security at an agreed-upon future date and price. The price paid to repurchase the security reflects interest accrued during the term of the agreement. Reverse repurchase agreements may be entered into for, among other things, obtaining leverage, facilitating short-term liquidity or when the Adviser expects that the interest income to be earned from the investment of the transaction proceeds will be greater than the related interest expense. Please see “Derivatives Agreements -- Regulatory Matters”. Reverse repurchase agreements may be viewed as a speculative form of borrowing called leveraging. Furthermore, reverse repurchase agreements involve the risks that (i) the interest income earned in the investment of the proceeds will be less than the interest expense, (ii) the market value of the securities retained in lieu of sale by a Fund may decline below the price of the securities the Fund has sold but is obligated to repurchase, (iii) the market value of the securities sold will decline below the price at which the Fund is required to repurchase them and (iv) the securities will not be returned to the Fund.

In addition, the use of leverage may cause a Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations. Leverage, including borrowing, may cause a Fund to be more volatile than if the Fund had not been leveraged. This is because leverage tends to exaggerate the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of a Fund’s portfolio securities. All forms of borrowing (including reverse repurchase agreements) are limited in the aggregate and may not exceed 33⅓% of the Fund’s total assets, except as permitted by law or SEC requirements.

Short Sales. A short sale is a transaction in which  a Fund sells securities that it owns or has the right to acquire at no added cost (i.e., “against the box”) or does not own (but has borrowed) in anticipation of a decline in the market price of the securities. To deliver the securities to the buyer,  a Fund arranges through a broker to borrow the securities and, in so doing, the Fund becomes obligated to replace the securities borrowed at their market price at the time of replacement. When selling short,  a Fund intends to replace the securities at a lower price and therefore, profit from the difference between the cost to replace the securities and the proceeds received from the sale of the securities. When  a Fund makes a short sale, the proceeds it receives from the sale will be held on behalf of a broker until the Fund replaces the borrowed securities.  A Fund may have to pay a premium to borrow the securities and must pay any dividends or interest payable on the securities until they are replaced.

A  Fund’s obligation to replace the securities borrowed in connection with a short sale will be secured by collateral deposited with the broker that consists of cash or other liquid securities.  Short sales by a Fund involve certain risks and special considerations. If the Adviser incorrectly predicts that the price of the borrowed security will decline,  a Fund will have to replace the securities with securities with a greater value than the amount received from the sale. As a result, losses from short sales differ from losses that could be incurred from a purchase of a security, because losses from short sales may be unlimited, whereas losses from purchases can equal only the total amount invested. Please see “Derivatives Agreements -- Regulatory Matters”.

Illiquid Investments. In accordance with Rule 22e-4 (the “Liquidity Rule”) under the 1940 Act, each Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in “illiquid investments” that are assets. For these purposes, “illiquid investments” are investments 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 investment. For each Fund, each portfolio investment must be classified at least monthly into one of four liquidity categories (illiquid, as discussed above, as well as highly liquid, moderately liquid and less liquid), which are defined pursuant to the Liquidity Rule and classified in accordance with the Funds’ written liquidity risk management program by the program administrator designated by the Trust’s Board of Trustees. Such classification is to be made using information obtained after reasonable inquiry and taking into account relevant market, trading and investment-specific

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considerations. In making such classifications, a Fund determines whether trading varying portions of a position in a particular portfolio investment or asset class, in sizes that the Fund would reasonably anticipate trading, is reasonably expected to significantly affect its liquidity. If so, this determination is taken into account when classifying the liquidity of that investment. The Funds may be assisted in classification determinations by one or more third-party service providers. Assets classified according to this process as “illiquid investments” are those subject to the 15% limit on illiquid investments.

In the event that changes in the portfolio or other external events cause a Fund to exceed this limit, the Fund must take steps to bring its illiquid investments that are assets to or below the applicable limit of its net assets within a reasonable period of time. This requirement would not force a Fund to liquidate any portfolio investment.

The SEC has recently proposed amendments to the Liquidity Rule that, if adopted, would result in changes to a Fund’s liquidity classification framework and could potentially increase the percentage of a Fund’s investments classified as illiquid. In addition, a Fund’s operations and investment strategies may be adversely impacted if the proposed amendments are adopted.

ESG Investment Risk. To the extent that the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser consider environmental, social and/or governance (“ESG”) issues, the Fund’s performance may be impacted. Additionally, the Adviser’s and/or Sub-Adviser’s consideration of ESG issues may require subjective analysis based on qualitative assessments and the ability of the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser to consider ESG issues may be impacted by data availability for a particular company or issuer (or obligor), including if the data is inaccurate, incomplete, unavailable or based on estimates. The Adviser’s and/or Sub-Adviser’s consideration of ESG issues may contribute to the Adviser’s and/or Sub-Adviser’s decision to forgo opportunities to buy certain securities. ESG issues with respect to an issuer (or obligor) or the Adviser’s and/or Sub-Adviser’s assessment of such may change over time. The consideration of ESG issues within the Adviser’s and/or Sub-Adviser’s investment decision-making process for a Fund may vary across asset classes, industries and sectors. When deemed by the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser to be relevant to its evaluation of creditworthiness and when applicable information is available, the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser considers ESG issues which may impact the prospects of an issuer (or obligor) or financial performance of an obligation. When considered, one or more ESG issues are taken into account alongside other factors in the investment decision-making process and are not the sole determinant of whether an investment can be made or will remain in a Fund’s portfolio.

Special Risks Related to Cyber Security. The Trust and its service providers are susceptible to cyber security risks that include, among other things, theft, unauthorized monitoring, release, misuse, loss, destruction or corruption of confidential and highly restricted data; denial of service attacks; unauthorized access to relevant systems; compromises to networks or devices that the Trust and its service providers use to service the Trust’s operations; or operational disruption or failures in the physical infrastructure or operating systems that support the Trust and its service providers. Cyber attacks against or security breakdowns of the Trust or its service providers may adversely impact the Trust and its shareholders, potentially resulting in, among other things, financial losses; the inability of Fund shareholders to transact business and a Fund to process transactions; inability to calculate a Fund’s NAV; violations of applicable privacy and other laws; regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs; and/or additional compliance costs. The Trust may incur additional costs for cyber security risk management and remediation purposes. In addition, cyber security risks may also impact issuers of securities in which a Fund invests, which may cause a Fund’s investment in such issuers to lose value. There can be no assurance that the Trust or its service providers will not suffer losses relating to cyber attacks or other information security breaches in the future.

Regulatory and Legal Risk. U.S. and non-U.S. governmental agencies and other regulators regularly implement additional regulations and legislators pass new laws that affect the investments held by a Fund, the strategies used by a Fund or the level of regulation or taxation applying to the Fund (such as regulations related to investments in derivatives and other transactions). These regulations and laws impact the investment strategies, performance, costs and operations of the Fund or taxation of shareholders.

Market and Geopolitical Risk. The value of your investment in a Fund is based on the values of a Fund’s investments. These values change daily due to economic and other events that affect markets generally, as well as those that affect particular regions, countries, industries, companies or governments. Price movements, sometimes called volatility, may be greater or less depending on the types of securities a Fund owns and the markets in which the securities trade. The increasing interconnectivity between global economies and  markets increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one region, sector, industry, market or with respect to one company may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region, sector, industry, or market. For example, adverse developments in the banking or financial services sector could impact companies operating in various sectors or industries (and in turn adversely impact a Fund’s investments) and otherwise adversely affect the Funds and their operations. Securities in a Fund’s portfolio may underperform due to inflation (or expectations for inflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, natural disasters, pandemics, epidemics, terrorism, regulatory events and governmental or quasi-governmental actions. The occurrence of global events similar to those in recent years, such as terrorist attacks around the world, natural disasters, social and political discord or debt crises and downgrades, among others, may result in market volatility and may have long term effects on both the U.S. and global financial markets. The occurrence of such events may be sudden and unexpected, and it is difficult to predict when similar events affecting the U.S. or global financial markets may occur, the effects that such events may have and the duration of those effects. Any such event(s) could have a significant adverse impact on the value, liquidity and risk profile of a Fund’s portfolio, as well as its ability to sell securities to meet redemptions. There is a risk that you may lose money by investing in a Fund.

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Social, political, economic and other conditions and events, such as war, natural disasters, health emergencies (e.g., epidemics and pandemics), terrorism, conflicts, social unrest, recessions, inflation, rapid interest rate changes and supply chain disruptions may occur and could significantly impact issuers, industries, governments and other systems, including the financial markets. As global systems, economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, events that once had only local impact are now more likely to have regional or even global effects. Events that occur in one country, region or financial market will, more frequently, adversely impact issuers in other countries, regions or markets. These impacts can be exacerbated by failures of governments and societies to adequately respond to an emerging event or threat. These types of events quickly and significantly impact markets in the U.S. and across the globe leading to extreme market volatility and disruption. The extent and nature of the impact on supply chains or economies and markets from these events is unknown, particularly if a health emergency or other similar event, such as COVID-19 (the “Coronavirus”), persists for an extended period of time. Social, political, economic and other conditions and events, such as natural disasters, health emergencies (e.g., epidemics and pandemics), terrorism, conflicts and social unrest, could reduce consumer demand or economic output, result in market closures, travel restrictions or quarantines, and generally have a significant impact on the economies and financial markets and the Adviser’s investment advisory activities and services of other service providers, which in turn could adversely affect a Fund’s investments and other operations. The value of a Fund’s investment may decrease as a result of such events, particularly if these events adversely impact the operations and effectiveness of the Adviser or key service providers or if these events disrupt systems and processes necessary or beneficial to the investment advisory or other activities on behalf a Fund.

Many countries have experienced outbreaks of infectious illnesses in recent decades, including swine flu, avian influenza, SARS and the Coronavirus, and may experience similar outbreaks in the future. For example, the Coronavirus outbreak has resulted in numerous deaths and the imposition of both local and more widespread “work from home” and other quarantine measures, border closures and other travel restrictions, causing social unrest and commercial disruption on a global scale and significant volatility in financial markets.

The Coronavirus has had, and is expected to continue to have, a material adverse impact on local economies in the affected jurisdictions and also on the global economy, as cross border commercial activity and market sentiment are increasingly impacted by the Coronavirus and government and other measures seeking to contain its spread. The global impact of the Coronavirus has continued to evolve and has, at times, created disruption in supply chains, and adversely impacted a number of industries, including but not limited to retail, transportation, hospitality and entertainment. In addition to these developments having adverse consequences for certain companies and other issuers in which a Fund invests and the value of a Fund’s investments therein, the operations of the Adviser (including those relating to the Fund) could be impacted adversely, including through quarantine measures and travel restrictions imposed on the Adviser’s or service providers’ personnel located in affected countries, regions or local areas, or any related health issues of such personnel. Any of the foregoing events could materially and adversely affect the Adviser’s ability to source, manage and divest investments on behalf of a Fund and pursue a Fund’s investment objectives and strategies. Similar consequences could arise with respect to other infectious diseases. Given the significant economic and financial market disruptions and general uncertainty associated with the Coronavirus pandemic, the valuation and performance of the Fund’s investments may be impacted adversely.

During periods of low interest rates, a Fund’s susceptibility to interest rate risk (i.e., the risks associated with changes in interest rates) may be magnified, its yield and income may be diminished and its performance may be adversely affected (e.g., during periods of low interest rates, the Fund may be unable to maintain positive returns). These levels of interest rates may magnify the risks associated with rising interest rates. Changing interest rates may have unpredictable effects on markets, including market volatility and reduced liquidity, and may adversely affect a Fund’s yield, income and performance.

Government and other public debt, including municipal obligations in which a Fund may invest, can be adversely affected by large and sudden changes in local and global economic conditions that result in increased debt levels. Although high levels of government and other public debt do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, high levels of debt may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented. A high debt level may increase market pressures to meet an issuer’s funding needs, which may increase borrowing costs and cause a government or public or municipal entity to issue additional debt, thereby increasing the risk of refinancing. A high debt level also raises concerns that the issuer may be unable or unwilling to repay the principal or interest on its debt, which may adversely impact instruments held by a Fund that rely on such payments. Governmental and quasi-governmental responses to certain economic or other conditions may lead to increasing government and other public debt, which heighten these risks. Unsustainable debt levels can lead to declines in the value of currency, and can prevent a government from implementing effective counter-cyclical fiscal policy during economic downturns, can generate or contribute to an economic downturn or cause other adverse economic or market developments, such as increases in inflation or volatility. Increasing government and other public debt may adversely affect issuers, obligors, guarantors or instruments across a variety of asset classes.

Derivatives. The Funds may, but are not required to, use various derivatives and other similar instruments as described below. Derivatives may be used for a variety of purposes including hedging, risk management, portfolio management or to earn income. Any or all of the investment techniques described herein may be used at any time and there is no particular strategy that dictates the use of one technique rather than another, as the use of any derivative by a Fund is a function of numerous variables, including market

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conditions. A Fund complies with applicable regulatory requirements when using derivatives. Although the Adviser seeks to use derivatives to further a Fund’s investment objective, no assurance can be given that the use of derivatives will achieve this result.

General Risks of Derivatives. Derivatives utilized by a Fund may involve the purchase and sale of derivative instruments. A derivative is a financial instrument the value of which depends upon (or derives from) the value of another asset, security, interest rate, index or financial instrument. Derivatives may relate to a wide variety of underlying instruments, including equity and debt securities, indices, interest rates, currencies and other assets. Certain derivative instruments that a Fund may use and the risks of those instruments are described in further detail below. A Fund may in the future also utilize derivatives techniques, instruments and strategies that may be newly developed or permitted as a result of regulatory changes, consistent with a Fund’s investment objective and policies. Such newly developed techniques, instruments and strategies may involve risks different than or in addition to those described herein. No assurance can be given that any derivatives strategy employed by a Fund will be successful.

The risks associated with the use of derivatives are different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in the instruments underlying such derivatives. Derivatives are highly specialized instruments that require investment techniques and risk analyses different from other portfolio investments. The use of derivative instruments requires an understanding not only of the underlying instrument but also of the derivative itself. Certain risk factors generally applicable to derivative transactions are described below.

 

Derivatives 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 interests. A Fund bears the risk that the Adviser may incorrectly forecast future market trends and other financial or economic factors or the value of the underlying security, index, interest rate or currency when establishing a derivatives position for a Fund.

 

Derivatives may be subject to pricing risk, which exists when a derivative becomes extraordinarily expensive (or inexpensive) relative to historical prices or corresponding instruments. Under such market conditions, it may not be economically feasible to initiate a transaction or liquidate a position at an advantageous time or price.

 

Many derivatives are complex and often valued subjectively. Improper valuations can result in increased payment requirements to counterparties or a loss of value to a Fund. Many derivatives may also involve operational and legal risks.

 

Using derivatives as a hedge against a portfolio investment subjects a Fund to the risk that the derivative will have imperfect correlation with the portfolio investment, which could result in a Fund incurring substantial losses. This correlation risk may be greater in the case of derivatives based on an index or other basket of securities, as the portfolio securities being hedged may not duplicate the components of the underlying index or the basket may not be of exactly the same type of obligation as those underlying the derivative. The use of derivatives for “cross hedging” purposes (using a derivative based on one instrument as a hedge on a different instrument) may also involve greater correlation risks.

 

While using derivatives for hedging purposes can reduce a Fund’s risk of loss, it may also limit a Fund’s opportunity for gains or result in losses by offsetting or limiting a Fund’s ability to participate in favorable price movements in portfolio investments.

 

Derivatives transactions for non-hedging purposes involve greater risks and may result in losses which would not be offset by increases in the value of portfolio securities or declines in the cost of securities to be acquired. In the event that a Fund enters into a derivatives transaction as an alternative to purchasing or selling the underlying instrument or in order to obtain desired exposure to an index or market, a Fund will be exposed to the same risks as are incurred in purchasing or selling the underlying instruments directly as well as the additional risks associated with derivatives transactions.

 

The use of certain derivatives transactions, including OTC derivatives, involves the risk of loss resulting from the insolvency or bankruptcy of the counterparty to the contract 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.

 

Liquidity risk exists when a particular derivative 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.

 

While some derivatives are cleared through a regulated, central clearinghouse, many derivatives transactions are not entered into or traded on exchanges or in markets regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) or the SEC. Instead, in some cases, certain types of bilateral OTC derivatives are entered into directly by a Fund and a counterparty and may be traded only through financial institutions acting as market makers. OTC derivatives transactions can only be entered into with a willing counterparty that is approved by the Adviser in accordance with guidelines established by the Board. Where no such counterparty is available, a Fund will be unable to enter into a desired OTC transaction. There also may be greater risk that no liquid secondary market in the trading of OTC derivatives will exist, in which case a Fund may be required to hold such instruments until exercise, expiration or maturity. Many of the protections afforded to participants in the cleared derivatives markets are not available to participants in bilateral OTC derivatives transactions. Bilateral OTC derivatives transactions are not subject to the guarantee of a clearinghouse and, as a result, a Fund would bear greater risk of default by the counterparties to such transactions.

 

A Fund may be required to make physical delivery of portfolio securities underlying a derivative in order to close out or to meet margin and payment requirements and a derivatives position or to sell portfolio securities at a time or price at which it may be disadvantageous to do so in order to obtain cash to close out or to maintain a derivatives position.
 

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As a result of the structure of certain derivatives, adverse changes in, among other things, interest rates, volatility or the value of the underlying instrument can result in losses substantially greater than the amount invested in the derivative itself. Certain derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the initial investment.

 

Certain derivatives may be classified as illiquid and therefore subject to a Fund’s limitation on investments in illiquid investments.

 

Derivatives transactions conducted outside the United States 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. Brokerage commissions, clearing costs and other transaction costs may be higher on foreign exchanges. Many of the risks of OTC derivatives transactions are also applicable to derivatives transactions conducted outside the United States. Derivatives transactions conducted outside the United States are subject to the risk of governmental action affecting the trading in, or the prices of, foreign securities, currencies and other instruments. The value of such positions could be adversely affected by foreign political and economic factors; lesser availability of data on which to make trading decisions; delays on a Fund’s ability to act upon economic events occurring in foreign markets; and less liquidity than U.S. markets.

 

Currency derivatives are subject to additional risks. Currency derivatives transactions may be negatively affected by government exchange controls, blockages and manipulation. Currency exchange rates may be influenced by factors extrinsic to a country’s economy. There is no systematic reporting of last sale information with respect to underlying foreign currencies. As a result, the available information on which trading in currency derivatives will be based may not be as complete as comparable data for other transactions. Events could occur in the foreign currency market which will not be reflected in currency derivatives until the following day, making it more difficult for a Fund to respond to such events in a timely manner.
 

Regulatory Matters. Regulatory developments affecting the exchange-traded and OTC derivatives markets may impair a Fund’s ability to manage or hedge its investment portfolio through the use of derivatives. In particular, in October 2020, the SEC adopted a final rule related to the use of derivatives, short sales, reverse repurchase agreements and certain other transactions by registered investment companies that rescinded and withdrew the guidance of the SEC and its staff regarding asset segregation and cover transactions previously applicable to the Funds’ derivatives and other transactions. These requirements may limit the ability of a Fund to use derivatives and reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing transactions as part of its investment strategies. The final rule requires the Funds  to trade derivatives and other transactions that create future payment or delivery obligations subject to a value-at-risk (“VaR”) leverage limit, certain derivatives risk management program and reporting requirements. Generally, these requirements apply unless a Fund qualifies as a “limited derivatives user.” Under the final rule, when a Fund trades reverse repurchase agreements or similar financing transactions, including certain tender option bonds, it needs to aggregate the amount of indebtedness associated with the reverse repurchase agreements or similar financing transactions with the aggregate amount of any other senior securities representing indebtedness when calculating a Fund’s asset coverage ratio or treat all such transactions as derivatives transactions. Reverse repurchase agreements or similar financing transactions aggregated with other indebtedness do not need to be included in the calculation of whether a Fund is a limited derivatives user, but for funds subject to the VaR testing, reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing transactions must be included for purposes of such testing whether treated as derivatives transactions or not. The SEC also provided guidance in connection with the rule regarding use of securities lending collateral that may limit the Funds’ securities lending activities. In addition, under the rule, a Fund is permitted to invest in a security on a when-issued or forward-settling basis, or with a non-standard settlement cycle, and the transaction will be deemed not to involve a senior security under the 1940 Act, provided that (i) a Fund intends to physically settle the transaction and (ii) the transaction will settle within 35 days of its trade date (the “Delayed-Settlement Securities Provision”). A Fund may otherwise engage in such transactions that do not meet the conditions of the Delayed-Settlement Securities Provision so long as a Fund treats any such transaction as a “derivatives transaction” for purposes of compliance with the rule. Furthermore, under the rule, a Fund will be permitted to enter into an unfunded commitment agreement, and such unfunded commitment agreement will not be subject to the asset coverage requirements under the 1940 Act, if a Fund reasonably believes, at the time it enters into such agreement, that it will have sufficient cash and cash equivalents to meet its obligations with respect to all such agreements as they come due. These requirements may increase the cost of a Fund’s investments and cost of doing business, which could adversely affect investors.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) and the rules promulgated thereunder may limit the ability of a Fund to enter into one or more exchange-traded or OTC derivatives transactions.

A Fund’s use of derivatives may also be limited by the requirements of the Code for qualification as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

The Adviser, with respect to each Fund, has filed a notice of eligibility with the National Futures Association (“NFA”) claiming an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” (“CPO”) pursuant to CFTC Regulation 4.5, as promulgated under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended (“CEA”), with respect to each Fund’s operations. Therefore, neither the Funds nor the Adviser is subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool or CPO under the CEA. If the Adviser or a Fund becomes subject to these requirements, as well as related NFA rules, a Fund  may incur additional compliance and other expenses.

With respect to investments in swap transactions, commodity futures, commodity options or certain other commodity interests used for purposes other than bona fide hedging purposes, an investment company must meet one of the following tests under the amended regulations in order for its investment adviser to claim an exemption from being considered a CPO. First, the aggregate

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initial margin and premiums required to establish an investment company’s positions in such investments may not exceed five percent (5%) of the liquidation value of the investment company’s portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such investments). Alternatively, the aggregate net notional value of such instruments, determined at the time of the most recent position established, may not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the liquidation value of the investment company’s portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions). In addition to meeting one of the foregoing trading limitations, the investment company may not market itself as a commodity pool or otherwise as a vehicle for trading in the commodity futures, commodity options or swaps and derivatives markets.

Regulations recently adopted by federal banking regulators under the Dodd-Frank Act require that certain qualified financial contracts (“QFCs”) with counterparties that are part of U.S. or foreign global systemically important banking organizations be amended to include contractual restrictions on close-out and cross-default rights. QFCs include, but are not limited to, securities contracts, commodities contracts, forward contracts, repurchase agreements, securities lending agreements and swaps agreements, as well as related master agreements, security agreements, credit enhancements, and reimbursement obligations. If a covered counterparty of a Fund or certain of the covered counterparty’s affiliates were to become subject to certain insolvency proceedings, a Fund may be temporarily unable to exercise certain default rights, and the QFC may be transferred to another entity. These requirements may impact a Fund’s credit and counterparty risks.

Currency Forwards.  A foreign currency forward exchange contract is a negotiated agreement between two parties to exchange specified amounts of two or more currencies at a specified future time at a specified rate. The rate specified by the foreign currency forward exchange contract can be higher or lower than the spot rate between the currencies that are the subject of the contract.  A Fund may also invest in non-deliverable foreign currency forward exchange contracts (“NDFs”). NDFs are similar to other foreign currency forward exchange contracts, but do not require or permit physical delivery of currency upon settlement. Instead, settlement is made in cash based on the difference between the contracted exchange rate and the spot foreign exchange rate at settlement. Currency futures are similar to foreign currency forward exchange contracts, except that they are traded on an exchange and standardized as to contract size and delivery date. Most currency futures call for payment or delivery in U.S. dollars. Unanticipated changes in currency prices may result in losses to  a Fund and poorer overall performance for  a Fund than if it had not entered into foreign currency forward exchange contracts. The typical use of a foreign currency forward exchange contract is to “lock in” the price of a security in U.S. dollars or some other foreign currency, which  a Fund is holding in its portfolio. By entering into a foreign currency forward exchange contract for the purchase or sale, for a fixed amount of dollars or other currency, of the amount of foreign currency involved in the underlying security transactions,  a Fund may be able to protect itself against a possible loss resulting from an adverse change in the relationship between the U.S. dollar or other currency which is being used for the security purchase and the foreign currency in which the security is denominated during the period between the date on which the security is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received. The Adviser also may from time to time utilize foreign currency forward exchange contracts for other purposes. For example, they may be used to hedge a foreign security held in the portfolio against a decline in value of the applicable foreign currency. They also may be used to lock in the current exchange rate of the currency in which those securities anticipated to be purchased are denominated. At times, a Fund may enter into “cross-currency” hedging transactions involving currencies other than those in which securities are held or proposed to be purchased are denominated.

Each  Fund will not enter into foreign currency forward exchange contracts or maintain a net exposure to these contracts where the consummation of the contracts would obligate  a Fund to deliver an amount of foreign currency in excess of the value of  a Fund’s portfolio securities.

Each  Fund may be limited in its ability to enter into hedging transactions involving foreign currency forward exchange contracts by the Code  requirements relating to qualification as a RIC.

Foreign currency forward exchange contracts may limit gains on portfolio securities that could otherwise be realized had they not been utilized and could result in losses. The contracts also may increase  a Fund’s volatility and may involve a significant amount of risk relative to the investment of cash. See “Derivatives — Regulatory Matters”, below.

Futures Contracts. A futures contract is a standardized agreement to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying asset, reference rate or index at a specific price at a specific future time (the “settlement date”). Futures contracts may be based on, among other things, a specified equity security (securities futures), a specified debt security or reference rate (interest rate futures), the value of a specified securities index (index futures) or the value of a foreign currency (currency futures). While the value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of the underlying instrument, differences between the futures market and the market for the underlying asset may result in an imperfect correlation. The buyer of a futures contract agrees to purchase the underlying instrument on the settlement date and is said to be “long” the contract. The seller of a futures contract agrees to sell the underlying instrument on the settlement date and is said to be “short” the contract. Futures contracts call for settlement only on the expiration date and cannot be “exercised” at any other time during their term.

Depending on the terms of the particular contract, futures contracts are settled through either physical delivery of the underlying instrument on the settlement date (such as in the case of futures based on a specified debt security) or by payment of a cash

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settlement amount on the settlement date (such as in the case of futures contracts relating to broad-based securities indices). In the case of cash-settled futures contracts, the settlement amount is equal to the difference between the reference instrument’s price on the last trading day of the contract and the reference instrument’s price at the time the contract was entered into. Most futures contracts, particularly futures contracts requiring physical delivery, are not held until the settlement date, but instead are offset before the settlement date through the establishment of an opposite and equal futures position (buying a contract that had been sold, or selling a contract that had been purchased). All futures transactions are effected through a clearinghouse associated with the exchange on which the futures are traded.

The buyer and seller of a futures contract are not required to deliver or pay for the underlying commodity unless the contract is held until the settlement date. However, both the buyer and seller are required to deposit “initial margin” with a futures commission merchant (“FCM”) when the futures contract is entered into. Initial margin deposits are typically calculated as a percentage of the contract’s market value. If the value of either party’s position declines, the party will be required to make additional “variation margin” payments to settle the change in value on a daily basis. The process is known as “marking-to-market.” Upon the closing of a futures position through the establishment of an offsetting position, a final determination of variation margin will be made and additional cash will be paid by or released to a Fund.

Options on Futures Contracts. Options on futures contracts are similar to options on securities except that options on futures contracts give the purchasers the right, in return for the premium paid, to assume a position in a futures contract (a long position in the case of a call option and a short position in the case of a put option) at a specified exercise price at any time prior to the expiration of the option. Upon exercise of the option, the parties will be subject to all of the risks associated with futures transactions and subject to margin requirements. As the writer of options on futures contracts, a Fund would also be subject to initial and variation margin requirements on the option position.


Options on futures contracts written by the Fund may be covered in a manner similar to the covering of other types of options, by holding an offsetting financial position and/or earmarking or segregating cash or liquid assets. A Fund may cover an option on a futures contract by purchasing or selling the underlying futures contract. In such instances the exercise of the option will serve to close out the Fund’s futures position.

Additional Risks of Futures Transactions. The risks associated with futures contract transactions are different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in the underlying instruments. Futures are highly specialized instruments that require investment techniques and risk analyses different from those associated with other portfolio investments. The use of futures requires an understanding not only of the underlying instrument but also of the futures contract itself. Futures may be subject to the risk factors generally applicable to derivatives transactions described herein, and may also be subject to certain additional risk factors, including:

 

The risk of loss in buying and selling futures contracts can be substantial. Small price movements in the commodity, security, index, currency or instrument underlying a futures position may result in immediate and substantial loss (or gain) to a Fund.

 

Buying and selling futures contracts may result in losses in excess of the amount invested in the position in the form of initial margin. In the event of adverse price movements in the underlying commodity, security, index, currency or instrument, a Fund would be required to make daily cash payments to maintain its required margin. A Fund may be required to sell portfolio securities, or make or take delivery of the underlying securities in order to meet daily margin requirements at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so. A Fund could lose margin payments deposited with an FCM if the FCM breaches its agreement with a Fund, becomes insolvent or declares bankruptcy.

 

Most exchanges limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in futures contract prices during any single trading day. Once the daily limit has been reached in a particular futures contract, no trades may be made on that day at prices beyond that limit. If futures contract prices were to move to the daily limit for several trading days with little or no trading, a Fund could be prevented from prompt liquidation of a futures position and subject to substantial losses. The daily limit governs only price movements during a single trading day and therefore does not limit a Fund’s potential losses.

 

Index futures based upon a narrower index of securities may present greater risks than futures based on broad market indices, as narrower indices are more susceptible to rapid and extreme fluctuations as a result of changes in value of a small number of securities.
 

Options. An option is a contract that gives the holder of the option the right, but not the obligation, to buy from (in the case of a call option) or sell to (in the case of a put option) the buyer or seller, as applicable, of the option (the “option writer”) the underlying instrument at a specified fixed price (the “exercise price”) on or prior to a specified date for American options or only at expiration for European options (the “expiration date”). The buyer of the option pays to the option writer the option premium, which is the purchase price of the option.

Exchange-traded options are issued by a regulated intermediary such as the OCC, which guarantees the performance of the obligations of the parties to such options. OTC options are purchased from or sold to counterparties through direct bilateral agreements between a Fund and its counterparties. Certain options, such as options on individual securities, are settled through physical delivery of the underlying security, whereas other options, such as index options, may be settled in cash in an amount based

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on the difference between the value of the underlying instrument and the strike price, which is then multiplied by a specified multiplier.

Writing Options. The Funds may write call and put options. As the writer of a call option, a Fund receives the premium from the purchaser of the option and has the obligation, upon exercise of the option, to deliver the underlying security upon payment of the exercise price. If the option expires without being exercised a Fund is not required to deliver the underlying security and retains the premium received.

The Funds may only write call options that are “covered.” A call option on a security is covered if (a) a Fund owns the security underlying the call or has an absolute and immediate right to acquire that security without additional cash consideration (or, if additional cash consideration is required, such amount is maintained by a Fund in earmarked or segregated cash or liquid assets) upon conversion or exchange of other securities held by a Fund; or (b) a Fund has purchased a call on the underlying security, the exercise price of which is (i) equal to or less than the exercise price of the call written, or (ii) greater than the exercise price of the call written, provided the difference is maintained by a Fund in earmarked or segregated cash or liquid assets.

Selling call options involves the risk that a Fund may be required to sell the underlying security at a disadvantageous price, below the market price of such security, at the time the option is exercised. As the writer of a covered call option, a Fund forgoes, during the option’s life, the opportunity to profit from increases in the market value of the underlying security covering the option above the sum of the premium and the exercise price but retains the risk of loss should the price of the underlying security decline.

The Funds may write put options. As the writer of a put option, a Fund receives the premium from the purchaser of the option and has the obligation, upon exercise of the option, to pay the exercise price and receive delivery of the underlying security. If the option expires without being exercised, a Fund is not required to receive the underlying security in exchange for the exercise price and retains the option premium.

The Funds may only write put options that are “covered.” A put option on a security is covered if (a) a Fund earmarks or segregates cash or liquid assets equal to the exercise price; or (b) a Fund has purchased a put on the same security as the put written, the exercise price of which is (i) equal to or greater than the exercise price of the put written, or (ii) less than the exercise price of the put written, provided the difference is maintained by a Fund in earmarked or segregated cash or liquid assets.

Selling put options involves the risk that a Fund may be required to buy the underlying security at a disadvantageous price, above the market price of such security, at the time the option is exercised. While a Fund’s potential gain in writing a covered put option is limited to the premium received plus the interest earned on the liquid assets covering the put option, a Fund’s risk of loss is equal to the entire value of the underlying security, offset only by the amount of the premium received.

A Fund may close out an options position that it has written through a closing purchase transaction. A Fund could execute a closing purchase transaction with respect to a written call option by purchasing a call option on the same underlying security that has the same exercise price and expiration date as the call option written by a Fund. A Fund could execute a closing purchase transaction with respect to a put option written by purchasing a put option on the same underlying security and having the same exercise price and expiration date as the put option written by a Fund. A closing purchase transaction may or may not result in a profit to a Fund. A Fund can close out its position as an option writer only if a liquid market exists for options on the same underlying security that have the same exercise price and expiration date as the option written by a Fund. There is no assurance that such a market will exist with respect to any particular option.

The writer of an American option generally has no control over the time when the option is exercised and the option writer is required to deliver or acquire the underlying security. Once an option writer has received an exercise notice, it cannot effect a closing purchase transaction in order to terminate its obligation under the option. Thus, the use of options may require a Fund to buy or sell portfolio securities at inopportune times or for prices other than the current market values of such securities, which may limit the amount of appreciation a Fund can realize on an investment, or may cause a Fund to hold a security that it might otherwise sell.

Purchasing Options. The Funds may purchase call and put options. As the buyer of a call option, a Fund pays the premium to the option writer and has the right to purchase the underlying security from the option writer at the exercise price. If the market price of the underlying security rises above the exercise price, a Fund could exercise the option and acquire the underlying security at a below-market price, which could result in a gain to a Fund, minus the premium paid. As the buyer of a put option, a Fund pays the premium to the option writer and has the right to sell the underlying security to the option writer at the exercise price. If the market price of the underlying security declines below the exercise price, a Fund could exercise the option and sell the underlying security at an above-market price, which could result in a gain to a Fund, minus the premium paid. A Fund may buy call and put options whether or not it holds the underlying securities.

As a buyer of a call or put option, a Fund may sell put or call options that it has purchased at any time prior to such option’s expiration date through a closing sale transaction. The principal factors affecting the market value of a put or a call option include supply and demand, interest rates, the current market price of the underlying security in relation to the exercise price of the option, the volatility of the underlying security, the underlying security’s dividend policy, and the time remaining until the expiration date. A

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closing sale transaction may or may not result in a profit to a Fund. A Fund’s ability to initiate a closing sale transaction is dependent upon the liquidity of the options market and there is no assurance that such a market will exist with respect to any particular option. If a Fund does not exercise or sell an option prior to its expiration date, the option expires and becomes worthless.

OTC Options. 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 between the parties to the options contract. This type of arrangement allows the purchaser and writer greater flexibility to tailor the option to their needs. OTC options are available for a greater variety of securities or baskets of securities, and in a wider range of expiration dates and exercise prices, than exchange-traded options. However, unlike exchange-traded options, which are issued and guaranteed by a regulated intermediary, such as the OCC, OTC options are entered into directly with the counterparty. Unless the counterparties provide for it, there is no central clearing or guaranty function for an OTC option. Therefore, OTC options are subject to the risk of default or non-performance by the counterparty. Accordingly, the Adviser must assess the creditworthiness of the counterparty to determine the likelihood that the terms of the option will be satisfied. There can be no assurance that a continuous liquid secondary market will exist for any particular OTC option at any specific time. As a result, a Fund may be unable to enter into closing sale transactions with respect to OTC options.

Index Options. Call and put options on indices operate similarly to options on securities. Rather than the right to buy or sell a single security at a specified price, options on an index give the holder the right to receive, upon exercise of the option, an amount of cash determined by reference to the difference between the value of the underlying index and the strike price. The underlying index may be a broad-based index or a narrower market index. Unlike many options on securities, all settlements are in cash. The settlement amount, which the writer of an index option must pay to the holder of the option upon exercise, is generally equal to the difference between the strike price of the option and the value of the underlying index, multiplied by a specified multiplier. The multiplier determines the size of the investment position the option represents. Gain or loss to a Fund on index options transactions will depend, in part, on price movements of the underlying index generally or in a particular segment of the index rather than price movements of individual components of the index. As with other options, a Fund may close out its position in index options through closing purchase transactions and closing sale transactions provided that a liquid secondary market exists for such options.

Index options written by a Fund may be covered in a manner similar to the covering of other types of options, by holding an offsetting financial position and/or earmarking or segregating cash or liquid assets. A Fund may cover call options written on an index by owning securities or other assets whose price changes, in the opinion of the Adviser, are expected to correlate to those of the underlying index.

Foreign Currency Options. Options on foreign currencies operate similarly to options on securities. Rather than the right to buy or sell a single security at a specified price, options on foreign currencies give the holder the right to buy or sell foreign currency for a fixed amount in U.S. dollars or other base currencies. Options on foreign currencies are traded primarily in the OTC market, but may also be traded on U.S. and foreign exchanges. The value of a foreign currency option is dependent upon the value of the underlying foreign currency relative to the U.S. dollar or other base currency. The price of the option may vary with changes, among other things, in the value of either or both currencies and has no relationship to the investment merits of a foreign security. Options on foreign currencies are affected by all of those factors that influence foreign exchange rates and foreign investment generally. As with other options, a Fund may close out its position in foreign currency options through closing purchase transactions and closing sale transactions provided that a liquid market exists for such options.

Foreign currency options written by a Fund may be covered in a manner similar to the covering of other types of options, by holding an offsetting financial position and/or earmarking or segregating cash or liquid assets.

Options on Futures Contracts. Options on futures contracts are similar to options on securities except that options on futures contracts give the purchasers the right, in return for the premium paid, to assume a position in a futures contract (a long position in the case of a call option and a short position in the case of a put option) at a specified exercise price at any time prior to the expiration of the option. Upon exercise of the option, the parties will be subject to all of the risks associated with futures transactions and subject to margin requirements. As the writer of options on futures contracts, a Fund would also be subject to initial and variation margin requirements on the option position.

Options on futures contracts written by a Fund may be covered in a manner similar to the covering of other types of options, by holding an offsetting financial position and/or earmarking or segregating cash or liquid assets. A Fund may cover an option on a futures contract by purchasing or selling the underlying futures contract. In such instances the exercise of the option will serve to close out a Fund’s futures position.

Additional Risks of Options Transactions. The risks associated with options transactions are different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in the underlying instruments. Options are highly specialized instruments that require investment techniques and risk analyses different from those associated with other portfolio investments. The use of options requires an understanding not only of the underlying instrument but also of the option itself. Options may be subject to the risk factors generally applicable to derivatives transactions described herein, and may also be subject to certain additional risk factors, including:

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The exercise of options written or purchased by a Fund could cause a Fund to sell portfolio securities, thus increasing a Fund’s portfolio turnover.

 

A Fund pays brokerage commissions each time it writes or purchases an option or buys or sells an underlying security in connection with the exercise of an option. Such brokerage commissions could be higher relative to the commissions for direct purchases of sales of the underlying securities.

 

A Fund’s options transactions may be subject to limitations on options positions established by the SEC, the CFTC or the exchanges on which such options are traded.

 

The hours of trading for exchange-listed options may not coincide with the hours during which the underlying securities are traded. To the extent that the options markets close before the markets for the underlying securities, significant price and rate movements can take place in the underlying securities that cannot be reflected in the options markets.

 

Index options based upon a narrow index of securities or other assets may present greater risks than options based on broad market indices, as narrower indices are more susceptible to rapid and extreme fluctuations as a result of changes in the values of a smaller number of securities or other assets.

 

A Fund is subject to the risk of market movements between the time that an option is exercised and the time of performance thereunder, which could increase the extent of any losses suffered by a Fund in connection with options transactions.
 

Swaps. An OTC swap contract is an agreement between two parties pursuant to which the parties exchange payments at specified dates on the basis of a specified notional amount, with the payments calculated by reference to specified securities, indices, reference rates, currencies or other instruments. Most swap agreements provide that when the period payment dates for both parties are the same, the payments are made on a net basis (i.e., the two payment streams are netted out, with only the net amount paid by one party to the other). A Fund’s obligations or rights under a swap contract entered into on a net basis will generally be equal only to the net amount to be paid or received under the agreement, based on the relative values of the positions held by each counterparty. Many swap agreements are not entered into or traded on exchanges and often there is no central clearing or guaranty function for swaps. These OTC swaps are often subject to the risk of default or non-performance by the counterparty. Accordingly, the Adviser must assess the creditworthiness of the counterparty to determine the likelihood that the terms of the swap will be satisfied.

Swap agreements allow for a wide variety of transactions. For example, fixed-rate payments may be exchanged for floating rate payments, U.S. dollar-denominated payments may be exchanged for payments denominated in foreign currencies, and payments tied to the price of one security, index, reference rate, currency or other instrument may be exchanged for payments tied to the price of a different security, index, reference rate, currency or other instrument. Swap contracts are typically individually negotiated and structured to provide exposure to a variety of particular types of investments or market factors. Swap contracts can take many different forms and are known by a variety of names. To the extent consistent with a Fund’s investment objective and policies, a Fund is not limited to any particular form or variety of swap contract. A Fund may utilize swaps to increase or decrease its exposure to the underlying instrument, reference rate, foreign currency, market index or other asset. Certain Funds may also enter into related derivative instruments including caps, floors and collars.

The Dodd-Frank Act and related regulatory developments require the eventual clearing and exchange-trading of many standardized OTC derivative instruments that the CFTC and SEC defined as “swaps” and “security based swaps,” respectively. Mandatory exchange-trading and clearing is occurring on a phased-in basis based on the type of market participant and CFTC approval of contracts for central clearing and exchange-trading. In a cleared swap, a Fund’s ultimate counterparty is a central clearinghouse rather than a brokerage firm, bank or other financial institution. A Fund initially will enter into cleared swaps through an executing broker. Such transactions will then be submitted for clearing and, if cleared, will be held at regulated FCMs that are members of the clearinghouse that serves as the central counterparty. When a Fund enters into a cleared swap, it must deliver to the central counterparty (via an FCM) an amount referred to as “initial margin.” Initial margin requirements are determined by the central counterparty, but an FCM may require additional initial margin above the amount required by the central counterparty. During the term of the swap agreement, a “variation margin” amount may also be required to be paid by a Fund or may be received by a Fund in accordance with margin controls set for such accounts, depending upon changes in the price of the underlying reference asset subject to the swap agreement. At the conclusion of the term of the swap agreement, if a Fund has a loss equal to or greater than the margin amount, the margin amount is paid to the FCM along with any loss that is greater than such margin amount. If a Fund has a loss of less than the margin amount, the excess margin is returned to the Fund. If a Fund has a gain, the full margin amount and the amount of the gain is paid to the Fund.

Central clearing is designed to reduce counterparty credit risk compared to uncleared swaps because central clearing interposes the central clearinghouse as the counterparty to each participant’s swap, but it does not eliminate those risks completely. There is also a risk of loss by a Fund of the initial and variation margin deposits in the event of bankruptcy of the FCM with which the Fund has an open position in a swap contract. The assets of a Fund may not be fully protected in the event of the bankruptcy of the FCM or central counterparty because the Fund might be limited to recovering only a pro rata share of all available funds and margin segregated on behalf of an FCM’s or central counterparty’s customers or clearing members. If the FCM does not provide accurate reporting, a Fund is also subject to the risk that the FCM could use the Fund’s assets, which are held in an omnibus account with

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assets belonging to the FCM’s other customers, to satisfy its own financial obligations or the payment obligations of another customer to the central counterparty.

As a result of recent regulatory developments, certain standardized swaps are currently subject to mandatory central clearing and some of these cleared swaps must be traded on an exchange or swap execution facility (“SEF”). An SEF is an electronic trading platform in which multiple market participants can execute swap transactions by accepting bids and offers made by multiple other participants on the platform. Transactions executed on an SEF may increase market transparency and liquidity but may cause a Fund to incur increased expenses to execute swaps. Central clearing should decrease counterparty risk and increase liquidity compared to bilateral swaps because central clearing interposes the central clearinghouse as the counterparty to each participant’s swap. However, central clearing does not eliminate counterparty risk or liquidity risk entirely. In addition, depending on the size of a Fund and other factors, the margin required under the rules of a clearinghouse and by a clearing member may be in excess of the collateral required to be posted by a Fund to support its obligations under a similar bilateral swap. However, the CFTC and other applicable regulators have adopted rules imposing certain margin requirements, including minimums, on uncleared swaps which may result in a Fund and its counterparties posting higher margin amounts for uncleared swaps. Requiring margin on uncleared swaps may reduce, but not eliminate, counterparty credit risk.

In addition, with respect to cleared swaps, a Fund may not be able to obtain as favorable terms as it would be able to negotiate for an uncleared swap. In addition, an FCM may unilaterally impose position limits or additional margin requirements for certain types of swaps in which a Fund may invest. Central counterparties and FCMs generally can require termination of existing cleared swap transactions at any time, and can also require increases in margin above the margin that is required at the initiation of the swap agreement. Margin requirements for cleared swaps vary on a number of factors, and the margin required under the rules of the clearinghouse and FCM may be in excess of the collateral required to be posted by a Fund to support its obligations under a similar uncleared swap. However, as noted above, regulators have adopted rules imposing certain margin requirements, including minimums, on uncleared swaps, which may result in a Fund and its counterparties posting higher margin amounts for uncleared swaps. Requiring margin on uncleared swaps may reduce, but not eliminate, counterparty credit risk.

A Fund is also subject to the risk that, after entering into a cleared swap with an executing broker, no FCM or central counterparty is willing or able to clear the transaction. In such an event, the central counterparty would void the trade. Before a Fund can enter into a new trade, market conditions may become less favorable to the Fund.

The Adviser will continue to monitor developments regarding trading and execution of cleared swaps on exchanges, particularly to the extent regulatory changes affect a Fund’s ability to enter into swap agreements and the costs and risks associated with such investments.

Interest Rate Swaps, Caps, Floors and Collars. Interest rate swaps consist of an agreement between two parties to exchange their respective commitments to pay or receive interest (e.g., an exchange of floating rate payments for fixed-rate payments). Interest rate swaps are generally entered into on a net basis. Interest rate swaps do not involve the delivery of securities, other underlying assets, or principal. Accordingly, the risk of market loss with respect to interest rate and total rate of return swaps is typically limited to the net amount of interest payments that a Fund is contractually obligated to make.

Certain Funds may also buy or sell interest rate caps, floors and collars. The purchase of an interest rate cap entitles the purchaser, to the extent that a specified interest rate index exceeds a predetermined level, to receive payments of interest on a specified notional amount from the party selling the interest rate cap. The purchase of an interest rate floor entitles the purchaser, to the extent that a specified interest rate falls below a predetermined level, to receive payments of interest on a specified notional amount from the party selling the interest rate floor. A collar is a combination of a cap and a floor that preserves a certain return within a predetermined range of interest rates. Caps, floors and collars may be less liquid than other types of derivatives.

Total Return Swaps. Total return swaps are contracts in which one party agrees to make periodic payments to another party based on the change in market value of the assets underlying the contract, which may include, but not be limited to, a specified security, basket of securities or securities indices during the specified period, in return for periodic payments based on a fixed or variable interest rate or the total return from other underlying assets. Total return swaps may be used to obtain long or short exposure to a security or market without owning or taking physical custody of such security or investing directly in such market. Each Fund may incur a theoretically unlimited loss on short exposures. In comparison, the Fund may incur losses on long exposures, but such losses are limited by the fact that the underlying security’s price cannot fall below zero. Total return swaps may effectively add leverage to a Fund’s portfolio because, in addition to its total net assets, a Fund would be subject to investment exposure on the notional amount of the swap.

Total return swaps are subject to the risk that a counterparty will default on its payment obligations to a Fund thereunder, and conversely, that a Fund will not be able to meet its obligation to the counterparty. Generally, a Fund will enter into total return swaps on a net basis (i.e., the two payment streams are netted against one another with a Fund receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments).

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Index Swaps. An index swap consists of an agreement between two parties in which a party typically exchanges a cash flow based on a notional amount of a reference index for a cash flow based on a different index or on another specified instrument or reference rate. Index swaps are generally entered into on a net basis.

Inflation Swaps. Inflation swap agreements are contracts in which one party typically agrees to pay the cumulative percentage increase in a price index, such as the Consumer Price Index, over the term of the swap (with some lag on the referenced inflation index), and the other party pays a compounded fixed rate. Inflation swap agreements may be used to protect the NAV of a Fund against an unexpected change in the rate of inflation measured by an inflation index. The value of inflation swap agreements is expected to change in response to changes in real interest rates. Real interest rates are tied to the relationship between nominal interest rates and the rate of inflation.

Currency Swaps. A currency swap consists of an agreement between two parties to exchange cash flows on a notional amount of two or more currencies based on the relative value differential among them, such as exchanging a right to receive a payment in foreign currency for the right to receive U.S. dollars. Currency swap agreements may be entered into on a net basis or may involve the delivery of the entire principal value of one designated currency in exchange for the entire principal value of another designated currency. In such cases, the entire principal value of a currency swap is subject to the risk that the counterparty will default on its contractual delivery obligations.

Credit Default Swaps. A credit default swap consists of an agreement between two parties in which the “buyer” typically agrees to pay to the “seller” a periodic stream of payments over the term of the contract and the seller agrees to pay the buyer the par (or other agreed-upon) value of a referenced debt obligation upon the occurrence of a credit event with respect to the issuer of that referenced debt obligation. Generally, a credit event means bankruptcy, failure to pay, obligation acceleration or modified restructuring. A Fund may be either the buyer or seller in a credit default swap. Where a Fund is the buyer of a credit default swap contract, it would typically be entitled to receive the par (or other agreed-upon) value of a referenced debt obligation from the counterparty to the contract only in the event of a default or similar event by the issuer of the debt obligation. If no default occurs, a Fund would have paid to the counterparty a periodic stream of payments over the term of the contract and received no benefit from the contract. The use of credit default swaps could result in losses to a Fund if the Adviser fails to correctly evaluate the creditworthiness of the issuer of the referenced debt obligation.

Swaptions. An option on a swap agreement, also called a “swaption,” is an option that gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to enter into a swap on a future date in exchange for a premium. A receiver swaption gives the owner the right to receive the return of a specified asset, reference rate, or index. A payer swaption gives the owner the right to pay the return of a specified asset, reference rate, or index. Swaptions also include options that allow an existing swap to be terminated or extended by one of the counterparties.

General Risks of Swaps. The risks associated with swap transactions are different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in the underlying instruments. Swaps are highly specialized instruments that require investment techniques and risk analyses different from those associated with other portfolio investments. The use of swaps requires an understanding not only of the underlying instrument but also of the swap contract itself. Swap transactions may be subject to the risk factors generally applicable to derivatives transactions described above, and may also be subject to certain additional risk factors, including:

 

OTC swap agreements are not traded on exchanges and may be subject to liquidity risk, which exists when a particular swap is difficult to purchase or sell.

 

In addition to the risk of default by the counterparty, if the creditworthiness of a counterparty to a swap agreement declines, the value of the swap agreement would be likely to decline, potentially resulting in losses.

 

The swaps market is subject to extensive regulation under the Dodd-Frank Act and certain CFTC and SEC rules promulgated thereunder. It is possible that further developments in the swaps market, including new and additional governmental regulation, could result in higher Fund costs and expenses and could adversely affect a Fund’s ability to utilize swaps, terminate existing swap agreements or realize amounts to be received under such agreements.
 

Contracts for Difference. The Funds may purchase contracts for difference (“CFDs”). A CFD is a privately negotiated contract between two parties, buyer and seller, stipulating that the seller will pay to or receive from the buyer the difference between the nominal value of the underlying instrument at the opening of the contract and that instrument’s value at the end of the contract. The underlying instrument may be a single security, stock basket or index. A CFD can be set up to take either a short or long position on the underlying instrument. The buyer and seller are typically both required to post margin, which is adjusted daily. The buyer will also pay to the seller a financing rate on the notional amount of the capital employed by the seller less the margin deposit. A CFD is usually terminated at the buyer’s initiative. The seller of the CFD will simply match the exposure of the underlying instrument in the open market and the parties will exchange whatever payment is due.

As is the case with owning any financial instrument, there is the risk of loss associated with buying a CFD. For example, if  a Fund buys a long CFD and the underlying security is worth less at the end of the contract, the Fund would be required to make a payment to the seller and would suffer a loss. Also, there may be liquidity risk if the underlying instrument is illiquid because the liquidity of a

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CFD is based on the liquidity of the underlying instrument. A further risk is that adverse movements in the underlying security will require the buyer to post additional margin. CFDs also carry counterparty risk, i.e., the risk that the counterparty to the CFD transaction may be unable or unwilling to make payments or to otherwise honor its financial obligations under the terms of the contract. If the counterparty were to do so, the value of the contract, and of  a Fund’s shares, may be reduced.  A Fund will not enter into a CFD transaction that is inconsistent with its investment objective, policies and strategies.

Structured Investments. Certain Funds may invest in structured investments. A structured investment is a derivative security designed to offer a return linked to a particular underlying security, currency, commodity or market, for which the amount of principal repayment and/or interest payments is based on the change in value of such underlying security, currency, commodity or market, including, among others, currency exchange rates, interest rates, referenced bonds and stock indices or other financial references. Structured investments may come in various forms, including notes, warrants and options to purchase securities, and may be listed and traded on an exchange or otherwise traded in the OTC market.

The Funds will typically use structured investments to gain exposure to a permitted underlying security, currency, commodity or market when direct access to such security, currency, commodity or market is limited or inefficient from a tax, cost or regulatory standpoint. Investments in structured investments involve risks including issuer risk, counterparty risk and market risk. Holders of structured investments bear risks of the underlying investment and are subject to issuer or counterparty risk because the holders are relying on the creditworthiness of such issuer or counterparty and have no rights with respect to the underlying investment. Certain structured investments may be thinly traded or have a limited trading market and may have the effect of increasing a Fund’s illiquidity to the extent that the Fund, at a particular point in time, may be unable to find qualified buyers for these investments.

A structured investment may be linked either positively or negatively to an underlying security, currency, commodity, index or market and a change in interest rates, principal amount, volatility, currency values or other factors, depending on the structured investment’s design, may result in a gain or loss that is a multiple of the movement of such interest rates, principal amount, volatility, currency values or other factors. Application of a multiplier is comparable to the use of financial leverage, a speculative technique. Leverage magnifies the potential for gain and the risk of loss. As a result, a relatively small decline in the value of the referenced factor could result in a relatively large loss in the value of a structured investment.

Other types of structured investments include interests in entities organized and operated for the purpose of restructuring the investment characteristics of underlying investment interests or securities. This type of securitization or restructuring usually involves the deposit or purchase of an underlying security by a U.S. or foreign entity, such as a corporation or trust of specified instruments, and the issuance by that entity of one or more classes of securities backed by, or representing an interest in, the underlying instruments. The cash flow or rate of return on the underlying investments may be apportioned among the newly issued securities to create different investment characteristics, such as varying maturities, credit quality, payment priorities and interest rate provisions. Structured investments that are subordinated, for example, in payment priority often offer higher returns, but may result in increased risks compared to other investments.

Combined Transactions. Combined transactions involve entering into multiple derivatives transactions (such as multiple options transactions, including purchasing and writing options in combination with each other; multiple futures transactions; and combinations of options, futures, forward and swap transactions) instead of a single derivatives transaction in order to customize the risk and return characteristics of the overall position. Combined transactions typically contain elements of risk that are present in each of the component transactions. A Fund may enter into a combined transaction instead of a single derivatives transaction when, in the opinion of the Adviser, it is in the best interest of the Fund to do so. Because combined transactions involve multiple transactions, they may result in higher transaction costs and may be more difficult to close out.

Residual Interest Bonds. The Funds may invest in residual interest bonds in a trust that holds municipal securities (a “Tender Option Bond trust” or “TOB trust”). The interest rate payable on a residual interest bond (which may be reset periodically by a Dutch auction, a remarketing agent, or by reference to a short-term tax-exempt interest rate index) bears an inverse relationship to the interest rate on another security issued by the TOB trust. Because changes in the interest rate on the other security inversely affect the interest paid on the residual interest bond, the value and income of a residual interest bond is generally more volatile than that of a fixed rate bond. Residual interest bonds have interest rate adjustment formulas that generally reduce or, in the extreme, eliminate the interest paid to a Fund when short-term interest rates rise, and increase the interest paid to the Fund when short-term interest rates fall. Residual interest bonds have varying degrees of liquidity, and the market for these securities is relatively volatile. These securities tend to underperform the market for fixed rate bonds in a rising long-term interest rate environment, but tend to outperform the market for fixed rate bonds when long-term interest rates decline.

Although volatile, residual interest bonds typically offer the potential for yields exceeding the yields available on fixed rate bonds with comparable credit quality and maturity. These securities usually permit the investor to convert the floating rate to a fixed rate (normally adjusted downward), and this optional conversion feature may provide a partial hedge against rising rates if exercised at an opportune time. While residual interest bonds expose a Fund to leverage risk because they provide two or more dollars of bond market exposure for every dollar invested, they are not subject to the Fund’s restrictions on borrowings. Under certain circumstances,

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a Fund may enter into a so-called shortfall and forbearance agreement relating to a residual interest bond held by the Fund. Such agreements commit the Fund to reimburse the difference between the liquidation value of the underlying security (which is the basis of the residual interest bond) and the principal amount due to the holders of the floating rate security issued in conjunction with the residual interest bond upon the termination of the TOB trust issuing the residual interest bond. Absent a shortfall and forbearance agreement, the Fund would not be required to make such a reimbursement. If a Fund chooses not to enter into such an agreement, the residual interest bond could be terminated and the Fund could incur a loss. A Fund’s investments in residual interest bonds and similar securities described in the Prospectus and this SAI will not be considered borrowing for purposes of the Fund’s restrictions on borrowing described herein and in the Prospectus.

On December 10, 2013, five U.S. federal agencies published final rules implementing section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Act (the “Volcker Rule”). The Volcker Rule prohibits banking entities from engaging in proprietary trading of certain instruments and limits such entities’ investments in, and relationships with, covered funds, as defined in the rules. The Volcker Rule precludes banking entities and their affiliates from (i) sponsoring residual interest bond programs as such programs were commonly structured prior to the effective date of the Volker Rule and (ii) continuing relationships with or services for existing residual interest bond programs. In response to the Volcker Rule, industry participants developed alternative structures for residual interest bond programs in which service providers may be engaged to assist with establishing, structuring and sponsoring the programs. The service providers, such as administrators, liquidity providers, trustees and remarketing agents act at the direction of, and as agent of, the Funds holding the residual interests. In addition, the Funds, rather than a bank entity, may act as the sponsor of the TOB trust and undertake certain responsibilities that previously belonged to the sponsor bank. Although the Funds may use third-party service providers to complete some of these additional responsibilities, sponsoring a TOB trust may give rise to certain additional risks, including compliance, securities law and operational risks.

INVESTMENT POLICIES AND LIMITATIONS

Fundamental Policies

Each Fund has adopted the following fundamental policies, which may not be changed without the approval by “vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities” of the Fund as defined in the 1940 Act. The 1940 Act provides that the “vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities” of a Fund means the vote, at the annual or a special meeting of the security holders of such Fund duly called, (A) of 67% or more of the voting securities present at such meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of such company are present or represented by proxy; or (B) of more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of such Fund, whichever is the less.

 

1 Except as otherwise permitted by the 1940 Act or any applicable law, rule, order or interpretation, each Fund may not purchase any security if, as a result of that purchase, more than 25% of its total assets would be invested in securities of issuers within the same industry, except that with respect to Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF,  the Fund will invest more than 25% of its total assets in securities issued by issuers within the banking industry.

 

2 A Fund may borrow money to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act or any applicable law, rule, order or interpretation.

 

3 A Fund may issue senior securities to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act or any applicable law, rule, order or interpretation.

 

4 A Fund may not underwrite securities issued by others, except to the extent that the Fund may be deemed an underwriter under certain securities laws in purchasing or disposing of portfolio securities or in connection with investments in other investment companies.

 

5 A Fund may purchase or sell commodities to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act or any applicable law, rule, order or interpretation.

 

6 A Fund may purchase or sell real estate or any interest therein to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act or any applicable law, rule, order or interpretation.

 

7 A Fund may make loans to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act or any applicable law, rule, order or interpretation.

 

8 Each Fund may not make any investment inconsistent with its classification as a “diversified company”, as defined in the 1940 Act or as interpreted, modified or applied by the SEC or its staff.
 

In addition, as a matter of fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, the Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in municipal obligations, the interest on which is exempt from regular federal income tax.

Additional Information About the Investment Policies and Limitations

Summary of 1940 Act Restrictions on Certain Activities. The following is not part of the fundamental policies of the Funds but provides additional information regarding certain of these policies. Certain of a Fund’s fundamental policies set forth above permit the Fund to make investments or engage in transactions to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act or any applicable law, rule, order or interpretation, or prohibit transactions except to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act or any applicable law, rule, order or

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interpretation. To the extent the 1940 Act or the rules, orders, or interpretations thereunder may, in the future, be amended or otherwise revised to provide greater flexibility, or to the extent the SEC may in the future grant exemptive relief providing greater flexibility, the Fund will be able to use that flexibility without seeking shareholder approval of its fundamental policies. Similarly, with respect to Investment Policy No. 8, a Fund may rely on greater flexibility provided by the 1940 Act or interpretations, modifications or as applied by the SEC or its staff.

 

Concentration – According to the present interpretation by the SEC, a Fund has concentrated its investments in the securities of issuers primarily engaged in any particular industry if the Fund’s holdings in the securities in such issuers comprise 25% or more of the Fund’s total assets. These limits do not apply to securities or obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities or, with respect to the Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF, municipal obligations. The Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF will concentrate its investments in the banking industry. Therefore, under normal conditions, the Fund will invest more than 25% of its total assets in securities issued by issuers in the banking industry. The Fund may, however, invest less than 25% of its total assets in this industry as a temporary defensive measure.
With respect to the Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF’s policy not to invest 25% or more of its total assets in any one industry, obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities and municipal obligations backed by the credit of a governmental entity are not considered to represent industries. However, municipal obligations backed only by the assets and revenues of non-governmental users may for this purpose be deemed to be issued by such non-governmental users and the Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF’s 25% limitation would apply to such issuers. In addition, the Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF may invest more than 25% of its total assets in certain types of municipal obligations, such as revenue bonds, and certain economic sectors, such as housing, hospitals and other health care facilities or utilities.

 

Borrowing money – The 1940 Act permits a Fund to borrow up to 33 1/3% of its total assets (including the amounts borrowed) from banks, plus an additional 5% of its total assets for temporary purposes, which may be borrowed from banks or other sources. The borrowings subject to these limits include borrowings through reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing transactions unless a Fund has elected to treat all such transactions as derivatives transactions for purposes of the SEC rule allowing a Fund to enter into reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing transactions.

 

Issuing senior securities – A “senior security” is an obligation with respect to the earnings or assets of a company that takes precedence over the claims of that company’s common stock with respect to the same earnings or assets. The 1940 Act prohibits an open-end fund from issuing senior securities other than certain borrowings from a bank, but an SEC rule allows a Fund to engage in certain types of transactions (such as short sales, buying and selling financial futures contracts and other derivative instruments and selling put and call options) notwithstanding this prohibition and deems certain when issued, forward-settling and non-standard settlement cycle securities transactions not to involve a senior security, subject to compliance with the conditions of the rule. The fundamental policy relating to senior securities allows the Fund to operate in reliance upon this rule.

 

Buy or sell physical commodities – The 1940 Act does not directly limit a Fund’s ability to invest directly in physical commodities.

 

Real Estate – The Funds will not buy or sell real estate, unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments, except this shall not prevent the Fund from investing in: (i) securities or other instruments backed by real estate or interests in real estate, (ii) securities or other instruments of issuers or entities that deal in real estate or are engaged in the real estate business, (iii) real estate investment trusts (REITs) or entities similar to REITs formed under the laws of non-U.S. countries or (iv) real estate or interests in real estate acquired through the exercise of its rights as a holder of securities secured by real estate or interests therein.

 

Making loans (Lending) – Under the 1940 Act, an open-end fund may loan money or property to persons who do not control and are not under common control with the Fund, except that a Fund may make loans to a wholly-owned subsidiary. In addition, the SEC staff takes the position that a Fund may not lend portfolio securities representing more than one-third of the Fund’s total asset value. A Fund must receive from the borrower collateral at least equal in value to the loaned securities, marked to market daily.

 

Diversification – Under the 1940 Act, a “diversified” Fund may not, with respect to 75% of its total assets, invest more than 5% of its total assets in securities of any one issuer or purchase more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of any one issuer, except securities or obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities and except securities of other investment companies. A “non-diversified” Fund may invest a greater percentage of its total assets in the securities of fewer issuers than a “diversified” fund.
 

The percentage limitations contained in the fundamental policies apply at the time of purchase of securities. Unless otherwise required by the 1940 Act (as is the case with borrowing), a later change in percentage resulting from changes in the value of the Fund’s assets or in total or net assets of the Fund will not be considered a violation of the restriction and the sale of securities will not be required. Future portfolios of the Trust may adopt different limitations.

Tax Diversification. Whether diversified or non-diversified, each Fund will satisfy the diversification requirements for tax treatment as a RIC. As a result, each Fund will diversify its holdings so that, at the close of each quarter of its taxable year or within 30 days thereafter, (i) at least 50% of the market value of the Fund’s total assets is represented by cash (including cash items and receivables), U.S. government securities, securities of other RICs and other securities, with such other securities limited, in respect of any one

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issuer, for purposes of this calculation to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets and 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer; and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of its total assets is invested in the securities of any one issuer (other than U.S. government securities or securities of other RICs) or of one or more “qualified” publicly traded partnerships.

Unusual Market Conditions. The investment policies, limitations or practices of the Funds may not apply during periods of unusual or adverse market, economic, political or other conditions. Such market, economic, political or other conditions may include periods of abnormal or heightened market volatility, strained credit and/or liquidity conditions or increased governmental intervention in the markets or industries. During such periods, a Fund may not invest according to its principal investment strategies or in the manner in which its name may suggest, and may be subject to different and/or heightened risks. It is possible that such unusual or adverse conditions may continue for extended periods of time.

DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS

Each Fund’s portfolio holdings are publicly disseminated each day the 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 Creation Units, together with estimates and actual cash components is publicly disseminated daily prior to the opening of the Exchange via the National Securities Clearing Corporation (the “NSCC”), a clearing agency that is registered with the SEC. The basket represents one Creation Unit of the Fund. The Trust, Adviser, Custodian (defined below) and Distributor (defined below) will not disseminate non-public information concerning the Trust.

The Trust provides a complete schedule of portfolio holdings for the second and fourth fiscal quarters in its Semi-Annual and Annual reports, and for the first and third fiscal quarters in its filings with the SEC as an exhibit to Form N-PORT. The Funds’ portfolio holdings will be available on or about the date of this Statement of Additional Information on the Fund’s public website, [ ].

EXCHANGE LISTING AND TRADING

A discussion of exchange listing and trading matters associated with an investment in the Funds is contained in the Shareholder Information section of the Funds’ Prospectus. The discussion below supplements, and should be read in conjunction with, that section of the Prospectus.

Shares of each Fund are listed for trading, and trade throughout the day, on NYSE Arca and in other secondary markets. Shares of each Fund may also be listed on certain non-U.S. exchanges. There can be no assurance that the requirements of NYSE Arca necessary to maintain the listing of shares of the Fund will continue to be met. NYSE Arca may, but is not required to, remove the shares of a Fund from listing if, among other things: (i) following the initial 12-month period beginning upon the commencement of trading of Fund shares, there are fewer than 50 record and/or beneficial owners of shares of the Fund; (ii) the Fund is no longer eligible to operate in reliance on Rule 6c-11 under the 1940 Act; (iii) any of the other listing requirements are not continuously maintained; or (iv) any event shall occur or condition shall exist that, in the opinion of NYSE Arca, makes further dealings on NYSE Arca inadvisable. The Listing Exchange will also remove shares of a Fund from listing and trading upon termination of the Fund. As in the case of other publicly-traded securities, when you buy or sell shares of the Funds through a broker, you may incur a brokerage commission determined by that broker, as well as other charges. The Trust reserves the right to adjust the 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 a Fund or an investor’s equity interest in the Fund.

CREATIONS AND REDEMPTIONS OF SHARES

The Trust issues and sells shares of the Funds only in Creation Units. The Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF and Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF issue and sell shares generally in exchange for cash, or in certain circumstances, a basket of securities and/or instruments (the “Deposit Securities”) together with a deposit of a specified cash payment (the “Cash Component”), if any, and the Eaton Vance High Yield ETF issues and sells shares generally in exchange for Deposit Securities and a Cash Component, if any, on a continuous basis through the Distributor, without a sales load, at the NAV next determined after receipt of an order in proper form as described in the Participant Agreement (as defined below), on any Business Day (as defined below).

A transaction fee is imposed for the transfer and other transaction costs associated with the purchase or redemption of Creation Units, as applicable. Investors who are authorized to deal in Creation Units (“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. The Funds may adjust the transaction fee from time to time, and a Fund may waive all or a portion of its applicable transaction fee. An additional charge or a variable charge will be applied to certain creation and redemption transactions, including non-standard orders and whole or partial cash purchases or redemptions. Specifically, a Fund may charge an additional variable fee for creations and redemptions in cash to offset brokerage and other impact expenses associated with the cash transaction. With respect to creation orders, Authorized Participants are responsible for the costs of transferring the securities

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constituting the Deposit Instruments to the account of the Trust and with respect to redemption orders, Authorized Participants are responsible for the costs of transferring the securities received on redemption 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.

In its discretion, the Adviser reserves the right to increase or decrease the number of a Fund’s shares that constitute a Creation Unit. The Board reserves the right to declare a split or a consolidation in the number of shares outstanding of a Fund, and to make a corresponding change in the number of shares constituting a Creation Unit, in the event that the per share price in the secondary market rises (or declines) to an amount that falls outside the range deemed desirable by the Board.

A “Business Day” with respect to the Funds is each day the New York Stock Exchange, the Exchange and the Trust are open, including any day that a Fund is required to be open under Section 22(e) of the 1940 Act, which excludes weekends and the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Orders from large institutional investors who have entered into agreements with the Funds’ Distributor to create or redeem Creation Units will only be accepted on a Business Day.

The time at which transactions and shares are priced and the time by which orders must be received may be changed in case of an emergency or if regular trading on the NYSE Arca is stopped at a time other than its regularly scheduled closing time. The Trust reserves the right to reprocess creation and redemption transactions that were initially processed at a NAV other than a Fund’s official closing NAV (as each may be subsequently adjusted), and to recover amounts from (or distribute amounts to) Authorized Participants (as defined below) based on the official closing NAV. The Trust reserves the right to advance the time by which creation and redemption orders must be received for same business day credit as otherwise permitted by the SEC.

Fund Deposit

The consideration for purchase of Creation Units may consist of Deposit Securities and/or the Cash Component. Together, the Deposit Securities and Cash Component constitute the “Fund Deposit,” which represents the minimum initial and subsequent investment amount for a Creation Unit of a Fund. The portfolio of securities required may be different than the portfolio of securities such Fund will deliver upon redemption of Fund shares.

The function of the Cash Component is to compensate for any differences between the NAV per Creation Unit and the Deposit Amount (as defined below). The Cash Component would be an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of the shares (per Creation Unit) and the “Deposit Amount,” which is an amount equal to the market value of the Deposit Securities. If the Cash Component is a positive number (the NAV per Creation Unit exceeds the Deposit Amount), the Authorized Participant will deliver the Cash Component. If the Cash Component is a negative number (the NAV per Creation Unit is less than the Deposit Amount), the Authorized Participant will receive the Cash Component. 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, which shall be the sole responsibility of the Authorized Participant. The Cash Component may also include a “Dividend Equivalent Payment,” which enables each Fund to make a complete distribution of dividends on the next dividend payment date, and is an amount equal, on a per Creation Unit basis, to the dividends on all the securities held by the Fund 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 securities had been held by the Trust for the entire Accumulation Period. The Accumulation Period begins on the ex-dividend date for each Fund and ends on the next ex-dividend date.

The Custodian, through the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”), makes available on each Business Day, prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m., Eastern time), the identity and the required number or amount of each Deposit Security and the amount of the Cash Component (or cash deposit) to be included in the current Fund Deposit (based on information at the end of the previous Business Day). Such Fund Deposit is applicable, subject to any adjustments, as described below, in order to effect purchases of Creation Units of that Fund until such time as the next-announced composition of the Fund Deposit is made available.

Procedures of Creating Creation Units

To be eligible to place orders with the Distributor and to create a Creation Unit of a Fund, an entity must be a member or participant of a clearing agency registered with the SEC, which has a written agreement with the Fund or one of its service providers that allows the authorized participant to place orders for the purchase and redemption of Creation Units (a “Participant Agreement,” and such participants, an “Authorized Participant”). All shares of the Funds, however created, will be entered on the records of DTC in the name of its nominee for the account of a participant of DTC (“DTC Participant”).

Except as described below, and in all cases subject to the terms of the applicable Participant Agreement, all orders to create Creation Units of a Fund must be received by the Transfer Agent no later than the closing time of the regular trading session of the Exchange (“Order Cutoff Time”) (ordinarily 4:00 p.m., Eastern time) in each case on the date such order is placed for creation of Creation Units to be effected based on the NAV of shares of such Fund as next determined after receipt of an order in proper form. A

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“Custom Order” may be placed by an Authorized Participant in the event that a Fund accepts (or delivers, in the case of a redemption) a basket of securities and/or cash that differs from a basket of Deposit Securities and/or cash published or transacted on a Business Day (discussed below). Custom Orders must be received by the Transfer Agent at such earlier time as provided in the Participant Agreement and/or applicable order form. On days when the Exchange closes earlier than normal (such as the day before a holiday), the Fund requires standard orders to create Creation Units to be placed by the earlier closing time and Custom Orders to create Creation Units must be received no later than one hour prior to the earlier closing time. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Trust may, but is not required to, permit Custom Orders until 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, or until the market close (in the event the Exchange closes early). The date on which an order to create Creation Units (or an order to redeem Creation Units, as discussed below) is placed is referred to as the “Transmittal Date.” Orders must be transmitted by an Authorized Participant through the Transfer Agent’s electronic order system or by telephone or other transmission method acceptable to the Transfer Agent and approved by the Distributor pursuant to procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement. Economic or market disruptions or changes, or telephone or other communication failure may impede the ability to reach the Transfer Agent, Distributor or an Authorized Participant.

All investor orders to create Creation Units shall be placed with an Authorized Participant in the form required by such Authorized Participant. In addition, an Authorized Participant may request that an investor make certain representations or enter into agreements with respect to an order (to provide for payments of cash). Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not have executed a Participant Agreement and, therefore, orders to create Creation Units of a Fund will have to be placed by the investor’s broker through an Authorized Participant. In such cases, there may be additional charges to such investor. A limited number of broker-dealers are expected to execute a Participant Agreement and only a small number of such Authorized Participants are expected to have international capabilities.

Creation Units may be created in advance of the receipt by the Trust of all or a portion of the Fund Deposit. In such cases, the Authorized Participant will remain liable for the full deposit of the missing portion(s) of the Fund Deposit and will be required to post collateral with the Trust consisting of cash at least equal to a percentage of the marked to market value of such missing portion(s) that is specified in the Participant Agreement. The Trust may use such collateral to buy the missing portion(s) of the Fund Deposit at any time and will subject such Authorized Participant to liability for any shortfall between the cost to the Trust of purchasing such securities and the value of such collateral. The Trust will have no liability for any such shortfall. The Trust will return any unused portion of the collateral to the Authorized Participant once the entire Fund Deposit has been properly received by the Transfer Agent and deposited into the Trust.

Orders for Creation Units that are affected outside the clearing process through the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC (the “Clearing Process”) are likely to require transmittal by the DTC Participant earlier on the Transmittal Date than orders effected using the Clearing Process. Those persons placing orders outside the Clearing Process should ascertain the deadlines applicable to DTC and the Federal Reserve Bank wire system by contacting the operations department of the broker or depository institution effectuating such transfer of Deposit Securities and Cash Component.

Acceptance of Creation Orders

The Trust reserves the right to reject a creation order transmitted to it by the Distributor, for any reason, provided that such action does not result in a suspension of sales of Creation Units in contravention of Rule 6c-11 and the SEC’s positions thereunder. For example, a Fund may reject or revoke acceptance of a creation order when: (a) the order is not in proper form; (b) the creator or creators, upon obtaining the shares, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding shares of a Fund; (c) the Deposit Securities delivered are not as specified by the Administrator, as described above; (d) the acceptance of the Fund Deposit would, in the opinion of counsel, be unlawful; or (e) in the event that circumstances outside the control of the Trust, the Distributor and the Adviser make it for all practical purposes impossible to process creation orders. Examples of such circumstances include, without limitation, acts of God or public service or utility problems such as earthquakes, fires, floods, extreme weather conditions and power outages resulting in telephone, telecopy and computer failures; wars; civil or military disturbances, including acts of civil or military authority or governmental actions; terrorism; sabotage; epidemics; riots; labor disputes; market conditions or activities causing trading halts; systems failures involving computer or other information systems affecting the Trust, the Adviser, the Distributor, DTC, the NSCC or any other participant in the creation process, and similar extraordinary events. The Transfer Agent will notify an Authorized Participant if an order is rejected. The Trust, the Custodian, any sub-custodian, the Distributor and the Transfer Agent are under no duty, however, to give notification of any defects or irregularities in the delivery of Fund Deposits to Authorized Participants nor shall any of them incur any liability to Authorized Participants for the failure to give any such notification. All questions as to the amounts of 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.

Portfolio Trading by Authorized Participants

When creation or redemption transactions consist of cash, the transactions may require the Fund to contemporaneously transact with broker-dealers for purchases or sales of portfolio securities, as applicable. Depending on the timing of the transactions and certain other factors, such transactions may be placed with the purchasing or redeeming Authorized Participant in its capacity as a broker-

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dealer or with its affiliated broker-dealer and conditioned upon an agreement with the Authorized Participant or its affiliated broker-dealer to transact at guaranteed prices in order to reduce transaction costs incurred as a consequence of settling creations or redemptions in cash rather than in-kind. Specifically, following the Fund’s receipt of a creation or redemption order, to the extent such purchases or redemptions consist of a cash portion, the Fund may enter an order with the Authorized Participant or its affiliated broker-dealer to purchase or sell the portfolio securities, as applicable. Such Authorized Participant or its affiliated broker-dealer will be required to guarantee that the Fund will achieve execution of its order at a price at least as favorable to the Fund as the Fund’s valuation of the portfolio securities used for purposes of calculating the NAV applied to the creation or redemption transaction giving rise to the order. Whether the execution of the order is at a price at least as favorable to the Fund will depend on the results achieved by the executing firm and will vary depending on market activity, timing, and a variety of other factors. An Authorized Participant is required to deposit an amount with the Fund in order to ensure that the execution of the order on the terms noted above will be honored on orders arising from creation transactions executed by an Authorized Participant or its affiliate as broker-dealer. If the broker-dealer executing the order achieves executions in market transactions at a price equal to or more favorable than the Fund’s valuation of the portfolio securities, the Authorized Participant or its affiliate as broker dealer receives the benefit of the favorable executions and the deposit is returned to the Authorized Participant. If, however, the broker-dealer executing the order is unable to achieve a price at least equal to the Fund’s valuation of the securities, the Fund retains the portion of the deposit equal to the full amount of the execution shortfall (including any taxes, brokerage commissions or other costs) and may require the Authorized Participant to deposit any additional amount required to cover the full amount of the actual execution transaction.

An Authorized Participant agrees to pay the shortfall amount in order to ensure that a guarantee on execution will be honored for brokerage orders arising from redemption transactions executed by an Authorized Participant or its affiliate as broker-dealer. If the broker-dealer executing the order achieves executions in market transactions at a price equal to or more favorable than the Fund’s valuation of the portfolio securities, the Authorized Participant or its affiliate as broker dealer receives the benefit of the favorable executions. If, however, the broker-dealer is unable to achieve executions in market transactions at a price at least equal to the Fund’s valuation of the securities, the Fund will be entitled to the portion of the offset equal to the full amount of the execution shortfall (including any taxes, brokerage commissions, or other costs).

Redemption of Creation Units

Shares may be redeemed only in Creation Units at their NAV next determined after receipt of a redemption request in proper form on a Business Day and only through a Participating Party or DTC Participant who has executed a Participant Agreement. The Funds will not redeem shares in amounts less than Creation Units (except each Fund may redeem shares in amounts less than a Creation Unit in the event the Fund is being liquidated). Beneficial owners must accumulate enough shares in the secondary market to constitute a Creation Unit in order to have such 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. Authorized Participants should expect to incur brokerage and other costs in connection with assembling a sufficient number of shares to constitute a redeemable Creation Unit. All redemptions are subject to the procedures contained in the applicable Participant Agreement.

With respect to a 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 identity and number or amount of each Fund’s securities (“Fund Securities”) and/or an amount of cash that will be applicable (subject to possible amendment or correction) to redemption requests received in proper form (as described below) on that day. All orders are subject to acceptance by the Distributor. Fund Securities received on redemption may not be identical to Deposit Securities that are applicable to creations of Creation Units.

Unless cash-only redemptions are available or specified for a Fund, the redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit will generally consist of Fund Securities – as published on the Business Day of the request for a redemption order received in proper form – plus cash in an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of the shares being redeemed, as next determined after a receipt of a request in proper form, and the value of the Fund Securities, less the redemption transaction fee and variable fees described below. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Trust reserves the right to deliver a basket of securities and/or cash that differs from a basket of Fund Securities and/or cash published or transacted on a Business Day, or to substitute an amount of cash (a “cash-in-lieu” amount) to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Fund Security. Where “cash-in-lieu” is used, the amount of cash paid out in such cases will be equivalent to the value of the instrument listed as a Deposit Security. In the event that the Fund Securities have a value greater than the NAV of the shares, a compensating cash payment equal to the difference is required to be made by an Authorized Participant.

Redemptions of shares for Fund Securities will be subject to compliance with applicable U.S. federal and state securities laws, and each Fund reserves the right to redeem Creation Units for cash to the extent that the Trust could not lawfully deliver specific Fund Securities upon redemptions or could not do so without first registering the Fund Securities under such laws. An Authorized Participant, or a beneficial owner of shares for which it is acting, subject to a legal restriction with respect to a particular security included in the redemption of a Creation Unit may be paid an equivalent amount of cash. This would specifically prohibit delivery of Fund Securities that are not registered in reliance upon Rule 144A under the 1933 Act to a redeeming beneficial owner of shares that is not a “qualified institutional buyer,” as such term is defined under Rule 144A of the 1933 Act. The Authorized Participant may

38 


 

request the redeeming beneficial owner of the shares to complete an order form or to enter into agreements with respect to such matters as compensating cash payment.

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

If the Trust determines, based on information available to the Trust when a redemption request is submitted by an Authorized Participant, that (i) the short interest of the Fund in the marketplace is greater than or equal to 100% and (ii) the orders in the aggregate from all Authorized Participants redeeming Fund shares on a Business Day represent 25% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund, such Authorized Participant will be required to verify to the Trust the accuracy of its representations that are deemed to have been made by submitting a request for redemption. If, after receiving notice of the verification requirement, the Authorized Participant does not verify the accuracy of its representations that are deemed to have been made by submitting a request for redemption in accordance with this requirement, its redemption request will be considered not to have been received in proper form.

ACCOUNT POLICIES AND FEATURES

Valuation of Shares

NAV of a Fund is determined by dividing the total market value of the Fund’s investments and other assets less the total market value of all liabilities attributable to that Fund, by the total number of outstanding shares of the Fund.

In the calculation of a Fund’s NAV: (1) an equity portfolio security listed or traded on an exchange is valued at its latest reported sale price (or at the exchange official closing price if such exchange reports an official closing price), and if there were no sales on a given day and if there is no official exchange closing price for that day, the security is valued at the mean between the last reported bid and asked prices if such bid and asked prices are available on the relevant exchanges; and (2) all other equity portfolio securities for which OTC market quotations are readily available are valued at the latest reported sale price (or at the market official closing price if such market reports an official closing price), and if there was no trading in the security on a given day and if there is no official closing price from the relevant markets for that day, the security is valued at the mean between the last reported bid and asked prices if such bid and asked prices are available on the relevant markets. Listed securities not traded on the valuation date with no reported bid and asked prices available on the exchange are valued at the mean between the current bid and asked prices obtained from one or more reputable brokers or dealers. An unlisted equity security that does not trade on the valuation date and for which bid and asked prices from the relevant markets are unavailable is valued at the mean between the current bid and asked prices obtained from one or more reputable brokers or dealers. In cases where a security is traded on more than one exchange, the security is valued on the exchange designated as the primary market. When no market quotations are readily available for a security or other asset, including circumstances under which the Adviser determined that a market quotation is not accurate, fair value for the security or other asset will be determined in good faith using methods approved by the Board of Trustees.

The Adviser, consistent with its procedures and applicable regulatory guidance, may (but need not) determine to make an adjustment to the previous closing prices of either domestic or foreign securities in light of significant events, to reflect what it believes to be the fair value of the securities at the time of determining the Fund’s NAV.

For valuation purposes, quotations of foreign portfolio securities, other assets and liabilities and forward contracts stated in foreign currency are translated into U.S. dollar equivalents at the prevailing market rates prior to the close of the NYSE Arca.

Certain of a Fund’s portfolio securities may be valued using as an input evaluated prices provided by an approved outside pricing service. Prices obtained from these approved sources are monitored and reviewed by the Adviser’s Valuation Committee and if not deemed to represent fair value, may be overriden and valued using procedures approved by the Board. The pricing service may utilize a matrix system or other model incorporating attributes such as security quality, maturity and coupon as the evaluation model parameters, and/or research evaluations by its staff, including review of broker-dealer market price quotations in determining what it believes is the fair valuation of the portfolio securities valued by such pricing service. Pricing services generally value securities assuming orderly transactions of an institutional round lot size, but a Fund may hold or transact in such securities in smaller, odd lot sizes. Odd lots often trade at lower prices than institutional round lots. In certain cases where a valuation is not available from any of the approved pricing services, then a quote from a broker or dealer may be used.

Listed options are valued at the last reported sales price on the exchange on which they are listed (or at the exchange official closing price if such exchange reports an official closing price). If an official closing price or last reported sale price is unavailable, the listed option should be fair valued at the mean between its latest bid and ask prices. If an exchange closing price or bid and asked prices are not available from the exchange, then the quotes from one or more brokers or dealers may be used. Unlisted options and swaps are valued by an approved outside pricing service or quotes from a broker or dealer. Unlisted options and swaps cleared on a clearinghouse or exchange may be valued using the closing price provided by the clearinghouse or exchange. Futures are valued at the

39 


 

settlement price on the exchange on which they trade or, if a settlement price is unavailable, then at the last sale price on the exchange.

If the Adviser determines that the valuation received from the outside pricing service or broker or dealer is not reflective of the security’s market value, such security is valued at its fair value as determined in good faith using methods approved by the Board of Trustees.

Generally, trading in foreign securities is substantially completed each day at various times prior to the close of the NYSE Arca. The values of such securities used in computing the NAV of the Fund is determined as of such times. Foreign currency exchange rates are also generally determined prior to the close of the NYSE Arca. Occasionally, events which may affect the values of such securities and such exchange rates may occur between the times at which they are determined and the close of the NYSE Arca. If events that may affect the value of such securities occur during such period, then these securities may be valued at their fair value as determined in good faith using methods approved by the Board.

In general, fair value represents the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. When there is no public market or possibly no market at all for an asset, fair value represents, in general, a good faith approximation of the current value of an asset. A security that is fair valued may be valued at a price higher or lower than actual market quotations or the value determined by other funds using their own fair valuation procedures or by other investors. The fair value of an asset may not be the price at which that asset is ultimately sold.

The proceeds received by each Fund from the issue or sale of its shares, and all net investment income, realized and unrealized gain and proceeds thereof, subject only to the rights of creditors, will be specifically allocated to the Fund and constitute the underlying assets of each Fund. The underlying assets of a Fund will be segregated on the books of account, and will be charged with the liabilities in respect of a Fund and with a share of the general liabilities of the Trust. Expenses of the Trust with respect to the Fund and the other series of the Trust are generally allocated in proportion to the NAVs of the respective Fund except where allocations of expenses can otherwise be fairly made.

Each Fund relies on various sources to calculate its NAV. The ability to calculate the NAV per share of the Fund is subject to operational risks associated with processing or human errors, systems or technology failures, cyber attacks and errors caused by third party service providers, data sources, or trading counterparties. Such failures may result in delays in the calculation of the Fund’s NAV and/or the inability to calculate NAV over extended time periods. The Fund may be unable to recover any losses associated with such failures. In addition, if the third-party service providers and/or data sources upon which the Fund directly or indirectly relies to calculate its NAV or price individual securities are unavailable or otherwise unable to calculate the NAV correctly, it may be necessary for alternative procedures to be utilized to price the securities at the time of determining the Fund’s NAV.

MANAGEMENT OF THE TRUST

Trustees and Officers
The Board of the Trust consists of 11 Trustees. None of the Trustees have an affiliation or business connection with the Adviser or any of its affiliated persons or own any stock or other securities issued by the Adviser’s parent company, Morgan Stanley. These Trustees are the “non-interested” or “Independent” Trustees of the Trust as defined under the 1940 Act.

Board Structure and Oversight Function

The Board’s leadership structure features an Independent Trustee serving as Chairperson and the Board Committees described below. The Chairperson participates in the preparation of the agenda for meetings of the Board and the preparation of information to be presented to the Board with respect to matters to be acted upon by the Board. The Chairperson also presides at all meetings of the Board and is involved in discussions regarding matters pertaining to the oversight of the management of the Trust between meetings.

The Board of Trustees operates using a system of committees to facilitate the timely and efficient consideration of all matters of importance to the Trustees, the Trust and Trust stockholders, and to facilitate compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and oversight of the Trust’s activities and associated risks. The Board of Trustees has established six standing committees: (1) Audit Committee, (2) Governance Committee, (3) Compliance and Insurance Committee, (4) Equity Investment Committee, (5) Fixed Income, Liquidity and Alternatives Investment Committee and (6) Risk Committee, which are each comprised exclusively of Independent Trustees. Each committee charter governs the scope of the committee’s responsibilities with respect to the oversight of the Trust. The responsibilities of each committee, including their oversight responsibilities, are described further under the caption “Independent Trustees and the Committees.”

A Fund is subject to a number of risks, including investment, compliance, operational and valuation risk, among others. The Board of Trustees oversees these risks as part of its broader oversight of the Trust’s affairs through various Board and committee activities. The Board has adopted, and periodically reviews, policies and procedures designed to address various risks to a Fund. In addition, appropriate personnel, including but not limited to the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer, members of the Trust’s administration

40 


 

and accounting teams, representatives from a Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm, the Trust’s Treasurer, portfolio management personnel, risk management personnel and independent valuation and brokerage evaluation service providers, make regular reports regarding the Trust’s activities and related risks to the Board of Trustees and the committees, as appropriate. These reports include, among others, quarterly performance reports, quarterly risk reports and discussions with members of the risk teams relating to each asset class. The Board’s committee structure allows separate committees to focus on different aspects of risk and the potential impact of these risks on some or all of the funds in the complex and then report back to the full Board. In between regular meetings, Trust officers also communicate with the Trustees regarding material exceptions and items relevant to the Board’s risk oversight function. The Board recognizes that it is not possible to identify all of the risks that may affect a Fund, and that it is not possible to develop processes and controls to eliminate all of the risks that may affect a Fund. Moreover, the Board recognizes that it may be necessary for a Fund to bear certain risks (such as investment risk) to achieve their respective investment objectives.

As needed between meetings of the Board, the Board or a specific committee receives and reviews reports relating to the Trust and engages in discussions with appropriate parties relating to the Trust’s operations and related risks.

Trustees

The Trust seeks as Trustees individuals of distinction and experience in business and finance, government service or academia. In determining that a particular Trustee was and continues to be qualified to serve as Trustee, the Board has considered a variety of criteria, none of which, in isolation, was controlling. Based on a review of the experience, qualifications, attributes or skills of each Trustee, including those enumerated in the table below, the Board has determined that each of the Trustees is qualified to serve as a Trustee of the Trust. In addition, the Board believes that, collectively, the Trustees have balanced and diverse experience, qualifications, attributes and skills that allow the Board to operate effectively in governing the Trust and protecting the interests of shareholders. Information about the Trust’s Governance Committee and Board of Trustees nomination process is provided below under the caption “Independent Trustees and the Committees.”

The Trustees of the Trust, their birth years, addresses, positions held, length of time served, their principal business occupations during the past five years and other relevant professional experience, the number of portfolios in the Fund Complex (described below) overseen by each Independent Trustee and other directorships, if any, held by the Trustees, are shown below (as of January 1, 2023). The Fund Complex includes all open-end and closed-end funds (including all of their portfolios) advised by the Adviser and any registered funds that have an adviser that is an affiliate of the Adviser (including, but not limited to, Morgan Stanley AIP GP LP) (the “Morgan Stanley AIP Funds”).

41 


 

Name, Address and Birth Year of Independent Trustee

Position(s) Held with Registrant

Length of
Time
Served*

Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years and Other Relevant Professional Experience

Number of Funds
in Fund Complex Overseen by Independent Trustee

Other Directorships Held by Independent Trustee During Past 5 Years**

Frank L. Bowman
c/o Perkins Coie LLP
Counsel to the
Independent Trustees
1155 Avenue of the Americas
22nd Floor
New York, NY 10036
Birth Year: 1944

Trustee

Since August 2006

President, Strategic Decisions, LLC (consulting) (since February 2009); Director or Trustee of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since August 2006); Chairperson of the Compliance and Insurance Committee (since October 2015); formerly, Chairperson of the Insurance Sub-Committee of the Compliance and Insurance Committee (2007-2015); served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Energy Institute (policy organization) (February 2005-November 2008); retired as Admiral, U.S. Navy after serving over 38 years on active duty including 8 years as Director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program in the Department of the Navy and the U.S. Department of Energy (1996-2004); served as Chief of Naval Personnel (July 1994-September 1996) and on the Joint Staff as Director of Political Military Affairs (June 1992-July 1994); knighted as Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire; awarded the Officier de l’Orde National du Mérite by the French Government; elected to the National Academy of Engineering (2009).

83

Director of Naval and Nuclear Technologies LLP; Director Emeritus of the Armed Services YMCA; Member of the National Security Advisory Council of the Center for U.S. Global Engagement and a former member of the CNA Military Advisory Board; Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Fairhaven United Methodist Church; Member of the Board of Advisors of the Dolphin Scholarship Foundation; Director of other various nonprofit organizations; formerly, Director of BP, plc (November 2010-May 2019).

42 


 

Name, Address and Birth Year of Independent Trustee

Position(s) Held with Registrant

Length of
Time
Served*

Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years and Other Relevant Professional Experience

Number of Funds
in Fund Complex Overseen by Independent Trustee

Other Directorships Held by Independent Trustee During Past 5 Years**

Frances L. Cashman
c/o Perkins Coie LLP
Counsel to the
Independent Trustees
1155 Avenue of the Americas
22nd Floor
New York, NY 10036
Birth Year: 1961

Trustee

Since February 2022

Chief Executive Officer, Asset Management Division, Delinian Ltd. (financial information) (May 2021-Present); Executive Vice President and various other roles, Legg Mason & Co. (asset management) (2010-2020); Managing Director, Stifel Nicolaus (2005-2010).

84

Trustee and Investment Committee Member, Georgia Tech Foundation (Since June 2019); Trustee and Chair of Marketing Committee, and Member of Investment Committee, Loyola Blakefield (Since September 2017); Trustee, MMI Gateway Foundation (since September 2017); Director and Investment Committee Member, Catholic Community Foundation Board (2012–2018); Director and Investment Committee Member, St. Ignatius Loyola Academy (2011-2017).

Kathleen A. Dennis
c/o Perkins Coie LLP
Counsel to the
Independent Trustees
1155 Avenue of the Americas
22nd Floor
New York, NY 10036
Birth Year: 1953

Trustee

Since
August
2006

Chairperson of the Governance Committee (since January 2021), Chairperson of the Liquidity and Alternatives Sub-Committee of the Investment Committee (2006-2020) and Director or Trustee of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since August 2006); President, Cedarwood Associates (mutual fund and investment management consulting) (since July 2006); formerly, Senior Managing Director of Victory Capital Management (1993-2006).

83

Board Member, University of Albany Foundation (2012-present); Board Member, Mutual Funds Directors Forum (2014-present); Director of various non-profit organizations.

43 


 

Name, Address and Birth Year of Independent Trustee

Position(s) Held with Registrant

Length of
Time
Served*

Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years and Other Relevant Professional Experience

Number of Funds
in Fund Complex Overseen by Independent Trustee

Other Directorships Held by Independent Trustee During Past 5 Years**

Nancy C. Everett
c/o Perkins Coie LLP
Counsel to the
Independent Trustees
1155 Avenue of the Americas
22nd Floor
New York, NY 10036
Birth Year: 1955

Trustee

Since
January
2015

Chairperson of the Equity Investment Committee (since January 2021); Director or Trustee of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since January 2015); Chief Executive Officer, Virginia Commonwealth University Investment Company (since November 2015); Owner, OBIR, LLC (institutional investment management consulting) (since June 2014); formerly, Managing Director, BlackRock, Inc. (February 2011-December 2013) and Chief Executive Officer, General Motors Asset Management (a/k/a Promark Global Advisors, Inc.) (June 2005-May 2010).

84

Formerly, Member of Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business Foundation (2005-2016); Member of Virginia Commonwealth University Board of Visitors (2013-2015); Member of Committee on Directors for Emerging Markets Growth Fund, Inc. (2007-2010); Chairperson of Performance Equity Management, LLC (2006-2010); and Chairperson, GMAM Absolute Return Strategies Fund, LLC (2006-2010).

Eddie A. Grier
c/o Perkins Coie LLP
Counsel to the
Independent Trustees
1155 Avenue of the Americas
22nd Floor
New York, NY 10036
Birth Year: 1955

Trustee

Since February 2022

Dean, Santa Clara University Leavey School of Business (since July 2021); Dean, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business (2010-2021); President and various other roles, Walt Disney Company (entertainment and media) (1981-2010).

84

Director, Witt/Kieffer, Inc. (executive search) (since 2016); Director, NuStar GP, LLC (energy) (since August 2021); Director, Sonida Senior Living, Inc. (residential community operator) (2016-2021); Director, NVR, Inc. (homebuilding) (2013-2020); Director, Middleburg Trust Company (wealth management) (2014-2019); Director, Colonial Williamsburg Company (2012-2021); Regent, University of Massachusetts Global (since 2021); Director and Chair, ChildFund International (2012-2021); Trustee, Brandman University (2010-2021); Director, Richmond Forum (2012-2019).

44 


 

Name, Address and Birth Year of Independent Trustee

Position(s) Held with Registrant

Length of
Time
Served*

Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years and Other Relevant Professional Experience

Number of Funds
in Fund Complex Overseen by Independent Trustee

Other Directorships Held by Independent Trustee During Past 5 Years**

Jakki L. Haussler
c/o Perkins Coie LLP
Counsel to the
Independent Trustees
1155 Avenue of the Americas
22nd Floor
New York, NY 10036
Birth Year: 1957

Trustee

Since
January
2015

Chairperson of the Audit Committee (since January 2023) and Director or Trustee of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since January 2015); Chairman, Opus Capital Group (since 1996); formerly, Chief Executive Officer, Opus Capital Group (1996-2019); Director, Capvest Venture Fund, LP (May 2000-December 2011); Partner, Adena Ventures, LP (July 1999-December 2010); Director, The Victory Funds (February 2005-July 2008).

84

Director, Vertiv Holdings Co. (VRT) (since August 2022); Director of Cincinnati Bell Inc. and Member, Audit Committee and Chairman, Governance and Nominating Committee (2008-2021); Director of Service Corporation International and Member, Audit Committee and Investment Committee; Director, Barnes Group Inc. (since July 2021); Director of Northern Kentucky University Foundation and Member, Investment Committee; Member of Chase College of Law Center for Law and Entrepreneurship Board of Advisors; Director of Best Transport (2005-2019); Director of Chase College of Law Board of Visitors; formerly, Member, University of Cincinnati Foundation Investment Committee.

Dr. Manuel H. Johnson
c/o Johnson Smick
International, Inc.
220 I Street, NE
Suite 200
Washington, D.C. 20002
Birth Year: 1949

Trustee

Since
July 1991

Senior Partner, Johnson Smick International, Inc. (consulting firm); Chairperson of the Fixed Income, Liquidity and Alternatives Investment Committee (since January 2021), Chairperson of the Investment Committee (2006-2020) and Director or Trustee of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since July 1991); Co-Chairman and a founder of the Group of Seven Council (G7C) (international economic commission); formerly, Chairperson of the Audit Committee (July 1991-September 2006); Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury.

83

Director of NVR, Inc. (home construction).

45 


 

Name, Address and Birth Year of Independent Trustee

Position(s) Held with Registrant

Length of
Time
Served*

Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years and Other Relevant Professional Experience

Number of Funds
in Fund Complex Overseen by Independent Trustee

Other Directorships Held by Independent Trustee During Past 5 Years**

Joseph J. Kearns
c/o Perkins Coie LLP
Counsel to the
Independent Trustees
1155 Avenue of the Americas
22nd Floor
New York, NY 10036
Birth Year: 1942

Trustee

Since
August
1994

Senior Adviser, Kearns & Associates LLC (investment consulting); Chairperson of the Audit Committee (2006-2022) and Director or Trustee of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since August 1994); formerly, Deputy Chairperson of the Audit Committee (July 2003-September 2006) and Chairperson of the Audit Committee of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since August 1994); CFO of the J. Paul Getty Trust (1982-1999).

84

Director, Rubicon Investments (since February 2019); Prior to August 2016, Director of Electro Rent Corporation (equipment leasing). Prior to December 31, 2013, Director of The Ford Family Foundation.

Michael F. Klein
c/o Perkins Coie LLP
Counsel to the
Independent Trustees
1155 Avenue of the Americas
22nd Floor
New York, NY 10036
Birth Year: 1958

Trustee

Since
August
2006

Chairperson of the Risk Committee (since January 2021); Managing Director, Aetos Alternatives Management, LP (since March 2000); Co-President, Aetos Alternatives Management, LP (since January 2004) and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Aetos Alternatives Management, LP (since August 2013); Chairperson of the Fixed Income Sub-Committee of the Investment Committee (2006-2020) and Director or Trustee of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since August 2006); formerly, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Investment Management and President, various Morgan Stanley Funds (June 1998-March 2000); Principal, Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Investment Management (August 1997-December 1999).

83

Director of certain investment funds managed or sponsored by Aetos Alternatives Management, LP; Director of Sanitized AG and Sanitized Marketing AG (specialty chemicals).

46 


 

Name, Address and Birth Year of Independent Trustee

Position(s) Held with Registrant

Length of
Time
Served*

Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years and Other Relevant Professional Experience

Number of Funds
in Fund Complex Overseen by Independent Trustee

Other Directorships Held by Independent Trustee During Past 5 Years**

Patricia A. Maleski
c/o Perkins Coie LLP
Counsel to the
Independent Trustees
1155 Avenue of the Americas
22nd Floor
New York, NY 10036
Birth Year: 1960

Trustee

Since
January
2017

Director or Trustee of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since January 2017); Managing Director, JPMorgan Asset Management (2004-2016); Oversight and Control Head of Fiduciary and Conflicts of Interest Program (2015-2016); Chief Control Officer—Global Asset Management (2013-2015); President, JPMorgan Funds (2010-2013); Chief Administrative Officer (2004-2013); various other positions including Treasurer and Board Liaison (since 2001).

84

Trustee (since January 2022) and Treasurer (since January 2023), Nutley Family Service Bureau, Inc.

W. Allen Reed
c/o Perkins Coie LLP
Counsel to the
Independent Trustees
1155 Avenue of the Americas
22nd Floor
New York, NY 10036
Birth Year: 1947

Chair of the Board and Trustee

Chair of the Board since August 2020 and Trustee since August 2006

Chair of the Boards of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since August 2020); Director or Trustee of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since August 2006); formerly, Vice Chair of the Boards of various Morgan Stanley Funds (January 2020-August 2020); President and Chief Executive Officer of General Motors Asset Management; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the GM Trust Bank and Corporate Vice President of General Motors Corporation (August 1994-December 2005).

83

Formerly, Director of Legg Mason, Inc. (2006-2019); and Director of the Auburn University Foundation (2010-2015).

* This is the earliest date the Trustee  began serving the Morgan Stanley Funds. Each Trustee  serves an indefinite term, until his or her successor is elected.
** This includes any directorships at public companies and registered investment companies held by the Trustee at any time during the past five years.

The executive officers of the Trust, their birth years, addresses, positions held, length of time served and their principal business occupations during the past five years are shown below (as of January 1, 2023).

Name, Address and Birth Year of Executive Officer

Position(s) Held with Registrant

Length of Time Served*

Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years

John H. Gernon
522 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10036
Birth Year: 1963

President and Principal Executive Officer

Since September 2013

President and Principal Executive Officer of the Equity and Fixed Income Funds and the Morgan Stanley AIP Funds (since September 2013) and the Liquidity Funds and various money market funds (since May 2014) in the Fund Complex; Managing Director of the Adviser.

Deidre A. Downes
1633 Broadway
New York, NY 10019
Birth Year: 1977

Chief Compliance Officer

Since November 2021

Executive Director of the Adviser (since January 2021) and Chief Compliance officer of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since November 2021). Formerly, Vice President and Corporate Counsel at PGIM and Prudential Financial (October 2016 – December 2020).

47 


 

Name, Address and Birth Year of Executive Officer

Position(s) Held with Registrant

Length of Time Served*

Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years

Francis J. Smith
522 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10036
Birth Year: 1965

Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer

Treasurer since July 2003 and Principal Financial Officer since September 2002

Managing Director of the Adviser and various entities affiliated with the Adviser; Treasurer (since July 2003) and Principal Financial Officer of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since September 2002).

Mary E. Mullin
1633 Broadway
New York, NY 10019
Birth Year: 1967

Secretary

Since June 1999

Managing Director of the Adviser; Secretary of various Morgan Stanley Funds (since June 1999).

Michael J. Key
522 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10036
Birth Year: 1979

Vice President

Since June 2017

Vice President of the Equity and Fixed Income Funds, Liquidity Funds, various money market funds and the Morgan Stanley AIP Funds in the Fund Complex (since June 2017); Managing Director of the Adviser; Head of Product Development for Equity and Fixed Income Funds (since August 2013).

Anthony R. Rochte
522 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY
10036
Birth Year: 1968

Vice President,
Morgan Stanley
ETF Trust

Since September 2022

Managing Director and Global Head of Exchange-Traded Funds at Morgan Stanley Investment Management (since March 2022); Co-Head of Goldman Sachs Private Bank Select (January 2020 – March 2022); Head of Fidelity Institutional Investments & Technology Solutions (August 2017 – January 2020).

* This is the earliest date the Officer began serving the Morgan Stanley Funds. Each Officer serves an indefinite term, until his or her successor is elected.

It is a policy of the Trust’s Board that each Trustee shall invest in any combination of the Morgan Stanley Funds that the Trustee determines meets his or her own specific investment objectives, without requiring any specific investment in any particular Fund.

For each Trustee, the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by the Trustee in the Funds and in the Family of Investment Companies (Family of Investment Companies includes all of the registered investment companies advised by the Adviser and Morgan Stanley AIP GP LP) for the calendar year ended December 31, 2022 is set forth in the table below.

Name of Trustee

Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Funds (as of December 31, 2022)

Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity Securities in All Registered Investment Companies Overseen by Trustee in Family of Investment Companies (as of December 31, 2022)

Independent:

 

 

Frank L. Bowman

None

over $100,000

Frances L. Cashman1

None

None

Kathleen A. Dennis

None

over $100,000

Nancy C. Everett

None

over $100,000

Eddie A. Grier1

None

None

Jakki L. Haussler

None

over $100,000

Manuel H. Johnson

None

over $100,000

Joseph J. Kearns

None

over $100,000

Michael F. Klein

None

over $100,000

Patricia A. Maleski

None

over $100,000

W. Allen Reed

None

over $100,000

1 Ms. Cashman and Mr. Grier became members of the Advisory Board of the Board of Trustees on January 1, 2022 and Trustees on February 25, 2022.

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

As of [ ], 2023, the Trustees and officers of the Trust, as a group, owned less than 1% of any class of the outstanding shares of beneficial interest of a Fund.

Independent Trustees and the Committees

Law and regulation establish both general guidelines and specific duties for the Independent Trustees. The Board has six committees: (1) Audit Committee, (2) Governance Committee, (3) Compliance and Insurance Committee, (4) Equity Investment Committee, (5) Fixed Income, Liquidity and Alternatives Investment Committee and (6) Risk Committee.

The Independent Trustees are charged with recommending to the full Board approval of management, advisory and administration contracts, Rule 12b-1 plans and distribution and underwriting agreements; continually reviewing fund performance; checking on the pricing of portfolio securities, brokerage commissions, transfer agent costs and performance and trading among funds in the same complex; and approving fidelity bond and related insurance coverage and allocations, as well as other matters that arise from time to

48 


 

time. The Independent Trustees are required to select and nominate individuals to fill any Independent Trustee vacancy on the board of any fund that has a Rule 12b-1 plan of distribution.

The Board of Trustees has a separately-designated standing Audit Committee established in accordance with Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”). The Audit Committee is charged with recommending to the full Board the engagement or discharge of the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm; directing investigations into matters within the scope of the independent registered public accounting firm’s duties, including the power to retain outside specialists; reviewing with the independent registered public accounting firm the audit plan and results of the auditing engagement; approving professional services provided by the independent registered public accounting firm and other accounting firms prior to the performance of the services; reviewing the independence of the independent registered public accounting firm; considering the range of audit and non-audit fees; reviewing the adequacy of the Trust’s system of internal controls; and reviewing the valuation process. The Trust has adopted a formal, written Audit Committee Charter.

The members of the Audit Committee of the Trust are Nancy C. Everett, Eddie A. Grier, Jakki L. Haussler and Joseph J. Kearns. None of the members of the Trust’s Audit Committee is an “interested person,” as defined under the 1940 Act, of the Trust (with such disinterested Trustees being “Independent Trustees” or individually, an “Independent Trustee”). Each Independent Trustee is also “independent” from the Trust under the listing standards of the NYSE Arca. The Chairperson of the Audit Committee of the Trust is Jakki L. Haussler.

The Board of Trustees of the Trust also has a Governance Committee. The Governance Committee identifies individuals qualified to serve as Independent Trustees on the Trust’s Board and on committees of such Board and recommends such qualified individuals for nomination by the Trust’s Independent Trustees as candidates for election as Independent Trustees, advises the Trust’s Board with respect to Board composition, procedures and committees, develops and recommends to the Trust’s Board a set of corporate governance principles applicable to the Trust, monitors and makes recommendations on corporate governance matters and policies and procedures of the Trust’s Board of Trustees and any Board committees and oversees periodic evaluations of the Trust’s Board and its committees. The members of the Governance Committee of the Trust are Kathleen A. Dennis, Manuel H. Johnson, Michael F. Klein, Patricia A. Maleski and W. Allen Reed, each of whom is an Independent Trustee. In addition, W. Allen Reed (as Chair of the Morgan Stanley Funds) periodically may attend other operating committee meetings. The Chairperson of the Governance Committee is Kathleen A. Dennis.

The Trust does not have a separate nominating committee. While the Trust’s Governance Committee recommends qualified candidates for nominations as Independent Trustees, the Board of Trustees of the Trust believes that the task of nominating prospective Independent Trustees is important enough to require the participation of all current Independent Trustees, rather than a separate committee consisting of only certain Independent Trustees. Accordingly, all the Independent Trustees participate in the selection and nomination of candidates for election as Independent Trustees for the Trust. Persons recommended by the Trust’s Governance Committee as candidates for nomination as Independent Trustees shall possess such experience, qualifications, attributes, skills and diversity so as to enhance the Board’s ability to manage and direct the affairs and business of the Trust, including, when applicable, to enhance the ability of committees of the Board to fulfill their duties and/or to satisfy any independence requirements imposed by law, regulation or any listing requirements of the NYSE Arca. While the Independent Trustees of the Trust expect to be able to continue to identify from their own resources an ample number of qualified candidates for the Trust’s Board as they deem appropriate, they will consider nominations from shareholders to the Board. Nominations from shareholders should be in writing and sent to the Independent Trustees as described below under the caption “Shareholder Communications.”

The Board formed the Compliance and Insurance Committee to address insurance coverage and oversee the compliance function for the Trust and the Board. The Compliance and Insurance Committee consists of Frank L. Bowman, Kathleen A. Dennis and Patricia A. Maleski, each of whom is an Independent Trustee. The Chairperson of the Compliance and Insurance Committee is Frank L. Bowman.

The Equity Investment Committee and the Fixed Income, Liquidity and Alternatives Investment Committee oversee the Trust’s portfolio investment process and review the performance of the Trust’s investments. The Equity Investment Committee and the Fixed Income, Liquidity and Alternatives Investment Committee also recommend to the Board to approve or renew the Trust’s Investment Advisory, Sub-Advisory and Administration Agreements. Each Investment Committee focuses on the Trust’s primary areas of investment, namely equities, fixed income, liquidity and alternatives. Kathleen A. Dennis, Nancy C. Everett, Eddie A. Grier, Jakki L. Haussler and Michael F. Klein are members of the Equity Investment Committee. The Chairperson of the Equity Investment Committee is Nancy C. Everett. Frank L. Bowman, Frances L. Cashman, Manuel H. Johnson, Joseph J. Kearns and Patricia A. Maleski are members of the Fixed Income, Liquidity and Alternatives Investment Committee. The Chairperson of the Fixed Income, Liquidity and Alternatives Investment Committee is Manuel H. Johnson.

The Risk Committee assists the Board in connection with the oversight of the Trust’s risks, including investment risks, operational risks and risks posed by the Trust’s service providers as well as the effectiveness of the guidelines, policies and processes for

49 


 

monitoring and mitigating such risks. The members of the Risk Committee of the Trust are Frances L. Cashman, Manuel H. Johnson, Michael F. Klein and W. Allen Reed, each of whom is an Independent Trustee. The Chairperson of the Risk Committee is Michael F. Klein.

During the Trust’s fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, the Board of Trustees held the following meetings:

Board of Trustees/Committee/Sub-Committee

Number of Meetings

Board of Trustees

[]

Audit Committee

[]

Governance Committee

[]

Compliance and Insurance Committee

[]

Investment Committee

[]

Equity Sub-Committee

[]

Fixed Income Sub-Committee

[]

Liquidity and Alternatives Sub-Committee

[]

The Board has concluded, based on each Trustee’s experience, qualifications and attributes that each Board member should serve as a Director. Following is a brief summary of the information that led to and/or supports this conclusion.

Mr. Bowman has experience in a variety of business and financial matters through his prior service as a Director or Trustee for various funds in the Fund Complex, where he serves as Chairperson of the Compliance and Insurance Committee (and formerly served as Chairperson of the Insurance Sub-Committee of the Compliance and Insurance Committee). Mr. Bowman also serves as a Director of Naval and Nuclear Technologies LLP and Director Emeritus for the Armed Services YMCA, and formerly served as a Director of BP, plc. Mr. Bowman serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Fairhaven United Methodist Church. Mr. Bowman is also a member of the National Security Advisory Council of the Center for U.S. Global Engagement, a former member of the CNA Military Advisory Board and a member of the Dolphin Scholarship Foundation Advisory Board. Mr. Bowman retired as an Admiral in the U.S. Navy after serving over 38 years on active duty including eight years as Director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program in the Department of the Navy and the U.S. Department of Energy (1996-2004). Additionally, Mr. Bowman served as the U.S. Navy’s Chief of Naval Personnel (1994-1996), where he was responsible for the planning and programming of all manpower, personnel, training and education resources for the U.S. Navy and on the Joint Staff as Director of Political Military Affairs (1992-1994). In addition, Mr. Bowman served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Energy Institute. Mr. Bowman has received such distinctions as a knighthood as Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire and the Officier de l’Ordre  National du Mérite from the French Government and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering (2009). He is President of the consulting firm Strategic Decisions, LLC.

With more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, Ms. Cashman possesses valuable insights and expertise regarding governance, marketing, communications, and strategy. Ms. Cashman is Chief Executive Officer of the Asset Management Division of Delinian Limited. Prior to that, Ms. Cashman spent over 20 years at Legg Mason & Co., ultimately serving as Executive Vice President and Global Head of Marketing and Communications. She has gained valuable experience as Director of two investment management entities and as a distribution leader reporting to boards of other mutual funds. In addition, Ms. Cashman also serves as Trustee for the Georgia Tech Foundation and the MMI Gateway Foundation.

Ms. Dennis has over 25 years of business experience in the financial services industry and related fields including serving as a Director or Trustee of various other funds in the Fund Complex, where she serves as Chairperson of the Governance Committee. Ms. Dennis possesses a strong understanding of the regulatory framework under which investment companies must operate based on her years of service to this Board and her position as Senior Managing Director of Victory Capital Management.

Ms. Everett has over 35 years of experience in the financial services industry, including roles with both registered investment companies and registered investment advisers. Ms. Everett serves as the Chairperson of the Equity Investment Committee. By serving on the boards of other registered funds, such as GMAM Absolute Return Strategies Fund, LLC and Emerging Markets Growth Fund, Inc., Ms. Everett has acquired significant experience with financial, accounting, investment and regulatory matters. Ms. Everett is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.

During the course of a career spanning more than 40 years in both academia and industry, Mr. Grier has gained substantial experience in management, operations, finance, marketing, and oversight. Mr. Grier is the Dean of Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business. Prior to that, Mr. Grier was the Dean of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business. Before joining academia, Mr. Grier spent 29 years at the Walt Disney Company where he served in various leadership roles, including as President of the Disneyland Resort. Mr. Grier also gained substantial oversight experience serving on the boards of Sonia Senior Living, Inc. (formerly, Capital Senior Living Corporation), NVR, Inc., and Middleburg Trust Company. In addition, Mr. Grier

50 


 

currently serves as a Director of Witt/Kieffer, Inc., Director of NuStar GP, LLC, Director of the Colonial Williamsburg Company, and Regent of University of Massachusetts Global. Mr. Grier is also a Certified Public Accountant.

With more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, including her years of entrepreneurial and managerial experience in the development and growth of Opus Capital Group, Ms. Haussler brings a valuable perspective to the Trust’s Board, where she serves as the Chairperson of the Audit Committee. Through her role at Opus Capital and her service as a director of several venture capital funds and other boards, Ms. Haussler has gained valuable experience dealing with accounting principles and evaluating financial results of large corporations. She is a certified public accountant (inactive) and a licensed attorney in the State of Ohio (inactive). The Board has determined that Ms. Haussler is an “audit committee financial expert” as defined by the SEC.

In addition to his tenure as a Director or Trustee of various other funds in the Fund Complex, where he currently serves as the Chairperson of the Fixed Income, Liquidity and Alternatives Investment Committee and formerly served as Chairperson of the Audit Committee, Dr. Johnson has also served as an officer or a board member of numerous companies for over 20 years. These positions included Co-Chairman and a founder of the Group of Seven Council, Director of NVR, Inc., Director of Evergreen Energy and Director of Greenwich Capital Holdings. He also has served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury. In addition, Dr. Johnson also served as Chairman of the Financial Accounting Foundation, which oversees the Financial Accounting Standards Board, for seven years.

Mr. Kearns gained extensive experience regarding accounting through his experience on the Audit Committees of the boards of other funds in the Fund Complex, including by previously serving as either Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson of the Audit Committee for nearly 20 years, and through his position as Chief Financial Officer of the J. Paul Getty Trust. He also has experience in financial, accounting, investment and regulatory matters through his position as President and founder of Kearns & Associates LLC, a financial consulting company. Mr. Kearns previously served as a Director of Electro Rent Corporation and previously served as Director of The Ford Family Foundation.  

Through his prior positions as a Managing Director of Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Investment Management and as President and a Trustee of the Morgan Stanley Institutional Funds, Mr. Klein has experience in the management and operation of registered investment companies, enabling him to provide management input and investment guidance to the Board. Mr. Klein is the Chairperson of the Risk Committee. Mr. Klein also has extensive experience in the investment management industry based on his current positions as Managing Director and Co-Chief Executive and Co-President of Aetos Alternatives Management, LP and as a Director of certain investment funds managed or sponsored by Aetos Alternatives Management, LP. In addition, he also has experience as a member of the board of other funds in the Fund Complex.

Ms. Maleski has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry and extensive experience with registered investment companies. Ms. Maleski began her career as a certified public accountant at Price Waterhouse LLP (“PW”) and was a member of PW’s Investment Company Practice. After a brief stint at the Bank of New York, Ms. Maleski began her affiliation with the JPMorgan Funds, at the Pierpont Group and then with J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc. From 2001-2013, Ms. Maleski held roles with increasing responsibilities, from Vice President and Board Liaison, Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer, Chief Administrative Officer and finally President and Principal Executive Officer for the JPMorgan Fund complex. Between 2013 and 2016, Ms. Maleski served as Global Head of Oversight and Control of JPMorgan Asset Management and then as Head of JPMorgan Chase’s Fiduciary and Conflicts of Interest Program. Ms. Maleski has extensive experience in the management and operation of funds in addition to regulatory and accounting and valuation matters.

Mr. Reed has experience on investment company boards and is experienced with financial, accounting, investment and regulatory matters through his prior service as a Director of iShares, Inc. and his service as Chair of the Board and as Trustee or Director of other funds in the Fund Complex. Mr. Reed also gained substantial experience in the financial services industry through his prior positions as a Director of Legg Mason, Inc. and as President and CEO of General Motors Asset Management.

The Trustees’ principal occupations and other relevant professional experience during the past five years or more are shown in the above tables.

The Board has adopted a policy that Board members are expected to retire no later than the end of the year they reach the age of 78. The Governance Committee has discretion to grant waivers from this retirement policy under special circumstances, including for Board members to continue serving in Chair or Chair-related roles beyond the retirement age. Current Board members who have reached the age of 75 as of January 1, 2021, are grandfathered as exceptions to the retirement policy and may continue to serve on the Board until the end of the year in which they turn 80 years of age.

Advantages of Having the Same Individuals as Trustees for the Morgan Stanley Funds

The Independent Trustees and the Trust’s management believe that having the same Independent Trustees for each of the Morgan Stanley Funds avoids the duplication of effort that would arise from having different groups of individuals serving as Independent Trustees for each of the Funds or even of sub-groups of funds. They believe that having the same individuals serve as Independent Trustees of all the Morgan Stanley Funds tends to increase their knowledge and expertise regarding matters which affect the Fund

51 


 

Complex generally and enhances their ability to negotiate on behalf of each fund with the fund’s service providers. This arrangement also precludes the possibility of separate groups of Independent Trustees arriving at conflicting decisions regarding operations and management of the Funds and avoids the cost and confusion that would likely ensue. Finally, having the same Independent Trustees serve on all fund boards enhances the ability of each fund to obtain, at modest cost to each separate fund, the services of Independent Trustees of the caliber, experience and business acumen of the individuals who serve as Independent Trustees of the Morgan Stanley Funds.

Trustee and Officer Indemnification

The Trust’s Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust provides for indemnification by the Trust and each series to the fullest extent permitted by law of “covered persons” thereunder against liabilities and expenses incurred in connection with any claim, action, suit or proceeding in which they may be involved because of their offices with the Trust, subject to certain conditions. Trustees, officers, and employees of the Trust are indemnified under the Declaration of Trust but, to the extent required under the 1940 Act, no indemnification shall be provided under the Trust’s Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust to any such person if that person is adjudicated to be liable to the Trust or its shareholders by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of such person’s office. The Trust’s Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust further provides that the Trustees will not be liable for errors of judgment or mistakes of fact or law, but nothing in the Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust protects a Trustee against liability to the Trust and to any shareholder solely for his or her own willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his or her office of Trustee.

Shareholder Communications

Shareholders may send communications to the Trust’s Board of Trustees. Shareholders should send communications intended for the Trust’s Board by addressing the communications directly to the Board (or individual Board members) and/or otherwise clearly indicating in the salutation that the communication is for the Board (or individual Board members) and by sending the communication to either the Trust’s office or directly to such Board member(s) at the address specified for each Trustee previously noted. Other shareholder communications received by the Trust not directly addressed and sent to the Board will be reviewed and generally responded to by management, and will be forwarded to the Board only at management’s discretion based on the matters contained therein.

Compensation

Each Trustee (except for the Chair of the Boards) receives an annual retainer fee of $335,000 ($295,000 prior to January 1, 2023) for serving as a Trustee of the Morgan Stanley Funds.

The Audit Committee Chairperson receives an additional annual retainer fee of $80,000, the Risk Committee Chairperson, the Equity Investment Committee Chairperson, Fixed Income, Liquidity and Alternatives Investment Committee Chairperson and Governance Committee Chairperson each receive an additional annual retainer fee of $50,000 and the Compliance and Insurance Committee Chairperson receives an additional annual retainer fee of $65,000. The aggregate compensation paid to each Trustee is paid by the Morgan Stanley Funds, and is allocated on a pro rata basis among each of the operational funds of the Morgan Stanley Funds based on the relative net assets of each of the Funds. The Chair of the Boards receives a total annual retainer fee of $630,000 ($590,000 prior to January 1, 2023) for his services and for administrative services provided to each Board.

The Trust also reimburses such Trustees for travel and other out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them in connection with attending such meetings. Trustees of the Trust who are employed by the Adviser receive no compensation or expense reimbursement from the Trust for their services as a Trustee.

The Trust has a Deferred Compensation Plan (the “DC Plan”), which allows each Trustee to defer payment of all, or a portion, of the fees he or she receives for serving on the Board of Trustees throughout the year. Each eligible Trustee generally may elect to have the deferred amounts credited with a return equal to the total return on one or more of the Morgan Stanley Funds that are offered as investment options under the DC Plan. At the Trustee’s election, distributions are either in one lump sum payment, or in the form of equal annual installments over a period of five years. The rights of an eligible Trustee and the beneficiaries to the amounts held under the DC Plan are unsecured and such amounts are subject to the claims of the creditors of the Trust.

The following table shows aggregate compensation payable to each of the Trust’s Trustees from the Trust for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022 and the aggregate compensation payable to each of the Trust’s Trustees by the Fund Complex (which includes all of the Morgan Stanley Funds) for the calendar year ended December 31, 2022.

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Compensation1

Name

Aggregate Compensation From
the Trust

Total Compensation From Trust and Fund Complex Paid to the Trustees2

Frank L. Bowman

None

$360,000

Frances L. Cashman3

None

295,000

Kathleen A. Dennis

None

345,000

Nancy C. Everett

None

345,000

Eddie A. Grier3

None

295,000

Jakki L. Haussler

None

295,000

Manuel H. Johnson

None

345,000

Joseph J. Kearns2,4

None

375,000

Michael F. Klein2,4

None

345,000

Patricia A. Maleski

None

295,000

W. Allen Reed4

None

590,000

1 Includes all amounts paid for serving as director/trustee of the funds in the Fund Complex, as well as serving as Chair of the Boards or a Chairperson of a Committee.
2 The amounts shown in this column represent the aggregate compensation paid by all of the funds in the Fund Complex as of December 31, 2022 before deferral by the Trustees under the DC Plan. As of December 31, 2022, the value (including interest) of the deferral accounts across the Fund Complex for Messrs. Kearns, Klein and Reed pursuant to the deferred compensation plan was $1,003,275, $3,052,005 and $3,795,878, respectively. Because the funds in the Fund Complex have different fiscal year ends, the amounts shown in this column are presented on a calendar year basis.
3 Ms. Cashman and Mr. Grier became members of the Advisory Board of the Board of Trustees on January 1, 2022 and Trustees on February 25, 2022.
4 Includes the total amount of compensation deferred by the Trustee at his election pursuant to a deferred compensation plan. Such deferred compensation is placed in a deferral account and deemed to be invested in one or more of the Morgan Stanley Funds (or portfolio thereof) that are offered as investment options under the plan.

Code of Ethics

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

The Codes are designed to detect and prevent improper personal trading. The Codes permit personnel subject to the Codes to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased, sold or held by the Trust, subject to a number of restrictions and controls, including prohibitions against purchases of securities in an initial public offering and a pre-clearance requirement with respect to personal securities transactions.

INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AND OTHER SERVICES

Adviser

The Adviser is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Morgan Stanley (NYSE: “MS”), a preeminent global financial services firm engaged in securities trading and brokerage activities, as well as providing investment banking, research and analysis, financing and financial advisory services. The principal offices of Morgan Stanley are located at 1585 Broadway, New York, NY 10036, and the principal offices of the Adviser are located at 522 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10036. As of March 31, 2023, the Adviser, together with its affiliated asset management companies, had approximately $1.4 trillion in assets under management or supervision. The Adviser provides investment advice and portfolio management services pursuant to an Management Agreement (the “Agreement”) and, subject to the supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees, makes or oversees each of the Fund’s day-to-day investment decisions, arranges for the execution of portfolio transactions and generally manages each of the Fund’s investments.

The Funds paid no management fees as of the date of this SAI because the Funds had not yet commenced operations.

The following table reflects the contractual management fee for each Fund.

Fund

Contractual Rate of Management Fees

Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF

[]

Eaton Vance High Yield ETF

[]

Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF

[]

The Agreement was approved for an initial two-year period on [    ], 2023 and continues for successive one year periods, only if each renewal is specifically approved by an in-person vote of the Trust’s Board, including the affirmative votes of a majority of the Trustees who are not parties to the agreement or “interested persons” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of any such party at a meeting called for the purpose of considering such approval. In addition, the question of continuance of the Agreement may be presented to the shareholders of each Fund; in such event, continuance for a Fund shall be effected only if approved by the affirmative vote of a

53 


 

majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. If the holders of any Fund fail to approve the Agreement, the Adviser may continue to serve as investment adviser to each Fund that approved the Agreement, and to any Fund that did not approve the Agreement until new arrangements have been made. The Agreement is automatically terminated if assigned, and may be terminated by any Fund without the payment of any penalty, at any time, (1) by vote of a majority of the entire Board or (2) by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Trust on 60 days’ written notice to the Adviser or (3) by the Adviser without the payment of any penalty, upon 90 days’ written notice to the Trust.

The Board of Trustees of the Trust has approved a unitary management fee structure for each Fund. Under the unitary fee structure, the Adviser will pay substantially all expenses of each Fund (including expenses of the Trust relating to each Fund), except for the distribution fees, if any, brokerage expenses, acquired fund fees and expenses, taxes, interest, litigation expenses, and other extraordinary expenses, including the costs of proxies, not incurred in the ordinary course of each Fund’s business. The imposition of the Adviser’s fees, as well as any other operating expenses not borne by the Adviser as described above, will have the effect of reducing the total return to investors. From time to time, the Adviser may waive receipt of its fees, which would have the effect of lowering each Fund’s overall expense ratio and increasing total return to investors at the time such amounts are waived or assumed, as the case may be.

Sub-Adviser

The Adviser has entered into a Sub-Advisory Agreement with Morgan Stanley Investment Management Limited, located at 25 Cabot Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 4QA, England with respect to the Eaton Vance High Yield ETF. The Sub-Adviser is a wholly owned subsidiary of Morgan Stanley. The Sub-Adviser provides the Fund with investment advisory services subject to the overall supervision of the Adviser and the Fund’s officers and Trustees. The Adviser pays the Sub-Adviser on a monthly basis a portion of the net advisory fees the Adviser receives from the Fund.

Proxy Voting Policy and Proxy Voting Record

The Board of Trustees believes that the voting of proxies on securities held by the Trust is an important element of the overall investment process. As such, the Trustees have delegated the responsibility to vote such proxies to the Adviser.

A copy of MSIM’s Proxy Voting Policy (“Proxy Policy”) is attached hereto as Appendix A. In addition, a copy of the Proxy Policy, as well as the Trust’s most recent proxy voting record for the 12-month period ended June 30, as filed with the SEC, are available without charge on our web site at www.morganstanley.com/im. The Trust’s proxy voting record is also available without charge on the SEC’s web site at http://www.sec.gov.

Principal Underwriter

Foreside Fund Services, LLC with principal offices at 3 Canal Plaza Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101, acts as the exclusive principal underwriter with respect to the continuous offering of the Funds’ shares pursuant to the Distribution Agreement. The Distribution Agreement continues in effect for a period more than two years so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually in conformity with the requirements of the 1940 Act. The Distribution Agreement provides that the Trust will bear the costs of the registration of its shares with the SEC and various states and the printing of its prospectuses, statements of additional information and reports to shareholders.

Fund Administration

JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. (“JPMorgan”) with principal offices at 1111 Polaris Parkway Columbus, OH 43240 provides administrative services to the Funds pursuant to a Fund Services Agreement (the “Administration Agreement”).

Custodian

JPMorgan, located at 1111 Polaris Parkway Columbus, OH 43240, acts as the Trust’s custodian. JPMorgan is not an affiliate of the Adviser or the Distributor. In maintaining custody of foreign assets held outside the United States, JPMorgan has contracted with various foreign banks and depositaries in accordance with regulations of the SEC for the purpose of providing custodial services for such assets.

In the selection of foreign sub-custodians, the Trustees or their delegates consider a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the reliability and financial stability of the institution, the ability of the institution to provide efficiently the custodial services required for the Trust, and the reputation of the institution in the particular country or region.

Dividend Disbursing and Transfer Agent

JPMorgan, located at 1111 Polaris Parkway Columbus, OH 43240, provides dividend disbursing and transfer agency services for the Trust.

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Portfolio Managers

Portfolio Manager Compensation Structure

The compensation structure of portfolio managers of the Funds is based on a total reward system of base salary and incentive compensation, which is paid either in the form of cash bonus, or for employees meeting the specified deferred compensation eligibility threshold, partially as a cash bonus and partially as mandatory deferred compensation. Deferred compensation granted to employees of the Adviser and its affiliates is generally granted as a mix of deferred cash awards under the Investment Management Alignment Plan (IMAP) and equity-based awards in the form of stock units. The portion of incentive compensation granted in the form of a deferred compensation award and the terms of such awards are determined annually by the Compensation, Management Development and Succession Committee of the Board of Directors of the Adviser’s parent company, Morgan Stanley.

Base salary compensation. Generally, portfolio managers and research analysts receive base salary compensation based on the level of their position with the Adviser.

Incentive compensation. In addition to base compensation, portfolio managers and research analysts may receive discretionary year-end compensation. Incentive compensation may include:

 

Cash bonus

 

Deferred compensation:

 

A mandatory program that defers a portion of incentive compensation into restricted stock units or other awards based on Morgan Stanley common stock or other plans that are subject to vesting and other conditions.

 

IMAP is a cash-based deferred compensation plan designed to increase the alignment of participants’ interests with the interests of clients. For eligible employees, a portion of their deferred compensation is mandatorily deferred into IMAP on an annual basis. Awards granted under IMAP are notionally invested in referenced funds available pursuant to the plan, which are funds advised by the Adviser and its affiliates. Portfolio managers are required to notionally invest a minimum of 40% of their account balance in the designated funds that they manage and are included in the IMAP notional investment fund menu.

 

Deferred compensation awards are typically subject to vesting over a multi-year period and are subject to cancellation through the payment date for competition, cause (i.e., any act or omission that constitutes a breach of obligation to the Funds, including failure to comply with internal compliance, ethics or risk management standards, and failure or refusal to perform duties satisfactorily, including supervisory and management duties), disclosure of proprietary information, and solicitation of employees or clients. Awards are also subject to clawback through the payment date if an employee’s act or omission (including with respect to direct supervisory responsibilities) causes a restatement of the firm’s consolidated financial results, constitutes a violation of the firm’s global risk management principles, policies and standards, or causes a loss of revenue associated with a position on which the employee was paid and the employee operated outside of internal control policies.
 

The Adviser compensates employees based on principles of pay-for-performance, market competitiveness and risk management. Eligibility for, and the amount of any, discretionary compensation is subject to a multi-dimensional process. Specifically, consideration is given to one or more of the following factors, which can vary by portfolio management team and circumstances:

 

Revenue and profitability of the business and/or each fund/account managed by the portfolio manager

 

Revenue and profitability of the firm

 

Return on equity and risk factors of both the business units and Morgan Stanley

 

Assets managed by the portfolio manager

 

External market conditions

 

New business development and business sustainability

 

Contribution to client objectives

 

Team, product and/or performance

 

The pre-tax investment performance of the Funds/accounts managed by the portfolio manager1 (which may, in certain cases, be measured against the applicable benchmark(s) and/or peer group(s) over one, three and five-year periods),2 provided that for funds that are tax-managed or otherwise have an objective of after-tax returns, performance net of taxes will be considered

 

Individual contribution and performance
 

Further, the firm’s Global Incentive Compensation Discretion Policy requires compensation managers to consider only legitimate, business related factors when exercising discretion in determining variable incentive compensation, including adherence to Morgan Stanley’s core values, conduct, disciplinary actions in the current performance year, risk management and risk outcomes.

1 Generally, this is total return performance, provided that consideration may also be given to relative risk-adjusted performance.

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2 When a fund’s peer group as determined by Lipper or Morningstar is deemed by the relevant Chief Investment Officer, or in the case of the sub-advised Funds, the Director of Product Development and Sub-Advised Funds, not to provide a fair comparison, performance may instead be evaluated primarily against a custom peer group or market index.

Other Accounts Managed by Portfolio Managers as of [    ], 2023

Because the portfolio managers may manage assets for other investment companies, pooled investment vehicles and/or other accounts (including institutional clients, pension plans and certain high net worth individuals), there may be an incentive to favor one client over another resulting in conflicts of interest. For instance, the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser may receive fees from certain accounts that are higher than the fee they receive from the Trust, or they may receive a performance-based fee on certain accounts. In those instances, the portfolio managers may have an incentive to favor the higher and/or performance-based fee accounts over the Trust. In addition, a conflict of interest could exist to the extent the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser have proprietary investments in certain accounts, where portfolio managers have investments in certain accounts or when certain accounts are investment options in the Adviser’s and/or Sub-Adviser’s employee benefits and/or deferred compensation plans. The portfolio manager may have an incentive to favor these accounts over others. If the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser manages accounts that engage in short sales of securities of the type in which the Trust invests, the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser could be seen as harming the performance of the Trust for the benefit of the accounts engaging in short sales if the short sales cause the market value of the securities to fall. The Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser have adopted trade allocation and other policies and procedures that they believe are reasonably designed to address these and other conflicts of interest.

 

Other Registered Investment Companies

Other Pooled Investment Vehicles

Other Accounts

Fund and Portfolio Managers

Number of Accounts

Total Assets in the Accounts

Number of Accounts

Total Assets in the Accounts

Number of Accounts

Total Assets in the Accounts

Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brian S. Ellis, CFA

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

Eric Jesionowski

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

Brandon Matsui, CFA

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

Kinzer Jennings, CFA

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

Alec Schaefer

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

Eaton Vance High Yield ETF

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stephen Concannon, CFA

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

Jeffrey Mueller

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

Kelley Gerrity

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

Brandon Matsui

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF

 

 

 

 

 

 

Julie Callahan, CFA

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

Paul Metheny, CFA

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

Carl Thompson, CFA

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

Brandon Matsui

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

[]

Securities Ownership of Portfolio Managers

[As of [    ], 2023, no portfolio manager beneficially owned (or held notionally through IMAP) any shares of the Trust.]

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

[    ], located at [    ],  serves as the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm and provides audit and audit-related services, tax-related services and assistance in connection with various SEC filings.

Fund Counsel

Dechert LLP, located at 1095 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036-6797, acts as the Trust’s legal counsel.

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Securities Lending

The Funds may lend their securities through a securities lending agent to certain qualified borrowers. The securities lending agent of the Trust, administers the Funds’ securities lending program. These services include arranging the loans of securities with approved borrowers and their return to the Fund upon loan termination, negotiating the terms of such loans, selecting the securities to be loaned and monitoring dividend activity relating to loaned securities. The securities lending agent also marks-to-market daily the value of loaned securities and collateral and may require additional collateral as necessary from borrowers. The securities lending agent may also invest cash received as collateral in pre-approved investments. The securities lending agent maintains records of loans made and income derived therefrom and makes available such records that the Trust deems necessary to monitor the securities lending program.

DISTRIBUTION AND SHAREHOLDER SERVICES PLANS

The Board of Trustees of the Trust has adopted a distribution and service plan (“Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Under the Plan, each Fund is authorized to pay distribution fees in connection with the sale and distribution of its shares and pay service fees in connection with the provision of ongoing services to shareholders of the Fund and the maintenance of shareholder accounts in an amount up to [0.25%] of its average daily net assets each year.

No Rule 12b-1 fees are currently paid by the Funds, and there are no current plans to impose these fees. However, in the event Rule 12b-1 fees are charged in the future, because these fees are paid out of the Fund’s assets on an ongoing basis, these fees will increase the cost of your investment in a Fund. By purchasing shares subject to distribution fees and service fees, you may pay more over time than you would by purchasing shares with other types of sales charge arrangements. Long-term shareholders may pay more than the economic equivalent of the maximum front-end sales charge permitted by the rules of FINRA. The net income attributable to shares will be reduced by the amount of distribution fees and service fees and other expenses of a Fund.

Revenue Sharing

The Adviser may pay compensation, out of its own funds and not as an expense of the Funds, to certain affiliated entities of the Adviser (“Affiliated Entities”) and to certain unaffiliated brokers, dealers and other financial intermediaries, including recordkeepers and administrators of various deferred compensation plans (“Intermediaries”) in connection with the sale, distribution, marketing and retention of shares of the Funds and/or shareholder servicing. For example, the Adviser may pay additional compensation to Affiliated Entities and other Intermediaries for, among other things, promoting the sale and distribution of Fund shares, providing access to various programs, mutual fund platforms or preferred or recommended mutual fund lists offered by the Affiliated Entity or other Intermediary, providing assistance in the ongoing education and training of the Affiliated Entity’s or Intermediary’s financial personnel, furnishing marketing support, maintaining share balances, and/or for sub-accounting, recordkeeping, administrative, shareholder or transaction processing services. With respect to Affiliated Entities, these payments, which are paid in accordance with the applicable compensation structure, may include an ongoing annual fee in an amount up to 0.10% of the total average NAV in respect of the applicable period of shares of the Funds held in the applicable accounts. The prospect of receiving, or the receipt of, additional compensation, as described above, by Affiliated Entities or other Intermediaries may provide Affiliated Entities and such Intermediaries, and/or their financial advisers or other salespersons with an incentive to favor sales of shares of the Funds over other investment options with respect to which an Affiliated Entity or an Intermediary does not receive additional compensation (or receives lower levels of additional compensation). These payment arrangements, however, will not change the price that an investor pays for shares of a Fund or the amount that a Fund receives to invest on behalf of an investor. Investors may wish to take such payment arrangements into account when considering and evaluating any recommendations relating to Fund shares and should review carefully any disclosure provided by an Affiliated Entity or Intermediary as to its compensation.

Other Payments to Intermediaries

The Adviser may also make payments, out of its own assets and not as an expense to a Fund, to Intermediaries to offset certain nominal expenses of Intermediaries related to setup, connectivity or other technological maintenance of the Intermediary’s investment platform and/or the provision of services with respect to a Fund or share class on an Intermediary’s investment platform. Investors may wish to take such payment arrangements into account when considering an investment in Fund shares.

BROKERAGE PRACTICES

Portfolio Transactions

The Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser are responsible for decisions to buy and sell securities for a Fund, for broker-dealer selection and for negotiation of commission rates. The Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser are prohibited from directing brokerage transactions on the basis of the referral of clients or the sale of shares of advised investment companies. Purchases and sales of securities on a stock exchange are effected through brokers who charge a commission for their services. In the OTC market, securities may be traded as agency transactions through broker-dealers or traded on a “net” basis with dealers acting as principal for their own accounts without a stated commission, although the price of the security usually includes profit to the dealer. In underwritten offerings, securities are purchased

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at a fixed price which includes an amount of compensation to the underwriter, generally referred to as the underwriter’s concession or discount. When securities are purchased or sold directly from or to an issuer, no commissions or discounts are paid.

To the extent creation or redemption transactions are conducted on a cash or “cash in lieu” basis, a Fund may contemporaneously transact with broker-dealers for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities in connection with such transactions. Such orders may be placed with an Authorized Participant in its capacity as broker-dealer, a broker-dealer that is affiliated with the Authorized Participant, or a third-party broker-dealer. Specifically, following a Fund’s receipt of a creation or redemption order, to the extent such purchases or redemptions consist of a cash portion, the Fund may enter an order with the Authorized Participant, its affiliated broker-dealer or a third-party broker-dealer to purchase or sell the portfolio securities, as applicable. The executing broker-dealer will be required to guarantee that the Fund will achieve execution of its order at a price at least as favorable to the Fund as the Fund’s valuation of the portfolio securities used for purposes of calculating the NAV applied to the creation or redemption transaction giving rise to the order (the “Price Guarantee”). Whether the execution of the order is at a price at least as favorable to the Fund will depend on the results achieved by the executing firm and will vary depending on market activity, timing and a variety of other factors.

An Authorized Participant is required to deposit an amount with a Fund in order to ensure that the execution of the order on the terms noted above will be honored on orders arising from creation transactions executed by an Authorized Participant or its affiliate as broker-dealer. If the broker-dealer executing the order achieves executions in market transactions at a price equal to or more favorable than a Fund’s valuation of the portfolio securities, the Fund receives the benefit of the favorable executions and the deposit is returned to the Authorized Participant. If, however, the broker-dealer executing the order is unable to achieve a price at least equal to a Fund’s valuation of the securities, the Fund retains the portion of the deposit equal to the full amount of the execution shortfall (including any taxes, brokerage commissions or other costs) and may require the Authorized Participant to deposit any additional amount required to cover the full amount of the actual execution transaction.

An Authorized Participant agrees to pay the shortfall amount in order to ensure that a guarantee on execution will be honored for brokerage orders arising from redemption transactions executed by an Authorized Participant or its affiliate as broker-dealer. If the broker-dealer executing the order achieves executions in market transactions at a price equal to or more favorable than a Fund’s valuation of the portfolio securities, the Fund receives the benefit of the favorable executions. If, however, the broker-dealer is unable to achieve executions in market transactions at a price at least equal to the Fund’s valuation of the securities, the Fund will be entitled to the portion of the offset equal to the full amount of the execution shortfall (including any taxes, brokerage commissions or other costs).

On occasion, a Fund may purchase certain money market instruments directly from an issuer without payment of a commission or concession. Money market instruments are generally traded on a “net” basis with dealers acting as principal for their own accounts without a stated commission, although the price of the security usually includes a profit to the dealer.

The Trust anticipates that certain of its transactions involving foreign securities will be effected on foreign securities exchanges. There is also generally less government supervision and regulation of foreign securities exchanges and brokers than in the United States.

The Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser select broker-dealers for the execution of transactions for the Funds in accordance with their duty to seek “best execution” (i.e., the most favorable terms of execution). In seeking best execution, the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser are not obligated to choose the broker-dealer offering the lowest available commission rate if, in the Adviser’s and/or Sub-Adviser’s reasonable judgment, (i) the total costs or proceeds from the transaction might be less favorable than may be obtained elsewhere; (ii) a higher commission is justified by the brokerage and research services provided by the broker-dealer that fall within the safe harbor of Section 28(e) of the 1934 Act or otherwise is permitted under applicable law; or (iii) other considerations, such as the order size, the time required for execution, the depth and breadth of the market for the security or minimum credit quality requirements to transact business with a particular broker-dealer. The research services received include services which aid the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser in fulfilling their investment decision-making responsibilities, including (a) furnishing advice as to the value of securities, the advisability of investing in, purchasing or selling securities, and the availability of securities or purchasers or sellers of securities; and (b) furnishing analyses and reports concerning issuers, industries, securities, economic factors and trends, portfolio strategy, and the performance of accounts.

When effecting transactions on behalf of the Funds, the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser may trade with any broker-dealer on their list of approved broker-dealers. Approved broker-dealers have met criteria as established by the Adviser’s Trading and Research Governance team (“TRG”). TRG reviews and approves broker-dealers periodically to determine whether broker-dealers on the approved list continue to meet such criteria. The approval lists are reported quarterly to the Adviser’s Counterparty Governance Committee. When selecting an approved broker-dealer (including an affiliate) to execute securities transactions, the following factors may be considered: (i) best available price; (ii) reliability, integrity and reputation in the industry (which may include a review of financial information and creditworthiness); (iii) execution capabilities, including block positioning, speed of execution and quality and responsiveness of its trading desk; (iv) knowledge of and access to the markets for the securities being traded; (v) potential ability to obtain price improvement; (vi) ability to maintain confidentiality; (vii) ability to handle non-traditional trades; (viii) commission and commission-equivalent rates; (ix) technology infrastructure; (x) clearance and settlement capabilities; (xi) the size of the trade relative

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to other trades in the same instrument; (xii) ability of a counterparty to commit its capital to each Fund’s trade and its access to liquidity; (xiii) counterparty restrictions associated with a portfolio, including regulatory trading, documentation requirement or any specific clearing broker-dealer requirements; (xiv) client-directed execution; (xv) client-specific restrictions; and (xvi) such other factors as may be appropriate.

Subject to the duty to seek best execution, the Adviser uses a portion of the commissions generated when executing client transactions to acquire brokerage and research services that aid in fulfilling investment decision-making responsibilities in accordance with Section 28(e) and applicable law. Commissions paid to broker-dealers providing brokerage and research services may be higher than those charged by other broker-dealers. Subject to applicable law, the Adviser receives a benefit when using client commissions to obtain brokerage and research services because the Adviser does not have to produce or pay for the brokerage research services itself.

Therefore, the Adviser has an incentive to select or recommend a broker-dealer based on its interest in receiving brokerage and research services, rather than solely on its clients’ interest in obtaining the best price.

The Adviser has adopted policies and procedures designed to help track and evaluate the benefits received from brokerage and research services, as well as to track how much clients pay above the amount that broker-dealers from which the Adviser receives brokerage and research services may have charged solely for execution of such trades. The Adviser utilizes a voting system to assist in making a good faith determination of the value of brokerage and research services it receives in accordance with Section 28(e) and applicable law. In many cases, these involve subjective judgments or approximations. The Adviser has established a process for budgeting research costs and allocating such costs across client accounts.

The Adviser and certain other affiliated advisers have entered into commission sharing arrangements (“CSAs”) with executing brokers (“CSA Partners”) and a third-party vendor (“CSA Aggregator”). Pursuant to these arrangements, and under the Adviser’s supervision, the CSA Partners and CSA Aggregator track execution and research commissions separately and pool and distribute research credits in accordance with the policies and procedures discussed above to approved research providers (which may include executing brokerage firms or independent research providers (“Approved Research Providers”)) that provide brokerage and research services. The CSA Aggregator also reconciles research credits from trades with CSA Partners, and pays Approved Research Providers and provides other related administrative functions. In addition, a CSA Partner may provide the Adviser with proprietary research it has developed and, upon instruction, may retain research commission credits as compensation for the provision of such proprietary research services. The Adviser believes that these arrangements allow it to monitor the amount of trading costs that are attributable to execution services on the one hand and other brokerage and research services on the other.

Transactions that generate research credits include equity transactions executed on an agency basis or via a riskless principal transaction where the executing broker-dealer receives a commission. The Adviser does not use CSAs or otherwise have arrangements to pay for brokerage and research services with client commissions in connection with trading fixed-income securities. Consistent with long-standing industry practice in the fixed-income markets, however, the Adviser, subject to applicable law, may receive brokerage and research services and other information, including access to fixed-income trading platforms that dealers provide for no charge to their customers in the ordinary course of business. Fixed-income instruments typically trade at a bid/ask spread and without an explicit brokerage charge. While there is not a formal trading expense or commission, clients will bear the implicit trading costs reflected in these spreads.

The Adviser may receive “mixed use” products and services from an Approved Research Provider, where a portion of the product or service assists in its investment decision-making process in accordance with Section 28(e) and a portion may be used for other purposes. Where a product or service has a mixed use, the Adviser will make a reasonable allocation of its cost according to its use and will use client commissions to pay only for the portion of the product or service that assists in its investment decision-making process. The Adviser may have an incentive to allocate the costs to uses that assist in its investment decision-making process because the Adviser may pay for such costs with client commissions rather than its own resources. To the extent the Adviser receives “mixed use” products and services, the Adviser will allocate the anticipated costs of a mixed use product or service in good faith and maintain records concerning allocations in order to mitigate such conflicts.

Client accounts that pay a greater amount of commissions relative to other accounts may bear a greater share of the cost of brokerage and research services than such other accounts. The Adviser may use brokerage and research services obtained with brokerage commissions from some clients for the benefit of other clients whose brokerage commissions do not pay for such brokerage and research services. The Adviser may also share brokerage and research services with its affiliated advisers, and the clients of its affiliated advisers may receive the benefits of such brokerage and research services. These arrangements remain subject to the Adviser’s overall obligation to seek best execution for client trading.

The EU’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (“MiFID II”), which became effective January 3, 2018, requires investment advisers regulated under MiFID II to pay for research services separately from trade execution services, either through their own resources or a research payment account funded by a specific charge to a client. Although the Adviser is not directly subject to the provisions of MiFID II, certain of its affiliated advisers are, such as Morgan Stanley Investment Management Limited; accordingly, as applicable, the Adviser makes a reasonable valuation and allocation of the cost of research services as between MiFID II client

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accounts and other accounts that participate in CSAs and will pay for research services received with respect to MiFID II client accounts from its own resources. The Adviser and affiliated advisers subject to MiFID II may separately pay for fixed-income research from their own resources. Following its withdrawal from the EU on January 31, 2020, the United Kingdom has entered a transition period, during which EU law (including MiFID II) will continue to apply in the United Kingdom. Following the transition period, investment managers in the United Kingdom may still be required to comply with certain MiFID II equivalent requirements in accordance with the handbook of rules and guidance issued by the Financial Conduct Authority.

When permitted under applicable law, portfolio managers generally will aggregate orders of their clients for the same securities in a single order so that such orders are executed simultaneously in order to facilitate best execution and to reduce brokerage costs. The Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser effect aggregated orders in a manner designed to ensure that no participating client is favored over any other client.

In general, accounts that participate in an aggregated order will participate on a pro rata or other objective basis. Pro rata allocation of securities and other instruments will generally consist of allocation based on the order size of a participating client account in proportion to the size of the orders placed for other accounts participating in the aggregated order. However, the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser may allocate such securities and other instruments using a method other than pro rata if their supply is limited, based on differing portfolio characteristics among accounts or to avoid odd lots or small allocations, among other reasons. These allocations are made in the good faith judgment of the Adviser and/or the Sub-Advisers with a goal of seeking to ensure that fair and equitable allocation occurs over time. There may be times that the Adviser and/or Sub-Adviser are not able to aggregate orders because of applicable law or other considerations when doing so might otherwise be advantageous.

Portfolio Trading by Authorized Participants

When creation or redemption transactions consist of cash, the transactions may require a Fund to contemporaneously transact with broker-dealers for purchases or sales of portfolio securities, as applicable. Depending on the timing of the transactions and certain other factors, such transactions may be placed with the purchasing or redeeming Authorized Participant in its capacity as a broker-dealer or with its affiliated broker-dealer and conditioned upon an agreement with the Authorized Participant or its affiliated broker-dealer to transact at guaranteed prices in order to reduce transaction costs incurred as a consequence of settling creations or redemptions in cash rather than in-kind.

Specifically, following a Fund’s receipt of a creation or redemption order, to the extent such purchases or redemptions consist of a cash portion, the Fund may enter an order with the Authorized Participant or its affiliated broker-dealer to purchase or sell the portfolio securities, as applicable. Such Authorized Participant or its affiliated broker-dealer will be required to guarantee that the Fund will achieve execution of its order at a price at least as favorable to the Fund as the Fund’s valuation of the portfolio securities used for purposes of calculating the NAV applied to the creation or redemption transaction giving rise to the order. Whether the execution of the order is at a price at least as favorable to the Fund will depend on the results achieved by the executing firm and will vary depending on market activity, timing and a variety of other factors.

An Authorized Participant is required to deposit an amount with the Fund in order to ensure that the execution of the order on the terms noted above will be honored on orders arising from creation transactions executed by an Authorized Participant or its affiliate as broker-dealer. If the broker-dealer executing the order achieves executions in market transactions at a price equal to or more favorable than a Fund’s valuation of the portfolio securities, the Fund receives the benefit of the favorable executions and the deposit is returned to the Authorized Participant. If, however, the broker-dealer executing the order is unable to achieve a price at least equal to a Fund’s valuation of the securities, the Fund retains the portion of the deposit equal to the full amount of the execution shortfall (including any taxes, brokerage commissions or other costs) and may require the Authorized Participant to deposit any additional amount required to cover the full amount of the actual execution transaction.

An Authorized Participant agrees to pay the shortfall amount in order to ensure that a guarantee on execution will be honored for brokerage orders arising from redemption transactions executed by an Authorized Participant or its affiliate as broker-dealer. If the broker-dealer executing the order achieves executions in market transactions at a price equal to or more favorable than the Fund’s valuation of the portfolio securities, the Fund receives the benefit of the favorable executions. If, however, the broker-dealer is unable to achieve executions in market transactions at a price at least equal to the Fund’s valuation of the securities, the Fund will be entitled to the portion of the offset equal to the full amount of the execution shortfall (including any taxes, brokerage commissions or other costs).

Affiliated Brokers

Subject to the overriding objective of obtaining the best execution of orders, the Trust may use broker-dealer affiliates of the Adviser to effect Fund brokerage transactions, including transactions in futures contracts and options on futures contracts, under procedures adopted by the Trust’s Board of Trustees. In order to use such affiliates, the commission rates and other remuneration paid to the affiliates must be fair and reasonable in comparison to those of other broker-dealers for comparable transactions involving similar securities being purchased or sold during a comparable time period. This standard would allow the affiliated broker or dealer to receive no more than the remuneration which would be expected to be received by an unaffiliated broker.

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Pursuant to an order issued by the SEC, the Trust is permitted to engage in principal transactions in money market instruments, subject to certain conditions, with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, a broker-dealer affiliated with the Adviser.

Because the Funds have not commenced operations, the Funds have not affected any principal transactions with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC.

Brokerage Commissions Paid

Because the Funds have not commenced operations, the Funds have not paid brokerage commissions, paid brokerage commissions to Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and/or its affiliated broker-dealers.

Regular Broker-Dealers

Because the Funds have not commenced operations, the Funds have not utilized broker-dealers.

Portfolio Turnover

The Funds generally do not invest for short-term trading purposes; however, when circumstances warrant, a Fund may sell investment securities without regard to the length of time they have been held. Market conditions in a given year could result in a higher or lower portfolio turnover rate than expected and the Funds will not consider portfolio turnover rate a limiting factor in making investment decisions consistent with their investment objectives and policies. Higher portfolio turnover (e.g., over 100%) necessarily will cause the Funds to pay correspondingly increased brokerage and trading costs. In addition to transaction costs, higher portfolio turnover may result in the realization of capital gains. As discussed under “Taxes,” to the extent net short-term capital gains are realized, any distributions resulting from such gains are considered ordinary income for federal income tax purposes.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Trust History

Morgan Stanley ETF Trust is an open-end, management investment company established under Delaware law as a Delaware statutory trust on May 31, 2016.

Description of Shares and Voting Rights

Fund shares will trade on an Exchange at market prices that may be below, at or above NAV. Shares are redeemable only in Creation Unit Aggregations and, generally, in exchange for portfolio securities and a specified cash payment. Creation Units are aggregations of [    ].

Under the Trust’s Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust, dated as of September 28, 2022 (“Declaration of Trust”), the Trustees have full power and authority, in their sole discretion, and without obtaining any authorization or vote of the shareholders of any series, to, among other things, (i) divide the beneficial interest in each series into shares, with or without par value as the Trustees shall determine (provided that unless the Trustees shall otherwise determine, all shares shall have a par value of $0.001), (ii) to issue shares without limitation as to number (including fractional shares and shares held in the treasury), to such persons and for such amount and type of consideration, including cash or securities (or any combination thereof), at such time or times and on such terms as the Trustees may deem appropriate, (iii) to establish, designate and classify and to fix such preferences, voting powers, rights, duties and privileges and business purpose of each series as the Trustees may from time to time determine, which preferences, voting powers, rights, duties and privileges may be senior or subordinate to (or in the case of business purpose, different from) any existing series and may be limited to specified property or obligations of the Trust or profits and losses associated with specified property or obligations of the Trust, (iv) to classify or reclassify or to change in any manner any shares of the Trust or any series into shares of one or more series (whether the shares to be classified, reclassified or changed are issued and outstanding or unissued and whether such shares constitute part or all of the shares of the Trust or such series), (v) to dissolve and terminate any one or more series thereof and (vi) to take such other action with respect to the shares of the Trust or any series as the Trustees may deem desirable. The Declaration of Trust provides that all liabilities held with respect to a particular series shall be enforceable against the assets held with respect to such series only and not against the assets of the Trust generally or against the assets held with respect to any other series and none of the debts, liabilities, obligations and expenses incurred, contracted for or otherwise existing with respect to the Trust generally or any other series thereof shall be enforceable against the assets held with respect to such series, except that any general liabilities of the Trust that are not readily identifiable as being held with respect to any particular series shall be allocated and charged by the Trustees to and among any one or more of the series in such manner and on such basis as the Trustees in their sole discretion deem fair and equitable. Subject to the Declaration of Trust, each share of the Trust or any series shall represent an equal beneficial interest in the net assets of the Trust or such series, and each shareholder of the Trust or any series shall be entitled to receive such shareholder’s pro rata share of distributions of income and capital gains, if any, made with respect to the Trust or such series. The Declaration of Trust further provides that ownership of shares shall not make any shareholder a third-party beneficiary of any contract entered into by the Trust or any series.

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As of the date of this Statement of Additional Information, the Trustees have authorized the issuance of shares. Additional series may be added in the future. When issued for the consideration described in the Funds’ Prospectuses, shares are fully paid and non-assessable. The Trustees have the power, however, to cause each shareholder, or each shareholder of any particular series, to pay directly, in advance or arrears, for charges of the Trust’s custodian or transfer, shareholder servicing or similar agent, an amount fixed from time to time by the Trustees, by setting off such charges due from such shareholder from declared but unpaid dividends owed such shareholder and/or by reducing the number of shares in the account of such shareholder by that number of full and/or fractional shares which represents the outstanding amount of such charges due from such shareholder. All shares are freely transferable and have no preemptive, subscription or conversion rights. The Trustees may require shareholders to redeem shares for any reason as determined by the Trustees, in their sole discretion.

The 1940 Act requires that where more than one series of shares exists, each series must be preferred over all other series in respect of assets specifically allocated to such series. In addition, Rule 18f-2 under the 1940 Act provides that any matter required to be submitted by the provisions of the 1940 Act or applicable state law, or otherwise, to the holders of the outstanding voting securities of an investment company such as the Trust shall not be deemed to have been effectively acted upon unless approved by the holders of a “majority of the outstanding voting securities” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of each series affected by such matter. Rule 18f-2 further provides that a series shall be deemed to be affected by a matter unless the interests of each series in the matter are substantially identical or the matter does not affect any interest of such series. However, Rule 18f-2 exempts the selection of independent public accountants, the approval of principal underwriter contracts and the election of trustees from the separate voting requirements of Rule 18f-2.

As determined by the Trustees without the vote or consent of shareholders, on any matter submitted to a vote of shareholders, either (i) each whole share shall be entitled to one vote as to any matter on which it is entitled to vote and each fractional share shall be entitled to a proportionate fractional vote or (ii) each dollar of net asset value of the share determined at the close of business on the record date shall be entitled to one vote on any matter on which such shares are entitled to vote and each fractional dollar amount shall be entitled to a proportionate fractional vote. In the absence of any designation to the contrary, each whole share shall be entitled to one vote as to any matter on which it is entitled to vote and each fractional share shall be entitled to a proportionate fractional vote. The Trust is not required to hold annual meetings of shareholders for the election of Trustees or the transaction of any other business except as required by the 1940 Act or other applicable federal law, or as otherwise determined by the Trustees, in their sole discretion, and the Trust does not intend to hold such meetings. All shares of the Trust then entitled to vote shall be voted in aggregate on any matters submitted to a vote of the shareholders, except (i) when required by the 1940 Act, shares shall be voted by individual series and (ii) when the matter involves any action that the Trustees have determined will affect only the interests of one or more series, then only shareholders of such series shall be entitled to vote thereon. Shareholders of the Trust do not have cumulative voting rights in the election of Trustees. Meetings of shareholders of the Trust, or any series thereof, may be called by the Trustees, certain officers or upon the request of shareholders as provided in the Trust’s By-Laws. A meeting of shareholders will be held to vote on the removal of a Trustee or Trustees if requested in writing by holders of not less than 10% of the outstanding shares of the Trust. The Trustees will call a special meeting of shareholders for the purpose of electing Trustees, if, at any time, less than a majority of Trustees holding office at the time were elected by shareholders. The shareholders of the Trust will have voting rights only with respect to the limited number of matters set forth in the Declaration of Trust and such other matters as the Trustees may otherwise consider necessary or desirable in their sole discretion. The Trust’s By-Laws provide that Trustees shall be elected by a vote of a plurality of the votes cast by shareholders present in person or by proxy and all other matters shall be decided by a majority of the votes cast by shareholders present in person or by proxy, provided that, if the matter to be voted on is one for which an express provision of the 1940 Act requires a different vote, then such matter shall be decided by the vote required by the 1940 Act.

The Declaration of Trust provides for indemnification of ”covered persons” of the Trust as described in “Management of the Trust—Trustee and Officer Indemnification” above. Under Delaware Law, the shareholders of a series are not generally subject to liability for the debts or obligations of the Trust. The Declaration of Trust provides that, if any shareholder or former shareholder of any series is held personally liable solely by reason of being or having been a shareholder and not because of the shareholder’s acts or omissions or for some other reason, the shareholder or former shareholder (or the shareholder’s heirs, executors, administrators, legal representatives or general successors) shall be entitled out of the assets belonging to the applicable series to be held harmless from and indemnified against all loss and expense arising from such liability. The Trust, acting on behalf of any affected series, shall, upon request by such shareholder, assume the defense of any claim made against such shareholder for any act or obligation of the series and satisfy any judgment thereon from the assets of the series. The Declaration of Trust also provides that neither the Trust nor the applicable series shall be responsible for satisfying any obligation arising from such a claim that has been settled by a shareholder without the prior written notice to, and consent of, the Trust. The Declaration of Trust further provides that, except as otherwise specifically provided in the Declaration of Trust or By-Laws of the Trust, the Trust shall have no obligation to indemnify or hold harmless any shareholder against any loss or expense arising under any circumstances whether in connection with a proceeding of any kind or otherwise.

The Declaration of Trust states that the Trust shall continue without limitation of time but the Trust may be dissolved at any time by the Trustees (without Shareholder approval) and any series may be dissolved at any time by the Trustees (without shareholder

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approval). In addition, the Declaration of Trust provides that the Trustees may take other actions without shareholder approval such as to (i) cause the Trust to convert to or merge, reorganize or consolidate with or into one or more trusts, partnerships, limited liability companies, associations, corporations or other business entities (or a series of any of the foregoing to the extent permitted by law), to the extent permitted by law, and that, in the case of any trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, corporation or other business entity created by the Trustees to accomplish such conversion, merger, reorganization or consolidation, may (but need not) succeed to or assume the Trust’s registration under the 1940 Act and that, in any case, is formed, organized or existing under the laws of the United States or of a state, commonwealth, possession or colony of the United States, (ii) sell or convey all or substantially all of the assets of the Trust or any series to another series of the Trust or to another trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, corporation or other business entity (or a series of any of the foregoing to the extent permitted by law), organized under the laws of the United States or of any state, commonwealth, possession or colony of the United States and, in the case of any trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, corporation or other business entity created by the Trustees to accomplish such sale and conveyance, may (but need not) succeed to or assume the Trust’s registration under the 1940 Act, for adequate consideration as determined by the Trustees that may include the assumption of all outstanding obligations, taxes and other liabilities, accrued or contingent of the Trust or any affected series, and that may include shares of such other series of the Trust or shares of beneficial interest, stock or other ownership interest of such trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, corporation or other business entity (or series thereof), (iii) at any time sell or convert into money all or any part of the assets of the Trust or any series, (iv) cause the Trust, or any one or more of its series, to cease listing its shares on a securities exchange and to cease operating as an “exchange-traded” open-end management investment company, in reliance on certain exemptions under the 1940 Act, or (v) cause the Trust, or any one or more of its series, to modify its investment objective and/or strategy.

The Declaration of Trust and By-Laws may be amended and/or restated from time to time subject to their terms and by the Trustees. The Declaration of Trust permits the Trustees to amend the Declaration of Trust without a shareholder vote or consent. However, shareholders of the Trust have the right to vote on any amendment (i) as determined by the Trustees in their sole discretion or (ii) as required by federal law, including the 1940 Act, but only to the extent so required.
In addition to certain requirements under Delaware law, the Declaration of Trust provides that shareholders of the Trust or any series must bring, subject to conditions set forth in the Declaration of Trust, any claim that affects all shareholders of the Trust or any series equally as a derivative claim.

Dividends and Capital Gains Distributions

Each Fund’s policy is to distribute substantially all of its net investment income, if any, together with any net realized capital gains in the amount and at the times that will avoid both income (including capital gains) taxes on it and the imposition of the federal excise tax on undistributed income and capital gains. The amounts of any income dividends or capital gains distributions cannot be predicted.

Any dividend or distribution paid shortly after the purchase of shares of a Fund by an investor may have the effect of reducing the per share NAV of that Fund by the per share amount of the dividend or distribution. Furthermore, such dividends or distributions, although in effect a return of capital, may be subject to income taxes.

As set forth in the Prospectuses, unless the shareholder elects otherwise in writing, all dividends and capital gains distributions for a class of shares are automatically reinvested in additional shares of the same class of the Fund at NAV (as of the business day following the record date). This automatic reinvestment of dividends and distributions will remain in effect until the shareholder notifies the Fund by telephone or in writing that either the Income Option (income dividends in cash and capital gain distributions reinvested in shares at NAV) or the Cash Option (both income dividends and capital gains distributions in cash) has been elected. It may take up to three business days to effect this change. An account statement is sent to shareholders whenever a dividend or distribution is paid.

Each Fund within the Trust is treated as a separate entity (and hence, as a separate “regulated investment company”) for federal tax purposes. Any net capital gains recognized by a Fund are distributed to its investors without need to offset (for federal income tax purposes) such gains against any net capital losses of another Fund.

Undistributed net investment income is included in a Fund’s net assets for the purpose of calculating NAV. Therefore, on the ex-dividend date, the NAV excludes the dividend (i.e., is reduced by the per share amount of the dividend). Dividends paid shortly after the purchase of shares by an investor, although in effect a return of capital, are taxable as ordinary income.

Certain mortgage securities may provide for periodic or unscheduled payments of principal and interest as the mortgages underlying the securities are paid or prepaid. However, such principal payments (not otherwise characterized as original issue discount or bond premium expense) will not normally be considered as income to a Fund and therefore will not be distributed as dividends. Rather, these payments on MBS will be reinvested on your behalf by a Fund.

Dividend Reinvestment Service

No reinvestment service is provided by the Trust. Broker-dealers may make available the DTC book-entry dividend reinvestment service for use by beneficial owners of the Funds through DTC participants for reinvestment of their dividend distributions. If this

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service is used, dividend distributions of both income and realized gains will be automatically reinvested in additional whole shares of the Funds. Beneficial owners should contact their broker to determine the availability and costs of the service and the details of participation therein. Brokers may require beneficial owners to adhere to specific procedures and timetables. Distributions reinvested in additional shares of the Funds will nevertheless be taxable to Beneficial Owners acquiring such additional shares to the same extent as if such distributions had been received in cash.

TAXES

The following is only a summary of certain additional federal income tax considerations generally affecting the Trust, the Funds and their shareholders. No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of the federal, state or local tax treatment of the Trust, the Funds or shareholders, and the discussion here and in the Prospectuses is not intended to be a substitute for careful tax planning.

The following general discussion of certain federal income tax consequences is based on the Code and the regulations issued thereunder as in effect on the date of this SAI. New legislation, as well as administrative changes or court decisions, may significantly change the conclusions expressed herein, and may have a retroactive effect with respect to the transactions contemplated herein.

Each Fund of the Trust is generally treated as a separate corporation for federal income tax purposes. Thus, the provisions of the Code generally will be applied to each Fund separately, rather than to the Trust as a whole.

Regulated Investment Company Qualification

Each Fund intends to qualify and has either elected or will elect to be treated for each taxable year as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. In order to so qualify, a Fund must, among other things, (i) derive at least 90% of its gross income each taxable year from dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies, and other income derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies, including, generally, certain gains from options, futures and forward contracts; and (ii) diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each fiscal quarter of the Fund’s taxable year, (a) at least 50% of the market value of the Fund’s total assets is represented by cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other RICs, and other securities, with such other securities limited, in respect to any one issuer, to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets or 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (b) not more than 25% of the value of its total assets are invested in the securities (other than U.S. government securities or securities of other RICs) of any one issuer or two or more issuers which a Fund controls and which are engaged in the same, similar, or related trades or businesses. For purposes of the 90% gross income requirement described above, foreign currency gains will generally be treated as qualifying income under current federal income tax law. However, the Code expressly provides the U.S. Treasury with authority to issue regulations that would exclude foreign currency gains from qualifying income if such gains are not directly related to a RIC’s business of investing in stock or securities (or options or futures with respect to stocks or securities). While to date the U.S. Treasury has not exercised this regulatory authority, there can be no assurance that it will not issue regulations in the future (possibly with retroactive application) that would treat some or all of a Fund’s foreign currency gains as non-qualifying income.

For purposes of the 90% gross income test described above, dividends received by a Fund will be treated as qualifying income to the extent they are attributable to the issuer’s current and accumulated earnings and profits. Distributions in excess of the distributing issuer’s current and accumulated earnings and profits will first reduce a Fund’s basis in the stock as a return of capital and will not qualify as gross income. Distributions in excess of a Fund’s basis in the stock will qualify for the 90% gross income test discussed above as the distribution will be treated as gain from the sale of stock. This gain will be long-term capital gain if a Fund held the stock for more than a year.

For purposes of the diversification requirement described above, a Fund will not be treated as in violation of such requirement as a result of a discrepancy between the value of its various investments and the diversification percentages described above, unless such discrepancy exists immediately following the acquisition of any security or other property and is wholly or partly the result of such acquisition. Moreover, even in the event of noncompliance with the diversification requirement as of the end of any given quarter, a Fund is permitted to cure the violation by eliminating the discrepancy causing such noncompliance within a period of 30 days from the close of the relevant quarter other than its first quarter following its election to be taxed as a RIC.

Net income derived from an interest in a “qualified publicly traded partnership,” as defined in the Code, will be treated as qualifying income for purposes of the income requirement in clause (i) above. In addition, for the purposes of the diversification requirements in clause (ii) above, the outstanding voting securities of any issuer includes the equity securities of a qualified publicly traded partnership, and no more than 25% of the value of a RIC’s total assets may be invested in the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships. The separate treatment for publicly traded partnerships under the passive loss rules of the Code applies to a RIC holding an interest in a qualified publicly traded partnership, with respect to items attributable to such interest.

If a Fund fails to qualify as a RIC for any taxable year, all of its net income will be subject to tax at regular corporate rates (whether or not distributed to shareholders), and its distributions (including capital gains distributions) will be taxable as income dividends to its

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shareholders to the extent of a Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits, and will be eligible for the dividends-received deduction for corporate shareholders and for treatment as qualified dividend income, in the case of individual shareholders.

If a Fund fails to satisfy either the income test or asset diversification test described above, in certain cases, however, a Fund may be able to avoid losing its status as a RIC by timely providing notice of such failure to the IRS, curing such failure and possibly paying an additional tax or penalty.

Each Fund will generally be subject to a nondeductible 4% federal excise tax to the extent it fails to distribute by the end of any calendar year an amount at least equal to the sum of 98% of its ordinary income (taking into account certain deferrals and elections) for that year and 98.2% of its capital gain net income (the excess of short- and long-term capital gains over short- and long-term capital losses, including any available capital loss carryforwards) for the one-year period ending on October 31 of that year, plus certain other amounts. Each Fund intends to make sufficient distributions or deemed distributions of its ordinary income and capital gain net income, prior to the end of each calendar year to avoid liability for federal excise tax, but can give no assurances that all such liability will be eliminated.

Tax Treatment of the Funds and Shareholders

Each Fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income (including, for this purpose, net short-term capital gains) to shareholders. Dividends from a Fund’s net investment income (other than “exempt-interest dividends” discussed below) generally are taxable to shareholders as ordinary income, whether received in cash or in additional shares. Certain income distributions paid by a Fund to individual shareholders are taxed at rates equal to those applicable to net long-term capital gains (currently either 15% or 20%, depending on whether the individual’s income exceeds certain threshold amounts). This tax treatment applies only if certain holding period requirements are satisfied by the shareholder and the dividends are attributable to qualified dividends received by the Fund itself. For this purpose, “qualified dividends” means dividends received by a Fund from certain U.S. corporations and qualifying foreign corporations, provided that a Fund satisfies certain holding period and other requirements in respect of the stock of such corporations. It is not anticipated that any portion of the distributions by the Funds would qualify for a lower tax rate as qualified dividend income. Further, distributions by the Funds are not anticipated to be eligible for a dividends received deduction for corporate shareholders.

You should also be aware that the benefits of the reduced tax rate applicable to long-term capital gains and qualified dividend income may be impacted by the application of the alternative minimum tax to individual shareholders.

Dividends paid to you out of a Fund’s investment company taxable income that are not attributable to qualified dividends generally will be taxable to you as ordinary income (currently at a maximum federal income tax rate of 37% in the case of an individual shareholder for taxable years before 2026 and, in the case of a corporate shareholder, 21%) to the extent of the Fund’s earnings and profits.

Certain distributions reported by a Fund as Section 163(j) interest dividends may be treated as interest income by shareholders for purposes of the tax rules applicable to interest expense limitations under Section 163(j) of the Code. Such treatment by the shareholder is generally subject to holding period requirements and other potential limitations, although the holding period requirements are generally not applicable to dividends declared by money market funds and certain other funds that declare dividends daily and pay such dividends on a monthly or more frequent basis. The amount that a Fund is eligible to report as a Section 163(j) dividend for a tax year is generally limited to the excess of the Fund’s business interest income over the sum of the Fund’s (i) business interest expense and (ii) other deductions properly allocable to the Fund’s business interest income.

Distributions of net long-term capital gains, if any, are taxable to shareholders as long-term capital gains regardless of how long a shareholder has held a Fund’s shares and regardless of whether the distribution is received in additional shares or in cash. The maximum individual rate applicable to long-term capital gains is generally either 15% or 20%, depending on whether the individual’s income exceeds certain threshold amounts.

Distributions from capital gains generally are made after applying any available capital loss carryforwards. Capital loss carryforwards are reduced to the extent they offset current-year net realized capital gains, whether a Fund retains or distributes such gains. If a Fund incurs or has incurred capital losses in excess of capital gains (“net capital losses”), those losses will be carried forward to one or more subsequent taxable years; any such carryforward losses will retain their character as short-term or long-term. In the event that a Fund were to experience an ownership change as defined under the Code, the capital loss carryforwards and other favorable tax attributes of the Fund, if any, may be subject to limitation.

In determining its net capital gain, including in connection with determining the amount available to support a capital gain dividend, its taxable income and its earnings and profits, a Fund generally may also elect to treat part or all of any post-October capital loss (defined as any net capital loss attributable to the portion, if any, of the taxable year after October 31 or, if there is no such loss, the net long-term capital loss or net short-term capital loss attributable to any such portion of the taxable year) or late-year ordinary loss (generally, the sum of its (i) net ordinary loss, if any, from the sale, exchange or other taxable disposition of property,

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attributable to the portion, if any, of the taxable year after October 31, and its (ii) other net ordinary loss, if any, attributable to the portion, if any, of the taxable year after December 31) as if incurred in the succeeding taxable year.

Each Fund will decide whether to distribute or to retain all or part of any net capital gains (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses) in any year for reinvestment. If any capital gains are retained, a Fund will pay federal income tax thereon, and, if a Fund makes an election, the shareholders will include such undistributed gains in their income, and will increase their tax basis in Fund shares by the difference between the amount of the includable gains and the tax deemed paid by the shareholder in respect of such shares. The shareholder will be able to claim their share of the tax paid by a Fund as a refundable credit.

Shareholders generally are taxed on any ordinary dividend or capital gain distributions from a Fund in the year they are actually distributed. However, if any such dividends or distributions are declared in October, November or December, to shareholders of record of such month and paid in January, then such amounts will be treated for tax purposes as received by the shareholders on December 31.

After the end of each calendar year, shareholders will be sent information on their dividends and capital gain distributions for tax purposes, including the portion taxable as ordinary income, the portion taxable as long-term capital gains, and the amount of any dividends eligible for the federal dividends-received deduction for corporations.

Gains or losses on the sale of securities by a Fund held as a capital asset will generally be long-term capital gains or losses if the securities have a tax holding period of more than one year at the time of such sale. Gains or losses on the sale of securities with a tax holding period of one year or less will be short-term capital gains or losses. Special tax rules described below may change the normal treatment of gains and losses recognized by a Fund when it makes certain types of investments. Those special tax rules can, among other things, affect the treatment of capital gain or loss as long-term or short-term and may result in ordinary income or loss rather than capital gain or loss. The application of these special rules would therefore also affect the character of distributions made by a Fund.

A Fund may make investments in which it recognizes income or gain prior to receiving cash with respect to such investment. For example, under certain tax rules, a Fund may be required to accrue a portion of any discount at which certain securities are purchased as income each year even though the Fund receives no payments in cash on the security during the year. To the extent that a Fund makes such investments, it generally would be required to pay out such income or gain as a distribution in each year to avoid taxation at the Fund level. Such distributions will be made from the available cash of the Fund or by liquidation of portfolio securities if necessary. If a distribution of cash necessitates the liquidation of portfolio securities, the Adviser will select which securities to sell. A Fund may realize a gain or loss from such sales, and its shareholders may receive a larger capital gain distribution, if any, than they would in the absence of such transactions.

A Fund may invest a portion of its net assets in below investment grade instruments. Investments in these types of instruments may present special tax issues for a Fund. U.S. federal income tax rules are not entirely clear about issues such as when a Fund may cease to accrue interest, original issue discount or market discount, when and to what extent deductions may be taken for bad debts or worthless instruments, how payments received on obligations in default should be allocated between principal and income and whether exchanges of debt obligations in a bankruptcy or workout context are taxable. These and other issues will be addressed by a Fund to the extent necessary in order to ensure that it distributes sufficient income such that it does not become subject to U.S. federal income or excise tax.

A gain or loss realized by a shareholder on the sale, exchange or redemption of shares of a Fund held as a capital asset will be capital gain or loss, and such gain or loss will be long-term if the holding period for the shares exceeds one year and otherwise will be short-term. Any loss realized on a sale, exchange or redemption of shares of a Fund will be disallowed to the extent the shares disposed of are replaced with substantially identical shares within the 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the shares are disposed of. Any loss realized by a shareholder on the disposition of shares held six months or less is treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any distributions of net long-term capital gains received by the shareholder with respect to such shares or any inclusion of undistributed capital gain with respect to such shares. The ability to deduct capital losses may otherwise be limited under the Code.

If a Fund redeems a shareholder in-kind rather than in cash, the shareholder would realize the same gain or loss as if the shareholder had been redeemed in cash. Further, the shareholder’s basis in the securities received in the in-kind redemption would be the securities’ fair market value on the date of the in-kind redemption.

An additional 3.8% Medicare tax is imposed on certain net investment income (including ordinary dividends and capital gain distributions received from a Fund and net gains from redemptions or other taxable dispositions of Fund shares) of U.S. individuals, estates and trusts to the extent that such person’s “modified adjusted gross income” (in the case of an individual) or “adjusted gross income” (in the case of an estate or trust) exceeds certain threshold amounts.

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Reporting is required to you and the IRS annually on Form 1099-B not only the gross proceeds of Fund shares you sell or redeem but also their cost basis. Shareholders should contact their intermediaries with respect to reporting of cost basis and available elections with respect to their accounts. Fund shareholders should consult with their tax advisors to determine the best cost basis method for their tax situation.

The amounts of a Fund’s distributions are driven by federal tax requirements. A Fund’s required taxable distributions to shareholders may be significant even if the Fund’s overall performance for the period is negative.

Backup withholding to the U.S. Treasury may be required in an amount equal to 24% of any dividends, capital gains distributions and redemption proceeds paid to any individual or certain other non-corporate shareholder (i) who has failed to provide a correct taxpayer identification number (generally an individual’s social security number or non-individual’s employer identification number) ; (ii) who is subject to backup withholding as notified by the IRS; or (iii) who has not certified that such shareholder is not subject to backup withholding. This backup withholding is not an additional tax, and any amounts withheld would be sent to the IRS as an advance payment of taxes due on a shareholder’s income for such year.

Additional Tax Considerations with respect to Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF

The Fund intends to qualify to pay “exempt-interest dividends” to its shareholders by maintaining, as of the close of each of its taxable years, at least 50% of the value of its assets in tax-exempt securities. An obligation will be considered a tax-exempt security only if, in the opinion of bond counsel, the interest payable is exempt from federal income tax. An exempt-interest dividend is that part of the dividend distributions made by the Fund which consists of interest received by the Fund on tax-exempt securities upon which the shareholder generally incurs no federal income taxes. Exempt-interest dividends are included, however, in determining what portion, if any, of a person’s Social Security benefits are subject to federal income tax.

The Fund may invest a portion of its assets in certain “private activity bonds.” As a result, a portion of the exempt-interest dividends paid by the Fund will be an item of tax preference to shareholders subject to the alternative minimum tax. However, the alternative minimum tax consequences discussed in this paragraph do not apply with respect to interest paid on bonds issued after December 31, 2008 and before January 1, 2011 (including refunding bonds issued during that period to refund bonds originally issued after December 31, 2003 and before January 1, 2009).

Shareholders will be subject to federal income tax on dividends paid from interest income derived from taxable securities and on distributions of net short-term capital gains. Such dividends and distributions are taxable to the shareholder as ordinary dividend income regardless of whether the shareholder receives such distributions in additional shares or in cash. Such dividends and distributions would not be eligible for either the corporate dividend received deduction or for reduced rates applicable to equivalent dividends.

Distributions of net long-term capital gains, if any, are taxable as long-term capital gains, regardless of how long the shareholder has held the Fund shares and regardless of whether the distribution is received in additional shares or in cash. The maximum tax rate on long-term capital gains available to noncorporate shareholders generally is 15% or 20% depending on whether the shareholder’s income exceeds certain threshold amounts. Since the Fund’s income is expected to be derived entirely from interest rather than dividends, it is anticipated that no portion of such dividend distributions will be eligible for the federal dividends received deduction available to corporations.

Any loss realized by a shareholder on the sale of shares of the Fund held for six months or less may be disallowed to the extent of any distributions treated as exempt-interest dividends with respect to the shares.

All or a portion of any of the Fund’s gain from tax-exempt obligations purchased at a market discount (where bonds are purchased below their principal or face value) may be treated as ordinary income rather than capital gain. This may increase the amount of taxable distributions paid by the Fund to its shareholders.

From time to time, proposals have been introduced before Congress for the purpose of restricting or eliminating the federal income tax exemption for interest on municipal securities. Similar proposals may be introduced in the future. If such a proposal were enacted, the availability of municipal securities for investment by the Fund could be affected. In that event, the Fund would reevaluate its investment objective and policies.

Individuals are often exempt from state and local personal income taxes on distributions of tax-exempt dividends derived from assets located in the state in which they reside, but are usually subject to state and local taxes on distributions of tax-exempt dividends derived from assets located in other states. Shareholders should consult their tax advisers as to any other state and local taxes that apply to the dividends and distributions received from the Fund.

Special Rules for Certain Foreign Currency and Derivatives Transactions

In general, gains from foreign currencies and from foreign currency options, foreign currency futures and forward foreign exchange contracts relating to investments in stock, securities or foreign currencies are currently considered to be qualifying income for purposes of determining whether a Fund qualifies as a RIC.

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Under Section 988 of the Code, special rules are provided for certain transactions in a foreign currency other than the taxpayer’s functional currency (i.e., unless certain special rules apply, currencies other than the U.S. dollar). In general, foreign currency gains or losses from forward contracts, from futures contracts that are not “regulated futures contracts,” and from unlisted options will be treated as ordinary income or loss under Section 988 of the Code. Also, certain foreign exchange gains or losses derived with respect to foreign fixed-income securities are also subject to Section 988 treatment. In general, therefore, Section 988 gains or losses will increase or decrease the amount of a Fund’s investment company taxable income available to be distributed to shareholders as ordinary income, rather than increasing or decreasing the amount of the Fund’s net capital gain.

A Fund’s investment in options, swaps and related transactions, futures contracts and forward contracts, options on futures contracts and stock indices and certain other securities, including transactions involving actual or deemed short sales or foreign exchange gains or losses are subject to many complex and special tax rules. For example, OTC options on debt securities and equity options, including options on stock and on narrow-based stock indices, will be subject to tax under Section 1234 of the Code, generally producing a long-term or short-term capital gain or loss upon exercise, lapse or closing out of the option or sale of the underlying stock or security. By contrast, a Fund’s treatment of certain other options, futures and forward contracts entered into by the Fund is generally governed by Section 1256 of the Code. These “Section 1256” positions generally include listed options on debt securities, options on broad-based stock indices, options on securities indices, options on futures contracts, regulated futures contracts and certain foreign currency contracts and options thereon.

When a Fund holds options or futures contracts which substantially diminish their risk of loss with respect to other positions (as might occur in some hedging transactions), this combination of positions could be treated as a “straddle” for tax purposes, resulting in possible deferral of losses, adjustments in the holding periods of Fund securities and conversion of short-term capital losses into long-term capital losses. Certain tax elections exist for mixed straddles (i.e., straddles comprised of at least one Section 1256 position and at least one non-Section 1256 position) which may reduce or eliminate the operation of these straddle rules.

A Section 1256 position held by a Fund will generally be marked-to-market (i.e., treated as if it were sold for fair market value) on the last business day of the Fund’s fiscal year, and all gain or loss associated with fiscal year transactions and mark-to-market positions at fiscal year end (except certain currency gain or loss covered by Section 988 of the Code) will generally be treated as 60% long-term capital gain or loss and 40% short-term capital gain or loss. The effect of Section 1256 mark-to-market rules may be to accelerate income or to convert what otherwise would have been long-term capital gains into short-term capital gains or short-term capital losses into long-term capital losses within a Fund. The acceleration of income on Section 1256 positions may require a Fund to accrue taxable income without the corresponding receipt of cash. In order to generate cash to satisfy the distribution requirements of the Code, a Fund may be required to dispose of  portfolio securities that it otherwise would have continued to hold or to use cash flows from other sources. Any or all of these rules may, therefore, affect the amount, character and timing of income earned and, in turn, distributed to shareholders by a Fund.

Special Tax Considerations Relating to Foreign Investments

Gains or losses attributable to foreign currency contracts, or to fluctuations in exchange rates that occur between the time a Fund accrues interest or other receivables or accrues expenses or other liabilities denominated in a foreign currency and the time the Fund actually collects such receivables or pays such liabilities are treated as ordinary income or ordinary loss to the Fund. Similarly, gains or losses on disposition of debt securities denominated in a foreign currency attributable to fluctuations in the value of the foreign currency between the date of acquisition of the security and the date of disposition also are treated as ordinary gain or loss to a Fund. These gains or losses increase or decrease the amount of a Fund’s net investment income available to be distributed to its shareholders as ordinary income.

A Fund may be subject to foreign withholding taxes with respect to its dividend and interest income from foreign countries, and the Fund may be subject to foreign income taxes with respect to other income. If more than 50% in value of a Fund’s total assets at the close of the taxable year consists of stock or securities of foreign corporations, the Fund may elect to treat certain foreign income taxes imposed on it for federal income tax purposes as paid directly by its shareholders. Because it is not anticipated that securities of foreign issuers will constitute more than 50% of a Fund’s total assets at the end of any taxable year, shareholders should not expect to be eligible to claim a foreign tax credit or deduction on their federal income tax returns with respect to foreign taxes imposed on a Fund.

A Fund may invest in stocks of foreign companies that may be classified under the Code as passive foreign investment companies (“PFICs”). In general, a foreign company is classified as a PFIC if at least one-half of its assets constitute investment-type assets or 75% or more of its gross income is investment-type income. When investing in PFIC securities, each Fund generally intends to mark-to-market these securities under certain provisions of the Code and recognize any unrealized gains as ordinary income at the end of the Fund’s fiscal and excise tax years. Deductions for losses are allowable only to the extent of any current or previously recognized gains. These gains (reduced by allowable losses) are treated as ordinary income that a Fund is required to distribute, even though it has not sold or received dividends from these securities. In addition, if a Fund is unable to identify an investment as a PFIC and thus does not make a mark-to-market election, a Fund may be subject to U.S. federal income tax and interest on a portion of any

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“excess distribution” or gain from the disposition of such shares even if such income is distributed as a taxable dividend by a Fund to its shareholders.

Taxes and Foreign Shareholders

Taxation of a shareholder who, as to the United States, is a nonresident alien individual, a foreign trust or estate, a foreign corporation or a foreign partnership (“Foreign Shareholder”) depends on whether the income from a  Fund is “effectively connected” with a U.S. trade or business carried on by such shareholder.

If the income from a Fund  is not effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business carried on by a Foreign Shareholder, distributions of investment company taxable income will generally be subject to U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30% (or such lower treaty rate as may be applicable) upon the gross amount of the dividend (other than “exempt-interest dividends” discussed above). Furthermore, Foreign Shareholders will generally be exempt from U.S. federal income tax on gains realized on the sale of shares of a Fund, distributions of net long-term capital gains and amounts retained by the Fund that are reported as undistributed capital gains.

Dividends paid by a Fund  to shareholders who are nonresident aliens or foreign entities that are derived from short-term capital gains and qualifying U.S. source net interest income (including income from original issue discount), and that are reported by the Fund as “interest-related dividends” or “short-term capital gain dividends,” will generally not be subject to U.S. withholding tax, provided that the income would not be subject to U.S. federal income tax if earned directly by the foreign shareholder. However, depending on the circumstances, the Funds may report all, some or none of the Fund’s potentially eligible dividends as exempt.

Foreign Shareholders that own, either directly or indirectly, more than 5% of a class of Fund shares, are urged to consult their own tax advisors concerning special tax rules that may apply to their investment in Fund shares.

If the income from a Fund  is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business carried on by a Foreign Shareholder, then distributions from a Fund  and any gains realized upon the sale of shares of a Fund  will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at the rates applicable to U.S. citizens and residents or domestic corporations. In addition, Foreign Shareholders that are corporations may be subject to a branch profit tax.

The Funds may be required to withhold federal income tax on distributions that are otherwise exempt from withholding tax (or taxable at a reduced treaty rate) unless the Foreign Shareholder complies with IRS certification requirements.

Withholding of U.S. tax (at a 30% rate) is required on payments of taxable dividends made to certain non-U.S. entities that fail to comply (or be deemed compliant) with extensive reporting and withholding requirements designed to inform the U.S. Department of the Treasury of U.S.-owned foreign investment accounts. Shareholders may be requested to provide additional information to a Fund  to enable a Fund  to determine whether withholding is required.

The tax consequences to a Foreign Shareholder entitled to claim the benefits of an applicable tax treaty may differ from those described here. Furthermore, Foreign Shareholders are strongly urged to consult their own tax advisors with respect to the particular tax consequences to them of an investment in a Fund, including the possible applicability of the U.S. estate tax.

Creation Units

As a result of U.S. federal income tax requirements, the Trust on behalf of a Fund, has the right to reject an order for a creation of shares if the creator (or group of creators) 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 Code, the Fund would have a basis in the Deposit Securities different from the market value of such securities on the date of deposit. The Trust also has the right to require information necessary to determine beneficial share ownership for purposes of the 80% determination. See “Creations and Redemptions.”

A person who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time of exchange and the sum of the exchanger’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and the amount of any cash paid for such Creation Units. A person who exchanges Creation Units for securities will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanger’s basis in the Creation Units and the sum of the aggregate market value of the securities received. The IRS, however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of primarily securities for Creation Units cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position. Persons exchanging securities for Creation Units or redeeming Creation Units should consult their own tax adviser with respect to whether wash sale rules apply and when a loss might be deductible and the tax treatment of any creation or redemption transaction.

Under current U.S. federal income tax laws, any capital gain or loss realized upon a redemption (or creation) of Creation Units is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the Fund shares (or securities surrendered) have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if the Fund shares (or securities surrendered) have been held for one year or less.

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Tax-Advantaged Product Structure

Unlike interests in many conventional mutual funds, each Fund’s shares are traded throughout the day on a national securities exchange, whereas mutual fund interests are typically only bought and sold at closing NAVs. Certain Fund shares have been designed to be tradable in the secondary market on a national securities exchange on an intra-day basis, and to be created and redeemed in Creation Units at each day’s next calculated NAV. For certain Funds, shares are created and redeemed principally in kind. The in-kind arrangements are designed to protect ongoing shareholders from adverse effects on certain Fund’s portfolio that could arise from frequent cash creation and redemption transactions. In a conventional mutual fund, redemptions can have an adverse tax impact on taxable shareholders because the mutual fund may need to sell portfolio securities to obtain cash to meet fund redemptions. These sales may generate taxable gains for the shareholders of the mutual fund, whereas the shares’ in-kind redemption mechanism generally will not lead to a tax event for certain Funds or their ongoing shareholders.

State and Local Tax Considerations

Rules of state and local taxation of dividend and capital gains from RICs often differ from the rules for federal income taxation described above. Shareholders are urged to consult their tax advisors as to the consequences of these and other state and local tax rules regarding an investment in  a Fund.

CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES

As of [ ], 2023, no entity beneficially owned any voting securities of the Funds. From time to time, an Authorized Participant, a third-party investor, the Adviser, an affiliate of the Adviser, and/or a fund, may invest in a Fund and hold its investment for a specific period.

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

As a diversified global financial services firm, Morgan Stanley, the parent company of the Adviser, engages in a broad spectrum of activities, including financial advisory services, investment management activities, lending, commercial banking, sponsoring and managing private investment funds, engaging in broker-dealer transactions and principal securities, commodities and foreign exchange transactions, research publication and other activities. In the ordinary course of its business, Morgan Stanley is a full-service investment banking and financial services firm and therefore engages in activities where Morgan Stanley’s interests or the interests of its clients may conflict with the interests of a Fund. Morgan Stanley advises clients and sponsors, manages or advises other investment funds and investment programs, accounts and businesses (collectively, together with the Morgan Stanley Funds, any new or successor funds, programs, accounts or businesses (other than funds, programs, accounts or businesses sponsored, managed, or advised by former direct or indirect subsidiaries of Eaton Vance Corp. (“Eaton Vance Investment Accounts”)), the ‘‘MS Investment Accounts”, and, together with the Eaton Vance Investment Accounts, the “Affiliated Investment Accounts’’) with a wide variety of investment objectives that in some instances may overlap or conflict with a Fund’s investment objectives and present conflicts of interest. In addition, Morgan Stanley or the Adviser may also from time to time create new or successor Affiliated Investment Accounts that may compete with a Fund and present similar conflicts of interest. The discussion below enumerates certain actual, apparent and potential conflicts of interest. There is no assurance that conflicts of interest will be resolved in favor of Fund shareholders and, in fact, they may not be. Conflicts of interest not described below may also exist.

The discussions below with respect to actual, apparent and potential conflicts of interest also may be applicable to or arise from the Eaton Vance Investment Accounts whether or not specifically identified.

Material Non-public and Other Information. It is expected that confidential or material non-public information regarding an investment or potential investment opportunity may become available to the Adviser. If such information becomes available, the Adviser may be precluded (including by applicable law or internal policies or procedures) from pursuing an investment or disposition opportunity with respect to such investment or investment opportunity. The Adviser may also from time to time be subject to contractual ‘‘stand-still’’ obligations and/or confidentiality obligations that may restrict its ability to trade in certain investments on a Fund’s behalf. In addition, the Adviser may be precluded from disclosing such information to an investment team, even in circumstances in which the information would be beneficial if disclosed. Therefore, the investment team may not be provided access to material non-public information in the possession of Morgan Stanley that might be relevant to an investment decision to be made on behalf of a Fund, and the investment team may initiate a transaction or sell an investment that, if such information had been known to it, may not have been undertaken. In addition, certain members of the investment team may be recused from certain investment-related discussions so that such members do not receive information that would limit their ability to perform functions of their employment with the Adviser or its affiliates unrelated to that of a Fund. Furthermore, access to certain parts of Morgan Stanley may be subject to third party confidentiality obligations and to information barriers established by Morgan Stanley in order to manage potential conflicts of interest and regulatory restrictions, including without limitation joint transaction restrictions pursuant to the 1940 Act. Accordingly, the Adviser’s ability to source investments from other business units within Morgan Stanley may be

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limited and there can be no assurance that the Adviser will be able to source any investments from any one or more parts of the Morgan Stanley network.

The Adviser may restrict its investment decisions and activities on behalf of the Funds in various circumstances, including because of applicable regulatory requirements or information held by the Adviser or Morgan Stanley. The Adviser might not engage in transactions or other activities for, or enforce certain rights in favor of, a Fund due to Morgan Stanley’s activities outside the Funds. In instances where trading of an investment is restricted, the Adviser may not be able to purchase or sell such investment on behalf of a Fund, resulting in a Fund’s inability to participate in certain desirable transactions. This inability to buy or sell an investment could have an adverse effect on a Fund’s portfolio due to, among other things, changes in an investment’s value during the period its trading is restricted. Also, in situations where the Adviser is required to aggregate its positions with those of other Morgan Stanley business units for position limit calculations, the Adviser may have to refrain from making investments due to the positions held by other Morgan Stanley business units or their clients. There may be other situations where the Adviser refrains from making an investment due to additional disclosure obligations, regulatory requirements, policies, and reputational risk, or the Adviser may limit purchases or sales of securities in respect of which Morgan Stanley is engaged in an underwriting or other distribution capacity.

Morgan Stanley has established certain information barriers and other policies to address the sharing of information between different businesses within Morgan Stanley. As a result of information barriers, the Adviser generally will not have access, or will have limited access, to certain information and personnel in other areas of Morgan Stanley and generally will not manage the Funds with the benefit of the information held by such other areas. Morgan Stanley, due to its access to and knowledge of funds, markets and securities based on its prime brokerage and other businesses, may make decisions based on information or take (or refrain from taking) actions with respect to interests in investments of the kind held (directly or indirectly) by the Funds in a manner that may be adverse to a Fund, and will not have any obligation or other duty to share information with the Adviser.

In limited circumstances, however, including for purposes of managing business and reputational risk, and subject to policies and procedures and any applicable regulations, Morgan Stanley personnel, including personnel of the Adviser, on one side of an information barrier may have access to information and personnel on the other side of the information barrier through “wall crossings.” The Adviser faces conflicts of interest in determining whether to engage in such wall crossings. Information obtained in connection with such wall crossings may limit or restrict the ability of the Adviser to engage in or otherwise effect transactions on behalf of the Funds (including purchasing or selling securities that the Adviser may otherwise have purchased or sold for a Fund in the absence of a wall crossing). In managing conflicts of interest that arise because of the foregoing, the Adviser generally will be subject to fiduciary requirements. The Adviser may also implement internal information barriers or ethical walls, and the conflicts described herein with respect to information barriers and otherwise with respect to Morgan Stanley and the Adviser will also apply internally within the Adviser. As a result, a Fund may not be permitted to transact in (e.g., dispose of a security in whole or in part) during periods when it otherwise would have been able to do so, which could adversely affect a Fund. Other investors in the security that are not subject to such restrictions may be able to transact in the security during such periods. There may also be circumstances in which, as a result of information held by certain portfolio management teams in the Adviser, the Adviser limits an activity or transaction for a Fund, including if a Fund is managed by a portfolio management team other than the team holding such information.

Investments by Morgan Stanley and its Affiliated Investment Accounts. In serving in multiple capacities to Affiliated Investment Accounts, Morgan Stanley, including the Adviser and its investment teams, may have obligations to other clients or investors in Affiliated Investment Accounts, the fulfillment of which may not be in the best interests of a Fund or its shareholders. A Fund’s investment objectives may overlap with the investment objectives of certain Affiliated Investment Accounts. As a result, the members of an investment team may face conflicts in the allocation of investment opportunities among a Fund and other investment funds, programs, accounts and businesses advised by or affiliated with the Adviser. Certain Affiliated Investment Accounts may provide for higher management or incentive fees or greater expense reimbursements or overhead allocations, all of which may contribute to this conflict of interest and create an incentive for the Adviser to favor such other accounts.

Morgan Stanley currently invests and plans to continue to invest on its own behalf and on behalf of its Affiliated Investment Accounts in a wide variety of investment opportunities globally. Morgan Stanley and its Affiliated Investment Accounts, to the extent consistent with applicable law and policies and procedures, will be permitted to invest in investment opportunities without making such opportunities available to a Fund beforehand. Subject to the foregoing, Morgan Stanley may offer investments that fall into the investment objectives of an Affiliated Investment Account to such account or make such investment on its own behalf, even though such investment also falls within a Fund’s investment objectives. A Fund may invest in opportunities that Morgan Stanley and/or one or more Affiliated Investment Accounts has declined, and vice versa. All of the foregoing may reduce the number of investment opportunities available to a Fund and may create conflicts of interest in allocating investment opportunities. Investors should note that the conflicts inherent in making such allocation decisions may not always be resolved to a Fund’s advantage. There can be no assurance that a Fund will have an opportunity to participate in certain opportunities that fall within their investment objectives.

To seek to reduce potential conflicts of interest and to attempt to allocate such investment opportunities in a fair and equitable manner, the Adviser has implemented allocation policies and procedures. These policies and procedures are intended to give all

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clients of the Adviser, including the Funds, fair access to investment opportunities consistent with the requirements of organizational documents, investment strategies, applicable laws and regulations, and the fiduciary duties of the Adviser. Each client of the Adviser that is subject to the allocation policies and procedures, including each Funds, is assigned an investment team and portfolio manager(s) by the Adviser. The investment team and portfolio managers review investment opportunities and will decide with respect to the allocation of each opportunity considering various factors and in accordance with the allocation policies and procedures. The allocation policies and procedures are subject to change. Investors should note that the conflicts inherent in making such allocation decisions may not always be resolved to the advantage of a Fund.

It is possible that Morgan Stanley or an Affiliated Investment Account, including another Morgan Stanley Fund, will invest in or advise (in the case of Morgan Stanley) a company that is or becomes a competitor of a company of which a Fund holds an investment. Such investment could create a conflict between the Funds, on the one hand, and Morgan Stanley or the Affiliated Investment Account, on the other hand. In such a situation, Morgan Stanley may also have a conflict in the allocation of its own resources to the portfolio investment. Furthermore, certain Affiliated Investment Accounts will be focused primarily on investing in other funds which may have strategies that overlap and/or directly conflict and compete with a Fund.

In addition, certain investment professionals who are involved in a Fund’s activities remain responsible for the investment activities of other Affiliated Investment Accounts managed by the Adviser and its affiliates, and they will devote time to the management of such investments and other newly created Affiliated Investment Accounts (whether in the form of funds, separate accounts or other vehicles), as well as their own investments. In addition, in connection with the management of investments for other Affiliated Investment Accounts, members of Morgan Stanley and its affiliates may serve on the boards of directors of or advise companies which may compete with a Fund’s portfolio investments. Moreover, these Affiliated Investment Accounts managed by Morgan Stanley and its affiliates may pursue investment opportunities that may also be suitable for a Fund.

It should be noted that Morgan Stanley may, directly or indirectly, make large investments in certain of its Affiliated Investment Accounts, and accordingly Morgan Stanley’s investment in a Fund may not be a determining factor in the outcome of any of the foregoing conflicts. Nothing herein restricts or in any way limits the activities of Morgan Stanley, including its ability to buy or sell interests in, or provide financing to, equity and/or debt instruments, funds or portfolio companies, for its own accounts or for the accounts of Affiliated Investment Accounts or other investment funds or clients in accordance with applicable law.

Different clients of the Adviser, including a Fund, may invest in different classes of securities of the same issuer, depending on the respective clients’ investment objectives and policies. As a result, the Adviser and its affiliates, at times, will seek to satisfy fiduciary obligations to certain clients owning one class of securities of a particular issuer by pursuing or enforcing rights on behalf of those clients with respect to such class of securities, and those activities may have an adverse effect on another client which owns a different class of securities of such issuer. For example, if one client holds debt securities of an issuer and another client holds equity securities of the same issuer, if the issuer experiences financial or operational challenges, the Adviser and its affiliates may seek a liquidation of the issuer on behalf of the client that holds the debt securities, whereas the client holding the equity securities may benefit from a reorganization of the issuer. Thus, in such situations, the actions taken by the Adviser or its affiliates on behalf of one client can negatively impact securities held by another client. These conflicts also exist as between the Adviser’s clients, including the Fund, and the Affiliated Investment Accounts managed by Eaton Vance.

The Adviser and its affiliates may give advice and recommend securities to other clients which may differ from advice given to, or securities recommended or bought for, a Fund even though such other clients’ investment objectives may be similar to those of the Fund.

The Adviser and its affiliates manage long and short portfolios. The simultaneous management of long and short portfolios creates conflicts of interest in portfolio management and trading in that opposite directional positions may be taken in client accounts, including client accounts managed by the same investment team, and creates risks such as: (i) the risk that short sale activity could adversely affect the market value of long positions in one or more portfolios (and vice versa) and (ii) the risks associated with the trading desk receiving opposing orders in the same security simultaneously. The Adviser and its affiliates have adopted policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to mitigate these conflicts. In certain circumstances, the Adviser invests on behalf of itself in securities and other instruments that would be appropriate for, held by, or may fall within the investment guidelines of its clients, including a Fund. At times, the Adviser may give advice or take action for its own accounts that differs from, conflicts with, or is adverse to advice given or action taken for any client.

From time to time, conflicts also arise due to the fact that certain securities or instruments may be held in some client accounts, including a Fund, but not in others, or that client accounts may have different levels of holdings in certain securities or instruments. In addition, due to differences in the investment strategies or restrictions among client accounts, the Adviser may take action with respect to one account that differs from the action taken with respect to another account. In some cases, a client account may compensate the Adviser based on the performance of the securities held by that account. The existence of such a performance based fee may create additional conflicts of interest for the Adviser in the allocation of management time, resources and investment opportunities. The Adviser has adopted several policies and procedures designed to address these potential conflicts including a code

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of ethics and policies that govern the Adviser’s trading practices, including, among other things, the aggregation and allocation of trades among clients, brokerage allocations, cross trades and best execution.

In addition, at times an investment team will give advice or take action with respect to the investments of one or more clients that is not given or taken with respect to other clients with similar investment programs, objectives, and strategies. Accordingly, clients with similar strategies will not always hold the same securities or instruments or achieve the same performance. The Adviser’s investment teams also advise clients with conflicting programs, objectives or strategies. These conflicts also exist as between the Adviser’s clients, including the Fund, and the Affiliated Investment Accounts managed by Eaton Vance.

Morgan Stanley and its affiliates maintain separate trading desks that operate independently of each other and do not share information with the Adviser. The Morgan Stanley and affiliate trading desks may compete against the Adviser trading desks when implementing buy and sell transactions, possibly causing certain Affiliated Investment Accounts to pay more or receive less for a security than other Affiliated Investment Accounts.

Investments by Separate Investment Departments. The entities and individuals that provide investment-related services for the Fund and certain other MS Investment Accounts (the “MS Investment Department”) may be different from the entities and individuals that provide investment-related services to Eaton Vance Investment Accounts (the “Eaton Vance Investment Department” and, together with the MS Investment Department, the “Investment Departments”). Although Morgan Stanley has implemented information barriers between the Investment Departments in accordance with internal policies and procedures, each Investment Department may engage in discussions and share information and resources with the other Investment Department on certain investment-related matters. The sharing of information and resources between the Investment Departments is designed to further increase the knowledge and effectiveness of each Investment Department. Because each Investment Department generally makes investment decisions and executes trades independently of the other, the quality and price of execution, and the performance of investments and accounts, can be expected to vary. In addition, each Investment Department may use different trading systems and technology and may employ differing investment and trading strategies. As a result, an Eaton Vance Investment Account could trade in advance of the Fund (and vice versa), might complete trades more quickly and efficiently than the Fund, and/or achieve different execution than the Fund on the same or similar investments made contemporaneously, even when the Investment Departments shared research and viewpoints that led to that investment decision. Any sharing of information or resources between the Investment Department servicing the Fund and the Eaton Vance Investment Department may result, from time to time, in the Fund simultaneously or contemporaneously seeking to engage in the same or similar transactions as an account serviced by the other Investment Department and for which there are limited buyers or sellers on specific securities, which could result in less favorable execution for the Fund than such Affiliated Investment Account. The MS Investment Department will not knowingly or intentionally cause the Fund to engage in a cross trade with an account serviced by the Eaton Vance Investment Department, however, subject to applicable law and internal policies and procedures, the Fund may conduct cross trades with other accounts serviced by the MS Investment Department. Although the MS Investment Department may aggregate the Fund’s trades with trades of other accounts serviced by the MS Investment Department, subject to applicable law and internal policies and procedures, there will be no aggregation or coordination of trades with accounts serviced by the Eaton Vance Investment Department, even when both Investment Departments are seeking to acquire or dispose of the same investments contemporaneously.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries. The Adviser may pay compensation, out of its own funds and not as an expense of the Fund, to certain Financial Intermediaries (which may include affiliates of the Adviser ), including recordkeepers and administrators of various deferred compensation plans, in connection with the sale, distribution, marketing and retention of shares of the Fund and/or shareholder servicing. For example, the Adviser   may pay additional compensation to a Financial Intermediary for, among other things, promoting the sale and distribution of Fund shares, providing access to various programs, mutual fund platforms or preferred or recommended mutual fund lists that may be offered by a Financial Intermediary, providing assistance in the ongoing education and training of a Financial Intermediary’s financial personnel, furnishing marketing support, maintaining share balances and/or for sub-accounting, recordkeeping, administrative, shareholder or transaction processing services. Such payments are in addition to any distribution fees, shareholder servicing fees and/or transfer agency fees that may be payable by the Fund. The additional payments may be based on various factors, including level of sales (based on gross or net sales or some specified minimum sales or some other similar criteria related to sales of the Fund and/or some or all other Morgan Stanley Funds), amount of assets invested by the Financial Intermediary’s customers (which could include current or aged assets of the Fund and/or some or all other Morgan Stanley Funds), a Fund’s advisory fee, some other agreed upon amount or other measures as determined from time to time by the Adviser. The amount of these payments may be different for different Financial Intermediaries.

The prospect of receiving, or the receipt of, additional compensation, as described above, by Financial Intermediaries may provide such Financial Intermediaries and their financial advisors and other salespersons with an incentive to favor sales of shares of the Fund over other investment options with respect to which these Financial Intermediaries do not receive additional compensation (or receives lower levels of additional compensation). These payment arrangements, however, will not change the price that an investor pays for shares of the Fund or the amount that the Fund receives to invest on behalf of an investor. Investors may wish to take such

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payment arrangements into account when considering and evaluating any recommendations relating to Fund shares and should review carefully any disclosures provided by Financial Intermediaries as to their compensation.

In addition, in certain circumstances, the Adviser restricts, limits or reduces the amount of the Fund’s investment, or restricts the type of governance or voting rights it acquires or exercises, where the Fund (potentially together with Morgan Stanley) exceeds a certain ownership interest, or possesses certain degrees of voting or control or has other interests.

Morgan Stanley Trading and Principal Investing Activities. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, Morgan Stanley will generally conduct its sales and trading businesses, publish research and analysis, and render investment advice without regard for a Fund’s holdings, although these activities could have an adverse impact on the value of one or more of the Fund’s investments, or could cause Morgan Stanley to have an interest in one or more portfolio investments that is different from, and potentially adverse to that of a Fund. Furthermore, from time to time, the Adviser or its affiliates may invest “seed” capital in a Fund, typically to enable the Fund to commence investment operations and/or achieve sufficient scale. The Adviser and its affiliates may hedge such seed capital exposure by investing in derivatives or other instruments expected to produce offsetting exposure. Such hedging transactions, if any, would occur outside of a Fund.

Morgan Stanley’s sales and trading, financing and principal investing businesses (whether or not specifically identified as such, and including Morgan Stanley’s trading and principal investing businesses) will not be required to offer any investment opportunities to a Fund. These businesses may encompass, among other things, principal trading activities as well as principal investing.

Morgan Stanley’s sales and trading, financing and principal investing businesses have acquired or invested in, and in the future may acquire or invest in, minority and/or majority control positions in equity or debt instruments of diverse public and/or private companies. Such activities may put Morgan Stanley in a position to exercise contractual, voting or creditor rights, or management or other control with respect to securities or loans of portfolio investments or other issuers, and in these instances Morgan Stanley may, in its discretion and subject to applicable law, act to protect its own interests or interests of clients, and not a Fund’s interests.

Subject to the limitations of applicable law, a Fund may purchase from or sell assets to, or make investments in, companies in which Morgan Stanley has or may acquire an interest, including as an owner, creditor or counterparty.

Morgan Stanley’s Investment Banking and Other Commercial Activities. Morgan Stanley advises clients on a variety of mergers, acquisitions, restructuring, bankruptcy and financing transactions. Morgan Stanley may act as an advisor to clients, including other investment funds that may compete with a Fund and with respect to investments that a Fund may hold. Morgan Stanley may give advice and take action with respect to any of its clients or proprietary accounts that may differ from the advice given, or may involve an action of a different timing or nature than the action taken, by a Fund. Morgan Stanley may give advice and provide recommendations to persons competing with a Fund and/or any of a Fund’s investments that are contrary to the Fund’s best interests and/or the best interests of any of its investments.

Morgan Stanley could be engaged in financial advising, whether on the buy-side or sell-side, or in financing or lending assignments that could result in Morgan Stanley’s determining in its discretion or being required to act exclusively on behalf of one or more third parties, which could limit a Fund’s ability to transact with respect to one or more existing or potential investments. Morgan Stanley may have relationships with third-party funds, companies or investors who may have invested in or may look to invest in portfolio companies, and there could be conflicts between a Fund’s best interests, on the one hand, and the interests of a Morgan Stanley client or counterparty, on the other hand.

To the extent that Morgan Stanley advises creditor or debtor companies in the financial restructuring of companies either prior to or after filing for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code or similar laws in other jurisdictions, the Adviser’s flexibility in making investments in such restructurings on a Fund’s behalf may be limited.

Morgan Stanley could provide investment banking services to competitors of portfolio companies, as well as to private equity and/or private credit funds; such activities may present Morgan Stanley with a conflict of interest vis-a-vis a Fund’s investment and may also result in a conflict in respect of the allocation of investment banking resources to portfolio companies.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, Morgan Stanley may provide a broad range of financial services to companies in which a Fund invests, including strategic and financial advisory services, interim acquisition financing and other lending and underwriting or placement of securities, and Morgan Stanley generally will be paid fees (that may include warrants or other securities) for such services. Morgan Stanley will not share any of the foregoing interest, fees and other compensation received by it (including, for the avoidance of doubt, amounts received by the Adviser) with a Fund, and any advisory fees payable will not be reduced thereby.

Morgan Stanley may be engaged to act as a financial advisor to a company in connection with the sale of such company, or subsidiaries or divisions thereof, may represent potential buyers of businesses through its mergers and acquisition activities and may provide lending and other related financing services in connection with such transactions. Morgan Stanley’s compensation for such activities is usually based upon realized consideration and is usually contingent, in substantial part, upon the closing of the

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transaction. Under these circumstances, a Fund may be precluded from participating in a transaction with or relating to the company being sold or participating in any financing activity related to merger or acquisition.

The involvement or presence of Morgan Stanley in the investment banking and other commercial activities described above (or the financial markets more broadly) may restrict or otherwise limit investment opportunities that may otherwise be available to the Fund. For example, issuers may hire and compensate Morgan Stanley to provide underwriting, financial advisory, placement agency, brokerage services or other services and, because of limitations imposed by applicable law and regulation, a Fund may be prohibited from buying or selling securities issued by those issuers or participating in related transactions or otherwise limited in its ability to engage in such investments.

Morgan Stanley’s Marketing Activities. Morgan Stanley is engaged in the business of underwriting, syndicating, brokering, administering, servicing, arranging and advising on the distribution of a wide variety of securities and other investments in which a Fund may invest. Subject to the restrictions of the 1940 Act, including Sections 10(f) and 17(e) thereof, a Fund may invest in transactions in which Morgan Stanley acts as underwriter, placement agent, syndicator, broker, administrative agent, servicer, advisor, arranger or structuring agent and receives fees or other compensation from the sponsors of such products or securities. Any fees earned by Morgan Stanley in such capacity will not be shared with the Adviser or the Fund. Certain conflicts of interest, in addition to the receipt of fees or other compensation, would be inherent in these transactions. Moreover, the interests of one of Morgan Stanley’s clients with respect to an issuer of securities in which a Fund has an investment may be adverse to the Adviser’s or a Fund’s best interests. In conducting the foregoing activities, Morgan Stanley will be acting for its other clients and will have no obligation to act in the Adviser’s or a Fund’s best interests.

Client Relationships. Morgan Stanley has existing and potential relationships with a significant number of corporations, institutions and individuals. In providing services to its clients, Morgan Stanley may face conflicts of interest with respect to activities recommended to or performed for such clients, on the one hand, and a Fund, its shareholders or the entities in which the Fund invests, on the other hand. In addition, these client relationships may present conflicts of interest in determining whether to offer certain investment opportunities to a Fund.

In acting as principal or in providing advisory and other services to its other clients, Morgan Stanley may engage in or recommend activities with respect to a particular matter that conflict with or are different from activities engaged in or recommended by the Adviser on a Fund’s behalf.

Principal Investments. To the extent permitted by applicable law, there may be situations in which a Fund’s interests may conflict with the interests of one or more general accounts of Morgan Stanley and its affiliates or accounts managed by Morgan Stanley or its affiliates. This may occur because these accounts hold public and private debt and equity securities of many issuers which may be or become portfolio companies, or from whom portfolio companies may be acquired.

Transactions with Portfolio Companies of Affiliated Investment Accounts. The companies in which a Fund may invest may be counterparties to or participants in agreements, transactions or other arrangements with portfolio companies or other entities of portfolio investments of Affiliated Investment Accounts (for example, a company in which a Fund invests may retain a company in which an Affiliated Investment Account invests to provide services or may acquire an asset from such company or vice versa). Certain of these agreements, transactions and arrangements involve fees, servicing payments, rebates and/or other benefits to Morgan Stanley or its affiliates. For example, portfolio entities may, including at the encouragement of Morgan Stanley, enter into agreements regarding group procurement and/or vendor discounts. Morgan Stanley and its affiliates may also participate in these agreements and may realize better pricing or discounts as a result of the participation of portfolio entities. To the extent permitted by applicable law, certain of these agreements may provide for commissions or similar payments and/or discounts or rebates to be paid to a portfolio entity of an Affiliated Investment Account, and such payments or discounts or rebates may also be made directly to Morgan Stanley or its affiliates. Under these arrangements, a particular portfolio company or other entity may benefit to a greater degree than the other participants, and the Morgan Stanley Funds, investment vehicles and accounts (which may or may not include a Fund) that own an interest in such entity will receive a greater relative benefit from the arrangements than the Morgan Stanley Funds, investment vehicles or accounts that do not own an interest therein. Fees and compensation received by portfolio companies of Affiliated Investment Accounts in relation to the foregoing will not be shared with a Fund or offset advisory fees payable.

Investments in Portfolio Investments of Other Funds. To the extent permitted by applicable law, when a Fund invests in certain companies or other entities, other funds affiliated with the Adviser may have made or may be making an investment in such companies or other entities. Other funds that have been or may be managed by the Adviser may invest in the companies or other entities in which a Fund has made an investment. Under such circumstances, a Fund and such other funds may have conflicts of interest (e.g., over the terms, exit strategies and related matters, including the exercise of remedies of their respective investments). If the interests held by a Fund are different from (or take priority over) those held by such other funds, the Adviser may be required to make a selection at the time of conflicts between the interests held by such other funds and the interests held by a Fund.

Allocation of Expenses. Expenses may be incurred that are attributable to a Fund and one or more other Affiliated Investment Accounts (including in connection with issuers in which a Fund and such other Affiliated Investment Accounts have overlapping

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investments). The allocation of such expenses among such entities raises potential conflicts of interest. The Adviser and its affiliates intend to allocate such common expenses among a Fund and any such other Affiliated Investment Accounts on a pro rata basis or in such other manner as the Adviser deems to be fair and equitable or in such other manner as may be required by applicable law.

Transactions with Affiliates. The Adviser and any investment sub-adviser might purchase securities from underwriters or placement agents in which a Morgan Stanley affiliate is a member of a syndicate or selling group, as a result of which an affiliate might benefit from the purchase through receipt of a fee or otherwise. Neither the Adviser nor any investment sub-adviser will purchase securities on behalf of a Fund from an affiliate that is acting as a manager of a syndicate or selling group. Purchases by the Adviser on behalf of a Fund from an affiliate acting as a placement agent must meet the requirements of applicable law. Furthermore, Morgan Stanley may face conflicts of interest when a Fund uses service providers affiliated with Morgan Stanley because Morgan Stanley receives greater overall fees when they are used.

General Process for Potential Conflicts. All of the transactions described above involve the potential for conflicts of interest between the Adviser, related persons of the Adviser and/or their clients. The Advisers Act, the 1940 Act and ERISA impose certain requirements designed to decrease the possibility of conflicts of interest between an investment adviser and its clients. In some cases, transactions may be permitted subject to fulfillment of certain conditions. Certain other transactions may be prohibited. In addition, the Adviser has instituted policies and procedures designed to prevent conflicts of interest from arising and, when they do arise, to ensure that it effects transactions for clients in a manner that is consistent with its fiduciary duty to its clients and in accordance with applicable law. The Adviser seeks to ensure that potential or actual conflicts of interest are appropriately resolved taking into consideration the overriding best interests of the client.

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FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

No financial information is presented for the Funds because they have not commenced operations as of the date of this SAI. Financial information will be provided in the first report to shareholders for the Funds after commencement of operations.

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APPENDIX A — MORGAN STANLEY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT EQUITY PROXY VOTING POLICY AND PROCEDURES

I. POLICY STATEMENT

Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s policy and procedures for voting proxies, the Equity Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures (the “Policy”), with respect to securities held in the accounts of clients applies to those Morgan Stanley Investment Management (“MSIM”) entities that provide discretionary investment management services and for which an MSIM entity has authority to vote proxies1. For purposes of this Policy, clients shall include: Morgan Stanley U.S. registered investment companies, other Morgan Stanley pooled investment vehicles, and MSIM separately managed accounts (including accounts for Employee Retirement Income Security (“ERISA”) clients and ERISA-equivalent clients). This Policy is reviewed and updated as necessary to address new and evolving proxy voting issues and standards.


The MSIM entities covered by this Policy currently include the following: Morgan Stanley AIP GP LP, Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc., Morgan Stanley Investment Management Limited, Morgan Stanley Investment Management Company, Morgan Stanley Saudi Arabia, MSIM Fund Management (Ireland) Limited, Morgan Stanley Asia Limited, Morgan Stanley Investment Management (Japan) Co. Limited, Morgan Stanley Investment Management Private Limited, Morgan Stanley Eaton Vance CLO Manager LLC, and, Morgan Stanley Eaton Vance CLO CM LLC (each an “MSIM Affiliate” and collectively referred to as the “MSIM Affiliates” or as “we” below).


Each MSIM Affiliate will use its best efforts to vote proxies as part of its authority to manage, acquire and dispose of account assets.

 

With respect to the U.S. registered investment companies sponsored, managed or advised by any MSIM Affiliate (the “MS Funds”), each MSIM Affiliate will vote proxies under this Policy pursuant to authority granted under its applicable investment advisory agreement or, in the absence of such authority, as authorized by the Board of Directors/Trustees of the MS Funds.

 

For other pooled investment vehicles (e.g., UCITS), each MSIM Affiliate will vote proxies under this Policy pursuant to authority granted under its applicable investment advisory agreement or, in the absence of such authority, as authorized by the relevant governing board.

 

For separately managed accounts (including ERISA and ERISA-equivalent clients), each MSIM Affiliate will vote proxies under this Policy pursuant to authority granted under the applicable investment advisory agreement or investment management agreement. Where an MSIM Affiliate has the authority to vote proxies on behalf of ERISA and ERISA-equivalent clients, the MSIM Affiliate must do so in accordance with its fiduciary duties under ERISA (and the Internal Revenue Code).

 

In certain situations, a client or its fiduciary may reserve the authority to vote proxies for itself or an outside party or may provide an MSIM Affiliate with a statement of proxy voting policy. The MSIM Affiliate will comply with the client’s policy.
 

An MSIM Affiliate will not vote proxies unless the investment management agreement, investment advisory agreement or other authority explicitly authorizes the MSIM Affiliate to vote proxies.


MSIM Affiliates will vote proxies in a prudent and diligent manner and in the best interests of clients, including beneficiaries of and participants in a client’s benefit plan(s) for which the MSIM Affiliates manage assets, consistent with the objective of maximizing long-term investment returns (“Client Proxy Standard”) and this Policy. In addition to voting proxies of portfolio companies, MSIM routinely engages with, or, in some cases, may engage a third party to engage with, the management or board of companies in which we invest on a range of environmental, social and governance issues. Governance is a window into or proxy for management and board quality. MSIM engages with companies where we have larger positions, voting issues are material or where we believe we can make a positive impact on the governance structure. MSIM’s engagement process, through private communication with companies, allows us to understand the governance structures at investment  companies and better inform our voting decisions.

1 This Policy does not apply to MSIM’s authority to exercise certain decision-making rights associated with investments in loans and other fixed income instruments (collectively, for purposes hereof, “Fixed Income Instruments”).

Retention and Oversight of Outsourced Proxy Voting - Certain MSIM exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) will follow Calvert Research and Management’s (“Calvert”) Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures and the Global Proxy Voting Guidelines set forth in Appendix A of the Calvert Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures. MSIM’s oversight of Calvert’s proxy voting engagement is ongoing pursuant to the 40 Act Fund Service Provider and Vendor Oversight Policy.

Retention and Oversight of Proxy Advisory Firms - Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”)  and Glass Lewis (together with other proxy research providers as we may retain from time to time, the “Research Providers”) are independent advisers that specialize in providing a variety of fiduciary-level proxy-related services to institutional investment managers, plan sponsors, custodians, consultants, and other institutional investors. The services provided include in-depth research, global issuer analysis, record retention, ballot processing and voting recommendations.

To facilitate proxy voting, MSIM has retained Research Providers to provide company level reports that summarize key data elements contained within an issuer’s proxy statement. Although we are aware of the voting recommendations included in the Research Providers’ company level reports, these recommendations are not an input into our vote nor is any potential vote prepopulated based on a Research Provider’s research. MSIM votes all proxies based on its own proxy voting policies, consultation with the investment

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teams, and in the best interests of each client. In addition to research, MSIM retains ISS to provide vote execution, reporting, and recordkeeping services.

As part of MSIM’s ongoing oversight of the Research Providers, MSIM performs periodic due diligence on the Research Providers. Topics of the reviews include, but are not limited to, conflicts of interest, methodologies for developing their policies and vote recommendations, and resources.

Voting Proxies for Certain Non-U.S. Companies - Voting proxies of companies located in some jurisdictions may involve several problems that can restrict or prevent the ability to vote such proxies or entail significant costs. These problems include, but are not limited to: (i) proxy statements and ballots being written in a language other than English; (ii) untimely and/or inadequate notice of shareholder meetings; (iii) restrictions on the ability of holders outside the issuer’s jurisdiction of organization to exercise votes; (iv) requirements to vote proxies in person; (v) the imposition of restrictions on the sale of the securities for a period of time in proximity to the shareholder meeting; and (vi) requirements to provide local agents with power of attorney to facilitate our voting instructions. As a result, we vote clients’ non-U.S. proxies on a best efforts basis only, after weighing the costs and benefits of voting such proxies, consistent with the Client Proxy Standard. ISS has been retained to provide assistance in connection with voting non-U.S. proxies.

Securities Lending - MS Funds or any other investment vehicle sponsored, managed or advised by an MSIM affiliate may participate in a securities lending program through a third party provider. The voting rights for shares that are out on loan are transferred to the borrower and therefore, the lender (i.e., an MS Fund or another investment vehicle sponsored, managed or advised by an MSIM affiliate) is not entitled to vote the lent shares at the company meeting. In general, MSIM believes the revenue received from the lending program outweighs the ability to vote and we will not recall shares for the purpose of voting. However, in cases in which MSIM believes the right to vote outweighs the revenue received, we reserve the right to recall the shares on loan on a best efforts basis.

II. GENERAL PROXY VOTING GUIDELINES

To promote consistency in voting proxies on behalf of our clients, we follow this Policy (subject to any exception set forth herein). As noted above, certain ETFs will follow Calvert’s Global Proxy Voting Guidelines set forth in Appendix A of Calvert’s Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures and the proxy voting guidelines discussed in this section do not apply to such ETFs. See Appendix A of Calvert’s Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for a general discussion of the proxy voting guidelines to which these ETFs will be subject.

The Policy addresses a broad range of issues, and provides general voting parameters on proposals that arise most frequently. However, details of specific proposals vary, and those details affect particular voting decisions, as do factors specific to a given company. Pursuant to the procedures set forth herein, we may vote in a manner that is not in accordance with the following general guidelines, provided the vote is approved by the Proxy Review Committee (see Section 3) and is consistent with the Client Proxy Standard. Morgan Stanley AIP GP LP (“Morgan Stanley AIP”) will follow the procedures as described in Appendix A.

We endeavor to integrate governance and proxy voting policy with investment goals, using the vote to encourage portfolio companies to enhance long-term shareholder value and to provide a high standard of transparency such that equity markets can value corporate assets appropriately.

We seek to follow the Client Proxy Standard for each client. At times, this may result in split votes, for example when different clients have varying economic interests and / or priorities reflected in their mandates with respect to the outcome of a particular voting matter (such as a case in which varied ownership interests in two companies involved in a merger result in different stakes in the outcome). We also may split votes at times based on differing views of portfolio managers.

We may abstain from or vote against matters for which disclosure is inadequate.

A. Routine Matters.

We generally support routine management proposals. The following are examples of routine management proposals:

 

Approval of financial statements and auditor reports if delivered with an unqualified auditor’s opinion.

 

General updating/corrective amendments to the charter, articles of association or bylaws, unless we believe that such amendments would diminish shareholder rights.

 

Most proposals related to the conduct of the annual meeting, with the following exceptions. We generally oppose proposals that relate to “the transaction of such other business which may come before the meeting,” and open-ended requests for adjournment. However, where management specifically states the reason for requesting an adjournment and the requested adjournment would facilitate passage of a proposal that would otherwise be supported under this Policy (i.e., an uncontested corporate transaction), the adjournment request will be supported. We do not support proposals that allow companies to call a special meeting with a short (generally two weeks or less) time frame for review.
 

We generally support shareholder proposals advocating confidential voting procedures and independent tabulation of voting results.

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B. Board of Directors.

 

1 Election of Directors: Votes on board nominees can involve balancing a variety of considerations. In vote decisions, we may take into consideration whether the company has a majority voting policy in place that we believe makes the director vote more meaningful. In the absence of a proxy contest, we generally support the board’s nominees for director except as follows:

 

a We consider withholding support from or voting against a nominee if we believe a direct conflict exists between the interests of the nominee and the public shareholders, including failure to meet fiduciary standards of care and/or loyalty. We may oppose directors where we conclude that actions of directors are unlawful, unethical or negligent. We consider opposing individual board members or an entire slate if we believe the board is entrenched and/or dealing inadequately with performance problems; if we believe the board is acting with insufficient independence between the board and management; or if we believe the board has not been sufficiently forthcoming with information on key governance or other material matters.

 

b We consider withholding support from or voting against interested directors if the company’s board does not meet market standards for director independence, or if otherwise we believe board independence is insufficient. We refer to prevalent market standards as promulgated by a stock exchange or other authority within a given market (e.g., New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq rules for most U.S. companies, and The Combined Code on Corporate Governance in the United Kingdom). Thus, for an NYSE company with no controlling shareholder, we would expect that at a minimum a majority of directors should be independent as defined by NYSE. Where we view market standards as inadequate, we may withhold votes based on stronger independence standards. Market standards notwithstanding, we generally do not view long board tenure alone as a basis to classify a director as non-independent.

 

i At a company with a shareholder or group that controls the company by virtue of a majority economic interest in the company, we have a reduced expectation for board independence, although we believe the presence of independent directors can be helpful, particularly in staffing the audit committee, and at times we may withhold support from or vote against a nominee on the view the board or its committees are not sufficiently independent. In markets where board independence is not the norm (e.g. Japan), however, we consider factors including whether a board of a controlled company includes independent members who can be expected to look out for interests of minority holders.

 

ii We consider withholding support from or voting against a nominee if he or she is affiliated with a major shareholder that has representation on a board disproportionate to its economic interest.

 

c Depending on market standards, we consider withholding support from or voting against a nominee who is interested and who is standing for election as a member of the company’s compensation/remuneration, nominating/governance or audit committee.

 

d We consider withholding support from or voting against nominees if the term for which they are nominated is excessive. We consider this issue on a market-specific basis.

 

e We consider withholding support from or voting against nominees if in our view there has been insufficient board renewal (turnover), particularly in the context of extended poor company performance. Also, if the board has failed to consider diversity, including but not limited to, gender and ethnicity, in its board composition.

 

f We consider withholding support from or voting against a nominee standing for election if the board has not taken action to implement generally accepted governance practices for which there is a “bright line” test. For example, in the context of the U.S. market, failure to eliminate a dead hand or slow hand poison pill would be seen as a basis for opposing one or more incumbent nominees.

 

g In markets that encourage designated audit committee financial experts, we consider voting against members of an audit committee if no members are designated as such. We also consider voting against the audit committee members if the company has faced financial reporting issues and/or does not put the auditor up for ratification by shareholders.

 

h We believe investors should have the ability to vote on individual nominees, and may abstain or vote against a slate of nominees where we are not given the opportunity to vote on individual nominees.

 

i We consider withholding support from or voting against a nominee who has failed to attend at least 75% of the nominee’s board and board committee meetings within a given year without a reasonable excuse. We also consider opposing nominees if the company does not meet market standards for disclosure on attendance.

 

j We consider withholding support from or voting against a nominee who appears overcommitted, particularly through service on an excessive number of boards. Market expectations are incorporated into this analysis; for U.S. boards, we generally oppose election of a nominee who serves on more than five public company boards (excluding investment companies), or public company CEOs that serve on more than two outside boards given the level of time commitment required in their primary job.

 

k We consider withholding support from or voting against a nominee where we believe executive remuneration practices are poor, particularly if the company does not offer shareholders a separate “say-on-pay” advisory vote on pay.
 

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2 Discharge of Directors’ Duties: In markets where an annual discharge of directors’ responsibility is a routine agenda item, we generally support such discharge. However, we may vote against discharge or abstain from voting where there are serious findings of fraud or other unethical behavior for which the individual bears responsibility. The annual discharge of responsibility represents shareholder approval of disclosed actions taken by the board during the year and may make future shareholder action against the board difficult to pursue.

 

3 Board Independence: We generally support U.S. shareholder proposals requiring that a certain percentage (up to 66⅔%) of the company’s board members be independent directors, and promoting all-independent audit, compensation and nominating/governance committees.

 

4 Board Diversity: We generally support shareholder proposals urging diversity of board membership with respect to gender, race or other factors where we believe the board has failed to take these factors into account. We will also consider not supporting the re-election of the nomination committee and/or chair (or other resolutions when the nomination chair is not up for re- election) where we perceive limited progress in gender diversity, with the expectation where feasible and with consideration of any idiosyncrasies of individual markets, that female directors represent not less than a third of the board, unless there is evidence that the company has made significant progress in this area. In markets where information on director ethnicity is available, and it is legal to obtain it, and where it is relevant, we will generally also consider not supporting the re-election of the nomination committee chair (or other resolutions when the nomination chair is not up for re-election) if the board lacks ethnic diversity and has not outlined a credible diversity strategy.

 

5 Majority Voting: We generally support proposals requesting or requiring majority voting policies in election of directors, so long as there is a carve-out for plurality voting in the case of contested elections.

 

6 Proxy Access: We consider proposals on procedures for inclusion of shareholder nominees and to have those nominees included in the company’s proxy statement and on the company’s proxy ballot on a case-by-case basis. Considerations include ownership thresholds, holding periods, the number of directors that shareholders may nominate and any restrictions on forming a group

 

7 Reimbursement for Dissident Nominees: We generally support well-crafted U.S. shareholder proposals that would provide for reimbursement of dissident nominees elected to a board, as the cost to shareholders in electing such nominees can be factored into the voting decision on those nominees.

 

8 Proposals to Elect Directors More Frequently: In the U.S. public company context, we usually support shareholder and management proposals to elect all directors annually (to “declassify” the board), although we make an exception to this policy where we believe that long-term shareholder value may be harmed by this change given particular circumstances at the company at the time of the vote on such proposal. As indicated above, outside the United States, we generally support greater accountability to shareholders that comes through more frequent director elections, but recognize that many markets embrace longer term lengths, sometimes for valid reasons given other aspects of the legal context in electing boards.

 

9 Cumulative Voting: We generally support proposals to eliminate cumulative voting in the U.S. market context. (Cumulative voting provides that shareholders may concentrate their votes for one or a handful of candidates, a system that can enable a minority bloc to place representation on a board.) U.S. proposals to establish cumulative voting in the election of directors generally will not be supported.

 

10 Separation of Chairman and CEO Positions: We vote on shareholder proposals to separate the Chairman and CEO positions and/or to appoint an independent Chairman based in part on prevailing practice in particular markets, since the context for such a practice varies. In many non-U.S. markets, we view separation of the roles as a market standard practice, and support division of the roles in that context. In the United States, we consider such proposals on a case-by-case basis, considering, among other things, the existing board leadership structure, company performance, and any evidence of entrenchment or perceived risk that power is overly concentrated in a single individual.

 

11 Director Retirement Age and Term Limits: Proposals setting or recommending director retirement ages or director term limits are voted on a case-by-case basis that includes consideration of company performance, the rate of board renewal, evidence of effective individual director evaluation processes, and any indications of entrenchment.

 

12 Proposals to Limit Directors’ Liability and/or Broaden Indemnification of Officers and Directors: Generally, we will support such proposals provided that an individual is eligible only if he or she has not acted in bad faith, with gross negligence or with reckless disregard of their duties.
 

C. Statutory Auditor Boards.

The statutory auditor board, which is separate from the main board of directors, plays a role in corporate governance in several markets. These boards are elected by shareholders to provide assurance on compliance with legal and accounting standards and the company’s articles of association. We generally vote for statutory auditor nominees if they meet independence standards. In markets that require disclosure on attendance by internal statutory auditors, however, we consider voting against nominees for these positions who failed to attend at least 75% of meetings in the previous year. We also consider opposing nominees if the company does not meet market standards for disclosure on attendance.

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D. Corporate Transactions and Proxy Fights.

We examine proposals relating to mergers, acquisitions and other special corporate transactions (i.e., takeovers, spin-offs, sales of assets, reorganizations, restructurings and recapitalizations) on a case-by-case basis in the interests of each  fund or other account. Proposals for mergers or other significant transactions that are friendly and approved by the Research Providers usually are supported if there is no portfolio manager objection. We also analyze proxy contests on a case-by-case basis.

E. Changes in Capital Structure.

 

1 We generally support the following:

 

Management and shareholder proposals aimed at eliminating unequal voting rights, assuming fair economic treatment of classes of shares we hold.

 

U.S. management proposals to increase the authorization of existing classes of common stock (or securities convertible into common stock) if: (i) a clear business purpose is stated that we can support and the number of shares requested is reasonable in relation to the purpose for which authorization is requested; and/or (ii) the authorization does not exceed 100% of shares currently authorized and at least 30% of the total new authorization will be outstanding. (We consider proposals that do not meet these criteria on a case-by-case basis.)

 

U.S. management proposals to create a new class of preferred stock or for issuances of preferred stock up to 50% of issued capital, unless we have concerns about use of the authority for anti-takeover purposes.

 

Proposals in non-U.S. markets that in our view appropriately limit potential dilution of existing shareholders. A major consideration is whether existing shareholders would have preemptive rights for any issuance under a proposal for standing share issuance authority. We generally consider market-specific guidance in making these decisions; for example, in the U.K. market we usually follow Association of British Insurers’ (“ABI”) guidance, although company-specific factors may be considered and for example, may sometimes lead us to voting against share authorization proposals even if they meet ABI guidance.

 

Management proposals to authorize share repurchase plans, except in some cases in which we believe there are insufficient protections against use of an authorization for anti-takeover purposes.

 

Management proposals to reduce the number of authorized shares of common or preferred stock, or to eliminate classes of preferred stock.

 

Management proposals to effect stock splits.

 

Management proposals to effect reverse stock splits if management proportionately reduces the authorized share amount set forth in the corporate charter. Reverse stock splits that do not adjust proportionately to the authorized share amount generally will be approved if the resulting increase in authorized shares coincides with the proxy guidelines set forth above for common stock increases.

 

Management dividend payout proposals, except where we perceive company payouts to shareholders as inadequate.

 

2 We generally oppose the following (notwithstanding management support):

 

Proposals to add classes of stock that would substantially dilute the voting interests of existing shareholders.

 

Proposals to increase the authorized or issued number of shares of existing classes of stock that are unreasonably dilutive, particularly if there are no preemptive rights for existing shareholders. However, depending on market practices, we consider voting for proposals giving general authorization for issuance of shares not subject to preemptive rights if the authority is limited.

 

Proposals that authorize share issuance at a discount to market rates, except where authority for such issuance is de minimis, or if there is a special situation that we believe justifies such authorization (as may be the case, for example, at a company under severe stress and risk of bankruptcy).

 

Proposals relating to changes in capitalization by 100% or more.
 

We consider on a case-by-case basis shareholder proposals to increase dividend payout ratios, in light of market practice and perceived market weaknesses, as well as individual company payout history and current circumstances. For example, currently we perceive low payouts to shareholders as a concern at some Japanese companies, but may deem a low payout ratio as appropriate for a growth company making good use of its cash, notwithstanding the broader market concern.

F. Takeover Defenses and Shareholder Rights.

 

1 Shareholder Rights Plans: We generally support proposals to require shareholder approval or ratification of shareholder rights plans (poison pills). In voting on rights plans or similar takeover defenses, we consider on a case-by-case basis whether the company has demonstrated a need for the defense in the context of promoting long-term share value; whether provisions of the defense are in line with generally accepted governance principles in the market (and specifically the presence of an adequate
 

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qualified offer provision that would exempt offers meeting certain conditions from the pill); and the specific context if the proposal is made in the midst of a takeover bid or contest for control.

 

2 Supermajority  Voting Requirements: We generally oppose requirements for supermajority votes to amend the charter or bylaws, unless the provisions protect minority shareholders where there is a large shareholder. In line with this view, in the absence of a large shareholder we support reasonable shareholder proposals to limit such supermajority voting requirements. Also, we oppose provisions that do not allow shareholders any right to amend the charter or bylaws.

 

3 Shareholders Right to Call a Special Meeting: We consider proposals to enhance a shareholder’s rights to call meetings on a case-by-case basis. At large-cap U.S. companies, we generally support efforts to establish the right of holders of 10% or more of shares to call special meetings, unless the board or state law has set a policy or law establishing such rights at a threshold that we believe to be acceptable.

 

4 Written Consent Rights: In the U.S. context, we examine proposals for shareholder written consent rights on a case-by-case basis.

 

5 Reincorporation: We consider management and shareholder proposals to reincorporate to a different jurisdiction on a case-by-case basis. We oppose such proposals if we believe the main purpose is to take advantage of laws or judicial precedents that reduce shareholder rights.

 

6 Anti-greenmail Provisions: Proposals relating to the adoption of anti-greenmail provisions will be supported, provided that the proposal: (i) defines greenmail; (ii) prohibits buyback offers to large block holders (holders of at least 1% of the outstanding shares and in certain cases, a greater amount) not made to all shareholders or not approved by disinterested shareholders; and (iii) contains no anti-takeover measures or other provisions restricting the rights of shareholders.

 

7 Bundled Proposals: We may consider opposing or abstaining on proposals if disparate issues are “bundled” and presented for a single vote.
 

G. Auditors.

We generally support management proposals for selection or ratification of independent auditors. However, we may consider opposing such proposals with reference to incumbent audit firms if the company has suffered from serious accounting irregularities and we believe rotation of the audit firm is appropriate, or if fees paid to the auditor for non-audit-related services are excessive. Generally, to determine if non-audit fees are excessive, a 50% test will be applied (i.e., non-audit-related fees should be less than 50% of the total fees paid to the auditor). We generally vote against proposals to indemnify auditors.

H. Executive and Director Remuneration.

 

1 We generally support the following:

 

Proposals for employee equity compensation plans and other employee ownership plans, provided that our research does not indicate that approval of the plan would be against shareholder interest. Such approval may be against shareholder interest if it authorizes excessive dilution and shareholder cost, particularly in the context of high usage (“run rate”) of equity compensation in the recent past; or if there are objectionable plan design and provisions.

 

Proposals relating to fees to outside directors, provided the amounts are not excessive relative to other companies in the country or industry, and provided that the structure is appropriate within the market context. While stock-based compensation to outside directors is positive if moderate and appropriately structured, we are wary of significant stock option awards or other performance-based awards for outside directors, as well as provisions that could result in significant forfeiture of value on a director’s decision to resign from a board (such forfeiture can undercut director independence).

 

Proposals for employee stock purchase plans that permit discounts, but only for grants that are part of a broad-based employee plan, including all non-executive employees, and only if the discounts are limited to a reasonable market standard or less.

 

Proposals for the establishment of employee retirement and severance plans, provided that our research does not indicate that approval of the plan would be against shareholder interest.

 

2 We generally oppose retirement plans and bonuses for non-executive directors and independent statutory auditors.

 

3 In the U.S. context, we generally vote against shareholder proposals requiring shareholder approval of all severance agreements, but we generally support proposals that require shareholder approval for agreements in excess of three times the annual compensation (salary and bonus) or proposals that require companies to adopt a provision requiring an executive to receive accelerated vesting of equity awards if there is a change of control and the executive is terminated. We generally oppose shareholder proposals that would establish arbitrary caps on pay. We consider on a case-by-case basis shareholder proposals that seek to limit Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans (SERPs), but support such shareholder proposals where we consider SERPs excessive.

 

4 Shareholder proposals advocating stronger and/or particular pay-for-performance models will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, with consideration of the merits of the individual proposal within the context of the particular company and its labor
 

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markets, and the company’s current and past practices. While we generally support emphasis on long-term components of senior executive pay and strong linkage of pay to performance, we consider factors including whether a proposal may be overly prescriptive, and the impact of the proposal, if implemented as written, on recruitment and retention.

 

5 We generally support proposals advocating reasonable senior executive and director stock ownership guidelines and holding requirements for shares gained in executive equity compensation programs.

 

6 We generally support shareholder proposals for reasonable “claw-back” provisions that provide for company recovery of senior executive bonuses to the extent they were based on achieving financial benchmarks that were not actually met in light of subsequent restatements.

 

7 Management proposals effectively to re-price stock options are considered on a case-by-case basis. Considerations include the company’s reasons and justifications for a re-pricing, the company’s competitive position, whether senior executives and outside directors are excluded, potential cost to shareholders, whether the re-pricing or share exchange is on a value-for-value basis, and whether vesting requirements are extended.

 

8 Say-on-Pay: We consider proposals relating to an advisory vote on remuneration on a case-by-case basis. Considerations include a review of the relationship between executive remuneration and performance based on operating trends and total shareholder return over multiple performance periods. In addition, we review remuneration structures and potential poor pay practices, including relative magnitude of pay, discretionary bonus awards, tax gross ups, change-in-control features, internal pay equity and peer group construction. As long-term investors, we support remuneration policies that align with long-term shareholder returns.
 

I. Social and Environmental Issues. Shareholders in the United States and certain other markets submit proposals encouraging changes in company disclosure and practices related to particular social and environmental matters. MSIM believes that relevant social and environmental issues, including principal adverse sustainability impacts, can influence risk and return. Consequently, we  consider how to vote on proposals related to social and environmental issues on a case-by-case basis by determining the relevance of social and environmental issues identified in the proposal and their likely impacts on shareholder value. In reviewing proposals on social and environmental issues, we consider a company’s current disclosures and our understanding of the company’s management of material social and environmental issues in comparison to peers. We seek to balance concerns on reputational and other risks that lie behind a proposal against costs of implementation, while considering appropriate shareholder and management prerogatives. We may abstain from voting on proposals that do not have a readily determinable financial impact on shareholder value and we may oppose proposals that intrude excessively on management prerogatives and/or board discretion. We generally vote against proposals requesting reports or actions that we believe are duplicative, related to matters not material to the business, or that would impose unnecessary or excessive costs. We consider proposals on these sustainability risks, opportunities and impacts on a case-by-case basis but generally support proposals that seek to enhance useful disclosure. We focus on understanding the company’s business and commercial context and recognise that there is no one size fits all that can apply to all companies. In assessing and prioritising proposals, we carefully reflect on the materiality of the issues as well as the sector and geography in which the company operates. We also consider the explanation companies provide where they may depart from best practice to assess the adequacy and appropriateness of measures that are in place.

Environmental Issues

We generally support proposals that, if implemented, would enhance useful disclosure on climate, biodiversity, and other environmental risks such as disclosures aligned with SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board) and the TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures). We also generally support proposals that aim to meaningfully reduce or mitigate a company’s impact on the global climate. We generally will support reasonable proposals to reduce negative environmental impacts and ameliorate a company’s overall environmental footprint, including any threats to biodiversity in ecologically sensitive areas. We generally will also support proposals asking companies to report on their environmental practices, policies and impacts, including environmental damage and health risks resulting from operations, and the impact of environmental liabilities on shareholder value.

Social Issues

We generally support proposals that, if implemented, would enhance useful disclosure on employee and board diversity, including gender, race, and other factors. We consider proposals on other social issues on a case-by-case basis but generally support proposals that:

 

Seek to enhance useful disclosure or improvements on material issues such as human rights risks, supply chain management. workplace safety, human capital management and pay equity.

 

Encourage policies to eliminate gender-based violence and other forms of harassment from the workplace.
 

We may consider withholding support where we have material concerns in relation to a company’s involvement/remediation of a breach of global conventions such as UN Global Compact Principles on Human Rights, Labour Standards, Environment and Business Malpractice

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J. Funds of Funds. Certain MS Funds advised by an MSIM Affiliate invest only in other MS Funds. If an underlying fund has a shareholder meeting, in order to avoid any potential conflict of interest, such proposals will be voted in the same proportion as the votes of the other shareholders of the underlying fund, unless otherwise determined by the Proxy Review Committee. In markets where proportional voting is not available we will not vote at the meeting, unless otherwise determined by the Proxy Review Committee. Other MS Funds invest in unaffiliated funds. If an unaffiliated underlying fund has a shareholder meeting and the MS Fund owns more than 25% of the voting shares of the underlying fund, the MS Fund will vote its shares in the unaffiliated underlying fund in the same proportion as the votes of the other shareholders of the underlying fund to the extent possible.

Voting Conditions Triggered Under Rule 12d1-4

Rule 12d1-4 sets forth the conditions under which a registered fund (“acquiring fund”) may invest in excess of the statutory limits of Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act (for example by owning more than 3% of the total outstanding voting stock) in another registered fund (“acquired fund”). In the event that a Morgan Stanley “acquiring fund” invests in an “acquired fund” in reliance on Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act, and the MS Fund and its “advisory group” (as defined in Rule 12d1-4) hold more than (i) 25% of the total outstanding voting stock of a particular open-end fund (including ETFs) or (ii) 10% of the total outstanding voting stock of a particular closed-end fund, the Morgan Stanley “acquiring fund” and its “advisory group” will be required to vote all shares of the open- or closed-end fund held by the fund and its “advisory group” in the same proportion as the votes of the other shareholders of the open- or closed-end fund.

Because MSIM and Eaton Vance are generally considered part of the same “advisory group,” an Eaton Vance “acquiring fund” that is required to comply with the voting conditions set forth in Rule 12d1-4 could potentially implicate voting conditions for a MS Fund invested in the same open- or closed-end fund as the Eaton Vance “acquiring fund.” The Committee will be notified by Compliance if the conditions are triggered for a particular open- or closed-end fund holding in an MS Fund. In the event that the voting conditions in Rule 12d1-4 are triggered, please refer to the Morgan Stanley Funds Fund of Funds Investment Policy for specific information on Rule 12d1-4 voting requirements and exceptions.

III. ADMINISTRATION OF THE POLICY

The MSIM Proxy Review Committee (the “Committee”) has overall responsibility for the Policy. The Committee consists of investment professionals who represent the different investment disciplines and geographic locations of MSIM, and is chaired by the director of the Global Stewardship Team (“GST”). Because proxy voting is an investment responsibility and may affect shareholder value, and because of their knowledge of companies and markets as well as their understanding of their clients’ objectives, portfolio managers and other members of investment staff play a key role in proxy voting, and the GST will consult with investment teams ahead of decisions on proxy votes. Consequently, there may be instances where we may split votes at times based on differing views of portfolio managers and / or different client objectives. The GST administers and implements the Policy, as well as monitoring services provided by the proxy advisory firms, third-party proxy engagements and other research providers used in the proxy voting process. As noted above, certain ETFs will follow Calvert’s Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures, which is administered by Calvert’s Proxy Voting and Engagement Department and overseen by Calvert’s Proxy Voting and Engagement Committee. The GST periodically monitors Calvert’s proxy voting with respect to securities held by the ETFs.

The GST Director is responsible for identifying issues that require Committee deliberation or ratification. The GST, working with advice of investment teams and the Committee, is responsible for voting on routine items and on matters that can be addressed in line with these Policy guidelines. The GST has responsibility for voting case-by-case where guidelines and precedent provide adequate guidance.

The Committee may periodically review and has the authority to amend, as necessary, the Policy and establish and direct voting positions consistent with the Client Proxy Standard.

GST and members of the Committee may take into account Research Providers’ recommendations and research as well as any other relevant information they may request or receive, including portfolio manager and/or analyst comments and research, as applicable. Generally, proxies related to securities held in client accounts that are managed pursuant to quantitative, index or index-like strategies (“Index Strategies”) will be voted in the same manner as those held in actively managed accounts, unless economic interests or investment guidelines of the accounts differ. Because accounts managed using Index Strategies are passively managed accounts, research from portfolio managers and/or analysts related to securities held in these accounts may not be available. If the affected securities are held only in accounts that are managed pursuant to Index Strategies, and the proxy relates to a matter that is not described in this Policy, the GST will consider all available information from the Research Providers, and to the extent that the holdings are significant, from the portfolio managers and/or analysts.

A. Committee Procedures

The Committee meets at least quarterly, and reviews and considers changes to the Policy at least annually. Through meetings and/or written communications, the Committee is responsible for monitoring and ratifying material “split votes” (i.e., allowing certain shares of the same issuer that are the subject of the same proxy solicitation and held by one or more MSIM portfolios to be voted

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differently than other shares) and/or “override voting” (i.e., voting all MSIM portfolio shares in a manner contrary to the Policy). The Committee will review developing issues and approve upcoming votes, as appropriate, for matters as requested by GST.

The Committee reserves the right to review voting decisions at any time and to make voting decisions as necessary to ensure the independence and integrity of the votes.

B. Material Conflicts of Interest

In addition to the procedures discussed above, if the GST Director determines that an issue raises a material conflict of interest, the GST Director may request a special committee (“Special Committee”) to review, and recommend a course of action with respect to, the conflict(s) in question.

A potential material conflict of interest could exist in the following situations, among others:

 

1 The issuer soliciting the vote is a client of MSIM or an affiliate of MSIM and the vote is on a matter that materially affects the issuer.

 

2 The proxy relates to Morgan Stanley common stock or any other security issued by Morgan Stanley or its affiliates except if echo voting is used, as with MS Funds, as described herein.

 

3 Morgan Stanley has a material pecuniary interest in the matter submitted for a vote (e.g., acting as a financial advisor to a party to a merger or acquisition for which Morgan Stanley will be paid a success fee if completed).  

 

4 One of Morgan Stanley’s independent directors or one of MS Funds’ directors also serves on the board of directors or is a nominee for election to the board of directors of a company held by an MS Fund or affiliate.
 

If the GST Director determines that an issue raises a potential material conflict of interest, depending on the facts and circumstances, the issue will be addressed as follows:

 

1 If the matter relates to a topic that is discussed in this Policy, the proposal will be voted as per the Policy.

 

2 If the matter is not discussed in this Policy or the Policy indicates that the issue is to be decided case-by-case, the proposal will be voted in a manner consistent with the Research Providers, provided that all the Research Providers consulted have the same recommendation, no portfolio manager objects to that vote, and the vote is consistent with MSIM’s Client Proxy Standard.

 

3 If the Research Providers’ recommendations differ, the GST Director will refer the matter to a Special Committee to vote on the proposal, as appropriate.
 

Any Special Committee shall be comprised of the GST Director, and at least two portfolio managers (preferably members of the Committee), as approved by the Committee. The GST Director may request non-voting participation by MSIM’s General Counsel or his/her designee and the Chief Compliance Officer or his/her designee. In addition to the research provided by Research Providers, the Special Committee may request analysis from MSIM Affiliate investment professionals and outside sources to the extent it deems appropriate.

C. Proxy Voting Reporting

The CGT will document in writing all Committee and Special Committee decisions and actions, which documentation will be maintained by the GST for a period of at least six years. To the extent these decisions relate to a security held by an MS Fund, the GST will report the decisions to each applicable Board of Trustees/Directors of those MS Funds (the “Board”) at each Board’s next regularly scheduled Board meeting. The report will contain information concerning decisions made during the most recently ended calendar quarter immediately preceding the Board meeting.

In addition, to the extent that Committee and Special Committee decisions and actions relate to a security held by other pooled investment vehicles, the GST will report the decisions to the relevant governing board of the pooled investment vehicle.

MSIM will promptly provide a copy of this Policy to any client requesting it. MSIM will also, upon client request, promptly provide a report indicating how each proxy was voted with respect to securities held in that client’s account.

MSIM’s Legal Department, in conjunction with GST and GST IT for MS Fund reporting and with the AIP investment team for AIP Closed-End 40 Act Fund reporting, is responsible for filing an annual Form N-PX on behalf of each MS Fund and AIP Closed-End 40 Act Fund for which such filing is required, indicating how all proxies were voted with respect to each such fund’s holdings.

Also, MSIM maintains voting records of individual agenda items a company meetings in a searchable database on its website on a rolling 12-month basis.

In addition, ISS provides vote execution, reporting and recordkeeping services to MSIM.

IV. RECORDKEEPING

Records are retained in accordance with Morgan Stanley’s Global Information Management Policy, which establishes general Firm-wide standards and procedures regarding the retention, handling, and destruction of official books and records and other information

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of legal or operational significance. The Global Information Management Policy incorporates Morgan Stanley’s Master Retention Schedule, which lists various record classes and associated retention periods on a global basis.

Approved by the Board September 2015, September 27-28, 2016, September 27-28, 2017, October 3-4, 2018, September 24-25, 2019, September 30-October 1, 2020, March 1-2, 2022; December 7-8, 2022.

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APPENDIX A

Appendix A applies to the following accounts managed by Morgan Stanley AIP GP LP (i) closed-end funds registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended; (ii) discretionary separate accounts; (iii) unregistered funds; and (iv) non-discretionary accounts offered in connection with AIP’s Custom Advisory Portfolio Solutions service.

Generally, AIP will follow the guidelines set forth in Section II of MSIM’s Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures. To the extent that such guidelines do not provide specific direction, or AIP determines that consistent with the Client Proxy Standard, the guidelines should not be followed, the Proxy Review Committee has delegated the voting authority to vote securities held by accounts managed by AIP to the Fund of Hedge Funds investment team, the Private Markets investment team or the Portfolio Solutions team of AIP. A summary of decisions made by the applicable investment teams will be made available to the Proxy Review Committee for its information at the next scheduled meeting of the Proxy Review Committee.

In certain cases, AIP may determine to abstain from determining (or recommending) how a proxy should be voted (and therefore abstain from voting such proxy or recommending how such proxy should be voted), such as where the expected cost of giving due consideration to the proxy does not justify the potential benefits to the affected account(s) that might result from adopting or rejecting (as the case may be) the measure in question.

Waiver of Voting Rights

For regulatory reasons, AIP may either 1) invest in a class of securities of an underlying fund (the “Fund”) that does not provide for voting rights; or 2) waive 100% of its voting rights with respect to the following:

 

1 Any rights with respect to the removal or replacement of a director, general partner, managing member or other person acting in a similar capacity for or on behalf of the Fund (each individually a “Designated Person,” and collectively, the “Designated Persons”), which may include, but are not limited to, voting on the election or removal of a Designated Person in the event of such Designated Person’s death, disability, insolvency, bankruptcy, incapacity, or other event requiring a vote of interest holders of the Fund to remove or replace a Designated Person; and

 

2 Any rights in connection with a determination to renew, dissolve, liquidate, or otherwise terminate or continue the Fund, which may include, but are not limited to, voting on the renewal, dissolution, liquidation, termination or continuance of the Fund upon the occurrence of an event described in the Fund’s organizational documents; provided, however, that, if the Fund’s organizational documents require the consent of the Fund’s general partner or manager, as the case may be, for any such termination or continuation of the Fund to be effective, then AIP may exercise its voting rights with respect to such matter.
 

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APPENDIX B — DESCRIPTION OF RATINGS

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services

An S&P Global Ratings issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation, a specific class of financial obligations, or a specific financial program (including ratings on medium-term note programs and commercial paper programs). It takes into consideration the creditworthiness of guarantors, insurers, or other forms of credit enhancement on the obligation and takes into account the currency in which the obligation is denominated. The opinion reflects S&P Global Ratings’ view of the obligor’s capacity and willingness to meet its financial commitments as they come due, and this opinion may assess terms, such as collateral security and subordination, which could affect ultimate payment in the event of default.
Issue credit ratings can be either long-term or short-term. Short-term ratings are generally assigned to those obligations considered short-term in the relevant market. Short-term ratings are also used to indicate the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to put features on long-term obligations. Medium-term notes are assigned long-term ratings.
I. S&P’s Long-Term Issue Credit Ratings
AAA: An obligation rated ‘AAA’ has the highest rating assigned by S&P Global Ratings. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is extremely strong.
AA: An obligation rated ‘AA’ differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is very strong.
A: An obligation rated ‘A’ is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories. However, the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is still strong.
BBB: An obligation rated ‘BBB’ exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to weaken the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.
BB; B; CCC; CC; and C: Obligations rated ‘BB’, ‘B’, ‘CCC’, ‘CC’, and ‘C’ are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. ‘BB’ indicates the least degree of speculation and ‘C’ the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposure to adverse conditions.
BB: An obligation rated ‘BB’ is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions that could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.
B: An obligation rated ‘B’ is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated ‘BB’, but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligor’s capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.
CCC: An obligation rated ‘CCC’ is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitments on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.
CC: An obligation rated ‘CC’ is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The ‘CC’ rating is used when a default has not yet occurred but S&P Global Ratings expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to default.
C: An obligation rated ‘C’ is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, and the obligation is expected to have lower relative seniority or lower ultimate recovery compared with obligations that are rated higher.
D: An obligation rated ‘D’ is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the ‘D’ rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless S&P Global Ratings believes that such payments will be made within five business days in the absence of a stated grace period or within the earlier of the stated grace period or 30 calendar days. The ‘D’ rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. A rating on an obligation is lowered to ‘D’ if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
NR: Indicates that a rating has not been assigned or is no longer assigned.
Note: Ratings from ‘AA’ to ‘CCC’ may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (-) sign to show relative standing within the rating categories.
II. S&P’s Short-Term Issue Credit Ratings
A-1: A short-term obligation rated ‘A-1’ is rated in the highest category by S&P Global Ratings. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on these obligations is extremely strong.
A-2: A short-term obligation rated ‘A-2’ is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is satisfactory.
A-3: A short-term obligation rated ‘A-3’ exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to weaken an obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.
B: A short-term obligation rated ‘B’ is regarded as vulnerable and has significant speculative characteristics. The obligor currently has

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the capacity to meet its financial commitments; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties that could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments.
C: A short-term obligation rated ‘C’ is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.
D: A short-term obligation rated ‘D’ is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the ‘D’ rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless S&P Global Ratings believes that such payments will be made within any stated grace period. However, any stated grace period longer than five business days will be treated as five business days. The ‘D’ rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. A rating on an obligation is lowered to ‘D’ if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.
NR: Indicates that a rating has not been assigned or is no longer assigned.
III. Municipal Short-Term Note Ratings
SP-1: Strong capacity to pay principal and interest. An issue determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service is given a plus (+) designation.
SP-2: Satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes.
SP-3: Speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.
D: ‘D’ is assigned upon failure to pay the note when due, completion of a distressed exchange offer, or the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action anywhere default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example, due to automatic stay provisions.

Moody’s Investors, Inc.

Ratings assigned on Moody’s global long-term and short-term rating scales are forward-looking opinions of the relative credit risks of financial obligations issued by non-financial corporates, financial institutions, structured finance vehicles, project finance vehicles, and public sector entities. Long-term ratings are assigned to issuers or obligations with an original maturity of one year or more and reflect both on the likelihood of a default on contractually promised payments and the expected financial loss suffered in the event of default. Short-term ratings are assigned to obligations with an original maturity of thirteen months or less and reflect both on the likelihood of a default on contractually promised payments and the expected financial loss suffered in the event of default.
I. Moody’s Global Long-Term Rating Scale
Aaa: Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk.
A: Obligations rated A are judged to be upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.
Baa: Obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.
Ba: Obligations rated Ba are judged to be speculative and are subject to substantial credit risk.
B: Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk.
Caa: Obligations rated Caa are judged to be speculative of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk.
Ca: Obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.
C: Obligations rated C are the lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest.
Note: Moody’s appends numerical modifiers 1, 2, and 3 to each generic rating classification from Aa through Caa. The modifier 1 indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier 3 indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category. Additionally, a “(hyb)” indicator is appended to all ratings of hybrid securities issued by banks, insurers, finance companies, and securities firms.
II. Moody’s Global Short-Term Rating Scale
P-1: Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-1 have a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-2: Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-2 have a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations.
P-3: Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-3 have an acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations.
NP: Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.

Fitch Ratings Inc.

Fitch Ratings’ credit ratings relating to issuers are an opinion on the relative ability of an entity to meet financial commitments, such as interest, preferred dividends, repayment of principal, insurance claims or counterparty obligations. Credit ratings relating to securities and obligations of an issuer can include a recovery expectation. Credit ratings are used by investors as indications of the likelihood of receiving the money owed to them in accordance with the terms on which they invested. The agency’s credit ratings cover the global spectrum of corporate, sovereign financial, bank, insurance, and public finance entities (including supranational and sub-national entities) and the securities or other obligations they issue, as well as structured finance securities backed by receivables or other financial assets.
I. Fitch’s Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating Scale

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AAA: Highest credit quality. ‘AAA’ ratings denote the lowest expectation of default risk. They are assigned only in cases of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.
AA: Very high credit quality. ‘AA’ ratings denote expectations of very low default risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.
A: High credit quality. ‘A’ ratings denote expectations of low default risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.
BBB: Good credit quality. ‘BBB’ ratings indicate that expectations of default risk are currently low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate, but adverse business or economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity.
BB: Speculative. ‘BB’ ratings indicate an elevated vulnerability to default risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time; however, business or financial flexibility exists that supports the servicing of financial commitments.
B: Highly speculative. ‘B’ ratings indicate that material default risk is present, but a limited margin of safety remains. Financial commitments are currently being met; however, capacity for continued payment is vulnerable to deterioration in the business and economic environment.
CCC: Substantial credit risk. Default is a real possibility.
CC: Very high levels of credit risk. Default of some kind appears probable.
C: Near default. A default or default-like process has begun, or the issuer is in standstill, or for a closed funding vehicle, payment capacity is irrevocably impaired. Conditions that are indicative of a ‘C’ category rating for an issuer include: a. the issuer has entered into a grace or cure period following non-payment of a material financial obligation; b. the issuer has entered into a temporary negotiated waiver or standstill agreement following a payment default on a material financial obligation; c. the formal announcement by the issuer or their agent of a distressed debt exchange; d. a closed financing vehicle where payment capacity is irrevocably impaired such that it is not expected to pay interest and/or principal in full during the life of the transaction, but where no payment default is imminent.
RD: Restricted default. ‘RD’ ratings indicate an issuer that in Fitch’s opinion has experienced: a. an uncured payment default or distressed debt exchange on a bond, loan or other material financial obligation, but b. has not entered into bankruptcy filings, administration, receivership, liquidation, or other formal winding-up procedure, and c. has not otherwise ceased operating. This would include: i. the selective payment default on a specific class or currency of debt; ii. the uncured expiry of any applicable grace period, cure period or default forbearance period following a payment default on a bank loan, capital markets security or other material financial obligation; iii. the extension of multiple waivers or forbearance periods upon a payment default on one or more material financial obligations, either in series or in parallel; ordinary execution of a distressed debt exchange on one or more material financial obligations.
D: Default. ‘D’ ratings indicate an issuer that in Fitch’s opinion has entered into bankruptcy filings, administration, receivership, liquidation or other formal winding-up procedure or that has otherwise ceased business.
Default ratings are not assigned prospectively to entities or their obligations; within this context, nonpayment on an instrument that contains a deferral feature or grace period will generally not be considered a default until after the expiration of the deferral or grace period, unless a default is otherwise driven by bankruptcy or other similar circumstance, or by a distressed debt exchange.
Imminent default, categorized under ‘C’, typically refers to the occasion where a payment default has been intimated by the issuer and is all but inevitable. This may, for example, be where an issuer has missed a scheduled payment but (as is typical) has a grace period during which it may cure the payment default. Another alternative would be where an issuer has formally announced a distressed debt exchange, but the date of the exchange still lies several days or weeks in the immediate future.
In all cases, the assignment of a default rating reflects the agency’s opinion as to the most appropriate rating category consistent with the rest of its universe of ratings and may differ from the definition of default under the terms of an issuer’s financial obligations or local commercial practice.
Note: The modifiers “+” or “-” may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories. Such suffixes are not added to ‘AAA’ ratings and ratings below the ‘CCC’ category.
II. Fitch’s Short-Term Ratings Assigned to Issuers or Obligations in Corporate, Public and Structure Finance
F1: Highest Short-Term Credit Quality. Indicates the strongest intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments; may have an added “+” to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature.
F2: Good Short-Term Credit Quality. Good intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.
F3: Fair Short-Term Credit Quality. The intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate.
B: Speculative Short-Term Credit Quality. Minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus heightened vulnerability to near term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions.
C: High Short-Term Default Risk. Default is a real possibility.
RD: Restricted Default. Indicates an entity that has defaulted on one or more of its financial commitments, although it continues to meet other financial obligations. Typically applicable to entity ratings only.
D: Default. Indicates a broad-based default event for an entity, or the default of a short-term obligation. Note: The modifiers “+” or

B-3 


 

“-” may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories. For the short-term rating category of ‘F1’, a ‘+’ may be appended.

KROLL BOND RATING AGENCY (“KBRA”)

KBRA’S RATING SCALES AND SERVICES

KBRA assigns credit ratings to issuers and their obligations using the same rating scale. In either case, KBRA’s ratings are intended to reflect both the probability of default and severity of loss in the event of default, with greater emphasis on probability of default at higher rating categories. For obligations, the determination of expected loss severity is, among other things, a function of the seniority of the claim. Generally speaking, issuer-level ratings assume a loss severity consistent with a senior unsecured claim. KBRA appends an (sf) indicator to ratings assigned to structured obligations. These definitions should be used in conjunction with KBRA’s rating methodologies.

LONG-TERM CREDIT

AAA Determined to have almost no risk of loss due to credit-related events. Assigned only to the very highest quality obligors and obligations able to survive extremely challenging economic events.

AA Determined to have minimal risk of loss due to credit-related events. Such obligors and obligations are deemed very high quality.

A Determined to be of high quality with a small risk of loss due to credit-related events. Issuers and obligations in this category are expected to weather difficult times with low credit losses.

BBB Determined to be of medium quality with some risk of loss due to credit-related events. Such issuers and obligations may experience credit losses during stress environments.

BB Determined to be of low quality with moderate risk of loss due to credit-related events. Such issuers and obligations have fundamental weaknesses that create moderate credit risk.

B Determined to be of very low quality with high risk of loss due to credit-related events. These issuers and obligations contain many fundamental shortcomings that create significant credit risk.

CCC Determined to be at substantial risk of loss due to credit-related events, near default or in default with high recovery expectations.

CC Determined to be near default or in default with average recovery expectations.

C Determined to be near default or in default with low recovery expectations.

D KBRA defines default as occurring if:

 

1 There is a missed interest payment, principal payment, or preferred dividend payment, as applicable, on a rated obligation which is unlikely to be recovered.

 

2 The rated entity files for protection from creditors, is placed into receivership, or is closed by regulators such that a missed payment is likely to result.

 

3 The rated entity seeks and completes a distressed exchange, where existing rated obligations are replaced by new obligations with a diminished economic value.
 

KBRA may append - or + modifiers to ratings in categories AA through CCC to indicate, respectively, upper and lower risk levels within the broader category.

SHORT-TERM CREDIT

KBRA’s short-term ratings indicate an ability to meet obligations that typically have maturities of 13 months or less when issued by corporate entities, financial institutions, and in connection with structured finance transactions. When applied to municipal obligations, KBRA’s short-term ratings typically indicate an ability to meet obligations of three years or less. Short-term ratings may be assigned to both issuers and to specific obligations. As compared to long-term ratings, greater emphasis is placed on an obligor’s liquidity profile and access to funding. KBRA appends an (sf) indicator to ratings assigned to structured finance obligations.

K1+ Exceptional ability to meet short-term obligations.

K1 Very strong ability to meet short-term obligations.

K2 Strong ability to meet short-term obligations.

K3 Adequate ability to meet short-term obligations.

B Questionable ability to meet short-term obligations.

B-4 


 

C Little ability to meet short-term obligations.

D KBRA defines default as occurring if:

 

1 There is a missed interest payment, principal payment, or preferred dividend payment, as applicable, on a rated obligation which is unlikely to be recovered.

 

2 The rated entity files for protection from creditors, is placed into receivership, or is closed by regulators such that a missed payment is likely to result.

 

3 The rated entity seeks and completes a distressed exchange, where existing rated obligations are replaced by new obligations with a diminished economic value.
 

NR Not Rated - KBRA has not assigned a rating to the obligation, program, or issuer.

WR Withdrawn Rating - KBRA has withdrawn the rating of a previously rated obligation, program, or issuer. This rating action may be linked to the full repayment of a security, maturity of an obligation, or some other event.

B-5 


 

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MORGAN STANLEY ETF TRUST

 

PART C

 

OTHER INFORMATION

 

ITEM 28.       Exhibits

 

(a) (1) Certificate of Trust, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (a)(1) to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on August 16, 2022.
     
  (2) Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust, dated September 28, 2022, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (a)(2) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on November 17, 2022.
     
  (3) Amended and Restated Schedule A, dated June 15, 2023, to the Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust, dated September 28, 2022, to be filed by further amendment.
     
(b)   Bylaws, dated September 28, 2022, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (b) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on November 17, 2022.
     
(c)   Not Applicable.
     
(d) (1) Amended and Restated Management Agreement with Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc., to be filed by further amendment.
     
  (2) Form of Sub-Advisory Agreement between Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc. and Morgan Stanley Investment Management Limited (relating to the Eaton Vance High Yield ETF), to be filed by further amendment.
     
  (3) Form of Sub-Advisory Agreement between Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc. and Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC (relating to the Parametric Dividend Premium Income ETF and Parametric Hedged Equity ETF), to be filed by further amendment.
     
(e) (1) Form of Distribution Agreement with Foreside Fund Services, LLC, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (e)(1) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 5 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on January 20, 2023.
     
(f)   Not Applicable.
     
(g) (1) Form of Global Custody Agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (g) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 5 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on January 20, 2023
     
  (2) Amendment to Global Custody Agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., to be filed by further amendment.
     
(h) (1) Form of Agency Services Agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (h)(1) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 5 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on January 20, 2023.
     
  (2) Amendment to Agency Services Agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., to be filed by further amendment.
     
  (3) Form of Sublicense Agreement with Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc., is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (h)(2) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on November 17, 2022.
     
  (4) Form of Authorized Participant Agreement, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (h)(3) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 5 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on January 20, 2023.
     
  (5) Form of Fund Services Agreement, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (h)(4) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 5 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on January 20, 2023.
     
  (6) Joinder to Fund Services Agreement, to be filed by further amendment.
 

 

(i)   Opinion of Dechert LLP, to be filed by further amendment.
     
(j)   Not Applicable.
     
(k)   Not Applicable.
     
(l)   Form of Subscription Letter related to Initial Capital provided by Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc., is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (l) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 5 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on January 20, 2023.
     
(m)   Form of Distribution and Services Plan Under Rule 12b-1, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (m) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on December 23, 2022.
     
(n)   Not Applicable.
     
(o)   Reserved.
     
(p) (1) Code of Ethics for Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc., dated January 1, 2023, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (p)(1) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 5 to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on January 20, 2023.
     
  (2) Code of Ethics for Morgan Stanley Funds, to be filed by further amendment.
     
  (3) Code of Ethics for Parametric Portfolio Associates, to be filed by further amendment.
     
(q)   Power of Attorney of Trustees, dated September 28, 2022, is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (q) to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on November 17, 2022.

 

ITEM 29.Persons Controlled by or Under Common Control with the Fund

 

None.

 

ITEM 30.Indemnification

 

Article VII, Section 7.5 of the Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust of the Registrant, a Delaware statutory trust, provides for indemnification of the Trustees, officers and employees of the Registrant by the Registrant, subject to certain limitations. The Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust of the Registrant is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (a)(2).

 

Section 6 of the Distribution Agreement between the Registrant and Foreside Fund Services, LLC (the “Distributor”) provides that the Registrant will indemnify the Distributor, its affiliates and each of their respective directors, officers, employees and agents and any person who controls the Distributor against certain liabilities, subject to certain conditions. A copy of the form of Distribution Agreement is incorporated by reference as Exhibit (e)(1).Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Act”) may be permitted to trustees, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a trustee, officer, or controlling person of the Registrant in connection with the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted against the Registrant by such trustee, officer or controlling person in connection with the shares being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act, and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

 

ITEM 31.Business and Other Connections of Investment Adviser

 

See “Fund Management” in the Prospectus regarding the business of the investment adviser. The following information is given regarding directors and officers of Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc. Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Morgan Stanley.

 

Set forth below is the name and principal business address of each company for which directors or officers of Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc. serve as directors, officers or employees. In addition to their position with Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc., certain directors and officers of Morgan Stanley Investment Inc. also hold various positions with, and engage in business for, Morgan Stanley or its other subsidiaries.

 

 

 

Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc.

Morgan Stanley Distribution, Inc.

Morgan Stanley Services Company Inc.

522 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10036

 

Listed below as of December 31, 2022 are the officers and Directors of Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc.:

 

NAME AND POSITION WITH   OTHER SUBSTANTIAL BUSINESS,
MORGAN STANLEY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC.   PROFESSION OR VOCATION
     
Dan Simkowitz
Managing Director and President
  Managing Director of Morgan Stanley.
     
Stefanie V. Chang Yu
Managing Director, Secretary and General Counsel
  Managing Director and Secretary of other entities affiliated with the Adviser.
     
Deidre Downes
Executive Director and Chief Compliance Officer(1)
   
     

Jeannine Ali

Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer

   
     

John Hagarty

Managing Director and Director

   
     

Ken Topping

Managing Director and Director

   
     
Anita Rios
Executive Director and Treasurer
   
     
Anton Kuzmanov
Managing Director and Director
   
     

Tatiana Segal

Managing Director and Director

   
     
Jared P. Wong
Executive Director and Chief Anti-Money Laundering Officer
  Executive Director and Anti-Money Laundering Officer of Morgan Stanley Distribution, Inc. and Morgan Stanley Services Company, Inc.

 

(1)       Ms. Deidre Downes became Chief Compliance Officer effective March 23, 2023.

 

For information as to the business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature of additional officers of the Adviser, reference is made to the Adviser’s current Form ADV (File No. 801-15757) filed under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, incorporated herein by reference.

 

ITEM 32.Principal Underwriters

 

Item 32(a)Foreside Fund Services, LLC (the “Distributor”) serves as principal underwriter for the following investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended:

 

1.AB Active ETFs, Inc.
2.ABS Long/Short Strategies Fund
3.Absolute Shares Trust
4.ActivePassive Core Bond ETF, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
5.ActivePassive Intermediate Municipal Bond ETF, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
6.ActivePassive International Equity ETF, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
 

 

7.ActivePassive U.S. Equity ETF, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
8.Adaptive Core ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust
9.AdvisorShares Trust
10.AFA Multi-Manager Credit Fund
11.AGF Investments Trust
12.AIM ETF Products Trust
13.Alexis Practical Tactical ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
14.AlphaCentric Prime Meridian Income Fund
15.American Century ETF Trust
16.Amplify ETF Trust
17.Applied Finance Core Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
18.Applied Finance Explorer Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
19.Applied Finance Select Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
20.ARK ETF Trust
21.ARK Venture Fund
22.ASYMmetric ETFs Trust
23.B.A.D. ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
24.Bitwise Funds Trust
25.Bluestone Community Development Fund
26.BondBloxx ETF Trust
27.Bramshill Multi-Strategy Income Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust
28.Bridgeway Funds, Inc.
29.Brinker Capital Destinations Trust
30.Brookfield Real Assets Income Fund Inc.
31.Build Funds Trust
32.Calamos Convertible and High Income Fund
33.Calamos Convertible Opportunities and Income Fund
34.Calamos Dynamic Convertible and Income Fund
35.Calamos ETF Trust
36.Calamos Global Dynamic Income Fund
37.Calamos Global Total Return Fund
38.Calamos Strategic Total Return Fund
39.Carlyle Tactical Private Credit Fund
40.Cboe Vest Bitcoin Strategy Managed Volatility Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
41.Cboe Vest S&P 500® Dividend Aristocrats Target Income Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
42.Cboe Vest US Large Cap 10% Buffer Strategies Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
43.Cboe Vest US Large Cap 10% Buffer VI Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
44.Cboe Vest US Large Cap 20% Buffer Strategies Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
45.Cboe Vest US Large Cap 20% Buffer VI Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
46.Center Coast Brookfield MLP & Energy Infrastructure Fund
47.Clifford Capital Focused Small Cap Value Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
48.Clifford Capital International Value Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
49.Clifford Capital Partners Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
50.Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund
51.Cliffwater Enhanced Lending Fund
52.Cohen & Steers Infrastructure Fund, Inc.
53.Convergence Long/Short Equity ETF, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
54.CornerCap Small-Cap Value Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
55.CrossingBridge Pre-Merger SPAC ETF, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
56.Curasset Capital Management Core Bond Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
57.Curasset Capital Management Limited Term Income Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
58.Davis Fundamental ETF Trust
59.Defiance Daily Short Digitizing the Economy ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
60.Defiance Hotel, Airline, and Cruise ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
61.Defiance Next Gen Connectivity ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
62.Defiance Next Gen H2 ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
 

 

63.Defiance Pure Electric Vehicle ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
64.Defiance Quantum ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
65.Direxion Shares ETF Trust
66.Dividend Performers ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
67.Dodge & Cox Funds
68.DoubleLine ETF Trust
69.DoubleLine Opportunistic Credit Fund
70.DoubleLine Yield Opportunities Fund
71.DriveWealth ETF Trust
72.EIP Investment Trust
73.Ellington Income Opportunities Fund
74.ETF Opportunities Trust
75.Evanston Alternative Opportunities Fund
76.Exchange Listed Funds Trust
77.Fiera Capital Series Trust
78.FlexShares Trust
79.Forum Funds
80.Forum Funds II
81.Forum Real Estate Income Fund
82.Goose Hollow Tactical Allocation ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust
83.Grayscale Future of Finance ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
84.Grizzle Growth ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
85.Guinness Atkinson Funds
86.Harbor ETF Trust
87.Horizon Kinetics Blockchain Development ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
88.Horizon Kinetics Energy and Remediation ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
89.Horizon Kinetics Inflation Beneficiaries ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
90.Horizon Kinetics Medical ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
91.Horizon Kinetics SPAC Active ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
92.IDX Funds
93.Innovator ETFs Trust
94.Ironwood Institutional Multi-Strategy Fund LLC
95.Ironwood Multi-Strategy Fund LLC
96.John Hancock Exchange-Traded Fund Trust
97.LDR Real Estate Value-Opportunity Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
98.Mairs & Power Balanced Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
99.Mairs & Power Growth Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
100.Mairs & Power Minnesota Municipal Bond ETF, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
101.Mairs & Power Small Cap Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
102.Manor Investment Funds
103.Merk Stagflation ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
104.Milliman Variable Insurance Trust
105.Mindful Conservative ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust
106.Moerus Worldwide Value Fund, Series of Northern Lights Fund Trust IV
107.Mohr Growth ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust
108.Mohr Sector Navigator ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust
109.Morgan Stanley ETF Trust
110.Morningstar Funds Trust
111.OTG Latin American Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
112.Overlay Shares Core Bond ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
113.Overlay Shares Foreign Equity ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
114.Overlay Shares Hedged Large Cap Equity ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
115.Overlay Shares Large Cap Equity ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
116.Overlay Shares Municipal Bond ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
117.Overlay Shares Short Term Bond ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
118.Overlay Shares Small Cap Equity ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
 

 

119.Palmer Square Opportunistic Income Fund
120.Partners Group Private Income Opportunities, LLC
121.Performance Trust Mutual Funds, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
122.Perkins Discovery Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
123.Philotimo Focused Growth and Income Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
124.Plan Investment Fund, Inc.
125.PMC Core Fixed Income Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
126.PMC Diversified Equity Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
127.Point Bridge America First ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
128.Preferred-Plus ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
129.Putnam ETF Trust
130.Quaker Investment Trust
131.Rareview Dynamic Fixed Income ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust
132.Rareview Inflation/Deflation ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust
133.Rareview Systematic Equity ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust
134.Rareview Tax Advantaged Income ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust
135.Renaissance Capital Greenwich Funds
136.Revere Sector Opportunity ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust
137.Reynolds Funds, Inc.
138.RiverNorth Enhanced Pre-Merger SPAC ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
139.RiverNorth Patriot ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
140.RMB Investors Trust
141.Robinson Opportunistic Income Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust
142.Robinson Tax Advantaged Income Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust
143.Roundhill Ball Metaverse ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
144.Roundhill BIG Bank ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
145.Roundhill BIG Tech ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
146.Roundhill Cannabis ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
147.Roundhill IO Digital Infrastructure ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
148.Roundhill MEME ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
149.Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
150.Roundhill Video Games ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
151.Rule One Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
152.Securian AM Real Asset Income Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust
153.SHP ETF Trust
154.Six Circles Trust
155.Sound Shore Fund, Inc.
156.Sparrow Funds
157.Spear Alpha ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
158.STF Tactical Growth & Income ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
159.STF Tactical Growth ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
160.Strategic Trust
161.Strategy Shares
162.Swan Hedged Equity US Large Cap ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
163.Syntax ETF Trust
164.Tekla World Healthcare Fund
165.Tema ETF Trust
166.Teucrium Agricultural Strategy No K-1 ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
167.Teucrium AiLA Long-Short Agriculture Strategy ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
168.Teucrium AiLA Long-Short Base Metals Strategy ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
169.The Community Development Fund
170.The Finite Solar Finance Fund
171.The Private Shares Fund
172.The SPAC and New Issue ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust
173.Third Avenue Trust
174.Third Avenue Variable Series Trust
 

 

175.Tidal ETF Trust
176.Tidal Trust II
177.TIFF Investment Program
178.Timothy Plan High Dividend Stock Enhanced ETF, Series of The Timothy Plan
179.Timothy Plan High Dividend Stock ETF, Series of The Timothy Plan
180.Timothy Plan International ETF, Series of The Timothy Plan
181.Timothy Plan Market Neutral ETF, Series of The Timothy Plan
182.Timothy Plan US Large/Mid Cap Core ETF, Series of The Timothy Plan
183.Timothy Plan US Large/Mid Core Enhanced ETF, Series of The Timothy Plan
184.Timothy Plan US Small Cap Core ETF, Series of The Timothy Plan
185.Total Fund Solution
186.Touchstone ETF Trust
187.TrueShares Eagle Global Renewable Energy Income ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
188.TrueShares ESG Active Opportunities ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
189.TrueShares Low Volatility Equity Income ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
190.TrueShares Structured Outcome (April) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
191.TrueShares Structured Outcome (August) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
192.TrueShares Structured Outcome (December) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
193.TrueShares Structured Outcome (February) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
194.TrueShares Structured Outcome (January) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
195.TrueShares Structured Outcome (July) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
196.TrueShares Structured Outcome (June) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
197.TrueShares Structured Outcome (March) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
198.TrueShares Structured Outcome (May) ETF, Listed Funds Trust
199.TrueShares Structured Outcome (November) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
200.TrueShares Structured Outcome (October) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
201.TrueShares Structured Outcome (September) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
202.TrueShares Technology, AI & Deep Learning ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
203.U.S. Global Investors Funds
204.Union Street Partners Value Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
205.Variant Alternative Income Fund
206.Variant Impact Fund
207.VictoryShares Core Intermediate Bond ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
208.VictoryShares Core Plus Intermediate Bond ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
209.VictoryShares Corporate Bond ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
210.VictoryShares Developed Enhanced Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
211.VictoryShares Dividend Accelerator ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
212.VictoryShares Emerging Markets Value Momentum ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
213.VictoryShares Free Cash Flow ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
214.VictoryShares International High Div Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
215.VictoryShares International Value Momentum ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
216.VictoryShares International Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
217.VictoryShares NASDAQ Next 50 ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
218.VictoryShares Short-Term Bond ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
219.VictoryShares THB Mid Cap ESG ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
220.VictoryShares US 500 Enhanced Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
221.VictoryShares US 500 Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
222.VictoryShares US Discovery Enhanced Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
223.VictoryShares US EQ Income Enhanced Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
224.VictoryShares US Large Cap High Div Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
225.VictoryShares US Multi-Factor Minimum Volatility ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
226.VictoryShares US Small Cap High Div Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
227.VictoryShares US Small Cap Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
228.VictoryShares US Small Mid Cap Value Momentum ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
229.VictoryShares US Value Momentum ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
230.VictoryShares WestEnd US Sector ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
 

 

231.Volatility Shares Trust
232.West Loop Realty Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust
233.Wilshire Mutual Funds, Inc.
234.Wilshire Variable Insurance Trust
235.WisdomTree Digital Trust
236.WisdomTree Trust
237.WST Investment Trust
238.XAI Octagon Floating Rate & Alternative Income Term Trust

 

Item 32(b)The following are the Officers and Manager of the Distributor, the Registrant’s underwriter. The Distributor’s main business address is Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101.

 

Name Address Position with Underwriter Position with Registrant
Teresa Cowan 111 E. Kilbourn Ave, Suite 2200, Milwaukee, WI 53202 President/Manager None
Chris Lanza Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101 Vice President None

Kate Macchia

Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101

Vice President

None

Nanette K. Chern Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101 Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer None
Kelly B. Whetstone Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101 Secretary None

Susan L. LaFond

111 E. Kilbourn Ave, Suite 2200, Milwaukee, WI 53202

Treasurer

None

Weston Sommers Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME  04101 Financial and Operations Principal and Chief Financial Officer None

 

Item 32(c)Not applicable.

 

ITEM 33.Location of Accounts and Records

 

JP Morgan Chase Bank NA

70 Fargo St

Boston, MA 02210

(records relating to its functions as administrator, custodian, transfer agent and dividend disbursing agent)

 

Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc.

1633 Broadway

New York, NY 10019

(records relating to its function as investment adviser)

 

Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc.

522 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10036

(records relating to its function as investment adviser)

 

ITEM 34.Management Services

 

Registrant is not a party to any such management-related service contract.

 

ITEM 35.Undertakings

 

None.

 

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the Registrant has duly caused this Post-Effective Amendment to the Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of New York and State of New York on the 24th day of July 2023.

 

   MORGAN STANLEY ETF TRUST
   
  By: /s/ John H. Gernon
    John H. Gernon
    President and Principal Executive Officer

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

Signatures   Title   Date
(1)  Principal Executive Officer        
By: /s/ John H. Gernon   Principal Executive Officer   July 24, 2023
  John H. Gernon        
           
(2)  Principal Financial Officer        
         
By: /s/ Francis J. Smith   Principal Financial Officer   July 24, 2023
  Francis J. Smith        
           
(3)  Majority of the Trustees        
         
Independent Trustees        
         
  Frank L. Bowman Dr. Manuel H. Johnson        
  Frances L. Cashman Joseph J. Kearns        
  Kathleen A. Dennis Michael F. Klein        
  Nancy C. Everett Patricia A. Maleski        
  Eddie A. Grier W. Allen Reed (Chairman)        
  Jakki L. Haussler          
         
By: /s/ Mark Parise       July 24, 2023
  Mark Parise        
  Attorney-in-Fact for the Independent Trustees