XML 15 R2.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.22.2.2
Sep. 30, 2022
Wahed FTSE USA Shariah ETF
Wahed FTSE USA Shariah ETF
Investment Objective
The Wahed FTSE USA Shariah ETF (“FTSE USA ETF” or the “Fund”) seeks to track the total return performance, before fees and expenses, of the FTSE Shariah USA Index (the “Index”).
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fee0.50%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees0.00%
Other Expenses0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses0.50%
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fee0.50%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees0.00%
Other Expenses0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses0.50%
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares.
Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year:$513 Years:$1605 Years:$28010 Years:$628
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 Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. For the fiscal year ended May 31, 2022, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 16% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund uses a “passive management” (or indexing) approach to seek to track the total return performance, before fees and expenses, of the Index. The Index is composed of common stocks of large- and mid-capitalization U.S. companies the characteristics of which meet the requirements of Shariah and are consistent with Islamic principles as interpreted by subject-matter experts (each, a “Shariah-compliant company”).
FTSE Shariah USA Index
The Index is constructed using an objective, rules-based methodology and is comprised of those companies included in the FTSE USA Index that are determined to be Shariah-compliant companies based on their business activities and certain financial ratios, as described below. The Shariah-compliant companies are then weighted in the Index according to their market capitalization.
Companies that receive income in excess of 5% of their total revenue from Shariah-prohibited activities are removed from the list of companies eligible for inclusion in the Index. Examples of such activities include:
•Conventional finance (non-Islamic banking, finance and insurance, etc.);
•Alcohol production or sale;
•Pork-related products and non-halal food production, packaging, and processing or any other activity related to pork and non-halal food;
•Casino management, gambling, or adult entertainment;
•Tobacco manufacturing or sale; and
•Weapons, arms, and other defense manufacturing.
Only those companies that pass the following financial ratios will be considered Shariah-compliant:
•Debt is less than 33.333% of total assets;
•Cash and interest-bearing items are less than 33.333% of total assets;
•Accounts receivable and cash are less than 50% of total assets; and
•Total interest and non-compliant activities income should not exceed 5% of total revenue.
The Index constituents are reviewed on an ongoing and annual basis to ensure that they continue to be Shariah-compliant companies. The Index is reconstituted quarterly. If it is discovered during an ongoing review that a non-compliant security has been included in the Index in error, the security is removed from the Index and the Fund within two business days following the discovery of the error. The Index’s constituent securities are also reviewed on both an ongoing basis and annual basis by a Shariah consultant, Yasaar Limited, to determine if any of the constituents should be considered for potential income remediation or Purification. Purification is the process by which an investor donates certain income earned from his or her investment in the Fund because certain of the Fund’s investments unintentionally earned small amounts of income deemed to be prohibited by Shariah principles, such as interest income.  As discussed under “Dividend Purification,” the Fund publishes on its website the per share amount to be purified on a quarterly basis.
The Fund’s Investment Strategy
The Fund attempts to invest all, or substantially all, of its assets in the component securities that make up the Index. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s total assets will be invested in the component securities of the Index. Wahed Invest LLC (the “Adviser”), the Fund’s investment adviser, expects that, over time, the correlation between the Fund’s performance and that of the Index, before fees and expenses, will be 95% or better.
The Fund will generally use a “replication” strategy to achieve its investment objective, meaning the Fund generally will invest in all of the component securities of the Index in approximately the same proportions as in the Index. However, the Fund may use a “representative sampling” strategy, meaning it may invest in a sample of the securities in the Index whose risk, return and other characteristics closely resemble the risk, return and other characteristics of the Index as a whole, when the Adviser believes it is in the best interests of the Fund (e.g., when replicating the Index involves practical difficulties or substantial costs, an Index constituent becomes temporarily illiquid, unavailable or less liquid, or as a result of legal restrictions or limitations such as tax diversification requirements that apply to the Fund but not to the Index).
The Fund generally may invest up to 20% of its total assets in securities or other investments not included in the Index, but which comply with Shariah principles and which the Adviser believes will help the Fund track the Index. For example, the Fund may invest in securities that are not components of the Index to reflect various corporate actions and other changes to the Index (such as reconstitutions, additions, and deletions). The Fund may also invest up to 20% of its total assets in cash and other investments, such as cash equivalents and shares of other investment companies, each of which will be compatible with Shariah principles. Uninvested monies will be held in non-interest-bearing accounts.
To the extent the Index concentrates (i.e., holds more than 25% of its total assets) in the securities of a particular industry or group of related industries, the Fund will concentrate its investments to approximately the same extent as the Index. The Fund is deemed to be “non-diversified,” which means that it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a small number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund.
As of August 31, 2022, the Index had 233 constituents, and the four largest stocks and their weightings in the Index were Apple Inc. (15.61%), Microsoft Corp. (12.70%), Tesla Inc. (4.55%), and Johnson & Johnson (2.76%).
Principal Investment Risks
The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. The principal risks are presented in alphabetical order to facilitate finding particular risks and comparing them with those of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. As with any investment, there is a risk that you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its investment objective. The following risks could affect the value of your investment in the Fund:
•Cybersecurity Risk. Cybersecurity incidents may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets or proprietary information, or cause the Fund, the Adviser, and/or other service providers (including custodians and financial intermediaries) to suffer data breaches or data corruption. Additionally, cybersecurity failures or breaches of the electronic systems of the Fund, the Adviser, or the Fund’s other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants (“APs”), the Fund’s primary listing exchange, or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests have the ability to disrupt and negatively affect the Fund’s business operations, including the ability to purchase and sell Fund Shares, potentially resulting in financial losses to the Fund and its shareholders.
•Equity Market Risk. The equity securities held in the Fund’s portfolio may experience sudden, unpredictable drops in value or long periods of decline in value. This may occur because of factors that affect securities markets generally or factors affecting specific issuers, industries, sectors or companies in which the Fund invests. Common stocks are generally exposed to greater risk than other types of securities, such as preferred stocks and debt obligations, because common stockholders generally have inferior rights to receive payment from issuers.
•ETF Risks. The Fund is an exchange traded fund (“ETF”), and, as a result of an ETF’s structure, it is exposed to the following risks:
◦Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as APs. In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services, or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
◦Costs of Buying or Selling Shares Risk. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid/ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
◦Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV Risk. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant.
◦Trading Risk. Although Shares are listed for trading on The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (the “Exchange”) and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares.
•Market Capitalization Risk
◦Large-Capitalization Investing. The securities of large-capitalization companies may be relatively mature compared to smaller companies and therefore subject to slower growth during times of economic expansion. Large-capitalization companies also may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology and consumer tastes.
◦Mid-Capitalization Investing. The securities of mid-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse issuer, market, political, or economic developments than securities of large-capitalization companies. The securities of mid-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than large capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole.
•Market Risk. The trading prices of securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors. These factors include events impacting the entire market or specific market segments, such as political, market and economic developments, as well as events that impact specific issuers. The Fund’s NAV and market price, like security and commodity prices generally, may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time. U.S. and international markets have experienced significant periods of volatility in recent years due to a number of these factors, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and related public health issues, growth concerns in the U.S. and overseas, uncertainties regarding interest rates, trade tensions and the threat of tariffs imposed by the U.S. and other countries. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, rising inflation, or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. These developments as well as other events could result in further market volatility and negatively affect financial asset prices, the liquidity of certain securities and the normal operations of securities exchanges and other markets. It is unknown how long circumstances related to the pandemic will persist, whether they will reoccur in the future, whether efforts to support the economy and financial markets will be successful, and what additional implications may follow from the pandemic. The impact of these events and other epidemics or pandemics in the future could adversely affect Fund performance.
•Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a lesser number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, the Fund may be more exposed to the risks associated with and developments affecting an individual issuer or a lesser number of issuers than a fund that invests more widely. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively small number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
•Passive Investment Risk. The Fund is not actively managed and its Adviser would not sell shares of an equity security due to current or projected underperformance of a security industry or sector unless that security is removed from the Index or the selling of shares of that security is otherwise required upon a rebalancing of the Index as addressed in the Index methodology.
•Sector Risk. To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors. The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in the following sectors and, therefore, the performance of the Fund could be negatively impacted by events affecting each of these sectors.
◦Information Technology Sector Risk. The Information Technology Sector includes companies that offer software and information technology services, manufacturers and distributors of technology hardware and equipment such as communications equipment, cellular phones, computers and peripherals, electronic equipment and related instruments and semiconductors. The Fund is subject to the risk that the securities of such issuers will underperform the market as a whole due to legislative or regulatory changes, adverse market conditions and/or increased competition affecting the Information Technology Sector. The prices of the securities of companies operating in the Information Technology Sector are closely tied to market competition, increased sensitivity to short product cycles and aggressive pricing, and problems with bringing products to market.
◦Health Care Sector Risk. Companies in the Health Care Sector are subject to extensive government regulation and their profitability can be significantly affected by restrictions on government reimbursement for medical expenses, rising costs of medical products and services, pricing pressure (including price discounting), limited product lines and an increased emphasis on the delivery of healthcare through outpatient services. Companies in the Health Care Sector are heavily dependent on obtaining and defending patents, which may be time consuming and costly, and the expiration of patents may also adversely affect the profitability of these companies. Health care companies are also subject to extensive litigation based on product liability and similar claims. In addition, their products can become obsolete due to industry innovation, changes in technologies or other market developments. Many new products in the Health Care Sector require significant research and development and may be subject to regulatory approvals, all of which may be time consuming and costly with no guarantee that any product will come to market.
•Shariah-Compliant Investing Risk. The consideration of Islamic principles restricts the Fund’s ability to invest in certain types of issuers and securities, such as financial companies and conventional fixed income securities (bonds and other structured securities that give a fixed return based on an obligation or promise), and reduces the size of the universe of eligible securities in which the Fund can invest. As a result, the successful implementation of the Fund’s investment strategy may limit its investment opportunities and adversely affect its performance, especially in comparison to a more diversified fund. Because Islamic principles preclude investment in interest-paying instruments, any cash or cash equivalents the Fund holds will not earn interest income.
•Tracking Error Risk. As with all index funds, the performance of the Fund and its Index may differ from each other for a variety of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses and portfolio transaction costs not incurred by the Index. In addition, the Fund may not be fully invested in the securities of the Index at all times or may hold securities not included in the Index.
•Underlying Index Risk. Neither the Adviser nor FTSE International Limited (the “FTSE Index Provider”), the index provider and calculation agent for the Index, is able to guarantee the continuous availability or timeliness of the production of the Index. The calculation and dissemination of the Index values may be delayed if the information technology or other facilities of the FTSE Index Provider, data providers and/or relevant stock exchange malfunction for any reason. A significant delay may cause trading in shares of the Fund to be suspended. Errors in Index data, computation and/or the construction in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the FTSE Index Provider or other applicable party for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders.
Performance
The following performance information indicates some of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows the Fund’s performance for the most recent calendar year ended December 31. The table illustrates how the Fund’s average annual returns for the 1-year and since inception periods compare with those of the Index. The Fund’s past performance, before and after taxes, does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on the Fund’s website at hlal.wahedinvest.com.
Calendar Year Total Returns
ck0001683471-20220531_g2.jpg
The calendar year-to-date total return of the Fund as of June 30, 2022 was -18.53%. During the period of time shown in the bar chart, the highest quarterly return was 23.83% for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, and the lowest quarterly return was -21.02% for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.
Average Annual Total Returns(for periods ended December 31, 2021)
Wahed FTSE USA Shariah ETF
1-Year
Since Inception
(7/15/2019)
Return Before Taxes28.59%26.27%
Return After Taxes on Distributions28.33%25.92%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Shares17.08%20.67%
FTSE Shariah USA Index
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
29.37%27.07%
After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates during the period covered by the table above and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or other tax-advantaged accounts.
Wahed Dow Jones Islamic World ETF
Wahed Dow Jones Islamic World ETF
Investment Objective
The Wahed Dow Jones Islamic World ETF (“Dow Jones World ETF” or the “Fund”) seeks long-term capital appreciation.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fee0.65%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees0.00%
Other Expenses0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses0.65%
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fee0.65%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees0.00%
Other Expenses0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses0.65%
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares.
Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year:$663 Years:$2085 Years:$36210 Years:$810
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 Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. For the fiscal period January 7, 2022 (commencement of operations) through May 31, 2022, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 8% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund is an actively-managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in equity securities, including common stock and American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), of global companies (excluding U.S. domiciled companies) the characteristics of which meet the requirements of Shariah and are consistent with Islamic principles as interpreted by subject-matter experts (each, a “Shariah Compliant Company”). Wahed Invest LLC (the “Adviser”), the Fund’s investment adviser, seeks to invest the Fund’s assets in securities similar to the components of, and to achieve returns similar to those of, the Dow Jones Islamic Market International Titans 100 Index (the “Index”). The Index, a data-driven index owned and maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices, is designed to measure the stock performance of the largest ex-U.S. companies that have passed rules-based screens for adherence to Shariah investment guidelines.
In addition, in selecting the investments for the Fund, the Adviser may determine to apply an environment, social, and governance (“ESG”) framework that evaluates companies based on various metrics, such as the company’s impact on the environment, community relations, employee relations, and corporate governance (“ESG Screen”). If it determines to apply the ESG Screen, the Adviser uses RepRisk, a provider of business intelligence on ESG risks, for daily filtering, screening, and analysis of controversies related to companies within the Fund. Such analysis includes a range of issues such as economic crime and corruption, fraud, illegal commercial practices, human rights issues, labor disputes, workplace safety, catastrophic accidents, and environmental disasters.
While the Adviser expects to invest in securities included in the Index, it may determine to invest in different securities or in the same securities but at different times or in different weights than included in the Index when it believes doing so is more consistent with requirements of Shariah, based on the ESG Screen, or otherwise in the best interests of the Fund.
The Fund may invest without limit in issuers in both developed and emerging markets, including frontier markets. Frontier market and emerging market countries are those countries with low- and middle-income economies, respectively, as classified by the World Bank, or included in any of the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) frontier markets or emerging markets indices.
Because Islamic principles preclude the use of interest-paying instruments, the Fund’s cash reserves do not earn income.
The Fund is “non-diversified,” which means that it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a small number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund.
Dow Jones Islamic Market International Titans 100 Index
The Index is constructed using an objective, rules-based methodology and is comprised of securities issued by companies domiciled in countries classified as developed (excluding U.S. domiciled companies), emerging market, or frontier market that are determined to be Shariah Compliant Companies based on their business activities and certain accounting-based screens, as described below. The Shariah Compliant Companies are then weighted in the Index according to their float-adjusted market capitalization.
A company that receives income in excess of 5% of its total revenue from Shariah-prohibited activities is removed from the list of companies eligible for inclusion in the Index (the “Index Universe”). Examples of such activities include:
•Conventional finance (non-Islamic banking, finance and insurance);
•Alcohol production or sale;
•Pork-related products;
•Entertainment (hotels, casinos/gambling, cinema, pornography, music);
•Tobacco manufacturing or sale; and
•Weapons, arms, and other defense manufacturing.
Only those companies in the Index Universe that pass the following accounting-based screens will be considered Shariah-compliant:
•Total debt divided by trailing 24-month average market capitalization is less than 33% of total assets;
•The sum of a company’s cash and interest-bearing securities divided by trailing 24-month average market capitalization is less than 33% of total assets; and
•Accounts receivables divided by trailing 24-month average market capitalization is less than 33% of total assets.
The top 100 Shariah Compliant Companies based on float-adjusted market capitalization are selected for inclusion in the Index. The weight of each company is capped at 10% of the Index.
Any changes to the composition of the Index will be implemented in connection with its reconstitution, which will occur annually in September. The Index will be rebalanced quarterly, in March, June, September and December. Constituents’ index weightings are calculated using closing prices on the Wednesday prior to the second Friday of the rebalancing month as the reference price. Index share amounts are calculated and assigned to each stock to arrive at the weights determined on the reference date. Changes are announced on the second Friday of the review month and are implemented at the opening of trading on the Monday following the third Friday of the review month. In addition, the S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (the “Dow Jones Index Provider”), the index provider and calculation agent for the Index, engaged Shariah consultant, Ratings Intelligence Partners (“RIP”), to conduct ongoing monitoring of Index constituents. RIP may provide information to the Dow Jones Index Provider between quarterly rebalancings. A company deemed compliant for the prior evaluation period that exceeds the maximum ratio for any accounting-based screen for the current evaluation period will continue to be considered compliant if the ratio is within two percentage points of the maximum allowed. However, if the maximum is breached for three consecutive evaluation periods, the company will be deemed non-compliant. If any of a company’s ratios are above the two percentage point buffer limit, the company will immediately be deemed non-compliant and will be removed from the Index. A company deemed non-compliant for the prior evaluation period that passes all accounting-based screens for the current evaluation period will remain non-compliant if any ratio is within two percentage points of the maximum allowed. However, if the company satisfies all three ratios for three consecutive evaluation periods the company will be deemed compliant. If all three ratios are below the two percentage point buffer limit, the company will immediately be deemed compliant and will be eligible for inclusion in the Index.
The Index’s constituent securities also are reviewed on both an ongoing basis and annual basis by RIP to determine if any of the constituents should be considered for potential income remediation, or “Purification.” Purification is the process by which an investor donates certain income earned from his or her investment in the Fund because certain of the Fund’s investments unintentionally earned small amounts of income deemed to be prohibited by Shariah principles, such as interest income. As discussed under “Dividend Purification,” the Fund publishes on its website the per share amount to be purified on an annual basis.
As of August 31, 2022, the Index was composed of 102 constituents, representing investments in companies domiciled in 20 countries.
Principal Investment Risks
The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. The principal risks are presented in alphabetical order to facilitate finding particular risks and comparing them with those of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. As with any investment, there is a risk that you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”), trading
price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its investment objective. The following risks could affect the value of your investment in the Fund:
•Currency Exchange Rate Risk. The Fund may invest in investments denominated in non-U.S. currencies or in securities that provide exposure to such currencies. Changes in currency exchange rates and the relative value of non-U.S. currencies will affect the value of the Fund’s investment and the value of your Shares. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning and you may lose money.
•Cybersecurity Risk. Cybersecurity incidents may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets or proprietary information, or cause the Fund, the Adviser, and/or other service providers (including custodians and financial intermediaries) to suffer data breaches or data corruption. Additionally, cybersecurity failures or breaches of the electronic systems of the Fund, the Adviser, or the Fund’s other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants (“APs”), the Fund’s primary listing exchange, or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests have the ability to disrupt and negatively affect the Fund’s business operations, including the ability to purchase and sell Fund Shares, potentially resulting in financial losses to the Fund and its shareholders.
•Depositary Receipt Risk. Depositary receipts, including ADRs, involve risks similar to those associated with investments in foreign securities, such as changes in political or economic conditions of other countries and changes in the exchange rates of foreign currencies. Depositary receipts listed on U.S. exchanges are issued by banks or trust companies, and entitle the holder to all dividends and capital gains that are paid out on the underlying foreign shares (“Underlying Shares”). When the Fund invests in depositary receipts as a substitute for an investment directly in the Underlying Shares, the Fund is exposed to the risk that the depositary receipts may not provide a return that corresponds precisely with that of the Underlying Shares. Because the Underlying Shares trade on foreign exchanges that may be closed when the Fund’s primary listing exchange is open, the Fund may experience premiums and discounts greater than those of funds without exposure to such Underlying Shares.
•Emerging Markets Risk. Emerging markets are subject to greater market volatility, lower trading volume, political and economic instability, uncertainty regarding the existence of trading markets and more governmental limitations on foreign investment than more developed markets. In addition, securities in emerging markets may be subject to greater price fluctuations than securities in more developed markets. Differences in regulatory, accounting, auditing, and financial reporting and recordkeeping standards could impede the Adviser’s ability to evaluate local companies and impact the Fund’s performance.
•Environmental, Social, and Governance Risk. Applying ESG criteria to the investment process may exclude securities of certain issuers for non-investment-related reasons. As a result, the Fund may forgo some market opportunities available to funds that do not use ESG or sustainability criteria, which may adversely affect the Fund’s performance.
•Equity Market Risk. The equity securities held in the Fund’s portfolio may experience sudden, unpredictable drops in value or long periods of decline in value. This may occur because of factors that affect securities markets generally or factors affecting specific issuers, industries, sectors or companies in which the Fund invests. Common stocks are generally exposed to greater risk than other types of securities, such as preferred stocks and debt obligations, because common stockholders generally have inferior rights to receive payment from issuers.
•ETF Risks. The Fund is an ETF, and, as a result of its structure, it is exposed to the following risks:
◦Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as APs. In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services, or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
◦Costs of Buying or Selling Shares Risk. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid/ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
◦Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV Risk. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant. Because securities held by the Fund may trade on foreign exchanges that are closed when the Fund’s primary listing exchange is open, the Fund is likely to experience premiums or discounts greater than those of domestic ETFs.
◦Trading Risk. Although Shares are listed for trading on The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (the “Exchange”) and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares.
•Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in non-U.S. securities involve certain risks that may not be present with investments in U.S. securities. For example, investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations or to political or economic instability. There may be less information publicly available about a non-U.S. issuer than a U.S. issuer. Non-U.S. issuers may be subject to different accounting, auditing, financial reporting and investor protection standards than U.S. issuers. Investments in non-U.S. securities also may be subject to withholding or other taxes and may be subject to additional trading, settlement, custodial, and operational risks. With respect to certain countries, there is the possibility of government intervention and expropriation or nationalization of assets. Because legal systems differ, there is also the possibility that it will be difficult to obtain or enforce legal judgments in certain countries. Since foreign exchanges may be open on days when the Fund does not price its shares, the value of the securities in the Fund’s portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund’s shares. Conversely, Shares may trade on days when foreign exchanges are closed. Each of these factors can make investments in the Fund more volatile and potentially less liquid than other types of investments.
•Frontier Markets Risk. Certain foreign markets are only in the earliest stages of development and may be considered “frontier markets.” Frontier financial markets generally are less liquid and more volatile than other markets, including markets in developing and emerging economies. Securities may have limited marketability and be subject to erratic price movements. Frontier markets may be impacted by political instability, war, terrorist activities and religious, ethnic and/or socioeconomic unrest. These and other factors make investing in frontier market countries significantly riskier than investing in developed market or emerging market countries.
•Limited Operating History Risk. The Fund is a recently organized investment company with a limited operating history. As a result, prospective investors have a limited track record or history on which to base their investment decision.
•Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed and its ability to achieve its investment objective is dependent on the Adviser’s successful implementation of the Fund’s investment strategies.
•Market Risk. The trading prices of securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors. These factors include events impacting the entire market or specific market segments, such as political, market and economic developments, as well as events that impact specific issuers. The Fund’s NAV and market price, like security and commodity prices generally, may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time. U.S. and international markets have experienced significant periods of volatility in recent years due to a number of these factors, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and related public health issues, growth concerns in the U.S. and overseas, uncertainties regarding interest rates, trade tensions and the threat of tariffs imposed by the U.S. and other countries. In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious diseases or other public health issues, recessions, rising inflation, or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. These developments as well as other events could result in further market volatility and negatively affect financial asset prices, the liquidity of certain securities and the normal operations of securities exchanges and other markets. It is unknown how long circumstances related to the pandemic will persist, whether they will reoccur in the future, whether efforts to support the economy and financial markets will be successful, and what additional implications may follow from the pandemic. The impact of these events and other epidemics or pandemics in the future could adversely affect Fund performance.
•Market Capitalization Risk.
◦Large-Capitalization Investing. The securities of large-capitalization companies may be relatively mature compared to smaller companies and therefore subject to slower growth during times of economic expansion. Large-capitalization companies also may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology and consumer tastes.
◦Mid-Capitalization Investing. The securities of mid-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse issuer, market, political, or economic developments than securities of large-capitalization companies. The securities of mid-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than large capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole.
◦Small-Capitalization Investing. The securities of small-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse issuer, market, political, or economic developments than securities of large- or mid-capitalization companies. The securities of small-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than large- or mid-capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole. There is typically less publicly available information concerning smaller-capitalization companies than for larger, more established companies.
•Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a lesser number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, the Fund may be more exposed to the risks associated with and developments affecting an individual issuer or a lesser number of issuers than a fund that invests more widely. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively small number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
•Sector Risk. To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors. The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in the following sectors and, therefore, the performance of the Fund could be negatively impacted by events affecting each of these sectors.
◦Information Technology Sector Risk. The Information Technology Sector includes companies that offer software and information technology services, manufacturers and distributors of technology hardware and equipment such as communications equipment, cellular phones, computers and peripherals, electronic equipment and related instruments and semiconductors. The Fund is subject to the risk that the securities of such issuers will underperform the market as a whole due to legislative or regulatory changes, adverse market conditions and/or increased competition affecting the Information Technology Sector. The prices of the securities of companies operating in the Information Technology Sector are closely tied to market competition, increased sensitivity to short product cycles and aggressive pricing, and problems with bringing products to market.
◦Health Care Sector Risk. Companies in the Health Care Sector are subject to extensive government regulation and their profitability can be significantly affected by restrictions on government reimbursement for medical expenses, rising costs of medical products and services, pricing pressure (including price discounting), limited product lines and an increased emphasis on the delivery of healthcare through outpatient services. Companies in the Health Care Sector are heavily dependent on obtaining and defending patents, which may be time consuming and costly, and the expiration of patents may also adversely affect the profitability of these companies. Health care companies are also subject to extensive litigation based on product liability and similar claims. In addition, their products can become obsolete due to industry innovation, changes in technologies or other market developments. Many new products in the Health Care Sector require significant research and development and may be subject to regulatory approvals, all of which may be time consuming and costly with no guarantee that any product will come to market.
•Shariah-Compliant Investing Risk. The consideration of Islamic principles restricts the Fund’s ability to invest in certain types of issuers and securities, such as financial companies and conventional fixed income securities (bonds and other structured securities that give a fixed return based on an obligation or promise), and reduces the size of the universe of eligible securities in which the Fund can invest. As a result, the successful implementation of the Fund’s investment strategy may limit its investment opportunities and adversely affect its performance, especially in comparison to a more diversified fund. Because Islamic principles preclude investment in interest-paying instruments, any cash or cash equivalents the Fund holds will not earn interest income.
Performance
Performance information for the Fund is not included because the Fund did not have a full calendar year of performance prior to the date of this Prospectus. In the future, performance information for the Fund will be presented in this section. Updated performance information is available on the Fund’s website at umma.wahedinvest.com.