485APOS 1 tema-485apos_060623.htm POST-EFFECTIVE AMENDMENT

 

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 6, 2023

 

File No. 333-267188
File No. 811-23823

 

   

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. 4

 

 

TEMA ETF TRUST
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

 

Brookfield Place 

200 Vesey Street, Suite 24106
New York, New York 10281
(Address of Principal Executive Office) (Zip Code)

 

302.499.4928 ext. 801 

(Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code)

 

 

  

The Corporation Trust Company 

Corporation Trust Center 

1209 Orange Street 

New Castle County 

Wilmington, DE 19801
(Name and address of agent for service)

 

 

 

Copies of communications to:

 

Matthew Keeling 

Tema Global Limited 

2nd Floor, The Le Gallais Building 54 Bath Street 

St Helier, Jersey, JE1 1FW

 

Bibb L. Strench, Esq.
Thompson Hine LLP
1919 M Street, N.W., Suite 700
Washington, D.C. 20036

 

Approximate date of proposed public offering: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.

 

It is proposed that this filing will become effective: 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS SUBJECT TO COMPLETION JUNE 6, 2023

   

The information in this 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 Prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

Tema ETF Trust

 

PROSPECTUS

 

[    ] [    ], 2023

 

Tema Asian Middle Class ETF (TICKER SYMBOL)

 

Principal Listing Exchange: [    ]

 

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

 

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Summary Information — Tema Asian Middle Class ETF

 

Investment Objective

 

Tema Asian Middle Class ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to provide long-term growth of capital.

 

Fund Fees and Expenses

 

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. 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) 

None 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fee   0.[   ]%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees   0.00%
Other Expenses   0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses   0.[  ]%

 

[   ]

 

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 sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your cost would be:

 

 

1 Year 

3 Years 

Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be: $[   ]   $[   ]  

 

Portfolio Turnover

 

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it purchases and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may result in higher transaction costs and higher taxes when shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses table or in the Example above, may affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, there is no portfolio turnover to report.

 

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Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

 

Under normal circumstances, the Tema Asian Middle Class ETF seeks to achieve its investment objective by achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets, which include borrowings for investment purposes, in foreign common and preferred stocks of emerging markets companies domiciled in Asia and are classified as at least “lower middle income” according to the World Bank’s “World by Income and Region” classification. The Fund defines emerging markets using the MSCI Country Classification Standards.  For the purpose of generating returns, the Adviser will select from this universe companies that it believes furthers the advancement of middle class living in Asia. “Middle class” are households that earn between two-thirds and double the median Asian annual household income, which was USD 12,883 in 2022, according to the World Bank.

 

To conduct this analysis, the Adviser will use its own internal research and analysis, based on company materials (such as annual reports, websites, strategic and sell-side conference presentations) and other sources (publications focused on relevant industries, and external research by sell-side banks or consultancy firms). Companies may be included in the Fund’s portfolio if factors such as company strategy, product set, revenue segments, or future product/service development plans, indicate that they have a significant exposure to the burgeoning Asian middle class. These companies will operate in one of the following industries: Communication services, consumer discretionary, consumer staples, energy, financials, healthcare, information technology, industrials and real estate, because these sectors tend to have product or service offerings targeted at middle income consumers throughout Asia.

 

The Fund generally is expected to consist of more than 15 companies but not more than 100 companies. The number of constituents may change depending on the number of companies available for investment that meet the Fund’s criteria.

 

To be eligible for inclusion in the Fund, a company must have a market capitalization of at least $100 million and there is no upper limit on the market capitalization of a portfolio company. To be eligible for inclusion in the Fund, a company must have a three-month average daily traded value of at least $500,000.

 

A significant portion of the Fund’s assets are expected to be invested in Asian emerging markets.

 

The Fund will not engage in currency hedging and is expected to own foreign currency for short periods of time for the purposes of buying and selling non-US listed securities and collecting dividends and/or coupon payments from those securities.

 

The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), which means that it may invest a high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers

 

The Fund is actively managed, relying on the professional judgment of its Adviser to make decisions about the Fund’s portfolio investments.

 

The basic investment philosophy of the Adviser is to seek to invest in companies within the aforementioned universe that are attractively valued when compared to their fundamentals and growth opportunities. The Adviser’s security selection process for identifying companies uses both “top down” idea generation (sector, theme, company research) and “bottom up” security selection (valuation, fundamental, quantitative, qualitative measures) approaches.

 

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In practice “top down” idea generation means fundamental sector research, quantitative tools (for example screening based on metrics such as five-year historic revenue growth, margins, or returns on invested capital) and the Adviser’s own expertise, are used to narrow down the specific thematic research universe.

 

Once this is defined “bottom up” security analysis involves the Adviser comparing valuation multiples (such as free cash flow yield, price to book ratio and price to earnings ratio or enterprise value to total invested capital, among others) to fundamental metrics (such as organic revenue growth, margins, returns on invested capital and equity, among others). Investments are deemed attractively valued when compared to fundamentals if the valuation multiples are below and fundamentals are above either (1) peers (2) the companies own historic averages (3) or prospective forecasts (as determined by the Adviser). Buttressing this is a detailed fundamental research profile of each company assessing business model, competitive edge, management incentives and track record, and balance sheet.

 

The Adviser integrates environmental, social and corporate governance (“ESG”) considerations into its investment analysis. This is in support of both the objective of maximizing return and the broader analysis of risks associated with individual companies. The Adviser, however, does not use ESG considerations to limit, restrict or otherwise exclude companies or sectors from the Fund’s investment universe.

 

ESG factors in this context include, but are not limited to, the impact on or from climate change, natural resource use, waste management practices, human capital management, product safety, supply chain management, corporate governance, business ethics and advocacy for governmental policy.

 

As part of its investment analysis the Adviser will consider the following, which form part of a holistic assessment of each individual investment opportunity that itself determines selection of the highest conviction securities into the portfolio that the Adviser believes represent the best risk reward for investors:

 

  The Adviser, as part of its company assessment, will look closely at any material non-financial and ESG related risks that might significantly impair the future financial performance of the company. Such risks will be given equal prominence in analysis to any financial only risks. ESG considerations may not be applicable to all types of instruments or investments.

 

  Where deemed appropriate the Adviser may engage with companies directly on issues, either through meetings or in written form. This includes but is not limited to improving governance practices, aligning management incentives, and increasing transparency of ESG practices.

 

In making these considerations the Adviser will use both internal and external data sources and analyses including, but not limited to, those provided by companies directly or by third parties. These considerations also inform monitoring of existing positions.

 

The Fund will invest in China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

 

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The Fund may invest in foreign securities listed on foreign exchanges as well as American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) and Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”). The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), which means that it may invest a high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers and concentrate its investments in a particular industry or group of industries. 

 

The Fund may engage in securities lending.

 

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

 

As with all funds, a shareholder is subject to the risk that his or her investment could lose money. An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any government agency. The principal risks affecting shareholders’ investments in the Fund are set forth below.

 

Absence of Prior Active Market Risk. While the Fund’s shares are listed on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for shares will develop or be maintained. The Distributor does not maintain a secondary market in shares.

 

Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed, which means that investment decisions are made based on investment views. There is no guarantee that the investment views will produce the desired results or expected returns, which may cause the Fund to fail to meet its investment objective or to underperform its benchmark index or funds with similar investment objectives and strategies. Furthermore, active trading that can accompany active management may result in high portfolio turnover, which may have a negative impact on performance. Active trading may result in higher brokerage costs or mark-up charges, which are ultimately passed on to shareholders of the Fund. Active trading may also result in adverse tax consequences. Certain securities or other instruments in which the Fund seeks to invest may not be available in the quantities desired. To the extent the Fund employs strategies targeting perceived pricing inefficiencies, arbitrage strategies or similar strategies, it is subject to the risk that the pricing or valuation of the securities and instruments involved in such strategies may change unexpectedly, which may result in reduced returns or losses to the Fund. Additionally, legislative, regulatory, or tax restrictions, policies or developments may affect the investment techniques available to the Adviser and each individual portfolio manager in connection with managing the Fund and may also adversely affect the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective.

 

Asian Economic Risk. Many Asian economies have experienced rapid growth and industrialization in recent years, but there is no assurance that this growth rate will be maintained. Other Asian economies, however, have experienced high inflation, high unemployment, currency devaluations and restrictions, and over-extension of credit. Geopolitical hostility, political instability, and economic or environmental events in any one Asian country may have a significant economic effect on the entire Asian region, as well as on major trading partners outside Asia. Any adverse event in the Asian markets may have a significant adverse effect on some or all of the economies of the countries in which the Fund invests. In particular, China is a key trading partner of many Asian countries and any changes in trading relationships between China and other Asian countries may affect the region as a whole. Many Asian countries are subject to political risk, including political instability, corruption and regional conflict with neighboring countries. North Korea and South Korea each have substantial military capabilities, and historical tensions between the two countries present the risk of war. Escalated tensions involving the two countries and any outbreak of hostilities between the two countries, or even the threat of an outbreak of hostilities, could have a severe adverse effect on the entire Asian region. Certain Asian countries have developed increasingly strained relationships with the U.S. or with China, and if these relations were to worsen, they could adversely affect Asian issuers that rely on the U.S. or China for trade. In addition, many Asian countries are subject to social and labor risks associated with demands for improved political, economic and social conditions. These risks, among others, may adversely affect the value of the Fund’s investments.

 

5

 

Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an Authorized Participant (as defined below) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized Participants. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units, Fund shares may trade at a discount to net asset value per share (“NAV”) and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting.

 

Cash Transactions Risk. The Fund currently intends to effect all creations and redemptions principally for cash, rather than in-kind securities, thereby potentially subjecting shareholders 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. Additionally, the purchase or sale of foreign securities upon a creation or to facilitate a redemption, as applicable, may have to be carried out over several days if the securities market is relatively illiquid and may involve considerable brokerage fees and taxes.

 

Common Stock Risk. Common stock holds the lowest priority in the capital structure of a company, and, therefore, takes the largest share of the company’s risk and its accompanying volatility. The value of the common stock held by the Fund may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the issuers of securities held by the Fund participate, or facts relating to specific companies in which the Fund invests. 

 

Currency Risk. The Fund may invest its assets in securities denominated in non-U.S. 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 the shares. Because the Fund’s NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the Fund’s NAV could decline if the currency of the non-U.S. market in which the Fund invests depreciates against the U.S. dollar, even if the value of the Fund’s holdings, measured in the foreign currency, increases. 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.

 

Custody Risk. The Fund invests in securities markets that are less developed than those of in the U.S., which may expose the Fund to risks in the process of clearing and settling trades and the holding of securities by local banks, agents and depositories. The less developed a country’s securities market it, the greater the likelihood of custody problems.

 

6

 

Cybersecurity and Disaster Recovery Risks. Information and technology systems relied upon by the Fund, the Adviser, the Fund’s other service providers (including, but not limited to, the Fund Accountant, Custodian, Transfer Agent, Administrator and Distributor), market makers, Authorized Participants, financial intermediaries and/or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may be vulnerable to damage or interruption from computer viruses, network failures, computer and telecommunication failures, infiltration by unauthorized persons, security breaches, usage errors, power outages and catastrophic events such as fires, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes and earthquakes. Although the Adviser and the Fund’s other service providers have implemented measures to manage risks relating to these types of events, if these systems are compromised, become inoperable for extended periods of time or cease to function properly, significant investment may be required to fix or replace them. The failure of these systems and/or of disaster recovery plans could cause significant interruptions in the operations of the Fund, the Adviser, the Fund’s other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants, financial intermediaries and/or issuers of securities in which the Fund invests and may result in a failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data, impact the Fund’s ability to calculate its NAV or impede trading.

 

Depositary Receipt Risk. The Fund may invest in depositary receipts which involve similar risks to those associated with investments in foreign securities. Investments in depositary receipts may be less liquid.

 

Early Close/Trading Halt Risk. An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses. 

 

Emerging Markets Securities 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.  

 

Fluctuation of Net Asset Value Risk. The NAV of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. The market prices of the shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”). The Adviser cannot predict whether the shares will trade below, at or above their NAV. The Fund’s market price may deviate from the value of its underlying portfolio holdings, particularly in times of market stress, with the result that investors may pay significantly more or receive significantly less than the underlying value of the Fund shares bought or sold. This can be reflected as a spread between the bid and ask prices for the Fund quoted during the day or a premium or discount in the closing price from the Fund’s NAV. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the Exchange and may, therefore, have a material effect on the market price of the Fund’s shares.

 

7

 

Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in securities (including ADRs and Global Depository Receipts (“GDRs”)) of foreign issuers involve risks not ordinarily associated with investments in securities and instruments of U.S. issuers. The values of foreign investments may be affected by changes in exchange control regulations, application of foreign tax laws (including withholding tax) changes in governmental administration or economic or monetary policy (in this country or abroad) or changed circumstances in dealings between nations. The value of foreign securities is also affected by the value of the local currency relative to the U.S. Dollar. GDRs may be other than dollar denominated and may be issued in several countries.

 

ADRs Risk. ADRs may be subject to some of the same risks as direct investment in foreign companies, which includes international trade, currency, political, regulatory and diplomatic risks. In a sponsored ADR arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes the obligation to pay some or all of the depositary’s transaction fees. Under an unsponsored ADR arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes no obligations and the depositary’s transaction fees are paid directly by the ADR holders. Because unsponsored ADR arrangements are organized independently and without the cooperation of the issuer of the underlying securities, available information concerning the foreign issuer may not be as current as for sponsored ADRs and voting rights with respect to the deposited securities that are not passed through.

 

Geographic Investment Risk. To the extent the Fund are significantly comprised of securities of issuers from a single country, the Fund would be more likely to be impacted by events or conditions affecting that country.

 

Industry Concentration Risk. Because the Fund’s assets will be concentrated in an industry or group of industries, the Fund is subject to loss due to adverse occurrences that may affect that industry or group of industries.

 

Investment Risk. An investment in the Fund is subject to investment risk including the possible loss of the entire principal amount that you invest.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. Fund performance depends on the performance of individual securities to which the Fund has exposure. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.

 

Large Shareholder and Large-Scale Redemption Risk. Certain shareholders, including an Authorized Participant, a third-party investor, the Fund’s adviser or an affiliate of the Fund’s adviser, a market maker, or another entity, may from time to time own or manage a substantial amount of Fund shares or may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a limited period of time. These shareholders may also pledge or loan Fund shares (to secure financing or otherwise), which may result in the shares becoming concentrated in another party. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder or large group of shareholders would not redeem their investment or that the size of the Fund would be maintained. Redemptions of a large number of Fund shares by these shareholders may adversely affect the Fund’s liquidity and net assets. To the extent the Fund permits redemptions in cash, these redemptions may force the Fund to sell portfolio securities when it might not otherwise do so, which may negatively impact the Fund’s NAV, have a material effect on the market price of the shares and increase the Fund’s brokerage costs and/or accelerate the realization of taxable income and/or gains and cause the Fund to make taxable distributions to its shareholders earlier than the Fund otherwise would have.

 

Liquidity Risk. It may be more difficult for the Fund to buy and sell significant amounts of some securities without an unfavorable impact on prevailing market prices. As a result, these securities may be difficult to dispose of at a fair price at the times when the Adviser believes it is desirable to do so.

 

8

 

Market Risk. Market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. The value of a security or other asset may decline due to changes in general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the issuer of the security or other asset, or factors that affect a particular issuer or issuers, exchange, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issue, e.g. COVID-19, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by Fund management will underperform the markets, the relevant indices or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies. This means you may lose money.

 

Micro-Capitalization Risk. The micro-capitalization companies in which the Fund may invest may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies, and may underperform other segments of the market or the equity market as a whole. Securities of micro-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes, are often more vulnerable to market volatility, and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole.

 

New Fund Risk. A new or smaller fund is subject to the risk that its 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 and smaller funds may not attract sufficient assets to achieve investment and trading efficiencies. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve an economically viable size. Further, an active trading market for shares of the Fund may not develop or be maintained.  

 

Non-Diversified Fund Risk. The Fund is a non-diversified investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), meaning that, as compared to a diversified fund, it can invest a greater percentage of its assets in securities issued by or representing a small number of issuers. As a result, the performance of these issuers can have a substantial impact on the Fund’s performance.

 

Operations. The Fund is exposed to operational risk arising from a number of factors, including but not limited to human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund seeks to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate for those risks that they are intended to address.

 

Pandemics Risk. An outbreak of infectious respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 was first detected in China in December 2019 before spreading worldwide and being declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. COVID-19 has resulted in travel restrictions, closed international borders, enhanced health screenings, disruption and delays in healthcare services, prolonged quarantines, cancellations, temporary store closures, social distancing, government ordered curfews and business closures, disruptions to supply chains and consumer activity, shortages, highly volatile financial markets, and general concern and uncertainty. 

 

Portfolio Turnover Risk. Due to its investment strategy, the Fund may buy and sell securities frequently. This may result in higher transaction costs and additional capital gains tax liabilities, which may affect the Fund’s performance.

 

Sector Focus Risk. The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in one or more sectors and thus will be more susceptible to the risks affecting those sectors.

 

9

 

Securities Lending Risk. Although the Fund will receive collateral in connection with all loans of its securities holdings, the Fund would be exposed to a risk of loss should a borrower default on its obligation to return the borrowed securities (e.g., the loaned securities may have appreciated beyond the value of the collateral held by the Fund). In addition, the Fund will bear the risk of loss of any cash collateral that it invests.

 

Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. 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.

 

Small- and Mid-Capitalization Company Risk. The small- and mid-capitalization companies in which the Fund invests may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies, and may underperform other segments of the market or the equity market as a whole. Securities of small- and mid-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes, are often more vulnerable to market volatility, and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole.  

 

Trading Risk. Shares of the Fund may trade on the Exchange above or below their NAV. The NAV of shares of the Fund will fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. In addition, although the Fund’s shares are currently listed on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for shares will develop or be maintained. Trading in Fund shares may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares of the Fund inadvisable.

 

Valuation Risk. The price the Fund could receive upon the sale of a security or other asset may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security , particularly for securities or other assets that trade in low volume or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology as a result of trade suspensions or for other reasons. Because non-U.S. exchanges may be open on days when the Fund does not price its shares, the value of the securities or other assets in the Fund’s portfolio may change on days or during time periods when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund’s shares.] Authorized Participants who purchase or redeem Fund shares on days when the Fund is holding fair-valued securities may receive fewer or more shares, or lower or higher redemption proceeds, than they would have received had the Fund not fair-valued securities or used a different valuation methodology. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.

 

Performance

 

Because the Fund has only recently commenced investment operations, no performance information is presented for the Fund at this time. In the future, performance information will be presented in this section of this Prospectus. Also, shareholder reports containing financial and performance information will be mailed to shareholders semi-annually. Updated performance information will be available at no cost by visiting the Fund’s website at http://www.tema.co.

 

10

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser – Tema Global Limited is the investment adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers 

 

Maurits Pots is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund and has served in such capacity since inception.

 

Sub–Adviser - Neos Investment Management LLC is the sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers – Garrett Paolella (since inception), Troy Cates (since inception), and Ryan Houlton (since inception)

 

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares 

 

The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in a large specified number of shares each called a “Creation Unit,” or multiples thereof, and only with authorized participants (“Authorized Participants”) which have entered into contractual arrangements with Foreside Fund Services, LLC, the Fund’s distributor (“Distributor”). A Creation Unit consists of 10,000 shares. Creation Unit transactions are expected to be typically conducted in exchange for the deposit or delivery of in-kind securities in the Fund’s portfolio. The Fund may, in certain circumstances, offer Creation Units partially or solely for cash.

 

Individual shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold on a national securities exchange through brokers. Shares of the Fund are listed on [ ] (“Exchange”) and because shares will trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares of the Fund may trade at a price greater than or less than NAV.

 

Tax Information

 

Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless your investment is in an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealer and Other Financial Intermediaries

 

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

 

11

 

More Information About the Fund

 

Investment Objective

 

The Fund seeks to provide long-term growth of capital.

 

Additional Information About Investment Strategies

 

Under normal circumstances, the Tema Asian Middle Class ETF seeks to achieve its investment objective by achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets, which include borrowings for investment purposes, in foreign common and preferred stocks of emerging markets companies domiciled in Asia and are classified as at least “lower middle income” according to the World Bank’s “World by Income and Region” classification. The Fund defines emerging markets using the MSCI Country Classification Standards.  For the purpose of generating returns, the Adviser will select from this universe companies that it believes furthers the advancement of middle class living in Asia.

 

“Middle class” are households that earn between two-thirds and double the median Asian annual household income, which was USD 12,883 in 2022, according to the World Bank.

 

The Fund’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) may change the Fund’s investment objective and/or its 80% policy, both of which are non-fundamental, without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders. The Fund’s other investment policies and strategies may be changed by the Board without shareholder approval unless otherwise provided in this prospectus or in the Statement of Additional Information. 

 

Additional Information About the Fund’s Principal Risks

 

The following section provides additional information regarding certain of the principal risks identified under “Principal Risks” in the Fund’s summary.

 

Investors in the Fund should be willing to accept a high degree of volatility in the price of the Fund’s shares and the possibility of significant losses. An investment in the Fund involves a substantial degree of risk. Therefore, you should consider carefully the following risks before investing in the Fund.

 

Absence of Prior Active Market Risk. While the Fund’s shares are listed on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for shares will develop or be maintained. The Distributor does not maintain a secondary market in shares.

 

Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed, which means that investment decisions are made based on investment views. There is no guarantee that the investment views will produce the desired results or expected returns, which may cause the Fund to fail to meet its investment objective or to underperform its benchmark index or funds with similar investment objectives and strategies. Furthermore, active trading that can accompany active management may result in high portfolio turnover, which may have a negative impact on performance. Active trading may result in higher brokerage costs or mark-up charges, which are ultimately passed on to shareholders of the Fund. Active trading may also result in adverse tax consequences. Certain securities or other instruments in which the Fund seeks to invest may not be available in the quantities desired. To the extent the Fund employs strategies targeting perceived pricing inefficiencies, arbitrage strategies or similar strategies, it is subject to the risk that the pricing or valuation of the securities and instruments involved in such strategies may change unexpectedly, which may result in reduced returns or losses to the Fund. Additionally, legislative, regulatory, or tax restrictions, policies or developments may affect the investment techniques available to the Adviser and each individual portfolio manager in connection with managing the Fund and may also adversely affect the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective.

 

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Asian Economic Risk. Many Asian economies have experienced rapid growth and industrialization in recent years, but there is no assurance that this growth rate will be maintained. Other Asian economies, however, have experienced high inflation, high unemployment, currency devaluations and restrictions, and over-extension of credit. Geopolitical hostility, political instability, and economic or environmental events in any one Asian country may have a significant economic effect on the entire Asian region, as well as on major trading partners outside Asia. Any adverse event in the Asian markets may have a significant adverse effect on some or all of the economies of the countries in which the Fund invests. In particular, China is a key trading partner of many Asian countries and any changes in trading relationships between China and other Asian countries may affect the region as a whole. Many Asian countries are subject to political risk, including political instability, corruption and regional conflict with neighboring countries. North Korea and South Korea each have substantial military capabilities, and historical tensions between the two countries present the risk of war. Escalated tensions involving the two countries and any outbreak of hostilities between the two countries, or even the threat of an outbreak of hostilities, could have a severe adverse effect on the entire Asian region. Certain Asian countries have developed increasingly strained relationships with the U.S. or with China, and if these relations were to worsen, they could adversely affect Asian issuers that rely on the U.S. or China for trade. In addition, many Asian countries are subject to social and labor risks associated with demands for improved political, economic and social conditions. These risks, among others, may adversely affect the value of the Fund’s investments.

 

Authorized Participants Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants. 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.

 

Cash Transactions Risk. The Fund currently intends to effect all creations and redemptions principally for cash, rather than in-kind securities, thereby potentially subjecting shareholders 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. Additionally, the purchase or sale of foreign securities upon a creation or to facilitate a redemption, as applicable, may have to be carried out over several days if the securities market is relatively illiquid and may involve considerable brokerage fees and taxes.

 

Common Stock Risk. Common stock holds the lowest priority in the capital structure of a company, and, therefore, takes the largest share of the company’s risk and its accompanying volatility. The value of the common stock held by the Fund may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the issuers of securities held by the Fund participate, or facts relating to specific companies in which the Fund invests. 

 

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Currency Risk. The Fund may invest its assets in securities denominated in non-U.S. 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 the shares. Because the Fund’s NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the Fund’s NAV could decline if the currency of the non-U.S. market in which the Fund invests depreciates against the U.S. dollar, even if the value of the Fund’s holdings, measured in the foreign currency, increases. 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.

 

Custody Risk. The Fund invests in securities markets that are less developed than those of in the U.S., which may expose the Fund to risks in the process of clearing and settling trades and the holding of securities by local banks, agents and depositories. The less developed a country’s securities market it, the greater the likelihood of custody problems.

 

Cybersecurity and Disaster Recovery. Information and technology systems relied upon by the Fund, the Adviser, the Fund’s other service providers (including, but not limited to, the Fund Accountant, Custodian, Transfer Agent, Administrator, Distributor and index providers, as applicable), market makers, Authorized Participants, financial intermediaries and/or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may be vulnerable to damage or interruption from computer viruses, network failures, computer and telecommunication failures, infiltration by unauthorized persons, security breaches, usage errors, power outages and catastrophic events such as fires, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes and earthquakes. Although the Adviser and the Fund’s other service providers have implemented measures to manage risks relating to these types of events, if these systems are compromised, become inoperable for extended periods of time or cease to function properly, significant investment may be required to fix or replace them. The failure of these systems and/or of disaster recovery plans could cause significant interruptions in the operations of the Fund, the Adviser, the Fund’s other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants, financial intermediaries and/or issuers of securities in which the Fund invests and may result in a failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data, impact the Fund’s ability to calculate its net asset value or impede trading. Such a failure could also harm the reputation of the Fund, the Adviser, the Fund’s other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants, financial intermediaries and/or issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, subject such entities and their respective affiliates to legal claims or otherwise affect their business and financial performance.

 

Depositary Receipt Risk. The Fund may invest in depositary receipts which involve similar risks to those associated with investments in foreign securities. Investments in depositary receipts may be less liquid.

 

Early Close/Trading Halt Risk. An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses. 

 

Emerging Markets Securities 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.

 

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ESG Risk. Because the Fund evaluates ESG factors to assess and exclude certain investments for non-financial reasons, the Fund may forego some market opportunities available to funds that do not use these ESG factors. Information used by the Fund to evaluate ESG factors, including data provided by third-party vendors, may not be readily available, complete or accurate, and may vary across providers and issuers and within industries, which could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to apply its methodology and in turn could negatively impact the Fund’s performance. Currently, there is a lack of common industry standards relating to the development and application of ESG criteria which may make it difficult to compare the Fund’s principal investment strategies with the investment strategies of other funds that apply certain ESG criteria or that use a different third-party vendor for ESG.

 

Fluctuation of Net Asset Value Risk. The NAV of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. The market prices of the shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on Exchange. The Adviser cannot predict whether the shares will trade below, at or above their NAV. The Fund’s market price may deviate from the value of its underlying portfolio holdings, particularly in times of market stress, with the result that investors may pay significantly more or receive significantly less than the underlying value of the Fund shares bought or sold. This can be reflected as a spread between the bid and ask prices for the Fund quoted during the day or a premium or discount in the closing price from the Fund’s NAV. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the Exchange and may, therefore, have a material effect on the market price of the Fund’s shares.

 

Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in securities (including ADRs and Global Depository Receipts (“GDRs”)) of foreign issuers involve risks not ordinarily associated with investments in securities and instruments of U.S. issuers. The values of foreign investments may be affected by changes in exchange control regulations, application of foreign tax laws (including withholding tax) changes in governmental administration or economic or monetary policy (in this country or abroad) or changed circumstances in dealings between nations. The value of foreign securities is also affected by the value of the local currency relative to the U.S. Dollar. GDRs may be other than dollar denominated and may be issued in several countries.

 

ADRs Risk. ADRs may be subject to some of the same risks as direct investment in foreign companies, which includes international trade, currency, political, regulatory and diplomatic risks. In a sponsored ADR arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes the obligation to pay some or all of the depositary’s transaction fees. Under an unsponsored ADR arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes no obligations and the depositary’s transaction fees are paid directly by the ADR holders. Because unsponsored ADR arrangements are organized independently and without the cooperation of the issuer of the underlying securities, available information concerning the foreign issuer may not be as current as for sponsored ADRs and voting rights with respect to the deposited securities that are not passed through.

 

Geographic Investment Risk. To the extent the Fund are significantly comprised of securities of issuers from a single country, the Fund would be more likely to be impacted by events or conditions affecting that country.

 

Industry Concentration Risk. Because the Fund’s assets will be concentrated in an industry or group of industries, the Fund is subject to loss due to adverse occurrences that may affect that industry or group of industries.

 

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Investment Risk. An investment in the Fund is subject to investment risk including the possible loss of the entire principal amount that you invest.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. Fund performance depends on the performance of individual securities to which the Fund has exposure. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.

 

Large Shareholder and Large-Scale Redemption Risk. Certain shareholders, including an Authorized Participant, a third-party investor, the Fund’s adviser or an affiliate of the Fund’s adviser, a market maker, or another entity, may from time to time own or manage a substantial amount of Fund shares or may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a limited period of time. These shareholders may also pledge or loan Fund shares (to secure financing or otherwise), which may result in the shares becoming concentrated in another party. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder or large group of shareholders would not redeem their investment or that the size of the Fund would be maintained. Redemptions of a large number of Fund shares by these shareholders may adversely affect the Fund’s liquidity and net assets. To the extent the Fund permits redemptions in cash, these redemptions may force the Fund to sell portfolio securities when it might not otherwise do so, which may negatively impact the Fund’s NAV, have a material effect on the market price of the shares and increase the Fund’s brokerage costs and/or accelerate the realization of taxable income and/or gains and cause the Fund to make taxable distributions to its shareholders earlier than the Fund otherwise would have. In addition, under certain circumstances, non-redeeming shareholders may be treated as receiving a disproportionately large taxable distribution during or with respect to such tax year. The Fund also may be required to sell its more liquid Fund investments to meet a large redemption, in which case the Fund’s remaining assets may be less liquid, more volatile, and more difficult to price. To the extent these large shareholders transact in shares on the secondary market, such transactions may account for a large percentage of the trading volume for the shares of the Fund and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the shares. In addition, large purchases of Fund shares may adversely affect the 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, diluting its investment returns.

 

Liquidity Risk. It may be more difficult for the Fund to buy and sell significant amounts of some securities without an unfavorable impact on prevailing market prices. As a result, these securities may be difficult to dispose of at a fair price at the times when the Adviser believes it is desirable to do so.

 

Market Risk. The prices of securities held by the Fund may decline in response to certain events taking place around the world, including those directly involving the companies whose securities are owned by the Fund; conditions affecting the general economy; overall market changes; local, regional or global political, social or economic instability; and currency, interest rate and commodity price fluctuations. The equity securities purchased by the Fund may involve large price swings and potential for loss. Investors in the Fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to tolerate potentially sharp declines in value. The market’s daily movements, sometimes called volatility, may be greater or less depending on the types of securities the Fund owns and the markets in which the securities trade. The increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform due to inflation (or expectations for inflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, climate change or climate related risks, natural disasters, pandemics, epidemics, war, terrorism, regulatory events, governmental or quasi-governmental actions, and public health emergencies. 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.

 

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Micro-Capitalization Risk. The micro-capitalization companies in which the Fund may invest may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies, and may underperform other segments of the market or the equity market as a whole. Securities of micro-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes, are often more vulnerable to market volatility, and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole.

 

New Fund Risk. A new or smaller fund is subject to the risk that its 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 and smaller funds may not attract sufficient assets to achieve investment and trading efficiencies. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve an economically viable size. Further, an active trading market for shares of the Fund may not develop or be maintained.

 

Non-Diversified Fund Risk. The Fund is a non-diversified investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), meaning that, as compared to a diversified fund, it can invest a greater percentage of its assets in securities issued by or representing a small number of issuers. As a result, the performance of these issuers can have a substantial impact on the Fund’s performance.

 

Operations. The Fund is exposed to operational risk arising from a number of factors, including but not limited to human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund seeks to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate for those risks that they are intended to address.

 

Pandemics Risk. An outbreak of infectious respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 was first detected in China in December 2019 before spreading worldwide and being declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. COVID-19 has resulted in travel restrictions, closed international borders, enhanced health screenings, disruption and delays in healthcare services, prolonged quarantines, cancellations, temporary store closures, social distancing, government ordered curfews and business closures, disruptions to supply chains and consumer activity, shortages, highly volatile financial markets, and general concern and uncertainty.

 

Portfolio Turnover Risk. Due to its investment strategy, the Fund may buy and sell securities frequently. This may result in higher transaction costs and additional capital gains tax liabilities, which may affect the Fund’s performance.

 

Sector Focus Risk. The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in one or more sectors and thus will be more susceptible to the risks affecting those sectors.

 

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Securities Lending Risk. Although the Fund will receive collateral in connection with all loans of its securities holdings, the Fund would be exposed to a risk of loss should a borrower default on its obligation to return the borrowed securities (e.g., the loaned securities may have appreciated beyond the value of the collateral held by the Fund). In addition, the Fund will bear the risk of loss of any cash collateral that it invests.

 

Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. Investors buying or selling shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of shares. In addition, secondary market investors will also incur the cost of the difference between the price that an investor is willing to pay for shares (the “bid” price) and the price at which an investor is willing to sell shares (the “ask” price). This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “spread” or “bid/ask spread.” The bid/ask spread varies over time for shares based on trading volume and market liquidity and is generally lower if the Fund’s shares have more trading volume and market liquidity and higher if the Fund’s shares have little trading volume and market liquidity. Further, increased market volatility may cause increased bid/ask spreads. Due to the costs of buying or selling shares, including 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.

 

Small- and Mid-Capitalization Company Risk. The small- and mid-capitalization companies in which the Fund invests may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies, and may underperform other segments of the market or the equity market as a whole. Securities of small- and mid-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes, are often more vulnerable to market volatility, and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole.  

 

Trading Risk. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including disruptions to the creation and redemption processes of the Fund, losses from trading in secondary markets, the existence of extreme market volatility or potential lack of an active trading market for shares may result in shares trading at a significant premium or discount to NAV. The NAV of shares will fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s securities holdings. The market prices of shares will fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV and supply and demand on the Exchange. The Fund cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their NAV. If a shareholder purchases shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV or sells shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholder may sustain losses. Any of these factors, discussed above and further below, may lead to shares trading at a premium or discount to the Fund’s NAV.

 

Trading in shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange’s “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged.

 

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Valuation Risk. The price the Fund could receive upon the sale of a security or other asset may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security , particularly for securities or other assets that trade in low volume or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology as a result of trade suspensions or for other reasons. Because non-U.S. exchanges may be open on days when the Fund does not price its shares, the value of the securities or other assets in the Fund’s portfolio may change on days or during time periods when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund’s shares. In addition, for purposes of calculating the Fund’s NAV, the value of assets denominated in non-U.S. currencies is converted into U.S. dollars using prevailing market rates on the date of valuation as quoted by one or more data service providers. This conversion may result in a difference between the prices used to calculate the Fund’s NAV , which, in turn, could result in a difference between the Fund’s performance. Authorized Participants who purchase or redeem Fund shares on days when the Fund is holding fair-valued securities may receive fewer or more shares, or lower or higher redemption proceeds, than they would have received had the Fund not fair-valued securities or used a different valuation methodology. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.

 

Temporary Defensive Investments

 

The Fund may take temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with its normal investment policies and strategies—for instance, by allocating assets to cash, cash equivalent investments or other less volatile instruments — in response to adverse or unusual market, economic, political, or other conditions. In doing so, the Fund may succeed in avoiding losses but may otherwise fail to achieve its investment objective.

 

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

 

The Fund’s portfolio holdings will be disclosed each day on its website at www.tema.co. A description of the Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio securities is available in the Statement of Additional Information (SAI).

 

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Fund Management

 

The Adviser

 

Tema Global Limited, located at 2nd Floor, The Le Gallais Building, 54 Bath Street, St Helier, Jersey, JE1 1FW, serves as the investment adviser to the Fund. The Adviser is a limited company formed in 2021 to provide investment advisory services to registered investment companies.

 

The Adviser is responsible for the Fund’s investment operations and its business affairs. Pursuant to a management agreement between the Trust and the Adviser with respect to the Fund (“Management Agreement”) and subject to the general oversight of the Board, the Adviser provides or causes to be furnished all supervisory and other services reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund, including audit, portfolio accounting, legal, transfer agency, custody, printing costs, certain administrative services (provided pursuant to a separate administration agreement), certain distribution services (provided pursuant to a separate distribution agreement), certain shareholder and distribution-related services (provided pursuant to a separate Rule 12b-1 Plan and related agreements) under what is essentially an all-in fee structure. The Fund may bear other expenses which are not covered under the Management Agreement that may vary and will affect the total level of expenses paid by the Fund, such as taxes and governmental fees, brokerage fees, commissions and other transaction expenses, costs of borrowing money, including interest expenses, certain custody expenses and extraordinary expenses (such as litigation and indemnification expenses).

 

The Adviser is paid a monthly unitary management fee at an annual rate (stated as a percentage of the average daily net assets of the Fund) of [     ]%. Under the unitary fee arrangement, the Adviser pays all operating expenses of the Fund, except for certain expenses, including but not limited to, interest expenses, taxes, brokerage expenses, future Rule 12b-1 fees (if any), acquired fund fees and expenses, and the management fee payable to the Adviser under the Management Agreement.

 

A discussion regarding the Board of Trustees’ approval of the Management Agreement with respect to the Fund will be available in the Fund’s annual report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023.

 

Sub-Adviser

 

Neos Investment Management LLC, located at 13 Riverside Avenue, Westport, CT 06880, serves as the investment adviser to the Fund. The Adviser is a Delaware limited liability company formed in 2022 to provide sub-advisory services to registered investment companies.

 

The Sub-Adviser was formed in 2022 and provides investment advisory services to exchange-traded funds, including the Funds. The Sub-Adviser is responsible for trading portfolio securities and other investment instruments on behalf of the Fund, including selecting broker-dealers to execute purchase and sale transactions, as instructed by the Adviser, subject to the supervision of the Adviser and the Board. Under a sub-advisory agreement, the Adviser pays the Sub-Adviser a fee, calculated daily and paid monthly, out of the fee the Adviser receives from the Fund.

 

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s renewal of the sub-advisory agreement with respect to the Fund will be available in the Fund’s annual report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023.

 

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Portfolio Managers

 

Maurits Pot of the Adviser and Troy Cates, Ryan Houlton, and Garrett Paolella of the sub-adviser are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund and has served in such capacity since inception.

 

The SAI provides additional information about the Portfolio Managers’ compensation, other accounts managed, and ownership of Fund shares.

 

Shareholder Information

 

Determination of NAV

 

The NAV per share for the Fund is computed by dividing the value of the net assets of the Fund (i.e., the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by the total number of shares outstanding. Expenses and fees, including the management fee, are accrued daily and taken into account for purposes of determining NAV. The NAV of the Fund is determined each business day as of the close of trading (ordinarily 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on the NYSE.

 

The values of the Fund’s portfolio securities are based on the securities’ closing prices on their local principal markets, where available. In the absence of a last reported sales price, or if no sales were reported, and for other assets for which market quotes are not readily available, values may be based on quotes obtained from a quotation reporting system, established market makers or by an outside independent pricing service. Prices obtained by an outside independent pricing service use information provided by market makers or estimates of market values obtained from data related to investments or securities with similar characteristics and may use a computerized grid matrix of securities and its evaluations in determining what it believes is the fair value of the portfolio securities. If a market quotation for a security is not readily available or the Adviser believes it does not otherwise accurately reflect the market value of the security at the time the Fund calculates its NAV, the security will be fair valued by the Adviser, in accordance with the Trust’s valuation policies and procedures approved by the Board of Trustees of the Trust. The Fund may also use fair value pricing in a variety of circumstances, including but not limited to, situations where the value of a security in the Fund’s portfolio has been materially affected by events occurring after the close of the market on which the security is principally traded (such as a corporate action or other news that may materially affect the price of a security) or trading in a security has been suspended or halted. Fair value pricing involves subjective judgments and it is possible that a fair value determination for a security is materially different than the value that could be realized upon the sale of the security.

 

Buying and Selling Exchange-Traded Shares

 

Authorized Participants

 

The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in Creation Units. Only APs may acquire shares directly from the Fund, and only APs may tender their shares for redemption directly to the Fund, at NAV. APs must be (i) a broker-dealer or other participant in the clearing process through the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC, a clearing agency that is registered with the SEC; or (ii) a Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) participant (as discussed below). In addition, each AP must execute a Participant Agreement that has been agreed to by the Distributor, and that has been accepted by the Transfer Agent, with respect to purchases and redemptions of Creation Units. Once created, shares trade in the secondary market in quantities less than a Creation Unit.

 

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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, as part of a redemption, restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A.

 

Investors

 

Individual Fund shares may only be bought and sold by investors including APs in the secondary market through a broker or dealer at a market price. Shares are listed for trading on the secondary market on the Exchange and can be bought and sold throughout the trading day like other publicly traded securities.

 

When buying or selling shares through a broker, you will incur customary brokerage commissions and charges, and you may pay some or all of the spread between the bid and the offer price in the secondary market on each leg of a round trip (purchase and sale) transaction. Because the Fund’s shares trade at market prices rather than net asset value, shares may trade at a price greater than net asset value (premium) or less than net asset value (discount). An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the bid-ask spread). Information on the Fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website (www.tema.co).

 

Book Entry

 

Shares are held in book-entry form, which means that no stock certificates are issued. DTC or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding shares.

 

Investors owning shares are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. DTC serves as the securities depository for all shares. DTC’s participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other institutions that directly or indirectly maintain a custodial relationship with DTC. As a beneficial owner of shares, you are not entitled to receive physical delivery of stock certificates or to have shares registered in your name, and you are not considered a registered owner of shares. Therefore, to exercise any right as an owner of shares, you must rely upon the procedures of DTC and its participants. These procedures are the same as those that apply to any other securities that you hold in book entry or “street name” through your brokerage account.

 

Continuous Offering

 

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 of 1933, as amended (“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.

 

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For example, a broker dealer firm or its client may be deemed a statutory underwriter if it takes Creation Units after placing an order with the Transfer Agent, 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(3)(C) of the Securities Act, would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(3) of the Securities Act. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(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 shares that are part of an overallotment within the meaning of Section 4(3)(A) of the Securities Act would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(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 Fund and the Adviser may purchase and resell Fund shares pursuant to this Prospectus.

 

For More Information:

 

Existing Shareholders or Prospective Investors

 

TEMA ASIAN MIDDLE CLASS ETF 

c/o Foreside Fund Services, LLC 

Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100
Portland, Maine 04101

 

Dealers

 

TEMA ASIAN MIDDLE CLASS ETF 

c/o Foreside Fund Services, LLC 

Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100
Portland, Maine 04101

 

Distribution and Service Plan

 

The Board has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan (the “Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. In accordance with the Plan, the Fund is authorized to pay an amount up to 0.25% of its average daily net assets each year for certain distribution-related activities and shareholder services.

 

23

 

No Rule 12b-1 fees are currently paid by the Fund, and there are no plans to impose these fees. However, in the event Rule 12b-1 fees are charged in the future, because the fees are paid out of the Fund’s assets, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than certain other types of sales charges.

 

Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Fund shares

 

The Board has evaluated the risks of frequent purchases and redemptions of Fund shares (“market timing”) activities by the Fund’s shareholders. The Board noted that shares can only be purchased and redeemed directly from the Fund in Creation Units by APs and that the vast majority of trading in shares occurs on the secondary market. Because the secondary market trades do not involve the Fund directly, it is unlikely those trades would cause many of the harmful effects of market timing, including dilution, disruption of portfolio management, increases in the Fund’s trading costs and the realization of capital gains.

 

With respect to trades directly with the Fund, to the extent effected in-kind, those trades do not cause any of the harmful effects (as previously noted) that may result from frequent cash trades. To the extent that the Trust allows or requires trades to be effected in whole or in part in cash, the Board noted that those trades could result in dilution to the Fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. However, the Board noted that direct trading by APs is critical to ensuring that shares trade at or close to NAV. The Fund also employs fair valuation pricing to minimize potential dilution from market timing. The Fund imposes transaction fees on in-kind purchases and redemptions of shares to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by the Fund in effecting in-kind trades, these fees increase if an investor substitutes cash in part or in whole for securities, reflecting the fact that the Fund’s trading costs increase in those circumstances. Given this structure, the Board determined that it is not necessary to adopt policies and procedures to detect and deter market timing of shares.

 

Distributions

 

Dividends and Distributions

 

The Fund intends to qualify each year as a regulated investment company under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). As a regulated investment company, the Fund generally pays no federal income tax on the income and gains it distributes to you. The Fund expects to declare and distribute all of its net investment income, if any, to shareholders as dividends monthly.

 

The Fund will distribute net realized capital gains, if any, at least annually. The Fund may distribute such income dividends and capital gains more frequently, if necessary, in order to reduce or eliminate federal excise or income taxes on the Fund. The amount of any distribution will vary, and there is no guarantee the Fund will pay either an income dividend or a capital gains distribution.

 

24

 

Annual Statements

 

Each year, you will receive an annual statement (Form 1099) of your account activity to assist you in completing your federal, state and local tax returns. Distributions declared in December to shareholders of record in such month, but paid in January, are taxable as if they were paid in December. The Fund make every effort to search for reclassified income to reduce the number of corrected forms mailed to you. However, when necessary, you will receive a corrected Form 1099 to reflect reclassified information.

 

Avoid “Buying a Dividend”

 

At the time you purchase your shares, the price of shares may reflect undistributed income, undistributed capital gains, or net unrealized appreciation in value of portfolio securities held by the Fund. For taxable investors, a subsequent distribution to you of such amounts, although constituting a return of your investment, would be taxable. Buying shares in the Fund just before it declares an income dividend or capital gains distribution is sometimes known as “buying a dividend.”

 

Dividend Reinvestment Service

 

Brokers may make available the Depository Trust Company book-entry dividend reinvestment service to their customers who own Fund shares. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and capital gains will automatically be reinvested in additional whole shares of the Fund purchased on the secondary market. Without this service, investors would receive their distributions in cash. To determine whether the dividend reinvestment service is available and whether there is a commission or other charge for using this service, consult your broker. Brokers may require Fund shareholders 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 the Fund purchased in the secondary market.

 

Tax Information

 

Tax Considerations

 

The Fund expects, based on its investment objective and strategies, that its distributions, if any, will be taxable as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both. This is true whether you reinvest your distributions in additional shares or receive them in cash. For federal income tax purposes, Fund distributions of short-term capital gains are taxable to you as ordinary income. Fund distributions of long-term capital gains are taxable to you as long-term capital gains no matter how long you have owned your shares. A portion of income dividends reported by the Fund may be qualified dividend income eligible for taxation by individual shareholders at long-term capital gain rates provided certain holding period requirements are met.

 

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 the Fund, including the possible application of foreign, state and local taxes. Unless your investment in the Fund is through a tax-exempt entity or tax-deferred retirement account, such as a 401(k) plan, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when: (i) the Fund makes distributions, (ii) you sell shares in the secondary market or (iii) you create or redeem Creation Units.

 

25

 

Taxes on Distributions

 

The Fund intends to distribute, at least annually, substantially all of its net investment income and net capital gains. For federal income tax purposes, distributions of investment income are generally taxable as ordinary income or qualified dividend income. Taxes on distributions of capital gains (if any) are determined by how long the Fund owned the investments that generated them, rather than how long a shareholder has owned his or her shares. Sales of assets held by the Fund for more than one year generally result in long-term capital gains and losses, and sales of assets held by the Fund for one year or less generally result in short-term capital gains and losses. Distributions of the Fund’s net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses) that are reported by the Fund as capital gain dividends (“Capital Gain Dividends”) will be taxable as long-term capital gains, which for non-corporate shareholders are subject to tax at reduced rates of up to 20% (lower rates apply to individuals in lower tax brackets). Distributions of short-term capital gain will generally be taxable as ordinary income. Dividends and distributions are generally taxable to you whether you receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional shares.

 

Distributions reported by the Fund as “qualified dividend income” are generally taxed to noncorporate shareholders at rates applicable to long-term capital gains, provided holding period and other requirements are met. “Qualified dividend income” generally is income derived from dividends paid by U.S. corporations or certain foreign corporations that are either incorporated in a U.S. possession or eligible for tax benefits under certain U.S. income tax treaties. In addition, dividends that the Fund received in respect of stock of certain foreign corporations may be qualified dividend income if that stock is readily tradable on an established U.S. securities market.

 

U.S. individuals with income exceeding specified thresholds are subject to a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax on all or a portion of their “net investment income,” which includes interest, dividends, and certain capital gains (generally including capital gains distributions and capital gains realized on the sale of shares). This 3.8% tax also applies to all or a portion of the undistributed net investment income of certain shareholders, such as estates and trusts, whose gross income as adjusted or modified for tax purposes exceeds certain threshold amounts.

 

In general, your distributions are subject to federal income tax for the year in which they are paid. Certain distributions paid in January, however, may be treated as paid on December 31 of the prior year. Distributions are generally taxable even if they are paid from income or gains earned by the Fund before your investment (and thus were included in the shares’ NAV when you purchased your shares).

 

You may wish to avoid investing in the Fund shortly before a dividend or other distribution, because such a distribution will generally be taxable even though it may economically represent a return of a portion of your investment. Distributions in excess of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits are treated as a tax-free return of your investment to the extent of your basis in the shares, and generally as capital gain thereafter. A return of capital, which for tax purposes is treated as a return of your investment, reduces your basis in shares, thus reducing any loss or increasing any gain on a subsequent taxable disposition of shares. A distribution will reduce the Fund’s NAV per Share and may be taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gain even though, from an economic standpoint, the distribution may constitute a return of capital.

 

26

 

If you are neither a resident nor a citizen of the United States or if you are a foreign entity, distributions (other than Capital Gain Dividends) paid to you by the Fund will generally be subject to a U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30% unless a lower treaty rate applies. The Fund may, under certain circumstances, report all or a portion of a dividend as an “interest-related dividend” or a “short-term capital gain dividend,” which would generally be exempt from this 30% U.S. withholding tax, provided certain other requirements are met.

 

The Fund (or a financial intermediary, such as a broker, through which a shareholder owns shares) generally is required to withhold and remit to the U.S. Treasury a percentage of the taxable distributions and sale or redemption proceeds paid to any shareholder who fails to properly furnish a correct taxpayer identification number, who has underreported dividend or interest income, or who fails to certify that he, she or it is not subject to such withholding.

 

Shortly after the close of each calendar year, you will be informed of the character of any distributions received from the Fund.

 

Taxes When shares are Sold on the Exchange

 

Any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of shares generally is treated as a long-term capital gain or loss if shares have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if shares have been held for one year or less. However, any capital loss on a sale of shares held for six months or less is treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of Capital Gain Dividends paid with respect to such shares. The ability to deduct capital losses may be limited.

 

Taxes on Purchases and Redemptions of Creation Units

 

An Authorized Participant having the U.S. dollar as its functional currency for U.S. federal income tax purposes who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally recognizes a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the value of the Creation Units at the time of the exchange and the exchanging Authorized Participant’s aggregate basis in the securities delivered plus the amount of any cash paid for the Creation Units. An Authorized Participant who exchanges Creation Units for securities will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanging Authorized Participant’s basis in the Creation Units and the aggregate U.S. dollar market value of the securities received, plus any cash received for such Creation Units. The Internal Revenue Service may assert, however, that a loss that is realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units may not be currently deducted under the rules governing “wash sales” (for an Authorized Participant who does not mark-to-market their holdings), or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position. Persons exchanging securities should consult their own tax advisor with respect to whether wash sale rules apply and when a loss might be deductible.

 

Any capital gain or loss realized upon redemption of Creation Units is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if shares have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if shares have been held for one year or less.

 

Special Issues for Foreign Shareholders

 

If a Fund shareholder is not a U.S. citizen or resident or if a Fund shareholder is a foreign entity, the Fund’s ordinary income dividends (including distributions of net short-term capital gains and other amounts that would not be subject to U.S. withholding tax if paid directly to foreign Fund shareholders) will be subject, in general, to withholding tax at a rate of 30% (or at a lower rate established under an applicable tax treaty). A special rule for regulated investment companies (such as the Fund) provided that, for tax years that began on or before December 31, 2009, interest-related dividends and short-term capital gain dividends generally will not be subject to withholding tax; provided that the foreign Fund shareholder furnishes the Fund with a completed IRS Form W-8BEN (or acceptable substitute documentation) establishing the Fund shareholder’s status as foreign and that the Fund does not have actual knowledge or reason to know that the foreign Fund shareholder would be subject to withholding tax if the foreign Fund shareholder were to receive the related amounts directly rather than as dividends from the Fund. There has been legislation proposed to extend this rule until December 31, 2010; however, there can be no assurance at this time whether it will be extended, and, if yes, the terms of the extension.

 

27

 

To claim a credit or refund for any Fund-level taxes on any undistributed long-term capital gains (as discussed above) or any taxes collected through back-up withholding, a foreign Fund shareholder must obtain a U.S. taxpayer identification number and file a federal income tax return even if the foreign Fund shareholder would not otherwise be required to obtain a U.S. taxpayer identification number or file a U.S. income tax return.

 

The information in this section “Tax Information” is not intended or written to be used as tax advice. Because everyone’s tax situation is unique, you should consult your tax professional about federal, state, local or foreign tax consequences before making an investment in the Fund.

 

Financial Highlights

 

Because the Fund has not commenced operations as of the date of this Prospectus, no financial highlights information is available.

 

Premium/Discount Information

 

Information regarding how often shares of the Fund traded on the Exchange at a price above (i.e., at a premium) or below (i.e., at a discount) the NAV of the Fund during the past four calendar quarters, or since inception, as applicable, can be found at the Fund’s website at http://www.temaetfs.com.

 

Investment Adviser

 

Tema Global Limited
2nd Floor, Le Gallais Building  

54 Bath Street, St Helier  

Jersey, JE1 1FW  

Sub-Adviser 

 

Neos Investment Management LLC 

13 Riverside Avenue   

Westport, CT 06880 

   

Custodian 


U.S. Bank
615 East Michigan Street 

Milwaukee, WI 53202 

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

[Name of Auditor]
[_____________]
[_____________] 

  

Distributor

 

Foreside Fund Services, LLC
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100
Portland, Maine 04101

 

Transfer Agent

 

Foreside Fund Services, LLC
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100
Portland, Maine 04101

 

 

Legal Counsel

 

Thompson Hine LLP
1919 M Street, N.W., Suite 700
Washington D.C., 20036 

 

28

 

Disclaimers

 

Shares of the Trust are not sponsored, endorsed, or promoted by the Exchange. The Exchange makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the shares of the Fund. The Exchange is not responsible for, nor has it participated in, the determination of the timing of, prices of, or quantities of the shares of the Fund to be issued, or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the shares are redeemable. The Exchange has no obligation or liability to owners of the shares of the Fund in connection with the administration, marketing, or trading of the shares of the Fund. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall the Exchange have any liability for any lost profits or indirect, punitive, special, or consequential damages even if notified of the possibility thereof.

 

Additional Information

 

This Prospectus does not contain all the information included in the Registration Statement filed with the SEC with respect to the Fund’s shares. Information about the Fund can be reviewed on the EDGAR database at the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov), and copies may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following email address: publicinfo@sec.gov. The SAI for the Fund, which has been filed with the SEC, provides more information about the Fund. The SAI is incorporated herein by reference and is legally part of this Prospectus. Additional information about the Fund’s investments will be available in the Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. In the Fund’s annual report, when available, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund’s performance during its last fiscal year. These documents and other information concerning the Trust also may be inspected at Brookfield Place, 200 Vesey Street, Suite 24106, New York, NY 10281. You can also obtain information about the Fund by calling at no cost 1.888.744.1377.

 

Investment Company Act file no. 811-23823

 

29

 

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS SUBJECT TO COMPLETION JUNE 6, 2023

    

The information in this 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 Prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

Tema ETF Trust

 

PROSPECTUS

 

[    ] [    ], 2023

 

Tema Diabetes, Obesity and Cardiology ETF (TICKER SYMBOL)

 

Principal Listing Exchange: [    ]

 

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

 

1

 

Summary Information — Tema Diabetes, Obesity and Cardiology ETF

 

Investment Objective

 

Tema Diabetes, Obesity and Cardiology ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to provide long-term growth of capital.

 

Fund Fees and Expenses

 

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. 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) 

None 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fee   0.[   ]%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees   0.00%
Other Expenses   0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses   0.[  ]%

 

[    ]

 

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 sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your cost would be:

 

 

1 Year  

3 Years  

Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be: $[   ]   $[   ]  

 

Portfolio Turnover

 

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it purchases and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may result in higher transaction costs and higher taxes when shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses table or in the Example above, may affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, there is no portfolio turnover to report.

 

2

 

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

 

Under normal circumstances, the Tema Diabetes, Obesity and Cardiology ETF seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets, which include borrowings for investment purposes, in publicly listed companies that derive at least 50% of revenues, or $1 billion in revenues, from products or services related to the treatment of diabetes, heart diseases and/or diseases related to obesity, as defined by the Centers for Diseases Control and Preventions (“CDC”). The CDC defines obesity-related illnesses as any of the following: monogenetic obesity conditions (i.e., obesity caused by the specific variant of a single gene), diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, breathing problems and joint problems. The Adviser will apply this definition to internal research and analysis based on company disclosure (such as 10-K filings, company presentations, capital markets day presentations) and other publicly available sources (e.g., sell-side research, biotechnology industry publications etc.) to make this assessment. Example companies include large pharmaceutical firms, development-stage biotechnology companies, diagnostic focused businesses with products used to diagnose and/or treat the aforementioned diseases, medical device companies focused on treatment of the aforementioned diseases, and healthcare service providers with a specific strategic focus on helping treat and manage the aforementioned diseases, each providing they meet the aforementioned revenue test.

 

The Fund generally is expected to consist of more than 15 companies but not more than 100 companies. The number of constituents may change depending on the number of companies available for investment that meet the Fund’s criteria.

 

To be eligible for inclusion in the Fund, a company must have a market capitalization of at least $100 million and there is no upper limit on the market capitalization of a portfolio company. To be eligible for inclusion in the Fund, a company must have a three-month average daily traded value of at least $500,000.

 

A significant portion of the Fund’s assets are expected to be invested in the United States and Europe.

 

The Fund will not engage in currency hedging and is expected to own foreign currency for short periods of time for the purposes of buying and selling non-US listed securities and collecting dividends and/or coupon payments from those securities.

 

The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), which means that it may invest a high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers and concentrate its investments in a particular industry or group of industries.

 

The Fund relies on the professional judgment of its Adviser to make decisions about the Fund’s portfolio investments. 

 

The basic investment philosophy of the Adviser is to seek to invest in companies within the aforementioned thematic universe that are attractively valued when compared to their fundamentals and growth opportunities. The Adviser’s security selection process for identifying companies within the aforementioned theme uses both “top down” idea generation (sector, theme, company research) and “bottom up” security selection (valuation, fundamental, quantitative, qualitative measures) approaches. 

 

3

 

In practice “top down” idea generation means fundamental sector research, quantitative tools (for example screening based on metrics such as five-year historic revenue growth, margins, or returns on invested capital) and the Adviser’s own expertise, are used to narrow down the specific thematic research universe.

 

Once this is defined “bottom up” security analysis involves the Adviser comparing valuation multiples (such as free cash flow yield, price to book ratio and price to earnings ratio or enterprise value to total invested capital, among others) to fundamental metrics (such as organic revenue growth, margins, returns on invested capital and equity, among others). Investments are deemed attractively valued when compared to fundamentals if the valuation multiples are below and fundamentals are above either (1) peers (2) the companies own historic averages (3) or prospective forecasts (as determined by the Adviser). Buttressing this is a detailed fundamental research profile of each company assessing business model, competitive edge, management incentives and track record, and balance sheet.

 

The Adviser integrates environmental, social and corporate governance (“ESG”) considerations into its investment analysis. This is in support of both the objective of maximizing return and the broader analysis of risks associated with individual companies. The Adviser, however, does not use ESG considerations to limit, restrict or otherwise exclude companies or sectors from the Fund’s investment universe.

 

ESG factors in this context include, but are not limited to, the impact on or from climate change, natural resource use, waste management practices, human capital management, product safety, supply chain management, corporate governance, business ethics and advocacy for governmental policy.

 

As part of its investment analysis the Adviser will consider the following, which form part of a holistic assessment of each individual investment opportunity that itself determines selection of the highest conviction securities into the portfolio that the Adviser believes represent the best risk reward for investors:

 

  The Adviser, as part of its company assessment, will look closely at any material non-financial and ESG related risks that might significantly impair the future financial performance of the company. Such risks will be given equal prominence in analysis to any financial only risks. ESG considerations may not be applicable to all types of instruments or investments.

 

  Where deemed appropriate the Adviser may engage with companies directly on issues, either through meetings or in written form. This includes but is not limited to improving governance practices, aligning management incentives, and increasing transparency of ESG practices.

 

In making these considerations the Adviser will use both internal and external data sources and analyses including, but not limited to, those provided by companies directly or by third parties. These considerations also inform monitoring of existing positions.

 

The Fund may invest in foreign securities listed on foreign exchanges as well as American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) and Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”). The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), which means that it may invest a high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers and concentrate its investments in a particular industry or group of industries.  

 

4

 

The Fund may engage in securities lending.

 

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

 

As with all funds, a shareholder is subject to the risk that his or her investment could lose money. An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any government agency. The principal risks affecting shareholders’ investments in the Fund are set forth below.

 

Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an Authorized Participant (as defined below) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized Participants. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units, Fund shares may trade at a discount to net asset value per share (“NAV”) and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting.

 

Common Stock Risk. Common stock holds the lowest priority in the capital structure of a company, and, therefore, takes the largest share of the company’s risk and its accompanying volatility. The value of the common stock held by the Fund may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the issuers of securities held by the Fund participate, or facts relating to specific companies in which the Fund invests. 

 

Currency Risk. The Fund may invest its assets in securities denominated in non-U.S. 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 the shares. Because the Fund’s NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the Fund’s NAV could decline if the currency of the non-U.S. market in which the Fund invests depreciates against the U.S. dollar, even if the value of the Fund’s holdings, measured in the foreign currency, increases. 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 and Disaster Recovery Risks. Information and technology systems relied upon by the Fund, the Adviser, the Fund’s other service providers (including, but not limited to, the Fund Accountant, Custodian, Transfer Agent, Administrator and Distributor), market makers, Authorized Participants, financial intermediaries and/or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may be vulnerable to damage or interruption from computer viruses, network failures, computer and telecommunication failures, infiltration by unauthorized persons, security breaches, usage errors, power outages and catastrophic events such as fires, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes and earthquakes. Although the Adviser and the Fund’s other service providers have implemented measures to manage risks relating to these types of events, if these systems are compromised, become inoperable for extended periods of time or cease to function properly, significant investment may be required to fix or replace them. The failure of these systems and/or of disaster recovery plans could cause significant interruptions in the operations of the Fund, the Adviser, the Fund’s other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants, financial intermediaries and/or issuers of securities in which the Fund invests and may result in a failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data, impact the Fund’s ability to calculate its NAV or impede trading.

 

5

 

Depositary Receipt Risk. The Fund may invest in depositary receipts which involve similar risks to those associated with investments in foreign securities. Investments in depositary receipts may be less liquid.

 

ESG Risk. Because the Fund evaluates ESG factors to assess and exclude certain investments for non-financial reasons, the Fund may forego some market opportunities available to funds that do not use these ESG factors. Information used by the Fund to evaluate ESG factors, including data provided by third-party vendors, may not be readily available, complete or accurate, and may vary across providers and issuers and within industries, which could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to apply its methodology and in turn could negatively impact the Fund’s performance. Currently, there is a lack of common industry standards relating to the development and application of ESG criteria which may make it difficult to compare the Fund’s principal investment strategies with the investment strategies of other funds that apply certain ESG criteria or that use a different third-party vendor for ESG.

 

Early Close/Trading Halt Risk. An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses. 

 

Emerging Markets Securities 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.  

 

Fluctuation of Net Asset Value Risk. The NAV of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. The market prices of the shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”). The Adviser cannot predict whether the shares will trade below, at or above their NAV. The Fund’s market price may deviate from the value of its underlying portfolio holdings, particularly in times of market stress, with the result that investors may pay significantly more or receive significantly less than the underlying value of the Fund shares bought or sold. This can be reflected as a spread between the bid and ask prices for the Fund quoted during the day or a premium or discount in the closing price from the Fund’s NAV. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the Exchange and may, therefore, have a material effect on the market price of the Fund’s shares.

 

6

 

Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in securities (including ADRs and Global Depository Receipts (“GDRs”)) of foreign issuers involve risks not ordinarily associated with investments in securities and instruments of U.S. issuers. The values of foreign investments may be affected by changes in exchange control regulations, application of foreign tax laws (including withholding tax) changes in governmental administration or economic or monetary policy (in this country or abroad) or changed circumstances in dealings between nations. The value of foreign securities is also affected by the value of the local currency relative to the U.S. Dollar. GDRs may be other than dollar denominated and may be issued in several countries.

 

ADRs Risk. ADRs may be subject to some of the same risks as direct investment in foreign companies, which includes international trade, currency, political, regulatory and diplomatic risks. In a sponsored ADR arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes the obligation to pay some or all of the depositary’s transaction fees. Under an unsponsored ADR arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes no obligations and the depositary’s transaction fees are paid directly by the ADR holders. Because unsponsored ADR arrangements are organized independently and without the cooperation of the issuer of the underlying securities, available information concerning the foreign issuer may not be as current as for sponsored ADRs and voting rights with respect to the deposited securities that are not passed through.

 

Geographic Investment Risk. To the extent the Fund are significantly comprised of securities of issuers from a single country, the Fund would be more likely to be impacted by events or conditions affecting that country.

 

Industry Concentration Risk. Because the Fund’s assets will be concentrated in an industry or group of industries, the Fund is subject to loss due to adverse occurrences that may affect that industry or group of industries.

 

Investment Risk. An investment in the Fund is subject to investment risk including the possible loss of the entire principal amount that you invest.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. Fund performance depends on the performance of individual securities to which the Fund has exposure. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.

 

Large Shareholder and Large-Scale Redemption Risk. Certain shareholders, including an Authorized Participant, a third-party investor, the Fund’s adviser or an affiliate of the Fund’s adviser, a market maker, or another entity, may from time to time own or manage a substantial amount of Fund shares or may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a limited period of time. These shareholders may also pledge or loan Fund shares (to secure financing or otherwise), which may result in the shares becoming concentrated in another party. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder or large group of shareholders would not redeem their investment or that the size of the Fund would be maintained. Redemptions of a large number of Fund shares by these shareholders may adversely affect the Fund’s liquidity and net assets. To the extent the Fund permits redemptions in cash, these redemptions may force the Fund to sell portfolio securities when it might not otherwise do so, which may negatively impact the Fund’s NAV, have a material effect on the market price of the shares and increase the Fund’s brokerage costs and/or accelerate the realization of taxable income and/or gains and cause the Fund to make taxable distributions to its shareholders earlier than the Fund otherwise would have.

 

Liquidity Risk. It may be more difficult for the Fund to buy and sell significant amounts of some securities without an unfavorable impact on prevailing market prices. As a result, these securities may be difficult to dispose of at a fair price at the times when the Adviser believes it is desirable to do so.

 

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Market Risk Risk. Market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. The value of a security or other asset may decline due to changes in general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the issuer of the security or other asset, or factors that affect a particular issuer or issuers, exchange, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issue, e.g. COVID-19, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by Fund management will underperform the markets, the relevant indices or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies. This means you may lose money.

 

Medical Product and Device Company Risk. Companies that manufacture or develop medical products or devices subject to extensive regulation in the United States by the FDA and by comparable government agencies in other countries. The regulations govern the development, design, approval, manufacturing, labeling, importing and exporting and sale and marketing of many of our medical products. These regulations are also subject to future change. Failure to comply with applicable regulations and quality assurance guidelines could lead to manufacturing shutdowns, product shortages, delays in product manufacturing, product seizures, recalls, operating restrictions, withdrawal or suspension of required licenses, and prohibitions against exporting of products to, or importing products from, countries outside the United States. Medical product and medical device companies could be required to expend significant financial and human resources to remediate failures to comply with applicable regulations and quality assurance guidelines.

 

Micro-Capitalization Risk. The micro-capitalization companies in which the Fund may invest may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies, and may underperform other segments of the market or the equity market as a whole. Securities of micro-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes, are often more vulnerable to market volatility, and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole.

 

New Fund Risk. A new or smaller fund is subject to the risk that its 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 and smaller funds may not attract sufficient assets to achieve investment and trading efficiencies. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve an economically viable size. Further, an active trading market for shares of the Fund may not develop or be maintained.  

 

Non-Diversified Fund Risk. The Fund is a non-diversified investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), meaning that, as compared to a diversified fund, it can invest a greater percentage of its assets in securities issued by or representing a small number of issuers. As a result, the performance of these issuers can have a substantial impact on the Fund’s performance.

 

Operations. The Fund is exposed to operational risk arising from a number of factors, including but not limited to human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund seeks to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate for those risks that they are intended to address.

 

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Pandemics Risk. An outbreak of infectious respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 was first detected in China in December 2019 before spreading worldwide and being declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. COVID-19 has resulted in travel restrictions, closed international borders, enhanced health screenings, disruption and delays in healthcare services, prolonged quarantines, cancellations, temporary store closures, social distancing, government ordered curfews and business closures, disruptions to supply chains and consumer activity, shortages, highly volatile financial markets, and general concern and uncertainty. 

 

Pharmaceutical Company Risk. Companies in the pharmaceutical industry are heavily dependent on patent protection. The expiration of patents may adversely affect the profitability of the companies. Pharmaceutical companies are also subject to extensive litigation based on product liability and other similar claims. Many new products are subject to approval of the Food and Drug Administration, a process that can be long and costly. Expanding international operations may lead to risks resulting from differences between U.S. and foreign legal, political and economic systems, regulatory regimes and market practices.

 

Portfolio Turnover Risk. Due to its investment strategy, the Fund may buy and sell securities frequently. This may result in higher transaction costs and additional capital gains tax liabilities, which may affect the Fund’s performance.

 

Sector Focus Risk. The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in one or more sectors and thus will be more susceptible to the risks affecting those sectors. The Fund anticipates that it may be subject to some or all of the risks described below.

 

Biotechnology Industry Risk. The biotechnology industry can be significantly affected by patent considerations, including the termination of patent protections for products, intense competition both domestically and internationally, rapid technological change and obsolescence, government regulation and expensive insurance costs due to the risk of product liability lawsuits. In addition, the biotechnology industry is an emerging growth industry, and therefore biotechnology companies may be thinly capitalized and more volatile than companies with greater capitalizations. Biotechnology companies must contend with high development costs, which may be exacerbated by the inability to raise prices to cover costs because of managed care pressure, government regulation or price controls.

 

Healthcare Sector Risk. To the extent the Fund focuses on the healthcare sector, the Fund may be more susceptible to the particular risks that may affect companies in the healthcare sector than if it were invested in a wider variety of companies in unrelated sectors. The profitability of companies in the healthcare sector may be adversely affected by the following factors, among others: extensive government regulations, restrictions on government reimbursement for medical expenses, rising costs of medical products and services, pricing pressure, an increased emphasis on outpatient services, changes in the demand for medical products and services, a limited number of products, industry innovation, changes in technologies and other market developments. A number of issuers in the healthcare sector have recently merged or otherwise experienced consolidation. The effects of this trend toward consolidation are unknown and may be far-reaching. Many healthcare companies are heavily dependent on patent protection. The expiration of a company’s patents may adversely affect that company’s profitability. Many healthcare companies are subject to extensive litigation based on product liability and similar claims. Healthcare companies are subject to competitive forces that may make it difficult to raise prices and, in fact, may result in price discounting. Many new products in the healthcare sector may be subject to regulatory approvals. The process of obtaining such approvals may be long and costly, and such efforts ultimately may be unsuccessful. Companies in the healthcare sector may be thinly capitalized and may be susceptible to product obsolescence. In addition, a number of legislative proposals concerning healthcare have been considered by the U.S. Congress in recent years. It is unclear what proposals will ultimately be enacted, if any, and what effect they may have on companies in the healthcare sector. 

 

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Securities Lending Risk. Although the Fund will receive collateral in connection with all loans of its securities holdings, the Fund would be exposed to a risk of loss should a borrower default on its obligation to return the borrowed securities (e.g., the loaned securities may have appreciated beyond the value of the collateral held by the Fund). In addition, the Fund will bear the risk of loss of any cash collateral that it invests.

 

Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. 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.

 

Small- and Mid-Capitalization Company Risk. The small- and mid-capitalization companies in which the Fund invests may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies, and may underperform other segments of the market or the equity market as a whole. Securities of small- and mid-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes, are often more vulnerable to market volatility, and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole.  

 

Trading Risk. Shares of the Fund may trade on the Exchange above or below their NAV. The NAV of shares of the Fund will fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. In addition, although the Fund’s shares are currently listed on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for shares will develop or be maintained. Trading in Fund shares may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares of the Fund inadvisable.

 

Valuation Risk. The price the Fund could receive upon the sale of a security or other asset may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security , particularly for securities or other assets that trade in low volume or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology as a result of trade suspensions or for other reasons. Because non-U.S. exchanges may be open on days when the Fund does not price its shares, the value of the securities or other assets in the Fund’s portfolio may change on days or during time periods when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund’s shares.] Authorized Participants who purchase or redeem Fund shares on days when the Fund is holding fair-valued securities may receive fewer or more shares, or lower or higher redemption proceeds, than they would have received had the Fund not fair-valued securities or used a different valuation methodology. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.

 

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Performance

 

Because the Fund has only recently commenced investment operations, no performance information is presented for the Fund at this time. In the future, performance information will be presented in this section of this Prospectus. Also, shareholder reports containing financial and performance information will be mailed to shareholders semi-annually. Updated performance information will be available at no cost by visiting the Fund’s website at http://www.tema.co.

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser – Tema Global Limited is the investment adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers 

 

Maurits Pot is responsible for the day to day management of the Fund and has served since inception.

 

Sub-Adviser – Neos Investment Management LLC is the sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers – Garrett Paolella (since inception), Troy Cates (since inception), and Ryan Houlton (since inception)

 

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares 

 

The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in a large specified number of shares each called a “Creation Unit,” or multiples thereof, and only with authorized participants (“Authorized Participants”) which have entered into contractual arrangements with Foreside Fund Services, LLC, the Fund’s distributor (“Distributor”). A Creation Unit consists of 10,000 shares. Creation Unit transactions are expected to be typically conducted in exchange for the deposit or delivery of in-kind securities in the Fund’s portfolio. The Fund may, in certain circumstances, offer Creation Units partially or solely for cash.

 

Individual shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold on a national securities exchange through brokers. Shares of the Fund are listed on [    ] (“Exchange”) and because shares will trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares of the Fund may trade at a price greater than or less than NAV.

 

Tax Information

 

Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless your investment is in an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.

 

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Payments to Broker-Dealer and Other Financial Intermediaries

 

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

 

More Information About the Fund

 

Investment Objective

 

The Fund seeks to provide long-term growth of capital.

 

Additional Information About Investment Strategies

 

Under normal circumstances, the Tema Diabetes, Obesity and Cardiology ETF seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets, which include borrowings for investment purposes, in publicly listed companies that derive at least 50% of revenues, or $1 billion in revenues, from products or services related to the treatment of diabetes, heart diseases and/or diseases related to obesity, as defined by the Centers for Diseases Control and Preventions (“CDC”). The CDC defines obesity-related illnesses as any of the following: monogenetic obesity conditions (i.e., obesity caused by the specific variant of a single gene), diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, breathing problems and joint problems. The Adviser will apply this definition to internal research and analysis based on company disclosure (such as 10-K filings, company presentations, capital markets day presentations) and other publicly available sources (e.g., sell-side research, biotechnology industry publications etc.) to make this assessment. Example companies include large pharmaceutical firms, development-stage biotechnology firms, diagnostic focused businesses with products used to diagnose and/or treat the aforementioned diseases, medical device companies focused on treatment of the aforementioned diseases, and healthcare service providers with a specific strategic focus on helping treat and manage the aforementioned diseases, each providing they meet the aforementioned revenue test.

 

The Fund’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) may change the Fund’s investment objective and/or its 80% policy, both of which are non-fundamental, without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders. The Fund’s other investment policies and strategies may be changed by the Board without shareholder approval unless otherwise provided in this prospectus or in the Statement of Additional Information. 

 

Additional Information About the Fund’s Principal Risks

 

The following section provides additional information regarding certain of the principal risks identified under “Principal Risks” in the Fund’s summary.

 

Investors in the Fund should be willing to accept a high degree of volatility in the price of the Fund’s shares and the possibility of significant losses. An investment in the Fund involves a substantial degree of risk. Therefore, you should consider carefully the following risks before investing in the Fund.

 

Absence of Prior Active Market Risk. While the Fund’s shares are listed on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for shares will develop or be maintained. The Distributor does not maintain a secondary market in shares.

 

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Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed, which means that investment decisions are made based on investment views. There is no guarantee that the investment views will produce the desired results or expected returns, which may cause the Fund to fail to meet its investment objective or to underperform its benchmark index or funds with similar investment objectives and strategies. Furthermore, active trading that can accompany active management may result in high portfolio turnover, which may have a negative impact on performance. Active trading may result in higher brokerage costs or mark-up charges, which are ultimately passed on to shareholders of the Fund. Active trading may also result in adverse tax consequences. Certain securities or other instruments in which the Fund seeks to invest may not be available in the quantities desired. To the extent the Fund employs strategies targeting perceived pricing inefficiencies, arbitrage strategies or similar strategies, it is subject to the risk that the pricing or valuation of the securities and instruments involved in such strategies may change unexpectedly, which may result in reduced returns or losses to the Fund. Additionally, legislative, regulatory, or tax restrictions, policies or developments may affect the investment techniques available to the Adviser and each individual portfolio manager in connection with managing the Fund and may also adversely affect the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective.

 

Authorized Participants Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants. 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.

 

Common Stock Risk. Common stock holds the lowest priority in the capital structure of a company, and, therefore, takes the largest share of the company’s risk and its accompanying volatility. The value of the common stock held by the Fund may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the issuers of securities held by the Fund participate, or facts relating to specific companies in which the Fund invests. 

 

Currency Risk. The Fund may invest its assets in securities denominated in non-U.S. 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 the shares. Because the Fund’s NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the Fund’s NAV could decline if the currency of the non-U.S. market in which the Fund invests depreciates against the U.S. dollar, even if the value of the Fund’s holdings, measured in the foreign currency, increases. 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.

 

13

 

Cybersecurity and Disaster Recovery. Information and technology systems relied upon by the Fund, the Adviser, the Fund’s other service providers (including, but not limited to, the Fund Accountant, Custodian, Transfer Agent, Administrator, Distributor and index providers, as applicable), market makers, Authorized Participants, financial intermediaries and/or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may be vulnerable to damage or interruption from computer viruses, network failures, computer and telecommunication failures, infiltration by unauthorized persons, security breaches, usage errors, power outages and catastrophic events such as fires, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes and earthquakes. Although the Adviser and the Fund’s other service providers have implemented measures to manage risks relating to these types of events, if these systems are compromised, become inoperable for extended periods of time or cease to function properly, significant investment may be required to fix or replace them. The failure of these systems and/or of disaster recovery plans could cause significant interruptions in the operations of the Fund, the Adviser, the Fund’s other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants, financial intermediaries and/or issuers of securities in which the Fund invests and may result in a failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data, impact the Fund’s ability to calculate its net asset value or impede trading. Such a failure could also harm the reputation of the Fund, the Adviser, the Fund’s other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants, financial intermediaries and/or issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, subject such entities and their respective affiliates to legal claims or otherwise affect their business and financial performance.

 

Depositary Receipt Risk. The Fund may invest in depositary receipts which involve similar risks to those associated with investments in foreign securities. Investments in depositary receipts may be less liquid.

 

Early Close/Trading Halt Risk. An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses. 

 

Emerging Markets Securities 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.

 

ESG Risk. Because the Fund evaluates ESG factors to assess and exclude certain investments for non-financial reasons, the Fund may forego some market opportunities available to funds that do not use these ESG factors. Information used by the Fund to evaluate ESG factors, including data provided by third-party vendors, may not be readily available, complete or accurate, and may vary across providers and issuers and within industries, which could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to apply its methodology and in turn could negatively impact the Fund’s performance. Currently, there is a lack of common industry standards relating to the development and application of ESG criteria which may make it difficult to compare the Fund’s principal investment strategies with the investment strategies of other funds that apply certain ESG criteria or that use a different third-party vendor for ESG.

 

Fluctuation of Net Asset Value Risk. The NAV of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. The market prices of the shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on Exchange. The Adviser cannot predict whether the shares will trade below, at or above their NAV. The Fund’s market price may deviate from the value of its underlying portfolio holdings, particularly in times of market stress, with the result that investors may pay significantly more or receive significantly less than the underlying value of the Fund shares bought or sold. This can be reflected as a spread between the bid and ask prices for the Fund quoted during the day or a premium or discount in the closing price from the Fund’s NAV. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the Exchange and may, therefore, have a material effect on the market price of the Fund’s shares.

 

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Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in securities (including ADRs and Global Depository Receipts (“GDRs”)) of foreign issuers involve risks not ordinarily associated with investments in securities and instruments of U.S. issuers. The values of foreign investments may be affected by changes in exchange control regulations, application of foreign tax laws (including withholding tax) changes in governmental administration or economic or monetary policy (in this country or abroad) or changed circumstances in dealings between nations. The value of foreign securities is also affected by the value of the local currency relative to the U.S. Dollar. GDRs may be other than dollar denominated and may be issued in several countries.

 

ADRs Risk. ADRs may be subject to some of the same risks as direct investment in foreign companies, which includes international trade, currency, political, regulatory and diplomatic risks. In a sponsored ADR arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes the obligation to pay some or all of the depositary’s transaction fees. Under an unsponsored ADR arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes no obligations and the depositary’s transaction fees are paid directly by the ADR holders. Because unsponsored ADR arrangements are organized independently and without the cooperation of the issuer of the underlying securities, available information concerning the foreign issuer may not be as current as for sponsored ADRs and voting rights with respect to the deposited securities that are not passed through.

 

Geographic Investment Risk. To the extent the Fund are significantly comprised of securities of issuers from a single country, the Fund would be more likely to be impacted by events or conditions affecting that country.

 

Industry Concentration Risk. Because the Fund’s assets will be concentrated in an industry or group of industries, the Fund is subject to loss due to adverse occurrences that may affect that industry or group of industries.

 

Investment Risk. An investment in the Fund is subject to investment risk including the possible loss of the entire principal amount that you invest.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. Fund performance depends on the performance of individual securities to which the Fund has exposure. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.

 

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Large Shareholder and Large-Scale Redemption Risk. Certain shareholders, including an Authorized Participant, a third-party investor, the Fund’s adviser or an affiliate of the Fund’s adviser, a market maker, or another entity, may from time to time own or manage a substantial amount of Fund shares or may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a limited period of time. These shareholders may also pledge or loan Fund shares (to secure financing or otherwise), which may result in the shares becoming concentrated in another party. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder or large group of shareholders would not redeem their investment or that the size of the Fund would be maintained. Redemptions of a large number of Fund shares by these shareholders may adversely affect the Fund’s liquidity and net assets. To the extent the Fund permits redemptions in cash, these redemptions may force the Fund to sell portfolio securities when it might not otherwise do so, which may negatively impact the Fund’s NAV, have a material effect on the market price of the shares and increase the Fund’s brokerage costs and/or accelerate the realization of taxable income and/or gains and cause the Fund to make taxable distributions to its shareholders earlier than the Fund otherwise would have. In addition, under certain circumstances, non-redeeming shareholders may be treated as receiving a disproportionately large taxable distribution during or with respect to such tax year. The Fund also may be required to sell its more liquid Fund investments to meet a large redemption, in which case the Fund’s remaining assets may be less liquid, more volatile, and more difficult to price. To the extent these large shareholders transact in shares on the secondary market, such transactions may account for a large percentage of the trading volume for the shares of the Fund and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the shares. In addition, large purchases of Fund shares may adversely affect the 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, diluting its investment returns.

 

Liquidity Risk. It may be more difficult for the Fund to buy and sell significant amounts of some securities without an unfavorable impact on prevailing market prices. As a result, these securities may be difficult to dispose of at a fair price at the times when the Adviser believes it is desirable to do so.

 

Market Risk. The prices of securities held by the Fund may decline in response to certain events taking place around the world, including those directly involving the companies whose securities are owned by the Fund; conditions affecting the general economy; overall market changes; local, regional or global political, social or economic instability; and currency, interest rate and commodity price fluctuations. The equity securities purchased by the Fund may involve large price swings and potential for loss. Investors in the Fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to tolerate potentially sharp declines in value. The market’s daily movements, sometimes called volatility, may be greater or less depending on the types of securities the Fund owns and the markets in which the securities trade. The increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform due to inflation (or expectations for inflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, climate change or climate related risks, natural disasters, pandemics, epidemics, war, terrorism, regulatory events, governmental or quasi-governmental actions, and public health emergencies. 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.

 

Medical Product and Device Company Risk. Companies that manufacture or develop medical products or devices subject to extensive regulation in the United States by the FDA and by comparable government agencies in other countries. The regulations govern the development, design, approval, manufacturing, labeling, importing and exporting and sale and marketing of many of our medical products. These regulations are also subject to future change. Failure to comply with applicable regulations and quality assurance guidelines could lead to manufacturing shutdowns, product shortages, delays in product manufacturing, product seizures, recalls, operating restrictions, withdrawal or suspension of required licenses, and prohibitions against exporting of products to, or importing products from, countries outside the United States. Medical product and medical device companies could be required to expend significant financial and human resources to remediate failures to comply with applicable regulations and quality assurance guidelines.

 

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Micro-Capitalization Risk. The micro-capitalization companies in which the Fund may invest may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies, and may underperform other segments of the market or the equity market as a whole. Securities of micro-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes, are often more vulnerable to market volatility, and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole.

 

New Fund Risk. A new or smaller fund is subject to the risk that its 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 and smaller funds may not attract sufficient assets to achieve investment and trading efficiencies. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve an economically viable size. Further, an active trading market for shares of the Fund may not develop or be maintained.

 

Non-Diversified Fund Risk. The Fund is a non-diversified investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), meaning that, as compared to a diversified fund, it can invest a greater percentage of its assets in securities issued by or representing a small number of issuers. As a result, the performance of these issuers can have a substantial impact on the Fund’s performance.

 

Operations. The Fund is exposed to operational risk arising from a number of factors, including but not limited to human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund seeks to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate for those risks that they are intended to address.

 

Pandemics Risk. An outbreak of infectious respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 was first detected in China in December 2019 before spreading worldwide and being declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. COVID-19 has resulted in travel restrictions, closed international borders, enhanced health screenings, disruption and delays in healthcare services, prolonged quarantines, cancellations, temporary store closures, social distancing, government ordered curfews and business closures, disruptions to supply chains and consumer activity, shortages, highly volatile financial markets, and general concern and uncertainty.

 

Pharmaceutical Company Risk. Companies in the pharmaceutical industry are heavily dependent on patent protection. The expiration of patents may adversely affect the profitability of the companies. Pharmaceutical companies are also subject to extensive litigation based on product liability and other similar claims. Many new products are subject to approval of the Food and Drug Administration, a process that can be long and costly. Expanding international operations may lead to risks resulting from differences between U.S. and foreign legal, political and economic systems, regulatory regimes and market practices.

 

Portfolio Turnover Risk. Due to its investment strategy, the Fund may buy and sell securities frequently. This may result in higher transaction costs and additional capital gains tax liabilities, which may affect the Fund’s performance.

 

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Sector Focus Risk. The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in one or more sectors and thus will be more susceptible to the risks affecting those sectors. The Fund anticipates that it may be subject to some or all of the risks described below.

 

Biotechnology Industry Risk. The biotechnology industry can be significantly affected by patent considerations, including the termination of patent protections for products, intense competition both domestically and internationally, rapid technological change and obsolescence, government regulation and expensive insurance costs due to the risk of product liability lawsuits. In addition, the biotechnology industry is an emerging growth industry, and therefore biotechnology companies may be thinly capitalized and more volatile than companies with greater capitalizations. Biotechnology companies must contend with high development costs, which may be exacerbated by the inability to raise prices to cover costs because of managed care pressure, government regulation or price controls.

 

Healthcare Sector Risk. To the extent the Fund focuses on the healthcare sector, the Fund may be more susceptible to the particular risks that may affect companies in the healthcare sector than if it were invested in a wider variety of companies in unrelated sectors. The profitability of companies in the healthcare sector may be adversely affected by the following factors, among others: extensive government regulations, restrictions on government reimbursement for medical expenses, rising costs of medical products and services, pricing pressure, an increased emphasis on outpatient services, changes in the demand for medical products and services, a limited number of products, industry innovation, changes in technologies and other market developments. A number of issuers in the healthcare sector have recently merged or otherwise experienced consolidation. The effects of this trend toward consolidation are unknown and may be far-reaching. Many healthcare companies are heavily dependent on patent protection. The expiration of a company’s patents may adversely affect that company’s profitability. Many healthcare companies are subject to extensive litigation based on product liability and similar claims. Healthcare companies are subject to competitive forces that may make it difficult to raise prices and, in fact, may result in price discounting. Many new products in the healthcare sector may be subject to regulatory approvals. The process of obtaining such approvals may be long and costly, and such efforts ultimately may be unsuccessful. Companies in the healthcare sector may be thinly capitalized and may be susceptible to product obsolescence. In addition, a number of legislative proposals concerning healthcare have been considered by the U.S. Congress in recent years. It is unclear what proposals will ultimately be enacted, if any, and what effect they may have on companies in the healthcare sector. 

 

Securities Lending Risk. Although the Fund will receive collateral in connection with all loans of its securities holdings, the Fund would be exposed to a risk of loss should a borrower default on its obligation to return the borrowed securities (e.g., the loaned securities may have appreciated beyond the value of the collateral held by the Fund). In addition, the Fund will bear the risk of loss of any cash collateral that it invests.

 

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Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. Investors buying or selling shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of shares. In addition, secondary market investors will also incur the cost of the difference between the price that an investor is willing to pay for shares (the “bid” price) and the price at which an investor is willing to sell shares (the “ask” price). This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “spread” or “bid/ask spread.” The bid/ask spread varies over time for shares based on trading volume and market liquidity and is generally lower if the Fund’s shares have more trading volume and market liquidity and higher if the Fund’s shares have little trading volume and market liquidity. Further, increased market volatility may cause increased bid/ask spreads. Due to the costs of buying or selling shares, including 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.

 

Small- and Mid-Capitalization Company Risk. The small- and mid-capitalization companies in which the Fund invests may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies, and may underperform other segments of the market or the equity market as a whole. Securities of small- and mid-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes, are often more vulnerable to market volatility, and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole.  

 

Trading Risk. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including disruptions to the creation and redemption processes of the Fund, losses from trading in secondary markets, the existence of extreme market volatility or potential lack of an active trading market for shares may result in shares trading at a significant premium or discount to NAV. The NAV of shares will fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s securities holdings. The market prices of shares will fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV and supply and demand on the Exchange. The Fund cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their NAV. If a shareholder purchases shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV or sells shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholder may sustain losses. Any of these factors, discussed above and further below, may lead to shares trading at a premium or discount to the Fund’s NAV.

 

Trading in shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange’s “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged.

 

Valuation Risk. The price the Fund could receive upon the sale of a security or other asset may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security , particularly for securities or other assets that trade in low volume or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology as a result of trade suspensions or for other reasons. Because non-U.S. exchanges may be open on days when the Fund does not price its shares, the value of the securities or other assets in the Fund’s portfolio may change on days or during time periods when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund’s shares. In addition, for purposes of calculating the Fund’s NAV, the value of assets denominated in non-U.S. currencies is converted into U.S. dollars using prevailing market rates on the date of valuation as quoted by one or more data service providers. This conversion may result in a difference between the prices used to calculate the Fund’s NAV , which, in turn, could result in a difference between the Fund’s performance. Authorized Participants who purchase or redeem Fund shares on days when the Fund is holding fair-valued securities may receive fewer or more shares, or lower or higher redemption proceeds, than they would have received had the Fund not fair-valued securities or used a different valuation methodology. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.

 

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Temporary Defensive Investments

 

The Fund may take temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with its normal investment policies and strategies—for instance, by allocating assets to cash, cash equivalent investments or other less volatile instruments — in response to adverse or unusual market, economic, political, or other conditions. In doing so, the Fund may succeed in avoiding losses but may otherwise fail to achieve its investment objective.

 

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

 

The Fund’s portfolio holdings will be disclosed each day on its website at www.tema.co. A description of the Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio securities is available in the Statement of Additional Information (SAI).

 

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Fund Management

 

The Adviser

 

Tema Global Limited, located at 2nd Floor, The Le Gallais Building, 54 Bath Street, St Helier, Jersey, JE1 1FW,  serves as the investment adviser to the Fund. The Adviser is a limited company formed in 2021 to provide investment advisory services to registered investment companies.

 

The Adviser is responsible for the Fund’s investment operations and its business affairs. Pursuant to a management agreement between the Trust and the Adviser with respect to the Fund (“Management Agreement”) and subject to the general oversight of the Board, the Adviser provides or causes to be furnished all supervisory and other services reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund, including audit, portfolio accounting, legal, transfer agency, custody, printing costs, certain administrative services (provided pursuant to a separate administration agreement), certain distribution services (provided pursuant to a separate distribution agreement), certain shareholder and distribution-related services (provided pursuant to a separate Rule 12b-1 Plan and related agreements) under what is essentially an all-in fee structure. The Fund may bear other expenses which are not covered under the Management Agreement that may vary and will affect the total level of expenses paid by the Fund, such as taxes and governmental fees, brokerage fees, commissions and other transaction expenses, costs of borrowing money, including interest expenses, certain custody expenses and extraordinary expenses (such as litigation and indemnification expenses).

 

The Adviser is paid a monthly unitary management fee at an annual rate (stated as a percentage of the average daily net assets of the Fund) of [    ]%. Under the unitary fee arrangement, the Adviser pays all operating expenses of the Fund, except for certain expenses, including but not limited to, interest expenses, taxes, brokerage expenses, future Rule 12b-1 fees (if any), acquired fund fees and expenses, and the management fee payable to the Adviser under the Management Agreement.

 

A discussion regarding the Board of Trustees’ approval of the Management Agreement with respect to the Fund will be available in the Fund’s annual report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023.

 

Sub-Adviser

 

Neos Investment Management LLC, located at 13 Riverside Avenue, Westport, CT 06880, serves as the investment adviser to the Fund. The Adviser is a Delaware limited liability company formed in 2022 to provide sub-advisory services to registered investment companies.

 

The Sub-Adviser was formed in 2022 and provides investment advisory services to exchange-traded funds, including the Funds. The Sub-Adviser is responsible for trading portfolio securities and other investment instruments on behalf of the Fund, including selecting broker-dealers to execute purchase and sale transactions, as instructed by the Adviser, subject to the supervision of the Adviser and the Board. Under a sub-advisory agreement, the Adviser pays the Sub-Adviser a fee, calculated daily and paid monthly, out of the fee the Adviser receives from the Fund.

 

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s renewal of the sub-advisory agreement with respect to the Fund will be available in the Fund’s annual report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023.

 

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Portfolio Managers

 

David Song and Yuri Khodjamirian of the Adviser and Troy Cates, Ryan Houlton, and Garrett Paolella of the sub-adviser are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund and has served in such capacity since inception.

 

The SAI provides additional information about the Portfolio Managers’ compensation, other accounts managed, and ownership of Fund shares.

 

Shareholder Information

 

Determination of NAV

 

The NAV per share for the Fund is computed by dividing the value of the net assets of the Fund (i.e., the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by the total number of shares outstanding. Expenses and fees, including the management fee, are accrued daily and taken into account for purposes of determining NAV. The NAV of the Fund is determined each business day as of the close of trading (ordinarily 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on the NYSE.

 

The values of the Fund’s portfolio securities are based on the securities’ closing prices on their local principal markets, where available. In the absence of a last reported sales price, or if no sales were reported, and for other assets for which market quotes are not readily available, values may be based on quotes obtained from a quotation reporting system, established market makers or by an outside independent pricing service. Prices obtained by an outside independent pricing service use information provided by market makers or estimates of market values obtained from data related to investments or securities with similar characteristics and may use a computerized grid matrix of securities and its evaluations in determining what it believes is the fair value of the portfolio securities. If a market quotation for a security is not readily available or the Adviser believes it does not otherwise accurately reflect the market value of the security at the time the Fund calculates its NAV, the security will be fair valued by the Adviser, in accordance with the Trust’s valuation policies and procedures approved by the Board of Trustees of the Trust. The Fund may also use fair value pricing in a variety of circumstances, including but not limited to, situations where the value of a security in the Fund’s portfolio has been materially affected by events occurring after the close of the market on which the security is principally traded (such as a corporate action or other news that may materially affect the price of a security) or trading in a security has been suspended or halted. Fair value pricing involves subjective judgments and it is possible that a fair value determination for a security is materially different than the value that could be realized upon the sale of the security.

 

Buying and Selling Exchange-Traded shares

 

Authorized Participants

 

The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in Creation Units. Only APs may acquire shares directly from the Fund, and only APs may tender their shares for redemption directly to the Fund, at NAV. APs must be (i) a broker-dealer or other participant in the clearing process through the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC, a clearing agency that is registered with the SEC; or (ii) a Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) participant (as discussed below). In addition, each AP must execute a Participant Agreement that has been agreed to by the Distributor, and that has been accepted by the Transfer Agent, with respect to purchases and redemptions of Creation Units. Once created, shares trade in the secondary market in quantities less than a Creation Unit.

 

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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, as part of a redemption, restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A.

 

Investors

 

Individual Fund shares may only be bought and sold by investors including APs in the secondary market through a broker or dealer at a market price. Shares are listed for trading on the secondary market on the Exchange and can be bought and sold throughout the trading day like other publicly traded securities.

 

When buying or selling shares through a broker, you will incur customary brokerage commissions and charges, and you may pay some or all of the spread between the bid and the offer price in the secondary market on each leg of a round trip (purchase and sale) transaction. Because the Fund’s shares trade at market prices rather than net asset value, shares may trade at a price greater than net asset value (premium) or less than net asset value (discount). An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the bid-ask spread). Information on the Fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website (www.tema.co).

 

Book Entry

 

Shares are held in book-entry form, which means that no stock certificates are issued. DTC or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding shares.

 

Investors owning shares are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. DTC serves as the securities depository for all shares. DTC’s participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other institutions that directly or indirectly maintain a custodial relationship with DTC. As a beneficial owner of shares, you are not entitled to receive physical delivery of stock certificates or to have shares registered in your name, and you are not considered a registered owner of shares. Therefore, to exercise any right as an owner of shares, you must rely upon the procedures of DTC and its participants. These procedures are the same as those that apply to any other securities that you hold in book entry or “street name” through your brokerage account.

 

Continuous Offering

 

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 of 1933, as amended (“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.

 

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For example, a broker dealer firm or its client may be deemed a statutory underwriter if it takes Creation Units after placing an order with the Transfer Agent, 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(3)(C) of the Securities Act, would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(3) of the Securities Act. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(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 shares that are part of an overallotment within the meaning of Section 4(3)(A) of the Securities Act would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(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 Fund and the Adviser may purchase and resell Fund shares pursuant to this Prospectus.

 

For More Information:

 

Existing Shareholders or Prospective Investors

 

TEMA DIABETES, OBESITY AND CARDIOLOGY ETF 

c/o Foreside Fund Services, LLC 

Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100
Portland, Maine 04101

 

Dealers

 

TEMA DIABETES, OBESITY AND CARDIOLOGY ETF 

c/o Foreside Fund Services, LLC 

Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100
Portland, Maine 04101

 

Distribution and Service Plan

 

The Board has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan (the “Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. In accordance with the Plan, the Fund is authorized to pay an amount up to 0.25% of its average daily net assets each year for certain distribution-related activities and shareholder services.

 

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No Rule 12b-1 fees are currently paid by the Fund, and there are no plans to impose these fees. However, in the event Rule 12b-1 fees are charged in the future, because the fees are paid out of the Fund’s assets, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than certain other types of sales charges.

 

Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Fund Shares

 

The Board has evaluated the risks of frequent purchases and redemptions of Fund shares (“market timing”) activities by the Fund’s shareholders. The Board noted that shares can only be purchased and redeemed directly from the Fund in Creation Units by APs and that the vast majority of trading in shares occurs on the secondary market. Because the secondary market trades do not involve the Fund directly, it is unlikely those trades would cause many of the harmful effects of market timing, including dilution, disruption of portfolio management, increases in the Fund’s trading costs and the realization of capital gains.

 

With respect to trades directly with the Fund, to the extent effected in-kind, those trades do not cause any of the harmful effects (as previously noted) that may result from frequent cash trades. To the extent that the Trust allows or requires trades to be effected in whole or in part in cash, the Board noted that those trades could result in dilution to the Fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. However, the Board noted that direct trading by APs is critical to ensuring that shares trade at or close to NAV. The Fund also employs fair valuation pricing to minimize potential dilution from market timing. The Fund imposes transaction fees on in-kind purchases and redemptions of shares to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by the Fund in effecting in-kind trades, these fees increase if an investor substitutes cash in part or in whole for securities, reflecting the fact that the Fund’s trading costs increase in those circumstances. Given this structure, the Board determined that it is not necessary to adopt policies and procedures to detect and deter market timing of shares.

 

Distributions

 

Dividends and Distributions

 

The Fund intends to qualify each year as a regulated investment company under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). As a regulated investment company, the Fund generally pays no federal income tax on the income and gains it distributes to you. The Fund expects to declare and distribute all of its net investment income, if any, to shareholders as dividends monthly.

 

The Fund will distribute net realized capital gains, if any, at least annually. The Fund may distribute such income dividends and capital gains more frequently, if necessary, in order to reduce or eliminate federal excise or income taxes on the Fund. The amount of any distribution will vary, and there is no guarantee the Fund will pay either an income dividend or a capital gains distribution.

 

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Annual Statements

 

Each year, you will receive an annual statement (Form 1099) of your account activity to assist you in completing your federal, state and local tax returns. Distributions declared in December to shareholders of record in such month, but paid in January, are taxable as if they were paid in December. The Fund make every effort to search for reclassified income to reduce the number of corrected forms mailed to you. However, when necessary, you will receive a corrected Form 1099 to reflect reclassified information.

 

Avoid “Buying a Dividend”

 

At the time you purchase your shares, the price of shares may reflect undistributed income, undistributed capital gains, or net unrealized appreciation in value of portfolio securities held by the Fund. For taxable investors, a subsequent distribution to you of such amounts, although constituting a return of your investment, would be taxable. Buying shares in the Fund just before it declares an income dividend or capital gains distribution is sometimes known as “buying a dividend.”

 

Dividend Reinvestment Service

 

Brokers may make available the Depository Trust Company book-entry dividend reinvestment service to their customers who own Fund shares. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and capital gains will automatically be reinvested in additional whole shares of the Fund purchased on the secondary market. Without this service, investors would receive their distributions in cash. To determine whether the dividend reinvestment service is available and whether there is a commission or other charge for using this service, consult your broker. Brokers may require Fund shareholders 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 the Fund purchased in the secondary market.

 

Tax Information

 

Tax Considerations

 

The Fund expects, based on its investment objective and strategies, that its distributions, if any, will be taxable as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both. This is true whether you reinvest your distributions in additional shares or receive them in cash. For federal income tax purposes, Fund distributions of short-term capital gains are taxable to you as ordinary income. Fund distributions of long-term capital gains are taxable to you as long-term capital gains no matter how long you have owned your shares. A portion of income dividends reported by the Fund may be qualified dividend income eligible for taxation by individual shareholders at long-term capital gain rates provided certain holding period requirements are met.

 

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 the Fund, including the possible application of foreign, state and local taxes. Unless your investment in the Fund is through a tax-exempt entity or tax-deferred retirement account, such as a 401(k) plan, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when: (i) the Fund makes distributions, (ii) you sell shares in the secondary market or (iii) you create or redeem Creation Units.

 

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Taxes on Distributions

 

The Fund intends to distribute, at least annually, substantially all of its net investment income and net capital gains. For federal income tax purposes, distributions of investment income are generally taxable as ordinary income or qualified dividend income. Taxes on distributions of capital gains (if any) are determined by how long the Fund owned the investments that generated them, rather than how long a shareholder has owned his or her shares. Sales of assets held by the Fund for more than one year generally result in long-term capital gains and losses, and sales of assets held by the Fund for one year or less generally result in short-term capital gains and losses. Distributions of the Fund’s net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses) that are reported by the Fund as capital gain dividends (“Capital Gain Dividends”) will be taxable as long-term capital gains, which for non-corporate shareholders are subject to tax at reduced rates of up to 20% (lower rates apply to individuals in lower tax brackets). Distributions of short-term capital gain will generally be taxable as ordinary income. Dividends and distributions are generally taxable to you whether you receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional shares.

 

Distributions reported by the Fund as “qualified dividend income” are generally taxed to noncorporate shareholders at rates applicable to long-term capital gains, provided holding period and other requirements are met. “Qualified dividend income” generally is income derived from dividends paid by U.S. corporations or certain foreign corporations that are either incorporated in a U.S. possession or eligible for tax benefits under certain U.S. income tax treaties. In addition, dividends that the Fund received in respect of stock of certain foreign corporations may be qualified dividend income if that stock is readily tradable on an established U.S. securities market.

 

U.S. individuals with income exceeding specified thresholds are subject to a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax on all or a portion of their “net investment income,” which includes interest, dividends, and certain capital gains (generally including capital gains distributions and capital gains realized on the sale of shares). This 3.8% tax also applies to all or a portion of the undistributed net investment income of certain shareholders, such as estates and trusts, whose gross income as adjusted or modified for tax purposes exceeds certain threshold amounts.

 

In general, your distributions are subject to federal income tax for the year in which they are paid. Certain distributions paid in January, however, may be treated as paid on December 31 of the prior year. Distributions are generally taxable even if they are paid from income or gains earned by the Fund before your investment (and thus were included in the shares’ NAV when you purchased your shares).

 

You may wish to avoid investing in the Fund shortly before a dividend or other distribution, because such a distribution will generally be taxable even though it may economically represent a return of a portion of your investment. Distributions in excess of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits are treated as a tax-free return of your investment to the extent of your basis in the shares, and generally as capital gain thereafter. A return of capital, which for tax purposes is treated as a return of your investment, reduces your basis in shares, thus reducing any loss or increasing any gain on a subsequent taxable disposition of shares. A distribution will reduce the Fund’s NAV per Share and may be taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gain even though, from an economic standpoint, the distribution may constitute a return of capital.

 

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If you are neither a resident nor a citizen of the United States or if you are a foreign entity, distributions (other than Capital Gain Dividends) paid to you by the Fund will generally be subject to a U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30% unless a lower treaty rate applies. The Fund may, under certain circumstances, report all or a portion of a dividend as an “interest-related dividend” or a “short-term capital gain dividend,” which would generally be exempt from this 30% U.S. withholding tax, provided certain other requirements are met.

 

The Fund (or a financial intermediary, such as a broker, through which a shareholder owns shares) generally is required to withhold and remit to the U.S. Treasury a percentage of the taxable distributions and sale or redemption proceeds paid to any shareholder who fails to properly furnish a correct taxpayer identification number, who has underreported dividend or interest income, or who fails to certify that he, she or it is not subject to such withholding.

 

Shortly after the close of each calendar year, you will be informed of the character of any distributions received from the Fund.

 

Taxes When shares are Sold on the Exchange

 

Any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of shares generally is treated as a long-term capital gain or loss if shares have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if shares have been held for one year or less. However, any capital loss on a sale of shares held for six months or less is treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of Capital Gain Dividends paid with respect to such shares. The ability to deduct capital losses may be limited.

 

Taxes on Purchases and Redemptions of Creation Units

 

An Authorized Participant having the U.S. dollar as its functional currency for U.S. federal income tax purposes who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally recognizes a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the value of the Creation Units at the time of the exchange and the exchanging Authorized Participant’s aggregate basis in the securities delivered plus the amount of any cash paid for the Creation Units. An Authorized Participant who exchanges Creation Units for securities will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanging Authorized Participant’s basis in the Creation Units and the aggregate U.S. dollar market value of the securities received, plus any cash received for such Creation Units. The Internal Revenue Service may assert, however, that a loss that is realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units may not be currently deducted under the rules governing “wash sales” (for an Authorized Participant who does not mark-to-market their holdings), or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position. Persons exchanging securities should consult their own tax advisor with respect to whether wash sale rules apply and when a loss might be deductible.

 

Any capital gain or loss realized upon redemption of Creation Units is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if shares have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if shares have been held for one year or less.

 

The information in this section “Tax Information” is not intended or written to be used as tax advice. Because everyone’s tax situation is unique, you should consult your tax professional about federal, state, local or foreign tax consequences before making an investment in the Fund.

 

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Financial Highlights

 

Because the Fund has not commenced operations as of the date of this Prospectus, no financial highlights information is available.

 

Premium/Discount Information

 

Information regarding how often shares of the Fund traded on the Exchange at a price above (i.e., at a premium) or below (i.e., at a discount) the NAV of the Fund during the past four calendar quarters, or since inception, as applicable, can be found at the Fund’s website at http://www.temaetfs.com.

 

Investment Adviser

 

Tema ETF Limited
2nd Floor, Le Gallais Building  

54 Bath Street, St Helier  

Jersey, JE1 1FW  

Sub-Adviser 

 

Neos Investment Management LLC 

13 Riverside Avenue   

Westport, CT 06880 

   

Custodian 


U.S. Bank
615 East Michigan Street 

Milwaukee, WI 53202 

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

[Name of Auditor]
[_____________]
[_____________] 

   

Distributor

 

Foreside Fund Services, LLC
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100
Portland, Maine 04101 

Transfer Agent

 

Foreside Fund Services, LLC
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100
Portland, Maine 04101 

   
 

Legal Counsel

 

Thompson Hine LLP
1919 M Street, N.W., Suite 700
Washington D.C., 20036 

 

Disclaimers

 

Shares of the Trust are not sponsored, endorsed, or promoted by the Exchange. The Exchange makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the shares of the Fund. The Exchange is not responsible for, nor has it participated in, the determination of the timing of, prices of, or quantities of the shares of the Fund to be issued, or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the shares are redeemable. The Exchange has no obligation or liability to owners of the shares of the Fund in connection with the administration, marketing, or trading of the shares of the Fund. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall the Exchange have any liability for any lost profits or indirect, punitive, special, or consequential damages even if notified of the possibility thereof.

 

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Additional Information

 

This Prospectus does not contain all the information included in the Registration Statement filed with the SEC with respect to the Fund’s shares. Information about the Fund can be reviewed on the EDGAR database at the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov), and copies may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following email address: publicinfo@sec.gov. The SAI for the Fund, which has been filed with the SEC, provides more information about the Fund. The SAI is incorporated herein by reference and is legally part of this Prospectus. Additional information about the Fund’s investments will be available in the Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. In the Fund’s annual report, when available, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund’s performance during its last fiscal year. These documents and other information concerning the Trust also may be inspected at Brookfield Place, 200 Vesey Street, Suite 24106, New York, NY 10281. You can also obtain information about the Fund by calling at no cost 1.888.744.1377.

 

Investment Company Act file no. 811-23823

 

30

 

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS SUBJECT TO COMPLETION JUNE 6, 2023

     

The information in this 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 Prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

Tema ETF Trust

 

PROSPECTUS

 

[    ] [    ], 2023

 

Tema Indonesia ETF (TICKER SYMBOL)

 

Principal Listing Exchange: [    ]

 

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

 

1

 

Summary Information — Tema Indonesia ETF

 

Investment Objective

 

Tema Indonesia ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to provide long-term growth of capital.

 

Fund Fees and Expenses

 

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. 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) 

None 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fee   0.[   ]%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees   0.00%
Other Expenses   0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses   0.[  ]%

 

[   ]

 

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 sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your cost would be:

 

 

1 Year  

3 Years  

Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be: $[   ]   $[   ]  

 

Portfolio Turnover

 

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it purchases and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may result in higher transaction costs and higher taxes when shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses table or in the Example above, may affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, there is no portfolio turnover to report.

 

2

 

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

 

Under normal circumstances, the Tema Indonesia ETF seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets, which include borrowings for investment purposes, in Indonesian companies. A company is considered Indonesian if it is either i) domiciled or incorporated in Indonesia, or ii) derives 50% of its revenues in Indonesia. The Adviser will use internal research and analysis based on company disclosure (such as 10-K filings, company presentations, capital markets day presentations) and other publicly available sources to make this assessment.

 

The Fund generally is expected to consist of more than 15 companies but not more than 100 companies. The number of constituents may change depending on the number of companies available for investment that meet the Fund’s criteria.

 

To be eligible for inclusion in the Fund, a company must have a market capitalization of at least $100 million and there is no upper limit on the market capitalization of a portfolio company. To be eligible for inclusion in the Fund, a company must have a three-month average daily traded value of at least $500,000.

 

A significant portion of the Fund’s assets are expected to be invested in Indonesia.

 

The Fund will not engage in currency hedging and is expected to own foreign currency for short periods of time for the purposes of buying and selling non-US listed securities and collecting dividends and/or coupon payments from those securities.

 

The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), which means that it may invest a high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers

 

The Fund is actively managed, relying on the professional judgment of its Adviser to make decisions about the Fund’s portfolio investments. 

 

The basic investment philosophy of the Adviser is to seek to invest in Indonesian companies that are attractively valued when compared to their fundamentals and growth opportunities. The Adviser’s security selection process for identifying Indonesian companies uses both “top down” idea generation (sector, company research) and “bottom up” security selection (valuation, fundamental, quantitative, qualitative measures) approaches. 

 

In practice “top down” idea generation means fundamental sector research, quantitative tools (for example screening based on metrics such as five-year historic revenue growth, margins, or returns on invested capital) and the Adviser’s own expertise, are used to narrow down the specific research universe.

 

Once this is defined “bottom up” security analysis involves the Adviser comparing valuation multiples (such as free cash flow yield, price to book ratio and price to earnings ratio or enterprise value to total invested capital, among others) to fundamental metrics (such as organic revenue growth, margins, returns on invested capital and equity, among others). Investments are deemed attractively valued when compared to fundamentals if the valuation multiples are below and fundamentals are above either (1) peers (2) the companies own historic averages (3) or prospective forecasts (as determined by the Adviser). Buttressing this is a detailed fundamental research profile of each company assessing business model, competitive edge, management incentives and track record, and balance sheet. 

 

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The Adviser integrates environmental, social and corporate governance (“ESG”) considerations into its investment analysis. This is in support of both the objective of maximizing return and the broader analysis of risks associated with individual companies. The Adviser, however, does not use ESG considerations to limit, restrict or otherwise exclude companies or sectors from the Fund’s investment universe.

 

ESG factors in this context include, but are not limited to, the impact on or from climate change, natural resource use, waste management practices, human capital management, product safety, supply chain management, corporate governance, business ethics and advocacy for governmental policy.

 

As part of its investment analysis the Adviser will consider the following, which form part of a holistic assessment of each individual investment opportunity that itself determines selection of the highest conviction securities into the portfolio that the Adviser believes represent the best risk reward for investors:

 

  The Adviser, as part of its company assessment, will look closely at any material non-financial and ESG related risks that might significantly impair the future financial performance of the company. Such risks will be given equal prominence in analysis to any financial only risks. ESG considerations may not be applicable to all types of instruments or investments.

 

  Where deemed appropriate the Adviser may engage with companies directly on issues, either through meetings or in written form. This includes but is not limited to improving governance practices, aligning management incentives, and increasing transparency of ESG practices.

 

In making these considerations the Adviser will use both internal and external data sources and analyses including, but not limited to, those provided by companies directly or by third parties. These considerations also inform monitoring of existing positions.

 

The Fund may invest in foreign securities listed on foreign exchanges as well as American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) and Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”). The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), which means that it may invest a high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers and concentrate its investments in a particular industry or group of industries.  

 

The Fund may engage in securities lending.

 

4

 

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

 

As with all funds, a shareholder is subject to the risk that his or her investment could lose money. An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any government agency. The principal risks affecting shareholders’ investments in the Fund are set forth below.

 

Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an Authorized Participant (as defined below) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized Participants. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units, Fund shares may trade at a discount to net asset value per share (“NAV”) and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting.

 

Cash Transactions Risk. The Fund currently intends to effect all creations and redemptions principally for cash, rather than in-kind securities, thereby potentially subjecting shareholders 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. Additionally, the purchase or sale of foreign securities upon a creation or to facilitate a redemption, as applicable, may have to be carried out over several days if the securities market is relatively illiquid and may involve considerable brokerage fees and taxes.

 

Common Stock Risk. Common stock holds the lowest priority in the capital structure of a company, and, therefore, takes the largest share of the company’s risk and its accompanying volatility. The value of the common stock held by the Fund may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the issuers of securities held by the Fund participate, or facts relating to specific companies in which the Fund invests. 

 

Currency Risk. The Fund may invest its assets in securities denominated in non-U.S. 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 the shares. Because the Fund’s NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the Fund’s NAV could decline if the currency of the non-U.S. market in which the Fund invests depreciates against the U.S. dollar, even if the value of the Fund’s holdings, measured in the foreign currency, increases. 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.

 

Custody Risk. The Fund invests in securities markets that are less developed than those of in the U.S., which may expose the Fund to risks in the process of clearing and settling trades and the holding of securities by local banks, agents and depositories. The less developed a country’s securities market it, the greater the likelihood of custody problems.

 

Cybersecurity and Disaster Recovery Risks. Information and technology systems relied upon by the Fund, the Adviser, the Fund’s other service providers (including, but not limited to, the Fund Accountant, Custodian, Transfer Agent, Administrator and Distributor), market makers, Authorized Participants, financial intermediaries and/or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may be vulnerable to damage or interruption from computer viruses, network failures, computer and telecommunication failures, infiltration by unauthorized persons, security breaches, usage errors, power outages and catastrophic events such as fires, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes and earthquakes. Although the Adviser and the Fund’s other service providers have implemented measures to manage risks relating to these types of events, if these systems are compromised, become inoperable for extended periods of time or cease to function properly, significant investment may be required to fix or replace them. The failure of these systems and/or of disaster recovery plans could cause significant interruptions in the operations of the Fund, the Adviser, the Fund’s other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants, financial intermediaries and/or issuers of securities in which the Fund invests and may result in a failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data, impact the Fund’s ability to calculate its NAV or impede trading.

 

5

 

Depositary Receipt Risk. The Fund may invest in depositary receipts which involve similar risks to those associated with investments in foreign securities. Investments in depositary receipts may be less liquid.

 

Early Close/Trading Halt Risk. An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses. 

 

ESG Risk. Because the Fund evaluates ESG factors to assess and exclude certain investments for non-financial reasons, the Fund may forego some market opportunities available to funds that do not use these ESG factors. Information used by the Fund to evaluate ESG factors, including data provided by third-party vendors, may not be readily available, complete or accurate, and may vary across providers and issuers and within industries, which could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to apply its methodology and in turn could negatively impact the Fund’s performance. Currently, there is a lack of common industry standards relating to the development and application of ESG criteria which may make it difficult to compare the Fund’s principal investment strategies with the investment strategies of other funds that apply certain ESG criteria or that use a different third-party vendor for ESG.

 

Emerging Markets Securities 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.  

 

Fluctuation of Net Asset Value Risk. The NAV of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. The market prices of the shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”). The Adviser cannot predict whether the shares will trade below, at or above their NAV. The Fund’s market price may deviate from the value of its underlying portfolio holdings, particularly in times of market stress, with the result that investors may pay significantly more or receive significantly less than the underlying value of the Fund shares bought or sold. This can be reflected as a spread between the bid and ask prices for the Fund quoted during the day or a premium or discount in the closing price from the Fund’s NAV. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the Exchange and may, therefore, have a material effect on the market price of the Fund’s shares.

 

6

 

Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in securities (including ADRs and Global Depository Receipts (“GDRs”)) of foreign issuers involve risks not ordinarily associated with investments in securities and instruments of U.S. issuers. The values of foreign investments may be affected by changes in exchange control regulations, application of foreign tax laws (including withholding tax) changes in governmental administration or economic or monetary policy (in this country or abroad) or changed circumstances in dealings between nations. The value of foreign securities is also affected by the value of the local currency relative to the U.S. Dollar. GDRs may be other than dollar denominated and may be issued in several countries.

 

ADRs Risk. ADRs may be subject to some of the same risks as direct investment in foreign companies, which includes international trade, currency, political, regulatory and diplomatic risks. In a sponsored ADR arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes the obligation to pay some or all of the depositary’s transaction fees. Under an unsponsored ADR arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes no obligations and the depositary’s transaction fees are paid directly by the ADR holders. Because unsponsored ADR arrangements are organized independently and without the cooperation of the issuer of the underlying securities, available information concerning the foreign issuer may not be as current as for sponsored ADRs and voting rights with respect to the deposited securities that are not passed through.

 

Geographic Investment Risk. To the extent the Fund are significantly comprised of securities of issuers from a single country, the Fund would be more likely to be impacted by events or conditions affecting that country.

 

Indonesia Risk. Investments in Indonesian issuers may subject the Fund to legal, regulatory, political, currency, security and economic risk specific to Indonesia. Among other things, the Indonesian economy is heavily dependent on trading relationships with certain key trading partners, including China, Japan, Singapore and the U.S. The Indonesian economy is sensitive to changes in the basic materials sector. Indonesia’s political institutions and democracy have a relatively short history, increasing the risk of political instability and governmental policy that could impact Fund investments. Indonesia has in the past faced terrorism and political and militant unrest within several of its regions, and further unrest could present a risk to the local economy and securities markets.

 

Industry Concentration Risk. Because the Fund’s assets will be concentrated in an industry or group of industries, the Fund is subject to loss due to adverse occurrences that may affect that industry or group of industries.

 

Investment Risk. An investment in the Fund is subject to investment risk including the possible loss of the entire principal amount that you invest.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. Fund performance depends on the performance of individual securities to which the Fund has exposure. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.

 

Large Shareholder and Large-Scale Redemption Risk. Certain shareholders, including an Authorized Participant, a third-party investor, the Fund’s adviser or an affiliate of the Fund’s adviser, a market maker, or another entity, may from time to time own or manage a substantial amount of Fund shares or may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a limited period of time. These shareholders may also pledge or loan Fund shares (to secure financing or otherwise), which may result in the shares becoming concentrated in another party. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder or large group of shareholders would not redeem their investment or that the size of the Fund would be maintained. Redemptions of a large number of Fund shares by these shareholders may adversely affect the Fund’s liquidity and net assets. To the extent the Fund permits redemptions in cash, these redemptions may force the Fund to sell portfolio securities when it might not otherwise do so, which may negatively impact the Fund’s NAV, have a material effect on the market price of the shares and increase the Fund’s brokerage costs and/or accelerate the realization of taxable income and/or gains and cause the Fund to make taxable distributions to its shareholders earlier than the Fund otherwise would have.

 

7

 

Liquidity Risk. It may be more difficult for the Fund to buy and sell significant amounts of some securities without an unfavorable impact on prevailing market prices. As a result, these securities may be difficult to dispose of at a fair price at the times when the Adviser believes it is desirable to do so.

 

Market Risk. Market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. The value of a security or other asset may decline due to changes in general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the issuer of the security or other asset, or factors that affect a particular issuer or issuers, exchange, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issue, e.g. COVID-19, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by Fund management will underperform the markets, the relevant indices or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies. This means you may lose money.

 

Micro-Capitalization Risk. The micro-capitalization companies in which the Fund may invest may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies, and may underperform other segments of the market or the equity market as a whole. Securities of micro-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes, are often more vulnerable to market volatility, and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole.

 

New Fund Risk. A new or smaller fund is subject to the risk that its 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 and smaller funds may not attract sufficient assets to achieve investment and trading efficiencies. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve an economically viable size. Further, an active trading market for shares of the Fund may not develop or be maintained.  

 

Non-Diversified Fund Risk. The Fund is a non-diversified investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), meaning that, as compared to a diversified fund, it can invest a greater percentage of its assets in securities issued by or representing a small number of issuers. As a result, the performance of these issuers can have a substantial impact on the Fund’s performance.

 

Operations. The Fund is exposed to operational risk arising from a number of factors, including but not limited to human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund seeks to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate for those risks that they are intended to address.

 

8

 

Pandemics Risk. An outbreak of infectious respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 was first detected in China in December 2019 before spreading worldwide and being declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. COVID-19 has resulted in travel restrictions, closed international borders, enhanced health screenings, disruption and delays in healthcare services, prolonged quarantines, cancellations, temporary store closures, social distancing, government ordered curfews and business closures, disruptions to supply chains and consumer activity, shortages, highly volatile financial markets, and general concern and uncertainty. 

 

Portfolio Turnover Risk. Due to its investment strategy, the Fund may buy and sell securities frequently. This may result in higher transaction costs and additional capital gains tax liabilities, which may affect the Fund’s performance.

 

Sector Focus Risk. The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in one or more sectors and thus will be more susceptible to the risks affecting those sectors.

 

Securities Lending Risk. Although the Fund will receive collateral in connection with all loans of its securities holdings, the Fund would be exposed to a risk of loss should a borrower default on its obligation to return the borrowed securities (e.g., the loaned securities may have appreciated beyond the value of the collateral held by the Fund). In addition, the Fund will bear the risk of loss of any cash collateral that it invests.

 

Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. 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.

 

Small- and Mid-Capitalization Company Risk. The small- and mid-capitalization companies in which the Fund invests may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies, and may underperform other segments of the market or the equity market as a whole. Securities of small- and mid-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes, are often more vulnerable to market volatility, and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole.  

 

Trading Risk. Shares of the Fund may trade on the Exchange above or below their NAV. The NAV of shares of the Fund will fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. In addition, although the Fund’s shares are currently listed on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for shares will develop or be maintained. Trading in Fund shares may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares of the Fund inadvisable.

 

Valuation Risk. The price the Fund could receive upon the sale of a security or other asset may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security , particularly for securities or other assets that trade in low volume or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology as a result of trade suspensions or for other reasons. Because non-U.S. exchanges may be open on days when the Fund does not price its shares, the value of the securities or other assets in the Fund’s portfolio may change on days or during time periods when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund’s shares.] Authorized Participants who purchase or redeem Fund shares on days when the Fund is holding fair-valued securities may receive fewer or more shares, or lower or higher redemption proceeds, than they would have received had the Fund not fair-valued securities or used a different valuation methodology. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.

 

9

 

Performance

 

Because the Fund has only recently commenced investment operations, no performance information is presented for the Fund at this time. In the future, performance information will be presented in this section of this Prospectus. Also, shareholder reports containing financial and performance information will be mailed to shareholders semi-annually. Updated performance information will be available at no cost by visiting the Fund’s website at http://www.tema.co.

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser – Tema Global Limited is the investment adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers – Chris Semenuk (since inception), Yuri Khodjamirian (since inception), and Maurits Pots (since inception)

 

Sub–Adviser – Neos Investment Management LLC is the sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers – Garrett Paolella (since inception), Troy Cates (since inception), and Ryan Houlton (since inception)

 

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares 

 

The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in a large specified number of shares each called a “Creation Unit,” or multiples thereof, and only with authorized participants (“Authorized Participants”) which have entered into contractual arrangements with Foreside Fund Services, LLC, the Fund’s distributor (“Distributor”). A Creation Unit consists of 10,000 shares. Creation Unit transactions are expected to be typically conducted in exchange for the deposit or delivery of in-kind securities in the Fund’s portfolio. The Fund may, in certain circumstances, offer Creation Units partially or solely for cash.

 

Individual shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold on a national securities exchange through brokers. Shares of the Fund are listed on [      ] (“Exchange”) and because shares will trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares of the Fund may trade at a price greater than or less than NAV.

 

Tax Information

 

Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless your investment is in an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.

 

10

 

Payments to Broker-Dealer and Other Financial Intermediaries

 

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

 

More Information About the Fund

 

Investment Objective

 

The Fund seeks to provide long-term growth of capital.

 

Additional Information About Investment Strategies

 

Under normal circumstances, the Tema Indonesia ETF seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets, which include borrowings for investment purposes, in Indonesian companies. A company is considered Indonesian if it is either i) domiciled or incorporated in Indonesia, or ii) derives 50% of its revenues in Indonesia. The Adviser will use internal research and analysis based on company disclosure (such as 10-K filings, company presentations, capital markets day presentations) and other publicly available sources to make this assessment.

 

The Fund generally is expected to consist of more than 15 companies but not more than 100 companies. The number of constituents may change depending on the number of companies available for investment that meet the Fund’s criteria.

 

To be eligible for inclusion in the Fund, a company must have a market capitalization of at least $100 million and there is no upper limit on the market capitalization of a portfolio company. To be eligible for inclusion in the Fund, a company must have a three-month average daily traded value of at least $500,000.

 

The Fund’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) may change the Fund’s investment objective and/or its 80% policy, both of which are non-fundamental, without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders. The Fund’s other investment policies and strategies may be changed by the Board without shareholder approval unless otherwise provided in this prospectus or in the Statement of Additional Information. 

 

Additional Information About the Fund’s Principal Risks

 

The following section provides additional information regarding certain of the principal risks identified under “Principal Risks” in the Fund’s summary.

 

Investors in the Fund should be willing to accept a high degree of volatility in the price of the Fund’s shares and the possibility of significant losses. An investment in the Fund involves a substantial degree of risk. Therefore, you should consider carefully the following risks before investing in the Fund.

 

Absence of Prior Active Market Risk. While the Fund’s shares are listed on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for shares will develop or be maintained. The Distributor does not maintain a secondary market in shares.

 

11

 

Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed, which means that investment decisions are made based on investment views. There is no guarantee that the investment views will produce the desired results or expected returns, which may cause the Fund to fail to meet its investment objective or to underperform its benchmark index or funds with similar investment objectives and strategies. Furthermore, active trading that can accompany active management may result in high portfolio turnover, which may have a negative impact on performance. Active trading may result in higher brokerage costs or mark-up charges, which are ultimately passed on to shareholders of the Fund. Active trading may also result in adverse tax consequences. Certain securities or other instruments in which the Fund seeks to invest may not be available in the quantities desired. To the extent the Fund employs strategies targeting perceived pricing inefficiencies, arbitrage strategies or similar strategies, it is subject to the risk that the pricing or valuation of the securities and instruments involved in such strategies may change unexpectedly, which may result in reduced returns or losses to the Fund. Additionally, legislative, regulatory, or tax restrictions, policies or developments may affect the investment techniques available to the Adviser and each individual portfolio manager in connection with managing the Fund and may also adversely affect the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective.

 

Authorized Participants Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants. 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.

 

Cash Transactions Risk. The Fund currently intends to effect all creations and redemptions principally for cash, rather than in-kind securities, thereby potentially subjecting shareholders 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. Additionally, the purchase or sale of foreign securities upon a creation or to facilitate a redemption, as applicable, may have to be carried out over several days if the securities market is relatively illiquid and may involve considerable brokerage fees and taxes.

 

Common Stock Risk. Common stock holds the lowest priority in the capital structure of a company, and, therefore, takes the largest share of the company’s risk and its accompanying volatility. The value of the common stock held by the Fund may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the issuers of securities held by the Fund participate, or facts relating to specific companies in which the Fund invests. 

 

Currency Risk. The Fund may invest its assets in securities denominated in non-U.S. 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 the shares. Because the Fund’s NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the Fund’s NAV could decline if the currency of the non-U.S. market in which the Fund invests depreciates against the U.S. dollar, even if the value of the Fund’s holdings, measured in the foreign currency, increases. 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.

 

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Custody Risk. The Fund invests in securities markets that are less developed than those of in the U.S., which may expose the Fund to risks in the process of clearing and settling trades and the holding of securities by local banks, agents and depositories. The less developed a country’s securities market it, the greater the likelihood of custody problems.

 

Cybersecurity and Disaster Recovery. Information and technology systems relied upon by the Fund, the Adviser, the Fund’s other service providers (including, but not limited to, the Fund Accountant, Custodian, Transfer Agent, Administrator, Distributor and index providers, as applicable), market makers, Authorized Participants, financial intermediaries and/or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may be vulnerable to damage or interruption from computer viruses, network failures, computer and telecommunication failures, infiltration by unauthorized persons, security breaches, usage errors, power outages and catastrophic events such as fires, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes and earthquakes. Although the Adviser and the Fund’s other service providers have implemented measures to manage risks relating to these types of events, if these systems are compromised, become inoperable for extended periods of time or cease to function properly, significant investment may be required to fix or replace them. The failure of these systems and/or of disaster recovery plans could cause significant interruptions in the operations of the Fund, the Adviser, the Fund’s other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants, financial intermediaries and/or issuers of securities in which the Fund invests and may result in a failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data, impact the Fund’s ability to calculate its net asset value or impede trading. Such a failure could also harm the reputation of the Fund, the Adviser, the Fund’s other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants, financial intermediaries and/or issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, subject such entities and their respective affiliates to legal claims or otherwise affect their business and financial performance.

 

Depositary Receipt Risk. The Fund may invest in depositary receipts which involve similar risks to those associated with investments in foreign securities. Investments in depositary receipts may be less liquid.

 

Early Close/Trading Halt Risk. An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses. 

 

Emerging Markets Securities 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.

 

ESG Risk. Because the Fund evaluates ESG factors to assess and exclude certain investments for non-financial reasons, the Fund may forego some market opportunities available to funds that do not use these ESG factors. Information used by the Fund to evaluate ESG factors, including data provided by third-party vendors, may not be readily available, complete or accurate, and may vary across providers and issuers and within industries, which could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to apply its methodology and in turn could negatively impact the Fund’s performance. Currently, there is a lack of common industry standards relating to the development and application of ESG criteria which may make it difficult to compare the Fund’s principal investment strategies with the investment strategies of other funds that apply certain ESG criteria or that use a different third-party vendor for ESG.

 

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Fluctuation of Net Asset Value Risk. The NAV of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. The market prices of the shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on Exchange. The Adviser cannot predict whether the shares will trade below, at or above their NAV. The Fund’s market price may deviate from the value of its underlying portfolio holdings, particularly in times of market stress, with the result that investors may pay significantly more or receive significantly less than the underlying value of the Fund shares bought or sold. This can be reflected as a spread between the bid and ask prices for the Fund quoted during the day or a premium or discount in the closing price from the Fund’s NAV. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the Exchange and may, therefore, have a material effect on the market price of the Fund’s shares.

 

Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in securities (including ADRs and Global Depository Receipts (“GDRs”)) of foreign issuers involve risks not ordinarily associated with investments in securities and instruments of U.S. issuers. The values of foreign investments may be affected by changes in exchange control regulations, application of foreign tax laws (including withholding tax) changes in governmental administration or economic or monetary policy (in this country or abroad) or changed circumstances in dealings between nations. The value of foreign securities is also affected by the value of the local currency relative to the U.S. Dollar. GDRs may be other than dollar denominated and may be issued in several countries.

 

ADRs Risk. ADRs may be subject to some of the same risks as direct investment in foreign companies, which includes international trade, currency, political, regulatory and diplomatic risks. In a sponsored ADR arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes the obligation to pay some or all of the depositary’s transaction fees. Under an unsponsored ADR arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes no obligations and the depositary’s transaction fees are paid directly by the ADR holders. Because unsponsored ADR arrangements are organized independently and without the cooperation of the issuer of the underlying securities, available information concerning the foreign issuer may not be as current as for sponsored ADRs and voting rights with respect to the deposited securities that are not passed through.

 

Geographic Investment Risk. To the extent the Fund are significantly comprised of securities of issuers from a single country, the Fund would be more likely to be impacted by events or conditions affecting that country.

 

Indonesia Risk. Investments in Indonesian issuers may subject the Fund to legal, regulatory, political, currency, security and economic risk specific to Indonesia. Among other things, the Indonesian economy is heavily dependent on trading relationships with certain key trading partners, including China, Japan, Singapore and the U.S. The Indonesian economy is sensitive to changes in the basic materials sector. Indonesia’s political institutions and democracy have a relatively short history, increasing the risk of political instability and governmental policy that could impact Fund investments. Indonesia has in the past faced terrorism and political and militant unrest within several of its regions, and further unrest could present a risk to the local economy and securities markets.

 

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Industry Concentration Risk. Because the Fund’s assets will be concentrated in an industry or group of industries, the Fund is subject to loss due to adverse occurrences that may affect that industry or group of industries.

 

Investment Risk. An investment in the Fund is subject to investment risk including the possible loss of the entire principal amount that you invest.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. Fund performance depends on the performance of individual securities to which the Fund has exposure. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.

 

Large Shareholder and Large-Scale Redemption Risk. Certain shareholders, including an Authorized Participant, a third-party investor, the Fund’s adviser or an affiliate of the Fund’s adviser, a market maker, or another entity, may from time to time own or manage a substantial amount of Fund shares or may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a limited period of time. These shareholders may also pledge or loan Fund shares (to secure financing or otherwise), which may result in the shares becoming concentrated in another party. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder or large group of shareholders would not redeem their investment or that the size of the Fund would be maintained. Redemptions of a large number of Fund shares by these shareholders may adversely affect the Fund’s liquidity and net assets. To the extent the Fund permits redemptions in cash, these redemptions may force the Fund to sell portfolio securities when it might not otherwise do so, which may negatively impact the Fund’s NAV, have a material effect on the market price of the shares and increase the Fund’s brokerage costs and/or accelerate the realization of taxable income and/or gains and cause the Fund to make taxable distributions to its shareholders earlier than the Fund otherwise would have. In addition, under certain circumstances, non-redeeming shareholders may be treated as receiving a disproportionately large taxable distribution during or with respect to such tax year. The Fund also may be required to sell its more liquid Fund investments to meet a large redemption, in which case the Fund’s remaining assets may be less liquid, more volatile, and more difficult to price. To the extent these large shareholders transact in shares on the secondary market, such transactions may account for a large percentage of the trading volume for the shares of the Fund and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the shares. In addition, large purchases of Fund shares may adversely affect the 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, diluting its investment returns.

 

Liquidity Risk. It may be more difficult for the Fund to buy and sell significant amounts of some securities without an unfavorable impact on prevailing market prices. As a result, these securities may be difficult to dispose of at a fair price at the times when the Adviser believes it is desirable to do so.

 

Market Risk. The prices of securities held by the Fund may decline in response to certain events taking place around the world, including those directly involving the companies whose securities are owned by the Fund; conditions affecting the general economy; overall market changes; local, regional or global political, social or economic instability; and currency, interest rate and commodity price fluctuations. The equity securities purchased by the Fund may involve large price swings and potential for loss. Investors in the Fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to tolerate potentially sharp declines in value. The market’s daily movements, sometimes called volatility, may be greater or less depending on the types of securities the Fund owns and the markets in which the securities trade. The increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform due to inflation (or expectations for inflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, climate change or climate related risks, natural disasters, pandemics, epidemics, war, terrorism, regulatory events, governmental or quasi-governmental actions, and public health emergencies. 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.

 

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Micro-Capitalization Risk. The micro-capitalization companies in which the Fund may invest may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies, and may underperform other segments of the market or the equity market as a whole. Securities of micro-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes, are often more vulnerable to market volatility, and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole.

 

New Fund Risk. A new or smaller fund is subject to the risk that its 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 and smaller funds may not attract sufficient assets to achieve investment and trading efficiencies. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve an economically viable size. Further, an active trading market for shares of the Fund may not develop or be maintained.

 

Non-Diversified Fund Risk. The Fund is a non-diversified investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), meaning that, as compared to a diversified fund, it can invest a greater percentage of its assets in securities issued by or representing a small number of issuers. As a result, the performance of these issuers can have a substantial impact on the Fund’s performance.

 

Operations. The Fund is exposed to operational risk arising from a number of factors, including but not limited to human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund seeks to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate for those risks that they are intended to address.

 

Pandemics Risk. An outbreak of infectious respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 was first detected in China in December 2019 before spreading worldwide and being declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. COVID-19 has resulted in travel restrictions, closed international borders, enhanced health screenings, disruption and delays in healthcare services, prolonged quarantines, cancellations, temporary store closures, social distancing, government ordered curfews and business closures, disruptions to supply chains and consumer activity, shortages, highly volatile financial markets, and general concern and uncertainty.

 

Portfolio Turnover Risk. Due to its investment strategy, the Fund may buy and sell securities frequently. This may result in higher transaction costs and additional capital gains tax liabilities, which may affect the Fund’s performance.

 

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Sector Focus Risk. The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in one or more sectors and thus will be more susceptible to the risks affecting those sectors

 

Securities Lending Risk. Although the Fund will receive collateral in connection with all loans of its securities holdings, the Fund would be exposed to a risk of loss should a borrower default on its obligation to return the borrowed securities (e.g., the loaned securities may have appreciated beyond the value of the collateral held by the Fund). In addition, the Fund will bear the risk of loss of any cash collateral that it invests.

 

Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. Investors buying or selling shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of shares. In addition, secondary market investors will also incur the cost of the difference between the price that an investor is willing to pay for shares (the “bid” price) and the price at which an investor is willing to sell shares (the “ask” price). This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “spread” or “bid/ask spread.” The bid/ask spread varies over time for shares based on trading volume and market liquidity and is generally lower if the Fund’s shares have more trading volume and market liquidity and higher if the Fund’s shares have little trading volume and market liquidity. Further, increased market volatility may cause increased bid/ask spreads. Due to the costs of buying or selling shares, including 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.

 

Small- and Mid-Capitalization Company Risk. The small- and mid-capitalization companies in which the Fund invests may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies, and may underperform other segments of the market or the equity market as a whole. Securities of small- and mid-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes, are often more vulnerable to market volatility, and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole.  

 

Trading Risk. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including disruptions to the creation and redemption processes of the Fund, losses from trading in secondary markets, the existence of extreme market volatility or potential lack of an active trading market for shares may result in shares trading at a significant premium or discount to NAV. The NAV of shares will fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s securities holdings. The market prices of shares will fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV and supply and demand on the Exchange. The Fund cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their NAV. If a shareholder purchases shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV or sells shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholder may sustain losses. Any of these factors, discussed above and further below, may lead to shares trading at a premium or discount to the Fund’s NAV.

 

Trading in shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange’s “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged.

 

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Valuation Risk. The price the Fund could receive upon the sale of a security or other asset may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security , particularly for securities or other assets that trade in low volume or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology as a result of trade suspensions or for other reasons. Because non-U.S. exchanges may be open on days when the Fund does not price its shares, the value of the securities or other assets in the Fund’s portfolio may change on days or during time periods when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund’s shares. In addition, for purposes of calculating the Fund’s NAV, the value of assets denominated in non-U.S. currencies is converted into U.S. dollars using prevailing market rates on the date of valuation as quoted by one or more data service providers. This conversion may result in a difference between the prices used to calculate the Fund’s NAV , which, in turn, could result in a difference between the Fund’s performance.] Authorized Participants who purchase or redeem Fund shares on days when the Fund is holding fair-valued securities may receive fewer or more shares, or lower or higher redemption proceeds, than they would have received had the Fund not fair-valued securities or used a different valuation methodology. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.

 

Temporary Defensive Investments

 

The Fund may take temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with its normal investment policies and strategies—for instance, by allocating assets to cash, cash equivalent investments or other less volatile instruments — in response to adverse or unusual market, economic, political, or other conditions. In doing so, the Fund may succeed in avoiding losses but may otherwise fail to achieve its investment objective.

 

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

 

The Fund’s portfolio holdings will be disclosed each day on its website at www.tema.co. A description of the Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio securities is available in the Statement of Additional Information (SAI).

 

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Fund Management

 

The Adviser

 

Tema Global Limited, located at 2nd Floor, The Le Gallais Building, 54 Bath Street, St Helier, Jersey, JE1 1FW, serves as the investment adviser to the Fund. The Adviser is a limited company formed in 2021 to provide investment advisory services to registered investment companies.

 

The Adviser is responsible for the Fund’s investment operations and its business affairs. Pursuant to a management agreement between the Trust and the Adviser with respect to the Fund (“Management Agreement”) and subject to the general oversight of the Board, the Adviser provides or causes to be furnished all supervisory and other services reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund, including audit, portfolio accounting, legal, transfer agency, custody, printing costs, certain administrative services (provided pursuant to a separate administration agreement), certain distribution services (provided pursuant to a separate distribution agreement), certain shareholder and distribution-related services (provided pursuant to a separate Rule 12b-1 Plan and related agreements) under what is essentially an all-in fee structure. The Fund may bear other expenses which are not covered under the Management Agreement that may vary and will affect the total level of expenses paid by the Fund, such as taxes and governmental fees, brokerage fees, commissions and other transaction expenses, costs of borrowing money, including interest expenses, certain custody expenses and extraordinary expenses (such as litigation and indemnification expenses).

 

The Adviser is paid a monthly unitary management fee at an annual rate (stated as a percentage of the average daily net assets of the Fund) of [    ]%. Under the unitary fee arrangement, the Adviser pays all operating expenses of the Fund, except for certain expenses, including but not limited to, interest expenses, taxes, brokerage expenses, future Rule 12b-1 fees (if any), acquired fund fees and expenses, and the management fee payable to the Adviser under the Management Agreement.

 

A discussion regarding the Board of Trustees’ approval of the Management Agreement with respect to the Fund will be available in the Fund’s annual report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023.

 

Sub-Adviser

 

Neos Investment Management LLC, located at 13 Riverside Avenue, Westport, CT 06880, serves as the investment adviser to the Fund. The Adviser is a Delaware limited liability company formed in 2022 to provide sub-advisory services to registered investment companies.

 

The Sub-Adviser was formed in 2022 and provides investment advisory services to exchange-traded funds, including the Funds. The Sub-Adviser is responsible for trading portfolio securities and other investment instruments on behalf of the Fund, including selecting broker-dealers to execute purchase and sale transactions, as instructed by the Adviser, subject to the supervision of the Adviser and the Board. Under a sub-advisory agreement, the Adviser pays the Sub-Adviser a fee, calculated daily and paid monthly, out of the fee the Adviser receives from the Fund.

 

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s renewal of the sub-advisory agreement with respect to the Fund will be available in the Fund’s annual report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023.

 

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Portfolio Managers

 

Maurits Pot, Yuri Khodjamirian, and Chris Semenuk of the Adviser and Troy Cates, Ryan Houlton, and Garrett Paolella of the Sub-Adviser are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund and have served in such capacity since inception.

 

The SAI provides additional information about the Portfolio Managers’ compensation, other accounts managed, and ownership of Fund shares.

 

Shareholder Information

 

Determination of NAV

 

The NAV per share for the Fund is computed by dividing the value of the net assets of the Fund (i.e., the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by the total number of shares outstanding. Expenses and fees, including the management fee, are accrued daily and taken into account for purposes of determining NAV. The NAV of the Fund is determined each business day as of the close of trading (ordinarily 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on the NYSE.

 

The values of the Fund’s portfolio securities are based on the securities’ closing prices on their local principal markets, where available. In the absence of a last reported sales price, or if no sales were reported, and for other assets for which market quotes are not readily available, values may be based on quotes obtained from a quotation reporting system, established market makers or by an outside independent pricing service. Prices obtained by an outside independent pricing service use information provided by market makers or estimates of market values obtained from data related to investments or securities with similar characteristics and may use a computerized grid matrix of securities and its evaluations in determining what it believes is the fair value of the portfolio securities. If a market quotation for a security is not readily available or the Adviser believes it does not otherwise accurately reflect the market value of the security at the time the Fund calculates its NAV, the security will be fair valued by the Adviser, in accordance with the Trust’s valuation policies and procedures approved by the Board of Trustees of the Trust. The Fund may also use fair value pricing in a variety of circumstances, including but not limited to, situations where the value of a security in the Fund’s portfolio has been materially affected by events occurring after the close of the market on which the security is principally traded (such as a corporate action or other news that may materially affect the price of a security) or trading in a security has been suspended or halted. Fair value pricing involves subjective judgments and it is possible that a fair value determination for a security is materially different than the value that could be realized upon the sale of the security.

 

Buying and Selling Exchange-Traded Shares

 

Authorized Participants

 

The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in Creation Units. Only APs may acquire shares directly from the Fund, and only APs may tender their shares for redemption directly to the Fund, at NAV. APs must be (i) a broker-dealer or other participant in the clearing process through the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC, a clearing agency that is registered with the SEC; or (ii) a Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) participant (as discussed below). In addition, each AP must execute a Participant Agreement that has been agreed to by the Distributor, and that has been accepted by the Transfer Agent, with respect to purchases and redemptions of Creation Units. Once created, shares trade in the secondary market in quantities less than a Creation Unit.

 

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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, as part of a redemption, restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A.

 

Investors

 

Individual Fund shares may only be bought and sold by investors including APs in the secondary market through a broker or dealer at a market price. Shares are listed for trading on the secondary market on the Exchange and can be bought and sold throughout the trading day like other publicly traded securities.

 

When buying or selling shares through a broker, you will incur customary brokerage commissions and charges, and you may pay some or all of the spread between the bid and the offer price in the secondary market on each leg of a round trip (purchase and sale) transaction. Because the Fund’s shares trade at market prices rather than net asset value, shares may trade at a price greater than net asset value (premium) or less than net asset value (discount). An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the bid-ask spread). Information on the Fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website (www.tema.co).

 

Book Entry

 

Shares are held in book-entry form, which means that no stock certificates are issued. DTC or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding shares.

 

Investors owning shares are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. DTC serves as the securities depository for all shares. DTC’s participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other institutions that directly or indirectly maintain a custodial relationship with DTC. As a beneficial owner of shares, you are not entitled to receive physical delivery of stock certificates or to have shares registered in your name, and you are not considered a registered owner of shares. Therefore, to exercise any right as an owner of shares, you must rely upon the procedures of DTC and its participants. These procedures are the same as those that apply to any other securities that you hold in book entry or “street name” through your brokerage account.

 

Continuous Offering

 

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 of 1933, as amended (“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.

 

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For example, a broker dealer firm or its client may be deemed a statutory underwriter if it takes Creation Units after placing an order with the Transfer Agent, 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(3)(C) of the Securities Act, would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(3) of the Securities Act. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(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 shares that are part of an overallotment within the meaning of Section 4(3)(A) of the Securities Act would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(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 Fund and the Adviser may purchase and resell Fund shares pursuant to this Prospectus.

 

For More Information:

 

Existing Shareholders or Prospective Investors

 

TEMA INDONESIA ETF 

c/o Foreside Fund Services, LLC 

Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100
Portland, Maine 04101

 

Dealers

 

TEMA INDONESIA ETF 

c/o Foreside Fund Services, LLC 

Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100
Portland, Maine 04101

 

Distribution and Service Plan

 

The Board has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan (the “Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. In accordance with the Plan, the Fund is authorized to pay an amount up to 0.25% of its average daily net assets each year for certain distribution-related activities and shareholder services.

 

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No Rule 12b-1 fees are currently paid by the Fund, and there are no plans to impose these fees. However, in the event Rule 12b-1 fees are charged in the future, because the fees are paid out of the Fund’s assets, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than certain other types of sales charges.

 

Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Fund shares

 

The Board has evaluated the risks of frequent purchases and redemptions of Fund shares (“market timing”) activities by the Fund’s shareholders. The Board noted that shares can only be purchased and redeemed directly from the Fund in Creation Units by APs and that the vast majority of trading in shares occurs on the secondary market. Because the secondary market trades do not involve the Fund directly, it is unlikely those trades would cause many of the harmful effects of market timing, including dilution, disruption of portfolio management, increases in the Fund’s trading costs and the realization of capital gains.

 

With respect to trades directly with the Fund, to the extent effected in-kind, those trades do not cause any of the harmful effects (as previously noted) that may result from frequent cash trades. To the extent that the Trust allows or requires trades to be effected in whole or in part in cash, the Board noted that those trades could result in dilution to the Fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. However, the Board noted that direct trading by APs is critical to ensuring that shares trade at or close to NAV. The Fund also employs fair valuation pricing to minimize potential dilution from market timing. The Fund imposes transaction fees on in-kind purchases and redemptions of shares to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by the Fund in effecting in-kind trades, these fees increase if an investor substitutes cash in part or in whole for securities, reflecting the fact that the Fund’s trading costs increase in those circumstances. Given this structure, the Board determined that it is not necessary to adopt policies and procedures to detect and deter market timing of shares.

 

Distributions

 

Dividends and Distributions

 

The Fund intends to qualify each year as a regulated investment company under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). As a regulated investment company, the Fund generally pays no federal income tax on the income and gains it distributes to you. The Fund expects to declare and distribute all of its net investment income, if any, to shareholders as dividends monthly.

 

The Fund will distribute net realized capital gains, if any, at least annually. The Fund may distribute such income dividends and capital gains more frequently, if necessary, in order to reduce or eliminate federal excise or income taxes on the Fund. The amount of any distribution will vary, and there is no guarantee the Fund will pay either an income dividend or a capital gains distribution.

 

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Annual Statements

 

Each year, you will receive an annual statement (Form 1099) of your account activity to assist you in completing your federal, state and local tax returns. Distributions declared in December to shareholders of record in such month, but paid in January, are taxable as if they were paid in December. The Fund make every effort to search for reclassified income to reduce the number of corrected forms mailed to you. However, when necessary, you will receive a corrected Form 1099 to reflect reclassified information.

 

Avoid “Buying a Dividend”

 

At the time you purchase your shares, the price of shares may reflect undistributed income, undistributed capital gains, or net unrealized appreciation in value of portfolio securities held by the Fund. For taxable investors, a subsequent distribution to you of such amounts, although constituting a return of your investment, would be taxable. Buying shares in the Fund just before it declares an income dividend or capital gains distribution is sometimes known as “buying a dividend.”

 

Dividend Reinvestment Service

 

Brokers may make available the Depository Trust Company book-entry dividend reinvestment service to their customers who own Fund shares. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and capital gains will automatically be reinvested in additional whole shares of the Fund purchased on the secondary market. Without this service, investors would receive their distributions in cash. To determine whether the dividend reinvestment service is available and whether there is a commission or other charge for using this service, consult your broker. Brokers may require Fund shareholders 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 the Fund purchased in the secondary market.

 

Tax Information

 

Tax Considerations

 

The Fund expects, based on its investment objective and strategies, that its distributions, if any, will be taxable as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both. This is true whether you reinvest your distributions in additional shares or receive them in cash. For federal income tax purposes, Fund distributions of short-term capital gains are taxable to you as ordinary income. Fund distributions of long-term capital gains are taxable to you as long-term capital gains no matter how long you have owned your shares. A portion of income dividends reported by the Fund may be qualified dividend income eligible for taxation by individual shareholders at long-term capital gain rates provided certain holding period requirements are met.

 

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 the Fund, including the possible application of foreign, state and local taxes. Unless your investment in the Fund is through a tax-exempt entity or tax-deferred retirement account, such as a 401(k) plan, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when: (i) the Fund makes distributions, (ii) you sell shares in the secondary market or (iii) you create or redeem Creation Units.

 

24

 

Taxes on Distributions

 

The Fund intends to distribute, at least annually, substantially all of its net investment income and net capital gains. For federal income tax purposes, distributions of investment income are generally taxable as ordinary income or qualified dividend income. Taxes on distributions of capital gains (if any) are determined by how long the Fund owned the investments that generated them, rather than how long a shareholder has owned his or her shares. Sales of assets held by the Fund for more than one year generally result in long-term capital gains and losses, and sales of assets held by the Fund for one year or less generally result in short-term capital gains and losses. Distributions of the Fund’s net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses) that are reported by the Fund as capital gain dividends (“Capital Gain Dividends”) will be taxable as long-term capital gains, which for non-corporate shareholders are subject to tax at reduced rates of up to 20% (lower rates apply to individuals in lower tax brackets). Distributions of short-term capital gain will generally be taxable as ordinary income. Dividends and distributions are generally taxable to you whether you receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional shares.

 

Distributions reported by the Fund as “qualified dividend income” are generally taxed to noncorporate shareholders at rates applicable to long-term capital gains, provided holding period and other requirements are met. “Qualified dividend income” generally is income derived from dividends paid by U.S. corporations or certain foreign corporations that are either incorporated in a U.S. possession or eligible for tax benefits under certain U.S. income tax treaties. In addition, dividends that the Fund received in respect of stock of certain foreign corporations may be qualified dividend income if that stock is readily tradable on an established U.S. securities market.

 

U.S. individuals with income exceeding specified thresholds are subject to a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax on all or a portion of their “net investment income,” which includes interest, dividends, and certain capital gains (generally including capital gains distributions and capital gains realized on the sale of shares). This 3.8% tax also applies to all or a portion of the undistributed net investment income of certain shareholders, such as estates and trusts, whose gross income as adjusted or modified for tax purposes exceeds certain threshold amounts.

 

In general, your distributions are subject to federal income tax for the year in which they are paid. Certain distributions paid in January, however, may be treated as paid on December 31 of the prior year. Distributions are generally taxable even if they are paid from income or gains earned by the Fund before your investment (and thus were included in the shares’ NAV when you purchased your shares).

 

You may wish to avoid investing in the Fund shortly before a dividend or other distribution, because such a distribution will generally be taxable even though it may economically represent a return of a portion of your investment. Distributions in excess of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits are treated as a tax-free return of your investment to the extent of your basis in the shares, and generally as capital gain thereafter. A return of capital, which for tax purposes is treated as a return of your investment, reduces your basis in shares, thus reducing any loss or increasing any gain on a subsequent taxable disposition of shares. A distribution will reduce the Fund’s NAV per Share and may be taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gain even though, from an economic standpoint, the distribution may constitute a return of capital.

 

25

 

If you are neither a resident nor a citizen of the United States or if you are a foreign entity, distributions (other than Capital Gain Dividends) paid to you by the Fund will generally be subject to a U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30% unless a lower treaty rate applies. The Fund may, under certain circumstances, report all or a portion of a dividend as an “interest-related dividend” or a “short-term capital gain dividend,” which would generally be exempt from this 30% U.S. withholding tax, provided certain other requirements are met.

 

The Fund (or a financial intermediary, such as a broker, through which a shareholder owns shares) generally is required to withhold and remit to the U.S. Treasury a percentage of the taxable distributions and sale or redemption proceeds paid to any shareholder who fails to properly furnish a correct taxpayer identification number, who has underreported dividend or interest income, or who fails to certify that he, she or it is not subject to such withholding.

 

Shortly after the close of each calendar year, you will be informed of the character of any distributions received from the Fund.

 

Taxes When shares are Sold on the Exchange

 

Any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of shares generally is treated as a long-term capital gain or loss if shares have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if shares have been held for one year or less. However, any capital loss on a sale of shares held for six months or less is treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of Capital Gain Dividends paid with respect to such shares. The ability to deduct capital losses may be limited.

 

Taxes on Purchases and Redemptions of Creation Units

 

An Authorized Participant having the U.S. dollar as its functional currency for U.S. federal income tax purposes who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally recognizes a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the value of the Creation Units at the time of the exchange and the exchanging Authorized Participant’s aggregate basis in the securities delivered plus the amount of any cash paid for the Creation Units. An Authorized Participant who exchanges Creation Units for securities will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanging Authorized Participant’s basis in the Creation Units and the aggregate U.S. dollar market value of the securities received, plus any cash received for such Creation Units. The Internal Revenue Service may assert, however, that a loss that is realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units may not be currently deducted under the rules governing “wash sales” (for an Authorized Participant who does not mark-to-market their holdings), or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position. Persons exchanging securities should consult their own tax advisor with respect to whether wash sale rules apply and when a loss might be deductible.

 

Any capital gain or loss realized upon redemption of Creation Units is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if shares have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if shares have been held for one year or less.

 

26

 

Special Issues for Foreign Shareholders

 

If a Fund shareholder is not a U.S. citizen or resident or if a Fund shareholder is a foreign entity, the Fund’s ordinary income dividends (including distributions of net short-term capital gains and other amounts that would not be subject to U.S. withholding tax if paid directly to foreign Fund shareholders) will be subject, in general, to withholding tax at a rate of 30% (or at a lower rate established under an applicable tax treaty). A special rule for regulated investment companies (such as the Fund) provided that, for tax years that began on or before December 31, 2009, interest-related dividends and short-term capital gain dividends generally will not be subject to withholding tax; provided that the foreign Fund shareholder furnishes the Fund with a completed IRS Form W-8BEN (or acceptable substitute documentation) establishing the Fund shareholder’s status as foreign and that the Fund does not have actual knowledge or reason to know that the foreign Fund shareholder would be subject to withholding tax if the foreign Fund shareholder were to receive the related amounts directly rather than as dividends from the Fund. There has been legislation proposed to extend this rule until December 31, 2010; however, there can be no assurance at this time whether it will be extended, and, if yes, the terms of the extension.

 

To claim a credit or refund for any Fund-level taxes on any undistributed long-term capital gains (as discussed above) or any taxes collected through back-up withholding, a foreign Fund shareholder must obtain a U.S. taxpayer identification number and file a federal income tax return even if the foreign Fund shareholder would not otherwise be required to obtain a U.S. taxpayer identification number or file a U.S. income tax return.

 

The information in this section “Tax Information” is not intended or written to be used as tax advice. Because everyone’s tax situation is unique, you should consult your tax professional about federal, state, local or foreign tax consequences before making an investment in the Fund.

 

Financial Highlights

 

Because the Fund has not commenced operations as of the date of this Prospectus, no financial highlights information is available.

 

Premium/Discount Information

 

Information regarding how often shares of the Fund traded on the Exchange at a price above (i.e., at a premium) or below (i.e., at a discount) the NAV of the Fund during the past four calendar quarters, or since inception, as applicable, can be found at the Fund’s website at http://www.temaetfs.com.

 

Investment Adviser

 

Tema Global Limited
2nd Floor, Le Gallais Building  

54 Bath Street, St Helier  

Jersey, JE1 1FW  

Sub-Adviser 

 

Neos Investment Management LLC 

13 Riverside Avenue   

Westport, CT 06880 

   

Custodian 


U.S. Bank
615 East Michigan Street 

Milwaukee, WI 53202 

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

[Name of Auditor]
[_____________]
[_____________] 

   

Distributor

 

Foreside Fund Services, LLC
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100
Portland, Maine 04101 

Transfer Agent

 

Foreside Fund Services, LLC
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100
Portland, Maine 04101 

   
 

Legal Counsel

 

Thompson Hine LLP
1919 M Street, N.W., Suite 700
Washington D.C., 20036 

 

27

 

Disclaimers

 

Shares of the Trust are not sponsored, endorsed, or promoted by the Exchange. The Exchange makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the shares of the Fund. The Exchange is not responsible for, nor has it participated in, the determination of the timing of, prices of, or quantities of the shares of the Fund to be issued, or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the shares are redeemable. The Exchange has no obligation or liability to owners of the shares of the Fund in connection with the administration, marketing, or trading of the shares of the Fund. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall the Exchange have any liability for any lost profits or indirect, punitive, special, or consequential damages even if notified of the possibility thereof.

 

Additional Information

 

This Prospectus does not contain all the information included in the Registration Statement filed with the SEC with respect to the Fund’s shares. Information about the Fund can be reviewed on the EDGAR database at the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov), and copies may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following email address: publicinfo@sec.gov. The SAI for the Fund, which has been filed with the SEC, provides more information about the Fund. The SAI is incorporated herein by reference and is legally part of this Prospectus. Additional information about the Fund’s investments will be available in the Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. In the Fund’s annual report, when available, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund’s performance during its last fiscal year. These documents and other information concerning the Trust also may be inspected at Brookfield Place, 200 Vesey Street, Suite 24106, New York, NY 10281. You can also obtain information about the Fund by calling at no cost 1.888.744.1377.

 

Investment Company Act file no. 811-23823

 

28

 

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS SUBJECT TO COMPLETION JUNE 6, 2023

    

The information in this 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 Prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

Tema ETF Trust

 

PROSPECTUS

 

[    ] [    ], 2023

 

Tema Neuroscience and Mental Health ETF (TICKER SYMBOL)

 

Principal Listing Exchange: [    ]

 

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

 

1

 

Summary Information — Tema Neuroscience and Mental Health ETF

 

Investment Objective

 

Tema Neuroscience and Mental Health ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to provide long-term growth of capital.

 

Fund Fees and Expenses

 

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. 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) 

None 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fee   0.[   ]%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees   0.00%
Other Expenses   0.00%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses   0.[  ]%

 

[   ]

 

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 sell all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your cost would be:

 

 

1 Year  

3 Years  

Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be: $[   ]   $[   ]  

 

Portfolio Turnover

 

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it purchases and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may result in higher transaction costs and higher taxes when shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses table or in the Example above, may affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, there is no portfolio turnover to report.

 

2

 

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

 

Under normal circumstances, the Tema Neuroscience and Mental Health ETF seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets, which include borrowings for investment purposes, in neuroscience and mental health companies. A company is generally considered to be a neuroscience or mental health company if it derives at least 50% of revenues, or $1 billion in revenues, from neuroscience or neurology-related diseases, or mental health. The Adviser will use internal research and analysis based on company disclosure (such as 10-K filings, company presentations, capital markets day presentations) and other publicly available sources (e.g., sell-side research, biotechnology industry publications etc.) to make this assessment. Example companies include large pharmaceutical firms, development-stage biotechnology firms, diagnostic focused businesses with products used to diagnose and/or treat neuroscience or mental health illnesses, medical device companies focused on treatment of the aforementioned diseases treatment, and healthcare service providers with a specific strategic focus on helping treat and manage the aforementioned diseases, each providing they meet the aforementioned revenue test.

 

The Fund generally is expected to consist of more than 15 companies but not more than 100 companies. The number of constituents may change depending on the number of companies available for investment that meet the Fund’s criteria.

 

To be eligible for inclusion in the Fund, a company must have a market capitalization of at least $100 million and there is no upper limit on the market capitalization of a portfolio company. To be eligible for inclusion in the Fund, a company must have a three-month average daily traded value of at least $500,000.

 

A significant portion of the Fund’s assets are expected to be invested in the United States and Europe.

 

The Fund will not engage in currency hedging and is expected to own foreign currency for short periods of time for the purposes of buying and selling non-US listed securities and collecting dividends and/or coupon payments from those securities.

 

The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), which means that it may invest a high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers

 

The Fund relies on the professional judgment of its Adviser to make decisions about the Fund’s portfolio investments. 

 

The basic investment philosophy of the Adviser is to seek to invest in companies within the aforementioned thematic universe that are attractively valued when compared to their fundamentals and growth opportunities. The Adviser’s security selection process for identifying companies within the aforementioned theme uses both “top down” idea generation (sector, theme, company research) and “bottom up” security selection (valuation, fundamental, quantitative, qualitative measures) approaches. 

 

In practice “top down” idea generation means fundamental sector research, quantitative tools (for example screening based on metrics such as five-year historic revenue growth, margins, or returns on invested capital) and the Adviser’s own expertise, are used to narrow down the specific thematic research universe.

 

3

 

Once this is defined “bottom up” security analysis involves the Adviser comparing valuation multiples (such as free cash flow yield, price to book ratio and price to earnings ratio or enterprise value to total invested capital, among others) to fundamental metrics (such as organic revenue growth, margins, returns on invested capital and equity, among others). Investments are deemed attractively valued when compared to fundamentals if the valuation multiples are below and fundamentals are above either (1) peers (2) the companies own historic averages (3) or prospective forecasts (as determined by the Adviser). Buttressing this is a detailed fundamental research profile of each company assessing business model, competitive edge, management incentives and track record, and balance sheet.

 

The Adviser integrates environmental, social and corporate governance (“ESG”) considerations into its investment analysis. This is in support of both the objective of maximizing return and the broader analysis of risks associated with individual companies. The Adviser, however, does not use ESG considerations to limit, restrict or otherwise exclude companies or sectors from the Fund’s investment universe.

 

ESG factors in this context include, but are not limited to, the impact on or from climate change, natural resource use, waste management practices, human capital management, product safety, supply chain management, corporate governance, business ethics and advocacy for governmental policy.

 

As part of its investment analysis the Adviser will consider the following, which form part of a holistic assessment of each individual investment opportunity that itself determines selection of the highest conviction securities into the portfolio that the Adviser believes represent the best risk reward for investors:

 

  The Adviser, as part of its company assessment, will look closely at any material non-financial and ESG related risks that might significantly impair the future financial performance of the company. Such risks will be given equal prominence in analysis to any financial only risks. ESG considerations may not be applicable to all types of instruments or investments.

 

  Where deemed appropriate the Adviser may engage with companies directly on issues, either through meetings or in written form. This includes but is not limited to improving governance practices, aligning management incentives, and increasing transparency of ESG practices.

 

In making these considerations the Adviser will use both internal and external data sources and analyses including, but not limited to, those provided by companies directly or by third parties. These considerations also inform monitoring of existing positions.

 

The Fund may invest in foreign securities listed on foreign exchanges as well as American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) and Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”). The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), which means that it may invest a high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers and concentrate its investments in a particular industry or group of industries.  

 

4

 

The Fund may engage in securities lending.

 

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund

 

As with all funds, a shareholder is subject to the risk that his or her investment could lose money. An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any government agency. The principal risks affecting shareholders’ investments in the Fund are set forth below.

 

Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an Authorized Participant (as defined below) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized Participants. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units, Fund shares may trade at a discount to net asset value per share (“NAV”) and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting.

 

Common Stock Risk. Common stock holds the lowest priority in the capital structure of a company, and, therefore, takes the largest share of the company’s risk and its accompanying volatility. The value of the common stock held by the Fund may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the issuers of securities held by the Fund participate, or facts relating to specific companies in which the Fund invests. 

 

Currency Risk. The Fund may invest its assets in securities denominated in non-U.S. 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 the shares. Because the Fund’s NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the Fund’s NAV could decline if the currency of the non-U.S. market in which the Fund invests depreciates against the U.S. dollar, even if the value of the Fund’s holdings, measured in the foreign currency, increases. 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 and Disaster Recovery Risks. Information and technology systems relied upon by the Fund, the Adviser, the Fund’s other service providers (including, but not limited to, the Fund Accountant, Custodian, Transfer Agent, Administrator and Distributor), market makers, Authorized Participants, financial intermediaries and/or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may be vulnerable to damage or interruption from computer viruses, network failures, computer and telecommunication failures, infiltration by unauthorized persons, security breaches, usage errors, power outages and catastrophic events such as fires, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes and earthquakes. Although the Adviser and the Fund’s other service providers have implemented measures to manage risks relating to these types of events, if these systems are compromised, become inoperable for extended periods of time or cease to function properly, significant investment may be required to fix or replace them. The failure of these systems and/or of disaster recovery plans could cause significant interruptions in the operations of the Fund, the Adviser, the Fund’s other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants, financial intermediaries and/or issuers of securities in which the Fund invests and may result in a failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data, impact the Fund’s ability to calculate its NAV or impede trading.

 

5

 

Depositary Receipt Risk. The Fund may invest in depositary receipts which involve similar risks to those associated with investments in foreign securities. Investments in depositary receipts may be less liquid.

 

Early Close/Trading Halt Risk. An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses. 

 

ESG Risk. Because the Fund evaluates ESG factors to assess and exclude certain investments for non-financial reasons, the Fund may forego some market opportunities available to funds that do not use these ESG factors. Information used by the Fund to evaluate ESG factors, including data provided by third-party vendors, may not be readily available, complete or accurate, and may vary across providers and issuers and within industries, which could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to apply its methodology and in turn could negatively impact the Fund’s performance. Currently, there is a lack of common industry standards relating to the development and application of ESG criteria which may make it difficult to compare the Fund’s principal investment strategies with the investment strategies of other funds that apply certain ESG criteria or that use a different third-party vendor for ESG.

 

Fluctuation of Net Asset Value Risk. The NAV of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. The market prices of the shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”). The Adviser cannot predict whether the shares will trade below, at or above their NAV. The Fund’s market price may deviate from the value of its underlying portfolio holdings, particularly in times of market stress, with the result that investors may pay significantly more or receive significantly less than the underlying value of the Fund shares bought or sold. This can be reflected as a spread between the bid and ask prices for the Fund quoted during the day or a premium or discount in the closing price from the Fund’s NAV. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the Exchange and may, therefore, have a material effect on the market price of the Fund’s shares.

 

Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in securities (including ADRs and Global Depository Receipts (“GDRs”)) of foreign issuers involve risks not ordinarily associated with investments in securities and instruments of U.S. issuers. The values of foreign investments may be affected by changes in exchange control regulations, application of foreign tax laws (including withholding tax) changes in governmental administration or economic or monetary policy (in this country or abroad) or changed circumstances in dealings between nations. The value of foreign securities is also affected by the value of the local currency relative to the U.S. Dollar. GDRs may be other than dollar denominated and may be issued in several countries.

 

ADRs Risk. ADRs may be subject to some of the same risks as direct investment in foreign companies, which includes international trade, currency, political, regulatory and diplomatic risks. In a sponsored ADR arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes the obligation to pay some or all of the depositary’s transaction fees. Under an unsponsored ADR arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes no obligations and the depositary’s transaction fees are paid directly by the ADR holders. Because unsponsored ADR arrangements are organized independently and without the cooperation of the issuer of the underlying securities, available information concerning the foreign issuer may not be as current as for sponsored ADRs and voting rights with respect to the deposited securities that are not passed through.

 

6

 

Geographic Investment Risk. To the extent the Fund are significantly comprised of securities of issuers from a single country, the Fund would be more likely to be impacted by events or conditions affecting that country.

 

Industry Concentration Risk. Because the Fund’s assets will be concentrated in an industry or group of industries, the Fund is subject to loss due to adverse occurrences that may affect that industry or group of industries.

 

Investment Risk. An investment in the Fund is subject to investment risk including the possible loss of the entire principal amount that you invest.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. Fund performance depends on the performance of individual securities to which the Fund has exposure. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.

 

Large Shareholder and Large-Scale Redemption Risk. Certain shareholders, including an Authorized Participant, a third-party investor, the Fund’s adviser or an affiliate of the Fund’s adviser, a market maker, or another entity, may from time to time own or manage a substantial amount of Fund shares or may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a limited period of time. These shareholders may also pledge or loan Fund shares (to secure financing or otherwise), which may result in the shares becoming concentrated in another party. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder or large group of shareholders would not redeem their investment or that the size of the Fund would be maintained. Redemptions of a large number of Fund shares by these shareholders may adversely affect the Fund’s liquidity and net assets. To the extent the Fund permits redemptions in cash, these redemptions may force the Fund to sell portfolio securities when it might not otherwise do so, which may negatively impact the Fund’s NAV, have a material effect on the market price of the shares and increase the Fund’s brokerage costs and/or accelerate the realization of taxable income and/or gains and cause the Fund to make taxable distributions to its shareholders earlier than the Fund otherwise would have.

 

Liquidity Risk. It may be more difficult for the Fund to buy and sell significant amounts of some securities without an unfavorable impact on prevailing market prices. As a result, these securities may be difficult to dispose of at a fair price at the times when the Adviser believes it is desirable to do so.

 

Market Risk. Market risk is the risk that one or more markets in which the Fund invests will go down in value, including the possibility that the markets will go down sharply and unpredictably. The value of a security or other asset may decline due to changes in general market conditions, economic trends or events that are not specifically related to the issuer of the security or other asset, or factors that affect a particular issuer or issuers, exchange, country, group of countries, region, market, industry, group of industries, sector or asset class. Local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issue, e.g. COVID-19, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments. Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by Fund management will underperform the markets, the relevant indices or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies. This means you may lose money.

 

7

 

Medical Product and Device Company Risk. Companies that manufacture or develop medical products or devices subject to extensive regulation in the United States by the FDA and by comparable government agencies in other countries. The regulations govern the development, design, approval, manufacturing, labeling, importing and exporting and sale and marketing of many of our medical products. These regulations are also subject to future change. Failure to comply with applicable regulations and quality assurance guidelines could lead to manufacturing shutdowns, product shortages, delays in product manufacturing, product seizures, recalls, operating restrictions, withdrawal or suspension of required licenses, and prohibitions against exporting of products to, or importing products from, countries outside the United States. Medical product and medical device companies could be required to expend significant financial and human resources to remediate failures to comply with applicable regulations and quality assurance guidelines.

 

Micro-Capitalization Risk. The micro-capitalization companies in which the Fund may invest may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies, and may underperform other segments of the market or the equity market as a whole. Securities of micro-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes, are often more vulnerable to market volatility, and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole.

 

Neuroscience Companies Risk. Neuroscience companies are often subject to the potential or actual performance of a limited number of products or technologies and may be greatly affected if any of their products or technologies proves to be, among other things, unsafe, ineffective or unprofitable. Neuroscience companies may not be able to capitalize on such products or technologies. Neuroscience companies may face political, legal or regulatory challenges or constraints from competitors, industry groups or local and national governments. They are also subject to product liability claims, patent expirations and intense competition, which may affect the value of their equity securities. Neuroscience companies may be thinly capitalized, and their equity securities may be more volatile than companies with greater capitalizations. Neuroscience companies are also susceptible to the market and business risks of related industries, such as the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and health care equipment industries.

 

New Fund Risk. A new or smaller fund is subject to the risk that its 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 and smaller funds may not attract sufficient assets to achieve investment and trading efficiencies. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve an economically viable size. Further, an active trading market for shares of the Fund may not develop or be maintained.  

 

Non-Diversified Fund Risk. The Fund is a non-diversified investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), meaning that, as compared to a diversified fund, it can invest a greater percentage of its assets in securities issued by or representing a small number of issuers. As a result, the performance of these issuers can have a substantial impact on the Fund’s performance.

 

Operations. The Fund is exposed to operational risk arising from a number of factors, including but not limited to human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund seeks to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate for those risks that they are intended to address.

 

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Pandemics Risk. An outbreak of infectious respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 was first detected in China in December 2019 before spreading worldwide and being declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. COVID-19 has resulted in travel restrictions, closed international borders, enhanced health screenings, disruption and delays in healthcare services, prolonged quarantines, cancellations, temporary store closures, social distancing, government ordered curfews and business closures, disruptions to supply chains and consumer activity, shortages, highly volatile financial markets, and general concern and uncertainty. 

 

Pharmaceutical Company Risk. Companies in the pharmaceutical industry are heavily dependent on patent protection. The expiration of patents may adversely affect the profitability of the companies. Pharmaceutical companies are also subject to extensive litigation based on product liability and other similar claims. Many new products are subject to approval of the Food and Drug Administration, a process that can be long and costly. Expanding international operations may lead to risks resulting from differences between U.S. and foreign legal, political and economic systems, regulatory regimes and market practices.

 

Portfolio Turnover Risk. Due to its investment strategy, the Fund may buy and sell securities frequently. This may result in higher transaction costs and additional capital gains tax liabilities, which may affect the Fund’s performance.

 

Sector Focus Risk. The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in one or more sectors and thus will be more susceptible to the risks affecting those sectors. The Fund anticipates that it may be subject to some or all of the risks described below.

 

Biotechnology Industry Risk. The biotechnology industry can be significantly affected by patent considerations, including the termination of patent protections for products, intense competition both domestically and internationally, rapid technological change and obsolescence, government regulation and expensive insurance costs due to the risk of product liability lawsuits. In addition, the biotechnology industry is an emerging growth industry, and therefore biotechnology companies may be thinly capitalized and more volatile than companies with greater capitalizations. Biotechnology companies must contend with high development costs, which may be exacerbated by the inability to raise prices to cover costs because of managed care pressure, government regulation or price controls.

 

Healthcare Sector Risk. To the extent the Fund focuses on the healthcare sector, the Fund may be more susceptible to the particular risks that may affect companies in the healthcare sector than if it were invested in a wider variety of companies in unrelated sectors. The profitability of companies in the healthcare sector may be adversely affected by the following factors, among others: extensive government regulations, restrictions on government reimbursement for medical expenses, rising costs of medical products and services, pricing pressure, an increased emphasis on outpatient services, changes in the demand for medical products and services, a limited number of products, industry innovation, changes in technologies and other market developments. A number of issuers in the healthcare sector have recently merged or otherwise experienced consolidation. The effects of this trend toward consolidation are unknown and may be far-reaching. Many healthcare companies are heavily dependent on patent protection. The expiration of a company’s patents may adversely affect that company’s profitability. Many healthcare companies are subject to extensive litigation based on product liability and similar claims. Healthcare companies are subject to competitive forces that may make it difficult to raise prices and, in fact, may result in price discounting. Many new products in the healthcare sector may be subject to regulatory approvals. The process of obtaining such approvals may be long and costly, and such efforts ultimately may be unsuccessful. Companies in the healthcare sector may be thinly capitalized and may be susceptible to product obsolescence. In addition, a number of legislative proposals concerning healthcare have been considered by the U.S. Congress in recent years. It is unclear what proposals will ultimately be enacted, if any, and what effect they may have on companies in the healthcare sector. 

 

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Securities Lending Risk. Although the Fund will receive collateral in connection with all loans of its securities holdings, the Fund would be exposed to a risk of loss should a borrower default on its obligation to return the borrowed securities (e.g., the loaned securities may have appreciated beyond the value of the collateral held by the Fund). In addition, the Fund will bear the risk of loss of any cash collateral that it invests.

 

Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. 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.

 

Small- and Mid-Capitalization Company Risk. The small- and mid-capitalization companies in which the Fund invests may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies, and may underperform other segments of the market or the equity market as a whole. Securities of small- and mid-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes, are often more vulnerable to market volatility, and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole.  

 

Trading Risk. Shares of the Fund may trade on the Exchange above or below their NAV. The NAV of shares of the Fund will fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. In addition, although the Fund’s shares are currently listed on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for shares will develop or be maintained. Trading in Fund shares may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares of the Fund inadvisable.

 

Valuation Risk. The price the Fund could receive upon the sale of a security or other asset may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security , particularly for securities or other assets that trade in low volume or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology as a result of trade suspensions or for other reasons. Because non-U.S. exchanges may be open on days when the Fund does not price its shares, the value of the securities or other assets in the Fund’s portfolio may change on days or during time periods when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Fund’s shares.] Authorized Participants who purchase or redeem Fund shares on days when the Fund is holding fair-valued securities may receive fewer or more shares, or lower or higher redemption proceeds, than they would have received had the Fund not fair-valued securities or used a different valuation methodology. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.

 

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Performance

 

Because the Fund has only recently commenced investment operations, no performance information is presented for the Fund at this time. In the future, performance information will be presented in this section of this Prospectus. Also, shareholder reports containing financial and performance information will be mailed to shareholders semi-annually. Updated performance information will be available at no cost by visiting the Fund’s website at http://www.tema.co.

 

Management

 

Investment Adviser – Tema Global Limited is the investment adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers 

 

David Song and Yuri Khodjamirian are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund and has served in such capacity since inception.

 

Sub–Adviser - Neos Investment Management LLC is the sub-adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers – Garrett Paolella (since inception), Troy Cates (since inception), and Ryan Houlton (since inception)

 

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares 

 

The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in a large specified number of shares each called a “Creation Unit,” or multiples thereof, and only with authorized participants (“Authorized Participants”) which have entered into contractual arrangements with Foreside Fund Services, LLC, the Fund’s distributor (“Distributor”). A Creation Unit consists of 10,000 shares. Creation Unit transactions are expected to be typically conducted in exchange for the deposit or delivery of in-kind securities in the Fund’s portfolio. The Fund may, in certain circumstances, offer Creation Units partially or solely for cash.

 

Individual shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold on a national securities exchange through brokers. Shares of the Fund are listed on [       ] (“Exchange”) and because shares will trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares of the Fund may trade at a price greater than or less than NAV.

 

Tax Information

 

Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless your investment is in an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.

 

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Payments to Broker-Dealer and Other Financial Intermediaries

 

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

 

More Information About the Fund

 

Investment Objective

 

The Fund seeks to provide long-term growth of capital.

 

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Additional Information About Investment Strategies

 

Under normal circumstances, the Tema Neuroscience and Mental Health ETF seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets, which include borrowings for investment purposes, in neuroscience and mental health companies. A company is generally considered to be a neuroscience or mental health company if it derives at least 50% of revenues, or $1 billion in revenues, from neuroscience or neurology-related diseases, or mental health. The Adviser will use internal research and analysis based on company disclosure (such as 10-K filings, company presentations, capital markets day presentations) and other publicly available sources (e.g., sell-side research, biotechnology industry publications etc.) to make this assessment. Example companies include large pharmaceutical firms, development-stage biotechnology firms, diagnostic focused businesses with products used to diagnose and/or treat neuroscience or mental health illnesses, medical device companies focused on treatment of the aforementioned diseases treatment, and healthcare service providers with a specific strategic focus on helping treat and manage the aforementioned diseases, each providing they meet the aforementioned revenue test.

 

The Fund’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) may change the Fund’s investment objective and/or its 80% policy, both of which are non-fundamental, without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders. The Fund’s other investment policies and strategies may be changed by the Board without shareholder approval unless otherwise provided in this prospectus or in the Statement of Additional Information. 

 

Additional Information About the Fund’s Principal Risks

 

The following section provides additional information regarding certain of the principal risks identified under “Principal Risks” in the Fund’s summary.

 

Investors in the Fund should be willing to accept a high degree of volatility in the price of the Fund’s shares and the possibility of significant losses. An investment in the Fund involves a substantial degree of risk. Therefore, you should consider carefully the following risks before investing in the Fund.

 

Absence of Prior Active Market Risk. While the Fund’s shares are listed on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for shares will develop or be maintained. The Distributor does not maintain a secondary market in shares.

 

Active Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed, which means that investment decisions are made based on investment views. There is no guarantee that the investment views will produce the desired results or expected returns, which may cause the Fund to fail to meet its investment objective or to underperform its benchmark index or funds with similar investment objectives and strategies. Furthermore, active trading that can accompany active management may result in high portfolio turnover, which may have a negative impact on performance. Active trading may result in higher brokerage costs or mark-up charges, which are ultimately passed on to shareholders of the Fund. Active trading may also result in adverse tax consequences. Certain securities or other instruments in which the Fund seeks to invest may not be available in the quantities desired. To the extent the Fund employs strategies targeting perceived pricing inefficiencies, arbitrage strategies or similar strategies, it is subject to the risk that the pricing or valuation of the securities and instruments involved in such strategies may change unexpectedly, which may result in reduced returns or losses to the Fund. Additionally, legislative, regulatory, or tax restrictions, policies or developments may affect the investment techniques available to the Adviser and each individual portfolio manager in connection with managing the Fund and may also adversely affect the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective.

 

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Authorized Participants Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants. 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.

 

Common Stock Risk. Common stock holds the lowest priority in the capital structure of a company, and, therefore, takes the largest share of the company’s risk and its accompanying volatility. The value of the common stock held by the Fund may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the issuers of securities held by the Fund participate, or facts relating to specific companies in which the Fund invests. 

 

Currency Risk. The Fund may invest its assets in securities denominated in non-U.S. 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 the shares. Because the Fund’s NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, the Fund’s NAV could decline if the currency of the non-U.S. market in which the Fund invests depreciates against the U.S. dollar, even if the value of the Fund’s holdings, measured in the foreign currency, increases. 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 and Disaster Recovery. Information and technology systems relied upon by the Fund, the Adviser, the Fund’s other service providers (including, but not limited to, the Fund Accountant, Custodian, Transfer Agent, Administrator, Distributor and index providers, as applicable), market makers, Authorized Participants, financial intermediaries and/or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may be vulnerable to damage or interruption from computer viruses, network failures, computer and telecommunication failures, infiltration by unauthorized persons, security breaches, usage errors, power outages and catastrophic events such as fires, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes and earthquakes. Although the Adviser and the Fund’s other service providers have implemented measures to manage risks relating to these types of events, if these systems are compromised, become inoperable for extended periods of time or cease to function properly, significant investment may be required to fix or replace them. The failure of these systems and/or of disaster recovery plans could cause significant interruptions in the operations of the Fund, the Adviser, the Fund’s other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants, financial intermediaries and/or issuers of securities in which the Fund invests and may result in a failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data, impact the Fund’s ability to calculate its net asset value or impede trading. Such a failure could also harm the reputation of the Fund, the Adviser, the Fund’s other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants, financial intermediaries and/or issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, subject such entities and their respective affiliates to legal claims or otherwise affect their business and financial performance.

 

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Depositary Receipt Risk. The Fund may invest in depositary receipts which involve similar risks to those associated with investments in foreign securities. Investments in depositary receipts may be less liquid.

 

Early Close/Trading Halt Risk. An exchange or market may close or issue trading halts on specific securities, or the ability to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments may be restricted, which may result in the Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, the Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses. 

 

ESG Risk. Because the Fund evaluates ESG factors to assess and exclude certain investments for non-financial reasons, the Fund may forego some market opportunities available to funds that do not use these ESG factors. Information used by the Fund to evaluate ESG factors, including data provided by third-party vendors, may not be readily available, complete or accurate, and may vary across providers and issuers and within industries, which could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to apply its methodology and in turn could negatively impact the Fund’s performance. Currently, there is a lack of common industry standards relating to the development and application of ESG criteria which may make it difficult to compare the Fund’s principal investment strategies with the investment strategies of other funds that apply certain ESG criteria or that use a different third-party vendor for ESG.

 

Fluctuation of Net Asset Value Risk. The NAV of the Fund’s shares will generally fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. The market prices of the shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV as well as the relative supply of and demand for shares on Exchange. The Adviser cannot predict whether the shares will trade below, at or above their NAV. The Fund’s market price may deviate from the value of its underlying portfolio holdings, particularly in times of market stress, with the result that investors may pay significantly more or receive significantly less than the underlying value of the Fund shares bought or sold. This can be reflected as a spread between the bid and ask prices for the Fund quoted during the day or a premium or discount in the closing price from the Fund’s NAV. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the Exchange and may, therefore, have a material effect on the market price of the Fund’s shares.

 

Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in securities (including ADRs and Global Depository Receipts (“GDRs”)) of foreign issuers involve risks not ordinarily associated with investments in securities and instruments of U.S. issuers. The values of foreign investments may be affected by changes in exchange control regulations, application of foreign tax laws (including withholding tax) changes in governmental administration or economic or monetary policy (in this country or abroad) or changed circumstances in dealings between nations. The value of foreign securities is also affected by the value of the local currency relative to the U.S. Dollar. GDRs may be other than dollar denominated and may be issued in several countries.

 

ADRs Risk. ADRs may be subject to some of the same risks as direct investment in foreign companies, which includes international trade, currency, political, regulatory and diplomatic risks. In a sponsored ADR arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes the obligation to pay some or all of the depositary’s transaction fees. Under an unsponsored ADR arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes no obligations and the depositary’s transaction fees are paid directly by the ADR holders. Because unsponsored ADR arrangements are organized independently and without the cooperation of the issuer of the underlying securities, available information concerning the foreign issuer may not be as current as for sponsored ADRs and voting rights with respect to the deposited securities that are not passed through.

 

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Geographic Investment Risk. To the extent the Fund are significantly comprised of securities of issuers from a single country, the Fund would be more likely to be impacted by events or conditions affecting that country.

 

Industry Concentration Risk. Because the Fund’s assets will be concentrated in an industry or group of industries, the Fund is subject to loss due to adverse occurrences that may affect that industry or group of industries.

 

Investment Risk. An investment in the Fund is subject to investment risk including the possible loss of the entire principal amount that you invest.

 

Issuer-Specific Risk. Fund performance depends on the performance of individual securities to which the Fund has exposure. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund.

 

Large Shareholder and Large-Scale Redemption Risk. Certain shareholders, including an Authorized Participant, a third-party investor, the Fund’s adviser or an affiliate of the Fund’s adviser, a market maker, or another entity, may from time to time own or manage a substantial amount of Fund shares or may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a limited period of time. These shareholders may also pledge or loan Fund shares (to secure financing or otherwise), which may result in the shares becoming concentrated in another party. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder or large group of shareholders would not redeem their investment or that the size of the Fund would be maintained. Redemptions of a large number of Fund shares by these shareholders may adversely affect the Fund’s liquidity and net assets. To the extent the Fund permits redemptions in cash, these redemptions may force the Fund to sell portfolio securities when it might not otherwise do so, which may negatively impact the Fund’s NAV, have a material effect on the market price of the shares and increase the Fund’s brokerage costs and/or accelerate the realization of taxable income and/or gains and cause the Fund to make taxable distributions to its shareholders earlier than the Fund otherwise would have. In addition, under certain circumstances, non-redeeming shareholders may be treated as receiving a disproportionately large taxable distribution during or with respect to such tax year. The Fund also may be required to sell its more liquid Fund investments to meet a large redemption, in which case the Fund’s remaining assets may be less liquid, more volatile, and more difficult to price. To the extent these large shareholders transact in shares on the secondary market, such transactions may account for a large percentage of the trading volume for the shares of the Fund and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the shares. In addition, large purchases of Fund shares may adversely affect the 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, diluting its investment returns.

 

Liquidity Risk. It may be more difficult for the Fund to buy and sell significant amounts of some securities without an unfavorable impact on prevailing market prices. As a result, these securities may be difficult to dispose of at a fair price at the times when the Adviser believes it is desirable to do so.

 

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Market Risk. The prices of securities held by the Fund may decline in response to certain events taking place around the world, including those directly involving the companies whose securities are owned by the Fund; conditions affecting the general economy; overall market changes; local, regional or global political, social or economic instability; and currency, interest rate and commodity price fluctuations. The equity securities purchased by the Fund may involve large price swings and potential for loss. Investors in the Fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to tolerate potentially sharp declines in value. The market’s daily movements, sometimes called volatility, may be greater or less depending on the types of securities the Fund owns and the markets in which the securities trade. The increasing interconnectivity between global economies and financial markets increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market. Securities in the Fund’s portfolio may underperform due to inflation (or expectations for inflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, climate change or climate related risks, natural disasters, pandemics, epidemics, war, terrorism, regulatory events, governmental or quasi-governmental actions, and public health emergencies. 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.

 

Medical Product and Device Company Risk. Companies that manufacture or develop medical products or devices subject to extensive regulation in the United States by the FDA and by comparable government agencies in other countries. The regulations govern the development, design, approval, manufacturing, labeling, importing and exporting and sale and marketing of many of our medical products. These regulations are also subject to future change. Failure to comply with applicable regulations and quality assurance guidelines could lead to manufacturing shutdowns, product shortages, delays in product manufacturing, product seizures, recalls, operating restrictions, withdrawal or suspension of required licenses, and prohibitions against exporting of products to, or importing products from, countries outside the United States. Medical product and medical device companies could be required to expend significant financial and human resources to remediate failures to comply with applicable regulations and quality assurance guidelines.

 

Micro-Capitalization Risk. The micro-capitalization companies in which the Fund may invest may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies, and may underperform other segments of the market or the equity market as a whole. Securities of micro-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes, are often more vulnerable to market volatility, and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole.

 

Neuroscience Companies Risk. Neuroscience companies are often subject to the potential or actual performance of a limited number of products or technologies and may be greatly affected if any of their products or technologies proves to be, among other things, unsafe, ineffective or unprofitable. Neuroscience companies may not be able to capitalize on such products or technologies. Neuroscience companies may face political, legal or regulatory challenges or constraints from competitors, industry groups or local and national governments. They are also subject to product liability claims, patent expirations and intense competition, which may affect the value of their equity securities. Neuroscience companies may be thinly capitalized, and their equity securities may be more volatile than companies with greater capitalizations. Neuroscience companies are also susceptible to the market and business risks of related industries, such as the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and health care equipment industries.

 

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New Fund Risk. A new or smaller fund is subject to the risk that its 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 and smaller funds may not attract sufficient assets to achieve investment and trading efficiencies. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve an economically viable size. Further, an active trading market for shares of the Fund may not develop or be maintained.

 

Non-Diversified Fund Risk. The Fund is a non-diversified investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), meaning that, as compared to a diversified fund, it can invest a greater percentage of its assets in securities issued by or representing a small number of issuers. As a result, the performance of these issuers can have a substantial impact on the Fund’s performance.

 

Operations. The Fund is exposed to operational risk arising from a number of factors, including but not limited to human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund seeks to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate for those risks that they are intended to address.

 

Pandemics Risk. An outbreak of infectious respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 was first detected in China in December 2019 before spreading worldwide and being declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. COVID-19 has resulted in travel restrictions, closed international borders, enhanced health screenings, disruption and delays in healthcare services, prolonged quarantines, cancellations, temporary store closures, social distancing, government ordered curfews and business closures, disruptions to supply chains and consumer activity, shortages, highly volatile financial markets, and general concern and uncertainty.

 

Pharmaceutical Company Risk. Companies in the pharmaceutical industry are heavily dependent on patent protection. The expiration of patents may adversely affect the profitability of the companies. Pharmaceutical companies are also subject to extensive litigation based on product liability and other similar claims. Many new products are subject to approval of the Food and Drug Administration, a process that can be long and costly. Expanding international operations may lead to risks resulting from differences between U.S. and foreign legal, political and economic systems, regulatory regimes and market practices.

 

Portfolio Turnover Risk. Due to its investment strategy, the Fund may buy and sell securities frequently. This may result in higher transaction costs and additional capital gains tax liabilities, which may affect the Fund’s performance.

 

Sector Focus Risk. The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in one or more sectors and thus will be more susceptible to the risks affecting those sectors. The Fund anticipates that it may be subject to some or all of the risks described below.

 

Biotechnology Industry Risk. The biotechnology industry can be significantly affected by patent considerations, including the termination of patent protections for products, intense competition both domestically and internationally, rapid technological change and obsolescence, government regulation and expensive insurance costs due to the risk of product liability lawsuits. In addition, the biotechnology industry is an emerging growth industry, and therefore biotechnology companies may be thinly capitalized and more volatile than companies with greater capitalizations. Biotechnology companies must contend with high development costs, which may be exacerbated by the inability to raise prices to cover costs because of managed care pressure, government regulation or price controls.

 

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Healthcare Sector Risk. To the extent the Fund focuses on the healthcare sector, the Fund may be more susceptible to the particular risks that may affect companies in the healthcare sector than if it were invested in a wider variety of companies in unrelated sectors. The profitability of companies in the healthcare sector may be adversely affected by the following factors, among others: extensive government regulations, restrictions on government reimbursement for medical expenses, rising costs of medical products and services, pricing pressure, an increased emphasis on outpatient services, changes in the demand for medical products and services, a limited number of products, industry innovation, changes in technologies and other market developments. A number of issuers in the healthcare sector have recently merged or otherwise experienced consolidation. The effects of this trend toward consolidation are unknown and may be far-reaching. Many healthcare companies are heavily dependent on patent protection. The expiration of a company’s patents may adversely affect that company’s profitability. Many healthcare companies are subject to extensive litigation based on product liability and similar claims. Healthcare companies are subject to competitive forces that may make it difficult to raise prices and, in fact, may result in price discounting. Many new products in the healthcare sector may be subject to regulatory approvals. The process of obtaining such approvals may be long and costly, and such efforts ultimately may be unsuccessful. Companies in the healthcare sector may be thinly capitalized and may be susceptible to product obsolescence. In addition, a number of legislative proposals concerning healthcare have been considered by the U.S. Congress in recent years. It is unclear what proposals will ultimately be enacted, if any, and what effect they may have on companies in the healthcare sector. 

 

Securities Lending Risk. Although the Fund will receive collateral in connection with all loans of its securities holdings, the Fund would be exposed to a risk of loss should a borrower default on its obligation to return the borrowed securities (e.g., the loaned securities may have appreciated beyond the value of the collateral held by the Fund). In addition, the Fund will bear the risk of loss of any cash collateral that it invests.

 

Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. Investors buying or selling shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of shares. In addition, secondary market investors will also incur the cost of the difference between the price that an investor is willing to pay for shares (the “bid” price) and the price at which an investor is willing to sell shares (the “ask” price). This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “spread” or “bid/ask spread.” The bid/ask spread varies over time for shares based on trading volume and market liquidity and is generally lower if the Fund’s shares have more trading volume and market liquidity and higher if the Fund’s shares have little trading volume and market liquidity. Further, increased market volatility may cause increased bid/ask spreads. Due to the costs of buying or selling shares, including 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.

 

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Small- and Mid-Capitalization Company Risk. The small- and mid-capitalization companies in which the Fund invests may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies, and may underperform other segments of the market or the equity market as a whole. Securities of small- and mid-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes, are often more vulnerable to market volatility, and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole.  

 

Trading Risk. The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including disruptions to the creation and redemption processes of the Fund, losses from trading in secondary markets, the existence of extreme market volatility or potential lack of an active trading market for shares may result in shares trading at a significant premium or discount to NAV. The NAV of shares will fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s securities holdings. The market prices of shares will fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV and supply and demand on the Exchange. The Fund cannot predict whether shares will trade below, at or above their NAV. If a shareholder purchases shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV or sells shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholder may sustain losses. Any of these factors, discussed above and further below, may lead to shares trading at a premium or discount to the Fund’s NAV.

 

Trading in shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange’s “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged.

 

Valuation Risk. The price the Fund could receive upon the sale of a security or other asset may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security , particularly for securities or other assets that trade in low volume or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology as a result of trade suspensions or for other reasons. Authorized Participants who purchase or redeem Fund shares on days when the Fund is holding fair-valued securities may receive fewer or more shares, or lower or higher redemption proceeds, than they would have received had the Fund not fair-valued securities or used a different valuation methodology. The Fund’s ability to value investments may be impacted by technological issues or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.

 

Temporary Defensive Investments

 

The Fund may take temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with its normal investment policies and strategies—for instance, by allocating assets to cash, cash equivalent investments or other less volatile instruments — in response to adverse or unusual market, economic, political, or other conditions. In doing so, the Fund may succeed in avoiding losses but may otherwise fail to achieve its investment objective.

 

20

 

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

 

The Fund’s portfolio holdings will be disclosed each day on its website at www.tema.co. A description of the Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio securities is available in the Statement of Additional Information (SAI).

 

21

 

Fund Management

 

The Adviser

 

Tema Global Limited, located at 2nd Floor, The Le Gallais Building, 54 Bath Street, St Helier, Jersey, JE1 1FW,  serves as the investment adviser to the Fund. The Adviser is a limited company formed in 2021 to provide investment advisory services to registered investment companies.

 

The Adviser is responsible for the Fund’s investment operations and its business affairs. Pursuant to a management agreement between the Trust and the Adviser with respect to the Fund (“Management Agreement”) and subject to the general oversight of the Board, the Adviser provides or causes to be furnished all supervisory and other services reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund, including audit, portfolio accounting, legal, transfer agency, custody, printing costs, certain administrative services (provided pursuant to a separate administration agreement), certain distribution services (provided pursuant to a separate distribution agreement), certain shareholder and distribution-related services (provided pursuant to a separate Rule 12b-1 Plan and related agreements) under what is essentially an all-in fee structure. The Fund may bear other expenses which are not covered under the Management Agreement that may vary and will affect the total level of expenses paid by the Fund, such as taxes and governmental fees, brokerage fees, commissions and other transaction expenses, costs of borrowing money, including interest expenses, certain custody expenses and extraordinary expenses (such as litigation and indemnification expenses).

 

The Adviser is paid a monthly unitary management fee at an annual rate (stated as a percentage of the average daily net assets of the Fund) of [    ]%. Under the unitary fee arrangement, the Adviser pays all operating expenses of the Fund, except for certain expenses, including but not limited to, interest expenses, taxes, brokerage expenses, future Rule 12b-1 fees (if any), acquired fund fees and expenses, and the management fee payable to the Adviser under the Management Agreement.

 

A discussion regarding the Board of Trustees’ approval of the Management Agreement with respect to the Fund will be available in the Fund’s annual report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023.

 

Sub-Adviser

 

Neos Investment Management LLC, located at 13 Riverside Avenue, Westport, CT 06880, serves as the investment adviser to the Fund. The Adviser is a Delaware limited liability company formed in 2022 to provide sub-advisory services to registered investment companies.

 

The Sub-Adviser was formed in 2022 and provides investment advisory services to exchange-traded funds, including the Funds. The Sub-Adviser is responsible for trading portfolio securities and other investment instruments on behalf of the Fund, including selecting broker-dealers to execute purchase and sale transactions, as instructed by the Adviser, subject to the supervision of the Adviser and the Board. Under a sub-advisory agreement, the Adviser pays the Sub-Adviser a fee, calculated daily and paid monthly, out of the fee the Adviser receives from the Fund.

 

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s renewal of the sub-advisory agreement with respect to the Fund will be available in the Fund’s annual report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023.

 

22

 

Portfolio Managers

 

David Song and Yuri Khodjamirian of the Adviser and Troy Cates, Ryan Houlton, and Garrett Paolella of the sub-adviser are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund and has served in such capacity since inception.

 

The SAI provides additional information about the Portfolio Managers’ compensation, other accounts managed, and ownership of Fund shares.

 

Shareholder Information

 

Determination of NAV

 

The NAV per share for the Fund is computed by dividing the value of the net assets of the Fund (i.e., the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by the total number of shares outstanding. Expenses and fees, including the management fee, are accrued daily and taken into account for purposes of determining NAV. The NAV of the Fund is determined each business day as of the close of trading (ordinarily 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on the NYSE.

 

The values of the Fund’s portfolio securities are based on the securities’ closing prices on their local principal markets, where available. In the absence of a last reported sales price, or if no sales were reported, and for other assets for which market quotes are not readily available, values may be based on quotes obtained from a quotation reporting system, established market makers or by an outside independent pricing service. Prices obtained by an outside independent pricing service use information provided by market makers or estimates of market values obtained from data related to investments or securities with similar characteristics and may use a computerized grid matrix of securities and its evaluations in determining what it believes is the fair value of the portfolio securities. If a market quotation for a security is not readily available or the Adviser believes it does not otherwise accurately reflect the market value of the security at the time the Fund calculates its NAV, the security will be fair valued by the Adviser, in accordance with the Trust’s valuation policies and procedures approved by the Board of Trustees of the Trust. The Fund may also use fair value pricing in a variety of circumstances, including but not limited to, situations where the value of a security in the Fund’s portfolio has been materially affected by events occurring after the close of the market on which the security is principally traded (such as a corporate action or other news that may materially affect the price of a security) or trading in a security has been suspended or halted. Fair value pricing involves subjective judgments and it is possible that a fair value determination for a security is materially different than the value that could be realized upon the sale of the security.

 

Buying and Selling Exchange-Traded Shares

 

Authorized Participants

 

The Fund issues and redeems shares at NAV only in Creation Units. Only APs may acquire shares directly from the Fund, and only APs may tender their shares for redemption directly to the Fund, at NAV. APs must be (i) a broker-dealer or other participant in the clearing process through the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC, a clearing agency that is registered with the SEC; or (ii) a Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) participant (as discussed below). In addition, each AP must execute a Participant Agreement that has been agreed to by the Distributor, and that has been accepted by the Transfer Agent, with respect to purchases and redemptions of Creation Units. Once created, shares trade in the secondary market in quantities less than a Creation Unit.

 

23

 

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, as part of a redemption, restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A.

 

Investors

 

Individual Fund shares may only be bought and sold by investors including APs in the secondary market through a broker or dealer at a market price. Shares are listed for trading on the secondary market on the Exchange and can be bought and sold throughout the trading day like other publicly traded securities.

 

When buying or selling shares through a broker, you will incur customary brokerage commissions and charges, and you may pay some or all of the spread between the bid and the offer price in the secondary market on each leg of a round trip (purchase and sale) transaction. Because the Fund’s shares trade at market prices rather than net asset value, shares may trade at a price greater than net asset value (premium) or less than net asset value (discount). An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the bid-ask spread). Information on the Fund’s net asset value, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads, is available on the Fund’s website (www.tema.co).

 

Book Entry

 

Shares are held in book-entry form, which means that no stock certificates are issued. DTC or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding shares.

 

Investors owning shares are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. DTC serves as the securities depository for all shares. DTC’s participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other institutions that directly or indirectly maintain a custodial relationship with DTC. As a beneficial owner of shares, you are not entitled to receive physical delivery of stock certificates or to have shares registered in your name, and you are not considered a registered owner of shares. Therefore, to exercise any right as an owner of shares, you must rely upon the procedures of DTC and its participants. These procedures are the same as those that apply to any other securities that you hold in book entry or “street name” through your brokerage account.

 

Continuous Offering

 

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 of 1933, as amended (“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.

 

24

 

For example, a broker dealer firm or its client may be deemed a statutory underwriter if it takes Creation Units after placing an order with the Transfer Agent, 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(3)(C) of the Securities Act, would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(3) of the Securities Act. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(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 shares that are part of an overallotment within the meaning of Section 4(3)(A) of the Securities Act would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(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 Fund and the Adviser may purchase and resell Fund shares pursuant to this Prospectus.

 

For More Information:

 

Existing Shareholders or Prospective Investors

 

TEMA NEUROSCIENCE AND MENTAL HEALTH ETF 

c/o Foreside Fund Services, LLC 

Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100
Portland, Maine 04101

 

Dealers

 

TEMA NEUROSCIENCE AND MENTAL HEALTH ETF 

c/o Foreside Fund Services, LLC 

Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100
Portland, Maine 04101

 

Distribution and Service Plan

 

The Board has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan (the “Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. In accordance with the Plan, the Fund is authorized to pay an amount up to 0.25% of its average daily net assets each year for certain distribution-related activities and shareholder services.

 

25

 

No Rule 12b-1 fees are currently paid by the Fund, and there are no plans to impose these fees. However, in the event Rule 12b-1 fees are charged in the future, because the fees are paid out of the Fund’s assets, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than certain other types of sales charges.

 

Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Fund shares

 

The Board has evaluated the risks of frequent purchases and redemptions of Fund shares (“market timing”) activities by the Fund’s shareholders. The Board noted that shares can only be purchased and redeemed directly from the Fund in Creation Units by APs and that the vast majority of trading in shares occurs on the secondary market. Because the secondary market trades do not involve the Fund directly, it is unlikely those trades would cause many of the harmful effects of market timing, including dilution, disruption of portfolio management, increases in the Fund’s trading costs and the realization of capital gains.

 

With respect to trades directly with the Fund, to the extent effected in-kind, those trades do not cause any of the harmful effects (as previously noted) that may result from frequent cash trades. To the extent that the Trust allows or requires trades to be effected in whole or in part in cash, the Board noted that those trades could result in dilution to the Fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. However, the Board noted that direct trading by APs is critical to ensuring that shares trade at or close to NAV. The Fund also employs fair valuation pricing to minimize potential dilution from market timing. The Fund imposes transaction fees on in-kind purchases and redemptions of shares to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by the Fund in effecting in-kind trades, these fees increase if an investor substitutes cash in part or in whole for securities, reflecting the fact that the Fund’s trading costs increase in those circumstances. Given this structure, the Board determined that it is not necessary to adopt policies and procedures to detect and deter market timing of shares.

 

Distributions

 

Dividends and Distributions

 

The Fund intends to qualify each year as a regulated investment company under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). As a regulated investment company, the Fund generally pays no federal income tax on the income and gains it distributes to you. The Fund expects to declare and distribute all of its net investment income, if any, to shareholders as dividends monthly.

 

The Fund will distribute net realized capital gains, if any, at least annually. The Fund may distribute such income dividends and capital gains more frequently, if necessary, in order to reduce or eliminate federal excise or income taxes on the Fund. The amount of any distribution will vary, and there is no guarantee the Fund will pay either an income dividend or a capital gains distribution.

 

26

 

Annual Statements

 

Each year, you will receive an annual statement (Form 1099) of your account activity to assist you in completing your federal, state and local tax returns. Distributions declared in December to shareholders of record in such month, but paid in January, are taxable as if they were paid in December. The Fund make every effort to search for reclassified income to reduce the number of corrected forms mailed to you. However, when necessary, you will receive a corrected Form 1099 to reflect reclassified information.

 

Avoid “Buying a Dividend”

 

At the time you purchase your shares, the price of shares may reflect undistributed income, undistributed capital gains, or net unrealized appreciation in value of portfolio securities held by the Fund. For taxable investors, a subsequent distribution to you of such amounts, although constituting a return of your investment, would be taxable. Buying shares in the Fund just before it declares an income dividend or capital gains distribution is sometimes known as “buying a dividend.”

 

Dividend Reinvestment Service

 

Brokers may make available the Depository Trust Company book-entry dividend reinvestment service to their customers who own Fund shares. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and capital gains will automatically be reinvested in additional whole shares of the Fund purchased on the secondary market. Without this service, investors would receive their distributions in cash. To determine whether the dividend reinvestment service is available and whether there is a commission or other charge for using this service, consult your broker. Brokers may require Fund shareholders 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 the Fund purchased in the secondary market.

 

Tax Information

 

Tax Considerations

 

The Fund expects, based on its investment objective and strategies, that its distributions, if any, will be taxable as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both. This is true whether you reinvest your distributions in additional shares or receive them in cash. For federal income tax purposes, Fund distributions of short-term capital gains are taxable to you as ordinary income. Fund distributions of long-term capital gains are taxable to you as long-term capital gains no matter how long you have owned your shares. A portion of income dividends reported by the Fund may be qualified dividend income eligible for taxation by individual shareholders at long-term capital gain rates provided certain holding period requirements are met.

 

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 the Fund, including the possible application of foreign, state and local taxes. Unless your investment in the Fund is through a tax-exempt entity or tax-deferred retirement account, such as a 401(k) plan, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when: (i) the Fund makes distributions, (ii) you sell shares in the secondary market or (iii) you create or redeem Creation Units.

 

27

 

Taxes on Distributions

 

The Fund intends to distribute, at least annually, substantially all of its net investment income and net capital gains. For federal income tax purposes, distributions of investment income are generally taxable as ordinary income or qualified dividend income. Taxes on distributions of capital gains (if any) are determined by how long the Fund owned the investments that generated them, rather than how long a shareholder has owned his or her shares. Sales of assets held by the Fund for more than one year generally result in long-term capital gains and losses, and sales of assets held by the Fund for one year or less generally result in short-term capital gains and losses. Distributions of the Fund’s net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses) that are reported by the Fund as capital gain dividends (“Capital Gain Dividends”) will be taxable as long-term capital gains, which for non-corporate shareholders are subject to tax at reduced rates of up to 20% (lower rates apply to individuals in lower tax brackets). Distributions of short-term capital gain will generally be taxable as ordinary income. Dividends and distributions are generally taxable to you whether you receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional shares.

 

Distributions reported by the Fund as “qualified dividend income” are generally taxed to noncorporate shareholders at rates applicable to long-term capital gains, provided holding period and other requirements are met. “Qualified dividend income” generally is income derived from dividends paid by U.S. corporations or certain foreign corporations that are either incorporated in a U.S. possession or eligible for tax benefits under certain U.S. income tax treaties. In addition, dividends that the Fund received in respect of stock of certain foreign corporations may be qualified dividend income if that stock is readily tradable on an established U.S. securities market.

 

U.S. individuals with income exceeding specified thresholds are subject to a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax on all or a portion of their “net investment income,” which includes interest, dividends, and certain capital gains (generally including capital gains distributions and capital gains realized on the sale of shares). This 3.8% tax also applies to all or a portion of the undistributed net investment income of certain shareholders, such as estates and trusts, whose gross income as adjusted or modified for tax purposes exceeds certain threshold amounts.

 

In general, your distributions are subject to federal income tax for the year in which they are paid. Certain distributions paid in January, however, may be treated as paid on December 31 of the prior year. Distributions are generally taxable even if they are paid from income or gains earned by the Fund before your investment (and thus were included in the shares’ NAV when you purchased your shares).

 

You may wish to avoid investing in the Fund shortly before a dividend or other distribution, because such a distribution will generally be taxable even though it may economically represent a return of a portion of your investment. Distributions in excess of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits are treated as a tax-free return of your investment to the extent of your basis in the shares, and generally as capital gain thereafter. A return of capital, which for tax purposes is treated as a return of your investment, reduces your basis in shares, thus reducing any loss or increasing any gain on a subsequent taxable disposition of shares. A distribution will reduce the Fund’s NAV per Share and may be taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gain even though, from an economic standpoint, the distribution may constitute a return of capital.

 

28

 

If you are neither a resident nor a citizen of the United States or if you are a foreign entity, distributions (other than Capital Gain Dividends) paid to you by the Fund will generally be subject to a U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30% unless a lower treaty rate applies. The Fund may, under certain circumstances, report all or a portion of a dividend as an “interest-related dividend” or a “short-term capital gain dividend,” which would generally be exempt from this 30% U.S. withholding tax, provided certain other requirements are met.

 

The Fund (or a financial intermediary, such as a broker, through which a shareholder owns shares) generally is required to withhold and remit to the U.S. Treasury a percentage of the taxable distributions and sale or redemption proceeds paid to any shareholder who fails to properly furnish a correct taxpayer identification number, who has underreported dividend or interest income, or who fails to certify that he, she or it is not subject to such withholding.

 

Shortly after the close of each calendar year, you will be informed of the character of any distributions received from the Fund.

 

Taxes When shares are Sold on the Exchange

 

Any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of shares generally is treated as a long-term capital gain or loss if shares have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if shares have been held for one year or less. However, any capital loss on a sale of shares held for six months or less is treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of Capital Gain Dividends paid with respect to such shares. The ability to deduct capital losses may be limited.

 

Taxes on Purchases and Redemptions of Creation Units

 

An Authorized Participant having the U.S. dollar as its functional currency for U.S. federal income tax purposes who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally recognizes a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the value of the Creation Units at the time of the exchange and the exchanging Authorized Participant’s aggregate basis in the securities delivered plus the amount of any cash paid for the Creation Units. An Authorized Participant who exchanges Creation Units for securities will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanging Authorized Participant’s basis in the Creation Units and the aggregate U.S. dollar market value of the securities received, plus any cash received for such Creation Units. The Internal Revenue Service may assert, however, that a loss that is realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units may not be currently deducted under the rules governing “wash sales” (for an Authorized Participant who does not mark-to-market their holdings), or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position. Persons exchanging securities should consult their own tax advisor with respect to whether wash sale rules apply and when a loss might be deductible.

 

Any capital gain or loss realized upon redemption of Creation Units is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if shares have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if shares have been held for one year or less.

 

The information in this section “Tax Information” is not intended or written to be used as tax advice. Because everyone’s tax situation is unique, you should consult your tax professional about federal, state, local or foreign tax consequences before making an investment in the Fund.

 

29

 

Financial Highlights

 

Because the Fund has not commenced operations as of the date of this Prospectus, no financial highlights information is available.

 

Premium/Discount Information

 

Information regarding how often shares of the Fund traded on the Exchange at a price above (i.e., at a premium) or below (i.e., at a discount) the NAV of the Fund during the past four calendar quarters, or since inception, as applicable, can be found at the Fund’s website at http://www.temaetfs.com.

 

Investment Adviser

 

Tema Global Limited
2nd Floor, Le Gallais Building  

54 Bath Street, St Helier  

Jersey, JE1 1FW  

Sub-Adviser 

 

Neos Investment Management LLC 

13 Riverside Avenue   

Westport, CT 06880 

   

Custodian 


U.S. Bank
615 East Michigan Street 

Milwaukee, WI 53202 

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

[Name of Auditor]
[_____________]
[_____________] 

   

Distributor

 

Foreside Fund Services, LLC
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100
Portland, Maine 04101 

Transfer Agent

 

Foreside Fund Services, LLC
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100
Portland, Maine 04101 

   
 

Legal Counsel

 

Thompson Hine LLP
1919 M Street, N.W., Suite 700
Washington D.C., 20036 

 

Disclaimers

 

Shares of the Trust are not sponsored, endorsed, or promoted by the Exchange. The Exchange makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the shares of the Fund. The Exchange is not responsible for, nor has it participated in, the determination of the timing of, prices of, or quantities of the shares of the Fund to be issued, or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the shares are redeemable. The Exchange has no obligation or liability to owners of the shares of the Fund in connection with the administration, marketing, or trading of the shares of the Fund. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall the Exchange have any liability for any lost profits or indirect, punitive, special, or consequential damages even if notified of the possibility thereof.

 

30

 

Additional Information

 

This Prospectus does not contain all the information included in the Registration Statement filed with the SEC with respect to the Fund’s shares. Information about the Fund can be reviewed on the EDGAR database at the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov), and copies may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following email address: publicinfo@sec.gov. The SAI for the Fund, which has been filed with the SEC, provides more information about the Fund. The SAI is incorporated herein by reference and is legally part of this Prospectus. Additional information about the Fund’s investments will be available in the Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. In the Fund’s annual report, when available, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund’s performance during its last fiscal year. These documents and other information concerning the Trust also may be inspected at Brookfield Place, 200 Vesey Street, Suite 24106, New York, NY 10281. You can also obtain information about the Fund by calling at no cost 1.888.744.1377.

 

Investment Company Act file no. 811-23823

 

31

 

PRELIMINARY SAI SUBJECT TO COMPLETION JUNE 6, 2023

   

THE INFORMATION IN THIS 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 STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IS NOT AN OFFER TO SELL THESE SECURITIES AND IS NOT SOLICITING AN OFFER TO BUY THESE SECURITIES IN ANY STATE WHERE THE OFFER OR SALE IS NOT PERMITTED.

 

TEMA ETF TRUST

 

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

Dated June [    ], 2023

 

This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus, and should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus of Tema ETF Trust (“Trust”) dated [              ] [     ], 2023, as amended (“Prospectus”) for the following series of the Trust, as it may be supplemented from time to time:

 

Fund   Ticker
Symbol
  Listing Exchange
Tema Asian Middle Class ETF   [    ]   [      ]
Tema Diabetes, Obesity and Cardiology ETF   [    ]   [      ]
Tema Indonesia ETF   [     ]   [      ]
Tema Neuroscience and Mental Health ETF   [    ]   [      ]

 

Capitalized terms used herein that are not defined have the same meaning as in the Prospectus, unless otherwise noted. A copy of the Prospectus, SAI, Annual Report, and Semi-Annual Report of each of the above funds (each a “Fund” and, collectively, the “Funds”) may be obtained without charge by writing to the Trust or the Trust’s Distributor, Foreside Fund Services, LLC (the “Distributor”), at Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101, or by calling [________________], (9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time).

 

References to the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), or other applicable law, will include any rules promulgated thereunder and any guidance, interpretations or modifications by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, including court interpretations, and exemptive, no action or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST 3
INVESTMENT POLICIES AND RISKS 3
INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS AND POLICIES 31
BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE TRUST 32
MANAGEMENT AND OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS 39
PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS DISCLOSURE 44
QUARTERLY PORTFOLIO SCHEDULE 44
CODE OF ETHICS 44
PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES 45
BROKERAGE TRANSACTIONS 45
EXCHANGE LISTING AND TRADING 47
BOOK ENTRY ONLY SYSTEM 48
CREATION AND REDEMPTION OF CREATION UNITS 49
DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE 57
DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS 58
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS 58
TAXES 58
CAPITAL STOCK 71
SHAREHOLDER REPORTS 71
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 72
APPENDIX A: TEMA GLOBAL LIMITED 73

   

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GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST

 

The Trust is an open-end management investment company. The Trust consists of eight separate investment portfolios, four of which is described in this SAI, Tema Asian Middle Class ETF, Tema Diabetes, Obesity, and Cardiology ETF, Tema Indonesia ETF, and Tema Neuroscience and Mental Health ETF. Each Fund is a diversified management investment company under the 1940 Act. Each Fund is actively managed. The Trust was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on July 25, 2022. The Trust is governed by its Board of Trustees (the “Board”). The offering of each Fund’s shares (“Shares”) is registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Tema Global Limited (the “Adviser”) is the investment manager of each Fund. NEOS Investment Management LLC (the “Sub-Adviser”) is the sub-adviser of each Fund.

 

Each Fund offers and issues Shares at its net asset value per share (“NAV”) only in aggregations of a specified number of Shares (each, a “Creation Unit”). The Trust reserves the right to, in certain circumstances, permit or require the exchange of Creation Units partially or solely for securities in each Fund’s portfolio (“Deposit Securities”) and/or cash. Shares will be listed on [___] (the “Exchange”) and trade on the Exchange at market prices that may differ from the Shares’ NAV. Shares are also redeemable only in Creation Unit aggregations, primarily for a basket of Deposit Securities together with a Cash Component. As a practical matter, only institutions or large investors purchase or redeem Creation Units. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, Shares are not redeemable securities.

 

Shares may be issued in advance of receipt of Deposit Securities subject to various conditions, including a requirement to maintain on deposit with the Trust cash at least equal to a specified percentage of the value of the missing Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash (collectively, the “Fund Deposit”), as set forth in the Participant Agreement (as defined below). The Trust may impose a transaction fee for each creation or redemption. In all cases, such fees will be limited in accordance with the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) applicable to management investment companies offering redeemable securities. As in the case of other publicly traded securities, brokers’ commissions on transactions in the secondary market will be based on negotiated commission rates at customary levels.

 

INVESTMENT POLICIES AND RISKS

 

A discussion of the risks associated with an investment in a Fund is contained in the Prospectus under the headings “Summary Information—Principal Investment Strategies of a Fund”, “Summary Information—Principal Risks of Investing in a Fund” with respect to a Fund and “Additional Information About a Fund’s Investment Strategies and Risks.” The discussion below supplements, and should be read in conjunction with, such sections of the Prospectus.

 

General Considerations and Risks

 

An investment in a Fund should be made with an understanding that the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities may fluctuate in accordance with changes in the financial condition of the issuers of the portfolio securities, the value of securities generally and other factors.

 

The existence of a liquid trading market for certain securities may depend on whether dealers will make a market in such securities. There can be no assurance that a market will be made or maintained or that any such market will be or remain liquid. The price at which securities may be sold and the value of a Fund’s Shares will be adversely affected if trading markets for the Fund’s portfolio securities are limited or absent or if bid/ask spreads are wide.

 

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The Adviser and Sub-Adviser (collectively, the “Advisers”), on behalf of the Funds, each will file with the National Futures Association (“NFA”) a notice claiming an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” (“CPO”) under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended (“CEA”), and the rules of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) promulgated thereunder, with respect to a Fund’s operations. Therefore, each Fund and the Advisers are not subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool or CPO under the CEA. If a Fund becomes subject to these requirements, as well as related NFA rules, the Fund may incur additional compliance and other expenses.

 

The following are descriptions of each Fund’s investment practices and permitted investments and the associated risk factors. The Funds will only engage in the following investment practices and invest in the following instruments if such practice or investment is consistent with such Fund’s investment objective and permitted by such Fund’s stated investment policies.

 

Absence of Prior Active Market Risk

 

While a Fund’s shares are listed on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for shares will develop or be maintained. The Distributor does not maintain a secondary market in shares.

 

Active Management Risk

 

Each Fund is actively managed, which means that investment decisions are made based on investment views. There is no guarantee that the investment views will produce the desired results or expected returns, which may cause a Fund to fail to meet its investment objective or to underperform its benchmark index or funds with similar investment objectives and strategies. Furthermore, active trading that can accompany active management may result in high portfolio turnover, which may have a negative impact on performance. Active trading may result in higher brokerage costs or mark-up charges, which are ultimately passed on to shareholders of a Fund. Active trading may also result in adverse tax consequences.

 

Active trading may also result in adverse tax consequences. Certain securities or other instruments in which a Fund seeks to invest may not be available in the quantities desired. To the extent a Fund employs strategies targeting perceived pricing inefficiencies, arbitrage strategies or similar strategies, it is subject to the risk that the pricing or valuation of the securities and instruments involved in such strategies may change unexpectedly, which may result in reduced returns or losses to the Fund. Additionally, legislative, regulatory, or tax restrictions, policies or developments may affect the investment techniques available to the Advisers and each individual portfolio manager in connection with managing the Fund and may also adversely affect the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective.

 

Authorized Participant Concentration

 

Each Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants (as defined in the Creations and Redemptions section of the Funds’ prospectus). 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) Authorized Participants exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other Authorized Participants 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.

 

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Common Stock Risk

 

Common stock holds the lowest priority in the capital structure of a company, and, therefore, takes the largest share of the company’s risk and its accompanying volatility. The value of the common stock held by a Fund may fall due to general market and economic conditions, perceptions regarding the industries in which the issuers of securities held by a Fund participate, or facts relating to specific companies in which a Fund invests.

 

Costs of Buying or Selling Shares Risk

 

Investors buying or selling Shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of Shares. In addition, secondary market investors will also incur the cost of the difference between the price that an investor is willing to pay for Shares (the “bid” price) and the price at which an investor is willing to sell Shares (the “ask” price). This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “spread” or “bid/ask spread.” The bid/ask spread varies over time for Shares based on trading volume and market liquidity, and is generally lower if a Fund’s Shares have more trading volume and market liquidity and higher if a Fund’s Shares have little trading volume and market liquidity. Further, increased market volatility may cause increased bid/ask spreads. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including 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.

 

Counterparty Risk

 

A Fund may invest in financial instruments involving counterparties for the purpose of attempting to gain exposure to a particular group of securities, index or asset class without actually purchasing those securities or investments, or to hedge a position. Such financial instruments may include, among others, total return, index, interest rate, and credit default swap agreements. The use of swap agreements and similar instruments exposes a Fund to risks that are different than those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. For example, a Fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. If a counterparty defaults on its payment obligations to a Fund, this default will cause the value of your investment in a Fund to decrease. In addition, a Fund may enter into swap agreements with a limited number of counterparties, which may increase a Fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk. Similarly, if the credit quality of an issuer or guarantor of a debt instrument improves, this change may adversely affect the value of a Fund’s investment.

 

Credit Risk

 

Credit risk is the risk that a Fund could lose money if an issuer or guarantor of a debt instrument becomes unwilling or unable to make timely principal and/or interest payments, or to otherwise meet its obligations. Each Fund is also subject to the risk that its investment in a debt instrument could decline because of concerns about the issuer’s credit quality or perceived financial condition. Fixed income securities are subject to varying degrees of credit risk, which are sometimes reflected in credit ratings.

 

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Currency Risk

 

A Fund may invest its assets in securities denominated in non-U.S. 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 the shares. Because each Fund’s NAV is determined in U.S. dollars, a Fund’s NAV could decline if the currency of the non-U.S. market in which the Fund invests depreciates against the U.S. dollar, even if the value of the Fund’s holdings, measured in the foreign currency, increases. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the value of an investment in a Fund may change quickly and without warning and you may lose money.

 

Custody Risk

 

Less developed markets are more likely to experience problems with the clearing and settling of trades, as well as the holding of securities by local banks, agents and depositories.

 

Cybersecurity and Disaster Recovery Risks

 

Information and technology systems relied upon by a Fund, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, a Fund’s other service providers (including, but not limited to, the fund accountant, custodian, transfer agent, administrator and Distributor, as applicable), market makers, Authorized Participants, financial intermediaries and/or the issuers of securities in which a Fund invests may be vulnerable to damage or interruption from computer viruses, network failures, computer and telecommunication failures, infiltration by unauthorized persons, security breaches, usage errors, power outages and catastrophic events such as fires, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes and earthquakes. Although the Advisers and the Funds’ other service providers have implemented measures to manage risks relating to these types of events, if these systems are compromised, become inoperable for extended periods of time or cease to function properly, significant investment may be required to fix or replace them. The failure of these systems and/or of disaster recovery plans could cause significant interruptions in the operations of a Fund, the Advisers, a Fund’s other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants, financial intermediaries and/or issuers of securities in which a Fund invests and may result in a failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data, impact a Fund’s ability to calculate its net asset value or impede trading. Such a failure could also harm the reputation of the Funds, the Advisers, the Funds’ other service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants, financial intermediaries and/or issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, subject such entities and their respective affiliates to legal claims or otherwise affect their business and financial performance.

 

Dividend-Paying Stock Risk

 

While a Fund may hold securities of companies that have historically paid a high dividend yield, those companies may reduce or discontinue their dividends, reducing the yield of a Fund. Low priced securities in a Fund may be more susceptible to these risks. Past dividend payments are not a guarantee of future dividend payments. Also, the market return of high dividend yield securities, in certain market conditions, may perform worse than other investment strategies or the overall stock market. A Fund’s emphasis on dividend-paying stocks involves the risk that such stocks may fall out of favor with investors and underperform the market. Also, a company may reduce or eliminate its dividend.

   

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Derivatives Risk

 

Derivatives are financial instruments whose values are based on the value of one or more indicators, such as a security, asset, currency, interest rate, or index. Each Fund’s use of derivatives involves risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other more traditional investments. Moreover, although the value of a derivative is based on an underlying indicator, a derivative does not carry the same rights as would be the case if a Fund invested directly in the underlying securities. 

 

On October 28, 2020, the SEC adopted new regulations governing the use of derivatives by registered investment companies (“Rule 18f-4”). Compliance with Rule 18f-4 became mandatory as of August 19, 2022. Rule 18f-4 imposes limits on the amount of derivatives a Fund can enter into, eliminated the asset segregation framework previously used by the Funds to comply with Section 18 of the 1940 Act, treats derivatives as senior securities and requires Funds whose use of derivatives is more than a limited specified exposure amount to establish and maintain a comprehensive derivatives risk management program and appoint a derivatives risk manager.

 

Tax Risk of Derivatives

 

Each Fund may invest in derivatives. The federal income tax treatment of a derivative may not be as favorable as a direct investment in an underlying asset. Derivatives may produce taxable income and taxable realized gain. Derivatives may adversely affect the timing, character and amount of income a Fund realizes from its investments. As a result, a larger portion of a Fund’s distributions may be treated as ordinary income rather than as capital gains. In addition, certain derivatives are subject to mark-to market or straddle provisions of the Code. If such provisions are applicable, there could be an increase (or decrease) in the amount of taxable dividends paid by a Fund.

 

Fluctuation of Net Asset Value

 

The net asset value (“NAV”) of each Fund’s Shares will generally fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s holdings. The market prices of the Shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV as well as the relative supply and demand for Shares on the Exchange. The Advisers cannot predict whether the Shares will trade below, at or above the NAV of the Shares of a Fund. A Fund’s market price may deviate from the value of its underlying portfolio holdings, particularly in times of market stress, with the result that investors may pay significantly more or receive significantly less than the underlying value of the Fund shares bought or sold. This can be reflected as a spread between the bid and ask prices for a Fund quoted during the day or a premium or discount in the closing price from the Fund’s NAV. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the Exchange and may, therefore, have a material effect on the market price of a Fund’s shares.

 

Foreign Securities

 

An investment in a Fund involves risks similar to those of investing in portfolios of equity securities traded on non-U.S. exchanges. These risks include market fluctuations caused by such factors as economic and political developments and changes in interest rates and perceived trends in stock prices. Investing in securities issued by issuers domiciled in countries other than the domicile of the investor and denominated in currencies other than an investor’s local currency entails certain considerations and risks not typically encountered by the investor in making investments in its home country and in that country’s currency. These considerations include favorable or unfavorable changes in interest rates, currency exchange rates, exchange control regulations and the costs that may be incurred in connection with conversions between various currencies. Investing in a Fund also involves certain risks and considerations not typically associated with investing in a Fund whose portfolio contains exclusively securities of U.S. issuers. These risks include generally less liquid and less efficient securities markets; generally greater price volatility; less publicly available information about issuers; the imposition of withholding or other taxes; the imposition of restrictions on the expatriation of funds or other assets of a Fund; higher transaction and custody costs; delays and risks attendant in settlement procedures; difficulties in enforcing contractual obligations; lower liquidity and significantly smaller market capitalization; different accounting and disclosure standards; lower levels of regulation of the securities markets; more substantial government interference with the economy; higher rates of inflation; greater social, economic, and political uncertainty; the risk of nationalization or expropriation of assets; and the risk of war.

 

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Depositary Receipts (ADRs, GDRs and EDRs)

 

A Fund may purchase equity securities of non-U.S. issuers. To the extent a Fund invests in equity securities of non-U.S. issuers, certain of the Fund’s investments in such securities may be in the form of American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”) and European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”) (collectively, “Depositary Receipts”). Depositary Receipts are receipts, typically issued by a bank or trust issuer, which evidence ownership of underlying securities issued by a non-U.S. issuer. For ADRs, the depository is typically a U.S. financial institution and the underlying securities are issued by a non-U.S. issuer. For other forms of Depositary Receipts, the depository may be a non-U.S. or a U.S. entity, and the underlying securities may be issued by a non-U.S. or a U.S. issuer. Depositary Receipts are not necessarily denominated in the same currency as their underlying securities. Generally, ADRs, issued in registered form, are designed for use in the U.S. securities markets, and EDRs, issued in bearer form, are designed for use in European securities markets. GDRs are tradable both in the United States and in Europe and are designed for use throughout the world.

 

ADRs and GDRs may be subject to some of the same risks as direct investment in foreign companies, which includes international trade, currency, political, regulatory and diplomatic risks. In a sponsored ADR or GDR arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes the obligation to pay some or all of the depositary’s transaction fees. Under an unsponsored ADR or GDR arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes no obligations and the depositary’s transaction fees are paid directly by the ADR and GDR holders. Because unsponsored ADR and GDR arrangements are organized independently and without the cooperation of the issuer of the underlying securities, available information concerning the foreign issuer may not be as current as for sponsored ADRs and GDRs and voting rights with respect to the deposited securities that are not passed through. Investments in Depositary Receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market.

 

Emerging Markets Securities 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.

 

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Forward Contract Risk

 

Forward contracts involve the purchase or sale of a specific quantity of a government security at a specified price, with delivery and settlement at a specified future date. Forward contracts, unlike futures contracts, are not traded on exchanges and are not standardized; rather, banks and dealers act as principals in these markets, negotiating each transaction on an individual basis. The principals who deal in the forward markets are not required to continue to make markets in the currencies or commodities they trade and these markets can experience periods of illiquidity, sometimes of significant duration. There have been periods during which certain participants in these markets have refused to quote prices for certain currencies or commodities or have quoted prices with an unusually wide spread between the price at which they were prepared to buy and that at which they were prepared to sell.

 

Exchange-Traded Product Risk

 

A Fund may invest in certain ETPs. Through its positions in ETPs, a Fund generally will be subject to the risks associated with such vehicle’s investments, or reference assets/benchmark components in the case of ETNs, including the possibility that the value of the securities or instruments held by or linked to an ETP could decrease. Certain of the ETPs may hold common portfolio positions, thereby reducing any diversification benefits. The ETPs in which a Fund invests are pooled investment vehicles that are not registered pursuant to the 1940 Act and, therefore, are not subject to the regulatory scheme of the 1940 Act including the investor protections afforded by the 1940 Act. Under normal market conditions, a Fund will purchase shares of or interest in ETPs in the secondary market. When a Fund invests in an ETP (except an ETN), in addition to directly bearing the expenses associated with its own operations, it also will bear a pro rata portion of the ETP’s expenses (including operating costs and management fees). Because ETNs are debt securities and not pools of securities, a Fund pays a specific investor fee for its investments in ETNs. Consequently, an investment in a Fund entails more direct and indirect expenses than a direct investment in an ETP.

 

Fixed Income Securities

 

A Fund may invest in fixed income securities. The market value of fixed income investments will change in response to interest rate changes and other factors. During periods of falling interest rates, the values of outstanding fixed income securities generally rise. Conversely, during periods of rising interest rates, the values of such securities generally decline. Moreover, while securities with longer maturities tend to produce higher yields, the prices of longer maturity securities are also subject to greater market fluctuations as a result of changes in interest rates. Changes by recognized agencies in the rating of any fixed income security and in the ability of an issuer to make payments of interest and principal also affect the value of these investments. Changes in the value of these securities will not necessarily affect cash income derived from these securities but will affect an investing Fund’s NAV. Additional information regarding fixed income securities is described below.

 

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Futures and Options

 

A Fund may enter into futures contracts and options that are traded on a U.S. or non-U.S. exchange. A Fund will not use futures or options for speculative purposes. A Fund may enter into certain equity, index and currency futures transactions, as well as other futures transactions that become available in the markets. By using such futures contracts, the Funds may obtain exposure to certain equities, indexes and currencies without actually investing in such instruments. Index futures may be based on broad indices, such as the S&P 500 Index, or narrower indices.

 

Risk of Futures and Options

 

There are several risks accompanying the utilization of futures contracts and options on futures contracts. A position in futures contracts and options on futures contracts may be closed only on the exchange on which the contract was made (or a linked exchange). While a Fund plans to utilize futures contracts only if an active market exists for such contracts, there is no guarantee that a liquid market will exist for the contract at a specified time. In the event of adverse price movements, a Fund would continue to be required to make daily cash payments to maintain its required margin. In such situations, if a Fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell portfolio securities to meet daily margin requirements at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so. In addition, a Fund may be required to deliver the instruments underlying the futures contracts it has sold.

 

The risk of loss in trading futures contracts or uncovered call options in some strategies (e.g., selling uncovered stock index futures contracts) is potentially unlimited. A Fund does not plan to use futures and options contracts in this way. The risk of a futures position may still be large as traditionally measured due to the low margin deposits required. In many cases, a relatively small price movement in a futures contract may result in immediate and substantial loss or gain to the investor relative to the size of a required margin deposit. A Fund, however, intend to utilize futures and options contracts in a manner designed to limit their risk exposure to levels comparable to a direct investment in the types of stocks in which they invest.

 

There is 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 futures contract. The assets of a Fund may not be fully protected in the event of the bankruptcy of the FCM or central counterparty because a Fund might be limited to recovering only a pro rata share of all available funds and margin segregated on behalf of an FCM’s customers. If the FCM does not provide accurate reporting, a Fund is also subject to the risk that the FCM could use a Fund’s assets, which are held in an omnibus account with 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.

 

There is also the risk of loss of margin deposits in the event of bankruptcy of a broker with whom a Fund has an open position in the futures contract or option. The purchase of put or call options will be based upon predictions by the Sub-Adviser as to anticipated trends, which predictions could prove to be incorrect.

 

Because the futures market generally imposes less burdensome margin requirements than the securities market, an increased amount of participation by speculators in the futures market could result in price fluctuations. Certain financial futures exchanges limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in futures contract prices during a single trading day. The daily limit establishes the maximum amount by which the price of a futures contract may vary either up or down from the previous day’s settlement price at the end of a trading session. Once the daily limit has been reached in a particular type of contract, no trades may be made on that day at a price beyond that limit. It is possible that futures contract prices could move to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of futures positions and subjecting a Fund to substantial losses. In the event of adverse price movements, a Fund would be required to make daily cash payments of variation margin.

 

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Futures

 

Futures contracts provide for the future sale by one party and purchase by another party of a specified amount of a specific asset, currency, rate or index at a specified future time and at a specified price. Stock index futures are based on investments that reflect the market value of common stock of the firms included in an underlying index. A Fund may enter into futures contracts to purchase securities indexes when the Sub-Adviser anticipates purchasing the underlying securities and believes prices will rise before the purchase will be made. To the extent required by law, liquid assets committed to futures contracts will be maintained.

 

Some futures contracts are traded on organized exchanges regulated by the SEC or Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”), and transactions on them are cleared through a clearing corporation, which guarantees the performance of the parties to the contract. Futures contracts may be bought and sold on U.S. and non-U.S. exchanges. Futures contracts in the U.S. have been designed by exchanges that have been designated “contract markets” by the CFTC and must be executed through a futures commission merchant (“FCM”), which is a brokerage firm that is a member of the relevant contract market. Each exchange guarantees performance of the contracts as between the clearing members of the exchange, thereby reducing the risk of counterparty default. Futures contracts may also be entered into on certain exempt markets, including exempt boards of trade and electronic trading facilities, available to certain market participants. Because all transactions in the futures market are made, offset or fulfilled by an FCM through a clearinghouse associated with the exchange on which the contracts are traded, a Fund will incur brokerage fees when it buys or sells futures contracts.

 

Unlike purchases or sales of portfolio securities, no price is paid or received by a Fund upon the purchase or sale of a futures contract. Initially, a Fund will be required to deposit with the broker or in a segregated account with a custodian or sub-custodian an amount of liquid assets, known as initial margin, based on the value of the contract. The nature of initial margin in futures transactions is different from that of margin in security transactions in that futures contract margin does not involve the borrowing of funds by the customer to finance the transactions. Rather, the initial margin is in the nature of a performance bond or good faith deposit on the contract, which is returned to the Fund upon termination of the futures contract, assuming all contractual obligations have been satisfied. Subsequent payments, called variation margin, to and from the broker, will be made on a daily basis as the price of the underlying instruments fluctuates, making the long and short positions in the futures contract more or less valuable, a process known as “marking-to-market.” For example, when a Fund has purchased a futures contract and the price of the contract has risen in response to a rise in the underlying instruments, that position will have increased in value and the Fund will be entitled to receive from the broker a variation margin payment equal to that increase in value. Conversely, where a Fund has purchased a futures contract and the price of the future contract has declined in response to a decrease in the underlying instruments, the position would be less valuable, and the Fund would be required to make a variation margin payment to the broker. Prior to expiration of the futures contract, the Sub-Adviser may elect to close the position by taking an opposite position, subject to the availability of a secondary market, which will operate to terminate the Fund’s position in the futures contract. A final determination of variation margin is then made, additional cash is required to be paid by or released to the Fund, and the Fund realizes a loss or gain.

 

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Unlike purchases or sales of portfolio securities, no price is paid or received by a Fund upon the purchase or sale of a futures contract. Initially, a Fund will be required to deposit with the broker or in a segregated account with a custodian or sub-custodian an amount of liquid assets, known as initial margin, based on the value of the contract. The nature of initial margin in futures transactions is different from that of margin in security transactions in that futures contract margin does not involve the borrowing of funds by the customer to finance the transactions. Rather, the initial margin is in the nature of a performance bond or good faith deposit on the contract, which is returned to the Fund upon termination of the futures contract, assuming all contractual obligations have been satisfied. Subsequent payments, called variation margin, to and from the broker, will be made on a daily basis as the price of the underlying instruments fluctuates, making the long and short positions in the futures contract more or less valuable, a process known as “marking-to-market.” For example, when a Fund has purchased a futures contract and the price of the contract has risen in response to a rise in the underlying instruments, that position will have increased in value and the Fund will be entitled to receive from the broker a variation margin payment equal to that increase in value. Conversely, where a Fund has purchased a futures contract and the price of the future contract has declined in response to a decrease in the underlying instruments, the position would be less valuable, and the Fund would be required to make a variation margin payment to the broker. Prior to expiration of the futures contract, the Sub-Adviser may elect to close the position by taking an opposite position, subject to the availability of a secondary market, which will operate to terminate the Fund’s position in the futures contract. A final determination of variation margin is then made, additional cash is required to be paid by or released to the Fund, and the Fund realizes a loss or gain.   

 

There are several risks in connection with the use of futures by a Fund. One risk arises because of the imperfect correlation between movements in the price of the futures and movements in the price of the instruments which are the subject of the hedge. The price of the future may move more than or less than the price of the instruments being hedged. If the price of the futures moves less than the price of the instruments which are the subject of the hedge, the hedge will not be fully effective but, if the price of the instruments being hedged has moved in an unfavorable direction, the Fund would be in a better position than if it had not hedged at all. If the price of the instruments being hedged has moved in a favorable direction, this advantage will be partially offset by the loss on the futures. If the price of the futures moves more than the price of the hedged instruments, the Fund involved will experience either a loss or gain on the futures, which will not be completely offset by movements in the price of the instruments that are the subject of the hedge. To compensate for the imperfect correlation of movements in the price of instruments being hedged and movements in the price of futures contracts, a Fund may buy or sell futures contracts in a greater dollar amount than the dollar amount of instruments being hedged if the volatility over a particular time period of the prices of such instruments has been greater than the volatility over such time period of the futures, or if otherwise deemed to be appropriate by the Sub-Adviser. Conversely, a Fund may buy or sell fewer futures contracts if the volatility over a particular time period of the prices of the instruments being hedged is less than the volatility over such time period of the futures contract being used, or if otherwise deemed to be appropriate by the Sub-Adviser.

 

In addition to the possibility that there may be an imperfect correlation, or no correlation at all, between movements in futures and the instruments being hedged, the price of futures may not correlate perfectly with movement in the cash market due to certain market distortions. Rather than meeting additional margin deposit requirements, investors may close futures contracts through off-setting transactions, which could distort the normal relationship between the cash and futures markets. Second, with respect to financial futures contracts, the liquidity of the futures market depends on participants entering into off-setting transactions rather than making or taking delivery. To the extent participants decide to make or take delivery, liquidity in the futures market could be reduced, thus producing distortions. Third, from the point of view of speculators, the deposit requirements in the futures market are less onerous than margin requirements in the securities market. Therefore, increased participation by speculators in the futures market may also cause temporary price distortions. Due to the possibility of price distortion in the futures market, and because of the imperfect correlation between the movements in the cash market and movements in the price of futures, a correct forecast of general market trends or interest rate movements by the Sub-Adviser may still not result in a successful hedging transaction over a short time frame.

 

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In general, positions in futures may be closed out only on an exchange, board of trade or other trading facility that provides a secondary market for such futures. Although a Fund intends to purchase or sell futures only on trading facilities where there appear to be active secondary markets, there is no assurance that a liquid secondary market on any trading facility will exist for any particular contract or at any particular time. In such an event, it may not be possible to close a futures contract position, and in the event of adverse price movements, a Fund would continue to be required to make daily cash payments of variation margin. However, in the event futures contracts have been used to hedge portfolio securities, such securities may not be sold until the futures contract can be terminated. In such circumstances, an increase in the price of the securities, if any, may partially or completely offset losses on the futures contract. However, as described above, there is no guarantee that the price of the securities will in fact correlate with the price movements in the futures contract and thus provide an offset on a futures contract.

 

Further, it should be noted that the liquidity of a secondary market in a futures contract may be adversely affected by “daily price fluctuation limits” established by commodity exchanges, which limit the amount of fluctuation in a futures contract price during a single trading day. Once the daily limit has been reached in the contract, no trades may be entered into at a price beyond the limit, thus preventing the liquidation of open futures positions. The trading of futures contracts is also subject to the risk of trading halts, suspensions, exchange or clearing house equipment failures, government intervention, insolvency of a brokerage firm or clearing house or other disruptions of normal trading activity, which could at times make it difficult or impossible to liquidate existing positions or to recover excess variation margin payments.

 

Successful use of futures by a Fund is subject to the Sub-Adviser’s ability to predict correctly movements in the direction of the market. In addition, in such situations, if a Fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell securities to meet daily variation margin requirements. Such sales of securities may be, but will not necessarily be, at increased prices which reflect the rising market. A Fund may have to sell securities at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so.

 

With respect to futures contracts that are contractually required to “cash-settle,” a Fund maintains liquid assets in an amount at least equal to a Fund’s daily marked-to-market obligation (i.e., a Fund’s daily net liability, if any), rather than the contracts’ notional value (i.e., the value of the underlying asset). By maintaining assets equal to its net obligation under cash-settled futures contracts, a Fund may employ leverage to a greater extent than if a Fund set aside assets equal to the futures contracts’ full notional value.

 

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 Options

 

A Fund may invest in put options and buy call options and write covered call and secured put options. Such options may relate to particular securities, foreign and domestic stock indices, financial instruments, foreign currencies or the yield differential between two securities and may or may not be listed on a domestic or foreign securities exchange or issued by the Options Clearing Corporation. A call option for a particular security or currency gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy, and a writer the obligation to sell, the underlying security at the stated exercise price prior to the expiration of the option, regardless of the market price of the security or currency. The premium paid to the writer is in consideration for undertaking the obligation under the option contract. A put option for a particular security or currency gives the purchaser the right to sell the security or currency at the stated exercise price prior to the expiration date of the option, regardless of the market price of the security or currency. In contrast to an option on a particular security, an option on an index provides the holder with the right to make or receive a cash settlement upon exercise of the option. The amount of this settlement will be equal to the difference between the closing price of the index at the time of exercise and the exercise price of the option expressed in dollars, times a specified multiple Options trading is a highly specialized activity, which entails risk greater than ordinary investment risk. Options on particular securities may be more volatile than the underlying instruments and, therefore, on a percentage basis, an investment in options may be subject to greater fluctuation than an investment in the underlying instruments themselves. The Funds will write call options only if they are “covered.” In the case of a call option on a security or currency, the option is “covered” if the Fund owns the security or currency 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, liquid assets in such amount are segregated) upon conversion or exchange of other securities held by it. For a call option on an index, the option is covered if the Fund maintains with its custodian a portfolio of securities substantially replicating the index, or liquid assets equal to the contract value. A call option also is covered if the Fund holds a call on the same security, currency or index as the call written where the exercise price of the call held 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 Fund segregates liquid assets in the amount of the difference.   

 

A Fund’s obligation to sell subject to a covered call option written by it, or to purchase a security or currency subject to a secured put option written by it, may be terminated prior to the expiration date of the option by the Fund’s execution of a closing purchase transaction, which is effected by purchasing on an exchange an option of the same series (i.e., same underlying security or currency, exercise price and expiration date) as the option previously written. Such a purchase does not result in the ownership of an option. A closing purchase transaction will ordinarily be effected to realize a profit on an outstanding option, to prevent an underlying instrument from being called, to permit the sale of the underlying security or currency or to permit the writing of a new option containing different terms on such underlying security. The cost of such a liquidation purchase plus transaction costs may be greater than the premium received upon the original option, in which event the Fund will have incurred a loss in the transaction. There is no assurance that a liquid secondary market will exist for any particular option. An option writer, unable to effect a closing purchase transaction, will not be able to sell the underlying security or currency (in the case of a covered call option) or liquidate the assets (in the case of a secured put option) until the option expires or the optioned security or currency is delivered upon exercise with the result that the writer in such circumstances will be subject to the risk of market decline or appreciation in the instrument during such period.

 

When a Fund purchases an option, the premium paid by it is recorded as an asset of the Fund. When a Fund writes an option, an amount equal to the net premium (the premium less the commission) received by the Fund is included in the liability section of the Fund’s statement of assets and liabilities as a deferred credit. The amount of this asset or deferred credit will be subsequently marked-to-market to reflect the current value of the option purchased or written. The current value of the traded option is the last sale price or, in the absence of a sale, the current bid price. If an option purchased by a Fund expires unexercised, the Fund realizes a loss equal to the premium paid. If a Fund enters into a closing sale transaction on an option purchased by it, the Fund will realize a gain if the premium received by the Fund on the closing transaction is more than the premium paid to purchase the option, or a loss if it is less. If an option written by a Fund expires on the stipulated expiration date or if a Fund enters into a closing purchase transaction, it will realize a gain (or loss if the cost of a closing purchase transaction exceeds the net premium received when the option is sold) and the deferred credit related to such option will be eliminated. If an option written by a Fund is exercised, the proceeds of the sale will be increased by the net premium originally received and the Fund will realize a gain or loss.

 

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There are several risks associated with transactions in certain options. For example, there are significant differences between the securities, currency and options markets that could result in an imperfect correlation between these markets, causing a given transaction not to achieve its objectives. In addition, a liquid secondary market for particular options, whether traded over-the-counter or on an exchange, may be absent for reasons which include the following: there may be insufficient trading interest in certain options; restrictions may be imposed by an exchange on opening transactions or closing transactions or both; trading halts, suspensions or other restrictions may be imposed with respect to particular classes or series of options or underlying securities or currencies; unusual or unforeseen circumstances may interrupt normal operations on an exchange; the facilities of an exchange or the Options Clearing Corporation may not at all times be adequate to handle current trading volume; or one or more exchanges could, for economic or other reasons, decide or be compelled at some future date to discontinue the trading of options (or a particular class or series of options), in which event the secondary market on that exchange (or in that class or series of options) would cease to exist, although outstanding options that had been issued by the Options Clearing Corporation as a result of trades on that exchange would continue to be exercisable in accordance with their terms.

 

Options on Futures Contracts

 

A Fund may purchase and write options on the futures contracts described above. A futures option gives the holder, in return for the premium paid, the right to receive and execute a long futures contract (if the option is a call) or a short futures contract (if the option is a put) at a specified price at any time during the period of the option. Like the buyer or seller of a futures contract, the holder, or writer, of an option has the right to terminate its position prior to the scheduled expiration of the option by selling, or purchasing an option of the same series, at which time the person entering into the closing transaction will realize a gain or loss. A Fund will be required to deposit initial margin and variation margin with respect to put and call options on futures contracts written by it pursuant to brokers’ requirements similar to those described above. Net option premiums received will be included as initial margin deposits.

 

Investments in futures options involve some of the same considerations that are involved in connection with investments in futures contracts (for example, the existence of a liquid secondary market). In addition, the purchase or sale of an option also entails the risk that changes in the value of the underlying futures contract will not correspond to changes in the value of the option purchased. Depending on the pricing of the option compared to either the futures contract upon which it is based, or upon the price of the securities being hedged, an option may or may not be less risky than ownership of the futures contract or such securities. In general, the market prices of options can be expected to be more volatile than the market prices on the underlying futures contract. Compared to the purchase or sale of futures contracts, however, the purchase of call or put options on futures contracts may frequently involve less potential risk to a Fund because the maximum amount at risk is the premium paid for the options (plus transaction costs). The writing of an option on a futures contract involves risks similar to those risks relating to the purchase or sale of futures contracts.

 

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An option on a futures contract, as contrasted with the direct investment in such a contract, gives the purchaser the right, but not the obligation, in return for the premium paid, to assume a position in the underlying futures contract at a specified exercise price at any time prior to the expiration date of the option. The writer of the option becomes contractually obligated to take the opposite futures position specified in the option.

 

Upon exercise of an option on a futures contract, the delivery of the futures position by the writer of the option to the holder of the option will be accompanied by delivery of the accumulated balance in the writer’s futures margin account that represents the amount by which the market price of the futures contract exceeds (in the case of a call) or is less than (in the case of a put) the exercise price of the option on the futures contract. The potential for loss related to the purchase of an option on a futures contract is limited to the premium paid for the option plus transaction costs. Because the value of the option is fixed at the point of sale, there are no daily cash payments by the purchaser to reflect changes in the value of the underlying contract; however, the value of the option changes daily and that change would be reflected in the net asset value per share (“NAV”) of a Fund.

 

A Fund may purchase and write put and call options on futures contracts that are traded on an exchange as a hedge against changes in value of its portfolio securities, or in anticipation of the purchase of securities, and may enter into closing transactions with respect to such options to terminate existing positions. There is no guarantee that such closing transactions can be effected.

 

A Fund’s use of options on futures contracts is subject to the risks related to derivative instruments generally. In addition, the amount of risk a Fund assumes when it purchases an option on a futures contract is the premium paid for the option plus related transaction costs. The purchase of an option also entails the risk that changes in the value of the underlying futures contract will not be fully reflected in the value of the option purchased. The writer of an option on a futures contract is subject to the risk of having to take a possibly adverse futures position if the purchaser of the option exercises its rights. If the writer were required to take such a position, it could bear substantial losses. The potential for loss related to writing call options is unlimited. The potential for loss related to writing put options is limited to the agreed upon price per share, also known as the “strike price,” less the premium received from writing the put.

 

U.S. Federal Tax Treatment of Futures Contracts

 

A Fund may be required for federal income tax purposes to mark-to-market and recognize as income for each taxable year its net unrealized gains and losses on certain futures contracts or options contracts as of the end of the year as well as those actually realized during the year. Gain or loss from futures contracts or options contracts on broad-based indexes required to be marked-to-market will be 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital gain or loss. Application of this rule may alter the timing and character of distributions to shareholders. A Fund may be required to defer the recognition of losses on futures contracts or options contracts to the extent of any unrecognized gains on related positions held by a Fund.

 

In order for a Fund to continue to qualify for U.S. federal income tax treatment as a “regulated investment company” under Section 851 of the Code, at least 90% of a Fund’s gross income for a taxable year must be derived from qualifying sources, including, dividends, interest, income derived from loans of securities, gains from the sale of securities or of foreign currencies or other income derived with respect to a Fund’s business of investing in securities. It is anticipated that any net gain realized from the closing out of futures contracts or options contracts will be considered gain from the sale of securities and, therefore, will be qualifying income for purposes of the 90% requirement. 

 

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A Fund intends to distribute to shareholders annually any net capital gains that have been recognized for U.S. federal income tax purposes (including unrealized gains at the end of the Fund’s fiscal year) on futures transactions and certain options contracts. Such distributions are combined with distributions of capital gains realized on a Fund’s other investments, and shareholders are advised on the nature of the distributions.   

 

Geographic Concentration Risk

 

A Fund may be particularly susceptible to economic, political, regulatory or other events or conditions affecting countries within the specific geographic regions in which the Fund invests. Currency devaluations could occur in countries that have not yet experienced currency devaluation to date or could continue to occur in countries that have already experienced such devaluations. As a result, a Fund’s net asset value may be more volatile than a more geographically diversified fund.

 

Income Risk

 

The market value of fixed income investments changes in response to interest rate changes and other factors. A Fund’s income could decline due to falling market interest rates. This is because, in a falling interest rate environment, a fund generally will have to invest the proceeds from sales of fund shares, as well as the proceeds from maturing portfolio securities in lower-yielding securities. During periods of falling interest rates, the values of outstanding fixed income securities generally rise. Moreover, while securities with longer maturities tend to produce higher yields, the prices of longer maturity securities are also subject to greater market fluctuations as a result of changes in interest rates. During periods of falling interest rates, certain debt obligations with high interest rates may be prepaid (or “called”) by the issuer prior to maturity.

 

Industry Concentration Risk

 

Because each Fund’s assets will be concentrated in an industry or group of industries, each Fund is subject to loss due to adverse occurrences that may affect that industry or group of industries.  

 

Interest Rate Risk

 

The values of fixed rate debt securities usually rise and fall in response to changes in interest rates. Declining interest rates generally increase the value of existing debt instruments, and rising interest rates generally decrease the value of existing debt instruments. Changes in a debt instrument’s value usually will not affect the amount of interest income paid to a Fund, but will affect the value of the Fund’s Shares. Interest rate risk is generally greater for investments with longer maturities. Certain securities pay interest at variable or floating rates. Variable rate securities reset at specified intervals, while floating rate securities reset whenever there is a change in a specified index rate. In most cases, these reset provisions reduce the effect of changes in market interest rates on the value of the security. However, some securities do not track the underlying index directly, but reset based on formulas that can produce an effect similar to leveraging; others may also provide for interest payments that vary inversely with market rates. The market prices of these securities may fluctuate significantly when interest rates change.

 

Some investments give the issuer the option to call or redeem an investment before its maturity date. If an issuer calls or redeems an investment during a time of declining interest rates, a Fund might have to reinvest the proceeds in an investment offering a lower yield, and therefore it might not benefit from any increase in value as a result of declining interest rates. Leverage Risk. Leverage is investment exposure that exceeds the initial amount invested. The loss on a leveraged investment may far exceed a Fund’s principal amount invested. Leverage can magnify a Fund’s gains and losses and, therefore, increase its volatility. There is no guarantee that a Fund will use leverage, or when it does, that a Fund’s leveraging strategy will be successful. A Fund cannot guarantee that the use of leverage will produce a high return on an investment. This requirement limits the amount of leverage a Fund may have at any one time, but it does not eliminate leverage risk. Liquidity Risk. In certain circumstances, it may be difficult for a Fund to purchase and sell particular portfolio investments due to infrequent trading in such investments. The prices of such securities may experience significant volatility, make it more difficult for a Fund to transact significant amounts of such securities without an unfavorable impact on prevailing market prices, or make it difficult for the Sub-Adviser to dispose of such securities at a fair price at the time the Sub-Adviser believes it is desirable to do so. In addition, a Fund’s investments in ETNs and certain other ETPs may be subject to restrictions on the amount and timing of any redemptions. A Fund’s investments in such securities may restrict a Fund’s ability to take advantage of other market opportunities and adversely affect the value of a Fund’s portfolio holdings. A Fund’s investments in certain ETPs also may be subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to “circuit breaker” rules.

 

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Investment Companies

 

A Fund may invest in the securities of other investment companies, subject to applicable limitations under Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act. Pursuant to Section 12(d)(1), a Fund may invest in the securities of another investment company (the “acquired company”) provided that a Fund, immediately after such purchase or acquisition, does not own in the aggregate: (i) more than 3% of the total outstanding voting stock of the acquired company; (ii) securities issued by the acquired company having an aggregate value in excess of 5% of the value of the total assets of a Fund; or (iii) securities issued by the acquired company and all other investment companies (other than Treasury stock of a Fund) having an aggregate value in excess of 10% of the value of the total assets of a Fund. To the extent allowed by law or regulation, a Fund may invest its assets in securities of investment companies in excess of the limits discussed above.

 

If a Fund invests in and, thus, is a shareholder of, another investment company, the Fund’s shareholders will indirectly bear the Fund’s proportionate share of the fees and expenses paid by such other investment company, including advisory fees, in addition to both the management fees payable directly by the Fund to the Fund’s own investment adviser and the other expenses that the Fund bears directly in connection with the Fund’s own operations.

 

Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act restricts investments by registered investment companies in securities of other registered investment companies, including a Fund. The acquisition of a Fund’s Shares by registered investment companies is subject to the restrictions of Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act, except as may be permitted by exemptive rules under the 1940 Act or as may at some future time be permitted by an exemptive order that permits registered investment companies to invest in a Fund beyond the limits of Section 12(d)(1), subject to certain terms and conditions, including that the registered investment company enter into an agreement with the Fund regarding the terms of the investment.

 

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The acquisition of shares of a Fund by registered investment companies is subject to the restrictions of Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act, except as may be permitted by exemptive rules under the 1940 Act or as permitted by an exemptive order obtained by the Trust that permits registered investment companies to invest in the Fund beyond the limits of Section 12(d)(1), subject to certain terms and conditions, including that the registered investment company enter into an agreement with the Fund regarding the terms of the investment. The SEC recently adopted changes to the regulatory framework for fund of funds arrangements. New Rule 12d1-4 permits other investment companies to invest in the Fund beyond the limits in Section 12(d)(1), subject to similar conditions.   

 

Issuer Risk

 

Fund performance depends on the performance of individual securities to which a Fund has exposure. Changes in the financial condition or credit rating of an issuer of those securities may cause the value of the securities to decline.

 

Large-Capitalization Risk

 

Returns on investments in securities of large companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of smaller and mid-sized companies. The securities of large-capitalization companies may also be relatively mature compared to smaller companies and therefore subject to slower growth during times of economic expansion. Large-capitalization companies may also be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology and consumer tastes.

 

Large Shareholder and Large-Scale Redemption Risk

 

Certain shareholders, including an Authorized Participant, a third-party investor, a Fund’s adviser or an affiliate of a Fund’s adviser, a market maker, or another entity, may from time to time own or manage a substantial amount of Fund shares or may invest in a Fund and hold its investment for a limited period of time. These shareholders may also pledge or loan Fund shares (to secure financing or otherwise), which may result in the shares becoming concentrated in another party. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder or large group of shareholders would not redeem their investment or that the size of a Fund would be maintained. Redemptions of a large number of Fund shares by these shareholders may adversely affect the Fund’s liquidity and net assets. To the extent a Fund permits redemptions in cash, these redemptions may force a Fund to sell portfolio securities when it might not otherwise do so, which may negatively impact the Fund’s NAV, have a material effect on the market price of the shares and increase the Fund’s brokerage costs and/or accelerate the realization of taxable income and/or gains and cause the Fund to make taxable distributions to its shareholders earlier than the Fund otherwise would have. In addition, under certain circumstances, non-redeeming shareholders may be treated as receiving a disproportionately large taxable distribution during or with respect to such tax year. A Fund also may be required to sell its more liquid Fund investments to meet a large redemption, in which case the Fund’s remaining assets may be less liquid, more volatile, and more difficult to price. To the extent these large shareholders transact in shares on the secondary market, such transactions may account for a large percentage of the trading volume for the shares of a Fund and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the shares. In addition, large purchases of Fund shares 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, diluting its investment returns.

 

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Liquidity Risk

 

In certain circumstances, it may be difficult for a Fund to purchase and sell particular portfolio investments due to infrequent trading in such investments. The prices of such securities may experience significant volatility, make it more difficult for a Fund to transact significant amounts of such securities without an unfavorable impact on prevailing market prices, or make it difficult for the Sub-Adviser to dispose of such securities at a fair price at the time the Sub-Adviser believes it is desirable to do so. In addition, a Fund’s investments in ETNs and certain other ETPs may be subject to restrictions on the amount and timing of any redemptions. Each Fund’s investments in such securities may restrict the Fund’s ability to take advantage of other market opportunities and adversely affect the value of a Fund’s portfolio holdings. Each Fund’s investments in certain ETPs also may be subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to “circuit breaker” rules.

 

Market Risk and Selection Risk

 

The prices of securities held by a Fund may decline in response to certain events taking place around the world, including those directly involving the companies whose securities are owned by the Fund; conditions affecting the general economy; overall market changes; local, regional or global political, social or economic instability; and currency, interest rate and commodity price fluctuations. The equity securities purchased by a Fund may involve large price swings and potential for loss. Investors in a Fund should have a long-term perspective and be able to tolerate potentially sharp declines in value. The market’s daily 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 financial markets increases the likelihood that events or conditions in one region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market. Securities in a Fund’s portfolio may underperform due to inflation (or expectations for inflation), interest rates, global demand for particular products or resources, climate change or climate related risks, natural disasters, pandemics, epidemics, war, terrorism, regulatory events, governmental or quasi-governmental actions, and public health emergencies. 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.

 

Selection risk is the risk that the securities selected by Fund management will underperform the markets, the relevant indices or the securities selected by other funds with similar investment objectives and investment strategies. This means you may lose money.

 

Market Trading Risk

 

Each Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including disruptions to the creation and redemption processes of a Fund, losses from trading in secondary markets, the existence of extreme market volatility or potential lack of an active trading market for Shares may result in Shares trading at a significant premium or discount to NAV. The NAV of Shares will fluctuate with changes in the market value of a Fund’s securities holdings. The market prices of Shares will fluctuate in accordance with changes in NAV and supply and demand on the Exchange. The Advisers cannot predict whether Shares will trade below, at or above their NAV. Price differences may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for Shares will be closely related to, but not identical to, the same forces influencing the prices of the securities of the Index trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. If a shareholder purchases Shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the NAV or sells Shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to the NAV, the shareholder may sustain losses. Any of these factors, discussed above and further below, may lead to Shares trading at a premium or discount to a Fund’s NAV.

 

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Trading Halts

 

Trading in Shares on an Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on an Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the Exchange’s “circuit breaker” rules. There can be no assurance that the requirements of an Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of a Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged.

 

Micro-Capitalization Risk

 

Any micro-capitalization companies in which a Fund may invest may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies, and may underperform other segments of the market or the equity market as a whole. Securities of micro-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes, are often more vulnerable to market volatility, and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole.   

 

National Closed Market Trading Risk

 

To the extent that the underlying securities held by a Fund trade on foreign exchanges that may be closed when the securities exchange on which a Fund’s Shares trade is open, there are likely to be deviations between the current price of such an underlying security and the last quoted price for the underlying security (i.e., a Fund’s quote from the closed foreign market). These deviations could result in premiums or discounts to a Fund’s NAV that may be greater than those experienced by other ETFs.

 

New Fund Risk 

 

The Funds are new funds, with no operating history, which may result in additional risks for investors in the Funds. There can be no assurance that these Funds will grow to or maintain an economically viable size, in which case the Board of Trustees may determine to liquidate the Funds. While shareholder interests will be the paramount consideration, the timing of any liquidation may not be favorable to certain individual shareholders.

 

Non-Diversified Fund Risk

 

Each of the Funds is a non-diversified investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 , meaning that, as compared to a diversified fund, it can invest a greater percentage of its assets in securities issued by or representing a small number of issuers. As a result, the performance of these issuers can have a substantial impact on a Fund’s performance.  

 

Operational Risk

 

Each Fund is exposed to operational risk arising from a number of factors, including but not limited to human error, processing and communication errors, errors of a Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. Each Fund seeks to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate for those risks that they are intended to address.

 

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Pandemics Risk

 

An outbreak of infectious respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 was first detected in China in December 2019 before spreading worldwide and being declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. COVID-19 has resulted in travel restrictions, closed international borders, enhanced health screenings, disruption and delays in healthcare services, prolonged quarantines, cancellations, temporary store closures, social distancing, government ordered curfews and business closures, disruptions to supply chains and consumer activity, shortages, highly volatile financial markets, and general concern and uncertainty.

 

Proprietary Infrastructure Risk

 

The success of a Fund’s investment strategy may depend in part on the ability of the companies in which it invests to maintain proprietary technology used in their products and services. Companies in which a Fund invests will rely, in part, on patent, trade secret and trademark law to protect that technology, but competitors may misappropriate their intellectual property, and disputes as to ownership of intellectual property may arise. Consequently, companies in which a Fund invests may, from time to time, be required to institute litigation in order to enforce their patents, copyrights or other intellectual property rights, to protect their trade secrets, to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others or to defend against claims of infringement. Such litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources. Similarly, if a company is found to infringe upon or misappropriate a third-party’s patent or other proprietary rights, that company could be required to pay damages to such third-party, alter its own products or processes, obtain a license from the third-party and/or cease activities utilizing such proprietary rights, including making or selling products utilizing such proprietary rights. 

 

Recent Market Conditions

 

The performance of the Funds are subject to general market conditions. Following years of fiscal and monetary support, the U.S. market and economy are adjusting to reduced levels of support. Supply chain bottlenecks and pent-up demand as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic have led to elevated inflation pressures in the United States. While the U.S. consumer market generally remains strong, purchasing power is eroded when wage inflation does not keep pace with price inflation. In time, this may reduce inflation-adjusted demand. COVID-19 remains a risk factor with the potential that new variants could lead to increased government restrictions and consumer caution. Additionally, COVID-19 remains a challenge for global supply chain normalization, with China’s zero-COVID policies snarling global logistics.

 

Inflation remains a key concern influencing market conditions in 2022. Supply chain disruptions have persisted for more than two years, contributing to more permanent dislocations in price expectations. During recent months, the Federal Reserve (Fed) has raised interest rates several times, including two consecutive .75 percentage point hikes. This brought forward expectations for reduced liquidity and higher interest rates, contributing to market volatility during the first two quarters of 2022. Potential shifts in Fed policy and views in 2022 may further raise interest rates, which could continue to drive market sentiment. There is no certainty that actions taken by the Fed will improve market conditions.

 

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Inflation pressures have been fueled by elevated energy prices. One of the main near-term sources of elevated energy prices is the geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine, which have escalated into military conflict. Recently, the U.S., Canada and the European Union, among other jurisdictions, have imposed a series of economic sanctions on Russia related to these hostilities. Due to Europe’s reliance on Russian oil and gas, Russia’s bargaining position may decline as the demand for oil and gas declines. This has led to near term energy price volatility and may continue to contribute to inflation pressures. 

 

China remains a risk factor to both global supply and demand. The 2021 Chinese property market correction appears broader and deeper than China’s prior housing cycles. Weak market sentiment in China, combined with a high volume of property developer bonds maturing in offshore USD denominated markets in the first half of 2022, increase the risk of a lack of liquidity in the Chinese property market. The Chinese property market slowdown and resulting potential weakness in China’s economic growth could have broader repercussions. China currently accounts for around half the annual copper and steel used globally while being expected to comprise more than 20% of global GDP growth between 2021 and 2026. Additionally, the Chinese market remains important to both U.S. and globally listed companies as a growing consumer market and an important part of supply chains. Chinese policy action may help mitigate this risk from the property sector and restore confidence and stability. 

 

It is impossible to predict the effects of these or similar events in the future on the Funds, although it is possible that these or similar events could have a significant adverse impact on the NAV and/or risk profile of a Fund.

 

Repurchase Agreements

 

A repurchase agreement is an instrument under which the purchaser (i.e., a Fund) acquires the security and the seller agrees, at the time of the sale, to repurchase the security at a mutually agreed upon time and price, thereby determining the yield during the purchaser’s holding period. Repurchase agreements may be construed to be collateralized loans by the purchaser to the seller secured by the securities transferred to the purchaser. If a repurchase agreement is construed to be a collateralized loan, the underlying securities will not be considered to be owned by a Fund but only to constitute collateral for the seller’s obligation to pay the repurchase price, and, in the event of a default by the seller, a Fund may suffer time delays and incur costs or losses in connection with the disposition of the collateral.

 

In any repurchase transaction, the collateral for a repurchase agreement may include: (i) cash items; (ii) obligations issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities; or (iii) obligations that, at the time the repurchase agreement is entered into, are rated in the highest rating category generally by at least two nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (“NRSROs”), or, if unrated, determined to be of comparable quality by the Sub-Adviser. Collateral, however, is not limited to the foregoing and may include, for example, obligations rated below the highest category by NRSROs. Collateral for a repurchase agreement may also include securities that a Fund could not hold directly without the repurchase obligation.   

 

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Repurchase agreements pose certain risks for a Fund if it utilizes them. Such risks are not unique to a Fund, but are inherent in repurchase agreements. Each Fund seeks to minimize such risks, but because of the inherent legal uncertainties involved in repurchase agreements, such risks cannot be eliminated. Lower quality collateral and collateral with longer maturities may be subject to greater price fluctuations than higher quality collateral and collateral with shorter maturities. If the repurchase agreement counterparty were to default, lower quality collateral may be more difficult to liquidate than higher quality collateral. Should the counterparty default and the amount of collateral not be sufficient to cover the counterparty’s repurchase obligation, a Fund would retain the status of an unsecured creditor of the counterparty (i.e., the position a Fund would normally be in if it were to hold, pursuant to its investment policies, other unsecured debt securities of the defaulting counterparty) with respect to the amount of the shortfall. As an unsecured creditor, a Fund would be at risk of losing some or all of the principal and income involved in the transaction.

 

Reverse Repurchase Agreements

 

Reverse repurchase agreements involve the sale of securities with an agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price, date and interest payment and have the characteristics of borrowing. Generally, the effect of such transactions is that a Fund can recover all or most of the cash invested in the portfolio securities involved during the term of the reverse repurchase agreement, while in many cases a Fund is able to keep some of the interest income associated with those securities. Such transactions are advantageous only if a Fund has an opportunity to earn a rate of interest on the cash derived from these transactions that is greater than the interest cost of obtaining the same amount of cash. Opportunities to realize earnings from the use of the proceeds equal to or greater than the interest required to be paid may not always be available and a Fund intends to use the reverse repurchase technique only when the Sub-Adviser believes it will be advantageous to a Fund. The use of reverse repurchase agreements may exaggerate any increase or decrease in the value of a Fund’s assets. A Fund’s exposure to reverse repurchase agreements will be covered by liquid assets having a value equal to or greater than such commitments. The use of reverse repurchase agreements is a form of leverage because the proceeds derived from reverse repurchase agreements may be invested in additional securities.

 

Sector and Industry Focus Risk

 

Each Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in one or more sectors and thus will be more susceptible to the risks affecting those sectors. Each Fund anticipates that it may be subject to some or all of the risks described below, and as more fully described in each Fund’s prospectus.

 

Biotechnology Industry Risk. The biotechnology industry can be significantly affected by patent considerations, including the termination of patent protections for products, intense competition both domestically and internationally, rapid technological change and obsolescence, government regulation and expensive insurance costs due to the risk of product liability lawsuits. In addition, the biotechnology industry is an emerging growth industry, and therefore biotechnology companies may be thinly capitalized and more volatile than companies with greater capitalizations. Biotechnology companies must contend with high development costs, which may be exacerbated by the inability to raise prices to cover costs because of managed care pressure, government regulation or price controls.

 

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Healthcare Sector Risk. To the extent a Fund focuses on the healthcare sector, the Fund may be more susceptible to the particular risks that may affect companies in the healthcare sector than if it were invested in a wider variety of companies in unrelated sectors. The profitability of companies in the healthcare sector may be adversely affected by the following factors, among others: extensive government regulations, restrictions on government reimbursement for medical expenses, rising costs of medical products and services, pricing pressure, an increased emphasis on outpatient services, changes in the demand for medical products and services, a limited number of products, industry innovation, changes in technologies and other market developments. A number of issuers in the healthcare sector have recently merged or otherwise experienced consolidation. The effects of this trend toward consolidation are unknown and may be far-reaching. Many healthcare companies are heavily dependent on patent protection. The expiration of a company’s patents may adversely affect that company’s profitability. Many healthcare companies are subject to extensive litigation based on product liability and similar claims. Healthcare companies are subject to competitive forces that may make it difficult to raise prices and, in fact, may result in price discounting. Many new products in the healthcare sector may be subject to regulatory approvals. The process of obtaining such approvals may be long and costly, and such efforts ultimately may be unsuccessful. Companies in the healthcare sector may be thinly capitalized and may be susceptible to product obsolescence. In addition, a number of legislative proposals concerning healthcare have been considered by the U.S. Congress in recent years. It is unclear what proposals will ultimately be enacted, if any, and what effect they may have on companies in the healthcare sector.

 

Securities Lending

 

Each Fund may lend portfolio securities to certain borrowers. The borrowers provide collateral that is maintained in an amount at least equal to the current market value of the securities loaned. Each Fund may terminate a loan at any time and obtain the return of the securities loaned. Each Fund receives the value of any interest or cash or non-cash distributions paid on the loaned securities. Distributions received on loaned securities in lieu of dividend payments (i.e., substitute payments) would not be considered qualified dividend income.

 

With respect to loans that are collateralized by cash, the borrower will be entitled to receive a fee based on the amount of cash collateral. Each Fund is compensated by the difference between the amount earned on the reinvestment of cash collateral and the fee paid to the borrower. In the case of collateral other than cash, a Fund is compensated by a fee paid by the borrower equal to a percentage of the market value of the loaned securities. Any cash collateral may be reinvested in certain short-term instruments either directly on behalf of each lending Fund or through one or more joint accounts or money market funds, which may include those managed by the Sub-Adviser.

 

Each Fund may pay a portion of the interest or fees earned from securities lending to a borrower as described above, and to one or more securities lending agents approved by the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”) who administer the lending program for a Fund in accordance with guidelines approved by the Board. In such capacity, the lending agent causes the delivery of loaned securities from a Fund to borrowers, arranges for the return of loaned securities to a Fund at the termination of a loan, requests deposit of collateral, monitors the daily value of the loaned securities and collateral, requests that borrowers add to the collateral when required by the loan agreements, and provides recordkeeping and accounting services necessary for the operation of the program.

 

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Securities lending involves exposure to certain risks, including operational risk (i.e., the risk of losses resulting from problems in the settlement and accounting process), “gap” risk (i.e., the risk of a mismatch between the return on cash collateral reinvestments and the fees a Fund has agreed to pay a borrower), and credit, legal, counterparty and market risk. In the event a borrower does not return a Fund’s securities as agreed, a Fund may experience losses if the proceeds received from liquidating the collateral do not at least equal the value of the loaned security at the time the collateral is liquidated plus the transaction costs incurred in purchasing replacement securities.

 

Investing cash collateral subjects a Fund to greater market risk, including losses on the collateral and, should a Fund need to look to the collateral in the event of the borrower’s default, losses on the loan secured by that collateral.

 

Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV

 

As with all ETFs, shares of each Fund may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of shares will approximate a 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.

 

Short Sales

 

Each Fund may engage in short sales transactions in which a Fund sells a security it does not own. To complete such a transaction, a Fund must borrow or otherwise obtain the security to make delivery to the buyer. A Fund then is obligated to replace the security borrowed by purchasing the security at the market price at the time of replacement. The price at such time may be more or less than the price at which the security was sold by a Fund. Until the security is replaced, a Fund is required to pay to the lender amounts equal to any dividends or interest, which accrue during the period of the loan. To borrow the security, a Fund also may be required to pay a premium, which would increase the cost of the security sold. A Fund may also use repurchase agreements to satisfy delivery obligations in short sales transactions. The proceeds of the short sale will be retained by the broker, to the extent necessary to meet the margin requirements, until the short position is closed out.   

 

Short-Term Instruments

 

Each Fund may invest in short-term instruments, including money market instruments, on an ongoing basis to provide liquidity for cash equitization, funding, or under abnormal market conditions. Money market instruments are generally short-term investments that may include but are not limited to: (i) shares of money market funds; (ii) obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises); (iii) negotiable certificates of deposit (“CDs”), bankers’ acceptances, fixed time deposits and other obligations of U.S. and foreign banks (including foreign branches) and similar institutions; (iv) commercial paper rated at the date of purchase “Prime-1” by Moody’s or “A-1” by Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC, or if unrated, of comparable quality as determined by the Sub-Adviser; (v) non-convertible corporate debt securities (e.g., bonds and debentures) with remaining maturities at the date of purchase of not more than 397 days and that satisfy the rating requirements set forth in Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act; and (vi) short-term U.S. dollar-denominated obligations of foreign banks (including U.S. branches) that, in the opinion of the Sub-Adviser, are of comparable quality to obligations of U.S. banks which may be purchased by a Fund. Any of these instruments may be purchased on a current or a forward-settled basis. Time deposits are non-negotiable deposits maintained in banking institutions for specified periods of time at stated interest rates. Bankers’ acceptances are time drafts drawn on commercial banks by borrowers, usually in connection with international transactions.

 

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Commercial Paper

 

A Fund may invest in commercial paper. Commercial paper is a short-term obligation with a maturity ranging from one to 270 days issued by banks, corporations and other borrowers. Such investments are unsecured and usually discounted. Each Fund may invest in commercial paper rated A-1 or A-2 by S&P or Prime-1 or Prime-2 by Moody’s. 

 

Small- and Mid-Capitalization Company Risk

 

The small- and mid-capitalization companies in which a Fund may invests may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies, and may underperform other segments of the market or the equity market as a whole. Securities of small- and mid-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes, are often more vulnerable to market volatility, and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole.

 

Swaps

 

OTC swap agreements are contracts between parties in which one party agrees to make payments to the other party based on the change in market value or level of a specified index or asset. In return, the other party agrees to make payments to the first party based on the return of a different specified index or asset. Although OTC swap agreements entail the risk that a party will default on its payment obligations thereunder, a Fund seeks to reduce this risk by entering into agreements that involve payments no less frequently than quarterly. The net amount of the excess, if any, of a Fund’s obligations over its entitlements with respect to each swap is accrued on a daily basis and an amount of cash or highly liquid securities having an aggregate value at least equal to the accrued excess is maintained in an account at the Trust’s custodian bank.

 

The use of such swap agreements involves certain risks. For example, if the counterparty, under a swap agreement, defaults on its obligation to make payments due from it as a result of its bankruptcy or otherwise, a Fund may lose such payments altogether or collect only a portion thereof, which collection could involve costs or delays.

 

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (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 Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) recently 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 futures commission merchants (“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 in excess of the margin amount. If a Fund has a loss of less than the margin amount, the excess margin is returned to a Fund. If a Fund has a gain, the full margin amount and the amount of the gain is paid to a Fund.

 

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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 a 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 a Fund might be limited to recovering only a pro rata share of all available funds and margin segregated on behalf of an FCM’s customers. If the FCM does not provide accurate reporting, a Fund is also subject to the risk that the FCM could use a Fund’s assets, which are held in an omnibus account with 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. Exchange-trading is expected to increase liquidity of swaps trading.

 

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, regulators are expected to adopt rules imposing certain margin requirements, including minimums, on uncleared swaps in the near future, which could change this comparison.

 

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 a Fund.

 

The Sub-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.

 

Tax Risks

 

As with any investment, you should consider how your investment in Shares will be taxed. The tax information in the Prospectus and this SAI is provided as general information. You should consult your own tax professional about the tax consequences of an investment in Shares.

 

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Unless your investment in Shares is made through a tax-exempt entity or tax-deferred retirement account, such as an individual retirement account, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when a Fund makes distributions or you sell Fund Shares.

 

Temporary Defensive Investments

 

Each Fund may take temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with its normal investment policies and strategies—for instance, by allocating assets to cash, cash equivalent investments or other less volatile instruments — in response to adverse or unusual market, economic, political, or other conditions. In doing so, a Fund may succeed in avoiding losses but may otherwise fail to achieve its investment objective.

 

Time Deposits and Eurodollar Time Deposits

 

Each Fund may invest in time deposits, and specifically eurodollar time deposits. Time deposits are non-negotiable deposits, such as savings accounts or certificates of deposit, held by a financial institution for a fixed term with the understanding that the depositor can withdraw its money only by giving notice to the institution. However, there may be early withdrawal penalties depending upon market conditions and the remaining maturity of the obligation. Eurodollars are deposits denominated in dollars at banks outside of the United States and Canada and thus, are not under the jurisdiction of the Federal Reserve. Because Eurodollar time deposits are held by financial institutions outside of the United States and Canada, they may be subject to less regulation and therefore, may pose more risk to a Fund than investments in their U.S. or Canadian counterparts.

 

U.S. Government Securities

 

Each Fund may invest in U.S. government securities. Securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities include U.S. Treasury securities, which are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury and which differ only in their interest rates, maturities, and times of issuance. U.S. Treasury bills have initial maturities of one-year or less; U.S. Treasury notes have initial maturities of one to ten years; and U.S. Treasury bonds generally have initial maturities of greater than ten years. Certain U.S. government securities are issued or guaranteed by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government including, but not limited to, obligations of U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”), the Government National Mortgage Association (“Ginnie Mae”), the Small Business Administration, the Federal Farm Credit Administration, the Federal Home Loan Banks, Banks for Cooperatives (including the Central Bank for Cooperatives), the Federal Land Banks, the Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Federal Financing Bank, the Student Loan Marketing Association, the National Credit Union Administration and the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac).

 

Some obligations issued or guaranteed by U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities, including, for example, Ginnie Mae pass-through certificates, are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury. Other obligations issued by or guaranteed by federal agencies, such as those securities issued by Fannie Mae, are supported by the discretionary authority of the U.S. government to purchase certain obligations of the federal agency, while other obligations issued by or guaranteed by federal agencies, such as those of the Federal Home Loan Banks, are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury, while the U.S. government provides financial support to such U.S. government-sponsored federal agencies, no assurance can be given that the U.S. government will always do so, since the U.S. government is not so obligated by law. U.S. Treasury notes and bonds typically pay coupon interest semi-annually and repay the principal at maturity.

 

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Valuation Risk

 

The sale price a Fund could receive for a security may differ from the Fund’s valuation of the security, particularly for securities or assets that trade low volume or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology. In addition, the value of the securities or assets in a Fund’s portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell a Fund’s Shares.

 

Warrants and Subscription Rights

 

Warrants are equity securities in the form of options issued by a corporation which give the holder the right to purchase stock, usually at a price that is higher than the market price at the time the warrant is issued. A purchaser takes the risk that the warrant may expire worthless because the market price of the common stock fails to rise above the price set by the warrant.

 

When-Issued Securities, Delayed-Delivery and Forward Commitment Securities

 

A when-issued, delayed-delivery or forward commitment security is one whose terms are available and for which a market exists, but which have not been issued. If a Fund engages in when-issued, delayed-delivery or forward commitment transactions, it relies on the other party to consummate the sale. If the other party fails to complete the sale, a Fund may miss the opportunity to obtain the security at a favorable price or yield.

 

When purchasing a security on a when-issued, delayed-delivery or forward commitment basis, a Fund assumes the rights and risks of ownership of the security, including the risk of price and yield changes. At the time of settlement, the market value of the security may be more or less than the purchase price. The yield available in the market when the delivery takes place also may be higher than those obtained in the transaction itself. Because a Fund does not pay for the security until the delivery date, these risks are in addition to the risks associated with its other investments.

 

Decisions to enter into when-issued, delayed-delivery or forward commitment transactions will be considered on a case-by-case basis when necessary to maintain continuity in a company’s index membership.

 

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INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS AND POLICIES

 

The Trust has adopted the following investment restrictions as fundamental policies with respect to a Fund. These restrictions cannot be changed without the approval of the holders of a majority of a Fund’s outstanding voting securities. For purposes of the 1940 Act, a majority of the outstanding voting securities of a Fund means the vote, at an annual or a special meeting of the security holders of the Trust, of the lesser of (1) 67% or more of the voting securities of the Fund present at such meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund are present or represented by proxy, or (2) more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. Under these restrictions:

 

  1. Each Fund may not make loans, except that the Fund may: (i) lend portfolio securities; (ii) enter into repurchase agreements; (iii) purchase all or a portion of an issue of debt securities, bank loan or participation interests, bank certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances, debentures or other securities, whether or not the purchase is made upon the original issuance of the securities; and (iv) participate in an interfund lending program with other registered investment companies;
     
  2. Each Fund may not borrow money, except as permitted under the 1940 Act, and as interpreted or modified by regulation from time to time;
     
  3. Each Fund may not issue senior securities, except as permitted under the 1940 Act, and as interpreted or modified by regulation from time to time;
     
  4. Each Fund may not purchase or sell real estate, except that the Fund may: (i) invest in securities of issuers that invest in real estate or interests therein; (ii) invest in mortgage-related securities and other securities that are secured by real estate or interests therein; and (iii) hold and sell real estate acquired by the Fund as a result of the ownership of securities;
     
  5. Each Fund may not engage in the business of underwriting securities issued by others, except to the extent that the Fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“Securities Act”), in the disposition of restricted securities or in connection with its investments in other investment companies;
     
  6. Each Fund may not purchase or sell commodities, unless acquired as a result of owning securities or other instruments, but it may purchase, sell or enter into financial options and futures, forward and spot currency contracts, swap transactions and other financial contracts or derivative instruments and may invest in securities or other instruments backed by commodities; and
     
  7.  Each Fund may not purchase any security if, as a result of that purchase, more than 25% of the Fund’s net assets would be invested in securities of issuers having their principal business activities in the same industry or group of industries. This limit does not apply to securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities.

 

If a percentage limitation is adhered to at the time of investment or contract, a later increase or decrease in percentage resulting from any change in value or total or net assets will not result in a violation of such restriction, except that the percentage limitations with respect to the borrowing of money will be continuously complied with.

 

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With respect to interpretations of the SEC or its staff described in fundamental restriction number 2 and number 3 above, the SEC and its staff have identified various securities trading practices and derivative instruments used by mutual funds that give rise to potential senior security issues under Section 18(f) of the 1940 Act, which prohibits mutual funds from issuing senior securities. Under the 1940 Act, a mutual fund may borrow from a bank, provided that immediately after any such borrowing there is an asset coverage of at least 300 percent for all borrowings; or from a bank or other persons for temporary purposes only, provided that such temporary borrowings are in an amount not exceeding 5% of a Fund’s total assets at the time when the borrowing is made. However, rather than rigidly deeming all such practices outside of bank borrowing as impermissible forms of issuing a “senior security” under Section 18(f), the SEC and its staff through interpretive releases, including Investment Company Act Release No. 10666 (April 18, 1979), and no-action letters has developed an evolving series of methods by which a fund may address senior security issues. In particular, the common theme in this line of guidance has been to use methods of “covering” fund obligations that might otherwise create a senior security-type obligation by holding sufficient liquid assets that permit a fund to meet potential trading and derivative-related obligations. Thus, a potential Section 18(f) senior security limitation is not applicable to activities that might be deemed to involve a form of the issuance or sale of a senior security by a Fund, provided that a Fund’s engagement in such activities is consistent with or permitted by Section 18 of the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder or interpretations of the SEC or its staff.

 

BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE TRUST

 

The Board of the Trust consists of four Trustees, three of whom are not “interested persons” (as defined in the 1940 Act), of the Trust (“Independent Trustees”). The Board is responsible for overseeing the management and operations of the Trust, including the general oversight of the duties and responsibilities performed by the Adviser and other service providers to the Trust. The Adviser is responsible for the day-to-day administration, operation and business affairs of the Trust.

 

The Board believes that each Trustee’s experience, qualifications, attributes or skills on an individual basis and in combination with those of the other Trustees lead to the conclusion that the Board possesses the requisite skills and attributes to carry out its oversight responsibilities with respect to the Trust. The Board believes that the Trustees’ ability to review, critically evaluate, question and discuss information provided to them, to interact effectively with the Adviser, the Trust’s other service providers, counsel and independent auditors, and to exercise effective business judgment in the performance of their duties, support this conclusion. In reaching its conclusion, the Board also has considered the (i) experience, qualifications, attributes and/or skills, among others, of its members, (ii) each member’s character and integrity, (iii) the length of service as a board member of the Trust, (iv) each person’s willingness to serve and ability to commit the time necessary to perform the duties of a Trustee, and (v) as to each Independent Trustee, such Trustee’s status as not being an “interested person” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust. In addition, the following specific experience, qualifications, attributes and/or skills apply as to each Trustee.

 

References to the experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills of Trustees are pursuant to requirements of the SEC, do not constitute the holding out of the Board or any Trustee as having any special expertise or experience, and shall not impose any greater responsibility or liability on any such person or on the Board by reason thereof.

 

The Trustees of the Trust, their addresses, positions with the Trust, ages, term of office and length of time served, principal occupations during the past five years, the number of portfolios in the Fund Complex overseen by each Trustee and other directorships, if any, held by the Trustees, are set forth below.

 

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The Board is also responsible for overseeing the nature, extent, and quality of the services provided to a Fund by the Advisers and receives information about those services at its regular meetings. In addition, on an annual basis (following the initial two-year period), in connection with its consideration of whether to renew the investment advisory agreement with the Adviser or sub-advisory agreement between the Adviser and Sub-Adviser on behalf of a Fund, the Board or its designee may meet with the Adviser or Sub-Adviser, as appropriate, to review such services. Among other things, the Board regularly considers the Advisers’ adherence to a Fund’s investment restrictions and compliance with various Fund policies and procedures and with applicable securities regulations. The Board also reviews information about a Fund’s performance and a Fund’s investments, including, for example, portfolio holdings schedules.

 

The Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer reports regularly to the Board to review and discuss compliance issues and Fund or Adviser or Sub-Adviser risk assessments. At least annually, the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer provides the Board with a report reviewing the adequacy and effectiveness of the Trust’s policies and procedures and those of its service providers, including the Adviser. The report addresses the operation of the policies and procedures of the Trust and each service provider since the date of the last report; any material changes to the policies and procedures since the date of the last report; any recommendations for material changes to the policies and procedures; and any material compliance matters since the date of the last report.

 

The Board receives reports from each Fund’s service providers regarding operational risks and risks related to the valuation and liquidity of portfolio securities. Annually, each Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm reviews with the Audit Committee its audit of the Fund’s financial statements, focusing on major areas of risk encountered by a Fund and noting any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the Fund’s internal controls. Additionally, in connection with its oversight function, the Board oversees Fund management’s implementation of disclosure controls and procedures, which are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Trust in its periodic reports with the SEC are recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the required time periods. The Board also oversees the Trust’s internal controls over financial reporting, which comprise policies and procedures designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of the Trust’s financial reporting and the preparation of the Trust’s financial statements.

 

From their review of these reports and discussions with the Advisers, the Chief Compliance Officer, the independent registered public accounting firm and other service providers, the Board and the Audit Committee learn in detail about the material risks of a Fund, thereby facilitating a dialogue about how management and service providers identify and mitigate those risks.

 

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

 

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Independent Trustees

 

The address of each trustee is c/o Tema ETF Trust, Brookfield Place, 200 Vesey Street, Suite 24106, New York, NY 10281. Each Trustee serves for the life of the Trust, subject to their earlier death, incapacitation, resignation, retirement or removal as more specifically provided in the Trust’s organizational documents.

 

Name, Year of Birth,
and Position(s) held
with the Trust
  Length of
Time Served
  Principal Occupation(s) During Past Five Years   Number of
Portfolios in the
Fund Complex
Overseen
  Other
Directorships Held
by Trustee During
Past Five Years

John Jacobs 

1959

  Since inception   Alerian (Chairman, June 2018 to Present); Georgetown University (Academic Staff, 2015 to Present); Nasdaq (Executive Vice President and Senior Advisor, 2013-2016).   8   Trustee, SHP ETF Trust

Richard Keary 

1962

  Since inception   Principal/Founder, Global ETF Advisors, LLC (March 2009 – Present).   8   Trustee, SHP ETF Trust

Robert Sherry 

1963

  Since inception   Chief Operating Officer, Digital Prime Technologies (January 2022-Present); Head of US Prime Brokerage, Maybank Kim Eng Securities USA, Inc. (September 2020 – January 2022);Consultant, Maybank Kim Eng Securities USA, Inc. (February 2020 – September 2020); Chief Operating Officer, Cantor Fitzgerald & CF Secured (September 2009 – April 2018).   8   Trustee, SHP ETF Trust
                 

Interested Trustees and Officers

 

The address of each trustee is c/o Tema ETF Trust, Brookfield Place, 200 Vesey Street, Suite 24106, New York, NY 10281. Each Trustee serves for the life of the Trust, subject to their earlier death, incapacitation, resignation, retirement or removal as more specifically provided in the Trust’s organizational documents.

 

Name, Year of Birth, and
Position(s) held with the
Trust
  Length of Time
Served
  Principal Occupation(s) During Past Five Years   Number of
Portfolios in the
Fund Complex
Overseen
  Other
Directorships
Held By Trustee
During Past Five Years
Matthew Keeling*   Since Inception   Tema Global Limited (Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, May 2022 – present) Bermont Advisors Limited (Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, Dec 2019 – August 2022), SV Health Investors (Fund Controller, March 2018 – December 2019) and PwC (Audit Manager, pre March 2018)   8   None

*Indicates an “interested person” of the Trust, as that term is defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act. Mr. Keeling is deemed to be an interested person due to senior leadership positions with the Fund’s investment adviser.

 

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Officer Information

 

The Officers of the Trust, their addresses, positions with the Trust, ages and principal occupations during the past five years are set forth below.

 

The address for each officer is c/o Tema ETF Trust, Brookfield Place, 200 Vesey Street, Suite 24106, New York, NY 10281. Each officer of serves for a one-year term or until their successors are elected and qualified.

 

Officer’s Name,
and Year of Birth
Position(s) Held
with the Trust
Length of Time Served Principal Occupation(s) During The Past Five Years

Matthew Keeling 

1989 

President  Since inception Tema Global Limited (Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, May 2022 – present) Bermont Advisors Limited (Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, Dec 2019 – August 2022), SV Health Investors (Fund Controller, March 2018 – December 2019) and PwC (Audit Manager, pre March 2018)

Maurits Pot 

1988 

 Chairman Since inception Tema Global Limited (Founder; Chief Investment Officer, 2021 to present); Dawn Global (Chief Executive Officer, June 2021 – present); Kingsway Capital (Partner, February 2016 – September 2021)

Garrett Paolella 

1986 

Secretary Since inception Managing Partner, Intersect Capital Management (January 2021 – Present); Partner, Slate Hill Partners (October 2020 – Present); Managing Director and Portfolio Manager, Harvest Volatility Management (June 2018 – Present); Managing Director, Horizons ETFs USA (October 2016 – June 2018)

Troy Cates

1976

Assistant Secretary Since inception Managing Partner, NEOS Investment Management, LLC (April 2022 to present); Managing Director, Harvest Volatility Management (June 2018 to present); Head of Trading, Intersect Capital Management (April 2021 to present); Managing Director, Horizons ETFs Management (USA) LLC (November 2016 – June 2018)

Jack Huntington 

1970 

Chief Compliance Officer Since inception Senior Principal Consultant and Fund Chief Compliance Officer at Foreside Fund Officer Services, LLC (October 2015 to present)

Josh Hunter 

1981 

Treasurer Since inception Fund Principal Financial Officer, Foreside Fund Officer Services LLC (July 2015 - Present)

 

 

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Board Committees

 

The Board has an Audit Committee consisting of the three Trustees who are Independent Trustees. John Jacobs, an Independent Trustee, is the Chairman of the Audit Committee and has been designated as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined under Item 407 of Regulation S-K of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”). The Audit Committee has the responsibility, among other things, to: (i) oversee the accounting and financial reporting processes of the Trust and its internal control over financial reporting; (ii) oversee the quality and integrity of the Trust’s financial statements and the independent audit thereof; (iii) oversee or, as appropriate, assist the Board’s oversight of the Trust’s compliance with legal and regulatory requirements that relate to the Trust’s accounting and financial reporting, internal control over financial reporting and independent audit; (iv) approve prior to appointment the engagement of the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm and, in connection therewith, to review and evaluate the qualifications, independence and performance of the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm; and (v) act as a liaison between the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm and the full Board.

 

The Board also has a Nominating Committee consisting of the four Trustees who are Independent Trustees. Richard Keary, an Independent Trustee, is the Chairman of the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee is responsible for recommending qualified candidates to the Board in the event that a position is vacated or created. The Nominating Committee would consider recommendations by shareholders if a vacancy were to exist. Shareholders may recommend candidates for Board positions by forwarding their correspondence to the Secretary of the Trust at the Trust’s address and the shareholder communication will be forwarded to the Committee Chairperson for evaluation In considering Trustee nominee candidates, the Nominating Committee takes into account a wide variety of factors, including the overall diversity of the Board’s composition. The Nominating Committee believes the Board generally benefits from diversity of background, experience and views among its members, and considers this a factor in evaluating the composition of the Board, but has not adopted any specific policy in this regard.

 

The Board has determined that its leadership structure is appropriate given the business and nature of the Trust. In connection with its determination, the Board considered that the Chairman of the Board is an Independent Trustee. The Chairman of the Board can play an important role in setting the agenda of the Board and also serves as a key point person for dealings between management and the other Independent Trustees. The Independent Trustees believe that the Chairman’s independence facilitates meaningful dialogue between the Advisers and the Independent Trustees. The Board also considered that the Chairman of the Audit Committee is an Independent Trustee, which yields similar benefits with respect to the functions and activities of the various Board committees. The Independent Trustees also regularly meet outside the presence of management. The Board has determined that its committees help ensure that the Trust has effective and independent governance and oversight. The Board also believes that its leadership structure facilitates the orderly and efficient flow of information to the Independent Trustees from management of the Trust, including the Advisers. The Board reviews its structure on an annual basis.

 

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As an integral part of its responsibility for oversight of the Trust in the interests of shareholders, the Board, as a general matter, oversees risk management of the Trust’s investment programs and business affairs. The function of the Board with respect to risk management is one of oversight and not active involvement in, or coordination of, day-to-day risk management activities for the Trust. The Board recognizes that (i) not all risks that may affect the Trust can be identified, (ii) it may not be practical or cost-effective to eliminate or mitigate certain risks, (iii) it may be necessary to bear certain risks (such as investment-related risks) to achieve the Trust’s goals, and (iv) the processes, procedures and controls employed to address certain risks may be limited in their effectiveness. Moreover, reports received by the Trustees that may relate to risk management matters are typically summaries of the relevant information.

 

The Board exercises oversight of the risk management process primarily through the Audit Committee, and through oversight by the Board itself. The Trust faces a number of risks, such as investment-related and compliance risks. The Advisers’ personnel seek to identify and address risks, i.e., events or circumstances that could have material adverse effects on the business, operations, shareholder services, investment performance or reputation of the Trust. Under the overall supervision of the Board or the applicable Committee of the Board, the Trust, Advisers employ a variety of processes, procedures and controls to identify such possible events or circumstances, to lessen the probability of their occurrence and/or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur. Different processes, procedures and controls are employed with respect to different types of risks. Various personnel, including the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer, as well as various personnel of the Advisers and other service providers such as the Trust’s independent accountants, may report to the Audit Committee and/or to the Board with respect to various aspects of risk management, as well as events and circumstances that have arisen and responses thereto.

 

As of the date of this SAI, the officers and Trustees of the Trust, in the aggregate, do not own any Shares of any Fund.

 

For each Trustee, the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by the Trustee in the Trust and in all registered investment companies advised by the Adviser (“Family of Investment Companies”) that are overseen by the Trustee is shown below. 

 

Name of Trustee Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Trust
(as of [________], 2023)
Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity Securities in all
Registered Investment Companies Overseen By
Trustee In Family of Investment Companies
(as of [________], 2023)
Matthew Keeling None None
     
John Jacobs None None
     
Richard Keary None None
     
Robert Sherry None None
     

 

37

 

As to each Independent Trustee and his immediate family members, no person owned beneficially or of record securities in the Advisers or the Distributor, or a person (other than a registered investment company) directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with any Adviser or the Distributor.

 

Shareholder Communications to the Board

 

Shareholders may send communications to the 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). The shareholder may send the communication to either the Trust’s office or directly to such Board members at the address specified for each Trustee. Other shareholder communications received by the Trust not directly addressed and sent to the Board will be reviewed and generally responded to by management. Such communications will be forwarded to the Board at management’s discretion based on the matters contained therein.

 

Remuneration of Trustees

 

Each current Independent Trustee is paid an annual retainer of $12,500 for his or her services as a Board member to the Trust, together with out-of-pocket expenses in accordance with the Board’s policy on travel and other business expenses relating to attendance at meetings.

 

Annual Trustee fees may be reviewed periodically and changed by the Board.

 

Both the Funds and the Trust are new and thus information about the compensation paid to the Trustees by the Trust for its most recent fiscal year is not available.

 

Limitation of Trustees’ Liability

 

The Declaration of Trust provides that a Trustee shall be liable only for his or her own willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of the office of Trustee, and shall not be liable for errors of judgment or mistakes of fact or law. The Trustees shall not be responsible or liable in any event for any neglect or wrong-doing of any officer, agent, employee, adviser or principal underwriter of the Trust, nor shall any Trustee be responsible for the act or omission of any other Trustee. The Declaration of Trust also provides that the Trust shall indemnify each person who is, or has been, a Trustee, officer, employee or agent of the Trust, any person who is serving or has served at the Trust’s request as a Trustee, officer, trustee, employee or agent of another organization in which the Trust has any interest as a shareholder, creditor or otherwise to the extent and in the manner provided in the Amended and Restated By-laws. However, nothing in the Declaration of Trust shall protect or indemnify a Trustee against any liability for his or her willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of the office of Trustee. Nothing contained in this section attempts to disclaim a Trustee’s individual liability in any manner inconsistent with the federal securities laws.

 

38

 

MANAGEMENT AND OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS

 

The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled “Management of Each Fund.”

 

Investment Adviser

 

Tema Global Limited, located at 2nd Floor, The Le Gallais Building, 54 Bath Street, St Helier Jersey JE1 1FW, serves as the investment adviser to the Funds. The Adviser is a limited company formed in 2021 to provide investment advisory services to registered investment companies. In addition, Tema Global Limited developed the investment strategy for each Fund.

 

Under an investment advisory agreement between the Trust, on behalf of each Fund, and the Adviser (the “Management Agreement”), the Adviser provides investment advisory services to the Funds, including providing oversight of the Sub-Adviser, as well as daily monitoring of the purchase and sale of securities by the Sub-Adviser for the Funds and regular review of the Sub-Adviser’s performance. The Management Agreement provides that the Adviser will furnish investment advisory services in connection with the management of the Funds. The Adviser provides portfolio management services, including developing investment recommendations, and provides certain administrative services as well as overseeing and monitoring the nature and quality of the services provided by other service providers to the Funds. The Adviser performs compliance monitoring services to help each Fund maintain compliance with applicable laws and regulations and provides services related to, among others, the valuation of Fund securities, risk management and oversight of trade execution and brokerage services carried out by the Sub-Adviser.

 

Subject to the general oversight of the Board, the Adviser provides or causes to be furnished all supervisory and other services reasonably necessary for the operation of the Funds, audit, portfolio accounting, legal, transfer agency, custody, printing costs, certain administrative services (provided pursuant to a separate administration agreement), certain distribution services (provided pursuant to a separate distribution agreement), certain shareholder and distribution-related services (provided pursuant to a separate Rule 12b-1 Plan and related agreements) and investment management and investment advisory services (provided pursuant to the Management Agreement) under what is essentially an all-in fee structure.

 

Each Fund pays the Adviser a unified fee (“Management Fee”) under the Management Agreement in return for providing investment management, investment advisory and supervisory services and for being obligated to pay certain Fund expenses discussed above. The Adviser is paid a monthly Management Fee at an annual rate of 0.[ ]% of the average daily net assets of each Fund. Under a unitary fee structure, the Adviser is responsible for paying substantially all the expenses of each Fund, excluding payments under the Fund’s 12b-1 plan (if any), interest expenses, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage fees, costs of holding shareholder meetings, litigation, indemnification and extraordinary expenses. The Adviser may from time to time waive all or a portion of its Management Fee. Fee waivers and subsidies will increase a Fund’s total return. These voluntary waivers may be terminated at any time without notice.

 

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board of Trustees’ approval of the Management Agreement for each Fund will be available in each Fund’s first shareholder report.

 

39

 

Pursuant to the Management Agreement, each Fund has agreed to indemnify the Adviser for certain liabilities, including certain liabilities arising under the federal securities laws, unless such loss or liability results from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations and duties. The Management Agreement is terminable upon 60 days’ notice by the Adviser and will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act). 

 

The Adviser is obligated to keep certain books and records of the Funds. Under the Management Agreement, the Adviser is responsible for managing the assets of each Fund in accordance with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions. The Adviser determines what securities and other instruments are purchased and sold for each Fund and is responsible for obtaining and evaluating financial data relevant to the Fund.

 

Sub-Adviser

 

 The Sub-Adviser is responsible for the execution of each Fund’s investment strategy at the direction of the Adviser. The Sub-Adviser trades portfolio securities and other investment instruments on behalf of the Fund, including selecting broker-dealers to execute purchase and sale transactions, as instructed by the Adviser, subject to the supervision of the Adviser and the Board. Under a sub-advisory agreement, the Adviser pays the Sub-Adviser a fee, calculated daily and paid quarterly, out of the fee the Adviser receives from the Fund.

 

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board of Trustees’ approval of the Sub-Advisory Agreement for each Fund will be available in each Fund’s first shareholder report.

 

 Other Accounts Managed by the Portfolio Managers

 

Name of Portfolio Manager

Other Accounts Managed 

 

([ ])  

Accounts with respect to which the advisory fee is based on the performance of the account
Category of Account Number of
Accounts in
Category
Total Assets in
Accounts in
Category
Number of
Accounts in
Category
Total Assets in
Accounts in
Category

Maurits Pot

 

Registered investment companies

 

[  ] $[  ]     [  ] $[   ]

Other pooled investment vehicles

 

[  ] $[  ]     [  ] $[  ]

Other accounts

 

[  ] $[  ]     [  ] $[  ]
Garrett Paolella

Registered investment companies

 

[  ] $[  ]     [  ] $[  ]

Other pooled investment vehicles

 

[  ] $[  ]     [  ] $[  ]

Other accounts

 

[  ] $[  ]     [  ] $[  ]

Troy Cates

 

Registered investment companies

 

[  ] $[  ]     [  ] $[  ]

Other pooled investment vehicles

 

[  ] $[  ]     [  ] $[  ]

Other accounts

 

[  ] $[  ]     [  ] $[  ]

Ryan Houlton

 

Registered investment companies

 

[  ] $[  ]     [  ] $[  ]

Other pooled investment vehicles

 

[  ] $[  ]     [  ] $[  ]

Other accounts

 

[  ] $[  ]     [  ] $[  ]

Javier Gonzalez Lastra

 

Registered investment companies

 

[  ] $[  ]     [  ] $[  ]

Other pooled investment vehicles

 

[  ] $[  ]     [  ] $[  ]

Other accounts

 

[  ] $[  ]     [  ] $[  ]

 

40

 

Portfolio Manager Compensation

 

Messrs. Pot, Khodjamirian, and Lastra each receive a base salary and are equity holders in the Adviser’s parent company. Neither Messrs. Pot, Khodjamirian, nor Lastra receive a discretionary bonus.

 

Messrs. Paolella and Cates each receive a base salary and are equity holders in the Adviser. Neither Mr. Paolella nor Mr. Cates receive a discretionary bonus. Mr. Houlton receives a base salary and annual discretionary bonus from the Adviser that is not tied to the performance of the Funds.

 

Portfolio Manager Share Ownership

 

As of the date of this SAI, no Portfolio Manager beneficially own Shares of any Fund.

 

Conflicts of Interest

 

A conflict of interest may arise as a result of a Portfolio Manager being responsible for multiple accounts, including the Funds that may have different investment guidelines and objectives. In addition to the Funds, these accounts may include other mutual funds managed on an advisory basis, separate accounts and collective trust accounts. An investment opportunity may be suitable for a Fund as well as for any of the other managed accounts. However, the investment may not be available in sufficient quantity for all of the accounts to participate fully. In addition, there may be limited opportunity to sell an investment held by a Fund or the other account. The other accounts may have similar investment objectives or strategies as a Fund, may track the same benchmarks as the Fund tracks, and may sell securities that are eligible to be held, sold or purchased by the Funds. The Portfolio Manager may be responsible for accounts that have different advisory fee schedules, such as performance-based fees, which may create an incentive for the Portfolio Manager to favor one account over another in terms of access to investment opportunities or the allocation of the Portfolio Manager’s time and resources. The Portfolio Manager may also manage accounts whose investment objectives and policies differ from those of a Fund, which may cause the Portfolio Manager to effect trading in one account that may have an adverse effect on the value of the holdings within another account, including the Fund.

 

41

 

To address and manage these potential conflicts of interest, each Adviser has adopted compliance policies and procedures to allocate investment opportunities and to ensure that each of their clients is treated on a fair and equitable basis. Such policies and procedures include, but are not limited to, trade allocation and trade aggregation policies and oversight by investment management and the Compliance team.

 

Custodian

 

US Bank (the “Custodian”), located at 615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, WI 53202, serves as custodian for each Fund pursuant to a custody agreement between the Trust, on behalf of the Funds, and the Custodian. In that capacity, the Custodian holds the Fund’s assets.

 

Transfer Agent and Administrator

 

U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (the “Administrator”), located at 615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202, serves as each Fund’s transfer agent pursuant to a transfer agent servicing agreement. In addition, the Administrator provides various accounting services to the Funds pursuant to the Fund’s accounting servicing agreement. The Trust and the Administrator have entered into an administration servicing agreement (“Administration Agreement”). Under the Administration Agreement, the Administrator provides the Trust with administrative services, including providing certain operational, clerical, recordkeeping and/or bookkeeping services. The Administration Agreement provides that the Administrator shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Trust in connection with the matters to which the Administration Agreement relates, except a loss resulting from the Administrator’s refusal or failure to comply with the terms of the Administration Agreement or from the Administrator’s bad faith, negligence, or willful misconduct in the performance of its duties under the Administration Agreement.

 

42

 

Distributor

 

Foreside Fund Services, LLC (the “Distributor”), located at Foreside Fund Services, LLC, at Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101 serves as the distributor of Creation Units for the Trust on an agency basis. The Trust has entered into a Distribution Agreement with the Distributor (“Distribution Agreement”), under which the Distributor, as agent, reviews and approves orders by Authorized Participants to create and redeem Shares in Creation Units. The Distributor is a broker-dealer registered under the 1934 Act and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”). Shares will be continuously offered for sale only in Creation Units. The Distributor will deliver a prospectus to Authorized Participants purchasing Shares in Creation Units and will maintain records of confirmations of acceptance furnished by it to Authorized Participants. The Distributor has no role in determining the investment policies of any Fund or which securities are to be purchased or sold by the Fund. No compensation is payable by the Trust to the Distributor for such distribution services. However, the Adviser has entered into an agreement with the Distributor under which it makes payments to the Distributor in consideration for its services under the Distribution Agreement. The payments made by the Adviser to the Distributor do not represent an additional expense to the Trust, a Fund or its shareholders.

 

The Distributor may also enter into agreements with securities dealers (“Dealers”) who will assist in the distribution of Shares. The Distributor will only enter into agreements with firms wishing to purchase Creation Units if the firm qualifies as an Authorized Participant (as discussed in “Procedures for Purchase of Creation Units” below) or DTC participants (as defined below).

 

The Distribution Agreement will continue for two years from its effective date and is renewable thereafter. The continuance of the Distribution Agreement must be specifically approved at least annually (i) by the vote of the Trustees or by a vote of the shareholders of a Fund and (ii) by the vote of a majority of the Trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Trust and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operations of the Distribution Agreement or any related agreement, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. The Distribution Agreement is terminable without penalty by the Trust on 60 days’ written notice when authorized either by majority vote of its outstanding voting shares or by a vote of a majority of its Board (including a majority of the Independent Trustees), or by the Distributor on 60 days written notice, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment. The Distribution Agreement provides that in the absence of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of the Distributor, or reckless disregard by it of its obligations thereunder, the Distributor shall not be liable for any action or failure to act in accordance with its duties thereunder.

 

The Adviser or its affiliates, out of its own resources and not out of Fund assets (i.e., without additional cost to a Fund or its shareholders), may pay certain broker dealers, banks and other financial intermediaries (“Intermediaries”) for certain activities related to a Fund, including participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more knowledgeable about exchange traded products, including a Fund, or for other activities, such as marketing and educational training or support. These arrangements are not financed by a Fund and, thus, do not result in increased Fund expenses. They are not reflected in the fees and expenses listed in the fees and expenses sections of a Fund’s Prospectus and they do not change the price paid by investors for the purchase of Shares or the amount received by a shareholder as proceeds from the redemption of Shares. Such compensation may be paid to Intermediaries that provide services to a Fund, including marketing and education support (such as through conferences, webinars and printed communications). The Adviser periodically assesses the advisability of continuing to make these payments. Payments to an Intermediary may be significant to the Intermediary, and amounts that Intermediaries pay to your adviser, broker or other investment professional, if any, may also be significant to such adviser, broker or investment professional. Because an Intermediary may make decisions about what investment options it will make available or recommend, and what services to provide in connection with various products, based on payments it receives or is eligible to receive, such payments create conflicts of interest between the Intermediary and its clients. For example, these financial incentives may cause the Intermediary to recommend a Fund over other investments. The same conflict of interest exists with respect to your financial adviser, broker or investment professional if he or she receives similar payments from his or her Intermediary firm.

 

43

 

Intermediary information is current only as of the date of this SAI. Please contact your adviser, broker or other investment professional for more information regarding any payments his or her Intermediary firm may receive.

 

Any payments made by the Adviser or its affiliates to an Intermediary may create the incentive for an Intermediary to encourage customers to buy Shares.

 

Counsel

 

Thompson Hine LLP is counsel to the Trust, including each Fund and the Trustees that are not interested persons of the Trust, as that term is defined in the 1940 Act.

 

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

[____________] serves as the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm and audits each Fund’s financial statements and performs other related audit services.

 

PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS DISCLOSURE

 

The Board has adopted a policy regarding the disclosure of information about each Fund’s portfolio securities. Under the policy, portfolio holdings of a Fund, which will form the basis for the calculation of NAV, are publicly disseminated each day a Fund is open for business through financial reporting and news services, including publicly accessible Internet web sites. In addition, a basket composition file, which includes the security names and share quantities to deliver in exchange for Creation Units, together with estimates and actual Cash Amounts is publicly disseminated daily prior to the opening of the Exchange via the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”), a clearing agency that is registered with the SEC. The basket represents one Creation Unit of a Fund. The Trust, the Adviser, Administrator, Custodian and Distributor will not disseminate non-public information concerning the Trust.

 

QUARTERLY PORTFOLIO SCHEDULE

 

The Trust is required to disclose, after its first and third fiscal quarters, the complete schedule of each Fund’s portfolio holdings with the SEC on Form N-PORT. Form N-PORT for each Fund will be available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

 

CODE OF ETHICS

 

The Trust and the Advisers have each adopted codes of ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act. These codes of ethics are designed to prevent affiliated persons of the Trust and the Advisers from engaging in deceptive, manipulative or fraudulent activities in connection with securities held or to be acquired by a Fund (which may also be held by persons subject to the codes of ethics). Each Code of Ethics permits personnel subject to that Code of Ethics to invest in securities for their personal investment accounts, subject to certain limitations, including limitations related to securities that may be purchased or held by a Fund. The Distributor (as defined above) relies on the principal underwriters exception under Rule 17j-1(c)(3), specifically where the Distributor is not affiliated with the Trust and the Advisers, and no officer, director, or general partner of the Distributor serves as an officer, director, or general partner of the Trust or the Advisers.

 

There can be no assurance that the codes of ethics will be effective in preventing such activities. Each code of ethics may be examined at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

 

44

 

PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

 

Information regarding how each Fund voted proxies related to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available, without charge, upon request, by calling 1.888.744.1377 or on the Funds’ website, http://www.tema.co and on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. Proxies for each Fund’s portfolio securities are voted in accordance with the Adviser’s proxy voting policies and procedures, which are set forth in Appendix A to this SAI.

 

The Trust is required to disclose annually each Fund’s complete proxy voting record on Form N-PX covering the period July 1 through June 30 and file it with the SEC no later than August 31. Form N-PX for each Fund is available by writing to the Trust, c/o Foreside Fund Services, LLC at Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, PortlandMaine 04101. Each Fund’s Form N-PX will also be available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

 

BROKERAGE TRANSACTIONS

 

The policy of the Trust regarding purchases and sales of securities for each Fund is that primary consideration will be given to obtaining the most favorable prices and efficient executions of transactions. Consistent with this policy, when securities transactions are effected on a stock exchange, the Trust’s policy is to pay commissions that are considered fair and reasonable without necessarily determining that the lowest possible commissions are paid in all circumstances. The Trust believes that a requirement always to seek the lowest possible commission cost could impede effective portfolio management and preclude a Fund and the Sub-Adviser from obtaining a high quality of brokerage and research services. In seeking to determine the reasonableness of brokerage commissions paid in any transaction, the Sub-Adviser will rely upon its experience and knowledge regarding commissions generally charged by various brokers and on its judgment in evaluating the brokerage services received from the broker effecting the transaction. Such determinations are necessarily subjective and imprecise, as in most cases, an exact dollar value for those services is not ascertainable. Money market securities and other debt securities are usually bought and sold directly from the issuer or an underwriter or market maker for the securities. Generally, a Fund will not pay brokerage commissions for such purchases. When a debt security is bought from an underwriter, the purchase price will usually include an underwriting commission or concession. The purchase price for securities bought from dealers serving as market makers will similarly include the dealer’s mark up or reflect a dealer’s mark down. When a Fund executes transactions in the over-the-counter market, it will generally deal with primary market makers unless prices that are more favorable are otherwise obtainable. The Trust has adopted policies and procedures that prohibit the consideration of sales of Shares as a factor in the selection of a broker or dealer to execute its portfolio transactions.

 

The Sub-Adviser owes a fiduciary duty to its clients to seek to provide best execution on trades effected. In selecting a broker/dealer for each specific transaction, the Sub-Adviser chooses the broker/dealer deemed most capable of providing the services necessary to obtain the most favorable execution. “Best execution” is generally understood to mean the most favorable cost or net proceeds reasonably obtainable under the circumstances. The full range of brokerage services applicable to a particular transaction may be considered when making this judgment, which may include, but is not limited to: liquidity, price, commission, timing, aggregated trades, capable floor brokers or traders, competent block trading coverage, ability to position, capital strength and stability, reliable and accurate communications and settlement processing, use of automation, knowledge of other buyers or sellers, arbitrage skills, administrative ability, underwriting and provision of information on a particular security or market in which the transaction is to occur. The specific criteria will vary depending upon the nature of the transaction, the market in which it is executed, and the extent to which it is possible to select from among multiple broker/dealers. The Sub-Adviser will also use electronic crossing networks (“ECNs”) when appropriate.

 

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Subject to the foregoing policies, brokers or dealers selected to execute a Fund’s portfolio transactions may include the Fund’s Authorized Participants (as discussed in “Procedures for Purchase of Creation Units” below) or their affiliates. An Authorized Participant or its affiliates may be selected to execute a Fund’s portfolio transactions in conjunction with an all-cash creation unit order or an order including “cash-in-lieu” (as described below under “Purchase and Redemption of Shares in Creation Units”), so long as such selection is in keeping with the foregoing policies. As described below under “Purchase and Redemption of Shares in Creation Units—Creation Transaction Fee” and “—Redemption Transaction Fee”, a Fund may determine to not charge a variable fee on certain orders when the Sub-Adviser has determined that doing so is in the best interests of Fund shareholders, e.g., for creation orders that facilitate the rebalance of a Fund’s portfolio in a more tax efficient manner than could be achieved without such order, even if the decision to not charge a variable fee could be viewed as benefiting the Authorized Participant or its affiliate selected to executed a Fund’s portfolio transactions in connection with such orders.

 

Each Fund may deal with affiliates in principal transactions to the extent permitted by exemptive order or applicable rule or regulation.

 

The Sub-Adviser is responsible, subject to oversight by the Board, for placing orders on behalf of a Fund for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities. If purchases or sales of portfolio securities of a Fund and one or more other investment companies or clients supervised by the Sub-Adviser are considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities are allocated among the several investment companies and clients in a manner deemed equitable and consistent with its fiduciary obligations to all by the Sub-Adviser. In some cases, this procedure could have a detrimental effect on the price or volume of the security so far as a Fund is concerned. However, in other cases, it is possible that the ability to participate in volume transactions and to negotiate lower brokerage commissions will be beneficial to a Fund. The primary consideration is prompt execution of orders at the most favorable net price.

 

In certain instances, the Sub-Adviser may find it efficient for purposes of seeking to obtain best execution, to aggregate or “bunch” certain contemporaneous purchases or sale orders of its advisory accounts and advisory accounts of affiliates. In general, all contemporaneous trades for client accounts under management by the same portfolio manager or investment team will be bunched in a single order if the trader believes the bunched trade would provide each client with an opportunity to achieve a more favorable execution at a potentially lower execution cost. The costs associated with a bunched order will be shared pro rata among the clients in the bunched order. Generally, if an order for a particular portfolio manager or management team is filled at several different prices through multiple trades, all accounts participating in the order will receive the average price (except in the case of certain international markets where average pricing is not permitted). While in some cases this practice could have a detrimental effect upon the price or value of the security as far as a Fund are concerned, in other cases it could be beneficial to the Funds. Transactions effected by Sub-Adviser or the other affiliates on behalf of more than one of its clients during the same period may increase the demand for securities being purchased or the supply of securities being sold, causing an adverse effect on price. The trader will give the bunched order to the broker-dealer that the trader has identified as being able to provide the best execution of the order. Orders for purchase or sale of securities will be placed within a reasonable amount of time of the order receipt and bunched orders will be kept bunched only long enough to execute the order.

 

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Each Fund’s purchase and sale orders for securities may be combined with those of other investment companies, clients or accounts that the Sub-Adviser manages or advises. If purchases or sales of portfolio securities of the Funds and one or more other accounts managed or advised by the Sub-Adviser are considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities are allocated among the Funds and the other accounts in a manner deemed equitable to all by the Sub-Adviser. In some cases, this procedure could have a detrimental effect on the price or volume of the security as far as a Fund is concerned. However, in other cases, it is possible that the ability to participate in volume transactions and to negotiate lower transaction costs will be beneficial to a Fund. The Sub-Adviser may deal, trade and invest for its own account in the types of securities in which a Fund may invest. Each Fund will not deal with affiliates in principal transactions unless permitted by applicable SEC rules or regulations, or by SEC exemptive order.

 

Portfolio turnover may vary from year to year, as well as within a year.  High turnover rates may result in comparatively greater brokerage expenses.

 

As permitted by Section 28(e) of the 1934 Act, the Sub-Adviser may cause a Fund to pay a broker-dealer which provides “brokerage and research services” (as defined in the 1934 Act) to the Sub-Adviser an amount of disclosed commission or spread (sometimes called “soft dollars”) for effecting a securities transaction for the Trust in excess of the commission or spread which another broker-dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction, if the Sub-Adviser determines in good faith that the commission is reasonable given the brokerage and/or research services provided by the broker-dealer.

 

In selecting broker-dealers that provide research or brokerage services that are paid for with soft dollars, potential conflicts of interest may arise between the Sub-Adviser and the Trust because the Sub-Adviser does not produce or pay for these research or brokerage services, but rather uses brokerage commissions generated by Fund transactions to pay for them. In addition, the Sub-Adviser may have an incentive to select a broker-dealer based upon the broker-dealer’s research or brokerage services instead of the broker-dealer’s ability to achieve best execution.

 

EXCHANGE LISTING AND TRADING

 

A discussion of exchange listing and trading matters associated with an investment in a Fund is contained in the Prospectus under the headings “Summary Information—Principal Risks of Investing in Each Fund” with respect to the applicable Fund, “Additional Information About Each Fund’s Investment Strategies and Risks—Risks of Investing in Each Fund,” “Shareholder Information—Determination of NAV” and “Shareholder Information—Buying and Selling Exchange-Traded Shares.” The discussion below supplements, and should be read in conjunction with, such sections of the Prospectus.

 

The Shares of each Fund are listed on an Exchange and will trade in the secondary market at prices that may differ to some degree from its NAV. The Exchange may but is not required to remove the Shares of a Fund from listing if: (1) following the initial twelve (12) month period beginning upon the commencement of trading of the Fund, there are fewer than 50 beneficial holders of the Shares for 30 or more consecutive trading days, or (2) such other event shall occur or condition exists that, in the opinion of the Exchange, makes further dealings on the Exchange inadvisable. In addition, an Exchange will remove the Shares from listing and trading upon termination of the Trust. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of Shares of a Fund will continue to be met.

 

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As in the case of other securities traded on an Exchange, brokers’ commissions on transactions are based on negotiated commission rates at customary levels.

 

Each Fund is required by the Exchange to comply with certain listing standards (which includes certain investment parameters) in order to maintain its listing on the Exchange. Compliance with these listing standards may compel the Funds to sell securities at an inopportune time or for a price other than the security’s then-current market value. The sale of securities in such circumstances could limit a Fund’s profit or require a Fund to incur a loss, and as a result, the Fund’s performance could be impacted.

 

BOOK ENTRY ONLY SYSTEM

 

The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled “Shareholder Information—Buying and Selling Exchange-Traded Shares.”

 

The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) acts as securities depositary for the Shares. Shares of each Fund are represented by securities registered in the name of DTC or its nominee and deposited with, or on behalf of, DTC. Certificates will not be issued for Shares.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

DTC may determine to discontinue providing its service with respect to the Shares at any time by giving reasonable notice to the Trust and discharging its responsibilities with respect thereto under applicable law. Under such circumstances, the Trust shall take action either to find a replacement for DTC to perform its functions at a comparable cost or, if such a replacement is unavailable, to issue and deliver printed certificates representing ownership of Shares, unless the Trust makes other arrangements with respect thereto satisfactory to the Exchange.   

 

CREATION AND REDEMPTION OF CREATION UNITS

 

General

 

Each Fund will issue and sell Shares only in Creation Units on a continuous basis, without an initial sales load, at their NAV next determined after receipt, on any Business Day (as defined herein), of an order in proper form. An Authorized Participant (defined below) that is not “qualified institutional buyer,” as such term is defined under Rule 144A of the Securities Act, will not be able to receive, as part of a redemption, restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A.

 

A “Business Day” with respect to a Fund is any day on which the Exchange is open for business. As of the date of the Prospectus, the Exchange observes the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, President’s Day (Washington’s Birthday), Good Friday, Memorial Day (observed), Juneteeth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

 

Fund Deposit

 

The consideration for purchase of a Creation Unit of a Fund generally consists of Deposit Cash. Each Fund may permit or require the in-kind deposit of Deposit Securities per each Creation Unit, constituting all or a portion of a Fund Deposit, computed as described below. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Trust reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of a “cash in lieu” amount (included in the term “Deposit Cash”) to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Deposit Security. When accepting purchases of Creation Units for all or a portion of Deposit Cash, a Fund may incur additional costs associated with the acquisition of Deposit Securities that would otherwise be provided by an in-kind purchaser.

 

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Together, the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, and the Cash Component constitute a Fund Deposit, which represents the minimum initial and subsequent investment amount for a Creation Unit of the Fund. The “Cash Component” is an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of Shares (per Creation Unit) and the value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable. If the Cash Component is a positive number (i.e., the NAV per Creation Unit exceeds the value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable), the Cash Component shall be such positive amount. If the Cash Component is a negative number (i.e., the NAV per Creation Unit is less than the value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable), the Cash Component shall be such negative amount and the creator will be entitled to receive cash in an amount equal to the Cash Component. The Cash Component serves the function of compensating for any differences between the NAV per Creation Unit and the value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable. Computation of the Cash Component excludes any stamp duty or other similar fees and expenses payable upon transfer of beneficial ownership of the Deposit Securities, if applicable, which shall be the sole responsibility of the Authorized Participant.

 

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

 

The identity and number of Shares of the Deposit Securities or the amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, required for a Fund Deposit for a Fund changes as rebalancing adjustments and corporate action events are reflected from time to time by the Sub-Adviser with a view to the investment objective of the Fund. 

 

The Trust reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of Deposit Cash to replace any Deposit Security, which shall be added to the Cash Component, including, without limitation, in situations where the Deposit Security: (i) may not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery; (ii) may not be eligible for transfer through the systems of DTC for corporate securities and municipal securities; (iii) may not be eligible for trading by an Authorized Participant or the investor for which it is acting; (iv) would be restricted under the securities laws or where the delivery of the Deposit Security to the Authorized Participant would result in the disposition of the Deposit Security by the Authorized Participant becoming restricted under the securities laws; or (v) in certain other situations (collectively, “custom orders”).The adjustments described above will reflect changes, known to the Sub-Adviser on the date of announcement to be in effect by the time of delivery of a Fund Deposit, resulting from certain corporate actions.

 

Procedures for Purchase of Creation Units

 

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

 

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All orders to purchase Shares directly from a Fund must be placed for one or more Creation Units and in the manner and by the time set forth in the Participant Agreement and/or applicable order form. The order cut-off time for each Fund for orders to purchase Creation Units is expected to be 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, which time may be modified by the Funds from time-to-time by amendment to the Participant Agreement and/or applicable order form. In the case of custom orders, the order must be received by the Transfer Agent no later than 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time or such earlier time as may be designated by a Fund and disclosed to Authorized Participants. The date on which an order to purchase Creation Units (or an order to redeem Creation Units, as set forth below) is received and accepted is referred to as the “Order Placement Date.” In all circumstances, any early cut-off time will be after: (1) the NAV is calculated for the day prior to the Order Placement Date and (2) the portfolio holdings or basket information is published on the Order Placement Date.

 

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

 

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

 

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Fund Deposits must be delivered by an Authorized Participant through the Federal Reserve System (for cash) or through DTC (for corporate securities), through a sub-custody agent (for foreign securities) and/or through such other arrangements allowed by the Trust or its agents. With respect to foreign Deposit Securities, the Custodian shall cause the sub-custodian of a Fund to maintain an account into which the Authorized Participant shall deliver, on behalf of itself or the party on whose behalf it is acting, such Deposit Securities (or Deposit Cash for all or a part of such securities, as permitted or required), with any appropriate adjustments as advised by the Trust. Foreign Deposit Securities must be delivered to an account maintained at the applicable local sub-custodian. Each Fund Deposit transfer must be ordered by the Authorized Participant in a timely fashion so as to ensure the delivery of the requisite number of Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, to the account of the applicable Fund or its agents by no later than 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time (or such other time as specified by the Trust) on the Settlement Date. If a Fund or its agents do not receive all of the Deposit Securities, or the required Deposit Cash in lieu thereof, by such time, then the order may be deemed rejected and the Authorized Participant shall be liable to a Fund for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. The “Settlement Date” for a Fund is generally the second Business Day after the Order Placement Date. All questions as to the number of Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash to be delivered, as applicable, and the validity, form and eligibility (including time of receipt) for the deposit of any tendered securities or cash, as applicable, will be determined by the Trust, whose determination shall be final and binding. The amount of cash represented by the Cash Component must be transferred directly to the Custodian through the Federal Reserve Bank wire transfer system in a timely manner so as to be received by the Custodian no later than the Settlement Date. If the Cash Component and the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, are not received by the Custodian in a timely manner by the Settlement Date, the creation order may be cancelled. Upon written notice to the Transfer Agent, such canceled order may be resubmitted the following Business Day using a Fund Deposit as newly constituted to reflect the then current NAV of the applicable Fund.

 

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

 

Issuance of a Creation Unit

 

Except as provided in this SAI, Creation Units will not be issued until the transfer of good title to the Trust of the Deposit Securities or payment of Deposit Cash, as applicable, and the payment of the Cash Component have been completed. When the sub-custodian has confirmed to the Custodian that the required Deposit Securities (or the cash value thereof) have been delivered to the account of the relevant sub-custodian or sub-custodians, the Transfer Agent and the Sub-Adviser shall be notified of such delivery, and the Trust will issue and cause the delivery of the Creation Units. The delivery of Creation Units so created generally will occur no later than the second Business Day following the day on which the purchase order is deemed received by the Transfer Agent. The Authorized Participant shall be liable to the applicable Fund for losses, if any, resulting from unsettled orders.

 

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Creation Units may be purchased in advance of receipt by the Trust of all or a portion of the applicable Fund Deposit as described below. In these circumstances, the initial deposit will have a value greater than the NAV of Shares on the date the order is placed in proper form since, in addition to available Deposit Securities, cash must be deposited in an amount equal to the sum of (i) the Cash Component, plus (ii) an additional amount of cash equal to a percentage of the value as set forth in the Participant Agreement, of the undelivered Deposit Securities (the “Additional Cash Deposit”), which shall be maintained in a separate non-interest bearing collateral account. The Authorized Participant must deposit with the Custodian the Additional Cash Deposit, as applicable, by 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time (or such other time as specified by the Trust) on the Settlement Date. If a Fund or its agents do not receive the Additional Cash Deposit in the appropriate amount, by such time, then the order may be deemed rejected and the Authorized Participant shall be liable to the Fund for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. An additional amount of cash shall be required to be deposited with the Trust, pending delivery of the missing Deposit Securities to the extent necessary to maintain the Additional Cash Deposit with the Trust in an amount at least equal to the applicable percentage, as set forth in the Participant Agreement, of the daily market value of the missing Deposit Securities. The Participant Agreement will permit the Trust to buy the missing Deposit Securities at any time. Authorized Participants will be liable to the Trust for the costs incurred by the Trust in connection with any such purchases. These costs will be deemed to include the amount by which the actual purchase price of the Deposit Securities exceeds the value of such Deposit Securities on the day the purchase order was deemed received by the Transfer Agent plus the brokerage and related transaction costs associated with such purchases.

 

The Trust will return any unused portion of the Additional Cash Deposit once all of the missing Deposit Securities have been properly received by the Custodian or purchased by the Trust and deposited into the Trust. In addition, a transaction fee, as described below under “Creation Transaction Fee,” may be charged. The delivery of Creation Units so created generally will occur no later than the Settlement Date.

 

Acceptance of Orders of Creation Units

 

The Trust reserves the absolute right to reject an order for Creation Units transmitted to it by the Transfer Agent with respect to each Fund including, without limitation, if (a) the order is not in proper form; (b) the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, delivered by the Participant are not as disseminated through the facilities of the NSCC for that date by the Custodian; (c) the investor(s), upon obtaining Shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding Shares; (d) acceptance of the Deposit Securities would have certain adverse tax consequences to a Fund; (e) the acceptance of the Fund Deposit would, in the opinion of counsel, be unlawful; (f) the acceptance of the Fund Deposit would otherwise, in the discretion of the Trust or the Sub-Adviser, have an adverse effect on the Trust or the rights of beneficial owners; (g) the acceptance or receipt of the order for a Creation Unit would, in the opinion of counsel to the Trust, be unlawful; or (h) in the event that circumstances outside the control of the Trust, the Custodian, the Transfer Agent and/or the Sub-Adviser make it for all practical purposes not feasible to process orders for Creation Units.

 

Examples of such circumstances include acts of God or public service or utility problems such as fires, floods, extreme weather conditions and power outages resulting in telephone, telecopy and computer failures; market conditions or activities causing trading halts; systems failures involving computer or other information systems affecting the Trust, the Distributor, the Custodian, a sub-custodian, the Transfer Agent, DTC, NSCC, Federal Reserve System, or any other participant in the creation process, and other extraordinary events. The Transfer Agent shall notify a prospective creator of a Creation Unit and/or the Authorized Participant acting on behalf of the creator of a Creation Unit of its rejection of the order of such person. The Trust, the Transfer Agent, the Custodian, any sub-custodian and the Distributor are under no duty, however, to give notification of any defects or irregularities in the delivery of Fund Deposits nor shall either of them incur any liability for the failure to give any such notification. The Trust, the Transfer Agent, the Custodian and the Distributor shall not be liable for the rejection of any purchase order for Creation Units.

 

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

 

Creation Transaction Fee

 

A fixed purchase (i.e., creation) transaction fee, payable to the Funds’ custodian, may be imposed for the transfer and other transaction costs associated with the purchase of Creation Units (“Creation Order Costs”). The standard fixed creation transaction fee for each Fund is $500, regardless of the number of Creation Units created in the transaction. Each Fund may adjust the standard fixed creation transaction fee from time to time. The fixed creation fee may be waived on certain orders if a Fund’s custodian has determined to waive some or all of the Creation Order Costs associated with the order or another party, such as the Sub-Adviser, has agreed to pay such fee.

 

Investors who use the services of a broker or other such intermediary may be charged a fee for such services. Investors are responsible for the fixed costs of transferring Fund securities from the Trust to their account or on their order.

 

Risks of Purchasing Creation Units

 

There are certain legal risks unique to investors purchasing Creation Units directly from a Fund. Because Shares may be issued on an ongoing basis, a “distribution” of Shares could be occurring at any time. Certain activities that a shareholder performs as a dealer could, depending on the circumstances, result in the shareholder being deemed a participant in the distribution in a manner that could render the shareholder a statutory underwriter and subject to the prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the Securities Act. For example, a shareholder could be deemed a statutory underwriter if it purchases Creation Units from a Fund, breaks them down into the constituent Shares, and sells those Shares directly to customers, or if a shareholder chooses to couple the creation of a supply of new Shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary-market demand for Shares. Whether a person is an underwriter depends upon all of the facts and circumstances pertaining to that person’s activities, and the examples mentioned here should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could cause you to be deemed an underwriter.

 

Dealers who are not “underwriters” but are participating in a distribution (as opposed to engaging in ordinary secondary-market transactions), and thus dealing with Shares as part of an “unsold allotment” within the meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the Securities Act, will be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act.

 

Redemption. Shares may be redeemed only in Creation Units at their NAV next determined after receipt of a redemption request in proper form by a Fund through the Transfer Agent and only on a Business Day. Except upon liquidation of the Fund, the Trust will not redeem shares in amounts less than Creation Units. Investors must accumulate enough Shares in the secondary market to constitute a Creation Unit 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. Investors should expect to incur brokerage and other costs in connection with assembling a sufficient number of Shares to constitute a redeemable Creation Unit.

 

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With respect to each Fund, the Custodian, through the NSCC, makes available prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m., Eastern Time) on each Business Day, the list of the names and Share quantities of the Fund’s portfolio securities that will be applicable (subject to possible amendment or correction) to redemption requests received in proper form (as defined below) on that day (“Fund Securities”). Fund Securities received on redemption may not be identical to Deposit Securities.

 

Redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit are paid either in-kind or in cash, or combination thereof, as determined by the Trust. With respect to in-kind redemptions of a Fund, redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit will consist of Fund Securities - as announced by the Custodian on the Business Day of the request for redemption received in proper form plus cash in an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of Shares being redeemed, as next determined after a receipt of a request in proper form, and the value of Fund Securities (the “Cash Redemption Amount”), less a fixed redemption transaction fee, as applicable, as set forth below. In the event that Fund Securities have a value greater than the NAV of Shares, a compensating cash payment equal to the differential is required to be made by or through an Authorized Participant by the redeeming shareholder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, at the Trust’s discretion, an Authorized Participant may receive the corresponding cash value of the securities in lieu of the in-kind securities value representing one or more Fund Securities. 

 

Redemption Transaction Fee

 

A fixed redemption transaction fee, payable to a Fund’s custodian, may be imposed for the transfer and other transaction costs associated with the redemption of Creation Units (“Redemption Order Costs”). The standard fixed redemption transaction fee for each Fund is $500 regardless of the number of Creation Units redeemed in the transaction. Each Fund may adjust the redemption transaction fee from time to time. The fixed redemption fee may be waived on certain orders if a Fund’s custodian has determined to waive some or all of the Redemption Order Costs associated with the order or another party, such as the Advisers, has agreed to pay such fee.   

 

Investors who use the services of a broker or other such intermediary may be charged a fee for such services. Investors are responsible for the fixed costs of transferring Fund Securities from the Trust to their account or on their order.

 

Procedures for Redemption of Creation Units

 

Orders to redeem Creation Units must be submitted in proper form to the Transfer Agent prior to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. A redemption request is considered to be in “proper form” if (i) an Authorized Participant has transferred or caused to be transferred to the Trust’s Transfer Agent the Creation Unit(s) being redeemed through the book-entry system of DTC so as to be effective by the time as set forth in the Participant Agreement and (ii) a request in form satisfactory to the Trust is received by the Transfer Agent from the Authorized Participant on behalf of itself or another redeeming investor within the time periods specified in the Participant Agreement. If the Transfer Agent does not receive the investor’s Shares through DTC’s facilities by the times and pursuant to the other terms and conditions set forth in the Participant Agreement, the redemption request shall be rejected.

 

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The Authorized Participant must transmit the request for redemption, in the form required by the Trust, to the Transfer Agent in accordance with procedures set forth in the Authorized Participant Agreement. Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not have executed an Authorized Participant Agreement, and that, therefore, requests to redeem Creation Units may have to be placed by the investor’s broker through an Authorized Participant who has executed an Authorized Participant Agreement. Investors making a redemption request should be aware that such request must be in the form specified by such Authorized Participant. Investors making a request to redeem Creation Units should allow sufficient time to permit proper submission of the request by an Authorized Participant and transfer of the shares to the Trust’s transfer agent; such investors should allow for the additional time that may be required to effect redemptions through their banks, brokers or other financial intermediaries if such intermediaries are not Authorized Participants.

 

Additional Redemption Procedures

 

In connection with taking delivery of Shares of Fund Securities upon redemption of Creation Units, a redeeming shareholder or Authorized Participant acting on behalf of such shareholder must maintain appropriate custody arrangements with a qualified broker-dealer, bank or other custody providers in each jurisdiction in which any of Fund Securities are customarily traded, to which account such Fund Securities will be delivered. Deliveries of redemption proceeds generally will be made within two business days of the trade date.

 

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

 

Redemptions of Shares for Fund Securities will be subject to compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws and a Fund (whether or not it otherwise permits cash redemptions) reserves the right to redeem Creation Units for cash to the extent that the Trust could not lawfully deliver specific Fund Securities upon redemptions or could not do so without first registering Fund Securities under such laws. An Authorized Participant or an investor for which it is acting subject to a legal restriction with respect to a particular security included in Fund Securities applicable to the redemption of Creation Units may be paid an equivalent amount of cash. The Authorized Participant may request the redeeming investor of Shares to complete an order form or to enter into agreements with respect to such matters as compensating cash payment. Further, an Authorized Participant that is not a “qualified institutional buyer,” (“QIB”) as such term is defined under Rule 144A of the Securities Act, will not be able to receive Fund Securities that are restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A. An Authorized Participant may be required by the Trust to provide a written confirmation with respect to QIB status to receive Fund Securities.   

 

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

 

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For every occurrence of one or more intervening holidays in the applicable foreign market that are not holidays observed in the U.S. equity market, the redemption settlement cycle will be extended by the number of such intervening holidays. In addition to holidays, other unforeseeable closings in a foreign market due to emergencies may also prevent the Trust from delivering securities within normal settlement period.

 

The securities delivery cycles currently practicable for transferring portfolio securities to redeeming investors, coupled with foreign market holiday schedules, will require, in certain circumstances, a delivery process longer than seven calendar days for a Fund. Although certain holidays may occur on different dates in subsequent years, the number of days required to deliver redemption proceeds in any given year is not expected to exceed the maximum number of days listed below for a Fund. The proclamation of new holidays, the treatment by market participants of certain days as “informal holidays” (e.g., days on which no or limited securities transactions occur, as a result of substantially shortened trading hours), the elimination of existing holidays, or changes in local securities delivery practices, could affect the information set forth herein at some time in the future.

 

DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE

 

NAV for each Fund is computed by dividing the value of the net assets of each Fund (i.e., the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by the total number of Shares outstanding, rounded to the nearest cent. Expenses and fees, including the management fees, are accrued daily and taken into account for purposes of determining net asset value. The net asset value of each Fund is calculated by the Custodian and determined at the close of the regular trading session on the NYSE (ordinarily 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day that such exchange is open, provided that fixed-income assets may be valued as of the announced closing time for trading in fixed-income instruments on any day that the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (“SIFMA”) announces an early closing time.

 

In calculating each Fund’s NAV, the Fund’s investments are generally valued using market valuations. A market valuation generally means a valuation (i) obtained from an exchange, a pricing service, or a major market maker (or dealer), (ii) based on a price quotation or other equivalent indication of value supplied by an exchange, a pricing service, or a major market maker (or dealer) or (iii) based on amortized cost. In the case of shares of other funds that are not traded on an exchange, a market valuation means such fund’s published net asset value per share. The Adviser may use various pricing services, or discontinue the use of any pricing service, as approved by the Board from time to time. A price obtained from a pricing service based on such pricing service’s valuation matrix may be considered a market valuation. Any assets or liabilities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar are converted into U.S. dollars at the current market rates on the date of valuation as quoted by one or more sources.

 

In the event that current market valuations are not readily available or such valuations do not reflect current market value, the Trust’s pricing procedures require the Adviser, as the valuation designee pursuant to Rule 2a-5 under the 1940 Act, to determine a security’s fair value. In determining such value the Adviser may consider, among other things, (i) price comparisons among multiple sources, (ii) a review of corporate actions and news events, and (iii) a review of relevant financial indicators. In these cases, a Fund’s net asset value may reflect certain portfolio securities’ fair values rather than their market prices. Fair value pricing involves subjective judgments and it is possible that the fair value determination for a security is materially different than the value that could be realized upon the sale of the security. With respect to securities that are primarily listed on foreign exchanges, the value of a Fund’s portfolio securities may change on days when you will not be able to purchase or sell your Shares.   

 

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DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS

 

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

 

General Policies

 

Each Fund expects to declare and distribute all of its net investment income, if any, to shareholders as dividends at least [annually]. Each Fund may distribute such income dividends and capital gains more frequently, if necessary, in order to reduce or eliminate federal excise or income taxes on a Fund.

 

Dividend Distributions

 

Dividends and other distributions on Shares are distributed, as described below, 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 the Trust.

 

Dividend Reinvestment Service

 

The Trust will not make the DTC book-entry dividend reinvestment service available for use by Beneficial Owners for reinvestment of their cash proceeds, but certain individual broker-dealers may make available the DTC book-entry Dividend Reinvestment Service for use by Beneficial Owners of each Fund through DTC Participants for reinvestment of their dividend distributions. Investors should contact their brokers to ascertain the availability and description of these services. Beneficial Owners should be aware that each broker may require investors to adhere to specific procedures and timetables in order to participate in the dividend reinvestment service and investors should ascertain from their brokers such necessary details. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and realized gains will be automatically reinvested in additional whole Shares issued by the Trust of the same Fund at NAV per Share. Distributions reinvested in additional Shares of a Fund will nevertheless be taxable to Beneficial Owners acquiring such additional Shares to the same extent as if such distributions had been received in cash.

 

CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS

 

The Trust does not have information concerning the beneficial ownership of shares held in the names of Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) participants.

 

TAXES

 

The following is a summary of certain additional tax considerations generally affecting a Fund and its shareholders that are not described in the Prospectus. No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of the tax treatment of a Fund or its shareholders, and the discussion here and in the Prospectus is not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning.

 

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This “Taxes” section is based on the Code and applicable regulations in effect on the date of this SAI. Future legislative, regulatory or administrative changes, including provisions of current law that sunset and thereafter no longer apply, or court decisions may significantly change the tax rules applicable to a Fund and its shareholders. Any of these changes or court decisions may have a retroactive effect.

 

This is for general information only and not tax advice. All investors should consult their own tax advisors as to the federal, state, local and foreign tax provisions applicable to them.

 

Taxation of Each Fund

 

Each Fund will elect and intends to qualify each year to be treated as a separate RIC under the Code. As such, a Fund should not be subject to federal income taxes on its net investment income and capital gains, if any, to the extent that it timely distributes such income and capital gains to its shareholders. To qualify for treatment as a RIC, each Fund must distribute annually to its shareholders at least the sum of 90% of its net investment income (generally including the excess of net short-term capital gains over net long-term capital losses) and 90% of its net tax-exempt interest income, if any (the “Distribution Requirement”) and also must meet several additional requirements. Among these requirements are the following: (i) at least 90% of a Fund’s gross income each taxable year must be derived from dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies, or other income derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or foreign currencies and net income derived from interests in qualified publicly traded partnerships (the “Qualifying Income Requirement”); and (ii) at the end of each quarter of a Fund’s taxable year, the Fund’s assets must be diversified so that (a) at least 50% of the 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 in value than 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets and to not more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, including the equity securities of a qualified publicly traded partnership, and (b) not more than 25% of the value of its total assets is invested, including through corporations in which a Fund owns a 20% or more voting stock interest, in the securities (other than U.S. government securities or securities of other RICs) of any one issuer, the securities (other than securities of other RICs) of two or more issuers which a Fund controls and which are engaged in the same, similar, or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships (the “Diversification Requirement”).

 

To the extent a Fund makes investments that may generate income that is not qualifying income, including certain derivatives, the Fund will seek to restrict the resulting income from such investments so that the Fund’s non-qualifying income does not exceed 10% of its gross income.

 

Although a Fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and may distribute its capital gains for any taxable year, each Fund will be subject to federal income taxation to the extent any such income or gains are not distributed. Each Fund is treated as a separate corporation for federal income tax purposes. Each Fund therefore is considered to be a separate entity in determining its treatment under the rules for RICs described herein. The requirements (other than certain organizational requirements) for qualifying RIC status are determined at the Fund level rather than at the Trust level.

 

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If a Fund fails to satisfy the Qualifying Income Requirement or the Diversification Requirement in any taxable year, the Funds may be eligible for relief provisions if the failures are due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect, and if a penalty tax is paid with respect to each failure to satisfy the applicable requirements. Additionally, relief is provided for certain de minimis failures of the Diversification Requirement where a Fund corrects the failure within a specified period of time. To be eligible for the relief provisions with respect to a failure to meet the Diversification Requirement, a Fund may be required to dispose of certain assets. If these relief provisions were not available to a Fund and it were to fail to qualify for treatment as a RIC for a taxable year, all of its taxable income would be subject to tax at regular corporate rates without any deduction for distributions to shareholders, and its distributions (including capital gains distributions) generally would be taxable to the shareholders of a Fund as ordinary income dividends, subject to the dividends received deduction for corporate shareholders and the lower tax rates on qualified dividend income received by non-corporate shareholders, subject to certain limitations. To requalify for treatment as a RIC in a subsequent taxable year, each Fund would be required to satisfy the RIC qualification requirements for that year and to distribute any earnings and profits from any year in which a Fund failed to qualify for tax treatment as a RIC. If a Fund failed to qualify as a RIC for a period greater than two taxable years, it would generally be required to pay a fund-level tax on certain net built in gains recognized with respect to certain of its assets upon disposition of such assets within five years of qualifying as a RIC in a subsequent year. The Board reserves the right not to maintain the qualification of a Fund for treatment as a RIC if it determines such course of action to be beneficial to shareholders. If a Fund determines that it will not qualify as a RIC, the Funds will establish procedures to reflect the anticipated tax liability in each Fund’s NAV.

 

Each Fund may elect to treat part or all of any “qualified late year loss” as if it had been incurred in the succeeding taxable year in determining the Fund’s taxable income, net capital gain, net short-term capital gain, and earnings and profits. The effect of this election is to treat any such “qualified late year loss” as if it had been incurred in the succeeding taxable year in characterizing Fund distributions for any calendar year. A “qualified late year loss” generally includes net capital loss, net long-term capital loss, or net short-term capital loss incurred after October 31 of the current taxable year (commonly referred to as “post-October losses”) and certain other late-year losses.

 

Capital losses in excess of capital gains (“net capital losses”) are not permitted to be deducted against a RIC’s net investment income. Instead, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, potentially subject to certain limitations, Each Fund may carry a net capital loss from any taxable year forward indefinitely to offset its capital gains, if any, in years following the year of the loss. To the extent subsequent capital gains are offset by such losses, they will not result in U.S. federal income tax liability to a Fund and may not be distributed as capital gains to its shareholders. Generally, a Fund may not carry forward any losses other than net capital losses. The carryover of capital losses may be limited under the general loss limitation rules if a Fund experiences an ownership change as defined in the Code.

 

Each Fund will be subject to a nondeductible 4% federal excise tax on certain undistributed income if it does not distribute to its shareholders in each calendar year an amount at least equal to 98% of its ordinary income for the calendar year plus 98.2% of its capital gain net income for the one-year period ending on October 31 of that year, subject to an increase for any shortfall in the prior year’s distribution. In order to qualify as a regulated investment company, and avoid being subject to federal income or excise taxes at the Fund level, each Fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment income and net realized capital gains within each calendar year as well as on a fiscal year basis (if the fiscal year is other than the calendar year), and intends to comply with other tax rules applicable to regulated investment companies.

 

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If a Fund meets the Distribution Requirement but retains some or all of its income or gains, it will be subject to federal income tax to the extent any such income or gains are not distributed. Each Fund may designate certain amounts retained as undistributed net capital gain in a notice to its shareholders, who (i) will be required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gain, their proportionate shares of the undistributed amount so designated, (ii) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the income tax paid by a Fund on that undistributed amount against their federal income tax liabilities and to claim refunds to the extent such credits exceed their tax liabilities, and (iii) will be entitled to increase their tax basis, for federal income tax purposes, in their Shares by an amount equal to the excess of the amount of undistributed net capital gain included in their respective income over their respective income tax credits. 

 

Taxation of Shareholders – Distributions

 

Each Fund intends to distribute annually to its shareholders substantially all of its investment company taxable income (computed without regard to the deduction for dividends paid), its net tax-exempt income, if any, and any net capital gain (net recognized long-term capital gains in excess of net recognized short-term capital losses, taking into account any capital loss carryforwards). The distribution of investment company taxable income (as so computed) and net capital gain will be taxable to Fund shareholders regardless of whether the shareholder receives these distributions in cash or reinvests them in additional Shares.

 

Each Fund (or your broker) will report to shareholders annually the amounts of dividends paid from ordinary income, the amount of distributions of net capital gain, the portion of dividends which may qualify for the dividends received deduction for corporations, and the portion of dividends which may qualify for treatment as qualified dividend income, which is taxable to non-corporate shareholders at rates of up to 20%.

 

Distributions from each Fund’s net capital gain will be taxable to shareholders at long-term capital gains rates, regardless of how long shareholders have held their Shares.

 

Qualified dividend income includes, in general and subject to certain holding period and other requirements, dividend income from taxable domestic corporations and certain foreign corporations. Subject to certain limitations, eligible foreign corporations include those incorporated in possessions of the United States, those incorporated in certain countries with comprehensive tax treaties with the United States, and other foreign corporations if the stock with respect to which the dividends are paid is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States. Dividends received by a Fund from an ETF or an underlying fund taxable as a RIC or a REIT may be treated as qualified dividend income generally only to the extent so reported by such ETF, underlying fund or REIT. If 95% or more of a Fund’s gross income (calculated without taking into account net capital gain derived from sales or other dispositions of stock or securities) consists of qualified dividend income, a Fund may report all distributions of such income as qualified dividend income.

 

Fund dividends will not be treated as qualified dividend income if a Fund does not meet holding period and other requirements with respect to dividend paying stocks in its portfolio, and the shareholder does not meet holding period and other requirements with respect to the Shares on which the dividends were paid. Distributions by each Fund of its net short-term capital gains will be taxable as ordinary income. Distributions from the Fund’s net capital gain will be taxable to shareholders at long-term capital gains rates, regardless of how long shareholders have held their Shares. Distributions may be subject to state and local taxes.

 

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In the case of corporate shareholders, certain dividends received by a Fund from U.S. corporations (generally, dividends received by the Funds in respect of any share of stock (1) with a tax holding period of at least 46 days during the 91-day period beginning on the date that is 45 days before the date on which the stock becomes ex-dividend as to that dividend and (2) that is held in an unleveraged position) and distributed and appropriately so reported by a Fund may be eligible for the 70% dividends-received deduction. Certain preferred stock must have a holding period of at least 91 days during the 181-day period beginning on the date that is 90 days before the date on which the stock becomes ex-dividend as to that dividend in order to be eligible. Capital gain dividends distributed to each Fund from other RICs are not eligible for the dividends-received deduction. In order to qualify for the deduction, corporate shareholders must meet the minimum holding period requirement stated above with respect to their Shares, taking into account any holding period reductions from certain hedging or other transactions or positions that diminish their risk of loss with respect to their Shares, and, if they borrow to acquire or otherwise incur debt attributable to Shares, they may be denied a portion of the dividends-received deduction with respect to those Shares.

 

Although dividends generally will be treated as distributed when paid, any dividend declared by a Fund in October, November or December and payable to shareholders of record in such a month that is paid during the following January will be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as received by shareholders on December 31 of the calendar year in which it was declared.

 

U.S. individuals with adjusted gross income (subject to certain adjustments) exceeding certain threshold amounts ($250,000 if married filing jointly or if considered a “surviving spouse” for federal income tax purposes, $125,000 if married filing separately, and $200,000 in other cases) are subject to a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax on all or a portion of their “net investment income,” which includes taxable interest, dividends, and certain capital gains (generally including capital gain distributions and capital gains realized on the sale of Shares). This 3.8% tax also applies to all or a portion of the undistributed net investment income of certain shareholders that are estates and trusts.

 

Shareholders who have not held Shares for a full year should be aware that a Fund may report and distribute, as ordinary dividends or capital gain dividends, a percentage of income that is not equal to the percentage of the Fund’s ordinary income or net capital gain, respectively, actually earned during the applicable shareholder’s period of investment in the Fund. A taxable shareholder may wish to avoid investing in a Fund shortly before a dividend or other distribution, because the distribution will generally be taxable even though it may economically represent a return of a portion of the shareholder’s investment.

 

To the extent that a Fund makes a distribution of income received by the Fund in lieu of dividends (a “substitute payment”) with respect to securities on loan pursuant to a securities lending transaction, such income will not constitute qualified dividend income to individual shareholders and will not be eligible for the dividends received deduction for corporate shareholders.

 

If a Fund’s distributions exceed its earnings and profits, all or a portion of the distributions made for a taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable, but will reduce each shareholder’s cost basis in a Fund and result in a higher capital gain or lower capital loss when Shares on which the distribution was received are sold. After a shareholder’s basis in Shares has been reduced to zero, distributions in excess of earnings and profits will be treated as gain from the sale of the shareholder’s Shares.

 

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Taxation of Shareholders – Sale of Shares

 

A sale, redemption, or exchange of Shares may give rise to a gain or loss. In general, any gain or loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Shares will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if Shares have been held for more than 12 months. Otherwise, the gain or loss on the taxable disposition of Shares will generally be treated as short-term capital gain or loss. Any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Shares held for six months or less will be treated as long-term capital loss, rather than short-term capital loss, to the extent of any amounts treated as distributions to the shareholder of long-term capital gain (including any amounts credited to the shareholder as undistributed capital gains). All or a portion of any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Shares may be disallowed if substantially identical Shares are acquired (through the reinvestment of dividends or otherwise) within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the disposition. In such a case, the basis of the newly acquired Shares will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss.

 

The cost basis of Shares acquired by purchase will generally be based on the amount paid for Shares and then may be subsequently adjusted for other applicable transactions as required by the Code. The difference between the selling price and the cost basis of Shares generally determines the amount of the capital gain or loss realized on the sale or exchange of Shares. Contact the broker through whom you purchased your Shares to obtain information with respect to the available cost basis reporting methods and elections for your account. An Authorized Participant who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time and the sum of the exchanger’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered plus the amount of cash paid for such Creation Units. A person who redeems Creation Units will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanger’s basis in the Creation Units and the sum of the aggregate market value of any securities received plus the amount of any cash received for such Creation Units. The Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”), however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units cannot currently be deducted under the rules governing “wash sales” (for a person who does not mark-to-market its portfolio) or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position.

 

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

 

The Trust, on behalf of a Fund, has the right to reject an order for Creation Units if the purchaser (or a group of purchasers) would, upon obtaining the Creation Units so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding Shares and if, pursuant to Section 351 of the Code, a 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 the provision of information necessary to determine beneficial Share ownership for purposes of the 80% determination. If a Fund does issue Creation Units to a purchaser (or a group of purchasers) that would, upon obtaining the Creation Units so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding Shares, the purchaser (or a group of purchasers) will not recognize gain or loss upon the exchange of securities for Creation Units.

 

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Persons purchasing or redeeming Creation Units should consult their own tax advisers with respect to the tax treatment of any creation or redemption transaction and whether the wash sales rule applies and when a loss may be deductible.

 

Taxation of Fund Investments

 

Certain of a Fund’s investments may be subject to complex provisions of the Code (including provisions relating to hedging transactions, straddles, integrated transactions, foreign currency contracts, forward foreign currency contracts, and notional principal contracts) that, among other things, may affect a Fund’s ability to qualify as a RIC, affect the character of gains and losses realized by a Fund (e.g., may affect whether gains or losses are ordinary or capital), accelerate recognition of income to the Fund and defer losses. These rules could therefore affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to shareholders. These provisions also may require a Fund to mark to market certain types of positions in its portfolio (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out) which may cause a Fund to recognize income without a Fund receiving cash with which to make distributions in amounts sufficient to enable a Fund to satisfy the RIC distribution requirements for avoiding income and excise taxes. Each Fund intends to monitor its transactions, intends to make appropriate tax elections, and intends to make appropriate entries in its books and records in order to mitigate the effect of these rules and preserve the Fund’s qualification for treatment as a RIC. To the extent a Fund invests in an underlying fund that is taxable as a RIC, the rules applicable to the tax treatment of complex securities will also apply to the underlying funds that also invest in such complex securities and investments.

 

Backup Withholding

 

Each Fund will be required in certain cases to withhold (as “backup withholding”) on amounts payable to any shareholder who (1) fails to provide a correct taxpayer identification number certified under penalty of perjury; (2) is subject to backup withholding by the IRS for failure to properly report all payments of interest or dividends; (3) fails to provide a certified statement that he or she is not subject to “backup withholding”; or (4) fails to provide a certified statement that he or she is a U.S. person (including a U.S. resident alien). The backup withholding rate is 24%. Backup withholding is not an additional tax and any amounts withheld may be credited against the shareholder’s ultimate U.S. tax liability. Backup withholding will not be applied to payments that have been subject to the 30% withholding tax on shareholders who are neither citizens nor permanent residents of the United States.   

 

Foreign Shareholders

 

Any non-U.S. investors in a Fund may be subject to U.S. withholding and estate tax and shareholders are encouraged to consult their tax advisors prior to investing in a Fund. Foreign shareholders (i.e., nonresident alien individuals and foreign corporations, partnerships, trusts and estates) are generally subject to U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30% (or a lower tax treaty rate) on distributions derived from taxable ordinary income. Each Fund may, under certain circumstances, report all or a portion of a dividend as an “interest-related dividend” or a “short-term capital gain dividend,” which would generally be exempt from this 30% U.S. withholding tax, provided certain other requirements are met. Short-term capital gain dividends received by a nonresident alien individual who is present in the U.S. for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the taxable year are not exempt from this 30% withholding tax. Gains realized by foreign shareholders from the sale or other disposition of Shares generally are not subject to U.S. taxation, unless the recipient is an individual who is physically present in the U.S. for 183 days or more per year. Foreign shareholders who fail to provide an applicable IRS form may be subject to backup withholding on certain payments from a Fund. Backup withholding will not be applied to payments that are subject to the 30% (or lower applicable treaty rate) withholding tax described in this paragraph. Different tax consequences may result if the foreign shareholder is engaged in a trade or business within the United States. In addition, the tax consequences to a foreign shareholder entitled to claim the benefits of a tax treaty may be different than those described above.

 

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Unless certain non-U.S. entities that hold Shares comply with IRS requirements that will generally require them to report information regarding U.S. persons investing in, or holding accounts with, such entities, a 30% withholding tax may apply to Fund distributions payable to such entities and with respect to redemptions and certain capital gain dividends payable to such entities after December 31, 2018. A non-U.S. shareholder may be exempt from the withholding described in this paragraph under an applicable intergovernmental agreement between the U.S. and a foreign government, provided that the shareholder and the applicable foreign government comply with the terms of the agreement.

 

For foreign shareholders to qualify for an exemption from backup withholding, described above, the foreign shareholder must comply with special certification and filing requirements. Foreign shareholders in a Fund should consult their tax advisors in this regard.

 

Tax-Exempt Shareholders

 

Certain tax-exempt shareholders, including qualified pension plans, individual retirement accounts, salary deferral arrangements, 401(k) plans, and other tax-exempt entities, generally are exempt from federal income taxation except with respect to their unrelated business taxable income (“UBTI”). Under current law, a Fund generally serves to block UBTI from being realized by its tax-exempt shareholders with respect to their Shares of Fund income. However, notwithstanding the foregoing, tax-exempt shareholders could realize UBTI by virtue of their investment in a Fund if, for example, (i) a Fund invests in residual interests of Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduits (“REMICs”), (ii) a Fund invests in a REIT that is a taxable mortgage pool (“TMP”) or that has a subsidiary that is a TMP or that invests in the residual interest of a REMIC, or (iii) Shares constitute debt-financed property in the hands of the tax-exempt shareholders within the meaning of section 514(b) of the Code. Charitable remainder trusts are subject to special rules and should consult their tax advisers. The IRS has issued guidance with respect to these issues and prospective shareholders, especially charitable remainder trusts, are strongly encouraged to consult with their tax advisers regarding these issues.

 

Certain Potential Tax Reporting Requirements

 

Under U.S. Treasury regulations, if a shareholder recognizes a loss on disposition of Shares of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder (or certain greater amounts over a combination of years), the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on IRS Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a RIC are not excepted. Significant penalties may be imposed for the failure to comply with the reporting requirements. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisers to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.   

 

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State Tax

 

In those states that have income tax laws, the tax treatment of a Fund and of Fund shareholders with respect to distributions by a Fund may differ from federal tax treatment. 

 

Tax Treatment of Portfolio Transactions

 

Set forth below is a general description of the tax treatment of certain types of securities, investment techniques and transactions that may apply to a Fund and, in turn, affect the amount, character and timing of dividends and distributions payable by the Fund to its shareholders. This section should be read in conjunction with the discussion above under “Description of Permitted Investments” for a detailed description of the various types of securities and investment techniques that apply to a Fund.

 

In General. In general, gain or loss recognized by a Fund on the sale or other disposition of portfolio investments will be a capital gain or loss. Such capital gain and loss may be long-term or short-term depending, in general, upon the length of time a particular investment position is maintained and, in some cases, upon the nature of the transaction. Property held for more than one year generally will be eligible for long-term capital gain or loss treatment. The application of certain rules described below may serve to alter the manner in which the holding period for a security is determined or may otherwise affect the characterization as long-term or short-term, and also the timing of the realization and/or character, of certain gains or losses.

 

Options, Futures, Forward Contracts and Hedging Transactions. In general, option premiums received by a Fund are not immediately included in the income of the Fund. Instead, the premiums are recognized when the option contract expires, the option is exercised by the holder, or a Fund transfers or otherwise terminates the option (e.g., through a closing transaction). If an option written by a Fund is exercised and a Fund sells or delivers the underlying stock, the Fund generally will recognize capital gain or loss equal to (a) the sum of the strike price and the option premium received by the Fund minus (b) the Fund’s basis in the stock. Such gain or loss generally will be short-term or long-term depending upon the holding period of the underlying stock. If securities are purchased by a Fund pursuant to the exercise of a put option written by it, the Fund generally will subtract the premium received from its cost basis in the securities purchased. The gain or loss with respect to any termination of a Fund’s obligation under an option other than through the exercise of the option and related sale or delivery of the underlying stock generally will be short-term gain or loss depending on whether the premium income received by a Fund is greater or less than the amount paid by the Fund (if any) in terminating the transaction. Thus, for example, if an option written by a Fund expires unexercised, the Fund generally will recognize short-term gain equal to the premium received.

 

The tax treatment of certain futures contracts entered into by a Fund as well as listed non-equity options written or purchased by the Fund on U.S. exchanges (including options on futures contracts, broad-based equity indices and debt securities) may be governed by section 1256 of the Code (“section 1256 contracts”). Gains or losses on section 1256 contracts generally are considered 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital gains or losses (“60/40”), although certain foreign currency gains and losses from such contracts may be treated as ordinary in character. Also, any section 1256 contracts held by a Fund at the end of each taxable year (and, for purposes of the 4% excise tax, on certain other dates as prescribed under the Code) are “marked to market” with the result that unrealized gains or losses are treated as though they were realized and the resulting gain or loss is treated as ordinary or 60/40 gain or loss, as applicable.

 

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In addition to the special rules described above in respect of options and futures transactions, a Fund’s transactions in other derivative instruments (including options and forward contracts) as well as its other hedging, short sale, or similar transactions, may be subject to one or more special tax rules (including the constructive sale, notional principal contract, straddle, wash sale and short sale rules). These rules may affect whether gains and losses recognized by a Fund are treated as ordinary or capital or as short-term or long-term, accelerate the recognition of income or gains to a Fund, defer losses to the Fund, and cause adjustments in the holding periods of the Fund’s securities. These rules, therefore, could affect the amount, timing and/or character of distributions to shareholders. Moreover, because the tax rules applicable to derivative financial instruments are in some cases uncertain under current law, an adverse determination or future guidance by the IRS with respect to these rules (which determination or guidance could be retroactive) may affect whether a Fund has made sufficient distributions, and otherwise satisfied the relevant requirements, to maintain its qualification as a regulated investment company and avoid Fund-level tax.

 

Certain of a Fund’s investments in derivatives and foreign currency-denominated instruments, and the Fund’s transactions in foreign currencies and hedging activities, may produce a difference between its book income and its taxable income. If a Fund’s book income is less than the sum of its taxable income and net tax-exempt income (if any), the Fund could be required to make distributions exceeding book income to qualify as a regulated investment company. If a Fund’s book income exceeds the sum of its taxable income and net tax-exempt income (if any), the distribution of any such excess will be treated as (i) a dividend to the extent of the Fund’s remaining earnings and profits (including current earnings and profits arising from tax-exempt income, reduced by related deductions), (ii) thereafter, as a return of capital to the extent of the recipient’s basis in the Shares, and (iii) thereafter, as gain from the sale or exchange of a capital asset.

 

Foreign Currency Transactions. Each Fund’s transactions in foreign currencies, foreign currency-denominated debt obligations and certain foreign currency options, futures contracts and forward contracts (and similar instruments) may give rise to ordinary income or loss to the extent such income or loss results from fluctuations in the value of the foreign currency concerned. This treatment could increase or decrease a Fund’s ordinary income distributions to you, and may cause some or all of the Fund’s previously distributed income to be classified as a return of capital. In certain cases, a Fund may make an election to treat such gain or loss as capital.

 

PFIC Investments. Each Fund may invest in securities of foreign companies that may be classified under the Code as 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, a Fund 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 a 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. You should also be aware that the designation of a foreign security as a PFIC security will cause its income dividends to fall outside of the definition of qualified foreign corporation dividends. These dividends generally will not qualify for the reduced rate of taxation on qualified dividends when distributed to you by a Fund. Foreign companies are not required to identify themselves as PFICs. Due to various complexities in identifying PFICs, a Fund can give no assurances that it will be able to identify portfolio securities in foreign corporations that are PFICs in time for a Fund to make a mark-to-market election. If a Fund is unable to identify an investment as a PFIC and thus does not make a mark-to-market election, the Fund may be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a portion of any “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. Additional charges in the nature of interest may be imposed on a Fund in respect of deferred taxes arising from such distributions or gains.

 

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Securities Lending. While securities are loaned out by a Fund, the Fund generally will receive from the borrower amounts equal to any dividends or interest paid on the borrowed securities. For federal income tax purposes, payments made “in lieu of” dividends are not considered dividend income. These distributions will neither qualify for the reduced rate of taxation for individuals on qualified dividends nor the 70% dividends received deduction for corporations. Also, any foreign tax withheld on payments made “in lieu of” dividends or interest will not qualify for the pass-through of foreign tax credits to shareholders.

 

Investments in Securities of Uncertain Tax Character. Each Fund may invest in securities the U.S. federal income tax treatment of which may not be clear or may be subject to recharacterization by the IRS. To the extent the tax treatment of such securities or the income from such securities differs from the tax treatment expected by a Fund, it could affect the timing or character of income recognized by the Fund, requiring the Fund to purchase or sell securities, or otherwise change its portfolio, in order to comply with the tax rules applicable to regulated investment companies under the Code.

 

Investment in Certain ETPs and Certain Direct Fund Investments

 

Each Fund may invest in ETPs that are taxable as RICs under the Internal Revenue Code. Any income a Fund receives from such ETPs should be qualifying income for purposes of the 90% Test. Each Fund may also invest in one or more ETPs that are not taxable as RICs under the Internal Revenue Code and that may generate non-qualifying income for purposes of the 90% Test. Similarly, a Fund may make certain direct investments that may produce non-qualifying income for purposes of the 90% Test. The Advisers anticipate monitoring investments that may produce non-qualifying income to ensure that each Fund satisfies the 90% Test. Nevertheless, non-qualifying income of a Fund may be more than anticipated, the Fund may be unable to generate qualifying income at levels sufficient to ensure it satisfies the 90% Test, or the Fund might not be able to determine the percentage of qualifying income it derives for a taxable year until after year-end. In any such case, a Fund could fail the 90% Test and, if the relief provisions discussed above are unavailable, fail to qualify as a RIC.

 

Each Fund may invest in ETPs that are structured in a manner that causes income, gains, losses, credits and deductions of the ETPs to be taken into account for U.S. federal income tax purposes by those Funds whether or not any distributions are made from the ETPs to those Funds. Thus, a Fund may be required to take into account income or gains in a taxable year without receiving any cash and may have to sell assets to distribute such income or gains. Those sales will generally result in additional taxable gain or loss and may occur at a time when the Advisers would not otherwise have chosen to sell such securities.

 

Options, Swaps and Other Complex Securities. Each Fund and certain of the ETPs in which the Fund invest may invest in complex securities such as equity options, index options, repurchase agreements, foreign currency contracts, hedges and swaps, transactions treated as straddles for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and futures contracts. These investments may be subject to numerous special and complex tax rules. These rules could affect a Fund’ (and certain ETPs’) ability to qualify as a RIC, affect whether gains and losses recognized by a Fund or ETPs are treated as ordinary income or long-term or short-term capital gain, accelerate the recognition of income to the Fund or ETPs and/or defer the Fund’s or ETPs’ ability to recognize losses. In turn, those rules may affect the amount, timing or character of the income distributed by a Fund.

 

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Certain derivative investment by the Funds, such as exchange-traded products and over-the-counter derivatives may not produce qualifying income for purposes of the “90% Test” described above, which must be met in order for a Fund to maintain its status as a RIC under the Internal Revenue Code. In addition, the determination of the value and the identity of the issuer of such derivative investments are often unclear for purposes of the “Asset Test” described above. Each Fund intend to carefully monitor such investments to ensure that any non-qualifying income does not exceed permissible limits and to ensure that they are adequately diversified under the Asset Test. Each Fund, however, may not be able to accurately predict the non-qualifying income from these investments and there are no assurances that the IRS will agree with a Fund’s determination of the “Asset Test” with respect to such derivatives.

 

With respect to any investments in STRIPS, Treasury Receipts, other zero coupon, payment-in-kind, and similar securities which are sold at original issue discount and thus do not make periodic cash interest payments, a Fund or an ETP will generally be required to include as part of its current income the imputed interest on such obligations even though a Fund or ETP has not received any interest payments on such obligations during that period.

 

Because each Fund intends to distribute all of its net investment income to its shareholders, the Fund may have to sell Fund securities to distribute such imputed income which may occur at a time when the Sub-Adviser would not have chosen to sell such securities and which may result in taxable gain or loss and may affect the amount and timing of distributions from the Fund.

 

Any market discount recognized on a bond is taxable as ordinary income. A market discount bond is a bond acquired in the secondary market at a price below redemption value or adjusted issue price if issued with original issue discount. Absent an election by a Fund to include the market discount in income as it accrues, gain on the Fund’s disposition of such an obligation will be treated as ordinary income rather than capital gain to the extent of the accrued market discount.

 

Each Fund may be required for federal income tax purposes to mark-to-market and recognize as income and loss for each taxable year their net unrealized gains and losses on certain futures contracts and options as of the end of the year as well as those actually realized during the year. Options on “broad based” securities indices are classified as “non-equity options” under the Internal Revenue Code. Gains and losses resulting from the expiration, exercise, or closing of such non-equity options, as well as gains and losses resulting from futures contract transactions, will be treated as 60% long-term capital gain or loss and 40% short-term capital gain or loss (hereinafter, “blended gain or loss”). In addition, any non-equity option and futures contract held by a Fund on the last day of a fiscal year will be treated as sold for market value on that date, and gain or loss recognized as a result of such deemed sale will be blended gain or loss. Each Fund may be required to defer the recognition of losses on futures contracts, options contracts and swaps to the extent of any unrecognized gains on offsetting positions held by the Fund. These provisions may also require the Funds to mark-to-market certain types of positions in their portfolios (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out), which may cause a Fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the Distribution Requirement and for avoiding the excise tax discussed above. Accordingly, in order to avoid certain income and excise taxes, a Fund may be required to liquidate as investments at a time when the investment adviser might not otherwise have chosen to do so.

 

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In general, for purposes of the 90% Test described above, income derived from a partnership will be treated as qualifying income only to the extent such income is attributable to items of income of the partnership that would be qualifying income if realized directly by a Fund. However, 100% of the net income derived from an interest in a “qualified publicly traded partnership” (generally, a partnership (i) interests in which are traded on an established securities market or are readily tradable on a secondary market or the substantial equivalent thereof, (ii) that derives at least 90% of its income from the passive income sources specified in Internal Revenue Code section 7704(d), and (iii) that derives less than 90% of its income from the qualifying income described in (i) of the prior paragraph) will be treated as qualifying income. In addition, although in general the passive loss rules of the Internal Revenue Code do not apply to RICs, such rules do apply to a RIC with respect to items attributable to an interest in a qualified publicly traded partnership.

 

Any transactions in foreign currencies and forward foreign currency contracts will be subject to provisions of the Internal Revenue Code that, among other things, may affect the character of gains and losses realized by a Fund or an ETP (i.e., may affect whether gains or losses are ordinary or capital), may accelerate recognition of income by a Fund or an ETP and may defer Fund losses. These rules could therefore affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to the Fund’s shareholders. These provisions also may require a Fund or an ETP to mark-to-market certain types of positions in its portfolio (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out), which may cause A Fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to make distributions in amounts necessary to facilitate satisfaction of the distribution requirements for avoiding the income and excise taxes.

 

The U.S. Treasury Department has authority to issue regulations that would exclude foreign currency gains from the 90% Test described above if such gains are not directly related to a Fund’s business of investing in stock or securities (or options and futures with respect to stock or securities). Accordingly, regulations may be issued in the future that could treat some or all of the Fund’s non-U.S. currency gains as non-qualifying income, thereby potentially jeopardizing a Fund’s status as a RIC for all years to which the regulations are applicable.

 

If a Fund owns shares in certain foreign investment entities, referred to as “passive foreign investment companies” or “PFICs,” the Fund will generally be subject to one or more of the following special tax regimes: (i) A Fund may be liable for U.S. federal income tax, and an additional interest charge, on a portion of any “excess distribution” from such foreign entity or any gain from the disposition of such shares, even if the entire distribution or gain is paid out by a Fund as a dividend to its shareholders, (ii) if a Fund were able and elected to treat a PFIC as a “qualified electing fund” or “QEF,” the Fund would be required each year to include in income, and distribute to shareholders in accordance with the distribution requirements set forth above, a Fund’s pro rata share of the ordinary earnings and net capital gains of the passive foreign investment company, whether or not such earnings or gains are distributed to the Fund, or (iii) a Fund may be entitled to mark-to-market annually shares of the PFIC, whether or not any distributions are made to the Fund, and in such event would be required to distribute to shareholders any such mark-to-market gains in accordance with the distribution requirements set forth above. A Fund may have to distribute to its shareholders certain “phantom” income and gains such Fund accrues with respect to its investment in a PFIC in order to satisfy the Distribution Requirement and to avoid imposition of the excise tax. Such Fund intends to make the appropriate tax elections, if possible, and take any additional steps that are necessary to mitigate the effect of these rules.

 

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Short Sales

 

In general, gain or loss on a short sale is recognized when a Fund closes the sale by delivering the borrowed property to the lender, not when the borrowed property is sold. Gain or loss from a short sale by a Fund is generally considered as capital gain or loss to the extent that the property used to close the short sale constitutes a capital asset in the Fund’s hands. Except with respect to certain situations where the property used by a Fund to close a short sale has a long-term holding period on the date of the short sale, the gains on short sales are generally treated as short-term capital gains. These rules may also affect the holding period of “substantially identical property” held by a Fund. Moreover, a Fund’s loss on a short sale will be treated as a long-term capital loss if, on the date of the short sale, “substantially identical property” has been held by a Fund for more than one year. In general, a Fund will not be permitted to deduct payments made to reimburse the lender of securities for dividends paid on borrowed stock if the short sale is closed on or before the 45th day after the short sale is entered into.

 

CAPITAL STOCK

 

The Funds are currently the only series of the Trust. The Trust issues Shares of beneficial interest with no par value. The Board may designate additional series of the Trust.   

 

Each share issued by the Trust has a pro rata interest in the assets of the corresponding Fund. Shares have no pre-emptive, exchange, subscription or conversion rights and are freely transferable. Each Share is entitled to participate equally in dividends and distributions declared by the Board with respect to the relevant Fund, and in the net distributable assets of such Fund on liquidation.

 

Each share has one vote with respect to matters upon which a shareholder vote is required consistent with the requirements of the 1940 Act and the rules promulgated thereunder and each fractional Share has a proportional fractional vote. Shares of all Fund vote together as a single class except that if the matter being voted on affects only a particular fund it will be voted on only by that fund, and if a matter affects a particular fund differently from other Fund, that fund will vote separately on such matter. Under Delaware law, the Trust is not required to hold an annual meeting of shareholders unless required to do so under the 1940 Act. The policy of the Trust is not to hold an annual meeting of shareholders unless required to do so under the 1940 Act. All Shares of the Trust have noncumulative voting rights for the election of Trustees. Under Delaware law, Trustees of the Trust may be removed by vote of the shareholders.

 

Under Delaware law, shareholders of a statutory trust may have similar limitations on liability as shareholders of a corporation.

 

SHAREHOLDER REPORTS

 

The Trust will issue through DTC Participants to its shareholders semi-annual reports containing unaudited financial statements and annual reports containing financial statements audited by an independent auditor approved by the Trust’s Trustees and by the shareholders when meetings are held and such other information as may be required by applicable laws, rules and regulations. Beneficial Owners also receive annually notification as to the tax status of the Trust’s distributions.

 

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Shareholder inquiries may be made by writing to the Trust at c/o Foreside Fund Services, LLC, Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101.

 

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

Each Fund has only recently commenced investment operations and, therefore, has not produced financial statements. Once produced, you can obtain a copy of the financial statements contained in the Fund’s Annual or Semi-Annual Report without charge by calling the Trust at [  ].

 

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APPENDIX A

 

Tema Global Limited

 

proxy voting/ class action litigation polcy

 

Background

 

An investment adviser owes a duty of care and loyalty to its clients with respect to monitoring corporate events and exercising proxy authority in the best interests of such clients. Tema will adhere to Rule 206(4)-6 of the Advisers Act and applicable laws and regulations in regard to the voting of proxies. As a result, investment advisers must conduct a reasonable review into matters on which the adviser votes and to vote in the best interest of the client.

 

With respect to ETFs, the Fund Board delegates to Tema the responsibility to vote proxies related to the securities held in the ETF’s portfolio. Under this authority, Tema is required by the Board to vote proxies related to portfolio securities in the best interests of the ETF and its shareholders. Tema has implemented written Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures (the “Proxy Voting Policy”) that are reasonably designed to ensure that Tema votes proxies prudently and in the best interest of the ETF and its shareholders. The Proxy Voting Policy is described in the ETF’s prospectus.

 

Policies and Procedures

 

Tema has the authority to vote proxies with respect of securities in client accounts (“Client Securities”) over which the Company has voting discretion. In such cases, the Company will cast proxy votes in a manner that is consistent with the best interests of the Company’s clients. Where the Company undertakes proxy voting responsibilities on behalf of multiple clients, it shall consider whether it should have different voting policies for some or all of these different clients, depending on the investment strategy and objectives of each client. These proxy voting policies and procedures are designed to deal with the complexities which may arise in cases where the Company’s interests conflict or appear to conflict with the interests of its clients and to provide a copy of proxy voting and these procedures upon client request. Tema will also make available the record of the Company’s votes promptly upon request.

 

Unless contractually obligated to vote in a certain manner, the Company will reach its voting decisions independently, after appropriate investigation. It does not generally intend to delegate its decision-making or to rely on the recommendations of any third party, although it may take such recommendations into consideration. Where the Company deviates from the guidelines listed below, or depends upon a third party to make the decision, the reasons shall be documented. Tema may consult with such other experts, such as CPA’s, investment bankers, attorneys, etc., as it deems necessary to help reach informed decisions.

 

The PM(s), through the Sub-Adviser, is responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of this policy.

 

Tema generally will monitor proposed corporate actions and proxy issues regarding client securities and may take any of the following actions based on the best interests of its clients: (i) determine how to vote the proxies; (ii) abstain; or (iii) follow the recommendations of an independent proxy voting service in voting the proxies.

 

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In general, the Company will determine how to vote proxies based on reasonable judgment of the vote most likely to produce favorable financial results for its clients. Proxy votes generally will be cast in favor of proposals that maintain or strengthen the shared interests of shareholders. Proxy votes generally will be cast against proposals having the opposite effect. The Company will always consider each side of each proxy issue. As Adviser to the ETFs, Tema is required to disclose each year how proxies relating to portfolio securities they hold were voted. Not later than August 31st of each year, Form N-PX must be filed with the SEC, containing the complete proxy voting record for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30th. The following information for each matter relating to a portfolio security considered at a shareholder meeting and on which the Fund is entitled to vote is included in Form N-PX:

 

1.       the name of the issuer of the portfolio security; 

2.       the exchange ticker symbol of the portfolio security; 

3.       the Committee on Uniform Security Identification Procedures (“CUSIP”) number for the portfolio security; 

4.       the shareholder meeting date; 

5.       a brief identification of the matter voted on; 

6.       whether the matter was proposed by the issuer or a security holder; 

7.       whether the fund cast its vote on the matter; 

8.       how the fund cast its vote (for example, for against the proposal, or abstain; for or withhold regarding election of directors; and 

9.       whether the fund cast its vote for or against management.

 

Tema will generally not vote proxies in the following situations:

 

Where the Company and client have agreed in advance to limit the conditions under which the Company would exercise voting authority;

Proxies are received for equity securities where, at the time of receipt, the Company’s position, across all clients that it advises, is less than, or equal to, 1% of the total outstanding voting equity (an “immaterial position”); or

Where the Company has determined that refraining is in the best interest of the client, such as when the cost to the client of voting the proxy is greater than the expected benefit of voting (e.g. voting a foreign security that is required to be made in person).

Proxies are received for equity securities where, at the time of receipt, the Company’s clients no longer hold that position.

 

Management Proposals

 

Absent good reason to the contrary, the Company will generally give substantial weight to management recommendations regarding voting. This is based on the view that management is usually in the best position to know which corporate actions are in the best interests of common shareholders as a whole.

 

Tema will generally vote for routine matters proposed by issuer management, such as setting a time or place for an annual meeting, changing the name or fiscal year of the company, or voting for directors in favor of the management proposed slate. Other routine matters in which the Company will generally vote along with company management include: appointment of auditors; fees paid to board members; and change in the board structure. The Company will generally vote along with management as long as the proposal does not: i) measurably change the structure, management, control or operations of the company; ii) measurably change the terms of, or fees or expenses associated with, an investment in the company; and (iii) the proposal is consistent with customary industry standards and practices, as well as the laws of the state of incorporation applicable to the company. Routine matters may not necessitate the same level of analysis than non-routine matters.

 

Non-Routine Matters

 

Non-routine matters include such things as:

Amendments to management incentive plans;

The authorization of additional common or preferred stock;

Initiation or termination of barriers to takeover or acquisition;

Mergers or acquisitions;

Changes in the state of incorporation;

Corporate reorganizations;

 

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Term limits for board members; and

“Contested” director slates.

 

In non-routine matters, the Company will attempt to be generally familiar with the questions at issue. Non- routine matters will be voted on a case-by-case basis given the complexity of many of these issues. When determining how to vote non-routine matters the Company shall conduct an issue-specific analysis, giving consideration to the potential effect on the value of a client’s investments, documentation of the analysis shall be maintained in the Company’s proxy voting files.

 

The Adviser’s CCO will evaluate and update the procedures, as appropriate, including:

 

Confirming that on an annual basis proxies have been voted in accordance with this policy and client specific instructions and guidelines;

When a material conflict of interest has been identified, taking the necessary steps to resolve the matter in a manner determined by the adviser to be in the best interest of the client, which may include utilizing an independent third party to vote such proxies; and

Reviewing these policies and procedures at least annually to access their adequacy.

 

The adviser shall, from time to time, designate a person to monitor the implementation of, and compliance with, these proxy voting procedures, such person will be delegated by the Chief Compliance Officer to perform these procedures. That person will be deemed the Proxy Administrator for purposes of these procedures.

 

Tema will rely on a Proxy Administrator to maintain records of any conflicts of interest identified and the steps taken to address the conflict of interest. ]In the event that it is necessary to rely on an independent third party recommendation, a record of any such recommendation will also be maintained.

 

Tema will review and maintain the following:

 

1.For purposes of preparing the Trust’s annual filing on Form N-PX, for each proxy vote the Adviser will forward to the Trust’s Administrator:

2.The name of the issuer of the portfolio security;

3.The exchange ticker symbol of the portfolio security;

4.The Council on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures (“CUSIP”) number for the portfolio security;

5.The shareholder meeting date;

6.A brief identification of the matter voted on;

7.Whether the matter was proposed by the issuer or by a security holder;

8.Whether the registrant cast its vote on the matter;

9.How the registrant cast its vote (e.g., for or against proposal, or abstain; for or withhold regarding election of directors); and

10.Whether the registrant cast its vote for or against management.

 

Processing Proxy Votes

 

The Portfolio Manager(s) (“PM(s)”) will be responsible for determining whether each proxy is for a routine” matter, as described above, and whether the policy and procedures set forth herein actually address the specific issue. For proxies that are not clearly “routine”, the Company, in conjunction with the PM(s), will determine how to vote each such proxy by applying these policies and procedures. Upon making a decision, the proxy will be executed and returned for submission to the issuer. Tema’s proxy voting record will be updated at the time the proxy is submitted.

 

An independent proxy voting advisory and research firm may be appointed as a “Proxy Service” for voting the Company’s proxies after approval by the CCO.

 

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Periodic Testing

 

The Company shall evaluate compliance by periodically sampling the proxy votes it casts on behalf of its clients by sampling proxy votes that relate to proposals that are non-routine matters and require more issue-specific analysis (e.g., mergers and acquisition transactions, dissolutions, conversions, or consolidations).

 

Conflicts of Interest

 

A material conflict of interest may exist in situations where, for example:

 

the company soliciting the proxy, or a person known to be an affiliate of such company, is a client of the sub adviser (or any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the sub adviser) whose assets the sub adviser actively manages;

the company soliciting the proxy, or a person known to be an affiliate of such company, to the knowledge of the individual charged with voting the proxy, is being actively solicited to be a client of the adviser (or any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the adviser);

a client or a client-supported interest group actively supports a proxy proposal; or the adviser (or any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the adviser) or an officer of the sub adviser (or any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the adviser) has personal or other business relationships with participants in proxy contests, corporate directors or candidates for corporate directorships, or in any other matter coming before shareholders - for example, where an officer of the adviser (or any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the adviser).

 

If the issue is specifically addressed in these policies and procedures, the Company will vote in accordance with these policies. In a situation where the issue is not specifically addressed in these policies and procedures and an apparent or actual conflict exists, the Company shall either: i) delegate the voting decision to an independent third party; ii) inform clients of the conflict of interest and obtain advance consent of a majority of such clients for a particular voting decision; or iii) obtain approval of a voting decision from the Company’s PM(s), who will be responsible for documenting the rationale for the decision made and voted.

 

In all such cases, the Company will make disclosures to clients of all material conflicts and will keep documentation supporting its voting decisions.

 

A material conflict of interest may exist in situations where, for example:

 

the company soliciting the proxy, or a person known to be an affiliate of such company, is a client of the adviser (or any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the adviser) whose assets the adviser actively manages;

the company soliciting the proxy, or a person known to be an affiliate of such company, to the knowledge of the individual charged with voting the proxy, is being actively solicited to be a client of the adviser (or any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the adviser);

a client or a client-supported interest group actively supports a proxy proposal; or

the adviser (or any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the adviser) or an officer of the adviser (or any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the adviser) has personal or other business relationships with participants in proxy contests, corporate directors or candidates for corporate directorships, or in any other matter coming before shareholders - for example, where an officer of the adviser (or any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the adviser).

 

76

 

If the PM(s) determines that a material conflict of interest exists, the following procedures shall be followed:

 

1.Tema may disclose the existence and nature of the conflict to the client(s) owning the securities, and seek directions on how to vote the proxies;

2.Tema may abstain from voting, particularly if there are conflicting client interests (for example, where client accounts hold different client securities in a competitive merger situation); or

3.Tema may follow the recommendations of an independent proxy voting service in voting the proxies.

 

Disclosure to Clients

 

A summary of the Company’s proxy voting policy will be included in the Company’s Disclosure Brochure. The full text of the Company’s proxy voting policy will be provided to clients upon request.

 

Proxy Advisory Firm

 

When the Company retains a proxy advisory firm to provide research, voting recommendations or voting execution services, the Company shall conduct reasonable oversight to ensure the proxy advisor’s recommendations are consistent with the Company’s proxy voting policies and in the best interest of the Company’s clients and investors. The level of oversight may vary depending on (1) the scope of the investment adviser’s voting authority, and (2) the type of functions and services that the investment adviser has retained the proxy advisory firm to perform.

 

Periodic Advisory Firm Testing

 

The Company shall periodically evaluate the proxy services provided by third party providers which should consider the services, recommendations made by the provider and how the provider voted, as applicable, and consider the steps enumerated below.

 

When conducting oversight of a proxy advisory firm, the Company should consider taking the following steps:

 

whether the proxy advisory firm has the capacity and competency to adequately analyze the matters for which the investment adviser is responsible for voting including the adequacy and quality of the proxy advisory firm’s staffing, personnel, and/or technology;

the adequacy of disclosures the proxy advisory firm has provided regarding its methodologies in formulating voting recommendations, such that the Company can understand the factors underlying the proxy advisory firm’s voting recommendations the effectiveness of the proxy advisory firm’s policies and procedures for obtaining current and accurate information relevant to matters included in its research and on which it makes voting recommendations;

the Company’s access to the proxy advisory firm’s sources of information and methodologies used in formulating voting recommendations or executing voting instructions;

the nature of any third-party information sources that the proxy advisory firm uses as a basis for its voting recommendations;

whether the proxy advisory firm has adequate policies and procedures to identify, disclose, and address actual and potential conflicts of interest.

 

Maintaining Records

 

Tema will rely on the Proxy Administrator for maintaining the following records:

 

A copy of the Adviser’s policies and procedures and all amendments

Copies of each proxy received

Copies of communications with Clients regarding proxy voting

Evidence of disclosure of the Proxy Voting Policies to Clients

A record of votes cast

 

77

 

A record of each Client’s request for proxy voting records

Any documentation created that is material to the voting decisions

Any documentation created relating to the resolution of conflicts

Copies of all periodic and annual evaluations of the Procedures

 

Class Action Lawsuits

 

From time to time, securities held in the accounts of clients will be the subject of class action lawsuits. Tema has no obligation to determine if securities held by the client are subject to a pending or resolved class action lawsuit. It also has no duty to evaluate a client’s eligibility or to submit a claim to participate in the proceeds of a securities class action settlement or verdict.

 

Furthermore, the Company has no obligation or responsibility to initiate litigation to recover damages on behalf of clients who may have been injured because of actions, misconduct, or negligence by corporate management of issuers whose securities are held by clients.

 

Where the Company receives written or electronic notice of a class action lawsuit, settlement, or verdict directly relating to a client account, it will forward all notices, proof of claim forms, and other materials, to the client. Electronic mail is acceptable where appropriate if the client has authorized contact in this manner.

 

78

 

PART C: OTHER INFORMATION

 

Item 28. Exhibits

 

(a) (1) Certificate of Trust dated July 25, 2022, as filed with the State of Delaware on July 25, 2022, for Tema ETF Trust (the “Registrant” or “Trust”)1
     
  (2) Agreement and Declaration of Trust of the Registrant3
     
(b) (1) By-Laws of the Registrant2
     
(c) Not applicable.
   
(d) (1) Investment Advisory Agreement between the Registrant and Tema Global Limited4
     
  (2) Investment Sub-Advisory Agreement between Tema Global Limited and Neos Investment Management LLC4
     
(e) Form of Distribution Agreement between the Registrant and Distributor3
   
(f)    Not applicable.
   
(g) Form of Custody Agreement between the Registrant and Custodian3
   
(h)  (1) Form of Fund Administration Servicing Agreement between the Registrant and Administrator3
     
  (2) Form of Transfer Agent Servicing Agreement between the Registrant and Transfer Agent3
     
(i) Opinion and Consent of Counsel4
   
(j) Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm4
   
(k) Not applicable.
   
(l) Private Offering Agreement4
   
(m) Distribution and Service Plan3
   
(n) Not applicable.
   
(o) Powers of Attorney3
   
(p) (1) Code of Ethics of the Registrant3
     
  (2) Code of Ethics of Tema Global Limited3
     
  (3) Code of Ethics of NEOS Investment Management, LLC3
     
  (4) Code of Ethics of Foreside Fund Services, LLC3
         

 

 

 

1 Is incorporated herein by reference to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed August 31, 2022.
   

2

 

3

Is incorporated herein by reference to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed December 19, 2022.

 

Is incorporated herein by reference to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed April 21, 2023. 

4 To be filed by subsequent amendment.

 

 

 

Item 29. Persons Controlled by or Under Common Control with the Fund

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 30. Indemnification

 

Pursuant to Article VI of the Agreement and Declaration of Trust (the “Declaration”), every person who is, or has been, a Trustee, officer, or employee of the Trust, including persons who serve at the request of the Trust as directors, trustees, officers, employees or agents of another organization in which the Trust has an interest as a shareholder, creditor or otherwise (“Covered Person”), shall be indemnified by the Trust to the fullest extent permitted by law against liability and against all expenses reasonably incurred or paid by him in connection with any claim, action, suit or proceeding in which he becomes involved as a party or otherwise by virtue of his being or having been such a Trustee, director, officer, employee or agent and against amounts paid or incurred by him in settlement thereof.

 

No indemnification shall be provided under the Declaration to a Covered Person to the extent such indemnification is prohibited by applicable federal law.

 

Item 31. Business and Other Connections of the Investment Adviser

 

See “Management” in the Statement of Additional Information. Information as to the directors and officers of the Adviser is included in its Form ADV filed with the SEC and is incorporated herein by reference thereto.

 

Item 32. Principal Underwriters

 

(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. Adaptive Core ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust
  5. AdvisorShares Trust
  6. AFA Multi-Manager Credit Fund
  7. AGF Investments Trust
  8. AIM ETF Products Trust
  9. Alexis Practical Tactical ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  10. Alpha Intelligent – Large Cap Growth ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  11. Alpha Intelligent – Large Cap Value ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  12. AlphaCentric Prime Meridian Income Fund
  13. American Century ETF Trust
  14. Amplify ETF Trust

 

 

 

  15. Applied Finance Core Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
  16. Applied Finance Explorer Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
  17. Applied Finance Select Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
  18. ARK ETF Trust
  19. ARK Venture Fund
  20. ASYMmetric ETFs Trust
  21. B.A.D. ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  22. Bitwise Funds Trust
  23. Bluestone Community Development Fund
  24. BondBloxx ETF Trust
  25. Bramshill Multi-Strategy Income Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust
  26. Bridgeway Funds, Inc.
  27. Brinker Capital Destinations Trust
  28. Brookfield Real Assets Income Fund Inc.
  29. Build Funds Trust
  30. Calamos Convertible and High Income Fund
  31. Calamos Convertible Opportunities and Income Fund
  32. Calamos Dynamic Convertible and Income Fund
  33. Calamos ETF Trust
  34. Calamos Global Dynamic Income Fund
  35. Calamos Global Total Return Fund
  36. Calamos Strategic Total Return Fund
  37. Carlyle Tactical Private Credit Fund
  38. Cboe Vest Bitcoin Strategy Managed Volatility Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
  39. Cboe Vest S&P 500® Dividend Aristocrats Target Income Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
  40. Cboe Vest US Large Cap 10% Buffer Strategies Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
  41. Cboe Vest US Large Cap 10% Buffer VI Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
  42. Cboe Vest US Large Cap 20% Buffer Strategies Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
  43. Cboe Vest US Large Cap 20% Buffer VI Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
  44. Center Coast Brookfield MLP & Energy Infrastructure Fund
  45. Clifford Capital Focused Small Cap Value Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
  46. Clifford Capital International Value Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
  47. Clifford Capital Partners Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
  48. Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund
  49. Cliffwater Enhanced Lending Fund
  50. Cohen & Steers Infrastructure Fund, Inc.

 

 

 

  51. Convergence Long/Short Equity ETF, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
  52. CornerCap Small-Cap Value Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series
  53. CrossingBridge Pre-Merger SPAC ETF, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
  54. Curasset Capital Management Core Bond Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
  55. Curasset Capital Management Limited Term Income Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
  56. Davis Fundamental ETF Trust
  57. Defiance Daily Short Digitizing the Economy ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
  58. Defiance Hotel, Airline, and Cruise ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
  59. Defiance Next Gen Connectivity ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
  60. Defiance Next Gen H2 ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
  61. Defiance Quantum ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
  62. Direxion Shares ETF Trust
  63. Dividend Performers ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  64. Dodge & Cox Funds
  65. DoubleLine ETF Trust
  66. DoubleLine Opportunistic Credit Fund
  67. DoubleLine Yield Opportunities Fund
  68. Eaton Vance NextShares Trust
  69. Eaton Vance NextShares Trust II
  70. EIP Investment Trust
  71. Ellington Income Opportunities Fund
  72. ETF Opportunities Trust
  73. Evanston Alternative Opportunities Fund
  74. Exchange Listed Funds Trust
  75. Fiera Capital Series Trust
  76. FlexShares Trust
  77. Forum Funds
  78. Forum Funds II
  79. Forum Real Estate Income Fund
  80. Goose Hollow Tactical Allocation ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust
  81. Grayscale Future of Finance ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
  82. Grizzle Growth ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  83. Guinness Atkinson Funds
  84. Harbor ETF Trust
  85. Horizon Kinetics Blockchain Development ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  86. Horizon Kinetics Energy and Remediation ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  87. Horizon Kinetics Inflation Beneficiaries ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  88. Horizon Kinetics Medical ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

 

 

 

  89. Horizon Kinetics SPAC Active ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  90. IDX Funds
  91. Innovator ETFs Trust
  92. Ironwood Institutional Multi-Strategy Fund LLC
  93. Ironwood Multi-Strategy Fund LLC
  94. John Hancock Exchange-Traded Fund Trust
  95. Kelly Strategic ETF Trust
  96. LDR Real Estate Value-Opportunity Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
  97. LifeGoal Conservative Wealth Builder ETF, Series of Northern Lights Fund Trust II
  98. LifeGoal Home Down Payment ETF, Series of Northern Lights Fund Trust II
  99. LifeGoal Wealth Builder ETF, Series of Northern Lights Fund Trust II
  100. Mairs & Power Balanced Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
  101. Mairs & Power Growth Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
  102. Mairs & Power Minnesota Municipal Bond ETF, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
  103. Mairs & Power Small Cap Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
  104. Manor Investment Funds
  105. Merk Stagflation ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  106. Milliman Variable Insurance Trust
  107. Mindful Conservative ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust
  108. Moerus Worldwide Value Fund, Series of Northern Lights Fund Trust IV
  109. Mohr Growth ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust
  110. Mohr Sector Navigator ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust
  111. Morgan Creek-Exos Active SPAC Arbitrage ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  112. Morgan Stanley ETF Trust
  113. Morningstar Funds Trust
  114. OTG Latin American Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
  115. Overlay Shares Core Bond ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  116. Overlay Shares Foreign Equity ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  117. Overlay Shares Hedged Large Cap Equity ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  118. Overlay Shares Large Cap Equity ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  119. Overlay Shares Municipal Bond ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  120. Overlay Shares Short Term Bond ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  121. Overlay Shares Small Cap Equity ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  122. Palmer Square Opportunistic Income Fund
  123. Partners Group Private Income Opportunities, LLC

 

 

 

  124. Performance Trust Mutual Funds, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
  125. Perkins Discovery Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
  126. Philotimo Focused Growth and Income Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
  127. Plan Investment Fund, Inc.
  128. PMC Funds, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
  129. Point Bridge America First ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions
  130. Preferred-Plus ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  131. Putnam ETF Trust
  132. Quaker Investment Trust
  133. Rareview Dynamic Fixed Income ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust
  134. Rareview Inflation/Deflation ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust
  135. Rareview Systematic Equity ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust
  136. Rareview Tax Advantaged Income ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust
  137. Renaissance Capital Greenwich Funds
  138. Revere Sector Opportunity ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust
  139. Reynolds Funds, Inc.
  140. RiverNorth Enhanced Pre-Merger SPAC ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  141. RiverNorth Patriot ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  142. RMB Investors Trust
  143. Robinson Opportunistic Income Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust
  144. Robinson Tax Advantaged Income Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust
  145. Roundhill Ball Metaverse 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. Strategy Shares
  161. Swan Hedged Equity US Large Cap ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  162. Syntax ETF Trust
  163. Teucrium Agricultural Strategy No K-1 ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  164. The Community Development Fund
  165. The Finite Solar Finance Fund
  166. The Private Shares Fund
  167. The SPAC and New Issue ETF, Series of Collaborative Investment Series Trust
  168. Third Avenue Trust
  169. Third Avenue Variable Series Trust
  170. Tidal ETF Trust
  171. Tidal Trust II
  172. TIFF Investment Program
  173. Timothy Plan High Dividend Stock Enhanced ETF, Series of The Timothy Plan
  174. Timothy Plan High Dividend Stock ETF, Series of The Timothy Plan
  175. Timothy Plan International ETF, Series of The Timothy Plan
  176. Timothy Plan Market Neutral ETF, Series of The Timothy Plan
  177. Timothy Plan US Large/Mid Cap Core ETF, Series of The Timothy Plan
  178. Timothy Plan US Large/Mid Core Enhanced ETF, Series of The Timothy Plan
  179. Timothy Plan US Small Cap Core ETF, Series of The Timothy Plan
  180. Total Fund Solution
  181. Touchstone ETF Trust
  182. TrueShares Eagle Global Renewable Energy Income ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  183. TrueShares ESG Active Opportunities ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  184. TrueShares Low Volatility Equity Income ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  185. TrueShares Structured Outcome (April) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  186. TrueShares Structured Outcome (August) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  187. TrueShares Structured Outcome (December) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  188. TrueShares Structured Outcome (February) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  189. TrueShares Structured Outcome (January) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  190. TrueShares Structured Outcome (July) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

 

 

 

  191. TrueShares Structured Outcome (June) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  192. TrueShares Structured Outcome (March) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  193. TrueShares Structured Outcome (May) ETF, Listed Funds Trust
  194. TrueShares Structured Outcome (November) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  195. TrueShares Structured Outcome (October) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  196. TrueShares Structured Outcome (September) ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  197. TrueShares Technology, AI & Deep Learning ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust
  198. U.S. Global Investors Funds
  199. Union Street Partners Value Fund, Series of World Funds Trust
  200. Variant Alternative Income Fund
  201. Variant Impact Fund
  202. VictoryShares Developed Enhanced Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
  203. VictoryShares Dividend Accelerator ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
  204. VictoryShares Emerging Markets Value Momentum ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
  205. VictoryShares International High Div Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
  206. VictoryShares International Value Momentum ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
  207. VictoryShares International Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
  208. VictoryShares NASDAQ Next 50 ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
  209. VictoryShares Protect America ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
  210. VictoryShares Top Veteran Employers ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
  211. VictoryShares US 500 Enhanced Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
  212. VictoryShares US 500 Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
  213. VictoryShares US Discovery Enhanced Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
  214. VictoryShares US EQ Income Enhanced Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
  215. VictoryShares US Large Cap High Div Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
  216. VictoryShares US Multi-Factor Minimum Volatility ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
  217. VictoryShares US Small Cap High Div Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II

 

 

 

  218. VictoryShares US Small Cap Volatility Wtd ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
  219. VictoryShares US Small Mid Cap Value Momentum ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
  220. VictoryShares US Value Momentum ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
  221. VictoryShares USAA Core Intermediate-Term Bond ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
  222. VictoryShares USAA Core Short-Term Bond ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
  223. VictoryShares WestEnd US Sector ETF, Series of Victory Portfolios II
  224. Walthausen Funds
  225. West Loop Realty Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust
  226. WisdomTree Digital Trust
  227. WisdomTree Trust
  228. WST Investment Trust
  229. XAI Octagon Floating Rate & Alternative Income Term Trust

 

(b)The following are the Officers and Managers of the Distributor, the Registrant’s underwriter. The Distributor’s main business address is Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 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

 

(c)Not applicable.

 

Item 33. Location of Accounts and Records

 

The books, accounts and other documents required by Section 31(a) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder are maintained in the physical possession of Tema Global Limited, 2nd Floor, Le Gallais Building, 54 Bath Street, St. Helier, Jersey, JE1 1FW; NESO Investment Management LLC, 13 Riverside Avenue, Westport, CT 06880; U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, 615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, WI 53202, U.S. Bank, N.A., 1555 N. Rivercenter Drive, MK-WI-S302, Milwaukee, WI 53212. Foreside Fund Services, LLC, Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101, maintains all records relating to its services as Distributor of the Registrant at Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101.

 

 

 

Item 34. Management Services

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 35. Undertakings

 

Not applicable.

 

 

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant has duly caused this Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of London, United Kingdom, on the 6th day of June, 2023.

 

  Tema ETF Trust  
     
  By: /s/ Matthew Keeling  
  Name: Matthew Keeling  
  Title: President  

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in their indicated capacities.

 

Signature   Title   Date
         
 /s/ Matthew Keeling   President and Trustee   June 6, 2023
Matthew Keeling        
         
/s/ John Jacobs*   President and Trustee   June 6, 2023
John Jacobs        
         
/s/ Richard Keary*   Trustee   June 6, 2023
Richard Keary        
         
/s/ Robert Sherry*   Trustee   June 6, 2023
Robert Sherry        
         
/s/ Josh Hunter   Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer   June 6, 2023
Josh Hunter        

 

*By: /s/ Matthew Keeling  
Name: Matthew Keeling  
Title: President  
Date: June 6, 2023  

  

Attorney-In-Fact – Pursuant to Power of Attorney Previously Filed

 

 

 

Exhibit Index

 

Exhibit No.   Exhibit

  

None