Defiance Daily Target 2X Long MSTR ETF ( )
Defiance Daily Target 2X Long AVGO ETF ( )
Defiance Daily Target 2X Long SMCI ETF ( )
listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market, LLC
Defiance Daily Target 2X Long LLY ETF ( )
Defiance Daily Target 2X Long NVO ETF ( )
listed on NYSE Arca Inc.
PROSPECTUS
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) has not approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Each Fund seeks daily leveraged investment results and is intended to be used as a short-term trading vehicle.
Each Fund attempts to provide daily investment results that correspond to two times (200%) the share price performance of an underlying stock (an “Underlying Security”).
The Funds are not intended to be used by, and are not appropriate for, investors who do not intend to actively monitor and manage their portfolios. The Funds are very different from most mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. Investors should note that:
(1) Each Fund pursues a daily leveraged investment objective, which means that the Fund is riskier than alternatives that do not use leverage because the Fund magnify the performance of its Underlying Security.
(2) Seeking to replicate daily leveraged performances of an Underlying Security’s share price means that the return of a Fund for a period longer than a full trading day will be the product of a series of daily returns for each trading day during such period held.
As a consequence, especially in periods of market volatility, the volatility of an Underlying Security’s share price may affect the corresponding Fund’s return as much as, or more than, the return of the Underlying Security’s shares. The performance of a Fund for periods longer or shorter than a single day will very likely differ in amount, and possibly even direction, from 200% of the daily return of its Underlying Security’s shares for the same period, before accounting for fees and expenses. The Funds may not perform as expected.
The Funds are not suitable for all investors. The Funds are designed to be utilized only by sophisticated investors, such as traders and active investors employing dynamic strategies. Investors in the Funds should:
(a) understand the risks associated with the use of leverage;
(b) understand the consequences of seeking daily leveraged investment results; and
(c) intend to actively monitor and manage their investments.
Investors who do not understand the Funds, or do not intend to actively manage their funds and monitor their investments, should not buy shares of the Funds.
There is no assurance that any Fund will achieve its investment objective and an investment in a Fund could lose a substantial amount of money over a short period of time. The Funds are not a complete investment program.
The Funds’ investment adviser will not attempt to position a Fund’s portfolio to ensure that the Fund does not gain or lose more than a maximum percentage of its net asset value on a given trading day.
As a consequence, if an Underlying Security’s share price referenced by a Fund decreases by more than 50% on a given trading day, the corresponding Fund’s investors could lose all of their money.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUMMARY INFORMATION
Important Information About the Fund
The Defiance Daily Target 2X Long LLY ETF (the “Fund”) seeks daily leveraged investment results of two times (200%) the daily percentage change in the share price of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY”) (the “Underlying Security” or “LLY”). Because the Fund seeks daily leveraged investment results, it is very different from most other exchange-traded funds. It is also riskier than alternatives that do not use leverage.
The return for investors that invest for periods longer or shorter than a trading day should not be expected to be 200% of the performance of the Underlying Security’s shares for the period. The return of the Fund for a period longer than a trading day will be the result of each trading day’s compounded return during such period held, which will very likely differ from 200% of the return of the Underlying Security’s shares for that period. Holding shares of the Fund for longer than a single day and higher volatility of the Underlying Security’s shares increase the impact of compounding on an investor’s returns, which may have a negative or positive impact on an investor’s returns. During periods of higher Underlying Security share price volatility, the volatility of the Underlying Security’s shares may affect the Fund’s return as much as, or more than, the return of the Underlying Security’s shares. The impact of compounding will impact each shareholder differently depending on the period of time an investment in the Fund is held and the volatility of the Underlying Security’s shares during a shareholder’s holding period of an investment in the Fund. See “Principal Investment Risks – Compounding and Market Volatility Risk” below for an example of how volatility of the Underlying Security’s shares may affect the Fund’s return as much as, or more than, the return of the Underlying Security’s shares.
The Fund is not suitable for all investors. The Fund is designed to be utilized only by knowledgeable investors who understand the potential consequences of seeking daily leveraged (2X) investment results, understand the risks associated with the use of leverage, and are willing to monitor their portfolios frequently. The Fund is not intended to be used by, and is not appropriate for, investors who do not intend to actively monitor and manage their portfolios. For periods longer than a single day, the Fund will lose money if the Underlying Security’s performance is flat, and it is possible that the Fund will lose money even if the Underlying Security’s performance increases over a period longer than a single day. An investor could lose the full principal value of his/her investment within a single day.
The Fund seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, of two times (200%) the daily percentage change in the share price of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY). The Fund does not seek to achieve its stated investment objective for a period other than a single trading day.
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
Management Fee | % | |||
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | ||||
Other Expenses(2) | % | |||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses(3) | % |
(1) | |
(2) | |
(3) |
1
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem or hold all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year | 3 Years |
$ |
$ |
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in total annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
The Fund is an actively managed exchange traded fund (“ETF”) that attempts to achieve two times (200%) the daily percentage change in the share price of the Underlying Security by entering into swap agreements on the Underlying Security. The Fund aims to achieve this daily percentage change for a single day, and not for any other period. A “single day” means the period “from the close of regular trading on one trading day to the close on the next trading day.”
The Fund will enter into one or more swap agreements with financial institutions for a specified period, which may range from one day to longer than a year. Through each swap agreement, the Fund and the financial institution will agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on the Underlying Security’s share price. The gross return (meaning the return before deducting any fees or expenses) to be exchanged or “swapped” between the parties is calculated with respect to a “notional amount,” (meaning the face amount of the instrument) e.g., the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount representing the Underlying Security. In the event the Fund is unable to achieve sufficient swap exposure, the Fund may not always achieve investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to two times (2x) the daily performance of the Underlying Security, and may return substantially less during such periods.
At the end of each day, the Fund’s swaps are valued using market valuations and the Fund’s investment adviser rebalances the Fund’s holdings in an attempt to maintain leveraged exposure for the Fund equal to approximately 200% of the Underlying Security’s share price.
For examples of a hypothetical investment in the Fund, see “Additional Information About the Fund – Principal Investment Strategies” below.
Fund performance for periods greater than one single day is primarily (but not solely) a function of the following factors: a) the Underlying Security volatility; b) the Underlying Security’s performance; c) period of time; d) financing rates associated with leveraged exposure; and e) other Fund expenses.
The Fund will hold assets to serve as collateral for the Fund’s swap agreements. For those collateral holdings, the Fund may invest in (1) U.S. Government securities, such as bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury; (2) money market funds; (3) short term bond ETFs; and/or (4) corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper and other short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses that are rated investment grade or of comparable quality.
To complement the Fund’s primary strategy of using swap agreements to achieve leveraged exposure, the Fund may employ listed options contracts as an additional tool to generate leverage on an as-needed basis. By incorporating listed options, such as call options, the Fund can gain leveraged exposure to the Underlying Security without relying solely on swaps. This flexibility allows the Fund to adjust its leverage strategy in response to market conditions, liquidity constraints, or other factors that may impact the availability or pricing of swap agreements. The use of options may help the Fund meet its daily investment objective more effectively under varying market conditions.
The Fund has adopted a policy to have at least 80% exposure to financial instruments with economic characteristics that should perform 2X the daily performance of the Underlying Security’s shares. The Fund is expected to allocate between 40% and 60% of its assets as collateral for swap agreements or as premiums for purchased options contracts.
The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act.
2
Because of daily rebalancing and the compounding of each day’s return over time, the return of the Fund for periods longer than a single day will be the result of each day’s returns compounded over the period, which will very likely differ from 200% of the return of the Underlying Security’s shares over the same period. The Fund will lose money if the Underlying Security’s performance is flat over time, and because of daily rebalancing, the Underlying Security’s shares’ volatility and the effects of compounding, the Fund may lose money over time while the Underlying Security’s performance increases over a period longer than a single day. As a consequence, investors should not plan to hold shares of the Fund unmonitored for periods longer than a single trading day.
Eli Lilly and Company (“LLY”)
LLY is a global pharmaceutical company, which is dedicated to discovering, developing, manufacturing, and marketing innovative medicines in various therapeutic areas, including neuroscience, endocrinology, oncology, cardiovascular diseases, and immunology. LLY’s portfolio encompasses a wide range of prescription drugs, biologics, and animal health products. LLY is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”). Per LLY’s most recent Form 10-K filing, the aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of LLY (based on the last reported sale price of its common equity on June 30, 2023 on the New York Stock Exchange) was approximately $398 billion.
LLY is registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Information provided to or filed with the SEC by LLY pursuant to the Exchange Act can be located by reference to the SEC file number 001-06351 through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, information regarding LLY may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles and other publicly disseminated documents.
This document relates only to the securities offered hereby and does not relate to the shares of LLY or other securities of LLY. The Fund has derived all disclosures contained in this document regarding LLY from the publicly available documents. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates has participated in the preparation of such publicly available offering documents or made any due diligence inquiry regarding such documents with respect to LLY. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation that such publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding LLY is accurate or complete. Furthermore, the Fund cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the date hereof (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described above) that would affect the trading price of LLY (and therefore the share price of LLY at the time we price the securities) have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events or the disclosure of or failure to disclose material future events concerning LLY could affect the value received with respect to the securities and therefore the value of the securities.
None of the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation to you as to the performance of LLY.
NONE OF THE FUND, TIDAL TRUST II, AND TIDAL INVESTMENTS LLC ARE AFFILIATED WITH THE UNDERLYING SECURITY.
Due to the Fund’s investment strategy, the Fund’s investment exposure is concentrated in the same industry as that assigned to the Underlying Security. As of the date of the Prospectus, LLY is assigned to the pharmaceutical industry.
The
principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below.
An investment in the Fund entails risk. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective and there is a risk that you could lose all of your money invested in the Fund. The Fund is not a complete investment program. In addition, the Fund presents risks not traditionally associated with other ETFs. It is important that investors closely review all of the risks listed below and understand them before making an investment in the Fund.
Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears.
LLY Risks. The Fund invests in swap contracts that are based on the share price of LLY. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of LLY, even though it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s investments in swap contracts that are based on the value of LLY, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in LLY Risk. LLY is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of LLY but will be exposed to the performance of LLY (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
3
LLY Trading Risk. The trading price of LLY may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. The pharmaceutical industry, including LLY, operates within a market that has historically witnessed significant price and volume fluctuations, sometimes unrelated to the companies’ operating performance. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading LLY, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence LLY’s stock price disproportionately, as LLY often receives heightened public attention regardless of its operational performance. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies, including LLY, have faced securities class action litigation. LLY has been subject to such litigation in the past and continues to defend against such actions. However, any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of LLY, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
LLY Performance Risk. LLY may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of LLY to decline. LLY provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance LLY provides may not ultimately be accurate and has in the past been inaccurate in certain respects, such as the timing of new product manufacturing ramps. The guidance is based on certain assumptions such as those relating to global and local economic conditions, anticipated production and sales volumes (which generally are not linear throughout a given period), average sales prices, supplier and commodity costs, and planned cost reductions. If LLY’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by LLY could decline significantly.
Pharmaceutical Industry Risks: Pharmaceutical research and development are very costly and highly uncertain; LLY may not succeed in developing, licensing, or acquiring commercially successful products sufficient in number or value to replace revenues of products that have lost or will lose intellectual property protection or are displaced by competing products or therapies. LLY and LLY’s products face intense competition from multinational pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, and lower-cost generic and biosimilar manufacturers, and such competition could have a material adverse effect on LLY’s business. LLY’s business is subject to increasing government price controls and other public and private restrictions on pricing, reimbursement, and access for LLY’s drugs, which could have a material adverse effect on LLY’s results of operations, reputation or business. Pharmaceutical products can develop safety or efficacy concerns, which could have a material adverse effect on LLY’s revenues, income, and reputation.
Intellectual Property Risks: LLY derives a significant percentage of its total revenue from relatively few products and sells products through increasingly consolidated supply chain entities, which may subject LLY to, or exacerbate, various risks. LLY depends on products with intellectual property protection for most of LLY’s revenues, cash flows, and earnings; the loss of effective intellectual property protection for certain of LLY’s products has resulted, and in the future is likely to continue to result, in rapid and severe declines in revenues for those products. LLY’s long-term success depends on intellectual property protection; if LLY’s intellectual property rights are invalidated, circumvented, or weakened, LLY’s business will be adversely affected.
Operations Risks: Failure, inadequacy, breach of, or unauthorized access to, LLY’s IT systems or those of LLY’s third-party service providers, unauthorized access to LLY’s confidential information, or violations of data protection laws, could each result in material harm to LLY’s business and reputation. Manufacturing, quality, or supply chain difficulties, disruptions, or shortages could lead to product supply problems. Reliance on third-party relationships and outsourcing arrangements could adversely affect LLY’s business. LLY’s use of artificial intelligence or other emerging technologies could adversely impact LLY’s business and financial results.
International Business Risks: Uneven economic growth or downturns or international trade and other global disruptions, geopolitical tensions, or disputes could adversely affect LLY’s business and operating results. Changes in foreign currency rates, interest rate risks, and inflation affect LLY’s results of operations.
Government Regulation and Litigation Risks: LLY faces litigation and investigations related to its products, how LLY price or commercialize its products, and other aspects of LLY’s business, which could adversely affect LLY’s business, and LLY is self-insured for such matters. LLY is subject to evolving and complex tax laws, which may result in additional liabilities and affect LLY’s results of operations. Regulatory compliance problems could be damaging to LLY.
4
Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, which focuses on an individual security, may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole. Additionally, the Fund will seek to employ its investment strategy as it relates to the underlying issuer regardless of whether there are significant corporate actions such as restructurings, enforcement activity, or acquisitions or periods adverse market, economic, or other conditions and will not seek to take temporary defensive positions during such periods.
Compounding and Market Volatility Risk. The Fund has a daily leveraged investment objective and the Fund’s performance for periods greater than a trading day will be the result of each day’s returns compounded over the period, which is very likely to differ from two times (200%) the Underlying Security’s performance, before the Fund’s management fee and other expenses. Compounding affects all investments but has a more significant impact on funds that aim to replicate leveraged daily returns and that rebalance daily. For the Fund aiming to replicate two times the daily performance of an Underlying Security, if adverse daily performance of the Underlying Security reduces the amount of a shareholder’s investment, any further adverse daily performance will lead to a smaller dollar loss because the shareholder’s investment had already been reduced by the prior adverse performance. Equally, however, if favorable daily performance of the Underlying Security increases the amount of a shareholder’s investment, the dollar amount lost due to future adverse performance will increase because the shareholder’s investment has increased.
The effect of compounding becomes more pronounced as the Underlying Security’s volatility and the holding period increase. The impact of compounding will impact each shareholder differently depending on the period of time an investment in the Fund is held and the volatility of the Underlying Security during a shareholder’s holding period of an investment in the Fund.
The chart below provides examples of how the Underlying Security’s volatility could affect the Fund’s performance. The chart illustrates the impact of two factors that affect the Fund’s performance – the Underlying Security’s volatility and the Underlying Security’s performance. The Underlying Security’s performance shows the percentage change in the share price of the Underlying Security over the specified time period, while the Underlying Security’s volatility is a statistical measure of the magnitude of fluctuations in the returns during that time period. As illustrated below, even if the Underlying Security’s performance over two equal time periods is identical, different Underlying Security volatility (i.e., in magnitude of fluctuations in the share price of the Underlying Security) during the two time periods could result in drastically different Fund performance for the two time periods because of compounding daily returns during the time periods.
Fund performance for periods greater than one single day can be estimated given any set of assumptions for the following factors: a) the Underlying Security volatility; b) the Underlying Security performance; c) period of time; d) financing rates associated with leveraged exposure; and e) other Fund expenses. The chart shows estimated Fund returns for a number of combinations of Underlying Security volatility and Underlying Security performance over a one-year period. Performance shown in the chart assumes that: (i) there were no Fund expenses; (ii) borrowing/lending rates (to obtain leveraged exposure) of 0%. If Fund expenses and/or actual borrowing/lending rates were reflected the estimated returns would be different than those shown. Particularly during periods of higher Underlying Security volatility, compounding will cause results for periods longer than a trading day to vary from two times (200%) the performance of the Underlying Security.
As shown in the chart below, the Fund would be expected to lose 6.1% if there was no change in the share price of the Underlying Security over a one-year period during which the Underlying Security experienced annualized volatility of 25%. If the Underlying Security’s annualized volatility were to rise to 75%, the hypothetical loss for a one-year period would widen to approximately -43%. At higher ranges of volatility, there is a chance of a significant loss of value in the Fund, even if there were no change in the share price of the Underlying Security. For instance, if the Underlying Security’s annualized volatility is 100%, the Fund would be expected to lose 63.2% of its value, even if the cumulative Underlying Security change in the share price of the Underlying Security for the year was 0%.
5
Areas shaded red (or dark gray) represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return less than two times (200%) the performance of the Underlying Security and those shaded green (or light gray) represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return more than two times (200%) the performance of the Underlying Security. The Fund’s actual performance may be significantly better or worse than the performance shown below as a result of any of the factors discussed above or in the “Daily Correlation/Tracking Risk” below.
Estimated
Returns of 200% or Two Times Performance of the Underlying Security |
|||||||
Underlying Security Performance | One Year Volatility Rate | ||||||
One
Year Underlying Security |
2X
Times (200%) the One Year Performance |
10% | 25% | 50% | 75% | 100% | |
-60% | -120% | -84.2% | -85.0% | -87.5% | -90.9% | -94.1% | |
-50% | -100% | -75.2% | -76.5% | -80.5% | -85.8% | -90.8% | |
-40% | -80% | -64.4% | -66.2% | -72.0% | -79.5% | -86.8% | |
-30% | -60% | -51.5% | -54.0% | -61.8% | -72.1% | -82.0% | |
-20% | -40% | -36.6% | -39.9% | -50.2% | -63.5% | -76.5% | |
-10% | -20% | -19.8% | -23.9% | -36.9% | -53.8% | -70.2% | |
0% | 0% | -1.0% | -6.1% | -22.1% | -43.0% | -63.2% | |
10% | 20% | 19.8% | 13.7% | -5.8% | -31.1% | -55.5% | |
20% | 40% | 42.6% | 35.3% | 12.1% | -18.0% | -47.0% | |
30% | 60% | 67.3% | 58.8% | 31.6% | -3.7% | -37.8% | |
40% | 80% | 94.0% | 84.1% | 52.6% | 11.7% | -27.9% | |
50% | 100% | 122.8% | 111.4% | 75.2% | 28.2% | -17.2% | |
60% | 120% | 153.5% | 140.5% | 99.4% | 45.9% | -5.8% |
The Underlying Security’s annualized historical volatility rate for the five-year period ended September 30, 2024 was 31.66%. The Underlying Security’s highest volatility rate for any one calendar year during this period was 42.37% and volatility for a shorter period of time may have been substantially higher. The Underlying Security’s annualized performance during this period was 47.39%. Historical Underlying Security volatility and performance are not indications of what Underlying Security volatility and performance will be in the future.
Daily Correlation/Tracking Risk. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of leveraged correlation to the Underlying Security and therefore achieve its daily leveraged investment objective. To achieve a high degree of leveraged correlation with the Underlying Security, the Fund seeks to rebalance its portfolio daily to keep exposure consistent with its daily leveraged investment objective. The possibility of the Fund being materially over- or under-exposed to the Underlying Security increases on days when the Underlying Security is volatile near the close of the trading day. Market disruptions, regulatory restrictions and extreme volatility will also adversely affect the Fund’s ability to adjust exposure to the required levels. If there is a significant intra-day market event and/or the Underlying Security experiences a significant increase or decline, the Fund may not meet its investment objective, be able to rebalance its portfolio appropriately, or may experience significant premiums or discounts, or widened bid-ask spreads.
The Fund may have difficulty achieving its daily leveraged investment objective due to fees, expenses, transaction costs, financing costs related to the use of derivatives, investments in ETFs, directly or indirectly, income items, valuation methodology, accounting standards and disruptions or illiquidity in the markets for the securities or derivatives held by the Fund. The Fund may be subject to large movements of assets into and out of the Fund, potentially resulting in the Fund being over- or under-exposed to the Underlying Security. The Fund may take or refrain from taking positions to improve the tax efficiency or to comply with various regulatory restrictions, either of which may negatively impact the Fund’s leveraged correlation to the Underlying Security.
Leverage Risk. The Fund obtains investment exposure in excess of its net assets by utilizing leverage and may lose more money in market conditions that are adverse to its investment objective than a fund that does not utilize leverage. An investment in the Fund is exposed to the risk that a decline in the daily performance of the Underlying Security will be magnified. This means that an investment in the Fund will be reduced by an amount equal to 2% for every 1% daily decline in the share price of the Underlying Security, not including the costs of financing leverage and other operating expenses, which would further reduce its value. The Fund could theoretically lose an amount greater than its net assets in the event the share price of the Underlying Security declines more than 50%. Leverage will also have the effect of magnifying any differences in the Fund performance’s correlation with the Underlying Security’s share price.
6
Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, leverage, imperfect daily correlations with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The use of derivatives may result in larger losses or smaller gains than directly investing in securities. When the Fund uses derivatives, there may be imperfect correlation between the share price of the Underlying Security and the derivative, which may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective. Because derivatives often require only a limited initial investment, the use of derivatives may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts initially invested.
The Fund will be subject to regulatory constraints relating to level of value at risk that the Fund may incur through its derivative portfolio. To the extent the Fund exceeds these regulatory thresholds over an extended period, the Fund may determine that it is necessary to make adjustments to the Fund’s investment strategy, including the desired daily leveraged performance for the Fund.
In addition, the Fund’s investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:
Swap Agreements. The use of swap transactions is a highly specialized activity, which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. Whether the Fund will be successful in using swap agreements to achieve its investment goal depends on the ability of the Adviser to structure such swap agreements in accordance with the Fund’s investment objective and to identify counterparties for those swap agreements. If the Adviser is unable to enter into swap agreements that provide leveraged exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund may not meet its stated investment objective. Additionally, any financing, borrowing or other costs associated with using swap transactions may also have the effect of lowering the Fund’s return.
The swap agreements in which the Fund invests are generally traded in the over-the-counter market, which generally has less transparency than exchange-traded derivatives instruments. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined reference assets or underlying securities or instruments. The gross return to be exchanged or swapped between the parties is calculated based on a notional amount or the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a basket of securities.
If the Underlying Security has a dramatic move that causes a material decline in the Fund’s net assets, the terms of a swap agreement between the Fund and its counterparty may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the swap transaction with the Fund. In that event, the Fund may be unable to enter into another swap agreement or invest in other derivatives to achieve exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. This may prevent the Fund from achieving its leveraged investment objective, even if the Underlying Security later reverses all or a portion of its movement.
Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events. The value of the options contracts in which the Fund invests are substantially influenced by the value of the Underlying Security. The Fund may experience substantial downside from specific option positions and certain option positions held by the Fund may expire worthless. The options held by the Fund are exercisable at the strike price on their expiration date. As an option approaches its expiration date, its value typically increasingly moves with the value of the underlying instrument. However, prior to such date, the value of an option generally does not increase or decrease at the same rate as the underlying instrument. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in values options contracts and the underlying instrument, and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options contracts. The value of the options held by the Fund will be determined based on market quotations or other recognized pricing methods. Additionally, as the Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security through the use of options contracts, as the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it will enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” If the expiring options contracts do not generate proceeds enough to cover the cost of entering into new options contracts, the Fund may experience losses. The use of options to generate leverage introduces additional risks, including significant potential losses if the market moves unfavorably. The leverage inherent in options can amplify both gains and losses, leading to increased volatility and potential for substantial losses, particularly in periods of market uncertainty or low liquidity. Additionally, the Fund may incur losses if the value of the Underlying Security moves against its positions, potentially resulting in a complete loss of the premium paid.
Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in derivatives which exposes the Fund to the risk that the counterparty will not fulfill its obligation to the Fund. Counterparty risk may arise because of the counterparty’s financial condition (i.e., financial difficulties, bankruptcy, or insolvency), market activities and developments, or other reasons, whether foreseen or not. A counterparty’s inability to fulfill its obligation may result in significant financial loss to the Fund and the Fund may be unable to recover its investment from such counterparty or may obtain a limited and/or delayed recovery.
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In addition, the Fund may enter into swap agreements with a limited number of counterparties, which may increase the Fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk. Further, there is a risk that no suitable counterparties will be willing to enter into, or continue to enter into, transactions with the Fund and, as a result, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective.
Intra-Day Investment Risk. The Fund seeks investment results from the close of the market on a given trading day until the close of the market on the subsequent trading day. The exact exposure of an investment in the Fund intraday in the secondary market is a function of the difference between the share price of the Underlying Security at the market close on the first trading day and the share price of the Underlying Security at the time of purchase. If the share price of the Underlying Security rises, the Fund’s net assets will rise by approximately twice the amount as the Fund’s exposure. Conversely, if the share price of the Underlying Security declines, the Fund’s net assets will decline by approximately two times the amount as the Fund’s exposure. Thus, an investor that purchases Shares intra-day may experience performance that is greater than, or less than, the Fund’s stated leveraged performance of the Underlying Security.
If there is a significant intra-day market event and/or the securities of the Underlying Security experience a significant increase or decrease, the Fund may not meet its investment objective or rebalance its portfolio appropriately.
Fixed Income Securities Risk. When the Fund invests in fixed income securities, the value of your investment in the Fund will fluctuate with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities owned by the Fund. In general, the market price of fixed income securities with longer maturities will increase or decrease more in response to changes in interest rates than shorter-term securities. Other risk factors include credit risk (the debtor may default), extension risk (an issuer may exercise its right to repay principal on a fixed rate obligation held by the Fund later than expected), and prepayment risk (the debtor may pay its obligation early, reducing the amount of interest payments). These risks could affect the value of a particular investment by the Fund, possibly causing the Fund’s Share price and total return to be reduced and fluctuate more than other types of investments.
Rebalancing Risk. If for any reason the Fund is unable to rebalance all or a portion of its portfolio, or if all or a portion of the portfolio is rebalanced incorrectly, the Fund’s investment exposure may not be consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. In these instances, the Fund may have investment exposure to the Underlying Security that is significantly greater or less than its stated investment objective. As a result, the Fund may be exposed to leverage risk because it had not been properly rebalanced and may not achieve its investment objective.
ETF Risks.
Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem Shares directly from the Fund (known as “Authorized Participants” or “APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services; or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may require it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. For example, the Fund may not be able to redeem in-kind certain securities held by the Fund (e.g., derivative instruments). In such a case, the Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. By paying out higher annual capital gain distributions, investors may be subjected to increased capital gains taxes. The costs associated with cash redemptions may include brokerage costs that the Fund may not have incurred if it had made the redemptions in-kind. These costs could be imposed on the Fund, decreasing its NAV, to the extent these costs are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an authorized participant.
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Trading. Although Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as NYSE Arca Inc.(the “Exchange”), and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares. This adverse effect on liquidity for the Fund’s shares may lead to wider bid-ask spreads and differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and the underlying value of the shares.
Liquidity Risk. In certain circumstances, such as the disruption of the orderly markets for the financial instruments in which the Fund invests, the Fund might not be able to acquire or dispose of certain holdings quickly or at prices that represent true market value in the judgment of the Adviser. Markets for the financial instruments in which the Fund invests may be disrupted by a number of events, including but not limited to economic crises, health crises, natural disasters, excessive volatility, new legislation, or regulatory changes inside or outside of the U.S. These situations may have an impact on the liquidity of the Fund’s own shares.”
High Portfolio Turnover Risk. Daily rebalancing of the Fund’s holdings pursuant to its daily investment objective causes a much greater number of portfolio transactions when compared to most ETFs. Additionally, active market trading of the Fund’s Shares on exchanges (such as the Exchange), could cause more frequent creation and redemption activities, which could increase the number of portfolio transactions. Frequent and active trading may lead to higher transaction costs because of increased broker commissions resulting from such transactions. In addition, there is the possibility of significantly increased short-term capital gains (which will be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income when distributed to them). The Fund calculates portfolio turnover without including the short-term cash instruments or derivative transactions that comprise the majority of the Fund’s trading. As such, if the Fund’s extensive use of derivative instruments were reflected, the calculated portfolio turnover rate would be significantly higher.
Tracking Error Risk. Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of its investment objective which aims to replicate two times the daily percentage change in the price of the Underlying Security. Tracking error may occur for a number of reasons. Tracking error may occur because of transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of cash, differences in accrual of dividends, being under- or overexposed to the Underlying Security or the need to meet new or existing regulatory requirements. Tracking error risk may be heightened during times of market volatility or other unusual market conditions such as market disruptions. The Fund may be required to deviate from its investment objectives, and therefore experience tracking error, as a result of market restrictions or other legal reasons, including regulatory limits or other restrictions on securities that may be purchased by the Adviser and its affiliates.
Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. Markets for securities or financial instruments could be disrupted by a number of events, including, but not limited to, an economic crisis, natural disasters, epidemics/pandemics, new legislation or regulatory changes inside or outside the United States. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, especially in changing or volatile markets. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security at an unfavorable time or price, the Fund may be adversely impacted. Certain market conditions or restrictions may prevent the Fund from limiting losses, realizing gains or achieving a high correlation with the Underlying Security. There is no assurance that a security that is deemed liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid. Market illiquidity may cause losses for the Fund.
Market Events Risk. The Fund’s investments are subject to changes in general economic conditions, general market fluctuations and the risks inherent in investment in securities and other financial instruments. Investment markets can be volatile and prices of investments can change substantially due to various factors including, but not limited to, economic growth or recession, changes in interest rates, inflation, changes in the actual or perceived creditworthiness of issuers, and general market liquidity. The Fund is subject to the risk that geopolitical events will disrupt securities and other financial markets and adversely affect global economies and markets. Local, regional or global events such as war, military conflicts, acts of terrorism, natural disasters, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments. Continuing uncertainties regarding interest rates, rising inflation, political events, rising government debt in the U.S. and trade tensions also contribute to market volatility. Conflict, loss of life and disaster connected to ongoing armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia in Europe and between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East could have severe adverse effects on the related region, including significant adverse effects on the regional or global economies and the markets for certain securities. The U.S. and the European Union have imposed sanctions on certain Russian individuals and companies, including certain financial institutions, and have limited certain exports and imports to and from Russia. These conflicts have contributed to recent market volatility and may continue to do so.
Money Market Instrument Risk. The Fund may use a variety of money market instruments for cash management purposes, including money market funds, depositary accounts and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements are contracts in which a seller of securities agrees to buy the securities back at a specified time and price. Repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk related to the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. Money market instruments may lose money.
New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.
Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers could cause the Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Fund held a more diversified portfolio.
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Trading Halt Risk. Although the Underlying Security’s shares are listed for trading on an exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will be available at all times and the Exchange may halt trading of such shares in certain circumstances. A halt in trading in the Underlying Security’s shares is expected, in turn, to result in a halt in the trading in the Fund’s Shares. Trading in the Underlying Security’s and/or Fund’s Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in the Underlying Security’s and/or Fund’s Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Underlying Security’s and/or Fund’s Shares on an exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to exchange “circuit breaker” rules.” In the event of a trading halt for an extended period of time, the Fund may be unable to execute arrangements with swap counterparties that are necessary to implement the Fund’s investment strategy.
Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational 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 relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Fund’s investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
U.S. Government and U.S. Agency Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. Government obligations include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, such as the U.S. Treasury. Payment of principal and interest on U.S. Government obligations may be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States or may be backed solely by the issuing or guaranteeing agency or instrumentality itself. In the latter case, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, which agency or instrumentality may be privately owned. There can be no assurance that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises) where it is not obligated to do so.
Tax Risk. In order to qualify for the favorable tax treatment generally available to regulated investment companies, the Fund must satisfy certain diversification and other requirements. In particular, the Fund generally may not acquire a security if, as a result of the acquisition, more than 50% of the value of the Fund’s assets would be invested in (a) issuers in which the Fund has, in each case, invested more than 5% of the Fund’s assets and (b) issuers more than 10% of whose outstanding voting securities are owned by the Fund. The application of these requirements to certain investments (including swaps) that may be entered into by the Fund is unclear. In addition, the application of these requirements to the Fund’s investment objective is not clear, particularly because the Fund’s investment objective focuses on the performance of the stock of a single issuer. If the Fund were to fail to qualify as a regulated investment company, it would be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation, and distributions to its shareholders would not be deductible by the Fund in computing its taxable income.
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Management
Investment Adviser: Tidal Investments LLC serves as investment adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers:
The following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.
Qiao Duan, CFA, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2024.
Christopher P. Mullen, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2024.
Purchase and Sale of Shares
The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only APs (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.
Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through brokers at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares (the “bid” price) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (the “ask” price) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market. This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “bid-ask spread.”
When available, information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, how often Shares traded on the Exchange at a premium or discount, and bid-ask spreads can be found on the Fund’s website at https://www.defianceetfs.com.
Tax Information
Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless an 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.
Financial Intermediary Compensation
If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other activities, such as marketing, educational training, or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s website for more information.
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Important Information About the Fund
The Defiance Daily Target 2X Long MSTR ETF (the “Fund”) seeks daily leveraged investment results of two times (200%) the daily percentage change in the share price of MicroStrategy Incorporated (Nasdaq: MSTR) (the “Underlying Security” or “MSTR”). Because the Fund seeks daily leveraged investment results, it is very different from most other exchange-traded funds. It is also riskier than alternatives that do not use leverage.
The return for investors that invest for periods longer or shorter than a trading day should not be expected to be 200% of the performance of the Underlying Security’s shares for the period. The return of the Fund for a period longer than a trading day will be the result of each trading day’s compounded return during such period held, which will very likely differ from 200% of the return of the Underlying Security’s shares for that period. Holding shares of the Fund for longer than a single day and higher volatility of the Underlying Security’s shares increase the impact of compounding on an investor’s returns, which may have a negative or positive impact on an investor’s returns. During periods of higher Underlying Security share price volatility, the volatility of the Underlying Security’s shares may affect the Fund’s return as much as, or more than, the return of the Underlying Security’s shares. The impact of compounding will impact each shareholder differently depending on the period of time an investment in the Fund is held and the volatility of the Underlying Security’s shares during a shareholder’s holding period of an investment in the Fund. See “Principal Investment Risks – Compounding and Market Volatility Risk” below for an example of how volatility of the Underlying Security’s shares may affect the Fund’s return as much as, or more than, the return of the Underlying Security’s shares.
The Fund is not suitable for all investors. The Fund is designed to be utilized only by knowledgeable investors who understand the potential consequences of seeking daily leveraged (2X) investment results, understand the risks associated with the use of leverage, and are willing to monitor their portfolios frequently. The Fund is not intended to be used by, and is not appropriate for, investors who do not intend to actively monitor and manage their portfolios. For periods longer than a single day, the Fund will lose money if the Underlying Security’s performance is flat, and it is possible that the Fund will lose money even if the Underlying Security’s performance increases over a period longer than a single day. An investor could lose the full principal value of his/her investment within a single day.
The Fund seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, of two times (200%) the daily percentage change in the share price of MicroStrategy Incorporated (Nasdaq: MSTR) The Fund does not seek to achieve its stated investment objective for a period other than a single trading day.
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
Management Fee | % | |||
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | ||||
Other Expenses(2) | % | |||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses(3) | % |
(1) | |
(2) | |
(3) |
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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 hold or redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year | 3 Years |
$ |
$ |
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in total annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
The Fund is an actively managed exchange traded fund (“ETF”) that attempts to achieve two times (200%) the daily percentage change in the share price of the Underlying Security by entering into swap agreements on the Underlying Security. The Fund aims to achieve this daily percentage change for a single day, and not for any other period. A “single day” means the period “from the close of regular trading on one trading day to the close on the next trading day.”
The Fund will enter into one or more swap agreements with financial institutions for a specified period, which may range from one day to longer than a year. Through each swap agreement, the Fund and the financial institution will agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on the Underlying Security’s share price. The gross return (meaning the return before deducting any fees or expenses) to be exchanged or “swapped” between the parties is calculated with respect to a “notional amount,” (meaning the face amount of the instrument) e.g., the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount representing the Underlying Security. In the event the Fund is unable to achieve sufficient swap exposure, the Fund may not always achieve investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to two times (2X) the daily performance of the Underlying Security, and may return substantially less during such periods.
At the end of each day, the Fund’s swaps are valued using market valuations and the Fund’s investment adviser rebalances the Fund’s holdings in an attempt to maintain leveraged exposure for the Fund equal to approximately 200% of the Underlying Security’s share price.
For examples of a hypothetical investment in the Fund, see “Additional Information About the Fund – Principal Investment Strategies” below.
Fund performance for periods greater than one single day is primarily (but not solely) a function of the following factors: a) the Underlying Security volatility; b) the Underlying Security’s performance; c) period of time; d) financing rates associated with leveraged exposure; and e) other Fund expenses.
The Fund will hold assets to serve as collateral for the Fund’s swap agreements. For those collateral holdings, the Fund may invest in (1) U.S. Government securities, such as bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury; (2) money market funds; (3) short term bond ETFs; and/or (4) corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper and other short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses that are rated investment grade or of comparable quality.
To complement the Fund’s primary strategy of using swap agreements to achieve leveraged exposure, the Fund may employ listed options contracts as an additional tool to generate leverage on an as-needed basis. By incorporating listed options, such as call options, the Fund can gain leveraged exposure to the Underlying Security without relying solely on swaps. This flexibility allows the Fund to adjust its leverage strategy in response to market conditions, liquidity constraints, or other factors that may impact the availability or pricing of swap agreements. The use of options may help the Fund meet its daily investment objective more effectively under varying market conditions.
The Fund has adopted a policy to have at least 80% exposure to financial instruments with economic characteristics that should perform 2X the daily performance of the Underlying Security’s shares. The Fund is expected to allocate between 40% and 60% of its assets as collateral for swap agreements or as premiums for purchased options contracts.
The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act.
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Because of daily rebalancing and the compounding of each day’s return over time, the return of the Fund for periods longer than a single day will be the result of each day’s returns compounded over the period, which will very likely differ from 200% of the return of the Underlying Security’s shares over the same period. The Fund will lose money if the Underlying Security’s performance is flat over time, and because of daily rebalancing, the Underlying Security’s shares’ volatility and the effects of compounding, the Fund may lose money over time while the Underlying Security’s performance increases over a period longer than a single day. As a consequence, investors should not plan to hold shares of the Fund unmonitored for periods longer than a single trading day.
MicroStrategy Incorporated (“MSTR”)
MSTR has two main strategies for its business operations. One is to acquire and hold bitcoin, while the other is to grow its enterprise analytics software business. MSTR is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (“Nasdaq”). Per MSTR’s most recent Form 10-K filing, the aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of MSTR (based on the last reported sale price of its class A common stock on June 30, 2023 on the Nasdaq Global Select Market) was approximately $4.133 billion.
MSTR is registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Information provided to or filed with the SEC by MSTR pursuant to the Exchange Act can be located by reference to the SEC file number 000-24435 through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, information regarding MSTR may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles and other publicly disseminated documents.
This document relates only to the securities offered hereby and does not relate to MSTR or other securities of MSTR. The Fund has derived all disclosures contained in this document regarding MSTR from the publicly available documents. None of the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or their respective affiliates has participated in the preparation of such publicly available offering documents or made any due diligence inquiry regarding such documents with respect to MSTR. None of the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation that such publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding MSTR is accurate or complete. Furthermore, the Fund cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the date hereof (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described above) that would affect the trading price of MSTR (and therefore the price of MSTR at the time we price the securities) have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events or the disclosure of or failure to disclose material future events concerning MSTR could affect the value received with respect to the securities and therefore the value of the securities.
None of the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation to you as to the performance of MSTR.
NONE OF THE FUND, TIDAL TRUST II, AND TIDAL INVESTMENTS LLC ARE AFFILIATED WITH THE UNDERLYING SECURITY.
Due to the Fund’s investment strategy, the Fund’s investment exposure is concentrated in (or substantially exposed to) the same industry as that assigned to MSTR. As of the date of the Prospectus, MSTR is assigned to the application software industry.
The
principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below.
An investment in the Fund entails risk. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective and there is a risk that you could lose all of your money invested in the Fund. The Fund is not a complete investment program. In addition, the Fund presents risks not traditionally associated with other ETFs. It is important that investors closely review all of the risks listed below and understand them before making an investment in the Fund.
Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears.
MSTR Risks. The Fund invests in options contracts that are based on the value of MSTR. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of MSTR, even though it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s investments in options contracts that are based on the value of MSTR, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in MSTR Risk. MSTR is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of MSTR but will be exposed to the performance of MSTR (the underlying stock). Investors in the Fund will not have rights to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the underlying stock but will be subject to declines in the performance of the underlying stock.
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MSTR Trading Risk. The trading price of MSTR may be highly volatile and could continue to be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors. The stock market in general, and the market for technology companies in particular, has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. In particular, a large proportion of MSTR may be traded by short sellers which may put pressure on the supply and demand for the common stock of MSTR, further influencing volatility in its market price. Public perception and other factors outside of the control of MSTR may additionally impact MSTR’s share price due to MSTR garnering a disproportionate degree of public attention, regardless of actual operating performance. In addition, in the past, following periods of volatility in the overall market and the market price of a particular company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been instituted against companies such as these. Moreover, stockholder litigation like this has been filed against MSTR in the past. While MSTR continues to defend such actions, any judgment against MSTR, or any future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and a diversion of the management of MSTR’s attention and resources. If MSTR trading is halted, trading in Shares of the Fund may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
MSTR Performance Risk. MSTR may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of MSTR to decline. MSTR provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance MSTR provides may not ultimately be accurate and has in the past been inaccurate in certain respects, such as the timing of new product manufacturing ramps. The guidance is based on certain assumptions such as those relating to global and local economic conditions, anticipated production and sales volumes (which generally are not linear throughout a given period), average sales prices, supplier and commodity costs, and planned cost reductions. If MSTR’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by MSTR could decline significantly.
Software Industry Risk. The software industry can be significantly affected by intense competition, aggressive pricing, technological innovations, and product obsolescence. Companies in the software industry are subject to significant competitive pressures, such as aggressive pricing, new market entrants, competition for market share, short product cycles due to an accelerated rate of technological developments and the potential for limited earnings and/or falling profit margins. These companies also face the risks that new services, equipment or technologies will not be accepted by consumers and businesses or will become rapidly obsolete. These factors can affect the profitability of these companies and, as a result, the value of their securities. Also, patent protection is integral to the success of many companies in this industry, and profitability can be affected materially by, among other things, the cost of obtaining (or failing to obtain) patent approvals, the cost of litigating patent infringement and the loss of patent protection for products (which significantly increases pricing pressures and can materially reduce profitability with respect to such products). In addition, many software companies have limited operating histories. Prices of these companies’ securities historically have been more volatile than other securities, especially over the short term.
Bitcoin Risk. While the Fund will not directly invest in digital assets, it will be subject to the risks associated with Bitcoin by virtue of its investments in options contracts that reference MSTR. Investing in Bitcoin exposes investors (such as MSTR and, in turn, MSTR shareholders) to significant risks that are not typically present in other investments. These risks include the uncertainty surrounding new technology, limited evaluation due to Bitcoin’s short trading history, and the potential decline in adoption and value over the long term. The extreme volatility of Bitcoin’s price is also a risk factor. Regulatory uncertainties, such as potential government interventions and conflicting regulations across jurisdictions, can impact the demand for Bitcoin and restrict its usage. Additionally, risks associated with the sale of newly mined Bitcoin, Bitcoin exchanges, competition from alternative digital assets, mining operations, network modifications, and intellectual property claims pose further challenges to Bitcoin-linked investments.
Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, which focuses on an individual security, may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole. Additionally, the Fund will seek to employ its investment strategy as it relates to the underlying issuer regardless of whether there are significant corporate actions such as restructurings, enforcement activity, or acquisitions or periods adverse market, economic, or other conditions and will not seek to take temporary defensive positions during such periods.
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Compounding and Market Volatility Risk. The Fund has a daily leveraged investment objective and the Fund’s performance for periods greater than a trading day will be the result of each day’s returns compounded over the period, which is very likely to differ from two times (200%) the Underlying Security’s performance, before the Fund’s management fee and other expenses. Compounding affects all investments but has a more significant impact on funds that aim to replicate leveraged daily returns and that rebalance daily. For the Fund aiming to replicate two times the daily performance of an Underlying Security, if adverse daily performance of the Underlying Security reduces the amount of a shareholder’s investment, any further adverse daily performance will lead to a smaller dollar loss because the shareholder’s investment had already been reduced by the prior adverse performance. Equally, however, if favorable daily performance of the Underlying Security increases the amount of a shareholder’s investment, the dollar amount lost due to future adverse performance will increase because the shareholder’s investment has increased.
The effect of compounding becomes more pronounced as the Underlying Security’s volatility and the holding period increase. The impact of compounding will impact each shareholder differently depending on the period of time an investment in the Fund is held and the volatility of the Underlying Security during a shareholder’s holding period of an investment in the Fund.
The chart below provides examples of how the Underlying Security’s volatility could affect the Fund’s performance. The chart illustrates the impact of two factors that affect the Fund’s performance – the Underlying Security’s volatility and the Underlying Security’s performance. The Underlying Security’s performance shows the percentage change in the share price of the Underlying Security over the specified time period, while the Underlying Security’s volatility is a statistical measure of the magnitude of fluctuations in the returns during that time period. As illustrated below, even if the Underlying Security’s performance over two equal time periods is identical, different Underlying Security volatility (i.e., in magnitude of fluctuations in the share price of the Underlying Security) during the two time periods could result in drastically different Fund performance for the two time periods because of compounding daily returns during the time periods.
Fund performance for periods greater than one single day can be estimated given any set of assumptions for the following factors: a) the Underlying Security volatility; b) the Underlying Security performance; c) period of time; d) financing rates associated with leveraged exposure; and e) other Fund expenses. The chart shows estimated Fund returns for a number of combinations of Underlying Security volatility and Underlying Security performance over a one-year period. Performance shown in the chart assumes that: (i) there were no Fund expenses; (ii) borrowing/lending rates (to obtain leveraged exposure) of 0%. If Fund expenses and/or actual borrowing/lending rates were reflected the estimated returns would be different than those shown. Particularly during periods of higher Underlying Security volatility, compounding will cause results for periods longer than a trading day to vary from two times (200%) the performance of the Underlying Security.
As shown in the chart below, the Fund would be expected to lose 4% if there was no change in the share price of the Underlying Security over a one-year period during which the Underlying Security experienced annualized volatility of 25%. If the Underlying Security’s annualized volatility were to rise to 75%, the hypothetical loss for a one-year period would widen to approximately -30.9%. At higher ranges of volatility, there is a chance of a significant loss of value in the Fund, even if there were no change in the share price of the Underlying Security. For instance, if the Underlying Security’s annualized volatility is 100%, the Fund would be expected to lose 48.1% of its value, even if the cumulative Underlying Security change in the share price of the Underlying Security for the year was 0%.
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Areas shaded red (or dark gray) represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return less than two times (200%) the performance of the Underlying Security and those shaded green (or light gray) represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return more than two times (200%) the performance of the Underlying Security. The Fund’s actual performance may be significantly better or worse than the performance shown below as a result of any of the factors discussed above or in the “Daily Correlation/Tracking Risk” below.
Estimated
Returns of 200% or Two Times Performance of the Underlying Security |
|||||||
Underlying Security Performance | One Year Volatility Rate | ||||||
One
Year Underlying Security |
2X
Times (200%) the One Year Performance |
10% | 25% | 50% | 75% | 100% | |
-60% | -120% | -84.2% | -85.0% | -87.5% | -90.9% | -94.1% | |
-50% | -100% | -75.2% | -76.5% | -80.5% | -85.8% | -90.8% | |
-40% | -80% | -64.4% | -66.2% | -72.0% | -79.5% | -86.8% | |
-30% | -60% | -51.5% | -54.0% | -61.8% | -72.1% | -82.0% | |
-20% | -40% | -36.6% | -39.9% | -50.2% | -63.5% | -76.5% | |
-10% | -20% | -19.8% | -23.9% | -36.9% | -53.8% | -70.2% | |
0% | 0% | -1.0% | -6.1% | -22.1% | -43.0% | -63.2% | |
10% | 20% | 19.8% | 13.7% | -5.8% | -31.1% | -55.5% | |
20% | 40% | 42.6% | 35.3% | 12.1% | -18.0% | -47.0% | |
30% | 60% | 67.3% | 58.8% | 31.6% | -3.7% | -37.8% | |
40% | 80% | 94.0% | 84.1% | 52.6% | 11.7% | -27.9% | |
50% | 100% | 122.8% | 111.4% | 75.2% | 28.2% | -17.2% | |
60% | 120% | 153.5% | 140.5% | 99.4% | 45.9% | -5.8% | |
The Underlying Security’s annualized historical volatility rate for the five-year period ended September 30, 2024 was 88.36%. The Underlying Security’s highest volatility rate for any one calendar year during this period was 111.99% and volatility for a shorter period of time may have been substantially higher. The Underlying Security’s annualized performance during this period was 62.59%. Historical Underlying Security volatility and performance are not indications of what Underlying Security volatility and performance will be in the future.
Daily Correlation/Tracking Risk. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of leveraged correlation to the Underlying Security and therefore achieve its daily leveraged investment objective. To achieve a high degree of leveraged correlation with the Underlying Security, the Fund seeks to rebalance its portfolio daily to keep exposure consistent with its daily leveraged investment objective. The possibility of the Fund being materially over- or under-exposed to the Underlying Security increases on days when the Underlying Security is volatile near the close of the trading day. Market disruptions, regulatory restrictions and extreme volatility will also adversely affect the Fund’s ability to adjust exposure to the required levels. If there is a significant intra-day market event and/or the Underlying Security experiences a significant increase or decline, the Fund may not meet its investment objective, be able to rebalance its portfolio appropriately, or may experience significant premiums or discounts, or widened bid-ask spreads.
The Fund may have difficulty achieving its daily leveraged investment objective due to fees, expenses, transaction costs, financing costs related to the use of derivatives, investments in ETFs, directly or indirectly, income items, valuation methodology, accounting standards and disruptions or illiquidity in the markets for the securities or derivatives held by the Fund. The Fund may be subject to large movements of assets into and out of the Fund, potentially resulting in the Fund being over- or under-exposed to the Underlying Security. The Fund may take or refrain from taking positions to improve the tax efficiency or to comply with various regulatory restrictions, either of which may negatively impact the Fund’s leveraged correlation to the Underlying Security.
Leverage Risk. The Fund obtains investment exposure in excess of its net assets by utilizing leverage and may lose more money in market conditions that are adverse to its investment objective than a fund that does not utilize leverage. An investment in the Fund is exposed to the risk that a decline in the daily performance of the Underlying Security will be magnified. This means that an investment in the Fund will be reduced by an amount equal to 2% for every 1% daily decline in the share price of the Underlying Security, not including the costs of financing leverage and other operating expenses, which would further reduce its value. The Fund could theoretically lose an amount greater than its net assets in the event the share price of the Underlying Security declines more than 50%. Leverage will also have the effect of magnifying any differences in the Fund performance’s correlation with the Underlying Security’s share price.
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Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, leverage, imperfect daily correlations with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The use of derivatives may result in larger losses or smaller gains than directly investing in securities. When the Fund uses derivatives, there may be imperfect correlation between the share price of the Underlying Security and the derivative, which may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective. Because derivatives often require only a limited initial investment, the use of derivatives may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts initially invested.
The Fund will be subject to regulatory constraints relating to level of value at risk that the Fund may incur through its derivative portfolio. To the extent the Fund exceeds these regulatory thresholds over an extended period, the Fund may determine that it is necessary to make adjustments to the Fund’s investment strategy, including the desired daily leveraged performance for the Fund.
In addition, the Fund’s investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:
Swap Agreements. The use of swap transactions is a highly specialized activity, which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. Whether the Fund will be successful in using swap agreements to achieve its investment goal depends on the ability of the Adviser to structure such swap agreements in accordance with the Fund’s investment objective and to identify counterparties for those swap agreements. If the Adviser is unable to enter into swap agreements that provide leveraged exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund may not meet its stated investment objective. Additionally, any financing, borrowing or other costs associated with using swap transactions may also have the effect of lowering the Fund’s return.
The swap agreements in which the Fund invests are generally traded in the over-the-counter market, which generally has less transparency than exchange-traded derivatives instruments. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined reference assets or underlying securities or instruments. The gross return to be exchanged or swapped between the parties is calculated based on a notional amount or the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a basket of securities.
If the Underlying Security has a dramatic move that causes a material decline in the Fund’s net assets, the terms of a swap agreement between the Fund and its counterparty may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the swap transaction with the Fund. In that event, the Fund may be unable to enter into another swap agreement or invest in other derivatives to achieve exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. This may prevent the Fund from achieving its leveraged investment objective, even if the Underlying Security later reverses all or a portion of its movement.
Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events. The value of the options contracts in which the Fund invests are substantially influenced by the value of the Underlying Security. The Fund may experience substantial downside from specific option positions and certain option positions held by the Fund may expire worthless. The options held by the Fund are exercisable at the strike price on their expiration date. As an option approaches its expiration date, its value typically increasingly moves with the value of the underlying instrument. However, prior to such date, the value of an option generally does not increase or decrease at the same rate as the underlying instrument. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in values options contracts and the underlying instrument, and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options contracts. The value of the options held by the Fund will be determined based on market quotations or other recognized pricing methods. Additionally, as the Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security through the use of options contracts, as the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it will enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” If the expiring options contracts do not generate proceeds enough to cover the cost of entering into new options contracts, the Fund may experience losses. The use of options to generate leverage introduces additional risks, including significant potential losses if the market moves unfavorably. The leverage inherent in options can amplify both gains and losses, leading to increased volatility and potential for substantial losses, particularly in periods of market uncertainty or low liquidity. Additionally, the Fund may incur losses if the value of the Underlying Security moves against its positions, potentially resulting in a complete loss of the premium paid.
Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in derivatives which exposes the Fund to the risk that the counterparty will not fulfill its obligation to the Fund. Counterparty risk may arise because of the counterparty’s financial condition (i.e., financial difficulties, bankruptcy, or insolvency), market activities and developments, or other reasons, whether foreseen or not. A counterparty’s inability to fulfill its obligation may result in significant financial loss to the Fund and the Fund may be unable to recover its investment from such counterparty or may obtain a limited and/or delayed recovery.
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In addition, the Fund may enter into swap agreements with a limited number of counterparties, which may increase the Fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk. Further, there is a risk that no suitable counterparties will be willing to enter into, or continue to enter into, transactions with the Fund and, as a result, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective.
Intra-Day Investment Risk. The Fund seeks investment results from the close of the market on a given trading day until the close of the market on the subsequent trading day. The exact exposure of an investment in the Fund intraday in the secondary market is a function of the difference between the share price of the Underlying Security at the market close on the first trading day and the share price of the Underlying Security at the time of purchase. If the share price of the Underlying Security rises, the Fund’s net assets will rise by approximately twice the amount as the Fund’s exposure. Conversely, if the share price of the Underlying Security declines, the Fund’s net assets will decline by approximately two times the amount as the Fund’s exposure. Thus, an investor that purchases Shares intra-day may experience performance that is greater than, or less than, the Fund’s stated leveraged performance of the Underlying Security.
If there is a significant intra-day market event and/or the securities of the Underlying Security experience a significant increase or decrease, the Fund may not meet its investment objective or rebalance its portfolio appropriately.
Fixed Income Securities Risk. When the Fund invests in fixed income securities, the value of your investment in the Fund will fluctuate with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities owned by the Fund. In general, the market price of fixed income securities with longer maturities will increase or decrease more in response to changes in interest rates than shorter-term securities. Other risk factors include credit risk (the debtor may default), extension risk (an issuer may exercise its right to repay principal on a fixed rate obligation held by the Fund later than expected), and prepayment risk (the debtor may pay its obligation early, reducing the amount of interest payments). These risks could affect the value of a particular investment by the Fund, possibly causing the Fund’s Share price and total return to be reduced and fluctuate more than other types of investments.
Rebalancing Risk. If for any reason the Fund is unable to rebalance all or a portion of its portfolio, or if all or a portion of the portfolio is rebalanced incorrectly, the Fund’s investment exposure may not be consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. In these instances, the Fund may have investment exposure to the Underlying Security that is significantly greater or less than its stated investment objective. As a result, the Fund may be exposed to leverage risk because it had not been properly rebalanced and may not achieve its investment objective.
ETF Risks.
Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem Shares directly from the Fund (known as “Authorized Participants” or “APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services; or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may require it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. For example, the Fund may not be able to redeem in-kind certain securities held by the Fund (e.g., derivative instruments). In such a case, the Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. By paying out higher annual capital gain distributions, investors may be subjected to increased capital gains taxes. The costs associated with cash redemptions may include brokerage costs that the Fund may not have incurred if it had made the redemptions in-kind. These costs could be imposed on the Fund, decreasing its NAV, to the extent these costs are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an authorized participant.
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Trading. Although Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as The Nasdaq Stock Market, LLC (the “Exchange”), and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares. This adverse effect on liquidity for the Fund’s shares may lead to wider bid-ask spreads and differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and the underlying value of the shares.
Liquidity Risk. In certain circumstances, such as the disruption of the orderly markets for the financial instruments in which the Fund invests, the Fund might not be able to acquire or dispose of certain holdings quickly or at prices that represent true market value in the judgment of the Adviser. Markets for the financial instruments in which the Fund invests may be disrupted by a number of events, including but not limited to economic crises, health crises, natural disasters, excessive volatility, new legislation, or regulatory changes inside or outside of the U.S. These situations may have an impact on the liquidity of the Fund’s own shares.”
High Portfolio Turnover Risk. Daily rebalancing of the Fund’s holdings pursuant to its daily investment objective causes a much greater number of portfolio transactions when compared to most ETFs. Additionally, active market trading of the Fund’s Shares on exchanges (such as the Exchange), could cause more frequent creation and redemption activities, which could increase the number of portfolio transactions. Frequent and active trading may lead to higher transaction costs because of increased broker commissions resulting from such transactions. In addition, there is the possibility of significantly increased short-term capital gains (which will be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income when distributed to them). The Fund calculates portfolio turnover without including the short-term cash instruments or derivative transactions that comprise the majority of the Fund’s trading. As such, if the Fund’s extensive use of derivative instruments were reflected, the calculated portfolio turnover rate would be significantly higher.
Tracking Error Risk. Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of its investment objective which aims to replicate two times the daily percentage change in the price of the Underlying Security. Tracking error may occur for a number of reasons. Tracking error may occur because of transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of cash, differences in accrual of dividends, being under- or overexposed to the Underlying Security or the need to meet new or existing regulatory requirements. Tracking error risk may be heightened during times of market volatility or other unusual market conditions such as market disruptions. The Fund may be required to deviate from its investment objectives, and therefore experience tracking error, as a result of market restrictions or other legal reasons, including regulatory limits or other restrictions on securities that may be purchased by the Adviser and its affiliates.
Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. Markets for securities or financial instruments could be disrupted by a number of events, including, but not limited to, an economic crisis, natural disasters, epidemics/pandemics, new legislation or regulatory changes inside or outside the United States. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, especially in changing or volatile markets. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security at an unfavorable time or price, the Fund may be adversely impacted. Certain market conditions or restrictions may prevent the Fund from limiting losses, realizing gains or achieving a high correlation with the Underlying Security. There is no assurance that a security that is deemed liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid. Market illiquidity may cause losses for the Fund.
Market Events Risk. The Fund’s investments are subject to changes in general economic conditions, general market fluctuations and the risks inherent in investment in securities and other financial instruments. Investment markets can be volatile and prices of investments can change substantially due to various factors including, but not limited to, economic growth or recession, changes in interest rates, inflation, changes in the actual or perceived creditworthiness of issuers, and general market liquidity. The Fund is subject to the risk that geopolitical events will disrupt securities and other financial markets and adversely affect global economies and markets. Local, regional or global events such as war, military conflicts, acts of terrorism, natural disasters, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments. Continuing uncertainties regarding interest rates, rising inflation, political events, rising government debt in the U.S. and trade tensions also contribute to market volatility. Conflict, loss of life and disaster connected to ongoing armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia in Europe and between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East could have severe adverse effects on the related region, including significant adverse effects on the regional or global economies and the markets for certain securities. The U.S. and the European Union have imposed sanctions on certain Russian individuals and companies, including certain financial institutions, and have limited certain exports and imports to and from Russia. These conflicts have contributed to recent market volatility and may continue to do so.
Money Market Instrument Risk. The Fund may use a variety of money market instruments for cash management purposes, including money market funds, depositary accounts and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements are contracts in which a seller of securities agrees to buy the securities back at a specified time and price. Repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk related to the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. Money market instruments may lose money.
Newer Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with a limited operating history. As a result, prospective investors have only a limited track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.
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Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers could cause the Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Fund held a more diversified portfolio.
Trading Halt Risk. Although the Underlying Security’s shares are listed for trading on an exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will be available at all times and the Exchange may halt trading of such shares in certain circumstances. A halt in trading in the Underlying Security’s shares is expected, in turn, to result in a halt in the trading in the Fund’s Shares. Trading in the Underlying Security’s and/or Fund’s Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in the Underlying Security’s and/or Fund’s Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Underlying Security’s and/or Fund’s Shares on an exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to exchange “circuit breaker” rules.” In the event of a trading halt for an extended period of time, the Fund may be unable to execute arrangements with swap counterparties that are necessary to implement the Fund’s investment strategy.
Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational 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 relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Fund’s investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
U.S. Government and U.S. Agency Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. Government obligations include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, such as the U.S. Treasury. Payment of principal and interest on U.S. Government obligations may be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States or may be backed solely by the issuing or guaranteeing agency or instrumentality itself. In the latter case, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, which agency or instrumentality may be privately owned. There can be no assurance that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises) where it is not obligated to do so.
Tax Risk. In order to qualify for the favorable tax treatment generally available to regulated investment companies, the Fund must satisfy certain diversification and other requirements. In particular, the Fund generally may not acquire a security if, as a result of the acquisition, more than 50% of the value of the Fund’s assets would be invested in (a) issuers in which the Fund has, in each case, invested more than 5% of the Fund’s assets and (b) issuers more than 10% of whose outstanding voting securities are owned by the Fund. The application of these requirements to certain investments (including swaps) that may be entered into by the Fund is unclear. In addition, the application of these requirements to the Fund’s investment objective is not clear, particularly because the Fund’s investment objective focuses on the performance of the stock of a single issuer. If the Fund were to fail to qualify as a regulated investment company, it would be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation, and distributions to its shareholders would not be deductible by the Fund in computing its taxable income.
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Management
Investment Adviser: Tidal Investments LLC serves as investment adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers:
The following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.
Qiao Duan, CFA, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2024.
Christopher P. Mullen, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2024.
Purchase and Sale of Shares
The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only APs (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.
Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through brokers at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares (the “bid” price) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (the “ask” price) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market. This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “bid-ask spread.”
When available, information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, how often Shares traded on the Exchange at a premium or discount, and bid-ask spreads can be found on the Fund’s website at https://www.defianceetfs.com.
Tax Information
Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless an 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.
Financial Intermediary Compensation
If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other activities, such as marketing, educational training, or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s website for more information.
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Important Information About the Fund
The Defiance Daily Target 2X Long NVO ETF (the “Fund”) seeks daily leveraged investment results of two times (200%) the daily percentage change in the share price of NOVO Nordisk A/S - ADR (NYSE: NVO) (the “Underlying Security” or “NVO”). Because the Fund seeks daily leveraged investment results, it is very different from most other exchange-traded funds. It is also riskier than alternatives that do not use leverage.
The return for investors that invest for periods longer or shorter than a trading day should not be expected to be 200% of the performance of the Underlying Security’s shares for the period. The return of the Fund for a period longer than a trading day will be the result of each trading day’s compounded return during such period held, which will very likely differ from 200% of the return of the Underlying Security’s shares for that period. Holding shares of the Fund for longer than a single day and higher volatility of the Underlying Security’s shares increase the impact of compounding on an investor’s returns, which may have a negative or positive impact on an investor’s returns. During periods of higher Underlying Security share price volatility, the volatility of the Underlying Security’s shares may affect the Fund’s return as much as, or more than, the return of the Underlying Security’s shares. The impact of compounding will impact each shareholder differently depending on the period of time an investment in the Fund is held and the volatility of the Underlying Security’s shares during a shareholder’s holding period of an investment in the Fund. See “Principal Investment Risks – Compounding and Market Volatility Risk” below for an example of how volatility of the Underlying Security’s shares may affect the Fund’s return as much as, or more than, the return of the Underlying Security’s shares.
The Fund is not suitable for all investors. The Fund is designed to be utilized only by knowledgeable investors who understand the potential consequences of seeking daily leveraged (2X) investment results, understand the risks associated with the use of leverage, and are willing to monitor their portfolios frequently. The Fund is not intended to be used by, and is not appropriate for, investors who do not intend to actively monitor and manage their portfolios. For periods longer than a single day, the Fund will lose money if the Underlying Security’s performance is flat, and it is possible that the Fund will lose money even if the Underlying Security’s performance increases over a period longer than a single day. An investor could lose the full principal value of his/her investment within a single day.
The Fund seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, of two times (200%) the daily percentage change in the share price of NOVO Nordisk A/S - ADR (NYSE: NVO”) The Fund does not seek to achieve its stated investment objective for a period other than a single trading day.
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
Management Fee | % | |||
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | ||||
Other Expenses(2) | % | |||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses(3) | % |
(1) | |
(2) | |
(3) |
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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 hold or redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year | 3 Years |
$
|
$ |
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in total annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
The Fund is an actively managed exchange traded fund (“ETF”) that attempts to achieve two times (200%) the daily percentage change in the share price of the Underlying Security by entering into swap agreements on the Underlying Security. The Fund aims to achieve this daily percentage change for a single day, and not for any other period. A “single day” means the period “from the close of regular trading on one trading day to the close on the next trading day.”
The Fund will enter into one or more swap agreements with financial institutions for a specified period, which may range from one day to longer than a year. Through each swap agreement, the Fund and the financial institution will agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on the Underlying Security’s share price. The gross return (meaning the return before deducting any fees or expenses) to be exchanged or “swapped” between the parties is calculated with respect to a “notional amount,” (meaning the face amount of the instrument) e.g., the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount representing the Underlying Security. In the event the Fund is unable to achieve sufficient swap exposure, the Fund may not always achieve investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to two times (2x) the daily performance of the Underlying Security, and may return substantially less during such periods.
At the end of each day, the Fund’s swaps are valued using market valuations and the Fund’s investment adviser rebalances the Fund’s holdings in an attempt to maintain leveraged exposure for the Fund equal to approximately 200% of the Underlying Security’s share price.
For examples of a hypothetical investment in the Fund, see “Additional Information About the Fund – Principal Investment Strategies” below.
Fund performance for periods greater than one single day is primarily (but not solely) a function of the following factors: a) the Underlying Security volatility; b) the Underlying Security’s performance; c) period of time; d) financing rates associated with leveraged exposure; and e) other Fund expenses.
The Fund will hold assets to serve as collateral for the Fund’s swap agreements. For those collateral holdings, the Fund may invest in (1) U.S. Government securities, such as bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury; (2) money market funds; (3) short term bond ETFs; and/or (4) corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper and other short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses that are rated investment grade or of comparable quality.
To complement the Fund’s primary strategy of using swap agreements to achieve leveraged exposure, the Fund may employ listed options contracts as an additional tool to generate leverage on an as-needed basis. By incorporating listed options, such as call options, the Fund can gain leveraged exposure to the Underlying Security without relying solely on swaps. This flexibility allows the Fund to adjust its leverage strategy in response to market conditions, liquidity constraints, or other factors that may impact the availability or pricing of swap agreements. The use of options may help the Fund meet its daily investment objective more effectively under varying market conditions.
The Fund has adopted a policy to have at least 80% exposure to financial instruments with economic characteristics that should perform 2X the daily performance of the Underlying Security’s shares. The Fund is expected to allocate between 40% and 60% of its assets as collateral for swap agreements or as premiums for purchased options contracts.
The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act.
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Because of daily rebalancing and the compounding of each day’s return over time, the return of the Fund for periods longer than a single day will be the result of each day’s returns compounded over the period, which will very likely differ from 200% of the return of the Underlying Security’s shares over the same period. The Fund will lose money if the Underlying Security’s performance is flat over time, and because of daily rebalancing, the Underlying Security’s shares’ volatility and the effects of compounding, the Fund may lose money over time while the Underlying Security’s performance increases over a period longer than a single day. As a consequence, investors should not plan to hold shares of the Fund unmonitored for periods longer than a single trading day.
NOVO Nordisk A/S - ADR (“NVO” or the “Underlying Security”)
NOVO Nordisk A/S (“Novo Nordisk”) is a Danish global pharmaceutical company. Novo Nordisk manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products and services, specifically to provide diabetes care and other chronic conditions like obesity, hemophilia, and growth disorders. It is also involved with hemostasis management, growth hormone therapy, and hormone replacement therapy. The Fund will seek to achieve its objective with respect to Novo Nordisk’s American Depositary Receipt (NYSE: NVO).
The Fund will enter into swap agreements based on the Underlying Security, which is an ADR. ADRs provide U.S. investors access to foreign stocks on domestic exchanges but can exhibit pricing differences compared to the underlying foreign stocks. These differences stem from factors such as currency fluctuations, market dynamics, liquidity variances, and tax implications. Additionally, corporate actions and ADR fees and expenses can contribute to disparities in pricing between ADRs and the foreign stocks they represent.
NVO ADRs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”). Per NOVO Nordisk’s most recent Form 20-F filing for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023, the total number of NVO ADRs outstanding was 388,973,829 representing approximately 12.18% of the issued B share capital outstanding (excluding treasury shares and shares held by Novo Holdings A/S) as of such date. Per the same filing, based on available sources of information, as of December 31, 2023 it was estimated that share capital (including A and B share capital) was geographically distributed in the following manner: 39% Denmark, 26% North America, 3% UK, and 32% Other.
NOVO Nordisk is registered as a foreign private issuer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Information provided to or filed with the SEC related to NVO pursuant to the Exchange Act can be located by reference to the SEC file number 333-82318 through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
In addition, information regarding NOVO Nordisk may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles and other publicly disseminated documents.
This document relates only to the securities offered hereby and does not relate to the shares of NVO or other securities of NVO. The Fund has derived all disclosures contained in this document regarding NVO from the publicly available documents. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates has participated in the preparation of such publicly available offering documents or made any due diligence inquiry regarding such documents with respect to NVO. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation that such publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding NVO is accurate or complete. Furthermore, the Fund cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the date hereof (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described above) that would affect the trading price of NVO (and therefore the share price of NVO at the time we price the securities) have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events or the disclosure of or failure to disclose material future events concerning NVO could affect the value received with respect to the securities and therefore the value of the securities.
None of the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation to you as to the performance of NVO.
NONE OF THE FUND, TIDAL TRUST II, AND TIDAL INVESTMENTS LLC ARE AFFILIATED WITH THE UNDERLYING SECURITY.
Due to the Fund’s investment strategy, the Fund’s investment exposure is concentrated in the same industry as that assigned to the Underlying Security. As of the date of the Prospectus, NVO is assigned to the pharmaceutical industry.
The
principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below.
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An investment in the Fund entails risk. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective and there is a risk that you could lose all of your money invested in the Fund. The Fund is not a complete investment program. In addition, the Fund presents risks not traditionally associated with other ETFs. It is important that investors closely review all of the risks listed below and understand them before making an investment in the Fund.
Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears.
NVO Risks. The Fund invests in swap contracts that are based on the share price of NVO. In turn, the share price of NVO is based on the performance of NVO Nordisk. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of NVO (or NVO Nordisk), even though it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s investments in swap contracts that are based on the value of NVO, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in NVO Nordisk Risk. NVO Nordisk is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of NVO Nordisk but will be exposed indirectly to the performance of NVO Nordisk (via NVO, the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
NVO Trading Risk. The trading price of the Underlying Security may exhibit volatility and significant fluctuations due to various factors inherent in the semiconductor industry. This sector is susceptible to price and volume fluctuations, which may not always correlate with the companies’ operational performance. Short sellers may exert influence on trading dynamics, potentially impacting supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. The Underlying Security’s share price may also be disproportionately affected by public perception and external factors beyond NVO Nordisk’ control, given its prominence in the industry. Such attention can lead to heightened market reactions regardless of NVO Holding’s operational performance. Furthermore, following periods of market volatility, NVO Nordisk and similar companies may face securities class action litigation, diverting management attention and resources. NVO Holding’s historical exposure to such litigation underscores the potential risks, as adverse judgments or future stockholder actions could result in significant costs. Moreover, in the event of a trading halt for the Underlying Security, trading in Shares of the Fund may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
NVO Performance Risk. NVO may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of NVO to decline. NVO provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance NVO provides may not ultimately be accurate and has in the past been inaccurate in certain respects, such as the timing of new product manufacturing ramps. The guidance is based on certain assumptions such as those relating to global and local economic conditions, anticipated production and sales volumes (which generally are not linear throughout a given period), average sales prices, supplier and commodity costs, and planned cost reductions. If NVO’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by NVO could decline significantly.
Pharmaceutical Industry Risks: Pharmaceutical research and development are very costly and highly uncertain; NVO may not succeed in developing, licensing, or acquiring commercially successful products sufficient in number or value to replace revenues of products that have lost or will lose intellectual property protection or are displaced by competing products or therapies. NVO and NVO’s products face intense competition from multinational pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, and lower-cost generic and biosimilar manufacturers, and such competition could have a material adverse effect on NVO’s business. NVO’s business is subject to increasing government price controls and other public and private restrictions on pricing, reimbursement, and access for NVO’s drugs, which could have a material adverse effect on NVO’s results of operations, reputation or business. Pharmaceutical products can develop safety or efficacy concerns, which could have a material adverse effect on NVO’s revenues, income, and reputation.
Intellectual Property Risks: NVO derives a significant percentage of its total revenue from relatively few products and sells products through increasingly consolidated supply chain entities, which may subject NVO to, or exacerbate, various risks. NVO depends on products with intellectual property protection for most of NVO’s revenues, cash flows, and earnings; the loss of effective intellectual property protection for certain of NVO’s products has resulted, and in the future is likely to continue to result, in rapid and severe declines in revenues for those products. NVO’s long-term success depends on intellectual property protection; if NVO’s intellectual property rights are invalidated, circumvented, or weakened, NVO’s business will be adversely affected.
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Operations Risks: Failure, inadequacy, breach of, or unauthorized access to, NVO’s IT systems or those of NVO’s third-party service providers, unauthorized access to NVO’s confidential information, or violations of data protection laws, could each result in material harm to NVO’s business and reputation. Manufacturing, quality, or supply chain difficulties, disruptions, or shortages could lead to product supply problems. Reliance on third-party relationships and outsourcing arrangements could adversely affect NVO’s business. NVO’s use of artificial intelligence or other emerging technologies could adversely impact NVO’s business and financial results.
International Business Risks: Uneven economic growth or downturns or international trade and other global disruptions, geopolitical tensions, or disputes could adversely affect NVO’s business and operating results. Changes in foreign currency rates, interest rate risks, and inflation affect NVO’s results of operations.
Government Regulation and Litigation Risks: NVO faces litigation and investigations related to its products, how NVO price or commercialize its products, and other aspects of NVO’s business, which could adversely affect NVO’s business, and NVO is self-insured for such matters. NVO is subject to evolving and complex tax laws, which may result in additional liabilities and affect NVO’s results of operations. Regulatory compliance problems could be damaging to NVO.
Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, which focuses on an individual security, may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole. Additionally, the Fund will seek to employ its investment strategy as it relates to the underlying issuer regardless of whether there are significant corporate actions such as restructurings, enforcement activity, or acquisitions or periods adverse market, economic, or other conditions and will not seek to take temporary defensive positions during such periods.
Compounding and Market Volatility Risk. The Fund has a daily leveraged investment objective and the Fund’s performance for periods greater than a trading day will be the result of each day’s returns compounded over the period, which is very likely to differ from two times (200%) the Underlying Security’s performance, before the Fund’s management fee and other expenses. Compounding affects all investments but has a more significant impact on funds that aim to replicate leveraged daily returns and that rebalance daily. For the Fund aiming to replicate two times the daily performance of an Underlying Security, if adverse daily performance of the Underlying Security reduces the amount of a shareholder’s investment, any further adverse daily performance will lead to a smaller dollar loss because the shareholder’s investment had already been reduced by the prior adverse performance. Equally, however, if favorable daily performance of the Underlying Security increases the amount of a shareholder’s investment, the dollar amount lost due to future adverse performance will increase because the shareholder’s investment has increased.
The effect of compounding becomes more pronounced as the Underlying Security’s volatility and the holding period increase. The impact of compounding will impact each shareholder differently depending on the period of time an investment in the Fund is held and the volatility of the Underlying Security during a shareholder’s holding period of an investment in the Fund.
The chart below provides examples of how the Underlying Security’s volatility could affect the Fund’s performance. The chart illustrates the impact of two factors that affect the Fund’s performance – the Underlying Security’s volatility and the Underlying Security’s performance. The Underlying Security’s performance shows the percentage change in the share price of the Underlying Security over the specified time period, while the Underlying Security’s volatility is a statistical measure of the magnitude of fluctuations in the returns during that time period. As illustrated below, even if the Underlying Security’s performance over two equal time periods is identical, different Underlying Security volatility (i.e., in magnitude of fluctuations in the share price of the Underlying Security) during the two time periods could result in drastically different Fund performance for the two time periods because of compounding daily returns during the time periods.
Fund performance for periods greater than one single day can be estimated given any set of assumptions for the following factors: a) the Underlying Security volatility; b) the Underlying Security performance; c) period of time; d) financing rates associated with leveraged exposure; and e) other Fund expenses. The chart shows estimated Fund returns for a number of combinations of Underlying Security volatility and Underlying Security performance over a one-year period. Performance shown in the chart assumes that: (i) there were no Fund expenses; (ii) borrowing/lending rates (to obtain leveraged exposure) of 0%. If Fund expenses and/or actual borrowing/lending rates were reflected the estimated returns would be different than those shown. Particularly during periods of higher Underlying Security volatility, compounding will cause results for periods longer than a trading day to vary from two times (200%) the performance of the Underlying Security.
As shown in the chart below, the Fund would be expected to lose 6.1% if there was no change in the share price of the Underlying Security over a one-year period during which the Underlying Security experienced annualized volatility of 25%. If the Underlying Security’s annualized volatility were to rise to 75%, the hypothetical loss for a one-year period would widen to approximately -43%. At higher ranges of volatility, there is a chance of a significant loss of value in the Fund, even if there were no change in the share price of the Underlying Security. For instance, if the Underlying Security’s annualized volatility is 100%, the Fund would be expected to lose 63.2% of its value, even if the cumulative Underlying Security change in the share price of the Underlying Security for the year was 0%.
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Areas shaded red (or dark gray) represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return less than two times (200%) the performance of the Underlying Security and those shaded green (or light gray) represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return more than two times (200%) the performance of the Underlying Security. The Fund’s actual performance may be significantly better or worse than the performance shown below as a result of any of the factors discussed above or in the “Daily Correlation/Tracking Risk” below.
Estimated
Returns of 200% or Two Times Performance of the Underlying Security |
|||||||
Underlying Security Performance | One Year Volatility Rate | ||||||
One
Year Underlying Security |
2X
Times (200%) the One Year Performance |
10% | 25% | 50% | 75% | 100% | |
-60% | -120% | -84.2% | -85.0% | -87.5% | -90.9% | -94.1% | |
-50% | -100% | -75.2% | -76.5% | -80.5% | -85.8% | -90.8% | |
-40% | -80% | -64.4% | -66.2% | -72.0% | -79.5% | -86.8% | |
-30% | -60% | -51.5% | -54.0% | -61.8% | -72.1% | -82.0% | |
-20% | -40% | -36.6% | -39.9% | -50.2% | -63.5% | -76.5% | |
-10% | -20% | -19.8% | -23.9% | -36.9% | -53.8% | -70.2% | |
0% | 0% | -1.0% | -6.1% | -22.1% | -43.0% | -63.2% | |
10% | 20% | 19.8% | 13.7% | -5.8% | -31.1% | -55.5% | |
20% | 40% | 42.6% | 35.3% | 12.1% | -18.0% | -47.0% | |
30% | 60% | 67.3% | 58.8% | 31.6% | -3.7% | -37.8% | |
40% | 80% | 94.0% | 84.1% | 52.6% | 11.7% | -27.9% | |
50% | 100% | 122.8% | 111.4% | 75.2% | 28.2% | -17.2% | |
60% | 120% | 153.5% | 140.5% | 99.4% | 45.9% | -5.8% | |
The Underlying Security’s annualized historical volatility rate for the five-year period ended September 30, 2024 was 29.73%. The Underlying Security’s highest volatility rate for any one calendar year during this period was 36.37% and volatility for a shorter period of time may have been substantially higher. The Underlying Security’s annualized performance during this period was 37.79%. Historical Underlying Security volatility and performance are not indications of what Underlying Security volatility and performance will be in the future.
Daily Correlation/Tracking Risk. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of leveraged correlation to the Underlying Security and therefore achieve its daily leveraged investment objective. To achieve a high degree of leveraged correlation with the Underlying Security, the Fund seeks to rebalance its portfolio daily to keep exposure consistent with its daily leveraged investment objective. The possibility of the Fund being materially over- or under-exposed to the Underlying Security increases on days when the Underlying Security is volatile near the close of the trading day. Market disruptions, regulatory restrictions and extreme volatility will also adversely affect the Fund’s ability to adjust exposure to the required levels. If there is a significant intra-day market event and/or the Underlying Security experiences a significant increase or decline, the Fund may not meet its investment objective, be able to rebalance its portfolio appropriately, or may experience significant premiums or discounts, or widened bid-ask spreads.
The Fund may have difficulty achieving its daily leveraged investment objective due to fees, expenses, transaction costs, financing costs related to the use of derivatives, investments in ETFs, directly or indirectly, income items, valuation methodology, accounting standards and disruptions or illiquidity in the markets for the securities or derivatives held by the Fund. The Fund may be subject to large movements of assets into and out of the Fund, potentially resulting in the Fund being over- or under-exposed to the Underlying Security. The Fund may take or refrain from taking positions to improve the tax efficiency or to comply with various regulatory restrictions, either of which may negatively impact the Fund’s leveraged correlation to the Underlying Security.
Leverage Risk. The Fund obtains investment exposure in excess of its net assets by utilizing leverage and may lose more money in market conditions that are adverse to its investment objective than a fund that does not utilize leverage. An investment in the Fund is exposed to the risk that a decline in the daily performance of the Underlying Security will be magnified. This means that an investment in the Fund will be reduced by an amount equal to 2% for every 1% daily decline in the share price of the Underlying Security, not including the costs of financing leverage and other operating expenses, which would further reduce its value. The Fund could theoretically lose an amount greater than its net assets in the event the share price of the Underlying Security declines more than 50%. Leverage will also have the effect of magnifying any differences in the Fund performance’s correlation with the Underlying Security’s share price.
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Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, leverage, imperfect daily correlations with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The use of derivatives may result in larger losses or smaller gains than directly investing in securities. When the Fund uses derivatives, there may be imperfect correlation between the share price of the Underlying Security and the derivative, which may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective. Because derivatives often require only a limited initial investment, the use of derivatives may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts initially invested.
The Fund will be subject to regulatory constraints relating to level of value at risk that the Fund may incur through its derivative portfolio. To the extent the Fund exceeds these regulatory thresholds over an extended period, the Fund may determine that it is necessary to make adjustments to the Fund’s investment strategy, including the desired daily leveraged performance for the Fund.
In addition, the Fund’s investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:
Swap Agreements. The use of swap transactions is a highly specialized activity, which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. Whether the Fund will be successful in using swap agreements to achieve its investment goal depends on the ability of the Adviser to structure such swap agreements in accordance with the Fund’s investment objective and to identify counterparties for those swap agreements. If the Adviser is unable to enter into swap agreements that provide leveraged exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund may not meet its stated investment objective. Additionally, any financing, borrowing or other costs associated with using swap transactions may also have the effect of lowering the Fund’s return.
The swap agreements in which the Fund invests are generally traded in the over-the-counter market, which generally has less transparency than exchange-traded derivatives instruments. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined reference assets or underlying securities or instruments. The gross return to be exchanged or swapped between the parties is calculated based on a notional amount or the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a basket of securities.
If the Underlying Security has a dramatic move that causes a material decline in the Fund’s net assets, the terms of a swap agreement between the Fund and its counterparty may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the swap transaction with the Fund. In that event, the Fund may be unable to enter into another swap agreement or invest in other derivatives to achieve exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. This may prevent the Fund from achieving its leveraged investment objective, even if the Underlying Security later reverses all or a portion of its movement.
Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events. The value of the options contracts in which the Fund invests are substantially influenced by the value of the Underlying Security. The Fund may experience substantial downside from specific option positions and certain option positions held by the Fund may expire worthless. The options held by the Fund are exercisable at the strike price on their expiration date. As an option approaches its expiration date, its value typically increasingly moves with the value of the underlying instrument. However, prior to such date, the value of an option generally does not increase or decrease at the same rate as the underlying instrument. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in values options contracts and the underlying instrument, and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options contracts. The value of the options held by the Fund will be determined based on market quotations or other recognized pricing methods. Additionally, as the Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security through the use of options contracts, as the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it will enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” If the expiring options contracts do not generate proceeds enough to cover the cost of entering into new options contracts, the Fund may experience losses. The use of options to generate leverage introduces additional risks, including significant potential losses if the market moves unfavorably. The leverage inherent in options can amplify both gains and losses, leading to increased volatility and potential for substantial losses, particularly in periods of market uncertainty or low liquidity. Additionally, the Fund may incur losses if the value of the Underlying Security moves against its positions, potentially resulting in a complete loss of the premium paid.
Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in derivatives which exposes the Fund to the risk that the counterparty will not fulfill its obligation to the Fund. Counterparty risk may arise because of the counterparty’s financial condition (i.e., financial difficulties, bankruptcy, or insolvency), market activities and developments, or other reasons, whether foreseen or not. A counterparty’s inability to fulfill its obligation may result in significant financial loss to the Fund and the Fund may be unable to recover its investment from such counterparty or may obtain a limited and/or delayed recovery.
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In addition, the Fund may enter into swap agreements with a limited number of counterparties, which may increase the Fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk. Further, there is a risk that no suitable counterparties will be willing to enter into, or continue to enter into, transactions with the Fund and, as a result, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective.
Intra-Day Investment Risk. The Fund seeks investment results from the close of the market on a given trading day until the close of the market on the subsequent trading day. The exact exposure of an investment in the Fund intraday in the secondary market is a function of the difference between the share price of the Underlying Security at the market close on the first trading day and the share price of the Underlying Security at the time of purchase. If the share price of the Underlying Security rises, the Fund’s net assets will rise by approximately twice the amount as the Fund’s exposure. Conversely, if the share price of the Underlying Security declines, the Fund’s net assets will decline by approximately two times the amount as the Fund’s exposure. Thus, an investor that purchases Shares intra-day may experience performance that is greater than, or less than, the Fund’s stated leveraged performance of the Underlying Security.
If there is a significant intra-day market event and/or the securities of the Underlying Security experience a significant increase or decrease, the Fund may not meet its investment objective or rebalance its portfolio appropriately.
Fixed Income Securities Risk. When the Fund invests in fixed income securities, the value of your investment in the Fund will fluctuate with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities owned by the Fund. In general, the market price of fixed income securities with longer maturities will increase or decrease more in response to changes in interest rates than shorter-term securities. Other risk factors include credit risk (the debtor may default), extension risk (an issuer may exercise its right to repay principal on a fixed rate obligation held by the Fund later than expected), and prepayment risk (the debtor may pay its obligation early, reducing the amount of interest payments). These risks could affect the value of a particular investment by the Fund, possibly causing the Fund’s Share price and total return to be reduced and fluctuate more than other types of investments.
Rebalancing Risk. If for any reason the Fund is unable to rebalance all or a portion of its portfolio, or if all or a portion of the portfolio is rebalanced incorrectly, the Fund’s investment exposure may not be consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. In these instances, the Fund may have investment exposure to the Underlying Security that is significantly greater or less than its stated investment objective. As a result, the Fund may be exposed to leverage risk because it had not been properly rebalanced and may not achieve its investment objective.
ETF Risks.
Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem Shares directly from the Fund (known as “Authorized Participants” or “APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services; or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may require it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. For example, the Fund may not be able to redeem in-kind certain securities held by the Fund (e.g., derivative instruments). In such a case, the Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. By paying out higher annual capital gain distributions, investors may be subjected to increased capital gains taxes. The costs associated with cash redemptions may include brokerage costs that the Fund may not have incurred if it had made the redemptions in-kind. These costs could be imposed on the Fund, decreasing its NAV, to the extent these costs are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an authorized participant.
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Trading. Although Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as NYSE Arca Inc. (the “Exchange”), and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares. This adverse effect on liquidity for the Fund’s shares may lead to wider bid-ask spreads and differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and the underlying value of the shares.
Liquidity Risk. In certain circumstances, such as the disruption of the orderly markets for the financial instruments in which the Fund invests, the Fund might not be able to acquire or dispose of certain holdings quickly or at prices that represent true market value in the judgment of the Adviser. Markets for the financial instruments in which the Fund invests may be disrupted by a number of events, including but not limited to economic crises, health crises, natural disasters, excessive volatility, new legislation, or regulatory changes inside or outside of the U.S. These situations may have an impact on the liquidity of the Fund’s own shares.”
High Portfolio Turnover Risk. Daily rebalancing of the Fund’s holdings pursuant to its daily investment objective causes a much greater number of portfolio transactions when compared to most ETFs. Additionally, active market trading of the Fund’s Shares on exchanges (such as the Exchange), could cause more frequent creation and redemption activities, which could increase the number of portfolio transactions. Frequent and active trading may lead to higher transaction costs because of increased broker commissions resulting from such transactions. In addition, there is the possibility of significantly increased short-term capital gains (which will be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income when distributed to them). The Fund calculates portfolio turnover without including the short-term cash instruments or derivative transactions that comprise the majority of the Fund’s trading. As such, if the Fund’s extensive use of derivative instruments were reflected, the calculated portfolio turnover rate would be significantly higher.
Tracking Error Risk. Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of its investment objective which aims to replicate two times the daily percentage change in the price of the Underlying Security. Tracking error may occur for a number of reasons. Tracking error may occur because of transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of cash, differences in accrual of dividends, being under- or overexposed to the Underlying Security or the need to meet new or existing regulatory requirements. Tracking error risk may be heightened during times of market volatility or other unusual market conditions such as market disruptions. The Fund may be required to deviate from its investment objectives, and therefore experience tracking error, as a result of market restrictions or other legal reasons, including regulatory limits or other restrictions on securities that may be purchased by the Adviser and its affiliates.
Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. Markets for securities or financial instruments could be disrupted by a number of events, including, but not limited to, an economic crisis, natural disasters, epidemics/pandemics, new legislation or regulatory changes inside or outside the United States. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, especially in changing or volatile markets. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security at an unfavorable time or price, the Fund may be adversely impacted. Certain market conditions or restrictions may prevent the Fund from limiting losses, realizing gains or achieving a high correlation with the Underlying Security. There is no assurance that a security that is deemed liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid. Market illiquidity may cause losses for the Fund.
Market Events Risk. The Fund’s investments are subject to changes in general economic conditions, general market fluctuations and the risks inherent in investment in securities and other financial instruments. Investment markets can be volatile and prices of investments can change substantially due to various factors including, but not limited to, economic growth or recession, changes in interest rates, inflation, changes in the actual or perceived creditworthiness of issuers, and general market liquidity. The Fund is subject to the risk that geopolitical events will disrupt securities and other financial markets and adversely affect global economies and markets. Local, regional or global events such as war, military conflicts, acts of terrorism, natural disasters, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments. Continuing uncertainties regarding interest rates, rising inflation, political events, rising government debt in the U.S. and trade tensions also contribute to market volatility. Conflict, loss of life and disaster connected to ongoing armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia in Europe and between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East could have severe adverse effects on the related region, including significant adverse effects on the regional or global economies and the markets for certain securities. The U.S. and the European Union have imposed sanctions on certain Russian individuals and companies, including certain financial institutions, and have limited certain exports and imports to and from Russia. These conflicts have contributed to recent market volatility and may continue to do so.
Money Market Instrument Risk. The Fund may use a variety of money market instruments for cash management purposes, including money market funds, depositary accounts and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements are contracts in which a seller of securities agrees to buy the securities back at a specified time and price. Repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk related to the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. Money market instruments may lose money.
New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.
Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers could cause the Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Fund held a more diversified portfolio.
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Trading Halt Risk. Although the Underlying Security’s shares are listed for trading on an exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will be available at all times and the Exchange may halt trading of such shares in certain circumstances. A halt in trading in the Underlying Security’s shares is expected, in turn, to result in a halt in the trading in the Fund’s Shares. Trading in the Underlying Security’s and/or Fund’s Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in the Underlying Security’s and/or Fund’s Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Underlying Security’s and/or Fund’s Shares on an exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to exchange “circuit breaker” rules.” In the event of a trading halt for an extended period of time, the Fund may be unable to execute arrangements with swap counterparties that are necessary to implement the Fund’s investment strategy.
Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational 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 relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Fund’s investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
U.S. Government and U.S. Agency Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. Government obligations include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, such as the U.S. Treasury. Payment of principal and interest on U.S. Government obligations may be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States or may be backed solely by the issuing or guaranteeing agency or instrumentality itself. In the latter case, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, which agency or instrumentality may be privately owned. There can be no assurance that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises) where it is not obligated to do so.
Tax Risk. In order to qualify for the favorable tax treatment generally available to regulated investment companies, the Fund must satisfy certain diversification and other requirements. In particular, the Fund generally may not acquire a security if, as a result of the acquisition, more than 50% of the value of the Fund’s assets would be invested in (a) issuers in which the Fund has, in each case, invested more than 5% of the Fund’s assets and (b) issuers more than 10% of whose outstanding voting securities are owned by the Fund. The application of these requirements to certain investments (including swaps) that may be entered into by the Fund is unclear. In addition, the application of these requirements to the Fund’s investment objective is not clear, particularly because the Fund’s investment objective focuses on the performance of the stock of a single issuer. If the Fund were to fail to qualify as a regulated investment company, it would be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation, and distributions to its shareholders would not be deductible by the Fund in computing its taxable income.
Management
Investment Adviser: Tidal Investments LLC serves as investment adviser to the Fund.
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Portfolio Managers:
The following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.
Qiao Duan, CFA, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2024.
Christopher P. Mullen, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2024.
Purchase and Sale of Shares
The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only APs (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.
Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through brokers at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares (the “bid” price) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (the “ask” price) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market. This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “bid-ask spread.”
When available, information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, how often Shares traded on the Exchange at a premium or discount, and bid-ask spreads can be found on the Fund’s website at https://www.defianceetfs.com.
Tax Information
Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless an 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.
Financial Intermediary Compensation
If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other activities, such as marketing, educational training, or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s website for more information.
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Important Information About the Fund
The Defiance Daily Target 2X Long AVGO ETF (the “Fund”) seeks daily leveraged investment results of two times (200%) the daily percentage change in the share price of Broadcom Inc. (Nasdaq: AVGO) (the “Underlying Security” or “AVGO”). Because the Fund seeks daily leveraged investment results, it is very different from most other exchange-traded funds. It is also riskier than alternatives that do not use leverage.
The return for investors that invest for periods longer or shorter than a trading day should not be expected to be 200% of the performance of the Underlying Security’s shares for the period. The return of the Fund for a period longer than a trading day will be the result of each trading day’s compounded return during such period held, which will very likely differ from 200% of the return of the Underlying Security’s shares for that period. Holding shares of the Fund for longer than a single day and higher volatility of the Underlying Security’s shares increase the impact of compounding on an investor’s returns, which may have a negative or positive impact on an investor’s returns. During periods of higher Underlying Security share price volatility, the volatility of the Underlying Security’s shares may affect the Fund’s return as much as, or more than, the return of the Underlying Security’s shares. The impact of compounding will impact each shareholder differently depending on the period of time an investment in the Fund is held and the volatility of the Underlying Security’s shares during a shareholder’s holding period of an investment in the Fund. See “Principal Investment Risks – Compounding and Market Volatility Risk” below for an example of how volatility of the Underlying Security’s shares may affect the Fund’s return as much as, or more than, the return of the Underlying Security’s shares.
The Fund is not suitable for all investors. The Fund is designed to be utilized only by knowledgeable investors who understand the potential consequences of seeking daily leveraged (2X) investment results, understand the risks associated with the use of leverage, and are willing to monitor their portfolios frequently. The Fund is not intended to be used by, and is not appropriate for, investors who do not intend to actively monitor and manage their portfolios. For periods longer than a single day, the Fund will lose money if the Underlying Security’s performance is flat, and it is possible that the Fund will lose money even if the Underlying Security’s performance increases over a period longer than a single day. An investor could lose the full principal value of his/her investment within a single day.
The Fund seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, of two times (200%) the daily percentage change in the share price of Broadcom Inc. (Nasdaq: AVGO) The Fund does not seek to achieve its stated investment objective for a period other than a single trading day.
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
Management Fee | % | |||
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | ||||
Other Expenses(2) | % | |||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses(3) | % |
(1) | |
(2) | |
(3) |
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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 hold or redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year | 3 Years |
$ |
$ |
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in total annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
The Fund is an actively managed exchange traded fund (“ETF”) that attempts to achieve two times (200%) the daily percentage change in the share price of the Underlying Security by entering into swap agreements on the Underlying Security. The Fund aims to achieve this daily percentage change for a single day, and not for any other period. A “single day” means the period “from the close of regular trading on one trading day to the close on the next trading day.”
The Fund will enter into one or more swap agreements with financial institutions for a specified period, which may range from one day to longer than a year. Through each swap agreement, the Fund and the financial institution will agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on the Underlying Security’s share price. The gross return (meaning the return before deducting any fees or expenses) to be exchanged or “swapped” between the parties is calculated with respect to a “notional amount,” (meaning the face amount of the instrument) e.g., the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount representing the Underlying Security. In the event the Fund is unable to achieve sufficient swap exposure, the Fund may not always achieve investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to two times (2x) the daily performance of the Underlying Security, and may return substantially less during such periods.
At the end of each day, the Fund’s swaps are valued using market valuations and the Fund’s investment adviser rebalances the Fund’s holdings in an attempt to maintain leveraged exposure for the Fund equal to approximately 200% of the Underlying Security’s share price.
For examples of a hypothetical investment in the Fund, see “Additional Information About the Fund – Principal Investment Strategies” below.
Fund performance for periods greater than one single day is primarily (but not solely) a function of the following factors: a) the Underlying Security volatility; b) the Underlying Security’s performance; c) period of time; d) financing rates associated with leveraged exposure; and e) other Fund expenses.
The Fund will hold assets to serve as collateral for the Fund’s swap agreements. For those collateral holdings, the Fund may invest in (1) U.S. Government securities, such as bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury; (2) money market funds; (3) short term bond ETFs; and/or (4) corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper and other short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses that are rated investment grade or of comparable quality.
To complement the Fund’s primary strategy of using swap agreements to achieve leveraged exposure, the Fund may employ listed options contracts as an additional tool to generate leverage on an as-needed basis. By incorporating listed options, such as call options, the Fund can gain leveraged exposure to the Underlying Security without relying solely on swaps. This flexibility allows the Fund to adjust its leverage strategy in response to market conditions, liquidity constraints, or other factors that may impact the availability or pricing of swap agreements. The use of options may help the Fund meet its daily investment objective more effectively under varying market conditions.
The Fund has adopted a policy to have at least 80% exposure to financial instruments with economic characteristics that should perform 2X the daily performance of the Underlying Security’s shares. The Fund is expected to allocate between 40% and 60% of its assets as collateral for swap agreements or as premiums for purchased options contracts.
The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act.
Because of daily rebalancing and the compounding of each day’s return over time, the return of the Fund for periods longer than a single day will be the result of each day’s returns compounded over the period, which will very likely differ from 200% of the return of the Underlying Security’s shares over the same period. The Fund will lose money if the Underlying Security’s performance is flat over time, and because of daily rebalancing, the Underlying Security’s shares’ volatility and the effects of compounding, the Fund may lose money over time while the Underlying Security’s performance increases over a period longer than a single day. As a consequence, investors should not plan to hold shares of the Fund unmonitored for periods longer than a single trading day.
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Broadcom Inc. (“AVGO”)
AVGO is a global technology company that designs, develops and supplies a broad range of semiconductor and infrastructure software solution. AVGO leverages global engineering expertise and an extensive patent portfolio to develop high-performance semiconductor devices and system-on-chip (SoC) solutions for niche markets, with applications ranging from data center networking to factory automation. AVGO’s infrastructure software and hybrid-cloud solutions, including those acquired with VMware, enable leading companies and government agencies to manage and secure complex IT environments, enhancing scalability, agility, and security. AVGO is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (“Nasdaq”). Per AVGO’s most recent Form 10-K filing, the aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non-affiliates of AVGO (based on the last reported sale price of its common stock on April 28, 2023, on the Nasdaq Global Select Market) was approximately $253.7 billion.
AVGO is registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Information provided to or filed with the SEC by AVGO pursuant to the Exchange Act can be located by reference to the SEC file number 001-38449 through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, information regarding AVGO may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles and other publicly disseminated documents.
This document relates only to the securities offered hereby and does not relate to the shares of AVGO or other securities of AVGO. The Fund has derived all disclosures contained in this document regarding AVGO from the publicly available documents. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates has participated in the preparation of such publicly available offering documents or made any due diligence inquiry regarding such documents with respect to AVGO. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation that such publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding AVGO is accurate or complete. Furthermore, the Fund cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the date hereof (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described above) that would affect the trading price of AVGO (and therefore the share price of AVGO at the time we price the securities) have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events or the disclosure of or failure to disclose material future events concerning AVGO could affect the value received with respect to the securities and therefore the value of the securities.
None of the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation to you as to the performance of AVGO.
NONE OF THE FUND, TIDAL TRUST II, AND TIDAL INVESTMENTS LLC ARE AFFILIATED WITH THE UNDERLYING SECURITY.
Due to the Fund’s investment strategy, the Fund’s investment exposure is concentrated in the same industry as that assigned to the Underlying Security. As of the date of the Prospectus, AVGO is assigned to the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry.
The
principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below.
An investment in the Fund entails risk. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective and there is a risk that you could lose all of your money invested in the Fund. The Fund is not a complete investment program. In addition, the Fund presents risks not traditionally associated with other ETFs. It is important that investors closely review all of the risks listed below and understand them before making an investment in the Fund.
Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears.
AVGO Risks. The Fund invests in swap contracts that are based on the share price of AVGO. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of AVGO, even though it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s investments in swap contracts that are based on the value of AVGO, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in AVGO Risk. AVGO is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of AVGO but will be exposed to the performance of AVGO (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
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AVGO Trading Risk. The trading price of AVGO may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. The semiconductors industry, including AVGO, operates within a market that has historically witnessed significant price and volume fluctuations, sometimes unrelated to the companies’ operating performance. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading AVGO, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence AVGO’s share price disproportionately, as AVGO often receives heightened public attention regardless of its operational performance. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies, including AVGO, have faced securities class action litigation. AVGO has been subject to such litigation in the past and continues to defend against such actions. However, any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of AVGO, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
AVGO Performance Risk. AVGO may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of AVGO to decline. AVGO provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance AVGO provides may not ultimately be accurate and has in the past been inaccurate in certain respects, such as the timing of new product manufacturing ramps. The guidance is based on certain assumptions such as those relating to global and local economic conditions, anticipated production and sales volumes (which generally are not linear throughout a given period), average sales prices, supplier and commodity costs, and planned cost reductions. If AVGO’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by AVGO could decline significantly.
Business and Operational Risks. AVGO faces numerous business and operational risks, including adverse global economic conditions that could negatively impact operations. Compliance with governmental regulations and trade restrictions may result in significant expenses, and failure to comply could lead to the cessation of product manufacture and distribution, administrative proceedings, and civil or criminal penalties. Global political and economic instability, along with the failure to realize expected benefits from the VMware Merger, further pose challenges. The company also encounters risks related to acquisitions, investments, joint ventures, and dispositions, which could adversely affect financial results. Additionally, dependency on senior management and the ability to attract and retain qualified personnel are critical to executing AVGO’s business strategy effectively.
Technological and Cybersecurity Risks. AVGO is subject to technological and cybersecurity risks, including potential impairments to the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of IT systems and those of corporate infrastructure vendors, which could have a material adverse effect on the business. Operating in the highly cyclical semiconductor industry, AVGO’s sales are largely dependent on a small number of customers, and any reduction in demand or loss of significant customers could adversely affect the business. Reliance on contract manufacturing and suppliers of critical components within the supply chain, along with the need to purchase materials from a limited number of suppliers, may impact AVGO’s ability to bring products to market. Furthermore, failure to adjust manufacturing and supply chains to meet customer demand accurately could adversely affect operational results.
Legal, Environmental, and Market Risks. AVGO is involved in various legal proceedings, including intellectual property, securities litigation, and employee-related claims, which could adversely affect the business. The company’s growth in the software segment depends on customer acceptance of newer products and services, and incompatibility with operating environments or third-party products could decrease demand. Failure to enter into satisfactory software license agreements and the availability of licensed third-party software are additional concerns. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters, compliance with privacy and data security laws, and adherence to environmental, health, and safety regulations could increase costs and restrict operations. Rapidly decreasing average selling prices of semiconductor products and fluctuations in foreign exchange rates also pose significant risks.
Financial and Stock-Related Risks. AVGO’s financial health is affected by substantial indebtedness, which could hinder the ability to execute business strategies. Instruments governing indebtedness impose restrictions, and servicing debt requires significant cash flows, potentially impacting business operations. The volatility of AVGO’s stock price may result in substantial losses for investors and trigger class action litigation against the company and its management. Stock repurchase fluctuations, the concentration of stock held by a small number of large investors, and uncertainties regarding the continuation of cash dividends further contribute to financial risks. Changes in tax legislation, the maintenance of tax concessions, and potential tax liabilities from VMware’s former association with Dell also significantly impact AVGO’s financial position and operating results.
Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, which focuses on an individual security, may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole. Additionally, the Fund will seek to employ its investment strategy as it relates to the underlying issuer regardless of whether there are significant corporate actions such as restructurings, enforcement activity, or acquisitions or periods adverse market, economic, or other conditions and will not seek to take temporary defensive positions during such periods.
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Compounding and Market Volatility Risk. The Fund has a daily leveraged investment objective and the Fund’s performance for periods greater than a trading day will be the result of each day’s returns compounded over the period, which is very likely to differ from two times (200%) the Underlying Security’s performance, before the Fund’s management fee and other expenses. Compounding affects all investments but has a more significant impact on funds that aim to replicate leveraged daily returns and that rebalance daily. For the Fund aiming to replicate two times the daily performance of an Underlying Security, if adverse daily performance of the Underlying Security reduces the amount of a shareholder’s investment, any further adverse daily performance will lead to a smaller dollar loss because the shareholder’s investment had already been reduced by the prior adverse performance. Equally, however, if favorable daily performance of the Underlying Security increases the amount of a shareholder’s investment, the dollar amount lost due to future adverse performance will increase because the shareholder’s investment has increased.
The effect of compounding becomes more pronounced as the Underlying Security’s volatility and the holding period increase. The impact of compounding will impact each shareholder differently depending on the period of time an investment in the Fund is held and the volatility of the Underlying Security during a shareholder’s holding period of an investment in the Fund.
The chart below provides examples of how the Underlying Security’s volatility could affect the Fund’s performance. The chart illustrates the impact of two factors that affect the Fund’s performance – the Underlying Security’s volatility and the Underlying Security’s performance. The Underlying Security’s performance shows the percentage change in the share price of the Underlying Security over the specified time period, while the Underlying Security’s volatility is a statistical measure of the magnitude of fluctuations in the returns during that time period. As illustrated below, even if the Underlying Security’s performance over two equal time periods is identical, different Underlying Security volatility (i.e., in magnitude of fluctuations in the share price of the Underlying Security) during the two time periods could result in drastically different Fund performance for the two time periods because of compounding daily returns during the time periods.
Fund performance for periods greater than one single day can be estimated given any set of assumptions for the following factors: a) the Underlying Security volatility; b) the Underlying Security performance; c) period of time; d) financing rates associated with leveraged exposure; and e) other Fund expenses. The chart shows estimated Fund returns for a number of combinations of Underlying Security volatility and Underlying Security performance over a one-year period. Performance shown in the chart assumes that: (i) there were no Fund expenses; (ii) borrowing/lending rates (to obtain leveraged exposure) of 0%. If Fund expenses and/or actual borrowing/lending rates were reflected the estimated returns would be different than those shown. Particularly during periods of higher Underlying Security volatility, compounding will cause results for periods longer than a trading day to vary from two times (200%) the performance of the Underlying Security.
As shown in the chart below, the Fund would be expected to lose 6.1% if there was no change in the share price of the Underlying Security over a one-year period during which the Underlying Security experienced annualized volatility of 25%. If the Underlying Security’s annualized volatility were to rise to 75%, the hypothetical loss for a one-year period would widen to approximately -43%. At higher ranges of volatility, there is a chance of a significant loss of value in the Fund, even if there were no change in the share price of the Underlying Security. For instance, if the Underlying Security’s annualized volatility is 100%, the Fund would be expected to lose 63.2% of its value, even if the cumulative Underlying Security change in the share price of the Underlying Security for the year was 0%.
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Areas shaded red (or dark gray) represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return less than two times (200%) the performance of the Underlying Security and those shaded green (or light gray) represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return more than two times (200%) the performance of the Underlying Security. The Fund’s actual performance may be significantly better or worse than the performance shown below as a result of any of the factors discussed above or in the “Daily Correlation/Tracking Risk” below.
Estimated
Returns of 200% or Two Times Performance of the Underlying Security |
|||||||
Underlying Security Performance | One Year Volatility Rate | ||||||
One
Year Underlying Security |
2X
Times (200%) the One Year Performance |
10% | 25% | 50% | 75% | 100% | |
-60% | -120% | -84.2% | -85.0% | -87.5% | -90.9% | -94.1% | |
-50% | -100% | -75.2% | -76.5% | -80.5% | -85.8% | -90.8% | |
-40% | -80% | -64.4% | -66.2% | -72.0% | -79.5% | -86.8% | |
-30% | -60% | -51.5% | -54.0% | -61.8% | -72.1% | -82.0% | |
-20% | -40% | -36.6% | -39.9% | -50.2% | -63.5% | -76.5% | |
-10% | -20% | -19.8% | -23.9% | -36.9% | -53.8% | -70.2% | |
0% | 0% | -1.0% | -6.1% | -22.1% | -43.0% | -63.2% | |
10% | 20% | 19.8% | 13.7% | -5.8% | -31.1% | -55.5% | |
20% | 40% | 42.6% | 35.3% | 12.1% | -18.0% | -47.0% | |
30% | 60% | 67.3% | 58.8% | 31.6% | -3.7% | -37.8% | |
40% | 80% | 94.0% | 84.1% | 52.6% | 11.7% | -27.9% | |
50% | 100% | 122.8% | 111.4% | 75.2% | 28.2% | -17.2% | |
60% | 120% | 153.5% | 140.5% | 99.4% | 45.9% | -5.8% |
The Underlying Security’s annualized historical volatility rate for the five-year period ended September 30, 2024 was 37.88%. The Underlying Security’s highest volatility rate for any one calendar year during this period was 63.96% and volatility for a shorter period of time may have been substantially higher. The Underlying Security’s annualized performance during this period was 36.72%. Historical Underlying Security volatility and performance are not indications of what Underlying Security volatility and performance will be in the future.
Daily Correlation/Tracking Risk. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of leveraged correlation to the Underlying Security and therefore achieve its daily leveraged investment objective. To achieve a high degree of leveraged correlation with the Underlying Security, the Fund seeks to rebalance its portfolio daily to keep exposure consistent with its daily leveraged investment objective. The possibility of the Fund being materially over- or under-exposed to the Underlying Security increases on days when the Underlying Security is volatile near the close of the trading day. Market disruptions, regulatory restrictions and extreme volatility will also adversely affect the Fund’s ability to adjust exposure to the required levels. If there is a significant intra-day market event and/or the Underlying Security experiences a significant increase or decline, the Fund may not meet its investment objective, be able to rebalance its portfolio appropriately, or may experience significant premiums or discounts, or widened bid-ask spreads.
The Fund may have difficulty achieving its daily leveraged investment objective due to fees, expenses, transaction costs, financing costs related to the use of derivatives, investments in ETFs, directly or indirectly, income items, valuation methodology, accounting standards and disruptions or illiquidity in the markets for the securities or derivatives held by the Fund. The Fund may be subject to large movements of assets into and out of the Fund, potentially resulting in the Fund being over- or under-exposed to the Underlying Security. The Fund may take or refrain from taking positions to improve the tax efficiency or to comply with various regulatory restrictions, either of which may negatively impact the Fund’s leveraged correlation to the Underlying Security.
Leverage Risk. The Fund obtains investment exposure in excess of its net assets by utilizing leverage and may lose more money in market conditions that are adverse to its investment objective than a fund that does not utilize leverage. An investment in the Fund is exposed to the risk that a decline in the daily performance of the Underlying Security will be magnified. This means that an investment in the Fund will be reduced by an amount equal to 2% for every 1% daily decline in the share price of the Underlying Security, not including the costs of financing leverage and other operating expenses, which would further reduce its value. The Fund could theoretically lose an amount greater than its net assets in the event the share price of the Underlying Security declines more than 50%. Leverage will also have the effect of magnifying any differences in the Fund performance’s correlation with the Underlying Security’s share price.
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Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, leverage, imperfect daily correlations with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The use of derivatives may result in larger losses or smaller gains than directly investing in securities. When the Fund uses derivatives, there may be imperfect correlation between the share price of the Underlying Security and the derivative, which may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective. Because derivatives often require only a limited initial investment, the use of derivatives may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts initially invested.
The Fund will be subject to regulatory constraints relating to level of value at risk that the Fund may incur through its derivative portfolio. To the extent the Fund exceeds these regulatory thresholds over an extended period, the Fund may determine that it is necessary to make adjustments to the Fund’s investment strategy, including the desired daily leveraged performance for the Fund.
In addition, the Fund’s investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:
Swap Agreements. The use of swap transactions is a highly specialized activity, which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. Whether the Fund will be successful in using swap agreements to achieve its investment goal depends on the ability of the Adviser to structure such swap agreements in accordance with the Fund’s investment objective and to identify counterparties for those swap agreements. If the Adviser is unable to enter into swap agreements that provide leveraged exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund may not meet its stated investment objective. Additionally, any financing, borrowing or other costs associated with using swap transactions may also have the effect of lowering the Fund’s return.
The swap agreements in which the Fund invests are generally traded in the over-the-counter market, which generally has less transparency than exchange-traded derivatives instruments. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined reference assets or underlying securities or instruments. The gross return to be exchanged or swapped between the parties is calculated based on a notional amount or the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a basket of securities.
If the Underlying Security has a dramatic move that causes a material decline in the Fund’s net assets, the terms of a swap agreement between the Fund and its counterparty may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the swap transaction with the Fund. In that event, the Fund may be unable to enter into another swap agreement or invest in other derivatives to achieve exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. This may prevent the Fund from achieving its leveraged investment objective, even if the Underlying Security later reverses all or a portion of its movement.
Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events. The value of the options contracts in which the Fund invests are substantially influenced by the value of the Underlying Security. The Fund may experience substantial downside from specific option positions and certain option positions held by the Fund may expire worthless. The options held by the Fund are exercisable at the strike price on their expiration date. As an option approaches its expiration date, its value typically increasingly moves with the value of the underlying instrument. However, prior to such date, the value of an option generally does not increase or decrease at the same rate as the underlying instrument. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in values options contracts and the underlying instrument, and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options contracts. The value of the options held by the Fund will be determined based on market quotations or other recognized pricing methods. Additionally, as the Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security through the use of options contracts, as the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it will enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” If the expiring options contracts do not generate proceeds enough to cover the cost of entering into new options contracts, the Fund may experience losses. The use of options to generate leverage introduces additional risks, including significant potential losses if the market moves unfavorably. The leverage inherent in options can amplify both gains and losses, leading to increased volatility and potential for substantial losses, particularly in periods of market uncertainty or low liquidity. Additionally, the Fund may incur losses if the value of the Underlying Security moves against its positions, potentially resulting in a complete loss of the premium paid.
Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in derivatives which exposes the Fund to the risk that the counterparty will not fulfill its obligation to the Fund. Counterparty risk may arise because of the counterparty’s financial condition (i.e., financial difficulties, bankruptcy, or insolvency), market activities and developments, or other reasons, whether foreseen or not. A counterparty’s inability to fulfill its obligation may result in significant financial loss to the Fund and the Fund may be unable to recover its investment from such counterparty or may obtain a limited and/or delayed recovery.
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In addition, the Fund may enter into swap agreements with a limited number of counterparties, which may increase the Fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk. Further, there is a risk that no suitable counterparties will be willing to enter into, or continue to enter into, transactions with the Fund and, as a result, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective.
Intra-Day Investment Risk. The Fund seeks investment results from the close of the market on a given trading day until the close of the market on the subsequent trading day. The exact exposure of an investment in the Fund intraday in the secondary market is a function of the difference between the share price of the Underlying Security at the market close on the first trading day and the share price of the Underlying Security at the time of purchase. If the share price of the Underlying Security rises, the Fund’s net assets will rise by approximately twice the amount as the Fund’s exposure. Conversely, if the share price of the Underlying Security declines, the Fund’s net assets will decline by approximately two times the amount as the Fund’s exposure. Thus, an investor that purchases Shares intra-day may experience performance that is greater than, or less than, the Fund’s stated leveraged performance of the Underlying Security.
If there is a significant intra-day market event and/or the securities of the Underlying Security experience a significant increase or decrease, the Fund may not meet its investment objective or rebalance its portfolio appropriately.
Fixed Income Securities Risk. When the Fund invests in fixed income securities, the value of your investment in the Fund will fluctuate with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities owned by the Fund. In general, the market price of fixed income securities with longer maturities will increase or decrease more in response to changes in interest rates than shorter-term securities. Other risk factors include credit risk (the debtor may default), extension risk (an issuer may exercise its right to repay principal on a fixed rate obligation held by the Fund later than expected), and prepayment risk (the debtor may pay its obligation early, reducing the amount of interest payments). These risks could affect the value of a particular investment by the Fund, possibly causing the Fund’s Share price and total return to be reduced and fluctuate more than other types of investments.
Rebalancing Risk. If for any reason the Fund is unable to rebalance all or a portion of its portfolio, or if all or a portion of the portfolio is rebalanced incorrectly, the Fund’s investment exposure may not be consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. In these instances, the Fund may have investment exposure to the Underlying Security that is significantly greater or less than its stated investment objective. As a result, the Fund may be exposed to leverage risk because it had not been properly rebalanced and may not achieve its investment objective.
ETF Risks.
Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem Shares directly from the Fund (known as “Authorized Participants” or “APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services; or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may require it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. For example, the Fund may not be able to redeem in-kind certain securities held by the Fund (e.g., derivative instruments). In such a case, the Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. By paying out higher annual capital gain distributions, investors may be subjected to increased capital gains taxes. The costs associated with cash redemptions may include brokerage costs that the Fund may not have incurred if it had made the redemptions in-kind. These costs could be imposed on the Fund, decreasing its NAV, to the extent these costs are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an authorized participant.
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Trading. Although Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as The Nasdaq Stock Market, LLC (the “Exchange”), and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares. This adverse effect on liquidity for the Fund’s shares may lead to wider bid-ask spreads and differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and the underlying value of the shares.
Liquidity Risk. In certain circumstances, such as the disruption of the orderly markets for the financial instruments in which the Fund invests, the Fund might not be able to acquire or dispose of certain holdings quickly or at prices that represent true market value in the judgment of the Adviser. Markets for the financial instruments in which the Fund invests may be disrupted by a number of events, including but not limited to economic crises, health crises, natural disasters, excessive volatility, new legislation, or regulatory changes inside or outside of the U.S. These situations may have an impact on the liquidity of the Fund’s own shares.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk. Daily rebalancing of the Fund’s holdings pursuant to its daily investment objective causes a much greater number of portfolio transactions when compared to most ETFs. Additionally, active market trading of the Fund’s Shares on exchanges (such as the Exchange), could cause more frequent creation and redemption activities, which could increase the number of portfolio transactions. Frequent and active trading may lead to higher transaction costs because of increased broker commissions resulting from such transactions. In addition, there is the possibility of significantly increased short-term capital gains (which will be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income when distributed to them). The Fund calculates portfolio turnover without including the short-term cash instruments or derivative transactions that comprise the majority of the Fund’s trading. As such, if the Fund’s extensive use of derivative instruments were reflected, the calculated portfolio turnover rate would be significantly higher.
Tracking Error Risk. Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of its investment objective which aims to replicate two times the daily percentage change in the price of the Underlying Security. Tracking error may occur for a number of reasons. Tracking error may occur because of transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of cash, differences in accrual of dividends, being under- or overexposed to the Underlying Security or the need to meet new or existing regulatory requirements. Tracking error risk may be heightened during times of market volatility or other unusual market conditions such as market disruptions. The Fund may be required to deviate from its investment objectives, and therefore experience tracking error, as a result of market restrictions or other legal reasons, including regulatory limits or other restrictions on securities that may be purchased by the Adviser and its affiliates.
Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. Markets for securities or financial instruments could be disrupted by a number of events, including, but not limited to, an economic crisis, natural disasters, epidemics/pandemics, new legislation or regulatory changes inside or outside the United States. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, especially in changing or volatile markets. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security at an unfavorable time or price, the Fund may be adversely impacted. Certain market conditions or restrictions may prevent the Fund from limiting losses, realizing gains or achieving a high correlation with the Underlying Security. There is no assurance that a security that is deemed liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid. Market illiquidity may cause losses for the Fund.
Market Events Risk. The Fund’s investments are subject to changes in general economic conditions, general market fluctuations and the risks inherent in investment in securities and other financial instruments. Investment markets can be volatile and prices of investments can change substantially due to various factors including, but not limited to, economic growth or recession, changes in interest rates, inflation, changes in the actual or perceived creditworthiness of issuers, and general market liquidity. The Fund is subject to the risk that geopolitical events will disrupt securities and other financial markets and adversely affect global economies and markets. Local, regional or global events such as war, military conflicts, acts of terrorism, natural disasters, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments. Continuing uncertainties regarding interest rates, rising inflation, political events, rising government debt in the U.S. and trade tensions also contribute to market volatility. Conflict, loss of life and disaster connected to ongoing armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia in Europe and between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East could have severe adverse effects on the related region, including significant adverse effects on the regional or global economies and the markets for certain securities. The U.S. and the European Union have imposed sanctions on certain Russian individuals and companies, including certain financial institutions, and have limited certain exports and imports to and from Russia. These conflicts have contributed to recent market volatility and may continue to do so.
Money Market Instrument Risk. The Fund may use a variety of money market instruments for cash management purposes, including money market funds, depositary accounts and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements are contracts in which a seller of securities agrees to buy the securities back at a specified time and price. Repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk related to the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. Money market instruments may lose money.
New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.
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Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers could cause the Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Fund held a more diversified portfolio.
Trading Halt Risk. Although the Underlying Security’s shares are listed for trading on an exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will be available at all times and the Exchange may halt trading of such shares in certain circumstances. A halt in trading in the Underlying Security’s shares is expected, in turn, to result in a halt in the trading in the Fund’s Shares. Trading in the Underlying Security’s and/or Fund’s Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in the Underlying Security’s and/or Fund’s Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Underlying Security’s and/or Fund’s Shares on an exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to exchange “circuit breaker” rules.” In the event of a trading halt for an extended period of time, the Fund may be unable to execute arrangements with swap counterparties that are necessary to implement the Fund’s investment strategy.
Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational 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 relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Fund’s investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
U.S. Government and U.S. Agency Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. Government obligations include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, such as the U.S. Treasury. Payment of principal and interest on U.S. Government obligations may be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States or may be backed solely by the issuing or guaranteeing agency or instrumentality itself. In the latter case, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, which agency or instrumentality may be privately owned. There can be no assurance that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises) where it is not obligated to do so.
Tax Risk. In order to qualify for the favorable tax treatment generally available to regulated investment companies, the Fund must satisfy certain diversification and other requirements. In particular, the Fund generally may not acquire a security if, as a result of the acquisition, more than 50% of the value of the Fund’s assets would be invested in (a) issuers in which the Fund has, in each case, invested more than 5% of the Fund’s assets and (b) issuers more than 10% of whose outstanding voting securities are owned by the Fund. The application of these requirements to certain investments (including swaps) that may be entered into by the Fund is unclear. In addition, the application of these requirements to the Fund’s investment objective is not clear, particularly because the Fund’s investment objective focuses on the performance of the stock of a single issuer. If the Fund were to fail to qualify as a regulated investment company, it would be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation, and distributions to its shareholders would not be deductible by the Fund in computing its taxable income.
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Management
Investment Adviser: Tidal Investments LLC serves as investment adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers:
The following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.
Qiao Duan, CFA, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2024.
Christopher P. Mullen, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2024.
Purchase and Sale of Shares
The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only APs (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.
Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through brokers at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares (the “bid” price) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (the “ask” price) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market. This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “bid-ask spread.”
When available, information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, how often Shares traded on the Exchange at a premium or discount, and bid-ask spreads can be found on the Fund’s website at https://www.defianceetfs.com.
Tax Information
Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless an 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.
Financial Intermediary Compensation
If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other activities, such as marketing, educational training, or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s website for more information.
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Important Information About the Fund
The Defiance Daily Target 2X Long SMCI ETF (the “Fund”) seeks daily leveraged investment results of two times (200%) the daily percentage change in the share price of Super Micro Computer, Inc. (Nasdaq: SMCI) (the “Underlying Security” or “SMCI”). Because the Fund seeks daily leveraged investment results, it is very different from most other exchange-traded funds. It is also riskier than alternatives that do not use leverage.
The return for investors that invest for periods longer or shorter than a trading day should not be expected to be 200% of the performance of the Underlying Security’s shares for the period. The return of the Fund for a period longer than a trading day will be the result of each trading day’s compounded return during such period held, which will very likely differ from 200% of the return of the Underlying Security’s shares for that period. Holding shares of the Fund for longer than a single day and higher volatility of the Underlying Security’s shares increase the impact of compounding on an investor’s returns, which may have a negative or positive impact on an investor’s returns. During periods of higher Underlying Security share price volatility, the volatility of the Underlying Security’s shares may affect the Fund’s return as much as, or more than, the return of the Underlying Security’s shares. The impact of compounding will impact each shareholder differently depending on the period of time an investment in the Fund is held and the volatility of the Underlying Security’s shares during a shareholder’s holding period of an investment in the Fund. See “Principal Investment Risks – Compounding and Market Volatility Risk” below for an example of how volatility of the Underlying Security’s shares may affect the Fund’s return as much as, or more than, the return of the Underlying Security’s shares.
The Fund is not suitable for all investors. The Fund is designed to be utilized only by knowledgeable investors who understand the potential consequences of seeking daily leveraged (2X) investment results, understand the risks associated with the use of leverage, and are willing to monitor their portfolios frequently. The Fund is not intended to be used by, and is not appropriate for, investors who do not intend to actively monitor and manage their portfolios. For periods longer than a single day, the Fund will lose money if the Underlying Security’s performance is flat, and it is possible that the Fund will lose money even if the Underlying Security’s performance increases over a period longer than a single day. An investor could lose the full principal value of his/her investment within a single day.
The Fund seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, of two times (200%) the daily percentage change in the share price of Super Micro Computer, Inc. (Nasdaq: SMCI) The Fund does not seek to achieve its stated investment objective for a period other than a single trading day.
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
Management Fee | % | |||
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees | ||||
Other Expenses(2) | % | |||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses(3) | % |
(1) | |
(2) | |
(3) |
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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 hold or redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
1 Year | 3 Years |
$ |
$ |
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in total annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund is newly organized, portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
The Fund is an actively managed exchange traded fund (“ETF”) that attempts to achieve two times (200%) the daily percentage change in the share price of the Underlying Security by entering into swap agreements on the Underlying Security. The Fund aims to achieve this daily percentage change for a single day, and not for any other period. A “single day” means the period “from the close of regular trading on one trading day to the close on the next trading day.”
The Fund will enter into one or more swap agreements with financial institutions for a specified period, which may range from one day to longer than a year. Through each swap agreement, the Fund and the financial institution will agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on the Underlying Security’s share price. The gross return (meaning the return before deducting any fees or expenses) to be exchanged or “swapped” between the parties is calculated with respect to a “notional amount,” (meaning the face amount of the instrument) e.g., the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount representing the Underlying Security. In the event the Fund is unable to achieve sufficient swap exposure, the Fund may not always achieve investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to two times (2x) the daily performance of the Underlying Security, and may return substantially less during such periods.
At the end of each day, the Fund’s swaps are valued using market valuations and the Fund’s investment adviser rebalances the Fund’s holdings in an attempt to maintain leveraged exposure for the Fund equal to approximately 200% of the Underlying Security’s share price.
For examples of a hypothetical investment in the Fund, see “Additional Information About the Fund – Principal Investment Strategies” below.
Fund performance for periods greater than one single day is primarily (but not solely) a function of the following factors: a) the Underlying Security volatility; b) the Underlying Security’s performance; c) period of time; d) financing rates associated with leveraged exposure; and e) other Fund expenses.
The Fund will hold assets to serve as collateral for the Fund’s swap agreements. For those collateral holdings, the Fund may invest in (1) U.S. Government securities, such as bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury; (2) money market funds; (3) short term bond ETFs; and/or (4) corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper and other short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses that are rated investment grade or of comparable quality.
To complement the Fund’s primary strategy of using swap agreements to achieve leveraged exposure, the Fund may employ listed options contracts as an additional tool to generate leverage on an as-needed basis. By incorporating listed options, such as call options, the Fund can gain leveraged exposure to the Underlying Security without relying solely on swaps. This flexibility allows the Fund to adjust its leverage strategy in response to market conditions, liquidity constraints, or other factors that may impact the availability or pricing of swap agreements. The use of options may help the Fund meet its daily investment objective more effectively under varying market conditions.
The Fund has adopted a policy to have at least 80% exposure to financial instruments with economic characteristics that should perform 2X the daily performance of the Underlying Security’s shares. The Fund is expected to allocate between 40% and 60% of its assets as collateral for swap agreements or as premiums for purchased options contracts.
The Fund is classified as “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act.
Because of daily rebalancing and the compounding of each day’s return over time, the return of the Fund for periods longer than a single day will be the result of each day’s returns compounded over the period, which will very likely differ from 200% of the return of the Underlying Security’s shares over the same period. The Fund will lose money if the Underlying Security’s performance is flat over time, and because of daily rebalancing, the Underlying Security’s shares’ volatility and the effects of compounding, the Fund may lose money over time while the Underlying Security’s performance increases over a period longer than a single day. As a consequence, investors should not plan to hold shares of the Fund unmonitored for periods longer than a single trading day.
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Super Micro Computer, Inc. (“SMCI”)
SMCI designs and manufactures high-performance computer server solutions, storage systems, and networking devices for a diverse range of customers, including data centers, cloud computing providers, and enterprises. SMCI’s offerings encompass scalable and customizable hardware solutions for various workloads. SMCI is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (“Nasdaq”). Per SMCI’s most recent Form 10-K filing, the aggregate market value of the common stock held by non-affiliates of SMCI (based on the last reported sale price of its common stock on December 31, 2022 on the Nasdaq Global Select Market) was approximately $3.8 billion.
SMCI is registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Information provided to or filed with the SEC by SMCI pursuant to the Exchange Act can be located by reference to the SEC file number 001-33383 through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, information regarding SMCI may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles and other publicly disseminated documents.
This document relates only to the securities offered hereby and does not relate to the shares of SMCI or other securities of SMCI. The Fund has derived all disclosures contained in this document regarding SMCI from the publicly available documents. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates has participated in the preparation of such publicly available offering documents or made any due diligence inquiry regarding such documents with respect to SMCI. None of the Fund, the Trust, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation that such publicly available documents or any other publicly available information regarding SMCI is accurate or complete. Furthermore, the Fund cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the date hereof (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available documents described above) that would affect the trading price of SMCI (and therefore the share price of SMCI at the time we price the securities) have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events or the disclosure of or failure to disclose material future events concerning SMCI could affect the value received with respect to the securities and therefore the value of the securities.
None of the Fund, the Trust, the Adviser, or their respective affiliates makes any representation to you as to the performance of SMCI.
NONE OF THE FUND, TIDAL TRUST II, AND TIDAL INVESTMENTS LLC ARE AFFILIATED WITH THE UNDERLYING SECURITY.
Due to the Fund’s investment strategy, the Fund’s investment exposure is concentrated in the same industry as that assigned to the Underlying Security. As of the date of the Prospectus, SMCI is assigned to the Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals industry.
The
principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below.
An investment in the Fund entails risk. The Fund may not achieve its investment objective and there is a risk that you could lose all of your money invested in the Fund. The Fund is not a complete investment program. In addition, the Fund presents risks not traditionally associated with other ETFs. It is important that investors closely review all of the risks listed below and understand them before making an investment in the Fund.
Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears.
SMCI Risks. The Fund invests in swap contracts that are based on the share price of SMCI. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of SMCI, even though it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s investments in swap contracts that are based on the value of SMCI, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in SMCI Risk. SMCI is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of SMCI but will be exposed to the performance of SMCI (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
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SMCI Trading Risk. The trading price of SMCI may demonstrate volatility and wide fluctuations due to various factors inherent in the technology industry. Unlike some other sectors, the technology industry, including SMCI, is prone to significant price and volume fluctuations, occasionally unrelated to operational performance. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading SMCI, impacting supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Moreover, external factors and public perception may disproportionately influence SMCI’s share price within the technology sector, with heightened public attention notwithstanding operational performance. Furthermore, SMCI, like other tech companies, may encounter securities class action litigation during periods of market volatility, potentially resulting in substantial costs and diverting management’s attention and resources. In the event of a trading halt for SMCI, trading in Shares of the Fund may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
SMCI Performance Risk. SMCI may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of SMCI to decline. SMCI provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance SMCI provides may not ultimately be accurate and has in the past been inaccurate in certain respects, such as the timing of new product manufacturing ramps. The guidance is based on certain assumptions such as those relating to global and local economic conditions, anticipated production and sales volumes (which generally are not linear throughout a given period), average sales prices, supplier and commodity costs, and planned cost reductions. If SMCI’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by SMCI could decline significantly.
Delisting Risk. SMCI recently announced that it received a notification letter from Nasdaq stating that SMCI is not in compliance with Nasdaq listing rule 5250(c)(1), which requires timely filing of reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The letter, dated September 17, 2024, was sent as a result of SMCI’s delay in filing its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ending June 30, 2024 (the “Form 10-K”). The Nasdaq notice has no immediate effect on the listing or trading of SMCI’s common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market; however, should SMCI fail to comply with the rule within required timelines it’s possible SMCI stock could be delisted which would prevent the Fund from continuing to operate.
Under the Nasdaq rules, SMCI has 60 days from the date of the notice either to file the Form 10-K or to submit a plan to Nasdaq to regain compliance with Nasdaq’s listing rules. If a plan is submitted and accepted, SMCI could be granted up to 180 days from the Form 10-K’s due date to regain compliance. If Nasdaq does not accept SMCI’s plan, then SMCI will have the opportunity to appeal that decision to a Nasdaq hearings panel.
On October 30, 2024, SMCI announced that its independent registered public accounting firm had resigned and that SMCI had begun the process of identifying a successor. Any delay in identifying a successor independent registered public accounting firm could increase the risk of SMCI stock being delisted.
Operational and Execution Risk. Adverse economic conditions may adversely affect SMCI’s business operations. Ongoing events in eastern Europe and the Taiwan Strait pose challenges and risks to SMCI, potentially impacting its business, financial condition, and operating results. Quarterly operating results have historically fluctuated and are likely to continue doing so in the future. Predicting revenue and margins for specific periods is challenging, and any revenue shortfall or margin decline may negatively impact SMCI’s operating results. As SMCI targets larger customers and sales opportunities, its customer base may become more concentrated, increasing costs, lowering margins, and exposing the company to inventory risks.
Strategic and Industry Risks. Failure to manage the expansion of international manufacturing capacity and business operations could harm SMCI’s business. Additionally, managing growth and expansion effectively is crucial for SMCI’s success. Expansion into markets outside the United States exposes SMCI to inherent risks associated with international business operations. Development of new products and enhancements to existing products is vital for SMCI’s growth; failure to predict or respond to emerging technological trends and changing customer needs may adversely affect its market share and operating results.
Legal and Regulatory Risks. SMCI is subject to complex and evolving laws and regulations concerning privacy, data protection, and other matters due to the nature of its products and services. Compliance with environmental, health, and safety laws and regulations is essential for SMCI due to its operations involving regulated materials. Failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting may lead to investor loss of confidence and decrease the market price of SMCI’s common stock.
Financial Risks. SMCI’s research and development expenditures are considerably higher than those of many competitors, impacting its financial performance. Future effective income tax rates could be affected by changes in operations and income among different geographic regions and changes in domestic and foreign income tax laws. Backlog does not significantly contribute to SMCI’s net sales in any quarter.
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General Risks. SMCI’s products may not be perceived as supporting climate change mitigation efforts in the IT sector. Natural disaster events, including those related to climate change, may impact SMCI’s business and operations. Risks associated with the use of AI by SMCI’s workforce may arise. Expectations regarding environmental, social, and governance considerations expose SMCI to potential liabilities, reputational harm, and other unforeseen adverse effects on its business.
Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in the Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of the Fund, which focuses on an individual security, may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole. Additionally, the Fund will seek to employ its investment strategy as it relates to the underlying issuer regardless of whether there are significant corporate actions such as restructurings, enforcement activity, or acquisitions or periods adverse market, economic, or other conditions and will not seek to take temporary defensive positions during such periods.
Compounding and Market Volatility Risk. The Fund has a daily leveraged investment objective and the Fund’s performance for periods greater than a trading day will be the result of each day’s returns compounded over the period, which is very likely to differ from two times (200%) the Underlying Security’s performance, before the Fund’s management fee and other expenses. Compounding affects all investments but has a more significant impact on funds that aim to replicate leveraged daily returns and that rebalance daily. For the Fund aiming to replicate two times the daily performance of an Underlying Security, if adverse daily performance of the Underlying Security reduces the amount of a shareholder’s investment, any further adverse daily performance will lead to a smaller dollar loss because the shareholder’s investment had already been reduced by the prior adverse performance. Equally, however, if favorable daily performance of the Underlying Security increases the amount of a shareholder’s investment, the dollar amount lost due to future adverse performance will increase because the shareholder’s investment has increased.
The effect of compounding becomes more pronounced as the Underlying Security’s volatility and the holding period increase. The impact of compounding will impact each shareholder differently depending on the period of time an investment in the Fund is held and the volatility of the Underlying Security during a shareholder’s holding period of an investment in the Fund.
The chart below provides examples of how the Underlying Security’s volatility could affect the Fund’s performance. The chart illustrates the impact of two factors that affect the Fund’s performance – the Underlying Security’s volatility and the Underlying Security’s performance. The Underlying Security’s performance shows the percentage change in the share price of the Underlying Security over the specified time period, while the Underlying Security’s volatility is a statistical measure of the magnitude of fluctuations in the returns during that time period. As illustrated below, even if the Underlying Security’s performance over two equal time periods is identical, different Underlying Security volatility (i.e., in magnitude of fluctuations in the share price of the Underlying Security) during the two time periods could result in drastically different Fund performance for the two time periods because of compounding daily returns during the time periods.
Fund performance for periods greater than one single day can be estimated given any set of assumptions for the following factors: a) the Underlying Security volatility; b) the Underlying Security performance; c) period of time; d) financing rates associated with leveraged exposure; and e) other Fund expenses. The chart shows estimated Fund returns for a number of combinations of Underlying Security volatility and Underlying Security performance over a one-year period. Performance shown in the chart assumes that: (i) there were no Fund expenses; (ii) borrowing/lending rates (to obtain leveraged exposure) of 0%. If Fund expenses and/or actual borrowing/lending rates were reflected the estimated returns would be different than those shown. Particularly during periods of higher Underlying Security volatility, compounding will cause results for periods longer than a trading day to vary from two times (200%) the performance of the Underlying Security.
As shown in the chart below, the Fund would be expected to lose 6.1% if there was no change in the share price of the Underlying Security over a one-year period during which the Underlying Security experienced annualized volatility of 25%. If the Underlying Security’s annualized volatility were to rise to 75%, the hypothetical loss for a one-year period would widen to approximately -43%. At higher ranges of volatility, there is a chance of a significant loss of value in the Fund, even if there were no change in the share price of the Underlying Security. For instance, if the Underlying Security’s annualized volatility is 100%, the Fund would be expected to lose 63.2% of its value, even if the cumulative Underlying Security change in the share price of the Underlying Security for the year was 0%.
Areas shaded red (or dark gray) represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return less than two times (200%) the performance of the Underlying Security and those shaded green (or light gray) represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return more than two times (200%) the performance of the Underlying Security. The Fund’s actual performance may be significantly better or worse than the performance shown below as a result of any of the factors discussed above or in the “Daily Correlation/Tracking Risk” below.
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Estimated
Returns of 200% or Two Times Performance of the Underlying Security |
|||||||
Underlying Security Performance | One Year Volatility Rate | ||||||
One
Year Underlying Security |
2X
Times (200%) the One Year Performance |
10% | 25% | 50% | 75% | 100% | |
-60% | -120% | -84.2% | -85.0% | -87.5% | -90.9% | -94.1% | |
-50% | -100% | -75.2% | -76.5% | -80.5% | -85.8% | -90.8% | |
-40% | -80% | -64.4% | -66.2% | -72.0% | -79.5% | -86.8% | |
-30% | -60% | -51.5% | -54.0% | -61.8% | -72.1% | -82.0% | |
-20% | -40% | -36.6% | -39.9% | -50.2% | -63.5% | -76.5% | |
-10% | -20% | -19.8% | -23.9% | -36.9% | -53.8% | -70.2% | |
0% | 0% | -1.0% | -6.1% | -22.1% | -43.0% | -63.2% | |
10% | 20% | 19.8% | 13.7% | -5.8% | -31.1% | -55.5% | |
20% | 40% | 42.6% | 35.3% | 12.1% | -18.0% | -47.0% | |
30% | 60% | 67.3% | 58.8% | 31.6% | -3.7% | -37.8% | |
40% | 80% | 94.0% | 84.1% | 52.6% | 11.7% | -27.9% | |
50% | 100% | 122.8% | 111.4% | 75.2% | 28.2% | -17.2% | |
60% | 120% | 153.5% | 140.5% | 99.4% | 45.9% | -5.8% | |
The Underlying Security’s annualized historical volatility rate for the five-year period ended September 30, 2024 was 64.89%. The Underlying Security’s highest volatility rate for any one calendar year during this period was 92.08% and volatility for a shorter period of time may have been substantially higher. The Underlying Security’s annualized performance during this period was 120.91%. Historical Underlying Security volatility and performance are not indications of what Underlying Security volatility and performance will be in the future.
Daily Correlation/Tracking Risk. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of leveraged correlation to the Underlying Security and therefore achieve its daily leveraged investment objective. To achieve a high degree of leveraged correlation with the Underlying Security, the Fund seeks to rebalance its portfolio daily to keep exposure consistent with its daily leveraged investment objective. The possibility of the Fund being materially over- or under-exposed to the Underlying Security increases on days when the Underlying Security is volatile near the close of the trading day. Market disruptions, regulatory restrictions and extreme volatility will also adversely affect the Fund’s ability to adjust exposure to the required levels. If there is a significant intra-day market event and/or the Underlying Security experiences a significant increase or decline, the Fund may not meet its investment objective, be able to rebalance its portfolio appropriately, or may experience significant premiums or discounts, or widened bid-ask spreads.
The Fund may have difficulty achieving its daily leveraged investment objective due to fees, expenses, transaction costs, financing costs related to the use of derivatives, investments in ETFs, directly or indirectly, income items, valuation methodology, accounting standards and disruptions or illiquidity in the markets for the securities or derivatives held by the Fund. The Fund may be subject to large movements of assets into and out of the Fund, potentially resulting in the Fund being over- or under-exposed to the Underlying Security. The Fund may take or refrain from taking positions to improve the tax efficiency or to comply with various regulatory restrictions, either of which may negatively impact the Fund’s leveraged correlation to the Underlying Security.
Leverage Risk. The Fund obtains investment exposure in excess of its net assets by utilizing leverage and may lose more money in market conditions that are adverse to its investment objective than a fund that does not utilize leverage. An investment in the Fund is exposed to the risk that a decline in the daily performance of the Underlying Security will be magnified. This means that an investment in the Fund will be reduced by an amount equal to 2% for every 1% daily decline in the share price of the Underlying Security, not including the costs of financing leverage and other operating expenses, which would further reduce its value. The Fund could theoretically lose an amount greater than its net assets in the event the share price of the Underlying Security declines more than 50%. Leverage will also have the effect of magnifying any differences in the Fund performance’s correlation with the Underlying Security’s share price.
Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, leverage, imperfect daily correlations with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The use of derivatives may result in larger losses or smaller gains than directly investing in securities. When the Fund uses derivatives, there may be imperfect correlation between the share price of the Underlying Security and the derivative, which may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective. Because derivatives often require only a limited initial investment, the use of derivatives may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts initially invested.
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The Fund will be subject to regulatory constraints relating to level of value at risk that the Fund may incur through its derivative portfolio. To the extent the Fund exceeds these regulatory thresholds over an extended period, the Fund may determine that it is necessary to make adjustments to the Fund’s investment strategy, including the desired daily leveraged performance for the Fund.
In addition, the Fund’s investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:
Swap Agreements. The use of swap transactions is a highly specialized activity, which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. Whether the Fund will be successful in using swap agreements to achieve its investment goal depends on the ability of the Adviser to structure such swap agreements in accordance with the Fund’s investment objective and to identify counterparties for those swap agreements. If the Adviser is unable to enter into swap agreements that provide leveraged exposure to the Underlying Security, the Fund may not meet its stated investment objective. Additionally, any financing, borrowing or other costs associated with using swap transactions may also have the effect of lowering the Fund’s return.
The swap agreements in which the Fund invests are generally traded in the over-the-counter market, which generally has less transparency than exchange-traded derivatives instruments. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined reference assets or underlying securities or instruments. The gross return to be exchanged or swapped between the parties is calculated based on a notional amount or the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a basket of securities.
If the Underlying Security has a dramatic move that causes a material decline in the Fund’s net assets, the terms of a swap agreement between the Fund and its counterparty may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the swap transaction with the Fund. In that event, the Fund may be unable to enter into another swap agreement or invest in other derivatives to achieve exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. This may prevent the Fund from achieving its leveraged investment objective, even if the Underlying Security later reverses all or a portion of its movement.
Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events. The value of the options contracts in which the Fund invests are substantially influenced by the value of the Underlying Security. The Fund may experience substantial downside from specific option positions and certain option positions held by the Fund may expire worthless. The options held by the Fund are exercisable at the strike price on their expiration date. As an option approaches its expiration date, its value typically increasingly moves with the value of the underlying instrument. However, prior to such date, the value of an option generally does not increase or decrease at the same rate as the underlying instrument. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in values options contracts and the underlying instrument, and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options contracts. The value of the options held by the Fund will be determined based on market quotations or other recognized pricing methods. Additionally, as the Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security through the use of options contracts, as the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it will enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” If the expiring options contracts do not generate proceeds enough to cover the cost of entering into new options contracts, the Fund may experience losses. The use of options to generate leverage introduces additional risks, including significant potential losses if the market moves unfavorably. The leverage inherent in options can amplify both gains and losses, leading to increased volatility and potential for substantial losses, particularly in periods of market uncertainty or low liquidity. Additionally, the Fund may incur losses if the value of the Underlying Security moves against its positions, potentially resulting in a complete loss of the premium paid.
Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in derivatives which exposes the Fund to the risk that the counterparty will not fulfill its obligation to the Fund. Counterparty risk may arise because of the counterparty’s financial condition (i.e., financial difficulties, bankruptcy, or insolvency), market activities and developments, or other reasons, whether foreseen or not. A counterparty’s inability to fulfill its obligation may result in significant financial loss to the Fund and the Fund may be unable to recover its investment from such counterparty or may obtain a limited and/or delayed recovery.
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In addition, the Fund may enter into swap agreements with a limited number of counterparties, which may increase the Fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk. Further, there is a risk that no suitable counterparties will be willing to enter into, or continue to enter into, transactions with the Fund and, as a result, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective.
Intra-Day Investment Risk. The Fund seeks investment results from the close of the market on a given trading day until the close of the market on the subsequent trading day. The exact exposure of an investment in the Fund intraday in the secondary market is a function of the difference between the share price of the Underlying Security at the market close on the first trading day and the share price of the Underlying Security at the time of purchase. If the share price of the Underlying Security rises, the Fund’s net assets will rise by approximately twice the amount as the Fund’s exposure. Conversely, if the share price of the Underlying Security declines, the Fund’s net assets will decline by approximately two times the amount as the Fund’s exposure. Thus, an investor that purchases Shares intra-day may experience performance that is greater than, or less than, the Fund’s stated leveraged performance of the Underlying Security.
If there is a significant intra-day market event and/or the securities of the Underlying Security experience a significant increase or decrease, the Fund may not meet its investment objective or rebalance its portfolio appropriately.
Fixed Income Securities Risk. When the Fund invests in fixed income securities, the value of your investment in the Fund will fluctuate with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities owned by the Fund. In general, the market price of fixed income securities with longer maturities will increase or decrease more in response to changes in interest rates than shorter-term securities. Other risk factors include credit risk (the debtor may default), extension risk (an issuer may exercise its right to repay principal on a fixed rate obligation held by the Fund later than expected), and prepayment risk (the debtor may pay its obligation early, reducing the amount of interest payments). These risks could affect the value of a particular investment by the Fund, possibly causing the Fund’s Share price and total return to be reduced and fluctuate more than other types of investments.
Rebalancing Risk. If for any reason the Fund is unable to rebalance all or a portion of its portfolio, or if all or a portion of the portfolio is rebalanced incorrectly, the Fund’s investment exposure may not be consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. In these instances, the Fund may have investment exposure to the Underlying Security that is significantly greater or less than its stated investment objective. As a result, the Fund may be exposed to leverage risk because it had not been properly rebalanced and may not achieve its investment objective.
ETF Risks.
Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem Shares directly from the Fund (known as “Authorized Participants” or “APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services; or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy may require it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. For example, the Fund may not be able to redeem in-kind certain securities held by the Fund (e.g., derivative instruments). In such a case, the Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. By paying out higher annual capital gain distributions, investors may be subjected to increased capital gains taxes. The costs associated with cash redemptions may include brokerage costs that the Fund may not have incurred if it had made the redemptions in-kind. These costs could be imposed on the Fund, decreasing its NAV, to the extent these costs are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an authorized participant.
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Trading. Although Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as The Nasdaq Stock Market, LLC (the “Exchange”), and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares. This adverse effect on liquidity for the Fund’s shares may lead to wider bid-ask spreads and differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and the underlying value of the shares.
Liquidity Risk. In certain circumstances, such as the disruption of the orderly markets for the financial instruments in which the Fund invests, the Fund might not be able to acquire or dispose of certain holdings quickly or at prices that represent true market value in the judgment of the Adviser. Markets for the financial instruments in which the Fund invests may be disrupted by a number of events, including but not limited to economic crises, health crises, natural disasters, excessive volatility, new legislation, or regulatory changes inside or outside of the U.S. These situations may have an impact on the liquidity of the Fund’s own shares.”
High Portfolio Turnover Risk. Daily rebalancing of the Fund’s holdings pursuant to its daily investment objective causes a much greater number of portfolio transactions when compared to most ETFs. Additionally, active market trading of the Fund’s Shares on exchanges (such as the Exchange), could cause more frequent creation and redemption activities, which could increase the number of portfolio transactions. Frequent and active trading may lead to higher transaction costs because of increased broker commissions resulting from such transactions. In addition, there is the possibility of significantly increased short-term capital gains (which will be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income when distributed to them). The Fund calculates portfolio turnover without including the short-term cash instruments or derivative transactions that comprise the majority of the Fund’s trading. As such, if the Fund’s extensive use of derivative instruments were reflected, the calculated portfolio turnover rate would be significantly higher.
Tracking Error Risk. Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of its investment objective which aims to replicate two times the daily percentage change in the price of the Underlying Security. Tracking error may occur for a number of reasons. Tracking error may occur because of transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of cash, differences in accrual of dividends, being under- or overexposed to the Underlying Security or the need to meet new or existing regulatory requirements. Tracking error risk may be heightened during times of market volatility or other unusual market conditions such as market disruptions. The Fund may be required to deviate from its investment objectives, and therefore experience tracking error, as a result of market restrictions or other legal reasons, including regulatory limits or other restrictions on securities that may be purchased by the Adviser and its affiliates.
Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. Markets for securities or financial instruments could be disrupted by a number of events, including, but not limited to, an economic crisis, natural disasters, epidemics/pandemics, new legislation or regulatory changes inside or outside the United States. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, especially in changing or volatile markets. If the Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security at an unfavorable time or price, the Fund may be adversely impacted. Certain market conditions or restrictions may prevent the Fund from limiting losses, realizing gains or achieving a high correlation with the Underlying Security. There is no assurance that a security that is deemed liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid. Market illiquidity may cause losses for the Fund.
Market Events Risk. The Fund’s investments are subject to changes in general economic conditions, general market fluctuations and the risks inherent in investment in securities and other financial instruments. Investment markets can be volatile and prices of investments can change substantially due to various factors including, but not limited to, economic growth or recession, changes in interest rates, inflation, changes in the actual or perceived creditworthiness of issuers, and general market liquidity. The Fund is subject to the risk that geopolitical events will disrupt securities and other financial markets and adversely affect global economies and markets. Local, regional or global events such as war, military conflicts, acts of terrorism, natural disasters, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments. Continuing uncertainties regarding interest rates, rising inflation, political events, rising government debt in the U.S. and trade tensions also contribute to market volatility. Conflict, loss of life and disaster connected to ongoing armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia in Europe and between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East could have severe adverse effects on the related region, including significant adverse effects on the regional or global economies and the markets for certain securities. The U.S. and the European Union have imposed sanctions on certain Russian individuals and companies, including certain financial institutions, and have limited certain exports and imports to and from Russia. These conflicts have contributed to recent market volatility and may continue to do so.
Money Market Instrument Risk. The Fund may use a variety of money market instruments for cash management purposes, including money market funds, depositary accounts and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements are contracts in which a seller of securities agrees to buy the securities back at a specified time and price. Repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk related to the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. Money market instruments may lose money.
New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.
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Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers could cause the Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Fund held a more diversified portfolio.
Trading Halt Risk. Although the Underlying Security’s shares are listed for trading on an exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will be available at all times and the Exchange may halt trading of such shares in certain circumstances. A halt in trading in the Underlying Security’s shares is expected, in turn, to result in a halt in the trading in the Fund’s Shares. Trading in the Underlying Security’s and/or Fund’s Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in the Underlying Security’s and/or Fund’s Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Underlying Security’s and/or Fund’s Shares on an exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to exchange “circuit breaker” rules.” In the event of a trading halt for an extended period of time, the Fund may be unable to execute arrangements with swap counterparties that are necessary to implement the Fund’s investment strategy.
Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational 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 relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and the Fund’s investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
U.S. Government and U.S. Agency Obligations Risk. The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. Government obligations include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, such as the U.S. Treasury. Payment of principal and interest on U.S. Government obligations may be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States or may be backed solely by the issuing or guaranteeing agency or instrumentality itself. In the latter case, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, which agency or instrumentality may be privately owned. There can be no assurance that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises) where it is not obligated to do so.
Tax Risk. In order to qualify for the favorable tax treatment generally available to regulated investment companies, the Fund must satisfy certain diversification and other requirements. In particular, the Fund generally may not acquire a security if, as a result of the acquisition, more than 50% of the value of the Fund’s assets would be invested in (a) issuers in which the Fund has, in each case, invested more than 5% of the Fund’s assets and (b) issuers more than 10% of whose outstanding voting securities are owned by the Fund. The application of these requirements to certain investments (including swaps) that may be entered into by the Fund is unclear. In addition, the application of these requirements to the Fund’s investment objective is not clear, particularly because the Fund’s investment objective focuses on the performance of the stock of a single issuer. If the Fund were to fail to qualify as a regulated investment company, it would be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation, and distributions to its shareholders would not be deductible by the Fund in computing its taxable income.
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Management
Investment Adviser: Tidal Investments LLC serves as investment adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers:
The following individuals are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.
Qiao Duan, CFA, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2024.
Christopher P. Mullen, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2024.
Purchase and Sale of Shares
The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only APs (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.
Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through brokers at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares (the “bid” price) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (the “ask” price) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market. This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “bid-ask spread.”
When available, information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, how often Shares traded on the Exchange at a premium or discount, and bid-ask spreads can be found on the Fund’s website at https://www.defianceetfs.com.
Tax Information
Fund distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless an 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.
Financial Intermediary Compensation
If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other activities, such as marketing, educational training, or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s website for more information.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDS
Investment Objectives
The investment objective of each Fund is to seek daily investment results, before fees and expenses, of two times (200%) the daily percentage change in the share price of its Underlying Security.
An investment objective is fundamental if it cannot be changed without the consent of the holders of a majority of the outstanding Shares. The Fund’s investment objective has not been adopted as a fundamental investment policy and therefore the Fund’s investment objective may be changed without the consent of that Fund’s shareholders upon approval by the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of Tidal Trust II (the “Trust”) and at least 60 days’ written notice to shareholders.
Each Fund has adopted a policy to have at least 80% exposure to financial instruments with economic characteristics that should perform 2X the daily performance of its Underlying Security’s shares. Each Fund’s 80% policy is non-fundamental and can be changed without shareholder approval. However, Fund shareholders would be given at least 60 days’ notice prior to any such change. To the extent swaps are used to meet the Fund’s 80% policy, the notional value of the swaps will be used when determining the Fund’s compliance.
Each Fund seeks to provide a return of up to two times the daily performance of the share price its Underlying Security.
No Fund attempts to, and no Fund should be expected to, achieve this daily percentage change for periods other than a single day. Each Fund rebalances its implied exposure on a daily basis, increasing exposure to the Underlying Security in response to that day’s gains or reducing exposure in the Underlying Security in response to that day’s losses.
The exposure to the Underlying Security received by an investor who purchases a Fund intra-day will differ from such Fund’s stated daily investment objective by an amount determined by the movement of such Underlying Security from its share price at the end of the prior day. If the Underlying Security’s share price moves in a direction favorable to the Fund between the close of the market on one trading day through the time on the next trading day when the investor purchases Fund Shares, the investor will receive less exposure to the Underlying Security than the Fund’s stated daily investment objective. Conversely, if the Underlying Security’s share price moves in a direction adverse to the Fund, the investor will receive more exposure to the Underlying Security than the Fund’s stated daily investment objective.
As used in this Prospectus, the terms “daily,” “day,” and “trading day,” mean the period from the regular close of the markets on one trading day to the regular close of the markets on the next trading day.
Each Fund is designed as a short-term trading vehicle. The Funds are intended to be used by investors who intend to actively monitor and manage their portfolios.
Shares of each Fund upon commencement of operations will be listed and traded on the Exchange, where the market prices for the Shares may be different from the intra-day value of the Shares disseminated by the Exchange and from their NAV. Unlike conventional mutual funds, Shares are not individually redeemable directly with the applicable Fund. Rather, each Fund issues and redeems Shares on a continuous basis at NAV only in large blocks of Shares called “Creation Units.” Creation Units of the Funds are issued and redeemed for cash. As a result, retail investors generally will not be able to purchase or redeem Shares directly from, or with, a Fund. Most retail investors will purchase or sell Shares in the secondary market through a broker.
The Funds are not suitable for all investors. In particular, the Funds are not suitable for investors with longer-term investment objectives. Each Fund is designed to be utilized only by sophisticated investors, such as traders and active investors employing dynamic strategies. Such investors are expected to monitor and manage their portfolios frequently. Investors in the Funds should: (a) understand the consequences of seeking daily leveraged investment results and (b) understand the risks associated with the use of leverage. Investors who do not understand the Funds or do not intend to actively manage their funds and monitor their investments should not buy any Fund.
There is no assurance that any Fund will achieve its investment objective and an investment in any Fund could lose a substantial amount of money over a short period of time. No single fund is a complete investment program.
Principal Investment Strategies
In order to achieve each Fund’s investment objective, the Adviser invests in a manner that is designed to correspond to two times (200%) the daily performance of the share price of such Fund’s Underlying Security.
Each Fund attempts to achieve its investment objective by investing a substantial amount of its assets in financial instruments that provide exposure to its Underlying Security, such as swap agreements. At the end of each trading day, it is expected that for the 2X leveraged exposure each Fund seeks, the swap notional exposure against the Underlying Security will be approximately equal to two times the Fund’s NAV.
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To achieve a swap notional exposure equal two times a Fund’s NAV at the end of each trading day, the Adviser will adjust the swap notional exposure daily by sending orders to the swap provider(s) for execution at close. Such transactions will result in trading fees to be paid by the Fund.
Each Fund will enter into swap agreements with major financial institutions for a specified period ranging from one day to more than one year whereby the respective Fund and the global financial institution will agree to exchange the return earned or realized on the underlying security. The gross returns to be exchanged or “swapped” between the parties are calculated with respect to a “notional amount,” e.g., the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount representing the underlying security. Each trading day, the Adviser adjusts each Fund’s exposure to its underlying security consistent with the Fund’s daily leveraged investment objective. The impact of market movements during the day determines whether the portfolio needs to be repositioned. If the share price of the underlying security has risen on a given day, the value of the Fund’s net assets should rise, meaning its exposure will typically need to be increased. Conversely, if the share price of the underlying security has fallen on a given day, the value of the Fund’s net assets should fall, meaning its exposure will typically need to be reduced.
The time and manner in which a Fund rebalances its portfolio may vary from day to day at the sole discretion of the Adviser depending upon market conditions and other circumstances. Generally, at or near the close of the market at each trading day, each Fund will position its portfolio to seek to ensure that the Fund’s exposure to its underlying security is consistent with its stated investment objective. Each Fund reviews its notional exposure under each of its swap agreements, which reflects the extent of the Fund’s total investment exposure under the swap, to seek to ensure that the Fund’s exposure is in-line with its stated investment objective. The gross returns to be exchanged are calculated with respect to the notional amount and the underlying security share price returns to which the swap is linked. Swaps are typically closed out on a net basis. Thus, while the notional amount reflects a Fund’s total investment exposure under the swap, the net amount is the Fund’s current obligations (or rights) under the swap. That is the amount to be paid or received under the agreement based on the relative values of the positions held by each party to the agreement. If for any reason a Fund is unable to rebalance all or a portion of its portfolio, or if all or a portion of the portfolio is rebalanced incorrectly, the Fund’s investment exposure may not be consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. As a result, a Fund may be more or less exposed to leverage risk than if it had been properly rebalanced and may not achieve its investment objective. To the extent that a Fund needs to “roll” its swap positions (i.e., enter into new swap positions with a later expiration date as the current positions approach expiration), it could be subjected to increased costs, which could negatively impact the Fund’s performance.
Additionally, to complement each Fund’s primary strategy of using swap agreements to achieve leveraged exposure, a Fund may employ listed options contracts as an additional tool to generate leverage on an as-needed basis. By incorporating listed options, such as call options, a Fund can gain leveraged exposure to the Underlying Security without relying solely on swaps. This flexibility allows the Fund to adjust its leverage strategy in response to market conditions, liquidity constraints, or other factors that may impact the availability or pricing of swap agreements. The use of options may help the Fund meet its daily investment objective more effectively under varying market conditions.
Each Fund will hold assets to serve as collateral for such Fund’s swap agreements. For those collateral holdings, each Fund may invest in (1) U.S. Government securities, such as bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury; (2) money market funds; (3) short term bond exchange-traded fund (ETFs); and/or (4) corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper and other short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses that are rated investment grade or of comparable quality.
The Effects of Fees and Expenses on the Return of the Fund for a Single Trading Day
To create the necessary exposure, the Funds will enter into one or more swap agreements with financial institutions. The Funds will incur borrowing costs associated with the use of swaps. For instance, if an Underlying Security returns 1% on a given day, the gross expected return of applicable 2X Fund would be 2%, but the net expected return, which factors in the cost of financing the portfolio and the impact of operating expenses, would be lower.
The Funds may have difficulty in achieving their daily leveraged investment objective due to fees, expenses, transaction costs, income items, accounting standards, significant purchase and redemption activity by respective Fund shareholders and/or disruptions or a temporary lack of liquidity in the markets for the securities held by such Fund.
A Fund will be subject to regulatory constraints relating to level of value at risk that a Fund may incur through its derivative portfolio.
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 a Fund being unable to buy or sell certain securities or financial instruments. In such circumstances, such Fund may be unable to rebalance its portfolio, may be unable to accurately price its investments and/or may incur substantial trading losses.
If a Fund is unable to obtain sufficient exposure to its Underlying Security due to the limited availability of necessary investments or financial instruments, such Fund could, among other things, fail to meet its daily investment objective or experience increased transaction fees. Under such circumstances, the Fund could trade at significant bid-ask spreads, premiums or discounts to its NAV and could experience substantial redemptions.
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A Cautionary Note to Investor’s Regarding Dramatic Underlying Security Movement. The Adviser will not attempt to position each Fund’s portfolio to ensure that a Fund does not gain or lose more than maximum percentage of its NAV on a given day. A Fund could lose an amount greater than its net assets in the event of a movement of an Underlying Security’s share price in excess of 50% in a direction adverse to the Fund (meaning a loss in the value of the Underlying Security). As a result, the risk of total loss exists.
If an Underlying Security’s share price has a dramatic loss that causes a material decline in a Fund’s net assets, the terms of the Fund’s swap agreements may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the swap transaction. In that event, a Fund may be unable to enter into another swap agreement or invest in other derivatives to achieve exposure consistent with a Fund’s investment objective. This may prevent a Fund from achieving its investment objective, even if the Underlying Security later reverses all or a portion the move, and result in significant losses.
Examples
Examples of the Impact of Daily Compounding. Because each Fund’s exposure to the applicable Underlying Security’s share price is repositioned on a daily basis, for a holding period longer than one day, the pursuit of the daily investment objective will result in daily compounding for each Fund. This means that the return of the applicable Underlying Security’s share price over a period of time greater than one day multiplied by the Fund’s daily investment objective (e.g., 200% of such return) generally will not equal such Fund’s performance over that same period. As a consequence, investors should not plan to hold shares of a Fund unmonitored for periods longer than a single trading day. This deviation increases with higher volatility in the applicable Underlying Security’s share price and longer holding periods. Further, the return for investors that invest for periods less than a full trading day or for a period different than a trading day will not be the product of the return of such Fund’s stated daily leveraged investment objective and the performance of the applicable Underlying Security’s share price for the full trading day. The actual exposure will largely be a function of the performance of the applicable Underlying Security’s share price from the end of the prior trading day. The examples assume a full daily leveraged amount of exactly 2X to the applicable Underlying Security’s share price.
Consider the following examples (each of which assumes the investor purchases and sells shares at NAV):
Example A
Amy is considering investments in two Funds, Funds A and B. Fund A is an ETF which seeks (before fees and expenses) to match the performance of the hypothetical underlying security’s share price. Fund B is a leveraged ETF and seeks daily leveraged investment results (before fees and expenses) that correspond to 200% of the daily performance of the hypothetical underlying security’s share price.
On Day 1, the hypothetical underlying security’s share price increases in value from $100 to $105, a gain of 5%. On Day 2, the hypothetical underlying security’s share price declines from $105 back to $100, a loss of 4.76%. In the aggregate, the share price of the hypothetical underlying security has not moved.
An investment in Fund A would be expected to gain 5% on Day 1 and lose 4.76% on Day 2, returning the investment its original value. The following example assumes a $100 investment in Fund A when the hypothetical underlying security’s share price is $100:
Day | Underlying Security Share Price | Underlying
Security Performance |
Value of Fund A Investment |
$100.00 | |||
1 | $105.00 | 5.00% | $105.00 |
2 | $100.00 | -4.76% | $100.00 |
The same $100 investment in Fund B would be expected to gain 10% on Day 1 (200% of 5%) but decline 9.52% on Day 2.
Day | Underlying Security Performance | 200%
of Underlying Security Performance |
Value of Fund B Investment |
$100.00 | |||
1 | 5.00% | 10.0% | $110.00 |
2 | -4.76% | -9.52% | $99.52 |
Although the percentage decline in Fund B is smaller on Day 2 than the percentage gain on Day 1, the loss is applied to a higher principal amount, so the investment in Fund B experiences a loss even when the share price of the underlying security for the two-day period has not declined (these calculations do not include the charges for fund fees and expenses).
As you can see, an investment in Fund B has additional risks due to the effects of leverage and compounding.
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An investor who purchases shares of a Fund intra-day will generally receive more, or less, than the applicable exposure to the underlying security’s share price from that point until the end of the trading day. The actual exposure will be largely a function of the performance of the underlying security from the end of the prior trading day. If a Fund’s shares are held for a period longer than a single trading day, the Fund’s performance is likely to deviate from the respective multiple return of the underlying security’s performance for the longer period. This deviation will increase with higher underlying security volatility and longer holding periods.
Examples of the Impact of Volatility of an Underlying Security. Each Fund rebalances its portfolio on a daily basis, increasing exposure in response to that day’s gains or reducing exposure in response to that day’s losses. Daily rebalancing will typically cause a Fund to lose money if the Underlying Security’s shares experience volatility. A volatility rate is a statistical measure of the magnitude of fluctuations in the underlying security’s share price returns over a defined period. For periods longer than a trading day, volatility in the performance of the Underlying Security shares from day to day is the primary cause of any disparity between a Fund’s actual returns and the returns of the share of the Underlying Security for such period. Volatility causes such disparity because it exacerbates the effects of compounding on a Fund’s returns. In addition, the effects of volatility are magnified in the Funds due to leverage. Consider the following three examples that demonstrate the effect of volatility on a hypothetical fund (each of which assumes the investor purchases and sells shares at NAV):
Example 1 – Underlying Security Experiences Low Volatility
Amy invests $10.00 in a Hypothetical 2X Fund at the close of trading on Day 1. During Day 2, the hypothetical underlying security’s share price rises from 100 to 102, a 2% gain. Amy’s investment rises 4% to $10.40. Amy holds her investment through the close of trading on Day 3, during which the hypothetical underlying security’s share price rises from 102 to 104, a gain of 1.96%. Amy’s investment rises to $10.81, a gain during Day 3 of 3.92%. For the two-day period since Amy invested in the Hypothetical 2X Fund, the hypothetical underlying security gained 4% although Amy’s investment increased by 8.1%. Because the hypothetical underlying security’s shares continued to trend upwards with low volatility, Amy’s return closely correlates to the 200% return of the return of the hypothetical underlying security’s shares for the period.
Example 2 – Underlying Security Experiences High Volatility
Now Amy invests $10.00 in a Hypothetical 2X Fund after the close of trading on Day 1. During Day 2, the hypothetical underlying security’s share price rises from 100 to 102, a 2% gain, and Amy’s investment rises 4% to $10.40. Amy continues to hold her investment through the end of Day 3, during which the hypothetical underlying security’s shares decline from 102 to 98, a loss of 3.92%. Amy’s investment declines by 7.84%, from $10.40 to $9.58. For the two-day period since Amy invested in the Hypothetical 2X Fund, the hypothetical underlying security lost 2% while Amy’s investment decreased from $10 to $9.58, a 4.2% loss. The volatility of the hypothetical underlying security’s shares affected the correlation between the hypothetical underlying security’s return for the two-day period and Amy’s return. In this situation, Amy lost more than two times the return of the hypothetical underlying security.
Example 3 – Intra-day Investment with Volatility
Examples 1 and 2 assumed that Amy purchased the Hypothetical 2X Fund at the close of trading on Day 1 and sold her investment at the close of trading on a subsequent day. However, if she made an investment intra-day, she would have received notional exposure to the underlying security’s shares determined by the performance of the underlying security’s shares from the end of the prior trading day until her time of purchase on the next trading day.
Consider the following example.
Amy invests $10.00 in a Hypothetical 2X Fund at 11 a.m. on Day 2. From the close of trading on Day 1 until 11 a.m. on Day 2, the hypothetical underlying security’s share price moved from 100 to 102, a 2% gain. In light of that gain, the Hypothetical 2X Fund beta at the point at which Amy invests is 196%. During the remainder of Day 2, the hypothetical underlying security’s share price rises from 102 to 110, a gain of 7.84%, and Amy’s investment rises 15.4% (which is the hypothetical underlying security gain of 7.84% multiplied by the 196% beta that she received) to $11.54. Amy continues to hold her investment through the close of trading on Day 3, during which the hypothetical underlying security’s share price declines from 110 to 90, a loss of 18.18%. Amy’s investment declines by 36.4%, from $11.54 to $7.34. For the period of Amy’s investment, the hypothetical underlying security’s share price declined from 102 to 90, a loss of 11.76%, while Amy’s investment decreased from $10.00 to $7.34, a 27% loss. The volatility of the hypothetical underlying security’s shares affected the correlation between the hypothetical underlying security’s return for period and Amy’s return. In this situation, Amy lost more than two times the return of the hypothetical underlying security. Amy was also hurt because she missed the first 2% move of the hypothetical underlying security and had a beta of 196% for the remainder of Day 2.
Market Volatility. The Funds seek to provide a return which is two times the daily performance of the applicable Underlying Security’s share price. The Funds do not attempt to, and should not be expected to, provide returns which are two times the return of the applicable Underlying Security’s share price for periods other than a single day. The Funds rebalance their respective portfolios on a daily basis, increasing exposure in response to that day’s gains or reducing exposure in response to that day’s losses.
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Daily rebalancing will impair each Fund’s performance if its Underlying Security’s shares experience volatility. For instance, a Fund would be expected to lose 4% (as shown in Table 1 below) if its Underlying Security’s shares provided no return over a one-year period and experienced annualized volatility of 20%. If an Underlying Security’s shares’ annualized volatility were to rise to 40%, the hypothetical loss for a one-year period for the applicable Fund widens to approximately -15%.
Table 1 | |
Volatility | Fund |
Range | Loss |
10% | -1% |
20% | -4% |
30% | -9% |
40% | -15% |
50% | -23% |
60% | -33% |
70% | -47% |
80% | -55% |
90% | -76% |
100% | -84% |
Note that at higher volatility levels, there is a chance of a complete loss of Fund assets even if the share price of the applicable Underlying Security is flat. For instance, if annualized volatility of an Underlying Security’s shares were 90%, the applicable Fund would be expected to lose 76%, even if the underlying security returned 0% for the year.
Table 2 shows the annualized historical volatility rate for each Underlying Security’s shares over the five-year period ended September 30, 2024.
Since market volatility has negative implications for the Funds which rebalance daily, investors should be sure to monitor and manage their investments in the Funds particularly in volatile markets. The negative implications of volatility in Table 1 can be combined with the recent volatility ranges of the shares of the Underlying Securities in Table 2 to give investors some sense of the risks of holding the Funds for longer periods. Historical volatility and performance for the Underlying Securities are not likely indicative of future volatility and performance.
Table 2 – Historic Volatility of the Underlying Securities
Underlying Security Name/Ticker | 5-Year Historical Volatility Rate |
Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) | 31.66% |
NOVO Nordisk A/S - ADR (NVO) | 29.73% |
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) | 37.88% |
Super Micro Computer, Inc. (SMCI) | 64.89% |
MicroStrategy Incorporated (MSTR) | 88.36% |
The Projected Returns of the Funds for Intra-Day Purchases. Because each Fund rebalances its portfolio once daily, an investor who purchases Shares intra-day will likely have more, or less, than 200% investment exposure to the share price applicable Underlying Security. The exposure to the applicable Underlying Security’s shares received by an investor who purchases the Fund intra-day will differ from the Fund’s stated daily investment objective (e.g., 200%) by an amount determined by the movement of the applicable Underlying Security’s from its share price at the end of the prior day. If the Underlying Security’s share price moves in a direction favorable to the applicable Fund between the close of the market on one trading day through the time on the next trading day when the investor purchases Fund shares, the investor will receive less exposure to such Underlying Security than the stated Fund’s daily investment objective (e.g., 200%). Conversely, if an Underlying Security’s shares move in a direction adverse to the funds, the investor will receive more exposure to such Underlying Security than the stated fund daily leveraged investment objective (e.g., 200%).
Table 3 below indicates the hypothetical exposure to the share price of the underlying security that an intra-day purchase of the Hypothetical 2X Fund would be expected to provide based upon the movement in the share price of the underlying security from the close of the market on the prior trading day. Such exposure holds until a subsequent sale on that same trading day or until the close of the market on that trading day. For instance, if the underlying security’s share price has moved 5% in a direction favorable to a Hypothetical 2X Fund, the investor would receive exposure to the performance of the underlying security from that point until the investor sells later that day or the end of the day equal to approximately 191% of the investor’s investment.
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Conversely, if the underlying security’s share price moves 5% in a direction unfavorable to the Hypothetical 2X Fund, an investor at that point would receive exposure to the performance of the underlying security from that point until the investor sells later that day or the end of the day equal to approximately 211% of the investor’s investment.
The table below includes a range of hypothetical underlying security share price moves from 20% to -20% and the corresponding exposure for the Hypothetical 2X Fund. Movement of the share price of an underlying security beyond the range noted below will result in exposure further from the Hypothetical 2X Fund’s daily investment objective.
Table 3 | |
Underlying Share Price Move |
Resulting
Exposure for Hypothetical 2X Fund |
-20% | 267% |
-15% | 243% |
-10% | 225% |
-5% | 211% |
0% | 200% |
5% | 191% |
10% | 183% |
15% | 177% |
20% | 171% |
The Projected Returns of the Funds for Periods Other Than a Single Trading Day. Each Fund seeks leveraged investment results on a daily basis — from the close of regular trading on one trading day to the close on the next trading day — which should not be equated with seeking an investment objective for any other period. For instance, if an Underlying Security’s shares gain 10% for a week, the applicable Fund should not be expected to provide a return of 20% for the week even if it meets its daily investment objective throughout the week. This is true because of the financing charges noted above but also because the pursuit of daily goals may result in daily compounding, which means that the return of the applicable Underlying Security over a period of time greater than one day multiplied by such Fund’s daily investment objective (e.g., 200%) will not generally equal the Fund’s performance over that same period. In addition, the effects of compounding become greater the longer shares of a Fund are held beyond a single trading day.
The following tables set out a range of hypothetical daily performances during a given 10 trading days for a Hypothetical 2X Fund compared to the underlying security and demonstrate how changes in the underlying security’s hypothetical performance would compare to the performance of a Hypothetical 2X Fund for a trading day and cumulatively up to, and including, the entire 10 trading day period. The charts are based on a hypothetical $100 investment in hypothetical funds at NAV over a 10-trading day period and do not reflect fees or expenses of any kind.
Table 4a – The Underlying Security Lacks a Clear Trend
Underlying Security | Hypothetical 2X Fund | |||||
NAV | Daily Performance |
Cumulative Performance |
NAV | Daily Performance |
Cumulative Performance | |
$100.00 | $100.00 | |||||
Day 1 | $105.00 | 5.00% | 5.00% | $110.00 | 10.00% | 10.00% |
Day 2 | $110.00 | 4.76% | 10.00% | $120.48 | 9.52% | 20.47% |
Day 3 | $100.00 | -9.09% | 0.00% | $ 98.57 | -18.18% | -1.43% |
Day 4 | $90.00 | -10.00% | -10.00% | $ 78.86 | -20.00% | -21.14% |
Day 5 | $85.00 | -5.56% | -15.00% | $ 70.10 | -11.12% | -29.91% |
Day 6 | $100.00 | 17.65% | 0.00% | $ 94.83 | 35.30% | -5.17% |
Day 7 | $95.00 | -5.00% | -5.00% | $ 85.35 | -10.00% | -14.65% |
Day 8 | $100.00 | 5.26% | 0.00% | $ 94.34 | 10.52% | -5.68% |
Day 9 | $105.00 | 5.00% | 5.00% | $103.77 | 10.00% | 3.76% |
Day 10 | $100.00 | -4.76% | 0.00% | $ 93.89 | -9.52% | -6.12% |
The cumulative performance of the hypothetical underlying security’s shares in Table 5 is 0% for 10 trading days. The return of the Hypothetical 2X Fund for the 10-trading day period is -6.12%. The volatility of the underlying security’s performance and lack of a clear trend results in performance for the Hypothetical 2X Fund for the period which bears little relationship to the performance of the underlying security for the 10-trading day period.
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Table 5 – The Underlying Security Rises in a Clear Trend
Underlying Security | Hypothetical 2X Fund | |||||
NAV | Daily Performance |
Cumulative Performance |
NAV | Daily Performance |
Cumulative Performance | |
$100.00 | $100.00 | |||||
Day 1 | $102.00 | 2.00% | 2.00% | $104.00 | 4.00% | 4.00% |
Day 2 | $104.00 | 1.96% | 4.00% | $108.08 | 3.92% | 8.08% |
Day 3 | $106.00 | 1.92% | 6.00% | $112.24 | 3.84% | 12.23% |
Day 4 | $108.00 | 1.89% | 8.00% | $116.47 | 3.78% | 16.47% |
Day 5 | $110.00 | 1.85% | 10.00% | $120.78 | 3.70% | 20.78% |
Day 6 | $112.00 | 1.82% | 12.00% | $125.18 | 3.64% | 25.17% |
Day 7 | $114.00 | 1.79% | 14.00% | $129.65 | 3.58% | 29.66% |
Day 8 | $116.00 | 1.75% | 16.00% | $134.20 | 3.50% | 34.19% |
Day 9 | $118.00 | 1.72% | 18.00% | $138.82 | 3.44% | 38.81% |
Day 10 | $120.00 | 1.69% | 20.00% | $143.53 | 3.38% | 43.50% |
The cumulative performance of the underlying security’s share price in Table 5 is 20% for 10 trading days. The return of the Hypothetical 2X Fund for the 10-trading day period is 43.50%. In this case, because of the positive underlying security trend, the Hypothetical 2X Fund’s gain is greater than 200% of the underlying security’s share price gain for the 10-trading day period.
Table 6 – The Underlying Security Declines in a Clear Trend
Underlying Security | Hypothetical 2X Fund | |||||
NAV | Daily Performance |
Cumulative Performance |
NAV | Daily Performance |
Cumulative Performance | |
$100.00 | $100.00 | |||||
Day 1 | $98.00 | -2.00% | -2.00% | $ 96.00 | -4.00% | -4.00% |
Day 2 | $96.00 | -2.04% | -4.00% | $ 92.08 | -4.08% | -7.92% |
Day 3 | $94.00 | -2.08% | -6.00% | $ 88.24 | -4.16% | -11.75% |
Day 4 | $92.00 | -2.13% | -8.00% | $ 84.49 | -4.26% | -15.51% |
Day 5 | $90.00 | -2.17% | -10.00% | $ 80.82 | -4.34% | -19.17% |
Day 6 | $88.00 | -2.22% | -12.00% | $ 77.22 | -4.44% | -22.76% |
Day 7 | $86.00 | -2.27% | -14.00% | $ 73.71 | -4.54% | -26.27% |
Day 8 | $84.00 | -2.33% | -16.00% | $ 70.29 | -4.66% | -29.71% |
Day 9 | $82.00 | -2.38% | -18.00% | $ 66.94 | -4.76% | -33.05% |
Day 10 | $80.00 | -2.44% | -20.00% | $ 63.67 | -4.88% | -36.32% |
The cumulative performance of the underlying security’s share price in Table 6 is -20% for 10 trading days. The return of the Hypothetical 2X Fund for the 10-trading day period is -36.62%. In this case, because of the negative hypothetical underlying security’s share price trend, the Hypothetical 2X Fund’s loss is less than 200% of the hypothetical underlying security’s decline for the 10-trading day period.
Manager of Managers Structure
The Funds and the Adviser have received exemptive relief from the SEC permitting the Adviser (subject to certain conditions and the approval of the Board) to change or select new unaffiliated sub-advisers without obtaining shareholder approval. The relief also permits the Adviser to materially amend the terms of agreements with an unaffiliated sub-adviser (including an increase in the fee paid by the Adviser to the unaffiliated sub-adviser (and not paid by the Fund)) or to continue the employment of an unaffiliated sub-adviser after an event that would otherwise cause the automatic termination of services with Board approval, but without shareholder approval. Shareholders will be notified of any unaffiliated sub-adviser changes. The Adviser has the ultimate responsibility, subject to oversight by the Board, to oversee a sub-adviser and recommend their hiring, termination and replacement.
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Investments by Registered Investment Companies
Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act restricts investments by investment companies in the securities of other investment companies. However, registered investment companies are permitted to invest in other investment companies beyond the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1) in rules under the 1940 Act, subject to certain conditions. The Fund may rely on Rule 12d1-4 of the 1940 Act, which provides an exemption from Section 12(d)(1) that allows the Fund to invest beyond the limits set forth in Section 12(d)(1) if the Fund satisfies certain conditions specified in Rule 12d1-4, including, among other conditions, that the Fund and its advisory group will not control (individually or in the aggregate) an acquired fund (e.g., hold more than 25% of the outstanding voting securities of an acquired fund that is a registered open-end management investment company).
Principal Risks of Investing in the Funds
There can be no assurance that the Funds will achieve their respective investment objectives. The following information is in addition to, and should be read along with, the description of each Fund’s principal investment risks in the section titled “Fund Summary— Principal Investment Risks” above. Following the underlying security risks, the Funds’ remaining principal risks are presented in alphabetical order to facilitate finding particular risks and comparing them with those of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Funds, regardless of the order in which it appears.
UNDERLYING SECURITY RISKS
LLY Risks. The Defiance Daily Target 2X Long LLY ETF invests in swap contracts that are based on the share price of LLY. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of LLY, even though it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s investments in swap contracts that are based on the value of LLY, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in LLY Risk. LLY is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of LLY but will be exposed to the performance of LLY (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
LLY Trading Risk. The trading price of LLY may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. The pharmaceutical industry, including LLY, operates within a market that has historically witnessed significant price and volume fluctuations, sometimes unrelated to the companies’ operating performance. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading LLY, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence LLY’s stock price disproportionately, as LLY often receives heightened public attention regardless of its operational performance. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies, including LLY, have faced securities class action litigation. LLY has been subject to such litigation in the past and continues to defend against such actions. However, any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of LLY, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
LLY Performance Risk. LLY may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of LLY to decline. LLY provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance LLY provides may not ultimately be accurate and has in the past been inaccurate in certain respects, such as the timing of new product manufacturing ramps. The guidance is based on certain assumptions such as those relating to global and local economic conditions, anticipated production and sales volumes (which generally are not linear throughout a given period), average sales prices, supplier and commodity costs, and planned cost reductions. If LLY’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by LLY could decline significantly.
Pharmaceutical Industry Risks: Pharmaceutical research and development are very costly and highly uncertain; LLY may not succeed in developing, licensing, or acquiring commercially successful products sufficient in number or value to replace revenues of products that have lost or will lose intellectual property protection or are displaced by competing products or therapies. LLY and LLY’s products face intense competition from multinational pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, and lower-cost generic and biosimilar manufacturers, and such competition could have a material adverse effect on LLY’s business. LLY’s business is subject to increasing government price controls and other public and private restrictions on pricing, reimbursement, and access for LLY’s drugs, which could have a material adverse effect on LLY’s results of operations, reputation or business. Pharmaceutical products can develop safety or efficacy concerns, which could have a material adverse effect on LLY’s revenues, income, and reputation.
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Intellectual Property Risks: LLY derives a significant percentage of its total revenue from relatively few products and sells products through increasingly consolidated supply chain entities, which may subject LLY to, or exacerbate, various risks. LLY depends on products with intellectual property protection for most of LLY’s revenues, cash flows, and earnings; the loss of effective intellectual property protection for certain of LLY’s products has resulted, and in the future is likely to continue to result, in rapid and severe declines in revenues for those products. LLY’s long-term success depends on intellectual property protection; if LLY’s intellectual property rights are invalidated, circumvented, or weakened, LLY’s business will be adversely affected.
Operations Risks: Failure, inadequacy, breach of, or unauthorized access to, LLY’s IT systems or those of LLY’s third-party service providers, unauthorized access to LLY’s confidential information, or violations of data protection laws, could each result in material harm to LLY’s business and reputation. Manufacturing, quality, or supply chain difficulties, disruptions, or shortages could lead to product supply problems. Reliance on third-party relationships and outsourcing arrangements could adversely affect LLY’s business. LLY’s use of artificial intelligence or other emerging technologies could adversely impact LLY’s business and financial results.
International Business Risks: Uneven economic growth or downturns or international trade and other global disruptions, geopolitical tensions, or disputes could adversely affect LLY’s business and operating results. Changes in foreign currency rates, interest rate risks, and inflation affect LLY’s results of operations.
Government Regulation and Litigation Risks: LLY faces litigation and investigations related to its products, how LLY price or commercialize its products, and other aspects of LLY’s business, which could adversely affect LLY’s business, and LLY is self-insured for such matters. LLY is subject to evolving and complex tax laws, which may result in additional liabilities and affect LLY’s results of operations. Regulatory compliance problems could be damaging to LLY.
MSTR Risks. The Defiance Daily Target 2X Long MSTR ETF invests in options contracts that are based on the value of MSTR. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of MSTR, even though it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s investments in options contracts that are based on the value of MSTR, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in MSTR Risk. MSTR is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of MSTR but will be exposed to the performance of MSTR (the underlying stock). Investors in the Fund will not have rights to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the underlying stock but will be subject to declines in the performance of the underlying stock.
MSTR Trading Risk. The trading price of MSTR may be highly volatile and could continue to be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors. The stock market in general, and the market for technology companies in particular, has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. In particular, a large proportion of MSTR may be traded by short sellers which may put pressure on the supply and demand for the common stock of MSTR, further influencing volatility in its market price. Public perception and other factors outside of the control of MSTR may additionally impact MSTR’s share price due to MSTR garnering a disproportionate degree of public attention, regardless of actual operating performance. In addition, in the past, following periods of volatility in the overall market and the market price of a particular company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been instituted against companies such as these. Moreover, stockholder litigation like this has been filed against MSTR in the past. While MSTR continues to defend such actions, any judgment against MSTR, or any future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and a diversion of the management of MSTR’s attention and resources. If MSTR trading is halted, trading in Shares of the Fund may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
MSTR Performance Risk. MSTR may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of MSTR to decline. MSTR provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance MSTR provides may not ultimately be accurate and has in the past been inaccurate in certain respects, such as the timing of new product manufacturing ramps. The guidance is based on certain assumptions such as those relating to global and local economic conditions, anticipated production and sales volumes (which generally are not linear throughout a given period), average sales prices, supplier and commodity costs, and planned cost reductions. If MSTR’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by MSTR could decline significantly.
Software Industry Risk. The software industry can be significantly affected by intense competition, aggressive pricing, technological innovations, and product obsolescence. Companies in the software industry are subject to significant competitive pressures, such as aggressive pricing, new market entrants, competition for market share, short product cycles due to an accelerated rate of technological developments and the potential for limited earnings and/or falling profit margins. These companies also face the risks that new services, equipment or technologies will not be accepted by consumers and businesses or will become rapidly obsolete. These factors can affect the profitability of these companies and, as a result, the value of their securities. Also, patent protection is integral to the success of many companies in this industry, and profitability can be affected materially by, among other things, the cost of obtaining (or failing to obtain) patent approvals, the cost of litigating patent infringement and the loss of patent protection for products (which significantly increases pricing pressures and can materially reduce profitability with respect to such products). In addition, many software companies have limited operating histories. Prices of these companies’ securities historically have been more volatile than other securities, especially over the short term.
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Bitcoin Risk. While the Fund will not directly invest in digital assets, it will be subject to the risks associated with Bitcoin by virtue of its investments in options contracts that reference MSTR. Investing in Bitcoin exposes shareholders (such as MSTR) to significant risks that are not typically present in other investments. These risks include the uncertainty surrounding new technology, limited evaluation due to Bitcoin’s short trading history, and the potential decline in adoption and value over the long term. The extreme volatility of Bitcoin’s price is also a risk factor. Regulatory uncertainties, such as potential government interventions and conflicting regulations across jurisdictions, can impact the demand for Bitcoin and restrict its usage. Additionally, risks associated with the sale of newly mined Bitcoin, Bitcoin exchanges, competition from alternative digital assets, mining operations, network modifications, and intellectual property claims pose further challenges to Bitcoin-linked investments.
NVO Risks. The Defiance Daily Target 2X Long NOV ETF invests in swap contracts that are based on the share price of NVO. In turn, the share price of NVO is based on the performance of NVO Nordisk. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of NVO (or NVO Nordisk), even though it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s investments in swap contracts that are based on the value of NVO, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in NVO Nordisk Risk. NVO Nordisk is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of NVO Nordisk but will be exposed indirectly to the performance of NVO Nordisk (via NVO, the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
NVO Trading Risk. The trading price of the Underlying Security may exhibit volatility and significant fluctuations due to various factors inherent in the semiconductor industry. This sector is susceptible to price and volume fluctuations, which may not always correlate with the companies’ operational performance. Short sellers may exert influence on trading dynamics, potentially impacting supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. The Underlying Security’s share price may also be disproportionately affected by public perception and external factors beyond NVO Nordisk’ control, given its prominence in the industry. Such attention can lead to heightened market reactions regardless of NVO Holding’s operational performance. Furthermore, following periods of market volatility, NVO Nordisk and similar companies may face securities class action litigation, diverting management attention and resources. NVO Holding’s historical exposure to such litigation underscores the potential risks, as adverse judgments or future stockholder actions could result in significant costs. Moreover, in the event of a trading halt for the Underlying Security, trading in Shares of the Fund may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
NVO Performance Risk. NVO may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of NVO to decline. NVO provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance NVO provides may not ultimately be accurate and has in the past been inaccurate in certain respects, such as the timing of new product manufacturing ramps. The guidance is based on certain assumptions such as those relating to global and local economic conditions, anticipated production and sales volumes (which generally are not linear throughout a given period), average sales prices, supplier and commodity costs, and planned cost reductions. If NVO’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by NVO could decline significantly.
Pharmaceutical Industry Risks: Pharmaceutical research and development are very costly and highly uncertain; NVO may not succeed in developing, licensing, or acquiring commercially successful products sufficient in number or value to replace revenues of products that have lost or will lose intellectual property protection or are displaced by competing products or therapies. NVO and NVO’s products face intense competition from multinational pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, and lower-cost generic and biosimilar manufacturers, and such competition could have a material adverse effect on NVO’s business. NVO’s business is subject to increasing government price controls and other public and private restrictions on pricing, reimbursement, and access for NVO’s drugs, which could have a material adverse effect on NVO’s results of operations, reputation or business. Pharmaceutical products can develop safety or efficacy concerns, which could have a material adverse effect on NVO’s revenues, income, and reputation.
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Intellectual Property Risks: NVO derives a significant percentage of its total revenue from relatively few products and sells products through increasingly consolidated supply chain entities, which may subject NVO to, or exacerbate, various risks. NVO depends on products with intellectual property protection for most of NVO’s revenues, cash flows, and earnings; the loss of effective intellectual property protection for certain of NVO’s products has resulted, and in the future is likely to continue to result, in rapid and severe declines in revenues for those products. NVO’s long-term success depends on intellectual property protection; if NVO’s intellectual property rights are invalidated, circumvented, or weakened, NVO’s business will be adversely affected.
Operations Risks: Failure, inadequacy, breach of, or unauthorized access to, NVO’s IT systems or those of NVO’s third-party service providers, unauthorized access to NVO’s confidential information, or violations of data protection laws, could each result in material harm to NVO’s business and reputation. Manufacturing, quality, or supply chain difficulties, disruptions, or shortages could lead to product supply problems. Reliance on third-party relationships and outsourcing arrangements could adversely affect NVO’s business. NVO’s use of artificial intelligence or other emerging technologies could adversely impact NVO’s business and financial results.
International Business Risks: Uneven economic growth or downturns or international trade and other global disruptions, geopolitical tensions, or disputes could adversely affect NVO’s business and operating results. Changes in foreign currency rates, interest rate risks, and inflation affect NVO’s results of operations.
Government Regulation and Litigation Risks: NVO faces litigation and investigations related to its products, how NVO price or commercialize its products, and other aspects of NVO’s business, which could adversely affect NVO’s business, and NVO is self-insured for such matters. NVO is subject to evolving and complex tax laws, which may result in additional liabilities and affect NVO’s results of operations. Regulatory compliance problems could be damaging to NVO.
AVGO Risks. The Fund invests in swap contracts that are based on the share price of AVGO. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of AVGO, even though it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s investments in swap contracts that are based on the value of AVGO, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in AVGO Risk. AVGO is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of AVGO but will be exposed to the performance of AVGO (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
AVGO Trading Risk. The trading price of AVGO may be subject to volatility and could experience wide fluctuations due to various factors. The semiconductors industry, including AVGO, operates within a market that has historically witnessed significant price and volume fluctuations, sometimes unrelated to the companies’ operating performance. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading AVGO, potentially affecting the supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Public perception and external factors beyond the company’s control may influence AVGO’s share price disproportionately, as AVGO often receives heightened public attention regardless of its operational performance. Additionally, following periods of market volatility, companies, including AVGO, have faced securities class action litigation. AVGO has been subject to such litigation in the past and continues to defend against such actions. However, any adverse judgment or future stockholder litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources. In the event of a halt in trading of AVGO, trading in shares of related funds may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely
AVGO Performance Risk. AVGO may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of AVGO to decline. AVGO provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance AVGO provides may not ultimately be accurate and has in the past been inaccurate in certain respects, such as the timing of new product manufacturing ramps. The guidance is based on certain assumptions such as those relating to global and local economic conditions, anticipated production and sales volumes (which generally are not linear throughout a given period), average sales prices, supplier and commodity costs, and planned cost reductions. If AVGO’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by AVGO could decline significantly.
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Business and Operational Risks. AVGO faces numerous business and operational risks, including adverse global economic conditions that could negatively impact operations. Compliance with governmental regulations and trade restrictions may result in significant expenses, and failure to comply could lead to the cessation of product manufacture and distribution, administrative proceedings, and civil or criminal penalties. Global political and economic instability, along with the failure to realize expected benefits from the VMware Merger, further pose challenges. The company also encounters risks related to acquisitions, investments, joint ventures, and dispositions, which could adversely affect financial results. Additionally, dependency on senior management and the ability to attract and retain qualified personnel are critical to executing AVGO’s business strategy effectively.
Technological and Cybersecurity Risks. AVGO is subject to technological and cybersecurity risks, including potential impairments to the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of IT systems and those of corporate infrastructure vendors, which could have a material adverse effect on the business. Operating in the highly cyclical semiconductor industry, AVGO’s sales are largely dependent on a small number of customers, and any reduction in demand or loss of significant customers could adversely affect the business. Reliance on contract manufacturing and suppliers of critical components within the supply chain, along with the need to purchase materials from a limited number of suppliers, may impact AVGO’s ability to bring products to market. Furthermore, failure to adjust manufacturing and supply chains to meet customer demand accurately could adversely affect operational results.
Legal, Environmental, and Market Risks. AVGO is involved in various legal proceedings, including intellectual property, securities litigation, and employee-related claims, which could adversely affect the business. The company’s growth in the software segment depends on customer acceptance of newer products and services, and incompatibility with operating environments or third-party products could decrease demand. Failure to enter into satisfactory software license agreements and the availability of licensed third-party software are additional concerns. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters, compliance with privacy and data security laws, and adherence to environmental, health, and safety regulations could increase costs and restrict operations. Rapidly decreasing average selling prices of semiconductor products and fluctuations in foreign exchange rates also pose significant risks.
Financial and Stock-Related Risks. AVGO’s financial health is affected by substantial indebtedness, which could hinder the ability to execute business strategies. Instruments governing indebtedness impose restrictions, and servicing debt requires significant cash flows, potentially impacting business operations. The volatility of AVGO’s stock price may result in substantial losses for investors and trigger class action litigation against the company and its management. Stock repurchase fluctuations, the concentration of stock held by a small number of large investors, and uncertainties regarding the continuation of cash dividends further contribute to financial risks. Changes in tax legislation, the maintenance of tax concessions, and potential tax liabilities from VMware’s former association with Dell also significantly impact AVGO’s financial position and operating results.
SMCI Risks. The Defiance Daily Target 2X Long SMCI ETF invests in swap contracts that are based on the share price of SMCI. This subjects the Fund to certain of the same risks as if it owned shares of SMCI, even though it does not. By virtue of the Fund’s investments in swap contracts that are based on the value of SMCI, the Fund may also be subject to the following risks:
Indirect Investment in SMCI Risk. SMCI is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, or the Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way and has no obligation to consider your Shares in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of Shares. Investors in the Fund will not have voting rights and will not be able to influence management of SMCI but will be exposed to the performance of SMCI (the Underlying Security). Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the Underlying Security but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Underlying Security.
SMCI Trading Risk. The trading price of SMCI may demonstrate volatility and wide fluctuations due to various factors inherent in the technology industry. Unlike some other sectors, the technology industry, including SMCI, is prone to significant price and volume fluctuations, occasionally unrelated to operational performance. Short sellers may also play a significant role in trading SMCI, impacting supply and demand dynamics and contributing to market price volatility. Moreover, external factors and public perception may disproportionately influence SMCI’s share price within the technology sector, with heightened public attention notwithstanding operational performance. Furthermore, SMCI, like other tech companies, may encounter securities class action litigation during periods of market volatility, potentially resulting in substantial costs and diverting management’s attention and resources. In the event of a trading halt for SMCI, trading in Shares of the Fund may be impacted, either temporarily or indefinitely.
SMCI Performance Risk. SMCI may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of SMCI to decline. SMCI provides guidance regarding its expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding sales and production, as well as anticipated future revenues, gross margins, profitability and cash flows. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is inherently an uncertain process, and the guidance SMCI provides may not ultimately be accurate and has in the past been inaccurate in certain respects, such as the timing of new product manufacturing ramps. The guidance is based on certain assumptions such as those relating to global and local economic conditions, anticipated production and sales volumes (which generally are not linear throughout a given period), average sales prices, supplier and commodity costs, and planned cost reductions. If SMCI’s guidance is not accurate or varies from actual results due to its inability to meet the assumptions or the impact on its financial performance that could occur as a result of various risks and uncertainties, the market value of common stock issued by SMCI could decline significantly.
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Delisting Risk. SMCI recently announced that it received a notification letter from Nasdaq stating that SMCI is not in compliance with Nasdaq listing rule 5250(c)(1), which requires timely filing of reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The letter, dated September 17, 2024, was sent as a result of SMCI’s delay in filing its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ending June 30, 2024 (the “Form 10-K”). The Nasdaq notice has no immediate effect on the listing or trading of SMCI’s common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market; however, should SMCI fail to comply with the rule within required timelines it’s possible SMCI stock could be delisted which would prevent the Fund from continuing to operate.
Under the Nasdaq rules, SMCI has 60 days from the date of the notice either to file the Form 10-K or to submit a plan to Nasdaq to regain compliance with Nasdaq’s listing rules. If a plan is submitted and accepted, SMCI could be granted up to 180 days from the Form 10-K’s due date to regain compliance. If Nasdaq does not accept SMCI’s plan, then SMCI will have the opportunity to appeal that decision to a Nasdaq hearings panel.
On October 30, 2024, SMCI announced that its independent registered public accounting firm had resigned and that SMCI had begun the process of identifying a successor. Any delay in identifying a successor independent registered public accounting firm could increase the risk of SMCI stock being delisted.
Operational and Execution Risk. Adverse economic conditions may adversely affect SMCI’s business operations. Ongoing events in eastern Europe and the Taiwan Strait pose challenges and risks to SMCI, potentially impacting its business, financial condition, and operating results. Quarterly operating results have historically fluctuated and are likely to continue doing so in the future. Predicting revenue and margins for specific periods is challenging, and any revenue shortfall or margin decline may negatively impact SMCI’s operating results. As SMCI targets larger customers and sales opportunities, its customer base may become more concentrated, increasing costs, lowering margins, and exposing the company to inventory risks.
Strategic and Industry Risks. Failure to manage the expansion of international manufacturing capacity and business operations could harm SMCI’s business. Additionally, managing growth and expansion effectively is crucial for SMCI’s success. Expansion into markets outside the United States exposes SMCI to inherent risks associated with international business operations. Development of new products and enhancements to existing products is vital for SMCI’s growth; failure to predict or respond to emerging technological trends and changing customer needs may adversely affect its market share and operating results.
Legal and Regulatory Risks. SMCI is subject to complex and evolving laws and regulations concerning privacy, data protection, and other matters due to the nature of its products and services. Compliance with environmental, health, and safety laws and regulations is essential for SMCI due to its operations involving regulated materials. Failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting may lead to investor loss of confidence and decrease the market price of SMCI’s common stock.
Financial Risks. SMCI’s research and development expenditures are considerably higher than those of many competitors, impacting its financial performance. Future effective income tax rates could be affected by changes in operations and income among different geographic regions and changes in domestic and foreign income tax laws. Backlog does not significantly contribute to SMCI’s net sales in any quarter.
General Risks. SMCI’s products may not be perceived as supporting climate change mitigation efforts in the IT sector. Natural disaster events, including those related to climate change, may impact SMCI’s business and operations. Risks associated with the use of AI by SMCI’s workforce may arise. Expectations regarding environmental, social, and governance considerations expose SMCI to potential liabilities, reputational harm, and other unforeseen adverse effects on its business.
Compounding and Market Volatility Risk. Each Fund has a daily leveraged investment objective and a Fund’s performance for periods greater than a trading day will be the result of each day’s returns compounded over the period, which is very likely to differ from two times (200%) the Underlying Security’s performance, before a Fund’s management fee and other expenses. Compounding affects all investments but has a more significant impact on funds that aim to replicate leveraged daily returns and that rebalance daily. For each Fund aiming to replicate two times the daily performance of its Underlying Security, if adverse daily performance of the Underlying Security reduces the amount of a shareholder’s investment, any further adverse daily performance will lead to a smaller dollar loss because the shareholder’s investment had already been reduced by the prior adverse performance. Equally, however, if favorable daily performance of the Underlying Security increases the amount of a shareholder’s investment, the dollar amount lost due to future adverse performance will increase because the shareholder’s investment has increased.
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The effect of compounding becomes more pronounced as an Underlying Security’s volatility and the holding period increase. The impact of compounding will impact each shareholder differently depending on the period of time an investment in a Fund is held and the volatility of the Underlying Security during a shareholder’s holding period of an investment in the Fund.
The chart below provides examples of how an Underlying Security’s volatility could affect the corresponding Fund’s performance. The chart illustrates the impact of two factors that affect a Fund’s performance – its Underlying Security’s volatility and performance. The Underlying Security’s performance shows the percentage change in the share price of the Underlying Security over the specified time period, while the Underlying Security’s volatility is a statistical measure of the magnitude of fluctuations in the returns during that time period. As illustrated below, even if the Underlying Security’s performance over two equal time periods is identical, different Underlying Security volatility (i.e., in magnitude of fluctuations in the value of the Underlying Security) during the two time periods could result in drastically different Fund performance for the two time periods because of compounding daily returns during the time periods.
Fund performance for periods greater than one single day can be estimated given any set of assumptions for the following factors: a) the Underlying Security volatility; b) the Underlying Security performance; c) period of time; d) financing rates associated with leveraged exposure; and e) other Fund expenses. The chart shows estimated Fund returns for a number of combinations of Underlying Security volatility and Underlying Security performance over a one-year period. Performance shown in the chart assumes that: (i) there were no Fund expenses; (ii) borrowing/lending rates (to obtain leveraged exposure) of 0%. If Fund expenses and/or actual borrowing/lending rates were reflected the estimated returns would be different than those shown. Particularly during periods of higher Underlying Security volatility, compounding will cause results for periods longer than a trading day to vary from two times (200%) the performance of its Underlying Security.
As shown in the chart below, a Fund would be expected to lose 6.1% if there was no change in the share price of the Underlying Security over a one-year period during which the Underlying Security experienced annualized volatility of 25%. If the Underlying Security’s annualized volatility were to rise to 75%, the hypothetical loss for a one-year period would widen to approximately -43%. At higher ranges of volatility, there is a chance of a significant loss of value in the Fund, even if there were no change in the share price of the Underlying Security. For instance, if the Underlying Security’s annualized volatility is 100%, the Fund would be expected to lose 63.2% of its value, even if the cumulative Underlying Security change in the share price of the Underlying Security for the year was 0%.
Areas shaded red (or dark gray) represent those scenarios where a Fund can be expected to return less than two times (200%) the performance of its Underlying Security and those shaded green (or light gray) represent those scenarios where the Fund can be expected to return more than two times (200%) the performance of its Underlying Security. A Fund’s actual performance may be significantly better or worse than the performance shown below as a result of any of the factors discussed above or in the “Daily Correlation/Tracking Risk” below.
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Estimated
Returns of 200% or Two Times Performance of the Underlying Security |
|||||||
Underlying Security Performance | One Year Volatility Rate | ||||||
One
Year Underlying Stock |
2X
Times (200%) the One Year Performance |
10% | 25% | 50% | 75% | 100% | |
-60% | -120% | -84.2% | -85.0% | -87.5% | -90.9% | -94.1% | |
-50% | -100% | -75.2% | -76.5% | -80.5% | -85.8% | -90.8% | |
-40% | -80% | -64.4% | -66.2% | -72.0% | -79.5% | -86.8% | |
-30% | -60% | -51.5% | -54.0% | -61.8% | -72.1% | -82.0% | |
-20% | -40% | -36.6% | -39.9% | -50.2% | -63.5% | -76.5% | |
-10% | -20% | -19.8% | -23.9% | -36.9% | -53.8% | -70.2% | |
0% | 0% | -1.0% | -6.1% | -22.1% | -43.0% | -63.2% | |
10% | 20% | 19.8% | 13.7% | -5.8% | -31.1% | -55.5% | |
20% | 40% | 42.6% | 35.3% | 12.1% | -18.0% | -47.0% | |
30% | 60% | 67.3% | 58.8% | 31.6% | -3.7% | -37.8% | |
40% | 80% | 94.0% | 84.1% | 52.6% | 11.7% | -27.9% | |
50% | 100% | 122.8% | 111.4% | 75.2% | 28.2% | -17.2% | |
60% | 120% | 153.5% | 140.5% | 99.4% | 45.9% | -5.8% |
Each Underlying Security’s annualized historical volatility rate for the five-year period ended September 30 , 2024 was as shown in the table below. Also, each Underlying Security’s highest volatility rate for any one calendar year during this period was as shown in the table below and volatility for a shorter period of time may have been substantially higher. The Underlying Security’s annualized performance during this period was as shown in the table below. Historical Underlying Security volatility and performance are not indications of what Underlying Security volatility and performance will be in the future.
Underlying Security Name/Ticker | 5-Year Historical Volatility Rate |
Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) | 31.66% |
MicroStrategy Incorporated (MSTR) | 88.36% |
NOVO Nordisk A/S- ADR (NVO) | 29.73% |
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) | 37.88% |
Super Micro Computer, Inc. (SMCI) | 64.89% |
Counterparty Risk. Each Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in derivatives which exposes the Fund to the risk that the counterparty will not fulfill its obligation to the Fund. Counterparty risk may arise because of the counterparty’s financial condition (i.e., financial difficulties, bankruptcy, or insolvency), market activities and developments, or other reasons, whether foreseen or not. A counterparty’s inability to fulfill its obligation may result in significant financial loss to a Fund and the Fund may be unable to recover its investment from such counterparty or may obtain a limited and/or delayed recovery.
In addition, each Fund may enter into swap agreements with a limited number of counterparties, which may increase the Fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk. Further, there is a risk that no suitable counterparties will be willing to enter into, or continue to enter into, transactions with a Fund and, as a result, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective.
Daily Correlation/Tracking Risk. There is no guarantee that a Fund will achieve a high degree of leveraged correlation to the Underlying Security and therefore achieve its daily leveraged investment objective. To achieve a high degree of leveraged correlation with the Underlying Security, each Fund seeks to rebalance its portfolio daily to keep exposure consistent with its daily leveraged investment objective. The possibility of a Fund being materially over- or under-exposed to its Underlying Security increases on days when the Underlying Security is volatile near the close of the trading day. Market disruptions, regulatory restrictions and extreme volatility will also adversely affect a Fund’s ability to adjust exposure to the required levels. If there is a significant intra-day market event and/or the Underlying Security experiences a significant increase or decline, a Fund may not meet its investment objective, be able to rebalance its portfolio appropriately, or may experience significant premiums or discounts, or widened bid-ask spreads.
Each Fund may have difficulty achieving its daily leveraged investment objective due to fees, expenses, transaction costs, financing costs related to the use of derivatives, investments in ETFs, directly or indirectly, income items, valuation methodology, accounting standards and disruptions or illiquidity in the markets for the securities or derivatives held by the Fund. Each Fund may be subject to large movements of assets into and out of the Fund, potentially resulting in the Fund being over- or under-exposed to its Underlying Security. Each Fund may take or refrain from taking positions to improve the tax efficiency or to comply with various regulatory restrictions, either of which may negatively impact the Fund’s leveraged correlation to the Underlying Security.
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Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. Each Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, leverage, imperfect daily correlations with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The use of derivatives may result in larger losses or smaller gains than directly investing in securities. When a Fund uses derivatives, there may be imperfect correlation between the share price of its Underlying Security and the derivative, which may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective. Because derivatives often require only a limited initial investment, the use of derivatives may expose the Fund to losses in excess of those amounts initially invested.
Each Fund will be subject to regulatory constraints relating to level of value at risk that the Fund may incur through its derivative portfolio. To the extent a Fund exceeds these regulatory thresholds over an extended period, the Fund may determine that it is necessary to make adjustments to the Fund’s investment strategy, including the desired daily leveraged performance for the Fund.
In addition, each Fund’s investments in derivatives are subject to the following risks:
Swap Agreements. The use of swap transactions is a highly specialized activity, which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. Whether a Fund will be successful in using swap agreements to achieve its investment goal depends on the ability of the Adviser to structure such swap agreements in accordance with the Fund’s investment objective and to identify counterparties for those swap agreements. If the Adviser is unable to enter into swap agreements that provide leveraged exposure to the relevant Underlying Security, the corresponding Fund may not meet its stated investment objective. Additionally, any financing, borrowing or other costs associated with using swap transactions may also have the effect of lowering a Fund’s return.
The swap agreements in which each Fund invests are generally traded in the over-the-counter market, which generally has less transparency than exchange-traded derivatives instruments. In a standard swap transaction, two parties agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined reference assets or underlying securities or instruments. The gross return to be exchanged or swapped between the parties is calculated based on a notional amount or the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a basket of securities.
If an Underlying Security has a dramatic move that causes a material decline in the corresponding Fund’s net assets, the terms of a swap agreement between the Fund and its counterparty may permit the counterparty to immediately close out the swap transaction with the Fund. In that event, the Fund may be unable to enter into another swap agreement or invest in other derivatives to achieve exposure consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. This may prevent the Fund from achieving its leveraged investment objective, even if its Underlying Security later reverses all or a portion of its movement.
Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events. The value of the options contracts in which the Fund invests are substantially influenced by the value of the Underlying Security. The Fund may experience substantial downside from specific option positions and certain option positions held by the Fund may expire worthless. The options held by the Fund are exercisable at the strike price on their expiration date. As an option approaches its expiration date, its value typically increasingly moves with the value of the underlying instrument. However, prior to such date, the value of an option generally does not increase or decrease at the same rate as the underlying instrument. There may at times be an imperfect correlation between the movement in values options contracts and the underlying instrument, and there may at times not be a liquid secondary market for certain options contracts. The value of the options held by the Fund will be determined based on market quotations or other recognized pricing methods. Additionally, as the Fund intends to continuously maintain indirect exposure to the Underlying Security through the use of options contracts, as the options contracts it holds are exercised or expire it will enter into new options contracts, a practice referred to as “rolling.” If the expiring options contracts do not generate proceeds enough to cover the cost of entering into new options contracts, the Fund may experience losses. The use of options to generate leverage introduces additional risks, including significant potential losses if the market moves unfavorably. The leverage inherent in options can amplify both gains and losses, leading to increased volatility and potential for substantial losses, particularly in periods of market uncertainty or low liquidity. Additionally, the Fund may incur losses if the value of the Underlying Security moves against its positions, potentially resulting in a complete loss of the premium paid.
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ETF Risks.
Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. Each Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that are authorized to purchase and redeem Shares directly from the Fund (known as “Authorized Participants” or “APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services; or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.
Cash Redemption Risk. Each Fund’s investment strategy may require it to redeem Shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. For example, a Fund may not be able to redeem in-kind certain securities held by the Fund (e.g., derivative instruments). In such a case, a Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, a Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. By paying out higher annual capital gain distributions, investors may be subjected to increased capital gains taxes. The costs associated with cash redemptions may include brokerage costs that the Fund may not have incurred if it had made the redemptions in-kind. These costs could be imposed on a Fund, decreasing its NAV, to the extent these costs are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an authorized participant.
Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid-ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant.
Trading. Although Shares are listed on a national securities exchange, such as The Nasdaq Stock Market, LLC (the “Exchange”), and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of a Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares. This adverse effect on liquidity for a Fund’s shares may lead to wider bid-ask spreads and differences between the market price of the Fund’s shares and the underlying value of the shares.
Liquidity Risk. In certain circumstances, such as the disruption of the orderly markets for the financial instruments in which a Fund invests, the Fund might not be able to acquire or dispose of certain holdings quickly or at prices that represent true market value in the judgment of the Adviser. Markets for the financial instruments in which a Fund invests may be disrupted by a number of events, including but not limited to economic crises, health crises, natural disasters, excessive volatility, new legislation, or regulatory changes inside or outside of the U.S. These situations may have an impact on the liquidity of the Fund’s own shares.”
Fixed Income Securities Risk. When a Fund invests in fixed income securities, the value of your investment in that Fund will fluctuate with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities owned by the Fund. In general, the market price of fixed income securities with longer maturities will increase or decrease more in response to changes in interest rates than shorter-term securities. Other risk factors include credit risk (the debtor may default), extension risk (an issuer may exercise its right to repay principal on a fixed rate obligation held by the Fund later than expected), and prepayment risk (the debtor may pay its obligation early, reducing the amount of interest payments). These risks could affect the value of a particular investment by a Fund, possibly causing the Fund’s Share price and total return to be reduced and fluctuate more than other types of investments.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk. Daily rebalancing of each Fund’s holdings pursuant to its daily investment objective causes a much greater number of portfolio transactions when compared to most ETFs. Additionally, active market trading of each Fund’s Shares on exchanges (such as the Exchange), could cause more frequent creation and redemption activities, which could increase the number of portfolio transactions. Frequent and active trading may lead to higher transaction costs because of increased broker commissions resulting from such transactions. In addition, there is the possibility of significantly increased short-term capital gains (which will be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income when distributed to them). Each Fund calculates portfolio turnover without including the short-term cash instruments or derivative transactions that comprise the majority of the Fund’s trading. As such, if a Fund’s extensive use of derivative instruments were reflected, the calculated portfolio turnover rate would be significantly higher.
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Intra-Day Investment Risk. Each Fund seeks investment results from the close of the market on a given trading day until the close of the market on the subsequent trading day. The exact exposure of an investment in a Fund intraday in the secondary market is a function of the difference between the share price of its Underlying Security at the market close on the first trading day and the share price of the Underlying Security at the time of purchase. If the share price of the Underlying Security rises, the Fund’s net assets will rise by approximately twice the amount as the Fund’s exposure. Conversely, if the share price of the Underlying Security declines, the Fund’s net assets will decline by approximately two times the amount as the Fund’s exposure. Thus, an investor that purchases Shares intra-day may experience performance that is greater than, or less than, the Fund’s stated leveraged performance of the Underlying Security.
If there is a significant intra-day market event and/or the securities of the Underlying Security experience a significant increase or decrease, a Fund may not meet its investment objective or rebalance its portfolio appropriately.
Leverage Risk. Each Fund obtains investment exposure in excess of its net assets by utilizing leverage and may lose more money in market conditions that are adverse to its investment objective than a fund that does not utilize leverage. An investment in a Fund is exposed to the risk that a decline in the daily performance of its Underlying Security will be magnified. This means that an investment in a Fund will be reduced by an amount equal to 2% for every 1% daily decline in the share prices of the Underlying Security, not including the costs of financing leverage and other operating expenses, which would further reduce its value. The Fund could theoretically lose an amount greater than its net assets in the event the share price of the Underlying Security declines more than 50%. Leverage will also have the effect of magnifying any differences in the Fund performance’s correlation with the Underlying Security’s share price.
Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by a Fund may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. Markets for securities or financial instruments could be disrupted by a number of events, including, but not limited to, an economic crisis, natural disasters, epidemics/pandemics, new legislation or regulatory changes inside or outside the United States. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, especially in changing or volatile markets. If a Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security at an unfavorable time or price, the Fund may be adversely impacted. Certain market conditions or restrictions may prevent a Fund from limiting losses, realizing gains or achieving a high correlation with the Underlying Security. There is no assurance that a security that is deemed liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid. Market illiquidity may cause losses for the Funds.
Market Events Risk. The Fund’s investments are subject to changes in general economic conditions, general market fluctuations and the risks inherent in investment in securities and other financial instruments. Investment markets can be volatile and prices of investments can change substantially due to various factors including, but not limited to, economic growth or recession, changes in interest rates, inflation, changes in the actual or perceived creditworthiness of issuers, and general market liquidity. The Fund is subject to the risk that geopolitical events will disrupt securities and other financial markets and adversely affect global economies and markets. Local, regional or global events such as war, military conflicts, acts of terrorism, natural disasters, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments. Continuing uncertainties regarding interest rates, rising inflation, political events, rising government debt in the U.S. and trade tensions also contribute to market volatility. Conflict, loss of life and disaster connected to ongoing armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia in Europe and between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East could have severe adverse effects on the related region, including significant adverse effects on the regional or global economies and the markets for certain securities. The U.S. and the European Union have imposed sanctions on certain Russian individuals and companies, including certain financial institutions, and have limited certain exports and imports to and from Russia. These conflicts have contributed to recent market volatility and may continue to do so.
Money Market Instrument Risk. Each Fund may use a variety of money market instruments for cash management purposes, including money market funds, depositary accounts and repurchase agreements. Repurchase agreements are contracts in which a seller of securities agrees to buy the securities back at a specified time and price. Repurchase agreements may be subject to market and credit risk related to the collateral securing the repurchase agreement. Money market instruments may lose money.
New Fund Risk. Each Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history (or for MSTX, only a limited operating history). As a result, prospective investors do not have any (or only a limited) track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.
Non-Diversification Risk. Because each Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers could cause a Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Fund held a more diversified portfolio.
Operational Risk. Each Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational 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. Each Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect a Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Funds and the Funds’ investment advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
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Rebalancing Risk. If for any reason a Fund is unable to rebalance all or a portion of its portfolio, or if all or a portion of the portfolio is rebalanced incorrectly, the Fund’s investment exposure may not be consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. In these instances, the Fund may have investment exposure to its Underlying Security that is significantly greater or less than its stated investment objective. As a result, a Fund may be exposed to leverage risk because it had not been properly rebalanced and may not achieve its investment objective.
Single Issuer Risk. Issuer-specific attributes may cause an investment in a Fund to be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment which diversifies risk or the market generally. The value of each Fund, which focuses on an individual security, may be more volatile than a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole and may perform differently from the value of a traditional pooled investment or the market as a whole. Additionally, each Fund will seek to employ its investment strategy as it relates to the underlying issuer regardless of whether there are significant corporate actions such as restructurings, enforcement activity, or acquisitions or periods adverse market, economic, or other conditions and will not seek to take temporary defensive positions during such periods.
Tax Risk. In order to qualify for the favorable tax treatment generally available to regulated investment companies, each Fund must satisfy certain diversification and other requirements. In particular, each Fund generally may not acquire a security if, as a result of the acquisition, more than 50% of the value of the Fund’s assets would be invested in (a) issuers in which the Fund has, in each case, invested more than 5% of the Fund’s assets and (b) issuers more than 10% of whose outstanding voting securities are owned by the Fund. The application of these requirements to certain investments (including swaps) that may be entered into by the Funds is unclear. In addition, the application of these requirements to each Fund’s investment objective is not clear, particularly because the Fund’s investment objective focuses on the performance of the stock of a single issuer. If a Fund were to fail to qualify as a regulated investment company, it would be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation, and distributions to its shareholders would not be deductible by the Fund in computing its taxable income.
Tracking Error Risk. Tracking error is the divergence of a Fund’s performance from that of its investment objective which aims to replicate two times the daily percentage change in the price of its Underlying Security. Tracking error may occur for a number of reasons. Tracking error may occur because of transaction costs, a Fund’s holding of cash, differences in accrual of dividends, being under- or overexposed to the Underlying Security or the need to meet new or existing regulatory requirements. Tracking error risk may be heightened during times of market volatility or other unusual market conditions such as market disruptions. Each Fund may be required to deviate from its investment objectives, and therefore experience tracking error, as a result of market restrictions or other legal reasons, including regulatory limits or other restrictions on securities that may be purchased by the Adviser and its affiliates.
Trading Halt Risk. Although each Underlying Security’s shares are listed for trading on an exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will be available at all times and the Exchange may halt trading of such shares in certain circumstances. A halt in trading in an Underlying Security’s shares is expected, in turn, to result in a halt in the trading in the corresponding Fund’s Shares. Trading in an Underlying Security’s and/or the corresponding Fund’s Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in the Underlying Security’s and/or Fund’s Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in each Underlying Security’s and/or Fund’s Shares on an exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to exchange “circuit breaker” rules.” In the event of a trading halt for an extended period of time, the relevant Fund may be unable to execute arrangements with swap counterparties that are necessary to implement the Fund’s investment strategy.
U.S. Government and U.S. Agency Obligations Risk. Each Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. Government obligations include securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, such as the U.S. Treasury. Payment of principal and interest on U.S. Government obligations may be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States or may be backed solely by the issuing or guaranteeing agency or instrumentality itself. In the latter case, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the obligation for ultimate repayment, which agency or instrumentality may be privately owned. There can be no assurance that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to its agencies or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises) where it is not obligated to do so.
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PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
Information about each Fund’s daily portfolio holdings is, or will be, available on the Funds’ website at https://www.defianceetfs.com.
A complete description of each Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of a Fund’s portfolio holdings is available in the Fund’s SAI.
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MANAGEMENT
Investment Adviser
Tidal Investments LLC (the “Adviser”), located at 234 West Florida Street, Suite 203, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53204, is an SEC registered investment adviser and a Delaware limited liability company. Tidal was founded in March 2012 and is dedicated to understanding, researching and managing assets within the expanding ETF universe. As of August 31, 2024, Tidal had assets under management of approximately $19.06 billion and served as the investment adviser or sub-adviser for 218 registered funds.
Tidal serves as investment adviser to the Funds and has overall responsibility for the general management and administration of the Funds pursuant to an investment advisory agreement with the Trust, on behalf of each Fund (the “Advisory Agreement”). The Adviser is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Funds’ portfolios, including determining the securities purchased and sold by each Fund and trading portfolio securities for each Fund, subject to the supervision of the Board. The Adviser also arranges for sub-advisory, transfer agency, custody, fund administration, and all other related services necessary for the Fund to operate. For the services provided to the Funds, each Fund pays the Adviser a unitary management fee of 1.29%, which is calculated daily and paid monthly, at an annual rate based on such Fund’s average daily net assets.
Under the Advisory Agreement, in exchange for a single unitary management fee from the Fund, the Adviser has agreed to pay all expenses incurred by such Fund except for interest charges on any borrowings made for investment purposes, dividends and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, extraordinary expenses, distribution fees and expenses paid by a Fund under any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, and the unitary management fee payable to the Adviser (collectively, the “Excluded Expenses”).
A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of each Fund’s Investment Advisory Agreement will be available in the October 31, 2024 semi-annual report to shareholders on Form N-CSR.
Portfolio Managers
The following individuals (each, a “Portfolio Manager”) have served as portfolio managers of each Fund since inception in 2024. Ms. Duan and Mr. Mullen are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of each Fund.
Qiao Duan, CFA, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser
Qiao Duan serves as Portfolio Manager at the Adviser, having joined the firm in October 2020. From February 2017 to October 2020, she was an execution Portfolio Manager at Exponential ETFs, where she managed research and analysis relating to all Exponential ETF strategies. Ms. Duan previously served as a portfolio manager for the Exponential ETFs from their inception in May 2019 until October 2020. Ms. Duan received a Master of Science in Quantitative Finance and Risk Management from the University of Michigan in 2016 and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Applied Mathematics from Xiamen University in 2014. She holds the CFA designation.
Christopher P. Mullen, Portfolio Manager for the Adviser
Christopher P. Mullen serves as Portfolio Manager at the Adviser, having joined the firm in January 2024. From September 2019 to December 2023, he was a Portfolio Manager at Vest Financial LLC, where he managed exchange-traded funds, mutual funds and retirement fund portfolios. Mr. Mullen previously served as a Senior Portfolio Analyst at ProShares Advisors LLC from September 2016 until September 2019. Prior to that, Mr. Mullen served as associate portfolio manager at USCF Investments LLC from February 2013 to September 2016. Mr. Mullen received a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland. He also holds a dual bachelor’s degree in global politics and history from Marquette University.
CFA® is a registered trademark owned by the CFA Institute.
The Funds’ SAI provides additional information about each portfolio manager’s compensation structure, other accounts that each portfolio manager manages, and each portfolio manager’s ownership of Shares.
Fund Sponsor
The Adviser has entered into a fund sponsorship agreement with Defiance Group Holdings LLC (“Defiance”) pursuant to which Defiance is a sponsor to the Funds. Under these arrangements, Defiance has agreed to provide financial support (as described below) to the Funds. Every month, unitary management fees for the Funds are calculated and paid to the Adviser, and the Adviser retains a portion of the unitary management fees from the Funds.
In return for their financial support for the Funds, the Adviser has agreed to pay Defiance a portion of any remaining profits generated by unitary management fee the Funds. If the amount of the unitary management fees for a Fund exceeds the Fund’s operating expenses and the Adviser-retained amount, that excess amount is considered “remaining profit.” In that case, the Adviser will pay a portion of the remaining profits to Defiance.
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Further, if the amount of the unitary management fee for a Fund is less than the Fund’s operating expenses and the Adviser-retained amount, Defiance is obligated to reimburse the Adviser for a portion of the shortfall.
HOW TO BUY AND SELL SHARES
Each Fund issues and redeems Shares only in Creation Units at the NAV per share next determined after receipt of an order from an AP. Only APs may acquire Shares directly from a Fund, and only APs may tender their Shares for redemption directly to the Funds, at NAV. APs must be a member or participant of a clearing agency registered with the SEC and must execute a Participant Agreement that has been agreed to by the Distributor (defined below), and that has been accepted by a Fund’s 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.
In order to purchase Creation Units of a Fund, an AP must generally deposit a designated portfolio of equity securities (the “Deposit Securities”) and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash. Purchases and redemptions of Creation Units primarily with cash, rather than through in-kind delivery of portfolio securities, may cause the Funds to incur certain costs. These costs could include brokerage costs or taxable gains or losses that it might not have incurred if it had made redemption in-kind. These costs could be imposed on a Fund, and thus decrease the Fund’s NAV, to the extent that the costs are not offset by a transaction fee payable by an AP.
Most investors buy and sell Shares in secondary market transactions through brokers. Individual 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. In addition, because secondary market transactions occur at market prices, you may pay more than NAV when you buy Shares, and receive less than NAV when you sell those Shares.
Book Entry
Shares are held in book-entry form, which means that no stock certificates are issued. The Depository Trust Company (“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.
Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Shares
None of the Funds imposes any restrictions on the frequency of purchases and redemptions of Shares. In determining not to approve a written, established policy, the Board evaluated the risks of market timing activities by a Fund’s shareholders. Purchases and redemptions by APs, who are the only parties that may purchase or redeem Shares directly with a Fund, are an essential part of the ETF process and help keep Share trading prices in line with the NAV. As such, the Funds accommodate frequent purchases and redemptions by APs. However, the Board has also determined that frequent purchases and redemptions for cash may increase tracking error and portfolio transaction costs and may lead to the realization of capital gains. To minimize these potential consequences of frequent purchases and redemptions, each Fund employs fair value pricing and may impose transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by such Fund in effecting trades. In addition, the Funds and the Adviser reserve the right to reject any purchase order at any time.
Determination of Net Asset Value
Each Fund’s NAV is calculated as of the scheduled close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”), generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, each day the NYSE is open for regular business. The NAV for the Funds is calculated by dividing such Fund’s net assets by its Shares outstanding.
In calculating its NAV, each Fund generally value its assets on the basis of market quotations, last sale prices, or estimates of value furnished by a pricing service or brokers who make markets in such instruments. If such information is not available for a security held by a Fund or is determined to be unreliable, the security will be valued at fair value estimates under guidelines established by the Board (as described below).
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Fair Value Pricing
The Board has designated the Adviser as the “valuation designee” for the Fund under Rule 2a-5 of the 1940 Act, subject to its oversight. The Adviser has adopted procedures and methodologies, which have been approved by the Board, to fair value Fund investments whose market prices are not “readily available” or are deemed to be unreliable. For example, such circumstances may arise when: (i) an investment has been delisted or has had its trading halted or suspended; (ii) an investment’s primary pricing source is unable or unwilling to provide a price; (iii) an investment’s primary trading market is closed during regular market hours; or (iv) an investment’s value is materially affected by events occurring after the close of the investment’s primary trading market. Generally, when fair valuing an investment, the Adviser will take into account all reasonably available information that may be relevant to a particular valuation including, but not limited to, fundamental analytical data regarding the issuer, information relating to the issuer’s business, recent trades or offers of the investment, general and/or specific market conditions, and the specific facts giving rise to the need to fair value the investment. Fair value determinations are made in good faith and in accordance with the fair value methodologies included in the Adviser’s valuation procedures. The Adviser will fair value Fund investments whose market prices are not “readily available” or are deemed to be unreliable. The Adviser will fair value Fund investments whose market prices are not “readily available” or are deemed to be unreliable. Due to the subjective and variable nature of fair value pricing, there can be no assurance that the Adviser will be able to obtain the fair value assigned to the investment upon the sale of such investment.
Delivery of Shareholder Documents – Householding
Householding is an option available to certain investors of the Funds. Householding is a method of delivery, based on the preference of the individual investor, in which a single copy of certain shareholder documents can be delivered to investors who share the same address, even if their accounts are registered under different names. Householding for the Funds is available through certain broker-dealers. If you are interested in enrolling in householding and receiving a single copy of prospectuses and other shareholder documents, please contact your broker-dealer. If you are currently enrolled in householding and wish to change your householding status, please contact your broker-dealer.
DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS, AND TAXES
Dividends and Distributions
The Funds intend to pay out dividends and interest income, if any, monthly, and distribute any net realized capital gains to its shareholders at least annually.
The Funds will declare and pay income and capital gain distributions, if any, in cash. Distributions in cash may be reinvested automatically in additional whole Shares only if the broker through whom you purchased Shares makes such option available. Your broker is responsible for distributing the income and capital gain distributions to you.
Taxes
The following discussion is a summary of some important U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to investments in the Funds. Your investment in a Fund may have other tax implications. Please consult your tax advisor about the tax consequences of an investment in Shares, including the possible application of foreign, state, and local tax laws.
Each Fund intends to qualify each year for treatment as a regulated investment company (a “RIC”) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. If it meets certain minimum distribution requirements, a RIC is not subject to tax at the fund level on income and gains from investments that are timely distributed to shareholders. However, a Fund’s failure to qualify as a RIC or to meet minimum distribution requirements would result (if certain relief provisions were not available) in fund-level taxation and, consequently, a reduction in income available for distribution to shareholders.
Unless your investment in Shares is made through a tax-exempt entity or tax-advantaged account, such as an IRA plan, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when a Fund makes distributions, when you sell your Shares listed on the Exchange, and when you purchase or redeem Creation Units (institutional investors only).
The following general discussion of certain U.S. federal income tax consequences is based on provisions of the Code and the regulations issued thereunder as in effect on the date of this SAI. New legislation, as well as administrative changes or court decisions, may significantly change the conclusions expressed herein, and may have a retroactive effect with respect to the transactions contemplated herein.
Taxes on Distributions. Each Fund intends to pay out dividends and interest income, if any, monthly, and distribute any net realized capital gains to its shareholders at least annually. For federal income tax purposes, distributions of net investment income are generally taxable as ordinary income or qualified dividend income. Taxes on distributions of net 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 their Shares. Sales of assets held by a Fund for more than one year generally result in long-term capital gains and losses, and sales of assets held by such Fund for one year or less generally result in short-term capital gains and losses. Distributions of a Fund’s net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses) that are reported by such Fund as capital gain dividends (“Capital Gain Dividends”) will be taxable as long-term capital gains. 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.
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Distributions reported by a Fund as “qualified dividend income” are generally taxed to non-corporate shareholders at rates applicable to long-term capital gains, provided certain 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 a Fund receives 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. Corporate shareholders may be entitled to a dividends-received deduction for the portion of dividends they receive from a Fund that are attributable to dividends received by such Fund from U.S. corporations, subject to certain limitations. Given the investment strategies of the Funds, it is unlikely that any dividends paid by a Fund will be qualified dividends or be eligible for the corporate dividends paid deduction.
Shortly after the close of each calendar year, you will be informed of the character of any distributions received from a Fund.
In addition to the federal income tax, certain individuals, trusts, and estates may be subject to a Net Investment Income (“NII”) tax of 3.8%. The NII tax is imposed on the lesser of: (i) a taxpayer’s investment income, net of deductions properly allocable to such income; or (ii) the amount by which such taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross income exceeds certain thresholds ($250,000 for married individuals filing jointly, $200,000 for unmarried individuals and $125,000 for married individuals filing separately). Each Fund’s distributions are includable in a shareholder’s investment income for purposes of this NII tax. In addition, any capital gain realized by a shareholder upon a sale or redemption of shares of a Fund is includable in such shareholder’s investment income for purposes of this NII tax.
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 a Fund before your investment (and thus were included in the Shares’ NAV when you purchased your Shares).
You may wish to avoid investing in a 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.
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 a Fund will generally be subject to a U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30%, unless a lower treaty rate applies. The Funds 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.
Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”), the Funds may be required to withhold a generally nonrefundable 30% tax on distributions of net taxable income paid to (A) certain “foreign financial institutions” unless such foreign financial institution agrees to verify, monitor, and report to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) the identity of certain of its account-holders, among other items (or unless such entity is otherwise deemed compliant under the terms of an intergovernmental agreement between the United States and the foreign financial institution’s country of residence), and (B) certain “non-financial foreign entities” unless such entity certifies to the Fund that it does not have any substantial U.S. owners or provides the name, address, and taxpayer identification number of each substantial U.S. owner, among other items. This FATCA withholding tax could also affect a Fund’s return on its investments in foreign securities or affect a shareholder’s return if the shareholder holds its Fund shares through a foreign intermediary. You are urged to consult your tax adviser regarding the application of this FATCA withholding tax to your investment in a Fund and the potential certification, compliance, due diligence, reporting, and withholding obligations to which you may become subject in order to avoid this withholding tax.
Each 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 they are not subject to such withholding.
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. Any loss realized on a sale will be disallowed to the extent Shares of a Fund are acquired, including through reinvestment of dividends, within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the sale of substantially identical Shares.
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Taxes on Purchases and Redemptions of Creation Units
An AP 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 AP’s aggregate basis in the securities delivered plus the amount of any cash paid for the Creation Units. An AP who exchanges Creation Units for securities will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanging AP’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 IRS 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 AP 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 comprising the Creation Units have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if such Shares have been held for one year or less.
The Funds may include a payment of cash in addition to, or in place of, the delivery of a basket of securities upon the redemption of Creation Units. The Funds may sell portfolio securities to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Funds to recognize investment income and/or capital gains or losses that they might not have recognized if they had completely satisfied the redemption in-kind. As a result, the Funds may be less tax efficient if they include such a cash payment in the proceeds paid upon the redemption of Creation Units.
The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the possible consequences under current federal tax law of an investment in the Funds. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. You also may be subject to foreign, state and local tax on Fund distributions and sales of Shares. Consult your personal tax advisor about the potential tax consequences of an investment in Shares under all applicable tax laws. For more information, please see the section entitled “Federal Income Taxes” in the SAI.
DISTRIBUTION
Foreside Fund Services, LLC (the “Distributor”), the Funds’ distributor, is a broker-dealer registered with the SEC. The Distributor distributes Creation Units for the Fund on an agency basis and does not maintain a secondary market in Shares. The Distributor has no role in determining the policies of the Funds or the securities that are purchased or sold by the Funds. The Distributor’s principal address is Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101.
The Board has adopted a Distribution (Rule 12b-1) Plan (the “Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. In accordance with the Plan, the Funds are authorized to pay an amount up to 0.25% of its average daily net assets each year to pay distribution fees for the sale and distribution of its Shares.
No Rule 12b-1 fees are currently paid by the Funds, 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 assets of the respective Fund on an ongoing basis, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than certain other types of sales charges.
PREMIUM/DISCOUNT INFORMATION
Information regarding how often Shares of the Funds traded on the Exchange at a price above (i.e., at a premium) or below (i.e., at a discount) the NAV of such Fund can be found on the Funds’ website at https://www.defianceetfs.com.
ADDITIONAL NOTICES
Shares are not sponsored, endorsed, or promoted by the Exchange. The Exchange is not responsible for, nor has it participated in the determination of, the timing, prices, or quantities of Shares to be issued, nor in the determination or calculation of the equation by which Shares are redeemable. The Exchange has no obligation or liability to owners of Shares in connection with the administration, marketing, or trading of Shares.
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.
The Adviser and the Funds make no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of Shares or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in any Fund particularly.
The Third Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust (“Declaration of Trust”) provides a detailed process for the bringing of derivative or direct actions by shareholders in order to permit legitimate inquiries and claims while avoiding the time, expense, distraction, and other harm that can be caused to a Fund or its shareholders as a result of spurious shareholder demands and derivative actions. Prior to bringing a derivative action, a demand by three unrelated shareholders must first be made on a Fund’s Trustees. The Declaration of Trust details various information, certifications, undertakings and acknowledgments that must be included in the demand. Following receipt of the demand, the trustees have a period of 90 days, which may be extended by an additional 60 days, to consider the demand. If a majority of the Trustees who are considered independent for the purposes of considering the demand determine that maintaining the suit would not be in the best interests of the Fund, the Trustees are required to reject the demand and the complaining shareholders may not proceed with the derivative action unless the shareholders are able to sustain the burden of proof to a court that the decision of the Trustees not to pursue the requested action was not a good faith exercise of their business judgment on behalf of the Fund. The Declaration of Trust further provides that shareholders owning Shares representing no less than a majority of a Fund’s outstanding shares must join in bringing the derivative action. If a demand is rejected, the complaining shareholders will be responsible for the costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by the Fund in connection with the consideration of the demand, if a court determines that the demand was made without reasonable cause or for an improper purpose. If a derivative action is brought in violation of the Declaration of Trust, the shareholders bringing the action may be responsible for the Fund’s costs, including attorneys’ fees, if a court determines that the action was brought without reasonable cause or for an improper purpose. The Declaration of Trust provides that no shareholder may bring a direct action claiming injury as a shareholder of the Trust, or any Fund, where the matters alleged (if true) would give rise to a claim by the Trust or by the Trust on behalf of a Fund, unless the shareholder has suffered an injury distinct from that suffered by the shareholders of the Trust, or the Fund, generally. Under the Declaration of Trust, a shareholder bringing a direct claim must be a shareholder of the Fund with respect to which the direct action is brought at the time of the injury complained of or have acquired the shares afterwards by operation of law from a person who was a shareholder at that time. The Declaration of Trust further provides that a Fund shall be responsible for payment of attorneys’ fees and legal expenses incurred by a complaining shareholder only if required by law, and any attorneys’ fees that the Fund is obligated to pay shall be calculated using reasonable hourly rates. These provisions do not apply to claims brought under the federal securities laws.
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The Declaration of Trust also requires that actions by shareholders against a Fund be brought exclusively in a federal or state court located within the State of Delaware. This provision will not apply to claims brought under the federal securities laws. Limiting shareholders’ ability to bring actions only in courts located in Delaware may cause shareholders economic hardship to litigate the action in those courts, including paying for traveling expenses of witnesses and counsel, requiring retaining local counsel, and may limit shareholders’ ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that shareholders find favorable for disputes, which may discourage such actions.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
This section would ordinarily include Financial Highlights. The Financial Highlights table is intended to help you understand the performance of the Funds for their periods of operations. Because the Funds have not yet completed their initial fiscal period as of the date of this Prospectus, no Financial Highlights are shown.
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Defiance Daily Target 2X Long LLY ETF (LLYX)
Defiance Daily Target 2X Long MSTR ETF (MSTX)
Defiance Daily Target 2X Long NVO ETF (NVOX)
Defiance Daily Target 2X Long AVGO ETF (AVGX)
Defiance Daily Target 2X Long SMCI ETF (SMCX)
Adviser | Tidal
Investments LLC 234 West Florida Street, Suite 203 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53204 |
Administrator | Tidal
ETF Services LLC Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53204 |
Distributor | Foreside
Fund Services, LLC Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100 Portland, Maine 04101 |
Sub-Administrator,
Fund Accountant, and Transfer Agent |
U.S.
Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, doing business as U.S. Bank Global Fund Services 615 East Michigan Street Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202 |
Legal Counsel | Sullivan
& Worcester LLP 1251 Avenue of the Americas 19th Floor New York, New York 10020 |
Custodian | U.S.
Bank National Association 1555 North Rivercenter Dr. Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212 |
Independent
Registered Public Accounting Firm |
Cohen & Company, Ltd.
1835 Market Street, Suite 310 Philadelphia, PA 19103 |
Investors may find more information about the Funds in the following documents:
Statement of Additional Information: The Funds’ SAI provides additional details about the investments of each Fund and certain other additional information. A current SAI dated October 30, 2024, as supplemented from time to time, is on file with the SEC and is herein incorporated by reference into this Prospectus. It is legally considered a part of this Prospectus.
Annual/Semi-Annual Reports: Additional information about the Funds’ investments is available in the Funds’ annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. In the annual report you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected each Fund’s performance after the first fiscal year each Fund is in operation.
You can obtain free copies of these documents request other information or make general inquiries about the Funds by contacting the Funds at the Defiance ETFs, c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, P.O. Box 701, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201-0701 or calling (833) 333-9383.
Shareholder reports and other information about the Funds are also available:
● | Free of charge from the SEC’s EDGAR database on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov; or | |
● | Free of charge from the Funds’ Internet website at https://www.defianceetfs.com; or | |
● | For a fee, by e-mail request to publicinfo@sec.gov. |
(SEC Investment Company Act File No. 811-23793)
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