Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund is actively managed and invests primarily in equity securities listed on a U.S. exchange based on the results of a proprietary, quantitative model (the “EquBot Model”) developed by EquBot LLC (“EquBot”) that runs on the IBM Watson™ platform. EquBot, the Fund’s sub-adviser, is a technology based company focused on applying artificial intelligence (“AI”) based solutions to investment analyses. As an IBM Global Entrepreneur company, EquBot leverages IBM’s Watson AI to conduct an objective, fundamental analysis of U.S.-listed common stocks, including Special Purpose Acquisitions Corporations (“SPAC”), and real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) based on up to ten years of historical data and apply that analysis to recent economic and news data. A SPAC is a “blank check” company with no commercial operations that is designed to raise capital via an initial public offering for the purpose of engaging in a merger, acquisition, reorganization, or similar business combination (a “Combination”) with one or more operating companies (each a SPAC-derived company).
Each day, the EquBot Model ranks each company based on the probability of the company benefiting from current economic conditions, trends, and world events and identifies approximately 30 to 125 companies with the greatest potential over the next twelve months for appreciation and their corresponding weights, while maintaining volatility (i.e., the range in which the portfolio’s returns vary) comparable to the broader U.S. equity market. The Fund may invest in the securities of companies of any market capitalization. The EquBot model recommends a weight for each company based on its potential for appreciation and correlation to the other companies in the Fund’s portfolio. If a SPAC that is selected for investment by the Fund announces a Combination with an operating company, the pre-Combination SPAC and, subsequently, the SPAC-derived company will be screened for investment and may continue to be held by the Fund so long as it continues to meet the requirements of the EquBot Model. If the SPAC announces a Combination with a business which does not meet the criteria of the EquBot Model, the SPAC will be removed from the Fund as promptly as practicable following the determination being made. The EquBot model limits the weight of any individual company to 10%. At times, a significant portion of the Fund’s assets may consist of cash and cash equivalents.
IBM’s Watson AI is a computing platform capable of answering natural language questions by connecting large amounts of data, both structured (e.g., spreadsheets) and unstructured (e.g., news articles), and learning from each analysis it conducts (e.g., by recognizing patterns) to produce a more accurate answer with each subsequent question.
The Fund’s investment adviser utilizes the recommendations of the EquBot Model to decide which securities to purchase and sell, while complying with the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”) and its rules and regulations. The Fund’s sub-adviser anticipates primarily making purchase and sale decisions based on information from the EquBot Model. In limited circumstances, the sub-adviser may exercise discretion with respect to portfolio transactions, taking into consideration the tax treatment of a particular transaction or series of transactions and liquidity or other constraints relating to trading a security selected pursuant to the EquBot Model. The Fund may frequently and actively purchase and sell securities.
The Fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers, and other financial organizations. These loans, if and when made, may not exceed 33 1/3% of the total asset value of the Fund (including the loan collateral). By lending its securities, the Fund may increase its income by receiving payments from the borrower.
Principal Risks
As with all funds, a shareholder is subject to the risk that his or her investment could lose money. The principal risks affecting shareholders’ investments in the Fund are set forth below. An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any government agency.
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 small 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 small 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. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
Portfolio Turnover Risk: The portfolio managers may actively and frequently trade securities or other instruments in the Fund’s portfolio to carry out its investment strategies. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses.
REIT Investment Risk. Investments in REITs involve unique risks. REITs may have limited financial resources, may trade less frequently and in limited volume, and may be more volatile than other securities. REITs may be affected by changes in the value of their underlying properties or mortgages or by defaults by their borrowers or tenants. Furthermore, these entities depend upon specialized management skills, have limited diversification and are, therefore, subject to risks inherent in financing a limited number of projects. In addition, the performance of a REIT may be affected by changes in the tax laws or by its failure to qualify for tax-free pass-through of income.
Models and Data Risk: The Fund relies heavily on proprietary quantitative models as well as information and data supplied by third parties (“Models and Data”). When Models and Data prove to be incorrect or incomplete, any decisions made in reliance thereon expose the Fund to potential risks.
Sector Risk. To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors.
Smaller Companies Risk: Smaller companies in which the Fund may invest may be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic events than larger, more established companies, and may underperform other segments of the market or the equity market as a whole. The securities of smaller companies also tend to be bought and sold less frequently and at significantly lower trading volumes than the securities of larger companies. As a result, it may be more difficult for the Fund to buy or sell a significant amount of the securities of a smaller company without an adverse impact on the price of the company’s securities, or the Fund may have to sell such securities in smaller quantities over a longer period of time, which may increase the Fund’s tracking error.
The remaining principal risks are presented in alphabetical order. Each risk summarized below is considered a "principal risk" of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears.
Associated Risks of Investments in SPACs. The Fund invests in equity securities of SPACs, which raise assets to seek potential acquisition opportunities. Unless and until an acquisition is completed, a SPAC generally invests its assets in U.S. government securities, money market securities, and cash. Because SPACs have no operating history or ongoing business other than seeking acquisitions, the value of their securities is particularly dependent on the ability of the entity’s management to identify and complete a profitable acquisition. There is no guarantee that the SPACs in which the Fund invests will complete an acquisition or that any acquisitions that are completed will be profitable. Public stockholders of SPACs may not be afforded a meaningful opportunity to vote on a proposed initial business combination because certain stockholders, including stockholders affiliated with the management of the SPAC, may have sufficient voting power, and a financial incentive, to approve such a transaction without support from public stockholders. As a result, a SPAC may complete a business combination even though a majority of its public stockholders do not support such a combination.
Associated Risks of SPAC-Derived Companies. The Fund invests in companies that are derived from a SPAC. These companies may be unseasoned and lack a trading history, a track record of reporting to investors, and widely available research coverage. SPAC-derived companies are thus often subject to extreme price volatility and speculative trading. These stocks may have above-average price appreciation in connection with a potential business combination with a SPAC prior to investment by the Fund. The price of stocks invested in by the Fund may not continue to appreciate and the performance of these stocks may not replicate the performance exhibited in the past. In addition, SPAC-derived companies may share similar illiquidity risks of private equity and venture capital. The free float shares held by the public in a SPAC-derived company are typically a small percentage of the market capitalization. The ownership of many SPAC-derived companies often includes large holdings by venture capital and private equity investors who seek to sell their shares in the public market in the months following a business combination transaction when shares restricted by lock-up are released, causing greater volatility and possible downward pressure during the time that locked-up shares are released.
Cash and Cash Equivalents Risk: Holding cash or cash equivalents rather than securities or other instruments in which the Fund primarily invests, even strategically, may cause the Fund to risk losing opportunities to participate in market appreciation, and may cause the Fund to experience potentially lower returns than the Fund’s benchmark or other funds that remain fully invested. In rising markets, holding cash or cash equivalents will negatively affect the Fund’s performance relative to its benchmark.
Equity Market Risk: The equity securities held in the Fund’s portfolio may experience sudden, unpredictable drops in value or long periods of decline in value. This may occur because of factors that affect securities markets generally or factors affecting specific issuers, industries, or sectors in which the Fund invests such as political, market and economic developments, as well as events that impact specific issuers. Additionally, natural or environmental disasters, widespread disease or other public health issues, war, acts of terrorism or other events could result in increased premiums or discounts to the Fund’s NAV.
ETF Risks:
Absence of an Active Market Risk: Although the Fund’s shares are approved for listing on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market will develop and be maintained for Fund shares. There can be no assurance that the Fund will grow to or maintain an economically viable size, in which case the Fund may ultimately liquidate.
Authorized Participants, Market Makers and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk: The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants (“APs”), none of which are obligated to engage in creation and/or redemption transactions. 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, there may be a significantly diminished trading market for Fund shares and 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. The risks associated with limited APs may be heightened in scenarios where APs have limited or diminished access to the capital required to post collateral.
Costs of Buying or Selling Shares Risk. Investors buying or selling Fund shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of shares.
Fluctuation of NAV Risk. The NAV of Fund shares will generally fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s securities holdings. The market prices of shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the Fund’s NAV and supply and demand of shares on the Exchange. It cannot be predicted whether Fund shares will trade below, at or above their NAV. During periods of unusual volatility or market disruptions, market prices of Fund shares may deviate significantly from the market value of the Fund’s securities holdings or the NAV of Fund shares. As a result, investors in the Fund may pay significantly more or receive significantly less for Fund shares than the value of the Fund’s underlying securities or the NAV of Fund shares.
Market Trading Risk: An investment in the Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors, among others, may lead to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV.
Trading Issues Risk. Although Fund shares are listed for trading on the NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”), there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such shares will be maintained. Trading in Fund shares may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of any Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged or that the shares will trade with any volume, or at all. Further, secondary markets may be subject to erratic trading activity, wide bid/ask spreads and extended trade settlement periods in times of market stress because market makers and Authorized Participants may step away from making a market in Fund shares and in executing creation and redemption orders, which could cause a material deviation in the Fund’s market price from its NAV.
Management Risk. The Fund is subject to management risk as an actively-managed investment portfolio. The Adviser’s investment approach may fail to produce the intended results. If the Adviser’s implementation of the EquBot Model is inaccurate or incomplete, the Fund may not perform as expected and your investment could lose value over short or long-term periods. Additionally, the Adviser has not previously managed a Fund whose strategy relies on the use of AI, which may create additional risks for the Fund.
Natural Disaster/Epidemic Risk. Natural or environmental disasters, such as earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis and other severe weather-related phenomena generally, and widespread disease, including pandemics and epidemics, have been and may be highly disruptive to economies and markets, adversely impacting individual companies, sectors, industries, markets, currencies, interest and inflation rates, credit ratings, investor sentiment, and other factors affecting the value of the Fund’s investments. Given the increasing interdependence among global economies and markets, conditions in one country, market, or region are increasingly likely to adversely affect markets, issuers, and/or foreign exchange rates in other countries, including the U.S. Any such events could have a significant adverse impact on the value of the Fund’s investments.
Securities Lending Risk: The Fund may engage in securities lending. The Fund may lose money if the borrower of the loaned securities delays returning in a timely manner or fails to return the loaned securities. Securities lending involves the risk that the Fund could lose money in the event of a decline in the value of collateral provided for loaned securities. In addition, the Fund bears the risk of loss in connection with its investment of the cash collateral it receives from a borrower. To the extent that the value or return of the Fund’s investment of the cash collateral declines below the amount owed to the borrower, the Fund may incur losses that exceed the amount it earned on lending the security.
Performance Information
The following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows the annual return for the Fund. The table shows how the Fund’s average annual returns for one year and since inception periods compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. The Fund’s past performance, before and after taxes, is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on the Fund’s website at www.aieqetf.com.
During the period of time shown in the bar chart, the Fund’s highest return for a calendar quarter was 26.13% (quarter ended June 30, 2020) and the Fund’s lowest return for a calendar quarter was -21.05% (quarter ended March 31, 2020).
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Average Annual Total Returns (for periods ended December 31, 2020)
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1 Year
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Since Inception
10/17/2017
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AI Powered Equity ETF
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Return Before Taxes
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25.42%
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15.35%
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Return After Taxes on Distributions
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25.26%
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13.98%
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Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares
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15.10%
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11.34%
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S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
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18.40%
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14.91%
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After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown and are not relevant if you hold your shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases, the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of Fund shares at the end of the measurement period.
Investment Adviser and Sub-Adviser
ETF Managers Group LLC (the “Adviser”) serves as the investment adviser to the Fund. EquBot serves as the sub-adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers
Samuel R. Masucci, III, Chief Executive Officer of the Adviser, has been the Fund’s portfolio manager since January 2018. Frank Vallario, Chief Investment Officer of the Adviser, and Donal Bishnoi, Portfolio Manager of the Adviser, have been the Fund's portfolio manager since September 2019. Devin Ryder, Portfolio Manager of the Adviser, has been the Fund’s portfolio manager since May 2018.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
Shares are listed on 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).
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. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the Fund’s shares are not redeemable securities.
Investors may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (ask) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information about the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available on the Fund’s website at www.aieqetf.com.
Tax Information
The distributions made by the Fund are taxable, and will be taxed as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless your investment is in an IRA or other tax-advantaged account. However, subsequent withdrawals from such a tax-advantaged account may be subject to federal income tax. You should consult your tax advisor about your specific tax situation.
Financial Intermediary Compensation
If you purchase shares of the Fund 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 Fund 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.