Securities Act File No. 333-100654

Investment Company Act File No. 811-21237

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-1A REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

and/or

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

Unified Series Trust

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified In Charter)

225 Pictoria Drive, Suite 450

Cincinnati, OH 45246

(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code: (513) 587-3400

Elisabeth Dahl

Secretary

225 Pictoria Drive, Suite 450

Cincinnati, Ohio 45246

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

Copies to:

Cassandra W. Borchers, Esq.
Thompson Hine LLP

312 Walnut Street, 20^th Floor

Cincinnati, OH 45202

(513) 352-6632

It is proposed that this filing will become effective:

If appropriate check this box:

OneAscent International Equity ETF

OAIM

OneAscent Emerging Markets ETF

OAEM

Primary Listing Exchange for the Fund: NYSE Arca, Inc.

Prospectus

August 16, 2022

OneAscent Investment Solutions, LLC

23 Inverness Center Parkway

Birmingham, Alabama 35242

Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SUMMARY SECTION- ONEASCENT INTERNATIONAL EQUITY ETF

Investment Objective

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Expense Example:

Portfolio Turnover

Principal Investment Strategies

Principal Risks

Performance

Important Information

For important information about buying and selling Fund shares, tax information and payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries, please see “Additional Summary Information” on page 13.

SUMMARY SECTION- ONEASCENT EMERGING MARKETS ETF

Investment Objective

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Expense Example:

Portfolio Turnover

Principal Investment Strategies

Principal Risks

Performance

Important Information

For important information about buying and selling Fund shares, tax information and payments to broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries, please see “Additional Summary Information” on page 13.

ADDITIONAL SUMMARY INFORMATION

Portfolio Management

Investment Adviser – OneAscent Investment Solutions, LLC

Portfolio Manager

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

The Funds will issue and redeem shares at NAV only in large blocks of shares (each block of shares is called a “Creation Unit”) and only to Authorized Participants that have entered into agreements with the Funds’ distributor (the “Distributor”). Creation Units are issued and redeemed for cash and/or in-kind for securities. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the shares are not redeemable securities of a Fund.

Shares of the Funds are listed for trading on NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca” or the “Exchange”) and trade at market prices rather than NAV. Shares of a Fund may trade at a price that is greater than, at, or less than NAV. Individual shares may only be purchased and sold in secondary market transactions through brokers.

Tax Information

The Funds’ distributions are taxable and will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred account, such as a 401(k) plan, individual retirement account (IRA) or 529 college savings plan. Tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of monies from those accounts.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

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

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL EQUITY FUND’S
PRINCIPAL STRATEGIES AND RELATED RISKS

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

The Fund invests primarily in a diversified portfolio of equity securities issued by non-U.S. companies, which may include companies in emerging market countries. The Fund is not required to allocate its investments in set percentages in particular countries; however, the Fund expects to be invested in companies from at least three different countries at any given time. The Fund typically invests in medium-to-large companies based on standards of the applicable market. As of the date of this prospectus, the Adviser considers medium-to-large companies to be those with market capitalizations greater than $3 billion at the time of the initial purchase. Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets (plus borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities of non-U.S. companies, including common stocks, depositary receipts evidencing ownership of common stocks, preferred stocks, securities convertible into common stocks, and securities that carry the right to buy common stocks (e.g., rights and warrants).

Values-Based Screening. The Adviser, which actively manages the Fund, seeks to identify investments that it believes will make a positive impact on the world according to its values driven investment philosophy. The Adviser, through a combination of proprietary and third-party research and screening data, first eliminates from the investable universe companies that demonstrably and consistently harm their stakeholders. This means avoiding companies whose principal business activities and practices include:

The Adviser then seeks to elevate companies that it believes promote flourishing for their stakeholders. This means identifying companies, through proprietary research, that the Adviser believes exhibit qualities and characteristics such as:

The Adviser also considers the economic and political stability of the country where the issuer is located and the protections provided to shareholders.

All equity securities must meet, at the time of investment, both elements of the Adviser’s values-based screening requirements (i.e., all companies must both qualify to be in the Fund’s investable universe and exhibit qualities

that the Adviser believes promote flourishing for their stakeholders). If an investment no longer meets the Adviser’s screening requirements, the Adviser intends, but is not required, to sell such investment.

As part of the investment philosophy, the Adviser believes that companies go through a natural corporate life-cycle and that understanding where each company lies along the life-cycle spectrum is important to understanding its fundamental attributes. The Adviser then uses a combination of quantitative analysis and fundamental, “bottom-up” research to identify companies that the Adviser believes have the ability to generate sustainable returns on investment. The Adviser’s investment team actively invests across all parts of the life-cycle spectrum, building a diversified portfolio of high-growth, high-return, income-oriented and distressed investments.

The Fund may invest all or substantially all of its assets in cash and cash equivalents, including money market funds and other short-term fixed income investments, in seeking to protect principal, or when, in the Adviser’s opinion, there are not sufficient companies available for investment that meet the Adviser’s investment criteria. As an alternative to holding cash or cash equivalents, the Adviser may invest the Fund’s assets in shares of other investment companies, including open-end and closed-end funds and exchange traded funds (“ETFs”) (collectively, “Underlying Funds”) in order for the Fund to be more fully invested in the markets.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE EMERGING MARKETS FUND’S
PRINCIPAL STRATEGIES AND RELATED RISKS

Investment Objective

The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund

The Fund invests primarily in a diversified portfolio of equity securities issued by non-U.S. companies in emerging market countries as defined by the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. The Fund is not required to allocate its investments in set percentages in particular countries; however, the Fund expects to be invested in companies from at least three different emerging market countries at any given time. The Fund typically invests in companies with market capitalizations greater than $1 billion at the time of the initial purchase. Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets (plus borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities of non-U.S. companies in emerging market countries, including common stocks, depositary receipts evidencing ownership of common stocks, preferred stocks, securities convertible into common stocks, and securities that carry the right to buy common stocks (e.g., rights and warrants).

Values-Based Screening. The Adviser, which actively manages the Fund, seeks to identify investments that it believes will make a positive impact on the world according to its values driven investment philosophy. The Adviser, through a combination of proprietary and third-party research and screening data, first eliminates from the investable universe companies that demonstrably and consistently harm their stakeholders. This means avoiding companies whose principal business activities and practices include:

The Adviser then seeks to elevate companies that it believes promote flourishing for their stakeholders. This means identifying companies, through proprietary research, that the Adviser believes exhibit qualities and characteristics such as:

The Adviser also considers the economic and political stability of the country where the issuer is located and the protections provided to shareholders.

All equity securities must meet, at the time of investment, both elements of the Adviser’s values-based screening requirements (i.e., all companies must both qualify to be in the Fund’s investable universe and exhibit qualities that the Adviser believes promote flourishing for their stakeholders). If an investment no longer meets the Adviser’s screening requirements, the Adviser intends, but is not required, to sell such investment.

As part of the investment philosophy, the Adviser believes that companies go through a natural corporate life-cycle and that understanding where each company lies along the life-cycle spectrum is important to understanding its fundamental attributes. The Adviser utilizes a combination of quantitative analysis and fundamental, “bottom-up” research to identify companies that the Adviser believes have the ability to generate sustainable returns on investment. The Adviser’s investment team actively invests across all parts of the life-cycle spectrum, building a diversified portfolio of high-growth, high-return, income-oriented and distressed investments.

The Fund may invest all or substantially all of its assets in cash and cash equivalents, including money market funds and other short-term fixed income investments, in seeking to protect principal, or when, in the Adviser’s opinion, there are not sufficient companies available for investment that meet the Adviser’s investment criteria. As an alternative to holding cash or cash equivalents, the Adviser may invest the Fund’s assets in shares of other investment companies, including open-end and closed-end funds and exchange traded funds (“ETFs”) (collectively, “Underlying Funds”) in order for the Fund to be more fully invested in the markets.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR EACH FUND

Principal Risks of Investing in the Funds

All investments involve risks, and a Fund cannot guarantee that it will achieve its investment objective. An investment in a Fund is not insured or guaranteed by any government agency. A Fund’s returns and share price will fluctuate, and you may lose money by investing in the Fund. Therefore, you should consider carefully the following risks before investing in a Fund.

assurance that any hedging will be successful. In addition, if the Adviser attempts to profit on anticipated currency movements, there is a risk of losses to the extent the Adviser does not correctly anticipate such movements.

the issuing company depending upon a market price advance in the convertible security’s underlying common stock.

restrictions and limitations imposed by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the Internal Revenue Code, that do not apply to the Adviser’s management of other types of individual and institutional accounts.

Changes in Investment Objective or Policies

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

Temporary Defensive Positions

In response to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions, the Funds may take temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with the respective Fund’s principal investment strategies, such as investing some or all of the Fund’s assets in cash or cash equivalents. The Funds may also choose not to use these temporary defensive strategies for a variety of reasons, even in volatile market conditions. Engaging in these temporary defensive measures may cause a Fund to miss out on investment opportunities and may prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective. While temporary defensive positions are designed to limit losses, these strategies may not work as intended.

Portfolio Holdings

A description of the policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Funds’ portfolio securities is available in the Funds’ Statement of Additional Information.

Cybersecurity

The computer systems, networks and devices used by the Fund and its service providers to carry out routine business operations employ a variety of protections designed to prevent damage or interruption from computer viruses, network failures, computer and telecommunication failures, infiltration by unauthorized persons and security breaches. Despite the various protections utilized by the Fund and its service providers, systems, networks, or devices potentially can be breached. The Fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result of a cybersecurity breach. Cybersecurity breaches can include unauthorized access to systems, networks, or devices; infection from computer viruses or other malicious software code; and attacks that shut down, disable, slow, or otherwise disrupt operations, business processes, or website access or

functionality. Cybersecurity breaches may cause disruptions and impact the Fund’s business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses; interference with the Fund’s ability to calculate its net asset value; impediments to trading; the inability of the Fund, the Adviser, and other service providers to transact business; violations of applicable privacy and other laws; regulatory fines; penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, or additional compliance costs; as well as the inadvertent release of confidential information.

ACCOUNT INFORMATION

How to Buy and Sell Shares

Only certain financial institutions such as registered broker-dealers and banks that have entered into agreements with the Funds’ Distributor (“Authorized Participants” or “APs”) may acquire shares directly from a Fund and tender their shares for redemption directly to the Fund. Such purchases and redemptions are made at NAV per share and only in large blocks, or Creation Units, of shares. Purchases and redemptions directly with a Fund must follow the Fund’s procedures, which are described in the SAI.

A creation transaction, which is subject to acceptance by a Fund’s Distributor and the Fund, generally takes place when an AP deposits into the Fund a designated portfolio of securities (“Deposit Securities”) (including any portion of such securities for which cash may be substituted) and a specified amount of cash approximating the holdings of the Fund in exchange for a specified number of Creation Units. The composition of such portfolio generally corresponds pro rata to the holdings of the Fund. However, the Fund may, in certain circumstances, offer Creation Units partially or solely for cash. Similarly, shares can be redeemed only in Creation Units, generally for a designated portfolio of securities (including any portion of such securities for which cash may be substituted) held by the Fund and a specified amount of cash. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, shares are not redeemable. The prices at which creations and redemptions occur are based on the next calculation of NAV after a creation or redemption order is received in an acceptable form under the AP agreement.

Each Fund charges APs standard creation and redemption transaction fees to offset transfer and other transaction costs associated with the issuance and redemption of Creation Units. The standard creation and redemption transaction fees are set forth in the table below. The standard creation transaction fee is charged to the AP on the day such AP creates a Creation Unit and is the same regardless of the number of Creation Units purchased by the AP on the applicable business day. Similarly, the standard redemption transaction fee is charged to the AP on the day such AP redeems a Creation Unit and is the same regardless of the number of Creation Units redeemed by the AP on the applicable business day. Creations and redemptions for cash (when cash creations and redemptions (in whole or in part) are available or specified) are also subject to an additional charge (up to the maximum amounts shown in the table below). This charge is intended to compensate for brokerage, tax, foreign exchange, execution, price movement and other costs and expenses related to cash transactions (which may, in certain instances, be based on a good faith estimate of transaction costs).

The Transaction Fees for each Fund are listed in the table below.

Each Fund reserves the right to make redemptions of shares for cash.

Shares of the Funds will be listed for trading on NYSE Arca. The trading symbols for the Funds are shown on the cover page of this prospectus. Share prices are reported in dollars and cents per share. Shares can be bought and sold on the secondary market throughout the trading day like other publicly traded shares and shares typically trade in blocks of less than a Creation Unit. Shares may only be purchased and sold on the secondary market when the Exchange is open for trading. The Exchange is open for trading Monday through Friday and is closed on weekends and the following holidays, as observed: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

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 offered price in the secondary market on each leg of a round trip (purchase and sale) transaction.

A Fund may liquidate and terminate at any time without shareholder approval.

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 of the Fund and is recognized as the owner of all shares for all purposes.

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. Participants in DTC 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” form.

Frequent Purchases And Redemptions Of Fund Shares

A Fund’s shares can only be purchased and redeemed directly from the Fund in Creation Units by APs, and the vast majority of trading in the Fund’s shares occurs on the secondary market. Because the secondary market trades do not directly involve the Fund, it is unlikely those trades would cause the harmful effects of market timing, including dilution, disruption of portfolio management, increases in the Fund’s trading costs and the realization of capital gains. With regard to the purchase or redemption of Creation Units directly with a Fund, to the extent effected in-kind (i.e., for securities), those trades do not cause the harmful effects that may result from frequent cash trades. To the extent trades are effected in whole or in part in cash, those trades could result in dilution to the Fund and increased transaction costs, which could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. However, direct trading by APs is critical to ensuring that the Fund’s shares trade at or close to NAV. Each Fund also employs fair valuation pricing to minimize potential dilution from market timing. In addition, each Fund imposes transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Fund shares to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by the Fund in effecting trades. These fees increase if an investor substitutes cash in part or in whole for securities, reflecting the fact that the Fund’s trading costs increase in those circumstances. Given this structure, the Trust has determined that it is not necessary to adopt policies and procedures to detect and deter market timing of the Funds’ shares.

Determination of Net Asset Value

The NAV of the shares of a Fund is calculated at the close of trading (normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on each day the New York Stock Exchange is open for business. The NAV is calculated by dividing the value of its total assets (including interest and dividends accrued but not received) minus liabilities (including accrued expenses) by the total number of shares outstanding. Requests to purchase and sell shares are processed at the applicable NAV next calculated after a Fund receives your order in proper form.

A Fund’s assets generally are valued at their market value. Securities that are traded on any exchange or on the NASDAQ over-the-counter market are valued at the closing price reported by the exchange on which the securities are traded. If market quotations are not available or do not reflect a fair value, or if an event occurs after the close of the trading market but before the calculation of the NAV that materially affects the value, then the assets may be valued by the Adviser at a fair value as determined in good faith by the Adviser pursuant to guidelines established by the Board. When pricing securities using the fair value guidelines established by the Board, the Adviser seeks to assign a value that represents the amount that the applicable Fund might reasonably expect to receive upon a current sale of the securities.

Without fair value pricing, short-term traders could take advantage of the arbitrage opportunity and dilute the NAV of long-term investors. Fair valuation of a Fund’s portfolio securities can serve to reduce arbitrage opportunities available to short-term traders. However, there is no assurance that fair value pricing policies will prevent dilution of a Fund’s NAV by short-term traders, or that a Fund will realize fair valuation upon the sale of a security. A Fund may invest in portfolio securities that are listed on foreign exchanges that trade on weekends or other days when a Fund does not price its shares and, as a result, the NAV of a Fund’s shares may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or redeem the Fund’s shares.

Given the subjectivity inherent in fair valuation and the fact that events could occur after NAV calculation, the actual market prices for a security may differ from the fair value of that security as determined by the Adviser at the time of NAV calculation. Thus, discrepancies between fair values and actual market prices may occur on a regular and recurring basis. These discrepancies do not necessarily indicate that the Adviser’s fair value methodology is inappropriate. A Fund’s Adviser will adjust the fair values assigned to securities in the Fund’s portfolio, to the extent necessary, as soon as market prices become available.

Premium/Discount Information

Most investors will buy and sell shares of a Fund in secondary market transactions through brokers at market prices and the Fund’s shares will trade at market prices. The market price of shares of a Fund may be greater than, equal to, or less than NAV. Market forces of supply and demand, economic conditions and other factors may affect the trading prices of shares of the Fund.

Information regarding how often the shares of a Fund traded at a price above (at a premium to) or below (at a discount to) the NAV of the Fund during the past four calendar quarters, when available, can be found at www.nightshares.com.

Dividends, Distributions and Taxes

Ordinarily, dividends from net investment income, if any, are declared and paid annually by each Fund. Each Fund distributes its net realized capital gains, if any, to shareholders annually.

Distributions in cash may be reinvested automatically in additional whole shares only if the broker through whom you purchased shares makes such option available.

Taxes

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

Unless your investment in shares is made through a tax-exempt entity or tax-deferred retirement account, such as an individual retirement account, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when:

Taxes on Distributions

As stated above, dividends from net investment income, if any, ordinarily are declared and paid annually by each Fund. A Fund may also pay a special distribution at the end of a calendar year to comply with federal tax requirements. Distributions from each Fund’s net investment income, including net short-term capital gains, if any, are taxable to you as ordinary income, except that each Fund’s dividends attributable to its “qualified dividend income” (i.e., dividends received on stock of most domestic and certain foreign corporations with respect to which the Fund satisfies certain holding period and other restrictions), if any, generally are subject to federal income tax for non-corporate shareholders who satisfy those restrictions with respect to their Fund shares at the rate for net capital gain. A part of each Fund’s dividends also may be eligible for the dividends-received deduction allowed to corporations -- the eligible portion may not exceed the aggregate dividends each Fund receives from domestic corporations subject to federal income tax (excluding REITs) and excludes dividends from foreign corporations -- subject to similar restrictions. However, dividends a corporate shareholder deducts pursuant to that deduction are subject indirectly to the federal alternative minimum tax.

In general, your distributions are subject to federal income tax when they are paid, whether you take them in cash or reinvest them in the Fund (if that option is available). Distributions reinvested in additional shares of the Fund through the means of a dividend reinvestment service, if available, will be taxable to shareholders acquiring the additional shares to the same extent as if such distributions had been received in cash. Distributions of net long-term capital gains, if any, in excess of net short-term capital losses are taxable as long-term capital gains, regardless of how long you have held the shares.

Distributions in excess of a Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits are treated as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of your basis in the shares and as capital gain thereafter. A distribution will reduce a Fund’s NAV per share and may be taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gain (as described above) even though, from an investment standpoint, the distribution may constitute a return of capital.

By law, each Fund is required to withhold 28% of your distributions and redemption proceeds if you have not provided the Fund with a correct social security number or other taxpayer identification number and in certain other situations.

Taxes on Exchange-Listed Share Sales

Any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale of shares is generally treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than one year and as short-term capital gain or loss if the shares have been held for one year or less. The ability to deduct capital losses from sales of shares may be limited.

Taxes on Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units

An AP who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or a loss equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time of the exchange and the sum of the exchanger’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered plus any Cash Component it pays. An AP who exchanges Creation Units for securities will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanger’s basis in the Creation Units and the sum of the aggregate market value of the securities received plus any cash equal to the difference between the NAV of the shares being redeemed and the value of the securities. The Internal Revenue Service (“Service”), however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales” or for other reasons. 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 the shares have been held for more than one year and as short-term capital gain or loss if the shares have been held for one year or less.

If you purchase or redeem Creation Units, you will be sent a confirmation statement showing how many shares you purchased or sold and at what price. See “Tax Status” in the SAI for a description of the newly effective requirement regarding basis determination methods applicable to Share redemptions and each Fund’s obligation to report basis information to the Service.

The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the possible consequences under current federal tax law of an investment in the Fund. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. Consult your personal tax advisor about the potential tax consequences of an investment in the shares under all applicable tax laws. See “Tax Status” in the SAI for more information.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT MANAGEMENT OF THE FUNDS

Adviser

OneAscent Investment Solutions, LLC (the “Adviser”), located at 23 Inverness Center Parkway, Birmingham, Alabama 35242, serves as the investment adviser to the Funds. The Adviser is a registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and provides investment advisory services to the Funds. As of July 31, 2022, the Adviser had approximately $892 million in assets under management.

For its investment advisory services, the Adviser is paid a fee at the annual rate of 0.74% of the average daily net assets of the International Equity Fund and 0.74% of the average daily net assets of the Emerging Markets Fund. The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive its management fee and/or to reimburse certain operating expenses of each Fund, but only to the extent necessary so that the Funds’ total annual operating expenses, excluding portfolio transaction and other investment-related costs (including brokerage fees and commissions); taxes; borrowing costs (such as interest and dividend expenses on securities sold short); acquired fund fees and expenses; fees and expenses associated with investments in other collective investment vehicles or derivative instruments (including for example option and swap fees and expenses); any administrative and/or shareholder servicing fees payable pursuant to a plan adopted by the Board; expenses incurred in connection with any merger or reorganization; extraordinary expenses (such as litigation expenses, indemnification of Trust officers and Trustees and contractual indemnification of Fund service providers); and other expenses that the Trustees agree have not been incurred in the ordinary course of the Funds’ business, do not exceed 0.95% of the International Equity Fund, and 1.25% of the Emerging Markets Fund. The contractual agreement is in place through December 31, 2023. Each waiver/expense payment by the Adviser is subject to recoupment by the Adviser from the Fund in the three years following the date the particular waiver/expense payment occurred, but only if such recoupment

can be achieved without exceeding the annual expense limitation in effect at the time of the waiver/expense payment and any expense limitation in effect at the time of the recoupment.

A discussion of the factors that the Board considered in approving the management agreements for the Funds will be included in the Funds’ semi-annual report to shareholders for the period ending February 28, 2023.

Portfolio Manager

The investment decisions for the Funds are made by Mr. Andrew Manton. Andrew Manton has served as Portfolio Manager of the Funds since the Funds’ inception. Mr. Manton joined the Adviser in 2021 after serving as a Portfolio Manager at Shelton Capital Management (“SCM”) since July 2016. Prior to his affiliation with SCM, Mr. Manton served as a Senior Portfolio Manager at WHV. Prior to his affiliation with WHV, Mr. Manton was a Senior Research Analyst and a member of the Large Cap Global Equities team at Victory Capital Management, and an analyst in both the fundamental Active Equities and Quantitative Strategies groups at Deutsche Asset Management. He has a BS in Finance from the University of Illinois at Chicago and an MBA with a concentration in Quantitative Finance and Accounting from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University.

The Funds’ Statement of Additional Information provides additional information about the Funds’ Portfolio Manager, including his compensation, other accounts that he manages, and ownership of Fund shares.

DISCLAIMERS

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

FOR MORE INFORMATION

You can find additional information about the Fund in the following documents:

Annual and Semi-Annual Reports: While the prospectus describes each Fund’s potential investments, the Annual and Semi-Annual Reports detail each Fund’s actual investments as of their report dates. The Funds’ Annual Report includes a discussion by Fund management of market conditions, economic trends, and investment strategies that significantly affected each Fund’s performance during the reporting period.

Statement of Additional Information (SAI): The SAI supplements the prospectus and contains additional information about the Funds and their investment restrictions, risks, policies and operations, including the Funds’ policies and procedures relating to the disclosure of portfolio holdings by the Funds’ affiliates. A current SAI for the Funds is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission and is incorporated into this prospectus by reference, which means it is considered part of this prospectus.

How to Obtain Copies of Other Fund Documents

You can obtain free copies of the Funds’ current SAI and Annual and Semi-Annual Reports, and request other information about the Funds or make shareholder inquiries, in any of the following ways:

On the Internet: Download these documents from the Fund’s website at investments.oneascent.com.

By Telephone: Call the Adviser at 1-800-222-8274.

By Mail: Send a written request to:

OneAscent ETFs

OneAscent Investment Solutions, LLC

23 Inverness Center Parkway

Birmingham, AL 35242

Information about the Funds (including the SAI and other reports) is available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s website at https://www.sec.gov, and copies of this information may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov.

Investment Company Act #811-21237

OneAscent International Equity ETF

OAIM

OneAscent Emerging Markets ETF

OAEM

Each a Series of Unified Series Trust

Listed and traded on:

the NYSE Arca, Inc.

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

August 16, 2022

This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) provides general information about the OneAscent International Equity ETF (the “International Equity Fund”) and the OneAscent Emerging Markets ETF (the “Emerging Markets Fund”) (each a “Fund” and together, the “Funds”). This SAI is not a prospectus and should be read in conjunction with the Funds’ current prospectus dated August 16, 2022 (the “Prospectus”). To obtain a copy of the Prospectus, free of charge, please write to OneAscent Investment Solutions, LLC (the “Adviser”) at 23 Inverness Center Parkway, Birmingham, AL 35242, call the Adviser at 1-800-222-8274, or visit the Funds’ website at investments.oneascent.com.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST AND FUNDS

The Funds were organized as diversified series of Unified Series Trust (the “Trust”) on May 20, 2022. The Trust is an open-end investment company established under the laws of Ohio by an Agreement and Declaration of Trust dated October 14, 2002, as amended (the “Trust Agreement”). The Trust Agreement permits the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) to issue an unlimited number of shares of beneficial interest of separate series without par value. The Funds are two of a series of funds currently authorized by the Board. The investment adviser to the Funds is OneAscent Investment Solutions, LLC (the “Adviser”).

The Funds issue and redeem shares solely to certain financial institutions such as registered broker-dealers and banks that have entered into agreements with the Funds’ distributor (“Authorized Participants” or “APs”) on a continuous basis at net asset value per share (“NAV”) in aggregations of a specified number of shares called “Creation Units.” Creation Units generally are issued in exchange for a basket of securities (“Deposit Securities”), together with the deposit of a specified cash payment (“Balancing Amount”). Shares are not individually redeemable, but are redeemable only in Creation Unit aggregations, and generally in exchange for portfolio securities and a specified cash payment. A Creation Unit of a Fund consists of a block of shares.

Shares are listed and traded on NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca” or the “Exchange”). Shares trade in the secondary market at market prices that may differ from the shares’ NAV. Other than Authorized Participants, investors will not be able to purchase or redeem shares directly with or from the Funds. Instead, most investors will buy and sell shares in the secondary market through a broker.

Each share of a series represents an equal proportionate interest in the assets and liabilities belonging to that series with each other share of that series and is entitled to such dividends and distributions out of income belonging to the series as are declared by the Board. Each share has the same voting and other rights and preferences as any other shares of any series of the Trust with respect to matters that affect the Trust as a whole. The shares do not have cumulative voting rights or any preemptive or conversion rights, and the Board has the authority from time to time to divide or combine the shares of any open-end series into a greater or lesser number of shares of that series so long as the proportionate beneficial interest in the assets belonging to that series and the rights of shares of any other series are in no way affected. In case of any liquidation of a series, the holders of shares of the series being liquidated will be entitled to receive as a class a distribution out of the assets, net of the liabilities, belonging to that series. Expenses attributable to any series are borne by that series. Any general expenses of the Trust not readily identifiable as belonging to a particular series are allocated by or under the direction of the Board in such manner as the Board determines to be fair and equitable. No shareholder is liable to further calls or to assessment by the Trust without his or her express consent.

Under the Trust Agreement, each Trustee will continue in office until the termination of the Trust or his/her earlier death, incapacity, resignation or removal. Shareholders can remove a Trustee to the extent provided by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. Vacancies may be filled by a majority of the remaining Trustees, except insofar as the 1940 Act may require the election by shareholders. As a result, normally no annual or regular meetings of shareholders will be held unless matters arise requiring a vote of shareholders under the Trust Agreement or the 1940 Act. Any Trustee of the Trust may be removed by vote of the shareholders holding not less than two-thirds of the outstanding shares of the Trust. When matters are submitted to shareholders for a vote, each shareholder is entitled to one vote for each whole share he or she owns and fractional votes for fractional shares he or she owns. All shares of each Fund have equal voting rights and liquidation rights. The Trust Agreement can be amended by the Board, except that certain amendments that could adversely affect the rights of shareholders must be approved by the shareholders affected. All shares of the Funds are subject to involuntary redemption if the Board determines to liquidate a Fund. A Fund will provide notice to the shareholders if the Board determines, in its sole judgment, to liquidate the Fund, but the Fund will not be required to obtain

shareholder approval prior to such liquidation. An involuntary redemption will create a capital gain or a capital loss, which may have tax consequences about which you should consult your tax adviser.

For information concerning the purchase and sale of shares of the Funds, see “How to Buy and Sell Shares” in the Funds’ Prospectus and in this SAI. For a description of the methods used to determine the share price and value of a Fund’s assets, see “Determination of Net Asset Value” in the Funds’ Prospectus and in this SAI.

The performance of a Fund may be compared in publications to the performance of various indices and investments for which reliable performance data is available. The performance of a Fund may be compared in publications to averages, performance rankings, or other information prepared by recognized investment company statistical services. The Funds’ annual report contains additional performance information and will be made available to investors upon request and without charge.

HOW TO BUY AND SELL SHARES

Creation Units

Each Fund will issue and redeem shares at NAV only in aggregations of large blocks of shares or Creation Units and only to Authorized Participants. In order to be an Authorized Participant the firm must be either a broker-dealer or other participant (“Participating Party”) in the Continuous Settlement System (“Clearing Process”) of the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”) or a participant in DTC with access to the DTC system (“DTC Participant”), and the firm must execute an agreement (“Participant Agreement”) with Northern Lights Distributors, LLC, the Funds’ distributor (the “Distributor”) that governs transactions in the Fund’s Creation Units.

Each Fund sells and redeems Creation Units on a continuous basis through the Distributor, without a sales load, at the NAV next determined after receipt of an order in proper form on any day on which the New York Stock Exchange is open for business. The New York Stock Exchange is closed on Saturdays, Sundays and the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Each Fund will issue and redeem Creation Units principally in exchange for an in-kind deposit of a basket of designated securities (the “Deposit Securities”), together with the deposit of a specified cash payment (the “Cash Component”), plus a transaction fee. Each Fund is expected to be approved for listing, subject to notice of issuance, on NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”). Shares will trade on the Exchange at market prices that may be below, at, or above NAV. In the event of the liquidation of a Fund, a share split, reverse split or the like, the Trust may revise the number of shares in a Creation Unit.

Each Fund reserves the right to offer creations and redemptions of shares for cash.

Exchange Listing and Trading

Shares of each Fund are available to the public on the NYSE Arca and trade at market prices rather than NAV. Shares of a Fund may trade at a price that is greater than, at, or less than NAV. There can be no assurance that the requirements of the NYSE Arca necessary to maintain the listing of shares of a Fund will continue to be met. The NYSE Arca may, but is not required to, remove the shares of a Fund from listing if, among other things: (i) following the initial 12-month period beginning upon the commencement of trading of Fund shares, there are fewer than 50 record and/or beneficial owners of shares of the Fund for 30 or more consecutive trading days, or (ii) any other event shall occur or condition shall exist that, in the opinion of the NYSE Arca, makes further dealings on the NYSE Arca inadvisable. The NYSE Arca will also remove shares of a Fund from listing and trading upon termination of the Fund.

As in the case of other publicly-traded securities, when you buy or sell shares of a Fund through a broker, you may incur a brokerage commission determined by that broker, as well as other charges.

Transaction Fees

A fixed fee payable to the Custodian is imposed on each creation and redemption transaction regardless of the number of Creation Units involved in the transaction (“Fixed Fee”). Purchases and redemptions of Creation Units for cash or involving cash-in-lieu (as defined below) incur an additional variable charge to compensate a Fund and its ongoing shareholders for brokerage and market impact expenses relating to Creation Unit transactions (“Variable Charge,” and together with the Fixed Fee, the “Transaction Fees”). With the approval of the Board, the Adviser may waive or adjust the Transaction Fees, including the Fixed Fee and/or Variable Charge (shown in the table below), from time to time. In such cases, the Authorized Participant will reimburse the Fund for, among other things, any difference between the market value at which the securities and/or financial instruments were purchased by the Fund and the cash-in-lieu amount, applicable registration fees, brokerage commissions and certain taxes. In addition, purchasers of Creation Units are responsible for the costs of transferring the Deposit Securities to the account of the Fund.

Investors who use the services of a broker, or other such intermediary may be charged a fee for such services. The Transaction Fees for each Fund are listed in the table below.

The Clearing Process

Transactions by an Authorized Participant that is a Participating Party using the NSCC system are referred to as transactions “through the Clearing Process.” Transactions by an Authorized Participant that is a DTC Participant using the DTC system are referred to as transactions “outside the Clearing Process.” The Clearing Process is an enhanced clearing process that is available only for certain securities and only to DTC participants that are also participants in the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC. In-kind (portions of) purchase orders not subject to the Clearing Process will go through a manual clearing process run by DTC. Portfolio Deposits that include government securities must be delivered through the Federal Reserve Bank wire transfer system (“Federal Reserve System”). Fund Deposits that include cash may be delivered through the Clearing Process or the Federal Reserve System. In-kind deposits of securities for orders outside the Clearing Process must be delivered through the Federal Reserve System (for government securities) or through DTC (for corporate securities).

Purchasing Creation Units

Portfolio Deposit

The consideration for a Creation Unit generally consists of the Deposit Securities and a Cash Component. Together, the Deposit Securities and the Cash Component constitute the “Portfolio Deposit.” The Cash Component serves the function of compensating for any differences between the net asset value per Creation Unit and the Deposit Securities. Thus, the Cash Component is equal to the difference between (x) the net asset value per Creation Unit of the Fund and (y) the market value of the Deposit Securities. If (x) is more than (y), the Authorized Participant will pay the Cash Component to the Fund. If (x) is less than (y), the Authorized Participant will receive the Cash Component from the Fund.

On each Business Day, prior to the opening of business on the NYSE Arca (currently 9:30 a.m., Eastern Time), the Adviser through the Custodian makes available through NSCC the name and amount of each Deposit Security in the current Portfolio Deposit (based on information at the end of the previous Business Day) for each Fund and the (estimated) Cash Component, effective through and including the previous Business Day, per Creation Unit. The Deposit Securities announced are applicable to purchases of Creation Units until the next announcement of Deposit Securities.

Payment of any stamp duty or the like shall be the sole responsibility of the Authorized Participant purchasing a Creation Unit. The Authorized Participant must ensure that all Deposit Securities properly denote change in beneficial ownership.

Custom Orders and Cash-in-lieu

Each Fund may, in its sole discretion, permit or require the substitution of an amount of cash (“cash-in-lieu”) to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Deposit Security. A Fund may permit or require cash-in-lieu when, for example, a Deposit Security may not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery or may not be eligible for transfer through the systems of DTC or the Clearing Process. Similarly, a Fund may permit or require cash in lieu of Deposit Securities when, for example, the Authorized Participant or its underlying investor is restricted under U.S. or local securities laws or policies from transacting in one or more Deposit Securities. Each Fund will comply with the federal securities laws in accepting Deposit Securities including that the Deposit Securities are sold in transactions that would be exempt from registration under the Securities Act. All orders involving cash-in-lieu are considered to be “Custom Orders.”

Purchase Orders

An Authorized Participant must submit an irrevocable purchase order in proper form to the Distributor or its agent no later than the earlier of (i) 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time or (ii) the closing time of the bond markets and/or the trading session on the Exchange, on any Business Day in order to receive that Business Day’s NAV (“Cut-off Time”). The Cut-off Time for Custom Orders is generally two hours earlier. The Business Day the order is deemed received by the Distributor is referred to as the “Transmittal Date.” An order to create Creation Units is deemed received on a Business Day if (i) such order is received by the Distributor by the Cut-off Time on such day and (ii) all other procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement are properly followed. Persons placing or effectuating custom orders and/or orders involving cash should be mindful of time deadlines imposed by intermediaries, such as DTC and/or the Federal Reserve Bank wire system, which may impact the successful processing of such orders to ensure that cash and securities are transferred by the “Settlement Date,” which is generally the Business Day immediately following the Transmittal Date (“T+1”) for cash and the third Business Day following the Transmittal Date for securities (“T+3”).

Orders Using the Clearing Process

If available, (portions of) orders may be settled through the Clearing Process. In connection with such orders, the Distributor transmits, on behalf of the Authorized Participant, such trade instructions as are necessary to effect the creation order. Pursuant to such trade instructions, the Authorized Participant agrees to deliver the requisite Portfolio Deposit to the Fund, together with such additional information as may be required by the Distributor. Cash Components will be delivered using either the Clearing Process or the Federal Reserve System.

Orders Outside the Clearing Process

If the Clearing Process is not available for (portions of) an order, Portfolio Deposits will be made outside the Clearing Process. Orders outside the Clearing Process must state that the DTC Participant is not using the Clearing Process and that the creation of Creation Units will be effected through DTC. The Portfolio Deposit transfer must be ordered by the DTC Participant on the Transmittal Date in a timely fashion so as to ensure the delivery of Deposit Securities

(whether standard or custom) through DTC to the Fund account by 11:00 a.m., Eastern time, on T+1. The Cash Component, along with any cash-in-lieu and Transaction Fee, must be transferred directly to the Custodian through the Federal Reserve System in a timely manner so as to be received by the Custodian no later than 12:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on T+1. If the Custodian does not receive both the Deposit Securities and the cash by the appointed time, the order may be canceled. A canceled order may be resubmitted the following Business Day but must conform to that Business Day’s Portfolio Deposit. Authorized Participants that submit a canceled order will be liable to the Fund for any losses incurred by the Fund in connection therewith.

Orders involving foreign Deposit Securities are expected to be settled outside the Clearing Process. Thus, upon receipt of an irrevocable purchase order, the Distributor will notify the Adviser and the Custodian of such order. The Custodian, who will have caused the appropriate local sub-custodian(s) of the applicable Fund to maintain an account into which an Authorized Participant may deliver Deposit Securities (or cash -in-lieu), with adjustments determined by the Fund, will then provide information of the order to such local sub-custodian(s). The ordering Authorized Participant will then deliver the Deposit Securities (and any cash-in-lieu) to the applicable Fund’s account at the applicable local sub-custodian. The Authorized Participant must also make available on or before the contractual settlement date, by means satisfactory to the applicable Fund, immediately available or same day funds in U.S. dollars estimated by the Fund to be sufficient to pay the Cash Component and Transaction Fee. When a relevant local market is closed due to local market holidays, the local market settlement process will not commence until the end of the local holiday period. Settlement must occur by 2:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on the contractual settlement date.

Acceptance of Purchase Order

All questions as to the number of shares of each security in the Deposit Securities and the validity, form, eligibility and acceptance for deposit of any securities to be delivered shall be determined by the applicable Fund. A Fund’s determination shall be final and binding.

Each Fund reserves the right to reject or revoke acceptance of a purchase order transmitted to it by the Distributor if (a) the order is not in proper form; (b) the investor(s), upon obtaining the shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding shares of the Fund; (c) the Deposit Securities delivered do not conform to the Deposit Securities for the applicable date; (d) the acceptance of the Portfolio Deposit would, in the opinion of counsel, be unlawful; or (e) in the event that circumstances outside the control of the Trust, the Distributor and the Adviser make it for all practical purposes impossible to process purchase orders. Examples of such circumstances include acts of God; public service or utility problems resulting in telephone, telecopy or computer failures; fires, floods or extreme weather conditions; market conditions or activities causing trading halts; systems failures involving computer or other informational systems affecting the Trust, the Distributor, DTC, NSCC, the Adviser, the Fund’s Custodian, a sub-custodian or any other participant in the creation process; and similar extraordinary events. The Distributor shall notify an Authorized Participant of its rejection of the order. The Fund, the Custodian, any sub-custodian and the Distributor are under no duty, however, to give notification of any defects or irregularities in the delivery of Portfolio Deposits, and they shall not incur any liability for the failure to give any such notification.

Issuance of a Creation Unit

Once a Fund has accepted an order, upon next determination of the Fund’s NAV, the Fund will confirm the issuance of a Creation Unit, against receipt of payment, at such NAV. The Distributor will transmit a confirmation of acceptance to the Authorized Participant that placed the order.

Except as provided below, a Creation Unit will not be issued until the Fund obtains good title to the Deposit Securities and the Cash Component, along with any cash-in-lieu and Transaction Fee. Except as otherwise provided, the delivery of Creation Units will generally occur no later than T+2.

In certain cases, Authorized Participants will create and redeem Creation Units on the same trade date. In these instances, the Trust reserves the right to settle these transactions on a net basis.

A Fund may issue a Creation Unit prior to receiving good title to the Deposit Securities, under the following circumstances. Pursuant to the applicable Participant Agreement, a Fund may issue a Creation Unit notwithstanding that (certain) Deposit Securities have not been delivered, in reliance on an undertaking by the relevant Authorized Participant to deliver the missing Deposit Securities as soon as possible, which undertaking is secured by such Authorized Participant’s delivery to and maintenance with the Custodian of collateral having a value equal to at least 115% of the value of the missing Deposit Securities (“Collateral”), as adjusted by time to time by the Adviser. Such Collateral will have a value greater than the NAV of the Creation Unit on the date the order is placed. Such collateral must be delivered no later than 2:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on T+1. The only Collateral that is acceptable to the Funds is cash in U.S. Dollars.

While (certain) Deposit Securities remain undelivered, the Collateral shall at all times have a value equal to at least 115% (as adjusted by the Adviser) of the daily marked-to-market value of the missing Deposit Securities. At any time, a Fund may use the Collateral to purchase the missing securities, and the Authorized Participant will be liable to the Fund for any costs incurred thereby or losses resulting therefrom, whether or not they exceed the amount of the Collateral, including any Transaction Fee, any amount by which the purchase price of the missing Deposit Securities exceeds the market value of such securities on the Transmittal Date, brokerage and other transaction costs. The Trust will return any unused Collateral once all of the missing securities have been received by the Fund. More information regarding the Funds’ current procedures for collateralization is available from the Distributor.

Cash Purchase Method

When cash purchases of Creation Units are available or specified for a Fund, they will be effected in essentially the same manner as in-kind purchases In the case of a cash purchase, the investor must pay the cash equivalent of the Portfolio Deposit. In addition, cash purchases will be subject to Transaction Fees, as described above.

Redeeming a Creation Unit

Redemption Basket

The consideration received in connection with the redemption of a Creation Unit generally consists of an in-kind basket of designated securities (“Redemption Securities”) and a Cash Component. Together, the Redemption Securities and the Cash Component constitute the “Redemption Basket.”

There can be no assurance that there will be sufficient liquidity in Shares in the secondary market to permit assembly of a Creation Unit. In addition, investors may incur brokerage and other costs in connection with assembling a Creation Unit.

The Cash Component serves the function of compensating for any differences between the net asset value per Creation Unit and the Redemption Securities. Thus, the Cash Component is equal to the difference between (x) the net asset value per Creation Unit of the applicable Fund and (y) the market value of the Redemption Securities. If (x) is more than (y), the Authorized Participant will receive the Cash Component from the Fund. If (x) is less than (y), the Authorized Participant will pay the Cash Component to the applicable Fund.

If the Redemption Securities on a Business Day are different from the Deposit Securities, prior to the opening of business on the NYSE Arca (currently 9:30 a.m., Eastern Time), the Adviser through the Custodian makes available through NSCC the name and amount of each Redemption Security in the current Redemption Basket (based on information at the end of the previous Business Day) for the applicable Fund and the (estimated) Cash Component, effective through and including the previous Business Day, per Creation Unit. If the Redemption Securities on a

Business Day are different from the Deposit Securities, all redemption requests that day will be processed outside the Clearing Process.

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

Custom Redemptions and Cash-in-lieu

Each Fund may, in its sole discretion, permit or require the substitution of cash-in-lieu to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Redemption Security. A Fund may permit or require cash-in-lieu when, for example, a Redemption Security may not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery or may not be eligible for transfer through the systems of DTC or the Clearing Process. Similarly, a Fund may permit or require cash-in-lieu of Redemption Securities when, for example, the Authorized Participant or its underlying investor is restricted under U.S. or local securities law or policies from transacting in one or more Redemption Securities. Each Fund will comply with the federal securities laws in satisfying redemptions with Redemption Securities, including that the Redemption Securities are sold in transactions that would be exempt from registration under the Securities Act. All redemption requests involving cash-in-lieu are considered to be “Custom Redemptions.”

Redemption Requests

To redeem a Creation Unit, an Authorized Participant must submit an irrevocable redemption request to the Distributor.

An Authorized Participant submitting a redemption request is deemed to represent to a Fund that it has ascertained or has reasonable grounds to believe that as of the time of the contractual settlement date, that (i) it or its customer, as the case may be, owns, will own or have the authority and right to tender for redemption the Creation Unit to be redeemed and can receive the entire proceeds of the redemption, and (ii) all of the Shares that are in the Creation Unit to be redeemed have not been loaned or pledged to another party nor are they the subject of a repurchase agreement, securities lending agreement or such other arrangement that would preclude the delivery of such Shares to the Fund on the contractual settlement date. Each Fund reserves the absolute right, in its sole discretion, to verify these representations, but will typically require verification in connection with higher levels of redemption activity and/or short interest in the Fund. If the Authorized Participant, upon receipt of a verification request, does not provide sufficient verification of the requested representations, the redemption request will not be considered to be in proper form and may be rejected by the Fund.

Timing of Submission of Redemption Requests

An Authorized Participant must submit an irrevocable redemption order no later than the Cut-off Time. The Cut-off Time for Custom Orders is generally two hours earlier. The Business Day the order is deemed received by the Distributor is referred to as the “Transmittal Date.” A redemption request is deemed received if (i) such order is received by the Distributor by the Cut-off Time on such day and (ii) all other procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement are properly followed. Persons placing or effectuating Custom Redemptions and/or orders involving cash should be mindful of time deadlines imposed by intermediaries, such as DTC and/or the Federal Reserve System, which may impact the successful processing of such orders to ensure that cash and securities are transferred by the Settlement Date, as defined above.

Requests Using the Clearing Process

If available, (portions of) redemption requests may be settled through the Clearing Process. In connection with such orders, the Distributor transmits on behalf of the Authorized Participant, such trade instructions as are necessary to effect the redemption. Pursuant to such trade instructions, the Authorized Participant agrees to deliver the requisite Creation Unit(s) to the applicable Fund, together with such additional information as may be required by the Distributor. Cash Components will be delivered using either the Clearing Process or the Federal Reserve System, as described above.

Requests Outside the Clearing Process

If the Clearing Process is not available for (portions of) an order, Redemption Baskets will be delivered outside the Clearing Process. Orders outside the Clearing Process must state that the DTC Participant is not using the Clearing Process and that the redemption will be effected through DTC. The Authorized Participant must transfer or cause to be transferred the Creation Unit(s) of shares being redeemed through the book-entry system of DTC so as to be delivered through DTC to the Custodian by 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time, on received T+1. In addition, the Cash Component must be received by the Custodian by 12:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on T+1. If the Custodian does not receive the Creation Unit(s) and Cash Component by the appointed times on T+1, the redemption will be rejected, except in the circumstances described below. A rejected redemption request may be resubmitted the following Business Day.

Orders involving foreign Redemption Securities are expected to be settled outside the Clearing Process. Thus, upon receipt of an irrevocable redemption request, the Distributor will notify the Adviser and the Custodian. The Custodian will then provide information of the redemption to the Fund’s local sub-custodian(s). The redeeming Authorized Participant, or the investor on whose behalf is acting, will have established appropriate arrangements with a broker-dealer, bank or other custody provider in each jurisdiction in which the Redemption Securities are customarily traded and to which such Redemption Securities (and any cash-in-lieu) can be delivered from the applicable Fund’s accounts at the applicable local sub-custodian(s).

Acceptance of Redemption Requests

All questions as to the number of shares of each security in the Deposit Securities and the validity, form, eligibility and acceptance for deposit of any securities to be delivered shall be determined by the Trust. The Trust’s determination shall be final and binding.

Delivery of Redemption Basket

Once a Fund has accepted a redemption request, upon next determination of the Fund’s NAV, the Fund will confirm the issuance of a Redemption Basket, against receipt of the Creation Unit(s) at such NAV, any cash-in-lieu and Transaction Fee. A Creation Unit tendered for redemption and the payment of the Cash Component, any cash-in-lieu and Transaction Fee will be effected through DTC. The Authorized Participant, or the investor on whose behalf it is acting, will be recorded on the book-entry system of DTC.

The Redemption Basket will generally be delivered to the redeeming Authorized Participant within T+3. Except under the circumstances described below, however, a Redemption Basket generally will not be issued until the Creation Unit(s) are delivered to the applicable Fund, along with the Cash Component, any cash-in-lieu and Transaction Fee.

In certain cases, Authorized Participants will create and redeem Creation Units on the same trade date. In these instances, the Trust reserves the right to settle these transactions on a net basis.

Cash Redemption Method

When cash redemptions of Creation Units are available or specified for a Fund, they will be effected in essentially the same manner as in-kind redemptions. In the case of a cash redemption, the investor will receive the cash equivalent of the Redemption Basket minus any Transaction Fees, as described above.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT FUND INVESTMENTS AND RISK CONSIDERATIONS

This section contains additional information regarding some of the investments the Funds may make and some of the associated risks.

A. Foreign Securities. The Funds may invest directly in foreign companies, including securities listed on U.S. exchanges. Investing in securities of foreign companies and countries involves certain considerations and risks that are not typically associated with investing in U.S. government securities and securities of domestic companies. There may be less publicly available information about a foreign issuer than a domestic one, and foreign companies are not generally subject to uniform accounting, auditing and financial standards and requirements comparable to those applicable to U.S. companies. There may also be less government supervision and regulation of foreign companies, brokers and listed companies than exists in the United States. Interest and dividends paid by foreign issuers may be subject to withholding and other foreign taxes, which may decrease the net return on such investments as compared to dividends and interest paid to a Fund by domestic companies or the U.S. government. There may be the possibility of expropriations, seizure or nationalization of foreign deposits, confiscatory taxation, political, economic or social instability or diplomatic developments that could affect assets of a Fund held in foreign countries. The establishment of exchange controls or other foreign governmental laws or restrictions could adversely affect the payment of obligations. In addition, investing in foreign securities may require paying higher commissions than investing in similar domestic securities.

Decreases in the value of currencies of the foreign countries in which a Fund will invest relative to the U.S. dollar will result in a corresponding decrease in the U.S. dollar value of the any assets denominated in those currencies (and possibly a corresponding increase in the amount of securities required to be liquidated to meet distribution requirements). Conversely, increases in the value of currencies of the foreign countries in which the Fund invests relative to the U.S. dollar will result in a corresponding increase in the U.S. dollar value of such assets (and possibly a corresponding decrease in the amount of securities to be liquidated).

Currency Risk and Exchange Risk. Foreign securities also include securities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar and may temporarily hold funds in bank deposits or other money market investments denominated in foreign currencies. Therefore, a Fund may be affected favorably or unfavorably by exchange control regulations or changes in the exchange rate between such currencies and the U.S. dollar. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates influence values within the Fund from the perspective of U.S. investors. The rate of exchange between the U.S. dollar and other currencies is determined by the forces of supply and demand in the foreign exchange markets. These forces are affected by the international balance of payments and other economic and financial conditions, government intervention, speculation and other factors.

Risks of Investing in Asia-Pacific Countries. In addition to the risks of foreign investing and the risks of investing in developing markets, the developing market Asia-Pacific countries in which the Fund may invest are subject to certain additional or specific risks.

Many of the developing market Asia-Pacific countries may be subject to a greater degree of economic, political and social instability than is the case in the United States and Western European countries. Such instability may result from, among other things: (i) authoritarian governments or military involvement in political and economic decision-

making, including changes in government through extra-constitutional means; (ii) popular unrest associated with demands for improved political, economic and social conditions; (iii) internal insurgencies; (iv) hostile relations with neighboring countries; and (v) ethnic, religious and racial disaffection. In addition, the governments of many of such countries, such as Indonesia, have a substantial role in regulating and supervising the economy. Another risk common to most such countries is that the economy is heavily export oriented and, accordingly, is dependent upon international trade. The existence of overburdened infrastructure and obsolete financial systems also presents risks in certain countries, as do environmental problems. Certain economies also depend to a significant degree upon exports of primary commodities and, therefore, are vulnerable to changes in commodity prices that, in turn, may be affected by a variety of factors.

The rights of investors in developing market Asia-Pacific companies may be more limited than those of shareholders of U.S. corporations. It may be difficult or impossible to obtain and/or enforce a judgment in a developing market Asia-Pacific country.

Governments of many developing market Asia-Pacific countries have exercised and continue to exercise substantial influence over many aspects of the private sector. In certain cases, the government owns or controls many companies. Accordingly, government actions in the future could have a significant effect on economic conditions in developing market Asia-Pacific countries, which could affect private sector companies and a Fund itself, as well as the value of securities in the Fund’s portfolio.

There is a relative lack of publicly available information about developing market Asia-Pacific issuers and such issuers may not be subject to the same accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards as U.S. companies.

Some developing Asia-Pacific countries prohibit or impose substantial restrictions on investments in their capital markets, particularly their equity markets, by foreign entities such as the Fund. Certain countries may require governmental approval prior to investments by foreign persons or limit the amount of investment by foreign persons in a particular company or limit the investment by foreign persons to only a specific class of securities of a company which may have less advantageous terms (including price and shareholder rights) than securities of the company available for purchase by nationals. There can be no assurance that the Fund will be able to obtain required governmental approvals in a timely manner. In addition, changes to restrictions on foreign ownership of securities subsequent to the Fund’s purchase of such securities may have an adverse effect on the value of such shares.

Small and Medium Capitalization Company Risk. The stocks of small and medium capitalization companies involve substantial risk. The earnings and prospects of small and medium sized companies are more volatile than larger companies and may experience higher failure rates than larger companies. Small and medium sized companies normally have a lower trading volume than larger companies, which may tend to make their market price fall more disproportionately than larger companies in response to selling pressures and may have limited markets, product lines, or financial resources and lack management experience. Further, these companies may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources, and they may be dependent on a limited management group. Stocks of these companies may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than those of larger, more established companies or the market averages in general.

B. Depositary Receipts. The Funds may invest in foreign securities by purchasing depositary receipts, including American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”) and European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”), or other securities convertible into securities or issuers based in foreign countries. ADRs include American Depository shares. These securities may not necessarily be denominated in the same currency as the securities into which they may be converted. Generally, ADRs in registered form are denominated in U.S. dollars and are designed for use in the U.S. securities markets, while GDRs and EDRs, in bearer form, may be denominated in other currencies and are designed for use in non-U.S. securities markets. ADRs are receipts typically issued by a U.S. bank or trust company evidencing ownership of the underlying securities. GDRs and EDRs are receipts with a non-U.S. bank evidencing a similar arrangement. For purposes of a Fund’s investment policies, ADRs, GDRs and EDRs

are deemed to have the same classification as the underlying securities they represent. Thus, an ADR, GDR or EDR representing ownership of common stock will be treated as common stock.

ADR facilities may be established as either “unsponsored” or “sponsored.” While ADRs issued under these two types of facilities are in some respects similar, there are distinctions between them relating to the rights and obligations of ADR holders and the practices of market participants. A depositary may establish an unsponsored facility without participation by (or even necessarily the acquiescence of) the issuer of the deposited securities, although typically the depositary requests a letter of non-objection from such issuer prior to the establishment of the facility. Holders of unsponsored ADRs generally bear all the costs of such facilities. The depositary usually charges fees upon the deposit and withdrawal of the deposited securities, the conversion of dividends into U.S. dollars, the disposition of non-cash distributions, and the performance of other services. The depositary of an unsponsored facility frequently is under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the issuer of the deposited securities or to pass through voting rights to ADR holders in respect of the deposited securities. Sponsored ADR facilities are created in generally the same manner as unsponsored facilities, except that the issuer of the deposited securities enters into a deposit agreement with the depositary. The deposit agreement sets out the rights and responsibilities of the issuer, the depositary and the ADR holders. With sponsored facilities, the issuer of the deposited securities generally will bear some of the costs relating to the facility (such as dividend payment fees of the depositary), although ADR holders continue to bear certain other costs (such as deposit and withdrawal fees). Under the terms of most sponsored arrangements, depositaries agree to distribute notices of shareholder meetings and voting instructions, and to provide shareholder communications and other information to the ADR holders at the request of the issuer of the deposited securities.

C. Developed Countries. A Fund’s investment in developed country issuers may subject the Fund to regulatory, political, currency, security, economic and other risks associated with developed countries. Developed countries tend to represent a significant portion of the global economy and have generally experienced slower economic growth than some less developed countries. Certain developed countries have experienced security concerns, such as terrorism and strained international relations. Incidents involving a country’s or region’s security may cause uncertainty in its markets and may adversely affect its economy and the Fund’s investments. In addition, developed countries may be adversely impacted by changes to the economic conditions of certain key trading partners, regulatory burdens, debt burdens and the price or availability of certain commodities.

D. Emerging Market Obligations and Securities. Investing in emerging market securities imposes risks different from, or greater than, risks of investing in foreign developed countries. These risks include: smaller market capitalization of securities markets, which may suffer periods of relative illiquidity; significant price volatility; restrictions on foreign investment; and possible repatriation risk. In addition, foreign investors may be required to register the proceeds of sales; future economic or political crises could lead to price controls, forced mergers, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, seizure, nationalization, or creation of government monopolies. The currencies of emerging market countries may experience significant declines against the U.S. dollar, and devaluation may occur subsequent to investments in these currencies by a Fund. Inflation and rapid fluctuations in inflation rates have had, and may continue to have, negative effects on the economies and securities markets of certain emerging market countries.

Additional risks of emerging market securities may include: greater social, economic and political uncertainty and instability; more substantial governmental involvement in the economy; less governmental supervision and regulation; unavailability of currency hedging techniques; companies that are newly organized and small; differences in auditing and financial reporting standards, which may result in unavailability of material information about issuers; and less developed legal systems. In addition, emerging securities markets may have different clearance and settlement procedures, which may be unable to keep pace with the volume of securities

transactions or otherwise make it difficult to engage in such transactions. Settlement problems may cause a Fund to miss attractive investment opportunities, hold a portion of its assets in cash pending investment, or be delayed in disposing of a portfolio security. Such a delay could result in possible liability to a purchaser of the security.

E. Common Stocks and Equivalents. Each Fund will invest in common stock and common stock equivalents (such as rights and warrants, and convertible securities). Warrants are options to purchase equity securities at a specified price valid for a specific period. Rights are similar to warrants, but normally have a short duration and are distributed by the issuer to its shareholders. Warrants are instruments that entitle the holder to buy underlying equity securities at a specific price for a specific period of time. A warrant tends to be more volatile than its underlying securities and ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. In addition, changes in the value of a warrant do not necessarily correspond to changes in the value of its underlying securities.

F. Small and Medium Capitalization Companies. Each Fund may invest a substantial portion of its assets in companies with modest capitalization, as well as start-up companies. While the Adviser believes that small- and medium-sized companies as well as start-up companies can at times provide greater growth potential than larger, more mature companies, investing in the securities of these companies also involves greater risk, potential price volatility and cost. These companies often involve higher risks because they lack the management experience, financial resources, product diversification, markets, distribution channels and competitive strengths of larger companies. In addition, in many instances, the frequency and volume of their trading are substantially less than are typical of larger companies. Therefore, the securities of small and medium sized companies as well as start-up companies may be subject to wider price fluctuations. The spreads between the bid and asked prices of the securities of these companies in the United States over-the-counter and other markets typically are larger than the spreads for more actively traded securities. As a result, a Fund could incur a loss if it determined to sell such a security shortly after its acquisition. When making large sales, a Fund may have to sell portfolio holdings at discounts from quoted prices or may have to make a series of small sales over an extended period of time due to the trading volume of small and medium sized company securities.

Investors should be aware that, based on the foregoing factors, to the extent a Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in the securities of small or medium sized companies, an investment in the Fund may be subject to greater price fluctuations than if it invested primarily in larger, more established companies.

G. Investment Company Securities. Each Fund may invest in shares of other investment companies, such as other exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), mutual funds (open- or closed-end), money market funds, and unit investment trusts. For example, each Fund may invest in ETFs the investments of which are consistent with the Fund’s own investment strategy. In addition, each Fund also may invest in ETFs that do not meet such investment strategy, for defensive and other purposes. Additionally, each Fund may invest in new exchange-traded shares as they become available. Each Fund may invest in ETFs whose portfolios consist primarily of commodities. As a shareholder of an investment company, each Fund will indirectly bear its pro rata portion of service and other fees of such other investment company, which are in addition to the fees the Fund pays its service providers. For example, shareholders may incur expenses associated with capital gains distributions by each Fund as well as the underlying funds in which the Fund invests. Shareholders also may incur increased transaction costs as a result of each Fund’s portfolio turnover rate and/or because of the high portfolio turnover rates in the underlying funds. Each Fund is independent from any of the underlying funds in which it invests and it has no voice in or control over the investment strategies, policies or decisions of the underlying funds. A Fund’s only option is to redeem its investment in an underlying fund in the event of dissatisfaction with the fund.

To the extent that a Fund invests in ETFs that invest in commodities, it will be subject to additional risks associated with direct investments in commodities. Commodities are real assets such as oil, agriculture, livestock, industrial metals, and precious metals such as gold or silver. The values of ETFs that invest in commodities are highly dependent on the prices of the related commodities. The demand and supply of these commodities may fluctuate widely based on such factors as interest rates, investors’ expectation with respect to

the rate of inflation, currency exchange rates, the production and cost levels of the producers and/or forward selling by such producers, global or regional political, economic or financial events, purchases and sales by central banks, and trading activities by hedge funds and other commodity funds. Commodity ETFs may use derivatives, such as futures, options and swaps, which expose them to further risks, including counterparty risk (i.e., the risk that the institution on the other side of the trade will default).

To the extent that a Fund invests in ETFs that invest in foreign securities, it will be subject to additional risks associated with direct investments in foreign securities. Foreign investments can involve significant risks in addition to the risks inherent in U.S. investments. Securities of foreign companies may experience more rapid and extreme changes in value than securities of U.S. companies because a limited number of companies represent a small number of industries. Many foreign countries lack uniform accounting and disclosure standards comparable to those applicable to U.S. companies, and it may be more difficult to obtain reliable information regarding an issuer’s financial condition and operations. When a Fund invests in ADRs or other U.S. dollar-denominated foreign securities, it generally will not be subject to currency risk.

Investing abroad also involves different political and economic risks. Foreign investments may be affected by actions of foreign governments adverse to the interests of U.S. investors, including the possibility of expropriation or nationalization of assets, confiscatory taxation, restrictions on U.S. investment or on the ability to repatriate assets or convert currency into U.S. dollars, or other government intervention. There may be a greater possibility of default by foreign governments or foreign government-sponsored enterprises. Investments in foreign countries also involve a risk of local political, economic or social instability, military action or unrest, or adverse diplomatic developments. There is no assurance that the Adviser will be able to anticipate or counter these potential events and their impacts on a Fund’s share price.

H. U.S. Government Securities. U.S. government securities may be backed by the credit of the government as a whole or only by the issuing agency. U.S. Treasury bonds, notes, and bills and some agency securities, such as those issued by the Federal Housing Administration and the Government National Mortgage Association (“GNMA”), are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government as to payment of principal and interest and are the highest quality government securities. Other securities issued by U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities, such as securities issued by the Federal Home Loan Banks and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, are supported only by the credit of the agency that issued them, and not by the U.S. government. Securities issued by the Federal Farm Credit System, the Federal Land Banks, and the Federal National Mortgage Association (“FNMA”) are supported by the agency’s right to borrow money from the U.S. Treasury under certain circumstances, but are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.

Each Fund may also invest in Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (“TIPS”). TIPS are a special type of treasury note or bond that was created in order to offer bond investors protection from inflation. The value of the TIPS is automatically adjusted to the inflation rate as measured by the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”). If the CPI goes up by half a percent the value of the bond would go up by half a percent. If the CPI falls, the value of the bond does not fall because the government guarantees that your original investment will stay the same. TIPS decline in value when real interest rates rise. In certain interest rate environments, such as when real interest rates are rising faster than nominal interest rates, TIPS may experience greater losses than other fixed income securities with similar duration.

I. Cash Equivalents. Each Fund may invest directly in cash and high-quality short-term fixed-income securities. All money market instruments can change in value when interest rates or an issuer’s creditworthiness change dramatically. Various short-term fixed-income securities that the Funds may invest in for cash management purposes are described below:

Bank Obligations. Bank obligations include bankers’ acceptances, negotiable certificates of deposit and non-negotiable time deposits, including U.S. dollar-denominated instruments issued or supported by the credit of U.S.

or foreign banks or savings institutions. Although the Funds may invest in money market obligations of foreign banks or foreign branches of U.S. banks only where the Adviser determines the instrument to present minimal credit risks, such investments may nevertheless entail risks that are different from those of investments in domestic obligations of U.S. banks due to differences in political, regulatory and economic systems and conditions. All investments in bank obligations are limited to the obligations of financial institutions having more than $1 billion in total assets at the time of purchase, and investments by a Fund in the obligations of foreign banks and foreign branches of U.S. banks will not exceed 10% of the relevant Fund’s total assets at the time of purchase. Each Fund may also make interest-bearing savings deposits in commercial and savings banks in amounts not in excess of 10% of its net assets.

Commercial Paper. Investments by a Fund in commercial paper will consist of issues rated at the time of investment as A-1 and/or P-1 by S&P, Moody’s or similar rating by another nationally recognized rating agency. In addition, each Fund may acquire unrated commercial paper and corporate bonds that are determined by the Adviser at the time of purchase to be of comparable quality to rated instruments that may be acquired by the Fund as previously described.

Investment Company Securities. (See “F” Above). Each Fund may invest in other investment companies such as money market funds and short-term bond funds.

J. Securities Lending. Each Fund may, from time to time, lend securities to banks, brokers and dealers and receive as collateral cash, U.S. Government obligations or irrevocable bank letters of credit (or any combination thereof), which collateral will be required to be maintained at all times in an amount equal to at least 100% of the current value of the loaned securities plus accrued interest. Each Fund’s securities lending practices will be limited to no more than 33% of its total assets.

To be acceptable as collateral, letters of credit must be issued by a bank that is deemed satisfactory by the Adviser, and must obligate the bank to pay amounts demanded by the relevant Fund if the demand meets the terms of the letter. The Fund receives amounts equal to the dividends or interest on the loaned securities and also receives one or more of (a) negotiated loan fees, (b) interest on securities used as collateral, or (c) interest on short-term debt securities purchased with such collateral; either type of interest may be shared with the borrower. The Fund may also pay fees to placing brokers as well as custodial and administrative fees in connection with its securities loans. However, fees may only be paid to a placing broker if (a) the Adviser determines that such fees paid to the placing broker are reasonable and based solely upon services rendered, and (b) the Board separately considers the propriety of any fee shared by the placing broker with the borrower and determines that the fees paid to the placing broker are not used to compensate the Adviser or any of its affiliated persons.

Loans of securities involve risks of delay in receiving additional collateral or in recovering the securities lent or even loss of rights in the collateral in the event of the insolvency of the borrower of the securities. The terms of each Fund’s loans must meet applicable tests under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) and must permit the Fund to re-acquire loaned securities on five days’ notice or in time to vote on any important matter. The Funds will have the right to regain record ownership of loaned securities in order to exercise beneficial rights.

K. Preferred Stock. Preferred stock represents an equity or ownership interest in an issuer. Preferred stock normally pays dividends at a specified rate and has precedence over common stock in the event the issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy. However, in the event an issuer is liquidated or declares bankruptcy, the claims of owners of bonds take precedence over the claims of those who own preferred and common stock. Preferred stock, unlike common stock, often has a stated dividend rate payable from the corporation’s earnings. Preferred stock dividends may be cumulative or non-cumulative, participating, or auction rate. “Cumulative” dividend provisions require all or a portion of prior unpaid dividends to be paid before dividends can be paid to the issuer’s common stock. “Participating” preferred stock may be entitled to a dividend exceeding the stated dividend in

certain cases. “Auction Rate” preferred stock is a floating rate preferred stock with the dividend rate reset by Dutch auction, typically every seven, 28, 35 or 49 days. The dividend rate on auction rate preferred stock usually is subject to a maximum rate. If interest rates rise, the fixed dividend on preferred stocks may be less attractive, causing the price of such stocks to decline. Preferred stock may have mandatory sinking fund provisions, as well as provisions allowing the stock to be called or redeemed, which can limit the benefit of a decline in interest rates. Preferred stock is subject to many of the risks to which common stock and debt securities are subject.

L. Real Estate Investment Trusts. Each Fund may invest in real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). A REIT is a corporation or business trust that invests substantially all of its assets in interests in real estate. Equity REITs are those which purchase or lease land and buildings and generate income primarily from rental income. Equity REITs may also realize capital gains (or losses) when selling property that has appreciated (or depreciated) in value. Mortgage REITs are those which invest in real estate mortgages and generate income primarily from interest payments on mortgage loans. Hybrid REITs generally invest in both real property and mortgages. REITs are generally subject to risks associated with direct ownership of real estate, such as decreases in real estate values or fluctuations in rental income caused by a variety of factors, including increases in interest rates, increases in property taxes and other operating costs, casualty or condemnation losses, possible environmental liabilities and changes in supply and demand for properties. Other risks associated with these investments include the fact that REITs are dependent upon specialized management skills and are not fully diversified. These characteristics subject REITs to the risks associated with financing a limited number of projects. They are also subject to heavy cash flow dependency, defaults by borrowers and self-liquidation. Additionally, equity REITs may be affected by any changes in the value of the underlying property owned by the trusts, and mortgage REITs may be affected by the quality of any credit extended.

M. Defensive Positions. At times the Funds’ Adviser may determine that market, economic or political conditions make pursuing a Fund’s investment strategies inconsistent with the best interests of Fund shareholders. The Adviser then may cause the respective Fund to take temporary defensive positions that are designed mainly to limit losses. In implementing these strategies, each Fund may hold up to 100% of its assets in cash, short-term U.S. government securities, money market instruments, other investment companies (including money market funds), investment grade fixed-income securities, repurchase agreements, or other securities that the Adviser believes are consistent with the Fund’s defensive strategies.

INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS

A. Fundamental. The investment limitations described below have been adopted by the Trust with respect to each Fund and are fundamental, (i.e., they may not be changed without the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of a Fund). As used in the Prospectus and this SAI, the term “majority of the outstanding shares” of a Fund means the lesser of (1) 67% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund present at a meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund are present or represented at such meeting; or (2) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund.

1. Borrowing Money. A Fund will not borrow money, except (a) from a bank, provided that immediately after such borrowing there is an asset coverage of 300% for all borrowings of the Fund; or (b) from a bank or other persons for temporary purposes only, provided that such temporary borrowings are in an amount not exceeding 5% of the Fund’s total assets at the time when the borrowing is made. This limitation does not preclude the Fund from entering into reverse repurchase transactions, provided that the Fund has an asset coverage of 300% for all borrowings and repurchase commitments of the Fund pursuant to reverse repurchase transactions.

2. Senior Securities. A Fund will not issue senior securities. This limitation is not applicable to activities that may be deemed to involve the issuance or sale of a senior security by the Fund, provided that the Fund’s engagement in such activities is consistent with or permitted by the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder or interpretations of the SEC or its staff.

3. Underwriting. A Fund will not act as underwriter of securities issued by other persons. This limitation is not applicable to the extent that, in connection with the disposition of portfolio securities (including restricted securities), the Fund may be deemed an underwriter under certain federal securities laws.

4. Real Estate. A Fund will not purchase or sell real estate. This limitation is not applicable to investments in marketable securities which are secured by or represent interests in real estate. This limitation does not preclude the Fund from investing in mortgage-related securities or investing in companies engaged in the real estate business or that have a significant portion of their assets in real estate (including REITs).

5. Commodities. A Fund will not purchase or sell commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other investments. This limitation does not preclude the Fund from purchasing or selling options or futures contracts, including commodities futures contracts, from investing in securities or other instruments backed by commodities or from investing in companies which are engaged in a commodities business or have a significant portion of their assets in commodities.

6. Loans. A Fund will not make loans to other persons, except (a) by loaning portfolio securities, (b) by engaging in repurchase agreements, or (c) by purchasing non-publicly offered debt securities. For purposes of this limitation, the term “loans” shall not include the purchase of a portion of an issue of publicly distributed bonds, debentures or other securities.

7. Concentration. A Fund will not invest 25% or more of its total assets in a particular industry. This limitation is not applicable to investments in obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities or repurchase agreements with respect thereto.

With respect to the percentages adopted by the Trust as maximum limitations on a Fund’s investment policies and limitations, an excess above the fixed percentage will not be a violation of the policy or limitation unless the excess results immediately and directly from the acquisition of any security or the action taken. This paragraph does not apply to the borrowing policy set forth in paragraph 1 above.

Notwithstanding any of the foregoing limitations, any investment company, whether organized as a trust, association or corporation, or a personal holding company, may be merged or consolidated with or acquired by the Trust, provided that if such merger, consolidation or acquisition results in an investment in the securities of any issuer prohibited by the paragraphs above, the Trust shall, within ninety days after the consummation of such merger, consolidation or acquisition, dispose of all of the securities of such issuer so acquired or such portion thereof as shall bring the total investment therein within the limitations imposed by said paragraphs above as of the date of consummation.

B. Non-Fundamental. The following limitations have been adopted by the Trust with respect to each Fund and are non-fundamental (i.e., they are other investment practices which may be changed by the Board without the approval of shareholders to the extent permitted by applicable law, regulation or regulatory policy).

1. Pledging. A Fund will not mortgage, pledge, hypothecate or in any manner transfer, as security for indebtedness, any assets of the Fund except as may be necessary in connection with borrowings described in Fundamental limitation (1) above. Margin deposits, security interests, liens and collateral arrangements with respect to transactions involving options, futures contracts, short sales and other permitted investments and techniques are not deemed to be a mortgage, pledge or hypothecation of assets for purposes of this limitation.

2. Borrowing. A Fund will not purchase any security while borrowings (including reverse repurchase agreements) representing more than 5% of its total assets are outstanding.

3. Margin Purchases. A Fund will not purchase securities or evidences of interest thereon on “margin.” This limitation is not applicable to short-term credit obtained by the Fund for the clearance of purchases and sales or redemption of securities, or to arrangements with respect to transactions involving options, futures contracts, short sales and other permitted investments and techniques.

4. 80% Policy. Each Fund is subject to an 80% policy, as provided in the prospectus.

INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT

The Adviser

OneAscent Investment Solutions, LLC (the “Adviser”), located at 23 Inverness Center Parkway, Birmingham, AL 35242, serves as the investment adviser to the Funds. The Adviser is a registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and provides investment advisory services to the Funds. The Adviser has overall supervisory management responsibility for the general management and investment of each Fund’s portfolio. Under the terms of the management agreement with the Trust, the Adviser is primarily responsible for managing the Funds’ investments and providing a continuous investment program for each Fund, subject to the supervision of the Board.

For its investment advisory services, the Adviser is paid a fee at the annual rate of 0.74% of the average daily net assets of the International Equity Fund and 0.74% of the average daily net assets of the Emerging Markets Fund. The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive its management fee and/or to reimburse certain operating expenses of each Fund, but only to the extent necessary so that the respective Fund’s total annual operating expenses, excluding portfolio transaction and other investment-related costs (including brokerage fees and commissions); taxes; borrowing costs (such as interest and dividend expenses on securities sold short); acquired fund fees and expenses; fees and expenses associated with investments in other collective investment vehicles or derivative instruments (including for example option and swap fees and expenses); any administrative and/or shareholder servicing fees payable pursuant to a plan adopted by the Board; expenses incurred in connection with any merger or reorganization; extraordinary expenses (such as litigation expenses, indemnification of Trust officers and Trustees and contractual indemnification of Fund service providers); and other expenses that the Trustees agree have not been incurred in the ordinary course of a Fund’s business, do not exceed 0.95% of the average daily net assets of the International Equity Fund, and 1.25% of the Emerging Markets Fund. The contractual agreement is in effect through December 31, 2023. Each waiver/expense payment by the Adviser is subject to recoupment by the Adviser from the respective Fund in the three years following the date the particular waiver/expense payment occurred, but only if such recoupment can be achieved without exceeding the annual expense limitation in effect at the time of the waiver/expense payment and any expense limitation in effect at the time of the recoupment.

General

A discussion of the factors that the Board considered in approving each Fund’s management agreement will be included in the Funds’ semi-annual report to shareholders for the period ending February 28, 2023.

About the Portfolio Manager

Each Fund is managed by Andrew Manton, Chief Equity Strategist and Senior Portfolio Manager, of the Adviser (the “Portfolio Manager”). The Portfolio Manager’s compensation will not be based on the investment performance of the Funds, but will be a function of the overall profitability of the Adviser.

The Portfolio Manager may also carry on investment activities for his own account(s) and/or the accounts of immediate family members. Conflicts may arise as a result of the Portfolio Manager’s differing economic interests in respect of such activities. The Portfolio Manager’s management of “other accounts” may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. The other accounts may have the same investment objective as a Fund. A potential conflict of interest may arise whereby the Portfolio Manager could favor one account over another, or the Portfolio Manager’s knowledge about the size, timing and possible market impact of Fund trades, could be used to the advantage of other accounts. In order to mitigate these risks, the Adviser has established policies and procedures to ensure that the purchase and sale of securities are fairly and equitably allocated. Where possible, the Portfolio Manager aggregates client transactions, including the Funds’, when it is believed that such aggregation may facilitate the Adviser’s duty of best execution. Aggregation facilitates the pro-rata sharing of transaction costs and an average price of such transactions for client accounts that participate. The Adviser generally allocates securities among client accounts according to each account’s pre-determined participation in the transaction. The Adviser’s policy prohibits any allocation of trades that would favor any accounts or clients over any other account(s). The Adviser monitors trades daily to ensure this policy is not violated.

As of July 31, 2022, the Portfolio Manager was also responsible for the management of the following types of other accounts in addition to the Funds:

As of the date of this SAI, the Portfolio Manager owned no shares of the Funds.

TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS

GENERAL QUALIFICATIONS. The Board supervises the business activities of the Trust. Each Trustee serves as a trustee until termination of the Trust unless the Trustee dies, resigns, retires, or is removed. The Chairman of the Board and more than 75% of the Trustees are “Independent Trustees,” which means that they are not “interested persons” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust or any adviser, sub-adviser or distributor of the Trust.

The following table provides information regarding the Independent Trustees.

The following table provides information regarding the interested Trustee and the officers of the Trust.

In addition to the information provided above, below is a summary of the specific experience, qualifications, attributes or skills of each Trustee and the reason why he was selected to serve as Trustee:

Stephen A. Little – Mr. Little has been an Independent Trustee of the Trust since its inception in 2002 and served as Chairman of the Board from December 2004 to December 2016. He previously served as trustee to three other registered investment companies. In 1993, he founded an investment advisory firm that provides discretionary investment advice and advice on socially responsible investing. Mr. Little has been a Trustee of Peak Income Plus Fund since May 2022. Mr. Little previously held NASD Series 6, 7, and 22 licenses. Mr. Little received a B.A. from Wabash College and a M. Div. from Christian Theological Seminary. Prior to completing his education, Mr. Little served in the U.S. Marine Corps. Mr. Little was selected to serve as Trustee of the Trust based primarily on his experience in the investment management industry.

Gary E. Hippenstiel – Mr. Hippenstiel has served as a registered investment company trustee since 1995. He has been an Independent Trustee of the Trust since its inception in 2002, and he currently serves as Chairman of the Pricing & Liquidity Committee of the Board. He previously served as a trustee to three other registered investment companies and a variable insurance trust. In 2008, Mr. Hippenstiel founded an investment consulting

firm and he also has served as Chairman of the investment committee for two family foundations. Prior to that, he served as Chief Investment Officer of Legacy Trust Company for 17 years, where he was responsible for establishing investment strategies and selecting and monitoring independent managers of trust accounts. Mr. Hippenstiel has been a Trustee of Peak Income Plus Fund since May 2022. Mr. Hippenstiel received a B.S. in Business Administration and an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of California, Berkeley. Mr. Hippenstiel was selected as Trustee based primarily on his experience in the investment management industry.

Daniel J. Condon – Mr. Condon has been an Independent Trustee of the Trust since its inception in 2002 and currently serves as Chairman of the of the Board. He served as the Chairman of the Audit Committee and the Governance & Nominating Committee of the Board from May 2020 to May 2022. He has also served as trustee of three other registered investment companies. From 1990 to 2002, he served as Vice President and General Manager of an international automotive equipment manufacturing company. From 2002 to 2017 he served as CEO of various multi-national companies. Mr. Condon has been a Trustee of Peak Income Plus Fund since May 2022. Mr. Condon received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from Eastern Illinois University. He also received his registered Professional Engineer license. Mr. Condon was selected as Trustee based on his over 22 years of international business experience.

Ronald C. Tritschler – Mr. Tritschler has been a Trustee of the Trust since its inception in 2002 and currently serves as Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Board. He also has served as trustee of three other registered investment companies. From 1989 to 2021, he was a director, vice president and general counsel of a company that operates convenience stores. Since 2001, Mr. Tritschler has been CEO, director and general counsel of a national real estate company. He also is a Director of First State Bank of the Southeast and its holding company, as well as a member of its Directors’ Loan Committee, Audit Committee, and Personnel Committee. Mr. Tritschler is a Director of Mountain Valley Insurance Company, a Member of the Executive Board of The Lexington Chamber of Commerce, and Member of the Hartland Executive Home Owners’ Association. Mr. Tritschler has been a Director of Standpoint Multi-Asset (Cayman) Fund, Ltd. since 2020. Mr. Tritschler has been a Trustee of Peak Income Plus Fund since May 2022. Mr. Tritschler received a B.A. in Business Administration from Baldwin-Wallace University and his J.D. and M.B.A. from the University of Toledo. Mr. Tritschler was selected to serve as a Trustee based primarily on his substantial business and legal experience.

Kenneth G.Y. Grant – Mr. Grant, an Independent Trustee of the Trust since 2008, currently serves as Chairman of the Governance & Nominating Committee of the Board. He served as the Chairman of the Board from January 2017 to May 2022. Mr. Grant has over 40 years of executive leadership experience, founding and leading multiple financial services firms. Previously, he was an Executive Vice President of a retirement benefit plan administrator, and a Director, Executive Vice President and Chief Officer Corporate Development for a trust company that sponsors private investment product. He was also a Director, Executive Vice President and Chief Officer Corporate Development for a firm administering more than US$1 trillion in global pension, endowment, corporate, public and other commingled assets. He was also an Executive Vice President of a retirement association serving multiple employers. Mr. Grant is a member of the Presbytery of Boston, Presbyterian Church (USA), Chair of the Investment Committee of the Massachusetts Council of Churches and previously a member of the Board, Lift Up Africa. He is a member, Dean’s Advisory Board, Boston University School of Theology and a Director, Oceana Palms Condominium Association, Inc. Mr. Grant has been a Director of Standpoint Multi-Asset (Cayman) Fund, Ltd. since 2019. Mr. Grant has been a Trustee of Peak Income Plus Fund since May 2022. He has a B.A. in Psychology from Syracuse University, a ThM in Theology and Ethics from Boston University and a M.B.A. from Clark University. Mr. Grant was selected to serve as a Trustee based primarily on his experience in investment and trust product development and administration, and financial service and retirement plan management.

David R. Carson – Mr. Carson has been an Interested Trustee of the Trust since 2020 and served as President of the Trust from 2016 until August 2021. Since 2013, Mr. Carson has been a Senior Vice President and Vice President of Client Strategies at Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC, the Trust’s current administrator. Mr. Carson

served in other capacities, including chief compliance officer and chief operations officer, for other registered investment companies from 1994 to 2013. Mr. Carson has been a Trustee of Peak Income Plus Fund since May 2022.

Independent Trustees Messrs. Hippenstiel, Tritschler, Condon, and Little each have previous experience serving as trustees to other multi-series trusts, which means that they are familiar with issues relating to overseeing multiple advisers and multiple funds. Messrs. Hippenstiel, Little, and Grant have experience conducting due diligence on and evaluating investment advisers – Mr. Hippenstiel as the Chief Investment Officer of Legacy Trust, Mr. Little as the President of a registered investment adviser, and Mr. Grant as an officer of a trust company which sponsors collective investment trusts and manages limited liability investment corporations. This means that they are qualified to review annually each adviser’s qualifications, including the qualification of the Adviser to serve as adviser to the Funds. Mr. Carson’s experience as an officer of the Trust’s administrator provides the Independent Trustees with insight into the operations of the service providers and their day-to-day administration of the Funds.

RISK MANAGEMENT. As part of its efforts to oversee risk management associated with the Trust, the Board has established the Audit Committee, the Pricing & Liquidity Committee, and the Governance & Nominating Committee as described below:

The Audit Committee and the Pricing & Liquidity Committee meet at least quarterly and each Committee reviews reports provided by administrative service providers, legal counsel and independent accountants. The Governance & Nominating Committee meets on an as needed basis. All Committees report directly to the full Board.

The Independent Trustees have engaged independent legal counsel to provide advice on regulatory, compliance and other topics. This counsel also serves as counsel to the Trust. In addition, the Board has engaged, on behalf of the Trust, Northern Lights Compliance Services, LLC to provide a Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”) who is responsible for overseeing compliance risks. The CCO is also an officer of the Trust and reports to the Board at least quarterly any material compliance items that have arisen, and annually she provides to the Board a comprehensive compliance report outlining the effectiveness of compliance policies and procedures of the Trust and its service providers. As part of the CCO’s risk oversight function, the CCO seeks to understand the risks inherent in the operations of the Trust’s series and their advisers and sub-advisers. Periodically, the CCO provides reports to the Board that:

The Trustees, under normal circumstances, meet in-person on a quarterly basis, typically for two days of meetings. Trustees also participate in special meetings and conference calls as needed. In addition to Board meetings, Trustees also participate in teleconferences each quarter to review and discuss 15(c) materials and other information. Legal counsel to the Trust provides quarterly reports to the Board regarding regulatory developments. Beginning in March 2020, the Trustees have been permitted to conduct quarterly meetings telephonically or by video conference in accordance with relief granted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“the SEC”) to ease certain governance obligations in light of current travel concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Trustees acknowledged that all actions that require a vote of the Trustees at an in-person meeting would be ratified at a later in-person meeting, as required by the SEC’s relief. The Trustees held an in-person meeting in May 2021 and ratified prior actions taken pursuant to exemptive relief. The Trustees may rely on the SEC relief if needed, so long as it is available. On a quarterly basis, the Trustees review and discuss some or all of the following compliance and risk management reports relating to the series of the Trust:

The Board has not adopted a formal diversity policy. When soliciting future nominees for Trustee, the Board will make efforts to identify and solicit qualified minorities and women.

On an annual basis, the Trustees assess the Board’s and their individual effectiveness in overseeing the Trust. Based upon its assessment, the Board determines whether additional risk assessment or monitoring processes are required with respect to the Trust or any of its service providers.

Based on the qualifications of each of the Trust’s Trustees and officers, the risk management practices adopted by the Board, including a regular review of several compliance and operational reports, and the committee structure adopted by the Board, the Trust believes that its leadership is appropriate.

The following table provides information regarding shares of the Funds and other portfolios of the Trust owned by each Trustee as of December 31, 2021.

Set forth below are estimates of the annual compensation paid to the Trustees and compensated officers by each Fund on an individual basis and by the Trust on an aggregate basis. Trustees’ and officers’ fees and expenses are Trust expenses and each Fund incurs its respective share of such expenses, which are allocated among the series of the Trust in such manner as the Trustees determine to be fair and equitable.

CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES

A principal shareholder is any person who owns (either of record or beneficially) 5% or more of the outstanding shares of a fund. A person who beneficially owns, either directly or indirectly, more than 25% of the voting securities of a fund is presumed to be a control person of the fund. As a controlling shareholder, each of these persons could control the outcome of any proposal submitted to the shareholders for approval, including changes to a Fund’s fundamental policies or the terms of the management agreement with the Adviser.

As of the date of this SAI, the Trustees and officers of the Trust as a group owned no shares of either Fund.

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

The Funds may sell portfolio securities without regard to the length of time they have been held when, in the opinion of the Adviser, investment considerations warrant such action. A Fund’s portfolio turnover rate is the percentage of its portfolio that is bought and sold to exchange for other securities and is expressed as a percentage of its total assets. A high rate of portfolio turnover (100% or more) generally leads to higher transaction costs and may result in a greater number of taxable transactions. It is anticipated that each Fund will have a high portfolio turnover rate that exceeds 100%. However, this should not be considered as a limiting factor. Each Fund’s turnover rate will be available after the Fund completes its first fiscal year.

PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS AND BROKERAGE

Subject to policies established by the Board, the Adviser is responsible for the Funds’ portfolio decisions and the placing of the Funds’ portfolio transactions. In placing portfolio transactions, the Adviser seeks the best qualitative execution for each Fund, taking into account such factors as price (including the applicable brokerage commission or dealer spread), the execution capability, financial responsibility and responsiveness of the broker or dealer and the brokerage and research services provided by the broker or dealer. The Adviser generally seeks favorable prices and commission rates that are reasonable in relation to the benefits received.

The Adviser is specifically authorized to select brokers or dealers who also provide brokerage and research services to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the Adviser exercises investment discretion and to pay such brokers or dealers a commission in excess of the commission another broker or dealer would charge if the Adviser determines in good faith that the commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided. The determination may be viewed in terms of a particular transaction or the Adviser’s overall responsibilities with respect to the Funds and to other accounts over which it exercises investment discretion.

Research services include supplemental research, securities and economic analyses, statistical services and information with respect to the availability of securities or purchasers or sellers of securities and analyses of reports concerning performance of accounts. The research services and other information furnished by brokers through whom the Funds effect securities transactions may also be used by the Adviser in servicing all of its accounts. Similarly, research and information provided by brokers or dealers serving other clients may be useful to the Adviser in connection with its services to the Funds.

When a Fund and another of the Adviser’s clients seek to purchase or sell the same security at or about the same time, the Adviser may execute the transaction on a combined (“blocked”) basis, through one or more broker-dealers. Blocked transactions can produce better execution for a Fund and other accounts managed by the Adviser because of the increased volume of each such transaction. If the entire blocked order is not filled, the Fund may not be able to acquire as large a position in such security as it desires, or it may have to pay a higher price for the security.

Similarly, a Fund may not be able to obtain as large an execution of an order to sell, or as high a price for any particular portfolio security, if the Adviser is selling the same portfolio security for its other client accounts at the same time. In the event that more than one client wants to purchase or sell the same security on a given date, the purchases and sales will normally be made on a pro rata average price per share basis.

Over-the-counter transactions will be placed either directly with principal market makers or with broker-dealers, if the same or a better price, including commissions and executions, is available. Fixed income securities are normally purchased directly from the issuer, an underwriter or a market maker. Purchases include a concession paid by the issuer to the underwriter and the purchase price paid to a market maker may include the spread between the bid and asked prices.

CODE OF ETHICS

The Trust, the Adviser, and the Funds’ Distributor as defined herein have each adopted a Code of Ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act, and the Adviser’s Code of Ethics also conform to Rule 204A-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. The personnel subject to the Codes are permitted to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Funds. You may obtain copies of the Trust’s Code from documents filed with SEC and available on the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov.

DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS

The Trust has adopted policies with respect to the disclosure of the Funds’ portfolio holdings. These policies generally prohibit the disclosure of information about a Fund’s portfolio to third parties prior to the day after the information is posted to the Funds’ website unless the information is publicly available on the SEC’s EDGAR system. Because each Fund is an exchange-traded fund, it is required to publicly disclose its portfolio holdings daily, as described below. As further described below, the policies allow for disclosure of non-public portfolio information to third parties only if there is a legitimate business purpose for the disclosure. In addition, the policies require that the party receiving the portfolio holdings information execute a non-disclosure agreement that includes a prohibition on trading based on the information, unless the party is already subject to a duty of confidentiality (as determined by the Trust’s CCO). Any arrangement to disclose non-public information about a Fund’s portfolio must be approved by the Trust’s CCO. The Trust and the Adviser are prohibited from receiving compensation or other consideration in connection with disclosing information about the Fund’s portfolio to third parties.

Each Fund discloses on the Adviser’s website at investments.oneascent.com at the start of each day on which the New York Stock Exchange is open for business (“Business Day”) the identities and quantities of the securities and other assets held by the Fund that will form the basis of the Fund’s calculation of its NAV on that day. The portfolio holdings so disclosed will be based on information as of the close of business on the prior Business Day and/or trades that have been completed prior to the opening of business on that Business Day and that are expected to settle on that Business Day. The Funds may also concurrently disclose this portfolio holdings information directly to ratings agencies on a daily basis.

Under the Trust’s policies, the Adviser is permitted to include Fund portfolio information that has already been made public through the Funds’ website or SEC filing in marketing literature and other communications to shareholders or other parties, provided that, in the case of portfolio information made public solely through the Funds’ website, the information is disclosed no earlier than the day after the date of posting to the website.

Each Fund releases non-public portfolio holdings information to certain third-party service providers on a daily basis in order for those parties to perform their duties on behalf of the Fund. These service providers include the Fund’s Adviser, Distributor, Transfer Agent, Fund Accounting Agent, Administrator and Custodian. Each Fund also periodically discloses portfolio holdings information on a confidential basis to other parties that provide services to the Funds, such as the Funds’ auditors, legal counsel, proxy voting services (if applicable), printers, brokers and pricing services. The lag between the date of the information and the date on which the information is disclosed will vary based on the nature of the services provided by the party to whom the information is disclosed. For example, the information may be provided to the Funds’ auditors within days after the end of the Funds’ fiscal year in connection with the Funds’ annual audits, while the information may be given to legal counsel at any time. Fund service providers are required to keep this information confidential and are prohibited from trading based on the information or otherwise using the information except as necessary in providing services to the Funds.

Each business day, each Fund’s portfolio holdings information will generally be provided for dissemination through the facilities of the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”) and/or other fee-based

subscription services to NSCC members and/or subscribers to those other fee-based subscription services, including Authorized Participants, and to entities that publish and/or analyze such information in connection with the process of purchasing or redeeming Creation Units or trading shares of a Fund in the secondary market. This information typically reflects the Fund’s anticipated holdings as of the next Business Day.

Each Fund reserves the right to adopt a semi-transparency policy which would allow the Fund to disclose information to facilitate efficient trading of shares through substantial portfolio transparency and publication of informative metrics, while shielding the identity of the full portfolio contents of the Fund to protect the Fund’s investment strategy. A Fund may adopt such a policy with approval of the Board and without shareholder approval.

PROXY VOTING POLICY

The Trust and the Adviser each have adopted proxy voting policies and procedures reasonably designed to ensure that proxies are voted in shareholders’ best interests. As a brief summary, the Trust’s policy delegates responsibility regarding proxy voting to the Adviser, subject to the Adviser’s proxy voting policy and the supervision of the Board.

Absent mitigating circumstances and/or conflicts of interest, it is the Adviser’s general policy to vote proxies consistent with the recommendation of the senior management of the issuer. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Adviser may vote against a management recommendation with respect to stock option and other executive compensation plan matters. The Adviser monitors corporate actions of issuers of each Fund’s portfolio securities in a manner consistent with the Adviser’s fiduciary duty to vote proxies in the best interests of its clients. The Adviser approaches all proxy issues, including ESG-related matters, through its Values-Based Investing framework. This includes voting in such a way that fosters flourishing for key stakeholders and results in a positive impact on the world.

The Trust’s policy provides that, if a conflict of interest between the Adviser or its affiliates and a Fund arises with respect to any proxy, the Adviser must fully disclose the conflict to the Board and vote the proxy in accordance with the Board’s instructions. The Board shall make the proxy voting decision that in its judgment, after reviewing the recommendation of the Adviser, is most consistent with the Adviser’s proxy voting policies and in the best interests of Fund shareholders. When the Board is required to make a proxy voting decision, only the Trustees without a conflict of interest with regard to the security in question or the matter to be voted upon shall be permitted to participate in the decision of how a Fund’s vote will be cast.

You may obtain a copy of the Adviser’s proxy voting policies by calling the Adviser at 1-800-222-8274. A copy of the policies will be mailed to you within three days of receipt of your request. You may obtain a copy of the Trust’s or Adviser’s policies from Fund documents filed with the SEC, which are available on the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. A copy of the votes cast by each Fund with respect to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30th will be filed by the Fund with the SEC on Form N-PX. Each Fund’s proxy voting record will be available to shareholders free of charge upon request by calling or writing the Fund as described above or from the SEC’s web site.

DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE

The NAV of the shares of a Fund is determined at the close of trading (which is normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern time) on each day the New York Stock Exchange is open for business. The New York Stock Exchange is closed on Saturdays, Sundays and the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. For a description of the methods used to determine the NAV (share price), see “Determination of Net Asset Value” in the Prospectus. A Fund’s NAV per share is computed by dividing the value of the securities held by the Fund plus any cash or other assets (including interest and dividends accrued but not yet received) minus all liabilities (including accrued expenses) by the total number of shares in the Fund outstanding at such time.

Equity securities are generally valued by using market quotations. Equity securities traded on a securities exchange for which a last-quoted sales price is readily available are generally valued at the last quoted sale price as reported by the primary exchange on which the securities are listed. Lacking a last sale price, an exchange traded security is generally valued by the pricing service at its last bid price. Securities listed on the NASDAQ National Market System are generally valued by a pricing service at the NASDAQ Official Closing Price, which may differ from the last sales price reported.

Options traded on major exchanges are valued at the last quoted sales price on their primary exchange. If there is no reported sale on the valuation date, such options are valued at the mean of the last bid and ask prices.

Fixed income securities for which market quotations are readily available are generally valued based upon the mean of the last bid and ask prices as provided by an independent pricing service. If market quotations are not readily available, the pricing service may use electronic data processing techniques and/or a computerized matrix system based on yield spreads relating to securities with similar characteristics to determine prices for normal institutional-size trading units of debt securities without regard to sale or bid prices to determine valuations. In determining the value of a bond or other fixed income security, matrix pricing takes into consideration recent transactions, yield, liquidity, risk, credit quality, coupon, maturity and type of issue, and any other factors or market data as the independent pricing service deems relevant for the security being priced and for other securities with similar characteristics.

If management or the Adviser considers a valuation unreliable due to market or other events (including events that occur after the close of the trading market but before the calculation of the NAV), the applicable Fund will value its securities at their fair value, as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange, as determined in good faith by the Adviser in conformity with guidelines adopted by and subject to review of the Board. The Trust maintains a pricing review committee that will review any fair value provided by the Adviser, subject to the ultimate review and approval of the Pricing & Liquidity Committee of the Board. Any one member of the Pricing & Liquidity Committee constitutes a quorum for purposes of reviewing and approving a fair value. The full Pricing & Liquidity Committee will review all fair valued securities on a quarterly basis.

Short-term investments in fixed income securities with maturities of less than 60 days when acquired, or which subsequently are within 60 days of maturity, are valued at their market value as determined by an independent third-party pricing agent, unless it is determined that such practice does not approximate fair value.

STATUS AND TAXATION OF THE FUNDS

The Funds were organized as a series of a business trust and intends to continue to qualify for treatment as a regulated investment company (a “RIC”) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) in each taxable year. There can be no assurance that it actually will so qualify. If a Fund qualifies as a RIC, its dividend and capital gain distributions generally are subject only to a single level of taxation, to the shareholders. This differs from distributions of a regular business corporation which, in general, are taxed first as taxable income of the distributing corporation, and then again as dividend income of the shareholder.

Redemption of Fund shares generally will result in a taxable gain or loss to the redeeming shareholder, depending on whether the redemption proceeds are more or less than the shareholder’s adjusted basis for the redeemed shares.

If a Fund does qualify as a RIC but (in a particular calendar year) distributes less than 98% of its ordinary income and 98.2% of its capital gain net income (as the Code defines each such term), the Fund would be subject to an excise tax. The excise tax, if applicable, is 4% of the excess of the amount required to have been distributed over the amount actually distributed for the applicable year. If a Fund does not qualify as a RIC, its income will be subject to taxation as a regular business corporation, without reduction by dividends paid to shareholders of the Fund.

To continue to qualify for treatment as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code, a Fund must, among other requirements:

A Fund may acquire zero coupon bonds or other securities issued with original issue discount (including pay-in-kind securities). If it does so, the Fund will have to include in its income its share of the original issue discount that accrues on the securities during the taxable year, even if the Fund receives no corresponding payment on the securities during the year. Because each Fund annually must distribute (a) 98% of its ordinary income in order to avoid imposition of a 4% excise tax, and (b) 90% of its investment company taxable income, including any original issue discount, to satisfy the Distribution Requirement, a Fund may be required in a particular year to distribute as a dividend an amount that is greater than the total amount of cash it actually receives. Those distributions would be made from the Fund’s cash, if any, or from the sales of portfolio securities, if necessary. A Fund might realize capital gains or losses from any such sales, which would increase or decrease the Fund’s investment company taxable income and/or net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss).

Hedging strategies, to reduce risk in various ways, are subject to complex rules that determine, for federal income tax purposes, the character and time for recognition of gains and losses that a Fund realizes in connection with the hedge. A Fund’s income from derivative instruments, if any, in each case derived with respect to its business of making investments, should qualify as allowable income for the Fund under the Income Requirement.

Fund distributions received by your qualified retirement plan, such as a 401(k) plan or IRA, are generally tax-deferred; this means that you are not required to report Fund distributions on your income tax return when paid to your plan, but, rather, when your plan makes payments to you or your beneficiary. Special rules apply to payouts from Roth and Education IRAs.

The portion of the dividends a Fund pays (other than capital gain distributions) that does not exceed the aggregate dividends it receives from U.S. corporations will be eligible for the dividends received deduction allowed to corporations.

If you are a non-retirement plan holder, a Fund will send you a Form 1099 each year that tells you the amount of distributions you received for the prior calendar year, the tax status of those distributions, and a list of reportable sale transactions. Generally, a Fund’s distributions are taxable to you in the year you received them. However, any dividends that are declared in October, November or December but paid in January are taxable as if received in December of the year they are declared. Investors should be careful to consider the tax consequences of buying shares shortly before a distribution. The price of shares purchased at that time may reflect the amount of the anticipated distribution. However, any such distribution will be taxable to the purchaser of the shares and may result in a decline in the share value by the amount of the distribution.

If shares of a Fund are purchased within 30 days before or after redeeming other shares of the Fund at a loss, all or a portion of that loss will not be deductible and will increase the basis of the newly purchased shares. If shares of a Fund are sold at a loss after being held by a shareholder for six-months or less, the loss will be treated as a long-term, instead of a short-term, capital loss to the extent of any capital gain distributions received on the shares.

A Fund’s net realized capital gains from securities transactions will be distributed only after reducing such gains by the amount of any available capital loss carryforwards. Net capital losses recognized in taxable years of the Fund beginning after December 31, 2010 may be carried forward indefinitely to offset any capital gains.

Capital losses and specified gains realized after October 31, and net investment losses realized after August 31 of the Funds’ fiscal year may be deferred and treated as occurring on the first business day of the following fiscal year for tax purposes.

The foregoing is only a summary of some of the important federal income tax considerations affecting each Fund and its shareholders and is not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning. Accordingly, prospective investors should consult their own tax advisers for more detailed information regarding the above and for information regarding federal, state, local and foreign taxes.

CUSTODIAN AND TRANSFER AGENT

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., located at 50 Post Office Square, Boston, MA 02110, is Custodian of the Funds’ investments. The Custodian acts as the Funds’ depository, safekeeps portfolio securities, collects all income and other payments with respect thereto, disburses funds at the Funds’ request and maintains records in connection with its duties. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. also serves as the Funds’ Transfer Agent.

OTHER FUND SERVICES

Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC (“Ultimus”), located at 225 Pictoria Drive, Suite 450, Cincinnati, Ohio 45246, acts as the Funds’ fund accountant, and administrator. Ultimus is the parent company of the Distributor. One Trustee and certain officers of the Trust are members of management and/or employees of the Distributor or Ultimus.

Northern Lights Compliance Services, LLC (“NLCS”), an affiliate of Ultimus, provides a Chief Compliance Officer to the Trust, as well as related compliance services, pursuant to a consulting agreement between NLCS and the Trust. Under the terms of such agreement, NLCS receives fees from each Fund.

INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

The firm of Cohen & Company, Ltd. (“Cohen”), located at 151 N. Franklin Street, Suite 575, Chicago, Illinois 60606, has been selected as the independent registered public accounting firm for the Fund for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2023. Cohen will perform an annual audit of the Fund’s financial statements and will provide financial, tax and accounting services, as requested, in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

DISTRIBUTOR

Northern Lights Distributors, LLC, located at 4221 North 203^rd Street, Suite 100, Elkhorn, Nebraska 68022, is the distributor of Creation Units for the Funds. The Distributor is a registered broker-dealer and member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”). The Distributor is obligated to sell the shares of the Fund on a best-efforts basis only against purchase orders for the shares. Shares of the Fund are offered to the public on a continuous basis.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The Funds recently commenced operations and, as a result, there are no financial statements available.

DISCLAIMERS

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

APPENDIX A

Commercial Paper Ratings

A Standard & Poor’s commercial paper rating is a current assessment of the likelihood of timely payment of debt having an original maturity of no more than 365 days. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Standard & Poor’s for commercial paper in which the Funds may invest:

“A-1” - Issue’s degree of safety regarding timely payment is strong. Those issues determined to possess extremely strong safety characteristics are denoted “A-1+.”

“A-2” - Issue’s capacity for timely payment is satisfactory. However, the relative degree of safety is not as high as for issues designated “A-1.”

Moody’s commercial paper ratings are opinions of the ability of issuers to repay punctually promissory obligations not having an original maturity in excess of 9 months. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Moody’s for commercial paper in which the Funds may invest:

“Prime-1” - Issuer or related supporting institutions are considered to have a superior capacity for repayment of short-term promissory obligations. Prime-1 repayment capacity will normally be evidenced by the following capacities: leading market positions in well-established industries; high rates of return on funds employed; conservative capitalization structures with moderate reliance on debt and ample asset protection; broad margins in earning coverage of fixed financial charges and high internal cash generation; and well-established access to a range of financial markets and assured sources of alternate liquidity.

“Prime-2” - Issuer or related supporting institutions are considered to have a strong capacity for repayment of short-term promissory obligations. This will normally be evidenced by many of the characteristics cited above but to a lesser degree. Earnings trends and coverage ratios, while sound, will be more subject to variation. Capitalization characteristics, while still appropriate, may be more affected by external conditions. Ample alternative liquidity is maintained.

Fitch short-term ratings apply to debt obligations that are payable on demand or have original maturities of up to three years. The highest rating category of Fitch for short-term obligations is “F-1.” Fitch employs two designations, “F-1+” and “F-1,” within the highest category. The following summarizes the rating categories used by Fitch for short-term obligations in which the Funds may invest:

“F-1+” - Securities possess exceptionally strong credit quality. Issues assigned this rating are regarded as having the strongest degree of assurance for timely payment.

“F-1” - Securities possess very strong credit quality. Issues assigned this rating reflect an assurance of timely payment only slightly less in degree than issues rated “F-1+.”

Fitch may also use the symbol “LOC” with its short-term ratings to indicate that the rating is based upon a letter of credit issued by a commercial bank.

Thomson BankWatch short-term ratings assess the likelihood of an untimely or incomplete payment of principal or interest of unsubordinated instruments having a maturity of one year or less which are issued by a bank holding company or an entity within the holding company structure. The following summarizes the ratings used by Thomson BankWatch in which the Funds may invest:

“TBW-1” - This designation represents Thomson BankWatch’s highest rating category and indicates a very high degree of likelihood that principal and interest will be paid on a timely basis.

“TBW-2” - this designation indicates that while the degree of safety regarding timely payment of principal and interest is

strong, the relative degree of safety is not as high as for issues rated “TBW-1.”

IBCA assesses the investment quality of unsecured debt with an original maturity of less than one year which is issued by bank holding companies and their principal bank subsidiaries. The following summarizes the rating categories used by IBCA for short-term debt ratings in which the Funds may invest:

“A1” - Obligations are supported by the highest capacity for timely repayment. Where issues possess a particularly strong credit feature, a rating of A1+ is assigned.

“A2” - Obligations are supported by a good capacity for timely repayment.

Corporate Long-Term Investment Grade Debt Ratings

Standard & Poor’s Debt Ratings

A Standard & Poor’s corporate or municipal debt rating is a current assessment of the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific obligation. This assessment may take into consideration obligors such as guarantors, insurers, or lessees. The debt rating is not a recommendation to purchase, sell, or hold a security, inasmuch as it does not comment as to market price or suitability for a particular investor.

The ratings are based on current information furnished by the issuer or obtained by S&P from other sources it considers reliable. S&P does not perform an audit in connection with any rating and may, on occasion, rely on unaudited financial information. The ratings may be changed, suspended, or withdrawn as a result of changes in, or unavailability of, such information, or for other circumstances.

The ratings are based, in varying degrees, on the following considerations:

AAA - Debt rated ‘AAA’ has the highest rating assigned by Standard & Poor’s. Capacity to pay interest and repay principal is extremely strong.

AA - Debt rated ‘AA’ has a very strong capacity to pay interest and repay principal and differs from the highest rated issues only in small degree.

A - Debt rated ‘A’ has a strong capacity to pay interest and repay principal although it is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than debt in higher rated categories.

BBB - Debt rated ‘BBB’ is regarded as having an adequate capacity to pay interest and repay principal. Whereas it normally exhibits adequate protection parameters, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity to pay interest and repay principal for debt in this category than in higher rated categories.

BB, B, CCC, CC and C:

Obligations rated ‘BB’, ‘B’, ‘CCC’ ‘CC’, and ‘C’ are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. ‘BB’ indicates the least degree of speculation and ‘C’ the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposure to adverse conditions.

BB: - An obligation rated ‘BB’ is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions which could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.

B: - An obligation rated ‘B’ is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated ‘BB’, but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligor’s capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.

CCC: - An obligation rated ‘CCC’ is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitments on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation.

CC: - An obligation rated ‘CC’ is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The ‘CC’ rating is used when a default has not yet occurred but S&P Global Ratings expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to default.

C: - An obligation rated ‘C’ is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, and the obligation is expected to have lower relative seniority or lower ultimate recovery compared with obligations that are rated higher.

D: - An obligation rated ‘D’ is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the ‘D’ rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless S&P Global Ratings believes that such payments will be made within five business days in the absence of a stated grace period or within the earlier of the stated grace period or 30 calendar days. The ‘D’ rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligation’s rating is lowered to ‘D’ if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.

Moody’s Long-Term Debt Ratings

Aaa: - Bonds which are rated Aaa are judged to be of the best quality. They carry the smallest degree of investment risk and are generally referred to as “gilt edged.” Interest payments are protected by a large or by an exceptionally stable margin and principal is secure. While the various protective elements are likely to change, such changes as can be visualized are most unlikely to impair the fundamentally strong position of such issues.

Aa: - Bonds which are rated ‘Aa’ are judged to be of high quality by all standards. Together with the Aaa group they comprise what are generally known as high grade bonds. They are rated lower than the best bonds because margins of protection may not be as large as in Aaa securities or fluctuation of protective elements may be of greater amplitude or there may be other elements present which make the long-term risk appear somewhat larger than in Aaa securities.

A: - Bonds which are rated ‘A’ possess many favorable investment attributes and are to be considered as upper-medium grade obligations. Factors giving security to principal and interest are considered adequate, but elements may be present which suggest a susceptibility to impairment sometime in the future.

Baa: - Bonds which are rated ‘Baa’ are considered as medium-grade obligations (i.e, they are neither highly protected nor poorly secured). Interest payments and principal security appear adequate for the present but certain protective elements may be lacking or may be characteristically unreliable over any great length of time. Such bonds lack outstanding investment characteristics and in fact have speculative characteristics as well.

Ba: - Obligations rated ‘Ba’ are judged to be speculative and are subject to substantial credit risk.

B: - Obligations rated ‘B’ are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk.

Caa: - Obligations rated ‘Caa’ are judged to be speculative of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk.

Ca: - Obligations rated ‘Ca’ are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.

C: - Obligations rated ‘C’ are the lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest.

Fitch Investors Service, Inc. Ratings

Fitch investment grade bond ratings provide a guide to investors in determining the credit risk associated with a particular security. The ratings represent Fitch’s assessment of the issuer’s ability to meet the obligations of a specific debt issue or class of debt in a timely manner.

The rating takes into consideration special features of the issue, its relationship to other obligations of the issuer, the current and prospective financial condition and operating performance of the issuer and any guarantor, as well as the economic and political environment that might affect the issuer’s future financial strength and credit quality.

Fitch ratings do not reflect any credit enhancement that may be provided by insurance policies or financial guaranties unless otherwise indicated.

Bonds that have the same rating are of similar but not necessarily identical credit quality since the rating categories do not fully reflect small differences in the degrees of credit risk.

Fitch ratings are not recommendations to buy, sell, or hold any security. Ratings do not comment on the adequacy of market price, the suitability of any security for a particular investor, or the tax-exempt nature of taxability of payments made in respect of any security.

Fitch ratings are based on information obtained from issuers, other obligors, underwriters, their experts, and other sources Fitch believes to be reliable. Fitch does not audit or verify the truth or accuracy of such information. Ratings may be changed, suspended, or withdrawn as a result of changes in, or the unavailability of, information or for other reasons.

AAA Bonds considered to be investment grade and of the highest credit quality. The obligor has an exceptionally strong ability to pay interest and repay principal, which is unlikely to be affected by reasonably foreseeable events.

AA Bonds considered to be investment grade and of very high credit quality. The obligor’s ability to pay interest and repay principal is very strong, although not quite as strong as bonds rated ‘AAA.= Because bonds rated in the ‘AAA’ and ‘AA’ categories are not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable future developments, short-term debt of the issuers is generally rated ‘F-1+.’

A Bonds considered to be investment grade and of high credit quality. The obligor’s ability to pay interest and repay principal is considered to be strong, but may be more vulnerable to adverse changes in economic conditions and circumstances than bonds with higher ratings.

BBB Bonds considered to be investment grade and of satisfactory credit quality. The obligor’s ability to pay interest and repay principal is considered to be adequate. Adverse changes in economic conditions and circumstances, however, are more likely to have adverse impact on these bonds, and therefore impair timely payment. The likelihood that the ratings of these bonds will fall below investment grade is higher than for bonds with higher ratings.

BB: Speculative. ‘BB’ ratings indicate an elevated vulnerability to default risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time; however, business or financial flexibility exists that supports the servicing of financial commitments.

B: Highly speculative. ‘B’ ratings indicate that material default risk is present, but a limited margin of safety remains. Financial commitments are currently being met; however, capacity for continued payment is vulnerable to deterioration in the business and economic environment.

CCC: Substantial credit risk. Default is a real possibility.

CC: Very high levels of credit risk. Default of some kind appears probable.

C: Near default. A default or default-like process has begun, or the issuer is in standstill, or for a closed funding vehicle, payment capacity is irrevocably impaired. Conditions that are indicative of a ‘C’ category rating for an issuer include:

RD: Restricted default. ‘RD’ ratings indicate an issuer that in Fitch’s opinion has experienced:

This would include:

D: Default. ‘D’ ratings indicate an issuer that in Fitch Ratings’ opinion has entered into bankruptcy filings, administration, receivership, liquidation or other formal winding-up procedure or which has otherwise ceased business.

Default ratings are not assigned prospectively to entities or their obligations; within this context, non-payment on an instrument that contains a deferral feature or grace period will generally not be considered a default until after the expiration of the deferral or grace period, unless a default is otherwise driven by bankruptcy or other similar circumstance, or by a distressed debt exchange.

In all cases, the assignment of a default rating reflects the agency’s opinion as to the most appropriate rating category consistent with the rest of its universe of ratings and may differ from the definition of default under the terms of an issuer’s financial obligations or local commercial practice.

The rating takes into consideration special features of the issue, its relationship to other obligations of the issuer, the current and prospective financial condition and operating performance of the issuer and any guarantor, as well as the economic and political environment that might affect the issuer’s future financial strength.

Bonds that have the same rating are of similar but not necessarily identical credit quality since the rating categories cannot fully reflect the differences in the degrees of credit risk. Moreover, the character of the risk factor varies from industry to industry and between corporate, health care and municipal obligations.

PART C. OTHER INFORMATION