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Prospectus

May 1, 2024

 

Rule One Fund

Founders Class Shares (Ticker: RULRX)

Investor Class Shares (Ticker: RULIX)

 

8730 Stony Point Parkway, Suite 205

Richmond, Virginia 23235

 

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has not 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 PAGE
FUND SUMMARY 1
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND’S INVESTMENTS 12
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND PRINCIPAL RISKS 13
MANAGEMENT 26
HOW TO BUY SHARES 28
HOW TO SELL SHARES 30
DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES 33
NET ASSET VALUE 35
FREQUENT PURCHASES AND REDEMPTIONS 37
GENERAL INFORMATION 39
DISTRIBUTION ARRANGEMENTS 40
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS 43
FOR MORE INFORMATION 45

 

 

 

 

FUND SUMMARY

Rule One Fund

 

Investment Objective

 

The Rule One Fund (the “Fund”) seeks long-term capital appreciation with less volatility than the broad equity market.

 

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

 

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund.

 

 

Founders

Class Shares

Investor
Class Shares

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

None None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)    
Management Fees 1.70% 1.70%
Distribution (12b-1) and Service Fees 0.00% 0.25%
Other Expenses    
Shareholder Services Plan 0.00% 0.08%
Interest Expense(1) 0.02% 0.02%
Other Expenses 0.32% 0.32%
Total Other Expenses 0.34% 0.42%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses 0.02% 0.02%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (2) 2.06% 2.39%
Fee Waivers (3) (0.03%) (0.11%)
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers 2.03% 2.28%

 

(1)Interest expense has been restated to reflect the anticipated impact of the Adviser’s implementation of a more cost-efficient options trading process and therefore will not correlate to the Fund’s financial highlights in the annual shareholder report. Had the interest expense not been restated, Interest Expense would have been 0.26% for both Founders Class Shares and Investor Class Shares; Total Other Expenses would have been 0.58% and 0.66% for Founders Class Shares and Investor Class Shares, respectively; Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses would have been 2.30% and 2.63% for Founders Class Shares and Investor Class Shares, respectively; and Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers would have been 2.27% and 2.52% for Founders Class Shares and Investor Class Shares, respectively.

 

(2)The Fund’s Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses may not correlate to the expense ratios in the Fund’s financial highlights and financial statements because the financial highlights and financial statements reflect only the operating expenses of the Fund and do not include Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, which are fees and expenses incurred indirectly by the Fund through its investments in certain underlying investment companies.

 

(3)Rule One Partners, LLC (the “Adviser”) has contractually agreed to waive its fees and/or pay for operating expenses of the Fund to ensure that total annual fund operating expenses (exclusive of interest, distribution fees pursuant to Rule 12b-1 plans, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, dividend expenses on short sales, other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of business) do not exceed 1.99% of the average daily net assets of the Fund’s Founders Class shares and Investor Class shares, until May 1, 2025. World Funds Trust (the “Trust”) and the Adviser may terminate this expense limitation agreement prior to May 1, 2025 only by mutual written consent.  Each waiver or reimbursement of an expense by the Adviser is subject to repayment by the Fund within thirty-six months following the date such waiver and/or reimbursement was made, provided that the Fund is able to make the repayment without exceeding the expense limitation in place at the time of the waiver or reimbursement and at the time the waiver or reimbursement is recouped.

 

 

 

 

Example.

The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

 

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The effect of the Adviser’s agreement to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses is only reflected in the first year of the example shown below. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

  1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
Founders Class Shares $206 $643 $1,106 $2,387
Investor Class Shares $231 $735 $1,266 $2,718

 

Portfolio Turnover

 

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. For the Fund’s most recent fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 100.92% of the average value of its portfolio.

 

2 

 

 

Principal Investment Strategies

 

To pursue its objective, under normal circumstances, the Fund invests primarily in a concentrated portfolio of equity securities and equity-related instruments, options on equity securities, and cash and cash equivalents. The Fund may include common stocks of companies with any market capitalization in both domestic and international markets, sponsored or unsponsored American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) and ETFs that focus their investments on equity securities. ADRs are typically trust receipts issued by a U.S. bank or trust company that evidence an indirect interest in underlying securities issued by a foreign entity. The ETFs in which the Fund may invest may have direct exposure to equity securities or may have indirect exposure to equity securities through indices or options. The Fund’s portfolio is concentrated because it will consist of a relatively small number of holdings – generally between 5 and 20 positions. The Fund may invest directly in common stocks of international issuers from time to time, rather than invest in the ADR related to such issuer.

 

In constructing the Fund’s portfolio, the Adviser uses fundamental analysis to establish a reasonable value (i.e., intrinsic value) for equity securities. In general, the Adviser selects equity securities that it believes have an intrinsic, durable competitive advantage over competition, a proven history of predictable cash flows, management that has both talent and integrity, and equity that is able to be purchased at a substantial discount to its intrinsic value. The Adviser expects the securities of the company to appreciate over time due to company-specific developments rather than general business conditions or market events. The Adviser may remove a security when its investment analysis indicates that the security is priced near or above its intrinsic value or believes better investment opportunities are available.

 

The Adviser’s estimate of intrinsic value is derived using a discounted cash flow analysis that requires an estimate of earnings growth for the next ten years, an appropriate PE ratio and a discount of that future value back to the present, typically at a discount rate of 15%. The Adviser views a continued high return on invested capital, no debt, historically high, consistent and growing earnings and free cash as strong indicators of a durable competitive advantage over competition given that sustaining these metrics over time is unlikely without a significant barrier to competitors copying the business and competing on price.

 

The Fund sets pre-determined thresholds for portfolio weightings of equity securities and the Adviser will actively manage the Fund’s portfolio to stay within those thresholds. The Fund’s portfolio weightings are determined based on such factors as the Adviser’s expectations for the performance of particular portfolio holdings, the Fund’s investment time horizon, and current market conditions.

 

3 

 

 

Additionally, the Fund will pursue an options trading strategy. The Fund will seek to generate current income from option premiums by writing (selling) put and call options on equity securities, ADRs and ETFs. A put option refers to a financial transaction in which the investor selling the put option receives a cash payment and becomes obligated to purchase the underlying security at a set price for a set period of time. A call option refers to a financial transaction in which the investor selling a call option is obligated to deliver the underlying security at a set price for a set period of time. The Fund will only write call options where the Fund owns an equivalent amount of the underlying security, known as a “covered call” option. In addition, the Fund will opportunistically purchase equity, ETF and/or index put options in order to increase returns, reduce volatility or provide downside market protection for the portfolio. The Fund will use derivatives for hedging purposes, generation of earnings and basis reduction.

 

The extent of option writing activity will depend on the Adviser’s judgment regarding the relationship between value and price of the securities they wish to acquire, the expiration dates that are available for the options, and the attractiveness of writing call options on the Fund’s stock holdings. Some of the income from the premiums produced by writing put and call options may be used to purchase puts to help reduce the volatility (and risk profile) of the fund by providing downside protection.

 

The Fund will hold cash as collateral to cover the obligation created by selling puts and it will hold the underlying security as collateral for covered call option trades. Collateral for put options purchased to reduce volatility is limited to the total cash paid for the option. Collateral for call options purchased to increase returns is limited to the total cash paid for the option.

 

The Fund may invest in short positions in equity securities and derivatives. The Fund’s use of various options strategies may result in “leveraging” the portfolio or increasing stock market exposure. This can occur when the Fund buys call options on individual stocks or market indices. The maximum exposure of the Fund to stocks, either directly through purchases of stock or indirectly through option positions, is not expected to exceed 125% of its net assets. This means that the value of the underlying positions represented by options is not expected to exceed 125% of the value of the Fund’s net assets at the time of investment. The risk of a 125% loss to the Fund from this strategy means that the Fund would lose 125% of its net asset value. The Adviser sells put options on equity securities of companies the Adviser believes represent value investments in the market. The Fund’s cash position secures the obligation. In the event that the Fund has more obligations through these put options than available cash, the Adviser will use portfolio margin (leverage) to secure the positions that had obligations that exceeded available cash. If the entire market experiences a significant decline, the Fund’s long put options will provide substantial cash to cover leveraged positions.

 

4 

 

 

The Fund may also invest up to 15% of its net assets in private companies. The Fund’s investments in private companies may offer attractive investment opportunities which may not otherwise be available with public companies. However, securities of private companies are often “restricted securities,” and are not readily marketable. Accordingly, securities of private companies are generally considered to be illiquid. The Fund does not invest in private companies that are affiliates of the Adviser.

 

The Fund is non-diversified, meaning it may invest in fewer individual holdings than a diversified fund. Therefore, the Fund is more exposed to individual security volatility than a diversified fund. The volatility of individual securities can have a magnified impact on the Fund’s performance based on the Fund’s strategy and the securities in which the Fund invests. Purchase and sale decisions are based on the Adviser’s judgment about issuers, risk, prices of securities, market conditions, potential returns, and other economic factors.

 

Although the Fund holds a concentrated portfolio of equity securities and options, the Fund is not required to be fully invested in such securities and options and may maintain a significant portion of its total assets in cash and securities generally considered to be cash equivalents. In certain market conditions, the Fund may determine that it is appropriate to hold a significant cash position for an extended period.

 

Principal Risks

 

As with all mutual funds, there is the risk that you could lose money through your investment in the Fund. Many factors affect the Fund’s net asset value and performance. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government entity.

 

The following describes the risks the Fund bears directly or indirectly through its investments in Equity Securities and options contracts. As with any mutual fund, there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its goal.

 

Cash and Cash Equivalents Risk.  The Fund expects to hold a significant amount of cash or cash equivalents under its investment strategy. There is a risk of lower returns and potential lost opportunities to participate in overall market appreciation or appreciation with respect to particular issuers when the Fund has significant cash or cash equivalent holdings. See Credit Risk and Interest Rate Risk disclosures below.

 

5 

 

 

Credit Risk. An issuer or guarantor of a debt security may be unable or unwilling to make scheduled payments of interest and principal. Actual or perceived deterioration in an issuer’s or guarantor’s financial condition may affect a security’s value.

 

Derivatives Risk. The Fund may gain exposure to Equity Securities directly through investment in derivatives instruments, such as short put and covered call options. The Fund’s exposure to derivative instruments may involve risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. These risks include (i) the risk that the counterparty to a derivative transaction may not fulfill its contractual obligations; (ii) risk of mispricing or improper valuation; (iii) the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index; and (iv) potential for a greater loss than the amount invested by the Fund.

 

Call and Put Options Risk. There are risks associated with the sale and purchase of call and put options. As a seller (writer) of a put option, the Fund may lose money if the value of the reference index or security falls below the exercise price. As the seller (writer) of a call option, the Fund may experience lower returns if the value of the reference index or security rises above the exercise price.

 

There is risk of loss to the Fund in connection with purchasing put options. The buyer of a put option assumes the risk of losing its entire investment (i.e., the premium paid) in the put option. In order for a put option to be profitable, the market price of the underlying security must decline sufficiently below the exercise price to cover the premium and transaction costs that the Fund must pay. These costs will reduce any profit the Fund might have realized had it sold the underlying security instead of buying the put option.

 

There is risk of loss to the Fund in connection with purchasing call options. In order for a call option to be profitable, the market price of the underlying security must rise sufficiently above the exercise price to cover the premium and transaction costs. The Fund retains the risk of loss should the price of such securities decline.

 

Margin Risk. The Fund may hold securities that are subject to collateral requirements at various executing brokers. Changes to collateral requirements, especially emergency adjustments that are done in response to market volatility, may force the Fund to sell certain securities on short notice for non-investment related reasons which may result in unfavorable execution prices and unfavorable investment results.

 

6 

 

 

Exchange-Traded Funds Risk. The ETFs in which the Fund invests will not be able to replicate exactly the performance of the indices they track because the total return generated by the securities will be reduced by transaction costs incurred in adjusting the actual balance of the securities. This may result in a loss. Certain securities in which the ETF invests including those comprising the indices tracked by the ETFs may, from time to time, temporarily be unavailable, which may further impede the ETFs’ ability to track their applicable indices. ETFs in which the Fund invests are subject to investment advisory and other expenses, which will be indirectly paid by the Fund. As a result, the cost of investing in the Fund will be higher than the cost of investing directly in the ETF and may be higher than other mutual funds that invest directly in stocks and bonds. ETFs may also trade at a discount or premium to their net asset value. An active trading market may not develop for an ETF's shares.

 

Equity Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk that stock and other equity security prices may fall over short or extended periods of time. Historically, the equity markets have moved in cycles, and the price of the Fund’s Equity Securities may fluctuate drastically from day to day. Individual companies may report poor results or be negatively affected by industry and/or economic trends and developments. The prices of securities issued by such companies may suffer a decline in response. These factors contribute to price volatility.

 

Focused Portfolio and Non-Diversification Risks. The Fund may have more volatility and is considered to have more risk than a fund that invests in securities of a greater number of issuers because changes in the value of a single issuer’s security may have a more significant effect, either negative or positive, on the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”). To the extent that the Fund invests its assets in the securities of fewer issuers, the Fund will be subject to greater risk of loss if any of those securities decrease in value or becomes impaired. To the extent that the Fund’s investments are focused in a particular issuer, market, industry, asset class or other category, the Fund may be susceptible to loss due to adverse occurrences affecting that issuer, market, industry, asset class or other category.

 

Foreign Investment Risk. Since the Fund’s investments may include foreign Equity Securities, the Fund is subject to risks beyond those associated with investing in domestic securities. Foreign companies are generally not subject to the same regulatory requirements of U.S. companies thereby resulting in less publicly available information about these companies. In addition, foreign accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards generally differ from those applicable to U.S. companies. Securities of foreign companies (including ADRs and other securities that represent interests in a non-U.S. issuer’s securities) may be less liquid, more volatile, and harder to value than U.S. securities.

 

7 

 

 

Depositary Receipts Risk. American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) are typically trust receipts issued by a U.S. bank or trust company that evidence an indirect interest in underlying securities issued by a foreign entity. Investments in foreign entities through ADRs generally involve risks applicable to other types of investments in foreign issuers. Investments in ADRs may be less liquid and more volatile than the underlying securities in their primary trading market. If a depositary receipt is denominated in a different currency than its underlying securities, the Fund will be subject to the currency risk of both the investment in the depositary receipt and the underlying security. There may be less publicly available information regarding the issuer of the securities underlying a depositary receipt than if those securities were traded directly in U.S. securities markets. Depositary receipts may or may not be sponsored by the issuers of the underlying securities, and information regarding issuers of securities underlying unsponsored depositary receipts may be more limited than for sponsored depositary receipts.

 

Hedging Risk. The success of the Fund’s hedging strategies will be subject to the Adviser’s ability to correctly assess the degree of correlation between the performance of the instruments used in the hedging strategy and the performance of the instruments being hedged. The use of hedging strategies will not eliminate all risks associated with the Fund’s portfolio. Hedging strategies can entail significant transactional costs for the Fund.

 

High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund’s investment strategies are expected to involve frequent trading which leads to increased transactional costs and may result in the realization of capital gains. It is possible that the Fund may distribute sizable taxable capital gains to its shareholders, regardless of investment performance.

 

Interest Rate Risk. Debt security prices may decline due to rising interest rates. The price of debt securities with longer maturities is typically affected more by rising interest rates than the price of debt securities with shorter maturities.

 

Leveraging Risk. Certain transactions the Fund may undertake may give rise to a form of leverage, including investing in options and short sales. Leverage creates exposure to gains and losses in a greater amount than the dollar amount made in an investment. Leverage can magnify the effects of changes in the value of the Fund’s investments and make the Fund more volatile. Relatively small market movements may result in large changes in the value of a leveraged investment. The potential loss on such leveraged investments may be substantial relative to the initial investment therein.

 

Management Risk. The portfolio manager’s judgments about the attractiveness, value and potential appreciation of Equity Securities or other securities in which the Fund invests or sells short may prove to be incorrect and there is no guarantee that the portfolio manager’s judgment will produce the desired results. The Fund’s shareholders are subject to the risk of loss due to the portfolio manager’s judgment as to purchases and sales of investments in the Fund.

 

8 

 

 

Market Risk. Overall market risks may also affect the value of the Fund. Factors such as domestic economic growth and market conditions, interest rate levels and political events affect the securities markets.

 

Private Company/Placement Investment Risk. Any investments in the stocks of privately held companies involve greater risks than investments in stocks of companies that have traded publicly on an exchange for extended time periods. There is significantly less information available about these companies’ business models, quality of management, earnings growth potential, and other criteria that are normally considered when evaluating the investment prospects of a company. Private placements and other restricted securities held by the Fund are generally considered to be illiquid and are difficult to value since there are no market prices and less overall financial information available. The Fund could lose money on an investment in a private company, and investments in private companies may adversely affect the Fund’s performance.

 

Small and Medium Capitalization Stock 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.

 

Transaction Cost Risk. Transaction costs refer to the charges that are associated with buying and selling securities for the Fund. As a result of the Fund’s expected high rate of trading in options, the Fund may incur higher brokerage and transactional charges than those associated with an average equity fund. These transaction costs increase the cost of your investment in the Fund.

 

“Value” Investing Risk.  "Value" stocks can perform differently from the market as a whole and other types of stocks and can continue to be undervalued by the market for long periods of time. "Value" stocks tend to be inexpensive relative to their earnings or assets compared to other types of stocks. However, "value" stocks can continue to be inexpensive for long periods of time and may not ever realize their full value.

 

Performance Information

 

The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance for each full calendar year over the life of the Fund, and by showing how the Fund’s average annual returns for the periods indicated compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. The calendar year returns of the Founders Class Shares will differ from those of the Investor Class Shares due to different expense structures. The Investor Class Shares have not yet commenced operations and therefore have no performance history. Updated performance information is available by calling toll-free 1-833-RULEONE.

 

9 

 

 

The following bar chart shows the annual returns for the Fund’s Founders Class shares for each full calendar year of the Fund’s operations.

 

 

 

 

During the periods shown, the highest quarterly return was 14.61% (quarter ended December 31, 2020) and the lowest quarterly return was -11.64% (quarter ended March 31, 2020).

 

Average Annual Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2023

 

The table below shows how average annual total returns of the Fund’s Founders Class shares compared to those of the Fund’s benchmark. The table also presents the impact of taxes on the Fund. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest marginal individual U.S. federal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The Investor Class Shares have not yet commenced operations and therefore have no performance history. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts (“IRA”).

 

10 

 

 

Return Before Taxes

(Founders Class Shares)

1 Year

Since

Inception

(6/3/2019)

Return Before Taxes 21.14% 7.65%

Return After Taxes

1 Year

Since

Inception

(6/3/2019)

Return After Taxes on Distributions 20.78% 6.37%

Return After Taxes on Distributions

and Sale of Fund Shares

12.52% 5.39%

Dow Jones Industrial Average Index

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)

16.18% 11.90%

 

Investment Adviser

 

Rule One Partners, LLC serves as the investment adviser to the Fund.

 

Portfolio Managers

 

Philip Bradley Town, the Managing Member of the Adviser, has served as the Fund’s portfolio manager since it commenced operations in 2019.

 

Austin Bowen, the Senior Analyst to the Investment Adviser since 2018, has served as the Fund’s portfolio manager since November 2023.

 

Travis Parker, an Analyst to the Investment Adviser, has served as the Fund’s portfolio manager since November 2023.

 

Mr. Town, Mr. Bowen and Mr. Parker are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio.

 

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

 

The minimum initial investment in the Fund is $20,000 for the Fund’s Founders Class shares and $2,500 for the Fund’s Investor Class shares. The minimum subsequent investment is $5,000 for the Fund’s Founders Class shares and $100 for the Fund’s Investor Class shares. You may purchase and redeem shares of the Fund on any day that the New York Stock Exchange is open. Redemption requests may be made in writing, by telephone, online, or through a financial intermediary and will be paid by an electronic bank transfer (ACH), check or wire transfer. The Fund and the Adviser each reserves the right to waive any investment minimum requirements.

 

11 

 

 

Tax Information

 

Dividends and capital gain distributions that you receive from the Fund, whether you reinvest your distributions in additional Fund shares or receive them in cash, are taxable to you at either ordinary income or capital gains tax rates unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement such as an IRA or 401(k) plan. However, eventual withdrawals from tax-deferred plans are generally taxable.

 

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

 

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

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND’S INVESTMENTS

 

This prospectus describes the Fund’s principal investment strategies, and the Fund will normally invest in the types of investments described in this prospectus. In addition to the investments described in this prospectus, the Fund also may use other strategies and engage in other investment practices that are not part of its principal investment strategies. These investments and strategies, as well as those described in this prospectus, are described in detail in the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) (for information on how to obtain a copy of the SAI, see the back cover of this prospectus). Of course, there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.

 

12 

 

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND PRINCIPAL RISKS

 

Investment Objective

 

The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation with less volatility than the broad equity market.

 

The Fund’s investment objective may be changed without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders. The Fund’s investment policies may be changed by the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of the Fund without shareholder approval unless otherwise noted in this Prospectus or the Statement of Additional Information.

 

Principal Investment Strategies

 

To pursue its objective, under normal circumstances, the Fund invests primarily in a concentrated portfolio of equity securities and equity-related instruments, options on equity securities, and cash and cash equivalents. The Fund may include common stocks of companies with any market capitalization in both domestic and international markets, sponsored or unsponsored American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) and ETFs that focus their investments on equity securities. The ETFs in which the Fund may invest may have direct exposure to equity securities or may have indirect exposure to equity securities through indices or options. The Fund’s portfolio is concentrated because it will consist of a relatively small number of holdings – generally between 5 and 20 positions. The Fund may invest directly in common stocks of international issuers from time to time, rather than invest in the ADR related to such issuer.

 

In constructing the Fund’s portfolio, the Adviser uses fundamental analysis to establish a reasonable value (i.e., intrinsic value) for equity securities. In general, the Adviser selects equity securities that it believes have an intrinsic, durable competitive advantage over competition, a proven history of predictable cash flows, management that has both talent and integrity, and equity that is able to be purchased at a substantial discount to its intrinsic value. These companies may have experienced an event that caused the security price to decline well below the Adviser’s assessed intrinsic value for such company. In these situations, the Adviser expects the securities of the company to appreciate over time due to company-specific developments rather than general business conditions or market events. The Adviser may remove a security when its investment analysis indicates that the security is priced near or above its intrinsic value or believes better investment opportunities are available.

 

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The Fund sets pre-determined thresholds for portfolio weightings and the Adviser will actively manage the Fund’s portfolio to stay within those thresholds. The Fund’s portfolio weightings are determined based on such factors as the Adviser’s expectations for the performance of particular portfolio holdings, the Fund’s investment time horizon, and current market conditions.

 

The Adviser’s estimate of intrinsic value is derived using a discounted cash flow analysis that requires an estimate of earnings growth for the next ten years, an appropriate price-to-earnings ratio and a discount of that future value back to the present, typically at a discount rate of 15%. The estimate of future earnings growth is derived from historical data, the Adviser’s estimate of the predictability of past results for future earnings and the Adviser’s estimate of the predictability of future earnings, operating cash flow and free cash flow. In addition, the Adviser looks for businesses that have debt to free cash flow ratios of less than 3:1 with a strong preference for zero long term debt. And most importantly the Adviser looks for a history of high return on invested capital (ROIC) and return on equity, ideally 15% or better, that is not decreasing as the company grows. The Adviser views a continued high return on invested capital, no debt, historically high, consistent and growing earnings and free cash as strong indicators of a durable competitive advantage over competition given that sustaining these metrics over time is unlikely without a significant barrier to competitors copying the business and competing on price. For example, Apple has an ‘eco-system’ that gives it a competitive advantage where its iphone, mac, notebooks, ipad and watch are integrated to work together better than competitors in the market and have done so for years without competitors equaling that eco-system due to Apple’s proprietary operating system and control of its developer’s tools. The result for Apple is enormous earnings, free cash flow, zero net debt and a strong balance sheet. Similarly, by way of example, Netflix collects data on its streaming subscribers, develops product that ‘delights’ its subscribers who then tell their friends about the products, who then subscribe. This creates a kind of ‘flywheel’ that goes faster as the network of data and subscribers grows on its own momentum. This flywheel has created a very high barrier to competition such that while Netflix sees growing ROIC, profit and free cash flow, its competitors are losing billions of dollars and finding it necessary to reduce their efforts to overtake the Netflix lead.

 

Additionally, the Fund will pursue an options trading strategy. The Fund will seek to generate current income from option premiums by writing (selling) put and call options on equity securities, ADRs and ETFs. A put option refers to a financial transaction in which the investor selling the put option receives a cash payment and becomes obligated to purchase the underlying security at a set price for a set period of time. A call option refers to a financial transaction in which the investor selling a call option is obligated to deliver the underlying security at a set price for a set period of time. The Fund will only write call options where the Fund owns an equivalent amount of the underlying security. These options are known as “covered calls” because the Fund’s ownership of the long position in the underlying security “covers” the Fund’s obligation to deliver the shares if the buyer of the call option chooses to exercise. In addition, the Fund will opportunistically purchase equity, ETF and/or index put options in order to increase returns, reduce volatility or provide downside market protection for the portfolio. The Fund will use derivatives for hedging purposes, generation of earnings and basis reduction.

 

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The extent of option writing activity will depend on the Adviser’s judgment regarding the relationship between value and price of the securities they wish to acquire, the expiration dates that are available, and the attractiveness of writing call options on the Fund’s stock holdings. Some of the income from the premiums produced by writing put and call options may be used to purchase puts to help reduce the volatility (and risk profile) of the fund by providing downside protection. When the price of an equity security drops well below the Adviser’s buy price, the Fund expect to sell put options. When the price of an equity security rises well above the Adviser’s sell price, the Fund may sell call options. When the price of an equity security is in the middle between the buy and sell price, the Fund may sell both put and call options.

 

The Fund will hold cash as collateral to cover the obligation created by selling puts and it will hold the underlying security as collateral for covered call option trades. Collateral for put options purchased to reduce volatility is limited to the total cash paid for the option. Collateral for call options purchased to increase returns is limited to the total cash paid for the option. The Fund’s Custodian will segregate such collateral for the benefit of the counterparty.

 

The Fund may invest in short positions in equity securities and derivatives. The Fund’s use of various options strategies may result in “leveraging” the portfolio or increasing stock market exposure. This can occur when the Fund buys call options on individual stocks or market indices. The maximum exposure of the Fund to stocks, either directly through purchases of stock or indirectly through option positions, is not expected to exceed 125% of its net assets. This means that the value of the underlying positions represented by options is not expected to exceed 125% of the value of the Fund’s net assets at the time of investment. The risk of a 125% loss to the Fund from this strategy means that the Fund would lose 125% of its net asset value. The Adviser sells put options on equity securities of companies the Adviser believes represent value investments in the market. The Fund’s cash position secures the obligation. In the event that the Fund has more obligations through these put options than available cash, the Adviser will use portfolio margin (leverage) to secure the positions that had obligations that exceeded available cash. While it is unlikely that all of these positions would be subject to a put, it is possible. Should that happen the Fund would be leveraged above 100% of its assets In that event, the Adviser would purchase attractive equities securities at attractive prices on margin and, because equities have more volatility than cash, the Fund would have an increase in volatility. If the entire market experiences a significant decline, the Fund’s long put options will provide substantial cash to cover leveraged positions.

 

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The Fund may also invest up to 15% of its net assets in private companies. The Fund’s investments in private companies may offer attractive investment opportunities which may not otherwise be available with public companies. Private companies generally sell for approximately half of what the same company's publicly-offered stock would sell for. This is because the lack of liquidity and substantially less transparency in a private company means that reselling the company's stock as a private enterprise is likely to be substantially more difficult than if it was a publicly traded stock. Thus, buying a private company's stock can be an attractive use of capital. To date the Fund has not made any private company investment, however, if, in the Adviser's judgment, an attractive private company that may be taken public became available the Fund may pursue that investment. However, securities of private companies are often “restricted securities,” i.e., securities which cannot be sold to the public without registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) or the availability of an exemption from registration (such as Rules 144 or 144A), or which are not readily marketable because they are subject to other legal or contractual delays in or restrictions on resale. Accordingly, securities of private companies are generally considered to be illiquid. The Fund does not invest in private companies that are affiliates of the Adviser.

 

The Fund is non-diversified, meaning it may invest in fewer individual holdings than a diversified fund. Therefore, the Fund is more exposed to individual security volatility than a diversified fund. The volatility of individual securities can have a magnified impact on the Fund’s performance based on the Fund’s strategy and the securities in which the Fund invests. Purchase and sale decisions are based on the Adviser’s judgment about issuers, risk, prices of securities, market conditions, potential returns, and other economic factors.

 

Although the Fund holds a concentrated portfolio of equity securities and options, the Fund is not required to be fully invested in such securities and options and may maintain a significant portion of its total assets in cash and securities generally considered to be cash equivalents. In certain market conditions, such as when the Fund believes that sufficient investment opportunities are not available, the Fund may determine that it is appropriate to hold a significant cash position for an extended period.

 

Temporary Investments

 

To respond to adverse market, economic, political, or other conditions, the Fund may invest 100% of its total assets, without limitation, in high-quality short-term debt securities and money market instruments. These short-term debt securities and money market instruments include: shares of money market mutual funds, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances, U.S. Government securities, and repurchase agreements. While the Fund is in a defensive position, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective. Furthermore, to the extent that the Fund invests in money market mutual funds for cash positions, there will be some duplication of expenses because the Fund pays its proportionate share of such money market fund’s advisory fees, and operational fees. The Fund may also invest a substantial portion of its assets in such instruments at any time to maintain liquidity or pending selection of investments in accordance with its policies.

 

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Principal Risks

 

The following describes the risks the Fund bears directly or indirectly through its investments in Equity Securities and options contracts. As with any mutual fund, there is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its goal. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government entity.

 

Cash and Cash Equivalents Risk.  The Fund expects to hold a significant amount of cash or cash equivalents under its investment strategy. The Fund’s investments in cash and cash equivalents may earn little if any income for shareholders. Without investments in securities, there is a risk of lower returns and potential lost opportunities to participate in overall market appreciation or appreciation with respect to particular issuers with significant cash or cash equivalent holdings in the Fund. Further, the Adviser’s strategy to hold significant cash and cash equivalents may not work as intended and the Fund may not achieve its investment objective.

 

Credit Risk. An issuer or guarantor of a debt security may be unable or unwilling to make scheduled payments of interest and principal. Actual or perceived deterioration in an issuer’s or guarantor’s financial condition may affect a security’s value. It includes the risk that the security will be downgraded by a credit rating agency; generally, lower credit quality issuers present higher credit risks. It is possible that the ability of an issuer to meet its obligations will decline substantially during the period when the Fund owns securities of the issuer or that the issuer will default on its obligations or that the obligations of the issuer will be limited or restructured, which could adversely affect the Fund’s investment in the securities of such issuer.

 

Derivatives Risk. The Fund may gain exposure to Equity Securities directly through investment in derivatives instruments, such as short put and covered call options. The Fund’s exposure to derivative instruments may involve risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. These risks include (i) the risk that the counterparty to a derivative transaction may not fulfill its contractual obligations; (ii) risk of mispricing or improper valuation; (iii) the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index; and (iv) potential for a greater loss than the amount invested by the Fund. Derivative prices are highly volatile and may fluctuate substantially during a short period of time. Such prices are influenced by numerous factors that affect the markets, including, but not limited to: prices of underlying securities; changes in volatility; corporate dividend policies; interest rates; time; changing supply and demand relationships; government programs and policies; national and international political and economic events, changes in interest rates, inflation and deflation and changes in supply and demand relationships. Trading derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities.

 

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Call and Put Options Risk. There are risks associated with the sale and purchase of call and put options. As a seller (writer) of a put option, the Fund may lose money if the value of the reference index or security falls below the strike price. As the seller (writer) of a call option, the Fund may experience lower returns if the value of the reference index or security rises above the exercise price.

 

There is risk of loss to the Fund in connection with purchasing put options. The buyer of a put option assumes the risk of losing its entire investment (i.e., the premium paid) in the put option. In order for a put option to be profitable, the market price of the underlying security must decline sufficiently below the exercise price to cover the premium and transaction costs that the Fund must pay. These costs will reduce any profit the Fund might have realized had it sold the underlying security instead of buying the put option. However, if the buyer of the put holds the underlying security, the loss on the put will be offset in whole or in part by any gain on the underlying security.

 

There is risk of loss to the Fund in connection with purchasing call options. In order for a call option to be profitable, the market price of the underlying security must rise sufficiently above the exercise price to cover the premium and transaction costs. The Fund retains the risk of loss should the price of such securities decline.

 

The successful use of the Fund's options strategies depends on the ability of the Adviser to forecast correctly interest rate and market movements. The effective use of options also depends on a Fund's ability to terminate option positions at times when the Adviser deems it desirable to do so. There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to effect closing transactions at any particular time or at an acceptable price.

 

If a secondary market in options were to become unavailable, the Fund could no longer engage in closing transactions. Lack of investor interest might adversely affect the liquidity of the market for particular options or series of options. A market may discontinue trading of a particular option or options generally. In addition, a market could become temporarily unavailable if unusual events — such as volume in excess of trading or clearing capability — were to interrupt its normal operations. A market may at times find it necessary to impose restrictions on particular types of options transactions, such as opening transactions. For example, if an underlying security ceases to meet qualifications imposed by the market or the Options Clearing Corporation, new series of options on that security will no longer be opened to replace expiring series, and opening transactions in existing series may be prohibited. If an options market were to become unavailable, the Fund as a holder of an option would be able to realize profits or limit losses only by exercising the option, and the Fund, as option writer, would remain obligated under the option until expiration or exercise.

 

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Disruptions in the markets for the securities underlying options purchased or sold by the Fund could result in losses on the options. If trading is interrupted in an underlying security, the trading of options on that security is normally halted as well. As a result, the Fund as purchaser or writer of an option will be unable to close out its positions until options trading resumes, and it may be faced with considerable losses if trading in the security reopens at a substantially different price. In addition, the Options Clearing Corporation or options markets may impose exercise restrictions. If a prohibition on exercise is imposed at the time when trading in the option has also been halted, the Fund as purchaser or writer of an option will be locked into its position until one of the two restrictions has been lifted. If the Options Clearing Corporation were to determine that the available supply of an underlying security appears insufficient to permit delivery by the writers of all outstanding calls in the event of exercise, it may prohibit indefinitely the exercise of put options. The Fund, as holder of such a put option, could lose its entire investment if the prohibition remained in effect until the put option's expiration.

 

Margin Risk. The Fund may hold securities that are subject to collateral requirements at various executing brokers. These collateral requirements may change at the discretion of the brokers, the exchanges through which the securities are traded or through regulatory requirements. Changes to collateral requirements, especially emergency adjustments that are done in response to market volatility, may force the Fund to sell certain securities on short notice for non-investment related reasons. If the Fund is forced to sell securities over a short period of time it may result in unfavorable execution prices and unfavorable investment results.

 

Short Sale Risk.  The Fund may take a short position in a derivative instrument. A short position on a derivative instrument is the commitment to buy or sell a security at a specified price at a specified time in the future. Short sales involve the risk that the Fund may lose more money than the actual cost of the investment. Any short selling involves the risk of a theoretically unlimited increase in the value of the underlying instrument. Therefore, short selling subjects the Fund to the potential for unlimited losses unlike the risk of loss on a long position which is limited to the amount paid for the investment plus transaction costs. Also, there is the risk that the third party to the short sale may fail to honor its contract terms, causing a loss to the Fund. Further, in times of unusual or adverse economic, market or political conditions, the Fund may not be able to fully or partially implement its short selling strategy. The Fund is to principally rely on options to reduce risk rather than shorting.

 

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Exchange-Traded Funds Risk.  ETFs in which the Fund invests are other investment companies and as such are subject to investment advisory and other expenses, which will be indirectly paid by the Fund. As a result, the cost of investing in the Fund will be higher than the cost of investing directly in the ETF and may be higher than other mutual funds that invest directly in stocks and bonds. ETFs may also trade at a discount or premium to their net asset value. An active trading market may not develop for the ETF's shares and the listing exchange may halt trading of the ETF's shares. In addition, an ETF may not replicate exactly the performance of the index it seeks to track for a number of reasons, including transaction costs incurred by the ETF, the temporary unavailability of certain index securities in the secondary market or discrepancies between the ETF and the index with respect to the weighting of securities or the number of securities held.

 

Equity Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk that stock and other equity security prices may fall over short or extended periods of time. Historically, the equity markets have moved in cycles, and the price of the Fund’s Equity Securities may fluctuate drastically from day to day. Individual companies may be negatively affected by issuer-specific evets or industry and/or economic trends and developments. For example, an adverse event, such as an unfavorable earnings report, may result in a decline in the value of an issuer’s equity securities; the price of an issuer’s equity securities may be particularly sensitive to general movements in the securities markets; or a drop in the securities markets may depress the price of an issuer’s equities securities. The prices of securities issued by such companies may suffer a decline in response. These factors contribute to price volatility. In addition, while broad market measures of equity securities have historically generated higher average returns than fixed income securities, equity securities have generally also experienced significantly more volatility in those returns, although under certain market conditions fixed income securities may have comparable or greater price volatility. A change in the financial condition, market perception or the credit rating of an issuer of securities may cause the value of its securities to decline.

 

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Focused Portfolio and Non-Diversification Risks. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified. This means that the Fund may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. The Fund may have more volatility and is considered to have more risk than a fund that invests in securities of a greater number of issuers because changes in the value of a single issuer’s security may have a more significant effect, either negative or positive, on the Fund’s NAV. To the extent that the Fund invests its assets in the securities of fewer issuers, the Fund will be subject to greater risk of loss if any of those securities decrease in value or becomes impaired. To the extent that the Fund’s investments are focused in a particular issuer, market, industry, asset class or other category, the Fund may be susceptible to loss due to adverse occurrences affecting that issuer, market, industry, asset class or other category.

 

Foreign Investment Risk. Since the Fund’s investments may include foreign equity securities, the Fund is subject to risks beyond those associated with investing in domestic securities. The prices of foreign equity securities may be more volatile than the prices of securities of U.S. issuers because of economic and social conditions abroad, political developments, and changes in the regulatory environments of foreign countries. In addition, changes in exchange rates and interest rates may adversely affect the values of the Fund’s foreign investments. Foreign companies are generally not subject to the same regulatory requirements of U.S. companies thereby resulting in less publicly available information about these companies. In addition, foreign accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards generally differ from those applicable to U.S. companies. Securities of foreign companies (including ADRs and other securities that represent interests in a non-U.S. issuer’s securities) may be less liquid and harder to value than U.S. securities. Due to these factors, the Fund may lose money due to its investments in foreign equity securities.

 

Depositary Receipts Risk. American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) are typically trust receipts issued by a U.S. bank or trust company that evidence an indirect interest in underlying securities issued by a foreign entity. Investments in foreign entities through ADRs generally involve risks applicable to other types of investments in foreign issuers. Investments in ADRs may be less liquid and more volatile than the underlying securities in their primary trading market. If a depositary receipt is denominated in a different currency than its underlying securities, the Fund will be subject to the currency risk of both the investment in the depositary receipt and the underlying security. There may be less publicly available information regarding the issuer of the securities underlying a depositary receipt than if those securities were traded directly in U.S. securities markets. Depositary receipts may or may not be sponsored by the issuers of the underlying securities, and information regarding issuers of securities underlying unsponsored depositary receipts may be more limited than for sponsored depositary receipts. The issuers of unsponsored Depositary Receipts are not obligated to disclose material information in the United States, and, therefore, there may be less information available regarding such issuers and there may not be a correlation between such information and the market value of the Depositary Receipts. The values of depositary receipts may decline for a number of reasons relating to the issuers or sponsors of the depositary receipts, including, but not limited to, insolvency of the issuer or sponsor. Holders of depositary receipts may have limited or no rights to take action with respect to the underlying securities or to compel the issuer of the receipts to take action. The prices of depositary receipts may differ from the prices of securities upon which they are based.

 

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Hedging Risk. A hedge is an investment made in order to reduce the risk of adverse price movements in a security, by taking an offsetting position (often through a derivative, such as an option). The success of the Fund’s hedging strategies will be subject to the Adviser’s ability to correctly assess the degree of correlation between the performance of the instruments used in the hedging strategy and the performance of the instruments being hedged. The use of hedging strategies will not eliminate all risks associated with the Fund’s portfolio, and may reduce investment gains or result in substantial losses to the Fund. Hedging strategies can entail significant transactional costs for the Fund.

 

High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund’s investment strategies are expected to involve frequent trading which leads to increased transactional costs and may result in the realization of capital gains. It is possible that the Fund may distribute sizable taxable capital gains to its shareholders, regardless of investment performance. When taking into account the Fund’s options trading and its trading in instruments with a maturity of one year or less at the time of acquisition, the Fund’s strategy will result in frequent portfolio trading and, if these instruments were included in the calculation of the Fund’s portfolio turnover, a high portfolio turnover rate would likely result.

 

Interest Rate Risk. Debt security prices may decline due to rising interest rates. The price of debt securities with longer maturities is typically affected more by rising interest rates than the price of debt securities with shorter maturities. Duration is a measure used to determine the sensitivity of a security's price to changes in interest rates. Debt securities with longer durations tend to be more sensitive to changes in interest rates, usually making them more volatile than debt securities with shorter durations. A substantial increase in interest rates may also have an adverse impact on the liquidity of a security, especially those with longer durations. Changes in governmental policy, including changes in central bank monetary policy, could cause interest rates to rise rapidly, or cause investors to expect a rapid rise in interest rates. This could lead to heightened levels of interest rate, volatility and liquidity risks for the fixed income markets generally and could have a substantial and immediate effect on the values of a Fund's investments. The U.S. Federal Reserve has been engaged in an aggressive campaign to raise interest rates in an effort to combat high levels of inflation. Interest rate increases may continue.

 

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Leveraging Risk. Certain transactions the Fund may undertake, such as options and short sales, may give rise to a form of leverage. Leverage creates exposure to gains and losses in a greater amount than the dollar amount made in an investment. Leverage can magnify the effects of changes in the value of the Fund’s investments and make the Fund more volatile. Relatively small market movements may result in large changes in the value of a leveraged investment, which may result in a loss to the Fund. Use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it would not be advantageous to do so in order to satisfy its obligations. The potential loss on such leveraged investments may be substantial relative to the initial investment therein.

 

Management Risk. The portfolio manager’s judgments about the attractiveness, value and potential appreciation of Equity Securities or other securities in which the Fund invests or sells short may prove to be incorrect and there is no guarantee that the portfolio manager’s judgment will produce the desired results. For example, a value stock may not increase in price as anticipated by the Adviser if other investors fail to recognize the company’s value and bid up the price, the markets favor faster-growing companies, or the factors that the investment manager believes will increase the price of the security do not occur or do not have the anticipated effect. The Fund’s shareholders are subject to the risk of loss due to the portfolio manager’s judgment as to purchases and sales of investments in the Fund.

 

Market Risk. Overall market risks may also affect the value of the Fund. Securities markets can be volatile and prices of investments can change substantially due to various factors including, but not limited to, economic growth or recession, changes in interest rates, inflation, changes in the actual or perceived creditworthiness of issuers, and general market liquidity. The Fund is subject to the risk that local, regional or global events such as war, military conflicts, acts of terrorism, natural disasters, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments.

 

Private Company/Placement Investment Risk. Any investments in the stocks of privately held companies involve greater risks than investments in stocks of companies that have traded publicly on an exchange for extended time periods. There is significantly less information available about these companies’ business models, quality of management, earnings growth potential, and other criteria that are normally considered when evaluating the investment prospects of a company. Private placements and other restricted securities held by the Fund are generally considered to be illiquid and are difficult to value since there are no market prices and less overall financial information available. Because there may be relatively few potential purchasers for such securities, especially under adverse market or economic conditions or in the event of adverse changes in the financial condition of the issuer, the Fund could find it more difficult to sell such securities when the Adviser believes it advisable to do so or may be able to sell such securities only at prices lower than if such securities were more widely held. The Fund evaluates a variety of factors when assigning a value to these holdings, but the determination involves some degree of subjectivity and the value assigned for the Fund may differ from the value assigned by other mutual funds holding the same security.

 

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Small and Medium Capitalization Stock 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. In addition, small or medium sized companies may have been recently organized and may have little or no track record of success. Some securities of smaller or medium capitalization issuers may be illiquid or may be restricted as to resale, and their values may have significant volatility. The Fund may be unable to liquidate its positions in such securities at any time, or at a favorable price, in order to meet the Fund's obligations. Returns on investments in securities of small and medium capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of larger companies.

 

Transaction Cost Risk. Transaction costs refer to the charges that are associated with buying and selling securities for the Fund. As a result of the Fund’s expected high rate of trading in options, the Fund may incur higher brokerage and transactional charges than those associated with an average equity fund. These transaction costs increase the cost of your investment in the Fund. The economic impact to the Fund is similar to what could occur if the Fund experienced high portfolio turnover (e.g., in excess of 100% per year). The Fund’s high levels of transaction costs may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs increase the costs of a shareholder’s investment in the Fund and may affect the Fund’s performance.

 

“Value” Investing Risk.  "Value" stocks can perform differently from the market as a whole and other types of stocks and can continue to be undervalued by the market for long periods of time. "Value" stocks tend to be inexpensive relative to their earnings or assets compared to other types of stocks. However, "value" stocks can continue to be inexpensive for long periods of time and may not ever realize their full value. Securities that exhibit certain characteristics, such as growth characteristics or value characteristics, tend to perform differently and shift into and out of favor with investors depending on changes in market and economic sentiment and conditions. As a result, a Fund’s performance may at times be worse than the performance of other mutual funds that invest more broadly or in securities that exhibit different characteristics.

 

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Portfolio Holdings Disclosure

 

A description of the Fund’s policies regarding the release of portfolio holdings information is available in the Fund’s SAI. Complete holdings (as of the dates of such reports) are available in reports on Form N-PORT and Form N-CSR filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

 

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 NAV; 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.

 

Similar adverse consequences could result from cybersecurity breaches affecting issuers of securities in which the Fund invests; counterparties with which the Fund engages in transactions; governmental and other regulatory authorities; exchange and other financial market operators, banks, brokers, dealers, insurance companies, and other financial institutions (including financial intermediaries and service providers for the Fund’s shareholders); and other parties. In addition, substantial costs may be incurred by these entities to prevent any cybersecurity breaches in the future.

 

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MANAGEMENT

 

The Investment Adviser

 

Rule One Partners, LLC, located at 891 Bear Creek Road, Moreland, Georgia 30259, serves as the Fund’s investment adviser. The Adviser is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. The Adviser is a limited liability corporation formed in Wyoming. The Adviser also manages a private fund and separately managed accounts. As of December 31, 2023, the Adviser had approximately $186 million in assets under management. Subject to the oversight of the Fund’s Board of Trustees, the Adviser is responsible for managing the Fund’s investments, executing transactions and providing related administrative services and facilities under an Investment Advisory Agreement between the Fund and the Adviser.

 

The management fee set forth in the Fund’s Investment Advisory Agreement is 1.70% annually, to be paid monthly. In addition to investment advisory fees, the Fund pays other expenses including costs incurred in connection with the maintenance of securities law registration, printing and mailing prospectuses and SAIs to shareholders, certain financial accounting services, taxes or governmental fees, custodial, transfer and shareholder servicing agent costs, expenses of outside counsel and independent accountants, preparation of shareholder reports, and expenses of trustee and shareholder meetings.

 

The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive or reduce its fees and/or pay for operating expenses of the Fund, until at least May 1, 2025, to ensure that total annual fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or reimbursements (exclusive of interest, distribution fees pursuant to Rule 12b-1 plans, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, dividend expenses on short sales, other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of business) do not exceed 1.99% of the Fund’s average daily net assets with respect to the Founder’s Class shares and Investor Class shares. Each fee waiver or reduction or reimbursement of an expense by the Adviser is subject to repayment by the Fund within thirty-six months following the date such waiver and/or reimbursement was made, provided that the Fund is able to make the repayment without exceeding the expense limitation in place at the time of the waiver or reimbursement and at the time the waiver or reimbursement is recouped.

 

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board of Trustees’ approval of the Fund’s Investment Advisory Agreement is available in the Fund’s semi-annual report to shareholders dated June 30, 2023.

 

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The Portfolio Managers

 

Philip Bradley Town, the Managing Member of the Adviser, has served the Fund as its portfolio manager since it commenced operations in 2019 and is the lead portfolio manager for the Fund.

 

Mr. Town, a well-known value investor, speaker, and New York Times best-selling author, has been in the industry since 1981. In 2017, he formed Rule One Partners to so that investors could have direct access to his investment strategies through a registered investment company. Mr. Town is a graduate of University of California, San Diego, with a degree in Philosophy and was a First Lieutenant in the US Army with service in Latin America with 8th Special Forces Group and in Vietnam as a platoon leader.

 

Austin Bowen, the Senior Analyst to the Investment Adviser since 2018, has served the Fund as a portfolio manager since November 2023. He is a regular instructor at Rule One Investing monthly workshops, a part-time member of the Rule One Investing faculty and the host of a monthly education webinar for approximately 500 Rule One Investing certified coaches.  Mr. Bowen began investing at age 16 after reading Mr. Town’s New York Times #1 best-selling book, RULE #1, and continued investing during his 7-year military service as an Airforce Combat Controller with SEAL and Green Beret special operations teams on two combat tours in Afghanistan.

 

Travis Parker, an Analyst to the Investment Adviser, has served the Fund as a portfolio manager since November 2023. Mr. Parker has been an analyst with Rule One Partners for 4 years, a part-time faculty member at Rule One Investing for 7 years and has been successfully investing a multi-million personal portfolio for over 10 years. Before his role with Rule One Partners, Mr. Parker spent 27 years working for Hewlett-Packard (HP), serving in numerous leadership roles, including Senior Director of Manufacturing and Production for Inkjet Manufacturing Worldwide. Mr. Parker, well-known for his supply chain and logistics expertise, led the team that moved HP into Gartner, Inc.'s top 10 most innovative supply chains in 2018 and has been a guest lecturer at the Gartner conference. Mr. Parker is a graduate of Oregon State University with a BS in Industrial Engineering and Business Management.

 

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

 

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HOW TO BUY SHARES

 

You may purchase shares of the Fund through financial intermediaries, such as fund supermarkets or through brokers or dealers who are authorized by Foreside Fund Services, LLC. (the "Distributor"), the Fund’s distributor, to sell shares of the Fund, and through advisers and consultants and other investment professionals (collectively “Financial Intermediaries”). You may download a copy of the prospectus at www.ruleonefund.com or request a copy of the prospectus by calling toll-free 1-833-RULEONE. Financial Intermediaries who offer Founders Class shares or Investor Class shares of the Fund may require the payment of fees from their individual clients, which may be different from those described in this prospectus. For example, Financial Intermediaries may charge transaction fees or set different minimum investment amounts. They may also have policies and procedures that are different from those contained in this prospectus. Investors should consult their Financial Intermediary regarding its procedures for purchasing and selling shares of the Fund as the policies and procedures may be different.

 

The price you pay for a share of the Fund is the NAV next determined upon receipt of your purchase request by Commonwealth Fund Services, Inc. (the “Transfer Agent”) or an authorized financial intermediary. The Fund will be deemed to have received your purchase or redemption order when the authorized financial intermediary receives the order. Such financial intermediaries are authorized to designate other intermediaries to receive purchase and redemption orders on the Fund’s behalf.

 

Certain financial intermediaries may have agreements with the Fund that allows them to enter confirmed purchase and redemption orders on behalf of clients and customers. Under these arrangements, the financial intermediary must send your payment to the Fund by the time the Fund prices its shares on the following business day.

 

The Fund is not responsible for ensuring that a financial intermediary carries out its obligations. You should look to the financial intermediary through whom you wish to invest for specific instructions on how to purchase or redeem shares of the Fund.

 

Minimum Investments. The minimum initial investment in the Fund is $20,000 for Founders Class shares and $2,500 for Investor Class shares. The Trust may waive the minimum initial investment requirement for purchases made by trustees, officers and employees of the Trust. The Trust may also waive the minimum investment requirement for purchases by its affiliated entities and certain related advisory accounts and IRAs. The Trust may also change or waive policies concerning minimum investment amounts at any time. The Fund retains the right to refuse to accept an order.

 

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Small Account Balances. If the value of your account falls below the minimum account balance of $10,000 the Fund may ask you to increase your balance. If the account value is still below the minimum balance after 60 days, the Fund may close your account and send you the proceeds. The Fund will not close your account if it falls below this amount solely as a result of Fund performance. Please check with your Financial Intermediary concerning required minimum account balances. You should note that should the Fund close your account and it is a non-retirement account, such redemption of Fund shares would be subject to taxation. Please refer to the section entitled “Dividends, Distributions and Taxes” below.

 

Customer Identification Program. Federal regulations require that the Trust obtain certain personal information about you when opening a new account. As a result, the Trust must obtain the following information for each person that opens a new account:

 

 Name;
 Date of birth (for individuals);
 Residential or business street address (although post office boxes are still permitted for mailing); and
 Social security number, taxpayer identification number, or other identifying number.

 

You may also be asked for a copy of your driver's license, passport, or other identifying document in order to verify your identity. In addition, it may be necessary to verify your identity by cross-referencing your identification information with a consumer report or other electronic database. Additional information may be required to open accounts for corporations and other entities.

 

After an account is opened, the Trust may restrict your ability to purchase additional shares until your identity is verified. The Trust also may close your account or take other appropriate action if it is unable to verify your identity within a reasonable time.

 

If your account is closed for this reason, your shares will be redeemed at the NAV next calculated after the account is closed.

 

Purchasing Fund Shares. For initial purchases, please visit the Fund’s website (www.ruleonefund.com) for detailed information on how to invest in the Fund. You may open certain types of accounts and request a purchase of shares through the Fund’s website once you are registered for online access. For subsequent purchases, please refer to the Fund’s website for detailed information on how to add to your account. If you have setup online access you will be able to make subsequent purchases through your online account.

 

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You may purchase shares of the Fund through an electronic bank transfer of money (automated clearing house or ACH) from a bank account. To establish the electronic bank transfer service for your account, you must designate the bank account online, complete a special form, or fill out the appropriate section of your account application. After the service is set up on your account, you can purchase shares by electronic bank transfer (ACH) on a regular schedule (Automatic Investment Plan) or upon request.

 

General. The Trust reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to withdraw all or any part of the offering of shares of the Fund when, in the judgment of the Fund’s management, such withdrawal is in the best interest of the Fund. An order to purchase shares is not binding on, and may be rejected by, the Fund until it has been confirmed in writing by the Fund and payment has been received. The price you pay for a share of the Fund is the NAV next determined upon receipt by the Transfer Agent or financial intermediary.

 

Other Purchase Information. You may purchase and redeem Fund shares, by contacting any broker authorized by the Distributor to sell shares of the Fund, by contacting the Fund toll-free at 1-833-RULEONE or by contacting the Transfer Agent at 8730 Stony Point Parkway, Suite 205, Richmond, Virginia 23235 or by telephoning toll-free 888-411-1875. Brokers may charge transaction fees for the purchase or sale of the Fund’s shares, depending on your arrangement with the broker.

 

HOW TO SELL SHARES

 

You may redeem your shares of the Fund at any time and in any amount by contacting your Financial Intermediary or by contacting the Fund by mail, online or telephone. For your protection, the Transfer Agent will not redeem your shares until it has received all information and documents necessary for your request to be considered in "proper form." The Transfer Agent will promptly notify you if your redemption request is not in proper form. The Transfer Agent cannot accept redemption requests which specify a particular date for redemption or which specify any special conditions.

 

The Fund’s procedure is to redeem shares at the NAV next determined after the Transfer Agent or authorized financial intermediary receives the redemption request in proper form. Payment of redemption proceeds will be made promptly, as instructed by check, wire or automated clearing house (ACH) but no later than the seventh calendar day following the receipt of the request in proper form. The Fund may suspend the right to redeem shares for any period during which the NYSE is closed or the SEC determines that there is an emergency. In such circumstances, you may withdraw your redemption request or permit your request to be held for processing after the suspension is terminated.

 

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The Fund typically expects to meet redemption requests through cash holdings or cash equivalents. The Fund typically expects to pay redemption proceeds for shares redeemed within the following days after receipt by the Transfer Agent of a redemption request in proper form: (i) for payment by check, the Fund typically expects to mail the check within two business days; and (ii) for payment by wire or ACH, the Fund typically expects to process the payment within two business days. Payment of redemption proceeds may take up to 7 days as permitted under the 1940 Act. Under unusual circumstances as permitted by the SEC, the Fund may suspend the right of redemption or delay payment of redemption proceeds for more than 7 days. When shares are purchased by check or through ACH, the proceeds from the redemption of those shares will not be paid until the purchase check or ACH transfer has been converted to federal funds, which could take up to 15 calendar days.

 

To the extent cash holdings or cash equivalents are not available to meet redemption requests, the Fund will meet redemption requests by selling portfolio assets. In addition, if the Fund determines that it would be detrimental to the best interest of the Fund’s remaining shareholders to make payment in cash, the Fund may pay redemption proceeds in whole or in part by a distribution-in-kind of readily marketable securities.

 

If you sell your shares through a securities dealer or investment professional, it is such person's responsibility to transmit the order to the Fund in a timely fashion. Any loss to you resulting from failure to do so must be settled between you and such person.

 

Delivery of the proceeds of a redemption of shares purchased and paid for by check or by ACH shortly before the receipt of the redemption request may be delayed until the Transfer Agent has completed collection of the purchase check or ACH, which may take up to 15 days. Also, payment of the proceeds of a redemption request for an account for which purchases were made by wire may be delayed until a completed account application for the account is received to verify the identity of the person redeeming the shares and to eliminate the need for backup withholding.

 

Redemption By Electronic Bank Transfer (ACH). You may have your redemption proceeds sent directly to a designated bank account. To establish the electronic bank transfer service on an account, you must designate a bank account online, complete a special form, or fill out the appropriate section of your account application. After the service is set up on your account, you can redeem shares by electronic bank transfer on a regular schedule (Automatic Withdrawal Plan) or upon request.

 

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Redemption By Mail. To redeem shares by mail, send a written request for redemption, signed by the registered owner(s) exactly as the account is registered, to: the name of the Fund, Attn: Redemptions, 8730 Stony Point Parkway, Suite 205, Richmond, Virginia 23235. Certain written requests to redeem shares may require signature guarantees. For example, signature guarantees may be required if you sell a large number of shares, if your address of record on the account application has been changed within the last 30 days, or if you ask that the proceeds be sent to a different person or address. Signature guarantees are used to help protect you and the Fund. You can obtain a signature guarantee from most banks or securities dealers, but not from a Notary Public. Please call the Transfer Agent toll-free at 888-411-1875 to learn if a signature guarantee is needed or to make sure that it is completed appropriately in order to avoid any processing delays. There is no charge to shareholders for redemptions by mail.

 

Redemption By Telephone. You may redeem your shares by telephone if you requested this service on your initial account application. If you request this service at a later date, you must send a written request along with a signature guarantee to the Transfer Agent. Once your telephone authorization is in effect, you may redeem shares by calling the Transfer Agent toll-free at 888-411-1875. There is no charge to shareholders for redemptions by telephone. If it should become difficult to reach the Transfer Agent by telephone during periods when market or economic conditions lead to an unusually large volume of telephone requests, a shareholder may send a redemption request by overnight mail to the Transfer Agent at 8730 Stony Point Parkway, Suite 205, Richmond, Virginia 23235.

 

Redemption By Wire. If you request that your redemption proceeds be wired to you, please call your bank for instructions prior to writing or calling the Transfer Agent. Be sure to include your name, Fund name, Fund account number, your account number at your bank and wire information from your bank in your request to redeem by wire.

 

The Fund will not be responsible for any losses resulting from unauthorized transactions (such as purchases or sales) if they follow reasonable security procedures designed to verify the identity of the investor. You should verify the accuracy of your confirmation statements immediately after you receive them. There is no fee for redemptions by wire.

 

Redemption In Kind. The Fund typically expects to satisfy requests by using holdings of cash or cash equivalents or selling portfolio assets. On a less regular basis, and if the Adviser believes it is in the best interest of the Fund and its shareholders not to sell portfolio assets, the Fund may satisfy redemption requests by using short-term borrowing from the Fund’s custodian to the extent such arrangements are in place with the custodian.

 

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In addition to paying redemption proceeds in cash, the Fund reserves the right to make payment for a redemption in securities rather than cash, which is known as a “redemption in kind.” While the Fund does not intend, under normal circumstances, to redeem shares by payment in kind, it is possible that conditions may arise in the future which would, in the opinion of the Trustees, make it undesirable for the Fund to pay for all redemptions in cash. In such a case, the Trustees may authorize payment to be made in readily marketable portfolio securities of the Fund, either through the distribution of selected individual portfolio securities or a pro-rata distribution of all portfolio securities held by the Fund.

 

Securities delivered in payment of redemptions would be valued at the same value assigned to them in computing the Fund’s net asset value per share. Shareholders receiving them may incur brokerage costs when these securities are sold and will be subject to market risk until such securities are sold. An irrevocable election has been filed under Rule 18f-1 of the 1940 Act, wherein the Fund must pay redemptions in cash, rather than in kind, to any shareholder of record of the Fund who redeems during any 90-day period, the lesser of (a) $250,000 or (b) 1% of the Fund’s net assets at the beginning of such period. Redemption requests in excess of this limit may be satisfied in cash or in kind at the Fund’s election. The Fund’s methods of satisfying shareholder redemption requests will normally be used during both regular and stressed market conditions.

 

DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES

 

Dividends and Capital Gain Distribution. Dividends from net investment income, if any, are declared and paid annually for the Fund. The Fund intends to distribute annually any net capital gain.

 

Dividends and distributions will automatically be reinvested in additional shares of the Fund, unless you elect to have the distributions paid to you in cash. There are no sales charges or transaction fees for reinvested dividends and all shares will be purchased at NAV. Shareholders will be subject to tax on all dividends and distributions whether paid to them in cash or reinvested in shares. If the investment in shares is made within an IRA, all dividends and capital gain distributions must be reinvested.

 

Unless you are investing through a tax deferred retirement arrangement, such as an IRA, it is not to your advantage to buy shares of the Fund shortly before the next distribution, because doing so can cost you money in taxes. This is known as "buying a dividend". To avoid buying a dividend, check the Fund’s distribution schedule before you invest.

 

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Taxes. In general, Fund distributions are taxable to you as either ordinary income or capital gain. This is true whether you reinvest your distributions in additional shares of the Fund or receive them in cash. Any long-term capital gain the Fund distributes is taxable to you as long-term capital gain, no matter how long you have owned your shares. Other Fund distributions (including distributions attributable to short-term capital gain of the Fund) will generally be taxable to you as ordinary income. Every January, you will receive a statement that shows the tax status of distributions you received for the previous year. Distributions declared in December but paid in January are taxable as if they were paid in December.

 

When you sell shares of the Fund, you may have a capital gain or loss. The individual tax rate on any gain from the sale of your shares depends, in part, on how long you have held your shares.

 

Fund distributions and gains from the sale of your shares will generally be subject to state and local income tax. The one major exception to these tax principles is that distributions on, and sales and redemptions of, shares held in an IRA (or other tax-deferred arrangement) will not be currently taxable. Non-U.S. investors may be subject to U.S. withholding and estate tax. You should consult with your tax adviser about the U.S. federal, state, local or foreign tax consequences of your investment in the Fund.

 

The Fund must withhold 24% of your taxable distributions and proceeds if you: (i) have failed to provide a correct taxpayer identification number (TIN); (ii) are subject to backup withholding by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); (iii) have failed to provide the Fund with the certifications required by the IRS to document that you are not subject to backup withholding; or (iv) have failed to certify that you are a U.S. person (including a U.S. resident alien).

 

Cost Basis Reporting. Mutual fund companies must report their shareholders' cost basis, gain/loss, and holding period to the IRS on the Fund’s shareholders’ Consolidated Form 1099s.

 

The Fund has chosen average cost as the standing (default) tax lot identification method for all shareholders. A tax lot identification method is the way the Fund will determine which specific shares are deemed to be sold when there are multiple purchases on different dates at differing net asset values, and the entire position is not sold at one time. The Fund’s standing tax lot identification method is the method that will be used to report on your Consolidated Form 1099 if you do not select a specific tax lot identification method. You may choose a method different than the Fund’s standing method and will be able to do so at the time of your purchase or upon the sale of shares. Please consult your tax adviser with regard to your personal circumstances.

 

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The Fund is responsible for maintaining accurate cost basis and tax lot information for tax reporting purposes. The Fund and its service providers do not provide tax advice. You should consult independent sources, which may include a tax professional, with respect to any decisions you may make with respect to choosing a tax lot identification method.

 

NET ASSET VALUE

 

The Fund’s share price, called the NAV per share, is determined on each business day that the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") is open for trading, as of the close of business of the regular session of the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m., Eastern time). NAV per share is computed by adding the total value of the Fund's investments and other assets attributable to the Fund's shares, subtracting any liabilities attributable to the applicable class and then dividing by the total number of the applicable classes' shares outstanding.

 

Fund shares are bought at the public offering price per share next determined after a request has been received in proper form (as defined below). The public offering price of the Fund’s shares is equal to the NAV. Shares of the Fund held by you are sold at the NAV per share next determined after a request has been received in proper form. Any request received in proper form before the Valuation Time, will be processed the same business day. Any request received in Proper Form after the Valuation Time, will be processed the next business day.

 

Proper Form. Your order to buy shares is in Proper Form when your completed and signed account application and payment is received by the Transfer Agent. Your written request to sell shares is in Proper Form when written instructions signed by all registered owners, with a signature guarantee if necessary, is received by the Fund. For online accounts, you must follow the instructions provided at the Fund’s website to establish and maintain your online account. Redemptions from an online account are processed by the Fund on the business day they are received assuming the redemption request is received prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE (generally 4 p.m., Eastern time). If the redemption request is received on a business day after the close of regular trading on the NYSE, or on a nonbusiness day, the trade date will be the next business day. Additional information regarding how to purchase and redeem shares through an online account will be available at the Fund’s website or you may call 1-833-RULEONE for assistance.

 

Fair Value Pricing. The Fund’s securities are valued at current market prices at the time of valuation. Investments in securities traded on a principal exchange (U.S. or foreign) are valued at the last reported sales price on the principal exchange on which the securities are traded or, lacking any sales on the valuation date, at the last quoted bid. Securities included in the NASDAQ National Market System are valued at the NASDAQ Official Closing Price. Other securities traded in the over-the-counter market and listed securities for which no sales are reported on a given date are valued at the last reported bid price. Short-term debt securities (less than 60 days to maturity) are valued at their fair market value using amortized cost. Other assets for which market quotations are not readily available are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the Adviser under procedures set by the Board. The Board has appointed the Adviser as its designee (the “Valuation Designee”) to be responsible for all fair value determinations for the Fund. Depositary Receipts will be valued at the closing price of the instrument last determined prior to time of valuation unless the Fund is aware of a material change in value. Securities for which such a value cannot be readily determined will be valued at the closing price of the underlying security adjusted for the exchange rate. Portfolio securities which are primarily traded on foreign exchanges are generally valued at the closing price on the exchange on which they are traded, and those values are then translated into U.S. dollars at the current exchange rate. Other assets for which market prices are not readily available are valued at their fair value as determined in good faith by the Fund’s Adviser, under procedures set by the Board. Generally, trading in corporate bonds, U.S. government securities and money market instruments is substantially completed each day at various times before the scheduled close of the NYSE. The value of these securities used in computing the NAV is determined as of such times so long as the Valuation Designee believes that these values reflect fair value at the time the Fund’s NAV is determined.

 

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The Trust has a policy that contemplates the use of fair value pricing to determine the NAV per share of the Fund when market prices are unavailable as well as under special circumstances, such as: (i) if the primary market for a portfolio security suspends or limits trading or price movements of the security; and (ii) when an event occurs after the close of the exchange on which a portfolio security is principally traded that, in the opinion of the Valuation Designee, is likely to have changed the value of the security.

 

When the Trust uses fair value pricing to determine the NAV per share of the Fund, securities will not be priced on the basis of quotations from the primary market in which they are traded, but rather may be priced by another method that the Board believes accurately reflects fair value. Any method used will be approved by the Board and results will be monitored by the Valuation Designee to evaluate accuracy. The Trust's policy is intended to result in a calculation of the Fund’s NAV that fairly reflects security values as of the time of pricing. However, fair values determined pursuant to the Trust's procedures may not accurately reflect the price that the Fund could obtain for a security if they were to dispose of that security as of the time of pricing.

 

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FREQUENT PURCHASES AND REDEMPTIONS

 

Frequent purchases and redemptions ("Frequent Trading") of shares of the Fund may present a number of risks to other shareholders of the Fund. These risks may include, among other things, dilution in the value of shares of the Fund held by long-term shareholders, interference with the efficient management by the Adviser of the Fund’s portfolio holdings, and increased brokerage and administration costs. Due to the potential of an overall adverse market, economic, political, or other conditions affecting the sale price of portfolio securities, the Fund could face untimely losses as a result of having to sell portfolio securities prematurely to meet redemptions. Current shareholders of the Fund may face unfavorable impacts as portfolio securities invested in certain sectors may be more volatile than investments across broader ranges of industries as sector-specific market or economic developments may make it more difficult to sell a significant amount of shares at favorable prices to meet redemptions. Frequent Trading may also increase portfolio turnover, which may result in increased capital gains taxes for shareholders of the Fund. These capital gains could include short-term capital gains taxed at ordinary income tax rates.

 

The Trustees have adopted a policy that is intended to identify and discourage Frequent Trading by shareholders of the Fund under which the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer and Transfer Agent will monitor Frequent Trading using various surveillance techniques. Under these policies and procedures, shareholders may not engage in more than four "round-trips" (a purchase and sale or an exchange in and then out of the Fund) within a rolling twelve-month period. Shareholders exceeding four round-trips will be investigated by the Fund and if, because of this monitoring, the Fund believes that a shareholder has engaged in frequent trading, it may, in its discretion, ask the shareholder to stop such activities or refuse to process purchases in the shareholder’s accounts. The intent of the policies and procedures is not to inhibit legitimate strategies, such as asset allocation, dollar cost averaging or similar activities that may nonetheless result in Frequent Trading of Fund shares. To minimize harm to the Fund and its shareholders, the Fund reserves the right to reject any purchase of Fund shares with or without prior notice to the account holder. In the event the foregoing purchase and redemption patterns occur, it shall be the policy of the Trust that the shareholder’s account and any other account with the Fund under the same taxpayer identification number shall be precluded from investing in the Fund for such time period as the Trust deems appropriate based on the facts and circumstances (including, without limitation, the dollar amount involved and whether the Investor has been precluded from investing in the Fund before); provided that such time period shall be at least 30 calendar days after the last redemption transaction. The above policies shall not apply if the Trust determines that a purchase and redemption pattern is not a Frequent Trading pattern or is the result of inadvertent trading errors.

 

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These policies and procedures will be applied uniformly to all shareholders and, subject to certain permissible exceptions as described above, the Fund will not accommodate abusive Frequent Trading. The policies also apply to any account, whether an individual account or accounts with financial intermediaries such as investment advisers, broker dealers or retirement plan administrators, commonly called omnibus accounts, where the intermediary holds Fund shares for a number of its customers in one account. Omnibus account arrangements permit multiple investors to aggregate their respective share ownership positions and purchase, redeem and exchange Fund shares without the identity of the particular shareholder(s) being known to the Fund. Accordingly, the ability of the Fund to monitor and detect Frequent Trading activity through omnibus accounts may be more limited and there is no guarantee that the Fund will be able to identify shareholders who may be engaging in Frequent Trading through omnibus accounts or to curtail such trading. However, the Fund will establish information sharing agreements with intermediaries as required by Rule 22c-2 under the 1940 Act that require sharing of information about you and your account, and otherwise use reasonable efforts to work with intermediaries to identify excessive short-term trading in underlying accounts.

 

If the Fund identifies that excessive short-term trading is taking place in a participant-directed employee benefit plan accounts, the Fund or its Adviser or Transfer Agent will contact the plan administrator, sponsor or trustee to request that action be taken to restrict such activity. However, the ability to do so may be constrained by regulatory restrictions or plan policies. In such circumstances, it is generally not the policy of the Fund to close the account of an entire plan due to the activity of a limited number of participants. However, the Fund will take such actions as deemed appropriate in light of all the facts and circumstances.

 

The Fund’s policies provide for ongoing assessment of the effectiveness of current policies and surveillance tools, and the Trustees reserve the right to modify these or adopt additional policies and restrictions in the future. Shareholders should be aware, however, that any surveillance techniques currently employed by the Fund or other techniques that may be adopted in the future, may not be effective, particularly where the trading takes place through certain types of omnibus accounts. As noted above, if the Fund is unable to detect and deter trading abuses, the Fund’s performance, and its long-term shareholders, may be harmed. In addition, shareholders may be harmed by the extra costs and portfolio management inefficiencies that result from Frequent Trading, even when the trading is not for abusive purposes.

 

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GENERAL INFORMATION

 

Signature Guarantees. To help protect you and the Fund from fraud, signature guarantees are required for: (1) all redemptions ordered by mail if you require that the check be made payable to another person or that the check be mailed to an address other than the one indicated on the account registration; (2) all requests to transfer the registration of shares to another owner; and (3) all authorizations to establish or change telephone redemption service, other than through your initial account application. Signature guarantees may be required for certain other reasons. For example, a signature guarantee may be required if you sell a large number of shares or if your address of record on the account has been changed within the last thirty (30) days.

 

In the case of redemption by mail, signature guarantees must appear on either: (1) the written request for redemption; or (2) a separate instrument of assignment (usually referred to as a "stock power") specifying the total number of shares being redeemed. The Trust may waive these requirements in certain instances.

 

An original signature guarantee assures that a signature is genuine so that you are protected from unauthorized account transactions. Notarization is not an acceptable substitute. Acceptable guarantors only include participants in the Securities Transfer Agents Medallion Program (STAMP2000). Participants in STAMP2000 may include financial institutions such as banks, savings and loan associations, trust companies, credit unions, broker-dealers and member firms of a national securities exchange.

 

Automatic Investment Plan. Existing shareholders who wish to make regular monthly investments in amounts of $100 or more, may do so through the Automatic Investment Plan. Under the Automatic Investment Plan, your designated bank or other financial institution debits a pre-authorized amount from your account on or about the 15th day of each month and applies the amount to the purchase of Fund shares. To use this service, you must authorize the transfer of funds by completing the Automatic Investment Plan section of the account application and sending a blank voided check.

 

How to Transfer Shares. If you wish to transfer shares to another owner, send a written request to the Transfer Agent at 8730 Stony Point Parkway, Suite 205, Richmond, Virginia 23235. Your request should include: (i) the name of the Fund and existing account registration; (ii) signature(s) of the registered owner(s); (iii) the new account registration, address, taxpayer identification number and how dividends and capital gains are to be distributed; (iv) any stock certificates which have been issued for the shares being transferred; (v) signature guarantees (See "Signature Guarantees"); and (vi) any additional documents which are required for transfer by corporations, administrators, executors, trustees, guardians, etc. If you have any questions about transferring shares, call the Transfer Agent toll-free at 888-411-1875.

 

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Account Statements and Shareholder Reports. Each time you purchase, redeem or transfer shares of the Fund, you will receive a written confirmation. You will also receive a year-end statement of your account if any dividends or capital gains have been distributed, and an annual and a semi-annual report.

 

Shareholder Communications. The Fund may eliminate duplicate mailings of portfolio materials to shareholders who reside at the same address, unless instructed to the contrary. Investors may request that the Fund send these documents to each shareholder individually by calling the Fund, toll-free, at 1-833-RULEONE.

 

General. The Fund will not be responsible for any losses from unauthorized transactions (such as purchases or sales) if they follow reasonable security procedures designed to verify the identity of the investor. You should verify the accuracy of your confirmation statements immediately after you receive them.

 

DISTRIBUTION ARRANGEMENTS

 

Distributor. The Distributor is a registered broker-dealer and member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”). Shares of the Fund are offered on a continuous basis.

 

Rule 12b-1 Fees

 

The Board has adopted a Distribution and Shareholder Services Plan for the Fund’s Investor Class shares (the “12b-1 Plan”) in accordance with Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Pursuant to the 12b-1 Plan, the Fund may finance from the assets of the Fund’s Investor Class shares certain activities or expenses that are intended primarily to result in the sale of shares of such class. The fee paid by the Investor Class shares is computed on an annualized basis reflecting the average daily net assets of the class, up to a maximum of 0.25% for Investor Class share expenses. Because these fees are paid out of assets of the Investor Class shares on an ongoing basis, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost more than paying other types of sales charges. The 12b-1 Plan was adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, and therefore may be used to pay for certain expenditures related to financing distribution related activities of the Fund’s Investor Class shares.

 

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Shareholder Services Plan

 

The Fund has adopted a shareholder services plan for the Fund’s Investor Class shares. Under the shareholder services plan, the Fund may pay an authorized firm up to 0.25% on an annualized basis of its daily net assets attributable to its customers who are shareholders. For this fee, the authorized firms may provide a variety of services, including but not limited to: (i) arranging for bank wires; (ii) responding to inquiries from shareholders concerning their investment in the Fund; (iii) assisting shareholders in changing dividend options, account designations and addresses; (iv) providing information periodically to shareholders showing their position in Fund shares; (v) forwarding shareholder communications from the Fund such as proxies, shareholder reports, annual reports, and dividend distribution and tax notices; (vi) processing purchase, exchange and redemption requests from shareholders and placing orders with the Fund or its service providers; (vii) providing sub-accounting with respect to Fund shares; and (viii) processing dividend payments from the Fund on behalf of shareholders.

 

Because the Fund has adopted the shareholder services plan to compensate authorized firms for providing the types of services described above, the Fund believes the shareholder services plan is not covered by Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, which relates to payment of distribution fees. The Fund, however, follows the procedural requirements of Rule 12b-1 in connection with the implementation and administration of the shareholder services plan.

 

An authorized firm generally represents in a service agreement used in connection with the shareholder services plan that all compensation payable to the authorized firm from its customers in connection with the investment of their assets in the Fund will be disclosed by the authorized firm to its customers. It also generally provides that all such compensation will be authorized by the authorized firm’s customers.

 

The Fund does not monitor the actual services being performed by an authorized firm under the plan and related service agreement. The Fund also does not monitor the reasonableness of the total compensation that an authorized firm may receive, including any service fee that an authorized firm may receive from the Fund and any compensation the authorized firm may receive directly from its clients.

 

Additional Compensation to Financial Intermediaries. The Adviser and its affiliates may each, at their own expense and out of their own assets including legitimate profits, provide additional cash payments to financial intermediaries who sell shares of the Fund. Financial intermediaries include brokers, financial planners, banks, insurance companies, retirement or 401(k) plan administrators, and others. These payments are generally made to financial intermediaries that provide shareholder or administrative services, or marketing support. Marketing support may include access to sales meetings, sales representatives and financial intermediary management representatives, inclusion of the Fund on a sales list, including a preferred or select sales list, or other sales programs. These payments also may be made as an expense reimbursement in cases where the financial intermediary provides shareholder services to Fund shareholders.

 

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SHARE CLASS ALTERNATIVES

 

The Fund offers investors two different classes of shares through this Prospectus. The different classes of shares represent investments in the same portfolio of securities, but the classes are subject to different expenses and may have different share prices and minimum investment requirements. When you buy shares be sure to specify the class of shares in which you choose to invest. Because each share class has a different combination of expenses and other features, you should consult your financial adviser to determine which class best meets your financial objectives.

 

Founders Class Shares. Founders Class shares are not subject to a front-end sales charge or deferred sales charge, nor are they subject to any Rule 12b-1 Plan fee or Shareholder Service Plan fees.

 

Investor Class Shares. Investor Class Shares are not subject to a front-end sales charge or deferred sales charge, however, they are subject to a 0.25% Rule 12b-1 Plan fee and a 0.25% Shareholder Service Plan fee.

 

Householding. To reduce expenses, the Fund mails only one copy of the prospectus and each annual and semi-annual report to those addresses shared by two or more accounts. If you wish to receive individual copies of these documents, please call the Fund at 1-833-RULEONE (1-833-785-3663) on days the Fund is open for business or contact your financial institution. The Fund will begin sending you individual copies thirty days after receiving your request.

 

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FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

 

The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the Fund’s financial performance since the inception of the Fund. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share of the Fund. The financial highlights table relates to the Fund’s Founders Class shares. The Fund’s Investor Class shares have not commenced investment operations as of the date of this Prospectus. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned or lost on an investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions). The financial highlights have been audited by Tait, Weller and Baker LLP, the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm, whose unqualified report thereon, along with the Fund’s financial statements, are included in the Fund’s Annual Report to Shareholders (the “Annual Report”) and are incorporated by reference into the SAI. Additional performance information for the Fund is included in the Annual Report. Copies of the Annual Report and the SAI may be obtained at the address and telephone number noted on the back page of this prospectus.

 

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RULE ONE FUND

Financial Highlights Selected Per Share Data Throughout Each Period

 

   For the years ended December 31,   April 1, 2020
to
   June 3, 2019(1)
to
 
   2023   2022   2021   December 31,
2020(2)
   March 31,
2020
 
Net asset value, beginning of period  $10.18   $11.64   $11.07   $8.88   $10.00 
Investment activities                         
Net investment income (loss)(3)   0.08    (0.04)   (0.11)   (0.05)   (0.03)
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments   2.06    (0.99)   1.53    2.42    (1.09)
Total from investment activities   2.14    (1.03)   1.42    2.37    (1.12)
Distributions                         
Net investment income   (0.09)                
Net realized gain       (0.43)   (0.85)   (0.18)    
Total distributions   (0.09)   (0.43)   (0.85)   (0.18)    
Net asset value, end of period  $12.23   $10.18   $11.64   $11.07   $8.88 
Total Return(4)   21.02%   (8.84%)   12.87%   26.74%   (11.20%)
Ratios/Supplemental Data                         
Ratios to average net assets(5)                         
Expenses, gross(6)(7)   2.28%   2.05%   2.03%   2.15%   2.30%
Expenses, net of waiver(8)   2.25%   2.02%   2.01%   2.06%   2.08%
Net investment income (loss)   0.76%   (0.36%)   (0.93%)   (0.72%)   (0.40%)
Portfolio turnover rate(4)   100.92%   47.30%   61.92%   32.99%   61.35%
Net assets, end of period (000’s)  $179,998   $148,358   $157,403   $109,267   $63,094 

 

(1)Commencement of operations.

 

(2)On August 25, 2020, the Board of Trustees approved a change to the Fund’s fiscal year end to December 31.

 

(3)Per share amounts calculated using the average shares outstanding during the period.

 

(4)Total return and portfolio turnover rate are for the period indicated and have not been annualized for periods less than one year.

 

(5)Ratios to average net assets have been annualized for periods less than one year.

 

(6)Gross expense ratio reflects the effect of interest and dividend expenses, which are excluded from the Fund’s expense limitation agreement.

 

(7)Ratio of total expenses before management fee waivers and reimbursements, excluding interest and dividend expenses, would have been: 2.02% for the year ended December 31, 2023, 2.02% for year ended December 31, 2022, 2.01% for the year ended December 31, 2021, 2.08% for the period April 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 and 2.22% for the period June 3, 2019 to March 31, 2020.

 

(8)Ratio of total expenses net of management fee waivers and reimbursements, excluding interest and dividend expenses, would have been: 1.99% for the year ended December 31, 2023, 1.99% for the year ended December 31, 2022, 1.99% for the year ended December 31, 2021, 1.99% for the period April 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 and 1.99% for the period June 3, 2019 to March 31, 2020.

 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

The Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports will contain more information about the Fund. The Fund’s annual report will contain a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that had a significant effect on the Fund’s performance during the last fiscal year.

 

For more information about the Fund, you may wish to refer to the Fund’s SAI dated May 1, 2024, which is on file with the SEC and incorporated by reference into this prospectus. You can obtain a free copy of the annual and semi-annual reports, and SAI by writing to the Rule One Fund, 8730 Stony Point Parkway, Suite 205, Richmond, Virginia 23235, by calling toll free 888-411-1875, by e-mail at: mail@ccofva.com or on the Rule One Fund’s website at https://ruleonefund.com. General inquiries regarding the Funds may also be directed to the above address or telephone number.

 

Reports and other information regarding the Fund is available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at http://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 #811-22172

 

45 

 

 

 

 

 

Rule One Fund

 

Founders Class Shares (Ticker: RULRX)
Investor Class Shares (Ticker: RULIX)

 

a Series of World Funds Trust

 

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

May 1, 2024

 

This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus. It should be read in conjunction with the Prospectus of the Rule One Fund (the “Fund”) dated May 1, 2024. The Fund’s Prospectus is hereby incorporated by reference, which means it is legally part of this document. A free copy of the Prospectus and Annual Report can be obtained by writing to the Rule One Fund, c/o Commonwealth Fund Services, Inc., 8730 Stony Point Parkway, Suite 205, Richmond, Virginia 23235, or by calling toll-free 833-RULEONE.

 

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Page
THE TRUST 2
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUt INVESTMENT objectives and policies 2
investment limitations 11
investment adviser 12
portfolio managerS 14
trustees and officers of the trust 15
control persons and principal securities holders 19
PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS AND BROKERAGE 19
DESCRIPTION OF SHARES 21
CODE OF ETHICS 22
TAXES 22
PRICING AND PURCHASE OF FUND SHARES 33
REDEMPTIONS IN KIND 37
ADDITIONAL SERVICE PROVIDERS 37
SHAREHOLDER SERVICES 39
disclosure of portfolio securities holdings 40
proxy voting POLICIES AND PROCEDURES 43
financial STATEMENTS 43
EXHIBIT A (PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES OF TRUST) 44
EXHIBIT B (PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES OF ADVISER) 46
EXHIBIT C (NOMINATING AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE CHARTER) 50

 

 

 

 

THE TRUST

 

General. The Trust was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on April 9, 2007. The Trust is an open-end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) and commonly known as a “mutual fund”. The Declaration of Trust permits the Trust to offer separate series (“funds”) of shares of beneficial interest (“shares”). The Trust reserves the right to create and issue shares of additional funds. Each fund is a separate mutual fund, and each share of each fund represents an equal proportionate interest in that fund. All consideration received by the Trust for shares of any fund and all assets of such fund belong solely to that fund and would be subject to liabilities related thereto. Each fund of the Trust pays its (i) operating expenses, including fees of its service providers, expenses of preparing prospectuses, proxy solicitation material and reports to shareholders, costs of custodial services and registering its shares under federal and state securities laws, pricing, insurance expenses, brokerage costs, interest charges, taxes and organization expenses; and (ii) pro rata share of the fund’s other expenses, including audit and legal expenses. Expenses attributable to a specific fund shall be payable solely out of the assets of that fund. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an investment adviser to a fund may be obligated through an investment advisory, expense limitation, or fee waiver agreement to assume, waive, reimburse, or otherwise assume responsibility for certain of the fund’s operating expenses – any such arrangements for a fund are described in that fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information.

 

Expenses not attributable to a specific fund are allocated across all of the funds on the basis of relative net assets. The other funds of the Trust are described in one or more separate Statements of Additional Information.

 

The Fund. This SAI relates to the prospectus for the Rule One Fund (the “Fund”) and should be read in conjunction with the prospectus. This SAI is incorporated by reference into the Fund’s prospectus. No investment in shares should be made without reading the prospectus. The Fund is a separate investment portfolio or series of the Trust.

 

Description of Shares. The Fund is authorized to issue two classes of shares, Founders Class Shares and Investor Class Shares. Neither class is subject to a front-end sales charge or a deferred sales charge. Founders Class shares impose no Rule 12b-1 Plan fee or Shareholder Service Plan fee, however, Investor Class shares are subject to a 0.25% annual Rule 12b-1 Plan fee and an annual 0.25% Shareholder Service Plan fee.

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

ABOUT INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES

 

The Fund’s investment objective and principal investment strategies are described in the prospectus. This section contains a discussion of some of the investments the Fund may make and some of the techniques it may use, and the risks associated with such investments.

 

Portfolio Turnover. Average annual portfolio turnover rate is the ratio of the lesser of sales or purchases to the monthly average value of the portfolio securities owned during the year, excluding from both the numerator and the denominator all securities with maturities at the time of acquisition of one year or less. A higher portfolio turnover rate involves greater transaction expenses to the Fund and may result in the realization of net capital gains, which would be taxable to shareholders when distributed. The Fund’s Adviser makes purchases and sales for the Fund’s portfolio whenever necessary, in the Adviser’s opinion, to meet the Fund’s objective. The Fund’s portfolio turnover for its most recent fiscal period ended December 31, 2022, was 47.30%. The Fund’s portfolio turnover for its most recent fiscal period ended December 31, 2023, was 100.92%.

 

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Equity Securities. The Fund may invest in equity securities such as common stock, preferred stock, convertible securities, rights and warrants. Common stocks, the most familiar type, represent an equity (ownership) interest in a corporation. Warrants are options to purchase equity securities at a specified price for a specific time period. Rights are similar to warrants, but normally have a short duration and are distributed by the issuer to its shareholders. Although equity securities have a history of long-term growth in value, their prices fluctuate based on changes in a company’s financial condition and on overall market and economic conditions.

 

Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund may have more volatility and is considered to have more risk than a fund that invests in securities of a greater number of issuers because changes in the value of a single issuer’s security may have a more significant effect, either negative or positive, on the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”). To the extent that the Fund invests its assets in the securities of fewer issuers, the Fund will be subject to greater risk of loss if any of those securities decreases in value or becomes impaired. To the extent that the Fund’s investments are focused in a particular issuer, region, country, market, industry, asset class or other category, the Fund may be susceptible to loss due to adverse occurrences affecting that issuer, region, country, market, industry, asset class or other category.

 

Small and Medium Sized Company 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.

 

Value Investing Risk. A value stock may not increase in price as anticipated by the Adviser if other investors fail to recognize the company’s value and bid up the price, the markets favor faster-growing companies, or the factors that the investment manager believes will increase the price of the security do not occur or do not have the anticipated effect.

 

Securities of Investment Companies. Investments in registered investment companies including mutual funds and ETFs involve certain additional expenses and certain tax results, which would not be present in a direct investment in such funds. Due to legal limitations, the Fund will generally be prevented from: 1) purchasing more than 3% of an investment company’s outstanding shares; 2) investing more than 5% of the Fund’s assets in any single investment company, and 3) investing more than 10% of the Fund’s assets in investment companies overall The Fund will limit its investments in funds in accordance with the Section 12(d)(1)(A) limitations set forth above, except to the extent that any rules or regulations under the 1940 Act permit the Fund’s investments to exceed such limits. For example, Rule 12d1-4 permits the Fund to invest in other investment companies beyond the statutory limits, subject to certain conditions. Among other conditions, the Rule prohibits a fund from acquiring control of another investment company (other than an investment company in the same group of investment companies), including by acquiring more than 25% of its voting securities. In addition, the Rule imposes certain voting requirements when a fund’s ownership of another investment company exceeds particular thresholds. If shares of a fund are acquired by another investment company, the “acquired” fund may not purchase or otherwise acquire the securities of an investment company or private fund if immediately after such purchase or acquisition, the securities of investment companies and private funds owned by that acquired fund have an aggregate value in excess of 10% of the value of the total assets of the fund, subject to certain exceptions. These restrictions may limit the Fund’s ability to invest in other investment companies to the extent desired. In addition, other unaffiliated investment companies may impose other investment limitations or redemption restrictions which may also limit the Fund’s flexibility with respect to making investments in those unaffiliated investment companies. In the alternative, the Fund may rely on Rule 12d1-3, which allows unaffiliated mutual funds to exceed the 5% limitation and the 10% limitation, provided the aggregate sales loads any investor pays (i.e., the combined distribution expenses of both the acquiring fund and the acquired fund) does not exceed the limits on sales loads established by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) for funds of funds. The Fund may invest in open-end mutual funds and ETFs, within the limitations described above. Each investment company is subject to specific risks, depending on the nature of the fund. ETFs and mutual funds may employ leverage, which magnifies the changes in the underlying stock or other index upon which they are based.

 

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ETFs are a type of registered investment company. Many ETFs are passively managed and track their related index and have the flexibility of trading like a security. They are managed by professionals and typically provide the investor with diversification, cost and tax efficiency, liquidity, marginability, are useful for hedging, have the ability to go long and short, and some provide quarterly dividends. Additionally, some ETFs are unit investment trusts (“UITs”). Under certain circumstances, the Adviser may invest in ETFs, known as “inverse funds,” which are designed to produce results opposite to market trends. Inverse ETFs are funds designed to rise in price when stock prices are falling.

 

ETFs typically have two markets. The primary market is where institutions swap “creation units” in block-multiples of, for example, 50,000 shares for in-kind securities and cash in the form of dividends. The secondary market is where individual investors can trade as little as a single share during trading hours on the exchange. This is different from open-ended mutual funds that are traded after hours once the net asset value (“NAV”) is calculated. ETFs share many similar risks with open-end and closed-end funds.

 

Foreign Securities. 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 securities exchanges, 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 the 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 the Fund held in foreign countries.  Finally, the establishment of exchange controls or other foreign governmental laws or restrictions could adversely affect the payment of obligations.

 

To the extent currency exchange transactions do not fully protect the Fund against adverse changes in currency exchange rates, decreases in the value of currencies of the foreign countries in which the Fund will invest relative to the U.S. dollar will result in a corresponding decrease in the U.S. dollar value of the Fund’s 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 the Fund’s assets (and possibly a corresponding decrease in the amount of securities to be liquidated).

 

Options. The Fund may purchase and write (i.e., sell) put and call options. Such options may relate to particular securities or stock indices, and may or may not be listed on a domestic or foreign securities exchange and may or may not be issued by the Options Clearing Corporation. Options trading is a highly specialized activity that entails greater than ordinary investment risk. Options may be more volatile than the underlying instruments, and therefore, on a percentage basis, an investment in options may be subject to greater fluctuation than an investment in the underlying instruments themselves.

 

A call option for a particular security gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy, and the writer (seller) the obligation to sell, the underlying security at the stated exercise price at any time prior to the expiration of the option, regardless of the market price of the security. The premium paid to the writer is in consideration for undertaking the obligation under the option contract. A put option for a particular security gives the purchaser the right to sell the security at the stated exercise price at any time prior to the expiration date of the option, regardless of the market price of the security.

 

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Stock index options are put options and call options on various stock indices. In most respects, they are identical to listed options on common stocks. The primary difference between stock options and index options occurs when index options are exercised. In the case of stock options, the underlying security, common stock, is delivered. However, upon the exercise of an index option, settlement does not occur by delivery of the securities comprising the index. The option holder who exercises the index option receives an amount of cash if the closing level of the stock index upon which the option is based is greater than, in the case of a call, or less than, in the case of a put, the exercise price of the option. This amount of cash is equal to the difference between the closing price of the stock index and the exercise price of the option expressed in dollars times a specified multiple. A stock index fluctuates with changes in the market value of the stocks included in the index. For example, some stock index options are based on a broad market index, such as the Standard & Poor’s 500® Index or the Value Line Composite Index or a narrower market index, such as the Standard & Poor’s 100®. Indices may also be based on an industry or market segment, such as the NYSE Arca Oil and Gas Index or the Computer and Business Equipment Index. Options on stock indices are currently traded on the Chicago Board Options Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ PHLX.

 

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

 

If an option purchased by the Fund expires unexercised, the Fund realizes a loss equal to the premium paid. If the Fund enters into a closing sale transaction on an option purchased by it, the Fund will realize a gain if the premium received by the Fund on the closing transaction is more than the premium paid to purchase the option, or a loss if it is less. If an option written by the Fund expires on the stipulated expiration date or if the Fund enters into a closing purchase transaction, it will realize a gain (or loss if the cost of a closing purchase transaction exceeds the net premium received when the option is sold). If an option written by the Fund is exercised, the proceeds of the sale will be increased by the net premium originally received and the Fund will realize a gain or loss.

 

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

 

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Successful use by the Fund of options on stock indices will be subject to the ability of the Adviser to correctly predict movements in the directions of the stock market. This requires different skills and techniques than predicting changes in the prices of individual securities. In addition, the Fund’s ability to effectively hedge all or a portion of the securities in its portfolio, in anticipation of or during a market decline, through transactions in put options on stock indices, depends on the degree to which price movements in the underlying index correlate with the price movements of the securities held by the Fund. Inasmuch as the Fund’s securities will not duplicate the components of an index, the correlation will not be perfect. Consequently, the Fund bears the risk that the prices of its securities being hedged will not move in the same amount as the prices of its put options on the stock indices. It is also possible that there may be a negative correlation between the index and the Fund’s securities that would result in a loss on both such securities and the options on stock indices acquired by the Fund.

 

The hours of trading for options may not conform to the hours during which the underlying securities are traded. To the extent that the options markets close before the markets for the underlying securities, significant price and rate movements can take place in the underlying markets that cannot be reflected in the options markets. The purchase of options is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The purchase of stock index options involves the risk that the premium and transaction costs paid by the Fund in purchasing an option will be lost as a result of unanticipated movements in prices of the securities comprising the stock index on which the option is based.

 

There is no assurance that a liquid secondary market on an options exchange will exist for any particular option, or at any particular time, and for some options no secondary market on an exchange or elsewhere may exist. If the Fund is unable to close out a call option on securities that it has written before the option is exercised, the Fund may be required to purchase the optioned securities in order to satisfy its obligation under the option to deliver such securities. If the Fund is unable to effect a closing sale transaction with respect to options on securities that it has purchased, it would have to exercise the option in order to realize any profit and would incur transaction costs upon the purchase and sale of the underlying securities.

 

Transactions using options (other than options that the Fund has purchased) expose the Fund to an obligation to another party.

 

Options on Futures Contracts. The Fund may purchase and sell options on the same types of futures in which it may invest. Options on futures are similar to options on underlying instruments except that options on futures give the purchaser the right, in return for the premium paid, to assume a position in a futures contract (a long position if the option is a call and a short position if the option is a put), rather than to purchase or sell the futures contract, at a specified exercise price at any time during the period of the option. Upon exercise of the option, the delivery of the futures position by the writer of the option to the holder of the option will be accompanied by the delivery of the accumulated balance in the writer’s futures margin account which represents the amount by which the market price of the futures contract, at exercise, exceeds (in the case of a call) or is less than (in the case of a put) the exercise price of the option on the futures contract. Purchasers of options who fail to exercise their options prior to the exercise date suffer a loss of the premium paid.

 

Derivatives.  Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act governs the Fund’s use of derivative instruments and certain other transactions that create future payment and/or delivery obligations by the Fund. Rule 18f-4 permits the Fund to enter into Derivatives Transactions (as defined below) and certain other transactions notwithstanding the restrictions on the issuance of “senior securities” under Section 18 of the 1940 Act. Section 18 of the 1940 Act, among other things, prohibits open-end funds, including the Fund, from issuing or selling any “senior security,” other than borrowing from a bank (subject to a requirement to maintain 300% “asset coverage”). In connection with the adoption of Rule 18f-4, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) eliminated the asset segregation framework arising from prior SEC guidance for covering Derivatives Transactions and certain financial instruments.

 

5

 

 

Under Rule 18f-4, “Derivatives Transactions” include the following: (i) any swap, security-based swap (including a contract for differences), futures contract, forward contract, option (excluding purchased options), any combination of the foregoing, or any similar instrument, under which a Fund is or may be required to make any payment or delivery of cash or other assets during the life of the instrument or at maturity or early termination, whether as margin or settlement payment or otherwise; (ii) any short sale borrowing; (iii) reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing transactions, if the Fund elects to treat these transactions as Derivatives Transactions under Rule 18f-4; and (iv) when-issued or forward-settling securities (e.g., firm and standby commitments, including to-be-announced (“TBA”) commitments, and dollar rolls) and non-standard settlement cycle securities, unless the Fund intends to physically settle the transaction and the transaction will settle within 35 days of its trade date.

 

The Fund is a general derivatives user and must comply with Rule 18f-4 with respect to its Derivatives Transactions. Rule 18f-4, among other things, requires the Fund to (i) appoint a Derivatives Risk Manager, (ii) maintain a Derivatives Risk Management Program designed to identify, assess, and reasonably manage the risks associated with Derivatives Transactions; (iii) comply with certain value-at-risk (VaR)-based leverage limits (VaR is an estimate of an instrument’s or portfolio’s potential losses over a given time horizon and at a specified confidence level); and (iv) comply with certain Board reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

 

Pursuant to Rule 18f-4, if the Fund enters into reverse repurchase agreements or similar financing transactions, the Fund will (i) aggregate the amount of indebtedness associated with all of its reverse repurchase agreements or similar financing transactions with the amount of any other “senior securities” representing indebtedness (e.g., bank borrowings, if applicable) when calculating the Fund’s asset coverage ratio or (ii) treat all such transactions as Derivatives Transactions.

 

The requirements of Rule 18f-4 may limit the Fund’s ability to engage in Derivatives Transactions as part of its investment strategies. These requirements may also increase the cost of the Fund’s investments and cost of doing business, which could adversely affect the value of the Fund’s investments and/or the performance of the Fund.

 

Short Sales. The Fund may sell securities short as an outright investment strategy and to offset potential declines in long positions in similar securities. A short sale is a transaction in which the Fund sells a security it does not own or have the right to acquire (or that it owns but does not wish to deliver) in anticipation that the market price of that security will decline.

 

When the Fund makes a short sale, the broker-dealer through which the short sale is made must borrow the security sold short and deliver it to the party purchasing the security. The Fund is required to make a margin deposit in connection with such short sales; the Fund may have to pay a fee to borrow particular securities and will often be obligated to pay over any dividends and accrued interest on borrowed securities.

 

If the price of the security sold short increases between the time of the short sale and the time the Fund covers its short position, the Fund will incur a loss; conversely, if the price declines, the Fund will realize a capital gain. Any gain will be decreased, and any loss increased, by the transaction costs described above. The successful use of short selling may be adversely affected by imperfect correlation between movements in the price of the security sold short and the securities being hedged.

 

6

 

 

Real Estate Investment Trusts. The Fund may invest in securities of real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). REITs are publicly traded corporations or trusts that specialize in acquiring, holding and managing residential, commercial or industrial real estate. A REIT is not taxed at the entity level on income distributed to its shareholders or unitholders if it distributes to shareholders or unitholders at least 95% of its taxable income for each taxable year and complies with regulatory requirements relating to its organization, ownership, assets and income.

 

REITs generally can be classified as “Equity REITs,” “Mortgage REITs” and “Hybrid REITs.” An Equity REIT invests the majority of its assets directly in real property and derives its income primarily from rents and from capital gains on real estate appreciation, which are realized through property sales. A Mortgage REIT invests the majority of its assets in real estate mortgage loans and services its income primarily from interest payments. A Hybrid REIT combines the characteristics of an Equity REIT and a Mortgage REIT. Although the Fund can invest in all three kinds of REITs, its emphasis is expected to be on investments in Equity REITs.

 

Investments in the real estate industry involve particular risks. The real estate industry has been subject to substantial fluctuations and declines on a local, regional and national basis in the past and may continue to be in the future. Real property values and income from real property continue to be in the future. Real property values and income from real property may decline due to general and local economic conditions, overbuilding and increased competition, increases in property taxes and operating expenses, changes in zoning laws, casualty or condemnation losses, regulatory limitations on rents, changes in neighborhoods and in demographics, increases in market interest rates, or other factors. Factors such as these may adversely affect companies that own and operate real estate directly, companies that lend to such companies, and companies that service the real estate industry.

 

Investments in REITs also involve risks. Equity REITs will be affected by changes in the values of and income from the properties they own, while Mortgage REITs may be affected by the credit quality of the mortgage loans they hold. In addition, REITs are dependent on specialized management skills and on their ability to generate cash flow for operating purposes and to make distributions to shareholders or unitholders REITs may have limited diversification and are subject to risks associated with obtaining financing for real property, as well as to the risk of self-liquidation. REITs also can be adversely affected by their failure to qualify for tax-free pass-through treatment of their income under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or their failure to maintain an exemption from registration under the 1940 Act. By investing in REITs indirectly through the Fund, a shareholder bears not only a proportionate share of the expenses of the Fund, but also may indirectly bear similar expenses of some of the REITs in which it invests.

 

Depositary Receipts. Sponsored and unsponsored American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), are receipts issued by an American bank or trust company evidencing ownership of underlying securities issued by a foreign issuer. ADRs, in registered form, are designed for use in U.S. securities markets. Unsponsored ADRs may be created without the participation of the foreign issuer. Holders of these ADRs generally bear all the costs of the ADR facility, whereas foreign issuers typically bear certain costs in a sponsored ADR. The bank or trust company depositary of an unsponsored ADR may be under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the foreign issuer or to pass through voting rights. Many of the risks described below regarding foreign securities apply to investments in ADRs.

 

Futures Contracts. A futures contract provides for the future sale by one party and purchase by another party of a specified amount of a specific financial instrument (e.g., units of a stock index) for a specified price, date, time and place designated at the time the contract is made. Brokerage fees are paid when a futures contract is bought or sold and margin deposits must be maintained. Entering into a contract to buy is commonly referred to as buying or purchasing a contract or holding a long position. Entering into a contract to sell is commonly referred to as selling a contract or holding a short position.

 

7

 

 

Unlike when the Fund purchases or sells a security, no price would be paid or received by the Fund upon the purchase or sale of a futures contract. Upon entering into a futures contract, and to maintain the Fund’s open positions in futures contracts, the Fund would be required to deposit with its custodian or futures broker in a segregated account in the name of the futures broker an amount of cash, U.S. government securities, suitable money market instruments, or other liquid securities, known as “initial margin.” The margin required for a particular futures contract is set by the exchange on which the contract is traded, and may be significantly modified from time to time by the exchange during the term of the contract. Futures contracts are customarily purchased and sold on margins that may range upward from less than 5% of the value of the contract being traded.

 

If the price of an open futures contract changes (by increase in underlying instrument or index in the case of a sale or by decrease in the case of a purchase) so that the loss on the futures contract reaches a point at which the margin on deposit does not satisfy margin requirements, the broker will require an increase in the margin. However, if the value of a position increases because of favorable price changes in the futures contract so that the margin deposit exceeds the required margin, the broker will pay the excess to the Fund.

 

These subsequent payments, called “variation margin,” to and from the futures broker, are made on a daily basis as the price of the underlying assets fluctuate making the long and short positions in the futures contract more or less valuable, a process known as “marking to the market.” The Fund expect to earn interest income on margin deposits.

 

Although certain futures contracts, by their terms, require actual future delivery of and payment for the underlying instruments, in practice most futures contracts are usually closed out before the delivery date. Closing out an open futures contract purchase or sale is effected by entering into an offsetting futures contract sale or purchase, respectively, for the same aggregate amount of the identical underlying instrument or index and the same delivery date. If the offsetting purchase price is less than the original sale price, the Fund realizes a gain; if it is more, the Fund realizes a loss. Conversely, if the offsetting sale price is more than the original purchase price, the Fund realizes a gain; if it is less, the Fund realizes a loss. The transaction costs must also be included in these calculations. There can be no assurance, however, that the Fund will be able to enter into an offsetting transaction with respect to a particular futures contract at a particular time. If the Fund is not able to enter into an offsetting transaction, the Fund will continue to be required to maintain the margin deposits on the futures contract.

 

For example, one contract in the Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index future is a contract to buy 25 pounds sterling multiplied by the level of the UK Financial Times 100 Share Index on a given future date. Settlement of a stock index futures contract may or may not be in the underlying instrument or index. If not in the underlying instrument or index, then settlement will be made in cash, equivalent over time to the difference between the contract price and the actual price of the underlying asset at the time the stock index futures contract expires.

 

When-Issued, Forward Commitments and Delayed Settlements. The Fund may purchase and sell securities on a when-issued, forward commitment or delayed settlement basis. The Fund does not intend to engage in these transactions for speculative purposes but only in furtherance of its investment objectives.

 

The Fund will purchase securities on a when-issued, forward commitment or delayed settlement basis only with the intention of completing the transaction. If deemed advisable as a matter of investment strategy, however, the Fund may dispose of or renegotiate a commitment after it is entered into, and may sell securities it has committed to purchase before those securities are delivered to the Fund on the settlement date. In these cases, the Fund may realize a taxable capital gain or loss. When the Fund engages in when-issued, forward commitment and delayed settlement transactions, it relies on the other party to consummate the trade. Failure of such party to do so may result in the Fund incurring a loss or missing an opportunity to obtain a price credited to be advantageous.

 

8

 

 

The market value of the securities underlying a when-issued purchase, forward commitment to purchase securities, or a delayed settlement and any subsequent fluctuations in their market value is taken into account when determining the market value of the Fund starting on the day the Fund agrees to purchase the securities. The Fund does not earn interest on the securities it has committed to purchase until it has paid for and delivered on the settlement date.

 

Restricted and Private Company Securities. The Fund may invest in securities with contractual or legal restrictions on resale or lack of a ready market. Restricted securities are securities where the resale of which is subject to legal or contractual restrictions. Restricted securities may be sold only in privately negotiated transactions, in a public offering with respect to which a registration statement is in effect under the Securities Act of 1933 or pursuant to Rule 144 or Rule 144A promulgated under such Act. Where registration is required, the Fund may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expense, and a considerable period may elapse between the time of the decision to sell and the time such security may be sold under an effective registration statement. If during such a period adverse market conditions were to develop, the Fund might obtain a less favorable price than the price it could have obtained when it decided to sell. The Fund’s holdings of these securities are subject to the limitations described in “Illiquid Investments” below.

 

Illiquid Investments. In accordance with Rule 22e-4 under the 1940 Act (the “Liquidity Rule”), the Fund may hold up to 15% of its net assets in “illiquid investments.” For this purpose, the term “illiquid investments” are investments that the Fund cannot reasonably be expected to be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment. The Fund monitors the portion of its total assets that are invested in illiquid investments on an ongoing basis in order to ensure that the value of illiquid securities held by the Fund do not exceed 15% of the Fund’s net assets.

 

The Fund must classify each portfolio investment at least monthly into one of four liquidity categories (highly liquid, moderately liquid, less liquid and illiquid), which are defined pursuant to the Liquidity Rule. Such classification is to be made using information obtained after reasonable inquiry and taking into account relevant market, trading and investment-specific considerations. Moreover, in making such classification determinations, the Fund determines whether trading varying portions of a position in a particular portfolio investment or asset class, in sizes that the Fund would reasonably anticipate trading, is reasonably expected to significantly affect its liquidity, and if so, the Fund takes this determination into account when classifying the liquidity of that investment. The Fund may be assisted in classification determinations by one or more third-party service providers. Investments classified according to this process as “illiquid investments” are those subject to the 15% limit on illiquid investments.

 

The Fund has a liquidity risk management program designed to assess and manage the Fund’s liquidity risk. The program has been approved by the Fund’s Board of Trustees (“Board”), which has also approved the appointment of a liquidity program administrator (the “LPA”). The LPA is responsible for oversight of the Fund’s liquidity risk management efforts, including classifying the liquidity of the Fund’s investment, ensuring the Fund holds no more than 15% of net asset value in illiquid investments, ensuring that the Fund holds enough liquid assets to meet reasonably foreseeable redemption requests, and reporting to the Board regarding the effectiveness and operation of the liquidity risk management program.

 

U.S. Government Securities. U.S. government securities are high-quality debt securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury or by an agency or instrumentality of the U.S. government. Not all U.S. government securities are backed by the full faith and credit of, or guaranteed by, the United States Treasury. For example, securities issued by the Farm Credit Banks or by the Federal National Mortgage Association are supported by the instrumentality’s right to borrow money from the U.S. Treasury under certain circumstances. Moreover, securities issued by other agencies or instrumentalities are supported only by the credit of the entity that issued them.

 

9

 

 

Borrowing. At this time, the Fund does not expect to engage in borrowing. The Fund may engage in borrowing in the future and, to the extent it does so, the Fund will be permitted to borrow money up to one-third of the value of its total assets. Borrowing is a speculative technique that increases both investment opportunity and the Fund’s ability to achieve greater diversification. However, it also increases investment risk. Because the Fund’s investments will fluctuate in value, whereas the interest obligations on borrowed funds may be fixed, during times of borrowing, the Fund’s net asset value may tend to increase more when its investments increase in value, and decrease more when its investments decrease in value. In addition, interest costs on borrowings may fluctuate with changing market interest rates and may partially offset or exceed the return earned on the borrowed funds. Also, during times of borrowing under adverse market conditions, the Fund might have to sell portfolio securities to meet interest or principal payments at a time when fundamental investment considerations would not favor such sales.

 

Currently, subject to modification to conform to the 1940 Act as interpreted or modified from time to time, the Fund is permitted, consistent with the 1940 Act, to borrow, and pledge its shares to secure such borrowing, provided, that immediately thereafter there is asset coverage of at least 300% for all borrowings by the Fund from a bank. If borrowings exceed this 300% asset coverage requirement by reason of a decline in net assets of the Fund, the Fund will reduce its borrowings within three days (not including weekends and holidays) to the extent necessary to comply with the 300% asset coverage requirement. The 1940 Act also permits the Fund to borrow for temporary purposes only in an amount not exceeding 5% of the value of its total assets at the time when the loan is made. A loan shall be presumed to be for temporary purposes if it is repaid within 60 days and is not extended or renewed. To the extent outstanding borrowings of the Fund exceed 5% of the value of the total assets of the Fund, the Fund will not make additional purchases of securities – the foregoing shall not be construed to prevent the Fund from settling portfolio transactions or satisfying shareholder redemptions orders.

 

Financial Services Industry Obligations. The Fund may invest in each of the following obligations of the financial services industry:

 

(1)Certificate of Deposit. Certificates of deposit are negotiable certificates evidencing the indebtedness of a commercial bank or a savings and loan association to repay funds deposited with it for a definite period of time (usually from fourteen days to one year) at a stated or variable interest rate.

 

(2)Time Deposits. Time deposits are non-negotiable deposits maintained in a banking institution or a savings and loan association for a specified period of time at a stated interest rate.

 

(3)Bankers’ Acceptances. Bankers’ acceptances are credit instruments evidencing the obligation of a bank to pay a draft which has been drawn on it by a customer, which instruments reflect the obligation both of the bank and of the drawer to pay the face amount of the instrument upon maturity.

 

Repurchase Agreements. The Fund may invest in repurchase agreements fully collateralized by obligations issued by the U.S. government or agencies of the U.S. government (“U.S. Government Obligations”). A repurchase agreement is a short-term investment in which the purchaser (i.e., the Fund) acquires ownership of a U.S. Government Obligation (which may be of any maturity) and the seller agrees to repurchase the obligation at a future time at a set price, thereby determining the yield during the purchaser’s holding period (usually not more than 7 days from the date of purchase). Any repurchase transaction in which the Fund engages will require full collateralization of the seller’s obligation during the entire term of the repurchase agreement. In the event of a bankruptcy or other default of the seller, the Fund could experience both delays in liquidating the underlying security and losses in value. However, the Fund intends to enter into repurchase agreements only with the Custodian, other banks with assets of $1 billion or more and registered securities dealers determined by the Adviser to be creditworthy. The Adviser monitors the creditworthiness of the banks and securities dealers with which the Fund engages in repurchase transactions. The Fund may engage in repurchase agreement transactions to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law.

 

10

 

 

Cash Investments. The Fund may invest its net assets in cash. When the Adviser believes market, economic or political conditions are unfavorable for investors, the Adviser may invest up to 100% of the Fund’s net assets in cash, cash equivalents or other short-term investments. Unfavorable market or economic conditions may include excessive volatility or a prolonged general decline in the securities markets, or the U.S. economy. The Adviser also may invest in these types of securities or hold cash while looking for suitable investment opportunities or to maintain liquidity.

 

Regulation as a Commodity Pool Operator. The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, has filed with the National Futures Association, a notice claiming an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and the rules of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission promulgated thereunder, with respect to the Fund’s operation. Accordingly, the Fund is not subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool operator.

 

INVESTMENT LIMITATIONS

 

Fundamental. The investment limitations described below have been adopted by the Trust with respect to the Fund and are fundamental (“Fundamental”), i.e., they may not be changed without the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund. As used in the Prospectus and the Statement of Additional Information, the term “majority” of the outstanding shares of the 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. Other investment practices which may be changed by the Board of Trustees without the approval of shareholders to the extent permitted by applicable law, regulation or regulatory policy are considered non-fundamental (“Non-Fundamental”).

 

1.Borrowing Money. The Fund may not borrow money except as permitted under the 1940 Act, and as interpreted or modified by regulatory authority having jurisdiction, from time to time.

 

2.Senior Securities. The Fund may not issue any senior security to others, except as permitted under the 1940 Act, and as interpreted or modified by regulatory authority having jurisdiction, from time to time.

 

3.Underwriting. The Fund may not underwrite securities issued by others except to the extent the Fund may be deemed to be an underwriter under the federal securities laws, in connection with the disposition of portfolio securities.

 

4.Real Estate. The Fund may not purchase or sell real estate except as permitted under the 1940 Act, and as interpreted or modified by regulatory authority having jurisdiction, from time to time.

 

5.Commodities. The Fund may not purchase or sell physical commodities or commodity futures contracts, except as permitted by the 1940 Act, and as interpreted or modified by regulatory authority having jurisdiction, from time to time.

 

6.Loans. The Fund may not make loans to others, except as permitted under the 1940 Act, and as interpreted or modified by regulatory authority having jurisdiction, from time to time.

 

7.Concentration. The Fund may not invest more than 25% of the value of its net assets in any one industry or group of industries (except that securities of the U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities are not subject to these limitations).

 

With respect to the percentages adopted by the Trust as maximum limitations on its 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. With respect to the Fund’s policy on concentration, the Fund will use the Standard Industrial Classification Codes list that is maintained by the SEC to classify the Fund’s holdings by industry.

 

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INVESTMENT ADVISER

 

Rule One Partners, LLC, located at 891 Bear Creek Road, Moreland, Georgia 30259, serves as the Fund’s investment adviser. The Adviser is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. The Adviser is a limited liability company formed in Wyoming for the purpose of managing the Fund. Philip Bradley Town owns and controls the Adviser.

 

Subject to the authority of the Board of Trustees, the Adviser is responsible for the overall management of the Fund’s investment-related business affairs. Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement (the “Advisory Agreement”) with the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, the Adviser, subject to the supervision of the Board of the Trust, and in conformity with the stated policies of the Fund, manages the portfolio investment operations of the Fund. The Adviser has overall supervisory responsibilities for the general management and investment of the Fund’s securities portfolio, as detailed below, which are subject to review and approval by the Board of Trustees. In general, the Adviser’s duties include setting the Fund’s overall investment strategies and asset allocation.

 

Pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser, under the oversight of the Board of Trustees, agrees to invest the assets of the Fund in accordance with applicable law and the investment objective, policies and restrictions set forth in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, and subject to such further limitations as the Trust may from time to time impose by written notice to the Adviser. The Adviser shall act as the investment adviser to the Fund and, as such shall, (i) obtain and evaluate such information relating to the economy, industries, business, securities markets and securities as it may deem necessary or useful in discharging its responsibilities here under, (ii) formulate a continuing program for the investment of the assets of the Fund in a manner consistent with its investment objective, policies and restrictions, and (iii) determine from time to time securities to be purchased, sold, retained or lent by the Fund, and implement those decisions, including the selection of entities with or through which such purchases, sales or loans are to be effected; provided, that the Adviser or its designee, directly, will place orders pursuant to its investment determinations either directly with the issuer or with a broker or dealer, and if with a broker or dealer, (a) will attempt to obtain the best price and execution of its orders, and (b) may nevertheless in its discretion purchase and sell portfolio securities from and to brokers who provide the Adviser with research, analysis, advice and similar services and pay such brokers in return a higher commission or spread than may be charged by other brokers. The Adviser also provides the Fund with all necessary office facilities and personnel for servicing the Fund’s investments, compensates all officers, Trustees and employees of the Trust who are officers, directors or employees of the Adviser, and all personnel of the Fund or the Adviser performing services relating to research, statistical and investment activities.

 

In addition, the Adviser, subject to the oversight of the Board of Trustees, provides the management and supplemental administrative services necessary for the operation of the Fund. These services include providing assistance in the supervising of relations with custodians, transfer and pricing agents, accountants, underwriters and other persons dealing with the Fund; assisting in the preparing of all general shareholder communications and conducting shareholder relations; assisting in maintaining the Fund’s records and the registration of the Fund’s shares under federal securities laws and making necessary filings under state securities laws; assisting in developing management and shareholder services for the Fund; and furnishing reports, evaluations and analyses on a variety of subjects to the Trustees.

 

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The Fund pays an annual management fee (computed daily and payable monthly) of 1.70% of the Fund’s daily net assets (and deducted proportionately from each class of Fund shares) to the Adviser pursuant to the Advisory Agreement. The Adviser received the following fees for investment advisory services to the Fund for the periods specified below:

 

Fiscal Period 

Gross

Advisory Fee

Waiver 

Net Advisory

Fee

Year Ended 12/31/2023 $2,633,225 ($48,077) $2,585,148
Year Ended 12/31/2022 $2,559,242 ($46,093) $2,513,149
Year Ended 12/31/2021 $2,344,179 ($28,329) $2,315,850

 

The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive or reduce its fees and/or pay for operating expenses of the Fund to ensure that total annual fund operating expenses (exclusive of interest, distribution fees pursuant to Rule 12b-1 plans, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage commissions, dividend expenses on short sales, other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of business) do not exceed 1.99% of the daily net assets of the Fund’s Founders Class shares and the Fund’s Investor Class shares, until May 1, 2025. The Trust and the Adviser may terminate this expense limitation agreement prior to May 1, 2025 only by mutual written consent. Each fee waiver or reduction or reimbursement of an expense by the Adviser is subject to repayment by the Fund within the three years following the date such waiver and/or reimbursement was made, provided that the Fund is able to make the repayment without exceeding the expense limitation in place at the time of the waiver or reimbursement and at the time the waiver or reimbursement is recouped.

 

Expenses not expressly assumed by the Adviser under the Advisory Agreement are paid by the Fund. Under the terms of the Advisory Agreement, the Fund is responsible for the payment of the following expenses among others: (a) the fees payable to the Adviser, (b) the fees and expenses of Trustees who are not affiliated persons of the Adviser or the Fund’s principal underwriter (the “Distributor”) (c) the fees and certain expenses of the Fund’s custodian and transfer and dividend disbursing agent, including the cost of maintaining certain required records of the Fund and of pricing the Fund’s shares, (d) the charges and expenses of legal counsel and independent accountants for the Fund, (e) brokerage commissions and any issue or transfer taxes chargeable to the Fund in connection with its securities transactions, (f) all taxes and corporate fees payable by the Fund to governmental agencies, (g) the fees of any trade association of which the Fund may be a member, (h) the cost of fidelity and liability insurance, (i) the fees and expenses involved in registering and maintaining registration of the Fund and of shares with the SEC, qualifying its shares under state securities laws, including the preparation and printing of the Fund’s registration statements and prospectuses for such purposes, (j) all expenses of shareholders and Trustees’ meetings (including travel expenses of trustees and officers of the Trust who are not directors, officers or employees of the Adviser) and of preparing, printing and mailing reports, proxy statements and prospectuses to shareholders in the amount necessary for distribution to the shareholders, and (k) litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the Fund’s business.

 

The Advisory Agreement will continue in effect for two (2) years initially and thereafter shall continue from year to year provided such continuance is approved at least annually by (a) a vote of the majority of the Independent Trustees, cast in person at a meeting specifically called for the purpose of voting on such approval and by (b) the majority vote of either all of the Trustees or the vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund. The Advisory Agreement may be terminated without penalty on 60 days written notice by a vote of a majority of the Trustees or by the Adviser, or by holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding shares (with respect to the Fund). The Advisory Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment.

 

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PORTFOLIO MANAGERS

 

Philip Bradley Town, Austin Bowen and Travis Parker serves as the portfolio managers of the Fund. As of December 31, 2023, the portfolio managers are responsible for the portfolio management of the following types of accounts in addition to the Fund:

 

Philip Bradley Town

 

Total Other Accounts

By Type

Total Number

of Accounts

by Type

Total Assets

by Account

Type

(in millions)

Number of Accounts

by Type Subject to

a Performance Fee

Total Assets by

Account Type Subject

to a Performance Fee

(in millions)

Registered Investment Companies 0 $0 0 $0
Other Pooled Investment Companies 1 $6.1 1 $6.1
Other Accounts 1 $0.3 0 $0

 

Austin Bowen

 

Total Other Accounts

By Type

Total Number

of Accounts

by Type

Total Assets

by Account

Type

(in millions)

Number of Accounts

by Type Subject to

a Performance Fee

Total Assets by

Account Type Subject

to a Performance Fee

(in millions)

Registered Investment Companies 0 $0 0 $0
Other Pooled Investment Companies 0 $0 0 $0
Other Accounts 1 $1.2 0 $0

 

Travis Parker

 

Total Other Accounts

By Type

Total Number

of Accounts

by Type

Total Assets

by Account

Type

(in millions)

Number of Accounts

by Type Subject to

a Performance Fee

Total Assets by

Account Type Subject

to a Performance Fee

(in millions)

Registered Investment Companies 0 $0 0 $0
Other Pooled Investment Companies 0 $0 0 $0
Other Accounts 6 $4.8 0 $0

 

Conflicts of Interest. As a general matter, certain conflicts of interest may arise in connection with a portfolio manager’s’ management of the Fund’s investments, on the one hand, and the investments of other accounts for which the portfolio managers are responsible, on the other. For example, it is possible that the various accounts managed could have different investment strategies that, at times, might conflict with one another to the possible detriment of the Fund. Alternatively, to the extent that the same investment opportunities might be desirable for more than one account, possible conflicts could arise in determining how to allocate them. Other potential conflicts might include conflicts created by specific portfolio managers compensation arrangements, and conflicts relating to selection of brokers or dealers to execute the Fund’s portfolio trades and/or specific uses of commissions from the Fund’s portfolio trades (for example, research, or “soft dollars,” if any). The Adviser has adopted policies and procedures and has structured the portfolio managers’ compensation in a manner reasonably designed to safeguard the Fund from being negatively affected as a result of any such potential conflicts.

 

14

 

Compensation. Mr. Philip Bradley Town has an ownership interest in the Adviser and will participate in business profits accordingly. Austin Bowen and Travis Parker receive a fixed salary plus bonus from the Adviser based on Mr. Town’s subjective view of their performance.

 

Ownership of Securities. The table below shows the amount of the Fund’s equity securities beneficially owned by the Fund’s portfolio managers as of December 31, 2023 and stated as one of the following ranges: A = None; B = $1-$10,000; C = $10,001-$50,000; D = $50,001-$100,000; E = $100,001-$500,000; F = $500,001-$1,000,000; and G = over $1,000,000.

 

Name of Portfolio Managers

Dollar Range of Equity Securities 

in the Fund

Philip Bradley Town G
Austin Bowen A
Travis Parker F

 

TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS OF THE TRUST

 

Trustees and Officers. The Trust is governed by the Board, which is responsible for protecting the interests of shareholders. The trustees are experienced businesspersons who meet throughout the year to oversee the Trust’s activities, review contractual arrangements with companies that provide services to the Fund and review performance. The names, addresses, and ages of the trustees and officers of the Trust, together with information as to their principal occupations during the past five years, are listed below.

 

Each Trustee was nominated to serve on the Board of Trustees based on their particular experiences, qualifications, attributes and skills. Generally, the Trust believes that each Trustee is competent to serve because of their individual overall merits including: (i) experience; (ii) qualifications; (iii) attributes; and (iv) skills. Mr. David J. Urban has been a Professor of Education since 1989. His strategic planning, organizational and leadership skills help the Board set long-term goals. Ms. Mary Lou H. Ivey has over 25 years of business experience as a practicing tax accountant and, as such, brings tax, budgeting and financial reporting skills to the Board. Mr. Theo H. Pitt has experience as an investor, including his role as trustee of several other investment companies and business experience as Senior Partner of a financial consulting company, as a partner of a real estate partnership and as an Account Administrator for a money management firm. The Trust does not believe any one factor is determinative in assessing a Trustee’s qualifications, but that the collective experience of each Trustee makes them each highly qualified.

 

The Chairman of the Board of Trustees is Ms. Ivey, who is not an “interested person” of the Trust, within the meaning of the 1940 Act. The Trust also has an independent Audit Committee that allows the Board to access the expertise necessary of oversee the Trust, identify risks, recognize shareholder concerns and needs and highlight opportunities. The Audit Committee is able to focus Board time and attention to matters of interest to shareholders and, through its private sessions with the Trust’s auditor, Chief Compliance Officer and legal counsel, stay fully informed regarding management decisions.

 

15

 

 

Mutual funds face a number of risks, including investment risk, compliance risk and valuation risk. The Board oversees management of the Fund’s risks directly and through its officers. While day-to-day risk management responsibilities rest with the Fund’s Chief Compliance Officer, investment advisers and other service providers, the Board monitors and tracks risk by: (1) receiving and reviewing quarterly reports related to the performance and operations of the Fund; (2) reviewing and approving, as applicable, the compliance policies and procedures of the Trust, including the Trust’s valuation policies and transaction procedures; (3) periodically meeting with the portfolio managers to review investment strategies, techniques and related risks; (4) meeting with representatives of key service providers, including the Fund’s investment advisers, administrator, distributor, transfer agent and the independent registered public accounting firm, to discuss the activities of the Fund; (5) engaging the services of the Chief Compliance Officer of the Fund to monitor and test the compliance procedures of the Trust and its service providers; (6) receiving and reviewing reports from the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm regarding the Fund’s financial condition and the Trust’s internal controls; and (7) receiving and reviewing an annual written report prepared by the Chief Compliance Officer reviewing the adequacy of the Trust’s compliance policies and procedures and the effectiveness of their implementation. The Board has concluded that its general oversight of the investment advisers and other service providers as implemented through the reporting and monitoring process outlined above allows the Board to effectively administer its risk oversight function.

 

Following is a list of the Trustees and executive officers of the Trust and their principal occupation over the last five years. The mailing address of each Trustee and officer is 8730 Stony Point Parkway, Suite 205, Richmond Virginia, 23235, unless otherwise indicated.

 

NON-INTERESTED TRUSTEES

 

NAME,

AGE AND

POSITION

WITH THE

TRUST

TERM OF

OFFICE

AND

LENGTH

OF TIME

SERVED

PRINCIPAL

OCCUPATION(S) DURING

THE PAST FIVE YEARS

NUMBER OF

FUNDS IN FUND

COMPLEX

OVERSEEN BY

TRUSTEE

OTHER

DIRECTORSHIPS

HELD BY TRUSTEE

DURING THE PAST 5

YEARS

David J. Urban

(68)

Trustee

Indefinite, Since June 2010 Dean Emeritus (since 2023) and Professor of Marketing (since 2013), Jones College of Business, Middle Tennessee State University. 26 Independent Trustee for the forty-eight series of the ETF Opportunities Trust (registered investment company)

Mary Lou H. Ivey

(65)

Trustee

Indefinite, Since June 2010

Senior Vice President for Finance, Episcopal Church Building Fund (national non- profit organization), since January 2022. Accountant, Harris, Hardy & Johnstone, P.C., (accounting firm), 2008-2021.

26 Independent Trustee for the forty-eight series of the ETF Opportunities Trust (registered investment company)

Theo H. Pitt, Jr.

(88)

Trustee

Indefinite; Since August 2013 Senior Partner, Community Financial Institutions Consulting (bank consulting) since 1997. 26

Independent Trustee of Chesapeake Investment Trust for the one series of that trust; Chairman of Hillman Capital Management Investment Trust; Starboard Investment Trust for the ten series of that trust; and ETF Opportunities Trust for the forty-eight series of that Trust (all registered investment companies).

 

16

 

 

OFFICERS WHO ARE NOT TRUSTEES

 

NAME, AGE AND

POSITION(S)

WITH THE TRUST

TERM OF OFFICE

AND LENGTH OF

TIME SERVED

PRINCIPAL OCCUPATION(S) DURING THE PAST

FIVE YEARS

David A. Bogaert

(60)

President

Indefinite, Since August 2017 Managing Director of Business Development, Commonwealth Fund Services, Inc. (fund administration and transfer agency), October 2013 to present.

Karen M. Shupe

(59)

Treasurer and Principal Executive Officer

Indefinite, Since June 2008 Managing Director of Fund Operations, Commonwealth Fund Services, Inc., 2003 to present.

Ann T. MacDonald

(69)

Assistant Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer

Indefinite, Since November 2015

Managing Director, Fund Administration and Fund Accounting, Commonwealth Fund Services, Inc., 2003 to present.

John H. Lively

(55)

Secretary

Indefinite, Since November 2013 Attorney, Practus, LLP (law firm), May 2018 to present; Attorney, The Law Offices of John H. Lively & Associates, Inc. (law firm), March 2010 to May 2018.

J. Stephen King

(61)
Assistant Secretary

Indefinite, Since November 2022 Attorney, Practus LLP (law firm), 2020 to present; Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel, The TCW Group, Inc. (investment management firm), 2017 to 2019.

Gino E. Malaspina

(56)

Assistant Secretary

Indefinite, Since November 2022 Attorney, Practus LLP (law firm), since August 2022; Vice President and Senior Counsel, State Street Corporation, October 2019 to July 2022; Senior Counsel, Apex Fund Services (formerly, Atlantic Fund Services), June 2014 to October 2019.

Holly B. Giangiulio

(62)

Assistant Secretary

Indefinite, Since November 2015 Managing Director, Corporate Operations, Commonwealth Fund Services, Inc., January 2015 to present.
Laura B. Wright
(51)
Assistant Secretary
Indefinite, Since May 2022 Manager, Fund Administration, Commonwealth Fund Services, Inc., August 2023 to present, Fund Administrator, Commonwealth Fund Services, Inc., 2016 to 2023.

Julian G. Winters

(55)

Chief Compliance Officer

Indefinite, Since August 2013

Managing Member of Watermark Solutions, LLC (investment compliance and consulting firm) since March 2007.

 

17

 

 

The Board of Trustees oversees the Trust and certain aspects of the services that the Adviser and the Fund’s other service providers. Each trustee will hold office until their successors have been duly elected and qualified or until their earlier resignation or removal. Each officer of the Trust serves at the pleasure of the Board and for a term of one year or until their successors have been duly elected and qualified.

 

The Trust has a standing Audit Committee of the Board composed of Mr. Urban, Ms. Ivey and Mr. Pitt. The functions of the Audit Committee are to meet with the Trust’s independent auditors to review the scope and findings of the annual audit, discuss the Trust’s accounting policies, discuss any recommendations of the independent auditors with respect to the Trust’s management practices, review the impact of changes in accounting standards on the Trust’s financial statements, recommend to the Board the selection of the independent registered public accounting firm, and perform such other duties as may be assigned to the Audit Committee by the Board. For the Fund’s most recent fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, the Audit Committee met six times.

 

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is comprised of Mr. Urban, Ms. Ivey and Mr. Pitt. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee’s purposes, duties and powers are set forth in its written charter, which is described in Exhibit C – the charter also describes the process by which shareholders of the Trust may make nominations. For the Fund’s most recent fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, the Nominating Committee met once.

 

The Qualified Legal Compliance Committee is comprised of Mr. Urban, Ms. Ivey and Mr. Pitt. The Qualified Legal Compliance Committee receives, investigates, and makes recommendations as to the appropriate remedial action in connection with any report of evidence of a material violation of the securities laws or breach of fiduciary duty or similar violation by the Trust, its officers, Trustees, or agents. For the Fund’s most recent fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, the Committee did not meet.

 

Trustee Compensation. Each Trustee who is not an “interested person” of the Trust may receive compensation for their services to the Trust. All Trustees are reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with attendance at meetings. Prior to January 1, 2024, each Trustee received an annual retainer of $80,000, paid quarterly.  Effective January 1, 2024, each Trustee receives a retainer fee at the annualized rate of $81,000, paid quarterly.  The Independent Chairperson receives an additional annual fee of $5,000, paid quarterly. Additionally, each Trustee receives a fee of $2,500 per special meeting attended. Compensation received from the Trust for the Funds’ fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 is as follows:

 

Name of Person / Position

Aggregate

Compensation 

From Fund

Pension or Retirement

Benefits Accrued As

Part of Funds Expenses

Estimated Annual

Benefits upon

Retirement

Total Compensation

From Fund and Fund

Complex Paid To

Trustees (*)(1)

         
David J. Urban, Trustee $4,760 $0 $0 $4,760
Mary Lou H. Ivey, Trustee $5,011 $0 $0 $5,011
Theo H. Pitt, Jr., Trustee $4,760 $0 $0 $4,760
*Company does not pay deferred compensation. December 31st is the Fund’s fiscal year end.

(1)As of the date of this SAI, the “Fund Complex” consists of the Fund.

 

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Trustee Ownership of Fund Shares. The table below shows for each Trustee, the amount of Fund equity securities beneficially owned by each Trustee, and the aggregate value of all investments in equity securities of the Funds of the Trust, as of December 31, 2023, and stated as one of the following ranges: A = None; B = $1-$10,000; C = $10,001-$50,000; D = $50,001-$100,000; and E = over $100,000.

 

Name of Trustee

 

Non-Interested Trustees

Dollar Range of Equity

Securities in the Fund

Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity

Securities in all Registered

Investment Companies Overseen by

the Trustees in Family of Investment

Companies

David J. Urban A A
Mary Lou H. Ivey A A
Theo H. Pitt, Jr. A A

 

Policies Concerning Personal Investment Activities. The Fund and the Adviser have each adopted a Code of Ethics, pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act that permit investment personnel, subject to their particular code of ethics, to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Fund, for their own account.

 

CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL SECURITY HOLDERS

 

A principal shareholder is any person who owns (either of record or beneficially) 5% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund. A control person is one who owns, either directly or indirectly, more than 25% of the voting securities of the Fund or acknowledges the existence of such control. As a controlling shareholder, each of these persons could control the outcome of any proposal submitted to the shareholders for approval, including changes to the Fund’s fundamental policies or the terms of the management agreement with the Adviser. As of March 31, 2024, the following persons owned of record or beneficially 5% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund.

 

Names and Addresses Percent of Class Type of Ownership

Plauche JT TEN 

1090 Donnell Rd. 

Broussard, LA 70518

5.29%

Record

 

PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS AND BROKERAGE

 

Subject to policies established by the Board, the Adviser is responsible for the Fund’s portfolio decisions and the placing of the Fund’s portfolio transactions. In placing portfolio transactions, the Adviser seeks the best qualitative execution for the 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 may not give consideration to sales of shares of the Trust as a factor in the selection of brokers and dealers to execute portfolio transactions. However, the Adviser may place portfolio transactions with brokers or dealers that promote or sell the Fund’s shares so long as such placements are made pursuant to policies approved by the Fund’s Board of Trustees that are designed to ensure that the selection is based on the quality of the broker’s execution and not on its sales efforts.

 

19

 

 

The Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Advisory Agreement, the Adviser is specifically authorized to select brokers or dealers who also provide brokerage and research services to the Fund 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 Trust 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 Fund effects 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 Fund. Although research services and other information are useful to the Fund and the Adviser, it is not possible to place a dollar value on the research and other information received. It is the opinion of the Board of Trustees and the Adviser that the review and study of the research and other information will not reduce the overall cost to the Adviser of performing its duties to the Fund under the Investment Advisory Agreement. Due to research services provided by brokers, the Fund may direct trades to certain brokers.

 

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.

 

When the 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. Blocked transactions can produce better execution for the Fund because of the increased volume of the 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, the 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 other client desires to sell the same portfolio security at the same time. In the event that the entire blocked order is not filled, the purchase or sale will normally be allocated on a pro rata basis. The allocation may be adjusted by the Adviser, taking into account such factors as the size of the individual orders and transaction costs, when the Adviser believes an adjustment is reasonable. The aggregate amount of brokerage commissions paid by the Fund for its fiscal years ended December 31, 2021, December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2023 was $64,040, $24,921, and $201,296 respectively. The increase in brokerage commissions was due to an increase in options trading volume.

 

The Fund is required to identify any securities of its “regular brokers and dealers” (as such term is defined in the 1940 Act) which the Fund may hold at the close of its most recent fiscal year. As of December 31, 2023, the Fund did not hold any securities of its regular brokers and dealers.

 

20

 

 

DESCRIPTION OF SHARES

 

The Trust was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on April 9, 2007. The Trust’s Agreement and Declaration of Trust authorizes the Board to issue an unlimited number of full and fractional shares of beneficial interest in the Trust and to classify or reclassify any unissued shares into one or more series of shares. The Agreement and Declaration of Trust further authorizes the trustees to classify or reclassify any series of shares into one or more classes. The Trust’s shares of beneficial interest have no par value.

 

Shares have no preemptive rights and only such conversion or exchange rights as the Board may grant in its discretion. When issued for payment as described in the applicable prospectus, shares will be fully paid and non-assessable. In the event of a liquidation or dissolution of the Trust or an individual fund, shareholders of a fund are entitled to receive the assets available for distribution belonging to the particular fund, and a proportionate distribution, based upon the relative asset values of the respective fund, of any general assets of the Trust not belonging to any particular fund which are available for distribution.

 

Shareholders are entitled to one vote for each full share held, and a proportionate fractional vote for each fractional share held, and will vote in the aggregate and not by class, except as otherwise expressly required by law or when the Board determines that the matter to be voted on affects only the interests of shareholders of a particular class. Voting rights are not cumulative and, accordingly, the holders of more than 50% of the aggregate of the Trust’s outstanding shares may elect all of the trustees, irrespective of the votes of other shareholders.

 

Rule 18f-2 under the 1940 Act provides that any matter required to be submitted to the holders of the outstanding voting securities of an investment company such as the Trust shall not be deemed to have been effectively acted upon unless approved by the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of each fund affected by the matter. A particular fund is deemed to be affected by a matter unless it is clear that the interests of each fund in the matter are substantially identical or that the matter does not affect any interest of the fund. Under the Rule, the approval of an investment management agreement or any change in an investment objective, if fundamental, or in a fundamental investment policy would be effectively acted upon with respect to a fund only if approved by a majority of the outstanding shares of such fund. However, the Rule also provides that the ratification of the appointment of independent public accountants, the approval of principal underwriting contracts and the election of trustees may be effectively acted upon by shareholders of the Trust voting without regard to series or class.

 

The Trust does not presently intend to hold annual meetings of shareholders except as required by the 1940 Act or other applicable law. Upon the written request of shareholders owning at least 25% of the Trust’s shares, the Trust will call for a meeting of shareholders to consider the removal of one or more trustees and other certain matters. To the extent required by law, the Trust will assist in shareholder communication in such matters.

 

The Board has full power and authority, in its sole discretion, and without obtaining shareholder approval, to divide or combine the shares of any class or series thereof into a greater or lesser number, to classify or reclassify any issued shares or any class or series thereof into one or more classes or series of shares, and to take such other action with respect to the Trust’s shares as the Board may deem desirable. The Agreement and Declaration of Trust authorizes the trustees, without shareholder approval, to cause the Trust to merge or to consolidate with any corporation, association, trust or other organization in order to change the form of organization and/or domicile of the Trust or to sell or exchange all or substantially all of the assets of the Trust, or any series or class thereof, in dissolution of the Trust, or any series or class thereof. The Agreement and Declaration of Trust permits the termination of the Trust or of any series or class of the Trust by the trustees without shareholder approval. However, the exercise of such authority by the Board without shareholder approval may be subject to certain restrictions or limitations under the 1940 Act.

 

21

 

 

CODE OF ETHICS

 

The Board, on behalf of the Trust, has adopted a Code of Ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act. In addition, the Adviser has adopted a Code of Ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1. These Codes of Ethics apply to the personal investing activities of trustees, officers and certain employees (“access persons”). Rule 17j-1 and the Codes of Ethics are designed to prevent unlawful practices in connection with the purchase or sale of securities by access persons. Under each Code of Ethics, access persons are permitted to engage in personal securities transactions, but are required to report their personal securities transactions for monitoring purposes. The personnel subject to the Codes are permitted to invest in securities, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Fund. In addition, certain access persons are required to obtain approval before investing in initial public offerings or private placements, or are prohibited from making such investments. Copies of these Codes of Ethics are on file with the SEC, and are available to the public.

 

TAXES

 

The following discussion is a summary of certain U.S. federal income tax considerations affecting the Fund and its shareholders.  The discussion reflects applicable federal income tax laws of the U.S. as of the date of this SAI, which tax laws may be changed or subject to new interpretations by the courts or the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”), possibly with retroactive effect.  No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of all U.S. income, estate or gift tax, or foreign, state or local tax concerns affecting the Fund and its shareholders (including shareholders owning large positions in the Fund).  The discussion set forth herein does not constitute tax advice.  Investors are urged to consult their own tax advisers to determine the tax consequences to them of investing in the Fund.

 

In addition, no attempt is made to address tax concerns applicable to an investor with a special tax status such as a financial institution, real estate investment trust (“REIT”), insurance company, regulated investment company (“RIC”), individual retirement account, other tax-exempt entity, or dealer in securities.  Furthermore, this discussion does not reflect possible application of the alternative minimum tax (“AMT”).  Unless otherwise noted, this discussion assumes shares of the Fund are held by U.S. shareholders and that such shares are held as capital assets.

 

A U.S. shareholder is a beneficial owner of shares of the Fund that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes:

 

a citizen or individual resident of the United States (including certain former citizens and former long-term residents);

a corporation or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, created or organized in or under the laws of the United States or any state thereof or the District of Columbia;

an estate, the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source; or

a trust with respect to which a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over its administration and one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all of its substantial decisions or the trust has a valid election in effect under applicable Treasury regulations to be treated as a U.S. person.

 

A “Non-U.S. shareholder” is a beneficial owner of shares of the Fund that is an individual, corporation, trust or estate and is not a U.S. shareholder.  If a partnership (including any entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) holds shares of the Fund, the tax treatment of a partner in the partnership generally depends upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership.  A partner of a partnership holding the Fund shares should consult its tax advisors with respect to the purchase, ownership and disposition of the Fund shares by the partnership.

 

22

 

 

Taxation as a RIC. The Fund intends to qualify and remain qualified as a RIC under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). The Fund will qualify as a RIC if, among other things, it meets the source-of-income and the asset-diversification requirements. With respect to the source-of-income requirement, the Fund must derive in each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income (including tax-exempt interest) from (i) dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including but not limited to gains from options, futures and forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such shares, securities or currencies and (ii) net income derived from an interest in a “qualified publicly traded partnership.” A “qualified publicly traded partnership” is generally defined as a publicly traded partnership under Code Section 7704. Income derived from a partnership (other than a qualified publicly traded partnership) or trust is qualifying income to the extent such income is attributable to items of income of the partnership or trust which would be qualifying income if realized by the Fund in the same manner as realized by the partnership or trust.

 

The Fund intends to invest in ETFs. Some of those ETFs are taxable as RICs under the Code. Accordingly, the income the Fund receives from such ETFs should be qualifying income for purposes of the Fund satisfying the 90% Test described above. However, the Fund may also invest in one or more ETFs that are not taxable as RICs under the Code and that may generate non-qualifying income for purposes of satisfying the 90% Test. The Fund anticipates monitoring its investments in such ETFs so as to keep the Fund’s non-qualifying income within acceptable limits of the 90% Test, however, it is possible that such non-qualifying income will be more than anticipated which could cause the Fund to inadvertently fail the 90% Test thereby causing the Fund to fail to qualify as a RIC. In such a case, the Fund would be subject to the rules described below.

 

If a RIC fails this 90% source-of-income test and such failure was due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect, the RIC will not subject to the U.S. federal income tax rates applicable to corporations. Instead, the amount of the penalty for non-compliance is the amount by which the non-qualifying income exceeds one-ninth of the qualifying gross income.

 

With respect to the asset-diversification requirement, the Fund must diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each quarter of each taxable year (i) at least 50% of the value of the Fund’s total assets is represented by cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, the securities of other RICs and other securities, if such other securities of any one issuer do not represent more than 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets or more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of the Fund’s total assets is invested in the securities other than U.S. government securities or the securities of other RICs of (a) one issuer, (b) two or more issuers that are controlled by the Fund and that are engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or (c) one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships.

 

If a RIC fails this asset-diversification test, such RIC has a 6-month period to correct any failure without incurring a penalty if such failure is “de minimis,” meaning that the failure does not exceed the lesser of 1% of the RIC’s assets, or $10 million.

 

Similarly, if a RIC fails this asset-diversification test and the failure is not de minimis, a RIC can cure the failure if: (a) the RIC files with the Treasury Department a description of each asset that causes the RIC to fail the diversification tests; (b) the failure is due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect; and (c) the failure is cured within six months (or such other period specified by the Treasury). In such cases, a tax is imposed on the RIC equal to the greater of: (a) $50,000 or (b) an amount determined by multiplying the highest rate of corporate tax (currently 21%) by the amount of net income generated during the period of diversification test failure by the assets that caused the RIC to fail the diversification test.

 

23

 

 

If the Fund qualifies as a RIC and distributes to its shareholders, for each taxable year, at least 90% of the sum of (i) its “investment company taxable income” as that term is defined in the Internal Revenue Code (which includes, among other things, dividends, taxable interest, the excess of any net short-term capital gains over net long-term capital losses and certain net foreign exchange gains as reduced by certain deductible expenses) without regard to the deduction for dividends paid, and (ii) the excess of its gross tax-exempt interest, if any, over certain deductions attributable to such interest that are otherwise disallowed, the Fund will be relieved of U.S. federal income tax on any income of the Fund, including long-term capital gains, distributed to shareholders. However, any ordinary income or capital gain retained by the Fund will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at regular corporate federal income tax rates (currently at a maximum rate of 21%). The Fund intends to distribute at least annually substantially all of its investment company taxable income, net tax-exempt interest, and net capital gain.

 

The Fund will generally be subject to a nondeductible 4% federal excise tax on the portion of its undistributed ordinary income with respect to each calendar year and undistributed capital gains if it fails to meet certain distribution requirements with respect to the one-year period ending on October 31 in that calendar year. To avoid the 4% federal excise tax, the required minimum distribution is generally equal to the sum of (i) 98% of the Fund’s ordinary income (computed on a calendar year basis), (ii) 98.2% of the Fund’s capital gain net income (generally computed for the one-year period ending on October 31) and (iii) any income realized, but not distributed, and on which the Fund paid no federal income tax in preceding years. The Fund generally intends to make distributions in a timely manner in an amount at least equal to the required minimum distribution and therefore, under normal market conditions, does not expect to be subject to this excise tax.

 

The Fund may be required to recognize taxable income in circumstances in which it does not receive cash. For example, if the Fund holds debt obligations that are treated under applicable tax rules as having original issue discount (such as debt instruments with payment of in kind interest or, in certain cases, with increasing interest rates or that are issued with warrants), the Fund must include in income each year a portion of the original issue discount that accrues over the life of the obligation regardless of whether cash representing such income is received by the Fund in the same taxable year. Because any original issue discount accrued will be included in the Fund’s “investment company taxable income” (discussed above) for the year of accrual, the Fund may be required to make a distribution to its shareholders to satisfy the distribution requirement, even though it will not have received an amount of cash that corresponds with the accrued income.

 

A RIC is permitted to carry forward net capital losses indefinitely and may allow losses to retain their original character (as short or as long-term). These capital loss carryforwards may be utilized in future years to offset net realized capital gains of the Fund, if any, prior to distributing such gains to shareholders.

 

Except as set forth in “Failure to Qualify as a RIC,” the remainder of this discussion assumes that the Fund will qualify as a RIC for each taxable year.

 

Failure to Qualify as a RIC. If the Fund is unable to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement or otherwise fails to qualify as a RIC in any year, it will be subject to corporate level income tax on all of its income and gain, regardless of whether or not such income was distributed. Distributions to the Fund’s shareholders of such income and gain will not be deductible by the Fund in computing its taxable income. In such event, the Fund’s distributions, to the extent derived from the Fund’s current or accumulated earnings and profits, would constitute ordinary dividends, which would generally be eligible for the dividends received deduction available to corporate shareholders, and non-corporate shareholders would generally be able to treat such distributions as “qualified dividend income” eligible for reduced rates of U.S. federal income taxation provided in each case that certain holding period and other requirements are satisfied.

 

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Distributions in excess of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits would be treated first as a return of capital to the extent of the shareholders’ tax basis in their Fund shares, and any remaining distributions would be treated as a capital gain. To qualify as a RIC in a subsequent taxable year, the Fund would be required to satisfy the source-of-income, the asset diversification, and the annual distribution requirements for that year and distribute any earnings and profits from any year in which the Fund failed to qualify for tax treatment as a RIC. Subject to a limited exception applicable to RICs that qualified as such under the Code for at least one year prior to disqualification and that requalify as a RIC no later than the second year following the nonqualifying year, the Fund would be subject to tax on any unrealized built-in gains in the assets held by it during the period in which the Fund failed to qualify for tax treatment as a RIC that are recognized within the subsequent 10 years, unless the Fund made a special election to pay corporate-level tax on such built-in gain at the time of its requalification as a RIC.

 

Taxation for U.S. Shareholders. Distributions paid to U.S. shareholders by the Fund from its investment company taxable income (which is, generally, the Fund’s ordinary income plus net realized short-term capital gains in excess of net realized long-term capital losses) are generally taxable to U.S. shareholders as ordinary income to the extent of the Fund’s earnings and profits, whether paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares. Such distributions (if designated by the Fund) may qualify (i) for the dividends received deduction in the case of corporate shareholders to the extent that the Fund’s income consists of dividend income from U.S. corporations, excluding distributions from tax-exempt organizations, exempt farmers’ cooperatives or REITs or (ii) in the case of individual shareholders, as qualified dividend income eligible to be taxed at reduced rates to the extent that the Fund receives qualified dividend income, and provided in each case certain holding period and other requirements are met. Qualified dividend income is, in general, dividend income from taxable domestic corporations and qualified foreign corporations (e.g., generally, foreign corporations incorporated in a possession of the United States or in certain countries with a qualified comprehensive income tax treaty with the United States, or the stock with respect to which such dividend is paid is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States). A qualified foreign corporation generally excludes any foreign corporation, which for the taxable year of the corporation in which the dividend was paid, or the preceding taxable year, is a passive foreign investment company (a “PFIC”). Distributions made to a U.S. shareholder from an excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses (“capital gain dividends”), including capital gain dividends credited to such shareholder but retained by the Fund, are taxable to such shareholder as long-term capital gain if they have been properly designated by the Fund, regardless of the length of time such shareholder owned the shares of the Fund. The maximum tax rate on capital gain dividends received by individuals is generally 20%. Distributions in excess of the Fund’s earnings and profits will be treated by the U.S. shareholder, first, as a tax-free return of capital, which is applied against and will reduce the adjusted tax basis of the U.S. shareholder’s shares and, after such adjusted tax basis is reduced to zero, will constitute capital gain to the U.S. shareholder (assuming the shares are held as a capital asset). The Fund is not required to provide written notice designating the amount of any qualified dividend income or capital gain dividends and other distributions. The Forms 1099 will instead serve this notice purpose.

 

As a RIC, the Fund will be subject to the AMT, but any items that are treated differently for AMT purposes must be apportioned between the Fund and the shareholders and this may affect the shareholders’ AMT liabilities. The Fund intends in general to apportion these items in the same proportion that dividends paid to each shareholder bear to the Fund’s taxable income (determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction).

 

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For purpose of determining (i) whether the annual distribution requirement is satisfied for any year and (ii) the amount of capital gain dividends paid for that year, the Fund may, under certain circumstances, elect to treat a dividend that is paid during the following taxable year as if it had been paid during the taxable year in question. If the Fund makes such an election, the U.S. shareholder will still be treated as receiving the dividend in the taxable year in which the distribution is made. However, any dividend declared by the Fund in October, November or December of any calendar year, payable to shareholders of record on a specified date in such a month and actually paid during January of the following year, will be treated as if it had been received by the U.S. shareholders on December 31 of the year in which the dividend was declared.

 

The Fund intends to distribute all realized capital gains, if any, at least annually. If, however, the Fund were to retain any net capital gain, the Fund may designate the retained amount as undistributed capital gains in a notice to shareholders who, if subject to U.S. federal income tax on long-term capital gains, (i) will be required to include in income as long-term capital gain, their proportionate shares of such undistributed amount, and (ii) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the federal income tax paid by the Fund on the undistributed amount against their U.S. federal income tax liabilities, if any, and to claim refunds to the extent the credit exceeds such liabilities. If such an event occurs, the tax basis of shares owned by a shareholder of the Fund will, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, generally be increased by the difference between the amount of undistributed net capital gain included in the shareholder’s gross income and the tax deemed paid by the shareholders.

 

Sales and other dispositions of the shares of the Fund generally are taxable events. U.S. shareholders should consult their own tax adviser with reference to their individual circumstances to determine whether any particular transaction in the shares of the Fund is properly treated as a sale or exchange for federal income tax purposes, as the following discussion assumes, and the tax treatment of any gains or losses recognized in such transactions. The sale or other disposition of shares of the Fund will generally result in capital gain or loss to the shareholder equal to the difference between the amount realized and his adjusted tax basis in the shares sold or exchanged, and will be long-term capital gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than one year at the time of sale. Any loss upon the sale or exchange of shares held for six months or less will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of any capital gain dividends received (including amounts credited as an undistributed capital gain dividend) by such shareholder with respect to such shares. A loss realized on a sale or exchange of shares of the Fund generally will be disallowed if other substantially identical shares are acquired within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the date that the shares are disposed. In such case, the basis of the shares acquired will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss. Both long-term and short-term capital gain of corporations is taxed at the rates applicable to ordinary income of corporations. For non-corporate taxpayers, short-term capital gain will currently be taxed at the rate applicable to ordinary income, while long-term capital gain generally will be taxed at a maximum rate of 20%. Capital losses are subject to certain limitations.

 

Mutual fund companies must report their shareholders’ cost basis, gain/loss, and holding period to the Internal Revenue Service on the Fund’s shareholders’ Consolidated Form 1099s.

 

The Fund has chosen average cost as the standing (default) tax lot identification method for all shareholders. A tax lot identification method is the way the Fund will determine which specific shares are deemed to be sold when there are multiple purchases on different dates at differing net asset values, and the entire position is not sold at one time. The Fund’s standing tax lot identification method is the method shares will be reported on your Consolidated Form 1099 if you do not select a specific tax lot identification method. You may choose a method different than the Fund’s standing method and will be able to do so at the time of your purchase or upon the sale of shares. Please consult your tax advisor with regard to your personal circumstances.

 

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The Fund and its service providers do not provide tax advice. You should consult independent sources, which may include a tax professional, with respect to any decisions you may make with respect to choosing a tax lot identification method.

 

Certain U.S. shareholders, including individuals and estates and trusts, will be subject to an additional 3.8% Medicare tax on all or a portion of their “net investment income,” which should include dividends from the Fund and net gains from the disposition of shares of the Fund. U.S. shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the implications of the additional Medicare tax resulting from an investment in the Fund.

 

Original Issue Discount, Pay-In-Kind Securities, Market Discount and Commodity-Linked Notes. Some debt obligations with a fixed maturity date of more than one year from the date of issuance (and zero-coupon debt obligations with a fixed maturity date of more than one year from the date of issuance) that may be acquired by the Fund may be treated as debt obligations that are issued originally at a discount. Generally, the amount of the original issue discount (“OID”) is treated as interest income and is included in the Fund’s taxable income (and required to be distributed by the Fund) over the term of the debt obligation, even though payment of that amount is not received until a later time, upon partial or full repayment or disposition of the debt security.

 

Some debt obligations (with a fixed maturity date of more than one year from the date of issuance) that may be acquired by the Fund in the secondary market may be treated as having “market discount.” Very generally, market discount is the excess of the stated redemption price of a debt obligation (or in the case of an obligations issued with OID, its “revised issue price”) over the purchase price of such obligation. Generally, any gain recognized on the disposition of, and any partial payment of principal on, a debt obligation having market discount is treated as ordinary income to the extent the gain, or principal payment, does not exceed the “accrued market discount” on such debt obligation. Alternatively, the Fund may elect to accrue market discount currently, in which case the Fund will be required to include the accrued market discount in the Fund’s income (as ordinary income) and thus distribute it over the term of the debt security, even though payment of that amount is not received until a later time, upon partial or full repayment or disposition of the debt security. The rate at which the market discount accrues, and thus is included in the Fund’s income, will depend upon which of the permitted accrual methods the Fund elects. In the case of higher-risk securities, the amount of market discount may be unclear. See below under “Higher-Risk Securities.”

 

Some debt obligations (with a fixed maturity date of one year or less from the date of issuance) that may be acquired by the Fund may be treated as having “acquisition discount” (very generally, the excess of the stated redemption price over the purchase price), or OID in the case of certain types of debt obligations. The Fund will be required to include the acquisition discount, or OID, in income (as ordinary income) over the term of the debt obligation, even though payment of that amount is not received until a later time, upon partial or full repayment or disposition of the debt security. The Fund may make one or more of the elections applicable to debt obligations having acquisition discount, or OID, which could affect the character and timing of recognition of income.

 

In addition, payment-in-kind securities will, and commodity-linked notes may, give rise to income that is required to be distributed and is taxable even though the Fund holding the security receives no interest payment in cash on the security during the year.

 

If the Fund holds the foregoing kinds of securities, it may be required to pay out as an income distribution each year an amount that is greater than the total amount of cash interest the Fund actually received. Such distributions may be made from the cash assets of the Fund or by liquidation of portfolio securities, if necessary (including when it is not advantageous to do so). The Fund may realize gains or losses from such liquidations. In the event the Fund realizes net capital gains from such transactions, its shareholders may receive a larger capital gain distribution than they would in the absence of such transactions.

 

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Higher-Risk Securities. To the extent such investments are permissible for the Fund, the Fund may invest in debt obligations that are in the lowest rating categories or are unrated, including debt obligations of issuers not currently paying interest or who are in default. Investments in debt obligations that are at risk of or in default present special tax issues for the Fund. Tax rules are not entirely clear about issues such as when the Fund may cease to accrue interest, OID or market discount, when and to what extent deductions may be taken for bad debts or worthless securities and how payments received on obligations in default should be allocated between principal and income. In limited circumstances, it may also not be clear whether the Fund should recognize market discount on a debt obligation, and if so, what amount of market discount the Fund should recognize. These and other related issues will be addressed by the Fund when, as and if it invests in such securities, in order to seek to ensure that it distributes sufficient income to preserve its status as a RIC and does not become subject to U.S. federal income or excise tax.

 

Issuer Deductibility of Interest. A portion of the interest paid or accrued on certain high yield discount obligations owned by the Fund may not be deductible to (and thus, may affect the cash flow of) the issuer. If a portion of the interest paid or accrued on certain high yield discount obligations is not deductible, that portion will be treated as a dividend for purposes of the corporate dividends-received deduction. In such cases, if the issuer of the high yield discount obligations is a domestic corporation, dividend payments by the Fund may be eligible for the dividends-received deduction to the extent of the deemed dividend portion of such accrued interest.

 

Interest paid on debt obligations owned by the Fund, if any, that are considered for U.S. tax purposes to be payable in the equity of the issuer or a related party will not be deductible to the issuer, possibly affecting the cash flow of the issuer.

 

Tax-Exempt Shareholders. A tax-exempt shareholder could recognize unrelated business taxable income (“UBTI”) by virtue of its investment in the Fund if shares in the Fund constitute debt-financed property in the hands of the tax-exempt shareholder. Furthermore, a tax-exempt shareholder may recognize UBTI if the Fund recognizes “excess inclusion income” derived from direct or indirect investments in residual interests in REMICs or equity interests in taxable mortgage pools (“TMPs”) if the amount of such income recognized by the Fund exceeds the Fund’s investment company taxable income (after taking into account deductions for dividends paid by the Fund).

 

In addition, special tax consequences apply to charitable remainder trusts (“CRTs”) that invest in RICs that invest directly or indirectly in residual interests in REMICs or equity interests in TMPs. Under legislation enacted in December 2006, a CRT that realizes any UBTI for a taxable year, must pay an excise tax annually of an amount equal to such UBTI. Under IRS guidance issued in October 2006, a CRT will not recognize UBTI solely as a result of investing in the Fund that recognizes “excess inclusion income.” Rather, if at any time during any taxable year a CRT (or one of certain other tax-exempt shareholders, such as the United States, a state or political subdivision, or an agency or instrumentality thereof, and certain energy cooperatives) is a record holder of a share in the Fund that recognizes “excess inclusion income,” then the RIC will be subject to a tax on that portion of its “excess inclusion income” for the taxable year that is allocable to such shareholders, at the highest federal corporate income tax rate. The extent to which this IRS guidance remains applicable is unclear. To the extent permitted under the 1940 Act, the Fund may elect to specially allocate any such tax to the applicable CRT, or other shareholder, and thus reduce such shareholder’s distributions for the year by the amount of the tax that relates to such shareholder’s interest in the Fund. The Fund has not yet determined whether such an election will be made. CRTs and other tax-exempt investors are urged to consult their tax advisers concerning the consequences of investing in the Fund.

 

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Passive Foreign Investment Companies. A PFIC is any foreign corporation: (i) 75% or more of the gross income of which for the taxable year is passive income, or (ii) the average percentage of the assets of which produce or are held for the production of passive income is at least 50%. Generally, passive income for this purpose means dividends, interest, royalties, rents, annuities, the excess of gains over losses from certain property transactions and commodities transactions, and foreign currency gains. Passive income for this purpose does not include rents and royalties received by the foreign corporation from active business and certain income received from related persons.

 

Equity investments by the Fund in certain PFICs could potentially subject the Fund to a U.S. federal income tax or other charge (including interest charges) on the distributions received from the PFIC or on proceeds received from the disposition of shares in the PFIC. This tax cannot be eliminated by making distributions to Fund shareholders. However, the Fund may elect to avoid the imposition of that tax. For example, if the Fund is in a position to and elects to treat a PFIC as a “qualified electing fund” ( a “QEF”), the Fund will be required to include its share of the PFIC s income and net capital gains annually, regardless of whether it receives any distribution from the PFIC. Alternatively, the Fund may make an election to mark to market the gains (and to a limited extent losses) in its PFIC holdings as though it had sold and repurchased its holdings in those PFICs on the last day of the Fund’s taxable year. Such gains and losses are treated as ordinary income and loss. The QEF and mark-to-market elections may accelerate the recognition of income (without the receipt of cash) and increase the amount required to be distributed by the Fund to avoid taxation. Making either of these elections therefore may require the Fund to liquidate other investments (including when it is not advantageous to do so) to meet its distribution requirement, which also may accelerate the recognition of gain and affect the Fund’s total return. Dividends paid by PFICs will not be eligible to be treated as “qualified dividend income.”

 

Because it is not always possible to identify a foreign corporation as a PFIC, the Fund may incur the tax and interest charges described above in some instances.

 

Foreign Currency Transactions. The Fund’s transactions in foreign currencies, foreign currency-denominated debt obligations and certain foreign currency options, futures contracts and forward contracts (and similar instruments) may give rise to ordinary income or loss to the extent such income or loss results from fluctuations in the value of the foreign currency concerned. Any such net gains could require a larger dividend toward the end of the calendar year. Any such net losses will generally reduce and potentially require the recharacterization of prior ordinary income distributions. Such ordinary income treatment may accelerate Fund distributions to shareholders and increase the distributions taxed to shareholders as ordinary income. Any net ordinary losses so created cannot be carried forward by the Fund to offset income or gains earned in subsequent taxable years.

 

Master Limited Partnerships. To qualify for master limited partner (“MLP”) status, a partnership must generate at least 90% of its income from what the IRS deems “qualifying” sources, which include all manner of activities related to the production, processing or transportation of oil, natural gas and coal. MLPs, as partnership, pay no corporate tax, and the IRS deems much of the distributions paid out as a return of capital, and taxes on such distributions are deferred until the Fund sells its position therein. As partnerships, MLPs pass through the majority of their income to investors in the form of regular quarterly distributions. Shareholders of the Fund are responsible for paying tax on their share of distributions received. In addition, the regular quarterly cash payments MLPs pay out are known as distributions rather than dividends. With respect to each MLP in which the Fund invests, MLP investors, and therefore you as owner of the Fund, may be subject to the state tax of each state in which the MLP has operations or does business. If a MLP is held in a tax-advantaged account, such as an IRA, the portion of the distributions designated as “ordinary income” may be considered unrelated business taxable income (“UBTI”), and subject to tax. However, UBTI is usually a small percentage of total distributions and it will not be taxed as long as the amount of this income and all other sources of UBTI does not exceed $1,000 in any year.

 

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Foreign Taxation. Income received by the Fund from sources within foreign countries may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by such countries. Tax conventions between certain countries and the U.S. may reduce or eliminate such taxes.

 

The ETFs in which the Fund invests may invest in foreign securities. Dividends and interest received by an ETF’s holding of foreign securities may give rise to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes. If the ETF in which the Fund invests is taxable as a RIC and meets certain other requirements, which include a requirement that more than 50% of the value of such ETF’s total assets at the close of its respective taxable year consists of stocks or securities of foreign corporations, then the ETF should be eligible to file an election with the IRS that may enable its shareholders, including the Fund in effect, to receive either the benefit of a foreign tax credit, or a tax deduction, with respect to any foreign and U.S. possessions income taxes paid the by Fund, subject to certain limitations.

 

A “qualified fund of funds” is a RIC that has at least 50% of the value of its total interests invested in other RICs at the end of each quarter of the taxable year. If the Fund satisfied this requirement or if it meets certain other requirements, which include a requirement that more than 50% of the value of the Fund’s total assets at the close of its taxable year consist of stocks or securities of foreign corporations, then the Fund should be eligible to file an election with the IRS that may enable its shareholders to receive either the benefit of a foreign tax credit, or a tax deduction, with respect to any foreign and U.S. possessions income taxes paid by the Fund, subject to certain limitations.

 

Non-U.S. Shareholders. Capital Gain Dividends are generally not subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax. Absent a specific statutory exemption, dividends other than Capital Gain Dividends paid by the Fund to a Non-U.S. shareholder are subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax at a rate of 30% (or lower applicable treaty rate) even if they are funded by income or gains (such as portfolio interest, short-term capital gains, or foreign-source dividend and interest income) that, if paid to a foreign person directly, would not be subject to withholding.

 

A RIC is not required to withhold any amounts (i) with respect to distributions (other than distributions to a Non-U.S. shareholder (a) that does not provide a satisfactory statement that the beneficial owner is not a U.S. person, (b) to the extent that the dividend is attributable to certain interest on an obligation if the Non-U.S. shareholder is the issuer or is a 10% shareholder of the issuer, (c) that is within a foreign country that has inadequate information exchange with the United States, or (d) to the extent the dividend is attributable to interest paid by a person that is a related person of the Non-U.S. shareholder and the Non-U.S. shareholder is a controlled foreign corporation) from U.S.-source interest income of types similar to those not subject to U.S. federal income tax if earned directly by an individual Non-U.S. shareholder, to the extent such distributions are properly reported as such by the Fund in a written notice to shareholders (“interest-related dividends”), and (ii) with respect to distributions (other than (a) distributions to an individual Non-U.S. shareholder who is present in the United States for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the year of the distribution and (b) distributions subject to special rules regarding the disposition of U.S. real property interests as described below) of net short-term capital gains in excess of net long-term capital losses to the extent such distributions are properly reported by the RIC (“short-term capital gain dividends”). If the Fund invests in an underlying fund that pays such distributions to the Fund, such distributions retain their character as not subject to withholding if properly reported when paid by the Fund to Non-U.S. shareholders.

 

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The Fund is permitted to report such part of its dividends as interest-related or short-term capital gain dividends as are eligible, but is not required to do so. These exemptions from withholding will not be available to Non-U.S. shareholders that do not currently report their dividends as interest-related or short-term capital gain dividends.

 

In the case of shares held through an intermediary, the intermediary may withhold even if the Fund reports all or a portion of a payment as an interest-related or short-term capital gain dividend to shareholders. Non-U.S. shareholders should contact their intermediaries regarding the application of these rules to their accounts.

 

A Non-U.S. shareholder generally is not subject to U.S. federal income tax on gains (and is not allowed a deduction for losses) realized on the sale of shares of the Fund or on Capital Gain Dividends unless (i) such gain or dividend is effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business carried on by such Non-U.S. shareholder within the United States, (ii) in the case of an individual Non-U.S. shareholder, the Non-U.S. shareholder is present in the United States for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the year of the sale or the receipt of the Capital Gain Dividend and certain other conditions are met, or (iii) the special rules relating to gain attributable to the sale or exchange of “U.S. real property interests” (“USRPIs”) apply to the Non-U.S. shareholder’s sale of shares of the Fund or to the Capital Gain Dividend the Non-U.S. shareholder received (as described below).

 

Special rules would apply if the Fund were either a “U.S. real property holding corporation” (“USRPHC”) or would be a USRPHC but for the operation of certain exceptions to the definition thereof. Very generally, a USRPHC is a U.S. corporation that holds USRPIs the fair market value of which equals or exceeds 50% of the sum of the fair market values of the corporation’s USPRIs, interests in real property located outside the United States, and other assets. USRPIs are generally defined as any interest in U.S. real property and any interest (other than solely as a creditor) in a USRPHC or former USRPHC.

 

If the Fund were a USRPHC or would be a USRPHC but for certain exceptions, any distributions by the Fund to a Non-U.S. shareholder (including, in certain cases, distributions made by the Fund in redemption of its shares) attributable to gains realized by the Fund on the disposition of USRPIs or to distributions received by the Fund from a lower-tier RIC or REIT that the Fund is required to treat as USRPI gain in its hands generally would be subject to U.S. tax withholding. In addition, such distributions could result in the Non-U.S. shareholder being required to file a U.S. tax return and pay tax on the distributions at regular U.S. federal income tax rates. The consequences to a Non-U.S. shareholder, including the rate of such withholding and character of such distributions (e.g., as ordinary income or USRPI gain), would vary depending upon the extent of the Non-U.S. shareholder’s current and past ownership of the Fund. This “look-through” USRPI treatment for distributions by the Fund, if it were either a USRPHC or would be a USRPHC but for the operation of certain exceptions, to Non-U.S. shareholders applies only to those distributions that, in turn, are attributable to distributions received by the Fund from a lower-tier REIT, unless Congress enacts legislation providing otherwise.

 

In addition, if the Fund were a USRPHC or former USRPHC, it could be required to withhold U.S. tax on the proceeds of a share redemption by a greater-than-5% Non-U.S. shareholder, in which case such Non-U.S. shareholder generally would also be required to file U.S. tax returns and pay any additional taxes due in connection with the redemption.

 

Whether or not the Fund is characterized as a USRPHC will depend upon the nature and mix of the Fund’s assets. The Fund does not expect to be a USRPHC. Non-U.S. shareholders should consult their tax advisors concerning the application of these rules to their investment in the Fund.

 

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If a Non-U.S. shareholder has a trade or business in the United States, and the dividends are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. shareholder’s conduct of that trade or business, the dividend will be subject to U.S. federal net income taxation at regular income tax rates.

 

If a Non-U.S. shareholder is eligible for the benefits of a tax treaty, any effectively connected income or gain will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net basis only if it is also attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by that Non-U.S. shareholder in the United States.

 

To qualify for any exemptions from withholding described above or for lower withholding tax rates under income tax treaties, or to establish an exemption from backup withholding, a Non-U.S. shareholder must comply with special certification and filing requirements relating to its non-US status (including, in general, furnishing an applicable IRS Form W-8 or substitute form). Non-U.S. shareholders should consult their tax advisers in this regard.

 

A Non-U.S. shareholder may be subject to state and local tax and to the U.S. federal estate tax in addition to the federal tax on income referred to above.

 

Backup Withholding. The Fund generally is required to withhold and remit to the U.S. Treasury Department a percentage of the taxable distributions and redemption proceeds paid to any individual shareholder who fails to properly furnish the Fund with a correct taxpayer identification number, who has under-reported dividend or interest income, or who fails to certify to the Fund that he or she is not subject to such withholding. The backup withholding tax rate is currently 24%.

 

Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld may be credited against the shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, provided the appropriate information is furnished to the IRS.

 

Tax Shelter Reporting Regulations. If a shareholder recognizes a loss with respect to the Fund’s shares of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder, the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a RIC are not excepted. Future guidance may extend the current exception from this reporting requirement to shareholders of most or all RICs. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisers to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.

 

Shares Purchased through Tax-Qualified Plans. Special tax rules apply to investments through defined contribution plans and other tax-qualified plans. Shareholders should consult their tax advisers to determine the suitability of shares of the Fund as an investment through such plans, and the precise effect of an investment on their particular tax situation.

 

FATCA. Payments to a shareholder that is either a foreign financial institution (“FFI”) or a non-financial foreign entity (“NFFE”) within the meaning of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) may be subject to a generally nonrefundable 30% withholding tax on: (a) income dividends paid by the Fund and (b) possibly in the future, certain capital gain distributions and proceeds from a sale of Fund shares. FATCA withholding tax generally can be avoided: (a) by an FFI, subject to any applicable intergovernmental agreement or other exemption, if it enters into a valid agreement with the IRS to, among other requirements, report required information about certain direct and indirect ownership of foreign financial accounts held by U.S. persons with the FFI and (b) by an NFFE, if it: (i) certifies that it has no substantial U.S. persons as owners or (ii) if it does have such owners, reports information relating to them. The Fund may disclose the information that it receives from its shareholders to the IRS, non-U.S. taxing authorities or other parties as necessary to comply with FATCA. Withholding also may be required if a foreign entity that is a shareholder of the Fund fails to provide the Fund with appropriate certifications or other documentation concerning its status under FATCA, generally on an applicable IRS Form W-8.

 

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The foregoing is a general and abbreviated summary of the provisions of the Code and the Treasury regulations in effect as they directly govern the taxation of the Fund and its shareholders. These provisions are subject to change by legislative and administrative action, and any such change may be retroactive. Shareholders are urged to consult their tax advisers regarding specific questions as to U.S. federal income, estate or gift taxes, or foreign, state, local taxes or other taxes.

 

PRICING AND PURCHASE OF FUND SHARES

 

General Policy. The Fund adheres to Section 2(a)(41), and Rule 2a-4 thereunder, of the 1940 Act with respect to the valuation of portfolio securities. In general, securities for which market quotations are readily available are valued at current market value, and all other securities are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the Valuation Designee (as defined below).

 

Equity Securities. Securities listed on a securities exchange, market or automated quotation system for which quotations are readily available (except for securities traded on NASDAQ), including securities traded over the counter, are valued at the last quoted sale price on the primary exchange or market (foreign or domestic) on which they are traded on valuation date (or at approximately 4:00 p.m. ET if a security’s primary exchange is normally open at that time), or, if there is no such reported sale on the valuation date, at the most recent quoted bid price. For securities traded on NASDAQ, the NASDAQ Official Closing Price will be used. If such prices are not available or determined to not represent the fair value of the security as of the Fund’s pricing time, the security will be valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the Valuation Designee (as defined below).

 

Money Market Securities and other Debt Securities. If available, money market securities and other debt securities are priced based upon valuations provided by recognized independent, third-party pricing agents approved by the Board. Such values generally reflect the last reported sales price if the security is actively traded. The third-party pricing agents may also value debt securities by employing methodologies that utilize actual market transactions, broker-supplied valuations, or other methodologies designed to identify the market value for such securities. Such methodologies generally consider such factors as security prices, yields, maturities, call features, ratings and developments relating to specific securities in arriving at valuations. Money market securities and other debt securities with remaining maturities of sixty days or less may be valued at their amortized cost, which approximates market value. If such prices are not available or determined to not represent the fair value of the security as of the Fund’s pricing time, the security will be valued at fair value as determined in good faith by the Valuation Designee (as defined below).

 

Fair ValuationInvestments for which market quotations are not readily available are valued at fair value as determined in good faith pursuant to Rule 2a-5 under the 1940 Act. As a general principle, the fair value of a security or other asset is the price that would be received upon the sale of the security or asset in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date and time. Pursuant to Rule 2a-5, the Board has designated the Adviser as the valuation designee (“Valuation Designee”) for the Fund to perform fair value determinations relating to all Fund investments. The Adviser may carry out its designated responsibilities as Valuation Designee through a fair valuation committee and may apply fair valuation methodologies approved by the Board, or utilize prices or inputs from pricing services, quotation reporting systems, valuation agents and other third-party sources that have been approved by the Board.

 

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Fair valuation may require subjective determinations about the value of a security. While the Fund’s and Valuation Designee’s policies and procedures are intended to result in a calculation of the Fund’s NAV that fairly reflects security values as of the time of pricing, the Fund cannot ensure that fair values accurately reflect the price that the Fund could obtain for a security if it were to dispose of that security as of the time of pricing (for instance, in a forced or distressed sale). The prices used by the Fund may differ from the value that would be realized if the securities were sold.

 

Use of Third-Party Independent Pricing Agents. Pursuant to contracts with the Administrator, market prices for most securities held by the Fund are provided daily by third-party independent pricing agents that are approved by the Board. The valuations provided by third-party independent pricing agents are reviewed daily by the Administrator.

 

Plan of Distribution. The Fund has a Distribution and Shareholder Services Plan (the “Plan”) for its Investor Class shares under which it may finance certain activities primarily intended to sell such classes of shares. The Trust has adopted the Plan in accordance with the provisions of Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, which regulates circumstances under which an investment company may directly or indirectly bear expenses relating to the distribution of its shares. The Trust intends to operate the Plan in accordance with its terms and with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority rules concerning sales charges.

 

The Plan provides that the Fund may pay a fee at an annual rate of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets attributable to the Fund’s outstanding Investor Class Shares, in consideration for distribution and other services, which are described more fully below. The fee is generally paid to broker-dealers and financial intermediaries as compensation for distribution-related activities. The Fund does not participate in any joint distribution activities.

 

As noted above, payments for distribution expenses under the Plan are subject to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Rule 12b-1 defines distribution expenses to include the cost of “any activity which is primarily intended to result in the sale of shares issued by the Trust.” Rule 12b-1 provides, among other things, that an investment company may bear such expenses only pursuant to a plan adopted in accordance with Rule 12b-1. In accordance with Rule 12b-1, the Plan provides that a report of the amounts expended under the Plan, and the purposes for which such expenditures were incurred, will be made to the Board for its review at least quarterly. The Plan provides that it may not be amended to increase materially the costs which shares of the Fund may bear for distribution pursuant to the Plan without shareholder approval, and that any other type of material amendment must be approved by a majority of the Board, and by a majority of the trustees who are neither “interested persons” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust nor have any direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Plan or in any related agreement (the “12b-1 Trustees”), by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of considering such amendments. No 12b-1 Trustee has a financial interest in the operation of the Rule 12b-1 Plan or any agreement related thereto.

 

The Trust understands that certain financial intermediaries may charge fees to their customers who are the beneficial owners of Fund shares, in connection with their accounts with such financial intermediaries. Any such fees would be in addition to any amounts which may be received by an institution under the Plan.

 

The Board has concluded that there is a reasonable likelihood that the Plan will benefit the Fund and its Investor Class shareholders. It is anticipated that the Plan will benefit shareholders because an effective sales program typically is necessary for the Fund to reach and maintain a sufficient size to achieve efficiently its investment objectives and to realize economies of scale. The Plan is subject to annual re-approval by a majority of the 12b-1 Trustees and is terminable at any time with respect to the Fund or the Investor Class shares of the Fund by a vote of a majority of the 12b-1 Trustees or by vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding Investor Class shares of the Fund. Any agreement entered into pursuant to the Plan with a Financial Intermediary is terminable with respect to the Fund without penalty, at any time, by vote of a majority of the 12b-1 Trustees, by vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding Investor Class shares of the Fund, by Foreside or by the Financial Intermediary. An agreement will also terminate automatically in the event of its assignment.

 

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As long as the Plan is in effect, the nomination of the trustees who are not interested persons of the Trust (as defined in the 1940 Act) must be committed to the discretion of the 12b-1 Trustees.

 

The Plan provides that expenditures may include, without limitation: (a) payments to the Distributor and to securities dealers and others in respect of the sale of shares of the Fund; (b) payment of compensation to and expenses of personnel (including personnel of organizations with which the Trust has entered into agreements related to this Plan) who engage in or support distribution of shares of the Fund or who render shareholder support services not otherwise provided by the Trust’s transfer agent, administrator, or custodian, including but not limited to, answering inquiries regarding the Trust, processing shareholder transactions, providing personal services and/or the maintenance of shareholder accounts, providing other shareholder liaison services, responding to shareholder inquiries, providing information on shareholder investments in the shares of the Fund, and providing such other shareholder services as the Trust may reasonably request, arranging for bank wires, assisting shareholders in changing dividend options, account designations and addresses, providing information periodically to shareholders showing their positions in the Fund, forwarding communications from the Fund such as proxies, shareholder reports, annual reports, and dividend distribution and tax notices to shareholders, processing purchase, exchange, and redemption requests from shareholders and placing orders with the Fund or its service providers; (c) formulation and implementation of marketing and promotional activities, including, but not limited to, direct mail promotions and television, radio, newspaper, magazine and other mass media advertising; (d) preparation, printing and distribution of sales literature; (e) preparation, printing and distribution of prospectuses and statements of additional information and reports of the Trust for recipients other than existing shareholders of the Trust; (f) obtaining information and providing explanations to wholesale and retail distributors of contracts regarding Fund investment objectives and policies and other information about the Fund, including the performance of the Fund; (g) obtaining such information, analyses and reports with respect to marketing and promotional activities as the Trust may, from time to time, deem advisable.

 

Shareholder Services Plan. The Fund has adopted a shareholder services plan on behalf of its Investor Class Shares. Under a shareholder services plan, the Fund may pay an authorized firm up to 0.25% on an annualized basis of average daily net assets attributable to its customers who are shareholders. For this fee, the authorized firms may provide a variety of services, such as: (a) maintaining accounts relating to a shareholder’s invest in Fund Shares; (b) arranging for bank wires; (c) responding to inquiries from shareholders relating to the services performed by service providers; (d) responding to inquiries from clients concerning their investment in Fund Shares; (e) assisting shareholders in changing dividend options, account designations and addresses; (f) providing information periodically to shareholders showing their position in Fund Shares; (g) forwarding shareholder communications from the Fund such as proxies, shareholder reports, annual reports, and dividend distribution and tax notices to clients; (h) processing purchase, exchange and redemption requests from shareholders and placing orders with the Fund or its service providers; (i) providing sub-accounting with respect to Shares beneficially owned by shareholders and (j) processing dividend payments from the Fund on behalf of clients.

 

Because the Fund has adopted the shareholder services plan to compensate authorized firms for providing the types of services described above, the Fund believes the shareholder services plan is not covered by Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, which relates to payment of distribution fees. The Fund, however, follows the procedural requirements of Rule 12b-1 in connection with the implementation and administration of each shareholder services plan.

 

An authorized firm generally represents in a service agreement used in connection with the shareholder services plan that all compensation payable to the authorized firm from its customers in connection with the investment of their assets in the Fund will be disclosed by the authorized firm to its customers. It also generally provides that all such compensation will be authorized by the authorized firm’s customers.

 

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The Fund does not monitor the actual services being performed by an authorized firm under the plan and related service agreement. The Fund also does not monitor the reasonableness of the total compensation that an authorized firm may receive, including any service fee that an authorized firm may receive from the Fund and any compensation the authorized firm may receive directly from its clients.

 

Purchasing Shares. You may purchase shares of the Fund directly from the Distributor. You may also buy shares through accounts with brokers and other institutions (“authorized institutions”) that are authorized to place trades in Fund shares for their customers. If you invest through an authorized institution, you will have to follow its procedures. Your institution may charge a fee for its services, in addition to the fees charged by the Fund. You will also generally have to address your correspondence or questions regarding the Fund to your authorized institution. The offering price per share is equal to the NAV next determined after the Fund or authorized institution receives your purchase order, plus any applicable sales charge.

 

Your authorized institution is responsible for transmitting all subscription and redemption requests, investment information, documentation and money to the Fund on time. Certain authorized institutions have agreements with the Fund that allow them to enter confirmed purchase or redemption orders on behalf of clients and customers. Under this arrangement, the authorized institution must send your payment to the Fund by the time it prices its shares on the following day. If your authorized institution fails to do so, it may be responsible for any resulting fees or losses.

 

The Fund reserves the right to reject any purchase order and to suspend the offering of shares. Under certain circumstances the Trust or the Adviser may waive the minimum initial investment for purchases by officers, trustees, and employees of the Trust and its affiliated entities and for certain related advisory accounts and retirement accounts (such as IRAs). The Fund may also change or waive policies concerning minimum investment amounts at any time.

 

Eligible Benefit Plans. An eligible benefit plan is an arrangement available to the employees of an employer (or two or more affiliated employers) having not less than 10 employees at the plan’s inception, or such an employer on behalf of employees of a trust or plan for such employees, their spouses and their children under the age of 21 or a trust or plan for such employees, which provides for purchases through periodic payroll deductions or otherwise. There must be at least 5 initial participants with accounts investing or invested in Fund shares and/or certain other funds.

 

The initial purchase by the eligible benefit plan and prior purchases by or for the benefit of the initial participants of the plan must aggregate not less than $2,500 and subsequent purchases must be at least $50 per account and must aggregate at least $250. Purchases by the eligible benefit plan must be made pursuant to a single order paid for by a single check or federal funds wire and may not be made more often than monthly. A separate account will be established for each employee, spouse or child for which purchases are made. The requirements for initiating or continuing purchases pursuant to an eligible benefit plan may be modified and the offering to such plans may be terminated at any time without prior notice.

 

Selling Shares. You may sell your shares by giving instructions to the Transfer Agent online, by mail or by telephone. The Fund will use reasonable procedures to confirm that instructions communicated by telephone are genuine and, if the procedures are followed, will not be liable for any losses due to unauthorized or fraudulent telephone transactions.

 

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The Fund’s procedure is to redeem shares at the NAV next determined after the Transfer Agent receives the redemption request in proper order, less any applicable deferred sales charge on purchases held for less than one year and for which no sales charge was paid at the time of purchase. Payment will be made promptly, but no later than the seventh day following the receipt of the redemption request in proper order. The Board may suspend the right of redemption or postpone the date of payment during any period when (a) trading on the New York Stock Exchange is restricted as determined by the SEC or such exchange is closed for other than weekends and holidays, (b) the SEC has by order permitted such suspension, or (c) an emergency, as defined by rules of the SEC, exists during which time the sale of Fund shares or valuation of securities held by the Fund are not reasonably practicable.

 

Purchases and Sales Through Broker Dealers. The Fund may be purchased through broker dealers and other intermediaries. The Fund may authorize one or more brokers to receive on its behalf purchase and redemption orders. Such brokers will be authorized to designate other intermediaries to receive purchase and redemption orders on the Fund’s behalf. The Fund will be deemed to have received a purchase or redemption order when an authorized broker or, if applicable, a broker’s authorized designee, received the order. Customer orders will be priced at the Fund’s net asset value next computed after they are received by an authorized broker or the broker’s authorized designee.

 

REDEMPTIONS IN KIND

 

The Fund does not intend to redeem shares in any form except cash. However, if the redemption amount is over the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of the Fund’s net assets, pursuant to an election under Rule 18f-1 under the 1940 Act by the Trust on behalf of the Fund, the Fund has the right to redeem your shares by giving you the amount that exceeds the lesser of $250,000 or 1% of the Fund’s net assets in securities instead of cash. In the event that an in-kind distribution is made, a shareholder may incur additional expenses such as the payment of brokerage commissions on the sale or other disposition of the securities received from the Fund.

 

ADDITIONAL SERVICE PROVIDERS

 

Custodian. Fifth Third Bank. (the “Custodian”), 38 Fountain Square Plaza, Cincinnati, Ohio 45263, serves as the custodian of the Fund’s assets. The Custodian has entered into a foreign sub-custody arrangement with The Bank of New York, as the approved foreign custody manager (the Delegate) to perform certain functions with respect to the custody of the Fund’s assets outside of the United States of America. The Delegate shall place and maintain the Fund’s assets with an eligible foreign custodian; provided that, the Delegate shall be required to determine that the Fund’s assets will be subject to reasonable care based on the standards applicable to custodians in the relevant market.

 

Administrator, Fund Accountant and Transfer Agent. Pursuant to a Fund Services Agreement, Commonwealth Fund Services, Inc. (“CFS” or the “Administrator”) 8730 Stony Point Parkway, Suite 205, Richmond, Virginia 23235 serves as the Fund’s administrator, transfer agent and accounting agent.

 

In its capacity as administrator, CFS supervises all aspects of the operations of the Fund except those performed by the Adviser. CFS will provide certain administrative services and facilities for the Fund, including preparing and maintaining certain books, records, and monitoring compliance with state and federal regulatory requirements. CFS, as administrative agent for the Fund, will provide shareholder, recordkeeping, administrative and blue-sky filing services.

 

As transfer agent, CFS provides certain shareholder and other services to the Fund, including furnishing account and transaction information and maintaining shareholder account records. CFS will be responsible for processing orders and payments for share purchases. CFS will mail proxy materials (and receive and tabulate proxies), shareholder reports, confirmation forms for purchases and redemptions and prospectuses to shareholders. CFS will disburse income dividends and capital distributions and prepare and file appropriate tax-related information concerning dividends and distributions to shareholders.

 

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CFS also provides accounting services to the Fund. CFS will be responsible for accounting relating to the Fund and its investment transactions; maintaining certain books and records of the Fund; determining daily the net asset value per share of the Fund; and preparing security position, transaction and cash position reports. CFS also monitors periodic distributions of gains or losses on portfolio sales and maintains a daily listing of portfolio holdings. CFS is responsible for providing expenses accrued and payment reporting services, tax-related financial information to the Trust, and for monitoring compliance with the regulatory requirements relating to maintaining accounting records.

 

CFS receives, for administrative services, an asset-based fee based computed daily and paid monthly on the average daily net assets of the Fund, subject to a minimum fee plus out-of-pocket expenses. CFS receives, for transfer agency services, per account fees computed daily and paid monthly, subject to a minimum fee plus out-of-pocket expenses. CFS receives, for fund accounting services, an asset-based fee, computed daily and paid monthly on the average daily net assets of the Fund, subject to a minimum fee plus out-of-pocket expenses.

 

The following table provides information regarding transfer agent, fund accounting and administrative services fees paid by the Fund for the periods indicated:

 

Fiscal Period

Fees Paid for

Transfer Agent

Services

Fees Paid for

Accounting

Services

Fees Paid for

Administrative

Services

Year Ended 12/31/2023 $70,022 $77,481 $128,739
Year Ended 12/31/2022 $67,393 $74,200 $127,456
Year Ended 12/31/2021 $54,708 $69,671 $115,006

 

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. The firm of Tait, Weller & Baker LLP, located at Two Liberty Place, 50 South 16th Street, Suite 2900, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102, has been selected as independent registered public accounting firm for the Fund for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023. The independent registered public accounting firm performs an annual audit of the Fund’s financial statements and provides financial, tax and accounting consulting services as requested.

 

Legal Counsel. Practus, LLP, 11300 Tomahawk Creek Parkway, Suite 310, Leawood, Kansas 66211, serves as legal counsel for the Trust and Fund.

 

Distributor. Foreside Fund Services, LLC (“Foreside” or the “Distributor”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Foreside Financial Group, LLC (d/b/a ACA Group) located at Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101, serves as the principal underwriter and national distributor for the shares of the Fund pursuant to a Distribution Agreement (the “Distribution Agreement”). The continuance of the Distribution Agreement must be specifically approved at least annually (i) by the vote of the Trustees or by a vote of the shareholders of the Fund and (ii) by the vote of a majority of the Trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Trust and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operations of the Distribution Agreement or any related agreement, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

 

Under the Distribution Agreement, the Distributor serves as the Fund’s principal underwriter and acts as exclusive agent for the Fund in selling its shares to the public on a commercially reasonable efforts basis and then only in respect to orders placed – that is, the Distributor is under no obligations to sell any specific number of shares.

 

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Foreside is registered as a broker-dealer and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. The offering of the Fund’s shares is continuous. The Distributor will review the Rule 12b-1 Plan fee and Service fee expenditures paid by the Trust’s fund administrator. The Distributor, in conjunction with the fund administrator, maintains processes to ensure that Rule 12b-1 Plan fees and Service fees are paid in accordance with the Rule 12b-1 Plan and Shareholder Servies Plan. The Adviser may compensate the Distributor for certain distribution related activities.

 

SHAREHOLDER SERVICES

 

As described briefly in the applicable prospectus, the Fund offers the following shareholder services:

 

Regular Account. The regular account allows for voluntary investments to be made at any time. Available to individuals, custodians, corporations, trusts, estates, corporate retirement plans and others, investors are free to make additions and withdrawals to or from their account as often as they wish. Simply use the account application provided at the Fund’s website to open your account.

 

Telephone Transactions. A shareholder may redeem shares or transfer into another fund by telephone if this service is requested at the time the shareholder completes the initial account application. If it is not elected at that time, it may be elected at a later date by making a request in writing to the Transfer Agent and having the signature on the request guaranteed. The Fund employs reasonable procedures designed to confirm the authenticity of instructions communicated by telephone and, if it does not, it may be liable for any losses due to unauthorized or fraudulent transactions. As a result of this policy, a shareholder authorizing telephone redemption or transfer bears the risk of loss which may result from unauthorized or fraudulent transactions which the Fund believes to be genuine. When requesting a telephone redemption or transfer, the shareholder will be asked to respond to certain questions designed to confirm he shareholder’s identity as the shareholder of record. Cooperation with these procedures helps to protect the account and the Fund from unauthorized transactions.

 

Automatic Investment Plan. Any shareholder may utilize this feature, which provides for automatic monthly investments into your account. Upon your request, the Transfer Agent will withdraw a fixed amount each month from a checking or savings account for investment into the Fund. This does not require a commitment for a fixed period of time. A shareholder may change the monthly investment, skip a month or discontinue the Automatic Investment Plan as desired by notifying the Transfer Agent toll-free at 888-411-1875.

 

Retirement Plans. Fund shares are available for purchase in connection with the following tax-deferred prototype retirement plans:

 

Traditional IRA. An individual retirement account. Your contribution may or may not be deductible depending on your circumstances. Assets can grow tax-deferred and distributions are taxable as income.

 

Roth IRA. An IRA with non-deductible contributions, tax-free growth of assets, and tax-free distributions for qualified distributions.

 

Spousal IRA. An IRA funded by a working spouse in the name of a non-earning spouse.

 

SEP-IRA. An individual retirement account funded by employer contributions. Your assets grow tax-deferred and distributions are taxable as income.

 

Keogh or Profit Sharing Plans. These plans allow corporations, partnerships and individuals who are self-employed to make tax-deductible contributions of up to $35,000 for each person covered by the plans.

 

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403(b) Plans. An arrangement that allows employers of charitable or educational organizations to make voluntary salary reduction contributions to a tax-deferred account.

 

401(k) Plans. Allows employees of corporations of all sizes to contribute a percentage of their wages on a tax-deferred basis. These accounts need to be established by the trustee of the plan.

 

For information about eligibility requirements and other matters concerning these plans and to obtain the necessary forms to participate in these plans, please call the Trust toll-free at 888-411-1875. Each plan’s custodian charges nominal fees in connection with plan establishment and maintenance. These fees are detailed in the plan documents. You may wish to consult with your attorney or other tax adviser for specific advice concerning your tax status and plans.

 

Exchange Privilege. To the extent that the Adviser manages other funds in the Trust, shareholders may exchange their shares for shares of any other series of the Trust managed by the Adviser, provided the shares of the Fund the shareholder is exchanging into are registered for sale in the shareholder’s state of residence. As of the date of this prospectus, the Adviser does not manage any other funds in the Trust. Each account must meet the minimum investment requirements. Also, to make an exchange, an exchange order must comply with the requirements for a redemption or repurchase order and must specify the value or the number of shares to be exchanged. Your exchange will take effect as of the next determination of the Fund’s NAV per share (usually at the close of business on the same day). The Trust reserves the right to limit the number of exchanges or to otherwise prohibit or restrict shareholders from making exchanges at any time, without notice, should the Trust determine that it would be in the best interest of its shareholders to do so. For tax purposes, an exchange constitutes the sale of the shares of the fund from which you are exchanging and the purchase of shares of the fund into which you are exchanging. Consequently, the sale may involve either a capital gain or loss to the shareholder for federal income tax purposes. The exchange privilege is available only in states where it is legally permissible to do so.

 

DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO SECURITY HOLDINGS

 

This Disclosure of Portfolio Securities Holdings Policy (the “Policy”) shall govern the disclosure of the portfolio securities holdings of the Fund. The Trust maintains this Policy to ensure that disclosure of information about portfolio securities is in the best interests of the Fund and the Fund’s shareholders. The Board reviews these policies and procedures as necessary, and compliance will be periodically assessed by the Board in connection with a report from the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer. In addition, the Board has reviewed and approved the provision of portfolio holdings information to entities described below that may be prior to and more frequently than the public disclosure of such information (i.e., “non-standard disclosure”). The Board has also delegated authority to the officers of the Trust and Adviser to provide such information in certain circumstances (see below).

 

The Trust is required by the SEC to publicly file its complete portfolio holdings schedule with the SEC on a quarterly basis. This schedule is filed with the Trust’s annual and semi-annual reports on Form N-CSR for the second and fourth fiscal quarters and on Form N-PORT for the first and third fiscal quarters. Certain portfolio information is also included on Form N-PORT that is filed for the second and fourth fiscal quarters. The portfolio holdings information provided in these reports is as of the end of the respective quarter. Form N-CSR must be filed with the SEC no later than ten (10) calendar days after the Trust transmits its annual or semi-annual report to its shareholders. Form N-PORT must be filed with the SEC and will be made publicly available no later than sixty (60) calendar days after the end of the applicable quarter.

 

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Additionally, the Trust’s service providers which have contracted to provide services to the Trust and its funds, including, for example, the custodian, the fund accountants and other service providers assisting with materials utilized in the Board’s 15(c) processes that require portfolio holdings information in order to perform those services, may receive non-standard disclosure. Non-standard disclosure of portfolio holdings information may also be provided to a third-party when the Trust has a legitimate business purpose for doing so. The Trust has the following ongoing arrangements with certain third parties to provide the Fund’s portfolio holdings information:

 

  1. to the Trust’s auditors within sixty (60) days after the applicable fiscal period or other periods as necessary for use in providing audit opinions and other advice related to financial, regulatory, or tax reporting;
     
  2. to financial printers within sixty (60) days after the applicable fiscal period for the purpose of preparing Trust regulatory filings; and
     
  3. to the Trust’s administrator, custodian, transfer agent and accounting services provider on a daily basis in connection with their providing services to the Fund.

 

The Trust’s service providers may also disclose non-public portfolio holdings information if such disclosure is required by applicable laws, rules or regulations, or by regulatory authorities. Additionally, the Adviser may establish ongoing arrangements with certain third parties to provide the Fund’s portfolio holdings information that the Adviser determines that the Fund has a legitimate business purpose for doing so and the recipient is subject to a duty of confidentiality. These third parties may include:

 

  1. financial data processing companies that provide automated data scanning and monitoring services for the Fund;
     
  2. research companies that allow the Adviser to perform attribution analysis for the Fund; and
     
  3. the Adviser’s proxy voting agent to assess and vote proxies on behalf of the Fund.

 

From time to time, employees of the Adviser may express their views orally or in writing on the Fund’s portfolio securities or may state that the Fund has recently purchased or sold, or continues to own, one or more securities. The securities subject to these views and statements may be ones that were purchased or sold since the Fund’s most recent quarter-end and therefore may not be reflected on the list of the Fund’s most recent quarter-end portfolio holdings. These views and statements may be made to various persons, including members of the press, brokers and other financial intermediaries that sell shares of the Fund, shareholders in the Fund, persons considering investing in the Fund or representatives of such shareholders or potential shareholders, such as fiduciaries of a 401(k) plan or a trust and their advisers, and other entities for which the Adviser may determine. The nature and content of the views and statements provided to each of these persons may differ. From time to time, employees of the Adviser also may provide oral or written information (“portfolio commentary”) about the Fund, including, but not limited to, how the Fund’s investments are divided among various sectors, industries, countries, investment styles and capitalization sizes, and among stocks, bonds, currencies and cash, security types, bond maturities, bond coupons and bond credit quality ratings. This portfolio commentary may also include information on how these various weightings and factors contributed to Fund performance. The Adviser may also provide oral or written information (“statistical information”) about various financial characteristics of the Fund or its underlying portfolio securities including, but not limited to, alpha, beta, R-squared, coefficient of determination, duration, maturity, information ratio, Sharpe ratio, earnings growth, payout ratio, price/book value, projected earnings growth, return on equity, standard deviation, tracking error, weighted average quality, market capitalization, percent debt to equity, price to cash flow, dividend yield or growth, default rate, portfolio turnover, and risk and style characteristics. This portfolio commentary and statistical information about the Fund may be based on the Fund’s portfolio as of the most recent quarter-end or the end of some other interim period, such as month-end. The portfolio commentary and statistical information may be provided to various persons, including those described in the preceding paragraph. The nature and content of the information provided to each of these persons may differ.

 

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Additionally, employees of the Adviser may disclose one or more of the portfolio securities of the Fund when purchasing and selling securities through broker-dealers, requesting bids on securities, obtaining price quotations on securities, or in connection with litigation involving the Fund’s portfolio securities. The Adviser does not enter into formal non-disclosure or confidentiality agreements in connection with these situations; however, the Fund would not continue to conduct business with a person who the Adviser believed was misusing the disclosed information.

 

The Adviser or its affiliates may manage products sponsored by companies other than itself, including investment companies, offshore funds, and separate accounts and affiliates of the Adviser may provide investment related services, including research services, to other companies, including other investment companies, offshore funds, institutional investors and other entities. In each of these instances, the sponsors of these other companies and the affiliates of the Adviser may receive compensation for their services. In many cases, these other products may be managed in a similar fashion to the Fund and thus have similar portfolio holdings, and the other investment related services provided by affiliates of the Adviser may involve disclosure of information that is also utilized by the Adviser in managing the Fund. The sponsors of these other products may disclose the portfolio holdings of their products at different times than the Adviser discloses portfolio holdings for the Fund, and affiliates of the Adviser may provide investment related services to its clients at times that are different than the times disclosed to the Fund.

 

The Trust and the Adviser currently have no other arrangements for the provision of non-standard disclosure to any party or shareholder. Other than the non-standard disclosure discussed above, if a third-party requests specific, current information regarding the Fund’s portfolio holdings, the Trust will refer the third-party to the latest regulatory filing.

 

All of the arrangements above are subject to the policies and procedures adopted by the Board to ensure such disclosure is for a legitimate business purpose and is in the best interests of the Trust and its shareholders. The Trust’s CCO is responsible for monitoring the use and disclosure of information relating to Fund portfolio securities. Although no material conflicts of interest are believed to exist that could disadvantage the Fund and its shareholders, various safeguards have been implemented to protect the Fund and its shareholders from conflicts of interest, including: the adoption of Codes of Ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act designed to prevent fraudulent, deceptive or manipulative acts by officers and employees of the Trust, the Adviser and the Distributor in connection with their personal securities transactions; the adoption by the Adviser and Distributor of insider trading policies and procedures designed to prevent their employees’ misuse of material non-public information; and the adoption by the Trust of a Code of Ethics for Officers that requires the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Trust to report to the Board any affiliations or other relationships that could potentially create a conflict of interest with the Fund. There may be instances where the interests of the Trust’s shareholders respecting the disclosure of information about portfolio holdings may conflict or appear to conflict with the interests of the Adviser, the Distributor, or an affiliated person of the Trust, the Adviser or the Distributor. In such situations, the conflict must be disclosed to the Board and the Board will attempt to resolve the situation in a manner that it deems in the best interests of the Fund.

 

Affiliated persons of the Trust who receive non-standard disclosure are subject to restrictions and limitations on the use and handling of such information, including requirements to maintain the confidentiality of such information, pre-clear securities trades and report securities transactions activity, as applicable. Except as provided above, affiliated persons of the Trust and third-party service providers of the Trust receiving such non-standard disclosure will be instructed that such information must be kept confidential and that no trading on such information should be allowed.

 

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Neither the Trust, the Fund, nor the Adviser receives compensation or other consideration in connection with the non-standard disclosure of information about portfolio securities.

 

PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

 

The Trust is required to disclose information concerning the Fund’s proxy voting policies and procedures to shareholders. The Board has delegated to Adviser the responsibility for decisions regarding proxy voting for securities held by the Fund. The Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures of the Trust are included as Exhibit A. The Adviser will vote such proxies in accordance with its proxy policies and procedures, which have been reviewed by the Board, and which are found in Exhibit B. Any material changes to the proxy policies and procedures will be submitted to the Board for approval. Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities for the most recent 12-month period ending June 30, will be available (1) without charge, upon request by calling toll-free 888-411-1875; and (2) on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

 

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

The Annual Report for the fiscal period ended December 31, 2023 has been filed with the SEC. The financial statements contained in the Annual Report are incorporated by reference into this SAI. The financial statements and financial highlights for the Fund included in the Annual Report have been audited by the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm, Tait, Weller & Baker LLP, whose report thereon also appears in such Annual Report and is also incorporated herein by reference. No other parts of the Annual Report are incorporated by reference herein. The financial statements in such Annual Report have been incorporated herein in reliance upon such report given upon the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing. You can receive free copies of reports, request other information and discuss your questions about the Fund by contacting the Fund directly at:

 

Rule One Fund 

8730 Stony Point Parkway, Suite 205 

Richmond, Virginia 23235 

Telephone: 1-833-RULEONE 

https://ruleonefund.com

 

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Exhibit A

 

 World Funds Trust 

 

Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures

 

 The World Funds Trust (the “Trust”) is registered as an open-end management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (“1940 Act”). The Trust offers multiple series (each a “Fund” and, collectively, the “Funds”). Consistent with its fiduciary duties and pursuant to Rule 30b1-4 under the 1940 Act (the “Proxy Rule”), the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board”) has adopted this proxy voting policy on behalf of the Trust (the “Policy”) to reflect its commitment to ensure that proxies are voted in a manner consistent with the best interests of the Funds’ shareholders.

 

Delegation of Proxy Voting Authority to Fund Adviser

 

The Board believes that the investment adviser, or the investment sub-adviser as appropriate, of each Fund (each an “Adviser”), as the entity that selects the individual securities that comprise its Fund’s portfolio, is the most knowledgeable and best-suited to make decisions on how to vote proxies of portfolio companies held by that Fund. The Trust shall therefore defer to, and rely on, the Adviser of each Fund to make decisions on how to cast proxy votes on behalf of such Fund.

 

The Trust hereby designates the Adviser of each Fund as the entity responsible for exercising proxy voting authority with regard to securities held in the Fund’s investment portfolio. Consistent with its duties under this Policy, each Adviser shall monitor and review corporate transactions of corporations in which the Fund has invested, obtain all information sufficient to allow an informed vote on all proxy solicitations, ensure that all proxy votes are cast in a timely fashion, and maintain all records required to be maintained by the Fund under the Proxy Rule and the 1940 Act. Each Adviser shall perform these duties in accordance with the Adviser’s proxy voting policy, a copy of which shall be presented to this Board for its review. Each Adviser shall promptly provide to the Board updates to its proxy voting policy as they are adopted and implemented.

 

Conflict of Interest Transactions

 

In some instances, an Adviser may be asked to cast a proxy vote that presents a conflict between the interests of a Fund’s shareholders and those of the Adviser or an affiliated person of the Adviser. In such case, the Adviser is instructed to abstain from making a voting decision and to forward all necessary proxy voting materials to the Trust to enable the Board to make a voting decision. 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 the Fund’s vote will be cast. In the event that the Board is required to vote a proxy because an Adviser has a conflict of interest with respect to the proxy, the Board will vote such proxy in accordance with the Adviser’s proxy voting policy, to the extent consistent with the shareholders’ best interests, as determined by the Board in its discretion. The Board shall notify the Adviser of its final decision on the matter and the Adviser shall vote in accordance with the Board’s decision.

 

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Availability of Proxy Voting Policy and Records Available to Fund Shareholders

 

If a Fund has a website, the Fund may post a copy of its Adviser’s proxy voting policy and this Policy on such website. A copy of such policies and of each Fund’s proxy voting record shall also be made available, without charge, upon request of any shareholder of the Fund, by calling the applicable Fund’s toll-free telephone number as printed in the Fund’s prospectus. The Trust’s administrator shall reply to any Fund shareholder request within three business days of receipt of the request, by first-class mail or other means designed to ensure equally prompt delivery.

 

Each Adviser shall provide a complete voting record, as required by the Proxy Rule, for each series of the Trust for which it acts as adviser, to the Trust’s administrator within 30 days following the end of each 12-month period ending June 30. The Trust’s administrator will file a report based on such record on Form N-PX on an annual basis with the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission no later than August 31st of each year.

 

Adopted: November 26, 2013

 

Amended: February 20, 2019

 

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Exhibit B

 

RULE ONE PARTNERS, LLC

PROXY VOTING POLICY

 

Voting Procedures

 

I.INTRODUCTION

 

Rule One has adopted proxy voting policies and procedures as required by Rule 206(4)-6 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. These policies and procedures are effective on the initial fund launch date.

 

II.GLOSSARY OF TERMS

 

Non-Routine Proxy Proposals shall mean:

 

Proxy proposals that are to be considered on a case-by-case basis,

 

Proxy proposals that Adviser generally abstains from voting on, and

 

Proxy proposals that are not addressed by the Principles and Guidelines section of the Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures.

 

Proxy Manager shall be Philip Town.

 

Proxy Committee shall be comprised of the following person(s):

 

1)Philip Town

 

Routine Proxy Proposals shall mean proxy proposals that the Proxy Manager shall cast either yes or no votes in accordance with the Principles and Guidelines noted below.

 

III.PRINCIPLES AND GUIDELINE

 

A.Principles

 

Rule One’s primary purpose and fiduciary responsibility is to maximize shareholder value, which is defined as share price and dividend appreciation. Massy will vote proxies in the best interests of our Funds, Portfolios and clients and will generally vote for, against, consider on a case-by-case basis, or abstain from voting as indicated below. Because of the extenuating circumstances associated with specific proxy issues, Rule One’s votes may differ from time to time from the indications noted. In addition, the list may not include all proxies on which Rule One votes. Rule One will also act, in our best judgment, on behalf of our Funds, Portfolios and clients on certain corporate actions that impact shareholder value, such as tender offers and bankruptcy proceedings.

 

B.Voting Guidelines

 

1.Routine Business Decisions and Director Related Proposals

 

Adviser votes for:

 

a)Name changes

 

b)Directors in uncontested elections

 

c)Elimination/limitation of directors’ liability

 

d)Indemnification of directors

 

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e)Reincorporation that is not a takeover defense Adviser considers on a case-by-case basis:

 

f)Directors in contested elections

 

g)Approval of auditors.

 

2.Corporate Governance

 

Adviser votes for:

 

a)Majority independent board

 

b)Audit, compensation & nominating committees that are comprised exclusively of independent directors minimum director share ownership

 

c)Separate offices of chairperson and CEO

 

d)Limitation on number of other board seats

 

e)Confidential voting

 

f)Shareholders’ ability to remove directors

 

g)Shareholder right to call special meetings

 

Adviser votes against:

 

a)Supermajority vote requirements

 

b)Limiting directors’ tenure

 

c)Restrictions on shareholders to act by written consent Adviser considers on a case-by-case basis:

 

d)Shareholder proposals

 

e)Dissident proxy battle

 

3.Director and Executive Compensation

 

Adviser votes for:

 

a)Disclosure of executive compensation Advisor votes against:

 

b)Golden and tin parachutes

 

Adviser considers on a case-by-case basis:

 

a)Restricting executive compensation

 

b)Executive compensation plans

 

c)Establish/Increase share option plans for directors and executives

 

4.Take-Over Defense

 

Adviser votes against:

 

a)Reincorporation to prevent takeover

 

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b)Issue new class of common stock with unequal voting rights

 

c)Adoption of fair price amendments

 

d)Establish a classified (or “staggered”) board of directors

 

e)Eliminating cumulative voting

 

f)Poison pills

 

g)Blank check preferred stock

 

5.Capital Structure

 

Adviser votes for:

 

a)Increase authorized common stock (unless additional stock is a takeover defense, i.e., poison pill).

 

b)Share repurchase programs (when all shareholders may participate on equal terms)

 

Adviser votes against:

 

a)Unequal voting rights, such as dual class of stock

 

b)Pre-emptive rights

 

Adviser considers on a case-by-case basis:

 

a)Increase preferred stock

 

b)Blank check preferred stock (not for takeover defense)

 

c)Restructuring plans

 

6.Other Shareholder Value Issues

 

Adviser votes for:

 

a)Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs)

 

b)Employee stock purchase plans

 

c)401(k) plans

 

Adviser votes against:

 

a)Greenmail

 

Adviser considers on a case-by-case basis:

 

a)Mergers and acquisitions

 

b)Spin-offs and asset sales

 

7.Corporate, Social and Environmental Policy Proposals

 

Accordingly, Rule One will typically vote in accordance with management’s recommendations or abstain from voting on proposals concerning corporate policy and social and environmental issues. When such proposals impact shareholder value, Adviser may vote on a case-by-case basis.

 

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8.Proposals Specific to Mutual Funds

 

Rule One serves as investment adviser to an investment company under the World Funds Trust. These funds may invest in other investment companies and exchange traded funds (“ETFs”) that are not affiliated (“Underlying Funds”) and are required by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) Act to handle proxies received from Underlying Funds in a certain manner. Notwithstanding the guidelines provided in these procedures, it is the policy of the Adviser to vote all proxies received from the Underlying Funds in the same proportion that all shares of the Underlying Funds are voted, or in accordance with instructions received from fund shareholders, pursuant to Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the 1940 Act. After properly voted, the proxy materials are placed in a file maintained by the Chief Compliance Officer for future reference.

 

IV.Conflicts of Interest

 

On occasion, a conflict of interest may exist between Rule One and Fund, Portfolios and clients regarding the outcome of certain proxy votes. In such cases, the Adviser is committed to resolving the conflict in the best interest of our Funds, Portfolios and clients before we vote the proxy in question.

 

If the proxy proposal is a Routine Proxy Proposal, Rule One will typically adhere to the standard procedure of referring to the principles and guidelines described herein in deciding how to vote. Alternatively, Rule One may disclose the conflict to our clients and obtain their consent before voting or seek the recommendation of an independent third party in deciding how to vote. If the proxy proposal is a Non-Routine Proxy Proposal, Rule One will take any of the following courses of action to resolve the conflict:

 

1)Disclose the conflict to our Funds, Portfolios and clients and obtain consent before voting;

 

2)Suggest that our Funds, Portfolios and clients engage another party to determine how the proxy should be voted; or

 

3)Vote according to the recommendation of an independent third party, such as a:

 

proxy consultant;

 

research analyst;

 

proxy voting department of a mutual fund or pension fund; or

 

compliance consultant.

 

Disclosure

 

Rule One will provide conspicuously displayed information in its Form ADV Part 2 in the Supporting Schedules, summarizing this proxy voting policy and procedures, including a statement that clients may request information regarding how Rule One voted a client’s proxies, and that clients may request a copy of these policies and procedures.

 

49

 

 

Exhibit C 

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee Charter 

World Funds Trust

 

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee Membership

 

1.The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of World Funds Trust (the “Trust”) shall be composed entirely of Independent Trustees.

 

Board Nominations and Functions

 

1.The Committee shall make nominations for Trustee membership on the Board of Trustees, including the Independent Trustees. The Committee shall evaluate candidates’ qualifications for Board membership and their independence from the investment advisers to the Trust’s series portfolios and the Trust’s other principal service providers. Persons selected as Independent Trustees must not be an “interested person” as that term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, nor shall Independent Trustees have any affiliations or associations that shall preclude them from voting as an Independent Trustee on matters involving approvals and continuations of Rule 12b-1 Plans, Investment Advisory Agreements and such other standards as the Committee shall deem appropriate. The Committee shall also consider the effect of any relationships beyond those delineated in the 1940 Act that might impair independence, e.g., business, financial or family relationships with managers or service providers. See Appendix A for Procedures with Respect to Nominees to the Board.

 

2.The Committee shall periodically review Board governance procedures and shall recommend any appropriate changes to the full Board of Trustees.

 

3.The Committee shall periodically review the composition of the Board of Trustees to determine whether it may be appropriate to add individuals with different backgrounds or skill sets from those already on the Board.

 

4.The Committee shall periodically review trustee compensation and shall recommend any appropriate changes to the Independent Trustees as a group.

 

Committee Nominations and Functions

 

1.The Committee shall make nominations for membership on all committees and shall review committee assignments at least annually.

 

2.The Committee shall review, as necessary, the responsibilities of any committees of the Board, whether there is a continuing need for each committee, whether there is a need for additional committees of the Board, and whether committees should be combined or reorganized. The Committee shall make recommendations for any such action to the full Board.

 

Other Powers and Responsibilities

 

1.The Committee shall have the resources and authority appropriate to discharge its responsibilities, including authority to retain special counsel and other experts or consultants at the expense of the Trust.

 

2.The Committee shall review this Charter at least annually and recommend any changes to the full Board of Trustees.

  

Adopted:August 2, 2013

 

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APPENDIX A TO THE NOMINATING AND CORPORATE
GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE CHARTER

 

WORLD FUNDS TRUST

 

PROCEDURES WITH RESPECT TO NOMINEES TO THE BOARD

 

I.Identification of Candidates. When a vacancy on the Board of Trustees exists or is anticipated, and such vacancy is to be filled by an Independent Trustee, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee shall identify candidates by obtaining referrals from such sources as it may deem appropriate, which may include current Trustees, management of the Trust, counsel and other advisors to the Trustees, and shareholders of the Trust who submit recommendations in accordance with these procedures. In no event shall the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee consider as a candidate to fill any such vacancy an individual recommended by any investment adviser of any series portfolio of the Trust, unless the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee has invited management to make such a recommendation.

 

II.Shareholder Candidates. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee shall, when identifying candidates for the position of Independent Trustee, consider any such candidate recommended by a shareholder if such recommendation contains: (i) sufficient background information concerning the candidate, including evidence the candidate is willing to serve as an Independent Trustee if selected for the position; and (ii) is received in a sufficiently timely manner as determined by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee in its discretion. Shareholders shall be directed to address any such recommendations in writing to the attention of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, c/o the Secretary of the Trust. The Secretary shall retain copies of any shareholder recommendations which meet the foregoing requirements for a period of not more than 12 months following receipt. The Secretary shall have no obligation to acknowledge receipt of any shareholder recommendations.

 

III.Evaluation of Candidates. In evaluating a candidate for a position on the Board of Trustees, including any candidate recommended by shareholders of the Trust, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee shall consider the following: (i) the candidate’s knowledge in matters relating to the mutual fund industry; (ii) any experience possessed by the candidate as a director or senior officer of public companies; (iii) the candidate’s educational background; (iv) the candidate’s reputation for high ethical standards and professional integrity; (v) any specific financial, technical or other expertise possessed by the candidate, and the extent to which such expertise would complement the Board’s existing mix of skills, core competencies and qualifications; (vi) the candidate’s perceived ability to contribute to the ongoing functions of the Board, including the candidate’s ability and commitment to attend meetings regularly and work collaboratively with other members of the Board; (vii) the candidate’s ability to qualify as an Independent Trustee and any other actual or potential conflicts of interest involving the candidate and the Trust; and (viii) such other factors as the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee determines to be relevant in light of the existing composition of the Board and any anticipated vacancies. Prior to making a final recommendation to the Board, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee shall conduct personal interviews with those candidates it concludes are the most qualified candidates.

 

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