UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM N-CSR
CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES
Investment Company Act file number 812-15842
Lazard Active ETF Trust
(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, New York 10112
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)
Mark R. Anderson, Esq.
Lazard Asset Management LLC
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, New York 10112
(Name and address of agent for service)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (212) 632-6000
Date of fiscal year end: 12/31
Date of reporting period: 6/30/25
ITEM 1. REPORTS TO STOCKHOLDERS.
ITEM 2. CODE OF ETHICS.
Not applicable.
ITEM 3. AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERT.
Not applicable.
ITEM 4. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES.
Not applicable.
ITEM 5. AUDIT COMMITTEE OF LISTED REGISTRANTS.
Not applicable.
ITEM 6. INVESTMENTS.
The Registrant’s Schedule of Investments is included as part of the Financial Statements and Financial Highlights filed under Item 7 of this Form.
ITEM 7. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS FOR OPEN-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.
Lazard Active ETF Trust
Semi-Annual Financial Statements
June 30, 2025
Equity
Lazard Equity Megatrends ETF
Lazard International Dynamic Equity ETF
Lazard Japanese Equity
ETF
Lazard Next Gen Technologies ETF
Lazard Active ETF Trust Table of Contents
Please consider a Portfolio’s investment objective, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. For more complete information about Lazard Active ETF Trust (the “Fund”), you may obtain a prospectus or the Portfolio’s summary prospectus by calling 800-823-6300, or online, at https://www.lazardassetmanagement.com/us/en_us/investment-solutions/how-to-invest/etfs. Read the Portfolio’s summary prospectus or prospectus carefully before you invest. The summary prospectus and prospectus contain the investment objective, risks, charges, expenses and other information about the Portfolio, which are not detailed in this report.
Distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC.
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 1
Lazard
Active ETF Trust Portfolios of Investments
June 30, 2025 (N-CSR Item 7) (unaudited)
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
2 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
Description | Shares | Fair
Value | ||||||
Lazard Equity Megatrends ETF (continued) | ||||||||
Switzerland | 1.6% | ||||||||
TE Connectivity PLC | 3,334 | $ | 562,346 | |||||
Taiwan | 3.7% | ||||||||
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. ADR | 5,974 | 1,353,051 | ||||||
United Kingdom | 1.5% | ||||||||
RELX PLC | 10,347 | 558,227 | ||||||
United States | 66.4% | ||||||||
Adobe, Inc. (*) | 922 | 356,703 | ||||||
Alphabet, Inc., Class A | 8,115 | 1,430,107 | ||||||
Amazon.com, Inc. (*) | 5,725 | 1,256,008 | ||||||
Analog Devices, Inc. | 2,928 | 696,923 | ||||||
Apple, Inc. | 3,576 | 733,688 | ||||||
Applied Materials, Inc. | 4,134 | 756,811 | ||||||
Autodesk, Inc. (*) | 2,321 | 718,512 | ||||||
Boston Scientific Corp. (*) | 6,131 | 658,531 | ||||||
Broadcom, Inc. | 3,486 | 960,916 | ||||||
CyberArk Software Ltd. | 497 | 202,219 | ||||||
Danaher Corp. | 2,917 | 576,224 | ||||||
Dolby Laboratories, Inc., Class A | 6,349 | 471,477 | ||||||
Electronic Arts, Inc. | 4,389 | 700,923 | ||||||
Eli Lilly & Co. | 577 | 449,789 | ||||||
Equifax, Inc. | 1,946 | 504,734 | ||||||
Experian PLC | 13,976 | 718,583 | ||||||
GE HealthCare Technologies, Inc. | 5,790 | 428,865 | ||||||
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. | 3,843 | 705,075 | ||||||
Intuit, Inc. | 771 | 607,263 | ||||||
IQVIA Holdings, Inc. | 2,126 | 335,036 | ||||||
Keysight Technologies, Inc. (*) | 3,584 | 587,274 | ||||||
Labcorp Holdings, Inc. | 2,487 | 652,862 | ||||||
Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc. | 3,145 | 687,623 | ||||||
Marvell Technology, Inc. | 8,743 | 676,708 | ||||||
MasterCard, Inc., Class A | 1,216 | 683,319 | ||||||
Microsoft Corp. | 3,300 | 1,641,453 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 3
Description | Shares | Fair
Value | ||||||
Lazard Equity Megatrends ETF (concluded) | ||||||||
NVIDIA Corp. | 4,556 | $ | 719,803 | |||||
PTC, Inc. (*) | 3,492 | 601,811 | ||||||
Rockwell Automation, Inc. | 2,073 | 688,589 | ||||||
S&P Global, Inc. | 1,283 | 676,513 | ||||||
Salesforce, Inc. | 2,580 | 703,540 | ||||||
Schneider Electric SE | 1,638 | 434,161 | ||||||
ServiceNow, Inc. | 205 | 210,756 | ||||||
Stryker Corp. | 1,584 | 626,678 | ||||||
Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. | 1,357 | 550,209 | ||||||
Visa, Inc., A Shares | 1,937 | 687,732 | ||||||
24,097,418 | ||||||||
Total Common Stocks (Cost $29,145,444) | 35,425,489 | |||||||
Short-Term Investments | 2.4% | ||||||||
State Street Institutional Treasury Plus Money Market Fund,
Premier Class, 4.25% (7 day yield) (Cost $866,231) | 866,231 | $ | 866,231 | |||||
Total Investments | 100.0% (Cost $30,011,675) | $ | 36,291,720 | ||||||
Cash and Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities | 0.0% | 5,231 | |||||||
Net Assets | 100.0% | $ | 36,296,951 |
(#) | Securities exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933. These securities may only be resold to qualified institutional buyers. At June 30, 2025, these securities amounted to 3.5% of net assets of the Portfolio. |
(*) | Non-income producing security. |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
4 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 5
Description | Shares | Fair Value | ||||||
Lazard International Dynamic Equity ETF (continued) | ||||||||
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. | 9,159 | $ | 287,288 | |||||
Centerra Gold, Inc. | 11,314 | 81,341 | ||||||
CGI, Inc. | 1,708 | 179,011 | ||||||
Constellation Software, Inc. | 22 | 80,506 | ||||||
Dollarama, Inc. | 2,658 | 373,756 | ||||||
Emera, Inc. | 1,728 | 78,998 | ||||||
Empire Co. Ltd., Class A | 1,810 | 74,960 | ||||||
Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. | 250 | 450,348 | ||||||
Hudbay Minerals, Inc. | 7,766 | 82,242 | ||||||
Kinross Gold Corp. | 8,538 | 133,154 | ||||||
Loblaw Cos. Ltd. | 1,454 | 240,025 | ||||||
Manulife Financial Corp. | 5,782 | 184,499 | ||||||
Metro, Inc. | 1,426 | 111,791 | ||||||
Parex Resources, Inc. | 3,556 | 36,251 | ||||||
Shopify, Inc., Class A (*) | 527 | 60,660 | ||||||
Suncor Energy, Inc. | 4,300 | 160,750 | ||||||
Torex Gold Resources, Inc. (*) | 1,694 | 55,147 | ||||||
2,829,006 | ||||||||
China | 9.2% | ||||||||
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. ADR | 776 | 88,006 | ||||||
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. | 27,000 | 377,656 | ||||||
Bank of China Ltd., Class H | 178,000 | 103,399 | ||||||
BOC Hong Kong Holdings Ltd. | 17,000 | 73,847 | ||||||
BYD Co. Ltd., Class H | 6,000 | 93,631 | ||||||
China Construction Bank Corp., Class H | 71,000 | 71,633 | ||||||
China Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Class H | 28,000 | 67,200 | ||||||
China Merchants Bank Co. Ltd., Class H | 9,000 | 62,885 | ||||||
China Pacific Insurance Group Co. Ltd., Class H | 12,200 | 41,729 | ||||||
China Tower Corp. Ltd., Class H (#) | 30,500 | 43,594 | ||||||
H World Group Ltd. ADR | 2,807 | 95,214 | ||||||
Haidilao International Holding Ltd. (#) | 32,000 | 60,739 | ||||||
Huaxia Bank Co. Ltd., Class A | 65,700 | 72,526 | ||||||
JD.com, Inc., Class A | 13,350 | 217,512 | ||||||
Kanzhun Ltd. ADR (*) | 4,535 | 80,904 | ||||||
KE Holdings, Inc. ADR | 2,861 | 50,754 | ||||||
Kuaishou Technology (#), (*) | 12,800 | 103,215 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
6 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
Description | Shares | Fair Value | ||||||
Lazard International Dynamic Equity ETF (continued) | ||||||||
Kunlun Energy Co. Ltd. | 52,000 | $ | 50,476 | |||||
Meituan, Class B (#), (*) | 12,400 | 197,926 | ||||||
Midea Group Co. Ltd., Class H | 6,500 | 61,647 | ||||||
NetEase, Inc. | 10,700 | 287,605 | ||||||
New China Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Class H | 9,800 | 53,370 | ||||||
PDD Holdings, Inc. ADR (*) | 861 | 90,112 | ||||||
PetroChina Co. Ltd., Class H | 66,000 | 56,752 | ||||||
Ping An Insurance Group Co. of China Ltd., Class H | 31,500 | 200,035 | ||||||
Pop Mart International Group Ltd. (#) | 2,400 | 81,508 | ||||||
Qifu Technology, Inc. ADR | 1,247 | 54,070 | ||||||
Tencent Holdings Ltd. | 8,600 | 551,057 | ||||||
Tencent Music Entertainment Group ADR | 2,637 | 51,395 | ||||||
Xiaomi Corp., Class B (#), (*) | 24,400 | 186,341 | ||||||
3,626,738 | ||||||||
Denmark | 0.6% | ||||||||
Novo Nordisk AS, Class B | 3,504 | 242,355 | ||||||
France | 6.2% | ||||||||
Airbus SE | 541 | 112,569 | ||||||
BNP Paribas SA | 5,565 | 498,558 | ||||||
Carrefour SA | 7,162 | 100,633 | ||||||
Cie de Saint-Gobain SA | 917 | 107,254 | ||||||
Covivio SA REIT | 943 | 59,277 | ||||||
Credit Agricole SA | 4,718 | 88,972 | ||||||
Gaztransport Et Technigaz SA | 614 | 121,229 | ||||||
L’Oreal SA | 385 | 164,097 | ||||||
Orange SA | 2,691 | 40,796 | ||||||
Societe Generale SA | 3,639 | 207,388 | ||||||
TotalEnergies SE | 5,948 | 363,765 | ||||||
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield REIT | 625 | 59,529 | ||||||
Vinci SA | 3,541 | 519,991 | ||||||
2,444,058 | ||||||||
Germany | 3.9% | ||||||||
Allianz SE | 263 | 106,231 | ||||||
BASF SE | 3,217 | 158,075 | ||||||
CTS Eventim AG & Co. KGaA | 946 | 117,043 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 7
Description | Shares | Fair Value | ||||||
Lazard International Dynamic Equity ETF (continued) | ||||||||
Deutsche Bank AG | 10,675 | $ | 315,401 | |||||
IONOS Group SE (*) | 1,463 | 68,522 | ||||||
Mercedes-Benz Group AG | 1,431 | 83,468 | ||||||
Rheinmetall AG | 114 | 240,472 | ||||||
SAP SE | 209 | 63,333 | ||||||
Siemens AG | 189 | 48,287 | ||||||
Siemens Energy AG (*) | 1,020 | 117,410 | ||||||
TAG Immobilien AG | 2,778 | 49,208 | ||||||
Traton SE | 1,932 | 62,412 | ||||||
TUI AG (*) | 14,961 | 130,275 | ||||||
1,560,137 | ||||||||
Greece | 0.9% | ||||||||
Alpha Bank SA | 37,645 | 132,127 | ||||||
National Bank of Greece SA | 8,768 | 111,465 | ||||||
OPAP SA | 4,185 | 94,567 | ||||||
338,159 | ||||||||
Hong Kong | 1.7% | ||||||||
Prudential PLC | 9,843 | 123,094 | ||||||
WH Group Ltd. (#) | 592,000 | 569,376 | ||||||
692,470 | ||||||||
Hungary | 0.2% | ||||||||
OTP Bank Nyrt | 1,045 | 83,169 | ||||||
India | 3.6% | ||||||||
Axis Bank Ltd. GDR | 1,199 | 83,211 | ||||||
Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. ADR | 20,773 | 312,218 | ||||||
GAIL India Ltd. GDR | 3,764 | 50,061 | ||||||
Infosys Ltd. ADR | 5,305 | 98,302 | ||||||
Larsen & Toubro Ltd. GDR | 1,012 | 43,313 | ||||||
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. GDR | 1,663 | 60,866 | ||||||
MakeMyTrip Ltd. (*) | 456 | 44,697 | ||||||
Reliance Industries Ltd. GDR (#) | 943 | 65,821 | ||||||
State Bank of India GDR | 5,437 | 518,146 | ||||||
Wipro Ltd. ADR | 43,942 | 132,705 | ||||||
1,409,340 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
8 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
Description | Shares | Fair Value | ||||||
Lazard International Dynamic Equity ETF (continued) | ||||||||
Indonesia | 0.4% | ||||||||
Indofood Sukses Makmur Tbk. PT | 148,500 | $ | 74,318 | |||||
Japfa Comfeed Indonesia Tbk. PT | 806,400 | 75,251 | ||||||
149,569 | ||||||||
Ireland | 0.2% | ||||||||
AerCap Holdings NV | 338 | 39,546 | ||||||
AIB Group PLC | 5,966 | 48,917 | ||||||
88,463 | ||||||||
Israel | 0.7% | ||||||||
Nice Ltd. ADR (*) | 778 | 131,412 | ||||||
Nova Ltd. (*) | 171 | 47,059 | ||||||
Wix.com Ltd. (*) | 636 | 100,781 | ||||||
279,252 | ||||||||
Italy | 3.6% | ||||||||
Buzzi SpA | 1,629 | 89,988 | ||||||
Ferrari NV | 1,082 | 528,491 | ||||||
Intesa Sanpaolo SpA | 33,001 | 189,488 | ||||||
Leonardo SpA | 3,938 | 220,869 | ||||||
Telecom Italia SpA (*) | 176,783 | 86,866 | ||||||
UniCredit SpA | 4,510 | 301,285 | ||||||
1,416,987 | ||||||||
Japan | 13.5% | ||||||||
Advantest Corp. | 900 | 66,389 | ||||||
Central Japan Railway Co. | 2,200 | 49,226 | ||||||
Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. | 1,200 | 62,515 | ||||||
Credit Saison Co. Ltd. | 2,200 | 59,400 | ||||||
Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Inc. | 7,200 | 54,631 | ||||||
Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. | 3,900 | 90,855 | ||||||
Daito Trust Construction Co. Ltd. | 600 | 65,111 | ||||||
Daiwa Securities Group, Inc. | 6,800 | 48,230 | ||||||
Denso Corp. | 6,700 | 90,473 | ||||||
East Japan Railway Co. | 2,400 | 51,640 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 9
Description | Shares | Fair Value | ||||||
Lazard International Dynamic Equity ETF (continued) | ||||||||
ENEOS Holdings, Inc. | 20,100 | $ | 99,509 | |||||
Fujita Kanko, Inc. | 700 | 53,986 | ||||||
Glory Ltd. | 3,800 | 88,472 | ||||||
Hachijuni Bank Ltd. | 6,500 | 52,695 | ||||||
Hitachi Ltd. | 1,900 | 55,312 | ||||||
Hyakugo Bank Ltd. | 7,100 | 33,965 | ||||||
Japan Post Holdings Co. Ltd. | 65,000 | 600,973 | ||||||
KDDI Corp. | 15,600 | 267,839 | ||||||
Kyoto Financial Group, Inc. | 7,100 | 126,915 | ||||||
Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc. | 6,800 | 60,611 | ||||||
Mitsubishi Electric Corp. | 28,975 | 624,052 | ||||||
Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. | 9,700 | 268,144 | ||||||
MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, Inc. | 12,700 | 283,990 | ||||||
NGK Insulators Ltd. | 3,600 | 45,173 | ||||||
Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. | 87,500 | 93,288 | ||||||
Nissan Chemical Corp. | 5,100 | 155,389 | ||||||
ORIX Corp. | 8,200 | 185,067 | ||||||
Shikoku Electric Power Co., Inc. | 5,000 | 41,798 | ||||||
SoftBank Corp. | 58,500 | 90,315 | ||||||
Sompo Holdings, Inc. | 7,600 | 228,613 | ||||||
Sony Group Corp. | 5,200 | 134,279 | ||||||
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. | 7,200 | 181,140 | ||||||
Sumitomo Osaka Cement Co. Ltd. | 3,700 | 96,903 | ||||||
Suzuki Motor Corp. | 6,000 | 72,401 | ||||||
T&D Holdings, Inc. | 3,800 | 83,395 | ||||||
Tokio Marine Holdings, Inc. | 2,800 | 118,459 | ||||||
Tokyo Electron Ltd. | 2,400 | 459,912 | ||||||
Tokyu Fudosan Holdings Corp. | 6,800 | 48,418 | ||||||
Toyota Motor Corp. | 2,700 | 46,600 | ||||||
5,336,083 | ||||||||
Malaysia | 0.1% | ||||||||
Tenaga Nasional Bhd. | 14,800 | 50,546 | ||||||
Mexico | 0.1% | ||||||||
Coca-Cola Femsa SAB de CV ADR | 448 | 43,335 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
10 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
Description | Shares | Fair Value | ||||||
Lazard International Dynamic Equity ETF (continued) | ||||||||
Netherlands | 3.8% | ||||||||
ASML Holding NV | 452 | $ | 359,521 | |||||
Basic-Fit NV (#), (*) | 1,502 | 45,559 | ||||||
EXOR NV | 1,698 | 170,618 | ||||||
Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize NV | 6,490 | 270,449 | ||||||
NN Group NV | 1,468 | 97,223 | ||||||
Wolters Kluwer NV | 3,280 | 546,540 | ||||||
1,489,910 | ||||||||
New Zealand | 0.2% | ||||||||
Xero Ltd. (*) | 704 | 82,954 | ||||||
Norway | 0.7% | ||||||||
Kongsberg Gruppen ASA | 7,545 | 291,408 | ||||||
Philippines | 0.6% | ||||||||
DigiPlus Interactive Corp. | 81,280 | 75,032 | ||||||
International Container Terminal Services, Inc. | 20,730 | 151,252 | ||||||
226,284 | ||||||||
Poland | 0.8% | ||||||||
KGHM Polska Miedz SA (*) | 3,635 | 129,658 | ||||||
ORLEN SA | 3,224 | 73,246 | ||||||
PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA (*) | 15,328 | 48,375 | ||||||
Tauron Polska Energia SA (*) | 23,904 | 55,643 | ||||||
306,922 | ||||||||
Saudi Arabia | 0.5% | ||||||||
Electrical Industries Co. | 55,437 | 124,310 | ||||||
Etihad Etisalat Co. | 4,965 | 78,503 | ||||||
202,813 | ||||||||
Singapore | 1.2% | ||||||||
Sea Ltd. ADR (*) | 833 | 133,230 | ||||||
Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd. | 16,100 | 98,472 | ||||||
United Overseas Bank Ltd. | 9,300 | 262,867 | ||||||
494,569 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 11
Description | Shares | Fair Value | ||||||
Lazard International Dynamic Equity ETF (continued) | ||||||||
South Africa | 0.9% | ||||||||
Gold Fields Ltd. ADR | 2,376 | $ | 56,240 | |||||
Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. ADR | 7,867 | 109,902 | ||||||
Tiger Brands Ltd. | 4,278 | 76,763 | ||||||
Vodacom Group Ltd. | 15,369 | 118,221 | ||||||
361,126 | ||||||||
South Korea | 4.3% | ||||||||
Hana Financial Group, Inc. | 6,945 | 444,097 | ||||||
KB Financial Group, Inc. | 809 | 66,478 | ||||||
Korea Electric Power Corp. | 10,035 | 292,217 | ||||||
LG H&H Co. Ltd. | 178 | 42,139 | ||||||
Meritz Financial Group, Inc. | 1,451 | 120,952 | ||||||
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. | 11,130 | 493,164 | ||||||
SK Hynix, Inc. | 1,190 | 257,469 | ||||||
1,716,516 | ||||||||
Spain | 1.9% | ||||||||
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA | 13,595 | 208,338 | ||||||
Banco Santander SA | 52,478 | 432,872 | ||||||
Iberdrola SA | 6,119 | 117,008 | ||||||
758,218 | ||||||||
Sweden | 1.5% | ||||||||
Betsson AB, Class B | 6,864 | 143,972 | ||||||
Boliden AB (*) | 5,662 | 175,319 | ||||||
Essity AB, Class B | 4,979 | 136,878 | ||||||
Skanska AB, B Shares | 2,707 | 62,545 | ||||||
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson ADR | 8,238 | 69,858 | ||||||
588,572 | ||||||||
Switzerland | 1.4% | ||||||||
ABB Ltd. | 6,471 | 384,602 | ||||||
International Workplace Group PLC | 14,414 | 41,242 | ||||||
UBS Group AG | 3,255 | 109,795 | ||||||
535,639 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
12 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
Description | Shares | Fair Value | ||||||
Lazard International Dynamic Equity ETF (continued) | ||||||||
Taiwan | 5.7% | ||||||||
Accton Technology Corp. | 3,000 | $ | 74,969 | |||||
Arcadyan Technology Corp. | 11,000 | 75,500 | ||||||
Asia Vital Components Co. Ltd. | 2,000 | 50,870 | ||||||
Asustek Computer, Inc. | 2,000 | 44,091 | ||||||
CyberPower Systems, Inc. | 4,000 | 35,396 | ||||||
Delta Electronics, Inc. | 24,000 | 339,313 | ||||||
International Games System Co. Ltd. | 2,000 | 58,743 | ||||||
MediaTek, Inc. | 9,000 | 385,116 | ||||||
Realtek Semiconductor Corp. | 4,000 | 77,639 | ||||||
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. | 30,000 | 1,088,594 | ||||||
Yuanta Financial Holding Co. Ltd. | 35,000 | 40,916 | ||||||
2,271,147 | ||||||||
Thailand | 0.4% | ||||||||
Advanced Info Service PCL (‡) | 9,000 | 76,964 | ||||||
Charoen Pokphand Foods PCL NVDR | 53,400 | 37,781 | ||||||
CP ALL PCL (‡) | 30,600 | 41,416 | ||||||
156,161 | ||||||||
Turkey | 0.3% | ||||||||
Akbank TAS | 39,587 | 67,846 | ||||||
Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS | 16,081 | 54,555 | ||||||
122,401 | ||||||||
United Arab Emirates | 0.8% | ||||||||
ADNOC Drilling Co. PJSC | 27,664 | 42,933 | ||||||
Adnoc Gas PLC | 60,005 | 55,874 | ||||||
Emaar Properties PJSC | 55,284 | 204,708 | ||||||
303,515 | ||||||||
United Kingdom | 9.4% | ||||||||
Anglogold Ashanti PLC | 1,369 | 62,385 | ||||||
AstraZeneca PLC ADR | 6,057 | 423,263 | ||||||
Barclays PLC | 45,387 | 209,787 | ||||||
Drax Group PLC | 5,859 | 55,640 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 13
Description | Shares | Fair Value | ||||||
Lazard International Dynamic Equity ETF (continued) | ||||||||
Dunelm Group PLC | 5,353 | $ | 86,925 | |||||
Games Workshop Group PLC | 336 | 74,683 | ||||||
HSBC Holdings PLC | 26,605 | 321,488 | ||||||
Imperial Brands PLC | 5,344 | 210,687 | ||||||
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA | 39,403 | 184,365 | ||||||
J Sainsbury PLC | 22,526 | 89,457 | ||||||
Marks & Spencer Group PLC | 22,062 | 107,145 | ||||||
NatWest Group PLC | 73,507 | 515,135 | ||||||
Next PLC | 873 | 148,822 | ||||||
RELX PLC | 2,046 | 110,383 | ||||||
Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC | 18,189 | 241,177 | ||||||
Sage Group PLC | 4,890 | 83,796 | ||||||
Smiths Group PLC | 12,675 | 390,112 | ||||||
Standard Chartered PLC | 25,060 | 414,495 | ||||||
3,729,745 | ||||||||
United States | 7.4% | ||||||||
Amrize Ltd. (*) | 1,426 | 70,906 | ||||||
Experian PLC | 1,084 | 55,734 | ||||||
GSK PLC | 25,020 | 476,577 | ||||||
Holcim AG | 1,475 | 109,143 | ||||||
MDA Space Ltd. (*) | 2,166 | 55,733 | ||||||
Nestle SA | 1,922 | 190,341 | ||||||
Novartis AG | 6,747 | 815,150 | ||||||
Roche Holding AG | 1,733 | 562,572 | ||||||
Sanofi SA | 535 | 51,629 | ||||||
Schneider Electric SE | 448 | 118,745 | ||||||
Shell PLC | 4,538 | 158,793 | ||||||
Spotify Technology SA (*) | 266 | 204,112 | ||||||
Titan SA | 863 | 38,900 | ||||||
2,908,335 | ||||||||
Total Common Stocks (Cost $34,201,103) | 39,180,753 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
14 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
Description | Shares | Fair Value | ||||||
Lazard International Dynamic Equity ETF (concluded) | ||||||||
Preferred Stocks | 0.8% | ||||||||
Brazil | 0.6% | ||||||||
Banco Bradesco SA | 17,056 | $ | 52,594 | |||||
Petroleo Brasileiro SA - Petrobras | 30,075 | 172,917 | ||||||
225,511 | ||||||||
Germany | 0.2% | ||||||||
Volkswagen AG | 874 | 91,945 | ||||||
Total Preferred Stocks (Cost $337,881) | 317,456 | |||||||
Warrants | 0.0% | ||||||||
Canada | 0.0% | ||||||||
Constellation Software, Inc., Expires 03/31/40 (*), (¢) (Cost $0) | 26 | 0 | ||||||
Total Investments | 99.9% (Cost $34,538,984) | $ | 39,498,209 | ||||||
Cash and Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities | 0.1% | 21,754 | |||||||
Net Assets | 100.0% | $ | 39,519,963 |
(*) | Non-income producing security. |
(#) | Securities exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933. These securities may only be resold to qualified institutional buyers. At June 30, 2025, these securities amounted to 3.5% of net assets of the Portfolio. |
(‡) | Security valued using Level 2 inputs, based on reference to a similar security which was trading on an active market, under GAAP hierarchy – see Note 8 in the Notes to Financial Statements. |
(¢) | Security in which significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) were used in determining fair value. |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 15
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
16 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
Description | Shares | Fair Value | ||||||
Lazard Japanese Equity ETF (concluded) | ||||||||
Rengo Co. Ltd. | 49,100 | $ | 265,615 | |||||
Resona Holdings, Inc. | 99,600 | 918,462 | ||||||
Rinnai Corp. | 14,900 | 369,186 | ||||||
Seven & i Holdings Co. Ltd. | 48,500 | 779,989 | ||||||
Shimizu Corp. | 59,500 | 663,605 | ||||||
Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd. | 25,000 | 825,920 | ||||||
SMC Corp. | 1,500 | 540,413 | ||||||
SoftBank Group Corp. | 13,100 | 953,626 | ||||||
Sony Group Corp. | 62,700 | 1,619,101 | ||||||
Sumco Corp. | 25,600 | 201,156 | ||||||
Sumitomo Forestry Co. Ltd. | 57,900 | 584,632 | ||||||
Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd. | 7,200 | 177,452 | ||||||
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. | 55,700 | 1,401,321 | ||||||
Suzuki Motor Corp. | 63,300 | 763,833 | ||||||
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. | 35,400 | 1,084,461 | ||||||
TDK Corp. | 57,000 | 669,068 | ||||||
THK Co. Ltd. | 16,000 | 427,235 | ||||||
Tokio Marine Holdings, Inc. | 29,700 | 1,256,511 | ||||||
Tokyo Electron Ltd. | 6,100 | 1,168,943 | ||||||
Toyo Suisan Kaisha Ltd. | 6,600 | 437,959 | ||||||
Toyota Motor Corp. | 38,500 | 664,478 | ||||||
UBE Corp. | 9,500 | 148,769 | ||||||
Yakult Honsha Co. Ltd. | 35,400 | 664,769 | ||||||
Yamaha Corp. | 28,100 | 202,806 | ||||||
37,122,438 | ||||||||
Total Common Stocks (Cost $32,210,015) | 37,122,438 | |||||||
Total Investments | 99.3% (Cost $32,210,015) | $ | 37,122,438 | ||||||
Cash and Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities | 0.7% | 243,816 | |||||||
Net Assets | 100.0% | $ | 37,366,254 |
(*) | Non-income producing security. |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 17
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
18 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
Description | Shares | Fair Value | ||||||
Lazard Next Gen Technologies ETF (continued) | ||||||||
United Kingdom | 2.0% | ||||||||
RELX PLC | 16,504 | $ | 890,401 | |||||
United States | 72.2% | ||||||||
Adobe, Inc. (*) | 876 | 338,907 | ||||||
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (*) | 3,623 | 514,104 | ||||||
Alphabet, Inc., Class A | 4,301 | 757,965 | ||||||
Amazon.com, Inc. (*) | 3,564 | 781,906 | ||||||
Ambarella, Inc. (*) | 6,216 | 410,660 | ||||||
Amphenol Corp., Class A | 10,312 | 1,018,310 | ||||||
AppLovin Corp., Class A (*) | 1,389 | 486,261 | ||||||
Arista Networks, Inc. (*) | 7,100 | 726,401 | ||||||
Autodesk, Inc. (*) | 1,575 | 487,573 | ||||||
Block, Inc. (*) | 6,063 | 411,860 | ||||||
Broadcom, Inc. | 5,207 | 1,435,309 | ||||||
Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (*) | 1,963 | 604,898 | ||||||
Cloudflare, Inc., Class A (*) | 3,139 | 614,710 | ||||||
Crowdstrike Holdings, Inc., Class A (*) | 1,895 | 965,142 | ||||||
CyberArk Software Ltd. (*) | 994 | 404,439 | ||||||
Datadog, Inc., Class A (*) | 6,930 | 930,907 | ||||||
Doximity, Inc., Class A (*) | 7,246 | 444,470 | ||||||
Dynatrace, Inc. (*) | 14,506 | 800,876 | ||||||
Eaton Corp. PLC | 3,090 | 1,103,099 | ||||||
Fiserv, Inc. (*) | 3,069 | 529,126 | ||||||
International Business Machines Corp. | 2,701 | 796,201 | ||||||
Intuit, Inc. | 1,087 | 856,154 | ||||||
Manhattan Associates, Inc. (*) | 2,004 | 395,730 | ||||||
Marvell Technology, Inc. | 6,164 | 477,094 | ||||||
MasterCard, Inc., Class A | 1,556 | 874,379 | ||||||
Meta Platforms, Inc., Class A | 1,811 | 1,336,681 | ||||||
Microsoft Corp. | 2,545 | 1,265,908 | ||||||
NVIDIA Corp. | 12,923 | 2,041,705 | ||||||
Okta, Inc. (*) | 4,971 | 496,951 | ||||||
Oracle Corp. | 3,563 | 778,979 | ||||||
Palantir Technologies, Inc., Class A (*) | 5,393 | 735,174 | ||||||
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (*) | 4,960 | 1,015,014 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 19
Description | Shares | Fair Value | ||||||
Lazard Next Gen Technologies ETF (concluded) | ||||||||
PTC, Inc. (*) | 3,270 | $ | 563,552 | |||||
Salesforce, Inc. | 2,531 | 690,178 | ||||||
Samsara, Inc., Class A (*) | 13,660 | 543,395 | ||||||
Schrodinger, Inc. (*) | 16,638 | 334,757 | ||||||
ServiceNow, Inc. (*) | 844 | 867,699 | ||||||
Snowflake, Inc., Class A (*) | 3,501 | 783,419 | ||||||
Synopsys, Inc. (*) | 1,178 | 603,937 | ||||||
Tempus AI, Inc. (*) | 9,168 | 582,535 | ||||||
Trimble, Inc. (*) | 5,392 | 409,684 | ||||||
Twilio, Inc., Class A (*) | 3,645 | 453,292 | ||||||
Uber Technologies, Inc. (*) | 9,430 | 879,819 | ||||||
31,549,160 | ||||||||
Total Common Stocks (Cost $31,057,717) | 42,047,333 | |||||||
Short-Term Investments | 1.4% | ||||||||
State Street Institutional Treasury Plus Money Market Fund, Premier Class, 4.25% (7 day yield) (Cost $591,537) | 591,537 | $ | 591,537 | |||||
Total Investments | 97.6% (Cost $31,649,254) | $ | 42,638,870 | ||||||
Cash and Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities | 2.4% | 1,058,302 | |||||||
Net Assets | 100.0% | $ | 43,697,172 |
(*) | Non-income producing security. |
(#) | Securities exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933. These securities may only be resold to qualified institutional buyers. At June 30, 2025, these securities amounted to 1.9% of net assets of the Portfolio. |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
20 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
Lazard Active ETF Trust Abbreviations
June 30, 2025 (N-CSR Item 7) (unaudited)
Security Abbreviations:
ADR | — American Depositary Receipt |
GDR | — Global Depositary Receipt |
NVDR | — Non-Voting Depository Receipt |
PJSC | — Public Joint Stock Company |
REITs | — Real Estate Investment Trusts |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 21
Lazard Active ETF Trust Statements of Assets and Liabilities (N-CSR Item 7)
(unaudited)
June 30, 2025 | Lazard Equity Megatrends ETF | Lazard International Dynamic Equity ETF | |||||||||
ASSETS | |||||||||||
Investments in securities, at fair value | $ | 36,291,720 | $ | 39,498,209 | |||||||
Foreign currency, at fair value | 41 | 73,292 | |||||||||
Receivables for: | |||||||||||
Dividends and interest | 19,791 | 119,949 | |||||||||
Investments sold | — | — | |||||||||
Capital stock sold | — | — | |||||||||
Other assets | — | 2,439 | |||||||||
Total assets | 36,311,552 | 39,693,889 | |||||||||
LIABILITIES | |||||||||||
Due to custodian | — | 16,173 | |||||||||
Foreign currency due to custodian | — | 64,639 | |||||||||
Payables for: | |||||||||||
Management fees | 14,601 | 20,191 | |||||||||
Accrued custodian fees | — | 29,128 | |||||||||
Accrued professional services | — | 22,461 | |||||||||
Accrued directors’ fees | — | 438 | |||||||||
Accrued registration fees | — | 1,407 | |||||||||
Investments purchased | — | 12,571 | |||||||||
Other accrued expenses and payables | — | 6,918 | |||||||||
Total liabilities | 14,601 | 173,926 | |||||||||
Net assets | $ | 36,296,951 | $ | 39,519,963 | |||||||
NET ASSETS | |||||||||||
Paid in capital | $ | 30,000,000 | $ | 33,309,751 | |||||||
Distributable earnings (Accumulated loss) | 6,296,951 | 6,210,212 | |||||||||
Net assets | $ | 36,296,951 | $ | 39,519,963 | |||||||
Net assets | $ | 36,296,951 | $ | 39,519,963 | |||||||
Shares of capital stock outstanding | 1,200,000 | 1,492,753 | |||||||||
Net asset value, offering and redemption price per share | $ | 30.25 | $ | 26.47 | |||||||
Cost of investments in securities | $ | 30,011,675 | $ | 34,538,984 | |||||||
Cost of foreign currency | $ | 40 | $ | 73,069 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
22 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
Lazard Japanese Equity ETF | Lazard Next Gen Technologies ETF |
||||||||
$ | 37,122,438 | $ | 42,638,870 | ||||||
84,982 | 1,018 | ||||||||
39,496 | 18,048 | ||||||||
137,504 | 266,226 | ||||||||
— | 1,713,595 | ||||||||
— | — | ||||||||
37,384,420 | 44,637,757 | ||||||||
— | — | ||||||||
— | — | ||||||||
18,166 | 16,400 | ||||||||
— | — | ||||||||
— | — | ||||||||
— | — | ||||||||
— | — | ||||||||
— | 924,185 | ||||||||
— | — | ||||||||
18,166 | 940,585 | ||||||||
$ | 37,366,254 | $ | 43,697,172 | ||||||
$ | 32,781,306 | $ | 32,531,312 | ||||||
4,584,948 | 11,165,860 | ||||||||
$ | 37,366,254 | $ | 43,697,172 | ||||||
$ | 37,366,254 | $ | 43,697,172 | ||||||
1,300,000 | 1,275,000 | ||||||||
$ | 28.74 | $ | 34.27 | ||||||
$ | 32,210,015 | $ | 31,649,254 | ||||||
$ | 84,896 | $ | 1,013 |
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 23
Lazard Active ETF Trust Statements of Operations (N-CSR Item 7)
(unaudited)
For the Six Months Ended June 30, 2025 | Lazard Equity Megatrends ETF (a) | Lazard International Dynamic Equity ETF (b) | |||||||||
Investment Income (Loss) | |||||||||||
Income | |||||||||||
Dividends | $ | 109,509 | $ | 636,776 | |||||||
Total investment income* | 109,509 | 636,776 | |||||||||
Expenses | |||||||||||
Management fees (Note 3) | 47,520 | 95,628 | |||||||||
Directors’ fees and expenses | — | 2,337 | |||||||||
Distribution fees (Open Shares) | — | 4,583 | |||||||||
Shareholders’ reports | — | 1,027 | |||||||||
Custodian fees | — | 17,898 | |||||||||
Professional services | — | 15,828 | |||||||||
Shareholders’ services | — | 3,010 | |||||||||
Administration fees | — | 7,680 | |||||||||
Registration fees | — | 11,931 | |||||||||
Other^ | — | 2,109 | |||||||||
Total gross expenses | 47,520 | 162,031 | |||||||||
Management fees waived and expenses reimbursed | (7,920 | ) | (34,234 | ) | |||||||
Total net expenses | 39,600 | 127,797 | |||||||||
Net investment income (loss) | 69,909 | 508,979 | |||||||||
Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) | |||||||||||
Net realized gain (loss) on: | |||||||||||
Investments | 71,704 | 819,244 | |||||||||
In-kind redemptions | — | 816,096 | |||||||||
Foreign currency transactions | (10,438 | ) | 23,989 | ||||||||
Total net realized gain (loss) | 61,266 | 1,659,329 | |||||||||
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on: | |||||||||||
Investments | 6,280,045 | 3,844,382 | |||||||||
Foreign currency translations | 235 | 4,256 | |||||||||
Total net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) | 6,280,280 | 3,848,638 | |||||||||
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | 6,341,546 | 5,507,967 | |||||||||
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations | $ | 6,411,455 | $ | 6,016,946 | |||||||
* Net of foreign withholding taxes of | $ | 8,471 | $ | 72,408 | |||||||
^Includes interest on line of credit of | $ | — | $ | 40 |
(a) | The Portfolio commenced operations on April 7, 2025. |
(b) | On May 9, 2025, Lazard International Equity Advantage Portfolio (the “Target Portfolio”) was converted from a mutual fund into an ETF. The amounts disclosed include those of the Target Portfolio. Refer to Note 9 in the Notes to Financial Statements for additional information on the reorganization. |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
24 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
Lazard Japanese Equity ETF (a) | Lazard Next Gen Technologies ETF (a) | ||||||||
$ | 42,877 | $ | 73,677 | ||||||
42,877 | 73,677 | ||||||||
48,240 | 51,378 | ||||||||
— | — | ||||||||
— | — | ||||||||
— | — | ||||||||
— | — | ||||||||
— | — | ||||||||
— | — | ||||||||
— | — | ||||||||
— | — | ||||||||
— | — | ||||||||
48,240 | 51,378 | ||||||||
— | (8,563 | ) | |||||||
48,240 | 42,815 | ||||||||
(5,363 | ) | 30,862 | |||||||
(12,102 | ) | (63,795 | ) | ||||||
— | 224,910 | ||||||||
408,106 | 6,383 | ||||||||
396,004 | 167,498 | ||||||||
4,912,423 | 10,989,616 | ||||||||
382 | 44 | ||||||||
4,912,805 | 10,989,660 | ||||||||
5,308,809 | 11,157,158 | ||||||||
$ | 5,303,446 | $ | 11,188,020 | ||||||
$ | 4,375 | $ | 3,670 | ||||||
$ | — | $ | — |
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 25
Lazard Active ETF Trust Statements of Changes in Net Assets (N-CSR Item 7)
(unaudited)
Lazard Equity Megatrends ETF | Lazard International Dynamic Equity ETF | ||||||||||
Period Ended June 30, 2025 (unaudited) (a) | Period Ended June 30, 2025 (unaudited) (b) | ||||||||||
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets From Operations | |||||||||||
Net investment income (loss) | $ | 69,909 | $ | 508,979 | |||||||
Net realized gain (loss) | 61,266 | 1,659,329 | |||||||||
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) | 6,280,280 | 3,848,638 | |||||||||
Net increase (decrease) resulting from operations | 6,411,455 | 6,016,946 | |||||||||
Distributions to shareholders (Note 2(e)) | |||||||||||
Net investment income and/or net realized gains | (114,504 | ) | (1,037,638 | ) | |||||||
Net decrease in net assets resulting from distributions | (114,504 | ) | (1,037,638 | ) | |||||||
Capital stock transactions | |||||||||||
Net proceeds from sales | 30,000,000 | 64,630,830 | |||||||||
Net proceeds from reinvestment of distributions | — | 539,942 | |||||||||
Cost of shares redeemed | — | (57,933,534 | ) | ||||||||
Net increase in net assets from capital stock transactions | 30,000,000 | 7,237,238 | |||||||||
Other capital | — | 9,360 | |||||||||
Total increase in net assets | 36,296,951 | 12,225,906 | |||||||||
Net assets at beginning of period | — | 27,294,057 | |||||||||
Net assets at end of period | $ | 36,296,951 | $ | 39,519,963 | |||||||
Shares issued and redeemed | |||||||||||
Shares outstanding at beginning of period | — | 239,504 | (e) | ||||||||
Shares sold | 1,200,000 | 1,834,768 | (e) | ||||||||
Shares issued to shareholders from reinvestment of distributions | — | 22,226 | (e) | ||||||||
Shares redeemed | — | (603,745 | )(e) | ||||||||
Net increase | 1,200,000 | 1,253,249 | (e) | ||||||||
Shares outstanding at end of period | 1,200,000 | 1,492,753 | (e) |
(a) | The Portfolio commenced operations on April 7, 2025. |
(b) | On May 9, 2025, Lazard International Equity Advantage Portfolio (the “Target Portfolio”) was converted from a mutual fund into an ETF. The amounts disclosed include those of the Target Portfolio. Refer to Note 9 in the Notes to Financial Statements for additional information on the reorganization. |
(c) | Amounts consist of distribution to Institutional Shares and Open Shares of the Target Portfolio. The amounts distributed to the Institutional Shares and Open Shares were $(265,333) and $(1,033,302), respectively. |
(d) | The dollar amounts disclosed are the total of the Institutional Shares and Open Shares of the Target Portfolio. Net proceeds from sale of shares, Reinvestment of distributions and Cost of shares redeemed are $2,123,545, $265,333, and $(145,668), respectively, for the Institutional Shares, and $6,539,952, $1,033,302 and $(2,677,616), respectively, for the Open Shares. |
(e) | The Target Portfolio’s Institutional Shares underwent a reverse stock split. The shares data presented here has been retroactively adjusted to reflect this split. |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
26 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
Lazard International Dynamic Equity ETF | Lazard Japanese Equity ETF | Lazard Next Gen Technologies ETF | |||||||||||
Year Ended December 31, 2024 | Period Ended June 30, 2025 (unaudited) (a) | Period Ended June 30, 2025 (unaudited) (a) | |||||||||||
$ | 359,162 | $ | (5,363 | ) | $ | 30,862 | |||||||
1,160,396 | 396,004 | 167,498 | |||||||||||
513,550 | 4,912,805 | 10,989,660 | |||||||||||
2,033,108 | 5,303,446 | 11,188,020 | |||||||||||
(1,298,635 | )(c) | (718,497 | ) | (22,160 | ) | ||||||||
(1,298,635 | ) | (718,497 | ) | (22,160 | ) | ||||||||
8,663,497 | (d) | 32,886,600 | 34,092,980 | ||||||||||
1,298,635 | (d) | — | — | ||||||||||
(2,823,284 | )(d) | (105,295 | ) | (1,561,615 | ) | ||||||||
7,138,848 | 32,781,305 | 32,531,365 | |||||||||||
— | — | (53 | ) | ||||||||||
7,873,321 | 37,366,254 | 43,697,172 | |||||||||||
19,420,736 | — | — | |||||||||||
$ | 27,294,057 | $ | 37,366,254 | $ | 43,697,172 | ||||||||
145,245 | (e) | — | — | ||||||||||
88,723 | (e) | 1,304,000 | 1,325,000 | ||||||||||
11,794 | (e) | — | — | ||||||||||
(6,258 | )(e) | (4,000 | ) | (50,000 | ) | ||||||||
94,259 | (e) | 1,300,000 | 1,275,000 | ||||||||||
239,504 | (e) | 1,300,000 | 1,275,000 |
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 27
Lazard Active ETF Trust Financial Highlights (N-CSR Item 7)
(unaudited)
LAZARD EQUITY MEGATRENDS ETF
Selected data for a share of capital stock outstanding throughout each period | For the Period 4/7/25* to 6/30/25† | ||||
Net asset value, beginning of period | $ | 25.00 | |||
Income (Loss) from investment operations: | |||||
Net investment income (loss) (a) | 0.06 | ||||
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | 5.29 | ||||
Total from investment operations | 5.35 | ||||
Less distributions from: | |||||
Net investment income | (0.10 | ) | |||
Total distributions | (0.10 | ) | |||
Net asset value, end of period | $ | 30.25 | |||
Total Return (b) | 21.39 | % | |||
Ratios and Supplemental Data: | |||||
Net assets, end of period (in thousands) | $ | 36,297 | |||
Ratios to average net assets (c): | |||||
Net expenses | 0.50 | % | |||
Gross expenses | 0.60 | % | |||
Net investment income (loss) | 0.88 | % | |||
Portfolio turnover rate^ | 2 | % |
† | Unaudited |
* | The Portfolio commenced operations on April 7, 2025. |
^ | Portfolio turnover rate excludes investments received or delivered from in-kind processing of creation unit purchases or redemptions. |
(a) | Net investment income (loss) has been computed using the average shares method. |
(b) | Total returns reflect reinvestment of all dividends and distributions, if any. The Investment Manager has voluntarily agreed to waive a portion of its management fee payable by the Portfolio in the amount of .10% of average daily net assets, without such waiver/reimbursement of expenses, the Portfolio’s returns would have been lower. Returns for a period of less than one year are not annualized. |
(c) | Annualized for a period of less than one year. |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
28 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
LAZARD INTERNATIONAL DYNAMIC EQUITY ETF
Selected data for a share of capital stock outstanding | Six Months Ended | Year Ended | |||||||||||||||||||||||
throughout each period | 6/30/25†* | 12/31/24* | 12/31/23* | 12/31/22* | 12/31/21* | 12/31/20* | |||||||||||||||||||
Net asset value, beginning of period | $ | 22.49 | $ | 21.19 | $ | 17.79 | $ | 21.32 | $ | 19.66 | $ | 19.03 | |||||||||||||
Income (Loss) from investment operations: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net investment income (loss) (a) | 0.58 | 0.42 | 0.50 | 0.55 | 0.55 | 0.38 | |||||||||||||||||||
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | 4.16 | 2.04 | 3.03 | (3.41 | ) | 2.19 | 0.63 | ||||||||||||||||||
Total from investment operations | 4.74 | 2.46 | 3.53 | (2.86 | ) | 2.74 | 1.01 | ||||||||||||||||||
Less distributions from: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net investment income | (0.60 | ) | (0.40 | ) | (0.13 | ) | (0.57 | ) | (0.55 | ) | (0.38 | ) | |||||||||||||
Net realized gains | (0.16 | ) | (0.76 | ) | — | (0.10 | ) | (0.53 | ) | — | |||||||||||||||
Total distributions | (0.76 | ) | (1.16 | ) | (0.13 | ) | (0.67 | ) | (1.08 | ) | (0.38 | ) | |||||||||||||
Net asset value, end of period | $ | 26.47 | $ | 22.49 | $ | 21.19 | $ | 17.79 | $ | 21.32 | $ | 19.66 | |||||||||||||
Total Return (b) | 21.28 | % | 11.68 | % | 19.82 | % | -13.45 | % | 13.94 | % | 5.41 | % | |||||||||||||
Ratios and Supplemental Data: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net assets, end of period (in thousands) | $ | 39,520 | $ | 5,384 | $ | 3,076 | $ | 2,444 | $ | 2,855 | $ | 2,472 | |||||||||||||
Ratios to average net assets (c): | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net expenses | 1.18 | % | 0.80 | % | 0.80 | % | 0.85 | % | 0.90 | % | 0.90 | % | |||||||||||||
Gross expenses | 1.50 | % | 1.54 | % | 5.66 | % | 7.06 | % | 5.81 | % | 8.57 | % | |||||||||||||
Net investment income (loss) | 4.71 | % | 1.79 | % | 2.50 | % | 3.01 | % | 2.54 | % | 2.24 | % | |||||||||||||
Portfolio turnover rate^ | 61 | % | 82 | % | 88 | % | 85 | % | 99 | % | 109 | % |
† | Unaudited |
* | As further described in the Organization and Reorganization information notes, per share amounts have been adjusted to account for changes in the capital structure resulting from the merger. On May 9, 2025, the Target Portfolio’s Institutional Shares underwent a reverse stock split. The per share data presented here has been retroactively adjusted to reflect this split. |
^ | Portfolio turnover rate excludes investments received or delivered from in-kind processing of creation unit purchases or redemptions. |
(a) | Net investment income (loss) has been computed using the average shares method. |
(b) | Total returns reflect reinvestment of all dividends and distributions, if any. Returns for a period of less than one year are not annualized. |
(c) | Annualized for a period of less than one year. |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 29
LAZARD JAPANESE EQUITY ETF
Selected data for a share of capital stock outstanding throughout each period | For the Period 4/7/25* to 6/30/25† | ||||
Net asset value, beginning of period | $ | 25.00 | |||
Income (Loss) from investment operations: | |||||
Net investment income (loss) (a) | — | (b) | |||
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | 4.30 | ||||
Total from investment operations | 4.30 | ||||
Less distributions from: | |||||
Net investment income | (0.55 | ) | |||
Total distributions | (0.55 | ) | |||
Net asset value, end of period | $ | 28.75 | |||
Total Return (c) | 17.27 | % | |||
Ratios and Supplemental Data: | |||||
Net assets, end of period (in thousands) | $ | 37,366 | |||
Ratios to average net assets (d): | |||||
Net expenses | 0.60 | % | |||
Gross expenses | 0.60 | % | |||
Net investment income (loss) | -0.07 | % | |||
Portfolio turnover rate^ | 3 | % |
† | Unaudited |
* | The Portfolio commenced operations on April 7, 2025. |
^ | Portfolio turnover rate excludes investments received or delivered from in-kind processing of creation unit purchases or redemptions. |
(a) | Net investment income (loss) has been computed using the average shares method. |
(b) | Amount is less than $0.01 per share. |
(c) | Total returns reflect reinvestment of all dividends and distributions, if any. Returns for a period of less than one year are not annualized. |
(d) | Annualized for a period of less than one year. |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
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LAZARD NEXT GEN TECHNOLOGIES ETF
Selected data for a share of capital stock outstanding throughout each period | For the Period 4/7/25* to 6/30/25† | ||||
Net asset value, beginning of period | $ | 25.00 | |||
Income (Loss) from investment operations: | |||||
Net investment income (loss) (a) | 0.03 | ||||
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) | 9.26 | ||||
Total from investment operations | 9.29 | ||||
Less distributions from: | |||||
Net investment income | (0.02 | ) | |||
Total distributions | (0.02 | ) | |||
Net asset value, end of period | $ | 34.27 | |||
Total Return (b) | 37.16 | % | |||
Ratios and Supplemental Data: | |||||
Net assets, end of period (in thousands) | $ | 43,697 | |||
Ratios to average net assets (c): | |||||
Net expenses | 0.50 | % | |||
Gross expenses | 0.60 | % | |||
Net investment income (loss) | 0.36 | % | |||
Portfolio turnover rate^ | 1 | % |
† | Unaudited |
* | The Portfolio commenced operations on April 7, 2025. |
^ | Portfolio turnover rate excludes investments received or delivered from in-kind processing of creation unit purchases or redemptions. |
(a) | Net investment income (loss) has been computed using the average shares method. |
(b) | Total returns reflect reinvestment of all dividends and distributions, if any. The Investment Manager has voluntarily agreed to waive a portion of its management fee payable by the Portfolio in the amount of .10% of average daily net assets, without such waiver/reimbursement of expenses, the Portfolio’s returns would have been lower. Returns for a period of less than one year are not annualized. |
(c) | Annualized for a period of less than one year. |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 31
Lazard Active ETF Trust Notes to Financial Statements
June
30, 2025 (N-CSR Item 7) (unaudited)
1. Organization
The Lazard Active ETF Trust (the “Fund”) was organized in Delaware on October 29, 2024 and is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), as an open-end management investment company. As of June 30, 2025, the Trust was comprised of four portfolios (each referred to as a “Portfolio”). This report includes only the financial statements of the Lazard Equity Megatrends ETF (“Equity Megatrends”), Lazard International Dynamic Equity ETF (“International Dynamic Equity”), Lazard Japanese Equity ETF (“Japanese Equity”) and Lazard Next Gen Technologies ETF (“Next Gen Technologies”).
Effective May 9, 2025, Lazard International Equity Advantage Portfolio (the “Target Portfolio”) reorganized into the newly created exchange traded fund (ETF) “Lazard International Dynamic Equity ETF”. The Target Portfolio was the accounting survivor in the reorganization, and, as such, the financial statements and financial highlights of the Portfolio reflect the financial information of the Target Portfolio through May 9, 2025 (see Note 10).
The Portfolios, other than International Dynamic Equity ETF, are operated as “non-diversified” funds, as defined in the 1940 Act.
2. Significant Accounting Policies
The accompanying financial statements are presented in conformity with GAAP. The Fund is an investment company and therefore applies specialized accounting guidance in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification Topic 946. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies consistently followed by the Fund in the preparation of the financial statements:
(a) Valuation of Investments—Equity securities traded on a securities exchange or market, including exchange-traded option contracts, rights and warrants, and exchange traded funds, are valued at the last reported sales price (for US listed equity securities) or the closing price (for non-US listed equity securities) on the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded or, for securities trading on the Nasdaq, the Nasdaq Official Closing Price. If there is no available closing price for a non-US listed equity security, the last reported sales price is used.
32 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
If there are no reported sales of a security on the valuation date, the security is valued at the most recent quoted bid price on such date reported by such principal exchange or market. Forward currency contracts generally are valued using quotations from an independent pricing service. Investments in money market funds are valued at the fund’s net asset value (“NAV”) per share.
Trading on certain non-US securities exchanges or markets, such as those in Europe and Asia, ordinarily may be completed before the close of business on each business day in New York (i.e., a day on which the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) is open). In addition, securities in non-US countries, may not trade on all business days in New York and on which the NAV of a Portfolio is calculated.
The Board of Trustees (the “Board”) has designated Lazard Asset Management LLC (the “Investment Manager”) to perform fair value determinations pursuant to Rule 2a-5 under the 1940 Act. The Investment Manager has created a Valuation Sub-Committee of the Funds’ Valuation and Liquidity Committee, which may evaluate a variety of factors to determine the fair value of securities for which market quotations are determined not to be readily available or reliable. These factors include, but are not limited to, the type of security, the value of comparable securities, observations from financial institutions and relevant news events. Input from the Investment Manager’s portfolio management team also will be considered. Using a fair value pricing methodology to price securities may result in a value that is different from the most recent closing price of a security and from the prices used by other investment companies to calculate their portfolios’ NAVs.
(b) Portfolio Securities Transactions and Investment Income—Portfolio securities transactions are accounted for on trade date. Realized gain (loss) on sales of investments are recorded on a specific identification basis. Dividend income is recorded on the ex- dividend date except for certain dividends from non-US securities where the dividend rate is not available. In such cases, the dividend is recorded as soon as the information is received by a Portfolio. Interest income, if any, is accrued daily.
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 33
A Portfolio may be subject to taxes imposed by non-US countries in which it invests. Such taxes are generally based upon income earned or capital gains (realized and/or unrealized). An affected Portfolio accrues and applies such taxes to net investment income, net realized gains and net unrealized gains concurrent with the recognition of income earned or capital gains (realized and/or unrealized) from the applicable portfolio securities.
As a result of several court cases in certain countries across the European Union, some Portfolios have filed tax reclaims for previously withheld taxes on dividends earned in certain European Union countries. These filings are subject to various administrative proceedings by the local jurisdictions’ tax authorities within the European Union, as well as a number of related judicial proceedings. Uncertainty exists as to the ultimate resolution of these proceedings, the likelihood of receipt of these claims, and the potential timing of payment, and accordingly no amounts are reflected in the financial statements until a positive decision has been awarded, at which time the amount will be recorded within dividend income on the Statements of Operations. Such amounts, if and when recorded, would increase dividend income, resulting in an increase in a Portfolio’s NAV per share.
(c) Foreign Currency Translation—The accounting records of the Fund are maintained in US dollars. Portfolio securities and other assets and liabilities denominated in a foreign currency are translated daily into US dollars at the prevailing rates of exchange. Purchases and sales of securities, income receipts and expense payments are translated into US dollars at the prevailing exchange rates on the respective transaction dates.
The Portfolios do not isolate the portion of operations resulting from changes in foreign exchange rates on investments from the fluctuations arising from changes in their market prices. Such fluctuations are included in net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments.
(d) Federal Income Taxes—The Fund’s policy is for each Portfolio to qualify as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”),
34 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
and to distribute all of its taxable income, including any net realized capital gains, to shareholders. Therefore, no federal income tax provision is required.
During the year ended December 31, 2024, the International Equity Advantage Portfolio utilized $36,034 realized capital loss carryovers from previous year.
For federal income tax purposes, the aggregate cost, aggregate gross unrealized appreciation, aggregate gross unrealized depreciation and the net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) were as follows:
Portfolio | Aggregate Cost | Aggregate Gross Unrealized Appreciation | Aggregate Gross Unrealized Depreciation | Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) | ||||||||||||
Equity Megatrends | $ | 30,011,675 | $ | 6,392,458 | $ | 112,413 | $ | 6,280,045 | ||||||||
International Dynamic Equity | 34,538,984 | 5,306,958 | 347,733 | 4,959,225 | ||||||||||||
Japanese Equity | 32,210,015 | 5,006,568 | 94,145 | 4,912,423 | ||||||||||||
Next Gen Technologies | 31,649,254 | 11,099,139 | 109,523 | 10,989,616 |
Management has analyzed the Portfolios’ tax positions, and has concluded that no liability for unrecognized tax benefits should be recorded related to uncertain tax positions taken on tax returns filed for any open tax years (or expected to be taken on future tax returns). Open tax years are those that remain subject to examination and are based on each tax jurisdiction’s statute of limitations. Each Portfolio files a US federal income tax return annually after its fiscal year-end, which is subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service for a period of three years from the date of filing.
(e) Dividends and Distributions—For Lazard Equity Megatrends and Lazard Next Gen Technologies, income dividends, if any, are anticipated to be paid quarterly. For all other Portfolios, income dividends are anticipated to be paid semi-annually. Net capital gains, if any, are normally distributed annually but may be distributed more frequently.
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 35
Real estate investment trust (“REIT”) distributions received by a Portfolio are generally comprised of ordinary income, long-term capital gains and a return of REIT capital. However, as the actual character of such distributions received are not known until after the calendar year end, distributions made by a Portfolio during the year are subject to re-characterization that may result in some portion of the distributions being reclassified as a return of capital distribution to Portfolio shareholders.
Income and capital gains distributions are determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations which may differ from GAAP. These book/tax differences, which may result in distribution reclassifications, are primarily due to differing treatments of foreign currency gains and losses, wash sales, merger activity, passive foreign investment companies, expiring capital loss carryovers, forward currency mark to market, net operating loss, certain expenses, foreign capital gains taxes, non-deductible organization expenses, REIT basis adjustments, distribution in excess of current earnings, equalization accounting (as described above), non-REIT non-taxable dividend adjustment to income, distributions redesignations, return of capital distributions, receivable from tax reclaim and distributions from real estate investment trusts and partnerships. The book/tax differences relating to shareholder distributions resulted in reclassifications among certain capital accounts.
(f) Estimates—The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of increases and decreases in net assets resulting from operations during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
(g) Net Asset Value—The NAV per share of each Portfolio is determined each day the NYSE is open for trading as of the close of regular trading on the NYSE (generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time). The Fund will not treat an intraday unscheduled disruption in NYSE trading as a closure of the NYSE, and will price its shares
36 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
as of 4:00 p.m., if the particular disruption directly affects only the NYSE. The NAV per share of a class is determined by dividing the value of the total assets of the Portfolio represented by such class, less all liabilities, by the total number of Portfolio shares of such class outstanding.
(h) In-kind Redemptions—For financial reporting purposes, in-kind redemptions are treated as sales of securities resulting in realized capital gains or losses to the Portfolios. Because such gains or losses are not taxable to the Portfolios and are not distributed to existing Portfolio shareholders, the gains or losses are reclassified from accumulated net realized gain (loss) to paid-in capital at the end of the Portfolios’ tax year. These reclassifications have no effect on net assets or net asset value (“NAV”) per share.
3. Investment Management, Administration, Custody, Distribution and Transfer Agency Agreements
The Fund, on behalf of the Portfolios, has entered into an investment management agreement (the “Management Agreement”) with the Investment Manager. Pursuant to the Management Agreement, Investment Manager will pay all expenses of the Portfolio, except for the fee payment under the investment management agreement, fees and expenses of “Acquired Funds” (as defined in Form N-1A), interest expense, offering costs, trading expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Investment Manager has agreed to pay a portion of the Portfolio’s offering costs during the Portfolio’s first year of operations so that offering costs borne by the Portfolio do not amount to .01% of its average net assets. The Investment Manager manages the investment operations of each Portfolio and the assets of each Portfolio, including the purchase, retention and disposition thereof, in accordance with the Portfolio’s investment objectives, policies, and restrictions, and provides the Portfolios with administrative, operational and compliance assistance services. For its services provided to the Portfolios, the Investment Manager earns a management fee, accrued daily as a percentage of each Portfolio’s average daily net assets and payable by each Portfolio monthly, at the annual rate set forth below:
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 37
Portfolio | Annual Rate | |||
Equity Megatrends | 0.60 | % | ||
International Dynamic Equity (a) | 0.40 | |||
Japanese Equity | 0.60 | |||
Next Gen Technologies | 0.60 |
(a) | On May 9, 2025, Lazard International Equity Advantage Portfolio (the “Target Portfolio”) was converted from a mutual fund into an ETF. Before this conversion, the Target Portfolio had an annual rate of 0.65%. |
With respect to Equity Megatrends and Next Gen Technologies, the Investment Manager has voluntarily agreed to waive a portion of its management fee payable by the Portfolio in the amount of .10% of average daily net assets. This fee waiver arrangement will continue until at least April 7, 2026 and prior to such date the Investment Manager may not terminate the arrangement without the approval of the Board of Trustees.
During the period ended June 30, 2025, the Investment Manager waived its management fees and reimbursed the following Portfolios for other expenses as follows:
Portfolio | Management Fees Waived | Expenses Reimbursed | ||||||
Equity Megatrends | $ | 7,920 | $ | — | ||||
International Dynamic Equity (a) | 34,234 | — | ||||||
Next Gen Technologies | 8,563 | — |
(a) | On May 9, 2025, Lazard International Equity Advantage Portfolio (the “Target Portfolio”) was converted from a mutual fund into an ETF. The waiver amount disclosed is of the Target Portfolio. |
The aforementioned waivers and/or reimbursements are not subject to recoupment by the Investment Manager.
State Street serves as the Fund’s custodian and provides the Fund with certain administrative services.
The Fund has a distribution agreement with Foreside Fund Services, LLC (the “Distributor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Foreside Financial Group, LLC (d/b/a ACA Group), to serve as the distributor for shares of each Portfolio. The Distributor bears, among other expenses, the cost of preparing and distributing materials used by the Distributor in connection with its offering Portfolio shares and other advertising and promotional expenses.
38 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”) acts as the Trust’s transfer agent and dividend disbursing agent.
4. Directors’ Compensation
The Statements of Operations show the fees and expenses paid by each Portfolio to the Independent Trustees of the Fund (an “Independent Trustee” is a Trustee who is not an “interested person” (as defined in the 1940 Act)). Certain Trustees of the Fund are officers of the Investment Manager, and such “interested persons” of the Fund are not compensated by the Portfolios. Trustees do not receive benefits from the Fund pursuant to any pension, retirement or similar arrangement.
5. Securities Transactions and Transactions with Affiliates
Purchases and sales of portfolio securities (excluding in-kind transactions and short-term investments) for the period ended June 30, 2025 were as follows:
Portfolio | Purchases | Sales | ||||||
Equity Megatrends | $ | 29,686,265 | $ | 612,484 | ||||
International Dynamic Equity | 24,019,906 | 20,675,948 | ||||||
Japanese Equity | 30,357,163 | 911,889 | ||||||
Next Gen Technologies | 31,452,040 | 266,226 |
In-kind transactions associated with creation and redemptions for the period ended June 30, 2025, were as follows:
Portfolio | Purchases | Sales | ||||||
International Dynamic Equity | $ | 5,161,280 | $ | 2,414,511 | ||||
Japanese Equity | 2,776,842 | — | ||||||
Next Gen Technologies | 788,375 | 1,077,586 |
For the period ended June 30, 2025, the Portfolios did not engage in any cross-trades in accordance with Rule 17a-7 under the 1940 Act, and no brokerage commissions were paid to affiliates of the Investment Manager or other affiliates of the Fund for portfolio transactions executed on behalf of the Fund.
6. Investment Risks
Not all risks described below apply to all Portfolios, or may not apply to the same degree for one or more Portfolios compared to
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 39
one or more other Portfolios. In addition, not all risks applicable to an investment in a Portfolio are described below. Please see the current summary prospectus for the relevant Portfolio(s) or a current Portfolio prospectus for further information regarding a Portfolio’s investment strategy and related risks.
(a) Market Risk—The Portfolio may incur losses due to declines in one or more markets in which it invests. These declines may be the result of, among other things, political, regulatory, market, economic or social developments affecting the relevant market(s). To the extent that such developments impact specific industries, market sectors, countries or geographic regions, the Portfolio’s investments in such industries, market sectors, countries and/or geographic regions can be expected to be particularly affected, especially if such investments are a significant portion of its investment portfolio. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit and/or fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the Portfolio. Global economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, and conditions and events in one country, region or financial market may adversely impact issuers worldwide. As a result, local, regional or global events such as war or military conflict, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, social unrest, natural disasters, extreme weather, other geological events, man-made disasters, supply chain disruptions, deflation, inflation, government defaults, government shutdowns, the imposition of sanctions or other similar measures, recessions or other events could have a significant negative impact on global economic and market conditions. For example, a public health or other emergency and aggressive responses taken by many governments or voluntarily imposed by private parties, including closing borders, restricting travel and imposing prolonged quarantines or similar restrictions, as well as the closure of, or operational changes to, many retail and other businesses, may have severe negative impacts on markets worldwide. Additionally, general market conditions may affect the value of a Portfolio’s securities, including changes in interest rates, currency rates or monetary policies. Furthermore, the imposition of tariffs, trade restrictions, currency restrictions or similar actions (or
40 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
retaliatory measures taken in response to such actions), or the threat or potential of one or more such events and developments, could lead to price volatility and overall declines in the US and global investment markets.
(b) Non-US Securities Risk—A Portfolio’s performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting the non-US countries and companies in which the Portfolio invests. Non-US securities carry special risks, such as less developed or less efficient trading markets, political instability, a lack of company information, differing auditing and legal standards, and, potentially, less liquidity. Non-US securities may be subject to economic sanctions or other similar governmental actions or developments, which could, among other things, effectively restrict or eliminate the Portfolio’s ability to purchase or sell certain foreign securities. To the extent the Portfolio holds securities subject to such actions, the securities may become difficult to value and/or less liquid (or illiquid). In some cases, the securities may become worthless. In addition, investments denominated in currencies other than US dollars may experience a decline in value, in US dollar terms, due solely to fluctuations in currency exchange rates.
(c) Emerging Market Risk—Emerging market countries generally have economic structures that are less diverse and mature, and political systems that are less stable, than those of developed countries. The economies of countries with emerging markets may be based predominantly on only a few industries, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme debt burdens or volatile inflation rates. Further, investments in securities of issuers located in certain emerging countries involve the risk of loss resulting from problems in share registration, settlement or custody, substantial economic, political and social disruptions and the imposition of sanctions or exchange controls (including repatriation restrictions). The securities markets of emerging market countries have historically been extremely volatile and less liquid than more developed markets. These market conditions may continue or worsen. Investments in these countries may be subject to political, economic, legal, market and currency risks. Significant devaluation
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 41
of emerging market currencies against the US dollar may occur subsequent to acquisition of investments denominated in emerging market currencies.
(d) Foreign Currency Risk—Investments denominated in currencies other than US dollars may experience a decline in value, in US dollar terms, due solely to fluctuations in currency exchange rates. A Portfolio’s investments denominated in such currencies (particularly currencies of emerging markets countries), as well as any investments in currencies themselves, could be adversely affected by delays in, or a refusal to grant, repatriation of funds or conversion of currencies. Irrespective of any foreign currency exposure hedging, a Portfolio may experience a decline in the value of its portfolio securities, in US dollar terms, due solely to fluctuations in currency exchange rates. The Investment Manager does not intend to actively hedge a Portfolio’s foreign currency exposure.
(e) Country Risk—Implementation of the Portfolio’s investment strategy may, during certain periods, result in the investment of a significant portion of the Portfolio’s assets in a particular country, such as Japan, and the Portfolio would be expected to be affected by political, regulatory, market, economic and social developments affecting that country.
Over the last few decades, Japan’s economic growth rate had remained relatively low compared to that of its Asian neighbors and other major developed economies mainly due to deflation. The economy is characterized by an aging demographic, a declining population, a large government debt and a highly regulated labor market. Monetary and fiscal policies designed to stimulate economic growth in Japan have had limited success in the past prior to the current government. Overseas trade is important to Japan’s economy, although exports as a percentage of global domestic product is lower than other Asian countries and most developed countries. Japan has few natural resources and limited land area and is reliant on imports for its commodity needs. Fluctuations or shortages in relevant commodity markets could have a negative impact on Japan’s economy. The Japanese economy also faces several concerns, including a financial system
42 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
with large levels of nonperforming loans, over-leveraged corporate balance sheets, extensive cross-ownership by major corporations, a changing corporate governance structure, and large government deficits. These issues may cause a slowdown of the Japanese economy. The Japanese economy also can be adversely affected by trade tariffs, other protectionist measures, competition from emerging economies, and the economic conditions of its trading partners.
Japan has a growing economic relationship with China and other Southeast Asian countries, and economic, political or social instability in those countries, whether resulting from country, regional or global events, could have an adverse effect on Japan’s economy. Japan’s relations with its neighbors, particularly China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, have at times been strained due to territorial disputes, historical animosities and defense concerns. Most recently, the Japanese government has shown concern over the increased nuclear and military activity by North Korea and China. Strained relations may cause uncertainty in the Japanese markets and adversely affect the overall Japanese economy, particularly in times of crisis. In addition, China has become an important trading partner with Japan. Japan’s political relationship with China, however, is strained and delicate. Should political tension increase, it could adversely affect the Japanese economy and destabilize the region as a whole.
The Japanese yen has fluctuated widely at times, and any increase in the yen’s value may cause a decline in Japan’s exports. The Japanese government has, in the past, intervened in the currency markets to attempt to maintain or reduce the value of the yen, and such intervention could cause the value of the yen to fluctuate sharply and unpredictably and could cause losses to investors.
Natural disasters, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, typhoons and tsunamis, could occur in Japan or surrounding areas and could negatively affect the Japanese economy, and, in turn, could negatively affect the value of the Portfolio. The specific risks of investing in Japan, certain of which are summarized in this section, could, individually or in the aggregate, adversely impact investments in Japan.
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 43
(f) Sector Concentration Risk—The Portfolio will be concentrated (i.e., more than 25% of the value of the Portfolio’s assets) in securities of issuers having their principal business activities in the group of industries that comprise the industrials and information technology sectors, and the Portfolio would be expected to be affected by developments in that sector.
Information technology companies generally operate in intensely competitive markets on a worldwide basis. This level of competition can put pressure on the prices of their products and services which could adversely affect their profitability. Also, because technological development in many areas increases at a rapid rate, these companies often produce products with very short life cycles and face the risk of product obsolescence. Other risks include changes in consumer preferences, competition for qualified personnel, the effects of economic slowdowns, dependence on intellectual property rights and the impact of government regulation.
Companies in the industrials sector can be significantly affected by, among other things: supply and demand for products and services, product obsolescence, government regulation, changes in commodity prices, claims for environmental damage and product liability and imposition of import controls.
(g) Other Equity Securities Risk—Investments in rights and warrants involve certain risks, including the possible lack of a liquid market for resale, price fluctuations and the failure of the price of the underlying security to reach a level at which the right or warrant can be prudently exercised, in which case the right or warrant may expire without being exercised and result in a loss of the Portfolio’s entire investment.
(h) Depositary Receipts Risk—ADRs and similar depositary receipts typically will be subject to certain of the risks associated with direct investments in the securities of non-US companies, because their values depend on the performance of the underlying non-US securities. However, currency fluctuations will impact investments in depositary receipts differently than direct investments in non-US dollar-denominated non-US securities,
44 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
because a depositary receipt will not appreciate in value solely as a result of appreciation in the currency in which the underlying non-US dollar security is denominated.
(i) REIT Risk—A Portfolio’s investments in Real Estate Investments (as defined in the prospectus), could lose money due to the performance of real estate-related securities even if securities markets generally are experiencing positive results. The performance of Real Estate Investments may be determined to a great extent by the current status of the real estate industry in general, or by other factors that may affect the real estate industry, even if other industries would not be so affected. Consequently, Real Estate Investments could lead to investment results that may be significantly different from investments in other real assets categories or investments in the broader securities markets. The risks related to investments in Real Estate Investments include, but are not limited to: adverse changes in general economic and local market conditions; adverse developments in employment; changes in supply or demand for similar or competing properties; unfavorable changes in applicable taxes, governmental regulations and interest rates; operating or development expenses; and lack of available financing.
Due to certain special considerations that apply to REITs, investments in REITs may carry additional risks not necessarily present in investments in other securities. REIT securities (including those trading on national exchanges) typically have trading volumes that are less than those of securities of other types of companies, which may affect a Portfolio’s ability to trade or liquidate those securities. An investment in a REIT may be adversely affected if the REIT fails to comply with applicable laws and regulations, including failing to qualify as a REIT under the Code. Failure to qualify with any of these requirements could jeopardize a company’s status as a REIT. A Portfolio generally will have no control over the operations and policies of a REIT, including qualification as a REIT.
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 45
(j) Non-Diversification Risk—The Portfolio’s net asset value may be more vulnerable to changes in the market value of a single issuer or group of issuers and may be relatively more susceptible to adverse effects from any single corporate, industry, economic, market, political or regulatory occurrence than if the Portfolio’s investments consisted of securities issued by a larger number of issuers.
(k) Quantitative Model Risk—The success of certain Portfolio’s investment strategy depends largely upon the effectiveness of the Investment Manager’s quantitative model. A quantitative model, such as the risk and other models used by the Investment Manager for certain Portfolios requires adherence to a systematic, disciplined process. The Investment Manager’s ability to monitor and, if necessary, adjust its quantitative model could be adversely affected by various factors, including incorrect or outdated market and other data inputs. Factors that affect a security’s value can change over time, and these changes may not be reflected in the quantitative model. In addition, factors used in quantitative analysis and the weight placed on those factors may not be predictive of a security’s value.
(l) Cybersecurity Risk—The Portfolios and its service providers are susceptible to operational and information security and related risks of cybersecurity incidents. Cybersecurity attacks include, but are not limited to, gaining unauthorized access to digital systems (e.g., through “hacking” or malicious software coding) for purposes of misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting data or causing operational disruption. Cybersecurity incidents affecting the Investment Manager, transfer agent or custodian or other service providers such as financial intermediaries have the ability to cause disruptions and impact business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses, including by impediments to the Portfolio’s investment trading; the inability of Portfolio shareholders to purchase and redeem Portfolio shares; interference with the Portfolio’s ability to calculate its NAV; violations of applicable privacy, data security or other laws; regulatory fines and penalties; reputational damage; reimbursement or other compensation or remediation costs; legal fees; or additional compliance costs. Similar adverse consequences could result from
46 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
cybersecurity incidents affecting issuers of securities in which the Portfolio invests; counterparties with which the Portfolio engages in transactions; governmental and other regulatory authorities, exchange and other financial market operators; and banks, brokers, dealers, insurance companies and other financial institutions and other parties. There are inherent limitations in any cybersecurity risk management systems or business continuity plans, including the possibility that certain risks have not been identified.
7. Contractual Obligations
The Fund enters into contracts in the normal course of business that contain a variety of indemnification provisions. A Portfolio’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown. Management has reviewed the Trust’s existing contracts and expects the risk of loss to be remote.
8. Fair Value Measurements
Fair value is defined as the price that a Portfolio would receive to sell an asset, or would pay to transfer a liability, in an orderly transaction between market participants at the date of measurement. The Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures provisions of GAAP also establish a framework for measuring fair value, and a three-level hierarchy for fair value measurement that is based upon the transparency of inputs to the valuation of an asset or liability. Inputs may be observable or unobservable and refer, broadly, to the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. Observable inputs reflect the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on market data obtained from sources independent of the Fund. Unobservable inputs reflect the Fund’s own assumptions about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, developed based on the best information available in the circumstances. The fair value measurement level within the fair value hierarchy for the assets and liabilities of the Fund is based on the lowest level of any input that is significant to the overall fair value measurement. The three-level hierarchy of inputs is summarized below:
● | Level 1 – unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities |
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 47
● | Level 2 – other significant observable inputs (including unadjusted quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.) |
● | Level 3 – significant unobservable inputs (including the Trust’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of assets and liabilities) |
Changes in valuation methodology or inputs may result in transfers into or out of the current assigned level within the hierarchy. The inputs or methodology used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risks associated with investing in these securities.
The following table summarizes the valuation of the Portfolios’ assets and liabilities by each fair value hierarchy level as of June 30, 2025:
Description | Unadjusted Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets and Liabilities (Level 1) | Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) |
Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) |
Balance
as of June 30, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||
Equity Megatrends ETF | ||||||||||||||||||||
Common Stocks * | $ | 35,425,489 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 35,425,489 | ||||||||||||
Short-Term Investments | 866,231 | — | — | 866,231 | ||||||||||||||||
Total | $ | 36,291,720 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 36,291,720 | ||||||||||||
International Dynamic Equity ETF | ||||||||||||||||||||
Common Stocks* | ||||||||||||||||||||
Argentina | $ | 42,599 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 42,599 | ||||||||||||
Australia | 1,494,320 | — | — | 1,494,320 | ||||||||||||||||
Belgium | 145,403 | — | — | 145,403 | ||||||||||||||||
Brazil | 307,656 | — | — | 307,656 | ||||||||||||||||
Burkina Faso | 54,873 | — | — | 54,873 | ||||||||||||||||
Canada | 2,829,006 | — | — | 2,829,006 | ||||||||||||||||
China | 3,626,738 | — | — | 3,626,738 | ||||||||||||||||
Denmark | 242,355 | — | — | 242,355 | ||||||||||||||||
France | 2,444,058 | — | — | 2,444,058 | ||||||||||||||||
Germany | 1,560,137 | — | — | 1,560,137 | ||||||||||||||||
Greece | 338,159 | — | — | 338,159 | ||||||||||||||||
Hong Kong | 692,470 | — | — | 692,470 | ||||||||||||||||
Hungary | 83,169 | — | — | 83,169 |
48 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
Description | Unadjusted Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets and Liabilities (Level 1) |
Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) |
Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) |
Balance as of June 30, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||
India | $ | 1,409,340 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 1,409,340 | ||||||||||||
Indonesia | 149,569 | — | — | 149,569 | ||||||||||||||||
Ireland | 88,463 | — | — | 88,463 | ||||||||||||||||
Israel | 279,252 | — | — | 279,252 | ||||||||||||||||
Italy | 1,416,987 | — | — | 1,416,987 | ||||||||||||||||
Japan | 5,336,083 | — | — | 5,336,083 | ||||||||||||||||
Malaysia | 50,546 | — | — | 50,546 | ||||||||||||||||
Mexico | 43,335 | — | — | 43,335 | ||||||||||||||||
Netherlands | 1,489,910 | — | — | 1,489,910 | ||||||||||||||||
New Zealand | 82,954 | — | — | 82,954 | ||||||||||||||||
Norway | 291,408 | — | — | 291,408 | ||||||||||||||||
Philippines | 226,284 | — | — | 226,284 | ||||||||||||||||
Poland | 306,922 | — | — | 306,922 | ||||||||||||||||
Saudi Arabia | 202,813 | — | — | 202,813 | ||||||||||||||||
Singapore | 494,569 | — | — | 494,569 | ||||||||||||||||
South Africa | 361,126 | — | — | 361,126 | ||||||||||||||||
South Korea | 1,716,516 | — | — | 1,716,516 | ||||||||||||||||
Spain | 758,218 | — | — | 758,218 | ||||||||||||||||
Sweden | 588,572 | — | — | 588,572 | ||||||||||||||||
Switzerland | 535,639 | — | — | 535,639 | ||||||||||||||||
Taiwan | 2,271,147 | — | — | 2,271,147 | ||||||||||||||||
Thailand | 37,781 | 118,380 | — | 156,161 | ||||||||||||||||
Turkey | 122,401 | — | — | 122,401 | ||||||||||||||||
United Arab Emirates | 303,515 | — | — | 303,515 | ||||||||||||||||
United Kingdom | 3,729,745 | — | — | 3,729,745 | ||||||||||||||||
United States | 2,908,335 | — | — | 2,908,335 | ||||||||||||||||
Preferred Stocks* | 317,456 | — | — | 317,456 | ||||||||||||||||
Warrants* | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
Total | $ | 39,379,829 | $ | 118,380 | $ | 0 | $ | 39,498,209 | ||||||||||||
Japanese Equity ETF | ||||||||||||||||||||
Common Stocks* | $ | 37,122,438 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 37,122,438 | ||||||||||||
Total | $ | 37,122,438 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 37,122,438 | ||||||||||||
Next Gen Technologies ETF | ||||||||||||||||||||
Common Stocks* | $ | 42,047,333 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 42,047,333 | ||||||||||||
Short-Term Investments | 591,537 | — | — | 591,537 | ||||||||||||||||
Total | $ | 42,638,870 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 42,638,870 |
* | Please refer to Portfolios of Investments for portfolio holdings by country. |
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 49
Certain equity securities to which footnote (‡) in the Notes to Portfolios of Investments applies are included in Level 2 and were valued based on reference to similar securities that were trading on active markets.
An investment may be classified as a Level 3 investment if events (e.g., company announcements, market volatility, or natural disasters) occur that are expected to materially affect the value of this investment or if a price is not available through a pricing source in the Trust’s pricing matrix. In this case, the investment will be valued by the Valuation Sub-Committee of the Trust’s Valuation and Liquidity Committee, reflecting its fair market value (“Fair Valued Investments”). The fair valuation approaches that may be used by the Valuation Sub-Committee include, but are not limited to, valuation techniques such as using theoretical ex-rights price models, applying a change in price from a market proxy to a halted security, or determining the intrinsic value of securities.
When determining the price for Fair Valued Investments, the Valuation Sub-Committee seeks to determine the price that each affected Portfolio might reasonably expect to receive or pay from the current sale or purchase of the Fair Valued Investment in an arm’s-length transaction. Any fair value determinations shall be based upon all available information and factors that the Valuation Sub-Committee deems relevant and consistent with the principles of fair value measurements.
9. | Capital Share Transactions |
Portfolios issue and redeem shares at NAV only with certain authorized participants in large increments known as Creation Units. Purchases of Creation Units are made by tendering a basket of designated securities and/or cash to a portfolio and redemption proceeds are paid with a basket of securities from a portfolio’s with a balancing cash component to equate the market value of the basket of securities delivered or redeemed to the NAV per Creation Unit on the transaction date. Cash may be substituted equivalent to the value of certain securities generally when they are not available in sufficient quantity for delivery. A portfolio’s shares are available in smaller increments to investors in the secondary market at market prices and may be subject to commissions. Authorized participants pay a
50 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
transaction fee to the shareholder servicing agent when purchasing and redeeming Creation Units of a fund. The transaction fee is used to offset the costs associated with the issuance and redemption of Creation Units.
10. | Reorganization |
At a meeting held on January 9, 2025 the Board approved the reorganization of Lazard International Equity Advantage Portfolio (the “Target Portfolio”), a series of The Lazard Funds, Inc., into Lazard International Dynamic Equity ETF (the “Acquiring Portfolio”) a newly organized series of the Trust (the “Reorganization”). The Reorganization was completed on May 9, 2025. The Reorganization was accomplished by a tax-free exchange of shares (with the exception of cash paid to the shareholders of the Target Fund in lieu of fractional shares of the Acquiring Fund) of the Acquiring Fund for Institutional Shares of the Target Fund of equivalent aggregate net asset value. The Open Shares of the Target Fund were converted into the Institutional Shares prior to the Reorganization date. Pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Reorganization, the Target Fund was converted to an ETF on the Reorganization Date. The Acquiring Fund had no investment operations or performance history prior to the Reorganization Date. The Acquiring Fund is the surviving legal entity, but has adopted the performance and financial history of the Target Fund, which is included in these financial statements. For financial reporting purposes, assets received and shares issued by the Acquiring Portfolio were recorded at fair value; however, the cost basis of the investments received from the Target Portfolio were carried forward to align ongoing reporting of the Acquiring Portfolio’s realized and unrealized gains and losses with amounts distributable to shareholders for tax purposes.
The table below shows a summary of Investments, unrealized appreciation/(depreciation), net assets, shares exchanged and shares exchanged Ratio before and after the Reorganization.
Target Portfolio | Investments | Unrealized appreciation (depreciation) |
Net assets | Shares exchanged |
Shares exchanged ratio | |||||
Lazard International Equity Advantage Portfolio | $30,742,622 | $3,383,314 | $31,068,910 | $2,367,951 | 0.524824 |
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 51
Acquiring Portfolio | Net assets | Total net assets after the acquisition | ||||
Lazard International Dynamic Equity ETF | $25 | $31,068,935 |
Assuming the acquisition of Lazard International Equity Advantage Portfolio had been completed on January 1, 2025, the beginning of the reporting period, Lazard International Dynamic Equity ETF’s pro forma results of operations for the period ended June 30, 2025 were as follows:
Acquiring Portfolio | Net investment income (loss) | Total net realized gain (loss) | Total change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) | Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations | ||||||||
Lazard International Dynamic Equity ETF | $850,588 | $2,520,965 | $3,848,638 | $7,220,191 |
Because the combined investment portfolios have been managed as a single integrated portfolio since the Reorganization was completed, it is not practicable to separate the amounts of revenue and earnings of International Equity Advantage Portfolio that have been included in International Dynamic Equity ETF’s Statement of Operations since May 9, 2025.
For financial reporting purposes, assets received and shares issued by International Dynamic Equity ETF were recorded at fair value; however, the cost basis of the investments received from International Equity Advantage Portfolio in the amount of $27,359,308, was carried forward to align ongoing reporting of International Dynamic Equity ETF’s realized and unrealized gains and losses with amounts distributable to shareholders for tax purposes.
11. | Segment Reporting |
During the period ended June 30, 2025, the Fund adopted FASB Accounting Standards Update 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280) – Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures (“ASU 2023-07”), which enhances segment information disclosure in the notes to the financial statements. An operating segment, as defined in ASU 2023-07, is a component of a public entity that
52 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
engages in business activities from which it may recognize revenues and incur expenses. The Chief Operating Officer of the Investment Manager acts as the chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) for the Fund, which includes multiple portfolios with distinct investment objectives and investment strategies outlined in the Fund’s prospectus. Each Portfolio operates as a single operating segment, the operating results are regularly reviewed by the CODM for resource allocation and performance assessment. The financial information provided to and reviewed by the CODM is presented within each segment’s financial statements.
12. | New Accounting Pronouncements |
In December 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued ASU 2023-09 (the “ASU”), amending ASC 740-10-50-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740) – Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures to enhance transparency and consistency in income tax disclosures. The update requires more detailed disaggregation of tax rate reconciliation by jurisdiction. The ASU will be effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2024. Management is currently assessing the impact of the ASU on the financial statements and disclosures.
13. | Subsequent Events |
Management has evaluated subsequent events potentially affecting the Portfolios through the issuance of the financial statements and has determined that there were no subsequent events that required adjustment or disclosure.
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 53
Lazard Active ETF Trust Other Information (N-CSR Item 7) (unaudited)
Proxy Voting
A description of the policies and procedures used to determine how proxies relating to Fund portfolio securities are voted is available (1) without charge, upon request, by calling (800) 823-6300 or (2) on the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) website at https://www.sec.gov.
The Fund’s proxy voting record for the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available (1) without charge, upon request, by calling (800) 823-6300 or (2) on the SEC’s website at https://www.sec.gov. Information as of June 30 each year will generally be available by the following August 31.
Schedule of Portfolio Holdings
The Fund files the complete schedule of each Portfolio’s holdings with the SEC for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year as an exhibit to its reports on Form N-PORT. The Fund’s Form N-PORT reports are available on the SEC’s website at https://www.sec.gov.
54 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
Lazard Active ETF Trust Additional Information (unaudited)
Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants (N-CSR Item 8)
This information is not applicable for the reporting period.
Proxy Disclosures (N-CSR Item 9)
This information is not applicable for the reporting period.
Remuneration Paid to Directors, Officers, and Others (N-CSR Item 10)
This information can be found in N-CSR Item 7, Note 4.
Statement Regarding Basis for Approval of Investment Advisory Contract (N-CSR Item 11)
At meetings of the Board held on January 9, 2025 (the “January Meeting”) and February 25, 2025 (the “February Meeting”), the Board considered the approval of the Management Agreement between Lazard Active ETF Trust (“LAE”), on behalf of Lazard Equity Megatrends ETF (“THMZ”), Lazard International Dynamic Equity ETF (“IEQ”), Lazard Japanese Equity ETF (“JPY”) and Lazard Next Gen Technologies ETF (“TEKY”) (each, a “Portfolio” and together, the “Portfolios”), and the Investment Manager, with the Board considering the approval of the Management Agreement with respect to IEQ at the January Meeting only. The Independent Trustees were assisted in their review by independent legal counsel, who advised the Board on relevant legal standards and met with the Independent Trustees in executive sessions separate from representatives of the Investment Manager.
Representatives of the Investment Manager discussed with the Board the Investment Manager’s written materials provided in advance of the meetings relating to the organization of the Portfolios. Certain information was provided by reference to information presented by the Investment Manager in connection with (i) organizational Board meetings for LAE held on November 7, 2024 and December 3, 2024 (the “December Meeting”) and (ii) the Board’s consideration of renewal of the Management Agreement between The Lazard Funds, Inc., Lazard Retirement Series, Inc. and Lazard Global Total Return and Income Fund, Inc. on behalf of their existing Portfolios, and the Investment Manager at Board meetings held on June 5, 2024 and June 26, 2024.
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 55
Services Provided
The Investment Manager’s materials addressed, among other matters, the nature, extent and quality of services that the Investment Manager would provide to each Portfolio, including a discussion of the Investment Manager and its clients (of which the existing Lazard Funds complex of 29 active funds comprised approximately $18 billion of the approximately $226 billion of total assets under the management of the Investment Manager and its global affiliates as of December 31, 2024). The Board also received presentations at the December Meeting on the investment strategy to be employed for each Portfolio.
The Board considered the various services to be provided by the Investment Manager, including the Investment Manager’s research, portfolio management and trading capabilities and oversight of day-to-day operations, including supervision of fund accounting and administration-related services and assistance in meeting legal and regulatory requirements, as well as regular reporting to, and support of, the Board. The Investment Manager’s representatives stated that the Investment Manager believes that each Portfolio and its respective shareholders would be able to obtain significant benefits as a result of the resources and support of the Investment Manager’s global research, portfolio management, trading, operations, risk management, technology and legal and compliance infrastructure. The Board also considered information provided by the Investment Manager regarding its resources relevant to providing services pursuant to the Management Agreement; the qualifications, experience and other information regarding senior management and key professional personnel responsible for providing services to the Portfolios; trends in recent years in the number of personnel involved in providing services to the funds in the Lazard Funds complex and the adequacy of the Investment Manager’s staffing to provide services pursuant to the Management Agreement; the distribution channels and the relationships with various intermediaries; marketing and shareholder servicing activities on behalf of funds in the Lazard Funds complex, which would include the Portfolios; and the Investment Manager’s financial condition.
56 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
The Board accepted the assertion of representatives of the Investment Manager that each Portfolio would be expected to benefit from the services and infrastructure provided by the Investment Manager and that such services and infrastructure would be greater than those typically provided to a $18 billion fund complex not managed by a large, global firm such as the Investment Manager.
Comparative Fee and Expense Ratio Information
ISS Advisory Fee and Expense Ratio Comparisons. The Board reviewed, for each Portfolio, information prepared by Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc. (“ISS”), an independent provider of investment company data, including, among other information, each Portfolio’s proposed contractual advisory fee (i.e., without giving effect to any fee waivers), compared to those of groups of funds not advised by the Investment Manager selected by ISS as comparable, for expense comparison purposes, with respect to each Portfolio in terms of relevant criteria as appropriate, with certain exclusions as specified by ISS (the “Expense Peer Groups”1). The Board considered the terms of, and scope of services that the Investment Manager would provide under, the Management Agreements, including, where applicable, (i) the Investment Manager’s agreement to pay all of the direct expenses of each Portfolio (except for the fee payment under the Management Agreement, acquired fund fees and expenses, interest expense, offering costs, trading expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses); (ii) the Investment Manager’s agreement to pay a portion of each Portfolio’s offering costs during the Portfolio’s first year of operations to prevent offering costs borne by each Portfolio from exceeding agreed upon limits; and (iii) with respect to THMZ and TEKY, the Investment Manager’s commitment to waive a portion of its management fee payable for at least the first year of each Portfolio’s operations.
1 | The ISS materials outlined the process for constructing the Expense Peer Groups. Representatives of the Investment Manager and independent legal counsel had previously discussed with the Board in further detail the methodology used by ISS in constructing the Expense Peer Groups, including how the methodology could affect the results of the comparisons. |
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 57
The results of the ISS comparisons showed that the advisory fee (after giving effect to any applicable fee waivers) and net expense ratio of each Portfolio were generally competitive within each Portfolio’s respective Expense Peer Group.
Other Accounts Advisory Fee Comparison. The Board also considered the actual advisory fees paid to the Investment Manager by other accounts of the Investment Manager that are comparable to each Portfolio in terms of investment objectives, strategies and policies, if any (including other investment companies and other pooled investment vehicles, “Other Accounts”). Representatives of the Investment Manager discussed the nature of the Other Accounts and the significant differences in services provided by the Investment Manager to the different types of Other Accounts as compared to the services provided to the Portfolios, as applicable. The Board considered the relevance of the fee information provided for Other Accounts, in light of the Investment Manager’s discussion of the significant differences in services provided, to evaluate the advisory fees of the relevant Portfolios. The Investment Manager reported to the Board that it did not manage any other funds or accounts that utilize the same investment strategy as TEKY. Consequently, there was no advisory fee or performance information of such funds or accounts for the Board to consider.
Investment Manager Profitability and Economies of Scale
Representatives
of the Investment Manager noted that because each Portfolio is newly formed, has not commenced operations and the eventual aggregate
amount of each Portfolio’s assets was uncertain, specific information concerning the cost of services to be provided to
each Portfolio and the estimated profitability percentage of the Management Agreement with LAE, on behalf of each Portfolio, to
the Investment Manager and its affiliates from their relationships with each Portfolio and economies of scale would be subject
to a number of assumptions and would be speculative and not meaningful. The Investment Manager representatives stated that they
did not expect the Investment Manager to realize any current profits on each Portfolio initially, noting the Investment Manager’s
agreement to pay a portion of
58 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
each Portfolio’s offering costs during each Portfolio’s first year of operations and to waive fees, with respect to THMZ and TEKY for at least their first year of operations. In connection with the fee waiver with respect to THMZ and TEKY, the Board determined to revisit this waiver prior to their expiration. Representatives of the Investment Manager reviewed with the Board information provided on the Investment Manager’s brokerage and soft dollar practices. The Investment Manager’s representatives stated that neither the Investment Manager nor its affiliates were expected to receive any significant ancillary benefits from the Investment Manager acting as investment manager to the Portfolios other than the benefit of soft dollar commissions in connection with managing the Portfolios. The representatives of the Investment Manager stated that the Investment Manager intends to pay for each Portfolio’s distribution expenses out of its resources under the unitary fee structure.
Conclusions and Determinations
At the conclusion of the discussions at the January Meeting, with respect to IEQ, and at the February meeting with respect to THMZ, JPY and TEKY, the Board members expressed the opinion that they had been furnished with such information as may reasonably be necessary to make an informed business decision with respect to the evaluation of the Management Agreement with LAE, on behalf of the Portfolios. Based on its discussions and considerations as described above, with the assistance of independent legal counsel and in the exercise of its business judgment, the Board made the following conclusions and determinations.
● | The Board concluded that the nature, extent and quality of the services to be provided by the Investment Manager are adequate and appropriate, noting the benefits of the significant services and infrastructure associated with an approximately $226 billion global asset management business. |
● | The Board concluded that each Portfolio’s fee to be paid to the Investment Manager was appropriate under the circumstances and in light of the factors and the totality of the services to be provided as discussed above. |
Semi-Annual Financial Statements 59
● | The Board recognized that potential economies of scale may be realized, particularly as the assets of each Portfolio increase, and determined that it would continue to consider the potential for material economies of scale and how they could be shared with investors. |
In evaluating the Management Agreement with LAE, on behalf of the Portfolios, the Board relied on the information described above as well as other information provided by the Investment Manager. The Board members also relied on their previous knowledge, gained through meetings and other interactions with the Investment Manager, of the Investment Manager and the services provided by the Investment Manager to funds overseen by the Board in the Lazard Funds complex. The Board considered these conclusions and determinations in their totality as well as other relevant factors and determined to approve the Management Agreement with LAE, on behalf of the Portfolios. In deciding whether to vote to approve the Management Agreement with LAE, on behalf of the Portfolios, each Trustee may have accorded different weights to different factors so that each Trustee may have had a different basis for his or her decision.
60 Semi-Annual Financial Statements
Lazard Active ETF Trust
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, New York 10112-6300
Telephone: 800-823-6300
www.lazardassetmanagement.com
Investment Manager
Lazard Asset Management LLC
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, New York 10112-6300
Telephone: 800-823-6300
Distributor
Foreside Fund Services, LLC
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100
Portland, Maine 04101
Custodian, Transfer Agent and Dividend Disbursing Agent
State Street Bank and Trust Company
One Iron Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02210-1641
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Deloitte & Touche LLP
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, New York 10112-0015
Legal Counsel
Dechert LLP
1095 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10036-6797
ITEM 8. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS FOR OPEN-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.
Not applicable.
ITEM 9. PROXY DISCLOSURES FOR OPEN-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.
Not applicable.
ITEM 10. REMUNERATION PAID TO DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, AND OTHERS OF OPEN-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.
The Registrant’s remuneration paid to directors, officers and others is included as part of the Financial Statements and Financial Highlights filed under Item 7 of this Form.
ITEM 11. STATEMENT REGARDING BASIS FOR APPROVAL OF INVESTMENT ADVISORY CONTRACT.
The Registrant’s Statement Regarding Basis for Approval of Investment Advisory Contract is included as part of the Financial Statements and Financial Highlights filed under Item 7 of this Form.
ITEM 12. DISCLOSURE OF PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR CLOSED END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.
Not applicable.
ITEM 13. PORTFOLIO MANAGERS OF CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.
Not applicable.
ITEM 14. PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS.
Not applicable.
ITEM 15. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS.
There were no material changes to the procedures by which shareholders may recommend nominees to the Registrant’s Board of Directors during the period covered by this report.
ITEM 16. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.
(a) The Registrant’s principal executive and principal financial officers have concluded, based on their evaluation of the Registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of this report, that the Registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures are reasonably designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Registrant on Form N-CSR is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the required time periods and that information required to be disclosed by the Registrant in the reports that it files or submits on Form N-CSR is accumulated and communicated to the Registrant’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
(b) There were no changes to the Registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by this report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.
ITEM 17. DISCLOSURE OF SECURITIES LENDING ACTIVITIES FOR CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.
Not applicable.
ITEM 18. RECOVERY OF ERRONEOUSLY AWARDED COMPENSATION.
Not applicable.
ITEM 19. EXHIBITS.
(a)(1) The Code of Ethics is not applicable to this semi-annual report.
(a)(2) Not applicable.
(a)(4) Not applicable.
(a)(5) Not applicable.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Lazard Active ETF Trust
By /s/ Nathan A. Paul
Nathan A. Paul
Chief Executive Officer
Date: September 4, 2025
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
By /s/ Nathan A. Paul
Nathan A. Paul
Chief Executive Officer
Date: September 4, 2025
By /s/ Christina Kennedy
Christina Kennedy
Chief Financial Officer
Date: September 4, 2025