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1. |
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OVERVIEW | 3 |
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1.1 |
Code of Ethics | 3 |
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1.2 |
Standards of Business Conduct | 3 |
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1.3 |
Applicability of this Code of Ethics | 3 |
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1.4 |
Employee Duties | 4 |
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1.5 |
Employees’ Obligation to Report Violations | 5 |
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1.6 |
Vident’s Duties and Responsibilities to Employees and Reporting Persons | 5 |
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1.7 |
Fund Board Reporting | 6 |
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1.8 |
Recordkeeping | 6 |
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2. |
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REPORTABLE PERSONAL SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS | 6 |
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2.1 |
Applicability of this Section to Reporting Persons | 6 |
| 2.2 |
Resolving Conflicts of Interest | 6 |
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2.3 |
Reportable Securities Accounts and Transactions | 7 |
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2.4 |
New Accounts | 8 |
| 2.5 |
Trading Restrictions and Prohibitions | 9 |
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| 2.6 |
How to Pre-Clear Reportable Securities, Private Placements, and Cryptocurrency Transactions | 11 |
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| 2.7 |
Summary of What Employees and their Immediate Family Need to Report Quarterly and Pre-Clear | 12 |
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| 2.8 |
Ban on Short-Term Trading | 13 |
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| 2.9 |
Reporting Person Compensation-Related Accounts | 14 |
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| 3. |
CODE VIOLATIONS | 15 |
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| 3.1 |
Investigating Code Violations | 15 |
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| 3.2 |
Penalties |
15 |
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| 3.3 |
Dismissal and/or Referral to Authorities | 17 |
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| 3.4 |
Exceptions to the Code | 17 |
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| 4. |
INSIDER TRADING |
17 |
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| 4.1 |
Background | 17 |
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| 4.2 |
Policies and Procedures | 19 |
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| APPENDIX – DEFINITIONS | 22 |
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1.
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OVERVIEW
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1.1
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Code of Ethics
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1.2
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Standards of Business Conduct
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Use any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud a client;
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Make any untrue statement of a material fact to a client or mislead a client by omitting to state a material fact;
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Engage in any act, practice or course of business that would defraud or deceive a client;
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Engage in any manipulative practice with respect to a client;
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Engage in any inappropriate trading practices, including price manipulation; or
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Engage in any transaction or series of transactions that may give the appearance of impropriety.
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1.3
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Applicability of this Code of Ethics
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1.4
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Employee Duties
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Be ethical;
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Act professionally;
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Exercise independent judgment;
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Comply with applicable Federal Securities Laws;
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Avoid, mitigate, or appropriately resolve conflicts of interest, and situations which create the perception of a conflict of intertest. A conflict of
interest exists when financial or other incentives motivate an Employee to place their or Vident’s interest ahead of a Vident Client Account. For more information on conflicts of interest, see Section 2.2, Resolving Conflicts of Interest,
and other applicable conflicts of interest policies;
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Promptly report violations or suspected violations of the Code and/or any Vident compliance policy to the Code Team; and
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Cooperate fully, honestly, and in a timely manner with any Code Team investigation or inquiry.
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1.5
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Employees’ Obligation to Report Violations
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Fraud or illegal acts involving any aspect of our business;
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Concerns about accounting, auditing, or internal accounting control matters;
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Material omissions or misstatements in regulatory filings; and
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Any activity that is prohibited by the Code.
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1.6
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Vident’s Duties and Responsibilities to Employees and Reporting Persons
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Identify and maintain current listings of Employees and Reporting Persons;
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Notify Reporting Persons in writing of their status as such and the Code requirements;
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Make a copy of the Code available and require initial, upon material amendment, and annual certifications that Employees have read, understand, and
will comply with the Code;
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Make available a revised copy of the Code if there are any material amendments to it and require Employees to certify
electronically (or in writing) receipt, understanding, and compliance with the revised Code;
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From time to time, provide training sessions to facilitate compliance with and understanding of the Code and keep records of such sessions and the
Employees in attendance; and
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Review the Code at least once a year to assess its adequacy and effectiveness.
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1.7
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Fund Board Reporting
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1.8
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Recordkeeping
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2.
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REPORTABLE PERSONAL SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS
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2.1
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Applicability of this Section to Reporting Persons
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2.2
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Resolving Conflicts of Interest
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Taking an investment opportunity away from a Vident Client Account to benefit a portfolio or personal account in which a Reporting Person has
Beneficial Ownership;
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Using your position to take advantage of available investments for yourself;
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Front running a Vident Client Account by trading in Reportable Securities (or Equivalent Securities) or Cryptocurrency ahead of the
Vident Client Account;
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Taking advantage of information or using Vident Client Account portfolio assets to affect the market in a way that personally benefits you or a
portfolio or personal account in which you have Beneficial Ownership; and
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Engaging in any other behavior determined by the Code Team to be, or to have the appearance of, an inappropriate resolution of a conflict.
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2.3
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Reportable Securities Accounts and Transactions
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1.
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Initial Holdings Report. Within 10 calendar days of becoming a Reporting Person:
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All Reportable Securities Accounts and Managed Accounts, including broker name and account number information, must be reported by each Reporting
Person to the Code Team via ComplianceAlpha.
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A recent statement (electronic or paper) for each Reportable Securities Account and Managed Account that cannot be linked to ComplianceAlpha must be
submitted by each Reporting Person to the Code Team.
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All holdings of Reportable Securities in Reportable Securities Accounts and Managed Accounts must be inputted by each Reporting Person into an Initial
Holdings Report via ComplianceAlpha. The information in the report must be current as of a date no more than 45 calendar days prior to the date of becoming a Reporting Person.
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2.
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Quarterly Transactions Reports. Within 30 calendar days of each calendar quarter end:
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Each Reporting Person must submit via ComplianceAlpha to the Code Team a report showing all Reportable Securities Transactions made in his/her
Reportable Securities Accounts during the quarter. A request for this report will be generated by
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Each Reporting Person must certify as to the correctness and completeness of this report.
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This report and certification must be submitted to the Code Team within 30 calendar days of the previous quarter end.
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Members of the Code Team may not review their own Quarterly Transaction Reports. Another member of the Code Team must review and sign off on their
certification.
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3.
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Annual Holdings Reports. Within 30 calendar days of each calendar year end:
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All holdings of Reportable Securities in all Reportable Securities Accounts must be reported by each Reporting Person to the Code Team via
ComplianceAlpha. The information in the report must be current as of a date no more than 45 calendar days prior to when you submit the report.
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Each Reporting Person must certify as to the correctness and completeness of this report.
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This report and certification must be submitted to the Code Team within 30 calendar days of the previous year end.
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Members of the Code Team may not review their own Annual Holdings Reports. Another member of the Code Team must review and sign off on their
certification.
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2.4
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New Accounts
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Reporting Persons have no direct or indirect influence or control over the account;
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If the Reporting Person’s control over the account should change in any way, he or she will immediately notify the Code Team in writing of such a
change and will provide any required information regarding holdings and transactions in the account pursuant to the Rule 204A-1 and this Code; and
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The Reporting Person will agree to provide reports of holdings and/or transactions (including, but not limited to, duplicate account statements) made
in the account at the request of the Code Team. Where reasonable, such Managed Account should be reported via ComplianceAlpha.
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2.5
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Trading Restrictions and Prohibitions
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Reportable Securities. All Reporting Persons must
pre-clear transactions of certain Reportable Securities in Reportable Securities Accounts as described in the table that follows in Section 2.6, How to Pre-Clear Reportable Securities, Private Placements, Cryptocurrency Transactions.
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Same Day Trading. Reporting Persons who are involved
with the management of a Vident Client Account generally are prohibited from trading the same Reportable Security in a Reportable Securities Account on the same day as the Vident Client Account that they manage.
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Vident Index Rebalances. Reporting Persons who are
members of the Vident Index Policy Committee (“VIPC”) are prohibited from transacting in Reportable Securities in Reportable Securities Accounts three business days before, and the day of, a Vident sponsored index rebalance.
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De Minimis Values for Trading. Notwithstanding the above, a Reporting Person’s trade request in ComplianceAlpha will be automatically approved if it meets
the following criteria: (i) fewer than 750 shares, (ii) less than $20,000 total, and (iii) an issuer market capitalization of more than $6,000,000,000. If the trade request does not meet all three of these criteria, it will be flagged in ComplianceAlpha for further review by the Code Team. The Code Team will notify the Reporting Person
via ComplianceAlpha if the trade has been approved or denied.
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IPOs and Initial Coin Offerings (“ICO”). Reporting
Persons are prohibited from purchasing shares in an IPO and from purchasing virtual “coins” or “tokens” in an ICO.
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Private Placements. Reporting Persons may, subject
to pre-clearance requirements, purchase and sell shares in a Private Placement. Reporting Persons must provide a copy of the Private Placement’s private placement memorandum (or confidential offering memorandum) and subscription agreement
when requesting permission to make an initial investment in a Private Placement.
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Exchange-Traded Funds (“ETFs”). All Reporting
Persons must disclose and report all holdings in ETFs. Purchases and sales of ETFs require pre-clearance.
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Short Securities. Selling
securities short (or any derivative, i.e., puts and total return swaps, having the same economic effect as a short sale) are prohibited.
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Investment Clubs. Reporting Persons may not
participate in the activities of an investment club.
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Attempts to Manipulate the Market. Reporting
Persons must not execute any transactions intended to raise, lower, or maintain the price of any Reportable Security or to create a false appearance of active trading.
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Currency Accounts (including Cryptocurrencies). Reporting
Persons do not need to report accounts established to hold foreign currency or Cryptocurrencies, provided no Reportable Securities can be held in the account. Purchases and sales of Cryptocurrencies require pre-clearance as addressed in
Section 2.6, How to Pre-Clear Reportable Securities, Private Placements, Cryptocurrency Transactions.
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2.6
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How to Pre-Clear Reportable Securities, Private Placements, and Cryptocurrency Transactions
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Reportable Securities Transaction Request Authorization. A request for authorization of a transaction that requires pre-clearance must be entered using ComplianceAlpha (with the
exception of Cryptocurrency, see below). Reporting Persons may only request pre- clearance for market orders or same day limit orders. Verbal pre-clearance requests are not permitted.
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2.
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Private Placement Transaction Request Authorization. Reporting
Persons must request pre-clearance for Private Placement transactions via ComplianceAlpha. Such requests are good for the Private Placement’s next transaction window (i.e., monthly, quarterly) as governed by its offering documents. Verbal
pre-clearance requests are not permitted.
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3.
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Have the Request Reviewed and Approved. After receiving the electronic request, the Code Team via ComplianceAlpha will notify Reporting Persons if the trade has been
approved or denied.
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4.
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Trading in Cryptocurrency. Notwithstanding the foregoing, purchases and sales of Cryptocurrency must be pre-approved via email to the Code Team. The email should detail the Cryptocurrency to be traded, intended trade date, purchase or sale, and
quantity. Cryptocurrency approval requests may be approved for multiple-day windows on weekends only (for example, Reporting Persons may request
approval for a transaction with a window of Friday to Sunday). For clarity, this does not include any use of Cryptocurrency as payment for goods or services.
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5.
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Trading in Foreign Markets. A request for pre-clearance of a transaction in a local foreign market that has already closed for the day may be granted with
authorization to trade on the following day because of time zone considerations. Approval will only be valid for that following trading day in that local foreign market.
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6.
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Approval of Transactions.
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The Request May be Refused. The Code Team may refuse to authorize a
Reporting Person’s Reportable Securities Transaction, Private Placement transaction, or Cryptocurrency transaction and need not give an explanation for the refusal.
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Authorizations Expire. Any Reportable Securities Transaction authorization
is effective until the close of primary market on the same trading day for which the authorization is granted (unless the authorization is revoked earlier). This expiration does not extend to Private Placement or Cryptocurrency transactions
as discussed above. If the order for the transaction is not executed within the prescribed period, you must obtain a new pre-clearance authorization before placing a new transaction order.
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Code Team Pre-Clearance Requests. A member of the Code
Team may not approve their own pre-clearance requests. Another member of the Code Team must review and either approve or deny their request.
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2.7
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Summary of What Employees and their Immediate Family Need to Report Quarterly and Pre-Clear
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Banker’s Acceptances, bank certificates of deposit (CDs), commercial paper & high-quality short-term debt Instruments, including repurchase
agreements
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No
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No
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Brokered Certificates of Deposit (CDs)
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Yes
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No
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Closed-End Funds
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Yes
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Yes
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Corporate Debt Securities
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Yes
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Yes
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Cryptocurrency
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No
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Yes
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Equity Securities
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Yes
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Yes
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ETFs and Options on ETFs
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Yes
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Yes
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European Union (“EU”) and United Kingdom (“UK”) domiciled and listed ETFs under the Undertakings for Collective investment in Transferrable
Securities (“UCITS”) regime
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Yes
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Yes
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Futures on Commodities
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Yes
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No
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Futures on Cryptocurrencies
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Yes
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Yes
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Futures on a Reportable Security and a narrow-based security index
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Yes
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Yes
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Gifting Reportable Securities to any account outside your Reportable
Securities Account
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Yes
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Yes
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Receipt of Reportable Securities as a Gift
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Yes
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No
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Initial Public Offering
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Prohibited
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Prohibited
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Investment Trusts
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Yes
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Yes
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Money Market Mutual Funds
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No
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No
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Money Market Funds that are a UCITS, UK open-ended investment
company (“OEIC”), or UK unit trust
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No
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No
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Municipal Bonds
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Yes
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Yes
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Mutual Funds not managed by Vident
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No
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No
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Mutual Funds managed by Vident
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Yes
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Yes
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UCITS, OEICS, or UK unit trusts not managed by Vident
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No
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No
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Options on Reportable Securities and on commodity futures contracts
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Yes
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Yes
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Private Placements
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Yes
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Yes
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Reportable Securities purchased through Automated Investment Plans
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Yes
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Yes (initial plan and any adjustments
thereto)
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Short Term Cash Equivalents
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No
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No
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Transactions in Managed Accounts (including Robo Advisor accounts)
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Yes
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No
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Transactions in 401(k) plans that do not and cannot hold Reportable Funds or
Reportable Securities
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No
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No
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Transactions in UK pension plans including self-invested pension plans that do not and cannot
hold Reportable Funds or Reportable Securities
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No
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No
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Transactions in 529 Plans
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No
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No
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U.S. Government Bonds (direct obligations)
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No
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No
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U.S. Treasuries/Agencies (direct obligations)
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No
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No
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Securities issued by the UK National Savings and Investments
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No
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No
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Virtual Coins or Tokens acquired through an ICO or those acquired
through a secondary token offering
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Prohibited
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Prohibited
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2.8
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Ban on Short-Term Trading
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This prohibition is measured on a Last in – First out (“LIFO”) basis.
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Pre-clearance requests will be automatically denied in ComplianceAlpha if they are within the 30-day holding period.
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Reportable Securities not requiring pre-clearance (e.g., mutual funds that are not Reportable Funds, although they typically
impose their own restrictions on short-term trading);
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Commodities, futures (including currency futures), options on futures and options on currencies;
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Automated purchases and sales that were done as part of an Automatic Investment Plan. However, any self-directed purchases or sales outside the
pre-set schedule or allocation of the Automatic Investment Plan, or other changes to the pre-set schedule or allocation of the Automatic Investment Plan, within a 30-day holding period, are subject to the 30- day ban on short term trading;
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Cash sweep vehicles, including money market funds;
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Transactions in Managed Accounts; or
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Cryptocurrency.
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2.9
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Reporting Person Compensation-Related Accounts
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Reporting Persons who have an established Vident Simple IRA are required to report their balances in Reportable Funds or
Reportable Securities.
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401(k) Plans and IRAs that are external to Vident are required to be reported if the 401(k) Plan or IRA is capable of holding Reportable Funds or
Reportable Securities.
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Reporting Persons are required to report self-directed transactions in Reportable Funds or Reportable Securities in a Vident Simple IRA that occurred
outside of the previously reported investment allocations.
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Reporting Persons are required to report transactions in Reportable Funds or Reportable Securities in 401(k) plans or IRAs held outside of Vident.
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Reporting Persons are not required to report bi-weekly payroll contributions, periodic company matches, or profit-sharing contributions.
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Reporting Persons are required to update their holdings in a Vident Simple IRA in their Annual Holdings Report.
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If a 401(k) account or IRA holds Reportable Funds or Reportable Securities, Reporting Persons are required to update these holdings in their Annual Holdings Report.
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3.
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CODE VIOLATIONS
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3.1
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Investigating Code Violations
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3.2
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Penalties
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The degree of willfulness of the violation;
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The severity of the violation;
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The extent, if any, to which an Employee profited or benefited from the violation;
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The adverse effect, if any, of the violation on a Vident or a Vident Client Account; and
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The Employee’s history of prior violation(s) of the Code.
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First minor offense – First written notice.
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Second minor offense – Second written notice.
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Third minor offense – One-month ban on all personal trading, fine,
disgorgement and/or other action.
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First substantive offense – Written notice, fine, disgorgement and/or other
action.
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Second substantive offense – Three-month ban on all personal trading, fine,
disgorgement and/or other action.
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Third substantive offense – Six-month ban on all personal trading, fine, disgorgement and/or
other action.
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3.3
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Dismissal and/or Referral to Authorities
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3.4
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Exceptions to the Code
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4.
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INSIDER TRADING
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4.1
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Background
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Trading by an insider while in possession of Material Non-Public Information;
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Trading by a non-insider while in possession of Material Non-Public Information, where the information was disclosed to the
non-insider in violation of an insider’s duty to keep it confidential;
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Trading by a non-insider who obtained Material Non-Public Information through unlawful means such as computer hacking; and
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Communicating Material Non-Public Information to others in breach of a fiduciary duty.
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Dividend or earnings announcements;
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Asset write-downs or write-offs;
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Additions to reserves for bad debts or contingent liabilities;
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Expansion or curtailment of company or major division operations;
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Merger, joint venture announcements;
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New product/service announcements;
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Discovery or research developments;
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Criminal, civil and government investigations, and indictments;
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Pending labor disputes;
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Debt service or liquidity problems;
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Bankruptcy or insolvency;
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Tender offers and stock repurchase plans;
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Recapitalization plans; and
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Major developments in litigation or events that could lead to litigation (e.g., a cyber breach or a data leak).
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In person;
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In writing;
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By telephone;
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During a presentation;
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By email, instant messaging, or Bloomberg messaging;
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By text message or through X (formerly, Twitter); or
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On a social networking site such as Facebook or LinkedIn.
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4.2
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Policies and Procedures
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Must immediately report the potential receipt of Material Non-Public Information to the CCO or a Compliance Designee;
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Must not trade the securities of any company about which they may possess Material Non- Public Information, derivatives related to the issuer in
question, or another company that could be affected by the Material Non-Public Information the Employee may possess;
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Must not discuss any potentially Material Non-Public Information with colleagues, except as specifically required by their position; and
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Must not conduct research, trading, or other investment activities regarding a security for which they may have Material Non-Public
Information until the CCO, or a Compliance Designee, dictates an appropriate course of action.
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Review these policies and procedures with the affected Employee(s);
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Initially ask the affected Employee(s) to execute written agreements that they will not disclose the potentially Material Non-Public Information to others, including
colleagues;
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Periodically ask the affected Employee(s) to sign certifications that they have not improperly shared the information;
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Require the affected Employee(s) to institute enhanced information security practices;
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Implement a shared office space policy or clean desk policy outlining appropriate methods of protecting Material Non-Public Information;
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Change the location of the affected Employee(s)’ workspace(s);
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Review the emails of the affected Employees more frequently and/or conduct key word searches of all Employees’ emails for the information in question;
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Review these Insider Trading policies and procedures with all Employees;
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Inform Vident’s other Employees that the affected Employee(s) may be in possession of Material Non-Public Information;
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Remind the other Employees that they should take reasonable steps to avoid inadvertent receipt of the information; and
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Forbid other Employees from seeking to obtain the information.
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Automatic Investment Plan
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A program that allows a person to purchase or sell Reportable Securities, automatically and on a regular basis in accordance with a pre-determined
schedule and allocation, without any further action by the person. An Automatic Investment Plan includes a SIP (systematic investment plan), SWP (systematic withdrawal plan), SPP (stock purchase plan), DRIP (dividend reinvestment plan), or
employer-sponsored plan subject to such a program.
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Beneficial Owner
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Reporting Persons are the “beneficial owner” of any Reportable Securities in which the Reporting Persons have a direct or indirect Financial or Pecuniary
Interest, whether or not the Reporting Persons have the power to buy and sell, or to vote, the securities.
In addition, Reporting Persons are the “beneficial owner” of Reportable Securities in which an Immediate Family Member has a direct or indirect Financial
or Pecuniary Interest, whether or not the Reporting Person or the Immediate Family Member has the power to buy and sell, or to vote, the Reportable Securities. For example, Reporting Persons have Beneficial Ownership of securities in trusts
of which Immediate Family Members are beneficiaries.
Reporting Persons are also the “beneficial owner” of Reportable Securities in any account, including but not limited to those of relatives, friends, and
entities in which Reporting Persons have a non-controlling interest or over which Reporting Persons or an Immediate Family Member exercise investment discretion. Such accounts do not include accounts Reporting Persons manage on behalf of
Vident.
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ComplianceAlpha
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ACA ComplianceAlpha®, a third-party risk and compliance platform used for the management of personal trading surveillance, employee
certifications, gift and entertainment
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requests and disclosures, political contributions, and outside business activity reporting.
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Control
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The power to exercise a controlling influence over the management or policies of a company unless the power is solely the result of an official position
with such company. Owning 25% or more of a company’s outstanding voting securities is presumed to give Reporting Persons control over the company. (See Section 2(a)(9) of the 1940 Act for a complete definition.)
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Cryptocurrency
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A digital or virtual currency that is secured by cryptography, which makes it nearly impossible to counterfeit or double- spend. Generally based on a
network that is distributed across a large number of computers. Includes, but not limited to, Avalanche, Bitcoin, Cardano, Dogecoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Polkadot, Solana, Tether, and Tron.
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Employee
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Employees, partners, officers, and directors of Vident that are subject to the supervision and control of Vident. This does not include partners,
officers, and/or directors that do not perform day-to-day activities for Vident or those that do not come into the possession of Material Non-Public Information regarding the firm’s trading activities.
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Equivalent Security
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Any Reportable Security issued by the same entity as the issuer of a subject security that is convertible into the equity security of the issuer.
Examples include, but are not limited to, options, rights, stock appreciation rights, warrants and convertible bonds.
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Federal Securities Laws
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The Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Investment Company Act of
1940, as amended, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, Title V of the Gramm- Leach-Bliley Act, any rules adopted by the SEC under any of these statutes, the Bank Secrecy Act as it applies to funds and investment advisers, and any
rules adopted thereunder by the SEC or the Department of the Treasury.
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Financial or Pecuniary Interest
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The opportunity for Reporting Persons or your Immediate Family Member, directly, or indirectly, to profit or share in any profit derived from a
transaction in the subject Reportable Securities whether through any contract, arrangement, understanding, relationship or otherwise. This standard looks
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The Reporting Person’s accounts or the accounts of Immediate Family Members;
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A partnership or limited liability company if the Reporting Person or an Immediate Family Member is a general partner or a managing member;
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A corporation or similar business entity if the Reporting Person or an Immediate Family Member has or shares investment control;
or
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A trust if the Reporting Person or an Immediate Family Member is a beneficiary.
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Immediate Family Member
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Any of the following persons, including any such relations through adoption, who reside in the same household with you:
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• spouse
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• brother
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• domestic partner
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• sister
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• parent
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• mother-in-law
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• stepparent
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• father-in-law
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• child
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• daughter-in-law
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• stepchild
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• son-in-law
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• grandparent
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• sister-in-law
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• grandchild
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• brother-in-law
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of interest, diversions of corporate opportunity, or appearances of impropriety.
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All references to “Reporting Persons” in the guidelines, prohibitions, restrictions, and duties set forth in the Code should be interpreted to also
refer, as the context requires, to Immediate Family Members of such persons.
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Investment Club
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An investment club is a group of people who pool their money to make investments. Usually, investment clubs are organized as partnerships and, after the
members study different investments, the group decides to buy or sell based on a majority vote of the members. Club meetings may be educational and/or each member may actively participate in investment decisions.
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IPO
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An initial public offering, or the first sale of a company’s securities to public investors. Specifically, it is an offering of Securities registered
under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the issuer of which, immediately before registration, was not subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
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Managed Account
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Any account for which the holder gives, in writing, his or her broker or someone else (other than another Employee) the authority
to buy and sell Reportable Securities, either absolutely or subject to certain restrictions, other than pre-approval by any Reporting Person. In other words, the holder gives up the right to decide what Reportable Securities are bought or
sold for the account.
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Non-Public Information
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Any information that is not generally available to the general public in widely disseminated media reports, SEC filings, public reports, or similar publications or
sources.
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Private Placement
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An offering, including an ICO, that is exempt from registration under Section 4(a)(2) or 4(6) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or Rule 504, Rule 505, or
Rule 506 thereunder. Shall extend to offerings made and/or domiciled in foreign jurisdictions such as, but not limited to, Bermuda, European Union, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, and Jersey.
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Purchase or Sale of a Security
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In addition to any acquisition or disposition of a Reportable Security for value, a Purchase or Sale of a Reportable Security
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includes, among other things, the receipt or giving of a gift or writing of an option to purchase or sell a Reportable Security.
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Reportable Fund
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Any investment company registered under the 1940 Act for which Vident serves as an investment adviser or sub-adviser as defined in Section 2(a)(20) of
the 1940 Act. Will also include UCITS, OEICs and UK unit trusts which Vident serves as investment adviser, sub-adviser, manager, investment manager, or sub-investment manager. A list of all Reportable Funds managed by Vident is available upon
request.
With respect to the applicability of the Code, this includes Employees, directors, and officers (other than non-Employee directors and officers), and any
other persons designated by the Code Team that have access to Non-Public Information regarding any Vident Client Accounts’ purchase or sale of securities, or Non-Public Information regarding the portfolio holdings of any Reportable Fund; or
who is involved in making securities recommendations to Vident Client Accounts, or who has access to such recommendations that are non-public.
All references to “Reporting Persons” in the guidelines, prohibitions, restrictions, and duties set forth in this Code should be interpreted to also
refer, as the context requires, to Immediate Family Members of the Reporting Person. The Code Team is responsible for maintaining a list of all Reporting Persons and notifying such Reporting Persons of their status.
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Reporting Person
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Reportable Securities Account
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Any account that holds Reportable Securities of which Reporting Persons have Beneficial Ownership, other than a Managed Account that holds Reportable
Securities and has previously been approved by the Code Team over which Reporting Persons have no direct influence or Control. A Reportable Securities Account is not limited to Reportable Securities accounts maintained at brokerage firms, but
also includes holdings of Reportable Securities owned directly by Reporting Persons or an Immediate Family Member or held through a retirement plan of Vident or a former employer.
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Reportable Securities
Transaction
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A Purchase or Sale of a Reportable Security, of which Reporting Persons acquire or relinquish Beneficial Ownership.
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Reportable Security/Securities
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Any security as defined under Section 2(a)(36) of the 1940 Act or Section 202(a)(18) of the Advisers Act, except that it does not include direct
obligations of the U.S. Government, bankers’
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acceptances, bank certificates of deposit, brokered certificates of deposit, commercial paper, high quality short-term debt instruments (including
repurchase agreements), shares issued by money market mutual funds, shares issued by mutual funds other than the Reportable Funds, shares issued by unit investment trusts that are invested exclusively in one or more mutual fund, none of which
are Reportable Funds, or interests in unit-linked life and pension products sold in the UK that are invested exclusively in one or more UK unit trusts or OEICs, none of which are Reportable Funds. “Reportable Security” includes any security issued by registered closed-end funds and ETFs.
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Vident Client Accounts
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Accounts of investment advisory clients of Vident, including but not limited to investment companies registered under the 1940 Act, UCITS, and OEICs.
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