ck0001683471-20260826

Filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on August 26, 2026

Securities Act Registration No. 333-215588

Investment Company Act Reg. No. 811-23226

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-1A


REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933			[X]
Pre-Effective Amendment No.			[ ]
Post-Effective Amendment No. 597			[X]
and
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940			[X]
Amendment No. 599			[X]

(Check appropriate box or boxes.)

LISTED FUNDS TRUST

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

(Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code): (608) 716-8890


Kacie Briody, President						Copy to:
Listed Funds Trust						Laura E. Flores
c/o U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC						Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
615 East Michigan Street						1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202						Washington, DC 20004-2541
(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

As soon as practical after the effective date of this Registration Statement
(Approximate Date of Proposed Public Offering)

It is proposed that this filing will become effective


[ ]			immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)
[X]			on August 31, 2026 pursuant to paragraph (b)
[ ]			60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)
[ ]			on ______________ pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)
[ ]			75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2)
[ ]			on pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485.

If appropriate, check the following box

[ ] this post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment.

PROSPECTUS

Core Alternative ETF (CCOR)

Optimized Equity Income ETF (OEI)

Listed on NYSE Arca, Inc.

August 31, 2026

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) has not approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

TABLE OF CONTENTS


CORE ALTERNATIVE ETF - FUND SUMMARY			1
OPTIMIZED EQUITY INCOME ETF - FUND SUMMARY			6

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDS			11
Investment Objectives			11
Principal Investment Strategies			11
Principal Investment Risks			11

PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS INFORMATION			16

MANAGEMENT			16
Investment Adviser			16
Portfolio Managers			17
Other Service Providers			17

HOW TO BUY AND SELL SHARES			18
Book Entry			18
Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Shares			18
Determination of Net Asset Value			18
Fair Value Pricing			19
Investments by Registered Investment Companies			19
Delivery of Shareholder Documents – Householding			19

DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS, AND TAXES			19
Dividends and Distributions			19
Taxes			19
Taxes on Distributions			19
Taxes When Shares Are Sold on the Exchange			20
Taxes on Purchases and Redemptions of Creation Units			20

DISTRIBUTION PLAN			21

PREMIUM/DISCOUNT INFORMATION			21

ADDITIONAL NOTICES			21

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS			21

CORE ALTERNATIVE ETF – FUND SUMMARY

Investment Objective

The Core Alternative ETF (the “Core Alternative ETF” or the “Fund”) seeks capital appreciation and capital preservation with a low correlation to the broader U.S. equity market.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.



Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)			None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Management Fee			1.05%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees			None
Other Expenses*			0.11%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses			1.16%

* “Other Expenses” include interest expense. Interest expense is borne by the Fund separately from the management fees paid to the Adviser.

Example

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. The Example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you may pay on your purchases and sales of Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:


1 Year:			$118			3 Years:			$368			5 Years:			$638			10 Years:			$1,409

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2026, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 0% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

To achieve its investment objective, the Fund uses a combination of several strategies to produce capital appreciation while reducing risk exposure across market conditions.

The Fund invests primarily in U.S. equity securities that tend to offer current dividends. The Fund focuses on high-quality companies that have prospects for long-term total returns as a result of their ability to grow earnings and their willingness to increase dividends over time. These stocks typically – but not always – will be large-cap and show potential for increasing dividends. The Fund seeks to be diversified across industry sectors and regions. At all times, the Fund maintains long positions on index put options, which can protect the Fund from a significant market decline that may occur over a short period of time. The value of an index put option generally increases as the prices of the stocks constituting the index decrease and decreases as those stocks increase in price. From time to time, the Fund may reduce its holdings of put options, resulting in an increased exposure to a market decline. From time to time the Fund may also opportunistically buy or sell exchange traded index call options. The value of an index call option generally increases as the prices of the stocks constituting the index increase and decreases as those stocks decrease in price. Selling call options can serve to reduce the Fund’s volatility and provide steady cash flow; however, it also may reduce the Fund’s ability to profit from increases in the value of its equity portfolio. The combination of the diversified stock portfolio, the downside protection from index put options, and the occasional cash flow from the sale of index call options is intended to provide the Fund with the majority of the returns associated with equity market investments while exposing investors to less risk than other equity investments.

The Fund opportunistically invests where option pricing provides favorable risk/reward models and where gains can be attained independent of the direction of the broader U.S. equity market. The Fund uses proprietary models and analysis of historical portfolio profit and loss information to identify favorable option trading opportunities, including individual put and call options or spreads. In addition, the Fund’s investment strategy, with respect to both equity investing and options trading, takes into account fundamental business and macroeconomic factors (e.g., interest rates, strength of the dollar, and rate of domestic economic growth). However, the Fund employs discretionary trading models, and outputs from these models influence but do not dictate equity investment and options

trading decisions. The Fund aims to preserve capital, particularly in down markets (including major market drawdowns), by utilizing individual put options or spreads as a form of risk mitigation. Option positions are held until either they expire or are liquidated to either capture gains as option expirations approach or to adjust positions to reduce or prevent losses and to take other potentially profitable positions.

Principal Investment Risks

The principal risks of investing in the Fund are summarized below. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. As with any investment, there is a risk that you could lose all or a portion of your investment in the Fund. Some or all of these risks may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”), trading price, yield, total return and/or ability to meet its investment objective. The following risks could affect the value of your investment in the Fund:

•Equity Securities Risk. The equity securities held in the Fund’s portfolio may experience sudden, unpredictable drops in value or long periods of decline in value. This may occur because of factors that affect securities markets generally or factors affecting specific issuers, industries, sectors or companies in which the Fund invests. Common stocks are susceptible to general stock market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence in and perceptions of their issuers change. Preferred stocks are subject to the risk that the dividend on the stock may be changed or omitted by the issuer, and that participation in the growth of an issuer may be limited.

•Derivatives Risk. Put and call options are referred to as “derivative” instruments since their values are based on, or derived from, an underlying reference asset, such as an index. Derivatives can be volatile, and a small investment in a derivative can have a large impact on the performance of the Fund as derivatives can result in losses in excess of the amount invested. The return on a derivative instrument may not correlate with the return of its underlying reference asset. Derivative instruments may be difficult to value and may be subject to wide swings in valuations caused by changes in the value of the underlying instrument. Other risks of investments in derivatives include risks that the transactions may result in losses that partially or completely offset gains in portfolio positions, risks associated with leverage, and risks that the derivative transaction may not be liquid. Derivative instruments may create economic leverage in the Fund, which magnifies the Fund’s exposure to the underlying instrument.

•Options Risk. The prices of options may change rapidly over time and do not necessarily move in tandem with the price of the underlying securities. Writing index call options reduces the Fund’s ability to profit from increases in the value of the Fund’s equity portfolio, and purchasing put options may result in the Fund’s loss of premiums paid in the event that the put options expire unexercised. To the extent that the Fund reduces its put option holdings relative to the number of call options sold by the Fund, the Fund’s ability to mitigate losses in the event of a market decline will be reduced. When the Fund sells an option, it gains the amount of the premium it receives, but also incurs a liability representing the value of the option it has sold until the option is either exercised and finishes “in the money,” meaning it has value and can be sold, or the option expires worthless, or the expiration of the option is “rolled,” or extended forward. The value of the options in which the Fund invests is based partly on the volatility used by market participants to price such options (i.e., implied volatility). Accordingly, increases in the implied volatility of such options will cause the value of such options to increase (even if the prices of the options’ underlying stocks do not change), which will result in a corresponding increase in the liabilities of the Fund under such options and thus decrease the Fund’s NAV.

•Call Writing (Selling) Strategy Risk. When the Fund sells call options, it receives cash but limits its opportunity to profit from an increase in the market value of the underlying instrument to the exercise price (plus the premium received). The maximum potential gain on the underlying benchmark, ETF or individual stock (each, an “underlying instrument”) will be equal to the difference between the exercise price and the purchase price of the underlying instrument at the time the option is written, plus the premium received. In a rising market, the option may require an underlying instrument to be sold at an exercise price that is lower than would be received if the instrument was sold at the market price. If a call expires, the Fund realizes a gain in the amount of the premium received, but because there may have been a decline (unrealized loss) in the market value of the underlying instrument during the option period, the loss realized may exceed such gain. If the underlying instrument declines by more than the option premium the Fund receives, there will be a loss on the overall position.

•Hedging Risk. Options used by the Fund to reduce volatility may not perform as intended. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s option strategy will be effective. It may expose the Fund to losses, e.g., option premiums, to which it would not have otherwise been exposed if it only invested in U.S. government bonds or U.S. government bond ETFs. Further, the option strategy may not fully protect the Fund against declines in the value of its portfolio securities.

•Large-Capitalization Investing Risk. The Fund’s investments in large-capitalization companies may underperform other segments of the market because large-capitalization companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology and consumer tastes, and may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion.

well as events that impact specific issuers. The Fund’s NAV and market price, like security and commodity prices generally, may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time. In addition, government actions or interventions (including, but not limited, to the threat or imposition of tariffs, trade restrictions, currency restrictions or similar actions) as well as developments related to economic, political (including geopolitical), social, public health, market, extreme weather, natural or man-made disasters, or other conditions or events have in the past and may in the future result in volatility in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit, and/or debt markets, which could adversely impact the Fund and its investments and their value and performance. These developments as well as other events could result in further market volatility and negatively affect financial asset prices, the liquidity of certain securities and the normal operations of securities exchanges and other markets.

•Tax Risk. The use of derivatives strategies, such as writing (selling) and purchasing options, involves complex rules that will determine for income tax purposes the amount, character and timing of recognition of the gains and losses the Fund realizes in connection therewith. To the extent such options are governed by section 1256 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), gains and losses resulting from the expiration, exercise, or closing of the non-equity options are treated as 60% long-term capital gain or loss and 40% short-term capital gain or loss (hereinafter, “blended gain or loss”). In addition, such options governed by section 1256 of the Code issued by the Fund will be treated as sold for market value on the last day of the Fund’s fiscal year, and gain or loss recognized as a result of such deemed sale will be blended gain or loss. These rules may operate to accelerate the amount that the Fund must distribute to satisfy its distribution requirement (i.e., with respect to the portion treated as short-term capital gain, which will be includible in investment company taxable income and thus taxable to its shareholders as ordinary income when distributed to them), and to increase the net capital gain the Fund recognizes, even though the Fund may not have closed the transactions and received cash to pay the distributions. To the extent the Fund writes options that are not subject to the rules of section 1256 of the Code, the amount of the premium received by the Fund for writing such options will be entirely short-term capital gain to the Fund. In addition, if such an option is closed by the Fund, any gain or loss realized by the Fund as a result of the closing the transaction will also be short-term capital gain or loss. If the holder of a put option exercises the holder’s right under the option, any gain or loss realized by the Fund upon the sale of the underlying security pursuant to such exercise will be short-term or long-term capital gain or loss to the Fund depending on the Fund’s holding period for the underlying security. In addition, equity securities that are hedged with put options may not be eligible for long-term capital gains tax treatment.

•Dividend Paying Security Risk. Securities that pay high dividends as a group can fall out of favor with the market, causing these companies to underperform companies that do not pay high dividends. Also, companies owned by the Fund that have historically paid a dividend may reduce or discontinue their dividends, thus reducing the yield of the Fund.

•ETF Risks. The Fund is an exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) and, as a result of its structure, is exposed to the following risks:

◦Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as APs. In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. Shares may trade at a material discount to NAV and possibly face delisting if either: (i) APs exit the business or otherwise become unable to process creation and/or redemption orders and no other APs step forward to perform these services, or (ii) market makers and/or liquidity providers exit the business or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions.

◦Costs of Buying or Selling Shares Risk. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid/ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.

◦Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV Risk. As with all ETFs, Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. Although it is expected that the market price of Shares will approximate the Fund’s NAV, there may be times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility, periods of steep market declines, and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant.

◦Trading Risk. Although Shares are listed for trading on the NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”) and may be traded on U.S. exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than the Shares.

•Models and Data Risk. When models and data prove to be incorrect or incomplete, any decisions made in reliance thereon expose the Fund to potential risks. Some of the models used to construct the Fund are predictive in nature. The use of predictive models has inherent risks. For example, such models may incorrectly forecast future behavior, leading to potential losses. In addition, in unforeseen or certain low-probability scenarios (often involving a market disruption of some kind), such models may produce unexpected results, which can result in losses for the Fund. Furthermore, because predictive models are usually

constructed based on historical data supplied by third parties, the success of relying on such models may depend heavily on the accuracy and reliability of the supplied historical data.

•Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed using proprietary investment strategies and processes. There can be no guarantee that the investment adviser’s judgments about the attractiveness, value and potential appreciation of particular investments and strategies for the Fund will be correct or produce the desired results or that the Fund will achieve its investment objective. If the investment adviser fails to accurately evaluate market risk or appropriately react to current and developing market conditions, the Fund’s share price may be adversely affected.

Performance

The performance information presented below provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing the extent to which the Fund’s performance can change from year to year and over time. The bar chart below shows the Fund’s performance for the most recent calendar years ended December 31. The table illustrates how the Fund’s average annual returns for the 1 year, 5 year, and since inception periods compare with those of the S&P 500 Index, a broad‑based securities market index intended to represent the overall domestic equity market. The Fund’s past performance, before and after taxes, does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on the Fund’s website at www.corealtfunds.com.

Prior to the commencement of the Fund’s operations on December 18, 2019, the Fund operated as the Cambria Core Equity ETF (the “Predecessor Fund”), a series of Cambria ETF Trust, an open-end investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”) that had the same investment objective and strategies as the Fund since the Predecessor Fund’s inception on May 23, 2017. The Fund assumed the NAV and performance history of the Predecessor Fund. Performance shown in the bar chart and table for periods prior to December 18, 2019 is that of the Predecessor Fund and is not the performance of the Fund. The Fund’s objective, policies, guidelines, and restrictions are in all material respects equivalent to those of the Predecessor Fund, which was created for reasons entirely unrelated to the establishment of a performance record. The Predecessor Fund was reorganized into the Fund at the inception of the Fund.

The Fund’s and Predecessor Fund’s past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.

Calendar Year Total Returns

The calendar year-to-date total return of the Fund as of June 30, 2026 was -2.69%. During the period of time shown in the bar chart, the highest quarterly return was 9.99% for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, and the lowest quarterly return was -6.32% for the quarter ended December 31, 2024.

Average Annual Total Returns

(for periods ended December 31, 2025)


Core Alternative ETF	1-Year	5-Years	Since Inception*
Return Before Taxes	3.34%	-0.51%	1.77%
Return After Taxes on Distributions	3.10%	-0.77%	1.49%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Shares	2.15%	-0.38%	1.37%
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)	17.88%	14.42%	14.85%

* The Predecessor Fund commenced operations on May 23, 2017.

After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates during the period covered by the table above and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Shares through tax-deferred

arrangements such as an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or other tax-advantaged accounts. The Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares is higher than other return figures when a capital loss occurs upon the redemption of Fund shares.

Portfolio Management


Adviser			Core Alternative Capital, LLC (the “Adviser”)
Portfolio Managers			David Pursell, Managing Partner of the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since its inception in 2019 and was previously a co-portfolio manager of the Predecessor Fund from its inception in 2017. Peter Simasek, Portfolio Manager with the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since 2021. Kyler Kring, Portfolio Manager with the Adviser, has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since 2025.

Purchase and Sale of Shares

The Fund issues and redeems Shares at NAV only in large blocks known as “Creation Units,” which only APs (typically, broker-dealers) may purchase or redeem. The Fund generally issues and redeems Creation Units in exchange for a portfolio of securities and/or a designated amount of U.S. cash.

Shares are listed on the Exchange, and individual Shares may only be bought and sold in the secondary market through a broker or dealer at market prices, rather than NAV. Because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount).

An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares (the “bid” price) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (the “ask” price) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market. The difference in the bid and ask prices is referred to as the “bid-ask spread.”

Recent information regarding the Fund’s NAV, market price, how often Shares traded on the Exchange at a premium or discount, and bid-ask spreads can be found on the Fund’s website at www.corealtfunds.com.

Tax Information

The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless your investment is held in an IRA or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.

Financial Intermediary Compensation

If you purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank) (an “Intermediary”), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay Intermediaries for certain activities related to the Fund, including participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries more knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other activities, such as marketing, educational training or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the Intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Any such arrangements do not result in increased Fund expenses. Ask your salesperson or visit the Intermediary’s website for more information.

OPTIMIZED EQUITY INCOME ETF – FUND SUMMARY

Investment Objective

The Optimized Equity Income ETF (the “Optimized Equity Income ETF” or the “Fund”) seeks long-term capital appreciation with current income as a secondary consideration.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund



Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)			None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Management Fee			0.75%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees			None
Other Expenses*			0.27%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses			1.02%

* “Other Expenses” include interest expense. Interest expense is borne by the Fund separately from the management fees paid to the Adviser.

Example


1 Year:			$104			3 Years:			$325			5 Years:			$563			10 Years:			$1,248

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in the Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund’s performance. For the fiscal period October 21, 2025 (commencement of operations) through April 30, 2026, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 1% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities. Equity securities include common stocks and other instruments that represent an ownership interest or right to acquire an ownership interest in a company. The Fund generally expects to invest closer to 90% of its assets in such securities. The Fund primarily invests in U.S.-listed equity securities of large-capitalization companies, which Core Alternative Capital, LLC (the “Adviser”) defines as companies with a market capitalization in excess of $10 billion at the time of purchase. From time to time, the Fund may also obtain equity exposure by investing up to 10% of its assets in exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) that seek to track broad market indexes.

The Fund employs an actively managed investment strategy in both the selection of individual securities and the sizing of positions. The Adviser selects investments for the Fund using both “top-down” and “bottom-up” analyses. The Adviser examines the current overall market conditions using a variety of quantitative measures (such as value, size, quality, and volatility) to determine attractive investments and size of positions, generally disfavoring securities with too much volatility (and consequently higher risk) over time. Within categories of securities determined to be attractive, the Adviser may utilize a “bottom-up approach” through the use of various quantitative measures (e.g., various statistical and mathematical pricing models), and, at times, qualitative measures (e.g., assessments of company fundamentals, managements, etc. based on internal research) to assess the attractiveness of securities for long term appreciation and current income (i.e., dividend payment attractiveness and generation of income under its options strategy (as discussed below)). Overall the Adviser emphasizes the potential for capital appreciation and the evaluation of volatility characteristics relevant to the Fund’s options strategy.

A key aspect of the Fund’s strategy is the generation of monthly income through a combination of dividend payments from equity holdings and premiums from the Fund’s options strategy, which involves writing (selling) call options with an attractive strike price (e.g., close to the current price of the underlying asset). Such options contracts may be either European-style or American-style

standardized options, and generally will be listed on a national securities exchange and cash-settled. The Fund may write call options on individual securities held in the portfolio, as well as on equity market indexes (primarily broad market indexes such as the S&P 500®) or ETFs that seek to track such indexes. The Fund may write covered call options on the individual securities held in the portfolio, but does not anticipate doing so to a significant extent. The Fund typically targets selling call options with a notional value of 25% to 75% of the value of its equity holdings. Notional value refers to the number of option contracts owned by the Fund, multiplied by the size of the contract (i.e., the number of shares a contract controls), multiplied by the strike price (i.e., the predetermined price at which the owner of an options contract can buy or sell the underlying asset). Options contracts are generally written with expiration terms ranging from one to six months from the trade date. The Adviser seeks to optimize the trade-off between income generation and the potential limitation on capital appreciation from the options strategy. In addition, the Fund does not guarantee that distributions will always be paid or will be at a relatively stable level. Collateral for the Fund’s options strategy will consist of long positions on its equity holdings and cash held by the Fund.

The Fund may also seek to purchase out-of-the-money (i.e., the strike price is set above the then-current share price of the security) put options and call options with expiration terms ranging from three to twelve months. The Fund will typically target purchasing put and call options with a notional value of 25% to 75% of the value of its equity holdings. The Fund expects the total notional value of the written call options and the total value of the purchased call and put options to each not exceed 100% of the Fund’s net assets at the time of entering the positions. The Adviser seeks to mitigate downside risk exposure with the put options and to potentially capture upside equity exposure with the call options.

The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest more of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were a diversified fund. Additionally, the Fund’s investment strategies may involve active and frequent trading resulting in high portfolio turnover.

While the Fund’s exposure to certain sectors may change over time, as of April 30, 2026, the Fund expects to have significant exposure to companies in the Information Technology Sector.

Principal Investment Risks

•Market Risk. The trading prices of securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors. These factors include events impacting the entire market or specific market segments, such as political, market and economic developments, as well as events that impact specific issuers. The Fund’s NAV and market price, like security and commodity prices generally, may fluctuate significantly in response to these and other factors. As a result, an investor could lose money over short or long periods of time. In addition, government actions or interventions (including, but not limited, to the threat or imposition of tariffs, trade restrictions, currency restrictions or similar actions) as well as developments related to economic, political (including geopolitical), social, public health, market, extreme weather, natural or man-made disasters, or other conditions or events have in the past and may in the future result in volatility in financial markets and reduced liquidity in equity, credit, and/or debt markets, which could adversely impact the Fund and its investments and their value and performance. These developments as well as other events could result in further market volatility and negatively affect financial asset prices, the liquidity of certain securities and the normal operations of securities exchanges and other markets.

portfolio positions, risks associated with leverage, and risks that the derivative transaction may not be liquid. Derivative instruments may create economic leverage in the Fund, which magnifies the Fund’s exposure to the underlying instrument.

•Options Risk. The prices of options may change rapidly over time and do not necessarily move in tandem with the price of the underlying securities. The profitability of selling options is dependent on a variety of unpredictable factors, such as whether an options contract is out-of-the-money or in-the-money, as well as general market conditions such as volatility. Because of the unpredictability of these and other factors, outcomes may or may not be profitable. Writing call options reduces the Fund’s ability to profit from increases in the value of the Fund’s equity portfolio, and purchasing put options may result in the Fund’s loss of premiums paid in the event that the put options expire unexercised. To the extent that the Fund reduces its put option holdings relative to the number of call options sold by the Fund, the Fund’s ability to mitigate losses in the event of a market decline will be reduced. When the Fund sells an option, it gains the amount of the premium it receives, but also incurs a liability representing the value of the option it has sold until the option is either exercised and finishes “in the money,” meaning it has value and can be sold, or the option expires worthless, or the expiration of the option is “rolled,” or extended forward. The value of the options in which the Fund invests is based partly on the volatility used by market participants to price such options (i.e., implied volatility). Accordingly, increases in the implied volatility of such options will cause the value of such options to increase (even if the prices of the options’ underlying stocks do not change), which will result in a corresponding increase in the liabilities of the Fund under such options and thus decrease the Fund’s NAV. Additionally, if the Fund transacts in non-cash settled options, the Fund may be obligated to receive or deliver shares of the underlying stock.

•Sector Risk. To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in particular sectors of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors. The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in the following sector and, therefore, the performance of the Fund could be negatively impacted by events affecting this sector.

◦Information Technology Sector Risk. Market or economic factors impacting technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technological advances could have a major effect on the value of any Fund that is invested in this sector. The value of stocks of technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology is particularly vulnerable to rapid changes in technology product cycles, rapid product obsolescence, government regulation and competition, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Technology companies may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. Stocks of technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology, especially those of smaller, less-seasoned companies, tend to be more volatile than the overall market. Technology companies are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights, the loss or impairment of which may adversely affect profitability. Additionally, companies in the technology sector may face dramatic and often unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified personnel.

•Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a lesser number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, the Fund may be more exposed to the risks associated with and developments affecting an individual issuer or a lesser number of issuers than a fund that invests more widely. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively small number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.

•Tax Risk. The writing of call options by the Fund may significantly reduce or eliminate its ability to make distributions eligible to be treated as qualified dividend income. Covered call options may also be subject to the federal tax rules applicable to straddles under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). If positions held by the Fund were treated as “straddles” for federal income tax purposes, or the Fund’s risk of loss with respect to a position was otherwise diminished as set forth in Treasury regulations, dividends on stocks that are a part of such positions would not constitute qualified dividend income subject to such favorable income tax treatment in the hands of non-corporate shareholders or eligible for the dividends received deduction for corporate shareholders. In addition, generally, straddles are subject to certain rules that may affect the amount, character and timing of the Fund’s recognition of gains and losses with respect to straddle positions by requiring, among other things, that: (1) any loss realized on disposition of one position of a straddle may not be recognized to the extent that the Fund has unrealized gains with respect to the other position in such straddle; (2) the Fund’s holding period in straddle positions be suspended while the straddle exists (possibly resulting in a gain being treated as short-term capital gain rather than long-term capital gain); (3) the

losses recognized with respect to certain straddle positions that are part of a mixed straddle and that are not subject to Section 1256 of the Code be treated as 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital loss; (4) losses recognized with respect to certain straddle positions that would otherwise constitute short-term capital losses be treated as long-term capital losses; and (5) the deduction of interest and carrying charges attributable to certain straddle positions may be deferred.

The use of derivatives strategies, such as writing (selling) and purchasing options, involves complex rules that will determine for income tax purposes the amount, character and timing of recognition of the gains and losses the Fund realizes in connection therewith. To the extent such options are governed by section 1256 of Code, gains and losses resulting from the expiration, exercise, or closing of the non-equity options are treated as 60% long-term capital gain or loss and 40% short-term capital gain or loss (hereinafter, “blended gain or loss”). In addition, such options governed by section 1256 of the Code issued by the Fund will be treated as sold for market value on the last day of the Fund’s fiscal year, and gain or loss recognized as a result of such deemed sale will be blended gain or loss. These rules may operate to accelerate the amount that the Fund must distribute to satisfy its distribution requirement (i.e., with respect to the portion treated as short-term capital gain, which will be includible in investment company taxable income and thus taxable to its shareholders as ordinary income when distributed to them), and to increase the net capital gain the Fund recognizes, even though the Fund may not have closed the transactions and received cash to pay the distributions. To the extent the Fund writes options that are not subject to the rules of section 1256 of the Code, the amount of the premium received by the Fund for writing such options will be entirely short-term capital gain to the Fund. In addition, if such an option is closed by the Fund, any gain or loss realized by the Fund as a result of the closing the transaction will also be short-term capital gain or loss. If the holder of a put option exercises the holder’s right under the option, any gain or loss realized by the Fund upon the sale of the underlying security pursuant to such exercise will be short-term or long-term capital gain or loss to the Fund depending on the Fund’s holding period for the underlying security. In addition, equity securities that are hedged with put options may not be eligible for long-term capital gains tax treatment.

•Dividend Paying Security Risk. Securities that pay high dividends as a group can fall out of favor with the market, causing these companies to underperform companies that do not pay high dividends. Also, companies owned by the Fund that have historically paid a dividend may reduce or discontinue their dividends, thus reducing the yield of the Fund.

•ETF Risks. The Fund is an ETF and may invest in other ETFs, and, as a result of its structure, it is exposed to the following risks:

•Distribution Policy Risk. The Fund’s distributions in respect of any period may exceed the amount of the Fund’s income and gains for that period. In that case, some or all of the Fund’s distributions may constitute a return of capital to shareholders. It is possible for the Fund to suffer substantial investment losses and simultaneously experience additional asset reductions as a result of its distributions to shareholders. A return of capital distribution generally will not be taxable but will decrease the shareholder’s cost basis in the Shares and will result in a higher capital gain or lower capital loss when those shares on which the distribution was received are sold. Once a shareholder’s cost basis is reduced to zero, further distributions will be treated as capital gain, if the shareholder holds Shares as capital assets. A distribution constituting a return of capital is not a distribution of income or capital gains earned by the Fund and should not be confused with the Fund’s “yield” or “income.” In addition, the Fund does not guarantee that distributions will always be paid at a relatively stable level.

•Limited Operating History Risk. The Fund is a recently organized investment company with a limited operating history. As a result, prospective investors have a limited track record or history on which to base their investment decision.

•Portfolio Turnover Risk. Because the Fund may “turn over” some or all of its portfolio frequently, the Fund may incur high levels of transaction costs from commissions or mark-ups in the bid/offer spread. Higher portfolio turnover (e.g., in excess of 100% per year) may result in the Fund paying higher levels of transaction costs and generating greater tax liabilities for shareholders.

Performance

The Fund does not have performance history for a full calendar year. In the future, performance information for the Fund will be presented in this section. Updated performance information is available on the Fund’s website at www.corealtfunds.com.

Portfolio Management


Adviser			Core Alternative Capital, LLC
Portfolio Managers			David Pursell, Managing Partner of the Adviser, and Peter Simasek, Portfolio Manager with the Adviser, have been portfolio managers of the Fund since its inception in October 2025.

Purchase and Sale of Shares

Tax Information

The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income, qualified dividend income, or capital gains (or a combination), unless your investment is held in an individual retirement account (“IRA”) or other tax-advantaged account. Distributions on investments made through tax-deferred arrangements may be taxed later upon withdrawal of assets from those accounts.

Financial Intermediary Compensation

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDS

Investment Objectives

Each Fund’s investment objective may be changed by the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of Listed Funds Trust (the “Trust”) without shareholder approval upon written notice to shareholders.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Optimized Equity Income ETF has adopted a policy to invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities. Equity securities include common stocks and other instruments that represent an ownership interest or right to acquire an ownership interest in a company. This policy has been adopted as a non-fundamental investment policy and may be changed without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ written notice to shareholders.

Temporary Defensive Positions

To respond to adverse market, economic, political, or other conditions, the Funds may invest up to 100% of their assets in a temporary defensive manner by holding all or a substantial portion of their assets in cash, cash equivalents, or other high quality short-term investments. Temporary defensive investments generally may include short-term U.S. government securities, commercial paper, bank obligations, repurchase agreements, money market fund shares, and other money market instruments. The Adviser also may invest in these types of securities or hold cash while looking for suitable investment opportunities or to maintain liquidity. In these circumstances, the Funds may be unable to achieve their investment objectives.

Principal Investment Risks

An investment in a Fund entails risks. A Fund could lose money, or its performance could trail that of other investment alternatives. The table below and the risks that follow provide additional information about each Fund. The principal risks below are presented in alphabetical order to facilitate finding particular risks and comparing them with those of other funds. Each risk summarized below is considered a “principal risk” of investing in the applicable Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears.


Principal Risk	Core Alternative ETF	Optimized Equity Income ETF
Call Writing (Selling) Strategy Risk	X	X
Derivatives Risk	X	X
Options Risk	X	X
Distribution Policy Risk		X
Dividend Paying Security Risk	X	X
Equity Securities Risk	X	X
ETF Risks	X	X
Authorized Participants, Market Makers, and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk	X	X
Costs of Buying or Selling Shares Risk	X	X
Shares May Trade at Prices Other Than NAV Risk	X	X
Trading Risk	X	X
Hedging Risk	X
Large-Capitalization Investing Risk	X	X
Limited Operating History Risk		X
Management Risk	X	X
Market Risk	X	X
Models and Data Risk	X
Non-Diversification Risk		X
Portfolio Turnover Risk		X
Sector Risk		X
Information Technology Sector Risk		X
Tax Risk	X	X

•Call Writing (Selling) Strategy Risk. To the extent that the Fund sells call options, it receives cash but limits its opportunity to profit from an increase in the market value of the underlying instrument to the exercise price (plus the premium received). The maximum potential gain on the underlying instrument will be equal to the difference between the exercise price and the purchase price of the underlying instrument at the time the option is written, plus the premium received. In a rising market, the option may require an underlying instrument to be sold at an exercise price that is lower than would be received if the instrument was sold at the market price. If a call expires, the Fund realizes a gain in the amount of the premium received, but because there may have

been a decline (unrealized loss) in the market value of the underlying instrument during the option period, the loss realized may exceed such gain. If the underlying instrument declines by more than the option premium the Fund receives, there will be a loss on the overall position.

•Derivatives Risk. The Fund may invest in derivatives, including in particular options contracts, to pursue its investment objective. The use of derivatives may expose the Fund to risks in addition to and greater than those associated with investing directly in the instruments underlying those derivatives, including risks relating to leverage, correlation (imperfect correlations with underlying instruments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings), high price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty credit, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions. The use of derivatives also may expose the Fund to the performance of securities that the Fund does not own. To the extent the Fund engages in derivatives in an attempt to hedge certain exposures or risks, there can be no assurance that the Fund’s hedging investments or transactions will be effective. In addition, hedging investments or transactions involve costs and may reduce gains or result in losses, which may adversely affect the Fund. The skills necessary to successfully execute derivatives strategies may be different from those for more traditional portfolio management techniques, and if the Adviser is incorrect about its expectations of market conditions, the use of derivatives also could result in a loss, which in some cases may be unlimited. Use of derivatives also may cause the Fund to be subject to additional regulations, which may generate additional Fund expenses. These practices also entail transactional expenses and may cause the Fund to realize higher amounts of short-term capital gains than if the Fund had not engaged in such transactions. Certain of the derivatives in which the Fund invests may trade (and privately negotiated) in the OTC market. OTC derivatives are complex and often valued subjectively, which exposes the Fund to heightened liquidity, mispricing and valuation risks. Improper valuations can result in increased cash payment requirements to counterparties or a loss of value to the Fund. In addition, OTC derivative instruments are often highly customized and tailored to meet the needs of the Fund and its trading counterparties. If a derivative transaction is particularly large or if the relevant market is illiquid, it may not be possible to initiate a transaction or liquidate a position at an advantageous time or price. As a result and similar to other privately negotiated contracts, the Fund is subject to counterparty credit risk with respect to such derivative contracts. Certain derivatives are subject to mandatory exchange trading and/or clearing, which exposes the Fund to the credit risk of the clearing broker or clearinghouse. While exchange trading and central clearing are intended to reduce counterparty credit risk and to increase liquidity, they do not make derivatives transactions risk-free.

The Fund is subject to the risk that a change in U.S. law and related regulations will impact the way the Fund operates, increase the particular costs of the Fund’s operation and/or change the competitive landscape. In October 2020, the SEC adopted a rule governing a fund’s use of derivatives. The rule, among other things, generally requires a fund to adopt a derivatives risk management program, appoint a derivatives risk manager to oversee the program and comply with an outer limit on fund leverage risk based on value at risk, or “VaR.” The rule significantly changed the regulatory framework applicable to a fund’s use of derivatives, including by replacing the existing asset segregation regulatory framework in its entirety. The rule may influence the extent to which the Fund will use derivatives, adversely affect the Fund’s performance, and increase costs related to the Fund’s use of derivatives.

◦Options Risk. The buyer of an option acquires the right, but not the obligation, to buy (a call option) or sell (a put option) a certain quantity of a security (the underlying security) or instrument, including a futures contract or swap, at a certain price up to a specified point in time. The seller or writer of an option is obligated to sell (a call option) or buy (a put option) the underlying instrument. When the Fund sells an option, it gains the amount of the premium it receives, but also incurs a liability representing the value of the option it has sold until the option is either exercised and finishes “in the money,” meaning it has value and can be sold, or the option expires worthless, or the expiration of the option is “rolled,” or extended forward. The value of the options in which the Fund invests is based partly on the volatility used by market participants to price such options (i.e., implied volatility). Accordingly, increases in the implied volatility of such options will cause the value of such options to increase (even if the prices of the options’ underlying stocks do not change), which will result in a corresponding increase in the liabilities of the Fund under such options and thus decrease the Fund’s NAV.

Options are often used to manage or hedge risk because they enable an investor to buy or sell an asset in the future at an agreed-upon price. Options also are used for other reasons, such as to manage exposure to changes in interest rates and bond prices; as an efficient means of adjusting overall exposure to certain markets; in an effort to enhance income; to protect the value of portfolio securities or other instruments; and to adjust portfolio duration.

Options are subject to correlation risk. The writing and purchasing of options are highly specialized activities as the successful use of options depends on the Adviser’s ability to predict correctly future price fluctuations and the degree of correlation between the markets for options and the underlying instruments. Exchanges can limit the number of positions that can be held or controlled by the Fund or the Adviser, thus limiting the ability to implement the Fund’s strategies. Options also are particularly subject to leverage risk and can be subject to liquidity risk. Because option premiums paid or received by the Fund are small in relation to the market value of the investments underlying the options, the Fund is exposed to the risk that buying and selling put and call options can be more speculative than investing directly in securities.

Exchange-traded index options give the holder of the option the right to buy (or to sell) a position in an index of securities to the writer of the option, at a certain price. Writing index call options reduces the Fund’s ability to profit from increases in the value of the Fund’s equity portfolio. Purchasing put options may result in the Fund’s loss of premiums paid in the event that

the put options expire unexercised. To the extent that the Fund reduces its put option holdings relative to the number of call options sold by the Fund, the Fund’s ability to mitigate losses in the event of a market decline will be reduced.

The Fund also may purchase or sell call and put options on a “covered” basis. A call option is “covered” if the Fund owns the security underlying the call or has an absolute right to acquire the security without additional cash consideration (or, if additional cash consideration is required, cash or cash equivalents in such amount are segregated by the Fund’s custodian). As a seller of covered call options, the Fund faces the risk that it will forgo the opportunity to profit from increases in the market value of the security covering the call option during an option’s life.

Additionally, if the Fund transacts in non-cash settled options, the Fund may be obligated to receive or deliver shares of the underlying stock.

•Dividend Paying Security Risk. Securities that pay high dividends as a group can fall out of favor with the market, causing these companies to underperform companies that do not pay high dividends. Also, changes in the dividend policies of and capital resources available to companies owned by the Fund that have historically paid a dividend may adversely impact the Fund’s yield if these companies reduce or discontinue their dividends. Lower priced securities in the Fund may be more susceptible to these risks. Past dividend payments are not a guarantee of future dividend payments.

•Equity Securities Risk. The Funds are designed for investors who can accept the risks of investing in a portfolio with significant equity holdings. Equity holdings tend to be more volatile than other investment choices such as bonds and money market instruments because common stockholders, or holders of equivalent interests, generally have inferior rights to receive payments from issuers in comparison with the rights of preferred stockholders, bondholders and other creditors of such issuers. The value of a Fund’s Shares will fluctuate as a result of the movement of the overall stock market or of the value of the individual securities held by the Fund, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably, resulting in losses. Equity securities may decline in value due to factors affecting equity securities markets generally or particular industries represented in those markets. The value of an equity security may also decline for a number of reasons, which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, changed investor perception financial leverage, and reduced demand for the issuer’s goods or services. Investor perceptions are based on various and unpredictable factors including: expectations regarding government, economic, monetary and fiscal policies; inflation and interest rates; economic expansion or contraction; and global or regional political, economic and banking crises.

•ETF Risks. The Fund is an ETF and, as a result of its structure, is exposed to the following risks:

◦Costs of Buying or Selling Shares Risk. Investors buying or selling Shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers, as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of Shares. In addition, secondary market investors also will incur the cost of the difference between the price at which an investor is willing to buy Shares (the “bid” price) and the price at which an investor is willing to sell Shares (the “ask” price). This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “spread” or “bid/ask spread.” The bid/ask spread varies over time for Shares based on trading volume and market liquidity and is generally lower if Shares have more trading volume and market liquidity and higher if Shares have little trading volume and market liquidity. Further, a relatively small investor base in the Fund, asset swings in the Fund and/or increased market volatility may cause increased bid/ask spreads. Due to the costs of buying or selling Shares, including brokerage commissions imposed by brokers and bid/ask spreads, frequent trading of Shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in Shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.

times when the market price of Shares is more than the NAV intra-day (premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (discount) due to supply and demand of Shares or during periods of market volatility. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines and periods when there is limited trading activity for Shares in the secondary market, in which case such premiums or discounts may be significant. The market price of Shares during the trading day, like the price of any exchange-traded security, includes a “bid/ask” spread charged by the exchange specialist, market makers or other participants that trade Shares. In times of severe market disruption, the bid/ask spread can increase significantly. At those times, Shares are most likely to be traded at a discount to NAV, and the discount is likely to be greatest when the price of Shares is falling fastest, which may be the time that you most want to sell your Shares. The Adviser believes that, under normal market conditions, large market price discounts or premiums to NAV will not be sustained because of arbitrage opportunities.

◦Trading Risk. Although Shares are listed for trading on the Exchange and may be listed or traded on U.S. and non-U.S. stock exchanges other than the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for such Shares will develop or be maintained. Trading in Shares may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to Exchange “circuit breaker” rules, which temporarily halt trading on the Exchange when a decline in the S&P 500® Index during a single day reaches certain thresholds (e.g., 7%, 13%, and 20%). Additional rules applicable to the Exchange may halt trading in Shares when extraordinary volatility causes sudden, significant swings in the market price of Shares. There can be no assurance that Shares will trade with any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. In stressed market conditions, the liquidity of Shares may begin to mirror the liquidity of the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings, which can be significantly less liquid than Shares.

•Hedging Risk. Options used by the Fund to reduce volatility may not perform as intended. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s option strategy will be effective. It may expose the Fund to losses, e.g., option premiums, to which it would not have otherwise been exposed if it only invested in stocks. Further, the option strategy may not fully protect the Fund against declines in the value of its portfolio securities.

•Large-Capitalization Investing Risk. Investments in large-capitalization companies may go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions and may underperform other market segments. Some large-capitalization companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology and consumer tastes, and may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion. As such, returns on investments in stocks of large-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in stocks of small and mid-capitalization companies.

•Management Risk. The Fund is actively managed and uses proprietary investment strategies and processes. There can be no guarantee that the Adviser’s judgments about the attractiveness, value and potential appreciation of particular investments and strategies for the Fund will be correct or produce the desired results and no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective or outperform other investment strategies over the short- or long-term market cycles. If the Adviser fails to accurately evaluate market risk or appropriately react to current and developing market conditions, the Fund’s share price may be adversely affected. Securities selected by the Adviser may not perform as expected. This could result in the Fund’s underperformance compared to other funds with similar investment objectives.

•Market Risk. Market risks, including political, regulatory, market, and economic or other developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market, can affect the value of a Fund’s Shares. Each Fund is subject to the risk that the prices of, and the income generated by, securities held by the Fund may decline significantly and/or rapidly in response to adverse conditions or other developments affecting (or that are perceived to affect) individual companies or issuers, particular industries, or the market generally. Such developments may include real or perceived changes in prevailing interest rates, changes in inflation rates or expectations about inflation rates, deflation, adverse investor confidence or sentiment, general outlook for corporate earnings, changing economic, political (including geopolitical), social or financial market conditions, bank failures, actual or threatened imposition of tariffs (which may be imposed by U.S. and foreign governments) and trade disruptions, recession, changes in currency and inflation rates, increased instability or general uncertainty, environmental or natural disasters, extreme weather or geological events, governmental actions, public health emergencies (such as the spread of infectious diseases, pandemics and epidemics), debt crises, terrorism, actual or threatened wars or other armed conflicts (such as the armed conflicts across the Middle East and ongoing Russia-Ukraine war in Europe, and the risk of expansion or collateral economic and other effects thereof) or ratings downgrades, technological developments (including those related to artificial intelligence) or failures (for example, widespread system outages or disruptions or faulty updates to software applications) and other similar events, each of which may be temporary or last for extended periods. For example, the threat or actual imposition of tariffs, trade restrictions, currency restrictions or similar actions (or retaliatory measures taken in response to such actions) could adversely affect a Fund’s investments, including by leading to price volatility, overall declines in the U.S. and global investment markets, reduced liquidity and investment losses. These events have caused, and may in the future cause, significant disruptions to

business operations, strained healthcare systems, disruptions to supply chains, large expansion of government deficits and debt as a result of government actions to mitigate the effects of such events, and widespread uncertainty regarding the long-term effects of such events. Such events may cause the value of securities owned by a Fund to go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. There also is a risk that policy and legislative changes by the U.S. Government and/or Federal Reserve, or certain foreign governments and central banks, could cause increased volatility in financial markets and higher levels of Fund redemptions, which could have a negative impact on a Fund. These events may lead to periods of volatility and increased redemptions, which could cause a Fund to experience a loss when selling securities to meet redemption requests by shareholders. The risk of loss increases if the redemption requests are unusually large or frequent. Markets also tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising and falling prices. If there is a general decline in the securities and other markets, your investment in a Fund may lose value, regardless of the individual results of the securities and other instruments in which a Fund invests.

These or similar events could be prolonged and could adversely affect the value and liquidity of a Fund’s investments, impair a Fund’s ability to satisfy redemption requests, and negatively impact a Fund’s performance. Furthermore, economies and financial markets throughout the world are becoming increasingly interconnected. As a result, whether or not a Fund invests in securities of issuers located in or with significant exposure to countries experiencing economic and financial difficulties, the value and liquidity of the Fund’s investments may be negatively affected.

•Models and Data Risk. When models and data prove to be incorrect or incomplete, any decisions made in reliance thereon expose the Fund to potential risks. For example, by relying on models and data, the Adviser may be induced to buy certain investments at prices that are too high, to sell certain other investments at prices that are too low, or to miss favorable opportunities altogether. Similarly, any hedging based on faulty models and data may prove to be unsuccessful.

Some of the models used by the Adviser for the Fund are predictive in nature. The use of predictive models has inherent risks. For example, such models may incorrectly forecast future behavior, leading to potential losses on a cash flow and/or a mark-to-market basis. In addition, in unforeseen or certain low-probability scenarios (often involving a market disruption of some kind), such models may produce unexpected results, which can result in losses for the Fund. Furthermore, because predictive models are usually constructed based on historical data supplied by third parties, the success of relying on such models may depend heavily on the accuracy and reliability of the supplied historical data.

All models rely on correct market data inputs. If incorrect market data is entered into even a well-founded model, the resulting information will be incorrect. However, even if market data is input correctly, “model prices” will often differ substantially from market prices, especially for instruments with complex characteristics, such as derivative instruments.

•Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified, which means that it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a lesser number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, the Fund may be more exposed to the risks associated with and developments affecting an individual issuer or a lesser number of issuers than a fund that invests more widely. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a relatively small number of issuers to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.

•Sector Risk. The Fund’s investing approach may result in an emphasis on certain sectors or sub-sectors of the market at any given time. To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in one sector or sub-sector of the market, it thereby presents a more concentrated risk and its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those sectors or sub-sectors. In addition, the value of Shares may change at different rates compared to the value of shares of a fund with investments in a more diversified mix of sectors and industries. An individual sector or sub-sector of the market may have above-average performance during particular periods, but may also move up and down more than the broader market. The several industries that constitute a sector may all react in the same way to economic, political or regulatory events. The Fund’s performance could also be affected if the sectors or sub-sectors do not perform as expected. Alternatively, the lack of exposure to one or more sectors or sub-sectors may adversely affect performance.

◦Information Technology Sector Risk. Technology companies are characterized by periodic new product introductions, innovations and evolving industry standards, and, as a result, face intense competition, both domestically and internationally, which may have an adverse effect on profit margins. Companies in the technology sector are often smaller and less experienced companies and may be subject to greater risks than larger companies; these risks may be heightened for technology companies in foreign markets. Technology companies may have limited product lines, markets, financial resources or personnel. The products of technology companies may face product obsolescence due to rapid technological developments and frequent new product introduction, changes in consumer and business purchasing patterns, unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified personnel. In addition, a rising interest rate environment tends to negatively affect companies in the technology sector because, in such an environment, those companies with high market valuations may appear less attractive to investors, which may cause sharp decreases in the companies’ market prices.

Companies in the technology sector are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights. The loss or impairment of these rights may adversely affect the profitability of these companies. The technology sector may also be adversely affected by changes or trends in commodity prices, which may be influenced or characterized by unpredictable factors. Finally, while all companies may be susceptible to network security breaches, certain companies in the technology sector may be particular targets of hacking and potential theft of proprietary or consumer information or disruptions in service, which could have a material adverse effect on their businesses.

•Tax Risk. The writing of call options by the Fund may significantly reduce or eliminate its ability to make distributions eligible to be treated as qualified dividend income. Covered call options may also be subject to the federal tax rules applicable to straddles under the Code. If positions held by the Fund were treated as “straddles” for federal income tax purposes, or the Fund’s risk of loss with respect to a position was otherwise diminished as set forth in Treasury regulations, dividends on stocks that are a part of such positions would not constitute qualified dividend income subject to such favorable income tax treatment in the hands of non-corporate shareholders or eligible for the dividends received deduction for corporate shareholders. In addition, generally, straddles are subject to certain rules that may affect the amount, character and timing of the Fund’s recognition of gains and losses with respect to straddle positions by requiring, among other things, that: (1) any loss realized on disposition of one position of a straddle may not be recognized to the extent that the Fund has unrealized gains with respect to the other position in such straddle; (2) the Fund’s holding period in straddle positions be suspended while the straddle exists (possibly resulting in a gain being treated as short-term capital gain rather than long-term capital gain); (3) the losses recognized with respect to certain straddle positions that are part of a mixed straddle and that are not subject to Section 1256 of the Code be treated as 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital loss; (4) losses recognized with respect to certain straddle positions that would otherwise constitute short-term capital losses be treated as long-term capital losses; and (5) the deduction of interest and carrying charges attributable to certain straddle positions may be deferred.

PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS INFORMATION

Information about each Fund’s daily portfolio holdings is available at www.corealtfunds.com. A complete description of the Funds’ policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Funds’ portfolio holdings is available in the Funds’ Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”).

MANAGEMENT

Investment Adviser

Core Alternative Capital, LLC, located at 3930 East Jones Bridge Road, Suite 380, Peachtree Corners, Georgia 30092, serves as the investment adviser for the Funds. The Adviser, subject to the oversight of the Board, provides an investment program for the Funds and manages the day-to-day investment of the Funds’ assets. The Adviser also arranges for transfer agency, custody, fund administration, distribution and all other services necessary for the Funds to operate. The Adviser is an SEC-registered investment adviser that provides investment advisory services to separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services to institutional clients, in addition to providing investment advisory services to the Funds.

For the services it provides to the Funds, the Adviser is entitled to a unified management fee, which is calculated daily and paid monthly, at an annual rate based on the Funds’ average daily net assets as set forth in the table below.


Fund			Management Fee
Core Alternative ETF			1.05%
Optimized Equity Income ETF			0.75%

Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement between the Trust, on behalf of the Funds, and the Adviser (the “Advisory Agreement”), the Adviser has agreed to pay all expenses of the Funds except the fee paid to the Adviser under the Advisory Agreement, interest charges on any borrowings, dividends, and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, extraordinary expenses, and distribution fees and expenses (paid by the Trust under any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act.

A discussion of the basis for the Board’s approval of the continuation of the Advisory Agreement is available in the Funds’ Form N-CSR filing dated October 31, 2025.

Portfolio Managers

The individuals identified below are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Funds’ portfolio.


Portfolio Manager	Length of Service with the Funds	Business Experience During the Past Five Years
David Pursell	Core Alternative ETF (Portfolio Manager since 2019) Optimized Equity Income ETF (Portfolio Manager since 2025)	Mr. David Pursell is a Managing Partner of the Adviser, which he founded in May 2019. He previously was a Senior Portfolio Manager with Cambria Investment Management, L.P. (“Cambria”) since March 2017. Mr. Pursell also managed Cambria’s corresponding separate account business. Prior to joining Cambria, Mr. Pursell worked for IFAM Capital as a Director and member of the investment committee. While at IFAM his responsibilities included asset management and the firm’s overall asset allocation strategy. Prior to this, Mr. Pursell worked at Stadion Money Management where he was a Senior Portfolio Manager of two of the firm’s mutual fund strategies. Before joining Stadion, Mr. Pursell was part of Morgan Stanley’s Investment Bank, within their Private Wealth Division. His background also includes roles at Merrill Lynch’s Private Banking and Investment Group. Mr. Pursell received a B.B.A in Finance and an M.B.A. from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.
Peter Simasek	Core Alternative ETF (Portfolio Manager since 2021) Optimized Equity Income ETF (Portfolio Manager since 2025)	Mr. Peter Simasek is a Portfolio Manager with the Adviser. His responsibilities are focused on the macroeconomic and equity market strategies for the firm. Prior to joining the Adviser in 2021, Mr. Simasek served in an asset management role with PIMCO where he worked with multi-billion dollar corporate clients to design custom investment solutions and asset allocation strategies, and held prior roles in capital markets with Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He received his undergraduate education at the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce, concentrating in finance/accounting. Mr. Simasek completed his doctoral studies in finance at Georgia Tech with a research agenda spanning various areas of fixed income and equity markets. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst charterholder.
Kyler Kring	Core Alternative ETF (Portfolio Manager since 2025)	Mr. Kyler Kring is a Portfolio Analyst at the Adviser. His responsibilities are focused on portfolio operations and the equity market strategies for the firm. Prior to joining the Adviser in 2025, he was employed at LCG Associates, an institutional investment consultant, since 2022. He served as an Investment Analyst since 2023, where he primarily focused on manager due diligence and research, and as a Performance Analyst since 2022, where he was responsible for evaluating and analyzing quarterly performance for clients. He received his undergraduate education at the University of Tennessee's Haslam College of Business concentrating in finance and economics. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst charterholder.

The SAI provides additional information about the Portfolio Managers’ compensation structure, other accounts managed by the Portfolio Managers, and the Portfolio Managers’ ownership of Shares.

Other Service Providers

Quasar Distributors, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Foreside Financial Group, LLC (doing business as ACA Group) (the “Distributor”), serves as the principal underwriter and distributor of each Fund’s Shares. The Distributor’s principal address is 190 Middle Street, Suite 301, Portland, Maine 04101. The Distributor will not distribute Shares in less than whole Creation Units, and it does not maintain a secondary market in the Shares. The Distributor is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”). The Distributor has no role in determining the policies of the Funds or the securities that are purchased or sold by a Fund and is not affiliated with the Adviser or any of its affiliates.

U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, located at 615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202, serves as the administrator and transfer agent (as applicable) for the Funds.

U.S. Bank National Association, located at 1555 North Rivercenter Drive, Suite 302, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212, serves as the custodian for the Funds.

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, located at 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004, serves as legal counsel to the Trust.

Cohen & Company, Ltd., located at 1835 Market Street, Suite 310, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, serves as the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm. The independent registered public accounting firm is responsible for auditing the annual financial statements of the Funds.

HOW TO BUY AND SELL SHARES

Each Fund issues and redeems Shares only in Creation Units at the NAV per share next determined after receipt of an order from an AP. Only APs may acquire Shares directly from a Fund, and only APs may tender their Shares for redemption directly to a Fund, at NAV. APs must be a member or participant of a clearing agency registered with the SEC and must execute a Participant Agreement that has been agreed to by the Distributor, and that has been accepted by the Funds’ transfer agent, with respect to purchases and redemptions of Creation Units. Once created, Shares trade in the secondary market in quantities less than a Creation Unit.

Most investors buy and sell Shares in secondary market transactions through brokers. Individual Shares are listed for trading on the secondary market on the Exchange and can be bought and sold throughout the trading day like other publicly traded securities.

When buying or selling Shares through a broker, you will incur customary brokerage commissions and charges, and you may pay some or all of the spread between the bid and the offer price in the secondary market on each leg of a round trip (purchase and sale) transaction. In addition, because secondary market transactions occur at market prices, you may pay more than NAV when you buy Shares and receive less than NAV when you sell those Shares.

Book Entry

Shares are held in book-entry form, which means that no stock certificates are issued. The Depository Trust Company (the “DTC”) or its nominee is the record owner of all outstanding Shares.

Investors owning Shares are beneficial owners as shown on the records of DTC or its participants. DTC serves as the securities depository for all Shares. DTC’s participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other institutions that directly or indirectly maintain a custodial relationship with DTC. As a beneficial owner of Shares, you are not entitled to receive physical delivery of stock certificates or to have Shares registered in your name, and you are not considered a registered owner of Shares. Therefore, to exercise any right as an owner of Shares, you must rely upon the procedures of DTC and its participants. These procedures are the same as those that apply to any other securities that you hold in book entry or “street name” through your brokerage account.

Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Shares

The Funds impose no restrictions on the frequency of purchases and redemptions of Shares. In determining not to approve a written, established policy, the Board evaluated the risks of market timing activities by Fund shareholders. Purchases and redemptions by APs, who are the only parties that may purchase or redeem Shares directly from the Funds, are an essential part of the ETF process and help keep Share trading prices in line with NAV. As such, the Funds accommodate frequent purchases and redemptions by APs. However, frequent purchases and redemptions for cash may increase tracking error and portfolio transaction costs and lead to the realization of capital gains. The Funds’ fair valuation of their holdings consistent with the 1940 Act and Rule 2a-5 thereunder and their ability to impose transaction fees on purchases and redemptions of Creation Units to cover the custodial and other costs incurred by the Funds in effecting trades help to minimize the potential adverse consequences of frequent purchases and redemptions.

Determination of Net Asset Value

Each Fund’s NAV is calculated as of the scheduled close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”), generally 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, each day the NYSE is open for business. The NAV for a Fund is calculated by dividing the applicable Fund’s net assets by its Shares outstanding.

In calculating its NAV, each Fund generally values its assets on the basis of market quotations, last sale prices, or estimates of value furnished by a pricing service or brokers who make markets in such instruments. For example, a Fund generally values equity securities at their readily available market quotations. If such information is not available for an investment held by a Fund or is determined to be unreliable, the investment will be valued by the Adviser at fair value pursuant to procedures established by the Adviser and approved by the Board (as described below).

Fair Value Pricing

The Adviser has been designated by the Board as the valuation designee for the Funds pursuant to Rule 2a-5 under the 1940 Act. In its capacity as valuation designee, the Adviser has adopted procedures and methodologies to fair value Fund investments whose market prices are not “readily available” or are deemed to be unreliable. For example, such circumstances may arise when: (i) an investment has been de-listed or has had its trading halted or suspended; (ii) an investment’s primary pricing source is unable or unwilling to provide a price; (iii) an investment’s primary trading market is closed during regular market hours; or (iv) an investment’s value is materially affected by events occurring after the close of the investment’s primary trading market. Generally, when fair valuing an investment held by a Fund, the Adviser will take into account all reasonably available information that may be relevant to a particular valuation including, but not limited to, fundamental analytical data regarding the issuer, information relating to the issuer’s business, recent trades or offers of the investment, general and/or specific market conditions and the specific facts giving rise to the need to fair value the investment. Fair value determinations are made in good faith and in accordance with the fair value methodologies established by the Adviser. Due to the subjective and variable nature of determining the fair value of a security or other investment, there can be no assurance that the Adviser’s determined fair value will match or closely correlate to any market quotation that subsequently becomes available or the price quoted or published by other sources. In addition, a Fund may not be able to obtain the fair value assigned to an investment if the Fund were to sell such investment at or near the time its fair value is determined.

Investments by Registered Investment Companies

Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder limit investments by registered investment companies in the securities of other investment companies. Registered investment companies are permitted to invest in a Fund beyond the limits set forth in section 12(d)(1), subject to certain terms and conditions, including that such investment companies enter into an agreement with such Fund.

Delivery of Shareholder Documents – Householding

Householding is an option available to certain investors of the Funds. Householding is a method of delivery, based on the preference of the individual investor, in which a single copy of certain shareholder documents can be delivered to investors who share the same address, even if their accounts are registered under different names. Householding for the Funds is available through certain broker-dealers. If you are interested in enrolling in householding and receiving a single copy of prospectuses and other shareholder documents, please contact your broker-dealer. If you are currently enrolled in householding and wish to change your householding status, please contact your broker-dealer.

DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS, AND TAXES

Dividends and Distributions

Each Fund intends to pay out dividends and income generated from selling call options, if any, in cash, and distribute any net realized capital gains to its shareholders at least annually. Each Fund will declare and pay capital gain distributions, if any, in cash. Distributions in cash may be reinvested automatically in additional whole Shares only if the broker through whom you purchased Shares makes such option available. Your broker is responsible for distributing the income and capital gain distributions to you.

Taxes

The following discussion is a summary of certain important U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to investments in the Funds. Your investment in a Fund may have other tax implications. Please consult your tax advisor about the tax consequences of an investment in Shares, including the possible application of foreign, state, and local tax laws. This summary does not apply to Shares held in an IRA or other tax-qualified plans, which are generally not subject to current tax. Transactions relating to Shares held in such accounts may, however, be taxable at some time in the future. This summary is based on current tax laws, which may change.

Each Fund intends to qualify each year for treatment as a regulated investment company (a “RIC”) within the meaning of Subchapter M of the Code. If it meets certain minimum distribution requirements, a RIC is not subject to tax at the fund level on income and gains from investments that are timely distributed to shareholders. However, a Fund’s failure to qualify as a RIC or to meet minimum distribution requirements would result (if certain relief provisions were not available) in fund-level taxation and, consequently, a reduction in income available for distribution to shareholders.

Unless your investment in Shares is made through a tax-exempt entity or tax-advantaged account, such as an IRA, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when a Fund makes distributions, when you sell your Shares listed on the Exchange, and when you purchase or redeem Creation Units (APs only).

Taxes on Distributions

Each Fund intends to distribute, at least annually, substantially all of its net investment income and net capital gains. For federal income tax purposes, distributions of investment income are generally taxable as ordinary income or qualified dividend income. Taxes on distributions of capital gains (if any) are determined by how long a Fund owned the investments that generated them, rather than how long a shareholder has owned his or her Shares. Sales of assets held by a Fund for more than one year generally result in long-term capital gains and losses, and sales of assets held by a Fund for one year or less generally result in short-term capital gains and losses. Distributions of a Fund’s net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses) that are

reported by such Fund as capital gain dividends (“Capital Gain Dividends”) will be taxable as long-term capital gains, which for non-corporate shareholders are subject to tax at reduced rates of up to 20% (lower rates apply to individuals in lower tax brackets). Distributions of short-term capital gain will generally be taxable as ordinary income. Dividends and distributions are generally taxable to you whether you receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional Shares.

Distributions reported by a Fund as “qualified dividend income” are generally taxed to non-corporate shareholders at rates applicable to long-term capital gains, provided holding period and other requirements are met. “Qualified dividend income” generally is income derived from dividends paid by U.S. corporations or certain foreign corporations that are either incorporated in a U.S. possession or eligible for tax benefits under certain U.S. income tax treaties. In addition, dividends that a Fund receives in respect of stock of certain foreign corporations may be qualified dividend income if that stock is readily tradable on an established U.S. securities market. Corporate shareholders may be entitled to a dividends-received deduction for the portion of dividends they receive from a Fund that are attributable to dividends received by the Fund from U.S. corporations, subject to certain limitations. For such dividends to be taxed as qualified dividend income to a non-corporate shareholder, a Fund must satisfy certain holding period requirements with respect to the underlying stock and the non-corporate shareholder must satisfy holding period requirements with respect to his or her ownership of such Fund’s Shares. Holding periods may be suspended for these purposes for stock that is hedged. A Fund’s investment strategy may significantly limit its ability to distribute dividends eligible to be treated as qualified dividend income or entitled to the dividends-received deduction.

Shortly after the close of each calendar year, you will be informed of the amount and character of any distributions received from a Fund.

In general, your distributions are subject to federal income tax for the year in which they are paid. Certain distributions paid in January, however, may be treated as paid on December 31 of the prior year. Distributions are generally taxable even if they are paid from income or gains earned by a Fund before your investment (and thus were included in the Shares’ NAV when you purchased your Shares).

You should note that if you purchase shares just before a distribution, the purchase price would reflect the amount of the upcoming distribution. In this case, you would be taxed on the entire amount of the distribution received, even though, as an economic matter, the distribution simply constitutes a return of your investment. This is known as “buying a dividend” and should generally be avoided by taxable investors.

If you are neither a resident nor a citizen of the United States or if you are a foreign entity, distributions (other than Capital Gain Dividends) paid to you by a Fund will generally be subject to a U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30%, unless a lower treaty rate applies. Gains from the sale or other disposition of your Shares from non-U.S. shareholders generally are not subject to U.S. taxation, unless you are a nonresident alien individual who is physically present in the U.S. for 183 days or more per year. A Fund may, under certain circumstances, report all or a portion of a dividend as an “interest-related dividend” or a “short-term capital gain dividend,” which would generally be exempt from this 30% U.S. withholding tax, provided certain other requirements are met. Different tax consequences may result if you are a foreign shareholder engaged in a trade or business within the United States or if a tax treaty applies.

A Fund (or a financial intermediary, such as a broker, through which a shareholder owns Shares) generally is required to withhold and remit to the U.S. Treasury a percentage of the taxable distributions and sale proceeds paid to any shareholder who fails to properly furnish a correct taxpayer identification number, who has underreported dividend or interest income, or who fails to certify that the shareholder is not subject to such withholding.

Taxes When Shares Are Sold on the Exchange

Provided that a shareholder holds Shares as capital assets, any capital gain or loss realized upon a sale or exchange of Shares generally is treated as a long-term capital gain or loss if Shares have been held for more than one year and as a short-term capital gain or loss if Shares have been held for one year or less. However, any capital loss on a sale of Shares held for six months or less is treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of Capital Gain Dividends paid with respect to such Shares. Any loss realized on a sale will be disallowed to the extent Shares are acquired, including through reinvestment of dividends, within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the disposition of Shares. The ability to deduct capital losses may be limited.

The cost basis of Shares acquired by purchase will generally be based on the amount paid for the Shares and then may be subsequently adjusted for other applicable transactions as required by the Code. The difference between the selling price and the cost basis of Shares generally determines the amount of the capital gain or loss realized on the sale or exchange of Shares. Contact the broker through whom you purchased your Shares to obtain information with respect to the available cost basis reporting methods and elections for your account.

Taxes on Purchases and Redemptions of Creation Units

An AP having the U.S. dollar as its functional currency for U.S. federal income tax purposes who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally recognizes a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the value of the Creation Units at the time of the exchange and the exchanging AP’s aggregate basis in the securities delivered plus the amount of any cash paid for the

Creation Units. An AP who exchanges Creation Units for securities will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanging AP’s basis in the Creation Units and the aggregate U.S. dollar market value of the securities received, plus any cash received for such Creation Units. The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) may assert, however, that a loss that is realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units may not be currently deducted under the rules governing “wash sales” (for an AP who does not mark-to-market its holdings) or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position. APs exchanging securities should consult their own tax advisor with respect to whether wash sale rules apply and when a loss might be deductible.

A Fund may include a payment of cash in addition to, or in place of, the delivery of a basket of securities upon the redemption of Creation Units. A Fund may sell portfolio securities to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause a Fund to recognize investment income and/or capital gains or losses that it might not have recognized if it had completely satisfied the redemption in kind. As a result, a Fund may be less tax efficient if it includes such a cash payment in the proceeds paid upon the redemption of Creation Units.

Foreign Taxes

Dividends and interest received by the Funds from sources within foreign countries may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by such countries. Tax treaties between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes.

Net Investment Income Tax

U.S. individuals with income exceeding specified thresholds are subject to a 3.8% tax on all or a portion of their “net investment income,” which includes interest, dividends, and certain capital gains (generally including capital gains distributions and capital gains realized on the sale of Shares). This 3.8% tax also applies to all or a portion of the undistributed net investment income of certain shareholders that are estates and trusts.

The foregoing discussion summarizes some of the possible consequences under current federal tax law of an investment in each Fund. It is not a substitute for personal tax advice. You also may be subject to state and local tax on Fund distributions and sales of Shares. Consult your personal tax advisor about the potential tax consequences of an investment in Shares under all applicable tax laws. For more information, please see the section entitled “Federal Income Taxes” in the SAI.

DISTRIBUTION PLAN

The Board has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan (the “Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. In accordance with the Plan, each Fund is authorized to pay an amount up to 0.25% of its average daily net assets each year for certain distribution-related activities and shareholder services.

No Rule 12b-1 fees are currently paid by the Funds, and there are no plans to impose these fees. However, in the event Rule 12b-1 fees are charged in the future, because the fees are paid out of Fund assets, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than certain other types of sales charges.

PREMIUM/DISCOUNT INFORMATION

Information regarding how often each Fund’s Shares traded on the Exchange at a price above (i.e., at a premium) or below (i.e., at a discount) its NAV is available on the Funds’ website at www.corealtfunds.com.

ADDITIONAL NOTICES

The Shares are not sponsored, endorsed, or promoted by the Exchange. The Exchange is not responsible for, nor has it participated in the determination of, the timing, prices, or quantities of Shares to be issued, nor in the determination or calculation of the equation by which Shares are redeemable. The Exchange has no obligation or liability to owners of Shares in connection with the administration, marketing, or trading of Shares.

Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall the Exchange have any liability for any lost profits or indirect, punitive, special, or consequential damages even if notified of the possibility thereof.

The Adviser and the Funds make no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Shares or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in a Fund particularly.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

The following financial highlights table shows the financial performance information for each Fund’s five most recent fiscal years (or the life of a Fund, if shorter). Certain information reflects financial results for a single share of a Fund. The total returns in the table represent the rate that you would have earned or lost on an investment in a Fund (assuming you reinvested all distributions). This information has been audited by Cohen & Company, Ltd., the independent registered public accounting firm of the Funds, whose report, along with each Fund’s financial statements, is included in the Funds’ most recent Form N-CSR, which is available upon request and can be found on the SEC’s website.

Core Alternative ETF


	Year Ended April 30,
	2026				2025			2024			2023				2022
PER SHARE DATA:
Net asset value, beginning of year	$	27.50			$	26.28		$	29.37		$	30.47			$	29.44

INVESTMENT OPERATIONS:
Net investment income(a)	0.25				0.24			0.32			0.33				0.31
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments(b)	(1.43)				1.25			(3.08)			(1.10)				1.07
Total from investment operations	(1.18)				1.49			(2.76)			(0.77)				1.38

LESS DISTRIBUTIONS FROM:
Net investment income	(0.26)				(0.25)			(0.33)			(0.33)				(0.35)
Return of capital	(0.02)				(0.02)			—			0.00			(c)	0.00			(c)
Total distributions	(0.28)				(0.27)			(0.33)			(0.33)				(0.35)

Net asset value, end of year	$	26.04			$	27.50		$	26.28		$	29.37			$	30.47

Total return	−4.31%				5.73		%	-9.42		%	-2.55		%		4.63		%


SUPPLEMENTAL DATA AND RATIOS:
Net assets, end of year (in thousands)	$	27,603			$	60,235		$	170,839		$	49,434			$	303,177

Ratio of expenses to average net assets	1.16		%		1.29		%	1.18		%	1.07		%		1.07		%
Ratio of interest expense to average net assets	0.11		%		0.24		%	0.13		%	0.02		%		0.02		%
Ratio of expenses to average net assets excluding interest expense	1.05		%		1.05		%	1.05		%	1.05		%		1.05		%
Ratio of net investment income to average net assets	0.95		%		0.92		%	1.14		%	1.08		%		1.02		%
Portfolio turnover rate(d)	0		%	(e)	12		%	10		%	19		%		7		%

(a) Net investment income per share has been calculated based on average shares outstanding during the years.

(b) Realized and unrealized gains and losses per share in the caption are balancing amounts necessary to reconcile the change in net asset value per share for the periods and may not reconcile with the aggregate gains and losses in the Statements of Operations due to share transactions for the periods.

(d) Portfolio turnover rate excludes in-kind transactions.

(e) Amount represents less than 0.5%.

Optimized Equity Income ETF


	Period Ended April 30, 2026(a)
PER SHARE DATA:
Net asset value, beginning of period	$	25.00

INVESTMENT OPERATIONS:
Net investment income(b)	0.04
Net realized and unrealized gain on investments(c)	1.72
Total from investment operations	1.76

LESS DISTRIBUTIONS FROM:
Net investment income	(0.86)
Net realized gains	(0.08)
Return of capital	(0.19)
Total distributions	(1.13)

Net asset value, end of period	$	25.63

Total return(d)	7.24		%

SUPPLEMENTAL DATA AND RATIOS:
Net assets, end of period (in thousands)	$	42,038

Ratio of expenses to average net assets(e)	1.02		%
Ratio of interest expense to average net assets(e)	0.27		%
Ratio of expenses to average net assets excluding interest expense(e)	0.75		%
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets(e)	0.27		%
Portfolio turnover rate(d)(f)	1		%

(a) Inception date of the Fund was October 21, 2025.

(b) Net investment income per share has been calculated based on average shares outstanding during the period.

(c) Realized and unrealized gains and losses per share in the caption are balancing amounts necessary to reconcile the change in net asset value per share for the periods and may not reconcile with the aggregate gains and losses in the Statements of Operations due to share transactions for the periods.

(d) Not annualized for periods less than one year.

(e) Annualized for periods less than one year.

(f) Portfolio turnover rate excludes in-kind transactions.

Core Alternative ETF

Optimized Equity Income ETF


Adviser	Core Alternative Capital, LLC 3930 East Jones Bridge Road, Suite 380 Peachtree Corners, Georgia 30092	Transfer Agent and Administrator	U.S. Bank Global Fund Services 615 East Michigan Street Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
Custodian	U.S. Bank National Association 1555 North Rivercenter Drive, Suite 302 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212	Distributor	Quasar Distributors, LLC 190 Middle Street, Suite 301 Portland, Maine 04101
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm	Cohen & Company, Ltd. 1835 Market Street, Suite 310 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103	Legal Counsel	Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20004-2541

Investors may find more information about a Fund in the following documents:

Statement of Additional Information: The Funds’ SAI provides additional details about the investments of each Fund and certain other additional information. The SAI is on file with the SEC and is herein incorporated by reference into this Prospectus. It is legally considered a part of this Prospectus.

Annual/Semi-Annual Reports and Form N-CSR: Additional information about each Fund’s investments is available in the Funds’ Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to shareholders and in Form N-CSR. In the Annual Report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected a Funds’ performance. In Form N-CSR, you will find the Funds’ annual and semi-annual financial statements.

You can obtain free copies of these documents, request other information or make general inquiries about the Funds by calling 1-800-617-0004.

Shareholder reports and other information about the Funds also are available:

•Free of charge from the SEC’s EDGAR database on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov;

•Free of charge from the Funds’ Internet web site at www.corealtfunds.com; or

•For a fee, by e-mail request to publicinfo@sec.gov.

(SEC Investment Company Act File No. 811-23226)

Core Alternative ETF (CCOR)

Optimized Equity Income ETF (OEI)

Each, a series of Listed Funds Trust

Principal U.S. Listing Exchange: NYSE Arca, Inc.

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

August 31, 2026

This Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”) is not a prospectus and should be read in conjunction with the prospectus for the Core Alternative ETF (the “Core Alternative ETF”) and Optimized Equity Income ETF (the “Optimized Equity Income ETF”), (each, a “Fund”, and, together, the “Funds”), each a series of Listed Funds Trust (the “Trust”) dated August 31, 2026, as may be supplemented from time to time (the “Prospectus”). Capitalized terms used in this SAI that are not defined have the same meaning as in the Prospectus, unless otherwise noted. A copy of the Prospectus may be obtained, without charge, by calling the Funds at 1-800-617-0004 or by visiting www.corealtfunds.com.

The Funds’ audited financial statements for the most recent fiscal year are included in the Funds’ most recent Form N-CSR, which is incorporated into this SAI by reference (File No. 811-23226). You may obtain a copy of the Funds’ Annual or Semi-Annual Report and Form N-CSR at no charge by contacting the Funds at the phone number noted above.

TABLE OF CONTENTS


General Information About t he Trust			1
Additional Information About Investment Objective s , Policies, And Related Risks			1
Diversification Status			1
General Risks			2
Description of Permitted Investments			2
Investment Restrictions			10
Exchange Listing and Trading			11
Management of The Trust			11
Principal Shareholders, Control Persons, and Management Ownership			15
Codes of Ethics			15
Proxy Voting Policies			16
Investment Adviser			16
Distributor			17
Transfer Agent and Administrator			18
Custodian			19
Legal Counsel			19
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm			19
Portfolio Holdings Disclosure Policies and Procedures			19
Description of Shares			19
Limitation of Trustees’ Liability			20
Brokerage Transactions			20
Portfolio Turnover Rate			21
Book Entry Only System			22
Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units			22
Determination of Net Asset Value			28
Dividends and Distributions			29
Federal Income Taxes			29
Financial Statements			35
Appendix A			A-1

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE TRUST

The Trust is an open-end management investment company consisting of multiple investment series. This SAI relates only to the Funds. The Trust was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on August 26, 2016. The Trust is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (together with the rules and regulations adopted thereunder, the “1940 Act”), as an open-end management investment company, and the offering of each Fund’s shares (collectively, the “Shares”) is registered under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”). The Trust is governed by its Board of Trustees (the “Board”).

Core Alternative Capital, LLC (the “Adviser”) serves as the investment adviser to the Funds. The Core Alternative ETF commenced operations on May 23, 2017. On December 18, 2019, the Core Alternative ETF acquired all of the assets and liabilities of the Cambria Core Equity ETF (the “Predecessor Fund”), a series of Cambria ETF Trust, in exchange for shares of beneficial interest of the Fund (the “Reorganization”). As a result of the Reorganization, the Core Alternative ETF is the accounting successor of the Predecessor Fund. The Optimized Equity Income ETF commenced operations on October 21, 2025.

Each Fund offers and issues Shares at their net asset value (“NAV”) only in aggregations of a specified number of Shares (each, a “Creation Unit”). Each Fund generally offers and issues Shares in exchange for a basket of securities (“Deposit Securities”) together with the deposit of a specified cash payment (“Cash Component”). The Trust reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of a “cash in lieu” amount (“Deposit Cash”) to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Deposit Security or other instrument in a Fund’s portfolio. Shares are listed on NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange”) and trade on the Exchange at market prices that may differ from the Shares’ NAV. Shares also are redeemable only in Creation Unit aggregations, primarily for a basket of Deposit Securities together with a Cash Component. A Creation Unit of each Fund generally consists of 10,000 Shares, though this may change from time to time. As a practical matter, only institutions or large investors purchase or redeem Creation Units. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, Shares are not redeemable securities.

Shares may be issued in advance of receipt of Deposit Securities subject to various conditions, including a requirement to maintain on deposit with the Trust cash at least equal to a specified percentage of the value of the missing Deposit Securities, as set forth in the Participant Agreement (as defined below). The Trust may impose a transaction fee for each creation or redemption. In all cases, such fees will be limited in accordance with the requirements of the SEC applicable to management investment companies offering redeemable securities. As in the case of other publicly traded securities, brokers’ commissions on transactions in the secondary market will be based on negotiated commission rates at customary levels.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, POLICIES, AND RELATED RISKS

Each Fund’s investment objective and principal investment strategies are described in the Prospectus. The following information supplements, and should be read in conjunction with, the Prospectus. For a description of certain permitted investments, see “Description of Permitted Investments” in this SAI.

With respect to each Fund’s investments, unless otherwise noted, if a percentage limitation on investment is adhered to at the time of investment or contract, a subsequent increase or decrease as a result of market movement or redemption will not result in a violation of such investment limitation.

Diversification Status

The Core Alternative ETF is “diversified” within the meaning of the 1940 Act. Under applicable federal laws, to qualify as a diversified fund, the Fund, with respect to 75% of its total assets, may not invest greater than 5% of its total assets in any one issuer and may not hold greater than 10% of the securities of one issuer, other than investments in cash and cash items (including receivables), U.S. government securities, and securities of other investment companies. The remaining 25% of the Fund’s total assets does not need to be “diversified” and may be invested in securities of a single issuer, subject to other applicable laws. The diversification of the Fund’s holdings is measured at the time the Fund purchases a security. However, if the Fund purchases a security and holds it for a period of time, the security may become a larger percentage of the Fund’s total assets due to movements in the financial markets. If the market affects several securities held by the Fund, the Fund may have a greater percentage of its assets invested in fewer issuers.

The Optimized Equity Income ETF is classified as a non-diversified investment company under the 1940 Act. A “non-diversified” classification means that the Fund is not limited by the 1940 Act with regard to the percentage of its total assets that may be invested in the securities of a single issuer. This means that the Fund may invest a greater portion of its total assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. This may have an adverse effect on the Fund’s performance or subject the Fund’s Shares to greater price volatility than more diversified investment companies. Moreover, in pursuing its objective, the Fund may hold the securities of a single issuer in an amount exceeding 10% of the value of the outstanding securities of the issuer, subject to restrictions imposed by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). In particular, as the Fund’s size grows and its assets increase, it will be more likely to hold more than 10% of the securities of a single issuer if the issuer has a relatively small public float as compared to other components of the Fund’s portfolio.

Although the Fund is non-diversified for purposes of the 1940 Act, the Fund intends to maintain the required level of diversification and otherwise conduct its operations so as to qualify as a “regulated investment company” (“RIC”) within the meaning of Subchapter M of the Code. Compliance with the diversification requirements of the Code may limit the investment flexibility of the Fund and may make it less likely that the Fund will meet its investment objective. To qualify as a RIC under the Code, the Fund must meet the Diversification Requirement described in the section titled “Federal Income Taxes” in this SAI.

General Risks

The value of a Fund’s portfolio investments may fluctuate with changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular investment or issuer, and changes in general economic or political conditions. An investor in a Fund could lose money over short or long periods of time.

There can be no guarantee that a liquid market for the investments held by a Fund will be maintained. The existence of a liquid trading market for certain investments may depend on whether dealers will make a market in such investments. There can be no assurance that a market will be made or maintained or that any such market will be or remain liquid. The price at which investments may be sold and the value of Shares will be adversely affected if trading markets for a Fund’s portfolio investments are limited or absent, or if bid/ask spreads are wide.

Cybersecurity Risk. The Funds and their service providers may be subject to operational and information security risks resulting from cyber-attacks. Cyber-attacks include, among other behaviors, stealing or corrupting data maintained online or digitally, denial of service attacks on websites, the unauthorized release of confidential information or various other forms of cybersecurity breaches. Cyber-attacks affecting a Fund or the Adviser, custodian, transfer agent, intermediaries and other third-party service providers may adversely impact a Fund. For instance, cyber-attacks may interfere with the processing of shareholder transactions, impact a Fund’s ability to calculate its NAV, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential company information, impede trading, subject a Fund to regulatory fines or financial losses, and cause reputational damage. A Fund also may incur additional costs for cybersecurity risk management purposes. Similar types of cybersecurity risks also are present for issuers of securities in which a Fund invests, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers and may cause a Fund’s investments in such portfolio companies to lose value.

Recent Geopolitical Events. Geopolitical tensions introduce uncertainty into global markets. For example, Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the resulting responses by the United States and other countries, and the potential for wider conflict could increase volatility and uncertainty in the financial markets and adversely affect regional and global economies. The United States and other countries have imposed broad-ranging economic sanctions on Russia and certain Russian individuals, banking entities and corporations, and Belarus as a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and may impose sanctions on other countries that provide military or economic support to Russia. The extent and duration of Russia’s military actions and the repercussions of such actions (including any retaliatory actions or countermeasures that may be taken by those subject to sanctions, including cyber-attacks) are impossible to predict, but could result in significant market disruptions, including in certain industries or sectors, such as the oil and natural gas markets, and may negatively affect global supply chains, inflation and global growth.

Similarly, escalations beginning in October 2023 of the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict present a potential risk for wider conflict that could negatively affect financial markets due to a myriad of interconnected factors. This conflict could disrupt regional trade and supply chains, potentially affecting U.S. businesses with exposure to the region. For example, attacks on commercial vessels transiting through the Red Sea, commonly referred to as the Red Sea crisis, have led to disruption of international maritime trade and the global supply chain, which has had a direct impact on countries and regions that rely on such routes for the supply of energy and/or food and companies that typically ship goods or receive components by way of the Red Sea. In addition, recent U.S. military operations in Iran could lead to significant geopolitical instability, including retaliatory attacks, disruption of critical energy infrastructure and shipping lanes such as the Strait of Hormuz, and broader regional conflict, which in turn may cause sharp volatility across global financial markets and commodity prices. Such developments may adversely affect the Funds through increased market uncertainty, reduced liquidity, higher inflation and interest rate pressures, and potential declines in asset valuations across multiple sectors and geographies. The Middle East plays a pivotal role in the global energy sector, and prolonged instability could impact oil prices, leading to increased costs for businesses and consumers.

These conflicts and others, and any related events could significantly impact a Fund’s performance and the value of an investment in a Fund, even if the Fund does not have direct exposure.

DESCRIPTION OF PERMITTED INVESTMENTS

The following are descriptions of the Funds’ permitted investments and investment practices and the associated risk factors. A Fund will only invest in any of the following instruments, or exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) that invest in such instruments, or engage in any of the following investment practices if such investment or activity is consistent with that Fund’s investment objective and permitted by the Fund’s stated investment policies.

Borrowing

Although the Funds do not intend to borrow money, a Fund may do so to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. Under the 1940 Act, a Fund may borrow up to one-third (1/3) of its total assets. A Fund will borrow money only for short-term or emergency purposes. Such borrowing is not for investment purposes and will be repaid by the borrowing Fund promptly. Borrowing will tend to exaggerate the effect on NAV of any increase or decrease in the market value of the borrowing Funds’ portfolio. Money borrowed will be subject to interest costs that may or may not be recovered by earnings on the securities purchased. A Fund also may be required to maintain minimum average balances in connection with a borrowing or to pay a commitment or other fee to maintain a line of credit; either of these requirements would increase the cost of borrowing over the stated interest rate.

Equity Securities

Equity securities, such as the common stock of an issuer, are subject to stock market fluctuations and, therefore, may experience volatile changes in value as market conditions, consumer sentiment or the financial condition of the issuers change. A decrease in value of the equity securities in a Fund’s portfolio may also cause the value of such Fund’s Shares to decline. An investment in the Funds should be made with an understanding of the risks inherent in an investment in equity securities, including the risk that the financial condition of issuers may become impaired or that the general condition of the stock market may deteriorate (either of which may cause a decrease in the value of a Fund’s portfolio securities and therefore a decrease in the value of Shares).

Common stocks are susceptible to general stock market fluctuations and to volatile increases and decreases in value as market confidence and perceptions change. These investor perceptions are based on various and unpredictable factors, including expectations regarding government, economic, monetary, and fiscal policies; inflation and interest rates; economic expansion or contraction; and global or regional political, economic, or banking crises.

Holders of common stocks incur more risk than holders of preferred stocks and debt obligations because common stockholders, as owners of the issuer, generally have inferior rights to receive payments from the issuer in comparison with the rights of creditors or holders of debt obligations or preferred stocks. Further, unlike debt securities, which typically have a stated principal amount payable at maturity (whose value, however, is subject to market fluctuations prior thereto), or preferred stocks, which typically have a liquidation preference and which may have stated optional or mandatory redemption provisions, common stocks have neither a fixed principal amount nor a maturity. Common stock values are subject to market fluctuations as long as the common stock remains outstanding.

Types of Equity Securities include:

Common Stocks — Common stocks represent units of ownership in a company. Common stocks usually carry voting rights and earn dividends. Unlike preferred stocks, which are described below, dividends on common stocks are not fixed but are declared at the discretion of the company’s board of directors.

Preferred Stocks — Preferred stocks also are units of ownership in a company. Preferred stocks normally have preference over common stocks in the payment of dividends and the liquidation of the company. However, in all other respects, preferred stocks are subordinated to the liabilities of the issuer. Unlike common stocks, preferred stocks are generally not entitled to vote on corporate matters. Types of preferred stocks include adjustable-rate preferred stock, fixed dividend preferred stock, perpetual preferred stock, and sinking fund preferred stock.

Generally, the market values of preferred stocks with a fixed dividend rate and no conversion element vary inversely with interest rates and perceived credit risk.

Rights and Warrants — A right is a privilege granted to existing shareholders of a corporation to subscribe to shares of a new issue of common stock before it is issued. Rights normally have a short life of usually two to four weeks, are freely transferable, and entitle the holder to buy the new common stock at a lower price than the public offering price. Warrants are securities that are usually issued together with a debt security or preferred stock and that give the holder the right to buy a proportionate amount of common stock at a specified price. Warrants are freely transferable and are traded on major exchanges. Unlike rights, warrants normally have a life that is measured in years and entitles the holder to buy common stock of a company at a price that is usually higher than the market price at the time the warrant is issued. Corporations often issue warrants to make the accompanying debt security more attractive.

An investment in warrants and rights may entail greater risks than certain other types of investments. Generally, rights and warrants do not carry the right to receive dividends or exercise voting rights with respect to the underlying securities, and they do not represent any rights in the assets of the issuer. In addition, their value does not necessarily change with the value of the underlying securities, and they cease to have value if they are not exercised on or before their expiration date. Investing in rights and warrants increases the potential profit or loss to be realized from the investment as compared with investing the same amount in the underlying securities.

Large-Capitalization Companies — Investments in large-capitalization companies may go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions and may underperform other market segments. Some large-capitalization companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges, such as changes in technology and consumer tastes, and may not be able to attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion. As such, returns on

investments in stocks of large-capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in stocks of small- and mid-capitalization companies.

Small- and Mid-Capitalization Companies — The securities of small- and mid-capitalization companies may be more vulnerable to adverse issuer, market, political, or economic developments than securities of larger-capitalization companies. The securities of small- and mid-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole. Some small- or mid-capitalization companies have limited product lines, markets, and financial and managerial resources and tend to concentrate on fewer geographical markets relative to larger capitalization companies. There is typically less publicly available information concerning small- and mid-capitalization companies than for larger, more established companies. Small- and mid-capitalization companies also may be particularly sensitive to changes in interest rates, government regulation, borrowing costs, and earnings.

Tracking Stocks — A tracking stock is a separate class of common stock whose value is linked to a specific business unit or operating division within a larger company and which is designed to “track” the performance of such business unit or division. The tracking stock may pay dividends to shareholders independent of the parent company. The parent company, rather than the business unit or division, generally is the issuer of tracking stock. However, holders of the tracking stock may not have the same rights as holders of the company’s common stock.

Illiquid Investments

A Fund may not acquire any illiquid investment if, immediately after the acquisition, a Fund would have invested more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments. An illiquid investment means any investment that a Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment. If illiquid investments exceed 15% of a Fund’s net assets, certain remedial actions will be taken as required by Rule 22e-4 under the 1940 Act and a Fund’s policies and procedures.

A Fund may not be able to sell illiquid securities when the Adviser considers it desirable to do so or may have to sell such securities at a price that is lower than the price that could be obtained if the securities were more liquid. In addition, the sale of illiquid securities may require more time and may result in higher dealer discounts and other selling expenses than does the sale of securities that are not illiquid. Illiquid securities also may be more difficult to value due to the unavailability of reliable market quotations for such securities, and investment in illiquid securities may have an adverse impact on NAV.

Investment Company Securities

The Funds may invest in the securities of other investment companies, including ETFs, mutual funds, and money market funds, subject to applicable limitations under Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder. Pursuant to Section 12(d)(1), a Fund may invest in the securities of another investment company (the “acquired company”) provided that such Fund, immediately after such purchase or acquisition, does not own in the aggregate: (i) more than 3% of the total outstanding voting stock of the acquired company; (ii) securities issued by the acquired company having an aggregate value in excess of 5% of the value of the total assets of such Fund; or (iii) securities issued by the acquired company and all other investment companies (other than treasury stock of such Fund) having an aggregate value in excess of 10% of the value of the total assets of the applicable Fund. Under certain circumstances, including in compliance with Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act, the Funds may invest its assets in securities of investment companies, including money market funds, in excess of the limits discussed above.

Investing in another pooled vehicle exposes a Fund to all the risks of that pooled vehicle. In addition, if a Fund invests in and, thus, is a shareholder of, another investment company, the Fund’s shareholders will indirectly bear the Fund’s proportionate share of the fees and expenses paid by such other investment company, including advisory fees, in addition to both the management fees payable directly by the Fund to the Fund’s own investment adviser and the other expenses that the Fund bears directly in connection with the Fund’s own operations.

Exchange-Traded Funds

Each Fund may invest in shares of other ETFs. As the shareholder of another ETF, a Fund would bear, along with other shareholders, its pro rata portion of the other ETF’s expenses, including advisory fees. Such expenses are in addition to the expenses the Fund pays in connection with its own operations. A Fund’s investments in other ETFs may be limited by applicable law.

Disruptions in the markets for the securities underlying ETFs purchased or sold by a Fund could result in losses on investments in ETFs. ETFs also carry the risk that the price a Fund pays or receives may be higher or lower than the ETF’s NAV. ETFs are also subject to certain additional risks, including the risks of illiquidity and of possible trading halts due to market conditions or other reasons, based on the policies of the relevant exchange. ETFs and other investment companies in which the Funds may invest may be leveraged, which would increase the volatility of the investing Fund’s NAV. Each Fund also may invest in ETFs and other investment companies that seek to return the inverse of the performance of an underlying index on a daily, monthly, or other basis, including inverse leveraged ETFs.

Inverse and leveraged ETFs are subject to additional risks not generally associated with traditional ETFs. To the extent that a Fund invests in inverse ETFs, the value of the Fund’s investments will decrease when the index underlying the ETF’s benchmark rises, a

result that is the opposite from traditional equity or bond funds. The NAV and market price of leveraged or inverse ETFs are usually more volatile than the value of the tracked index or of other ETFs that do not use leverage. This is because inverse and leveraged ETFs use investment techniques and financial instruments that may be considered aggressive, including the use of derivative transactions and short-selling techniques. The use of these techniques may cause the inverse or leveraged ETFs to lose more money in market environments that are adverse to their investment strategies than other funds that do not use such techniques.

Options

An option is a contract that gives the purchaser of the option, in return for the premium paid, the right to buy an underlying reference instrument, such as a specified security, currency, index, or other instrument, from the writer of the option (in the case of a call option), or to sell a specified reference instrument to the writer of the option (in the case of a put option) at a designated price during the term of the option. The premium paid by the buyer of an option will reflect, among other things, the relationship of the exercise price to the market price and the volatility of the underlying reference instrument, the remaining term of the option, supply, demand, interest rates and/or currency exchange rates. An American-style put or call option may be exercised at any time during the option period while a European-style put or call option may be exercised only upon expiration or during a fixed period prior thereto. Put and call options are traded on national securities exchanges and in the over-the-counter (“OTC”) market.

Options traded on national securities exchanges are within the jurisdiction of the SEC or other appropriate national securities regulators, as are securities traded on such exchanges. As a result, many of the protections provided to traders on organized exchanges will be available with respect to such transactions. In particular, all option positions entered into on a national securities exchange in the United States are cleared and guaranteed by the Options Clearing Corporation, thereby reducing the risk of counterparty default. Furthermore, a liquid secondary market in options traded on a national securities exchange may be more readily available than in the OTC market, potentially permitting a Fund to liquidate open positions at a profit prior to exercise or expiration, or to limit losses in the event of adverse market movements. There is no assurance, however, that higher than anticipated trading activity or other unforeseen events might not temporarily render the capabilities of the Options Clearing Corporation inadequate, and thereby result in the exchange instituting special procedures which may interfere with the timely execution of a Fund’s orders to close out open options positions.

Options on Indices. The Funds may purchase and write put and call options on securities indices. Options on indices are similar to options on securities except that, rather than giving the holder the right to purchase or sell a particular security, an index option gives the holder the right to receive, upon exercise, an amount of cash determined by the difference between the exercise price of the option and the value of the underlying index. A call option on an index generally entitles the holder to receive cash if the closing level of the index exceeds the exercise price of the option, while a put option generally entitles the holder to receive cash if the closing level of the index is below the exercise price of the option. The amount of cash received, if any, is generally equal to the difference between the closing value of the index and the exercise price, multiplied by a specified dollar amount.

Unlike options on individual securities, which generally contemplate the purchase or sale of the underlying security upon exercise, index options are typically cash-settled. As a result, the gain or loss resulting from index options depends on movements in the level of the index rather than price movements of any individual security. Index options may be used to seek to hedge against the risk of adverse movements in broadly based securities markets or particular market segments, or to obtain market exposure more efficiently than through direct investments in individual securities.

The value of index options depends upon movements in the level of the index rather than the price of any particular security. Accordingly, successful use of index options requires the Adviser to accurately predict price movements in the market generally or in a particular market segment. Because the Funds’ investments may not perfectly correlate with the index underlying an option, the Funds may experience losses despite movements in the index that are generally favorable to the Funds’ positions. In addition, gains or losses on index options may be affected by factors such as supply and demand in the options market, changes in interest rates, changes in market volatility and the time remaining until expiration.

Purchasing Call and Put Options. As the buyer of a call option, the Funds have a right to buy the underlying reference instrument (e.g., a currency or security) at the exercise price at any time during the option period (for American style options). The Funds may enter into closing sale transactions with respect to call options, exercise them, or permit them to expire. For example, a Fund may buy call options on underlying reference instruments that it intends to buy with the goal of limiting the risk of a substantial increase in their market price before the purchase is effected. Unless the price of the underlying reference instrument changes sufficiently, a call option purchased by a Fund may expire without any value to such Fund, in which case the Fund would experience a loss to the extent of the premium paid for the option plus related transaction costs.

As the buyer of a put option, the Funds have the right to sell the underlying reference instrument at the exercise price at any time during the option period (for American style options). Like a call option, the Funds may enter into closing sale transactions with respect to put options, exercise them or permit them to expire. The Funds may buy a put option on an underlying reference instrument owned by the Funds (a protective put) as a hedging technique in an attempt to protect against an anticipated decline in the market value of the underlying reference instrument. Such hedge protection is provided only during the life of the put option when the Funds, as the buyer of the put option, are able to sell the underlying reference instrument at the put exercise price, regardless of any decline in the underlying instrument’s market price. The Funds may also seek to offset a decline in the value of the underlying reference

instrument through appreciation in the value of the put option. A put option may also be purchased with the intent of protecting unrealized appreciation of an instrument when the Adviser deems it desirable to continue to hold the instrument because of tax or other considerations. The premium paid for the put option and any transaction costs would reduce any short-term capital gain that may be available for distribution when the instrument is eventually sold. Buying put options at a time when the buyer does not own the underlying reference instrument allows the buyer to benefit from a decline in the market price of the underlying reference instrument, which generally increases the value of the put option.

If a put option was not terminated in a closing sale transaction when it has remaining value, and if the market price of the underlying reference instrument remains equal to or greater than the exercise price during the life of the put option, the buyer would not make any gain upon exercise of the option and would experience a loss to the extent of the premium paid for the option plus related transaction costs. In order for the purchase of a put option to be profitable, the market price of the underlying reference instrument must decline sufficiently below the exercise price to cover the premium and transaction costs.

Writing Call and Put Options. Writing options may permit the writer to generate additional income in the form of the premium received for writing the option. The writer of an option may have no control over when the underlying reference instruments must be sold (in the case of a call option) or purchased (in the case of a put option) because the writer may be notified of exercise at any time prior to the expiration of the option (for American style options). In general, though, options are infrequently exercised prior to expiration. Whether or not an option expires unexercised, the writer retains the amount of the premium. Writing “covered” call options means that the writer owns the underlying reference instrument that is subject to the call option. Call options also may be written on reference instruments that the writer does not own.

If the Funds write a covered call option, any underlying reference instruments that are held by the Funds and are subject to the call option will be earmarked on the books of the Funds to satisfy its obligations under the option. The Funds will be unable to sell the underlying reference instruments that are subject to the written call option until it either effects a closing transaction with respect to the written call, or otherwise satisfies the conditions for release of the underlying reference instruments. As the writer of a covered call option, the Funds give up the potential for capital appreciation above the exercise price of the option should the underlying reference instrument rise in value. If the value of the underlying reference instrument rises above the exercise price of the call option, the reference instrument will likely be “called away,” requiring the Funds to sell the underlying instrument at the exercise price. In that case, the Funds will sell the underlying reference instrument to the option buyer for less than their market value, and the Funds will experience a loss (which will be offset by the premium received by the Funds as the writer of such option). If a call option expires unexercised, the Funds will realize a gain in the amount of the premium received. If the market price of the underlying reference instrument decreases, the call option will not be exercised and the Funds will be able to use the amount of the premium received to hedge against the loss in value of the underlying reference instrument. The exercise price of a call option will be chosen based upon the expected price movement of the underlying reference instrument. The exercise price of a call option may be below, equal to (at-the-money), or above the current value of the underlying reference instrument at the time the option is written.

The writing of call options by the Funds may significantly reduce or eliminate its ability to make distributions eligible to be treated as qualified dividend income. Covered call options also may be subject to the federal tax rules applicable to straddles under the Code. If positions held by the Funds were treated as “straddles” for federal income tax purposes, or the Funds’ risk of loss with respect to a position was otherwise diminished as set forth in Treasury regulations, dividends on stocks that are a part of such positions would not constitute qualified dividend income subject to such favorable income tax treatment. In addition, generally, straddles are subject to certain rules that may affect the amount, character and timing of the Funds’ gains and losses with respect to straddle positions.

Closing Out Options (Exchange-Traded Options). If the writer of an option wants to terminate its obligation, the writer may effect a “closing purchase transaction” by buying an option of the same series as the option previously written. The effect of the purchase is that the clearing corporation will cancel the option writer’s position. However, a writer may not effect a closing purchase transaction after being notified of the exercise of an option. Likewise, the buyer of an option may recover all or a portion of the premium that it paid by effecting a “closing sale transaction” by selling an option of the same series as the option previously purchased and receiving a premium on the sale. There is no guarantee that either a closing purchase or a closing sale transaction may be made at a time desired by a Fund. Closing transactions allow a Fund to terminate its positions in written and purchased options. A Fund will realize a profit from a closing transaction if the price of the transaction is less than the premium received from writing the original option (in the case of written options) or is more than the premium paid by a Fund to buy the option (in the case of purchased options). For example, increases in the market price of a call option sold by a Fund will generally reflect increases in the market price of the underlying reference instrument. As a result, any loss resulting from a closing transaction on a written call option is likely to be offset in whole or in part by appreciation of the underlying instrument owned by a Fund.

Risks of Options. A Fund’s options investments involve certain risks, including general risks related to derivative instruments. There can be no assurance that a liquid secondary market on an exchange will exist for any particular option, or at any particular time, and a Fund may have difficulty effecting closing transactions in particular options. Therefore, a Fund would have to exercise the options it purchased in order to realize any profit, thus taking or making delivery of the underlying reference instrument when not desired. A Fund could then incur transaction costs upon the sale of the underlying reference instruments. Similarly, when a Fund cannot effect a closing transaction with respect to a put option it wrote, and the buyer exercises, a Fund would be required to take delivery and would incur transaction costs upon the sale of the underlying reference instruments purchased. If a Fund, as a covered call option writer, is

unable to effect a closing purchase transaction in a secondary market, it will not be able to sell the underlying reference instrument until the option expires, or it delivers the underlying instrument upon exercise. When trading options on non-U.S. exchanges or in the OTC market, many of the protections afforded to exchange participants will not be available. For example, there may be no daily price fluctuation limits, and adverse market movements could therefore continue to an unlimited extent over an indefinite period of time.

The effectiveness of an options strategy for hedging depends on the degree to which price movements in the underlying reference instruments correlate with price movements in the relevant portion of a Fund’s portfolio that is being hedged. In addition, a Fund bears the risk that the prices of its portfolio investments will not move in the same amount as the option it has purchased or sold for hedging purposes, or that there may be a negative correlation that would result in a loss on both the investments and the option. If the Adviser is not successful in using options in managing a Fund’s investments, the Funds’ performance will be worse than if the Adviser did not employ such strategies.

Derivatives Regulatory Risk. New rules and regulations could, among other things, restrict a Fund’s ability to engage in, or increase the cost to the Fund of, derivatives transactions, for example, by making some types of derivatives no longer available to the Fund, increasing margin or capital requirements, or otherwise limiting liquidity or increasing transaction costs. The costs of derivatives transactions also may increase due to regulatory requirements imposed on clearing members, which may cause clearing members to raise their fees to cover the costs of additional capital requirements and other regulatory changes applicable to the clearing members. Certain aspects of these regulations are still being implemented, so their potential impact on a Fund and the financial system are not yet known. While the regulations and central clearing of some derivatives transactions are designed to reduce systemic risk (i.e., the risk that the interdependence of large derivatives dealers could cause them to suffer liquidity, solvency or other challenges simultaneously), there is no assurance that the mechanisms imposed under the regulations will achieve that result, and in the meantime, as noted above, central clearing, minimum margin requirements and related requirements expose a Fund to new kinds of risks and costs.

Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act (“Rule 18f-4”) imposes limits on the amount of leverage risk to which a fund may be exposed through the use of such derivatives and requires the adoption of certain derivatives risk management measures. Under Rule 18f-4, a fund’s investment in such derivatives is limited through value-at-risk (“VaR”) testing. Specifically, the VaR of the fund’s portfolio may not exceed 200% of the VaR of a specific unleveraged designated reference portfolio using relative VaR testing (or 20% of the value of the fund’s net assets using absolute VaR testing). Generally, a fund whose derivatives exposure exceeds 10% of its net assets is required to establish and maintain a comprehensive derivatives risk management program, subject to oversight by a fund’s board of trustees, and appoint a derivatives risk manager. Funds whose derivatives exposure does not exceed 10% of their net assets may be considered limited derivatives users and are not required to comply with all of the conditions of Rule 18f-4, including the adoption of a derivatives risk management program and appointment of a derivatives risk manager, though they are required to adopt policies and procedures designed to manage derivatives risk. Compliance with Rule 18f-4 may adversely affect the Fund’s performance and/or increase costs related to the Fund’s use of derivatives.

Other Short-Term Instruments

The Funds may invest in short-term instruments, including money market instruments, on an ongoing basis to provide liquidity or for other reasons. Money market instruments are generally short-term investments that may include but are not limited to: (i) shares of money market funds; (ii) obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies, or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises); (iii) negotiable certificates of deposit (“CDs”), bankers’ acceptances, fixed time deposits, and other obligations of U.S. and foreign banks (including foreign branches) and similar institutions; (iv) commercial paper rated at the date of purchase “Prime-1” by Moody’s or “A‑1” by S&P or, if unrated, of comparable quality as determined by the Adviser; (v) non-convertible corporate debt securities (e.g., bonds and debentures) with remaining maturities at the date of purchase of not more than 397 days and that satisfy the rating requirements set forth in Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act; and (vi) short-term U.S. dollar-denominated obligations of foreign banks (including U.S. branches) that, in the opinion of the Adviser, are of comparable quality to obligations of U.S. banks which may be purchased by a Fund. Any of these instruments may be purchased on a current or a forward-settled basis. Money market instruments also include shares of money market funds. Time deposits are non-negotiable deposits maintained in banking institutions for specified periods of time at stated interest rates. Bankers’ acceptances are time drafts drawn on commercial banks by borrowers, usually in connection with international transactions.

Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”)

A U.S. REIT is a corporation or business trust (that would otherwise be taxed as a corporation) which meets the definitional requirements of the Code. The Code permits a qualifying REIT to deduct from taxable income the dividends paid, thereby effectively eliminating corporate level federal income tax. To meet the definitional requirements of the Code, a REIT must, among other things: invest substantially all of its assets in interests in real estate (including mortgages and other REITs), cash and government securities; derive most of its income from rents from real property or interest on loans secured by mortgages on real property; and, in general, distribute annually 90% or more of its taxable income (other than net capital gains) to shareholders.

REITs are sometimes informally characterized as Equity REITs and Mortgage REITs. An Equity REIT invests primarily in the fee ownership or leasehold ownership of land and buildings (e.g., commercial equity REITs and residential equity REITs). A Mortgage REIT invests primarily in mortgages on real property, which may secure construction, development, or long-term loans.

REITs may be affected by changes in underlying real estate values, which may have an exaggerated effect to the extent that REITs in which a Fund invests may concentrate investments in particular geographic regions or property types. Additionally, rising interest rates may cause investors in REITs to demand a higher annual yield from future distributions, which may in turn decrease market prices for equity securities issued by REITs. Rising interest rates also generally increase the costs of obtaining financing, which could cause the value of a Fund’s investments to decline. During periods of declining interest rates, certain Mortgage REITs may hold mortgages that the mortgagors elect to prepay, which prepayment may diminish the yield on securities issued by such Mortgage REITs. In addition, Mortgage REITs may be affected by the ability of borrowers to repay when due the debt extended by the REIT and Equity REITs may be affected by the ability of tenants to pay rent.

Certain REITs have relatively small market capitalization, which may tend to increase the volatility of the market price of securities issued by such REITs. Furthermore, REITs are dependent upon specialized management skills, have limited diversification and are, therefore, subject to risks inherent in operating and financing a limited number of projects. By investing in REITs indirectly through a Fund, a shareholder will bear not only his or her proportionate share of the expenses of the Fund, but also, indirectly, similar expenses of the REITs. REITs depend generally on their ability to generate cash flow to make distributions to shareholders.

In addition to these risks, Equity REITs may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying property owned by the trusts, while Mortgage REITs may be affected by the quality of any credit extended. Further, Equity and Mortgage REITs are dependent upon management skills and generally may not be diversified. Equity and Mortgage REITs are also subject to heavy cash flow dependency defaults by borrowers and self-liquidation. In addition, Equity and Mortgage REITs could possibly fail to qualify for the favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment generally available to U.S. REITs under the Code or fail to maintain their exemptions from registration under the 1940 Act. The above factors also may adversely affect a borrower’s or a lessee’s ability to meet its obligations to the REIT. In the event of default by a borrower or lessee, the REIT may experience delays in enforcing its rights as a mortgagee or lessor and may incur substantial costs associated with protecting its investments.

Repurchase Agreements

Each Fund may invest in repurchase agreements with commercial banks, brokers, or dealers to generate income from its excess cash balances and to invest in securities lending cash collateral. A repurchase agreement is an agreement under which a Fund acquires a financial instrument (e.g., a security issued by the U.S. government or an agency thereof, a banker’s acceptance or a certificate of deposit) from a seller, subject to resale to the seller at an agreed-upon price and date (normally, the next business day). A repurchase agreement may be considered a loan collateralized by securities. The resale price reflects an agreed-upon interest rate effective for the period the instrument is held by the applicable Fund and is unrelated to the interest rate on the underlying instrument.

In these repurchase agreement transactions, the securities acquired by a Fund (including accrued interest earned thereon) must have a total value in excess of the value of the repurchase agreement and are held by the Funds’ custodian until repurchased. No more than an aggregate of 15% of a Fund’s net assets will be invested in illiquid investments, including repurchase agreements having maturities longer than seven days and securities subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale, or for which there are no readily available market quotations.

The use of repurchase agreements involves certain risks. For example, if the other party to the agreement defaults on its obligation to repurchase the underlying security at a time when the value of the security has declined, a Fund may incur a loss upon disposition of the security. If the other party to the agreement becomes insolvent and subject to liquidation or reorganization under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code or other laws, a court may determine that the underlying security is collateral for a loan by a Fund not within the control of the Fund and, therefore, the Fund may not be able to substantiate its interest in the underlying security and may be deemed an unsecured creditor of the other party to the agreement.

Reverse Repurchase Agreements (Optimized Equity Income ETF only).

A Fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements, which involve the sale of securities held by the Fund subject to its agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon date or upon demand and at a price reflecting a market rate of interest. Reverse repurchase agreements may be entered into only with banks or securities dealers or their affiliates. While a reverse repurchase agreement is outstanding, a Fund will, for all of its reverse repurchase agreements, either (i) consistent with Section 18 of the 1940 Act, maintain asset coverage of at least 300% of the value of the repurchase agreement or (ii) treat the reverse repurchase agreement as a derivatives transaction for purposes of Rule 18f-4, including, as applicable, the VaR-based limit on leverage risk.

Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the buyer of the securities sold by a Fund might be unable to deliver them when the Fund seeks to repurchase. If the buyer of securities under a reverse repurchase agreement files for bankruptcy or becomes insolvent, the buyer, trustee, or receiver may receive an extension of time to determine whether to enforce the Fund’s obligation to repurchase the securities, and the Fund’s use of the proceeds of the reverse repurchase agreement may effectively be restricted pending such decision.

Securities Lending

Each Fund may lend portfolio securities in an amount up to one-third of its total assets to brokers, dealers, and other financial institutions. In a portfolio securities lending transaction, a Fund receives from the borrower an amount equal to the interest paid or the

dividends declared on the loaned securities during the term of the loan as well as the interest on the collateral securities, less any fees (such as finder’s or administrative fees) the Fund pays in arranging the loan. A Fund may share the interest it receives on the collateral securities with the borrower. The terms of each Fund’s loans permit it to reacquire loaned securities on five business days’ notice or in time to vote on any important matter. Loans are subject to termination at the option of the applicable Fund or borrower at any time, and the borrowed securities must be returned when the loan is terminated. The Funds may pay fees to arrange for securities loans.

The SEC currently requires that the following conditions must be met whenever a Fund’s portfolio securities are loaned: (1) the Fund must receive at least 100% cash collateral from the borrower; (2) the borrower must increase such collateral whenever the market value of the securities rises above the level of such collateral; (3) the Fund must be able to terminate the loan at any time; (4) the Fund must receive reasonable interest on the loan, as well as any dividends, interest or other distributions on the loaned securities, and any increase in market value; (5) the Fund may pay only reasonable custodian fees approved by the Board in connection with the loan; (6) while voting rights on the loaned securities may pass to the borrower, the Board must terminate the loan and regain the right to vote the securities if a material event adversely affecting the investment occurs; and (7) the Fund may not loan its portfolio securities so that the value of the loaned securities is more than one-third of its total asset value, including collateral received from such loans. These conditions may be subject to future modification. Such loans will be terminable at any time upon specified notice. A Fund might experience the risk of loss if the institution with which it has engaged in a portfolio loan transaction breaches its agreement with the Fund. In addition, the Funds will not enter into any portfolio security lending arrangement having a duration of longer than one year. The principal risk of portfolio lending is potential default or insolvency of the borrower. In either of these cases, a Fund could experience delays in recovering securities or collateral or could lose all or part of the value of the loaned securities. As part of participating in a lending program, the applicable Fund may be required to invest in collateralized debt or other securities that bear the risk of loss of principal. In addition, all investments made with the collateral received are subject to the risks associated with such investments. If such investments lose value, a Fund will have to cover the loss when repaying the collateral.

Any loans of portfolio securities are fully collateralized based on values that are marked-to-market daily. Any securities that a Fund may receive as collateral will not become part of a Fund’s investment portfolio at the time of the loan and, in the event of a default by the borrower, the Fund will, if permitted by law, dispose of such collateral except for such part thereof that is a security in which the Fund is permitted to invest. During the time securities are on loan, the borrower will pay a Fund any accrued income on those securities, and the Fund may invest the cash collateral and earn income or receive an agreed-upon fee from a borrower that has delivered cash-equivalent collateral.

U.S. Government Securities

Each Fund may invest in U.S. government securities. Securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, or its agencies or instrumentalities, include U.S. Treasury securities, which are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury, and which differ only in their interest rates, maturities, and times of issuance. U.S. Treasury bills have initial maturities of one year or less; U.S. Treasury notes have initial maturities of one to ten years; and U.S. Treasury bonds generally have initial maturities of greater than ten years. Certain U.S. government securities are issued or guaranteed by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government, including, but not limited to, obligations of U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”), the Government National Mortgage Association (“Ginnie Mae”), the Small Business Administration, the Federal Farm Credit Administration, the Federal Home Loan Banks, Banks for Cooperatives (including the Central Bank for Cooperatives), the Federal Land Banks, the Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Federal Financing Bank, the Student Loan Marketing Association, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation.

Some obligations issued or guaranteed by U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities, including, for example, Ginnie Mae pass- through certificates, are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury. Other obligations issued by or guaranteed by federal agencies, such as those securities issued by Fannie Mae, are supported by the discretionary authority of the U.S. government to purchase certain obligations of the federal agency, while other obligations issued by or guaranteed by federal agencies, such as those of the Federal Home Loan Banks, are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury. While the U.S. government provides financial support to such U.S. government-sponsored federal agencies, no assurance can be given that the U.S. government will always do so, since the U.S. government is not so obligated by law. U.S. Treasury notes and bonds typically pay coupon interest semi-annually and repay the principal at maturity.

On September 7, 2008, the U.S. Treasury announced a federal takeover of Fannie Mae and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”), placing the two federal instrumentalities in conservatorship. Under the takeover, the U.S. Treasury agreed to acquire $1 billion of senior preferred stock of each instrumentality and obtained warrants for the purchase of common stock of each instrumentality (the “Senior Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement” or “Agreement”). Under the Agreement, the U.S. Treasury pledged to provide up to $200 billion per instrumentality as needed, including the contribution of cash capital to the instrumentalities in the event their liabilities exceed their assets. This was intended to ensure that the instrumentalities maintain a positive net worth and meet their financial obligations, preventing mandatory triggering of receivership. On December 24, 2009, the U.S. Treasury announced that it was amending the Agreement to allow the $200 billion cap on the U.S. Treasury’s funding commitment to increase as necessary to accommodate any cumulative reduction in net worth over the next three years. As a result of this Agreement, the

investments of holders, including a Fund, of mortgage-backed securities and other obligations issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are protected.

The total public debt of the United States as a percentage of gross domestic product has grown rapidly since the beginning of the 2008-2009 financial downturn. Although high debt levels do not necessarily indicate or cause economic problems, they may create certain systemic risks if sound debt management practices are not implemented. A high national debt can raise concerns that the U.S. government will not be able to make principal or interest payments when they are due. In August 2011, S&P® lowered its long-term sovereign credit rating on the U.S. In explaining the downgrade at that time, S&P® cited, among other reasons, controversy over raising the statutory debt limit and growth in public spending. In August 2023, Fitch Ratings also downgraded its U.S. debt rating from AAA to AA+, citing expected fiscal deterioration over the next three years and repeated down-to-the-wire debt ceiling negotiations. In May 2025, Moody’s lowered the long-term issuer rating of the U.S. to “Aa1” from “Aaa” to reflect over a decade of increasing government debt and high interest payment ratios relative to similarly rated sovereigns.

An increase in national debt levels also may necessitate the need for the U.S. Congress to negotiate adjustments to the statutory debt ceiling to increase the cap on the amount the U.S. government is permitted to borrow to meet its existing obligations and finance current budget deficits. Future downgrades could increase volatility in domestic and foreign financial markets, result in higher interest rates, lower prices of U.S. Treasury securities and increase the costs of different kinds of debt. Any controversy or ongoing uncertainty regarding the statutory debt ceiling negotiations may impact the U.S. long-term sovereign credit rating and may cause market uncertainty. As a result, market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government may be adversely affected.

When-Issued Securities

A when-issued security is one whose terms are available and for which a market exists, but which has not been issued. When a Fund engages in when-issued transactions, it relies on the other party to consummate the sale. If the other party fails to complete the sale, a Fund may miss the opportunity to obtain the security at a favorable price or yield.

When purchasing a security on a when-issued basis, a Fund assumes the rights and risks of ownership of the security, including the risk of price and yield changes. At the time of settlement, the value of the security may be more or less than the purchase price. The yield available in the market when the delivery takes place also may be higher than those obtained in the transaction itself. Because a Fund does not pay for the security until the delivery date, these risks are in addition to the risks associated with its other investments.

Decisions to enter into “when-issued” transactions will be considered on a case-by-case basis when necessary to maintain continuity in a company’s index membership.

INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS

The Trust has adopted the following investment restrictions as fundamental policies with respect to the Fund. These restrictions cannot be changed with respect to the Fund without the approval of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities. For the purposes of the 1940 Act, a “majority of outstanding shares” means the vote of the lesser of: (1) 67% or more of the voting securities of the Fund present at the meeting if the holders of more than 50% of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities are present or represented by proxy; or (2) more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund.

Except with the approval of a majority of the outstanding voting securities, the Fund may not:

1.Borrow money, except to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations thereunder and any applicable exemptive relief.

2.Issue senior securities, except to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations thereunder and any applicable exemptive relief.

3.Engage in the business of underwriting securities except to the extent that the Fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the 1933 Act in the acquisition, disposition or resale of its portfolio securities or in connection with investments in other investment companies, or to the extent otherwise permitted under the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations thereunder and any applicable exemptive relief.

4.Purchase or sell real estate, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations thereunder and any applicable exemptive relief.

5.Purchase or sell commodities, contracts relating to commodities or options on contracts relating to commodities except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations thereunder and any applicable exemptive relief. This policy shall not prevent the Fund from purchasing or selling foreign currency or purchasing, selling or entering into futures contracts, options, forward contracts, swaps, caps, floors, collars and other financial instruments as currently exist or may in the future be developed.

6.Make loans, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations thereunder and any applicable exemptive relief.

7.With respect to 75% of its total assets, (i) purchase securities of any issuer (except securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities or shares of investment companies) if, as a result, more than 5% of its total assets would be invested in the securities of such issuer, or (ii) acquire more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of any one issuer.

8.Concentrate its investments (i.e., hold more than 25% of its total assets) in any industry or group of related industries. For purposes of this limitation, securities of the U.S. government (including its agencies and instrumentalities), repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. government securities, investment companies and tax-exempt securities of state or municipal governments and their political subdivisions are not considered to be issued by members of any industry.

In addition to the investment restrictions adopted as fundamental policies as set forth above, the Optimized Equity Income ETF has adopted the following non-fundamental restriction, which may be changed without a shareholder vote upon 60 days’ notice.

1. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, will be invested in equity securities.

The following descriptions of certain provisions of the 1940 Act may assist investors in understanding the above policies and restrictions:

Borrowing. The 1940 Act presently allows a fund to borrow from any bank (including pledging, mortgaging, or hypothecating assets) in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets (not including temporary borrowings not in excess of 5% of its total assets).

Senior Securities. For purposes of fundamental policy no. 2 above, senior securities may include any obligation or instrument constituting a security issued by the Fund and evidencing indebtedness or a future payment obligation. The 1940 Act generally prohibits funds from issuing senior securities other than borrowing from a bank subject to specific asset coverage requirements. The 1940 Act prohibitions and restrictions on the issuance of senior securities are designed to protect shareholders from the potentially adverse effects of a fund’s issuance of senior securities, including, in particular, the risks associated with excessive leverage of a fund’s assets. Certain types of derivatives give rise to future payment obligations and therefore also may be considered to be senior securities. Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act permits funds that comply with the conditions therein to enter into certain types of derivatives transactions notwithstanding the prohibitions and restrictions on the issuance of senior securities under the 1940 Act. To the extent consistent with its investment strategies, the Fund may invest in derivatives in compliance with the conditions set forth in Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act.

Lending. Under the 1940 Act, a fund may only make loans if expressly permitted by its investment policies.

Real Estate and Commodities. The 1940 Act does not directly restrict an investment company’s ability to invest in real estate or commodities, but does require that every investment company have a fundamental investment policy governing such investments.

Underwriting. Under the 1940 Act, underwriting securities involves a fund purchasing securities directly from an issuer for the purpose of selling (distributing) them or participating in any such activity either directly or indirectly.

If a percentage limitation is adhered to at the time of investment or contract, a later increase or decrease in percentage resulting from any change in value or total or net assets will not result in a violation of such restriction, except that the percentage limitation with respect to the borrowing of money will be observed continuously.

EXCHANGE LISTING AND TRADING

Shares are listed for trading and trade throughout the day on the Exchange.

There can be no assurance that a Fund will continue to meet the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of Shares. The Exchange will consider the suspension of trading in, and will initiate delisting proceedings of, the Shares under any of the following circumstances: (i) if any of the requirements set forth in the Exchange rules are not continuously maintained, including compliance with Rule 6c-11(c) under the 1940 Act; (ii) if, following the initial 12-month period beginning at the commencement of trading of a Fund, there are fewer than 50 beneficial owners of the Shares of such Fund; or (iii) if such other event shall occur or condition shall exist that, in the opinion of the Exchange, makes further dealings on the Exchange inadvisable. The Exchange will remove the Shares of a Fund from listing and trading upon termination of such Fund.

The Trust reserves the right to adjust the price levels of Shares in the future to help maintain convenient trading ranges for investors. Any adjustments would be accomplished through stock splits or reverse stock splits, which would have no effect on the net assets of the applicable Fund.

MANAGEMENT OF THE TRUST

Board Responsibilities. The management and affairs of the Trust and its series are overseen by the Board, which elects the officers of the Trust who are responsible for administering the day-to-day operations of the Trust and the Funds. The Board has approved contracts, as described below, under which certain companies provide essential services to the Trust.

The day-to-day business of the Trust, including the management of risk, is performed by third-party service providers, such as the Adviser, the Distributor, and the Administrator. The Board is responsible for overseeing the Trust’s service providers and, thus, has oversight responsibility with respect to risk management performed by those service providers. Risk management seeks to identify and address risks, i.e., events or circumstances that could have material adverse effects on the business, operations, shareholder services, investment performance or reputation of a Fund. The Funds and their service providers employ a variety of processes, procedures and controls to identify various of those possible events or circumstances, to lessen the probability of their occurrence and/or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur. Each service provider is responsible for one or more discrete aspects of the Trust’s business (e.g., the Adviser is responsible for the day-to-day management of each Fund’s portfolio investments) and, consequently, for managing the risks associated with that business. The Board has emphasized to the Funds’ service providers the importance of maintaining vigorous risk management.

The Board’s role in risk oversight begins before the inception of the Funds, at which time certain of the Funds’ service providers present the Board with information concerning the investment objectives, strategies and risks of the Funds as well as proposed investment limitations for the Funds. Additionally, the Adviser provides the Board with an overview of, among other things, its investment philosophy, brokerage practices and compliance infrastructure. Thereafter, the Board continues its oversight function of various personnel, including the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer, as well as personnel of the Adviser, and other service providers such as the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm, who make periodic reports to the Audit Committee or to the Board with respect to various aspects of risk management. The Board and the Audit Committee oversee efforts by management and service providers to manage risks to which the Funds may be exposed.

The Board is responsible for overseeing the nature, extent, and quality of the services provided to the Funds by the Adviser and receives information about those services at its regular meetings. In addition, on an annual basis (following the initial two-year period), in connection with its consideration of whether to renew the Advisory Agreement (defined below) with the Adviser, the Board or its designee may meet with the Adviser to review such services. Among other things, the Board regularly considers the Adviser’s adherence to each Fund’s investment restrictions and compliance with various Fund policies and procedures and with applicable securities regulations. The Board also reviews information about each Fund’s performance and investments, including, for example, portfolio holdings schedules.

The Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer reports regularly to the Board to review and discuss compliance issues and Fund and Adviser risk assessments. At least annually, the Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer provides the Board with a report reviewing the adequacy and effectiveness of the Trust’s policies and procedures and those of its service providers, including the Adviser. The report addresses the operation of the policies and procedures of the Trust and each service provider since the date of the last report; any material changes to the policies and procedures since the date of the last report; any recommendations for material changes to the policies and procedures; and any material compliance matters since the date of the last report.

The Board receives reports from the Funds’ service providers regarding operational risks and risks related to the valuation and liquidity of portfolio securities. Annually, the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm reviews with the Audit Committee its audit of the Funds’ financial statements, focusing on major areas of risk encountered by the Funds and noting any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the Funds’ internal controls. Additionally, in connection with its oversight function, the Board oversees Fund management’s implementation of disclosure controls and procedures, which are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Trust in its periodic reports with the SEC are recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the required time periods. The Board also oversees the Trust’s internal controls over financial reporting, which comprise policies and procedures designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of the Trust’s financial reporting and the preparation of the Trust’s financial statements.

From their review of these reports and discussions with the Adviser, the Chief Compliance Officer, the independent registered public accounting firm and other service providers, the Board and the Audit Committee learn in detail about the material risks of each Fund, thereby facilitating a dialogue about how management and service providers identify and mitigate those risks.

The Board recognizes that not all risks that may affect a Fund can be identified and/or quantified, that it may not be practical or cost-effective to eliminate or mitigate certain risks, that it may be necessary to bear certain risks (such as investment-related risks) to achieve a Fund’s goals, and that the processes, procedures and controls employed to address certain risks may be limited in their effectiveness. Moreover, reports received by the Board as to risk management matters are typically summaries of the relevant information. Most of the Funds’ investment management and business affairs are carried out by or through the Adviser, and other service providers, each of which has an independent interest in risk management but whose policies and the methods by which one or more risk management functions are carried out may differ from the Trust’s and each other’s in the setting of priorities, the resources available or the effectiveness of relevant controls. As a result of the foregoing and other factors, the Board’s ability to monitor and manage risk, as a practical matter, is subject to limitations.

Members of the Board. There are three members of the Board, none of whom are interested persons of the Trust, as that term is defined in the 1940 Act (the “Independent Trustees”).

There is an Audit Committee of the Board that is chaired by an Independent Trustee and comprised solely of Independent Trustees. The Audit Committee chair presides at the Audit Committee meetings, participates in formulating agendas for Audit Committee

meetings, and coordinates with management to serve as a liaison between the Independent Trustees and management on matters within the scope of responsibilities of the Audit Committee as set forth in its Board-approved charter. The Trust has not designated a lead Independent Trustee but has determined its leadership structure is appropriate given the specific characteristics and circumstances of the Trust. The Trust made this determination in consideration of, among other things, the fact that the Independent Trustees of the Trust constitute a super-majority of the Board, the number of Independent Trustees that constitute the Board, the amount of assets under management in the Trust, and the number of funds overseen by the Board. The Board also believes that its leadership structure facilitates the orderly and efficient flow of information to the Independent Trustees from Fund management.

Additional information about each Trustee of the Trust is set forth below. The address of each Trustee of the Trust is c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, 615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202.

Name and Year of Birth

Position Held with the Trust

Term of Office and Length of Time Served

Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years

Number of Portfolios in Fund Complex* Overseen by Trustee

Other Directorships Held by Trustee During Past 5 Years

John L. Jacobs

Year of birth: 1959

Trustee and Audit Committee Chair

Indefinite term; since 2017**

Founder and CEO of Q3 Advisors, LLC (financial consulting firm) (since 2015); Chairman of VettaFi, LLC (2018-2024); Executive Director of Center for Financial Markets and Policy (2016–2022); Distinguished Policy Fellow and Executive Director, Center for Financial Markets and Policy, Georgetown University (2015–2022)

Independent Trustee, TEMA ETF Trust (since 2023) (1 portfolio); NEOS ETF Trust (since 2021) (3 portfolios); Director, tZERO Group, Inc. (since 2020); Independent Trustee, Procure ETF Trust II (since 2018) (2 portfolios)

Koji E. Felton

Year of birth: 1961

Trustee

Indefinite term; since 2019

Retired; formerly Counsel, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. (investment firm) (2013–2015)

Independent Trustee, Series Portfolios Trust (since 2015) (19 portfolios)

Pamela H. Conroy

Year of birth: 1961

Trustee, Chair, and Nominating and Governance Committee Chair

Indefinite term; since 2019

Retired; formerly Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer & Chief Compliance Officer, Institutional Capital Corporation (investment firm) (1994–2008)

Independent Trustee, Frontier Funds, Inc. (since 2020) (4 portfolios)

* The Trust is the only registered investment company in the Fund Complex. As used in this SAI, the term "Fund Complex" applies to all operational series of the Trust.

** Mr. Jacobs began serving as a Trustee when the Trust was known by its former name, Active Weighting Funds ETF Trust.

Individual Trustee Qualifications. The Trust has concluded that each of the Trustees should serve on the Board because of their ability to review and understand information about the Funds provided to them by management, to identify and request other information they may deem relevant to the performance of their duties, to question management and other service providers regarding material factors bearing on the management and administration of the Funds, and to exercise their business judgment in a manner that serves the best interests of the Funds’ shareholders. The Trust has concluded that each of the Trustees should serve as a Trustee based on his or her own experience, qualifications, attributes and skills as described below.

The Trust has concluded that Mr. Jacobs should serve as a Trustee because of his substantial industry experience. He most recently served as the CEO of Q3 Advisors, LLC and as the Distinguished Policy Fellow and Executive Director of the Center for Financial Markets and Policy, and as Adjunct Professor of Finance at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. He also served as Senior Advisor and principal consultant to Nasdaq’s CEO and President. Mr. Jacobs has been determined to qualify as an Audit Committee Financial Expert for the Trust.

The Trust has concluded that Mr. Felton should serve as a Trustee because of his substantial industry experience, including over two decades working in the asset management industry providing legal, regulatory compliance, governance and risk management advice to registered investment companies, their advisers and boards. Prior to that, he gained experience and perspective as a regulator while serving as an enforcement attorney and branch chief for the SEC. He also represented public companies and their boards of directors in securities class actions, derivative litigation and SEC investigations as a litigation associate at a national law firm. Mr. Felton currently serves as an independent trustee and chair of the nominating and governance committee of a mutual fund complex.

The Trust has concluded that Ms. Conroy should serve as a Trustee because of her substantial industry experience, including over 25 years of achievements at both a large, multi-location financial institution as well as a small, entrepreneurial firm. She has expertise in all facets of portfolio accounting, securities processing, trading operations, marketing, as well as legal and compliance.

In its periodic assessment of the effectiveness of the Board, the Board considers the complementary individual skills and experience of the individual Trustees primarily in the broader context of the Board’s overall composition so that the Board, as a body, possesses the appropriate (and appropriately diverse) skills and experience to oversee the business of the series of the Trust.

Board Committees. The Board has established the following standing committees of the Board:

Audit Committee. The Board has a standing Audit Committee that is composed of each of the Independent Trustees of the Trust. The Audit Committee operates under a written charter approved by the Board. The principal responsibilities of the Audit Committee include: recommending which firm to engage as the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm and when and whether to terminate this relationship, as necessary; reviewing the independent registered public accounting firm’s compensation, the proposed scope and terms of its engagement, and the firm’s independence; pre-approving audit and non-audit services provided by the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm to the Trust and certain other affiliated entities; serving as a channel of communication between the independent registered public accounting firm and the Trustees; reviewing the results of each external audit, including any qualifications in the independent registered public accounting firm’s opinion, any related management letter, management’s responses to recommendations made by the independent registered public accounting firm in connection with the audit, reports submitted to the Audit Committee by the internal auditing department of the Trust’s Administrator that are material to the Trust as a whole, if any, and management’s responses to any such reports; reviewing the Funds’ audited financial statements and considering any significant disputes between the Trust’s management and the independent registered public accounting firm that arose in connection with the preparation of those financial statements; considering, in consultation with the independent registered public accounting firm and the Trust’s senior internal accounting executive, if any, the independent registered public accounting firms’ report on the adequacy of the Trust’s internal financial controls; reviewing, in consultation with the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm, major changes regarding auditing and accounting principles and practices to be followed when preparing the Funds’ financial statements; and other audit related matters. During the fiscal year ended April 30, 2026, the Audit Committee met four times.

The Audit Committee also serves as the Qualified Legal Compliance Committee (“QLCC”) for the Trust for the purpose of compliance with Rules 205.2(k) and 205.3(c) of the Code of Federal Regulations, regarding alternative reporting procedures for attorneys retained or employed by an issuer who appear and practice before the SEC on behalf of the issuer (the “issuer attorneys”). An issuer attorney who becomes aware of evidence of a material violation by the Trust, or by any officer, director, employee, or agent of the Trust, may report evidence of such material violation to the QLCC as an alternative to the reporting requirements of Rule 205.3(b) (which requires reporting to the chief legal officer and potentially “up the ladder” to other entities).

Nominating and Governance Committee. The Board has a standing Nominating and Governance Committee that is composed of each of the Independent Trustees of the Trust. The Nominating and Governance Committee operates under a written charter approved by the Board. The principal responsibility of the Nominating and Governance Committee is to consider, recommend and nominate candidates to fill vacancies on the Board, if any. The Nominating and Governance Committee generally will not consider nominees recommended by shareholders. The Nominating and Governance Committee meets periodically, as necessary. During the fiscal year ended April 30, 2026, the Nominating and Governance Committee met one time.

Principal Officers of the Trust. The officers of the Trust conduct and supervise the Trust’s and each Fund’s daily business. The address of each officer of the Trust is c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, 615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202. Additional information about each officer of the Trust is as follows:


Name and Year of Birth	Position(s) Held with the Trust	Term of Office and Length of Time Served	Principal Occupation(s) During Past 5 Years
Kacie G. Briody Year of birth: 1992	President and Principal Executive Officer	Indefinite term, March 2025	Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2025); Assistant Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (2021-2025)
Travis G. Babich Year of birth: 1980	Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer	Indefinite term, September 2019	Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2005)
David J. Rantisi Year of birth: 1992	Assistant Treasurer	Indefinite term, March 2025	Assistant Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2014)
Elaine E. Richards Year of birth: 1968	Secretary & Vice President	Indefinite term, June 2026	Senior Vice President, U.S. Bank Global Fund Services (since 2007)
Anjali E. Connors Year of birth: 1982	Chief Compliance Officer and Anti-Money Laundering Officer	Indefinite term, January 2026	Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2025); Associate Director, Investment Advisory Compliance, Robert W. Baird & Co. (2022 to 2025); Chief Compliance Officer, Strategas Asset Management, LLC (wholly owned by Baird Financial Corporation) (2022 to 2025); Director, Governance and Controls Advisor, CIBC Private Wealth Management (2018 to 2022)
Marissa J. Pawlinski Year of birth: 1996	Assistant Secretary	Indefinite term, June 2025	Assistant Vice President, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2023); Regulatory Administration Attorney, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (since 2022); Judicial Law Clerk, Milwaukee County Circuit Court (2021-2022)

Trustee Ownership of Shares. The Funds are required to show the dollar amount ranges of each Trustee’s “beneficial ownership” of Shares and each other series of the Trust as of the end of the most recently completed calendar year. Dollar amount ranges disclosed

are established by the SEC. “Beneficial ownership” is determined in accordance with Rule 16a-1(a)(2) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”).

As of December 31, 2025, no Trustee or officer of the Trust owned Shares of the Funds or any other fund within the Trust’s Fund Complex.

Board Compensation. Each Independent Trustee receives an annual stipend of $145,000 (prior to January 1, 2026, the annual stipend was $125,000) and reimbursement for all reasonable travel expenses relating to their attendance at Board Meetings. The chair of the Audit Committee receives an annual stipend of $5,000 and the chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee receives an annual stipend of $2,500. Pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser has agreed to pay all expenses of the Funds, except those specified in the Funds’ Prospectus. As a result, the Adviser is responsible for compensating the Independent Trustees on behalf of the Funds. For certain other series in the Trust established and operated as mutual funds, the adviser is not responsible for the payment of all expenses and each such series bears its share of trustee compensation. Trustee compensation disclosed in the table does not include reimbursed reasonable travel expenses relating to their attendance at Board Meetings. The following table shows the compensation earned by each Trustee during the fiscal year ended April 30, 2026.


Name	Aggregate Compensation from the Funds	Compensation Received by the Trustees with Regard to the entire Fund Complex
John L. Jacobs	$0	$150,000
Koji Felton	$0	$145,000
Pamela H. Conroy	$0	$147,500

PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS, CONTROL PERSONS, AND MANAGEMENT OWNERSHIP

A principal shareholder is any person who owns of record or beneficially 5% or more of the outstanding Shares. A control person is a shareholder that owns beneficially or through controlled companies more than 25% of the voting securities of a company or acknowledges the existence of control. Shareholders owning voting securities in excess of 25% may determine the outcome of any matter affecting and voted on by shareholders of a Fund. As of August 3, 2026, the Trustees and officers, as a group, owned less than 1% of the Shares of the Funds, and the following shareholders were considered to be a principal shareholder of each Fund:

Core Alternative ETF


Name and Address	% Ownership	Type of Ownership

Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. 211 Main Street San Francisco, California 94105-1905	46.52%	Record
National Financial Services LLC 200 Liberty Street New York, New York 10281	40.13%	Record
Pershing LLC One Pershing Plaza Jersey City, New Jersey 07399	6.56%	Record

Optimized Equity Income ETF


Name and Address	% Ownership	Type of Ownership

National Financial Services LLC 200 Liberty Street New York, New York 10281	82.77%	Record
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. 211 Main Street San Francisco, California 94105-1905	16.82%	Record

CODES OF ETHICS

The Trust and the Adviser have each adopted codes of ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act. These codes of ethics are designed to prevent affiliated persons of the Trust and the Adviser from engaging in deceptive, manipulative or fraudulent activities in connection with securities held or to be acquired by the Funds (which also may be held by persons subject to the codes of ethics). Each code of ethics permits personnel subject to that code of ethics to invest in securities for their personal investment accounts, subject to certain limitations, including limitations related to securities that may be purchased or held by the Funds. The Distributor (as defined below) relies on the principal underwriters exception under Rule 17j-1(c)(3), specifically where the Distributor is not affiliated with the Trust or the Adviser, and no officer, director, or general partner of the Distributor serves as an officer, director, or general partner of the Trust or the Adviser.

There can be no assurance that the codes of ethics will be effective in preventing such activities. Each code of ethics may be examined at the office of the SEC in Washington, D.C. or on the Internet at the SEC’s website at https://www.sec.gov.

PROXY VOTING POLICIES

The Funds have delegated proxy voting responsibilities to the Adviser, subject to the Board’s oversight. In delegating proxy responsibilities, the Board has directed that proxies be voted consistent with each Fund’s and its shareholders’ best interests and in compliance with all applicable proxy voting rules and regulations. The Adviser has engaged Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”) to make recommendations to the Adviser on the voting of proxies relating to securities held by each Fund and has adopted the ISS Proxy Voting Guidelines as part of the Adviser’s proxy voting policies (the “Proxy Voting Policies”) for such purpose.

A copy of the ISS Proxy Voting Guidelines is set forth in Appendix A to this SAI. The Trust’s Chief Compliance Officer is responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of the Proxy Voting Policies. The Proxy Voting Policies have been adopted by the Trust as the policies and procedures that the Adviser will use when voting proxies on behalf of the Funds. When the ISS Proxy Voting Guidelines do not cover a specific proxy issue and ISS does not provide a recommendation, the Adviser will use its best judgment in voting such proxies on behalf of the Funds.

When available, information on how the Funds voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 will be available (1) without charge, upon request, by calling 1-800-617-0004, and (2) on the SEC’s website at https://www.sec.gov.

INVESTMENT ADVISER

Core Alternative Capital, LLC, a Georgia limited liability company, serves as the investment adviser to the Funds. The Adviser is located at 3930 East Jones Bridge Road, Suite 380, Peachtree Corners, Georgia 30092. The Adviser is controlled by its founding member, David Pursell, and is an SEC-registered investment adviser.

The Adviser provides investment advice to the Funds and manages the day-to-day operations of the Funds, subject to the general supervision and oversight of the Board. The Adviser is responsible for the investment and reinvestment of the assets of the Funds in accordance with the investment objective, policies, and limitations of the Funds. In addition, the Adviser arranges for transfer agency, custody, fund administration, distribution, and all other services necessary for the Fund to operate.

For the services it provides to each Fund, the Adviser is entitled to a unified management fee, which is calculated daily and paid monthly, at an annual rate of each Funds’ average daily net assets.


Fund			Management Fee
Core Alternative ETF			1.05%
Optimized Equity Income ETF			0.75%

Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement between the Trust, on behalf of the Funds, and the Adviser (the “Advisory Agreement”), the Adviser has agreed to pay all expenses of the Funds except the fee payable to the Adviser under the Advisory Agreement, interest charges on any borrowings, dividends and other expenses on securities sold short, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses incurred in placing orders for the purchase and sale of securities and other investment instruments, acquired fund fees and expenses, accrued deferred tax liability, extraordinary expenses, and distribution (12b-1) fees and expenses (if any).

The table below sets forth the advisory fees paid by the Funds to the Adviser for the past three fiscal years ended April 30.


Name of Fund	2026	2025	2024
Core Alterative ETF	$448,435	$1,204,220	$3,419,621
Optimized Equity Income ETF*	$123,191	N/A	N/A

*The Fund commenced operations on October 21, 2025.

Portfolio Managers

David Pursell and Peter Simasek serve as the portfolio managers for both Funds, and Kyler Kring also serves as portfolio manager for the Core Alternative ETF (each a “Portfolio Manager”, and together, the “Portfolio Managers”). This section includes information about the Portfolio Managers, including information about compensation, other accounts managed, and the dollar range of Shares owned.

Share Ownership

A Fund is required to show the dollar ranges of each Portfolio Managers’ “beneficial ownership” of Shares as of the end of the most recently completed fiscal year or a more recent date for a new portfolio manager. Dollar amount ranges disclosed are established by the SEC. “Beneficial ownership” is determined in accordance with Rule 16a-1(a)(2) under the Exchange Act. As of April 30, 2026, the Portfolio Managers beneficially owned Shares of the Funds in the dollar ranges shown in the table below.


	Dollar Range of Equity Securities
Core Alternative ETF	Optimized Equity Income ETF
Kyler Kring	None	None
David Pursell	None	None
Peter Simasek	$10,001 and $50,000	None

Other Accounts

In addition to the Funds, the Portfolio Managers managed the following other accounts for the Adviser as of April 30, 2026, none of which were subject to a performance-based fee:


	Registered Investment Companies		Other Pooled Investment Vehicles		Other Accounts
Number of Accounts	Total Assets in the Accounts	Number of Accounts	Total Assets in the Accounts	Number of Accounts	Total Assets in the Accounts
Kyler Kring	0	$0	0	$0	312	$287 million
David Pursell	0	$0	0	$0	312	$287 million
Peter Simasek	0	$0	0	$0	312	$287 million

Compensation

Mr. Pursell’s compensation is based on the financial performance and profitability of the Adviser and not based on the performance of the Funds. Mr. Simasek and Mr. Kring receive a fixed base salary and discretionary bonus that are not tied to the performance of the Funds.

Conflicts of Interest

A Portfolio Manager’s management of “other accounts” may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in connection with his management of the Fund’s investments, on the one hand, and the investments of the other accounts, on the other. The other accounts may have similar investment objectives or strategies as the Funds. A potential conflict of interest may arise as a result, whereby a Portfolio Manager could favor one account over another. Another potential conflict could include a Portfolio Manager’s knowledge about the size, timing, and possible market impact of Fund trades, whereby the Portfolio Manager could use this information to the advantage of other accounts and to the disadvantage of the Funds. However, the Adviser has established policies and procedures to ensure that the purchase and sale of securities among all accounts the Adviser manages are fairly and equitably allocated.

DISTRIBUTOR

The Trust and Quasar Distributors, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Foreside Financial Group, LLC (doing business as ACA Group) (the “Distributor”), are parties to a distribution agreement (“Distribution Agreement”), whereby the Distributor acts as principal underwriter for the Trust and distributes Shares. Shares are continuously offered for sale by the Distributor only in Creation Units. The Distributor will not distribute Shares in amounts less than a Creation Unit and does not maintain a secondary market in Shares. The principal business address of the Distributor is 190 Middle Street, Suite 301, Portland, Maine 04101.

Under the Distribution Agreement, the Distributor, as agent for the Trust, will receive orders for the purchase and redemption of Creation Units, provided that any subscriptions and orders will not be binding on the Trust until accepted by the Trust. The Distributor is a broker-dealer registered under the Exchange Act and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”).

The Distributor also may enter into agreements with securities dealers (“Soliciting Dealers”) who will solicit purchases of Creation Units of Shares. Such Soliciting Dealers also may be Authorized Participants (as discussed in “Procedures for Purchase of Creation Units” below) or DTC participants (as defined below).

The Distribution Agreement will continue for two years from its effective date and is renewable annually thereafter. The continuance of the Distribution Agreement must be specifically approved at least annually (i) by the vote of the Trustees or by a vote of the shareholders of a Fund and (ii) by the vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operations of the Distribution Agreement or any related agreement, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. The Distribution Agreement is terminable without penalty by the Trust on 60 days’ written notice when authorized either by majority vote of its outstanding voting Shares or by a vote of a majority of the Board (including a majority of the Independent Trustees), or by the Distributor on 60 days’ written notice, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment. The Distribution Agreement provides that in the absence of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the part of the Distributor, or reckless disregard by it of its obligations thereunder, the Distributor shall not be liable for any action or failure to act in accordance with its duties thereunder.

Intermediary Compensation. The Adviser, or its affiliates, out of their own resources and not out of Fund assets (i.e., without additional cost to a Fund or its shareholders), may pay certain broker dealers, banks and other financial intermediaries (“Intermediaries”) for certain activities related to a Fund, including participation in activities that are designed to make Intermediaries

more knowledgeable about exchange-traded products, including the Fund, or for other activities, such as marketing and educational training or support. These arrangements are not financed by a Fund and, thus, do not result in increased Fund expenses. They are not reflected in the fees and expenses listed in the fees and expenses sections of a Fund’s Prospectus and they do not change the price paid by investors for the purchase of Shares or the amount received by a shareholder as proceeds from the redemption of Shares.

Such compensation may be paid to Intermediaries that provide services to a Fund, including marketing and education support (such as through conferences, webinars and printed communications). The Adviser will periodically assess the advisability of continuing to make these payments. Payments to an Intermediary may be significant to the Intermediary, and amounts that Intermediaries pay to your adviser, broker or other investment professional, if any, also may be significant to such adviser, broker or investment professional. Because an Intermediary may make decisions about what investment options it will make available or recommend, and what services to provide in connection with various products, based on payments it receives or is eligible to receive, such payments create conflicts of interest between the Intermediary and its clients. For example, these financial incentives may cause the Intermediary to recommend a Fund rather than other investments. The same conflict of interest exists with respect to your financial adviser, broker or investment professional if he or she receives similar payments from his or her Intermediary firm.

Intermediary information is current only as of the date of this SAI. Please contact your adviser, broker, or other investment professional for more information regarding any payments his or her Intermediary firm may receive. Any payments made by the Adviser or its affiliates to an Intermediary may create the incentive for an Intermediary to encourage customers to buy Shares.

If you have any additional questions, please call 1-800-617-0004.

Distribution and Service Plan. The Board has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan (the “Plan”) in accordance with the provisions of Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, which regulates circumstances under which an investment company may directly or indirectly bear expenses relating to the distribution of its shares. No payments pursuant to the Plan are expected to be made during the twelve (12) month period from the date of this SAI. Rule 12b-1 fees to be paid by a Fund under the Plan may only be imposed after approval by the Board.

Continuance of the Plan must be approved annually by a majority of the Trustees of the Trust and by a majority of the Trustees who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the Plan or in any agreements related to the Plan (“Qualified Trustees”). The Plan requires that quarterly written reports of amounts spent under the Plan and the purposes of such expenditures be furnished to and reviewed by the Trustees. The Plan may not be amended to increase materially the amount that may be spent thereunder without approval by a majority of the outstanding shares of a Fund. All material amendments of the Plan will require approval by a majority of the Trustees of the Trust and of the Qualified Trustees.

The Plan provides that each Fund pays the Distributor an annual fee of up to a maximum of 0.25% of the average daily net assets of its Shares. Under the Plan, the Distributor may make payments pursuant to written agreements to financial institutions and intermediaries such as banks, savings and loan associations and insurance companies including, without limit, investment counselors, broker-dealers and the Distributor’s affiliates and subsidiaries (collectively, “Agents”) as compensation for services and reimbursement of expenses incurred in connection with distribution assistance. The Plan is characterized as a compensation plan since the distribution fee will be paid to the Distributor without regard to the distribution expenses incurred by the Distributor or the amount of payments made to other financial institutions and intermediaries. The Trust intends to operate the Plan in accordance with its terms and with FINRA’s rules concerning sales charges.

Under the Plan, subject to the limitations of applicable law and regulations, each Fund is authorized to compensate the Distributor up to the maximum amount to finance any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Creation Units of the Fund or for providing or arranging for others to provide shareholder services and for the maintenance of shareholder accounts. Such activities may include, but are not limited to: (i) delivering copies of a Fund’s then current reports, prospectuses, notices, and similar materials, to prospective purchasers of Creation Units; (ii) marketing and promotional services, including advertising; (iii) paying the costs of and compensating others, including Authorized Participants with whom the Distributor has entered into written Authorized Participant Agreements, for performing shareholder servicing on behalf of a Fund; (iv) compensating certain Authorized Participants for providing assistance in distributing the Creation Units of a Fund, including the travel and communication expenses and salaries and/or commissions of sales personnel in connection with the distribution of the Creation Units of a Fund; (v) payments to financial institutions and intermediaries such as banks, savings and loan associations, insurance companies and investment counselors, broker-dealers, mutual fund supermarkets and the affiliates and subsidiaries of the Trust’s service providers as compensation for services or reimbursement of expenses incurred in connection with distribution assistance; (vi) facilitating communications with beneficial owners of Shares, including the cost of providing (or paying others to provide) services to beneficial owners of Shares, including, but not limited to, assistance in answering inquiries related to Shareholder accounts; and (vii) such other services and obligations as are set forth in the Distribution Agreement.

TRANSFER AGENT AND ADMINISTRATOR

U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, doing business as U.S. Bank Global Fund Services (“Fund Services” or the “Transfer Agent”), located at 615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202, serves as the Funds’ transfer agent and administrator.

Pursuant to an agreement between the Trust and Fund Services (the “Fund Servicing Agreement”), Fund Services provides the Trust with administrative and management services (other than investment advisory services) and accounting services, including portfolio accounting services, tax accounting services, and furnishing financial reports. Under the Fund Servicing Agreement, Fund Services does not have any responsibility or authority for the management of the Funds, the determination of investment policy, or for any matter pertaining to the distribution of Shares. As compensation for the administration, accounting and management services, the Adviser pays Fund Services a fee based on each Fund’s average daily net assets, subject to a minimum annual fee. Fund Services also is entitled to certain out-of-pocket expenses for the services mentioned above, including pricing expenses.

The Adviser was responsible for paying the amounts in the table below to Fund Services for administration and other services for the past three fiscal years ended April 30.


Name of Fund	2026	2025	2024
Core Alternative ETF	$74,254	$118,226	$230,974
Optimized Equity Income ETF*	$23,704	N/A	N/A

*The Fund commenced operations on October 21, 2025.

CUSTODIAN

Pursuant to a custody agreement between the Trust and U.S. Bank National Association (“U.S. Bank” or the “Custodian”) (the “Custody Agreement”), U.S. Bank, located at 1555 North Rivercenter Drive, Suite 302, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212, serves as the custodian of the Funds’ assets. The Custodian holds and administers the assets in each Fund’s portfolio. Pursuant to the Custody Agreement, U.S. Bank receives an annual fee from the Adviser based on the Trust’s total average daily net assets, subject to a minimum annual fee, and certain settlement charges. The Custodian is also entitled to certain out-of-pocket expenses.

LEGAL COUNSEL

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, located at 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004-2541, serves as legal counsel for the Trust.

INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

Cohen & Company, Ltd., located at 1835 Market Street, Suite 310, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, serves as the independent registered public accounting firm for the Funds. Its services include auditing the Funds’ financial statements. Cohen & Co Advisory, LLC, an affiliate of Cohen & Company, Ltd., provides tax services as requested.

PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS DISCLOSURE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

The Board has adopted a policy regarding the disclosure of information about each Fund’s security holdings. Each Fund’s entire portfolio holdings are publicly disseminated each day a Fund is open for business and may be available through financial reporting and news services, including publicly available internet web sites. In addition, the composition of the Deposit Securities (defined below) is publicly disseminated daily prior to the opening of the Exchange via the facilities of the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”).

DESCRIPTION OF SHARES

The Declaration of Trust authorizes the issuance of an unlimited number of funds and shares. Each share represents an equal proportionate interest in the applicable Fund with each other share. Shares are entitled upon liquidation to a pro rata share in the net assets of the applicable Fund. Shareholders have no preemptive rights. The Declaration of Trust provides that the Trustees may create additional series or classes of shares. All consideration received by the Trust for shares of any additional funds and all assets in which such consideration is invested would belong to that fund and would be subject to the liabilities related thereto. Share certificates representing Shares will not be issued. Shares, when issued, are fully paid and non-assessable.

Each Share has one vote with respect to matters upon which a shareholder vote is required, consistent with the requirements of the 1940 Act and the rules promulgated thereunder. Shares of all funds in the Trust vote together as a single class, except that if the matter being voted on affects only a particular fund it will be voted on only by that fund and if a matter affects a particular fund differently from other funds, that fund will vote separately on such matter. As a Delaware statutory trust, the Trust is not required, and does not intend, to hold annual meetings of shareholders. Approval of shareholders will be sought, however, for certain changes in the operation of the Trust and for the election of Trustees under certain circumstances. Upon the written request of shareholders owning at least 10% of the Trust’s shares, the Trust will call for a meeting of shareholders to consider the removal of one or more Trustees and other certain matters. In the event that such a meeting is requested, the Trust will provide appropriate assistance and information to the shareholders requesting the meeting.

Under the Declaration of Trust, the Trustees have the power to liquidate a Fund without shareholder approval. While the Trustees have no present intention of exercising this power, they may do so if a Fund fails to reach a viable size within a reasonable amount of time or for such other reasons as may be determined by the Board.

LIMITATION OF TRUSTEES’ LIABILITY

The Declaration of Trust provides that a Trustee shall be liable only for his or her own willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of the office of Trustee and shall not be liable for errors of judgment or mistakes of fact or law. The Trustees shall not be responsible or liable in any event for any neglect or wrongdoing of any officer, agent, employee, adviser or principal underwriter of the Trust, nor shall any Trustee be responsible for the act or omission of any other Trustee. The Declaration of Trust also provides that the Trust shall indemnify each person who is, or has been, a Trustee, officer, employee or agent of the Trust, any person who is serving or has served at the Trust’s request as a Trustee, officer, trustee, employee or agent of another organization in which the Trust has any interest as a shareholder, creditor or otherwise to the extent and in the manner provided in the Amended and Restated By-laws. However, nothing in the Declaration of Trust shall protect or indemnify a Trustee against any liability for his or her willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of the office of Trustee. Nothing contained in this section attempts to disclaim a Trustee’s individual liability in any manner inconsistent with the federal securities laws.

BROKERAGE TRANSACTIONS

The policy of the Trust regarding purchases and sales of securities for a Fund is that primary consideration will be given to obtaining the most favorable prices and efficient executions of transactions. Consistent with this policy, when securities transactions are effected on a stock exchange, the Trust’s policy is to pay commissions which are considered fair and reasonable without necessarily determining that the lowest possible commissions are paid in all circumstances. The Trust believes that a requirement always to seek the lowest possible commission cost could impede effective portfolio management and preclude the Funds from obtaining a high quality of brokerage and research services. In seeking to determine the reasonableness of brokerage commissions paid in any transaction, the Adviser will rely on its experience and knowledge regarding commissions generally charged by various brokers and on its judgment in evaluating the brokerage services received from the broker effecting the transaction. Such determinations are necessarily subjective and imprecise, as in most cases, an exact dollar value for those services is not ascertainable. The Trust has adopted policies and procedures that prohibit the consideration of sales of Shares as a factor in the selection of a broker or dealer to execute its portfolio transactions.

The Adviser owes a fiduciary duty to its clients to seek to provide best execution on trades effected. In selecting a broker-dealer for each specific transaction, the Adviser chooses the broker-dealer deemed most capable of providing the services necessary to obtain the most favorable execution. “Best execution” is generally understood to mean the most favorable cost or net proceeds reasonably obtainable under the circumstances. The full range of brokerage services applicable to a particular transaction may be considered when making this judgment, which may include, but is not limited to: liquidity, price, commission, timing, aggregated trades, capable floor brokers or traders, competent block trading coverage, ability to position, capital strength and stability, reliable and accurate communications and settlement processing, use of automation, knowledge of other buyers or sellers, arbitrage skills, administrative ability, underwriting and provision of information on a particular security or market in which the transaction is to occur. The specific criteria will vary depending upon the nature of the transaction, the market in which it is executed, and the extent to which it is possible to select from among multiple broker-dealers. The Adviser also will use electronic crossing networks (“ECNs”) when appropriate.

Subject to the foregoing policies, brokers or dealers selected to execute a Fund’s portfolio transactions may include such Fund’s Authorized Participants (as discussed in “Procedures for Purchase of Creation Units” below) or their affiliates. An Authorized Participant or its affiliates may be selected to execute a Fund’s portfolio transactions in conjunction with an all-cash creation unit order or an order including “cash-in-lieu” (as described below under “Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units”), so long as such selection is in keeping with the foregoing policies. As described below under “Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units — Creation Unit Transaction Fee” and “— Redemption Transaction Fee”, each Fund may determine to not charge a variable fee on certain orders when the Adviser has determined that doing so is in the best interests of Fund shareholders, e.g., for creation orders that facilitate the rebalance of the applicable Fund’s portfolio in a more tax efficient manner than could be achieved without such order, even if the decision to not charge a variable fee could be viewed as benefiting the Authorized Participant or its affiliate selected to execute a Fund’s portfolio transactions in connection with such orders.

The Adviser may use a Fund’s assets for, or participate in, third-party soft dollar arrangements, in addition to receiving proprietary research from various full-service brokers, the cost of which is bundled with the cost of the broker’s execution services. The Adviser does not “pay up” for the value of any such proprietary research. Section 28(e) of the Exchange Act permits the Adviser, under certain circumstances, to cause a Fund to pay a broker or dealer a commission for effecting a transaction in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting the transaction in recognition of the value of brokerage and research services provided by the broker or dealer. The Adviser may receive a variety of research services and information on many topics, which it can use in connection with its management responsibilities with respect to the various accounts over which it exercises investment discretion or otherwise provides investment advice. The research services may include qualifying order management systems, portfolio attribution and monitoring services and computer software and access charges which are directly related to investment research. Accordingly, a Fund may pay a broker commission higher than the lowest available in recognition of the broker’s provision of such services to the Adviser, but only if the Adviser determines the total commission (including the soft dollar benefit) is comparable to the best commission rate that could be expected to be received from other brokers. The amount of soft dollar benefits received depends on the amount of brokerage transactions effected with the brokers. A conflict of interest exists because there is an

incentive to: 1) cause clients to pay a higher commission than the firm might otherwise be able to negotiate; 2) cause clients to engage in more securities transactions than would otherwise be optimal; and 3) only recommend brokers that provide soft dollar benefits.

The Adviser faces a potential conflict of interest when it uses client trades to obtain brokerage or research services. This conflict exists because the Adviser can use the brokerage or research services to manage client accounts without paying cash for such services, which reduces the Adviser’s expenses to the extent that the Adviser would have purchased such products had they not been provided by brokers. Section 28(e) permits the Adviser to use brokerage or research services for the benefit of any account it manages. Certain accounts managed by the Adviser may generate soft dollars used to purchase brokerage or research services that ultimately benefit other accounts managed by the Adviser, effectively cross subsidizing the other accounts managed by the Adviser that benefit directly from the product. The Adviser may not necessarily use all of the brokerage or research services in connection with managing a Fund whose trades generated the soft dollars used to purchase such products.

The Adviser is responsible, subject to oversight by the Board, for placing orders on behalf of each Fund for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities. If purchases or sales of portfolio securities of a Fund and one or more other investment companies or clients supervised by the Adviser are considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities are allocated among the several investment companies and clients in a manner deemed equitable and consistent with its fiduciary obligations to all by the Adviser. In some cases, this procedure could have a detrimental effect on the price or volume of the security so far as a Fund is concerned. However, in other cases, it is possible that the ability to participate in volume transactions and to negotiate lower brokerage commissions will be beneficial to a Fund. The primary consideration is prompt execution of orders at the most favorable net price.

A Fund may deal with affiliates in principal transactions to the extent permitted by exemptive order or applicable rule or regulation.

The table below sets forth the brokerage commissions paid by the Funds for the past three fiscal years ended April 30.


Name of Fund	2026	2025	2024
Core Alternative ETF	$28,4731	$170,5592	$572,550
Optimized Equity Income ETF3	$19,709	N/A	N/A

1.The aggregate brokerage commissions paid by the Fund decreased significantly from 2025 to 2026 due to a decrease in the Fund’s assets.

2.The aggregate brokerage commissions paid by the Fund decreased significantly from 2024 to 2025 due to a decrease in the Fund’s assets.

3.The Fund commenced operations on October 21, 2025.

Directed Brokerage. For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2026, the Funds did not pay any commissions on brokerage transactions directed to brokers pursuant to an agreement or understanding whereby the broker provides research or other brokerage services to the Adviser.

Brokerage with Fund Affiliates. A Fund may execute brokerage or other agency transactions through registered broker-dealer affiliates of the Funds, the Adviser, or the Distributor for a commission in conformity with the 1940 Act, the Exchange Act and rules promulgated by the SEC. These rules require that commissions paid to the affiliate by the Funds for exchange transactions not exceed “usual and customary” brokerage commissions. The rules define “usual and customary” commissions to include amounts which are “reasonable and fair compared to the commission, fee or other remuneration received or to be received by other brokers in connection with comparable transactions involving similar securities being purchased or sold on a securities exchange during a comparable period of time.” The Trustees, including those who are not “interested persons” of the Funds, have adopted procedures for evaluating the reasonableness of commissions paid to affiliates and review these procedures periodically. During the fiscal years ended April 30, 2026, April 30, 2025, and April 30, 2024, the Funds did not pay brokerage commissions to any registered broker-dealer affiliates of the Funds, the Adviser, or the Distributor.

Securities of “Regular Broker-Dealers.” Each Fund is required to identify any securities of its “regular brokers or dealers” (as such term is defined in the 1940 Act) that it may hold at the close of its most recent fiscal year. “Regular brokers or dealers” of a Fund are the ten brokers or dealers that, during the most recent fiscal year: (i) received the greatest dollar amounts of brokerage commissions from the Fund’s portfolio transactions; (ii) engaged as principal in the largest dollar amounts of portfolio transactions of the Fund; or (iii) sold the largest dollar amounts of Shares. As of April 30, 2026, the Funds did not hold any securities of their “regular broker-dealers.”

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER RATE

Portfolio turnover may vary from year to year, as well as within a year. High turnover rates are likely to result in comparatively greater brokerage expenses. The overall reasonableness of brokerage commissions is evaluated by the Adviser based upon its knowledge of available information as to the general level of commissions paid by other institutional investors for comparable services. The Funds’ portfolio turnover rates for the two fiscal years ended April 30 were:


Name of Fund	2026	2025
Core Alternative ETF	0%	12%
Optimized Equity Income ETF*	1%	N/A

*The Fund commenced operations on October 21, 2025.

BOOK ENTRY ONLY SYSTEM

The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) acts as securities depositary for Shares. Shares are represented by securities registered in the name of DTC or its nominee, Cede & Co., and deposited with, or on behalf of, DTC. Except in limited circumstances set forth below, certificates will not be issued for Shares.

DTC is a limited-purpose trust company that was created to hold securities of its participants (the “DTC Participants”) and to facilitate the clearance and settlement of securities transactions among the DTC Participants in such securities through electronic book-entry changes in accounts of the DTC Participants, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of securities certificates. DTC Participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and certain other organizations, some of whom (and/or their representatives) own DTC. More specifically, DTC is owned by a number of its DTC Participants and by the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) and FINRA. Access to the DTC system also is available to others such as banks, brokers, dealers, and trust companies that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a DTC Participant, either directly or indirectly (the “Indirect Participants”).

Beneficial ownership of Shares is limited to DTC Participants, Indirect Participants, and persons holding interests through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants. Ownership of beneficial interests in Shares (owners of such beneficial interests are referred to in this SAI as “Beneficial Owners”) is shown on, and the transfer of ownership is effected only through, records maintained by DTC (with respect to DTC Participants) and on the records of DTC Participants (with respect to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners that are not DTC Participants). Beneficial Owners will receive from or through the DTC Participant a written confirmation relating to their purchase of Shares. The Trust recognizes DTC or its nominee as the record owner of all Shares for all purposes. Beneficial Owners of Shares are not entitled to have Shares registered in their names and will not receive or be entitled to physical delivery of Share certificates. Each Beneficial Owner must rely on the procedures of DTC and any DTC Participant and/or Indirect Participant through which such Beneficial Owner holds its interests, to exercise any rights of the holder of Shares.

Conveyance of all notices, statements, and other communications to Beneficial Owners is effected as described in the ensuing paragraphs. DTC will make available to the Trust upon request and for a fee a listing of Shares held by each DTC Participant. The Trust shall obtain from each such DTC Participant the number of Beneficial Owners holding Shares, directly or indirectly, through such DTC Participant. The Trust shall provide each such DTC Participant with copies of such notice, statement, or other communication, in such form, number and at such place as such DTC Participant may reasonably request, in order that such notice, statement or communication may be transmitted by such DTC Participant, directly or indirectly, to such Beneficial Owners. In addition, the Trust shall pay to each such DTC Participant a fair and reasonable amount as reimbursement for the expenses attendant to such transmittal, all subject to applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.

Share distributions shall be made to DTC or its nominee, Cede & Co., as the registered holder of all Shares. DTC or its nominee, upon receipt of any such distributions, shall credit immediately DTC Participants’ accounts with payments in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in a Fund as shown on the records of DTC or its nominee. Payments by DTC Participants to Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners of Shares held through such DTC Participants will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is now the case with securities held for the accounts of customers in bearer form or registered in a “street name,” and will be the responsibility of such DTC Participants.

The Trust has no responsibility or liability for any aspect of the records relating to or notices to Beneficial Owners, or payments made on account of beneficial ownership interests in Shares, or for maintaining, supervising, or reviewing any records relating to such beneficial ownership interests, or for any other aspect of the relationship between DTC and the DTC Participants or the relationship between such DTC Participants and the Indirect Participants and Beneficial Owners owning through such DTC Participants.

DTC may determine to discontinue providing its service with respect to a Fund at any time by giving reasonable notice to the Fund and discharging its responsibilities with respect thereto under applicable law. Under such circumstances, the applicable Fund shall take action either to find a replacement for DTC to perform its functions at a comparable cost or, if such replacement is unavailable, to issue and deliver printed certificates representing ownership of Shares, unless the Trust makes other arrangements with respect thereto satisfactory to the Exchange.

PURCHASE AND REDEMPTION OF CREATION UNITS

Each Fund issues and redeems its shares on a continuous basis, at NAV, only in a large, specified number of shares called a “Creation Unit,” either principally in-kind for securities or in cash for the value of such securities. The NAV of a Fund’s Shares is determined once each Business Day, as described below under “Determination of Net Asset Value.” The Creation Unit size may change. Authorized Participants will be notified of such change.

The Adviser or its affiliates (the “Selling Shareholder”) may purchase Creation Unit aggregations through a broker-dealer to “seed” (in whole or in part) funds, including a Fund, as they are launched or thereafter, may purchase shares from other broker-dealers or other investors that have previously provided “seed” for funds, including a Fund, when they were launched or otherwise in secondary market transactions, and because the Selling Shareholder may be deemed an affiliate of such funds, the shares are being registered to

permit the resale of these shares from time to time after purchase. No Fund will receive any of the proceeds from the resale by the Selling Shareholders of such shares.

The Selling Shareholder intends to sell all or a portion of the shares owned by it and offered hereby from time to time directly or through one or more broker-dealers, and may also hedge such positions. The shares may be sold on any national securities exchange on which the shares may be listed or quoted at the time of sale, in the OTC market or in transactions other than on these exchanges or systems at fixed prices, at prevailing market prices at the time of the sale, at varying prices determined at the time of sale, or at negotiated prices. These sales may be effected in transactions, which may involve crosses or block transactions. The Selling Shareholder may use any one or more of the following methods when selling shares:

•ordinary brokerage transactions through brokers or dealers (who may act as agents or principals) or directly to one or more purchasers;

•privately negotiated transactions;

•through the writing or settlement of options or other hedging transactions, whether such options are listed on an options exchange or otherwise; and

•any other method permitted pursuant to applicable law.

The Selling Shareholder may also loan or pledge shares to broker-dealers that in turn may sell such shares, to the extent permitted by applicable law. The Selling Shareholder may also enter into options or other transactions with broker-dealers or other financial institutions, or create one or more derivative securities which require delivering shares to a broker-dealer or other financial institution (these shares may then be sold by such broker-dealer or other financial institution).

The Selling Shareholder has informed each Fund that it is not a registered broker-dealer and does not have any written or oral agreement or understanding, directly or indirectly, with any person to distribute the shares. Upon a Fund being notified in writing by the Selling Shareholder that any material arrangement has been entered into with a broker-dealer for the sale of shares through a block trade, special offering, exchange distribution or secondary distribution, or a purchase by a broker or dealer, a supplement to this SAI will be filed, if required, pursuant to Rule 497 under the Securities Act, disclosing (i) the name of each Selling Shareholder and of the participating broker-dealer(s), (ii) the number of shares involved, (iii) the price at which such shares were sold, (iv) the commissions paid or discounts or concessions allowed to such broker-dealer(s), where applicable, (v) that such broker-dealer(s) did not conduct any investigation to verify the information set out or incorporated by reference in a Fund’s Prospectus and SAI, and (vi) other facts material to the transaction.

The Selling Shareholder and any other person participating in such distribution will be subject to applicable provisions of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations thereunder, including, without limitation, to the extent applicable, Regulation M of the Exchange Act, which may limit the timing of purchases and sales of any of the shares by the Selling Shareholder and any other participating person. To the extent applicable, Regulation M may also restrict the ability of any person engaged in the distribution of the shares to engage in market-making activities with respect to the shares. All of the foregoing may affect the marketability of the shares and the ability of any person or entity to engage in market-making activities with respect to the shares. There is a risk that the Selling Shareholder may redeem its investments in a Fund or otherwise sell its shares to a third party that may redeem. As with redemptions by other large shareholders, such redemptions could have a significant negative impact on applicable Fund and its shares.

Purchase (Creation). The Trust issues and sells Shares only in Creation Units on a continuous basis through the Distributor, without a sales load (but subject to transaction fees, if applicable), at the NAV per share next determined after receipt, on any Business Day, of an order in proper form. The NAV of Shares is calculated each Business Day as of the scheduled close of regular trading on the NYSE, generally 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time. The Funds will not issue fractional Creation Units. A “Business Day” is any day on which the NYSE is open for business. As of the date of this SAI, the NYSE observes the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, President’s Day (Washington’s Birthday), Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

Fund Deposit. Each Fund has adopted policies and procedures governing the process of constructing baskets of Deposit Securities (defined below), Fund Securities (defined below) and/or cash, and acceptance of the same (the “Basket Procedures”). The consideration for purchase of a Creation Unit of a Fund generally consists of either: (i) the in-kind deposit of a designated portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) per each Creation Unit, constituting a substantial replication, or a portfolio sampling representation, of the securities included in a Fund’s portfolio and the Cash Component (defined below), computed as described below, or (ii) the cash value of the Deposit Securities (“Deposit Cash”) and the Cash Component to replace any Deposit Security. When accepting purchases of Creation Units for cash, a Fund may incur additional costs associated with the acquisition of Deposit Securities that would otherwise be provided by an in-kind purchaser. These additional costs may be recoverable from the purchaser of Creation Units.

Together, the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, and the Cash Component constitute the “Fund Deposit,” which represents the minimum initial and subsequent investment amount for a Creation Unit of a Fund. The “Cash Component” is an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of Shares (per Creation Unit) and the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash,

as applicable. If the Cash Component is a positive number (i.e., the NAV per Creation Unit exceeds the value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable), the Cash Component shall be such positive amount. If the Cash Component is a negative number (i.e., the NAV per Creation Unit is less than the value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable), the Cash Component shall be such negative amount and the creator will be entitled to receive cash in an amount equal to the Cash Component. The Cash Component serves the function of compensating for any differences between the NAV per Creation Unit and the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable. Computation of the Cash Component excludes any stamp duty or other similar fees and expenses payable upon transfer of beneficial ownership of the Deposit Securities, if applicable, which shall be the sole responsibility of the Authorized Participant (as defined below).

The Funds, through NSCC, makes available on each Business Day, prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently, 9:30 a.m., Eastern Time), the list of the names and the required number of Shares of each Deposit Security or the required amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, to be included in the current Fund Deposit (based on information at the end of the previous Business Day) for a Fund. Such Fund Deposit is subject to any applicable adjustments as described below, to effect purchases of Creation Units of a Fund until such time as the next-announced composition of the Deposit Securities or the required amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, is made available.

The identity and number of Shares of the Deposit Securities or the amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, required for a Fund Deposit for a Fund may be changed from time to time by the Adviser, in accordance with the Basket Procedures, with a view to the investment objective of such Fund. Information regarding the Fund Deposit necessary for the purchase of a Creation Unit is made available to Authorized Participants and other market participants seeking to transact in Creation Unit aggregations. The composition of the Deposit Securities also may change in response to portfolio adjustments, interest payments and corporate action events.

The Trust reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of Deposit Cash to replace any Deposit Security, which shall be added to the Cash Component, including, without limitation, in situations where the Deposit Security: (i) may not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery; (ii) may not be eligible for transfer through the systems of DTC for corporate securities and municipal securities; (iii) may not be eligible for trading by an Authorized Participant or the investor for which it is acting; (iv) would be restricted under the securities laws or where the delivery of the Deposit Security to the Authorized Participant would result in the disposition of the Deposit Security by the Authorized Participant becoming restricted under the securities laws; or (v) in certain other situations (collectively, “custom orders”). The Trust also reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of Deposit Securities in lieu of Deposit Cash.

Cash Purchase. The Trust may at its discretion permit full or partial cash purchases of Creation Units of a Fund. When full or partial cash purchases of Creation Units are available or specified for a Fund, they will be effected in essentially the same manner as in-kind purchases thereof. In the case of a full or partial cash purchase, the Authorized Participant must pay the cash equivalent of the Deposit Securities it would otherwise be required to provide through an in-kind purchase, plus the same Cash Component required to be paid by an in-kind purchaser together with a creation transaction fee and non-standard charges, as may be applicable.

Procedures for Purchase of Creation Units. To be eligible to place orders with the Distributor to purchase a Creation Unit of a Fund, an entity must be (i) a “Participating Party” (i.e., a broker-dealer or other participant in the clearing process through the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC (the “Clearing Process”)), a clearing agency that is registered with the SEC; or (ii) a DTC Participant (see “Book Entry Only System”). In addition, each Participating Party or DTC Participant (each, an “Authorized Participant”) must execute a Participant Agreement that has been agreed to by the Distributor, and that has been accepted by the Transfer Agent, with respect to purchases and redemptions of Creation Units. Each Authorized Participant will agree, pursuant to the terms of a Participant Agreement, on behalf of itself or any investor on whose behalf it will act, to certain conditions, including that it will pay to the Trust, an amount of cash sufficient to pay the Cash Component together with the creation transaction fee (described below), if applicable, and any other applicable fees and taxes.

All orders to purchase Shares directly from a Fund, including custom orders, must be placed for one or more Creation Units and in the manner and by the time set forth in the Participant Agreement. With respect to the Funds, the order cut-off time for orders to purchase Creation Units is 3:00 p.m. Eastern time, which time may be modified by the Funds from time-to-time by amendment to the Participant Agreement. In the case of custom orders, the order must be received by the Distributor no later than 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time for the applicable Fund, or such earlier time as may be designated by a Fund and disclosed to Authorized Participants. The date on which an order to purchase Creation Units (or an order to redeem Creation Units, as set forth below) is received and accepted is referred to as the “Order Placement Date.”

An Authorized Participant may require an investor to make certain representations or enter into agreements with respect to the order (e.g., to provide for payments of cash, when required). Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not have executed a Participant Agreement and that, therefore, orders to purchase Shares directly from a Fund in Creation Units have to be placed by the investor’s broker through an Authorized Participant that has executed a Participant Agreement. In such cases there may be additional charges to such investor. At any given time, there may be only a limited number of broker-dealers that have executed a Participant Agreement and only a small number of such Authorized Participants may have international capabilities.

On days when the Exchange closes earlier than normal, the Funds may require orders to create Creation Units to be placed earlier in the day. In addition, if a market or markets on which a Fund’s investments are primarily traded is closed, such Fund also will generally

not accept orders on such day(s). Orders must be transmitted by an Authorized Participant by telephone or other transmission method acceptable to the Transfer Agent pursuant to procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement. On behalf of the Funds, the Transfer Agent will notify the Custodian of such order. The Custodian will then provide such information to the appropriate local sub-custodian(s). Those placing orders through an Authorized Participant should allow sufficient time to permit proper submission of the purchase order to the Transfer Agent by the cut-off time on such Business Day. Economic or market disruptions or changes, or telephone or other communication failure may impede the ability to reach the Transfer Agent or an Authorized Participant.

Fund Deposits must be delivered by an Authorized Participant through the Federal Reserve System (for cash) or through DTC (for corporate securities), through a sub-custody agent (for foreign securities) and/or through such other arrangements allowed by the Trust or its agents. With respect to foreign Deposit Securities, the Custodian shall cause the sub-custodian of the applicable Fund to maintain an account into which the Authorized Participant shall deliver, on behalf of itself or the party on whose behalf it is acting, such Deposit Securities (or Deposit Cash for all or a part of such securities, as permitted or required), with any appropriate adjustments as advised by the Trust. Foreign Deposit Securities must be delivered to an account maintained at the applicable local sub-custodian. A Fund Deposit transfer must be ordered by the Authorized Participant in a timely fashion to ensure the delivery of the requisite number of Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, to the account of the applicable Fund or its agents by no later than 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time (or such other time as specified by the Trust) on the Settlement Date. If a Fund or its agents do not receive all of the Deposit Securities, or the required Deposit Cash in lieu thereof, by such time, then the order may be deemed rejected and the Authorized Participant shall be liable to such Fund for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. The “Settlement Date” for a Fund is generally the next Business Day after the Order Placement Date. All questions as to the number of Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash to be delivered, as applicable, and the validity, form and eligibility (including time of receipt) for the deposit of any tendered securities or cash, as applicable, will be determined by the Trust, whose determination shall be final and binding. The amount of cash represented by the Cash Component must be transferred directly to the Custodian through the Federal Reserve Bank wire transfer system in a timely manner to be received by the Custodian no later than the Settlement Date. If the Cash Component and the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, are not received by the Custodian in a timely manner by the Settlement Date, the creation order may be cancelled. Upon written notice to the Transfer Agent, such canceled order may be resubmitted the following Business Day using a Fund Deposit as newly constituted to reflect the then current NAV of the applicable Fund.

The order shall be deemed to be received on the Business Day on which the order is placed provided that the order is placed in proper form prior to the applicable cut-off time and the federal funds in the appropriate amount are deposited with the Custodian on the Settlement Date. If the order is not placed in proper form as required, or federal funds in the appropriate amount are not received on the Settlement Date, then the order may be deemed to be rejected and the Authorized Participant shall be liable to the applicable Fund for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. A creation request is in “proper form” if all procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement and this SAI are properly followed.

Issuance of a Creation Unit. Except as provided in this SAI, Creation Units will not be issued until the transfer of good title to the Trust of the Deposit Securities or payment of Deposit Cash, as applicable, and the payment of the Cash Component have been completed. When the sub-custodian has confirmed to the Custodian that the required Deposit Securities (or the cash value thereof) have been delivered to the account of the relevant sub-custodian or sub-custodians, the Distributor and the Adviser shall be notified of such delivery, and the Trust will issue and cause the delivery of the Creation Units. The delivery of Creation Units so created generally will occur no later than the first Business Day following the day on which the purchase order is deemed received by the Transfer Agent. The Authorized Participant shall be liable to the applicable Fund for losses, if any, resulting from unsettled orders.

In instances where the Trust accepts Deposit Securities for the purchase of a Creation Unit, the Creation Units may be purchased in advance of receipt by the Trust of all or a portion of the applicable Deposit Securities as described below. In these circumstances, the initial deposit will have a value greater than the NAV of Shares on the date the order is placed in proper form since, in addition to available Deposit Securities, cash must be deposited in an amount equal to the sum of (i) the Cash Component, plus (ii) an additional amount of cash equal to a percentage of the value as set forth in the Participant Agreement, of the undelivered Deposit Securities (the “Additional Cash Deposit”), which shall be maintained in a separate non-interest bearing collateral account. The Authorized Participant must deposit with the Custodian the Additional Cash Deposit, as applicable, by 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time (or such other time as specified by the Trust) on the Settlement Date. If a Fund or its agents do not receive the Additional Cash Deposit in the appropriate amount, by such time, then the order may be deemed rejected and the Authorized Participant shall be liable to the applicable Fund for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. An additional amount of cash shall be required to be deposited with the Trust, pending delivery of the missing Deposit Securities to the extent necessary to maintain the Additional Cash Deposit with the Trust in an amount at least equal to the applicable percentage, as set forth in the Participant Agreement, of the daily market value of the missing Deposit Securities. The Participant Agreement will permit the Trust to buy the missing Deposit Securities at any time. Authorized Participants will be liable to the Trust for the costs incurred by the Trust in connection with any such purchases. These costs will be deemed to include the amount by which the actual purchase price of the Deposit Securities exceeds the value of such Deposit Securities on the day the purchase order was deemed received by the Transfer Agent plus the brokerage and related transaction costs associated with such purchases. The Trust will return any unused portion of the Additional Cash Deposit once all of the missing Deposit Securities have been properly received by the Custodian or purchased by the Trust and deposited into the Trust. In addition, a transaction fee, as described below under “Creation Unit Transaction Fee,” may be charged an additional variable charge also may be applied, as described below. The delivery of Creation Units so created generally will occur no later than the Settlement Date.

Acceptance of Orders of Creation Units. Provided that such action does not result in a suspension of sales of Creation Units in contravention of Rule 6c-11 under the 1940 Act and the SEC’s positions thereunder, the Trust reserves the right to reject an order for Creation Units transmitted in respect of a Fund at its discretion, including, without limitation, if (a) the order is not in proper form or the Fund Deposit delivered does not consist of the securities the Custodian specified; (b) the investor(s), upon obtaining the Shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding Shares of the Fund; (c) the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, delivered by the Authorized Participant are not as disseminated through the facilities of the NSCC for that date by the Custodian; (d) the acceptance of the Fund Deposit would, in the opinion of counsel, be unlawful; (e) the acceptance or receipt of the order for a Creation Unit would, in the opinion of counsel, be unlawful; or (f) in the event that circumstances outside the control of the Trust, the Custodian, the Transfer Agent, the Distributor and/or the Adviser make it for all practical purposes not feasible to process orders for Creation Units. Examples of such circumstances include acts of God or public service or utility problems such as fires, floods, extreme weather conditions and power outages resulting in telephone, telecopy and computer failures; market conditions or activities causing trading halts; systems failures involving computer or other information systems affecting the Trust, the Distributor, the Custodian, the Transfer Agent, DTC, NSCC, Federal Reserve System, or any other participant in the creation process, and other extraordinary events. The Trust or its agents shall communicate to the Authorized Participant its rejection of an order. The Trust, the Transfer Agent, the Custodian and the Distributor are under no duty, however, to give notification of any defects or irregularities in the delivery of Fund Deposits nor shall either of them incur any liability for the failure to give any such notification. The Trust, the Transfer Agent, the Custodian and the Distributor shall not be liable for the rejection of any purchase order for Creation Units. Given the importance of the ongoing issuance of Creation Units to maintaining a market price that is at or close to the underlying NAV of a Fund, the Trust does not intend to suspend the acceptance of orders for Creation Units, unless it believes doing so would be in the best interests of the Fund.

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

Creation Unit Transaction Fee. A fixed purchase (i.e., creation) transaction fee, payable to the Funds’ custodian, may be imposed for the transfer and other transaction costs associated with the purchase of Creation Units (“Creation Order Costs”). The standard fixed creation unit transaction fee for each Fund, regardless of the number of Creation Units created in the transaction, can be found in the table below. Each Fund may adjust the standard fixed creation unit transaction fee from time to time. The fixed creation unit transaction fee may be waived on certain orders if the applicable Fund’s custodian has determined to waive some or all of the Creation Order Costs associated with the order or another party, such as the Adviser, has agreed to pay such fee.

In addition, a variable fee, payable to the Funds, of up to the maximum percentage listed in the table below of the value of the Creation Units subject to the transaction may be imposed for cash purchases, non-standard orders, or partial cash purchases of Creation Units. The variable charge is primarily designed to cover additional costs (e.g., brokerage, taxes) involved with buying the securities with cash. Each Fund may determine to not charge a variable fee on certain orders when the Adviser has determined that doing so is in the best interests of Fund shareholders, e.g., for creation orders that facilitate the rebalance of the applicable Fund’s portfolio in a more tax efficient manner than could be achieved without such order.


Name of Fund	Fixed Creation Unit Transaction Fee	Maximum Variable Transaction Fee
Core Alternative ETF	$500	2%
Optimized Equity Income ETF	$500	2%

Investors who use the services of a broker or other such intermediary may be charged a fee for such services. Investors are responsible for the fixed costs of transferring the Fund Securities from the Trust to their account or on their order.

Risks of Purchasing Creation Units. There are certain legal risks unique to investors purchasing Creation Units directly from a Fund. Because Shares may be issued on an ongoing basis, a “distribution” of Shares could be occurring at any time. Certain activities that a shareholder performs as a dealer could, depending on the circumstances, result in the shareholder being deemed a participant in the distribution in a manner that could render the shareholder a statutory underwriter and subject to the prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the Securities Act. For example, a shareholder could be deemed a statutory underwriter if it purchases Creation Units from a Fund, breaks them down into the constituent Shares, and sells those Shares directly to customers, or if a shareholder chooses to couple the creation of a supply of new Shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary-market demand for Shares. In such event, any commissions paid to any such broker-dealer or agent and any profit on the resale of the shares purchased by them may be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts under the Securities Act. Whether a person is an underwriter depends upon all of the facts and circumstances pertaining to that person’s activities, and the examples mentioned here should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could cause you to be deemed an underwriter.

Dealers who are not “underwriters” but are participating in a distribution (as opposed to engaging in ordinary secondary-market transactions), and thus dealing with Shares as part of an “unsold allotment” within the meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the Securities Act, will be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the Securities Act.

Redemption. Shares may be redeemed only in Creation Units at their NAV next determined after receipt of a redemption request in proper form by a Fund through the Transfer Agent and only on a Business Day. EXCEPT UPON LIQUIDATION OF A FUND, THE

TRUST WILL NOT REDEEM SHARES IN AMOUNTS LESS THAN CREATION UNITS. Investors must accumulate enough Shares in the secondary market to constitute a Creation Unit in order to have such Shares redeemed by the Trust. There can be no assurance, however, that there will be sufficient liquidity in the public trading market at any time to permit assembly of a Creation Unit. Investors should expect to incur brokerage and other costs in connection with assembling a sufficient number of Shares to constitute a redeemable Creation Unit.

With respect to the Funds, the Custodian, through the NSCC, makes available prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently, 9:30 a.m., Eastern Time) on each Business Day, the list of the names and Share quantities of each Fund’s portfolio securities that will be applicable (subject to possible amendment or correction) to redemption requests received in proper form (as defined below) on that day (“Fund Securities”). Fund Securities received on redemption may not be identical to Deposit Securities.

Redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit are paid either in kind or in cash, or a combination thereof, as determined by the Trust in accordance with the Basket Procedures. With respect to in-kind redemptions of a Fund, redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit will consist of Fund Securities—as announced by the Custodian on the Business Day of the request for redemption received in proper form plus cash in an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of Shares being redeemed, as next determined after a receipt of a request in proper form, and the value of the Fund Securities (the “Cash Redemption Amount”), less a fixed redemption transaction fee, as applicable, and additional variable charge as set forth below. In the event that the Fund Securities have a value greater than the NAV of Shares, a compensating cash payment equal to the differential is required to be made by or through an Authorized Participant by the redeeming shareholder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, at the Trust’s discretion, an Authorized Participant may receive the corresponding cash value of the securities in lieu of the in-kind securities value representing one or more Fund Securities.

Cash Redemption. Full or partial cash redemptions of Creation Units will be effected in essentially the same manner as in-kind redemptions thereof. In the case of full or partial cash redemptions, the Authorized Participant receives the cash equivalent of the Fund Securities it would otherwise receive through an in-kind redemption, plus the same Cash Redemption Amount to be paid to an in-kind redeemer.

Redemption Transaction Fee. A fixed redemption transaction fee, payable to the Funds’ custodian, may be imposed for the transfer and other transaction costs associated with the redemption of Creation Units (“Redemption Order Costs”). The standard fixed redemption transaction fee for each Fund, regardless of the number of Creation Units redeemed in the transaction, can be found in the table below. Each Fund may adjust the redemption transaction fee from time to time. The fixed redemption fee may be waived on certain orders if the applicable Fund’s custodian has determined to waive some or all of the Redemption Order Costs associated with the order or another party, such as the Adviser, has agreed to pay such fee.

In addition, a variable fee, payable to the Funds, of up to the maximum percentage listed in the table below of the value of the Creation Units subject to the transaction may be imposed for cash redemptions, non-standard orders, or partial cash redemptions (when cash redemptions are available) of Creation Units. The variable charge is primarily designed to cover additional costs (e.g., brokerage, taxes) involved with selling portfolio securities to satisfy a cash redemption. Each Fund may determine to not charge a variable fee on certain orders when the Adviser has determined that doing so is in the best interests of Fund shareholders, e.g., for redemption orders that facilitate changes to the Funds’ portfolio in a more tax efficient manner than could be achieved without such order.


Name of Fund	Fixed Redemption Transaction Fee	Maximum Variable Transaction Fee
Core Alternative ETF	$500	2%
Optimized Equity Income ETF	$500	2%

Procedures for Redemption of Creation Units. Orders to redeem Creation Units must be submitted in proper form to the Transfer Agent prior to 3:00 p.m. Eastern time. A redemption request is considered to be in “proper form” if (i) an Authorized Participant has transferred or caused to be transferred to the Trust’s Transfer Agent the Creation Unit(s) being redeemed through the book-entry system of DTC so as to be effective by the time as set forth in the Participant Agreement and (ii) a request in form satisfactory to the Trust is received by the Transfer Agent from the Authorized Participant on behalf of itself or another redeeming investor within the time periods specified in the Participant Agreement. If the Transfer Agent does not receive the investor’s Shares through DTC’s facilities by the times and pursuant to the other terms and conditions set forth in the Participant Agreement, the redemption request shall be rejected.

The Authorized Participant must transmit the request for redemption, in the form required by the Trust, to the Transfer Agent in accordance with procedures set forth in the Authorized Participant Agreement. Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not have executed an Authorized Participant Agreement, and that, therefore, requests to redeem Creation Units may have to be placed by the investor’s broker through an Authorized Participant who has executed an Authorized Participant Agreement. Investors making a redemption request should be aware that such request must be in the form specified by such Authorized Participant. Investors making a request to redeem Creation Units should allow sufficient time to permit proper submission of the request by an Authorized Participant and transfer of the Shares to the Transfer Agent; such investors should allow for the additional time that may

be required to effect redemptions through their banks, brokers or other financial intermediaries if such intermediaries are not Authorized Participants.

Additional Redemption Procedures. In connection with taking delivery of Shares of Fund Securities upon redemption of Creation Units, a redeeming shareholder or Authorized Participant acting on behalf of such shareholder must maintain appropriate custody arrangements with a qualified broker-dealer, bank, or other custody providers in each jurisdiction in which any of the Fund Securities are customarily traded, to which account such Fund Securities will be delivered. Deliveries of redemption proceeds generally will be made within one Business Day of the trade date.

The Trust may, in its discretion and in accordance with the Basket Procedures, exercise its option to redeem such Shares in cash, and the redeeming investor will be required to receive its redemption proceeds in cash. In addition, an investor may request a redemption in cash that a Fund may, in its sole discretion, permit. In either case, the investor will receive a cash payment equal to the NAV of its Shares based on the NAV of Shares of the applicable Fund next determined after the redemption request is received in proper form (minus a redemption transaction fee, if applicable, and additional charge for requested cash redemptions specified above, to offset the Trust’s brokerage and other transaction costs associated with the disposition of Fund Securities). A Fund also may, in its sole discretion, and in accordance with the Basket Procedures, upon request of a shareholder, provide such redeemer a portfolio of securities that differs from the exact composition of the Fund Securities but does not differ in NAV.

Redemptions of Shares for Fund Securities will be subject to compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws and the Funds (whether or not it otherwise permits cash redemptions) reserves the right to redeem Creation Units for cash to the extent that the Trust could not lawfully deliver specific Fund Securities upon redemptions or could not do so without first registering the Fund Securities under such laws. An Authorized Participant or an investor for which it is acting subject to a legal restriction with respect to a particular security included in the Fund Securities applicable to the redemption of Creation Units may be paid an equivalent amount of cash. The Authorized Participant may request the redeeming investor of the Shares to enter into agreements with respect to such matters as compensating cash payment. Further, an Authorized Participant that is not a “qualified institutional buyer,” (“QIB”) as such term is defined under Rule 144A of the Securities Act, will not be able to receive Fund Securities that are restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A. An Authorized Participant may be required by the Trust to provide a written confirmation with respect to QIB status to receive Fund Securities.

Because the portfolio securities of the Funds may trade on other exchanges on days that the Exchange is closed or are otherwise not Business Days for such Fund, shareholders may not be able to redeem their Shares, or to purchase or sell Shares on the Exchange, on days when the NAV of the applicable Fund could be significantly affected by events in the relevant foreign markets.

The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed with respect to a Fund (1) for any period during which the Exchange is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings); (2) for any period during which trading on the Exchange is suspended or restricted; (3) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which disposal of the Shares of the applicable Fund or determination of the NAV of the Shares is not reasonably practicable; or (4) in such other circumstance as is permitted by the SEC.

DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE

NAV per Share for a Fund is computed by dividing the value of the net assets of the applicable Fund (i.e., the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by the total number of Shares outstanding, rounded to the nearest cent. Expenses and fees, including the management fees, are accrued daily and taken into account for purposes of determining NAV. The NAV of each Fund is calculated by Fund Services and determined at the scheduled close of the regular trading session on the NYSE (ordinarily 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time) on each day that the NYSE is open, provided that fixed-income assets may be valued as of the announced closing time for trading in fixed-income instruments on any day that the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (“SIFMA”) announces an early closing time.

In calculating each Fund’s NAV per Share, the Fund’s investments are generally valued using market quotations to the extent such market quotations are readily available. If market quotations are not readily available, or are deemed to be unreliable by the Adviser, a Fund will value such investments at fair value, as determined by the Adviser, for purposes of calculating such Fund’s NAV. Pursuant to Rule 2a-5 under the 1940 Act, the Board has designated the Adviser to perform the fair value determinations for each Fund’s portfolio holdings subject to the Board’s oversight. The Adviser has established procedures for its fair valuation of each Fund’s portfolio investments. These procedures address, among other things, determining when market quotations are not readily available or reliable and the methodologies to be used for determining the fair value of investments, as well as the use and oversight of third-party pricing services for fair valuation. The Adviser’s fair value determinations will be carried out in compliance with Rule 2a-5 and based on fair value methodologies established and applied by the Adviser and periodically tested to ensure such methodologies are appropriate and accurate with respect to a Fund’s portfolio investments. The Adviser’s fair value methodologies may involve obtaining inputs and prices from third-party pricing services.

When fair value pricing is employed, the prices of securities used by the Funds to calculate their NAV may differ from quoted or published prices for the same securities. Due to the subjective and variable nature of fair value pricing, it is possible that the fair value determined for a particular security may be materially different (higher or lower) from the price of the security quoted or published by

others, or the value when trading resumes or is realized upon its sale. There may be multiple methods that can be used to value a portfolio investment when market quotations are not readily available. The value established for any portfolio investment at a point in time might differ from what would be produced using a different methodology or if it had been priced using market quotations.

DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS

The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled “Dividends, Distributions and Taxes.”

General Policies. Dividends from net investment income, if any, are declared and paid at least annually by each Fund. Distributions of net realized securities gains, if any, generally are declared and paid once a year, but a Fund may make distributions on a more frequent basis to comply with the distribution requirements of the Code, in all events in a manner consistent with the provisions of the 1940 Act.

Dividends and other distributions on Shares are distributed, as described below, on a pro rata basis to Beneficial Owners of such Shares. Dividend payments are made through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants to Beneficial Owners then of record with proceeds received from the Trust.

Each Fund makes additional distributions to the extent necessary (i) to distribute the entire annual taxable income of the applicable Fund, plus any net capital gains and (ii) to avoid imposition of the excise tax imposed by Section 4982 of the Code. Management of the Trust reserves the right to declare special dividends if, in its reasonable discretion, such action is necessary or advisable to preserve a Fund’s eligibility for treatment as a RIC or to avoid imposition of income or excise taxes on undistributed income.

Dividend Reinvestment Service. The Trust will not make the DTC book-entry dividend reinvestment service available for use by Beneficial Owners for reinvestment of their cash proceeds, but certain individual broker-dealers may make available the DTC book-entry Dividend Reinvestment Service for use by Beneficial Owners of the Funds through DTC Participants for reinvestment of their dividend distributions. Investors should contact their brokers to ascertain the availability and description of these services. Beneficial Owners should be aware that each broker may require investors to adhere to specific procedures and timetables to participate in the dividend reinvestment service and investors should ascertain from their brokers such necessary details. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and realized gains will be automatically reinvested in additional whole Shares issued by the Trust of the applicable Fund at NAV per Share. Distributions reinvested in additional Shares will nevertheless be taxable to Beneficial Owners acquiring such additional Shares to the same extent as if such distributions had been received in cash.

FEDERAL INCOME TAXES

The following is only a summary of certain important U.S. federal income tax considerations generally affecting a Fund and its shareholders that supplements the discussion in the Prospectus. No attempt is made to present a comprehensive explanation of the federal, state, local or foreign tax treatment of a Fund or its shareholders, and the discussion here and in the Prospectus is not intended to be a substitute for careful tax planning. In particular, it does not address tax consequences to investors subject to special rules, such as investors who hold Shares through individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”), 401(k) plans, or other tax-advantaged accounts.

The following general discussion of certain U.S. federal income tax consequences is based on provisions of the Code and the regulations issued thereunder as in effect on the date of this SAI. New legislation, as well as administrative changes or court decisions, may significantly change the conclusions expressed herein, and may have a retroactive effect with respect to the transactions contemplated herein.

Unless your investment in Shares is made through a tax-exempt entity or tax-deferred retirement account, such as an IRA, you need to be aware of the possible tax consequences when the Fund makes distributions or you sell Shares.

Shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the application of the provisions of tax law described in this SAI in light of the particular tax situations of the shareholders and regarding specific questions as to federal, state, foreign or local taxes.

Taxation of the Funds. Each Fund intends to qualify each year to be treated as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. As such, the Funds should not be subject to federal income taxes on their net investment income and capital gains, if any, to the extent that they timely distribute such income and capital gains to their shareholders. To qualify for treatment as a RIC, a Fund must distribute annually to its shareholders at least the sum of 90% of its net investment income (generally including dividends, taxable interest, and the excess of net short-term capital gains over net long-term capital losses, less operating expenses) and at least 90% of its net tax-exempt interest income, if any (the “Distribution Requirement”) and must meet several additional requirements. Among these requirements are the following: (i) at least the sum of 90% of a Fund’s gross income each taxable year must be derived from dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies, or other income derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or foreign currencies and net income derived from interests in qualified publicly traded partnerships (the “Qualifying Income Requirement”); and (ii) at the end of each quarter of such Fund’s taxable year, such Fund’s assets must be diversified so that (a) at least 50% of the value of the Fund’s total assets is represented by cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other RICs, and other securities, with such other securities limited, in respect to any one issuer, to an amount not greater in value than 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets and to not more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, including the equity securities of a qualified publicly

traded partnership, and (b) not more than 25% of the value of its total assets is invested, including through corporations in which the Fund owns a 20% or more voting stock interest, in the securities (other than U.S. government securities or securities of other RICs) of any one issuer, the securities (other than securities of other RICs) of two or more issuers which such Fund controls and which are engaged in the same, similar, or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships (the “Diversification Requirement”).

To the extent a Fund makes investments that may generate income that is not qualifying income, including certain derivatives, the Fund will seek to restrict the resulting income from such investments so that such Fund’s non-qualifying income does not exceed 10% of its gross income.

Although the Funds intend to distribute substantially all of their net investment income and may distribute their capital gains for any taxable year, the Funds will be subject to federal income taxation to the extent any such income or gains are not distributed. Each Fund is treated as a separate corporation for federal income tax purposes. A Fund therefore is considered a separate entity in determining its treatment under the rules for RICs described herein, i.e., losses in one Fund do not offset gains in another fund. The requirements (other than certain organizational requirements) for qualifying RIC status are determined at the Fund level rather than at the Trust level.

If a Fund fails to satisfy the Qualifying Income Requirement or the Diversification Requirement in any taxable year, such Fund may be eligible for relief provisions if the failures are due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect and if a penalty tax is paid with respect to each failure to satisfy the applicable requirements. Additionally, relief is provided for certain de minimis failures of the Diversification Requirement where a Fund corrects the failure within a specified period of time. To be eligible for the relief provisions with respect to a failure to meet the Diversification Requirement, a Fund may be required to dispose of certain assets. If these relief provisions were not available to a Fund and it were to fail to qualify for treatment as a RIC for a taxable year, all of its taxable income would be subject to federal income tax at the regular 21% corporate rate without any deduction for distributions to shareholders, and its distributions (including capital gains distributions) generally would be taxable to the shareholders of the applicable Fund as dividends to the extent of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits, subject to the dividends received deduction for corporate shareholders and the lower tax rates on qualified dividend income received by non-corporate shareholders, subject to certain limitations. To requalify for treatment as a RIC in a subsequent taxable year, a Fund would be required to satisfy the RIC qualification requirements for that year and to distribute any earnings and profits from any year in which the applicable Fund failed to qualify for tax treatment as a RIC. If a Fund failed to qualify as a RIC for a period greater than two taxable years, it would generally be required to pay a Fund-level tax on certain net built-in gains recognized with respect to certain of its assets upon disposition of such assets within five years of qualifying as a RIC in a subsequent year. The Board reserves the right not to maintain the qualification of a Fund for treatment as a RIC if it determines such course of action to be beneficial to shareholders. If a Fund determines that it will not qualify as a RIC, the applicable Fund will establish procedures to reflect the anticipated tax liability in the Fund’s NAV.

A Fund may elect to treat part or all of any “qualified late year loss” as if it had been incurred in the succeeding taxable year in determining such Fund’s taxable income, net capital gain, net short-term capital gain, and earnings and profits. The effect of this election is to treat any such “qualified late year loss” as if it had been incurred in the succeeding taxable year in characterizing Fund distributions for any calendar year. A “qualified late year loss” generally includes net capital loss, net long-term capital loss, or net short-term capital loss incurred after October 31 of the current taxable year (commonly referred to as “post-October losses”) and certain other late-year losses.

Capital losses in excess of capital gains (“net capital losses”) are not permitted to be deducted against a RIC’s net investment income. Instead, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, potentially subject to certain limitations, a Fund may carry a net capital loss from any taxable year forward indefinitely to offset its capital gains, if any, in years following the year of the loss. To the extent subsequent capital gains are offset by such losses, they will not result in U.S. federal income tax liability to the applicable Fund and may not be distributed as capital gains to its shareholders. Generally, a Fund may not carry forward any losses other than net capital losses. The carryover of capital losses may be limited under the general loss limitation rules if a Fund experiences an ownership change as defined in the Code.

As of April 30, 2026, the Funds had carryforward losses which will be carried forward indefinitely to offset future realized capital gains as follows:


Name of Fund	Indefinite Short-Term Capital Loss Carryover	Indefinite Long-Term Capital Loss Carryover
Core Alternative ETF	$66,882,838	$107,185,066
Optimized Equity Income ETF	-	-

A Fund will be subject to a nondeductible 4% federal excise tax on certain undistributed income if it does not distribute to its shareholders in each calendar year an amount at least equal to 98% of its ordinary income for the calendar year plus 98.2% of its capital gain net income for the one-year period ending on October 31 of that year, subject to an increase for any shortfall in the prior year’s distribution. For this purpose, any ordinary income or capital gain net income retained by a Fund and subject to corporate income tax will be considered to have been distributed. The Funds intend to declare and distribute dividends and distributions in the

amounts and at the times necessary to avoid the application of the excise tax but can make no assurances that all such tax liability will be eliminated. For example, a Fund may receive delayed or corrected tax reporting statements from its investments that cause such Fund to accrue additional income and gains after such Fund has already made its excise tax distributions for the year. In such a situation, a Fund may incur an excise tax liability resulting from such delayed receipt of such tax information statements. In addition, a Fund may in certain circumstances be required to liquidate Fund investments to make sufficient distributions to avoid federal excise tax liability at a time when the investment adviser might not otherwise have chosen to do so, and liquidation of investments in such circumstances may affect the ability of the Fund to satisfy the requirement for qualification as a RIC.

If a Fund meets the Distribution Requirement but retains some or all of its income or gains, it will be subject to federal income tax to the extent that any such income or gains are not distributed. A Fund may designate certain amounts retained as undistributed net capital gain in a notice to its shareholders, who (i) will be required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gain, their proportionate shares of the undistributed amount so designated, (ii) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the income tax paid by the Fund on that undistributed amount against their federal income tax liabilities and to claim refunds to the extent such credits exceed their tax liabilities, and (iii) will be entitled to increase their tax basis, for federal income tax purposes, in their Shares by an amount equal to the excess of the amount of undistributed net capital gain included in their respective income over their respective income tax credits.

Taxation of Shareholders – Distributions. Each Fund intends to distribute annually to its shareholders substantially all of its investment company taxable income (computed without regard to the deduction for dividends paid), its net tax-exempt income, if any, and any net capital gain (net recognized long-term capital gains in excess of net recognized short-term capital losses, taking into account any capital loss carryforwards). The distribution of investment company taxable income (as so computed) and net realized capital gain will be taxable to Fund shareholders regardless of whether the shareholder receives these distributions in cash or reinvests them in additional Shares.

Each Fund (or your broker) will report to shareholders annually the amounts of dividends paid from ordinary income, the amount of distributions of net capital gain, the portion of dividends which may qualify for the dividends received deduction for corporations, and the portion of dividends which may qualify for treatment as qualified dividend income, which, subject to certain limitations and requirements, is taxable to non-corporate shareholders at rates of up to 20%.

Qualified dividend income includes, in general, subject to certain holding period and other requirements, dividend income from taxable domestic corporations and certain foreign corporations. Subject to certain limitations, eligible foreign corporations include those incorporated in possessions of the United States, those incorporated in certain countries with comprehensive tax treaties with the United States, and other foreign corporations if the stock with respect to which the dividends are paid is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States. Dividends received by a Fund from an underlying fund taxable as a RIC or from a REIT may be treated as qualified dividend income generally only to the extent so reported by such underlying fund or REIT. If 95% or more of a Fund’s gross income (calculated without taking into account net capital gain derived from sales or other dispositions of stock or securities) consists of qualified dividend income, the Fund may report all distributions of such income as qualified dividend income.

Fund dividends will not be treated as qualified dividend income if a Fund does not meet holding period and other requirements with respect to dividend paying stocks in its portfolio, and the shareholder does not meet holding period and other requirements with respect to the Shares on which the dividends were paid. Distributions by a Fund of its net short-term capital gains will be taxable as ordinary income. Distributions from a Fund’s net capital gain will be taxable to shareholders at long-term capital gains rates, regardless of how long shareholders have held their Shares. Distributions may be subject to state and local taxes.

In the case of corporate shareholders, certain dividends received by a Fund from U.S. corporations (generally, dividends received by the Fund in respect of any share of stock (1) with a tax holding period of at least 46 days during the 91-day period beginning on the date that is 45 days before the date on which the stock becomes ex-dividend as to that dividend and (2) that is held in an unleveraged position) and distributed and appropriately so reported by the Fund may be eligible for the 50% dividends received deduction. Certain preferred stock must have a holding period of at least 91 days during the 181-day period beginning on the date that is 90 days before the date on which the stock becomes ex-dividend as to that dividend to be eligible. Capital gain dividends distributed to a Fund from other RICs, and dividends distributed to a Fund from REITs are generally not eligible for the dividends received deduction. To qualify for the deduction, corporate shareholders must meet the minimum holding period requirement stated above with respect to their Shares, taking into account any holding period reductions from certain hedging or other transactions or positions that diminish their risk of loss with respect to their Shares, and, if they borrow to acquire or otherwise incur debt attributable to Shares, they may be denied a portion of the dividends received deduction with respect to those Shares. A Fund’s investment strategy may significantly limit its ability to distribute dividends eligible for the dividends received deduction.

A RIC that receives business interest income may pass through its net business interest income for purposes of the tax rules applicable to the interest expense limitations under Section 163(j) of the Code. A RIC’s total “Section 163(j) Interest Dividend” for a tax year is limited to the excess of the RIC’s business interest income over the sum of its business interest expense and its other deductions properly allocable to its business interest income. A RIC may, in its discretion, designate all or a portion of ordinary dividends as Section 163(j) Interest Dividends, which would allow the recipient shareholder to treat the designated portion of such dividends as

interest income for purposes of determining such shareholder’s interest expense deduction limitation under Section 163(j) of the Code. This can potentially increase the amount of a shareholder’s interest expense deductible under Section 163(j) of the Code. In general, to be eligible to treat a Section 163(j) Interest Dividend as interest income, you must have held your shares in a Fund for more than 180 days during the 361-day period beginning on the date that is 180 days before the date on which the share becomes ex-dividend with respect to such dividend. Section 163(j) Interest Dividends, if so designated by a Fund, will be reported to your financial intermediary or otherwise in accordance with the requirements specified by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”).

Although dividends generally will be treated as distributed when paid, any dividend declared by a Fund in October, November or December and payable to shareholders of record in such a month that is paid during the following January will be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as received by shareholders on December 31 of the calendar year in which it was declared.

Shareholders who have not held Shares for a full year should be aware that a Fund may report and distribute, as ordinary dividends or capital gain dividends, a percentage of income that is not equal to the percentage of a Fund’s ordinary income or net capital gain, respectively, actually earned during the applicable shareholder’s period of investment in the Fund. A taxable shareholder should note that if it purchases shares just before a distribution, the purchase price would reflect the amount of the upcoming distribution. In this case, the shareholder would be taxed on the entire amount of the distribution received, even though, as an economic matter, the distribution simply constitutes a return of its investment. This is known as “buying a dividend” and should generally be avoided by taxable investors.

To the extent that a Fund makes a distribution of income received by such Fund in lieu of dividends (a “substitute payment”) with respect to securities on loan pursuant to a securities lending transaction, such income will not constitute qualified dividend income to individual shareholders and will not be eligible for the dividends received deduction for corporate shareholders.

If a Fund’s distributions exceed its current and accumulated earnings and profits for the taxable year (as calculated for federal income tax purposes), all or a portion of the distributions made for the taxable year may be recharacterized as a return of capital to shareholders. A return of capital distribution will generally not be taxable but will reduce each shareholder’s cost basis in a Fund and result in a higher capital gain or lower capital loss when the Shares on which the distribution was received are sold. After a shareholder’s basis in the Shares has been reduced to zero, distributions in excess of earnings and profits will be treated as gain from the sale of the shareholder’s Shares.

Taxation of Shareholders – Sale or Exchange of Shares. A sale or exchange of Shares may give rise to a gain or loss for federal and state income tax purposes. Assuming a shareholder holds Shares as a capital asset, any gain or loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Shares will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if Shares have been held for more than 12 months. Otherwise, the gain or loss on the taxable disposition of Shares will generally be treated as short-term capital gain or loss. Any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Shares held for six months or less will be treated as long-term capital loss, rather than short-term capital loss, to the extent of any amounts treated as distributions to the shareholder of long-term capital gain (including any amounts credited to the shareholder as undistributed capital gains). All or a portion of any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Shares may be disallowed if substantially identical Shares of a Fund are acquired (through the reinvestment of dividends or otherwise) within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the disposition. In such a case, the basis of the newly acquired Shares will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss.

The cost basis of Shares acquired by purchase will generally be based on the amount paid for Shares and then may be subsequently adjusted for other applicable transactions as required by the Code. The difference between the selling price and the cost basis of Shares generally determines the amount of the capital gain or loss realized on the sale or exchange of Shares. Contact the broker through whom you purchased your Shares to obtain information with respect to the available cost basis reporting methods and elections for your account.

An Authorized Participant who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or a loss. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time and the sum of the exchanger’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered plus the amount of cash paid for such Creation Units. The ability of Authorized Participants to receive a full or partial cash redemption of Creation Units of a Fund may limit the tax efficiency of the Fund. An Authorized Participant who redeems Creation Units will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchanger’s basis in the Creation Units and the sum of the aggregate market value of any securities received plus the amount of any cash received for such Creation Units. The Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”), however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units cannot currently be deducted, under the rules governing “wash sales” (for a person who does not mark-to-market its portfolio) or, on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position.

Any gain or loss realized upon a creation or redemption of Creation Units will be treated as capital or ordinary gain or loss, depending on the holder’s circumstances.

The Trust, on behalf of the Funds, has the right to reject an order for Creation Units if the purchaser (or a group of purchasers) would, upon obtaining the Creation Units so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding Shares and if, pursuant to Section 351 of the Code, a Fund would have a basis in the deposit securities different from the market value of such securities on the date of deposit. The Trust also has the right to require the provision of information necessary to determine beneficial Share ownership for purposes of the 80%

determination. If a Fund does issue Creation Units to a purchaser (or a group of purchasers) that would, upon obtaining the Creation Units so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding Shares, the purchaser (or a group of purchasers) will not recognize gain or loss upon the exchange of securities for Creation Units.

Authorized Participants purchasing or redeeming Creation Units should consult their own tax advisors with respect to the tax treatment of any creation or redemption transaction and whether the wash sales rule applies and when a loss may be deductible.

Taxation of Shareholders – Net Investment Income Tax. U.S. individuals with adjusted gross income (subject to certain adjustments) exceeding certain threshold amounts ($250,000 if married filing jointly or if considered a “surviving spouse” for federal income tax purposes, $125,000 if married filing separately, and $200,000 in other cases) are subject to a 3.8% tax on all or a portion of their “net investment income,” which includes taxable interest, dividends, and certain capital gains (generally including capital gain distributions and capital gains realized on the sale of Shares). This 3.8% tax also applies to all or a portion of the undistributed net investment income of certain shareholders that are estates and trusts.

Tax Treatment of Complex Securities. Certain of a Fund’s investments may be subject to complex provisions of the Code (including provisions relating to hedging transactions, straddles, integrated transactions, foreign currency contracts, forward foreign currency contracts, and notional principal contracts) that, among other things, may affect a Fund’s ability to qualify as a RIC, may affect the character of gains and losses realized by the applicable Fund (e.g., may affect whether gains or losses are ordinary or capital), accelerate recognition of income to the applicable Fund and defer losses. These rules could therefore affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to shareholders. These provisions also may require a Fund to mark-to-market certain types of positions in its portfolio (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out) which may cause a Fund to recognize income without the applicable Fund receiving cash with which to make distributions in amounts sufficient to enable the applicable Fund to satisfy the RIC distribution requirements for avoiding income and excise taxes. Each Fund intends to monitor its transactions, intends to make appropriate tax elections, and intends to make appropriate entries in its books and records to mitigate the effect of these rules and preserve the applicable Fund’s qualification for treatment as a RIC.

Certain derivative investments by a Fund, such as exchange-traded products and over-the-counter derivatives, may not produce qualifying income for purposes of the Qualifying Income Requirement described above, which must be met in order for a Fund to maintain its status as a RIC under the Code. In addition, the determination of the value and the identity of the issuer of such derivative investments are often unclear for purposes of the Diversification Requirement described above. A Fund intends to carefully monitor such investments to ensure that any non-qualifying income does not exceed permissible limits and to ensure that it is adequately diversified under the Diversification Requirement. A Fund, however, may not be able to accurately predict the non-qualifying income from these investments and there are no assurances that the IRS will agree with a Fund’s determination of the Diversification Requirement with respect to such derivatives. Failure to satisfy the Diversification Requirement might also result from a determination by the IRS that financial instruments in which a Fund invests are not securities.

A Fund is required for federal income tax purposes to mark-to-market and recognize as income for each taxable year its net unrealized gains and losses on certain futures and options contracts subject to section 1256 of the Code (“Section 1256 Contracts”) as of the end of the year as well as those actually realized during the year. Gain or loss from Section 1256 Contracts on broad-based indexes required to be marked to market will be 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital gain or loss. Application of this rule may alter the timing and character of distributions to shareholders. A Fund may be required to defer the recognition of losses on Section 1256 Contracts to the extent of any unrecognized gains on offsetting positions held by the applicable Fund. These provisions also may require a Fund to mark-to-market certain types of positions in its portfolio (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out), which may cause the applicable Fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the Distribution Requirement and for avoiding the excise tax discussed above. Accordingly, to avoid certain income and excise taxes, a Fund may be required to liquidate its investments at a time when the investment adviser might not otherwise have chosen to do so.

Offsetting positions held by a Fund involving certain derivative instruments, such as options, forwards, and futures, as well as its long and short positions in portfolio securities, may be considered to constitute “straddles” for federal income tax purposes. In general, straddles are subject to certain rules that may affect the amount, character and timing of a Fund’s gains and losses with respect to the straddle positions by requiring, among other things, that: (1) any loss realized on disposition of one position of a straddle may not be recognized to the extent that a Fund has unrealized gains with respect to the other positions in the straddle; (2) a Fund’s holding period in straddle positions be suspended while the straddle exists (possibly resulting in a gain being treated as short-term rather than long-term capital gain); (3) the losses recognized with respect to certain straddle positions that are part of a mixed straddle and are non-Section 1256 Contracts be treated as 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital loss; (4) losses recognized with respect to certain straddle positions that would otherwise constitute short-term capital losses be treated as long-term capital losses; and (5) the deduction of interest and carrying charges attributable to certain straddle positions may be deferred. Various elections are available to a Fund, which may mitigate the effects of the straddle rules, particularly with respect to mixed straddles.

If a Fund enters into a “constructive sale” of any appreciated financial position in its portfolio, the applicable Fund will be treated as if it had sold and immediately repurchased the property and must recognize gain (but not loss) with respect to that position. A constructive sale of an appreciated financial position occurs when a Fund enters into certain offsetting transactions with respect to the

same or substantially identical property, including, but not limited to: (i) a short sale; (ii) an offsetting notional principal contract; (iii) a futures or forward contract; or (iv) other transactions identified in future Treasury Regulations. The character of the gain from constructive sales will depend upon a Fund’s holding period in the appreciated financial position. Losses realized from a sale of a position that was previously the subject of a constructive sale will be recognized when the position is subsequently disposed of. The character of such losses will depend upon a Fund’s holding period in the position beginning with the date the constructive sale was deemed to have occurred and the application of various loss deferral provisions in the Code. Constructive sale treatment does not apply to certain closed transactions, including if such a transaction is closed on or before the 30th day after the close of a Fund’s taxable year and the applicable Fund holds the appreciated financial position unhedged throughout the 60-day period beginning with the day such transaction was closed.

Foreign Investments. Dividends and interest received by a Fund from sources within foreign countries may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by such countries. Tax treaties between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes. Each Fund does not expect to satisfy the requirements for passing through to its shareholders any share of foreign taxes paid by the Fund, with the result that shareholders will not include such taxes in their gross incomes and will not be entitled to a tax deduction or credit for such taxes on their own tax returns.

Additional Tax Information Concerning U.S. REITs. A Fund may invest in U.S. REITs. Investments in REIT equity securities may require a Fund to accrue and distribute income not yet received. To generate sufficient cash to make the requisite distributions, a Fund may be required to sell securities in its portfolio (including when it is not advantageous to do so) that it otherwise would have continued to hold. A Fund’s investments in REIT equity securities may at other times result in the Fund’s receipt of cash in excess of the REIT’s earnings; if the Fund distributes these amounts, these distributions could constitute a return of capital to such Fund’s shareholders for federal income tax purposes. Dividends paid by a REIT, other than capital gain distributions, will be taxable as ordinary income up to the amount of the REIT’s current and accumulated earnings and profits. Capital gain dividends paid by a REIT to a Fund will be treated as long-term capital gains by the Fund and, in turn, may be distributed by the Fund to its shareholders as a capital gain distribution. Dividends received by a Fund from a REIT generally will not constitute qualified dividend income or qualify for the dividends received deduction. If a REIT is operated in a manner such that it fails to qualify as a REIT, an investment in the REIT would become subject to double taxation, meaning the taxable income of the REIT would be subject to federal income tax at the regular corporate rate without any deduction for dividends paid to shareholders and the dividends would be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income (or possibly as qualified dividend income) to the extent of the REIT’s current and accumulated earnings and profits.

REITs in which a Fund invests often do not provide complete and final tax information to the Fund until after the time that the Fund issues a tax reporting statement. As a result, a Fund may at times find it necessary to reclassify the amount and character of its distributions to you after it issues your tax reporting statement. When such reclassification is necessary, you will be sent a corrected, final Form 1099-DIV to reflect the reclassified information. If you receive a corrected Form 1099-DIV, use the information on this corrected form, and not the information on the previously issued tax reporting statement, in completing your tax returns.

“Qualified REIT dividends” (i.e., ordinary REIT dividends other than capital gain dividends and portions of REIT dividends designated are qualified dividend income eligible for capital gain tax rates) are eligible for a 20% deduction by non-corporate taxpayers. This deduction, if allowed in full, equates to a maximum effective tax rate of 29.6% (37% top rate applied to income after 20% deduction). Distributions by the Fund to its shareholders that are attributable to qualified REIT dividends received by such Fund and which such Fund properly reports as “section 199A dividends,” are treated as “qualified REIT dividends” in the hands of non-corporate shareholders. A section 199A dividend is treated as a qualified REIT dividend only if the shareholder receiving such dividend holds the dividend-paying RIC shares for at least 46 days of the 91-day period beginning 45 days before the shares become ex-dividend, and is not under an obligation to make related payments with respect to a position in substantially similar or related property. A Fund is permitted to report such part of its dividends as section 199A dividends as are eligible, but is not required to do so. Unless later extended or made permanent, this 20% deduction will no longer be available for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025.

Backup Withholding. Each Fund will be required in certain cases to withhold (as “backup withholding”) on amounts payable to any shareholder who (1) fails to provide a correct taxpayer identification number certified under penalty of perjury; (2) is subject to backup withholding by the IRS for failure to properly report all payments of interest or dividends; (3) fails to provide a certified statement that he or she is not subject to “backup withholding”; or (4) fails to provide a certified statement that he or she is a U.S. person (including a U.S. resident alien). The backup withholding rate is 24%. Backup withholding is not an additional tax and any amounts withheld may be credited against the shareholder’s ultimate U.S. tax liability. Backup withholding will not be applied to payments that have been subject to the 30% withholding tax on shareholders who are neither citizens nor permanent residents of the U.S.

Non-U.S. Shareholders. Any non-U.S. investors in a Fund may be subject to U.S. withholding and estate tax and are encouraged to consult their tax advisors prior to investing in the Fund. Foreign shareholders (i.e., nonresident alien individuals and foreign corporations, partnerships, trusts and estates) are generally subject to U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30% (or a lower tax treaty rate) on distributions derived from taxable ordinary income. Each Fund may, under certain circumstances, report all or a portion of a dividend as an “interest-related dividend” or a “short-term capital gain dividend,” which would generally be exempt from this 30% U.S. withholding tax, provided certain other requirements are met. Short-term capital gain dividends received by a nonresident alien individual who is present in the U.S. for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the taxable year are not exempt from

this 30% withholding tax. Gains realized by foreign shareholders from the sale or other disposition of Shares of a Fund generally are not subject to U.S. taxation, unless the recipient is an individual who is physically present in the U.S. for 183 days or more per year. Foreign shareholders who fail to provide an applicable IRS form may be subject to backup withholding on certain payments from a Fund. Backup withholding will not be applied to payments that are subject to the 30% (or lower applicable treaty rate) withholding tax described in this paragraph. Different tax consequences may result if the foreign shareholder is engaged in a trade or business within the United States. In addition, the tax consequences to a foreign shareholder entitled to claim the benefits of a tax treaty may be different than those described above.

Under legislation generally known as “FATCA” (the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act), a Fund is required to withhold 30% of certain ordinary dividends it pays to shareholders that fail to meet prescribed information reporting or certification requirements. In general, no such withholding will be required with respect to a U.S. person or non-U.S. person that timely provides the certifications required by a Fund or its agent on a valid IRS Form W-9 or applicable series of IRS Form W-8, respectively. Shareholders potentially subject to withholding include foreign financial institutions (“FFIs”), such as non-U.S. investment funds, and non-financial foreign entities (“NFFEs”). To avoid withholding under FATCA, an FFI generally must enter into an information sharing agreement with the IRS in which it agrees to report certain identifying information (including name, address, and taxpayer identification number) with respect to its U.S. account holders (which, in the case of an entity shareholder, may include its direct and indirect U.S. owners), and an NFFE generally must identify and provide other required information to a Fund or other withholding agent regarding its U.S. owners, if any. Such non-U.S. shareholders also may fall into certain exempt, excepted or deemed compliant categories as established by regulations and other guidance. A non-U.S. shareholder resident or doing business in a country that has entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the United States to implement FATCA will be exempt from FATCA withholding provided that the shareholder and the applicable foreign government comply with the terms of the agreement.

A non-U.S. entity that invests in a Fund will need to provide the fund with documentation properly certifying the entity’s status under FATCA in order to avoid FATCA withholding. Non-U.S. investors in the Funds should consult their tax advisors in this regard.

Tax-Exempt Shareholders. Certain tax-exempt shareholders, including qualified pension plans, IRAs, salary deferral arrangements, 401(k) plans, and other tax-exempt entities, generally are exempt from federal income taxation except with respect to their unrelated business taxable income (“UBTI”). Tax-exempt entities are not permitted to offset losses from one unrelated trade or business against the income or gain of another unrelated trade or business. Certain net losses incurred prior to January 1, 2018 are permitted to offset gain and income created by an unrelated trade or business, if otherwise available. Under current law, each Fund generally serves to block UBTI from being realized by its tax-exempt shareholders with respect to their shares of Fund income. However, notwithstanding the foregoing, tax-exempt shareholders could realize UBTI by virtue of their investment in a Fund if, for example, (i) the Fund invests in residual interests of Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduits (“REMICs”), (ii) the Fund invests in a REIT that is a taxable mortgage pool (“TMP”) or that has a subsidiary that is a TMP or that invests in the residual interest of a REMIC, or (iii) Shares constitute debt-financed property in the hands of the tax-exempt shareholders within the meaning of section 514(b) of the Code. Charitable remainder trusts are subject to special rules and should consult their tax advisors. The IRS has issued guidance with respect to these issues and prospective shareholders, especially charitable remainder trusts, are strongly encouraged to consult with their tax advisors regarding these issues.

A Fund’s shares held in a tax-qualified retirement account will generally not be subject to federal taxation on income and capital gains distributions from the Fund until a shareholder begins receiving payments from their retirement account.

Certain Potential Tax Reporting Requirements. Under U.S. Treasury regulations, if a shareholder recognizes a loss on disposition of Shares of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder (or certain greater amounts over a combination of years), the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on IRS Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a RIC are not excepted. Significant penalties may be imposed for the failure to comply with the reporting requirements. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.

Other Issues. In those states which have income tax laws, the tax treatment of a Fund and of Fund shareholders with respect to distributions by such Fund may differ from federal tax treatment.

The foregoing discussion is based on U.S. federal tax laws and regulations which are in effect on the date of this SAI. Such laws and regulations may be changed by legislative or administrative action. Shareholders are advised to consult their tax advisors concerning their specific situations and the application of foreign, federal, state, or local taxes.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The Funds’ most recent Form N-CSR for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2026 is a separate document and the financial statements and accompanying notes appearing therein are incorporated by reference into this SAI. You may request a copy of the Funds’ Form N-CSR at no charge by calling 800-617-000 or through the Funds’ website at www.corealtfunds.com.

Appendix A

ISS United States Proxy Voting Guidelines

U N I T E DS T A T E S

Proxy Voting Guidelines

Benchmark Policy Recommendations

Effective for Meetings on or after February 1, 2026

Published December 9, 2025

Effective for Meetings Published on or after February 25, 2025, Consideration of Certain

Diversity Factors in Making Vote Recommendations Is Suspended (see pp. 12-13 for more

information).

W W W . I S S G O V E R N A N C E . C O M


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Coverage8

1.Board of Directors9

Voting on Director Nominees in Uncontested Elections9

Independence9

ISS Classification of Directors – U.S.10

Composition12

Attendance12

Overboarded Directors12

Gender Diversity12

Racial and/or Ethnic Diversity13

Responsiveness13

Accountability14

Poison Pills14

Unequal Voting Rights14

Classified Board Structure15

Removal of Shareholder Discretion on Classified Boards15

Problematic Governance Structure15

Unilateral Bylaw/Charter Amendments15

Restricting Binding Shareholder Proposals16

Director Performance Evaluation16

Management Proposals to Ratify Existing Charter or Bylaw Provisions16

Problematic Audit-Related Practices17

Problematic Compensation Practices17

Problematic Pledging of Company Stock17

Climate Accountability18

Governance Failures18

Voting on Director Nominees in Contested Elections18

Vote-No Campaigns18

Proxy Contests/Proxy Access19

Other Board-Related Proposals19

Adopt Anti-Hedging/Pledging/Speculative Investments Policy19

Board Refreshment19

Term/Tenure Limits19

Age Limits20

Board Size20

Classification/Declassification of the Board20

CEO Succession Planning20

Cumulative Voting20

Director and Officer Indemnification, Liability Protection, and Exculpation21

Establish/Amend Nominee Qualifications21

Establish Other Board Committee Proposals22

Filling Vacancies/Removal of Directors22

Independent Board Chair22

Majority of Independent Directors/Establishment of Independent Committees23

Majority Vote Standard for the Election of Directors23


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Proxy Access23

Require More Nominees than Open Seats24

Shareholder Engagement Policy (Shareholder Advisory Committee)24

2.Audit-Related25

Auditor Indemnification and Limitation of Liability25

Auditor Ratification25

Shareholder Proposals Limiting Non-Audit Services25

Shareholder Proposals on Audit Firm Rotation26

3.Shareholder Rights & Defenses27

Advance Notice Requirements for Shareholder Proposals/Nominations27

Amend Bylaws without Shareholder Consent27

Control Share Acquisition Provisions27

Control Share Cash-Out Provisions28

Disgorgement Provisions28

Fair Price Provisions28

Freeze-Out Provisions28

Greenmail28

Shareholder Litigation Rights29

Federal Forum Selection Provisions29

Exclusive Forum Provisions for State Law Matters29

Fee shifting29

Net Operating Loss (NOL) Protective Amendments30

Poison Pills (Shareholder Rights Plans)30

Shareholder Proposals to Put Pill to a Vote and/or Adopt a Pill Policy30

Management Proposals to Ratify a Poison Pill31

Management Proposals to Ratify a Pill to Preserve Net Operating Losses (NOLs)31

Proxy Voting Disclosure, Confidentiality, and Tabulation31

Ratification Proposals: Management Proposals to Ratify Existing Charter or Bylaw Provisions32

Reimbursing Proxy Solicitation Expenses32

Reincorporation Proposals33

Shareholder Ability to Act by Written Consent33

Shareholder Ability to Call Special Meetings33

Stakeholder Provisions34

State Antitakeover Statutes34

Supermajority Vote Requirements34

Virtual Shareholder Meetings34

4.Capital/Restructuring35

Capital35

Adjustments to Par Value of Common Stock35

Common Stock Authorization35

General Authorization Requests35

Specific Authorization Requests36

Dual Class Structure36

Issue Stock for Use with Rights Plan36


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Preemptive Rights36

Preferred Stock Authorization37

General Authorization Requests37

Recapitalization Plans38

Reverse Stock Splits38

Share Issuance Mandates at U.S. Domestic Issuers Incorporated Outside the U.S.38

Share Repurchase Programs39

Share Repurchase Programs Shareholder Proposals39

Stock Distributions: Splits and Dividends39

Tracking Stock40

Restructuring40

Appraisal Rights40

Asset Purchases40

Asset Sales40

Bundled Proposals41

Conversion of Securities41

Corporate Reorganization/Debt Restructuring/Prepackaged Bankruptcy Plans/Reverse Leveraged Buyouts/Wrap

Plans41

Formation of Holding Company41

Going Private and Going Dark Transactions (LBOs and Minority Squeeze-outs)42

Joint Ventures42

Liquidations43

Mergers and Acquisitions43

Private Placements/Warrants/Convertible Debentures43

Reorganization/Restructuring Plan (Bankruptcy)45

Special Purpose Acquisition Corporations (SPACs)45

Special Purpose Acquisition Corporations (SPACs) - Proposals for Extensions45

Spin-offs46

Value Maximization Shareholder Proposals46

5.Compensation47

Executive Pay Evaluation47

Advisory Votes on Executive Compensation—Management Proposals (Say-on-Pay)47

Pay-for-Performance Evaluation48

Problematic Pay Practices48

Compensation Committee Communications and Responsiveness49

Frequency of Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation ("Say When on Pay")50

Voting on Golden Parachutes in an Acquisition, Merger, Consolidation, or Proposed Sale50

Equity-Based and Other Incentive Plans50

Shareholder Value Transfer (SVT)51

Three-Year Value-Adjusted Burn Rate52

Egregious Factors52

Liberal Change in Control Definition52

Repricing Provisions52

Problematic Pay Practices or Significant Pay-for-Performance Disconnect53

Amending Cash and Equity Plans (including Approval for Tax Deductibility (162(m))53


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Specific Treatment of Certain Award Types in Equity Plan Evaluations54

Dividend Equivalent Rights54

Operating Partnership (OP) Units in Equity Plan Analysis of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)54

Other Compensation Plans54

401(k) Employee Benefit Plans54

Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)54

Employee Stock Purchase Plans—Qualified Plans55

Employee Stock Purchase Plans—Non-Qualified Plans55

Option Exchange Programs/Repricing Options55

Stock Plans in Lieu of Cash56

Transfer Stock Option (TSO) Programs56

Director Compensation57

Shareholder Ratification of Director Pay Programs57

Equity Plans for Non-Employee Directors57

Non-Employee Director Retirement Plans58

Shareholder Proposals on Compensation58

Bonus Banking/Bonus Banking “Plus”58

Compensation Consultants—Disclosure of Board or Company’s Utilization58

Disclosure/Setting Levels or Types of Compensation for Executives and Directors58

Golden Coffins/Executive Death Benefits59

Hold Equity Past Retirement or for a Significant Period of Time59

Pay Disparity59

Pay for Performance/Performance-Based Awards60

Pay for Superior Performance60

Pre-Arranged Trading Plans (10b5-1 Plans)61

Prohibit Outside CEOs from Serving on Compensation Committees61

Recoupment of Incentive or Stock Compensation in Specified Circumstances61

Severance and Golden Parachute Agreements61

Share Buyback Impact on Incentive Program Metrics62

Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans (SERPs)62

Tax Gross-Up Proposals62

Termination of Employment Prior to Severance Payment/Eliminating Accelerated Vesting of Unvested Equity

.62

6.Routine/Miscellaneous64

Adjourn Meeting64

Amend Quorum Requirements64

Amend Minor Bylaws64

Change Company Name64

Change Date, Time, or Location of Annual Meeting65

Other Business65

7.Social and Environmental Issues66

Global Approach – E&S Shareholder Proposals66

Endorsement of Principles66

Animal Welfare67


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Animal Welfare Policies67

Animal Testing67

Animal Slaughter67

Consumer Issues67

Genetically Modified Ingredients67

Reports on Potentially Controversial Business/Financial Practices68

Pharmaceutical Pricing, Access to Medicines, and Prescription Drug Reimportation68

Product Safety and Toxic/Hazardous Materials69

Tobacco-Related Proposals69

Climate Change70

Say on Climate (SoC) Management Proposals70

Say on Climate (SoC) Shareholder Proposals70

Climate Change/Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions70

Energy Efficiency71

Renewable Energy71

Diversity72

Board Diversity72

Equality of Opportunity72

Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, and Domestic Partner Benefits73

Gender, Race/Ethnicity Pay Gap73

Racial Equity and/or Civil Rights Audit Guidelines73

Environment and Sustainability73

Facility and Workplace Safety74

Natural Capital- Related and/or Community Impact Assessment Proposals74

Hydraulic Fracturing74

Operations in Protected Areas74

Recycling75

Sustainability Reporting75

Water Issues75

General Corporate Issues75

Charitable Contributions75

Data Security, Privacy, and Internet Issues76

ESG Compensation-Related Proposals76

Human Rights, Human Capital Management, and International Operations76

Human Rights Proposals76

Mandatory Arbitration77

Operations in High-Risk Markets77

Outsourcing/Offshoring78

Sexual Harassment78

Weapons and Military Sales78

Political Activities78

Lobbying78

Political Contributions79


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Political Expenditures and Lobbying Congruency79

Political Ties80

8.Mutual Fund Proxies81

Election of Directors81

Closed End Funds- Unilateral Opt-In to Control Share Acquisition Statutes81

Converting Closed-end Fund to Open-end Fund81

Proxy Contests81

Investment Advisory Agreements82

Approving New Classes or Series of Shares82

Preferred Stock Proposals82

1940 Act Policies82

Changing a Fundamental Restriction to a Nonfundamental Restriction82

Change Fundamental Investment Objective to Nonfundamental83

Name Change Proposals83

Change in Fund's Subclassification83

Business Development Companies—Authorization to Sell Shares of Common Stock at a Price below Net Asset

Value83

Disposition of Assets/Termination/Liquidation84

Changes to the Charter Document84

Changing the Domicile of a Fund84

Authorizing the Board to Hire and Terminate Subadvisers Without Shareholder Approval84

Distribution Agreements85

Master-Feeder Structure85

Mergers85

Shareholder Proposals for Mutual Funds85

Establish Director Ownership Requirement85

Reimburse Shareholder for Expenses Incurred85

Terminate the Investment Advisor86


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Coverage

The U.S. research team provides proxy analyses and voting recommendations for the common shareholder

meetings of U.S. - incorporated companies that are publicly-traded on U.S. exchanges, as well as certain OTC

companies, if they are held in our institutional investor clients' portfolios. Coverage generally includes corporate

actions for common equity holders, such as written consents and bankruptcies. ISS’ U.S. coverage includes

investment companies (including open-end funds, closed-end funds, exchange-traded funds, and unit investment

trusts), limited partnerships (“LPs”), master limited partnerships (“MLPs”), limited liability companies (“LLCs”), and

business development companies. ISS reviews its universe of coverage on an annual basis, and the coverage is

subject to change based on client need and industry trends.

Foreign-incorporated companies

In addition to U.S.- incorporated, U.S.- listed companies, ISS’ U.S. policies are applied to certain foreign-

incorporated company analyses. Like the SEC, ISS distinguishes two types of companies that list but are not

incorporated in the U.S.:

U.S. Domestic Issuers – which have a majority of outstanding shares held in the U.S. and meet other criteria,

as determined by the SEC, and are subject to the same disclosure and listing standards as U.S. incorporated

companies (e.g. they are required to file DEF14A proxy statements) – are generally covered under standard

U.S. policy guidelines.

Foreign Private Issuers (FPIs) – which are allowed to take exemptions from most disclosure requirements (e.g.,

they are allowed to file 6-K for their proxy materials) and U.S. listing standards – are generally covered under a

combination of policy guidelines:

FPI Guidelines (see the Americas Regional Proxy Voting Guidelines), may apply to companies incorporated

in governance havens, and apply certain minimum independence and disclosure standards in the

evaluation of key proxy ballot items, such as the election of directors; and/or

Guidelines for the market that is responsible for, or most relevant to, the item on the ballot.

U.S. incorporated companies listed only on non-U.S. exchanges are generally covered under the ISS guidelines for

the market on which they are traded.

An FPI is generally covered under ISS’ approach to FPIs outlined above, even if such FPI voluntarily files a proxy

statement and/or other filing normally required of a U.S. Domestic Issuer, so long as the company retains its FPI

status.

In all cases – including with respect to other companies with cross-market features that may lead to ballot items

related to multiple markets – items that are on the ballot solely due to the requirements of another market (listing,

incorporation, or national code) may be evaluated under the policy of the relevant market, regardless of the

“assigned” primary market coverage.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

1.Board of Directors

Voting on Director Nominees in Uncontested Elections

Four fundamental principles apply when determining votes on director nominees:

Independence: Boards should be sufficiently independent from management (and significant shareholders) to

ensure that they are able and motivated to effectively supervise management's performance for the benefit of all

shareholders, including in setting and monitoring the execution of corporate strategy, with appropriate use of

shareholder capital, and in setting and monitoring executive compensation programs that support that strategy.

The chair of the board should ideally be an independent director, and all boards should have an independent

leadership position or a similar role in order to help provide appropriate counterbalance to executive

management, as well as having sufficiently independent committees that focus on key governance concerns such

as audit, compensation, and nomination of directors.

Composition: Companies should ensure that directors add value to the board through their specific skills and

expertise and by having sufficient time and commitment to serve effectively. Boards should be of a size

appropriate to accommodate diversity, expertise, and independence, while ensuring active and collaborative

participation by all members. Boards should be sufficiently diverse to ensure consideration of a wide range of

perspectives.

Responsiveness: Directors should respond to investor input, such as that expressed through significant opposition

to management proposals, significant support for shareholder proposals (whether binding or non-binding), and

tender offers where a majority of shares are tendered.

Accountability: Boards should be sufficiently accountable to shareholders, including through transparency of the

company's governance practices and regular board elections, by the provision of sufficient information for

shareholders to be able to assess directors and board composition, and through the ability of shareholders to

remove directors.

General Recommendation: Generally vote for director nominees, except under the following circumstances (with

new nominees1 considered on case-by-case basis):

Independence

Vote against2 or withhold from non-independent directors (Executive Directors and Non-Independent Non-

Executive Directors per ISS’ Classification of Directors) when:

•Independent directors comprise 50 percent or less of the board;

•The non-independent director serves on the audit, compensation, or nominating committee;

•The company lacks an audit, compensation, or nominating committee so that the full board functions as that

committee; or

•The company lacks a formal nominating committee, even if the board attests that the independent directors

fulfill the functions of such a committee.

___________________________________

1 A "new nominee" is a director who is being presented for election by shareholders for the first time. Recommendations on

new nominees who have served for less than one year are made on a case-by-case basis depending on the timing of their

appointment and the problematic governance issue in question.

2 In general, companies with a plurality vote standard use “Withhold” as the contrary vote option in director elections;

companies with a majority vote standard use “Against”. However, it will vary by company and the proxy must be checked to

determine the valid contrary vote option for the particular company.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

ISS Classification of Directors – U.S.

1.Executive Director

1.1.Current officer1 of the company or one of its affiliates2.

2.Non-Independent Non-Executive Director

Board Identification

2.1.Director identified as not independent by the board.

Controlling/Significant Shareholder

2.2.Beneficial owner of more than 50 percent of the company's voting power (this may be aggregated if

voting power is distributed among more than one member of a group).

Current Employment at Company or Related Company

2.3.Non-officer employee of the firm (including employee representatives).

2.4.Officer1, former officer, or general or limited partner of a joint venture or partnership with the

company.

Former Employment

2.5.Former CEO of the company. 3, 4

2.6.Former non-CEO officer1 of the company or an affiliate2 within the past five years.

2.7.Former officer1 of an acquired company within the past five years.4

2.8.Officer1 of a former parent or predecessor firm at the time the company was sold or split off within the

past five years.

2.9.Former interim officer if the service was longer than 18 months. If the service was between 12 and 18

months an assessment of the interim officer’s employment agreement will be made.5

Family Members

2.10.Immediate family member6 of a current or former officer1 of the company or its affiliates2 within the

last five years.

2.11.Immediate family member6 of a current employee of company or its affiliates2 where additional factors

raise concern (which may include, but are not limited to, the following: a director related to numerous

employees; the company or its affiliates employ relatives of numerous board members; or a non-

Section 16 officer in a key strategic role).

Professional, Transactional, and Charitable Relationships

2.12.Director who (or whose immediate family member6) currently provides professional services7 in excess

of $10,000 per year to: the company, an affiliate2, or an individual officer of the company or an affiliate;

or who is (or whose immediate family member6 is) a partner, employee, or controlling shareholder of

an organization which provides the services.

2.13.Director who (or whose immediate family member6) currently has any material transactional

relationship8 with the company or its affiliates2; or who is (or whose immediate family member6 is) a

partner in, or a controlling shareholder or an executive officer of, an organization which has the

material transactional relationship8 (excluding investments in the company through a private

placement).

2.14.Director who (or whose immediate family member6) is a trustee, director, or employee of a charitable

or non-profit organization that receives material grants or endowments8 from the company or its

affiliates2.

Other Relationships

2.15.Party to a voting agreement9 to vote in line with management on proposals being brought to

shareholder vote.

2.16.Has (or an immediate family member6 has) an interlocking relationship as defined by the SEC involving

members of the board of directors or its Compensation Committee.10

2.17.Founder11 of the company but not currently an employee.

2.18.Director with pay comparable to Named Executive Officers.

2.19.Any material12 relationship with the company.

3.Independent Director

3.1.No material12 connection to the company other than a board seat.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Footnotes:

1.The definition of officer will generally follow that of a “Section 16 officer” (officers subject to Section 16 of the

Securities and Exchange Act of 1934) and includes the chief executive, operating, financial, legal, technology, and accounting

officers of a company (including the president, treasurer, secretary, controller, or any vice president in charge of a principal

business unit, division, or policy function). Current interim officers are included in this category. For private companies, the

equivalent positions are applicable. A non-employee director serving as an officer due to statutory requirements (e.g.

corporate secretary) will generally be classified as a Non-Independent Non-Executive Director under “Any material

relationship with the company.” However, if the company provides explicit disclosure that the director is not receiving

additional compensation exceeding $10,000 per year for serving in that capacity, then the director will be classified as an

Independent Director.

2.“Affiliate” includes a subsidiary, sibling company, or parent company. ISS uses 50 percent control ownership by the

parent company as the standard for applying its affiliate designation. The manager/advisor of an externally managed issuer

(EMI) is considered an affiliate.

3.Includes any former CEO of the company prior to the company’s initial public offering (IPO).

4.When there is a former CEO of a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) serving on the board of an acquired

company, ISS will generally classify such directors as independent unless determined otherwise taking into account the

following factors: the applicable listing standards determination of such director’s independence; any operating ties to the

firm; and the existence of any other conflicting relationships or related party transactions.

5.ISS will look at the terms of the interim officer’s employment contract to determine if it contains severance pay, long-

term health and pension benefits, or other such standard provisions typically contained in contracts of permanent, non-

temporary CEOs. ISS will also consider if a formal search process was under way for a full-time officer at the time.

6.“Immediate family member” follows the SEC’s definition of such and covers spouses, parents, children, step-parents,

step- children, siblings, in-laws, and any person (other than a tenant or employee) sharing the household of any director,

nominee for director, executive officer, or significant shareholder of the company.

7.Professional services can be characterized as advisory in nature, generally involve access to sensitive company

information or to strategic decision-making, and typically have a commission- or fee-based payment structure. Professional

services generally include but are not limited to the following: investment banking/financial advisory services, commercial

banking (beyond deposit services), investment services, insurance services, accounting/audit services, consulting services,

marketing services, legal services, property management services, realtor services, lobbying services, executive search

services, and IT consulting services. The following would generally be considered transactional relationships and not

professional services: deposit services, IT tech support services, educational services, and construction services. The case of

participation in a banking syndicate by a non-lead bank should be considered a transactional (and hence subject to the

associated materiality test) rather than a professional relationship. “Of Counsel” relationships are only considered

immaterial if the individual does not receive any form of compensation (in excess of $10,000 per year) from, or is a retired

partner of, the firm providing the professional service. The case of a company providing a professional service to one of its

directors or to an entity with which one of its directors is affiliated, will be considered a transactional rather than a

professional relationship. Insurance services and marketing services are assumed to be professional services unless the

company explains why such services are not advisory.

8.A material transactional relationship, including grants to non-profit organizations, exists if the company makes

annual payments to, or receives annual payments from, another entity, exceeding the greater of: $200,000 or 5 percent

of the recipient’s gross revenues, for a company that follows NASDAQ listing standards; or the greater of $1,000,000 or

2 percent of the recipient’s gross revenues, for a company that follows NYSE listing standards. For a company that

follows neither of the preceding standards, ISS will apply the NASDAQ-based materiality test. (The recipient is the party

receiving the financial proceeds from the transaction).

9.Dissident directors who are parties to a voting agreement pursuant to a settlement or similar arrangement may be

classified as Independent Directors if an analysis of the following factors indicates that the voting agreement does not

compromise their alignment with all shareholders’ interests: the terms of the agreement; the duration of the standstill

provision in the agreement; the limitations and requirements of actions that are agreed upon; if the dissident director

nominee(s) is subject to the standstill; and if there any conflicting relationships or related party transactions.

10.Interlocks include: executive officers serving as directors on each other’s compensation or similar committees (or, in

the absence of such a committee, on the board); or executive officers sitting on each other’s boards and at least one serves on

the other’s compensation or similar committees (or, in the absence of such a committee, on the board).

11.The operating involvement of the founder with the company will be considered; if the founder was never employed by

the company, ISS may deem him or her an Independent Director.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

12.For purposes of ISS’s director independence classification, “material” will be defined as a standard of relationship

(financial, personal, or otherwise) that a reasonable person might conclude could potentially influence one’s objectivity in the

boardroom in a manner that would have a meaningful impact on an individual's ability to satisfy requisite fiduciary standards

on behalf of shareholders.

Composition

Attendance at Board and Committee Meetings: Generally vote against or withhold from directors (except

nominees who served only part of the fiscal year3) who attend less than 75 percent of the aggregate of their board

and committee meetings for the period for which they served, unless an acceptable reason for absences is

disclosed in the proxy or another SEC filing. Acceptable reasons for director absences are generally limited to the

following:

Medical issues/illness;

Family emergencies; and

Missing only one meeting (when the total of all meetings is three or fewer).

In cases of chronic poor attendance without reasonable justification, in addition to voting against the director(s)

with poor attendance, generally vote against or withhold from appropriate members of the nominating/

governance committees or the full board.

If the proxy disclosure is unclear and insufficient to determine whether a director attended at least 75 percent of

the aggregate of his/her board and committee meetings during his/her period of service, vote against or withhold

from the director(s) in question.

Overboarded Directors: Generally vote against or withhold from individual directors who:

Sit on more than five public company boards; or

Are CEOs of public companies who sit on the boards of more than two public companies besides their own—

withhold only at their outside boards4.

NOTE: For shareholder meeting reports published on or after February 25th, 2025, Institutional Shareholder

Services (ISS) has indefinitely halted the consideration of the gender diversity of a company’s board when making

vote recommendations with respect to the election or re-election of directors at U.S. companies covered by these

guidelines under its proprietary ISS U.S. Benchmark policy.

Gender Diversity: Generally vote against or withhold from the chair of the nominating committee (or other

directors on a case-by-case basis) at companies where there are no women on the company's board. An

exception will be made if there was at least one woman on the board at the preceding annual meeting and the

board makes a firm commitment to return to a gender-diverse status within a year.

NOTE: For shareholder meeting reports published on or after February 25th, 2025, Institutional Shareholder

Services (ISS) has indefinitely halted the consideration of the racial and/or ethnic diversity of a company’s board

___________________________________

3 Nominees who served for only part of the fiscal year are generally exempted from the attendance policy.

4 Although all of a CEO’s subsidiary boards with publicly-traded common stock will be counted as separate boards, ISS will not

recommend a withhold vote for the CEO of a parent company board or any of the controlled (>50 percent ownership) subsidiaries

of that parent but may do so at subsidiaries that are less than 50 percent controlled and boards outside the parent/subsidiary

relationships.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

when making vote recommendations with respect to the election or re-election of directors at U.S. companies

covered under these guidelines under its proprietary ISS U.S. Benchmark policy.

Racial and/or Ethnic Diversity: For companies in the Russell 3000 or S&P 1500 indices, generally vote against or

withhold from the chair of the nominating committee (or other directors on a case-by-case basis) where the

board has no apparent racially or ethnically diverse members5. An exception will be made if there was racial and/

or ethnic diversity on the board at the preceding annual meeting and the board makes a firm commitment to

appoint at least one racial and/or ethnic diverse member within a year.

Responsiveness

Vote case-by-case on individual directors, committee members, or the entire board of directors as appropriate if:

The board failed to act on a shareholder proposal that received the support of a majority of the shares cast in

the previous year or failed to act on a management proposal seeking to ratify an existing charter/bylaw

provision that received opposition of a majority of the shares cast in the previous year. Factors that will be

considered are:

Disclosed outreach efforts by the board to shareholders in the wake of the vote;

Rationale provided in the proxy statement for the level of implementation;

The subject matter of the proposal;

The level of support for and opposition to the resolution in past meetings;

Actions taken by the board in response to the majority vote and its engagement with shareholders;

The continuation of the underlying issue as a voting item on the ballot (as either shareholder

or management proposals); and

Other factors as appropriate.

The board failed to act on takeover offers where the majority of shares are tendered; or

At the previous board election, any director received more than 50 percent withhold/against votes of the

shares cast and the company has failed to address the issue(s) that caused the high withhold/against vote.

Vote case-by-case on Compensation Committee members (or, in exceptional cases, the full board) and/or the

say-on-pay proposal when the company's previous say-on-pay received support of less than 70 percent of votes

cast.

Factors that will be considered in assessing board responsiveness include:

Disclosure of engagement efforts with major institutional investors, including the frequency and timing

of engagements and the company participants (including whether independent directors participated);

Disclosure of the specific concerns voiced by dissenting shareholders that led to the say-on-pay

opposition; and

Disclosure of specific and meaningful actions taken to address shareholders' concerns;

If the company discloses meaningful engagement efforts, but in addition states that it was unable to obtain

specific feedback, ISS will assess company actions taken in response to the say-on-pay vote as well as the

company's explanation as to why such actions are beneficial for shareholders.

Additional factors that may be considered include:

Whether the issues raised are recurring or isolated;

The company's ownership structure; and

___________________________________

5 Aggregate diversity statistics provided by the board will only be considered if specific to racial and/or ethnic diversity.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Significant corporate activity, such as a recent merger or proxy contest; and

Any other compensation action or factor considered relevant to assessing board responsiveness.

If the say-on-pay support level was less than 50 percent of votes case, this would warrant the highest degree of

responsiveness, as assessed under the factors noted above.

Vote case-by-case on Compensation Committee members (or, in exceptional cases, the full board) if the board

implements an advisory vote on executive compensation on a less frequent basis than the frequency that received the

plurality of votes cast.

Accountability

PROBLEMATIC TAKEOVER DEFENSES, CAPITAL STRUCTURE, AND GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE

Poison Pills: Generally vote against or withhold from all nominees (except new nominees1, who should be

considered case-by-case) if:

The company has a poison pill with a deadhand or slowhand feature6;

The board makes a material adverse modification to an existing pill, including, but not limited to, extension,

renewal, or lowering the trigger, without shareholder approval; or

The company has a long-term poison pill (with a term of over one year) that was not approved by the public

shareholders7.

Vote case-by-case on nominees if the board adopts an initial short-term pill6 (with a term of one year or less)

without shareholder approval, taking into consideration:

The trigger threshold and other terms of the pill;

The disclosed rationale for the adoption;

The context in which the pill was adopted, (e.g., factors such as the company's size and stage of

development, sudden changes in its market capitalization, and extraordinary industry-wide or

macroeconomic events);

A commitment to put any renewal to a shareholder vote;

The company's overall track record on corporate governance and responsiveness to shareholders; and

Other factors as relevant.

Unequal Voting Rights: Generally vote withhold or against directors individually, committee members, or the

entire board (except new nominees1, who should be considered case-by-case), if the company employs a common

stock structure with unequal voting rights8.

Exceptions to this policy will generally be limited to:

6 If a short-term pill with a deadhand or slowhand feature is enacted but expires before the next shareholder vote, ISS will

generally still recommend withhold/against nominees at the next shareholder meeting following its adoption.

7 Approval prior to, or in connection, with a company’s becoming publicly-traded, or in connection with a de-SPAC transaction,

is insufficient.

8 This generally includes classes of common stock that have additional votes per share than other shares; classes of shares that

are not entitled to vote on all the same ballot items or nominees; or stock with time-phased voting rights (“loyalty shares”).


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Newly-public companies9 with a sunset provision of no more than seven years from the date of going public;

Limited Partnerships and the Operating Partnership (OP) unit structure of REITs;

Convertible preferred shares that vote on an "as-converted" basis;

Situations where the enhanced voting rights are limited in duration and applicability, such as where

they are intended to overcome low voting turnout and ensure approval of a specific non-

controversial agenda item and "mirror voting" applies;

Situations where the super-voting shares represent less than 5% of total voting power and therefore

considered to be de minimis; or

The company provides sufficient protections for minority shareholders, such as allowing minority

shareholders a regular binding vote on whether the capital structure should be maintained.

Classified Board Structure: The board is classified, and a continuing director responsible for a problematic

governance issue at the board/committee level that would warrant a withhold/against vote recommendation is

not up for election. All appropriate nominees (except new) may be held accountable.

Removal of Shareholder Discretion on Classified Boards: The company has opted into, or failed to opt out of,

state laws requiring a classified board structure.

Problematic Governance Structure: For companies that hold or held their first annual meeting9 of public

shareholders after Feb. 1, 2015, generally vote against or withhold from directors individually, committee

members, or the entire board (except new nominees1, who should be considered case-by-case) if, prior to or in

connection with the company's public offering, the company or its board adopted the following bylaw or charter

provisions that are considered to be materially adverse to shareholder rights:

Supermajority vote requirements to amend the bylaws or charter;

A classified board structure; or

Other egregious provisions.

A provision which specifies that the problematic structure(s) will be sunset within seven years of the date of going

public will be considered a mitigating factor.

Unless the adverse provision is reversed or removed, vote case-by-case on director nominees in subsequent years.

Unilateral Bylaw/Charter Amendments: Generally vote against or withhold from directors individually, committee

members, or the entire board (except new nominees1, who should be considered case-by-case) if the board

amends the company's bylaws or charter without shareholder approval in a manner that materially diminishes

shareholders' rights or that could adversely impact shareholders, considering the following factors:

The board's rationale for adopting the bylaw/charter amendment without shareholder ratification;

Disclosure by the company of any significant engagement with shareholders regarding the amendment;

The level of impairment of shareholders' rights caused by the board's unilateral amendment to the

bylaws/charter;

The board's track record with regard to unilateral board action on bylaw/charter amendments or other

entrenchment provisions;

The company's ownership structure;

The company's existing governance provisions;

The timing of the board's amendment to the bylaws/charter in connection with a significant business

development; and

9 Includes companies that emerge from bankruptcy, SPAC transactions, spin-offs, direct listings, and those who complete a

traditional initial public offering.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Other factors, as deemed appropriate, that may be relevant to determine the impact of the amendment on

shareholders.

Unless the adverse amendment is reversed or submitted to a binding shareholder vote, in subsequent years vote

case-by-case on director nominees. Generally vote against (except new nominees1, who should be considered

case-by-case) if the directors:

Classified the board;

Adopted supermajority vote requirements to amend the bylaws or charter;

Eliminated shareholders' ability to amend bylaws;

Adopted a fee-shifting provision; or

Adopted another provision deemed egregious.

Restricting Binding Shareholder Proposals: Generally vote against or withhold from the members of the governance

committee if:

The company’s governing documents impose undue restrictions on shareholders’ ability to amend the bylaws.

Such restrictions include but are not limited to: outright prohibition on the submission of binding shareholder

proposals or share ownership requirements, subject matter restrictions, or time holding requirements in

excess of SEC Rule 14a-8. Vote against or withhold on an ongoing basis.

Submission of management proposals to approve or ratify requirements in excess of SEC Rule 14a-8 for the

submission of binding bylaw amendments will generally be viewed as an insufficient restoration of shareholders'

rights. Generally continue to vote against or withhold on an ongoing basis until shareholders are provided with an

unfettered ability to amend the bylaws or a proposal providing for such unfettered right is submitted for

shareholder approval.

Director Performance Evaluation: The board lacks mechanisms to promote accountability and oversight,

coupled with sustained poor performance relative to peers. Sustained poor performance is measured by one-,

three-, and five-year total shareholder returns in the bottom half of a company’s four-digit GICS industry group

(Russell 3000 companies only). Take into consideration the company’s operational metrics and other factors as

warranted. Problematic provisions include but are not limited to:

A classified board structure;

A supermajority vote requirement;

Either a plurality vote standard in uncontested director elections, or a majority vote standard in contested

elections;

The inability of shareholders to call special meetings;

The inability of shareholders to act by written consent;

A multi-class capital structure; and/or

A non-shareholder-approved poison pill.

Management Proposals to Ratify Existing Charter or Bylaw Provisions: Vote against/withhold from individual

directors, members of the governance committee, or the full board, where boards ask shareholders to ratify

existing charter or bylaw provisions considering the following factors:

The presence of a shareholder proposal addressing the same issue on the same ballot;

The board's rationale for seeking ratification;

Disclosure of actions to be taken by the board should the ratification proposal fail;

Disclosure of shareholder engagement regarding the board’s ratification request;

The level of impairment to shareholders' rights caused by the existing provision;

The history of management and shareholder proposals on the provision at the company’s past meetings;

Whether the current provision was adopted in response to the shareholder proposal;

The company's ownership structure; and


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Previous use of ratification proposals to exclude shareholder proposals.

Problematic Audit-Related Practices

Generally vote against or withhold from the members of the Audit Committee if:

The non-audit fees paid to the auditor are excessive;

The company receives an adverse opinion on the company’s financial statements from its auditor; or

There is persuasive evidence that the Audit Committee entered into an inappropriate indemnification

agreement with its auditor that limits the ability of the company, or its shareholders, to pursue legitimate legal

recourse against the audit firm.

Vote case-by-case on members of the Audit Committee and potentially the full board if:

Poor accounting practices are identified that rise to a level of serious concern, such as: fraud; misapplication of

GAAP; and material weaknesses identified in Section 404 disclosures. Examine the severity, breadth,

chronological sequence, and duration, as well as the company’s efforts at remediation or corrective actions, in

determining whether withhold/against votes are warranted.

Problematic Compensation Practices

In the absence of an Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation (Say on Pay) ballot item or in egregious situations,

vote against or withhold from the members of the Compensation Committee and potentially the full board if:

There is an unmitigated misalignment between CEO pay and company performance (pay for performance);

The company maintains significant problematic pay practices; or

The board exhibits a significant level of poor communication and responsiveness to shareholders.

Generally vote against or withhold from the Compensation Committee chair, other committee members, or

potentially the full board if:

The company fails to include a Say on Pay ballot item when required under SEC provisions, or under the

company’s declared frequency of say on pay; or

The company fails to include a Frequency of Say on Pay ballot item when required under SEC provisions.

Generally vote against members of the board committee responsible for approving/setting non-employee director

compensation if there is a pattern (i.e. two or more consecutive or non-consecutive years/across multiple years) of

awarding excessive or otherwise problematic10 non-employee director compensation without disclosing a

compelling rationale or other mitigating factors.

Adverse recommendations may be warranted in the first year for particularly egregious director compensation

issues/instances/cases10.

Problematic Pledging of Company Stock : Vote against the members of the committee that oversees risks related

to pledging, or the full board, where a significant level of pledged company stock by executives or directors raises

concerns. The following factors will be considered:

The presence of an anti-pledging policy, disclosed in the proxy statement, that prohibits future pledging

activity;

The magnitude of aggregate pledged shares in terms of total common shares outstanding, market value, and

trading volume;

Disclosure of progress or lack thereof in reducing the magnitude of aggregate pledged shares over time;

___________________________________

10 May include excessive magnitude, problematic perquisites, performance awards, stock options, or retirement benefits.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Disclosure in the proxy statement that shares subject to stock ownership and holding requirements do not

include pledged company stock; and

Any other relevant factors.

Climate Accountability

For companies that are significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters, through their operations or value chain11,

generally vote against or withhold from the incumbent chair of the responsible committee (or other directors on

a case-by-case basis) in cases where ISS determines that the company is not taking the minimum steps needed to

understand, assess, and mitigate risks related to climate change to the company and the larger economy.

Minimum steps to understand and mitigate those risks are considered to be the following. Both minimum criteria

will be required to be in alignment with the policy :

Detailed disclosure of climate-related risks, such as according to the framework established by the Task Force

on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), including:

Board governance measures;

Corporate strategy;

Risk management analyses; and

Metrics and targets.

Appropriate GHG emissions reduction targets.

At this time, “appropriate GHG emissions reductions targets” will be medium-term GHG reduction targets or Net

Zero-by-2050 GHG reduction targets for a company's operations (Scope 1) and electricity use (Scope 2). Targets

should cover the vast majority of the company’s direct emissions.

Governance Failures

Under extraordinary circumstances, vote against or withhold from directors individually, committee members, or

the entire board, due to:

Material failures of governance, stewardship, risk oversight12, or fiduciary responsibilities at the company;

Failure to replace management as appropriate; or

Egregious actions related to a director’s service on other boards that raise substantial doubt about his or her

ability to effectively oversee management and serve the best interests of shareholders at any company.

Voting on Director Nominees in Contested Elections

Vote-No Campaigns

General Recommendation: In cases where companies are targeted in connection with public “vote-no” campaigns,

evaluate director nominees under the existing governance policies for voting on director nominees in uncontested

___________________________________

11 Companies defined as “significant GHG emitters” will be those on the current Climate Action 100+ Focus Group list.

12 Examples of failure of risk oversight include but are not limited to: bribery; large or serial fines or sanctions from regulatory

bodies; demonstrably poor risk oversight of environmental and social issues, including climate change; significant adverse legal

judgments or settlement; or hedging of company stock.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

elections. Take into consideration the arguments submitted by shareholders and other publicly available

information.

Proxy Contests/Proxy Access

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on the election of directors in contested elections, considering the

following factors:

Long-term financial performance of the company relative to its industry;

Management’s track record;

Background to the contested election;

Nominee qualifications and any compensatory arrangements;

Strategic plan of dissident slate and quality of the critique against management;

Likelihood that the proposed goals and objectives can be achieved (both slates); and

Stock ownership positions.

In the case of candidates nominated pursuant to proxy access, vote case-by-case considering any applicable factors

listed above or additional factors which may be relevant, including those that are specific to the company, to the

nominee(s) and/or to the nature of the election (such as whether there are more candidates than board seats).

Other Board-Related Proposals

Adopt Anti-Hedging/Pledging/Speculative Investments Policy

General Recommendation: Generally vote for proposals seeking a policy that prohibits named executive officers

from engaging in derivative or speculative transactions involving company stock, including hedging, holding stock

in a margin account, or pledging stock as collateral for a loan. However, the company’s existing policies regarding

responsible use of company stock will be considered.

Board Refreshment

Board refreshment is best implemented through an ongoing program of individual director evaluations, conducted

annually, to ensure the evolving needs of the board are met and to bring in fresh perspectives, skills, and diversity

as needed.

Term/Tenure Limits

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on management proposals regarding director term/tenure limits,

considering:

The rationale provided for adoption of the term/tenure limit;

The robustness of the company’s board evaluation process;

Whether the limit is of sufficient length to allow for a broad range of director tenures;

Whether the limit would disadvantage independent directors compared to non-independent directors; and


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Whether the board will impose the limit evenly, and not have the ability to waive it in a discriminatory

manner.

Vote case-by-case on shareholder proposals asking for the company to adopt director term/tenure limits,

considering:

The scope of the shareholder proposal; and

Evidence of problematic issues at the company combined with, or exacerbated by, a lack of board

refreshment.

Age Limits

General Recommendation: Generally vote against management and shareholder proposals to limit the tenure of

independent directors through mandatory retirement ages. Vote for proposals to remove mandatory age limits.

Board Size

General Recommendation: Vote for proposals seeking to fix the board size or designate a range for the board size.

Vote against proposals that give management the ability to alter the size of the board outside of a specified range

without shareholder approval.

Classification/Declassification of the Board

General Recommendation: Vote against proposals to classify (stagger) the board.

Vote for proposals to repeal classified boards and to elect all directors annually.

CEO Succession Planning

General Recommendation: Generally vote for proposals seeking disclosure on a CEO succession planning policy,

considering, at a minimum, the following factors:

The reasonableness/scope of the request; and

The company’s existing disclosure on its current CEO succession planning process.

Cumulative Voting

General Recommendation: Generally vote against management proposals to eliminate cumulate voting, and for

shareholder proposals to restore or provide for cumulative voting, unless:


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

The company has proxy access13, thereby allowing shareholders to nominate directors to the company’s

ballot; and

The company has adopted a majority vote standard, with a carve-out for plurality voting in situations where

there are more nominees than seats, and a director resignation policy to address failed elections.

Vote for proposals for cumulative voting at controlled companies (insider voting power > 50%).

Director and Officer Indemnification, Liability Protection, and Exculpation

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals on director and officer indemnification, liability

protection, and exculpation14.

Consider the stated rationale for the proposed change. Also consider, among other factors, the extent to which the

proposal would:

Eliminate directors' and officers' liability for monetary damages for violating the duty of care;

Eliminate directors’ and officers’ liability for monetary damages for violating the duty of loyalt;

Expand coverage beyond just legal expenses to liability for acts that are more serious violations of fiduciary

obligation than mere carelessness; and

Expand the scope of indemnification to provide for mandatory indemnification of company officials in

connection with acts that previously the company was permitted to provide indemnification for, at the

discretion of the company's board (i.e., "permissive indemnification"), but that previously the company was

not required to indemnify.

Vote for those proposals providing such expanded coverage in cases when a director’s or officer’s legal defense

was unsuccessful if both of the following apply:

If the individual was found to have acted in good faith and in a manner that the individual reasonably

believed was in the best interests of the company; and

If only the individual’s legal expenses would be covered.

Establish/Amend Nominee Qualifications

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals that establish or amend director qualifications. Votes

should be based on the reasonableness of the criteria and the degree to which they may preclude dissident

nominees from joining the board.

Vote case-by-case on shareholder resolutions seeking a director nominee who possesses a particular subject

matter expertise, considering:

___________________________________

13 A proxy access right that meets the recommended guidelines.

14 Indemnification: the condition of being secured against loss or damage.

Limited liability: a person's financial liability is limited to a fixed sum, or personal financial assets are not at risk if the individual

loses a lawsuit that results in financial award/damages to the plaintiff.

Exculpation: to eliminate or limit the personal liability of a director or officer to the corporation or its shareholders for

monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director or officer.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

The company’s board committee structure, existing subject matter expertise, and board nomination

provisions relative to that of its peers;

The company’s existing board and management oversight mechanisms regarding the issue for which board

oversight is sought;

The company’s disclosure and performance relating to the issue for which board oversight is sought and any

significant related controversies; and

The scope and structure of the proposal.

Establish Other Board Committee Proposals

General Recommendation: Generally vote against shareholder proposals to establish a new board committee, as

such proposals seek a specific oversight mechanism/structure that potentially limits a company’s flexibility to

determine an appropriate oversight mechanism for itself. However, the following factors will be considered:

Existing oversight mechanisms (including current committee structure) regarding the issue for which board

oversight is sought;

Level of disclosure regarding the issue for which board oversight is sought;

Company performance related to the issue for which board oversight is sought;

Board committee structure compared to that of other companies in its industry sector; and

The scope and structure of the proposal.

Filling Vacancies/Removal of Directors

General Recommendation: Vote against proposals that provide that directors may be removed only for cause.

Vote for proposals to restore shareholders’ ability to remove directors with or without cause.

Vote against proposals that provide that only continuing directors may elect replacements to fill board vacancies.

Vote for proposals that permit shareholders to elect directors to fill board vacancies.

Independent Board Chair

General Recommendation: Generally vote for shareholder proposals requiring that the board chair position be

filled by an independent director, taking into consideration the following:

The scope and rationale of the proposal;

The company's current board leadership structure;

The company's governance structure and practices;

Company performance; and

Any other relevant factors that may be applicable.

The following factors will increase the likelihood of a “for” recommendation:

A majority non-independent board and/or the presence of non-independent directors on key board

committees;

A weak or poorly-defined lead independent director role that fails to serve as an appropriate counterbalance

to a combined CEO/chair role;

The presence of an executive or non-independent chair in addition to the CEO, a recent recombination of the

role of CEO and chair, and/or departure from a structure with an independent chair;


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Evidence that the board has failed to oversee and address material risks facing the company;

A material governance failure, particularly if the board has failed to adequately respond to shareholder

concerns or if the board has materially diminished shareholder rights; or

Evidence that the board has failed to intervene when management’s interests are contrary to shareholders'

interests.

Majority of Independent Directors/Establishment of Independent

Committees

General Recommendation: Vote for shareholder proposals asking that a majority or more of directors be

independent unless the board composition already meets the proposed threshold by ISS’ definition of Independent

Director (See ISS' Classification of Directors.)

Vote for shareholder proposals asking that board audit, compensation, and/or nominating committees be

composed exclusively of independent directors unless they currently meet that standard.

Majority Vote Standard for the Election of Directors

General Recommendation: Generally vote for management proposals to adopt a majority of votes cast standard

for directors in uncontested elections. Vote against if no carve-out for a plurality vote standard in contested

elections is included.

Generally vote for precatory and binding shareholder resolutions requesting that the board change the company’s

bylaws to stipulate that directors need to be elected with an affirmative majority of votes cast, provided it does

not conflict with the state law where the company is incorporated. Binding resolutions need to allow for a carve-

out for a plurality vote standard when there are more nominees than board seats.

Companies are strongly encouraged to also adopt a post-election policy (also known as a director resignation

policy) that will provide guidelines so that the company will promptly address the situation of a holdover director.

Proxy Access

General Recommendation: Generally vote for management and shareholder proposals for proxy access with the

following provisions:

Ownership threshold: maximum requirement not more than three percent (3%) of the voting power;

Ownership duration: maximum requirement not longer than three (3) years of continuous ownership for each

member of the nominating group;

Aggregation: minimal or no limits on the number of shareholders permitted to form a nominating group; and

Cap: cap on nominees of generally twenty-five percent (25%) of the board.

Review for reasonableness any other restrictions on the right of proxy access. Generally vote against proposals

that are more restrictive than these guidelines.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Require More Nominees than Open Seats

General Recommendation: Vote against shareholder proposals that would require a company to nominate more

candidates than the number of open board seats.

Shareholder Engagement Policy (Shareholder Advisory Committee)

General Recommendation: Generally vote for shareholder proposals requesting that the board establish an

internal mechanism/process, which may include a committee, in order to improve communications between

directors and shareholders, unless the company has the following features, as appropriate:

Established a communication structure that goes beyond the exchange requirements to facilitate

the exchange of information between shareholders and members of the board;

Effectively disclosed information with respect to this structure to its shareholders;

Company has not ignored majority-supported shareholder proposals, or a majority withhold vote on a director

nominee; and

The company has an independent chair or a lead director, according to ISS’ definition. This individual must be

made available for periodic consultation and direct communication with major shareholders.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

2.Audit-Related

Auditor Indemnification and Limitation of Liability

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on the issue of auditor indemnification and limitation of liability.

Factors to be assessed include, but are not limited to:

The terms of the auditor agreement—the degree to which these agreements impact shareholders' rights;

The motivation and rationale for establishing the agreements;

The quality of the company’s disclosure; and

The company’s historical practices in the audit area.

Vote against or withhold from members of an audit committee in situations where there is persuasive evidence

that the audit committee entered into an inappropriate indemnification agreement with its auditor that limits the

ability of the company, or its shareholders, to pursue legitimate legal recourse against the audit firm.

Auditor Ratification

General Recommendation: Vote for proposals to ratify auditors unless any of the following apply:

An auditor has a financial interest in or association with the company, and is therefore not independent;

There is reason to believe that the independent auditor has rendered an opinion that is neither accurate nor

indicative of the company’s financial position;

Poor accounting practices are identified that rise to a serious level of concern, such as fraud or misapplication

of GAAP; or

Fees for non-audit services (“Other” fees) are excessive.

Non-audit fees are excessive if:

Non-audit (“other”) fees > audit fees + audit-related fees + tax compliance/preparation fees

Tax compliance and preparation include the preparation of original and amended tax returns and refund claims,

and tax payment planning. All other services in the tax category, such as tax advice, planning, or consulting, should

be added to “Other” fees. If the breakout of tax fees cannot be determined, add all tax fees to “Other” fees.

In circumstances where "Other" fees include fees related to significant one-time capital structure events (such as

initial public offerings, bankruptcy emergence, and spin-offs) and the company makes public disclosure of the

amount and nature of those fees that are an exception to the standard "non-audit fee" category, then such fees

may be excluded from the non-audit fees considered in determining the ratio of non-audit to audit/audit-related

fees/tax compliance and preparation for purposes of determining whether non-audit fees are excessive.

Shareholder Proposals Limiting Non-Audit Services

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on shareholder proposals asking companies to prohibit or limit their

auditors from engaging in non-audit services.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Shareholder Proposals on Audit Firm Rotation

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on shareholder proposals asking for audit firm rotation, taking into

account:

The tenure of the audit firm;

The length of rotation specified in the proposal;

Any significant audit-related issues at the company;

The number of Audit Committee meetings held each year;

The number of financial experts serving on the committee; and

Whether the company has a periodic renewal process where the auditor is evaluated for both audit quality

and competitive price.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

3.Shareholder Rights & Defenses

Advance Notice Requirements for Shareholder Proposals/Nominations

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on advance notice proposals, giving support to those proposals

which allow shareholders to submit proposals/nominations as close to the meeting date as reasonably possible

and within the broadest window possible, recognizing the need to allow sufficient notice for company, regulatory,

and shareholder review.

To be reasonable, the company’s deadline for shareholder notice of a proposal/nominations must be no earlier

than 120 days prior to the anniversary of the previous year’s meeting and have a submittal window of no shorter

than 30 days from the beginning of the notice period (also known as a 90-120-day window). The submittal window

is the period under which shareholders must file their proposals/nominations prior to the deadline.

In general, support additional efforts by companies to ensure full disclosure in regard to a proponent’s economic

and voting position in the company so long as the informational requirements are reasonable and aimed at

providing shareholders with the necessary information to review such proposals.

Amend Bylaws without Shareholder Consent

General Recommendation: Vote against proposals giving the board exclusive authority to amend the bylaws.

Vote case-by-case on proposals giving the board the ability to amend the bylaws in addition to shareholders, taking

into account the following:

Any impediments to shareholders' ability to amend the bylaws (i.e. supermajority voting requirements);

The company's ownership structure and historical voting turnout;

Whether the board could amend bylaws adopted by shareholders; and

Whether shareholders would retain the ability to ratify any board-initiated amendments.

Control Share Acquisition Provisions

General Recommendation: Vote for proposals to opt out of control share acquisition statutes unless doing so

would enable the completion of a takeover that would be detrimental to shareholders.

Vote against proposals to amend the charter to include control share acquisition provisions.

Vote for proposals to restore voting rights to the control shares.

Control share acquisition statutes function by denying shares their voting rights when they contribute to

ownership in excess of certain thresholds. Voting rights for those shares exceeding ownership limits may only be

restored by approval of either a majority or supermajority of disinterested shares. Thus, control share acquisition

statutes effectively require a hostile bidder to put its offer to a shareholder vote or risk voting disenfranchisement

if the bidder continues buying up a large block of shares.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Control Share Cash-Out Provisions

General Recommendation: Vote for proposals to opt out of control share cash-out statutes.

Control share cash-out statutes give dissident shareholders the right to "cash-out" of their position in a company

at the expense of the shareholder who has taken a control position. In other words, when an investor crosses a

preset threshold level, remaining shareholders are given the right to sell their shares to the acquirer, who must

buy them at the highest acquiring price.

Disgorgement Provisions

General Recommendation: Vote for proposals to opt out of state disgorgement provisions.

Disgorgement provisions require an acquirer or potential acquirer of more than a certain percentage of a

company's stock to disgorge, or pay back, to the company any profits realized from the sale of that company's

stock purchased 24 months before achieving control status. All sales of company stock by the acquirer occurring

within a certain period of time (between 18 months and 24 months) prior to the investor's gaining control status

are subject to these recapture-of-profits provisions.

Fair Price Provisions

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals to adopt fair price provisions (provisions that stipulate

that an acquirer must pay the same price to acquire all shares as it paid to acquire the control shares), evaluating

factors such as the vote required to approve the proposed acquisition, the vote required to repeal the fair price

provision, and the mechanism for determining the fair price.

Generally vote against fair price provisions with shareholder vote requirements greater than a majority of

disinterested shares.

Freeze-Out Provisions

General Recommendation: Vote for proposals to opt out of state freeze-out provisions. Freeze-out provisions

force an investor who surpasses a certain ownership threshold in a company to wait a specified period of

time before gaining control of the company.

Greenmail

General Recommendation: Vote for proposals to adopt anti-greenmail charter or bylaw amendments or otherwise

restrict a company’s ability to make greenmail payments.

Vote case-by-case on anti-greenmail proposals when they are bundled with other charter or bylaw amendments.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Greenmail payments are targeted share repurchases by management of company stock from individuals or groups

seeking control of the company. Since only the hostile party receives payment, usually at a substantial premium

over the market value of its shares, the practice discriminates against all other shareholders.

Shareholder Litigation Rights

Federal Forum Selection Provisions

Federal forum selection provisions require that U.S. federal courts be the sole forum for shareholders to litigate

claims arising under federal securities law.

General Recommendation: Generally vote for federal forum selection provisions in the charter or bylaws that

specify "the district courts of the United States" as the exclusive forum for federal securities law matters, in the

absence of serious concerns about corporate governance or board responsiveness to shareholders.

Vote against provisions that restrict the forum to a particular federal district court; unilateral adoption (without a

shareholder vote) of such a provision will generally be considered a one-time failure under the Unilateral Bylaw/

Charter Amendments policy.

Exclusive Forum Provisions for State Law Matters

Exclusive forum provisions in the charter or bylaws restrict shareholders’ ability to bring derivative lawsuits against

the company, for claims arising out of state corporate law, to the courts of a particular state (generally the state of

incorporation).

General Recommendation: Generally vote for charter or bylaw provisions that specify courts located within the

state of Delaware as the exclusive forum for corporate law matters for Delaware corporations, in the absence of

serious concerns about corporate governance or board responsiveness to shareholders.

For states other than Delaware, vote case-by-case on exclusive forum provisions, taking into consideration:

The company's stated rationale for adopting such a provision;

Disclosure of past harm from duplicative shareholder lawsuits in more than one forum;

The breadth of application of the charter or bylaw provision, including the types of lawsuits to which it

would apply and the definition of key terms; and

Governance features such as shareholders' ability to repeal the provision at a later date (including the vote

standard applied when shareholders attempt to amend the charter or bylaws) and their ability to hold

directors accountable through annual director elections and a majority vote standard in uncontested

elections.

Generally vote against provisions that specify a state other than the state of incorporation as the exclusive forum

for corporate law matters, or that specify a particular local court within the state; unilateral adoption of such a

provision will generally be considered a one-time failure under the Unilateral Bylaw/Charter Amendments policy.

Fee shifting

Fee-shifting provisions in the charter or bylaws require that a shareholder who sues a company unsuccessfully pay

all litigation expenses of the defendant corporation and its directors and officers.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

General Recommendation: Generally vote against provisions that mandate fee-shifting whenever plaintiffs are not

completely successful on the merits (i.e., including cases where the plaintiffs are partially successful).

Unilateral adoption of a fee-shifting provision will generally be considered an ongoing failure under the Unilateral

Bylaw/Charter Amendments policy.

Net Operating Loss (NOL) Protective Amendments

General Recommendation: Vote against proposals to adopt a protective amendment for the stated purpose of

protecting a company's net operating losses (NOL) if the effective term of the protective amendment would

exceed the shorter of three years and the exhaustion of the NOL.

Vote case-by-case, considering the following factors, for management proposals to adopt an NOL protective

amendment that would remain in effect for the shorter of three years (or less) and the exhaustion of the NOL:

The ownership threshold (NOL protective amendments generally prohibit stock ownership transfers that

would result in a new 5-percent holder or increase the stock ownership percentage of an existing 5-percent

holder);

The value of the NOLs;

Shareholder protection mechanisms (sunset provision or commitment to cause expiration of the protective

amendment upon exhaustion or expiration of the NOL);

The company's existing governance structure including: board independence, existing takeover defenses, track

record of responsiveness to shareholders, and any other problematic governance concerns; and

Any other factors that may be applicable.

Poison Pills (Shareholder Rights Plans)

Shareholder Proposals to Put Pill to a Vote and/or Adopt a Pill Policy

General Recommendation: Vote for shareholder proposals requesting that the company submit its poison pill to a

shareholder vote or redeem it unless the company has: (1) A shareholder-approved poison pill in place; or (2) The

company has adopted a policy concerning the adoption of a pill in the future specifying that the board will only

adopt a shareholder rights plan if either:

Shareholders have approved the adoption of the plan; or

The board, in its exercise of its fiduciary responsibilities, determines that it is in the best interest of

shareholders under the circumstances to adopt a pill without the delay in adoption that would result from

seeking stockholder approval (i.e., the “fiduciary out” provision). A poison pill adopted under this fiduciary out

will be put to a shareholder ratification vote within 12 months of adoption or expire. If the pill is not approved

by a majority of the votes cast on this issue, the plan will immediately terminate.

If the shareholder proposal calls for a time period of less than 12 months for shareholder ratification after

adoption, vote for the proposal, but add the caveat that a vote within 12 months would be considered sufficient

implementation.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Management Proposals to Ratify a Poison Pill

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on management proposals on poison pill ratification, focusing on

the features of the shareholder rights plan. Rights plans should contain the following attributes:

No lower than a 20 percent trigger, flip-in or flip-over;

A term of no more than three years;

No deadhand, slowhand, no-hand, or similar feature that limits the ability of a future board to redeem the pill;

and

Shareholder redemption feature (qualifying offer clause); if the board refuses to redeem the pill 90 days after

a qualifying offer is announced, 10 percent of the shares may call a special meeting or seek a written consent

to vote on rescinding the pill.

In addition, the rationale for adopting the pill should be thoroughly explained by the company. In examining the

request for the pill, take into consideration the company’s existing governance structure, including: board

independence, existing takeover defenses, and any problematic governance concerns.

Management Proposals to Ratify a Pill to Preserve Net Operating Losses

(NOLs)

General Recommendation: Vote against proposals to adopt a poison pill for the stated purpose of protecting a

company's net operating losses (NOL) if the term of the pill would exceed the shorter of three years and the

exhaustion of the NOL.

Vote case-by-case on management proposals for poison pill ratification, considering the following factors, if the

term of the pill would be the shorter of three years (or less) and the exhaustion of the NOL:

The ownership threshold to transfer (NOL pills generally have a trigger slightly below 5 percent);

The value of the NOLs;

Shareholder protection mechanisms (sunset provision, or commitment to cause expiration of the pill upon

exhaustion or expiration of NOLs);

The company's existing governance structure, including: board independence, existing takeover defenses,

track record of responsiveness to shareholders, and any other problematic governance concerns; and

Any other factors that may be applicable.

Proxy Voting Disclosure, Confidentiality, and Tabulation

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals regarding proxy voting mechanics, taking into

consideration whether implementation of the proposal is likely to enhance or protect shareholder rights. Specific

issues covered under the policy include, but are not limited to, confidential voting of individual proxies and ballots,

confidentiality of running vote tallies, and the treatment of abstentions and/or broker non-votes in the company's

vote-counting methodology.

While a variety of factors may be considered in each analysis, the guiding principles are: transparency, consistency,

and fairness in the proxy voting process. The factors considered, as applicable to the proposal, may include:

The scope and structure of the proposal;


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

The company's stated confidential voting policy (or other relevant policies) and whether it ensures a "level

playing field" by providing shareholder proponents with equal access to vote information prior to the annual

meeting;

The company's vote standard for management and shareholder proposals and whether it ensures consistency

and fairness in the proxy voting process and maintains the integrity of vote results;

Whether the company's disclosure regarding its vote counting method and other relevant voting policies with

respect to management and shareholder proposals are consistent and clear;

Any recent controversies or concerns related to the company's proxy voting mechanics;

Any unintended consequences resulting from implementation of the proposal; and

Any other factors that may be relevant.

Ratification Proposals: Management Proposals to Ratify Existing Charter or

Bylaw Provisions

General Recommendation: Generally vote against management proposals to ratify provisions of the company’s

existing charter or bylaws, unless these governance provisions align with best practice.

In addition, voting against/withhold from individual directors, members of the governance committee, or the full

board may be warranted, considering:

The presence of a shareholder proposal addressing the same issue on the same ballot;

The board's rationale for seeking ratification;

Disclosure of actions to be taken by the board should the ratification proposal fail;

Disclosure of shareholder engagement regarding the board’s ratification request;

The level of impairment to shareholders' rights caused by the existing provision;

The history of management and shareholder proposals on the provision at the company’s past meetings;

Whether the current provision was adopted in response to the shareholder proposal;

The company's ownership structure; and

Previous use of ratification proposals to exclude shareholder proposals.

Reimbursing Proxy Solicitation Expenses

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals to reimburse proxy solicitation expenses.

When voting in conjunction with support of a dissident slate, vote for the reimbursement of all appropriate proxy

solicitation expenses associated with the election.

Generally vote for shareholder proposals calling for the reimbursement of reasonable costs incurred in connection

with nominating one or more candidates in a contested election where the following apply:

The election of fewer than 50 percent of the directors to be elected is contested in the election;

One or more of the dissident’s candidates is elected;

Shareholders are not permitted to cumulate their votes for directors; and

The election occurred, and the expenses were incurred, after the adoption of this bylaw.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Reincorporation Proposals

General Recommendation: Management or shareholder proposals to change a company's state of incorporation

should be evaluated case-by-case, giving consideration to both financial and corporate governance concerns

including the following:

Reasons for reincorporation;

Comparison of company's governance practices and provisions prior to and following the reincorporation; and

Comparison of corporation laws of original state and destination state.

Vote for reincorporation when the economic factors outweigh any neutral or negative governance changes.

Shareholder Ability to Act by Written Consent

General Recommendation: Generally vote against management and shareholder proposals to restrict or prohibit

shareholders' ability to act by written consent.

Generally vote for management and shareholder proposals that provide shareholders with the ability to act by

written consent, taking into account the following factors:

Shareholders' current right to act by written consent;

The consent threshold;

The inclusion of exclusionary or prohibitive language;

Investor ownership structure; and

Shareholder support of, and management's response to, previous shareholder proposals.

Vote case-by-case on shareholder proposals if, in addition to the considerations above, the company has the

following governance and antitakeover provisions:

An unfettered15 right for shareholders to call special meetings at a 10 percent threshold;

A majority vote standard in uncontested director elections;

No non-shareholder-approved pill; and

An annually elected board.

Shareholder Ability to Call Special Meetings

General Recommendation: Vote against management or shareholder proposals to restrict or prohibit

shareholders’ ability to call special meetings.

Generally vote for management or shareholder proposals that provide shareholders with the ability to call special

meetings taking into account the following factors:

Shareholders’ current right to call special meetings;

___________________________________

15 "Unfettered" means no restrictions on agenda items, no restrictions on the number of shareholders who can group together

to reach the 10 percent threshold, and only reasonable limits on when a meeting can be called: no greater than 30 days after

the last annual meeting and no greater than 90 prior to the next annual meeting.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Minimum ownership threshold necessary to call special meetings (10 percent preferred);

The inclusion of exclusionary or prohibitive language;

Investor ownership structure; and

Shareholder support of, and management’s response to, previous shareholder proposals.

Stakeholder Provisions

General Recommendation: Vote against proposals that ask the board to consider non-shareholder constituencies

or other non-financial effects when evaluating a merger or business combination.

State Antitakeover Statutes

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals to opt in or out of state takeover statutes (including

fair price provisions, stakeholder laws, poison pill endorsements, severance pay and labor contract provisions, and

anti-greenmail provisions).

Supermajority Vote Requirements

General Recommendation: Vote against proposals to require a supermajority shareholder vote.

Vote for management or shareholder proposals to reduce supermajority vote requirements. However, for

companies with shareholder(s) who have significant ownership levels, vote case-by-case, taking into account:

Ownership structure;

Quorum requirements; and

Vote requirements.

Virtual Shareholder Meetings

General Recommendation: Generally vote for management proposals allowing for the convening of shareholder

meetings by electronic means, so long as they do not preclude in-person meetings. Companies are encouraged to

disclose the circumstances under which virtual-only16 meetings would be held, and to allow for comparable rights

and opportunities for shareholders to participate electronically as they would have during an in-person meeting.

Vote case-by-case on shareholder proposals concerning virtual-only meetings, considering:

Scope and rationale of the proposal; and

Concerns identified with the company’s prior meeting practices.

___________________________________

16 Virtual-only shareholder meeting” refers to a meeting of shareholders that is held exclusively using technology without a

corresponding in-person meeting.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

4.Capital/Restructuring

Capital

Adjustments to Par Value of Common Stock

General Recommendation: Vote for management proposals to reduce the par value of common stock unless the

action is being taken to facilitate an anti-takeover device or some other negative corporate governance action.

Vote for management proposals to eliminate par value.

Common Stock Authorization

General Authorization Requests

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals to increase the number of authorized shares of

common stock that are to be used for general corporate purposes:

If share usage (outstanding plus reserved) is less than 50% of the current authorized shares, vote for an

increase of up to 50% of current authorized share;

If share usage is 50% to 100% of the current authorized, vote for an increase of up to 100% of current

authorized shares;

If share usage is greater than current authorized shares, vote for an increase of up to the current share usage;

In the case of a stock split, the allowable increase is calculated (per above) based on the post-split adjusted

authorization.

Generally vote against proposed increases, even if within the above ratios, if the proposal or the company’s prior

or ongoing use of authorized shares is problematic, including, but not limited to:

The proposal seeks to increase the number of authorized shares of the class of common stock that

has superior voting rights to other share classes;

On the same ballot is a proposal for a reverse split for which support is warranted despite the fact that it

would result in an excessive increase in the share authorization;

The company has a non-shareholder approved poison pill (including an NOL pill); or

The company has previous sizeable placements (within the past 3 years) of stock with insiders at prices

substantially below market value, or with problematic voting rights, without shareholder approval.

However, generally vote for proposed increases beyond the above ratios or problematic situations when there is

disclosure of specific and severe risks to shareholders of not approving the request, such as:

In, or subsequent to, the company's most recent 10-K filing, the company discloses that there is substantial

doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern;

The company states that there is a risk of imminent bankruptcy or imminent liquidation if shareholders do not

approve the increase in authorized capital; or

A government body has in the past year required the company to increase its capital ratios.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

For companies incorporated in states that allow increases in authorized capital without shareholder approval,

generally vote withhold or against all nominees if a unilateral capital authorization increase does not conform to

the above policies.

Specific Authorization Requests

General Recommendation: Generally vote for proposals to increase the number of authorized common shares

where the primary purpose of the increase is to issue shares in connection with transaction(s) (such as

acquisitions, SPAC transactions, private placements, or similar transactions) on the same ballot, or disclosed in the

proxy statement, that warrant support. For such transactions, the allowable increase will be the greater of:

twice the amount needed to support the transactions on the ballot, and

the allowable increase as calculated for general issuances above.

Dual Class Structure

General Recommendation: Generally vote against proposals to create a new class of common stock unless:

The company discloses a compelling rationale for the dual-class capital structure, such as:

The company's auditor has concluded that there is substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue

as a going concern; or

The new class of shares will be transitory;

The new class is intended for financing purposes with minimal or no dilution to current shareholders in both

the short term and long term; and

The new class is not designed to preserve or increase the voting power of an insider or significant shareholder.

Issue Stock for Use with Rights Plan

General Recommendation: Vote against proposals that increase authorized common stock for the explicit purpose

of implementing a non-shareholder-approved shareholder rights plan (poison pill).

Preemptive Rights

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on shareholder proposals that seek preemptive rights, taking into

consideration:

The size of the company;

The shareholder base; and

The liquidity of the stock.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Preferred Stock Authorization

General Authorization Requests

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals to increase the number of authorized shares of

preferred stock that are to be used for general corporate purposes:

If share usage (outstanding plus reserved) is less than 50% of the current authorized shares, vote for an

increase of up to 50% of current authorized shares;

If share usage is 50% to 100% of the current authorized, vote for an increase of up to 100% of current

authorized shares;

If share usage is greater than current authorized shares, vote for an increase of up to the current share usage.

In the case of a stock split, the allowable increase is calculated (per above) based on the post-split adjusted

authorization; or

If no preferred shares are currently issued and outstanding, vote against the request, unless the company

discloses a specific use for the shares.

Generally vote against proposed increases, even if within the above ratios, if the proposal or the company’s prior

or ongoing use of authorized shares is problematic, including, but not limited to:

If the shares requested are blank check preferred shares that can be used for antitakeover purposes;17

The company seeks to increase a class of non-convertible preferred shares entitled to more than one vote per

share on matters that do not solely affect the rights of preferred stockholders "supervoting shares");

The company seeks to increase a class of convertible preferred shares entitled to a number of votes greater

than the number of common shares into which they are convertible ("supervoting shares") on matters that do

not solely affect the rights of preferred stockholders;

The stated intent of the increase in the general authorization is to allow the company to increase an existing

designated class of supervoting preferred shares;

On the same ballot is a proposal for a reverse split for which support is warranted despite the fact that it

would result in an excessive increase in the share authorization;

The company has a non-shareholder approved poison pill (including an NOL pill); and

The company has previous sizeable placements (within the past 3 years) of stock with insiders at prices

substantially below market value, or with problematic voting rights, without shareholder approval.

However, generally vote for proposed increases beyond the above ratios or problematic situations when there is

disclosure of specific and severe risks to shareholders of not approving the request, such as:

In, or subsequent to, the company's most recent 10-K filing, the company discloses that there is substantial

doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern;

The company states that there is a risk of imminent bankruptcy or imminent liquidation if shareholders do not

approve the increase in authorized capital; or

A government body has in the past year required the company to increase its capital ratios.

For companies incorporated in states that allow increases in authorized capital without shareholder approval,

generally vote withhold or against all nominees if a unilateral capital authorization increase does not conform to

the above policies.

___________________________________

17 To be acceptable, appropriate disclosure would be needed that the shares are “declawed”: i.e., representation by the board

that it will not, without prior stockholder approval, issue or use the preferred stock for any defensive or anti-takeover purpose

or for the purpose of implementing any stockholder rights plan.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Specific Authorization Requests

General Recommendation: Generally vote for proposals to increase the number of authorized preferred shares

where the primary purpose of the increase is to issue shares in connection with transaction(s) (such as

acquisitions, SPAC transactions, private placements, or similar transactions) on the same ballot, or disclosed in the

proxy statement, that warrant support. For such transactions, the allowable increase will be the greater of:

twice the amount needed to support the transactions on the ballot, and

the allowable increase as calculated for general issuances above.

Recapitalization Plans

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on recapitalizations (reclassifications of securities), taking into

account the following:

More simplified capital structure;

Enhanced liquidity;

Fairness of conversion terms;

Impact on voting power and dividends;

Reasons for the reclassification;

Conflicts of interest; and

Other alternatives considered.

Reverse Stock Splits

General Recommendation: Vote for management proposals to implement a reverse stock split if:

The number of authorized shares will be proportionately reduced; or

The effective increase in authorized shares is equal to or less than the allowable increase calculated

in accordance with ISS' Common Stock Authorization policy.

Vote case-by-case on proposals that do not meet either of the above conditions, taking into consideration the

following factors:

Stock exchange notification to the company of a potential delisting;

Disclosure of substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern without additional

financing;

The company's rationale; or

Other factors as applicable.

Share Issuance Mandates at U.S. Domestic Issuers Incorporated Outside the

U.S.

General Recommendation: For U.S. domestic issuers incorporated outside the U.S. and listed solely on a U.S.

exchange, generally vote for resolutions to authorize the issuance of common shares up to 20 percent of currently

issued common share capital, where not tied to a specific transaction or financing proposal.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

For pre-revenue or other early-stage companies that are heavily reliant on periodic equity financing, generally vote

for resolutions to authorize the issuance of common shares up to 50 percent of currently issued common share

capital. The burden of proof will be on the company to establish that it has a need for the higher limit.

Renewal of such mandates should be sought at each year’s annual meeting.

Vote case-by-case on share issuances for a specific transaction or financing proposal.

Share Repurchase Programs

General Recommendation: For U.S.-incorporated companies, and foreign-incorporated U.S. Domestic Issuers that

are traded solely on U.S. exchanges, vote for management proposals to institute open-market share repurchase

plans in which all shareholders may participate on equal terms, or to grant the board authority to conduct open-

market repurchases, in the absence of company-specific concerns regarding:

Greenmail;

The use of buybacks to inappropriately manipulate incentive compensation metrics;

Threats to the company's long-term viability; or

Other company-specific factors as warranted.

Vote case-by-case on proposals to repurchase shares directly from specified shareholders, balancing the stated

rationale against the possibility for the repurchase authority to be misused, such as to repurchase shares from

insiders at a premium to market price.

Share Repurchase Programs Shareholder Proposals

General Recommendation: Generally vote against shareholder proposals prohibiting executives from selling

shares of company stock during periods in which the company has announced that it may or will be repurchasing

shares of its stock. Vote for the proposal when there is a pattern of abuse by executives exercising options or

selling shares during periods of share buybacks.

Stock Distributions: Splits and Dividends

General Recommendation: Generally vote for management proposals to increase the common share

authorization for stock split or stock dividend, provided that the effective increase in authorized shares is equal to

or is less than the allowable increase calculated in accordance with ISS' Common Stock Authorization policy.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Tracking Stock

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on the creation of tracking stock, weighing the strategic value of the

transaction against such factors as:

Adverse governance changes;

Excessive increases in authorized capital stock;

Unfair method of distribution;

Diminution of voting rights;

Adverse conversion features;

Negative impact on stock option plans; and

Alternatives such as spin-off.

Restructuring

Appraisal Rights

General Recommendation: Vote for proposals to restore or provide shareholders with rights of appraisal.

Asset Purchases

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on asset purchase proposals, considering the following factors:

Purchase price;

Fairness opinion;

Financial and strategic benefits;

How the deal was negotiated;

Conflicts of interest;

Other alternatives for the business; and

Non-completion risk.

Asset Sales

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on asset sales, considering the following factors:

Impact on the balance sheet/working capital;

Potential elimination of diseconomies;

Anticipated financial and operating benefits;

Anticipated use of funds;

Value received for the asset;

Fairness opinion;

How the deal was negotiated; and

Conflicts of interest.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Bundled Proposals

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on bundled or “conditional” proxy proposals. In the case of items

that are conditioned upon each other, examine the benefits and costs of the packaged items. In instances when

the joint effect of the conditioned items is not in shareholders’ best interests, vote against the proposals. If the

combined effect is positive, support such proposals.

Conversion of Securities

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals regarding conversion of securities. When evaluating

these proposals, the investor should review the dilution to existing shareholders, the conversion price relative

to market value, financial issues, control issues, termination penalties, and conflicts of interest.

Vote for the conversion if it is expected that the company will be subject to onerous penalties or will be forced to

file for bankruptcy if the transaction is not approved.

Corporate Reorganization/Debt Restructuring/Prepackaged Bankruptcy

Plans/Reverse Leveraged Buyouts/Wrap Plans

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals to increase common and/or preferred shares and to

issue shares as part of a debt restructuring plan, after evaluating:

Dilution to existing shareholders' positions;

Terms of the offer - discount/premium in purchase price to investor, including any fairness opinion;

termination penalties; exit strategy;

Financial issues - company's financial situation; degree of need for capital; use of proceeds; effect of the

financing on the company's cost of capital;

Management's efforts to pursue other alternatives;

Control issues - change in management; change in control, guaranteed board and committee seats; standstill

provisions; voting agreements; veto power over certain corporate actions; and

Conflict of interest - arm's length transaction, managerial incentives.

Vote for the debt restructuring if it is expected that the company will file for bankruptcy if the transaction is not

approved.

Formation of Holding Company

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals regarding the formation of a holding company, taking

into consideration the following:

The reasons for the change;

Any financial or tax benefits;

Regulatory benefits;

Increases in capital structure; and


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Changes to the articles of incorporation or bylaws of the company.

Absent compelling financial reasons to recommend for the transaction, vote against the formation of a holding

company if the transaction would include either of the following:

Increases in common or preferred stock in excess of the allowable maximum (see discussion under “Capital”);

Adverse changes in shareholder rights.

Going Private and Going Dark Transactions (LBOs and Minority Squeeze-

outs)

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on going private transactions, taking into account the following:

Offer price/premium;

Fairness opinion;

How the deal was negotiated;

Conflicts of interest;

Other alternatives/offers considered; and

Non-completion risk.

Vote case-by-case on going dark transactions, determining whether the transaction enhances shareholder value by

taking into consideration:

Whether the company has attained benefits from being publicly-traded (examination of trading volume,

liquidity, and market research of the stock); and

Balanced interests of continuing vs. cashed-out shareholders, taking into account the following:

Are all shareholders able to participate in the transaction?

Will there be a liquid market for remaining shareholders following the transaction?

Does the company have strong corporate governance?

Will insiders reap the gains of control following the proposed transaction? and

Does the state of incorporation have laws requiring continued reporting that may benefit shareholders?

Joint Ventures

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals to form joint ventures, taking into account the

following:

Percentage of assets/business contributed;

Percentage ownership;

Financial and strategic benefits;

Governance structure;

Conflicts of interest;

Other alternatives; and

Non-completion risk.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Liquidations

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on liquidations, taking into account the following:

Management’s efforts to pursue other alternatives;

Appraisal value of assets; and

The compensation plan for executives managing the liquidation.

Vote for the liquidation if the company will file for bankruptcy if the proposal is not approved.

Mergers and Acquisitions

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on mergers and acquisitions. Review and evaluate the merits and

drawbacks of the proposed transaction, balancing various and sometimes countervailing factors including:

Valuation - Is the value to be received by the target shareholders (or paid by the acquirer) reasonable? While

the fairness opinion may provide an initial starting point for assessing valuation reasonableness, emphasis is

placed on the offer premium, market reaction, and strategic rationale.

Market reaction - How has the market responded to the proposed deal? A negative market reaction should

cause closer scrutiny of a deal.

Strategic rationale - Does the deal make sense strategically? From where is the value derived? Cost and

revenue synergies should not be overly aggressive or optimistic, but reasonably achievable. Management

should also have a favorable track record of successful integration of historical acquisitions.

Negotiations and process - Were the terms of the transaction negotiated at arm's-length? Was the process fair

and equitable? A fair process helps to ensure the best price for shareholders. Significant negotiation "wins"

can also signify the deal makers' competency. The comprehensiveness of the sales process (e.g., full auction,

partial auction, no auction) can also affect shareholder value.

Conflicts of interest - Are insiders benefiting from the transaction disproportionately and inappropriately as

compared to non-insider shareholders? As the result of potential conflicts, the directors and officers of the

company may be more likely to vote to approve a merger than if they did not hold these interests. Consider

whether these interests may have influenced these directors and officers to support or recommend the

merger. The CIC figure presented in the "ISS Transaction Summary" section of this report is an aggregate figure

that can in certain cases be a misleading indicator of the true value transfer from shareholders to insiders.

Where such figure appears to be excessive, analyze the underlying assumptions to determine whether a

potential conflict exists.

Governance - Will the combined company have a better or worse governance profile than the current

governance profiles of the respective parties to the transaction? If the governance profile is to change for the

worse, the burden is on the company to prove that other issues (such as valuation) outweigh any deterioration

in governance.

Private Placements/Warrants/Convertible Debentures

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals regarding private placements, warrants, and

convertible debentures taking into consideration:

Dilution to existing shareholders' position: The amount and timing of shareholder ownership dilution should

be weighed against the needs and proposed shareholder benefits of the capital infusion. Although newly

issued common stock, absent preemptive rights, is typically dilutive to existing shareholders, share price


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

appreciation is often the necessary event to trigger the exercise of "out of the money" warrants and

convertible debt. In these instances from a value standpoint, the negative impact of dilution is mitigated by

the increase in the company's stock price that must occur to trigger the dilutive event.

Terms of the offer (discount/premium in purchase price to investor, including any fairness opinion, conversion

features, termination penalties, exit strategy):

The terms of the offer should be weighed against the alternatives of the company and in light of

company's financial condition. Ideally, the conversion price for convertible debt and the exercise price for

warrants should be at a premium to the then prevailing stock price at the time of private placement.

When evaluating the magnitude of a private placement discount or premium, consider factors that

influence the discount or premium, such as, liquidity, due diligence costs, control and monitoring costs,

capital scarcity, information asymmetry, and anticipation of future performance.

Financial issues:

The company's financial condition;

Degree of need for capital;

Use of proceeds;

Effect of the financing on the company's cost of capital;

Current and proposed cash burn rate; and

Going concern viability and the state of the capital and credit markets.

Management's efforts to pursue alternatives and whether the company engaged in a process to evaluate

alternatives: A fair, unconstrained process helps to ensure the best price for shareholders. Financing

alternatives can include joint ventures, partnership, merger, or sale of part or all of the company.

Control issues:

Change in management;

Change in control;

Guaranteed board and committee seats;

Standstill provisions;

Voting agreements;

Veto power over certain corporate actions; and

Minority versus majority ownership and corresponding minority discount or majority control premium.

Conflicts of interest:

Conflicts of interest should be viewed from the perspective of the company and the investor; and

Were the terms of the transaction negotiated at arm's length? Are managerial incentives aligned with

shareholder interests?

Market reaction:

The market's response to the proposed deal. A negative market reaction is a cause for concern. Market

reaction may be addressed by analyzing the one-day impact on the unaffected stock price.

Vote for the private placement, or for the issuance of warrants and/or convertible debentures in a private

placement, if it is expected that the company will file for bankruptcy if the transaction is not approved.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Reorganization/Restructuring Plan (Bankruptcy)

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals to common shareholders on bankruptcy plans of

reorganization, considering the following factors including, but not limited to:

Estimated value and financial prospects of the reorganized company;

Percentage ownership of current shareholders in the reorganized company;

Whether shareholders are adequately represented in the reorganization process (particularly through the

existence of an Official Equity Committee);

The cause(s) of the bankruptcy filing, and the extent to which the plan of reorganization addresses the

cause(s);

Existence of a superior alternative to the plan of reorganization; and

Governance of the reorganized company.

Special Purpose Acquisition Corporations (SPACs)

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on SPAC mergers and acquisitions taking into account the following:

Valuation - Is the value being paid by the SPAC reasonable? SPACs generally lack an independent fairness

opinion and the financials on the target may be limited. Compare the conversion price with the intrinsic value

of the target company provided in the fairness opinion. Also, evaluate the proportionate value of the

combined entity attributable to the SPAC IPO shareholders versus the pre-merger value of SPAC. Additionally,

a private company discount may be applied to the target if it is a private entity.

Market reaction - How has the market responded to the proposed deal? A negative market reaction may be a

cause for concern. Market reaction may be addressed by analyzing the one-day impact on the unaffected

stock price.

Deal timing - A main driver for most transactions is that the SPAC charter typically requires the deal to be

complete within 18 to 24 months, or the SPAC is to be liquidated. Evaluate the valuation, market reaction,

and potential conflicts of interest for deals that are announced close to the liquidation date.

Negotiations and process - What was the process undertaken to identify potential target companies within

specified industry or location specified in charter? Consider the background of the sponsors.

Conflicts of interest - How are sponsors benefiting from the transaction compared to IPO shareholders?

Potential conflicts could arise if a fairness opinion is issued by the insiders to qualify the deal rather than a

third party or if management is encouraged to pay a higher price for the target because of an 80 percent rule

(the charter requires that the fair market value of the target is at least equal to 80 percent of net assets of the

SPAC). Also, there may be sense of urgency by the management team of the SPAC to close the deal since its

charter typically requires a transaction to be completed within the 18-24-month timeframe.

Voting agreements - Are the sponsors entering into enter into any voting agreements/tender offers with

shareholders who are likely to vote against the proposed merger or exercise conversion rights?

Governance - What is the impact of having the SPAC CEO or founder on key committees following the

proposed merger?

Special Purpose Acquisition Corporations (SPACs) - Proposals for Extensions

The main purpose of SPACs is to identify and acquire a viable target within a specified timeframe, and failure to

achieve this objective within the allotted time calls into question management's ability to execute its primary

objective. The end of that timeframe is generally referred to as the termination date.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

General Recommendation: Generally support requests to extend the termination date by up to one year from the

SPAC's original termination date (inclusive of any built-in extension options, and accounting for prior extension

requests).

Other factors that may be considered include: any added incentives, business combination status, other

amendment terms, and, if applicable, use of money in the trust fund to pay excise taxes on redeemed shares.

Spin-offs

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on spin-offs, considering:

Tax and regulatory advantages;

Planned use of the sale proceeds;

Valuation of spinoff;

Fairness opinion;

Benefits to the parent company;

Conflicts of interest;

Managerial incentives;

Corporate governance changes; and

Changes in the capital structure.

Value Maximization Shareholder Proposals

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on shareholder proposals seeking to maximize shareholder value by:

Hiring a financial advisor to explore strategic alternatives;

Selling the company; or

Liquidating the company and distributing the proceeds to shareholders.

These proposals should be evaluated based on the following factors:

Prolonged poor performance with no turnaround in sight;

Signs of entrenched board and management (such as the adoption of takeover defenses);

Strategic plan in place for improving value;

Likelihood of receiving reasonable value in a sale or dissolution; and

The company actively exploring its strategic options, including retaining a financial advisor.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

5.Compensation

Executive Pay Evaluation

Underlying all evaluations are five global principles that most investors expect corporations to adhere to in

designing and administering executive and director compensation programs:

1.Maintain appropriate pay-for-performance alignment, with emphasis on long-term shareholder value: This

principle encompasses overall executive pay practices, which must be designed to attract, retain, and

appropriately motivate the key employees who drive shareholder value creation over the long term. It will

take into consideration, among other factors, the link between pay and performance; the mix between fixed

and variable pay; performance goals; and equity-based plan costs;

2.Avoid arrangements that risk “pay for failure”: This principle addresses the appropriateness of long or

indefinite contracts, excessive severance packages, and guaranteed compensation;

3.Maintain an independent and effective compensation committee: This principle promotes oversight of

executive pay programs by directors with appropriate skills, knowledge, experience, and a sound process for

compensation decision-making (e.g., including access to independent expertise and advice when needed);

4.Provide shareholders with clear, comprehensive compensation disclosures: This principle underscores the

importance of informative and timely disclosures that enable shareholders to evaluate executive pay practices

fully and fairly; and

5.Avoid inappropriate pay to non-executive directors: This principle recognizes the interests of shareholders in

ensuring that compensation to outside directors is reasonable and does not compromise their independence

and ability to make appropriate judgments in overseeing managers’ pay and performance. At the market level,

it may incorporate a variety of generally accepted best practices.

Advisory Votes on Executive Compensation—Management Proposals (Say-

on-Pay)

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on ballot items related to executive pay and practices, as well as

certain aspects of outside director compensation.

Vote against Advisory Votes on Executive Compensation (Say-on-Pay or “SOP”) if:

There is an unmitigated misalignment between CEO pay and company performance (pay for performance);

The company maintains significant problematic pay practices; or

The board exhibits a significant level of poor communication and responsiveness to shareholders.

Vote against or withhold from the members of the Compensation Committee and potentially the full board if:

There is no SOP on the ballot, and an against vote on an SOP would otherwise be warranted due to pay-for-

performance misalignment, problematic pay practices, or the lack of adequate responsiveness on

compensation issues raised previously, or a combination thereof;

The board fails to respond adequately to a previous SOP proposal that received less than 70 percent support

of votes cast;

The company has recently practiced or approved problematic pay practices, such as option repricing or option

backdating; or

The situation is egregious.


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Primary Evaluation Factors for Executive Pay

Pay-for-Performance Evaluation

ISS annually conducts a pay-for-performance analysis to identify strong or satisfactory alignment between pay

and performance over a sustained period. With respect to companies in the S&P1500, Russell 3000, or Russell

3000E Indices, this analysis considers the following:

1.Peer Group18 Alignment:

The degree of alignment between the company's annualized TSR rank and the CEO's annualized total pay

rank within a peer group, each measured over a five-year period.

The rankings of CEO total pay and company financial performance within a peer group, each measured over a

five-year period.

The multiple of the CEO's total pay relative to the peer group median over one- and three-year periods.

2.Absolute Alignment19 – the absolute alignment between the trend in CEO pay and company TSR over the

prior five fiscal years – i.e., the difference between the trend in annual pay changes and the trend in

annualized TSR during the period.

If the above analysis demonstrates significant unsatisfactory long-term pay-for-performance alignment or, in the

case of companies outside the Russell indices, a misalignment between pay and performance is otherwise

suggested, our analysis may include any of the following qualitative factors, as relevant to an evaluation of how

various pay elements may work to encourage or to undermine long-term value creation and alignment with

shareholder interests:

The overall ratio of performance-based compensation to fixed or discretionary pay;

The ratio of performance- to time-based long-term incentive awards;

Vesting and/or retention requirements for equity awards that demonstrate a long-term focus;

The rigor of performance goals;

The complexity and risks around pay program design;

The transparency and clarity of disclosure;

The company's peer group benchmarking practices;

Financial/operational results, both absolute and relative to peers;

Special circumstances related to, for example, a new CEO in the prior FY or anomalous equity grant practices

(e.g., bi-annual awards);

Realizable and/or realized pay compared to grant pay; and

Any other factors deemed relevant.

Problematic Pay Practices

Problematic pay elements are generally evaluated case-by-case considering the context of a company's overall pay

program and demonstrated pay-for-performance philosophy. The focus is on executive compensation practices

that contravene the global pay principles, including:

Problematic practices related to non-performance-based compensation elements;

Incentives that may motivate excessive risk-taking or present a windfall risk; and

___________________________________

18 The ISS peer group is generally comprised of 14-24 companies that are selected using market cap, revenue, assets, GICS

industry group, and company's selected peers' GICS industry group. ISS' peer selection methodology is detailed in the U.S. Peer

Group FAQ..

19 Russell 3000E Index companies (excluding S&P1500 and Russell 3000 companies) are not subject to the Absolute Alignment

analysis.


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Pay decisions that circumvent pay-for-performance, such as options backdating or waiving performance

requirements.

The list of examples below highlights certain problematic practices that carry significant weight in this overall

consideration and may result in adverse vote recommendations:

Repricing or replacing of underwater stock options/SARs without prior shareholder approval (including cash

buyouts and voluntary surrender of underwater options);

Extraordinary perquisites or tax gross-ups;

New or materially amended agreements that provide for:

Excessive termination or CIC severance payments (generally exceeding 3 times base salary and

average/target/most recent bonus);

CIC severance payments without involuntary job loss or substantial diminution of duties ("single" or

"modified single" triggers) or in connection with a problematic Good Reason definition;

CIC excise tax gross-up entitlements (including "modified" gross-ups); and/or

Multi-year guaranteed awards that are not at risk due to rigorous performance conditions;

Liberal CIC definition combined with any single-trigger CIC benefits;

Insufficient executive compensation disclosure by externally-managed issuers (EMIs) such that a reasonable

assessment of pay programs and practices applicable to the EMI's executives is not possible;

Severance payments made when the termination is not clearly disclosed as involuntary (for example, a

termination without cause or resignation for good reason); and/or

Any other provision or practice deemed to be egregious and present a significant risk to investors.

The above examples are not an exhaustive list. Please refer to ISS' U.S. Compensation Policies FAQ document for

additional detail on specific pay practices that have been identified as problematic and may lead to negative vote

recommendations.

Options Backdating

The following factors should be examined case-by-case to allow for distinctions to be made between “sloppy” plan

administration versus deliberate action or fraud:

Reason and motive for the options backdating issue, such as inadvertent vs. deliberate grant date changes;

Duration of options backdating;

Size of restatement due to options backdating;

Corrective actions taken by the board or compensation committee, such as canceling or re-pricing backdated

options, the recouping of option gains on backdated grants; and

Adoption of a grant policy that prohibits backdating and creates a fixed grant schedule or window period for

equity grants in the future.

Compensation Committee Communications and Responsiveness

Consider the following factors case-by-case when evaluating ballot items related to executive pay on the board’s

responsiveness to investor input and engagement on compensation issues:

Failure to respond to majority-supported shareholder proposals on executive pay topics; or

Failure to adequately respond to the company's previous say-on-pay proposal that received low support taking

into account the factors identified under the Responsiveness section in the Board of Directors policy with

respect to say-on-pay.


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Frequency of Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation ("Say When on Pay")

General Recommendation: Vote for annual advisory votes on compensation, which provide the most consistent

and clear communication channel for shareholder concerns about companies' executive pay programs.

Voting on Golden Parachutes in an Acquisition, Merger, Consolidation, or

Proposed Sale

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on say on Golden Parachute proposals, including consideration of

existing change-in-control arrangements maintained with named executive officers but also considering new or

extended arrangements.

Features that may result in an “against” recommendation include one or more of the following, depending on the

number, magnitude, and/or timing of issue(s):

Single- or modified-single-trigger cash severance;

Single-trigger acceleration of unvested equity awards;

Full acceleration of equity awards granted shortly before the change in control;

Acceleration of performance awards above the target level of performance without compelling rationale;

Excessive cash severance (generally >3x base salary and bonus);

Excise tax gross-ups triggered and payable;

Excessive golden parachute payments (on an absolute basis or as a percentage of transaction equity value); or

Recent amendments that incorporate any problematic features (such as those above) or recent actions (such

as extraordinary equity grants) that may make packages so attractive as to influence merger agreements that

may not be in the best interests of shareholders; or

The company's assertion that a proposed transaction is conditioned on shareholder approval of the

golden parachute advisory vote.

Recent amendment(s) that incorporate problematic features will tend to carry more weight on the overall analysis.

However, the presence of multiple legacy problematic features will also be closely scrutinized.

In cases where the golden parachute vote is incorporated into a company's advisory vote on compensation

(management say-on-pay), ISS will evaluate the say-on-pay proposal in accordance with these guidelines, which

may give higher weight to that component of the overall evaluation.

Equity-Based and Other Incentive Plans

Please refer to ISS' U.S. Equity Compensation Plans FAQ document for additional details on the Equity Plan

Scorecard policy.

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on equity plan proposals subject to the Equity Plan Scorecard

framework, where positive factors may counterbalance negative factors under three pillars:


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Plan Cost: The total estimated cost of the company’s equity plans relative to industry/market cap peers,

measured by the company's estimated Shareholder Value Transfer (SVT) in relation to peers and considering

both:

SVT based on new shares requested plus shares remaining for future grants, plus outstanding

unvested/unexercised grants; and

SVT based only on new shares requested plus shares remaining for future grants.

Plan Features:

Quality of disclosure around vesting upon a change in control (CIC);

Discretionary vesting authority;

Liberal share recycling on various award types;

Lack of minimum vesting period for grants made under the plan;

Dividends payable prior to award vesting; and

Cash-denominated awards limits for non-employee directors.

Grant Practices:

The company’s three-year burn rate relative to its industry/market cap peers;

Vesting requirements in CEO's recent equity grants;

The estimated duration of the plan;

The proportion of the CEO's most recent equity grants/awards classified by ISS as performance-based;

Whether the company maintains a sufficient claw-back policy; and

Whether the company maintains sufficient post-exercise/vesting share-holding requirements.

Generally vote against the plan proposal if the combination of above factors indicates that the plan is not, overall,

in shareholders' interests, or if any of the following egregious factors ("overriding factors") apply:

Awards may vest in connection with a liberal change-of-control definition;

The plan would permit repricing or cash buyout of underwater options without shareholder approval (either

by expressly permitting it – for NYSE and Nasdaq listed companies – or by not prohibiting it when the company

has a history of repricing – for non-listed companies);

The plan is a vehicle for problematic pay practices or a significant pay-for-performance disconnect under

certain circumstances;

The plan is excessively dilutive to shareholders' holdings;

The plan contains an evergreen (automatic share replenishment) feature;

The plan lacks sufficient positive features under the Plan Features pillar;or

Any other factors that are determined to have a significant negative impact on shareholder interests.

Further Information on certain EPSC Factors:

Shareholder Value Transfer (SVT)

The cost of the equity plans is expressed as Shareholder Value Transfer (SVT), which is measured using a binomial

option pricing model that assesses the amount of shareholders’ equity flowing out of the company to employees

and directors. SVT is expressed as both a dollar amount and as a percentage of market value, and includes the new

shares proposed, shares available under existing plans, and shares granted but unexercised (using two measures,

in the case of plans subject to the Equity Plan Scorecard evaluation, as noted above). All award types are valued.

For omnibus plans, unless limitations are placed on the most expensive types of awards (for example, full-value

awards), the assumption is made that all awards to be granted will be the most expensive types.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

For proposals that are not subject to the Equity Plan Scorecard evaluation, Shareholder Value Transfer is

reasonable if it falls below a company-specific benchmark. The benchmark is determined as follows: The top

quartile performers in each industry group (using the Global Industry Classification Standard: GICS) are identified.

Benchmark SVT levels for each industry are established based on these top performers’ historic SVT. Regression

analyses are run on each industry group to identify the variables most strongly correlated to SVT. The benchmark

industry SVT level is then adjusted upwards or downwards for the specific company by plugging the company-

specific performance measures, size, and cash compensation into the industry cap equations to arrive at the

company’s benchmark.22

Three-Year Value-Adjusted Burn Rate

A "Value-Adjusted Burn Rate" is used for stock plan evaluations. Value-Adjusted Burn Rate benchmarks are

calculated as the greater of: (1) an industry-specific threshold based on three-year burn rates within the company's

GICS group segmented by S&P 500, Russell 3000 index (less the S&P 500) and non-Russell 3000 index; and (2) a de

minimis threshold established separately for each of the S&P 500, the Russell 3000 index less the S&P 500, and the

non-Russell 3000 index. Year-over-year burn-rate benchmark changes will be limited to a predetermined range

above or below the prior year's burn-rate benchmark.

The Value-Adjusted Burn Rate is calculated as follows:

Value-Adjusted Burn Rate = ((# of options * option’s dollar value using a Black-Scholes model) + (# of full-value

awards * stock price)) / (Weighted average common shares * stock price).

Egregious Factors

Liberal Change in Control Definition

Generally vote against equity plans if the plan has a liberal definition of change in control and the equity awards

could vest upon such liberal definition of change in control, even though an actual change in control may not

occur. Examples of such a definition include, but are not limited to, announcement or commencement of a tender

offer, provisions for acceleration upon a “potential” takeover, shareholder approval of a merger or other

transactions, or similar language.

Repricing Provisions

Vote against plans that expressly permit the repricing or exchange of underwater stock options/stock appreciate

rights (SARs) without prior shareholder approval. "Repricing" typically includes the ability to do any of the

following:

Amend the terms of outstanding options or SARs to reduce the exercise price of such outstanding options or

SARs;

Cancel outstanding options or SARs in exchange for options or SARs with an exercise price that is less than the

exercise price of the original options or SARs;

Cancel underwater options in exchange for stock awards; or

Provide cash buyouts of underwater options.

___________________________________

20 For plans evaluated under the Equity Plan Scorecard policy, the company's SVT benchmark is considered along with other

factors.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

While the above cover most types of repricing, ISS may view other provisions as akin to repricing depending on the

facts and circumstances.

Also, vote against or withhold from members of the Compensation Committee who approved repricing (as defined

above or otherwise determined by ISS), without prior shareholder approval, even if such repricings are allowed in

their equity plan.

Vote against plans that do not expressly prohibit repricing or cash buyout of underwater options without

shareholder approval if the company has a history of repricing/buyouts without shareholder approval, and the

applicable listing standards would not preclude them from doing so.

Problematic Pay Practices or Significant Pay-for-Performance Disconnect

If the equity plan on the ballot is a vehicle for problematic pay practices, vote against the plan.

ISS may recommend a vote against the equity plan if the plan is determined to be a vehicle for pay-for-

performance misalignment. Considerations in voting against the equity plan may include, but are not limited to:

Severity of the pay-for-performance misalignment;

Whether problematic equity grant practices are driving the misalignment; and/or

Whether equity plan awards have been heavily concentrated to the CEO and/or the other NEOs.

Amending Cash and Equity Plans (including Approval for Tax Deductibility

(162(m))

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on amendments to cash and equity incentive plans.

Generally vote for proposals to amend executive cash, stock, or cash and stock incentive plans if the proposal:

Addresses administrative features only; or

Seeks approval for Section 162(m) purposes only, and the plan administering committee consists entirely of

independent directors, per ISS’ Classification of Directors. Note that if the company is presenting the plan to

shareholders for the first time for any reason (including after the company’s initial public offering), or if the

proposal is bundled with other material plan amendments, then the recommendation will be case-by-case

(see below).

Vote against proposals to amend executive cash, stock, or cash and stock incentive plans if the proposal:

Seeks approval for Section 162(m) purposes only, and the plan administering committee does not consist

entirely of independent directors, per ISS’ Classification of Directors.

Vote case-by-case on all other proposals to amend cash incentive plans. This includes plans presented to

shareholders for the first time after the company's IPO and/or proposals that bundle material amendment(s) other

than those for Section 162(m) purposes.

Vote case-by-case on all other proposals to amend equity incentive plans, considering the following:

If the proposal requests additional shares and/or the amendments include a term extension or addition of full

value awards as an award type, the recommendation will be based on the Equity Plan Scorecard evaluation as

well as an analysis of the overall impact of the amendments;


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If the plan is being presented to shareholders for the first time (including after the company's IPO), whether or

not additional shares are being requested, the recommendation will be based on the Equity Plan Scorecard

evaluation as well as an analysis of the overall impact of any amendments; and

If there is no request for additional shares and the amendments do not include a term extension or addition of

full value awards as an award type, then the recommendation will be based entirely on an analysis of the

overall impact of the amendments, and the EPSC evaluation will be shown only for informational purposes.

In the first two case-by-case evaluation scenarios, the EPSC evaluation/score is the more heavily weighted

consideration.

Specific Treatment of Certain Award Types in Equity Plan Evaluations

Dividend Equivalent Rights

Options that have Dividend Equivalent Rights (DERs) associated with them will have a higher calculated award

value than those without DERs under the binomial model, based on the value of these dividend streams. The

higher value will be applied to new shares, shares available under existing plans, and shares awarded but not

exercised per the plan specifications. DERS transfer more shareholder equity to employees and non-employee

directors and this cost should be captured.

Operating Partnership (OP) Units in Equity Plan Analysis of Real Estate Investment Trusts

(REITs)

For Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS), include the common shares issuable upon conversion of outstanding

Operating Partnership (OP) units in the share count for the purposes of determining: (1) market capitalization in

the Shareholder Value Transfer (SVT) analysis and (2) shares outstanding in the burn rate analysis.

Other Compensation Plans

401(k) Employee Benefit Plans

General Recommendation: Vote for proposals to implement a 401(k) savings plan for employees.

Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)

General Recommendation: Vote for proposals to implement an ESOP or increase authorized shares for existing

ESOPs, unless the number of shares allocated to the ESOP is excessive (more than five percent of outstanding

shares).


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Employee Stock Purchase Plans—Qualified Plans

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on qualified employee stock purchase plans. Vote for employee

stock purchase plans where all of the following apply:

Purchase price is at least 85 percent of fair market value;

Offering period is 27 months or less; and

The number of shares allocated to the plan is 10 percent or less of the outstanding shares.

Vote against qualified employee stock purchase plans where when the plan features do not meet all of the above

criteria.

Employee Stock Purchase Plans—Non-Qualified Plans

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on nonqualified employee stock purchase plans. Vote for

nonqualified employee stock purchase plans with all the following features:

Broad-based participation;

Limits on employee contribution, which may be a fixed dollar amount or expressed as a percent of base salary;

Company matching contribution up to 25 percent of employee’s contribution, which is effectively a discount

of 20 percent from market value; and

No discount on the stock price on the date of purchase when there is a company matching contribution.

Vote against nonqualified employee stock purchase plans when the plan features do not meet all of the above criteria.

If the matching contribution or effective discount exceeds the above, ISS may evaluate the SVT cost of the plan as part

of the assessment.

Option Exchange Programs/Repricing Options

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on management proposals seeking approval to exchange/reprice

options taking into consideration:

Historic trading patterns--the stock price should not be so volatile that the options are likely to be back “in-

the-money” over the near term;

Rationale for the re-pricing--was the stock price decline beyond management's control?;

Is this a value-for-value exchange?;

Are surrendered stock options added back to the plan reserve?;

Timing--repricing should occur at least one year out from any precipitous drop in company's stock price;

Option vesting--does the new option vest immediately or is there a black-out period?;

Term of the option--the term should remain the same as that of the replaced option;

Exercise price--should be set at fair market or a premium to market; and

Participants--executive officers and directors must be excluded.

If the surrendered options are added back to the equity plans for re-issuance, then also take into consideration the

company’s total cost of equity plans and its three-year average burn rate.


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In addition to the above considerations, evaluate the intent, rationale, and timing of the repricing proposal. The

proposal should clearly articulate why the board is choosing to conduct an exchange program at this point in time.

Repricing underwater options after a recent precipitous drop in the company’s stock price demonstrates poor

timing and warrants additional scrutiny. Also, consider the terms of the surrendered options, such as the grant

date, exercise price and vesting schedule. Grant dates of surrendered options should be far enough back (two to

three years) so as not to suggest that repricings are being done to take advantage of short-term downward price

movements. Similarly, the exercise price of surrendered options should be above the 52-week high for the stock

price.

Vote for shareholder proposals to put option repricings to a shareholder vote.

Stock Plans in Lieu of Cash

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on plans that provide participants with the option of taking all or a

portion of their cash compensation in the form of stock.

Vote for non-employee director-only equity plans that provide a dollar-for-dollar cash-for-stock exchange.

Vote case-by-case on plans which do not provide a dollar-for-dollar cash for stock exchange. In cases where the

exchange is not dollar-for-dollar, the request for new or additional shares for such equity program will be

considered using the binomial option pricing model. In an effort to capture the total cost of total compensation,

ISS will not make any adjustments to carve out the in-lieu-of cash compensation.

Transfer Stock Option (TSO) Programs

General Recommendation: One-time Transfers: Vote against or withhold from compensation committee members

if they fail to submit one-time transfers to shareholders for approval.

Vote case-by-case on one-time transfers. Vote for if:

Executive officers and non-employee directors are excluded from participating;

Stock options are purchased by third-party financial institutions at a discount to their fair value using option

pricing models such as Black-Scholes or a Binomial Option Valuation or other appropriate financial models;

and

There is a two-year minimum holding period for sale proceeds (cash or stock) for all participants.

Additionally, management should provide a clear explanation of why options are being transferred to a third-party

institution and whether the events leading up to a decline in stock price were beyond management's control. A

review of the company's historic stock price volatility should indicate if the options are likely to be back “in-the-

money” over the near term.

Ongoing TSO program: Vote against equity plan proposals if the details of ongoing TSO programs are not provided

to shareholders. Since TSOs will be one of the award types under a stock plan, the ongoing TSO program, structure,

and mechanics must be disclosed to shareholders. The specific criteria to be considered in evaluating these

proposals include, but not limited, to the following:

Eligibility;

Vesting;

Bid-price;


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Term of options;

Cost of the program and impact of the TSOs on company’s total option expense; and

Option repricing policy.

Amendments to existing plans that allow for introduction of transferability of stock options should make clear that

only options granted post-amendment shall be transferable.

Director Compensation

Shareholder Ratification of Director Pay Programs

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on management proposals seeking ratification of non-employee

director compensation, based on the following factors:

If the equity plan under which non-employee director grants are made is on the ballot, whether or not it

warrants support; and

An assessment of the following qualitative factors:

The relative magnitude of director compensation as compared to companies of a similar profile;

The presence of problematic pay practices relating to director compensation;

Director stock ownership guidelines and holding requirements;

Equity award vesting schedules;

The mix of cash and equity-based compensation;

Meaningful limits on director compensation;

The availability of retirement benefits or perquisites; and

The quality of disclosure surrounding director compensation.

Equity Plans for Non-Employee Directors

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on compensation plans for non-employee directors, based on:

The total estimated cost of the company’s equity plans relative to industry/market cap peers, measured by the

company’s estimated Shareholder Value Transfer (SVT) based on new shares requested plus shares remaining

for future grants, plus outstanding unvested/unexercised grants;

The company’s three-year burn rate relative to its industry/market cap peers (in certain circumstances); and

The presence of any egregious plan features (such as an option repricing provision or liberal CIC vesting risk).

On occasion, non-employee director stock plans will exceed the plan cost or burn-rate benchmarks when

combined with employee or executive stock plans. In such cases, vote case-by-case on the plan taking into

consideration the following qualitative factors:

The relative magnitude of director compensation as compared to companies of a similar profile;

The presence of problematic pay practices relating to director compensation;

Director stock ownership guidelines and holding requirements;

Equity award vesting schedules;

The mix of cash and equity-based compensation;

Meaningful limits on director compensation;

The availability of retirement benefits or perquisites; and


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The quality of disclosure surrounding director compensation.

Non-Employee Director Retirement Plans

General Recommendation: Vote against retirement plans for non-employee directors. Vote for shareholder

proposals to eliminate retirement plans for non-employee directors.

Shareholder Proposals on Compensation

Bonus Banking/Bonus Banking “Plus”

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals seeking deferral of a portion of annual bonus pay, with

ultimate payout linked to sustained results for the performance metrics on which the bonus was earned (whether

for the named executive officers or a wider group of employees), taking into account the following factors:

The company’s past practices regarding equity and cash compensation;

Whether the company has a holding period or stock ownership requirements in place, such as a meaningful

retention ratio (at least 50 percent for full tenure); and

Whether the company has a rigorous claw-back policy in place.

Compensation Consultants—Disclosure of Board or Company’s Utilization

General Recommendation: Generally vote for shareholder proposals seeking disclosure regarding the company,

board, or compensation committee’s use of compensation consultants, such as company name, business

relationship(s), and fees paid.

Disclosure/Setting Levels or Types of Compensation for Executives and Directors

General Recommendation: Generally vote for shareholder proposals seeking additional disclosure of executive

and director pay information, provided the information requested is relevant to shareholders' needs, would not

put the company at a competitive disadvantage relative to its industry, and is not unduly burdensome to the

company.

Generally vote against shareholder proposals seeking to set absolute levels on compensation or otherwise

dictate the amount or form of compensation (such as types of compensation elements or specific metrics) to be

used for executive or directors.

Generally vote against shareholder proposals that mandate a minimum amount of stock that directors must own in

order to qualify as a director or to remain on the board.

Vote case-by-case on all other shareholder proposals regarding executive and director pay, taking into account

relevant factors, including but not limited to: company performance, pay level and design versus peers, history of


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compensation concerns or pay-for-performance disconnect, and/or the scope and prescriptive nature of the

proposal.

Golden Coffins/Executive Death Benefits

General Recommendation: Generally vote for proposals calling for companies to adopt a policy of obtaining

shareholder approval for any future agreements and corporate policies that could oblige the company to make

payments or awards following the death of a senior executive in the form of unearned salary or bonuses,

accelerated vesting or the continuation in force of unvested equity grants, perquisites and other payments or

awards made in lieu of compensation. This would not apply to any benefit programs or equity plan proposals for

which the broad-based employee population is eligible.

Hold Equity Past Retirement or for a Significant Period of Time

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on shareholder proposals asking companies to adopt policies

requiring senior executive officers to retain a portion of net shares acquired through compensation plans. The

following factors will be taken into account:

The percentage/ratio of net shares required to be retained;

The time period required to retain the shares;

Whether the company has equity retention, holding period, and/or stock ownership requirements in place

and the robustness of such requirements;

Whether the company has any other policies aimed at mitigating risk taking by executives;

Executives' actual stock ownership and the degree to which it meets or exceeds the proponent’s suggested

holding period/retention ratio or the company’s existing requirements; and

Problematic pay practices, current and past, which may demonstrate a short-term versus long-term focus.

Pay Disparity

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals calling for an analysis of the pay disparity between

corporate executives and other non-executive employees. The following factors will be considered:

The company’s current level of disclosure of its executive compensation setting process, including how the

company considers pay disparity;

If any problematic pay practices or pay-for-performance concerns have been identified at the company; and

The level of shareholder support for the company's pay programs.

Generally vote against proposals calling for the company to use the pay disparity analysis or pay ratio in a specific

way to set or limit executive pay.


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Pay for Performance/Performance-Based Awards

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on shareholder proposals requesting that a significant amount of

future long-term incentive compensation awarded to senior executives shall be performance-based and requesting

that the board adopt and disclose challenging performance metrics to shareholders, based on the following

analytical steps:

First, vote for shareholder proposals advocating the use of performance-based equity awards, such as

performance contingent options or restricted stock, indexed options, or premium-priced options, unless the

proposal is overly restrictive or if the company has demonstrated that it is using a “substantial” portion of

performance-based awards for its top executives. Standard stock options and performance-accelerated

awards do not meet the criteria to be considered as performance-based awards. Further, premium-priced

options should have a meaningful premium to be considered performance-based awards; and

Second, assess the rigor of the company’s performance-based equity program. If the bar set for the

performance-based program is too low based on the company’s historical or peer group comparison, generally

vote for the proposal. Furthermore, if target performance results in an above target payout, vote for the

shareholder proposal due to program’s poor design. If the company does not disclose the performance metric

of the performance-based equity program, vote for the shareholder proposal regardless of the outcome of the

first step to the test.

In general, vote for the shareholder proposal if the company does not meet both of the above two steps.

Pay for Superior Performance

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on shareholder proposals that request the board establish a pay-for-

superior performance standard in the company's executive compensation plan for senior executives. These

proposals generally include the following principles:

Set compensation targets for the plan’s annual and long-term incentive pay components at or below the peer

group median;

Deliver a majority of the plan’s target long-term compensation through performance-vested, not simply time-

vested, equity awards;

Provide the strategic rationale and relative weightings of the financial and non-financial performance metrics

or criteria used in the annual and performance-vested long-term incentive components of the plan;

Establish performance targets for each plan financial metric relative to the performance of the company’s

peer companies; and

Limit payment under the annual and performance-vested long-term incentive components of the plan to

when the company’s performance on its selected financial performance metrics exceeds peer group

median performance.

Consider the following factors in evaluating this proposal:

What aspects of the company’s annual and long-term equity incentive programs are performance driven?

If the annual and long-term equity incentive programs are performance driven, are the performance criteria

and hurdle rates disclosed to shareholders or are they benchmarked against a disclosed peer group?

Can shareholders assess the correlation between pay and performance based on the current disclosure? and

What type of industry and stage of business cycle does the company belong to?


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Pre-Arranged Trading Plans (10b5-1 Plans)

General Recommendation: Generally vote for shareholder proposals calling for the addition of certain safeguards

in prearranged trading plans (10b5-1 plans) for executives. Safeguards may include:

Adoption, amendment, or termination of a 10b5-1 Plan must be disclosed in a Form 8-K;

Amendment or early termination of a 10b5-1 Plan allowed only under extraordinary circumstances, as

determined by the board;

Request that a certain number of days that must elapse between adoption or amendment of a 10b5-1 Plan

and initial trading under the plan;

Reports on Form 4 must identify transactions made pursuant to a 10b5-1 Plan;

An executive may not trade in company stock outside the 10b5-1 Plan; and

Trades under a 10b5-1 Plan must be handled by a broker who does not handle other securities transactions

for the executive.

Prohibit Outside CEOs from Serving on Compensation Committees

General Recommendation: Generally vote against proposals seeking a policy to prohibit any outside CEO from

serving on a company’s compensation committee, unless the company has demonstrated problematic pay

practices that raise concerns about the performance and composition of the committee.

Recoupment of Incentive or Stock Compensation in Specified Circumstances

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals to recoup incentive cash or stock compensation made

to senior executives if it is later determined that the figures upon which incentive compensation is earned turn out

to have been in error, or if the senior executive has breached company policy or has engaged in misconduct that

may be significantly detrimental to the company's financial position or reputation, or if the senior executive failed

to manage or monitor risks that subsequently led to significant financial or reputational harm to the company.

Many companies have adopted policies that permit recoupment in cases where an executive's fraud, misconduct,

or negligence significantly contributed to a restatement of financial results that led to the awarding of unearned

incentive compensation. However, such policies may be narrow given that not all misconduct or negligence may

result in significant financial restatements. Misconduct, negligence, or lack of sufficient oversight by senior

executives may lead to significant financial loss or reputational damage that may have long-lasting impact.

In considering whether to support such shareholder proposals, ISS will take into consideration the following

factors:

If the company has adopted a formal recoupment policy;

The rigor of the recoupment policy focusing on how and under what circumstances the company may recoup

incentive or stock compensation;

Whether the company has chronic restatement history or material financial problems;

Whether the company’s policy substantially addresses the concerns raised by the proponent;

Disclosure of recoupment of incentive or stock compensation from senior executives or lack thereof; and

Any other relevant factors.

Severance and Golden Parachute Agreements

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on shareholder proposals requiring that executive severance

(including change-in-control related) arrangements or payments be submitted for shareholder ratification.


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Factors that will be considered include, but are not limited to:

The company’s severance or change-in-control agreements in place, and the presence of problematic features

(such as excessive severance entitlements, single triggers, excise tax gross-ups, etc.);

Any existing limits on cash severance payouts or policies which require shareholder ratification of severance

payments exceeding a certain level;

Any recent severance-related controversies; and

Whether the proposal is overly prescriptive, such as requiring shareholder approval of severance that does

not exceed market norms.

Share Buyback Impact on Incentive Program Metrics

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals requesting the company exclude the impact of share

buybacks from the calculation of incentive program metrics, considering the following factors:

The frequency and timing of the company's share buybacks;

The use of per-share metrics in incentive plans;

The effect of recent buybacks on incentive metric results and payouts; and

Whether there is any indication of metric result manipulation.

Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans (SERPs)

General Recommendation: Generally vote for shareholder proposals requesting to put extraordinary benefits

contained in SERP agreements to a shareholder vote unless the company’s executive pension plans do not contain

excessive benefits beyond what is offered under employee-wide plans.

Generally vote for shareholder proposals requesting to limit the executive benefits provided under the company’s

supplemental executive retirement plan (SERP) by limiting covered compensation to a senior executive’s annual

salary or those pay elements covered for the general employee population.

Tax Gross-Up Proposals

General Recommendation: Generally vote for proposals calling for companies to adopt a policy of not providing

tax gross-up payments to executives, except in situations where gross-ups are provided pursuant to a plan, policy,

or arrangement applicable to management employees of the company, such as a relocation or expatriate tax

equalization policy.

Termination of Employment Prior to Severance Payment/Eliminating

Accelerated Vesting of Unvested Equity

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on shareholder proposals seeking a policy requiring termination of

employment prior to severance payment and/or eliminating accelerated vesting of unvested equity.

The following factors will be considered:


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The company's current treatment of equity upon employment termination and/or in change-in-control

situations (i.e., vesting is double triggered and/or pro rata, does it allow for the assumption of equity by

acquiring company, the treatment of performance shares, etc.); and

Current employment agreements, including potential poor pay practices such as gross-ups embedded in those

agreements.

Generally vote for proposals seeking a policy that prohibits automatic acceleration of the vesting of equity awards

to senior executives upon a voluntary termination of employment or in the event of a change in control (except for

pro rata vesting considering the time elapsed and attainment of any related performance goals between the award

date and the change in control).


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6.Routine/Miscellaneous

Adjourn Meeting

General Recommendation: Generally vote against proposals to provide management with the authority to adjourn

an annual or special meeting absent compelling reasons to support the proposal.

Vote for proposals that relate specifically to soliciting votes for a merger or transaction if supporting that merger

or transaction. Vote against proposals if the wording is too vague or if the proposal includes "other business."

Amend Quorum Requirements

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals to reduce quorum requirements for shareholder

meetings below a majority of the shares outstanding, taking into consideration:

The new quorum threshold requested;

The rationale presented for the reduction;

The market capitalization of the company (size, inclusion in indices);

The company's ownership structure;

Previous voter turnout or attempts to achieve quorum;

Any provisions or commitments to restore quorum to a majority of shares outstanding, should voter turnout

improve sufficiently; and

Other factors as appropriate.

In general, a quorum threshold kept as close to a majority of shares outstanding as is achievable is preferred.

Vote case-by-case on directors who unilaterally lower the quorum requirements below a majority of the shares

outstanding, taking into consideration the factors listed above.

Amend Minor Bylaws

General Recommendation: Vote for bylaw or charter changes that are of a housekeeping nature (updates or

corrections).

Change Company Name

General Recommendation: Vote for proposals to change the corporate name unless there is compelling evidence

that the change would adversely impact shareholder value.


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Change Date, Time, or Location of Annual Meeting

General Recommendation: Vote for management proposals to change the date, time, or location of the annual

meeting unless the proposed change is unreasonable.

Vote against shareholder proposals to change the date, time, or location of the annual meeting unless the current

scheduling or location is unreasonable.

Other Business

General Recommendation: Vote against proposals to approve other business when it appears as a voting item.


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7.Social and Environmental Issues

Global Approach – E&S Shareholder Proposals

ISS applies a common approach globally to evaluating social and environmental shareholder proposals which

cover a wide range of topics, including consumer and product safety, environment and energy, labor standards

and human rights, workplace and board diversity, and corporate political issues. While a variety of factors goes

into each analysis, the overall principle guiding all vote recommendations focuses on how the proposal may

enhance or protect shareholder value in either the short or long term.

General Recommendation: Generally vote case-by-case, examining primarily whether implementation of the

proposal is likely to enhance or protect shareholder value. The following factors will be considered:

If the issues presented in the proposal are being appropriately or effectively dealt with through legislation or

regulation;

If the company has already responded in an appropriate and sufficient manner to the issue(s) raised in the

proposal;

Whether the proposal's request is unduly burdensome (scope or timeframe) or overly prescriptive;

The company's relevant practices compared with any industry standard practices for addressing the issue(s)

raised by the proposal;

Whether there are significant controversies, fines, penalties, or litigation associated with the

company's practices related to the issue(s) raised in the proposal;

If the proposal requests increased disclosure or greater transparency, whether reasonable and sufficient

information is currently available to shareholders from the company or from other publicly available sources;

If the proposal requests increased disclosure or greater transparency, whether implementation would reveal

proprietary or confidential information that could place the company at a competitive disadvantage; and

Whether the proposal addresses substantive matters that may impact shareholders' interests, including how

the proposal may impact shareholders' rights.

Endorsement of Principles

General Recommendation: Generally vote against proposals seeking a company's endorsement of principles that

support a particular public policy position. Endorsing a set of principles may require a company to take a stand on

an issue that is beyond its own control and may limit its flexibility with respect to future developments.

Management and the board should be afforded the flexibility to make decisions on specific public policy positions

based on their own assessment of the most beneficial strategies for the company.


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Animal Welfare

Animal Welfare Policies

General Recommendation: Generally vote for proposals seeking a report on a company’s animal welfare

standards, or animal welfare-related risks, unless:

The company has already published a set of animal welfare standards and monitors compliance;

The company’s standards are comparable to industry peers; and

There are no recent significant fines, litigation, or controversies related to the company’s and/or its suppliers'

treatment of animals.

Animal Testing

General Recommendation: Generally vote against proposals to phase out the use of animals in product testing,

unless:

The company is conducting animal testing programs that are unnecessary or not required by regulation;

The company is conducting animal testing when suitable alternatives are commonly accepted and used by

industry peers; or

There are recent, significant fines or litigation related to the company’s treatment of animals.

Animal Slaughter

General Recommendation: Generally vote against proposals requesting the implementation of Controlled

Atmosphere Killing (CAK) methods at company and/or supplier operations unless such methods are required by

legislation or generally accepted as the industry standard.

Vote case-by-case on proposals requesting a report on the feasibility of implementing CAK methods at company

and/or supplier operations considering the availability of existing research conducted by the company or industry

groups on this topic and any fines or litigation related to current animal processing procedures at the company.

Consumer Issues

Genetically Modified Ingredients

General Recommendation: Generally vote against proposals requesting that a company voluntarily label

genetically engineered (GE) ingredients in its products. The labeling of products with GE ingredients is best left to

the appropriate regulatory authorities.

Vote case-by-case on proposals asking for a report on the feasibility of labeling products containing GE ingredients,

taking into account:

The potential impact of such labeling on the company's business;


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The quality of the company’s disclosure on GE product labeling, related voluntary initiatives, and how this

disclosure compares with industry peer disclosure; and

Company’s current disclosure on the feasibility of GE product labeling.

Generally vote against proposals seeking a report on the social, health, and environmental effects of genetically

modified organisms (GMOs). Studies of this sort are better undertaken by regulators and the scientific community.

Generally vote against proposals to eliminate GE ingredients from the company's products, or proposals asking for

reports outlining the steps necessary to eliminate GE ingredients from the company’s products. Such decisions are

more appropriately made by management with consideration of current regulations.

Reports on Potentially Controversial Business/Financial Practices

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on requests for reports on a company’s potentially controversial

business or financial practices or products, taking into account:

Whether the company has adequately disclosed mechanisms in place to prevent abuses;

Whether the company has adequately disclosed the financial risks of the products/practices in question;

Whether the company has been subject to violations of related laws or serious controversies; and

Peer companies’ policies/practices in this area.

Pharmaceutical Pricing, Access to Medicines, and Prescription Drug

Reimportation

General Recommendation: Generally vote against proposals requesting that companies implement specific price

restraints on pharmaceutical products unless the company fails to adhere to legislative guidelines or industry

norms in its product pricing practices.

Vote case-by-case on proposals requesting that a company report on its product pricing or access to medicine

policies, considering:

The potential for reputational, market, and regulatory risk exposure;

Existing disclosure of relevant policies;

Deviation from established industry norms;

Relevant company initiatives to provide research and/or products to disadvantaged consumers;

Whether the proposal focuses on specific products or geographic regions;

The potential burden and scope of the requested report; and

Recent significant controversies, litigation, or fines at the company.

Generally vote for proposals requesting that a company report on the financial and legal impact of its prescription

drug reimportation policies unless such information is already publicly disclosed.

Generally vote against proposals requesting that companies adopt specific policies to encourage or constrain

prescription drug reimportation. Such matters are more appropriately the province of legislative activity and may

place the company at a competitive disadvantage relative to its peers.


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Product Safety and Toxic/Hazardous Materials

General Recommendation: Generally vote for proposals requesting that a company report on its policies,

initiatives/procedures, and oversight mechanisms related to toxic/hazardous materials or product safety in its

supply chain, unless:

The company already discloses similar information through existing reports such as a supplier code of conduct

and/or a sustainability report;

The company has formally committed to the implementation of a toxic/hazardous materials and/or product

safety and supply chain reporting and monitoring program based on industry norms or similar standards

within a specified time frame; or

The company has not been recently involved in relevant significant controversies, fines, or litigation.

Vote case-by-case on resolutions requesting that companies develop a feasibility assessment to phase-out of certain

toxic/hazardous materials, or evaluate and disclose the potential financial and legal risks associated with utilizing

certain materials, considering:

The company’s current level of disclosure regarding its product safety policies, initiatives, and oversight

mechanisms;

Current regulations in the markets in which the company operates; and

Recent significant controversies, litigation, or fines stemming from toxic/hazardous materials at the company.

Generally vote against resolutions requiring that a company reformulate its products.

Tobacco-Related Proposals

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on resolutions regarding the advertisement of tobacco products,

considering:

Recent related fines, controversies, or significant litigation;

Whether the company complies with relevant laws and regulations on the marketing of tobacco;

Whether the company’s advertising restrictions deviate from those of industry peers;

Whether the company entered into the Master Settlement Agreement, which restricts marketing of tobacco

to youth; and

Whether restrictions on marketing to youth extend to foreign countries.

Vote case-by-case on proposals regarding second-hand smoke, considering;

Whether the company complies with all laws and regulations;

The degree that voluntary restrictions beyond those mandated by law might hurt the company’s

competitiveness; and

The risk of any health-related liabilities.

Generally vote against resolutions to cease production of tobacco-related products, to avoid selling products to

tobacco companies, to spin-off tobacco-related businesses, or prohibit investment in tobacco equities. Such

business decisions are better left to company management or portfolio managers.

Generally vote against proposals regarding tobacco product warnings. Such decisions are better left to public

health authorities.


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Climate Change

Say on Climate (SoC) Management Proposals

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on management proposals that request shareholders to approve

the company’s climate transition action plan21, taking into account the completeness and rigor of the plan.

Information that will be considered where available includes the following:

The extent to which the company’s climate related disclosures are in line with TCFD recommendations and

meet other market standards;

Disclosure of its operational and supply chain GHG emissions (Scopes 1, 2, and 3);

The completeness and rigor of company’s short-, medium-, and long-term targets for reducing operational and

supply chain GHG emissions (Scopes 1, 2, and 3 if relevant);

Whether the company has sought and received third-party approval that its targets are science-based;

Whether the company has made a commitment to be “net zero” for operational and supply chain emissions

(Scopes 1, 2, and 3) by 2050;

Whether the company discloses a commitment to report on the implementation of its plan in subsequent

years;

Whether the company’s climate data has received third-party assurance;

Disclosure of how the company’s lobbying activities and its capital expenditures align with company strategy;

Whether there are specific industry decarbonization challenges; and

The company’s related commitment, disclosure, and performance compared to its industry peers.

Say on Climate (SoC) Shareholder Proposals

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on shareholder proposals that request the company to disclose a

report providing its GHG emissions levels and reduction targets and/or its upcoming/approved climate transition

action plan and provide shareholders the opportunity to express approval or disapproval of its GHG emissions

reduction plan, taking into account information such as the following:

The completeness and rigor of the company’s climate-related disclosure;

The company’s actual GHG emissions performance;

Whether the company has been the subject of recent, significant violations, fines, litigation, or controversy

related to its GHG emissions; and

Whether the proposal’s request is unduly burdensome (scope or timeframe) or overly prescriptive.

Climate Change/Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on resolutions requesting that a company disclose information on

the climate change related financial, physical, or regulatory risks it faces to its operations and investments or on

how the company identifies, measures, and manages such risks, considering:

___________________________________

21 Variations of this request also include climate transition related ambitions, or commitment to reporting on the

implementation of a climate plan.


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Whether the company already provides current, publicly-available information on the climate change-

related financial, physical, or regulatory risks its faces to its operations and investments or on the impact

that climate change may have on the company;

Associated company policies and practices addressing climate change related risks and/or opportunities;

The company's level of disclosure compared to industry peers; and

Whether there are significant controversies, fines, penalties, or litigation associated with the

company's climate change-related performance.

Vote case-by-case on proposals requesting that a company report on its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from

company operations and/or products and operations, considering:

Whether the company discloses current, publicly-available information on the impacts that GHG emissions

may have on the company as well as associated company policies and procedures to address related risks

and/or opportunities;

Whether the company's level of disclosure is comparable to that of industry peers; or

Whether there are significant, controversies, fines, penalties, or litigation associated with the

company's GHG emissions.

Vote case-by-case on proposals that call for the adoption of GHG reduction goals from products and operations,

considering:

The company's actual GHG emissions performance;

The company's current GHG emission policies, oversight mechanisms, and related initiatives;

Whether the company provides disclosure of year-over-year GHG emissions performance data;

Whether company disclosure lags behind industry peers; and

Whether the company has been the subject of recent, significant violations, fines, litigation, or controversy

related to GHG emissions.

Energy Efficiency

General Recommendation: Generally vote for proposals requesting that a company report on its energy efficiency

policies, unless:

The company complies with applicable energy efficiency regulations and laws, and discloses its participation in

energy efficiency policies and programs, including disclosure of benchmark data, targets, and performance

measures; or

The proponent requests adoption of specific energy efficiency goals within specific timelines.

Renewable Energy

General Recommendation: Generally vote for requests for reports on the feasibility of developing renewable

energy resources unless the report would be duplicative of existing disclosure or irrelevant to the company’s line

of business.

Generally vote against proposals requesting that the company invest in renewable energy resources. Such

decisions are best left to management’s evaluation of the feasibility and financial impact that such programs may

have on the company.

Generally vote against proposals that call for the adoption of renewable energy goals, taking into account:


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The scope and structure of the proposal;

The company's current level of disclosure on renewable energy use and GHG emissions; and

The company's disclosure of policies, practices, and oversight implemented to manage GHG emissions and

mitigate climate change risks.

Diversity

Board Diversity

General Recommendation: Generally vote for requests for reports on a company's efforts to diversify the board,

unless:

The gender and racial minority representation of the company’s board is reasonably inclusive in relation to

companies of similar size and business; or

The board already reports on its nominating procedures and gender and racial minority initiatives on the

board and within the company.

Vote case-by-case on proposals asking a company to increase the gender and racial minority representation on its

board, taking into account:

The degree of existing gender and racial minority diversity on the company’s board and among its executive

officers;

The level of gender and racial minority representation that exists at the company’s industry peers;

The company’s established process for addressing gender and racial minority board representation;

Whether the proposal includes an overly prescriptive request to amend nominating committee

charter language;

The independence of the company’s nominating committee;

Whether the company uses an outside search firm to identify potential director nominees; and

Whether the company has had recent controversies, fines, or litigation regarding equal employment practices.

Equality of Opportunity

General Recommendation: Generally vote case-by-case on proposals requesting a company disclose its diversity

policies or initiatives, or proposals requesting disclosure of a company’s comprehensive workforce diversity data,

including requests for EEO-1 data. Factors that will be considered are:

Whether the company publicly discloses equal opportunity policies and initiatives;

Whether the company publicly discloses comprehensive workforce diversity data/EEO-1 report; or

Whether the company has recent significant workplace discrimination/fair employment violations or litigation.

Generally vote against proposals seeking information on the diversity efforts of suppliers and service providers.

Such requests may pose a significant burden on the company.


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Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, and Domestic Partner Benefits

General Recommendation: Generally vote for proposals seeking to amend a company’s EEO statement or diversity

policies to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity, unless the change would be

unduly burdensome.

Generally vote against proposals to extend company benefits to, or eliminate benefits from, domestic partners.

Decisions regarding benefits should be left to the discretion of the company.

Gender, Race/Ethnicity Pay Gap

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on requests for reports on a company's pay data by gender or race/

ethnicity, or a report on a company’s policies and goals to reduce any gender or race/ethnicity pay gaps, taking

into account:

The company's current policies and disclosure related to both its diversity and inclusion policies and

practices and its compensation philosophy on fair and equitable compensation practices;

Whether the company has been the subject of recent controversy, litigation, or regulatory actions related to

gender, race, or ethnicity pay gap issues;

The company’s disclosure regarding gender, race, or ethnicity pay gap policies or initiatives compared to its

industry peers; and

Local laws regarding categorization of race and/or ethnicity and definitions of ethnic and/or racial minorities.

Racial Equity and/or Civil Rights Audit Guidelines

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals asking a company to conduct an independent racial

equity and/or civil rights audit, taking into account:

The company’s established process or framework for addressing racial inequity and discrimination internally;

Whether the company adequately discloses workforce diversity and inclusion metrics and goals;

Whether the company has issued a public statement related to its racial justice efforts in recent years, or has

committed to internal policy review;

Whether the company has engaged with impacted communities, stakeholders, and civil rights experts;

The company’s track record in recent years of racial justice measures and outreach externally; and

Whether the company has been the subject of recent controversy, litigation, or regulatory actions related to

racial inequity or discrimination.

Environment and Sustainability

Facility and Workplace Safety

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on requests for workplace safety reports, including reports on

accident risk reduction efforts, taking into account:


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The company’s current level of disclosure of its workplace health and safety performance data, health and

safety management policies, initiatives, and oversight mechanisms;

The nature of the company’s business, specifically regarding company and employee exposure to health and

safety risks;

Recent significant controversies, fines, or violations related to workplace health and safety; and

The company's workplace health and safety performance relative to industry peers.

Vote case-by-case on resolutions requesting that a company report on safety and/or security risks associated with

its operations and/or facilities, considering:

The company’s compliance with applicable regulations and guidelines;

The company’s current level of disclosure regarding its security and safety policies, procedures, and

compliance monitoring; and

The existence of recent, significant violations, fines, or controversy regarding the safety and security of the

company’s operations and/or facilities.

Natural Capital- Related and/or Community Impact Assessment Proposals

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on requests for reports on policies and/or the potential

(community) social and/or environmental impact of company operations, considering:

Alignment of current disclosure of applicable company policies, metrics, risk assessment report(s) and risk

management procedures with any relevant, broadly accepted reporting frameworks;

The impact of regulatory non-compliance, litigation, remediation, or reputational loss that may be associated

with failure to manage the company’s operations in question, including the management of relevant

community and stakeholder relations;

The nature, purpose, and scope of the company’s operations in the specific region(s);

The degree to which company policies and procedures are consistent with industry norms; and

The scope of the resolution.

Hydraulic Fracturing

General Recommendation: Generally vote for proposals requesting greater disclosure of a company's (natural gas)

hydraulic fracturing operations, including measures the company has taken to manage and mitigate the potential

community and environmental impacts of those operations, considering:

The company's current level of disclosure of relevant policies and oversight mechanisms;

The company's current level of such disclosure relative to its industry peers;

Potential relevant local, state, or national regulatory developments; and

Controversies, fines, or litigation related to the company's hydraulic fracturing operations.

Operations in Protected Areas

General Recommendation: Generally vote for requests for reports on potential environmental damage as a result

of company operations in protected regions, unless:

Operations in the specified regions are not permitted by current laws or regulations;

The company does not currently have operations or plans to develop operations in these protected regions; or


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The company’s disclosure of its operations and environmental policies in these regions is comparable to

industry peers.

Recycling

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals to report on an existing recycling program, or adopt a

new recycling program, taking into account:

The nature of the company’s business;

The current level of disclosure of the company's existing related programs;

The timetable and methods of program implementation prescribed by the proposal;

The company’s ability to address the issues raised in the proposal; and

How the company's recycling programs compare to similar programs of its industry peers.

Sustainability Reporting

General Recommendation: Generally vote for proposals requesting that a company report on its policies,

initiatives, and oversight mechanisms related to social, economic, and environmental sustainability, unless:

The company already discloses similar information through existing reports or policies such as an

environment, health, and safety (EHS) report; a comprehensive code of corporate conduct; and/or a diversity

report; or

The company has formally committed to the implementation of a reporting program based on Global

Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines or a similar standard within a specified time frame.

Water Issues

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals requesting a company report on, or adopt a new policy

on, water-related risks and concerns, taking into account:

The company's current disclosure of relevant policies, initiatives, oversight mechanisms, and water usage

metrics;

Whether or not the company's existing water-related policies and practices are consistent with relevant

internationally recognized standards and national/local regulations;

The potential financial impact or risk to the company associated with water-related concerns or issues; and

Recent, significant company controversies, fines, or litigation regarding water use by the company and its

suppliers.

General Corporate Issues

Charitable Contributions

General Recommendation: Vote against proposals restricting a company from making charitable contributions.

Charitable contributions are generally useful for assisting worthwhile causes and for creating goodwill in the


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community. In the absence of bad faith, self-dealing, or gross negligence, management should determine which,

and if, contributions are in the best interests of the company.

Data Security, Privacy, and Internet Issues

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals requesting the disclosure or implementation of data

security, privacy, or information access and management policies and procedures, considering:

The level of disclosure of company policies and procedures relating to data security, privacy, freedom of

speech, information access and management, and Internet censorship;

Engagement in dialogue with governments or relevant groups with respect to data security, privacy, or the

free flow of information on the Internet;

The scope of business involvement and of investment in countries whose governments censor or monitor the

Internet and other telecommunications;

Applicable market-specific laws or regulations that may be imposed on the company; and

Controversies, fines, or litigation related to data security, privacy, freedom of speech, or Internet censorship.

ESG Compensation-Related Proposals

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals seeking a report or additional disclosure on the

company's approach, policies, and practices on incorporating environmental and social criteria into its executive

compensation strategy, considering:

The scope and prescriptive nature of the proposal;

The company's current level of disclosure regarding its environmental and social performance and

governance;

The degree to which the board or compensation committee already discloses information on whether it has

considered related E&S criteria; and

Whether the company has significant controversies or regulatory violations regarding social or

environmental issues.

Human Rights, Human Capital Management, and International

Operations

Human Rights Proposals

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals requesting a report on company or company supplier

labor and/or human rights standards and policies, taking into consideration:

Whether such information is publicly disclosed;

Whether the company is lagging industry peers; and

Whether there are recent, significant company controversies, fines, or litigation regarding human rights at the

company or its suppliers.


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Vote case-by-case on proposals to implement company or company supplier labor and/or human rights standards

and policies, considering:

The scope of the request;

The degree to which existing relevant policies and practices are disclosed;

Whether or not existing relevant policies are consistent with internationally recognized standards;

Deviation from industry sector peer company standards and practices.

Whether company facilities and those of its suppliers are monitored and how;

Company participation in fair labor organizations or other internationally recognized human rights initiatives;

Scope and nature of business conducted in markets known to have higher risk of workplace labor/

human rights abuse; and

Recent, significant company controversies, fines, or litigation regarding human rights at the company or its

suppliers.

Vote case-by-case on proposals requesting that a company conduct an assessment of the human rights risks in its

operations or in its supply chain, or report on its human rights risk assessment process, considering:

The degree to which existing relevant policies and practices are disclosed, including information on the

implementation of these policies and any related oversight mechanisms;

The company’s industry and whether the company or its suppliers operate in countries or areas where there is

a history of human rights concerns;

Recent significant controversies, fines, or litigation regarding human rights involving the company or its

suppliers, and whether the company has taken remedial steps; and

Whether the proposal is unduly burdensome or overly prescriptive.

Mandatory Arbitration

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on requests for a report on a company’s use of mandatory

arbitration on employment-related claims, taking into account:

The company's current policies and practices related to the use of mandatory arbitration agreements

on workplace claims;

Whether the company has been the subject of recent controversy, litigation, or regulatory actions related to

the use of mandatory arbitration agreements on workplace claims; and

The company's disclosure of its policies and practices related to the use of mandatory arbitration

agreements compared to its peers.

Operations in High-Risk Markets

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on requests for a report on a company’s potential financial and

reputational risks associated with operations in “high-risk” markets, such as a terrorism-sponsoring state or

politically/socially unstable region, taking into account:

The nature, purpose, and scope of the operations and business involved that could be affected by social

or political disruption;

Current disclosure of applicable risk assessment(s) and risk management procedures;

Compliance with U.S. sanctions and laws;

Consideration of other international policies, standards, and laws; and

Whether the company has been recently involved in recent, significant controversies, fines, or litigation

related to its operations in "high-risk" markets.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Outsourcing/Offshoring

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals calling for companies to report on the risks associated

with outsourcing/plant closures, considering:

Controversies surrounding operations in the relevant market(s);

The value of the requested report to shareholders;

The company’s current level of disclosure of relevant information on outsourcing and plant closure

procedures; and

The company’s existing human rights standards relative to industry peers.

Sexual Harassment

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on requests for a report on company actions taken to strengthen

policies and oversight to prevent workplace sexual harassment, or a report on risks posed by a company’s failure

to prevent workplace sexual harassment, taking into account:

The company's current policies, practices, oversight mechanisms related to preventing workplace sexual

harassment;

Whether the company has been the subject of recent controversy, litigation, or regulatory actions related to

workplace sexual harassment issues; and

The company's disclosure regarding workplace sexual harassment policies or initiatives compared to its

industry peers.

Weapons and Military Sales

General Recommendation: Vote against reports on foreign military sales or offsets. Such disclosures may involve

sensitive and confidential information. Moreover, companies must comply with government controls and

reporting on foreign military sales.

Generally vote against proposals asking a company to cease production or report on the risks associated with the

use of depleted uranium munitions or nuclear weapons components and delivery systems, including disengaging

from current and proposed contracts. Such contracts are monitored by government agencies, serve multiple

military and non-military uses, and withdrawal from these contracts could have a negative impact on the

company’s business.

Political Activities

Lobbying

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals requesting information on a company’s lobbying

(including direct, indirect, and grassroots lobbying) activities, policies, or procedures, considering:

The company’s current disclosure of relevant lobbying policies, and management and board oversight;


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The company’s disclosure regarding trade associations or other groups that it supports, or is a member of, that

engage in lobbying activities; and

Recent significant controversies, fines, or litigation regarding the company’s lobbying-related activities.

Political Contributions

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals requesting greater disclosure of a company's political

contributions and trade association spending policies and activities, considering:

The company's policies, and management and board oversight related to its direct political contributions and

payments to trade associations or other groups that may be used for political purposes;

The company's disclosure regarding its support of, and participation in, trade associations or other groups

that may make political contributions;

The company's disclosure of its direct corporate political contributions; and

Recent significant controversies, fines, or litigation related to the company's political contributions or political

activities.

Vote against proposals barring a company from making political contributions. Businesses are affected by

legislation at the federal, state, and local level; barring political contributions can put the company at a competitive

disadvantage.

Vote against proposals to publish in newspapers and other media a company's political contributions. Such

publications could present significant cost to the company without providing commensurate value to shareholders.

Political Expenditures and Lobbying Congruency

General Recommendation: Generally vote case-by-case on proposals requesting greater disclosure of a company’s

alignment of political contributions, lobbying, and electioneering spending with a company’s publicly stated values

and policies, considering:

The company’s policies, management, board oversight, governance processes, and level of disclosure related

to direct political contributions, lobbying activities, and payments to trade associations, political action

committees, or other groups that may be used for political purposes;

The company’s disclosure regarding: the reasons for its support of candidates for public offices; the

reasons for support of and participation in trade associations or other groups that may make political

contributions; and other political activities;

Any incongruencies identified between a company’s direct and indirect political expenditures and its publicly

stated values and priorities; and

Recent significant controversies related to the company’s direct and indirect lobbying, political contributions,

or political activities.

Generally vote case-by-case on proposals requesting comparison of a company’s political spending to objectives

that can mitigate material risks for the company, such as limiting global warming.


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Political Ties

General Recommendation: Generally vote against proposals asking a company to affirm political nonpartisanship

in the workplace, so long as:

There are no recent, significant controversies, fines, or litigation regarding the company’s political

contributions or trade association spending; and

The company has procedures in place to ensure that employee contributions to company-sponsored political

action committees (PACs) are strictly voluntary and prohibit coercion.

Vote against proposals asking for a list of company executives, directors, consultants, legal counsels, lobbyists, or

investment bankers that have prior government service and whether such service had a bearing on the business of

the company. Such a list would be burdensome to prepare without providing any meaningful information to

shareholders.


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8.Mutual Fund Proxies

Election of Directors

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on the election of directors and trustees, following the same

guidelines for uncontested directors for public company shareholder meetings. However, mutual fund boards do

not usually have compensation committees, so do not withhold for the lack of this committee.

Closed End Funds- Unilateral Opt-In to Control Share Acquisition Statutes

General Recommendation: For closed-end management investment companies (CEFs), vote against or withhold

from nominating/governance committee members (or other directors on a case-by-case basis) at CEFs that have

not provided a compelling rationale for opting-in to a Control Share Acquisition statute, nor submitted a by-law

amendment to a shareholder vote.

Converting Closed-end Fund to Open-end Fund

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on conversion proposals, considering the following factors:

Past performance as a closed-end fund;

Market in which the fund invests;

Measures taken by the board to address the discount; and

Past shareholder activism, board activity, and votes on related proposals.

Proxy Contests

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proxy contests, considering the following factors:

Past performance relative to its peers;

Market in which the fund invests;

Measures taken by the board to address the issues;

Past shareholder activism, board activity, and votes on related proposals;

Strategy of the incumbents versus the dissidents;

Independence of directors;

Experience and skills of director candidates;

Governance profile of the company; and

Evidence of management entrenchment.


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Investment Advisory Agreements

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on investment advisory agreements, considering the following

factors:

Proposed and current fee schedules;

Fund category/investment objective;

Performance benchmarks;

Share price performance as compared with peers;

Resulting fees relative to peers; and

Assignments (where the advisor undergoes a change of control).

Approving New Classes or Series of Shares

General Recommendation: Vote for the establishment of new classes or series of shares.

Preferred Stock Proposals

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on the authorization for or increase in preferred shares, considering

the following factors:

Stated specific financing purpose;

Possible dilution for common shares; and

Whether the shares can be used for antitakeover purposes.

1940 Act Policies

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on policies under the Investment Advisor Act of 1940, considering

the following factors:

Potential competitiveness;

Regulatory developments;

Current and potential returns; and

Current and potential risk.

Generally vote for these amendments as long as the proposed changes do not fundamentally alter the investment

focus of the fund and do comply with the current SEC interpretation.

Changing a Fundamental Restriction to a Nonfundamental Restriction

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals to change a fundamental restriction to a non-

fundamental restriction, considering the following factors:

The fund's target investments;


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The reasons given by the fund for the change; and

The projected impact of the change on the portfolio.

Change Fundamental Investment Objective to Nonfundamental

General Recommendation: Vote against proposals to change a fund’s fundamental investment objective to non-

fundamental.

Name Change Proposals

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on name change proposals, considering the following factors:

Political/economic changes in the target market;

Consolidation in the target market; and

Current asset composition.

Change in Fund's Subclassification

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on changes in a fund's sub-classification, considering the following

factors:

Potential competitiveness;

Current and potential returns;

Risk of concentration; and

Consolidation in target industry.

Business Development Companies—Authorization to Sell Shares of Common

Stock at a Price below Net Asset Value

General Recommendation: Vote for proposals authorizing the board to issue shares below Net Asset Value (NAV)

if:

The proposal to allow share issuances below NAV has an expiration date no more than one year from the

date shareholders approve the underlying proposal, as required under the Investment Company Act of 1940;

The sale is deemed to be in the best interests of shareholders by (1) a majority of the company's independent

directors and (2) a majority of the company's directors who have no financial interest in the issuance; and

The company has demonstrated responsible past use of share issuances by either:

Outperforming peers in its 8-digit GICS group as measured by one- and three-year median TSRs; or

Providing disclosure that its past share issuances were priced at levels that resulted in only small or

moderate discounts to NAV and economic dilution to existing non-participating shareholders.


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UNITED STATES Proxy Voting Guidelines

Disposition of Assets/Termination/Liquidation

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals to dispose of assets, to terminate or liquidate,

considering the following factors:

Strategies employed to salvage the company;

The fund’s past performance; and

The terms of the liquidation.

Changes to the Charter Document

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on changes to the charter document, considering the following

factors:

The degree of change implied by the proposal;

The efficiencies that could result;

The state of incorporation; and

Regulatory standards and implications.

Vote against any of the following changes:

Removal of shareholder approval requirement to reorganize or terminate the trust or any of its series;

Removal of shareholder approval requirement for amendments to the new declaration of trust;

Removal of shareholder approval requirement to amend the fund's management contract, allowing the

contract to be modified by the investment manager and the trust management, as permitted by the 1940 Act;

Allow the trustees to impose other fees in addition to sales charges on investment in a fund, such as deferred

sales charges and redemption fees that may be imposed upon redemption of a fund's shares;

Removal of shareholder approval requirement to engage in and terminate subadvisory arrangements; or

Removal of shareholder approval requirement to change the domicile of the fund.

Changing the Domicile of a Fund

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on re-incorporations, considering the following factors:

Regulations of both states;

Required fundamental policies of both states; and

The increased flexibility available.

Authorizing the Board to Hire and Terminate Subadvisers Without

Shareholder Approval

General Recommendation: Vote against proposals authorizing the board to hire or terminate subadvisers without

shareholder approval if the investment adviser currently employs only one subadviser.


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Distribution Agreements

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on distribution agreement proposals, considering the following

factors:

Fees charged to comparably sized funds with similar objectives;

The proposed distributor’s reputation and past performance;

The competitiveness of the fund in the industry; and

The terms of the agreement.

Master-Feeder Structure

General Recommendation: Vote for the establishment of a master-feeder structure.

Mergers

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on merger proposals, considering the following factors:

Resulting fee structure;

Performance of both funds;

Continuity of management personnel; and

Changes in corporate governance and their impact on shareholder rights.

Shareholder Proposals for Mutual Funds

Establish Director Ownership Requirement

General Recommendation: Generally vote against shareholder proposals that mandate a specific minimum

amount of stock that directors must own in order to qualify as a director or to remain on the board.

Reimburse Shareholder for Expenses Incurred

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on shareholder proposals to reimburse proxy solicitation expenses.

When supporting the dissidents, vote for the reimbursement of the proxy solicitation expenses.


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Terminate the Investment Advisor

General Recommendation: Vote case-by-case on proposals to terminate the investment advisor, considering the

following factors:

Performance of the fund’s Net Asset Value (NAV);

The fund’s history of shareholder relations; and

The performance of other funds under the advisor’s management.


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PART C: OTHER INFORMATION

Item 28. Exhibits


Exhibit No.			Description of Exhibit
(a)	(i)		Certificate of Trust of Active Weighting Funds ETF Trust dated August 26, 2016 is incorporated herein by reference Exhibit (a)(i) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 8 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 333-215588 and 811-23226), as filed with on April 26, 2019.
	(ii)		Certificate of Amendment to the Certificate of Trust of Active Weighting Funds ETF Trust dated December 21, 2018 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (a)(ii) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 8 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 333-215588 and 811-23226), as filed on April 26, 2019.
	(iii)		Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust of Listed Funds Trust (the “Registrant” or the “Trust”) dated December 21, 2018 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (a)(iii) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 8 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 333-215588 and 811-23226), as filed on April 26, 2019.
(b)			Amended and Restated By-Laws of the Registrant dated March 19, 2019 are incorporated by reference to Exhibit (b) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 8 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 333-215588 and 811-23226), as filed on April 26, 2019.
(c)			For information regarding the rights of the holders of securities, please see Articles IV, VII and VIII of the Declaration of Trust, filed as Exhibit (a)(i) above.
(d)	(i)	(A)	Investment Advisory Agreement dated September 23, 2019 between the Trust and Core Alternative Capital LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d) to the Registra n t ’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A , as filed on December 1 3, 2019.
		(B)	Amended Schedule A to the Investment Advisory Agreement for Optimized Equity Income ETF is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(i)(B) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on October 17, 2025.
(e)	(i)		ETF Distribution Agreement between the Trust and Quasar Distributors, LLC dated September 30, 2021 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(i) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on December 30, 2021.
	(ii)		First Amendment to the ETF Distribution Agreement effective October 15, 2025, for Optimized Equity Income ETF is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(ii) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on October 17, 2025.
	(iii)		Form of Authorized Participant Agreement is incorporated by reference to Exhibit (E)(ii) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 11 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 333-215588 and 811- 23226), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 23, 2019.
(f)			Not applicable.
(g)	(i)		Custody Agreement between Registrant and U.S. Bank National Association dated April 9, 2019 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (G) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 8 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 333-215588 and 811- 23226), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 26, 2019.
	(ii)		Amended Exhibit 5 to the Custody Agreement for Optimized Equity Income ETF is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (g)(ii) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on Octobe r 17, 2025.
(h)	(i)	(A)	Fund Servicing Agreement between the Registrant and U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC dated April 9, 2019 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(1) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 8 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 333-215588 and 811- 23226), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 26, 2019.
		(B)	Amended Exhibit 5 to the Fund Servicing Agreement for Optimized Equity Income ETF is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h )(i)(B) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on October 17, 2025.
	(ii)		Powers of Attorney are incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(ii) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on June 22, 2026.
	(iii)		Certificate of Secretary dated February 6, 2019 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(vi) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on February 6, 2019.
(i)	(i)		Opinion and Consent of Counsel is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i ) to the Registrant ’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on December 1 3, 2019.
	(ii)		Opinion and Consent of Counsel for Optimized Equity Income ETF is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(ii) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on October 17, 2025.
(j)			Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm – Filed Herewith.
(k)			Not applicable.
(l)			Not applicable.


Exhibit No.		Description of Exhibit
(m)	(i)	Rule 12b-1 Plan dated September 13, 2017 (the “12b-1 Plan”) is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (m) to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 3 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed with the SEC on October 2, 2017.
	(ii)	Amended Appendix A to the Rule 12b-1 Plan for Optimized Equity Income ETF is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (m)(ii) to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed on August 10 , 202 6 .
(n)		Not applicable.
(o)		Reserved.
(p)	(i)	Registrant’s Code of Ethics dated March 19, 2019 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p)(i) to Post-Effective Amendment No. 8 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File No. 333-215588 and 811-233236), as filed on April 26, 2019.
	(ii)	Code of Ethics of Core Alternative Capital LLC dated May 1, 2019 is incorporated herein by referenced to Exh ibit (p)(ii) to the Registrant ’s Registration S tatement on Form N-1A , as filed on Dec ember 1 3, 2019.

Item 29. Persons Controlled by or Under Common Control with the Registrant

No person is directly or indirectly controlled by or under common control with the Registrant.

Item 30. Indemnification

Every person who is, has been, or becomes a Trustee or officer of the Registrant (hereinafter referred to as a “Covered Person”) shall be indemnified by the Registrant to the fullest extent permitted by law against any and all liabilities and expenses reasonably incurred or paid by them in connection with the defense of any proceeding in which they become involved as a party or otherwise by virtue of their being or having been such a Trustee or officer, and against amounts paid or incurred by them in the settlement thereof. Every person who is, has been, or becomes an agent of the Registrant may, upon due approval of the Trustees (including a majority of the Trustees who are not interested persons of the Registrant), be indemnified by the Registrant, to the fullest extent permitted by law, against any and all liabilities and expenses reasonably incurred or paid by them in connection with the defense of any proceeding in which they become involved as a party or otherwise by virtue of their being or having been an agent, and against amounts paid or incurred by him in the settlement thereof. Every Person who is serving or has served at the request of the Registrant as a director, officer, partner, trustee, employee, agent or fiduciary of another domestic or foreign corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, other enterprise or employee benefit plan (“Other Position”) and who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any proceeding by reason of alleged acts or omissions while acting within the scope of his or her service in such Other Position, may, upon due approval of the Trustees (including a majority of the Trustees who are not interested persons of the Registrant), be indemnified by the Registrant, to the fullest extent permitted by law, against any and all liabilities and expenses reasonably incurred or paid by them in connection with the defense of any proceeding in which they become involved as a party or otherwise by virtue of their being or having held such Other Position, and against amounts paid or incurred by them in the settlement thereof.

The Registrant shall indemnify each Covered Person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any proceeding, by reason of alleged acts or omissions within the scope of their service as a Covered Person, against judgments, fines, penalties, settlements and reasonable expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually incurred by them in connection with such proceeding to the maximum extent consistent with state law and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

No indemnification shall be provided to any person who shall have been adjudicated by a court or body before which the proceeding was brought: (i) to be liable to the Registrant or its shareholders by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of their office, or (ii) not to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that his action was in the best interest of the Registrant.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “1933 Act”) may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, the Registrant has been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the 1933 Act and is therefore unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in connection with the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding or payment pursuant to any insurance policy) is asserted against the Registrant by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the 1933 Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

Item 31. Business and Other Connections of Investment Adviser

This Item incorporates by reference each investment adviser’s Uniform Application for Investment Adviser Registration (“Form ADV”) on file with the SEC, as listed below. Each Form ADV may be obtained, free of charge, at the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. Additional information as to any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature

engaged in by each officer and director of the below-listed investment advisers is included in the Trust’s Statement of Additional Information.


Investment Adviser			SEC File No.
Core Alternative Capital, LLC			801-115285

Item 32. Principal Underwriters

(a) Quasar Distributors, LLC acts as principal underwriter for the following investment companies:

1.Abacus FCF ETF Trust

2.Advisor Managed Portfolios

3.Antares Private Credit Fund

4.Capital Advisors Growth Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust

5.Chase Growth Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust

6.Davidson Multi-Cap Equity Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust

7.Edgar Lomax Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust

8.Huber Large Cap Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust

9.Huber Mid Cap Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust

10.Huber Select Large Cap Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust

11.Huber Small Cap Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust

12.Logan Capital Broad Innovative Growth ETF, Series of Advisors Series Trust

13.Medalist Partners MBS Total Return Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust

14.Medalist Partners Short Duration Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust

15.O'Shaughnessy Market Leaders Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust

16.PIA BBB Bond Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust

17.PIA High Yield (MACS) Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust

18.PIA High Yield Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust

19.PIA MBS Bond Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust

20.PIA Short-Term Securities Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust

21.Poplar Forest Cornerstone Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust

22.Poplar Forest Partners Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust

23.Pzena Emerging Markets Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust

24.Pzena International Small Cap Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust

25.Pzena International Value ETF, Series of Advisors Series Trust

26.Pzena International Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust

27.Pzena Mid Cap Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust

28.Pzena Small Cap Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust

29.Pzena U.S. Large Cap Value ETF, Series of Advisors Series Trust

30.Vox Populi ETF, Series of Advisors Series Trust

31.Scharf ETF, Series of Advisors Series Trust

32.Scharf Global Opportunity ETF, Series of Advisors Series Trust

33.Scharf Multi-Asset Opportunity Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust

34.Shenkman Capital Floating Rate High Income Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust

35.Shenkman Capital Short Duration High Income Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust

36.The Aegis Funds

37.Allied Asset Advisors Funds

38.Angel Oak Funds Trust

39.Angel Oak Strategic Credit Fund

40.Brookfield Infrastructure Income Fund Inc.

41.Brookfield Investment Funds

42.Buffalo Funds

43.RJ Eagle GCM Dividend Select Income ETF, Series of Carillon Series Trust

44.RJ Eagle Municipal Income ETF, Series of Carillon Series Trust

45.RJ Eagle Vertical Income ETF, Series of Carillon Series Trust

46.DoubleLine Funds Trust

47.AAM Brentview Dividend Growth ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

48.AAM Crescent CLO ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

49.AAM Low Duration Preferred and Income Securities ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

50.AAM S&P 500 High Dividend Value ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

51.AAM Sawgrass U.S. Large Cap Quality Growth ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

52.AAM Sawgrass U.S. Small Cap Quality Growth ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

53.AAM SLC Low Duration Income ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

54.AAM Todd International Intrinsic Value ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

55.AAM Transformers ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

56.Acquirers Small and Micro Deep Value ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

57.Aptus April Buffer, Series of ETF Series Solutions

58.Aptus April Deep Buffer ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

59.Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

60.Aptus Deferred Income ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

61.Aptus Defined Risk ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

62.Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

63.Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

64.Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

65.Aptus January Buffer ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

66.Aptus January Deep Buffer ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

67.Aptus July Buffer ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

68.Aptus July Deep Buffer ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

69.Aptus Laddered Buffer ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

70.Aptus Laddered Deep Buffer ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

71.Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

72.Aptus Large Cap Upside ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

73.Aptus October Buffer ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

74.Aptus October Deep Buffer ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

75.Bahl & Gaynor Dividend ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

76.Bahl & Gaynor Income Growth ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

77.Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Dividend ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

78.Bahl & Gaynor Small/Mid Cap Income Growth ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

79.BTD Capital Fund, Series of ETF Series Solutions

80.Carbon Strategy ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

81.ClearShares OCIO ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

82.ClearShares Piton Intermediate Fixed Income Fund, Series of ETF Series Solutions

83.ClearShares Ultra-Short Maturity ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

84.Colterpoint Net Lease Real Estate ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

85.ETFB Green SRI REITs ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

86.Hoya Capital High Dividend Yield ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

87.Hoya Capital Housing ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

88.LHA Market State Tactical Beta ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

89.LHA Market State Tactical Q ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

90.LHA Risk-Managed Income ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

91.McElhenny Sheffield Managed Risk ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

92.Opus Small Cap Value ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

93.The Acquirers Fund, Series of ETF Series Solutions

94.The Brinsmere Fund - Conservative ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

95.The Brinsmere Fund - Growth ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

96.U.S. Global GO GOLD and Precious Metal Miners ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

97.U.S. Global JETS ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

98.U.S. Global Sea to Sky Cargo ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

99.U.S. Global Technology and Aerospace & Defense ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

100.US Vegan Climate ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions

101.First American Funds Trust

102.First Eagle ETF Trust

103.FundX Investment Trust

104.The Glenmede Fund, Inc.

105.The GoodHaven Funds Trust

106.Harding, Loevner Funds, Inc.

107.Hennessy Funds Trust

108.Horizon Funds

109.Hotchkis & Wiley Funds

110.Intrepid Capital Management Funds Trust

111.Jacob Funds Inc.

112.The Jensen Quality Growth Fund Inc.

113.Kirr, Marbach Partners Funds, Inc.

114.LibreMax Asset-Backed Income Fund

115.Core Alternative ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

116.Optimized Equity Income ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

117.Wahed Dow Jones Islamic World ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

118.Wahed FTSE USA Shariah ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust

119.LKCM Funds

120.LoCorr Investment Trust

121.MainGate Trust

122.ATAC Rotation Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series

123.Cove Street Capital Small Cap Value Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series

124.Kensington Active Advantage Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series

125.Kensington Defender Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series

126.Kensington Dynamic Allocation Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series

127.Kensington Hedged Premium Income ETF, Series of Managed Portfolio Series

128.Kensington Managed Income Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series

129.LK Balanced Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series

130.Leuthold Core ETF, Series of Managed Portfolio Series

131.Leuthold Core Investment Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series

132.Leuthold Global Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series

133.Leuthold Grizzly Short Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series

134.Leuthold Select Industries ETF, Series of Managed Portfolio Series

135.Muhlenkamp Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series

136.Nuance Concentrated Value Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series

137.Nuance Mid Cap Value Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series

138.Port Street Quality Growth Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series

139.Reinhart Genesis PMV Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series

140.Reinhart International PMV Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series

141.Reinhart Mid Cap PMV Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series

142.Tremblant Global ETF, Series of Managed Portfolio Series

143.Greenspring Income Opportunities Fund, Series of Manager Directed Portfolios

144.Hood River Emerging Markets Fund, Series of Manager Directed Portfolios

145.Hood River International Opportunity Fund, Series of Manager Directed Portfolios

146.Hood River New Opportunities Fund, Series of Manager Directed Portfolios

147.Hood River Small-Cap Growth Fund, Series of Manager Directed Portfolios

148.SanJac Alpha Core Plus Bond ETF, Series of Manager Directed Portfolios

149.SanJac Alpha Low Duration ETF, Series of Manager Directed Portfolios

150.SWP Growth & Income ETF, Series of Manager Directed Portfolios

151.Vert Global Sustainable Real Estate ETF, Series of Manager Directed Portfolios

152.Mason Capital Fund Trust

153.Matrix Advisors Funds Trust

154.Monetta Trust

155.Nicholas Equity Income Fund, Inc.

156.Nicholas Fund, Inc.

157.Nicholas II, Inc.

158.Nicholas Limited Edition, Inc.

159.Oaktree Asset-Backed Income Fund Inc.

160.Oaktree Diversified Income Fund Inc.

161.Permanent Portfolio Family of Funds

162.Procure ETF Trust II

163.Professionally Managed Portfolios

164.Provident Mutual Funds, Inc.

165.Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

166.Abbey Capital Multi-Asset Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

167.Adara Smaller Companies Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

168.Aquarius International Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

169.Boston Partners All-Cap Value Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

170.Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

171.Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

172.Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

173.Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

174.Campbell Systematic Macro Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

175.Emerald Growth Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

176.F/m 10-Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

177.F/m 2-Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

178.F/m 3-Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

179.F/m Accumulator Ultrashort U.S. Treasury Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

180.F/m Callable Tax-Free Municipal ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

181.F/m Compoundr High Yield Bond ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

182.F/m Compoundr U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

183.F/m Emerald Life Sciences Innovation ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

184.F/m Emerald Special Situations ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

185.F/m High Yield 100 ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

186.F/m Investments Large Cap Focused Fund Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

187.F/m Opportunistic Income ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

188.F/m Ultrashort Treasury Inflation-Protected Security (TIPS) ETF Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

189.F/m US Treasury 10 Year Note ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

190.F/m US Treasury 12 Month Bill ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

191.F/m US Treasury 2 Year Note ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

192.F/m US Treasury 20 Year Bond ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

193.F/m US Treasury 3 Month Bill ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

194.F/m US Treasury 3 Year Note ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

195.F/m US Treasury 30 Year Bond ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

196.F/m US Treasury 5 Year Note ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

197.F/m US Treasury 6 Month Bill ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

198.F/m US Treasury 7 Year Note ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

199.Motley Fool 100 Index ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

200.Motley Fool Capital Efficiency 100 Index ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

201.Motley Fool Global Opportunities ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

202.Motley Fool Innovative Growth Factor ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

203.Motley Fool Mid-Cap Growth ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

204.Motley Fool Momentum Factor ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

205.Motley Fool Next Index ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

206.Motley Fool Small-Cap Growth ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

207.Motley Fool Value Factor ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

208.MUFG Japan Small Cap Active ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

209.Oakhurst Fixed Income Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

210.SGI Dynamic Tactical ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

211.SGI Enhanced Core ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

212.SGI Enhanced Global Income ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

213.SGI Enhanced Market Leaders ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

214.SGI Global Equity Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

215.SGI Peak Growth Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

216.SGI Prudent Growth Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

217.SGI Small Cap Core Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

218.SGI U.S. Large Cap Core ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

219.SGI U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

220.WPG Partners Select Small Cap Value Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

221.WPG Partners Small Cap Value Diversified Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc.

222.The RBB Fund Trust

223.RBC Funds Trust

224.RBC BlueBay Enhanced Income Fund

225.Rockefeller Municipal Opportunities Fund

226.SEG Partners Long/Short Equity Fund

227.Series Portfolios Trust

228.Thompson IM Funds, Inc.

229.Tortoise Capital Series Trust

230.Bright Rock Mid Cap Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers

231.Bright Rock Large Cap Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers

232.CrossingBridge Low Duration High Income Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers

233.CrossingBridge Nordic High Income Bond Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers

234.CrossingBridge Responsible Credit Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers

235.CrossingBridge Ultra-Short Duration Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers

236.RiverPark Strategic Income Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers

237.Dearborn Partners Rising Dividend Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers

238.Jensen Global Quality Growth Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers

239.Jensen Quality MidCap Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers

240.Rockefeller Climate Solutions Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers

241.Rockefeller US Small Cap Core Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers

242.Wall Street EWM Funds Trust

(b) To the best of Registrant’s knowledge, the directors and executive officers of Quasar Distributors, LLC are as follows:


Name	Address	Position with Underwriter	Position with Registrant
Teresa Cowan	190 Middle Street, Suite 301, Portland, Maine 04101	President/Manager	None
Chris Lanza	190 Middle Street, Suite 301, Portland, Maine 04101	Vice President	None
Kate Macchia	190 Middle Street, Suite 301, Portland, Maine 04101	Vice President	None
Susan L. LaFond	190 Middle Street, Suite 301, Portland, Maine 04101	Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer and Treasurer	None
Gabriel E. Edelman	190 Middle Street, Suite 301, Portland, Maine 04101	Secretary	None
Weston Sommers	190 Middle Street, Suite 301, Portland, Maine 04101	Financial and Operations Principal and Chief Financial Officer	None

Item 33. Location of Accounts and Records

The books and records required to be maintained by Section 31(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 are maintained at the following locations:


Records Relating to:			Are located at:
Registrant’s Fund Administrator, Fund Accountant and Transfer Agent			U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC 615 East Michigan Street Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
Registrant’s Custodian			U.S. Bank, National Association 1555 N. Rivercenter Drive, Suite 302 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212
Registrant’s Principal Underwriter			Quasar Distributors, LLC 190 Middle Street, Suite 301 Portland, Maine 04101
Registrant’s Investment Adviser			Core Alternative Capital, LLC 3930 East Jones Bridge Road, Suite 380 Peachtree Corners, Georgia 30092

Item 34. Management Services

Not applicable.

Item 35. Undertakings

Not applicable.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the Registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirement for effectiveness of this registration statement under rule 485(b) under the Securities Act and has duly caused this Registration Statement on Form N-1A to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, duly authorized, in the City of Milwaukee, State of Wisconsin, on August 26, 2026.

Listed Funds Trust

By: /s/ Marissa J. Pawlinski

Marissa J. Pawlinski

Assistant Secretary

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Amendment has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities indicated on August 26, 2026.


Signature			Title

*/s/ John L. Jacobs			Trustee
John L. Jacobs

*/s/ Koji Felton			Trustee
Koji Felton

*/s/ Pamela H. Conroy			Trustee and Chairperson
Pamela H. Conroy

*/s/ Kacie G. Briody			President and Principal Executive Officer
Kacie G. Briody

*/s/ Travis G. Babich			Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer
Travis G. Babich

*By: /s/ Marissa J. Pawlinski Marissa J. Pawlinski, Attorney-in-Fact Pursuant to Powers of Attorney