AGF U.S. Market Neutral Anti-Beta Fund
Key Reasons to Invest
- Provides exposure to the spread return between low and high beta stocks.
- Potential to generate positive returns regardless of the direction of the general market, so long as low beta stocks outperform high beta stocks.
- Provides consistent negative beta exposure and can be used as an effective equity hedge to lower portfolio volatility and reduce the impact of drawdowns.
- May be an effective alternative to buying Treasuries, volatility products and low-volatility funds if seeking to reduce overall portfolio risk.
Overview
BTAL’s objective is to provide a consistent negative beta exposure to the U.S. equity market. BTAL strives to achieve this objective by investing primarily in long positions in low beta U.S. equities and short positions in high beta U.S. equities on a dollar neutral basis, within sectors.
*The Fund’s investment adviser, AGF Investments LLC (“Adviser”), has contractually agreed to waive the fees and reimburse expenses of the so that the total annual operating expenses (excluding interest, taxes, brokerage commissions and other expenses that are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, dividend, interest and brokerage expenses for short positions, acquired fund fees and expenses, and extraordinary expenses) (“Operating Expenses”) of the Fund are limited to 0.45% of average net assets. In addition, the Adviser has contractually agreed to reduce its management fees to the extent of any acquired fund fees and expenses incurred by the Fund that are attributable to the management fee paid to the Adviser (or an affiliated person of the Adviser) by an underlying fund in which the Fund invests. This undertaking can only be changed with the approval of the Board. The Fund has agreed that it will repay the Adviser for fees and expenses forgone or reimbursed during the last 36 months, provided that repayment does not cause the Operating Expenses to exceed the lower of 0.45% of the Fund’s average net assets and the expense cap in place at the time of the Adviser’s waiver or reimbursement. This agreement will remain in effect until November 1, 2024, and shall renew automatically for one-year terms unless the Adviser provides written notice of termination prior to the start of the next term or upon approval of the Board of Trustees of the Fund.
**Adjusted Expense Ratio excludes certain variable investment-related expenses, such as interest from borrowings and dividend expense from investments on short securities. These expenses are incurred by the Fund and none are paid to AGF Investments, LLC.
Performance data quoted represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. Investment and principal value will fluctuate so that an investors shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than original cost. Returns less than one year are not annualized. For the most recent month end performance, please call collect 617-292-9801.
Short-term performance, in particular, is not a good indication of the fund’s future performance, and an investment should not be made based solely on returns. Because of ongoing market volatility, fund performance may be subject to substantial short-term changes.
Market Price returns are based upon the midpoint of the bid/ask spread at 4:00PM Eastern time (when NAV is normally determined), and do not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times.
BTAL performance may deviate from the Dow Jones U.S. Thematic Market Neutral Low Beta Index (“the Index”) performance and should not be expected to track (or perform in tandem to) the Index in all market conditions. From its inception on September 13, 2011 through February 13, 2022, BTAL’s investment objective was to track the Index. Effective February 14, 2022, BTAL changed from a passive index-tracking strategy to an active, rules-based strategy that seeks to provide a consistent negative beta exposure to the U.S. equity market. Performance prior to February 14, 2022 would have been different had the current investment objectives been in effect.
ETF Characteristics
Sector Weightings
Characteristics
Before investing you should carefully consider each Fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. This and other information is in the Fund's prospectus. Please read the prospectus carefully before you invest. Click here for prospectus.
Risks: There is no guarantee that the Funds will achieve their objective. An investment in the Funds is subject to risk including the possible loss of principal amount invested. The risks associated with each Fund are detailed in the prospectus and include, but not limited to, single factor risk, The Fund invests in securities based on a single investment factor and is designed to be used as part of broader asset allocation strategies. An investment in the Fund is not a complete investment program. There is no guarantee that a stock that exhibited characteristics of a single factor in the past will exhibit that characteristic in the future. anti-beta risk, is a risk that the present and future volatility of a security, relative to the market index, will not be the same as it has historically been and thus that the Fund will not be invested in the less volatile securities in the universe. In addition, the Fund may be more volatile than the universe since it will have short exposure to the most volatile stocks in the universe. Volatile stocks are subject to sharp swings in price.
Additional risk include: Short sale risk, market neutral style risk, derivatives risk, equity investing risk, leverage risk, liquidity risk, tracking error risk, mid-cap risk, industry concentration risk, REIT risk, Large-Cap Securities risk, portfolio turnover risk, cash transaction risk, portfolio management risk, and specific risks related to exchange traded funds.
There is a risk that during a “bull” market, when most equity securities and long only ETFs are increasing in value, the Funds’ short positions will likely cause the Fund to underperform the overall U.S. equity market and such ETFs. The value of an investment in the Fund may fall, sometimes sharply, and you could lose money by investing in the fund. The Fund may utilize derivatives and as a result, the Fund could lose more that the amount it invests. When utilizing short selling the amount the Fund could lose on a short sale is potentially unlimited because there is no limit on the price a shorted security might attain. The Fund may not be suitable for all investors.
AGF U.S. Market Neutral Anti-Beta ETF (“BTAL”) performance may deviate from the Dow Jones U.S. Thematic Market Neutral Low Beta Index (the “Index”) performance and should not be expected to track (or perform in tandem to) the Index in all market conditions. From its inception on September 12, 2011 through February 13, 2022, BTAL’s investment objective was to track the Index. Effective February 14, 2022, BTAL changed from a passive index-tracking strategy to an active, rules-based strategy that seeks to provide a consistent negative beta exposure to the U.S. equity market. Performance prior to February 14, 2022 would have been different had the current investment objectives been in effect.
Shares are not individually redeemable and can be redeemed only in Creation Units. The market price of shares can be at, below or above the NAV. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Market Price returns are determined based on the midpoint of the bid/ask spread calculated based on a price within the range of the highest bid and lowest offer on the principal U.S. market on which the Fund’s shares are traded during a regular trading session. Fund returns assume that dividends and capital gains distributions have been reinvested in the Fund at NAV. Some performance results reflect expense subsidies and waivers in effect during certain periods shown. Absent these waivers, results would have been less favorable.
Distributor: Foreside Fund Services, LLC
This website should not be considered a solicitation to buy or an offer to sell shares of any investment in any jurisdiction where the offer or solicitation would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. Nothing on this website is intended to be investment, tax, financial or legal advice.
DEFINITIONS:
Prem/Disc
Premium and discount is calculated as the difference between the closing price and the previous day’s NAV. When a closing price is not available, then the midpoint of the NBBO bid-offer quote at the market closing time is used.
Prem/Disc %
Premium and discount expressed as a percentage of the NAV is calculated using the closing price, and when a closing price is not available, then the midpoint of the NBBO bid-offer quote at the market closing time is used.
Net Asset Value (NAV): net assets value is the total assets, less liabilities, divided by the number of shares outstanding.
Market Price returns are based upon the midpoint of the bid/ask spread at 4:00PM Eastern time (when NAV is normally determined), and do not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times.
Basis Point (BPS): Basis points, are a unit of measure used in finance to describe the percentage change in the value of a financial instrument or the rate change in an index or other benchmark. One basis point is equivalent to 0.01% or 0.0001 in decimal form.
Median Bid-Ask Spread
The median bid-ask spread is calculated by identifying national best bid and national best offer (“NBBO”) as of the end of each 10 second interval during each trading day of the last 30 calendar days and dividing the difference between each such bid and offer by the midpoint of the NBBO. The median of those values is identified and posted on each business day.
Dow Jones U.S. Thematic Market Neutral Low Beta Index
The Dow Jones U.S. Thematic Market Neutral Low Beta Index is designed to measure the performance of a long/short strategy utilizing long positions in low beta companies and short positions in high beta companies. Beta is calculated using weekly returns for the previous 52 weeks. The index is calculated using long and short indices as its basis. It is designed to be market- and sector-neutral.
The Bloomberg US Treasury Bill: 1-3 Months Index
The Bloomberg US Treasury Bill: 1-3 Months Index tracks the market for treasury bills with 1 to 2.9999 months to maturity issued by the US government. US Treasury bills are issued in fixed maturity terms of 4-, 13-, 26-, and 52-weeks
S&P 500 Index
The S&P 500 Index is widely regarded as the best single gauge of large-cap U.S. equities. According to Annual Survey of Assets, an estimated USD 13.5 trillion is indexed or benchmarked to the index, with indexed assets comprising approximately USD 5.4 trillion of this total (as of Dec. 31, 2020). The index includes 500 leading companies and covers approximately 80% of available market capitalization.