As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 18, 2017
Securities Act File No. 333-132380
Investment Company Act File No. 811-21864
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM N-1A
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 | ☒ | |||
Pre-Effective Amendment No. | ☐ | |||
Post-Effective Amendment No. 610 | ☒ |
and/or
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 | ☒ | |||
Amendment No. 612 | ||||
(Check appropriate box or boxes.) |
WISDOMTREE TRUST
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
245 Park Avenue
35th Floor
New York, NY 10167
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
1-866-909-9473
(Registrants Telephone Number, including Area Code)
JONATHAN STEINBERG
WISDOMTREE TRUST
245 Park Avenue
35th Floor
New York, NY 10167
(Name and Address of Agent for Service)
Copies to:
W. John McGuire | Ryan Louvar | |
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP | WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. | |
1111 Pennsylvania Avenue NW | 245 Park Avenue, 35th Floor | |
Washington, DC 20004 | New York, NY 10167 |
It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box):
☐ | 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a) (1) of Rule 485. |
☐ | On (Date) pursuant to paragraph (a) (1) of Rule 485. |
☐ | 75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a) (2) of Rule 485. |
☐ | On (Date) pursuant to paragraph (a) (2) of Rule 485. |
☒ | Immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b) of Rule 485. |
☐ | On (Date) pursuant to paragraph (b) 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. |
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 Fees | 0.55% |
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees | None |
Other Expenses | 0.00% 1 |
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | 0.55% |
1 | Other Expenses are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year. |
1 Year | 3 Years | |
$ 56 | $ 176 |
Share Class | Definition |
A-Shares | These
are shares of Chinese companies incorporated in mainland China that trade in Chinese Renminbi on the Shanghai or Shenzhen Stock Exchanges. |
B-Shares | These
are shares of Chinese companies incorporated in mainland China that trade in U.S. dollars on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and in Hong Kong dollars on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. |
H-Shares | These
are shares of Chinese companies incorporated in mainland China that trade in Hong Kong dollars on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. H-Shares are available to non-residents of China. |
Red Chips | These
are shares of Chinese companies incorporated outside of mainland China that trade in Hong Kong dollars on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Red Chips, which are controlled by mainland Chinese entities, are available to non-residents of China. |
P Chips | These
are shares of non-state-owned Chinese companies incorporated outside of mainland China in domiciles of convenience such as the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, etc. and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. |
U.S. Listed or Foreign Listed Chinese Companies | U.S.
listed or foreign listed Chinese companies are defined as companies that primarily operate in mainland China but whose primary listings are on a U.S. or foreign exchange (i.e., all exchanges outside of mainland China). |
■ | Investment Risk. As with all investments, an investment in the Fund is subject to investment risk. Investors in the Fund could lose money, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount of an investment, over short or long periods of time. |
■ | Market Risk. The trading prices of equity securities and other instruments fluctuate in response to a variety of factors, such as economic, financial or political events that impact the entire market, market segments, or specific issuers. The Fund’s NAV and market price 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. |
■ | Shares of the Fund May Trade
at Prices Other Than NAV. As with all exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The trading prices of the Fund’s shares in the
secondary market generally differ from the Fund’s daily NAV and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the NAV (premium) or less than the NAV (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or
periods of steep market declines. Because securities held by the Fund trade on foreign exchanges that are closed when the Fund’s primary listing exchange is open, the Fund is likely to experience premiums and discounts greater than those of
domestic ETFs. |
■ | Authorized Participants, Market Makers and Liquidity Providers Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants (“APs”). In addition, there may be a limited number of market makers and/or liquidity providers in the marketplace. To the extent either of the following events occur, Fund shares may trade at a material premium or discount to NAV (or not trade at all) and possibly face delisting: (i) APs exit the business, have a business disruption or otherwise become unable or unwilling 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, have a business disruption or significantly reduce their business activities and no other entities step forward to perform their functions. |
■ | Capital Controls and Sanctions Risk. Economic conditions, such as volatile currency exchange rates and interest rates, political events, military action and other conditions may, without prior warning, lead to foreign government intervention (including intervention by the U.S. government with respect to foreign governments, economic sectors, foreign companies and related securities and interests) and the imposition of capital controls and/or sanctions, which may also include retaliatory actions of one government against another government, such as seizure of assets. Capital controls and/or sanctions include the prohibition of, or restrictions on, the ability to own or transfer currency, securities or other assets, which may potentially include derivative instruments related thereto. Capital controls and/or sanctions may also impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell, transfer, receive, deliver or otherwise obtain exposure to, foreign securities or currency, negatively impact the value and/or liquidity of such instruments, adversely affect the trading market and price for shares of the Fund, and cause the Fund to decline in value. |
■ | Cash Redemption Risk. The Fund’s investment strategy will require it to redeem shares for cash or to otherwise include cash as part of its redemption proceeds. The Fund may be required to sell or unwind portfolio investments in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds. This may cause the Fund to recognize a capital gain that it might not have recognized if it had made a redemption in-kind. As a result, the Fund may pay out higher annual capital gain distributions than if the in-kind redemption process was used. |
■ | Currency Exchange Rate Risk. The Fund invests a relatively large percentage of its assets in investments denominated in Renminbi and/or Hong Kong dollars or in securities that provide exposure to such currency, currency exchange rates or interest rates denominated in such currencies. Changes in currency exchange rates and the relative value of Renminbi and/or Hong Kong dollars will affect the value of the Fund’s investment and the value of your Fund shares. Currency exchange rates can be very volatile and can change quickly and unpredictably. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning and you may lose money. |
■ | Cyber Security Risk. The Fund and its service providers may be susceptible to operational and information security risks resulting from a breach in cyber security, including cyber-attacks. A breach in cyber security, intentional or unintentional, may adversely impact the Fund in many ways, including, but not limited to, disruption of the Fund’s operational capacity, loss of proprietary information, theft or corruption of data, denial-of-service attacks on websites or network resources, and the unauthorized release of confidential information. Cyber-attacks affecting the Fund’s third-party service providers, market makers, Authorized Participants, or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests may subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. |
■ | Derivatives Risk. The Fund may invest in derivatives. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive their performance from an underlying reference asset, such as a commodity, index, interest rate or inflation rate. The return on a derivative instrument may not correlate with the return of its underlying reference asset. Derivatives are subject to a number of risks described elsewhere in the Fund’s Prospectus, such as market risk and issuer-specific risk. Derivatives can be volatile and may be less liquid than other securities. As a result, the value of an investment in the Fund may change quickly and without warning and you may lose money. In addition to the other risks associated with the use of derivatives described elsewhere in this Prospectus, there are risks associated with the Fund’s use of futures contracts and/or swaps. With respect to swaps and futures contracts, these risks include but are not limited to: (1) the success of the adviser’s and sub-adviser’s ability to predict movements in the prices of individual currencies or securities, fluctuations in markets and movements in interest rates; (2) an imperfect or no correlation between the changes in market value of the currencies or securities and the prices of swaps and futures contracts; and (3) no guarantee that an active market will exist for swaps and futures contracts at any particular time. |
■ | Emerging Markets Risk. Investments in securities and instruments traded in developing or emerging markets, or that provide exposure to such securities or markets, can involve additional risks relating to political, economic, or regulatory conditions not associated with investments in U.S. securities and instruments or investments in more developed international markets. Such conditions may impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell or otherwise transfer securities, adversely affect the trading market and price for Fund shares and cause the Fund to decline in value. |
■ | Financial Sector Risk. The Fund currently invests a significant portion of its assets in the financial sector, and therefore the Fund’s performance could be negatively impacted by events affecting this sector. The financial sector includes, for example, banks and financial institutions providing mortgage and mortgage related services. |
■ | Foreign Securities Risk. Investments in non-U.S. securities involve political, regulatory, and economic risks that may not be present in U.S. securities. For example, investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations, political or economic instability, or geographic events that adversely impact issuers of foreign securities. Investments in non-U.S. securities also may be subject to withholding or other taxes and may be subject to additional trading, settlement, custodial, and operational risks. These and other factors can make investments in the Fund more volatile and potentially less liquid than other types of investments and may be heightened in connection with investments in developing or emerging markets countries. |
■ | Geographic Concentration in China. Because the Fund concentrates its investments in China, the Fund’s performance is expected to be closely tied to social, political, and economic conditions within China and to be more volatile than the performance of more geographically diversified funds. Although the Chinese economy has grown rapidly during recent years and the Chinese government has implemented significant economic reforms to liberalize trade policy, promote foreign investment, and reduce government control of the economy, there can be no guarantee that economic growth or these reforms will continue. The Chinese economy may also experience slower growth if global or domestic demand for Chinese goods decreases significantly and/or key trading partners apply trade tariffs or implement other protectionist measures. The Chinese economy is also susceptible to rising rates of inflation, economic recession, market inefficiency, volatility, and pricing anomalies that may be connected to governmental influence, a lack of publicly-available information and/or political and social instability. The government of China maintains strict currency controls in order to achieve economic, trade and political objectives and regularly intervenes in the currency market. The Chinese government also plays a major role in the country’s economic policies regarding foreign investments. Foreign investors are subject to the risk of loss from expropriation or nationalization of their investment assets and property, governmental restrictions on foreign investments and the repatriation of capital invested. The Chinese securities markets are subject to more frequent trading halts and low trading volume, resulting in substantially less liquidity and greater price volatility. These and other factors could have a negative impact on the Fund’s performance and increase the volatility of an investment in the Fund. |
■ | Geographic Concentration in Hong Kong. Investing in companies organized or traded in Hong Kong involves special considerations not typically associated with investing in countries with more democratic governments or more established economies or securities markets. China is Hong Kong’s largest trading partner, both in terms of exports and imports. Any changes in the Chinese economy, trade regulations or currency exchange rates may have an adverse impact on Hong Kong’s economy. |
■ | Geopolitical Risk. China has experienced security concerns, war, threats of war, aggression and/or conflict, terrorism, economic uncertainty, natural and environmental disasters and/or systemic market dislocations (including due to events outside of such countries or regions) that have led, and in the future may lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on the U.S. and world economies and markets generally, each of which may negatively impact the Fund’s investments. |
■ | Index and Data Risk. The Fund is not “actively” managed and seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Index. The Index provider has the right to make adjustments to the Index or to cease making the Index available without regard to the particular interests of the Fund or its shareholders. If the computers or other facilities of the Index provider, Index calculation agent, data providers and/or relevant stock exchange malfunction for any reason, calculation and dissemination of Index values may be delayed and trading in Fund shares may be suspended for a period of time. Errors in Index data, Index calculations and/or the construction of the Index may occur from time to time and may not be identified and/or corrected by the Index provider, Index calculation agent or other applicable party for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. The potential risk of continuing error may be particularly heightened in the case of the Index, which is generally not used as a benchmark by other funds or managers. |
■ | Information Technology Sector Risk. The Fund currently invests a significant portion of its assets in the information technology sector. This sector can be significantly affected by, among other things, the supply and demand for specific products and services, the pace of technological development and government regulation. |
■ | Investment Style Risk. The Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, the Index regardless of their investment merit. The Fund does not attempt to outperform the Index or take defensive positions in declining markets. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected by a general decline in the market segments relating to the Index. |
■ | Issuer-Specific Risk. Issuer-specific events, including changes in the actual or perceived financial condition of an issuer, can have a negative impact on the value of the Fund. |
■ | Large-Capitalization Investing Risk. The Fund may invest in the securities of large-capitalization companies. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected if securities of large-capitalization companies underperform securities of smaller-capitalization companies or the market as a whole. Large-capitalization companies may adapt more slowly to new competitive challenges and be subject to slower growth during times of economic expansion. |
■ | Mid-Capitalization Investing Risk. The Fund may invest in the securities of mid-capitalization companies. As a result, the Fund’s performance may be adversely affected if securities of mid-capitalization companies underperform securities of other capitalization ranges or the market as a whole. Securities of mid-capitalization companies are often less stable and more vulnerable to market volatility and adverse economic developments than securities of larger companies. |
■ | Non-Correlation Risk. As with all index funds, the performance of the Fund and its Index may differ from each other for a variety of reasons. |
■ | Non-Diversification Risk. 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. To the extent the Fund invests a significant percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, the Fund is subject to the risks of investing in those few issuers, and may be more susceptible to a single adverse economic or regulatory occurrence. As a result, changes in the market value of a single security could cause greater fluctuations in the value of Fund shares than would occur in a diversified fund. |
■ | RQFII Regime Risk. The Fund is not a RQFII but may obtain direct access to RQFII-permissible investments by using the RQFII quota of a RQFII, such as ICBCCS, the Fund’s sub-adviser. Investors should note that the sub-adviser’s RQFII status could be suspended or revoked if, among other things, the sub-adviser becomes insolvent or breaches the “Circular on Issues Related to the Pilot Scheme for Domestic Securities Investment through Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors” (the “RQFII Measures”), which may have an adverse effect on the Fund's performance as the Fund may be required to dispose of certain of its securities holdings. In addition, restrictions may be imposed by the Chinese government on RQFIIs and/or quotas may become inadequate, which may have an adverse effect on the Fund's liquidity and performance. |
■ | Stock Connect Risk. The Fund’s ability to invest in China A-Shares through Stock Connect, or on such other stock exchanges in China that participate in Stock Connect from time to time or in the future, is subject to trading limits, rules and regulations by the applicable regulatory authority. These restrictions and regulations may adversely affect the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective. For example, daily quotas that limit the Fund’s maximum daily net purchases through Stock Connect may restrict the Fund’s ability to invest in A-Shares through Stock Connect on a timely basis. Investments through Stock Connect are also subject to trading, clearance and settlement procedures that are relatively untested in mainland China. Stock Connect only operates on days when both the PRC and Hong Kong markets are open for trading and when banks in both markets are open on the corresponding settlement days. Accordingly, the Fund may be subject to price fluctuations at times when Stock Connect is not open for trading. SEHK, SSE and SZSE also reserve the right to suspend trading through Stock Connect, if necessary, to ensure an orderly and fair market and manage risks prudently. Halts may adversely affect the Fund’s access to the PRC market. In addition, investments through Stock Connect are subject to the laws and rules of the PRC. As such, they are not covered by Hong Kong’s Investor Compensation Fund, which compensates investors of any nationality who suffer pecuniary losses as a result of the default of a licensed intermediary or authorized financial institution in relation to exchange-traded products in Hong Kong. Investing through Stock Connect is also premised on the proper functioning of operational systems maintained by each market participant and the connectivity of differing securities regimes and legal systems in the PRC and Hong Kong. Investments through Stock Connect are also governed by departmental regulations that have legal effect in the PRC but have not been tested in the PRC courts. Moreover, the current regulations are subject to change. There can be no assurance that Stock Connect will not be abolished. The Fund, which may invest in the PRC markets through Stock Connect, may be adversely affected as a result of such changes. |
■ | Tax Risk in China. Uncertainties in PRC tax rules governing taxation of income and gains from investments in A-Shares could result in unexpected tax liabilities for the Fund. The Fund’s investments in securities, including A-Shares, issued by PRC companies may cause the Fund to become subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by the PRC. |
Name of Fund | Management Fee |
WisdomTree ICBCCS S&P China 500 Fund | 0.55% |
■ | The Fund makes distributions; |
■ | You sell Fund shares; and |
■ | You purchase or redeem Creation Units (institutional investors only). |
WISDOMTREE® TRUST
WisdomTree ICBCCS S&P China 500 Fund
Ticker: WCHN
Principal U.S. Listing Exchange: NYSE Arca, Inc.
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
December 18, 2017
This Statement of Additional Information (SAI) is not a prospectus. It should be read in conjunction with the current prospectus (Prospectus) for the WisdomTree ICBCCS S&P China 500 Fund (the Fund), a separate series of WisdomTree Trust (the Trust), as may be revised from time to time.
The current Prospectus for the Fund is dated December 18, 2017. Capitalized terms used herein that are not defined have the same meaning as in the Prospectus, unless otherwise noted. The Funds audited financial statements for the most recent fiscal year (when available) are incorporated in this SAI by reference to the Funds most recent Annual Report to Shareholders (File No. 811-21864). When available, you may obtain a copy of the Funds Annual Report at no charge by request to the Fund at the address or phone number noted below.
THE U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (SEC) HAS NOT APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED THESE SECURITIES OR PASSED UPON THE ADEQUACY OF THIS SAI. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
A copy of the Prospectus for the Fund may be obtained, without charge, by calling 1-866-909-9473, visiting www.wisdomtree.com, or writing to WisdomTree Trust, c/o Foreside Fund Services, LLC, Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101.
3 | ||||
3 | ||||
3 | ||||
6 | ||||
15 | ||||
16 | ||||
17 | ||||
17 | ||||
18 | ||||
19 | ||||
31 | ||||
31 | ||||
33 | ||||
37 | ||||
39 | ||||
45 | ||||
45 | ||||
46 | ||||
46 |
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE TRUST AND THE FUND
The Trust was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on December 15, 2005 and is authorized to issue multiple series or portfolios. The Trust is an open-end management investment company, registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act). The offering of the Trusts shares is registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act).
The Fund seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the S&P China 500 Index (the Index), a float-adjusted market cap weighted index that consists of 500 of the largest, most liquid Chinese companies while approximating the sector composition of the broader Chinese equity market. The Index is created using proprietary methodology developed by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC. WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. (WisdomTree Asset Management or the Adviser), is the investment adviser to the Fund. ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management Co., Ltd. (ICBCCS or the Sub-Adviser) is the investment sub-adviser to the Fund. The Adviser and the Sub-Adviser may be referred to together as the Advisers. Foreside Fund Services, LLC serves as the distributor (the Distributor) of the shares of the Fund.
The Fund issues and redeems shares at net asset value per share (NAV) only in large blocks of shares, typically 50,000 shares or more (Creation Units or Creation Unit Aggregations). Currently, Creation Units generally consist of 100,000 shares, though this may change from time to time. Creation Units are not expected to consist of less than 25,000 shares. These transactions are usually in exchange for a basket of securities and an amount of cash. As a practical matter, only institutions or large investors purchase or redeem Creation Units. Except when aggregated in Creation Units, shares of the Fund are not redeemable securities.
Shares of the Fund are listed on a national securities exchange, such as NYSE Arca, Inc. (the Listing Exchange), and trade throughout the day on the Listing Exchange and other secondary markets at market prices that may differ from NAV. As in the case of other publicly traded securities, brokers commissions on transactions will be based on commission rates charged by the applicable broker.
The Trust reserves the right to adjust the prices of shares in the future to 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 Fund.
WisdomTree is a registered mark of WisdomTree Investments Inc., the parent company of WisdomTree Asset Management (WisdomTree Investments), and has been licensed for use by the Trust.
INVESTMENT STRATEGIES AND RISKS
The Funds investment objective, principal investment strategies and associated risks are described in the Funds Prospectus. The sections below supplement these principal investment strategies and risks and describe the Funds additional investment policies and the different types of investments that may be made by the Fund as a part of its non-principal investment strategies. With respect to the Funds 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. The Fund is new and therefore portfolio turnover information is not yet available.
The Fund intends to qualify each year for treatment as a regulated investment company (a RIC) under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), so that it will not be subject to federal income tax on income and gains that are timely distributed to Fund shareholders. The Fund will invest its assets, and otherwise conduct its operations, in a manner that is intended to satisfy the qualifying income, diversification and distribution requirements necessary to establish and maintain eligibility for such treatment.
The Fund is considered non-diversified, as such term is used in the 1940 Act.
An investment in the Fund should be made with an understanding that the value of the Funds portfolio securities may fluctuate in accordance with changes in the financial condition of an issuer or counterparty, changes in specific economic or political conditions that affect a particular security or issuer and changes in general economic or political conditions. An investor in the Fund could lose money over short or long periods of time.
An investment in the Fund should also 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
3
deteriorate (either of which may cause a decrease in the value of the Funds portfolio securities and therefore a decrease in the value of shares of the Fund). 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.
Although all of the securities in the Index are generally listed on one or more major non-U.S. or U.S. stock exchanges, there can be no guarantee that a liquid market for such securities will be maintained. The existence of a liquid trading market for certain securities may depend on whether dealers will make a market in such securities. 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 securities may be sold and the value of the Funds shares will be adversely affected if trading markets for the Funds portfolio securities are limited or absent, or if bid/ask spreads are wide.
Events in the financial sector have resulted, and may continue to result, in an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets, both domestic and foreign. Domestic and foreign fixed income and equity markets experienced extreme volatility and turmoil starting in late 2008 and volatility has continued to be experienced in the markets. Issuers that have exposure to the real estate, mortgage and credit markets have been particularly affected and well-known financial institutions have experienced significant liquidity and other problems. Some of these institutions have declared bankruptcy or defaulted on their debt. It is uncertain whether or for how long these conditions will continue. These events and possible continuing market turbulence may have an adverse effect on Fund performance.
The Fund may be included in model portfolios developed by WisdomTree Asset Management for use by financial advisors and/or investors. The market price of shares of the Fund, costs of purchasing or selling shares of the Fund, including the bid/ask spread, and liquidity of the Fund may be impacted by purchases and sales of the Fund by one or more model-driven investment portfolios.
Authorized Participants should refer to the section herein entitled Creation and Redemption of Creation Unit Aggregations for additional information that may impact them.
BORROWING. Although the Fund does not intend to borrow money as part of its principal investment strategies, the Fund may do so to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. Under the 1940 Act, a fund may borrow up to 33% of its net assets, but under normal market conditions, the Fund does not expect to borrow greater than 10% of the Funds net assets. The Fund will borrow only for short-term or emergency purposes. Borrowing will tend to exaggerate the effect on net asset value of any increase or decrease in the market value of the Funds portfolio. Money borrowed will be subject to interest costs that may or may not be recovered by earnings on the securities purchased. The 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.
CAPITAL CONTROLS AND SANCTIONS RISK. Economic conditions, such as volatile currency exchange rates and interest rates, political events, military action and other conditions may, without prior warning, lead to government intervention (including intervention by the U.S. government with respect to foreign governments, economic sectors, foreign companies and related securities and interests) and the imposition of capital controls and/or sanctions, which may also include retaliatory actions of one government against another government, such as seizure of assets. Capital controls and/or sanctions include the prohibition of, or restrictions on, the ability to own or transfer currency, securities or other assets, which may potentially include derivative instruments related thereto. Countries use these controls to, among other reasons, restrict movements of capital entering (inflows) and exiting (outflows) their country to respond to certain economic or political conditions. By way of example, such controls may be applied to short-term capital transactions to counter speculative flows that threaten to undermine the stability of the exchange trade and deplete foreign exchange reserves. Levies may be placed on profits repatriated by foreign entities (such as the Funds). Capital controls and/or sanctions may also impact the ability of the Fund to buy, sell, transfer, receive, deliver (i.e., create and redeem Creation Units) or otherwise obtain exposure to, foreign securities or currency, negatively impact the value and/or liquidity of such instruments, adversely affect the trading market and price for shares of the Fund (e.g., cause the Fund to trade at prices materially different from its NAV), and cause the Fund to decline in value. The Fund may change its creation and or redemption procedures without notice in response to the imposition of capital controls or sanctions. There can be no assurance a country in which the Fund invests or the U.S. will not impose a form of capital control or sanction to the possible detriment of the Fund and its shareholders.
4
CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATE RISK. Investments denominated in non-U.S. currencies and investments in securities or derivatives that provide exposure to such currencies, currency exchange rates or interest rates are subject to non-U.S. currency risk. Changes in currency exchange rates and the relative value of non-U.S. currencies will affect the value of the Funds investment and the value of your Fund shares. Because the Funds NAV is determined on the basis of U.S. dollars, the U.S. dollar value of your investment in the Fund may go down if the value of the local currency of the non-U.S. markets in which the Fund invests depreciates against the U.S. dollar. This is true even if the local currency value of securities in the Funds holdings goes up. Conversely, the U.S. dollar value of your investment in the Fund may go up if the value of the local currency appreciates against the U.S. dollar.
The value of the U.S. dollar measured against other currencies is influenced by a variety of factors. These factors include interest rates, national debt levels and trade deficits, changes in balances of payments and trade, domestic and foreign interest and inflation rates, global or regional political, economic or financial events, monetary policies of governments, actual or potential government intervention, and global energy prices. Political instability, the possibility of government intervention and restrictive or opaque business and investment policies may also reduce the value of a countrys currency. Government monetary policies and the buying or selling of currency by a countrys government may also influence exchange rates. Currencies of emerging or developing market countries may be subject to significantly greater risks than currencies of developed countries. Many developing market countries have experienced steady declines or even sudden devaluations of their currencies relative to the U.S. dollar. Some non-U.S. market currencies may not be traded internationally, may be subject to strict limitations on foreign investment and may be subject to frequent and unannounced government intervention. Government intervention and currency controls can decrease the value and significantly increase the volatility of an investment in non-U.S. currency. Although the currencies of some developing market countries may be convertible into U.S. dollars, the achievable rates may differ from those experienced by domestic investors because of foreign investment restrictions, withholding taxes, lack of liquidity or other reasons.
CYBERSECURITY RISK. Investment companies, such as the Fund, and its service providers may be prone 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 cyber security breaches. Cyber-attacks affecting the Fund or the Adviser, Sub-Adviser, accountant, custodian, transfer agent, index provider, market makers, Authorized Participants and other third-party service providers may adversely impact the Fund. For instance, cyber-attacks may interfere with the processing of Authorized Participant transactions, impact the Funds ability to calculate its net asset value, cause the release of private shareholder information or confidential company information, impede trading, subject the Fund to regulatory fines or financial losses, and cause reputational damage. The Fund could incur extraordinary expenses for cyber security risk management purposes, prevention and/or resolution. Similar types of cyber security risks are also present for issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers, and may cause the Funds investment in such portfolio companies to lose value.
FOREIGN SECURITIES RISK. The Fund invests primarily in non-U.S. securities and instruments, or in instruments that provide exposure to such securities and instruments. Investments in non-U.S. securities involve certain risks that may not be present with investments in U.S. securities. For example, investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to risk of loss due to foreign currency fluctuations or to political or economic instability. There may be less information publicly available about a non-U.S. issuer than a U.S. issuer. Non-U.S. issuers may be subject to different accounting, auditing, financial reporting and investor protection standards than U.S. issuers. Investments in non-U.S. securities may be subject to withholding or other taxes and may be subject to additional trading, settlement, custodial, and operational risks (including restrictions on the transfers of securities). With respect to certain countries, there is the possibility of government intervention and expropriation or nationalization of assets. Because legal systems differ, there is also the possibility that it will be difficult to obtain or enforce legal judgments in certain countries. Since foreign exchanges may be open on days when the Fund does not price its shares, the value of the securities in the Funds portfolio may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Funds shares. Conversely, Fund shares may trade on days when foreign exchanges are closed. Each of these factors can make investments in the Fund more volatile and potentially less liquid than other types of investments and may be heightened in connection with investments in developing or emerging market countries. Foreign securities also include American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) which are U.S. dollar-denominated receipts representing shares of foreign-based corporations. ADRs are issued by U.S. banks or trust companies and entitle the holder to all dividends and capital gains that are paid out on the underlying foreign shares. Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), which are similar to ADRs, represent shares of foreign-based corporations and are generally issued by international banks in one or more markets around the world. Investments in ADRs and GDRs may be less liquid and more volatile than underlying shares in their primary trading markets. In addition, the Fund may change its creation or redemption procedures without notice in connection with restrictions on the transfer of securities. For more information on creation and redemption procedures, see Creation and Redemption of Creation Unit Aggregations herein.
LACK OF DIVERSIFICATION. The Fund is considered to be non-diversified. 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. As a result, the Fund may invest more of its total assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it were classified as a diversified fund. Therefore, the Fund may be more exposed to the risks associated with and developments affecting an individual issuer or a small number of issuers than a fund that invests more widely, which may have a greater impact on the Funds volatility and performance.
5
TAX RISK. To qualify for the favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment accorded to RICs, the Fund must, among other things, derive in each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income from certain prescribed sources. The U.S. Treasury Department has authority to issue regulations that would exclude foreign currency gains from qualifying income if such gains are not directly related to the Funds business of investing in stock or securities. Accordingly, regulations may be issued in the future that could treat some or all of the Funds foreign currency gains as nonqualifying income, which might jeopardize the Funds status as a RIC for all years to which the regulations are applicable. If for any taxable year the Fund does not qualify as a RIC, all of its taxable income (including its net capital gain) for that year would be subject to tax at regular corporate rates without any deduction for distributions to shareholders, and such distributions would be taxable to shareholders as dividend income to the extent of the Funds current and accumulated earnings and profits.
A discussion of some of the other risks associated with an investment in the Fund is contained in the Funds Prospectus.
SPECIFIC INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
A description of certain investment strategies and types of investments used by the Fund is set forth below.
CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS. The Fund may enter into foreign currency forward and foreign currency futures contracts to facilitate local securities settlements or to protect against currency exposure in connection with distributions to shareholders. The Fund does not expect to engage in currency transactions for the purpose of hedging against declines in the value of the Funds total assets that are denominated in one or more foreign currencies.
Forward Foreign Currency Contracts. A forward foreign currency exchange contract (forward contract) involves an obligation to purchase or sell a specific currency at a future date, which may be any fixed number of days from the date of the contract agreed upon by the parties, at a price set at the time of the contract. These contracts are principally traded in the interbank market conducted directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. Forward contracts are contracts between parties in which one party agrees to make a payment to the other party (the counterparty) based on the market value or level of a specified currency. In return, the counterparty agrees to make payment to the first party based on the return of a different specified currency. A forward contract generally has no margin deposit requirement, and no commissions are charged at any stage for trades. These contracts typically are settled by physical delivery of the underlying currency or currencies in the amount of the full contract value to the extent they are not agreed to be carried forward to another expiration date (i.e., rolled over).
A non-deliverable forward contract is a forward contract where there is no physical settlement of two currencies at maturity. Non-deliverable forward contracts will usually be done on a net basis, with the Fund receiving or paying only the net amount of the two payments. The net amount of the excess, if any, of the Funds obligations over its entitlements with respect to each non-deliverable forward contract is accrued on a daily basis and an amount of cash or liquid securities having an aggregate value at least equal to the accrued excess is maintained to cover such obligations. The risk of loss with respect to non-deliverable forward contracts generally is limited to the net amount of payments that the Fund is contractually obligated to make or receive.
Foreign Currency Futures Contracts. A foreign currency futures contract is a contract involving an obligation to deliver or acquire the specified amount of a specific currency, at a specified price and at a specified future time. Futures contracts may be settled on a net cash payment basis rather than by the sale and delivery of the underlying currency.
Currency exchange transactions involve a significant degree of risk and the markets in which currency exchange transactions are effected are highly volatile, highly specialized and highly technical. Significant changes, including changes in liquidity and prices, can occur in such markets within very short periods of time, often within minutes. Currency exchange trading risks include, but are not limited to, exchange rate risk, maturity gap, interest rate risk, and potential interference by foreign governments through regulation of local exchange markets, foreign investment or particular transactions in foreign currency. If the Fund utilizes foreign currency transactions at an inappropriate time, such transactions may not serve their intended purpose of improving the correlation of the Funds return with the performance of its underlying Index and may lower the Funds return. The Fund could experience losses if the value of any currency forwards and futures positions is poorly correlated with its other investments or if it could not close out its positions because of an illiquid market. Such contracts are subject to the risk that the counterparty will default on its obligations. In addition, the Fund will incur transaction costs, including trading commissions, in connection with certain foreign currency transactions.
DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS. To the extent the Fund invests in stocks of foreign corporations, the Funds investment in such stocks may be in the form of Depositary Receipts or other similar securities convertible into securities of foreign issuers. Depositary Receipts may not necessarily be denominated in the same currency as the underlying securities into which they may be converted. ADRs are receipts typically issued by an American bank or trust company that evidence ownership of underlying securities issued by a foreign corporation. European Depositary Receipts (EDRs) are receipts issued in Europe that evidence a similar ownership arrangement.
6
GDRs are receipts issued throughout the world that evidence a similar arrangement. Non-Voting Depository Receipts (NVDRs) are receipts issued in Thailand that evidence a similar arrangement. Generally, ADRs, in registered form, are designed for use in the U.S. securities markets, and EDRs, in bearer form, are designed for use in European securities markets. GDRs are tradable both in the United States and in Europe and are designed for use throughout the world. NVDRs are tradable on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
The Fund will not generally invest in any unlisted Depositary Receipts or any Depositary Receipt that WisdomTree Asset Management or the Sub-Adviser deems to be illiquid or for which pricing information is not readily available. In addition, all Depositary Receipts generally must be sponsored; however, the Fund may invest in unsponsored Depositary Receipts under certain limited circumstances. The issuers of unsponsored Depositary Receipts are not obligated to disclose material information in the United States, and, therefore, there may be less information available regarding such issuers and there may not be a correlation between such information and the market value of the Depositary Receipts. The use of Depositary Receipts may increase tracking error relative to an underlying Index.
DERIVATIVES. The Fund may use derivative instruments as part of its investment strategies. The Fund will not use derivatives to increase leverage and the Fund will provide margin or collateral, as applicable, with respect to investments in derivatives in such amounts as determined under applicable law, regulatory guidance, or related interpretations.
Generally, derivatives are financial contracts whose value depends upon, or is derived from, the value of an underlying asset, reference rate or index, and may relate to bonds, interest rates, currencies, commodities, and related indexes. Examples of derivative instruments include forward currency contracts, currency and interest rate swaps, currency options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts and swap agreements. The Funds use of derivative instruments will be underpinned by investments in liquid securities.
With respect to certain kinds of derivative transactions that involve obligations to make future payments to third parties, including, but not limited to, futures contracts, forward contracts, swap contracts, the purchase of securities on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis, or reverse repurchase agreements, under applicable federal securities laws, rules, and interpretations thereof, the Fund must set aside (referred to sometimes as asset segregation) liquid assets, or engage in other measures to cover open positions with respect to such transactions in a manner consistent with the 1940 Act, specifically sections 8 and 18 thereunder.
For example, with respect to forward contracts and futures contracts that are not contractually required to cash-settle, the Fund must cover its open positions by having available liquid assets equal to the contracts full notional value. The Fund treats deliverable forward contracts for currencies that are liquid as the equivalent of cash settled contracts. As such, the Fund may have available liquid assets in an amount equal to the Funds daily marked-to-market (net) obligation (i.e., the Funds daily net liability if any) rather than the full notional amount under such deliverable forward contracts. Similarly, with respect to futures contracts that are contractually required to cash-settle the Fund may have available liquid assets in an amount equal to the Funds daily marked-to-market (net) obligation rather than the notional value. The Fund reserves the right to modify these policies in the future.
Forwards, swaps and certain other derivatives are subject to regulation under The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) in the U.S. and certain non-U.S. jurisdictions. Physically-settled forwards entered into between eligible contract participants, such as the Fund, are generally subject to fewer regulatory requirements in the U.S. than non-deliverable forwards. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, non-deliverable forwards are regulated as swaps and are subject to rules requiring central clearing and mandatory trading on an exchange or facility that is regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the CFTC). Under the Dodd-Frank Act, non-deliverable forwards, swaps and certain other derivatives traded in the OTC market are subject to initial and variation margin requirements. The Funds counterparties may be subject to additional regulatory requirements and/or apply the regulatory requirements more broadly than is required for administrative and other reasons, including, for example, by (i) applying the stricter regulatory requirements to physically-settled forwards that are applicable to non-deliverable forwards even though the stricter rules are not technically applicable to such physically-settled forwards; and (ii) applying smaller thresholds for the delivery of variation margin than required. As such, a Fund using currency forwards may need to hold more cash than it has historically, which may include raising cash by selling securities and/or obtaining cash through other arrangements in order to meet margin requirements, which may, among other potential consequences, cause increased index tracking error, cause an increase in expense ratio, lead to the realization of taxable gains, increase costs to a Fund of trading or otherwise affect returns to investors in such Fund.
Effective April 24, 2012, the CFTC revised, among other things, CFTC Rule 4.5 and rescinded CFTC Rule 4.13(a)(4). The CFTC has adopted amendments to its regulations of commodity pool operators (CPOs) managing funds registered under the 1940 Act that harmonize the SECs and the CFTCs regulatory schemes. The adopted amendments to the CFTC regulations allow CPOs to registered investment companies to satisfy certain recordkeeping, reporting and disclosure requirements that would otherwise apply to them under Part 4 of the CFTCs regulations by continuing to comply with comparable SEC requirements. To the extent that the CFTC recordkeeping, disclosure and reporting requirements deviate from the comparable SEC requirements, such deviations are not expected to materially adversely affect the ability of the Fund to continue to operate and achieve its investment objectives. If, however, these requirements or future regulatory changes result in the Fund having difficulty in achieving its investment objectives, the Trust may determine to reorganize or close the Fund, materially change the Funds investment objectives and strategies, or operate the Fund as a regulated commodity pool pursuant to WisdomTree Asset Managements CPO registration.
7
With regard to the Fund, WisdomTree Asset Management will continue to claim relief from the definition of CPO under revised CFTC Rule 4.5. Specifically, pursuant to CFTC Rule 4.5, WisdomTree Asset Management may claim exclusion from the definition of CPO, and thus from having to register as a CPO, with regard to a Fund that enters into commodity futures, commodity options or swaps solely for bona fide hedging purposes, or that limits its investment in commodities to a de minimis amount, as defined in CFTC rules, so long as the shares of such Fund are not marketed as interests in a commodity pool or other vehicle for trading in commodity futures, commodity options or swaps.
Swap Agreements. The Fund may enter into swap agreements, including currency swaps, interest rate swaps, credit default swaps, and total return swaps. A typical foreign currency swap involves the exchange of cash flows based on the notional differences among two or more currencies (e.g., the U.S. dollar and the euro). A typical interest rate swap involves the exchange of a floating interest rate payment for a fixed interest payment. A typical credit default swap (CDS) involves an agreement to make a series of payments by the buyer in exchange for receipt of payment by the seller if the loan defaults. In the event of default the buyer of the CDS receives compensation (usually the face value of the loan), and the seller of the CDS takes possession of the defaulted loan. In the event that the Fund acts as a protection seller of a CDS, the Fund will segregate assets equivalent to the full notional value of the CDS. In the event that the Fund acts as a protection buyer of a CDS, the Fund will cover the total amount of required premium payments plus the pre-payment penalty. Total return swaps involve the exchange of payments based on the total return on an underlying reference asset. The total return includes appreciation or depreciation on the reference asset, plus any interest or dividend payments. Swaps agreements can be structured to provide for periodic payments over the term of the swap contract or a single payment at maturity (also known as a bullet swap). Swap agreements may be used to hedge or achieve exposure to, for example, currencies, interest rates, and money market securities without actually purchasing such currencies or securities. The Fund may use swap agreements to invest in a market without owning or taking physical custody of the underlying securities in circumstances in which direct investment is restricted for legal reasons or is otherwise impracticable. Swap agreements will tend to shift the Funds investment exposure from one type of investment to another or from one payment stream to another.
Depending on their structure, swap agreements may increase or decrease the Funds exposure to long- or short-term interest rates (in the United States or abroad), foreign currencies, corporate borrowing rates, or other factors, and may increase or decrease the overall volatility of the Funds investments and its share price. When the Fund purchases or sells a swap contract, the Fund is required to cover its position in order to limit the risk associated with the use of leverage and other related risks. To cover its position, the Fund will maintain with its custodian bank (and mark-to-market on a daily basis) a segregated account consisting of cash or liquid securities that, when added to any amounts deposited as margin, are equal to the market value of the swap contract or otherwise cover its position in a manner consistent with the 1940 Act or the rules and SEC interpretations thereunder. If the Fund continues to engage in the described securities trading practices and properly segregates assets, the segregated account will function as a practical limit on the amount of leverage which the Fund may undertake and on the potential increase in the speculative character of the Funds outstanding portfolio securities. Additionally, such segregated accounts will generally ensure the availability of adequate funds to meet the obligations of the Fund arising from such investment activities.
Futures, Options and Options on Futures Contracts. The Fund may enter into U.S. or foreign futures contracts, options and options on futures contracts. When the Fund purchases a futures contract, it agrees to purchase a specified underlying instrument at a specified future date. When the Fund sells a futures contract, it agrees to sell the underlying instrument at a specified future date. The price at which the purchase and sale will take place is fixed when the Fund enters into the contract. Futures can be held until their delivery dates, or can be closed out before then if a liquid secondary market is available.
The Fund may purchase and write call or put options on an exchange or over the counter (OTC). A put option on a security gives the purchaser of the option, in exchange for payment of a premium, the right, but not the obligation, to sell, and the writer of the option the obligation to buy, the underlying security at a stated price (the exercise price) at any time before the option expires. A call option on a security gives the purchaser of the option, in exchange for payment of a premium, the right, but not the obligation, to buy, and the writer the obligation to sell, the underlying security at the exercise price at any time before the option expires. A premium is paid to the writer of an option as consideration for undertaking the obligation in the contract. OTC options differ from exchange-traded options in several respects. They are transacted directly with dealers and not with a clearing corporation, and therefore entail the risk of non-performance by the dealer. OTC options are available for a greater variety of securities and for a wider range of expiration dates and exercise prices than are available for exchange-traded options. Because OTC options are not traded on an exchange, pricing is done normally by reference to information from a market maker. It is the SECs position that OTC options are generally illiquid.
The risk of loss in trading futures contracts or uncovered call options in some strategies (e.g., selling uncovered stock index futures contracts) is potentially unlimited. The Fund does not plan to use futures and options contracts in this way. The risk of a futures position may still be large as traditionally measured due to the low margin deposits required. In many cases, a relatively small price movement in a futures contract may result in immediate and substantial loss or gain to the investor relative to the size of a required margin deposit. The Fund, however, intends to utilize futures and options contracts in a manner designed to limit its risk exposure to levels comparable to direct investment in stocks.
8
Utilization of futures and options on futures by the Fund involves the risk of imperfect or even negative correlation to the underlying Index if the index underlying the futures contract differs from the Funds underlying Index. There is also the risk of loss by the Fund of margin deposits in the event of bankruptcy of a broker with whom the Fund has an open position in the futures contract or option. The purchase of put or call options will be based upon predictions by the Fund as to anticipated trends, which predictions could prove to be incorrect.
The potential for loss related to the purchase of an option on a futures contract is limited to the premium paid for the option plus transaction costs. Because the value of the option is fixed at the point of sale, there are no daily cash payments by the purchaser to reflect changes in the value of the underlying contract; however, the value of the option changes daily and that change would be reflected in the NAV of the Fund. The potential for loss related to writing options is unlimited. Although the Fund intends to enter into futures contracts only if there is an active market for such contracts, there is no assurance that an active market will exist for the contracts at any particular time.
EQUITY SECURITIES. The Fund will invest in equity securities. Equity securities, such as the common stocks 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 the Funds portfolio may also cause the value of the Funds shares to decline.
EXCHANGE TRADED PRODUCTS. The Fund may invest in exchange traded products (ETPs), which include exchange traded funds registered under the 1940 Act, exchange traded commodity trusts and exchange traded notes. The Adviser may receive management or other fees from the ETPs in which the Fund may invest (Affiliated ETPs), as well as a management fee for managing the Fund. It is possible that a conflict of interest among the Fund and Affiliated ETPs could affect how the Adviser fulfills its fiduciary duties to the Fund and the Affiliated ETPs. Although the Adviser takes steps to address the conflicts of interest, it is possible that the conflicts could impact the Fund. The Fund may invest in new ETPs or ETPs that have not yet established a deep trading market at the time of investment. Shares of such ETPs may experience limited trading volume and less liquidity, in which case the spread (the difference between bid price and ask price) may be higher.
Exchange Traded Funds. The Fund may invest in ETFs. ETFs are investment companies that trade like stocks on a securities exchange at market prices rather than NAV. As a result, ETF shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). The Fund that invests in an ETF indirectly bears fees and expenses charged by the ETF in addition to the Funds direct fees and expenses. Investments in ETFs are also subject to brokerage and other trading costs that could result in greater expenses for the Fund.
Exchange-Traded Notes. The Fund may invest in exchange traded notes (ETNs). ETNs generally are senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt securities issued by a sponsor, such as an investment bank. ETNs are traded on exchanges and the returns are linked to the performance of market indexes. In addition to trading ETNs on exchanges, investors may redeem ETNs directly with the issuer on a periodic basis, typically in a minimum amount of 50,000 units, or hold the ETNs until maturity. The value of an ETN may be influenced by time to maturity, level of supply and demand for the ETN, volatility and lack of liquidity in the underlying market, changes in the applicable interest rates, and economic, legal, political or geographic events that affect the referenced market. Because ETNs are debt securities, they are subject to credit risk. If the issuer has financial difficulties or goes bankrupt, the Fund may not receive the return it was promised. If a rating agency lowers an issuers credit rating, the value of the ETN may decline and a lower credit rating reflects a greater risk that the issuer will default on its obligation. There may be restrictions on the Funds right to redeem its investment in an ETN. There are no periodic interest payments for ETNs, and principal is not protected. The Funds decision to sell its ETN holdings may be limited by the availability of a secondary market.
FINANCIAL SECTOR INVESTMENTS. The Fund may engage in transactions with or invest in companies that are considered to be in the financial sector, including commercial banks, brokerage firms, diversified financial services, a variety of firms in all segments of the insurance industry (such as multi-line, property and casualty, and life insurance) and real estate-related companies. There can be no guarantee that these strategies may be successful. The Fund may lose money as a result of defaults or downgrades within the financial sector.
Events in the financial sector have resulted in increased concerns about credit risk and exposure. Well-known financial institutions have experienced significant liquidity and other problems and have defaulted on their debt obligations. Issuers that have exposure to real estate, mortgage and credit markets have been particularly affected. It is uncertain whether or how long these conditions will continue. These events and possible continuing market turbulence may have an adverse effect on Fund performance.
Rule 12d3-1 under the 1940 Act limits the extent to which a fund may invest in the securities of any one company that derives more than 15% of its revenues from brokerage, underwriting or investment management activities. A fund may purchase securities of an issuer that derived more than 15% of its gross revenues in its most recent fiscal year from securities-related activities, subject to the following conditions: (1) the purchase cannot cause more than 5% of the funds total assets to be invested in securities of that issuer;
9
(2) for any equity security, the purchase cannot result in the fund owning more than 5% of the issuers outstanding securities in that class; and (3) for a debt security, the purchase cannot result in the fund owning more than 10% of the outstanding principal amount of the issuers debt securities. The Fund, in seeking to comply with this rule, may experience greater index tracking error because an Index is not subject to the rule.
In applying the gross revenue test, an issuers own securities-related activities must be combined with its ratable share of securities-related revenues from enterprises in which it owns a 20% or greater voting or equity interest. All of the above percentage limitations, as well as the issuers gross revenue test, are applicable at the time of purchase. With respect to warrants, rights, and convertible securities, a determination of compliance with the above limitations shall be made as though such warrant, right, or conversion privilege had been exercised. The Fund will not be required to divest their holdings of a particular issuer when circumstances subsequent to the purchase cause one of the above conditions to not be met. The purchase of a general partnership interest in a securities-related business is prohibited.
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS. The Trusts Board of Trustees (the Board) may, in the future, authorize the Fund to invest in securities contracts and investments other than those listed in this SAI and in the Funds Prospectus, provided they are consistent with the Funds investment objective and do not violate any investment restrictions or policies.
ILLIQUID SECURITIES. The Fund may invest up to an aggregate amount of 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities. Illiquid securities include securities subject to contractual or other restrictions on resale and other instruments that lack readily available markets to the extent the Adviser or Sub-Adviser has not deemed such securities to be liquid. The inability of the Fund to dispose of illiquid or not readily marketable investments readily or at a reasonable price could impair the Funds ability to raise cash for redemptions or other purposes. The liquidity of securities purchased by the Fund which are eligible for resale pursuant to Rule 144A, except for certain 144A bonds, will be monitored by the Fund on an ongoing basis. In the event that such a security is deemed to be no longer liquid, the Funds holdings will be reviewed to determine what action, if any, is required to ensure that the retention of such security does not result in the Fund having more than 15% of its net assets invested in illiquid securities.
INVESTMENT COMPANY SECURITIES. The Fund may invest in the securities of other investment companies (including money market funds and certain ETPs). The 1940 Act generally prohibits a fund from acquiring more than 3% of the outstanding voting shares of an investment company and limits such investments to no more than 5% of the funds total assets in any single investment company and no more than 10% in any combination of two or more investment companies although the Fund may invest in excess of these limits in affiliated ETPs and to the extent it enters into agreements and abides by certain conditions of the exemptive relief issued to non-affiliated ETPs. The Fund may purchase or otherwise invest in shares of affiliated ETFs and affiliated money market funds.
MONEY MARKET INSTRUMENTS. The Fund may invest a portion of its assets in high-quality money market instruments on an ongoing basis to provide liquidity or for other reasons. The instruments in which the Fund may invest include: (i) short-term obligations issued by the U.S. government; (ii) negotiable certificates of deposit (CDs), fixed time deposits and bankers acceptances of U.S. and foreign banks and similar institutions; (iii) commercial paper rated at the date of purchase Prime-1 by Moodys or A-1+ or A-1 by Standard & Poors (S&P) or, if unrated, of comparable quality as determined by the Fund; and (iv) repurchase agreements. CDs are short-term negotiable obligations of commercial banks. 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.
NON-U.S. SECURITIES. The Fund invests primarily in non-U.S. equity securities. Investments in non-U.S. equity securities involve certain risks that may not be present in investments in U.S. securities. For example, non-U.S. securities may be subject to currency risks or to foreign government taxes. There may be less information publicly available about a non-U.S. issuer than about a U.S. issuer, and a foreign issuer may or may not be subject to uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and practices comparable to those in the U.S. Other risks of investing in such securities include political or economic instability in the country involved, the difficulty of predicting international trade patterns and the possibility of imposition of exchange controls. The prices of such securities may be more volatile than those of domestic securities. With respect to certain foreign countries, there is a possibility of expropriation of assets or nationalization, imposition of withholding taxes on dividend or interest payments, difficulty in obtaining and enforcing judgments against foreign entities or diplomatic developments which could affect investment in these countries. Losses and other expenses may be incurred in converting between various currencies in connection with purchases and sales of foreign securities.
Non-U.S. stock markets may not be as developed or efficient as, and may be more volatile than, those in the U.S. While the volume of shares traded on non-U.S. stock markets generally has been growing, such markets usually have substantially less volume than U.S. markets. Therefore, the Funds investment in non-U.S. equity securities may be less liquid and subject to more rapid and erratic price movements than comparable securities listed for trading on U.S. exchanges. Non-U.S. equity securities may trade at price/earnings multiples higher than comparable U.S. securities and such levels may not be sustainable. There may be less government supervision and regulation of foreign stock exchanges, brokers, banks and listed companies abroad than in the U.S. Moreover, settlement practices for transactions in foreign markets may differ from those in U.S. markets. Such differences may include delays beyond periods customary in the U.S. and practices, such as delivery of securities prior to receipt of payment, that increase the likelihood of a failed
10
settlement, which can result in losses to the Fund. The value of non-U.S. investments and the investment income derived from them may also be affected unfavorably by changes in currency exchange control regulations. Foreign brokerage commissions, custodial expenses and other fees are also generally higher than for securities traded in the U.S. This may cause the Fund to incur higher portfolio transaction costs than domestic equity funds. Fluctuations in exchange rates may also affect the earning power and asset value of the foreign entity issuing a security, even one denominated in U.S. dollars. Dividend and interest payments may be repatriated based on the exchange rate at the time of disbursement, and restrictions on capital flows may be imposed.
Set forth below for certain markets in which the Fund may invest, consistent with their principal investment strategies, are brief descriptions of some of the conditions and risks in each such market.
Investments in China and Hong Kong. In addition to the aforementioned risks of investing in non-U.S. securities, investing in securities listed and traded in China or Hong Kong involves special considerations not typically associated with investing in countries with more democratic governments or more established economies or securities markets. Such risks may include: (i) the risk of nationalization or expropriation of assets or confiscatory taxation; (ii) greater social, economic and political uncertainty (including the risk of war); (iii) dependency on exports and the corresponding importance of international trade; (iv) increasing competition from Asias other low-cost emerging economies; (v) currency exchange rate fluctuations and the lack of available currency hedging instruments; (vi) higher rates of inflation; (vii) controls on foreign investment and limitations on repatriation of invested capital and on the Funds ability to exchange local currencies for U.S. dollars; (viii) greater governmental involvement in and control over the economy; (ix) the risk that the Chinese government may decide not to continue to support the economic reform programs implemented since 1978 and could return to the prior, completely centrally planned, economy; (x) the fact that Chinese companies, particularly those located in China, may be smaller, less seasoned and newly organized; (xi) the differences in, or lack of, auditing and financial reporting standards which may result in unavailability of material information about issuers, particularly in China; (xii) the fact that statistical information regarding the economy of China may be inaccurate or not comparable to statistical information regarding the U.S. or other economies; (xiii) the less extensive, and still developing, regulation of the securities markets, business entities and commercial transactions; (xiv) the fact that the settlement period of securities transactions in foreign markets may be longer; (xv) the fact that the willingness and ability of the Chinese government to support the Chinese and Hong Kong economies and markets is uncertain; (xvi) the risk that it may be more difficult, or impossible, to obtain and/or enforce a judgment than in other countries; (xvii) the rapid and erratic nature of growth, particularly in China, resulting in inefficiencies and dislocations; (xviii) the risk that, because of the degree of interconnectivity between the economies and financial markets of China and Hong Kong, any sizable reduction in the demand for goods from China, or an economic downturn in China, could negatively affect the economy and financial market of Hong Kong as well; and (xix) the risk that certain companies in the Funds Index may have dealings with countries subject to sanctions or embargoes imposed by the U.S. Government or identified as state sponsors of terrorism.
After many years of steady growth, the growth rate of Chinas economy has recently slowed. Although this slowdown was to some degree intentional, the slowdown has also slowed the once rapidly growing Chinese real estate market and left local governments with high debts with few viable means to raise revenue, especially with the fall in demand for housing. Despite its attempts to restructure its economy towards consumption, China remains heavily dependent on exports. Accordingly, China is susceptible to economic downturns abroad, including any weakness in demand from its major trading partners, including the United States, Japan, and Europe. In addition, Chinas aging infrastructure, worsening environmental conditions, rapid and inequitable urbanization, quickly widening urban and rural income gap, domestic unrest and provincial separatism all present major challenges to the country. Further, Chinas territorial claims, including its land reclamation projects and the establishment of an Air Defense Identification Zone over islands claimed and occupied by Japan, are another source of tension and present risks to diplomatic and trade relations with certain of Chinas regional trade partners.
Investments in Hong Kong are also subject to certain political risks not associated with other investments. Following the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China by the Communist Party in 1949, the Chinese government renounced various debt obligations incurred by Chinas predecessor governments, which obligations remain in default, and expropriated assets without compensation. There can be no assurance that the Chinese government will not take similar action in the future. Investments in China and Hong Kong involve risk of a total loss due to government action or inaction. China has committed by treaty to preserve Hong Kongs autonomy and its economic, political and social freedoms for 50 years from the July 1, 1997 transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom to China. However, if China would exert its authority so as to alter the economic, political or legal structures or the existing social policy of Hong Kong, investor and business confidence in Hong Kong could be negatively affected, which in turn could negatively affect markets and business performance. In addition, the
11
Hong Kong dollar trades at a fixed exchange rate in relation to (or, is pegged to) the U.S. dollar, which has contributed to the growth and stability of the Hong Kong economy. However, it is uncertain how long the currency peg will continue or what effect the establishment of an alternative exchange rate system would have on the Hong Kong economy. Because the Funds NAV is denominated in U.S. dollars, the establishment of an alternative exchange rate system could result in a decline in the Funds NAV. These and other factors could have a negative impact on the Funds performance.
RQFII Regime Risk. Under current regulations in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), generally foreign investors can invest only in the domestic securities market through certain qualified foreign institutional investors that have obtained status as a Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) or a Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (RQFII) from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and have been granted quota(s) by the PRC State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) to remit foreign freely convertible currencies (in the case of a QFII) and Renminbi (RMB) (in the case of a RQFII) into the PRC for the purpose of investing in the PRCs domestic securities markets.
RQFII license and quota risk. The Fund is not a RQFII but may obtain direct access to RQFII-permissible investments using the RQFII quota of a RQFII, such as the Sub-Adviser.
Investors should note that the RQFII status could be suspended or revoked if, among other things, the RQFII Sub-Adviser becomes insolvent or breaches the Circular on Issues Related to the Pilot Scheme for Domestic Securities Investment through Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (the RQFII Measures), which may have an adverse effect on the Funds performance as the Fund may be required to dispose of certain of its securities holdings. In addition, restrictions may be imposed by the Chinese government on RQFIIs and/or quotas may become inadequate, which may have an adverse effect on the Funds liquidity and performance. Investors should also note that, pursuant to the QFII regulations, the size of the RQFII quota granted to the RQFII Sub-Adviser may be reduced or cancelled entirely under certain circumstances which in turn will have an adverse effect on the Fund. Such circumstances include: (i) illegal use of the foreign exchange namely transfer or sale of the investment quota, (ii) provision of false information or materials to the SAFE, (iii) failing to carry out investment-related conversion, purchase or payment of foreign exchange in accordance with the applicable provisions, (iv) failing to provide relevant information and materials on its conversion of funding and securities investments in the PRC as required by the SAFE, and (v) such other acts in violation of the rules on foreign exchange control.
Remittance and repatriation of funds risk. The Fund may also be subject to repatriation restrictions. The Fund may repatriate funds from the PRC daily according to the net difference between the subscription amount and redemption amount. However, there is no assurance that PRC rules and regulations will not change or that repatriation restrictions will not be imposed in the future. Further, such changes to the PRC rules and regulations may be applied retroactively. The Fund may be exposed to potential loss from any restriction or delay in the Sub-Advisers ability to convert U.S. dollars from RMB and/or to repatriate funds from the PRC.
Stock Connect Risks.
Quota limitations risk. The Shanghai-Hong Kong and Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect programs (Stock Connect) are subject to daily quota limitations on investments, which may restrict the Funds ability to invest in China A-Shares through Stock Connect on a timely basis, and the Fund may not be able to effectively pursue its investment policies. In addition, an investor cannot purchase and sell the same security on the same trading day, which may restrict the Funds ability to invest in A-Shares through Stock Connect and to enter into or exit trades on a timely basis.
Suspension risk. Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (SEHK), Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) reserve the right to suspend trading if necessary to ensure an orderly and fair market and manage risks prudently which could adversely affect the Funds ability to access the PRC market.
Differences in trading day. Stock Connect only operates on days when both the PRC and Hong Kong markets are open for trading and when banks in both markets are open on the corresponding settlement days. So it is possible that there are occasions when it is a normal trading day for the PRC market but Hong Kong investors (such as the Fund) cannot carry out any China A-Shares trading. The Fund may be subject to a risk of price fluctuations in China A-Shares during the time when Stock Connect is not trading as a result.
Restrictions on selling imposed by front-end monitoring. PRC regulations require that before an investor sells any share, there should be sufficient shares in the account; otherwise SSE or SZSE will reject the sell order concerned. SEHK will carry out pre-trade checking on China A-Shares sell orders of its participants (i.e., the stock brokers) to ensure there is no over-selling.
12
Clearing settlement and custody risks. Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company Limited (HKSCC) and China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation Limited (ChinaClear) establish the clearing links and each is a participant of each other to facilitate clearing and settlement of cross-boundary trades. As the national central counterparty of the PRCs securities market, ChinaClear operates a comprehensive network of clearing, settlement and stock holding infrastructure. ChinaClear has established a risk management framework and measures that are approved and supervised by the CSRC. The chances of a ChinaClear default are considered to be remote.
Should the remote event of a ChinaClear default occur and ChinaClear be declared as a defaulter, HKSCC will, in good faith, seek recovery of the outstanding stocks and monies from ChinaClear through available legal channels or through ChinaClears liquidation. In that event, the Fund may suffer a delay in the recovery process or may not be able to fully recover its losses from ChinaClear.
The China A-Shares traded through Stock Connect are issued in scriptless form, so investors, such as the Fund, will not hold any physical China A-Shares. Hong Kong and overseas investors, such as the Fund, who have acquired China A-Shares listed on the SSE or SZSE (together, the Mainland Securities) through Northbound trading should maintain the Mainland Securities with their brokers or custodians stock accounts with the Central Clearing and Settlement System operated by HKSCC for the clearing securities listed or traded on SEHK.
Nominee arrangements in holding China A-Shares. HKSCC is the nominee holder of the Mainland Securities acquired by overseas investors (including the Fund) through Stock Connect. The CSRC Stock Connect rules expressly provided that investors enjoy the rights and benefits of the Mainland Securities acquired through Stock Connect in accordance with applicable laws. The CSRC has clarified that (i) the concept of nominee shareholding is recognized in China, (ii) overseas investors shall hold Mainland Securities through HKSCC and are entitled to proprietary interests in such securities as shareholders, (iii) China law does not expressly provide for a beneficial owner under the nominee holding structure to bring legal proceedings, nor does it prohibit a beneficial owner from doing so, (iv) as long as certification issued by HKSCC is treated as lawful proof of a beneficial owners holding of Mainland Securities under the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region law, it would be fully respected by CSRC, and (v) as long as an overseas investor can provide evidential proof of direct interest as a beneficial owner, the investor may take legal actions in its own name in PRC courts.
Under the rules of the Central Clearing and Settlement System operated by HKSCC for the clearing of securities listed or traded on SEHK, HKSCC as nominee holder shall have no obligation to take any legal action or court proceeding to enforce any rights on behalf of the investors in respect of the Mainland Securities in the PRC or elsewhere. Therefore, although the Funds ownership may be ultimately recognized and the HKSCC confirmed that it is prepared to provide assistance to the beneficial owners of Mainland Securities where necessary, the Fund may suffer difficulties or delays in enforcing their rights in China A-Shares. Moreover, whether PRC courts will accept the legal action independently initiated by the overseas investor with the certification of holding Mainland Securities issued by HKSCC has yet to be tested.
China A-Share market suspension risks. Only certain A-Shares are eligible to be accessed through Stock Connect. Such securities may lose their eligibility at any time, in which case they could be sold but could no longer be purchased through Stock Connect. China A-Shares may only be bought or sold where the relevant A-Shares are traded on the SSE or the SZSE, as appropriate. Given that the A-Share market is considered volatile and unstable (with the risk of suspension of a particular stock, and/or the whole market, and/or government intervention), the subscription and redemption of shares may also be disrupted. An Authorized Participant is unlikely to redeem or subscribe shares if it considers that A-Shares may not be available.
Investor compensation. Investments of the Fund through Northbound trading through Stock Connect will not be covered by Hong Kongs Investor Compensation Fund. Hong Kongs Investor Compensation Fund is established to pay compensation to investors of any nationality who suffer pecuniary losses as a result of default of a licensed intermediary or authorized financial institution in relation to exchange-traded products in Hong Kong.
Since default matters in Northbound trading via Stock Connect do not involve products listed or traded in SEHK or Hong Kong Futures Exchange Limited, they will not be covered by the Investor Compensation Fund. On the other hand, since the Fund is carrying out Northbound trading through securities brokers in Hong Kong but not PRC brokers, therefore it is not protected by the China Securities Investor Protection Fund in the PRC.
Trading costs. In addition to paying trading fees and stamp duties in connection with China A-Share trading, the Fund may be subject to new portfolio fees, dividend tax and tax concerned with income arising from stock transfers which are yet to be determined by the relevant authorities.
Operational risk. Stock Connect provides a new channel for investors from Hong Kong and overseas, such as the Fund, to access the China stock market directly. Stock Connect is premised on the functioning of the operational systems of the relevant market participants. Market participants are able to participate in this program subject to meeting certain information technology capability, risk management and other requirements as may be specified by the relevant exchange and/or clearing house.
13
The securities regimes and legal systems of the two markets differ significantly and in order for the trial program to operate, market participants may need to address issues arising from the differences on an on-going basis. Further, the connectivity in the Stock Connect program requires routing of orders across the border. This requires the development of new information technology systems on the part of the SEHK and the exchange participants (i.e., a new order routing system (China Stock Connect System) to be set up by SEHK to which exchange participants need to connect). There is no assurance that the systems of the SEHK and market participants will function properly or will continue to be adapted to changes and developments in both markets. In the event that the relevant systems failed to function properly, trading in both markets through the program could be disrupted. The Funds ability to access the China A-Share market (and hence to pursue their investment strategy) will be adversely affected.
Regulatory risk. The CSRC Stock Connect rules are departmental regulations having legal effect in the PRC. However, the application of such rules is untested, and there is no assurance that PRC courts will recognize such rules, e.g., in liquidation proceedings of PRC companies.
Stock Connect is novel in nature and is subject to regulations promulgated by regulatory authorities and implementation rules made by the stock exchanges in the PRC and Hong Kong. Further, new regulations may be promulgated from time to time by the regulators in connection with operations and cross-border legal enforcement in connection with cross-border trades through Stock Connect.
The regulations are untested so far and there is no certainty as to how they will be applied. Moreover, the current regulations are subject to change. There can be no assurance that Stock Connect will not be abolished. The Fund which may invest in the PRC markets through Stock Connect may be adversely affected as a result of such changes.
Investments in Emerging Markets Securities. Investments in securities listed and traded in emerging markets are subject to additional risks that may not be present for U.S. investments or investments in more developed non-U.S. markets. Such risks may include: (i) greater market volatility; (ii) lower trading volume; (iii) greater social, political and economic uncertainty; (iv) governmental controls on foreign investments and limitations on repatriation of invested capital; (v) the risk that companies may be held to lower disclosure, corporate governance, auditing and financial reporting standards than companies in more developed markets; and (vi) the risk that there may be less protection of property rights than in other countries. Emerging markets are generally less liquid and less efficient than developed securities markets.
REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS. The Fund may invest in the securities of real estate investment trusts (REITs) to the extent allowed by law. Risks associated with investments in securities of REITs include decline in the value of real estate, risks related to general and local economic conditions, overbuilding and increased competition, increases in property taxes and operating expenses, changes in zoning laws, casualty or condemnation losses, variations in rental income, changes in neighborhood values, the appeal of properties to tenants, and increases in interest rates. In addition, equity REITs may be affected by changes in the values of the underlying property owned by the trusts, while mortgage REITs may be affected by the quality of credit extended. REITs are dependent upon management skills, may not be diversified and are subject to the risks of financing projects. REITs are also subject to heavy cash-flow dependency, defaults by borrowers, self-liquidation and the possibility of failing to maintain exemption from the 1940 Act, and, for U.S. REITs, the possibility of failing to qualify for the favorable U.S. federal income tax treatment available to U.S. REITs under the Code. If an issuer of debt securities collateralized by real estate defaults, it is conceivable that the REITs could end up holding the underlying real estate.
REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS. The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements with counterparties that are deemed to present acceptable credit risks. A repurchase agreement is a transaction in which the Fund purchases securities or other obligations from a bank or securities dealer (or its affiliate) and simultaneously commits to resell them to a counterparty at an agreed-upon date or upon demand and at a price reflecting a market rate of interest unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased obligations. The Fund maintains custody of the underlying obligations prior to their repurchase, either through its regular custodian or through a special tri-party custodian or sub-custodian that maintains separate accounts for both the Fund and its counterparty. Thus, the obligation of the counterparty to pay the repurchase price on the date agreed to or upon demand is, in effect, secured by such obligations.
Repurchase agreements carry certain risks not associated with direct investments in securities, including a possible decline in the market value of the underlying obligations. If their value becomes less than the repurchase price, plus any agreed-upon additional amount, the counterparty must provide additional collateral so that at all times the collateral is at least equal to the repurchase price plus any agreed-upon additional amount. The difference between the total amount to be received upon repurchase of the obligations and the price that was paid by the Fund upon acquisition is accrued as interest and included in its net investment income. Repurchase agreements involving obligations other than U.S. government securities (such as commercial paper and corporate bonds) may be subject to special risks and may not have the benefit of certain protections in the event of the counterpartys insolvency. If the seller or guarantor becomes insolvent, the Fund may suffer delays, costs and possible losses in connection with the disposition of collateral.
REVERSE REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS. The 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 are subject to the Funds limitation on borrowings and may be entered into only with banks or securities dealers or their affiliates. While a reverse repurchase agreement is outstanding, the Fund will
14
maintain the segregation, either on its records or with the Trusts custodian, of cash or other liquid securities, marked to market daily, in an amount at least equal to its obligations under the reverse repurchase agreement. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the buyer of the securities sold by the 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 or trustee or receiver may receive an extension of time to determine whether to enforce the Funds obligation to repurchase the securities, and the Funds use of the proceeds of the reverse repurchase agreement may effectively be restricted pending such decision.
SECURITIES LENDING. The Fund may lend portfolio securities to certain creditworthy borrowers, including the Funds securities lending agent. Loans of portfolio securities provide the Fund with the opportunity to earn additional income on the Funds portfolio securities. All securities loans will be made pursuant to agreements requiring the loans to be continuously secured by collateral in cash, or money market instruments, money market funds, or U.S. government securities at least equal at all times to the market value of the loaned securities. The borrower pays to the Fund an amount equal to any dividends or interest received on loaned securities. The Fund retains all or a portion of the interest received on investment of cash collateral or receives a fee from the borrower. Lending portfolio securities involves risks of delay in recovery of the loaned securities or in some cases loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially. Furthermore, because of the risks of delay in recovery, the Fund may lose the opportunity to sell the securities at a desirable price. The Fund will generally not have the right to vote securities while they are being loaned.
TRACKING STOCKS. The Fund may invest in 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 companys common stock.
U.S. GOVERNMENT SECURITIES. The Fund may invest in obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury or the agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government. Such obligations may be short-, intermediate- or long-term. U.S. government securities are obligations of, or guaranteed by, the U.S. government, its agencies or government-sponsored enterprises. U.S. government securities are subject to market and interest rate risk, and may be subject to varying degrees of credit risk. U.S. government securities include inflation-indexed fixed income securities, such as U.S. Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS). U.S. government securities include zero coupon securities, which tend to be subject to greater market risk than interest-paying securities of similar maturities.
The Trust has adopted as its proxy voting policies for the Fund the proxy voting guidelines of the Sub-Adviser. The Trust has delegated to the Sub-Adviser the authority and responsibility for voting proxies on the portfolio securities held by the Fund. The remainder of this section discusses the Funds proxy voting guidelines and the Sub-Advisers role in implementing such guidelines.
The Sub-Adviser has adopted a proxy voting policy, related procedures, and voting guidelines governing conflict of interest resolution, disclosure, reporting and recordkeeping, which are applied to those client accounts over which it has been delegated the authority to vote proxies. In voting proxies, the Sub-Adviser seeks to act solely in the best financial and economic interest of the applicable client, which generally means voting with a view to enhancing the value of client securities. The Sub-Adviser will carefully review proposals that would limit shareholder control or could affect the value of a clients investment. It may refrain from voting in the circumstances where the Sub-Adviser believes that the matters to be voted on have no significant effect on clients interests or if there is a pending sell order for the security. It may also refrain from voting where the costs of voting would be unreasonable or the Sub-Adviser is of the view that the proxy statement has not provided sufficient information to justify a vote in favor.
In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the Sub-Adviser will give considerable weight to management recommendations, except in the case of issues directly affecting the interests of management itself, such as management compensation. The Sub-Adviser will in general support management recommendations about the internal operations of the company. A proposal which is likely to have significant economic effect on the relevant company and its security holders will be subject to greater scrutiny on a case-by-case basis.
15
Proposals for re-capitalizations, mergers, corporate restructuring and anti-takeover will be under scrutiny to ascertain possible benefits and disadvantages to security holders. Management recommendations with respect to such transactions will be reviewed in the light of possible management self-interest. Proposals regarding stock option plans and other compensation issues will be carefully scrutinized. As the Sub-Adviser believes in long term capital appreciation, the Sub-Adviser will take into account the relevant companys positioning for the achievement of long-term goals as well as short-term performances. The above principles are general guidelines only and not exhaustive of all potential voting issues. The Sub-Adviser may also make reference to third party research materials and reports on specific voting issues in order to vote in the best interests of clients.
Proxy voting proposals are reviewed, categorized, analyzed and voted in accordance with the Sub-Advisers voting guidelines. These guidelines are reviewed periodically and updated as necessary to reflect new issues and any changes in policies on specific issues.
For any voting proposals where the Sub-Adviser determines that it has a material conflict of interest, the Sub-Adviser will take steps designed to ensure a decision is made to vote based on the clients best interest and is not a product of the conflict. The Sub-Adviser may determine how to vote the proposals in which it has a conflict, disclose the conflict to the client, and seek its consent before exercising a proxy. The Sub-Adviser may also take such other action, such as consulting an independent third party such as external legal counsel, as the Sub-Adviser reasonably deems appropriate.
A complete copy of the Sub-Advisers proxy voting policy may be obtained by calling 1-866-909-9473 or by writing to: WisdomTree Trust, c/o Foreside Fund Services, LLC, Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101.
The Trust is required to disclose annually the Funds complete proxy voting record on Form N-PX covering the period from July 1 of one year through June 30 of the next year and to file Form N-PX with the SEC no later than August 31 of each year. The current Form N-PX for the Fund, when filed, may be obtained at no charge upon request by calling 1-866-909-9473 or by visiting the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS DISCLOSURE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
The Trust has adopted a Portfolio Holdings Policy (the Policy) designed to govern the disclosure of Fund portfolio holdings and the use of material non-public information about Fund holdings. The Policy applies to all officers, employees, and agents of the Fund, including the Advisers. The Policy is designed to ensure that the disclosure of information about the Funds portfolio holdings is consistent with applicable legal requirements and otherwise in the best interest of the Fund.
As an ETF, information about the Funds portfolio holdings is made available on a daily basis in accordance with the provisions of any Order of the SEC applicable to the Fund, regulations of the Funds Listing Exchange and other applicable SEC regulations, orders and no-action relief. Such information typically reflects all or a portion of the Funds anticipated portfolio holdings as of the next Business Day. A Business Day with respect to the Fund is any day on which the Listing Exchange is open for business. As of the date of this SAI, the Listing Exchange observes the following holidays: New Years Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. This information is used in connection with the creation and redemption process and is disseminated on a daily basis through the facilities of the Listing Exchange, the National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC) and/or third-party service providers.
Daily access to the Funds portfolio holdings with no lag time is permitted to personnel of the Advisers, the Distributor and the Funds administrator (the Administrator), custodian and accountant and other agents or service providers of the Trust who have need of such information in connection with the ordinary course of their respective duties to the Fund. The Funds Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) may authorize disclosure of portfolio holdings.
The Fund may disclose its complete portfolio holdings or a portion of its portfolio holdings online at www.wisdomtree.com. Online disclosure of such holdings is publicly available at no charge.
The Fund will disclose its complete portfolio holdings schedule in public filings with the SEC on a quarterly basis, based on the Funds fiscal year, within sixty (60) days of the end of the quarter, and will provide that information to shareholders, as required by federal securities laws and regulations thereunder.
16
No person is authorized to disclose the Funds portfolio holdings or other investment positions except in accordance with the Policy. The Board reviews the implementation of the Policy on a periodic basis.
A description of the Index on which the Funds investment strategy is based is provided in the Funds Prospectus under Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund with certain additional details provided below. Additional information about the Index, including the components and weightings of the Index, as well as the Index methodology, which contains the rules that govern inclusion and weighting in the Index, is available on the Index Providers website.
S&P China 500 Index
Number of Components: approximately 500
Semi-Annual Index Screening/Rebalance Dates. The Index is rebalanced or reconstituted on a semi-annual basis in June and December. New securities are added to the Index only during the semi-annual rebalance. The semi-annual screening date of the Index takes place
on the last trading day of May and November. During the semi-annual screening date, securities are screened to determine whether they comply with S&P Dow Jones Indices LLCs Index methodology and are eligible to be included in the Index. This date is sometimes referred to as the Index measurement date or the Screening Point. Based on this screening, securities that meet Index requirements are added to the Index, and securities that do not meet such requirements are dropped from the Index.
The following fundamental investment policies and limitations supplement those set forth in the Funds Prospectus. Unless otherwise noted, whenever a fundamental investment policy or limitation states a maximum percentage of the Funds assets that may be invested in any security or other asset, or sets forth a policy regarding quality standards, such standard or percentage limitation will be determined immediately after and as a result of the Funds acquisition of such security or other asset. Accordingly, other than with respect to the Funds limitations on borrowings, any subsequent change in values, net assets, or other circumstances will not be considered when determining whether the investment complies with the Funds investment policies and limitations.
The Funds fundamental investment policies cannot be changed without the approval of the holders of a majority of the Funds outstanding voting securities as defined under the 1940 Act. The Fund, however, may change the non-fundamental investment policies described below, its investment objective, and its underlying Index without a shareholder vote, provided that it obtains Board approval and notifies its shareholders with at least sixty (60) days prior written notice of any such change.
Fundamental Policies. The following investment policies and limitations are fundamental and may NOT be changed without shareholder approval.
The Fund, as a fundamental investment policy, may not:
Senior Securities
Issue senior securities, except as permitted under the 1940 Act.
Borrowing
Borrow money, except as permitted under the 1940 Act.
Underwriting
Act as an underwriter of another issuers securities, except to the extent that the Fund may be considered an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act in the disposition of portfolio securities.
Concentration
Purchase the securities of any issuer (other than securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or any of its agencies or instrumentalities) if, as a result, more than 25% of the Funds total assets would be invested in the securities of companies whose principal business activities are in the same industry, except that the Fund will invest more than 25% of its total assets in securities of the same industry to approximately the same extent that the Funds underlying Index concentrates in the securities of a particular industry or group of industries.
17
Real Estate
Purchase or sell real estate unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the Fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate, real estate investment trusts or securities of companies engaged in the real estate business).
Commodities
Purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the Fund from purchasing or selling options and futures contracts or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities).
Loans
Lend any security or make any other loan except as permitted under the 1940 Act. This means that no more than 33 1/3% of the Funds total assets would be lent to other parties. This limitation does not apply to purchases of debt securities or to repurchase agreements, or to acquisitions of loans, loan participations or other forms of debt instruments, permissible under the Funds investment policies.
Non-Fundamental Policies. The following investment policy is not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval. Prior to any change in the Funds 80% policy, the Fund will provide shareholders with 60 days notice.
The Fund has adopted a non-fundamental investment policy in accordance with Rule 35d-1 under the 1940 Act to invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in the types of securities suggested by the Funds name, including investments that are tied economically to the particular country or geographic region suggested by the Funds name. If, subsequent to an investment, the 80% requirement is no longer met, the Funds future investments will be made in a manner that will bring the Fund into compliance with this policy.
The method by which Creation Unit Aggregations of shares are created and traded may raise certain issues under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation Unit Aggregations of shares are issued and sold by the Fund on an ongoing basis, at any point a distribution, as such term is used in the Securities Act, may occur. Broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some activities on their part may, depending on the circumstances, result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner which could render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus delivery requirement and liability provisions of the Securities Act.
For example, a broker-dealer firm or its client may be deemed a statutory underwriter if it takes Creation Unit Aggregations after placing an order with the Distributor, breaks them down into constituent shares, and sells such shares directly to customers, or if it chooses to couple the creation of a supply of new shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary market demand for shares. A determination of whether one is an underwriter for purposes of the Securities Act must take into account all the facts and circumstances pertaining to the activities of the broker-dealer or its client in the particular case, and the examples mentioned above should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could lead to a categorization as an underwriter.
Broker-dealer firms should also note that dealers who are not underwriters but are effecting transactions in shares, whether or not participating in the distribution of shares, generally are required to deliver a prospectus. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(3) of the Securities Act is not available in respect of such transactions as a result of Section 24(d) of the 1940 Act. Firms that incur a prospectus delivery obligation with respect to shares of the Fund are reminded that, pursuant to Rule 153 under the Securities Act, a prospectus delivery obligation under Section 5(b)(2) of the Securities Act owed to an exchange member in connection with the sale on the Listing Exchange is satisfied by the fact that the prospectus is available at the Listing Exchange upon request. The prospectus delivery mechanism provided in Rule 153 is only available with respect to transactions on an exchange.
WisdomTree Investments (the Selling Shareholder) may purchase Creation Unit Aggregations through a broker-dealer to seed (in whole or in part) Funds as they are launched or thereafter, or may purchase shares from other broker-dealers or other investors that have previously provided seed for Funds 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. The Funds will not receive any of the proceeds from the resale by the Selling Shareholders of these 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 over-the-counter 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:
18
∎ | 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 the creation of one or more derivative securities which require the delivery to such broker-dealer or other financial institution of shares, which shares such broker-dealer or other financial institution may resell.
The Selling Shareholder and any broker-dealer or agents participating in the distribution of shares may be deemed to be underwriters within the meaning of Section 2(11) of the Securities Act in connection with such sales. 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. The Selling Shareholder who may be deemed an underwriter within the meaning of Section 2(11) of the Securities Act will be subject to the applicable prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act.
The Selling Shareholder has informed the 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 the 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 the Funds 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 the Fund. As with redemptions by other large shareholders, such redemptions could have a significant negative impact on the Fund.
Board Responsibilities. The Board is responsible for overseeing the management and affairs of the Fund and the Trust. The Board has considered and approved contracts, as described herein, under which certain companies provide essential management and administrative services to the Trust. Like most ETFs, the day-to-day business of the Trust, including the day-to-day management of risk, is performed by third-party service providers, such as the Advisers, Distributor and Administrator. The Board is responsible for overseeing the Trusts service providers and, thus, has oversight responsibility with respect to the risk management performed by those service providers. Risk management seeks to identify and eliminate or mitigate the potential effects of risks, i.e., events or circumstances that could have material adverse effects on the business, operations, shareholder services, investment performance or reputation of the Trust or the Fund. Under the overall supervision of the Board and the Audit Committee (discussed in more detail below), the service providers to the Fund employ a variety of processes, procedures and controls to identify risks relevant to the operations of the Trust and the Fund 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 Trusts business (e.g., the Advisers are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Funds portfolio investments) and, consequently, for managing the risks associated with that activity.
The Boards role in risk management oversight begins before the inception of the Fund, at which time the Funds Adviser presents the Board with information concerning the investment objectives, strategies and risks of the Fund. Additionally, the Funds Adviser and
19
Sub-Adviser provide the Board periodically with an overview of, among other things, its investment philosophy, brokerage practices and compliance infrastructure. Thereafter, the Board oversees the risk management of the Funds operations, in part, by requesting periodic reports from and otherwise communicating with various personnel of the Fund and its service providers, including the Trusts CCO and the Funds independent accountants. The Board and, with respect to identified risks that relate to its scope of expertise, the Audit Committee, oversee efforts by management and service providers to manage risks to which the Fund may be exposed.
The Board is responsible for overseeing the nature, extent and quality of the services provided to the Fund by the Adviser and receives information about those services at its regular meetings. In addition, on at least an annual basis, in connection with its consideration of whether to renew any Advisory Agreements and Sub-Advisory Agreements with the Adviser and Sub-Adviser, respectively, the Board meets with the Adviser and Sub-Adviser to review such services. Among other things, the Board regularly considers the Advisers and Sub-Advisers adherence to the Funds investment restrictions and compliance with various Fund policies and procedures and with applicable securities regulations. The Board also reviews information about the Funds performance and investments.
The Trusts CCO meets regularly with the Board to review and discuss compliance and other issues. At least annually, the Trusts CCO provides the Board with a report reviewing the adequacy and effectiveness of the Trusts policies and procedures and those of its service providers, including the Adviser and Sub-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; 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 material compliance matters since the date of the last report.
The Board receives reports from the Trusts service providers regarding operational risks, portfolio valuation and other matters. Annually, an independent registered public accounting firm reviews with the Audit Committee its audit of the Trusts financial statements, focusing on major areas of risk encountered by the Fund and noting any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the Funds internal controls.
The Board recognizes that not all risks that may affect the Fund can be identified, 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 the Funds goals, and that the processes, procedures and controls employed to address certain risks may be limited in their effectiveness. Moreover, despite the periodic reports the Board receives and the Boards discussions with the service providers to the Fund, it may not be made aware of all of the relevant information related to a particular risk. Most of the Trusts investment management and business affairs are carried out by or through the Funds Adviser, Sub-Adviser and other service providers, each of which has an independent interest in risk management but whose policies and methods by which one or more risk management functions are carried out may differ from the Trusts and each others in the setting of priorities, the resources available or the effectiveness of relevant controls. As a result of the foregoing and other factors, the Boards risk management oversight is subject to substantial limitations.
Members of the Board and Officers of the Trust. Set forth below are the names, birth years, positions with the Trust, term of office, number of portfolios overseen, and the principal occupations and other directorships held during the last five years of each of the persons currently serving as members of the Board and as Executive Officers of the Trust. Also included below is the term of office for each of the Executive Officers of the Trust. The members of the Board serve as Trustees for the life of the Trust or until retirement, removal, or their office is terminated pursuant to the Trusts Declaration of Trust. The address of each Trustee and Officer is c/o WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc., 245 Park Avenue, 35th Floor, New York, New York 10167.
The Chairman of the Board, Victor Ugolyn, is not an interested person of the Fund as that term is defined in the 1940 Act. The Board is composed of a super-majority (83.3%) of Trustees who are not interested persons of the Fund (i.e., Independent Trustees). There is an Audit Committee, Governance, Nominating and Compliance Committee, Contracts Review Committee, and Investment Committee of the Board, each of which is chaired by an Independent Trustee and comprised solely of Independent Trustees. The Committee chair for each is responsible for running the Committee meetings, formulating agendas for those meetings, and coordinating with management to serve as a liaison between the Committee members and management on matters within the scope of the responsibilities of the Committee as set forth in its Board-approved charter. The Fund has determined that this leadership structure is appropriate given the specific characteristics and circumstances of the Fund. The Fund made this determination in consideration of, among other things, the fact that the Independent Trustees of the Fund constitute a super-majority of the Board, the assets under management of the Fund, the number of Funds overseen by the Board, the total number of Trustees on the Board, and the fact that an Independent Trustee serves as Chairman of the Board.
20
Trustees Who Are Interested Persons of the Trust | ||||||||
Name and Year of |
Position(s) 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/ Officer+ |
Other Directorships Held by Trustee During Past 5 Years | ||||
Jonathan Steinberg (1964) |
Trustee, 2005 present; President, 2005-present | President, WisdomTree Investments and WisdomTree Asset Management since 2012; Chief Executive Officer, WisdomTree Investments and WisdomTree Asset Management since 2005. | 88 | Director, WisdomTree Investments and WisdomTree Asset Management. | ||||
Trustees Who Are Not Interested Persons of the Trust | ||||||||
David G. Chrencik* (1948) |
Trustee, 2014 present | Chief Financial Officer of Sarus Indochina Select LP (hedge fund) since 2012; Chief Financial Officer of GeoGreen BioFuels, Inc. (biodiesel fuel producer) from 2010 to 2014; Audit Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (public accounting firm) from 1972 to 2009 (includes positions prior to becoming Audit Partner and predecessor firms). | 88 | Trustee, Vericimetry Funds (2011 to 2014); Director, Bennett Group of Funds (2011 to 2013); Trustee, del Rey Global Investors Funds (2011 to 2012). | ||||
Joel Goldberg** (1945) |
Trustee, 2012 present | Retired. Previously, attorney, Of Counsel from 2014-2017 at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP (Stroock); Attorney, Partner at Stroock from 2010 to 2013; Attorney, Partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP from 2006 to 2010. | 88 | Director, Better Business Bureau (Metropolitan New York, Long Island and the Mid-Hudson Region). | ||||
Toni Massaro*** (1955) |
Trustee, 2006 present | Dean Emerita at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law (Rogers College of Law) since 2009 (distinguished Emerita in July 2009); Dean of the Rogers College of Law from 1999 to 2009; Regents Professor since 2006; Milton O. Riepe Chair in Constitutional Law since 1997; Professor at the Rogers College of Law since 1990. | 88 | None | ||||
Melinda A. (1955) |
Trustee, 2014 present | Retired since 2004, Merrill Lynch Investment Management, Vice President; Senior Portfolio Manager, Fixed Income Management; Director, Tax Exempt Fund Management. | 88 | Associate Alumnae of Douglass College, Member of Investment Committee. | ||||
Victor Ugolyn (1947) |
Trustee, 2006 present; Chairman of the Board, 2006 present | Private Investor, from 2005 to present; President and Chief Executive Officer of William D. Witter, Inc. from 2005 to 2006; Consultant to AXA Enterprise in 2004; Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Capital Management (subsidiary of The MONY Group, Inc.) and Enterprise Group of Funds, Chairman of MONY Securities Corporation, and Chairman of the Fund Board of Enterprise Group of Funds from 1991 to 2004. | 88 | Member of the Board of Governors of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2001-2016). |
21
Name and Year of |
Position(s) 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/ Officer+ |
Other Directorships Held by Trustee During Past 5 Years | ||||
Officers of the Trust | ||||||||
Jonathan (1964) |
President, 2005 present; Trustee, 2005 present |
President, WisdomTree Investments and WisdomTree Asset Management since 2012; Chief Executive Officer, WisdomTree Investments and WisdomTree Asset Management since 2005. | 88 | |||||
David Castano***** (1971) |
Treasurer, 2013 present | Director of Fund Accounting & Administration, WisdomTree Asset Management, since 2011; Vice President of Legg Mason & Co. and served as Treasurer from 2010 to 2011 and Controller from 2006 to 2010 of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co.; Assistant Treasurer of Lord Abbett mutual funds from 2004 to 2006. | 88 | |||||
Terry Jane Feld***** (1960) |
Chief Compliance Officer, 2012 present | Chief Compliance Officer WisdomTree Asset Management since 2012; Senior Compliance Officer, WisdomTree Asset Management since 2011. | 88 | |||||
Ryan Louvar***** (1972) |
Secretary and Chief Legal Officer, 2013 present | General Counsel, WisdomTree Asset Management since 2013; Vice President and Senior Managing Counsel, State Street, 2005 to 2013. | 88 | |||||
Clint Martin***** (1977) |
Assistant Treasurer, 2015 present | Fund Manager, Fund Accounting & Administration, WisdomTree Asset Management, since 2012; Vice President of Legg Mason & Co. and served as Assistant Treasurer from 2010 to 2012 and Assistant Controller from 2006 to 2010 of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. | 88 |
* | Chair of the Audit Committee. |
** | Chair of the Contracts Review Committee. |
*** | Chair of the Governance, Nominating and Compliance Committee. |
**** | Chair of the Investment Committee. |
***** | Elected by and serves at the pleasure of the Board. |
+ | As of December 18, 2017. |
22
Audit Committee. Ms. Raso Kirstein and Messrs. Chrencik and Ugolyn, each an Independent Trustee, are members of the Boards Audit Committee. The principal responsibilities of the Audit Committee are the appointment, compensation and oversight of the Trusts independent registered public accounting firm, including the resolution of disagreements regarding financial reporting between Trust management and such independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit Committees responsibilities include, without limitation, to (i) oversee the accounting and financial reporting processes of the Trust and to receive reports regarding the Trusts internal control over financial reporting; (ii) oversee the quality and integrity of the Funds financial statements and the independent audits thereof; (iii) oversee, or, as appropriate, assist Board oversight of, the Trusts compliance with legal and regulatory requirements that relate to the Trusts accounting and financial reporting and independent audits; (iv) approve prior to appointment the engagement of the Trusts independent registered public accounting firm and, in connection therewith, to review and evaluate the qualifications, independence and performance of the Trusts independent registered public accounting firm; and (v) act as a liaison between the Trusts independent auditors and the full Board. The Independent Trustees independent legal counsel assists the Audit Committee in connection with these duties. The Board has adopted a written charter for the Audit Committee. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017, the Audit Committee held seven meetings.
Governance, Nominating and Compliance Committee. Ms. Massaro and Messrs. Goldberg and Ugolyn, each an Independent Trustee, are members of the Boards Governance, Nominating and Compliance Committee. The principal responsibilities of the Governance, Nominating and Compliance Committee are to (i) provide assistance to the Board in fulfilling its responsibility with respect to the oversight of appropriate and effective governance of the Trust; (ii) identify individuals qualified to serve as Independent Trustees of the Trust and to recommend its nominees for consideration by the full Board; and (iii) provide assistance to the Board in fulfilling its responsibility with respect to overseeing the CCO and overseeing compliance matters involving the Funds and their service providers as reported to the Board. While the Governance, Nominating and Compliance Committee is solely responsible for the selection and nomination of the Trusts Independent Trustees, the Governance, Nominating and Compliance Committee may consider nominations for the office of Trustee made by Trust shareholders as it deems appropriate. The Governance, Nominating and Compliance Committee considers nominees recommended by shareholders if such nominees are submitted in accordance with Rule 14a-8 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 1934 Act), in conjunction with a shareholder meeting to consider the election of Trustees. Trust shareholders who wish to recommend a nominee should send nominations to the Secretary of the Trust that include biographical information and set forth the qualifications of the proposed nominee. The Board has adopted a written charter for the Governance, Nominating and Compliance Committee. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017, the Governance, Nominating and Compliance Committee held four meetings.
Contracts Review Committee. Ms. Massaro and Messrs. Goldberg and Ugolyn, each an Independent Trustee, are members of the Boards Contracts Review Committee. The principal responsibilities of the Contracts Review Committee are to provide assistance to the Board in fulfilling its responsibilities under Section 15 of the 1940 Act, and other applicable sections, rules and interpretative guidance related thereto, with respect to reviewing the performance of, and reasonableness of fees paid to, the Adviser, Sub-Adviser, and core service providers for each series of the Trust, and to make recommendations to the Board regarding the contractual arrangements for such services. On March 12, 2014, the Board created the Contracts Review Committee. The Board has adopted a written charter for the Contracts Review Committee. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017, the Contracts Review Committee held four meetings.
Investment Committee. Ms. Raso Kirstein and Messrs. Goldberg and Ugolyn, each an Independent Trustee, are members of the Boards Investment Committee. The principal responsibilities of the Investment Committee are to support, oversee and organize on behalf of the Board the process for overseeing Fund performance and related matters (it being the intention of the Board that the ultimate oversight of Fund performance shall remain with the full Board), address such other matters that the Board shall determine and provide recommendations to the Board as needed in respect of the foregoing matters. On December 11, 2015, the Board created the Investment Committee. The Board has adopted a written charter for the Investment Committee. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017, the Investment Committee held five meetings.
Individual Trustee Qualifications. The Board has concluded that each of the Trustees is qualified to serve on the Board because of his or her ability to review and understand information about the Trust and the Fund provided by management, to identify and request other information he or she may deem relevant to the performance of the Trustees duties, to question management and other service providers regarding material factors bearing on the management and administration of the Fund, and to exercise his or her business judgment in a manner that serves the best interests of the Funds shareholders. The Trust has concluded that each of the Trustees is qualified to serve as a Trustee based on his or her own experience, qualifications, attributes and skills as described below.
The Board has concluded that Mr. Steinberg is qualified to serve as Trustee of the Fund because of the experience he has gained as President, Chief Executive Officer and director of WisdomTree Investments and the Adviser, his knowledge of and experience in the financial services industry, and the experience he has gained serving as President and Trustee of the Trust since 2005.
The Board has concluded that Mr. Chrencik is qualified to serve as Trustee of the Fund because of the experience he gained as an audit partner of a public accounting firm as well as his experience in and knowledge of the financial services industry, including his service as the chief financial officer of a hedge fund and his prior service as a board member of several other investment funds, and the experience he has gained serving as an Independent Trustee of the Trust since 2014.
23
The Board has concluded that Mr. Goldberg is qualified to serve as Trustee of the Fund because of the experience he has gained as a member of the staff of the SEC, including his service as Director of the SECs Division of Investment Management, his experience as legal counsel for many mutual funds, investment advisers, and independent directors, as well as the experience he has gained serving as an Independent Trustee of the Trust since 2012.
The Board has concluded that Ms. Massaro is qualified to serve as Trustee of the Fund because of the experience she has gained as a law professor, dean and advisor at various universities, and the experience she has gained serving as an Independent Trustee of the Trust since 2006.
The Board has concluded that Ms. Raso Kirstein is qualified to serve as Trustee of the Fund because of her experience in and knowledge of the financial services industry, including her service as a vice president, senior portfolio manager of fixed income management and director of tax exempt fund research of an investment advisory firm, as well as the experience she has gained serving as an Independent Trustee of the Trust since 2014.
The Board has concluded that Mr. Ugolyn is qualified to serve as Trustee of the Fund because of the experience he gained as chief executive officer of a firm specializing in financial services, his experience in and knowledge of the financial services industry, his experience as a member of the Board of Directors of The New York Society of Security Analysts, Inc., his service as chairman for another mutual fund family, and the experience he has gained serving as an Independent Trustee and Chairman of the Board of the Trust since 2006.
Fund Shares Owned by Board Members. The following table shows the dollar amount range of each Trustees beneficial ownership of shares of the Fund 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 1934 Act. The Trustees and officers of the Trust collectively own less than 1% of the outstanding shares of the Trust.
Name of Trustee |
Dollar Range of Equity |
Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity Securities in All Registered Investment Companies Overseen by Trustee in Family of Investment Companies** |
||||
Interested Trustee | ||||||
Jonathan L. Steinberg |
None | Over $100,000 | ||||
Independent Trustees | ||||||
David G. Chrencik |
None | Over $100,000 | ||||
Joel H. Goldberg |
None | Over $100,000 | ||||
Toni M. Massaro |
None | Over $100,000 | ||||
Melinda A. Raso Kirstein |
None | Over $100,000 | ||||
Victor Ugolyn |
None | $50,001 $100,000 |
* | Values based on Trustees ownership as of the date of this SAI. |
** | These values are based on the Trustees ownership as of December 31, 2016. |
Board Compensation. The following table sets forth the compensation paid by the Trust to each Trustee for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017.
Name of Interested |
Aggregate Compensation from the Trust |
Pension or Retirement Benefits Accrued as Part of Company Expenses |
Estimated Annual Benefits upon Retirement |
Total Compensation from the Funds and Fund Complex* |
||||||||||||
Jonathan Steinberg |
$ | 0 | None | None | $ | 0 |
24
Name of Independent |
Aggregate Compensation from the Trust |
Pension or Retirement Benefits Accrued as Part of Company Expenses |
Estimated Annual Benefits upon Retirement |
Total Compensation from the Funds and Fund Complex* |
||||||||||||
David Chrencik |
$ | 305,800 | None | None | $ | 305,800 | ||||||||||
Joel Goldberg |
$ | 305,800 | None | None | $ | 305,800 | ||||||||||
Toni Massaro |
$ | 305,800 | None | None | $ | 305,800 | ||||||||||
Melinda Raso Kirstein |
$ | 305,800 | None | None | $ | 305,800 | ||||||||||
Victor Ugolyn |
$ | 417,000 | None | None | $ | 417,000 |
* | The Trust is the only trust in the Fund Complex. |
Control Persons and Principal Holders of Securities. Because the Fund is new there were no beneficial owners as of the date of this SAI.
Certain officers, employees, accounts or affiliates of WisdomTree Asset Management (such as WisdomTree Investments, 245 Park Avenue, 35th Floor, New York, NY), including other funds advised by WisdomTree Asset Management or third parties, may from time to time own a substantial amount of the Funds shares, including as an initial or seed investor. Such positions may be held for a limited period of time, including to facilitate commencement of the Fund, to facilitate the Funds achieving size or scale or in seeking to track model portfolios of ETFs developed and maintained by the Adviser. Such shareholders, individually and/or collectively, could at times be considered to control the Fund (i.e., own greater than 25% of the Fund shares) and may purchase or sell shares, including large blocks of shares, at any given time. There can be no assurance that any such entity or person would not redeem or sell its investment, that the size of the Fund would be maintained at such levels or that the Fund would continue to meet applicable listing requirements, which could negatively impact the Fund and its shares. In addition, such transactions may account for a large percentage of secondary market trading volume and may, therefore, not be sustainable and/or may have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the shares.
Investment Adviser. WisdomTree Asset Management serves as investment adviser to the Fund pursuant to an investment advisory agreement between the Trust and WisdomTree Asset Management (the Investment Advisory Agreement). WisdomTree Asset Management is a Delaware corporation registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the Advisers Act), and has offices located at 245 Park Avenue, 35th Floor, New York, New York 10167.
Under the Investment Advisory Agreement, WisdomTree Asset Management is responsible for the overall management and administration of the Trust. WisdomTree Asset Management provides an investment program for the Fund. The Adviser also provides proactive oversight of the Sub-Adviser daily monitoring of the Sub-Advisers buying and selling of securities for the Fund and regular review of the Sub-Advisers performance. In addition, the Adviser also arranges for sub-advisory, transfer agency, custody, fund administration, securities lending, and all other non-distribution-related services necessary for the Fund to operate. The Adviser furnishes to the Trust all office facilities, equipment, services and executive and administrative personnel necessary for managing the investment program of the Trust for the Fund, including:
∎ | Overseeing the Trusts insurance program; |
∎ | Overseeing and coordinating all governance matters for the Trust; |
∎ | Coordinating meetings of the Board of Trustees; |
∎ | Devoting time and resources to maintaining an efficient market for the Funds shares; |
∎ | Coordinating with outside counsel on all Trust related legal matters; |
∎ | Coordinating the preparation of the Trusts financial statements; |
∎ | Coordinating all regulatory filings and shareholder reporting; |
∎ | Overseeing the Funds tax status and tax filings; |
∎ | Maintaining and updating a website for certain required disclosures; and |
∎ | Providing shareholders with additional information about the Fund. |
The Fund pays WisdomTree Asset Management a fee equal to 0.55% of the Funds average daily net assets.
Pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement, WisdomTree Asset Management has agreed to pay all expenses of the Trust, except for: (i) brokerage expenses and other fees, charges, taxes, levies or expenses (such as stamp taxes) incurred in connection with the execution of portfolio transactions or in connection with creation and redemption transactions (including without limitation any fees, charges, taxes, levies or expenses related to the purchase or sale of an amount of any currency, or the patriation or repatriation of any security or other asset, related to the execution of portfolio transactions or any creation or redemption transactions); (ii) legal fees or
25
expenses in connection with any arbitration, litigation or pending or threatened arbitration or litigation, including any settlements in connection therewith; (iii) compensation and expenses of each Independent Trustee; (iv) compensation and expenses of counsel to the Independent Trustees; (v) compensation and expenses of the Trusts CCO; (vi) extraordinary expenses (in each case as determined by a majority of the Independent Trustees); (vii) distribution fees and expenses paid by the Trust under any distribution plan adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act; (viii) interest and taxes of any kind or nature (including, but not limited to, income, excise, transfer and withholding taxes); (ix) fees and expenses related to the provision of securities lending services; and (x) the advisory fee payable to WisdomTree Asset Management. The internal expenses of pooled investment vehicles in which the Fund may invest (acquired fund fees and expenses) are not expenses of the Fund and are not paid by WisdomTree Asset Management.
Pursuant to a separate contractual arrangement, WisdomTree Asset Management arranges for the provision of CCO services with respect to the Fund and is liable and responsible for, and administers, payments to the CCO, the Independent Trustees and counsel to the Independent Trustees. WisdomTree Asset Management receives a fee of up to 0.0044% of the Funds average daily net assets for providing such services and paying such expenses. WisdomTree Asset Management provides CCO services to the Trust.
The Adviser, from its own resources, including profits from advisory fees received from the Fund, provided such fees are legitimate and not excessive, may make payments to broker-dealers and other financial institutions for their expenses in connection with the distribution of Fund shares, and otherwise currently pays all distribution costs for Fund shares.
The Investment Advisory Agreement with respect to the Fund continues in effect for two years from its effective date, and thereafter is subject to annual approval by (i) the Board or (ii) the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund, provided that in either event such continuance also is approved by a vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund, by a vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. If the shareholders of the Fund fail to approve the Investment Advisory Agreement, WisdomTree Asset Management may continue to serve in the manner and to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act and rules and regulations thereunder.
The Investment Advisory Agreement with respect to the Fund is terminable without any penalty, by vote of the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund, or by WisdomTree Asset Management, in each case on not less than thirty (30) days nor more than sixty (60) days prior written notice to the other party; provided, that a shorter notice period shall be permitted for the Fund in the event its shares are no longer listed on a national securities exchange. The Investment Advisory Agreement will terminate automatically and immediately in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act).
Sub-Adviser. ICBCCS serves as sub-adviser to the Fund and is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund. ICBCCS, a registered investment adviser, manages global quantitative-based investment strategies for institutional and private investors. Its principal office is located at ICBC Tower, 3 Garden Road, Suite 801, Hong Kong. ICBCCS is a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management Co., Ltd. in Hong Kong, a publicly traded financial holding company. ICBCCS chooses the portfolio investments of the Fund in seeking to track the Index and places orders to buy and sell the portfolio investments. WisdomTree Asset Management pays ICBCCS for providing sub-advisory services to the Fund.
The Sub-Adviser believes that it may perform sub-advisory and related services for the Trust without violating applicable banking laws or regulations. However, the legal requirements and interpretations about the permissible activities of banks and their affiliates may change in the future. These changes could prevent the Sub-Adviser from continuing to perform services for the Trust. If this happens, the Board would consider selecting other qualified firms.
The Sub-Advisory Agreement with respect to the Fund continues in effect for two years from its effective date, and thereafter is subject to annual approval by (i) the Board or (ii) the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund, provided that in either event such continuance is also approved by a vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund, by a vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. If the shareholders of the Fund fail to approve the Funds Sub-Advisory Agreement, WisdomTree Asset Management may continue to serve in the manner and to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act and rules and regulations thereunder. The Sub-Advisory Agreement is terminable without any penalty, by vote of the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund, or by WisdomTree Asset Management, in each case on not less than thirty (30) days nor more than sixty (60) days prior written notice to the other party; provided that a shorter notice period shall be permitted for the Fund in the event its shares are no longer listed on a national securities exchange. The Sub-Advisory Agreement will terminate automatically and immediately in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act).
26
Portfolio Manager. The Fund is managed by Ada Yin, a Senior Portfolio Manager of Index and Quantitative Investment of the Sub-Adviser.
As of September 30, 2017, the Sub-Advisers portfolio management team did not manage any registered investment companies. The Sub-Advisers portfolio management team manages 3 pooled investment vehicles with approximately $15 million in assets; and 5 other accounts with approximately $1.85 billion in assets.
Portfolio Manager Fund Ownership. As of the date of this SAI, the portfolio manager did not own shares of the Fund.
Portfolio Manager Compensation. The primary objectives of the Sub-Advisers compensation plans are to:
∎ | Motivate and reward superior investment and business performance |
∎ | Motivate and reward continued growth and profitability |
∎ | Attract and retain high-performing individuals critical to the on-going success of the Sub-Adviser |
∎ | Create an ownership mentality for all plan participants |
Cash compensation is comprised primarily of a market-based base salary and variable incentives (cash and deferred). Base salary is determined by the employees experience and performance in the role, taking into account the ongoing compensation benchmark analyses. Base salary is generally a fixed amount that may change as a result of an annual review or upon assumption of new duties. Funding for the Sub-Advisers Annual and Long Term Incentive Plan is through a pre-determined fixed percentage of overall Sub-Adviser profitability. Therefore, all bonus awards are based initially on the Sub-Advisers financial performance. The performance period under which annual incentive opportunities are earned covers the January 1st through December 31st calendar year. The compensation for each individual is evaluated on a total compensation basis, in which combined salaries and incentives are reviewed against competitive market data (benchmarks) for each position annually. Awards are 100% discretionary. Factors considered in awards include individual performance, team performance, investment performance of the associated portfolio(s) (including both short and long-term returns) and qualitative behavioral factors. Other factors considered in determining the award are the asset size and revenue growth/retention of the products managed (if applicable). Awards are paid partially in cash with the balance deferred through the Long Term Incentive Plan.
Participants in the Long Term Incentive Plan have a high level of accountability and a large impact on the success of the business due to the positions scope and overall responsibility. This plan provides for an annual award, payable in cash after a three-year cliff vesting period for senior level roles.
The Sub-Advisers Portfolio Managers responsible for managing the Fund are paid by the Sub-Adviser and not by the Fund. The same methodology described above is used to determine Portfolio Manager compensation with respect to the management of the Fund and other accounts. The Portfolio Managers are also eligible for the standard retirement benefits and health and welfare benefits available to all Sub-Adviser employees. In addition, Portfolio Managers whose compensation exceeds certain limits may elect to defer a portion of their salary and/or bonus under certain Deferred Compensation Plan for Employees.
Description of Material Conflicts of Interest
The Sub-Adviser manages numerous accounts with a variety of interests. This necessarily creates potential conflicts of interest for us. For example, we or an affiliate may cause multiple accounts to invest in the same investment. Such accounts may have conflicting interests and objectives in connection with such investment, including differing views on the operations or activities of the portfolio company, the targeted returns for the transaction, and the timeframe for and method of exiting the investment. Conflicts may also arise in cases where the Sub-Adviser identified an investment for acquisition that meets the investment strategy of more than one of the portfolios for which the Sub-Adviser acts as investment manager or advisor but availability is limited. Any of the foregoing conflicts of interest will be discussed and resolved on a case-by-case basis. Any such discussions will factor in the interests of the relevant parties, all reasonable steps to avoid a conflict of interest and applicable laws.
27
Performance Fees. The Portfolio Managers have entered into performance-based fee arrangements for certain client accounts and funds. Most of these arrangements provide for an asset-based management fee, based on the market value of the account at month end, quarter end or based on average market value, plus a performance fee based on the portfolios net return in excess of a specified benchmark and/or hurdle rate during a designated period of time. The performance is based on both realized and unrealized gains and losses. Some performance fee calculations include a high water mark, which keeps track of the highest level of performance on which a performance fee has been paid and which must be exceeded in order for an additional performance fee to be assessed. For more detailed information on how performance fees are calculated, please see the applicable private placement memorandum or the applicable investment management agreement.
Side-by-Side Management. Side-by-side management refers to a Portfolio Managers simultaneous management of multiple types of client accounts/investment products. For example, the Portfolio Managers manage separate accounts, managed accounts/wrap-fee programs, and pooled investment vehicles for clients at the same time. The Portfolio Managers clients have a variety of investment objectives, policies, strategies, limitations, and restrictions. Side-by-side management gives rise to a variety of potential and actual conflicts of interest for the Portfolio Managers. Below is a discussion of the conflicts that the Portfolio Managers face when engaging in side-by-side management and how they deal with them. Note that certain of the Sub-Advisers employees may also serve as officers or employees of one or more the Sub-Advisers affiliates (dual officers). These dual officers undertake investment management duties for the affiliates of which they are officers. When the Portfolio Managers concurrently manage client accounts/ investment products, and in particular when dual officers or dual employees are involved, this presents the same conflicts as described below. Note that Portfolio Managers manage their accounts consistent with applicable laws, and they follow procedures that are reasonably designed to treat clients fairly and to prevent any client or group of clients from being materially favored or disadvantaged.
Conflicts of Interest Relating to Side-by-Side Management of Discretionary and Non-Discretionary Accounts. In limited circumstances, Portfolio Managers may provide to a third party for which they provide non-discretionary advisory services the same model portfolio used to manage certain of the Portfolio Managers clients accounts. In those cases where Portfolio Managers are implementing the model results for only a portion of the assets affected (for example, only the assets over which Portfolio Managers have discretionary management authority) and therefore, they cannot apply their internal trade allocation procedures, Portfolio Managers will (i) use reasonable efforts to agree on procedures with such non-discretionary clients designed to prevent one group of clients from receiving preferential trading treatment over another group, or (ii) determine that, due to the nature of the assets to be traded or the market on which they are traded, no client would likely be adversely affected if such procedures are not established.
Conflicts of Interest Relating to Performance-Based Fees When Engaging in Side-by-Side Management. Portfolio Managers manage accounts that are charged a performance-based fee and other accounts that are charged a different type of fee, such as a flat asset-based fee. Portfolio Managers have a financial incentive to favor accounts with performance-based fees because they (and the Sub-Advisers employees and supervised persons) may have an opportunity to earn greater fees on such accounts as compared to client accounts without performance-based fees. Thus, Portfolio Managers have an incentive to direct their best investment ideas to client accounts that pay performance-based fees, and to allocate, aggregate, or sequence trades in favor of such accounts. Portfolio Managers also have an incentive to give accounts with performance-based fees better execution and better brokerage commissions.
Conflicts of Interest Relating to Accounts with Different Strategies. Portfolio Managers manage numerous accounts with a variety of strategies, which may present conflicts of interest. For example, a long/short position in two client accounts simultaneously can result in a loss to one client based on a decision to take a gain in the other. Taking concurrent conflicting positions in certain derivative instruments can likewise cause a loss to one client and a gain to another. Portfolio Managers also may face conflicts of interest when they have uncovered option strategies and significant positions in illiquid securities in side-by-side accounts.
Conflicts of Interest Relating to the Management of Multiple Client Accounts. Portfolio Managers perform investment advisory services for various clients. Portfolio Managers may give advice and take action in the performance of their duties with respect to any of their other clients which may differ from the advice given, or the timing or nature of action taken, with respect another client. Portfolio Managers have no obligation to purchase or sell for a client any security or other property which they purchase or sell for their own account or for the account of any other client, if they believe it is undesirable or impractical to take such action. Portfolio Managers may give advice or take action in the performance of their duties with respect to any of their clients which may differ from the advice given, or the timing or nature of action taken, by their affiliates on behalf of their clients.
Conflicts of Interest Relating to Investment in Affiliated Accounts. To the extent permissible under applicable law, the Portfolio Managers may decide to invest some or all of their temporary investments in money market or similar accounts advised or managed by a Sub-Adviser affiliate. In addition, the Portfolio Managers may invest client accounts in affiliated pooled vehicles. The Portfolio Managers have an incentive to allocate investments to these types of affiliated accounts in order to generate additional fees for themselves or their affiliates. In certain instances, Portfolio Managers may enter into revenue sharing arrangements with affiliates where they may receive a portion of the fee, or bill the full fee to the client and reimburse the affiliate. Portfolio Managers may also enter into wholesale arrangements with affiliates where they receive only a portion of the client fee. For certain accounts with affiliates, some of the fees, such as custody fees, may be waived or rebated.
28
Conflicts of Interest Relating to the Discretion to Redeem from and Invest in Pooled Investment Vehicles. The Portfolio Managers clients may give them discretion to allocate client assets to, and/or redeem client assets from, certain pooled investment vehicles they manage or sub-advise. Sometimes, such discretionary authority is restricted by asset allocation parameters which may limit the Portfolio Managers discretion to allocate to a percentage range of the value of a clients account. When a client grants Portfolio Managers that discretion, a conflict could arise with respect to such client, and also with respect to other investors in such pooled investment vehicle. The Portfolio Managers may, for example, have an incentive to maintain a larger percentage of a clients assets in a fund in order for such assets to act as seed capital, to increase the funds assets under management and thus, to make investment by other investors more attractive, or to maintain the continuity of a performance record if the client is the sole remaining investor. Likewise, as the manager or sub-adviser, they will have information that investors will not have about the investments held by a fund and about other investors intentions to invest or redeem. Such information could potentially be used to favor one investor over another.
Conflicts of Interest Relating to Proprietary Accounts. The Portfolio Managers, and the Sub-Advisers existing and future employees may from time to time invest in products managed by the Sub-Adviser and they or related persons may establish seeded funds or accounts for the purpose of developing new investment strategies and products (collectively, Proprietary Accounts). Investment by the Sub-Adviser, or its employees in Proprietary Accounts that invest in the same securities as other client accounts may create conflicts of interest. Portfolio Managers have an incentive to favor these Proprietary Accounts by directing their best investment ideas to these accounts or allocating, aggregating, or sequencing trades in favor of such accounts, to the disadvantage of other accounts. Portfolio Managers also have an incentive to dedicate more time and attention to their Proprietary Accounts and to give them better execution and brokerage commissions than their other client accounts. The Portfolio Managers also may waive fees for Proprietary Accounts or for certain affiliated persons who invest in such Proprietary Accounts.
Valuations. A majority of the Sub-Advisers fees are based on the valuations provided by clients custodians or pooled accounts administrators. However, a conflict of interest may arise in overseeing the valuation of investments in the limited situations where the Sub-Adviser is involved in the determination of the valuation of an investment. In such circumstances, the Sub-Adviser requires, to the extent possible, pricing from an independent third party pricing vendor. If vendor pricing is unavailable, the Sub-Adviser then looks to other observable inputs for the valuations. In the event that a vendor price or other observable inputs are unavailable or deemed unreliable, the Sub-Adviser has established a Securities Pricing Committee to make a reasonable determination of a securitys fair value.
Other Conflicts of Interest. As noted previously, Portfolio Managers manage numerous accounts with a variety of interests. This necessarily creates potential conflicts of interest for the Portfolio Managers. For example, Portfolio Managers may cause multiple accounts to invest in the same investment. Such accounts may have conflicting interests and objectives in connection with such investment, including differing views on the operations or activities of the portfolio company, the targeted returns for the transaction, and the timeframe for and method of exiting the investment. Conflicts may also arise in cases where multiple Sub-Adviser and/or affiliate client accounts are invested in different parts of an issuers capital structure. For example, one of the Portfolio Managers client accounts could acquire debt obligations of a company while an affiliates client account acquires an equity investment. In negotiating the terms and conditions of any such investments, Portfolio Managers may find that the interests of the debt-holding client accounts and the equity-holding client accounts may conflict. If that issuer encounters financial problems, decisions over the terms of the workout could raise conflicts of interest (including, for example, conflicts over proposed waivers and amendments to debt covenants). For example, debt holding accounts may be better served by a liquidation of an issuer in which it could be paid in full, while equity holding accounts might prefer a reorganization of the issuer that would have the potential to retain value for the equity holders. As another example, holders of an issuers senior securities may be able to act to direct cash flows away from junior security holders, and both the junior and senior security holders may be the Sub-Adviser client accounts. Any of the foregoing conflicts of interest will be discussed and resolved on a case-by-case basis. Any such discussions will factor in the interests of the relevant parties and applicable laws.
Addressing Conflicts of Interest. Portfolio Managers have a fiduciary duty to manage all client accounts in a fair and equitable manner. To accomplish this, the Sub-Adviser has adopted various policies and procedures (including, but not limited to, policies relating to trading operations, best execution, trade order aggregation and allocation, short sales, cross-trading, code of conduct, personal securities trading, and purchases of securities from affiliated underwriters). These procedures are intended to help employees identify and mitigate potential side-by-side conflicts of interest such as those described above. The Sub-Adviser has also developed a conflicts matrix listing potential side-by-side conflicts, the compliance policies and procedures reasonably designed to mitigate such potential conflicts of interest and the corresponding compliance testing program established with the goal of confirming the Sub-Advisers adherence to such policies and procedures.
Codes of Ethics. The Trust, the Advisers and the Distributor have each adopted a Code of Ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act and Rule 204A-1 under the Advisers Act, where applicable. 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 securities that may be purchased or held by the Fund. Each Code of Ethics is on public file with, and is available from, the SEC.
29
Administrator, Custodian, Transfer Agent and Securities Lending Agent. State Street Bank and Trust Company (State Street) serves as administrator, custodian, transfer agent and securities lending agent for the Fund. State Streets principal address is One Lincoln Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02110. Under the Fund Administration Agreement with the Trust, State Street provides certain administrative, legal, tax and financial reporting services for the maintenance and operations of the Trust and the Fund. Under the Master Custodian Agreement with the Trust, State Street acts as custodian of assets of the Trust, including securities which the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, desires to be held in places within the United States and securities it desires to be held outside the United States, and provides accounting and other services. State Street is required, upon the order of the Trust, to deliver securities held by State Street and to make payments for securities purchased by the Trust and for the Fund. Also, under the Master Custodian Agreement, State Street is authorized to appoint certain foreign custodians or foreign custody managers for Fund investments outside the United States. The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) serves as the PRC custodian for the Fund. Pursuant to a Transfer Agency and Service Agreement with the Trust, State Street acts as transfer agent for the authorized and issued shares of beneficial interest for the Fund, and as dividend disbursing agent of the Trust. State Street also provides services, as applicable, for any wholly-owned subsidiary of a WisdomTree Fund. As compensation for the foregoing services, State Street receives certain out-of-pocket costs, transaction fees and asset-based fees which are accrued daily and paid monthly. State Street also serves as the Funds securities lending agent. As compensation for providing such services, State Street receives a portion of the income earned by the Fund in connection with the lending program. With respect to the foregoing agreements, the Trust has agreed to a limitation of liability for State Street and/or to indemnify State Street for certain liabilities. The Fund is new and the Adviser had not paid State Street any fees for services to the Fund as of the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017.
Distributor. Foreside Fund Services, LLC serves as Distributor for the Trust and its principal address is Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101. The Distributor has entered into a Distribution Agreement with the Trust pursuant to which it distributes shares of the Fund. The Distribution Agreement will continue for two years from its effective date and is renewable annually. Shares are continuously offered for sale by the Fund through the Distributor only in Creation Unit Aggregations, as described in the applicable Prospectus and below in the Creation and Redemption of Creation Unit Aggregations section. Shares in less than Creation Unit Aggregations are not distributed by the Distributor. The Distributor will deliver the applicable Prospectus and, upon request, this SAI to persons purchasing Creation Unit Aggregations and will maintain records of both orders placed with it and confirmations of acceptance furnished by it. The Distributor is a broker-dealer registered under the 1934 Act and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The Distributor is not affiliated with WisdomTree Investments, WisdomTree Asset Management, or any stock exchange.
The Distribution Agreement for the Fund will provide that it may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, on at least sixty (60) days prior written notice to the other party (i) by vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees or (ii) by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Fund. The Distribution Agreement will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act).
The Distributor may also enter into agreements with securities dealers (Soliciting Dealers) who will solicit purchases of Creation Unit Aggregations of shares. Such Soliciting Dealers may also be Authorized Participants (as defined below) or DTC Participants (as defined below).
Intermediary Compensation. WisdomTree Asset Management or its affiliates, out of their own resources and not out of Fund assets (i.e., without additional cost to the Fund or its shareholders), may pay certain broker-dealers, banks and other financial intermediaries (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, for other activities, such as marketing and educational training or support, or for data or platform access. In addition, WisdomTree Asset Management and E*Trade Securities LLC (ETS) have entered into an agreement whereby ETS has agreed not to charge its customers any transaction fee or brokerage commission for the purchase of shares of the Fund made through ETSs distribution system (the ETS fee waiver) and to disclose that the Fund is sold with the ETS fee waiver, and WisdomTree Asset Management has agreed to pay ETS during the term of the agreement an amount based on net purchases and sales of the Fund in the ETS distribution system. WisdomTree Asset Management has also agreed to make payments to Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (Schwab) for the services described above including education costs and administrative costs with respect to applicable Funds made available and/or sold through the Schwab ETF OneSource platform. These arrangements are not financed by the 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 the Funds Prospectus, and they do not change the price paid by investors for the purchase of the Funds shares or the amount received by a shareholder as proceeds from the redemption of Fund shares.
Such compensation may be paid to Intermediaries that provide services to the Fund, including marketing and education support (such as through conferences, webinars and printed communications). WisdomTree Asset Management periodically assesses the advisability of continuing to make these payments.
30
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, may also 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 the Fund over other investments. The same conflict of interest exists with respect to your financial adviser, broker or investment professionals 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 WisdomTree Asset Management or its affiliates to an Intermediary may create the incentive for an Intermediary to encourage customers to buy shares of WisdomTree Funds.
If you have any additional questions, please call 1-866-909-9473.
The Sub-Adviser assumes general supervision over placing orders on behalf of the Fund for the purchase and sale of portfolio securities. As discussed in the Prospectus and this SAI, Chinese regulations and market practice limits the PRC dealers and/or brokers that may be available to trade with the Fund. In selecting the brokers or dealers for any transaction in portfolio securities, the Sub-Advisers policy is to make such selection based on factors deemed relevant, including, but not limited to, the breadth of the market in the security; the price of the security; the reasonableness of the commission or mark-up or mark-down, if any; execution capability; settlement capability; back office efficiency; and the financial condition of the broker or dealer, both for the specific transaction and on a continuing basis. The overall reasonableness of brokerage commissions paid is evaluated by the Sub-Adviser based upon its knowledge of available information as to the general level of commissions paid by other institutional investors for comparable services. Brokers may also be selected because of their ability to handle special or difficult executions, such as may be involved in large block trades, less liquid or foreign securities, broad distributions, or other circumstances. The Sub-Adviser does not consider the provision or value of research, products or services a broker or dealer may provide, if any, as a factor in the selection of a broker or dealer or the determination of the reasonableness of commissions paid in connection with portfolio transactions. The Trust has adopted policies and procedures that prohibit the consideration of sales of the Funds shares as a factor in the selection of a broker or a dealer to execute its portfolio transactions. To the extent creation or redemption transactions are conducted on a cash or cash in lieu basis, the Fund may contemporaneously transact with broker-dealers for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities in connection with such transactions (see Creation and Redemption of Creation Unit Aggregations herein). Such orders may be placed with an Authorized Participant in its capacity as broker-dealer or with an affiliated broker-dealer of such Authorized Participant.
Brokerage Commissions. The Fund is new and had not paid any brokerage commissions as of the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017.
Affiliated Brokers. The Fund is new and had not paid any commissions to any affiliated brokers as of the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017.
Regular Broker-Dealers. The Fund is new and did not acquire securities of its regular brokers or dealers (as defined in the 1940 Act) or of their parents during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017.
Portfolio Turnover. 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 and may result in a substantial amount of distributions from a Fund to be taxed as ordinary income which may limit the tax efficiency of such Fund. The overall reasonableness of brokerage commissions is evaluated by each Sub-Adviser based upon its knowledge of available information as to the general level of commissions paid by the other institutional investors for comparable services.
The Fund is new and therefore did not have a portfolio turnover rate for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING THE TRUST
Shares. The Trust was established as a Delaware statutory trust on December 15, 2005, and consists of multiple series or funds. The Fund issues shares of beneficial interest, with $0.001 par value. The Board may establish additional funds. The Trust is registered with the SEC as an open-end management investment company.
Each share issued by the Fund has a pro rata interest in the assets of the Fund. Shares have no preemptive, exchange, subscription or conversion rights and are freely transferable. Each share is entitled to participate equally in dividends and distributions declared by the Board of Trustees with respect to the Fund, and in the net distributable assets of the Fund on liquidation.
31
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 within the Trust vote together as a single class except that if the matter being voted on affects only a particular fund or if a matter affects a particular fund differently from other funds, that fund will vote separately on such matter.
Under Delaware law, the Trust is not required to hold an annual meeting of shareholders unless required to do so under the 1940 Act. The policy of the Trust is not to hold an annual meeting of shareholders unless required to do so under the 1940 Act. All shares have non-cumulative voting rights for the Board. Under Delaware law, Trustees of the Trust may be removed by vote of the shareholders.
Following the creation of the initial Creation Unit Aggregation(s) of shares of the Fund and immediately prior to the commencement of trading in the Funds shares, a holder of shares may be a control person of the Fund, as defined in the 1940 Act. The Fund cannot accurately predict the length of time for which one or more shareholders may remain a control person or persons of the Fund.
Shareholders may make inquiries by writing to the Trust, c/o Foreside Fund Services, LLC, Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101.
Absent an applicable exemption or other relief from the SEC or its staff, beneficial owners of more than 5% of the shares of the Fund may be subject to the reporting provisions of Section 13 of the 1934 Act and the SECs rules promulgated thereunder. In addition, absent an applicable exemption or other relief from the SEC staff, officers and Trustees of the Fund and beneficial owners of 10% of the shares of the Fund (Insiders) may be subject to the insider reporting, short-swing profit and short sale provisions of Section 16 of the 1934 Act and the SECs rules promulgated thereunder. Beneficial owners and Insiders should consult with their own legal counsel concerning their obligations under Sections 13 and 16 of the 1934 Act.
Termination of the Trust or the Fund. The Trust or the Fund may be terminated by a majority vote of the Board or the affirmative vote of a super majority of the holders of the Trust or the Fund entitled to vote on termination. Although the shares are not automatically redeemable upon the occurrence of any specific event, the Trusts organizational documents provide that the Board will have the unrestricted power to alter the number of shares in a Creation Unit Aggregation. In the event of a termination of the Trust or the Fund, the Board, in its sole discretion, could determine to permit the shares to be redeemable in aggregations smaller than Creation Unit Aggregations or to be individually redeemable. In such circumstances, the Trust may make redemptions in kind, for cash, or for a combination of cash and securities.
Role of the Depositary Trust Company (DTC). DTC acts as Securities Depository for the shares of the Trust. Shares of the Fund are represented by securities registered in the name of DTC or its nominee and deposited with, or on behalf of, DTC.
DTC, a limited-purpose trust company, was created to hold securities of its participants (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 which (and/or their representatives) own DTC. More specifically, DTC is owned by a number of its DTC Participants and by the NYSE and FINRA. Access to the DTC system is also 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 (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 herein 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. No Beneficial Owner shall have the right to receive a certificate representing such shares.
Conveyance of all notices, statements and other communications to Beneficial Owners is effected as follows. Pursuant to the Depositary Agreement between the Trust and DTC, DTC is required to make available to the Trust upon request and for a fee to be charged to the Trust a listing of the shares of the Fund held by each DTC Participant. The Trust shall inquire of each such DTC Participant as to 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 and 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. The foregoing processes may be conducted by the Trust via a third party.
Share distributions shall be made to DTC or its nominee, Cede & Co., as the registered holder of all shares of the Trust. DTC or its nominee, upon receipt of any such distributions, shall immediately credit DTC Participants accounts with payments in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in shares of the 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.
32
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 such 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 decide to discontinue its service with respect to shares of the Trust at any time by giving reasonable notice to the Trust and discharging its responsibilities with respect thereto under applicable law. Under such circumstances, the Trust shall take action to find a replacement for DTC to perform its functions at a comparable cost.
CREATION AND REDEMPTION OF CREATION UNIT AGGREGATIONS
Creation. The Trust issues and sells shares of the Fund only in Creation Unit Aggregations on a continuous basis through the Distributor, without a sales load, at the NAV next determined after receipt, on any Business Day, of an order in proper form.
Fund Deposit. The consideration for purchase of Creation Unit Aggregations of the Fund generally consists of an amount of cash denominated in U.S. dollars (the Cash Component) but may, from time to time, include an in-kind deposit of a designated portfolio of securities (the Deposit Securities) computed as described below. Together, the Cash Component and/or the Deposit Securities constitute the Fund Deposit, which represents the minimum initial and subsequent investment amount for a Creation Unit Aggregation of the Fund.
The Fund or Advisers may permit or require the submission of a basket of securities and other instruments, non-U.S. currency or cash denominated in U.S. dollars that differs from the composition of the published basket(s). The Fund or Advisers may permit or require the consideration for Creation Unit Aggregations to consist solely of cash or non-U.S. currency. The Fund or Advisers reserve the right to permit or require the substitution of an amount of cash denominated in U.S. dollars or non-U.S. currency (i.e., a cash in lieu amount) to be added, at its discretion, to the Cash Component to replace any Deposit Security. For example, cash may be substituted to replace any Deposit Security that may not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery or that may not be eligible for transfer through the systems of DTC or the Clearing Process (discussed below). The Trust or Advisers reserve the right to permit or require a cash in lieu amount where the delivery of the Deposit Security by the Authorized Participant (as described below) would be prohibited or restricted under applicable securities laws, or in certain other situations at the sole discretion of the Trust.
The portion of the Cash Component that does not serve to replace a Deposit Security is sometimes also referred to as the Balancing Amount. The Balancing Amount is an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of the shares (per Creation Unit Aggregation) and the value of Deposit Securities. If the Balancing Amount is a positive number, the Authorized Participant will deliver the Balancing Amount. If the Balancing Amount is a negative number, the Authorized Participant will receive the Balancing Amount. The Balancing Amount does not include any stamp duty tax or other similar fees and expenses payable upon transfer of beneficial ownership of the Deposit Securities. These are the sole responsibility of the Authorized Participant.
The Fund, through the National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC), makes available on each Business Day, immediately prior to the opening of business on the Listing Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m., Eastern time), the list of the names and the required number of shares of each Deposit Security and/or applicable Cash Component to be included in the current Fund Deposit (based on information at the end of the previous Business Day) for the Fund. Such Deposit Securities are applicable, subject to any adjustments, as described herein, in order to effect creations of Creation Unit Aggregations of the Fund until such time as the next-announced composition of the Deposit Securities is made available.
The identity and number of shares of the Deposit Securities required for a Fund Deposit for the Fund changes from time to time based on changes to the Funds Underlying Index and other factors.
Procedures for Creation of Creation Unit Aggregations. To be eligible to place orders with the Distributor and to create a Creation Unit Aggregation of the 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. In each case, such entity must have executed an agreement with the Distributor with respect to creations and redemptions of Creation Unit Aggregations (a Participant Agreement). A Participating Party or DTC Participant that has entered a Participant Agreement is referred to as an Authorized Participant. Investors should contact the Distributor for the names of Authorized Participants that have signed a Participant Agreement. All shares of the Fund, however created, will be entered on the records of DTC in the name of Cede & Co. for the account of a DTC Participant.
All orders to create shares must be placed for one or more Creation Unit Aggregations. All orders to create Creation Unit Aggregations must be received by the Distributor by the designated closing time, which is no later than the closing time of the regular trading session on the Listing Exchange (Closing Time) (ordinarily 4:00 p.m., Eastern time) on the date such orders are placed in order to receive that days NAV. All orders must be received in proper form. The date on which an order to create Creation Unit Aggregations is placed is referred to as the Transmittal Date. Orders must be transmitted by an Authorized Participant by telephone,
33
online portal or other transmission method acceptable to State Street and the Distributor pursuant to procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement, as described below, which procedures may change from time to time without notice at the discretion of the Trust. Economic or market disruptions or changes, or telephone or other communication failure, may impede the ability to reach State Street and the Distributor or an Authorized Participant. On days when the Listing Exchange or U.S. or non-U.S. markets close earlier than normal, the Fund may require purchase orders to be placed earlier in the day. All questions as to the number of Deposit Securities and/or Cash Component to be delivered, and the validity, form and eligibility (including time of receipt) for the deposit of any tendered securities, will be determined by the Trust or Advisers, whose determination shall be final and binding.
All orders to create Creation Unit Aggregations through an Authorized Participant shall be placed with an Authorized Participant, in the form required by such Authorized Participant. In addition, the 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, in that case, orders to create Creation Unit Aggregations of the Fund have to be placed by each investors 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.
Those placing orders for Creation Unit Aggregations through the Clearing Process should afford sufficient time to permit proper submission of the order to the Distributor prior to the Closing Time on the Transmittal Date. Orders for Creation Unit Aggregations that are effected outside the Clearing Process are likely to require transmittal by the DTC Participant earlier on the Transmittal Date than orders effected using the Clearing Process. Those persons placing orders outside the Clearing Process should ascertain the deadlines applicable to DTC and the Federal Reserve Bank wire system by contacting the operations department of the broker or depository institution effectuating such transfer of Deposit Securities and the Cash Component.
Placement of Creation Orders Using the Clearing Process. Fund Deposits made through the Clearing Process must be delivered through a Participating Party that has executed a Participant Agreement. The Participant Agreement authorizes the Distributor or State Street to transmit through State Street to NSCC, on behalf of the Participating Party, such trade instructions as are necessary to effect the Participating Partys creation order. Pursuant to such trade instructions to NSCC, the Participating Party agrees to deliver the requisite Deposit Securities and the Cash Component to the Trust, together with such additional information as may be required by the Distributor. An order to create Creation Unit Aggregations through the Clearing Process is deemed received by the Distributor on the Transmittal Date if: (i) such order is received by the Distributor not later than the Closing Time on such Transmittal Date; and (ii) all other procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement are properly followed.
Placement of Creation Orders Outside the Clearing Process. Fund Deposits made outside the Clearing Process must be delivered through a DTC Participant that has executed a Participant Agreement. A DTC Participant who wishes to place an order creating Creation Unit Aggregations to be effected outside the Clearing Process does not need to be a Participating Party, but such orders must state that the DTC Participant is not using the Clearing Process and that the creation of Creation Unit Aggregations will instead be effected through a transfer of securities and cash directly through DTC. The Fund Deposit transfer must be ordered by the DTC Participant on the Transmittal Date in a timely fashion so as to ensure the delivery of the requisite number of Deposit Securities through DTC to the account of the Fund by no later than 2:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the Settlement Date. The Settlement Date is typically the second Business Day following the Transmittal Date. The Fund reserves the right to settle transactions on a basis other than T plus two Business Days (i.e., days on which the NYSE is open) (T+2). In certain cases Authorized Participants will create and redeem Creation Unit Aggregations of the same Fund on the same trade date. In these instances, the Trust reserves the right to settle these transactions on a net basis.
On days when the Listing Exchange or U.S. markets close earlier than normal, the Fund may require purchase orders to be placed earlier in the day. All questions as to the number of Deposit Securities and/or Cash Component to be delivered, and the validity, form and eligibility (including time of receipt) for the deposit of any tendered securities, will be determined by the Trust or Advisers, whose determination shall be final and binding. The amount of cash equal to the Cash Component must be transferred directly to State Street through the Federal Reserve Bank wire transfer system in a timely manner so as to be received by State Street no later than 2:00 p.m., Eastern time, on the Settlement Date. An order to create Creation Unit Aggregations outside the Clearing Process is deemed received by the Distributor on the Transmittal Date if: (i) such order is received by the Distributor not later than the Closing Time on such Transmittal Date; and (ii) all other procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement are properly followed. However, if State Street does not receive both the required Deposit Securities and the Cash Component by the specified time on the Settlement Date, the Trust may cancel or revoke acceptance of such order. Upon written notice to the Distributor, such canceled or revoked order may be resubmitted the following Business Day using a Fund Deposit as newly constituted to reflect the then current NAV of the Fund. The delivery of Creation Unit Aggregations so created generally will occur no later than the Settlement Date.
Creation Unit Aggregations may be created 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 the shares on the date the order is placed in proper form since, in addition to available Deposit Securities, U.S. cash must be deposited in an amount equal to the sum of (i) the Cash Component, plus (ii) generally between 102%-110%, as directed by the Trust or Advisers,, which the Trust or Advisers may change from time to time, of the market value of the undelivered Deposit Securities (the Additional Cash Deposit) with the Fund pending delivery of any missing Deposit Securities.
34
If an Authorized Participant determines to post an Additional Cash Deposit as collateral for any undelivered Deposit Securities, such Authorized Participant must deposit with State Street the appropriate amount of federal funds by 2:00 p.m., Eastern time (or such other time as specified by the Trust), on the Settlement Date. If the Authorized Participant does not place its purchase order by the closing time or State Street does not receive federal funds in the appropriate amount by such time, then the order may be deemed to be rejected and the Authorized Participant shall be liable to the Fund for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. An additional amount of cash shall be required to be deposited with State Street, pending delivery of the missing Deposit Securities to the extent necessary to maintain the Additional Cash Deposit with the Trust in an amount generally between 102%-110%, as directed by the Trust or Advisers, which the Trust or Advisers may change from time to time, of the daily marked-to-market value of the missing Deposit Securities. To the extent that missing Deposit Securities are not received by the specified time on the Settlement Date, or in the event a marked-to-market payment is not made within one Business Day following notification by the Distributor that such a payment is required, the Trust may use the Additional Cash Deposit to purchase the missing Deposit Securities. The Trust also requires delivery of Deposit Securities and/or an Additional Cash Deposit prior to settlement date by the Authorized Participant in relation to certain international markets.
The Authorized Participant 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 market value of such Deposit Securities on the Transmittal Date 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 State Street or purchased by the Trust and deposited into the Trust. In addition, a Transaction Fee, as listed below, will be charged in all cases. The delivery of Creation Unit Aggregations so created generally will occur no later than the Settlement Date. In no event will an Authorized Participant receive or be entitled to interest or other consideration associated with or in relation to the Additional Cash Deposit.
Cash Purchases. When, in the sole discretion of the Trust or Advisers, cash purchases of Creation Unit Aggregations of shares are available or specified for the Fund, such purchases shall be effected in essentially the same manner as in-kind purchases thereof. In the case of a 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. In addition, to offset brokerage and other costs associated with using cash to purchase the requisite Deposit Securities, the Authorized Participant must pay the Transaction Fees required by the Fund. If the Authorized Participant acts as a broker for the Fund in connection with the purchase of Deposit Securities, the Authorized Participant will also be required to pay certain brokerage commissions, taxes, and transaction and market impact costs as discussed under the heading Brokerage Transactions herein.
Acceptance of Orders for Creation Unit Aggregations. The Trust reserves the absolute right to reject or revoke acceptance of a creation order transmitted to it by the Distributor with respect to the Fund. Orders may be rejected and acceptance may be revoked if, for example: (i) the order is not in proper form; (ii) the investor(s), upon obtaining the shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding shares of the Fund; (iii) the Deposit Securities delivered are not the same as those disseminated through the facilities of the NSCC for that date by the Fund as described above; (iv) acceptance of the Deposit Securities would have certain adverse tax consequences to the Fund; (v) acceptance of the Fund Deposit would, in the opinion of counsel, be unlawful; (vi) acceptance of the Fund Deposit would otherwise, in the discretion of the Trust or WisdomTree Asset Management, have an adverse effect on the Trust or the rights of beneficial owners; or (vii) in the event that circumstances outside the control of the Trust, State Street, the Distributor or WisdomTree Asset Management make it for all practical purposes impossible to process creation orders. Examples of such circumstances include acts of God; 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, WisdomTree Asset Management, the Distributor, DTC, NSCC, State Street or a sub-custodian or any other participant in the creation process; and similar extraordinary events. The Distributor shall notify a prospective creator of a Creation Unit and/or the Authorized Participant acting on behalf of the creator of a Creation Unit Aggregation of its rejection of the order of such person. The Trust, State Street, a sub-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 any of them incur any liability for the failure to give any such notification. To the extent creations are rejected or may be otherwise limited or suspended, Fund shares could trade at a significant premium or discount to NAV and the Fund could experience substantial redemptions.
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 Trusts determination shall be final and binding.
Creation/Redemption Transaction Fee. The Fund imposes a Transaction Fee or CU Fee on investors purchasing or redeeming Creation Units. The purpose of the Transaction Fee is to protect the existing shareholders of the Fund from the dilutive costs associated with the purchase and redemption of Creation Units. Where the Fund permits cash creations (or redemptions) or cash in lieu of depositing one or more Deposit Securities, the purchaser (or redeemer) may be assessed a higher Transaction Fee to offset the
35
transaction cost to the Fund of buying (or selling) those particular Deposit Securities. Transaction Fees for the Fund will differ from Transaction Fees for other WisdomTree Funds, depending on the transaction expenses related to the Funds portfolio securities, and will be limited to amounts that have been determined by WisdomTree Asset Management to be appropriate. The maximum Transaction Fee, as set forth in the table below for the Fund, may be charged in cases where the Fund permits cash or cash in lieu of Deposit Securities. Investors purchasing or redeeming through the DTC process generally will pay a higher Transaction Fee than will investors doing so through the NSCC process. Also, investors who use the services of a broker or other such intermediary may be charged a fee for such services, in addition to the Transaction Fee imposed by the Fund.
The following table sets forth the standard and maximum creation and redemption Transaction Fees for the Fund. These fees may be changed by the Trust.
Fund |
CU Fee* |
Maximum CU Fee* |
||||||
WisdomTree ICBCCS S&P China 500 Fund |
$5,000 | $20,000 |
* | The Fund may charge, either in lieu of or in addition to the Transaction Fees, in the sole discretion of the Trust or as determined by the Adviser, a variable fee for creations and redemptions in order to cover certain brokerage, tax, foreign exchange, execution, market impact and other costs and expenses related to the execution of trades resulting from such transaction, up to any applicable legal limits. Due to the volatility and other aspects of the Chinese market, the variable transaction fee could at times be very significant (e.g., 10%), and will vary based on actual experience and conditions, but in any event in the case of redemptions, the variable transaction fee will be limited to 2%. |
Placement of Redemption Orders for Using the Clearing Process. Orders to redeem Creation Unit Aggregations through the Clearing Process must be delivered through a Participating Party that has executed the Participant Agreement. Except as described herein, an order to redeem Creation Unit Aggregations using the Clearing Process is deemed received by the Trust on the Transmittal Date if: (i) such order is received by State Street (in its capacity as Transfer Agent) not later than the Closing Time on such Transmittal Date, and (ii) all other procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement are properly followed. Such order will be effected based on the NAV of the Fund as next determined. The consideration for redemption of Creation Unit Aggregations of the Fund generally consists of (i) a portfolio of securities (the Fund Securities) and (ii) an amount of cash denominated in U.S. dollars (the Cash Redemption Amount) as described below. The requisite Fund Securities and the Cash Redemption Amount generally will be transferred by the second NSCC Business Day following the date on which such request for redemption is deemed received.
Placement of Redemption Orders Outside the Clearing Process. Orders to redeem Creation Unit Aggregations outside the Clearing Process must be delivered through a DTC Participant that has executed the Participant Agreement. An order to redeem Creation Unit Aggregations outside the Clearing Process is deemed received by the Trust on the Transmittal Date if: (i) such order is received by State Street (in its capacity as Transfer Agent) not later than the Closing Time on such Transmittal Date; (ii) such order is accompanied or followed by the requisite number of shares of the Fund specified in such order, which delivery must be made through DTC to State Street no later than instructed, which is typically one day after Transmittal Date (presuming T+2 settlement); and (iii) all other procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement are properly followed. After the Trust has deemed an order for redemption outside the Clearing Process received, the Trust will initiate procedures to transfer the requisite Fund Securities which are expected to be delivered within two Business Days and the Cash Redemption Amount to the Authorized Participant on behalf of the redeeming Beneficial Owner by the Settlement Date. In certain cases Authorized Participants will redeem and create Creation Unit Aggregations of the same Fund on the same trade date. In these instances, the Trust reserves the right to settle these transactions on a net basis.
If the requisite number of shares of the Fund is not delivered as described above or an Additional Cash Deposit is not made, as applicable, in the sole discretion of the Trust or Advisers, in no event will an Authorized Participant receive or be entitled to interest or other consideration associated with or in relation to the Additional Cash Deposit, the Fund may reject or revoke acceptance of the redemption request because the Authorized Participant has not satisfied all of the settlement requirements.
The current procedures for collateralization of missing shares require, among other things, that any Additional Cash Deposit shall be in the form of U.S. dollars in immediately available funds and shall be held by State Street and marked-to-market daily, and that the fees of State Street and any sub-custodians in respect of the delivery, maintenance and redelivery of the Additional Cash Deposit shall be payable by the Authorized Participant. The Authorized Participants agreement will permit the Trust, on behalf of the affected Fund, to purchase the missing shares or acquire the Deposit Securities and the Cash Component underlying such shares at any time and will subject the Authorized Participant to liability for any shortfall between the cost to the Trust of purchasing such shares, Deposit Securities or Cash Component and the value of the collateral.
The calculation of the value of the Fund Securities and the Cash Redemption Amount to be delivered upon redemption will be made by State Street according to the procedures set forth under Determination of NAV computed on the Business Day on which a redemption order is deemed received by the Trust.
The Fund or the Advisers may also, in their sole discretion, upon request of an Authorized Participant, provide such redeemer a portfolio of securities that differs from the exact composition of the Fund Securities but does not differ in NAV.
36
Redemptions of shares for Fund Securities will be subject to compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws and the Fund (whether or not it otherwise permits cash redemptions) reserves the right to redeem Creation Unit Aggregations 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 a Creation Unit Aggregation may be paid an equivalent amount of cash. The Authorized Participant may request the redeeming Beneficial Owner of the shares to complete an order form or to enter into agreements with respect to such matters as compensating cash payment.
Because the portfolio securities of the Fund may trade on the relevant exchange(s) on days that the Listing Exchange is closed or that are otherwise not Business Days for the Fund, stockholders may not be able to redeem their Fund shares, or to purchase and sell Fund shares on the Listing Exchange on days when the NAV of the Fund could be significantly affected by events in the relevant foreign markets.
Cash Redemptions. The Fund may pay out the proceeds of redemptions of Creation Unit Aggregations solely in cash or through any combination of cash or securities. In addition, an investor may request a redemption in cash that the 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 Fund next determined after the redemption request is received in proper form (minus a redemption transaction fee and additional charge for requested cash redemptions specified above, to offset the Trusts brokerage and other transaction costs associated with the disposition of Fund Securities). Proceeds will be paid to the Authorized Participant redeeming shares on behalf of the redeeming investor as soon as practicable after the date of redemption. If the Authorized Participant acts as a broker for the Fund in connection with the sale of Fund Securities, the Authorized Participant will also be required to pay certain brokerage commissions, taxes, and transaction and market impact costs as discussed under the heading Brokerage Transactions herein.
Redemptions of shares for Fund Securities will be subject to compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws and the Fund (whether or not it otherwise permits cash redemptions) reserves the right to redeem Creation Unit Aggregations 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.
In-Kind Redemptions. The ability of the Trust to effect in-kind creations and redemptions is subject, among other things, to the condition that, within the time period from the date of the order to the date of delivery of the securities, there are no days that are holidays in the applicable foreign market. For every occurrence of one or more intervening holidays in the applicable foreign market that are not holidays observed in the U.S. equity market, the redemption settlement cycle may be extended by the number of such intervening holidays. In addition to holidays, other unforeseeable closings in a foreign market due to emergencies may also prevent the Trust from delivering securities within the normal settlement period. The Fund will not suspend or postpone redemption beyond seven days, except as permitted under Section 22(e) of the 1940 Act. Section 22(e) provides that the right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed with respect to the Fund (1) for any period during which the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings); (2) for any period during which trading on the NYSE is suspended or restricted; (3) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which disposal of the shares of the Funds portfolio securities or determination of its NAV is not reasonably practicable; or (4) in such other circumstance as is permitted by the SEC.
REGULAR HOLIDAYS AND OTHER SETTLEMENT MATTERS
The Fund generally intends to effect deliveries of Creation Unit Aggregations and portfolio securities on a basis of T+2. The Fund may effect deliveries of Creation Unit Aggregations and portfolio securities on a basis other than T+2 in order to accommodate local holiday schedules, to account for different treatment among foreign and U.S. markets of security delivery practices and/or dividend record dates and ex-dividend dates, or under certain other circumstances. The ability of the Trust to effect in-kind creations and redemptions and otherwise to deliver redemption proceeds within two Business Days of receipt of an order in good form is subject, among other things, to the condition that, within the time period from the date of the order to the date of delivery of the securities, there are no days that are holidays in the applicable foreign market. For every occurrence of one or more intervening holidays in the applicable foreign market that are not holidays observed in the U.S. equity market, the redemption settlement cycle will be extended by the number of such intervening holidays. New or special holidays, treatment by market participants of certain days as informal holidays (e.g., days on which no or limited securities transactions occur, as a result of substantially shortened trading hours), the elimination of existing holidays or changes in local securities delivery practices (including lengthening settlement cycles, which may also occur in connection with a security sale and its settlement, with limitations or delays in the settlement itself and/or the convertibility or repatriation of the local proceeds associated therewith), could impede the Funds ability to satisfy redemption requests in a timely manner. In addition, other unforeseeable closings or changes in a foreign market due to emergencies may also prevent the Trust from delivering redemption proceeds within the normal settlement period or in a timely manner.
The securities delivery cycles currently practicable for transferring portfolio securities to redeeming investors, coupled with foreign market holiday schedules, will require a process for delivering redemption proceeds longer than seven calendar days for some funds, in certain circumstances. The holidays applicable to the Fund during such periods are listed below, as are instances where more than seven days will be needed to deliver redemption proceeds. Although certain holidays may occur on
37
different dates in subsequent years, the number of days required to deliver redemption proceeds in any given year is not expected to exceed the maximum number of days listed below for the Fund. The proclamation of new holidays, the treatment by market participants of certain days as informal holidays (e.g., days on which no or limited securities transactions occur, as a result of substantially shortened trading hours), the elimination of existing holidays, or changes in local securities delivery practices could affect the accuracy of information set forth herein.
38
Redemptions. The longest redemption cycle for the Fund is a function of the longest redemption cycle among the countries whose securities comprise the Funds. In calendar year 2017, the dates of regular holidays affecting the following securities markets present the worst-case redemption cycles* for the Fund as follows:
2017 | ||||||||||||
Country |
Trade Date |
Settlement Date |
Number of Days to Settle |
|||||||||
China |
01/24/17 | 02/03/17 | 10 | |||||||||
01/25/17 | 02/06/17 | 12 | ||||||||||
01/26/17 | 02/07/17 | 12 | ||||||||||
09/27/17 | 10/09/17 | 12 | ||||||||||
09/28/17 | 10/10/17 | 12 | ||||||||||
09/29/17 | 10/11/17 | 12 | ||||||||||
2018 | ||||||||||||
Country |
Trade Date |
Settlement Date |
Number of Days to Settle |
|||||||||
China |
02/12/18 | 02/22/18 | 10 | |||||||||
02/13/18 | 02/23/18 | 10 | ||||||||||
02/14/18 | 02/26/18 | 12 | ||||||||||
09/26/18 | 10/08/18 | 12 | ||||||||||
09/27/18 | 10/09/18 | 12 | ||||||||||
09/28/18 | 10/10/18 | 12 |
* | These worst-case redemption cycles are based on information regarding regular holidays, which may be out of date. Based on changes in holidays, longer (worse) redemption cycles are possible. |
The following discussion of certain U.S. federal income tax consequences of investing in the Fund is based on the Code, U.S. Treasury regulations, and other applicable authority, all as in effect as of the date of the filing of this SAI. These authorities are subject to change by legislative or administrative action, possibly with retroactive effect. The following discussion is only a summary of some of the important U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to investments in the Fund. There may be other tax considerations applicable to particular shareholders. Shareholders should consult their own tax advisors regarding their particular situation and the possible application of foreign, state, and local tax laws.
Qualification as a Regulated Investment Company (RIC). The Fund has elected or intends to elect to be treated, and intends to qualify each year, as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. In order to qualify for the special tax treatment accorded RICs and their shareholders, the Fund must, among other things:
(a) derive at least 90% of its gross income each year from (i) dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including but not limited to gains from options, futures or forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies, and (ii) net income derived from interests in qualified publicly traded partnerships (as defined below);
(b) diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each quarter of its taxable year, (i) at least 50% of the market value of the Funds total assets consists of cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other RICs and other securities, with investments in such other securities limited with respect to any one issuer to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of the Funds total assets and not greater than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of the Funds total assets is invested, including through corporations in which the Fund owns a 20% or more voting stock interest, in (1) the securities (other than those of the U.S. government or other RICs) of any one issuer or two or more issuers that are controlled by the Fund and that are engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses or (2) the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships; and
39
(c) distribute with respect to each taxable year an amount equal to or greater than the sum of 90% of its investment company taxable income (as that term is defined in the Code without regard to the deduction for dividends paid generally taxable ordinary income and the excess, if any, of net short-term capital gains over net long-term capital losses) and 90% of its net tax-exempt interest income.
In general, for purposes of the 90% qualifying income test described in (a) above, income derived from a partnership will be treated as qualifying income only to the extent such income is attributable to items of income of the partnership that would be qualifying income if realized directly by the Fund. However, 100% of the net income derived from an interest in a qualified publicly traded partnership (generally, a partnership (i) interests in which are traded on an established securities market or are readily tradable on a secondary market or the substantial equivalent thereof, and (ii) that derives less than 90% of its income from the qualifying income described in clause (a)(i) of the description of the 90% qualifying income test applicable to RICs, above) will be treated as qualifying income.
Taxation of the Fund. If the Fund qualifies for treatment as a RIC, the Fund will not be subject to federal income tax on income and gains that are distributed in a timely manner to its shareholders in the form of dividends.
If, for any taxable year, the Fund were to fail to qualify as a RIC or were to fail to meet the distribution requirement described above, it would be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation and distributions to its shareholders would not be deductible by the Fund in computing its taxable income. In addition, the Funds distributions, to the extent derived from the Funds current and accumulated earnings and profits, including any distributions of net long-term capital gains, would be taxable to shareholders as ordinary dividend income for federal income tax purposes. However, such dividends would be eligible, subject to any generally applicable limitations, (i) to be treated as qualified dividend income in the case of shareholders taxed as individuals and (ii) for the dividends-received deduction in the case of corporate shareholders. Moreover, the Fund would be required to pay out its earnings and profits accumulated in that year in order to qualify for treatment as a RIC in a subsequent year. Under certain circumstances, the Fund may be able to cure a failure to qualify as a RIC, but in order to do so the Fund may incur significant Fund-level taxes and may be forced to dispose of certain assets. If the Fund failed to qualify as a RIC for a period greater than two taxable years, the Fund would generally be required to recognize any net built-in gains with respect to certain of its assets upon a disposition of such assets within five years of qualifying as a RIC in a subsequent year.
The Fund intends to distribute at least annually to its shareholders substantially all of its investment company taxable income (computed without regard to the dividends-paid deduction) and net capital gain (the excess of the Funds net long-term capital gain over its net short-term capital loss). Investment income that is retained by the Fund will generally be subject to tax at regular corporate rates. If the Fund retains any net capital gain, that gain will be subject to tax at corporate rates, but the Fund may designate the retained amount as undistributed capital gains in a notice to its shareholders who (i) will be required to include in income for federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gain, their shares of such undistributed amount, (ii) will be deemed to have paid their proportionate shares of the tax paid by the Fund on such undistributed amount against their federal income tax liabilities, if any, and (iii) will be entitled to claim refunds on a properly filed U.S. tax return to the extent the credit exceeds such liabilities. For federal income tax purposes, the tax basis of shares owned by a shareholder of the Fund will be increased by an amount equal to the difference between the amount of undistributed capital gains included in the shareholders gross income and the tax deemed paid by the shareholder.
If the Fund fails to distribute in a calendar year an amount at least equal to the sum of 98% of its ordinary income for such year and 98.2% of its capital gain net income for the one-year period ending October 31 of such year, plus any retained amount from the prior year, the Fund will be subject to a non-deductible 4% excise tax on the undistributed amount. For these purposes, the Fund will be treated as having distributed any amount on which it has been subject to corporate income tax for the taxable year ending within the calendar year. The Fund intends to declare and pay dividends and distributions in the amounts and at the times necessary to avoid the application of the 4% excise tax, although there can be no assurance that it will be able to do so.
The 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 the Funds taxable income, net capital gain, net short-term capital gain, and earnings and profits. 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, and certain other late-year losses.
If the Fund has a net capital loss (that is, capital losses in excess of capital gains), the excess of the Funds net short-term capital losses over its net long-term capital gains is treated as a short-term capital loss arising on the first day of the Funds next taxable year, and the excess (if any) of the Funds net long-term capital losses over its net short-term capital gains is treated as a long-term capital loss arising on the first day of the Funds next taxable year.
Fund Distributions. Distributions are generally taxable whether shareholders receive them in cash or reinvest them in additional shares. Moreover, distributions on the Funds shares are generally subject to federal income tax as described herein to the extent they do not exceed the Funds realized income and gains, even though such distributions may economically represent a return of a particular shareholders investment. Investors may therefore wish to avoid purchasing shares at a time when the Funds NAV reflects gains that are either unrealized, or realized but not distributed. Realized income and gains must generally be distributed even when the Funds NAV also reflects unrealized losses.
40
Dividends and other distributions by the Fund are generally treated under the Code as received by the shareholders at the time the dividend or distribution is made. However, if any dividend or distribution is declared by the Fund in October, November or December of any calendar year and payable to its shareholders of record on a specified date in such a month but is actually paid during the following January, such dividend or distribution will be deemed to have been received by each shareholder on December 31 of the year in which the dividend was declared.
Distributions by the Fund of investment income are generally taxable as ordinary income. Taxes on distributions of capital gains are determined by how long the Fund owned the assets that generated those gains, rather than how long a shareholder has owned his or her Fund shares. Sales of assets held by the Fund for more than one year generally result in long-term capital gains and losses, and sales of assets held by the Fund for one year or less generally result in short-term capital gains and losses. Distributions from the Funds net capital gain that are properly reported by the Fund as capital gain dividends (Capital Gain Dividends) will be taxable as long-term capital gains. For individuals, long-term capital gains are subject to tax at reduced maximum tax rates. Distributions of gains from the sale of investments that the Fund owned for one year or less will be taxable as ordinary income.
For non-corporate shareholders, distributions of investment income reported by the Fund as derived from qualified dividend income will be taxed at the rates applicable to long-term capital gain, provided holding period and other requirements are met at both the shareholder and Fund level. In order for some portion of the dividends received by a Fund shareholder to be qualified dividend income, the Fund making the distribution must meet holding period and other requirements with respect to some portion of the dividend-paying stocks in its portfolio and the shareholder must meet holding period and other requirements with respect to the Funds shares. A dividend will not be treated as qualified dividend income (at either the Fund or shareholder level) (1) if the dividend is received with respect to any share of stock held for fewer than 61 days during the 121-day period beginning on the date that is 60 days before the date on which such share becomes ex-dividend with respect to such dividend (or, in the case of certain preferred stock, 91 days during the 181-day period beginning 90 days before the ex-dividend date), (2) to the extent that the recipient is under an obligation (whether pursuant to a short sale or otherwise) to make related payments with respect to positions in substantially similar or related property, (3) if the recipient elects to have the dividend income treated as investment income for purposes of the limitation on deductibility of investment interest, or (4) if the dividend is received from a foreign corporation that is (a) not eligible for the benefits of a comprehensive income tax treaty with the United States (with the exception of dividends paid on stock of such a foreign corporation that is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States) or (b) treated as a passive foreign investment company.
In general, distributions of investment income reported by the Fund as derived from qualified dividend income will be treated as qualified dividend income by a shareholder taxed as an individual, provided the shareholder meets the holding period and other requirements described above with respect to the Funds shares. If the aggregate qualified dividend income received by the Fund during any taxable year represents 95% or more of its gross income (excluding net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss), then 100% of the Funds dividends (other than Capital Gain Dividends) will be eligible to be reported as qualified dividend income. To the extent that the Fund makes a distribution of income received by the 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.
Since the Fund will invest primarily in investments other than the stock of U.S. corporations, the Fund does not expect a substantial portion of its dividends will qualify for the dividends-received deduction available to corporate shareholders.
Dividends and distributions from the Fund and capital gain on the sale of Fund shares are generally taken into account in determining a shareholders net investment income for purposes of the Medicare contribution tax applicable to certain individuals, estates and trusts.
If the Fund makes distributions in excess of the Funds current and accumulated earnings and profits in any taxable year, the excess distribution to each shareholder will be treated as a return of capital to the extent of the shareholders tax basis in its shares, and will reduce the shareholders tax basis in its shares. After the shareholders basis has been reduced to zero, any such distributions will result in a capital gain, assuming the shareholder holds his or her shares as capital assets. A reduction in a shareholders tax basis in its shares will reduce any loss or increase any gain on a subsequent taxable disposition by the shareholder of its shares.
Sale or Exchange of Shares. A sale or exchange of shares in the Fund may give rise to a gain or loss. In general, any gain or loss realized upon a taxable disposition of shares will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than 12 months. Otherwise, the gain or loss on the taxable disposition of shares will be treated as short-term capital gain or loss. However, any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of shares held for six months or less will be treated as long-term, rather than short-term, to the extent of any long-term capital gain distributions received (or deemed received) by the shareholder with respect to the shares. All or a portion of any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of shares will be disallowed if substantially identical shares of the Fund are purchased within 30 days before or after the disposition. In such a case, the basis of the newly purchased shares will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss.
Backup Withholding. The Fund (or financial intermediaries, such as brokers, through which a shareholder holds Fund shares) generally is required to withhold and to remit to the U.S. Treasury a percentage of the taxable distributions and sale or redemption
41
proceeds paid to any shareholder who fails to properly furnish a correct taxpayer identification number, who has under-reported dividend or interest income, or who fails to certify that he, she or it is not subject to such withholding. The backup withholding tax rate is 28%. Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld may be credited against the shareholders U.S. federal income tax liability, provided the appropriate information is furnished to the Internal Revenue Service (the IRS).
Federal Tax Treatment of Certain Fund Investments. Transactions of the Fund in options, futures contracts, hedging transactions, forward contracts, swap agreements, straddles and foreign currencies may be subject to various special and complex tax rules, including mark-to-market, constructive sale, straddle, wash sale and short sale rules. These rules could affect the Funds ability to qualify as a RIC, affect whether gains and losses recognized by the Fund are treated as ordinary income or capital gain, accelerate the recognition of income to the Fund, and/or defer the Funds ability to recognize losses. These rules may in turn affect the amount, timing or character of the income distributed to shareholders by the Fund.
The 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 as of the end of such year on certain regulated futures contracts, foreign currency contracts and options that qualify as Section 1256 contracts in addition to the gains and losses actually realized with respect to such contracts during the year. Except as described below under Certain Foreign Currency Tax Issues, gain or loss from Section 1256 contracts that are required to be marked to market annually will generally 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.
Certain Foreign Currency Tax Issues. The U.S. Treasury Department has authority to issue regulations that would exclude foreign currency gains from the 90% test described above if such gains are not directly related to a funds business of investing in stock or securities. Accordingly, regulations may be issued in the future that could treat some or all of the Funds non-U.S. currency gains as non-qualifying income, thereby potentially jeopardizing the Funds status as a RIC for all years to which the regulations are applicable.
Under the Code, gains or losses attributable to fluctuations in exchange rates which occur between the time the Fund accrues income or other receivables or accrues expenses or other liabilities denominated in a foreign currency and the time the Fund actually collects such income or receivables or pays such expenses or liabilities generally are treated as ordinary income or loss. Similarly, on disposition of debt securities denominated in a foreign currency and on disposition of certain other instruments, gains or losses attributable to fluctuations in the value of the foreign currency between the date of acquisition of the security or contract and the date of disposition are also treated as ordinary gain or loss. The gains and losses may increase or decrease the amount of the Funds income to be distributed to its shareholders as ordinary income.
The Funds gain or loss on foreign currency denominated debt securities and on certain other financial instruments, such as forward currency contracts and currency swaps, that is attributable to fluctuations in exchange rates occurring between the date of acquisition and the date of settlement or disposition of such securities or instruments generally will be treated under Section 988 of the Code as ordinary income or loss. The Fund may elect out of the application of Section 988 of the Code with respect to the tax treatment of each of its foreign currency forward contracts to the extent that (i) such contract is a capital asset in the hands of the Fund and is not part of a straddle transaction and (ii) the Fund makes an election by the close of the day the contract is entered into to treat the gain or loss attributable to such contract as capital gain or loss.
The Funds forward contracts may qualify as so-called Section 1256 contracts if the underlying currencies are currencies for which there are futures contracts that are traded on and subject to the rules of a qualified board or exchange. However, a forward currency contract that is a Section 1256 contract would, absent an election out of Section 988 of the Code as described in the preceding paragraph, be subject to Section 988. Accordingly, although such a forward currency contract would be marked to market annually like other Section 1256 contracts, the resulting gain or loss would be ordinary. If the Fund were to elect out of Section 988 with respect to forward currency contracts that qualify as Section 1256 contracts, the tax treatment generally applicable to Section 1256 contracts would apply to those forward currency contracts: that is, the contracts would be marked to market annually and gains and losses with respect to the contracts would be treated as long-term capital gains or losses to the extent of 60% thereof and short-term capital gains or losses to the extent of 40% thereof. If the Fund were to elect out of Section 988 with respect to any of its forward currency contracts that do not qualify as Section 1256 contracts, such contracts would not be marked to market annually and the Fund would recognize short-term or long-term capital gain or loss depending on the Funds holding period therein. The Fund may elect out of Section 988 with respect to some, all or none of its forward currency contracts.
Finally, regulated futures contracts and non-equity options that qualify as Section 1256 contracts and are entered into by the Fund with respect to foreign currencies or foreign currency denominated debt instruments will be subject to the tax treatment generally applicable to Section 1256 contracts unless the Fund elects to have Section 988 apply to determine the character of gains and losses from all such regulated futures contracts and non-equity options held or later acquired by the Fund.
Foreign Investments. Income received by the Fund from sources within foreign countries (including, for example, dividends or interest on stock or securities of non-U.S. issuers) may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by such countries. Tax treaties between such countries and the U.S. may reduce or eliminate such taxes. If more than 50% of the value of the Funds assets at the close of any taxable year consists of stock or securities of foreign corporations, which for this purpose may include obligations of
42
foreign governmental issuers, the Fund may elect, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, to treat any foreign income or withholding taxes paid by the Fund as paid by its shareholders. For any year that the Fund is eligible for and makes such an election, each shareholder of the Fund will be required to include in income an amount equal to his or her allocable share of qualified foreign income taxes paid by the Fund, and shareholders will be entitled, subject to certain holding period requirements and other limitations, to credit their portions of these amounts against their U.S. federal income tax due, if any, or to deduct their portions from their U.S. taxable income, if any. No deductions for foreign taxes paid by the Fund may be claimed, however, by non-corporate shareholders who do not itemize deductions. No deduction for such taxes will be permitted to individuals in computing their alternative minimum tax liability. Foreign taxes paid by the Fund will reduce the return from the Funds investments.
If the Fund holds shares in a passive foreign investment company (PFIC), it may be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a portion of any excess distribution or gain from the disposition of such shares even if such income is distributed as a taxable dividend by the Fund to its shareholders. Additional charges in the nature of interest may be imposed on the Fund in respect of deferred taxes arising from such distributions or gains.
The Fund may be eligible to treat a PFIC as a qualified electing fund under the Code in which case, in lieu of the foregoing requirements, the Fund will be required to include in income each year a portion of the ordinary earnings and net capital gains of the qualified electing fund, even if not distributed to the Fund, and such amounts will be subject to the 90% and excise tax distribution requirements described above. In order to make this election, the Fund would be required to obtain certain annual information from the PFICs in which it invests, which may be difficult or impossible to obtain. Alternatively, the Fund may make a mark-to-market election that will result in such Fund being treated as if it had sold and repurchased its PFIC stock at the end of each year. In such case, the Fund would report any gains resulting from such deemed sales as ordinary income and would deduct any losses resulting from such deemed sales as ordinary losses to the extent of previously recognized gains. The election must be made separately for each PFIC owned by the Fund and, once made, is effective for all subsequent taxable years, unless revoked with the consent of the IRS. By making the election, the Fund could potentially ameliorate the adverse tax consequences with respect to its ownership of shares in a PFIC, but in any particular year may be required to recognize income in excess of the distributions it receives from PFICs and its proceeds from dispositions of PFIC stock. The Fund may have to distribute this excess income to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement and to avoid imposition of the 4% excise tax. In order to distribute this income and avoid a tax at the Fund level, the Fund might be required to liquidate portfolio securities that it might otherwise have continued to hold, potentially resulting in additional taxable gain or loss.
A U.S. person that owns (directly, indirectly or constructively) 10% or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of a foreign corporation is a U.S. Shareholder for purposes of the Controlled Foreign Corporation (CFC) provisions of the Code. A foreign corporation is a CFC if, on any day of its taxable year, more than 50% of the voting power or value of its stock is owned (directly, indirectly or constructively) by U.S. Shareholders. If the Fund is a U.S. Shareholder of a CFC, the Fund will be required to include in its gross income for United States federal income tax purposes the CFCs subpart F income (described below), whether or not such income is distributed by the CFC. Subpart F income generally includes interest, original issue discount, dividends, net gains from the disposition of stocks or securities, receipts with respect to securities loans and net payments received with respect to equity swaps and similar derivatives. Subpart F income also includes the excess of gains over losses from transactions (including futures, forward and similar transactions) in any commodities. The Funds recognition of subpart F income will increase the Funds tax basis in the CFC. Distributions by a CFC to the Fund will be tax-free, to the extent of its previously undistributed subpart F income, and will correspondingly reduce the Funds tax basis in the CFC. Subpart F income is generally treated as ordinary income, regardless of the character of the CFCs underlying income.
In general, each U.S. Shareholder is required to file IRS Form 5471 with its U.S. federal income tax (or information) returns providing information about its ownership of the CFC. In addition, a U.S. Shareholder may in certain circumstances be required to report a disposition of shares in the CFC by attaching IRS Form 5471 to its U.S. federal income tax (or information) return that it would normally file for the taxable year in which the disposition occurs. In general, these filing requirements will apply to investors of the Fund if the investor is a U.S. person who owns directly, indirectly or constructively (within the meaning of Sections 958(a) and (b) of the Code) 10% or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of voting stock of a foreign corporation that is a CFC for an uninterrupted period of thirty (30) days or more during any tax year of the foreign corporation, and who owned that stock on the last day of that year.
Tax-Exempt Shareholders. Under current law, income of a RIC that would be treated as unrelated business taxable income (UBTI) if earned directly by a tax-exempt entity generally will not be attributed as UBTI to a tax-exempt entity that is a shareholder in the RIC. Notwithstanding this blocking effect, a tax-exempt shareholder could realize UBTI by virtue of its investment in the Fund if shares in the Fund constitute debt-financed property in the hands of the tax-exempt shareholder within the meaning of Code Section 514(b) or if the Fund invests in REITs that hold residual interests in REMICs.
Non-U.S. Shareholders. In general, dividends, other than Capital Gain Dividends paid by the Fund to a shareholder that is not a U.S. person within the meaning of the Code are subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax at a rate of 30% (or lower applicable treaty rate) on distributions derived from taxable ordinary income. The 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.
43
A beneficial holder of shares who is a non-U.S. person is not, in general, subject to U.S. federal income tax on gains (and is not allowed a U.S. income tax deduction for losses) realized on a sale of shares of the Fund or on Capital Gain Dividends unless (i) such gain or dividend is effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business carried on by such holder within the United States or (ii) in the case of an individual holder, the holder is present in the United States for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the year of the sale or the receipt of the Capital Gain Dividend and certain other conditions are met.
Unless certain non-U.S. entities that hold Fund Shares comply with IRS requirements that generally require them to report information regarding U.S. persons investing in, or holding accounts with, such entities, a 30% withholding tax may apply to Fund distributions payable to such entities and may apply to redemptions and certain capital gain dividends payable to such entities after December 31, 2018. A non-U.S. shareholder may be exempt from the withholding described in this paragraph under an applicable intergovernmental agreement between the U.S. and a foreign government, provided that the shareholder and the applicable foreign government comply with the terms of the agreement.
In order for a non-U.S. investor to qualify for an exemption from backup withholding, described above, the non-U.S. investor must comply with special certification and filing requirements. Non-U.S. investors in the Fund should consult their tax advisors in this regard.
A beneficial holder of shares who is a non-U.S. person may be subject to state and local tax and to the U.S. federal estate tax in addition to the federal income tax consequences referred to above. If a shareholder is eligible for the benefits of a tax treaty, any income or gain effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net basis only if it is also attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by the shareholder in the United States.
Creation and Redemption of Creation Units. An Authorized Participant having the U.S. dollar as its functional currency for U.S. federal income tax purposes that exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between (i) the sum of the market value of the Creation Units at the time of the exchange and any cash received by the Authorized Participant in the exchange, and (ii) the sum of the exchangers aggregate basis in the securities or non-U.S. currency surrendered and any cash paid for such Creation Units. All or a portion of any gain or loss recognized by an Authorized Participant exchanging a currency other than its functional currency for Creation Units may be treated as ordinary income or loss. A person who redeems Creation Units will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the exchangers basis in the Creation Units and the sum of the aggregate U.S. dollar market value of any securities or non-U.S. currency received plus the amount of any cash received for such Creation Units. The IRS, however, may assert that a loss that is realized by an Authorized Participant upon an exchange of securities or non-U.S. currency for Creation Units may not be currently deducted, under the rules governing wash sales (for an Authorized Participant that does not mark-to-market its holdings), or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position. All or some portion of any capital gain or loss realized upon the creation of Creation Units in exchange for securities will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if securities exchanged for such Creation Units have been held for more than one year.
Any capital gain or loss realized upon the redemption of Creation Units will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the Creation Units have been held for more than one year. Otherwise, such capital gains or losses will be treated as short-term capital gains or losses.
A person subject to U.S. federal income tax with the U.S. dollar as its functional currency for U.S. federal income tax purposes who receives non-U.S. currency upon a redemption of Creation Units and does not immediately convert the non-U.S. currency into U.S. dollars may, upon a later conversion of the non-U.S. currency into U.S. dollars, or upon the use of the non-U.S. currency to pay expenses or acquire assets, recognize as ordinary gains or losses any gains or losses resulting from fluctuations in the value of the non-U.S. currency relative to the U.S. dollar since the date of the redemption.
Persons exchanging securities or non-U.S. currency for 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 rules apply and when a loss might be deductible.
Section 351. The Trust on behalf of the Fund has the right to reject an order for a purchase of shares of the Fund if the purchaser (or any group of purchasers) would, upon obtaining the shares so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund and if, pursuant to Section 351 of the Code, the Fund would have a basis in the securities different from the market value of such securities on the date of deposit. The Trust also has the right to require information necessary to determine beneficial share ownership for purposes of the 80% determination.
Certain Reporting Regulations. Under U.S. Treasury regulations, generally, if a shareholder recognizes a loss 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
44
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 regulations. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayers 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.
Cost Basis Reporting. 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.
General Considerations. The federal income tax discussion set forth above is for general information only. Prospective investors should consult their tax advisors regarding the specific federal income tax consequences of purchasing, holding and disposing of shares of the Fund, as well as the effect of state, local and foreign tax law and any proposed tax law changes.
The NAV of the Funds shares is calculated each day the Fund is open for business as of the regularly scheduled close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange, normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time (the NAV Calculation Time). NAV per share is calculated by dividing the Funds net assets by the number of Fund shares outstanding.
In calculating the Funds NAV, the Fund investments generally are valued using market valuations. The Fund generally values: (i) equity securities (including preferred stock) traded on any recognized U.S. or non-U.S. exchange at the last sale price or official closing price on the exchange or system on which they are principally traded; (ii) unlisted equity securities (including preferred stock) at the last quoted sale price or, if no sale price is available, at the mean between the highest bid and lowest ask price; and (iii) short-term debt securities with remaining maturities of 60 days or less at current market quotations or mean prices obtained from broker-dealers or independent pricing service providers. In addition, the Fund may invest in money market funds which are valued at their NAV per share and affiliated ETFs which are valued at their last sale or official closing price on the exchange on which they are principally traded.
In certain instances, such as when reliable market valuations are not readily available or are not deemed to reflect current market values, the Funds investments will be valued in accordance with the Funds pricing policy and procedures. Securities that may be valued using fair value pricing may include, but are not limited to, securities for which there are no current market quotations or whose issuer is in default or bankruptcy, securities subject to corporate actions (such as mergers or reorganizations), securities subject to non-U.S. investment limits or currency controls, and securities affected by significant events. An example of a significant event is an event occurring after the close of the market in which a security trades but before the Funds next NAV Calculation Time that may materially affect the value of the Funds investment (e.g., government action, natural disaster, or significant market fluctuation). Price movements in U.S. markets that are deemed to affect the value of foreign securities, or reflect changes to the value of such securities, also may cause securities to be fair valued. When fair-value pricing is employed, the prices of securities used by the Fund to calculate its NAV may differ from quoted or published prices for the same securities.
The sale price the Fund could receive for a security or other asset may differ from the Funds valuation of the security or other asset and/or from the value used by its index (if applicable), particularly for securities or other assets that trade in low volume or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology. When fair value pricing is employed, the prices of securities used by the Fund to calculate its NAV may differ from quoted or published prices for the same securities. In addition, particularly for the Fund holding foreign securities or assets, the value of the securities or other assets in the Funds portfolio may change on days or during time periods when shareholders will not be able to purchase or sell the Funds shares. As a result, the price received upon the sale of an investment may be less than the value ascribed by the Fund, and the Fund could realize a greater than expected loss or lesser than expected gain upon the sale of the investment. The Funds ability to value its investment may also be impacted by technological issues, pricing methodology issues and/or errors by pricing services or other third-party service providers.
Fund shares are purchased or sold on a national securities exchange at market prices, which may be higher or lower than NAV. No secondary sales will be made to brokers or dealers at a concession by the Distributor or by the Fund. Purchases and sales of shares in the secondary market, which will not involve the Fund, will be subject to customary brokerage commissions and charges. Transactions in Fund shares will be priced at NAV only if you purchase or redeem shares directly from the Fund in Creation Units.
The Fund intends to pay out dividends, if any, on a quarterly basis but in any event no less frequently than annually. Nonetheless, the Fund might not make a dividend payment every quarter. The Fund intends to distribute its net realized capital gains, if any, to investors annually. The Fund may occasionally be required to make supplemental distributions at some other time during the year. 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.
45
The Trust reserves the right to declare special distributions if, in its reasonable discretion, such action is necessary or advisable to preserve the status of the Fund as a RIC or to avoid imposition of income or excise taxes on undistributed income.
Financial Statements and Annual Reports will be available after the Fund has completed a fiscal year of operations. When available, you may request a copy of the Trusts Annual Report at no charge by calling 866-909-9473 or through the Trusts website at www.wisdomtree.com.
Counsel. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, with offices located at 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004, serves as legal counsel to the Trust.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. Ernst & Young LLP, with offices located at 5 Times Square, New York, New York 10036, serves as the independent registered public accounting firm to the Trust.
WIS-SAI- WCHN-1217
46
PART C. Other Information
Item 28. Exhibits
(a)(1) |
Trust Instrument of WisdomTree Trust (the Trust or the Registrant) dated December 15, 2005 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (a) of the Registrants Initial Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (the SEC) on March 13, 2006. | |
(2) |
Schedule A, as last revised October 23, 2017, to the Trust Instrument dated December 15, 2005, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (a)(2) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 603 filing, as filed with the SEC on October 23, 2017. | |
(3) |
Revised Schedule A, reflecting the addition of WisdomTree ICBCCS S&P China 500 Fund and WisdomTree Balanced Income Fund, to the Trust Instrument dated December 15, 2005, to be filed by amendment. | |
(4) |
Certificate of Trust, as filed with the State of Delaware on December 15, 2005, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (a)(2) of the Registrants Initial Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed with the SEC on March 13, 2006. | |
(b) |
Registrants By-Laws, as amended June 16, 2016, are incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (b) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 563 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 28, 2016. | |
(c) |
Portions of the Registrants Trust Instrument and By-Laws defining the rights of holders of shares of the Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Article II, Sections 2, 3 and 8, and Articles III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX and X of the Registrants Trust Instrument dated December 15, 2005, filed as Exhibit (a)(1) to the Registrants Initial Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed with the SEC on March 13, 2006; and to Articles I, V, and VI of the Registrants By-Laws, filed as Exhibit (b) to the Registrants Initial Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed with SEC on March 13, 2006. | |
(d)(1) |
Investment Advisory Agreement dated November 20, 2012 between the Registrant and WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(1) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 142 filing, as filed with the SEC on December 28, 2012. | |
(2) |
Schedule A, dated January 31, 2013 as updated June 30, 2017, to the Investment Advisory Agreement dated November 20, 2012 between the Registrant and WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(2) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 596 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 28, 2017. | |
(3) |
Investment Advisory Agreement dated March 26, 2013 between the Registrant and WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(3) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 198 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 29, 2013. | |
(4) |
Schedule A, as last revised October 23, 2017, to the Investment Advisory Agreement dated March 26, 2013 between the Registrant and WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc., is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(4) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 603 filing, as filed with the SEC on October 23, 2017. | |
(5) |
Revised Schedule A to the Investment Advisory Agreement dated March 26, 2013 between the Registrant and WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc., reflecting the addition of WisdomTree ICBCCS S&P China 500 Fund and WisdomTree Balanced Income Fund, to be filed by amendment. | |
(6) |
Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement dated January 1, 2013 between WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. and Mellon Capital Management Corporation is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(6) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 144 filing, as filed with the SEC on January 11, 2013. | |
(7) |
Appendix A, as last amended June 23, 2017, to the Amended and Restated Sub-Advisory Agreement dated January 1, 2013 between WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. and Mellon Capital Management Corporation is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(12) of the Registrants Post Effective Amendment No. 592 filing, as filed with the SEC on June 26, 2017. |
1
(8) |
Sub-Advisory Agreement dated April 4, 2016 between WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. and Voya Investment Management Co., LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(10) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 541 filing, as filed with the SEC on April 14, 2016. | |
(9) |
Form of Amended Sub-Advisory Agreement between WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc., on behalf of the WisdomTree Barclays Yield Enhanced U.S. Short-Term Aggregate Bond Fund, and Voya Investment Management Co., LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(10) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 587 filing, as filed with the SEC on May 11, 2017. | |
(10) |
Sub-Advisory Agreement between WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc., on behalf of the WisdomTree ICBCCS S&P China 500 Fund, and ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management (International) Company Limited, is filed herewith. | |
(11) |
Sub-Advisory Agreement between WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc., on behalf of the WisdomTree Balanced Income Fund, and [SUB-ADVISER] to be filed by amendment. | |
(12) |
Investment Advisory Agreement dated February 14, 2008 between WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. and WisdomTree India Investment Portfolio, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(7) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 14 filing, as filed with the SEC on April 4, 2008. | |
(13) |
Form of Sub-Advisory Agreement dated November 20, 2012 between WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc., on behalf of the WisdomTree India Investment Portfolio Inc., and Mellon Capital Management Corporation is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(10) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 142 filing, as filed with the SEC on December 28, 2012. | |
(14) |
Fee Waiver Agreement dated June 1, 2015 between the Registrant, on behalf of the WisdomTree International Hedged SmallCap Dividend Fund, and WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(19) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 415 filing, as filed with the SEC on June 1, 2015. | |
(15) |
Fee Waiver Agreement dated October 21, 2015 between the Registrant, on behalf of the WisdomTree Global ex-U.S. Hedged Real Estate Fund, and WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(29) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 473 filing, as filed with the SEC on October 23, 2015. | |
(16) |
Fee Waiver Agreement dated April 4, 2016 between the Registrant, on behalf of the WisdomTree International Quality Dividend Growth Fund, and WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc., is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(34) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 541 filing, as filed with the SEC on April 14, 2016. | |
(17) |
Fee Waiver Agreement dated July 31, 2017 between the Registrant, on behalf of the WisdomTree Japan Hedged Quality Dividend Growth Fund, WisdomTree International Hedged Quality Dividend Growth Fund and WisdomTree Global ex-U.S. Hedged Real Estate Fund, and WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(19) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 596 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 28, 2017. | |
(19) |
Fee Waiver Agreement dated October 28, 2016 between the Registrant, on behalf of the WisdomTree Dynamic Currency Hedged International Quality Dividend Growth Fund, and WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(28) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 571 filing, as filed with the SEC on October 28, 2016. | |
(18) |
Fee Waiver Agreement dated December 31, 2016 between the Registrant, on behalf of the WisdomTree Barclays Yield Enhanced U.S. Aggregate Bond Fund, WisdomTree CBOE S&P 500 PutWrite Strategy Fund and WisdomTree Bloomberg Floating Rate Treasury Fund, and WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(21) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 577 filing, as filed with the SEC on December 22, 2016. | |
(19) |
Fee Waiver Agreement dated May 10, 2017 between the Registrant, on behalf of the WisdomTree Barclays Yield Enhanced U.S. Short-Term Aggregate Bond Fund, and WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(23) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 587 filing, as filed with the SEC on May 11, 2017. |
2
(20) |
Fee Waiver Agreement dated June 28, 2017 between the Registrant, on behalf of the WisdomTree Emerging Markets Consumer Growth Fund, WisdomTree Emerging Markets Quality Dividend Growth Fund, WisdomTree Emerging Markets ex-State-Owned Enterprises Fund, WisdomTree Strong Dollar Emerging Markets Equity Fund and WisdomTree China ex-State-Owned Enterprises Fund, and WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(24) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 596 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 28, 2017. | |
(21) |
Fee Waiver Agreement dated October 21, 2015 between the Registrant, on behalf of the WisdomTree Europe Local Recovery Fund, and WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(25) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 596 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 28, 2017. | |
(22) |
Fee Waiver Agreement dated June 30, 2017 between the Registrant, on behalf of the WisdomTree Managed Futures Strategy Fund, and WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(26) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 596 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 28, 2017. | |
(23) |
Fee Waiver Agreement dated February 2, 2017 between the Registrant, on behalf of the WisdomTree Global ex-Mexico Equity Fund, and WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(27) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 596 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 28, 2017. | |
(24) |
Fee Waiver Agreement dated October 23, 2017 between the Registrant, on behalf of the WisdomTree CBOE Russell 2000 PutWrite Strategy Fund, and WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc., is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(27) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 603 filing, as filed with the SEC on October 23, 2017. | |
(25) |
Fee Waiver Agreement dated October 28, 2017 between the Registrant, on behalf of the WisdomTree Global Hedged SmallCap Dividend Fund, and WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc., is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(25) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 604 filing, as filed with the SEC on October 27, 2017. | |
(26) |
Fee Waiver Agreement dated October 28, 2017 between the Registrant, on behalf of the WisdomTree Dynamic Currency Hedged International Quality Dividend Growth Fund, and WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc., is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(26) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 604 filing, as filed with the SEC on October 27, 2017. | |
(27) |
Fee Waiver Agreement dated October 28, 2017 between the Registrant, on behalf of the WisdomTree Fundamental U.S. Corporate Bond Fund, WisdomTree Fundamental U.S. Short-Term Corporate Bond Fund, WisdomTree Fundamental U.S. High Yield Corporate Bond Fund, WisdomTree Fundamental U.S. Short-Term High Yield Corporate Bond Fund, WisdomTree Dynamic Currency Hedged International SmallCap Equity Fund, WisdomTree Dynamic Currency Hedged International Equity Fund, WisdomTree Dynamic Currency Hedged Japan Equity Fund, WisdomTree Dynamic Currency Hedged Europe Equity Fund, WisdomTree Europe Domestic Economy Fund, WisdomTree Strong Dollar Emerging Markets Equity Fund, WisdomTree Dynamic Bearish U.S. Equity Fund, and WisdomTree Dynamic Long/Short U.S. Equity Fund, and WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc., is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (d)(27) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 604 filing, as filed with the SEC on October 27, 2017. | |
(e)(1) |
Form of Distribution Agreement dated December 12, 2014 (effective January 1, 2015) between the Registrant and Foreside Fund Services, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(1) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 382 filing, as filed with the SEC on December 16, 2014. | |
(2) |
Thirteenth Amendment and Exhibit, dated November 3, 2016, to the Distribution Agreement dated December 12, 2014 (effective January 1, 2015) between the Registrant and Foreside Fund Services, LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(2) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 577 filing, as filed with the SEC on December 22, 2016. | |
(3) |
Form of Authorized Participant Agreement is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (e)(2) of the Registrants Initial Registration Statement on Form N-1A, as filed with the SEC on March 13, 2006. |
3
(f) |
Not applicable. | |
(g)(1) |
Master Custodian Agreement dated September 27, 2013 between the Registrant and State Street Bank and Trust Company is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (g)(1) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 346 filing, as filed with the SEC on March 31, 2014. | |
(2) |
Appendix A, as last revised June 26, 2017, to the Master Custodian Agreement, Administration Agreement and Transfer Agency Service Agreement, each dated September 27, 2013 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (g)(2) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 592 filing, as filed with the SEC on June 26, 2017. | |
(3) |
Revised Appendix A, reflecting the addition of the WisdomTree ICBCCS S&P China 500 Fund and WisdomTree Balanced Income Fund, to the Master Custodian Agreement dated September 27, 2013 between the Registrant and State Street Bank and Trust Company to be filed by amendment. | |
(h)(1) |
Administration Agreement dated September 27, 2013 between the Registrant and State Street Bank and Trust Company is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(1) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 346 filing, as filed with the SEC on March 31, 2014. | |
(2) |
Transfer Agency and Service Agreement dated September 27, 2013 between the Registrant and State Street Bank and Trust Company is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(5) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 346 filing, as filed with the SEC on March 31, 2014. | |
(3) |
Schedule A, as last revised June 26, 2017, to the Administration Agreement and Transfer Agency and Service Agreement, each dated September 27, 2013, between the Registrant and State Street Bank and Trust Company is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(3) of the Resigratnts Post-Effective Amendment No. 592 filing, as filed with the SEC on June 26, 2017. | |
(4) |
Revised Schedule A, reflecting the addition of the WisdomTree ICBCCS S&P China 500 Fund and WisdomTree Balanced Income Fund, to the Administration Agreement and Transfer Agency and Service Agreement, each dated September 27, 2013, between the Registrant and State Street Bank and Trust Company to be filed by amendment. | |
(5) |
License Agreement dated March 21, 2006 between the Registrant and WisdomTree Investments, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(3) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 2 filing, as filed with the SEC on September 29, 2006. | |
(6) |
Exhibit A, as last revised June 26, 2017, to the License Agreement dated March 21, 2006 between the Registrant and WisdomTree Investments, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(6) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 592 filing, as filed with the SEC on June 26, 2017. | |
(7) |
Securities Lending Authorization Agreement dated September 27, 2013 between the Registrant and State Street Bank and Trust Company is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(8) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 346 filing, as filed with the SEC on March 31, 2014. | |
(8) |
Tenth Amendment dated November 3, 2016 to the Securities Lending Authorization Agreement dated September 27, 2013 between the Registrant and State Street Bank and Trust Company is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(8) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 577 filing, as filed with the SEC on December 22, 2016. | |
(9) |
Twelfth Amendment and revised Schedule B dated April 27, 2017 to the Securities Lending Authorization Agreement dated September 27, 2013 between the Registrant and State Street Bank and Trust Company is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(9) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 596 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 28, 2017. | |
(10) |
Thirteenth Amendment and revised Schedule B dated October 23, 2017 to the Securities Lending Authorization Agreement dated September 27, 2013 between the Registrant and State Street Bank and Trust Company to be filed by amendment. | |
(11) |
Fourteenth Amendment and revised Schedule B dated December 19, 2017 to the Securities Lending Authorization Agreement dated September 27, 2013 between the Registrant and State Street Bank and Trust Company, reflecting the addition of the WisdomTree ICBCCS S&P China 500 Fund and WisdomTree Balanced Income Fund, to be filed by amendment. |
4
(12) |
Chief Compliance Officer Services Agreement dated October 1, 2009 between the Registrant and WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(10) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 27 filing, as filed with the SEC on October 15, 2009. | |
(13) |
Exhibit C, as last revised October 23, 2017, to the Chief Compliance Officer Services Agreement dated October 1, 2009 between the Registrant and WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc., is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(13) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 603 filing, as filed with the SEC on October 23, 2017. | |
(14) |
Revised Exhibit C, reflecting the addition of WisdomTree ICBCCS S&P China 500 Fund and WisdomTree Balanced Income Fund, to the Chief Compliance Officer Services Agreement dated October 1, 2009 between the Registrant and WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc., to be filed by amendment. | |
(15) |
Fund Services Agreement dated June 15, 2009 between the Registrant and WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(11) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 131 filing, as filed with the SEC on September 10, 2012. | |
(16) |
Exhibit A, as last revised October 23, 2017, to the Fund Services Agreement dated June 15, 2009 between the Registrant and WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc., is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(16) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 603 filing, as filed with the SEC on October 23, 2017. | |
(17) |
Revised Exhibit A, reflecting the addition of WisdomTree ICBCCS S&P China 500 Fund and WisdomTree Balanced Income Fund, to the Fund Services Agreement dated June 15, 2009 between the Registrant and WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc to be filed by amendment. | |
(18) |
WisdomTree Rules-Based Earnings-Weighted Methodology, dated June 2016, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(16) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 563 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 28, 2016. | |
(19) |
WisdomTree Rules-Based Methodology (Domestic and International Dividend Indexes), dated June 2016, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(17) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 563 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 28, 2016. | |
(20) |
WisdomTree Rules-Based Methodology (Global and Global ex-US Dividend Indexes), dated October 2015, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(18) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 563 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 28, 2016. | |
(21) |
WisdomTree Rules-Based Methodology (India Earnings Indexes), dated June 2016, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(19) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 563 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 28, 2016. | |
(22) |
WisdomTree Rules-Based Methodology (Global ex-US Quality Dividend Growth Index), dated August 2015, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(20) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 563 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 28, 2016. | |
(23) |
WisdomTree Rules-Based Earnings-Weighted Value Index Methodology, dated June 2014, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(23) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 372 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 29, 2014. | |
(24) |
WisdomTree Rules-Based Methodology (Middle East Dividend Index), dated October 2015, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(22) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 563 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 28, 2016. | |
(25) |
WisdomTree Rules-Based Methodology (Emerging Market Consumer Growth Index), dated June 2014, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(25) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 372 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 29, 2014. |
5
(26) |
WisdomTree Rules-Based Methodology (WisdomTree China Dividend ex-Financials Index), dated June 2014, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(27) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 372 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 29, 2014. | |
(27) |
WisdomTree Rules-Based Methodology (Hedged Equity Indexes), dated May 2015, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(28) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 415 filing, as filed with the SEC on June 1, 2015. | |
(28) |
WisdomTree Rules-Based Methodology (WisdomTree Hedged and Unhedged Equity Indexes: Global SmallCap Dividend Index and Global Hedged SmallCap Dividend Index), dated June 2016, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(27) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 563 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 28, 2016. | |
(29) |
WisdomTree Rules-Based Methodology (WisdomTree Emerging Market Dividend Indexes), dated June 2016, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(28) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 563 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 28, 2016. | |
(30) |
WisdomTree Index Methodology (WisdomTree Japan Hedged Sector Indexes: Health Care; Capital Goods; Financials; and Real Estate), dated October 2015, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(30) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 563 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 28, 2016. | |
(31) |
WisdomTree Index Methodology (WisdomTree Emerging Markets ex-State-Owned Enterprises Index and WisdomTree China ex-State-Owned Enterprises Index), dated October 2015, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(31) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 563 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 28, 2016. | |
(32) |
WisdomTree Index Methodology (WisdomTree U.S. Domestic Economy Index, WisdomTree U.S. Export and Multinational Index, and WisdomTree Strong Dollar Emerging Markets Equity Index), dated March 2017, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(31) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 585 filing, as filed with the SEC on April 6, 2017. | |
(33) |
WisdomTree Index Methodology (WisdomTree Europe Domestic Economy Index), dated March 2017, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(32) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 585 filing, as filed with the SEC on April 6, 2017. | |
(34) |
WisdomTree Index Methodology (WisdomTree Dynamic Long/Short U.S. Equity Index and WisdomTree Dynamic Bearish U.S. Equity Index), dated September 2015, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(34) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 490 filing, as filed with the SEC on December 10, 2015. | |
(35) |
WisdomTree Index Methodology (WisdomTree Dynamic Hedged/Unhedged Equity Indexes: WisdomTree Dynamic Currency Hedged International SmallCap Equity Fund, WisdomTree Dynamic Currency Hedged International Equity Fund, WisdomTree Dynamic Currency Hedged Japan Equity Fund, WisdomTree Dynamic Currency Hedged Europe Equity Fund, and WisdomTree Dynamic Currency Hedged International Quality Dividend Growth Fund), dated December 2015, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(33) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 571 filing, as filed with the SEC on October 28, 2016. | |
(36) |
WisdomTree Rules-Based Methodology (WisdomTree Hedged and Unhedged Indexes), is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(35) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 539 filing, as filed with the SEC on April 4, 2016. | |
(37) |
WisdomTree Index Methodology (WisdomTree Fundamental U.S. High Yield Corporate Bond Index Family: WisdomTree Fundamental U.S. High Yield Corporate Bond Index and WisdomTree Fundamental U.S. Short-term High Yield Corporate Bond Index), is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(36) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 541 filing, as filed with the SEC on April 14, 2016. |
6
(38) |
WisdomTree Index Methodology (WisdomTree Fundamental U.S. Corporate Bond Index Family: WisdomTree Fundamental U.S. Corporate Bond Index and WisdomTree Fundamental U.S. Short-term Corporate Bond Index), is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(37) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 541 filing, as filed with the SEC on April 14, 2016. | |
(39) |
WisdomTree Rules-Based Methodology (WisdomTree Global ex-Mexico Equity Index) is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(38) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 561 filing, as filed with the SEC on June 24, 2016. | |
(40) |
WisdomTree Index Methodology (WisdomTree Managed Futures Index) is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(38) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 577 filing, as filed with the SEC on December 22, 2016. | |
(41) |
WisdomTree Index Methodology (WisdomTree U.S. Multifactor Index) is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (h)(41) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 592 filing, as filed with the SEC on June 26, 2017. | |
(42) |
WisdomTree Index Methodology (WisdomTree Balanced Income Index) to be filed by amendment. | |
(i)(1) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree International Hedged SmallCap Dividend Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(18) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 415 filing, as filed with the SEC on June 1, 2015. | |
(2) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree Global ex-U.S. Hedged Dividend Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(19) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 416 filing, as filed with the SEC on June 1, 2015. | |
(3) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree CBOE S&P 500 Put Write Strategy Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(21) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 433 filing, as filed with the SEC on June 24, 2015. | |
(4) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree International Hedged Equity Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(22) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 434 filing, as filed with the SEC on June 24, 2015. | |
(5) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree Strong Dollar U.S. Equity Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(23) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 440 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 16, 2015. | |
(6) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree Weak Dollar U.S. Equity Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(24) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 441 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 16, 2015. | |
(7) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree U.S. Equity Funds and WisdomTree International Equity Funds, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(10) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 445 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 29, 2015. | |
(8) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree Strong Dollar Emerging Markets Equity Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(11) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 472 filing, as filed with the SEC on October 23, 2015. | |
(9) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree Global ex-U.S. Hedged Real Estate Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(12) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 473 filing, as filed with the SEC on October 23, 2015. | |
(10) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree Europe Local Recovery Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(13) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 474 filing, as filed with the SEC on October 23, 2015. | |
(11) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree Global SmallCap Dividend Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(14) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 475 filing, as filed with the SEC on October 30, 2015. |
7
(12) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree Global Hedged SmallCap Dividend Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(15) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 476 filing, as filed with the SEC on November 2, 2015. | |
(13) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree Dynamic Long/Short U.S. Equity Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(16) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 490 filing, as filed with the SEC on December 10, 2015. | |
(14) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree Dynamic Bearish U.S. Equity Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(17) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 491 filing, as filed with the SEC on December 10, 2015. | |
(15) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree Currency Income Funds, WisdomTree Fixed Income Funds, and WisdomTree Alternative Funds, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(15) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 497 filing, as filed with the SEC on December 16, 2015. | |
(16) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree Dynamic Currency Hedged International SmallCap Equity Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(16) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 501 filing, as filed with the SEC on January 5, 2016. | |
(17) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree Dynamic Currency Hedged International Equity Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(17) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 502 filing, as filed with the SEC on January 5, 2016. | |
(18) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree Dynamic Currency Hedged Japan Equity Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(18) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 503 filing, as filed with the SEC on January 5, 2016. | |
(19) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree Dynamic Currency Hedged Europe Equity Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(19) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 504 filing, as filed with the SEC on January 5, 2016. | |
(20) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree International Quality Dividend Growth Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(20) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 539 filing, as filed with the SEC on April 4, 2016. | |
(21) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree Emerging Markets Dividend Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(21) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 540 filing, as filed with the SEC on April 4, 2016. | |
(22) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree Fundamental U.S. Corporate Bond Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(22) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 541 filing, as filed with the SEC on April 14, 2016. | |
(23) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree Fundamental U.S. Short-Term Corporate Bond Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(23) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 542 filing, as filed with the SEC on April 14, 2016. | |
(24) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree Fundamental U.S. High Yield Corporate Bond Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(24) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 543 filing, as filed with the SEC on April 14, 2016. | |
(25) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree Fundamental U.S. Short-Term High Yield Corporate Bond Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(25) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 544 filing, as filed with the SEC on April 14, 2016. |
8
(26) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree Global ex-Mexico Equity Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(28) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 561 filing, as filed with the SEC on June 24, 2016. | |
(27) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree Dynamic Currency Hedged International Quality Dividend Growth Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(30) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 571 filing, as filed with the SEC on October 28, 2016. | |
(28) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree Barclays Yield Enhanced U.S. Short-Term Aggregate Bond Fund LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(31) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 587 filing, as filed with the SEC on May 11, 2017. | |
(29) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree U.S. Multifactor Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(32) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 592 filing, as filed with the SEC on June 26, 2017. | |
(30) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree CBOE Russell 2000 PutWrite Strategy Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (i)(32) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 603 filing, as filed with the SEC on October 23, 2017. | |
(31) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree ICBCCS S&P China 500 Fund, is filed herewith. | |
(32) |
Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree Balanced Income Fund, to be filed by amendment. | |
(j) |
Not applicable. | |
(k) |
Not applicable. | |
(l) |
Form of Letter of Representations between the Registrant and The Depository Trust Company is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (l) of the Registrants Pre-Effective Amendment No. 2 filing, as filed with the SEC on June 9, 2006. | |
(m) |
Not applicable. | |
(n) |
Not applicable. | |
(o) |
Not applicable. | |
(p)(1) |
Code of Ethics of the Registrant is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p)(1) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 27 filing, as filed with the SEC on October 15, 2009. | |
(2) |
Code of Ethics of WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p)(2) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 124 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 27, 2012. | |
(3) |
Code of Ethics of BNY Mellon is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p)(3) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 124 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 27, 2012. | |
(4) |
Code of Ethics of Voya Investment Management Co., LLC is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (p)(5) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 541 filing, as filed with the SEC on April 14, 2016. | |
(5) |
Code of Ethics of ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management (International) Company Limited, sub-adviser to the WisdomTree ICBCCS S&P China 500 Fund, is filed herewith. | |
(6) |
Code of Ethics of [SUB-ADVISER], sub-adviser to the WisdomTree Balanced Income Fund, to be filed by amendment. | |
(q)(1) |
Powers of Attorney dated June 13, 2017 for David Castano, David Chrencik, Joel Goldberg, Melinda Raso Kirstein, Toni Massaro, Jonathan Steinberg and Victor Ugolyn are incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (q)(1) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 596 filing, as filed with the SEC on July 28, 2017. | |
(2) |
Secretarys Certificate related to certain signatory authority is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit (r) of the Registrants Post-Effective Amendment No. 222 filing, as filed with the SEC on September 24, 2013. |
9
Item 29. Persons Controlled by or Under Common Control with the Registrant
As of the date of this Registration Statement, the Registrant, through the Managed Futures Strategy, owns 100% of the WisdomTree Managed Futures Portfolio I. WisdomTree Managed Futures Portfolio I is an exempted company organized under Cayman Islands law.
As of the date of this Registration Statement, the Registrant, through the WisdomTree India Earnings Fund, owns 100% of the WisdomTree India Investment Portfolio, Inc., an exempted company organized under the laws of the Republic of Mauritius.
Item 30. Indemnification
Reference is made to Article IX of the Registrants Trust Instrument included as Exhibit (a)(1) to this Registration Statement with respect to the indemnification of the Registrants trustees and officers, which is set forth below:
Section 1. Limitation of Liability.
All Persons contracting with or having any claim against the Trust or a particular Series shall look only to the assets of the Trust or Assets belonging to such Series, respectively, for payment under such contract or claim; and neither the Trustees nor any of the Trusts officers, employees, or agents, whether past, present, or future, shall be personally liable therefor. Every written instrument or obligation on behalf of the Trust or any Series shall contain a statement to the foregoing effect, but the absence of such statement shall not operate to make any Trustee or officer of the Trust liable thereunder. Provided they have exercised reasonable care and have acted under the reasonable belief that their actions are in the best interest of the Trust, the Trustees and officers of the Trust shall not be responsible or liable for any act or omission or for neglect or wrongdoing of them or any officer, agent, employee, Investment Adviser, or independent contractor of the Trust, but nothing contained in this Trust Instrument or in the Delaware Act shall protect any Trustee or officer of the Trust against liability to the Trust or to Shareholders to which he would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his office.
Section 2. Indemnification.
(a) Subject to the exceptions and limitations contained in subsection (b) below:
(i) every Person who is, or has been, a Trustee or an officer, employee, or agent of the Trust (Covered Person) shall be indemnified by the Trust or the appropriate Series (out of Assets belonging to that Series) to the fullest extent permitted by law against liability and against all expenses reasonably incurred or paid by him in connection with any claim, action, suit, or proceeding in which he becomes involved as a party or otherwise by virtue of his being or having been a Covered Person and against amounts paid or incurred by him in the settlement thereof; provided that the transfer agent of the Trust or any Series shall not be considered an agent for these purposes unless expressly deemed to be such by the Trustees in a resolution referring to this Article.
(ii) as used herein, the words claim, action, suit, or proceeding shall apply to all claims, actions, suits, or proceedings (civil, criminal, or other, including appeals), actual or threatened, and the words liability and expenses shall include attorneys fees, costs, judgments, amounts paid in settlement, fines, penalties, and other liabilities.
(b) No indemnification shall be provided hereunder to a Covered Person:
(i) who has been adjudicated by a court or body before which the proceeding was brought:
(A) to be liable to the Trust or its Shareholders by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his office or
(B) not to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that his action was in the best interest of the Trust; or
10
(ii) in the event of a settlement, unless there has been a determination that such Covered Person did not engage in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his office (A) by the court or other body approving the settlement, (B) by at least a majority of those Trustees who are neither Interested Persons of the Trust nor are parties to the matter based on a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry), or (C) by written opinion of independent legal counsel based on a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry).
(c) The rights of indemnification herein provided may be insured against by policies maintained by the Trust, shall be severable, shall not be exclusive of or affect any other rights to which any Covered Person may now or hereafter be entitled, and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors, and administrators of a Covered Person.
(d) To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, expenses in connection with the preparation and presentation of a defense to any claim, action, suit, or proceeding of the character described in subsection (a) of this Section shall be paid by the Trust or applicable Series from time to time prior to final disposition thereof on receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such Covered Person that such amount will be paid over by him to the Trust or applicable Series if it is ultimately determined that he is not entitled to indemnification under this Section, provided that either (i) such Covered Person has provided appropriate security for such undertaking, (ii) the Trust is insured against losses arising out of any such advance payments, or (iii) either a majority of the Trustees who are neither Interested Persons of the Trust nor parties to the matter, or independent legal counsel in a written opinion, has determined, based on a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry) that there is reason to believe that such Covered Person will not be disqualified from indemnification under this Section.
(e) Any repeal or modification of this Article IX by the Shareholders, or adoption or modification of any other provision of this Trust Instrument or the By-laws inconsistent with this Article, shall be prospective only, to the extent that such repeal, modification, or adoption would, if applied retrospectively, adversely affect any limitation on the liability of any Covered Person or indemnification available to any Covered Person with respect to any act or omission that occurred prior to such repeal, modification, or adoption.
Reference is made to Article VI of the Registrants By-Laws included as Exhibit (b) to this Registration Statement with respect to the indemnification of the Registrants trustees and officers, which is set forth below:
Section 6.2. Limitation of Liability.
The Declaration refers to the Trustees as Trustees, but not as individuals or personally; and no Trustee, officer, employee or agent of the Trust shall be held to any personal liability, nor shall resort be had to their private property for the satisfaction of any obligation or claim or otherwise in connection with the affairs of the Trust; provided, that nothing contained in the Declaration or the By-Laws shall protect any Trustee or officer of the Trust from any liability to the Trust or its Shareholders to which he would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his office.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, may be provided to trustees, officers and controlling persons of the Trust, pursuant to the foregoing provisions or otherwise, the Trust has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Trust of expenses incurred or paid by a trustee, officer or controlling person of the Trust in connection with the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding or payment pursuant to any insurance policy) is asserted against the Trust by such trustee, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Trust 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 Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
Item 31. Business and Other Connections of the Investment Adviser
WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc. (WTAM), 245 Park Avenue, 35th Floor, New York, NY 10167, a wholly-owned subsidiary of WisdomTree Investments, Inc., is a registered investment adviser and serves as investment adviser for each series of the Trust. The description of WTAM under the caption of Management-Investment Adviser in the Prospectus and under the caption Management of the Trust in the Statement of Additional Information constituting Parts A and B, respectively, of this Registration Statement are incorporated herein by reference.
11
Each of the directors and officers of WTAM will also generally have substantial responsibilities (as noted below) as directors and/or officers of WisdomTree Investments, Inc., 245 Park Avenue, 35th Floor, New York, NY 10167. To the knowledge of the Registrant, except as set forth below or otherwise disclosed in the Prospectus or Statement of Additional Information as noted above, none of the directors or executive officers of WTAM is or has been at any time during the past two fiscal years engaged in any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature.
Name |
Position with WTAM |
Principal Business(es) During Last Two Fiscal Years | ||
Jonathan Steinberg | Chief Executive Officer, President, and Director | Dual officer/director of WisdomTree Investments, Inc. | ||
Peter Ziemba | Chief Legal Officer, EVP of Business and Legal Affairs, and Director |
Dual officer of WisdomTree Investments, Inc. | ||
Amit Muni | Chief Financial Officer, EVP of Finance, and Director | Dual officer of WisdomTree Investments, Inc. | ||
Luciano Siracusano | Chief Investment Strategist and EVP of Sales | Dual officer of WisdomTree Investments, Inc. | ||
Gregory Barton | Chief Operating Officer and EVP of Operations, and Director | Dual officer of WisdomTree Investments, Inc. | ||
Terry Feld | Chief Compliance Officer | None | ||
Ryan Louvar | General Counsel | None |
With respect to information regarding ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management (International) Company Limited (the sub-adviser), reference is hereby made to Management Sub-Adviser in the Prospectus. For information as to the business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature of each of the officers and directors of the sub-adviser, reference is made to the current Form ADV of the sub-adviser filed under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, incorporated herein by reference and the file numbers of which are as follows:
ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management (International) Company Limited
File No. 801-107885
CRD No. 283218
[Item 31 information for the sub-adviser of WisdomTree Balanced Income Fund to be filed by amendment].
12
Item 32. Foreside Fund Services, LLC
(a) | Foreside Fund Services, LLC (the Distributor) serves as principal underwriter for the following investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended: |
1. ABS Long/Short Strategies Fund
2. Absolute Shares Trust
3. AdvisorShares Trust
4. American Beacon Funds
5. American Beacon Select Funds
6. Archstone Alternative Solutions Fund
7. Ark ETF Trust
8. Avenue Mutual Funds Trust
9. BP Capital TwinLine Energy Fund, Series of Professionally Managed Portfolios
10. BP Capital TwinLine MLP Fund, Series of Professionally Managed Portfolios
11. Braddock Multi-Strategy Income Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust
12. Bridgeway Funds, Inc.
13. Center Coast MLP & Infrastructure Fund
14. Center Coast MLP Focus Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust
15. Context Capital Funds
16. CornerCap Group of Funds
17. Corsair Opportunity Fund
18. Direxion Shares ETF Trust
19. Eaton Vance NextShares Trust
20. Eaton Vance NextShares Trust II
21. EIP Investment Trust
22. Evanston Alternative Opportunities Fund
23. Exchange Listed Funds Trust (f/k/a Exchange Traded Concepts Trust II)
24. FEG Absolute Access Fund I LLC
25. FlexShares Trust
26. Forum Funds
27. Forum Funds II
28. FQF Trust
29. FSI Low Beta Absolute Return Fund
30. Guiness Atkinson Funds
31. Henderson Global Funds
32. Horizon Spin-off and Corporate Restructuring Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust (f/k/a Liberty Street Horizon Fund)
33. Horizons ETF Trust
34. Infinity Core Alternative Fund
35. Ironwood Institutional Multi-Strategy Fund LLC
36. Ironwood Multi-Strategy Fund LLC
37. John Hancock Exchange-Traded Fund Trust
38. Lyons Funds
39. Manor Investment Funds
40. Miller/Howard Funds Trust
41. Miller/Howard High Income Equity Fund
42. Moerus Worldwide Value Fund, Series of Northern Lights Fund Trust IV
43. Montage Managers Trust
44. Palmer Square Opportunistic Income Fund
45. PENN Capital Funds Trust
46. Performance Trust Mutual Funds, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
47. Pine Grove Alternative Institutional Fund
13
48. Plan Investment Fund, Inc.
49. PMC Funds, Series of Trust for Professional Managers
50. Quaker Investment Trust
51. Ramius Archview Credit and Distressed Feeder Fund
52. Ramius Archview Credit and Distressed Fund
53. Recon Capital Series Trust
54. Renaissance Capital Greenwich Funds
55. RMB Investors Trust (f/k/a Burnham Investors Trust)
56. Robinson Opportunistic Income Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust
57. Robinson Tax Advantaged Income Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust
58. Salient MF Trust
59. SharesPost 100 Fund
60. Sound Shore Fund, Inc.
61. Steben Alternative Investment Funds
62. Steben Select Multi-Strategy Fund
63. Strategy Shares
64. The 504 Fund (f/k/a The Pennant 504 Fund)
65. The Community Development Fund
66. Third Avenue Trust
67. Third Avenue Variable Series Trust
68. TIFF Investment Program
69. Turner Funds
70. U.S. Global Investors Funds
71. West Loop Realty Fund, Series of Investment Managers Series Trust (f/k/a Chilton Realty Income & Growth Fund)
72. Wintergreen Fund, Inc.
73. WisdomTree Trust
(b) | The following are the Officers and Manager of the Distributor, the Registrants underwriter. The Distributors main business address is Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101. |
Name |
Address |
Position with Underwriter |
Position with Registrant | |||
Richard J. Berthy |
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101 | President, Treasurer and Manager | President, Principal Executive Officer | |||
Mark A. Fairbanks |
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101 | Vice President | None | |||
Jennifer K. DiValerio |
899 Cassatt Road, 400 Berwyn Park, Suite 110, Berwyn, PA 19312 | Vice President | None | |||
Nanette K. Chern |
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101 | Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer | None | |||
Jennifer E. Hoopes |
Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101 | Secretary | None |
(c) | Not applicable. |
14
Item 33. Location of Accounts and Records
(a) | The Registrant maintains accounts, books and other documents required by Section 31(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 and the rules thereunder (collectively, Records) at its offices at 245 Park Avenue, 35th Floor, New York, NY 10167. |
(b) | WTAM maintains all Records relating to its services as investment adviser to the Registrant at 245 Park Avenue, 35th Floor, New York, New York 10167. |
(c) | Mellon Capital Management Corporation maintains all Records relating to its services as sub-adviser at 50 Fremont Street, Suite 3900, San Francisco, California 94105. |
(d) | Voya Investment Management Co., LLC maintains all Records relating to its services as sub-adviser at 230 Park Avenue New York, New York 10169. |
(e) | ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management (International) Co. Ltd. maintains all Records relating to its services as sub-adviser at Suite 801, 8/F, ICBC Tower, 3 Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong. |
(f) | Foreside Fund Services, LLC maintains all Records relating to its services as Distributor of the Registrant at Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101. |
(g) | State Street Bank and Trust Company maintains all Records relating to its services as administrator, transfer agent and custodian of the Registrant at 1200 Crown Colony Drive, Quincy, Massachusetts 02189. |
[Location of Accounts and Records for WisdomTree Balanced Income Funds Sub-Adviser to be included by amendment].
Item 34. Management Services
Not applicable.
Item 35. Undertakings
Not applicable.
15
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirements for effectiveness of this Registration Statement under Rule 485(b) under the Securities Act and has duly caused this Post-Effective Amendment No. 610 to Registration Statement No. 333-132380 to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, duly authorized, in the City of New York, State of New York, on the 18th day of December, 2017.
WISDOMTREE TRUST | ||
(Registrant) | ||
By: | /s/ Jonathan Steinberg | |
Jonathan Steinberg | ||
President (Principal Executive Officer) |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Post-Effective Amendment No. 610 to the Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacity and on the dates indicated.
Signatures |
Title |
Date | ||||
/s/ Jonathan Steinberg Jonathan Steinberg |
President (Principal Executive Officer) and Trustee | December 18, 2017 | ||||
/s/ David Castano* David Castano |
Treasurer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | December 18, 2017 | ||||
/s/ David Chrencik* David Chrencik |
Trustee | December 18, 2017 | ||||
/s/ Joel Goldberg* Joel Goldberg |
Trustee | December 18, 2017 | ||||
/s/ Toni Massaro* Toni Massaro |
Trustee | December 18, 2017 | ||||
/s/ Melinda Raso Kirstein* Melinda Raso Kirstein |
Trustee | December 18, 2017 | ||||
/s/ Victor Ugolyn* Victor Ugolyn |
Trustee | December 18, 2017 |
*By: | /s/ Ryan Louvar | |||
Ryan Louvar | ||||
(Attorney-in-Fact) |
16
Exhibit Index
Exhibit Number |
Exhibit | |
(d) (10) | Sub-Advisory Agreement between WisdomTree Asset Management, Inc., on behalf of the WisdomTree ICBCCS S&P China 500 Fund, and ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management (International) Company Limited | |
(i) (31) | Opinion of counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, relating to the WisdomTree ICBCCS S&P China 500 Fund | |
(p) (5) |
Code of Ethics of ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management (International) Company Limited, sub-adviser to the WisdomTree ICBCCS S&P China 500 Fund |
17