expenses by the Board. In addition, under the Agreement, while the fees and expenses related to the Funds’ securities lending-related activities reduce the gross revenues and income of the Funds from such activities, they are not fees and expenses for which Krane is responsible.
Each Agreement provides that each Fund pays a unitary (or unified) fee to the Adviser for advisory and management services provided to the Fund, subject to the exceptions noted herein. In this context, there exists a risk that a Trust service provider will seek recourse against the Trust if is not timely paid by Krane for the fees and expenses for which it is responsible, which could materially adversely affect the Funds. Pursuant to the Agreement between the Trust and the Adviser, the Funds below pay the Adviser a fee, which is calculated daily and paid monthly, at the following annual rates, based on a percentage of the average daily net assets of each Fund. In addition, as compensation for the services provided by the Adviser in connection with any securities lending-related activities, each Fund pays the Adviser 10% of the monthly investment income received from the investment of cash collateral and loan fees received from borrowers in respect to securities loans (net of any amounts paid to the custodian and/or securities lending agent or rebated to borrowers), if any included on the Statements of Operations as “Security Lending Fees”.
KraneShares Funds
|
|
Management
Fee
|
Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility and Inflation Hedge ETF
|
|
0.99%
|
KFA Large Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF
|
|
0.40%
|
KFA Small Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF
|
|
0.50%
|
KFA Dynamic Fixed Income ETF
|
|
0.45%
|
Pursuant to the terms of an Expense Limitation Agreement, Krane has contractually agreed to reduce its management fee for the Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility and Inflation Hedge ETF by 0.05% of the Fund’s average daily net assets. This Expense Limitation Agreement will continue until August 1, 2020. The Expense Limitation Agreement may only be terminated by the Board.
The Adviser and each Sub-Adviser bear all of their own costs associated with providing these advisory services. As part of its agreement with the Trust, the Adviser has contractually agreed to pay all operating expenses of the Funds, including the cost of index licensing fees, transfer agency, custody, fund administration, legal, audit and other services, except as set forth above and as otherwise indicated in those agreements.
SUB-ADVISORY AGREEMENT — Quadratic Capital Management LLC (“Quadratic”) serves as the Sub-Adviser to the Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility and Inflation Hedge ETF and is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund, subject to the supervision by the Adviser and the Board. For the services Quadratic provides to Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility and Inflation Hedge ETF, the Adviser pays Quadratic a fee equal to 76% of the sum of: (i) the total gross management fee due to the Adviser from the Fund under the terms of the Advisory Agreement minus (ii) any applicable fee waivers from time to time entered into between the Fund and the Adviser.
SkyRock Investment Management, LLC (“SkyRock”) serves as the sub-adviser to the KFA Dynamic Fixed Income ETF and is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund, subject to the supervision by the Adviser and the Board. For the services SkyRock provides to KFA Dynamic Fixed Income ETF, the Adviser pays SkyRock a fee equal to 33.33% of the sum of: (i) the total gross management fee due to the Adviser from the Fund under the terms of the Advisory Agreement minus (ii) any applicable fee waivers from time to time entered into between the Fund and the Adviser.
DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT — SEI Investments Distribution Co. (the “Distributor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of SEI Investments Company, and an affiliate of the administrator, serves as the Funds’ distributor of Creation Units pursuant to a Distribution Agreement. The Distributor does not maintain any secondary market in Fund shares.
The Trust has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan (“Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. In accordance with its Plan, each Fund is authorized to pay an amount up to 0.25% of its average daily net assets each year for certain distribution-related activities. For the period ended March 31, 2020 no fees were charged under the Plan, since no such fees are currently paid by the Funds and the Board of Trustees has not currently approved the commencement of any payments under the Plan. Fees would only be charged under the Plan upon approval by the Board.
ADMINISTRATOR, CUSTODIAN AND TRANSFER AGENT — SEI Investments Global Funds Services (the “Administrator”) serves as the Funds’ Administrator pursuant to an Administration Agreement. BBH serves as the Funds’ Custodian and Transfer Agent pursuant to a Custodian and Transfer Agent Agreement.
4. INVESTMENT TRANSACTIONS
For the period ended March 31, 2020, the purchases and sales of investments in securities excluding in-kind transactions, options, long-term U.S. Government and short-term securities were:
KraneShares Funds
|
|
Purchases
|
|
Sales and
Maturities
|
Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility and Inflation Hedge ETF
|
|
$
|
—
|
|
$
|
114,628
|
KFA Large Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF
|
|
|
32,779,786
|
|
|
32,842,497
|
KFA Small Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF
|
|
|
14,762,778
|
|
|
14,810,307
|
KFA Dynamic Fixed Income ETF
|
|
|
39,249,326
|
|
|
23,522,706
|
For the period ended March 31, 2020, the purchases and sales of long-term U.S. government securities were:
KraneShares Funds
|
|
Purchases
|
|
Sales and
Maturities
|
KFA Dynamic Fixed Income ETF
|
|
$
|
—
|
|
$
|
17,373,225
|
For the period ended March 31, 2020, in-kind transactions associated with creations and redemptions were:
KraneShares Funds
|
|
Purchases
|
|
Sales and
Maturities
|
|
Realized
Gain
|
Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility and Inflation Hedge ETF
|
|
$
|
125,019,619
|
|
$
|
39,847,096
|
|
$
|
785,066
|
KFA Large Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF
|
|
|
55,521,047
|
|
|
5,131,211
|
|
|
161,427
|
KFA Small Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF
|
|
|
32,011,572
|
|
|
1,283,196
|
|
|
53,537
|
KFA Dynamic Fixed Income ETF
|
|
|
17,386,253
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
5. TAX INFORMATION
The amount and character of income and capital gain distributions to be paid, if any, are determined in accordance with Federal income tax regulations, which may differ from U.S. GAAP. For example, the income or loss resulting from Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility and Inflation Hedge ETF’s investments in derivatives tied to interest rates is characterized as ordinary income or loss, even though such
Notes to Financial Statements (continued)
Qualified late year ordinary and Post-October capital losses (including currency and specified gain/loss items) represent losses realized from January 1, 2020 through March 31, 2020 and November 1, 2019 through March 31, 2020, respectively, that in accordance with federal income tax regulations, the Funds have elected to defer and treat as having arisen in the following fiscal year.
The Funds have capital losses carry forward as follows:
KraneShares Funds
|
|
Short-Term
Loss
|
|
Long-Term
Loss
|
|
Total
|
KFA Large Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF
|
|
$
|
4,958,009
|
|
$
|
—
|
|
$
|
4,958,009
|
KFA Dynamic Fixed Income ETF
|
|
|
3,379,490
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
3,379,490
|
The differences between book and tax-basis unrealized appreciation and depreciation are attributable primarily to the tax deferral of losses on wash sales and perpetual bond adjustments. The federal tax cost and aggregate gross unrealized appreciation and depreciation on investments held by the Funds at March 31, 2020 were as follows:
KraneShares Funds
|
|
Federal Tax
Cost
|
|
Aggregated
Gross
Unrealized
Appreciation
|
|
Aggregated
Gross
Unrealized
Depreciation
|
|
Net Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
|
Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility and Inflation Hedge ETF
|
|
$
|
91,035,979
|
|
$
|
2,347,794
|
|
$
|
(678,411
|
)
|
|
$
|
1,669,383
|
|
KFA Large Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF
|
|
|
45,516,220
|
|
|
1,122,906
|
|
|
(5,788,263
|
)
|
|
|
(4,665,357
|
)
|
KFA Small Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF
|
|
|
29,087,585
|
|
|
530,734
|
|
|
(4,819,492
|
)
|
|
|
(4,288,758
|
)
|
KFA Dynamic Fixed Income ETF
|
|
|
18,515,475
|
|
|
67,297
|
|
|
(3,172,324
|
)
|
|
|
(3,105,027
|
)
|
6. CONCENTRATION OF RISKS
As with all ETFs, shareholders of the Funds are subject to the risk that their investment could lose money. Each Fund is subject to certain of the principal risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect a Fund’s NAV, trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment objective. A more complete description of principal risks is included in each Fund’s prospectus under the heading “Principal Risks”. The following risks pertain to all Funds, unless otherwise noted.
Cash and Cash Equivalents Risk — The Fund may hold cash or cash equivalents. Generally, such positions offer less potential for gain than other investments. Holding cash or cash equivalents, even strategically, may lead to missed investment opportunities. This is particularly true when the market for other investments in which the Fund may invest is rapidly rising. If the Fund holds cash uninvested it will be subject to the credit risk of the depositing institution holding the cash.
CONCENTRATION RISK (KFA Large Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF and KFA Small Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF) — Because the Fund’s assets are expected to be concentrated in an industry or group of industries to the extent that the Underlying Index concentrates in a particular industry or group of industries, the Fund is subject to loss due to adverse occurrences that may affect that industry or group of industries or sector. Market conditions, interest rates, and economic, regulatory, or financial developments could significantly affect a single industry or a group of related industries, and the securities of companies in that industry or group of industries could react similarly to these or other
43
Notes to Financial Statements (continued)
developments. Depending on the composition of each Fund’s Underlying Index, the Fund may be subject to principal risks, as outlined in each Funds’ prospectus. Each Fund may have significant exposure to other industries or sectors over time.
DERIVATIVES RISK — The use of derivatives (including swaps, futures, forwards, structured notes and options) may involve leverage, which includes risks that are different from, and greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in a reference asset, because a small investment in a derivative can result in a large impact on the Fund and may cause the Fund to be more volatile. In addition, derivatives can be illiquid and imperfectly correlate with the reference asset, resulting in unexpected returns that could materially adversely affect the Fund. Certain derivatives (such as swaps and options) are bi-lateral agreements that expose the Fund to counterparty risk, which is the risk of loss in the event that the counterparty to an agreement fails to perform under it. In that case, the Fund may suffer losses potentially equal to, or greater than, the full value of the derivative if the counterparty fails to perform its obligations. Counterparty risks are compounded by the fact that there are only a limited number of ways available to invest in certain reference assets and, therefore, there may be few counterparties to swaps or options based on those reference assets. Investments in derivatives may expose the Fund to leverage, which may cause the Fund to be more volatile than if it had not been leveraged. Many derivatives are subject to segregation requirements that require the Fund to segregate the market or notional value of the derivatives, which could impede the portfolio management of the Fund.
DIVIDEND RISK (KFA Large Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF and KFA Small Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF) — There is no guarantee that issuers of the stocks held by the Fund will declare dividends in the future or that, if declared, such dividends will remain at current levels or increase over time.
ETF Risk. As an ETF, the Fund is subject to the following risks:
Authorized Participants Concentration Risk. The Fund has a limited number of financial institutions that may act as Authorized Participants. To the extent they cannot or are otherwise unwilling to engage in creation and redemption transactions with the Fund and no other Authorized Participant steps in, shares of the Fund may trade like closed-end fund shares at a significant discount to net asset value (“NAV”) and may face delisting from the Exchange.
New Fund Risk. The Fund is new and does not yet have shares outstanding. If the Fund does not grow large in size once it commences trading, it will be at greater risk than larger funds of wider bid-ask spreads for its shares, trading at a greater premium or discount to NAV, liquidation and/or a stop to trading.
Premium/Discount Risk. There may be times when the market price of the Fund’s shares is more than the NAV intra-day (at a premium) or less than the NAV intra-day (at a discount). As a result, shareholders of the Fund may pay more than NAV when purchasing shares and receive less than NAV when selling Fund shares. This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines. In such market conditions, market or stop loss orders to sell Fund shares may be executed at prices well below NAV.
Market Risk. The values of the Fund’s holdings could decline generally or could underperform other investments. In addition, there is a risk that policy changes by the U.S. Government, Federal Reserve, and/or other government actors could cause volatility in global financial markets, negative sentiment and higher levels of Fund redemptions, which could have a negative impact on the Fund and could result in losses. Geopolitical and other risks, including environmental and public
44
Notes to Financial Statements (continued)
health risks may add to instability in world economies and markets generally. Changes in value may be temporary or may last for extended periods. Further, the Fund is susceptible to the risk that certain investments may be difficult or impossible to sell at a favorable time or price. Market developments may also cause the Fund’s investments to become less liquid and subject to erratic price movements. Such market developments may also cause the Fund to encounter difficulties in timely honoring redemptions, especially if market events cause an increased incidence of shareholder redemptions.
Secondary Market Trading Risk. Investors buying or selling shares in the secondary market will normally pay brokerage commissions, which are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors buying or selling relatively small amounts of shares. Secondary market trading is subject to bid-ask spreads and trading in Fund shares may be halted by the Exchange because of market conditions or other reasons. If a trading halt occurs, a shareholder may temporarily be unable to purchase or sell shares of the Fund. In addition, although the Fund’s shares are listed on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for shares will develop or be maintained or that the Fund’s shares will continue to be listed.
EQUITY SECURITIES RISK (KFA Large Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF, KFA Small Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF and KFA Dynamic Fixed Income ETF) — The values of equity securities are subject to factors such as market fluctuations, changes in interest rates and perceived trends in stock prices. Equity securities are subject to volatile changes in value and their values may be more volatile than other asset classes. In the event of liquidation, equity securities are generally subordinate in rank to debt and other securities of the same issuer.
FIXED INCOME SECURITIES RISK (Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility and Inflation Hedge ETF and KFA Dynamic Fixed Income ETF) — Fixed income securities are subject to credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer of a security will not make timely interest payments or repay the principal of the debt issued (i.e., it defaults on its obligations). Event risk refers to the risk that an unexpected event could interfere with an issuer’s ability to make timely interest or principal payments or that causes market speculation about the issuer’s ability to make such payments, which could cause the credit quality and market value of an issuer’s bonds and/or other debt securities to decline significantly. Interest rate risk refers to fluctuations in the value of a debt resulting from changes in the level of interest rates. When interest rates go up, the prices of most debt instruments go down; and when interest rates go down, the prices of most debt instruments go up. Debt instruments with longer durations tend to be more sensitive to interest rate changes, typically making them more volatile. The current low-interest-rate environment heightens the risks associated with rising interest rates. Maturity risk refers to the value of the Fund’s fixed income investments is also dependent on their maturity. Generally, the longer the maturity of a fixed income security, the greater its sensitivity to changes in interest rates.
Pay-In-Kind and Step-Up Coupon Securities Risk. A pay-in-kind security pays no interest in cash to its holder during its life. Similarly, a step-up coupon security is a debt security that may not pay interest for a specified period of time and then, after the initial period, may pay interest at a series of different rates. Accordingly, pay-in-kind and step-up coupon securities will be subject to greater fluctuations in market value in response to changing interest rates than debt obligations of comparable maturities that make current, periodic distribution of interest in cash.
Perpetual Bonds Risk. Perpetual bonds offer a fixed return with no maturity date. Because they never mature, perpetual bonds can be more volatile than other types of bonds that have a
45
Notes to Financial Statements (continued)
maturity date and may be more sensitive to changes in interest rates. If market interest rates rise significantly, the interest rate paid by a perpetual bond may be much lower than the prevailing interest rate. Perpetual bonds are also subject to credit risk with respect to the issuer. In addition, because perpetual bonds may be callable after a set period of time, there is the risk that the issuer may recall the bond, which may require the Fund to reinvest the proceeds in lower yielding securities.
Prepayment and Extension Risk. When interest rates decline, borrowers tend to refinance their loans and the loans that back mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities suffer a higher rate of prepayment. This could cause a decrease in the Fund’s income and share price. Conversely, when interest rates rise, borrowers tend to repay their loans less quickly, which will generally increase the Fund’s sensitivity to interest rates and its potential for price declines.
Subordinated Obligations Risk. Payments under some bonds may be structurally subordinated to other existing and future liabilities and obligations of the issuer. Claims of creditors of subordinated debt will have less priority as to the assets of the issuer and its creditors who seek to enforce the terms of the bond. Certain bonds may not contain any restrictions on the ability to incur additional unsecured indebtedness.
HIGH YIELD SECURITIES RISK (KFA Dynamic Fixed Income ETF) — Securities that are rated below investment grade (or “junk bonds”) are subject to greater risk of loss of income and principal than highly rated securities because their issuers may be more likely to default. Junk bonds are inherently speculative. The prices of high yield securities are likely to be more volatile than those of highly rated securities, and the secondary market for them is generally less liquid than that for highly rated securities.
HEDGING RISK (Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility and Inflation Hedge ETF) — The Fund seeks to mitigate (or hedge) the risk associated with the potential impact of a steepening U.S. interest rate curve (“curve risk”), an increase in inflation and inflation expectations, and an increase in interest rate volatility on the performance of U.S. government bonds. The Fund does not seek to mitigate credit risk, non-curve interest rate risk, or other factors influencing the price of U.S. government bonds, which factors may have a greater impact on the bonds’ returns than the U.S. interest rate curve or inflation. Further, there is no guarantee that the Fund’s investments will eliminate or mitigate curve risk, inflation risk or the potential impact of interest rate volatility on long positions in U.S. government bonds. If interest rates rise in parallel within the U.S. interest rate curve, the Fund will not be hedged. In addition, when the U.S. interest rate curve flattens or inverts, the Fund’s investments in options may lose value or end up worthless. Under such circumstances, the Fund will generally underperform a portfolio comprised solely of U.S. government bonds (without the options owned by the Fund). In a flattening or inverted curve environment, the Fund’s hedging strategy could result in disproportionately larger losses in the Fund’s options as compared to gains or losses in its U.S. government bond positions attributable to interest rate changes. There is no guarantee that the Fund will have positive returns, even in environments of sharply rising inflation rates in which the Fund’s options might be expected to mitigate the effects of such rises. The Fund will incur expenses when entering into positions in rate-linked options. Moreover, to the extent that curve risk has been priced into the U.S. government bonds owned by the Fund, the Fund will underperform other investments even during periods of curve steepening.
46
Notes to Financial Statements (continued)
HIGH PORTFOLIO TURNOVER RISK (Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility and Inflation Hedge ETF and KFA Dynamic Fixed Income ETF) — The Fund may incur high turnover rates, which may increase the Fund’s brokerage commission costs and negatively impact the Fund’s performance. Such portfolio turnover also may generate net short-term capital gains.
Investment in Investment Companies Risk — The Fund may invest in other investment companies, including those advised, sponsored or otherwise serviced by the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser and/or their affiliates. The Fund will indirectly be exposed to the risks of investments by such funds. Moreover, the Fund will incur its pro rata share of the underlying fund’s expenses. The Adviser and the Sub-Adviser are subject to conflicts of interest in allocating Fund assets to investment companies that are advised, sponsored or otherwise serviced by the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser and/or their affiliates. To the extent that the Fund invests in investment companies or other pooled investment vehicles that are not registered pursuant to the 1940 Act, including foreign investment companies, it will not enjoy the protections of the 1940 Act.
Large Capitalization Company Risk (KFA Large Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF) — Investments in large capitalization companies may go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions and may underperform other market segments. Some large capitalization companies may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges and attain the high growth rate of successful smaller companies, especially during extended periods of economic expansion. As such, returns on investments in stocks of large capitalization companies could trail the returns on investments in stocks of small and mid-capitalization companies.
LIQUIDITY RISK (Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility and Inflation Hedge ETF, KFA Small Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF and KFA Dynamic Fixed Income ETF) — Certain of the Funds’ investments are subject to liquidity risk, which exists when an investment is or becomes difficult to purchase or sell at a reasonable time or price. If a transaction is particularly large or if the relevant market is or becomes illiquid, it may not be possible to initiate a transaction or liquidate, which may cause the Funds to suffer significant losses and difficulties in meeting redemptions. If a number of securities held by the Funds halt trading, it may have a cascading effect and cause the Funds to halt trading. Volatility in market prices will increase the risk of the Funds being subject to a trading halt.
Management Risk — Because the Fund may not fully replicate the Underlying Index and may hold less than the total number of securities in the Underlying Index, the Fund is subject to management risk. This is the risk that Krane or its subadviser’s security selection process, which is subject to a number of constraints, may not produce the intended results.
MARKET RISK — The values of the Funds’ holdings could decline generally or could underperform other investments. In addition, there is a risk that policy changes by the U.S. Government, Federal Reserve, and/or other government actors could cause increased volatility in global financial markets, negative sentiment and higher levels of Fund redemptions, which could have a negative impact on the Fund and could result in losses. Geopolitical and other risks, including environmental and public health risks may add to instability in world economics and markets generally. Changes in value may be temporary or may last for extended periods. Further, the Funds are susceptible to the risk that certain investments may be difficult or impossible to sell at a favorable time or price. Market developments may cause the Funds’ investments to become less liquid and subject to erratic price movements. Such market developments may also cause the Funds to encounter difficulties in timely honoring redemptions, especially if market events cause an increased incidence of shareholder redemptions.
47
Notes to Financial Statements (continued)
MOMENTUM RISK (KFA Large Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF, KFA Small Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF and KFA Dynamic Fixed Income ETF) — Momentum investing entails investing in securities that exhibit persistence in certain performance indicators. These securities may be more volatile than a broad cross-section of securities and momentum may indicate that the performance indicator being measured is peaking. The Fund may experience losses if the price of securities exhibiting momentum stops, turns or otherwise behaves differently than predicted.
Non-Diversified Fund Risk — Because the Fund is non-diversified and may invest a greater portion of its assets in fewer issuers than a diversified fund, changes in the market value of a single portfolio holding could cause greater fluctuations in the Fund’s share price than would occur in a diversified fund. This may increase the Fund’s volatility and cause the performance of a single portfolio holding or a relatively small number of portfolio holdings to have a greater impact on the Fund’s performance.
Passive Investment Risk (KFA Large Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF, KFA Small Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF and KFA Dynamic Fixed Income ETF) — The Fund is not actively managed, does not seek to “beat” the Underlying Index and does not take temporary defensive positions when markets decline. Therefore, the Fund may not sell a security due to current or projected underperformance of a security, industry or sector. There is no guarantee that the Underlying Index will create the desired exposure. The Underlying Index may not contain an appropriate mix of securities, but the Fund’s investment objective and principal investment strategies impose limits on the Fund’s ability to invest in securities not included in the Underlying Index.
PRIVATELY-ISSUED SECURITIES RISK (KFA Dynamic Fixed Income ETF) — The Fund may invest in privately-issued securities, including those that are normally purchased pursuant to Rule 144A or Regulation S promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Privately-issued securities are securities that have not been registered under the Securities Act and as a result are subject to legal restrictions on resale. Privately-issued securities are not traded on established markets and may be less liquid, difficult to value and subject to wide fluctuations in value. Delay or difficulty in selling such securities may result in a loss to the Fund. In addition, transaction costs may be higher for privately-issued securities than for more liquid securities. The Fund may have to bear the expense of registering privately-issued securities for resale and the risk of substantial delays in effecting the registration.
Quality Factor Risk (KFA Large Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF and KFA Small Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF) — The Fund uses appreciating annual dividends as a measurement of quality. This style of investing is subject to the risk that the past performance of these companies does not continue and that the returns on such securities are less than returns on other styles of investing or the overall stock market. In addition, there may be periods when quality dividend investing is out of favor and during which the investment performance of a fund using a quality dividend strategy may suffer.
Rate-Linked Derivatives Investment Risk (Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility and Inflation Hedge ETF) — The Fund’s exposure to derivatives tied to interest rates subjects the Fund to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities, such as stocks and bonds. Investing in derivatives tied to interest rates, including through options tied to the shape of the U.S. interest rate curve, is speculative and can be extremely volatile. The value of such investments may fluctuate rapidly based on a variety of factors, including overall market movements; economic events and policies; changes in interest rates or inflation rates; changes in monetary and exchange control programs; war; acts of terrorism; natural disasters; and technological developments. The Fund is expected to benefit from the options it holds if the U.S. interest rate curve steepens during
48
Notes to Financial Statements (continued)
the time period in which the Fund holds the options. However, if the U.S. interest rate curve flattens or inverts, the Fund will lose money on the options, up to the amount invested in option premiums, and underperform an otherwise identical bond fund that had not used such options. Rate-linked derivatives may lose money if interest rates change in a manner not anticipated by the Sub-Adviser.
An increase in interest rates may cause the value of securities held directly or indirectly by the Fund to decline to the extent that the increase is not linked to a steepening of the U.S. interest rate curve or the Fund’s hedging strategy is not effectively implemented. Even if the Fund is hedged against losses due to interest rate increases linked to U.S. interest rate curve steepening, outright interest rate increases may lead to heightened volatility in the fixed-income markets and may positively affect the value of the Fund’s options while negatively impacting the Fund’s investments in TIPS.
There can be no assurance that the Fund’s interest-rate linked options will accurately deliver positive returns if inflation experienced in the United States or the rate of expected future inflation reflected in the prices and yields of bonds held by the Fund rises. The Fund could lose money on the options held by the Fund, and the present value of the Fund’s portfolio investments could decrease if inflation increases. These interest rate-linked options may also cause the Fund’s net asset value and returns to be more volatile and expose the Fund to increased counterparty risk. Fluctuations in the steepness of the U.S. interest rate curve or the price of the options owned by the Fund could materially adversely affect an investment in the Fund.
The Fund’s investments in options are not intended to mitigate duration and credit risk or other factors influencing the price of U.S. government bonds, which may have a greater impact on the bonds’ returns than curve risk. Moreover, to the extent that curve risk has been priced into the government bonds owned directly or indirectly by the Fund, the Fund could underperform other investments even during inflationary periods. There is no guarantee that the Fund will have positive performance even in environments of sharply rising inflation. There is no guarantee that the Fund will be able to successfully mitigate inflation risk or that bond values and interest rates will match changes in inflation rates.
SECURITIES LENDING RISK (KFA Large Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF, KFA Small Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF and KFA Dynamic Fixed Income ETF) — To the extent a Fund lends its securities, it may be subject to the following risks: (1) borrowers of the Funds’ securities typically provide collateral in the form of cash that is reinvested in securities; (2) the securities in which the collateral is invested may not perform sufficiently to cover the return collateral payments owed to borrowers; (3) delays may occur in the recovery of securities from borrowers, which could interfere with the Funds’ ability to vote proxies or to settle transactions; and (4) there is the risk of possible loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially.
Small and Mid-Capitalization Company Risk (KFA Small Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF) — Investing in the securities of small and medium capitalization companies involves greater risk and the possibility of greater price volatility than investing in larger capitalization companies and more established companies. Since small and medium-sized companies may have limited operating histories, product lines and financial resources, the securities of these companies may lack sufficient market liquidity and can be sensitive to expected changes in interest rates, borrowing costs and earnings.
Tax Risk — In order to qualify for the favorable tax treatment generally available to regulated investment companies, the Fund must satisfy certain income, asset diversification and distribution requirements each year. If the Fund were to fail to qualify as a regulated investment company, it
49
Notes to Financial Statements (continued)
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, which would adversely affect the Fund’s performance.
Tracking Error Risk (KFA Large Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF, KFA Small Cap Quality Dividend Index ETF and KFA Dynamic Fixed Income ETF) — The Fund’s return may not match or achieve a high degree of correlation with the return of the Underlying Index. This may be due to, among other factors, the Fund holding cash under certain circumstances in lieu of Underlying Index securities, such as when the Fund is subject to delays converting U.S. dollars into a foreign currency to purchase foreign securities. The Fund may not be able to invest in certain components of the Underlying Index due to legal restrictions imposed by foreign governments or other regulatory reasons. In addition, securities included in the Underlying Index may be suspended from trading. To the extent that the Fund employs a representative sampling strategy or calculates its NAV based on fair value prices and the value of the Underlying Index is based on securities’ closing prices on local foreign markets, the Fund’s ability to track the Underlying Index may be adversely affected. Changes in currency exchange rates or delays in converting currencies may also cause tracking error.
TIPS RISK (Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility and Inflation Hedge ETF) — U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (“TIPS”) are debt instruments issued by the by the United States Department of the Treasury. The principal of TIPS increases with inflation and decreases with deflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”). When TIPS mature, investors are paid the adjusted principal or original principal, whichever is greater. Interest payments on TIPS are unpredictable and will fluctuate as the principal and corresponding interest payments are adjusted for inflation. Inflation-indexed bonds generally pay a lower nominal interest rate than a comparable non-inflation-indexed bond. There can be no assurance that the CPI will accurately measure the real rate of inflation in the prices of goods and services. Any increases in the principal amount of TIPS will be considered taxable ordinary income, even though the Fund or applicable underlying ETF will not receive the principal until maturity. As a result, the Fund may make income distributions to shareholders that exceed the cash it receives. In addition, TIPS are subject to credit risk, interest rate risk, and maturity risk.
U.S. GOVERNMENT OBLIGATIONS RISK (Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility and Inflation Hedge ETF) — Obligations of U.S. Government agencies and authorities receive varying levels of support and may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government, which could affect the Fund’s ability to recover should they default. No assurance can be given that the U.S. Government will provide fi nancial support to its agencies and authorities if it is not obligated by law to do so. Additionally, market prices and yields of securities supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government or other countries may decline or be negative for short or long periods of time.
VALUATION RISK — Independent market quotations for the non-U.S. securities held by the Funds may not be readily available and such securities may be fair valued. Fair valuation is subjective and different market participants may assign different prices to the same security. As a result, there is a risk that the Funds may not be able to sell a security at the price assigned to the security by the Fund. In addition, the securities in which the Funds invest may trade on days that the Funds do not price their shares; as a result, the value of Fund shares may change on days when investors cannot purchase or sell their holdings.
7. OTHER
At March 31, 2020, all shares issued by the Funds were in Creation Unit aggregations to Authorized Participants through primary market transactions (e.g., transactions directly with the Funds). However,
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Notes to Financial Statements (concluded)
the individual shares that make up those Creation Units are traded on the NYSE Arca Exchange (e.g., secondary market transactions). Some of those individual shares have been bought and sold by persons that are not Authorized Participants. Each Authorized Participant has entered into an agreement with the Funds’ Distributor.
8. INDEMNIFICATIONS
In the normal course of business, the Funds enter into contracts that provide general indemnifications. The Funds’ maximum exposure under these arrangements is dependent on future claims that may be made against the Funds and, therefore, cannot be established; however, based on experience, the risk of loss from such claims is considered remote.
9. NEW ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS
In August 2018, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820). The new guidance includes additions and modifications to disclosures requirements for fair value measurements. For public entities, the amendments are effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those fiscal years. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the financial statements.
10. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Funds have evaluated the need for additional disclosures and/or adjustments resulting from subsequent events. Based on this evaluation, other than the above, no additional disclosures or adjustments were required to the financial statements as of the date the financial statements were issued.
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