IQ Engender Equality ETF

Ticker: EQUL

Exchange: TBD

Expense ratio: TBD

Original filing date: December 18, 2020

Effective date: March 3, 2021

Listing Date: TBD

CUSIP: TBD

Active: No

Index: TBD

Investment Objective:

The Fund seeks investment results that correspond (before fees and expenses) generally to the price and yield performance of its underlying index, the [ ] Index (the “Underlying Index”).

Investment Strategy:

US small, mid, large companies: universe of 1,000 companies.

1. ESG screen including environmental an social

2. Selection and weightings to be determined with an "engender" score to be determined from:

• Gender Balance In Leadership & Workforce
• Equal Compensation & Work Life Balance
• Policies Promoting Gender Equality
• Commitment, Transparency & Accountability

3. Top 75 companies selected.

Constituents: 75

Adviser: IndexIQ Advisors LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the New York Life Investment Management Holdings LLC

The portfolio managers jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolios are Greg Barrato and James Harrison.

Sub-Adviser: Not applicable

 

Prospectus is here.

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The portfolio managers jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolios are Greg Barrato and James Harrison.

Greg Barrato joined the Advisor as Vice President in November 2010 and has been Senior Vice President of the Advisor since August 2013. Prior to joining the Advisor, Mr. Barrato served as Head Global Equity Trader and Trader at Lucerne Capital Management, LLC from 2008 to 2010 and as Assistant Trader and Operations Manager at ReachCapital Management, LP from 2004 to 2008. Mr. Barrato is a graduate of the University of Connecticut.

James Harrison has been a member of the portfolio management team of the Advisor since 2015. Prior to joining the Advisor, Mr. Harrison served as a New York Stock Exchange member Floor Broker and Equity Sales Trader for Cuttone and Company from 2010 to 2015. Mr. Harrison is a graduate of St. Lawrence University.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund employs a “passive management” — or indexing — investment approach designed to track the performance of the Underlying Index, which was developed by [ ] (“[ ]” or the “Index Provider”) and [ ] (“[ ]”). [ ] constructs the Underlying Index using the [ ] Score, which is calculated based on data and the scoring methodology developed and produced by [ ]. 

The Underlying Index is designed to track the U.S. large-, mid- and small-capitalization companies that have the best [ ] Score. The criteria and factors used to calculate the [ ] Score are in alignment with initiatives, research and programs of [ ], a 501(c)(3) public charity, (“[ ]®”). Each of the criteria used to calculate the [ ] Score addresses issues or areas historically supported by [ ]®.

The index universe consists of the 1000 largest companies in the U.S. stock market. The Underlying Index includes an exclusionary screen that excludes companies that derive certain minimum amounts of revenue from:

• unconventional fossil fuels (including coal, hydraulic fracturing, oil sands and deep water drilling);

• nuclear energy;

• controversial businesses (including gambling, adult entertainment, alcohol, tobacco, and military equipment);

• controversial weapons (including landmines, biological and chemical weapons, cluster munitions and nuclear weapons); or

• norms-based international initiatives and guidelines (such as UN Principles and OECD Guidelines).

The Underlying Index also excludes companies for a period of one year if, in the past two years the company has engaged in unethical business practices that resulted in:

• a legal judgement or an official ruling regarding discrimination against any employees;

• two or more legal cases brought against the company regarding discrimination against any employees; or

• a legal judgement or an official ruling regarding unethical practices in the company’s marketing and advertisement.

After the exclusionary screens have been applied, all remaining securities are ranked according to the [ ] Score. A company’s [ ] Score is determined based on how the company scores on the following factors in the areas of: (1) gender balance in leadership & workforce; (2) equal compensation & work life balance; (3) policies promoting gender equality; (4) policies promoting gender equality; and (5) commitment, transparency & accountability. [ ] determines a company’s [ ] Score based upon its analysis of publicly available information, as reported by such company in its most recent annual report for its fiscal year end.

Gender Balance In Leadership & Workforce

• Non-Executive Board: Percentage of male and female as a proportion of the total number of non-executive Board members.

• Executives: Percentage of male and female executives as a proportion of the total number of executives.

• Senior Management: Percentage of male and female senior management, as a proportion of the total number of senior management.

• Workforce: Percentage of male and female employees at the company, as a percentage of total employees.

• Promotion & Career Development Opportunities: Ratio of male and female employees in management compared to ratio of each gender in total employees.

 

Equal Compensation & Work Life Balance

• Fair Remuneration: Demonstrates a commitment to ensure payment of a fair wage to all employees.

• Equal Pay: Commitment to provide comparable wages, hours, and benefits, including retirement benefits, for all employees for comparable work.

• Parental Leave: Paid leave programs for child and dependent care to both women and men (maternity leave, paternity leave, dependent care).

• Flexible Work Options: Option for employees to control and/or vary the start/end times of the work-day and/or vary the location from which employees work.

 

Policies Promoting Gender Equality

• Training and Career Development: Ensures equal access to training and career development.

• Recruitment Strategy: Commitment to ensure non-discrimination against any type of demographic group.

• Freedom from Violence, Abuse and Sexual Harassment: Prohibit all forms of violence in the workplace, including verbal, physical and sexual harassment.

• Safety at Work: Commitment to the safety of employees in the workplace and company-related travel.

• Human Rights: Commitment to ensure the protection of the rights of all people it works with including employees’ rights to participate in legal, civic and political affairs.

• Social Supply Chain: Commitment to reduce social risks in its supply chain such as forbidding business-related activities that condone, support, or otherwise participate in human trafficking, including for labor or sexual exploitation

• Supplier Diversity: Commitment to ensure diversity in the supply chain, including a focus to ensure female-owned businesses in the supply chain.

• Employee Protection: Systems and policies for the reporting of internal ethical compliance complaints without retaliation or retribution, including but not limited to access to confidential third-party ethics hotlines or systems for confidential written complaints.

 

Commitment, Transparency & Accountability

• Commitment to Women’s Empowerment: Recognition and commitment to ensuring women’s empowerment in the workplace.

• Audit: Undertaken and awarded an independent gender audit certificate by an [ ]-recognized body.

 

The Underlying Index consists of the 75 securities with the best [ ] Score, subject to constraints on component turnover and industry exposure. The Underlying Index is equally weighted and rebalanced quarterly.

As of [ ], 2021, the market capitalization range of the Underlying Index was approximately $[ ] to $[ ]. As of [ ], the primary sectors within the Underlying index are information technology, financials, and communication services.

 

The Underlying Index may include as a component one or more ETFs advised by the Advisor (“Affiliated ETFs”) and the Fund will typically invest in any Affiliated ETF included in the Underlying Index. The Fund also may invest in Affiliated ETFs that are not components of the index if such an investment will help the Fund track the Underlying Index.

Vanguard Ultra-Short Bond ETF

Ticker: VUSB

Exchange: TBD

Expense ratio: 0.10%

Original filing date: January 19, 2021

Effective date: April 5, 2021

Listing Date: TBD

CUSIP: 92203C303

 

Active: Yes

Index: Not applicable

Investment Objective:

The Fund seeks to provide current income while maintaining limited price volatility.

Investment Strategy: Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund invests in a diversified portfolio of high-quality fixed income securities rated the equivalent of A3 or better by Moody's, and some medium-quality fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of Baa1, Baa2, or Baa3.

Dollar-weighted average maturity of 0 to 2 years.

Adviser: The Vanguard Group, Inc.

Sub-Adviser: Not applicable

 

Prospectus is here.

 

The Fund seeks to provide current income while maintaining limited price volatility.

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Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund invests in a diversified portfolio of high-quality and, to a lesser extent, medium-quality fixed income securities. High-quality fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of A3 or better by Moody's Investors Service, Inc.

(Moody's) or another independent rating agency or, if unrated, are determined to be of comparable quality by the Fund's advisor. Medium-quality fixed income securities are those rated the equivalent of Baa1, Baa2, or Baa3 by Moody's or another independent rating agency or, if unrated, are determined to be of comparable quality by the Fund's advisor. The Fund is expected to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 0 to 2 years. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in fixed income securities.

Gavekal Asia Pacific Government Bond ETF

Ticker: AGOV

Exchange: TBD

Expense ratio: TBD

Original filing date: January 20, 2021

Effective date: April 05, 2021

Listing Date: TBD

CUSIP: TBD

Active: Yes

Index: Not applicable

Investment Objective: The Gavekal Asia Pacific Government Bond ETF seeks to provide absolute positive returns.

Investment Strategy:

Local currency government bonds of the following countries, with a minimum 3% and maximum 9.5% in each country:

• Australia
• China
• Hong Kong
• India
• Indonesia
• Japan
• Kazakhstan
• Malaysia
• New Zealand
• Pakistan
• Russia
• Singapore
• South Korea
• Sri Lanka
• Taiwan
• Thailand
• the Philippines
• Vietnam

1. Liquidity

2. Yield

3. Duraction < 5 years

Acquire bonds with 6-12 years remaining to maturity

Maintain dollar-weighted average portfolio maturity of at least 5 years

Adviser: Exchange Traded Concepts, LLC

Sub-Adviser: Gavekal Capital Limited

 

Prospectus is here.

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Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund is an actively-managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in local currency bonds issued by national governments (i.e., sovereign bonds), instrumentalities or political sub-divisions (i.e., quasi-sovereign bonds), and supranational entities such as the World Bank, Asia Development Bank, and Asian Infrastructure Bank (i.e., supranational bonds) in the Asia-Pacific region (“Asia-Pacific government bonds”). Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in Asia-Pacific government bonds. The Fund may invest without limit in securities of issuers in emerging markets, including frontier markets. As of the date of this Prospectus, the Asia-Pacific government bonds in which the Fund invests are those from China, India, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, Russia, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Pakistan, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan, Australia, and New Zealand. Gavekal Capital Limited, the Fund’s sub-adviser (the “Sub-Adviser”), expects to allocate at least 3% and no more than 9.5% of the Fund’s total assets to Asia-Pacific government bonds of each country. The list of countries in which the Fund may invest may change from time to time to include other countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

In selecting investments for the Fund, the Sub-Adviser considers (i) a bond’s liquidity, with an emphasis on bonds that can be purchased while having the smallest impact on price, and (ii) a bond’s expected yield, with an emphasis on bonds that have relatively higher yields. The Fund may invest in bonds rated in any category, including bonds that are rated below investment grade. Bonds rated below investment grade are commonly known as “junk bonds.” The Fund will normally maintain an average portfolio duration of at least five years, but may invest in bonds of any duration. Duration is a measure of the sensitivity of a fixed-income investment to a change in interest rates (e.g., for every 1% change in interest rates, a bond’s price will change by 1% for every year of duration). For example, if a bond has a duration of 5 years and interest rates increase by 1%, the value of that bond can be expected to decrease by 5%.

The Fund will generally acquire bonds that have a remaining maturity of between 6 and 12 years at the time of investment and the Sub-Adviser expects to maintain for the Fund a dollar-weighted average portfolio maturity of at least five years. When a bond’s maturity falls below five years, the Sub-Adviser will seek to replace it with a bond with a longer remaining time to maturity. The Fund may also invest in inflation-protected bonds.

The Fund may invest in bonds of Chinese issuers through a Bond Connect Company Limited program (“Bond Connect”), which allows foreign investors, such as the Fund, to invest in such bonds through a Hong Kong account.

VanEck Vectors Digital Assets ETF

Ticker: DAPP

Exchange: NASDAQ

Expense ratio: 0.65%

Original filing date: January 21, 2021

Effective date: April 6, 2021

Listing Date: TBD

CUSIP: 92189H821

Active: No

Index: MVIS® Global Digital Assets Equity Index

Investment Objective: Track as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the MVIS® Global Digital Assets Equity Index.

Investment Strategy:

Invest in "Digital Transformation Companies":

• operate digital asset exchanges
• operate payment gateways
• engage in mining operations
• provide software, equipment and technology or services to the digital asset industry
• operate digital asset infrastructure businesses
• facilitate commerce with the use of digital assets

• own a material amount of digital assets
• generate revenues related to digital asset operations

Constituents: Global, small to large cap, developed and emerging markets.

 

Adviser: Van Eck Associates Corporation

Sub-Adviser: Not applicable.

 

Prospectus is here.

Updated prospectus is here.

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• LinkedIn: Henry Jim
• henry@etfhearsay.com
• Twitter: @ETFhearsay

KraneShares SSE STAR Market 50 Index ETF

Ticker: KSTR

Exchange: NYSE Arca

Expense ratio: 0.89%

Original filing date: May 07, 2020

Effective date: January 22, 2021

Listing Date: January 28, 2021

CUSIP: 500767694

 

Active: No

Index: SSE Science and Technology Innovation Board 50 Index

Investment Objective: The KraneShares SSE STAR Market 50 Index ETF seeks to provide investment results that, before fees and expenses, correspond generally to the price and yield performance of a specific equity securities index. The Fund’s current index is the SSE Science and Technology Innovation Board 50 Index.

Investment Strategy: The SSE STAR Market is a new listing exchange run by the Shanghai Stock Exchange that focuses on Chinese science and technology companies. According to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, companies listed on the SSE STAR Market are mainly from high-tech and strategic emerging industries, and most focus on next-generation information technology, biomedicine, high-end equipment and other industries.

Constituents: 50

 

Adviser: Krane Funds Advisors, LLC

Sub-Adviser: Bosera Asset Management (International) Co., Ltd.

 

Prospectus is here and here.

Product page: https://kraneshares.com/kstr/

http://www.csindex.com.cn/en/indices/index-detail/000688

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1547576/000182912621000087/kraneshares-kstr_497k.htm

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1547576/000121390020019102/s126467_485bpos.htm

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Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets in components of the Underlying Index and depositary receipts, including American depositary receipts, representing such components. The Underlying Index includes the stocks and depositary receipts of the top 50 companies by free-float market capitalizations that are listed on the SSE Science and Technology Innovation Board. The SSE Science and Technology Innovation Board is a new listing exchange run by the Shanghai Stock Exchange that focuses on Chinese science and technology companies. According to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, companies listed on the SSE Science and Technology Innovation Board are mainly from high-tech and strategic emerging industries, and most focus on next-generation information technology, biomedicine, high-end equipment and other industries.

The Underlying Index components are weighted based on their free-float market capitalizations, subject to a 10% cap on any particular component. The Underlying Index may include less than 50 components if there are an insufficient number of eligible stocks and depositary receipts, but will include no fewer than 30 components. Components eligible for inclusion in the Underlying Index must meet certain market capitalization and liquidity screens and have been trading for at least 11 days.

The stocks included in the Underlying Index will consist of China A-Shares. China A-Shares are Chinese renminbi (“RMB”)-denominated equity securities (“A-Shares”) issued by companies incorporated in mainland China. Direct investments in A-Shares are currently possible only through the trading and clearing facilities of a participating exchange located outside of mainland China (“Stock Connect Programs”) or Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (“RQFII”) or Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (“QFII”) license. Bosera Asset Management (International) Co., Ltd. (“Bosera”), the Fund’s sub-adviser, has received a license as a RQFII from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (“CSRC”) and has received an A-Shares quota by China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (“SAFE”) for use by the investment products it manages, including the Fund. Bosera, on behalf of the investment products it manages, may invest in A-Shares and other permitted China securities up to the relevant A-Shares quota(s). In addition, the Fund may invest in A-Shares through the Stock Connect Programs and, in the future, Bosera may also obtain a license on behalf of the Fund as a QFII, another program under Chinese law that would allow the Fund to invest in A-Shares.

The Fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in instruments that are not included in the Underlying Index, but that the Fund’s investment adviser, Krane Funds Advisors, LLC (“Krane” or “Adviser”) and/or Bosera believes will help the Fund track the Underlying Index. These investments may include equity securities and depositary receipts of issuers whose securities are not components of the Underlying Index, derivative instruments (including swaps, futures, forwards, structured notes and options), other investment companies (including exchange traded funds or “ETFs”) and cash or cash equivalents (including money market funds). Certain other investment companies in which the Fund may invest may be advised, sponsored or otherwise serviced by Krane, Bosera and/or their affiliates. The Fund will not purchase shares of an investment company if it would cause the Fund to (i) own more than 3% of such investment company’s voting shares; (ii) invest more than 5% of its total assets in such investment company; or (iii) invest more than 10% of its total assets in investment companies.

In addition to China A-Shares, which are described above, the following China-related securities may be included in this 20% basket:

•   China B Shares, which are shares of companies listed on the Shanghai or Shenzhen Stock Exchange but quoted and traded in foreign currencies (such as Hong Kong Dollars or U.S. Dollars), which were primarily created for trading by foreign investors.

•   China H Shares, which are shares of companies incorporated in mainland China and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (“H-Shares”), where they are traded in Hong Kong dollars and may be traded by foreign investors.

•   China N Shares, which are shares of companies with business operations in mainland China and listed on an American stock exchange, such as NYSE or NASDAQ (“N-Shares”).

•   P-Chips, which are shares of private sector companies with a majority of their business operations in mainland China and controlling private Chinese shareholders, which are incorporated outside of mainland China and traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in Hong Kong dollars.

•   Red Chips, which are shares of companies with a majority of their business operations in mainland China and controlled by the central, provincial or municipal governments of the PRC, whose shares are traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in Hong Kong dollars.

•   S-Chips, which are shares of companies with business operations in mainland China and listed on the Singapore Exchange. S-Chip shares are issued by companies incorporated anywhere, but many are registered in Singapore, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, or Bermuda.

Although the Fund reserves the right to replicate (or hold all components of) the Underlying Index, the Fund expects to use representative sampling to track the Underlying Index. “Representative sampling” is a strategy that involves investing in a representative sample of securities that collectively have an investment profile similar to the Underlying Index.

The Underlying Index launched only recently prior to the date of this prospectus so information about it is not available as of May 31, 2020. The Underlying Index is rebalanced quarterly.

The Fund is non-diversified. To the extent the Underlying Index is concentrated in a particular industry, the Fund is expected to be concentrated in that industry.

The Fund may engage in securities lending.

DEMOCRACY INTERNATIONAL FUND

Tracks an index that bases constituent company weightings on the Economist's Democracy Score.

Ticker: DMCY

Exchange: NYSE Arca

Expense ratio: 0.50%

Original filing date: January 14, 2021

Effective date: March 30, 2021

Listing Date: April 1, 2021

CUSIP: 00774Q148

Active: No

Index: Democracy Investments International Index

Investment Objective: The Democracy International Fund seeks to track the total return performance, before fees and expenses, of the Democracy Investments International Index.

Investment Strategy: Based on the Economist's (the international news group) Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index.

• 2,400 companies: Across 52 countries where each country is assigned an Economist Democracy Score, on a scale of 1-10.
• Market cap of each company is multiplied times their country Democracy Score to get a "Democracy market cap".
• "All Democracy market caps" are added together.
• Each company's Democracy market cap is divided by the sum of the Democracy market caps to derive each company's percentage of the total.
• This percentage is their weight in the Democracy International Index.

Constituents: Universe: Solactive GBS Global Markets ex United States Large & Mid Cap USD Index
 
Adviser: Democracy Investment Management, LLC

Sub-Adviser: Vident Investment Advisory, LLC
 
Prospectus is here.
 

Main Portfolio Manager: Christopher Browne

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Principal Investment Strategies

 

The Fund uses a “passive management” (or indexing) approach in seeking to achieve its investment objective. The Index construction process begins with the universe of companies that are current members of the Solactive GBS Global Markets ex United States Large & Mid Cap USD Index (market cap weighted, international equities) (the “Solactive Index”). 

The Solactive Index consists of over 2,400 individual companies representing 52 countries. Democracy Investments Index Provider LLC (the “Index Provider”) assigns a “country of risk” to each company in the Solactive Index universe based on the country of risk assigned to each such company by Bloomberg L.P. A company’s country of risk designation is based on a number of criteria, including the country in which the company is domiciled, the primary stock exchange on which the company’s shares trade, the location from which the majority of the company’s revenues are generated, and the company’s reporting currency.

 

The Index Provider then matches each company’s country of risk against that country’s “Democracy Score” assigned by The Economist Intelligence Unit Ltd.’s Democracy Index. A country’s Democracy Score can range from 0-10 and is a composite of sixty indicators, which are grouped into the following five categories:

 

1.

Electoral process and pluralism

2.

Civil liberties

3.

The functioning of government

4.

Political participation

5.

Political culture

 

The Index Provider then multiplies each company’s market capitalization weighting in the Solactive Index by the Democracy Score of its country of risk and normalizes the products to sum to 100%. In other words, the weight of a specific company in the Index is the product of the company’s Democracy Score and its market capitalization weighting in the Solactive Index (the “Market Capitalization Product”) divided by the sum of all the Market Capitalization Products of all companies in the Index. As a result, the Index has greater weightings in companies in countries with higher Democracy Scores and lesser weightings in companies in countries with lower Democracy Scores as compared to the Solactive Index. The Index is rebalanced and reconstituted on a quarterly basis.

 

In constructing the Fund’s portfolio, Democracy Investment Management, LLC (the “Adviser”), the Fund’s investment adviser and an affiliate of the Index Provider, generally will use a representative sampling investment approach designed to achieve the Fund’s investment objective. In doing so, the Fund generally will hold (i) the securities of index constituents, consisting of common stocks and American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) of large- and medium-capitalization companies, and (ii) shares of exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), in combination such that the Fund’s returns are expected to correspond generally to the Index’s returns, country and sector weightings, and other characteristics such as market capitalization. The Adviser’s use of ETFs as part of its representative sampling strategy will result in the Fund (i) having exposure to companies that have the same country of risk designation as companies in the Index but that are not themselves Index constituents, and (ii) not owning or otherwise not having exposure to companies that are included in the Index. At times, ETFs may represent a significant portion of the Fund’s portfolio.

 

In addition to investing in ETFs as discussed above, the Fund also may invest in securities or other investments not included in the Index, but which the Adviser believes will help the Fund to track the Index. For example, the Fund may invest in securities that are not components of the Index so as to reflect various corporate actions and other changes to the Index (such as Index reconstitutions, additions, and deletions).

 

[The Fund may from time to time invest a significant portion of its assets in the securities of companies in one or more countries, geographic regions or economic sectors. As of the date of this Prospectus, the Fund has significant exposure to the [____] sector, as defined by [____].]