ETFMG U.S. Alternative Harvest ETF
Ticker: MJUS
Exchange: NYSE Arca
Expense ratio: 0.75%
Original filing date: February 19, 2021
Effective date: May 5, 2021
Listing Date: May 12, 2021
CUSIP: 26924G755
Active: Yes
Benchmark: Prime U.S. Alternative Harvest Index
Investment Objective:
Seeks income and
long-term growth of capital.
Investment Strategy / Index
Methodology:
Universe: Components of the Prime U.S. Alternative Harvest Index
Companies involved in Cannabis Business as defined as:
(i) cultivating, producing, marketing or distributing Cannabis, including industrial hemp
(ii) producing, marketing or distributing products containing Cannabis-derived products,
(iii) producing, processing, marketing, transporting or distributing prescription drugs, supplements, or food products that include Cannabis-derived products, or
(iv) providing products or services designed for, or used by, companies in the Cannabis industry, including technology, real estate or financial services.
Constituents: TBD
Adviser: ETF Managers Group LLC
Sub-Adviser: N/A
Portfolio Managers:
The Fund is managed by Samuel R. Masucci, III, Chief
Executive Officer of the Adviser, Devin Ryder, Portfolio Manager of the
Adviser, Frank Vallario, Chief Investment Officer of the Adviser, and Donal
Bishnoi, Portfolio Manager of the Adviser.
Administrator: U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, doing business as
U.S. Bank Global Fund Services
Fund accountant: TBD
Transfer agent: U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, doing business as
U.S. Bank Global Fund Services
Custodian: U.S. Bank National
Association
Distributor: ETFMG Financial LLC,
Legal counsel: Sullivan & Worcester LLP
External accounting: WithumSmith + Brown, PC
Prospectus is here.Final prospectus is here.
MORE ETF HEARSAY
Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in securities of companies that derive at least 50% of their net revenue from the “Cannabis Business” (as defined below) in the United States, and in derivatives that have economic characteristics similar to such securities. The Cannabis Business is defined as: (i) cultivating, producing, marketing or distributing Cannabis, including industrial hemp (ii) producing, marketing or distributing products containing Cannabis-derived products, (iii) producing, processing, marketing, transporting or distributing prescription drugs, supplements, or food products that include Cannabis-derived products, or (iv) providing products or services designed for, or used by, companies in the Cannabis industry, including technology, real estate or financial services. The Fund will not invest directly in or hold ownership in any companies that engage in cannabis-related business unless permitted by national and local laws of the relevant jurisdiction, including U.S. federal and state laws.
The Fund is actively managed. In pursuing its investment objective, the Fund will invest in companies that generally are representative of the components of the Prime U.S. Alternative Harvest Index (the “Reference Index”) or in total return swaps intended to provide exposure to such companies. The Reference Index is comprised of equity securities of companies engaged in the Cannabis Business in the United States. Eligible companies are identified by Prime Indexes, an independent indexing company that is not affiliated with the Adviser, using a variety of publicly available resources, including financial statements and other reports published by issuers. The Fund may use total return swaps for the purpose of achieving the approximate economic equivalent of a purchase of a security in the Reference Index when the Fund is not able to purchase such security directly because of administrative, legal or other restrictions. A total return swap for the purpose of achieving the approximate economic equivalent of a purchase or sale of a security means the counterparty would be obligated to pay the Fund a return based on the market price of the security and the Fund would be obligated to pay the counterparty a return based upon a fixed or floating interest rate.
Although the Fund generally provides exposure to the components of the Reference Index, the Fund is not an index tracking exchange-traded fund and the Fund will weight its investments in different proportions than their weightings within the Reference Index on the basis of considerations such as liquidity and costs associated with the total return swaps. In addition, the Fund is not required to invest in all of the components of the Reference Index and may invest in the stocks of companies in the Cannabis Business that are not included in the Reference Index or in total return swaps intended to provide exposure to companies not included in the Reference Index. The Fund’s investment adviser, subject to the oversight of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”), has discretion on a daily basis to manage the Fund’s portfolio in accordance with the Fund’s investment objective and investment policies. The Fund will not change the 80% investment policy included in its principal investment strategy without providing at least 60 days’ written notice to shareholders. For purposes of this 80% investment policy, derivatives will be valued on a mark-to-market basis, using the current market price of the derivative, or, for over-the-counter derivatives, their fair market value.
The Fund may also invest in U.S.-listed common stocks of Special Purpose Acquisitions Corporations (“SPACs”) that have been organized with the stated purpose of acquiring one or more operating businesses that engage in Cannabis Business (a SPAC-derived company). A SPAC is a “blank check” company with no commercial operations that is designed to raise capital via an initial public offering for the purpose of engaging in a merger, acquisition, reorganization, or similar business combination (a “Combination”) with one or more operating companies. If a SPAC that is included in the Fund’s portfolio announces a Combination with an operating company that is engaged in the Cannabis Business, the pre-Combination SPAC and, subsequently, the SPAC-derived company may be included in the Fund’s portfolio, so long as it continues to satisfy the remaining eligibility criteria. If the SPAC announces a Combination with a non-qualifying business, the SPAC will be removed from the Fund as promptly as practicable following the determination being made.
The Fund will concentrate at least 25% of its investments in the pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and life sciences industry group.
The Fund may lend its portfolio securities to brokers, dealers, and other financial organizations. These loans, if and when made, may not exceed 33 1/3% of the total asset value of the Fund (including the loan collateral). By lending its securities, the Fund may increase its income by receiving payments from the borrower.
