Form 485APOS Tortoise Capital Series
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 12, 2026
No. 333-281744
No. 811-23997
UNITED STATES
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. 28 | ☒ |
| and/or | |
| REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 | ☐ |
| Amendment No. 30 | ☒ |
TORTOISE CAPITAL SERIES TRUST
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
5901 College Boulevard, Suite 400
Overland Park, Kansas 66211
(Address of Principal Executive Office)
Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code: (913) 981 1020
Tom Florence
5901 College Boulevard, Suite 400
Overland Park, Kansas 66211
(Name and Address of Agent for Service)
Copy to:
| Morrison C. Warren, Esq. |
| Chapman and Cutler LLP |
| 320 South Canal Street |
| Chicago, Illinois 60606 |
It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box):
| ☐ | Immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b) of Rule 485. |
| ☐ | On (date) pursuant to paragraph (b) of Rule 485. |
| ☐ | 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a) of Rule 485. |
| ☐ | On (date) pursuant to paragraph (a) 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. |
If appropriate, check the following box:
| ☐ | This post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment. |
Contents of Post-Effective Amendment No. 28
This Registration Statement comprises the following papers and contents:
The Facing Sheet
Part A — Prospectus for Tortoise ICE® U.S. Power Index ETF
Part B — Statement of Additional Information for Tortoise ICE® U.S. Power Index ETF
Part C — Other Information
Signatures
The information in this Prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This Prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer of sale is not permitted.
Subject to Completion
June 12, 2026
| Prospectus | ![]() |
[________], 2026
Tortoise ICE® U.S. Power Index ETF
Ticker Symbol: [____]
Exchange: [_____]
Tortoise ICE® U.S. Power Index ETF (the “Fund”) is a series of the Tortoise Capital Series Trust and intends to list and principally trade its shares on [_____] (the “Exchange”).
Neither the United States (“U.S.”) Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) nor the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Table of Contents
| Summary Information | 1 |
| Additional Information About the Fund’s Strategies and Risks | 17 |
| Dividends, Distributions and Taxes | 35 |
| Other Information | 41 |
| Financial Highlights | 42 |
-i-
TORTOISE ICE® U.S. Power INDEX ETF
Investment Objective
Tortoise ICE® U.S. Power Index ETF (the “Fund”), a series of Tortoise Capital Series Trust (the “Trust”), seeks to track the performance, before fees and expenses, of [The ICE U.S. Power Total Return Index] (the “Power Index”).
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
|
| Management Fees | 0.[__]% |
| Distribution and Service (Rule 12b-1) Fees | 0.00% |
| Other Expenses(1) | 0.00% |
| Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | 0.[__]% |
| (1) | Estimate based on the expenses the Fund expects to incur for the current fiscal year. |
Example
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. This example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain at current levels. This example does not include the brokerage commissions that investors may pay to buy and sell Shares. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, your costs, based on these assumptions, would be:
| 1 YEAR | 3 YEARS |
| $[__] | $[__] |
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it purchases and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover will cause the Fund to incur additional transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the example, may affect the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund has not yet commenced investment operations, no portfolio turnover information is available at this time.
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Principal Investment Strategies
The Fund is an exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that employs a “passive management” (or indexing) investment approach designed to track the performance of the Power Index. The Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus borrowings for investment purposes) in financial instruments that comprise the Power Index or have economic characteristics similar to the components of the Power Index.
The Fund will invest in: (i) the component futures contracts of the Power Index (“Electricity Futures Contracts”), or such other instruments that have characteristics that Tortoise Capital Advisors, L.L.C. (“Tortoise” or the “Adviser”), the investment adviser to the Fund, believes makes their return performance likely to be highly correlated to the Electricity Futures Contracts; (ii) swap agreements that provide exposure to the Power Index or the Electricity Futures Contracts that comprise the Power Index; and (iii) cash, cash-like instruments or other high-quality securities that serve as collateral to the Fund’s investments in Electricity Futures Contracts or swap agreements (“Collateral Instruments”). The Fund will obtain its exposure to the Power Index via a wholly-owned subsidiary organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the “Subsidiary”). Except as noted herein, for purposes of this Prospectus, references to the Fund’s investment strategies and risks include those of the Subsidiary. For additional information regarding the Subsidiary, see “Additional Information About the Fund’s Strategies and Risks.”
The Power Index is owned and maintained by ICE Data Indices, LLC (the “Index Provider” or “ICE”). The Index Provider is not affiliated with the Fund or Tortoise. The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., invest more than 25% of the value of its total assets) in investments in any industry or group of identified industries to approximately the same extent as the Power Index concentrates. The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified company” under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”).
The Power Index. The Power Index was developed in collaboration with CNIC Funds LLC (“CNIC”), leveraging CNIC’s expertise in U.S. electricity and power markets. ICE serves as the index calculation and administration agent.
The Power Index tracks the broad U.S. wholesale electricity futures market. The Power Index is constructed from peak-hour, cash-settled electricity futures contracts listed on ICE Futures U.S. for six designated U.S. Independent System Operator (“ISO”) or Regional Transmission Organization (“RTO”) hub markets, each representing a distinct U.S. power region. Each hub is represented in the Power Index by a continuous 12-month forward strip of monthly futures contracts. Hub weights are determined by the three-year average annual electricity load (measured in megawatt hours) reported by the applicable ISO/RTO for that hub, using publicly available data published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (“EIA”) and the applicable ISO/RTO. ICE Data Indices, LLC, as index administrator and calculation agent, performs this calculation in accordance with the Power Index methodology and rebalances the hub weights annually each January.
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The U.S. power market is comprised of ISOs and RTOs located throughout the U.S. that are responsible for electricity delivery for the majority of states in the continental U.S. All Index contracts are peak-hour, cash-settled monthly futures listed on ICE Futures U.S. The Power Index is composed solely of hub-level contracts. The Fund’s portfolio is constructed to replicate the Power Index by holding hub-level futures contracts for each of the six designated hubs. The Power Index may be comprised of futures contracts at constituent delivery points that are geographically located within the applicable ISO/RTO and are highly correlated to the applicable hub price, as governed by the Power Index methodology. This approach seeks to optimize execution quality without deviating from the Power Index’s hub-level return objective. Each month, the Power Index rolls its electricity futures contracts on a pro rata basis over a 15-business-day window beginning 15 business days prior to the expiration of the prompt-month contract, replacing the expiring prompt-month contract with the corresponding contract for the same delivery month in the following year. The Fund is designed to track this rolling schedule, and the timing of roll execution within the 15-business-day window is governed by the Power Index methodology.
For additional information on the Power Index, please see “Additional Information About the Fund’s Strategies and Risks—Additional Information About the Power Index”.
Electricity Futures Contracts. In order to obtain exposure to the Power Index, the Fund intends to typically enter into cash-settled Electricity Futures Contracts as the “buyer,” except as detailed below. In simplest terms, in a cash-settled futures market the counterparty pays cash to the buyer if the price of a futures contract goes up, and buyer pays cash to the counterparty if the price of the futures contract goes down. The Electricity Futures Contracts are electricity futures contracts for each distinct U.S. ISO or RTO that trade on ICE Futures U.S. Electricity futures are exchange-traded financial contracts that allow buyers and sellers to trade the right to purchase or sell a specified amount of electricity at a predetermined price, location, and date in the future. These contracts enable market participants, such as electricity producers, distributors, and consumers, to manage price risk by contracting for a price of future electricity delivery. Electricity futures are traded on electronic commodity exchanges, similar to other commodities such as metals, fuels, and agricultural products. The price of electricity futures is determined by various factors, including regional supply and demand for electricity, weather conditions, and governmental regulations.
Futures contracts with a longer term to expiration may be priced higher than futures contracts with a shorter term to expiration, a relationship called “contango”. When the Fund rolls futures contracts and the specific market is experiencing contango, the Fund will close its long position by selling the shorter-term contract at a relatively lower price and buying a longer-dated contract at a relatively higher price. The presence of contango will adversely affect the performance of the Fund. Conversely, futures contracts with a longer term to expiration may be priced lower than futures contracts with a shorter term to expiration, a relationship called “backwardation”. When the Fund rolls futures contracts and the specific market is experiencing backwardation, the Fund will close its long position by selling the shorter-term contract at a relatively higher price and buying a longer-dated contract at a relatively lower price. The presence of backwardation may positively affect the performance of the Fund. Further, the returns of the Electricity Futures Contracts may differ from that of the Power Index due to the divergence in prices or the costs associated with investing in futures contracts, which may negatively impact the Fund’s returns.
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Swap Agreements. The Fund may use swap agreements to obtain exposure to the underlying Electricity Futures Contracts of the Power Index or the returns of the Power Index. Swap agreements are transactions entered into primarily with major global financial institutions for a specified period ranging from a day to more than one year. In a swap transaction, the Fund and a counterparty will agree to exchange or “swap” payments based on the change in value of an underlying asset or benchmark. For example, the two parties may agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of returns) earned or realized on a particular investment or instrument.
Other Investments. The Fund will invest its assets in Collateral Instruments in connection with its investments in Electricity Futures Contracts or swap agreements that provide exposure to the Power Index. The Collateral Instruments may consist of high-quality securities, which include: (1) U.S. Government securities, such as bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury; (2) investment companies registered under the 1940 Act that invest in high-quality securities; and/or (3) corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper and other short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses that are rated investment grade or determined by the Adviser to be of comparable quality. For these purposes, “investment grade” is defined as investments with a rating at the time of purchase in one of the four highest categories of at least one nationally recognized statistical rating organization (e.g., BBB- or higher from S&P Global Ratings or Baa3 or higher from Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.).
The Collateral Instruments are designed to provide liquidity, serve as margin, or otherwise collateralize the Subsidiary’s investments to obtain exposure to the Power Index. The Fund expects that it will primarily invest its assets, and that the Subsidiary will primarily invest its assets, in Collateral Instruments that are “securities,” as such term is defined under the 1940 Act.
The Fund intends to qualify for treatment as a “regulated investment company” (“RIC”) under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). Accordingly, the size of the Fund’s investment in the Subsidiary will not exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at or around each quarter end of the Fund’s fiscal year (the “Asset Diversification Test”). At other times of the year, the Fund’s investments in the Subsidiary will significantly exceed 25% of the Fund’s total (or gross) assets. When the Fund seeks to reduce its total assets exposure to the Subsidiary, it may use the short-term Treasury Bills it owns (and purchase additional Treasury Bills as needed) to transact in reverse repurchase agreement transactions, which will increase the gross assets of the Fund, and the Adviser expects will allow the Fund to meet the Asset Diversification Test.
Principal Risks
Risk is inherent in all investing, and you could lose money by investing in the Fund. A summary description of certain principal risks of investing in the Fund is set forth below. Before you decide whether to invest in the Fund, carefully consider these risk factors associated with investing in the Fund, which may cause investors to lose money. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objectives. An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any government agency. Each risk noted below is considered a principal risk of investing in the Fund, regardless of the order in which it appears. The significance of each risk factor below may change over time and you should review each risk factor carefully.
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Power Sector Risk. The Fund is subject to the risks associated with the power sector, including electric utilities, independent power producers, and other businesses whose revenues and profitability are tied to electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. The power sector may be adversely affected by changes in fuel costs, shifts in supply and demand for electricity, extreme weather and natural disasters, physical and cybersecurity risks to grid infrastructure, operational accidents, and evolving federal, state, local, and international regulation (including rate-setting, reliability, emissions and climate-related requirements, and permitting), any of which may increase volatility, adversely affect cash flows and valuations, and cause the Fund to underperform funds with less exposure to the power sector. Finally, investments in, or exposure to this sector may be volatile and change quickly and unpredictably in value due to a number of factors, including legislative or regulatory changes, increased market competition or other events that the Fund cannot control.
Derivatives Risk. The use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. These risks include: (i) the risk that the counterparty to a derivative transaction may not fulfill its contractual obligations; (ii) risk of mispricing or improper valuation; and (iii) the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset. Derivative prices are highly volatile and may fluctuate substantially during a short period of time. Such prices are influenced by numerous factors that affect the markets, including, but not limited to: changing supply and demand relationships; government programs and policies; national and international political and economic events, changes in interest rates, inflation and deflation. Trading derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities. Derivative contracts ordinarily have leverage inherent in their terms. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it would not be advantageous to do so in order to satisfy its obligations or to meet regulatory or contractual requirements for derivatives. The use of derivatives can magnify potential for gain or loss and, therefore, amplify the effects of market volatility on the Fund’s share price. The Fund will comply with the requirements of Rule 18f-4 in connection with its derivatives transactions. To the extent the Fund is non-compliant with the requirements of Rule 18f-4 under the1940 Act (“Rule 18f-4”), it may be required to adjust its portfolio, which may negatively impact the implementation of its investment strategies and/or the performance of the Fund.
Clearing Broker Risk. The Fund’s investments in exchange-traded futures contracts expose it to the risks of a clearing broker (or a futures commission merchant (“FCM”)). Under current regulations, a clearing broker or FCM maintains customers’ assets in a bulk segregated account. There is a risk that Fund assets deposited with the clearing broker to serve as margin may be used to satisfy the broker’s own obligations or the losses of the broker’s other clients. In the event of default, the Fund could experience lengthy delays in recovering some or all of its assets and may not see any recovery at all. Furthermore, the Fund is subject to the risk that no FCM is willing or able to clear the Fund’s transactions or maintain the Fund’s assets. If the Fund’s FCMs are unable or unwilling to clear the Fund’s transactions, or if the FCM refuses to maintain the Fund’s assets, the Fund will be unable to have its orders for Electricity Futures Contracts fulfilled or assets custodied. In such a circumstance, the performance of the Fund will likely deviate from the performance of the Power Index, which may adversely impact the performance of the Fund.
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Counterparty Risk. The Fund will be subject to credit risk (i.e., the risk that a counterparty is unwilling or unable to make timely payments or otherwise meet its contractual obligations) with respect to the amount the Fund expects to receive from counterparties to its Electricity Futures Contracts or swap agreements. The Fund may be negatively impacted if a counterparty becomes bankrupt or otherwise fails to perform its obligations under such an agreement. The Fund may experience significant delays in obtaining any recovery in a bankruptcy or other reorganization proceeding and the Fund may obtain only limited recovery or may obtain no recovery in such circumstances. The counterparty to an exchange-traded futures contract is subject to the credit risk of the clearing house and the FCM through which it holds its position. Specifically, the FCM or the clearing house could fail to perform its obligations, causing significant losses to the Fund. For example, the Fund could lose margin payments it has deposited with an FCM as well as any gains owed but not paid to the Fund, if the FCM or clearing house becomes insolvent or otherwise fails to perform its obligations. Credit risk of market participants with respect to derivatives that are centrally cleared is concentrated in a few clearing houses and it is not clear how an insolvency proceeding of a clearing house would be conducted and what impact an insolvency of a clearing house would have on the financial system. Under current CFTC regulations, a FCM maintains customers’ assets in a bulk segregated account. If a FCM fails to do so, or is unable to satisfy a substantial deficit in a customer account, its other customers may be subject to risk of loss of their funds in the event of that FCM’s bankruptcy. In that event, in the case of futures, the FCM’s customers are entitled to recover, even in respect of property specifically traceable to them, only a proportional share of all property available for distribution to all of that FCM’s customers. In addition, if the FCM does not comply with the applicable regulations, or in the event of a fraud or misappropriation of customer assets by the FCM, the Fund could have only an unsecured creditor claim in an insolvency of the FCM with respect to the margin held by the FCM. FCMs are also required to transfer to the clearing house the amount of margin required by the clearing house, which amount is generally held in an omnibus account at the clearing house for all customers of the FCM. In addition, the Fund may enter into agreements with a limited number of counterparties, which may increase the Fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk. The Fund does not specifically limit its counterparty risk with respect to any single counterparty.
Futures Contract Risks. The Fund will invest in futures contracts. Risks of futures contracts include: (i) an imperfect correlation between the value of the futures contract and the underlying asset; (ii) possible lack of a liquid secondary market; (iii) the inability to close a futures contract when desired; (iv) losses caused by unanticipated market movements, which may be unlimited; (v) an obligation for the Fund to make daily cash payments to maintain its required margin, particularly at times when the Fund may have insufficient cash; and (vi) unfavorable execution prices from rapid selling. Unlike equities, which typically entitle the holder to a continuing stake in a corporation, futures contracts normally specify a certain date for settlement in cash based on the reference asset. As the futures contracts approach expiration, they may be replaced by similar contracts that have a later expiration. This process is referred to as “rolling.” If the market for these contracts is in “contango,” meaning that the prices of futures contracts in the nearer months are lower than the price of contracts in the distant months, the sale of the near-term month contract would be at a lower price than the longer-term contract, resulting in a cost to “roll” the futures contract. The actual realization of a potential roll cost will be dependent upon the difference in price of the near and distant contract. The costs associated with rolling futures contracts may have a significant adverse impact on the performance of the Fund.
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The CFTC and various exchanges on which Electricity Futures Contracts trade have established position limits and price limits for Electricity Futures Contracts. Position limit regulation and price limit regulation serve distinct purposes and are regulated differently. Position limits are designed to prevent excessive speculation that could cause sudden or unreasonable fluctuations in the price of a commodity. They limit the maximum number of contracts a person or entity can hold in a particular commodity. Price limits are mechanisms to maintain orderly markets by restricting the price range within which futures contracts can trade during a trading session. They prevent extreme price movements that could disrupt market stability. Price limits are typically set as a percentage of the previous day’s settlement price. When price limits are hit, trading may be halted or expanded depending on the product and regulatory rules. Unlike position limits, price limits do not restrict the number of contracts a trader can hold but rather the price at which those contracts can be traded. When a price limit is hit, futures markets may temporarily halt until price limits can be expanded or trading may be stopped for the day. Position limits and price limits may adversely impact the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective and the performance of the Fund.
Liquidity Risk. The Fund may be exposed to liquidity risk when trading volume, lack of a market maker, or legal restrictions impair the Fund’s ability to sell particular instruments or securities at an advantageous price or in a timely manner. Illiquid or restricted securities cannot be sold immediately because of statutory and contractual restrictions on resale. The market for Electricity Futures Contracts may be subject to periods of illiquidity. During such times it may be difficult or impossible to buy or sell a position at the desired price. Market disruptions or volatility can also make it difficult to find a counterparty willing to transact at a reasonable price and sufficient size. Illiquid markets may cause losses, which could be significant. The large size of the positions which the Fund may acquire increases the risk of illiquidity, may make its positions more difficult to liquidate, and increase the losses incurred while trying to do so.
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Reverse Repurchase Agreement Risk. The Fund may invest in reverse repurchase agreements, which are transactions in which the Fund sells portfolio securities to financial institutions such as banks and broker-dealers, and agrees to repurchase them at a mutually agreed-upon date and price which is higher than the original sale price. Reverse repurchase agreements are a form of leverage and the use of reverse repurchase agreements by the Fund may increase the Fund’s volatility. The Fund incurs costs, including interest expenses, in connection with the opening and closing of reverse repurchase agreements that will be borne by the shareholders. Reverse repurchase agreements are also subject to the risk that the other party to the reverse repurchase agreement will be unable or unwilling to complete the transaction as scheduled, which may result in losses to the Fund. In situations where the Fund is required to post collateral with a counterparty, the counterparty may fail to segregate the collateral or may commingle the collateral with the counterparty’s own assets. As a result, in the event of the counterparty’s bankruptcy or insolvency, the Fund’s collateral may be subject to the conflicting claims of the counterparty’s creditors, and the Fund may be exposed to the risk of a court treating the Fund as a general unsecured creditor of the counterparty, rather than as the owner of the collateral. There can be no assurance that a counterparty will not default and that the Fund will not sustain a loss on a transaction as a result. Reverse repurchase agreements also involve the risk that the market value of the securities sold by the Fund may decline below the price at which it is obligated to repurchase the securities. In addition, when the Fund invests the proceeds it receives in a reverse repurchase transaction, there is a risk that those investments may decline in value. In this circumstance, the Fund could be required to sell other investments in order to meet its obligations to repurchase the securities.
Swap Agreements Risk. The Fund may enter into cash-settled swap agreements to gain exposure to an underlying asset without actually purchasing such asset. Swaps are two-party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors for periods ranging from a day to more than one year. In a standard “swap” transaction, two parties agree to exchange the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on a particular pre-determined interest rate, commodity, security, indexes, or other assets or measurable indicators. The primary risks associated with the use of swaps are mispricing or improper valuation, imperfect correlation between movements in the notional amount and the price of the underlying investments, and the failure of a counterparty to perform. If a counterparty’s creditworthiness for an over-the-counter swap declines, the value of the swap would likely decline. Moreover, there is no guarantee that the Fund could eliminate its exposure under an outstanding swap by entering into an offsetting swap with the same or another party.
Regulatory Risks. The Fund’s exposure and certain characteristics regarding its structure subject it to the following regulatory-related risks.
Commodity Pool Regulatory Risk. The Fund’s use of commodity futures subject to regulation by the CFTC has caused the Fund to be classified as a “commodity pool” and this designation requires that the Fund comply with CFTC rules, which may impose additional regulatory requirements and compliance obligations. The Fund’s investment decisions may need to be modified, and commodity contract positions held by the Fund may have to be liquidated at disadvantageous times or prices, to avoid exceeding any applicable position limits established by the CFTC, potentially subjecting the Fund to substantial losses. The regulation of commodity transactions in the United States is subject to ongoing modification by government, self-regulatory and judicial action. The effect of any future regulatory change with respect to any aspect of the Fund is impossible to predict, but could be substantial and adverse to the Fund.
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Energy Market Regulatory Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from the regulation of energy markets and market participants, including changes in laws, rules, regulatory interpretations, and enforcement priorities across jurisdictions. Regulatory actions—including changes to permitting and environmental requirements, restrictions or incentives affecting fuels or generation types, changes to market structure or pricing mechanisms, and rules affecting reliability, capacity, interconnection, and renewable or similar mandates—may materially affect energy prices, volatility, supply and demand dynamics, and the profitability and valuation of companies exposed to the energy value chain, and may increase costs, delay projects, accelerate asset retirements, or strand assets, adversely affecting the Fund’s investments and returns.
Subsidiary Investment Risk. The Fund obtains exposure to the Power Index via the Subsidiary. Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which the Fund and the Subsidiary are organized, respectively, could result in the inability of the Fund to operate as intended and could negatively affect the Fund and its shareholders. The Subsidiary is not registered under the 1940 Act and is not subject to all the investor protections of the 1940 Act. However, as the Subsidiary is wholly-owned by the Fund, and the investors of the Fund will have the investor protections of the 1940 Act, the Fund as a whole — including the Subsidiary — will provide investors with 1940 Act protections.
Passively-Managed ETF Risks. The Fund is a passively-managed ETF, which subjects it to the following risks.
Index Provider Risk. The Fund seeks to achieve returns that generally correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the Power Index, as published by the Index Provider. There is no assurance that the Index Provider will compile its Power Index accurately, or that the Power Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. While the Index Provider gives descriptions of what the Power Index is designed to achieve, the Index Provider does not provide any warranty or accept any liability in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in its indices, and it does not guarantee that the Power Index will be in line with its methodology.
Index Risk. The Fund is not actively managed. The Fund invests in the components included in, or representative of, the Power Index regardless of their investment merit. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not utilize an investing strategy that seeks returns in excess of the Power Index. Therefore, it would not necessarily buy or sell a futures contract unless that contract is added or removed, respectively, from the Power Index, even if that instrument generally is underperforming.
Methodology Risks. The Index Provider relies on various sources of information to assess the criteria of components included in the Power Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the Index Provider can offer assurances that Power Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included components or that the included components will provide the Fund with the market exposure it seeks.
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Non-Correlation Risk. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Power Index, and accordingly may not achieve its investment objective, for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Power Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling Electricity Futures Contracts, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Power Index. Although the Fund currently intends to seek to fully replicate the Power Index, the Fund may use a representative sampling approach, which may cause the Fund not to be as well-correlated with the return of the Power Index as would be the case if the Fund purchased all of the components in the Power Index in the proportions represented in the Power Index. In addition, the performance of the Fund and the Power Index may vary due to asset valuation differences and differences between the Fund’s portfolio and the Power Index resulting from legal restrictions, cost or liquidity constraints. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions, or due to delays of the Fund in purchasing and selling securities.
Rebalancing Risk. If for any reason the Fund is unable to rebalance all or a portion of its portfolio, or if all or a portion of the portfolio is rebalanced incorrectly, the Fund’s investment exposure may not be consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. In these instances, the Fund may have investment exposure to the Power Index that does not properly track the performance of the Power Index. As a result, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective.
Collateral Instruments Risk. The Fund’s use of Collateral Instruments may include obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities, including bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury, money market funds and corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper.
Some securities issued or guaranteed by federal agencies and U.S. Government-sponsored instrumentalities may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, in which case the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the security for ultimate repayment, and may not be able to assert a claim against the United States itself in the event that the agency or instrumentality does not meet its commitment. The U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities do not guarantee the market value of their securities, and consequently, the value of such securities may fluctuate. Although the Fund may hold securities that carry U.S. Government guarantees, these guarantees do not extend to shares of the Fund.
U.S. Treasury securities may differ from other securities in their interest rates, maturities, times of issuance and other characteristics and may provide relatively lower returns than those of other securities. U.S. government securities are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and the payment of principal when held to maturity. Similar to other issuers, changes to the financial condition or credit rating of the U.S. government may cause the value of the Fund’s U.S. Treasury securities to decline.
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Money market funds are subject to management fees and other expenses. Therefore, investments in money market funds will cause the Fund to bear indirectly a proportional share of the fees and costs of the money market funds in which it invests. At the same time, the Fund will continue to pay its own management fees and expenses with respect to all of its assets, including any portion invested in the shares of the money market fund. It is possible to lose money by investing in money market funds.
Corporate debt securities such as commercial paper generally are short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses. Corporate debt may be rated investment-grade or below investment-grade and may carry variable or floating rates of interest. Corporate debt securities carry both credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk is the risk that the Fund could lose money if the issuer of a corporate debt security is unable to pay interest or repay principal when it is due. Some corporate debt securities that are rated below investment-grade generally are considered speculative because they present a greater risk of loss, including default, than higher quality debt securities.
Concentration Risk. The Fund’s investments will be concentrated in an industry or group of industries to the extent the Power Index is so concentrated. To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in particular industries, groups of industries, or sectors of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those industries, groups of industries, or sectors of the economy, and the value of Fund shares may rise and fall more than the value of shares that invest in securities of companies in a broader range of industries or sectors.
Cyber Security Risk. The Fund is susceptible to operational risks through breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cyber security breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding, and may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks through efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cyber security breaches of the Fund’s third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-adviser, as applicable, or issuers in which the Fund invests, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. While the Fund has established business continuity plans and risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems. Additionally, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber security systems of issuers or third-party service providers.
General Market Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk that it will not achieve its investment objective and that the value of its investments could decline substantially and cause you to lose some or all of your investment. The Fund’s NAV and investment return will fluctuate based upon changes in the value of its portfolio. Certain of the Fund’s investments may be worth less than the price originally paid for them, or less than they were worth at an earlier time.
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Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of the Fund’s assets or income from investments held by the Fund will be less in the future since inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets can decline as can the value of the Fund’s distributions.
New Fund Risk. The Fund is new and currently has fewer assets than larger funds, and like other new funds, large inflows and outflows may impact the Fund’s market exposure for limited periods of time. This impact may be positive or negative, depending on the direction of market movement during the period affected. Additionally, because the Fund has fewer assets than larger funds over which to spread its fixed costs, its expense levels on a percentage basis will be higher than that of a larger Fund.
Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is classified as a “non diversified company,” which means the Fund may invest a larger percentage of its assets in the securities of a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund. Investments in securities of a limited number of issuers exposes the Fund to greater market risk and potential losses than if its assets were diversified among the securities of a greater number of issuers.
Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund will engage in active trading, which may result in a turnover of the Fund’s portfolio to be greater than 100% annually. The Fund’s strategy may result in the Fund paying higher levels of transaction costs and generating greater tax liabilities for shareholders. Frequent portfolio turnover may negatively affect the Fund’s performance.
Risks Associated with ETFs. The Fund is an ETF, and therefore, as a result of an ETF’s structure, is subject to the following risks:
Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as authorized participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with orders for issuance or redemption of Creation Units and no other authorized participant is able to step forward to fulfill the order, in either of these cases, Shares may trade at a discount to the Fund’s NAV and possibly face delisting.
Cash Transaction Risk. Most ETFs generally make in-kind redemptions to avoid being taxed at the fund level on gains on the distributed portfolio securities. However, unlike most ETFs, the Fund currently intends to effect some or all redemptions for cash, rather than in-kind, because of the nature of the Fund’s investments. The Fund may be required to sell portfolio securities to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds, which involves transaction costs that the Fund may not have incurred had it effected redemptions entirely in kind. These costs may include brokerage costs and/or taxable gains or losses, which may be imposed on the Fund and decrease the Fund’s NAV to the extent such costs are not offset by a transaction fee payable to an AP. If the Fund recognizes gain on these sales, this generally will cause the Fund to recognize gain it might not otherwise have recognized if it were to distribute portfolio securities in-kind, or to recognize such gain sooner than would otherwise be required. This may decrease the tax efficiency of the Fund compared to ETFs that utilize an in-kind redemption process, and there may be a substantial difference in the after-tax rate of return between the Fund and other ETFs.
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Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Investors buying or selling Shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of shares.
Market Maker Risk. The Fund faces the risks associated with a potential lack of an active market for the Fund’s Shares due to a limited number of market makers. If the Fund has lower average daily trading volumes, it may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of Shares. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund’s NAV and the price at which the Shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Shares. Market makers are under no obligation to make a market in Shares, and authorized participants are not obligated to submit purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. Decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. This reduced effectiveness could result in Shares trading at values below the NAV and also in greater than normal intra-day bid-ask spreads for Shares.
Market Trading Risks. Shares of the Fund are publicly traded on the Exchange, which may subject shareholders of the Fund to numerous trading risks. First, Shares of the Fund may trade at prices that deviate from its NAV. The market prices of Shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the NAV of the Fund, but are also dependent upon the relative supply of and demand for Shares on the Exchange. The Fund cannot predict whether Shares will trade below (i.e., a discount), at, or above (i.e., a premium) their NAV. Price differences between the trading price of Shares and the NAV may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for Shares will be closely related to, but not identical to, the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. Further, securities (including Shares), are subject to market fluctuations and liquidity constraints that may be caused by such factors as economic, political, or regulatory developments, changes in interest rates, and/or perceived trends in securities prices. Additionally, although the Shares are listed for trading on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Shares will develop or be maintained. Trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. Further, the Fund is required to comply with listing requirements adopted by the Exchange, and there can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain listing of the Fund’s Shares will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. Non-compliance with such requirements may result in the Fund’s Shares being delisted by the Exchange.
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Operational Risk. The Fund is exposed to operational risks arising from a number of factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third parties to provide a range of services relating to its operations. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. The Fund and Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.
Tax Risk. The Fund intends to elect and to qualify each year to be treated as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. As a RIC, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its net investment income and net capital gain that it distributes to Shareholders, provided that it satisfies certain requirements of the Code. If the Fund does not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions are not available, the Fund’s taxable income will be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed. Additionally, buying securities shortly before the record date for a taxable dividend or capital gain distribution is commonly known as “buying the dividend.” In the event a shareholder purchases Shares shortly before such a distribution, the entire distribution may be taxable to the shareholder even though a portion of the distribution effectively represents a return of the purchase price. To comply with the asset diversification test applicable to a RIC, the Fund will limit its investments in the Subsidiary to 25% of the Fund’s total assets at the end of each tax quarter. The investment strategy of the Fund will cause the Fund to hold substantially more than 25% of the Fund’s total assets in investments in the Subsidiary the majority of the time. The Fund intends to manage the exposure to the Subsidiary so that the Fund’s investments in the Subsidiary do not exceed 25% of the total assets at the end of any tax quarter. If the Fund’s investments in the Subsidiary were to exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at the end of a tax quarter, the Fund, generally, has a grace period to cure such lack of compliance. If the Fund fails to timely cure, it may no longer be eligible to be treated as a RIC.
Because Electricity Futures Contracts produce non-qualifying income for purposes of qualifying as a RIC, the Fund makes its investments in Electricity Futures Contracts through the Subsidiary. The Fund intends to treat any income it may derive from the futures contracts received by the Subsidiary as “qualifying income” under the provisions of the Code applicable to RICs. The Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) has issued numerous Private Letter Rulings (“PLRs”) provided to third parties not associated with the Fund or its affiliates (which only those parties may rely on as precedent) concluding that similar arrangements resulted in qualifying income. Many of such PLRs have now been revoked by the IRS. In March of 2019, the Internal Revenue Service published Regulations that concluded that income from a corporation similar to the Subsidiary would be qualifying income, if the income is related to the Fund’s business of investing in stocks or securities. Although the Regulations do not require distributions from the Subsidiary, the Fund intends to cause the Subsidiary to make distributions that would allow the Fund to make timely distributions to its shareholders. The Fund generally will be required to include in its own taxable income the income of the Subsidiary for a tax year, regardless of whether the Fund receives a distribution of the Subsidiary’s income in that tax year, and this income would nevertheless be subject to the distribution requirement for qualification as a regulated investment company and would be taken into account for purposes of the 4% excise tax on a RIC’s undistributed income.
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If, in any year, the Fund were to fail to qualify for the special tax treatment accorded a RIC and its shareholders, and were ineligible to or were not to cure such failure, the Fund would be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation subject to U.S. federal income tax on all its income at the fund level. The resulting taxes could substantially reduce the Fund’s net assets and the amount of income available for distribution. In addition, in order to requalify for taxation as a RIC, the Fund could be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest, and make certain distributions.
Valuation Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk of valuation discrepancies for its securities between its valuation of a security and that in the marketplace. Additionally, the value of securities in the Fund’s portfolio may change on days that shareholders are not able to purchase or sell Shares. Further, during periods of reduced market liquidity or in the absence of readily available market quotations for the holdings of the Fund, the valuation of the Fund’s investments will become more difficult. In market environments where there is reduced availability of reliable objective pricing data, the judgment of the Fund’s investment adviser in determining the fair value of the security may play a greater role. While such determinations may be made in good faith, it may nevertheless be more difficult for the Fund to accurately assign a daily value.
Performance History
As of the date of this prospectus, the Fund has not yet commenced operations and therefore does not have a performance history. Once available, the Fund’s performance information will be accessible on the Fund’s website at www.tortoisecapital.com and will provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund.
Investment Adviser
Tortoise Capital Advisors, L.L.C. acts as the Fund’s investment adviser.
Portfolio Managers
The following persons serve as portfolio managers of the Fund:
[____]
The portfolio managers jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio, all of whom share responsibility for such investment management and have each served as portfolio manager to the Fund since inception in [__] 2026.
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Purchase and Sale of Shares
The Fund will issue (or redeem) shares to certain institutional investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) only in blocks of shares known as “Creation Units.” ETF Creation Unit transactions are typically conducted in exchange for the deposit or delivery of in-kind securities and/or cash constituting a substantial replication, or a representation, of the securities included in the relevant benchmark index. The Fund intends to issue and effect redemptions of Creation Units in exchange for cash. Individual shares may only be purchased and sold on a national securities exchange through a broker-dealer. You can purchase and sell individual shares of the Fund throughout the trading day like any publicly traded security. The Fund’s shares are listed on the Exchange. The price of the Fund’s shares is based on market price, and because exchange-traded fund shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, the Fund’s shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). Except when aggregated in Creation Units, the Fund’s shares are not redeemable securities.
Investors may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares of the Fund in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information about the Fund, including its NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available on the Fund’s website at www.tortoisecapital.com.
Tax Information
Distributions made by the Fund may be taxable as ordinary income, or capital gains, unless you are a tax-exempt organization or are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account. Any withdrawals made from such tax-advantaged arrangement generally will be taxable to you as ordinary income.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s Web site for more information.
Index Provider/Trademark License/Disclaimer
[to be provided]
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Additional Information About the Fund’s Strategies and Risks
The Fund is a series of the Trust and is regulated as an “investment company” under the 1940 Act. The Fund’s investment objective is non-fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval. Unless an investment policy is identified as being fundamental, all investment policies included in this prospectus and the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) are non-fundamental and may be changed by the Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board” or the “Trust Board”) without shareholder approval. The Fund has adopted a policy pursuant to Rule 35d-1 under the 1940 Act to invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets (including borrowings for investment purposes) in financial instruments that comprise the Power Index or have economic characteristics similar to the components of the Power Index. For purposes of this policy, the Fund will use the notional value of such financial instruments, including Electricity Futures Contracts and swap agreements. The Fund has adopted a policy to provide shareholders of the Fund with at least sixty (60) days’ prior notice of any change in its Rule 35d-1 policy.
If there is a material change to the Fund’s investment objective or principal investment strategies, you should consider whether the Fund remains an appropriate investment for you. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.
Additional Information Regarding the Power Index. The Power Index is a rules-based, total return index published daily by ICE. The Power Index is constructed as follows:
| (1) | Universe: peak-hour, cash-settled electricity futures contracts listed on ICE Futures U.S. for six designated U.S. ISO/RTO hub markets. The six hub markets currently comprising the Power Index are: ERCOT North (ERCOT), PJM Western Hub (PJM), NYISO Zone G (NYISO), ISO New England Massachusetts Hub (ISO-NE), CAISO SP-15 (CAISO), and MISO Indiana Hub (MISO). In order to be eligible for inclusion in the Power Index, a contract must: (i) be listed on ICE Futures U.S.; (ii) be for real-time or day-ahead peak hour electricity; (iii) have monthly expiries; (iv) be cash-settled based on prices published by an ISO or RTO; and (v) have an average daily volume of 300 contracts traded based on the preceding one-year period from July 1 to June 30. If more than one contract is eligible for the same ISO/RTO, the contract with the highest average daily volume is selected. |
| (2) | Strip construction: for each hub, the Power Index holds a continuous 12-month forward strip of monthly futures contracts (72 contracts in total across six hubs). |
| (3) | Hub weighting: each hub’s weight in the Power Index is determined by its proportionate share of the three-year average annual electricity load (MWh) reported by the applicable ISO/RTO, rebalanced each January. |
| (4) | Rolling methodology: each month, on a pro rata basis over a 15-business-day window beginning 15 business days prior to the expiration of the prompt-month contract, the Power Index removes the expiring prompt-month contract for each hub and replaces it with the contract for the same delivery month in the following year. |
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| (5) | Return calculation: the Power Index measures total return, reflecting both changes in futures contract prices (spot yield and roll yield) and the return on collateral (U.S. Treasury securities held as margin). |
No carbon allowance contracts are included in the Power Index. The qualifying futures contracts are determined annually. The review is based on data available as of June 30 of each year, with qualifying contracts and the associated weights updated at the annual rebalancing on January 1 of each year. For a new futures contract to replace an existing and still eligible futures contract, it must be at least 25% more liquid, measured in average daily volume, than the existing contract in the Power Index.
Investment in the Subsidiary. The Fund expects to gain exposure to the Power Index by investing a portion of its assets in a wholly owned subsidiary of the Fund organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands, the [_____]. The Subsidiary and the Fund will have the same investment adviser and investment objective. The Subsidiary will also follow the same general investment policies and restrictions as the Fund. Tortoise serves as investment adviser to the Subsidiary, subject to the oversight of the Subsidiary’s board of directors. The Fund complies with the provisions of the 1940 Act governing investment policies, capital structure, custody, and leverage on an aggregate basis with the Subsidiary. Furthermore, the Adviser, as the investment adviser to the Subsidiary, complies with the provisions of the 1940 Act relating to investment advisory contracts as it relates to its advisory agreement with the Subsidiary. The Subsidiary also complies with the provisions of the 1940 Act relating to affiliated transactions and custody. Because the Fund intends to qualify for treatment as a RIC under the Code, the size of the Fund’s investment in the Subsidiary will not exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at or around each quarter end of the Fund’s fiscal year. At other times of the year, the Fund’s investments in the Subsidiary will significantly exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets. The Fund does not intend to create or acquire primary control of any entity which engages in investment activities, securities or other assets, other than entities wholly-owned by the Fund, such as the Subsidiary. The financial statements of the Subsidiary will be consolidated with those of the Fund. The Subsidiary’s custodian is [______].
Electricity Futures Contracts. Futures contracts are financial contracts the value of which depends on, or is derived from, the underlying reference asset. For Electricity Futures Contracts, the underlying reference asset are the electricity futures contracts that comprise the Power Index. Electricity futures are exchange-traded financial contracts that allow buyers and sellers to trade the right to purchase or sell a specified amount of electricity at a predetermined price, location, and date in the future. These contracts enable market participants, such as electricity producers, distributors, and consumers, to manage price risk by contracting for a price of future electricity delivery. Electricity futures are traded on electronic commodity exchanges, similar to other commodities such as metals, fuels, and agricultural products. The price of electricity futures is determined by various factors, including regional supply and demand for electricity, weather conditions, and governmental regulations. By trading electricity futures, market participants can hedge against price fluctuations and manage the volatility associated with U.S. electricity prices. Futures contracts are also used for speculative purposes by market participants who seek to profit from changes in the future price and volatility of electricity.
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A futures contract is a standardized contract traded on, or subject to the rules of, an exchange. The contract will stipulate an exchange to buy or sell a specified type and quantity of a particular underlying asset at a designated price. Futures contracts may be physically-settled or cash-settled. The only futures contracts in which the Fund invests are cash-settled Electricity Futures Contracts traded on commodity exchanges registered with the CFTC. “Cash-settled” means that when the relevant futures contract expires, if the value of the underlying asset exceeds the futures contract price, the seller pays to the purchaser cash in the amount of that excess, and if the futures contract price exceeds the value of the underlying asset, the purchaser pays to the seller cash in the amount of that excess. In a cash-settled futures contract on an electricity futures contract, the amount of cash to be paid is equal to the difference between the value of the electricity futures contract underlying the futures contract at the close of the last trading day of the contract and the futures contract price specified in the agreement.
In order to satisfy certain tax qualification tests, the Fund expects to gain exposure to Electricity Futures Contracts by investing in Electricity Futures Contracts through the Subsidiary. The Fund will “roll” its Electricity Futures Contracts. Futures contracts expire on a designated date (the “expiration date”). The Electricity Futures Contracts in which the Fund invests are cash settled on their expiration date unless they are “rolled” prior to expiration. The Fund generally intends to regularly “roll” its Electricity Futures Contracts.
Collateral Instruments. In addition to its investments in Electricity Futures Contracts, the Fund (and the Subsidiary, as applicable) will invest its remaining assets directly in cash, cash-like instruments or high-quality securities. The Collateral Instruments may consist of high quality securities, which include: (1) U.S. Government securities, such as bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury; (2) investment companies registered under the 1940 Act that invest in high-quality securities; and/or (3) corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper and other short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses that are rated investment grade or determined by the Adviser to be of comparable quality. For these purposes, “investment grade” is defined as investments with a rating at the time of purchase in one of the four highest categories of at least one nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (e.g., BBB- or higher from S&P Global Ratings or Baa3 or higher from Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.). The Collateral Instruments are designed to provide liquidity (i.e., provide an asset that can easily be exchanged for cash), and satisfy the “margin” requirements applicable to the Fund’s futures portfolio, which require that the Fund post collateral to secure its obligations under those contracts.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements. The Fund may invest in reverse repurchase agreements which are a form of borrowing in which the Fund sells portfolio securities to financial institutions and agrees to repurchase them at a mutually agreed-upon date and price that is higher than the original sale price, and use the proceeds for investment purchases. As a result of the Fund repurchasing the securities at a higher price, the Fund will lose money by engaging in reverse repurchase agreement transactions.
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The Fund intends to qualify for treatment as a RIC under the Code, and accordingly, in accordance with the Asset Diversification Test, the size of the Fund’s investment in the Subsidiary will not exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at or around each quarter end of the Fund’s fiscal year. At other times of the year, the Fund’s investments in the Subsidiary will significantly exceed 25% of the Fund’s total (or gross) assets. When the Fund seeks to reduce its total assets exposure to the Subsidiary, it may use the short-term Treasury Bills it owns (and purchase additional Treasury Bills as needed) to transact in reverse repurchase agreement transactions, which are ostensibly loans to the Fund, and will increase the gross assets of the Fund, which the Adviser expects will allow the Fund to meet the Asset Diversification Test. When the Fund enters into a reverse repurchase agreement, it will either (i) be consistent with Section 18 of the 1940 Act and maintain asset coverage of at least 300% of the value of the reverse repurchase agreement; or (ii) treat the reverse repurchase agreement transactions as derivative transactions for purposes of Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act (“Rule 18f-4”), including as applicable, the value-at-risk based limit on leverage risk.
Swap Agreements. The Fund may also invest in swap agreements to obtain exposure to the Power Index or the Electricity Futures Contracts that comprise the Power Index. Swap agreements are contracts entered into primarily with major financial institutions for a specified period ranging from a day to more than one year. In a standard “swap” transaction, two parties agree to exchange the return (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on particular predetermined investments or instruments. The gross return to be exchanged or “swapped” between the parties is calculated with respect to a “notional amount,” e.g., the return on or change in value of a particular dollar amount invested in a “basket” of securities or an ETF representing a particular index. Any costs associated with using swap agreements may also have the effect of lowering the Fund’s returns.
Use of Derivatives Instruments. To the extent the Fund enters into derivative instruments it will do so in accordance with Rule 18f-4. Rule 18f-4 requires a fund to implement certain policies and procedures designed to manage its derivatives risks, dependent upon its level of exposure to such derivative instruments. The Fund has adopted and implemented a written derivatives risk management program that contains policies and procedures reasonably designed to manage the Fund’s derivatives risks, has appointed a derivatives risk manager (who is responsible for administrating the derivatives risk management program), complies with outer limitations on risks relating to its derivatives transactions and carries out enhanced reporting to the Board, the SEC and the public regarding its derivatives activities. To the extent the Fund is non-compliant with the requirements of Rule 18f-4, the Fund may be required to adjust its portfolio, which may, in turn, negatively impact its implementation of its investment strategies.
Additional Principal Risk Information
The following section provides additional information regarding certain of the principal risks identified under “Principal Risks” in the Fund’s summary along with additional risk information.
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Power Sector Risk. The Fund is subject to the risks associated with the power sector, including electric utilities, independent power producers, and other businesses whose revenues and profitability are tied to electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. The power sector may be adversely affected by changes in fuel costs, shifts in supply and demand for electricity, extreme weather and natural disasters, physical and cybersecurity risks to grid infrastructure, operational accidents, and evolving federal, state, local, and international regulation (including rate-setting, reliability, emissions and climate-related requirements, and permitting), any of which may increase volatility, adversely affect cash flows and valuations, and cause the Fund to underperform funds with less exposure to the power sector. Finally, investments in, or exposure to this sector may be volatile and change quickly and unpredictably in value due to a number of factors, including legislative or regulatory changes, increased market competition or other events that the Fund cannot control.
Derivatives Risk. The use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities and other traditional investments. These risks include: (i) the risk that the counterparty to a derivative transaction may not fulfill its contractual obligations; (ii) risk of mispricing or improper valuation; and (iii) the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset. Derivative prices are highly volatile and may fluctuate substantially during a short period of time. Such prices are influenced by numerous factors that affect the markets, including, but not limited to: changing supply and demand relationships; government programs and policies; national and international political and economic events, changes in interest rates, inflation and deflation. Trading derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities. Derivative contracts ordinarily have leverage inherent in their terms. The use of leverage may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it would not be advantageous to do so in order to satisfy its obligations or to meet regulatory or contractual requirements for derivatives. The use of derivatives can magnify potential for gain or loss and, therefore, amplify the effects of market volatility on the Fund’s share price. The Fund will comply with the requirements of Rule 18f-4 in connection with its derivatives transactions. To the extent the Fund is non-compliant with the requirements of Rule 18f-4, it may be required to adjust its portfolio, which may negatively impact the implementation of its investment strategies and/or the performance of the Fund.
Clearing Broker Risk. The Fund’s investments in exchange-traded futures contracts expose it to the risks of a clearing broker (or a futures commission merchant (“FCM”)). Under current regulations, a clearing broker or FCM maintains customers’ assets in a bulk segregated account. There is a risk that Fund assets deposited with the clearing broker to serve as margin may be used to satisfy the broker’s own obligations or the losses of the broker’s other clients. In the event of default, the Fund could experience lengthy delays in recovering some or all of its assets and may not see any recovery at all. Furthermore, the Fund is subject to the risk that no FCM is willing or able to clear the Fund’s transactions or maintain the Fund’s assets. If the Fund’s FCMs are unable or unwilling to clear the Fund’s transactions, or if the FCM refuses to maintain the Fund’s assets, the Fund will be unable to have its orders for Electricity Futures Contracts fulfilled or assets custodied. In such a circumstance, the performance of the Fund will likely deviate from the performance of the Power Index, which may adversely impact the performance of the Fund.
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Counterparty Risk. The Fund will be subject to credit risk (i.e., the risk that a counterparty is unwilling or unable to make timely payments or otherwise meet its contractual obligations) with respect to the amount the Fund expects to receive from counterparties to its Electricity Futures Contracts and/or swap agreements. The Fund may be negatively impacted if a counterparty becomes bankrupt or otherwise fails to perform its obligations under such an agreement. The Fund may experience significant delays in obtaining any recovery in a bankruptcy or other reorganization proceeding and the Fund may obtain only limited recovery or may obtain no recovery in such circumstances. The counterparty to an exchange-traded futures contract is subject to the credit risk of the clearing house and the FCM through which it holds its position. Specifically, the FCM or the clearing house could fail to perform its obligations, causing significant losses to the Fund. For example, the Fund could lose margin payments it has deposited with an FCM as well as any gains owed but not paid to the Fund, if the FCM or clearing house becomes insolvent or otherwise fails to perform its obligations. Credit risk of market participants with respect to derivatives that are centrally cleared is concentrated in a few clearing houses and it is not clear how an insolvency proceeding of a clearing house would be conducted and what impact an insolvency of a clearing house would have on the financial system. Under current CFTC regulations, a FCM maintains customers’ assets in a bulk segregated account. If a FCM fails to do so, or is unable to satisfy a substantial deficit in a customer account, its other customers may be subject to risk of loss of their funds in the event of that FCM’s bankruptcy. In that event, in the case of futures, the FCM’s customers are entitled to recover, even in respect of property specifically traceable to them, only a proportional share of all property available for distribution to all of that FCM’s customers. In addition, if the FCM does not comply with the applicable regulations, or in the event of a fraud or misappropriation of customer assets by the FCM, the Fund could have only an unsecured creditor claim in an insolvency of the FCM with respect to the margin held by the FCM. FCMs are also required to transfer to the clearing house the amount of margin required by the clearing house, which amount is generally held in an omnibus account at the clearing house for all customers of the FCM. In addition, the Fund may enter into agreements with a limited number of counterparties, which may increase the Fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk. The Fund does not specifically limit its counterparty risk with respect to any single counterparty.
Futures Contract Risks. The Fund will invest in futures contracts. Risks of futures contracts include: (i) an imperfect correlation between the value of the futures contract and the underlying asset; (ii) possible lack of a liquid secondary market; (iii) the inability to close a futures contract when desired; (iv) losses caused by unanticipated market movements, which may be unlimited; (v) an obligation for the Fund to make daily cash payments to maintain its required margin, particularly at times when the Fund may have insufficient cash; and (vi) unfavorable execution prices from rapid selling. Unlike equities, which typically entitle the holder to a continuing stake in a corporation, futures contracts normally specify a certain date for settlement in cash based on the reference asset. As the futures contracts approach expiration, they may be replaced by similar contracts that have a later expiration. This process is referred to as “rolling.” If the market for these contracts is in “contango,” meaning that the prices of futures contracts in the nearer months are lower than the price of contracts in the distant months, the sale of the near-term month contract would be at a lower price than the longer-term contract, resulting in a cost to “roll” the futures contract. The actual realization of a potential roll cost will be dependent upon the difference in price of the near and distant contract. The costs associated with rolling futures contracts may have a significant adverse impact on the performance of the Fund.
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The CFTC and various exchanges on which Electricity Futures Contracts trade have established position limits and price limits for Electricity Futures Contracts. Position limit regulation and price limit regulation serve distinct purposes and are regulated differently. Position limits are designed to prevent excessive speculation that could cause sudden or unreasonable fluctuations in the price of a commodity. They limit the maximum number of contracts a person or entity can hold in a particular commodity. Price limits are mechanisms to maintain orderly markets by restricting the price range within which futures contracts can trade during a trading session. They prevent extreme price movements that could disrupt market stability. Price limits are typically set as a percentage of the previous day’s settlement price. When price limits are hit, trading may be halted or expanded depending on the product and regulatory rules. Unlike position limits, price limits do not restrict the number of contracts a trader can hold but rather the price at which those contracts can be traded. When a price limit is hit, futures markets may temporarily halt until price limits can be expanded or trading may be stopped for the day. Position limits and price limits may adversely impact the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective and the performance of the Fund.
Liquidity Risk. The Fund may be exposed to liquidity risk when trading volume, lack of a market maker, or legal restrictions impair the Fund’s ability to sell particular instruments or securities at an advantageous price or in a timely manner. Illiquid or restricted securities cannot be sold immediately because of statutory and contractual restrictions on resale. The market for Electricity Futures Contracts may be subject to periods of illiquidity. During such times it may be difficult or impossible to buy or sell a position at the desired price. Market disruptions or volatility can also make it difficult to find a counterparty willing to transact at a reasonable price and sufficient size. Illiquid markets may cause losses, which could be significant. The large size of the positions which the Fund may acquire increases the risk of illiquidity, may make its positions more difficult to liquidate, and increase the losses incurred while trying to do so.
Reverse Repurchase Agreement Risk. The Fund may invest in reverse repurchase agreements, which are transactions in which the Fund sells portfolio securities to financial institutions such as banks and broker-dealers, and agrees to repurchase them at a mutually agreed-upon date and price which is higher than the original sale price. Reverse repurchase agreements are a form of leverage and the use of reverse repurchase agreements by the Fund may increase the Fund’s volatility. The Fund incurs costs, including interest expenses, in connection with the opening and closing of reverse repurchase agreements that will be borne by the shareholders. Reverse repurchase agreements are also subject to the risk that the other party to the reverse repurchase agreement will be unable or unwilling to complete the transaction as scheduled, which may result in losses to the Fund. In situations where the Fund is required to post collateral with a counterparty, the counterparty may fail to segregate the collateral or may commingle the collateral with the counterparty’s own assets. As a result, in the event of the counterparty’s bankruptcy or insolvency, the Fund’s collateral may be subject to the conflicting claims of the counterparty’s creditors, and the Fund may be exposed to the risk of a court treating the Fund as a general unsecured creditor of the counterparty, rather than as the owner of the collateral. There can be no assurance that a counterparty will not default and that the Fund will not sustain a loss on a transaction as a result. Reverse repurchase agreements also involve the risk that the market value of the securities sold by the Fund may decline below the price at which it is obligated to repurchase the securities. In addition, when the Fund invests the proceeds it receives in a reverse repurchase transaction, there is a risk that those investments may decline in value. In this circumstance, the Fund could be required to sell other investments in order to meet its obligations to repurchase the securities.
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Swap Agreements Risk. The Fund may enter into cash-settled swap agreements to gain exposure to an underlying asset without actually purchasing such asset. Swaps are two-party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors for periods ranging from a day to more than one year. In a standard “swap” transaction, two parties agree to exchange the returns (or differentials in rates of return) earned or realized on a particular pre-determined interest rate, commodity, security, indexes, or other assets or measurable indicators. The primary risks associated with the use of swaps are mispricing or improper valuation, imperfect correlation between movements in the notional amount and the price of the underlying investments, and the failure of a counterparty to perform. If a counterparty’s creditworthiness for an over-the-counter swap declines, the value of the swap would likely decline. Moreover, there is no guarantee that the Fund could eliminate its exposure under an outstanding swap by entering into an offsetting swap with the same or another party.
Regulatory Risks. The Fund’s exposure and certain characteristics regarding its structure subject it to the following regulatory-related risks.
Commodity Pool Regulatory Risk. The Fund’s use of commodity futures subject to regulation by the CFTC has caused the Fund to be classified as a “commodity pool” and this designation requires that the Fund comply with CFTC rules, which may impose additional regulatory requirements and compliance obligations. The Fund’s investment decisions may need to be modified, and commodity contract positions held by the Fund may have to be liquidated at disadvantageous times or prices, to avoid exceeding any applicable position limits established by the CFTC, potentially subjecting the Fund to substantial losses. The regulation of commodity transactions in the United States is subject to ongoing modification by government, self-regulatory and judicial action. The effect of any future regulatory change with respect to any aspect of the Fund is impossible to predict, but could be substantial and adverse to the Fund.
Energy Market Regulatory Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from the regulation of energy markets and market participants, including changes in laws, rules, regulatory interpretations, and enforcement priorities across jurisdictions. Regulatory actions—including changes to permitting and environmental requirements, restrictions or incentives affecting fuels or generation types, changes to market structure or pricing mechanisms, and rules affecting reliability, capacity, interconnection, and renewable or similar mandates—may materially affect energy prices, volatility, supply and demand dynamics, and the profitability and valuation of companies exposed to the energy value chain, and may increase costs, delay projects, accelerate asset retirements, or strand assets, adversely affecting the Fund’s investments and returns.
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Subsidiary Investment Risk. The Fund obtains exposure to the Power Index via the Subsidiary. Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which the Fund and the Subsidiary are organized, respectively, could result in the inability of the Fund to operate as intended and could negatively affect the Fund and its shareholders. The Subsidiary is not registered under the 1940 Act and is not subject to all the investor protections of the 1940 Act. However, as the Subsidiary is wholly-owned by the Fund, and the investors of the Fund will have the investor protections of the 1940 Act, the Fund as a whole — including the Subsidiary — will provide investors with 1940 Act protections.
Passively-Managed ETF Risks. The Fund is a passively-managed ETF, which subjects it to the following risks.
Index Provider Risk. The Fund seeks to achieve returns that generally correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the Power Index, as published by the Index Provider. There is no assurance that the Index Provider will compile its Power Index accurately, or that the Power Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. While the Index Provider gives descriptions of what the Power Index is designed to achieve, the Index Provider does not provide any warranty or accept any liability in relation to the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in its indices, and it does not guarantee that the Power Index will be in line with its methodology.
Index Risk. The Fund is not actively managed. The Fund invests in the components included in, or representative of, the Power Index regardless of their investment merit. Unlike many investment companies, the Fund does not utilize an investing strategy that seeks returns in excess of the Power Index. Therefore, it would not necessarily buy or sell a futures contract unless that contract is added or removed, respectively, from the Power Index, even if that instrument generally is underperforming.
Methodology Risks. The Index Provider relies on various sources of information to assess the criteria of components included in the Power Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the Index Provider can offer assurances that Power Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included components or that the included components will provide the Fund with the market exposure it seeks.
Non-Correlation Risk. The Fund’s return may not match the return of the Power Index, and accordingly may not achieve its investment objective, for a number of reasons. For example, the Fund incurs operating expenses not applicable to the Power Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling Electricity Futures Contracts, especially when rebalancing the Fund’s holdings to reflect changes in the composition of the Power Index. Although the Fund currently intends to seek to fully replicate the Power Index, the Fund may use a representative sampling approach, which may cause the Fund not to be as well-correlated with the return of the Power Index as would be the case if the Fund purchased all of the components in the Power Index in the proportions represented in the Power Index. In addition, the performance of the Fund and the Power Index may vary due to asset valuation differences and differences between the Fund’s portfolio and the Power Index resulting from legal restrictions, cost or liquidity constraints. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions, or due to delays of the Fund in purchasing and selling securities.
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Rebalancing Risk. If for any reason the Fund is unable to rebalance all or a portion of its portfolio, or if all or a portion of the portfolio is rebalanced incorrectly, the Fund’s investment exposure may not be consistent with the Fund’s investment objective. In these instances, the Fund may have investment exposure to the Power Index that does not properly track the performance of the Power Index. As a result, the Fund may not achieve its investment objective.
Collateral Instruments Risk. The Fund’s use of Collateral Instruments may include obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities, including bills, notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury, money market funds and corporate debt securities, such as commercial paper.
Some securities issued or guaranteed by federal agencies and U.S. Government-sponsored instrumentalities may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, in which case the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality issuing or guaranteeing the security for ultimate repayment, and may not be able to assert a claim against the United States itself in the event that the agency or instrumentality does not meet its commitment. The U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities do not guarantee the market value of their securities, and consequently, the value of such securities may fluctuate. Although the Fund may hold securities that carry U.S. Government guarantees, these guarantees do not extend to shares of the Fund.
U.S. Treasury securities may differ from other securities in their interest rates, maturities, times of issuance and other characteristics and may provide relatively lower returns than those of other securities. U.S. government securities are guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and the payment of principal when held to maturity. Similar to other issuers, changes to the financial condition or credit rating of the U.S. government may cause the value of the Fund’s U.S. Treasury securities to decline.
Money market funds are subject to management fees and other expenses. Therefore, investments in money market funds will cause the Fund to bear indirectly a proportional share of the fees and costs of the money market funds in which it invests. At the same time, the Fund will continue to pay its own management fees and expenses with respect to all of its assets, including any portion invested in the shares of the money market fund. It is possible to lose money by investing in money market funds.
Corporate debt securities such as commercial paper generally are short-term unsecured promissory notes issued by businesses. Corporate debt may be rated investment-grade or below investment-grade and may carry variable or floating rates of interest. Corporate debt securities carry both credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk is the risk that the Fund could lose money if the issuer of a corporate debt security is unable to pay interest or repay principal when it is due. Some corporate debt securities that are rated below investment-grade generally are considered speculative because they present a greater risk of loss, including default, than higher quality debt securities.
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Concentration Risk. The Fund’s investments will be concentrated in an industry or group of industries to the extent the Power Index is so concentrated. To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in particular industries, groups of industries, or sectors of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those industries, groups of industries, or sectors of the economy, and the value of Fund shares may rise and fall more than the value of shares that invest in securities of companies in a broader range of industries or sectors.
Cyber Security Risk. The Fund is susceptible to operational risks through breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cyber security breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding, and may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks through efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cyber security breaches of the Fund’s third-party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-adviser, as applicable, or issuers in which the Fund invests, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. While the Fund has established business continuity plans and risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems. Additionally, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber security systems of issuers or third-party service providers.
General Market Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk that it will not achieve its investment objective and that the value of its investments could decline substantially and cause you to lose some or all of your investment. The Fund’s NAV and investment return will fluctuate based upon changes in the value of its portfolio. Certain of the Fund’s investments may be worth less than the price originally paid for them, or less than they were worth at an earlier time.
Inflation Risk. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of the Fund’s assets or income from investments held by the Fund will be less in the future since inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the present value of the Fund’s assets can decline as can the value of the Fund’s distributions.
New Fund Risk. The Fund is new and currently has fewer assets than larger funds, and like other new funds, large inflows and outflows may impact the Fund’s market exposure for limited periods of time. This impact may be positive or negative, depending on the direction of market movement during the period affected. Additionally, because the Fund has fewer assets than larger funds over which to spread its fixed costs, its expense levels on a percentage basis will be higher than that of a larger Fund.
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Non-Diversification Risk. The Fund is classified as a “non diversified company,” which means the Fund may invest a larger percentage of its assets in the securities of a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund. Investments in securities of a limited number of issuers exposes the Fund to greater market risk and potential losses than if its assets were diversified among the securities of a greater number of issuers.
Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund will engage in active trading, which may result in a turnover of the Fund’s portfolio to be greater than 100% annually. The Fund’s strategy may result in the Fund paying higher levels of transaction costs and generating greater tax liabilities for shareholders. Frequent portfolio turnover may negatively affect the Fund’s performance.
Risks Associated with ETFs. The Fund is an ETF, and therefore, as a result of an ETF’s structure, is subject to the following risks:
Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. Only an authorized participant may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as authorized participants on an agency basis (i.e., on behalf of other market participants). To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with orders for issuance or redemption of Creation Units and no other authorized participant is able to step forward to fulfill the order, in either of these cases, Shares may trade at a discount to the Fund’s NAV and possibly face delisting.
Cash Transaction Risk. Most ETFs generally make in-kind redemptions to avoid being taxed at the fund level on gains on the distributed portfolio securities. However, unlike most ETFs, the Fund currently intends to effect some or all redemptions for cash, rather than in-kind, because of the nature of the Fund’s investments. The Fund may be required to sell portfolio securities to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds, which involves transaction costs that the Fund may not have incurred had it effected redemptions entirely in kind. These costs may include brokerage costs and/or taxable gains or losses, which may be imposed on the Fund and decrease the Fund’s NAV to the extent such costs are not offset by a transaction fee payable to an AP. If the Fund recognizes gain on these sales, this generally will cause the Fund to recognize gain it might not otherwise have recognized if it were to distribute portfolio securities in-kind, or to recognize such gain sooner than would otherwise be required. This may decrease the tax efficiency of the Fund compared to ETFs that utilize an in-kind redemption process, and there may be a substantial difference in the after-tax rate of return between the Fund and other ETFs.
Costs of Buying or Selling Shares. Investors buying or selling Shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of shares.
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Market Maker Risk. The Fund faces the risks associated with a potential lack of an active market for the Fund’s Shares due to a limited number of market makers. If the Fund has lower average daily trading volumes, it may rely on a small number of third-party market makers to provide a market for the purchase and sale of Shares. Any trading halt or other problem relating to the trading activity of these market makers could result in a dramatic change in the spread between the Fund’s NAV and the price at which the Shares are trading on the Exchange, which could result in a decrease in value of the Shares. Market makers are under no obligation to make a market in Shares, and authorized participants are not obligated to submit purchase or redemption orders for Creation Units. Decisions by market makers or authorized participants to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market stress could inhibit the effectiveness of the arbitrage process in maintaining the relationship between the underlying values of the Fund’s portfolio securities and the Fund’s market price. This reduced effectiveness could result in Shares trading at values below the NAV and also in greater than normal intra-day bid-ask spreads for Shares.
Market Trading Risks. Shares of the Fund are publicly traded on the Exchange, which may subject shareholders of the Fund to numerous trading risks. First, Shares of the Fund may trade at prices that deviate from its NAV. The market prices of Shares will generally fluctuate in accordance with changes in the NAV of the Fund, but are also dependent upon the relative supply of and demand for Shares on the Exchange. The Fund cannot predict whether Shares will trade below (i.e., a discount), at, or above (i.e., a premium) their NAV. Price differences between the trading price of Shares and the NAV may be due, in large part, to the fact that supply and demand forces at work in the secondary trading market for Shares will be closely related to, but not identical to, the same forces influencing the prices of the holdings of the Fund trading individually or in the aggregate at any point in time. Further, securities (including Shares), are subject to market fluctuations and liquidity constraints that may be caused by such factors as economic, political, or regulatory developments, changes in interest rates, and/or perceived trends in securities prices. Additionally, although the Shares are listed for trading on the Exchange, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Shares will develop or be maintained. Trading in Shares on the Exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in Shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in Shares on the Exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to Exchange “circuit breaker” rules. Further, the Fund is required to comply with listing requirements adopted by the Exchange, and there can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain listing of the Fund’s Shares will continue to be met or will remain unchanged. Non-compliance with such requirements may result in the Fund’s Shares being delisted by the Exchange.
Operational Risk. The Fund is exposed to operational risks arising from a number of factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third parties to provide a range of services relating to its operations. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. The Fund and Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.
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Tax Risk. The Fund intends to elect and to qualify each year to be treated as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. As a RIC, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its net investment income and net capital gain that it distributes to Shareholders, provided that it satisfies certain requirements of the Code. If the Fund does not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions are not available, the Fund’s taxable income will be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed. Additionally, buying securities shortly before the record date for a taxable dividend or capital gain distribution is commonly known as “buying the dividend.” In the event a shareholder purchases Shares shortly before such a distribution, the entire distribution may be taxable to the shareholder even though a portion of the distribution effectively represents a return of the purchase price. To comply with the asset diversification test applicable to a RIC, the Fund will limit its investments in the Subsidiary to 25% of the Fund’s total assets at the end of each tax quarter. The investment strategy of the Fund will cause the Fund to hold substantially more than 25% of the Fund’s total assets in investments in the Subsidiary the majority of the time. The Fund intends to manage the exposure to the Subsidiary so that the Fund’s investments in the Subsidiary do not exceed 25% of the total assets at the end of any tax quarter. If the Fund’s investments in the Subsidiary were to exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at the end of a tax quarter, the Fund, generally, has a grace period to cure such lack of compliance. If the Fund fails to timely cure, it may no longer be eligible to be treated as a RIC.
Because Electricity Futures Contracts produce non-qualifying income for purposes of qualifying as a RIC, the Fund makes its investments in Electricity Futures Contracts through the Subsidiary. The Fund intends to treat any income it may derive from the futures contracts received by the Subsidiary as “qualifying income” under the provisions of the Code applicable to RICs. The IRS has issued numerous PLRs provided to third parties not associated with the Fund or its affiliates (which only those parties may rely on as precedent) concluding that similar arrangements resulted in qualifying income. Many of such PLRs have now been revoked by the IRS. In March of 2019, the Internal Revenue Service published Regulations that concluded that income from a corporation similar to the Subsidiary would be qualifying income, if the income is related to the Fund’s business of investing in stocks or securities. Although the Regulations do not require distributions from the Subsidiary, the Fund intends to cause the Subsidiary to make distributions that would allow the Fund to make timely distributions to its shareholders. The Fund generally will be required to include in its own taxable income the income of the Subsidiary for a tax year, regardless of whether the Fund receives a distribution of the Subsidiary’s income in that tax year, and this income would nevertheless be subject to the distribution requirement for qualification as a regulated investment company and would be taken into account for purposes of the 4% excise tax on a RIC’s undistributed income.
If, in any year, the Fund were to fail to qualify for the special tax treatment accorded a RIC and its shareholders, and were ineligible to or were not to cure such failure, the Fund would be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation subject to U.S. federal income tax on all its income at the fund level. The resulting taxes could substantially reduce the Fund’s net assets and the amount of income available for distribution. In addition, in order to requalify for taxation as a RIC, the Fund could be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest, and make certain distributions.
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Valuation Risk. The Fund is subject to the risk of valuation discrepancies for its securities between its valuation of a security and that in the marketplace. Additionally, the value of securities in the Fund’s portfolio may change on days that shareholders are not able to purchase or sell Shares. Further, during periods of reduced market liquidity or in the absence of readily available market quotations for the holdings of the Fund, the valuation of the Fund’s investments will become more difficult. In market environments where there is reduced availability of reliable objective pricing data, the judgment of the Fund’s investment adviser in determining the fair value of the security may play a greater role. While such determinations may be made in good faith, it may nevertheless be more difficult for the Fund to accurately assign a daily value.
Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings
The Fund’s entire portfolio holdings are publicly disseminated each day the Fund is open for business through the Fund’s website and may be made available through financial reporting and news services or any other medium, including publicly available internet web sites. Additional information regarding the Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio securities is available in the Fund’s SAI.
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
Investment Adviser
Pursuant to investment advisory agreements, the Adviser provides the Fund with investment research and advice and furnishes the Fund with an investment program consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives and policies, subject to the oversight of the Trust Board. The Adviser determines which portfolio securities will be purchased or sold, arranges for the placing of orders for the purchase or sale of portfolio securities, selects brokers or dealers to place those orders, maintains books and records with respect to the Fund’s securities transactions and reports to the Board on the Fund’s investments and performance.
The Adviser is located at 5901 College Boulevard, Suite 400, Overland Park, Kansas 66211. The Adviser specializes in energy investing across the energy value chain, including infrastructure and MLPs. The Adviser was formed in October 2002 to provide portfolio management services to institutional and high-net-worth investors seeking professional management of their MLP investments. As of [____], the Adviser had approximately [__] billion of client assets under management. The Adviser’s Investment Committee is comprised of four individuals.
The Adviser is indirectly controlled by Lovell Minnick Partners LLC (“Lovell Minnick”) and is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Tortoise Parent Holdco LLC (“Tortoise Holdco”). An entity formed by Lovell Minnick owned by certain private funds sponsored by Lovell Minnick and a group of institutional co-investors owns a controlling interest in Tortoise. Certain employees in the Tortoise complex own interests in Tortoise Holdco.
A discussion of the factors that the Tortoise Capital Series Trust Board considered in approving the Advisory Agreement are included in the Fund’s Form N-CSR filing for the period ending [____].
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Portfolio Managers
The Fund is managed by the Adviser’s portfolio management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio are described below.
[______]
Additional information about the portfolio managers’ compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers, and the portfolio managers’ ownership of securities in the Fund are available in the SAI.
Buying and Selling Fund Shares
Shares of the Fund are expected to be listed on the Exchange, subject to notice of issuance. When you buy or sell shares on the secondary market, you will pay or receive the market price. The Shares will trade on the Exchange at prices that may differ to varying degrees from the daily NAV of the Shares. A “Business Day” with respect to the Fund is any day on which the Exchange is open for business. The Exchange is generally open Monday through Friday and is closed weekends and the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
NAV per share for the Fund is computed by dividing the value of the net assets of the Fund (i.e., the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by the total number of shares of the Fund outstanding. Expenses and fees, including management and distribution fees, if any, are accrued daily and taken into account for purposes of determining NAV. NAV is determined each Business Day, normally as of the close of regular trading of the Exchange (ordinarily 4:00 p.m., Eastern time).
You may incur customary brokerage commissions and charges and may pay some or all of the spread between the bid and the offered price in the secondary market on each leg of a round trip (purchase and sale) transaction. Investors buying or selling shares in the secondary market will pay brokerage commissions or other charges imposed by brokers as determined by that broker. Brokerage commissions are often a fixed amount and may be a significant proportional cost for investors seeking to buy or sell relatively small amounts of shares. In addition, secondary market investors will also incur the cost of the difference between the price that an investor is willing to pay for shares (the “bid” price) and the price at which an investor is willing to sell shares (the “ask” price). This difference in bid and ask prices is often referred to as the “spread” or “bid/ask spread.” The bid/ask spread varies over time for shares based on trading volume and market liquidity and is generally lower if the Shares have more trading volume and market liquidity and higher if the Shares have little trading volume and market liquidity. Further, increased market volatility may cause increased bid/ask spreads. Due to the costs of buying or selling shares, including bid/ask spreads, frequent trading of shares may significantly reduce investment results and an investment in shares may not be advisable for investors who anticipate regularly making small investments.
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The Fund’s portfolio securities generally are valued at market price. Securities are valued at fair value when market quotations are not readily available. The Trust Board has adopted procedures to be followed when the Fund must utilize fair value pricing, including when reliable market quotations are not readily available, when the Fund’s pricing services do not provide a valuation (or provides a valuation that, in the judgment of the Adviser, does not represent the security’s fair value), or when, in the judgment of the Adviser, events have rendered the market value unreliable (see, for example, the discussion of fair value pricing of foreign securities in the paragraph below). The Trust Board reviews, no less frequently than annually, the adequacy of the Fund’s policies and procedures and the effectiveness of their implementation. Valuing securities at fair value may result in a different price being used in the calculation of the Fund’s NAV from quoted or published prices for the same securities. Fair value determinations are made in good faith in accordance with procedures adopted by the Trust Board. There can be no assurance that the Fund will obtain the fair value assigned to a security if it sells the security.
In certain circumstances, the Fund may employ fair value pricing to ensure greater accuracy in determining daily NAV. Fair value pricing may be applied to foreign securities held by the Fund upon the occurrence of an event after the close of trading on non-U.S. markets but before the close of trading on the Exchange when the Fund’s NAV is determined. If the event may result in a material adjustment to the price of the Fund’s foreign securities once non-U.S. markets open on the following Business Day (such as, for example, a significant surge or decline in the U.S. market), the Fund may value such foreign securities at fair value, taking into account the effect of such event, in order to calculate the Fund’s NAV.
Other types of portfolio securities that the Fund may fair value include, but are not limited to: (1) investments that are illiquid or traded infrequently, including “restricted” securities and private placements for which there is no public market; (2) investments for which, in the judgment of the Adviser, the market price is stale; and (3) securities for which trading has been halted or suspended.
Fair value pricing involves subjective judgments, and it is possible that a fair value determination for a security will materially differ from the value that could be realized upon the sale of the security.
Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Fund Shares. The Fund does not impose any restrictions on the frequency of purchases and redemptions of Creation Units; however, the Fund reserves the right to reject or limit purchases at any time as described in the SAI. When considering that no restriction or policy was necessary, the Trust Board evaluated the risks posed by arbitrage and market timing activities, such as whether frequent purchases and redemptions would interfere with the efficient implementation of the Fund’s investment strategy, or whether they would cause the Fund to experience increased transaction costs. The Trust Board considered that, unlike traditional mutual funds, shares are issued and redeemed only in large quantities of shares known as Creation Units available only from the Fund directly to a few institutional investors (“Authorized Participants”), and that most trading in the Fund occurs on the exchange at prevailing market prices and does not involve the Fund directly. Given this structure, the Trust Board determined that it is unlikely that trading due to arbitrage opportunities or market timing by shareholders would result in negative impact to the Fund or its shareholders. In addition, frequent trading of shares by Authorized Participants and arbitrageurs is critical to helping the market price remain at or close to NAV.
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OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Distribution and Service Plan of the Fund
The Fund has adopted a Distribution and Service Plan in accordance with Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act pursuant to which payments of up to 0.25% per annum of the Fund’s average daily net assets may be made for the sale and distribution of its shares or for providing or arranging for others to provide shareholder services and for the maintenance of shareholder accounts. The Fund currently does not charge 12b-1 fees and such fees may only be imposed after approval by the Trust Board. If payments are made in the future, these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges.
Payments to Financial Intermediaries
The Adviser, out of its own resources and without additional cost to the Fund or its shareholders, may pay intermediaries for the sale of Fund shares and related services, including participation in activities that are designed to make intermediaries more knowledgeable about exchange traded products. Payments are generally made to intermediaries that provide shareholder servicing, marketing and related sales support, educational training or support, or access to sales meetings, sales representatives and management representatives of the intermediary. Payments may also be made to intermediaries for making shares of the Fund available to their customers generally and in investment programs. The Adviser may also reimburse expenses or make payments from its own resources to intermediaries in consideration of services or other activities the Adviser believes may facilitate investment in the Fund.
The possibility of receiving, or the receipt of, the payments described above may provide intermediaries or their salespersons with an incentive to favor sales of shares of the Fund, and other funds whose affiliates make similar compensation available, over other investments that do not make such payments. Investors may wish to take such payment arrangements into account when considering and evaluating any recommendations relating to the Fund and other ETFs.
Fund Service Providers
Quasar Distributors, LLC serves as distributor to the Fund.
Tait, Weller & Baker LLP serves as the independent registered public accounting firm for the Fund.
U.S. Bank National Association acts as the custodian for the Fund.
U.S. Bank Global Fund Services acts as the administrator, accounting agent and transfer agent for the Fund.
Chapman and Cutler LLP serves as legal counsel to the Fund.
Morrison & Foerster LLP serves as legal counsel to the independent trustees.
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Additional Information
The Fund may enter into contractual arrangements with various parties, including among others, the Adviser, who provide services to the Fund. Shareholders are not parties to or intended (or “third party”) beneficiaries of, those contractual arrangements.
The Prospectus and the SAI provide information concerning the Fund that you should consider in determining whether to purchase shares of the Fund. The Fund may make changes to this information from time to time. Neither this Prospectus nor the SAI is intended to give rise to any contract rights or other rights in any shareholder, other than any rights conferred explicitly by federal or state securities laws that may not be waived.
Dividends, Distributions and Taxes
General Policies. The Fund expects to pay out dividends [______].
Dividends and other distributions on shares are distributed, as described below, on a pro rata basis to shareholders of the Fund. Dividend payments are made through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants to shareholders of record with proceeds received from the Fund.
The Fund may make additional distributions to the extent necessary (i) to distribute its entire annual investment company taxable income (determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction), plus its net capital gain, if any, and (ii) to avoid imposition of the excise tax imposed by Section 4982 of the Code. Management of the Trust reserves the right to declare special dividends if, in its reasonable discretion, such action is necessary or advisable to preserve a Fund’s eligibility for treatment as a RIC or to avoid imposition of income or excise taxes on undistributed income.
Dividend Reinvestment Service. The Trust will not make the Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) book-entry dividend reinvestment service available for use by shareholders for reinvestment of their cash proceeds, but certain individual broker-dealers may make available the DTC book-entry Dividend Reinvestment Service for use by shareholders of the Fund through DTC Participants for reinvestment of their dividend distributions. Investors should contact their brokers to ascertain the availability and description of these services. Shareholders should be aware that each broker may require investors to adhere to specific procedures and timetables in order to participate in the dividend reinvestment service and investors should ascertain from their brokers such necessary details. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and realized gains will be automatically reinvested in additional whole shares issued by the Trust of the same Fund at NAV. Distributions reinvested in additional shares of the Fund will be taxable to shareholders to the same extent as if such distributions had been received in cash.
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Tax Consequences
The following discussion is a general summary of material U.S. federal income tax considerations affecting the Fund and its shareholders that are U.S. holders (as defined below). The discussion reflects applicable U.S. federal income tax laws as of the date of this prospectus, which tax laws may be changed or subject to new interpretations by the courts or the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”), possibly with retroactive effect. No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of all U.S. federal income, estate, gift, state, local or foreign tax considerations affecting the Fund and its shareholders. The discussion set forth herein does not constitute tax advice. Investors are urged to consult their own tax advisers to determine the specific tax consequences to them of investing in the Fund, including applicable federal, state, local and foreign tax consequences to them or the effect of possible changes in tax laws.
In addition, no attempt is made to address tax considerations applicable to an investor with a special tax status, such as a financial institution, REIT, insurance company, regulated investment company, individual retirement account, tax-exempt organization, dealer in securities or currencies, person holding shares of a Fund as part of a hedging, integrated, conversion or straddle transaction or constructive sale, trader in securities that has elected the mark-to-market method of accounting for its securities, U.S. holder (as defined below) whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar, investor with “applicable financial statements” within the meaning of section 451(b) of the Code or Non-U.S. holders. Furthermore, this discussion does not reflect possible application of the alternative minimum tax. Unless otherwise noted, this discussion assumes the Shares are held by U.S. holders and that such Shares are held as capital assets.
A U.S. holder is a beneficial owner of Shares that is, for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
| • | a citizen or individual resident of the United States (including certain former citizens and former long-term residents); |
| • | a corporation or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, created or organized in or under the laws of the United States or any state thereof or the District of Columbia; |
| • | an estate, the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source; or |
| • | a trust with respect to which a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over its administration and one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all of its substantial decisions or the trust has made a valid election in effect under applicable Treasury regulations to be treated as a United States person for U.S. federal income tax purposes. |
A “Non-U.S. holder” is a beneficial owner of Shares that is an individual, corporation, trust or estate and is not a U.S. holder. If a partnership (including any entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) holds Shares, the tax treatment of a partner in the partnership generally will depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. This federal income tax summary is based in part on the advice of counsel to the Fund. The IRS could disagree with any conclusions set forth in this section. The following disclosure may not be sufficient for you to use for the purpose of avoiding penalties under U.S. federal tax law.
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As with any investment, you should seek advice based on your individual circumstances from your own tax adviser.
Fund Status. The Fund intends to qualify as a RIC under the Code. If the Fund qualifies as a RIC and distributes to its shareholders at least 90% of the sum of (1) its “investment company taxable income,” as that term is defined in the Code (which includes, among other items, dividends, taxable interest and the excess of any net short-term capital gains over net long-term capital losses, as reduced by certain deductible expenses) without regard to the deduction for dividends paid and (2) the excess of its gross tax-exempt interest income, if any, over certain deductions attributable to such interest income that are otherwise disallowed, the Fund will be relieved of U.S. federal income tax on any income of the Fund, including long-term capital gains, distributed to shareholders. However, if the Fund retains any investment company taxable income or “net capital gain” (i.e., the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss), it will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at regular corporate federal income tax rates on the amount retained. The Fund intends to distribute at least annually substantially all of its investment company taxable income, net tax-exempt interest and net capital gain.
If the Fund fails to qualify as a RIC in any taxable year, it will be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation on its taxable income and distributions to the Fund’s shareholders will not be deductible by the Fund in computing its taxable income.
Under the Code, the Fund generally will also be subject to a nondeductible 4% federal excise tax on the undistributed portion of its ordinary income and capital gains if it fails to meet certain distribution requirements with respect to each calendar year. In order to avoid the 4% federal excise tax, the required minimum distribution is generally equal to the sum of (1) 98% of the Fund’s ordinary income (computed on a calendar year basis), (2) 98.2% of the Fund’s capital gain net income (generally computed for the one-year period ending on October 31), and (3) certain amounts from previous years to the extent such amounts have not been treated as distributed or been subject to tax under Subchapter M of the Code. The Fund generally intends to make distributions in a timely manner in an amount at least equal to the required minimum distribution and therefore, under normal conditions, does not currently expect to be subject to this excise tax.
If the Fund invests in certain pay-in-kind securities, zero coupon securities, deferred interest securities or, in general, any other securities with original issue discount (or with market discount if the Fund elects to include market discount in income currently), the Fund must accrue income on such investments for each taxable year, which generally will be prior to the receipt of the corresponding cash payments. However, the Fund must distribute to shareholders, at least annually, all or substantially all of its investment company taxable income (determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid), including such income it is required to accrue, to qualify as a RIC and avoid federal income and excise taxes. Therefore, a Fund may have to dispose of its portfolio securities under disadvantageous circumstances to generate cash or may have to leverage itself by borrowing the cash, to satisfy these distribution requirements.
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Certain of the Fund’s investment practices are subject to special and complex federal income tax provisions that may, among other things, (1) convert distributions that would otherwise constitute qualified dividend income into ordinary income taxed at the higher rate applicable to ordinary income, (2) treat distributions that would otherwise be eligible for the corporate dividends received deduction as ineligible for such treatment, (3) disallow, suspend or otherwise limit the allowance of certain losses or deductions, (4) convert long-term capital gain into short-term capital gain or ordinary income, (5) convert an ordinary loss or deduction into a capital loss (the deductibility of which may be limited), (6) cause the Fund to recognize income or gain without a corresponding receipt of cash, (7) adversely affect the time as to when a purchase or sale of stock or securities is deemed to occur, (8) adversely alter the characterization of certain complex financial transactions, and (9) produce income that will not be included in the sources of income from which a RIC must derive at least 90% of its gross income each year. While it may not always be successful in doing so, the Fund will seek to avoid or minimize any adverse tax consequences of its investment practices.
Distributions. The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable. After the end of each year, you will receive a tax statement that separates the distributions of the Fund into different categories, including identifying ordinary income distributions and capital gain dividends. Ordinary income distributions are generally taxed at your ordinary income tax rate, however, as further discussed below certain ordinary income distributions received from a Fund may be taxed at the capital gains income tax rates. Generally, you will treat all net capital gain dividends (the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses) as long-term capital gains regardless of how long you have owned your shares.
Distributions in excess of a Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits will be treated, first, as a tax-free return of capital, which is applied against and will reduce the adjusted basis of the Fund shares and, after such adjusted basis is reduced to zero, generally will constitute capital gain.
To determine your actual tax liability for your net capital gain dividends, you must calculate your total net capital gain or loss for the tax year after considering all of your other taxable transactions, as described below. In addition, the Fund may make distributions that represent a return of capital for federal income tax purposes and thus will generally not be taxable to you; however, such distributions may reduce your tax basis in your Shares, which could result in you having to pay a greater amount of tax in the future when Shares are sold, even if you sell the Shares at a loss from your original investment. A “return of capital” is a return, in whole or in part, of the funds that you previously invested in the Fund. A return of capital distribution should not be considered part of the Fund’s dividend yield or total return of an investment in Shares. The federal income tax status of your distributions from the Fund is not affected by whether you reinvest your distributions in additional Shares or receive them in cash. The income from the Fund that you must take into account for federal income tax purposes is not reduced by amounts used to pay a deferred sales fee, if any. The tax laws may require you to treat distributions made to you in January as if you had received them on December 31 of the previous year.
Dividends Received Deduction. A corporation that owns Shares generally will not be entitled to the dividends received deduction with respect to any dividends received from the Fund because the dividends received deduction is generally not available for distributions from RICs. However, certain ordinary income dividends on Shares that are attributable to qualifying dividends received by the Fund from certain corporations may be reported by the Fund as being eligible for the dividends received deduction provided certain holding period and other requirements are satisfied by both the Fund and the shareholder.
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Capital Gains and Losses and Certain Ordinary Income Dividends. If you are an individual, the maximum marginal stated U.S. federal tax rate for net capital gain is generally 20% (15% or 0% for taxpayers with taxable incomes below certain thresholds). Some capital gains, including some portion of your capital gain dividends may be taxed at a higher maximum stated tax rate. Capital gains may also be subject to the net investment income tax described below.
Capital gain or loss is long-term if the holding period for the asset is more than one year and is short-term if the holding period for the asset is one year or less. You must exclude the date you purchase your Shares to determine your holding period. However, if you receive a capital gain dividend from a Fund and sell your Shares at a loss after holding them for six months or less, the loss will be recharacterized as long-term capital loss to the extent of the capital gain dividend received. The tax rates for capital gains realized from assets held for one year or less are generally the same as for ordinary income. The Code treats certain capital gains as ordinary income in special situations.
An election may be available to you to defer recognition of the gain attributable to a capital gain dividend if you make certain qualifying investments within a limited time. You should talk to your tax adviser about the availability of this deferral election and its requirements.
Ordinary income dividends received by an individual shareholder from a RIC such as the Fund are generally taxed at the same rates that apply to net capital gain (as discussed above), provided certain holding period requirements are satisfied and provided the dividends are attributable to qualifying dividends received by the Fund itself. The Fund will provide notice to its shareholders of the amount of any distribution which may be taken into account as a dividend that is eligible for the capital gains tax rates.
An additional 3.8% “Medicare tax” is imposed on the net investment income of certain individuals with a modified adjusted gross income of over $200,000 ($250,000 in the case of joint filers) and on the undistributed net investment income of certain estates and trusts. For these purposes, “net investment income” generally includes interest, dividends, annuities, royalties, rent, net gain attributable to the disposition of property not held in a trade or business (including net gain from the sale, exchange or other taxable disposition of Shares) and certain other income, but will be reduced by any deductions properly allocable to such income or net gain. Thus, certain taxable distributions from the Fund and gains on the sale of Shares may be subject to this additional tax.
Backup Withholding. The Fund may be required to withhold U.S. federal income tax (“backup withholding”) from dividends and capital gains distributions paid to Shareholders. Federal tax will be withheld if (1) the Shareholder fails to furnish the Fund with the Shareholder’s correct taxpayer identification number or social security number, (2) the IRS notifies the Shareholder or the Fund that the shareholder has failed to report properly certain interest and dividend income to the IRS and to respond to notices to that effect, or (3) when required to do so, the Shareholder fails to certify to the Fund that he or she is not subject to backup withholding. The current backup withholding rate is 24%. Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules may be credited against the Shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability.
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Investments in the Subsidiary. One of the requirements for qualification as a RIC is that the Fund must derive at least 90% of its gross income for each taxable year from “qualifying income.” Qualifying income includes dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities loans, and gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies or other income derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies.
The Fund intends to treat any income it may derive from the futures contracts received by the Subsidiary as “qualifying income” under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, applicable to RICs. The IRS had issued numerous PLRs provided to third parties not associated with the Fund or its affiliates (which only those parties may rely on as precedent) concluding that similar arrangements resulted in qualifying income. Many of such PLRs have now been revoked by the Internal Revenue Service. In March of 2019, the Internal Revenue Service published Regulations that concluded that income from a corporation similar to the Subsidiary would be qualifying income, if the income is related to the Fund’s business of investing in stocks or securities. Although the Regulations do not require distributions from the Subsidiary, the Fund intends to cause the Subsidiary to make distributions that would allow the Fund to make timely distributions to its shareholders.
If the Fund does not qualify as a RIC for any taxable year and certain relief provisions are not available, the Fund’s taxable income would be subject to tax at the Fund level and to a further tax at the shareholder level when such income is distributed. In such event, in order to re-qualify for taxation as a RIC, the Fund might be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest and make certain distributions. This would cause investors to incur higher tax liabilities than they otherwise would have incurred and would have a negative impact on Fund returns. In such event, the Fund’s Board of Trustees may determine to reorganize or close the Fund or materially change the Fund’s investment objective and strategies.
The Subsidiary intends to conduct its affairs in a manner such that it will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax. It will, however, be considered a controlled foreign corporation, and the Fund will be required to include as income annually amounts earned by the Subsidiary during that year, whether or not distributed by the Subsidiary. Furthermore, the Fund will be subject to the RIC qualification distribution requirements with respect to the Subsidiary’s income, whether or not the Subsidiary makes a distribution to the Fund during the taxable year and thus the Fund may not have sufficient cash on hand to make such distribution.
Changes in the laws of the United States and/or the Cayman Islands, under which the Fund and the Subsidiary are organized, respectively, could result in the inability of the Fund and/or the Subsidiary to operate as described in this prospectus and could negatively affect the Fund and its shareholders. For example, Cayman Islands law does not currently impose any income, corporate or capital gains tax, estate duty, inheritance tax, gift tax or withholding tax on the Subsidiary. If Cayman Islands law changes such that the Subsidiary must pay taxes to a Cayman Islands governmental authority, the Fund’s shareholders would likely suffer decreased investment returns. There remains a risk that the tax treatment of futures contracts may be affected by future regulatory or legislative changes that could affect the character, timing and/or amount of the Fund’s taxable income or gains and distributions.
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Sale of Shares. If you sell or redeem your Shares, you will generally recognize a taxable gain or loss. To determine the amount of this gain or loss, you must subtract your tax basis in your Shares from the amount you receive in the transaction. Your tax basis in your Shares is generally equal to the cost of your Shares, generally including brokerage fees, if any. In some cases, however, you may have to adjust your tax basis after you purchase your Shares. An election may be available to you to defer recognition of capital gain if you make certain qualifying investments within a limited time. You should talk to your tax adviser about the availability of this deferral election and its requirements. Any loss upon the sale or exchange of Shares held for six months or less will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of any net capital gain dividends you received with respect to such Shares and any loss realized on a sale or exchange of Shares generally will be disallowed if you acquire other Shares or other substantially identical shares within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the date that you dispose of the Shares. In such case, the basis of the Shares acquired will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss. Capital losses are subject to limitations under the Code.
Treatment of Fund Expenses. Expenses incurred and deducted by a Fund will generally not be treated as income taxable to you.
Taxes on Purchase and Redemption of Creation Units. If you exchange securities for Creation Units, you will generally recognize a gain or a loss on the securities contributed. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time and your aggregate basis in the securities surrendered and the cash component paid for the Creation Units. If you exchange Creation Units for securities, you will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between your basis in the Creation Units and the aggregate market value of the securities received and the cash redemption amount received. The IRS, however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units or Creation Units for securities cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position.
Additional Information
For purposes of the 1940 Act, the Fund is treated as a registered investment company. Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act restricts investments by investment companies in the securities of other investment companies, including shares of the Fund. The SEC has issued an exemptive order on which the Fund relies permitting registered investment companies to invest in exchange-traded funds offered by the Adviser beyond the limits of Section 12(d)(1) subject to certain terms and conditions, including that such registered investment companies enter into an agreement with the Trust.
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Continuous Offering
The method by which Creation Units are purchased and traded may raise certain issues under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation Units 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 of 1933 (the “1933 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 and liability provisions of the 1933 Act.
For example, a broker-dealer firm or its client may be deemed a statutory underwriter if it takes Creation Units after placing an order with the distributor, breaks them down into individual 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 1933 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 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, are generally required to deliver a prospectus. This is because the prospectus delivery exemption in Section 4(a)(3) of the 1933 Act is not available with respect to such transactions as a result of Section 24(d) of the 1940 Act. As a result, broker dealer-firms should note that dealers who are not underwriters but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted with ordinary secondary market transactions) and thus dealing with shares that are part of an over-allotment within the meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(A) of the 1933 Act would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the 1933 Act. Firms that incur a prospectus delivery obligation with respect to shares of the Fund are reminded that under Rule 153 of the 1933 Act, a prospectus delivery obligation under Section 5(b)(2) of the 1933 Act owed to an exchange member in connection with a sale on the Exchange is satisfied by the fact that such Fund’s Prospectus is available on the SEC’s electronic filing system. The prospectus delivery mechanism provided in Rule 153 is only available with respect to transactions on the Exchange.
Premium/Discount Information
Information regarding how often the Shares are traded on the Exchange at a price above (i.e., at a premium) or below (i.e., at a discount) the NAV of the Fund is available at www.tortoisecapital.com.
The Fund is new and has no performance history as of the date of this prospectus. Financial information therefore is not available.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION
You can find more information about the Fund in the following documents:
Statement of Additional Information
Please refer to the SAI for additional information on the Fund. The SAI provides additional details about the investments and techniques of the Fund and certain other additional information. A current SAI is on file with the SEC and is incorporated into this Prospectus by reference. This means that the SAI is legally considered a part of this Prospectus even though it is not physically within this Prospectus.
Annual and Semi-Annual Reports
Additional information about the Fund’s investments will be available in the Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders and in Form N-CSR. In the Fund’s annual report you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund’s performance during the prior fiscal year. In Form N-CSR, you will find the Fund’s annual and semi-annual financial statements.
You can obtain a free copy of these documents and the SAI, request other information, or make general inquiries about the Fund by calling the Fund (toll-free) at (855) 994-4437, by visiting the Adviser’s website at www.tortoisecapital.com or by writing to:
Tortoise ICE® U.S. Power Index ETF
5901 College Boulevard, Suite 400
Overland Park, Kansas 66211
You can review and copy information, including the Fund’s reports and SAI, free of charge from the SEC’s EDGAR database on the SEC’s Internet website at http://www.sec.gov, or after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: [email protected].
The Trust’s registration number under the 1940 Act is 811-23997.
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The information in this Statement of Additional Information is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This Statement of Additional Information is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer of sale is not permitted.
Preliminary Statement of Additional Information
Dated June 12, 2026
Subject to Completion

Statement of Additional Information
Tortoise Capital Series Trust
Tortoise ICE® U.S. Power Index ETF
[_____], 2026
This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus. This SAI describes shares of the Tortoise ICE® U.S. Power Index ETF (the “Fund”) which is a series of Tortoise Capital Series Trust (the “Trust”). This SAI relates to and should be read in conjunction with the prospectus of the Fund dated [_____], 2026. The Fund’s shares are principally listed for trading on [________] (“[__]” or the “Exchange”). Tortoise Capital Advisors, L.L.C. (“Tortoise” or the “Adviser”), serves as the Fund’s investment adviser.
A copy of the Fund’s prospectus (the “Prospectus”) may be obtained at no charge by calling the Fund at (855) 994-4437. You may obtain a copy of the Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports, when available, at no charge by contacting the Fund at the phone number noted above.
Table of Contents
-i-
-ii-
The Fund is a newly created, passively managed ETF that is a series of the Trust. The Trust was organized as a Maryland statutory trust on August 13, 2024. The Trust is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) as an open-end management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, (the “1940 Act”), and the continuous offering of the Fund’s shares (“Shares”) will be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”). The Trust currently offers shares of [__] separate series, representing separate portfolios of investments. The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified company” as such term is defined in the 1940 Act.
The Board of Trustees of the Trust (the “Board” or “Board of Trustees”) has the right, without shareholder approval, to establish additional series in the future; to determine the preferences, voting powers, rights and privileges thereof; and to modify such preferences, voting powers, rights and privileges. Shares of any series may also be divided into one or more classes at the discretion of the Trustees.
All shares of a series shall represent an equal proportionate interest in the assets held with respect to that series (subject to the liabilities held with respect to that series and such rights and preferences as may have been established and designated with respect to classes of shares of such series), and each share of a series shall be equal to each other share of that series.
Shares are voted in the aggregate and not by series or class, except in matters where a separate vote is required by the 1940 Act, or when the matters affect only the interest of a particular series or class. The governing instrument for the Trust provides that each shareholder of the Trust is entitled to one vote per share, and the ability to vote the fraction of any fractional share, on any matter on which the shares are entitled to vote.
The Trust is not required to hold annual meetings of shareholders. Meetings of the shareholders shall be called by the Secretary of the Trust upon written request of shareholders holding, in the aggregate, not less than a majority of the voting power of the outstanding shares, such request specifying the purpose or purposes for which such meeting is to be called.
The Board has the authority from time to time to divide or combine the shares of any series into a greater or lesser number of shares of that series without materially changing the proportionate beneficial interest of the shares of that series in the assets belonging to that series or materially affecting the rights of shares of any other series. In case of the liquidation of a series, the holders of shares of the series being liquidated are entitled to receive a distribution out of the assets, net of the liabilities, belonging to that series. Expenses attributable to any series (or class thereof) are borne by that series (or class). Any general expenses of the Trust not readily identifiable as belonging to a particular series are allocated by, or under the direction of, the Board to all applicable series (and classes thereof) in such manner and on such basis as the Board in its sole discretion deems fair and equitable. No shareholder is liable to further calls for the payment of any sum of money or assessment whatsoever with respect to the Trust or any series of the Trust without his or her express consent.
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All consideration received by the Trust for the issue or sale of the Shares, together with all assets in which such consideration is invested or reinvested, and all income, earnings, profits and proceeds thereof, including any proceeds derived from the sale, exchange or liquidation of such assets, and any funds or payments derived from any reinvestment of such proceeds, subject only to the rights of creditors, shall constitute the underlying assets of the Fund.
The Fund offers and issues Shares at its net asset value (“NAV”) per share only in aggregations of a specified number of Shares (each a “Creation Unit”). The Fund generally offers and issues Shares in-kind in exchange for a basket of securities, assets or other positions in which it invests (“Deposit Securities”), together with the deposit of a specified cash payment (“Cash Component”).
The Trust reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of a “cash in lieu” amount (“Deposit Cash”) to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Deposit Security. The Shares of the Fund will be listed and traded on the [____] (“[___]” or the “Exchange”). The Fund’s Shares will trade on the Exchange at market prices. These prices may differ from the NAV of the Shares, and may be at, above or below the Fund’s NAV. The Shares are also redeemable only in Creation Unit aggregations, and generally in exchange for portfolio securities and a specified cash payment.
Shares may be issued in advance of receipt of Deposit Securities subject to various conditions. The Trust may impose a transaction fee for each creation or redemption (the “Transaction Fee”). In all cases, such fees will be limited in accordance with the requirements of the SEC applicable to management investment companies offering redeemable securities. The Fund may charge, either in lieu of or in addition to the fixed creation or redemption Transaction Fee, 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 a maximum of 2.00% of the NAV per Creation Unit, inclusive of any Transaction Fees charged (if applicable).
There can be no assurance that the requirements of the Exchange necessary to maintain the listing of Shares will continue to be met. The Exchange may, but is not required to, remove the Shares from listing if (i) following the initial 12-month period beginning upon the commencement of trading of the Fund, there are fewer than 50 beneficial holders of the Shares for 30 or more consecutive trading days, (ii) the “approximate value” of the Fund, as described in the section of the Prospectus entitled “Net Asset Value,” is no longer calculated or available, or (iii) any other event shall occur or condition shall exist that, in the opinion of the Exchange, makes further dealings on the Exchange inadvisable. The Exchange will remove the Shares from listing and trading upon termination of the Fund.
As in the case of other stocks traded on the Exchange, brokers’ commissions on transactions will be based on negotiated commission rates at customary levels. Negotiated commission rates only apply to investors who will buy and sell Shares in secondary market transactions through brokers on the Exchange and does not apply to investors such as market makers, large investors and institutions who wish to deal in Creation Units directly with the Fund.
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The Trust reserves the right to adjust the price levels of the Shares in the future to help 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.
The method by which Creation Units are created and traded may raise certain issues under applicable securities laws. Because new Creation Units are issued and sold by the Fund on an ongoing basis, at any point a “distribution,” as such term is used in the 1933 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 that could render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus delivery requirement and liability provisions of the 1933 Act.
For example, a broker-dealer firm or its client may be deemed a statutory underwriter if it takes Creation Units 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 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 1933 Act must take into account all of 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(a)(3) of the 1933 Act is not available in respect of such transactions as a result of Section 24(d) of the 1940 Act. As a result, broker-dealer firms should note that dealers who are not underwriters but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted with ordinary secondary market transactions) and thus dealing with the shares that are part of an overallotment within the meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the 1933 Act would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3) of the 1933 Act. Firms that incur a prospectus delivery obligation with respect to Shares are reminded that, pursuant to Rule 153 under the 1933 Act, a prospectus delivery obligation under Section 5(b)(2) of the 1933 Act owed to an exchange member in connection with a sale on the Exchange generally is satisfied by the fact that the prospectus is available at the Exchange upon request. The prospectus delivery mechanism provided in Rule 153 is available only with respect to transactions on a national securities exchange, a trading facility, or an alternative trading system.
Tortoise or its affiliates, or a fund for which Tortoise or an affiliate serves as investment adviser, (each, as applicable, a “Selling Shareholder”) may purchase Creation Units through a broker-dealer to “seed” (in whole or in part) the Fund as they are launched or thereafter, or may purchase Shares through a broker-dealer or other investors, including in secondary market transactions. Because the Selling Shareholder may be deemed to be affiliates of the Fund, the Shares are being registered to permit the resale of these shares from time to time after any such purchase. The Fund will not receive any of the proceeds from the resale of such Shares.
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Investment Objective, Policies, Strategies and Associated Risks
The Fund’s investment objective may be changed by the Board without approval by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund. The investment objective of the Fund is set forth under “Investment Objective” in the Fund’s Prospectus. There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve its investment objective.
The following information supplements the discussion of the Fund’s investment objective, policies and techniques that are described in the Prospectus and contains more detailed information about the types of instruments in which the Fund may invest, strategies Tortoise may employ in pursuit of the Fund’s investment objective and a discussion of related risks.
Diversification
The Fund is a “non-diversified company” as such term is defined under the 1940 Act. A non-diversified fund is a fund that does not satisfy the definition of a “diversified company” set forth in the 1940 Act. A “diversified company” means that as to 75% of a fund’s total assets, excluding cash, government securities and securities of other investment companies, (1) no more than 5% may be invested in the securities of a single issuer, and (2) a fund may not hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of a single issuer.
Because the Fund intends to qualify as a “regulated investment company” (“RIC”) under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), the Fund’s investments will be limited so that at the close of each quarter of each taxable year (i) at least 50% of the value of its total assets is represented by cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, the securities of other RICs and other securities, with such other securities limited for purposes of such calculation, in respect of any one issuer, to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of each Fund’s total assets and not more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of its total assets are invested in the securities of any one issuer (other than U.S. government securities or the securities of other RICs), the securities (other than the securities of other RICs) of any two or more issuers that the Fund controls and that are determined to be engaged in the same business or similar or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships (which includes master limited partnerships, “MLPs”). These tax-related limitations may be changed by the Board to the extent appropriate in light of changes to applicable tax requirements.
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Electricity Futures Contracts
In order to obtain the sought-after exposure to the return of the Power Index, the Fund intends to enter into cash-settled Electricity Futures Contracts as the “buyer.” In simplest terms, in a cash-settled futures market the counterparty pays the buyer if the price of a futures contract goes up and the buyer pays the counterparty cash if the price of the futures contract goes down. The Fund intends to exit its futures contracts as they near expiration and replace them with new futures contracts with a later expiration date. Futures contracts with a longer term to expiration may be priced lower than futures contracts with a shorter term to expiration, a relationship called “backwardation.” When rolling futures contracts that are in backwardation, the Fund will close its long position by selling the expiring contract at a relatively higher price and buying a longer-dated contract at a relatively lower price. The presence of backwardation will positively affect the performance of the Fund. Conversely, futures contracts with a longer term to expiration may be priced higher than futures contracts with a shorter term to expiration, a relationship called “contango.” When rolling long futures contracts that are in contango, the Fund will close its long position by selling the expiring contract at a relatively lower price and buying a longer-dated contract at a relatively higher price. The presence of contango will negatively affect the performance of the Fund.
The Fund expects to gain exposure to the return of the Power Index by investing a portion of its assets in the Subsidiary, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Fund organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands and advised by the Adviser. The Fund invests in Electricity Futures Contracts indirectly via the Subsidiary. The Subsidiary and the Fund will have the same investment adviser and investment objective. The Subsidiary will also follow the same general investment policies and restrictions as the Fund. Except as noted herein, for purposes of this SAI, references to the Fund’s investment strategies and risks include those of the Subsidiary. The Fund complies with the provisions of the 1940 Act governing investment policies and capital structure and leverage on an aggregate basis with the Subsidiary. Furthermore, the Adviser, as the investment adviser to the Subsidiary, complies with the provisions of the 1940 Act relating to investment advisory contracts as it relates to its advisory agreement with the Subsidiary. The Subsidiary also complies with the provisions of the 1940 Act relating to affiliated transactions and custody. Because the Fund intends to qualify for treatment as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code, the size of the Fund’s investment in the Subsidiary will not exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at each quarter end of the Fund’s fiscal year. The Subsidiary’s custodian is U.S. Bank N.A.
The Fund seeks to remain fully invested at all times in Electricity Futures Contracts, Collateral Investments and/or Other Investments that, in combination, produce investment results that, before fees and expenses, provide exposure to the returns of the Power Index.
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Risks of futures contracts include: (i) an imperfect correlation between the value of the futures contract and the underlying asset; (ii) possible lack of a liquid secondary market; (iii) the inability to close a futures contract when desired; (iv) losses caused by unanticipated market movements, which may be unlimited; (v) an obligation for the Fund to make daily cash payments to maintain its required margin, particularly at times when the Fund may have insufficient cash; and (vi) unfavorable execution prices from rapid selling. Unlike equities, which typically entitle the holder to a continuing stake in a corporation, futures contracts normally specify a certain date for settlement in cash based on the reference asset. As the futures contracts approach expiration, they may be replaced by similar contracts that have a later expiration. This process is referred to as “rolling.” If the market for these contracts is in “contango,” meaning that the prices of futures contracts in the nearer months are lower than the price of contracts in the distant months, the sale of the near-term month contract would be at a lower price than the longer-term contract, resulting in a cost to “roll” the futures contract. The actual realization of a potential roll cost will be dependent upon the difference in price of the near and distant contract. Because the margin requirement for futures contracts is less than the value of the assets underlying the futures contract, futures trading involves a degree of leverage. As a result, a relatively small price movement in a futures contract may result in immediate and substantial loss, as well as gain, to the investor. For example, if at the time of purchase, 40% of the value of the futures contract is deposited as margin, a subsequent 20% decrease in the value of the futures contract would result in a loss of half of the margin deposit, before any deduction for the transaction costs, if the account were then closed out. A decrease in excess of 40% would result in a loss exceeding the original margin deposit, if the futures contract were closed out. Thus, a purchase or sale of a futures contract may result in losses in excess of the amount initially invested in the futures contract. However, the Fund would presumably have sustained comparable losses if, instead of investing in the futures contract, it had invested in the underlying financial instrument and sold it after the decline.
When purchasing stocks or bonds, the buyer acquires ownership in the security; however, buyers of futures contracts are not entitled to ownership of the underlying reference asset until and unless they decide to accept delivery at expiration of the contract. In practice, delivery of the underlying reference asset to satisfy a futures contract rarely occurs because most futures traders use the liquidity of the central marketplace to sell their exchange-traded futures contract before expiration. As futures contracts approach expiration, they may be replaced by similar contracts that have a later expiration. For example, a contract purchased and held in June 2025 may have an expiration date in August 2026. As this contract nears expiration, a long position in the contract may be replaced by selling the August 2026 contract and purchasing a contract expiring in September 2026. This process is referred to as “rolling.” The price of a futures contract is higher or lower than the spot price of the underlying asset when there is significant time to expiration of the contract due to various factors within the market. As a futures contract nears expiration, the futures price will tend to converge to the spot price. In some circumstances, the prices of some futures contracts with near-term expirations may be higher than the prices for futures contracts with longer-term expirations. This circumstance is referred to as “backwardation.” If the market for futures contracts is in “backwardation,” the sale of the near-term month contract would be at a higher price than the longer-term contract, and futures investors will earn positive returns. Conversely, a “contango” market is one in which the price of futures contracts in the near-term months are lower than the price of futures contracts in the longer-term months. If the market for futures contacts is in “contango,” it would create a cost to “roll” the futures contract. The actual realization of a potential roll cost will depend on the difference in price of the near and distant contracts. The Fund will roll futures contracts in accordance with Power Index, however, there is no guarantee the Fund will be able to do so.
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Collateral Instruments
In seeking to achieve its investment objective, and for serving as margin for the Fund’s investments in Electricity Futures Contracts that reference the Power Index, the Fund may invest all or part of its assets in high-quality securities, which include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) The Fund may invest in U.S. government securities, including bills, notes and bonds differing as to maturity and rates of interest, which are either issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury or by U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities. U.S. government securities include securities that are issued or guaranteed by the United States Treasury, by various agencies of the U.S. government, or by various instrumentalities that have been established or sponsored by the U.S. government. U.S. Treasury securities are backed by the “full faith and credit” of the United States. Securities issued or guaranteed by federal agencies and U.S. government-sponsored instrumentalities may or may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. Some of the U.S. government agencies that issue or guarantee securities include the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Farmers Home Administration, the Federal Housing Administration, the Maritime Administration, the Small Business Administration and the Tennessee Valley Authority. An instrumentality of the U.S. government is a government agency organized under federal charter with government supervision. Some of these include, among others, the Federal Home Loan Banks, the Federal Land Banks, the Central Bank for Cooperatives, Federal Intermediate Credit Banks and Federal National Mortgage Association. In the case of those U.S. government securities not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, the investor must look principally to the agency or instrumentality is the Power Index or guaranteeing the security for ultimate repayment, and may not be able to assert a claim against the United States itself in the event that the agency or instrumentality does not meet its commitment. The U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities do not guarantee the market value of their securities, and consequently, the value of such securities may fluctuate.
(2) The Fund may invest in certificates of deposit issued against funds deposited in a bank or savings and loan association. Such certificates are for a definite period of time, earn a specified rate of return, and are normally negotiable. If such certificates of deposit are non-negotiable, they will be considered illiquid securities and be subject to the Fund’s 15% restriction on investments in illiquid securities. Pursuant to the certificate of deposit, the issuer agrees to pay the amount deposited plus interest to the bearer of the certificate on the date specified thereon. Under current FDIC regulations, the maximum insurance payable as to any one certificate of deposit is $250,000; therefore, certificates of deposit purchased by the Fund may not be fully insured. The Fund may only invest in certificates of deposit issued by U.S. banks with at least $1 billion in assets.
(3) The Fund may invest in bankers’ acceptances, which are short-term credit instruments used to finance commercial transactions. Generally, an acceptance is a time draft drawn on a bank by an exporter or an importer to obtain a stated amount of funds to pay for specific merchandise. The draft is then “accepted” by a bank that, in effect, unconditionally guarantees to pay the face value of the instrument on its maturity date. The acceptance may then be held by the accepting bank as an asset, or it may be sold in the secondary market at the going rate of interest for a specific maturity.
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(4) The Fund may invest in bank time deposits, which are monies kept on deposit with banks or savings and loan associations for a stated period of time at a fixed rate of interest. There may be penalties for the early withdrawal of such time deposits, in which case the yields of these investments will be reduced.
(5) The Fund may invest in commercial paper, which are short-term unsecured promissory notes, including variable rate master demand notes issued by corporations to finance their current operations. Master demand notes are direct lending arrangements between the Fund and a corporation. There is no secondary market for the notes. However, they are redeemable by the Fund at any time. The Fund’s portfolio managers will consider the financial condition of the corporation (e.g., earning power, cash flow and other liquidity ratios) and will continuously monitor the corporation’s ability to meet all of its financial obligations, because the Fund’s liquidity might be impaired if the corporation were unable to pay principal and interest on demand. The Fund may invest in commercial paper only if it has received the highest rating from at least one nationally recognized statistical rating organization or, if unrated, judged by the Adviser to be of comparable quality.
(6) The Fund may invest in shares of investment companies that invest in high-quality securities are subject to management fees and other expenses. Therefore, investments in these funds will cause the Fund to bear indirectly a proportional share of the fees and costs of the funds in which it invests. At the same time, the Fund will continue to pay its own management fees and expenses with respect to all of its assets, including any portion invested in the shares of such fund. It is possible to lose money by investing in investment companies that invest in high-quality securities.
(7) The Fund may invest in corporate debt securities, as consistent with its investment objective and policies. Corporate debt may be rated investment-grade or below investment-grade and may carry variable or floating rates of interest. Some corporate debt securities that are rated below investment-grade generally are considered speculative because they present a greater risk of loss, including default, than higher quality debt securities. The Fund could lose money if the issuer of a corporate debt security is unable to pay interest or repay principal when it is due.
Subsidiary
The Fund will invest a portion of its total assets in the Subsidiary. Only the Subsidiary, not the Fund, will invest in Electricity Futures Contracts. Because the Fund may invest a substantial portion of its assets in the Subsidiary, which may hold certain of the investments described in the Prospectus and this SAI, the Fund may be considered to be investing indirectly in those investments through the Subsidiary. Therefore, except as otherwise noted, for purposes of this disclosure, references to the Fund’s investments may also be deemed to include the Fund’s indirect investments through the Subsidiary.
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The Subsidiary is not registered under the 1940 Act and is not directly subject to its investor protections, except as noted in the Prospectus or this SAI. However, the Subsidiary is wholly owned and controlled by the Fund and is advised by the Adviser. The Trust’s Board of Trustees has oversight responsibility for the investment activities of the Fund, including its investment in the Subsidiary, and the Fund’s role as the sole shareholder of the Subsidiary. The Adviser receives no additional compensation for managing the assets of the Subsidiary. The Subsidiary will also enter into separate contracts for the provision of custody, transfer agency, and accounting agent services with the same service providers or with affiliates of the same service providers that provide those services to the Fund.
Changes in the laws of the United States (where the Fund is organized) and/or the Cayman Islands (where the Subsidiary is incorporated) could prevent the Fund and/or the Subsidiary from operating as described in the Prospectus and this SAI and could negatively affect the Fund and its shareholders. For example, the Cayman Islands currently does not impose certain taxes on the Subsidiary, including income and capital gains tax, among others. If Cayman Islands laws were changed to require the Subsidiary to pay Cayman Islands taxes, the investment returns of the Fund would likely decrease.
The financial statements of the Subsidiary will be consolidated with the Fund’s financial statements in the Fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports.
Reverse Repurchase Agreements
The Fund may invest in reverse repurchase agreements in order to help the Fund meet its sought-after exposure to the return of the Power Index, maintain its tax status as a regulated investment company on days in and around quarter-end, or if the Fund is unable to obtain the desired exposure to Electricity Futures Contracts because it is approaching or has exceeded position limits or accountability levels, or because of liquidity or other constraints.
The Fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements for temporary purposes with banks and securities dealers if the creditworthiness of the bank or securities dealer has been determined by the Adviser to be satisfactory. A reverse repurchase agreement is a repurchase agreement in which the Fund is the seller of, rather than the investor in, securities and agrees to repurchase them at an agreed-upon time and price. Use of a reverse repurchase agreement may be preferable to a regular sale and later repurchase of securities because it avoids certain market risks and transaction costs.
Reverse repurchase agreements are considered a form of borrowing and are therefore limited to up to one-third of the Fund’s total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings). The use of reverse repurchase agreements by the Fund creates leverage which increases its investment risk. If the income and gains on securities purchased with the proceeds of these transactions exceed the cost, the Fund’s earnings or NAV will increase faster than otherwise would be the case; conversely, if the income and gains fail to exceed the cost, earnings or NAV would decline faster than otherwise would be the case. As a result of the Fund repurchasing the securities at a higher price, the Fund will lose money by engaging in reverse repurchase agreement transactions.
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As noted above, because the Fund intends to qualify for treatment as a RIC under the Code, the size of the Fund’s investment in the Subsidiary will not exceed 25% of the Fund’s total assets at or around each quarter end of the Fund’s fiscal year (the “Asset Diversification Test”). At other times of the year, the Fund’s investments in the Subsidiary will significantly exceed 25% of the Fund’s total (or gross) assets.
When the Fund seeks to reduce its total assets exposure to the Subsidiary, it may use the short-term Treasury Bills it owns (and purchase additional Treasury Bills as needed) to transact in reverse repurchase agreement transactions, which are ostensibly loans to the Fund. Those loans will increase the gross assets of the Fund, which the Sponsor expects will allow the Fund to meet the Asset Diversification Test. When the Fund enters into a reverse repurchase agreement, it will either (i) be consistent with Section 18 of the 1940 Act and maintain asset coverage of at least 300% of the value of the reverse repurchase agreement; or (ii) treat the reverse repurchase agreement transactions as derivative transactions for purposes of Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act, including as applicable, the value-at-risk based limit on leverage risk.
Illiquid Investments
The Fund may purchase illiquid investments, which may include securities that are not readily marketable and securities that are not registered under the Securities Act. The Fund may not acquire any illiquid investments if, immediately after the acquisition, the Fund would have invested more than 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments that are assets. The term “illiquid investments” for this purpose means any investment that the Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment, as determined pursuant to the provisions of Rule 22e-4 under the 1940 Act. The Fund may not be able to sell illiquid investments when the Adviser considers it desirable to do so or may have to sell such investments at a price that is lower than the price that could be obtained if the investments were more liquid. In addition, the sale of illiquid investments also may require more time and may result in higher dealer discounts and other selling expenses than does the sale of investments that are more liquid. Illiquid investments also may be more difficult to value due to the unavailability of reliable market quotations for such investments, and investments in illiquid investments may have an adverse impact on NAV. If at any time the Fund’s illiquid investments are greater than 15% of its net assets, the Fund will determine how to remediate the excess illiquid investments in accordance with the 1940 Act and the Fund’s policies and procedures.
Institutional markets for restricted securities have developed as a result of the promulgation of Rule 144A under the Securities Act, which provides a safe harbor from Securities Act registration requirements for qualifying sales to institutional investors. When Rule 144A restricted securities present an attractive investment opportunity and otherwise meet selection criteria, the Fund may make such investments. Whether or not such investments are illiquid depends on the market that exists for the particular investment. It is not possible to predict with assurance exactly how the market for Rule 144A restricted securities or any other security will develop. An investment which when purchased enjoyed a fair degree of marketability may subsequently become illiquid. In such event, appropriate remedies are considered to minimize the effect on the Fund’s liquidity.
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Borrowing
The Fund may borrow money from banks in amounts of up to one-third of the Fund’s total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings). With respect to borrowing, if at any time the Fund’s borrowings exceed one-third of its total assets (including the amount borrowed) less liabilities (other than borrowings), such borrowings will be reduced within three days, (not including Sundays and holidays) or such longer period as may be permitted by the 1940 Act, to the extent necessary to comply with the one-third limitation.
When the Fund borrows money, it must pay interest and other fees, which will reduce the Fund’s returns if such costs exceed the returns on the portfolio securities purchased or retained with such borrowings. Any such borrowings are intended to be temporary. However, under certain market conditions, including periods of low demand or decreased liquidity, such borrowings might be outstanding for longer periods of time. In addition, the Fund is authorized to borrow money from time to time for temporary, extraordinary or emergency purposes, including addressing liquidity concerns or meeting redemption requests, or for clearance of transactions.
The use of borrowing by the Fund involves special risk considerations that may not be associated with other funds having similar objectives and policies. Because substantially all of the Fund’s assets fluctuate in value, while the interest obligation resulting from a borrowing will be fixed by the terms of the Fund’s agreement with its lender, the NAV per share of the Fund will tend to increase more when its portfolio securities increase in value and to decrease more when its portfolio assets decrease in value than would otherwise be the case if the Fund did not borrow funds. In addition, interest costs on borrowings may fluctuate with changing market rates of interest and may partially offset or exceed the return earned on borrowed funds. The Fund may be required to dispose of assets on unfavorable terms if market fluctuations or other factors reduce the Fund’s asset coverage to less than the prescribed amount.
CFTC Regulation
Derivatives exchanges in the United States are subject to regulation under the Commodity Exchange Act of 1936, as amended (the “CEA”), by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”), the governmental agency having responsibility for regulation of derivatives exchanges and trading on those exchanges. Following the adoption of the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFTC also has authority to regulate OTC derivatives markets, including certain OTC foreign exchange markets. The CFTC has exclusive authority to designate exchanges for the trading of specific futures contracts and to prescribe rules and regulations of the marketing of each. The CFTC also regulates the activities of “commodity pool operators” and the CFTC has adopted regulations with respect to certain of such persons’ activities. Pursuant to authority in the CEA, the National Futures Association (“NFA”) has been formed and registered with the CFTC as a registered futures association. At the present time, the NFA is the only self-regulatory organization for commodities professionals other than exchanges. As such, the NFA promulgates rules governing the conduct of commodity professionals and disciplines those professionals that do not comply with such standards. The CFTC has delegated to the NFA responsibility for the registration of commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors, among others.
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The Adviser is registered as a “commodity pool operator” with the NFA pursuant to the rules and regulations of the CFTC. The Adviser’s investment implementation may need to be modified, and commodity contract positions held by the Fund may have to be liquidated at disadvantageous times or prices, to avoid exceeding position limits established by the CFTC, potentially subjecting the Fund to substantial losses. As an NFA member, the Adviser is subject to NFA standards relating to fair trade practices, financial condition, and consumer protection.
The CFTC may suspend, modify or terminate the registration of any registrant for failure to comply with CFTC rules or regulations. Suspension, restriction or termination of the Adviser’s registration as a commodity pool operator would prevent it, until such time (if any) as such registration were to be reinstated, from managing the Fund. Such an event could result in termination of the Fund.
The regulation of commodity transactions in the United States is a rapidly changing area of the law and is subject to ongoing modification by government, self-regulatory and judicial action. The effect of any future regulatory change on the Fund is impossible to predict, but could be substantial and adverse to the Fund.
Risks of Government Regulation of Derivatives
It is possible that government regulation of various types of derivative instruments, including futures, may limit or prevent the Fund from using such instruments as a part of its investment strategy, and could ultimately prevent the Fund from being able to achieve its investment objective. It is impossible to predict fully the effects of legislation and regulation in this area, but the effects could be substantial and adverse.
The regulation of derivatives in the U.S., the EU and other jurisdictions is a rapidly changing area of law and is subject to modification by government and judicial action. Recent legislative and regulatory reforms, including the Dodd-Frank Act, have resulted in new regulation of derivatives, including clearing, margin reporting, recordkeeping and registration requirements for certain types of derivatives. Because these requirements are new and evolving, and certain of the rules are not yet final, their ultimate impact remains unclear. There is a possibility of future regulatory changes altering, perhaps to a material extent, the nature of an investment in the Fund or the ability of the Fund to continue to implement its investment strategies.
Also, as described above, in the event of a counterparty’s (or its affiliate’s) insolvency, the Fund’s ability to exercise remedies could be stayed or eliminated under special resolution regimes adopted in the United States, the EU and various other jurisdictions. Such regimes provide government authorities with broad authority to intervene when a financial institution is experiencing financial difficulty and may prohibit the Fund from exercising termination rights based on the financial institution’s insolvency. In particular, in the EU, governmental authorities could reduce, eliminate or convert to equity the liabilities to the Fund of a counterparty experiencing financial difficulties (sometimes referred to as a “bail in”).
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Funds that enter into derivatives transactions and certain other transactions notwithstanding the restrictions on the issuance of “senior securities” under Section 18 of the 1940 Act are permitted to do so in accordance with Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act (“Rule 18f-4” or the “Derivatives Rule”). The Derivatives Rule defines the term “derivatives” to include short sales and forward contracts, such as TBA transactions, in addition to instruments traditionally classified as derivatives, such as swaps, futures, and option contracts. Rule 18f-4 also regulates other types of leveraged transactions, such as reverse repurchase transactions and transactions deemed to be “similar to” reverse repurchase transactions, such as certain securities lending transactions in connection with which a fund obtains leverage. Among other things, Rule 18f-4 prohibits a fund from entering into these derivatives transactions except in accordance with the provisions of the Derivatives Rule. The Derivatives Rule requires, among other things, a fund to adopt and implement a written “derivatives risk management program” and comply with limitations on risks relating to its derivatives transactions. The Derivatives Rule establishes limits on the derivatives transactions that a fund may enter into based on the value-at-risk (“VaR”) of the fund inclusive of derivatives. A fund generally satisfies the limits under the Derivatives Rule if the VaR of its portfolio (inclusive of derivatives transactions) does not exceed 200% of the VaR of its “designated reference portfolio.” The “designated reference portfolio” is a representative unleveraged index or the fund’s own portfolio absent derivatives holdings, as determined by such fund’s derivatives risk manager (the person or persons appointed by the fund’s board of directors/trustees responsible for administering the derivatives risk management program). This limits test is referred to as the “Relative VaR Test”. In addition, among other requirements, Rule 18f-4 also requires a fund carry out enhanced reporting to the board of directors/trustees, the SEC and the public regarding a fund’s derivatives activities. These requirements apply unless a fund qualifies as a “limited derivatives user,” which the Derivatives Rule defines as a fund that limits its derivatives exposure to 10% of its net assets. The Fund complies with the requirements of Rule 18f-4 in its usage of derivatives instruments. It is possible that the limits and compliance costs imposed by the Derivatives Rule may adversely affect the Fund’s performance, efficiency in implementing its strategy, liquidity and/or ability to pursue its investment objectives and may increase the costs associated with the operation of the Fund, which could adversely affect investors.
These and other new rules and regulations could, among other things, further restrict the Fund’s ability to engage in, or increase the cost to the Fund of, derivatives transactions, for example, by making some types of derivatives no longer available to the Fund, increasing margin or capital requirements, or otherwise limiting liquidity or increasing transaction costs. The costs of derivatives transactions may increase as clearing members raise their fees to cover the costs of additional capital requirements and other regulatory changes applicable to the clearing members. Certain aspects of these regulations are still being implemented, so their potential impact on a fund and the financial system are not yet known. While the regulations and central clearing of some derivatives transactions are designed to reduce systemic risk (i.e., the risk that the interdependence of large derivatives dealers could cause them to suffer liquidity, solvency or other challenges simultaneously), there is no assurance that the mechanisms imposed under the regulations will achieve that result, and in the meantime, as noted above, central clearing, minimum margin requirements and related requirements expose the Fund to new kinds of risks and costs.
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Cyber Security Risk
As the use of Internet technology has become more prevalent in the course of business, The Fund have become more susceptible to potential operational risks through breaches in cyber security. A breach in cyber security refers to both intentional and unintentional events that may cause the Fund to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption or lose operational capacity. Such events could cause the Fund to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures and/or financial loss. Cyber security breaches may involve unauthorized access to the Fund’s digital information systems through “hacking” or malicious software coding, but may also result from outside attacks such as denial-of-service attacks through efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users. In addition, cyber security breaches of the Fund’s third party service providers, such as its administrator, transfer agent, custodian, or sub-adviser, as applicable, or issuers in which the Fund invests, can also subject the Fund to many of the same risks associated with direct cyber security breaches. The Fund has established risk management systems designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security. However, there is no guarantee that such efforts will succeed, especially because the Fund does not directly control the cyber security systems of issuers or third party service providers.
Failure to Qualify as a Regulated Investment Company Risk
If, in any year, the Fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company under the applicable tax laws, the Fund would be taxed as an ordinary corporation. In such circumstances, the Fund could be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest and make substantial distributions before requalifying as a regulated investment company that is accorded special tax treatment. If the Fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company, distributions to the Fund’s shareholders generally would be eligible for the dividends received deduction in the case of corporate shareholders.
Inflation Risk
Inflation may reduce the intrinsic value of increases in the value of the Fund. Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the value of the Fund’s assets can decline as can the value of the Fund’s distributions.
Legislation and Litigation Risk
Legislation or litigation that affects the value of securities held by the Fund may reduce the value of the Fund. From time to time, various legislative initiatives are proposed that may have a negative impact on certain securities in which the Fund invests. In addition, litigation regarding any of the securities owned by the Fund may negatively impact the value of the Shares. Such legislation or litigation may cause the Fund to lose value or may result in higher portfolio turnover if the Adviser determines to sell such a holding.
Liquidity Risk
Whether or not the securities held by the Fund are listed on a securities exchange, the principal trading market for certain of the securities may be in the OTC market. As a result, the existence of a liquid trading market for such securities may depend on whether dealers will make a market in the securities. There can be no assurance that a market will be made for any of the securities, that any market for such securities will be maintained or that there will be sufficient liquidity of the securities in any markets made. The price at which such securities are held by the Fund will be adversely affected if trading markets for the securities are limited or absent.
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Listing Standards Risk
The Fund is required by the Exchange to comply with certain listing standards (which includes certain investment parameters) in order to maintain its listing on the Exchange. Compliance with these listing standards may compel the Fund to sell securities at an inopportune time or for a price other than the security’s then-current market value. The sale of securities in such circumstances could limit the Fund’s profit or require the Fund to incur a loss, and as a result, the Fund’s performance could be impacted.
Market Events Risk
Turbulence in the economic, political and financial system has historically resulted, and may continue to result, in an unusually high degree of volatility in the capital markets. Both domestic and non-U.S. capital markets have been experiencing increased volatility and turmoil, with issuers that have exposure to the real estate, mortgage and credit markets particularly affected, and it is uncertain whether or for how long these conditions could continue. Reduced liquidity in equity, credit and fixed-income markets may adversely affect many issuers worldwide. This reduced liquidity may result in less money being available to purchase raw materials, goods and services from emerging markets, which may, in turn, bring down the prices of these economic staples. It may also result in small or emerging market issuers having more difficulty obtaining financing, which may, in turn, cause a decline in their security prices. These events and possible continued market turbulence may have an adverse effect on the Fund.
In addition, local, regional or global events such as war, acts of terrorism, spread of infectious diseases or other public health crises, recessions, or other events could have a significant negative impact on the Fund and its investments. Such events may affect certain geographic regions, countries, sectors and industries more significantly than others. Such events could adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the Fund’s portfolio securities or other instruments and could result in disruptions in the trading markets. Any of such circumstances could have a materially negative impact on the value of the Fund’s Shares and result in increased market volatility. During any such events, the Fund’s Shares may trade at increased premiums or discounts to their NAV. Health crises caused by the outbreak of infectious diseases or other public health issues, may exacerbate other pre-existing political, social, economic, market and financial risks. The impact of any such events, could negatively affect the global economy, as well as the economies of individual countries or regions, the financial performance of individual companies, sectors and industries, and the markets in general in significant and unforeseen ways. Any such impact could adversely affect the prices and liquidity of the securities and other instruments in which the Fund invests and negatively impact the Fund’s investment return.
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Tracking Error Risk
Tracking error is the divergence of a fund’s performance from that of its index or sought-after investment outcomes. Tracking error may occur because of imperfect correlation between the Fund’s holdings and the return of the Power Index, pricing differences, or the need to meet various regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error may also result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses while the Power Index does not.
Fundamental and Non-Fundamental Investment Limitations
This section supplements the disclosure in the Prospectus and provides additional information on the Fund’s investment limitations. Investment limitations identified as fundamental may not be changed without the approval of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities (which for this purpose and under the 1940 Act, means the lesser of (1) 67% of the voting shares represented at a meeting at which more than 50% of the outstanding voting shares are represented or (2) more than 50% of the outstanding voting shares).
Investment limitations stated as a maximum percentage of the Fund’s assets are only applied immediately after, and because of, an investment or a transaction by us to which the limitation is applicable (other than the limitations on borrowing). Accordingly, any later increase or decrease resulting from a change in values, net assets or other circumstances will not be considered in determining whether the investment complies with our investment limitations. All limitations with respect to nonfundamental investment policies that are based on a percentage of total assets include assets obtained or expected to be obtained through leverage.
Fundamental Investment Limitations
Except with the approval of a majority of its outstanding voting securities, the Fund may not:
| 1. | Concentrate its investments in an industry or group of industries (i.e., hold 25% or more of its total assets in the securities of companies in a particular industry or group of industries), except that the Fund will concentrate its investments in any industry or group of identified industries to approximately the same extent as the Power Index concentrates. |
| 2. | Borrow money or issue senior securities (as defined under the 1940 Act), except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations thereunder or any exemption therefrom, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended or interpreted from time to time. |
| 3. | Make loans, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations thereunder or any exemption therefrom, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended or interpreted from time to time. |
| 4. | Purchase or sell physical commodities except to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act or other governing statute, by the rules thereunder, or by the SEC or other regulatory agency with authority over the Fund. |
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| 5. | Underwrite securities issued by other persons, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations thereunder or any exemption therefrom, as such statute, rules or regulations may be amended or interpreted from time to time. |
| 6. | Purchase or sell real estate, except that the Fund may purchase marketable securities issued by companies which own or invest in real estate (including REITs). |
For purposes of limitation number one (1), securities of the U.S. government (including its agencies and instrumentalities), repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. government securities and tax-exempt securities of state or municipal governments and their political subdivisions are not considered to be issued by members of any industry.
Nonfundamental Investment Policies
In addition to the investment restrictions adopted as fundamental policies as set forth above, the Fund observes the following non-fundamental restriction, which may be changed without a shareholder vote.
| 1. | Under normal circumstances, the Fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid investments. |
If a percentage limitation is adhered to at the time of investment or contract, a later increase or decrease in percentage resulting from any change in value or total or net assets will not result in a violation of such restriction, except that the percentage limitations with respect to the borrowing of money and illiquid investments will be observed continuously. If the percentage of the Fund’s net assets invested in illiquid investments exceeds 15% due to market activity or changes in the Fund’s portfolio, the Fund will take appropriate measures to reduce its holdings of illiquid investments in accordance with the 1940 Act and the Fund’s policies and procedures.
The following descriptions of certain provisions of the 1940 Act may assist investors in understanding the above policies and restrictions:
Concentration. The SEC has defined concentration as investing 25% or more of the Fund’s total assets in an industry or group of industries, with certain exceptions.
Borrowing. The 1940 Act presently allows the Fund to borrow from any bank (including pledging, mortgaging or hypothecating assets) in an amount up to 33 1/3% of its total assets (not including temporary borrowings up to 5% of its total assets).
Senior Securities. Senior securities may include any obligation or instrument issued by the Fund evidencing indebtedness. The 1940 Act generally prohibits the Fund from issuing senior securities, although Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act provides an exemption from the applicable prohibitions and restrictions on issuing senior securities, such as certain borrowings, short sales, reverse repurchase agreements, firm commitment agreements and standby commitments.
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Lending. Under the 1940 Act, the Fund may only make loans if expressly permitted by their investment policies. The Fund’s current investment policy on lending is that the Fund may not make loans if, as a result, more than 33 1/3% of its total assets would be lent to other parties, except that the Fund may: (i) purchase or hold debt instruments in accordance with its investment objective and policies; (ii) enter into repurchase agreements; and (iii) engage in securities lending as described in this SAI.
Underwriting. Under the 1940 Act, underwriting securities involves the Fund purchasing securities directly from an issuer for the purpose of selling (distributing) them or participating in any such activity either directly or indirectly.
Real Estate. The 1940 Act does not directly restrict the Fund’s ability to invest in real estate, but does require every investment company to have the fundamental investment policy governing such investments. The Fund will not purchase or sell real estate, except that the Fund may purchase marketable securities issued by companies which own or invest in real estate (including REITs).
Commodities. The Fund will not purchase or sell physical commodities or commodities contracts, except that the Fund may purchase: (i) marketable securities issued by companies which own or invest in commodities or commodities contracts; and (ii) commodities contracts relating to financial instruments, such as financial futures contracts and options on such contracts.
Although the Fund generally will not invest for short-term trading purposes, portfolio securities may be sold without regard to the length of time they have been held when, in the opinion of the Adviser, investment considerations or redemption requests warrant such action. Portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing (1) the lesser of purchases or sales of portfolio securities for the fiscal year by (2) the monthly average of the value of portfolio securities owned during the fiscal year. A 100% turnover rate would occur if all the securities in the Fund’s portfolio, with the exception of securities whose maturities at the time of acquisition were one year or less, were sold and either repurchased or replaced within one year. A high rate of portfolio turnover (100% or more) generally leads to above-average transaction costs and could generate capital gains that must be distributed to shareholders as short-term capital gains taxed at ordinary income rates (currently as high as 37%). To the extent that the Fund experiences an increase in brokerage commissions due to a higher portfolio turnover rate, the performance of the Fund could be negatively impacted by the increased expenses incurred and may result in a greater number of taxable transactions. As of the date of this prospectus, the Fund does not have an operating history and therefore turnover data is not available.
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Portfolio Holdings Information
The Trust has adopted a policy regarding the disclosure of information about the Fund’s portfolio holdings. The Board of Trustees must approve all material amendments to this policy. The Fund’s portfolio holdings are publicly disseminated each day the Fund is open for business through financial reporting and news services, including publicly accessible Internet websites. In addition, a basket composition file, which includes the security names and share quantities to deliver in exchange for Fund shares, together with estimates and actual cash components, is publicly disseminated each day The New York Stock Exchange is open for trading via the NSCC. Pursuant to Rule 6c-11 under the 1940 Act, information regarding the Fund’s current portfolio holdings will be available on a daily basis at https://tortoisecapital.com/. The Trust will not disseminate nonpublic information concerning the holdings of the Fund except to the Trust’s service providers and professional advisors. In no event shall the Adviser, its affiliates or employees, or the Fund receive any direct or indirect compensation in connection with the disclosure of information about the Fund’s portfolio holdings.
There can be no assurance that the Portfolio Holdings Policies and these procedures will protect the Fund from potential misuse of that information by individuals or entities to which it is disclosed.
The management and affairs of the Fund are overseen by the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees consists of five individuals. The Board of Trustees establishes policies for the operation of the Fund and appoints the officers who conduct the daily business of the Fund.
The Role of the Board of Trustees
The Board provides oversight of the management and operations of the Trust. The day-to-day responsibility for the management and operation of the Trust is the responsibility of various service providers to the Trust and its individual series, such as the Adviser; Quasar Distributors, LLC, the Fund’s principal underwriter (the “Distributor”); U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, the Fund’s administrator (the “Administrator”) and transfer agent (the “Transfer Agent”); and U.S. Bank, National Association, the Fund’s Custodian, each of whom are discussed in greater detail in this SAI. The Board approves all significant agreements between the Trust and its service providers, including the agreements with the Adviser, Distributor, Administrator, Custodian and Transfer Agent. The Board has appointed various individuals as officers of the Trust, with responsibility to monitor and report to the Board on the Trust’s day-to-day operations. In conducting this oversight, the Board receives regular reports from these officers and service providers regarding the Trust’s operations. The Board has appointed a Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”) who reports directly to the Board and who administers the Trust’s compliance program and regularly reports to the Board as to compliance matters, including an annual compliance review. Some of these reports are provided as part of formal Board meetings, which are held four times per year, and such other times as the Board determines is necessary, and involve the Board’s review of recent Trust operations. From time to time one or more members of the Board may also meet with Trust officers in less formal settings, between formal Board meetings to discuss various topics. In all cases, however, the role of the Board and of any individual Trustee is one of oversight and not of management of the day-to-day affairs of the Trust and its oversight role does not make the Board a guarantor of the Trust’s investments, operations or activities.
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The Board has structured itself in a manner that it believes allows it to effectively perform its oversight function. The Board is comprised of four Trustees that are not considered to be “interested persons” of the Fund, as defined by the 1940 Act (“Independent Trustees”), and one “interested trustee.” The Board has established three standing committees, an Audit Committee, a Nominating & Governance Committee and a Distribution and Brokerage Committee, which are discussed in greater detail under “Board Committees” below. Each Committee is comprised of all the Independent Trustees.
The Board has appointed Tom Florence as Chairman and Andrew J. Iseman as Lead Independent Trustee.
In accordance with the fund governance standards prescribed by the SEC under the 1940 Act, the Independent Trustees on the Nominating & Governance Committee select and nominate all candidates for Independent Trustee positions. Each Trustee was elected to serve on the Board because of his or her experience, qualifications, attributes and skills as set forth in the subsection “Trustee Qualifications” below.
The Board reviews its structure regularly in light of the characteristics and circumstances of the Trust, including: the affiliated or unaffiliated nature of each investment adviser; the number of funds that comprise the Trust; the variety of asset classes that those funds reflect; the net assets of the Trust; the committee structure of the Trust; and the independent distribution arrangements of each of the Trust’s series.
The Board has determined that the inclusion of all Independent Trustees as members of each Committee allows all such Trustees to participate in the full range of the Board’s oversight duties, including oversight of risk management processes discussed below. Given the composition of the Board and the function and composition of its various committees as described above, the Trust has determined that the Board’s leadership structure is appropriate.
Board Oversight of Risk Management
As part of its oversight function, the Board receives and reviews various risk management reports and assessments and discusses these matters with appropriate management and other personnel, including personnel of the Trust’s service providers. Because risk management is a broad concept comprised of many elements (such as, for example, investment risk, issuer and counter-party risk, compliance risk, operational risk, business continuity risk, etc.) the oversight of different types of risks is handled in different ways. For example, the CCO regularly reports to the Board during Board meetings and meets in executive session with the Independent Trustees to discuss compliance and operational risks. In addition, Carrie Ramirez Schoffman, the Independent Trustee designated as the Audit Committee’s “audit committee financial expert,” meets with the Principal Financial Officer and the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm to discuss, among other things, the internal control structure of the Fund’s financial reporting function. The full Board receives reports from the investment adviser to the underlying series as to investment risks.
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The Trustees and officers of the Trust are listed below with their addresses, present positions with the Trust and principal occupations over at least the last five years.
| Name and Age(1) | Position(s) Held With Trust, Term of Office and Length of Time Served |
Principal Occupation During Past Five Years |
Number of Portfolios in Fund Complex(2) Overseen by Trustee |
Other Directorships Held |
| Independent Trustees | ||||
| Carrie Ramirez Schoffman (1973) |
Trustee; Indefinite; Since October 2024 |
Owner, CPA Concierge Services, LLC (since 2020); Tax Accountant, Bree Beers & Associates, PC (2017 – 2021); Principal Financial Officer and Treasurer, ICON Funds (2013 – 2017); Chief Compliance Officer, ICON Funds (2004 – 2017); Chief Compliance Officer, Senior Vice President, ICON Advisers, Inc. (2004 – 2017); Staff Accountant, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (2003 – 2004); Experienced Manager/Senior/Staff, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (1996 – 2003); CPA designation (since 1996).
|
[_] | Ultimus Registered Alternatives Gateway Series Trust I; Tortoise Energy Infrastructure Corporation; Tortoise Energy & Infrastructure Interval Fund |
| Keith A. Fletcher (1958) |
Trustee; Indefinite; Since October 2024 |
Partner at Neos Investments (since 2022); Principal and Founder, JAHFT Solutions (since 2017); Principal and Chief Distribution Officer, Riskx Investments (2012 – 2017); Chief Marketing Officer, Guggenheim Investments/Rydex SGI (2008 – 2012); Managing Director, Lyster Watson (2007 – 2008); President and Chief Executive Officer, Fletcher Financial Group Inc. (2004 – 2007); Chief Marketing Officer, Executive Vice President, Van Eck Global (1992 – 2004). | [_] | Valkyrie ETF Trust II; Tortoise Energy & Infrastructure Interval Fund |
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| Name and Age(1) | Position(s) Held With Trust, Term of Office and Length of Time Served |
Principal Occupation During Past Five Years |
Number of Portfolios in Fund Complex(2) Overseen by Trustee |
Other Directorships Held |
| Andrew J. Iseman (1964) |
Trustee; Indefinite; Since October 2024 |
Member, Governing Council, Independent Directors Council (since 2024); Adjunct Faculty, Rockhurst University (2018); Chief Executive Officer, Scout Investments (2010 – 2018); Chief Operating Officer, RK Capital Management (2009 – 2010); Chief Operating Officer, Janus Capital Group (2007 - 2008); Senior Vice President, INTECH (2005 – 2007); Vice President of Investment Operations, Janus Capital Group (2003 – 2005); Chief Operating Officer, Berger Financial Group (1996 – 2003); Product Manager, DST Systems (1993 – 1996); Senior Compliance Examiner, FINRA (1987 – 1993). | [_] | Pacific Select Fund; Tortoise Energy Infrastructure Corporation; Tortoise Energy & Infrastructure Interval Fund |
John C. Maxwell (1963) |
Trustee; Indefinite; Since October 2024 |
Lead Portfolio Manager, Delaware Ivy Investments/Waddell & Reed/Ivy Investments (2006 – 2021); Analyst and Assistant Portfolio Manager, Delaware Ivy Investments/Waddell & Reed/Ivy Investments (1998 – 2006); Consumer Staples Analyst, Fort Washington Investment Advisors (1995 – 1998); Financial Analyst, Procter & Gamble (1992 – 1995); Engineer in Charge of Construction, Camp David, White House Military Office (1986 – 1990); First Lieutenant, U.S. Army Reserves, Corps of Engineers; CFA designation (since 1998). | [_] | Tortoise Energy & Infrastructure Interval Fund |
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| Name and Age(1) | Position(s) Held With Trust, Term of Office and Length of Time Served |
Principal Occupation During Past Five Years |
Number of Portfolios in Fund Complex(2) Overseen by Trustee |
Other Directorships Held |
| Interested Trustee(3) | ||||
| Tom Florence (1962) |
Trustee; Indefinite; Since October 2024 |
Chief Executive Officer, Tortoise Capital Advisors, L.L.C. (since 2024); Managing Director, Hamilton Lane (2021 – 2022); Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, 361 Capital (2009 – 2021); Managing Partner, Black Creek Capital (2003 – 2008); Managing Director, Morningstar Inc. (2000 – 2003); Managing Director, Pilgrim Baxter & Associates (1996 – 2000); Vice President, Fidelity Investments (1991 – 1996); Vice President, Merrill Lynch (1985 – 1991). | [_] | Tortoise Energy Infrastructure Corporation; Tortoise Energy & Infrastructure Interval Fund |
| Officers | ||||
| Tom Florence | President and Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer); Since October 2024 |
See above. | — | — |
| John-Paul Nigro (1984) |
Principal Financial Officer and Treasurer (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer); Since February 2026 |
Director of PFO Services, PINE Advisor Solutions LLC (2024 – present); Assistant Vice President, State Street (2010 – 2024). | — | — |
Amy Siefer (1977) |
Chief Compliance Officer; Since October 2024 |
Director of Fund CCO Services, PINE Advisor Solutions LLC (2024 – present); Vice President at Citi Fund Services Ohio, Inc. (2012 – 2024). | — | — |
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| Name and Age(1) | Position(s) Held With Trust, Term of Office and Length of Time Served |
Principal Occupation During Past Five Years |
Number of Portfolios in Fund Complex(2) Overseen by Trustee |
Other Directorships Held |
| Jeffrey Kruske (1975) |
Secretary; Since January 2025 |
General Counsel — Managing Director at Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. (since 2017); General Counsel, Office of the Kansas Securities Commissioner (2011 – 2016); Attorney, Schlagel Gordon & Kinzer, LLC (2009 – 2011); Attorney, Law Office of Jeffrey S. Kruske, P.A. (2002 – 2009). | — | — |
| (1) | The address of each Trustee and officer is 5901 College Boulevard, Suite 400, Overland Park, Kansas 66211. |
| (2) | The term “Fund Complex” refers to all present and future funds advised by the Adviser or its affiliates. |
| (3) | As a result of his position held with the Adviser or its affiliates, this individual is considered an “interested person” within the meaning of the 1940 Act. |
In addition to the experience provided in the table above, each Trustee possesses the following qualifications, attributes and skills, each of which factored into the conclusion to invite them to join the Fund’s Board: Ms. Ramirez Schoffman, experience as principal financial and chief compliance officer; Mr. Fletcher, experience as a chief distribution officer and chief marketing officer; Mr. Iseman, experience as a chief operating officer; and Mr. Maxwell, experience as a portfolio manager.
Other attributes and qualifications considered for each Trustee in connection with their selection to join the Board of the Fund were their character and integrity and their willingness and ability to serve and commit the time necessary to perform the duties of a Trustee for the Fund. In addition, as to each Trustee other than Mr. Florence, his or her status as an Independent Trustee; and, as to Mr. Florence, his roles with the Adviser were an important factor in his selection as a Trustee. No experience, qualification, attribute or skill was by itself controlling.
Mr. Florence serves as Chairman of the Board of the Fund. Mr. Florence is an “interested person” of the Fund within the meaning of the 1940 Act. The appointment of Mr. Florence as Chairman reflects the belief that his experience, familiarity with the Fund’s day-to-day operations and the individuals with responsibility for the Fund’s management and operations provides the Board with insight into the Fund’s business and activities and, with his familiarity with the Fund’s administrative support, facilitates the efficient development of meeting agendas that address the Fund’s business, legal and other needs and the orderly conduct of meetings of the Board.
The discussion of the Trustees’ experience and qualifications is pursuant to SEC requirements, does not constitute holding out the Board or any Trustee as having special expertise, and shall not impose any greater responsibility or liability on any such Trustee or the Board by reason thereof.
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Trustee and Management Ownership of Fund Shares
The following table shows the dollar range of Fund shares beneficially owned by the Trustees as of [______], 2026.
| Dollar Range of Fund Shares Beneficially Owned |
Aggregate Dollar Range of Shares in All Funds in the Trust | |
| Independent Trustees | ||
| Carrie Ramirez Schoffman | [___] | [___] |
| Keith A. Fletcher | [___] | [___] |
| Andrew J. Iseman | [___] | [___] |
| John C. Maxwell | [___] | [___] |
| Interested Trustee | ||
| Tom Florence | [___] | [___] |
|
Ownership Codes: A: $1 – $10,000 B: $10,001 – $50,000 C: $50,001 – $100,000 D: Over $100,000 | ||
As of [_______], 2026, the Trustees and officers of the Trust as a group owned less than 1% of the outstanding shares of the Fund.
Audit Committee. The Trust has an Audit Committee, which is comprised of the Independent Trustees. Carrie Ramirez Schoffman serves as Chair of the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee reviews financial statements and other audit-related matters for the Fund. The Audit Committee also holds discussions with management and with the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm concerning the scope of the audit and the auditor’s independence.
Nominating & Governance Committee. The Trust has a Nominating & Governance Committee, which is comprised of the Independent Trustees. Andrew J. Iseman serves as Chair of the Nominating & Governance Committee. The Nominating & Governance Committee is responsible for seeking and reviewing candidates for consideration as nominees for the position of trustee and meets only as necessary.
The Nominating & Governance Committee will consider nominees recommended by shareholders for vacancies on the Board of Trustees. Recommendations for consideration by the Nominating & Governance Committee should be sent to the Secretary of the Trust in writing together with the appropriate biographical information concerning each such proposed nominee. Shareholder recommendations for nominations to the Board of Trustees will be accepted on an ongoing basis. The Nominating & Governance Committee’s procedures with respect to reviewing shareholder nominations will be disclosed as required by applicable securities laws.
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Distribution and Brokerage Committee. The Distribution and Brokerage Committee provides oversight with respect to the distribution of shares of the Fund including services of the Distributor and Authorized Participants, creation and redemption process and trading performance of Fund shares. Keith A. Fletcher serves as Chair of the Distribution and Brokerage Committee. The Committee also oversees matters relating to the use of brokerage commissions and placement of portfolio transactions.
Independent Trustee Compensation
Effective July 2025, each Independent Trustee received an annual retainer of $75,000, along with a $5,000 for each in-person Board of Trustees meeting attended and $2,500 for each meeting attended virtually. The Lead Independent Trustee and the Chairman of the Audit Committee receive supplemental annual retainers of $10,000 and $7,500, respectively.
| Name of Person/Position |
Aggregate Compensation From the Fund(1) |
Pension or Retirement Benefits Accrued as Part of Funds Expenses ($) |
Estimated Annual Benefits Upon Retirement ($) |
Total Compensation from the Fund and Fund Complex Paid to Trustees(1) |
| Independent Trustees: | ||||
| Carrie Ramirez Schoffman | $ [___] | — | — | $ [___] |
| Keith A. Fletcher | $ [___] | — | — | $ [___] |
| Andrew J. Iseman | $ [___] | — | — | $ [___] |
| John C. Maxwell | $ [___] | — | — | $ [___] |
____________
| (1) | Estimated for the initial fiscal year ended November 30, 2026. The Fund has adopted a unitary fee structure. Under such structure, the Adviser is responsible for paying compensation of Independent Trustees. |
[The Trust, the Adviser and the Distributor each have adopted a code of ethics in accordance with Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act. These codes of ethics permit the personnel of these entities to invest in securities, including securities that the Fund may purchase or hold. The codes of ethics are on public file with, and are available from, the SEC.]
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The Fund and the Adviser have adopted proxy voting policies and procedures (“Proxy Policy”), which the Fund believes are reasonably designed to ensure that proxies are voted in the Fund’s best interests and the shareholders’ best interests. Subject to the oversight of the Board, the Board has delegated responsibility for implementing the Proxy Policy to the Adviser. The Adviser has adopted Glass Lewis’ proxy voting guidelines, which are applied to all Adviser proxy votes at the time proxy votes are submitted. The Adviser will consider additional information that may become available regarding a particular proposal. This additional information may include an issuer’s or a shareholder proponent’s subsequently filed additional definitive proxy materials. Proxies are generally voted in accordance with the Adviser’s proxy voting guidelines; however, the Adviser may opt to override the guidelines if it is decided to be the best interest of its clients.
The Adviser is responsible for monitoring Fund actions and ensuring that proxies are voted in a timely manner. The Fund is not responsible for voting proxies it does not receive but will make reasonable efforts to obtain missing proxies. The Adviser shall implement procedures to identify and monitor potential conflicts of interest that could affect the proxy voting process, including (1) significant client relationships; (2) other potential material business relationships; and (3) material personal and family relationships. In the absence of contrary instructions received from the applicable Investment Committee of the Adviser, or a Managing Director of the Adviser designated by the Investment Committee all proxies will be voted in accordance with the referenced Glass Lewis guidelines. The Fund may determine not to vote a particular proxy, if the costs and burdens exceed the benefits of voting (e.g., when securities are subject to loan or to share blocking restrictions).
If a request for proxy presents a conflict of interest between the shareholders on the one hand, and the Adviser, the principal underwriters, or any affiliated persons of the Fund, on the other hand, management may (i) disclose the potential conflict to the Board of Trustees and obtain consent; (ii) establish an ethical wall or other informational barrier between the persons involved in the conflict and the persons making the voting decisions; (iii) abstain from voting the proxies; or (iv) use an independent third party recommendation. The Adviser will document the rationale for any proxy voted contrary to the proxy voting guidelines. Such information will be maintained as part of the recordkeeping requirements.
Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies (if any) relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended November 30 will be available (1) without charge, upon request, by calling a specified toll-free (or collect) telephone number; or on or through the Fund’s website at a specified Internet address; or both; and (2) on the Commission’s website at http://www.sec.gov.
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Control Persons and Principal Shareholders
A principal shareholder is any person who owns of record or beneficially 5% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund. A control person is one who owns beneficially or through controlled companies more than 25% of the voting securities of the Fund or acknowledges the existence of control. A controlling person possesses the ability to control the outcome of matters submitted for shareholder vote by the Fund. As of the date of this SAI, the Fund had not yet commenced operations and no shares were outstanding.
Investment Advisory and Other Services
The investment adviser is Tortoise Capital Advisors, L.L.C. (previously defined as “Tortoise” or the “Adviser”), a registered investment adviser specializing in energy investing across the energy value chain.
The Adviser is indirectly controlled by Lovell Minnick Partners LLC (“Lovell Minnick”), a private equity firm that invests in growth-oriented companies, and is an indirectly wholly-owned subsidiary of Tortoise Parent Holdco LLC (“Tortoise Holdco”). A vehicle formed by Lovell Minnick owned by certain private funds sponsored by Lovell Minnick and a group of institutional co-investors owns a controlling interest in Tortoise Holdco. Tortoise is located at 5901 College Boulevard, Suite 400, Overland Park, Kansas 66211. As of [______], 2026, the Adviser had approximately $[__] billion in assets under management in the energy sector.
Pursuant to an Investment Advisory Agreement (the “Advisory Agreement”), the Adviser, subject to overall oversight by the Board, manages the Fund’s investments. The Adviser regularly provides the Fund with investment research advice and oversight and will furnish continuously an investment program for the Fund, consistent with the Fund’s investment objective and policies.
Pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, Tortoise implements the investment of each Fund’s assets and is responsible for paying all expenses of the Fund, excluding the fee payments under the Advisory Agreement, interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses and other expenses connected with the execution of portfolio transactions, distribution and service fees payable pursuant to a Rule 12b 1 plan, if any, and extraordinary expenses. The Trust, on behalf of the Fund, has agreed to pay Tortoise an annual management fee equal to [__]% of its daily net assets.
The Trust has entered into a distribution agreement (the “Distribution Agreement”) with the Distributor, pursuant to which the Distributor acts as the Fund’s principal underwriter and distributes shares. Shares are continuously offered for sale by the Distributor only in Creation Units. The Distributor will not distribute shares in amounts less than a Creation Unit. The Distributor is not affiliated with the Adviser, Administrator, Fund Accountant or the Custodian.
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Under the Distribution Agreement, the Distributor, as agent for the Trust, will receive orders for the purchase and redemption of Creation Units, provided that any subscriptions and orders will not be binding on the Trust until accepted by the Trust. The Distributor will deliver prospectuses and, upon request, Statements of Additional Information to persons purchasing Creation Units and will maintain records of orders placed with it. The Distributor is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”).
The Distribution Agreement has an initial term of two years from its effective date and will continue in effect thereafter for successive one-year periods only if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the Board of Trustees or by vote of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities and, in either case, by a majority of the Independent Trustees. The Distribution Agreement is terminable without penalty by the Trust, on behalf of the Fund, on at least 60 days’ written notice when authorized either by a majority vote of the Fund’s shareholders or by vote of a majority of the Board of Trustees, including a majority of the Trustees who are not “interested persons” (as defined under the 1940 Act) of the Trust, or by the Distributor on at least 60 days’ written notice, and will automatically terminate in the event of its “assignment,” as defined in the 1940 Act.
U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, located at 615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202, serves as the Administrator, Transfer Agent and index receipt agent (as that term is defined in the rules of the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”)) for the Fund.
Pursuant to the Fund Administration Servicing Agreement and Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement between the Trust and U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, the Administrator provides certain administrative services to the Fund, including, among other responsibilities, portfolio accounting services, tax accounting services and furnishing financial reports, acting as a liaison among Fund service providers, compliance control services, Fund valuation and financial reporting services, preparing non-investment related statistical, researching data as requested, arranging for the computation of performance data, including NAV per share and yield; and arranging for the maintenance of books and records of the Fund. In this capacity, the Administrator does not have any responsibility or authority for the investment management of the Fund, the determination of investment policy, or for any matter pertaining to the distribution of Fund shares. As compensation for the administration and accounting services, U.S. Bank Global Fund Services receives a fee based on the Fund’s average daily net assets, subject to an annual minimum fee. U.S. Bank Global Fund Services also is entitled to reimbursement for certain out-of-pocket expenses.
U.S. Bank Global Fund Services also acts as Transfer Agent and Dividend Disbursing Agent under a separate agreement with the Trust.
Quasar Distributors, LLC, located at Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, ME 04101 acts as Distributor to the Fund.
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Pursuant to a custody agreement between the Trust, the Fund and U.S. Bank National Association, U.S. Bank National Association serves as the custodian of the Fund’s assets (the “Custodian”). Pursuant to the custody agreement, the Custodian receives an annual fee from the Adviser based on the Fund’s total average daily net assets, subject to a minimum annual fee, and certain settlement charges. The Custodian also is entitled to reimbursement for certain out-of-pocket expenses. The Custodian’s address is 1555 North Rivercenter Drive, Suite 302, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212.
PINE Advisors LLC (“PINE”), located at 501 S. Cherry Street, Suite 610, Denver, Colorado 80246, provides Chief Compliance Officer and Principal Financial Officer services to the Trust pursuant to a services agreement. In consideration for these services, PINE is paid a monthly fee out of the assets of the Trust. The Trust also reimburses PINE for certain out-of-pocket expenses.
Chapman and Cutler LLP, located at 320 South Canal Street, Chicago, IL 60606, serves as legal counsel to the Trust.
Morrison & Foerster LLP, located at 4200 Republic Plaza, Denver, Colorado 80202, serves as legal counsel to the Independent Trustees.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Tait, Weller & Baker LLP, located at Two Liberty Place 50 S. 16th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102, serves as the independent registered public accounting firm for the Fund. Its services include auditing the Fund’s financial statements and the performance of related compliance tax services.
Distribution (Rule 12B-1) Plan
The Trust has adopted a Distribution Plan (the “Plan”) with respect to the Fund in accordance with the provisions of Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act, which regulates circumstances under which an investment company may directly or indirectly bear expenses relating to the distribution of its shares. The Fund does not presently intend to make any payments pursuant to the Plan. Continuance of the Plan with respect to the Fund must be approved annually by a majority of the Trustees of the Trust and by a majority of the Trustees who are not interested persons (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust and have no direct or indirect financial interest in the Plan or in any agreements related to the Plan (“Qualified Trustees”). The Plan requires that quarterly written reports of amounts spent under the Plan and the purposes of such expenditures be furnished to and reviewed by the Trustees. The Plan may not be amended to increase materially the amount that may be spent thereunder with respect to the Fund without approval by a majority of the outstanding shares of any class of the Fund that is affected by such increase. All material amendments of the Plan will require approval by a majority of the Trustees of the Trust and of the Qualified Trustees.
The Plan provides that the Fund pays the Distributor an annual fee of up to a maximum of up to [__]% per annum of the average daily net assets of the Fund’s shares. Under the Plan, the Distributor may make payments pursuant to written agreements to financial institutions and intermediaries such as banks, savings and loan associations and insurance companies including, without limit, investment counselors, broker-dealers and the Distributor’s affiliates and subsidiaries (collectively, “Agents”) as compensation for services and reimbursement of expenses incurred in connection with distribution assistance. The Plan is characterized as a compensation plan since the distribution fee will be paid to the Distributor without regard to the distribution expenses incurred by the Distributor or the amount of payments made to other financial institutions and intermediaries. The Trust intends to operate the Plan in accordance with its terms and with FINRA rules concerning sales charges. [The Fund does not intend to participate in any joint distribution activities with another series or investment company.]
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Under the Plan, subject to the limitations of applicable law and regulations, the Fund is authorized to compensate the Distributor up to the maximum amount to finance any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of Creation Units of the Fund or for providing or arranging for others to provide shareholder services and for the maintenance of shareholder accounts. Such activities may include, but are not limited to: (i) delivering copies of the Fund’s then current reports, prospectuses, notices, and similar materials, to prospective purchasers of Creation Units; (ii) marketing and promotional services, including advertising; (iii) paying the costs of and compensating others, including Authorized Participants with whom the Distributor has entered into written Authorized Participant Agreements, for performing shareholder servicing on behalf of the Fund; (iv) compensating certain Authorized Participants for providing assistance in distributing the Creation Units of the Fund, including the travel and communication expenses and salaries and/or commissions of sales personnel in connection with the distribution of the Creation Units of the Fund; (v) payments to financial institutions and intermediaries such as banks, savings and loan associations, insurance companies and investment counselors, broker-dealers, mutual fund supermarkets and the affiliates and subsidiaries of the Trust’s service providers as compensation for services or reimbursement of expenses incurred in connection with distribution assistance; (vi) facilitating communications with beneficial owners of shares, including the cost of providing (or paying others to provide) services to beneficial owners of shares, including, but not limited to, assistance in answering inquiries related to shareholder accounts, and (vi) such other services and obligations as are set forth in the Distribution Agreement.
The Trust currently does not intend to utilize the 12b-1 Plan with respect to the Fund.
The Adviser, out of its own profits and resources and without additional cost to the Fund or its shareholders, may provide cash payments or other compensation (“Support Payments”) to certain financial intermediaries who sell and/or promote the sale of shares of the Fund. Subject to and in accordance with the terms of the Fund’s Prospectus and the Plan (as applicable) adopted by resolution of the Trust’s Board of Trustees, and specifically the “Payments to Financial Intermediaries” section of the Fund’s Prospectus, the Adviser may make Support Payments to such financial intermediaries related to marketing/distribution support, education training or support, shareholder servicing, sales meetings, inclusion on sales lists (including a preferred or select sales list), participation in sales programs, and for making shares of the Fund available to the intermediaries’ customers generally and in investment programs.
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Support Payments made by the Adviser to intermediaries may be calculated in different ways, including: (1) as a percentage of net sales; (2) as a percentage of net assets; and (3) as a flat fee.
The possibility of receiving, or the receipt of, such Support Payments as described above may provide such intermediaries and/or their salespersons with an incentive to favor sales of shares of the Fund, and other funds whose affiliates make similar compensation available, over other investments that do not make such payments. Investors may wish to take such payment arrangements into account when considering and evaluating any recommendations relating to the Fund and other ETFs.
The Fund is managed by the portfolio management team. The individual members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio are described below. Each member of the portfolio management team has served as portfolio manager since the Fund’s inception.
Primary responsibility for the day-to-day management of our investment portfolio is the joint responsibility of a team of portfolio managers consisting of [_____]. The investment committee of the Adviser, comprised of these portfolio managers, provides investment strategy oversight to the portfolio management team who implements the strategy. While responsibility for monitoring, review, and analysis of individual securities is spread among various individual members of the portfolio management team, all portfolio management decisions and reviews are based on a team approach. Each of [______] has an employment-related agreement with the Adviser and receives base compensation for the services he provides. They are also eligible for an annual discretionary cash bonus based on the Adviser’s earnings and the satisfaction of certain other conditions. The Adviser’s earnings are based in part on the value of assets held in our portfolio. Additional benefits received by [_______] are normal and customary employee benefits generally available to all full-time employees.
The following table provides information regarding other accounts managed by each portfolio manager, excluding the Fund, including information regarding the number of managed accounts that pay a performance fee, as of [______], 2026.
| Name of Portfolio Manager |
Account Category | # of Accounts |
Total Assets of Accounts (in millions) |
# of Accounts Paying a Performance Fee |
Total Assets of Accounts Paying a Performance Fee |
| [______] | [______] | [______] | [______] | [______] | [______] |
| [______] | [______] | [______] | [______] | [______] | [______] |
| [______] | [______] | [______] | [______] | [______] | [______] |
| [______] | [______] | [______] | [______] | [______] | [______] |
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Securities Ownership of Portfolio Managers
As of [______], 2026, the Fund’s portfolio managers did not own any shares of the Fund.
Potential Conflicts of Interest Involving the Adviser and Portfolio Manager Compensation
Conflicts of interest may arise from the fact that the Adviser and its affiliates carry on substantial investment activities for other clients, in which the Fund has no interest. The Adviser or its affiliates may have financial incentives to favor certain of these accounts over the Fund. Any of the Adviser’s or its affiliates’ proprietary accounts and other customer accounts may compete with the Fund for specific trades. The Adviser or its affiliates may give advice and recommend securities to, or buy or sell securities for, other accounts and customers, which advice or securities recommended may differ from advice given to, or securities recommended or bought or sold for, the Fund, even though their investment objectives may be the same as, or similar to, our objective. Certain of the funds and accounts managed by our Adviser may invest in the equity securities of a particular company, while other funds and accounts managed by the Adviser may invest in the debt securities of the same company.
The Adviser has written allocation policies and procedures that it will follow in addressing any conflicts. When two or more clients advised by our Adviser or its affiliates seek to purchase or sell the same securities, the securities actually purchased or sold will be allocated among the clients on a good faith equitable basis by the Adviser in its discretion and in accordance with each client’s investment objectives and the Adviser’s procedures.
From time to time, our Adviser may seed proprietary accounts for the purpose of evaluating a new investment strategy that eventually may be available to clients through one or more product structures. Such accounts also may serve the purpose of establishing a performance record for the strategy. The Adviser’s management of accounts with proprietary interests and nonproprietary client accounts may create an incentive to favor the proprietary accounts in the allocation of investment opportunities, and the timing and aggregation of investments. The Adviser’s proprietary seed accounts may include long-short strategies, and certain client strategies may permit short sales. A conflict of interest arises if a security is sold short at the same time as a long position, and continuously short selling in a security may adversely affect the stock price of the same security held long in client accounts. The Adviser has adopted various policies to mitigate these conflicts, including policies that require the Adviser to avoid favoring any account, and that prohibit client and proprietary accounts from engaging in short sales with respect to individual stocks held long in client accounts. The Adviser’s policies also require transactions in proprietary accounts to be placed after client transactions.
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Portfolio Transactions and Brokerage
The Adviser is responsible for decisions to buy and sell securities for the Fund, broker-dealer selection, and negotiation of brokerage commission rates. The Adviser’s primary consideration in effecting a security transaction will be to obtain the best execution. In selecting a broker-dealer to execute each particular transaction, the Adviser will take the following into consideration: the best net price available; the reliability, integrity and financial condition of the broker-dealer; the size of and the difficulty in executing the order; and the value of the expected contribution of the broker-dealer to our investment performance on a continuing basis. Accordingly, the price in any transaction may be less favorable than that available from another broker-dealer if the difference is reasonably justified by other aspects of the execution services offered.
When the Fund purchases securities listed on a stock exchange, those transactions will be effected through brokers who charge a commission for their services. The Fund also may invest in securities that are traded principally in the over-the-counter market. In the over-the-counter market, securities generally are traded on a “net” basis with dealers acting as principal for their own accounts without a stated commission, although the price of such securities usually includes a mark-up to the dealer. Securities purchased in underwritten offerings generally include, in the price, a fixed amount of compensation for the manager(s), underwriter(s) and dealer(s). The Fund may also purchase securities including fixed income securities directly from an issuer, in which case no commissions or discounts will be paid.
Subject to such policies as the Board may from time to time determine, the Adviser shall not be deemed to have acted unlawfully or to have breached any duty solely by reason of its having caused the Fund to pay a broker or dealer that provides brokerage and research services to the Adviser an amount of commission for effecting a portfolio transaction in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction, if the Adviser determines in good faith that such amount of commission was reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer, viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the Adviser’s overall responsibilities with respect to us and to other clients of the Adviser as to which the Adviser exercises investment discretion. The Adviser is further authorized to allocate the orders placed by it on our behalf to such brokers and dealers who also provide research or statistical material or other services to the Fund or the Adviser. Such allocation shall be in such amounts and proportions as the Adviser shall determine and the Adviser will report on said allocations regularly to the Board indicating the brokers to whom such allocations have been made and the basis therefor.
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Purchase and Issuance of Shares in Creation Units
The Trust issues and redeems shares of the Fund only in large blocks, known as “Creation Units,” which amount may change from time to time. The Trust issues and sells shares of the Fund: (i) in Creation Units on a continuous basis through the Distributor, without a sales load (but subject to transaction fees), at their NAV per share next determined after receipt of an order, on any day the Fund’s primary listing exchange is open for business (“Business Day”), in proper form pursuant to the terms of the authorized participant agreement (“Participant Agreement”); or (ii) pursuant to the dividend reinvestment service of The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”). The NAV of the Fund’s shares is calculated each Business Day as of the close of regular trading on the Fund’s primary listing exchange, generally 4:00 p.m., Eastern time. The Fund will not issue or redeem fractional Creation Units.
Fund Deposit. The consideration for purchase of a Creation Unit of the Fund generally consists of the in-kind deposit of a designated portfolio of securities (the “Deposit Securities”) per each Creation Unit, constituting a substantial replication, or a portfolio sampling representation, of the securities included in the Fund’s portfolio and the Cash Component (defined below), computed as described below. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Trust reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of a “cash in lieu” amount (“Deposit Cash”) to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Deposit Security. When accepting purchases of Creation Units for all or a portion of Deposit Cash, the Fund may incur additional costs associated with the acquisition of Deposit Securities that would otherwise be provided by an in-kind purchaser. These additional costs associated with the acquisition of Deposit Securities (“Non-Standard Charges”) may be recoverable from the purchaser of Creation Units.
Together, the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, and the Cash Component constitute the “Fund Deposit,” which represents the minimum initial and subsequent investment amount for a Creation Unit of the Fund. The “Cash Component” is an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of the shares (per Creation Unit) and the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable. If the Cash Component is a positive number (i.e., the NAV per Creation Unit exceeds the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable), the Cash Component will be such positive amount. If the Cash Component is a negative number (i.e., the NAV per Creation Unit is less than the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable), the Cash Component shall be such negative amount and the creator will be entitled to receive cash in an amount equal to the Cash Component. The Cash Component serves the function of compensating for any differences between the NAV per Creation Unit and the market value of the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable. Computation of the Cash Component excludes any stamp duty or other similar fees and expenses payable upon transfer of beneficial ownership of the Deposit Securities, if applicable, which will be the sole responsibility of the Authorized Participant (as defined below).
The Fund through NSCC, makes available on each Business Day, immediately prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m., Eastern time), the list of the names and the required number of shares of each Deposit Security or the required amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, to be included in the current Fund Deposit (based on information at the end of the previous Business Day) for the Fund. The Fund Deposit is subject to any applicable adjustments as described below, in order to effect purchases of Creation Units of the Fund until such time as the next-announced composition of the Deposit Securities or the required amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, is made available.
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The identity and number of shares of the Deposit Securities or the amount of Deposit Cash, as applicable, required for the Fund Deposit for the Fund changes as rebalancing adjustments and corporate action events are reflected from time to time by the Adviser with a view to the investment objective of the Fund. The composition of the Deposit Securities may also change in response to adjustments to the weighting or composition of the component securities of the Fund’s portfolio.
The Trust reserves the right to permit or require the substitution of an amount of cash (i.e., a “cash in lieu” amount) to replace any Deposit Security, which will be added to the Deposit Cash, if applicable, and the Cash Component, including, without limitation, in situations where the Deposit Security: (i) may not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery; (ii) may not be eligible for transfer through the systems of DTC for corporate securities and municipal securities; (iii) may not be eligible for trading by an Authorized Participant (as defined below) or the investor for which it is acting; (iv) would be restricted under the securities laws or where the delivery of the Deposit Security to the Authorized Participant would result in the disposition of the Deposit Security by the Authorized Participant becoming restricted under the securities laws; or (v) in certain other situations (collectively, “custom orders”). The adjustments described above will reflect changes, known to the Adviser on the date of announcement to be in effect by the time of delivery of the Fund Deposit, in the composition of the Fund’s portfolio or resulting from certain corporate actions.
Procedures for Purchase of Creation Units. To be eligible to place orders with the Distributor to purchase a Creation Unit 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 addition, each Participating Party or DTC Participant (each, an “Authorized Participant”) must execute a Participant Agreement that has been agreed to by the Distributor, and that has been accepted by the Transfer Agent and the Trust, with respect to purchases and redemptions of Creation Units. Each Authorized Participant will agree, pursuant to the terms of a Participant Agreement, on behalf of itself or any investor on whose behalf it will act, to certain conditions, including that it will pay to the Trust an amount of cash sufficient to pay the Cash Component together with the Creation Transaction Fee (defined below) and any other applicable fees and taxes. The Adviser may retain all or a portion of the Creation Transaction Fee to the extent the Adviser bears the expenses that otherwise would be borne by the Trust in connection with the purchase of a Creation Unit, which the Transaction Fee is designed to cover.
All orders to purchase shares directly from the Fund must be placed for one or more Creation Units in the manner set forth in the Participant Agreement (the “Cut-Off Time”). The Cut-Off Time for Fund orders is expected to be 2:00 p.m., Eastern time, which may be modified by the Fund from time-to-time by amendment to the Participant Agreement and/or applicable order form. In the case of custom orders, the order must be received by the Distributor no later than 3:00 p.m., Eastern time, or such earlier time as may be designated by the Fund and disclosed to the Authorized Participants. The Fund generally intends to accept orders for the next Business Day as a “Future Dated Trade” between 4:30 p.m. Eastern time and 5:30 p.m. Eastern time on the prior Business Day in the manner set forth in the Participant Agreement and/or applicable order form. The date on which an order to purchase Creation Units (or an order to redeem Creation Units, as set forth below) is received and accepted is referred to as the “Order Placement Date.”
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An 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 that, therefore, orders to purchase shares directly from the Fund in Creation Units have to be placed by the investor’s 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.
On days when the Exchange closes earlier than normal, the Fund may require orders to create Creation Units to be placed earlier in the day. In addition, if a market or markets on which the Fund’s investments are primarily traded is closed on any day, the Fund will also generally not accept orders on such day. Orders must be transmitted by an Authorized Participant by telephone or other transmission method acceptable to the Distributor pursuant to procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement and in accordance with the AP Handbook. With respect to the Fund, the Distributor will notify the Custodian of such order. The Custodian will then provide such information to the appropriate local sub-custodian(s). Those placing orders through an Authorized Participant should allow sufficient time to permit proper submission of the purchase order to the Distributor by the Cut-Off Time on the Business Day on which the order is placed. Economic or market disruptions or changes, or telephone or other communication failure may impede the ability to reach the Distributor or an Authorized Participant.
Fund Deposits must be delivered by an Authorized Participant through the Federal Reserve System (for cash) or through DTC (for corporate securities), through a subcustody agent (for foreign securities) and/or through such other arrangements allowed by the Trust or its agents. With respect to foreign Deposit Securities, the Custodian will cause the sub-custodian of the Fund to maintain an account into which the Authorized Participant will deliver, on behalf of itself or the party on whose behalf it is acting, such Deposit Securities (or Deposit Cash for all or a part of such securities, as permitted or required), with any appropriate adjustments as advised by the Trust. Foreign Deposit Securities must be delivered to an account maintained at the applicable local sub-custodian. The Fund Deposit transfer must be ordered by the Authorized Participant in a timely fashion so as to ensure the delivery of the requisite number of Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, to the account of the Fund or its agents by no later than 12:00 p.m., Eastern time (or such other time as specified by the Trust) on the Settlement Date. If the Fund or its agents do not receive all of the Deposit Securities, or the required Deposit Cash in lieu thereof, by such time, then the order may be deemed rejected and the Authorized Participant shall be liable to the Fund for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. The “Settlement Date” for the Fund is generally the second Business Day after the Order Placement Date. All questions as to the number of Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash to be delivered, as applicable, and the validity, form and eligibility (including time of receipt) for the deposit of any tendered securities or cash, as applicable, will be determined by the Trust, whose determination will be final and binding. The amount of cash represented by the Cash Component must be transferred directly to the Custodian through the Federal Reserve Bank wire transfer system in a timely manner so as to be received by the Custodian no later than the Settlement Date. If the Cash Component and the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, are not received in a timely manner by the Settlement Date, the creation order may be cancelled. Upon written notice to the Distributor, such canceled order may be resubmitted the following Business Day using the Fund Deposit as newly constituted to reflect the then current NAV of the Fund.
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The order will be deemed to be received on the Business Day on which the order is placed provided that the order is placed in proper form prior to the Cut-Off Time and the federal funds in the appropriate amount are deposited by 2:00 p.m., Eastern time, with the Custodian on the Settlement Date. If the order is not placed in proper form as required, or federal funds in the appropriate amount are not received by 2:00 p.m., Eastern time on the Settlement Date, then the order may be deemed to be rejected and the Authorized Participant will be liable to the Fund for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. A creation request is considered to be in “proper form” if all procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement, AP Handbook and this SAI are properly followed.
Issuance of a Creation Unit. Except as provided herein, Creation Units will not be issued until the transfer of good title to the Trust of the Deposit Securities or payment of Deposit Cash, as applicable, and the payment of the Cash Component have been completed. When the sub-custodian has confirmed to the Custodian that the required Deposit Securities (or the cash value thereof) have been delivered to the account of the relevant sub-custodian or sub-custodians, the Distributor and the Adviser will be notified of such delivery, and the Trust will issue and cause the delivery of the Creation Units. The delivery of Creation Units so created generally will occur no later than the second Business Day following the day on which the purchase order is deemed received by the Distributor. However, the Fund reserves the right to settle Creation Unit transactions on a basis other than the second Business Day following the day on which the purchase order is deemed received by the Distributor in order to accommodate foreign market holiday schedules, to account for different treatment among foreign and U.S. markets of dividend record dates and ex-dividend dates (that is the last day the holder of a security can sell the security and still receive dividends payable on the security), and in certain other circumstances. The Authorized Participant will be liable to the Fund for losses, if any, resulting from unsettled orders.
Creation Units may be purchased 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, cash must be deposited in an amount equal to the sum of (i) the Cash Component, plus (ii) an additional amount of cash equal to a percentage of the market value as set forth in the Participant Agreement, of the undelivered Deposit Securities (the “Additional Cash Deposit”), which will be maintained in a separate non-interest bearing collateral account. The Authorized Participant must deposit with the Custodian the Additional Cash Deposit, as applicable, by 12:00 p.m. Eastern time (or such other time as specified by the Trust) on the Settlement Date. If the Fund or its agents do not receive the Additional Cash Deposit in the appropriate amount, by such time, then the order may be deemed rejected and the Authorized Participant shall be liable to the Fund for losses, if any, resulting therefrom. An additional amount of cash will be required to be deposited with the Trust, pending delivery of the missing Deposit Securities to the extent necessary to maintain the Additional Cash Deposit with the Trust in an amount at least equal to the applicable percentage, as set forth in the Participant Agreement, of the daily marked to market value of the missing Deposit Securities. The Participant Agreement will permit the Trust to buy the missing Deposit Securities at any time. Authorized Participants 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 day the purchase order was deemed received by the Distributor 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 the Custodian or purchased by the Trust and deposited into the Trust. In addition, a Transaction Fee as set forth below under “Creation Transaction Fee” will be charged in all cases, unless otherwise advised by the Fund, and Non-Standard Charges may also apply. The delivery of Creation Units so created generally will occur no later than the Settlement Date.
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Acceptance of Orders of Creation Units. The Trust reserves the right to reject an order for Creation Units transmitted to it by the Distributor in respect of the Fund including, without limitation, if (a) the order is not in proper form; (b) the Deposit Securities or Deposit Cash, as applicable, delivered by the Authorized Participant are not as disseminated through the facilities of the NSCC for that date by the Custodian; (c) the investor(s), upon obtaining the shares ordered, would own 80% or more of the currently outstanding shares of the Fund; (d) acceptance of the Deposit Securities would have certain adverse tax consequences to the Fund; (e) the acceptance of the Fund Deposit would, in the opinion of counsel, be unlawful; (f) the acceptance of the Fund Deposit would otherwise, in the discretion of the Trust or the Adviser, have an adverse effect on the Trust or the rights of beneficial owners; (g) the acceptance or receipt of the order for a Creation Unit would, in the opinion of counsel to the Trust, be unlawful; or (h) circumstances outside the control of the Trust, the Custodian, the Transfer Agent and/or the Adviser make it for all practical purposes not feasible to process orders for Creation Units.
Examples of such circumstances include acts of God or 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, the Distributor, the Custodian, a sub-custodian, the Transfer Agent, DTC, NSCC, Federal Reserve System, or any other participant in the creation process, and other 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 of its rejection of the order of such person. The Trust, the Transfer Agent, the Custodian, any 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 will either of them incur any liability for the failure to give any such notification. The Trust, the Transfer Agent, the Custodian and the Distributor will not be liable for the rejection of any purchase order for Creation Units.
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 will be determined by the Trust, and the Trust’s determination will be final and binding.
Creation Transaction Fee. A purchase (i.e., creation) transaction fee (the “Creation Transaction Fee”) is imposed for the transfer and other transaction costs associated with the purchase of Creation Units, and investors will be required to pay a Creation Transaction Fee regardless of the number of Creation Units created in the transaction. The Fund may adjust the Creation Transaction Fee from time to time based upon actual experience. The fixed creation fee may be waived on certain orders if the Fund’s custodian has determined to waive some or all of the creation order costs associated with the order or another party, such as the Fund’s investment adviser, has agreed to pay such fee. In addition, the Fund may impose a Non-Standard Charge of up to 2% of the value of the creation transactions for cash creations, non-standard orders, or partial cash purchases for the Fund. The Fund may adjust the Non-Standard Charge from time to time based upon actual experience. Investors who use the services of an Authorized Participant, broker or other such intermediary may be charged a fee for such services, which may include an amount for the Creation Transaction Fee and Non-Standard Charges. Investors are responsible for the costs of transferring the securities constituting the Deposit Securities to the account of the Trust. The Fund may determine to not charge a Non-Standard Charge on certain orders when the Fund’s investment adviser has determined that doing so is in the best interests of Fund shareholders, e.g., for creation of orders that facilitate the rebalance of the Fund’s portfolio in a more tax efficient manner than could be achieved without such order. The Adviser may retain all or a portion of the Creation Transaction Fee to the extent the Adviser bears the expenses that otherwise would be borne by the Trust in connection with the purchase of a Creation Unit, which the Creation Transaction Fee is designed to cover. The standard Creation Transaction Fee for the Fund is $[__].
Risks of Purchasing Creation Units. There are certain legal risks unique to investors purchasing Creation Units directly from the Fund’s. Because the Fund’s shares may be issued on an ongoing basis, a “distribution” of shares could be occurring at any time. Certain activities that a shareholder performs as a dealer could, depending on the circumstances, result in the shareholder being deemed a participant in the distribution in a manner that could render the shareholder a statutory underwriter and subject to the prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the 1933 Act. For example, a shareholder could be deemed a statutory underwriter if it purchases Creation Units from the Fund, breaks them down into the constituent shares, and sells those shares directly to customers, or if a shareholder chooses to couple the creation of a supply of new shares with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary-market demand for shares. Whether a person is an underwriter depends upon all of the facts and circumstances pertaining to that person’s activities, and the examples mentioned here should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could cause a shareholder to be deemed an underwriter.
Dealers who are not “underwriters” but are participating in a distribution (as opposed to engaging in ordinary secondary-market transactions), and thus dealing with the Fund’s shares as part of an “unsold allotment” within the meaning of Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the 1933 Act, will be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(a)(3)(C) of the 1933 Act.
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Redemption. Shares may be redeemed only in Creation Units at their NAV next determined after receipt of a redemption request in proper form by the Fund through the Transfer Agent and only on a Business Day. Except upon liquidation of the Fund, the Trust will not redeem shares in amounts less than creation units. Investors must accumulate enough shares in the secondary market to constitute a Creation Unit in order to have such shares redeemed by the Trust. There can be no assurance, however, that there will be sufficient liquidity in the public trading market at any time to permit assembly of a Creation Unit. Investors should expect to incur brokerage and other costs in connection with assembling a sufficient number of shares to constitute a redeemable Creation Unit.
With respect to the Fund, the Custodian, through the NSCC, makes available immediately prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m., Eastern time) on each Business Day, the list of the names and share quantities of the Fund’s portfolio securities that will be applicable (subject to possible amendment or correction) to redemption requests received in proper form (as defined below) on that day (“Fund Securities”). Fund Securities received on redemption may not be identical to Deposit Securities.
Redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit are paid either in-kind or in cash, or combination thereof, as determined by the Trust. With respect to in-kind redemptions of the Fund, redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit will consist of Fund Securities — as announced by the Custodian on the Business Day of the request for redemption received in proper form — plus cash in an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of the shares being redeemed, as next determined after a receipt of a request in proper form, and the value of the Fund Securities (the “Cash Redemption Amount”), less any fixed redemption transaction fee as set forth below and any Non-Standard Charges. If the Fund Securities have a value greater than the NAV of the shares, a compensating cash payment equal to the differential is required to be made by or through an Authorized Participant by the redeeming shareholder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, at the Trust’s discretion, an Authorized Participant may receive the corresponding cash value of the securities in lieu of the in-kind securities value representing one or more Fund Securities.
Cash Redemption Method. Although the Trust does not ordinarily permit full or partial cash redemptions of Creation Units of the Fund, when full or partial cash redemptions of Creation Units are available or specified for the Fund, they will be effected in essentially the same manner as in-kind redemptions thereof. In the case of full or partial cash redemptions, the Authorized Participant will receive the cash equivalent of the Fund Securities it would otherwise receive through an in-kind redemption, plus the same Cash Redemption Amount to be paid to an in-kind redeemer.
Redemption Transaction Fees. A redemption transaction fee (the “Redemption Transaction Fee”) may be imposed for the transfer and other transaction costs associated with the redemption of Creation Units, and Authorized Participants will be required to pay a Redemption Transaction Fee regardless of the number of Creation Units redeemed in the transaction. The Redemption Transaction Fee is the same no matter how many Creation Units are being redeemed pursuant to any one redemption request. The Fund may adjust the Redemption Transaction Fee from time to time based upon actual experience. The fixed redemption fee may be waived on certain orders if the Fund’s custodian has determined to waive some or all of the redemption order costs associated with the order if another party, such as the Fund’s investment adviser, has agreed to pay such fee. In addition, the Fund may impose a Non-Standard Charge of up to 2% of the value of a redemption transaction for cash redemptions, non-standard orders, or partial cash redemptions for the Fund. Investors who use the services of an Authorized Participant, broker or other such intermediary may be charged a fee for such services which may include an amount for the Redemption Transaction Fees and Non-Standard Charges. Investors are responsible for the costs of transferring the securities constituting the Fund Securities to the account of the Trust. The Non-Standard Charges are payable to the Fund as it incurs costs in connection with the redemption of Creation Units, the receipt of Fund Securities and the Cash Redemption Amount and other transaction costs. The standard Redemption Transaction Fee for the Fund is $[__].
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Procedures for Redemption of Creation Units. Orders to redeem Creation Units must be submitted in proper form to the Transfer Agent prior to the time as set forth in the Participant Agreement. A redemption request is considered to be in “proper form” if (i) an Authorized Participant has transferred or caused to be transferred to the Trust’s Transfer Agent the Creation Unit(s) being redeemed through the book-entry system of DTC so as to be effective by the time as set forth in the Participant Agreement and (ii) a request in form satisfactory to the Trust is received by the Transfer Agent from the Authorized Participant on behalf of itself or another redeeming investor within the time periods specified in the Participant Agreement. If the Transfer Agent does not receive the investor’s shares through DTC’s facilities by the times and pursuant to the other terms and conditions set forth in the Participant Agreement, the redemption request will be rejected.
The Authorized Participant must transmit the request for redemption, in the form required by the Trust, to the Transfer Agent in accordance with procedures set forth in the Participant Agreement. Investors should be aware that their particular broker may not have executed a Participant Agreement, and that, therefore, requests to redeem Creation Units may have to be placed by the investor’s broker through an Authorized Participant which has executed a Participant Agreement. Investors making a redemption request should be aware that such request must be in the form specified by such Authorized Participant. Investors making a request to redeem Creation Units should allow sufficient time to permit proper submission of the request by an Authorized Participant and transfer of the shares to the Trust’s Transfer Agent; such investors should allow for the additional time that may be required to effect redemptions through their banks, brokers or other financial intermediaries if such intermediaries are not Authorized Participants.
In connection with taking delivery of shares of Fund Securities upon redemption of Creation Units, a redeeming shareholder or Authorized Participant acting on behalf of such shareholder must maintain appropriate custody arrangements with a qualified broker-dealer, bank or other custody provider in each jurisdiction in which any of the Fund Securities are customarily traded, to which account the Fund Securities will be delivered. Deliveries of redemption proceeds generally will be made within two Business Days of the trade date.
Additional Redemption Procedures. In connection with taking delivery of shares of Fund Securities upon redemption of Creation Units, the Authorized Participant must maintain appropriate custody arrangements with a qualified broker-dealer, bank or other custody provider in each jurisdiction in which any of the Fund Securities are customarily traded, to which account the Fund Securities will be delivered. Deliveries of redemption proceeds generally will be made within two Business Days of the trade date. However, due to the schedule of holidays in certain countries, the different treatment among foreign and U.S. markets of dividend record dates and dividend ex-dates (that is the last date the holder of a security can sell the security and still receive dividends payable on the security sold), and in certain other circumstances, the delivery of in-kind redemption proceeds may take longer than two Business Days after the day on which the redemption request is received in proper form; in such circumstances, the Fund may delay delivery more than seven days if the Fund makes such delivery as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 days. If neither the redeeming shareholder nor the Authorized Participant acting on behalf of such redeeming shareholder has appropriate arrangements to take delivery of the Fund Securities in the applicable foreign jurisdiction and it is not possible to make other such arrangements, or if it is not possible to effect deliveries of the Fund Securities in such jurisdiction, the Trust may, in its discretion, exercise its option to redeem such shares in cash, and the redeeming shareholder will be required to receive its redemption proceeds in cash.
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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 Trust’s brokerage and other transaction costs associated with the disposition of Fund Securities). The Fund may also, in its sole discretion, upon request of a shareholder, provide such redeemer a portfolio of securities that differs from the exact composition of the Fund Securities but does not differ in NAV.
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 Units 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 Creation Units may be paid an equivalent amount of cash. The Authorized Participant may request the redeeming investor of the shares to complete an order form or to enter into agreements with respect to such matters as compensating cash payment. Further, an Authorized Participant that is not a “qualified institutional buyer,” (“QIB”) as such term is defined under Rule 144A of the 1933 Act, will not be able to receive Fund Securities that are restricted securities eligible for resale under Rule 144A. An Authorized Participant may be required by the Trust to provide a written confirmation with respect to QIB status in order to receive Fund Securities.
Because the portfolio securities of the Fund may trade on the relevant exchange(s) on days that the Exchange is closed or are otherwise not Business Days for the Fund, shareholders may not be able to redeem their shares of the Fund, or to purchase or sell shares of the Fund on the Exchange, on days when the NAV of the Fund could be significantly affected by events in the relevant foreign markets.
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 Exchange is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings); (2) for any period during which trading on the Exchange is suspended or restricted; (3) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which disposal of the shares of the Fund or determination of the NAV of the shares is not reasonably practicable; or (4) in such other circumstance as is permitted by the SEC.
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Determination of Net Asset Value
NAV for the Fund is computed by dividing the value of the net assets of the Fund (i.e., the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by the total number of shares outstanding, rounded to the nearest cent. Expenses and fees, including the management fees, are accrued daily and taken into account for purposes of determining NAV. The NAV of the Fund is calculated by the Custodian and determined at the close of the regular trading session on the Exchange (ordinarily 4:00 p.m., Eastern time) on each day that such Exchange is open, provided that fixed-income assets may be valued as of the announced closing time for trading in fixed-income instruments on any day that the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (“SIFMA”) announces an early closing time.
The Fund’s assets are generally valued at their market price on the valuation date and are based on valuations provided by independent pricing services consistent with the Trust’s valuation policies. Pursuant to Rule 2a-5 under the 1940 Act, the Adviser has been designated by the Board as the valuation designee for the Fund and has been delegated the responsibility for making good faith, fair value determinations with respect to the Fund’s portfolio securities. When market prices are not readily available, or believed by the Adviser to be unreliable, a security or other asset is valued at its fair value by the Adviser as determined under fair value pricing procedures approved by the Board. These fair value pricing procedures will also be used to price a security when corporate events, events in the securities market and/or world events cause the Adviser to believe that a security’s last sale price may not reflect its actual market value. The intended effect of using fair value pricing procedures is to ensure that the Fund is accurately priced.
The Fund’s securities which are traded on securities exchanges are valued at the last sale price on the exchange on which such securities are traded, as of the close of business on the day the securities are being valued or, lacking any reported sales, at the mean between the last available bid and ask prices.
Securities traded on a securities exchange for which a last-quoted sales price is readily available will be valued at the last sales price as reported by the primary exchange on which the securities are listed. Securities listed on Nasdaq will be valued at the Nasdaq Official Closing Price, which may differ from the last sales price reported. Securities traded on a securities exchange for which a last-quoted sales price is not readily available will be valued at the last bid, ask or mean between the bid and the ask price, as determined by the Adviser and disclosed in the notes of the annual report. Equity securities traded in the over-the-counter market in which no last sales price is available will be valued at the average of the last bid prices obtained from two or more dealers unless there is only one dealer, in which case that dealer’s last bid price is used.
Stocks that are “thinly traded” or events occurring when a foreign market is closed but the Exchange is open may create a situation where a market quote would not be readily available. When a market quote is not readily available, the security’s value is based on “fair value” as determined by the Adviser as valuation designee. The Fund may hold portfolio securities, such as those traded on foreign exchanges that trade on weekends or other days when the Fund’s shares are not priced. Therefore, the value of the Fund’s shares may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or redeem shares.
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The following information supplements and should be read in conjunction with the section in the Prospectus entitled “Dividends, Distributions and Taxes.”
General Policies. The Fund expects to pay out dividends from net investment income [____]. Net realized capital gains distributions, if any, will be paid out at least annually.
To the extent that distributions exceed the Fund’s earnings and profits, distributions are generally not treated as taxable income for the investor. Instead, Fund shareholders will experience a reduction in the basis of their shares, which may increase the capital gain or reduce capital loss realized upon the sale of such shares. If all or a portion of a distribution payment made by the Fund amounts to a return of capital, the Fund would provide a written notice to that effect.
Dividends and other distributions on shares are distributed, as described below, on a pro rata basis to shareholders of the Fund. Dividend payments are made through DTC Participants and Indirect Participants to shareholders of record with proceeds received from the Fund.
The Fund may make additional distributions to the extent necessary (i) to distribute its entire annual investment company taxable income (determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction), plus its net capital gain, if any, and (ii) to avoid imposition of the excise tax imposed by section 4982 of the Code. Management of the Trust reserves the right to declare special dividends if, in its reasonable discretion, such action is necessary or advisable to preserve the Fund’s eligibility for treatment as a RIC or to avoid imposition of income or excise taxes on undistributed income.
Dividend Reinvestment Service. The Trust will not make the DTC book-entry dividend reinvestment service available for use by shareholders for reinvestment of their cash proceeds, but certain individual broker-dealers may make available the DTC book-entry dividend reinvestment service for use by shareholders of the Fund through DTC Participants for reinvestment of their dividend distributions. Investors should contact their brokers to ascertain the availability and description of these services. Shareholders should be aware that each broker may require investors to adhere to specific procedures and timetables in order to participate in the dividend reinvestment service and investors should ascertain from their brokers such necessary details. If this service is available and used, dividend distributions of both income and realized gains will be automatically reinvested in additional whole shares of the Fund issued by the Trust at NAV. Distributions reinvested in additional shares of the Fund will be taxable to shareholders to the same extent as if such distributions had been received in cash.
Certain U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations
The following is a summary of certain additional U.S. federal income tax considerations generally affecting the Fund and its shareholders that supplements the summary in the Prospectus. The discussion reflects applicable U.S. federal income tax laws as of the date of this SAI, which tax laws may be changed or subject to new interpretations by the courts or the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”), possibly with retroactive effect. No attempt is made to present a detailed explanation of all U.S. federal income, estate, gift, state, local or foreign tax considerations affecting the Fund and its shareholders (including shareholders owning large positions in the Fund). The discussion set forth herein does not constitute tax advice. Investors are urged to consult their own tax advisers to determine the specific tax consequences to them of investing in the Fund, including applicable federal, state, local and foreign tax consequences to them or the effect of possible changes in tax laws.
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In addition, no attempt is made to address tax considerations applicable to an investor with a special tax status, such as a financial institution, REIT, insurance company, regulated investment company, individual retirement account, other tax-exempt organization, dealer in securities or currencies, person holding shares of the Fund as part of a hedging, integrated, conversion or straddle transaction or constructive sale, trader in securities that has elected the mark-to-market method of accounting for its securities, U.S. holder (as defined below) whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar, investor with “applicable financial statements” within the meaning of section 451(b) of the Code, or non-U.S. investor. Furthermore, this discussion does not reflect possible application of the alternative minimum tax. Unless otherwise noted, this discussion assumes the Fund’s shares are held by U.S. persons and that such shares are held as capital assets.
A U.S. holder is a beneficial owner of the shares of the Fund that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
| • | a citizen or individual resident of the United States (including certain former citizens and former long-term residents); |
| • | a corporation or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, created or organized in or under the laws of the United States or any state thereof or the District of Columbia; |
| • | an estate, the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source; or |
| • | a trust with respect to which a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over its administration and one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all of its substantial decisions or the trust has made a valid election in effect under applicable Treasury regulations to be treated as a U.S. person. |
A “Non-U.S. holder” is a beneficial owner of shares of the Fund that is an individual, corporation, trust or estate and is not a U.S. holder. If a partnership (including any entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) holds shares of the Fund, the tax treatment of a partner in the partnership generally will depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership.
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Regulated Investment Company Status. The Fund will seek to qualify for treatment as a RIC under the Code. Provided that for each taxable year the Fund: (i) meets the requirements to be treated as a RIC (as discussed below); and (ii) distributes at least an amount equal to the sum of 90% of the Fund’s investment company taxable income for such year (which includes the excess of net short-term capital gains over net long-term capital losses), computed without regard to the dividends-paid deduction, and 90% of its net tax-exempt interest income for such year (the “Distribution Requirement”), the Fund itself generally will not be subject to federal income taxes to the extent the Fund’s income, including the Fund’s net capital gain (the excess of the Fund’s net long-term capital gains over its net short-term capital losses), is distributed to the Fund’s shareholders. One of several requirements for RIC qualification is that the Fund must receive at least 90% of the Fund’s gross income each year from dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies, or other income derived with respect to the Fund’s business of investing in stock, securities, foreign currencies and net income from interests in qualified publicly traded partnerships, generally including MLPs and certain LLCs (the “90% Test”). A second requirement for qualification as a RIC is that the Fund must diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each quarter of the Fund’s taxable year: (i) at least 50% of the market value of the Fund’s total assets is represented by cash and cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other RICs, and other securities, with these other securities limited, in respect to any one issuer, to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of the Fund’s total assets or 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer; and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of its total assets is invested in the securities (other than U.S. government securities or securities of other RICs) of any one issuer, the securities (other than securities of other RICs) of two or more issuers which the Fund controls and which are engaged in the same, similar, or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships, generally including MLPs and certain LLCs (the “Asset Test”).
For purposes of the 90% Test, the character of income earned by certain entities in which the Fund invests that are not treated as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes (e.g., partnerships and LLCs that are not publicly traded partnerships and that have not elected to be classified as corporations under applicable regulations) will generally pass through to the Fund. Consequently, in order to qualify as a RIC, the Fund may be required to limit its equity investments in such entities if they earn income that is nonqualifying income for purposes of the 90% Test.
If the Fund fails to satisfy the 90% Test or the Asset Test, the Fund may be eligible for relief provisions if the failures are due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect and if a penalty tax is paid with respect to each failure to satisfy the applicable requirements. Additionally, relief is provided for certain de minimis failures of the Asset Test where the Fund corrects the failure within a specified period of time. In order to be eligible for the relief provisions with respect to a failure to meet the Asset Test, the Fund may be required to dispose of certain assets. If these relief provisions are not available to the Fund and it fails to qualify for treatment as a RIC for a taxable year, all of its taxable income would be subject to tax at regular corporate income tax rates without any deduction for distributions to shareholders, and its distributions (including capital gains distributions) generally would be taxable as ordinary income dividends to its shareholders, although if certain requirements are met distributions may be eligible for the dividends-received deduction for corporate shareholders and the lower tax rates on qualified dividend income for noncorporate shareholders. To requalify for treatment as a RIC in a subsequent taxable year, the Fund would be required to satisfy the RIC qualification requirements for that year and to distribute any earnings and profits from any year in which the Fund failed to qualify for tax treatment as a RIC. If the Fund fails to qualify as a RIC for a period longer than two taxable years, it would generally be required to pay a Fund-level tax on certain net built-in gains recognized 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 Board reserves the right not to maintain the qualification of the Fund for treatment as a RIC if it determines such course of action to be beneficial to shareholders. If the Fund determines that it will not qualify for treatment as a RIC, the Fund will establish procedures to reflect the anticipated tax liability in the Fund’s NAV.
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For each year, the Fund intends to distribute substantially all of its investment company taxable income (computed without regard to the dividends-paid deduction) and any realized net capital gain (after taking into account any capital loss carryovers). If the Fund failed to satisfy the Distribution Requirement for any taxable year, it would be taxed as a regular corporation, with consequences generally similar to those described above.
If the Fund meets the Distribution Requirement but retains some or all of its income or gains, it will be subject to federal income tax to the extent any such income or gains are not distributed. The Fund may designate certain amounts retained as undistributed net capital gain in a notice to its shareholders, who (i) will be required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gain, their proportionate shares of the undistributed amount so designated, (ii) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the income tax paid by the Fund on that undistributed amount against their federal income tax liabilities and to claim refunds to the extent such credits exceed their liabilities and (iii) will be entitled to increase their tax basis, for federal income tax purposes, in their shares in the Fund by an amount equal to the excess of the amount of undistributed net capital gain included in their respective income over their respective income tax credits.
The Fund will be subject to a nondeductible 4% federal excise tax on certain undistributed income if it does not distribute (and is not deemed to distribute) to its shareholders in each calendar year an amount at least equal to 98% of its ordinary income for the calendar year plus 98.2% of its capital gain net income for the twelve months ended October 31 of that year, subject to an increase for any shortfall in the prior year’s distribution. For this purpose, any ordinary income or capital gain net income retained by the Fund and subject to corporate income tax will be considered to have been distributed. The Fund intends to declare and distribute dividends and distributions in the amounts and at the times necessary to avoid the application of this 4% excise tax, but can make no assurances that all such tax liability will be eliminated.
Capital losses in excess of capital gains (“net capital losses”) are not permitted to be deducted against a RIC’s net investment income. Instead, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, potentially subject to certain limitations, a RIC may carry net capital losses from any taxable year forward to offset capital gains in future years. The Fund is permitted to carry net capital losses forward indefinitely. To the extent subsequent capital gains are offset by such losses, they will not result in U.S. federal income tax liability to the Fund and may not be distributed as capital gains to shareholders. Generally, the Fund may not carry forward any losses other than net capital losses. Under certain circumstances, the Fund may elect to treat certain losses as though they were incurred on the first day of the taxable year immediately following the taxable year in which they were actually incurred.
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Under section 163(j) of the Code, the amount of business interest that a taxpayer can deduct for any year is generally limited to the taxpayer’s (i) business interest income (which is the amount of interest includible in the gross income of the taxpayer which is properly allocable to a trade or business, but does not include investment income) plus (ii) 30% of adjusted taxable income (but not less than zero) plus (iii) floor plan financing interest. The IRS has issued regulations clarifying that all interest expense and interest income of a RIC is treated as properly allocable to a trade or business for purposes of the limitation on the deductibility of business interest. As a result, this limitation may impact the Fund’s ability to use leverage (e.g., borrow money, issue debt securities, etc.). Shareholders of the Fund may also be subject to this limitation. The Fund is permitted to pass-through its net business interest income (generally the Fund’s business interest income less applicable expenses and deductions) as a “section 163(j) interest dividend.” The amount passed through to shareholders is considered interest income and can be used to determine such shareholder’s business interest deduction under Code section 163(j), if any, subject to holding period requirements and other limitations. The Fund may choose not to report such section 163(j) interest dividends.
Taxation of U.S. Holders. Distributions of net capital gains (the excess of the Fund’s net long-term capital gains over its net short-term capital losses) that the Fund reports to a U.S. holder as capital gain dividends are taxable as long-term capital gains, regardless of how long such U.S. holder has owned the shares. Long-term capital gains are generally taxed to noncorporate U.S. holders at rates of up to 20%. All other dividends of the Fund (including dividends from net short-term capital gains) to the extent of its current or accumulated earnings and profits are generally subject to tax as ordinary income, subject to the discussion of qualified dividend income below.
Subject to certain limitations and requirements, including holding period requirements, dividends reported by the Fund as qualified dividend income will be taxable to noncorporate U.S. holders at rates of up to 20%. In general, dividends may be reported by the Fund as qualified dividend income if they are paid from dividends received by the Fund on common and preferred stock of U.S. companies or on stock of certain eligible foreign corporations, provided that certain holding period and other requirements are met by the Fund with respect to the dividend-paying stocks in its portfolio. Subject to certain limitations, eligible foreign corporations include those incorporated in possessions of the United States or in certain countries with comprehensive tax treaties with the United States, and other foreign corporations if the stock with respect to which the dividends are paid is readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States. “Passive foreign investment companies” (described below) are not qualified foreign corporations for this purpose. The noncorporate U.S. holder must also meet certain holding period and other requirements with respect to its shares in the Fund to be eligible to treat amounts as qualified dividend income.
Certain dividends received by the Fund on stock of U.S. corporations (generally, dividends received by the Fund in respect of any share of stock (i) as to which the Fund has met certain holding period requirements and (ii) that is held in an unleveraged position) may be eligible for the dividends-received deduction generally available to corporate U.S. holders under the Code, provided such dividends are also appropriately reported as eligible for the dividends-received deduction by the Fund. In order to qualify for the dividends-received deduction, corporate U.S. holders must also meet minimum holding period requirements with respect to their Fund shares, taking into account any holding period reductions from certain hedging or other transactions or positions that diminish their risk of loss with respect to their Fund shares. The entire dividend, including the otherwise deductible amount, will be included in determining the excess, if any, of a corporation’s adjusted current earnings over its alternative minimum taxable income, which may increase a corporation’s alternative minimum tax liability. A corporate U.S. holder should consult its tax adviser regarding the possibility that its tax basis in its shares may be reduced, for federal income tax purposes, by reason of “extraordinary dividends” received with respect to the shares and, to the extent such basis would be reduced below zero, current recognition of income may be required. The Fund’s investment strategies may significantly limit its ability to distribute dividends eligible for the dividends-received deduction for corporations.
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The Fund’s participation in loans of securities may affect the amount, timing, and character of distributions to U.S. holders. If the Fund participates in a securities lending transaction and receive a payment in lieu of dividends (a “substitute payment”) with respect to securities on loan in a securities lending transaction, such income generally will not constitute qualified dividend income and thus dividends attributable to such income will not be eligible for taxation at the rates applicable to qualified dividend income. In addition, dividends attributable to such income will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction for corporate U.S. holders.
Although dividends generally will be treated as distributed when paid, any dividend declared by the Fund in October, November or December and payable to U.S. holders of record in such a month that is paid during the following January will be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as received by U.S. holders on December 31 of the calendar year in which it was declared. In addition, certain distributions made after the close of a taxable year of the Fund may be “spilled back” and treated for certain purposes as paid by the Fund during such taxable year. In such case, U.S. holders generally will be treated as having received such dividends in the taxable year in which the distributions were actually made. For purposes of calculating the amount of a RIC’s undistributed income and gain subject to the 4% excise tax described above, such “spilled back” dividends are treated as paid by the RIC when they are actually paid.
Fund distributions, if any, that exceed the Fund’s current or accumulated earnings and profits may be treated as a return of capital to U.S. holders. A return of capital distribution generally will not be taxable but will reduce a U.S. holder’s cost basis and result in a higher capital gain or lower capital loss when the Fund shares on which the distribution was received are sold. After a U.S. holder’s basis in the Fund shares has been reduced to zero, distributions in excess of earnings and profits will be treated as gain from the sale of the shareholder’s shares.
Distributions that are reinvested in additional shares of the Fund will be taxable to U.S. holders to the same extent as if such distributions had been received in cash.
The U.S. holders will be notified annually by the Fund as to the federal tax characterization of all distributions made by the Fund. Distributions may be subject to state and local taxes.
U.S. individuals with income exceeding certain threshold amounts ($250,000 if married and filing jointly or if considered a “surviving spouse” for federal income tax purposes, $125,000 if married filing separately and $200,000 in other cases) are subject to a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax on all or a portion of their “net investment income,” which generally includes interest, dividends, and capital gains (including capital gains realized on the sale, redemption or exchange of shares of the Fund or the redemption of Creation Units). This 3.8% tax also applies to all or a portion of the undistributed net investment income of certain shareholders that are estates and trusts.
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A taxable U.S. holder may wish to avoid investing in the Fund shortly before a dividend or other distribution, because the distribution will generally be taxable even though it may economically represent a return of a portion of such U.S. holder’s investment.
U.S. holders who have not held Fund shares for a full year should be aware that the Fund may report and distribute to a U.S. holder, as ordinary dividends or capital gain dividends, a percentage of income that is not equal to the percentage of the Fund’s ordinary income or net capital gain, respectively, actually earned during such U.S. holder’s period of investment in the Fund.
A sale or redemption of shares by a U.S. holder may give rise to a gain or loss. The difference between the selling or redemption price and such U.S. holder’s tax basis for the shares sold or redeemed generally determines the amount of the gain or loss realized on the sale, redemption or exchange of Fund shares. The tax basis of Fund shares acquired by purchase will generally be based on the amount paid for Fund shares and then may be subsequently adjusted for other applicable transactions as required by the Code. Contact the broker through whom you purchased your Fund shares to obtain information with respect to the available basis reporting methods and elections for your account.
In general, any gain or loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Fund shares will be treated as capital gain or loss if the Fund shares are capital assets in the U.S. holder’s hands, and will be long-term capital gain or loss if the Fund shares have been held for more than one year, and short-term capital gain or loss if the Fund shares are held for one year or less. Any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Fund shares held for six months or less will be treated as long-term, rather than short-term, to the extent of any amounts treated as distributions to the U.S. holder of long-term capital gain with respect to the Fund shares (including any amounts credited to the U.S. holder as undistributed capital gains). All or a portion of any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Fund shares will be disallowed if substantially identical shares of the Fund or other substantially identical stock or securities are purchased (through reinvestment of dividends or otherwise) 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. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitation under the Code.
An Authorized Participant who exchanges securities for Creation Units generally will recognize gain or loss from the exchange. The gain or loss will be equal to the difference between the market value of the Creation Units at the time of the exchange and the sum of the Authorized Participant’s aggregate basis in the securities surrendered plus the amount of cash paid for such Creation Units. The IRS, however, may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of securities for Creation Units cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position. Any gain or loss realized by an Authorized Participant upon a creation of Creation Units will be treated as capital gain or loss if the Authorized Participant holds the securities exchanged therefor as capital assets, and otherwise will be ordinary income or loss. Any capital gain or loss realized upon the creation of Creation Units will generally be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the securities exchanged for such Creation Units have been held by the Authorized Participant for more than one year, and otherwise will be short-term capital gain or loss. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitation under the Code.
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The Trust on behalf of the Fund has the right to reject an order for a purchase of Creation Units if the Authorized Participant (or a group of Authorized Participants) would, upon obtaining the Creation Units so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund and if, pursuant to sections 351 and 362 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 this 80% determination. If the Fund issues Creation Units to an Authorized Participant (or group of Authorized Participants) that would, upon obtaining the Creation Units so ordered, own 80% or more of the outstanding shares of the Fund, the Authorized Participant (or group of Authorized Participants) may not recognize gain or loss upon the exchange of securities for Creation Units.
An Authorized Participant who redeems Creation Units will generally recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the sum of the aggregate market value of any securities received plus the amount of any cash received for such Creation Units and the Authorized Participant’s basis in the Creation Units. Any gain or loss realized by an Authorized Participant upon a redemption of Creation Units will be treated as capital gain or loss if the Authorized Participant holds the shares comprising the Creation Units as capital assets, and otherwise will be ordinary income or loss. 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 shares comprising the Creation Units have been held by the Authorized Participant for more than one year, and otherwise will generally be short-term capital gain or loss. Any capital loss realized upon a redemption of Creation Units held for six months or less will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any amounts treated as distributions to the applicable Authorized Participant of long-term capital gains with respect to the Creation Units (including any amounts credited to the Authorized Participant as undistributed capital gains). The IRS may assert that a loss realized upon an exchange of Creation Units for securities cannot be deducted currently under the rules governing “wash sales,” or on the basis that there has been no significant change in economic position. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitation under the Code.
Persons purchasing or redeeming Creation Units should consult their own tax advisers with respect to the tax treatment of any creation or redemption transaction.
The Fund intends to effect a significant portion of its redemptions for cash, rather than in-kind securities, thus the Fund may be required to execute additional sale or exchange transactions that may increase the taxable income and net capital gain or both of the Fund and limit the tax efficiency of the Fund. As a result, an investment in the Fund may be less tax-efficient than an investment in an ETF that effects its creations and redemptions only in-kind.
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Taxation of Fund Investments. Certain of the Fund’s investments may be subject to complex provisions of the Code (including provisions relating to hedging transactions, straddles, integrated transactions, foreign currency contracts, forward foreign currency contracts, and notional principal contracts) that, among other things, (i) convert distributions that would otherwise constitute qualified dividend income into ordinary income taxed at the higher rate applicable to ordinary income, (ii) treat distributions that would otherwise be eligible for the corporate dividends received deduction as ineligible for such treatment, (iii) disallow, suspend or otherwise limit the allowance of certain losses or deductions, (iv) convert long-term capital gain into short-term capital gain or ordinary income, (v) convert an ordinary loss or deduction into a capital loss (the deductibility of which is more limited), (vi) cause the Fund to recognize income or gain without a corresponding receipt of cash, (vii) adversely affect the time as to when a purchase or sale of stock or securities is deemed to occur, (viii) adversely alter the characterization of certain complex financial transactions, and (ix) produce income that will not be included in the sources of income from which a RIC must derive at least 90% of its gross income each year. These rules could therefore affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to U.S. holders. These provisions also may require the Fund to mark to market certain types of positions in its portfolio (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out) which may cause the Fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the RIC distribution requirements for avoiding income and excise taxes. The Fund intends to monitor its transactions, intends to make appropriate tax elections, and intends to make appropriate entries in its books and records in order to mitigate the effect of these rules and preserve its qualification for treatment as a RIC.
If the Fund invests in certain pay-in-kind securities, zero coupon securities, deferred interest securities or, in general, any other securities with original issue discount (or with market discount if the Fund elects to include market discount in income currently), the Fund must accrue income on such investments for each taxable year, which generally will be prior to the receipt of the corresponding cash payments. However, the Fund must distribute to shareholders, at least annually, all or substantially all of its investment company taxable income (determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid), including such income it is required to accrue, to qualify as a RIC and avoid federal income and excise taxes. Therefore, the Fund may have to dispose of its portfolio securities under disadvantageous circumstances to generate cash, or may have to leverage itself by borrowing the cash, to satisfy these distribution requirements.
The Fund may acquire debt securities that are market discount bonds. A market discount bond is a security acquired in the secondary market at a price below its redemption value (or its adjusted issue price if it is also an original-issue discount bond). If the Fund invests in a market discount bond, it will be required to treat any gain recognized on the disposition of such market discount bond as ordinary taxable income to the extent of the accrued market discount unless the Fund elects to include the market discount in taxable income as it accrues.
The Fund’s investment in lower rated or unrated debt securities may present issues for the Fund if the issuers of these securities default on their obligations because the federal income tax consequences to a holder of such securities are not certain.
The Fund’s investments in options may be subject to numerous special and complex tax rules. These rules could affect whether gains and losses recognized by the Fund are treated as ordinary income and loss or capital gain and loss or whether capital gains and losses are long-term or short-term in nature, accelerate the recognition of income to the Fund and/or defer the Fund’s ability to recognize losses. In turn, those rules may affect the amount, timing or character of the income distributed by the Fund. It is anticipated that any net gain realized from the lapse or closing out of options contracts will be considered qualifying income for purposes of the 90% Test.
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If the Fund holds an equity interest in any “passive foreign investment companies” (“PFICs”), which are generally certain non-U.S. corporations that receive at least 75% of their annual gross income from passive sources (such as interest, dividends, certain rents and royalties or capital gains) or that hold at least 50% of their assets in investments producing such passive income, the Fund could be subject to U.S. federal income tax and additional interest charges on gains and certain distributions with respect to those equity interests, even if all the income or gain is timely distributed to its shareholders. The Fund will not be able to pass through to its shareholders any credit or deduction for such taxes. The Fund may be able to make an election that could ameliorate these adverse tax consequences. In this case, the Fund would recognize as ordinary income any increase in the value of such PFIC shares, and as ordinary loss any decrease in such value to the extent it did not exceed prior increases included in income. Under this election, the Fund might be required to recognize in a year income in excess of its distributions from PFICs and its proceeds from dispositions of PFIC stock during that year, and such income would nevertheless be subject to the distribution requirement and would be taken into account for purposes of a 4% excise tax that can be imposed if the Fund fails to meet certain calendar year distribution requirements contained in the Code. Dividends paid by PFICs are not treated as qualified dividend income.
The Fund may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries, including taxes on interest, dividends and capital gains with respect to any investments in those countries. Any such taxes would, if imposed, reduce the yield on or return from those investments. Tax conventions between certain countries and the U.S. may reduce or eliminate such taxes in some cases. The Fund does not expect to satisfy the requirements for passing through to its shareholders any share of foreign taxes paid by the Fund, with the result that U.S. holders will not be required to include such taxes in their gross incomes and will not be entitled to a tax deduction or credit for any such taxes on their own tax returns.
Under the Code, gains or losses attributable to fluctuations in exchange rates which occur between the time the Fund accrues income or receivables or accrues expenses or other liabilities denominated in a foreign currency and the time the Fund actually collects such income or pays such 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 also may be treated as ordinary gain or loss. These gains and losses, referred to under the Code as “Section 988” gains or losses, may increase or decrease the amount of the Fund’s investment company taxable income to be distributed to the U.S. holders as ordinary income.
Backup Withholding. The Fund may be required to withhold federal income tax at a rate of 24% from all distributions and redemption proceeds payable to U.S. holders who fail to provide the Fund with their correct taxpayer identification number or to make required certifications, or who have been notified (or the Fund has been notified) by the IRS that they are subject to backup withholding. Corporate U.S. holders and certain other U.S. holders specified in the Code generally are exempt from such backup withholding. This withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld may be credited against the shareholder’s federal income tax liability, provided the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.
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Non-U.S. Holders. Non-U.S. holders are generally subject to U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30% (or a lower tax treaty rate) on distributions derived from taxable ordinary income. Gains realized by Non-U.S. holders from the sale or other disposition of shares of the Fund generally are not subject to U.S. taxation, unless the recipient is an individual who is physically present in the U.S. for 183 days or more per year. Non-U.S. holders who fail to provide an applicable IRS form may be subject to backup withholding on certain payments from the Fund. Backup withholding will not be applied to payments that are subject to the 30% (or lower applicable treaty rate) withholding tax described in this paragraph. Different tax consequences may result if a Non-U.S. holder is engaged in a trade or business within the United States. In addition, the tax consequences to a Non-U.S. holder entitled to claim the benefits of a tax treaty may be different than those described above.
The 30% withholding tax also will not apply to dividends that the Fund elects to report as (a) interest-related dividends, to the extent such dividends are derived from the Fund’s “qualified net interest income,” or (b) short-term capital gain dividends, to the extent such dividends are derived from the Fund’s interest and original issue discount, subject to certain exceptions and limitations. “Qualified short-term gain” generally means the excess of the net short-term capital gain of the Fund for the taxable year over its net long-term capital loss, if any. The Fund may choose not to make such elections even if they are otherwise available. In the case of Fund shares held through a broker, the broker may withhold even if the Fund reports a payment as an interest-related dividend or a short-term capital gain dividend. Non-U.S. holders should contact their brokers with respect to the application of these rules to their accounts.
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) generally requires the Fund to obtain information sufficient to identify the status of each of its shareholders. If a shareholder fails to provide this information or otherwise fails to comply with FATCA, the Fund may be required to withhold under FATCA at a rate of 30% with respect to that shareholder on Fund dividends and distributions and redemption proceeds. The Fund may disclose the information that it receives from (or concerning) its shareholders to the IRS, non-U.S. taxing authorities or other parties as necessary to comply with FATCA, related intergovernmental agreements or other applicable laws or regulations. Investors are urged to consult their own tax advisers regarding the applicability of FATCA and any other reporting requirements with respect to the investor’s own situation, including investments through an intermediary.
Pursuant to proposed regulations, the Treasury Department has indicated its intent to eliminate the requirements under FATCA of withholding on gross proceeds from the sale, exchange, maturity or other disposition of relevant financial instruments (including redemptions of stock). The Treasury Department has indicated that taxpayers may rely on these proposed regulations pending their finalization.
A beneficial holder of Fund shares who is a Non-U.S. holder may be subject to foreign, 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 Non-U.S. holder is eligible for the benefits of a tax treaty, any effectively connected income or gain will generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net basis only if it is also attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base maintained by the shareholder in the United States.
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Certain Potential Tax Reporting Requirements. Under U.S. Treasury regulations, 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 in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance shareholders of a RIC are not excepted. A shareholder who fails to make the required disclosure to the IRS may be subject to adverse tax consequences, including substantial penalties. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisers to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.
Options. The Fund’s transactions in options will be subject to special provisions of the Code that, among other things, may affect the character of gains and losses realized by us (i.e., may affect whether gains or losses are ordinary or capital, or short-term or long-term), may accelerate recognition of income to us and may defer the Fund’s losses. These rules could, therefore, affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to shareholders. These provisions also (a) will require us to mark-to-market certain types of the positions in its portfolio (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out), and (b) may cause us to recognize income without receiving cash with which to make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the distribution requirement for qualifying to be taxed as a RIC and the distribution requirement for avoiding excise taxes. The Fund will monitor its transactions, will make the appropriate tax elections and will make the appropriate entries in the Fund’s books and records in order to mitigate the effect of these rules and prevent the Fund’s disqualification from being taxed as a RIC.
Other Issues. The Fund may be subject to tax or taxes in certain states where the Fund does business. Furthermore, in those states which have income tax laws, the tax treatment of the Fund and of Fund shareholders with respect to distributions by the Fund may differ from the federal tax treatment.
The foregoing is a general and abbreviated summary of the provisions of the Code and the Treasury Regulations based on federal tax laws and regulations that are in effect on the date of this SAI as they directly govern the taxation of the Fund and its shareholders. These provisions are subject to change by legislative and administrative action, and any such change may be retroactive. Shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisers regarding specific questions as to U.S. federal, foreign, state and local income or other taxes based on their particular circumstances.
The Fund has not yet commenced operations and therefore has no performance history or financial information as of the date of this SAI. The audited financial statements for the Fund will appear in the Trust’s Form N-CSR filed with the SEC and on the Fund’s website when available. When available, you may request a copy of the Fund’s financial statements at no charge by calling (855) 994-4437.
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Appendix A
Standard & Poor’s Corporation
Description of Credit Ratings
A brief description of the applicable Standard & Poor’s Corporation (“S&P”) rating symbols and their meanings (as published by S&P) follows:
Long-Term Debt
An S&P corporate or municipal debt rating is a current assessment of the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific obligation. This assessment may take into consideration obligors such as guarantors, insurers or lessees. The debt rating is not a recommendation to purchase, sell or hold a security, inasmuch as it does not comment as to market price or suitability for a particular investor. The ratings are based on current information furnished by the issuer or obtained by S&P from other sources it considers reliable. S&P does not perform an audit in connection with any rating and may, on occasion, rely on unaudited financial information. The ratings may be changed, suspended or withdrawn as a result of changes in, or unavailability of, such information, or based on other circumstances. The ratings are based, in varying degrees, on the following considerations:
| 1. | Likelihood of default-capacity and willingness of the obligor as to the timely payment of interest and repayment of principal in accordance with the terms of the obligation; |
| 2. | Nature of and provisions of the obligation; and |
| 3. | Protection afforded by, and relative position of, the obligation in the event of bankruptcy, reorganization, or other arrangement under the laws of bankruptcy and other laws affecting creditors’ rights. |
Investment Grade
| AAA | Debt rated “AAA” has the highest rating assigned by S&P. Capacity to pay interest and repay principal is extremely strong. |
| AA | Debt rated “AA” has a very strong capacity to pay interest and repay principal and differs from the highest rated issues only in small degree. |
| A | Debt rated “A” has a strong capacity to pay interest and repay principal although it is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than debt in higher rated categories. |
| BBB | Debt rated “BBB” is regarded as having an adequate capacity to pay interest and repay principal. Whereas it normally exhibits adequate protection parameters, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity to pay interest and repay principal for debt in this category than in higher rated categories. |
A-1
Speculative Grade Rating
Debt rated “BB”, “B”, “CCC”, “CC” and “C” is regarded as having predominantly speculative characteristics with respect to capacity to pay interest and repay principal. “BB” indicates the least degree of speculation and “C” the highest. While such debt will likely have some quality and protective characteristics these are outweighed by major uncertainties or major exposures to adverse conditions.
| BB | Debt rated “BB” has less near-term vulnerability to default than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions which could lead to inadequate capacity to meet timely interest and principal payments. The “BB” rating category is also used for debt subordinated to senior debt that is assigned an actual or implied “BBB” rating. |
| B | Debt rated “B” has a greater vulnerability to default but currently has the capacity to meet interest payments and principal repayments. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair capacity or willingness to pay interest and repay principal. The “B” rating category is also used for debt subordinated to senior debt that is assigned an actual or implied “BB” or “BB” rating. |
| CCC | Debt rated “CCC” has a currently identifiable vulnerability to default, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions to meet timely payment of interest and repayment of principal. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, it is not likely to have the capacity to pay interest and repay principal. The “CCC” rating category is also used for debt subordinated to senior debt that is assigned an actual or implied “B” or “B” rating. |
| CC | The rating “CC” typically is applied to debt subordinated to senior debt that is assigned an actual or implied “CCC” debt rating. |
| C | The rating “C” typically is applied to debt subordinated to senior debt which is assigned an actual or implied “CCC” debt rating. The “C” rating may be used to cover a situation where a bankruptcy petition has been filed, but debt service payments are continued. |
| CI | The rating “CI” is reserved for income bonds on which no interest is being paid. |
| D | Debt rated “D” is in payment default. The “D” rating category is used when interest payments or principal payments are not made on the date due even if the applicable grace period has not expired, unless S&P believes that such payments will be made during such grace period. The “D” rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition if debt service payments are jeopardized. |
A-2
Plus (+) or Minus (-): The ratings from “AA” to “CCC” may be modified by the addition of a plus or minus sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.
Provisional Ratings: The letter “p” indicates that the rating is provisional. A provisional rating assumes the successful completion of the project financed by the debt being rated and indicates that payment of debt service requirements is largely or entirely dependent upon the successful and timely completion of the project. This rating, however, while addressing credit quality subsequent to completion of the project, makes no comment on the likelihood of, or the risk of default upon failure of, such completion. The investor should exercise judgment with respect to such likelihood and risk.
| r | The letter “r” is attached to highlight derivative, hybrid, and certain other obligations that S&P believes may experience high volatility or high variability in expected returns due to non-credit risks. Examples of such obligations are: securities whose principal or interest return is indexed to equities, commodities, or currencies; certain swaps and options; and interest only and principal only mortgage securities. The absence of an “r” symbol should not be taken as an indication that an obligation will exhibit no volatility or variability in total return. |
| L | The letter “L” indicates that the rating pertains to the principal amount of those bonds to the extent that the underlying deposit collateral is Federally insured by the Federal Savings & Loan Insurance Corporation or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation* In the case of certificates of deposit the letter “L” indicates that the deposit, combined with other deposits being held in the same right and capacity will be honored for principal and accrued pre-default interest up to the Federal insurance limits within 30 days after closing of the insured institution or, in the event that the deposit is assumed by a successor insured institution, upon maturity. |
| NR | Indicates no rating has been requested, that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that S&P does not rate a particular type of obligation as a matter of policy. |
Commercial Paper
An S&P commercial paper rating is a current assessment of the likelihood of timely payment of debt having an original maturity of no more than 365 days. Ratings are graded into several categories, ranging from “A-1” for the highest quality obligations to “D” for the lowest. These categories are as follows:
| A-1 | This highest category indicates that the degree of safety regarding timely payment is strong. Those issues determined to possess extremely strong safety characteristics are denoted with a plus sign (+) designation. |
| A-2 | Capacity for timely payment on issues with this designation is satisfactory. However, the relative degree of safety is not as high as for issues designated “A-1.” |
A-3
*Continuance of the rating is contingent upon S&P’s receipt of an executed copy of the escrow agreement or closing documentation confirming investments and cash flow.
| A-3 | Issues carrying this designation have adequate capacity for timely payment. They are, however, somewhat more vulnerable to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances than obligations carrying the higher designations. |
| B | Issues rated “B” are regarded as having only speculative capacity for timely payment. |
| C | This rating is assigned to short-term debt obligations with a doubtful capacity for payment. |
| D | Debt rated “D” is in payment default. The “D” rating category is used when interest payments or principal Payments are not made on the date due, even if the applicable grace period has not expired, unless S&P believes that such payments will be made during such grace period. |
A commercial rating is not a recommendation to purchase, sell or hold a security inasmuch as it does not comment as to market price or suitability for a particular investor. The ratings are based on current information furnished to S&P by the issuer or obtained by S&P from other sources it considers reliable.
S&P does not perform an audit in connection with any rating and may, on occasion, rely on unaudited financial information. The ratings may be changed, suspended or withdrawn as a result of changes in or unavailability of such information or based on other circumstances.
Preferred Securities
| AAA | This is the highest rating that may be assigned to a preferred stock issue and indicates an extremely strong capacity to pay the preferred stock obligations. |
| AA | A preferred stock issue rated AA also qualifies as a high quality fixed income security. The capacity to pay preferred stock obligations is very strong, although not as overwhelming as for issues rated AAA. |
| A | An issue rated A is backed by a sound capacity to pay the preferred stock obligations, although it is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions. |
| BBB | An issue rated BBB is regarded as backed by an adequate capacity to pay preferred stock obligations. Although it normally exhibits adequate protection parameters, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity to make payments for preferred stock in this category for issues in the A category. |
A-4
| BB | As issue rated BB is regarded, on balance, as predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay the preferred stock obligation. While such issues will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, they are outweighed by large uncertainties or major risk exposures to adverse conditions. |
Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.
A brief description of the applicable Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) rating symbols and their meanings (as published by Moody’s) follows:
Long-Term Debt
The following summarizes the ratings used by Moody’s for corporate and municipal long-term debt:
| Aaa | Bonds are judged to be of the best quality. They carry the smallest degree of investment risk and are generally referred to as “gilt edged.” Interest payments are protected by a large or by an exceptionally stable margin and principal is secure. While the various protective elements are likely to change, such changes as can be visualized are most unlikely to impair the Fundamentally strong position of such issuer. |
| Aa | Bonds are judged to be of high quality by all standards. Together with the “Aaa” group they comprise what are generally known as high-grade bonds. They are rated lower than the best bonds because margins of protection may not be as large as in “Aaa” securities or fluctuation of protective elements may be of greater amplitude or there may be other elements present which make the long-term risks appear somewhat larger than in “Aaa” securities. |
| A | Bonds possess many favorable investment attributes and are to be considered as upper medium-grade obligations. Factors giving security to principal and interest are considered adequate but elements may be present which suggest a susceptibility to impairment sometime in the future. |
| Ba | Bonds considered medium-grade obligations, i.e., they are neither highly protected nor poorly secured. Interest payments and principal security appear adequate for the present but certain protective elements may be lacking or may be characteristically unreliable over any great length of time. Such bonds lack outstanding investment characteristics and in fact have speculative characteristics as well. |
Ba, B, Caa, Ca, and C Bonds that possess one of these ratings provide questionable protection of interest and principal (“Ba” indicates some speculative elements; “B” indicates a general lack of characteristics of desirable investment; “Caa” represents a poor standing; “Ca” represents obligations which are speculative in a high degree; and “C” represents the lowest rated class of bonds). “Caa,” “Ca” and “C” bonds may be in default.
A-5
Con. (—) Bonds for which the security depends upon the completion of some act or the fulfillment of some condition are rated conditionally. These are bonds secured by (a) earnings of projects under construction, (b) earnings of projects unseasoned in operation experience, (c) rentals which begin when facilities are completed, or (d) payments to which some other limiting condition attaches. Parenthetical rating denotes probable credit stature upon completion of construction or elimination of basis of condition.
| (P) | When applied to forward delivery bonds, indicates that the rating is provisional pending delivery of the bonds. The rating may be revised prior to delivery if changes occur in the legal documents or the underlying credit quality of the bonds. |
Note: Those bonds in the Aa, A, Baa, Ba and B groups which Moody’s believes possess the strongest investment attributes are designated by the symbols, Aa1, A1, Ba1 and B1.
Short-Term Loans
| MIG 1/VMIG 1 | This designation denotes best quality. There is present strong protection by established cash flows, superior liquidity support or demonstrated broad based access to the market for refinancing. |
| MIG 2/VMIG 2 | This designation denotes high quality. Margins of protection are ample although not so large as in the preceding group. |
| MIG 3/VMIG 3 | This designation denotes favorable quality. All security elements are accounted for but there is lacking the undeniable strength of the preceding grades. Liquidity and cash flow protection may be narrow and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established. |
| MIG 4/VMIG 4 | This designation denotes adequate quality. Protection commonly regarded as required of an investment security is present and although not distinctly or predominantly speculative, there is specific risk. |
| S.G. | This designation denotes speculative quality. Debt instruments in this category lack margins of protection. |
A-6
Commercial Paper
Issuers rated Prime-1 (or related supporting institutions) have a superior capacity for repayment of short-term promissory obligations. Prime-1 repayment capacity will normally be evidenced by the following characteristics:
| • | Leading market positions in well-established industries. |
| • | High rates of return on Fund employed. |
| • | Conservative capitalization structures with moderate reliance on debt and ample asset protection. |
| • | Broad margins in earnings coverage of fixed financial charges and high internal cash generation. |
| • | Well-established access to a range of financial markets and assured sources of alternate liquidity. |
Issuers rated Prime-2 (or related supporting institutions) have a strong capacity for repayment of short-term promissory obligations. This will normally be evidenced by many of the characteristics cited above but to a lesser degree. Earnings trends and coverage ratios, while sound, will be more subject to variation. Capitalization characteristics, while still appropriate, may be more affected by external conditions. Ample alternate liquidity is maintained. Issuers rated Prime-3 (or related supporting institutions) have an acceptable capacity for repayment of short-term promissory obligations. The effect of industry characteristics and market composition may be more pronounced. Variability in earnings and profitability may result in changes in the level of debt protection measurements and the requirement for relatively high financial leverage. Adequate alternate liquidity is maintained.
Issuers rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.
Preferred Securities Ratings
| aaa | Preferred stocks which are rated “aaa” are considered to be top quality. This rating indicates good asset protection and the least risk of dividend impairment within the universe of preferred stocks. |
| aa | Preferred stocks which are rated “aa” are considered to be high grade. This rating indicates that there is reasonable assurance that earnings and asset protection will remain relatively well maintained in the foreseeable future. |
| a | Preferred stocks which are rated “a” are considered to be upper-medium grade. While risks are judged to be somewhat greater than in the “aaa” and “aa” classifications, earnings and asset protection are, nevertheless, expected to be maintained at adequate levels. |
| baa | Preferred stocks which are rated “baa” are judged lower-medium grade, neither highly protected nor poorly secured. Earnings and asset protection appear adequate at present but may be questionable over any great length of time. |
| ba | Preferred stocks which are rated “ba” are considered to have speculative elements and their future cannot be considered well assured. Earnings and asset protection may be very moderate and not well safeguarded during adverse periods. Uncertainty of position characterizes preferred stocks in this class. |
A-7
Tortoise Capital Series Trust
Part C – Other Information
Item 28. Exhibits
| (a) | (1) | Certificate of Trust of Tortoise Capital Series Trust (the “Registrant”)(1) |
| (2) | Fourth Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust of the Registrant(9) |
| (b) | Bylaws of the Registrant(2) |
| (c) | Not Applicable |
| (d) | (1) | Investment Advisory Agreement(5) |
| (2) | Form of Seventh Amendment to Investment Advisory Agreement(*) |
| (3) | Investment Advisory Agreement for Mutual Funds(7) |
| (4) | Operating Expenses Limitation Agreement(7) |
| (e) | (1) | ETF Distribution Agreement(5) |
| (2) | Amendment to ETF Distribution Agreement(*) |
| (3) | Mutual Fund Distribution Agreement(7) |
| (f) | Not Applicable |
| (g) | (1) | Custody Agreement(5) |
| (2) | Amendment to Custody Agreement(*) |
| (3) | Mutual Fund Custody Agreement(7) |
| (h) | (1) | Fund Administration Servicing Agreement(5) |
| (2) | Amendment to the Fund Administration Servicing Agreement(*) |
| (3) | Mutual Fund Servicing Agreement(7) |
| (4) | ETF Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement(5) |
| (5) | Amendment to the ETF Fund Accounting Servicing Agreement(*) |
| (6) | Transfer Agent Servicing Agreement(5) |
| (7) | Amendment to the Transfer Agent Servicing Agreement(*) |
| (8) | Services Agreement with PINE Advisors LLC(5) |
| (9) | Mutual Fund Servicing Agreement(6) |
| (i) | Opinion and Consent of Counsel(*) |
| (j) | Not Applicable |
| (k) | Not Applicable |
| (l) | Subscription Agreement(11) |
| (m) | (1) | ETF 12b-1 Plan(8) |
| (2) | Updated ETF 12b-1 Plan(9) |
| (3) | Mutual Fund 12b-1 Plan(6) |
| (n) | Rule 18f-3 Plan(6) |
| (o) | Reserved |
| (p) | (1) | Code of Ethics for the Registrant(4) |
| (2) | Code of Ethics for Tortoise Capital Advisors, L.L.C.(4) |
| (q) | Powers of Attorney(3) |
| (1) | Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-14 (File Nos. 811-23997 and 333-281752) filed on August 23, 2024. |
| (2) | Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-14 (File Nos. 811-23997 and 333-281752) filed on October 15, 2024. |
C-1
| (3) | Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File Nos. 811-23997 and 333-281744) filed on October 18, 2024. |
| (4) | Incorporated by reference to the Pre-Effective Amendment to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File Nos. 811-23997 and 333-281744) filed on December 6, 2024. |
| (5) | Incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File Nos. 811-23997 and 333-281744) filed on February 14, 2025. |
| (6) | Incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 2 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File Nos. 811-23997 and 333-281744) filed on February 14, 2025. |
| (7) | Incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 11 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File Nos. 811-23997 and 333-281744) filed on May 9, 2025. |
| (8) | Incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 15 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File Nos. 811-23997 and 333-281744) filed on June 13, 2025. |
| (9) | Incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 18 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File Nos. 811-23997 and 333-281744) filed on July 25, 2025. |
| (10) | Incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 23 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File Nos. 811-23997 and 333-281744) filed on December 10, 2025. |
| (11) | Incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 26 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A (File Nos. 811-23997 and 333-281744) filed on December 18, 2025. |
| (*) | To be filed by post-effective amendment. |
Item 29. Persons Controlled By or Under Common Control with Registrant
Not applicable.
Item 30. Indemnification
Section 9.5 of Article IX of the Registrant’s Declaration of Trust, as amended, provides as follows:
Subject to the exceptions and limitations contained in this Section 9.5, every Person who is, or has been, a Trustee or officer of the Trust, including Persons who serve at the request of the Trust as directors, trustees, officers, employees, agents or independent contractors of another organization in which the Trust has an interest as a shareholder, creditor or otherwise (hereinafter referred to as a “Covered Person”), shall be indemnified by the Trust to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law against liability and against all expenses reasonably incurred or paid by such Trustee or officer of the Trust in connection with any claim, action, suit or proceeding in which such Trustee or officer of the Trust becomes involved as a party or otherwise by virtue of his or her service in such capacity. The Trust may, with the approval of the Trustees, provide such indemnification and advance of expenses to a Person who served a predecessor of the Trust in any of the capacities described above and to any employee or agent of the Trust or a predecessor of the Trust. No indemnification shall be provided hereunder to the extent such indemnification is prohibited by the 1940 Act.
The rights of indemnification herein provided may be insured against by policies maintained by the Trust, shall be severable, shall not affect any other rights to which any Covered Person may now or hereafter be entitled, shall continue as to a Person who has ceased to be such a Covered Person and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such a Person.
C-2
Subject to applicable federal law, expenses of preparation and presentation of a defense to any claim, action, suit or proceeding subject to a claim for indemnification under this Section 9.5 shall be advanced by the Trust prior to final disposition thereof upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of the recipient to repay such amount if it is ultimately determined that the recipient is not entitled to indemnification under this Section 9.5.
To the extent that any determination is required to be made as to whether a Covered Person engaged in conduct for which indemnification is not provided as described herein, or as to whether there is reason to believe that a Covered Person ultimately will be found entitled to indemnification, the Person or Persons making the determination shall afford the Covered Person a rebuttable presumption that the Covered Person has not engaged in such conduct and that there is reason to believe that the Covered Person ultimately will be found entitled to indemnification.
As used in this Section 9.5, the words “claim,” “action,” “suit” or “proceeding” shall apply to all claims, demands, actions, suits, investigations, regulatory inquiries, proceedings or any other occurrence of a similar nature, whether actual or threatened and whether civil, criminal, administrative or other, including appeals, and the words “liability” and “expenses” shall include without limitation, attorneys’ fees, costs, judgments, amounts paid in settlement, fines, penalties and other liabilities.
Insofar as indemnification for liability arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to Trustees, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a trustee, Officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such trustee, Officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant 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
Reference is made to the caption “Management of the Fund” in the Statement of Additional Information constituting Part B of this Registration Statement.
This item incorporates by reference the investment adviser’s Uniform Application for Investment Advisers Registration (“Form ADV”) of Tortoise Capital Advisors, L.L.C. (SEC File No. 801-61622).
C-3
Item 32. Principal Underwriters
| (a) | Quasar Distributors, LLC (the “Distributor”) serves as principal underwriter for the following investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended: |
| 1. | Abacus FCF ETF Trust |
| 2. | Advisor Managed Portfolios |
| 3. | Antares Private Credit Fund |
| 4. | Capital Advisors Growth Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 5. | Chase Growth Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 6. | Davidson Multi Cap Equity Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 7. | Edgar Lomax Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 8. | First Sentier American Listed Infrastructure Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 9. | First Sentier Global Listed Infrastructure Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 10. | Huber Large Cap Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 11. | Huber Mid Cap Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 12. | Huber Select Large Cap Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 13. | Huber Small Cap Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 14. | Logan Capital Broad Innovative Growth ETF, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 15. | Medalist Partners MBS Total Return Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 16. | Medalist Partners Short Duration Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 17. | O’Shaughnessy Market Leaders Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 18. | PIA BBB Bond Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 19. | PIA High Yield (MACS) Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 20. | PIA High Yield Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 21. | PIA MBS Bond Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 22. | PIA Short-Term Securities Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 23. | Poplar Forest Cornerstone Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 24. | Poplar Forest Partners Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 25. | Pzena Emerging Markets Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 26. | Pzena International Small Cap Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 27. | Pzena International Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 28. | Pzena Mid Cap Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 29. | Pzena Small Cap Value Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 30. | Reverb ETF, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 31. | Scharf ETF, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 32. | Scharf Global Opportunity ETF, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 33. | Scharf Multi-Asset Opportunity Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 34. | Shenkman Capital Floating Rate High Income Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 35. | Shenkman Capital Short Duration High Income Fund, Series of Advisors Series Trust |
| 36. | The Aegis Funds |
| 37. | Allied Asset Advisors Funds |
| 38. | Angel Oak Funds Trust |
| 39. | Angel Oak Strategic Credit Fund |
| 40. | Brookfield Infrastructure Income Fund Inc. |
C-4
| 41. | Brookfield Investment Funds |
| 42. | Buffalo Funds |
| 43. | RJ Eagle GCM Dividend Select Income ETF, Series of Carillon Series Trust |
| 44. | RJ Eagle Municipal Income ETF, Series of Carillon Series Trust |
| 45. | RJ Eagle Vertical Income ETF, Series of Carillon Series Trust |
| 46. | DoubleLine Funds Trust |
| 47. | AOT Growth and Innovation ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 48. | ARS Focused Opportunities Strategy ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 49. | Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 50. | Alpha Architect Aggregate Bond ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 51. | Alpha Architect Global Factor Equity ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 52. | Alpha Architect High Inflation and Deflation ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 53. | Alpha Architect International Quantitative Momentum ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 54. | Alpha Architect International Quantitative Value ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 55. | Alpha Architect Tail Risk ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 56. | Alpha Architect U.S. Quantitative Momentum ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 57. | Alpha Architect U.S. Quantitative Value ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 58. | Alpha Architect US Equity ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 59. | Alpha Blue Capital US Small-Mid Cap Dynamic ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 60. | Altrius Global Dividend ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 61. | Amplius Aggressive Asset Allocation ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 62. | Argent Focused Small Cap ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 63. | Argent Large Cap ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 64. | Argent Mid Cap ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 65. | Astoria US Equal Weight Quality Kings ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 66. | Astoria US Quality Growth Kings ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 67. | Bastion Energy ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 68. | Bridges Capital Tactical ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 69. | Burney U.S. Factor Rotation ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 70. | Bushido Capital US Equity ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 71. | Bushido Capital US SMID Cap Equity ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 72. | Castellan Targeted Equity ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 73. | Castellan Targeted Income ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 74. | Coastal Compass 100 ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 75. | Concourse Capital Focused Equity ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 76. | Discipline Fund ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 77. | Draco Evolution AI ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 78. | EA Astoria Dynamic Core US Fixed Income ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 79. | EA Bridgeway Blue Chip ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 80. | EA Bridgeway Omni Small-Cap Value ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 81. | Euclidean Fundamental Value ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 82. | Freedom 100 Emerging Markets ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 83. | Gadsden Dynamic Multi-Asset ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 84. | Guru Favorite Stocks ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 85. | Honeytree U.S. Equity ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
C-5
| 86. | Intelligent Alpha Atlas ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 87. | Keating Active ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 88. | MC Trio Equity Buffered ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 89. | MRBL Enhanced Equity ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 90. | MarketDesk Focused U.S. Dividend ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 91. | MarketDesk Focused U.S. Momentum ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 92. | Matrix Advisors Value ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 93. | RACWI US ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 94. | Relative Sentiment Tactical Allocation ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 95. | Research Affiliates Deletions ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 96. | RockCreek Global Equality ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 97. | Sarmaya Thematic ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 98. | Sparkline Intangible Value ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 99. | Sparkline International Intangible Value ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 100. | Stance Sustainable Beta ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 101. | Stocksnips AI-Powered Sentiment US All Cap ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 102. | Strive 1000 Dividend Growth ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 103. | Strive 1000 Growth ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 104. | Strive 1000 Value ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 105. | Strive 500 ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 106. | Strive Emerging Markets Ex-China ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 107. | Strive Enhanced Income Short Maturity ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 108. | Strive International Developed Markets ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 109. | Strive Mid-Cap ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 110. | Strive Natural Resources and Security ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 111. | Strive Small-Cap ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 112. | Strive Total Return Bond ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 113. | Strive U.S. Energy ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 114. | Strive U.S. Semiconductor ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 115. | Suncoast Select Growth ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 116. | TBG Dividend Focus ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 117. | Towle Value ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 118. | WHITEWOLF Publicly Listed Private Equity ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 119. | YOKE Core ETF, Series of EA Series Trust |
| 120. | AAM Bahl & Gaynor Small/Mid Cap Income Growth ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 121. | AAM Brentview Dividend Growth ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 122. | AAM Crescent CLO ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 123. | AAM Low Duration Preferred and Income Securities ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 124. | AAM S&P 500 High Dividend Value ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 125. | AM Sawgrass U.S. Large Cap Quality Growth ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 126. | AAM Sawgrass U.S. Small Cap Quality Growth ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 127. | AAM SLC Low Duration Income ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
C-6
| 128. | AAM Todd International Intrinsic Value ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 129. | AAM Transformers ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 130. | Acquirers Deep Value ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 131. | Aptus April Buffer, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 132. | Aptus Collared Investment Opportunity ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 133. | Aptus Deferred Income ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 134. | Aptus Defined Risk ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 135. | Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 136. | Aptus Enhanced Yield ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 137. | Aptus International Enhanced Yield ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 138. | Aptus January Buffer ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 139. | Aptus July Buffer ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 140. | Aptus Large Cap Enhanced Yield ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 141. | Aptus Large Cap Upside ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 142. | Aptus October Buffer ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 143. | Bahl & Gaynor Dividend ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 144. | Bahl & Gaynor Income Growth ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 145. | Bahl & Gaynor Small Cap Dividend ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 146. | BTD Capital Fund, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 147. | Carbon Strategy ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 148. | ClearShares OCIO ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 149. | ClearShares Piton Intermediate Fixed Income Fund, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 150. | ClearShares Ultra-Short Maturity ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 151. | Distillate International Fundamental Stability & Value ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 152. | Distillate Small/Mid Cash Flow ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 153. | Distillate U.S. Fundamental Stability & Value ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 154. | ETFB Green SRI REITs ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 155. | Hoya Capital High Dividend Yield ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 156. | Hoya Capital Housing ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 157. | LHA Market State Tactical Beta ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 158. | LHA Market State Tactical Q ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 159. | LHA Risk-Managed Income ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 160. | McElhenny Sheffield Managed Risk ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 161. | NETLease Corporate Real Estate ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 162. | Opus Small Cap Value ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 163. | The Acquirers Fund, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 164. | The Brinsmere Fund — Conservative ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 165. | The Brinsmere Fund — Growth ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 166. | U.S. Global GO GOLD and Precious Metal Miners ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 167. | U.S. Global JETS ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 168. | U.S. Global Sea to Sky Cargo ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
C-7
| 169. | U.S. Global Technology and Aerospace & Defense ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 170. | US Vegan Climate ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 171. | Vest 10 Year Interest Rate Hedge ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 172. | Vest 2 Year Interest Rate Hedge ETF, Series of ETF Series Solutions |
| 173. | First American Funds Trust |
| 174. | FundX Investment Trust |
| 175. | The Glenmede Fund, Inc. |
| 176. | The GoodHaven Funds Trust |
| 177. | Harding, Loevner Funds, Inc. |
| 178. | Hennessy Funds Trust |
| 179. | Horizon Funds |
| 180. | Hotchkis & Wiley Funds |
| 181. | Intrepid Capital Management Funds Trust |
| 182. | Jacob Funds Inc. |
| 183. | The Jensen Quality Growth Fund Inc. |
| 184. | Kirr, Marbach Partners Funds, Inc. |
| 185. | Core Alternative ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust |
| 186. | Optimized Equity Income ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust |
| 187. | Wahed Dow Jones Islamic World ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust |
| 188. | Wahed FTSE USA Shariah ETF, Series of Listed Funds Trust |
| 189. | LKCM Funds |
| 190. | LoCorr Investment Trust |
| 191. | MainGate Trust |
| 192. | ATAC Rotation Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 193. | Coho Relative Value Equity Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 194. | Coho Relative Value ESG Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 195. | Cove Street Capital Small Cap Value Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 196. | Jackson Square Large-Cap Growth Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 197. | Jackson Square SMID-Cap Growth Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 198. | Kensington Active Advantage Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 199. | Kensington Defender Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 200. | Kensington Dynamic Allocation Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 201. | Kensington Hedged Premium Income ETF, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 202. | Kensington Managed Income Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 203. | LK Balanced Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 204. | Leuthold Core ETF, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 205. | Leuthold Core Investment Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 206. | Leuthold Global Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 207. | Leuthold Grizzly Short Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 208. | Leuthold Select Industries ETF, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 209. | Muhlenkamp Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 210. | Nuance Concentrated Value Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 211. | Nuance Mid Cap Value Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 212. | Olstein All Cap Value Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 213. | Olstein Strategic Opportunities Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
C-8
| 214. | Port Street Quality Growth Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 215. | Prospector Capital Appreciation Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 216. | Prospector Opportunity Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 217. | Reinhart Genesis PMV Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 218. | Reinhart International PMV Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 219. | Reinhart Mid Cap PMV Fund, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 220. | Tremblant Global ETF, Series of Managed Portfolio Series |
| 221. | Greenspring Income Opportunities Fund, Series of Manager Directed Portfolios |
| 222. | Hood River International Opportunity Fund, Series of Manager Directed Portfolios |
| 223. | Hood River New Opportunities Fund, Series of Manager Directed Portfolios |
| 224. | Hood River Small-Cap Growth Fund, Series of Manager Directed Portfolios |
| 225. | SanJac Alpha Core Plus Bond ETF, Series of Manager Directed Portfolios |
| 226. | SanJac Alpha Low Duration ETF, Series of Manager Directed Portfolios |
| 227. | SWP Growth & Income ETF, Series of Manager Directed Portfolios |
| 228. | Vert Global Sustainable Real Estate ETF, Series of Manager Directed Portfolios |
| 229. | Mason Capital Fund Trust |
| 230. | Matrix Advisors Funds Trust |
| 231. | Monetta Trust |
| 232. | Nicholas Equity Income Fund, Inc. |
| 233. | Nicholas Fund, Inc. |
| 234. | Nicholas II, Inc. |
| 235. | Nicholas Limited Edition, Inc. |
| 236. | Oaktree Diversified Income Fund Inc. |
| 237. | Permanent Portfolio Family of Funds |
| 238. | Perritt Funds, Inc. |
| 239. | Procure ETF Trust II |
| 240. | Professionally Managed Portfolios |
| 241. | Provident Mutual Funds, Inc. |
| 242. | Abbey Capital Futures Strategy Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 243. | Abbey Capital Multi-Asset Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 244. | Adara Smaller Companies Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 245. | Aquarius International Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 246. | Boston Partners All Cap Value Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 247. | Boston Partners Emerging Markets Dynamic Equity Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 248. | Boston Partners Global Equity Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 249. | Boston Partners Global Sustainability Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 250. | Boston Partners Long/Short Equity Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 251. | Boston Partners Long/Short Research Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 252. | Boston Partners Small Cap Value Fund II, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 253. | Campbell Systematic Macro Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 254. | F/m 10-Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 255. | F/m 2-Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
C-9
| 256. | F/m 3-Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 257. | F/m Callable Tax-Free Municipal ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 258. | F/m Compoundr High Yield Bond ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 259. | F/m Compoundr U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 260. | F/m Emerald Life Sciences Innovation ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 261. | F/m Emerald Special Situations ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 262. | F/m High Yield 100 ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 263. | F/m Investments Large Cap Focused Fund Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 264. | F/m Opportunistic Income ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 265. | F/m Ultrashort Treasury Inflation-Protected Security (TIPS) ETF Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 266. | F/m US Treasury 10 Year Note ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 267. | F/m US Treasury 12 Month Bill ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 268. | F/m US Treasury 2 Year Note ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 269. | F/m US Treasury 20 Year Bond ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 270. | F/m US Treasury 3 Month Bill ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 271. | F/m US Treasury 3 Year Note ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 272. | F/m US Treasury 30 Year Bond ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 273. | F/m US Treasury 5 Year Note ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 274. | F/m US Treasury 6 Month Bill ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 275. | F/m US Treasury 7 Year Note ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 276. | Motley Fool 100 Index ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 277. | Motley Fool Capital Efficiency 100 Index ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 278. | Motley Fool Global Opportunities ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 279. | Motley Fool Mid-Cap Growth ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 280. | Motley Fool Next Index ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 281. | Motley Fool Small-Cap Growth ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 282. | MUFG Japan Small Cap Active ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 283. | Oakhurst Fixed Income Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 284. | Optima Strategic Credit Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 285. | SGI Dynamic Tactical ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 286. | SGI Enhanced Core ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 287. | SGI Enhanced Global Income ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 288. | SGI Enhanced Market Leaders ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 289. | SGI Global Equity Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 290. | SGI Peak Growth Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 291. | SGI Prudent Growth Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 292. | SGI Small Cap Core Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 293. | SGI U.S. Large Cap Core ETF, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 294. | SGI U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 295. | WPG Partners Select Small Cap Value Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 296. | WPG Partners Small Cap Value Diversified Fund, Series of The RBB Fund, Inc. |
| 297. | The RBB Fund Trust |
| 298. | RBC Funds Trust |
| 299. | Rockefeller Municipal Opportunities Fund |
C-10
| 300. | SEG Partners Long/Short Equity Fund |
| 301. | Series Portfolios Trust |
| 302. | Tax-Exempt Private Credit Fund, Inc. |
| 303. | Thompson IM Funds, Inc. |
| 304. | Tortoise Capital Series Trust |
| 305. | Bright Rock Mid Cap Growth Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers |
| 306. | Bright Rock Quality Large Cap Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers |
| 307. | CrossingBridge Low Duration High Income Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers |
| 308. | CrossingBridge Nordic High Income Bond Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers |
| 309. | CrossingBridge Responsible Credit Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers |
| 310. | CrossingBridge Ultra-Short Duration Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers |
| 311. | RiverPark Strategic Income Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers |
| 312. | Dearborn Partners Rising Dividend Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers |
| 313. | Jensen Global Quality Growth Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers |
| 314. | Jensen Quality MidCap Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers |
| 315. | Rockefeller Climate Solutions Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers |
| 316. | Rockefeller US Small Cap Core Fund, Series of Trust for Professional Managers |
| 317. | USQ Core Real Estate Fund |
| 318. | Wall Street EWM Funds Trust |
C-11
| (b) | The following are the Officers and Manager of the Distributor, the Registrant’s underwriter. The Distributor’s main business address is Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101. |
| Name | Address | Position with Underwriter |
Position with Registrant | |||
| Teresa Cowan | Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101 |
President/Manager | None | |||
| Susan LaFond | Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101 |
Vice President/Chief Compliance Officer — Distribution Services/Treasurer |
None | |||
| Christopher Lanza | Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101 |
Vice President | None | |||
| Kate Macchia | Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101 |
Vice President | None | |||
| Weston Sommers | Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101 |
Chief Financial Officer and Financial and Operations Principal |
None | |||
| Kelly Whetstone | Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101 |
Secretary | None |
| (c) | Not applicable. |
C-12
Item 33. Location of Accounts and Records
All accounts, books and other documents required by Section 31(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules thereunder are maintained at:
5901 College Boulevard, Suite 400, Overland Park, Kansas 66211 (records relating to its function as the investment adviser to Tortoise Capital Series Trust).
Item 34. Management Services
Not applicable.
Item 35. Undertakings
Not applicable.
C-13
Signatures
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant has duly caused this registration statement on Form N-1A to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, duly authorized, in the city of Overland Park, and State of Kansas on this 12th day of June 2026.
| Tortoise Capital Series Trust | ||
| By: | /s/ Tom Florence | |
| Tom Florence | ||
| President and Chief Executive Officer | ||
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated have signed the Registration Statement below.
| Signatures | Title | Date | ||
| /s/ Tom Florence | Principal Executive Officer and Trustee | June 12, 2026 | ||
| Tom Florence | ||||
| /s/ John-Paul Nigro | Principal Financial Officer and | June 12, 2026 | ||
| John-Paul Nigro | Principal Accounting Officer | |||
| * | Trustee | June 12, 2026 | ||
| Andrew J. Iseman | ||||
| * | Trustee | June 12, 2026 | ||
| John C. Maxwell | ||||
| * | Trustee | June 12, 2026 | ||
| Carrie Ramirez Schoffman | ||||
| * | Trustee | June 12, 2026 | ||
| Keith A. Fletcher | ||||
| /s/ Jeffrey Kruske | Attorney-In-Fact | June 12, 2026 | ||
| Jeffrey Kruske |
| * | An original power of attorney authorizing, among others, Jeffrey Kruske, to execute this registration statement, and amendments thereto, for each of the Trustees of the Registrant, has been executed and is incorporated herein by reference to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-1A filed on October 18, 2024. |
C-14
Exhibit Index
C-15
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